Recipe Dump

Some recipes I've tried recently which I don't want to lose...

Vegan Pastry - shamefully, I'm totally crap at pastry. This is the only recipe I've had even moderately good results with!

Basic Biscuits - these are quite light with the SRF, but not too sweet.

Chocolate cake in five minutes

I am so going to try this recipe the next time I have a craving for chocolate!

Making from scratch

I have added two new recipes to my repertoire in the last couple of days - custard and mayonnaise. Mmmm... yum!

Plum Cobbler

This recipe for plum cobbler is simple but very very yummy. I made it with a large tin of plums, which was slightly disgusting because they had to be halved and seeded and it felt like disembowelling small rotting animals. But it tasted good.

Meat! Cooked!

I asked my Beloved what he wanted for dinner, and his answer was the above. Sending him out to the freezer to see whether we did in fact have any meat! which could be cooked! revealed a package of mince but no further inspiration, so I googled for recipes. For some reason, I liked the sound of "hotpot" so I added that to the search term. After one or two false starts I found this recipe: Prater Pie (otherwise known as an authentic Lancashire 'Ot Pot - look for the recipe added by Barbara about halfway down the page). Since I am not daft, and had half a red cabbage waiting in the refrigerator for this very recipe, I took her advice and accompanied it with Pickled Red Cabbage and Apple. And lo, it was very bloody good.

Dessert Recipes to Try

Since I am now broke for the next two weeks I am going to try cooking a healthy(ish) dessert every night so that I can have a sugar fix without having to spend heaps on empty calories. I've done dessert for the last three nights (for a change) so I'm on a roll. So far we've had golden syrup dumplings (there are 6 in the freezer), banana cake, and baked apples (or in this case, nashi fruit). I still have 3 squashy bananas to use up so I'm going to increase my banana cake recipe by half again and make muffins.

Here are some other suggestions:

Fruity Pikelets (good because they are customisable rather than the fruit being added to the batter).

Date Pudding.

Eggless Carrot Cake.

Appleberry Crumble.

Baked Rice (or quinoa) Pudding.

Rhubarb Custard Meringue (one for when we actually have rhubarb we can harvest, as well).

Fruit Compote (for a non-B night).

Plain yoghurt with honey and cinnamon is very yummy, probably acceptable to B, and a good way of adding extra calcium. Plus I can make the yoghurt myself. And it's about time I learned how to make proper custard.

Yummiest Breakfast Scrommelata Evar

I have discovered the ultimate in morning luxuries - eggs scrambled with cream. Mmmm...

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon, diced
leftover roast veges, about 1 cup
1 garden-fresh tomato
3 leaves chard, shredded
about 1 cup diced capsicum, mushrooms, etc
2 eggs, fresh from the chooks
2 dessertspoons cream
1 tbsp parmesan
1/2 tsp onion powder (in lieu of onions)
black pepper
1/2 cup grated Cheddar (optional)

Saute the bacon, then add all the veges (chard and tomato last) and cook til chard has just wilted and everything else is nice and soft. Beat eggs and cream together with the Parmesan, and season.Pour over the veges, tilt pan to spread evenly, and cook til set on the bottom. Sprinkle over grated cheese and put under the grill til top is set. Serve on toast, and prepare to swoon.

Bacon Muffins

This recipe (with some judicious editing - the idea of making muffins with cream of mushroom soup nearly made me barf) Woz Not Bad.

Beef, Beans and Greens

Mmmm...must go and buy some navy beans tomorrow. I have a hankering to make Boston baked beans, and also to make this stew with the chuck steak and kale I now have hanging around.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

1 onion
1-2 tsp green curry paste
1 large sweet potato
1 carrot
1/3 cup red lentils
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 small tin lite coconut milk


Cook. Then blend. Then eat. It's yummy!

Random recipes

Made this recipe for sweet and sour dipping sauce tonight. We had DIY rice paper rolls (which would have been rather more successful if E and then B had not dropped the packet of wrappers!) for dinner.

I want to try this recipe for Green Tomato and Apple Chutney this week. I am requesting apples from the trees on the way to riding school tomorrow, so I don't have to experiment with expensive ones! *g* I do probably need to buy more brown sugar, vinegar and sultanas, though.

Sage and Garlic Bread

250g wholemeal bread mix
1.5 tsp dry yeast
2 tsp dried sage
large pinch salt
3 tsp garlic
1 tsp honey
150mL tepid water
milk for glazing
poppy seeds

Put bread mix, yeast, sage, garlic and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add honey and water, and mix together to form a dough.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (about five minutes). Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and leave in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size.

Knead the dough again for a few minutes, then roll it into a long thin sausage and form into a circle. Join the two ends by moistening with water. Put it onto a greased baking tray, cover with a clean teatowel and leave somewhere warm for about 30 minutes.

Brush with milk and sprinkle with poppyseeds before baking in a preheated 200C oven for about half an hour. Eat warm and spread with butter!

Roast Vegetable Quiche

1 sheet shortcrust pastry
1/2 sweet potato
equivalent weight in Queensland Blue pumpkin
2 small onions, cut into eighths
1 small orange capsicum, cut into thirds
~1 tbsp pinenuts
1/2 cup grated cheese (mixture of cheddar and parmesan)
2 eggs
1/2 tub silken tofu
~1/2 cup milk
1 tsp egg replacer
2 tsp crushed garlic
slosh balsamic vinegar
black pepper

Dice the sweet potato and pumpkin and toss them and the onions in oil. Plonk in a roasting tray and stick in the oven at 210C for 30-40 minutes.

Put the capsicum pieces cut side down on another tray and roast likewise. When skins begin to blacken, remove and cover with a clean teatowel. When cool enough to handle, remove skins and roughly chop flesh.

Grease a square flan dish and line with pastry. Cover with a square of baking parchment and add baking beans. Blind bake for ten minutes. Remove parchment and beans, and roughly spread roasted vegetables over pastry base. Sprinkle with pine nuts and grated cheese.

Combine eggs, milk, tofu, egg replacer, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pepper in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Pour over filling and bake at 200C until cooked through.