Tag Archives: family

Savoury Cheese and Onion Bread Pudding

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This savoury version of bread and butter pudding makes a tasty breakfast or brunch and is a good way to use up stale bread and odds and ends of cheese. You can also serve it with a salad for lunch. I made half the recipe for two.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 packet French Onion Soup mix
Freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
2 cups milk
4 cups day old bread, cubed (crusts removed)
1/3 cup grated gruyere cheese (cheddar or other hard cheese)
To garnish:
Snipped chives
Extra virgin olive oil

Grease a 6 cup capacity baking dish. Place oil, onion soup mix, pepper, eggs and milk in a bowl and whisk to combine. Arrange the bread cubes in the dish to more or less fill it – add a few more if not enough.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread, then press down all over with a spoon to make sure all the bread is coated. Cover with the grated cheese.

Stand for an hour or two before baking, or refrigerate, covered overnight. Preheat oven to 180°C, then bake the bread pudding for about half an hour, or until golden and crispy on top.

Serve garnished with the chives and drizzled with a little olive oil.

Serves 4

Variatons: add some sliced, sautéed mushrooms and/or some diced bacon or ham.

Quick Bang Bang Chicken Salad

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The name Bang Bang is derived from the way the chicken is tenderised before cooking this recipe. Not something you have to worry about in this version. No doubt the original recipe also had you chasing the chook around the backyard and catching it, before you got to the bang bang bit.

After catching and tenderising your chicken, a traditional Sichuan recipe for Bang Bang Chicken Salad starts with cooking it whole. This is the quick version where instead you head to the supermarket. Perfect for those days when you have limited time to organise something tasty for dinner.

Buy a cooked chicken at the supermarket – actually I bought a half – then grab some beansprouts, cucumber, baby spinach, coriander and a lime. Hopefully you have all the ingredients for the dressing in your pantry.

½ a roast chicken (more or less)
2-3 cups beansprouts
2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)
Dressing:
2 Tbs sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 Tbs Tahini paste
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs vinegar (Chinese black if available, if not any will do)
4 Tbs vegetable oil
Pinch chilli flakes
To garnish:
3-4 handfuls baby spinach leaves
A handful of fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Tbs roasted peanuts or cashews, coarsely chopped
Good pinch chilli flakes or some fresh finely diced chilli

Shred the chicken and place in a bowl with the beansprouts and spring onions (if using). Whiz all the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or blender. Add the dressing to the chicken – you may not need to use it all.

Line a serving dish with spinach leaves. Pile the chicken salad on top, then garnish with the coriander, cucumber, nuts, chilli and a piece of fresh lime. As you can see in the photo, I forgot the lime!

Serves 3 (more as part of a buffet)

 

Quick Pasties Using Roti Paratha

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I bought a packed of 8 frozen roti paratha from an Indian grocery store and used them to make these meat pasties. They were amazing. The best meat pies I’ve ever made.

If you can’t find Indian roti paratha, buy puff pastry and cut out big circles about 15cm or 6 inches in diameter. I thawed the roti, filled them, pinched together the sides at the top, brushed them with beaten egg, then baked them at 200°C for just over half an hour.

As for the filling, you can use your imagination. I used some leftover roast lamb from a slow roasted shoulder, mixed with leftover gravy and leftover roast pumpkin, all cut into 2cm cubes. I served the pasties with hot English mustard and a mix of peas and asparagus.

You could look for a Cornish pasty filling online and use that, or use this beef casserole recipe, or this recipe which uses oxtails – just take all the meat off the bones.

For a seafood pasty use this recipe for Seafood Mornay, without the breadcrumb topping. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this blog.

Best Beef Burgers

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When we were a family of five, spaghetti bolognese and lasagne were regulars on the week-day menu. Now there’s just the two of us we don’t eat a lot of mince. Every now and then, however, I like to make burgers. Like everything else you make yourself, they are so much tastier than the ones you get in fast food outlets, especially if you use top quality, lean minced beef. And it’s the additions, such as mustard and grated Parmesan, which make all the difference to creating a great burger.

This mix is our favourite. If you end up with too many burgers, freeze them raw, or cook them and reheat the following day for lunch. Sometimes I have mine with just half a bun, or no bun at all and find I don’t miss the carbs. Feed a family by making some oven fries in the oven, or in an air fryer to go with the burgers.

500g top quality minced beef
1 small onion, or ½ a large onion, very finely chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs (made from stale bread or use Panko crumbs)
1 tsp mustard (I use hot English)
2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
Pinch grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbs olive oil, to fry the burgers
To serve: 
4 burger buns, split and toasted
Lettuce, rocket or baby spinach leaves
Sliced tomato
Sliced red onion (optional)
Sliced cucumber or avocado or both
Mayonnaise or aioli
Fruit chutney, tomato ketchup or barbecue sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients except oil and use your hands to shape into 4 evenly-sized burgers, the diameter of your buns. Refrigerate until serving time.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat and cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes each side, or until cooked to taste. Spread one side of the toasted buns with mayonnaise or aioli and the other with chutney, tomato ketchup or barbecue sauce. Serve the burgers in the buns with lettuce, rocket or spinach leaves, tomato and cucumber slices.

Makes 4 burgers

Kale with Quince

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This healthy and delicious side dish from Australian cook Maggie Beer goes well with roast meats, particularly pork, turkey or chicken.

For lunch the following day I heated up the leftovers and served them on toasted sourdough, with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese, a slice of crispy bacon, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Quinces are in season in winter, so they are in the shops in Australia now. At other times of the year you could substitute a sharp cooking apple.

Find more quince recipes here and here and here.

1 large quince, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes
1 bunch of kale
50g butter
2 Tbs olive oil
2 shallots or 1 small to medium onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbs lemon juice

Wash kale and strip the leaves from the stalks. Discard the stalks. Cook in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Drain, squeeze out excess water and chop.

Heat butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the onion and quince over moderate heat, stirring often, until cooked and starting to turn golden. Add the kale and toss together over the heat for a couple of minutes. Season to taste and drizzle with lemon juice.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Persimmon Fennel and Orange Salad

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Persimmons are in the supermarkets at the moment. Ready to eat when they feel like a ripe but not overripe tomato, this unusual fruit makes a delicious, slightly sweet, addition to salads.

Persimmons pair particularly well with fennel and this salad goes well with seafood, salmon and chicken. Here’s a similar salad, without the orange.

1 bulb fennel
1 or 2 persimmons
1 orange
2-3 Tbs Basic salad dressing

Trim then thinly slice the fennel, then cut into smaller pieces and place in a bowl. Thinly slice the persimmons, cut into halves or quarters and add to the bowl. Peel the orange, remove the segments and add to the bowl. Add salad dressing and mix well. While it’s nicer fresh, any leftover salad will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Serves 4

No Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

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I belong to a group which meets once a month to speak French over a pot luck lunch. We take it in turns to host the lunch and the food is always amazing. All you have to do is let the hostess know you will be attending and whether you will bring a sweet or savoury dish, to make sure we don’t end up with too many desserts and not enough savoury dishes.

This delicious dessert was brought last month by Vanessa, one of the members whose husbands work at the French Embassy. It’s very easy to make and Vanessa kindly shared the recipe. It’s not really a cake, more a sliceable chocolate mousse. The texture is more like a panna cotta or a rich chocolate jelly than a mousse.

4 Tbs cocoa powder
¼ cup water
2 cups milk
1¾ cups cream
½ cup condensed milk
5 Tbs sugar (I cut it back to 3 Tbs)
200g dark chocolate, chopped
5 tsp gelatine powder
½ cup water
To serve:
Cocoa powder
Thick pouring cream
Fresh berries

Mix cocoa powder and ¼ cup water to a smooth paste. Heat milk, cream, condensed milk and sugar in a saucepan. Add chocolate paste and chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Mix gelatine powder with ½ cup water in a small bowl, then zap briefly in the microwave to dissolve. Add to the mixture in the pan.

Line a loaf tin with a capacity of about one and a half litres or six 250ml cups with non-stick baking paper. I used a triangular one, but a rectangular one is fine. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan through a sieve, in case there are any undissolved bits. Refrigerate overnight.

Tip the mousse out onto a serving platter and remove the paper. Cover with sifted cocoa powder. Cut into thick slices and serve with cream and berries.

Serves about 12

Tips and Hints

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Instead of the usual weekly recipe, today’s blog is just a collection of money-saving or time-saving tips and hints.

  • Peel half a kilo or more of fresh ginger and chop it very finely in a food processor. Freeze in ice cube trays, tip into a ziplock bag or container and keep in the freezer. Perfect for stir-fries and marinades.
  • Make a batch of Pesto during summer when fresh basil is available. Freeze in ice cube trays, store in a ziplock bag and use over the winter months.
  • Other ingredients to freeze in ice cube trays are lemon juice, lime juice, tomato paste and passionfruit pulp. Better than having them sit in the fridge till they go off.
  • Freeze whole fresh chillies in a ziplock bag so you always have them on hand. Chopped lemon grass also freezes well.
  • Make your own Za’atar by mixing 1 Tbs each of ground cumin, coriander, thyme or oregano, sumac, toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp salt. Keep in a small jar.
  • Make your own labneh using this recipe.
  • Make your own dukkah using this quick and easy recipe.
  • Make your own mayonnaise in less time than it takes to nip to the local shop.
  • Freeze whole green grapes and use to chill a glass of white wine when the weather is hot, without making it watery.
  • Save hotel shower caps and use to cover large bowls and platters, such as a plate of sandwiches, in the fridge. Easier than plastic wrap which doesn’t always stick. Toss in the washing machine, dry on the line and use again.
  • Wash salad greens, spin dry, then store in the salad spinner in the fridge where they will stay crisp for several days. My favourite salad spinner is made by Zyliss and I have two.
  • Keep fresh herbs in the fridge in a tall tumbler or jar with just enough water to cover the bottoms of the stalks. Cover loosely with a small plastic bag over the top. It should cover the leaves and come halfway down the glass, allowing air to circulate.
  • Don’t throw away leftover or stale cornflakes, savoury crackers, corn chips, rice crackers, potato chips and other savoury snacks. Blitz them all together in a food processor and keep in a jar. Use to make Healthy Oven-Baked KFC.
  • Make one of these seven quick desserts.

And here are three non-culinary tips:

  • Soak your kitchen cloth or sponge in just enough cold water to cover with a splash of bleach added and leave for half an hour. It will come up like new. Bleach isn’t so bad if you use it properly.
  • When a lipstick is finished there’s always a sizeable piece at the bottom you can’t use. Scrape several similar colours into a small jar – the size you get face cream samples in, or individual servings of jam in posh hotels. Have fun making your own new colour. Microwave for 30 seconds (stand on a sheet of kitchen paper) stir with a toothpick, then zap for 20-30 seconds longer, until melted and smooth. Keep checking and don’t overcook. If using a plastic container be extra careful as you don’t want the container to melt. Glass or thick plastic pots are best. Cool and apply with a lip brush.
  • Turn powder eyeshadows into cream ones. Crush the powder in a small container and mix in some lip balm until smooth. About 2/3 eyeshadow to 1/3 lip balm. No need to heat, just mix. I have a whole heap of lip balm sticks collected from the bags they give you on overseas flights.  Blend your own colour as I have done with the bluey grey shown in the photo. They look a bit lumpy (I probably should have crushed them more) but work just fine.

Gluten-free Banana & Nut Cake

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This banana cake is moist and nutty. Give it a try, even if you’re not following a gluten-free diet. Regular self-raising flour can be used instead, if you’re not worried about gluten.

The mixture can also be used to make about a dozen banana muffins. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan, fill each one almost to the top with cake mix, arrange some banana pieces on top, then spoon over the topping. Serve as a cake or as a delicious dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cake mix:
1 cup nut meal made in the food processor (almonds, walnuts or pecans)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 cup gluten-free self-raising flour (or ordinary SR flour can be used)
½ tsp baking powder
Topping:
4-5 ripe bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
¼ cup brown sugar
30g butter
To serve:
Icing sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and bottom-line a shallow slab pan about 35x25cm. Or use a large loaf pan, two smaller ones or a 12-hole muffin pan.

Make nut meal in food processor by processing the nuts until they look like fine breadcrumbs. Add remaining cake mix ingredients and process till combined, scraping down the sides halfway through. You can use a balloon whisk to do this instead. Spoon cake mixture into the tin or tins and spread evenly with a knife.

Arrange banana halves over the cake mix, cut side up. Melt butter in a small saucepan and mix in the brown sugar, stirring to dissolve. Spoon butter and sugar mixture evenly over the bananas. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown all over and puffed. Check it’s cooked in the middle by inserting a toothpick which should come out clean. Individual muffins will take less time than one large cake.

Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

Makes about 12 servings

Note: buy nut meal/flour or make your own by blitzing shelled walnuts, pecans, almonds, or a mixture, in a food processor.

Sticky Gingerbread Loaf

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I love trying new gingerbread or ginger cake recipes. I think this is the fourth one to appear on this blog since I started writing it, over ten years ago.

This recipe is adapted from one in The Great British Book of Baking by Linda Collister, written to accompany BBC2’s The Great British Bake-off with Mary Berry. She says it tastes just like a popular UK brand of sticky gingerbread, made by McVities.

Instead of using scales, I prefer to measure most of my ingredients with an Australian measuring cup, which holds 250 ml. While you can eat this cake as soon as it has cooled, if you leave it in a sealed tin for a couple of days it will get stickier. I made it in one large loaf pan, but you could use two small loaf pans, or a square or round cake pan. I used rounded to heaped teaspoons of all the spices, because I like my gingerbread to be nice and spicy.

125g butter, cut up
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/3 up black treacle (or substitute molasses)
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup milk
1½ cups self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice
1 egg

Grease and line one large loaf pan or two small ones. I used a large silicone pan which measures 23×13 cm or 9×5 inches. I just sprayed it with oil as silicone doesn’t need lining with paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 170°C if you have a fan-forced oven, which tends to be hotter.

In a medium to large saucepan, heat the butter, golden syrup, treacle or molasses, brown sugar and milk. Turn off the heat as soon as the butter has melted as you don’t want it to boil. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices through a sieve and mix well with a balloon whisk. Lastly thoroughly mix in the egg, then scrape mixture into the cake pan.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Mine was ready in 35 minutes, but my oven tends to be a bit on the hot side. When ready the cake will be firm to touch in the middle. If you’re not sure test with a skewer or toothpick inserted in the middle. It should come out clean, but you don’t want to overcook this cake.

Makes one large cake.