Well, I have been donating a lot of cooking lately, so I haven’t had much time to take photos, well, that’s my excuse anyway!  So tonight I decided I would cook something and keep it!  We had been given some lovely local bananas and they ripened up pretty quick, and no one would eat them all brown and spotty, so I thought some muffins would be nice!

What You Need:

• 3 bananas
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 60g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup choc bits
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

What You Need To Do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees first. Line your tins with cupcake cases.  This recipe makes about 18 muffins but, I made 12 in a cupcake tin and 3 enormous ones in a large muffin tin (for the man that requires manly cakes, not in girly pink patty pans!)  Melt the butter now and set it aside so it has time to cool a little.

Sift the flour, stir in the sugar, breaking up any lumps of sugar, and make a well in the centre of the bowl.  Lightly beat the eggs, milk and butter and add to the dry ingredients.

Mash the bananas and add the cinnamon and stir it in.  Add this to the bowl and gently mix everything together until it is just combined, then gently stir in the choc bits.  I used milk chocolate bits but I think white chocolate would be just as yummy.

Spoon one and a half tablespoons of mixture into each case and bake for 20 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.  Leave them to cool for a few minutes in the tin and then turn onto a wire rack to completely cool, if you can resist!!

Winter is getting nearer!  It was even cool enough to have the quilt on the other night, and it has been raining and windy so I thought I might make some comfort food for lunch! Oh, I am such creature of habit!

What You Need:

• 1/2 medium pumpkin
• 1 large leek
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• salt
• pepper

What You Need To Do:

Slice the leek in half, lengthways, and give it a rinse because sometimes there is dirt trapped between the layers at the base of the dark green leaves as they turn into the white fleshy part.  If you don’t have a leek you can use onion instead, but leek gives it a bit more of a peppery kick.

Thinly slice the leek and gently fry it in the butter.  You don’t want to colour the leek too much, or burn the butter, so just have it on a low heat.  Meanwhile, cut the pumpkin into smallish cubes and make sure to remove the skin.

When the leek has wilted down and is nice and soft, add the curry powder and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the curry powder, just for a minute, to get rid of the raw taste.  I have said 1 teaspoon of curry powder but you can add more or less depending on how you like it.  It imparts a peppery flavour rather than a real curry hit so don’t leave it out altogether, just adjust it to your liking!

Add the pumpkin pieces and pour in the stock.  Give it a good stir so the pumpkin and leek don’t stick to the bottom.  Let the pumpkin simmer away until it is really soft and you can mash it with spoon.  You may need to add more stock as it cooks, depending on what type of pumpkin you use.  I used Jap pumpkin for this recipe and they are quite watery.  Something like a Queensland Blue or a Butternut are a bit drier so might need a bit more liquid.  Plus I like the soup to be thick and creamy in consistency, not watery and thin.

When the pumpkin is cooked use a stick mixer to blend all the lumps out.  Add the cream and give a good mix.  It probably will need some more salt and pepper, so have a taste, and add it if needed.

White bread is a bit of a treat in our house so, today I buttered some slices and cut the crusts off and they were perfect for dipping!  How yummy is that!

Now that I have still got half a pumpkin left I was looking for something different I could do with it. Zo over at Twospoons has this great recipe for a Pumpkin and Cauliflower Wrap. You should see the photo, all gloriously golden pastry and oozing with melted cheese. This is my type of recipe! I think it might be something I could make, pretty soon, and my family will love it.

I haven’t cooked a whole chicken for ages, so when they had big, fat fresh ones in the butchers window I just had to get one.  Now, I’ll have to admit I’m not a huge fan of touching raw chicken meat, so the thought of stuffing it with something was not pleasant, so it had to be easy and the least hands on it could be!!

What You Need:

• 1 large chicken
• 1 lime
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter (optional)

What You Need To Do:

As I said earlier, I’m not too keen on the feel of raw chicken so I rinsed the chicken under cold running water and pat it thoroughly dry with some paper towel.   Roughly chop the carrot and celery into large chunks, you dont even have to peel the carrots if they are clean and fresh.  Place them into a tray lined with baking paper and sit the chicken on top of the veges.

Cut the fennel bulb into chunks and slice the lime into four thick slices.  Place the fennel and 2 of the lime slices into the cavity of the chicken.  You can tuck the other 2 slices in behind the wings just to flavour the skin a bit if you like.

Now the butter!  It is optional if you are trying to be more healthy than me, but I had seen it being done to an enormous turkey on Martha Stewart, so I thought I would give it a go.  You have to gently separate the skin on the top from the meat underneath.  To do this, you run your fingers between the two layers, starting at the cavity end, and gently push them apart.  You move your hand down toward the breast and the skin should separate from the meat.  It is into this gap you put the butter.  So, when you are done you will have layer of butter between the meat and the skin.

Season with salt and pepper, and a little squeeze of the lime, and bake for about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the chook you have.  The juices should run clear when it is done.

Now I wasn’t too pleased about having to do this but I ended up with a very moist, golden skinned chicken that didn’t require constant basting.  So maybe I have conquered a little fear of mine!!

The veges underneath the chicken can be used to flavour some gravy or eaten with the meal, whatever you like!!

I made this for lunch today, just for two.  Did you read that, Just. For. Two. It’s a rare occasion that lunch is just for us to share, without the need for the mad juggling of plates and glasses that goes on when little people are dining!  It’s simple to put together and doesn’t require much preparation, or washing up, which is always a bonus!  I only had a small cut of pork to work with, and it was probably cooked a little more than I would have liked, but that is what happens when you have to bail out the washing machine because it decides it just wants to keep on filling up and not wash! Oh the glamorous life I lead!!

What You Need:

• 200g pork fillet

Glaze

• 1 tablespoon hoi sin sauce
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic

What You Need To Do:

If you have time you can make the glaze the night before and marinate the pork overnight, but if you don’t have the time ( or inclination!) it will still taste yummy.  All you do is mix all of the glaze ingredients together and coat the piece of pork.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and oil a baking tray.  Bake the pork until it is done, this piece took about 20 minutes. You can carefully baste the pork with some of the juices from the pan while it is cooking to help keep it moist.  Take it out of the oven and set it aside for about five minutes before you cut it.

I served the pork with some basmati rice and some wilted bok choy, just because that is what I had!  You could stir fry some veges or even have a little salad with it.

Ha! I’m trying to offset my rather abundant cake making, and tasting, these last few weeks, with a healthy and simple salad.  It is tasty and really quick to make and goes great in work and school lunches.

What You Need:

• 1 x 95g can chunk tuna
• 1/4 cup red kidney beans
• 1/4 cup sliced cucumber
• 1/4 cup tomato chopped
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup celery
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red capsicum
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baby capers
• Iceburg lettuce
• salt and pepper

What You Need To Do:

Firstly open the can of red kidney beans and drain and rinse them.  Leave them for a minute so all the liquid has drained away.  Slice all of the salad stuff so they are about the same smallish, bite size pieces.  No need to chop the capers, just leave them whole.

Gently flake the drained tuna into the bowl of salad.  I prefer to use the tuna that is packed in brine, for the extra flavour, but you can use the oil or springwater type too.  Just try to get the chunk style because the sandwich style can sometimes be a little mushy!

To make the dressing just stir together the oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the salad and gently toss, being careful not to break up the tuna too much.  You probably won’t need all of the dressing so you can store it in the fridge to use on other salads or you might be inspired to make this again!

If you have a small, whole lettuce, you can slice it into quarters and just put a whole quarter on the plate.  Otherwise a good sized chink will do as long as it is nice and crunchy.  Pile up the salad next to the lettuce and if you like, drizzle a little of the dressing over the lettuce as well.

You can also add some flat leaf parsley for extra zing but, sadly,I left my fabulous herb garden behind at my old house and this new one isn’t happening yet so I didn’t have any to put in!

My kids have been asking me for ages to make this cake. They are young enough to think it is both weird and cool that carrots can be in cake! Oh to be young again with all the mystery of the world still to discover! And yes, obviously, we don’t get out much! I will say, the recipe I used ( was given to me by an old, dear friend I used to work with) makes for alot of cake so you could always make a half batch or as I did, make little cupcakes and freeze them and one large cake.

What You Need:

For the cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 2 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 2 teaspoons bi-carb soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup walnut pieces
• 3 cups grated carrot
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the icing:

• 250g cream cheese
• 250g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces

What You Need To Do:

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, and grease and line your prefered baking tins. The larger cake tin is a 25cm square number.

Get the kids lined up along the bench and hand out the vegetable peelers and put them to work, peeling the carrots. Grate them into a large bowl, or, if you have one of those fancy food processors that make life easy, you could use that.

While they are toiling away, you can sift the flour, sugar, bi-carb, cinnamon and salt into a very large bowl. Add the walnuts and give this a good mix.

Whisk the eggs lightly and add to the oil and vanilla. Pour this on top of the flour mix and add the grated carrot. See, I said you would need a very large bowl!

Mix it all up and pour the batter into your chosen tins.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

Icing:
Leave the cream cheese out overnight so it is nice and soft. All you have to do is whisk the cream cheese and the butter together until it is really smooth and then gradually add the icing sugar and lemon juice until you get your desired balance of sweet and sour. Spread the delicious creaminess over the top of the cooled cake, sprinkle with a few of the walnuts and you have made a decadent treat!

Do you ever have those lazy, drizzling with rain, Saturdays when not much is happening, even the dog is asleep on its bed and it is 2pm before you know it, and you want to eat something warm and comforting.  This is it!

What You Need:

• Bread
• Bacon
• Baked Beans
• Cheese

What You Need To Do:

Step one is to extract yourself from the lounge, open your tired, half asleep eyes, unwrap yourself from the blanket and shuffle toward the kitchen.  Turn on the grill and let it heat up while you cook the bacon.

Put the bread in the toaster and cook to your desired burnt-ness and then top with the baked beans.  Drain the bacon for a bit and then put it on top of the beans.

Lastly place slices of your fave cheese on top and grill it until golden and bubbly!

When all done, go and find that lovely spot on the lounge again and finish watching the tv show/movie you were watching before, with half asleep eyes, so now you can totally rest those eyes!  Oh, and of course later you will be going for that 5km run so don’t worry about the calories!!

I make this a lot because it makes enough for dinner for four, and then sandwiches for 3 for a few days, so it goes a long way! It’s very simple to put together and is one of those recipes where you can use just about anything you have in the fridge.

What You Need:

• 1kg beef mince
• 200g pork mince (optional)
• 1 small carrot
• 1 onion
• 1/2 zucchini
• 2tbsp tomato sauce
• 2tbsp soy sauce
• 2tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 2 eggs
• 10 bacon rashers
• salt & pepper

What You Need To Do:

First of all grate the carrot, onion and the zucchini into a bowl. If you dont have zucchini, you can use squash or sweet potato or you can leave it out. It just adds a bit more flavour to the mix. As I said, you can substitute with whatever you have.

Add all the sauces and the beaten egg to the bowl and give it a little stir. Put all of the meat in and season with the salt and pepper. Now, using your hands, mix all of the meat and veges together. Yes, it will be freezing to your fingers, so I use one hand at a time, just so the other can thaw out!!

It will seem a bit sloppy at first but if you keep mixing it will come together and be able to be shaped into a loaf to fit into your baking pan. I use my bread tin because it is non stick and about the right size.

Now for the fancy bit! Trim the bacon slices so they are neat long rectangles and lay them over the top of the loaf. Using a weaving pattern, criss cross the slices so they cover the whole loaf. I brushed a little seeded mustard on top, again for more flavour and a little glaze for the bacon.

Bake at 170 degrees, for about 45 minutes, until the bacon is brown and sizzling and the juices of the meatloaf should run clear. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before you cut it otherwise it will just break up. We have it with mashed potatoes and honey carrots for a filling dinner.

This is a very impressive looking cake for not much effort.  You can serve it with a cup of tea or go the whole hog and have it with icecream when it is warm out of the oven!  It’s one of those recipes you can make when you don’t have alot of ingredients in the cupboard.

What You Need:

• 185g butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• 2/3 cup of caster sugar
• 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 2 medium apples
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
• 1/3 cup marmalade warmed

What You Need To Do:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius and grease a 23cm round cake tin.  I used a springform tin just to make it a bit easier to get it out and lined the bottom with some baking paper.

First of all cream the butter and the sugar and when all light and fluffy, beat the eggs in, one at a time, until just combined.  Its a really quick and simple recipe,  all you have to do now is sift half of the flour and pour half of the milk into the butter mix and stir with a wooden spoon.  When it is smooth, add the remaining sifted flour and the rest of the milk and stir until that is smooth too.  Spread this mixture evenly into the prepared baking tin.

Now for the impressive part!  Peel, core and quarter the apples. You need make cuts into the rounded side of the apple, slicing about three quarters of the way through.  Now, before you give up (because that is way too hard when you are trying to quickly make a cake before the visitors arrive!) there is a easy trick to getting this right.

Grab a wooden skewer and pierce through the apple piece, about 3/4 of the way down the cut face, so you have the rounded side of the apple (that you will be cutting) facing up.  Then carefully slice through the apple so the knife hits on the skewer and doesn’t go all the way through to the bottom. If you make lots of these cuts close together you end up with a lovely decorative apple slice that will impress everybody with your expert knife skillz!!

Now, place these beautiful quarters, round side up, around the edge of the cake.  Cook for about 1 hour until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Stand the cake for about 5 minutes before turning onto a rack, right way up!

Brush the warm marmalade over the hot cake and let cool.  To serve, dust with some icing sugar and a big dollop of cream!

I suppose you all think we only eat sweet biscuits and cakes here, but sadly we do not. We do like savoury just as much! These are a great snack, or for in the lunchbox, we even had them for tea the other night with some roasted veges and cous cous. The husband was dubious about the meat content of that meal, or lack thereof, but was pleasantly surprised by how tasty and, more importantly, how filling they are!

What You Need:

• 2 cups chickpea flour
• 2 large potatoes (about 600g)
• 2 large brown onions (about 400g)
• 100g baby spinach leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup water
• oil for frying

What You Need To Do:

This is a great recipe because it is easy, quick and more importantly only uses one bowl! So, grate the potato into a large bowl, add the thinly sliced onion, spinach leaves and the garlic. Give it a little mix, trying not to break the spinach up too much.

You can sift the flour and spices over the top of the mix. Add the water and, using your hands, combine all the ingredients. (cue telephone!)

Shape 1/4 cups of the mixture into little patties using wet hands (cue child who needs help with something!). It helps to stop the mix sticking to your hands. This amount should make about 15 but you can make them any size you like! You can shallow fry them in a pan, or if you have a large pot or wok, you can deep fry them.

Cook them for a few minutes and then turn them over when they are golden in colour. Drain them on some paper and sprinkle a little salt on them while they are still hot.

You can have them with a little salad with some yoghurt and cucumber or just eat them for an afternoon tea snack.