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A bit jammy

November 15, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged celebrations, cooking techniques, fruit, recipe

Scared off by talk of pectin variability and techniques of jar sterilisation, I’ve never been a jam maker. Add to that a couple of preserving disasters in my youth (a large disgustingly mouldy jar of roasted capsicums and 4 litres of rancid preserved lemons), and I’ve been happy enough to grab my jams and chutneys at markets and on election day outside the church hall from kind, elderly ladies.

But the other day on my doorstep, stood my mother, with a kilo of cumquats from her tree and a photocopy of a page from an old microwave-cooking cookbook.

So I’ve given it a go, and am happy to report that it was easy and I’m a bit inspired. I know some of you are vehemently anti-microwave so this recipe is not for you. But for the rest of us, who figure that a few micro-waves in moderation are ok, this recipe is great. Here goes…

Sterilise your jars

Don’t be scared. I followed Sally Wise’s advice from ‘A year in a bottle’, which has been on my shelves for a while (secretly, I’ve been coveting the role of preserve princess). Wash your jars in hot soapy water. Rinse and place on a tray in your oven. Heat to 110C, then turn off and leave for at least 10 minutes. Take the washed lids and simmer in boiling water for 2 minutes (this is where I went wrong with my lemons).

Blitzing the fruit means it cooks quickly and it is peel chunk-free

MAKE THE CITRUS JAM
This recipe is from either a Woman’s Weekly or Family Circle Microwave cookbook – I’m not sure exactly, I only have a photocopy of 1 page).

½ kilo citrus fruit (I used cumquats)
1 ½ cups water
3 cups white sugar

Wash the fruit well, discard any mouldy ones. Cut roughly and remove any seeds. Add the fruit to a food processor (I did two batches in my mini-one) and blitz well.

Place in a large microwave-proof bowl. Add the water and microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar and mix well. Cook for 18 minutes more in total – do 3 x 6 minutes and give the mixture a stir each time.

TEST FOR SETTING

This is the bit that always makes me sigh and turn the page in recipe books, but actually it’s easy. Again, Sally Wise’s advice is good – put two teaspoons of jam onto a saucer. Pop into the fridge for a couple of minutes. Run your finger through it – if it wrinkles, it is ready. If it doesn’t, it might need another couple of minutes of cooking.

Leave the jam for a few more minutes to start to cool, then pop into your warm jars. Seal while warm.

You've bothered to make jam - go all the way and give them frilly hats.

DECORATE

If like me, you’ve got an expensive pair of pinking shears that rarely see the light of day, dig them out and make some pretty frilly caps for your jam. It is nearly Christmas after all.

And there you have it. Pretty painless. I’m off to woo my neighbour, Gloria, with a jar. Who will you woo with your uber-housewife homemade? I’ll be back later in the week with a yum recipe that actually uses up some of the jam too. See you then…

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Let the festive season begin

November 7, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Food experiences, News · Tagged celebrations, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, tuna, vegetables

Perhaps I’m allergic to my new house, because it seems that I’m waking up on most Sunday mornings with a headache. You see my new house is quite FESTIVE with a nice deck and views and I find myself entertaining a lot of FESTIVE FOLK. And we drink wine. And being a bit of a drinking lightweight who can only safely imbibe 2-3 glasses of chardonnay before I’m in the hangover zone, I’m finding myself spending most Sunday mornings with a slight haze of discomfort and a new appreciation of the clever R&D teams who masterminded Nurofen zavance.

Perhaps there is something in the water of this big dry land that does predispose the population to a love of getting drunk. There is something GREAT about the sense of fun that comes with a warm afternoon, good friends and a cold glass of something that makes you giggle.

Yet again on the weekend, I served up something yum for the adults, but left the kids to run amok with a sausage and sauce in a slice of bread. Not even any onions. I know it’s a top Aussie BBQ tradition but with a full two months of festivities ahead, I think I need to do better and lift my nutrition game. No more mumblings about ‘fridge space’, ‘easiest options’ blah blah blah.

So I’m rummaging through recipes and thinking about ways to keep the upcoming summer parties slightly more healthy for the kids. Or at least providing good options for them that are enticing for the adults too. Probably a chip or two fewer wouldn’t hurt any of us.

The first thing that sprang to mind was this sushi slice. Most kids will eat some kind of sushi – it’s easy to adapt the filling to suit your family’s tastebuds. This recipe is a classic avocado and tuna combination which seems like a good place to start. Do you think your kids will eat this? What fillings will you try out? I always like to hear your opinions on my recipes.

And why sushi slice? Well, it’s perfect for folks like me who adore Japanese food but never quite got the hang of the whole rolling a sushi roll thing. Just two lamington trays the same size and you’re done. And it’s great party food, as you can make it a few hours ahead and refridgerate it. The less I have to handle sharp knives after a wine the better.

Anyway, let’s clink glasses and ‘kampai’ to the upcoming (healthy) party season. And of course, if you do find that you’re waking up with a headache EVERY morning, you might want to look over at AA and have a think about whether it might be time to pass the mineral water instead.

No sausage? No bread? Heresy!

Flat-pack sushi squares

1½ cups sushi rice (short-grain rice, available at most supermarkets)
2¼ cups water
100ml sushi seasoning
(or make your own: 90ml rice vinegar, 3 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tsp salt)
4 sheets nori seaweed
½ cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed, grated
1 small carrot, peeled, grated
95g can tuna in brine, drained
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 avocado, very thinly sliced, covered with a drizzle of lemon juice

Pickled ginger (optional), to serve

Give the rice a really good wash under running water until the water is no longer milky. Drain. Pop the rice into a saucepan and add the water.

Place the (well-fitting) lid on the pan and bring the water to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 10–12 minutes or until the water is nearly all absorbed. Turn off the heat, leave the pan covered and let it sit and steam for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt (if needed). Pour over the rice and use a wooden spoon to mix through.

Prepare a lamington tin by lining it with plastic wrap. Place a layer of the nori seaweed paper over the bottom (use scissors to cut them to fit).

Mix together the cucumber, carrot, tuna, corn, soy and mayonnaise. Pour off any excess liquid and discard.
Use wet hands to place half the rice over the seaweed. Evenly top with the vegie mix and the avocado, then carefully top with the rest of the rice and another layer of seaweed.

Put a second layer of plastic wrap over the top. If you have another pan of the same size, place it on top, weighted down with a couple of cans. Place in the fridge for 1–2 hours to firm.

When ready to serve, use a really sharp knife to cut the sushi into bite-sized squares. Serve with pickled ginger (if using).

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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Bring on summer (and my secret obsession with American mustard)

October 24, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Red meat · Tagged feeding the family, mealtime, recipe, vegetables

Finally, a bit of heat over the weekend. Back to being covered in miscellaneous bug bites and sunscreen. The kids are loving the longer days, although trying to get them into bed while it’s still twilight is a challenge. Then they’re up at the crack of dawn (as is the new kitten). I always forget how sleep deprived and cranky they get at this time of year!

As the weather warms up I’m always trying out new recipes that are a bit lighter and use more salad ingredients. Rest assured, I can find a way to stuff some vegies into nearly anything and this burger is a great example. Once you’ve tried burgers with extra hidden ingredients, you won’t want to go back to the bland, supermarket ones. There’s just so much more flavour and texture to enjoy in these.

Melting cheese over the top of the pattie does a double job of hiding the bits that aren’t brown and luring the children to eat more… more… MORE!

While I don’t deliberately avoid McDonalds, it does seem as though I can usually find a lot of other places I like to eat at first, so it’s with real glee that my kids like to tuck into a burger ‘just like McDonalds’.

The bun in the picture below is all fancy looking, but I usually serve them in the regular supermarket ‘sugar bread’ buns to get that real authentic burger vibe going on. And my secret, guilty pleasure – American mustard – is a great addition. Even if you’re already using the relish and tomato sauce, there’ll still be a place for a bit of the iridescent yellow stuff.

Here’s the recipe for the burger pattie – the relish recipe can be found in the new Vegie Smugglers 2 cookbook. Did you see that I’ve discounted the postage on it for a bit? It’s my way of apologising for any inconvenience as I find myself out of stock on Vegie Smugglers 1 until late November.

Guilty pleasure... American mustard on this is trashy but tastes great.

Cheeseburgers

500g lean beef mince
250g chickpeas, rinsed, drained (about half a cup)
1 carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, seeded, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly whisked

Olive oil
4 cheese slices

To serve: Bread rolls or burger buns, tomato slices, lettuce, onion relish (recipe in the book), tomato sauce, American mustard.

Place the mince in a large bowl. Use a stick blender to blitz the chickpeas, carrot, capsicum and parsley. You can do this by hand, but the blender is good for lazy people like me.

Add the chickpea mixture, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and black pepper to the bowl with the mince and use your hands to combine and make good-sized patties. Squeeze them firmly, then shape into thin patties.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the patties and squish down to 1-centimetre thick. This helps them cook through and makes them easier for small kids to eat.

Cook for 5 minutes, gently flip over and cook the other side for 4–5 minutes until cooked through. While the second side is cooking, place a cheese slice on top and let it melt over.

Serve the burgers on bread rolls or buns, topped with tomato, lettuce and onion relish.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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My top five ‘go-to’ dinners

September 27, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged dinner, feeding the family, freezer, recipe, vegetables

The other day on talkback radio the topic of discussion was how few dishes you could actually cook. The winner was some dad, who could cook 1 dish. And he’d been cooking it for 30 years without variation.

Apparently there was some study that the average person is able to cook only five dinners. Although I’ve just done some web searching and haven’t managed to find details of the study. Do you think it’s a myth?

A while back I remember reading on Lymes and Lycopene a post about this topic, and it linked to this interesting 2009 study which listed the nine most eaten meals in British households. All the regulars are there – spag bol, roasts, pasta etc etc. I suspect the Australian list would be pretty similar. Probably with a chicken stir-fry and Thai green curry to reflect our geography.

Sounds dull, but it’s no surprise that busy parents go back to the same meals each week.
1. You know you can cook them quickly.
2. You know the kids will eat them.
3. You’ve probably got all of the pantry items you need.

I wouldn’t dare interfere and say that this is wrong, but will point out that if you can manage to mix in a couple of ‘new’ recipes each week, your kids will be much more comfortable about leaving their food comfort zones and you’ll avoid a lot of the ‘I don’t eat that’ food battles.

So for inspiration, here’s a list of my five meals that I resort to often. I promise you that they are quick, easy to make and after a quick shop, you’ll have all of these ingredients in your pantry too, meaning that your ‘go-to’ list of easy dinners is now, instantly, 10.

Use up whatever is in your fridge or pantry in an easy fried rice

1. FRIED RICE
Even if you don’t have the ingredients for this exact recipe, a bit of egg omelette (just a whisked egg, fried), leftover rice and whatever canned or fresh vegies you have can be a delicious fried rice. Keep your flavourings simple – my kids are always happy with just a splash of soy sauce and mirin.
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A light summer meal that comes (mostly) from the freezer

2. FAJITAS
I’ve usually got a packet of tortillas in the cupboard, and some (slightly soggy) cucumber and tomato. And I always have a small container of this beef & lentil fajita mix in the freezer. It’s a great recipe for summer when you want to convenience of freezer meals, but are looking for a lighter option.

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Leave out whatever ingredients you don't have on hand

3. QUESADILLAS
And on the nights that are going so badly that even the freezer is bare, grab a tin of tuna and corn and you’ll have these quesadillas ready in a jiffy.

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Another flexible freezer winner

4. MEATBALLS
These oven-baked meatballs are easy to make ahead and taste great (to key to them is to make them with crumbly, not mushy feta). They are yum on pasta as the recipe suggests, but we ate them last week in tortillas (I’m seeing a theme here) with tomato chutney, diced fresh tomato, avocado and capsicum. Yum.

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And lastly? Here’a new recipe from Vegie Smugglers 2 – (have you bought your copy yet?) – that I just keep making and making. I find that I can drain off a fair bit of liquid and chop the meat up well (I cook up the kid’s portions then hack into them with kitchen scissors) and they happily slurp it all up. Then I can add chilli to the soup, leave it to brew for an hour or two until my best friend gets home and then he and I can chuck in our pre-prepared ingredients and enjoy a delicious adult, style dinner within minutes.

Prepare all this ahead, for days when your afternoon is going to be frantic

5. BEEF PHO

6 cups beef stock
2 tbsp fish sauce
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into slices
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp sugar
1 carrot, peeled, sliced into thin rounds
4 spring onions,
thinly sliced
400g lean beef (sirloin or rump), very thinly sliced – easily done with meat from the freezer
16 sugar snap peas
200g rice noodles
Bean sprouts

To serve:
Lime wedges
Coriander
Sliced spring onion
Fresh or dried chilli (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine the stock, fish sauce, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and sugar. Bring to the boil then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes (or up to an hour if you have time).

Add the carrot and cook for 2 minutes, then add the spring onion and beef for 2 minutes more. Finally, add the sugar snap peas and remove from the heat.

Prepare the noodles according to packet directions and divide between your bowls. Place the bean sprouts on top.

Ladle over the soup mixture. Top with lime, coriander, spring onion and chilli (if using).

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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Meringue-o-tangs (and other birthday party stuff)

September 19, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged celebrations, cooking techniques, family, ideas, kids, recipe

Yes, I know, the sheep has a moustache.

As if moving house and launching a new cookbook wasn’t enough, I’m rounding out my fortnight with Miss Fruitarian’s 7th birthday. With no chance of letting it slide by unnoticed (and fuelled on by guilt at moving the kids mid-term), I’ve had to bite the bullet and take on party hosting 2 weeks into a new home.

As regular readers will know, I love to try and keep party things pretty simple with small menus and a strict one-colour birthday cake policy. So you can image my horror when Miss F presented me with Annabel Karmel’s “My first cookbook” opened at farmyard cupcakes and an announcement that she’d happily forfeit a big cake in favour of these. Now I’m known to be generally undaunted by creative pursuits (being that I make a large proportion of my income as an illustrator) but even I was unprepared to take on the doggies, opting instead for these cute Betty Crocker chickens. They turned out well and the kids loved them.

Topping up the sugar, I also whipped up some swirly biscuits (also from Karmel’s book) and of course, a party isn’t a party without meringues. They cost bugger all to make, can be made a few days ahead and are SO pretty. Don’t be scared of them. Just remember – use eggs at room temperature, use a really clean (not plastic) bowl, NO YOLKS (not even a tiny bit), and cook without the fan-forced option.

So pretty! So cheap! So easy to make ahead!

These days I stick to a recipe from Stephanie Alexander’s bible, but increase the quantities a little.

Sue’s meringues (excuse my paraphrasing)

3 egg whites
¾ cup caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 150, line two trays with baking paper. Beat the whites until stiff peak stage (the mixture stays standing upright when you pull out the beaters). Add the sugar gradually. Add the vanilla. Beat until the mixture is no longer grainy (rub it between your fingers to test).

Dollop amounts onto trays (they don’t spread, so load them up). Bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly and leave them to cool completely.

Makes 36.

It’s worth buying one of the disposable piping bags and having a go. It’s really fun, you get a fantastic result and feel just a bit uber-parent when looking at the final product.

Like rolling a turd in glitter, a piped meringue will mesmerise, regardless.

And am I cheating with this photo of them all sitting there perfect and… raw? Well yes, but with a new oven that I’m still getting to know, it was inevitable that I’d burn a few.

Never fear, even a failed meringue is delicious crunched through yoghurt and chopped fruit.
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For other party food, try…
Chocolate nipple cakes
Fuss-free party cakes and mud-bread
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What the kids eat in… Italy

August 21, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Red meat, Vegie smuggling techniques, What the kids eat in... · Tagged feeding the family, pasta, recipe, vegetables

On the surface my kids are coping with moving quite well. They’re saying goodbyes and being philosophical, but I can tell from the way that their behaviour has skewed that the stress of it is taking its toll. They are both quite moody and irritable. Miss F is channelling Veruca Salt with “I want an oompa-loompa” quality turns over the colour of paint for her new bedroom. Mr M&P, who has a tendency to grumpiness, is using moving as a bit of an explain-all over his continuing outbursts.

I’m breathing deeply and understanding that they’re coping with quite a lot of loss.

High on the list of ‘Things we will miss’, are our amazingly fantastic upstairs neighbours. A retired Italian couple, when not flitting overseas they are hosting exuberant lunch parties. As the afternoons wear on and the wine and spirits flow, the Italian gets louder and more jovial and laughter booms out.

What’s not to love about a culture that rains chocolate on children? My kids have quickly learned that if they stand out in the courtyard and smile and wave endearingly, all sorts of goodies get dropped over the balcony. One time I even caught a tissue full of homemade biscuits being lowered down on string.

Italian food is such a seductive cuisine. It’s an easy-fix meal that is quick to cook and usually appeals to everyone. I’ve yet to meet a kid who doesn’t like pasta and you can use it to hide all sorts of good stuff in sauces, layered in lasagnes and tucked into tubes.

And then at the end, you can scoff a cannolli, sip amaretti and then best if you potter off for a bit of a lie down.

Cheese, pasta (and tomatoes, onions, fennel, spinach & carrot). Shhhhh.

Beef cannelloni

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves
500g lean beef mince
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 cup finely diced fennel
1 cup spinach leaves (silverbeet or English), finely chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 cup beef stock
1 tsp sugar
700g bottle tomato passata
250g cannelloni tubes (buy the instant ones that don’t need to be boiled)
125g ricotta cheese
Grated pizza cheese
Salad and garlic bread, to serve

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic then the mince, breaking up lumps as you go. When the beef is just browned, add the carrot, fennel and spinach and stir well.

Mix through the tomatoes, herbs and sugar. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for
15 minutes. Taste and add salt and black pepper. (I LOVE heaps of pepper.)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Choose either individual gratin dishes or one 12–cup lasagne dish.
Pour a thin layer of tomato passata over the bottom of the dish. Use a small spoon to fill the cannelloni tubes with your meat mixture and line them up in the dish. Evenly pour over remaining passata and any leftover meat mixture. Dollop the ricotta about and sprinkle over as much pizza cheese as you like.

Individual portions will need to bake about 20 minutes – a larger dish for 30–35 – until the pasta is soft and the cheese is golden.

Serve with salad and garlic bread.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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ok, maybe this is the last winter dish?

August 15, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats

Cold toes? Try hot fruit.

Well, we’ve warmed up with fish pie and chilli, but REALLY, winter is all about the sweeties isn’t it! I crave them so much more at this time of year. Trying to make them more justifiable, I like to cram them with fruit. Here’s a yummy crumble that is easy to make and even easier to eat! Enjoy.

Apple and pears make this crumble totally healthy, right?

Apple & pear crumble

Canola oil cooking spray
20g unsalted butter
3 apples & 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced into a variety of sizes (to give a good variety of texture)
Zest of ½ lemon
2 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
²/³ cup plain flour
¼ tsp salt
80g butter, diced
¼ cup brown sugar
3 tbsp rolled oats
Handful of very finely chopped mixed nuts (any combination of almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts)
Vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a medium–sized baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the apples and pears. Toss until soft (6-8 minutes). Mix through the lemon zest, sugar and cinnamon. Spoon into the baking dish.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt. Toss in the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the flour until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar, oats and nuts.

Scatter the crumble mix over the top of the fruit and bake for 30–35 minutes until the top is golden and the fruit is soft.
Serve with ice cream.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 3 KIDS

In season: apples & snow

July 14, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged cooking techniques, fruit, heirloom recipes, recipe

.... well in Australia, we call this 'snow'....

Last weekend the Vegie Smugglers family had a jaunt out to the country. We had a fantastic time at Orange, which is about 4 hours inland from Sydney. Great drive, great foodie spot, great adventure playground for the kids, and spots of snow up on Mount Canobolas. Well, patches of dirty ice really, but for never-seen-snow kids like mine, it was the ultimate thrill and they were happy to frolic in the sub-zero mud for an hour (I had to retreat to the car with frostbite about 45 minutes in).

We struck gold and happened to be in town on the weekend of the farmer’s market. The produce was fresh, tasty, local, and heavenly. And I couldn’t leave without stopping by one of the little unattended roadside shacks where you pick your box of produce and leave your money in the honesty box. Love it. Funnily enough, you don’t see those boxes too often in the city.

How could I resist!!!

So now we’re eating our way through 7kg of apples. I’ve dug out ‘Lady Hackett’s Household Guide’ and am trawling through the chapter on ‘hot fruit puddings’. Most of them all start with the premise of stewed apples, which they mainly do with heaps of water. Sounds a bit insipid, so I’ve dug out my own stewed apples recipe. And with the final product I’m going to have an experiment this weekend. I like the look of the apple rice meringue. Combine the mashed apples with cooked rice and 2 egg yolks, and then top with the egg whites whipped up with caster sugar. Set in the oven for a few minutes until brown. Yum.

Here I've dropped the apples onto a rice pudding... recipe in the book...

Stewed apples

2 large or 3 small apples, peeled, sliced
2 tbsp water
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger (optional)
2 cloves (optional)
1 tbsp butter

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Mix well, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until the fruit is soft (8-10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Cool. Discard the cloves (if using).

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Let them eat slice

July 4, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats

The winter break can be a bit uninspiring, can't it!

School holiday time again – don’t they come around quickly! This is the dreary one isn’t it? Cold, miserable! Everyone snotty. Still, we’re soldiering on and enjoying the lack of deadlines.

So far we’re filling in the days at the park, a spot of origami and of course, cooking treats.

Oh the possibilities!!!!

Last holidays I was obsessed with my psychedelic marble cake but these holidays I’m focused on SLICE! They were SUCH a staple of my childhood, but I’ve only started making them recently. They’re lumped into the category of “recipes I’ve started cooking since I became a parent”, along with cheese sauce and schnitzels. Could also have something to do with the dodgy state of my oven and its inability to cook a cake evenly.

Most of us who take our Australian-ness seriously will have one of the Woman’s Weekly slice cookbooks. Below is the recipe I whipped up this morning, a favourite from my own childhood, now passed onto my own little lovelies.

Chocolate, butter... it must be school holidays!

Chocolate Fruit Slice (From the Woman’s Weekly “Cakes & Slices” Cookbook)

125g butter
1 cup SR flour
2 tbsp cocoa
½ cup castor sugar
1 cup coconut
½ cup mixed fruit (today I used sultanas & craisins)
¼ cup chopped pecan nuts
CHOCOLATE ICING
1 ½ cups icing sugar
¼ cup cocoa
2 tsps melted butter
2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease & line a 19cmx29cm lamington pan.

Melt butter. Add in the sifted flour & cocoa, sugar, coconut, fruit & pecans. Press into the tin and bake for 20 mins.

Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, stir in the melted butter and milk and mix to a stiff paste.

Spread over the cooked base (while it’s still warm). Leave it all to cool in the tin. Cut into squares.

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While you wait for these to cool and set, check out some of my previous school holiday ideas.

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Because we all feed our kids sausages

June 30, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Ham/pork · Tagged feeding the family, recipe, vegetables

Perhaps you’re a bit posh and they’re lamb & mint, garlic and beef or the good old mystery-meat-who-cares-just-chuck-them-on-the-bbq variety, but chances are your kids eat sausages. Up to 70% of Australian households eat them once a week (or so says a highly credible internet post) including mine. They are Mr Meat & Potatoes’ favourite dish.

I’ve got no great problem with this. I like everything in moderation, including my health food and my junk food. And it’s because I cram as many vegies into the kids as I can most of the time, that I’m not too fussed when they like to eat something for enjoyment rather than nutrition.

But a plain banger on a plate can be a little boring, so here’s my suggestion for a top-aussie bastardised dish that combines the lure of a chopped-up sausage with some vegies and rice. Make it Jasmine rice. Even though it’s the bad choice in terms of GI – we’re living DANGEROUSLY tonight.

Diffuse the sausages in this dish that packs in some vegies too.

Sausage fried rice

4 good-quality fresh sausages (such as gourmet beef & garlic)
1 tbsp peanut oil
6 spring onions,
thinly sliced
½ red capsicum, seeded, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled, grated
¾ cup frozen peas
125g can corn kernels, drained
3 cups cooked rice (any type will do but jasmine or long grain is best)
3 tbsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the sausages on the tray and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through, turning halfway through cooking. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, slice in half lengthwise then cut across to make half-moons.

Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the spring onion and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the capsicum, carrot, peas and corn and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the sausage, rice and soy sauce and stir-fry until piping hot.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS