AUSTRALIA DAY 2017

26TH   JANUARY
The day we celebrate the first white settlers landing in Australia and claiming this land for England in a time when European nations were exploring and annexing newly discovered territory.

A public holiday when families and friends get together at the beach, or for friendly games of cricket  or just a backyard BBQ.

We eat steak, lamb roasts and snags (sausages) followed by pavlova and lamingtons and in our case

Vanilla Slices !

I've never attempted this delicious treat before.

In fact I haven't eaten one for decades.

But I saw a recipe on an Australia Day site and decided to give it a go as the recipe sounded easy.

Two thin sheets of puff pastry containing a thick chunk of delicious sweet custard and capped with passionfruit icing.

So far, so good !

I approached the cutting into slices with trepidation.

The recipe said to use a serrated knife and all will be well

and so I did !

Success !

Oh my !

A million calories per serve but oh so sweet and tasty.

Just get rid of the rest of this to the neighbours

and back on the diet tomorrow.

Oh wait, tomorrow is the first of the year's Cocktail Nights !

Perhaps Monday ???

Cheers.

A COOKING POST

 

It's ages since I posted about cooking.

In fact I'm struggling to find topics to post about these days at all

but this week I have tried a new recipe with some success so here it is.

 

I like the idea of a savoury muffin and as we had an early start to Sally's place on Saturday I thought they would be an ideal breakfast-in-the-car-as-you-go-along idea.

In the past I've tasted some of these and not been too impressed but I liked the sound of these ingredients so I gave them a go.

Hot out of the oven they weren't so impressive and they stuck to the muffin paper cases leaving half the muffin behind!

Not  good !

But next morning the cases peeled off quite easily.....

 ( you could peel them all off before offering them around, saves a bit of mess and looking for somewhere to put the discarded paper )

and like many savoury things the flavour had developed more and they were just the thing trundling along the highway in the Ute ( work to be done at Sally's place ) with my travel cup of tea in the other hand !!

 

  

Savoury Mighty Muffins

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 cups grated tasty cheese
• 2 or 3 bacon rashes, chopped quite small
• 1 zucchini, grated
• I small onion finely chopped
• 125g tin of corn kernels
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup fruit chutney

Method

* Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 6 x 3/4-cup capacity Texas muffin pan. Line bases of holes with baking paper.

     * Sift flour into a large bowl. Add cheese, bacon, zucchini, onion and corn. ( Maybe next time I might cook the bacon and onion a bit first to bring out more flavour ?) Whisk milk, egg and chutney in a jug until well combined. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients. Pour in milk mixture. Using a large metal spoon, gently mix until just combined. ( Mixture will be very thick and stiff – a dash more milk might be necessary )

            Spoon into muffin holes.

     * Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 3 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

                               recipe and photo from www.taste.com.au

 

Cheers.

 

 



CRANBERRIES

 

 

Cranberries are a relatively new discovery to me.

 

Oh, I've known Cranberry Sauce for many years -

 

you have it with your turkey at Thanksgiving

or on a sandwich with turkey and Brie

 

but turkey is not a thing we eat very often in this house

 

 - in fact this Christmas I cooked a huge turkey breast for the first time in my ( nearly) 65 years ! 

 

 

and then forgot to serve it with the Cranberry Sauce !!

 

Over the last year or so Cranberries have been there on the supermarket shelves with the other dried fruit and I've bought them home where we've tried them and liked these antioxidant-packed berries.

In Australia you can buy a variety of cranberry products all year round in major supermarkets, including dried and frozen cranberries, cranberry juice, and cranberry sauce. Frozen cranberries can be found in selected retailers, particularly during the festive season.

 

Fresh cranberries are not available in Australia as cranberries cannot be grown here at present.



 

Unfortunately, the climate in Australia has not proven suitable for growing cranberries successfully in commercial quantities.  

 

 

I found this map that shows where Cranberries actually grow - must be too hot for them south of the equator !

 

The harvest looks spectacular. 

All those crimson fruits floating in ponds being scooped up and taken off to be processed.

 



 

 



The most well-known benefit of cranberries is in the prevention of recurring urinary tract infections  UTIs are one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor about an infection.

The PACs ( proanthocyanidins ) in cranberries interfere with E. coli bacteria ( responsible for 85 percent of UTIs), helping to prevent them from sticking to the cells in the urinary tract, thereby preventing infection.
Regular consumption of cranberries or cranberry products can reduce the risk of a urinary tract infection by as much as 50 percent. ( all this valuable information comes from my research on the internet !!)

Sounds like Cranberries and Blueberries are the new wonder fruits.

All this palaver is just an introduction to a recipe I tried for the first time for Christmas Day.

 

Cranberry Stuffing Balls.

from Taste  magazine

 

4 slices prosciutto           

   1 tablespoon olive oil        

            1/2 red onion, finely chopped    

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

                             2 1/2 cups stale white breadcrumbs            

                            1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped            

     1 egg, lightly beaten            

             1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

50g butter, melted

 

Method :

 * Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut each prosciutto slice lengthways into four pieces. 

 

* Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion is soft. Remove to a bowl. Add breadcrumbs, cranberries, egg, sage and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.



 

 

* Shape tablespoons of mixture into 16 balls. Wrap one slice of prosciutto around each ball. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and heated through. Serve

 

 

 

Extremely yummy.

 

Cheers. 

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HELSIE'S PLACE

In Helsie's garden:

 

Spring, Queensland style, has sprung into action with the daytime temperature going straight to the mid to high twenties though the nights are still pleasantly cool - around 13 degrees C.

 

The Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow ( Brunfelsia) is coming into bloom.

 Lovely perfume and flowers that change from purple (yesterday) to lavender ( today) to white (tomorrow)

 

The Grevilleas are well into their best and full of honey eating birds.

 

I'm trying some flowers in pots like they do in the UK.

Blue and yellow theme in this one.

Hoping for success before it gets too hot for them.

 

and this little tree.

 

This is a Lemonade Tree. Do you know this fruit?

It tastes like lemon but is not sour like a lemon.

Very refreshing.

I know I should not have let these fruit progress on such a small tree but I could not resist.

As soon as they turn yellow I'll pick them and prune the poor little thing right back to thicken it up.

They bear prolifically and there are lots of flowers and more tiny fruit but I'll be good and take them off.

You can't buy the fruit in the shops and I have a reason for growing them.

I have a delightful Summery cocktail that I have invented that I have named .....

 

Helsie's Downfall !

 

It can only be made with these lemonades.

Just lemonade juice and Malibu and shaved ice......

Delicious !!

(but not too many now ... and go easy on the Malibu !)

 

 

In the kitchen :

 

Corn fritters for Sunday lunch.

 

 

They tasted pretty good too.

 

 

Now I'm on a roll so Corned Beef Fritters planned for sometime this weekend.

 

We have a new BBQ, a Weber Q, so we had to try a pork loin roast on it.

 

Very successful and good crackling too.

 

A healthy breakfast

 

No, it's not that big !!

This is a tiny one-person pan !

It's made with one egg for protein, one tablespoon of oat bran for fibre and one tablespoon of low fat cottage cheese for calcium.

Add a bit of sliced tomato for vitamin C and you are not hungry till lunchtime for under150 calories.

 

 

The same breakfast in my new Firestone pan - as seen on TV !!!

It is living up to the ad so far.

 

Nothing beats red Paw Paw ( or Papaya )

Well mango does but it's not available yet !!

 

Salad, salad, salad.

Still a bit chilly for dinner but BBQs will soon be the order of the day.

 

 

Around the house:

 

The Positano Room had its unveiling recently.

 

One more cushion to go - that large cream one on the sofa.

 I have framed some postcards and placed some actual photos of the same place in Positano and hung that on the small amount of wall there is available for decoration.

 

Sorry for the reflections but this is the best I can do in the daytime.

 

 

Underneath the photo frame is the little table made out of an old Singer sewing machine where I always put out the coffee and tea things

 

 

 

 

 Above the door I hung some stings of plastic lemons I found.

 

 

It's coming along very nicely and can go back to normal very quickly with the removal of a couple of props.

 A bit of fun and bright and cheery too!

 

 

 

So that's what's happening around Helsie's Place.

 

Cheers.

WHAT'S HAPPENING ?

What's going on ?

 

What's happening at my place?

 

1. Disaster averted !

 

I have been unable to get into my blogs!

Yes blogs, I have four on the go:

 

Helsie's Happenings

Helsie's Travels

Budget Baby Boomers' Travel Tips - abandoned but left sitting there

and Awesome Activities at Moggill - a CWA blog

 

Recently I have been unable to get into any of them.

When I signed in and clicked on Design to enter them I was faced with a blank page.

Nothing, just a white page with nothing on it!!

 

I tried my usual solution - rebooting the computer - no different.

 

I tried using another browser - no different.

 

I went away and came back the next day. Same thing.

 

I asked Tony .  No progress.

 

Finally, in desperation I asked two blogging buddies for help, the first step on going from blog to blog and putting the same comment on all of your blogs asking for help from any tech savvy bloggers out there.

 

Both of them set to work to find a solution for me and while Carol ( in Cairns ) was at work Sandy ( Tea Cup Lane ) found the solution for me !

 

Tony cleared my Cache and History and boom I'm back in business !

 

That's what I love about the world of Blogging.

When you have a problem your pals are always there to help you through.

 

Heartfelt thanks Sandy and Carol

 

2. Cooking

 

Recently there has not been much good stuff happening in my kitchen.

Tony and I have been dieting !!

Trying to get some weight off before our trip.

We both need it.

I need it more !

So we've been eating salads - easy enough in this weather - and not much else!

Needless to say Tony has lost twice as much as me !!!

 

BUT !

I've been seeing people making bread out there in the blogging world.

 

Artisan, no-knead bread

in particular

( on this blog and this one )

 

and I just had to have a go.

 

WOW ! Just look at this !!!

 

 

Yes, it is as easy as they say !

 

and when you slice it ......

 

 

 

Lovely holey, bread with a chewy crust.

 

I'll be making it again !

 

3. A Visitor

 

 

Yes, Scout has come to stay for a month while Sally is on holidays.

She ( Sally ) is spending two weeks in New York and 2 weeks in Whistler skiing.

 

Scout 's making herself at home.

 

 

Too much at home sometimes!

Not allowed on the new chairs Scout !!

 

Scout's habit of early rising is taking its toll on Tony.

 

 

 

4. Another disaster !

 

Sally's bathroom renovation has been a disaster.

 

Incredibly poor workmanship and $9000 down the drain so Dad and cousin Ben to the rescue.

 

They are jackhammering it all up while she is on holiday and organising and supervising the repair.

 

5. Exercise !!!

In an effort to help with the weight loss drama I am now swimming 1000metres - 20 lengths  -one kilometre - twice a week at the local pool.

As the pool will be closing in three weeks time for the Winter this will not continue but then it might be cool enough to do a little walking in the evenings with Scout.

 

Suffice to say exercise and I are not friends !!!

 

and now finally the most exciting of all

 

6. An Engagement !

 

 

These two special people

my handsome son Brett ( do you think he looks a bit like Bear Grills ???) and his lovely girlfriend and partner for about 6 years, Sarah

have finally decided to get married later in the year.

We are so happy for them and delighted to have Sarah an official member of the family.

 

So that's what been happening here !

 

Cheers. 

QUICK PEACH COBBLER TO SATISFY THE MASSES

It's ages since I posted about cooking here.

I guess I haven't tried anything new for a while
but recently we were having guests for dinner and I knew at once it was an opportunity to try a recipe I had set aside for an occasion like this.

It's a recipe that uses packaged store bought custard - not something I usually have in the house - and it makes a large pudding that would easily serve 10 people so not exactly something for the two of us to try as we don't normally eat dessert ~ A little fruity yoghurt is our usual dessert.

250 g butter

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups Self Raising flour

400g of  good quality, THICK, store bought vanilla custard ( you could easily substitute your own home-made here but make it thick !)

400g canned peach slices, drained

1/3 cup slivered almonds

 

* Set oven at 180 C ( 350 F) and grease a 3 litre dish

*Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl of your electric mixer till light and creamy

* Beat in eggs one at a time

*In two batches stir in the buttermilk and the flour

* Spread half the mixture into the baking dish then spread over all of the custard.

* Drop the remaining mixture in spoonfuls over the top. Top with peach slices ( I though it was a bit light on with peaches and would use a big can next time).

*Sprinkle over slivered almonds and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown

 

Serve with extra custard or cream or BOTH !

I'm off to the movies today to see "Gravity".
Stay tuned for a review !!!

Cheers.

HELSIE'S KITCHEN

This morning I decided it was time to organise my freezer.
In it were several small containers of leftovers.
As a family we don't do leftovers very well.
No-one here wants them on toast for breakfast !
My response to this is to put them into small containers and freeze them then have a pie making session.

I have a great little Pie Maker that I purchased with just this in mind.

I use frozen shortcrust pastry - it's better than any pastry I can make ! 

First I use the special cutter that came with the Pie Maker to cut out the base and top.
I get 2 pies from each sheet of pastry.
 

This cuts out the base
and the one below does the tops
 

 

The bases go in then the filling 

Chichen and Mushroom on the left ( left over filling from the bigger pie earlier in the week)
Beef and Mushroom casserole on the right.

Tops on with little symbols so we know what's inside.

The finished product

The ones with the cross are filled with mashed-together -leftover Shepherd's Pie

A batch of pumpkin soup for the freezer

Earlier in the week I used leftover beef curry to fill these pies and while I had the pastry out  a Lemon Meringue Pie was needed for Fathers' Day. 

So the freezer is now stocked up with pies instead of lots of little containers !
They'll be ideal for Sunday nights or football finals or just those nights when I don't feel like cooking.

and last night's dinner was a healthy stir fry

With that all done the weekend looks like it's taken care of in the food department anyway.

Cheers.