Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins

This wasn't on the original bucket list (Yes I know I know there's been lots of these lately! I really need to update the list) but I found poppy seeds in the supermarket the other day and so I thought there was no time like the present. 

Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

Serves: 12

Prep Time: 10mins 
Cook Time: 25mins

1 tbsp poppy seeds

3/4 cup milk

2&1/2 cups Self Raising flour

3/4 cup caster sugar

125g butter (melted)

2 eggs, lightly whisked

2 tsp orange rind

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with paper liners. 

2. Place the poppy seeds and 1/4 cup of the milk in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 mins.

3. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the poppy seed mixture along with the remaining milk, butter, eggs, orange rind and juice. Stir until ingredients are just combined.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin trays. Bake in the oven for 25 mins. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing

Cook Time: 5mins

200g cream cheese (softened)

60g butter (softened)

1tsp vanilla

Icing Sugar

1. Use an electric beater to mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. 

2. Gradually add the icing sugar until the icing reaches the desired consistency (this will depend on what you're using it for).

3. Pipe on to the cooled muffins. Garnish with remaining poppy seeds or orange slices.

I was worried when these came out of the oven, they weren't as orange as I expected and I feared I had under estimated the amount of juice required. Despite the light colouring the flavour was just right and the cream cheese icing made a perfect topping. 

I have left some un-iced as I know they'll be great for breakfast!

(There is a distinct lack of process photos for this recipe, Rory decided he wanted to play around with some camera techniques and was more focussed on the end product than what I was doing in the kitchen. Oh well!)

Mexican Lasagne

Rainy days + holidays = Bucket List...

This one went on the list because Rory loves both Mexican food and Lasagne. I'm not actually a fan of either so he was a willing subject to taste test along the way.

Mexican Lasagne

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 65mins

500g Mince

300g Refried Beans

3 Jalapeños (chopped)

3tbsp Taco Seasoning (see recipe below)

1tbsp Hot Salsa

150g Grated Cheese

12 Lasagne Sheets

200g Hot Salsa

1 cup Water

Guacamole (see recipe below)

Tomato (diced)

Capsicum (diced)

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a skillet cook the mince and drain. Stir in the beans, jalapeños, taco seasoning and 1 tbsp of salsa.

2. In a ceramic baking dish layer 1/3 of the lasagne sheets (uncooked) and cover with half of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cheese and repeat. Placing a final layer of lasagne sheets on top.

Half way through the layering

3. Combine the salsa with the water and pour over the top of the sheets, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 1 hour. 

Ready for the oven

4. Top the lasagne with guacamole and the chopped capsicum and tomato. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Allow to stand for 10-15 mins.

It's only fitting that this was baked in my ceramic dish from Mexico

OK so I forgot to cover the lasagne when it went in the oven which meant it wasn't quite as moist as it should have been, but given Rory went back for seconds and I'm pretty sure the leftovers won't be left over for long and it wasn't too much of a disaster.

The recipe I adapted this from called for taco seasoning and while that's fairly easy to come by here I decided to make my own...

Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1&1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1.Mix all spices together until well combined. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in your spice cabinet and use as needed. 

This can easily be made in bulk and added to a spice rack.

I also went with my own guacamole.

Guacamole

1 Avocado

1 Lime (juice)

1 small Tomato

2 tsp Taco Seasoning

1/4 onion

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor.

This makes a smoother than normal, more paste like, guacamole which was ideal for the topping of the lasagne.

Honeycomb Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

To be honest I have no idea why I made this, I am far from a cheesecake fan and it's hardly Rory's favourite thing, however I feel like being able to make cheesecake is something I should be able to do. So here it is...

Crunchy, chocolatey, swirly goodness

Honeycomb Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Prep Time: 15mins Cook Time: 10 mins in the oven 5 hrs in the fridge

Pie Crust:
400g chocolate biscuits (I used choc chip as they were all I could find here that weren't cream filled)
1/2 cup melted butter
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Process the biscuits in a blender until they are crumbed. Then in a small saucepan mix together the biscuit crumbs, sugar, butter and vanilla.

3. Press the mixture firmly and evenly against the sides of the pie tin. Bake in the oven for 10 mins and set aside in the fridge to cool.

Filling:
1 tsp vanilla essence
500g cream cheese
100g caster sugar
300ml cream
100g chocolate
80 grams of honeycomb 

1. Place cream cheese, caster sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat. Whisk the cream in a separate bowl until it reaches the soft peak stage. Crush the honeycomb and add to the cream. Add this to the cream cheese mix and fold in.

Yum

2. Divide the mixture into two equal amounts and the melted chocolate to one portion. Spoon alternate amounts of chocolate and vanilla mixture to the biscuit base, then using the end of a spoon, swirl the two mixtures to create a ripple effect. 

3. Place the cheesecake in the fridge until set (at least 5 hours).

I made the mistake of trying to flatten the top of my cheesecake which meant that my swirl wasn't as obvious on top however when I cut into it, the swirl was quite distinct on each of the slices. The verdict: Delicious, even as someone who doesn't like cheesecake.

Beef and Guinness Pie

OK so this one wasn't on my original list, but the original list is in serious need of an update and I'm in the middle of report writing so it's "procrastibaking" time! 

How dinner began!

Beef and Guinness Pie

Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 3hrs

1 onion finely diced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

700g beef (stewing steak is ideal)

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 beef stock cubes

540ml guinness

Pastry (frozen)

1. Soften onion in a deep pot with the butter. Mix in the flour until it has dissolved, then stir in the beef and worcestershire sauce. Mix in the stock cubes and then pour the guinness over the top. Bring the mix to a simmer and then cover and leave on low heat for 2hrs, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 mins, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Perfectly soft meat in a divine sauce

2. Set the oven to 200C. Line a pie dish with pastry and add the filling. Then using remaining pastry create a lid for your pie, decorate as desired. Bake for 20mins or until pastry is nicely golden.

Pre-oven

I thought about making a pastry for this myself but my inclination to labour over a rolling pin just wasn't there. I used frozen pastry from the suprmarket and it tasted just fine. The almost licked clean plates after dinner indicated that it was perfectly acceptable so for the sake of saving myself time and energy, I'll stick with it the next time I make it.

Post-oven

Baked Beans

It's time to be honest, this was one item on my Bucket List that I really wasn't fussed about making, but Rory loves these and until recently it was impossible to get anything here that even vaguely resembled them. Since making my list though, we have found a few special import stores that have them and even a local variety which fills the need. However, by the time we found these they were already on my list so, here goes...

  

* Special Note for my sister Jo who reads my blog and decides everything I make takes too long, this is not one you'll want to even consider.

Baked Beans
Serves: 8
Prep/Cook Time: 3hrs (a lot of the steps can be done while the beans cook so I grouped these for this recipe) However the prep really only takes 30 mins.

500g white beans
1/2tsp bicarb
700g crushed tomatoes (Roma tomatoes are best, I used a mix this time which is why my sauce is quite orange, Roma would keep the red colour better)
2tbsp oil
Handful of mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage)
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 cloves
1/4tsp mustard powder
150g bacon
4tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2tsp Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup sugar


1. Soak the beans in cold water overnight, the water level should be about 3 inches above the height of the beans. Place beans and the water from soaking into a large pot with the bicarb and cook for 1 1/2hrs on a medium heat until they are tender. Drain the beans reserving 1 cup of the liquid.

2. While the beans are cooking blanch the tomatoes. Using a knife make a small cross on each tomato, place into boiling water for about 2mins or until you see the skin peeling away. Remove and submerge in ice water for 2 mins, the skin should then just peel back from the flesh. Put all the tomatoes in a blender and mix until a fine liquid sauce is made.

3. Heat the oil in a pan/wok and saute the onion, garlic, herbs, cloves and mustard for 10mins. Add this mix to the blender with the tomatoes and mix on high until smooth. 

4. While the other ingredients are in the blender, quickly fry the bacon then pour the sauce into the pot and add the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and sugar. Stir and simmer for 30mins.

5. Pour the sauce into the drained beans adding the 1 cup of water reserved after boiling. Mix thoroughly and cook on a low heat for approximately 1hr.

The intent was to have these for breakfast tomorrow morning but Rory is impatient so he had them over baked potatoes for dinner. The verdict: "They is nummy" which I think translates to: I did an OK job.

Rich Chocolate Truffle Pie

After planning my roast dinner and Yorkshire Puddings tonight I decided that I would need a nice dessert to go with it. For my Mum of course, there was no benefit to me whatsoever...
Well except for the fact that I would have to eat her slice as sending it wasn't such a great idea. :)

Rich Chocolate Truffle Pie
Serves: 12-16
Prep/Cook Time: 20mins (plus 8 hours to set)

Pie Crust:
400g chocolate biscuits (I used choc chip as they were all I could find here that weren't cream filled)
1/2 cup melted butter
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Process the biscuits in a blender until they are crumbed. Then in a small bowl mix together the biscuit crumbs, sugar, butter and vanilla.

3. Press the mixture firmly and evenly against the sides of the pie tin. Bake in the oven for 10 mins and set aside to cool.

Filling:
3 cups dark chocolate
3 cups whipping cream
1tbsp vanilla extract
mint essence (as per your own taste)
1/2 cup icing sugar

1. Place all the chocolate and half the cream into a glass dish. Cook on high in the microwave for 3 mins, stirring every 30 seconds.

2. Stir in vanilla, mint and sugar then set aside to cool.

3. In a small bowl beat the remaining cream until soft peaks form. Beat on high speed while gradually adding the chocolate mixture 1/3 at a time. Mix well then spoon into the crust.

4. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

The original recipe didn't have the mint, but as my two favourite sweet things in this world are mint and chocolate I decided it would make a delicious addition. If the clean plates after eating this are anything to go by then I'd say it was an inspired choice!

Yorkshire Pudding

Tomorrow (today in Australia) is Mother's day and I am a long way away from my Mum so I decided as a tribute to her this Mother's Day that I would try my hand at something from her hometown... Yorkshire Puddings.

Yorkshire Puddings

Serves: 12

Prep Time: 5mins (plus time to let the batter stand) Cook Time: 20mins

4 eggs

200ml milk

pinch of salt

3/4cup flour

Oil

1. Place eggs, milk and salt in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer. Let the mix stand for 5-10 mins until the bubbles disappear

2. Add the flour to the egg mix and beat on high until everything is mixed together. Leave the bowl to sit in a cool place (not the fridge) for at least 1 hour, but this can be left overnight. Just before you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to the highest temperature.

3. Take a muffin tray and place a drop of oil in the bottom of each cup. Put the tray in the oven and leave for 5 mins until the oil is almost smoking.

4. Remove the tray from oven and 1/3 fill each cup with the pudding mix (as you pour it in you should hear a sizzle from the oil) then return the tray to the oven and cook for approximately 15mins.

5. Serve with a roast dinner and don't forget the gravy!

An easy to make side dish that went beautifully with my roasted pork belly.

Happy Mother's Day Mum! You would have loved them!