Blondie's Recipes | Finding Feasts

Wild Mushroom Ketchup

Wild Mushroom Ketchup…You’re probably as surprised as we were when we first came across Mushroom Ketchup. Mushrooms as ketchup? Not possible!

Well, during our mushroom trip to Oberon, Bella stumbled upon such a condiment. With intrigue she purchased it and with intrigue I made it.

After looking into the history of ketchup I discovered that the tomato version originated about 100 years after the original version, prior to that it was made from any number of foods, for example nuts, fruit, or mushrooms… It originally began it’s life being made from fish and was called ke-tsiap.

In this recipe I have used the saffron milk caps and slippery jacks that I picked at Oberon but you could use any mushroom or combination of mushrooms with equally fabulous results. Also, the fresh mushrooms will need to be left to sit in salt for 24 hours, so this isn’t a spontaneous recipe. It’s also a recipe that gets better with age, so be sure to have some sterilised jars ready.

This photo of my lunch is of my Four’n Twenty pie and I have to say that I will now, and forever be having my pies with Mushroom Ketchup, truly outstanding!!

Enjoy,

Blondie

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Bolognese w/ Beef Liver

Bolognese w/ Beef Liver is a fantastic way to get liver into your diet. If you haven’t had it since you were a kid then now’s the time to try it again!

With two beef livers taking up valuable real estate in my freezer I needed some recipes. My most favourite recipe for liver is the one I had at La Grande Bouffe, which is Sautéed Calves Liver w/ Pomme Puree, Balsamic Jus and Caramelised Onion … Just soooo GOOD!

la grande bouffe — Inside the busy and beautiful La Grande Bouffe in Rozelle

Then there is the ever so popular Liver with Caramelised Onions and Bacon. Looking for inspiration online didn’t really result in anything fantastic so here is my bolognese with the addition of finely chopped liver. Surprisingly I didn’t find one recipe that uses beef liver in bolognese, they all used chicken liver… it would certainly be a milder flavour, but I feel it can handle the more robust flavour of beef liver.

Again, if it’s been forever since you’ve had liver then give this one a go. Start with just 250g of liver and build yourself up, You’ll love it!

Enjoy, Blondie

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Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes

Finding Feasts | Finnish Funnel Cake — Click image for Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes recipe

Tippaleipä – Finnish Funnel Cakes… Every year I have been meaning to get these up on the website and every year I miss the 1st of May by a day. But not this year! Here it is, finally.

The 1st of May is a huge event in Finland; it marks the beginning of spring (amongst other things) with large festivities in the towns and cities. Lots of drinking and lots of food is consumed from May Day Eve (it’s as big as Christmas for the Finns). It’s a time for friends, family, students, workmates to get together and party.

These deep fried fritters are consumed by the truckload and are perfect street food. One hand holds a fritter, the other hand holds a glass of Sima – a Finnish fermented lemon drink. With their slightly crispy outside, they are soft and warm inside with a dusting of icing that looks like snow sitting on an odd shaped snowflake.

But who needs a party?… These take but moments to whip up and only moments to devour.

Happy Vappu! Blondie 🙂

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Leek & Potato Soup w/ Onion Puree

Leek & Potato Soup w/ Onion Puree and Caramelised Onion Oil is heaven sent when you’ve got a cold.

As my boy is home sick from school with a cold today, I did the motherly thing and made some soup. Nothing is better than a piping hot bowl of soup to make you feel all warm and toasty on the inside.

This is my basic recipe for one of the food world’s most enduring partnerships … leek and potatoes. It’s also a fantastic canvas for experimenting with added flavours, which is why the onion puree has been introduced, which in turn produced an amazing by-product of the Caramelised Onion Oil that just had to be included in it.

Having come across a puree recipe from Chef Steps a little while ago, I was eager to incorporate it into a dish, and this was perfect. The Onion Puree is super simple to make, just bung some onions into a hot oven with some oil and salt and roast for 2 hours. The end result is incredibly sweet onions melting inside their skins. This gets pureed and voila, a tasty element to add to soups, risottos, aioli etc. But, what go me so excited was the left over oily, caramelised, sweet and salty juices left in the baking dish – Oh my! You really have to make this for yourself.

Happy sopping – Blondie 🙂

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Beef & Mushroom Meatloaf w/ Roasted Garlic

Beef & Mushroom Meatloaf w/ Roasted Garlic is a super simple recipe that is just as delicious served piping hot, straight from the oven as it is eaten in the following days on your sandwiches with lashings of tomato chutney and mustard.

I’ve made this with a roasted garlic on the side, but please go ahead and make as much roasted garlic as you choose to as the soft, sweet, caramelised garlic lends it’s self to being used in so many different dishes. Just squeeze the cloves out of their paper casings and cover them with olive oil. This will store well in the fridge for about a week.

To use the roasted garlic for this recipe, simply squeeze out the soft flesh and spread over the meatloaf for added flavour. Even though the roasting of the garlic changes it’s chemical makeup to be more easily digested, you will still have garlic breath – I don’t care what anyone says, it is definitely there! So this is to benefit the people who would like to avoid leaching out garlic smell through out their places of work or school.

Old fashioned homeliness – Blondie 🙂

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Taco & Fajita Seasoning – Big Batch

Taco and Fajita Seasoning – Big Batch is a one for all recipe, perfect for someone who can’t decide between taco’s or fajita’s for dinner.

If you are whipping up a batch of taco’s you really don’t need to alter this recipe at all, but if you want to make fajita’s with grilled meat you can then add a big squeeze of lime juice at the end.

Although there is a difference in the two recipes, when you are at home and just really want to have the punch of flavour of Mexican food this is a must to have on hand.

Happy Mexican feasting – Blondie 🙂

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Amazing Coconut Roughs

Amazing Coconut Roughs… These are truly amazing little treats to have on hand for when you need a little energy boost… and fantastic for primary schools as they are free from most things that some kids are intolerant to – There is always one kid that can’t have gluten or eggs or sugar etc, in a class and it’s a shame that they always miss out on treats.

I will definitely be making them into little egg moulds for Easter this year!

Guilt free eating – Blondie 🙂

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