Apple & Blueberry Tarts November 29, 2009

These are really simple, look cute and are delicious.  They also make great lunchbox snacks.

Ingredients:
3 apples
handful of frozen blueberries
2 tb raw sugar
1 tb cornflour
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Method:
Peel and core the apples, and chop into small pieces.  Put them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by about 1cm, and simmer until the apples are soft.  There should be only a small amount of water left at this point.

Roughly mash the apples to remove most of the lumps.  Then mix the cornflour with a little water and add this to the pot, over heat, until the mixture thickens.  Add the blueberries and sugar.  Mix well and the blueberries should squash a bit and turn the apple mixture into a purple colour while still leaving lots of whole blueberries (you could mash them together if you don’t want to have whole blueberries)

Set aside to cool.

Lay out sheets of shortcrust pastry, and cut them out with a scone cutter.  Grease muffin tins and lay a pastry circle into each one, to make a tart case.  I used these silicone mini tart cases to get that wavy  tart shape (minus the tomatoes of course LOL). Spoon about a tablespoon of mixture into each one.

I like to cut a small star or other shape from the scraps of pastry, it’s less fiddly than making a full lid, and seems to give them a nice finished look (and makes them stackable!)  You can brush this with milk, but it’s not necessary.

Bake for around 15-20 mins at 200ºC.  Set on a wire rack to cool, or eat while still warm.  Makes about 24 small tarts.

Apple Tarts November 29, 2009

These are really simple but look cute and are yummy.  They also make great lunchbox snacks.

Ingredients:
5 large apples
1 tb cornflour
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Method:
Peel and core the apples, and chop into small pieces.  Put them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by about 1cm, and simmer until the apples are soft.  There should be only a small amount of water left at this point.

Roughly mash the apples to remove most of the lumps.  Then mix the cornflour with a little water and add this to the pot, over heat, until the mixture thickens.

You may add sugar to this mixture if you like, but I have found if you use sweet apples, it isn’t needed.

Set aside to cool.

Lay out sheets of shortcrust pastry, and cut them out with a scone cutter to get that wavy edge.  Grease muffin tins and lay a pastry circle into each one, to make a tart case.  Spoon about a tablespoon of mixture into each one.

I like to cut a small star or other shape from the scraps of pastry, it’s less fiddly than making a full lid, and seems to give them a nice finished look.  You can brush this with milk, but it’s not necessary.

Bake for around 15-20 mins at 200ºC.  Set on a wire rack to cool, or eat while still warm.

Berry Muffins/Cupcakes August 10, 2009

(I divide the batch in half and do half raspberry and half blueberry.)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (approx) – room temperature
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups wholemeal SR flour
handful of berries

Method:
Beat butter and sugar, add 1 egg, beat well then add the other egg, mix in half the milk and flour, beat well then add remaining milk and flour. Beat until pale and creamy.  Add the berries and stir to mix them in.  Spoon into muffin tins.   Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 10 – 15 mins until golden on top.  Best eaten while still warm

Wholegrain Cheese & Ham Rolls August 9, 2009

This is a flavoured bread, using this bread recipe as a base.

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 tb dried yeast
2 tb sugar
2 tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
3 cups bread flour (or plain flour)
1 cup wholegrain mix (see note)
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
2 tb chives

Method:
Pour the water into a large bowl. I actually boil the kettle while I get everything organised and use 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup cold tap water to make water that is warm. The bread recipe I use suggests using hot tap water but you should never consume water from the hot tap!). Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into this, give it a stir and leave it for 10 mins.

Then stir in the wholemeal flour, the oil and salt. Add the chives and wholegrain mix. Add the remaining flour, a cup at a time, mixing well. Turn this out onto a floured bench and knead for 10 mins.  You will need to add more flour as it gets sticky.  Then lightly oil the bowl you mixed it in, and the surface of the bread, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (I use one of those shower-cap looking things), and put it somewhere warm to rise for an hour. After an hour, knead it again. Then spread it out and sprinkle the cheese and ham over it, fold and knead it to mix this through. Form into golf-ball sized balls and place them on a baking tray about 1cm apart if you would like a “pull-apart” type loaf, where the buns are connected but you can pull them off… or about 3cm apart for separate ones. You can sprinkle some more ham over the top if you like. Bake at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, until the bread is browned and sounds hollow.

Goes nicely with soup or for a picnic. If taking on a picnic, try to time it so they come out of the oven just before you leave, then wrap them in a clean teatowel and put them in an insulated container to keep warm.

note: I buy a wholegrain mixture for adding to bread, that has rye, barley, corn, linseed and oats in it – and I often use a little over half a cup of this and the rest of the cup of crushed linseeds, or I use a full cup of the wholegrain mix.

Pastry Pizzas June 14, 2009

These are simple and make great party food.  Just take sheets of frozen puff pastry, spread with tomato paste or pesto, add toppings and bake!

Simple toppings work best,  because the pastry is thin you can’t have too much topping.  Try:

• Ham, cheese & tomato paste (with olives or pineapple on top)
• Basil or olive pesto with cheese
• basil pesto with ham, cheese, mushrooms & olives

You can cut the pastry into shapes before adding toppings if you like.

Savoury Crackers (Biscuits) June 14, 2009

I made these crackers by adding multigrain mix (linseed, oats, rye, cornmeal etc.) that I bought from a store selling breadmaking supplies… to a cracker recipe I found in a magazine.   This made a tasty multigrain cracker, which I felt was more wholesome, but you can make it without this.

Ingredients:
1 cup wholemeal SR flour
Pinch Salt
3 tb butter
1/3 cup grated cheese
1 tb dried chives (or other herbs)
¼ cup water

Optional:
¼ cup multigrain mixture (or linseeds, bran flakes etc.)
dash of water extra

Method:
1). Put the flour and salt into a large bowl, and rub in the butter.
2). Mix in the cheese, chives and any additional grains.
3). Make a well in the centre, and add in the water. If you have added extra grains, you may need to add a little more water to make the mixture come together into a dough-like consistency (it should be fairly dry not sticky).
4). Knead until mixture has come together and is smooth.
5). Turn out onto a floured surface, and roll out as thin as you can, to about 2-3mm thick. Use cookie cutters (or cut squares with a knife) to cut shapes out and lay them on a greased or lined baking tray.
6). Brush the tops with milk, and bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC for 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown (mine in the image above were probably a touch overcooked).

Allow to cool completely before putting in an airtight container.

 

The dough can be a bit hard to work with, so thin and it’s a bit delicate……so click the “more” for my guide to working with it.

Fish fingers June 9, 2009

Pretty much the same as my chicken nuggets recipe Just take a piece of fish (I personally only buy Australian fish, as imported fish can not only take a while to be shipped here, but also swim in less clean water than ours)…. make sure it’s deboned and skin removed…. stick it in a food processor with a piece of bread, any spices you like, and blend to a minced consistency…. Roll out into little logs, flatten them, roll in breadcrumbs, place on a greased tray and cook at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, turning halfway through.
You can freeze them and reheat as needed…. then you have the convenience of fishfingers, but you know exactly what is in them.

Chicken Nuggets June 9, 2009

Ingredients:
6 chicken thigh fillets (skin removed)
1 slice wholegrain bread
1 garlic clove
1tb spices (I used lemon pepper & cumin)
Breadcrumb mixture (breadcrumbs, sesame seeds + spices)

Method:
Pop everything but the breadcrumbs into a food processor, and blend until it forms a paste-like consistency. Take spoonfuls and form into nugget-like shapes and toss in a breadcrumb mixture. Spray a baking tray with oil, and bake the nuggets at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, turning over halfway through.
You can freeze these and reheat as needed. Makes about 25 nuggets

Carrot Muffins May 24, 2009

These are yummy, and the crumble topping makes them look a bit fancier than your average muffin!

ok, yes, I know these aren’t really muffins in the pic, but I cleaned out the cupboards and rediscovered my mini loaf pans, and just had to make some.. there are proper muffins in the pic below.

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Ingredients:
1½ c SR flour
1 c wholemeal SR flour
2 tsp mixed spice
¾ c raw sugar
¾ c sultanas (or ½ c sultanas and ¼c walnuts)
1½ c grated carrot
1 tb golden syrup
2 tb vegetable oil
1¼ c milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

.

Topping:(optional)
2 tb plain flour
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tb butter
1 tb raw sugar
1 tb rolled oats
1 tb desiccated coconut

.

Method:
1). Mix the flours and spice in a large bowl. Add the sultanas, carrot and sugar, mixing well.
2). Mix the milk, golden syrup, oil and egg together, then mix this through the carrot mixture
3). fold this together gently, not mixing it too much (overmixing can make muffins tough)
4). Spoon the mixture into muffin tins.
5). If adding the topping, mix all the ingredients together, rubbing in the butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the tops of the muffins.
6). Bake in a 180°C preheated oven for 20 mins, until muffins are browning and a skewer comes out clean.

.

Muffin recipe from here:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/recipes/survival_I/treats2/carrot_muffins
topping recipe from here – http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/new-idea/747/apple-and-carrot-muffins/

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This mixture was enough to make 12 cupcake sized muffins plus some mini loaves.

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Other carrot muffin recipes that look nice:
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/new-idea/747/apple-and-carrot-muffins/
http://www.freshforkids.com.au/recipes/pdf/FFKcarrotzuccmuffins.pdf

Toddler/Preschool Bentos May 16, 2009

Bento is a great way to encourage your child to eat lots of vegetables and healthy things, and it can look fun!

It doesn’t even have to take a long time, and you can make them up the night before.

Strawberry Yoghurt & Banana Muffins March 23, 2009

Ingredients:
1 cup wholemeal SR flour
1 1/2 cups white SR flour
2 tb Fructose
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup strawberry yoghurt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 egg
2 ripe bananas

Method:
Mash bananas, mix all the ingredients together, and pour into muffin pans (This makes about 24 muffins). Bake at 180 for about 20 mins.

(Adapted from the recipe here – Banana Muffins recipe – Best Recipes)

Rolled Oat Bars March 9, 2009

Ingredients:
1 c Wholemeal SR flour
2 c rolled oats
150g butter
1/2 c sugar
1 tbs golden syrup

 
Method:
Mix together the oats, flour and sugar. Melt the butter and add the golden syrup, then mix this into the dry ingredients. When combined, press into a slice tray, and bake at 160 for 15-20 mins, or until golden brown. Cut it into bars while still warm, but allow to cool in the tray before removing.

 
(From “The Failsafe Cookbook” by Sue Dengate)

Savoury zucchini muffins February 22, 2009

Ingredients:
150g bacon or ham (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 cup of self-raising flour
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon mustard (optional)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup grated cheese

Method:
1). Lightly fry the bacon and onion.
2). In a large bowl, combine the flour, oil, eggs, mustard and paprika. Mix well.
3). Add the cheese, zuccini and (cooled) fried mixture. Stirring well to combine.
4). Pour mixture into muffin tins, and place in a preheated 200C oven until golden brown and cooked through. 15 mins for mini muffins or 20-25 mins for larger muffins.

From http://alteredcutlery.blogspot.com/2007/11/muffins.html

Savoury Zucchini Mini Muffins February 22, 2009

Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tb chopped chives
1 cup grated cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup Stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tb olive oil

Method:
1). Mix flour, mustard, chives, cheese and zucchini together.
2). In a separate bowl, add the stock, eggs and oil, mix well.
3). Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, and stir gently to combine
4). pour into greased muffin trays and bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 20 mins, or until they are golden brown.

From http://www.girl.com.au/savoury-zucchini-mini-muffins.htm

Potato Pancakes January 16, 2009

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes
3 eggs
1/2 cup wholemeal SR flour
salt, garlic and chives to taste

Method:
Peel, dice and then cook the potatoes to cook them a little (eg microwave for 2 mins). Blend everything together until smooth. Cook like you would a pancake.

Very green pea patties January 8, 2009

I saw these on a Bento blog, but I thought they could be cool for non-bento use too… Imagine making a marbled pumpkin and pea patty!

http://justbento.com/recipe-collection-mains/poppy-seed-encrusted-green-pea-mini-burgers

Bento January 8, 2009

Bento is a Japanese term for (basically) a meal that is designed to include small portions of different things, and is generally arranged into interesting designs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento

It can be a way to get kids to eat vegetables, and makes for an exciting lunchbox. Here are some ideas for making Bento lunches, particularly for kids.

Traditionally it’s supposed to contain 4 parts carbohydrates (rice/noodles for example), 2 parts protein (eg meats/egg) and 1 part other stuff (vegetables and fruit for example). However you can make them with any combination of foods. For those wanting to limit carbs and encourage healthy eating, it’s probably best to focus on the vegetables and leave protein and carbs to about 1-2 parts.

Castle Cake January 4, 2009

Children’s birthday cake idea….that looks like a castle! (or if you’re like me, an adult’s birthday cake )

 
You will need:
2 x Cake mix (or ingredients to make 2 cakes)
1 “furry friend” or similar thin rectangle chocolate bar
Jelly snakes, musk sticks and other things to decorate with
Icing sugar (and butter if making butter frosting)
cocoa
box of “nutragrain” brick shaped cereal

 

Method:
1). Bake 2 cakes (square) and 4 large cupcakes (or make it in a tube cake tin and cut 4 equal slices) using your cake mix of choice (choc mud is good)…
2). Put a layer of jam and cream ontop of one square cake, then top it with the other square cake, so you have a large square cake. Stick a cupcake on each corner with the jam/cream to form turrets. Ice the cake with chocolate icing/frosting to cover the lot.
3). You can stick the windows and door on before you brick or after – it’s up to you (see below on that)
4). Have a bowl of more choc icing/frosting and your box of nutragrain. Using the nutragrain like bricks, apply the mortar (icing) and lay your bricks to cover the cake – including your turrets. Remembering that real bricks are laid overlapping, not one ontop of the other. When doing the top of the turrets (and cake if you wish) do the embattlements (the poking up bits) by laying a brick upwards instead of flat, followed by a flat one, and so on.
5). Stick the “furry friend” to the front of the castle, as the door. Cut a bit of snake/mashmallow etc. off and stick that to the door to make a doorknob. Or you can get creative and make a portcullis from liquorice strips and make the chocolate into a drawbridge. Add windows and things if you wish…. you can always spread melted chocolate on a tray and when it has just set, cut out your window shapes, and use that.

 
Now, I’ve heard that laying cut up jelly babies/snakes on waxed paper and baking in the oven until they melt makes a stained glass window effect, but it just burned and stuck to the paper for me, so I’d suggest cutting a square shape from a marshmallow, and cutting the back and front off so its all sticky, and stick it to the walls, then cut thin slices of snake or other transparent coloured jelly lolly to make a decorative stained glass window…

 
I guess you could make windows and doors from fondant icing – and use food colour to paint them… Use your imagination.

Baby Food/Quick Veg Iceblocks December 13, 2008

These are actually really handy to have around so you can pop one (still frozen) into a risotto or something too.

To do these just get the vegetable (for example pumpkin) – steam them separately until soft (steaming is best as it retains more of its goodness) then mash and spoon into icecube trays. Cover with clingwrap, or put the icecube tray into a large airtight container, and place in the freezer overnight. In the morning, take the icecubes out and place in a ziplock bag (labelled) in the freezer, so you’ll always have some on standby. You can do pretty much any vegetable, and then just take out a couple and heat them up as needed.

I always liked to keep vegies separate and not blend them together, so bub can learn the taste of individual foods, but you can do some mixed vegies ones too.

These are handy to use when out, as you can put the frozen cubes in a container, bring a spoon and by the time you need to feed bub, the icecubes may have defrosted.

I’ve also boiled some meat until it was very soft and broken it up into fine strands and frozen them with some of the stock from boiling it, and adding those to meals.

Healthier Kids Party Foods December 13, 2008

Dried fruit in place of lollies – you could thread onto thread or bamboo skewers (cut the pointy end off) to make it more interesting.

 
Fruit Kebabs – Cut fruits and slide onto skewers. Use things like banana, kiwi fruit, strawberries, grapes, shapes cut from melon/apple, pineapple, mandarine segments etc.

 
Homemade chips – thinly slice (can use a potato peeler) potato and sweet potato and spray with olive oil then bake in the oven until crisp.

 
Toast Fingers - Remove crusts from wholemeal bread, and spread with margarine/low fat spread, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and grated cheddar cheese. Grill until golden brown and cut into strips.

 
Colourful dips – Make colourful dips (beetroot, guacamole etc.) and serve with melba toasts, rice crackers, vegetable sticks, tortilla chips or toast fingers.

 
Curly celery – Cut celery into desired lengths then cut slits through the celery stalk about 3/4 of the way down. Place into ice cold water in the fridge for around 10 mins and the slits should curl up

 
Funny Face Sandwich – Slice of wholemeal bread cut into a circle shape. Spread with cream cheese and decorated into a face (alfalfa hair, egg slice sultana eyes, carrot nose, tomato mouth etc.)

 
Punch - Use a small amount of low calorie fruit based cordial or a tin of fruit salad with natural juice, a few drops of food colouring and mineral/soda water to make it fizzy. Or use fruit juice and mineral water. Float cut up fruits on top for interest. (You can freeze fruits in icecubes too)

 
Magic Drinks – Serve drinks in clear plastic cups with a drop of food colouring (or pureed fruit like raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) already in the bottom…. when clear drink is poured in, it changes colour like magic.

 
Slushies – Blend melon (watermelon, rock melon etc.) with crushed ice and other fruits if desired.

 
Mini Pizza - spread pita bread or homemade pizza base cut into small rounds with tomato paste and top with toppings kids like. or have kids make their own.

 
Homemade Party Pies – Use a vegetable and mince mixture. You can cut shapes with small cookie cutters to put on top for fun, or pipe on mashed potato.

Carrot & Zucchini Sausage Rolls December 13, 2008

A way to hide a bit of extra veg in to trick the kiddies into eating it.  I got this idea from my Aunt, and it’s brilliant!  the sausage rolls are so much nicer with the carrot and zucchini in them (moist and extra flavour) and you don’t even notice it’s “veg” in there!

Ingredients:
1 large package sausage mince
pastry sheets
1 egg to glaze
1 small zucchini, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 small onion grated (optional)

1). Mix the meat and vegetables together
2). Cut a pastry sheet into 3rds or halves, and lay a strip of mixture up the sheet close to one edge, then roll over to make a long sausage roll
3). cut into smaller sausage rolls, brush with egg and bake at about 200C for around 15 mins.

Hamburgers December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
Beef mince
Onion (I prefer spring onion)
garlic
red capsicum
Herbs and spices (things like salt and pepper, cumin, ginger, basil, oregano, sage etc.)
1ts curry powder
tomato sauce
BBQ sauce
parmesan cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
cheese slice
Eggs
Breadcrumbs or rolled oats
1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
mayonaise
Buns

Method:
1). Finely chop garlic, onion and capsicum and fry these until cooked. Onion and capsicum go in first, then the garlic, as it cooks quicker.
2). In a bowl mix the fried stuff, mince, some herbs and spices, 1 egg, some parmesan cheese and a few teaspoons worth of breadcrumbs or rolled oats (I know.. sounds odd, but hey it actually works!). Add a squirt of tomato sauce and a squirt of BBQ sauce. Add mustard. Mix all this well. If you happen to have leftover rice, a little of that in it is ok too. peas and corn, grated carrot or zucchini all work ok in there too.
3). Form into patties, grill or fry until brown. Apparently if you form them then leave them in the fridge for 30 mins they stay together better… I like to grill this by putting a cake cooler over a tray and putting the patties on the cake cooler so all fat drips off into the tray if I’m using an oven whose grill tray is too solid. Once both sides are done I lay a cheese slice ontop and turn the grill off while I get the bun organised and its melted by the time I go to get it out.
4). Fry remaining egg in an egg ring (if you have one).
5). Assemble burger in the following fashion:

bottom bun
mayonaise
lettuce
tomato
fried egg
cheese
meat patty
tomato sauce
top bun

Macaroni & Cheese December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
175g macaroni
60g butter
60g plain flour
600ml milk
pinch of salt and pepper
175g cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
1). Boil the macaroni until cooked. Drain and return to the pan.
2). In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute.
3). Remove from heat and stir in the milk, a little at a time.
4). Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Simmer for 1 minute then remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Then add the cooked pasta and mix well to combine.

Natural Colourants December 9, 2008

If you don’t want chemical colourings, try some of these natural alternatives. To get the most colour from the foodstuff, take the food (such as a handful of raspberries) and simmer them in liquid until reduced, then strain and use the liquid. The juice for things like blueberries can be brushed over set icing with a pastry brush.

Yellow
Turmeric (Use sparingly in sweeter foods as the taste may overpower)
Saffron

Orange
Annatto seed
Carrot juice

Pink
Beetroot (Buy beetroot, slice it and simmer it in water, or buy canned)
Raspberries
Cranberry juice
Strawberries

Red
Raspberries
Beetroot
Pomegranate juice

Purple/bluish purple
Blueberries
Purple grape juice
Blackcurrant juice
Blackberries
Red/purple cabbage

Reddish Orange
Paprika

Green
Freshly juiced spinach
Spirulina (an algea herbal supplement)

Brown
Cocoa
Strong coffee

Meat & Veg Party Pies November 18, 2008

Home made mini pies with hidden vegies!

Ingredients:
Puff pastry sheets
Small pasta or rice (optional)
Vegetables
potatoes (optional)
Cooked lentils (Optional)
Tinned chopped tomato (optional)
Mince
Gravy powder

Method:
Steam vegetables (broccoli, pumpkin, carrot, etc), putting the pasta in the bottom of the steamer to boil. If you want to make potato topped pies (shepherd’s pies) , put potatoes on in another pot to make mashed potato. Once vegetables are steamed, lightly mash them. Once potato is cooked, mash with enough milk to form a creamy mash.

Fry the mince (you can include garlic, onion & seasoning if you wish) in a dry saucepan. Once browned, strain off any fat and return to the pan.  Add the cooked pasta/rice, steamed vegetables and enough tinned tomato (or use stock or liquid from boiling/steaming vegetables with a little tomato paste) to cover and bring to the boil. Add lentils if you wish.  Mix gravy powder with about 1/4cup water and pour into the mixture. Stir until thickened.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Take pastry sheets and cut into 9 squares. Lightly grease the insides of a muffin tin and lay a pastry square into it. The points will poke out, leave them… Spoon the mince mixture in and fold those points over, then top with a scoop of mashed potato if you wish, or just leave the tops open

Bake at around 200°C until golden brown.