Myrtle & Thyme

Chai Spice Loaf Cake

It has been so refreshing visiting family in other parts of the state and enjoying the better weather that Hobart seems to have missed out on, It has also been a time for a lot of ‘firsts’ for me.

In this time I completed the longest bush-walk that I have ever attempted (even though it was a pretty modest 5 hr walk), built a chicken house and grown some garlic! All of which I am very excited about!

If anyone enjoys getting out and seeing Tassie I highly recommend the Cape Raoul walk, it was absolutely stunning and took my breath away. Walking out at the end of the day to a sunset bathing us in a warm golden glow really does remind me of why I live in such a special place!

Another first for me was a DIY project to build a chicken coop, and move in two lovely Welsummer ladies that I have decided to call Henny and Penny. This is part of a birthday present for my mother, and by trying to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious lately, I thought that some chickens to provide eggs, deal with kitchen scraps and fertilise the garden would be a nice idea.

Finally I took a gamble on a very not well thought out plan, and tried to plant some Australian purple garlic that I found reduced in the supermarket and shooting in the packet. I honestly have no idea what I am doing but they are starting to grow and I can’t wait to see the end result.

This recipe is also a ‘first’. I have never tried a chai that was a real spice mix and not the powdered version. When you do things you better do them right, right? So here is a recipe using Pollen Tea Room/TeaTribe Masala Chai.

Chai Spice Loaf Cake

200g plain flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

150g butter, cut into small pieces and softened

2 ½ Tbs Pollen Tea Room Masala Chai

150g coconut sugar

4 eggs

Small knob of butter, for icing

½ C icing sugar

Line a medium loaf tin and preheat the oven to 180^oC.

Grind the chai mix in a mortar and pestle until it is as fine as possible (pick out any big chunky bits like stray cardamom pods). Beat this with the butter in a mixing bowl either by machine or hand. Add the coconut sugar and keep beating for approximately 5 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, also adding 2 Tbs of the flour with each egg to avoid the mixture splitting. Finally gently stir through the remaining flour and the baking powder.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

When the cake is completely cooled make the icing by placing the sugar and butter in a bowl and adding 1 Tbs of boiling water at a time, mixing well with a fork, until you have an icing or glaze at the desired consistency.

Spread this over the top of the loaf and enjoy large slices with butter!

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

Stout and Rosemary Sausage Rolls #TASMANIAWEEK

The final installment for #TASMANIAWEEK is here! 7 recipes in 7 days, it has flown by so fast! I have really enjoyed bringing these recipes to life and hope that this has inspired you to try a new Tasmanian product! This recipe to conclude the week is a more adult version of party sausage rolls, because lets face it you never stop loving party sausage rolls!

(I will be heading to the Farm Gate Market tomorrow, looking for more inspiration for Tassie produce to use, I can't wait!)

Stout and Rosemary Sausage Rolls

2 sheets puff pastry

400g pork mince

1 spring onion, finely sliced

4-5 Tbs Rosemary stout jus

2 Tbs Milk

2 Tbs Water

Rosemary stout jus

¼ C Hillfarm caramelised onion

1 bottle Van Dieman oatmeal stout

1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 large sprigs rosemary

To make the jus: place all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on medium until sauce thickens, approx. 5-10 minutes. This is an excellent sauce for gamey meats, I used some that I had left over from a lamb pot roast.

Preheat the oven to 190^oC.

Combine the mince, spring onions and jus in a mixing bowl and use your hands or a spoon to combine well. Half the pastry lengthways and arrange equal portions of the mince along the middle of the pastry pieces.

Gently roll over the pastry to enclose the meat, brushing a little of the water along the join of the pastry to help it stick. Cut in to 5cm party sized sausage rolls and arrange on a lined baking tray.

Brush a little of the milk on top of each roll to help it get that lovely golden colour in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the meat is cooked through and the pastry has puffed.

NOTES: As you can see from the photos I only had shortcrust pastry on hand the day I made these, shortcrust works for sausage rolls but you do miss the gorgeous flakiness that puff gives them. These are also pretty juicy, so it may be worthwhile baking them on a wire rack in your baking dish to ensure the bottom is lovely and crisp as well.

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

Baked Camembert #TASMANIAWEEK

Sometimes things don't have to be complicated and fiddly to be impressive. I often find that despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise the simplest things truly do give the most pleasure. A hug from a loved one, reading a good book in the warm sunlight, simple and humble food that is shared with the people you love.

This is the sort of ethos that I am endeavoring to create within this blog and the community of people that are reading it. Simple and humble food. This latest recipe displays this idea beautifully. Few ingredients, simple steps, delicious food. I thought I liked camembert before I tried this baked one, boy was I misled! This oozy delectable cheese shines in this dish, it's not just stuck on a board with little love, but carefully encouraged to release its full range of flavour.

Of course I am using a Tasmanian product and for this recipe it had to be the cheese, this particular wheel is from Wicked Cheese Co. an excellent company based in Richmond.

Baked Camembert

1 wheel of Wicked Cheese Co. Richmond Range camembert

Small handful of thyme

Lemon zest, I used a vegetable peeler to get 2 thick strips

Small drizzle olive oil

Crackers or crusty bread to serve

Preheat the oven to 180^oC.

Make 5 small incisions in the top of the cheese rind, then insert a small sprig of thyme in to each one. Place onto a square of baking paper then drizzle with oil, top with lemon and add any leftover thyme. Wrap the cheese up well in the baking paper, to secure it. I then wrapped a sheet of aluminium foil around the baking paper.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until delightfully oozy on the inside.

Serve immediately with crackers or bread.

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

Spiked Bread and Butter Pudding #TASMANIAWEEK

It's one of those calm, wintery, sunny days today. The sunlight brings a welcome change from the gloomy temperament Hobart has had lately, and it makes my mind wander far away. I dream of one day owning a modest weatherboard house, painted robins egg blue, in the country with just enough land for a vegetable patch and some chickens.
We used to have chickens while I was growing up and I loved finding the eggs in funny places, like under a fern in the garden. I can still remember when I found an egg in the barn amongst the hay bales. I was so proud that I popped it into the top pocket of my bright 80s-esque puffy jacket, and promptly tripped over crushing the egg and my dreams of boiled eggs and toast soldiers for lunch.

I need to be careful with my daydreaming, sometimes I worry that the places I create are so lovely I might just like to stay there.

This Bread and butter pudding has a little dreamy twist to it too, a dash of Bailey's Irish Cream! It goes so well with the flavours in the fruit loaf from Jackman and McRoss Bakers that every body is sure to find something they love in this warm, custardy pudding.

Spiked Bread and Butter Pudding

10 thick slices Jackman and McRoss Dutch walnut and fruit loaf

90g Butter

½ C Dark chocolate chips

½ C Brown sugar

6 Eggs

2 C Milk

300ml Thickened cream

1/3 C Baileys Irish cream

Spread each side of the bread slices lightly with butter and cut in half diagonally.

Place half of the bread in the base of a large baking dish, top with half of the sugar and half the choc chips. Then repeat with the remaining bread, sugar and chocolate to form a second layer.

Whisk all the wet ingredients in a bowl until combined, then pour over the bread in the prepared tin. Make sure the bread is covered with the egg mixture, then set aside for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180^oC.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the pudding has set and is golden on top. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

Quince and Persimmon Teacake #TASMANIAWEEK

It's coming to the end of quince and persimmon season, so to use up a little fruit before it was too ripe I decided to make this delightful teacake. The inspiration for combining the two fruits came from local Battery Point trees, which look gorgeous in their winter splendor right now. The trees look so beautiful covered in yellow and orange gems of goodness. I had never tried a fresh persimmon before I had them to make this cake, I was very pleasantly surprised that it didn't taste like a tomato at all, despite looking suspiciously similar. They really are delicious, I suppose they are like a cross between a pear, apple and nectarine in flavour. If you haven't tried one before it's not too late to pop out and find some if you are lucky enough to have a tree in your neighborhood.

This recipe uses gorgeous whole cream milk from Pyengana Dairy. I really do think everything tastes better (and is better for you) with whole milk instead of skim, so I only ever use full fat dairy.

Quince and Persimmon Teacake

250g Butter, diced, at room temperature

3 Eggs

1 C Caster sugar

¾ C Almond meal

¾ C Pyengana Milk

2 ¼ C Self-raising flour

½ C Rolled oats

½ C Brown sugar

25g Butter, softened, extra

1 Persimmon, stem and calyx removed, sliced thickly

2 Quinces, peeled, quartered

3/4 C Brown sugar, extra

1 ½ tsp Ground cinnamon

To poach quince: Place 3 cups of water, cinnamon and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat gently until sugar begins to dissolve. Add the quince. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour until tender. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180^oC and grease and line a 22cm round tin.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter on med-high speed until it turns pale. Add your room temperature eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute between each addition. This stops the mix from curdling. Turn your mixer down to its lowest setting and gradually add the milk and flour, alternating between each. Finally add in the almond meal and beat gently until just combined.

Place half of the batter into the prepared tin, slice the quince, and layer both the quince and persimmon on the batter, top the fruit with the last of the batter. Cook in the oven for 1 hour.

While the cake is cooking combine the extra brown sugar, oats, and butter in a bowl and stir well. After the one hour is up, top the cake with the oat mix, return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool slightly before removing from the tin.

Serve warm with some double cream if desired.

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

Tarkine Soup (Ham and Nettle Soup) #TASMANIAWEEK

I grew up in a scenic part of the North West of Tasmania, very close to Mt. Roland. I used to spend many happy days on the farm with my grandmother, and she would often tell me about the "moods of the mountain". She was referring to the beautiful shades of blue, pink, orange, red and purple the mountain would shine in the sunset. Cooking this week has reminded me a lot of my grandma, and I truly hope that you may find some sort of comfort in my food that she gave me in hers.

After such a lovely sunny weekend the weather has once again turned grey and cold. To remedy such a steely day I have made a warm thick soup to ward off winter.

You may well wonder why I called this dish "Tarkine Soup", though these two ideas don't usually go hand in hand I could think of no better description for the shade of green this glossy soup became.

I think nettles are such an underrated ingredient these days, a certain amount of care does need to be taken so you don't end up with tingling hands, but the reward of the unique earthy flavour in this soup is just so worth it!

Tarkine Soup (Ham and Nettle Soup)

1 carrot, roughly diced

1 medium leek, sliced (only use the white part)

2 sticks celery, roughly diced

1L vegetable stock

200g Harvest Feast stinging nettles, well washed

1 cup frozen peas

700g Scottsdale Pork ham hock

1 medium potato (I used Bintji), halved lengthways

2 Tbs ghee

Heat the ghee in a large saucepan or pot on a med-high heat, add in the celery, carrot and leek and stir occasionally until the vegetables soften slightly. Place the ham hock on top of the veggies and pour in the stock so that it just covers the meat. Bring the soup up to a simmer then reduce heat to low, place the lid on slightly askew, and simmer for 1 and a half hours. Add the potato to the soup and simmer gently for a further 30 minutes.

In the meantime separate the leaves from the stems of the nettles (because I didn’t have thick gloves I held the nettle stems with tongs and cut off the leaves with kitchen shears, this might look a little awkward but it’s better than getting stung!) discard the stems and put the leaves to one side.

Take out the ham hock from the broth, remove the skin and bone then shred the meat. Add the peas and nettle leaves to the soup and stir for two minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool slightly before blending with a stick blender. Be careful not to splash yourself with hot liquid! When the soup is smooth, add in the ham and stir through.

Simply serve with a nice crack of black pepper and a crusty roll.

If you try this let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Much love M&T

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Myrtle & Thyme

Chai Spice Loaf Cake

Stout and Rosemary Sausage Rolls #TASMANIAWEEK

Baked Camembert #TASMANIAWEEK

Spiked Bread and Butter Pudding #TASMANIAWEEK

Quince and Persimmon Teacake #TASMANIAWEEK

Tarkine Soup (Ham and Nettle Soup) #TASMANIAWEEK

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