Adding to the larder

Since I've made some natural yoghurt I thought it would be a good idea to make some Lubneh for some variety. There are two types, the one that is like a dip, and the one that is a much thicker, cheesy texture and rolled into balls.

I'm making the balls today. 

Lubneh balls

Lubneh

500g natural yoghurt

dried oregano leaves or italian mixed herbs

ground chilli to taste

salt to taste

sunflower oil

Put the natural yoghurt in a muslin cloth, or a pillow case.

Twist the case until the yoghurt is squeezed into the bottom of the case and tie it somewhere so the water drains away.

I tie it around the spout and let it hang in the kitchen sink. That way there’s no mess.

If you want the lubneh that is more like a dip, let the water strain for about an hour, if you want to make the labna balls let it hang for a few hours to get rid of more water. This will make it easier to roll into balls.

So once the water has been strained mix the chilli and salt and a little bit of herbs through. Roll them into bite size balls.

Then roll them through herbs and a bit more chilli until they are well covered. Place them in a jar and cover in oil. Store in the fridge.

Traditionally served at breakfast with lebanese bread. Drizzle some of the oil from the jar on top, it tastes great once the flavours have had some time to develop.

It's also beautiful crumbled into a salad. Enjoy!

Waste not want not

So I had about a litre of lite milk in my fridge that was going out of date. I know what you're thinking. I thought you said you only drink full fat?

Well I do, which is why this carton was never fully used. But you can't just throw away milk, it's wrong!

Next time you have a bit of milk in the fridge that is about to go off, or is a day or so past its best before date, stop. 

Don't throw it out, I know it's off, but you can turn it into something wonderful!

Making natural yoghurt takes me back to the sweet dairy smell of my Tayta's* house.

She always had a few cows. They were her main source of income after my grandfather remarried. She made cheese, butter, and yoghurt to sell in the markets in Syria.

With the money she made she successfully kept a roof over her head, brought up her remaining two children and gave them an education.

Legend has it that she stitched her money into the curtains in the house so my grandfather would never find it, and sure enough he never did!

It was a sad day when she sold her cows. 

For her it was an indication that she was getting old, and that she couldn't be so independent any more.

For me making this is like taking part in history. According to Wikipedia, 'there is evidence of cultured milk products in cultures as far back as 2000 BCE'.

It's also a respect thing, to food and women who just pick themselves up and get on with it.

Natural Yoghurt 

This is an age old method that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations.

My great grandmother taught my grandmother, she taught my mum, and mum taught me.

So natural yoghurt gets pretty emotional at Kiki's Table!

1 litre milk

1 cup natural yoghurt (this is your culture)

In a medium sized pot bring milk to a slow boil and turn off heat to cool. 

For natural yoghurt to work the milk needs to be at a particular temperature. 

Don't ask me what this is but here's the history part:

Every good Lebanese girl, or Syrian girl for that matter, has been taught this way. When you can put your pinky finger in the milk for 10 seconds and take it out without feeling like you have to yank it, then it's the right temperature.

I love this, although we have thermometers now this is still the way it's made at home across Arabia.

Once it's reached the right temperature stir some hot milk into the natural yoghurt until it's all mixed in. Then pour and stir this through the rest of the hot milk. Now the milk is ready to be set.

Pour the milk mixture into a container you would like to set it in. I like something airtight.

Then wrap in a towel and store in a dark place for 8 hours or overnight.

Refrigerate when set.

Notes

* Tayta means grandma in Arabic

** For a richer yoghurt always use full cream milk and a rich yoghurt for your culture.

*** For a lighter yoghurt use skinny milk, and a lighter yoghurt for culture. This will set slightly runnier than full fat yoghurt, and have a more sour taste. If it sets too runny, don't panic, just run it through a sieve to get rid of the extra water. That should thicken it up.

Therapy

Apart from the fact that it's Monday, today has been a bit of a drama. Back at my regular waitressing day job it was quiet this morning, clearly the cold left our regulars too stunned to leave the house, or so I think.

Then I had a diner who ordered chicken caesar salad, no anchovies. So I brought it over with the dressing, to which he asked, 'are there any anchovies in this? Because if I have them I will die'. 

Now, I know allergies pretty well, and thought I knew food pretty well too, so I assured him there weren't any in the dressing. On my way back to the kitchen I double checked with the chef to which he replied, 'yes'. 

I nearly died, and so did he! I ran back just in time to save him. I grabbed the plate of dressing and apologised I think about a hundred times.

I felt physically ill afterwards just thinking what might have been.

I'm afraid I wasn't prepared for Chicken Caesar today as a recipe, sorry to disappoint! I don't really make it but I'll keep it up my sleeve for another time.

After a rather emotionally exhausting day, it's time for some therapy. The carbohydrate sort. 

Pasta! Hooray!

I had some left over in the fridge, and since my fridge is brimming with fresh herbs at the moment I'm going for gold.

I love having cooked pasta in the fridge, it's so quick and easy to turn it into a meal for one. Plus, it's a welcome change from toast. I need more today, it was rough!

Chilli Olive Spaghetti with Basil, and Rocket Salad for one

Bowl of cooked pasta

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Freshly cracked black pepper

Pinch of salt

6 marinated olives chopped

Small handful of grated Parmesan

6 Basil leaves chopped coarsely

Handful of rocket

Dry chilli flakes to taste

In a bowl toss the olives, olive oil, salt and pepper through the pasta and microwave on high for about a minute stirring half way.

No microwave? Just heat on the stove in a pan until warmed through.

Toss through basil leaves and rocket and finish with chilli and and grated parmesan. 

Notes: 

* Use any olives you like, kalamata is good, as are green olives.

I used green olives marinated in rosemary and chilli. 

I marinated a big batch during the Easter break earlier this year. It's the best time to do them, they're in season and there's plenty of time for splitting and soaking, and cleaning the mess up!

Anyway I'll write about those another time.

** To make your pasta look awesome, once you've tossed everything through, get a fork and twirl all the spaghetti around it in the bowl. Then lightly lift it, while removing the fork, so it stands proud and tall. I got this trick from a Donna Hay magazine. It only works if you don't break the pasta, so don't break the pasta!

*** Eating your emotions is good therapy after a hard day...

Sunday Pizza Part 2

So I went to the State Library to check out an exhibition of news photography.

After that Simon and I went 'round to Town Hall station that has the handiest Woolworths ever, right next to the ticket area, so I didn't have to go far at all!

We picked up some supplies and caught the train home. We were quite hungry after the exhibition, and emotionally drained. Some of the images were very moving and confronting.

Back at home I got back onto pizza. It had doubled in size just beautifully.

You forget how awesome it is when you make it yourself. For some reason I'm not as thirsty at the end of my meal in comparison to when we get the takeaway sort. I think there must be heaps of oil and salt in the latter.

 

Firstly, I kneaded the dough once more, and then divided it into three equal parts.

Before I started the toppings I gave each pizza the following base:

 

Tomato sauce for 3 small pizza's:

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 tsp brown sugar

a few sprigs of freshly chopped oregano

drizzle of olive oil, 

crushed clove garlic

Then I topped each with:

Small handful of sliced onion

Good handful of mozzarella 

Each pizza took about 10-15 mins in a 240C oven.

L-R:  Margherita, Curried Mushroom, Chilli Anchovy & Mushroom

Curried mushrooms with rocket, minted yoghurt, 

and green tomato relish 

Curried Mushrooms (from earlier today)

6 good size mushrooms, whichever you like

1/2 tsp Keen's Curry

Pinch salt

A few sprigs of freshly chopped coriander

Drizzle olive oil

Mix it all up in bowl and let it marinate for an hour or so.

1/3 sliced green capsicum

Put capsicum and mushrooms on your pizza and top with extra mozzarella.

Top the centre with fresh rocket and minted yoghurt, and a dollop of relish on each slice to serve.

Minted Yoghurt

A few sprigs of freshly chopped mint

2 tablespoons natural yoghurt

Pinch salt. (you dont need to do this, it's just the Lebo in me that makes me do it)

This was an absolute cracker! I was so happy with it. The green tomato relish gives it some sweetness, which goes really well with the curry spices, tang of the yoghurt, and the bitterness of the rocket.

Chilli Anchovy & Mushroom
No explanation needed. You like it salty, use heaps of anchovies. You like it chilli, use heaps of chilli. You like mushrooms... you get the idea...

On this little pizza I used a 45g can of anchovies, which I thought was a bit too much. Next time I'll use half as much.

Foreground: Margherita Pizza

Margherita

Small handful fresh basil finely chopped

Mozzarella

Dont be fooled by the simplicity of this pizza. I'm still perfecting it. I've learnt to use fresh basil, and cover the leaves with mozzarella (not tasty cheese) so you don't burn them in the oven. This preserves the sweetness of the leaves during baking and stops them turning bitter.

I had some extra rocket left over so I tossed in with some baked sweet potato, olive oil, and balsamic. Good food can't go to waste!

Sunday Pizza

So today I'm making pizza. I love to do it on days like today because there is loads of time to prove your dough, and also to gather all your favourite toppings.
My little brother has a pizza shop so I've learnt a few tricks from him, which I will be sharing today.
First thing, you could actually get away with making a decent pizza dough during the week without all the proving time. As far as Az is concerned it goes like this:

1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
satchet of yeast
2 cups plain flour
Pinch of salt
Drizzle of olive oil

Dissolve sugar in warm water, add your satchel of yeast cover and let it rise for 10 mins or until frothy.

In a large bowl mix it in with the plain flour, pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Kneed until smooth.

Leave aside in a warm place, and go for a smoke. (Not that I will be doing that!)
After one cigarette it's ready to go so pat it out onto a pizza tray, prick the dough with a fork, top with your favourite topping, and place in a preheated 240C oven until golden underneath.

However he does say the longer you leave your dough the fluffier it gets so I'm doing that today. I like it airy...
Plus I want to get a few more things. Like a capsicum, and maybe some rocket.

I'm really craving some mushrooms today so I've marinated some in Keens Curry. I know it's lazy but I can't be bothered to make my own paste. I've chopped up some fresh coriander to with it. That'll do.

I've covered my dough so I'm heading out for a few hours.

Fat

 

No more skinny milk please. Giving me skinny milk is like saying 'may your bones crumble into a million pieces'. Cows were made for milking, not for fat reducing. No thanks, give me the full cow and nothing but the full cow. And thank goodness for the French, at least they appreciate the pleasures of having butter in EVERYTHING! Not that I'm going to go that far...Did I just contradict myself?

Salutations...

Hello,

My name is Sarah Elali. I have a love for food, you say role, I think salad roll!

This blog will centre around food and things that are perhaps discussed around a table. We'll see anyway, depends on how committed I am.

I'm doing this because I need to talk about food, I'm leaving the hospitality industry behind and want somewhere else to unleash my passion.

We'll see if I can keep away... for those of you who are in hospitality know it's difficult to stay away. I'm a graduate architect and traded my scale ruler in for an apron and spoon two years ago, and I have loved it, although my feet haven't! But it's the characters you meet that keep you coming back, and the most wonderful medium of all - food.

Anyway I hope to meet some characters here and write a thing or two on my favourite subject in the world.