HEDGEHOG SLICE

Hedgehog slice for Christmas ....Yes please .
Crush 250 gm of plain sweet biscuits  ( leaving some lumps )
Place the crumbs in a bowl with 3/4 of a cup of chopped walnuts .
Melt 125 gm of butter in a small saucepan with 125gm of castor sugar 2 tbs of cocoa , 2 tbs of desiccated coconut and 1 tsp of vanilla extract ...over a low heat .
Once the butter has melted remove from heat , stir and allow to cool.
Then add 1 lightly beaten egg .
Now add this to the nut and biscuit mixture .
Melt 200gm of a good quality dark chocolate and stir this through the biscuit mixture .
Push the mixture into a slice tray .
Sprinkle with shredded coconut .
Place in refrigerator to set .
Cut into squares to serve ..

LENTILS AND RICE

1/2 cup of wild rice mixed 1/2 cup of brown rice .
Place in a steamer with 2 cups of water cover , the rice will be cooked when all the water is absorbed.
Remove from steamer and stir to mix the rice .
Now simply stir through 1/2 cup of tinned lentils that have been drained and washed .
1/2 cup of currants that have been soaked in red wine vinegar
2 tbs of freshly torn mint leaves
1 onion peeled , sliced and oven baked till crisp and dark ...
Season to taste and serve as a side or a light meal .

MERRY CHRISTMAS MANDY AND ROSS

Almond meal and lemon cake .
Enjoy Christmas and your holiday on the north island of New Zealand

ARMENIAN NUTMEG CAKE

Preheat your oven to 160deg C
Spray and line a 20cm round pan .
Sift 2 cups of plain flour and 2 tsp of baking powder to a bowl
Mix in 2 cups of soft brown sugar
Using your finger tips rub in 125gm of margarine .
Lightly press 1/2 of this mixture onto the base of the prepared pan .
In a separate bowl add 1 lightly beaten egg
1 cup of milk
1 and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
Now pour in the remaining crumb mixture .
Pour into the pan and sprinkle with chopped walnuts .
Bake in the well preheated oven for 1 and 1/4hours or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean .
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack .
This is a delicious sweet and spicy tea cake .

THE SPICE ISLAND CAKE

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C....
Spray and line a loaf pan ...
Cream together 70gm of castor sugar , 100gm of soft brown sugar with 170gm of  room temp margarine .
Continue to beat with an electric mixer until pale light and fluffy .
Add 3 lightly beaten eggs a little at a time .
Measure out 170 gm of self raising flour and stir through 2 tsp of baking powder .
Now incorporate the mixed flour into the batter and gently beat till the batter is soft and thick .
Add1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2tsp of ground cloves
1/2tsp of ground cardamom
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Finally add  3 tbs of milk to help distribute the spices through the batter .
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan
Bake for 35minutes in the well preheated oven or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan .
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack .
This cake can be served warm with ice cream  .
Enjoy  the aromas of the island spices wafting through the kitchen ...mmmmm!

VEGAN CHRISTMAS ROAST DINNER WITH GRAVY

Preheat your oven to 200deg C
Bring 160 ml of water to the boil in a small saucepan
Add 70 gm of white quinoa to the boiling water and cook covered till tender ...about 15 minutes , set aside to cool .
Scoop out the flesh from a large zucchini that has been halved lengthways .
Leave a 1/4 inch border and reserve the flesh from the zucchini .
Scoop the seeds from a whole butternut pumpkin which has been halved lengthways .
Now scoop the flesh from the pumpkin leaving a cavity large enough to fit the zucchini ....reserve the flesh of the pumpkin .
You may need to trim the zucchini to fit inside the pumpkin .
Using a skewer dock the insides of both the zucchini and pumpkin .
Its now time to process the flesh of zucchini and the pumpkin along with 1 small chopped onion and 2 tbs of minced garlic .
Cook this mixture in a pan over a medium heat with a glug of oil .
Add 2 tbs of fresh thyme leaves and the quinoa continue cooking for 5 minutes or until the mixture is tender .Set aside to cool .
Now combine 1 dsp of flaxmeal with 2 tbs of boiling water in a medium bowl and let stand for 10 minutes .
Mix in the quinoa mixture , 35gm of dried cranberries and 35 gm of hazelnut meal .
Press some of the stuffing mixture into the zucchini cavities
 Press 1 small leek ( white part only ) into one half of the zucchini and cover with the other half .
Press remaining stuffing into pumpkin cavities .
Place stuffed zucchini into one half of the pumpkin cavity and cover with the other half .
secure pumpkin together with kitchen string .
Brush the secured pumpkin with a little oil and season to taste .
Wrap in foil and place on a baking tray in the preheated oven .
Roast for 1 and 3/4 hours .
Then remove foil and roast uncovered until slightly browned and tender .
Let sit for 30 minutes while you make the vegan gravy ....
Use 50gm of margarine and heat in a medium saucepan over a low heat .
Add 80 gm of finely chopped onion .
Stir until slightly browned
Add 2 tbs of flour and slowly stir in 2 cups of vegetable stock and 1 tbs of tamari ...


ALTERNATIVELY you can prepare your Christmas pumpkin this way and serve it sliced with your roast meats , potatoes and peas .

FINAL COOKING CLASS FOR 2017......TUESDAY DECEMBER 5TH.

Thank you  all for  supporting the cooking classes , wow what a food journey we have been on this year .
We have travelled the world in our flavour combinations .
Well done to everyone ...
For our final class I am going to teach you to make pizza bases .....
You will need to bring along a pizza tray .
You all know what you like so I'm asking you to bring along the ingredients for your topping ....
You decide what you want , maybe you could consider a fruit pizza , baked nectarines or pears with a cheese of your liking .
Consider all your options ...avocados , diced bacon pieces , maybe a packet of gourmet sausages for a meatball pizza .whatever you like !
Give some thought to the cheese you want atop your pizza .......
Please bring along .....
the ingredients for your pizza topping
pizza tray
1 egg
1and 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese ....
I will also prepare a Christmas pizza for us to all share ....with a cuppa .
Looking forward to seeing you for the end of year class .
Noelene Marchwicki