Jelly Slice Recipe

Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull

Margareta — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 01:58:46 +0000

Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull

Margareta Mon, 07/04/2014 - 11:58 am

How many cookbooks are on your book shelves? If your kitchen is anything like mine, lots. But it’s the tried and true favourites like Merle Parish’s cook books, the CWA journals and the Australian Woman’s Weekly selections that I keep returning to. THE AUSTRALIAN BLUE RIBBON COOKBOOK has just joined that exclusive club.

With a beguiling index that points the way to intriguing recipes such as Charlie’s Rosella Cake, Cousin Barb’s Jelly slice, Jaffa Friands, Linseed and Tumeric bread, Oriels Passionfruit Ssponge, Petticoat Tail Shortbread, Upside Down Lemon Delicious, and even Rod’s Bloody Hot Tomato Sauce, this is one awesome and practical cookbook.

I found the package containing this delightfully presented cooking compendium, on my desk when I returned from a recent book tour for my own newest release MOUNTAIN ASH. Courtesy of Allen & Unwin publishers, I picked the book up with the intention of starting baking straight away. But as I headed to my pantry to drag out the mix master I got distracted by the wonderful stories behind each of the cooks who supplied the author, Liz Harfull, with their recipes. Subsequently, an hour later I was still in the pantry, a cup of tea by my side, reading these fascinating snapshots of a show cooks life.

(Meanwhile the kids were out watching a wombat streak across the front lawn …)

So be warned … THE AUSTRALIAN BLUE RIBBON COOK BOOK isn’t only a cook book. Liz Harfull shares heart-warming stories from some of the country’s most enthusiastic and talented show cooks. Wisdom, knowledge and generosity of spirit lurk amongst these pages in bucket loads and there is something delicious for everyone to try.

I asked Liz, how she came across so many show cooks and cooking families featured in the book …

“It turned into something of a personal quest which took me all over Australia. I had a great deal of help from the 600 or so agricultural societies still staging shows in Australia, who were invited to nominate their local stars. Cookery judges, friends and family members also suggested people once they heard about my mission, especially after the wonderful Pip Courtney put the word out via a story on ABC Landline in September 2010.

So the real challenge in the end wasn’t finding them, but deciding who to include. For me it came down to some pretty essential criteria. The cooks had to be willing to share a recipe that had won at least one first prize, or blue ribbon, in an Australian show, and even more importantly the secret tips not found in the recipe, but essential to making it work. The sort of knowledge learnt from personal experience, and often handed down in the kitchen from one generation to another. It wasn’t essential that they were the most successful show cook in their area. What mattered most to me was a generosity of spirit and a genuine passion for their local show. So many of the cooks in the book are also volunteers, working hard to help stage shows as well as to prepare their entries. Without them this wonderful Australian tradition would have faded away long ago, and our communities would be much poorer for it."

So I’m hoping that the book encourages people to rediscover agricultural shows, and maybe even have a go at entering. You never know, with these recipes and the tips provided by both the cooks and judges, they might even win their own blue ribbon! And they will be doing their bit to keep the tradition alive.”

Well, you’re certainly achieving that at our homestead, Liz!

Our nine-year-old daughter (after I hauled her out of the house paddock where she was taking photo’s of that said wombat …)

… and I finally decided to make ‘Cousin Barb’s Jelly Slice’ because jelly slice is usually one of my specialties. This particular recipe had a massive twist on the one I regularly make, and the finished product was simply delicious.

The other slice, which had the men of the house hovering around the oven, was the Oat Shortbread Slice. Yum-my! And it was perfect for my daughter to make on her own, with a simple recipe and instructions …

Today I’ve also just made a version of my own, dribbled in chocolate. (Excuse me while I kneel down and pay homage ... Ahem …)

The ‘Tips from the Cook’ followed by ‘Tips from the Judges’ that are detailed for each recipe, were also an added bonus in my view. These snippets of wisdom made sure you got the recipe ‘just right’.

Our farm is a hive of activity, particularly over the weekends so every man, woman and child (and wombat) who came through the door was given a piece of both slices to try.

The verdict?

For those with false teeth, the Jelly Slice was a winner as there was no coconut to play havoc with ones choppers. It was light, and with the lemony top, was very refreshing.

On the other hand, for those with their own teeth, the Oat Shortbread Slice has now been entered into the ‘slices we love and mum, can you make it again, and again … ’ category. High praise indeed, especially now it’s been spoofed up with chocolate Although now we have the non choc camp and the choc camp … No prizes for guessing which side of the fire I’m on

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liz Harfull is an award-winning journalist and Churchill Fellow who grew up on a small farm near Mt Gambier which has been in the family since the early 1860s. She worked for several newspapers before spending twelve years with a leading national public relations business specialising in agriculture and environmental management. In 2006 she walked away from being a co-owner/director of the business to focus on her writing and a passion for telling the stories of regional Australia. Much to her astonishment, her first book, the best-selling Blue Ribbon Cookbook, took her to Paris when it was named runner-up in the Gourmand World Cookbook awards in 2009 against finalists from more than 50 countries. It was followed by Women of The Land in 2012. Today Liz lives in the Adelaide Hills, occasionally finding time to bake scones and make jam, while juggling a busy writing career and volunteer work on a national council representing rural journalists and communicators.
http://blueribboncookbook.com.au/

Book provided per courtesy of Allen & Unwin.

PUBLISHED: 26 March 2014
IMPRINT: Allen & Unwin
CATEGORY: Food
Hardcover 240p RRP: $39.99 / Ebook available

My Country Kitchen - Jelly Slice

Margareta-Admin — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:35:50 +0000

My Country Kitchen - Jelly Slice

Margareta-Admin Thu, 20/06/2013 - 4:35 pm

I have decided there are three ingredients that I can’t do without in my country kitchen. They are butter (butter is better, or so says the dairy-farmer’s daughter), eggs (used to be our own until the chook house floated downstream in the last flood.) Arnotts Milk Arrowroot biscuits and condensed milk (I LOVE condensed milk). Therefore when the last two are on special at the local IGA supermarket, I buy in bulk. The butter I get from Murray Goulburn, the eggs from a local farmer.

Another essential thing you need to do in the making of this recipe is grab your music / cd player and turn on Beautiful Noise by Lee Kernaghan. This can be interchanged with another artists but they must have a song about planes. I’ll get to that …

There are also two handy items to have hanging around when you’re cooking with me. One is a set of measuring cups. I don’t use them all the time because I’m a kinda ‘oh, that’ll do’ sort of a cook. But when you really need to be exact, they’re very handy. Plus they look good on the bench. Aren’t these pretty?

The other holy grail of my kitchen is the heavy metal tablespoon. My mother had one, my grandmother and her grandmother before that. All so old and battered you knew they had been loved to death. It took me while to find my own, but when I did, I bought two of the little suckers. This will be my bequest to my daughter. You just gotta have a good tablespoon.

Now, on with the recipe.

Take one packet of Arrowroot biscuits and crush into fine powdery crumbs. See Notes in previous No Rum Ball recipe on methods how to do this. Melt and mix 8ozs (or 250gms) of butter in microwave and pour over biscuit mixture. Combine well using your heavy metal tablespoon.

(I have pretty bowls that match the pretty measuring cups. See me dancing with glee?)

Press mixture into a slice tray with the back of your heavy metal tablespoon (see how important it is?), until smooth and place in fridge.

Next, take one can of condensed milk. Pour into mixing bowl, using a knife or spatula to scoop out the dregs. Lick the spatula.

(Sigh …)

Boil kettle and dissolve 4 teaspoons of gelatine in 1/2 cup of boiling water. Add to condensed milk and stir with your heavy metal tablespoon.

Add the juice of two lemons. If you don't have fresh lemons, squirt in a generous portion of bottled lemon juice (Yep, I didn't know it came in a bottle either until recently). Stir mixture with your heavy metal tablespoon, until thickened. (This where you use the ‘taste test’. Stick your finger in the mixture and taste to make sure it's lemony enough.) It should look kinda bubbly after you put in the lemon, like this ….

Then it thickens to this …

Pour over biscuit mixture that has been resting in slice tray in the fridge.

Let both layers set in fridge again for ten minutes or so until when you gently touch the top of the white stuff it dimples.

Now go to your Beautiful Noise playlist and load Flying with the King. Turn it up real loud. Make buzzing noises, put out your arms and fly around the kitchen with Lee and Slim …

Then ...

Take one packet of raspberry Aeroplane Jelly {angelic look}

Make up your packet of red Aeroplane jelly (buzz, buzz Ansett 603) using 1 cup of boiling water and 1/2 cup of cold water (you can also use 1/2 cup of ice cubes instead if you're in a hurry like me).

MOST IMPORTANT: Add 1 desert spoon of gelatine to jelly mixture before you pour in hot water. This stops the jelly from sliding off the rest of the slice. You don’t want to be the one that loses your top. (Unless you're standing next to Lee …)

If jelly is warm, place in fridge to cool. But for heavens sake don’t forget it otherwise it’ll set and the kids will get dessert, but you won’t finish off your slice. That makes the kids happy, me very cross. Especially if I’ve flown all out of jelly crystals.

Pour red jelly over top and pop tray back in fridge to set.

NOTE: In these pictures I doubled the mixture and made the slice up in a lamington tray. This is what you need to do at my place to get the slice to last any longer than a day. A plate goes right at the front gate to my Great Aunt who’s 91 and loves home cooking. Another plate goes left at the front gate to my 74 year old uncle who also loves home baking but doesn’t cook. And then there’s my kids … enough said.

You can also make a Christmas version. Just make up one packet of GREEN jelly using the same method, which you pour on top of the red jelly once it’s set. The outcome of green jelly on red is the slice looks like it's red from the top, but at the side or when it's up against the light you get a stained glass window of festive jelly looking right back at you. It's just beautiful. Especially if you set the slice out on a plate and alternate with Chocolate Royal 'Plum puddings'. (In this picture, chocolate royals, green mint leaves, red raspberry lollies and white icing or white chocolate).

Merry Christmas and a festive recipe or two ...

Margareta — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:42:04 +0000

Merry Christmas and a festive recipe or two ...

Margareta Thu, 20/12/2012 - 10:42 pm

In view of Santa's impending arrival next week, no doubt followed by a hoard of relatives (or even just one or two) for lunch or tea at your place on the BIG day, I thought I'd share two of my most favourite festive season recipes which have seen me through the last couple of Christmas days in great style. They also might help you!

But first I'd like to wish you all the very best for the festive season, a happy and fun-filled Christmas Day and a safe and joyful New Year. I hope 2013 is filled with all the very best of things for you and your family. My family and I, after having a what is usually a wonderful day at my father's property, will head on up into our mountains on Boxing Day for a week or so of brumby spotting, fishing, motor bike riding, horse riding and swimming up on the high plains. We hang out for this break every year, done in conjunction with a whole bunch of like-minded wonderful friends. Think Nunkeri Plains in BELLA'S RUN and you've got the place.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your incredible support this past year. Without people such as yourselves, buying and reading my books, I wouldn't have been given the opportunity by Random House to share more tales from the bush. So for this I send my heartfelt appreciation, and invite you to come say hello in March when we release and tour with the next novel from 'The Voice of the Bush' - HOPE'S ROAD.

But in the meantime it's back to the real world and a recipe or two. Tonight is our local community Christmas Tree, a tradition that has been going for nigh on a eighty years or so (give or take a decade). Our brand spanking-new CFA station has been draped in tinsel and fairy lights ready to welcome Santa on the fire truck. The Christmas tree is up and the tables ready to groan with the weight of the food.

My contribution to the night will include the old standby Jelly Slice with a festive twist. Here's the recipe ...

Take 1 packet of Arrowroot biscuits (I find these crush better than Marie biscuits) and either vitamise, place in plastic bags and slam with the rolling pin or place under four wheel drive tyre and drive over half a dozen times. Take your pick, just make sure the bickies are crushed into crumbs. Melt and mix 8ozs (or 250gms) of butter in microwave and pour over biscuit mixture. Combine. Press mixture into slice tray and place in fridge.

Make up one packet of red jelly using 1 cup of boiling water and 1/2 cup of cold water (you can also use 1/2 cup of ice cubes instead if you're in a hurry). MOST IMPORTANT: Add 1 desert spoon of gelatine to jelly mixture before you pour in hot water. This stops the jelly from sliding off the rest of the slice. Place in fridge to cool.

Next, take one can of condensed milk. Open it and try not to lick the lid. Pour into mixing bowl, using a spatula to scoop out the dregs. Boil kettle and while you're waiting, try not to lick that yummy milk off the spatula. (Ooops ... damn, did she say not to?!) Dissolve 4 teaspoons of gelatine in 1/2 cup of boiling water. Add to condensed milk and stir. Add the juice of two lemons. If you don't have fresh lemons, squirt in a generous portion of bottled lemon juice (Yep, I didn't know it came in a bottle either until recently). Stir mixture until thickened. (You can stick in your finger and taste to make sure it's lemony enough. Just saying.) Pour over biscuit mixture that has been resting in slice tray in the fridge. Let both layers set in fridge again for ten minutes or so. Pour red jelly over top and pop tray back in fridge to set.

Now, make up one packet of GREEN jelly using 1 cup of boiling water and 1/2 cup of cold water. MOST IMPORTANT AGAIN: Add 1 desert spoon of gelatine to jelly mixture before you pour in hot water. This stops the green jelly from sliding off the red jelly and making one hell of a mess. Place in fridge to cool. When red jelly on slice is set, gently pour on green jelly and again leave in fridge to set. (There's a lot of 'setting' going on but you can do other stuff in between, like read my novella A BUSH CHRISTMAS on your iPad or kindle why you're waiting. You can read all about the Burdekin's Gap community Christmas Tree. I mean, no one can say you're not doing anything. You're making them jelly slice for goodness sake!)

The outcome of green jelly on red is the slice looks like it's red from the top, but at the side or when it's up against the light you get a stained glass window of festive jelly looking right back at you. It's just beautiful. Especially if you set the slice out on a plate and alternate with Chocolate Royal 'Plum puddings'. (In this picture, chocolate royals, green mint leaves, red raspberry lollies and white icing or white chocolate).

My second hit recipe for Christmas is a Warm Roasted Potato Salad. As soon as it appears, it just disappears! I was given the recipe by a friend a few years ago so I'm not sure where it came from orginally but man, is this one a goody.

Ingredients:

1 kg or so of chat potatoes, not peeled; 2 tbsp oil; 1 tub of Basil, Cashew & Parmesan Dip; salt & pepper;1/2 red capsicum diced or cut into fine strips; 1/2 salad onion or a couple of spring onions, finely chopped; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 bag of rocket leaves (or I use half bag rocket leaves & half mixed gourmet lettuce).

Dressing: 2 tbsp sour cream; 1 tsp lemon zest finely chopped/grated (or some lemon juice if you don't have zest - see below).

Preheat oven to 200 degress celcius. Cook potatoes in boiling water until just tender. Drain. Put potatoes into a mixing bowl with the oil, 3/4 of the Basil, Cashew and Parmesan Dip and salt & pepper (to taste). Toss until potatoes nicely coated in mixture. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Place potatoes on tray. Roast for 20 or so minutes or until golden and crisp.

In a separate bowl mix the remaining dip, sour cream and lemon zest. (If you don't have any zest just add a good dollop of lemon juice.)

Once potatoes are cooked, toss potatoes, their juices and crispy bits with the capsicum, onion and lemon juice. Spread rocket leaves out on a platter, top with potatoes and then the dressing. Serve while warm.

YUM-MY!

Have a faulous Christmas and I'll catch up with you again in the New Year. (I might even have a brumby photo or two to share if we're lucky!)

Margareta xo

Jelly Slice Recipe

Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull

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My Country Kitchen - Jelly Slice

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Merry Christmas and a festive recipe or two ...

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