Muesli Biscuits

I made these today, with a packet of Aldi brand muesli which nobody was eating, and they are scrummy!

Ingredients

• 2 tbs boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 125g butter, melted, cooled
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 220g (2 cups) natural muesli
• 150g (3/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 150g (1 cup) plain flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Combine the water and bicarbonate of soda in a medium jug. Add the melted butter and maple syrup and stir to combine.
3. Place the muesli, brown sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl. Pour in butter mixture and use a wooden spoon to mix until well combined.
4. Place teaspoonsful of the mixture onto the lined trays about 5cm apart.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Stand on baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Moist Lemon Cake

I gave this recipe a try today, except I substituted the juice of two lemons for most of the milk, since we have all these lemons we need to use up!

INGREDIENTS

125g butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
½ cup (75g) plain flour
½ cup (125ml) milk

Topping
½ cup (125ml) lemon juice
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

NOTE: This recipe can be made two days ahead.

METHOD

Preheat the oven to moderate (180°/160°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan, then line the base with baking paper.

Beat the butter, rind and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined between additions.

Stir in the sifted flours in two batches with the milk.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes or until the cake is cooked when tested.

For the topping, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a jug; stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour the topping over the hot cake; allow cake to stand for 15 minutes before turning the cake onto a wire rack to cool.

Suitable to freeze.

Pumpkin, Spinach and Rice Pie

I had planned on Roast Vegetable Quiche tonight but due to having my keys stolen by evil children we didn't make it to the markets for veg. So I kept the pastry idea, and decided to use up my leftover butternut pumpkin and the other 50c tub of silken tofu.

1 sheet short crust pastry
~2c diced butternut pumpkin, steamed
4 frozen spinach portions, defrosted
~1c grated cheese
~1c cooked brown rice
black pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp nutmeg
300g tub silken tofu, drained
1 egg
~2tbsp sour cream
slosh of balsamic vinegar
1 heaped tsp crushed garlic

Fill pastry shell with beans and blind bake for ten minutes or so. Combine pumpkin, spinach, cheese, brown rice and seasonings and mix well. Put wet ingredients in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Stir into rice mixture, mix well, and turn into pastry case. Bake at 200C until risen and cooked through.

I'm also making Colcannon on the side :D Nom nom nom.

Fruity Crockpot Oatmeal

I'm also trying this recipe out in the crockpot overnight. I used a tin of pie apples instead of a fresh apple, and dates instead of raisins. I also added an extra 2 cups of water because the quantities given didn't go very far in my crockpot and I don't want it to boil dry. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Carrot Tofu Cake

I bought a couple of packs of silken tofu marked down to 50c each today, so needed to think of something to do with them. I also wanted to make a cake for a coffee morning tomorrow. So I googled "tofu cake" and came up with this recipe. I changed the recipe slightly (and also accidentally made it non-vegan, because I didn't realise it *was* vegan, so I substituted milk and oil for the applesauce since I didn't have any. But anyway...).

~4 carrots, grated
300g packet silken tofu, drained
1/3c oil
1/3c milk
2c plain flour
1 c white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
~1/2c chopped walnuts

Grate carrots and combine with walnuts in a large bowl. Place all other ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Combine, and cook at 180C until done.

It's still in the oven so I can't tell you how it turned out yet :)

Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup

I am in a rut and need more recipe inspiration. This soup sounds very yummy indeed.

Lamb and Bean Hotpot

How to turn $2.44 of meat and the few remaining contents of the vegetable crisper into a glorious meal.

4 lamb sausages
2 onions, cut into 1/8ths
2 large carrot, diced
6 potatoes, diced
1/2 bag mushrooms, cut into chunks
garlic
1 ea tin kidney beans and cannellini beans
1 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
~1 tsp beef stock powder
2 tbsp cornflour

Boil the sausages to remove fat, dice. Saute onions until translucent, add mushrooms and cook until they start to release moisture. Add sausages and garlic and cook for a minute or two. Deglaze bottom of pan with mushroom soy sauce and a little bit of water. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for cornflour, plus two or three cups of water (until just below the level of the other ingredients). Cover and simmer until root vegetables are nearly tender, then uncover and allow the sauce to reduce a little. When cooked through, dissolve the cornflour in 1/2 cup cold water and stir through the stew, stirring until thickened.