Butter Oat Biscuits

Butter Oat Biscuits

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup raw sugar
125 grams butter
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
100 grams chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a baking tray.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Place the butter, water and honey in a small bowl and heat on the stove or in the microwave until the butter is all melted. Add the baking soda and stir briskly to combine it.

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix it well. Roll the mixture into balls, whatever size you like, a big handful or a spoonful. They spread a little but not too much so you can put them quite close together.

Bake each tray of biscuits for 12 minutes, and when you take them out of the oven let them cool for a few minutes before you transfer them to a wire rack.

Pancakes

Pancakes

1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup flour (or self-raising flour)
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Whisk it all together briskly, so that there are no lumps.

Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place it on the stove and turn the heat to medium, then place a little bit of butter in it and wait until it is melted and sizzling, but not burnt.

Spoon or pour some mixture into the pan, then pick the pan up and tip it from side to side gently, so that the mixture spreads across the bottom of the pan. When it starts to bubble flip the pancake and cook the other side.

Serve your pancakes immediately, or pile them on a plate in a warm oven until the whole batch is cooked.

Chicken Pies

Chicken Pie

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion
1 large chicken breast (or 2 small)
3 carrots
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 cup water
2 sheets short pastry (or make your own)

Chop up the onion, chicken and carrots. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan, then add the chicken and vegetables and stir over a medium heat until the chicken appears to be cooked.

Add the sage, the chicken stock and the cornflour, then pour the cold water over. Give it a good stir and keep on stirring until the liquid is thick and clear. Take it off the heat, taste and add some salt and pepper if its needed, then set the filling aside to cool.

When the filling is cool, roll out the pastry and place it in the pie dish or dishes. Blind-bake the pastry if you want. Fill the pastry with the cold filling and lay a sheet of pastry on top, squeezing together the edges.

Cut some slices into the top so that steam can get out. Bake the pies (or pie) for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is nice and brown.

Perfect Pavlova

Pavlova

4 egg whites
A pinch of cream of tartar
1 and 1/2 cups fine caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
3 teaspoons cornflour

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius and prepare a tray. Non-stick baking paper is the best thing to use for a pavlova.

Separate the eggs yolks from the whites. Place the egg whites into a large glass, ceramic or metal bowl (not plastic).

Add the cream of tartar and beat with an electric beater or cake-mixer. The egg whites will become thick and foamy. Begin to add the sugar, about one tablespoon at a time. This step will take a long time. The aim is for all of the sugar to dissolve, so that when you rub some of the mixture between your finger and thumb it does not feel grainy.

Add the vanilla essence, vinegar and cornflour and beat the mixture until it is all combined. Once you have mixed in these final ingredients you can tip the mixture onto the prepared tray, in a circular mound.

Smooth out the top of the pav and then place the tray in the oven.

After 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 100 degrees and let it bake for another 10 minutes.

Reduce the temperature a third time, to 50 degrees celsius, and let it bake for about half an hour more.

Switch the oven off and leave the pav in for a couple of hours to cool slowly, because if it cools quickly the crust will crack and the centre might sink.

Fresh Tomato Pasta

Fresh Tomato Pasta

4 to 6 fresh tomatoes (any kind, but not little cherry ones or you will need an awful lot more).
3 cloves garlic
Handful fresh basil
Handful fresh chives
Olive oil
Pasta

Chop up the tomatoes into small chunks and put them in a bowl (don't worry about peeling or de-seeding them, that would be way too much effort). Crush the garlic and roughly chop up the herbs, then add these to the tomatoes. Add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Then just give the mixture a good stir and let it sit while you cook the pasta.

Cook the pasta, drain and add it to the tomato mixture and mix well..

Lemon Curd Cake

Lemon Curd

4 egg yolks
150 grams caster sugar
100 mL lemon juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
70 grams butter, cut into small pieces

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they are really pale and thick. Aim to beat it until the sugar dissolves.

Add the yolk mixture, the lemon juice and the butter to a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Heat the mixture on a medium-low heat, stirring until the mixture begins to thicken to a custardy consistency.

When the curd is thick, remove it from the heat and give it a good whisk. This recipe should make about 400 mL.

Lemon Curd Cake

150 grams butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon curd
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Prepare a 20cm tin and set it aside.

Soften the butter and beat in the sugar until the mixture is pale and creamy. Then add the egg and lemon curd and beat well.

Add the flour and milk and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until it is done, about 30 minutes.

To finish the cake, drizzle or spread your lemon curd over the top until it is dripping down the sides. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Cheesy Ham and Pea Pasta

Cheesy Ham and Pea Pasta

250 grams chopped ham
1 bunch spring onions or 1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
250 grams ham or bacon
1 lemon
2 cups frozen peas
250 gram tub light cream cheese
Splash of milk
Pasta, however much you need of whatever shape you like best

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, with a bit of salt in it, and cook pasta according to packet directions. When it is cooked, take it off of the heat and drain it.

While the pasta is cooking, chop up the onions, garlic and the ham or bacon.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, then add the onions, garlic and meat. Cook this for just a couple of minutes, until the onion is soft. Chop the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice. Add the peas, the tub of cream cheese and a small splash of milk. Stir about until everything is hot and well combined. Then add this to the pasta (or vice versa) and mix it all together well.

Serve it immediately before it cools down and congeals!

Unbaked Apricot Slice

Apricot Fudge Slice

250 grams butter
1 can condensed milk
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup chopped apricots
1 cup chopped white chocolate
500 grams (two packets) plain Wine biscuits, finely crushed

Prepare a tin that is about 30 cm by 40 cm by lining it with baking paper.

Combine the sugar, condensed milk and butter and melt until the sugar has dissolved, either in the microwave or on the stove.

Add the apricots, chocolate and biscuits and mix it all really well.

To combine the mixture fully you might have to end up using your hands. When it is ready, tip it all out into the prepared tin and press it down flat.

Cover it with clingfilm and chill it for a couple of hours, so that the liquid is all absorbed into the biscuit crumbs. Then slice into squares and serve.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

2 or 3 heads of broccoli
1 red capsicum
1 red onion (optional if you don't like raw onion)
1 cup unsalted cashew nuts
1/8 to 1/4 cup white vinegar, depending on how tart you like it
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup ranch dressing (here in NZ I used ETA lite & free ranch dressing)

Wash the broccoli and cut into small florets. Chop the capsicum and onion into small pieces and throw all the vegetables into a large salad bowl, along with the cashew nuts.

In a small bowl or jug combine the vinegar, sugar and ranch dressing. Pour this over the salad and toss the ingredients together until everything is combined. Taste it to make sure that the dressing is to your liking and then you are ready to serve.!