Baking

Baking with the children.  I often think the simple things bring the most pleasure.  This recipe is from the Sweet Treats cookbook by David Gillespie. This book proves that sugar free can taste great; the cheese cake recipe I made proved to be a winner at both home and work and this cake is just a good. 

On a different note; I thought I would have zoo photos to post but it is taking me AGES to edit them.  I will do it soon!

Jamie Oliver HomeCooker {Mother's Day}

I was spoilt this year.  Normally not much happens to mark the occasion on Mother's Day but this year I put in an order and was given the Jamie Oliver HomeCooker.  Jamie Oliver is so wonderful and his cooker is just as good as I would expect from a product underpinned by him.  

I got the Cooker with cutting tower and also the pasta and steamer trays.  This lot cost me $300 on sale at Harvey Norman and there is also an extra $30 to come off that via a promotional cash back deal running right now.  It all made it such a great deal.

The big difference between this machine and the Thermomix, other than the price, is that the HomeCooker does not have built in scales and the cutting tower is used instead of having the built in cutting system.  I can live with that when you consider this was $1700 cheaper.

I have used it a lot as I may have opened it before Mother's Day, I just couldn't wait!  It really does make tea time so much easier, put ingredients in, press button, beeps when something else needs to happen or stirs until you are ready to eat.  Simple!

The whole thing is dishwasher safe too which is a big plus in this house since we recently put a dishwasher in.  It is easy to assemble and clean and so far I have not found anything I don't like about it.

I love the Jamie Oliver cookbook too.  There are more recipes online and because I registered new recipes get emailed to me.  It is not hard to cook most of the foods we like using this system so a lot of old favourite recipes are being cooked as well.

I had originally wanted a Thermomix but I am glad I didn't rush out and buy one as there are now a number of similar products about.  I won't claim they are exactly as good but I do think this goes close and if value for money is important this is a much better option for us.  

{Fire and Flood} and some baking too

We had intended to spend some time in the Warrumbungle National Park, but the recent fire made us put those plans on hold.  The picture above is a screen capture from the RFS app called Fires Near Me NSW and shows how much of the Warrumbungles have been burnt out, nearly all of it.

If you have an iGadget of any kind and live in NSW or have family in NSW you should get this app.

Then earlier in the week I thought we could go to Dorrigo National Park over the long weekend instead.  It wouldn't be too hot and they have not been affected by fire, we even called to check.  Great!  At that point in time the weather forecast looked good too.

Yesterday we spent the day baking biscuits and bread rolls.  There was dancing while we baked and general merriment.  The children were excited about the trip and kept telling us all the things we might see and do....

...then I saw the update from NSW SES.

Major Flooding rain as cyclone Oswald passes by.

Fire followed by flood...We are staying at home instead.  

At least I have biscuits.

Challenge Week 1 - Cooking

When Posie mentioned her 'Limp Bits' Challenge I thought it would be a great idea to join in.  If nothing else it would give me something else to blog about other than my Handstitch Quilt that everyone must be sick of seeing already!

I decided to make a cheesecake.  I have never made one before which is surprising because I really LOVE cheesecake.  A lot.  And in honour of the fact that this is an Olympic inspired challenge I thought I would make a Mars Bar Cheesecake using THIS recipe.  Why start with a 'regular' cheesecake?!

Mine does not look like the photo in the recipe.  Somehow I also managed to dirty every saucepan and jug in the house too.  I also used both the Kenwood Mix-Master and Food Processor.  I am STILL cleaning up!  I also think that the choc and  caramel sauce was overkill.  Next time (if there is a next time) I will put the Mars Bars in but leave out the sauces.

It does taste ok, so all was not lost.  The Mr likes it more than I do.  I think I will try a regular cheesecake next time; if I ever get the kitchen clean after this one!

For More Limp Bit Cooking, check out Posie's post here.

Next week's challenge is craft; I am training hard already with an idea brewing :)

Ginger Nut Biscuits

Yesterday I had a rare Susie Homemaker episode complete with nice dress, make up and an apron.  To give you an idea of how rare* this is Possum looked at my apron and then said 'wow, who gave you an apron?'.  I have owned it since before she was born!

These are great biscuits, everyone here gives them a big thumbs up and given it has been a long time since I posted a recipe I thought I would share it while I still had biscuits left to photograph.  These biscuits use less sugar and butter and a lot of baked biscuits so I like to pretend they are healthy (ha ha, maybe if I ate less of them...).

Ginger Nuts

2 cups plain flour

1 cup castor sugar

1/2 tsp bicarb

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

2 tsps ground ginger

100g butter

1 egg

1 tsp golden syrup

hot water as need to form dough

Sift flour, sugar, soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt.  Rub in butter and mix in syrup and beaten egg.  Mix into a firm dough adding water as needed.  Roll into small balls and flatten very slightly with a fork.  Cook at 180 deg for approx 15 minutes.  Cool on tray before moving to rack.

*I do bake often enough, just not usually in a dress and apron.

{four} fudge

To use some pistachios from our tree (and because I love fudge) I made this recipe by Nigella.  It tastes perfect, but it is sticky and hard to work with which puts me off the idea of making it again in a hurry.

I saw a white choc rocky road recipe that used pistachios, so I think I will try that next.

Pastisio Pie

Looks good doesn't it!

*****************************************************************

200g penne

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

500g  mince

500g tomato pasta sauce

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

340g bechamel or carbonara sauce (I make a white sauce instead)

2 eggs

1/2 cup cheese

Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

Grease and line a 22cm round springform pan

Cook pasta for 8 minutes or until tender, drain and return to pan

Meanwhile, heat oil fry onion and garlic

Add mince and cook until brown

Stir in pasta sauce, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of water

Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, add to pasta

Combine white sauce and eggs

Add half white sauce mix to pasta and combine

Place pasta in springform pan and smooth surface

Pour over remaining white sauce to cover

Sprinkle with cheese

Bake approx 30 minutes until golden

Stand for 20 minutes before removing pan

Can be frozen in portions for up to 3 months, thaw in fridge overnight and bake in an oven for 15-20 minutes until reheated.

Recipes+ May2011

Egg and bacon pie with spinach

I love this simple pie and with spinach growing in the garden and eggs from the chooks it does not cost much to whip up either. 

4 rashers of diced bacon

1 tsp olive oil

1 diced onion

200g spinach

1/4 cup cream

4 eggs

1 sheet of puff pastry.

Preheat oven to 220 deg C.

Grease dish and line base with puff pastry.

Mix other ingredients and pour in.

Bake approx 35 mins.

Fig jam

2kg of ripe figs

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp sweet sherry

1 kg of sugar

50g Jamsetta

Wash and dry figs, remove stems and chop finely.  Place in pan with juices and cook until soft.  Stir in sugar and stir until disolved.  Add jamsetta stirring constantly, bring to the boil for one minute and then stir in sherry.  Bring back to boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes.  Test for set.  Remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes before filling jars.

A Fowlers recipe.

Fig collection is not made easier when your cow gets in the orchard and eats most of the figs before you head out with your bucket.  I managed to make up numbers by stopping at the fig tree on the road down near the bridge on our lower boundary.  I also had to climb our tree to gather the figs the cow couldn't reach and the cockatoos hadn't yet eaten. It was worth the extra effort.

Fruit Chutney

To use the tomatoes that we picked from the garden I deided to make chutney.

I had to modify a few reicpes to suit the ingredients I had here and the end result is really good so I will share what I did here.

1kg tomatoes, skinned and chopped

2 large onions, diced

2 large apples* peeled and diced

700g sugar

3/4 cup sultanas

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tbs salt

1 tsp whole cloves

3.5 cups vinegar

Combine all ingredients over a low heat in a heavy base pan. 

Stir until sugar is disolved and simmer for about 2.5 hours. 

Pour into sterilised jars.

*The apples on my tree are still a bit green, so I used apple puree that I had instead.

Cookie Cutter Biscuits

A plain biscuit recipe we use when the children want to play with the cookie cutters.

300g Plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

115g butter

200g caster sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla essence

Option icing and colouring to decorate.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla.

Stir in flour and knead lightly. 

Divide dough in half, flatten slightly and put in fridge between parchment until firm.

Preheat oven to 175degC.

Roll out dough between two lightly floured parchments sheets until the dough is about 5mm thick.

Cut out cookies and place on baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Makes a lot, and they store well for a week in an airtight container.

The kids can have fun decorating them as they wish as well.

Breakfast Crepe

We discovered a new weekend breakfast treat the other day.

Make some crepes using your recipe of choice while 3 diced apples simmer with some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and some butter.

Tastes wonderful and is a great way to use up some end of week apples from the fruit bowl.

Rhubarb and Lemon Cake

It is for discoveries like this one that I adore Blogland. 

This recipe is one of my favourite culinary finds for this year!

I stumbled across mention of it while visiting Gina, and clicked across to Owlet to see what it was about (as you do!). 

Rhubarb and Lemon Cake

5 rhubarb stalks cut into 2cm bits

1/2 cup brown sugar

125g soft butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

zest 1 lemon

3 eggs

1 tbs lemon juice

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup SR flour

100ml sour cream

icing sugar to serve

Preheat oven to 180deg.

Butter and line 20cm pan

Toss rhubarb with brown sugar and set aside

Cream butter and sugar

Add lemon zest, then eggs one at a time.

Stir through lemon juice.

Sift flours together and fold in alternating with the sour cream

Fold through Rhubarb.

Bake 40mins and test with a skewer.

Cool 15 minutes and remove.

Dust with icing sugar to serve.

I listed the recipe here again with the volumes I used, which mostly included less sugar.

Handmade Pizza

We love making pizza for lunch.  Lebanese bread used as the base for simplicity.  Possum loves spreading the tomato paste around.  She also loves placing the other ingredients carefully around the base while eating as much pineapple as she can while she thinks I am not looking :)

I forgot to take a photo of the cooked pizza, and this is the last piece being eaten.  Maybe next time :)

edit: Yes, her fringe is wonky.  I let her go to the barber with Dad last week :(

My Creative Space

We have been enjoying the sunshine over the last few days.  We have been walking about to check on lambs and spending time in the garden.  It has been lovely to relax after the big 1.5 weeks of hard work clearing and stacking junk ready for the scrap man.

I took time out to make lemonade using the lemons from our tree.

There are still a lot left and I have frozen a lot of juice into cubes for keeping but think lemon shortbread and lemon pudding might be on the menu soon...

Lemonade

1 cup water

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup lemon juice

soda water

Melt sugar in water and allow to cool.

Mix in Lemon Juice.

Use like cordial and mix with soda water.

Visit Kirsty's for more creative spaces.

My Creative Space

My creative space is in the kitchen at the moment. 

This is encouraged by the small girl in the house who always wants to 'bake a cake' and loves stiring, sifting and making a mess!  Bananas are a good price at the moment so Banana Cake is a winner on both taste and price.

1 3/4 cups SR flour

1/4 cup plain flour

2/3 firm packed brown sugar

3 bananas

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

50g melted cool butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

50grams crushed walnuts

1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Sift butter, add sugar and mix.

Combine wet ingredients in seperate bowl.

Add together and mix in walnuts.

Bake 40-45 minutes.

Remove and cover with foil & bake for an extra 15-20 minutes.

This recipe is a adapted from one seen here and here.
For more creative spaces visit Kirsty

Spicy Winter Pumpkin Loaf

This photo is pretty ordinary but don't let that put you off.  This is one of my favourite recipes and 5 seconds after snapping this shot Possum dived in and bit a chunk out of the side.  She then blamed it on the small giraffe she was playing with at the time...

This smells wonderful as it cooks and will be eaten VERY quickly.

Ingredients:

90g butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup SR flour

1/2 tsp bicarb

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg

1 cup mashed pumpkin

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Cream butter and suger.

Add egg and mix in.

Add pumpkin making sure it is drained well of water.

Add dry sifted ingredients and mix.

Pour into grease loaf pan.

Cook 50-60 mins.

Cool in tin for 5 mins then tip onto rack to cool further.

Suitable to freeze for later.

Christmas Sewing, Cooking, and Cheer!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I made the worlds best Trifle this year based on a recipe in Family Circle.

Cake, custard, mixed berries, cream, strawberries and white chocolate curls.

PERFECT!

I sent my Sister her Kris Kringle gift which was an Emmeline Apron and Australian Womans Weekly cookbook Cook.  I loved this apron and have put it on my 'to do' list for me in 2010.

I made the children a Melly and Me  Pippi Pony each.  I can see a new softie become a tradition in the Christmas Stocking each year!  This pattern was very quick, and very easy so big thumbs up!

I was adding the finishing touches to these yesterday afternoon and I decided in the spirit of Christmas Cheer to have a couple (or three) of Pimms.  I had not factored in the effect it would have on me given I have not had a drink in a few years having been either pregnant or feeding. 

I got a little 'Merry' and didn't get around to adding the ears (in case you noticed!).

Gingerbread

I made a double batch of this recipe and they were great!  The double batch made about 30 cookies which kept us all going for a few days.

Possum kept chewing the points of the star off them asking for another one.  I had to sing 'twinkle twinkle' with the sad leftover body to convince her it was still a star and that she should eat it, which she then did.

I decided decorating with cachous was easier than icing in full.  I might save that for next years Christmas advent adventure.

Birthday Cake

Due to the goings on mentioned in the previous post I have not been doing much of interest over the last week. I did however find the time to eat cake that was the by product of a recent birthday in the house.

This is not your traditional birthday style cake recipe but it is good enough to share. We have deemed it a keeper :)

Ginger & Sour Cream Cake

1.5 cups SR flour
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
180g butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 23cm round springform cake tin and line the base with non-stick paper.

Sift the flour and ginger into a bowl and stir in sugar. Stir in the eggs and melted butter. Combine to a smooth batter.

Spoon into the prepared tin and smear the sour cream over the top.

Bake 45 min or until lightly browned on top.

Cool for 10 mins in the tin on a rack. Turn out and cool completely before serving.

Enjoy :)