Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

Smoked Garlic Aioli

2009-11-28T21:53:00.011+11:00

Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu is hosting and this week I've found something new and a little different - Smoked Garlic

Smoked Garlic is quite popular in France where it is known as Ail Fumé and this particular product came about from one persons love of French smoked garlic. Finding it difficult to bring it into the country, he decided to make his own.

Having waited for the start of our garlic season, this is his first batch - it has been cold smoked using a mix of fruit and nut woods for 24 hours.

This garlic should keep as well as regular fresh garlic but as it warns you in the enclosed leaflet, you must keep it in a container so the smoky aroma doesn't permeate everything. As soon as you open the little plastic packet it comes in, the wonderful smell of wood smoke fills your senses. It's the type of aroma that makes your mouth water.

The dish I'm making puts this smoked garlic front and center with an adaptation of Aioli.

Smoked Garlic Aioli

1 egg yolk
1 clove, smoked garlic
sea salt flakes
finely ground white pepper
125mls neutral oil (not olive oil)
lemon juice

Take a clove of garlic and slice it finely. Sprinkle over with a few sea salt flakes and using the flat of your knife, mash the garlic with the salt flakes. The flakes are abrasive and will turn the garlic into a paste.

Place the egg yolk, the garlic paste and a dash of ground white pepper into a bowl. Whisk this mixture until combined.

The next part decides whether your aioli or mayonnaise will work out - it's the addition of the oil. It's important at the beginning to really just add a drop or two at a time until the mixture starts to thicken - you can then drizzle it at a steady pace while you whisk.

Once all the oil has been absorbed keep whisking until the mixtures looks glossy - add a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice (or a white wine vinegar if you prefer) and whisk briefly. Give it a finely taste and adjust any of the seasonings as desired.

Store this in the fridge in a sealed container.

You can also add dijon mustard to the initial mixture which is usually found in traditional Aioli but as I wanted the smoked notes to come through unchallenged, I left it out. An alternative would be to use slow roasted garlic.

If you are Melbourne and are looking for this try Mow's, the potato man at Prahran Market or Rocky's Fruit and Veggies in Chapel Street, near the Jam Factory.

Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes - PR Fail

2009-11-26T16:20:00.008+11:00

As bloggers, we all get approached from PR companies, businesses and individuals wanting to use our platform to ~~pimp~~ promote their wares. As you can see, I don't have any advertising and more importantly, I don't want any advertising.

Yesterday, I received one of those typical approaches from a business in Sydney called Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes. Being a Sydney based business I thought it a bit strange they approached a Melbourne based blogger so I took a look at the stats to see how they found my site.

Well, they spent about a minute on this site, enough to land on the home page and move straight to my contact page. What brought them here was a list of Australian Female bloggers, so I don't think it would be too much of a stretch of the imagination to say that if you're on that list and write anything about food you've probably received the same email.

I wrote back to them, the same reply as I give to hawkers - not interested.

This morning, I awoke to find that Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes had replied to my email with this gem

So because I'm not interested in their product or using my site to promote their product, that makes me a goose? The reply was sent to me by someone called Libby which I can only assume is the business owner Elizabeth, so we can't pin this behaviour on an employee.

Apart from being a ridiculous reply, this is a poor display of maturity and very bad business behaviour. It's especially nonsensical when she's written to me in the first place asking that I mention her product and business.

I wrote back thanking her that I now had something to write about to which she replied with this classic:

When I first saw this reply, I had to laugh. Showing it around the office it was met with "Are you serious?" and a shake of the head.

So here's my question for the general public:

If you're a blogger that has been approached by Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes and are considering promoting her products, are you happy to be associated with this type of behaviour?

If you're a customer or contemplating being a customer, is this type of attitude something that fills you with confidence?

Pear Strudel

2009-11-25T11:41:00.002+11:00

It's easy to be lured by the arrival of nectarines, peaches, plums, apricots and cherries but that doesn't mean we should neglect the everyday fruit, like pears.

With just four ingredients, I've made an amazingly tasty Pear Strudel.

The methodology is identical to this Apple Blueberry Strudel - the pears have been peeled and cored and then sliced very finely. The other ingredients are butter and sugar and that great home-made filo.

Inside the strudel you have a luscious combination of soft sweet fruit - with the pastry acting as a sponge to soak in those pears juices, the outside is crisp and flaky. Served warm with softly whipped cream you might find it difficult to stop yourself from eating the whole thing!

Weekend Herb Blogging #211 Hosting

2009-11-23T23:08:00.003+11:00

This week our host is Lynne from Cafe LynnyLu

If you're new to WHB or you haven't taken part in a while, here's a quick summary of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, flower or plant. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

Post should include the phrase Weekend Herb Blogging and a link to the rules and to your host.

You can post anytime during the week but remember to email your host by the deadline which is:

3pm Sunday - Utah Time
10pm Sunday - London Time
11pm Sunday - Rome Time
9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time

Send your entries to
lynnylu AT gmail DOT com with WHB#211 in the subject and the following details:

Your Name
Your Blog Name/URL
Your Post URL
Your Location
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Poached Donut Peaches

2009-11-21T13:52:00.005+11:00

Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I've found something new to me at the local Farmers' Market - Donut Peaches!

Depending on where you are you might know these by any one of the following names - Doughnut, Saturn, Mountain, UFO or Tobacco. While they look like something that has come out of a lab they are actually an heirloom variety that dates back to 1800's China.

They are characterised by a sweet, white flesh and an easy to remove stone and most notably by their flattened appearance.

Stone fruit are one of the few things that make summer even slightly tolerable but even so, the stone fruit found at the beginning of the season doesn't quite have that depth of flavour that comes as the season progresses. For that reason, I tend to poach the fruit as a way of bringing out that missing flavour.

For the recipe I've made today, I've made a change to my usual method and am incorporating another unusual ingredient - Wild Willow Water

It is distilled from Salix Alba - the white willow - and has a rose like flavour. You can use it as a replacement for rosewater and for this recipe, just a few drops adds another point of interest to the dish.

Poached Donut Peaches

Whole Donut Peaches
Light Sugar Syrup
Wild Willow Water, optional

Make the Light Sugar Syrup:

A light sugar syrup follows the formula of 2 parts water to 1 part sugar - you need to bring these two ingredients together in a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Once dissolved, increase the heat so it's just under boiling point and let it bubble away for 5 minutes so it reduces slightly.

You can now store this syrup in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Poach the peaches:

Place the peaches in a single layer in a pot that is large enough to snuggly hold them. Pour in enough sugar syrup to cover the peaches. Bring this slowly to a simmer, add a few drops of willow water or rose water if desired and continue to gently cook the peaches until softened.

The peaches will float so the best way to keep them submerged is to cover the pot with an oversized round of baking paper that you press so it just touches the liquid - you then place a weight on the paper to keep the peaches under the liquid.

Poaching time will depend on the size of the peaches - don't rush it as they can quickly turn from under-poached to mush. As they cook, the syrup will turn a beautiful rose colour and the gentler the process of poaching the more depth of colour you'll find.

Once poached, let the peaches cool in the liquid. Store the cold poached peaches in their syrup in the fridge.

You can eat the peaches with their skin on but if you prefer a smoother look, you can peel them when they are still warm. If you have poached them enough, the skin will easily peel away.

One other thing I like to do is to reduce the syrup for serving. Pour some of the excess syrup into a small pan and bring to a rapid boil - boil for a few minutes until the syrup thickens and the colour intensifies. Cool it slightly before serving - drizzled over the peaches it gives them a luxurious shine.