Corned Beef & Citrus Delicious

Corned Beef
Country Women’s Cookbook (original)

Citrus Delicious
Taste.com

“This magical, marvellous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell, a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy………” Joel Salatin

Hi everyone,

No truer words could be said than when applying them to the Country Women’s Association cookbook! I have my grandmother’s original book and I treasure it. So many wonderful meals came from this book to my grandmother’s table. I wanted to share an old favourite with a little bit of an adaptation. The MAV had been asking for sometime if we could have corned beef (silverside) so I thought I would delve into this lovely old book and give him his wish.

I found this lovely and basic way of cooking the beef but converted it to the slow cooker instead of the stove top and that is the recipe I have given you below. The meat was beautifully tender and we even had some leftover for corned beef and pickle sandwiches the next day (gosh my dad use to love those). I made a very simple white sauce but added tablespoon of grainy mustard and a dash of worsteshire sauce to jazz it up. Mash with carrots and beans completed this simple, old fashioned favourite. This main course received a very positive 10/10.

Lemon delicious is another oldy but a goody. The MAV’s mother made a beautiful lemon delicious and it has always reminded me of her. This one, however, incorporates orange as well as lemon which tones down the bite of the lemon and adds a slightly sweeter tang. You’ll be pleased to know that this is made to a low-fat recipe so if you add double cream or ice-cream you will be adding the calories but at least the starting point itself gives you room to move in this area. It is just so simple to make and when you mix the egg whites into it you think to yourself, wow this is so watery it won’t work, but it does so fear not. You place your container in a baking dish and pour boiling water half way up the dish. Be careful not to take it any further than half way because you want the bottom to have that lovely smooth citrusy syrup/paste with the cake like top. Sprinkled with icing sugar it’s a winner. 10/10.

So a great night all round. AND EVERYONE PUT THEIR PHONES IN A BOX – we had a fun time.

Corned Beef in the Slow Cooker

Adapted from the original Country Womens Assoc. Cookbook

1.5 kg Silverside (bottom round)
1 brown onion (roughly chopped)
1 carrot (roughly chopped)
10 peppercorns
6 cloves
2 bay leaves
¼ C brown sugar
½ C malt vinegar
enough water to cover the meat

Wash the silverside in cold water twice
Place onion, carrot, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves and the brown sugar into the slow cooker
Add the silverside/bottom round on top of the onions and carrots
Add malt vinegar and fill with water until you completely cover the silverside. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Cook vegetables for serving separately. The vegetables cooked with the meat will have a taste of vinegar. I served this sliced on mash with a white sauce, carrots and beans

Citrus Delicious

155 g caster sugar
40 g light dairy spread
1 tsp lemon rind (finely grated)
1 tsp orange ring (finely grated)
2 eggs (separated)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
250 ml low fat milk
75 g self-raising flour
1 egg white
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Use an electric beater to beat together sugar, dairy spread, lemon and orange rind and egg yolks in a bowl until creamy.
Add the combined juices and milk and combine. Sift over the flour and fold to combine. Use an electric beater to whisk the egg white in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Fold the egg white into the flour mixture.
Pour the citrus mixture into a 1.25L capacity ovenproof dish and place in a roasting pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the dish. Bake in oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Dust with icing sugar to serve.