Quinoa, Bacon and Walnut Salad

Quinoa, Bacon and Walnut Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water with 1 cube chicken stock crumbled in
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 rashers maple-smoked bacon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
200 grams fresh baby spinach (a few handfuls)
100 grams fresh rocket (a couple of handfuls)
1/4 cup shaved parmesa

Cook the quinoa in the dilute chicken stock until all the liquid has been absorbed, then add the grated parmesan and stir through. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool (with the lid on so that it absorbs any last moisture).

Slice the bacon into small pieces and chop the walnuts up. Place both in a frying pan with the maple syrup and fry until the bacon is done to you liking.

To assemble, wash the salad leaves and place in a large bowl. Add the quinoa, walnuts and bacon and toss through lightly. Then sprinkle on the shaved parmesan.

If you like your salad to have more dressing than I do, combine 1/4 cup olive oil with 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup - whisk it together well and drizzle over as needed.

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

125 grams butter

1/2 cup soft light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 eggs

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup light sour cream

100 grams fudge chunks

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners.

Beat together the softened butter with the light brown sugar. Add the vanilla essence and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder. Mix it well, then add the sour cream and beat until it is smooth. Stir in the fudge chunks and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake for 20 minutes and then let them cool completely before frosting.

Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Pie
adapted from  MJ's Kitchen

Pastry:
2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
125 grams butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon white vinegar (or lemon juice)
2-4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
8 granny smith apples
Juice of 1 lime
60 grams butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cold water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

The pastry must be made at least an hour in advance so that it has time to chill. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a large bowl and rub the butter in with your fingertips until the entire mixture has an even consistency, like breadcrumbs. Then add the egg and vinegar and begin to combine with your hands. Add water as it is needed, until the mixture comes together as a dough. Then knead it for a few minutes until it is smooth and even.

Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

When the pastry is ready, divide it into two and roll it out. Lay one half in a pie dish and press it into the corners gently. Reserve the other half for the top.

Next, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare the filling. First peel and core the apples, then slice into thin slices. Squeeze the lime juice over the apples and toss together well (to keep them from getting brown).

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, then stir in the flour. Add the water, sugars and cinnamon and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, until you have a smooth caramel sauce.

Pour the caramel sauce over the apples and do your best to evenly coat the apple (the caramel quickly becomes viscous so it probably won't cover the apples ver well but that's alright). Tip the apples and caramel into the prepared crust.

Lay the remaining pastry over the top of the filling (cutting some slits so that the steam can escape), or cut it into strips and create a lattice. If you want, whisk an egg and brush it over to make a glaze.

Bake the pie for 40 minutes, then let it sit for about 15 minutes to half an hour, so that the filling sets a little. Then enjoy!

 

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Stuffed Crust Pizza

3 1/2 cups plain flour (or wholemeal, though I haven't tried that myself yet)
1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper
Small chunk mozzarella (about 50 grams maybe)
1-2 tablespoons sour cream (optional, I just had some in the fridge to use up)
1-2 tablespoons grated parmesan

For the pizza dough, combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the warm water, olive oil and honey. Mix together well with your hands, until it comes together as a dough. Then tip the dough onto a clean surface and knead it for 5 minutes. Then place it back into the bowl and put it in a warm place to rise for half an hour or so.

For the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour. Stir in the milk bit by bit, until the sauce is smooth. Then season with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the cheeses until they are melted. At which point you should have a really thick sauce.

Tip the risen dough onto a clean surface and roll it out to the thickness that you like. Move it onto an oven tray, then spoon the cheese sauce around the edges.

Fold the edges of the dough over the cheese sauce and press them against the rest of the dough to seal them together.

When you have done the entire crust, you can fill it with your favourite toppings and bake it as usual. I filled mine with homemade tomato sauce, ham, chicken, pineapple, onion, mozzarella and parmesan. But we were too busy eating it to take photos.

Chewy Golden Syrup Cookies

Chewy Golden Syrup Cookies

200 grams butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons golden syrup (this is an approximation, I used a very heaped dessert-spoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups plain flour
Caramel

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cookie tray with paper.

Soften the butter and add the sugar. Mix together well and then add all of the remaining ingredients one at a time.

By the time you have added all of the flour you won't be able to mix it with a spoon any more. Use your hands and mix to a stiff, kneadable dough.

Roll the dough into balls. Don't flatten, because they will spread so much on their own, but press thumb into centre after you place them on the tray. Then place a small dollop of caramel into each hole.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes per batch. When you remove them from the oven leave them on the tray until they have cooled, at least 5 minutes, because they will be very soft when they first come out of the oven.

Chocolate Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

125 grams butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon custard powder (or cornflour/corn-starch)
1/4 cup milk
Caramel (pre-made or make your own)

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:
125 grams butter or shortening (room temperature)
2-3 cups icing sugar
Red/Pink food colouring
Strawberry flavour/essence
1-2 tablespoons milk

Before you begin these cupcakes, you need to have the caramel prepared. If you have brought a jar or can then that is fine, but if you're making your own make it now, before you even start the cupcakes. For these you want something quite solid, not like a sauce, more like soft toffee or dulce-de-leche.

I made mine with a can of condensed milk - you simply take the paper wrapper off of the can, place the can in a large pot, cover it with water and let it simmer for 3 hours. Apparently if you let the water level drop to below the top of the can then it could explode - this has never happened to me, but I wouldn't want to tempt fate and let it boil down too far. Whenever I notice the can showing I add more water. The last thing to keep in mind when making caramel like this is that you need to let the can cool completely before you open it. If the contents are still warm and you try to open it the pressure will make the caramel spurt out and go everywhere. It's not easy to clean caramel off of the ceiling so let the can cool. Which means you might want to do this part the night before.

For the cupcakes, begin by turning the oven on to 180 degrees celsius and lining a muffin tray. Then take a large bowl and cream the butter with the sugar. Add the vanilla essence and the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Continue beating as you add the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and custard powder. The custard powder (or cornflour/corn-starch) makes the cake that little bit softer and more moist.

Finally beat in the milk, then spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes, after which point a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Take the cupcakes from the tray and let them cool completely before moving on - which should take a few hours. I generally make mine at night and frost them in the morning.

Finally, the frosting and putting them together. For the frosting, Beat the butter/shortening until it is creamy, then begin to sift in the icing sugar, a half cup at a time. When you have added about two cups of icing sugar the mixture should seem quite stiff. Now add a small amount of red food colouring and strawberry flavouring - just a couple of drops of each should do. Add a tablespoon or two of milk and beat the mixture again. Taste it and add more flavour and colour if necessary. Then continue to sift in the last cup of icing sugar, until the frosting has the consistency that you want.

To make the surprise cupcakes, you need to take a sharp knife and cut a section out of the middle of the cupcake. If you insert the knife at an angle and cut a circle you should be able to take a cone-shape out of each. Then place a small dollop of caramel in the centre. Take the piece that you have cut out and slice the top off, so that you have a small disc of cake. Place this back on top of the cupcake. You can see this in the picture above - the front cupcake has caramel in it, the cupcakes behind have had their tops placed back on top of the caramel.

Finally, pipe the buttercream frosting onto the cupcakes in any way that you like, and then serve them up and enjoy!

Cream of Chicken Soup

Cream of Chicken Soup

1 kg chicken pieces (like legs or drumsticks, or a whole chicken)
3 large onions
10 stalks celery
2 cups corn kernels
4 cups chicken stock
1 can (300 mL) evaporated milk (or cream)
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper

Chop the celery and onions into small pieces, then take a very large pot and heat a couple of tablespoons of oil or butter. Cook the onions and celery until they are soft, then add the corn kernals, chicken stock and chicken pieces.

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Turn the heat off and remove the chicken from the pot. Let it cool a little, then slice the cooked meat away from the bones, chop or shred into small pieces and return the meat to the pot.

Whisk the flour into the evaporated milk and then slowly add the mixture to the hot soup, stirring all the while. Turn the heat back on and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes, so it can thicken a little. Then season with salt and pepper and serve.

Apple Crumble

Apple Crumble

6 cooking apples
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
75 grams butter

First, stew the apples a little to make sure that they will be properly soft. Peel and core them, chop them up and place in a pot with the first measure of sugar and cinnamon, and a little water. Place a lid on the pot and let the water come to a boil until the apples are mushy.

Prepare the crumble by placing the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor and chopping them together until the oats are fine. Then soften the butter in the microwave until it is half melted and add this to the dry ingredients, giving it another whiz in the processor. What you should have after that is a moist, crumbly mixture that sort of holds itself together when you press it into a ball - if it seems too dry add a bit more butter.

Place the apples in a large oven dish and crumble the oat mixture over the top. If you are like me and need some chocolate, sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Then bake at about 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes or so, until the crumble is cooked and crunchy.

Potato and Leek Soup

Potato and Leek Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3 leeks, sliced
700 grams chopped potatoes
2 cubes vegetable stock (or just water)
2 cups water
1 cup buttermilk
Bacon pieces (cooked) (optional)
Salt and pepper to season

In a large saucepan heat the butter and oil, then cook the leeks until they are slightly soft. Add the potatoes, vegetable stock and water. Then simmer for about 20 minutes or so, until the potato is cooked.

Pour the soup into a blender or use a stick-blender to process the soup until it is smooth and creamy. Then stir in the buttermilk, the bacon if you are using and season with salt and pepper.

Fairytale house-shaped banana birthday cake

Banana Cake

250 grams butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 mashed bananas
1 packet banana instant pudding (angel delight, etc)
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Colourful sprinkles

Preheat the oven  to 180 degrees and line a large rectangle tin (30 by 40 cm) or two small tins.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time.

Beat in the mashed bananas and the instant pudding, then sift in the flour and baking powder. Beat the dry ingredients in slowly and then add the milk. Beat the batter some more, until it is smooth, then fold in the sprinkles if you want them.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins and bake the cake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean - about 1 hour for a large rectangle, maybe less for two small rectangles. Then let it cool completely.

While it cools make some white chocolate ganache by melting 400 grams white chocolate and 1 cup cream together until the mixture is smooth, then refrigerating until entirely cold.

When the cake is cold, prepare some plain vanilla buttercream (250 grams butter, 3 to 4 cups sifted icing sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, beaten together well). Slice the cake into pieces as the diagram below shows and then stick together with the frosting. Use a sharp knife to trim the corners from the roof to make it triangle.

Take the cold ganache from the fridge and beat it with an electric mixture until it has a similar consistency to frosting. Then spread a thick layer over the house-cake. Use various sweets to decorate and then bask in the amazement of your party-goers.