whisks' pasties

one of my friends, CG, recently made some pasties, and inspired me to do the same. this is what i did with what i had. what i made was by no means authentic cornish pasties, but i don't think i heard a single complaint. i didn't have any lard, so i used the 2 cartons of sour cream i had in the fridge to make the pastry. i didn't have turnips or swedes and wasn't going to the shops just to get for that either, so i did the sacrilegious and used carrots(!!!).

i really did go out of my way to not be authentic, didn't i? but they were delicious, and with that, i rest my case.

makes 16 big pasties

pastry

2x300ml cartons sour cream
4 cups strong bakers' flour

combine together in the thermomix or food processor until the flour and cream come together. tip the mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly into a ball and place into a plastic bag. seal and place in the refrigerator to rest.

filling

1 large onion
3 large carrots (or turnips/swedes, if you want to get it right)
30 grams olive oil
1 kilo skirt steak
3 large potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 or 2 eggs

line 3 baking trays with baking paper.

place the onion and carrots/swedes/turnips in the thermomix bowl and chop on speed 5 until just chopped - you can hear when this is done and this takes about 3 or 4 seconds. add the olive oil and saute for 8 minutes at 100C on speed 1.
i like my steak and potatoes cubed by hand, but this can be chopped up with the thermomix, if desired. if you want to chop the steak with your thermomix, cut the meat into 4 centimetre cubes and chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes before chopping. turbo once or twice to get the consistency you like. peel the potatoes and quarter, and place into the thermomix bowl. chop the potatoes using the turbo function pressing the turbo button once or twice to get the size you like. combine the carrots, onions, potatoes and meat together and season generously.

preheat the oven to 200C.

retrieve the pastry and divide it into 16 portions and roll each portion into a thin disc. you will be surprised at how thin this pastry can be rolled and even more surprised at how strong it is...at least i was - it holds the filling admirably. once all the discs have been rolled, divide the filling amongst them. fold the pastry over and press to seal, then crimp however you wish. if you don't do the crimping thing, just press the tines of a fork around the pastry - not only does it add a decorative feature, it helps to seal the pasty. place the pasties on the prepared baking trays. place the egg(s) into a bowl and whisk lightly. brush the pasties with the egg generously and bake the pasties for 25 minutes or until golden.

whisks' red stock concentrate

everyone always asks me for this recipe, so i'm putting it down in writing. i find this one is very complimentary when added to those warmer coloured dishes, you know, like pumpkin risotto or tomato soup. don't be put off by the chilli - it only adds some warmth if it is at all detectable.

1 clove garlic
1 red onion
1 red capsicum
1 red chilli
1 carrot
1 tomato
1 swede
1 parsnip
1 rib celery, including leaves
a bay leaf
rosemary, sage and parsley
100 g olive oil
150 g sea salt

place the vegetables and herbs into the TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 6.

add oil and salt and cook at 100C for 10 minutes on speed 2.

blend for 1 minute at speed 10.

continue cooking at 100C for 10 minutes on speed 2.

blend for 1 minute at speed 10.

pour into sterilised jars and store in the refrigerator when cool. this will keep for up to six months in the refrigerator.

whisks' favourite gingerbread cookies

when my best friend from high school told me she liked gingerbread cookies, i set upon a journey to find a recipe for gingerbread cookies, and this is what i came up with. generally, i like to bake them slowly so they don't burn, yet come out firm. they do soften nicely and the flavours develop beautifully. once rested, this is a beautiful dough to work with and smells divine.

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
125 grams butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
a few strips lemon rind (optional)

place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and lemon rind in the thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10 until well blended. set aside.
place butter, brown sugar, egg, golden syrup and vanilla into the thermomix bowl and combine for 10 seconds on speed 5. scrape down bowl and combine again for 5 seconds on speed 5.
add the flour mixture which was set aside earlier to the thermomix bowl and combine for 10 seconds on speed 6.
set dial to closed lid position and knead for 40 seconds on interval speed.
divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. this dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. return to room temp before using.
preheat oven to 170°C.
line cookie sheets with baking paper.
place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
roll dough to a scant 2mm thick.
use additional flour to avoid sticking.
cut out cookies with desired cutter.
space cookies 3cm apart.
bake 1 sheet at a time for 10-15 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
after cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like - they look wonderful decorated with royal icing.

whisks' orange coconut custard

this is my answer to making a dairy, egg and gluten free pouring custard to serve with christmas pudding, or any cake, or anything (or nothing) for that matter.

the rind an orange
60 grams sugar
10 grams maize cornflour
500 grams coconut milk
orange liqueur, optional, but nice to add for something festive

place the orange rind, sugar and cornflour into the thermomix bowl and grind on speed 10 for 10 seconds. take a good long sniff of this mixture - it smells so good.
add the coconut milk and cook for 8 minutes at 90 degrees at speed 4.
if you're adding some orange liqueur, now's the time to add it...at your discretion, and give it a stir in the thermomix on speed 4 for about 5 seconds.
pour this into a jug and serve. just a warning, this is hot, so if you want to have a taste, spoon some out to let it cool, then have a taste. very delicious. as with all custards, this one will form a skin. if you like the skin, you don't have to doo anything. if you don't want a skin to form, place a piece of baking paper on the surface of the custard and remove it before serving.

hair by whisks

yes, you read correctly. hair by moi. miss k had a formal to go to (her own), and i did her hair. it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. she was trying to do her hair herself, and i couldn't help myself and took over. then, when ohno offered her the corsage, what did i do? i put it in her hair...of course. this worked out to be quite a practical way of wearing the corsage as opposed to wearing it on the wrist where it often would get bashed around.

just a little taste...

blutsie picked this little booklet up for me from kinokuniya last week, and it's a gem:

so often, being time poor and all, wanting to have a little browse at cookbooks can be a luxury, which makes places online like amazon useful, but i'm old fashioned and i like having a hard copy sometimes and this is the next best thing. there are recipes from rowie dillon, of rowie's cakes fame - the clever lady who has found a niche market for gluten free cakes, adriano "does he need a last name" zumbo with his self named publication, zumbo, and seven other delightful books of varying levels of sophistication; in other words, there's something to suit everyone. there's a recipe from each book which provides a nice introduction to what to expect.

good on kinokuniya for doing this and taking cookbook catelogues to the next level.

cast iron cookware

on saturday, blutsie and i headed off to an organic cooking class where they were promoting cast iron cookware and there was some discussion on how to season the cookware. people have their own favourite method, but i quite liked the method they suggested. the way they seasoned their cookware was to lightly saute vegetables in a vegetable oil, so, today, i tried it, and the vegetable i used was some cut up red onion, and the oil of choice was rice bran oil. i set my induction hotplate to the lowest setting, poured my oil in generously and tossed in the onion and left it there to cook away slowly. not exactly saute, but i chose to do it slowly so the oil would have a chance to seep into the pores. i'm sure some of the onioniness will seep in, but that's fine. it will make for interesting buckwheat pancakes, won't it? just have to make sure that they're savoury pancakes.

another interesting fact i learnt at the class about the cookware was that not all cookware which a magnet will stick to is induction friendly. for example, cookware which has a copper base encapsulated in stainless steel is not as efficient on an induction hob as one which is totally steel, as a cast iron pan is. i have wondered in the past why some pots heated up faster than some others, and now i know! this has never stopped me from enjoying my induction stove, but it has answered a few questions. and it's a good excuse to get new pots and pans...sigh...