Pretzels

I had this urge today to make pretzels so I thought I'd try to look up the origins of the pretzel.  While scrolling down the list of articles, I came across one called the "Lenten Pretzel" by Fr. William Saunders. An interesting read about the origins of the pretzel and it's traditional beginnings as a symbol of faith during Lent. 


It was interesting to learn that there is actual documentation describing the pretzel in a manuscript held by the Vatican Library. It was made during times of Lent when it is a time of reflection and pray and a period when you had to refain from eating meat or animal products. The pretzel was basically a bread which Italian monks in the 600s had made to remind everyone of this special time of pray and the shape of the pretzel was to symbolise the crossing of the arms in pray positon.  They made them to give out to the faithful  and some were also given to children for reciting their prays. And for this they were originally named bracelle, which is Latin for "little arms" and was also know as a pretiola, meaning "little reward" . Eventually the pretzel became very popular and evolved from a soft pretzel to a hard pretzel made more popularly by the Germans, who came to name them bretzel which somehow became the pretzel we know today. Interesting???!!! ... and today just so happens to be The Most Holy Trinity.


So here's my take on the pretzel adapted by a recipe by Christa Rose. I made a few adjustments and baked half of them like a bagel by boiling them first and the other just left to bake. Both were equally soft and buttery and I'll be adding different toppings when I make them again. 

Pretzels

1 1/2 cup warm water

4 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

5 cups plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sea salt

1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp water

1. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar in the warm water. Set it aside until it is foamy, about 10 mins.

2. Using a large mixing bowl, add the plain flour, sugar, salt. Pour the yeast mixture and oil into the flour and combine. If it is a bit dry just add some more water and then knead it on a flour surface until is becomes a smooth dough. It should take about 8-10 mins and then place it in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and place it in a warm area. Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled, about an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C.

4. When the dough has risen, remove it and punch out the air. Knead it again and divide it into 12 parts. Roll out the each piece into a rope about 40 cm long and twist it into a pretzel shape. This bit might be a bit tricky but I find if you hold both ends in a U shape and just twist it and lay it down it becomes easier and faster to make. 

5. Place each pretzel on a baking tray with a greased piece of baking paper. Leave them to rise for about 15 mins. Brush them with a bit of the egg wash and sprinkle with the sea salt. For this recipe I experimented with baking half the batch by boiling it in a pot of hot water, just like a bagel and then brushed it with the egg wash and the other I baked normally. I didn't find any difference between the two methods as they were equally yummy!

Ravioli

This first time I tasted ravioli was when I was in the 2nd grade at Taipei American School. My best friend Alex would always bring a flask of ravioli for lunch and I think this was the only thing she would bring for lunch. It was the canned type but it tasted really good compared to my sandwiches that I would bring from home. Small little pillows filled with meat and covered with a tomato sauce. I had never tasted anything like this before!


That's me in the yellow dress next to Alex in the blue dress and sitting next to her was my brother. It was my last day at school in Mrs B's class and on the way to our new home in Holland.


Alex was an American and she introduced me to lot of other foods which were strange to me at the time. Tomato soup with ABC noodles, macaroni and cheese, and I can remember for some reason always putting butter on my pasta and rice at her place..... We had alot of fun times, sleep overs and just playing by the pool with our other friend Juliette. So that's Alex where ever you are for introducing me to ravioli all those years ago.

Ravioli

Filling

300 g mince beef

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp sweet basil

Sauce

410 g can tomato puree + 1 can water

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

salt & pepper

Pasta

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup extra

Filling

1. Using a saucepan, heat up some oil and saute the onions and garlic. Remove and add this to the other ingredients in another mixing bowl and refrigerate until the pasta is ready. 

Pasta

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the two eggs and use a fork to gradually mix the flour and egg together.

2. The dough will be a bit sticky so remove it from the bowl and place on a well floured surface. Add extra flour to the dough and knead it into a firm smooth dough. 

Make sure you sprinkle enough flour so that it doesn't stick to the surface. 

3. Divide the dough into 2 and taking one piece carefully roll it out until it is thin enough to pass through the widest setting of the pasta maker. Roll the dough through and section the dough into 3 parts and fold them over lapping each other. Roll the dough through the pasta maker again. It should be the smooth and uniform in width.

4. Roll the dough again but at the next setting. It should gradually get thinner. Roll the dough until the 2nd last setting or until it's about 2mm thick. Lay the pasta on a floured surface. Using the blunt edge of a knife mark a line along the middle of the length of the pasta sheet and along the other side making small squares.

5. Take out the filling from the fridge and use about 1/2 a teaspoon and place it in the centre of each square. Cover it with another layer of pasta and using a knife cut squares along the filling. Pinch along the sides to seal and use a fork to gently press along the edges. 

6. Use a clean tea towel and spread the finished ravioli to dry while you finish making the rest of them. Transfer the ravioli to a plate and refrigerate until needed. You can also freeze them to use later.

Sauce

1. Using a saucepan, heat some oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add any leftover filling and cook over medium heat. Add in the tomato puree and 1 can of water and stir. Add the wine, herbs . Cover and simmer for about 15 mins. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the sauce has slightly thicken and set aside.

2. Use a saucepan and fill with 3/4 of water. Bring to the boil and add the ravioli. Cook in batches. The ravioli will float up when it is cooked it should take about 6 mins. Remove and drain the ravioli.

Reheat the sauce and add the ravioli. Serve the ravioli in individual bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Crispy Deep Fried Sotong (Calamari)

My daughter has always been a fan of anything with what is locally know as sotong, also know as calamari or squid. They call it sotong in Malaysia and it is usually prepared in so many ways but the most popular way is having dried and roasted over charcoal and then pounded flat and eaten with sugar or a squirt of sweet dark soy sauce. Another popular way of eating is just simply deep frying it and that's the way my daughter loves it. Crispy and with just the right amount of batter.

I know for some the very thought of preparing the squid can really turn some people off but it's really quite easy to do. You don't have to be too squirmish about it. Just peel off the skin and remove the inner parts. That can't be too hard??? Ok, so it's a bit slimy but you can get the hang of it and then it's just one step closer to eating a delicious snack!

Crispy Deep Fried Sotong (Calamari)

4 large squids

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup corn flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper

vegetable oil for deep frying

1. Wash the squid and remove the tentacles. Clean out the inside of the squid and pull out any remaining intestines and the hard membrane. Cut out the squid's beak and eyes. This can be a bit squishy but it's easier just to but below the eyes. Cut the squid into 1cm rings and half the tentacles.  Dry the squid with clean tea towel and make sure all the moisture dried out. 

2. Prepare the other ingredients in a bowl. Toss the squid in the flour mixture and set it aside.

3. Heat the oil for deep frying. The oil has to be really hot to get the squid to be crispy. You'll have to cook it really fast in the hot oil. Shake off any excess flour and add the squid in small batches to the oil so that it will be crispy. Cook until is is golden and crispy. It should take about a 1-2 mins. Remove it and drain over paper towels. You can serve it with all types of sauces but our favourite is mayonnaise.

Chicken Bacon Mushroom Tortellini with a Creamy Tomato Sauce

I just adore pasta. Don't you? There's something about a pasta that makes you want to have more and top it off with your favourite sauce. Lots of sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese for me.

I've been having these cravings for pasta this whole week and my pasta maker has finally been dusted off. No more hand rolled pasta... it was just too tiring! Out of the cupboard and ready to help me with my latest pasta adventure in kitchen.

Tortellini tonight!

It's hard to find homemade or fresh pasta out here where I live. We don't have very much in terms of a real Italian restaurant, maybe only decent one that actually serves tortellini but even so I can't be dining there every night, although I wouldn't mind! 


So I've set myself the task to make my own tortellini. It can't be that hard to make it and they do kind of look like Chinese wontons but just turned inside out. I've had them many times before so I'll have to go by memory and do a bit of research to get the right shape.


I'm going to use some lean back bacon to add flavour to the sauce and also add it to the tortellini filling, as well as adding fresh shitake mushrooms too! A creamy tomato sauce to cover the tortellini and that should make our dinner for tonight.

Chicken Bacon Mushroom Tortellini with a Creamy Tomato Sauce

Filling

300 g chicken mince

2 pieces of lean back bacon, finely chopped

6 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped

1 egg

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

pinch of salt

Pasta

1 1/2 + 1/2 cup extra

2 eggs

Sauce

2 pieces of lean back bacon, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1/4 cup dry red wine

410 g tin tomato puree + water

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

pinch of salt

1/2 cup full cream milk

Filling

1. Mix all the ingredients into a small mixing bowl and refrigerate until the pasta is ready. I used a meat cleaver to make sure the chicken mince was finely grounded before I added it to the mixture. 

Pasta

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the two eggs and use a fork to gradually mix the flour and egg together.

2. The dough will be a bit sticky so remove it from the bowl and place on a well floured surface. Add extra flour to the dough and knead it into a firm smooth dough. 

Make sure you sprinkle enough flour so that it doesn't stick to the surface. 

3. Divide the dough into 2 and taking one piece carefully roll it out until it is thin enough to pass through the widest setting of the pasta maker. Roll the dough through and section the dough into 3 parts and fold them over lapping each other. Roll the dough through the pasta maker again. It should be the smooth and uniform in width.

4. Roll the dough again but at the next setting. It should gradually get thinner. Roll the dough until the 2nd last setting or until it's about 2mm thick. Lay the pasta on a floured surface and cut out the tortellini circles. I use a glass to cut out the circles and set them aside. Roll up any excess into the remaining portion of dough and repeat the process again.

5. Take out the filling from the fridge and use about 1/2 a teaspoon and place it in the centre of the pasta circle. Wet the edges of the circle and fold into half. Pinch the edges to seal the pasta and take the two corners and slightly overlap them and pinch them to seal  it..... It's a little tricky to describe but once you get the hang of shaping the tortellini it's really easy.

6. Use a clean tea towel and spread the finished tortellini to dry while you finish making the rest of them. Transfer the tortellini to a plate and refrigerate until needed. You can also freeze them to use later.

Sauce

1. Using a saucepan, heat some oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add bacon and any left over filling and cook over medium heat. Add in the tomato puree and 1 can of water and stir. Add the wine, herbs . Cover and simmer for about 15 mins. Uncover and add the milk and stir well. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the sauce has slightly thicken and set aside.

2. Use a saucepan and fill with 3/4 of water. Bring to the boil and add the tortellini. Cook in batches. The tortellini will float up when it is cooked. Remove and drain the tortellini.

Reheat the sauce and add the tortellini. Serve the tortellini in individual bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Chicken Mushroom Fettucini

I've been thinking alot about all the noodles we tend to eat whenever we got out to eat. Long, skinny, wide and flat. Eggs and flour.... is that all it is? There doesn't seem too much than that? But no.... every single type of noodle or pasta is different. Machine made or homemade .... of course you can tell the difference!

Homemade is the best! It's fresh, so easy to make and it cooks so fast... 3-4 mins.

I have a pasta maker somewhere at the back of my kitchen cupboard. Tucked away in a corner, clean and ready to use but this time I got a little lazy and left that quick handy gadget to rest for the day.....perhaps I'll use it another day because this time it's purely pasta made by hand... my hands! Roll it out.............

Chicken Mushroom Fettucini

1 chicken back quarter

150 g fresh shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped finely

50 g butter

1 cups of chicken stock 

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs)

pinch of cracked black pepper

salt to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the garlic and onion. 

2. Add the mushrooms, pepper & salt and cook until soften. 

3. Add the chicken stock, water and milk and bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered for 10 mins.

4. Remove from heat and using a hand blender, carefully pulse through the soup to blend the mushrooms. Try to blend a majority of the soup but leave some slices of mushrooms too. It adds great texture and you don't want it to become a puree.

5. Heat over medium heat, add the chicken pieces and stir well until cooked. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until it thickens. It should be creamy and thick. Add any extra salt & pepper for seasoning. Pour over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Homemade Fettucini

1 cup plain flour + extra flour

2 eggs

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the two eggs and use a fork to gradually mix the flour and egg together.

2. The dough will be a bit sticky so remove it from the bowl and place on a well floured surface. Add extra flour to the dough and knead it into a firm smooth dough.

3. Roll the dough out until it is thin enough for pasta. Make sure you sprinkle enough flour so that it doesn't stick to the surface. Carefully roll the dough up and using a knife gently cut into 1 cm widths. Lift up the pasta and sprinkle flour to separate the pasta.

4. Use a saucepan and fill up it up about 1/2 way with water and bring it to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 3 - 4 mins or until cooked. Remove and drain. Serve it with the Chicken Mushroom sauce.

The base of the sauce is actually my Fresh Shitake Mushroom Soup but only half the recipe with Chicken pieces added to it.

I made this earlier in the week so this would be my first part of my homemade pasta week.

..... no connection

.... Where has the time gone? I've been away but partly not of my doing. Well, you see we've been having some good rainfall for the past few days and as usual in this part of the world, heavy monsoon rains can play havoc with your telephone and internet lines.... and also if you forget to pay the internet bill.... the blogging stops!...No more excuses.


I'm back online and so very happy to be blogging again. I've been busy in the kitchen as always trying to spice things up for the meal time. Lately I've been in a bit of a pasta making roll... tortelini, ravioli and just some good old handmade pasta!

I have alot to catch up with and so here we go.

Butterscotch Brownies

My sister-in-law can make a mean brownie and she has a scrumptious butterscotch and rich chocolate brownies. So delightful you can't stop at one .... so naturally I've been inspired to experiment with my version of a butterscotch brownie. 

Lots of deep brown sugar and butter to give it that rich butterscotch flavour I only hope I can make a brownie worthy of my SIL. I must ask for her secret recipe but I'm sure she's saving that to pass down to her kids.

Butterscotch Brownie

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Using a medium size saucepan, over low heat melt the butter and remove once melted. Add the brown sugar, milk, vanilla and egg and stir until well combined.

3. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased 8' square baking tin. Bake for 25 mins and cool for about 5 mins. Cut the brownies into smaller pieces while the brownies is still warm as it will be easier to cut.

Peach Crumble with Homemade Yogurt

I've been meaning to post this Peach Crumble but I've been distracted with some of my sewing adventures... I've been bitten by the "handbag bug" so my blogging time has been seriously neglected but I'm back to my first love FOOD.


Over the Mother's Day weekend, I got my hubby and daughter to make a dessert for my mother-in-law and took a day off from kitchen duties to supervise these two newbies in the kitchen. I gave them an easy dish to make, something I've made timelessly and really simple to make.


I used half my Anzac biscuit recipe for the crumble which gives it a crunch full of rolled oats and coconut over a bed of juicy peaches topped that off with some homemade yogurt. Have it for dessert, a snack or better yet breakfast.... it's a yummy start to the day!

Peach Crumble

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 cup sugar

60 g butter

1/8 cup golden syrup

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tbsp water, hot

800g+ canned peach halves, sliced thinly and use 3-4 tbsp of reserved syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Using a 23 cm pie dish (I used a Pyrex Deep Pie dish), arrange the thinly sliced peach halves to cover the base of the pie dish and set aside.

3. In a large bowl mix together the plain flour, desiccated coconut, rolled oats and sugar.

4. Using a small saucepan, melt the butter and golden syrup  stirring over low heat.  In a separate bowl, combine the hot water with the bicarbonate of soda. When the butter has melted remove the saucepan from the heat, immediately add in the bicarb mixture to the butter mixture. It will probably foam a bit when you stir the bicarb mixture in.  

5. Sprinkle the crumble generously over the sliced peaches. Bake until the crumble is golden brown and serve with thick plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Homemade Yogurt

900mls water

16 tbsps of powdered full cream milk

1/2 cup of powdered full cream milk

1 tub of plain yoghurt (starter)

1.Pour the water into a saucepan. Gently stir in the powdered milk and mix well until completely dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10mins. Continue stirring the milk to prevent a milk skin forming. Remove from heat and pour into a container.(Pre-rinse the container with hot water) Cover the container and let it stand for 2 hrs.

2.Pour 1 tub of yoghurt into the container of milk and stir until combined. Cover the container and wrap up with a tea towel and place the container in an enclosed place. This is to maintain the temperature. I usually use the microwave for this. Leave the yoghurt mix for 8hrs or overnight. The yoghurt would have settled and thicken, with the consistency of creamy thick Greek yoghurt. 

3. Remove the tea towel. Spoon out 3/4cup of yoghurt to keep as a starter for your next batch of yoghurt. Place the yoghurt and starter in the fridge to cool. Your yoghurt is ready to eat in about 2hrs.

A slice of Carrot Cake......

First of all I'd like to wish all wonderful Mothers around the world a 

Happy Mother’s Day

I know I'm a little late on this one but after a weekend free from computers and lack of an internet line I'm back with my belated wish for all mothers, grandmothers and special people in our lives who deserve a special day of appreciation.

A special day where we can say:

• thank you for all the encouragement you gave me and seeing that I could be something better than I ever thought I could be
• for your honesty, support, laughter, patience, beauty and love you have given me all my life
• for reminding me that I am loved no matter what
• for knowing just what to say and when I needed to hear your words of wisdom
• for letting me learn from my mistakes and helping me pick up the pieces
• for being the daughter I am because of you
• and for showing me just how great a mum can be..... 

I love you mum

I've dedicated this my carrot cake to my mum ... it's one of her favourites!

Carrot Cake with Honey Cream Cheese 

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

4 large eggs

3 cups of grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots)

1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans) roughly chopped

2 1/4 cup plain flour, sifted

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sultanas

1/2 cup prunes, cut into quarters

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 8 1/2' x 8 1/2' cake tin or a 23cm springform tin with baking paper.

2. Using a large mixing bowl, beat the vegetable oil, brown sugar and eggs until it is thick and creamy. Add the walnuts, sultanas, carrots and prunes and mix until well combined.

3. In another mixing bowl, add the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and all the spices. Fold in the flour gradually into the oil egg mixture until all well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 45-55 mins or until a skewer comes clean out of the cake. It should also start to shrink a bit on the sides of the tins. Bake it in the middle of the oven. Remove and let it stand for about 10 mins and then let it cool completely on a rack before putting the cream cheese icing.

Honey Cream Cheese

250 g cream cheese, soften

1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsp honey

1. Using a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, honey and icing sugar until smooth. Spread in over the cooled carrot cake. 

The honey cream cheese is actually my daughter's idea since she always likes cheese cake and it taste so much better than the usual lemon icing.

It took me a while to perfect this recipe and I just love making it for my mum whenever I get the chance to see her.

Mama's Ma Lai Goh (Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake)

I have many fond memories of my Mama (grandmother in Chinese) and whenever I think of her it's always food that pops into my head. She would always have something that she baked, steamed or fried in her kitchen for all of us grandkids. Sweets no way but only delicious homemade treats were her thing. 

She never wrote down how she made them. All her secrets are kept to memory and with her magical touch she would be in the kitchen whipping up batches of her goodies ready to eat at her house or packaged to take home. 

Whenever I got the chance I would sit down and just watch her do her thing. Every measurement was by sight and I would ask her "how much?". She would always say "just watch me" and I did. Countless times I would watch and write down all the ingredients and how she made them. She would sometimes call me up just to come over on a certain day to watch her make something. I guess passing down the her recipes down a generation but I think she just liked spending time together this way.

There are many of those treats I call my favourites but one clearly stands out and that's her Ma Lai Goh or Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake. It's a traditional Cantonese steamed sponge cake, light and fluffy, not too sweet,  caramel flavoured with just a hint of lemon. 

Mama's Ma Lai Goh (Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake)

250 g brown sugar

250 g self-raising flour

3 eggs

200 ml of carnation milk or evaporated milk

80 ml of vegetable oil

juice of a lemon

1. Using an electric mixer, cream the oil and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and combine well. 

2. Fold in the sifted flour and alternate with the carnation milk.

3. Add the juice of a lemon and combine well. 

4. Prepare a greased round 23cm baking tin and pour the mixture into the tin. 

5. Steam the cake over high steam for about 25 - 30 mins or use a skewer to check if it is baked through. Remove from heat and let it stand for about 5 mins. Transfer to a rack and let it cool another 10 mins and then cut the cake diagonally into triangular shapes. Place the cake into a container for storage so that it doesn't dry up.

Bread and Butter Pudding

My hubby's favourite dessert when he was a kid was always bread and butter pudding. He actually use to make this all by himself when he was young but I'm yet to try his version of it.... He's quite the experimental cook and I haven't let him cook anything lately if it can be helped! 

Anyway, he hasn't been feeling well these days just down and miserable with a bad cold so I made this for him tonight. I hope it cheers him up.

Bread and Butter Pudding

3 slices of thickly sliced bread, cut into quarters

30g butter

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp cinnnamon

1 tsbp desiccated coconut

1/4 cup sultanas

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1. Cut the bread into triangular quarters. (I used a Japanese sliced bread for this pudding, thick and sweet) Butter each piece of bread and arrange them with the triangle upright into an shallow ovenproof dish.

2. Sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and sultanas over the bread. 

3.  In a bowl combine the milk, eggs and vanilla essence. Pour the mixture over the bread and leave it to soak for about 5 mins. 

4. Sprinkle the desiccated coconut over the pudding and bake it for about 40 mins or until the top is golden. Remove and serve hot.

Spicy Potato Wedges

Who could resist a potato chip or better yet a Spicy Potato Wedge?? 

So having made my Chicken Pie I had to think of a vegetable to accompany it and so I thought of the simple potato. Dress it up and make it homestyled with a few spices to add flavour and bake in the oven till it's crisp.

Spicy Potato Wedges

12 small potatoes, throughly cleaned and cut into wedges

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground rosemary

1/4 tsp ground coriander

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Sea salt

1. Clean and cut the potato into small wedges.

2. Using a roasting pan, add all the ingredients and thoroughly mix making sure to coat all the wedges.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C. Arrange the wedges skin side down. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake in the oven for 35 mins or until golden.

Chicken Pie

I've been thinking lately of what sort of snacks I should keep for the kids. Something that would fill the tummy especially after they come home from school. They always seem to want to eat anything in sight and it has to been quick and filling just to tie them over till dinner time. 

So I was thinking back on what I use to like to eat as a kid and I have to say I've always been in love with bread and anything that had some sort of pastry to it. Mum's curry puffs... warm crusty rolls, Danish pastries (yum!) and typical Aussie treats like meat pies and sausage rolls! 

.... Hhhmm PIES!! That's it! I've made meat pies before and so today I made chicken pies... enough for now and some for the freezer.

Chicken Pie

2 chicken leg quarters, skinned, boned and cut into small cubes

1 potato, chopped into small pieces

2 tbsp finely chopped capsicum

2 tbsp finely chopped carrot

8 large shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

3/4 cup of chicken stock

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste

30g butter

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onions and garlic. Add the chicken and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Stir until cooked.

2. Add in all the vegetables and stir well. Pour in the chicken stock and milk and bring to the boil, simmer and cover for 10-15 mins. 

3. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until the sauce thickens. It should be thick and creamy. Remove from heat and set aside.

Shortcrust Pastry

2 1/2 cups plain flour

100 g butter, chilled and chopped roughly

1/2 cup cold water

1. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the chopped butter. Rub in the butter until is resembles breadcrumbs. 

2. Add in the cold water and knead into a ball. It might get a bit too sticky but just work it until it's smooth. Wrap it in cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 mins. I normally put it in a plastic kitchen bag as it's easier to handle than using a wrap.

3. Roll the dough onto a floured surface and use the pie cutters or shape it to fit the pie moulds (if you're using pie moulds in the oven).

Pie making

1. Preheat the pie maker for about 8mins or until the light switchesoff OR preheat oven for 180C.

2. Layer the pie moulds with the shortcrust pastry and fill with the chicken filling (about 1/2 cup or more). Don't over fill the pie as it will eventually ooze out at the side!! Cover with the pastry top and seal the edges.

3. Cook in the pie maker for about 8 mins or until the top is browned. I lost my pie cookbook that can with the pie maker so i just check to see if it has browned, all depending on what pastry you use.

For the oven you can egg wash it if you like. Bake it in the oven for about 10-15mins or until it browns.