Scotch Eggs

So Scotch Eggs are pretty retro. I remember them from childhood dinners but I had never attempted them before, partly because I was put off by having to deep fry them. Luckily there are an abundance of  baked versions out there. I took a photo of this recipe from an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine and then promptly lost all other details. 

The verdict? Really tasty! The kids loved the surprise egg in the middle and I loved that they tasted just as good cold from the fridge the next day. Perfect for school lunches or a picnic. I guess some things are a classic for a reason!

Baked Scotch Eggs

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

6 large boiled eggs

500g pork and veal mince

2 rashers of bacon

1 small onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 ts dried oregano

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1 tbs tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 180 / 160 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly grease a baking tray with oil spray and set aside.

In a large bowl add the mince, bacon, onion, garlic, oregano and sauces. Add some freshly ground black pepper and mix well to combine. Use your hands for best results. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and roll each into a ball. 

Using wet hands, flatten out each ball into a large patty, place the egg in the middle and wrap the mince patty around the egg, making sure it is completely enclosed. Repeat with remaining mince and eggs then roll each of them in breadcrumbs and place on the baking tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Fruit Scones

Apart from being absolutely delicious, what I love about scones is that they take no time at all to prepare! There are lots of scone recipes out there, most of which contain cream and most of which I find very rich and a bit heavy. This recipe is one I have been making since I was a kid. It's virtually foolproof. I even make it in a food processor and they still turn out well!

Fruit Scones

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Original Cookbook, ACP 1977, p194

3 cups self-raising flour

1/4ts salt

1/4 cup sugar

60g cold butter, in chunks

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup sultanas or dried fruit of your choice (I used mixed fruit)

Preheat the oven to 270/250 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly grease a baking tray and set aside.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter in using your fingertips. Stop when the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the sultanas and sugar then add the beaten egg and most of the milk. Use a butter knife to bring the dough together, it should be soft and not too sticky.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently bring together, patting it out to approximately 2cm thick. Use a 5cm (2 inch) cutter to cut out rounds and place on prepared tray, leaving a centimetre or so between them. Gently press together the scraps and dough and repeat. Brush the tops with milk and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and smelling delicious.

Makes approx 12 depending on the size of your cutter.

These are also great to freeze for snacks. Scones do tend to dry out a little when frozen but if you don't overbake them, a quick zap in the microwave will freshen them up. A generous smear of butter also helps!

TWD BWJ - Biscotti

I think every baker has something they fear, whether it be caramel, pastry or decorating cakes. For me in the past it has been biscotti. Sounds crazy for something so simple but I have never been able to get it right! So in an attempt to overcome this silly fear I made this week's pick twice (which I never do).

I have a huge bag of raw almonds in the fridge so that's what I went with rather than buying hazelnuts. 

Batch one I made with almonds, vanilla and cinnamon and replaced the booze with milk. The dough mixed up well, looked great when it was baked but then pretty much fell apart when I sliced it. So I ended up with chunky crumbly-edged tooth-breakers. Really tasty dunked in tea but not much good for anything else!

Batch two I made with almonds, cocoa and brandy. I chopped the nuts up more finely and when it came time to slice I used my best serrated knife and took it really slowly. 

Success!  These were pretty much the perfect biscotti. I got the size right, they sliced cleanly and were lovely and toasty. And of course delicious! I would happy giving these as gifts come Christmas time which is a pretty big tick of approval!

Our hosts this week are Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome and Katrina of Baking and Boys. They will have the recipe for the original hazelnut biscotti on their blogs so make sure you go and check it out!

Meatless Monday - Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)

Chole Chaat is basically a chickpea and tomato curry flavoured with ginger and garam masala. It is hearty and warming and just perfect for this ridiculous cold-snap we are having in Brisbane at the moment. 

It is hands-down one of our favourite meals and both our boys practically lick their plates clean when we have this for dinner, which is a pretty big tick of approval! I honestly don't think I was eating chickpea curry at 19 months old!

Like most curries it tastes better the next day so make it ahead of time, even a few hours, if you can.

Chole Chaat

Adapted from A Little Taste of India, Murdoch Books, 2003 p129

3 cans of chickpeas

2 tbs ghee or oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 ts ground coriander

1 ts ground cumin

1 ts ground turmeric

1 ts garam masala

2 cm piece fresh ginger, grated

2 red chillies, finely diced (or 1/2ts hot chilli powder)

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 tbs veggie stock powder

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the onion until golden and softened. Add the dry spices and cook 1 minute. Add the ginger, chilli and tomato and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas and 1 tomato tin of water along with the stock powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 - 30 minutes. Serve with brown rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Serves 4. 

This post is linked with Veggie Mama's Meatless Mondays:

Sunday Baking - Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

I've been thinking a lot about healthy lunchbox ideas recently. My husband takes his lunch to work every day (saving us literally thousands of dollars a year!) and always likes a little sweet something to have with his morning coffee. It's now also only a matter of months until Oscar starts kindy next year when having interesting and healthy treats will become even more important. 

These apple and cinnamon muffins are something I've been making for awhile and are a bit of a twist on what can be a sugar and fat-filled indulgence. They stay really moist and are perfect to freeze for lunches.

Apple & Cinnamon Muffins

Recipe by me

3/4 cup self-raising flour

3/4 cup wholemeal plain flour

1/4 cup rapadura or brown sugar

1 ts baking powder

1 ts cinnamon

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 large apple, washed and grated (skin and all)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 180 / 160 degrees celsius. Line a 12 cup muffin tray and set aside.

In a large bowl add the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, oats and sugar and whisk to combine. 

In a smaller bowl place the milk, egg, coconut oil and banana and whisk together. 

Add the grated apple to the dry ingredients then pour over the wet ingredients. Using a fork, stir until only just combined.

Spoon the mix into the prepared tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Makes 12. Suitable to freeze.

I was pretty happy with this batch but they did stick to the paper cases a bit. Not a huge problem though and Oscar loved eating the extra 'cake' on the paper!

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

We tend not to make sweets with pumpkin in Australia. Buying pumpkin in a can or even pumpkin pie spice blends are unheard of. But it's actually no trouble at all to make your own and I'm sure it would be cheaper.

I had pureed some pumpkin to stir through the kids' pasta for dinner and ended up with about a cup left over. What to do? A quick search on Tasty Kitchen led me to these pumpkin muffins and wow, they were amazing! The house smelt like Christmas and warm from the oven the muffins were moist and absolutely delicious.

The perfect treat to brighten up a grey and chilly winter's day.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from A Cozy Kitchen via Tasty Kitchen

1 cup plain flour

1/4 cup wholemeal flour

2 ts baking powder

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled

2 eggs

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 ts salt

1/2 ts cinnamon

1/8 ts ginger

1/8 ts allspice

1/8 ts nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 180 / 160 degrees celsius. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with paper liners and set aside.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder and spices in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk together the pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar until smooth. Pour this mixture over the flours and using a rubber spatula, fold together until just combined.

Divide the mixture among the muffin cups (they should be at least 2/3 full).

Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine took 22) or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or freeze to eat later.

This post is linked up to Crazy for Crust's Crazy Sweet Tuesdays.

Meatless Monday - Vege Bean Patties

Recently I've been trawling some old magazines and cookbooks looking for cheap eats. My mother in law lent me a set of Women's Weekly Menu Planners from the late eighties and that's where I found this little gem aka Vegetable Bean Patties. Think a veggie burger, but old school.

It was exactly the type of thing I was after. Cheap, easy, no fancy ingredients and something I could make with very little notice given we already had all the ingredients in the pantry. I also did most of the work in food processor so it took next to no time to make. You could of course do the grating and chopping by hand.

And the verdict? Yum!

I made a very simple salad of baby leaves, parsley and tomato dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and it was all absolutely delicious. We will definitely be having this again!

Vegetable Bean Patties

Slightly adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Menu Planner No 6, ACP 1988 p24

2 cups mashed potato

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 carrots (about 250g) grated

1 egg

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 ts curry powder

1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs

olive oil for shallow frying

Place the mashed potato in a large bowl.

Using a food processor, add the onion and pulse a few times or until broken up. Add the kidney beans and pulse again until coarsely chopped and combined. Switch to the grating attachment and grate the carrots. Add it all to the potato. Add the lightly beaten egg and curry powder and mix with you hands until well combined.

Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, roll into patties and roll each patty in breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat. Add the patties (in batches if you need to) and cook until golden brown on both sides and heated through. Remove and drain on paper towel. Serve with a salad.

Best Ever Custard

There are probably a dozen different varieties of custard at the supermarket - full fat, low fat, skinny, extra thick, pouring, chocolate flavoured, brandy flavoured, snack size ... you name it. But do any of them even come close to homemade? Nope!

The beauty of a good custard is you can just eat it straight out the pot or serve it very simply with some passion fruit or sliced bananas and you have a little bowl of heaven.

I was inspired to make some yesterday afternoon after watching Gary make a gorgeous apple strudel with cream and custard on Masterchef. This is his recipe with only a few minor changes. It is seriously the best custard I have made. Ever. It will most definitely be served with our Christmas pudding this year, and probably quite a few times before then as well!

Custard

Recipe very slightly adapted from MasterChef

300ml pure cream

200ml low fat milk

5 egg yolks

1/4 cup caster sugar

25g corn flour

1 ts vanilla extract

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat and heat until just before boiling.

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until thick and pale before whisking in the corn flour. 

Pour half of the hot cream into the egg mixture whisking continuously. Pour this mix back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream and return to a medium low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the mixture is thick and coats the back of the spoon. 

Strain the custard through a fine sieve to remove any stray bits of egg. Serve immediately or to serve later, place this bowl over another bowl of iced water and stir until cooled to room temperature.

TWD BWJ - French Strawberry Cake

Strawberries, cream and a vanilla genoise? Yes please!

This week we have the very gorgeous French Strawberry Cake hosted by Sophia of Sophia's Sweets and Allison of Think, Love, Sleep, Dine.

I was planning on making this to take to my mother in law's place for Sunday lunch, but we ended up going down the night before instead which meant I was in a mad rush to get the cake made and cool enough to ice before leaving. Thanks to the P & Q I knew lots of others had trouble with their cakes not rising and there not being enough cream to decorate with.

While a traditional genoise requires beating the eggs over a bain marie this recipe didn't say that. To compromise I placed my eggs in a bowl of warm water while I got everything else ready.

I took lots of care whipping up the eggs and followed the recipe to a T and was lucky enough to end up with a cake tall enough to slice into 3 (very wonky) layers! I also made extra cream and even had some left over.

The taste test ...

This was heaven on a plate. Strawberries and cream are a perfect match and when you add in a lovely light sponge cake you really can't beat it. Not much to say really other than we loved it and it didn't last long!

You will find the recipe on Sophia's and Allison's blogs.

Sunday Baking - Chocolate and Coconut Slice

Another childhood favourite this week! This slice brings back memories of school fairs, fancy morning teas and Grandma's house. With a crunchy chocolate base covered with smooth chocolate icing, it will disappear pretty quickly. This is such an easy and yummy treat to make. In fact, you will probably have all the ingredients in the pantry right now. So get baking!

Chocolate and Coconut Slice

Recipe slightly adapted from Taste.com.au

3 weetbix or similar

85g dessicated coconut

100g raw sugar

150g self-raising flour

150g melted butter

2 tbs cocoa

1 ts vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbs cocoa extra

20g soft butter

1-2 tbs hot water

Preheat the oven to 180 /160 fan-forced degrees celsius. Lightly grease a slice pan (20 x 30cm approx) and line with baking paper. 

Crush the weetbix into a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut, sugar, flour and cocoa and stir well. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla and mix well to combine. Tip the mixture into the pan and smooth out to make level, then press down with the back of a spoon (if you don't press it down at this stage it may be too crumbly when cooked). Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and ice while hot. 

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add the softened butter and start to mix through. Add 1 tablespoon of hot water and stir well to combine. If it is too thick add a little extra water. Pour over the hot slice and smooth into the corners. Allow to cool completely before slicing in the pan. 

Makes 24 pieces.

TWD BWJ - Oasis Naan and Creamy Prawn Curry

After the calorie-laden treats of the past few weeks of BWJ I was delighted to have a simple savoury recipe this week, and even more delighted that it was naan! We love Indian food around here and cook it quite often but we have never really made our own naan. 

This was a very simple bread, just 4 ingredients. I baked them on a pizza stone so they were lovely and crispy on the bottom. They just never got the flat middle and puffed edges that I think was intended, maybe my oven doesn't get hot enough for them to puff up? The parts that did puff up sank as soon as they were taken out.

I even happened to have an unopened packet of caraway seeds in the pantry (no idea what that was bought for!) so could make them exactly as per the recipe for a change. Though I did make one with just sesame seeds on top so my boys didn't have to pick off 'the green'.

I served our naan with a creamy prawn curry which we had also never made before. Truly this was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten! And so simple. We are already imagining this sauce on chicken and fish and making it for guests. Absolutely delicious. 

Our hosts this week were Maggie of Always Add More Butter and Phyl of Cabbages & King Cakes. They will have the recipe up for the Oasis Naan. The curry recipe is below.

Creamy Prawn Curry

Adapted from A Little Taste of India, Murdoch Books 2003, p104-105

400g prawns (peeled, raw, frozen)

2 tbs oil

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1/2 ts ground turmeric

1/2 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts ground cumin

1/8 ts ground cloves

7 cardamon pods

1 ts chilli paste

3cm piece fresh ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large heavy based fry pan. Fry the spring onions for 1 minute then add the turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, cardamon, garlic and ginger. Fry for 2 minutes. Add the chilli, coconut milk and some salt to taste and bring to the boil. 

Reduce the heat to low and add the prawns. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Garnish with extra sliced spring onions and serve with rice and/or naan. Serves 4.

Meatless Monday - Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Ahh the humble sausage roll. Full of who-knows-what and definitely not very good for you. We've had party sausage rolls at both the kids' birthday parties and they do bring back memories of childhood. Both my boys seem to like the pastry and accompanying tomato sauce the best anyway so I had my fingers crossed they wouldn't miss the meaty filling with this vegetarian version. 

The original recipe contains chopped pecans and I had planned on soaking some almonds to use instead, but we got home late so that wasn't an option. Although I think chickpeas would work here too I decided to use chopped mushrooms and was really happy with the result. 

The house smelled wonderful while these were cooking and we could hardly wait for them to cool down to tuck in. The verdict? Hubby loved them, the boys asked for seconds and then thirds ... definitely a winner and a great start to the week. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

250g cottage cheese

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 cup finely diced mushrooms

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 eggs

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup rolled quinoa

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 tbs soy sauce

1 heaped ts vege stock powder

3 sheets puff pastry

1 extra egg, beaten for glaze

Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 220 / 200 degrees celsius. Thaw out the pastry and set aside.

Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine.

Place one sheet of pastry on a flat surface and slice in half to form 2 rectangles. Spoon the filling mix down the middle third of each rectangle, lengthways. Brush one edge of each rectangle with beaten egg. Fold the long edge nearest to you over the top of the filling then overlap with the glazed edge. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining 2 sheets of pastry. 

Brush the top of each non-sausage roll with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Use a sharp knife to mark the top of the pastry where you would like to cut them after they are cooked, in halves, thirds or quarters.

Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving with salad and tomato sauce.

Makes 12 large or 24 small sausage rolls.

Sunday Baking - Cornflake Biscuits

Does anyone else remember these fondly from their childhood? They were always a favourite of mine and now with young kids, they are perfect for lunchbox treats or a rainy day baking project.

You can experiment with different add-ins. I generally use sultanas but any dried fruit would work, as would chocolate chips or nuts. Just go crazy!

Cornflake Biscuits

125g softened butter

1/3 cup raw sugar

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

1 tbs milk

1 ts vanilla extract

1/2 cup sultanas or chocolate chips

2 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Sift in the flour, add the milk and mix until the mixture forms a dough. Add the sultanas/choc chips and 1 cup of the cornflakes and fold together until well combined.

Place remaining 1 cup of cornflakes into a bowl. Roll tablespoons of mixture into the cornflakes then place onto baking trays, allowing some room for spreading. Press each biscuit down with the back of a fork. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before carefully placing them on a wire rack to cool. Makes approx 22.

Family Mince and Veggie Pie

Mince is one of those ingredients that most families will cook with at least once a week. We certainly do! Think spaghetti bolognese, meatloaf, hamburgers. You can also use mince to make a pie with great results and for less money than using even the cheapest cut of steak. Add a healthy serve of veges and some yummy herbs and you have a complete meal that even the kids will like!

Mince and Veggie Pie

2 1/2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

2 tbs rice bran oil

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

1 large zucchini, finely diced

3 ts Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste

2 ts Gourmet Garden Thyme Paste

1 ts Gourmet Garden Basil Paste

600g beef mince

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tbs beef gravy powder

2 ts Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan-forced).  Grease a 24cm round glass pie dish. Line the base and sides with 1 1/2 sheets of of pastry. Trim the excess. Line the pastry shell with with baking paper then fill with pie weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges of the pastry are light golden brown. Carefully remove the rice and paper then return the pastry to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.

While the pastry is baking, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and fry off the onion, carrot and zucchini for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the mince and herbs and cook, stirring to break up the meat, for 5 minutes or until browned. Add the stock, gravy powder and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for approx 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. You should be left with a moist, but not runny, mixture.

Allow mince to cool for 10 minutes before spooning into the pastry base. Top with the remaining pastry, pressing the edges to seal. Brush the top with beaten egg. Cut a cross in the centre of the pastry to allow the steam to vent and bake for approx 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Stand for 10 minutes before serving with plenty of tomato sauce and a green salad.

** This recipe was intended to be part of my entry into the Gourmet Garden Blog-Off/Cook-Off but we had a shocker of a week and I just didn't get around to it.**

Sunday Baking - Homemade Soft Pretzels

Soft pretzels aren't at all common in Australia. Here when someone says pretzels you immediately think of the the hard and crunchy kind you can buy in bags like chips. 

Hubby had soft pretzels recently at a work morning tea and was so keen for me to make some he found a recipe, printed it out and then wouldn't shut up about them!  So late Sunday afternoon we decided to bake them together.

They were surprisingly easy to make. A simple dough made with butter is rested then shaped, boiled and baked. We definitely don't have the shaping technique down but that will improve with practice. We will be making these again!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Recipe converted from the Food Network

1 1/2 cups water, heated to 44 degrees Celsius (I realise you don't need to activate instant dry yeast as you do with active dry yeast but we used warm water just to keep the same process as the original recipe)

1 tbs sugar

1 ts salt

2 ts instant dry yeast

4 1/2 cups plain flour

60g butter, melted

10 cups water

2/3 cup bicarb soda

1 large egg beaten with 1 tbs water

vegetable oil for greasing pan

Into the bowl of a stand mixer place the flour, butter, warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Using the dough hook attachment mix on low speed until well combined. Increase speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic and pulling cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl so you can grease the bowl with vegetable oil then return the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in a warm place for approx 1hr or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and brush them lightly with oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the bicarb soda to a boil in a large saucepan.

Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a greased surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 60cm long rope. Male a U-shape with the dough, then cross them over each other and press the ends onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel (?). Place onto the greased and lined baking tray and repeat.

Place the pretzels one by one into the boiling water mixture, for 30 seconds only. Remove with a large flat spatula and return to the baking tray. Brush each one with the egg wash mixture then sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake until dark golden brown, approx 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Makes 8

Super Toasted Muesli

I have a love-hate relationship with breakfast. If I have toast/pancakes/waffles etc by mid-morning I feel light-headed and stuffed from a carb overload. I know I need protein but I don't have time for a cooked breakfast and I am trying to stay away from just cereal and milk which I am heartily sick of. What to do?

Lately my breakfast of choice is a freshly made fruit and veggie juice, using some combination of apple, carrot, celery, beetroot, ginger, lemon, pineapple and spinach. Absolutely delicious and packed full of nutrients. Then an hour or so later I will have either porridge with LSA or toasted muesli with yoghurt.

I found this muesli recipe on Scandi Foodie and it ticks all the boxes for me in terms of what I want to be eating at the moment. I made a few changes based on what I had in the pantry and also made a double batch so I don't have to make it so often.

Super Toasted Muesli

Recipe slightly adapted from Scandi Foodie

200g rolled oats

200g rolled quinoa

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

100g raw buckwheat

200g seed and nut mix (mine had pepitas, sunflowers, sesame and pine nuts)

200g raw almonds

2 tbs cinnamon

100ml rice bran oil

2 tbs rice syrup

Yoghurt and dried fruit of your choice to serve

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced). Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil and rice syrup and mix until well combined. Pour into a large baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until the muesli is well toasted and golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack before storing in an air-tight container. Serve with yoghurt and whatever dried fruit you like. I use sultanas and dried apricots. Yum!

Minestrone Soup

We've been having gorgeous Autumn weather lately with cool nights and lovely warm sunny days. This is the perfect time of year for soup and really is there anything more comforting than a big bowl of steaming hot soup served with crusty bread on a cold night? Unfortunately hubby does not share my enthusiasm. Oh well, more for me and the kids!

This is my version of a minestrone soup. You can use absolutely any vegetables you like or happen to have on hand. The more the better. Add some beef stock, kidney beans and tomatoes and you have a hearty and warming winter meal. You can of course easily use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version that is just as yummy.

My Minestrone Soup

2 onions

2 medium carrots

2 stalks celery

2 medium potatoes

2 corn cobs, kernels removed

1 large zucchini

1 parsnip

1 swede

1 large wedge of pumpkin

1 bunch asparagus

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbs Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste

1 tbs Gourmet Garden Basil Paste

2 ts Gourmet Garden Thyme Paste

2 bay leaves

1 - 1/2 litres beef stock

2 tbs oil

Dice all the fresh vegetables to roughly the same size and set aside. Heat the oil in a very large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add all your vegetables at once and stir to coat in the oil. Cook for about 5 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes, beans, herbs and enough stock to cover the veges. Cover the pot and bring to the boil. Spoon off the froth/scum that has risen to the surface then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for an hour or so, or until the vegetables are cooked through. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves. Serve with crusty bread and some grated Parmesan cheese.

To make it more kid friendly, simply puree the soup and serve with grated cheese and lots of hot buttered toast.

Enjoy! This makes enough to feed an army so be prepared to freeze it in smaller batches to pull out later for an easy dinner.

Sunday Baking - Apple Streusel Slice

This slice combines all the best parts of an apple teacake, a coffee cake and apple crumble. Could it get any better??

I took this to an Easter morning tea while it was still warm and it was fabulous. Luckily it also freezes and thaws really well and a quick zap in the microwave brings back some of that fresh apple taste. A real treat for morning tea or a lovely dessert served warm from the oven with a big scoop of vanilla icecream and some caramel sauce.

Apple Streusel Slice
Recipe very slightly adapted from Taste.com.au

Base
180g softened butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts ground cinnamon
2 large granny smith apples (peeled, cored and diced)

Streusel topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1 ts ground cinnamon
30g softened butter

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a deep 18cm x 28cm slab pan and line with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon over butter mixture and fold together using a large metal spoon. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Top with apple.

To make the streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Rub the butter into flour mixture with your fingertips until it clumps together. Crumble the streusel mixture evenly over the apple.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. It will also start to pull away from the edge of the pan. Allow to cool in pan. Cut slice into squares and serve.

TWD BWJ - Pecan Sticky Buns

You can probably tell from the photo that my sticky buns aren't quite as 'sticky' as they should be. That's because I could feel my arteries clogging just reading this week's recipes and decided to cut the butter somewhat.

I made the brioche but didn't laminate it and I used just a tablespoon of butter in the topping for each tray of buns. The results were absolutely delicious so I can only imagine how amazing the original version would have been!

I've never made brioche before and was really pleased with how it turned out. I'm already planning on making more and turning it into french toast one weekend. Yum!

Overall these were wonderful. I don't regret cutting the butter out because now I don't feel so guilty sneaking one for afternoon tea :)

Our hosts this week are Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole of Cookies on Friday. They'll have the recipes up and you can decide whether I made the right decision to go low(er) fat with these!

Mothers' Day Dinner

It's become a tradition in our house that hubby will cook something spectacular for Mothers' Day. Considering he doesn't usually cook much at all this could have potentially disastrous consequences! This year he decided to make Beef Wellington and Creme Caramel. Yum!

We may have ended up eating a little later than planned but he did a really great job and we had a delicious dinner. Thank you sweetie! xx

Creamy Mushrooms with Rice {Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off}

This is such an easy weeknight dinner and a great vegetarian option if you are a usually meat-eating family. Mushrooms are meaty and filling and when combined with cream, herbs and Parmesan, they are simply divine!

Creamy Mushrooms with Rice

Serves 4

2 tbs rice bran oil

500g mushrooms, sliced

1/2 brown onion, finely sliced

3 ts Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste

2 ts Gourmet Garden Thyme Paste

2 ts Dijon mustard

150ml cream

30g Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful fresh parsley

1/2 cup rice per person, cooked in your usual way

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Cook the onions until they start to soften then add the mushrooms. Toss the mushrooms in the onions and oil and cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms collapse and all the liquid has evaporated.

Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer and about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, cheese and half the parsley and stir through. Serve on top of fluffy cooked rice and sprinkle with extra parsley. Enjoy.