Dry Pancake Mix - egg free!

Pancakes are a favourite of just about everyone, myself included.  I adore them, hot and smothered in syrup.  Lashings of syrup!  A few years ago I was searching the internet for a dry pancake mix to take with us on our yearly camping trip.  I found a few that I liked and created my own.  This is what I came up with and have been using it ever since.

I am amazed by the commercial pancake mixes you can buy.  The ingredient list reads like a science experiment.  I don't have a degree in the sciences so they are a bit of a mystery to me. With no less than 12 ingredients in each, I vowed that I could create one with ingredients I have in my own cupboard, so I did!

It was my husband who suggested that I share this recipe.  I have been using this for so long that I don't really think about it.  To be honest, I didn't think anyone would be interested in a recipe so simple.

I always have this dry mix ready for use, this recipe will make enough for 3 batches of pancakes.  This recipe can be double, tripled and quadrupled (just make sure you have a container big enough to hold it all).  This will keep for 12 months in a Tupperware style container.  No Egg can be found in the health food section of Coles or your local health food store.  It's a really handy product that I always have on hand (even if there are no eggs left in the fridge, I can still cook something for lunch boxes).

Recipe:

4 cups Self Raising Flour
1 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 Organ No Egg
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix with a whisk (yes you read right - using a whisk eliminates the lumps and stirs well without sifting)
Transfer to an air tight Tupperware style container and store away until you need it.

To use this mix: combine 1 1/2 cups of the dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of canola/sunflower or blended vegetable oil.  Mix well to combine.  Heat a frypan with butter and add some of the batter to cook the pancakes.  You should get between 8 and 10 pancakes.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth x

Thai Style Chicken Legs

I adore Thai food.  Sweet Chili Sauce is one of my favourite condiments (try it with a Schnitzel - it's delicious!).  I was lucky enough to travel to Thailand in 1999 (a life time ago).  I ate my way from city to city and I gained 4 kilos enjoying Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner and Dessert every day for 16 days.  This recipe is my ode to Thailand.  It's not fancy, but you can have a meal that resembles Thai flavours without leaving your home.

Chicken pieces are such a versatile cut of meat.  This recipe uses Chicken legs, I love Chicken legs as they're cheap, kids love them, can be adapted to so many dishes and they were on sale the other day.  As a large family I need 2 kilos (just over 4 pounds) of chicken legs.  I personally remove the skin from the chicken legs as I don't like the fat that the skin has.  This only takes me 7-10 minutes, so I pop on some music and skin away!

To make this recipe I decided to use my oven and bake these chicken legs.  A large baking tray is needed, I line the base of it with baking paper.  Using the paper helps with the clean up afterwards.  Ooops, I got carried away!  By using your oven to bake these you do two things: 1. you can pop these in the oven and forget about them for a bit and do other things (make dessert, do laundry, clean the house or have a rest) and 2. you can save a ton of calories by not using fat and save those calories for dessert!  You can thank me for that tip later.

This recipe has a mild amount of chili and due to this I was concerned that my 8 year old (who doesn't like anything spicy unless there is a tub of sour cream on the table) ate these with gusto and had no issues with the heat factor and sour cream wasn't needed, if you are a fan of a little heat, feel free to add more Sweet Chili Sauce or even some chilli flakes.  Plan-overs of these are great for lunch boxes the next day (just remember to add an ice-brick into your lunch box to keep them chilled).

This marinade can be used on other chicken pieces.  Being that these chicken pieces are marinated, please allow at least 6 hours for the marinade to work its magic.  I personally like to prepare these the night before.  I recommend using a large zip-lock bag and placed on a plate (just in case there springs a leak!)  This recipe can be doubled or quadrupled.  This recipe serves 4.

Recipe:

1 kilo Chicken Legs (about 8)
1/4 cup Sweet Chilli Sauce
1/4 cup Honey
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1 garlic clove crushed (or a teaspoon of minced garlic from a bottle)

In a sauce pan on the stove top or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave, gently heat the Sweet Chilli Sauce, Honey, Soy Sauce and the garlic until it's warmed and the honey is thinned.
Place your chicken legs (or chicken pieces) into a large zip-lock bag (or a medium/large casserole dish).
Pour the marinade over the chicken, zip up the bag and use your hands to knead the marinade into the chicken.  Place the bag onto a plate and pop it all into the fridge for 6 - 24 hours.
After 6 - 24 hours remove the chicken pieces (in the bag) from the fridge and leave to come up to almost room temp. while the oven pre-heats.
Pre-heat oven to 180oC (375oF), line a LARGE deep sided baking tray with baking paper.
Place the chicken and all the marinade on to the tray and pop into the oven.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the chicken's juices run clear when pierced with a sharp knife (I turn my chicken legs once, from one side to another about half way thru the cooking process).

Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x

Greek Inspired Orange Cookies

I LOVE Greek food, well I love all food, but Greek is one of my top 10 faves.  This recipe came about after visiting a Bakery that had a number of Greek sweets.  For those of you who aren't aware, Victoria (Australia) has the highest concentration of Greeks outside of Greece anywhere in the world.  So it's natural to have Bakeries and Cafe's that have wonderful items from Greece or a that specialise in Greek cuisine. As I wasn't keen on paying the prices they charged (over a $1 per cookie!) I thought "surely I can make these at home", so I did!

This cookie has a dense shortbread-ish texture that is made for dunking into a hot drink.  Greek's are know for their love of coffee and most of their cookies have an almost rusk like texture.  When dunked into a hot drink it becomes like a sponge and soaks up all the wonderful flavours (without falling into the cup as fast as other cookies do due to their denseness).  I'm a not coffee drinker, but I love Hot Chocolate.  A rich Orange cookie in Hot Chocolate creates a Choc-Orange flavour sensation.

The dough can be rolled and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter, rolled into shapes (S's or pretzel looking shapes) or do as I did and create a log and slice.  If you have children, this dough is great for little ones to help with.

This recipe is so easy adapted and can be swapped for lemon.  I have also made these almond flavour with great success, simply add 1 teaspoon of almond extract, swap the OJ for milk and leave out the zest.  Half a cup of toasted and chopped nuts (almonds would work well) is a nice addition.  This recipe will yield 30-40 cookies depending on how you cut them.

Recipe:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon Ward's baking powder

Pre-heat your oven to 175oC (350oF) and prepare to large cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a full 5 minutes (until creamy and pale) remembering to scrape down the sides once.
Add in the yolks and juice and beat for a further 2 - 3 minutes
Add in half the flour and Ward's baking powder, beat to incorporate.
Add the remaining flour and beat again to combine.
Use your hands to pull out half the dough and shape into a long sausage (about 6cm or 1.5 inches wide).
Use a sharp knife to make diagonal slices about 1 cm (just under 1/2 and inch) apart.
Place on one of the prepared trays, leaving a small distance between each cookie (they don't spread very much).
Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Place the trays in the pre-heated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes checking after 18 minutes.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth
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