Rob's Page

Hello world, it's me again.
Yes folks I've finally decided to take up my blogging pen again and have another go at this sporadic interest of mine. I'm going to try a different tactic this time and make it more of a personal journal that you are more than welcome to nosey in on. I plan to make it my garden diary and notebook to record all my thoughts and actions as and when I need to jot them down.
There are far too many notebooks lying around the house with bits and pieces of info on them so they may very well all end up on here instead!

So a quick entry for today and it's a garden one.
Spring is definitely in the air. There are daisies in the lawn, the trees in the garden are blossoming and the lawn is getting less bog-like. I am researching irrigation systems to cut down on the amount of time I spend watering each day in the summer so I can spend more time tending the plants (read drinking beers in the sunshine). I'm leaning towards drip irrigation but a gardening friend of mine favours spray irrigation - all very interesting stuff don't you agree!!

Anyway, the juices have officially been released but I must draw a close to proceedings as we are off round the in-laws tonight for dinner.....

Blog soon........

Had a nice day out today, drove 45 mins east of central Auckland to a nice little regional park. Along the way drove through a very new area of Auckland (Botany Downs) (very American suburban sprawl) then out into the countryside. Drove through some nice little rural villages before hitting the Hauraki coast. Drove down the coast for a while, passing numerous near deserted beaches before ending up at Duder Regional Park.
Had a very pleasant two hour walk on a pohutukawa (NZ Christmas tree) fringed peninsula which juts out into the Tamaki Strait. Spectacular 360' views with great rolling pasture, high coastal ridges and a remote headland. Best of all was the Pa (ruined fortified Maori village) on the headland, a great spot to relax in the shade, away from the nasty midday sun.

The sourdough starter has now been left for 12 days at room temperature. The grapes have fermented and the muslin bag they were in has inflated with the gases that the grapes have given off. So......

Raise the muslin bag out of the mixture and squeeze any remaining juice back into the white mass (pic #1), then discard the grapes and the bag. Give the starter a good stir, it should have a slight pinkish tinge (pic #2) to it and a sour, grapey smell that can be a little unpleasant. (Oh yes it was!!!)

Then pour away approximately one-third (400ml) of the initial starter mixture and the stir in the 'feeding' flour and water..........

100g unbleached strong white bread flour (preferably organic)
150ml water

Now start a system where by you feed the starter twice a day, preferably at regular intervals, for two weeks. To do this.......

Discard 200ml of the basic mixture before you feed the starter with the 100g of flour and 150ml of water. Although this may seem wasteful, if you don't you will end up with a huge amount of fermenting flour and water that is sure to take over your kitchen!!!!

After two weeks, taste a little of the starter on the tip of your tongue. If it has a slight fizz to it, it is alive. The mixture itself should have a healthy, very slightly active appearance, not bubbling necessarily, but looking alive. If the starter does not taste fizzy, keep feeding it until it does. It might just be a lower ambient temperature that is making the starter take a little longer. Once you reach this stage you are ready to make some bread!!!!

Busy day off yesterday, apart from starting my sourdough bread and making din dins, I made a lovely rustic terrine.

12-16 slices of rindless smoked belly bacon
1 bunch spinach, stalks removed
400g trim pork shoulder, coarsely minced
300g skinless chicken breast, coarsely minced
200g chicken livers, coarsely minced
300g hard pork back fat, coarsely minced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp quatre-epices
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
50ml cognac or brandy
Salt : weigh all meat and allow approx 18g per 1kg of meat
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
4 sage leaves, chopped
4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 bay leaves

Serves 10-12

Thoroughly wash the spinach then blanch for 1 minute. allow to cool, squeeze out all water and chop roughly. This should give you approx 1/2 cup of chopped cooked spinach.
Mince all meats through coarse holes (or ask your butcher to do this for you) and mix with all the other ingredients. Mix well using a rotary motion until all is mixed in then slap the mixture against the side of the bowl until it begins to feel fatty, sticky and forms threads between the fingers when they are spread.
Allow the mixture to rest in the fridge for 2 hours while the flavours develop and infuse.
Preheat oven to 160'C. Using bacon slices, line terrine (1.4-1.6 litre capacity), laying slices crossways and allowing ends to overhang a little over the edges.Spoon the meat mixture into terrine making sure there are no air bubbles. Bang terrine on table or chopping board to force any air to evacuate. When terrine is full, fold overhanging bacon over top of terrine and place two bay leaves on top.
Cover with a lid or foil and bake in a bain-marie for about 1 hour, then reduce heat to 140'C and continue cooking until centre of terrine is 70'C, or juices run clear (and not bloody) when the centre of the terrine is pierced with a skewer.
Press terrine with a weight while it cools down. Once cool, place in a fridge and refrigerate overnight. if possible, leave for two days before eating as flavours will improve over time.
Serve with toasted sourdough bread and pickled cornichons.

OK, 33 hours in and things are looking good!! So much activity that I had to change the bowl after this photo was taken.......