The Versatile Blogger Award

Just a quick post to say I was lucky enough to receive The Versatile Blogger Award for the very first time from Acorn in the Kitchen. Head along and check out this blog!

It is  now my job to nominate 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award which is just a list of blogs I enjoy reading and that I find, quite simply, inspirational.

Foodie Gems of Wellie
The Kitchens Garden
Lipstick and Cake
Heartbreak Pie
Baking Makes Things Better
Two Spoons
Time for a Little Something
Made From Scratch
My Darling Lemon Thyme
Pease Pudding
An Unrefined Vegan
Lydia Bakes
Treehouse Kitchen
Hungry and Frozen
Cook like your Grandmother

Thanks all for making the blogosphere so enjoyable! 

Old-Fashioned Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls – they’re usually a little touch n’ go, aren’t they.

It is fairly rare that I’d go to a cafe to eat a sausage roll these days, but while I’m here I might as well give a little shout out to one of the quaintest little cafes in the Hawkes Bay. That cafe is The Paper Mulberry and you should definitely go there if you are passing through and in need of a cuppa. These guys make great sausage rolls, and fabulous coffee! Either way, you’ll find it well worth slowing down and pulling in.

But if you’re not up that way, check out this recipe.  Although this is only my second ever homemade sausage roll experience, they taste pretty good! Much better than the very first time I attempted a sausage roll which were the days of Home Economics at intermediate school, I was 11. This recipe is based on one I found in The Healthy Food Guide magazine and includes a vegetable or two so probably a bit healthier than your average sausage roll!

They make a great snack, lunch or party food and you can decide how big or small you want them to be. I do have one tip though: make sure you have heaps of tomato sauce or nice chutney to go with them. They really are quite delicious straight out of the oven! Next time though, I think I will experiment with the flavours a bit more. I just discovered a recipe that uses caramelised onions and blue cheese! Amen to that, so watch this space!

Old-Fashioned Sausage Rolls

• 3 sheets ready-rolled reduced-fat puff pastry
• 500 grams trim pork mince
• 2 slices wholemeal bread, made into crumbs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium kumara, grated
• 2 courgette, grated
• 1 tbsp bran
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 2 tsp mixed herbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, be generous
• water, to seal pastry
• 1/4 cup trim milk, for glazing

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. In a bowl, combine the fresh breadcrumbs, herbs, salt, bran flakes, onion, meat, grated kumara, grated courgettes and the sauces. If you have a processor, chop the onion, add the slices of bread and pulse to crumbs, then add all the rest of the ingredients and mix in the processor.

Lay out the pastry on a floured bench. Scoop out the meat mixture and place a ‘sausage’ of mixture along the middle of each strip. Brush one edge of the strip with water, roll the pastry over and seal it together to form a long roll.

Cut into approximately eight sausage rolls depending on how big you’d like them. Place the rolls seam side down on a greased tray. Slash the top of each sausage roll once or twice with a serrated knife to allow steam to escape, then brush each one lightly with milk. You could then sprinkle with a few sesame seeds or poppy seeds or perhaps, sprinkle with a small amount of grated cheese. Clearly I forgot this step!

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until dark golden. Serve with tomato sauce or a nice chutney for dipping.

Lest We Forget – ANZAC Biscuits

They went with songs to the battle, they were young. 
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

It is April and Anzac Day is nearly upon us.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance here in New Zealand, and in Australia. Both countries commemorate it on 25^th of April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli.

I decided to mark this day by baking some traditional Anzac biscuits, or “crispies” as they used to be known! This recipe has long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps established in World War I. As the story goes, wives, mothers and girlfriends sent the biscuits to soldiers abroad. The ingredients did not spoil easily and kept extremely well during transportation, which was sometimes up to 2 months!

At first the biscuits were called Soldiers’ Biscuits, but after the landing on Gallipoli, they were renamed ANZAC Biscuits. You may notice the lack of eggs to bind the ANZAC biscuit mixture together. Because of the war, many of the poultry farmers had joined the services; therefore, little wee eggs were very scarce.

I remember Anzac biscuits being one of the first recipes I learnt to cook as a child. They were a firm family favourite in my family and still are. Easy to make and they taste great!

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Biscuits
Makes 15 

• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup dessicated coconut
• 125 grams butter
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt the butter and golden syrup together in the microwave or on the stovetop. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water, then add to the butter and syrup mixture. Add foaming mixture to dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. Mixture should be firm enough to roll into a ball on a teaspoon. If not, you may have to add a little bit more flour! Place balls on tray and press each gently with a fork.

The biscuits like to spread as they bake so be careful not to place them too close together on the tray. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 150 degrees, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Allow the Anzac biscuits to cool on the tray for a few minutes.

Golden Orange, Date and Chocolate Cupcakes

It is not every day that I have fruit leftover which is slightly spoiled and in need of some attention. I usually can’t get enough of the stuff so it barely makes its way into the fruit bowl before it is completely annihilated. Yes, I just love fresh fruit.

You’d think because of this intro that I was talking about some fabulous fruit haul, like a bumper crop of feijoas or perhaps some juicy plums that had seen better days. Nope, not this time. Just a couple of sad-looking oranges.

My love of fruit of course makes me entirely jealous of people with free-standing houses and the ability to plant fruit trees galore that reproduce and get bigger, and better…year after year. Little ol’ me just lives in an apartment complex. The closest I get to a large supply of fruit is basically relying on the generosity of others! Workmates, mainly.

Anyway, least I know what my priorities are for later in life: 1. Free-standing house, 2. A big garden, 3. LOTS of fruit trees.

Back to the recipe.

There are so many great flavour combinations; I wish I kept a bit of a list. Every now and then I will read some thread where someone goes off on a riff of great combos. If I don’t write it down when I read it, I lose the info.

Orange and chocolate make a pretty delicious combination. Just like dark chocolate and lemon, white chocolate and raspberry, pear and caramel. This is originally a cake recipe which I’ve adapted slightly for a 12-hole muffin tray. The dates only add to the flavour, so if you don’t like them I suggest throwing them into the food processor with the orange and munching them up until they are really small. I really love dates so don’t like them too tiny.

The cake recipe suggests that you ice once baked (and you can do!) but I thought these little rays of sunshine tasted just perfect by themselves. The chocolate square on top adds that extra bit of sweetness and really compliments the orange, skin and all

Enjoy!

Golden Orange, Date and Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 a cup of butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 orange
• 1 cup of chopped dates
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, dissolved in 3/4 cup of water
• Dark, milk, or white chocolate, 12 squares

Cream together the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions. Munch up a whole orange in blender (skin and all!) and add to the creamed mixture.

Add the chopped dates (which can be done by popping them in the blender at the same time as the orange), vanilla and salt to the mixture. Stir in the flour and baking soda ( dissolved in the water).

Pour the batter into a lined and greased 12-hole muffin tray and smooth out evenly. Poke a piece of chocolate into the batter of each cupcake. You can smooth the batter over the top of the chocolate if you like but I left mine on top – nice bit of decoration. Bake at 160 degrees for 25 minutes or until cooked (definitely better on the slightly undercooked side!)

This is my entry for Sweet New Zealand hosted by Bake Club this month. Get along and check out some of the entries at the end of the month!

Spinach and Feta Tartlets

I actually can’t recall when I first saw this recipe. No doubt in some women’s magazine I picked up briefly at the supermarket or in a waiting room. I truly believe one of the best fillings for pretty much *anything* is the spinach and feta combo. Spanakopita, quiche, tarts, omelettes, bread…you just can’t beat it. In fact, I’m pretty sure any time I cook with either it is always a success.

This recipe is a gorgeous combination of spinach and feta cheese in a nice pie crust. I could seriously eat one of these almost every day, well I wish! The filling is so quick and easy to throw together, too.…what’s not to love?

Go on…enjoy this lunchtime delight.

Spinach and Feta Tartlets
Serves 12 

• 200 grams baby spinach leaves, chopped
• 200 grams creamy feta
• 200 grams puff pastry
• 2 medium-sized eggs
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 100 grams sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees. Spray a 12-hole muffin tin. Roll out pastry into a large rectangle and using a pizza cutter, slice into approximately 8 x 8 cm squares. Next carefully mould each piece into the muffin pan.

Pop the spinach, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, nutmeg and eggs into a bowl and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture evenly amongst the pastry cases. Place into the oven to bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.

Put one of these into the lunchbox along with a side salad!

Homemade Hamburgers

Every now and then I go over to the Healthy Food Guide and grab a recipe for dinner. They have hundred of recipes that are healthy, low-cost (using few ingredients) and easy!

As a kiwi, I enjoy an outdoor barbecue every now and then! And like most, I also enjoy creating a homemade hamburger! Seems awfully simple and not entire worthy of a blog post, but helpful none the less.

Homemade Hamburgers
Serves 6

• 500 grams beef mince
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic or onion salt (I used regular cooking salt)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

Place the beef mince, carrot, onion, salt and rolled oats into a bowl. Mix with clean hands and divide into 6 lots. Press each lot into a saucer to make a patty, or shape patty with your hands. At this stage place all 6 patties on a plate and pre-cook in the microwave for around 5 minutes. This really speeds up the cooking process!

Now if you’ve got yourself a beautiful sunny evening, you can use the BBQ to cook these. I didn’t so I sprayed a frying pan. Put patties in and fry, turning, until cooked. Remember to turn down the heat if you find they are cooking too fast.

Split buns in half. Grill until golden. Spread with tomato sauce. To put hamburgers together, place cooked meat patty on top of sauce, then tomato slices on top, then lettuce and other salad ingredients of your choice! Put lid on top and serve. Yummy.

Warm Roast Pumpkin Salad with Feta

I’m a real salad person. I can order a bowl at a cafe or restaurant and be completely content. It is just so refreshing and tasty. Sometimes there is nothing quite like a roast vege salad. Infact it is one of my favourite things to have as a light, quick meal or a really delicious lunch for work. Salads are so easy to throw together and best of all, there are no rules! Choose whatever you like and throw it together. You’ll have yourself a delicious salad in no time!

I usually use a mix of pumpkin and kumara (sometimes potato) as a base and then the world’s my oyster. Tomato? Cheese? DIY dressing? Sure, why not!

This salad is really tasty so make sure you bookmark it! Roasted veges are so heavenly so feel free to play with this recipe and use whatever veges or ingredients you have on hand!

Warm Roast Pumpkin Salad with Feta
Serves 2

• 1/2 a pumpkin, chopped into cubes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp cooking salt
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 spring onion
• 40 grams creamy feta
• 25 grams sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 tbsp light sour cream
• 1 tbsp hummus (of your choice)

Mix the chopped pumpkin with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a tsp of salt. Place the mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake on 200 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Remove the pumpkin and place in a large glass bowl to cool down slightly. Chop up some spinach and place in the bowl. Add spring onion, feta and sun-dried tomatoes.

For a quick dressing, mix together 1 tbsp of hummus (I used a spinach and feta one but anything goes!) with some light sour cream. Add a small splash of balsamic vinegar and mix until combined. Add to the bowl and toss salad until lightly coated in the dressing! This salad is best eaten straight away, or refridgerate immediately for lunch!

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a warmed slice of ciabatta bread.