PAN PIZZA

Mix together 115 gm of self raising flour with a pinch of salt .
Add 1 tbs of rice bran oil and 3 tbs of water to make a soft dough .
Knead lightly  and roll out to form a circle to form a round that will fit your medium sized frying pan .
Heat a little rice bran oil and fry pizza base gently for about 5 minutes until brown .
Turn pizza over , and fry for 5 minutes
Now cover the turned pizza with 2-3 sliced tomatoes , 1/2 tsp of sage and 1/2 tsp of marjoram , scatter small bocconcini over .
Lattice with anchovy fillets and a scatter of 4 sliced kalamata olives .
Place the pizza in the frypan under the griller until the topping is golden brown .

CURRIED ONION PIE

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
PASTRY...this is a really good pastry .
Mix together 170 gm of plain flour with a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper .
Rub 60 gm of butter in with your fingertips .
Add 60gm of grated cheese .
Mix to a stiff dough with 1 tbs of lemon juice ( and a little water if necessary )
Spray a 22cm pie dish with cooking spray and lightly sprinkle with fine polenta .
Roll out pastry and line the pie dish with it .
FILLING ....
Peel and slice 500gm of onions  ( thinly )
Saute in 1 tbs of ghee till softened , remove from heat .
Peel the skin off 1 large tomato and slice .
Measure out 115gm of a tasty grated cheese .
Arrange layers of grated cheese  , tomato and onions in the pie plate .
Using a small bowl, make a paste by mixing together  1 tbs of butter , 1 tbs of plain flour ,1/2 tsp of salt , 1 dsp of madras curry and 1 lightly beaten egg .
Now pour the hot milk over the paste and stir well .
Pour over the onion mix and pastry in the pie dish .
Bake for 35 minutes or until set .
Love this dish !
Heat 1 cup 250ml of milk in a medium saucepan .
 

CAKE PUDDING

Any type of left over cake can be used to make a cake pudding .
For this recipe I used leftover fruit cake .
Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
Slice 500gm of fruit cake into bite sized pieces .
Place in a lightly greased baking tray or oven proof dish .
Spread lemon curd or a jam of your choice over the cake pieces and top with a light sprinkling of desiccated coconut .
Set dish aside .
In the bowl of your electric mixer , beat together 1/2 cup of castor sugar with 3 lightly beaten eggs and 3 cups of milk .
Pour the milk mixture over the cake cubes .
Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the mixture to soak through the cake cubes and incorporate .
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven .
Remove allow to cool and serve with custard or cream .
Slices easily and is just as good cold .

 

A GUIDE TO STOCKING YOUR FRIDGE...&........FREEZER

Refrigerating your foods the right way can help your perishables last longer .
Ensure the thermostat is set at 3 deg C in the main compartment .
Keep leftovers on the top shelf , where the  temperature is most consistent .
Store condiments in the door compartments .
Always put raw meat on the lowest shelf , that way if the meat leaks it won't drip on other food .
Store all cooked foods covered and above anything uncooked .this reduces the risk of anything dripping contaminating raw food .
Avocados , bananas , nectarines , peaches , pears , plums and tomatoes all release a gas , which can spoil nearby food, keep them on the bench instead .

AVOIDING FREEZER BURN ......
The freezer thermostat should be set at -18deg C
Freeze food in containers that aren't too big
When freezing soup and curries , line the liquid with a layer of cling wrap , then seal with a lid .
All foods should be completely cool before freezing .
Use vacuumed sealed bags or squeeze out as much air as you can out of regular bags .
Label and date your food .
Freezers are more economical the fuller they are .

SUNDAY BRUNCH AT THE MANOR

Miss Ziggy has Sunday sorted.

So do I

Poached eggs with oven baked chicken, feta and spinach wrapped in filo .

 

 

BOUGHT VERSUSES HOMEMADE .

Every once in awhile it is just nice to be able to create a special cake on a tight  budget .
We all know that money isn't made of elastic .
Making a cake or dessert from  scratch can be expensive as you usually need to purchase ingredients that are not normally stocked in your pantry .
On the other hand if you have the time and a well stocked pantry , it could be argued that you as the cook have more control over the flavour and texture .
Then again I constantly hear that recipes don't work or food doesn't look like it does on the screen or in books and it is true some recipes are incorrectly printed and a lot of the photos of food in books have been photo shopped .The debate will continue .......
What excites me ..... whether you are a cook or a constructor you are creating a dish that will give you great satisfaction and you can share with family and friends .

There is no cooking involved . Serves 10 - 12
INGREDIENTS
You just need to purchase 3 generic brand cheesecakes ...( IGA or Aldi ) @$3.00 each .
2 packets of chocolate fingers @$ 1.69 a packet  ( woolworths )
METHOD
Layer the 3 cheesecakes on a serving plate and then spread each chocolate finger with chocolate nutella and lightly press into the sides of the cheesecake .
Sprinkle with icing sugar .
This can be frozen but allow 4 hours from frozen to thaw in a sealed container in the refrigerator .
If consuming on the same day keep in a sealed container in your refrigerator .
This cake slices easily into wedges with chocolate fingers served alongside .
A dollop of sour cream doesn't go astray .( optional )
TOTAL COST...$12.38

HOMEMADE TRIPLE LAYERED WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
No cooking involved . Serves 10 - 12
INGREDIENTS
200gm of good quality white chocolate ..$18.00
300gm of creamed cheese ...$9.00
300ml of cream .....$6.00
1 packet of gingernut biscuits ...$6.00
2 packets of white chololate fingers ...$5.00
METHOD

Firstly whip the cream (900ml ) till thickened but not holding peaks .
Break the white chocolate( 600gm ) into rough pieces and place in a bowl and microwave in 15 second increments allowing to melt very gently ,stir occasionally with a wooden spoon..
Then remove , set aside while you prepare the base .
Break 525 gm of gingernut biscuits into a processor and process to a crumb .
Now add 150gm of softened butter / margarine process until mixture starts to clump .
Divide the base mix into 3
Press the mix into 3  lightly sprayed 20cm springform pans.
Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling .
Now place 900 gm of cream cheese ( @room temp )into the bowl of your beater , and beat until soft .
Gently fold in the melted chocolate and then the softly whipped cream
Add 3 tsp of lemon juice and 1 dsp of vanilla extract .
Divide the mixture into 3 and pour and scrape evenly over the 3 bases .
The mixture should be mousse like .
Smooth over the top and cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours.
To serve remove cakes from pans  and carefully layer cheesecakes on a serving plate .
Spread the white chocolate fingers with lemon butter and softly press into the sides of the cheesecake .
Bring to room temperature before slicing .
TOTAL COST ...$44.00

TUESDAY COOKING CLASS 27TH MARCH 2018

Hello everyone , Tuesday will be our last day of term .
I want to share a wonderful Easter recipe with you all , so I'm changing the recipes for the last cooking class of the term .
We will still prepare sweet potato rosti., but in  place of the wild mushroom cassolette we will be preparing Apple Gingerjack ....
These are the ingredients you need to bring to class.
1 kg of green granny smith apples
1 small sweet potato
1 jar of ghee .
See you all Tuesday