Category: Basics
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Easy Spelt Bread
I love baking bread, but rarely do it because it means planning ahead for rising time and kneading, which I am terrible at. So when Oscar asked if I could bake some bread I went searching for a no-knead recipe, and found this one at Barbara Bakes. The added bonus was that it was a… Read more
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Making My Own – Vanilla Essence and Baking Powder
Vanilla Essence is very expensive, especially when you need to find a brand without preservatives. I finally decided to try making my own, and even using good quality organic vanilla beans and vodka I’m saving almost $2.50 per 50 ml. There a numerous recipes on the net for making vanilla essence and they really only… Read more
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Toad in the Hole
According to Wikipedia, “Toad in the Hole is a traditional English dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with vegetables and onion gravy. The origin of the name “Toad-in-the-Hole” is often disputed. Many suggestions are that the dish’s resemblance to a toad sticking its head out of a hole provides the dish… Read more
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Making Coconut Milk
Every time we crack open a coconut Oscar tells me he wants to drink the coconut “juice”, because he loves the juice! But when I give him the coconut water he won’t drink it because it tastes yuck! Last time I decide to try making coconut milk and found a simple food processor recipe to follow on… Read more
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Vegetable Stock Concentrate and Powder
I have finally gotten around to making vegetable stock concentrate. My friends have all done it – Frilly Pants and Rona in the Thermomix and Trish without. I’ve never bothered before because we have a second fridge with a big freezer so the liquid kind has always suited. But that may be coming to an end soon… Read more
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Pastry, Pies and More
A few weeks ago I did the Pie Extravaganza short course at William Angliss Institute. It was fantastic and I got so much out of it. I took the course to learn to make pastry as I’ve never been very successful with it and butter puff pastry is getting a bit boring. I now know… Read more
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Apple Jam
When I told Oscar I was going to make apple jam for him his eyes opened wide and he said “I didn’t know you could make apple jam!”. I have previously made apple and pear jam (which Oscar just thinks of as pear jam), but this time I wanted to make just apple jam.… Read more
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No-Tomato Sauce & Nectarine and Sour Cream Cake
Welcome back for 2012. It’s been a busy time in the kitchen at Oscar’s house this summer. We’ve had a breakthrough with vegetables, with Oscar suddenly eating orange ones (carrot and sweet potato) without complaint, and even some greens ones! I’ve been putting them into more meals to keep his interest up – salads, sweet… Read more
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Potato and Bean Salad
I know the warm weather seems to have disappeared from Melbourne, but I thought I would post this for my readers on the other side of the world, who are coming into spring. And maybe we’ll have another burst of Autumn sunshine yet! This is a good salad for taking on picnics. Both the salad… Read more
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Pear and Vegetable Sauce
We are almost out of pear sauce, so I thought I’d try and sneak a few more vegetables into the next batch. After a bit of research on the Internet it appeared that almost any kind of vegetable could go into chutney, so I decided to include some swede, leek and celery in this one. The sauce… Read more
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Kids Vegie Sauce
Being a typical toddler, Oscar does not like eating vegies. Its even harder when his range of vegies is so small. The idea for this recipe came from his dietitian who suggested that I make a thick vegetable sauce and stir it through pasta or rice for him. I was a bit sceptical at first,… Read more