Gingerbread Muffins

In my last post I mentioned that Miss R wanted me to make Gingerbread muffins over the weekend.

I'm happy to report that one batch has been made but as there's not many left then I'll probably be making another batch on Christmas Eve.

This year we're having muffins and fruit for breakfast as I really like to start the day with as little fuss as possible. 

 As well as the Gingerbread muffins, I'll also make a batch of savoury cheese muffins to balance things out a bit.  Both kinds of muffins freeze really well and are great popped into the microwave for 30 or 40 seconds for a yummy breaky or snack at any time.

I usually ice my gingerbread muffins with a cream cheese icing although the traditional lemon icing would be beautiful too.  Master M doesn't like lemon or cream cheese icing but he loves the muffins plain so I always leave some un-iced just for him.

The mixture itself is quite liquid so don't panic if you think you've missed an ingredient.  It also fills 12 muffin cases up nearly to the top.  In the past I've used smaller cases and made around 20 or so muffins which is a nice little bite full but this time I've made them the normal size.

Gingerbread Muffins

1 cup of boiling water

1/4 cup of Golden Syrup *

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

2 cups plain flour (all purpose)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon of baking powder

pinch of salt

* (I think you use Corn Syrup in the USA or you could substitute maple syrup but I've never tried it with this).

Pour the boiling water into a bowl.  Add the syrup and bicarbonate soda and mix well then allow to cool slightly (I usually leave it about 5 minutes while I get the other ingredients ready).

Add the oil and eggs and mix until combined, then stir in the sugar.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.  I usually use a whisk to get rid of any lumps.

Pour into 12 muffin tins lined with cases and bake at 180 C (375F) for approximately 20 minutes.

Once cooled top with icing if you wish.

Cream Cheese Icing

250g block of cream cheese, softened (e.g Philadelphia brand)

2/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together with an electric mixer until well combined and creamy.  It only needs a couple of minutes.

Enjoy!

xx Susan

Sunday Baking Recipes

I've had some requests for recipes from my last baking post so I'll write out two of them here for you.  The others, including the muffins, are all available via the links I provided in the post.  I'm not exactly sure on copyright if I rewrote them out here which is why I've provided the links.

Today I'll give you the Anzac biscuit recipe and the Gingernut recipes I use.  Both are family recipes from well worn hand written books and both are delicious.

I've also added in the jam drop recipe I made today.

Anzac Biscuits

Nearly every Australian and New Zealand household probably has a recipe for these and I'm sure everyone's is a little different when it comes to the quantities.  There's also the argument for crispy or chewy Anzacs as some people prefer one or the other.  I love both!

I will say that I have tweaked the amount of butter I use compared to my Mum.  I found that the mixture was just slightly crumbly (which makes for crispy biscuits), and the kids would get frustrated with trying to keep them together if they were helping me cook.  To avoid tantrums, I increased the butter a little and we have no problems now.

Anzac biscuit ingredients

1 cup Self-raising flour

1 cup Rolled oats

1 cup Desiccated coconut

1 cup Sugar

140g butter (Mum's recipe was for 125g)

1 tablespoon Golden syrup

2 tablespoons boiling water

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

Place the flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.

Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the golden syrup and water.  Add the bicarb soda to the butter mix until it froths up then pour it into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Place teaspoon sized balls of mixture onto greased baking trays, press slightly to flatten them with a fork or the back of a spoon and cook for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius (350F) until golden brown.

I've found that if using just 125g of butter it's easier to leave the mixture in balls and not press down on them before putting them in the oven.  Take them out after about 5 minutes in the oven and press them, then continue to cook them until golden.

Gingernuts


125g butter
1 cup sugar (about 225g)
2 teaspoons golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups Self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger


Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan, add the sugar, stir then cool slightly.  Add the egg and mix well (and quickly so it doesn't scramble).

In a separate bowl add the flour, ginger and bicarb soda.  Pour the butter mix into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Roll into teaspoon size balls and dip the tops in a little sugar, then place onto greased baking trays sugar side up.  Press slightly with a fork and cook at 180 celsius (350F) for 10-15 minutes until they turn brown.  Devour once cooled....slightly!


I'll add one more recipe since I made them this morning and the kids loved them.  I promise I won't turn this into a cooking blog but I wanted to document these so I remember what I want to do next time I make them.

They are the classic Jam drop biscuits and I hadn't made them in years.  This recipe is easy and is from my high school Home Economics recipe book and is a hit with the kids.

Jam drops

120g butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

about 1/2 cup jam of your choice

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream.  Add the egg and beat well then add the vanilla.  Gradually add the flour and mix into a stiff paste.  Roll into teaspoons sized balls and place on greased trays.

To make the hole to hold the jam, I used to press down with my thumb or a teaspoon but found I couldn't place too much jam in the hollow because it would run all over the biscuit while cooking.

Today I pressed a good sized hole in them with the end of a wooden spoon.  I only filled the hole about 3/4 with jam as I didn't want it to go everywhere but it was well contained in the hole and in the end I didn't put enough jam in.  So if using the wooden spoon (highly recommended), then fill the hole right up for lots of jammy goodness.

Bake for around 15 minutes until golden in a 180 Celsius (350F) oven.

Since Master M doesn't like jam I decided to put some Nutella in half of the biscuits instead.  

Note to self:   Nutella doesn't spread as much as jam so really load it up to give a decent amount of chocolatey goodness.  These are really yummy too!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  I'll be back in a few days with a non food post as we had a special celebration this weekend.

xx Susan

School holiday - Week 1

We didn't really have any plans for the first week of the school holidays this September.  Well Miss R had one special day planned but the rest of the time we intended to go with the flow and meander along. 

 We've really enjoyed mixing in a few outings with plenty of at home time.  There has been sleepovers at Grandparents places as well and it's just been a lovely balance of things.

  As I type I'm looking out the window to the lovely dark, drizzly, rainy Sunday morning and listening to the thunder rumbling around.  I love days that start like this, especially when I can potter about at home and don't need to be anywhere.  It's the perfect ending to our week.

The first weekend of the holidays saw us go on an expedition to various seafood markets around the Sunshine Coast as hubby was on a mission to buy a decent quantity of mullet so he and his cousin could go fishing.  That meant a stop off at a playground and lunch for us at one of the fish markets in Mooloolaba.

Hubby and his cousin did head out for a fish and brought back some lovely parrot fish (don't know it's true name).  They went about 20 miles off shore from Mooloolaba in his cousin's boat as our little tinny is made more for the rivers and estuaries.

The fish was delicious by the way.

We also went visiting while the boys sorted boat fishing things out.  The kids had fun with their cousins (2nd or 3rd cousins, I can never remember how to work it out - easier to just say cousins).

The pool was the most fun part though.  I still think it's a bit to cool to go for a swim at this time of year but the kids don't seem to worry about that.

I did mention that Miss R had a special day planned.  Well she went off to the Zoo for one of their Zookeeper for a Day programs.  She joined in one of the Zookeeper Extreme programs (for 11-15 year olds) nearly 2 years ago and loved it.  She really wanted to do the Extreme Reptile program and  got the opportunity to join in these holidays.

They only do two of the Reptile experiences a year.  One in the Easter school holidays and one in the September school holidays because that's the best weather around here for the reptiles.  There are only 10 places in each group so if you want to experience the Reptile program you need to book in quick because there are only 20 places each year.

I've been doing some crochet too of course.  I'm working on a shoulder bag which I've been itching to start for awhile but had decided that it would be a school holiday project so I was very good and waited until this week to begin.  I'm really loving how it's coming together.

There has also been a little cooking.  Not as much as some school holidays as I've been very lethargic in my kitchen duties lately.

Miss R loves lemon butter and wanted to make some.  Luckily we have a microwave lemon butter recipe that is really quick and easy and makes one jar full so she made that.  It's a great project for her.

I don't know where I got the recipe for this from originally as it was scribbled on a bit of paper so I'm sorry if I've stepped on any toes publishing this but here goes:

Microwave Lemon Butter

Zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 cup of caster sugar

75 grams butter

2 eggs

Place juice, zest and sugar in a microwave safe jug (1 litre) or bowl.  Whisk in the eggs then add the butter (I like to cube the butter).  Cover with a lid or cling wrap and microwave on High (800w) for 3 minutes, giving it a good whisk after each minute. (Best to do it in one minute bursts)  Cool slightly and pour into a jar.  Enjoy!

We didn't have a fresh lemon handy so we used bottled lemon juice which works well although I think that you can taste the difference between fresh and bottled.  Miss R and hubby can't seem to tell though.  If using bottled you can use 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.  We used 1/4 and it's quite thick but still very lemony.  We also have a 1100w microwave so we cooked it on Medium/High.

Oh and make sure you give it a good whisk each time otherwise you get egg white chunks through it.

I hope you have all been having a wonderful week.  We're heading a little further south to northern New South Wales this coming week and intend to enjoy a bit of a rare family trip away.  

xx Susan

Berry cheesecakes

I know, I know.  It's more food but it is that time of year and I seem to have become a bit of a fiend in the kitchen right now.

 

It's amazing how the thought of having people over for Christmas has made me get off my butt and get things done.  Not that I'm doing much housework, that always seems to get put off as I am very good at finding other things to occupy my time.

 

The latest concoction has been Berry Cheesecakes.  I've been wanting to try these for years and kept putting them in the too hard basket or kept telling myself that I would be about the only person in the family to eat them because they're full of berries.

 

In the end I thought, stuff it, I want to try these so I'm going to make them.

 

They are seriously EASY to make.  Much more so with a food processor to blitz up the biscuits into crumbs.  I think that's one of the reasons I hadn't made them in the past because I've had a couple of terrible attempts at crushing up biscuits the old fashioned way... with a rolling pin.

 

This time I just bunged it all in the food processor, added some melted butter and presto...lovely cheesecake bases made in about 30 seconds.

 

 

 

 

I divided the mixture between twelve cases then pressed them into a nice flat base with the back of a spoon.

 

Then I mixed the rest of the ingredients together which consisted of ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, some vanilla and eggs.

 

 

 

 

Once the mixture is all smooth and creamy then I tossed in some frozen mixed berries.  I threw out the frozen strawberries because they go so soggy and blah when they defrost and just use the raspberries, blackberries and blueberries (at least I think that's what they were.)

 

 

 

I folded the berries through the mixture then divided it evenly between the twelve cases.

 

 

 

I ended up with a bit of mixture leftover and couldn't be bothered blitzing up some more biscuits so I just poured it straight into some Christmas tree moulds I had to see how it would turn out.

 

 

 

After about 25 minutes in a moderate oven they were ready.

 

 

 

Super easy and the verdict is....DeLICiOUS!!! 

 

Well I think so.  No one else in the family wants to try them.  I'm sure lovely hubby would but he's at work so I'm about to see how well they freeze otherwise I'll be a blimp before Christmas is over.

 

Here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it.

 

 

Berry Cheesecakes

 

(Makes 12 ... plus a little more)

 

 

For the base:

 

125g plain biscuits, crushed

60g butter, melted

 

For the filling:

 

250g ricotta cheese

250g mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup frozen mixed berries

 

 



Combine the biscuit crumbs and butter in a bowl or food processor.  Divide evenly between 12 patty paper lined muffin tins and press firmly to make the base.

 

Beat the cheeses and sugar together until smooth.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well until combined and smooth.  Then fold in the berries (yes, while they are still frozen).  You could also use fresh berries (or cherries) or whatever is in season.

 

Spoon evenly into the cases and bake at 160 degrees (fan forced) for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Allow to cool then serve with cream or ice-cream or just gobble them up as they are.

 

 

 

xx Susan

 



Three Minute Chocolate Slice

A few years ago one of my neighbours told me about a microwave chocolate slice she makes which only takes 3 minutes to cook.  I can't remember if she gave me her recipe or if  I googled it but this is the one I've been using for years. 

 

It's rich, sort of fudgy and a hit with Master M and the neighbours kids. 

 

I'll write the recipe out at the end but basically you put some self-raising flour, desiccated coconut, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl.

 

 

 

 

Then you add in some golden syrup and melted butter.

 

 

 

Mix it all together and press into a microwave safe container.  (I use a loaf size plastic container but a glass Pyrex square one would work or whatever you have).

 

You cook it in the microwave on high for 3 minutes.  When it comes out it will still look quite wet and maybe not quite cooked.  This is just the illusion of microwave cooking.

 

 

 

This is what it looks like once it's cooled down.

 

 

 

The original recipe I had says to ice the slice when it's still warm but I often do it when it's cool (only because I'm doing other things and forget about it).  It still works out fine.

 

The icing is made up of some icing sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and some milk.  I don't bother about putting any butter in it.  No one notices the difference and it works out quite fine without it.

 

 

 

Master M really loves to help out, especially when it comes to mixing things.  I think it's more the incentive of getting to lick the bowl afterwards.  Since Little Miss R detests chocolate, this bowl is always his!

 

 

Spread the icing evenly over the top, shower it with some sprinkles or 100's and 1000's or whatever you prefer then wait for the icing to set before cutting it up.

 

Then you enjoy!

 

 

 

Recipe for 3 minute microwave chocolate slice

 

 

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup sugar (I use caster)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 150g melted butter (I use unsalted)

 

Icing

 

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• enough milk to make a nice spreadable icing.  I usually start off with around 1-2 tablespoons then add more if needed.

My microwave is 1100W and I cook it on high for 3 minutes. 

 

I developed another non-chocolate one for Little Miss R made with wheat bix and topped with a lemon icing.  I'll try to remember to share that with you another day as it takes only 3 minutes in the microwave as well.

 

Enjoy!

 

xx Susan





Leek and Mushroom Pies

In the frozen meal section of the local woollies they have Linda McCartney meals.  I don't usually buy frozen meals but my sister got me onto these as they are really, really yummy and great for lunch with a salad.

 

The leek, red onion and cheese plaits are so tasty and I decided I could make something similar myself which would work out much cheaper.

 

I had leeks and mushrooms in the fridge so this is what I came up with.

 

 

chop up 1 leek and about 9 or 10 button mushrooms.

 

I also used 2 shortcut rashes of bacon cause they were in the fridge and needed using.  If you wanted a vegetarian option then leave the bacon out.

 

On a medium heat I cooked the bacon and mushrooms for a few minutes then turned the heat down and added the leeks and 2 cloves of crushed garlic.

 

I let this mixture cook over the low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Then I made a cheesy white sauce.  Everyone has their own white sauce recipe I'm sure so just make up about 2 cups of it and add about 3/4 cup of grated cheese in at the end.  I used cheddar and parmesan.

 

 

One tablespoon of butter to two tablespoons of plain flour per cup of milk made the sauce a nice thickness.

 

Then mix the leek and mushroom mixture through the white sauce and place a really good heaped tablespoon full onto the pastry.



 

I just used sheets of frozen puff pastry which I cut into quarters.  I place the mixture in the middle of one of the squares, brushed the outside with water and placed another square of pastry on top.

 

I then sealed up the edges and cooked them in a 200 celcius oven for about 25 minutes.

 

I made 12 pies and have frozen most of them so I have a quick meal on a night when I want something easy.  They are really yummy!

 

I've also thought about putting the filling in crepes or a baked potato if I wanted to do something different.  I made them into pies because I wanted to have some homemade meals in the freezer for easy dinners.

 

If you make something similar, enjoy! 

 

xx Susan

Devilled Lamb Chops

This is one of my favourite summer meals because it's so quick and easy and on a disgustingly hot day, it takes no time to make and it doesn't heat the house up (or me!).

 

Devilled lamb chops

 

4 or 5 lamb chops

 

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon vinegar

 

Mix the marinade ingredients together and spread over lamb chops which you place in a microwave safe dish.

 

 

 

Place chops in microwave (make sure it's covered otherwise there's a hell of a mess....not that I would have ever made this mistake!)

 

Cook on high for 5 minutes.

 

That's it!

 

Let sit for a couple of minutes and serve with salad or vege.

 

I usually serve this with a salad as I can toss it together while the chops are cooking and in less than 10 minutes of starting dinner, it's on the table.  That's why I love it on a really hot summer's day.

 

We had vege tonight though as I really didn't feel like a salad.  Got to have all those colours on there!

 

xx Susan

Osso Bucco

I decided to have another comfort food evening on Saturday.  It was hubby's last night home before going back to work for his next shift and I just wanted something I knew we would all really enjoy.  Osso Bucco was my choice this time and it was so unbelievably delicious.



My Osso Bucco recipe

 

                               *      about 6 Osso Bucco pieces

                               *     1/4 cup plain flour

                               *      2 tbsp olive oil

                               *      1 onion, diced

                               *      2 cloves garlic, crushed

                               *      2 celery stalks, diced finely

                               *      2 carrots, diced finely

                               *      1 zucchini (corguette), diced finely

                               *      1/2 cup dry white wine

                               *      1 can diced tomatoes

                               *      2 tbsp tomato paste

                               *      1 cup beef stock

                               *      1 bay leaf

                               *      pinch of dried thyme (or a handful of fresh if you

                                            are  lucky enough to have it)

                               *      salt and pepper

 

 

 

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil and cook the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and zucchini over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes (until vegetables are soft).  Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.

 

 

 

Coat the Osso Bucco pieces lightly with the flour.

 

 

Heat the remaining oil and brown the Osso Bucco pieces for about 2 minutes each side.



 

Now for one of the most important steps:

 

Pour the wine!

 



Add the wine to the meat, bring to the boil and cook for about 1 minute. 

 

When pouring the wine it is essential to pour a glass for the cook as well.

 

 



 

Add the vegetables back to the pan as well as the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf and stock.  If using the dried thyme then add this now too.  Season with salt and pepper and give a little stir.

 

 

Cover with foil, put the lid on, turn down to low and let cook for between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.  I usually do closer to 1 1/2 hours but only had 4 pieces of Osso Bucco this time so I cooked it for just over an hour.

 

If you're using fresh time, stir that through now before serving.

 





Serve with either Risotto Milanese, Creamy Polenta or Mashed Potato.

 

We had it with the polenta this time which was incredibly awesome.  Just click on the creamy polenta link above if you want to see how I make it.

As you can tell by the next photo, food presentation and portion controls are not obviously my thing.

 

 You'll be pleased to know that I didn't eat all of this as I was bursting at the seams after only about half.  Leftovers for Sunday lunch.....yum, yum!

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

xx Susan



A happy weekend

Our weekend started slowly with a lovely sleep in followed by a leisurely breakfast.

Then we headed out to my sister's house mid morning to pick some more mulberries.   I ended up getting a few for my bowl which was a miracle as Little Miss R ate 2-3 times more than what's shown in the picture below.
 

My sister was off on holidays later that day so we came home with plenty of goodies from her fridge which would go off otherwise.  It's certainly helped me with my menu planning for the week and the bottle of cream that had just about reached it's due date gave me a good idea for dinner.

 

 

I used our big slow cooker to make up a stew.  It certainly doesn't look the best but is chock full of beef, potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato (kumara), carrots, spinach, onions, cannellini beans, red lentils, some herbs, beef stock and probably a couple of other things I've forgotten.

 

DELICIOUS.  I've also put half of it in the freezer so we can take camping with us in the school holidays.

 

Instead of toast or bread rolls, I decided to make some cheese scones to go with the stew.  These go really well with soups as well and I love having them for breakfast the next morning if there's any leftover.

 

They're so easy to make.  Just mix 2 cups of self-raising flour, 2 cups of grated cheese and 1 1/4 cups of milk together.  It's a really wet mixture so I just plonk spoonfuls onto a baking tray to cook.  No kneading, rolling or cutting out which is just how I like it.

 

 

Depending on the size, cook them for between 10-20 minutes in a moderate oven and you have yummy, easy cheese scones which everyone loves.

 

 

 

 

Then I made dessert which the whole family were pretty excited about.  We rarely have dessert so it did cause quite a stir in the house when I said I was making one. 

 

Remember the mulberries we had picked in the morning?  Well they were to form part of the Fruit Galette.

 

Mix 1 x 250g pack of light cream cheese, 1 egg yolk, half a cup of icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornflour together.  (Pictures 1 and 2 below).

 

Then mix 2 cups of fruit (I used mulberries and strawberries), with 1 tablespoon cornflour, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together.

 

 

I use 2 frozen sheets of puff pastry and divide the mixture in half to make two galettes.

 

Place half the mixture in the middle of one of the sheets of puff pastry, leaving a wide border around the edge (middle bottom picture above).  Then fold the sides over to enclose the galette, brush the pastry with the left over egg white and sprinkle with a little sugar.  Cook in for about half an hour in a 200 degrees celcius oven.

 

 

So we had a nice hearty dinner, followed by a tasty fruit dessert served with cream and ice-cream.  It was SO good.

 

 

I've also been spending my time organising things for our camping trip.  Nine days to go now and we're going for at least a week, possibly more at this stage so I want to be organised.

 

 

I've got the kitchen stuff organised as well as all the bedding which all has to be put inside the trailer.  I can't move it out so that I can open it so I need hubby to do that in the next couple of days. 

 

I really want to have the tables, chairs, tarps and everything else we may need packed BEFORE he goes back to work this shift.   It may sound very organised but he arrives home late on the Monday afternoon and we're heading off on the Tuesday. 

 

For the sake of our marriage I want to have as much as possible packed into the camper this week and then all we have to worry about when he gets home next is packing the food and clothes in.  It will truly make for the start of a happier holiday if I can get that done.

 

 

I've also been re-arranging the tool box at the front of the camper too.  Hubby just throws everything in it and we have to ferret through it all when we want to find one thing.  I quietly spent some time on Sunday using my old laundry detergent buckets to put ropes, tent pegs, tools etc into so that we can access them easily now.

 

 

 

 It's much more organised and Hubby was impressed when I made him come out to see what I had done.  I'm sure he'll be happier when we're actually camping and he needs to grab things quickly and he can find them easier!

 

So it has been a busy weekend doing stuff around the house then a late Sunday afternoon trip to the beach which I'll write about in another post.  Only one week left now until the school holidays and we're all so ready to get away for some camping fun.

 

xx Susan