Sourdough pancakes

I seem to have a fair amount of "discarded" starter in my fridge - Yes, I know you are suppose to throw it out, but I can't bring myself to do that and each time I refresh my starter, I toss the surplus into a container in my fridge.  I add some flour and water into the mix when I remember and it stays fresh and sweet.

So, pancakes for breakfast using my recipe.  They are just so nice - light and fluffy and the bicarbonate of soda counteracts the sour in the starter.  Basically, you take about a cup of starter (no need to refresh), add an egg, some oil and powdered milk, a little sugar, salt and bicarb and there you have it.  Mix it up and make your pancakes.  How easy is that!

Now I need to work out what to do with the other litre of left over starter.

Pressed pickled pork

I managed to buy a nice piece of pickled pork last week and finally cooked it today.  It's one of those pieces that come in a string bag which is never a good look for a piece of meat.  However this one cooked up nicely and there's not a lot of fat with it.

Mum's old meat press on the left and mine on the right.

So, to the press.  I scavenged a nice meat press from my Mum a while back and it's probably the best one I've ever seen.  It's heavy cast aluminium and rectangular in shape.  Mum tells me that my Nana gave it to her many years ago so it's done a bit of work and still looks fit for another 50 years of service.  My other press is a lightweight aluminium affair that looks cheap and nasty but I guess it does the job too - not as nice to use as the old one.

Pulla - Finnish cardamom bread

I made Pulla yesterday for the first time in many years.  I just love the smell of cardamom in this bread and the loaf is not overly sweet.  Just the thing for breakfast, toasted and spread with butter and maybe a little honey.

Full recipe here.

Braised Steak

Had a longing for something warming tonight and found some scotch fillet in the freezer that I'd bought at Christmas "just in case".  Yes, I know it seems a waste to use such a nice tender steak in a braise, but the meat has to be used or it will end up only good for dog food.

I was planning on using the slow cooker, but ran out of time so the pressure cooker was dusted off.  So nice.

Browned three fillets in a pan and made gravy with the brownings.  Added a splash of Worcestershire Sauce, a sachet of tomato paste, some vegemite and stock powder, 3 chopped onions, and some sliced carrot.  Served with green peas and mash.

Here's my full recipe

There's leftovers too.