Rosemary skewered lamb koftas

My oh-so-creative-and-overly-loaded-with-rosemary Mams brought round some huge stalks of rosemary that she had dried to use as skewers on the barbie. The smell instantly filled the kitchen and I was excited. Lamb was the first thought and in her infinite wisdom, Mams suggested lamb mince may be cheaper and koftas could be the go.

Good ol Pak n Save had lamb mince on special so koftas it was. While being a kofta virgin, I had seen enough Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules episodes where the kofta is done to death to know what to basically put in them. Plus being someone who uses recipes more as a guide than a bible, I figured I could wing it (the tricky thing about mince mixtures is you can't taste as you add or season without frying a bit off and trying it so it really is a bit of a guessing game).

The first thing I did was strip most of the rosemary leaves from the stalks (leaving a few at the top - mainly for aesthetics). While I prepared the kofta mixture, I soaked the stalks in cold water so they wouldn't burn on the BBQ. I found a vase which was the perfect height so soaked them in that.

For the kofta mixture I used:

• About 350g lamb mince
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped (parsley is one herb I am not growing so very stubbornly had to buy a bunch from the supermarket - it was a tad limp and sad but did the trick)

Now there are many variations to koftas - some add breadcrumbs, some onion, some egg. I really don't think they need onion or breadcrumbs - was dreading them turning out more like rissoles (can't write that without smiling thinking about The Castle). And all the ingredients bound well enough together without needing egg.

There is only one way to mix stuff into mince - your hands. Once thoroughly mixed, place a patty type disc in your hand and then shape around the skewer. Should make about four skewers with two koftas on each - perfect for two people. Brush a little bit of oil on them to stop them sticking to the barbie.

Elliot then stepped in and BBQed them to absolute perfection along with a Marconi pepper (just cos it needed using).

I was ill-prepared for the rest of this meal so just teamed it with a salad, the charred pepper, hummus and a wrap on the side (pita would probably have been better - but you've gotta make do) and a raita type sauce thing except had no plain yoghurt so mixed lite sour cream with lemon juice, grated cucumber, chives and salt and pepper.

The lamb was sensational. The smell of rosemary on the BBQ was divine and all in all a recipe I will definitely make again!

Oh and if you haven't seen The Castle - make it happen. You will never hear the word rissoles again without smiling.

Aquaponics: week 3

The aquaponics system by all accounts is going great guns. The fish are getting bigger, as are the lettuces. The tank looks rather nasty as is getting scum buildup (technical term biofilm) and smells a bit pondy, but this is because the water in the tank doesn't get changed and therefore the tank doesn't get cleaned. Despite this, the water is clean and clear which is how it should be - the plants take all the waste out of water (in a process explained below) and so what is being pumped back into the fish is effectively clean (hence no need to change the water or have a filter).

The big boy Pumpkin and two of the triplets havin a chat

I tasted a leaf of the lettuce yesterday and it was good (whilst at the same time ignoring Elliot cracking himself up by saying I just ate fish poo - mature as always).

With growing lettuce leaves comes growing lettuce roots. And they have got massive since we set this all up almost three weeks ago. At that time it was bloody tricky to get the roots down through the bottom because they were so tiny and delicate; now they are huge. These of course hang down out of the bottom of the net pots and sit in the water that goes through the tubes.

The water is tested for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The ammonia (from the fish waste) shows up first. When significant quantities of this are present in the system there is a bacteria in nature that will start to grow and feeds on ammonia and converts this to nitrIte. Once nitrIte is present, there is another bacteria in nature that converts nitrIte to nitrAte.  The nitrAte is the good stuff that becomes the fertiliser for the plants. When you get a "fully cycled" system the levels of these three should all be zero - this means that the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrIte is established and the bacteria that converts the nitrIte to nitrAte is established. This means that the nitrogen cycle is complete and the plants are now supported by the fish.

The ammonia started to show a week or so into the project and the nitrIte showed soon after. We have just started to get nitrAte showing up in the tests as the ammonia and nitrIte are starting to drop (all consistent with the science of aquaponics).

Ammonia, while from the fish's own waste, is not good for them, which is why when keeping fish as pets in a bowl the water needs to be changed regularly. You don't have the same need to do that with aquaponics as the plants and growing media become a filter - all quite clever really.

Testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
(measured in parts per million)

We feed the fish twice a day and test the water every day and the ammonia is now down back towards zero and the nitrite is heading down too. These are all good signs. So, so far, so good. No system breakdowns, no flooded conservatory and no floating fish (rather pleased as am becoming a tad fond of them).

It's basically a mini ecosystem we have here. Because no chemicals are added, this, put simply, is nature. The biofilm, the bacteria, the nitrogen, the fish, their poo, the plants - the whole "circle of life" (well, not really, but I felt an Elton John moment coming on). It's pretty darn cool really.

Oh, and Elliot is heading away for the long weekend doing something silly like camping so it is all in my capable hands!!! I'm sure there will be instructions given, phone calls, texts and photo updates insisted upon.

Family, food and photos

Well, as predicted, week one back at work has been manic. The week outside work has been just as busy with whanau here from Wellington and Dunedin which means family gatherings. That also for me means cooking and hosting which I love. With my two sisters, brother-in-law, two nephews and Mams here I was looking forward to putting on a feast for Sunday lunch.

I had to make something kiwi and filling for the boys which was bacon and egg pie and something a little fancier for the sophisticated ladies of the family, and an absolute fav - asparagus roulade.

This is a recipe from Alison and Simon Holst's Meals Without Meat cookbook which Mams first made years and years ago and I instantly fell in love with.

I made it yesterday which was perfect as needed this morning for the pie (and other goodies). It is a good and impressive vegetarian dish for a dinner party but can be fiddley and time consuming. Definitely worth a try though.

Ingredients

Roulade:

• 50g butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tb tomato paste
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Filling:

• 1 (about 400g) can asparagus spears
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Method

• Melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the flour until it bubbles.
• Add the milk gradually, stirring continuously, until the sauce boils and thickens.
• Stir in the tomato paste and bring to the boil again. Remove from heat.
• Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the hot sauce and stir quickly to combine. Stir in the grated cheese.
• Beat in the egg whiles until the soft peaks form (thank God Elliot was here as I only had a hand beater). Fold into the cheese mixture.

It's a bizarre goopy and stringy mixture

• Pour the mixture onto a baking paper lined sponge roll tin (about 20cm x 30cm).
• Bake at 200°C for about 12 minutes until puffed and golden brown (it is cooked when the centre springs back after being lightly pressed).
• Remove from the oven and turn out onto a rack covered with a tea towel. Carefully remove the baking paper.

• Make the filling while the roulade cooks. Drain the asparagus liquid into a pan. Chop the asparagus and press gently to remove more liquid.
• Boil the asparagus liquid and chopped garlic down to 1 tablespoon and stir into the asparagus.
• Fold together the asparagus, cream cheese, parsley and a bit of black pepper.
• Spread the filling evenly over the room-temperature roulade, leaving one long side uncovered.

• Holding the tea towel, roll the roulade starting with the side nearest to you and finishing with the uncovered side.
• Wrap the roll in Gladwrap (have this cut and sitting ready to use) and refrigerate (up to 24 hours).

• When needed use a serrated knife to slice into 2cm-ish pieces.
• You can serve it warm by heating in the microwave but I LOVE it cold.

The bacon and egg pie I made doesn't really need a recipe. I am a firm believer in a bacon and egg pie being pastry, bacon and egg. No tomato. No chutney. No onion . And most certainly no mixed veges!

I used bought pre-rolled pastry and lined a greased dish, chopped some cheap bacon up roughly and sprinkled it over the pastry, top with 6-8 eggs depending on the size of the dish, prick the yolks once so they run slightly, season and top with another sheet of pastry. Prick some holes in it and brush the top with milk. Bake at 200°C for 40 minutes. Yum Yum. Serve with tomato sauce out of a squeezy tomato.

My other culinary achievement today was chocolate eclairs. I have never made choux pastry before but I found it rather easy (getting it into the piping bag was another story) and they turned out really well (they were dry and crusty on the outside and golden brown). For the first time in my life I had issues with chocolate icing being too runny but all in all they were a success and all who had enjoyed.

I used the trusty Edmonds recipe. The indication that it makes 30 7cm ones is far from accurate and I wanted to make bigger ones so the recipe made about 10 of the size I wanted.

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• whipped cream

Icing

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tb cocoa
• 1/4 tsp softened butter
• 3 tb water approximately

Method

• Combine butter and water in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
• Remove from heat and quickly add flour. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture leaves the side of the pan.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg, until mixture is glossy (after 2 eggs get the boyfriend to do it or your arm will fall off).
• Pipe the mixture into lengths the size you want onto a tray lined with baking paper.
• Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes or until they are puffy and golden, then lower heat to 120°C and continue to bake for 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly.
• Cut eclairs in half and fill with whipped cream and top with chocolate icing (sift the cocoa and icing sugar into a bowl, add the butter, add sufficient water to make it spreadable consistency).
• Devour.

So the bacon and egg pie, asparagus roulade, chocolate eclairs, along with a a few other bits and bobs including a salad with homegrown red onion and tomatoes (and of course chipotle mayo which went down a treat) equalled a feast fit for, well, the Dally/Brooks/Elliott/O'Callaghan clan.

The highlight of my day (apart from Mams pushing Elliot into the mowen grass and leaf pile during the backyard soccer game) was my gorgeous nephews Caelan and Ayrton agreeing to eat half a Thai chilli each. As far as the hot hot chillies go these are far from up there, but don't get me wrong these little beauties pack quite the punch (I ate one yesterday and they were rather hot - not as hot as the half a Wildfire Elliot and Hunt ate each and well, seemed a tad in pain) and certainly burns the mouth for a while, especially when you are 11 and 8 and do not eat spicy food. They were brave (well, by brave I mean will do anything for $2) and a few glasses of ice cold soft drink and a Fruju later, not much damage was done.

All smiles before..

Caelan's second glass of sparkling duet with ice

Frujus, and I can't help notice the smiles have gone

They did recover enough to have a game of darts
Caelan "The Millionaire" Elliot
versus
Ayrton "Flippin Whippin" darts champion of the world

In the final news of the weekend, I bought myself a new camera and am looking forward to being able to take much better photos of my chilli and foodie adventures.

A couple of point and shoot ones below which were really Elliot and I just playing around, before I get used to all the functions and start getting all arty on it (for those of you who have seen my art skills - especially those employed during Pictionary - I know you are excited).

Our view

Marigolds we plant to attract bees and ladybugs to eat the aphids

Moneymaker tomatoes

Still to ripen Thai chillies

Random Jamaican pepper (we think) 

Habanero

Bhut Jolokia

Fatalii

Jamaican Red Hot

Oh, and just an update on the happenings on Sunset Road - fish are great and growing well, the tank getting smelly and pooey - but that's how it is meant to be apparently (full aquaponics update to come), chillies are growing MENTALLY well and I am scared just looking at them, the rest of the garden is loving the sun we have had and all growing well, and the light box is back housing the germinated seeds which are germinating really well - rates far better than the Kings seeds we used previously.

Herbs n pavs n chillies n things

Our holidays are fast coming to an end but the week at home has been super productive. The aquaponics is up and running, no fish have died, gardening has been done, pavlova has been baked and consumed (yes, it was consumable) and there has been much drinking, dart playing, barbecuing and The Bachelor watching (ok, not so productive, but sometimes it's just too hot to do anything else).

My wheelbarrow herb garden has been replanted as the chives had died, thyme had gone to flower, coriander had all been used and the rosemary was the last herb standing. 

I saw the idea for a wheelbarrow herb garden in a gardening magazine at work one day and was lucky to find a wheelbarrow on Trademe on the North Shore for $2. I set this up a few months ago and it has worked well - all it needed was a few holes drilled in the bottom. The coriander has been a bit disappointing but I think it needed a deeper pot as they have long roots so have now planted these in pots. In the wheelbarrow I replanted the rosemary, added some oregano, some new thyme and some dill.

New chives went in a separate pot and all components have gone out the back door. I think the key to a successful herb garden, and vege garden actually, is using what you grow. It is easy to plant loads of different veges but you have to use them. And I think the key to using herbs is having them easily accessible to the kitchen. It is dead easy for me to pop out the back door and snip exactly what I need (especially true in winter when it is just that bit harder going out into the cold and dark when you're cooking dinner).

We also cut back the tomato plants quite a bit as the suckers and dead leaves had got a tad out of control. One plant was fully pulled and the others are looking a lot barer but much healthier. There was also a ton of ripe toms I will look to do something with tomorrow. The strawberries have also gone as weren't producing fruit any more and some new lettuces and basil has been planted.

The chilli plants look amazing! There are tons of Jalapenos, Thai chillies,  Habaneros, Fataliis and Bhut Jolokias and I am thinking of many ways of how I will use them.

Jalapeno

Bhut Jolokia

Fatalii

There was a tiny Habanero ripe today so Elliot and I decided to try some.

It did not go well. I had a quarter of this tiny devil and it was painful. 500 ml of chocolate milk later (milk or yoghurt is meant to help and seeing as plain milk is disgusting, chocolate milk it has to be) and I was still in pain. I had tried some Jalapeno earlier and it wasn't too bad but this Habanero was mental. It is so tiny in comparison to what else is growing and not a patch on the heat of the Bhut Jolokia, so there are going to be some crazy hot times ahead...

The Jalapeno and miniature but evil Habanero

In other food-related news, Elliot and I had lunch at Mexico in Takapuna on Thursday (we had been to the zoo and surprisingly decided to forego the sad looking $5 pies and chicken nuggets they had on offer). Mexico is a newish chain of Mexican restaurants in Auckland and this is the first one I have been to. It is not traditional Mexican fare but is cheap, has an awesome, funky atmosphere and decor and more importantly is yummy!

Elliot had the Achitoe chicken, citrus cured red onion, mint with salsa borracha quesadilla and I had the braised beef brisket in coconut and ancho with green onion, chilli and papaya soft taco and we shared crispy potaotes in celery lime salt with spicy tomatillo dressing. It was all so good. The quesadilla was cheesy and chickeny and the accompanying salsa was spicy and delicious; the beef was tender, the chilli perfectly balanced with the cocnut and papaya and the potatoes were a crispy and limey-salty delight. The food came in about five minutes, the beer was cold and at $42 for us both including two beers, it was a bargain. I will definitely be back to try the other menu items. They also had a good range of hot sauces on the table to try.

The beer was goooooood - especially when it's 27° outside 

Chicken quesadilla and beef taco

Good range of hot sauces 

Other foodie bits this week included using more of my chipotle sauce mixed with mayo in a potato salad that we had with barbecued chicken, zucchinis and mushroooms done on the barbie. The potatoes were out of our garden and I mixed them with red capsicum, red onion and chives (all from our garden as well) with the chipotle mayo (to the mayo mix I also added a little bit of cream to make it a bit runnier to go through the potatoes a bit better and some lemon juice). Yummo - and rather tasty with a cold glass of rosé.

Chipotle potato salad with capsicum, red onion and chives

And now, the pavlova... after a few helpful hints from my friend Jennie, I did everything I was told. The egg whites were at room temperature and the sugar was added painfully slowly, the mixture looked good - fluffy, shiny and I was stoked when it went in the oven. 45 minutes later and it had sunk a bit in the middle and cracked a tiny bit but I was pretty pleased with it for my first attempt (and the sinking and cracks was nothing some whipped cream and berries couldn't hide).

The first cut into it was the real teller and I was pleasantly surprised. Marshmallowie and soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. It tasted good and all who ate it enjoyed it... especially my favourite little monkey...

We have fish

Five little comets have been added to our Sunset Road abode. They of course have their own little house - being the 140L tank that feeds our aquaponics system. They do not have names (mainly because three of them are the same size and we can't tell them apart) but I am attached already. One day in and I had to buy them an ornamental sunken vase so they had "something to play in". Once they had sussed out the vase by checking it out from a distance, swimming around it, going up to it and backing off, sniffing if (?? no idea if fish can smell??), one finally ventured in and now they love it. It is fun and somewhat therapeutic to watch them swim around, but they are there for a reason...

The aquaponics system is up and running and is currently housing some cos lettuces just to get it going but it is really in place to grow the chilli plants of the seeds we are currently germinating (update on that - five days in and one jalapeno has germinated).

The system (when explained by me) sounds fairly simple but Elliot has done an amazing job programming the PLC (programmable logic controller) to control the pump cycles, the float switches, the lights and the fan.

The large white tank hosts the fish, one of the pumps and an air pump to give the fish oxygen and of course their little vase.

The water from this tank pumps up to the tubes with the plants and fills them every 15 minutes for 15 minutes. Then they drain back into the sump tank (smaller black tank with yellow lid). This tank also has a pump which pumps the water back into the fish tank.

The sump tank has two float switches - one high and one low so that the water never gets too high to flood and too low to make the pump run dry and crap out. Once the water hits the high switch the pump comes on and pumps the water back into the fish tank.

The water from the fish tank is tested for pH and ammonia. Ammonia is what comes from the fish's waste and there is a bacteria in nature which turns this into nitrogen which is what the plants need to grow. We made sure we got decent fish food with lots of good fruit and vege sources in it - with the notion that the better the nutrients going in, the better the nutrients coming out.

Our conservatory gets really hot so Elliot has set up a thermostat so that when the temperature of the conservatory reaches 25°C a pedestal fan comes on and goes off again when the temperature drops below 25. We are trying to keep the water temperature at about 20-22°C so are monitoring that but at the moment it's getting up to about 24 during the day.

Four days in and so far so good. A couple of leakages and an overflow due to a clay ball in the drain meant a couple of saturated towels but apart from that it has been pretty drama free. The week we have had off work to do this has been great to be able to monitor the system and deal with problems straight away. Fingers crossed for next week as well as a check that all contents insurance is up to date.

The lettuces are looking good but we now need to monitor the ammonia hoping it will start getting up to provide the nutrients the plants will need. A couple more fish may be needed (I want some cute Blackmoors) but will see how we go over the next couple of weeks. The comets will eventually get quite big so need to bear that in mind as well. We may also have to add some seaweed concentrate to try and boost nutrient levels but will wait and see what happens. Watch this space...

Gotta say - far more interesting than the hydroponics as am loving having, feeding and watching the fish. Can't wait to show my niece Isla and my nephews Caelan and Ayrton who are up from Dunedin at the mo - am sure they will love it!

NB: after a quick Google search, yes, fish can smell.

Basil & chilli pesto

Due to lack of use while on holiday, our basil was growing rampant and started going to flower. I decided to pull it, use what I could and replant some new stuff when doing the rest of my herbs (which was planned for today but due to an incident with a garden stake and my thigh, will be on hold until tomorrow).

I had quite a bit of basil to use and some parmesan cheese in the fridge so decided to make a pesto. I of course decided to add chilli to it.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Juice of half a lime

Method:

• Put basil, garlic, chllies, parmesan and pine nuts into a food processor and blend until combined.
• Slowly drizzle the oil in while running the processor until combined.
• Add salt and pepper to season and lime juice (most pesto recipes don't use this but I think an acid was needed so added it and was glad I did).

I was disappointed by the level of heat in the end product despite trying one of the chillies before I started and it being rather hot. It may be the amount of olive oil needed for the pesto cut through the heat a bit.

I added some chilli infused olive oil I had to heat it up which worked a bit but would definitely add more chillies next time.

I used the pesto to make a pasta salad by simply stirring it through some spiral pasta (spiral pasta is great as all the pesto clings onto all the curly bits). Stir it through just after you've cooked the pasta as it goes much better through a hot pasta and helps the pasta absorb the saucy goodness.

I put it in the fridge to cool (but you could have it as a hot pasta) and had it for dinner as a side with corn and tomato salsa and chipotle chicken. For a more substantial pasta salad you could add cherry tomatoes and chunks of salami - would make a yummy lunch.

The corn salsa is an absolute favourite of mine. I used fresh corn cut of the cob this time but often make it with frozen corn kernels and it is almost as good. It's a really simple and easy alternative to salad and is great as a side with Mexican dishes.

Ingredients:

• The kernels from one cob of corn (easily enough for two people)
• Handful or so of cherry tomatoes - halved 
• Quarter of a red onion - diced finely
• Handful of fresh coriander - chopped
• Juice of a lime
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Cook the corn (I did it in the microwave for about 8 minutes - was hoping to char it on the BBQ which would have added some fabulous flavour but the wind was not agreeing with me). 
• Once cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cob, and leave them to cool completely.
• Mix the corn with the tomatoes, coriander, red onion, lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
• Devour.

The chipotle chicken we had with it is dead easy as I had bought some amazing chipotle sauce from the Takapuna markets last weekend - a guy with a company called Mex U Crazy (I also got some yummy sesame and pumpkin seed sauce/paste, he also does a mean Habanero sauce and lots of yummy salsas. No website but you can't miss him at Takapuna markets on Sundays).

I marinated the chicken for a couple of hours (I prefer chicken thighs as they are super juicy) and then seared it in a electric frypan, turned the heat down, put the lid on and let them cook through (about 10 minutes). Again, was hoping to do them on the barbie but the weather did not allow it.

Dollop some sour cream on top with some fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime and enjoy. And you will enjoy this. Even if hot and spicy is not your thing, chipotle is worth a go. Trust me.

For anyone not yet introduced to the chipotle - it is a must! Chipotles are dried and smoked jalapenos. They are something I cannot wait to make myself. We have a food dehydrator ready for our jalapenos and Elliot's friend Hunt has a smoker we can use.

Chipotles to eat on their own are not great - kind of like eating hardened ash but cut up and put into sauces are fantastic and chipotle mayonnaise is simply heavenly. It is smokey and hot and sweet and creamy all in one and if you have not had it, you need to make that happen. Now.

The La Morena brand of Mexican food stuffs are now in most supermarkets and they do a great chipotle sauce. You can add mayo (Best Foods of course) to it and make it as chipotley or mayonnaisey as you like (they also do THE BEST CHEESE STUFFED JALAPENOS IN SALSA - I had to do that in capitals because I am yelling at you about how awesome they are!)

I added mayo to the sauce I got from the markets and had it on a chicken and salad wrap for lunch yesterday. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Wraps are a bit of a staple in this house and tonight was open falafel kebab/wrap things (yes, in between the dart competition Elliot and I have waged against each other, I did stop to make dinner). I used the leftover pesto by simply adding it to some lite sour cream and putting atop the falafel, salad stack with some hot sauce. Who needs to go to the local kebab shop?? (Although I am ashamed to say I used a store bought falafel mix - making my own is certainly something to try next).

Tomorrow I am tasked with making a pavlova for a whanau dinner (I am advised there is no back up dessert so pressure is on). Have never made one before but how wrong can one go with a trusty Edmonds recipe???? Will soon find out...