Pat's Birthday Cake

• 125 g butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 500g mixed dried fruit
• 1/2 tspn nutmeg
• 1 tspn mixed spice
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 tspn bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cups SR flour
• 1 cup plain flour

1. Grease and line the base of a 20 cm cake tin. Set oven temp at moderate 180 deg C.
2. Put butter, milk, sugar, fruit & spices into a saucepan, bring to boil and simmer with lid off for 5 mins. Cool slightly, add sherry & bicarbonate of soda.
3. When cold, add the beaten eggs and mix well. Sift both flours and fold into mixture. Turn into prepared cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven for 1 1/4 hours or until cooked.
4. Cool on a wire rack and store in an air-tight tin.

Note.

I have a gas oven and I tend to cook it for 60 mins on 200 degrees C.

I also add some slivered almonds to the mixture.

technorati tags: cakes

Lucky's Vegetable Soup

With winter here, nothing beats a bowl of hot soup and home made is the way to go. This recipe I grew up on and it's a favorite in our house as well.


This is how I make the vegie soup.



I use a piece of lamb meat when making the stock. Usually when I buy a side of lamb those scrap pieces of meat are divided up and frozen.

So firstly the meat is boiled in water with a bit of salt added. When cooked, meat is removed and this is fed to the poultry for protein.

Into the lamb stock goes grated vegies......

potato
swede
parsnip
turnip
carrot

Added as well is

diced onion
diced celery

Bring it to the boil and simmer for 20 mins.

Add a cup off small noodles (or what variety you like).

1 packet of chicken noodle soup. This gives the soup a kick.

Great with crusty bread.

technorati tags: soups

Tomato & Pasta

Sorry about the meal half eaten. I was enjoying it so much and then thought.... this would be good for my blog here.

It's a mixture of odds & ends from the garden.

In the summer months I like to try and freeze spare tomatoes for the winter, to be used in this manor. All those soft tomatoes aren't wasted in my house.

Use what ever amount of defrosted tomatoes and add the following in the amounts that suit you.

• sliced onion
• pasta
• basil fresh or dried
• oregano dried or fresh
• parsley fresh or dried
• parmesan cheese fresh or dried.
  
• diced eggplant
• diced celery

Really anything you want to add or use up, it's up to you. The pasta soaks up any liquid so it doesn't need thickening.

Put all of the food into a saucepan and cook until it's looking nice and soft. I added crushed garlic to my share after I had dished up Pat's serving. As he can't tolerate garlic.

So that's about it. pat had his dished up on toast and mine was with toast on a side plate.

technorati tags: tomato, pasta, herbs

Lucky's Potato Dressing

I love a good spud salad and often amazed how yummy a home made dressing can be. I have grown tired of the one I have been making for years now and so I experimented the other day and as I did such a good job with it, thought I'd share with you.


Mix in a bowl the following.....

• mayonnaise
• cream
• creamy dijonnaise
  

I tend to put about 50 - 50 with the cream and mayonnaise and then add the dijannaise to taste.

Then added to the hot diced spud along with some crunchy cook bacon pieces, some mustard seeds and red onion diced.

technorati tags: salads

Eggless Biscuits

My chooks have started to slow down in the egg laying department. There is also talk of eggs sky rocketing in price with the new regulations coming in for farmers keeping chooks in cages on their egg farms.

So it got me thinking of a recipe my mum gave me. So here it is.

Eggless Biscuits

• 5 oz butter

• 4 oz sugar

• 6 oz custard powder

• 6 oz S.R. Flour

Beat butter and sugar together

Add custard powder

S.R. flour

Add enough milk to mix to a stiff dough.

Roll out thinly and prick with a fork.

Cut with a biscuit cutter and bake for 10 - 15 mins.

technorati tags: biscuits

Lucky's Tomato Relish

I'm not for cooking out on a limb and I love to follow a recipe. But finding a relish or an easy Neapolitan Sauce for my crumbed eggplant was not easy to find even using Google.

So with some help from the garden forum I was able to try out a bit of this and a bit of that and see how it came up.

Surprise, surprise I didn't die from food poisoning.

So what did I use to make the sauce. I'm glad you asked:)

Red onion diced
Garlic minced
Tomatoes diced
Zucchini sliced
Capsicum diced
Olive Oil
Fresh basil leaves
Dried oregano leaves
dried chilli (1 was more than enough)
Bit of water to give it some moisture

I just gently cooked the onion & garlic in the oil and then added the rest and cooked it until it was just how I wanted it for the top of my eggplant.

Eggplant was sliced and salted for 30 mins while I did the sauce. The washed the salt off and coated the slices in flour, egg and then dry breadcrumbs.

Happy Potter's Orange Salad Dressing.

Orange Salad Dressing

Finely grated rind of 2 large oranges
Juice of 2 oranges
1 lemon
2 to 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic , finely chopped
3 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar


Place orange juice , orange rind and lemon juice into a large bowl.
Whisk in the Dijon mustard , garlic, pepper ,chilli sauce , white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
Whisk well to combine.
Strain the dressing and serve over your favourite salad or simply over rocket leaves.
Store leftovers in the fridge for a week.

Note.

If you desire a milder flavour you can blanch the orange rind before cooling under running water then chopping.
For a sharper flavour add diced red onions.

Different and yum

Geoff D's Spicy Lentil Soup

Spicy Lentil Soup

Ripe tomatoes - about 450 grams
A medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon sugar
chopped fresh coriander
1/2 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon sambal jahe (ginger sambal) or sambal oelek (or just some squished fresh red chilis)
water or stock

Soften onion in olive oil, add coriander powder, cumin, and sambal, and fry together. Add chopped tomatoes and cover with water or stock, simmer until tomatoes are starting to look squishy. At this stage, you can hit it with a stick blender to produce you desired smoothness. Add sugar & red lentils, simmer for about 20 minutes (all that is needed to soften the lentils). Garnish with chopped coriander.

In winter, add some tomato paste/tomato sauce/canned tomatoes/sundried tomatoes for a richer tomato taste.

Guaranteed yummy.

Luck's Apricot Jam

7 lbs apricots halved

1 cup water

5 & 1/2 lbs sugar

Wash fruit & cut in half.

Pour water into heavy based saucepan and add apricots.

Bring to boil slowly and then simmer for 20 mins.

While fruit is cooking warm sugar in a dish in the oven.

Then stir warmed sugar gradually into the fruit.

Boil until the jam sets, when tested on a cold plate in the fridge.

This can take an hour once the sugar is added.

Tips

450 gm = 1lb of fruit.

5 1/2 lbs sugar = 2 & 3/4 kg

My sister told me not to use the clear covers that can be bought for jam. Use the lids that have a pop top as this will seal the jar tight and the jam will last longer.

Orchid40's

Orange bread and butter pudding.

400g. fresh white bread, crusts removed
150g melted butter
225g orange marmalade
3 oranges, plus 1 extra orange, rind grated
3 eggs
500ml thin cream ( I dilute thick cream)
100g caster sugar
3 tabs demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 180 deg
Butter a 16x32x5cm baking dish
cut bread into rough chunks and place in large bowl
Pour over butter
warm marmalade in a pan over low heat, then pour over bread
Add orange segments and stir carefully.(I cut mine up)
Tip mixture into baking dish
Beat together eggs,rind, cream,and caster sugar then pour over bread.
Sprinkle top with demerara sugar and bake for 30-35 mins.

great hot or cold, with cream or custard


boiled fruit cake

20cm round cake tin
180% for 45mins-1hr
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
21/2 cupsmixed fruit
1/3 cup mixed peel
1 teasp. nutmeg
1 teasp bicarb
125grams butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup SR flour
1 Cup Pl flour

Place butter, sugar,water, fruit, peel, nutmeg, soda, in saucepan and stir until boiling.
Allow to cool for 5 mins. Add eggs.
sift flours, add to other ingredients, mix well and pour into cake tin.

Bluegreen's Beetroot Sheet.

Pickled Beetroot

5-6 beetroot
salt
water
1 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bay leaf 2 whole cloves
4 peppercorns

Cook beetroot in salted water until tender, about 45 minutes.
Combine remaining ingredients in another saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool.
Peel beetroot, leave whole or slice as desired, and pack into hot sterilised jars.
Strain vinegar mixture, pour over beetroot.
Seal.

For Jellied Beetroot, prepare as above, and cut the beetroot into large dice.
Arrange in an oiled bowl or mould, about 3 cup capacity.
Take 1 cup of the pickling liquid, add 1 tablespoon gelatine and stir over low heat until gelatine dissolves.
Pour over beetroot.
Refrigerate until set, then unmould carefully.

Spiced Pickled Beetroot
2kg beetroot
5cm piece fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
12 whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
4 dried bird’s eye chillies
3 cups white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon coarse cooking salt
1 1/2 cups sugar

Choose small or medium-sized beetroot and have them of uniform size if possible.
Leave 2cm stalks on cover with water and add about 2 teaspoons salt.
Cover, bring to the boil and boil gently for 40-50 minutes or until just tender.
Cool, drain and remove skins and top, trim bases.
Leave whole if small, quarter, slice or dice medium-sized beetroot.
Pack into cold sterilized jars.
Wash the ginger, do not peel.
Place on a board and hit with a cleaver or mallet to bruise.
Tie in a piece of muslin.
Tie spices in another piece of muslin.
Put vinegar, salt and sugar into a stainless steel saucepan and stir over heat until sugar is dissolved.
Add flavouring bag, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Remove bags and pour boiling hot vinegar slowly over beetroot to cover completely.
Seal when cold with sterilised lids, preferably plastic.
Store in a cool, dark place and leave for 3-4 days before using.

Pickling Vinegar (this is the recipe I've always used)
1 litre white vinegar
1 cup sugar (or less to taste)
1 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients together and bring to the boil.
Add any spices, such as peppercorns, cloves, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon mixed spice and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
If you add the spices, let mixture boil for an extra 10 minutes.
Strain and allow to cool before use. (Never use iodised salt for pickling, use plain salt, sea salt or pickling salt.)
Before pickling, vegetables should be left to stand in a brine solution of about 3-5% salt to water. Use jars with plastic or glass lids instead of metal, unless lids are protected from acid reaction with several layers of greaseproof paper.
Vegetables suitable for pickling are: beetroot, cabbage, cucumber, onions, peas, shallots, red cabbage, walnuts, zucchini.

Sweetpea's Ham and Tomato Cheese Scrolls

Guaranteed to to please even the fussiest child and husband !

Ham and Tomato Cheese Scrolls

1. 2 cups self raising flour.
2. 30g butter( melted )
3. 3/4 cup milk
4. 1/2 cup tomato paste
5. 1 cup grated cheese
6. 100g shaved ham

• preheat oven to 200
• sift flour into bowl
• melt butter and quickly with a fork mix through flour
• pour milk into a small 'well 'in flour mix
• use a flat edge knife bring the mixture together in a sticky ball
• turn out onto a floured area
• knead quickly until smoth
• roll out roughly with a pin to 24cm x 36cm rectangle (you dont have to be to precise with this ..longer is better )
• spread sauce , ham and cheese evenly over the dough
• leave a 3cm border free of tomato (so you can seal it when rolled)
• roll up firmly (like a swiss cake roll )
• cut the log into 12 or so slices .
• arrange on tray close together ..give some room to grow (like scones )
• make sure the join is turned in(so it doesn't unroll when cooking)
• bake 20 minutes ..or until golden and cooked thruough

Fend off all hungry kids and adults until cool enough to eat !!!!!

Ptmummy's Mulberry Jelly

1/2 bucket mulberries
1 cup sugar
800mls water

6 gelatin leaves
1 cup water

Wash mulberries and place in a huge pot with 800mls water and the sugar.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.

Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl with 1 cup water for five mins.

Strain the mulberries and reserve 800mls of the liquid.

Squeeze the water out of the gelatin and dissolve into the mulberry liquid.

Leave out to cool to room temp, then place in fridge.

Needs about 10 hours to set.

I added a shot of Cointreau to mine as well for an orange flavour.

It is soooo yummy.

Freezing Broccoli

One thing I can not master from the garden to plate is freezing broccoli. I tend to find mine is soggy and not pleasant to eat at all. Even tried just freezing it with out blanching it. That nearly blew the back of my head off when I opened the bag weeks later. Not very nice smelling at all.

Anyway reading today's Advertiser here in Adelaide in the "What's Your Problem" part of their paper I came across some information on freezing broccoli. So as broccoli is such a popular vegie plant in the vegie garden, thought I'd pop it up here.

Freezing Broccoli

1. Choose young, tender broccoli and freeze as soon after picking as possible. (Refrigerate if it cannot be frozen soon)
2. Remove tough leaves and woody ends. Cut through stalks lengthwise, leaving heads 2.5 cm in diameter.
3. Soak for 30 minutes in salt brine (1/2 cup of salt to 1 litre of water) to drive out small insects. Rinse and drain.
4. Blanch for 3 minutes in water or steam blanch for 5 minutes.
   
5. Chill in ice water and drain thoughly.
6. Pack tightly in freezer bags or rigid containers and squeeze as much air as possible from bags before sealing. (Leave 3 cm headspace for expansion in containers.
7. Label with date and freeze at the lowest possible setting. Make sure it is stored at -17.8 or lower and use within 8 to 12 months for best quality.
   

Bubba Louie's Berry Cake Dessert

Just put raw berries in a oven proof dish.

Sprinkle generously with sugar and top with a plain cake mix.

Bake till the cakes cooked.


Note: you can use what ever berry fruit you want.

Yeehah's Pumpkins

PUMPKIN CHOC-ORANGE CAKE

125g butter/marg, chopped
1 tablesp grated orange rind
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups SR flour
1 teasp bicarb soda
3/4 cup cold cooked mashed pumpkin
1 tablesp golden syrup
1/4 cup orange juic

Grease & flour 14 x 21 cm loaf pan.

Combine all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer, beat on low speed until all ingredients are combined.

Then, beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and changed in colour.

Spoon and spread mixture into prepared pan.

Bake in moderate oven 180oC about 55 mins.

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SAVOURY PUMPKIN PATTIES

This is a "rule of thumb" recipe, practice will make it good!

Use cold mashed potato, mix with approx half that amount of mashed pumpkin. Whisk an egg for every 2 cups of combined cold mash, combine. Add a heaped tablespoon of SR flour, sifted with a bit of salt (my lot like it salty, about 1/2 teaspoon) per 2 cups of mash mix. If it's not coming together to a manageable doughy consistency, gradually add more SR flour. Form into patties, dust with flour.

Preheat a frying pan for a few minutes (more for a thick based pan), cover base with oil, shallow fry patties until golden brown and flour has cooked through. Might have to squash them a bit flatter when you turn them over the first time!

p.s. I have also tried whisked egg + leftover rice + mashed pumpkin + chopped leftover roast meat + SR flour patties. As long as the rice has gone sticky (e.g. what's left in the bottom of the rice cooker - not rinsed!) it works pretty well.

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CURRIED PUMPKIN MUFFINS

2 cups SR flour
1 cup plain flour
1 teasp bicarb soda
2 teasp sugar
2 teasp ground cumin
2 teasp ground coriander
1/2 teasp salt
1 cup cold cooked mashed pumpkin
2 tablesp hot vindaloo curry paste
1 egg
1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
1 cup milk

Grease 12 hole muffin pan (I use canola spray).

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, stir with large metal spoon until just combined.

Spoon mix into prepared pan.

Bake Mod Hot oven 200oC about 25mins.

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PUMPKIN SCONES

Another rule of thumb recipe!

For every 1/2 to 3/4 cup of mashed pumpkin (less if it's runny, more if it's dry) - sift 2 cups SR flour into a bowl, rub in 30g margarine. Mix in mashed pumpkin. Add milk (soy or cow) until reach a good doughy consistency. Turn onto floured surface, roll/press flat till about 4cm thick, cut with round cutter, place on greased tray, brush tops with milk, cook in preheated hot oven 220oC until brown and risen.

Aquarium's Summer Treats

Iceberg lettuce dressing:

This is sweet with a tang to it. Kids also love it.

1/5 cup (normal teacup) of thick cream, add several splashes of white vinegar and about 2-3 teaspoons of sugar.

Stir with a spoon to dissolve the sugar and pour over a bowl of iceberg lettuce leaves...

Maybe stir with tongs to coat the leaves more.

Squashed strawberries desert:

This is great in summer as a very light and refreshing dinner for a hot day (one punnet of strawberries each + fresh bread rolls)
clean strawberries and remove stems/leaves.

Squash directly in soup plate (not soup bowl) with a fork.

If making large quantity squash in a saucepan with spud masher.

Add a tablespoon of thick cream (a tablespoon or two per punnet strawbs) and 2-3 teaspoons sugar and stir to dissolve.

Do not under any circumstances use a motorized jig on the strawbs and do not add ice.

Ice curdles the cream, and whirrlyjigs totally spoil the texture of strawbs.

Anyway, refrigerate for a few minutes if you want it nice and cold.

Now the warmer weather and longer days are starting, my chooks have started to lay more eggs. On the average I'm getting just over 6 eggs a day from the chooks and some days 5 from the ducks.

Here are a couple of great egg recipes from my kitchen.

Baked Custard

3 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 & 1/2 cups milk

nutmeg or cinnamon

Beat eggs, sugar & vanilla together lightly, add milk stir to combine.

Pour into ovenproof dish, sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon.

Stand dish in baking dish with enough water to come half way up sides of dish.

Bake in oven at 200 degrees C for 60 minutes.

Note: I check by using in metal spoon to see if the egg is cooked & set.

Egg & Bacon Pie

4 eggs

3/4 cup packet pastry

3/4 cup grated cheese

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup bacon

3/4 cup cream (opt)

spring onions chopped or 1 diced onion


Combined all together in bowl and mix.

Spread into round oven pie dish.

Cook 200 degrees C for about an hour or until cooked and golden brown.

Note: We usually eat it with a garden salad.

Pomolo's Lemon Oil

LEMON OIL

2 litres water

4 lemons peeled and juiced

1 large brown onion

2 ripe tomatoes

2 teas turmeric

2 dessert spoons peppercorns

3 bay leaves

pinch salt

600ml grape seed oil


Method
Place all ingredients, except water, lemon juice and peel, in stainless steel pan- on low heat.

Warm all ingredients until aromatic. Do not overheat.

Add lemon juice peel and water. Simmer for half hour.

Strain into clear plastic bucket and rest for 4- 6 hours.

Oil will separate from water and rise to the top.

Skim oil and store in container in fridge.

Will last indefinitely.

Lucky's Fig Jam

3 lbs figs (minced or chopped finely)

3/4 cup water

3 lbs sugar

juice of 1 lemon


Add figs & water and bring to boil slowly.

Add sugar when boiling...... Add lemon juice.

Boil for about 20 mins

Bottle and seal.


Like all jam recipes a bit of the time cooking the mixture can be decided by the quality of fruit you use.

So I tend to use a bit of that gut feeling when cooking jam.