So it's a beautiful Saturday morning; Spring is in full bloom, the weather is a delicious 26 Degrees C, and it's the perfect day for Jarrod's birthday!! So, we thought we would put the opportunity to good use, and bring him some cheesy Quiche Puffs!! This is a super simple recipe, and the final product is a melt-in-your-mouth pastry which go down very well at BBQs and parties. This is a recipe for one batch, however you can make as many as you want by upping your ingredient volume.

First, you need:
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup self raising flour
1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic
1 white onion (diced)
1 cup sun dried tomato (chopped)
3/4 cup grated cheese
2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
1 cup chopped fake bacon (you could use real bacon, if you're into that)
2 teaspoons intalian herbs
1 teaspoon extra oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
Approx 4 sheets of puff pastry 
Muffin tray (oiled)
salt and pepper to taste

 

Here's what you do: 

As I said, it's a really 'no-brainer' recipe. Basically, you just need to  pre-heat your oven to 180C, then start mixing together your ingredients. I always make sure that I pull apart my frozen puff pastry sheets before they thaw - it can get really stricky prying them apart once they have become soft! Set them to one side. Start by whisking your egg and milk together. Now add your flour and herbs. At this point, you can put in your onion, spinach, tomato, garlic, bacon, and half the grated cheese (we're saving some for later). Mix it all up in a bowl, and add your pinch of salt and pepper. 

 

It sure doesn't look to appetizing at the moment, but trust me, it turns out well in the end! By now, your pastry should be soft, and our next step is to cut the pastry into circles. We used an old tea cup, as it was the perfect size, but you can use a glass or any other circular implement you have handy. If you don't have any of these, just use a knife, it's just a little more time consuming.

 

Before you push each circle of pastry into the muffin tray, make sure you oil it! It's much healthier/easier if you have spray oil... but you can just use a brush like in the good 'ol days!

Once the pastry cups are in place, start spooning in your mixture. You will want to fill them up until almost full, giving just a tiny little lip around the edge so they can puff up nicely. If you get any drips around the edge of the tray, make sure to wipe them away before popping them in the oven (this just helps you later when you're cleaning it all up - having to scratch burnt mixture off your trays is not only annoying but it could also scratch away at your non-stick coating).

 

Once the mixture is all spooned in, grab that extra bit of cheese you have left over, and sprinkle it in to each cup. This will just make sure that your puffs are golden brown and delicious looking after they come out of the oven. 

 

Ok, they're ready to go into the oven! On 180C they will need approx 15-20 minutes, however you can test them just by lightly pressing down on one - if they spring back up, they are ready. They should look golden brown on the top - that's usually how I can tell they are ready. Of course, it always helps if you have a taste tester nearby, to check that they are cooked properly on the inside! 

 

Space them out evenly on a cooling rack so that they can cool off without going soggy. They can be eaten right away, or you can pop them in the fridge and serve them cold - they're quite delicious either way! 

  

So, how easy was that!! Of course, you can add whatever ingredients you like to them. I wouldn't say they're super duper healthy, but of course you could make them healthier by using low fat/less cheese, soy milk, wholemeal self raising flour, and perhaps using a low fat pastry. This recipe can also be used to make one large quiche also - cooking time will just need to be adjusted. ENJOY! And... 

Happy Birthday Jarrod!!!!

  

 

 

Well, we won't be able to have soup here for much longer, and I've been craving broccoli soup, so here's a great little recipe which is fantastic for freezer-food if you want to take something to work for lunch (partially inspired by my sister, who is a dedicated slow-cooker and freezer-food lady). Please keep in mind, this quantity is if you want to make EXTRA to freeze for later - if you just want a meal for 2-3 people, you could cut this by a third.

Here's what you need:

• 3 small (or 1 HUGE) broccoli
• 4 brown onions
• 1 leek
• 5 potatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 chillies
  1 tub of natural yoghurt
• 2 500ml cartons of vegetable stock
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• chopped parsley 
• pepper

 

Here's what you do:

So, to begin with, we went out and bought a NEW FOOD PROCESSOR today... so we were pretty darn excited to make this soup. Well... at least... i was. Michael contained his excitement fairly well. Anyway, if you don't have a food processor... your soup is gonna be chunky. So. There's that. Just... go out and get yourself one, okay? Solid. 

 

Also, if you don't have one of these babies, i don't know what's wrong with you. When i cut onions, i cry like a baby. Like a baby who is hungry, teething, and has a dirty nappy! This invention was long overdue from being a part of my kitchen. Right, so obviously the first step is to chop up your vegetables! YAY! With a food processor and an onion-dicey-thingy, this makes chopping veges way more fun. I basically spent most of this time pretending i was a wood-chipper and making "nnnnnyyyaawwww" noises as i poked florets of broccoli into the container. Good times. 

 

So, while i was pretending to be a wood-chipper, Michael was actually cooking. Throw your diced onion and leek into your pan and give it a good swish around in hot oil. Add your chillies, your spices, and your garlic. It will start to get a little bit sticky - don't let it burn! Once the spices are smelling awesome, start to add the stock so that it becomes less pasty. Om nom nom. 

 

Ahhhh my precious. Look at this broccoli. All chopped up and ready to go! I even did the leek and the potatoes in it! Which is great because it took less time to cook because they were thinly sliced up. AMAZING! Kambrook, you complete me. OK... i digress... so your next step is to pop the potatoes into the pot. I probably should have mentioned, you're going to need a BIG pot... i actually used two pots. Depends how much you're going to make. Once the potatoes have had about 5-10 mins, add some more stock, and then chuck in your broccoli.

 

Give it a good stir, add the rest of your stock, and then bring it to boil. Once it has come to the boil, you can leave it to simmer gently for about 15 minutes. The flavours and smells in your kitchen right now should be particularly awesome. Michael and i went for a jog whilst waiting for the simmer, and when we walked back down the driveway we could smell it from there. Bliss! Ok, you're almost there... but i'm not going to lie, the next part can get dirty.

 

Just before you get to the messy part - add your chopped parsley (but keep a handful for garnish... we all love a good garnish don't we?) Now, the next step: It's relatively easy, but it can go very wrong very fast if you don't pay attention to what you're doing. If you have a sealed food processor (with no air escaping) you CAN NOT schoozh your food when it's hot - it will explode all over your white lacey dress that you paid way too much money for at Forever New and you will spend the rest of your life crying from ESSS (explosive-soup-sadness syndrome). SO, ladle your soup into your processor, and schoozh away my friends! Once it's all nicely smooth looking, you can tip it back into the pot and put it back on the stove. 

 

Wooo! You're almost there! Doesn't your soup smell amazing? I'm going to be the first to admit that broccoli soup doesn't always LOOK that great, but in my opinion the looks of this soup pales in comparison to the taste. Ughhnnnnomnomnom. Right, the final step is to add your yoghurt - you can use cream if you want to... but natural yoghurt is MUCH better for you *nods* i have your best interests at heart here. Alright, now you just want to bring it up to ALMOST boiling point (startin' to get steamy!) and you're done! Ready to serve. DELISH!

 It's a pretty hearty meal all by itself, but Michael had his with a crusty roll, and we both added a sprinkle of cracked pepper. OH, and don't forget the garnish! ENJOY!!!

So, this was a bit of a 'choose your own adventure' dinner - and i can hardly believe how well it worked out!! Stuffed Capsicums, or stuffed "peppers" as some American people would say. So...

Here's what you need:

1 cup couscous
2 cups vege stock
2 red capsicums
5 mushrooms (diced OR grated)
1 medium carrot (grated)
200g haloumi (cubed)
3 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp curry powder
approx 85g cheddar cheese (grated)
1 chilli (or 3 if they're really small....like ours.... hehehe)
2 tsp crushed garlic
olive oil

 

So, this recipe is fairly simple. After you have turned your oven on to 180 C, you can boil your vege stock; please keep approx 4 tablespoons of stock as leftover for later. Now, boiling your stock: this can either be done in a pot on the stove, or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Once the stock is boiling, add the couscous and cover it with a lid (removed from the heat source). You may need to add extra water, depending on how fluffy you want the couscous. Now, you want to cut the capsicums in half - you can do it length ways or side ways, it depends if the capsicums can stand up or not. We found it easier to cut them like little boats. Take out the seeds/insides, and lay them out on an oven tray.

 

Next, you will combine the oil and the garlic in a small bowl and lightly brush the insides of the capsicums. From here you can slide them into the oven and let them cook slightly whilst you are preparing the stuffing. You don't want to completely cook the capsicums, just make them slightly tender. 

 

You next step is to chop up all your other ingredients and combine them into a bowl with your couscous. EASY! (Just as a side note, we made approx double the recipe so that we would have leftovers.) You will want to put HALF the grated cheese in the bowl, and still have some left over to sprinkle on the top before they go in the oven. You may need more or less grated cheddar, depending how much you like cheese... hehe. 

Alright, now your stuffing is made - so you just grab your capsicums out of the oven and start gently spooning the stuffing into the capsicum shells. You can use the back side of the spoon to push it down as you go, and don't be afraid to mound the stuffing up - they do flatten out slightly in the oven as the haloumi and the cheese melts.

 Ok, once you've stuffed your peppers, you can sprinkle on the remaining cheddar cheese. I suppose if you wanted you could also add a sprinkle of pepper at this point, but i really don't think it's needed. Now, i grabbed the little bit of leftover stock and splashed it around in the tray - just so that the capsicums can soak it up as they are cooking...

Now all there is left to do is pop them in the oven! They will probably need about half an hour on 180 C for the cheese to start browning. Don't worry if the edges of the capsicums burn a little - it tastes lovely!

 So, that's it! If you want to you can serve these with garlic bread and a glass of rose, and trust me, they are taaaaasty! Of course, you could really add or take out whatever you like from the stuffing - if there's something extra you want to add, or if there's something in there you don't like - that's why it's a choose your own adventure! They're actually really filling, thanks to the couscous, and if you keep them in an air-tight container they will keep in the fridge and can be reheated up to 4 days later. DELICIOUS!

Apologies for such a long time between updates! We have both been so busy with work and social life... but we promise we didn't forget about you!

Today our recipe is a run on from our poached quince recipe! If you make the poached quinces, you should DEFINITELY make these quince muffins! These went so fast and were super delicious. They're easy to make too!

So here's what you'll need:

• 1 Cup of pureed poached quinces (previously made here)
• 12 individual slices of poached quince (for "garnishing")
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt 

Okay, so the first thing you want to do is preheat your oven (180 C) and grease your muffin tray and all that lovely stuff. I would spray oil (if i had some) - whoever invented that must be rich - just make sure you do the spraying outside otherwise you might end up with a greasy counter top or a slippery floor!! But if you're like me and you want to do it the old fashioned way, get one of those little paintbrush thingers and oil it up that way.

Now, in one bowl you want to whisk together the pureed quince, sugar, oil, eggs and mil. In another bowl you should combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. My baking soda was a bit lumpy, so i put it through a sifter. Right on. 


Now the next part is a little bit delicate - you mix the wet ingredients into the dry, but you don't want to mix it TOO much, otherwise you will end up with rock cakes! (if the mixture looks a bit lumpy, don't worry about it, it's fiiiiine.)

 

So, your next step is just to divide the mixture into your muffin tray, and then very gently lay a slice of quince on the top of each muffin. Now all you have left to do is pop them in the oven for about 20 mins - just until they start to look brown on the top... you can do the 'tooth-pick-trick' if you're worried about them not being properly cooked.

How easy was that??! And they taste like little muffin miracles... don't take my word for it, make them and try it yourself! A-MA-ZING. 

I have named this recipe Sexy Quince because... i honestly didn't know how amazing it would taste until it was done, and now i feel like this fruit/recipe is completely under-rated. We were given some quinces from Michael's Mum (Sandra) and we really didn't know what to do with them. We decided perhaps something like Quince Muffins? Michael's dad (Les) suggested we stew or poach them in some way, because they're not the kind of fruit you just throw into your cooking. So! After a little bit of discussion and research in regards to quinces, this is the recipe we came up with.

Ingredients:
Quinces (i used 4 in this recipe, but had a lot of syrup leftover)
1.5 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla bean paste



Let's DO eet:
So, throw your water and sugar into a saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir it around until it's mostly dissolved. Now add in your lemon juice and vanilla paste. I suppose if you wanted to get fancy, you could add something else in like cinnamon.... but we're just keeping this simple.

You will want to be pretty careful when you're cutting up the quince; it's a bit tricky and i almost lost a finger. The easiest/best way i found was to cut them into quarters, then cut out the seeds and peel them... then cut each quarter into thirds. You can throw them into the pot as you're cutting them, that way you're not bringing the temperature down by adding them all in at once. Now you will want to bring this to the boil, and then pull the temperature right down low. Pop a lid on, and let it simmer away for about an hour. That's it! You're done. You will notice a beautiful colour change as they cook.


You can eat them straight away while they're warm - they would be absolutely HEAVENLY with a scoop of ice cream... or you can put them in the fridge for later and the colour will brighten & deepen even more. Yay for pretty food! And seriously, they melt on your tongue. Yuuuuum! Hmm, i wonder if these will last long enough for us to puree them and make muffins? Maybe not. NOM-NOM-NOM! Enjoy. ^.^

Who doesn't love a good korma? This recipe turned out better than i expected; we used a recipe from our 'Vegetable Bible', but this is a bit of a variation. You can get 4-6 servings out of this recipe, and you can put it in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 95g unsalted cashews
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1/2 tbsp ginger
• approx 200ml water
• 55g ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1tsp cardamom powder
• 1tsp cinnamon powder
• 1tsp turmeric
• 250ml cream
• 140g potatoes
• half a cauliflower (cut into small florets)
• 1tsp garam masala
• 2-3tsp chili flakes
  
• 1 medium aubergine/eggplant (cut into small pieces)
• 140g green beans (chopped)
• salt & pepper
• fresh mint or coriander (chopped - to garnish)

Let's DO our THANG:

The first thing you want to do is dry cook the cashews in your pot until they are browned and delicious. The smell is amazing, a bit like popcorn. Once browned, set one handful aside for garnish, and put the rest into a blender with the garlic, ginger, and about a tablespoon or so of water. Szhoozsh it up until it makes a paste. Leave this to one side.

Okay, now you want to melt your ghee/vegetable oil in a pot (make sure this pot has a lid for later simmering). Once it's all melted, you want to brown your onion (should take about 5-8 mins), then you can add your nut paste.

Stir it around for about 5 mins, and now you can add in your cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric. Just after adding these powders you can start to stir in the cream and the rest of your water. From here, you bring it to boil, and then let it simmer (covered) for about 5 mins. It should start to smell really yummy at this point!

Okay, now you can add in your potatoes, cauliflower, chili flakes, and the garam masala. If you're like me and you really like garam masala, you can add in a little extra (tee hee). Now, you want to let it simmer again (covered) for another 10 mins. The potatoes should start to get a little bit softer before you add in your green beans and your aubergine.

Now, our original recipe said 'simmer for 5 mins or until vegetables are tender'. Excuse me? Potatoes do NOT take 5 mins on medium heat. They need much longer. For us, it was almost another 15 mins on simmer, but it's entirely up to you to check and taste your potatoes.

Just before serving, you will want to add a little bit of salt and pepper. Now, it's really your choice as to how you serve this. You can have it 'as-is', or you can have it with brown rice, white rice, or cous cous.

We chose cous cous simply because we were really hungry and cous cous is really quick n easy to make! Hehe. We used chopped mint and our leftover handful of roasted cashews as a garnish (the ones we didn't nibble on whilst cooking!) ENJOY!