The Garden Produces & Best Biscuits I've Ever made!!!

Well my garden is in full production, we have been eating beans, peas, courgettes, lettuce and radishes, although I have to say that the peas have yet to actually make it to the pot as we have been eating them fresh. I can see I am going to have to be creative with courgettes!! Two courgette plants is ample for a family of 4 adults. My Cherry tree looks amazing with its beautiful red cherries. I've had to wrap it up like Fort Knox with chicken wire to keep the birds away, don't know what I'll do when it grows at the moment its just a baby and easy to cover.

Last night I made "Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies" from issue 42 of Donna hay magazine. I have to say they were fantastic, the best chocolate cookies I have ever made. They could easily be made without the candy cane but it just adds that something special for the festive season. I have yet to do my Christmas shopping having only bought one gift so far. I am now on holiday until after Christmas so no panic I'll get it done (probably get to the shops and everything I envisaged buying will be gone) Problem is I have no clue as to what to buy anyone..................I feel prezzie cards may be the way to go.

JO SEAGAR YET AGAIN

I made the Pina Colada cake in the weekend from Jo Segar's new book The Cook School recipes. I'm not having much luck with my baking lately, I had some of my friends visiting and they loved it the husband of one even calling the next day for the recipe. But I have to say that neither my husband or myself liked it. Its basically a pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting, it has no eggs, butter or oil in the cake. It uses 2 tins crushed pineapple for the wet ingredient and has coconut as well.................but I have to say the frosting was divine had coconut essence in and toasted coconut on the top. Its a very dense cake I think that's maybe what we did not like about it. We love pineapple just not that cake..................well better luck next time.

Jo Seagar-The Cook School Recipes

Yesterday I made Carrot Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, from Jo Seagar's new book. Very easy to make and look impressive but I can't say that I really liked them. I do love peanut butter but I don't think it really went with the carrot cupcakes. The family loved them but I was disappointed. It really wasn't a fantastic cupcake recipe either not enough flavour, will be interested in what others think if they have made them.

As you can see from the photo's I was very generous with the frosting, but it made to much there is enough for another batch. I will make them again to use the rest of the frosting which I am going to try and freeze, and because the family liked them.

SWEETPEAS & LETTUCE

I have such good intentions of posting everyday but I am finding that with all this good weather I am spending much more time outside and less inside cooking, complaints coming from the family about that lack of baking lately. I will get back into it as I have lots more community cook books that I want to try things out of, also have the new Jo Seagar book which looks great lovely photos!.

The garden is really growing fast, I picked the first of the sweetpeas today and of course I just had to photograph them....too bad you can't smell them as they just smell divine! I have also been strugling to use all the lettuce I am producing so I picked a pile, washed it and took it to work where it was snapped up.

I have not really been doing much baking at all in the past few weeks but there is yet another birthday cake to make for the weekend (playboy bunny). I have been to a few barbecue's lately and at both the request has been for a Curried Roast Veg and Cous Cous salad that I make. I have to say that there is never any left. I tend to make the cous cous and curry mix at night, put it in the fridge and just roast the veges in the morning add and chill before taking out. This is just a habit I have got into however you can make it all at once and I have done that before as well. I do think the flavour develops better if done the night before. If anyone is interested in the recipe if you let me know I will add it to the blog, just need to fly out the door to town now.......byeeeeeeeee

FIRST COURGETTE OF THE SEASON

Not much to say today, have not really done much baking this week. I did make a brownie, now I have never made brownies before. I think that with brownies its a matter of timing so it does not get too overcooked. I am still getting used to my new oven and I think I overcooked the brownie was not very fudgy at all. The recipe did have a half teaspoon of Baking Powder in and the brownie did rise in the middle which I don't think it was supposed to do, however it did taste ok and I can always have another go.

There has been a steady stream of vintage cookbooks arriving in the mail from Trademe so hopefully will get some baking done in the weekend. I have just been so busy the last week.........................but today I picked my first courgette of the season, now I just have to decide what to do with it as anymore are little way off.

FABULOUS FIVE AND VEGE

Well this weekend we had a small party for my Grandson Hunter who turned 5, I made another birthday cake he wanted Lightning McQueen which was relatively easy to do as all I had to do was sort of copy the logo from a hat he had. The hard part was searching every toy shop for a Lightning McQueen car, every other car from the movie but not Lightning, finally found one in Te Awamutu and my search was extensive!!! The things we do......

Hunter was just delightful, we took him to a fireworks display in the evening, it rained the whole night, we all got soaked but it was worth it the fireworks were great Hunter loved it he walked round singing the whole night.

The vege garden is also doing really well, we are eating silverbeet and lettuces the parsley is growing like crazy. Nearly have some courgettes ready and the peas have pods on, the tomatoes are flowering. I'm loving having a vege garden , everyone should have one. It gives a real sense of satisfaction..........

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Yes I know I have been very slack with the blog lately (you never know if anyone reads it anyway) but I have been baking just not blogging about it .

Anyway it was my friends daughters birthday and I was asked to make the cake. Its always nice making a cake for a girl as I've got two now adult boys and a grandson. The cake requested was a goldfish. I really did not have the time to make a shaped cake so decided just to make a round cake and decorate it. I made celebration chocolate cake from foodlovers http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/ the cake was fantastic and huge!! then I iced it with blue buttercream icing. I had real trouble with the buttercream icing, it would just not go on an nicely, so I just decided that the fish would just have to be in rough water!!, then I coloured royal icing and cut out a fish shape. It really looked lonely on the cake by its self so I had to colour more icing and decorate round the cake with seaweed, the rest just sort of evolved until I thought it looked right. It was a fun cake to make and I have to do it all again on Friday for my Grandson's 5th Birthday he's requested a lightning McQueen cake......so will see how that one goes.....

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH TWO STRAWBERRIES?

With the first two of my strawberries ready, (birds got the first one) I wanted to make something with them that we could all (4 of us) have a taste. I decided to make the Lamington version of Butterfly Cakes from "Ladies, A Plate" by Alexa Johnston.
I actually started off just making the plain cakes then decided at the last minuted to make the Lamington ones. If I had known that these little cakes are actually very easy to make and not really that much hassle I may have made them years earlier. I only made up half of the recipe for the Lamington syrup, that was plenty. Fortunately it keeps in the fridge so should have enough left to make the recipe again, although I am keen to try the Raspberry Lamington version next.
I usually get a very ho hum response from my adult children when I ask them what they think of something I've made so for my eldest to say that I should open up a little cake shop is very high praise!! The cakes were delicious very moist and the strawberries delicious as well, can't wait for more to ripen. I think adding them to the Butterly cakes was a fairly good way of making two strawberries go a long way and still feel like we had a good taste.

MODERN COOKERY ELIZA ACTON

I am lucky enough to have a copy of a book published by Eliza Acton in 1845. It belonged to my Grandmother, who was a very English lady. I can only assume that it must have belonged to her mother . I was looking through it as its really interesting, Here is the Victorian way of boiling carrots exactly as it appears in the book.

TO BOIL CARROTS.

Wash the mould from them, and scrape the skin off lightly with the edge of a sharp knife, or, should this be objected to, pare them as thin and as equally as possible; in either case free them from all blemishes, and should they be very large, divide them, and cut the thick parts into quarters; rinse them well, and throw them into plenty of boiling water with some salt in it. The skin of very young carrots may be rubbed off like that of new potatoes, and from twenty to thirty minutes will then be sufficient to boil them; but at their full growth they will require from an hour and a half to two hours. It was formerly the custom to tie them in a cloth, and to wipe the skin from them with it after they were dressed; and old-fashioned cooks still use one to remove it; but all vegetable should, we think, be dished and served with the least possible delay after they are ready for table. Melted butter should accompany boiled carrots.

Very young carrots, 20 to 30 minutes. Full-grown ones, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Now I want to know, who cooks carrots for 2 hours!! and who dresses them!!! and mold!!

I for one am pleased I'm not eating Victorian prepared vegetables.

YOU THINK PIKELETS ARE EASY?

Now I have never been a very good pikelet maker pan too hot, burnt butter, sticking, too thin, too thick...and tonight was no exception. I thought I'd make the pikelets from "Ladies a Plate" Never fail pikelets it said and also gave a hint instead of greasing the pan rub it with a cut potato and they won't stick, MISTAKE stuck like you would not believe. I had to wash the pan and start again.

I think I made the mix a bit too thin I did add extra milk as it was very thick. I gave strict instructions that no one was to touch them until I had photographed them, which living with three boys they just could not get their head around it, so I had them all standing in the kitchen watching me .....talk about pressure, pike lets might be simple but they are certainly an art form, definitely not as easy as they look!!

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW!!!

I can't believe how fast my garden is growing, every time I go out to look there seems to be lots more leaves on the lettuces. In fact everything is growing well, there are flower buds on one of the tomato plants and the courgette even the strawberries are starting to turn red, so I'm going to have to cover them or the birds will get them before we even have a chance to get a taste.




I have decided to get into tomatoes in a big way and have multiple seedlings on the go. I am expecting some seed in the mail that I want to have a go at, a white, green and a peach tomato which even has a slight fuzz on it.



I thought if I have a go at different tomatoes this year I can just concentrate on the ones with good production and flavour next season, but obviously I'm growing some just for the novelty factor, can you imagine relish or tomato soup make with white tomatoes.......just would not be the same.



So hopefully if they all do well I'll have lots for the soup and chutneys I want to make as well as a good amount to give away

OK I ADMIT IT I'M OBSESSED!

Maybe I have a problem and maybe I don't, it all depends how you look at it. I decided to clean out the pantry in order to better fit in a few more tins I had acquired. It was while I had them all out on the table I began to think I may have a problem! In very unkind words my son told me I was obsessed, that the amount I had was ridiculous and they should all be in the garage.


I have square, round, octagonal, heart, star, fluted, rectangle shaped tins. Pie tins, cake tins, muffin pans, ring tins, you name it I pretty much have it.


I bought a few tins on a trip to the US, having made quite a number of purchases space was at a premium, so trying to cram everything into my bags (60kg's worth) I unwrapped all the packs on knickers I had bought and fitted then into all the Wilton fluted Muffin pans I had bought, then flipped the pans over and did the same from the back. Just as well my bags never got opened at customs they would have found knicker muffins.



When we built this new house I was going to have a cupboard with slots in made for all my tins but decided against it as I would have had to add another pantry and I allready had two. I settled for a large deep shelf in the pantry. But it's not nearly big enough so the tins have migrated to the pantry floor as well.


I can't really see this obsession stopping as if I see a new shaped tin that I think I might use I just have to have it......my theory is (and I'm sticking to it) if you haven't got it you can't use it.....RIGHT!!!! and the ones that are pictured are only the tins..........the silicone ones are a whole other story.

BLOSSOM DROPS

These may look good but don't be fooled! They definitely don't taste as good as they look!!. These little blossom drops are cooked in gem irons, therein lies part of the problem. Recipe says heat irons in very hot oven and bake in well greased gem irons, so how hot and do you grease the irons before you heat them up or before you put the mix in?

I made the mix but I don't think it was wet enough. I remember making ginger gems a few years ago and the mix was alot runnier. I decided to grease the irons after I had heated them, just before I put the mix in, the melted butter sizzled and spat everywhere. The mix was reluctant to go into the irons (too thick) then I threw the blossom drops into a 260 c (way too hot) oven, they might have turned out alot better if I did not have the oven so hot and had turned off the fan!

Well they say you learn by your mistakes....I've learnt NOT to make these ones again, perhaps I'm being too harsh but quite honestly there not worth the trouble of cleaning the irons. But on the plus side they did come out relatively easy enough and the icing was nice instead of mixing the icing sugar with water I used rose water, which did give a nice delicate flavour but the blossom drops themselves were way too dry, but the birds loved them!! Now that I've tried my best to put everybody off making them here's the recipe if your brave.

BLOSSOM DROPS

3 ounces butter

3 ounces sugar

5 ounces of flour

1 egg (beaten)

3 tablespoons milk

3 level teaspoon baking powder

vanilla

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla and beaten egg. Add sifted flour and baking powder with the milk. Bake in well greased and heated gem irons in a very hot oven 8-10 minutes. ice when cool.

DARK HORSES

I have been looking through some of my old recipe books, I have a lot of community recipe books that have been produced by schools, plunkets etc. I am amazed by the names of some of the recipes there's Bird's Nests, Bumble Bees, Beetles, Dark Horses, Hedgehogs and Ragged Robins, most of which bear no resemblance to their names. Makes me wonder why/who named them? So I thought I'd give Dark Horses a go, maybe the name suggests they turn out better than the mix looks.

I have to say that these biscuits were a pleasant surprise. Was not sure they were going to work when I put them in the oven but they are nice and crisp with good flavour there just different sort of a fruit and nut biscuit, would be nice with some chopped chocolate in them......bit of a dark horse really this biscuit!!

Dark Horses

115 grams butter

115 grams sugar

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup sultanas

1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon boiling water

1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar, add the egg, walnuts, dates, sultanas and soda dissolved in water, mix all together, add four and mix well. Put spoonful lots on baking tray. Bake at 180 c for 10-15 minutes until golden, cool on rack.

The House & The Cherry Tree

I have had a few requests to put a picture on this blog of the new house. Because the house is quite a long house its not that easy to get it in one picture with a decent close up view, but I think you'll get the idea of what its like (the pole coming form the chimney is the street light). We have just over 1/2 an acre which is great. I have really been restricted to where I can plant things as we need to put in so much top soil to raise the ground level. I have had to plant the trees in areas where the level will stay the same. As I am a very impatient person I just had to get planting just couldn't wait for the topsoil.

One of the trees I planted is a fruiting dwarf cherry tree (variety Stella) so I have affectionately call the tree Stells. Went out to visit her today just to see how she's getting along. Lots of blossom and a few bees on her today. I really don't expect much, if any fruit of her this year but each blossom is a potential bunch of cherries.

I anyone reads this blog and knows about cherry trees in the North Island, would you leave a comment please. I would love to now if I have a realistic chance of actually getting any cherries as I have been told by someone the professes to know it all that the weather may be too warm for the tree to fruit, so another opinion would be great.........Jan

EVERYONE LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE

Everyone loves chocolate cake don't they? they do in my house anyway. If I take it to work which I do from time to time its always really popular. This recipe is real easy to make, moist, good colour (actually looks like chocolate cake) and it makes a large cake. I always cook this in a large pyrex dish that I have, mainly because I have plastic lids that fit the pyrex dishes. I have never seen these lids for sale in NZ. Mine came from the US, they are great. My sister first bought them back and I got more when I was there. Only $1.99, well worth the money saves having to find a container for the cake. They really should sell them here they make lids for all the pyrex containers including bowls. My excitement for these lids may seem a little OTT but they really are great.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

2 cups hot instant coffee

2/3 cup oil (not soya or olive, use canola or ricebran)

2 teaspoons vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients together, make a well in the centre add the liquid ingredients. What I do is put 2 cups boiling water and 2 teaspoons coffee powder in a bowl and add the oil, vinegar and vanilla then add that to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. This is a thick sticky mix. Bake at 190 c for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested. Ice with chocolate icing. happy baking!

Gingernuts-The Dunkers

I guess that its a bit of a NZ tradition that gingernuts are the biscuits that are known for being dunked in a hot cup of tea or coffee. Can't say I ever really got into dunking probably because I never really mastered the art, I always ended up with half a biscuit at the bottom of my cup of tea, so I gave up. There is a bit of an art to dunking, too long and you loose the biscuit, not long enough and biscuits still hard.


Thought I'd have a go at making gingernuts today, easy to make, recipe said makes 50 so thought that would last in the tin for at least half a day!!. I only managed to get 30 out of this recipe and they very just average biscuit size so where the 50 estimate comes from who knows. Sometimes with baking its the simple recipe that's the nicest. I find that some of the new recipes are just too elaborate. Don't get me wrong I love new ingredients/combinations but sometimes the result is just not worth the hassle.


They were quite nice, crunchy, good ginger taste, not as hard as bought ginger biscuits and everyone liked them. Just watch the cooking time if you make them. I baked for 12 minutes but they were a little too brown on some of the edge.



GINGERNUT BISCUITS

125g butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup golden syrup

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tabelspoon ground ginger

1 teaspon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice


Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup over a low heat, remove from heat stir in the sifted dry ingredients, cool for 15 minutes then roll into balls flatten with a fork and bake at 180 c for 12 minutes (maybe a bit less) cool on trays.

Sugar Buns

I am still unpacking boxes from our move 3 months ago, and there is still the storage unit to go as well. I am not the best at parting with stuff, just too sentimental for my own good!.


I came across some of my Nana's recipe books from I think the 1940's I think I have got the date right by finding out when a car that's advertised in it came out. I decided to make something from it. In this book there is a champion coal range advertised, no times for the baking and no specific oven temperature. I guess back then everyone baked so they all knew the basics. Now I don't have a problem with that but I know that if some of the younger ones (making myself sound real old now, I'm 46) picked up the book they would have no clue.




I spent a good hour looking at the book deciding what to make and was getting nowhere so I thought open the page Jan and do the second recipe down...which is what I did. Making these old recipes will give me a chance to show off all the beautiful china that I have inherited.



These sugar buns were very easy to make and taste very nice, I will admit to having one or two, I have converted the recipe to metric.
SUGAR BUNS

110 grams butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon essence
450 grams flour
3 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1/2-3/4 cup sultanas


Cream butter and sugar, add egg and milk and essence (it may look like its curdled but don't worry it will come together with the flour) add the sifted flour and baking powder and sultanas Mix together put largish spoonfuls on baking tray, sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 175 c for approx 15 minutes or until slightly golden. I got 20 quite large ones but you could make them smaller and get more.

The Plot's Taking Shape.

It might not look much at the moment but the plot is starting to take shape, I have planted about half of it and have more seeds in the germination process.

I get a weekly email Get growing from NZ gardener, today's one says "Don't be tempted to plant your Tomatoes outside yet, October is traditionally the time Tomatoes get put outside" Well @#$%&*, mine are outside in the wind and rain...........I figure they will either survive or turn up their toes and die!!, so sowed more seeds just in case. So far in the garden I have planted, beans Purple Tee Pee, Tomatoes Super teak and Money Maker. Courgettes yellow & green, peas & lettuces. Pumpkins Jack-be-Little, Gherkins. being a novice at this either all will be fine or I'll learn the hard way. the picture is not too good. I promise i'll try to do better next time.

An Expensive Day...

Well what an expensive day, Max the 4 year old golden lab cut his foot on a stone in our driveway on Sunday. After cleaning it and bandaging it any double socking him (wish I'd taken a picture of that) it was still slightly coming through the sock....and having a new house and new carpet blood spots are unacceptable!!. Most people would say a dog inside in unacceptable, but he's regularly bathed and they ....yes there is 2 our other is a black lab called Abby. They are only allowed on a mat that we have for them and they sleep in the garage at night. Anyway back to the story. We decided to take Max to the vet today to have the foot looked at, never in our wildest dreams did we think it would cost $420 to have 5 stitches!!!. At least it will heal now, he is not a happy boy with bandage.




I was going to cook a casserole for dinner tonight but as we did not get home until 4.30 it was too late. I bought some schnitzel on the way home and we had that with wedges and a salad. The salad was really nice considering the combination. I am pretty creative when it comes to making a salad with Mesculin I just turn to the fridge/pantry and grab. Tonight was mesculin, celery, Gruyere cheese, grated carrot and gold kiwifruit.



We love tomatoes on salad but at $9.99 a kg I can live without them at the moment, plenty more things that can go on instead of tomatoes.



I took a picture of Kevin's dinner just because I could....... It looked better than in the photo.

Vege Patch In The Making......

I have been itching to get a vege patch in., never been serious about veges before but I'm ready!!! We have recently moved to a new house out of town with a just over half acre section. We decided that we want most of the trees and plants to be productive, and evergreen if possible. We have planted, 2 avocado's, 2 feijoa's, strawberries, passionfruit, dwarf cherry, tamarillo. I have been having a go at growing my prospective veges from seed and have had an almost 100% germination rate (thanks Kings Seeds). My Purple Tee Pee beans are doing a Jack in the beanstalk thing in the formal lounge (new that extra room would come in useful) so they need to be planted outside, also have jack-be-little pumpkin, gherkins, capsicum, supersteak tomato, but I bought that one.

First we actually have to dig the garden and fork in the compost. My dear husband is home tomorrow so hopefully he will do it if I'm still not feeling to good (home with the flu today). Then we can get these babies in the ground........so until tomorrow there's pics of the strawberries and the proposed garden.

Brown Betty

Well as promised in the last post, I have finally got round to making Brown Betty and taking a photo of it.

I have no idea where the recipe came from its not attributed to anyone in Mum's recipe book, Its very easy to make and I ice it with peppermint icing with coconut on the top. The original recipe says 1/2 cup of milk, I find it works much better with 3/4 cup milk.

BROWN BETTY

In a pot melt

4 oz Butter

4oz Sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon Cocoa

When cool add

1 cup sultanas

1 cup Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Put into a lines sponge roll/slice tin ans bake at 350 F or 175 C for 12-15 minutes

When cool ice with chocolate/peppermint icing and sprinkle with coconut.......very quick and easy.

One thing I should point out is that I have very creative spelling, so if something is a bit weird ask me to clarify (or correct it) if you cant make it out.

I think I'm having trouble getting the pictures within the text where I want them but I guess I'll work it out in time!!

Mums Cook Book

Recently it was 20 years since my Mother passed away, she was a great cook and fabulous baker. None of her cooking was especially gourmet, she was just a great basic cook.

I got out her cook book and on the 20th anniversary of her death and had 'a stroll down memory lane'

I made a slice called Brown Betty which she always had in the tins.

Picture and recipe to follow