Lightening Online

For those not familiar with the word, it’s pronounced “Keen-Wa”  rather than “Kwinoa”.

I’ve known about it for a while but this wheat free diet has given me the motivation to actually get around to trying it.

Apparently, while often used instead of grains, Quinoa is actually a seed.

Do you know what?

Wheat is actually a seed too isn’t it?  LOL.  Wonder what the difference between a grain and a seed is?  Not that I really care enough to actually find out.  I’ll just believe them when they say one is a grain and one is a seed.  Whatever.

Anyway, plenty of people seem to be raving about it.  What makes it so good?  I did a little bit of research and this is what I’ve found:

1.  Quinoa is Gluten Free

There appears to be a growing demand for Gluten Free foods.  While I’m not actually on a “gluten free” diet it would seem that gluten free products are naturally “wheat free” so I’ve started following the “trend” in an attempt to find more variety in what I can actually eat.

2.  Quinoa is an Alkaline Food

I’ve only recently learnt about this but apparently an “acidic body” is actually on it’s way to becoming a corpse.  A lot of Western foods have an acidic affect on our bodies so most people are in need of more alkalising foods.  It’s not as simple as avoiding foods high in acid either.  From what I’ve been told, Lemons are actually an alkalising food.

3.  Quinoa is a Complete Protein

Quinoa has all the essential amino acids (9 in total) needed by the body to build muscles.  (Source)

From what I can understand, it’s quite rare to get a plant source with all 9 of these amino acids.

4.  Quinoa is high in fibre

I think we all know the benefits of increasing fibre in our diet.

5.  Quinoa has high amounts of Magnesium

Magnesium is a great muscle relaxant and increasing magnesium in your diet can help with migraines, muscle cramps and energy levels.

It also helps the body deal with insulin and blood sugars so can be beneficial to those with type 2 diabetes.

6.  Quinoa has higher levels of nutrients than many grains

Compared to other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. ^(source)

7.  Quinoa acts as a prebiotic

It helps feed the good bacteria in the intestine.

There are plenty of other “claims” when it comes to the benefits of Quinoa and diseases it can help prevent.  These are the ones that seemed most relevant to me.

Of course, it can have all the benefits in the world but if it isn’t tasty to eat, who’s going to eat it?

I have to admit I was a bit unsure when it came to trying it.

I’m not exactly what you’d call adventurous when it comes to trying new foods.

So I tried to stick with flavours I enjoy.

Basically chicken and broccoli.

It was DELICIOUS!!!!

CHICKEN & BROCCOLI QUINOA RECIPE

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 chicken stock cube (check it’s wheat/gluten free if required - not all are).

1 chicken breast

2 cups of broccoli (or more if you like it - I added heaps!)

cream to taste (I used 3-4 heaped teaspoons)

Rinse quinoa well under running water (some websites suggest presoaking but my packet didn’t say anything about that so I just rinsed it thoroughly).  Add quinoa to water.  Crumble stock cube into water.  Bring to boil then allow to simmer until all water is absorbed.

Cook broccoli and chicken breast.  Chop into small pieces.

Fluff quinoa with a fork.  Add broccoli and chicken.

Stir through cream if desired (for a low fat option, leave cream out - but it does make it YUMMY!!!!).

***

This amount was enough for 3 serves for me.  You might want to adjust the quantities to suit your own family.

I did find it was much nicer fresh than reheated, even though I added a bit more cream when I reheated it (the quinoa absorbs the cream).

My next challenge  will be to make this for the whole family and see if they’ll eat it!!!! 

* Disclaimer: I’m no expert and this is just what I’ve found in my research.  I can’t guarantee the accuracy of anything written here.

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Now that the weather is a little cooler, I’ve been trying to give the kids a little more variety for their lunch boxes.  Sandwiches every day just gets way too boring.  In the summer months, I won’t let them take anything with meat in it.  Even with a freezer pack, I just can’t be sure that food will stay cool enough for the 5 hours it’s in the fridge.

So, recently, when we discovered the kids quite like sausage rolls cold, I thought that was something I could make periodically for them to take to school for lunch.

Of course, they are a perfect opportunity to sneak a few extra vegies into their day as well:

I usually add grated zucchini and carrot but last time I also added some mashed pumpkin.  I used Kent pumpkin which did make the sausage rolls a little sweet for my liking (the kids and Farmboy quite liked it though).

Sausage Rolls don’t have to be an exact science (in terms of quantities) but here’s an approximation of what I used:

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchini, grated

cup cooked, mashed pumpkin

500g mince

500g sausage meat

2 eggs

2 handfuls weetbix crumbs (can use breadcrumbs or whatever - I just find it a good way to use up the weetbix crumbs no-one eats)

2 beef stock cubes

onion to taste (some people like lots of chunky onion.  My family don’t so I tend to use onion flakes)

1 pkt (6 sheets) puff pastry

Mix everything (other than pastry) together.  I find using my hands works best to get it all properly mixed (squeeze between your fingers - it’s gross but effective):

Cut puff pastry squares in half and line up mixture in centre:

Roll pastry and cut into the size you desire.  I cut a roll like this into 6 which gives me 1 dozen (12) per sheet or pastry and 6 dozen small sausage rolls from a batch.

Brush the tops with beaten egg and bake in a moderately hot oven (180-200C) for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And I forgot to take a photograph of the finished product!!!!

Looks like I’ll just have to make another batch!

I tried a new recipe this year, as a bit of a last minute thing. I had bought apricots to make apricot balls but really couldn’t be bothered with all that rolling.

I’m a bit of a fan of fudge from time to time so figured I’d give the following recipe a go.

It is YUM!!! Way TOO yum in fact!!! Very moreish.

So, even though it’ll be after Christmas when this posts, here is the recipe for you to try (and for me to find in future lol).

FUDGE

500g dark chocolate
75g butter
400ml condensed milk

melted together gently (I used the microwave on medium so the chocolate didn’t burn).

Add 1tsp vanilla and stir together.

Add nuts or fruit if you like and then pour into a dish and refrigerate to set.

I added chopped apricots to ours (as per the title) and it goes together SO well.

I also used my own condensed milk recipe and that worked fine too. I thought the sugar might end up being a bit grainy but it has come out lovely and smooth.

And did I say moreish?

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and can find some time now to relax and unwind.

Here is the recipe I used to use up our extra rice bubbles.

Honey Bubble Crunch Bars

75g butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp honey
4 cups rice bubbles

Melt butter, sugar and honey together in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to slow boil for a minute or 2.

Mix into rice bubbles and set in a greased slice tray (18×28cm).

Top with choc chips, sprinkles or a chocolate/butter mixture.

It’s pretty similar to honey crackles only with rice bubbles and is VERY popular - especially topped with chocolate!!!!

I LOVE easy!!!!!  Especially when it comes to cooking.  So, when I found this recipe, I just had to record it for future reference.

Most cake recipes require creaming butter and sugar and all those steps.  This one, you simply chuck it all in, whiz it for a couple of minutes with an electric mixer (or by hand if you’re game - not my definition of easy though!!!!) and it’s good to go.

Here are the ingredients:

2 cups SR flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

125g  butter or margarine

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

It makes around 35 cupcakes.  No idea what size in a normal cake (helpful aren’t I?  ).

I’ve been very industrious in the kitchen today!  I’ll post more either later today or tomorrow about what I’ve been busy making.

I’m the kind of cook that hates following a recipe. Unfortunately, this can lead to many disasters in the kitchen. However, sometimes new and experimental ideas do work out and a new recipe is born (if I can only remember what I actually did!!!! LOL).

At the moment, this style of cooking is coming in handy as I attempt to use up all kinds of bits and pieces before we head off on the “big trip”.

Last week, in an attempt to use up some custard powder and some sprinkles, I made custard biscuits rolled in sprinkles. They went down very well.

Last night, I had a sheet of puff pastry and a bottle of pureed apple to use up. I grabbed 4 apples from the fridge (several of which needed using up including one with the tiniest bite taken out of it) and cut them up into a pie dish. Then sprinkled them with a little sugar. Poured the bottle of pureed apple over the top and finished it off with the sheet of puff pastry brushed with egg and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

It was GOOD!!!!

I was worried the pureed apple might have made it a bit too soggy but the fresh apple and puree blended together well to make a delicious filling of similar consistency to stewed apple.

The kids all really liked it and it was pretty quick and simple to make (other than the 40 minutes cooking time). I think it might be a keeper.

Sadly, I didn’t take a photograph to show you. Maybe next time?

Let’s hope some of my future “Use it up” experiments work out as well as this one did. They may well become more and more strange as supplies get low.

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been busy over the last 2 days making slices for the afternoon tea after Poppa’s funeral. There’s something about actually “doing” something that I think helps at a time like this. And cooking brings with it a certain level of comfort - at least for me.

Anyway, I’m making an assortment of slices which should do for the funeral plus some other things we have going on. And if my family is lucky, maybe a few pieces for them too (actually, they’ve already started cleaning up the bits that aren’t quite the right size or don’t look as good).

I thought some of you may be interested in the recipes I’ve been using.

Lemon Slice

An old family favourite and one I’ve put on here before. This is enough to fill a large tray (rather than the regular slice tray). Halve the recipe for smaller quantities.

1 tin condensed milk (see below for condensed milk recipe)

250g margarine

2 pkts milk arrowroot biscuits (or any plain biscuit - 250g packets)

2 cups coconut

Rind of 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

Crush biscuits and mix with coconut and lemon rind. Melt margarine and add margarine, condensed milk and lemon juice to dry mixture. Stir together and press into a tin or container. Refrigerate. Ice with lemon icing (using juice from second lemon) and top with coconut

Condensed Milk

I don’t keep condensed milk on hand and this recipe is so simple and cheap to make.

1 cup dry milk powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup boiling water

3 Tbsp margarine

Mix together until smooth. Equal to 1 can of condensed milk

Easy Chocolate Slice

In the past, I’ve not been a big slice maker because I thought they were too time consuming or expensive to make (or both). This one is SO easy and reasonably quick. My kids love it and I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

3 weetbix (crushed)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup SR flour

1 cup coconut

4 tsp cocoa (or more if you like it very chocolately)

125g melted butter/marg

Mix dry ingredients together. Add melted butter and mix. Press into slice/lamington tin. Bake 180C (350F) for 15 minutes. Ice with chocolate icing while still warm.

I always make a double mix and cook it in the same tray I use for the lemon slice. Usually I leave the top plain but this time I added sprinkles as I was looking for something with a variety of colour (to balance up the plate of mixed slice). It looks good.

Mars Bar Slice

I was toying with the idea of making a double batch of this one but refrained because I know I’ll end up eating too much myself if I do that. Thankfully, Mars Bars were on special for 99c each this week. It can end up being a reasonably expensive slice otherwise.

3 Mars Bars

3 Cups Rice Bubbles

90g Butter

200g Chocolate

Melt Mars Bars and Butter together then mix with rice bubbles and press into slice tray. Top with melted chocolate (you could add 30g butter to chocolate to make it a little softer).

Banana Slice

With 2 over-ripe bananas in the fridge, this one seemed like it was worth a try. I doubled the recipe to use up the 2 bananas. It’s in the oven right now so no comments on how it’s going to turn out yet.

1 cup SR flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mashed banana (this is usually 1 banana)

60g butter

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Sift dry ingredients (LOL - I very RARELY sift ingredients and no, I didn’t here either)

Melt butter. Mix everything together and bake 20-30 minutes in lamington tin. Top with lemon icing and sprinkle with coconut.

Chocolate Mint Slice

This one looks quite effective with the green peppermint cream in between the chocolate base and chocolate on top.

Base:

4 oz butter (125g)

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups SR flour

1 Tbsp cocoa

Cream butter and sugar then stir in SR flour and cocoa. Bake 15-20 minutes in a moderate oven. Leave to cool.

Peppermint Cream:

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp peppermint essence

1 Tbsp milk

1.5 cups icing sugar

green food colouring

Cream together and spread on base.

Icing:

2 oz copha

2 Tbsp icing sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa

Melt copha. Mix together, cool slightly then pour over peppermint cream.

OR

Melt chocolate with either copha or marg and pour over top.

Chocolate Caramel Slice

Base:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut

125g butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients. Mix in melted butter and press into tin (18×28cm). Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool.

Filling:

60g butter

1 can condensed milk (see recipe above)

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Stir over low heat until smooth (or shove in the microwave like I do). Pour over base. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool.

Topping:

200g chocolate

2 tsp vegetable oil

Melt together and pour over slice. Chill until set.

I may yet also make Marita’s Anzac Slice depending on how energetic I feel once I’ve finished icing the others.

Hopefully there isn’t too much left after the weekend or my waistline is going to be in BIG trouble!!!!

Alrighty, after much testing, here is the recipe for Lightening’s m&m Cookies. BEWARE: they are rather more-ish (assuming the dough ever makes it to the oven cos that’s rather more-ish too).

Lightenings Mega M&M Cookies

250g (8 ounces) margarine or butter
3/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence (imitation)

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3 cups self raising flour (or plain flour with 3/4 tsp baking powder)

1/2 cup m&m’s

Cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla essence, salt and egg and mix. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing lightly between cups. Add m&m’s. Add heaped large spoonfuls to a tray and bake in a moderate (150-180 Celsius) oven for 10-15 minutes. For smaller cookies, use a teaspoon.

Lightening’s Added Notes:

250g margarine is half of 500g tub (or half a pound).

You can double this recipe easily if you have a mixer large enough to handle it. I prefer to make up this quantity twice rather than double the mixture for ease of handling.

You can use butter although that may make them even MORE more-ish!!!

3/4 cup caster sugar - you can use regular sugar if you don’t have caster sugar. The caster sugar dissolves into the butter easier and you don’t get granules of sugar in your cookies. I usually use regular sugar when baking cookies but switched to caster sugar in this recipe for perfections sake.

3/4 cup brown sugar - make sure you pack this down in the cup measure a little (doesn’t have to be hard packed). Brown sugar gives a more “caramellised” flavour to the finished product. These will work without the brown sugar (obviously they won’t taste quite the same but they’ll still be nice). Just bear in mind that brown sugar has a higher moisture content so if you don’t use it, you might need slightly less flour (or you’ll have a crunchier cookie - whichever you prefer).

Cream Butter/Margarine and Sugar

I use a Kenwood electric mixture (with the “K” beater) to mix mine. You want to give it a decent mix. It’s a bit harder to tell by colour when you’re using brown sugar (with just white sugar, I watch for the colour to lighten off).

Usually I do this step by taste test (including quantities) and when you can’t really distinguish between the margarine and the sugar, you’re there. It’s hard to teach this via blog though (what it should taste like).

30 seconds to a minute of mixing should about do it (sorry, I didn’t time it).

Add 2 tsp vanilla essence & 3/4 tsp salt

Vanilla Essence and salt are vital ingredients in cookies. I usually err on the side of more when it comes to vanilla essence. 2 tsp’s seems to be about right though. If you’re using GENUINE vanilla essence (as opposed to imitation) you will need a LOT less (sorry, I’ve never used REAL vanilla essence so can’t help you there).

Salt is an absolutely MAGIC ingredient. I’m astounded by how well salty and sweet go together. Don’t overdo it though. You only want a subtle effect to highlight the other flavours.

Add 1 egg

The one downfall I find to having your own free range eggs is the variation in sizes. I tend to hunt out a larger egg for these. Just be mindful that the size of your egg may affect how much flour you need (and no, 2 smaller eggs really doesn’t work).

Don’t overmix at this point.

3 Cups Self Raising Flour (or 3 cups plain flour with 3/4 teaspoon baking powder or equivalent raising agent)

A combination of factors will influence how much flour you need. The age (and therefore dryness) of the flour, what sugar you use and how large your egg is. It’s not something you need to worry about too much but you may find the consistency of your dough varies from time to time. The good thing about cookies is that they are fairly forgiving (you can get away with a wide variation in your dough). If the dough is more moist, you may just end up with a slightly flatter and softer cookie.

1/2 cup m&m’s (heap it up - the more the better )

A 250g packet of m&m’s is just over a cup. As long as you don’t eat too many () you should get 2 heaped 1/2 cups from the one pack (so enough to make a double batch if you want).

I tried the mini m&m’s but found they didn’t show up as well in the cookie dough so I’m using regular m&m’s.

You can also use a cheaper alternative such as generic beanies if you prefer. You can also substitute choc chips (mmmm…..white choc chip cookies), nuts or anything else you want to try.

When you mix in the m&m’s, I suggest you mix them by hand (with a wooden spoon or whatever) rather than an electric mixer to avoid them getting broken up and becoming less effective.

Spoon Onto Tray and Bake in Moderate Oven 10-15 minutes

Size of cookies is a personal thing. If you want LOTS then go for a heaped teaspoon of mixture. For medium cookies, go for a heaped dessert spoon.

Ovens are also a varying factor in baking. Bake until the biscuits are a golden brown colour. This recipe gives you a biscuit with a “chewy” type consistency.

Wow Factor

These have a “wow” factor all of their own but for an extra “wow” factor, try making “giant” versions of these cookies. Your kids will be the envy of the entire school playground.

One Last Tip

It’s heaps of fun making these in your PJ’s. I’ve been so intent on figuring out this recipe, I keep forgetting to get dressed.

If You Like This Post

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Image via WikipediaA couple of you asked me on Monday about how I cook Corned Beef in the Slow Cooker. I don’t really use a recipe per se so I’ll blog what I do throughout the day.

My corned beef usually comes in plastic that you can heat it in. I pierce the bag a half a dozen times and squeeze some of the excess blood out of the packaging (through the holes made by my knife). I’ve also cooked unwrapped corned beef this way so that’s fine too if yours doesn’t come in it’s own heatable bag.

Some people cook their corned beef in the slow cooker without using water to cover it. I’ve tried it this way and didn’t really prefer it. So I cover mine with cold water and turn the slow cooker on.

I tend to use any combination of the following to help flavour the corned beef:

• couple of sprigs of parsley
• bay leaves (1-2 dried leaves, I’ve not tried fresh but there is no reason why fresh wouldn’t work just as well)
• splosh of vinegar (I usually use apple cider vinegar)
• pinch brown sugar
• carrot
• celery (stalk or leaves)
• something from the onion family (today I used a shallot stalk broken up and shoved in because that’s what is growing in the garden right now)

I tend to go with what I have on hand. Particularly anything that I can use from the garden (because that’s essentially free). Today I didn’t use a carrot for flavouring because in my mind they’re too expensive to be used simply for flavouring. Some people actually cook their carrots in with the corned beef and eat them with the meal. I don’t like carrots cooked this way so I don’t do it.

Cooking time varies depending on your slow cooker. I put mine on at around midday. It takes around an hour to get the water up to temperature so it had around 5 hours of cooking time which was about right. However, that’s in my old crockpot which is slower.

One of the things I LOVE about cooking in the slow cooker is that it’s very forgiving when it comes to over-cooking things. I tend to err on the side of cooking LONGER rather than cooking for less time.

If you’re heading out for the day and want to put your meat on in the morning, I suggest you put it into the slow cooker frozen (especially if you have a newer slow cooker which cooks at a higher temperature). I know it’s not “recommended” to cook meat from frozen but I think plenty of slow cooker users use this method to get around the faster cooking times. I’ll leave that up to you whether it’s a risk you feel comfortable taking or not.

Cooking corned beef was something I used to do once in a blue moon in my “pre slow cooker” days. Keeping the water at the right temperature was always a headache on the stove. I’d either have cooked it too fast (and it would be tough) or too slow (and it wouldn’t be cooked on time).

Now we have it more frequently. It’s one of Farmboy’s favourite meals and the kids tend to gobble it up very quickly. With the slow cooker you chuck it all in and forget about it until tea time (just don’t forget to actually turn the slow cooker ON ).

Last time I was near a Lenards (chicken store) I purchased their “5 carcasses for $2″ deal. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but this is the first time I’ve actually gotten “aroundtoit”.

My plan for the carcasses? A BIG pot of fresh chicken stock. Mmmmmm………

The whole house smelt like roasting chicken as the carcasses simmered in the slow cooker. All I added was water and a few leaves of shallots from the garden.

I then strained the bones and flesh from the fluid, removing any chicken meat still left on the bones (should have enough for a chicken pot pie - yahhhh!!!!!) and chilled the fluid.

Chicken fat needs a reasonably cold temperature in order to solidify. Even though the fluid had cooled by the time I strained it, a reasonable amount of fat still dwelt in liquid form, floating on the top. Once chilled, the fat solidified and I was able to scrape it from the top of the stock.

What I have left is a deliciously THICK chicken stock which I’ll bag up and freeze to use in my pumpkin soup over the winter.

The first batch of pumpkin soup is now in the slow cooker and almost ready to puree.

It smells DELICIOUS!!!!!

There’s NOTHING like homemade pumpkin soup with home grown pumpkins and homemade chicken stock!!!!!

Homemade soup would have to be my FAVOURITE part about winter!