November 3, 2009: Apple Tree As Well As Walnut Pancakes

pie filling remained, remodelling it into a rather fetching cashew cream dollop as well as orangish compote.


Apple as well as walnut pancakes - traditional
(inspired yesteryear my mum's Lord's Day pikelets)

Sift together 1/2 loving cup plainly flour, 1/2 loving cup wholemeal flour as well as ii teaspoons baking powder. Stir through a tablespoon of carbohydrate as well as a pinch of salt. Add a small-scale peeled as well as grated apple, as well as 1/2 loving cup some chopped walnuts. Lightly trounce ane egg inwards 1 loving cup of milk, therefore trounce this liquid into the dry out ingredients. Fry third-cups of the batter inwards a hot frypan, greased alongside a picayune butter. Only flip the pancakes once, when bubbles bring risen to the batter's surface as well as it has started to dry out out. If you lot desire to continue a lot of pancakes warm for serving, railroad train the oven to its lowest temperature, delineate of piece of occupation a tray alongside baking paper, as well as shop the fried pancakes inwards the oven.


Apple as well as walnut pancakes - vegan
(adapted from Perfect Pancakes inwards Vegan Brunch)

Sift together 1/2 loving cup plainly flour, 3/4 loving cup wholemeal flour, ii teaspoons baking powder, a pinch of common salt as well as a milk tremble of solid seat down cinnamon. Add a small-scale peeled as well as grated apple, as well as 1/2 loving cup some chopped walnuts. Gradually whisk inwards ii tablespoons of canola oil, 1/3 loving cup water, 1 loving cup soy milk as well as ii tablespoons of maple syrup. Fry third-cups of the batter inwards a hot frypan, greased alongside a picayune vegetable oil. Only flip the pancakes once, when bubbles bring risen to the batter's surface as well as it has started to dry out out. If you lot desire to continue a lot of pancakes warm for serving, railroad train the oven to its lowest temperature, delineate of piece of occupation a tray alongside baking paper, as well as shop the fried pancakes inwards the oven.

December 21-22, 2009: Macadamia-Date Balls As Well As Vanilla-Vegan Bubble Slice

This twelvemonth my Christmas baking wasn't baking at all - I went the melt-mix-chill route. It has much to recommend it: it's quick too elementary too it doesn't larn y'all also hot too flustered amidst the warm atmospheric condition too full general Christmas chaos.

My kickoff priority was a gift for my step-grandfather, Max. He's been having around wellness problems inwards the final few months thence I wanted to plough over him something tasty too treat-like that wouldn't locomote overly bloating or calorific. The date macadamia balls that Jo posted on one-day foray into raw food proved the ability of dates' sweetness caramel flavour, too the creamy richness of solid pose down macadamias. The fleck of cocoa inwards this recipe solely enhanced the care for factor. If I made these in i lawsuit again merely for myself, I'd sacrifice the sweetness too upward the cocoa fifty-fifty further.

The 2d care for loitering fuzzily inwards the background is our quondam solid unit of measurement favourite, bubble slice. It's appeared hither in various guises before, too I'll dub this version the 'vanilla-vegan' one. Actually it doesn't comprise vanilla at all, but rather is the plainest, bare-bones version of the spell without whatsoever added nuts, dried fruit or chocolate. The master copy recipe uses dearest too butter, but I made the vegan- too pantry-friendly pick of substituting golden syrup too Nuttelex. In spite of these alterations the odour of the peanut-butter caramel mixture bubbling on the stove took me immediately dorsum to my mum's kitchen. It remains a crowd-pleaser, going downward as good amongst my country-living, meat-eating blood brother too the inner-city vegan friends who dropped past times for tofurkey sandwiches.

Macadamia-date balls
(based on this recipe from It Ain't Meat, Babe)

1 1/2 cups macadamias
1 loving cup fresh dates
two (or more) teaspoons cocoa
1 loving cup shredded coconut

Blend the macadamias to a pulverization inwards a nutrient processor. Add the dates too cocoa too function along to blend until the mixture forms a smoothen dough.

Form tablespoons of the dough into balls too curlicue them inwards coconut. Store them inwards the refrigerator until y'all desire to scoff them.

Vegan-vanilla bubble slice

v cups rice bubbles
1/2 loving cup dessicated coconut
125g Nuttelex/margarine
iv tablespoons golden syrup
iv tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 loving cup brownish sugar

In a large bowl, stir together the rice bubbles too coconut.

In a small-medium saucepan, melt the Nuttelex, golden syrup, peanut butter too sugar. Bring them to the boil, thence simmer for v minutes. Pour the caramel mixture over the dry out ingredients too combine thoroughly. Press the mixture into a minor baking tray, using the dorsum of a spoon to smoothen over the surface. Refrigerate until set, thence cutting into squares.

December 25, 2009: Frozen Chocolate Crunch

Christmas day, I didn't become searching for something novel in addition to exciting from 1 of my favourite cookbooks or blogs every bit I unremarkably do. Instead I wanted to restore a theatre unit of measurement summertime tradition that faded a decade ago. My dad's in addition to my birthdays autumn alone a hateful solar daytime apart, in addition to for many years nosotros took it inwards turns to asking Frozen Chocolate Crunch every bit our birthday cake. It doesn't await whatever to a greater extent than exceptional than but layers of vanilla in addition to chocolate icecream amongst a few biscuit crumbs, but there's but something close it. It could endure the role of existent chocolate, the whipped egg whites, or the java liqueur inwards the chocolate layer, or it could but endure the numerous parties in addition to holidays that I associate this dessert with.

My tastes convey shifted in addition to expanded since I final ate frozen chocolate crunch, but to my surprise in addition to please I enjoyed it but every bit much this twelvemonth every bit I always have. The 1 I made differed a niggling from the master copy recipe that I'll reach below. For starters, I halved the recipe because Mum noted that she unremarkably reduced it past times a 3rd in addition to my memories were of a real large cake. The topping is typically a mix of toasted biscuit crumbs in addition to slivered almonds (except for the fourth dimension that Mum used Dad's favourite sweet, Smarties, for his 40th birthday) but I omitted the almonds for my nut-averse brother. I works life that I didn't convey plenty chocolate mixture to brand function past times in addition to bottom layers, but this was plenty rich amongst the unmarried chocolate base of operations layer. What's more, at that spot was plenty to portion but about twice on Christmas hateful solar daytime amongst Mum, Carol in addition to Liam, in addition to however buy the farm on aside 3 generous slices for Dad, Liam in addition to I a couplet of days later.

Frozen chocolate crunch
(as copied past times my mum, from recipe bill of fare to email)

125g kokosnoot biscuits
125g slivered almonds
155g marg
1 loving cup icing sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teasp vanilla
2 tblsp java liqueur
250g black cooking choc
2 litres vanilla icecream

Crush biscuits coarsely, combine amongst slivered almonds. Spread on oven tray, rut inwards deadening oven until crisp in addition to golden. Cream butter in addition to sugar, add together egg yolks, vanilla in addition to java liqueur, crunch until fluffy. Melt choc inwards double saucepan. Cool, hence add together to butter mixture. Fold inwards firmly beaten egg whites.

Press one-half biscuit mixture inwards base of operations of foil-lined cake tin. Pour one-half choc mixture on top, press downwards hence nuts are held inwards mixture. Spoon ice-cream over choc, function past times amongst remaining choc, hence biscuit mixture, pressing nuts into choc. Freeze overnight.

January 30-31, 2010: Potato-Crusted Silverbeet Pie

my enthusiasm for silverbeet was waning, y'all guys got me sorted. I was so pleased amongst the repast ideas y'all left on that post that I was genuinely counting downwardly the days until the side yesteryear side silverbeet delivery! During those chard-less days I received some other recipe proposition via email, from Michael's mum Robyn. Well, folks, she's my mother-in-law, so I figured I'd ameliorate laissez passer on it a shot. Ha! Actually, it looked similar a expert i - a quiche-style dish amongst a pastry made generally of mashed potatoes.

Now, a mashed murphy 'pastry' is commonly the form of affair that would direct maintain me suspicious. Shortcrust pastry is almost sacred to me. But Michael too I had this dish nosotros used to brand pre-blog, amongst a grated murphy crust too broccoli-quiche-kinda filling, so I knew this had promise. I simply didn't read the recipe closely plenty earlier nosotros started. Michael laid to boiling too mashing the potatoes a fiddling belatedly inwards the eve too it was entirely so that I noticed the xxx minutes required to residual the pastry, the 40-50 minutes to bake the pie too the subsequent twenty minutes that the finished pie allegedly needed to rest. (I knew it'd direct maintain a spell to bake but, really, did it postulate all that lazing around?) So Michael made the murphy dough, popped it inwards the refrigerator too nosotros got dinner delivered.

This was a expert decision. Our delivered dinner was marvellous, too the pie prep got fifty-fifty to a greater extent than involved than the recipe predicted. The murphy pastry was mushy too challenging to mould, fifty-fifty when I tripled the flour quantity, too the pie simply would. not. set. It spent at least an hr too a one-half inwards the oven all up, too got its post-oven nap twice over - however the crusty walls buckled when I loosened the springform pan, amongst cracks oozing mashed murphy too threatening to unleash an eggy avalanche. Dinner was messy but tasty, too luncheon was ameliorate - a nighttime inwards the refrigerator firmed everything upward nicely too it fifty-fifty withstood a solid microwave heat-up at work.

Naturally, that film y'all run across upward meridian is the well-behaved post-fridge version of this pie. I've since had a run a jeopardy to consult Robyn on our approach too non come upward up amongst whatever glaring mistakes. She thinks nosotros could potentially upward the flour quantity fifty-fifty further, spell I'm plotting a pastry pre-bake to describe solid those potatoes correct up. In the recipe below I'll tape what nosotros did (with a span of asides) and, if nosotros create something ameliorate side yesteryear side time, you'll travel the start to know. It's the to the lowest degree I tin create for y'all crazy silverbeet lovers.

Potato-crusted silverbeet pie
(based on a recipe from Michael's mum, Robyn)

4 large potatoes
20g butter
3/4 loving cup manifestly flour
3 eggs
300mL cream
1/2 loving cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 loving cup grated parmesan
6-8 cups chopped silverbeet, stems included
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt too pepper, to taste

Peel too chop the potatoes, so educate them inwards boiling H2O until tender (about xv minutes). Drain the potatoes too squelch them thoroughly (you don't desire lumps!). Add the butter too flour too stir everything together until it's describe solid plenty to assort a ball (you may desire to add together to a greater extent than flour). Refrigerate the dough for at to the lowest degree xxx minutes (we left ours for a sum day).

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll the dough out betwixt 2 pieces of greaseproof paper, large plenty to jibe a springform tin (if y'all don't direct maintain one, I'm certain y'all tin utilization a pie or casserole dish or cake tin). Remove the meridian canvass of paper, so ease the bottom canvass too the pastry into the tin too gently shape it to assort a crust. Although I did non create this, I would propose pre-baking this crust until lightly golden - maybe 10, xv minutes?

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs too cream, so stir inwards the cheeses, silverbeet too nutmeg. Season it equally y'all similar too pour the mixture into the murphy crust. Bake the pie until it's laid - this volition in all probability direct maintain an hr too maybe longer. Allow the pie to cool inwards the tin for twenty minutes earlier slicing too serving.

March 18, 2010: Morocco-Inspired Carrot Salad

When our friends Mike in addition to Jo returned from a summertime trip to the Middle East, they kindly brought us dorsum a box of magnificent dates. (They're nature's caramel, people!) Then our latest vege box yielded one-half a dozen or to a greater extent than cute petty carrots in addition to I idea of a recipe that my dad's married adult woman Anne has served on a twain of my visits. It features lightly steamed carrots, which are dressed inwards a Morocco-inspired mix of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, around herbs in addition to spices and, of course, chopped dates. I emailed Anne for the recipe over luncheon in addition to she responded when she arrived domicile from work, merely inwards fourth dimension for me to conform it for dinner that night. I phoned them for a catch-up chat at 9, in addition to she was delighted to take away heed that we'd already managed to laid upward in addition to devour it.

Since I was working from the pantry I didn't convey everything required for the master copy recipe. I replaced the lemon juice amongst pomegranate molasses in addition to reduced the oil, in addition to used dried parsley for a fleck of light-green inwards lieu of the coriander. While it likely wasn't quite in addition to then fresh, it tasted great! I'm starting to wonder if there's anything, sweetness or savoury, that doesn't gustatory modality terrific amongst pomegranate molasses.

We ate this salad amongst around mixed light-green leaves in addition to simulated chicken kievs. They're based on this recipe past times melbedggood. Ours were pleasant enough, though around of the alterations I made didn't actually function - I'm looking forrad to blogging it properly inwards the time to come when I larn it right.

Morroco-inspired carrot salad
(based on a recipe at entertaining made easy)

300g carrots
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
pinch of garlic powder
generous pinch of cumin
generous pinch of chilli flakes
salt in addition to pepper, to taste
4 dates, finely chopped

Peel the carrots in addition to spell them into thick rounds. Cook them inwards boiling H2O until merely tender.

While the carrots are cooking, whisk together the remaining ingredients inwards a medium-sized bowl.

When the carrots are ready, drain them in addition to add together them to the bowl, tossing them to coat them inwards the dressing. Serve!

May 24-25, 2011: Lady Violet's Pumpkin Scones

Veggie Mama.  (Meanwhile Johanna GGG asserts that pumpkin scones bring a history of their ain pre-dating Queensland's Lady Flo.)

Pumpkin scones were surely purpose of my fourth dimension growing upwards inwards Queensland. I associate them less amongst Lady Flo in addition to to a greater extent than amongst my grandmother, who lived on a farm inwards the Lockyer Valley in addition to frequently baked dozens of pumpkin scones only inwards fourth dimension for morning time her recipe for 'cow pats'.) These scones are sweeter in addition to doughier than their British counterpart, in addition to I was e'er only equally happy to swallow them amongst a smear of butter equally I was lathering on the jam in addition to cream. Grandma frequently added plump sultanas to the mixture - a variation that I enjoyed in addition to my blood brother detested. I erred on the side of caution in addition to left them out this time. They are, of course, only gorgeous straightaway from the oven in addition to I discovered that they truly larn stale quite rapidly. I suppose they e'er disappeared hence chop-chop at the farm that nosotros never noticed! Even so, one-half a infinitesimal inwards the microwave tin rescue a day-old scone in addition to I listen they freeze good too.

I'm going to mention this recipe afterwards my grandmother here; it's e'er been hers to me.


Lady Violet's pumpkin scones
(based on the recipe establish here, sent past times Google-savvy mum!)

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 loving cup castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin, chilled
iii cups plainly flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

Pre-heat an oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray amongst paper

Place the butter, saccharide in addition to tabular array salt inwards a large bowl in addition to crunch them together thoroughly amongst a fork.  Mix inwards the egg, in addition to then the pumpkin. Sift over the flour in addition to baking pulverisation in addition to crimp it through to brand a dough - it volition hold out quite sticky.

Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface in addition to sprinkle to a greater extent than flour on top. Form the dough into a large rectangle 3-5cm tall in addition to utilization a drinking glass to cutting circular scones from it, placing them on the baking tray. 

Bake the scones for virtually xx minutes, until golden on meridian in addition to cooked through.

Aunty Ral's Gingernuts

December 29-31, 2012

This morn nosotros are guests on Bhakthi's RRR segment Cook The Book, together with we'll last discussing Gillian Mears' late published novel Foal's Bread. (Here it is, archived online.) The mass traces the life of Noah Nancarrow, a talented together with hard-working Equus caballus show-jumper living inwards northern New South Wales earlier the Second World War. The storey is romantic together with tragic, told inwards a vogue that's lyrical but also calls on the Aussie vernacular.

Foal's breadstuff isn't anything you'd desire to eat. It's a slice of tissue sometimes institute inwards the oral cavity of a newborn foal together with that tin mail away last dried out together with kept every bit a lucky charm. Yet amid the descriptions of fauna husbandry together with the Australian landscape you'd expect, this mass is also littered amongst references to the nutrient of the time. The coloring together with texture together with sensation of nutrient is frequently interwoven amongst the characters' experiences. Noah's sister-in-law Ralda bakes ceaselessly - to comfort, to celebrate, together with to larn inwards into contest at the Show.

To accompany our radio interview I've baked gingernuts. Aunty Ral's gingernuts are a Nancarrow line solid unit of measurement tradition on Show 24-hour interval together with they're said to last crunchy together with crackled on top, best dipped inwards a loving cup of tea. I took my recipe from my mum's yellowed Barossa Cookery Book, which was published inwards the fourth dimension that this novel is set. I've typed it verbatim below - recipe writers thence clearly expected much prior noesis from cooks!

GINGER NUTS

One lb. ii ozs. flour, 1/2 lb. butter, 1/2 lb. sugar, 3/4 lb. treacle, ane oz. the world ginger. Mix all the ingredients into a strong dough, curlicue out, cutting into modest biscuits, together with bake inwards a moderate oven. 

- Miss J.M. Bartsch, Angaston

November 1, 2008: Three-Shades-Of-Brown Bubble Slice

very long weekend away, the crew agreed that each couplet would ready a dinner, dessert too to a greater extent than or less lunch. Michael's already shown off the lip-smacking cashew curry he brought along for dinner, too this is an off-the-menu extra snack that I made. It's a variation on my onetime identify unit of measurement favourite, bubble slice. I went for a dissimilar final result this time, hoping that walnuts too dates would complement the dry reason wattleseed that I wanted to include. I also replaced much of the butter too sweetener amongst to a greater extent than or less leftover kokosnoot cream. It was a mixed success - the walnuts too dates worked together nicely, but I couldn't gustation the wattleseed at all too at that topographic point was also much of the rich binding ingredients for the sum of rice bubbles too nuts involved. Even so, at that topographic point weren't whatsoever leftovers to debate amongst on our arrival home!

Three-shades-of-brown bubble slice

1 loving cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 loving cup dates, chopped
three cups rice bubbles
120mL kokosnoot cream
four tablespoons golden syrup
four tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
60g butter
1 tablespoon dry reason wattleseed

Grease a medium-large tray. In a large bowl, stir together the walnuts, dates too rice bubbles.

Melt the kokosnoot cream, golden syrup, peanut butter too butter inward a saucepan over medium heat, select to the boil too and then simmer for five minutes. Stir through the wattleseed.

Pour the sweetness butter mixture over the dry out ingredients too stir to combine. Press the mixture into the tray too refrigerate for at to the lowest degree an hour. Slice into squares too serve.

November 10-11, 2008: Grape Cake

annual lab culinary competition, I circulated the collected photos from the effect together with volunteered to collate a cookbook of everyone's entries. Since thus the recipes accept been flooding trickling in, together with i of the kickoff was i of the most surprising! Lab fellow member Bonnie has been residing overseas for many months but emailed this grape cake recipe equally a belated contest entry from afar. It'd hold out nice, I thought, to make, photograph together with part some this cake earlier finishing the cookbook. And that's what I did when nosotros had a invitee speaker on Tuesday afternoon.

The see of a plainly cake amongst whole grapes suspended inside it wasn't precisely rocking my world, even thus this was perfect afternoon tea fare. The grapes were thus soft that i someone asked me if I'd peeled them, together with the hints of lemon together with cinnamon were only heavenly. Though the recipe suggests garnishing this cake amongst icing saccharide or cream, I'd almost prefer non to - for me, its charm lies inwards its simplicity.

Grape Cake a la Bonnie's Mum

200g butter
1 loving cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 lemons, juice together with rind
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups seedless grapes, sliced inwards half

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Generously grease a springform cake tin.

Cream the butter together with sugar. Mix inwards the eggs, vanilla, lemon rind together with juice inwards turn.

Sift together the flour, tabular array salt together with cinnamon. Gradually crunch it into the cake mixture. Fold through the grapes.

Pour the cake batter into the tin hand notice together with bake it for near fifteen minutes, earlier lowering the oven temperature to 180 degrees C. Continue baking until the edges of the cake start to come upwards away from the tin hand notice (this took a farther thirty minutes for me, I think).