Saturday, August 31, 2013

Lots of food prep for the weekend...

I've been re-ignited in my love for healthy cooking again, so the past week over HERE I have been sharing day to day what I prepare, cook and eat for each meal.
I seem to be busy with prep one day, and things are easy the next. Works perfect for my designing/writing life!
Yesterday (Friday in Australia), I spent most of the day in my kitchen and had a ball!!
Would you like to see what I made?

My rye flour sour dough starter was ready for bread making so that was the first job of the day. I took the photo below on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon it was bubbling near the brim. I popped it in the fridge overnight and began my mixing the next morning...


I mix it by hand until I get the right consistency, then throw it in the breadmaker for kneading and the first rise. I work by feel and not by recipe for sour dough. For many years I hand-kneaded all my breads, but after an operation on my hand in 2010 I've never had the same strength in my fingers...


After the first rise I take it out, knead it by hand for a couple of minutes, then shape it.
I cut a few slits across the top and leave it to rise again. 

Here in the tropics that takes just 30 minutes!
 I baked my bread on the hot stone, and it was glorious when it came out of the oven...

The other day I made Labne, which is a cream cheese you make from yoghurt (I made the yoghurt myself too, from a wonderful recipe my friend Ruth shared with me), so Mr E and I had that slathered on our sour dough for lunch...it was delicious!

While the bread was proving and baking I also made some fresh strawberry and apple jam...
...which we enjoyed on fresh pikelets for afternoon tea! I made the pikelets with unbleached wholewheat flour, rapadura sugar, and buttermilk.
I only added a third of the normal amount of sugar used in regular jam recipes for my jam, as we are cutting right back on our sugar here at home. My strawberry and apple jam was so much nicer, and had a lovely tang to the mild sweetness. Mr E has been pretty happy with the kitchen fare!

I also made a simple orange and passionfruit jelly for dessert - again, no sugar involved, just the juice of the fruits, a little water, and gelatine...

Blossom loves fresh hommus, so my next recipe was THIS one I found the other day - "5 minute chilli and lime hommus"
It's *delicious*!!

 There was also a fair bit of prep done in the kitchen on Friday...
I soaked dried fruit in Prince of Wales tea to make an Irish Tea Cake on Saturday (again, I cut back the sugar and used just 1/2 the amount in the recipe)...

....and made a nice marinade of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and oregano for Friday night's kebab & salad dinner.

I soaked raw buckwheat for an hour, then drained it to let it sprout so I can make my favourite Sprouted Buckwheat Granola breakfast in the dehydrator on Sunday, and I soaked the rice to make Nana's Rice Pudding on Saturday...

This is all that is left of my current batch of Buckwheat Granola. I sent 2 kilos to Kezzie at the beginning of the month and we both eat through it like there's no tomorrow!
 
I don't know about you, but I get such a lot of satisfaction making food from scratch; knowing exactly what is going into the meals we enjoy, and feeling the benefits in our bodies.


But more importantly to me, is the food that goes into my soul and spirit.
That's why I've signed up for the new study with the Good Morning Girls which begins on September 2nd.
I passed my 'comb binding' initiation with only a few terse words before Mr E stepped in to show me the proper way to comb bind the pages I've printed for the 8-week study of Luke...

It's all free, and there are groups you can join online or just go solo. 
If you need to get back into the habit of daily Bible study, why not head over HERE to the Good Morning Girls and join in?
The study is ready for you to download and print, and you'll receive emails 3 days a week to encourage you along the way. And bless them, its all free.

Or maybe you're already signed on to do the study? We'll be study buddies!


Enjoy the weekend my friends,
hugs

Jenny
xx

14 comments:

Patty@inStitches said...

I too use a sourdough starter for all my breads. Although here in Colorado it takes about three hours to rise in the cold of winter - about half that in summer.
And growing your own and cooking from scratch is the best!

Jusmom1 said...

I just signed up...we are study buddies! Thank you so much for posting about this study group. I have wanted to study the Bible for several years...even downloaded (or should I say TRIED to download) a daily study on my Nook. I never did get it to work correctly. Thanks to you I am now about to begin my first Bible study.
Linda

Melody said...

Everything looks so delicious and healthy too.

Anonymous said...

Очень красивые фото! Все выглядит так аппетитно!

Judy1522 said...

Your food looks so delicious. I am also a scratch cook and always cut way back on sugar in everything I make. I am now following your food blog so I can see what you are up to with cooking and make some of your recipes. I know that we will enjoy them.
Also thanks for the information on the bible study. I am going to sign up.

Vickie said...

Yes I love to make from scratch food just tastes so different..ahhh and yes the satisfaction factor is high-can't wait till I have more home time for the extra things, cheers Vickie

Unknown said...

What's a lot of cooking.
I'm happy to see that you're joining the GMG, I translate the study in french and make the studies since 2010.
Blessings
Sandra

Colleen's Blog Long Island NY said...

Love the new look on your blog Jenny. You have been busy cooking up delicious looking food.

Pieced Brain Quilt Designs said...

Your are killing me, woman! My mouth is watering! I want!!! :-)

jules said...

My husband loves your Irish tea cake, and it is so easy to make. Thank you for sharing.

mOm said...

Gosh Jenny, I too was in the kitchen this past week. Of course, because my daughter has Prader-Willi Syndrome, I need to make sure she has daily food for her special diet. Our garden has been generous to us this summer and I have been cooking stewed tomatoes for freezing for future soups. Did peaches this past week as well, need to get more. I do a lot of freezing for the winter months because I love the taste of the fresh veg. I cook everything from scratch, it is so much better for you. It is so nice to read your blog and enjoy the fact someone else miles away enjoys the same things. Happy cooking!!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great deal of eating planned for your house!

Jenny S said...

Started my 'mother' on the weekend - very interesting process!

Jenny S said...

Started my 'mother' on the weekend - interesting process!