Friday Food - Orange Drizzle Cake

This is my cake for 2011. I have made it at least a dozen times for a dozen different events. It is fantastic. It ticks all the boxes... It is yummy. It is easy. It looks great. It requires minimal cleaning up. It is a crowd pleaser.

Introducing...  

Orange Drizzle Cake

For the full recipe pop on over to Friends Who Cook

Friday Food - Kids are Cool - McMummy Meal 1 - Wraps & Fruit Kebabs

Hands up if you are planning on having take-away tonight? Hands up if you are tired of the regular kid safe meal options? Hands up if you are dying for a Thai Green Curry or an Indian Vindaloo - but know that your kids just won't eat it? Well, this is one way we have worked around buying take -away. It saves a bit of money {which is always helpful}, the kids think it is a treat {which is nice} and it is just a bit of fun {which makes us all happy}.


Follow the link to Friends Who Cook for the full recipe and instructions.

Wraps and Fruit Kebabs

Have a great weekend!

Friday Food: Corned Meat in Ginger Ale

I thought that on Fridays I would post a recipe... 


So - due to popular demand {and graciousness from other friends who want to post this recipe on THIER blogs but are patiently waiting for me to post it so that they can repost it} I thought I would start off with my Slow Cooker Corned Beef...

The idea of the 'Friends Who Cook' blog started when dear Anna asked around for slow cooker recipes. CraftyMummy then came up with the fabulous idea of starting a blog. So when people say, "Why that is the most delicious {insert baked goodie here}I have ever eaten in my whole entire life! Where oh where can I get the recipe?" You could say, "Why darling, click on over to 'Friends Who Cook' and you will see."  

So... do you have a recipe worth sharing? Feel free to email it to me with a photo and a  bit of a story and the step by step instructions and we will pop it on the blog and you will be world famous! Cool huh?

You can email recipes to...

bbeingcool@gmail.com

B's Slow Cooker Corned Meat in Ginger Ale

I read a similar recipe to this one ages and ages ago. Mr Cool just loves corned meat, so I thought it might be fun to try this version.... It is quick, easy and oh so tasty! It has become a family favourite, my girls get so excited about it - which is nice given I have quite a fussy 3 year old.

I apologise for the photo, I have made this dish several times with the intent on taking a photo, but in the thrill of the moment, I forget. But, isn't an empty plate a cook's dream come true?

Prep time: Under 10 minutes
Cooking time: 6-8 hours in the slow cooker
Serves: 6-8


Ingredients:


Corned Meat - I usually buy a piece that is around 1.5kg. This guarantees some leftovers.
1 X 1.25L bottle of Ginger Ale
1 Tablespoon of Wholegrain mustard
2 Onions peeled and cut in half top to bottom


Method:

1. Put the corned meat into the slow cooker
2. Pour in the Ginger Ale, put in the mustard and add the onions. Give the liquid a quick stir.
3. Turn on the slow cooker on low and walk away for about 8 hours!

To Serve:

• A white sauce is essential for this meal
• Potatoes - either crispy baked potatoes or creamy mash
• Vegetables - I love cauliflower with corned meat {and white sauce}, but also great with tender green beans, carrots etc...
• We love to eat the onions on the side, they are juicy and tasty
• You can also put potatoes and carrots into the slow cooker 4-6 hours before you eat, for tender tasty vegetables

Variations: 

• I have also used apple juice and water, 1tbsp balsamic vinegar and onions with the corned meat
• I have used water, 1tbsp honey, 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar and onions
• I have often wondered how it would work with Ginger Beer...

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Cool Blog - Friends Who Cook - Shameless Self Promotion

Being such a cool girl, I go to playgroup on Tuesdays. We have an unusual playgroup in that we don't actually play with our children very much - we just allow our cherubs to play and be a bit free range in a safe environment. One thing we do do well, is morning tea. Cakes, slices, biscuits, dips and ooohhhhh.... lots of yummy goodies.

A very crafty friend, a Crafty Mummy in fact, and I put our clever little heads together and came up with the idea of putting together a blog where we can put recipes of the things that the other tricky mummy's have made us for Playgroup.  Having just had a wee boy, I have been quite slack in getting things up and ready for the blog.  The other day I actually put my first post up - Trifles in Tea cups.

Check it out here.....  Friends Who Cook (or scroll down)

When we started 'The Closed Bookclub', we decided that two people would bring a dessert to our meetings inspired by the book we have read for the month.  In February, we read 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen. I was on dessert. I Googled 'Jane Austen cooking' and found that desserts in the Regency Period were all about showing off. Jelly was being used a lot as well as cakes and creams and fruits. Appearance was everything. I came up with the idea of making trifles and I decided to make individual ones in tea-cups. It was very cute and everyone was very impressed.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: This depends on how long the jelly layers take to set
Serves: 8 individual trifles


Ingredients:
12 Savoiardi Biscuits (Lady fingers)
1packet of raspberry jelly
200 grams of frozen raspberries
300mls of thickened cream
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tub of Marscapone cheese
1/4 cup of store bought custard


To finish:
300mls of thickened cream
1 tsp Vanilla Sugar
3 tbs prepared custard
50 grams of white chocolate, grated or cut into shards


Method:

1. Make jelly according to packet instructions, allow to cool slightly
2. Cut savoiardi biscuits into thirds (or however small you need them to be to fit neatly in the bottom of the cups). Soak them in jelly and pop into the bottom of the tea cups, pour in enough jelly to cover the biscuits. Pop 2-3 raspberries into each tea-cup. Put the cups into the fridge to set (this should take less than 30 mins).
3. To make the custard filling, whip the cream and vanilla sugar until quite firm. Whip in the marscapone cheese in 2-3 lots.  Add 1/2 the custard and mix through - don't beat this for too long or it will get too runny again.
4. When the bottom layer of jelly is set, spoon the custard mixture into the tea-cups, smooth over the tops. 
5. Add 2-3 raspberries and press into the custard mixture. Soak more biscuits in the jelly and press down.  Pour the remaining jelly on top and put into the fridge.  The trifles are essentially finished. At this point I cling-wrapped them and was able to transport them to my friend's house and just put the remaining topping and chocolate on top at the last minute.
6. To make the topping, whip the cream and the sugar until quite firm. Beat in the custard, remembering not to whip for too long.
7. Spoon the mixture on top of the trifles until it is nice and high above the rim, sprinkle with shards of shaved white chocolate. Enjoy!

Variations:
- use other berries like strawberries or blueberries
- use lemon jelly instead
- try adding different fruits like mango and passionfruit
- try putting them in glasses so that you can see the delicious layers
- For a picnic one day, I am going to make these trifles in clear plastic cups, but as I build the layers up I am going to set a plastic spoon into the side of the cup, I might even try pressing a raspberry between the cup and the spoon - how cool would that look!


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