SWEET CORN BAKE

Preheat oven to a solid 160 deg C
Melt 15gm of ghee in a pan and add 2 tsp of flour
Remove from the heat and slowly add 1/3rd of a cup of evaporated milk .
Return to the heat and stir until thickened .
Add a pinch of salt and a cracked pepper .
150gm of drained asparagus cuts
65 gm of creamed sweet corn .
Divide the mix between 4 ramequins ...retaining 4 tbs
Top with slices of a hard boiled egg .
Finish off with a tbs of corn mix on top of egg slices .
Mix together 1/4 cup of grated tasty cheese and 1 tbs of breadcrumbs .
Sprinkle this over the top of the ramequins
Bake in a moderate oven till golden .

NOELENE`S PAVLOVA STACK

A phone call to ask for directions to our home ......OMG ..what can I offer with tea and coffee .
A  quick look in the fridge ...
A bottle of thickened cream
1/2 circle of choc ripple cake ..out it  comes
1/2 a bowl of pineapple fluff .... out it comes
Right at  this time approx. 10 .45 am , my visitors are about 30 mins from my home .
My  pantry offers a box of mini meringues ....
The freezer offers frozen berries ....
So I grab the bottle of cream... and straight away put it  in the mixer with some icing sugar ....and beat to really thickened .
Grab a medium sized plate ...now start constructing .... (with no time ...you cant overthink your options ...you go with what you know .)
I coat the mini meringues with the really thick cream and place them on the plate in a snake  pattern .
Top with pineapple fluff
I thinly  slice the chocolate ripple cake and lay it over the meringue base .
Spread a layer of cream over the cake slices .
Now add meringues in a circular snake pattern over the cream
Repeat process till you end with a topping of meringue .
Add the left over cream to fill any spaces on the stack ...then finish off cream with a border of cream around the base of the pavlova  stack .
I place frozen berries sprinkled with icing sugar in the cream base ...
I find  a bottle of chocolate syrup  ( diet )
Drizzle over the stack ....
Place it in the refrigerator ........
The guests arrived ..
Tea and coffee was offered ..
Discussion ensued ..
Tea and coffee was offered with pavlova stack..
This was well received ..It was so yummy ...what they didn't know was how easy it was to construct ..
Thank God for leftovers .

I`M SHATTERED

On Masterchef series 7 ,Marco Pierre White used a chicken stock cube in his tomato sauce for spaghetti.
I am shattered  and Elizabeth David will be turning in her grave ...him being English and all.
Stock cubes are an  abomination to food and there is no excuse for using them .

ROAST PIG`S HEAD

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C .

Place 4 tbs of duck fat / ghee / or some sort of animal fat into an oven dish big enough to hold 1/2 a pig`s head .
Add 6 onions peeled and halved and 8 cloves of garlic peeled and left whole .
Place the tray into the oven and let the onions and garlic sweat , you will need to shake the pan to prevent the onions and garlic from burning , but you need  some colour .
Now to prepare the 1/2  pig`s head ....cover the ear of the pig with foil to prevent it from burning .
Place the head in the tray and pour over a  glass of brandy .
Add a handful of fresh parsley , rosemary and thyme .
Now add 375 ml of dry white  wine and add chicken stock to partially cover the 1/2 pig`s head .
Season with salt and pepper .
Cover the head with baking paper and secure this with a layer of foil wrap.
Bake this for 3 hours until the pig`s cheek is totally giving .
At the 2.5 hour  mark remove the foil and baking paper covering to allow a little colour on the cheek.
Continue to cook.
When ready to serve..... remove the pig`s head to a warm plate and serve with wilted greens and Dijon mustard .
Please ask your butcher to leave the brain in ....as this will be perfectly cooked in this manner .
Enjoy.

 

RAW LEMON CHEESECAKE

There is no dairy in this cheesecake .
Cashews and coconut cream making the filling on a nut , date and chia base , ( the combination of which can make you feel full longer ).
Grease a 22cm spring form pan with coconut oil .
Place 200gm of macadamia nuts , 12 pitted medjool dates and 2 tbs of white chia seeds  in  the bowl of a processor and pulse till finely chopped .
Using your hands press the mix into the base of of your prepared tin.
Place in the freezer .
Clean the bowl of your processor and place 450gm of cashews along with 270ml of coconut cream , 1/3rd of a cup of coconut oil , 2tbs of maple syrup , the juice of 2 lemons and the grated zest of 2 lemons.
Process for 5 minutes until a smooth paste forms .
Pour over the base and smooth the surface .
Freeze for 2 hours or overnight .
Remove from the freezer for 15 minutes before serving
Decorate sparsely with candied citrus peel or a drizzle of passionfruit pulp .
I made this raw cheesecake  for class and added raw cacoa and made it in several tiny flans .

I let  the mini cheesecakes set and then joined them in a log formation .

Froze the log and prior to serving I sliced the log in half lengthwise and topped with natural passionfruit pulp and fresh berries .

 

PINEAPPLE CREAM SHERBERT

Combine 2 cups of buttermilk
1/2 cup of  castor sugar
1 cup of crushed pineapple with juice .
Spoon into the icecream making machine .
Follow manufacturers instructions .
Remove and spoon the mixture into a chilled bowl of your electric mixer
Add the unbeaten egg
2 tsp of vanilla extract
Now beat the mixture until light and fluffy.
Place back in the pan of the ice cream machine and churn until firm .
Freeze until ready to serve .

GYPSY`S ARM ..A VARIATION ON THE SWISS ROLL RECIPE

Line a 15 by 10 inch tray with baking paper .
Preheat your oven to 180 deg C

Beat 5  egg whites until stiff but not dry
In a separate bowl beat the 5 egg yolks until thick
Gradually beat in batches  3/4 cup of castor sugar
The finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of  sifted plain flour
Beat until thoroughly blended .
Now add the egg whites to the mixture , lifting the spoon to blend thoroughly and remove air bubbles .
Pour batter over the pan and gently spread out evenly..

While the cake is baking prepare the filling .....
Sift 1/2 cup of icing sugar ..set aside .
Beat  250gm of cream cheese  ( softened to room temp ) until smooth .
Add 2 tbs of orange blossom concentrate
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon .
Now beat in the icing sugar , a little at a time , until filling is very smooth .
Set aside .

Bake for 15 minutes , until cake springs back when touched .
Loosen around the edges and turn cake out onto baking paper which has been sprinkled with icing sugar .
Spread filling over the hot cake
Roll up quickly
Dust with 2 tbs of icing sugar .