Crunchie Munchies

These delicious bicuits take me back to my childhood. Growing up in Africa these were a staple pantry item, but I'd actually completely forgotten about them until I stumbled across this recipe, baked them for my kids, and then started having flashbacks to friends birthday parties around swimming pools eating crunchies and sipping kool aid.

Crunchies

Grease a 20cm x 30cm baking dish

Mix together the following ingredients in a mixing bowl

90g flour
180g oats
125g dessicated coconut
pinch salt
125g sugar
2.5ml cinnamon
125g melted butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
5ml bicarbonate of soda
30ml milk

Press into baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees

Cut into squares

Bella Biscotti

I love biscotti especially with a cup of real coffee or accompanying a chocolate mousse. This recipe is so easy, and is much tastier than the variety you get in coffee shops. I have included milk chocolate in this instance as I am baking them for children, but you can add different flavour chocolates like dark, or white, you can roll the biscotti mix in the kneading stage in a tablespoon of instant espresso powder for a coffee flavour, or add nuts like almonds.

Biscotti

1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup of castor sugar
60g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
250g slab milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Mix the flour, baking powder and castor sugar
Cut in the melted butter
Beat the eggs and vanilla
Add to the flour butter mix to make a dough
Sprinkle flour on clean work surface
Knead the dough lightly before flattening dough on surface an inch thick
Chop the chocolate in 1cm square pieces and push into flattened dough
Roll the dough into a sausage shape approx 30cm long
Place on greased pan and flatten with the back of a spoon
Sprinkle top with castor sugar and bake for 30 minutes
Cut log into slices 1cm thick
Place slices on a greased baking sheet and bake for another 5 minutes
Allow to cool before indulging in one or two or the whole lot

The Perfect Party Dip

Today my son turned 5 and out of the vast quantities of weird and wonderful foods that arrived on the party table for 50 adults and children - this ended up being my favourite. I must confess I didn't take this photo, I found it on the interweb to give a good idea as to what the finished product looks like, but it will be replaced soon when next I make my favourite party dip.

This dip works really well with anything from celery/carrot sticks to plain crackers or pita strips and still tastes great hours after it's been removed from the oven.

1 big fat round loaf of bread(white or brown)

1 bag frozen spinach defrosted and drained

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp curry powder

2 tubs cream cheese

2 onions finely chopped

3 spring onions finely chopped

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup mayonaisse

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cut the top off the loaf of bread(as in a lid that you will place back on top when cooking the bread) and scoop out the inside soft bits leaving the crust to form a shell. Mix all the remaining ingredients and spoon into the loaf. Place the lid on top and bake for 2 hours. Serve warm with your favourite dipping vegetables/breads/crackers.

My kind of Chicken Pasta

On a recent tour of the South Island, my cousin made a beautiful chicken pasta dish one night which I loved as it contained some of my favourite ingredients. I have adapted it slightly to suit my palate better by adding spinach, as it seemed to be more naughty than good for one, but the addition of spinach allows me to think I am being virtuous.

This makes a good amount for 4...

500g of your favourite pasta
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size chunks
1 chopped onion
crushed garlic
chopped bacon
1/2 tub cream cheese (use the light variety if you are watching your fat intake, it works just as well)
sundried tomatoes
olives
capers
spinach(I use baby leaf or frozen parcels, defrosted)
parmesan cheese
pine nuts

Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions...

While the pasta is cooking, saute the garlic, onions and bacon in a little butter/olive oil and put aside. Fry the chicken breast in a hot pan until golden and cooked through but still moist. Put in a mixing bowl along with bacon/onion/garlic. Stir through the tomatoes, olives, capers and spinach, and the cream cheese. When the pasta is cooked stir this through too, and the season with salt and pepper (remembering not too much salt as the bacon and olives are salty). If you need to add more cream cheese do so. Grate parmesan cheese into the pasta and sprinkle over toasted pine nuts. Serve up with your favourite green salad. Bon Appetito.

Bake a Cupcake

Finally getting back into the swing of things after a lovely hiatus on the South Island of New Zealand where we survived on the red wine, dark chocolate and french fry diet. Was very pleased to see my kitchen again as campervan cooking is rather challenging.

Tomorrow my eldest son is finally having his kindergarden graduation. To celebrate this momentous occasion, he has to arrive armed with treats for all his friends. His suggestion was to bake cupcakes which ended up being a fun activity for both him and I, although I must confess I don't think I'd ever attempt more than 4 dozen at a time because just dealing that amount of sugar is a bit disturbing, let alone the colouring and decorations.

Cupcakes are the easiest things in the world to make, and there is no limit to what you can put on top of them in terms of colour and decorations. You can keep it simple by simply icing the tops, or add cherries, sugarcraft or any edible naughty you might like.

To make cupcakes in a food processor mix together 2 eggs, 125g soft butter, 125g self-raising flour, 125g castor sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tbsp milk. Divide evenly into 12 cupcake paper cases placed in a 12 muffin baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes on 170 degrees C. Remove and allow to cool. Cut the tops off to level the cupcakes. Mix icing sugar with a little water to a thick icing consistency. Add colour of your choice and ice the tops of the cupcakes. Decorate to your hearts content and enjoy.

Peppadew Picante

I have recently been introduced to a lovely new ingredient named Peppadew. Described as whole sweet piquante peppers coming in mild and hot varieties - these unusual and flamboyant fruits can be enjoyed in unexpected and extreme ways. This product is blended with a secret recipe that makes every juicy mouthful unforgettable.

So far I have enjoyed these delicious morsels on home made gourmet pizzas and also chopped them up into sexy salads. But the options are endless. I highly recommend and for my next peppadew experience I'm hoping to stuff them with some interesting fillings. Recipes to follow...

For more information check out the website on http://www.peppadew.com/

Thaislaw

It's mid-week and I'm trying to control my calorie intake as I seem to have overdone the naughties over the weekend. Had a peek in the fridge in the hope of finding some kind of healthy but tasty ingredients. Spotted a bag of coleslaw - ie ready shredded carrots and cabbage with a couple of sachets of dressing which inspired me to whip up some of my favourite asian flavoured coleslaw...

Thaislaw

500g shredded cabbage and carrot (ready bagged from the supermarket or do it yourself)

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbs sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs fish sauce

1 Tbs oil

1 handful coriander leaves

additional chilli if required

Open bag of coleslaw and empty contents into a mixing bowl. I discard the dressing sachets straight into the rubbish as they usually have that fake mayonaissy taste which I really despise. In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. You will need to check the balance of salty/sweet/spicy flavours and adjust accordingly. If chilli is your friend, add more in the form of fresh birds eyes, or the dried variety. Toss the dressing through the slaw to thoroughly coat all the vegetables and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite cold cuts. I find cold shredded roast chicken or beef works pretty well. Today I added some shaved beef from the deli. If you really want to posh it up, you could add some dried shrimp and crushed roast peanuts. This dish is reminiscent of my favourite thai green papaya salad.