Bad-weather baking

Recent wet weather has meant a lot of time indoors. After suggesting to my husband that we attempt to bake some scones he tells me: "I don't know if you know this about me, but I really love scones."

Well, thanks to this bit of information, we spent Friday afternoon baking scones! I've attached the recipe, which was really easy to follow, from Taste.com.au

A pic of our delicious scones

Lemonade Scones

Ingredients

300g (2 cups) self-raising flour, sifted
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) thick cream     
125ml (1/2 cup) lemonade
40ml (2 tbs) milk

Method

1.      Preheat the oven to 220°C. Lightly grease a baking tray.

2.      Place the flour, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the cream and lemonade and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured workbench and knead lightly until combined. Press the dough with your hands to a thickness of about 2cm. Use a 6cm round cutter to cut out 8 scones, place on baking tray and brush the tops with some milk. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm with your favourite jam.

Cookie goodness

I found this recipe for these yummo cookies on Taste.com.au. Give them a whirl, they are fool proof.

Peanut butter & choc-chip cookies

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Cooking Time - 10 minutes

Makes 30

Ingredients

1 cup (260g) crunchy peanut butter

1 cup (200g) brown sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (185g) dark choc bits

Method

• Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease two baking trays and line with non-stick baking paper. Combine peanut butter, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and egg in a bowl. Stir in choc bits.
• Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on the prepared tray. Press lightly with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden. Leave to cool on the trays then place into an airtight container.

Something for dinner

My friend Helen gave me this recipe for her lasagne, which is so tasty and much easier than my more 'traditional' lasagne I usually make. The sweet chilli in it really makes a difference.

Ingredients

-Fresh lasagne sheets (enough to serve 6-8)

-500 – 800g beef mince

-1 large brown onion, diced

-2 cloves garlic, diced

-1 can tomato soup, condensed

-1 can diced tomatoes

-1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce

-1 bottle of passata or pasta sauce

White sauce

-3 tbs butter or margarine

-3 tbs plain flour

-700ml milk

Method

-Brown the meat, onion and garlic in a large saucepan with a little olive oil.

-When meat is browned and fragrant, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until sauce is slightly thicker.

-Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, make white sauce by melting butter in smaller saucepan. Once melted, sprinkle in flour and whisk until flour is cooked out and is smooth. Gradually add milk bit by bit and keep whisking until sauce thickens. On a medium heat, this usually takes around 15 minutes.

Make lasagne by adding a small amount of meat sauce to the bottom of a large lasagne dish. Follow this with the pasta sheets, meat sauce, then white sauce and repeat. Finish lasagne with a layer of white sauce and a mixture of tasty, mozzarella and parmasen cheese.

Bake in a 180 degree oven (fan forced, pre-heated) covered for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until cheese on top is golden and bubbling.

Serve with garlic bread and a simple green salad.

Coconut caramel slice is nice

I made this yesterday - a friend gave me the recipe from a clipping out of a magazine... it was yummo! Here is the recipe if you wish to give it a go!

Coconut caramel slice

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 100g butter, melted
• 400g can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tbs golden syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 60g butter, melted, extra
• 4 eggs, lightly whisked
• 2/3 cup caster sugar, extra
• 4 cups desiccated coconut, extra

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a slice pan. Line base and two opposite sides with baking paper, extending paper 5cm over edge of pan.
   
2. Combine sifted flours, coconut, caster sugar and butter in a medium bowl. Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.
   
3. Combine sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup, brown sugar and extra butter in a medium bowl. Spread mixture evenly over base.
   
4. Combine eggs, extra sugar and extra coconut in a medium bowl and sprinkle evenly over filling. Cook for further 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool in pan. Cut slice into squares or triangles to serve.

Roasted pumpkin soup

Last night I made the most delish pumpkin soup for dinner. It was a Donna Hay recipe and it was pretty easy. I've posted the recipe below (serves 4).

Ingredients

• 1 x 2kg whole butternut pumpkin
• 1 onion
• olive oil, for drizzling
• sea salt
• 3½ cups (875ml) chicken stock
• 1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
• 1 tablespoon honey
• sour cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Cut the pumpkin in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds.
3. Place the pumpkin, cut-side up, and onion on a baking tray.
4. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt.
5. Bake for 55–60 minutes or until the pumpkin is just soft and starting to brown. Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin into a blender.
6. Scoop the onion flesh away from its skin and add to the blender.
7. Add 1 cup (250ml) of the chicken stock and blend until smooth.
8. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, add remaining stock, cream and honey.
9. Place over medium heat until soup is heated through.
10. Serve with sour cream.

Gluten-free and fabulous

So last night I made dinner for a very good friend who has a gluten intolerance.

Luckily, my grandmother and both aunties are Coeliac (well, not lucky for them, but lucky for me) so I knew exactly what I could and couldn’t include in the meal.

Basically if you are Coeliac, you have to eat a gluten and wheat-free diet otherwise you’ll get gassy and vomit and have cramps and all kinds of other nasty side-effects.

My grandmother used to make the most unbelievably good pumpkin gluten-free bread… and I used to pray to God that he would make me Coeliac just so I had an excuse to eat this delicious ‘special’ food I’d discovered. Now that I am older and look at the price of gluten-free products on the shelves of the supermarket, I don’t feel the urge so much anymore.

Celebs and other notable people have made gluten-free diets trendy, but it has been part of my family’s life for as long as I can remember. It’s not a bad way to live even if you don’t have an intolerance; unfortunately it’s pretty costly.

So in the spirit of eating gluten-free, here is a tasty risotto recipe for you to try that isn’t hard at all and is really yummy.

Creamy chicken and mushroom risotto

Ingredients (serves 4)

50g unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 chicken breast fillets, cut into 2cm cubes
2 cups (440g) arborio rice
1/4 cup (60ml) white wine
1.25L (5 cups) chicken stock (you can get GF stock from most supermarkets)
1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
1 cup sliced assorted mushrooms
Thyme leaves
Olive oil, to drizzle

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the onion and garlic cook for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until it starts to colour, then add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add wine and stir until rice has soaked up.

Add a ladleful (about 125ml/1/2 cup) of the simmering stock to the rice and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful, for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite and the risotto is creamy. At this point season with salt and pepper.

Add the mushrooms and a sprinkle of thyme leaves at the end and heat through. Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil (optional).

From Taste.com.au