Cooking Bucket List

Savoury Pinwheel Scones (they won't be as good as Nana's but I can try)
A teacher aide at school brought in a batch for us while I was acting principal for a day.  I worked in the staffroom a metre away from the basket of warm scones tempting me with their delicious aroma.  They had chow chow, cream cheese, onion etc on them.

http://www.allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/Relish-and-bacon-pinwheel-scones/?r=3278

http://www.nzwomansweekly.co.nz/food/recipes/savoury-pinwheel-scones/

Cheesecake
Never made one, baked or otherwise.

Fondant iced cake (Mack or Fin will get a special birthday cake one day)

Cooked salmon (tasted some kind of salmon bake in white sauce on a conference,  I was a wee bit dubious but starving and there was no other option so I served myself a hefty portion, sat on the ground outside in the sun- as you do on a conference and was very pleasantly surprised- hunger is the best seasoning.

Preserve something

Wontons from scratch

Cauliflower pizza

Homemade Stock Winter 2014

Piece of cake ={D

French Onion Soup with cheesy bread

I remember making this in 3rd form, haven't had it since.

Chicken Noodle Soup Winter 2014

Nailed this! Made it twice this winter with homemade chicken stock from a rotisserie chicken.  Very happy with the results

Should have written down the recipe because I mashed together what I found on Google and went by feel, I mean taste.  They both had a buttery quality which made them decadent without any butter in sight.  

What to do with a few chick peas

  Hummus, just google it.  Don't need tahini

How to empty the fridge

Pinwheels 

Made a B& E pie. This is what I do with the leftover ready rolled sheet. Step 1- empty fridge in semi organised way onto pastry, I used whole grain mustard, tomato, capsicum, onion and bacon. Sometimes I use onion marmalade, spring onion, ham or salami... Step 2 roll, slice, lay slices on cooking paper, Then cook high heat 10 minutes. Next step- try to save some for lunch boxes- very difficult.

Someone's Aunty Heather's Cheeseball

Aunty Heather cheese ball

250g cream cheese (1 tub)
1 cup grated cheese
2 Tablespoon finely chopped onions (or spring onions)
2 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 Tablespoon finely chopped gherkins
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoon tomato sauce
1 dash tabasco sauce (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Soften cream cheese, stir in cheese, onion, parsley, Gherkins.
Mix in sauces.
Roll into ball (quite a sticky mixture)
Chill 1/2 hr
Roll in nuts
Refrigerate

Roast Pumpkin Dip

Oh my. This is scrummy scrummy scrummy. And there is no garlic! Sometimes you just can't be bothered with garlic (it doesn't agree with me sometimes).

Grandad and Aunty Tracey are coming over for lunch so last night we had a roast- Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast which gives us loads of leftover meat and gravy to make Roast Beef Sandwiches with (Pour meat and gravy in a pot, warm through, warm up some rolls, meat, swiss cheese and green pepper). I purposefully roasted way too much pumpkin so we could have some dip too. I'm impressed myself with this one. And as usual I didn't really measure, so the next time I make it, it will taste different.  It's one of those recipes that you have to taste as you make, and make it how you like it.

Roast Pumpkin Dip

About 1/4 of a crown pumpkin sliced

Masterfoods Roast Vegetable Seasoning

Extra Lite Olive Oil

To roast pumpkin I precook in the microwave with about 1/4 C of water, covered in a microwave safe container for 10 minutes give or take, poke with a fork to see if it is almost cooked, if it is hard it won't go nice in the oven.

One of these old Tupperware containers 

Then splash a bit of olive oil on and some of the seasoning and cook in a hot oven (240 C) until it starts to crisp and brown on the edges, turn once after about 12 minutes.

Cut the skin off the roast pumpkin and put in a food processor with:

1/2 C unsalted cashews

1 tsp of dried coriander flakes

1 tsp of cumin seeds (crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar )

S&P

1/4 C olive oil

As Jamie Oliver says Wazz it all up, use a food scraper to push it all back down a few times and taste.  If it tastes yum- then ya done!

I sprinkled a few more coriander flakes on top and a few pumpkin seeds for garnish.

Enjoy with plain crackers, pita crisps or bagel crisps.

Grandma said: "it tastes like the one you buy in the shop"

Ambrosia

When you feel like a sweet treat there is nothing like ambrosia. Super easy and so yummy

Ingredients:

Yoghurt (just a pottle of fresh n fruity)

Frozen berries

Some Banana cut into little pieces 

Choc drops, buttons or choc chips...

Marshmallows cut into little pieces

Stir it up and enjoy. Delicious 

Nana's Pikelets

First rule of choosing good recipes- The grubbier, the better!

If the page is sticky and brown and covered in ancient food, then it is a well used recipe that has been used many times.

The terrible handwriting in this pic belongs to me when I was maybe about 12.  And yes Pikelets is spelt wrong too.  My Nana was a wonderful cook, and the funny memories she gave my brothers and cousins and I about gravy on every meal (even pizza) and the long barely-holding-together ash on the end of her cigarette when she cooked...  Well, something made her food taste divine.  

dsp: (dessert spoon) - is just a spoon you would eat cereal or ice cream with.
tsp of B. P: a teaspoon of baking powder
I think the knob of butter is meant for the pan (electric frying pan is best)
And as for the giant full stop and squiggly lines, I'm not sure.

The trick is to turn the pikelets when the bubbles are just starting to pop.

Serve straight away with marge and jam- even apricot jam for a change.  Mmm what about whipped cream Oh naughty!
Wrap leftovers in a clean teatowel.

Perfect Egg

A quick snack, good source of protein, pretty cheap, and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.  Eggs are pretty handy dandy in your fridge.

No one I know keeps eggs at room temperature because they last longer in the fridge.  No one has ever said "Mmm I feel like an egg in 2 hours so I'll take it out of the fridge" So the 3 minute egg recipe won't work.

So, for 'fridgey' eggs here is a perfectly orangey yellow runny yolk perfect for dipping toast in.

Bring a pot of water to the boil, just enough water to cover the egg.  If you are having a cup of tea at the same time just use the already boiled water from the kettle.  Carefully place egg into pot- do not step away from the pot!  Turn the heat down a little bit so the egg is just boiling but not full on boiling because you have just added a chilly cold eggy into a very hot spa pool.  Put the microwave timer on for 5 minutes, pop ya toast down.  5 mins later- DONE and YUM.

Peanut Butter Muesli Bars

Combine ...
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup rice bubbles
4 crushed weetbix
1 cup coconut
1/2cup fruit

Cook on high in microwage for 7 minutes ...
3/4cup brown sugar
1/2cup honey
1/2cup peanut butter
125gm butter

Combine and press into tin.
 Refrigerate.

Will try different variations of dried fruit, nuts and seeds: apricots, sultanas, craisins, almond flakes, pumpkin seeds