Christmas Bark

I love reading Karen Cheng's blog and especially love it when she post simple and creative recipes on her blog. This christmas bark is adapted from her blog: http://www.karencheng.com.au/2013/11/27/amazing-chocolate-bark/

I like to call it Christmas bark as it has all the nice bright colors to match the festive season and also, it was part of a lazy attempt to get easy dessert out for our Christmas lunch.

Ingredients:

- 1 packet of Malt and Milk biscuits from Arnotts.

- Pretzels

- Oreos cookies

- Lollies

- Pistachio nuts, lightly pounded into small pieces

- Chocolate chips

- M & M

- 1 bar of baking chocolate (melted)

Method:

1. Melt chocolate bar in microwave in 30 seconds interval. I manage to melt my chocolate within 60 seconds

2. Line a rectangle tray with foil and arrange the biscuits nicely on the tray

3. Pour the melted chocolate over the biscuits and then start decorating

4. You can put any yummy goodies you like in this bark. I just make used of all our leftover candies, biscuits and nuts. The more salty items the better it tastes.

5. After decorating, place in the fridge overnight for it to set.

6. Just break it into pieces to eat. The kids will enjoy this colorful, fun dish.

These are the stuff I used for my Christmas bark. You do not need alot, just small bowls of each treat as the bark can get really heavy with all the toppings.

 2 trays of biscuits

 

All done. Easy peasy

M & M Birthday Cake

Another milestone for the family. Cake recipe adapted from:
http://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/best-chocolate-cake-ever/

Butter cream recipe also adapted from the same site:
http://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/buttercream-cupcake-frosting-recipes/

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
200g (7.05 ounces) 70% cocoa dark chocolate, I used Plainstowe Chocolate bars.
320gms Butter
8 eggs
2 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, I used Plainstowe dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Melt chocolate bar and butter in microwave. Check every 30 seconds to ensure all ingredients are melted nicely. Place aside for it to cool

2. Whisk egg and sugar together. Thermomix Speed 4, 5 seconds
 
3. Combined egg and chocolate mixture from Step 1. I used Speed 4 for 10-15 seconds. 
4. Sift the dry ingredients, Flour, Cocoa powder and baking powder

5. Mix in the dry ingredients in the wet ones. I used the same Thermomix settings and just stop when all ingredients are nicely incorporated.
6. I distribute the mixture between 2 round 9 inch baking tins. Baked this for 20 minutes at 160C



Butter cream Ingredients:

120g (4.23 ounces) butter
1 1/3 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder, i used the same Plainstowe powder as the cake.
1-2 tsp milk

Iced the cake when it is cooled.

For decorations, i used Cadbury chocolate fingers ( 3 packets), 4 packets of M & Ms. Just lined the chocolate fingers around the cake and then decorate as you like for the top of the cake.

Meat Balls and Pasta

Another one of my experiments with minced and pasta.

The last time i made spinach meat balls, it tasted quite dry. This time i tried with different ingredients and cooking method. The outcome is moist meatballs but need to cut down on the amount of bread crumbs next time.

Ingredients (meatballs):
- 500gms on minced. I used pork this time
- Half a zuchinni
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- Salt and Pepper for seasoning
- 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs soaked in milk
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Ingredients (pasta sauce)
- 4 large ripen fresh tomatoes
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 bottle of Domios Pasta sauce (optional, i only added this cause i cooked in large batches and needed more sauce)
- 1 carrot
- half zucchini ( leftover from meatballs ingredient)
- 1 Onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- handful of fresh herbs ( i used basil)
- handful of dried herbs( i used oregano)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- Olive oil to cook

Pasta
- 700gms of elbows
- pot of water (add olive oil and salt)

Method:
1. Prepare the meatballs first
2. I used the Thermomix to blend the vegetables and mix all the ingredients. Speed 5 and check for desired consistency. A food processor will work just fine for this.
3. Minced the zucchinni, onion and garlic. Add the minced meat, egg, soaked breadcrumbs and seasoning
4. Roll the balls and placed them on a lined baking tray
5. Baked them on 175C for 20 minutes. You don't need them cooked as they will cook again in the pasta sauce

6. While the meatballs are baking, continue with the pasta sauce.
7. Heat a large saucepan with olive oil
8. Placed all minced ingredients and cook till they are tender
9. Pour in diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, herbs seasoning, sugar and just cook till sauce thickens
10. I cooked this for a good 20-30 minutes and kept on adding seasoning till the right taste is achieved.

11. While the sauce is cooking, start with cooking the pasta. I used elbows. Follow packet instructions to cook.

The final dish. Meatballs had way too much breadcrumbs cause i accidentally pour more than a cupful of them. A reminder to not repeat that.

There a more steps in preparing this dish but it provides a good balance for the family and it is also an enjoyable meal. I have freeze some meatballs and plenty of leftovers for everyone the next day.

Stir Fry Chicken and Kale

Ingredients:
500gms of chicken strips
8 ounces kale (peeled only the leaves and leave the branch)
Handful of Shitake Mushrooms (soaked till soften)

Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch black pepper
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
 
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil for stir-frying

Method:
1. Combine the sauce ingredients

2. marinade the chicken pieces in the sauce for around 15-20 minutes
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat with a tablespoon of the canola or vegetable oil. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry until they are no longer pink, 2 - 3 minutes. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point.

4.Add the kale, mushrooms and the remaining sauce. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and the kale and mushrooms are softened, 4 - 5 minutes. Serve hot on top of rice or with a separate bowl of rice. I added a few tablespoon of the water used to soak the mushroom as i wanted more sauce in my dish.

Apple Crumble

I love tart desserts and love anything with apples and nuts.

We had some friends over on Melbourne Cup Day and i wanted to make something refreshing. I put together this recipe from the internet and just modified it to suit my taste. It was abit too tart but i love it that way. Not such a hit with the kids but the adults like it. Healthy, refreshing and in my opinion yummy. Please do try it.

Ingredients (crumble):

- 75gms walnuts

-100gms almonds (with skin on)

- 100gms flour

- 85gms butter

- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- 40gms raw sugar (adjust to suit taste)

Ingredients (fillings):

- 3 large green apples (skin peeled and cored)

- 2 large pears (skin peeled and cored)

- 1 bunch of Rhubarb (pick the nice red parts and chopped to 2 cm sizes)

- grated ginger (just a small piece)

- good squeeze of lemon juice (half a lemon)

- 35gms honey

- 10 gms of brown sugar

Method:

- I cooked the filling first. Chopped and core all the fruits. I squeeze a whole lemon in which is why it is so tart. I think half a lemon will be good enough for this recipe.

- All the fruits total to 1kg in the Thermomix and place all ingredients in the bowl

- Cooked it for 8 mins/100degress/Speed 1

- Place the cooked filling in the baking dish. I let it set for a while and baked it only when it is ready to be serve.

- while the filling is cooling down, i proceed with the crumble. 

- I pre toasted (7 mins at 175C) the walnuts and almonds to give it an extra crunch. I also saved some chopped walnuts to sprinkle on top of the crumble before the baking process.

- Place all the crumble ingredients in the bowl. I used the turbo button to slowly get the consistency i like. I prefer by crumble with a slight texture, if you like it really fine, then you can get it to mix longer in the processor.

- As my filling was too tart i had to add more sugar for the crumble. Feel free to adjust as you go.

- I set the crumble aside and just spread it on top of the filling when ready to bake. Remember to sprinkle with more nuts.

- Bake for 20 minutes or golden brown on a 180C oven.

- You can substitute with any nuts.

 The filling getting ready to be cooked in the Thermomix

Pre toasted nuts.

The beautiful colour of Rhubarb. I have never used them in any cooking but they taste delightful. Nice tart taste which combines nicely with the apples and pears. I serve the apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and yet it was still tasting way too tart. :) cool it on the lemon next time ..

I did not have a chance to take a picture of the final product as everyone was digging into it way too fast. But definitely a keeper for hot summer dessert.

Vegemite/ Ham & Cheese Scrolls

 

 Ingredients (Vegemite):

250 g white baker's flour
250 g wholemeal baker's flour
50 g chia
2 tsp dried yeast
40 g extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch sea salt
300 g lukewarm/tepid water
20 g butter, melted
2 tbsp Vegemite
200 g mixed cheeses grated

Ingredients (Ham and Cheese):

250 g white baker's flour
250 g wholemeal baker's flour
50 g chia
2 tsp dried yeast
40 g extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch sea salt
300 g lukewarm/tepid water
Pizza base sauce (2 sachets)
150gm shredded ham
200 g mixed cheeses grated

Method (same for both, just switch ingredients at Step 5):

1. Make dough by placing flours, seeds, yeast, olive oil, salt and water into TM bowl and mix for 6 seconds on speed 6. With dial set to closed position , knead dough for 2 minutes on interval speed .

2. Place dough in an oiled bowl and allow to prove in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. (You could cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel and place in oven set at 40 degrees C).
3. Meanwhile, place the cheeses into the TM bowl and grate for 8-10 seconds on speed 8.
4. When dough has risen, pre-heat oven to 220 degrees C. Use a little of the melted butter to grease a rectangular ovenproof dish.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangular shape. Brush with a little of the melted butter and all of the Vegemite. Next, sprinkle almost all of the cheese on the dough taking care to cover all the edges.
6. Carefully roll into a large sausage shape and use a serrated knife to cut into 10 x 5cm rounds. Turn filling side up and arrange in the baking dish next to each other so there are no gaps.
7. Brush the scrolls with a little butter, sprinkle with extra cheese and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown. The Cheesy-mite scrolls are best eaten straight from the oven but can frozen and defrosted later for the school lunchbox

My dough ready to rise. It took me an hour to double its size. i made double the recipe as i want to make two different types of scrolls.

Flour the surface and get ready for rolling the dough. I cut it to a nicely shaped rectangle. It makes it easier to roll when the shape is consistent

Spreading the vegemite over the butter.

Roll them tight into a huge long sausage :)

 

 All done, getting ready to be bake in the oven. Just waiting for the ham n cheese counterpart.

 

 

Spread pizza sauce all over the dough for the ham and cheese

Sprinkle and go crazy with the ham and cheese. Ham then later cheese

Nicely rolled and waiting for the final touches.

I used up the remaining butter to spread on the scrolls and then sprinkle with a bit more cheese.

Ready to be baked. It took me 20 minutes to complete them
i rotate them between the shelves in the oven just to get an even bake.

 

Both look the same but the top is the vegemite and i the bottom is the hamd and cheese scrolls

 

 





Stir Fry Kale

One of my quick side dish. I am trying to get more vegetables in our family meals. It is difficult with children that despise anything green (or orange or purple...)

I love working with Kale. I just recently discovered this vegetable while having a casual conversation with my sister. I did a quick search and found this vegetable to be very nutritious. The good thing,  it is so easy to cook Kale. It can be used in soups, pasta sauce, and even stir fry. It does not taste bad or smell weird. Just plain simple and a pretty good texture too. 

I did this quick stir fry on one of the weekday dinner meals.

Ingredients:

- whole bunch of Kale (around 5AUD each bunch)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Seasoning of Soy Sauce, Chinese Wine, Pepper

Method:

- Wash the Kale

- I only use the leaves as the stalk is so hard!

- Chopped all garlic and make the seasoning and set aside

- Heat up oil in pan

- Stir fry garlic until fragrant

- Toss Kale in and wait till it settles (the leaves can consume alot of space before it is cooked)

- Pour in seasoning sauce

- Once Kale turns bright green, it is happy and done. Do a few stirs and it is ready to be served.

This just half of the leaves. I do need a bigger pan to fry this. It was as high as a mountain.

Cover it and let it cook a while. The leaves will soften and there will be enough space.

Look at that vibrant green colour. I just love it.

Done.

My Chicken Nugget Recipe

Ever since youtube and media has released so many creepy stories about chicken nuggets, I have avoided any nuggets bought outside. Even the frozen ones. My only solution is to make my own chicken nugget.

Honestly, the ingredients are simple. The steps and the preparation is the messy part. But seeing the exact goodies that goes into my chicken nuggets, it is worth while.

Ingredients:

-2kg chicken breast (i like to make this in bulk and freeze)

- one large zuchinni

- one large carrot

- one large onion

- 3 cloves of garlic

- Salt & pepper to season

- Breadcrumbs (i made alot of breadcrumbs due to lack of bread popularity in my household)

- 4 eggs ( this is the amount i needed to make all my chicken nuggets)

- flour (add this as you go)

- Chia seeds (optional)

Method:

-Make sure you have all the largest pan, plates ready with the ingredients

- I required 2 baking trays ( one to spread my breadcrumbs and chia seeds mixture, another one for the flour)

- I had one bowl of eggs whisked

- I used at least 3 large plates to store the nuggets temporary

- First step, minced the chicken meat. I turbo this in my Thermomix for a few seconds. I remove the meat aside

- Second step, minced the veggies, onions and garlic. I turbo this as well in the Thermomix for few second. I added the seasoning at this stage. I only added around 1 tbsp for 2kg of meat. I realized I do not need a lot of salt for this as my breadcrumbs were already pre seasoned with salt when i made them.

- Third step, mix the chicken and veggie mixture. I like the veggies really minced up as the kids will be picking on them if the are not small enough. Again, i used the Thermomix to do a quick mix on Speed 5.

Now, the preparation. I believe this is the long and messy part.

Take a scoop of minced mixture and roll into a ball. I had to oil my hands as it was very sticky. I rolled them all up and place them on plates before the next step.

Once all the mixture is done, I started coating them in the flour and flattening them into a nugget shape. I finished all the flouring too before moving to the egg part (the tricky part).

At this stage i would have all my containers lined up on my kitchen bench. Start with dipping the floured nuggets in the egg mixture and then putting them in the breadcrumbs mixture. I try to do a batch of 5 egg dips until i have no space in my breadcrumbs mixture tray.

Make sure the nuggets are well coated in the breadcrumbs. Once they are well coated i transferred them to the containers.

I made around 25 semi large sized chicken nuggets with this amount of ingredients. I think if you rolled them up smaller you will get more. My were looking more like a chicken steak. I got lazy. :)

Just bake the nuggets straight from the freezer. No need to thaw them. I sprayed some olive oil on them to give them a nice golden brown colour.

This is just some of the nuggets we had for dinner. They tasted good. the kids enjoyed it and I had extras for lunch the next day. this fed the entire family of 4 plus 2 lunch boxes. My little one himself had 4 nuggets. They were massive size!

After baking in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes. Love Love them.

You can also add any type of vegetables in the chicken nugget. I only used what i could get hold on at that time.

Scrambled Eggs and Sweet Corn

Another quick and healthy side dish.

Just another way of using up some of the stuff in the fridge. I have got eggs and fresh corns.

Ingredients
3 eggs (550gms each)
Milk
2 medium size corn
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil

Method
1. Boil water and pre cook the corn for around 10 minutes
2. I use a knife to slide the sides of the corn to get the kernels out. Of course when the corn has cooled down. Be careful as the corn can be slippery and the knife my slipped when cutting this way
3. Scramble 3 eggs together with a dash of milk. Season with a dash of salt and pepper
4. Heat up non stick pan with olive oil
5. Quickly give the corn a stir and then pour in the scrambled eggs.
6. Done.

This is just another scramble egg version of my simple side dish. It is perfect for days where you need quick meals.

Stri Fry Beef and Tomatoes

Simple everyday dinners.

Ingredients:

100gms of minced beef

1 onion chopped

2 medium sized carrots- minced

3-4 fresh tomatoes- chopped

3 cloves of garlic- minced 

Thick soy sauce

Olive oil

Seasoning - season the beef for around 10-15 minutes

Chinese rice wine - the rice wine takes the beef smell away so it is good.

Cornstarch

Soy Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Heat up wok with 2 tbsp of olive oil

2. Throw minced garlic when oil is hot

3. Once fragrant, throw in the minced beef

4. When it is turning pink, throw in the chopped onions

5. I added in a swirl of thick soy sauce for the dark colour and also some sweetness

6. Cover to cook and you will get some juice in the dish from the beef. I added some additional water as the kids like to have sauce in their dish.

7. Once nearly cook, add in the carrots. Give it a couple of stirs then the tomatoes.

8. Done. This makes enough for our dinner and also enough to pack for lunch the next day.

Chia Bread

Adapted from : http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/wholemealwhitechia-mix-loaf/90806

I baked this on Saturday. Fresh loaf for breakfast.

Ingredients

Bread Loaf

250 g wholemeal flour., I use Atta
250 g white bakers flour., I use Wallaby
10 g dry yeast., I use Lowans
1 tsp sea salt.
1 tsp raw sugar.
30 g Olive Oil.
300 g Warm water.
2 tablespoon chia seeds
6 tablespoon Warm water., up to 8tblspns

Preparation

Bread Loaf

Mix Chia Seeds and 6-8 tablespoons of water to form a gel. Set aside

Add into Bowl in this order
Warm Water (not too hot)
Yeast
Salt
Sugar
Flours
Oil
Mix on 6 for 10 seconds
Add in Chia Gel
Mix on 6 for 10 seconds
Turn to Closed position and Knead for 2 minutes
Empty into a lightly sprayed bowl and put glad wrap over the top Place into a warm place until dough has risen to the top.
Empty onto a lightly floured board/mat and knock down, and shape into a loaf and place into loaf tin. I bought mine from a place in WA called All about bread. Most good kitchen places sell these good quality loaf tins. I use mine at Christmas time for Icecream pudding as well Its a very versatile pan !
I lightly spray my loaf tin with oil.
Then place into a warm place and allow to rise again, at least 3/4 of the way but preferrably to the top
The double rising is one of the ways of ensuring a good loaf
Brush top of loaf with water lightly
Place a container of water in the bottom of the oven. This gives a nice crispy crust
Bake in a preheated oven of 180-190 degrees depending on the temperament of your oven ! allow around 30 minutes. Check after 20mins
At around 30 mins take the loaf out and give it a tap on the bottom and it should sound hollow

Quick Weekday Vegetable Soup

The man in the household loves soup of any kinds. When i have time i will do the slow boiled soups but when it is mid week and dinner needs to be on the table within an hour, a quick anchovy based soup always works. 

Ingredients:

- a handful of dried anchovies

- dried kelp (optional)

- 1 medium size onion

- Few slices of ginger

- 1-2L of water or whatever suits your family size

- Vegetables of choice (i used carrots, wombok and tomatoes)

Method:

- Boil the water in a pot and soaked the anchovies while the water is boiling

- Once boil, throw in the anchovies and onion and kelp and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

- Remove the anchovies with a sieve cause it will taste bitter if left for too long

- throw in vegetables and continue to boil. Throw in the ginger too for a nice heat.

- Add in salt to taste. I had some anchovies stocked made in the thermie a while ago, so i added them in as well.

I love soups like this. Simple, fresh and tasty.

 making the anchovies broth

You can used any type of vegetables. Spinach, cabbage, whatever that is left in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Lemon Curt Tart

Pastry method adapted from:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/SweetPastryCrust.html


We are having some guest over and i just thought of my homemade lemon curd in the fridge, getting very near to be thrown in the bin.

I decided to make a sweet shortcrust pastry from my old time favourite site. Joy of baking is the site i always go to when i started baking. It has clear instructions and video which really helped alot.

These are the ingredients:

Sweet Pastry Crust:

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten



 

I used the Thermomix to cream the butter and sugar. Speed 5 is all i needed.  I then add the dry ingredients and pulse it till it resembles crumbs.

 

 

 Transfer to a bowl and started bringing it together into a ball.

 Wrapped it in cling wrap as per recipe and in the fridge it went. For a good hour or so as I was busy with other chores.

 The pastry is nice and hard when i got to it. It is very difficult to roll this one as it cracks easily. I followed the video on how to get the pastry to the tin.

It was not hard at all. Hard part is fitting it in the freezer for 15 minutes.

 

I poke alot of holes in the pastry and then got it in the oven to bake.

 

 

the finished product. the curd is great. pastry was abit hard to cut through but all good.