Grandma Perritt's Pavlova

Grandma Perritt is my Aunty's mum.  My Aunty Barb is married to my Dad's brother, Uncle Robert.  I spent much of my young years with my Aunty and Uncle in their home.  Grandma Perritt lived quite a bit further away, but this didn't prevent my parents from visiting her and my Nana Chadwick (my mum's mum).  I learnt to walk in Grandma Perritt's home.  Even though I was not her "actual" grand-daughter I was never made to feel less than by this amazing woman, it's because of this that I lovingly called her Grandma, just like my cousins who were lucky enough to be her biologial grandchildren.

Grandma Perritt and her husband had 6 children, whether being a mother of a large brood made her a fabulous cook out of necessity or she was lucky enough to be naturally talented in this area I will never know.  I was lucky enough to be given this recipe by my mother who was given this recipe by Grandma Perritt as a young mum. My mother married very young (18) and wasn't the best of cooks.  Her mum,  my Nana, wasn't much of a cook either (it was common knowledge in the family and her friends, bless her soul) so she was unable to pass on any cooking skills.  Grandma Perritt took my mother under her wing and taught and shared numerous recipes with her.  This one is by far the most popular and I have shared this more times than I can remember.  Grandma Perritt sadly has passed on, by lives on in memory every time I make or share this recipe.

Pavlova should only be "dressed" or topped with cream and fruit JUST before you serve it.    Suggested fruit to dress your Pav with are: sliced bananas, kiwi fruit, passionfruit pulp, strawberries, canned and well drained peach slices, grapes, and mangoes.  The top should look like a fruit salad.  Dressing it too early will cause the crunchy Pavlova crust to become soggy and limp.  This recipe will give you 6 generous serves but can be doubled and tripled with ease (great for when you're hosting Chirstmas or a party).

This Pavlova is nothing like to pre-packed eggy, crunch free ones you can buy in boxes in the bakery section of grocery stores, this is the real deal and worth every minute of preparation for the end result. A real Pavlova has a crunchy crust and a marshmallow centre.  A real Pavlova will sink in the middle.  Sadly, I'm severely allergic to eggs (it was my favourite until 6 years ago when my allergy started) so enjoy a slice for me!

Recipe:

4 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar (super fine sugar)
1 dessertspoon vinegar
1 teaspoons corn flour

Dressing of Pavlova:

600ml (a pint) cream whipped
2 cups of canned fruit salad - well drained
6 large strawberries, sliced
2-4 passionfruit pulp

Pre-heat your oven to as hot as it will go.  Line a pizza tray with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large clean, oil free glass or ceramic bowl add the egg whites and beat until "soft peak" stage, this means, when you lift the beaters out of the egg whites, the peaks lift up then fold on the top to create a "peak".  If they fold in half down low, keep beating and try again.
Add the sugar, a tablespoonful at a time.  Beat until totally dissolved (5-7 minutes)
Turn your beaters down to low and add the vinegar and cornflour.  Beat on low for a full minute.
Use a metal spoon (no plastics!) and heap the raw pavlova mix onto the pizza tray.  I aim for a 20cm (8 inch) diameter.  Heap it on top of each other and use the back of the spoon to create peaks (to look pretty).
Pop into the pre-heated oven, reduce the heat immediately to 120oC for 1 hour.
After one hour turn off the oven and leave the Pavlova in the oven for a further hour.
Open the oven door and leave the Pavlova inside until room temp. (a couple of hours).
Transfer the Pavlova to a serving plate (use 2 spatula's to do this).
Dress the Pavlova JUST before serving.
Whip the cream (I like to use vanilla and icing sugar) and pop on top of the now room temp. pav.
Place all the fruit in a bowl and mix well, gently pile on top of the cream.
Slice and serve!!


Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth  x

Nicola's Sticky Gingerbread

I LOVE ginger! It’s one of my favourite flavours. It’s right up there with vanilla and chocolate for me. As Christmas is only a matter of weeks away, I thought I would share this. My husband isn’t such a huge fan of Ginger (one less person to share with I guess) its a pity that my children enjoy it though, I have to share with them.....

This recipe is courtesy of a dear friend of mine from High School - Nicola. She was given this recipe from her Grandmother. This recipe is actually called “Parkin” and Ginger bread doesn’t get any more traditional than this recipe.

This cake is not to be made and eaten the day its prepared. This cake should be made at least 1 - 3 days before you want to serve it. The longer you leave it, the stickier it will become. You can serve it on its own or with lashings of fresh butter. Both are recommended!  It's due to the waiting time of letting the cake "develop in flavour" that makes this cake utterly wonderful to serve for events and gatherings.  You can make it a few days in advance, forget about it and serve.

I wish I had been aware of this recipe when pregnant with my babies. I suffered from severe morning sickness with all 4 pregnancies (when I say severe, I mean severe. I was recommended to go to hospital and have a drip it was so bad). Many have claimed that ginger has been known to help with this ailment - as I don’t plan on having another baby to test this cake on morning sickness, if you have a friend who is suffering from this condition, why not test it out on her and let me know how it went?

I add finely chopped Buderium ginger (crystalised) to my batter. I love the small jewels of ginger that give you a burst of flavour and texture. A word about the batter - it is very thin and liquid like. This is normal. Please don’t add any extra flour, this high liquid content is what gives this recipe the wonderful stickiness that I crave. To maintain the sticky moistness: keep each loaf wrapped in grease proof paper, then aluminum foil and in an air tight container.  Any air will cause the cake to go hard and will lose all that wonderful stickiness.

Recipe

225g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup treacle
1 1/2 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons powdered ground ginger
1 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped ginger

Pre-heat your oven to 170oC (355oF).

Grease and line 3 loaf tins. If your loaf tins are slightly larger, than only grease and line 2.
In a sauce pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and treacle together and set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and ginger. Use a whisk to air-ate the flour mixture.
Warm the milk and add the bicarb to it.

Pour the milk mixture and eggs into the flour mixture and stir well to combine.
Add the finely chopped ginger and the slightly cooled buttery solution.
Stir well.

Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared tins and pop into your pre-heated oven.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, don’t just touch the top of the cake to see if it’s cooked, use a toothpick to check that it’s cooked.
Let sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes to cool slightly.

Remove from the tin, but keep the grease proof paper attatched to each loaf.
Cool completely then wrap in more grease proof paper (so that each loaf is completely covered), then fully wrap that in foil and pop into an air tight container (such as Tupperware) and leave for 1 - 3 days.
Slice and serve with or without butter OR with caramel sauce and ice-cream as an after dinner treat.

Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x

Chocolate Caramel Layered Brownies

This is an ode to Brownies!  Brownies are what I'm known for among my friends and the teachers at school.  My kids love them and I have never met anyone who doesn't like them.  This take on my standard Brownie recipe and is perfect for dessert (served hot with ice-cream and syrup) or as a special treat for a friend or teacher.  With Christmas not that far away (don't say I didn't warn you!) these make a wonderful gift: friends, teachers, neighbours and so on.  Who doesn't love a home made gift?  And yes, these look as good as they taste.

When Halloween is happening I buy bulk chocolates and store them away for baking.  I personally like Snickers bars and Mars Bars (Milky Ways in North America).  There are so many things you can make with them.  This recipe is just one.

Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs at room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups flour (a bit extra than normal due to the caramel layer)
500g (just over a pound) of jersey caramels or soft camels
12  snack size Snickers or Mars bars, each sliced into 3 or 4
1/2 cup mini choc-chips

Pre-heat your oven to as hot as it will go. Prepare a 18x28 cm (9x12 inch) baking tray by greasing it and lining with baking paper.
Place the caramels in a microwave safe bowl and set aside.
Open and slice the Snickers bars and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and eggs until thick and creamy (about 3-5 minutes).
Add in the cocoa powder and the flour and beat again for a further couple of minutes.
While this is happening, melt your caramels in the microwave (cook in 30 second increments, stern well after each until melted)
Pour 2/3 of the mix into the bottom of the prepared tin.  Pour all the caramel over the brownie dough and work to get a little bit everywhere, don't go right to the edges as they will burn and be hard to get out of the pan.  One last thing - work fast!  I use a fork to do this.
Using a spoon, drop small mound-fulls of dough over the caramel layer.  Use your fork to connect the mounds of dough to make a thin layer.
Drop the Snickers over the top, then sprinkle with the mini choc-chips.
Place into the prepared oven and reduce the heat to 180oC (375oF) and bake for 32 minutes.
Leave in the pan to cool completely, once cold slice into squares or rectangles.
Store in an airtight container such as Tupperware or wrap to give away as a gifts.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth x

Pizza Pockets in 5 Minutes!

My children love Pizza - don't all kids though?  If I'm being honest, so does my husband. These pizza pockets are fast, delicious and has much less fat than a "real pizza" or pre-packaged commercially made pizza pockets you find in the freezer section of your grocery store.

With only a handful of basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand, these can be created in mere minutes.  Use extra or alternative fillings to what your family prefers or what you have on hand.  Such ingredients might include: mushrooms, capsicums (peppers), onions, salami, olives or any other pizza fillings that's your favourite.

I make my own basic pizza sauce (recipe is included) but if you have a bottle of opened pasta sauce (Napoli/Marinara) that would work a treat too.  This recipe makes 4 pizza pockets, I slice each into 3, yielding 12 slices.

Recipe:

2/3 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
14 teaspoon garlic powder
8 slices of ham (I like the shaved ham as it heats through faster)
1 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
4 flatbreads, lavish breads, pita bread or tortillas

In a medium sized bowl, combine the tomato paste and the herbs. Stir well to combine to make a super fast pizza sauce.
Lay the 4 breads out and divvy up the pizza sauce equally between them.  Spread the sauce only over the bottom  half of the flatbreads.
Lay the ham and cheese over the top.  Fold each in half awaiting cooking.
Heat your sandwich press (you could use a frypan, flipping the pizza pocket to cook each side) lay the pizza pocket on the press and pull down the top.
Cook until the button turns green or red (to indicate that the pizza pocket is cooked) OR you can hear the slight sizzle of cheese melting.
Use a spatula to remove from the sandwich press and add the next one and repeat the process.
Cut each hot pizza pocket into 3 and enjoy.
Caution - these babies are hot!  Melted cheese can burn mouths.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth x

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
x