Hungerfords, Spiced Macadamia Nuts

A quiet day inside today taking time to do all the end of month accounts. Made up and e-mailed out the invoices for the work performed and then completed the monthly BAS statement. Most small business do their Business Activity Statements quarterly but we have chosen to do ours monthly. It only takes a few minutes in our small operation. Any outstanding bills are paid and then the paperwork filed ready for the end of year tax return. Any claimable deductions added to the BAS are also filed. When the end of financial year comes around it only takes a little while to summarise everything for the accountant who prepares the annual tax returns.

In the background a big batch of yogurt was on the stove. Normally the cream would have been removed and used for cultured butter but this time the cream was added back. About a month ago a batch of full cream yogurt was made and it was so delicious it seemed a good idea to try it again as there was an ample supply of cream. Of the 20 litres half the milk was used for yogurt and the other half for drinking. That left over about a litre of cream for other uses as we were happy to use skimmed milk in our teas and coffees and the dogs and cats don't notice the difference.

Two litre storage container and a one cup measuring tool

Overnight the cream has risen to the surface

Skimming the cream with the measuring cup.

And yet another comment on books. A long time ago when living in a remote valley a decent distance away from veterinary assistance we purchased a copy of T. G. Hungerford's  Diseases of Livestock. This was a very expensive book back then and is still pricey. But it was the best book on livestock we have ever found especially when it comes to diagnosis of ailments. Back then we had cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs and cats. This book covered it all. We still use it today and it is especially useful it researching background detail about a specific problem.

Having come across a recipe to spice up the flavour of Macadamia nuts it was time to process some harvested nuts.

Macadamia Nuts stored in drying trays



Hand operated cracker



Step one removes the husk

Step two cracks the shell

Roasted nuts
 

Came across this recipe by Karen Martini in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food supplement. The original recipe included two types of nuts the other being Almonds. The only modification in hindsight would be to half the Macadamias. That way the flavours are spread over a bigger surface area. Other wise this recipe is delicious as a snack or as is suggested in the original recipe sprinkled over Pumpkin soup.

Garlic 2 cloves minced
Ginger 2 teaspoons finely grated
Curry Powder 1 teaspoon
Salt (flakes) 1 tablespoon
Tamari 4 tablespoons
Sesame seeds 40 grams
Macadamia nuts 360 grams

Roast the Macadamia nuts and Sesame seeds for 10 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees C
Toss with the mix of other ingredients
Roast for another 10 minutes.

If the mix seems a bit dry you can add a little water or even olive oil before the second roasting to assist the ingredients to adhere to the nuts.