Mini Hot Cakes with Cinnamon Butter

This morning a friend and her daughter came over for a play date, and because kids love cooking, I thought it'd be fun to make hot cakes (piklets).

 Fun for who? The kids? They ended up running a muck then coming in and demanding piklets when the mixture wasn't yet finished! But it was fun getting them to have a mix and feeding them full.

I love how light these cakes were. I didn't have any buttermilk but quickly found I could make some with some ordinary milk and lemon juice, so that I did. The acidity of it reacts with the baking powder 'to lighten the texture of the hot cakes' to quote the recipe. I think the lightness also comes from the beaten egg whites that are mixed into the batter.

I didn't notice until after I had started cooking that there isn't any sugar in the batter at all. That has been replaced by honey, but they're not overly sweet at all. The lemon zest is a nice subtle flavour that sits well with the honey.

I love the cinnamon butter. As there is no cinnamon in the piklets, it compliments them so well. And is a nice little treat to spread over the top.

Cauliflower Gratin & Ricotta and Pancetta Cabbage Rolls

The photos for these two recipes mirror each other in the book and as they were quite simple, I thought I'd make them both for dinner one night.

Twice a week my Hubby coaches at the local boxing club. He doesn't eat cauliflower or pumpkin or a load of yummy food, so I tend to make things I know he won't eat on those nights. And somehow, in between feeding the kids and wrangling them into bed, I'm able to.

I really enjoyed the Cabbage roll more than what I thought I would. I'm not a big pork person and the Pancetta was soft within the roll. If it was my recipe (or if IGA didn't have any Pancetta), I'd've chosen Prusciutto instead, but thought that since I can get it, I might as well use it. I think the pleasant surprise was the beautiful cheese mixture within the roll. The lemon zest really brought it up and pulled it together. There was a little saltiness from the feta but the ricotta cut through that and made it all quite smooth.

The only think I didn't like was that the broth was just chicken stock. Yes, stock can taste nice, but it just seemed to lack. And a tip for anyone who tries it, don't eat it in the stock. The beautiful filling just spills out everywhere.

I'm glad that I made the gratin the same night. The crunchiness from the gratin complimented the smooth texture of the rolls really well. We don't eat a lot of cauliflower in my house, so it was a nice change of accompaniment. I had to use ordinary breadcrumbs instead of fresh sourdough (good luck getting fresh sourdough out here) and probably added a bit more Parmesan to the dish than the measurement, but I love Parmesan, so who cares really?

Coffee Cake with Mixed Toffee Nuts

As you can see, I'm trying to plow through this book at the moment. I realise that I need to pull my finger out and get cooking. The only problem is that there ends up being a lot of food and only Hubby and I to eat it.

So what do I do? Take it to Mothers Group.

I've been eye'ing off this cake for a little while. I love cake and I'll say that freely. Love. Cake. And Toffee. And sugar. And nuts that have been mixed in toffee.

Maybe I just love food...

My cake didn't end up as high as the one in the photo.  My tin is 2cm bigger than the one in the recipe, but I didn't think that'd make that much of a difference. Besides, I don't have an 18cm pan.

Also, I substituted instant coffee for an espresso shot. Because, really, instant is horrible. And I just so happen to able to make an espresso shot. Much better flavour.

My toffee didn't go as dark as I would have liked. The sugar syrup was turning golden but in hindsight I think I could have left it for a few moments more to deepen in colour and flavour. I've honestly never made toffee before and I was pleased with the end result.

Tasted pretty awesome. And thankfully the lovely Child Health Nurse, Robyn at Mother Group agreed. So I left her a decent quarter of the cake to take home. Hey, Hubby doesn't like coffee and I don't need to eat it all on my own...

Pear and Almond Tart.

One morning I had a friend coming over so the afternoon before, Noah and I made this easy-peasy tart.

The almond mixture is made in the food processor and it's nearly a matter of pop'ing all the ingredients in and processing until combined. The butter and brown sugar is done first, than everything else. Empty into a fluted tart tin and press some beautiful ripe pears that have been tossed in brown sugar into the top then bake.

Easy. Peasy.

And so yummy that I didn't get the chance to take a photo. It was gobbled up way to quick.

Definitely a nice quick recipe if visitors are coming over. No pastry required and all you have to wash is the food processor.

I love this kind of food.

Couscous Tabouli

This I was supposed to make when I made the Falafel a few months ago. I had intended on making them all at once and feasting on home-made veggo kebabs. I couldn't then because Coles didn't have any parsley. So I bought a plant and grew my own instead.

I love couscous and we eat it regularly, so the tabouli was a nice variation. It was very plain and simple, so I toasted a few pinenuts and added them in. Just because.

I still had my kebabs. I made another batch of the pea and herb falafel's (without the pea's cos I forgot) and devoured. Yum!

Grilled Cheesy Leek Toasts

Do you remember a few weeks ago on Masterchef they had the 'Dude-Food' challenge? This is definitely 'Dude-Food'. Leeks. Bread. Cheese. Worcestershire Sauce. Stout (which I left out because on a Sunday arvo I wasn't going to go out and buy a whole can for 1/4 cup of it). I'm sure my ass was growing as I was eating it. It was just carbs and fat.

And tasted awesome.

I love leeks and the sweetness they have that onions don't. They're a beautiful substitute and are the best option for a dish like this. They marry so beautifully with the bechamel-like sauce that's flavoured with the sauce, mustard and copious amounts of cheese (and stout). Then grilled till golden.

Definitely a 'sometimes' food.

Yes, I know they're not the most appealing photos. They're dodgy rushed iPhone pics because the camera battery was flat.

But you get the idea.

Coffee and Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

I was so looking forward to this dish and for some reason it didn't work. *Big Frown Face Here*

I think I stuffed up. Where it says 'place all this stuff in a 15cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan ... blah, blah, blah.... Bake in the oven'. You see, I don't have a 15cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan. So I did the stove top stuff then pop'd it into a pie dish and did the rest. Which stuffed it up.

It wasn't a total write-off. The cake part still tasted awesome but the sauce was just so watery. It hadn't thickened at all.

Looked good though. Brownie points for that?

Caramel Pear Pie

Pie? To me a pie has a top. And is usually filled with meat. To me, this is a tart. A Caramel Pear Tart, not Pie. But it's titled 'Pie' so a pie it shall be called.

I love the Basic Vanilla Pastry. I am not a baker. At all. Don't get me wrong, I love baking. But I also suck at it. A lot. I love this pastry because it works for me every time. I haven't managed to stuff it up yet. I follow the recipe to a tee, so that might have something to do with it. I also love that this recipe uses home made pastry rather than bought shortcrust pastry.

There's something to be said about making your own pastry. Therapeutic, it can be. If your nearly three year old isn't standing at your feet demanding to eat it raw.

Oh well. Can't hurt him.

Making this dish made me want to cook poached pears. I love the smell of cooking pear. To me it's so fresh and beautiful. I cored the pears and poached them in a little water till they were just soft. Then arranged them in my pastry lined pie dish and poured the golden syrup caramel mixture around them.

Letting this set after cooking is a big thing. Don't be too eager to cut into it. Although it smells DEVINE, resist temptation!!

And luckily, I did. It was set so beautifully when we ate it.

With the lovely crumbly pastry. So good.

Barbecued Bacon, Tomato and Scrambled Egg Sandwich

I know the title says it's BBQ'd, but I didn't. Cos it's cold and we were inside and the BBQ's outside and because I'm a woman I'm not allowed to cook with the BBQ. So as the footnote suggests I cooked it inside. I can see how it would be a great and easy BBQ meal though.

I made this for Hubby one day as it's such a simple recipe and I thought it'd be a nice lunch. After he ate it he asked what the difference between a Donna Hay sandwich and a normal Bacon and Egg sandwich is? I think it's that the egg is scrambled lightly rather than fried. It add lightness to the dish and lifts it a bit from the heavy usual B&E sandwich he'd be used to.

Nice and simple.