Some like it cold (and muddy)

So the long weekend is over and this household is a bit flat. Our visitors are driving back to Sydney, the laundry pile is enormous and we’d really just like to rewind back to Friday afternoon. Orange was at it’s best this weekend with beautiful cold, clear days and a really great market on Saturday morning to kick things off. Tim ‘manned’ our stand and earned lots of brownie points for setting up at 6am in sub-zero temperatures while the rest of us ambled down (much) later to eat bacon and egg rolls and shop. We came home with Condobolin oranges, freshly milled flours, bread and other good things.

One of our visitors was the lovely Cookie, (that’s her above in the red boots). As her name suggests she is a bit handy in the kitchen and is also one of Alice’s much-loved God-mothers. Cook made lots of good things for us over the course of the weekend, including a big plate of buckwheat fritters for Saturday lunch. I was feeling wholesome with all our healthy flours so also made a spelt gingerbread and some orange curd to spread on it. Both recipes are below. 

1 corn cob

2 zucchinis

2 eggs

1 cup toasted buckwheat flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp melted butter

1 rashers thinly sliced crispy bacon

Creme fraiche and lemon wedges to serve

Mix all ingredients together and then shallow fry with some light oil until golden on all sides. Serve with a little creme fraiche and lemon. 

This loaf isn’t very sweet but has a lovely warmth from all that fresh ginger. My recipe was inspired by one given in the excellent ‘Breakfast Lunch Tea: Rose Bakery’ book. 

70g unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp ground ginger

a pinch of cayenne pepper (skip this ingredient if cooking for kids)

a pinch of salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs, beaten

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and grease the sides then preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter, sugar, syrup and ginger together until pale and smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and spices. Then in a jug, mix the bicarbonate of soda with 3/4 cup boiling water. Mix this liquid into the creamed butter, sugar and ginger and stir to combine. Then fold through the flour mixture and finally the eggs. Pour batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35 minutes. 

Orange curd

4 egg yolks

1 cup caster sugar

200g soft, unsalted butter

finely grated zest of 2 lemons

100mls orange juice

Beat the yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Add the butter, zest and juice and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until the mixture has thickened. This will take about 10-15 minutes so does require a bit of a time investment but it’s a pretty brainless task and quite therapeutic if you aren’t in a big rush. This recipe makes about two cups.