Caramelised walnuts, salad and pizza night

So this is one of my new favourite things, caramelised walnuts. I've seen this recipe all over the net but hadn't tried it. So finding myself with an abundance of walnuts i thought it was the perfect time to give it a go. The idea was to make a healthy, sweet snack to avoid the not so healthy kind but turns out i enjoy these more in a savory salad.

Now these are super easy to make and last well in an airtight jar. I hope you'll try them out.

Caramelised walnuts

2 Cups of walnuts

2 T honey

pinch salt

Firstly toast the walnuts in a frypan for 3-4 minutes until golden. Stirring frequently. Be very careful to watch them, toasted walnuts can turn into burnt walnuts very easily.

Once toasted, add the pinch of salt and the honey and cook for a further 2 minutes on a low heat until caramelised. 

Mine were on the borderline to getting burnt! but luckily i saved them in time.

Turn out onto a non-stick plate or mat to cool. Once cooled eat or store in a airtight container.

I sprinkled these on a green leafy salad with some shaved parmesan and a balsamic dressing. It was so delicious i had two helpings. The walnuts aren't super sweet so they were perfect on a salad. I think they would be yummy with some blue cheese too.

It made for a yummy dinner alongside some hummus pizza and my first movie night with my little man.

'just keep swimming, just keep swimming' - excellent advice from Dory.

Have a great week everyone.

xxx

Back from the edge

Hello toe everyone still following along. It's been a while since i have been in this space. Life definately took over this past month and i'm so so happy to be on the other side of that craziness. In short i took on some extra work over the past few months to prepare a group of organisations for audits. Please don't go to sleep quite yet, i know auditing is a not a riveting topic for most but for me i love helping an organisation to find value in an audit and to move forward to better and bigger things.

So for the last month i have lived and breathed it and in truth - it was awful. As i've said i enjoy auditing but with a small son this meant extra long days, extra time in care, dropping out of activities like music groups, play group etc...
I'd like to say first up that some mum's do an amazing job working full time and raising kids but i'm not one of them. The stress piles up, i stop doing as much housework, i'm checking emails while playing with Cohen, i stop eating and cooking, takeaways and snack foods start to take up residence. And the whole while i'm tired, frustrated, stressed and have no energy for my family. Everything i enjoyed dropped away - yoga, coffee with friends, crafts, this blog and quality play time with my son.

And for all that - I am grateful.
- Grateful my mum came and took up residence for the final week, cooking, cleaning and caring for my son. - That is the most valuable thing she could have done.
- Grateful that it is finished.
- Grateful i can choose not to do that again
- Grateful i don't need to work more than is right for our family.
- Grateful to be home
- Grateful to be up to my elbows in stickiness, cartoons, cars and parks.

Life is back in balance and nothing makes me feel better.
So coming back is the crafts, the sewing, the cooking, the baking and the playtime. Life is good this week.

Simple broccoli salad

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and boiled for 2 minutes

2-3 rashers bacon, chopped

parmesan cheese

2 T pinenuts

oil

In a fry pan cook the bacon in a little oil until cooked, then throw in the pinenuts and toast for 2 mins until golden.

Then in a bowl assemble the cooked broccoli, bacon and pinenuts. Top with shaved parmesan to taste and a simple vinegarette.

I used 

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 clove finely crushed garlic

1  whoelgrain mustard

1 t honey

 1 T olive oil

Serve cold alongside roasted meat or with a handful of cooked chickpeas as a main.

xxx 

Red garden soup

I made this soup at the end of autumn with the last of the seasons tomatoes. Yesterday i was feeling a bit under the weather with a cold and thought it was the perfect time to pull a bowl of soup out of the freezer. It is such a delicious nourishing soup recipe, packed with veges and perfect for those cold, damp days, i thought it was about time i shared it with you all.

Red garden soup

So into a pot put 2T oil and heat. Throw in

2-3 sticks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

and 1 bay leaf

Saute for about 10mins

Then throw in your tomatoes. I chopped the bigger ones but left the little ones whole. I used about 1.5kg of tomatoes.

Pour over 3 cups of chicken stock.

Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about 30mins until all the veges are soft.

Remove the bay leaf.

Blend with an immersion blender.

If you like a smooth soup you can also push the soup through a sieve. This is good if the tomato skins are a little tough.

Serve with warm toast and butter, or you can add a dollop of unsweetened yoghurt and some fresh herbs like chopped parsley or coriander for something a little different.

Have a warm, happy day.

xxx

Weetbix slice - thanks Fatmumslim

Inspiration was lacking today, it's baking day but between the housework that needed doing and the sad news of Boston on my mind inspiration was sorely lacking. I'd decided it would be store bought biscuits for afternoon tea until i saw fatmumslims post for her childhood favourite - weetbix slice. Sold. I too have fond childhood memories of this slice, weetbix slice it is.

A lovely crunchy weet-bix base.

Topped with some soft chocolate icing. A bit of a treat for little tummies.

If you want to give this one a go you can find the recipe over here at FMS.

Happy baking everyone and hug your loved ones close.

xxx

Hot cross bunnies (fail)

Easter calls for freshly baked hot cross buns and this year i tried adding a little twist. It was semi successful.....

With visitors coming for easter and being unsure if they ate traditional hot cross buns i decided to split the batch and make half traditional and half chocolate hot x buns. Then for a little fun i thought i'd make a few of them bunny shaped like the many you see going around pinterest and facebook sometimes.

Ah aren't they cute! Unfortunately mine weren't all that successful and came out looking a little more hamster like. lol.

Hahaha that's even funnier in a picture! I won't be giving up my day job yet. On the up side they were super yum! With big chunks of chocolate and just a little spice.

On the other side of things the hot cross buns came out great. This is my go-to recipe if you feel like trying some this weekend.

Hot cross buns

Preparation time 3 hours

Cooking time 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

1½ teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

100 grams butter, softened

2 eggs

4 cups high grade flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon each ground allspice, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg

¼ cup brown sugar

1 cup raisins

milk or egg wash to glaze

Method

Stir the yeast and milk together and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

Beat softened butter and eggs into the frothy mixture.

Put the flour, salt, spices and brown sugar into a food processor and pulse to sift.

Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture mixing until it forms a soft dough. 

Process for 1 more minute.

Add the dried fruit and pulse to just mix.

Turn the dough into a greased bowl, turn over and cover with greased plastic wrap. 

Set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size

Divide into 12-14 pieces roll into a ball and place on a tray, put them about 1cm apart. I like to put them in a round tin.

Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 190 ºC.

Brush the buns with milk or egg wash to glaze. Pipe thin crosses onto the buns with the cross paste.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I don't usually bother with the crosses but if you want to add them

Cross paste

½ cup flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon butter

about ¼ cup milk

For chocolate buns - omit the spices and raisins from the above recipe and add in 1 t cinnamon, 1 T cocoa and 1/2 -1 C chocolate drops.

Lunchboxes - Broccoli and chickpea salad

I'm still feeling very time poor around here and struggling to get everything done in a week. I need to become one of those super organising people who can whip any week into shape and get everything done. I also need to get a unicorn. Not sure which one is more likely to happen.

For the meantime i will plod along trying to get enough done to keep my house from falling apart and my family happy. So here i am tonight to share with you a quick healthy lunch from my week.

Something a little different.

Broccoli and chickpea salad 

Half a head of broccoli

1 drained tin of chickpeas

1/2 C crumbled feta

1/4 C pine nuts

Note - You can add any salad veges you have like tomatoes, chopped spinach, red onion but my cupboards were otherwise bare that day and i love a simple salad some days.

Dressing

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 t wholegrain mustard

1 finely chopped clove of garlic

1/4 C olive oil

1 t honey

pinch salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and set aside

Cut the broccoli into small florets and blanch by throwing into a pot of boiling water for 1-2 mins (depending how crunchy you like it), strain and run under cold water to cool and stop the cooking process.

Chuck in a bowl with the chickpeas and feta.

 Stir through the dressing. 

Done.

I find this is better eaten on the day it's made as the broccoli goes a little soft the next day. It's still tasty though and a good healthy lunch for busy weeks.

Have a great weekend everyone

xxx

Homemade walnut paste and Walnut and bacon pasta

Both the paste and pasta recipes are wonderfully wholesome and packed with flavour. A very nourishing meal that is comforting and healthy.

First up you need to make a walnut paste. 

This is easy and leftovers are delicious on sandwiches.

You need to roast 2 cups of walnuts in the oven. Do this by putting them on a baking tray and putting them in a moderate oven (180C) for about 10mins. Keep a close eye on them, stirring them every few minutes and pulling them out once they are golden brown. There is a thin line between toasted and burnt! trust me i've done it a few times.

Once toasted throw 1 1/2 C of walnuts (save the other 1/2 C for the pasta) ino the food processor with ......

1/4C grated parmesan

1 t minced garlic

the rind and juice of half a lemon

1/2 t salt

1/4 t paprika

1/4 t white pepper

pinch of nutmeg

Pulse till finely chopped and then add in 1/4 - 1/2C olive oil - depending on how thick or thin you want it.

This alone is an amazing dish, perfect on sandwiches, meat, salads and in pasta....

Walnut and bacon pasta

1/2 C toasted walnuts

3/4 C walnut paste

150g sliced bacon

1 tin evaporated milk (or cream if you prefer)

1 C chicken stock

400g cooked pasta.

In a pan cook up the bacon and then mix in the walnut paste. Cook for a few minutes.

Then add in the milk and chicken stock mixing thoroughly. Heat until thickened. This should only take a few minutes.

Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and mix well, add in the last 1/2C of toasted walnuts for a bit of crunch.

This recipe is easy but packed with flavour. Perfect with a crunchy green salad and sure to impress.

Enjoy.

xxx
Sharing again this week over at nourishing joy

Chewy chocolate, cherry and pistachio cookies

This is the best cookie recipe and very versatile. You can use any combination of dried fruit, nuts or chocolate. I love this combination and the green pistachios and the red cherries add a christmassy feel. I have given a plate of these as gifts many times over the years and am always asked for the recipe.
Even better still they are quick and easy to make.

Chewy chocolate, cherry and pistachio cookies

1 C packed brown sugar

1/2C white sugar

1 1/2C self raising flour

1/2 C flour

1 C chopped pistachios

185g butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

200g chopped chocolate (dark is nice)

1 C chopped glace cherries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl

In another bowl combine butter and eggs.

Stir into the dry ingredients until a dough forms.

Mix in the chocolate and cherries.

Place teaspoons full on a greased tray, leaving plenty of space for them to spread.

Bake for 12 minutes until lightly browned.

This recipe makes about 35 cookies so great for feeding a crowd or for lots of gifts.

Have a great christmas everyone.

xxx

There shall be pie

Well christmas is well and truly on the horizon and so much has been going on here. I'm getting itchy fingers with the lack of crafting going on, time has just been so short. I can't wait to have another little project underway, i think tomorrow i will take some time to sort through fabric and find some inspiration.

Among the last few weeks christmas parties was the last craft group meeting for the year. And what better way to finish off the year than with a christmas cocktails and desserts evening.

I will never forget the amazing pies i had while travelling through America many years ago. Fruit pies aren't all that common here. We have apple pie but few others, so i've always wanted to try making a few. And with the glut of raspberries here i decided to give it a go.

A simple recipe from here . So simple i'm embarrassed i haven't tried it earlier. The pastry was whipped up in the food processor and the filling was made in seconds. It was perfect for our dessert night and i got many compliments for it. I had one criticism of the recipe and that is there was too much lemon juice.

Still fun to make and even more fun to eat we will be trying this one again.

take care everyone and make time for a slice of pie

xxx

Potted Christmas cakes

This cool little idea came from my mum who has made these before as gifts.

The still need glazing to look all shiny but you get the idea - potted christmas cakes.

First you need to line a terracotta pot with baking paper. I cut a small round for the bottom and then a long strip to wrap into a cone around the sides.

Then fill the pot with your favourite christmas cake recipe (I've included one of my favourites below) and topping with some nuts and glace fruit looks nice.

Then cook according to your recipe (reduce the time and keep a close eye on it) Because these are smaller and taller than a christmas cake they tend to cook quicker. Also you will probably need to cover these with tinfoil half way through cooking so the top doesn't burnt like my first attempt did!

A lovely gift with a big bow wrapped around them and more interesting to give than a traditional christmas cake. 

So as promised here is one of my favourite christmas cakes - don't scrimp on the essences they really make the cake!

Marjory’s fruitcake

Cream 190grams butter

With 1 cup sugar

And 1 tablespoon golden syrup

Add essences 1 tsp each of  lemon, orange, vanilla and 

almond.

Add 2 beaten eggs

Then add 2 cups of plain flour but don’t mix it in yet

Add

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 kilo of mixed fruit 

500g sultanas 

Coat your fruit with flour, then mix in.

Add 1 tsp baking soda mixed in 1 cup milk.

Bake at 170 degrees C for about 1 and ½ hours, but check after 1 hour.

I hope wherever you are you are enjoying a little bit of christmas cheer.

Scottish Black Bun

This stuff is the mack daddy of christmas cakes. It is the fruit cake all other fruit cakes wish they could be. As the name suggests this is one serious fruit cake - a black, fruit dense filling encased with short pastry.
It looks kinda like a pie until you cut it open to reveal the intense black fruit filling.

Unfortunately i can't show you a picture of the inside as it needs to mature for a few weeks to really develop the flavours. But i found this one online which shows you what it will look like.

Pretty impressive isn't it? A similar texture and flavour to traditional christmas pudding. If you're a fruit cake lover you will love this cake. You need to make this cake!

Black Bun

Pastry

2 1/2 C flour

1/2 t baking powder

150g butter

Filling

3/4C flour

1/2 teaspoon (t) nutmeg

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t mixed spice

1 t cinnamon

1 t ground ginger

1/2 C brown sugar

3 2/3 C raisins

1 1/2 C sultanas

2 1/3 C currants

1/2 C mixed peel

2/3 C chopped almonds

2 t grated lemon rind

2 eggs

2 T brandy

3 T treacle

2 T milk

Make the pastry by combining the flour, baking powder and butter in the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg and mix until the mixture forms a soft dough ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge.

In the meantime in a bowl coat the dried fruit in the flour ( this stops the fruit sinking to the bottom of the cake). Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Yum looks good doesn't it?

Take the wrapped dough out the fridge and cut into 3 pieces. Line a cake tin with baking paper and roll out the 1st piece of dough to fit into the base of the tin. Then roll out the second piece into a long strip to form the sides of the cake. With your fingers press the dough together where the sides and base meet,

Pour the filling into the pastry lined cake tin.

Top with the last piece of rolled pastry and with your fingers press the edges of the cake together so the sides are well sealed with the top. Prick the top with a fork.

 Then brush the top of the cake with egg white and bake in the oven at 150 degrees C for 2- 2 1/2 hrs until the cake is golden brown.

I hope you will give this one a go. It is a real star and lasts for months if stored in a cool dry place.

Feeling festive yet?

Sibyl's biscuit tin- boiled christmas pudding

I love christmas time and i take a rather traditional approach to baking in the festive season. Christmas puddings, fruit cake and christmas tarts are always on my favourites list. In truth though with so much on at christmas i don't always bake my own, particularly christmas puddings. But after many years of buying them i thought it would be nice to try making my own. I'm lucky these days to have a good relationship with a local butcher who was able to supply me with some suet as well.

Christmas pudding making was a bit of a family event this year with my mum visiting and compulsory help from my little man.

Cohen is my expert stirrer and dried fruit tester. This kid loves dried fruit so he was in heaven making this pudding.

The batter came together quickly.

It was a bit more liquid than i expected but it turned out fine in the end.

Pouring the batter into calico cloth and tying up the ends.

Then into the pot for boiling. The spoon stops it from sitting on the bottom of the pot and i placed a plate underneath to prevent this as well.

Then i covered up the pot and bubble, bubble, bubble off it boiled for a few hours.

All cooked and ready for hanging in a cool, dry place until christmas. I'm also going to 'feed' the pudding with a little brandy every few days for a little extra christmassyness - it's a word, really it is..... after plenty of brandy soaked pudding anything counts as a real word.

Traditional christmas pudding

1 1/2C flour

1 C suet

1 C breadcrumbs

1 C raisins

1 C sultanas

1 C mixed peel

1/4 pound glace cherries

1/4 pound almonds (i used ground almond as it's all i had)

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 t baking soda

1 C golden syrup

1/2 C brown sugar

1 large egg

1 C milk

150ml brandy

grated rind of 1 orange ( i used 1 T orange juice)

Mix everything together. Boil in a pudding cloth for 4-5 hrs. Done. Store in a cool, dry place until christmas, feeding 2-3 times a week with a little brandy. On the day of serving either boil or steam for 30mins - 1 hr until piping hot. Serve with brandy butter or cream.

yummy stuff

So now we wait for the big reveal on the 16th at an early family christmas dinner. I'm hoping to do the whole deal with the pudding and make some brandy butter and light the pudding on fire too. I'll let you know how i get on! I hope you're all starting to feel a little christmassy out there too.

On another note my christmas ornament for Christina Lowry designs ornament swap  is in the post today. I hope the recipient likes it!

Take care people

xxx

Roasted pork hocks

For the past few weeks we have been on a mission to work through some of the excess in the freezer and the pantry. Digging around for inspiration in the freezer last week i came across 2 ham hocks. My first thought was soup but the other suggested we roasted them. A quick google search later and yes it appears you can indeed roast them.
So we picked out a recipe called Polish pork hocks and off we went.
First up you boil the pork hocks in a pot with veges, salt and vinegar for a few hours. After they were boiled i realised i hadn't burnt the hair off. Ick, i'm sorry i'm a totally towny there should not be hair on my food. So the other half got the job much to his delight as it meant he could do it with his butane torch.

A lighter probably would have done the job but no where near as much fun i suppose.

Then into the oven they go, i only basted them with honey and a sprinkle of salt.

40 minutes later, golden sticky pork hocks.

They were actually very tasty, the meat was tender and had a very mild ham flavour. A good change from the usual pea and ham soup. Also pork hocks are cheap to buy, so double bonus.

I hope you're all having a great week.

xxx