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!!!

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. 

"meat"ball ingredients:

• 1 red onion (chopped)
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1 packet quorn mince
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp Italian herbs
• 1 egg (beaten)

sauce ingredients:

• 1 jar pasta sauce
• 1 carrot (grated)
• 1 zucchini (grated)
• 6 mushrooms (grated)
• pitted kalamata olives
• fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp smoked BBQ sauce
• crumbled fetta
• baby spinach leaves

(and spaghetti, obviously)

let's do it:
Start by putting your spaghetti in a pot of water on the stove...

Fry up the onion with the garlic, then add the mince, herbs & paprika, and tomato paste; cook for about 5 mins (until soft). Now take it off the heat and stir in your breadcrumbs & chilli flakes. Leave this to cool, and when you come back, add your beaten egg. Now you're ready to roll them into balls (just smaller than golf balls) and pop them in the oven. 20 mins on 180 degrees C should do the trick!

While these are in the oven, throw the zucchini, mushroom, carrot into the frying pan, cooking for about 4-5 mins, then add the sauce. Once it's heated through, throw in your olives & BBQ sauce. It only need to heat up, while you wait for your balls to brown, then you can add your basil leaves as the final touch.

To assemble; this part is really up to you, but we first put the spaghetti on the plate, then a layer of spinach leaves. We then arranged the "meat"balls on the bed of spinach, and spooned the sauce over the top. Crumble the fetta on the very top, and voila! You're done.