One of the great things about owning a savory pie shop is that we get to meet so many ex-pats...from Oz, New Zealand, England, Ireland, South Africa - it is amazing how many countries have a pie-eating culture!

We are often asked to make favorite savories or sweets from our customer's home countries - Steak + Kidney pie for the Brits, Mince + Cheese pie for the Kiwis, Milk Tert for South Africans, and all kinds of baked goods from Australia.  While we can't possibly make everything that our customers crave, we can provide you with some good recipes so you can cook up a taste of home!

Anzac Biscuits were first baked during World War I, when the wives of soldiers would bake them up to send to their men overseas.  The biscuits shipped well because they didn't contain milk or eggs.  After the incredibly brave showing by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS) in Gallipoli, Turkey, the biscuits were renamed to honor these soldiers.

Anzac Biscuits are easy + cheap to make, and would be a good summer project with the kids.  Perfect for lunch boxes, with your afternoon cup of tea, or on a hike.  Enjoy!

Anzac Biscuits

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut (also called unsweeted shredded coconut)
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup*
• 8 oz butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons hot water

Put oats, flour, sugar, and coconut in a large bowl and stir.  Put golden syrup and butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat.  Mix the baking soda and water and then add to the butter mixture (careful - this can bubble up vigorously!).  Remove pan from heat and pour the butter mixture over the dry ingredients.  Mix well.

Put bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow it to firm up a bit.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325.  Then roll spoonfulls of the mixture into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Allow room for the biscuits to spread. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon or slightly wet fingers.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes about 4 dozen.

*Look for Lyle's Golden Syrup in the International Foods Section of your food store.  In Portland I buy it at Sheridan Fruit Co. on MLK.

Oh. My. Gosh.  I had always heard that Oregon berries are pretty wonderful, but I had no idea how amazingly delicious they would be!  We are in the midst of strawberry season, and Chris and I can't get enough of them.  One of the fun things about being a vendor at the Farmer's Markets is trading with other vendors, and swapping pies for berries seems like a good deal to us!  We have been sampling the strawberries from our friends at Deep Roots Farm, Sungold Farm, and Heavenly Harvest, and they are all fantastic. 

Last weekend we came home with half a flat of strawberries (which were traded for a Cheese & Veg pastie and a Beef & Stout pie!), and we have been eating them with yogurt, whizzed up into smoothies, with vanilla ice cream and Two Brothers chocolate sauce, and just by the handful every time we pass through the kitchen. 

I also baked this Strawberry Streusel Cake, which is a recipe from my favorite food writer, Nigella Lawson.  This cake might not win any beauty contests, but it is another sweet way to savor strawberry season!  I used lucsious Seascape strawberries from our mates at Heavenly Harvest farm.

 Strawberry Streusel Cake

3/4 cup sugar

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 sticks of chilled butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup sour cream

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbl brown sugar

For puree:

2 tsp cornflour

2 tsp vanilla

2 punnets of strawberries, hulled

3 tablespoons strawberry jam (optional)

To make puree, make a paste of cornflour and vanilla, and add to blender with the berries and jam.  Puree until smooth.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Using tips of your fingers, rub in butter cubes until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Remove 1/2 cup and set aside, and then mix in sour cream, egg, and vanilla to the main bowl.  Mix well.

Use a fork to combine the reserved mixture with the brown sugar.  Sprinkle evenly across the top of the cake, then bake for 45-50 minutes or until lightly golden.  Cool, and then serve as is, or with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of creme fraiche.    

When Chris and I were planning the Pacific Pie Company menu, we knew we had to include some lamb pies, because what is more Aussie than lamb?  But we weren't sure how lamb pies would fly in the States - while the typical Aussie eats 30 pounds of lamb per year (and the Kiwis chow down on 57!), Americans eat less than a pound of lamb per year.  Which is quite a shame, given how scrumptious a roast leg of lamb can be, with tons of garlic and rosemary and mustard.

Another delicious way to enjoy lamb is in a PPC pie, and our market customers certainly agree.  Much to our surprise (and the delight of our lamb farmer), lamb pies have been a hit at all of our markets.  Our Sunday Roast Lamb pie is Chris' favorite dinner packed into PPC's flaky crust - free range lamb brasied in red wine, rosemary and onion, which is then combined with oven roasted organic yams, carrots, and yukon gold potatoes.  I drew the inspiration for the Golden Lamb Curry pie from my absolute favorite cookbook author, Nigella Lawson.  Her fabulous Feast cookbook includes a recipe for Lamb Maharaja, which is a wonderful tumeric and chile-spiked curry.  I tweaked the recipe a bit, and added yams and yukon golds, which pair beautifully with the tender curry-soused lamb. 

The lamb in our pies comes from Anderson Ranches in the Willamette Valley.  Reed Anderson raises Certified Humane lamb on the lush pastures of the Valley.  The lamb is totally free of antibiotics and hormones.  We think it tastes fantastic, and we're so glad to be partnering with Reed Anderson to bring our customers yummy lamb pies.   

Tonight I am making Greek Lamb patties, which will be so good wrapped in pita with yogurt sauce, tomato, lettuce and feta. 

Greek Lamb Patties

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint, basil, parsley, or whatever herbs are growing in your garden 

1 1/4 lb ground lamb

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon good dijon mustard

1/4 lb feta, crumbled

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mush everything around in a bowl with clean hands (or a fork, if you must).  Form into patties and pan fry or grill for about 4 minutes per side.  Wrap in pita and smother in yogurt, veggies, avocado, and whatever else you can find in the fridge! 

As I wrote in my last post, we recently hit the road to visit some of our farmers.  We returned with an eskie (that's Aussie for cooler!) full of wonderful meat, including some thick, grass fed ribeye steaks from Fluit Family Farms. 

On Sunday night I cooked up one of Chris' favorites, the classic Aussie pub meal of Steak Diane.  It is sooo good, and so easy, give it a try!

Steak Diane

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Heat a large, heavy skillet (I use cast iron) over medium high heat.  Add 1 TBL olive oil.  Season steaks with salt and pepper and saute in pan for 5 minutes on each side for medium rare (less time for rare and more for medium).  Remove steaks from pan and allow to rest while you make the sauce.

Return the pan to medium high heat and add 2 TBL butter until melted.  Add 1/2 cup chopped shallots and cook for 3 minutes until softened.  Stir in:

1/4 cup beef stock

1/4 cup brandy or white wine

1 TBL dijon mustard

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Boil for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all of that steaky goodness into the sauce.  Add any juices that have accumulated on the steak platter.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1-2 TBL cream or half and half.  

Pour sauce over steaks and garnish with some chopped parsley.

Enjoy with some potatoes, asparagus, and a nice glass of red.  Mmmm....