Monday 14 June 2010

Quichelettes!!

What do you do with 500g of cottage cheese you have left over because you couldn't eat it all before the date was up? Simple! Use it to make quichelettes!

500g/1lb low fat cottage cheese
8 rashers/strips of bacon
250g/8oz grated mature cheddar
1 onion
6 eggs
Pastry (either premade or bought)
Salt
Pepper
6 mini tartlet pans with loose bottoms (5") or one 12" round dish lined with pastry

Method
  • Cut the bacon into bits and fry in a pan with the onion and a little butter/oil
  • liquidise the cottage cheese and beat in the eggs and cheese
  • Season with a little salt and pepper
  • Add the cooked bacon and onions and mix well
  • Pour the mixture evenly into the mini-tartlet pans or the large round dish lined with pastry
  • Bake at 200'C for 20-25 minutes
Enjoy!

Sunday 13 June 2010

Granola

This is the most yummiest granola I have tasted! I got the recipe from my friend, JaNae, and it is a winner with all who have tasted it! For the poor British who have camping size ovens, I have posted the half batch quantity.


Mixture 1
4 cups branflakes
4 cups oats
1 cup soft light brown sugar


Mixture 2
1/2 cup olive oil (you can use other oil but olive oil definitely gives the optimum flavour)
1 cup water
2 tbl maple extract
2 tbl vanilla extract


Optional Extras
1 cup roughly chopped whole almonds
1 cup linseed
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds


  • Combine mixtures 1 and 2 and any optional extras, mixing carefully so as not to crush the branflakes.
  • Do not add things like dried fruit at this stage as it goes hard as rocks when cooked! Add at the end when the granola is cooked.
  • Bake at 120'C for two hours on flat trays, stirring inbetween after one hour, until crisp.
  • Serve with milk or yoghurt or just eat as is!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie


My sister made this recipe after tasting it at a friends house! It is simply delicious! Bake now while sweet strawberries are in season. The original recipe can be found at http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/05/strawberry-rhubarb-pie.html

*Note: using the pie crust recipe that follows below, I made the pie crust in advance and refrigerated it overnight (unbaked) before using with this pie.

*Serves 8

1 unbaked single pie crust*

Filling:
2 3/4 cups sliced rhubarb, about 5-6 medium stalks
2 cups sliced strawberries
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Streusel Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold

In a medium-large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well. The mixture should be thick and syrupy after being stirred well.

Roll out pie crust according to recipe instructions (see recipe below) and place in a 9- or 9.5-inch pie plate. Pour the strawberry/rhubarb mixture in the crust, using a large spoon to fill evenly.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into pieces and using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter to the flour/sugar mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the pie.

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes, covering the pie crust edges halfway with foil to prevent over-browning.

Let the pie cool completely before cutting into pieces. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)

No-Chill All-Butter Pie Crust
adapted slightly from Jen K.

*Note: this pie crust makes for a sweeter-than-normal pie crust. If you want more of a traditional pie crust, since they aren’t known for being overly sweet, decrease the sugar by half.

*Makes 2 pie crusts (for 2 single pies or 1 double crust pie)

1 cup (2 sticks) very cold butter (I cut my butter into about 16 small pieces, put them on a plate and place the plate in the freezer for about 15 minutes before using in the recipe)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup very cold water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed

In a food processor or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, if mixing the dough by hand), combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix for a second or two to blend. Add the butter and, on low speed (or by hand with two knives or a pastry cutter), work the mixture until it is crumbly and the largest pieces of butter are no bigger than a pea. The butter should remain cold and firm. If the butter is becoming too soft, refrigerate the mixture for a 10-15 before continuing. Once the butter/flour mixture resembles large coarse crumbs, on low speed (or tossing with a fork, if mixing by hand), sprinkle the 1/4 cup cold water evenly over the flour mixture, and mix just until it pulls together in a shaggy mass. Add a tablespoon of cold water additionally at a time if the dough isn’t pulling together well. The object isn’t to have a smooth, tight ball of dough – the dough should still have loose pieces of flour here and there but should just start coming together when the water is mixed in.

Dump the dough out onto a work surface. Using your hands, pull the dough together and gently press it into a large ball. It should start joining more cohesively and forming more of a dough-like consistency. Separate the dough in to two pieces. Set one piece aside and gently cover while working with the other.

Using a lightly floured work surface (a roul’pat works great here!), begin rolling from the center of the dough outward. Stop the pressure 1/4 inch from the edge of the dough. Lift the dough and turn by a quarter and repeat the rolling until the dough is at least 12 inches in diameter. The lifting and turning is important because this will let you know if the dough is sticking and if more flour is needed on your work surface.

Carefully fold the dough into quarters and place in the pie dish (or roll up on your rolling pin and gently unroll in the pie dish). Ease the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish without stretching (if the dough is stretched to fit the pie plate, it will shrink while baking). Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, trim the excess dough around the edge of the pie plate so that there is still about 1/4 to 1/2-inch hanging over the edge of the pie plate. Fold this excess under the edge of the pie to form an extra thick edge on top of the pie plate rim. Flute the edges with your fingers. Cover the pie plate loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight before filling and baking. Repeat with the second half of the pie dough.