Baked Mushroom Risotto

 I thought I better start posting some good food recipes before you all think that we live on biscuits and delicious treats in our home...

So here is start...

...mmmm we love baked Risotto's AND you dont have to stand and stir for ages like you do with stove top Risotto's...

You will need:

2 Tblsp Olive oil

400gr mushrooms - sliced  

(I used a mix of white button and big black mushrooms)

1 - 2  onions - finely chopped

1 - 2 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt

1 cup Arborio Rice

 500ml Vegetable stock

100gr approx Parmesan cheese - grated

Ground Pepper

Shavings of parmesan 

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celcuis.

Add olive to a pan, then add the mushrooms, garlic and salt.

Cook for a few minutes, just until mushrooms are soft. Do not overcook the mushrooms!!

Place the mushrooms in a oven proof dish.

Then in the same pan cook  the chopped onions until soft and translucent.

Add the rice and stir for one minute until nicely coated.

Add the stock and bring to simmering point.

Pour into the oven dish containing the mushrooms, add the grated parmesan, some ground pepper and combine well.

Place shaved or grated parmesan on top.

Cover dish and bake for 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked. 

Enjoy with a salad and some crusty french bread!

     

 

Lemon Cookies

I was blessed by a bag of fresh lemons from a dear friends tree the other day, so of course I wanted to make some lemon cookies. I love fresh home grown lemons with their bumpy skins and real lemony smell...

...so this is what I baked...

You will need:

1/2 cup (125g) butter - softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tsp lemon zest (I added a little more!)

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp bicarb of soda

1 1/2 cups cake flour

Icing sugar to roll the dough in - approx 1/4 cup

Beat the butter and sugar together - add the vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice - beat until light and fluffy. Sift in all the dry ingredients. 

Mix together lightly.

Roll the dough into small balls. 

Sprinkle the icing sugar onto a plate, then roll the dough balls in the icing sugar to coat them. Flatten a little then place onto a well greased baking sheet. 

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for approx 10 minutes (always keep check as ovens differ!)

Take out of the oven and allow to cool slightly then move onto a cooling rack.

My knight enjoyed some with a buddy of his and some hot chocolate, cute sister and I enjoyed some with a cup of tea and Granny and Grandpa for company...

Enjoy!

Cranberry and Chocolate Biscuits

A wonderful friend of mine organised a Winter solstice evening for the children - we made lanterns, ate delicious warm soup and then enjoyed mugs of hot chocolate with ...

these yummy biscuits...

You will need the following:

250gr softened butter

530gr sugar

2 large eggs

650gr cake flour

7,5ml baking powder

2,5ml bicarbonate of soda

4ml salt

50gr (approx) dried cranberries

125gr (approx) milk or dark chocolate bits

125gr (approx) white chocolate bits

Beat the butter and sugar together until light in colour. 

Add the eggs and mix well. 

Sift all the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture. Mix lightly to form a soft dough. Add the cranberries and chocolate bits. Roll the dough into small balls and flatten with your fingers or the back of a spoon, place on a well greased baking sheet - leaving enough space in between them.

Bake in a preheated oven 180 degrees Celsius for about 12 - 15 minutes.

Makes about 50 biscuits.

Enjoy!

lovely lanterns

Healthy bran muffins

This recipe can be made and left in the fridge for up to one month and used as needed. 

It is a wonderfully easy, quick recipe to make, can be adapted easily...

and is always yummy...

You will need the following:

125ml (1/2 cup) sunflower oil

2 eggs

375ml (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar

500ml (2 cups) milk

250ml (1 cup) nutty wheat flour

375ml (1 1/2 cups) cake flour

500ml (2 cups) digestive bran

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence

5ml (1 tsp) salt

10ml (2 tsps) bicarb of soda

250ml (1 cup) raisins

250ml (1cup) freshly chopped apple

Beat  the oil, sugar and eggs together until well mixed. 

Then add all the other ingredients.

Combine well.

Bake in well greased muffin tins at 180 degrees Celcuis for 15 minutes.

(always remember to check as ovens differ!)

 Please remember if there is not enough mixture to fill all 12 muffins tin holes, just fill the empty ones with a little water to avoid them burning...

Serve with butter and jam or cheese or just as is...

Enjoy!

Adaptions:

You can add various things to the basic mixture - apple and raisin are always a favourite but you can replace them with fruit cake mix, chopped dates, tinned apple, mashed bananas, nuts etc etc...

I have sprinkled a little raw oats and brown sugar on the top...

Instead of nuttty wheat flour you can add oats...

I often add extra bran to make them more brany...

X

Custard Tea Biscuits

I am always getting requests to forward this recipe on to friends, they are really very delicious little biscuits and super quick and easy to make...

Custard tea biscuits

You will need:

320 grams Butter - softened

150 grams Icing sugar 

120 grams Custard powder

340 grams Cake flour

Glazed cherries - optional

Combine the softened butter and icing sugar together. 

Then add the flour and custard powder. Mix together with your hands to form a dough.

Roll into small balls and place on a greased baking sheet.

 Flatten the balls with the back of a fork. 

I added a small piece of glazed cherry to each biscuit. You can leave them plain. 

In the past I have also put a small piece of a nut in the center (any nut!)

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes. 

(Please remember to always check on your biscuits while they are baking as ovens differ!)

Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Play dough with glitter

A wonderful cooked play dough that lasts for months on end out of the fridge.

My little girl is a lover of sparkly things so we decided to add some glitter to this dough for some sparkling fun...

You will need:

2 cups Flour

2 cups water

1 cup of salt

4 Tbl spoons oil

1 Tbl spoon cream of tartar

food colouring of your choice

essential oil of your choice (optional)

Glitter - we used silver and gold

Mix everything except the essential oil and glitter in a large pot.

Stir continuously until it leaves the sides and forms a dough.

Dont overcook as the dough will become dry and hard.

  Remove from pot and knead - at this point you can add some drops of oil, if using,  

and glitter - as much as you like...

Knead a little more.

 

 

Allow to cool and play away..

Have fun!

Chocolate chip cookies

...always a firm favourite...

Combine and Beat together the following until light and fluffy: 

225gr Sugar

175gr Brown sugar

225gr Margarine or Butter

2 eggs

15ml vanilla essence

Add the following and mix well with a wooden spoon:

300gr Flour

125gr Oats

5ml Bicarb of soda

2ml salt

 Add:

250gr Chocolate chips or chopped up slab of chocolate

(you can even mix dark choc, white choc and milk choc for a decadent cookie!)

Roll dough into balls and place on a greased baking tray, press down lightly with your fingers.

Bake at 180 degrees celcius for approxmately 12 - 15 minutes.

(always remember to watch your biscuits as ovens differ!)

Enjoy!

Vanilla Sponge Cake

My mom has been using this cake recipe for years (the chocolate version) and I don't think I have ever seen it flop,
It is originally a chocolate cake recipe - I have just left out the cocoa powder.
 (will blog that recipe soon!)
 It is always light and fluffy and can be used with many different icings. 

(I use this recipe for my children's birthday cakes to - Although it is quite crumbly if you need to cut and shape...)

I baked this cake for my birthday this year to enjoy with some special friends of mine ...

So you need the following:

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 Tablespoons Milk

6 Tablespoons Water

45gr margarine or butter

1 1/2 cups Flour

3 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 Tsp vanilla essence or better yet ground organic vanilla powder

Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy - I like to use Castor sugar but white and brown sugar also work fine.

Melt the butter, water and milk in a pot or microwave container - whatever you prefer

Sift the flour and salt into the egg and sugar mixture.

Mix lightly with a wooden spoon.

Add the vanilla essence and milk mixture.

Mix lightly with a wooden spoon.

Now sift in the baking powder and once again lightly! mix it in. - It does not want to be beaten!

Pour into 2 well greased baking tins and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes.

(Please always keep watch as oven temperatures differ!)

While your cake is baking, make the vanilla icing...

Ok confession time - the icing I used here was shop bought ...

It is simple to make and really delicious because real vanilla beans are used.

You can make your own icing by beating together:

Butter  - softened

Icing sugar

little milk or hot water

Vanilla essence
but preferably Ground Vanilla (found at Woolworths and PnP)
(I am not good on quatities with icing - I just add and mix as I go, next time I make I will measure out exactly what quatities I use, as that might help some!)

Once your cake is cool, ice and decorate.
We used pink, red and orange smarties...oh yes and between the 2 layers we used caramel.
Ah yes decadent I tell you...
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Holiday Cookies

We went on a wonderful 2 week holiday along the beautiful Garden Route of South Afirca 

- of course early morning coffee, while camping,  needs some accompaniment - 

so we baked a huge batch of...

Peanut Butter holiday cookies...

Beat together the following :-

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

1/2 cup White sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

125gr Butter - softened

Then add and beat some more:-

1 large egg

1 tsp Vanilla essence

Once nice and creamy,  mix in the following with a wooden spoon :-

1 1/4 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Bicarb of soda

1/4 tsp salt

Mix together into a dough and roll into small balls.
Place on a greased baking sheet and press down softly with a fork.

Bake at 180 degrees celcius for approximately 8 - 12 minutes

(times will always differ depending on ovens!)

canoeing

              

our precious gifts

Ebb and Flow National Park

more canoeing

fun in the water

a rainy walk

 - A truly blessed time of enjoying family in Gods magnificent creation. -

We visited the Farm Yard last week...

...so decided to try some...

Tortoise Tarts

They were such fun to make...

... so easy and quick...

...my son did most of the work...

Tortoise Tarts

You need ...

200gr cake flour

100gr butter - softened

Water - 2 Tablespoons

A tin of apricot halves in syrup

apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

Rub the butter and flour together between your fingers to form breadcrumbs

Add a little water at a time to make a doughy lump (not too wet!)

(The recipe says set aside to stand for 20 minutes - we did not!)

Sprinkle some flour onto a work surface

Roll the dough out to about 3mm thick

Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter (about 8cm)

Place rounds into greased muffins pans

Put an apricot half onto each round

Bake for about 20 minutes - until the pastry looks golden around the edges

Warm some apricot jam in a pot until runny

Brush a nice amount onto each tart as they come out of the oven

Once cold they will be nice and sticky and sweet...

(Ours made about 16 tarts)

(Remember when you do not have enough mixture to fill all 12 muffin holes again,

pour a little water into the empty holes to prevent the tray from burning!)

Enjoy!