Tested and True Cooking

15 ways to use white vinegar

2016-05-10T21:34:00.000+10:00

I know that I usually add recipes onto this blog but I found some wonderful household hints for vinegar while I was cleaning out a pile of old magazines. I didn't want to save the magazine so I thought I would share them here. I have done both 13 and 14 and it worked, although don't fill the kettle in 14 and if you can, boil it on the sink, mine boiled out the top.

1. Add sparkle to glasses: Drinking glasses looking cloudy? Rinse in one partying at to three parts warm water.

2. freshen dishcloths: Place cloths in a container and Cover with water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Soak for a few hours, then through my rinse before using.

3. Spruce up a lunch box: To banish the aromas of meals past, add a few drops of vinegar to a place of bread and leave it in the lunch box overnight. In the morning it should smell as good as new.

4. Rid surfaces of mould: Dilute vinegar with equal parts water and spray onto walls, tiles or floors. Wait a minute, then wipe off with a clean cloth.

5. Brighten laundry: Add a capful of vinegar to your washing and clothes will come out looking brighter and fresher.

6. Banish cooking smells: Add a few spoonfuls of vinegar to a pot of water and let it simmer on the stove to remove any cooking smells in the kitchen.

7. Rescue boiled eggs: If an egg starts to crack while it's being boiled, adding a little vinegar to the water will stop the egg white seeping out.

8. Revive chopping boards: Wipe over wooden chopping boards with white vinegar to clean and disinfect them between users.

9. Oust deodorant marks: Spray deodorant stains on shirts with vinegar before putting them into the washing machine.

10. Survive sticky situations: To remove stickers from plastic or glass surfaces, or from walls, simply dab the stickers with vinegar until it's completely wet and then scrape off. If there's any residue left behind from the sticker, apply vinegar again, wait a minute, then wipe off.

11. Keep flowers blooming: Add 2 tbsp vinegar to a container, fill with water and add flowers to help keep cut blooms looking fresh for longer.

12. Remove stains from mugs: Tackle stubborn coffee and tea stains by scrubbing the stains with equal parts vinegar and baking soda. Rinse well with warm water.

13. Clean a drain: Mix vinegar with equal parts bi-carb soda, wait till it starts fizzing then pour it down the drain. Follow with warm water.

14. Descale a kettle: To get rid of lime deposits in a kettle, fill it with water and 2 tbsp of vinegar and bring to the boil. Pour out the vinegar water and rinse thoroughly with cold water.

15: Work wonders on windows: Spray dirty windows with a mixture of 2 tbsp vinegar and 4L warm water. Wipe with a squeegee or lint-free cloth for a sparking shine.

Chocolate-Fudge Brownies (wheat and gluten free)

2016-03-22T20:49:00.003+11:00

Ingredients

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup plain gluten-free flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
150g butter melted

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 4cm deep, 20cm x 30cm (base) slab pan. Line with baking paper.
Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a large bowl.
Add sugar, stir to combine.
Made a well in the centre, add eggs and melted butter. Using a metal spoon, mix until just smooth.
Spread mixture into a prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan. Cut into squares.

I found this recipe on Taste.com.au to make for a friend who has coeliac disease. It is a wonderfully easy recipe to make for any of your gluten/wheat intolerant friends for an Easter gift. BTW: it tastes amazing. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the brownies so I might have to make some more :-). Clearly it was so good it got eaten before I could take the photo.

Red Tomato Chutney

2016-01-09T15:11:00.000+11:00

I was at the supermarket the other night and saw a huge bag of cherry tomatoes for quick sale, $3 for 2kg so I thought, well here is the perfect opportunity to try a chutney recipe as I LOVE having tomato chutney on toast with scrambled eggs.

Here is the recipe that I used:

Ingredients

1kg ripe tomatoes
2 large cooking apples
250g onions (2 medium sized)
1 cup sultanas (the recipe had 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup sultanas)
250g brown sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon ground all spice
1 teaspoon salt

Method

Roughly chop the tomatoes, onions and apples (the smaller the better for onions and apples) - I couldn't be bothered chopping all of it so I pulsed it a few times in the food processor.
In a stainless steel pot, put in all the ingredients except the brown sugar. Bring to the boil.
Once boiling, add sugar and once dissolved, reduce the heat to a simmer.
Simmer for about 1 hour or until reduced and thick. Stir every so often.
If it is not thick enough, using some of the liquid from the pot, combine with cornflour (around 1-2 teaspoons) and stir in.
Clean glass bottles and put into oven to sterilize.
Place the chutney straight into the glass bottles and immediately put the lids on.

I felt that it was a bit sweet so next time I will use a little less sugar but apart from that, it tastes great. So quick and easy and NO preservatives.

Pavlova

2015-12-04T20:48:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago I was having some friends over for a 'pop-up BBQ'. As it was going to be a lovely day I thought that a pavlova would be a nice and light dessert. As I had never cooked a pavlova before, I decided to google and find a recipe that looked easy. Of course I ended up on the Donna Hay website and made her version of a pavlova. I am not usually a fan of pavlova and a few of my guests said the same but we all loved this recipe.

https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/recipe-entertaining/pavlova

Ingredients

4 eggwhites
1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
3 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
whipped cream and fresh fruit, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

Place the eggwhites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating well until the mixture is glossy.

Sift the cornflour over, add the vinegar and fold through.

Pile into an 18cm-round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

Place in the oven, reduce the heat to 120°C (250°F) and cook for 1 hour.

Turn the oven off and allow the meringue to cool in the oven.

To serve, top with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

HINT: The recipe mentions 18cm round, to achieve this I turned the baking paper over and drew around a plate so that I can see the marking on the opposite side and it is a circle.

Easy fudge

2015-04-11T12:15:00.001+10:00

Over Easter I tried this easy fudge recipe which mum emailed to me from what I can see was a website called kidspot.com.au.

Extremely easy to make and everyone loved it!!

Ingredients

125g butter, chopped
395g (can) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white chocolate melts

Method

Grease and line a 7cm x 25cm bar tin.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan.
Add the sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup and brown sugar.
Stir over low heat until boiling then summer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly (I found it took quite some time before it boiled).
Remove from the heat, stir in white chocolate melts.
Mix until smooth.
Pour into prepared tin, cool in fridge until firm (about 2 hours)
Curt into slices or squares.
I melted some chocolate and drizzled over the top.

I am thinking of giving the recipe a go with coffee. Perhaps putting instant coffee in with the melted butter before the rest of the ingredients.

Picture below also includes Mars Bar slice. I will upload the recipe for that one soon.

Whole Orange Cake

2013-08-28T21:47:00.000+10:00

To celebrate 100 likes on Facebook, here is Kerry's awesome 'Whole Orange Cake'.

Kerry said: I have also substituted lemon or mandarin in this cake. Very quick and easy. I also find it cooks in about 30-35 min in a fan forced oven, so a very quick cook when you are running out of time.

I did pinch the original recipe from somewhere, but I can't remember where.

Serves 8-10 / Preparation 15 min or less

Ingredients
1 orange skin and all
180gm melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup castor sugar
1 ½ cups self raising flour

Icing
2 ½ cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
Orange juice and zest

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Grease tin, (round tin, or bar tin)
Using a food processor, process whole orange until well puréed
Add all other ingredients and process until well mixed
Bake for 35-45 minutes.

Icing

Mix icing sugar, butter, zest and enough orange juice until icing is of a consistency to run down the sides of cooled cake.

Choc chip choc muffins

2013-08-13T20:34:00.001+10:00

Still on the challenge of gluten-free, my latest attempt was chocolate muffins with choc chips.

Last weekend I had an amazing coffee muffin from a local cafe and while I was driving home from the velodrome I decided that I had completed a good workout and deserved that muffin again. Unfortunately the cafe was not open. Instead I went home and quickly cooked these muffins to take to work. I got the thumbs up from all in the office.

Next time I would halve the recipe as I didn't notice how many it cooked until I was part way through quickly cooking them. It made around 20 muffins so I did freeze the leftovers - they defrost quite well.

Also, make sure that all of the additional ingredients don't have gluten (for example, the choc chips). I didn't double check all of the ingredients but my colleague didn't have a problem with them (luckily).

Ingredients
3 cups gluten-free SR flour (I added an extra half cup of flour because I didn't think the mixture was thick enough)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
200g choc chips
1 1/2 cup milk
120g butter (melted)
2 eggs (beaten)

Method

1. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, choc chips (if you are the sort of person who sifts, sift the flour and cocoa but I didn't bother)
2. Add milk, butter, eggs until just combined.
3. Place into muffin papers in muffin trays
4. Bake for 180 degrees C for 20-25 minutes.

The original recipe was from bestrecipies.com.au

Apple and Cheery ANZAC crumble

2013-07-27T16:43:00.000+10:00

I was heading to a friends place earlier in the week and I always bring dessert. I wanted to try something different so I found a wonderful ANZAC top apple crumble but as I always do, added a little twist.

I changed this recipe in a few ways. The original was for 8 servings and 7 apples but I was cooking for 3 so I cooked 4 apples and there was about 6 servings. Once I started the ANZAC top I realised I had forgotten to reduce the qty of the ingredients but I love the crumble so I didn't try to amend the mistake. I also added pecans through the crumble but this was not necessary, I just love pecans. The biggest addition to the recipe was the cherries. I used bottled morello pitted cherries.

Hope you enjoy it like we all did. I was also terribly easy to make.

Ingredients

4 green apples
Cherries - I used about 1/2 bottle but put however many you want.
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup coconut
1 tablespoon cinnamon (ground)
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg (ground)
2/3 butter (melted) (I used approx. 120g as I find it difficult to fit cold butter into cup measure)
1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Method

Peel and core apples, then cut into rough cubes. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water.
Simmer (don't boil) with the lid on - medium heat for approx 5 minutes or until soft. Drain and place apples in the greased baking dish.
Combine flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, coconut, pecan nuts cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl until evenly mixed.
Melt butter and add to mixture.
Place cherries in on top of cooked apples.
Evenly spread the crumble over the apples and cherries.
Bake at 180 degrees C for 30-40 minutes or until topping is slightly browned.

Gluten Free Date and Sultana Rock-Cakes

2013-07-20T17:06:00.000+10:00

Oh my, it has been way too long since I have added a new 'tested and true' recipe to the blog.

I have a friend in the office who has been told she is gluten free so I have been having fun with the challenge by changing some of my 'tested and true' recipes by adding gluten free flour. I am not up there completely with gluten free so I have not checked all of the rest of the ingredients but she has not had a problem with my cooking (yet).

Ingredients

2 cups gluten free self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice (I also added about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
90g butter, partly melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup milk
1 egg

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Place flour and spice into a large bowl. Add butter (this is where you are meant to rub the butter in but I partly melted the butter and when I put it with the gluten free flour it turned into breadcrumbs (score!)).
Add sugar, sultanas and dates.
Add milk and egg.
Drop dots of mixture onto tray with baking paper. I made about 18 biscuits.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

You can also sprinkle a bit more brown sugar on the top of the biscuits before you put them into the oven.

The office approved of these and I hope you also enjoy them.

Wholegrain Mustard and Ginger Sausages

2012-12-21T17:59:00.000+11:00

I saw this recipe on a Nigella Lawson's Christmas special a week before Christmas. We made them for Christmas day and again after because they were so yummy.

Ingredients

100g ginger jam or conserve
100g wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic infused oil (I used olive oil with a teaspoon crushed garlic)
Sausages (we used chipolatas - small sausages but you could cut up long skinny sausages)

Method

Combine all ingredients in a medium zip lock bag.
Place sausages into the bag and move around to cover the sausages.
Place in fridge for at least half hour.
Cook in oven in a lined tray until cooked.

So simple and tastes wonderful.

Lemon Teacake with Lemon Syrup

2012-06-30T21:46:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

60g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 egg
180g (just over 1 cup) SR flour
1/3 cup milk
juice of 1 lemon (approx. 2 - 3 tablespoons)
zest of 1 lemon

Syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup castor sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg cel.
Grease a 20 cm round cake pan, cover base with baking paper (place the cake pan on top of the baking paper, draw the base and cut it out). Grease the paper in the pan.
Place butter and essence in a bowl and beat on medium speed with electric beaters until light and creamy.
Gradually add sugar and beat until soft and creamy.
Add egg, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat.
Stir in half the flour and half the milk and combine (don't beat).
Stir in the rest of the flour and milk and beat with wooden spoon until combined.
Place the mixture into the prepared pan and cook until brown and away from the sides (around 20 minutes).
Cool for 2-3 minutes then turn onto cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the syrup.

Place the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan on the stove on medium high.
Stir with a wooden spoon until boiled and the syrup will thicken.
Take off the heat and put lemon zest into saucepan.
Place cake on cooling rack and brush all of the syrup over the cake.
Serve slightly warm (this is a personal preference of mine but perhaps I just don't want to leave it any longer because it smells so good).

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

2012-06-24T17:01:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

500g butternut pumpkin
1 medium onions chopped
3 1/2 cups water
chicken or vegetable stock
2 large carrots diced
Moroccan seasoning (I used MasterFoods)
1 tin crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic

Method

Chop all vegetables
Place onions and garlic (optional) and with small amount of olive oil and cook until onion is soft
All other ingredients into pot including spices (add the amount of spices depending on personal taste)
Boil then simmer until cooked (around 30-45 minutes)
Blend and serve with a squeeze of lemon

German-style Pretzels

2012-06-17T12:28:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package dried yeast (7g)
22 oz (4 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
2 oz (60g) unsalted butter (melted)
Veg oil for bowl
10 cups water
3/4 cup baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Method

Combine 1 1/2 cups warm water, sugar, salt and sprinkle with dried yeast, allow to sit for 5 minutes
Add flour and butter, using a dough hook, mix on low speed until combined. If not using a mixer, knead until elastic.
Change to medium speed and knead 4-5 minutes.
Remove from bowl, cover bowl with oil then place the dough back into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap for 50 - 55 minutes.
Divide mixture in 16 even pieces and roll into a long sausage, create a pretzel shape.
Bring 10 cups of water and bicarb soda to the boil (will only be gentle boil).
Place each shaped pretzel into the boiling water for 1 minute.
Place on prepared baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and cook for 12 - 14 minutes.
Place on drying rack until cool.

Hot Cross Buns

2012-03-31T11:33:00.000+11:00

As you are getting ready for Easter, here is my 'Tested and True' Hot Cross Buns recipe. Although it is easy to purchase these, it is so satisfying to make them yourself.

There looks like a lot of steps but the original recipe I use only has 6 steps. I just like to work with recipes that have it listed in more steps (I don't like reading a step 5 times for 5 things to do).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (375ml) warm milk
2 tsp dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
60g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked
4 1/2 cups plain flour (I usually use a little more)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp mixed spice
1 cup sultanas
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup mixed peel
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup apricot jam

Note: instead of sultanas, currants and mixed peel I usually just use packet dried fruit or just sultanas (but make sure if you just use sultanas to put 1 1/2 cups)

Method

Combine milk, yeast and 1 tbs of sugar in small bowl. Set aside in warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until frothy.
Combine the milk mixture, butter and egg in a jug and whisk to combine.
Combine 4 cups of flour, salt, mixed spice and remaining sugar. Add sultanas, currants and mixed peel and stir to combine.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined then use your hands to bring the dough together.
Turn into a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a tea towel in a warm, draught-free place or 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.
Grease a 23cm square cake pan.
Punch the dough down with your fist. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
Divide dough into 16 even pieces and shape each portion into a ball. Arrange side by side in prepared pan. Set aside in warm draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 2cm. Preheat oven to 200 deg.
Meanwhile, mix the remaining flour and water together in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms. Place in a small plastic bag (zip lock bags are stronger), and snip off a corner.
Pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns length and width to create the cross.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 mins then reduce the temp to 180 deg for a further 20 mins. Bake until golden brown.
Turn onto a wire rack. Place the jam in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring for 2 mins or until jam melts. Strain through a sieve. Brush hot jam over the buns.

Brioche

2012-01-03T18:38:00.000+11:00

"Brioche (pronounced: [bʁi.ɔʃ]) is a highly enriched French pastry, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs"^[1] It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing. "

Referenced from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brioche

While home at on my Christmas holidays I found this recipe for Brioche in a cookbook of Mums. I have always wanted to cook it so I thought I would spoil the family for breakfast. I love dipping brioche into a strong coffee, soooo good.

Ingredients

7g dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 cups plain flour (I had to use plenty more)
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup (200g) butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Egg wash:
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk (I used the whole egg, not just yolk).

Method

Mix the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and the milk in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes until frothy.
Combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, milk and yeast mixture.
Gradually draw the flour into the eggs and yeast mixture with a plastic spatula. Mix until you have a soft dough (until 15 minutes).
(see note below) Work small pieces of butter into the dough with your hands, rubbing and squeezing the butter in.
Knead on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes.
Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size. (Make sure the room temperature is no more than 24 degrees C).
Punch out the risen dough, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
Return to the bowl, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
Next day, divide the dough into 18 pieces (around 57g each), three quarters and a quarter.
Roll into balls, place into prepared muffin or brioche molds (quarter ball on top).
Cover and leave to rise for about 20 minutes.
Lightly glaze the brioche tops with the egg wash.
Preheat the oven to 220 deg C.
Bake for around 8-10 minutes. If the top starts to burn, cover with foil. Cook until when a a skewer is inserted into the center it comes out clean.
Remove from the mold immediately and let cool on a rack.

Note: This step was very messy and I ended up with a buttery blob. I kneaded the mixture for 15 minutes before adding the butter in case it was a mess. Next time I will roll out the mixture and place the butter in it, fold it over and roll again (like making croissants) then cover and prove for the first time.

This recipe is from The Golden Book of Patisserie, McRae Books

Roast Pumpkin and Baby Spinach Salad

2012-01-02T11:21:00.000+11:00

Here is a salad to start your new year challenge - a new recipe each week.

This salad a friend of mine made a few months ago and I love it. The dressing is very special as it has maple syrup in it. This salad was a hit on Christmas Day.

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons seeded mustard

Salad:
Washed baby spinach
Fetta (crumbled)
Pine nuts
Roast pumpkin
(any other salad ingredients, I put halved cherry tomatoes and cubed cucumber)

Method

Roast the pumpkin with olive oil.
Cool the pumpkin slightly before putting in the salad.
Wash the baby spinach and put in a bowl.
Crumble the fetta and put the pumpkin and pine nuts on top.
Place all dressing in a bottle and shake.
Pour dressing over the salad and serve.

Cheat's Choc Mint Pudding

2011-12-27T18:34:00.000+11:00

Here is a recipe that Julie (one of our Facebook followers and a friend of mine) has made and said it went down well with the family. I am going to make this very soon Julie, it looks fantastic.

Ingredients

Packet of chocolate self-saucing pudding
1 peppermint crisp, roughly crushed
1/2 teaspoon cocoa added to pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon cocoa added to sauce
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee added to sauce
1 teaspoon mint drinking chocolate (optional)

Method

Make packet choc pudding mix according to directions, except for substituting milk for the 2 tablespoons of water for the pudding mix. If it is a bit dry looking, add a touch more milk or water so you can beat it with a wooden spoon.
Once you have mixed the pudding, add the cocoa, mint drinking choc (optional), instant coffee and cocoa, and the crushed peppermint crisp.
Sprinkle the sauce mix from the packet as per instructions, then sprinkle the other half teaspoon of cocoa and half teaspoon of coffee on the sauce mix.
Pour on the boiling water, as per the packet instructions.
I made this in a large glass bowl and put it in my biggest saucepan, put some foil over the top and steamed it with the lid on for about 45 mins. Alternatively, you can make the baked version in the oven, following the packet instructions.
Serve with cream or ice cream.

This turns an ordinary packet dessert into something truly delicious! It was recommended by the three chocolate loving males in my family.

Cheers
Julie

If you have a recipe you want to share, email it to me (the email address is on the right of the blog post).

Christmas Morning Crown (fruit bread rolls)

2011-12-26T11:42:00.000+11:00

I made this for Christmas morning but it looked so good we started it Christmas Eve (see the 3 missing rolls in the photo). This would be fantastic to make if you want to have something yummy for guests for breakfast (not necessarily for Christmas).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups strong flour (I used plain)
7g dried instant yeast
125g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg beaten
50g brown sugar
2 tbs chopped hazelnuts (I used pecans)
1 tsp mixed spice
1/3 cup chopped mixed peel
1/3 cup sultanas
1/4 cup glace cherries, chopped
(instead of the last 3 ingredients above, I added a cup of mixed dried fruit)

Method

Sift flour into a large bowl, add yeast and 1/2 tsp salt.
Rub in 40g butter to form coarse crumbs.
Mix in warm milk and egg to form a dough (I had to add more flour).
Place in a greased blow, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.
Beat remaining butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined.
Add nuts, spice, mixed fruit and stir to combine.
Punch down to expel air, knead briefly then roll out on a floured surface to form a 30cm x 23cm rectangle.
Spread fruit mixture over dough, leaving a 2cm border on the long sides.
Roll up from one long side then cut into 9 equal pieces.
Place slices, cut-side up on the lined or greased baking tray so it forms a circle with the slices just touching.
Cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until slightly risen (I placed a piece of baking paper between the roll and towel as the roll is sticky).
Once risen, you can cover the crown and chill overnight, then bring back to room temperature before baking.
Preheat over to 180 deg c. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

The original recipe from the taste website made an icing with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 3/4 cup icing sugar and drizzled over the crown before serving. I didn't think it needed more sugar so I left it out.

Also, when I make this again, I will put less butter in the fruit and nut mix as there was a lot of melted butter in the middle of the crown after it cooked. I will also add more nuts as this tasted fantastic.

Date loaf

2011-11-07T18:53:00.001+11:00

Ingredients

1 cup chopped dates
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
60 g butter or marg
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups SR flour
1 teasp bicarb soda
2 teasp vanilla essence

Method

1. Put chopped dates and sugar into bowl then add sliced butter
2. Pour in boiling water, stir until butter melted
3. Add flour (sifted), bicarb soda then vanilla essence
4. Bake in loaf pan for 45-50 minutes.

This is soooooo easy and really yummy. I added flaked almonds because I wanted to get rid of them out of the cupboard but next time I will add chopped pecans.

Felicity

Sticky Lemon Loaf

2011-09-23T07:50:00.003+10:00

Do you still have lemons that you can't think of anything to do with? Kerry and I have been cooking this lemon loaf.

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon rind
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons margarine - melted
3/4 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

Syrup
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup icing sugar

Method
1. Beat egg whites and sugar for 1 minute.
2. Add lemon rind, lemon juice, melted margarine and milk. Mix well.
3. In one go gently fold in flour and bicarb soda to mixture. DO NOT beat.
4. Pour into greased tin (21 x 10 cm).
5. Bake 30 mins or until firm to touch.

To make syrup
1. Combine juice and icing sugar.
2. When cake is cooked, prick a few holes into the top with a fork and pour syrup over cake.
3. Leave to sit for 2 minutes then remove from tin.

This cake is very moist because of the syrup so it does not store for too long.

This recipe was from Simply too good to be true number 3. This is a great series of cookbooks that are still yummy if you are watching your weight. This recipe says there is 1.8g total fat and 0.4g saturated fat per serve (also, 553 kilojoules, Cals132).
Felicity

Caramel and date self-saucing puddings

2011-05-07T15:17:00.000+10:00

Ingredients:

60g butter
1/2 cup milk (125ml)
1 1/4 cups dark muscovado sugar (I used normal brown sugar)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates
1 cup self-raising flour
1 3/4 cups boiling water

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
Combine the butter, milk, 3/4 (155g) of sugar and dates in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until butter melts. Remove from heat.
Add the flour and stir to combine.
Spoon mixture evenly among six 3/4 cup capacity ovenproof dishes.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over puddings.
Pour the boiling water evenly among each pudding.
Place puddings on an oven tray and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until just cooked through.
Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

This tastes amazing and I put it in 5 ramekins which was enough but not too much to have for desert. Mum made it and put it in a big oven proof dish and it worked really well too.

I found this recipe in the Notebook magazine from a few years ago.

Mid week meals

2011-03-23T20:58:00.001+11:00

So when you get home at 6.30 after a long day at work, what do you cook for dinner?

Cheese and bean patties

2011-01-12T10:41:00.000+11:00

I am still in the cooking spirit! Woo hoo!
Mum read the title of this recipe out to me and I thought "ho hummmm" but after reading the ingredients decided to give it a go.
Although I changed the recipe, they tasted yummmmm. My changes are included below.

Ingredients

1/3 cup burghul* (I used 1/3 cup cous cous cooked - see below)
400g can cannellini beans
1 small onion
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander (did not have so used Italian Herbs)
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1 small lemon, juiced (I put 2 teaspoons of the fake lemon juice)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
oil for cooking

Method

Cook cous cous by putting 1/3 cup cous cous with 1/3 cup boiling water. Mix and leave for 5 minutes.
Roughly chop the onion and place in food processor. Buzz a few times to chop up.
Wash the cannellini beans and place into food processor with flour, baking powder, cumin, coriander (Italian herbs), grated cheese and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
Process until well combined.
Put cooked cous cous into processor and combine further.
Transfer mixture into a bowl, stir through parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Shape mixture into patties, 1 tablespoon at a time. Put onto plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
(This was not in original recipe but I added because they started to fall apart when cooking)
Make a egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water). Dip the patties into the egg then into plain flour.
Cook mover a medium heat for about 3 minutes each side. They kept sticking so I kept them moving in the pan.

*If using burghul then in step 1. Place burghul into a sieve. Rinse under cold water. Allow to drain. Set aside for 10 minutes.

I will be making them again. We served it with salad but the magazine I got the recipe out of (Foodideas Nov 2003) served it with tabouli.
Felicity

Olive, Herb & Garlic Focaccia

2011-01-10T10:25:00.000+11:00

Welcome back to the blog. It has been a while since I have uploaded recipes and life got on top of me and it fell to the way-side. Since watching the movie Jule &Julia I have been inspired to cook again. Yesterday afternoon I decided to try this focaccia recipe. It was plain and I added the extra bits which I feel made it better.

If you cook it, I would love to know what you added to the top (or inside). Please reply to this thread or on Facebook.

If you have made anything interesting over Christmas - New Year break I would love to know and upload onto the blog. Remember, this blog is about sharing 'tested and true' recipes. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Olive, Herb & Garlic Focaccia

4 cups bakers flour (or plain flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 sachet (7-8g)s instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 - 1 1/4 cups (250 - 300 ml) lukewarm water (-40 deg C)

1 teaspoon mixed herbs (I put a lot more than 1 teaspoon, also put mixed pepper)

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

Method

Mix yeast and water in a small bowl until yeast has dissolved. Put aside for 10 minutes until foaming.
Mix together flour, salt, mixed herbs and garlic into a large bowl.
Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil*. Gradually mix with a wooden spoon.
Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough until soft and elastic (approx. 5 minutes).
Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm position until dough has doubled in size (approx. 1 hour).
Punch out the air. Pull out to make rectangle shape and place on a lined baking tray
(you can roll with a rolling pin but that makes more washing up).
Dimple the surface with your fingers. Rub olive oil over the top of the surface.
Cut olives in half and push into the dough. Break up fresh parsley and push into the dough (optional).
Sprinkle dried herbs and sea salt over the surface, patting on so they stick (also a variation is chili flakes).
Place in the oven at the lowest temperature and allow to rise again (approx 15-20 minutes).
Turn the oven up to 200 deg C and cook for 15-20 minutes (slightly brown on the top).

*Notes: I forgot to put the oil into the mixture which is why I put it on top. By putting it on top it used less oil but was not dry. It also helped it turn brown and keep the herbs on the top.

Most of this recipe came from the back of the Defiance White Baker's Flour packet although I used plain flour (bought the bakers flour, brought it home, opened it and it was full of bugs- thanks Defiance!).

Chocolate brownies

2010-11-01T14:08:00.000+11:00

Method:

MELT
220g of the best dark cooking chocolate you can buy
150g unsalted butter

MIX
1 & ¼ cups caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla extract
90g nuts (optional)
1 and ½ cups plain flour
Optional, sprinkle choc ‘Bits’ across the top of the mixture.

BAKE
Bake @ 150 degrees for approx 35-40 minutes. Don’t overcook!

I have not made this one yet but a friend of mine has. I can't wait to give it a try.