Panko Breadcrumbs

Panko Breadcrumbs are a Japanese product that's become popular, due in large to TV Shows like Masterchef. I refuse to buy it as it contains palm oil which I try to avoid in my food. It's also overpriced and so easy to make at home.

My mum used to make  dried breadcrumbs from left over white bread and no one thought it was anything special, so why is Panko so?

I found a really interesting video on YouTube from UpperCrust Bakery somewhere in the US. Panko simply means small pieces.
The history of Panko isn't thousands or even hundreds of years. It was developed during WWII when the Japanese were fighting the Russians. They wanted to bake bread without heat, so created a method that used electric current.

The bakery in the video makes it this way today, using only electric current which has little heat, but still cooks the bread. The dough is risen three times.  It comes out of the special ovens white and crustless, before being air dried for 18 hours and then made into breadcrumbs.

Fascinating! I bet the original Japanese version didn't have palm oil as they wouldn't have had access to it. I imagine they would have used something like rice bran oil.

The reasoning behind Panko's popularity is the fact that it's flaky rather than crumbly, so doesn't soak up as much oil as regular crumbs. It lacks any flavour, so is a good vehicle to carry other flavours.

I'm sticking with Mum's tried and true slow dried breadcrumbs from ordinary white bread. I don't eat white bread, but buy it for my husband. Why is that most men prefer white bread? To me, it's like glue.

Anyway, I have some crumbs in my oven right now.
Lightly blend (speed 4 or so and check after a couple of seconds) crustless bread in the Thermomix and spread the crumbs on a tray to dry out on very low heat - around 100C. If you leave the bread out on the bench for a few hours to dry out before blending, it will take less time. Normally, it takes about 3 or 4 hours. Store them in a large coffee jar in the cupboard.

The classic use for Panko is to crumb fish and chicken for either deep or shallow frying.  They're very versatile.  You can make a great crusty casserole topping by adding some grated parmesan or ordinary cheddar cheese and a little melted butter.  Cauliflower Cheese takes on a new dimension when topped with buttery, crispy breadcrumbs.

The Internet. The Good, The Bad and The Downright Stupid

Love it or hate it, the Internet has become a huge part of our lives. I've had time to ruminate on this as my internet has been out of action for the last three or four days when my Bigpond Network Gateway gave way.

I've been desolate without it. I feel lost, alone and out of touch with the world. This sense of loss I find very disturbing. Perhaps it's simply because I live in an isolated area and the internet provides me with the connection to people and places that I lack due to this isolation. Or, have I tied myself inextricably to this way of being?

So many times a day, I want to hop on the internet to check or discuss a recipe on one of my forums, contact a business, check something on Google, flick off an email, check the weather, find out the price of something, and much, much more.

Almost every business has a website where you can access contact & company details at your leisure. Almost everyone has an email address, many people have joined Facebook. People are contactable 24/7 through any number of ways via the internet.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I really don't know. For a business, it's effective since people can check your products out any time of the day, not matter what time zone they're in. I love that I can purchase products online any time of the day or night, especially with WA's draconian shopping hours legislation.

Facebook is a concern. Every single photo, comment, status update etc is on the internet forever. The main server for Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerburg, contains every piece of private information that you have in your profile and everything you've ever typed or uploaded. Isn't that just a little bit scary?

I'm constantly amazed at the amount of people who chronicle their mundane little lives on Facebook. I do it myself on occasion, but not to the extent that many others do. One person who I've since "unfriended" detailed her whole marriage breakdown, minute by minute via her iPhone. It was excruciating to read.

That's why I like having a blog. I can scream, shout, whinge, celebrate and commiserate and no one needs to read it if they don't want. My blog is mainly about food, my main passion. But, as with most passionate people, I do like to air my views on other issues that affect me or that I feel are unjust or just plain stupid.

Imported Pork in your Bacon

Imported Pork! Yes, our little piggies are being sold on the overseas market because the local market is swamped with pork from Canada. They're waving to each other on the boats as they swap places.

Check your bacon packet - I bought the Woolies Home Brand Bacon recently (it was all they had on the shelf) and didn't notice until I got it home that it said, "Made in Australia from Imported and Local Ingredients".

This is one brand of bacon I will not be buying in future... 

A New Year, a New Start. The Quest for Housewifely Perfection

That's what I say every year around this time.

This year, I'll be much more organised; This year, I'll do the dishes and clean the kitchen before I go to bed every night; This year, I'll make the bed every day; This year, I'll walk three times a week at least; This year, I'll only drink wine on weekends etc etc.

Well, at least I'll try to do all these things. If I don't always manage, I won't beat myself up about it. I think that's a better resolution to have.

Thermomix Savings

The Thermomix isn't a cheap piece of kitchen equipment, but it certainly saves money in the long run. Recipes that have a lot of chopping up, stirring or are tricky can be easily made in the Thermomix.
Today I've made both Whole Egg Mayonnaise and Tasty Fruit Chutney. This lead me to think about all the things I no longer buy in the supermarket.
So, I've decide to list these:

Mayonnnaise
Coleslaw Dressing
Salad Cream
Chutney
Tomato Relish
Jams
Peanut Paste
Packaged Sauces
Bottled Pasta Sauces
Packet Spice or Coating Mixes eg. Pepper Steak Spice, Fried Chicken Coating
Curry Pastes
Biscuits & Cakes
Toasted Muesli
Less Bread

Washing Powder
Self Raising Flour
Salad Dressings
Muesli Bars
Canned Soup 
Castor Sugar - I only buy Raw Organic Sugar (grind into castor in TMX) and Icing Sugar 

I'm sure I'll think of some more things to add to my list, but that's a fairly substantial list of products that can be quite expensive. I rarely bought cakes before anyway, but at times I'd have to buy a fruit cake for the lunch box. Now, I make large cakes and freeze half.
Things in red are those I've added later as I think of them or use them!

Due to my home business, Skinflint, I also don't buy the following personal care and skin care items:

Soap
Moisturiser
Cleanser
Scrub
Toner
Lip Balm
Anti-Wrinkle Cream
Body Buter
Hand Cream

I also make for myself:

Dishwashing Liquid
Hand Cleanser

So, although I beat myself up about my dreadful garden and my not-very-clean house and occasionally unmade bed and untidy bedroom, I feel very virtuous about the savings that I make because I produce so much of what I use.

Packaged Lettuce, Spinach etc (rant)

That's it! I'm not buying spinach or lettuce in one of those damn clamshell plastic containers ever again!

Aside from the fact that the containers are so environmentally unfriendly, the leaves are squished in so tightly they're all mangled and bruised when I go to use them. This is the eleventeenth container of leaves that I've had to throw away and I'm ANGRY! Beautiful Baby Spinach that I was planning to use in my salad tonight and it's all in the bin, slimy and disgusting, purchased only on Friday.

I really wish that all supermarkets would have the leaves loose so you can just pick out what you want, put in in a plastic bag and know that the leaves will keep well in the fridge. IGA in Busselton does and most Coles supermarkets do too, but not Woolies.

Well, that's it for my rant.

Update!
Woolies in Katanning now have loose salad leaves. At about $15 per kilo, they're great value when you don't have any leaves in your garden.
I don't need them now, as my vegie garden is looking wonderful.  

Delicious Thermomix Chocolate Cake

This recipe has been adapted from one on the Thermomix Forum. It's such a great recipe and so many members have had success with it. Most use it as a base for birthday cakes because it's made in a slab tin.

I've reduced the original sugar content, used less eggs and also make it using the traditional cake making method.
It can easily be made in a Food Processor.

Chocolate Cake

170g butter (I use Dairy Soft for a softer cake texture)
260g sugar (process first if using coarse or raw sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carb
40g cocoa - use the darkest you can find, Woolworths Home Brand is the best, believe it or not...
250g milk

Grease and line a small baking dish. I use the Scanpan one which is 21cm x 29cm.
Preheat oven to 160c fan forced.
Process butter and sugar at speed 5 - 6 for about 30 seconds or until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. When adding the last egg, add some of the flour and cocoa mix.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and the milk and process on speed 5 for a few seconds, using the spatula to assist. Scrape down and process again until all incorporated.

Bake for 40 minutes. Leave in tin for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out.

This also makes great muffins. Oven needs to be only a little hotter, around 170C. Bake for 20 -25 minutes.
Makes around 20, depending on size.

Buttercream Icing

125 g butter (real butter, not a dairy mix)
180g pure icing sugar
2 Tbsp cream or milk
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 Tbsp Glucose
2 tsp vanilla

Whizz all together for about 20 seconds. Scrape down and whizz again - about speed 5 or 6.