Thursday, July 29, 2010

Old fashioned lemon tarty pies

the humble little lemon
To tart on it's own,
Sugar has shown,
That lemon can too,
Definitely woo!

Juiced and into a tart,
It likes to be the main part,
A friend to the sweet,
& savoury cannot beat.

The humble little lemon!

lemon tarty pies
makes: 1 large tart OR 12-14 mini tarty pies
keeps: best eaten immediately or covered, refrigerated up to 3 days
ingredients
4 sheets frozen short crust pastry, thawed
Lemon Filling:
125g butter
1 ½ cups (345g) caster sugar
4 x 60g eggs
170ml (2/3 cup) natural yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice and zest of 2 lemons
90g (1 cup) coconut
icing sugar, to dust

to do...
Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Cut pastry into rounds using a 8x8cm cookie cutter. Place pastry rounds evenly into the (silicone) mini tart cases. Place another (silicone) mini tart case on top, pushing down gently to blind bake. Repeat with remaining pastry and tart cases.
Place tarts onto a baking tray and blind bake pastry for 8 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
To make the filling:
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Add yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
Stir through coconut and pour mixture into prepared tart bases.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the filling is golden and slightly puffed.

love amie x

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

salty crepe goodness


Are you not a fan of crepes unless they're sweet? Then try this salty recipe twist for a quick weekend brunch.


Salty crepes
makes: 5-6 crepes
keeps: covered, refrigerated 3-4 days
ingredients
crepe batter
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup water
4 x 60g eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
large pinch salt

topping - per crepe
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs - sage, parsley, rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese, grated
3 teaspoons goats curd

to do...
Combine all ingredients into a large jug or bowl. Whisk well until smooth. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup mixture into the pan, swirl the mixture around the pan until firm. Cook for 1 minute and then turn crepe over.

Pour a beaten egg on top of the whole crepe, stirring until egg is almost set. Sprinkle half one side of the crepe with herbs, mozzarella, and dollop with goats curd. Fold one side over on top of the other and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until filling is melted and warmed through.

Slide crepe onto a plate and eat immediately to be in cheesy heaven!

love amie x

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

lazy 'ladies' luncheon

When the girls pop in un-announced, something quick and of course, delish is on the menu.
Freshly sliced cured meats, Dutch Gouda, goats curd all served with quinoa and soy bread.
Next is a 'warm your tummy' vegetarian Dahl. A combination of slowly roasted spices cooked with ginger and garlic then simmered gently with lentils (of choice), and stock until soft.
Serve with fresh natural yogurt and a squeeze of lime!

love amie x

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

the chocolate teddy bear recipe.

My sister, Kate was busy at home one day as a mother of two young children often is. When here little 4 year old daughter, Charlotte called out to her.
'Mummy, what is in biscuits'?
Kate answered, remembering the few ingredients from the last time they had baked biscuits together.
'Butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa and flour, Charlotte.' Returning hurriedly back to her house jobs & thinking nothing of her daughter's recipe question.
Kate returned to check on Charlotte who had been busy drawing. But instead found her in the kitchen with flour and cocoa dusted all over the kitchen floor and bench
'Oh know, what a mess!', Kate thought to herself looking around bewildered.
At the centre bench of the large family kitchen a tiny plastic chair had been pushed up against the bench with Charlotte standing on top of the chair, tall and proud. Her tiny hands inside the mixing bowl, mixing ingredients. Before Kate could remark, Charlotte opened her little mouth and exclaimed.
'Mummy look at my recipe I have made'.
With those few little words Kate's worry of mess dissolved. Kate peered inside Charlotte's mixing bowl. There inside were chunks of butter surrounded by sugar, cocoa, flour and eggs. All of which Charlotte had sourced from the cupboards and fridge on her own.
Kate was amazed that her little girl could remember, write and then find the exact ingredients she had mentioned briefly to her earlier.
Kate then helped Charlotte melt the bits of butter and added them to the mixture. Charlotte decided the mixture still wasn't correct and announced that:
'I think we should add some milk, Mummy'.
So together they added some milk to the mixture. Poured the mixture evenly into the tiny teddy moulds Charlotte's Aunt Ame had given her and baked her first recipe.
They were so delicious Charlotte wanted to send one to Aunt Ame who lives interstate, but mummy loved them too much to give away.

If you look close enough at the image above you can almost read the first recipe my 4 year old niece, Charlotte wrote and tested all by herself.


It reads:

- butter

- sugar
- eggs
- cocoa
- flour
plus some milk to combine!

love aunt ame x