Rice Pudding

Intro

I heard myself growling the boys last week: "Havn't you already had your glass of milk today?" and was appalled. Milk is nation building stuff for Kiwi's in more ways than one. Our entire economy for decades and decades has rested on dairy produce and for as many years, probably, our young bodies were built up with pints and pints of calcium rich milk; not that modern tasteless 'skinny' trim milk you buy today but real, full cream milk. 

We were not a wealthy family growing up, in fact looking back I think we were quite poor but I don't recall being hungry. Dad worked three jobs while doing his apprenticeship and Mum was a stay-at-home Mum raising 4 children - and she wasn't even 21! Breakfast was Weetbix and milk - hot milk in winter. Winter evening meals always started with thick homemade vegetable soup made from the roast bone from an earlier meal and heavy with root vegetables, dried peas and alphabet noodles. It filled us up and made sure we got the nourishment growing bodies needed before the main course which was probably light on expensive meat. Every meal was finished with a milky pudding of some sort - rice pudding and bread and butter pudding being the favourites - which also ensured full tummies. 

In my Mum's school days every kid got given a free quarter pint of milk and an apple every day at school but by the time she had kids herself the 'scheme' had changed and milk was heavily subsidised so as to be affordable for everyone: 4 cents a pint - cheap as chips even on our limited budget and we had 6 - 8 pints delivered to the gate every day. Thats 28 - 35 litres of milk a week and I yell at my kids for not making 4 litres last the week out .... 

Recipe

Combine together in a baking dish:

• 1 cup short grain rice
• half cup sugar
• 2 pints whole (full fat) milk (1200 mls)
• 2 oz butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup sultanas

Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees celcius or 375 degrees fahrenheit) for 50 - 60 minutes. Serves 8. PS Of course you could half the recipe but why would you when its so nice cold for breakfast :) 

Variation: use a can or 2 of coconut cream for some of the milk, add chopped dried apricots.

Banana Cake

Intro

As a child bride I never made banana cakes after the first one because it was greeted with "Its not as good as Mums". The marriage didn't last (there is a lesson in there lads). So each time I bake I still aim for the Ultimate Cake and take my time and sieve and measure and beat and cream and test carefully. 

I struggled with Chocolate Cake for years but have got it sorted now. I have never managed the perfect Madeira Cake, still strive to get that one hammered, but I make a jolly good Coconut Cake and Banana Cake. 

Duck eggs changed everything. One year Bloke #2 and I went to a poultry show and lord knows how, but we left with 2 black Cayugas, 2 white Pekins, 2 guinea fowls and 3 fluffy rabbits. (Not my idea). Luckily we had a third of an acre, an unused paddling pool and a spare shed.... Anyway one day one of the Pekins came proudly out from under the shed with 8 wee babies waddling behind her - the same day that Bloke #2 brought home 8 more baby ducklings a friend of his had hatched under his chickens. That was a nice surprise ... So 4 became 20, our backyard became trashed and we had eggs coming out our flippin' ears! 

Duck eggs are just gorgeous for baking. They have huge yellow yolks, are bigger than hen eggs and result in light, fluffy yellow cakes. I use the same number of duck eggs as hen eggs - and the recipes work just fine. I don't have Bloke #2 or the ducks anymore, thankfully, but I can buy duck eggs from the local market garden whenever I want them. 

Recipe

• 125g butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• half cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup self raising flour
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs 1 at a time beating well after each. Add a teaspoon of flour if needed to stop the mixture splitting. Add the lightly mashed bananas and vanilla. Stir in walnuts, then the sifted flours and soda in 2 batches. Mix well. Pour into a greased and floured ring tin and bake in a moderate oven for 40 minutes or until cooked when tested. (no icky stuff on a knife poked in).

No-bake lemon coconut slice

 Intro

A Kiwi classic straight out of the Australian Women's Weekly Beautiful Biscuits book.

Ingredients

Base

• 1 tin of condensed milk (1 cup)
• 250g of butter
• 2 packets of wine biscuits (500g plain sweet biscuits) 
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 cups of desicated coconut

Icing

• 2 cups of icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 30g of butter
• 1/4 cup of coconut

Method

Crush the biscuits very finely.

Melt the butter and condensed milk together.

Mix the ingredients together and then press into a greased or lined swiss roll tin. Place in the fridge while you make the icing.

Melt the butter and mix all the ingredients together. Pur over the base and sprinkle with coconut. Keep in the fridge. 

Nana and Payesin's pancakes

 

Introduction

Payesin!! 

Hey there my darling Grandaughter,

I'm so glad you remembered that I said I would post our pancake recipe online so you can make these at home.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• Butter

Method

Put the sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk them or use the cake mixer (remember to stop the mixer before you lift the beaters out of the batter).

When the mixture is nice and fluffy you are ready to add all the other ingredients.

Lift the beaters out of the bowl and put a sieve over the bowl then tip in the flour and baking powder. Take the sieve away and add the milk then mix again. Then stop mixing and don't mix the batter again. Put the beaters in the sink.

Put the cast iron frying pan on the stove and turn the dial to number 5. When its really hot (remember not to touch it - you'll probably be able to 'see' that its hot) you will be ready to cook the pancakes.

Put a bit of butter in the pan then using a soup ladle put a ladle full of batter into the middle of the pan. It will run out by itself but if it doesn't then the batter might be a bit too thick and need a little bit more milk which you can gently mix in. (a quarter of a cup of milk).

Watch for bubbles and when its about half covered in bubbles carefully flip it over using the spatula. If its a bit black then turn the oven down to 4.5. After a few minutes put the pancake onto the plate. Make your next pancake and keep stacking them up on top of each other.

Remember the first one is never a good one so its the 'Cooks Prerogative'. You can eat it with butter while cooking all the rest of the pancakes.

When you are finished cooking make sure you turn the oven off and move the frying pan to the back of the stove to cool down.

Chocolate brownies

 

Introduction

I never understood the attraction to chocolate brownies until I found this recipe - and now I get it. Very rich and soft with a nice crusty outside. It is heavily based on the recipe in the Modern Sordough cookbook by Michelle Eshkeri. 

Ingredients

Stage 1

• 125g active sourdough starter
• 200g flour (white or rye)
• 250g eggs (about 4 whole eggs plus an egg yolk)
• 100g caster sugar

Stage 2

• 200g butter
• 500g dark chocolate (2 large blocks of Whittakers dark)

Stage 3

• 77g caster sugar
• 265g brown sugar
• 70g cocoa
• 5g vanilla essence
• 3g baking soda

Method.

Mix the stage one ingredients together and leave in a warm place for an hour or 2.

Melt stage two ingredients together in a double boiler or the microwave, mix well and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Add the stage 2 ingredients to stage 1 and then add the stage 3 ingredients and whisk until well combined. (I use a cash mixer).

Pour into a large swiss roll tin, lined with baking paper, and bake for 35 mins until no longer raw in the middle. When you bring it out of the oven dust with icing sugar.

Delicious eaten when warm but keeps well in a sealed container for a few days. 

Tomato Relish

Intro 

My mother in law, Nancy Ransom, was a terrific cook. She made gorgeous tomato relish and sauce, bottled peaches by the ton and always had baking in the tins. Cheese cakes (queen cakes?), chocolate and banana cakes with hundreds and thousands and crunchy Astrid biscuits. She never made scones - that was  her husband Des's territory and he was a master at them - although she could whip up Cheese Puffs for unannounced visitors practically while the jug boiled! I'll share all of Nan's recipes that I have. They are a family legacy and it will be nice to share them publicly so her kids and grandkids can have them to. 

Recipe

Boil gently together for 1 hour:

• 4 pounds ((2 kgs) tomatoes - sliced
• 4 large onions - sliced
• 325ml malt vinegar
• 1 pound (454g) sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 and half teaspoons dry mustard

Mix together 1 tablespoon cornflour with a little water, add to the simmering relish and bring to the boil for 1 minute. Pour into hot clean glass jars.

Peperoni Alla Piemontese

Baked Roasted Capsicums 

Intro 

This a second antipasto dish using capsicums and anchovies ... perfect with crusty bread and wine and quite different to Peperoni con Alici a Capperi. 

Recipe 

Cut capsicums of all colours (red, yellow, orange or green) in quarters lengthwise. Remove seeds. Arrange into a flat baking dish and into each piece place:

• 2 or 3 thin slices of garlic
• 2 small sections of sliced tomato
• 1/2 a fillet of anchovy,
• 2 dessertspoons of olive oil
• a sprinkling of sea salt

Cook in a moderate oven for 20-30 mins max - don't overcook. They should still be al dente. Serve cold.