Dear Monday…

Dear Monday

How quickly you arrived after our wonderful weekend in Sydney. Perhaps you arrived too soon as we were still a little weary from our weekend adventures. Then there were the multiple meetings you brought with you, and the mountain of paper-work you kindly left on my desk. Lucky for you it wasn't a training day as I am not sure that I would have had the time. Here's hoping your weekday friend, Tuesday, brings with him a bundle of productiveness.

From Me

Today was one of those Mondays. It arrived well before I was ready for it, remained hectic throughout the day, and caused me to arrive home a lot later than I wanted to.

Despite returning home late, I was excited for dinner owing to the ingredient we drew from the Mystery Box last night....

  

Garlic!

Did you know? Garlic is a species in the onion family and its closest relatives include the shallot, leek and chive.  Not only is garlic thought to "protect against evil" and "repel hungry vampires",  it is thought that garlic can protect against high blood pressure, heart disease and fungal and bacterial infections. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the irrational fear of garlic is known as "alliumphobia".

As soon as this ingredient was drawn, Mr BBB made a request for kebabs. And not just any kebabs... but garlic, lemon and rosemary lamb kebabs. Quite possibly one of Mr BBB’s all-time favourite flavour combinations.

Tonight we marinated some diced lamb in a mixture of 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), the juice and rind a lemon, 1 tablespoon of rosemary leaves and olive oil.

After 30 minutes, Mr BBB threaded the marinated lamb onto skewers, between red onion, cherry tomatoes and capsicum, and grilled them until cooked through (oh BBQ - how we are missing you.....).

In fitting with the Mediterranean theme, I made us both a salad consisting of mesculin, tomatoes, cucumber and olives.

Including a  sprinkle of this organic feta.

All together now – kebabs, brown rice and salad.

Garlic, rosemary, and lemon = the perfect taste trio.

  

The caramelised vegetables also worked wonderfully with the nuttiness of the brown rice.

Dear Monday, you might just have redeemed yourself with this plate of tastiness!

In other news....

A few people have requested my spelt pizza dough recipe - so here it is! It is super easy to make, and although the dough can be quite sticky - it will turn out  ok in the end.

Ingredients - makes 2 large bases

• 2.5 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil + extra
• 3 cups wholemeal spelt flour (or 2 cups spelt and 1 cup rice flour) + extra for dusting
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 220C.
2. Dissolve yeast in water, sugar and oil and set aside.
3. Combine flours and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and stir  to combine.
5. Knead on a dusted bench for 5 minutes or until smooth.
6. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn the dough to coat.
7. Cover and prove for 1 hour.
8. Punch the dough, then rest for a further 5 minutes.
9. Divide into 2 balls, then knead for 2 minutes.
10. Roll out the pizza dough between baking paper that has been lightly dusted with flour. Allow to rest for 5 minutes - then pre-cook the bases for 5 minutes.
11. Top with your favourite ingredients and cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

As these bases use spelt flour in place of regular wheat flour, the texture may be slightly different than what you are used to. I generally like my bases to remain a little ‘doughy’ but feel free to play around with the cooking times / temperatures to find out what works best for you!

What about you? Are you a fan of garlic or do you suffer from alliumphobia?

I think I am bordering on addicted to garlic (and chilli). It's rare that I make a dinner than doesn't include garlic!

Happy Baking :)