52 loaves

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sun, 25 Dec 2022 10:38:00 +0000

Baileys recipe

Ingredients

1 tbs instant coffee and 1 heaped tbs cocoa dissolved in 2tbs of boiling water

1 cup cream

1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups whisky (I used 1 ¼)

Method

Put in a bowl or jug and whisk or mix with a mixer on low until all ingredients are combined.

Pour into sterilised bottle. Refrigerate.

Will last 2 months unopened. Ours rarely lasts a day.... it's that good.

kryddat rödkål - Spiced red cabbage

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Thu, 19 May 2016 01:10:00 +0000

Red Cabbage braised with apples, wine, and lingonberries. Delicious and vibrant, beautiful to look at and oh so yummy to eat.

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tart green apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 pounds red cabbage, shredded

1/4 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/3 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons lingonberry jam (you can use redcurrant jam or jelly instead)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add chopped apples and sliced onion and saute until soft.

Add cabbage, sugar, cider vinegar, cloves and allspice, red wine and jam.

Cook till tender. Season to taste.

Keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge - if you can keep your hands off it that is!

Cornbread

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 09:06:00 +0000

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 large egg

Cornbread, shown here with my Sweet Hungarian Heat!

1 1/4 cups yellow, white or blue cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 200°c. Prepare a 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round cake pan with the cooking spray.
2. heat the butter over low heat until melted.
3. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, milk and egg with a fork or wire whisk until well mixed. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once; stir just until the flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl. Spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Serve warm.

Sweet Hungarian Heat - Chilli

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 08:54:00 +0000

I'm never sure if this is a goulash or a chilli. Either way I think it is delicious, and great for a cold night. Warming and hearty, enough heat to tickle your throat, but not enough to burn. A nice amount of sweetness to balance. Lovely with cornbread, crusty bread, or whatever takes your fancy.

Ingredients

3 large onions diced
3 cloves garlic finely diced/minced
2 large red capsicums sliced
1 red bullhorn chilli
1 Hungarian hot pepper or 2 jalapeno peppers
1 carrot finely diced (you can add celery here as well)
1 tbs hot Hungarian paprika
1 tbs sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
¼ -1/3 cup of brown sugar
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup of tomato paste
600g of gravy beef (or any beef suitable for slow cooking)
1 can of beans – borlotti, kidney, or black – or the equivalent in fresh cooked
Olive oil
Water or stock

This will take about 3 hours in a slow cooker – will take less on a stovetop.

1. Saute the onions and garlic till soft, add in carrots, peppers, and capsicum and soften. Put into the slow cooker.
2. Brown the beef and add in the hot and sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, and a good pinch of salt. Put into the slow cooker.
3. Take 1 cup of water or stock and pour it into the frypan you browned the beef in to lift all the remaining spices from the bottom of the pan and pour into the slow cooker. I also added in a handful of cherry tomatoes I had, they went well.
4. Add in the sugar and vinegar. Add enough extra water or stock to just cover the ingredients. Give it all a stir. Put the lid on and let it come to a simmer. Leave for an hour.
5. With any chilli this is the time now to make some adjustments – need some more heat? Add a bit more paprika or chilli. Want more sweetness? Add a bit more brown sugar. If you want a bit more zing a little drop more of vinegar until you have the balance you want. Cook for another hour then add in the beans and cook until done.

Sweet potato, silverbeet, and goats feta pies

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 06:20:00 +0000

You know sometimes you cook something, and it's nice but not quite perfect. So you tinker with it and perfect it. Sometimes you cook something and it is nice, but... not quite perfect, and not really nice enough for you to want to tinker with. That is what I thought of this dish. The cream cheese pastry was suitably short and crumbly, and great with the caramelised onion and garlic spinach. The sweet potato, in my opinion, added unnecessary stodge to the recipe.Rather than tinkering with it to make it better,I think omitting the sweet potato all together and making it a caramelised onion and spinach tart would be better...

The original recipe is found at Sweet potato, silverbeet and goat's feta pies - Gourmet Traveller

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 23:11:00 +0000

Vegetarian sausage rolls - better than the meaty kind in my book! There are two variations for the filling. I have a weakness for sanitarium nutmeat so that will usually be my first choice of filling, but the chickpea and cannellini beans also work really well. Great snacks for a kids party, or for munching as an informal dinner on movie night.

This recipe makes about 20 mini sausage rolls, or 10 larger ones.

Ingredients

2 cups/ 500g mashed potato
2 cups beans/peas/lentils of choice [I find one cup each of chickpeas and cannellini beans gives the balance of not too dry or mushy] or 1 tin of sanitarium nutmeat.
1/4 to 1 tsp curry powder - to taste
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 cup of onion, fried (shrinks to about 1/2 cup)
season to taste

2 -3 sheets of puff pastry

Method

Finely dice the onion and fry till translucent. Add in the curry powder and stir till combined.
Mash or food process the beans/chickpeas or nutmeat.
Add the onions, herbs, and mashed potato into the bowl.
Mix together well with your hands.

Lay your thawed puff pastry sheets out. Cut into halves. Roll your filling into sausages/snakes and lay along one side of one half of the puff pastry. Gently roll the pastry and filling ensuring the pastry meets and slightly overlaps at the end of your roll. This seam forms the bottom of your roll. Press down gently to make sure your sausage roll is nicely shaped and the filling distributed evenly. Continue with other pastry sheets.

Cut your sausage rolls in half for large rolls, or in quarters for mini sausage rolls.

Bake at 200 degrees for about 20 mins or until the pastry is brown and crispy

Beetroot with Cranberry sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 03:18:00 +0000

This is a very simple condiment that goes really well with game meats.

Ingredients

Beetroot with cranberry sauce,
served here with venison stew.

2 beetroots, sliced or cubed
2 or 3 tablespoons of cranberry jelly
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp of vinegar

method

Melt butter in a pan. Add beetroots and other ingredients. Cook gently until beetroot is tender. If needed a little bit of extra jelly or water can be added if it is too dry.

Venison and Ale Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:14:00 +0000

Not an everyday dish, what with venison being so expensive! It is very tasty, and a fantastic stew for winter.

Ingredients

60g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 spring onions
4 cloves garlic
500g venison
15ml Whisky
300ml ale
2 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
300ml beef stock

Pepper and salt to taste

Method:

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and saute the onions and garlic. Lay the venison on top then tip in the whisky and stir the ingredients together. If you don't have whisky just use some of the ale. The whisky just adds another hit of flavour.

Add in the ale and stock, along with the vinegar, sugar and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil, then simmer until the meat is tender - about 40 minutes. Check occassionally to make sure the sauce is not over-reducing.

Serve with your choice of vegetables. This goes particularly well with red cabbage, potato, sweet potato, and beetroot.

Pea and fennel soup

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 03:03:00 +0000

This is a lovely soup, with the sweetness of leeks and peas, the fragrance of fennel, and the savouriness of garlic. I just love the vivid green of this soup, it really brightens my day!

Quick and easy to make, and reasonably cheap when in season (fennel is really cheap at the moment!) this is a fantastic go-to soup for weekday meals. Serve with crusty bread for optimal eating pleasure ;)

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
1/2 leek, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
750ml vegetable stock
500g frozen peas - fresh or frozen
1 bunch spinach, chopped.

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add fennel, leek and garlic, sauté until soft.
Add stock, peas, fennel, and spinach.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until all the veg is cooked.
Purée until soft and smooth.

Serve and enjoy!

Sweet potato and goats chèvre ravioli

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 02:40:00 +0000

I am glad to report my pasta making skills seem to be improving. While this still isn't the silkiest, thinnest, most luscious ravioli I've ever had - it was certainly presentable, the pasta was a good texture, and the filling was definitely delicious. You don't need a pasta machine to make ravioli, though it does help to get the dough nice and thin. A rolling pin and some patience work just as well. Fortunately, courtesy of a christmas present from my best friend I have a pasta machine so I didn't have to be so patient ;)

Method

The pasta dough:
200 g flour, Italian Type 00
2 eggs
olive oil

Sift the flour into a huge mixing bowl or on a chopping board. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs, then incorporate the flour with your fingers and knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough comes together nicely. If the mix is too firm, add another egg or egg yolk or a teaspoon of olive oil (or, at a pinch a little water), if it’s too soft, use a little more flour. Knead it lightly, and then shape it into a ball, tightly wrap in cling film and let rest for at least 30 minutes on the counter.

The filling
100g goats chèvre or ricotta (drained, squeezed dry in a cheesecloth)
2 sweet potatoes, roasted till soft and then cooled and peeled
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix together the sweet potatoes, chèvre and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly
Roll the pasta into thin sheets with either a pasta machine or your trusty rolling pin.

Place teaspoonful balls of the sweet potato mixture on the dough, and then cover with more dough. Press down to form sealed edges, and cut into shapes.

Cook in boiling salted water until the pasta is al dente.

for the sage burnt butter sauce
100g butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 sage leaves

Add butter to pan and heat until butter begins to foam. At this point, add the sage and cook until butter has browned. Squeeze in the lemon juice and serve sauce immediately over ravioli.

Variation: I had actually intended to use toasted walnuts instead of the sage leaves, but did not have any at the time. I've used them since, and they work well.

Putting it all together

Place the ravioli on a plate with some extra goats chèvre crumbled on top. Finish with the sage burnt butter sauce. Enjoy!

Skidne Æg - Dirty eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 17 May 2014 06:09:00 +0000

This is part of our Eurovision inspired Danish-fest. Skidne Æg is a traditional dish, and makes a lovely sharing entree when plated up as we did, or you can serve in individual dishes.

The eggs are meant to be a little runnier than this - that lovely inbetween softboiled and hardboiled, but we overshot the mark as we were too engrossed in the pre-show buildup! Even so, it was a very tasty dish. I'm thinking, too, that you could replace the mustard with curry powder for a, well, curried version.

You can use whatever mustard you enjoy, but be cautious with the hotter ones as you may need to use less or face the wrath of the mustard god. We used dijon because it is one of my favourites, and I had it in the house at the time!

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 litre milk
3 tablespoon mustard
salt to taste

Method

Boil eggs and boil until they are cooked as you desire (technically medium boiled is what you aim for, but do whatever you like best). Peel.

Make a roux with the butter and flour. Add milk in gradually until you have a white sauce. Add mustard, stir through, season with salt and pepper to taste. If your eggs have cooled too much add them to the sauce to reheat, otherwise place eggs in bowl/s and pour sauce over.

Eat with rye bread, flatbread, or even with strips of crispy bacon... we served it with my flatbread recipe (just omitting the caraway!)

Lazy winter vegetable soup

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 17 May 2014 05:08:00 +0000

I remember in my early 20's a friend of mine asking me "How do you make soup?" I remember staring at her with bemusement. How could anyone not know how to make soup? It's as easy as toasting bread - well, some soup is. I realised later that there are some techniques with cooking soup that you do need to know, even though most of them are fairly simple. Anyway, I guess she was never taught to cook at home, another thing I couldn't fathom. I remember making pikelets with my mum when I was very small - maybe 4 years old - and soups with my Babcia when I was maybe 8 years old. I grew up cooking, helping to cook, and trying to avoid having to cut up all the vegetables... I guess not everyone is lucky enough to have these experiences.

Anyway, I digress. I think this is the first soup I taught my friend to make. It is super easy, as all it requires is to prepare the vegetables and use a bought stock - a good quality one though, that relies on the flavour of the ingredients and not an over-abundance of salt. No blending, no roux, no cream to add and hope it doesn't split, just a simple basic vegetable soup. I think it is delicious though, and I make it a lot during winter. Obviously if you have the time and know-how to make your own stock that will make it even better.

I cut my vegetables on the chunky side, but if you prefer them finely sliced that will work just as well.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots,sliced
1 parsnip,sliced
1 turnip, sliced
1 potato, diced
1 litre of stock

Method

Sauté onion in a little oil or butter until translucent.
Add in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked. If soup is too thick, add water to increase the liquid.

Serve with crusty bread.

Kale Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 14 May 2014 05:30:00 +0000

I've been enjoying kale over the last few months - baby kale in salads, older kale in stirfrys or cooked similar to cabbage and served with whatever it is I'm eating. And crispy kale chips are a perennial favourite in this house! This dish is nowhere near as healthy as any of those options, but it is very delicious. This stew is great as an accompaniment to ham or other meats, and it is just as nice on its own with some mashed potato.

Ingredients

1 kg Kale
75 g butter
200ml cream
1 cup of good quality vegetable stock
2 tablespoon flour

Method

Rinse kale well and Discard any discoloured leaves and tough stems.

Slice into ½ inch thick slices with a sharp knife.
Make a roux with 50 gram of butter and the flour, stir in the vegetable stock and stir till it is smooth.
Add kale and the cream, then season to taste.

Boil gently for 10-15 minutes. The kale stew should not be overly runny, it should have a rich creamy consistency.

Caramelised Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 14 May 2014 05:06:00 +0000

This is another of those nice-but-naughty recipes. Not especially healthy, but very tasty. This little side dish comes from Denmark, who were the hosts for Eurovision this year. In honour of our hosts we had a traditional Danish dish - ham, with kale stew, and caramelised potatoes. The sweet caramel potatoes went very well with the saltiness of the ham.

1kg Small potatoes, peeled
40g sugar
50g butter

Boil the potatoes until cooked.

Heat the sugar in a frying pan over a medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar melts. DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE. If you need to redistribute the melted sugar shake the pan. If you stir it you may crystallise the sugar.

Add the butter & When it starts foaming add the potatoes and coat them with the mixture. I find a pair of tongs and a spoon works well to do this.

Cook for a further 4-5 minutes until nicely golden and browned. Serve.

Dad's Meatloaf

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Tue, 13 May 2014 04:40:00 +0000

I just love my dad's meatloaf recipe. It is moist, savoury, with a rich deep sauce. It is one of the tastes of my childhood, a comforting reminder of days past. Add to that the fact that it is easy to make, lasts well in the fridge, and makes terrific leftovers for reheating or for sandwiches and, well, how can you go wrong?

Ingredients

250g sausage mince
250g minced steak
1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs

1 onion
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

sauce

1/4 cup strong espresso coffee or 1/4 cup water and 1 or 2 teaspoons coffee powder
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/8 cup of brown sugar
15g butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

Meatloaf

soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 minutes. Combine with the meat, finely chopped onion, curry powder, parsely, and beaten egg in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
Place in a greased loaf or bar tin and bake for 25-30mins at 200c.

Sauce

combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to boil and then simmer for 5 mins.
Remove loaf from the oven, pour off fat and turn loaf over in the pan. Spoon some of the sauce over, place back in the oven for 10 mins until the top is browned.
Serve with the remainder of the sauce and your choice of seasonal vegetables.

Cauliflower Purée

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sat, 03 May 2014 06:14:00 +0000

Cauliflower Purée is a great substitute for mashed potatoes. It is low in carbohydrates and high in nutrients, and while the taste of cauliflower is there it is a little milder than when eaten whole. Even my young niece who doesn't particularly enjoy cauliflower said it was "OK" to eat, so it can't be that bad!

It is possible to use water instead of milk, but I love the creaminess the milk adds to the dish and it doesn't seem to matter if you use low-fat or not! Milk also adds a bit of extra protein to this dish, which is a bonus.

I'm not giving you exact quantaties here, as this really is a cooking method that can be easily adapted. Obviously the more cauliflower you use, the more milk you will need.

I've paired the cauliflower purée here with a lovely steak and my favourite red cabbage and caraway, but it goes well almost anywhere you would serve mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

fresh cauliflower
milk

method

Place the cauliflower in a pan and just cover with milk.

Bring to a high heat and cook until the caulflower is soft but not overcooked.

pour off the milk mixture into jug - and keep it, you may need it later.

Blitz the cauliflower in the pot, or place it in a blender, and blend it until it is smooth and creamy. You may need to add extra milk from your reserve jug if it is not blending smoothly or if it is too thick.

Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Crispy skin duck breast with honey & orange glazed carrots

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Fri, 02 May 2014 06:00:00 +0000

This is a rich indulgent dish, perfect for a cool autumn evening. There is a reason why orange is often paired with duck - it provides a sweetness and fruitiness that pairs well with the strong flavour of the duck meat.

The secret to crispy skin is to render out all of that duck fat under the breast, and making sure you pour off the excess fat so that you do not end up with soggy or chewy skin.

The honey and orange glazed carrots are one of my dad's recipes, which I have loved since a child.

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

2 large carrots

1 tbs butter
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup of orange juice
zest from an orange
pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper

Method - the duck breast

Pat the skin of the duck breast and score the through the skin, This helps the fat to render and run out.
Season with salt and ground pepper.
Place skin side down in a cold non stick pan on a medium heat without oil for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Pour off the fat regularly and seal the other side for 30 seconds.
Place the skin side up on a rack in a roasting tin in the middle of the oven. The following guidelines give you approximate times for roasting the breast, but as with all meats the size of the breasts will affect how long the cooking will need to be.

Rare - 10 minutes
Medium - 15 minutes
Well Done - 18 minutes

When the duck is cooked rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Method - the honey and orange glazed carrots

Slice the carrots finely (peel if you prefer, I find I don't need to).
Cook in boiling water until soft but not mushy.
Drain the carrots in a colander.
In the same pot melt the butter and honey, then add the orange juice, zest, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the carrots and stir until the sauce has coated the carrots and is reduced to your liking.
Season to taste.

Serve with your duck breast, and any other accompaniments you may desire. As you can see I added some baby spinach and mashed potato to mine!

Enjoy!

Rose-petal custard

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 23:08:00 +0000

This is a continuation of my scandalous love affair with custard. This custard uses the same basic recipes as the lemon verbena custard, but uses rose petals to flavour it. The red and deep pink rose petals I used imparted a lovely soft colour to the custard, and a fragrant sweet turkish-delight flavour. This is one I shall definitely make again and again when the roses are in bloom!

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

Petals of 3-4 fragrant roses. The more fragrant the roses, the more fragrant and flavourful your custard will be.

Method

Place the milk and rose petals in a pot. Bring just up to the boil, then take immediately off the heat and leave to cool. Strain the milk to remove all the petals.

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Taste to make sure you are happy with the sweetness etc and adjust as necessary. Place over a low-medium heat and stir with a whisk until it thickens.

Enjoy!

Lemon verbena custard

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 22:55:00 +0000

I can remember my mum making custard when I was younger, and trying to teach me - but I was always too impatient with it and cooked it too quickly so it curdled. Now that I am older, I am much more patient and am reaping the rewards. After all is there anything better than soft, silky smooth, warm custard on a cool night? This custard is all that with a lovely lemony flavour.

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

Sprig of lemon verbena leaves.

Method

Place the milk and lemon verbena in a pot. Bring just up to the boil, then take immediately off the heat and leave to cool. Remove the lemon verbena leaves and strain if necessary.

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Taste to make sure you are happy with the sweetness etc and adjust as necessary. Place over a low-medium heat and stir with a whisk until it thickens.

Enjoy!

Strawberry custard cake

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 01:17:00 +0000

This is a cake that has it all - vanilla cake, custard, fresh strawberries, and the taste of strawberry jelly. It is gorgeous! I have not tried it with other berries, but they'd be worthwhile trying!

Cake

1 tablespoon butter

6 tablespoons milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 celcius. Place butter in a spring form ring pan and place in oven just until butter melts. Remove from oven and use a brush to evenly spread butter around the bottom and sides of the pan.
Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till light yellow and fluffy. Add in the milk and vanilla and beat to combine.
Combine the flour and baking powder and sift into the egg and sugar mixture. Stir gently to combine along with the vanilla.
Pour into your greased flan or cake tin and place in centre of oven.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

Cool, then turn out onto a serving platter.

Custard Layer

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Place over a low-medium and stir with a whisk until it thickens. It should be quite thick.

Add in the butter and stir to blend.

Cool until it is room temperature and then spread over top of the vanilla cake layer.

Topping

3 punnets of strawberries
1 tsp rosewater (you can omit if you don't have this)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

1/3 cup water

Arrange 1 punnet of strawberries on top of the custard. If they are large strawberries you can cut them in half.

Put the remaining 2 punnets of berries in a food processor and process until they are crushed but still have texture (you don't need a fine puree)

Put the sugar, cornflour, rosewater, water and pureed berries into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cool and then pour over the fresh berries on top of the custard.

Note: you can sieve the berry glaze to remove seeds and to make it finer. I usually don't because I quite like the texture. It's up to you though!

Zupa Czosnkowa (Garlic Soup)

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 05:34:00 +0000

Well, after a long and difficult winter I am back! It wasn't a very cold winter here, even by Australian standards, in fact it was surprisingly mild. That didn't stop me from getting a couple of colds/flu's and random viruses. The worst was bronchitis which left me very ill for three weeks, and then has taken another few weeks for me to feel like I am getting back to normal.

This Polish soup is one that ticks all my boxes when I am ill, It is easy to make, it is delicious, it is good for you (if you ignore the sour cream lol). It warms you up and makes you feel all cosy and loved. OK, maybe that's just me!

Though this may sound like a strange soup, with way too much garlic, give it a try. Cooking the garlic for such a long time takes away any heat and astringency and leaves a very sweet flavour. The egg and cream mixture further rounds out the flavour.

Ingredients

8 cups beef stock (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)

1 bay leaf
15 peeled garlic cloves
2 carrots, diced VERY finely
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions,diced finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

Method

Cut 5 garlic cloves in half. Dice the remainder finely or put through a garlic sieve.

Saute onions in oil until translucent.Add the diced garlic and cook till softened. Add in remaining garlic, stock, carrots, and herbs.

Let simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. Season to taste. Leave to cool slightly (ie don't let it be near boiling or you may split the cream).

Mix egg yolks and sour cream together in a bowl, then slowly add a few tablespoons of hot stock to it to temper it (so it doesn't curdle when you add it to the soup). Whisk it into the soup.

Enjoy with hot bread, croutons, or shards of crispy bacon. (OK, so there goes the healthy part!!)

Caraway seed soup

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 02:37:00 +0000

Caraway seed soup is a light and tasty dish. It is a simple dish, ideal for fast days, and a perfect starter for a banquet.

Ingredients

2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups water or veggie stock

Method

Heat the oil and toast the seeds until they release their aroma.
Add the flour and let it brown a bit.
Add the paprika, and pour the water or stock over.
Cook for 15 mins until it is silky
Strain the seeds, and serve with crusty bread.

Zebra Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:46:00 +0000

Zebra Cake is delicious! Great as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee. It is surprisingly easy to make.

Best of all, no zebras are harmed in its creation! It is named for its striped layers of chocolate and vanilla cake.

The layers are usually not as wavy as mine are - when I was pouring the batter I discovered that the bench I was on sloped so the batter poured unevenly. It still tasted good though!

Ingredients

4 eggs

250 ml milk

250 g sugar

250 ml vegetable oil
2 cups (10 oz / 300 g) plain flour
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (equals 3 teaspoons) baking powder

2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat until light and fluffy.Add milk, vanilla and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine and mix flour and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Batter should run slowly off the beaters. If it is too thick add more milk, if too runny add more flour.

4. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls. Add cocoa powder into one of the bowls and mix well. You may need to add a little more milk to maintain the batters fluidity.

6. Lightly grease a round cake pan with oil.

7. This is the most important technique in the whole process, as this is what gives the zebra cake its distinctive stripes. Pour 3 heaped tablespoons of vanilla cake batter into the middle of your cake pan. Then immediately pour3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter. Then 3 tbs of vanilla, 3 of cocoa, and so on until both batters are used up. DON'T stop until it is done. At the end you should see concentric rings of batter in your pan.

8. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

9. Invert, cool, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Pineapple upside down cake

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 06:00:00 +0000

This is very yummy, quite buttery and sweet.

Recipe is from the lovely Nigella - http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/pineapple-upside-down-cake-51

Reprinted here below the pic.

Ingredients

butter (for greasing)

2 tablespoons sugar
6 slices canned pineapple in juice (plus 3 tablespoons of the juice)
11 glace cherries (approx. 75g total weight)
100 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100 grams soft butter
100 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6/400ºF. Butter a tarte Tatin tin (24cm/9 inches wide at the top and 20cm/8 inches diameter at the bottom) or use a 23cm / 8-9 inch cake tin(Do not use a spring-form tin, trust me on this)
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern as in the picture.
Fill each pineapple ring with a glace cherry, and then dot one in each of the spaces in between.
Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into a food processor and run the motor until the batter is smooth. Then pour in the 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice to thin it a little.
Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently.
Bake for 30 minutes, then ease a spatula around the edge of the tin, place a plate on top and, with one deft move, turn it upside-down. Tap the cake tin and it should slide out onto the plate.

Lax Pudding (Salmon pudding)

noreply@blogger.com (Maia) — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:23:00 +0000

This is a lovely way to use up leftover gravlax or smoked salmon. It is a terrificly warming winter dish - perfect for a rainy night. Another winner from Swedish cuisine!

You can make this in a large terrine, but I choose to make them as individual puddings. Took a little less tiem to cook that way, and they looked really cute in my little mini dishes!

Serves 8

Ingredients

250g new potatoes

2tbps butter
1 leek finely sliced
200g gravlax or smoked salmon finely sliced
2 eggs
250ml milk
30 ml cream
handful of chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. leave to cool
saute leek in butter until softened.
Thinly slice potatoes and place as a layer in the bottom of a terrine.
Add fine slices of salmon. then a layer of leeks.
Repeat until you run out of ingredients - end with a layer of potatoes.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, add in milk and cream and then beat together till combined. Season with S&P, the sir the dill through the egg mixture.

Pour the egg mixture over the terrine, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown with a set egg.

52 loaves

Baileys recipe

Ingredients

Method

kryddat rödkål - Spiced red cabbage

Ingredients

Method

Cornbread

Sweet Hungarian Heat - Chilli

Sweet potato, silverbeet, and goats feta pies

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Ingredients

Method

Beetroot with Cranberry sauce

Ingredients Beetroot with cranberry sauce,served here with venison stew.

method

Venison and Ale Stew

Ingredients

Method:

Pea and fennel soup

Ingredients

Method

Sweet potato and goats chèvre ravioli

Method

Putting it all together

Skidne Æg - Dirty eggs

Ingredients

Method

Lazy winter vegetable soup

Ingredients

Method

Kale Stew

Ingredients

Method

Caramelised Potatoes

Dad's Meatloaf

Ingredients

sauce

Method

Meatloaf

Sauce

Cauliflower Purée

Ingredients

method

Crispy skin duck breast with honey & orange glazed carrots

Ingredients

Method - the duck breast

Method - the honey and orange glazed carrots

Rose-petal custard

Lemon verbena custard

Strawberry custard cake

Cake

Custard Layer

Topping

Zupa Czosnkowa (Garlic Soup)

Ingredients

Method

Caraway seed soup

Ingredients

Method

Zebra Cake

Ingredients

Method

Pineapple upside down cake

Ingredients

butter (for greasing)

Method

Lax Pudding (Salmon pudding)

Ingredients

method

Ingredients

Beetroot with cranberry sauce,
served here with venison stew.