You know your own children’s preferences, but when they become adults and bring home partners, you might have to face the prospect that the partners has different dietary preferences that need to be accomodated at festive occasions, like Christmas.
I am rather late in planning this Gluten free Christmas menu and it is not Vegan, nor vegetarian so that is a heads up. But it is highly nutritious.
Entree or Nibbles
First off we have a Prawn, snow pea and Capsicum Entree, I used the following Prawn dish idea but made it a kind of tasting nibbles board, rather than a whole dish. I will add some nice cheeses, home made Knekkerbrød (Norwegian crackers) and nuts to accompany this.
Fresh is best for this opener. Given that all prawns are frozen at the point of capture, fresh is a loose term these days. But we are Australian, so we have to have some kind of shellfish option to start the hot meal.
Mains
Meat
Assortment of oven-roasted, gluten-free meats – without stuffing and preferably organic in nature
Roasted Vegetables
Potatoes roasted with garlic, thyme and dill
Pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrots (all roasted with rosemary sprigs)
Onion
Choko
Red capsicum drizzled with olive oil and roasted lightly
Salads
Cauliflower butter beans and Pumpkin Hommus
Chickpea Spinach and Eggplant Salad
Broccoli, Quinoa and Edamame Vegetables (served warm for the Moth)
Dessert
Smashed Pavlova with seasonal stone fruits – there is just a little teaspoon of cornflour in this Pavlova recipe but when there is a coeliac visitor, one has to be extra careful. This is not just Gluten intolerance, but allergy!
Gluten-free Option – Chocolate Brownie
For the Moth: Warm Plum Pudding served with custard and ice cream
(not gluten-free)
What kind of different dishes are you cooking this Christmas?
Are you breaking from preparing traditional foods?
With Australia in the midst of winter colds and what seems now the ever-present spectre of Covid threatening us, it seems fitting I re-visit an old recipe post from pre-Covid times.
It has been some time since I cooked Chicken soup for a sick teenager, but I remember it like it is yesterday.
Chicken Soup Makes you Feel Better
Setting: Pre – Covid days when teenage boys roamed my house
“Ahhhh, I feel sick, I think I’m coming down with a cold,” wailed my teenage son as he came home from school, one day.
“Oh dear, you do look a bit pale, I’ll make some Chicken soup for you to…” I begin, before I am abruptly cut off with a, ‘Talk to the Hand,’ kind of gesture, frequently observed in male adolescents.
“Fine,” I then respond, trying not to feel rejected and putting on a nonchalant face. “But it helps me feel better, when I feel ill,” I plead, as the teen, now making a hasty exit from the kitchen, heads straight for the lounge.
In one swift movement, he has grabbed the remote control and launched himself into the air, landing lengthwise on the Ektorp lounge like some ‘lounge lizard‘, flaked out on sedatives.
During this pseudo-aerial display of slothfulness, Number #1 Son and older brother to the Teen and self-confessed germophobe seated on the floor in front of the TV, [apparently, there are no suitable chairs in the house], looks at his brother in horror.
It is clear he is nearly beside himself with the knowledge that something as infectious as a common cold, has entered his personal space and so abruptly leaves the room, mumbling something about establishing a quarantine zone, and swearing not to touch the TV remote, for at least two weeks!
Unsurprisingly, I know his father will hold no issue with that comment, detected by the sudden throat clearing and smirk I see building across his face.
Amidst the sniffles and sneezes, now reaching somewhat of a crescendo from the lounge lizard, I begin to assemble the ingredients for Grandma’s Chicken soup – lots of parsley, garlic, all manner of vegetables and a bit of extra salt.
Salty Foods are Helpful
Believe it or not, salt can actually be good for you when you are sick, (just make sure to drink plenty of water/fluids with it to prevent dehydration). This is basically the only time eating something as salty as potato crisps, could be seen to do any modicum of good, so make the most of it, I say.
Believe it or not, there is now proof that Grandma was right, after all, in serving up Chicken soup when someone in the family is sick, so there is a method in my madness, (if you’ll excuse the cooking pun).
The Science of Eating Chicken Soup When you are Sick
Researchers have found
“…chicken soup does have a mild anti-inflammatory effect and can reduce the impact of a cold. The American journal of Therapeutics says carnosine in chicken is the ingredient that most likely helps our immune system.”
Fitwise Magazine 2014
Furthermore, Lisa Renn of the Dietitians Association of Australia says,
“there are studies that say chicken soup is beneficial in improving symptoms such as a runny nose, coughs, sneezing, sore throats and chills.”
Dietitians AA
So what, you might ask, does the ailing teen do when I place a tray of hot, steamy, freshly-made chicken soup on his lap?
He gobbles it up so fast, it is practically inhaled!!! And yes, despite the glazed looks teens often give you when the TV is on, I did hear a nasal, “Thanks Mum,” somewhere amidst the slurping noises, which like Grandma’s Chicken soup, warms my spirit!
Grandma’s Chicken Soup Recipe
1 Chicken Breast, sliced thinly or cooked leftover chicken
400 mls good quality chicken broth (either make your own from boiling a whole chicken or use a stock cube/good prepared broth – I use Campbells)
2 medium onions sliced/diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, julienned
Shallots – 1/4 bunch, finely sliced
I large handful of Parsley, diced
1/4 cup frozen beans or peas
Creamed corn – I medium can, drained
Sweetcorn kernels – I small can, drained
Lemon juice ( 1/2 lemon)
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
Optional Extras:
2 Handfuls of any other vegetable, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sweet potato, that you may wish to use, diced, shredded or broken into small florets.
Method
Sauté onion, garlic and celery in a large saucepan
Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Add carrots and optional veges and cook for around 6 minutes
Add the chicken strips and stir till they change colour and cook through completely
Add the shallots, parsley, frozen beans/peas, and cook a further 2-3 minutes
Add corn, lemon juice and finally add the egg, whilst stirring
Add seasoning to taste.
Serve with bread or alone, it is oh, so good!
Serves 4 people (or 2 teens!)
Variant:
Throw in 1/4 cup Arborio rice and stir – cooking the dish, for another 8 minutes or until rice is completely cooked through. This turns it into a thick casserole type of dish.
Slow Cooker Chicken Soup Option
Throw all the ingredients in the Slow Cooker adding water to cover and return home at the end of the day with the house smelling like Grandma – in a good way, of course!!
I actually wanted to cartoonize the photograph of Nyhaven, Denmark, so it looks like a digital illustration, but as that involved a Canva pro subscription, I opted for something less, this time.
Using the postcard template is a fun way to re-live past travel memories.
In case you were wondering, yes my newly purchased cap with Danmark embroidered on it that I had purchased at a souvenir shop near the H.C. Anderson exhibit in Odense, did blow off and land in the canal. It was never seen again and yet, I still have one today.
On my return home to Australia, I managed to find a similar cap in a store and had the words Danmark embroidered on it, complete with Dannebrog. (Dannebrog is the Danish flag).
I will be back next week at Something to Ponder About with a new photo challenge prompt.
I do enjoy drinking a lovely cuppa at mid-morning. To savour that cuppa with other enthusiastic bloggers at Su’s Virtual Tea Party, is an extra treat.
The Thirteenth day of November in the calamitous year of 2020, is auspicious, but I am not superstitious. I do wonder how many extra lotto tickets will be sold today.
Having once worked in a Newsagency, I can vouch for the increase in sales on days like these.
Meanwhile November has been busy. There always seems to be something happening at the Home by the Sea.
Melbourne cup day without the racing crowds continued in our neighbourhood and one of our wonderful neighbours dressed up as a bookie running a sweep or two.
I have been joining in with Qi Gong exercise every day that I can through the week, however turned awkwardly this morning and have pulled a muscle in my back. Ouch…. Getting old sucks. Really.
Schnauzer November News
The dogs have not been forgotten and had a fantastic run at the fenced off leash area and the doggie beach. First time off leash for the pup and she loved running with the chocolate labradors and then having a hydrobath afterwards. They rested well afterwards.
The doggies were spoilt a bit with early Christmas presents from Pupsnaps anti – anxiety beds. Since these arrived, several of my friends have had theirs delivered. Pupsnaps must be so pleased with the business from the Schnauzers. The dogs almost need to recieve a commission.
The Koala Rescue group have been making Christmas garlands, complete with koalas. We threaded up all of these one weekend. I hope they sell well at the markets as the funds all go towards running the Rescue operation.
At least one koala is killed or wounded every night in breeding season. Staggering statistics.
During a fierce thunderstorm and amidst a global pandemic, a female political leader, has made a mark on history winning a historic third term as the state’s leader in the election.
And her words I particularly like – she is keen to get back to work as soon as possible.
“There’s nothing more important than the dignity of work.”
My wonderful daughter strongly believes and supports female representation in politics. For many years, female suffrage was not tenable to the authorities. Some women died for the right to vote. My daughter takes her constitiutional right very seriously. She requested a political sign for our garden. After all, we make up a little more than half the population, she reasons.
Women’s Right to Vote
New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world in which all women had the right to vote in, but not to stand for, parliamentary elections in 1893.
The colony of South Australia allowed women to vote and stand for election in 1894. In Sweden, conditional women’s suffrage was granted during the age of liberty between 1718 and 1772. But it wasn’t until the year 1919 that equality was achieved, where women’s votes were valued the same as a man’s.
Wikipedia
Equity in something my countrymen and women feel strongly about but might hardly be aware that they do. Generally speaking Australia does not have many traditions, we can all our own, but for Australian society is mostly classless and everyone here is entitled, to use the vernacular: a ‘fair go’. Australia has developed, comparatively speaking a more egalitarian and economically mobile society, perhaps stemming somewhat from a lack of historic tribal associations. (generally speaking)
However, this is not to dismiss the extreme prejudice and terrible injustices wrought against the indigenous folk of Australia and the White Australia Policy. This racist policy of preferencing white migrants was a mid-twentieth century policy based on the irrational fear of becoming populated by migrants from Asia.
There will always be bad eggs in any society, just as there will be good eggs. I do believe that the worst of any prejudice is behind our country and trust my daughter will grow old in a country where each individual is taken for his or herself, with open-mindedness and in good faith.
In this neck of the subtropical woods, it is the season for thunderstorms. Cells build in the Brisbane Valley and head southeast, sometimes bringing hail but always damaging winds.
The lightning can be spectacular but frightening if you are driving or caught outside.
Our dogs are fine but some dogs become so fearful they panic at the sound of thunder and run away.
Threatening clouds but no hail yet
There is even such a thing as thunderstorm asthma. Usually this occurs in the southern part of Australia, such as Victoria. Thunderstorm asthma caused 10 deaths and 300 hospital admissions last year in the one storm event.
Coming tonight, the storms put a bit of a kybosh on Halloween festivities. Our estate has bee
n quite enthusiastic at Halloween decorating this year so I am half expecting a skeleton, Halloween entity or witch to come flying over the fence for real.
I have always been reluctant to use yeast in the kitchen. I have had bad experiences with dry yeast sachets.
Either I heat the yeast granules far too much in my anxiety to make the dough rise, or the resulting dish tastes of something that I really can’t describe. It’s not an awful flavour but a slight kind of aftertaste. It is not sweet. I am not sure if this is yeast or something else.
The taste of cinnamon scrolls takes me back to Denmark and Finland, but generally all of Scandinavia. In Denmark, you see these rolls and pastries everywhere, from 7/11 stores (which surprisingly are some of the best), to small cafes and even gas stations kiosks. They are both ubiquitous and synonymous with Scandinavian traditions. Whether they be soft sweet bread or the flaky Danish style pastry, cinnamon is the main theme.
The first thing my daughter wanted to do on our return to Denmark was to eat a Cinnamon ‘snail’ or ‘Kanelsnegle.’ This is the kind of flaky pastry that is thin and wound round and round similar to the shape of a snail’s shell.
A cinnamon bun in Finland
Eating various kinds of cinnamon pastries is some kind of birthright in Denmark, and I have it. No question. I enjoyed a huge cinnamon bun in Helsinki one year. I didn’t eat anything else until dinner that day.
Cooking with Yeast
It is not that I have not cooked with yeast before. I have. I used to make my own bread but that was using baker’s fresh compressed yeast and it was brilliant. A never-fail kind of yeast that was guaranteed to make bread products rise beautifully. Not so the sad results of my experiences with the dried variety of yeast.
Nevertheless after 38 years, I decided it was too time to try again or hang up the dried yeast forever. And Cinnamon buns was the perfect tester. Ju-Lyn’s Cinnamon bun photographs looked perfect and the texture was soft and bouncy.
Furthermore, Cinnamon is so good for you. Packed with Antioxidants, cinnamon may lower blood sugar as well as assist in managing heart disease and inflammation in the body.
The Result of Cooking Cinnamon Buns with Dry Yeast
This was the moment of truth. Would they be hard as rocks or soft and bouncy?
I can reveal that I was over the moon with the result.
No aftertaste and a nice even texture on the rolls. They rose as the recipe suggested and Ju-Lyn’s clear recipe tips helped enormously. One minor adjustment would be to substitute water instead of milk but that is only personal preference.
Here they are:
If I can convince you to make them or at least experiment and you would like the recipe, you can find it at the blog: purplepumpernickel.
Having a home by the sea has many advantages, however, one disadvantage, is the poor quality of the soils for gardens and the difficulty in growing plants that thrive in coastal areas.
Coastal soils are often sandy and have poor water retention ability but might also be heavy, salty and highly alkaline. This means their PH level is about 7 or above, which makes growing plants quite tricky.
If I wanted to grow Azaleas, Camellias, Magnolias or my favourite flowering shrub: Gardenias, for example, the coastal soils would need organic and chemical* help.
*Please note growing azaleas, camellias, magnolia and gardenias will require a specific fertilizer or may wither or develop yellowing leaves, without the right conditions.
As some of my garden had already been established, adding large quantities of peat moss, compost or organic matter wasn’t going to be a viable option, so in order to change the PH of the soil, I needed to look at other options.
It’s always best to test the soil’s pH level and follow instructions to the “T” when using anything to change soil pH.
If your soil is highly alkaline, adding sulphur, peat moss, sawdust, or aluminium sulfate can help neutralize it.
The first warning sign that the plants in my garden were suffering from a high Ph level was leaves turning yellow with a green midvein, evident firstly with the alkaline sensitive Gardenias and later, the Murraya, or Mock Orange, and some of the small Cupheas bordering the garden.
My next step in remediation was to stabilize the Gardenia, in situ, with an appropriate chemical fertilizer suitable for the sensitive likes of those plants and plant out more alkaline-tolerant species, as well as add organic matter where possible.
Lots of blue colour in this garden. Westringia (a native Coastal Rosemary), Juniper, Strelitzia and of course, Lavender. All plants that thrive in coastal areas.
Within a few weeks of applying the fertilizer, the Gardenias and Magnolia had shiny new green growth. I applied a general fertilizer to the Murraya and the Cupheas and although slower, they are responding with new buds.
Growing Lavender in Coastal Areas
Lavender plants are a sound choice for coastal areas as they relish well-drained sandy soils and don’t mind wind. The ones I planted thrived in soil that had an upper layer of very sandy alkaline loam with an underlying, also alkaline, clay. They are especially beautiful now, in full bloom. No fertilizer needed, or signs of alkaline damage, so far.
Lavender plants make spectacular borders and vary in height: Lavender dentata, for example, grows to a height of 60 cm and can be pruned to a ball shape lightly after flowering.
Growing Your Own Lavender Plants
Lavender blossoms make excellent cut flowers,or can be used in dried flowers arrangements or potpourri. After flowering, I remove the lavender flowers from the stems and pot up the trimmed down leaf tips and place them in potting mix after first dipping the ends in rooting powder and then seal them with a plastic bag for several months. After that, you should have some established new Lavender plants.
It’s really a plant that keep on giving.
Lavender is known for its therapeutic properties.
Growing Olive Trees in Coastal Areas
Contrary to popular belief, Olive trees do not really have troublesome root systems, and as they do like coastal conditions they can also tolerate alkaline soil, well, provided it is free draining. A great choice for a coastal garden particularly with their grey-green foliage.
Olive trees take about 7 years to produce fruit. Sadly, we had to leave a beautiful olive tree at our former location, when we moved to the ‘Home by the sea,’ one that was close to flowering and producing olives.
The tree was about five years old and about 3 metres tall. It was not in a position of full sun, but we do live in the sub-tropics, so the sun is stronger here. Olive trees seem resilient to pests, so are a great choice for coastal and Mediterranean-style climates.
Plants suitable for Alkaline soils:
Some other plants that cope well in Alkaline soil types are listed below.
Herbs/Vegetables for Alkaline Soils
Thyme
Parsley
Oregano
Asparagus
Sweet Potato – my plants are thriving. Just pop them in and watch them grow.
Beets
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Celery
Parsley can be used as an edible border plant as it is a splash of greenery and handy for use in making Tabouli or salads in the kitchen. It is a herb that does like alkaline soils.
My Sweet potato and Rosemary plants – the Mock orange in the right hand corner of the photos still has some alkalinity damaged yellow leaves
Shrubs and Treesfor Alkaline Soils
Viburnum
Cotoneaster
Mock Orange
Honeysuckle
Spiraea
Hydrangea
Lavender
Rosemary
Juniper
Olive Trees – as long as the soil is free draining.
A Home by the Sea 
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