hanging up the fingers

I'm still cooking, i've loads of recipes and photos but no time to type them up. So i am bidding my blog goodby. Goodby lovely blog.

ANZAC Biscuits

These happen to be my favorite biscuits. For those who don't know here is a brief history of ANZAC Biscuits. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and just what does that have to do with coconut and oatmeal cookies? Well... During the 2nd World War, or more particularly the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign, mothers, wives, daughters and sweethearts of our boys in uniform used to cook these, using a portion of their war time rations to send as treats to the solders fighting overseas. They also used to sell them to help raise funds for the War effort. We now make them every year on ANZAC day to celebrate our soldiers. But i love them all year round. Mine came out very wonky looking, i'm sure the women who cooked these for our great grandfathers put more love and care into theirs, and they probably managed something much more attractive. But as my kids will scoff these down in less then 10min regardless of how they look, I just cooked them as they where. This is a recipe from my family's cookbook, so i've no idea where it originally came from. But i'd say this recipe is probably the same wherever you got it from. It make about 20 to 30 cookies depending on how big you make them.

I
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons golden syrup or honey
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon bicarb-soda
1 tablespoon hot water
1 pinch of salt

M
1. Pre-heat oven to 150'c and line a tray with baking paper.
2. Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
3. Melt syrup and butter together.
4. Mix soda with hot water and add to butter.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
6. Place tablespoonfuls of mixture on lined tray, and bake for 20min or till lightly golden.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool and harden on tray before removing.

Scones

My mother used to make these with soured milk and they would be fantastically light. I Just used normal milk and they where very nice, Although next time I would like them a bit bigger. Another recipe from the readers digest Grandma's quick and thrifty cook book. It says it makes 12.

I
3 cups (450g) self-raising flour
80g butter cut into cubes
1&1/4 cups (310ml) milk, plus extra for brushing
Jam (& butter or) whipped cream to serve

M
1. Preheat oven to 200'c. Grease and lightly flour a baking tray (I just used baking paper).
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre. Stir in 1 cup (250ml) of the milk using a flat-bladed knife until dough forms, adding more milk as needed.
3.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead - do not overmix or the scones will be tough. Gently press the dough out into a round about 2cm thick. Using a 5cm round cutter, cut out 12 (or as many as you can) scones. Place on a baking tray, 1cm apart. Brush with a little milk and bake for 20mins, or until lightly golden and well risen. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm, with Jam and cream.

Chicken Soup

We are all still sick, with coughs and runny noses all around. I decided to make my chicken soup. It's basically the same as my beef soup. You can cook this with or without noodles. Serve with Rice or Crusty bread or on it's own. I like to separate the broth from the soup, and put into my Coffee travel cup to drink at work, or hot in the car when I'm stuck in gridlock on the way. If you don't like bones in your soup you can use a thigh fillet. I find the Brest fillets don't have enough fat and the meat becomes dry and flavorless. This recipe serves about 4.

I
1 Tablespoon olive oil
apx 3 Chicken wings per person jointed
2 Large Carrots thinly sliced
4 Sticks of celery sliced
1 Medium Broccoli sliced up stalk and all
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
2 Large onions diced
2 Cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 Chicken stock cube
1 Large pinch of salt
1 teaspoon chili powder or 2 Small dried chili's finely sliced with seeds
1inch chunk of ginger finely diced
1 large pinch of course ground black pepper or 1/2 teaspoon of fine ground pepper

M
1. Heat the oil on a high heat in a deep pot, and lightly brown the onions with the garlic.
2. Boil some water. In a small jug dissolve the stock cube in about 2 cups of water, and add to pot. Add all the rest of the ingredients.
3. Cover all the ingredients with water, stir and replace lid. Turn the heat down real low, and leave to simmer for at least an hour. You don't need to stir it or anything at this point, just make sure that the water isn't boiling.
4. When the meat is cooked through and the soup is a nice shiny golden brown, (if you want noodle soup now is the time to add your noodles and let them cook before you..) ladle into a bowl and eat.

Lite Beef soup

It's soooooooooooooo cold, and half the family have the sniffles, so it's time for SOUP! This is my own recipe, I made it up with allot of trial and error last winter. I've got it down to be practically fool proof. This also works well as a chicken noodle soup, replace beef with Chicken wings, the beef stock with chicken stock, and a few minutes before you want to eat toss in your favorite noodles (I like egg noodles but my husband prefers the 2minute variety). This should serve 4 with a nice crusty bread, I usually make double this and have it again for lunch the next day.

I
1 Tablespoon olive oil
500g Gravy beef or Chunk Steak cut into bite size chunks
1 Large Carrot thinly sliced
2 Sticks of celery sliced
1 Medium Broccoli sliced up stalk and all
1 handful of long beans cut into small pieces
2 Large onions diced
2 Cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 Beef stock cube
1 Large pinch of salt
1 teaspoon chili powder or 2 Small dried chili's finely sliced with seeds
1inch chunk of ginger finely diced
1 large pinch of course ground black pepper or 1/2 teaspoon of fine ground pepper

M
1. Heat the oil on a high heat in a deep pot, and lightly brown the onions with the garlic.
2. Stir the beef into the onions and leave to simmer on a medium heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
3. Boil some water. In a small jug dissolve the stock cube in about 2 cups of water.
4. When the meat is lightly cooked on all sides and all it's lovely juice is simmering nicely, add all the rest of the ingredients. Cover all the ingredients with water, stir and replace lid. Turn the heat down real low, and leave to simmer for at least an hour. You don't need to stir it or anything at this point, just make sure that the water isn't boiling out the sides of the pot. The longer you leave it, the smoother the texture.
5. Ladle into your favorite soup cup and eat!

Potatoes and Onions Indian Style

I got this recipe from Tony Bilson's "Fine Family Cooking". I'm not particularly happy with it. I was expecting some deliciously sticky sweet and spicy potatoes, but it was more like a spicy chunky watery potato soup. The taste wasn't unpleasant, although it looked unappealing and did not go down well with the kids, my husband would eat it again but only served as a side (he'd prefer it beside a large steak). Tony says "This spicy mixture of vegetables is best served with Indian bread, such as chapatti, made from wholemeal (wholewheat) flour." It serves 6 as a main and i think you could get 8 to 10 out of it as a side. I followed these directions to the letter, please let me know if you can work out what i did wrong?

I
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh green chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
4 cups potatoes, boiled and cut into small cubes
3 cups chopped onions
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

M
Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok over a high heat. When oil is very hot, add the mustard seeds and cover the pan as seeds begin to pop. When the seeds stop popping and turn gray, after a minute or two, reduce heat slightly and add ginger and chili. Cook for 2-3 minuets. Add the coriander powder, turmeric and paprika. Stir add the vegetables and saute for 10mins, stirring frequently. Add the water and sprinkle the mixture with salt. Cover and simmer for a further 15 minuets. Stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle with the coriander leaves.

Baked Custard

My grandmother makes this at Christmas time, and i thought I'd give it a go for dessert tonight. It seamed fairly simple, however my baking dish was too deep and the custard cooked faster than it should have, also i was heavy handed with the nutmeg. The kids still finished it off, but the flavor from the nutmeg was overwhelming, and it has lost that nice custardy consistency (it was closer to sweet scrambled eggs by the time I'd served it). Next time i make this I'll monitor the oven more closely, and go much much lighter on the nutmeg. I'll tell you how it goes, as soon as i get some more eggs to try, try again. I got this recipe from "Grandma's quick and thrifty cookbook", by the Readers Digest. Preparation time for this is 5min and 20min in the oven to serve 6. (more like 4)

I
2&1/2 cups (625ml) milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of ground nutmeg

M
1. Preheat oven to 180'c. Lightly oil six 3/4 cup (185ml) ovenproof dishes. (If you'd prefer to make one large custard, use a 5cup/1.25litre baking dish and extend the cooking time to 30min).
2. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it nearly comes to the boil.
3. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large jug until the sugar has been disolved. Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot milk - don't whisk to vigorously though as you don't want lots of froth on top of the custard. Pour custard into the oiled dishes and sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.
4. Fold a clean tea towel and place it in a large baking dish. Stand the dishes on the tea towel and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
5. Bake for 20mins, or untill the custards are just set but still wobbly (the tip of a small sharp knife should come out clean). Carefully lift the dishes out of the baking dish. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Juluf/Jallof Rice

However you spell it, it is delicious. This is my husbands recipe. He is an excellent cook; I've had this same dish cooked by so many different people, and i can honestly say that his is The Best! He also makes another version of this using smoked chicken, which is amazing. But this was my first attempt so we kept it basic. Jallof is very filling, hot or cold it's good all year round. Traditionally Jallof is made with much more chili and served with sliced cucumber, however my kids wont eat hot foods, and my cucumbers got frostbitten in the fridge and had to be thrown out (poor cucumbers). This is not diet food, mostly just carbs and oil, defiantly something for the sometimes list. But if you like fried rice, and would like to try it West African style, you can't go past my husbands delectable Jallof! This recipe easily serves 6 to 8 people. Sides such as a lite salad or some cool cut melons make an excellent lunch or summer dinner. During the colder months my husband serves this with sweet potato, or fried plantain (a type of banana).


I
500g uncooked Corned Beef (Silverside) cut into bite size chunks
1 onion diced
2 large cloves of garlic finely diced
1 teaspoon salt
apx 15cm piece of ginger finely diced
1 carrot peeled and thinly sliced
6 large tomatoes quartered
apx 5 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Chili powder
3 cups measurements of a good Jasmin rice
2 cups water

M
1. Put corned beef, garlic, salt, ginger and 1/2 the onion into a pot. Cover with lid, and heat on a medium heat. Allow to steam in it's own juices, stirring occasionally, until meet is cooked through.
2. While meat is cooking, put tomatoes in blender and puree.
3. Using the oil lightly brown remaining onion and the carrot in a deep, family sized pot. Then add the tomatoes to the pot, stir in and leave on a gentle simmer for about 10 to 15mins, or until you can see most of the oil separated from the tomatoes floating on the top.
4. Add tomato paste and stir in. Allow to simmer another 2 min, then add chili powder, stir in and allow to simmer another 5mins or until oil and tomato again separate.
5. Remove corned beef from pot, leaving the liquid behind, and add meat to the tomato, stir it in. 6. Simmer another 2mins, taste the dish, it should need salt. To add salt use the liquid from the meat pot. Generally with this dish they add all the liquid, but I find it can get a bit too salty for western tastes, so stir and taste as you go.
7. Add the rice and stir in thoroughly. Bring pot up to the boil, then add water, stir in and allow to boil or another 2mins before turning back down to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and leave it alone. The Jallof is cooked when the rice is soft and spicy, and there is no liquid remaining in the pot.
8. I served this one cup of rice per person with a simple salad and a fork. In Ghana they serve it with sliced cucumbers and a cool drink. Traditionally it's eaten with your right hand, and a bowl of fresh water with a slice of lemon is provided to wash your fingers after the meal.

Pumpkin Soup

This is my own recipe. Amazing, yes i have my own recipe. If you can call it that, it only has 3 ingredients, and 1/2 the preparation is done in the blender. Also I realize that this goes against the whole idea of me learning to cook. However it happens to be my husbands favorite, and as he came home last night from a very, very long business trip I thought it would be nice. This soup is light, filling and 100% fat, sugar and salt free. My kids always empty their plates, and it's particularly good at this time of year in the chilling 19'c winter weather.

I
apx 500g Jap Pumpkin per person
about an 1inch piece of ginger
water

M
1. Cut pumpkin into roughly the same size chunks, and thinly slice ginger.
2. Put ginger and pumpkin into a pot. Fill with water so it just covers the Pumpkin. Put pot on stove top and bring to the boil. Boil until pumpkin is cooked through.
3. Put pumpkin and ginger into blender, add 1/2 the water from the pot. Blend till smooth. (Be careful blending hot foods; the hot air can put upwards pressure on the lid, pop it open, and cover you with boiling hot liquid. So let it cool a little first )
4. Pour into a bowl and eat. My husband likes to dip bread in his, my toddler likes hers with cheese, and i like mine with lots of black pepper.

Caramel Fingers

My kids and i did some cooking together yesterday and made these. Possibly the worlds ugliest biscuits, the kids have re-named them caramel poos. I decided i should have at least one, (for scientific purposes..) and accidentally had four, mmmmm yummy. The nuts and dates are perfect in this, balancing the sugar and buttery goodness. I got this recipe from "the Commonsense cookery book", book 1, compiled by the NSW public school cookery teachers' association. This recipe makes about 30 fingers. Be very accurate with the measurements, too much butter or sugar can stop the biscuits hardening.

I
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used sunflower seeds)
1 cup Self-raising flour
pinch of salt

M
1. Grease (with butter) a 28x18x4cm slab cake pan.
2. Melt butter and sugar (in a small pot) over low heat.
3. Beat well and allow to cool.
4. Beat egg and add to butter and sugar (mix in fast don't let it start to cook in the heat)
5. Add dates, nuts, and lastly flour (& salt). Beat until smooth.
6. Press (into an even layer) into pan.
7. Bake in a moderate oven. 160'c (fan forced) - 190'c, for 20 to 30 minutes.
8. Cool in pan.
9. Cut into finger lengths. (best to do this before completely cool)

Ham and Zucchini Quiche

Oops! I forgot to get the meat for dinner out of the freezer to defrost, so all i had was bacon and eggs. I found this recipe in the "The Complete Cook" by The Australian Women's Weekly. This recipe serves 4 generously, and could easily serve 6 with a nice side salad and some soft bread. My kids loved it, which is good because they'll be having it cold in their lunchboxes again tomorrow. It would be good any time of day hot or cold. I am defiantly making this again. The salad shown is just a handful of washed mixed salad greens and 1 Roma tomato diced, dressed with a squeeze of lemon juice. The Make Time for the quiche is about 1hour (15min preparation +45min in the oven). However if you have a cheep crappy oven like i do, it just might take a bit longer so give yourself plenty of time to play with before dinner.

I
1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
1&1/2 cups (375ml) milk
3 eggs
3 slices of ham (60g), chopped coarsely (I used bacon)
3 green onions, chopped finely (I used 1&1/2 brown onions)
1 cup (125g) coarsely grated cheddar cheese
1 medium zucchini (120g), grated coarsely
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used regular parsley)
(I also added 1 generous pinch of black pepper)

M
1. Preheat oven to 160'c/140'c fan-forced. Oil 20cm round quiche dish.
(I used baking paper and a cake tin)
2. Whisk flour and milk in medium bowl until smooth; whisk in eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients; pour mixture into dish.
3. Bake quiche, uncovered, about 45 minutes or until filling is set.
4. Sprinkle with extra chopped parsley and serve with salad and bread, if you like.

Ants on a log

The sun is out, the birds are singing, the grass is dry, so we are going for a picnic. My daughter asked me to make these for her, and as tonight is leftover night this is the closet thing to food preparation i will be doing all day. My daughter got this recipe from a magazine, it's part of an article on childrens lunch boxes . I've no idea which mag as she only gave me the torn out bit of page with the picture. She loves them, i don't mind them either and they don't mess with my diet. YAY.

I
Celery stalks (apx 1 per person)
Peanut butter (any type you like)
Sultanas (or rains or even currents)

M
1. Wash and cut celery stalks into hand size pieces.
2. Fill gap in celery with peanut butter.
3. Stick sultanas to peanut butter.
4. store in airtight container or lunchbox till time to eat.

Oatmeal Old Hats

Oatmeal Cookies. So i decided to start with something easy. I got this recipe from "Make-A-Sweet cookbook" by Barbara Zeitz & Stan Tusan. These have just 4 ingredients, although I added 1/3 cup of sultanas to mine, I think about 1/4 cup of small chocolate chips would have also made a nice addition. I'm on a diet so I'm not really aloud to eat stuff like this, but had 1&1/2 for scientific purposes and they are V'nice. My Daughter loves them, so I've had to hide them in an old ANZAC tin on the top shelf of the pantry. This recipe makes about 30. And yes they really do look like old straw hats.

I
3&1/4 cups Quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

M
1. In a large bowel mix together all Ingredients with your hands, until dough holds together in one lump.
2. With your fingers, take enough dough to form a ball 1inch thick, and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper or grease proof paper (don't use flour as it sicks to the cookies at tastes horrible, butter or oil will stop them hardening so paper only!)
3. Flatten with a fork, or your fingers.
4. Bake 15 to 20 mins at 350'F or 180'C. (Cookies will be lightly browned.)
5. Leave to cool before removing from paper.