Walnut Cake

I have had the pleasure of meeting some lovely women who spend the winter up here in one of our local caravan parks. They come to our patchwork group and are totally addicted to patchwork as we are. Yesterday we went to the caravan park to sit by the pool overlooking the golf course and the sea on a beautiful day and knit/sew/chat. It was great. I made this walnut cake as Pearl has to eat gluten free. So this recipe is for her.

350g toasted walnuts (I gave them 6 minutes at 200C on a baking tray single layer)
5 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar (though I used regular home brand)
1 teaspoon almond essence (I used vanilla)
icing sugar to dust (be careful of this if you are gluten free, it often contains wheaten cornflour)

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line  a springform pan with baking paper. Process the nuts into fine crumbs. Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl till pale and creamy.  Fold in the essence and nuts until combined. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites in 2 batches into the walnut mixture till just combined. Put in the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Turn the oven off and cool in the oven with the door ajar for 1 hour, I propped it open a bit with a soup ladle! Remove from the tin, dust with sifted icing sugar and serve in wedges with a dollop of cream!

I think you could use other nuts as well, be brave, experiment!

Vale Sara Douglass

Author Sara Douglass passed away from ovarian cancer on September 27th. Sara shared a recipe withme in a forum conversation online a few years ago, which I published on here under Sara Douglass's Lamb shanks. She was a generous person and a fabulous author.
Vile cancer.

Backpacker Stew

Or perhaps you prefer them roasted??? Stew is nicer...

I made a stew the other week that was a big hit with our packpackers. So I made it again to recall what I did, and wrote it down. This is it. Just a simple one.

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot finely diced

1 stick celery finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

500 to 600g backpackers, oops, I mean, stewing beef

2 beef OXO cubes

2 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups water

1 generous tablespoon mango chutney or some other sweet vinegary spicy stuff, like sweet chilli sauce, branston pickle or HP fruity sauce etc.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.

In a heatproof casserole, Dutch Oven type pot, like My Precious, heat 2 tablespoons oil, then gently fry the onion, carrot and celery, stirring all the time, for 8 minutes or so, till the onion is meltingly soft and sweetened off. Don't skimp this bit, it is an important flavour creator and the secret to converting onion haters. Like Adam.

Then add the arlic and fry another minute, then add the meat and brown it all over, stirring all the while.

Add the OXO cubes and the flour, stir together for a minute. It will go kind of gluggy looking, this is ok.

Then add the water and stirring all the while, bring to a simmer and it will thicken up a bit. Once there, add a large cubed potato, some mushrooms or some other wintry vegetables, what ever rocks your boat. I just used mushroom and potato. Chuck in the chutney now.

Then pop it in the oven for 2 hours.

Serve with rice for Adam and Mash for Anna. Double mash for KISA and me.

Old Fashioned Porridge

The weather is getting colder and it is time to make porridge again. I love my porridge the way Mum used to make it. Old fashioned oats soaked overnight and cooked with salt.
Yum Yum.
But because it is a pain to make each day like that for just one..me, I make enough for 4 and dish it up into bowls. Eat one and cover and pop the others in the fridge. A minute in the microwave next day and its just like new. With 2 teaspoons psyllium husks and 2 prunes, cos I am getting old. Sigh. And 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and milk. Yum Yum. My dietician says I can only have 1/2 cup porridge, so I use a dessert bowl. It looks better and it is all about tricking your brain.

And here is the recipe.

1 cup oats. The big ones not the minute ones. Old fashioned oats.
3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cooking salt.

Put in a saucepan the night before, cover and leave till morning.

Stir then pop on a low heat till bubbling. Simmer for a few minutes.

Eat.

If no one to share with put rest in bowls for tomorrow.

Mushroom Soup

This is soooo good. It is a recipe for Swiss Brown Mushroom Soup from April's SFI magazine. But try getting swiss brown mushies here! I used some on special regular mushies, $2 a kilo use today or else mushies. Otherwise they are $12 a kilo and thats too dear for soup. Enjoy. 2 tablespoons oil 20g butter 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 400 g mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 1/2 cups chicken stock 300ml pure cream Heat the oil and butter in large saucepan or My Precious over a medium heat. Cook onion, stirring for 5 to 6 minutes until softened and just starting to leave yummy caramel bits on the bottom. Add garlic and mushrooms. Cook and stir for 5 to 7 minutes until mushrooms are just tender. Add wine. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until wine is almost gone, then add stock. Cover, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then blend till smooth with a stick blender. Add the cream, and stirring occasionally, cook till heated through but not boiling. Ladle into bowls and slurp away!

Chorizo and Spinach Macaroni Cheese

This recipe was in March 11 Recipes+ magazine. Was a big hit and is great for the lunch box stash in the freezer. Where most of the extra serves from these recipes end up! 2 cups spiral pasta (the recipe says 375g elbow macaroni but I don't like too much pasta. You may feel differently) 2 teaspoons oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 clove garlic (Yeah right! at least 3) 2 chorizo sausages, sliced up (we only had one left - these have a powerful flavour so one is ok too) 250g packet frozen chopped spinach, thawed. 340g tub fresh bechemal sauce (or you could make your own about 2 cups worth) 3/4 cup cream 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard 1 cup grated pizza cheese (or regular, don't make a special trip unless you want too) Cook pasta till tender, drain and return to pan. Heat oil in medium fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic cook stirring for 3 minutes or so till softened. Add chorizo, cook 2 to 3 minutes till crisping up. Add spinach, stir till liquid evaporates. Add sauce, cream and mustard, bring to boil, simmer 1 minute. Add haldf the cheese and the sauce mixture to the pasta. Spoon into a pyrex dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Pop under a preheated grill till bubbly. Stand 5 minutes then serve with a nice leafy salad.

Caramel Pecan Slice

A few weeks ago, I bought a tray of slice from a cake stall raising money for Relay For Life. It was so good, that I went searching online for a similar recipe. This is pretty close. 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed in. 1 1/2 cups plain flour 1 cup dessicated coconut 125g butter, melted 395g can sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup golden syrup 20g butter, melted 3/4 cup chopped pecan nuts 200g dark chocolate Combine sugar, coconut and flour in a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir till well combined. Press the mixture into a greased and papered slice pan. Mix the condensed milk, golden syrup and melted butter in a bowl then pour over the base. Cook in a moderate (180 C) oven for 20 to 30 minutes till top is golden and starting to bubble. Easy to over cook be careful. Let it cool in the pan a little. Sprinkle the nuts over the top and press gently into caramel. Leave till cold. Melt chocolate in the microwave for a minute or two, stir gently then spread over the top. Pop in the fridge till set. Rich but good.