Old Timers

Hi Friend!

Sorry about the false promises. We were  flat out yesterday cooking stuff,  lounging around in the spa (my parents are staying in a holiday house) , and eating treats. Because we plan to do the same today, although we promise to take a few photos,  here are some back dated goods. 

Crackers!

Asparagus at the Sandhills Community Gardens

Above are some beautiful sea salt crackers that we made with our pasta machine using a simple bread dough.

 500g Flour, 250mls Filtered Water, 40mls Olive Oil, 12g Fine Sea Salt, 7g Dried Yeast, 2 tsp Honey.

  Mix the flour and salt together, make a well and stir in the honey and oil. Dissolve the yeast in the water and add gradually to the mixture, you may not need all of it. Bring together with your hand, the dough should be firm but not dry. 

  Kneed until you achieve a window pane effect 

(break a little piece off and stretch it, if it doesn't break

 and you can see light through it- you're going well). Prove until doubled in size in an air-tight container (about 90mins).

 Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Once proven, roll out the dough to around 2mm or as thin as possible on a floured surface. We cheated and used a pasta machine, it seemed to work quite well. Although you can probably avoid a trip to the gym if you do it by hand. 

  Line a tray with nonstick baking paper. Using a shape knife cut the crackers to your desired shape (triangles, rectangles, whatever is easy for you), place them on the trays and mist with water and garnish with whatever you have at hand- Sea Salt, Rosemary, Chilli Flakes, Oregano ect.

 Bake until lightly golden- about 10-12 minutes and don't worry if they are a little soft when you first pull then out. They will become crunchy and delicious upon cooling. Serve with Dips and store for up to a week in an airtight container.

Weekly Haul from the Newcastle Farmers Market

We try and get to the Farmies every Sunday for some fresh and local goodies. A lot of people say it's much to expensive but I find it one of the loveliest parts of my week and we manage to find many a bargain. We also seem to eat twice the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables than if we miss it because if it's in your fridge, you can't resist using it.