A Small-Batch of Cumquat or Kumquat Marmalade

 "Cumquat marmalade is the best of all breakfast preserves, with a scented sharpness and a golden glow all of its own. " Stephanie Alexander, 1996. 

This is a lovely fruity Cumquat marmalade, and I don't know why I don't make it more often. Possibly because my Mum made perfect Cumquat (Kumquat) marmalade and I am never sure that I can  match hers. Never mind, I've made another batch now and I couldn't be happier with it, albeit a small batch though which often works best.

The Lemon Bar Slice

I thought about calling this a Lemon Curd slice because the lemon topping tastes just like delicious lemon curd to me. If you love the tangy and sweet flavours of lemon curd, then you will adore this slice. However, as I didn't make the lemon topping the same way that I would make a batch of lemon curd, either in the microwave or on the stovetop,  I thought it might be misleading. Despite the deliberation, here we have a beautiful lemon curd like topping on a crunchy biscuit base, all in one. What could be better?

Cumquat Marmalade, Ginger and Oat slice

This slice incorporates the nostalgic flavours of ANZAC biscuits, Grandma's Cumquat marmalade, and the warmth of ginger spice, into one delicious layer of biscuit. This is  a great one for the weekend. Think breakfast, morning tea, or afternoon tea or take it into work to win a few extra brownie points.

Delicious Ginger Crunch Slice

This Ginger Crunch slice has a melt in your mouth shortbread base, and a delicious ginger caramel icing. If you haven't already tried this slice, prepare to fall in love. I really doubt that you will be able to stop at 1 piece, we couldn't.

The Best Air Fryer Chocolate and Coconut Weet-Bix Slice

This chocolatey, crunchy biscuit slice with a rich chocolate icing will hold it's own and steal the show on any coffee table. It is like a little slice of Aussie history on a plate, but the Air Fryer has brought it back on board to now. This is the first sweet confection I have made in my new Russell Hobbs air-fryer (no promo intended) and I'm  thrilled with the result. 

Tropical Ginger, Coconut and Lemon Slice

Allow me to present a nostalgic and vintage style slice for you on a Sunday. At this time of year in our Southern Hemisphere Winter, which I am loving, ginger is my favourite spice, and I use it whenever I can in savoury and sweet cooking. Ginger has an irresistable combination  of hot, clean and cool flavours. Although to be honest, Middle Eastern Baharat comes a close second to Ginger for me, and I use it in my iced Ginger Cake or my Ginger Syrup Cake (same recipe). I try to always substitute Baharat for the mixed spice. 

Lemon Crispies or Lemon Crispy Slice

 

The weekend is a chance to relax at home with a nice cuppa and something sweet and delicious to eat with it. This recipe is a trip down memory lane for me, and I make no apologies for this.  I've been eating this slice for as long as I can remember really as it is a family favourite, which started with my Mother making it for us, and then as our children grew up and loved it, I started making it. Most of the ingredients will already be in your pantry, however the secret ingredient is lightly crushed Corn Flakes. Yes my friends, Corn Flakes might not be on your breakfast list anymore but they are still on the supermarket shelves, and they give this slice a delightfully crisp biscuit base, which combined with the tangy lemon icing on top brings this slice to the party.

When our children were still living at home, our family would always love travelling to visit my Mum in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, knowing that there would be home baked cakes, biscuits and slices waiting for us on arrival. She was a great sweets cook, and a good cook in general really. She used to make this Lemon Crispy slice much earlier on and then for some reason it dropped off her baking repertoire. Mr. HRK and the children would continue to request it, however as she aged, her favourite few slices and cakes, which were all very nice, would still reappear. Perhaps she lost the recipe or perhaps her arthritic hands found it difficult to cut crisp slices in baking tins. Unfortunately, I never thought to ask Mum why she no longer baked it, because I didn't really know what it was called, except that I knew it was delicious, lemony, and contained corn flakes, which I think is the secret ingredient.

I found Mum's recipe recently when I was reading her old recipe books, which are amongst some of my most treasured possessions, and went out and bought Corn Flakes specifically so that I could make this slice. I was pretty excited I can tell you. The corn flakes give the biscuit base a crispness and slightly nutty flavour, complimented beautifully by the slightly tart lemon icing sprinkled with coconut sprinkled on top. It turned out perfectly, and Mr. HRK has given it the seal of approval. I urge you to make this, it can be ready for the oven inside 20 minutes, and only takes 20 minutes to bake as well. If you are reading this now, you could have it made in time for morning tea this morning. You will be amazed how easy it is to make, and how delicious it tastes. It's now at the top of my baking repertoire list.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed cornflakes
185 g butter, melted
1 1/2 cup SR flour
3/4 cup coconut
2 tablespoons coconut, extra

Lemon icing:

2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (approx.)
15 g. butter, softened

To make the icing:

Combine sifted icing sugar with softened butter and enough lemon juice to mix to a thick spreading consistency. Keep beating the icing until very smooth and spreadable. It will spread beautifully over the hot biscuit base when cooked.

Let's cook:

1. Combine sugar, sifted flour, lightly crushed cornflakes and coconut in a bowl, and stir in the butter.
2. Press evenly with your hands or a small bottle into a greased and lined Swiss roll tin (25cmx30cm).
3. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. When still hot, spread with Lemon Icing, sprinkle with extra coconut.
5. Cool slice in the tin, and cut into desired sized squares when still slightly warm as it is easier to cut.

Cut into small dainty pieces, this would also be perfect served as part of a High Tea.

The secret ingredient

Warm wishes

Pauline

In My Kitchen, June 2021

It's Winter, we're loving the change of season, and hot delicious beef pies are always popular here in tropical North Queensland when the weather turns so chilly. It's been down to 5 degrees the last two mornings, however the days are sunny and sublime but still cool. I made a dozen Beef Pot Pies last week, it was an easy way to feed 11 people, with one left for us for lunch the following day. Tennis players are hungry people. It's a pleasure to be in the kitchen right now, however I am torn, as the garden is also calling me for attention, and the beautiful sunshine outside is demanding to be enjoyed. This post is part of the monthly In My Kitchen series, a global event,  hosted by the lovely Sherry from Sherry's Pickings. I hope you enjoy it.

I used my Aussie Beef  Saltbush Stew recipe to  make the these  Beef Pot Pies. I kilo of beef chuck steak cooked up beautifully in the slow cooker, and was the perfect amount for 12 pies. I topped the meat up with some separately sauteed mushrooms, and they were delicious. The red wine I added just might have helped as well. Luckily I have 12 matching white ceramic dishes, so I  spooned the beef filling into the dishes, and then used bought puff pastry to cover them. Normally I would make my own shortcrust pastry, but I had a sticky date pudding to cook as well so I took a shortcut with the pastry. They were delicious. I used an egg wash of beaten egg and a little bit  of milk, so that they browned up as required. Here's the link to the Beef Stew recipe if you missed it before. I posted about my Sticky date pudding quite a few years ago when I was new to blogging, and that post needs updating, however I use that recipe all the time, it's delicious. Here's the Sticky Date Pudding link.

These are the photos of the Beef Pot Pies being cooked and assembled.

Ready for cooking in the Slow Cooker

Waiting for the Puff Pastry

 In my last post about my Greek Inspired Cauliflower, I mentioned a Speed Peeler, and asked if anyone had one or had heard of it. The reason was that Jamie Oliver mentioned one in his Cauliflower recipe that I had based my recipe on. No-one seems to have heard of it. Well no surprises that when I googled it, a speed peeler is one of Jamie's kitchenware products, available on sale at Woolworths here in Australia, probably in the UK and other countries too.  I'm not rushing out to buy one as I think my vegetable peelers do a great job, and I think I might have bought one like this before during my long culinary vegetable peeler purchasing history, which has since broken as they all eventually seem to do, for me anyway.

Here is the link to the infamous 3 in one Speed Peeler if you want to take a look.

Jamie Oliver 3 In 1 Speed Peeler Each | Woolworths. Mystery solved.

I've also been doing a little bit of online shopping, and bought a 12 cup Mini Bundt Pan from Kitchen Warehouse. I  still have to try this tray out, but I have a nice little bundt cake recipe in mind which I was so excited about when I first saw it. It might have to wait in the queue though until after the holidays.

Red Rosellas, also known as native Hibiscus are fruiting well up here in the North. Friends P & J left for holidays a couple of weeks ago, and as a parting gesture suggested that I pick the rosellas from their bush and make jam or whatever I wish with them. They've been picked, this is them in the photos below, so perhaps this weekend they will transform into Jam, if not, they will be deseeded and frozen until I have more time. However, if you have any ideas about what else I can do with them, I would love to hear from you.  Rosella jelly is also an option. Rosella Jam is one of my favourite jams, delicious with hot scones and cream, and lots of it.

Freshly picked rosellas

Rosellas still on the bush

We always eat salmon at least once a week, and this is generally a simple meal with vegetables, or I might bake it in alfoil with fresh grated ginger, soy sauce and vegetables.  However this time I was excited that I could add some of our home grown radishes to our plate, which were very crisp and mild flavoured, and sprinkled with delicious home grown dill. It's impossible to grow this herb here in the tropics in Summer as the humidity results in a white mildew forming all over the plant. I have three dill plants growing so well at the moment so I'll be using dill as often as I can in the kitchen during Winter. I just love the flavour. Notice the salmon skin will peeled off, and that is a treat for Locky our dog.

Last Wednesday night was the first match in the State of Origin Rugby League football season, where Queensland and New South Wales battle it out on the football field for supremacy. It's an historical competition, where players are selected according to the State they grew up in, either Queensland or New South Wales, not the team they play for so there is a lot of passion involved.  Townsville, also in tropical North Queensland scored the sought after location for the first match last night as Covid ruined the chances of the usual southern City rivals hosting the match. This was the first ever match held outside an Australian  capital city and Townsville and Queenslanders were on a high. So was Mr. HRK who has a very strong inherited football gene running through his veins. So he cooked dinner from scratch, and I have called his pizza, Make It Like a Man Pizza. He did very well and it was delicious.

He made the dough from scratch, cooked the pizza on a granite block in the BBQ of course, as that's what a man does. He used the Turkish flatbread recipe we used a few weeks ago for our Turkish Feast dinner and it was crispy and delicious and much quicker than the traditional pizza dough recipes we have used before. He halved the Turkish flatbread recipe as we only needed two pizzas,

Firstly the Cooks note: This recipe makes 4 large flatbreads, however if you prefer them smaller like pita bread,  cut the dough into 8 portions. 

If you can't find Greek style yoghurt, use regular yoghurt and reduce the water  in the recipe to 1 1/4 cups.

The flatbreads also make crispy and delicious bases for pizza. The smaller ones are excellent as pita or pocket breads.

Use plenty of plain flour when you are rolling out the flatbreads to prevent them sticking to the bench, and use a floured rolling pin

Ingredients:

(No oil needed to cook)

4 cups Plain Flour 

1 sachet (7 grams or .25 ounce) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C, if you are pedantic, we're not)

1/2 cup Greek-style yoghurt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt (the original recipe used 1 tablespoon but we thought it was slightly too salty, up to you)

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt in a small bowl with the warm water. Add the water and the yoghurt to the flour and mix well. The dough will be nice and soft but not sticky. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench and shape it into a ball. 

Now cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rise at room temperature for 3 hours. ( We place ours in the warm laundry, where our hot water system happens to be, and close the door, and it sure did rise!)

2. Cut the dough into four triangular portions. Shape the dough into rounds and flatten each round on a well floured bench as though you are making pizza dough. We flattened ours out further with a floured rolling pin so that it was a larger and thinner flatbread and it was perfect.

3. To cook your flatbread, choose either the BBQ or a cast iron skillet. As Mr. HRK was cooking, he chose to use a pizza stone in the BBQ, which worked like a dream. Preheat the BBQ or stove to a medium-heat. Place one round of dough on the BBQ or skillet and bake until the brown spots on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip the bread and bake for another minute. Remove the bread and wrap it up in a clean tea towel to keep warm. We separated them with baking paper like you do with pancakes in case they stuck together with humidity around, but it really wasn't necessary.

For the whole Turkish Feast backstory about these pizza bases you can find it by clicking on this link:

Oh did I forget to give you the score from the game on Wednesday? Well it was an annihilation by New South Wales over Queensland, however the food in our kitchen was great. Better luck for the next match hopefully, always optimistic.

It's been a busy week's cooking with the pie dinner last Friday night, then Mahjong was on Tuesday afternoon at my place so I made one of my favourite cakes. A generous neighbour gave me some lovely, juicy limes from their backyard tree, so I baked my Lime Syrup and Coconut Cake, you can click on this link for the recipe. Always a favourite, served with yoghurt,

Delicious and tangy Lime Syrup and Coconut Cake

Cooking the lime syrup

Grating the lime zest

My Apple and Sour Cream Cake Slice is always a great stand by when I'm in a rush and need to make a slice quickly. So as well as the Lime Coconut Cake I also made this slice on the morning that my afternoon bookclub were meeting at my place. We all take turns at hosting book club so it only comes around once or twice a year. While our Mahjong group traditionally eat just cake with coffee , the Book Club ladies always put on quite a spread for afternoon tea, so I know that a cake, a slice and a nice cheese platter will all be eaten, particularly in this cooler weather. It's always a lovely afternoon, with lots of interesting discussion. The book we read for yesterday's meeting was Bruny by Heather Rose. Yes as in Bruny Island in Tasmania. It's a work of fiction, but really gets you thinking about a lot of controversial and very relevant topics currently. A great read.

Phew, I've been chopping and dicing a whole large cabbage all morning, 2 1/2 kilos of it in fact, as this is the perfect amount to fill my new Davis & Waddell Sauerkraut crock. It was a birthday present from good friends back in February, and now that we have some cold weather, it's the perfect time to use it. Hopefully the fermentation will progress well, and I can bottle some sauerkraut in a few days. This is my Green Cabbage Sauerkraut Recipe if you feel inclined to start fermenting as well.

 

Now that the weather is so cold, Locky needed a new coat to keep him warm. He was a real head turner in the pet shop and no wonder as he looks so cute in his orange coat. We suspect he likes it.

That's all for now folks. 

Hope you have something very enjoyable planned for this weekend.

Warm wishes,

 Pauline

My Mum's Coffee Walnut Cake, or is it a Slice?

The flavours of coffee and walnuts are meant for each other, and I have always loved this cake. I found the recipe the other day when I was searching through my Mum's hand written recipe books, and it made me quite nostalgic. 

Zucchini, Corn and Bacon Slice Rejigged

I'm having one of those days when the comfort and ease of cooking a favourite and reliable dish seems to be what is called for. Rejigging a favourite family recipe where I can also use up some of the bits and pieces in the refrigerator is a bonus. There are times when we can use our imagination and be frugal at the same time. A savoury slice, savoury muffins, quiches, frittatas or any egg based dish are perfect for using up vegetables found lurking in the vegetable crisper. I often also throw a lot of these into soups.

Zucchini and bacon slice is a standard meal in a lot of households and has been since the 1980's. When I gave my Mum the recipe many years ago,  she loved it and took it along to every  function which required a plate to be taken. It still makes for good finger food at a party.  So I've rejigged it, and added a few ingredients to make it even more interesting and tasty. As a bonus, half of it is in the freezer for another night when cooking needs to be simple. We all have those nights, don't we?



Mr. HRK also really enjoys it with a tasty and spicy tomato relish for brunch. Here's a link to my tomato relish recipe.

We are having another late  cold snap here in Mackay, 7 degrees this morning,  so I am enjoying using my oven while it is still pleasant to  warm up the kitchen during the day.

Ingredients:

375g grated zucchini
3 rashers of bacon finely chopped, fat removed
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped (from ,my garden)
2 mild red chillies, finely chopped (I think mine are Cayenne chillies)
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup very tasty grated cheese
1/2 cup milk or oil (I used milk this time)
5 eggs
2/3 cup corn kernels
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste

Method:

Grease and line with baking paper a 20cm by 30cm rectangular baking tray (lamington tray). Set your oven to moderate.
Grate zucchini, I use my food processor, and allow to rest on kitchen paper for 10 minutes until some liquid has drained out.
Lightly saute chopped bacon and onion until cooked.
Whisk eggs and milk together in a large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into the lined baking tray and cook in a moderate oven for 40 minutes.



Some other eggy dishes.
Here's my original Zucchini Slice recipe, very quick and easy.
A delicious Mediterranean Frittata recipe.

Bon appetit

Written by Pauline

Chocolate Hazelnut Meringue slice {gluten free}

This slice might be gluten free but nothing is missing where flavour and deliciousness is concerned. A  chewy chocolate base is blanketed with a layer of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, and then with a layer of light and fluffy Meringue. It is a cinch to make even though there are three layers to this slice. Using Nutella is a shortcut that I might use more often.

We have just enjoyed a weekend with family visiting and all the food that I cooked for them needed to be gluten free. So with a little bit of research and imagination this slice surfaced from taste.com.au and it really did exceed my expectations. Everyone loved it which is always satisfying. I served this for afternoon tea however it would also be brilliant served warm as a dessert. Just cut it into larger slices though or offer seconds. I hope you can find time to make this slice as I promise you will enjoy it.

Slice ingredients:

Makes 12

125g butter, melted
1 cup brown or raw sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup gluten-free self-raising flour
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts (hazelnut meal)
2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder

3/4 cup Nutella

Meringue
2 egg whites (room temperature)
1/2 cup caster sugar

Use an 18 cm x 28 cm (base) slice pan.

Let's cook:

Preheat your oven to 180 deg. C./160 deg. fan-forced. Line the base of the slice tin with baking paper, allowing an extra 3cm at the sides.

Combine the first seven slice ingredients in a medium sized bowl (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, ground hazelnuts, and cocoa powder).  Pour into the lined slice tin and spread evenly over the base with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 25 minutes until the top is just firm to the touch. It may shrink away from the sides slightly. While still hot, spread with Nutella. Set aside to cool in the tin.

Increase the oven temperature to 220 deg.C or 200 deg. fan forced.
To make the meringue, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and keep beating until the sugar is dissolved.
Spoon the meringue onto the Nutella and spread over. Swirl the meringue mixture forming small peaks with a spatula.

Bake for 5 minutes or until firm and golden.

Cool in the tin and them cut into squares.



I stored mine in a container in the refrigerator as I was concerned the meringue might separate from the nutella layer during the day as the weather is warming up. The slice was perfect to serve after being refrigerated.

Life should start returning to normal now I hope. I had a wonderful two weeks in Perth with my son and little Grandson, but have been recovering from a head cold ever since. The Mediterranean Winters in Perth can be very cold and very wet, and then before they know it the hot summers have arrived. Needless to say I am enjoying the milder Winter of the Tropical North once again, and feeling much better.

I hope your week is going well.

Best wishes

Pauline

A quick batch of Aussie Damper Scones

Care for a delicious scone? When I am short of time, and need to use up  tubs of cream and sour cream and various vegetable bits and pieces my fallback position is to make some favourites, a batch of scones, a slice and perhaps a quiche. It's a public holiday here today, for People's Day at the Mackay Show. We have no inclination to go out into the mayhem of Public Holiday traffic even though it is a beautiful and sunny day. Must be getting older and wiser. So I'm doing some cooking.