Friday Night Special for a family

Tuna and rice are the basis of so many economical and tasty meals and this one has been a family favourite for years. Preparing fast, easy and nutritious meals is the way to survive the summer we are having. Sometimes they take a little bit of forward planning, for example with this dish having the rice cooked in advance, but that is easy particularly if you cook a stir fry the night before accompanied by rice.

Strawberry Jam Drops, a weekend biscuit treat

Jam Drops may be retro, but they are still a popular biscuit to enjoy for morning or afternoon tea. This is a family recipe from my Mum's collection and probably dates back to the 1950's. When haven't Jam Drops been part of every home cook's repertoire? I have tweaked it slightly, adding vanilla essence, but I love the nutty flavour and aroma that rolling these uncooked biscuits in dessicated coconut brings to the plate when they are baked. It  is the browned coconut sprinkles that set this recipe apart. The whole family will love them.

Happy New Year to my readers of this recipe. I hope 2018 is healthy and fulfilling and everything you wish it t be.

 Jam Drops are a great way of using up extra jam, which sits patiently bottled in the refrigerator waiting to be noticed. We returned from Cairns this week, to shockingly hot weather, exacerbated by a very hot Northerly wind blowing which we aren't used to at all. However, I needed a sweet treat with a cuppa and rather than make a whole cake, I thought of biscuits which are quick to make and bake, and also to eat, although I can stop at one. These biscuits are nicely crisped on the outside, and chewy in the middle. I used my homemade strawberry jam in these which is quite thick, however any jam will do. To bring them up to children's party status in the past, I have also added hundreds and thousands or some other colorful decoration to the top of the jam filling, nice for a change. I'm sorry  I didn't think to do that this time for an interesting  photo.

The trickiest part with making these biscuits is rolling them into the right sized shape in the coconut. The mixture spreads during cooking, as you can see in my first cooked tray below, so they do need to be spaced out well. The ideal Jam Drop is round, with the shape not affected by it's closest neighbour. However it depends on how you are feeling as to how particular you want to be, and the shape doesn't affect the deliciousness of them at all. The second tray of 5 biscuits, is more like how they should look in an ideal world. There were 6 on that tray before Mr. HRK sampled them.

This is a recipe and a biscuit to be enjoyed whilst relaxing with your feet up.

 
Ingredients:

Makes about 25

1//2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted SR flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup desiccated coconut
115g (1/3 cup)strawberry or raspberry jam

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg. C.

Beat butter and sugar to a cream.
Add well beaten eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla essence.
Lastly add sifted flour.
Take teaspoonfuls of mixture and roll in coconut.

Place each uncooked Jam Drop on a greased tray about 5cm apart, or on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

Use your lightly floured finger to make an indentation in each ball. Add 1/2 teaspoon jam into the centre of each biscuit with a small spoon.



Place tray in oven.

You may need to turn tray around halfway through cooking for even browning.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until biscuits are cooked through and light golden.

Store biscuits in  single layers between sheets of non-stick baking paper, in an airtight container in a cool place if possible for up to 2 days. They won't last much longer.



6 cooked on a second tray and one missing already whilst still hot.




Below is the riginal handwritten recipe from my Mum's recipe book. This is the full extent of the recipe. What occurred to me when I was looking through her old recipes was how simple and briefly worded they were. Most of them were hand written and handed on through the family or friends.  The specific instructions on how to cook the recipe was communicated verbally and still is to a certain extent, and there was also an understanding that who you gave your prized recipe to could cook. Recipes in books and on line now often include so much detail, aimed at the beginner cook to those more experienced. Ingredients are also more complex requiring explanation. What are your thoughts on this? Is there sometimes too much wording and detail in the recipes of today? Or do you find all of that extra detail interesting as I do.



This was the complete recipe in my Mum's recipe book. Just four ingredients and a brief method. How times have changed.

Keep cool or warm depending on which Hemisphere you are living in.

Thanks for dropping by.

Best wishes,

Pauline

Chocolate Rum Truffles or Christmas Trumffles

It's Christmas Eve and it's starting to feel like Christmas, especially when these delicious chocolate truffles are made and sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be enjoyed. My first batch only had 2 tablespoons of rum in them, however when they are refrigerated as we need to during a hot Queensland summer the flavour of the rum tends to reduce so I doubled the amount in the next batch and Mr. HRK and Shannon gave them the thumbs up, after trying a couple of them of course just to make sure. They are delicious with an afternoon  cup of  tea or coffee or an evening aperitif.

I hope you are enjoying the lead up to Christmas and that the commercial frenzy of the event hasn't affected you too much.

I have to admit that when I first starting making these  little balls I was calling them Rum Balls. However as often happens, the recipe evolved into more of a truffle like mixture so that is what I have called them. Shannon also reminded me that my classic Rum Balls used to always be made with Weetbix and had coconut in them. So do you prefer to make Rum Balls or Truffles at Christmas time or is there another traditional sweet family treat that you like to make?

Shannon has named these Trumffles as they are a cross between a Rum Ball and a Truffle, ha, ha.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ingredients:

250g sweet biscuits, such as Mcvities Digestives Milk Chocolate biscuits or Arrowroot biscuits
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
4 tablespoons rum (I used Bundaberg Rum)
Chocolate sprinkles and extra fresh desiccated coconut for coating in two separate batches

Method:

Drop your biscuits separately into the food processor through the chute whilst motor is running to make fine crumbs.
Place the biscuit crumbs into a mixing bowl. Stir in all of the other ingredients until well combined.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour until mixture is cold and firm.
Roll level tablespoons of the mixture into bowls. This may be easier if you dampen your hands first.
Lightly roll each truffle in either coconut or chocolate sprinkles or cocoa powder.

As these may be served at a family gathering over Christmas, a special Kid's edition can be made minus the alcohol by replacing the rum with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and reduce the cocoa to 1/3 cup.

(This recipe is loosely based on one I saw on a Jamie Oliver Website, and then for some reason I couldn't find it again. )

I'd like to thank you for reading my blog and supporting me with your comments throughout the year. I'd also like to thank those bloggers who have inspired me throughout the year with their enjoyable and inspiring posts. We are all part of a very diverse, global and supportive blogging community, which I look forward to being part of in 2018.

This will be my last post for a while now, possible until mid-January.

Wishing all the best for a wonderful Christmas with family and a healthy, safe and rewarding 2018.

Bye for now

Pauline xx

Everett's Lychee Farm at Mareeba, and Rusty's Market in Cairns, they've got it covered

We drove up the range to the Atherton Tableland from Cairns, which is inland and to the West, in search of the best Lychees and Mangoes, at the best price we could find. Lychees are at the height of the season right now, and Summer of 2017 has been a good season, as it has also been for Mangoes. Mareeba is the food bowl of the Tablelands, and as we approached the thriving township, we discovered Everett's lychee farm, marketed as F.N.Q Lychee. We drove through rows and rows of lychee trees covered in nets to protect them from the Flying Foxes and the birds and came to the distribution and sorting centre where there is an ordinary refrigerator storing  bags of Grade One lychees, and bags of seconds, all for sale to the public.

Easy Pecan Pie with Maple Syrup to enjoy for the Holidays

Pecan Pie is a traditional American dessert and Thanksgiving favourite, and whilst there are stacks of recipes and variations out there, this one is so simple without compromising on taste or quality. I really encourage you to give it a try, as it is just so quick and easy and delicious. My only concession is to buy a frozen shortcrust pastry base, as I am baking this in Tropical Cairns, and the thought of making pastry in the Tropical Summer heat of 33 deg. is rather challenging. I  bought a frozen pastry base which can be used for both savoury and sweet tarts, as I like the contrast of a slightly savoury base with the sweet filling.

Traditionally Karo Syrup is used when making Pecan pie in the U.S., however the maple syrup works beautifully and some books say it was used before Karo Syrup, a form of corn syrup,  became the preferred choice. Texas claimed the Pecan Pie as it's official dessert in 2013, as the Pecan nut is  the official nut of Texas. Just a little bit of history there.

The biggest challenge with this is being very careful with the pastry so that it arrives home and into the freezer without being broken. I bought two just in case. Well Murphy's Law prevailed, I don't know how it happened, but one ended up in lots of small pieces and the other one stayed in tact, thank goodness. Not to worry though, because as my daughter Shannon said, the second broken one can still be baked and sprinkled over other desserts, ha, ha. Waste not, want not.

While the pie is baking, the pecans rise to the top, leaving a gooey layer of sugary custard below almost like a light caramel, which contrasts well with the crisp nutty surface. To be honest, I haven't baked a Pecan Pie for a long, long time, although I had eaten this particular one before when my friend Chris made it. She very generously gave me her recipe. I think it will become a family favourite. I was cooking this for Shannon and Dan, and of course Mr. HRK, and as Dan is originally Canadian, I thought that he would appreciate this traditional dessert, and he certainly did.

This only took me about 10 minutes to assemble before placing it in the oven, and as I was also making lasagna for the main course, it was great to make a very easy dessert.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Sweet short crust pie case (frozen)

3 eggs beaten

1/2 cup sugar

½ cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not imitation)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 175 deg. F

Mix eggs, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla together.

Spread chopped pecans over your pie base and pour mixture over the top. (Sometimes the brand of pie case can be a little small for the mixture if the eggs are extra large and some spillage can occur so place pie on a tray.)

Bake in a moderate oven for 30-45 minutes. This depends on how hot your oven is. At home, I probably would have cooked this for 40 minutes, however Shannon's oven is quite hot and I took it out after 35 minutes as I didn't want to risk burning it.

Serve with a delicious ice cream.

Pecan Pie straight out of the oven

I was a bit worried about taking the pie out of the alfoil case as it was the first time I have baked a frozen tart shell, and I didn't want it to risk breaking it up. However next time I make it I will be brave and remove it from the alfoil, ha, ha.

Thanks for dropping by.

Best wishes

Pauline

Pomegranate Flavoured Baba Ganoush

The silly season of parties has started for some in the lead up to Christmas, which often means taking a plate or a dip to share. I have made this seriously delicious eggplant or aubergine dip a couple of times now, and the last batch kept in the refrigerator for nearly two weeks. It actually improved in flavour over that time. The pomegranate molasses and mint give this a distinctive Middle Eastern flavour. It is essential though to use freshly picked eggplant for the best result.  This recipe comes from the amazing Maggie Beer's Recipe for Life Book, a worthwhile purchase, and when I saw this list of ingredients including mint and pomegranate molasses I had to try it.

I have also frozen a couple of containers full, minus the pomegranate seeds as it makes quite a lot, and these will be great over Christmas, with the pomegranate seeds providing a festive garnish when needed.

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8

2 large eggplants or smaller eggplants such as Japanese or White to the equivalent of 600-800g.
1/3 cup (90g) unhulled tahini
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate for garnish

Method:

Preheat your oven to 250 deg. C. (fan forced)

Place the eggplants on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes or until the skin has blackened and blistered and the flesh is soft.  Remove them from the oven and set aside on a tray to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skin and scoop the flesh into a colander. Leave the flesh to drain for about 10-15 minutes.

In your food processor, process the tahini, garlic, molasses, cumin, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil until smooth. Add the eggplant and the chopped herbs and pulse until just combined. Check the seasoning, then transfer to a serving bowl.

To decorate, garnished with pomegranate seeds scattered over the surface of your baba ganoush. Serve with Lebanese bread, biscuits, or  barbecued broccoli as Maggie Beer suggests.

I also have an easier and more economical recipe for Baba Ganoush on my blog, but it is still a very tasty version. It is  essentially minus the pomegranate, molasses and mint and you can find that recipe  here. It just depends whether or not  you want to invest in a fresh pomegranate and some pomegranate molasses and show off over the Christmas season a little which can be fun and is always appreciated.

Best wishes

Pauline

The splendour of the Blood Lilly (Haemanthus) in Tropical Gardens

  

The African Blood Lilly with large red globe shaped blooms, resembling a very soft brush or a pincushion even, arrives unannounced, saying Look At Me and quietly takes centre stage. Splashes of brilliant red tinged with gold throughout our Tropical Garden signals to me that Christmas is on it's way. The bulbs which grow quite large if left alone, lie dormant beneath the ground for most of the year, some lush green leaves appear and then if the weather conditions are to their liking, the flower bursts into song in early Summer. We have had ideal weather this year for tropical bulbs, with rain showers, cloudy conditions and not too much heat just yet. However if you live in a frost prone region, these bulbs are not for you.