H for Hongshi

I have painted hongshi or hachiya, Japanese varieties of persimmon, so many times and each variety or change of light evokes a different feeling. I grew up with an astringent variety of persimmon in our backyard, probably Hachiya. A truly stunning tree as the leaves turn vibrant colours in autumn then, once the leaves fall, the miniature suns hang in winter, slowly ripening to a soft sweetness that is truly memorable. Patience is the key, wait way past the point where you think they are beyond their best and you will be rewarded!

I have a couple of very nice persimmon bread recipes I’m happy to share if you email me. They are a bit long and involved for a blog!

Fuyu, a non-astringent variety, often called a vanilla persimmon, you can eat just like an apple. Slice it instead of pear in yesterday’s recipe and it’s delicious. However I love to dice and roast it sprinkled with cumin and pepper, add it to cousc…

Fuyu, a non-astringent variety, often called a vanilla persimmon, you can eat just like an apple. Slice it instead of pear in yesterday’s recipe and it’s delicious. However I love to dice and roast it sprinkled with cumin and pepper, add it to couscous with pistachios, freshly chopped coriander and a little chilli.

G for Gruszka

Gruszka is Polish for pear! Oh come on Catherine, I hear you say, surely you could use grape or gooseberry, you’ve painted both. Nope, I’ve never cooked gooseberries, if you send me a recipe I’ll be glad to swap! As for grapes…remember my trouble with the letter U? I didn’t want to paint ugli fruit and can’t fly to Jamaica to get them anyway, so swap to Spanish ‘uva’ or Turkish ‘uzum’ for grapes and that problem is solved. It was a close call, Mum’s grapefruit marmalade nearly made the cut, but I think we’ll save a marmalade for later!

Pear and rocket salad with walnuts, shaved parmesan and balsamic and olive oil dressing is a standard favourite for many people, but although one child likes this, the other two don’t like rocket, walnuts or balsamic! So here is a child friendly twist on the recipe.

Pear salad

Ingredients

1 pear, cored and sliced

1 small head of dark mignonette lettuce, washed, pat dry, and tear into medium pieces

1/4 cup of roughly chopped dry roasted almonds

Torn basil to taste, be generous

Small wedge of room temperature Brie roughly diced

1 mandarin, reserve one half for juice and deseed and dice the other half

Method

Place torn lettuce and basil in a large salad bowl and toss, then layer all the other ingredients artistically and squeeze mandarin juice over salad and pear so it doesn’t brown.

F for fingerlime

Fingerlimes, Oil on canvas, 50 x 120cm

Fingerlimes, Oil on canvas, 50 x 120cm

Fingerlimes come in so many beautiful colours and their pearlescent globes burst in the mouth with a zingy fresh lime rush of flavour. These Australian native citrus are great added to any dark green vegetable dish instead of lemon or lime.

I haven’t yet used them in a marmalade yet, that’s on my ‘to do’ experimenting list….

Finger limes add a playful note to any plate and I especially love to sprinkle them on any fish dish. Simple tuna or salmon patties with an asian twist. I’ve kept it children friendly and left out the chillies, but by all means add them in! This is something I just do, I don’t measure and it always depends on what herbs are growing in the garden. So change it up to your family’s preferences.

Tuna patties

Ingredients

Batter

1 cup SR flour

1 egg

Enough milk to make a stiff batter

Patties

1 tin tuna chunks in spring water

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/3 cup chopped coriander

Zest of ½ lime

2 tablespoons chopped chives or spring onions

1 cup frozen sweetcorn

Salt and pepper to taste

2 finger limes

Method

Mix batter and let stand while you chop the herbs and heat a little butter and coconut oil in a frypan. Or you can use a non-stick pan.

Mix everything into the batter and use about 2 tablespoons of batter to form each pattie. Cook on medium heat until deep golden on each side.

Arrange a few patties on a plate. Carefully slit the skin of each finger lime lengthways a gently squeeze the lime pearls over the patties. Serve with a crisp green salad and maybe mango slices.

E for Erik

Jewels of the season, Oil on canvas, 61 x 61cm

Jewels of the season, Oil on canvas, 61 x 61cm

Hmm Erik? That’s plums in Turkish! Yes I know I could have done eggplant and I must admit I really wanted to include emu apples but I keep missing the fruiting season so I haven’t painted them yet! But I love this image, reminiscent of the plums in my grandmother’s garden … and there are so many other fruit that start with ‘P’!

My sister Leslie has taken on the making of the traditional family Plum Sauce, a classic from the legendary Green and Gold Cookbook. Every year we are so lucky to receive a new bottle at Christmas!

Plum Sauce/Chutney

Ingredients

3 kg Sastuma plums, washed and halved – best to remove stones first it saves a long step later!

1.5 kg white sugar

1.5 litres vinegar

60g whole fresh ginger, bruised

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon whole black pepper

1 teaspoon ground allspice

Method

Traditionally you would place all ingredients in a large saucepan and boil for four and a half hours before rubbing through a colander and bottling in sterilized bottles.

However, the sugar can catch and burn and it’s not necessary to cook it for so long. I prefer the method below.

Place destoned fruit and all ingredients except the sugar in a saucepan, bring up to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until fruit is soft. Puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add sugar and bring back to the simmer, cooking for a further 30 minutes until the sauce is fragrant and thick. Pour into hot, sterilized bottles and seal at once.

 A perfect condiment with cold roast lamb and an essential ingredient in my family’s pasta sauce.

D for Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit, Fabulous fruit series, Oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm

Dragonfruit, Fabulous fruit series, Oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm

The luscious deep magenta of the ruby dragonfruit is its most appealing feature. This fruit has a mild, light, refreshing flavour and is a joyous, colourful accompaniment to a smoothie, frozen dessert or cheese platter. I particularly like it sliced on top of cream cheese on crisp crackers and topped with sprigs of mint.

Some prefer to blend the flesh and push it through a sieve to remove the fine seeds. Although I haven’t tried this yet myself, add the pulp to your next pancake mixture and celebrate all things pink!

These dragonfruit were painted for my first solo exhibition Fabulous Fruits and I was so thrilled when they sold at the opening. It was such a boost to my confidence!

C for Custard Apple

Custard Apples, Fabulous fruit series, Oil on canvas, 90 x 120cm

Custard Apples, Fabulous fruit series, Oil on canvas, 90 x 120cm

I wasn’t sure whether to use custard apples for C or save them till later and use them for T, they are called tao sura in Vietnam. The fruit may swap places as recipes and ideas come through.

The first time I ate these delicious creamy fruit I was in Hawaii at an early morning market. Fresh custard apple chunks were served for breakfast with diced fresh pineapple and topped off with coconut yogurt. I sat feeling the tropical warmth on my shoulders, looking at the waves rolling in and felt like I was eating sunshine!

I have heard that a favourite Thai dish is chicken and custard apple curry. Anybody have a great family recipe to share? Or if you are more in the mood for dessert just add this wonderful fruit to your normal apple pie recipe, yummy!

NEW IDEAS

Some new ideas just in…

Blend custard apples with coconut cream and freeze overnight. Blitz in a food processor or scrape with a fork to create a delicious sorbet.

For a grownup twist serve more custard apple chunks in a cocktail glass with a scoop of sorbet and drizzle with coconut liqueur or Pina colada and top with toasted coconut shards.

B for Banana

A balanced diet, Banana Icon Series, Oil on copper, 20 x 15cm

A balanced diet, Banana Icon Series, Oil on copper, 20 x 15cm

During my month as artist in residence at the Adelaide Central Markets I asked people to bring me their family recipes. A young mother came in with a little boy of about four eager for him to share their favourite family breakfast. “Tell the nice artist lady how we eat bananas'“ …silence.. “You know, tell her, tell the nice artist … how do we eat bananas at home”…. The young boy looked up at his Mum with a priceless look on his face, totally baffled, shrugged his shoulders and said…”You just peel it!”

It was the most perfect recipe I heard all month. It’s gluten free, nut free, dairy free, vegan, with no added sugar and the preparation time is five seconds!

We both laughed and I never did get the recipe for banana pancakes she so often made with her family. What’s your favourite banana recipe? Please email me cfgart@gmail.com