Doing: ... Battening down the hatches for a stinking hot day. The forecast is for 36'C (97'F) and late thunderstorms. A brief shower this morning has ensured we have already started the day with unpleasant humidity - yuck. As much as I really enjoy the reasonably regular regular rainfall we get here on the coast, I grew up in the country where dry heat was the norm and 36'C wasn't such a big deal if you could get out of the sun and under a ceiling fan. I don't think I'll ever get used to this humidity, it's quite stupefying! Hence my air-conditioner is likely to get a workout this afternoon when I just can't stand it any more - and there goes our electricity use aims for the month...
...Slowly, slowly getting back into a routine again. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the washing piles up when I don't do a bit of it each day! Being ill for a while means I am still playing catch-up.
... On the upside of today however, DH has worked out a deal with a girl at his work who owns chickens, to supply us with cheap homegrown eggs :-)
Baking: ... "Proper" quiche, attempt #2. I make lots of quiches, but always the no-pastry, crustless versions, because I have it in my head - irrationally - that pastry is too time consuming to make. Shortcrust pastry sounds so quick and easy though, so I had a go last week - and what a disaster! Everything went wrong; the pastry was too crumbly when I tried to roll it out so I added about half a teaspoon more water and then it was too wet and stuck to the rolling pin (and everything else). Adding more flour made it crumbly but I blind-baked it anyway - and when I took the baking paper off half way through the pastry stuck to it, leaving big holes in the base. Then it was overcooked when I finished blind baking, so by the time the filling was cooked and set, the edges were all burnt (and crumbly). Argh! At least the filling was delicious, we just scraped the pastry off LOL. Much pastry-making research later, I feel comfortable having another go...
Update: Well, I tried to roll out the dough and it was still too crumbly so after adding more iced water and then a second rest period in the fridge, it appears that the crust is OK this time? It didn't burn and the baking paper didn't stick anyway, so I am getting better. Here's hoping it tastes OK :-)
In The Garden: ... Yesterday I planted out into the vegie garden the sole two rockmelon seeds I manged to get to germinate. This morning there was nothing left but stumps. Sigh. Everything else looks good though luckily - we'll see how it gets through the 36'C day today though I suppose, I might have go and cover the seedlings with a sheet or something in a little while.
Update: After lunch it became windy too, so the covers were blowing off the seedlings :-( What a day! I can't imagine how stressful it must have been for pioneers totally dependent on their gardens for food (and with no running water) to cope with days like today?
Dinner: Quiche (featuring homegrown leeks and Tuscan kale) and garden salad.
Contemplating: ...Where to plant the two new aloe vera plants I bought at last weekend's school fair. Aloe vera is such a useful medicinal plant - and I use aloe vera gel in my homemade moisturiser - so I have bought new plants each year for the last four years or so and every summer they have died of fungal disease after the inevitable prolonged humid spells we always have, despite planting them in different spots and conditions each year. I have always had them in pots to encourage free draining roots, have used normal potting mix, cactus mix and even gravel and have moved them under cover during rainy spells, but with no success.
I think now might be the time to try reverse psychology and just shove them in the garden in any old place and completely ignore them! After all, my agave plants - which presumably like similar conditions - grow like weeds on complete neglect LOL.
17 comments:
And hasn't it been a stinker! It got to 36 here too - and the winds - ugggh!
Give this Sophie Gray recipe a go for shortcrust pastry - http://kezs-blog.blogspot.com/2008/07/plymouth-pie-recipe.html. I've made it twice - both times successfully - and like you, I'd never had much luck with pastry before.
It's so fun to read about your doings and such. And that its spring at your place and winter here:) I think I'd rather have spring to be honest, preparing seedlings and work in the garden. Winter and snow makes every day so much more troublesome in many ways. The kids love it, of course, but I...I don't like it very much. Blah!
Have a nice day! :D
Best wishes,
Kristin
Norway
The main thing with pastry is to use the iced water and to handle it as little as possible. If you have a cold hard surface such as a marble board that helps too. I always use the recipe from the NZ Edmonds cookbook which I will put on my site next time I'm up. It's never failed me in 30 odd years.
Glad you're feeling better.
i was really working up rhythm there reading your pastry making dramas. Neglect is useful for so many things... ditto, glad youre up n about, wellness is such a relief!
i was really working up rhythm there reading your pastry making dramas. Neglect is useful for so many things... ditto, glad youre up n about, wellness is such a relief!
I have to say, I really recommend giving Halloween a go! We decked out our house in spiderwebs and banage-wrapped teddy bears, plus some party lights and black-and-purple bat tinsel. The whole neighborhood noticed, got their kids dolled up and we had 15 trick-or-treaters! The kids were having a total blast, and the parents were too :) Oh, and it's often pretty hot in the US for the holiday too hehe.
Happy HOWLoweeeeeen!
Pastry is a bit sensitive, hot and humid conditions make a difference, and most recipes aren't written by people in hot and humid conditions.
If you don't already have a recipe from a person in your climate (got any little old lady neighbours?) it's probably worth a go. Unless attempt no. 2 was unbeatable of course, in which case you just have to repeat it!
I have had some real pastry disasters in my time! Recently I tried Maggie Beer's sour cream shortcrust pastry and that worked for me. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s1878855.htm
I really enjoy reading your blog, it has inspired me to try many more things and join the growing challenge.
Thanks
Jane
I know this is silly, but I started reading you before I was eco. And I just did a craft on my site that I think you'd like. I AM SO EXCITED about it that I wanted to write you to share my glee!
http://www.littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2008/10/sandwich-wraps-from-shopping-bags.html
This one worked for me the other day, even after I had forgotten to rub the butter through first and just chucked everything into the food processor. I had a few chucks of butter here and there It had been nearly frozen it was that cold) - oops! Then I froze it for a couple of weeks, and it still turned out absolutely fabulous!
http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/jamie-oliver/old-fashioned-sweet-shortcrust-pastry-recipe-08-01-31_p_1.html
You can make a savoury version too by adding cheese and herbs instead of sugar. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the inspiring blog!
Pastry is difficult sometimes isn't it, I usually make mine in the food processor and use a Julia Child recipe. I roll it out between freezer wrap (which I wash and re-use). The main problem I have is when the butter leaks out into the oven when I am blind baking the shell. Still tastes good though. I'm so glad we don't have the humidity here in Adelaide, and so far not too many stinking hot days
take care
Pip
We celebrate Bealltainn here which is the Gaelic celebration of the beginning of summer :)
I made quiche this week as well.
If you take four cups of plain flour, 250g of cold butter and whack em in the food processor until it looks like biscuit crumbs then add cold water a little at a time until it comes away from the side of the bowl . then turn it our onto a floured surface roll it out and line the quiche dish.
Because you are cooking the egg filling there is no need to blind bake a quiche shell. You only blind bake when the filling only needs a short time or lowish temperature so as a rule of thumb if it is cooking at anything at or over 180degree c for longer than 25 minutes there is no need to blind bake.
any left over pastry can be frozen for up 10 months. Like I said earlier this week I made another lot straight away and put it in the freezer.
daisymum
Hi Kez,
Thanks for the recipe, I've bookmarked it for future :-)
Hi Kristin,
Oh Spring really is fun - so much potential :-)
Hi greenfumb,
I've made note of your recipe, thanks!
Hi Kel,
It's wonderful to be feeling somewhat normal again, that's for sure :-)
Hi Kelly,
Wow, that's sounds like great fun, the kids must have loved it!
Hi Kate,
Yep, I'm sure the humidity wasn't helping matters. My second attempt was OK, but nothing memorable so next time I might leave it until a cool day to have another go.
Hi Jane,
Oooh, yum, I've bookmarked that recipe, thanks! Can't go wrong with anything with sour cream in it in this house :-)
Hi Ivory,
Well done!! Nice handiwork :-)
Hi Leah,
Anything by Jamie Oliver is worth a go I reckon, so thanks!
Hi Pip,
Hmmm, yes I could see how leaking butter would be an issue LOL. Thanks for the tips!
Hi mummabear,
Beltaine seems like a much more logical celebration over here LOL. Hope yours was good :-)
Hi Daisymum,
Oh, great tips, thanks! The "wasted" energy used in blind-baking pastry worried me a bit so if I can get rid of that step altogether and just load up the oven when I'm baking the quiche, that would be great. Thanks :-)
Cheers, Julie
Hello! Just found your blog. I'm keeping it on my daily check-it-when-I'm-bored-with-work list. :) I just got into handmade lotion, castille soap and toothpaste are next on my list. Woo-hoo!
Pastry tip no one ever thinks of but is amazing: Whatever water the recipe calls for, use half vodka. Seriously. The vodka cooks out, no worries there. You want to use enough water that the crust isn't dry, but you can't add too much, or it will get gummy and yucky from the water and gluten in the flour getting friendly. The big scientific reason vodka works: it doesn't react to gluten. So you have enough moisture, but not enough actual water for the gluten to react. Try it, I'm sure it will help. But still, make sure to keep everything cold, as usual.
Happy spring down there!
Hi Kate,
Wow, vodka? Really? The concept sounds quite logical though, so thanks! Pity I used up all my vodka in the limoncello I made recently though, LOL.
Cheers, Julie
I'm not sure aloe and agave do like similar conditions. I keep aloe as a houseplant and it seems to do well in bright light but not necessarily direct, hot sun. It doesn't produce new growth rapidly but it stays in good condition and provides a nice supply of "first aid" leaves. I live on the coast of southern New England so they have a very humid environment.
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