Creamed Leek and Potato Soup

This would have to be one of my favourites, running a close second to Pea and Ham.

Vegetarian - serves 4 - 6

Ingredients
50g of butter
1 small onion
2 good sized leeks
4 medium potatoes
1/2 pint of water
1/2 pint of vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Cream
Parmesan Cheese

Method
Chop the leeks into 1cm pieces and the onion into small pieces
Melt the butter and soften the leeks
Add the fluid
Add the chopped and peeled potato
Add the salt and pepper
Bring to the boil stir then lower the heat until the pot is simmering.
Simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes

Allow to cool before blending to a smooth consistency. Of course you can leave it chunky if you like, it just won't be creamed ;-)

To Serve
Stir in 1/4 cup of cream
Garnish with grated parmesan and freshly ground pepper

Bells of St. Clements

I have a very healthy and productive lemon tree growing in my garden. For a few weeks now it's been dropping fruit all over the garden and me being me, I hate to see them go to waste. So I've been making squash instead of buying it. It's remarkably easy and tasty.

Lemon Squash

Ingredients
1 pint of water
500g of caster sugar
1.5 pints of lemon juice

Method
Dissolve the sugar in the water, do not let it boil.
Allow the sugar water to cool
Add the juice and stir.

Add water (still or sparkling) to drink, sparkling water and you have lemonade.

I've started freezing the mix now as I have over 10 pints. It'll be nice in the summer :-)



Now I have to figure out what to do with the darn mandarins and oranges.


The Bells of London

Gay go up and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London town.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clements.

Bull's eyes and targets,
Say the bells of St. Marg'ret's.

Brickbats and tiles,
Say the bells of St. Giles'.

Halfpence and farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

Pancakes and fritters,
Say the bells of St. Peter's.

Two sticks and an apple,
Say the bells of Whitechapel.

Pokers and tongs,
Say the bells of St. John's.

Kettles and pans,
Say the bells of St. Ann's.

Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells of Aldgate.

You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells of St. Helen's.

When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,
Say the bells of Shoreditch.

Pray when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.

I do not know,
Says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

Chop chop chop chop
The last man's dead!

Ginger Slab Cake

Ingredients
225g of softened butter
1 cup of caster sugar
1 cup of treacle
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup of milk
3 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
2 teaspoon of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degreesC. Grease and line a 23cm square cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs until well combined.

Heat the treacle and milk in a saucepan. Allow to cool before stirring into butter and sugar mix.

Sift the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda together and then fold into other mixtures.

Spoon the batter in the prepared tin.

Bake for 60minutes or until you can insert a skewer into the middle and extract cleanly.

Allow to cool before turning out of tin.

Figgy Fingers

Ingredients
125g of butter
1 cup of soft brown sugar
1 cup of desiccated coconut
2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup of dried figs
1 tablespoon of golden syrup

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Lightly grease a 20cm slab tin.

Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan.

Chop the dried figs and discard the hard stalks

Combine all of the ingredients and then press into the tin.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave till cool, then cut into slices or squares.

Frannies Not-so-Fancies

Ingredients
100g Butter
1/4 cup of castor sugar
1/4 cup treacle
1 cup of plain flour
2 teaspoons of baking power
1/2 teaspoon of salt
80g of rolled oats
20g of flaked almonds
1/2 cup of sultanas
1/4 cup of glaze cherries

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Lightly grease and line a 19 x 29cm slice tin.

Gently heat the butter, sugar and treacle in a saucepan until butter has melted and sugar dissolved.

The flour, baking powder and salt should be sifted into a bowl. Stir in the rest of the ingredients in and then stir in the butter/treacle mix.

The mixture will be thick and sticky. Press it into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool before cutting into slices. You should get between 16 and 24 depending how big you cut them.

Muffin stuffin'

A couple months ago I did a bread baking class. I got me to thinking…I like cooking and I’m not terrible at it.

So after spending a day in the kitchen last weekend, kneading dough and making a Lamb Shank Casserole for dinner, I decided to make savoury muffins on Tuesday. My first attempt at this recipe turned out a bit flat, I was copying it from the book 'The Baking Bible', but I misread so I used plain flour instead of self-raising. I also used tomato paste (as the book tells you too). The result was a bit stodgy, but tasty, so I decided to fiddle with the recipe and make it my own. This a quick dish that could be rustled up for those surprise guests that just 'pop in'. I give you:

Pesto and Cheese Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups of self-raising flour
½ tsp of salt and pepper (mixed)
1 egg
¾ cup of water
1.5 cups of grated cheese (I used Vintage Cheddar)
¼ cup of pesto

Method
Pre-grease your muffin trays.
Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, gently combine with a folk.
Add the egg and water and combine with folk until all the ingredients are together. Mixture will be firm but sticky.
Spoon the approximately half the mixture into then tins.
Add one teaspoon of pesto to the top of the mixture.
Add the other half of the mixture to cover the pesto. Too much pesto and the top will not stick to the bottom and seal the pesto in.
Sprinkle a little grated cheese to the top of the muffin (I used Parmesan).

Place in the preheated oven (200degrees) and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.


Eat while warm and you'll eat them all. Eat the following day and you'll be able to pace yourself, but barely :-)

As an afterthought I decided you could pretty much use any pasta pesto for this recipe. I have a nice roasted capsicum (pepper), cashew and chilli paste in the cupboard, I may try that next.

The Joy of Honey

At the request of my current housemate, I made dessert. I didn’t have anything fancy in the cupboard, but thanks to the recipe on the side of the Kellogg’s Cornflakes I was able to rustle up a treat or four.

I had Cornflakes, honey, butter and sugar, but I didn’t have cup cake cases, so I rolled out a few ramekins. It meant I had supersize Honey joys and only four, rather than 16.

They were yummy, crisp and buttery :)


Kellogg's Honey Joys

Ingredients
90g margarine or butter (I picked butter:-)
1/3 cup sugar (I went half/half white and raw)
1 tbsp honey
4 cups of Kellogg's Cornflakes

Method
Preheat oven to 150 degrees.
Melt butter/marg sugar and honey in saucepan until frothy.
Add Kellogg's Cornflakes and mix well.
Spoon into paper cupcake cases.
Bake in slow oven for 10 minutes
Allow to cool.


I'll keep working on my food photography :-)