Something quick and easy for the lunchbox!

I remember making this sort of thing but without the sultanas before the kids went to school... I don't think I even bothered icing it for them and they still devoured it!)


150g butter
1/4C golden syrup
1C sugar
1 1/2C plain flour
1T cocoa
2C malted wheatflakes, cornflakes or ''weetbix''
1/2c Sultanas


Oven at 160


Melt butter and golden syrup together, then add sugar and mix well.


Sift flour and cocoa together then add with the cornflakes and sultanas to the butter mixture. Fold until well combined.
Press into greased, or lined with baking paper, square tin. Bake for 20 mins. Time this carefully as there is no other way of knowing if it is cooked properly or not!


Allow to cool, then ice with chocolate icing if you are so inclined!

My husband's gotta love me!

Made his favourite today - Ginger Kisses
(And, I am not a fan of bought ginger kisses at all, but this version is devine!)

Apparently you have to be very careful with the measurements.... I wasn't, and they still turned out just fine!

125g softened butter
3/8C sugar (80g, 2 1/2oz)
1 large egg
1t ground ginger
1t cinnamon
1 rounded dessertspoon golden syrup
75g flour (1/2C + 1T)
75g cornflour (1/2C + 1T)
1/2t baking soda
1/2t baking powder

Oven at 220

Put first 6 ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth and a light colour.

Weigh or measure dry ingredients carefully into food processor. Process until mixture is smooth.

Spoon mixture into piping bag, with small, plain nozzle. (I used a plastic lunch bag, and snipped one corner off). Can use spoons to shape small even mounds onto baking paper covered oven trays. Piped mounds should be about the size of a half walnut. They rise a lot, so make sure there is space between each one.
Fills two oven trays.

Place trays in oven, and once door is shut turn oven down to 210. Cook for about 5 mins, but keep an eye on them and reduce the time if the bottoms of the kisses are browning. (They burn easily).

Sandwich together with mock cream, (or whipped cream if they are to be eaten soon after filling).

Mock cream...
50g room temperature butter.
1/2t vanilla ess
1/2c sieved icing sugar
about 2T water

Put butter, vanilla and icing sugar in food processor. Add 1T hot water and process until smooth. Slowly add  about 1T cold water. (I only needed about 1/2T water). Finished product should be a light-coloured fluffy cream. Add more water if it is absorbed.
Store filled kisses in cool place so filling hardens.


If, for some misfortune your kisses don't work first time, the failures are quite edible with berries, cream or ice cream for dessert!
If they run over tray you have used too much butter.
If they dont spread enough, you have used too much flour, or too little butter....

I am getting good at Naan bread!

I have made this recipe several times, once by hand, the others by breadmaker. Both methods were just as yummy...
Advantages of bread maker - you don't have to do the hard work
Disadvantages - it takes a bit longer.


1/4C unsweetened yoghurt
3/4C (plus 2T if doing by hand) warm water
50g melted butter
1t salt
1t sugar
1C wholemeal flour
3t yeast
2C high grade flour


(extra butter, or oil, and sesame or cumin seeds - optional)


Breadmaker - measure all ingredients into breadmaker as specified by manufacturer. Set to dough, and START.
Once cycle is completed, shape and bake as below...


Hand made.
Measure first seven ingredients into bowl and mix well. Cover and leave for 15 mins or longer in warm place.
Then stir in flour, adding a little extra warm water if necessary to make dough just firm enough to knead.
Knead on lightly floured surface for about 10mins. Try to keep dough as soft as possible. Can add a little extra water if dough is too firm, or more flour if too soft. (dough should form a soft ball that springs back when gently pressed.)


Turn dough in 2t oil in clean, dry bowl. Cover with clingfilm, and leave in warm place for 30mins.
Turn out dough and lightly knead for 1 min.


Shaping and Baking
Divide dough into four pieces, then halve each piece to give eight balls. Leave to stand for 5 mins.
Roll out each ball into a flat oval shape (about 18cm x 22cm). Brush each side with oil, or melted butter. Sprinkle with sesame or cumin seeds if you want. 
Heat oven to 225-250 degrees. If you have a cast iron pan, or griddle place this on the rack just below middle of oven. (I use a normal baking tray, and it seems to work fine!)
Place one bread at a time (I do two or three at a time) on the very hot pan and cook for 2 mins each side until puffed up and lightly browned on both sides. (Timer comes in very handy here!)
OR - Cook on barbeque, turning once as above.


Eat soon after baking. 


My kids love this, and you can serve it with any type of meal.. it's going to be with stir fry tonight, had it with a mince dish a coupe of nights ago... and kids ate it spread with butter for afternoon tea yesterday!

Chocolate Rocks...!

Poor lad was getting hungry, so had to do some baking specially for him

Chocolate rocks..

250g dark chocolate
100g butter
1/2c castor sugar
1t vanilla ess
2 large eggs
1 1/2c flour
1/2t baking pdr
1/4c cocoa
about 1c icing sugar

Oven at 170.

Heat butter and chocolate gently in pot, stirring often until mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat.
Add vanilla ess and castor sugar. Mix with wooden spoon. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing between each.
Sieve in flour, baking pdr, and cocoa. Mix until well combined.

Put mixture into fridge or freezer until cold enough to make into small balls - about 1/2 hr in freezer.

Sift the icing sugar ino large, round flattish bowl. (unsifted icing won't coat biscuits properly)

Working reasonably quickly divide mixture into four. Then divide portions into 20 small balls. Roll each in icing sugar until fairly thickly coated, then place on tray covered with baking paper. Don't knock off excess icing sugar.
Leave 4-5cm between them as they expand while cooking,

Bake for about 10 mins.

Handle and store carefully to prevent icing sugar falling off!

These look great, but are average tasting! I will only bake again if Miss and Master enjoy!

Rhubarb cobbler!! Back to the olden days...

So, I did some gardening today... got some rhubarb so thought I better use it as soon as!

Fruit mixture
4C chopped rhubarb (1 cm slices)
3/4 C sugar
2T cornflour
1/2C orange juice (or 1/4C orange juice and 1/4C water)
1T butter

Put rhubarb in pot.
Mix sugar and cornflour together, then sprinkle over rhubarb. Add orange juice to pot. Stir, then add butter. Heat until mixture thickens and becomes clear.
Put into baking dish.

Topping
25g butter
1C self raising flour
1t mixed spice
1 egg
1/2 C milk

Melt butter and rub flour and spice into it.
Beat egg and milk together, then add to dry ingredients. Mix until just damp.

Drop spoonfuls of batter over thickened, hot fruit.

Bake for 20 minutes at 200, or until centre feels as firm as edges.

Serve hot or warm with icecream.

Our Miss Apprentice  was scared to eat this as she had heard rhubarb was poisonous... We had to explain that the leaves were, but the stalks were good to eat when cooked. Didn't help when her darling father decided to play a joke and pretend to choke on his first mouthful....

Curry meat loaf - master apprentice even liked it!

1 onion
1 carrot
1 apple - granny smith type flavour
1-2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1T soy sauce
1-2 tsp curry pdr
1 tsp salt
2 sprigs parsley
500 mince (beef or lamb)
1 C rolled oats

Turn oven to 190

Quarter the onion, carrot and apple and put into food processor. Add garlic. Process until finely chopped.

Add all other ingredients except mince and rolled oats. Process.

Add mince (in chunks), then slowly add rolled oats just enough to blend.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper. Press mixture into the tin, and bake for about an hour. Leave for 10 mins once cooked.

Serve it up with your favourite sauce or chutney - we used the tomato sauce from previous post... And first lot of spuds from our garden this season! Scrummy!!

This is a great alternative to my usual mince and sausage meat recipe from Edmonds book...  and the master ate all his with no complaints!

Repeated this again, with variations to the recipe. Was loads nicer!
Used
1 onion
1.5 carrots
1 granny smith
4 cloves garlic
2 eggs
1c milk
2T soy sauce
4t curry pdr
2t sugar
1t salt
4 sprigs parsley
1kg mince
500g sausage meat
1C rolled oats.
Processed first 4 ingredients, added next seven. Then had to remove from mixer 'cos there was too much. Then added last ingredients.

Put into two loaf tins, cooked at 180 fan forced for 45 mins.

Was way yummier and moister than original....
(Even got a 'really good meatloaf' from Mr!)