Cooking and Recipes

['thul]

These beings own a small thingy that is shaped much like a teaspoon, except that it is 1/5th of the size. In other words, using a very small special spoon...

The name (in norwegian) when translated to english literally means "spice measure"...

The use of milliliters or deciliters is to a large degree based on cultural habits...

As for the raisins... It is very easy to just eat them all, but they do make the cake very good, so 'thul manage to abstain (occasionally)...

[Nuytsia]

Ahhh there IS a special spoon!!!
I knew it!

[redchild]

This is how I've been making my grilled cheese sandwiches ever since watching this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlTCkNkfmRY


It's so good ahhhhhhhhhhhh

[Farseer]

Yummo, redchild !

[Nuytsia]

This is how I've been making my grilled cheese sandwiches ever since watching this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlTCkNkfmRY
It's so good ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Hehehe, CHEESY!

Hmm to be honest, if I am going to go to the trouble of grating cheese and creating a dirty frypan I want a bigger payoff than a grilled cheese sandwich dangnabbit!
Am I lazy? YES!

[Farseer]

A simple but nice, almost damper-like dessert which I ate only last week...dedicated to Nuytsia who just loves to rub butter into flour !!

At an obsessive stretch, it even has a Hobb-like connection in that a version of the dessert was made in Beatrix Potter's story 'The Roly-Poly Pudding'...a story about cats and kittens, one of whom was Tom Kitten/Tom Cat !

Roly-Poly Pudding

Pudding:
½ cup butter
1 cup self-raising flour
Water/milk
Jam

Sauce/Syrup:
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup boiling water
Vanilla extract

1. Rub butter into flour and then add enough cold water or milk to make a smooth pastry
2. Roll out with rolling pin
3. Spread with jam
4. Roll up
5. Place in greased ovenproof dish
6. Dissolve sugar and butter in boiling water then add vanilla
8. Pour over roly-poly and bake 180 degrees C for about ½ hour or until cooked

Serve hot or cold with ice-cream, custard or cream.

Notes: If all of the syrup doesn’t fit into the dish before cooking, pour it over when it comes out of the oven and it will be soaked up by the hot pudding. Instead of making the syrup, the rolled pastry may be glazed with beaten egg yolk and baked like a pie. Turn the ends up to prevent jam leaking.

[Nuytsia]

We had that book when I was a little 'un !!!!!!!!!!!!
But I don't think I have EVER had roly poly pudding! In fact I'm not sure I really knew what it was (although it obviously involved rolling up dough .....)
Hmmmmm sounds yum , but the rubbing in of butter.....

[Farseer]

Now that I am finally home for the school holidays, I can get to sharing some more recipes!! These little cakes are kind of like pink lamingtons only they are made from gem scones, using cast gem irons. I’m not sure what gem scones would be called elsewhere around the world (?!) but here’s a link with a picture of the gem irons that you would require to make them as outlined below. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cA444_4jkU8/TF...ms+003.JPG

Thick's Pink Sugar Cakes (aka Jelly Cakes)

85g packet strawberry jelly crystals
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
½ cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 ½ cups desiccated coconut

GEM SCONES
40g butter or margarine
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
1 cup milk

1. Dissolve jelly crystals into boiling water, add cold water and refrigerate until partly set.
2. Trim rounded tops from gem scones, to provide a flat surface for joining them.
3. Beat cream with sifted icing sugar, in a small bowl, until soft peaks form.
4. Sandwich two scones together with whipped cream.
5. Place the joined scone on a slotted spoon and spoon partly-set jelly all over it prior to rolling in coconut.
6. Repeat with remaining scones and jelly, and refrigerate about thirty minutes or until jelly is set.

GEM SCONES
1. Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg gradually and beat until combined.
3. Stir in sifted flour and milk in two batches; stir until smooth.
4. Lightly grease 3 x twelve mould gem irons and then drop three level teaspoons of mixture into each mould.
5. Bake in hot oven for about eight minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Turn onto wire rack to cool.

Makes about 18

Notes: Store covered in refrigerator. Not suitable for microwave or freezer. Any leftovers can be used to make trifle. Use only ingredients and steps for gem scones if you’d like to try them as gem scones only (for something different), without going on to the extra steps for pink sugar cakes. Gem scones are eaten as per normal scones eg cut in half and served with butter, jam and whipped cream etc, and can be frozen for later use.

---

Before I post any more recipes, I think I might try and put together a quick conversion guide for the various metric and imperial measurements (both dry and liquid). That may help cover the international divide ?

Until then, one Australian metric measuring cup holds approx 250mL, and one tablespoon measures approx 20mL.

[Farseer]

Not sure if this will help anyone but here goes:

Approximate Cup & Spoon Conversion Chart

Australian American/British
1 cup....................................... 1 1/4 cups
3/4 cup.................................... 1 cup
2/3 cup.................................... 3/4 cup
1/2 cup.................................... 2/3 cup
1/3 cup.................................... 1/2 cup
1/4 cup.................................... 1/3 cup
2 tablespoons........................... 1/4 cup
1 tablespoon............................. 3 teaspoons

Australian measures (some noted in previous post)

1 cup = 250mL
1 tablespoon = 20mL
1 teaspoon = 5mL

Ah, I did go on to add both metric and imperial dry and liquid conversion measures here but deleted everything as it all got too difficult, given the range of differences in our various countries . Will try and find a suitable website instead...someone may have already done the hard work for me!!

[Nuytsia]

Holy crud I didn't realise American cups were different to Australian cups!!! This might explain a few cooking disasters.......

Hmmm I must admit I've never come across gem irons? Is that like a muffin tray? (from the picture) But a lot heavier.....

YUM!