Tag: summer

Festive Favourites Blog Hop: Gingerbread House

I hate being late. Considering my utter disorganisation in every other area of my life, this might seem like a strange dislike, but there you go. I don’t mind so much when other people are late, but I loathe arriving somewhere after an event has already begun or after everyone has already arrived. I would much rather get somewhere early and wait, calm and composed and relaxed.

But, alas, despite my best intentions for this post, I am several days late for the newest Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. Hopefully, this is a case of ‘better late than never’?

I love gingerbread and the way it makes the house smell like Christmas when it’s baking in the oven. I love the idea of making gingerbread houses, but I always forget how fiddly they are! Gingerbread houses are the sucker punch of baking. You get through making, chilling, rolling, cutting and baking the dough no worries. You enjoy it, the house smells nice, you sneak a bit of gingerbread dough while you’re at it and then you’re in a happy place. Until it comes time for assembly. Then BAM it all falls apart. Often literally.

I made my dough fine, thanks to the spiffy new Kitchenaid food processor

I chilled, rolled and baked fine

even the royal icing was working fine

but then my pink food colouring had mysteriously turned red (elves? i’m looking at you.)

and sliding walls necessitated impromptu scaffolding.

An engineer was consulted before lowering the roof on

Decorating supplies were gathered. And, not too long after, we had a

complete house!

An all the reindeer gathered round.

Here’s a side view. I think the world would be a better place if everyone’s guttering were made of musk sticks and lemon sherbert. Who could be cranky and late then?

This post was part of the Sweet Adventures Festive Favourites Blog Hop kindly hosted by 84th&3rd. 

   

Gingerbread House Recipe – Taken from the Australian Women’s Weekly Cook

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups (675g) self raising flour

3 tsps ground ginger

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

185g butter, chopped

1 cup (220g) firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (180g) treacle (I substituted golden syrup as I had no treacle and it worked fine)

2 eggs beaten lightly

assorted lollies for decorating

Method

1. Mix flour, spice and butter in a food processor until mix is crumbly

2. Add sugar, treacle and enough egg for the mixture to just combine

3. turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth

4. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour

5. Roll out your dough to 5mm thick and cut out according to your pattern

6. Cook in the oven at 160 degrees celsius (fan forced) for 12 minutes or until they are just firm and golden

7. You will probably have excess dough so you can churn out a few trees or g-bread men if you like

8. Pipe some royal icing onto the corners of each piece in order to attach walls and roof. You may need to use some scaffolding to hold pieces in place while the icing dries. Leave undecorated house overnight to dry before decorating.

9. Secure decorations to the house by using extra royal icing

Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients

2 egg whites

3 cups icing sugar (480g)

Method

1. Mix the egg whites lightly until foamy

2. Whisk in the icing sugar until a stiff icing is formed.

3. Decorate!

Home Made Granola: Channeling my inner domestic goddess

I’ve never been a big at-home-breakfast kinda girl. If I ate before leaving the house it would be a piece of nutella toast or two weetbix. But the times, they are a changin and so to must (some of) my eating habits. As I haven’t been able to squeeze any more time into my mornings I knew I would need to figure out a breakfast that was quick and easy to assemble. Unfortunately that meant I had to say goodbye to my fantasy of pancakes and crispy bacon 🙁 the natural replacement would have to be cereal.

If you’ve looked down the cereal aisle of the supermarket recently you might have noticed several things.

1. the number of cereals that have sugar as ingredient #1 or 2 in their list. A big bowl of sugar disguised as cereal is not exactly what I consider the best way to start the day

2. the sizes are are wildly out of proportion for a single person’s breakfast supplies. Either they are tiny tiny bags (accompanied by wildly inflated prices) which will require repurchasing within days, or they are massive boxes which I will never get through

3. the prices for anything that looks any good are ridiculously high. What is wrong with the world when the healthier the food the more expensive it is? How will that help anybody?

So the decision was made for me that I would have to make my own. Strangely enough, I already had all the ingredients necessary!

Some vegetable oil, vanilla essence, honey and maple syrup

plus an assortment of nuts, seeds and dried fruits

And the method really couldn’t be easier. Whack on the oven, mix together your wet ingredients

mix in everything except for the coconut and fruit

spread out on two drays and cook in the oven for 15 mins

mix in your dried fruit and coconut, spread on two trays again and bake for another 10-15 mins until golden

cool, and eat with milk or yoghurt!

The best thing about this recipe is that you can really add or subtract ingredients according to what you like or what you have on hand. You can also adjust the sweetness or substitute the maple syrup for something healthier (but why would you?)

I started off with this recipe but I think I adapted it enough that the recipe im going to post below I will call my own.

Katies’ Granola of Greatness

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla essence

125 ml (plus extra as needed) maple syrup

a sprinkle of cinnamon

300g rolled oats

50g sunflower seeds

4 tbsp Linseed kernels

50g slivered almonds

4 generous dessert spoons wheatgerm

 50 desiccated coconut (you could use coconut flakes but I didn’t have any)

100g craisins

roughly 5 chopped up dried pears

roughly 5 chopped up dried peaches

Method

1. Mix together your wet ingredients in a large bowl

2. Add everything except the dried fruit and coconut and mix well until all the ingredients are coated in your maple mix

3. If the ingredients look too dry, add another slug of maple syrup and mix well

4. sprinkle a little cinnamon (perhaps around 1/2 – 1 tsp depending on your taste) over the top and mix well

5. divide mixture between two trays covered with baking paper. Smooth in an even layer and bake at 150 degrees celsius for 15 mins or until lightly golden

6. Place mixture back into a large bowl and add the coconut and dried fruit, mix well

7. Spread mixture on trays again and bake for a further 10-15 mins or until golden. You might want to stir the mixture after 5 minutes to make sure it is cooking evenly

8. cool, then store in an airtight container.

9. serve with milk or sprinkled over yoghurt

 

So, my lovelies, what do you like to have for breakfast? Anything fancy? And if you do have something labour intensive, how on earth do you find the time?!

 

Heat Busting Key Lime Pie

If you live in Sydney then I must begin this post by applauding you for still being here. After the extreme prolonged heat yesterday (37 degrees Celsius – that’s 98 degrees F my European and American friends!) anyone who didn’t dissolve into a puddle on the floor must be commended as having superhuman strength. That was one damn hot day, and on a damn hot day you need something light, cool and refreshing. Which, I imagine, is why we have the Key Lime Pie.

And thank god we do.

Because I totally heart Key Lime Pie.

And biscuit crumbs.

(see what I did there?)

 At the moment with the heat and general busy-ness that comes with the winding down of the year, I am feeling the easy/quick prep dishes, and this one is about as simple as you can get. The base is just cookie crumbs, butter and coconut. The filling is sugar, eggs and condensed milk. The topping is cream, vanilla and a little icing sugar. I think that the cooking time was about 15(ish) mins each for the base and the filling and you can make it in short bursts over a few days. This is particularly good if you are lazy (like me) or if you are sweltering under a series of hot days and can only manage having the oven on for a short amount of time.

I started off with some Butternut Cookies and as I was sans food processor, I bashed them out with a rolling pin. Did I mention that this recipe was also good for stress relief?

Soon I was left with a mountain of crumbs

to squish into the pan and blast in the oven

Then I sampled baked the filling.

Whipped the cream, sugar and vanilla for the topping

and spread that baby over the top of the pie

What you end up with is a tangy, cool and refreshing Summer dessert, perfect for cooling you down. Delightful! I used the recipe from the wonderful blog Mangada [to eat] who always floors me with her creativity, simplicity and beautiful photography. The only change I made was the omission of the ginger cookies from the base as the mothership malfunctions when fed anything containing even a hint of ginger.

So, my lovelies, what do you do/eat/drink to cool you down when it feels as though the world around you is melting? And are any other Aussies freaking out at the prospect that days like yesterday are the shape of things to come?

Little Drops of Sunshine – Lemon Curd Tartlets

When the mercury hits 30+ degrees (celsius, my European friends) you know that Summer is well and truly here. Despite the fact that technically, it is still Spring. So to celebrate the sunshine and the general laziness that long beautifully warm days brings, I thought I would make some easy peasy lemon tartlets.

If you think these babies are looking a little on the large side, take not that they are sitting in a mini muffin pan not a normal sized one

What really started this off was a little road trip I took a few weeks ago to the NSW Southern Highlands. It was a great weekend away with great company, amazing food, lots of antique shops and second hand bookstores. The first place we explored was Berrima which is a pretty little town that has a bit of everything – history, beautiful flowers and gardens, food and knick knacks. I was also surprised to come across a working jail which I am going to request if I ever get convicted of a crime. I might even plead guilty to something I didn’t do if I could be guaranteed I would serve my time out at Berrima such is the (external) beauty of the sandstone building and splashes of bright tulips. Lets hope it never comes to that!

So after I had pondered my career as a criminal mastermind and thought through my Plan B, we made our way to a store called the Little Hand Stirred Jam Shop. With a name like that how could you resist? Lucky I succumbed to my frivolous whims as I left the store with these

Lemon Butter and Creamed Honey.

Far out brussle sprout.

Show me a person who doesn’t like either of these and i’ll show you a fool.

Fool I tell you!

A bottle of sunshine.

And Bronze at the Sydney Royal Easter Show! Hooray!

Although if this baby only won bronze, I desperately want to try whatever won silver and gold, they must be like liquid crack.

All you will need for this recipe is three things. A packet of Butternut Snap Cookies, a jar of Lemon Butter or Lemon Curd and a mini muffin pan. You can use chocolate to decorate them but it isn’t strictly necessary.

Pop a cookie on the top of an empty muffin hole and place the tray in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

When they are soft, make a light impression with a tea spoon but be careful that you don’t break the biscuit. The place the tray in the fridge until the biscuits are hard again.

Once the biscuits are cooled, spoon the Lemon Butter on top until they are filled to your satisfaction. Then place back in the fridge until they are set.

At this point you can pipe some chocolate on top of your tarts, I just melted some dark chocolate and added a little glycerine to make it more pipeable.

Cute!

Quite simply, they are little mouthfuls of happiness.

I adapted the recipe from this one  although if you follow the link you will see that my laziness is incredible as the recipe was originally one for quick and easy lemon meringue pies. Except that I couldn’t be bothered with the meringue. But I think these are just as tasty as a snappy citrus tart!

So,  my lovelies, what short cuts do you take in the kitchen? What can you never be bothered to do?