A Quiche on the go.

My lunch time menu for the kids these days have pushed me to scratch my head and try to come up with something that is super quick and easy to make and in the cooking time of trying to work around a new baby and whatever time that leaves me ... tops 1 hr to prepare and get it on the table for lunch.

I know a quiche is normally made in a round quiche dish but this one of my all time fav baking dishes and I've found it's perfect to fit those square puff pastry sheet without any fuss. So I've made this easy roasted tomato and bacon quiche for lunch and with an added layer of puff pastry its ready to go.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Bacon Quiche

3 tomatoes, quartered
2 sprigs of fresh basil, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 onion, sliced 
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 slices of bacon, roughly chopped
5 eggs
1/2 milk
1/2cup grated cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese
1 1/2 sheets of puff pastry


1. Arrange in the baking dish the quartered tomatoes, salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast under the grill for about 15mins or until slightly browned.
2. In a fry pan cook the bacon until lightly crispy and set aside keeping the remaining oil to saute the onions and garlic until soft and put this aside. 
3. Lightly grease the rectangular baking dish and cover with puff pastry. Bake this in the oven at 180C until it is lightly golden and remove.
4. Whisk the eggs and milk until combined and add the cheddar, and salt & pepper. Arrange the roasted tomatoes, bacon, chopped basil, onions and garlic over the puff pastry and pour the egg mixture over it. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top and bake for about 25mins or until the top is golden. 

Pizza Swirls

I was talking to my mum last night about ideas for school snacks and she was telling me about these great mini pizza snacks that she's been buying at the local bakery. They're not your ordinary mini pizzas but little swirls of pizza and they come in all sorts of fillings. Apparently they are so popular that they sell out by 10 am and if you want to guarantee getting some you have to place an order. 


Can you imagine that, all sold out by 10 am? .... When mum told that I just knew I had to make them for the kids and I'm sure they would be a hit too. 

We don't normally have pizza for lunch but I was pretty sure the kids would love a surprise when they open up their lunch boxes to find some pizza swirls. Pepperoni and cheese filling! I knew I had some wholemeal bread dough in the cupboard so instead of making bread today I used it to make the base of the pizza. Rolled it out into a rectangular shape and topped it off with some tomato puree, beef pepperoni, cheddar cheese and rolled it back up like a swiss roll. I then carefully cut it into slices and laid it out on a sprinkling of cornmeal.

Oh the kids absolutely loved it! They must have though ...Wow, mum is actually encouraging us to eat pizza at school and for lunch too!!! I really don't mind as long as it's from home and I know it's healthy. I'm thinking of making a ham and chicken pizza swirl for  next week's school menu!

Quick Proofing Yeast Dough ,,,,,, in the Microwave!!

The other day I did some experimenting in the kitchen again while making some cinnamon rolls. I wanted to see if I could try to quicken the time spent proofing the yeast dough so that it would double in size but with less than a fraction of time then the usual hour. 


Whenever I make anything which involves using dry active yeast I know I will have to leave it in a warm place for about an hour or an hour and a half to let it raise and double it's size. In the past I've heated up the oven to about 180C for about 3 minutes and turned off the heat to enable the oven to generate enough heat just to get it warm so that I use that warmth for my proofing. Having placed the dough in an enamel mixing bowl I would use a damp towel and leave my dough in the oven for about an hour and it would double it's size. It works without a  hitch and I've always found that this method is the best for me but I wanted to see if I could some how make that time shorter. Less time proofing and the faster I could turn out whatever I was baking. 


Getting back to basics whenever I make anything with yeast is to check if the yeast is still active. If it's going to work or not is the most important thing when you make bread. Now I'm not an expert at making bread but I know if the yeast is not working out than the bread is just not going to raise and you won't get that yummy fluffy soft bread. So for starters I've always put in one teaspoon of sugar whenever I proof my yeast with warm water and I've found that it always works.


Mixing and kneading just works the dough before you leave it to rest and final proofing or final fermentation to let it raise and double it's bulk. This is the part that takes the longest and this is what I wanted to see if I could fasten the time. So my experiment takes place here: 

How to quicken the time for the yeast dough to proof?

So I proofed my yeast till it was foamy and mixed it in with the bread flour and after a good 10 minutes of kneading I was ready to proof the dough. And how did I do this .... the microwave of course! Yes, the microwave..... I know not the most traditional method of proofing but it can generate quick bursts of heat and it actually works.

How do you Microwave proof dough?

Okay this is how it works. I placed the dough in an ungreased microwave proof casserole dish (Corningware casserole in my experiment), uncovered and microwaved it for 3 minutes at low heat. Then I left it to rest for 3 minutes and microwaved it again for 3 minutes at low heat. I let it rest this time for 6-8 minutes but placed a cover over the dough..... and guess what happened it actually doubled in size! It worked and in roughly less than 20 minutes I managed to proof the yeast dough with the microwave and this would have normally taken me an hour. 

I'm not sure if this works for all types of bread but give it try and see what happens.

Pizza Time

This is a post from my other blog This side of the island.

It's been a pretty gloomy sort of day today, dark clouds cover the sky and predictable afternoon down pour of rain. It rains and it rains. No, I'm not complaining about it at all,  I actually love the rain. 

It's one of the better times of the year when the afternoons and nights are cooler and you can huddle up in bed and sleep in the cool breeze. This time of the year is a nice time to just stay at home and curl up with a good book or just lazy about in front of the tv and watch a movie. It's the closest thing to a season, apart from the all year round of summer that we have and I suppose you could call it our tropical "winter". 

So for some it's not the best time of the year, especially when it can cause flash floods and all outdoor afternoon activities are cancelled. No swimming for the kids in the afternoon or walks along the beach to watch the sunsets. It's time for the indoor stuff!

Indoor stuff.... to keep the kids busy today, I got them to make dinner. Yes, it was my night off from the dungeon in the kitchen (only kidding I love to cook) and time to put my kids to work. And so tonight Ashley and Tristan were set loose in the kitchen to make pizzas from scratch for dinner. Right from making the pizza dough, rolling it and making their version of pizza.

Rolling out the dough.... 

They both had a go at making their own pizza.... a few nibbles at the cheese by Tristan.

Pepperoni & Ham Pizzas!!! Our little food stylist was fast asleep during the pizza making!

Father's Day Treat

This Father's Day I thought I'd treat hubby to his choice of dessert and so I asked him what he wanted me to make for him..... Cheesecake! Well, I had to perfect cheesecake recipe I wanted to try out and this was that special occasion for it. 

I found this Oreo and Yoghurt Baby Cheesecakes recipe posted by Denise @ Quickies On The Dinner Table. She made this delicious and oh so yummy treat for her son's 12th birthday and I've been wanting to make it ever since I saw it on Foodbuzz.

So thank you Denise for making our dessert time a special treat. We ate it all and planning on making another batch real soon.... This was Jacob's first time eating chocolate cookies and he had a real blast eating some of the remaining Oreos....Oreo crumbles and everything!

Teddies at the Footy

I know that you wouldn't normally find Teddies at the Footy but this World Cup they had first row seats at our place while we watched an earlier game, New Zealand vs Slovakia. I'm happy to say that both teams played well and had a draw at the game, 1-1.


As you can see my inspiration for the past few days has been the FIFA World Cup and my little Gingerbread Bears have been turned into football playing bears. I really wanted to do some icing and have them in our favourite teams; England, Australia and Holland but I thought about it again and it would have been too much work and too much of a sugar overload. 

My football playing Gingerbread Bears!!!

I've posted my Gingerbread recipe before but I've added a bit of mixed spice to this one.

Gingerbread

125 g butter, soften

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg yolk

2 1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup golden syrup

1/2 tsp mixed spice

Preheat oven to 180C.

1. Beat the butter & sugar until light and creamy.

2. Add egg yolk and beat until combined.

3 Sift the dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture with the golden syrup.

4. Mix into a light dough and knead gently onto a lightly floured surface.

5. To shape the gingerbread you can either roll the dough in between 2 sheets of baking paper or hand shape it. The dough should be roughly 3 - 5mm in thickness for biscuit cutting. For a quicker way to shape the gingerbread I would smooth out a handful into my palm and use a flour biscuit cutter to cut out the shape rather than on the floured surface. The dough can be very sticky so be careful when using the rolled out method and remember the flour the biscuit cutter before you cut. You can use a variety of biscuit cutter so to make it interesting.

6. Bake for 10-12mins  or until lightly brown. The gingerbread should be soft and chewy.

The Wholemeal Wonderbread

So we are now on day 3 of the World Cup and I'm still recovering from that devastating game that Australia played. It wasn't very good but I still have hope for them...... but today is a new day and I'm happy to say that our household are also big supporters of the Netherlands. Why I hear you ask? Well my younger brother was born in Holland so we have been given our support to the Oranje.

And I'm happy to report that they played well and Holland won against Denmark. Yeah!!! We won!!!!

Well, getting back to World Cup snacks I've came across this really great wholemeal bread mix. I didn't make it from scratch myself but it's from this place that's known for it's bread so I hope that  counts... good bread. 

The kids love it, especially Tristan who doesn't really like any kind of "brown" bread but he was won over by the bread and he actually asked me to make it again. Now that totally won me over. 

So anyway I'm just going to share with you my little secret.... It was so easy to make. Just add dry yeast and cold water. I didn't even have to proof the yeast!! It's also very cheap and in terms of buying a 600+g loaf of bread, which would cost you about RM3.40 to RM5.60, this whole pack made two large 600+g loaves. 

Although it was easy to make, it hasn't taken away my interest in making bread from scratch. I'll still be experimenting with my bread making ..... successes and flops.

Snacks for the Big Night!

So tonight or should I say this morning is the BIG day in our house.

It's ENGLAND vs US!

In a few moments this household is going to be glued to the tv watching the live telecast of the much anticipated game since 1950. The time when the US defeated England in the FIFA World Cup. And today we are going to be watching a rematch in this opening game for  Group C at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in a place so far away from their homes. They will be the first teams amongst Slovenia and Algeria and will be fighting to win to make it to the finals of the World Cup. Just who will win?.... My prediction is ......England!!!!

Well, let's just watch the game and enjoy it..... It is after all just a "game"!!! (My hubby won't be pleased to hear that!) But really no matter what the outcome I've prepared the nerves and excitement for today with some snacks... Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips and Cinnamon Rolls

 

Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips


Cinnamon Rolls and some Milo Cinnamon Rolls

I'm a huge fan of cinnamon and I couldn't think of anything better than to make some Cinnamon Rolls for tonight's game and give it a bit of a twist by making some Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips.

Cinnamon Rolls

7 g dry yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

1 tsp sugar

80g butter, melted

1/2 cup hot milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 3/4 cup plain flour

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

3 tbsp Milo for optional topping

50 g butter

1. Using a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Leave it for about 10 mins or until is becomes foamy. I always find it's better to add a bit of sugar to get the yeast going.

2. Using a larger bowl, combine the hot milk, butter, sugar, egg and salt. Stir it until it is well combined and then add the yeast mixture. Add the flour and mix it until it forms a dough. Add extra dough it is too moist. Knead the dough onto a floured surface for about 8 mins or until it more elastic. Grease the bowl with some oil and place the dough back into it until it becomes doubled, about 1 hour. I would normally turn the oven on at 180C for 3 mins and turn it off and then place the bowl with dough, covering it with a damp cloth and leave it there to proof, but this will only work with a metal bowl!... my mixing bowls are all enamel so this makes it easier.

3. Remove the dough once it has doubled and punch it down on a floured surface. Knead it again for about 5 mins and divide into 2. Roll it out into a rectangle and spread butter over all over it. Mix the sugar, walnuts and cinnamon and sprinkle in onto the butter dough. I added Milo to the other half of the dough just to try it out. 

4. Roll up the dough and divide it into 12 equal 1inch slices and arrange them onto a baking tray. I use a 4' x 8' baking tray but you could also use a round baking pan. Sprinkle with some extra sugar on top. Repeat for the other half of the dough and bake them at a preheated 180C oven for about 25mins or until golden brown. 

Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips

6 cinnamon rolls

1. Using a bread knife, slice each cinnamon roll into 1cm slices and arrange them onto a baking tray. Bake them in a preheated 180C oven for about 12 mins or until they a golden and crispy. 

I use to love buying this from St. Cinnamon so I was inspired to make them as a snack for the game.

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.

Mini Cinnamon Donuts

For the weekend I decided to give the kids a treat and make them Mini Cinnamon Donuts, half the size of a regular donut and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Just small enough to have a few bites but light enough not to spoil their appetite. 

I've actually made donuts before, Jelly Donuts but this time I thought of having a break from the messy jam filling. I had blackcurrant all over my fingers the last time and covered with icing sugar too! Nope going traditional today with snack sized donuts.....but you know they were so small we all ended up eating more.

For this recipe I've adapted Martha Stewart's Donut Hole recipe and tweaked it to make these smaller sized Mini Cinnamon Donuts.

Mini Cinnamon Donuts

3 3/4 cups plain flour
6 1/2 tablespoons sugar
 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk, warm
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
30 g butter, soften
1L vegetable oil for frying
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, coating

1/2 cup extra caster sugar for coating

1. In a bowl, add plain flour, yeast, sugar, salt. In a separate bowl combine the milk and eggs.
2. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Add the soften butter and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it forms a soft dough, about 8 mins. 
3. Roll the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to proof until doubled in size or for about 1hr.
** I would normally preheat the oven 180C for 3mins and turn the heat off. Place the bowl (I usually use a enamel mixing bowl) with damp cloth into the oven to proof.
4. Punch down the dough and knead to form a ball. Using a 1tbsp measuring spoon scoop out the dough and roll it into a ball. Poke a hole in the centre of the ball using a the blunt end of a chopstick. Arrange the donuts on a greased baking tray to proof for about 30 mins
5. Heat the oil for deep frying and then bring the heat down to medium. Deep fry the donuts in batches and carefully fry on each side until lightly golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. 
6.Roll the donut while warm into a bowl of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shake off the excess sugar and serve.


I made these donuts thinking that it's only half the size of a regular donut but ended up eating more than I intended to eat. Too many bite size pieces to eat!!!.....Makes about 20

Polenta Crusted Moussaka

A traditional moussaka is a casserole usually made from ground lamb mince, covering a layer of sauted eggplant (aubergine) and topped with a bechamel sauce. There are many different versions of moussaka from around the mediterranean but the best known ones are from Greece.

For this version of moussaka, I've replace the lamb with beef mince, crumbed the eggplant and topped it with a creamy cheese polenta layer. The layering is quite similar to lasagne minus the pasta but I've managed to incorporate the polenta (cornmeal) instead of the bechamel sauce (white sauce) to give it more structure, and of course to add in corn for the kids.

Polenta Crusted Moussaka

300 g beef mince
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
410 g tin of tomato puree
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
2 medium eggplants, sliced thickly
3/4 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg white
Polenta
2 1/2 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 cup milk
1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
30 g butter


1. Cut the eggplants and place in a bowl. Add the egg white and toss the eggplants coating it with the egg white. In a small bowl place the breadcrumbs and coat the eggplants.
2. Preheat oil for deep frying. Place a small batch of crumbed eggplants and fry until it is golden. The eggplant should be crispy and the bread crumbs will help absorb the sauce. Remove and drain. 
3. In another saucepan, heat oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add the beef and cook until browned. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano and stir. Add the tomato puree, wine, water, pepper and salt. Bring it to the boil and simmer over medium heat, covered for 15 mins and cook further until the sauce has thicken.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a shallow baking dish, ( I would normally use a 2 small baking dishes equivalent to the size of 1 rectangular lasagne dish) arrange the crispy eggplants at the bottom layer. Add the meat sauce next and spread evenly over the eggplants. Spread the polenta layer on the top and bake for about 15 mins or until the top is golden brown.

Polenta

1. Pour the milk, chicken stock in a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat. Gradually add the polenta and carefully stir out any lumps. Keep stirring until the polenta thickens. It should take about 10 mins and add the parmesan, mozarella cheese and butter. remove from heat.

*** The kids loved the polenta and they didn't even realise that it was cornmeal!!

Hot Cross Buns

Easter time is a time for traditional easter goodies and Hot Cross Buns are one of them. A sweet bun usually filled with candied orange peel and sultanas or raisins and decorated with a cross on the top. It's traditionally eaten on Good Friday (sold all year round now), dating back to about the 12th century and were sold to tune of this old nursery rhyme.

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha' penny, two ha' penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns!

I've adapted this Hot Cross Bun recipe from the same bread recipe that I used with the Japanese Bread and just added the sultanas to the mix.


Use the Japanese Bread recipe and replace the fillings with 3/4 cup of sultanas and roll into equal size balls to fit a square baking tin. Bake the hot cross buns for about 15 mins - 20 mins


Sugar Glaze


4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water


1. Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and stir over low heat. Remove once the sugar has dissolved and brush over the baked hot cross buns.

Jelly Donuts

Happy Easter!!! To celebrate Easter this year I've made jam and custard donuts instead of the traditional hot cross buns.....(I'll be making them tomorrow!) I've been wanting to make donuts for a while but just never got around to it and today's a great occasion / celebration to have them. A rich, sweet snack filled with just the right amount of velvety custard or fruity jelly jam which is then deep fried in oil and coated with powdery icing sugar.....(there's goes all the dieting!!)


I had in mind all the sweet things that we use to eat when we lived in Holland during spring, summer and festive times; the doughy dumplings filled with raisins, apple and currants called Oliebollen and the mini fluffy pancakes Poffertjes. Both very similar, all made from a sweetened dough, deep fried and covered in icing sugar.


I adapted this Jelly Donut recipe from Martha Stewart's Sufganiyot but added custard to the fillings and coated it with icing sugar instead of caster sugar. Sufganiyot is actually a traditional dessert served at Hanukkah (Jewish Festival of Lights), but I decided to make this because it's one of my favourite donut for all occasions.

Custard Donuts


Blackcurrant Jam Donuts

2 tbsp. active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water, (100°F to 110°F)

1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar, plus more for rolling (for rolling I used icing sugar instead)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 large eggs

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups vegetable oil, plus more for bowl

1 cup seedless blackcurrant jam (I used 1/2 cup of blackcurrant jam and 1/2 cup custard)

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and 1 tsp. sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Place flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center; add eggs, yeast mixture, 1/4 cup sugar, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms.

3. On a well-floured work surface, knead until dough is smooth, soft, and bounces back when poked with a finger, about 8 minutes (add more flour if necessary). Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-1/2-inch-round cutter or drinking glass, cut 20 rounds. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 15 minutes.
5. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until a deep-frying thermometer registers 370°.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into oil. Fry until golden, about 40 seconds. Turn doughnuts over; fry until golden on other side, another 40 seconds.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar while warm. Fry all dough, and roll in sugar.
7. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip with jam. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each donut. Fit the pastry tip into a hole, pipe about 2 teaspoons jam into doughnut. Repeat with remaining donut.

Gone Bananas

Now what do you do when you have too many bananas in the kitchen?

        

        You make lots of Banana Bread! It's quick to make and you can pack loads of sweet bananas into a moist, hi-fibre, healthy, full of flavour bread. 

It's one of those comfort classics that everyone has a mum or aunt making it. For me, the all time best banana bread is the one my Mama (grandmother in Chinese) makes.....

                              it is THE BEST!!! 

A beautiful golden brown banana bread that's moist and delicious......ah but I can't give you her recipe (real family secret!!!) but you try mine.....

Banana Bread

80 g butter

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 bananas, ripe, mashed

2 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

**optional 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

**optional 1/2 cup sultanas

Preheat the oven to 180C.

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl.

2. Cream the butter and brown & caster sugars. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla essence and mix well. Add the eggs. You can add the walnuts and sultanas as well.

3. In a separate bowl sift the flour,baking powder and salt. Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk and stir until combined.

4. Grease a loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 40-45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the banana bread to rest for about 5 mins before you remove the tin. Cover the bread in cling wrap and you can eat it when it has cooled. My grandmother would always cover the bread so that it would always stay moist.

Whenever I make this I would slice the bread in thick slices because a thin slice is never enough. You can also serve this like a cake by icing the top with a simple honey cream cheese frosting.

Honey Cream Cheese

125 g cream cheese, soften

1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp honey

1. Cream the cream cheese until soft. Add the icing sugar and honey and stir until its smooth. Spread the frosting on the top of the banana bread. I use the same frosting but doubled on my Carrot Cake.

Walnut, Pumpkin, Sultana Bread

There's something about freshly baked bread that just invites you to have a slice or two. Is it the aroma of that freshly baked bread that fills the whole house and takes your breath away?


It's like a trigger awaking the senses of taste and smells of comfort. Warm crusty bread, melted butter dipping, the first crunch into that crust and that soft chewy centre. 


I remember as a kid having to eat wholemeal, wholegrain and any type of brown bread because it was "good for you". It was a special treat to eat white bread without any of those nasty little wheat grains. My brother and I use to crave for the white stuff!!! 


My mum would always buy those strange looking breads, the knotted buns with poppy seeds/ toasted sesame seeds, the pull-apart breads, round breads, farmer's bread, crusty Italian breads, gourmet vegie infused breads and anything that had a seed in it....... sunflower/linseed/rolled oats/cracked corn/pumpkin/rye/barley...and anything that just didn't look like normal white bread. 


So when I was sent away to school and got to eat all that white bread. I started to really miss all those healthy breads, that simple nutty taste giving it tons of flavour. But most of all it was those memories of the breads mum use to give us as kids, and that is the comfort of home......Thanks mum for all those "it's good for you" breads. I just can't get enough of it now.

Walnut, Pumpkin, Sultana Bread


1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped roughly
1 batch of Japanese Bread

1. Make up the Japanese Bread  and follow the same method. Add in the green pumpkin seeds, sultanas and walnuts and knead until the dough is smooth. It might get sticky but just add some extra flour.
2. Let the dough rinse until at least double about 40 mins - hour. Punch the dough down and knead into 4 equal balls. Roll the balls into ovals and roll it up again. Place 2 rolls into each loaf tin and repeat. Leave it to proof again for 40 mins - hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 25 mins or until it is golden brown.


*** Hint. I find if you heat the oven for about 5 mins and turn it off, it's a great place to proof the dough. Just remember not to heat it too long and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel.

Meat Pie on a bed of Mash

Feeling a little homesick for an Aussie Meat Pie...... 

So for tonight's dinner I dusted off the Breville pie maker and put together my version of a meat pie, which is similar to my Cottage Pie with a twist on the presentation.

It's been years since I had a meat pie, not the party pies or the mini-pies but a  real hearty pie. The last one I had was about 6 years just outside of the Capital Theatre, down at Haymarket  from Harry's Cafe De Wheels. A Harry's "Tiger" meat pie, mashie peas, mash and tons of gravy!!! ....a real touristy thing but real meat pie icon.

I clearly remember that day because it was also the day of the BIRDs, the day that Ash would remember too.....Here we were eating our pies in the park and down came this huge flock of pigeons and seagulls surrounding us, all chanting like in Nemo, "Mine, MIne, Mine"..............and till this day my daughter can't stand the sight of birds!!

Now with this recipe I also made the shortcrust pastry but you can use supermarket ones or even bread, which I sometimes do for a quick pie.

Meat Pie on a bed of Mash

300 g beef mince

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 tsp worcester sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 cup water

1/4 cup red wine

2 tomatoes, chopped roughly

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly and chopped

ground cracked pepper

sea salt to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add onion and garlic to saute. Add the mince meat and gently stir until browned.

2. Add the worcester sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce, tomato puree, pepper and stir. Add the chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, peas, tomato puree, wine and water. Bring to the boil, simmer covered for about 15mins, until the tomato has soften and add salt to taste. 

3. Remove the filling and cool. You can use this meat sauce to disguise a lot of vegies for the kids and they wouldn't know it!!

Shortcrust Pastry

1 1/2 cups plain flour

90 g butter, chilled and chopped roughly

3 tbsp 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 switches off OR preheat oven for 180C.

2. Layer the pie moulds with the shortcrust pastry and fill with the meat 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.

4. Serve it on a bed of mashed potatoes, topping it off with tomato sauce.

Meat Pie on a bed of Mash (I would have loved  to put mashie peas on the pies but the kids would never eat it)

Mashed Potatoes

This is one of the few cooking tips that my hubby taught me!! Microwaved mashed potatoes.

about 6-7 large potatoes, thoroughly washed and scrubbed

30 g butter

1 1/2 - 2 cups of warm milk

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 microwaveable pie dish (I use a pyrex pie dish)

1. Wash and scrub the potatoes. Prick the potatoes with a fork, making sure it's thoroughly poked. This will release the steam and won't let the potatoes explode in the microwave!!!

2. Arrange the potatoes in a microwave pie dish, cover with a microwaveable cover with a vent for 12mins on high.

3. Remove from the microwave and use a fork and knife to peel off the skin.

4. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and mash it with a potato masher or fork. Add the butter, cheese and stir. Gradually add the milk and pour as much as you need for the right texture of mash. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I would sometimes use a Desiree (red) potato and leave the skin on for a rough mash. The kids can get a little fussy over it seeing the skin but it's lots of fibre and I love the rough texture of the mash this way.