Happy Hour Cocktail: Mackay Martini...

My parents house move was successful and they are now busily settling in to their new home.

One of the house warming gifts they received was a bag of bush lemons from a friend’s garden. I had never heard of them before and they are certainly strange looking things.

They have a very intense lemon flavour which adds a wonderful fresh zing. I use lemon zest on pasta, in salads, soups, in muffins, breads and on yoghurt. It really brings a fresh summery pick me up to so many dishes.

Lemon juice is ideal for salad dressings, marinades and as an addition to drinks – particularly cocktails.

Last night for happy hour I decided to make one of my favourite drinks: a gin martini. A martini needs a good helping of lemon peel and it gave me a great excuse to try the bush lemons.

It was lemony and delicious and provided a welcome happy hour break from unpacking boxes!

Luna Raye’s Mackay Martini

Ingredients

1 ounce good quality gin ( Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray are ideal choices)

1 capful of dry vermouth

3 generous strips of bush lemon peel (if you can’t get ahold of bush lemons use the peel from regular UNWAXED lemons).

Add about 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice.

Directions

In a glass add 3 ice cubes.

Add the capful of dry vermouth and swish around the glass coating the ice cubes and bottom half of the glass.

Add the ounce of gin.

Add the bush lemon peel and juice.

(If you aren’t using bush lemons then add the unwaxed peel and juice of a regular lemon).

Enjoy!

If only the oven was working I would love to use the lemons to make a lemon drizzle cake.

Bush Lemon an essential ingredient in the Mackay Martini

Mackay Martini

Moving Day Macaroni And Cheese...

Today was moving day for my parents. My husband and I woke up early to help pack boxes and move things into my mum and dad’s new home.

I know that moving can be a very stressful time but somehow we managed to get everything done with a minimum of fuss.

One of the big tasks was clearing out the old kitchen. That meant using up as much food as we could in the fridge. Fortunately there wasn’t much left, just some vegetables that needed to be eaten.

A great way to use up vegetables (and to hide them from kids who otherwise may not eat them) is to make macaroni and cheese. This is a super recipe I got from mum which I have adapted to use up stray veggies.

Unlike macaroni and cheese that uses a traditional white sauce, this recipe has a tomato base which makes it really quick and very simple.

The following recipe is for 4-5 people.

Luna Raye’s Moving Day Macaroni And Cheese.

Ingredients

2 tins of chopped organic tomatoes

2 cups of macaroni (uncooked)

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

2 medium carrots chopped into bite sized pieces

1/2 cup broccoli chopped into bite sized pieces

6 green beans cut into thirds

2 1/2 – 3 cups grated cheese (I use mature cheddar). Keep 1/2 – 1 cup for the topping.

1 cup bread crumbs or crushed crackers, corn flakes or crisps for a crunchy topping

9 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters

Directions

Empty the 2 tins of chopped tomatoes into a large casserole dish.

Add the dried herbs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, chopped onion and mix well.

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking prepare the vegetables. You can use pretty much anything. In the past I have also used celery, courgette (zucchini), pumpkin and red or yellow peppers. (I find green peppers can go slightly bitter when cooked).

Just make sure whatever veggies you decide to use are chopped finely as they will not be pre cooked. A little bit of texture is nice but you don’t want them too crunchy.

When all the veggies are chopped set the cherry tomatoes to one side.

Add the remaining vegetables along with the cheese to the tomato mixture in the casserole dish.

Once macaroni is cooked drain it and add to the casserole dish.

Stir everything around again to really mix it all up.

Cover with 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese and 1 cup of breadcrumbs or whatever you want to use for your crunchy topping.

Finally, scatter the quartered cherry tomatoes on top.

Cook at 180 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until bubbling.

Cover the casserole dish with aluminium foil for about 25 -30 minutes of the cooking time so the top doesn’t brown too quickly.

Enjoy!

Of course you don’t have to put any extra vegetables in this dish at all. It works just as well with the tinned tomatoes, macaroni and cheese (plus herbs, mustard and Worcestershire sauce). But it IS a great way to use up those stray veggies lurking in your fridge. It also gave us a much needed boost of energy to pack a few more boxes!

Strawberry Season in Queensland...

It is strawberry season here in Queensland Australia and I can’t get enough of this beautiful fruit!

We visited a local farmer’s market in Mackay and stocked up. I have to say they are truly THE BEST strawberries I have ever tasted (sorry England).

What I really love about these strawberries is that they are so juicy and flavourful you want to eat them just as they are. A delicious, wonderful gift from Mother Nature.

Smoked Salmon Pasta...

Last night my mum made her famous smoked salmon pasta. She put us all to work in the kitchen and the result was a delicious meal with plenty of laughs and stories along the way.

I did make a version of this dish awhile back but I used inferior smoked salmon which resulted in an unpleasant fishy mush. So if you do decide to make this dish it is worth getting organic ethically sourced salmon.

The original recipe is from Simply Recipes and is for two people. We just doubled everything and there was plenty for the four of us.

Here is the original recipe for two people.

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti or linguine

Salt

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup chopped shallots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine (can substitute pasta cooking water with Tbsp of lemon juice)

1/4 cup cream (mum uses low fat sour cream)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lemon zest ( divided into 2 separate servings)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or dill

4 ounces smoked salmon cut into bite sized pieces

Fresh ground black pepper

Optional 1/2 cup lightly steamed broccoli cut into small pieces

Directions

Heat to boiling a large pot of salted water.

While water is heating lightly toast pine nuts in a single layer in a large skillet.

Once pine nuts are lightly browned remove from heat and set aside.

Once water is boiling add the pasta according to package directions and cook till pasta is al dente.

While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce. In a large skillet heat olive oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook these over a medium heat for approximately 2 minutes or until softened.

Then gradually add white wine, lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of the lemon zest.

Increase the hear and let it boil down by half.

Then, for a slightly creamier sauce, add the cream and let it boil for a further minute.

The sauce should be done at the same time as the pasta. If not simply remove it from the heat.

Once the pasta is cooked remove a cup of the cooking water before draining it.

Drain pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. If it’s dry then just add a little bit of the reserved pasta water.

Add the smoked salmon, toasted pine nuts, parsley and the remaining 1 Tbsp of lemon zest.

If using broccoli you can add it at this point.

Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

Happy Hour Cocktail: Negroni...

Happy hour is a family tradition. After the day’s work is done we gather together for a cocktail (or two) before dinner.

We talk about the days events, have a laugh and sometimes even indulge in a tv show. While in Australia my husband and I have become addicted to The Millionaires Hot Seat.

Today we settled in to watch the show with a fantastic cocktail called a Negroni. My dad first made these for us many years ago and we were instantly taken with the crisp bitterness of the drink.

This isn’t a traditional recipe in that we use slightly less Campari and Sweet Vermouth but these measurements are a personal preference. For a more traditional Negroni just use equal measurements of Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth.

Luna Raye’s Happy Hour Negroni

Ingredients

1 ounce good quality gin
1/2 ounce Campari
1/3 ounce sweet Vermouth

Directions

Mix ingredients over ice in a small tumbler

Stir with swizzle stick

Enjoy!

West Side Story And Peppercorn Sauce...

Musicals have never been one of my favourite things but when I was given the opportunity to see West Side Story at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney’s Star City I couldn’t refuse.

Although I wasn’t really familiar with the story I knew it was based on Romeo and Juliet. I was surprised when I heard so many songs that I knew; I Feel Pretty, Somewhere and America are songs I have hummed in the kitchen while cooking. At least now I know where they come from!

The production was wonderful and the cast brilliant. Alinta Chidzey who played Anita was absolutely terrific and for me was the real star of the show. Another treat was the presence of an orchestra which really added some extra magic to the musical numbers.

The show was part of a dinner theatre experience. We were treated to steak with salad, potato wedges and a rich creamy peppercorn sauce. I decided that I wanted to try to make the sauce when I next got the chance. Tonight my dad threw some steaks on the barbi so it was the perfect excuse to make the peppercorn sauce.

It was much easier to make then I thought and what I loved was that it gave me a chance to cook with a new ingredient; green peppercorns in brine. This was delicious on steak and on the accompanying boiled potatoes.

Fortunately for everyone in the kitchen I refrained from humming any songs (I was too busy licking the spoon).

Luna Raye’s recipe for creamy peppercorn sauce.

Ingredients

3 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp green peppercorns in brine (drained and 1/2 of them crushed the other 1/2 left whole)
3 – 4 Tbsp of thickened cream

Directions

Heat butter in frying pan and add shallots and garlic.

Cook a few minutes until softened but be careful not to burn the butter.

Add the white wine and the chicken stock.

Cook until the liquid has halved.

Add the Dijon mustard, peppercorns and cream.

Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and season with salt.

Serve with steak, on burgers or over potatoes.

Enjoy!

Home Cooked Favourites: Calgary Pot Roast....

After more than a week of travelling through Sydney and Brisbane, we have reached our final destination of Mackay, Australia.

My family has always moved around a lot. We lived in Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. I eventually moved to the UK and my parents have been living in various parts of the South Pacific for the past 12 years.

We are still very close despite the many miles that separate us. Although we may not get the opportunity to see one another as often as we’d like when we do get together we always have a great time.

Preparing good food and enjoying fine wines (plus a martini or two) is something we ALL enjoy! We like to try new recipes but more than anything we like to cook some old family favourites that remind us of past times and places we have lived.

To celebrate ‘coming home’ to Australia my mum made one of my all time favourite meals; Calgary Pot Roast. It is a big tasty plate of home cooked comfort and a wonderful meal to share with friends and family.

It was a typical Sunday night meal we would have when we lived in Quebec. Usually served with green beans and mashed potatoes and a hearty red wine. Afterwards we would watch All Creatures Great And Small and I would dream of going to live in England and my dad would reminisce about the country where he was born.

For me this meal was not just about wonderful flavours. It was about being with my family, remembering good times and creating happy new memories too!

Luna Raye’s Mum’s Recipe For Calgary Pot Roast.

Ingredients

1.5 Kgs (3 1/2 lbs) of boneless beef
5 ml (1 tsp) dry mustard
2 ml (1tsp) salt
125 ml (1/2 cup) onions finely chopped
1 can (213 ml or 7 1/2 oz) tomato sauce
25 ml (2 Tbsp) white wine vinegar
2 ml (1/2 tsp) thyme (we used fresh)
1 ml (1/4 tsp) black pepper
2 cloves garlic minced

Directions

Preheat oven to 160 (325).
Place beef in casserole dish.
Rub mustard and salt into surface of the meat.
Top with the chopped onions and minced garlic.
In separate bowl combine the tomato sauce, vinegar, thyme and pepper.
Once mixed pour over the beef and cover tightly.
Bake for approximately 3 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.

You will have plenty of sauce left over in the casserole dish which can be put in a gravy boat and poured over the mash.

Another tip is to add about a 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms and a glass of red wine about 2 hours into the cooking time. It just gives the dish an even deeper and richer flavour.

Enjoy!