In the kitchen...

We will all have different pictures in our minds of mothers in the kitchen. They might be of Mum cooking dinner at the same time as she listens to the stories from school or the times you came home on a cold day to a pot of steaming homemade soup.

Sarah’s Spicy Apple Cake

Every few  months, I attend a business meeting at Sarah’s place and she always has  tea, coffee and yummy food.  Mostly we meet after work so sometimes Sarah has whizzed into the supermarket on the way home.

Last month though we met on a Saturday morning and Sarah had baked this delicious Spicy Apple Cake.  The plate was empty by the end of the meeting. Good thing Sarah’s husband had his piece before he went out with their  son while we held our meeting.

 Ingredients

2 large Apples diced (I use Granny Smith)
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Raisins
Handful of Walnuts chopped
4oz (125g) Butter – melted
1 Egg
1 ½ cups Flour
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda

 Method

1. Heat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a ring tin or a 20cm round cake tin and line the tin with greaseproof or baking paper
3. Dice apple and sprinkle with sugar
4. Stir in raisins, chopped walnuts, egg and melted butter
5. Sift in dry ingredients and mix
6. Put into the prepared tin and bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour
7. Let stand for 10 – 15 mins before turning out
8. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.

Vegetarian lasagne

This vegetarian version of lasagne makes a very tasty meal.

Ingredients

400 gms fresh lasagne sheets
500 gms fresh tomatoes (or 2 cans chopped tomatoes)
¼ cup water
1 onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh mixed herbs – thyme, rosemary, basil (or 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs)
500 gms sliced vegetables, such as zucchini, pumpkin, sweet potato, aubergine (egg plant), mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Peel and chop the onion
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, and garlic
3. Cook until the onion is translucent and remove from the pan
4. Add the other vegetables, chopped herbs and water to the pan
5. Mix well, cover the pan and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes
6. Heat the oven to 180º C
7. Prepare the cheese sauce using an extra 1 tablespoon flour to make a thicker than usual sauce
8. In a lightly greased oven proof dish, place one sheet of lasagne
9. Spoon half the vegetable sauce over the lasagne and then half the cheese sauce
10. Repeat these layers
11. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
12. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and heated right through.
13. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes to let the cheese sauce set a little and serve with a crispy green salad

Serves 4

Quick version

Use a commercial can or jar of pasta sauce with the vegetable sauce.

Easy Lasagne

Lasagne is a very filling one dish dinner.  The basic components are pasta sheets, meat sauce and cheese sauce.  These are cooked in layers.

Ingredients

400 gms fresh lasagne sheets
500 gms lean beef mince
500 gms fresh tomatoes
¼ cup water
1 onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons fresh mixed herbs – thyme, rosemary, basil (or 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Peel and chop the onion
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, and garlic
3. Cook until the onion is translucent and remove from the pan
4. Add the beef mince to the pan and cook till browned, stirring to break up the mince as it browns
5. Chop the tomatoes roughly and add with the water to the mince in the pan
6. Chop the herbs and add to the pan along with the cooked onion and garlic to the pan
7. Mix well, cover the pan and simmer gently for at least 20 minutes
8. Heat the oven to 180º C
9. Prepare the cheese sauce using an extra 1 tablespoon flour to make a thicker than usual sauce
10. In a lightly greased oven proof dish, place one sheet of lasagne
11. Spoon half the meat sauce over the lasagne and then half the cheese sauce
12. Repeat these layers
13. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
14. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and heated right through.
15. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes to let the cheese sauce set and serve with a crispy green salad

Serves 4

Quick version

Use a commercial can or jar of pasta sauce with the meat.

Note

The longer you cook the sauce, the more the flavour will develop. If you have time, prepare the sauce several hours before you need it or even the day before.  Very gently simmer for up to 2 hours to really let the flavour come through.  If you make it ahead of time, store in the refrigerator until you need it.  Remember to heat the meat sauce thoroughly before you add it to the lasagne.  The meat sauce freezes well too.

guava recipes needed

Cynthia says she has an abundance of guavas around at the moment. Apart from jelly (which is delicious accompanying roast lamb)what else can they be used for?

I suspect some people will have a similar problem with feijoas so do let us have your recipes for guavas and feijoas.

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