Spanish meatballs, olives and a piquant sauce

Here is another savoury instalment - Spanish meatballs, a recipe I came across in a tapas cookbook I received last Christmas. They look very appetising in the photo and I put them down as part of a menu for a wedding I am planning for somebody else. I made them a few nights ago with a few additions and changes to the original recipe and they were very well-received at the table.

The meatballs simply comprised of the following mixed together then shaped into balls the size of walnuts or smaller:

• 400g regular mince beef and not the premium lean stuff. You can substitute this with pork and veal mince. Or try a combination of different mince,
• a diced onion cooked on low heat for 5-10 minutes until soft and slightly caramelised,
• 2-3 finely chopped anchovy fillets. Optional but adds a nice savoury flavour to the meat,
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic,
• some chopped parsley,
• salt,
• cracked black pepper,
• piment d'espelette (offers heat without the fire) or hot paprika
• ground cumin
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs. I used puffed quinoa in my version which makes it gluten-free,
• a large egg

Tip: Shaping meatballs can be a laborious task and is better enjoyed when there are extra hands to help.

Instead of frying the meatballs in a pan, I arranged them in an ovenproof dish and cooked them in a very hot oven (210C) for 10 minutes. In the meantime, I prepared the piquant sauce which was basically the following ingredients cooked in a pot for 10 minutes then roughly blitzed with a hand-held blender:

• 2 roasted red/yellow capsicums
• 1 large onion roughly chopped and sauteed until no longer crunchy
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 teaspoon store-bought harissa depending on your tolerance for spice
• 3 generous tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smokey-sweet paprika
• salt
• 1/2 cup white wine
• splash of white wine vinegar (quite necessary, do not omit)
• sugar to taste

Pour the sauce while its hot over the meatballs when they come out of the oven (Caution: A bit of sizzling action may occur), scatter a handful of your favourite olives, curshed, atop and return to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, stir to coat the meatballs with sauce before serving.

As an accompaniment, I sauteed some sliced zucchini in a very hot pan with chopped garlic, parsley, lemon zest, a generous amount of seasoning, then finished with a slug of good extra virgin olive oil.

This is a very satisfying meatball dish served as a meal with some steamed rice or as a tapas . I urge you to attempt this and any leftovers can be enjoyed cold for lunch the next day.

Pickled vegetables

Some recipes offer instant gratification while others require a longer wait before you can taste the rewards. This is one of those recipes because it involves pickling, a method of preserving food in liquid concoctions with varying amounts of salt, sugar and acid.

My love for pickles go beyond the dill cucumber slices found in cheeseburgers, or the almost flourescent green and yellow pickles in a Japanese bento. No, I too love the spicy and sour achar pickles made from a combination of fruit and vegetables commonly found as an accompaniment in some South-East Asian cuisines. And lately, I have become obsessed with pickled garden vegetables also known as giardiniera- colourful, fresh and lip-puckeringly delicious!

There are numerous recipes for giardiniera about and this is my version which works for me because I prefer my pickles less sweet. You can always personalise your pickles by altering the proportions of salt, sugar and vinegar, and by adding different aromats like mustard seeds, garlic, coriander seeds and so on. Although there are no strict rules to pickling, I tend to keep to an approximate ratio of 1 part sugar to 3 parts vinegar and I always salt my vegetables before placing them into clean jars with the hot pickling solution. It is imperative that the vegetables are completely submerged in the pickling solution.

Obviously, the vinegar you use will determine the flavour of your pickles so use a fairly good and light sort like malt vinegar, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or a combination. Also, pickling cannot give tired old vegetables a new life so please don't be tempted to even try. Choose vegetables like carrots, celery, cauliflower, stringless beans, capsicums, zucchini and turnips that have a robust structure so they remain crisp and yielding to the bite.

It has been 48 hours since I started on the pickles, the solution has turned a rosey hue courtesy of the radish, chillies and red onion, and the vegetables have achieved quite the perfect texture and flavour. The recipes I read suggested storing them for up to 2 weeks in a cool dark place before use but they will probably get eaten before then.

My suggestion is you keep the pickles in the refrigerator so you can enjoy them well-chilled. A very fresh tasting accompaniment to grilled meats or fish or just as part of an antipasto platter.

crisp pickled vegetables

1/2 head of cauliflower

3 medium carrots, peeled

2 yellow/orange capsicums

4 celery stalks

1 bunch of radish

1 medium red onion

3 large red chillies

4 tablespoon table salt

2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon red mustard seeds

5 bay leaves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

250ml white wine vinegar

500ml champagne vinegar

250ml water

200g white sugar

(4 1L jars)

wash clean and dry 4 1L capacity jars

wash vegetables thoroughly

cut vegetables into more or less the same size

salt vegetables

divide salted vegetables and aromats amongst the jar

dissolve sugar in both vinegars and water

bring pickling solution to a boil

pour solution into the jars carefully making sure the vegetables are completely immersed

store in a cool dark place (I keep mine in the fridge)

Hello Mr. Zebra - A cream cheese marble cake

Visually appealing, this cake is perfect for those who cannot decide between making a cheese cake and a pound cake. It would be misleading to call it a pound cake because it does not follow the mass ratio of a true pound cake, nor is it made by the usual creaming method. This cake is simply a hybrid of 3 recipes: Japanese cotton cheesecake, cream cheese pound cake and Jaffa cake.

This recipe highlights the salty dairyness of cream cheese in a cake which holds its pleasing moist crumb for a few days after it has been baked. It is difficult to describe its texture as it possesses neither a cloying nor the melt-in-your-mouth quality of a cheesecake. It is neither crumbly nor fluffy. I can only liken its texture to that of a rich and heavy genoise because I think it is essentially just that.

I think this would make the perfect kid's party cake, all that is lacking is a generous slathering of good chocolate frosting and a few obligatory crunchy and colourful sugar adornments kids adore. Their parent's might even indulge and enjoy a slice or two.

cream cheese marble cake

250g cream cheese (full fat please!)

50g butter

1 tsp vanilla paste/extract

100ml milk (full fat again, please!)

6 large eggs, separated

200g caster sugar

(NB this cake is not overly sweet, you can increase the quantity of sugar to 300g if you wish)

200g plain flour, double sifted

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

makes 1 8-inch round cake

preheat oven to 180C

line cake tin with baking paper and set aside

gently heat milk, butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a medium saucepan

whisk until mixture is smooth and remove from heat

beat egg yolks and 100g sugar for at least 5 minutes until thick, pale and tripled in volume

whisk egg whites in a separate bowl adding remaining 100g sugar gradually to achieve a shiny meringue that will hold its shape

fold the egg yolk mixture into the cheese mixture gently

sift flour into this mixture and mix well without knocking too much air out

stir 1/3 of the meringue into the mixture to lighten in slightly

fold remaining meringue into the mixture

divide mixture into half

sift cocoa powder into half of the mixture. (NB you may need to add 1-2 tablespoon of milk to adjust the consistency of the batter so it is similar to the vanilla flavoured half)

pour batter in an alternate fashion into the prepared cake tin

bake for 15 minutes at 180C then reduce temperature to 160C and bake for a further 40 minutes or until cake is ready.

A quick apple tart

Here is a cheat's version of a tarte fine of apple I made a few days ago with a few items I found while cleaning out the fridge and freezer: store-bought butter puff pastry, some leftover frangipane (from my previous summer apricot tart post), and a couple of old but still crisp Granny Smith apples (frankly, any tart apple will do - try Pink Lady or Sundowner) . There is really nothing to it. The assembly takes all but 10 minutes at most, then 15 minutes in a hot oven (about 200C). If you haven't got any frangipane, use a good-quality bottled apple sauce. If you have none of that too, then just use some really good apples - the finished product will be just as delightful. I promise you, it is very little effort for a lot of satisfaction.

Look, this is the type of dessert or tea time snack you want to be making in summer. It is quick, delicious and you can go nuts with it. I sprinkle ground cinnamon and coarse raw sugar atop for flavour and crunch. You might be inclined sprinkle chopped nuts after glazing the baked tart with hot apricot jam. A tart with sliced plums, ground cardamom and sugar would also go down a treat. How about sliced peaches and chopped mint? Be inventive and creative.

Summer is for enjoying - you really don't want to be trapped indoors cooking complicated recipes.

Nothing about food here.

I began KITCHEN MUSINGS almost 2 years ago while taking a break from the things that were bringing me down and this project gave me a sort of focus and creative outlet. It made me happy. This blog has always been a way to communicate my opinions and ideas about food as well as to capture mouth-watering pictures of things that I have prepared (and whatever else I find attractive) but lately, my entries have become somewhat sporadic and to my disappointment, the delivery of ideas disjointed. The thing is, I came to a realisation that the irregularity in my entries is not a result from a lack of material to publish but quite the contrary as I prepare most of my meals to save myself the disappointment and the financial ruin from regularly eating expensive and poorly prepared food. Take for example, the pasta I made last night with chunks of roasted sweet Kent pumpkin and Momoko tomatoes tossed with toasted crushed almonds, roughly chopped mint, crumbled local organic feta cheese and creme fraiche. And the tarte au chocolat made with the remaining Spanish hot chocolate mix and almond shortbread I made as gifts for Christmas.

Lack of material?

Never!

Of course this blog has never been intended to be a place where I can blow off steam about workplace grievances or rant about personal relationships - if it was, I am sure to be attracting more readers and raking the cash in through online advertising just like the mother who writes sometimes funny and sometimes tasteless entries about her daily life. It is not a place to moan about the spanner named Gary either or how his behaviour is more than likely a result of him falling victim to relentless childhood bullying and taunting (NB apologies to any followers who were bullied as children but do not suffer from spannerism. If you are not a spanner, you should take a stand and show tools like Gary where they belong - in a box). If it was that kind of place, this site would be titled "Gary the tool" and it would probably be found on myspace.com.

I am inclined to become easily distracted, which is a reason why publishing regular entries is such a challenge for me. Sometimes topics veer off the track so much that I find them completely irrelevant and unfit to publish. So I figured, I should take the beckoning new year as an opportunity to start fresh - to rid the backlog of drafts that currently outnumber my actual posts, to reintroduce KITCHEN MUSINGS and to formally introduce myself.

So here are 10 things that may give you some insight on the author behind this blog:

1) The last holiday I truly enjoyed was a visit to the South Island of New Zealand in 2004. My life after that has never been the same

2) I lost my best friend Jean-Michel Howland in March this year and I miss him everyday

3) I love listening to New Order because they make me smile and cry plus they are pretty awesome

4) I believe in the law of average. I am not an eternal optimist but I have stopped being the misery chick

5) I am notorious for leaving crumbs in bed then blaming someone else for leaving them there even when I was living alone

6) I love pigs, elephants and bears. I also love beagles and fat house cats I can tempt with fresh chicken livers

7) I kill garden plants though not deliberately

8) I was a cancer research scientist but am now a chef. I have a deep respect for people in both professions - they have a very high pain threshold and can be stupid. The stupid part supports my theory that if you are dim, tertiary education ain't gonna make you bright

9) My favourite love story is "We the living" by Ayn Rand. I am reading "Voyage to the end of the room" by Tibor Fischer for the second time and it still splits my sides

10) I am fiercely protective and loyal to the people I love. Why wouldn't I be? I am Sagittarian.

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So there you have it.

This is me.