Cooking some cut up bacon, and then adding sliced cabbage. Cook in a little oil. Add peas last, if desired. Children who hate vegetables loved this mixture! Photo taken during process looking a little raw. It doesn’t take long to cook and even adults that don’t like cabbage, might like it like this. Delicious!
A tradition in our family is to make these biscuits over the festive season. They are probably more relevant to the Northern Hemisphere, but we still enjoy having them here in Australia. My Austrian/Italian mother-in-law gave me this recipe in 1967 when I first married her son. I’m sure she’d be delighted for me to share them with you all.
Vanilla Kipferl with love 😘
454g plain flour
454g butter
Pinch of salt
227g ground almonds or hazelnuts
227g castor sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Sieved icing sugar or castor sugar
The biscuits can be made in the mixer, but care must be taken not to over mix the sugar and butter.
On the board: put the mixed salt, flour and nuts on the board, make a well in the centre for the butter cut into chunks and the sugar. Work these together with the fingers, then gradually work in the surrounding flour etc. until a dough is formed.
Chill for one hour.
To form biscuits: try not to use any flour on the board as this will toughen the biscuits.
Pinch off pieces the size of a walnut and roll between palms into small balls. Roll each ball into a ‘pencil’, about 3/4 inch thick and 21/2inches long, then bend into a crescent. Arrange on ungreased sheets, leaving about 1inch between biscuits, as they may spread a little. Bake in a slow, moderate oven for 18 minutes or until a pale golden colour. Carefully lift onto a cooling tray and leave for three minutes to firm up, then dip into a bowl of icing or castor sugar.
Fellow blogger, M-R, mentioned that she’d like a recipe about muesli. I’ve copied the basic recipe out, but if anyone would like any from the list at the end, I’m very happy to copy more. Today I am going to quote from this wonderful book I bought back in the early 1970s when I was living in Zurich, as it has been my standby for all of that time. It is: ‘ Eating Your Way to Health’, Ruth Bircher, Translated by Claire Loewenfeld, published by Faber 1961.
All the Year Round
The original recipe for Muesli, worked out by Dr. Bircher-Benner, should be considered a prescription rather than a recipe. If closely followed it will not only provide the best balance of essential nutrients, but experience has shown that people will not become tired of it, if regularly taken once or twice a day- something which may easily happen if richer and more elaborate versions are offered.
Any apple which is juicy, tart and white fleshed is recommended… I am omitting varieties, as these will vary according to where you are living. Mixing varieties is recommended.
Later on in the seasons, when home-grown apples tend to become dry and tasteless, their flavour can be improved by the addition, just before serving, of some freshly-grated orange or lemon peel, orange juice or rose hip puree.
Basic Recipe
Note: Before any of the following Muesli recipes can be prepared, the rolled oats or oatmeal must be soaked beforehand for 12 hours. It is not necessary to soak the quick-cooking varieties if they have to be used. They are, however, not so valuable since heating processes have been used in their manufacture. The less heat a cereal has undergone, the greater will be its value.
1D APPLE MUESLI
Ingredients: Per person:
1 level tablespoon rolled oats (or 1 1 tablesp. Sweetened condensed
desertsp. Medium oatmeal) milk
soaked for 12 hours in 3 1 large apple (or 2-3 small ones
tablesp. water about 7 oz./ 84g. in weight)
1 tablesp. Lemon juice 1 tablesp. Grated hazelnuts or
almonds
Method:
Note: 1-2 tablesp. Water or orange juice can be added if required, depending on the variety of apple used and the length of time they have been in store.
This basic recipe gives the idea, and there are many variations such as:
2D APPLE MUESLI WITH NUT CREAM OR ALMOND PUREE
3D APPLE MUESLI WITH YOGHOURT
4D APPLE MUESLI WITH CREAM
5D MUESLI MADE WITH SOFT OR STONE FRUIT
6D MUESLI MADE FROM FRUIT MIXTURES
7D MUESLI MADE FROM DRIED FRUITS
NOTE: Apricots and plums should be avoided by anyone suffering from gastric and intestinal complaints.
D stands for diet.
Yesterday we went to our dentist, a bit of a hike, but worth having such a reliable man on the job. It gives me an opportunity to check out the magazines, and yes, I found a recipe for you:
Cherry, Halloumi and Lentil salad.
I shall simplify it and let you use a tin of lentils. Mix: 3 Tbsp. virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar ½ teaspoon Dion mustard
and let lentils marinate in this mixture.
225 g. Halloumi cheese, cut lengthwise into thick slices.
Cook the cheese to brown.
150g. Cherries pitted and halved.
1 Tbsp. chopped mint
½ red onion sliced finely
Wild rocket
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top.
If you don’t have cherries any juicy fruit could be added, like white nectarine, peach, or mango or fresh sweet ripe pear.
On the way home, my recent post came to mind where I wrote about our friend dying. Tony, nicknamed ‘Bopper Boy’, (as he always played the latest music and loved his trendy car), appeared. Well, a sleek, swanky American left hand drive car drove up behind us, (that he would have loved). Chris said,
‘Looks like Bopper Boy’s behind us!’
By the time it passed us, I had no time to take a photo, as my phone has a code to be typed in etc. We were both amazed to see his initials on the number plate, ‘TB 1968.’ What a strange coincidence!
So to fill his character out a little more, I’d like to share his last e-mail with you, which shows his quirky sense of humour. His spirit will live on in our lives:
Tony B.
Chilli
A hungry bloke walks into a seedy cafe in Glasgow.
He sits in the counter and notices a Jock with his arms folded,
staring blankly at a bowl of chili
After ten minutes of just sitting there staring at it, the hungry
bloke bravely asks.
“If you aren’t going to eat that, mind if I do?”
The old Jock slowly turns his head toward the young bloke and says.
“Nah, ye can gae ahead.”
Eagerly, the young bloke reaches over and slides the bowl over to
his place and starts spooning it in with delight.
He gets nearly down to the bottom and notices a dead mouse in the chili.
The sight was shocking and he immediately pukes up the chili
back into the bowl.
The old Jock says. “Aye, that’s as far as I got too.”
This recipe is for Maggie: Yesterday I made 24 medium jars of pear relish, and tasting it last night we were delighted with it. Please don’t think we quaff such large quantities, they are distributed throughout the family and a few friends…
Pear Chutney
10.896 Kg /12lb pears 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
14 g / 1/2 oz of salt 1/2 oz cloves
5 1/2 Kg / 6lb. sugar 2 onions
12 cups / 3 pints vinegar 56 gm. / 2 oz. root ginger
Put ginger, cloves and onions in a bag and boil in vinegar. Cut pears in small pieces and cook gently till tender, adding sugar. Once sugar is there it does need stirring. Remove bag. (I did add some cornflour, a couple of tablespoons mixed to a paste to bring a little thickening). Bottle and seal. I found I had too much juice, so strained the last bit and tipped it out the excess juice.
This I cooked in two large pots, it really needs a jam pan. Half quantity would make 12 jars.
Pear Chutney 29th April 2014
Ingredients:
4 Kg ripe tomatoes, 11/2 Kg onions
3/4 cup salt, 11/2 Kg sugar
3 level tablespoons curry powder, 4 1/2 level tbsp mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1.7 litre white vinegar
1 tablespoon of cornflour
Method:
Tomato Relish (double mixture- 2 pots)
Today I decided to share an easy recipe that is always good to have tucked away, for those times when you don’t feel like baking. This can be used on icecream or poured over poached pears.
Boil to required consistency.It needs to be easy to pour over icecream.
Original recipe written by Mrs. W. T. Findlay, Campbell Town, Tasmania
published in ‘The 21st Birthday Cookery Book of the Country Women’s Association in Tasmania’ 1963
Barbara Pyett 