Tag: recipe

During Parch we often make meals which have 4 serves. Sometimes we might freeze two of the portions, but most of the time we refrigerate them and have the same meal type two days in a row.

Here is our recipe for rissoles (adapted from the traditional). It makes 4 serves.

Mix 600 grams of premium, low fat content beef mince with one egg, one half teaspoon of dried parsley flakes, one teaspoon of finely chopped fresh sage (or dried if fresh not available), one half a finely chopped peeled apple with skin removed, and a quarter of a finely chopped onion.

Place some plain flour on a clean dry bench and roll balls of the rissole mixture in it. Pat them down so they are about an inch high. Lightly grease a skillet frying pan with butter and cook the rissoles for a good twenty minutes, turning them frequently.

A variation to this is called “Porcupines”. It is traditional, taught to me by my auntie Mary. Roll beef rissole balls in raw rice instead of plain flour and cook them in a can of tomato soup, (with a small amount of added water or milk so they are just covered), in a covered casserole dish in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

We have been given some green gage plums. I have boiled them briefly and after taking out the stones they will be the secret ingredient for cream of carrot soup. Its really easy, boil up some carrots, garlic and pumpkin for 20 minutes and then mash them into the water. Add the boiled, stoneless plums with their juice. Serve with a small amount of real cream poured into the bowl. Sprinkle with real, or dried parsley.

Feburine is all about the idea of combining small amounts of dangerous, non-filling deliciousnesses with larger amounts of not at all dangerous, quite filling deliciousnesses.

For example consider snap, crackle, sugar-coated, chocolate flavoured rice cereal. About one cup of this dangerous, non-filling deliciousness will be great for some of the Feburine breakfasts. Combined with whole milk, it will be just like having a chocolate milk shake, only crunchy! My generous addition of raw, or thawed nectarines will be a perfect match, giving the breakfasts some much needed substance.

However, the highest accolade of all must go to the Pizza.

Home cooked pizza perfectly incorporates controlled amounts of two dangerous, non-filling deliciousnesses, namely cheese and salami, into the meal.

We buy fresh pre-prepared pizza bases from the supermarket. The first step is getting the temperature of the oven to very hot, I mean really hot, the top of the dial, so it is important to have that happening while getting all the pizza toppings ready.

Now I would classify onions, green capsicums and tinned champignons as, “Not at all dangerous, quite filling deliciousnesses”. One could eat truck loads of them. The trouble is why would one want to eat truck loads of them? The answer to that is so obvious, right?

When they are added as toppings on a pizza, combined with 50 grams (5 thin slices) of commercial brand cheese, 50 grams of sliced hot salami, tomato paste and crushed garlic. When all the ingredients are cooked together for about ten minutes, I become more convinced about the deliciousnesses part of the classification. Onions, green capsicums and tinned champignons become elevated, closer to heaven.

I know that our recipe for home cooked pizza will not win any cooking competition, Pete and Mannu would find the proportions quite unusual, but it does win my “Wattle Weight Warrior” five star value recipe award.

Weigh day has arrived.

The news is good. The stringent eating plan of Januberry, combined with gentle walking has resulted in a weight loss of a bit more than one and a half kilograms. I am delighted. The point on the graph will read 78.5 kilograms.

The next few months are going to be devoted to not putting that weight back on again, but at the same time introducing some delicious calories to prevent a downwards spiral.

Just in case you do not have a pancake recipe, here is ours. It makes four serves.

“Pancakes” adapted from the traditional.

Place one cup of sifted plain flour in a large mixing bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and one egg. We use 185 mL whole milk (about three quarters of a cup). Using a wooden spoon slowly mix in the milk, small amounts at a time. The mixture becomes a runny liquid which has a similar runniness as thickened cream.

Pour one half of the mixture into a cup to make the second pancake. We make a foil lid for it and refrigerate it to be cooked the next night.

On low heat use a small amount of salted butter (about one quarter of a teaspoon) to melt on the bottom of the skillet frying pan. Bring the temperature to about half way around the dial, on ours it is 5 out of 10. Pour in the other half of the mixture encouraging it to spread across the bottom by moving the pan around, tilting it carefully. Cook the pancake for about 5 minutes till just before it loses the liquid appearance to have a solid look. Using a lengthy spatula turn the pancake over and cook the other side for about 5 minutes.

Cut the pancake in half and serve with fresh or thawed fruit and ice cream.

Enjoy!

Herbs can be an oasis in a lean, almost sugarless culinary desert. I try to highlight one each month… mmmn taste Basil.

Creamy Basil Salad complements pan fried chicken, lettuce and tomatoes so well and is a pleasant change from the more conventional vegetables for some meals in Januberry.

Here is our recipe for “Creamy Basil Salad.”

Boil 4 handfuls of dry pasta per serve, for 20 minutes. We use the large shells shape of pasta, but others such as spirals would work just as well.

Rinse the boiled pasta in cold water to cool them to room temperature.

The amounts of the ingredients to be added to the boiled pasta vary according to taste and to what is in the refridgerator. We add generous amounts of salt and pepper, 100 grams of chopped cashew nuts, a chopped up whole green capsicum and about 90 grams of green basil leaves, also roughly chopped.

Then try adding 150 mL tomato paste and 150 mL of garlic flavoured, sunflower-based aioli salad dressing and stir them in. Add more of each, depending on taste and how liquidy you want the salad to be. Refridgerate the mixture if you want to serve it chilled. Give it a stir just before serving and check if it needs a little more liquid.

Enjoy!

Sometimes a task takes the form of cooking some new type of food.  Last night we had scones for supper.  They were delicious. Here is our recipe.

“Cheesy Cajun Scones”.
(This recipe has been adapted from the traditional.)

Turn on the oven to 250 degrees Celsius. The oven being preheated is important so this is the first action to take. The amounts of ingredients are not strict, just approximations.

Combine 2 cups Self raising flour, 1 level teaspoon salt, one level teaspoon sugar, one heaped teaspoon dried spice or herb (We choose premixed Cajun spice), one heaped teaspoon commercial brand Parmesan cheese. Chop up 50 grams of commercial brand sliced cheese and add into the dried ingredients. Then cut in 50 grams of real, salted commercial brand butter tiny bits at a time. Lastly add in 190 grams of real whole milk, 50 grams at a time, mixing it till the last of the dry substance bits turns into an only just wet dough. Weather effects the recipe, you might only need 180 mL or up to 200 mL.

Place 2 teaspoons SR flour on the clean, dry sink top, or bench top. Place the dough into this and move it around a bit so the the SR Flour gets incorporated into the dough. It will feel less wet, but only just dry. Gently pat it into a shape thats about 30 millimeters high. Place on a chopping board and cut into approx 18 parts. Place the parts on a tray that you previously dusted with SR flour about quarter of a teaspoon.

Timing of the cooking matters. In a fan forced oven try 4 minutes, then rotate the tray and cook for another 4 minutes. Each oven behaves differently, you need to try it out a few times to find the best amount of cooking time. They rise a small amount. After they are cooked place on a metal cooling rack to cool. Serve with a small amount of butter on them.

We have found good success cutting the scones in half when they are cooled and then freezing them, just removing them from the freezer as needed and using the microwave oven to thaw them.