Sweet Fabric:
cooking

Now known in our house as "Firework Soup", so named by the little guy because of the explosion of corn with each bite.

It's very easy & tasty too. All our kids love it but if you'd like a bit of fire with the corn perhaps add some chilli once you've served the kids.

Chicken & Corn Soup

6 Fresh Corn Cobs cooked & then removed from cob
500gms quality chicken mince or breast cooked & set aside

4 Potatoes peeled & chopped
2 Leeks finely chopped (whites only)
Olive oil
1 litre of chicken stock

First add a generous slug of olive oil to your saucepan. Next add the leek & cook until soft & transparent. Then add the potato & the chicken stock.

Cook until the potatoes are soft.

Blend the pototo & leek base until smooth & then add the cooked chicken & corn and heat.

Add some flat leaf parsley & some cracked pepper too.

Enjoy.

This morning I was on the hunt for a nice chicken & corn soup. My kids are having a love affair with corn at the moment & the love of a veg is something I'm always keen to encourage.

I found this recipe in The Thrifty Kitchen (such a lovely cookbook) & once I read the little pre-amble there was really no other choice was there?

I'll let you know if it lives up.

I made a lemon birthday cake for The Date...for desert at the family(his) lunch.

I'd scoured Delicious and found just the recipe. A nice list of ingredients that made me sure the resulting cake would live up to the "delicious" promise.

I made sure I had the best ingredients, nice olive oil, home grown lemons, quality prosecco, beautiful eggs. I set to work and made the cake. It did all the right things in my new oven (which I'm not great mates with yet) & looked gorgeous when I removed it from the tin.

I tasted the tiny bit that stuck to the side of the tin & my heart sank. It tasted very eggy.

What was I worried about? I'm normally pretty good with this sort of thing. I thought that there'd be plenty said about the egg cake rather than the lemon cake. Then all sorts of crazy food poisoning scenarios were running through my head.

I knew I wasn't going to be serving my cake. We went to Browns on the morning of & picked up a white chocolate & raspberry cheesecake (stunning) & a flourless orange cake (meh).

The cake was duly sampled when we returned home on Monday evening & it was, just as the magazine promised ... absolutely delicious.

There's a lesson here ... if you think it's good - it IS good & who cares what other people think.

It really is all about the kitchen this week isn't it? Maybe it's something about the looming auction but I'm feeling the need to feed this week.

This cake is fabulous! One bowl & one spoon - there really couldn't be anything better than that.

Delicously moist & a favourite with the kids.

lemon cake...
1 & 1/2 cups of SR flour
1 cup of caster sugar
1/2 cup of dessicated coconut
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
125gms unsalted butter
1 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 170 C (fan forced).

Prepare your cake tin. I like to use a ring tin for this cake ... but that's just me.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Melt butter in saucepan.

Add melted butter, milk & eggs & mix with a wooden spoon.

Spoon into prepared tin & cook for around 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

PS...yesterday I discovered the joys of toasting the banana bread. It's taken it to a whole new level.

Almost good for you.

Banana Bread

1 cup Self Raising Flour
100g Almond Meal
2/3 cup Caster Sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
4 ripe bananas peeled & mashed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cap of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C.

Line a 4 cup loaf tin with baking paper.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.

In another bowl beat the eggs, banana, olive oil & vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry & mix with a spoon.

Pour into prepared tin & bake for about an hour (just until the top is golden & your skewer comes out clean).

I've made this 3 days in a row. The kids LOVE it & I'm freezing left overs for school lunches next week.

PS: I came in here with my coffee ready to check more creative spaces but the blasted link seems to be on the blink. Sorry & check back later eh? Thanks

This morning while I was shopping for fruit & veg a lovely lady offered some advice.

"Do you know that if you leave the stone from the avocado in the centre of your salad it stops the avocado browning?"

No I did not know! I knew about the lemon thing but had never heard this before. Did you?

I'm taking a green salad to a mates for lunch today. Normally I would cut & toss the avocado through just before serving but today I'm testing out this little gem of a home hint.

I'll edit the post later with the findings.

Edited to add:
I made my green salad at 11am & the stone remained in the centre of the salad until we ate lunch around 2:30pm. The avocado had not browned at all! I don't know how or why this worked but it did!

This post originally titled "Christmas bites".

I gave myself a laugh & then thought better of offending the nearest & dearest.

I fashioned these the other day in order to please the wheat free, gluten free, no tomatoes, no capsicum, no this, no that, no the other eaters in the family. They were very well received by all but the vegetarian (but she's used to fending for herself).

It's a scorching day in and around Melbourne today so I thought some of you might appreciate these little tastes of Australian Christmas.

I just chopped up the cucumber & scooped the seeds out then topped with turkey, cranberry & brie. Delish!

The beach has totally zoned me out. As a classic speedster, always multi tasking it's a complete break & absolutely lovely.

I did just want to pop in & say...

I'm wishing you all a safe & happy holiday. May the pretty drinks be plentiful & the company delightful.

Our kids are masterchefing it with the best of them. They love it!

The Date & I prefer UK but are both enjoying the enthusiasm from the kids. We all watch together each night. The whole experience is much more pleasurable if watched in conjunction with this.

The small boy has been very patiently waiting for chocolate souffle. I'd promised for last night so had to deliver.

I used this recipe from the cook & the chef.

It didn't rise above the ramekins but I think that's because I followed the instructions & only 1/2 filled. Next time I'd do 2/3 full for this recipe.

Needless to say they were a huge hit.

For about 15 minutes making this super speedy, super cheaty kind of dinner for some friends tonight. After school soccer & gym means I need to be prepared. As far as I'm concerned Friday night should be all about the drinks anyway. But it is very tasty.

Then spending the rest of the day on the sewing machine. The buttonholes are being quite good to me so I haven't resorted to buying the foot....yet.

Baked Sweet Potato - Friday night meal
1 garlic
1 onion
250g mince beef
300g red kidney beans
1 tbs tomato paste
1.5 cups salsa

Fry onion & garlic in olive oil until translucent.
Add mince to pan & brown.
Stir in remaining ingredients & simmer.

To cook sweet potato. Peel & rub with olive oil. Cook on a rack in a 200C oven for about an hour.

To serve: Slice sweet pototo in half & spoon mince on top. Serve with sour cream, avocado & cheese.

Happy Friday.

In anticipation of the hot week ahead I've done all the "back to school baking" today.

I made:

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins
Mixed Berry & Pistachio Muffins
& Ham & Cheese Pikelets

Now all frozen & ready for next week.

A few years ago I was given this base muffin mixture by a mum at school who is a breakfast chef. They're good & it makes heaps!

Muffin Mixture

5 cups Self Raising flour
1.5 cups of brown sugar
Mix together in a big bowl.

5 eggs
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup milk
1 cup oil (I use sunflower)
Whisk together in a small bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry & mix. Stir through 2-3 cups of fruit/nuts/chocolate/vegies.

EDIT: Whilst you can eat the mixture raw (& it probably won't kill you) it's best to cook at 180C for 12-15 minutes for the mini muffins & about 20 minutes for the cupcake sized ones. Also, I have those silicone muffin cases & I think I would have baked 1000 muffins at least in them.

I make these in bulk & freeze them. Then they get added straight from the freezer to the lunchboxes each day. They thaw by recess.

You'd think after 12 years of preparing meals for kids I'd have sussed this one before now.

Hey... I'm a bit slow on the uptake & it takes ages to chop those vegies up so small.

The big girl is by far the fussiest but none of the kids like carrot. The last two weeks I've been serving up massive scoops of these raw vegies & they've been eating the lot!

I'm calling it salsa so it sounds more exotic. But not matter how you sell it - it's still just a plateful of raw veg with all the nutrients included.

The boy even mixed it through his homemade fried rice last night!

kangaroos & holden cars. Classic Australian advertisement - it gave me a chuckle.

Classic September fare - the meat pie. I'd not made them before so I found a base recipe & then adapted to include some veg for the smalls & following my "use what you have" method of cooking.

So today's contribution to Mikes week of baking is:

Meat Pie a la me

1 kg quality mince
1 zucchini
2 onions
1 big handful of mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
4 tbs plain flour
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/3 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 litre of stock (I used chicken)
1 tsp dried herbs (I used basil)

Puff Pastry
Egg Yolks

Preheat oven to 180C.

Process the zucchini, mushroom, onion & garlic.

Heat a bit of oil in a large frypan (about wok size). Add the veg mix to the pan & saute for a couple of minutes. Add the mince & brown.

Add the flour & mustard & cook & stir for a minute or two. Add the tomato, Worcestershire, stock & herbs. Bring to the boil & then simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the mixture has reduced & thickened.

Allow to cool.

Prepare your pastry casings. Because I'm lazy I just made square pies - less prep & less clean up. Plus the smalls didn't mind a bit. It tastes the same no matter what shape it is right?

Brush the sides with egg yolk. Spoon cooled mixture onto the pastry & seal edges with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with more egg yolk & cut slits in the top of each pie.

Place the pies onto a baking sheet & cook for about 15 minutes or until pies are puffed & golden.

MUST be served with tomato sauce.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm not so much for the meat but I loved this! Good for the iron levels.

for a week of baking at Mikes.

It's OK there's only Vodka in the icing (which can, of course be substituted for tap water).

How we love a Capiroska.

Now we can eat them too!

Capiroska Cupcakes
1 & 1/2 cups of SR flour
1 cup of Brown Sugar
1/2 cup of dessicated coconut
grated rind of 1 lime
2 eggs
125gms unsalted butter
1/2 cup of ginger beer
1/2 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Melt butter in saucepan.

Add melted butter, milk, ginger beer & eggs & mix with a wooden spoon.

Spoon into patty cases & cook for around 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Icing
1 cup icing sugar
grated rind of 1/2 lime
vodka (around 1/4 cup)

Sift icing sugar, add lime rind & then vodka (gradually until a smooth consistency is achieved).

Ice & enjoy (just as you would the drink).

Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

Everyone has a recipe for Spaghetti Bolognaise, sometimes closely guarded secrets. I know it's kind of boring but I promise it's good. I've photographed it in the pot so you can see just how much it makes.

I make a batch of this every few weeks & then freeze in kid size portions for weekday dinners.

Spaghetti Bolognaise
1 Kilo of quality mince
1 large brown onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of celery
1 large carrot
1 big handful of mushrooms
1 red capsicum
1 large zucchini
1 large tin of crushed tomatoes
1 small tin of tomato puree
1 cup of beef stock
1 Tbs of brown sugar
140gms of tomato paste
1 slurp of worcestershire sauce
Herbs dry or fresh (today I used fresh basil & some dried "Italian Herbs")
1 cup of red wine
1/2 cup of milk
water to "wash out" all tins & jars added to the pot also

Brown the mince in your biggest saucepan. So you get an idea of volume I make this in an electic frypan.

Using your food processor, process all vegetables & add them to the mince.

Add remaining ingredients. Give it all a good stir & let it simmer for about an hour.

This makes a super rich & lovely sauce which can be easily "stretched" by adding a jar of provisto sugo or more crushed tomatoes.

Especially good for kids who aren't big vegetable eaters.

Sunday Supper hosted by Meet me at Mikes.

The little guy & I have spent the afternoon in the kitchen doing a bit of cooking for school lunches.

I've made cake: one for Brown Owls & one for snacks.

The little guy made raspberry pikelets.

Raspberry Pikelets
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1 Tbs caster sugar
1 egg beaten
1 cup of milk

1/3 bag frozen raspberries

Mix flour & sugar together in a bowl.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.

Add milk & egg to the well & using a wooden spoon gradually beat dry ingredients into the milk & egg.

Once mixed stir through the raspberries.

Heat fry pan, grease lightly & add spoonfuls of the pikelet mix to the pan turning once the bubbles appear...you know the drill.

Cool inside a tea towel on a wire rack. I'm not sure why you do this but my mum did it & my grandma did it so it must be right!

Freeze in a plastic container & add to school lunch boxes.

They thaw beautifully in time for play lunch. We do this for cake & muffins too.

Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

Our supper tonight will be left over party food.

The smallest is having a little party today & requested rice paper rolls. She's not the best eater & frankly I had visions of me slaving over the blasted rice paper rolls & then the 7 year old misses taking one bite of them & leaving the rest to go into the rubbish bin.

So today the girls & I made:

Kiddie Rice Paper Rolls (which I am positive will be eaten).
Shaved chicken breast
Grated carrot
Shaved cucumber

all rolled up & easy for the kids to have a crack at too. Not exactly gourmet but the small girl is so excited about serving these up to her friends.
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Sunday Supper hosted by Meet me at Mikes.

This could be my favourite "in a flash" dinner. I love it.

Fried Haloumi with Tomato
1 Piece of Haloumi Cheese
1 Tomato chopped
a few leaves of fresh basil chopped

Chop the tomato & basil & add the dressing set aside.

Add a splash of olive oil to a frypan & cook the cheese for a couple of minutes each side.

Serve topped with the tomato & basil mix. The saltiness of the cheese along with the tomato & basil is just sooo yummy.

Dressing:
a good slug of olive oil
a good slug of balsamic vinegar
Pinch of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard

Shake in an old jam jar & store in fridge until required.

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Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

More breakfasty I know, but when I like something I'll eat it day or night & I really like this.

Smashed Strawberries
1 Punnet Strawberries
2 Pieces of your favourite bread
Cream Cheese
1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 160 C.

Cut the tops off the strawberries. Sprinkle them with sugar & leave to stand for about 15 minutes.

Place cut side down in a baking tray & cook until they smell like jam & start to ooze (about 15 minutes).

Meanwhile toast bread & heat balsamic vinegar & a bit more sugar over low heat to disolve sugar.

Spread toast with cream cheese, top with 3 or 4 strawberries & then "smash" them with a fork.

Drizzle with balsamic mixture & enjoy.
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Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

My smalls are not the best eaters. I'm trying to encourage them to broaden their tastes a bit. The big girl especially would happily live on white food alone! With my goal in sight I picked up some teeny asparagus at the fruit shop this week & with this image in my head set about making this for their dinner. It's more of a construction than a recipe.

They LOVED it!

Birds Nest Pasta
1 Chicken Breast
Sweet Paprika
1 bunch tiny asparagus - chopped
1 handful of mushrooms - sliced
1 egg per person
1 birds nest pasta per person

Rub Sweet Paprika into the chicken breast & pan fry. Slice finely & set aside.

Cook the mushrooms in the same frypan.

Boil water in a large saucepan. Steam asparagus & set aside. Use this water to cook the pasta.

Return the sliced chicken & asparagus to the frypan with the mushrooms & keep warm.

In a separate pan poach the eggs.

Place the pasta in the centre of the plate. Then scatter your vegie & chicken mix around the pasta. Top with the egg sprinkled with Parmesan (& cracked pepper if it's for anyone over 12).

Enjoy.

I think I'll have a couple of Stacey's cheese cubes & cocktail onions for befores & I'd kill for a Melbourne Bitter Cam. I'm so glad you guys could make it to Slide Night.
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