Silverside.... Mmmm.

So prior to like, February this year, I had NEVER cooked silverside before! It was a task I left to my dad and grandma, as they do it well.
Then I decided it was a yummy, cheap meat option, and Spawn needed to experience it. So I asked my dad how to make it, then tweaked his recipe, because tweaking is what I do, LOL.

Anyway, it took a few attempts, but I finally nailed it! YAY! I put my recipes here not just as a service to whomever may read this, but also so I can easily find my recipes at a later date.

INGREDIENTS:
1 corned beef/silverside (I usually get one around 1kg as there's just two of us, but whatever size works. You don't need to change the recipe for a bigger cut)
1 brown onion, studded with 6 cloves
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped in half
2 bay leaves
1 tspn peppercorns
1 tbspn apple cider vinegar
Optional: cabbage

METHOD:
Put beef into a large saucepan and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil, then drain and wipe out pan before putting beef back into pan, along with enough water to cover the meat plus 5cm, and all other ingredients. Simmer, partially covered, for two hours or until meat is tender (this is where size will come into play).
Once cooked, strain 2 cups of the water into a jug for the sauce, and if cooking cabbage, keep the rest of the water to cook cabbage in. Allow beef to rest while making the white sauce, then slice and serve. Leftovers are great in sandwiches! 



White Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
30g butter
45g plain flour
2 cups of beef cooking liquid
1/4 cup cream
1 tbspn dijon mustard

METHOD:
Combine the butter and flour in a small-medium pan to make a roux, then slowly whisk in the water and stir until it begins to thicken (to desired consistency) and boil. Stir in the cream and mustard then remove from heat. Wella!

As an aside, this dish goes well with cauliflower cheese along with steamed green vegetables and cabbage.

Enjoy!

- L. x

Holy God in Heaven. [Churro Popcorn]

Get in my mouth.

I did a thing. I was googling random snack ideas yesterday and ended up on the topic of popcorn. Spawn LOVES popcorn. I'd almost say his obsession is borderline unhealthy, but he's not quite that bad, and he does enjoy it straight out of the popcorn popper thing.
Maker.
Popcorn maker.

Wait, where was I?

Right, popcorn. School snacks.
Anyway, Americans are crazy and do the weirdest things to the simplest of foods. Some are too bizarre for my lowly Australian self to comprehend, whilst others leave me with an, 'OMIGODINEEDTHATINMYMOUTHBEFOREIDIE!' face. I love that face.

Who loves churros? Who loves popcorn? Who loves cinnamony goodness? Who loves the idea of combining this into one orgasmic snack?!
Thought so. Me too, my friend. Me too.

So here we go. Churro popcorn!
This will be a little more complex for us Aussies as opposed to the lucky Americans, as we have to make our own cinnamon chips. But it's okay; they keep for ages and you'll inevitably use them in everything anyway.
Muahahahaha.

Cinnamon Chips!
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbspn ground cinnamon
2 tbspn vegetable shortening (could possibly use copha; not sure??)
2 tbspn light corn syrup
1/4 tspn vanilla extract - optional

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 95c. Line baking trap with baking paper and spray liberally with oil.
In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients until they have come together and are crumbly.
Spread onto baking paper using a spatula, shaping into a rough rectangular shape, about 5 mm thick.
Put in oven for 35 minutes, or until it is bubbly. You do not want it to crisp in the oven, it will do so when it cools.
Allow to cool completely and then chop into small square chips.
Store in an airtight container.

Well, there's one part done. Now for the fun part! POPCORRRRN!

Churro Popcorn.
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup cinnamon chips, melted
2 tbspn caster sugar
2 tbspn sugar
1 tspn cinnamon

METHOD:
In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, sugar, and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, drizzle the melted cinnamon chips over the popcorn. Toss to coat and then immediately sprinkle sugar mixture over popcorn. Toss again to coat.
Allow the popcorn cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.

I got this recipe from here.
http://www.melissas-cuisine.com/2012/04/churro-popcorn.html?m=1

Enjoy, fellow crazies! I know I have.

- L. x

Chewy ANZAC Biscuits

Today (25 April, 2015) marks the 100 year anniversary of Gallipoli - an event that saw the loss of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
It somehow became tradition to make Anzac Biscuits on this day - biscuits that Australian soldiers ate during the war. Thankfully, the recipe has been altered slightly over the years to make them more delicious.

I prefer my biscuits soft and chewy, but I have also added a note at the bottom to alter the recipe, should you be a crunchy fan. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup plain flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup caster sugar
125g unsalted butter
2 tbspn golden syrup (treacle)
1/2 tspn bicarb soda

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180° and line two baking trays with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt syrup and butter together, then put aside to cool for a minute or so. While it's cooling, combine bicarb soda with 1.5 tbspn boiling water and add to oat mix along with the butter.
Stir until combined, then grab tablespoon size blobs and roll into a ball before placing on baking tray. Ensure there is an inch or so between balls to allow for spreading. If you desire, you can gently press the balls to flatten them slightly, but I prefer them small and thicker - they flatten out during the baking process anyway.
Bake for 12 minutes, then remove and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely - if they make it to that stage! I can easily eat two-three at once while they're still a little warm and extra chewy. YUM.

For crunchy biscuits: Instead of 3/4 cup caster sugar, use 1/2 cup caster sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, and bake for 15 minutes.
For SUPER crunchy biscuits: Replace the caster sugar with 3/4 cup brown sugar and bake for 15 minutes. This method will result in super flat, crunchy biscuits.

Enjoy!

- L. x

 

**this recipe is not my own, but is my favourite, hence my sharing.

 

Pizza Scrolls

This is without a doubt, one of my favourite recipes! There are so many ways to mix it up, and they're the perfect size to fit in Spawn's Yumbox! They're the thing I always make for play dates, or during lunch prep (like today!) as they freeze really well.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups self-raising flour
90g butter, (room temp) cut into small cubes
pinch of salt
1/2 tspn lemon myrtle (optional - I use it with certain topping combinations to spice up the dough)
2/3 cup milk
plain flour, for dusting
Pizza sauce (or tomato paste/chutney/whatever you like - think of it as a pizza base, which it is!)
Grated cheese - I use pizza blend, as it melts really well.
**the following is a base recipe: alternate as desired! I occasionally make them vegetarian by using sliced roast vegetables, etc)
150gm (approx) smoked ham, chopped
Small tin pineapple pieces, drained
You can also add mushrooms, salami, bacon, etc. I did today's batch super simple, as I forgot to buy a bunch of stuff at the supermarket yesterday. Grrr.

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 210° and line baking trays with baking paper.
Sieve flour into bowl and then add salt and butter. Rub until the butter is combined with the flour - vaguely resembles breadcrumbs.
Add milk and use a round-bladed knife to 'cut' the milk into the mix, until just combined.
Flour surface and rolling pin, then tip dough onto bench (this is where I add myrtle/other herbs to bread), and knead until combined.
Roll dough until it's as thin as you can get it, without it falling apart. Length will vary, but you should aim to have it approximately 20cm wide - too much wider and they start getting a bit fat to fit into bento compartments, and get too big to be 'bite size'.
Spread sauce onto dough, then thinly sprinkle meat (or alternative) onto dough, followed by a sprinkle of cheese (don't use too much or the cheese goes everywhere - I speak from experience, during a cheesymite attempt, LOL!), and then pineapple, if using. Do not place toppings too close to top/bottom edges, as it all shifts during the rolling process.
Roll lengthwise, carefully and tightly, then if needed, brush a little milk to seal the edge. Then, cut into bite-sizes scrolls (I do mine about an inch thick) and place cut-side up on the tray. You need to leave enough space between the scrolls for them to expand, but I find that leaving too much space between causes them to dry out a little. Find that middle ground.... I think it's about 1cm apart. I'm not much of a measurer - always do things by sight!
Then put in oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden and yummy. If you're a scentsy* lover like me, feel free to turn them off during the baking process, so you can enjoy the heavenly aroma. :)

Peace out.

- L. x

Make sure you watch them towards the end, they go from done to DONE really quickly if you get distracted! 

*scentsy link directs to a consultant friend of mine - she's lovely. :)
**This recipe was originally found on Taste, however I have changed it a fair bit to suit my own tastes.