Anyone for some home made baileys?

Here is a quick post, really quick!  Christmas is almost here and like everyone, I have been flat out doing a million things BUT I have not managed to get any special christmas treats made. Tonight, I AM making myself some home made baileys which tastes so much better than the purchased stuff, is quick and easy.

Ready, Set, Lets Go!!!

You need

2 eggs

370 mls whiskey

1 tin condensed milk

1 tin evaporated milk

1/2 cup chocolate topping

1/4 tspn coconut essence

600 mls thickened cream

In a large pouring jug mix together the eggs, whiskey, milk, chocolate topping and coconut essence and finally the cream. 

Strain the baileys a couple of times to get out any chunky egg goobys.

Pour into sterilised glass bottles.

Refridgerate.

This recipe makes a couple of good sized bottles or lots of little ones which are great for gift giving.

Drink straight with ice, unless you like it weak like me, in which case, dilute with milk and have it like milk shake.  Yumm!

Enjoy!  And have a great Christmas!



Getting ready for Christmas

Who in their right mind starts making biscuits at 10pm on a Sunday night? Me! Hahaha.

And yes, I do have to get up early for work tomorrow. What am  doing I ask myself...

For those of you who don't know, I teach cooking  in a Primary School and this week I have the last lessons for the year so in class we are doing some cool stuff like roasted beetroot dip and salad of the imagination with ingredients from the school garden, lemon curd filled cup cakes, honey spice biscuits, Eaton mess ( I think that's how you spell it) and fruit punch.  I decided I wanted to have some shortbread's decorating the table when the kids come in.  So here I am, at 11.30pm with about an hour of baking left.  I am starting to get tired and am watching an episode of Merlin to keep me company - the one where Gius gets possessed by a goblin.  It is soooo funny!  Oh! and I am writing this at the same time, whilst I am waiting for this lot of shortbread to be done!  No one can say I can't multi task...

I'm off topic aren't I.  Back to the shortbread.  My house must smell  like butter by now  and I have finished my first batch of these delicious Lebanese treats.  I got this recipe off my girlfriend Douha, who I mentioned in the previous Post.  I have given these out as Christmas gifts for years.  The texture of these are DIVINE, they just melt in your mouth AND the recipe makes about 100 good sized shortbread or 150 smaller ones making it a really great gift idea.  Reasonable cost for lots of goodies.  

Traditionally these are made in little diamonds with a pine nut in the centre.  They are so cute!  Mum says they are moorish!  When I am lazy, which is right about now as it is  12.45pm and 220 shortbread later. I have changed from making little diamonds to the quicker little balls instead.

So have a go, I guarantee everyone will love them.

Douha's shortbread tip  BAKE WITH LOVE

2 cups self raising flour

2 cups plain flour

3 cups icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

2 cups melted butter

pine nuts or almonds to decorate

Pre heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius

Line 3 baking trays with baking paper.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Melt butter, add to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Roll out the dough and cut into diamond shapes before topping with a nut. 

                           OR

Roll into small balls.

Place on baking tray and bake until firm and light not dark.  In my oven this is about 10 mins.

Cool on wire rack.

These keep well in an air tight container.

Till next time, Love, light and happiness.  Live long and prosper.  Eat, drink and be merry!

 

   

Sugared lemon and Orange slices

Last weekend I planned to do absolutely NO cooking.  I was just not in the mood for cooking.  I was especially not in the mood for dishes!  Dishes seem to breed in my house, little pests!

I spent a good part of the day cleaning my messy back yard,  winter had left its mark and from the kids continually  leave everything out side.  It is amazing how much cutlery I find hidden in the garden!  It had been a typically hot Aussie day and I was thirsty so I headed into the kitchen for a glass of water. I bought some lemons that morning and quickly squeezed some into a jug of water, then, I placed some slices of lemon into my jug.  Looked pretty!  Take a Photo!  Maybe I can put that on the blog!

When lemon is sliced it has so many dimensions to it making it interesting to look at.  I always wanted to make sugared lemon slices.  Hmmm, I have some more lemons in the fridge and some oranges too. Can’t be too hard to make?  A quick bit of research results in lots of different recipes.  Which one to try, perhaps a little bit of this one, little bit of that one and let’s see what happens!

Wash the fruit and slice into rounds.  Using a saucepan make sugar syrup by dissolving a cup of caster sugar in a cup of water.   Add the fruit, keeping it lying flat in the pot.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Take out the fruit and discard the sugar syrup, this will get rid of a lot of the bitterness from the pith of the fruit, and it did, I did a taste test… blak!  Make another lot of sugar syrup and add fruit.  Simmer for another half hour or so. 

Using tongs take out the fruit and lay on trays covered with baking paper.  This can be left to dry naturally but I am impatient and  put mine in the oven on slow and let it dry out over a couple of hours. 

How does it taste you ask?  Pretty good actually, BUT to finish them off I dipped them  in caster sugar.  The sugar should stick well as the sugar syrup has made the fruit all sticky. I love the visual effect of the finished product and they taste interesting and quite different.   I’m thinking these might make some lovely little Christmas pressies.

So as you can see, I did no cooking that weekend! Lol

A tribute to a fantastic cook!

My best friend and soul sister Douha,  whom I have shared the ups and downs of life for the past 30 years lost her beautiful Mum last week.  As we do, I began thinking about what this lovely lady has meant to me.  Funnily enough, I  associate her with my VERY slow introduction to the most delicious food I have ever tasted, Lebanese!

I first met Mrs Hajar when I rode to her house to play with my newly made friend. I was a 12 year old tom boy who had just started at a new school and came from a typically Aussie home.  My new friend was a traditional Lebanese girl who was brought up to follow the culture of their homeland. 

All these years later, I clearly remember the first time I entered their home, all I could think of  and I am sure I said it ( as I do!) "WHATS THAT STINK?"  It was so strong and yuk!  It was garlic and lemon, the smells of dinner cooking and nothing like the meat and 3 veg I grew up eating for dinner.

I went into the kitchen and Mrs Hajar was speed chopping something, probably parsley.  She could chop so fast and the parsley was so fine.  There was food everywhere, a feast was in the making.  I can't remember what I tried, but I didn't like it.  Mrs Hajar was a renowned cook in her own Lebanese restaurant in town - Quiet Waters. 

During that year my family moved in at the end of the street and I began to visit my friend daily.  I was becoming accustomed to the TANTALISING smells that came from within.  Somewhere I had gone from Yuk to YUUUUUM, whats your Mum cooking today?  I am sure this was the start of my love of the different cultural flavours on offer in our country.

 I started enjoying the tabbouleh and hummus on pita bread before moving to felafel, kibbeh and the more exotic stuffed vine leaves.  I remember watching the vines leaves being made for a son's wedding, the bowl was MASSIVE and full of the tiny delectable treats, and I remember them being gone in the blink of an eye.  All that time to wrap the little parcels and then POOF! HEY PRESTO! DISSAPEARO!    Of course there was much more to try like hatalia for dessert and  yogurt and apricot juice to drink and the list goes on.



I once  had a lesson making their special spinach pies..which I later tried to make, but I am in need of another lesson.  Thank goodness my friend has learned much of her Mother's cooking and when there is time, has agreed to show me how to make them again.

For your interest I have added a link from The Cook and The Chef which featured Mrs Hajar and her son Jamal talking about Kibbeh, one of my fav's.  I hope to get her recipe up on here in the furture.

https://www.facebook.com/v/116910988769

Getting ready for Christmas Post will have Mrs Hajar's recipe for Shortbread which is much nicer than the common short bread and so very easy to make.

Well, I guess I could prattle on forever... RIP Mrs Hajar, you shall be missed.  You left so much behind in your family, and even further afield in me.

Allah yerhama.

SOUP - pork wonton

 

 I LOVE SOUP!

  

This year, I have tried many new and unusual soups, including pea and basil, global artichoke and purple carrot with dumplings.  This pork wonton soup is one of the most awesome soups  I have EVER tasted and is my current and most absolute favourite. 

The coriander, ginger and chili create the most amazing sensations; to steal a phrase from my niece….Yumyum!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

 



Trust me, try this and you will not be dissapointed.  This soup is a good starting point to get kids used to the asian style flavours.  My kids eat the cooked wonton's but are not yet up to enjoying the broth style soup. I feel that even though they are only eating the wonton's, they are getting used to the flavours and will one day enjoy this entire dish as well as others with similar flavours.

 

I can eat it for days running, in fact, I love to make it on a weekend and eat it over a couple of days for lunch and dinner and enjoy it every time.

It takes a little bit of time to put the wontons together but no longer than chopping a bunch of veggies for a soup.  I set up like a production line by laying all the wrappers out, spooning all the mince mixture in and finally sealing the little wonton parcels.  The wonton's can be frozen for a couple of months and defrost quite well.  I tend to freeze half the wonton's for another day.

 All ingredients can be found in the  local supermarket.This recipe calls for pork, but i usually use a pork/veal mix.  The ginger and chili give this soup some bite and can be minimised or added to according to taste. 

 






TWEAK a recipe to make it your own!
 

 

 

Pork wonton's

• 500 g pork mince
• ¼ cup drained water chestnuts, chopped
• 2 green spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 30 fresh wanton wrappers

Soup

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 6 cups water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 long red chili, thinly sliced
• 3 spring onions, sliced thinly
• 1 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped

To make wantons

• All dumpling ingredients except wanton wrappers go into food processor and buzz until combined well.
• Set wanton wrappers out onto a clean surface.
• Place a teaspoon of pork filling into centre on wrapper, brush edges with water and fold into a pouch.  Pinch edges to seal.

To make soup

• Place stock, water, ginger, chili and soy sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Add dumplings, return to boil and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes or until wantons are cooked.
• Stir in coriander and spring onion.
• Serve and enjoy!

 Source – New Idea Test Kitchen 2012

Lemon Syrup Cake

 

 

This is for you Mary- Anne, and anyone else who LOVES the tangy taste of lemon.  

 

I have made this lemon syrup cake many times. It is a pretty quick cake to make, is  light and tangy with some sticky, gooey bits.  Yum!  It is certainly a recipe I don't want to loose in my continually growing stash of recipes.  Tasting best hot, it should be a winter favourite.  Don't forget to plop on a good dollop of cream.  My Nana says it is one of the nicest things she has tried in ages... but then, she often says that!  When I was little, I used to make Nana and Pop french toast for breakfast.  He said I made the best french toast.  Later Nana informed me he said that so he didn't have to cook breakfast.  I still make a pretty good french toast!

 

 If you want a tingly taste bud experience

Have a go

An scrumdidelyumptious recipe is written down below.....



 

 

 

Lemon syrup cake

What you need

Cake

• 150g butter – softened
• 175g castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• zest of  lemon
• 175g self-raising flour
• 125mls milk
• icing sugar for dusting

Lemon syrup

• 140g castor sugar
• 50 mls lemon juice

What to do

Cake

• Preheat oven to 180°C, line an 18cm square cake tin with baking paper
• Beat together the eggs caster sugar and butter until smooth and fluffy
• Fold in flour
• Gently mix in lemon rind and milk
• Bake in preheated oven for 20-30  minute’s or until a skewer comes out clean
• Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack

Syrup

• Place lemon and sugar in a small saucepan.  Cook over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved

To put it together

• Prick the cake all over with a skewer
• Spoon the hot syrup evenly over the top, allowing it to be absorbed into the cake
• Dust with icing sugar and serve cold OR serve warm  with a dob of fresh cream on top

Enjoy!

                                                                                           

Rosti or hashbrown?

It's a busy cooking class and you have enthusiastically described one of today's dishes, broad bean risotto. The kids are all excited, they LOVE risotto, they don't really care what is in it as long as there is rice and CHEESE!  You go to the freezer to get the last of the frozen broad beans from last months harvest, and they have all been used in the other classes.... NOOOOO!   What to do, what to do and QUICK!   There are some potatoes over there, potato rosti, kids love potato, and we can still use the cheese that is sitting there.  I did potato rosti at TAFE last week, and we did it a bit differently to how I was previously  taught. These were super crunchy.  I remember loving them when I was growing up (and now!), but they were always a little soggy.  We made them in class and they turned out awesome and crunchy.  The kids then got them at home for tea, still awesome and crunchy.  This new way is a WINNER!  So now I'm thinking, what is the difference between a rosti and the hash brown I grew up eating?  After a google search apparently the only difference is adding onion to the potato in a hash brown.   Anyone know any other differences?

Crunchy rosti with home made tomato sauce.

The trick to super crunchy rosti? Par boil the potatoes!

Grate them and squish them down flat. 

Shallow fry in a combination of oil and butter (but watch that the butter doesn't burn).

 

Grated parmesan cheese, salt & pepper or herbs mixed through the potato

prior to cooking are delicious additions.

Getting Started....

So, what I am thinking is, I can put all the recipes on here that people ask me for and I never get around to emailing.  A bit like a one stop shop!  What do you think?....A million people have done this before me!...What will make this page any different?...Yea, that is what I think too, BUT It will be different because it is mine! LOL!







 



The silly season is approaching, and we are all feeling the end of year  pinch... roll on Christmas festivities... and holidays!  Like all my Uni friends, I have been studying hard to get my essay submitted in time, and with work commitments and kids stuff  taking most of my time I haven't had much time for FUN cooking.  So I organised for the three of the main ladies in my life, Mum, Nana and my Auntie to come and enjoy some tastings of favourite things I have been making at school and uni these last few weeks and need practice in.

Apart from the cooking, it's also fun to get out the vintage favourites for the table settings.  

 

Today's Menu

Broad Bean Bruschetta

Spaghetti with Basil and Tomato Sauce

Poached Egg on a bed of Rainbow Chard with Hollandaise Sauce

Date pudding with Custard Sauce and Berries

Fresh lemonade

 

 



Date Pudding with Custard Sauce and Strawberries

 

As I dont always think we need to leave the best till last, let's have the dessert first.  I decided to practice custard sauce as it is coming up in my end of year tests and I split the last one. Now what to go with the custard sauce?  Sticky date pudding, minus the sticky, plus the custard sauce? Sounds good to me. I'm not a big fan of dates, but I kinda LOVE sticky date pudding.  This one is so light, fluffy and sooo easy to make. Both pudding and custard were delicious hot and cold.

 

 

Date Pudding with Custard Sauce

 

Date Pudding - makes abut 14 muffins or a 20cm cake tin

 

What you need

• 200g dried dates
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 100g butter
• 150g castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or a vanilla pod
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• Berries of choice as garnish
   

What to do

• Pre heat oven to 180 C
• Lightly spray muffin moulds or a cake tin
• Place roughly choppd dates in a saucepan and bring to boil.  Turn off the heat, add bicarb soda and let sit for 10minutes or so
• Beat butter and sugar until pale in colour
• Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time and beat well
• Fold in flour and date mixture until well combined
• Spoon into prepared molds
• Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until firm to the touch
• Turn out to cool on a wire rack

Custard Sauce

What you need

• 1 L milk
• 9 egg yolks (egg whites can be frozen for later use)
• 120g castor sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence or a vanilla pod

What to do:

• Create a double boiler using a saucepan and bowl.  Once the water is at boiling point, turn down to a simmer
• Separate the eggs and place yolk in the bowl with castor sugar. Stir over the double boiler until the sugar is dissolved
• Add the milk, vanilla/vanilla pod and stir using a wooden spoon until it coats the back of the spoon
• Strain to remove any bits of coagulated egg and vanilla pod and it is ready to serve

To serve, place pudding in a bowl, make a moat of custard sauce and top with chopped strawberries to garnish.

Enjoy!