Mochaccino self-saucing pudding

Spinach and leek cannelloni

Shepherd's pie

8 medium potatoes
50g butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese

800g mince
1 onion
1 leek
Garlic and ginger
Herbs and spices
1 cup beef stock
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp chutney
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil until soft.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Brown onion, leek, garlic and ginger.
Brown the mince.
Add in herbs and spices and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the stock, chutney, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Mash the potatoes and add the butter, milk and grated cheese.
Pour the mince into a baking dish and cover with the mashed potato.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden.

White chocolate tart

300g white chocolate
100g butter
5 eggs separated
100g sugar
2 tbsp standard flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Melt the chocolate and butter over boiling water.
Leave for 10 minutes to cool.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together and then fold in the chocolate mixture.
Fold in the flour.
Beat egg whites until stiff and then fold in.
Spoon into cake tin and bake for 35 minutes.

Baked custard

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
Beat together eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla.
Place 4 ramekins into a baking dish and pour the mixture into them.
Pour boiling water into baking dish until halfway up the ramekins.
Bake for 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Spaghetti bolognese

1/2 packet spaghetti
800g mince
1 onion
Garlic and ginger
Herbs and spices
Tin tomatoes

Place the spaghetti in boiling water and cook until al dente.
Brown the onion, ginger and garlic.
Then add the mince and brown.
Add the herbs and spices and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the tin of tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.

Kiwifruit and honey cake

It's the kiwifruit season and some were going off so we made this cake to use them up.

50g softened butter
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed kiwifruit (if you don't have enough use plain yoghurt to top up)
2 cups standard flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Cream butter and honey.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat in.
Fold in the kiwifruit.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and fold through.
Fold through the milk.
Spoon into a cake tin and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked.

Chocolate custard

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
200g 70% dark chocolate
6 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C.
Melt the milk, cream and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl.
Gradually add the milk mixture, stirring all the time.
Pour the mixture into individual ramekins and place in a roasting dish.
Pour hot water half way up the sides.
Bake for 40 minutes.

Note: The milk mixture makes a super hot chocolate as well!

Beef stroganoff

1 kg gravy beef
2 onions, chopped
Garlic / ginger
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp honey
3 cups water
200g sour cream

Fry the onions, beef, garlic and ginger until the beef is brown
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir through.
Add the water.
Pressure cook for 1 hour.
The stew can be thickened with corn flour if you want a thicker sauce.
Just before serving, stir through the sour cream.

Lamb's neck stew

1 kg lamb's neck
2 onions
1 leek
Garlic / ginger
1 yellow pepper
2 carrots, peeled
Tim tomatoes
1/2 cabbage

Fry the onions, leek, garlic, ginger and lamb until the lamb is brown
Cut up and add the rest of the rest of the ingredients.
Add some herbs and spices (garam marsala, cumin, cardamom, paprika. mustard seeds, lemon grass)
Pressure cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Chocolate tart

100g butter
100g brown sugar
100g 70% dark chocolate broken into pieces
3 eggs, separated
20g standard flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
40g ground almonds

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Melt the butter, sugar and chocolate in a double boiler.
Cool for about 5 minutes and then whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla essence, stirring all the time.
Sift in the flour and almonds and combine.
Whisk the eggs whites until stiff and fold in.
Scrape into a cake tin and bake for about 35 minutes.

Lamb chops with scalloped potatoes

Lamb chops
6 potatoes
Mixed herbs
1 egg
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Peel and slice the potatoes.
Beat together the egg and milk.
Place layers of potato in a roasting dish, sprinkle the herbs over and cover with the milk and egg mixture. If the potatoes are not covered, add a bit more milk.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Place a rack over the dish (see picture) and place the lamb chops on this.
This allows all the juices to drip into the potatoes.
Bake for another 20 minutes, depending on how well done you like your chops.
Serve with some winter vegetables.

Getting rid of the fat

The problem with cooking stews etc. is that you get a layer of fat at the top which you can scoop off. The normal procedure is to pour this down the sink but because the fats harden at room temperature, this clogs up the drains.

We put it into a cup or glass and then put it in the fridge. When it's hard, we scoop it into a plastic bag and put it with the rest of the weekly refuse.

Self-saucing chocolate pudding

100g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup self-raising flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Beat butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs and then fold in the rest of the sifted ingredients.
Spoon into greased oven-proof dish.
For the sauce, mix together brown sugar, coffee, cocoa and boiling water.
Pour over a spoon held over the pudding. (This stops the water making a hole in the batter).
Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked.
Serve with ice cream or cream.

Bobotie

So there I was listening to Afternoons with Jim Mora on National Radio on Friday (when they have regular cooking slot) and missed the start of the recipe. Just listening to the ingredients, I thought "Hang on - this sounds suspiciously like Bobotie" and indeed it was. A dish that brings back many childhood memories.

Now the Saturday Kids had a painful experience with a previous incarnation of this which was far too strong so they scaled back on the curry powder. Personally, they could have added a bit more! but it was delicious anyway.

The recipe is here but just in case it's ever removed, it's copied below:

Chef: Lois Daish, as heard on Afternoons with Jim Mora, 15 June 2007

Ingredients
1 thick slice white bread
1 and a half cups milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large knob fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 kg minced beef
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
3 tablespoons fruit chutney
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons seedless raisins
1 cup tomato puree

Topping
2 eggs
large pinches salt and turmeric
6 bay leaves
flaked almonds
Method
Soak the bread in the milk. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions, ginger and garlic. Add curry and spices. Stir until aromatic, adding a little water to prevent scorching. Add minced beef and stir until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients, including the squeezed out bread. (Reserve the milk). Mix well and spread in a large lightly oiled baking dish (20x30cm). Bake at 160 for 45 minutes.

To make the topping, whisk eggs with the reserved milk, salt and turmeric. Pour over the baked meat. Slip in the bay leaves and scatter the almonds. Bake for another 45 minutes.

Serves 8

from ‘Fabulous Food’ by Lynn Bedford Hall (Struik/New Holland)

Girl Guide biscuits

These have been around for 50 years in New Zealand and are something of an icon.

Good to see that the Guides have moved with the times and you can now order them online here.

There's also a recipe book "Guide Biscuit Recipes" which you can order from here. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the link).

Queen of puddings

600 ml milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
50g sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 tbsp fruit jam

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan.
Add breadcrumbs, butter, lemon zest and half the sugar.
Cool for about 5 minutes.
Stir in egg yolks and vanilla essence.
Spoon into greased pie dish and cook for 30 minutes.
Warm jam and spread over the pudding.
Whisk egg whites until stiff, adding rest of sugar while whisking.
Spoon the meringue over the jam.
Cook for around 10 minutes or until meringue is golden.

Chicken drumsticks with roasted winter vegetables

Chicken drumsticks
Large kumara
2 lemons, quartered
Potatoes
1/2 pumpkin
Large parsnip
4 courgettes
Red pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Cube all vegetables and place in large roasting dish.
Sprinkle with olive oil.
Cook for 25 minutes.
Place chicken drumsticks on top interspersed with the lemon pieces and cook for another 35 minutes or until cooked.
The roast ingredients make a tasty sauce which can be used as the basis for a gravy.

Individual chocolate puddings

100g butter
200g 70% dark chocolate
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups soft brown sugar
1 cup ground almonds
4 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.
Remove from heat.
Mix together cocoa powder and sugar and add to chocolate.
Fold in almonds and egg yolks.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks are formed.
Fold into chocolate mixture.
If mixture seems a little stiff, add some warmed milk.
Spoon into ramekins.
Bake for around 30 minutes or until cooked.
Serve with cream.

Chicken with basil and parmesan

4 chicken breasts
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 rashers bacon
Garlic and ginger
50g butter
1 onion
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Brown onion, garlic, ginger and bacon until onion is soft and bacon is nearly cooked.
Combine breadcrumbs and cheese. Add to onion mixture
Melt butter in a saucepan and add Worcestershire sauce and mustard.
Dip chicken in butter mixture and then roll in crumb mixture until evenly coated.
Place crumbed chicken into ovenproof bowl, sprinkle with any left over crumb mixture and bake for around 25 minutes or until breasts are cooked.