Rustic Pesto and Ricotta Roll

Not much to say about this recipe, except that is very handy to have it when you don't have much time to spend on lunches and snacks for couple of days. Just cut off a piece, and tasty meal is ready . Important thing is that is packed with proteins and carbs...Kids love it.

Ingredients:
Dough-
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbs olive oil
2 tsp yeast
1 1/3 cups water (skin warm)
Filling-
500 g ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbs pesto (basil preferably - recipe)
Method:
Mix all ingredients for the dough, knead for 5 minutes, cover and let it rise in a warm spot. You can use bread machine for this.
Mix all ingredients for filling.
After 45 minutes to 1 hour, place dough on a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. Spread filling over it, then roll from one edge to the other. Place roll onto an oiled baking sheet; twist it for rustic look. Cover with a clean cloth.
Switch your oven to 180*C. When ready, place roll inside and bake for 35-45 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold.

 Rustični rolat sa sirom i pestom

Nemam nmogo reci o ovom receptu, osim da je jako zgodan za dane kada nemate mnogo vremena za pripremati ruckove i uzine. Samo odrezete komad i imate ukusan obrok. Sto je najvaznije, sadrzi i proteine i UH...djeca ga vole.

Potrebno:

3 1/2 solje brasna

1 1/2 k soli

2-3 K maslinovog  ulja

2 k instant kvasca

1 1/3 solje mlake vode

Fil- 500 gr rikota sira (ili sl)

1 jaje

1 k soli

2-3 K pesto (od bosiljka po mogucnosti - recept)

Nacin:

Umijesite tijesto, pokrijte i ostavite na toplome da nadodje.

Pomijesajte sve sastojke za fil.

Nakon dizanja, razvaljajte tijesto u pravougaonik na pobrasnjenoj povrsini. Premazite ga ga pripremljenim filom i zarolajte. Postavite na nauljenu tepsiju; uvrnite nekoliko puta za rustican izgled. Pokrijte cistok krpom.

Ukljucite rernu na 180*C; kada se zagrijala, smjestite rolat unutra i pecite 35-45 minuta. 

Uzivajte toplo ili hladno.

Hungarian Goulash with Soft Dumplings

The Weather is much kinder today - temperatures are lower and wind doesn't blow so strong....relief for fire fighters and residents!  There are a few critical areas left, but not so concerning.

I've returned to putting my kitchen together ...Floor and walls done, some of the 

cabinets are in place. Wall tiles and stone benchtop are next ...

Meanwhile, we need to eat to!

Good thing about this meal is that you need only one pot, and it can be cooked on your stove, or in oven. Some of ingredients (oregano, cumin)  are not used in traditional recipes, but I added them according to my taste. 

Ingredients:

Goulash-

2 tbs lard (or oil )

1 kg beef (chuck, rump) or pork, diced

4 onions, chopped

4-6 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chilli powder (or less)

1-2 tsp cumin

2 tbs paprika (smoked preferably)

3 oregano sprigs

1/2 cup red wine

2-3 tbs tomato paste

water to cover

2tbs Vegeta or beef  (chicken) stock powder

Parsley leaves for garnishing

Dumplings-

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup SR flour

1/4 cup semolina 

pinch of salt

Method:

Heat lard / oil in a large pan. Saute onion for a couple of minutes, add meat and cook until changes colour. Add spices and other ingredients. Mix well, cover and cook for 1,5-2 hours on slow heat. 

Dumplings- Mix all ingredients into a sticky dough. Take spoonfuls (or ice cream scoops) and place into goulash. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Note- If using oil instead of lard, add a bit of speck or panceta for authentic taste.

Madjarski Gulaš sa Mekanim Knedlama

Vrijeme je mnogo ljubaznije danas - temperature su nize i vjetar vise ne duva tako jako...veliko olaksanje za vatrogasce i stanovnike! Nekoliko kriticnih erija je ostalo, ali nista nije veoma zabrinjavajuce.

Vratila sam se sastavljanju moje nove kuhinje...Podne plocice postavljene, zidovi zavrseni, dio kabineta postavljen. Ostaje da se postave zidne plocice i postavi radna povrsina...

U medjuvremenu trebamo i jesti!

Dobra strana ovog jela je da sve mozete pripremiti u jednoj posudi i moze se kuhati u rerni ili na ploci. 

Neki od sastojaka (oregano, kim) se tradicionalno ne koriste u gulasu,... recept sam prilagodila mom ukusu.

Sastojci:

Gulas-

2 K masti (ili ulja)

1 kg govedine za kuhanje (ili svinjetine), rezane na vece kocke

4 crvena luka, sjeckana

4-6 cena bijelog luka, protisnutog

1/2 k crnog bibera

1 k cili praha (ili manje)

1-2 k kima u prahu

2 K paprike

3 izdanka oregana

1/2 solje crvenog vina

2-3 K gustog paradajz pirea

voda (samo da pokrije)

2 K Vegete ili slicno

listovi persuna za posuti

Knedle-

1 jaje

1/2 solje mlijeka

1/2 solje brasna

1/2 solje samodizajuceg brasna

1/4 solje griza

malo soli 

Nacin:

Zagrijte mast (ili ulje), proprzite luk. Dodajte meso, prodinstajte, zatim ubacite ostale zacine. Promijesajte, zalijte vodom i pokrijte. Kuhajte oko 1,5-2 sata na slaboj vatri.

Knedle- Umijesite tijesto od svih navedenih sastojaka; biti ce blago ljepljivo. Kasikom ili hvataljkom za sladoled vadite knedle i spustajte ih u gulas. poklopite i kuhajte jos dodatnih 15 minuta. Ukrasite persunovim liscem i servirajte.

Napomena- ukoliko koristite ulje umjesto masti, dodajte komadic slanine ili pancete u kuhanje za autentican okus.

Catastrophic

My state is on fire...It was never so catastrophic as this time.

Hundreds of homes have been lost, many damaged. My thoughts are with those who have to leave their homes tonight or next few days - please be safe! Leave early - nothing is so worth as lifes!

Moja drzava je u pozarima... Nikada nije bilo tako katastrofalno kao ovoga puta.

Stotine domova je izgubljeno, mnogi su osteceni. Moje misli su sa onima koji moraju napustiti njihove domove veceras ili u narednih nekoliko dana. Mnogima je tesko napustiti dom koji su godinama gradili; izabiru da ostanu i bore se... ali nista nije tako vrijedno kao zivoti. 

Australija i njeno vrijeme su poznati po redovnim pozarima; cak su neke biljke tako prilagodjene za obnovu, da tek poslije pozara sjemena mogu da germiniraju. Zalimo za zivotinjama i ljudima koji zive u takvim erijama!

Veliko hvala volonterima koji nesebicno daju sve od sebe,  bore se na 'frontu' i cesto sa sopstvenim kucama u opasnosti.

   I live in Penrith  /  Penrith je gradic u kojem ja zivim

This scary cloud of smoke was captured from my backyard yesterday

Ovaj strasni oblak dima je snimljen juce iz moga dvorista.

Homes, animals, nature - all gone :-(  /  Kuce, zivotinje, priroda - sve otislo :-(

Sydney wrapped in smoke  /  Sidni omotan u dim

Embarrassed Sun peeking through burnt trees.  /   Osramoceno Sunce viri kroz sagorjelo drvece.

Burnt Carrot Cake...how to save it

When you try to do too many chores at once, often some of them don't end up done in a good way. 

The other day I tried to squeeze painting my kitchen walls, baking a carrot cake and organising bills all at same time...I know - silly ... that's why my cake burnt!

 Anyway, if that happens to you sometimes, here's what to do...

Take cake out of the pan; place it on a cooling rack and let it cool. Take a sharp knife (finely serrated ones are the best) and start scratching burnt parts. In some cases, deeper burnt parts have to be cut off. After you got rid of all nasty bits,  brush off tiny dark particles, left after scratching. Continue with icing / decorating as usual...no-one will even notice your mistake!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar 

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

(grated orange rind, or 1 tsp spice mix or 1 tsp cinnamon for flavour)

Icing-

1/2 cream cheese (125 g)

1/3 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup milk powder

(or your favourite icing)

Method:

Preheat oven to 170*C; pripare a cake tin.

Beat sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add oil; mix well. Add all other ingredients with flour and walnuts at the end. Fold in by hand. Transfer mixture into a cake tin and bake for 35-45 minutes. Take out and cool.

For icing- beat all ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Spread over the top, cut and serve.

Zagoreni Kolac od Mrkve

Kada pokusavate da obavite nekoliko poslova u isto vrijeme, cesto neki od njih ne budu uradjeni kako treba. Prije neki dan sam pokusala bojiti zidove kuhinje, ispeci kolac i organizovati racune uisto vrijeme....Znam - ludo...zato mi je izgorio kolac!

U svakom slucaju, ako se nesto slicno desi vama, evo sta da uradite...

Izvadite kolac iz kalupa; ostavite ga hladiti na mrezi. Uzmite ostar noz (sitno nazubljeni su najbolji) i pocnite strugati izgorenu povrsinu. Ako je neophodno, odrezite dijelove koji su vise uhvaceni. Posto ste odstranili zlobne dijelove, ocetkajte sitne izgorene mrvice koje su preostale. Nastavite sa dekorisanjem na uobicajen nacin...niko nece niti primijetiti vasu gresku!

Potrebno:

1 solja secera

3 jaja

3/4 solje ulja

2 solje rendane mrkve

1 solja sjeckanih oraha

1 k vanila esencije

2 solje brasna

2 k praska za pecivo

(ribana korica narandze, ili mjesavina mirisnih zacina, ili 1 k cimeta za aromu)

Premaz-

1/2 krem sira (125gr)

1/3 soljesecerau prahu

1/3 solje mlijeka u prahu

(ili vas omiljeni premazujuci krem)

Nacin:

Ukljuc ite rernu na 170*C, pripremite kalup.

Mutite secer  sa jajima.Dodajte ulje, dobro izmijesajte. Dodajte sve ostale sastojke; brasno i orahe na kraju. Izmijesajte lagano rukom. Uspite u kalup i pecite 35-45 minuta. Izvadite i ohladite.

Za premaz miksajte sir, secer i mlijeko u prahu dok nepostane kremasto. Prekrijte kolac, rezite i servirajte.

rexipe / Foter / CC BY

Outdoor cooking (Aussie Damper)

If the kitchen is hart of a home, then my hart is very empty at the moment! Time for renovating has arrived!

We bought our home at the very end of 1999. It was in bad condition, and we had to change everything. 

As we didn't have plenty of money, we opted for cheapest solutions in many cases, and we did everything by ourselves. Many fixings were 'temporary' (I know - 12 years is a long 'temporary'), and that's why we want to do it in a proper way now.

A part of my old kitchen is outdoor now, where I cook.

Damper is a 'bread' that is made outdoor in an cast iron oven, originally by bush tuckers and /or travellers.  

Same bread can be baked in a traditional oven, or wrapped in al-foil and placed in hot ashes and /or on barbeque.

I remember that my mother used to make similar bread (pogača) during 'rakija' (plum brandy) making every autumn. She would wrap the bread into cabbage leaves, then AL-foil, and place it in hot ashes under the 'kazan' (distiller). It had very unique smell and taste.

Ingredients:

3 cups SR flour

1 tsp salt

75 g butter,cold, diced

1 cup milk (originally water, but beer is also used very often)

Seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180-190*C, prepare a baking dish; oil it.

Rub flour (with added salt) and butter with tips of your fingers. Pour liquid into it and mix quickly with a spreading knife, until incorporated but still rough. Place dough onto baking dish, smooth it a bit with your wetted hands (pressing slightly) and sprinkle with seeds. make a cross on top and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden.

Before

During

 Kuhanje vani (Ozi 'Pogača')

Ako je kuhinja srce doma, onda je moje srce prazno u ovom trenutku! Vrijeme za renoviranje je stiglo.

Kuću, u kojoj zivimo sada, smo kupili na samom kraju 1999. Bila je u losem stanju, pa smo morali sve izmijeniti. Kako nismo imali dovoljno novaca, cesto smo se odlucivali za najjeftinije opcije i sve smo sami radili (citaj - neprofesionalno!). Mnoge tvorevine su bile 'privremene' (znam - 12 godina je DUGO 'privremeno'), i stoga sada zelimo da ucinimo stvari kako treba.

Dio moje stare kuhinje se sada nalazi vani, gdje kuham.

Damper je slican nasoj pogači, i obicno se pravi vani u posebnoj peci  (kao sač) kojom su raspolagali prvi doseljenici / putnici u Australiji (sad je koriste kamperi). Moze se peci i u obicnoj rerni ili zamotan u AL-foliju preko vruceg pepela ili na grilu.

Sjecam se da je mama nekada pravila pogaču koju bi pekla u žaru (obicno kad' se rakija pravila). Zamotala bi je u listove kupusa, zatim AL-foliju i smjestila u vrući pepeo ispod kazana. Takva pogaca je imala bozanstven okus i miris!

Potrebno:

3 solje samodizajuceg brasna

1 k soli

75 gr maslaca,hladnog u kockicama

1 solja mlijeka (originalno voda, ali i pivo se cesto koristi)

Sjemenke za posuti po povrsini (opcionalno)

Nacin:

Ukljucite rernu na 180-190*C, pripremite pleh za pecenje, nauljite ga.

Pomijesajte so i brasno, utrljajte maslac vrhovima prstiju. Nalijte tecnost preko toga i nozem za mazanje brzo umijesite. Treba da bude poprilicno 'neujednaceno' tijesto - ne brinite ako svi sastojci nisu perfektno povezani. Istresite tijesto na pleh, skvasenim rukama oblikujte tijesto njezno stiskajuci. Pospite sjemenkama, nasijecite na par mjesta unakrsno  i pecite 35-40 minuta, ili dok ne postane zlatno-zuta.

Braised Beef cheeks in Verjuice and Mustard Marinade - Maggie Beer recipe

1. 
   The other day I saw beef cheeks in Aldi, and remembered eating them as child. I never prepared them before, but realised they need to be slow cooked, as the muscles are very tough. I have searched the internet and decided to cook them Maggie Beer way. 
   It was delicious!
   
   Ingredients:
2. 1oo ml Olive oil
3. 4 shallots, chopped
4. 2 carrots, chopped
5. 2 celery stalks, chopped
6. 4 beef cheeks
7. 2 cups veal or beef stock
8. salt and black pepper to taste
9. 
   -Marinade
10. 2 tsp fennel seeds
11. 1 tbs brown sugar
12. 15 g fresh ginger, grated
13. 3 tbs dijon mustard
14. 1/2 cup verjuice (or white wine)
15. 
    Method:
    
    
    

    1. Preheat oven to 160*C.

       
       

       Place a medium size heavy cast iron pot over a medium to high heat, add 50 millilitres of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sauté the shallots, carrot and celery until golden brown, remove from the pot and set aside. Season the beef cheeks with sea salt and seal with the remaining 50 millilitres of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

       
       

       In a separate pan reduce the stock by half until you have approximately 250 millilitres. Return the vegetables with the beef cheeks, then pour over the stock with ½ cup of the marinade, and place in the preheated oven to cook gently for 2 – 2 ½ hours (or longer), or until the cheeks are meltingly tender but still holding their shape.

       Serve with juices and bitter greens and waxy potatoes, rice or polenta.

       
       

       
       

       
       

       

Govedji Obrazi

Neki dan sam ugledala govedje obraze u Aldiju, i sjetila se da sam ih zadnji put jela u djetinjstvu. Nisam ih nikada prije pripremala, ali znam da je meso jako zilavo i da je neophodno dugo ih kuhati na slaboj vatri. Malo sam istrazila internet i odlucila se za recept Maggie Beer (Australijska 'chefica')..Bilo je odlicno!

Potrebno:

1 dl maslinovog ulja

4 manja crvena luka, sjeckana krupno

2 mrkve, sjecene

2 prutica celera, sjecenog

4 govedja obraza

2 solje teleceg ili govedjeg temeljca

so i biber prema ukusu

Marinada-

2 k (ko)morač sjemena (fennel)

1 K braon secera

15 gr svjezeg djumbira, rendanog

3 K senfa (Francuski)

1/2 solje bijelog vina (ili 'verjuice' - sok grozdja koje nije alkoholiziralo)

Nacin:

Ukljucite rernu na 160*C.

Zagrijte tavu sa teskim dnom, dodajte 50 ml ulja i prodinstajte luk, mrkvu i celer. Izvadite i stavite po strani. Zacinite govedje obraze i na preostalom ulju proprzite.

U drugoj posudi zagrijte temeljac i kuhajte dok 1/2 ne ispari. Vratite povrce u posudu sa obrazima, prelijte temeljcem, dodajte 1/2 solje marinade, pokrijte i smjestite u rernu. Pecite oko 2-2 1/2 sata (ili duze), tj dok meso ne omeksa ali da zadrzi svoj oblik.

Servirajte sa zelenom salatom i krompirom, rizom ili palentom.