Author: Bruce

Waffle Mix

Dry mix ready to make waffles.

Makes about 7 cups of mix; enough to make 16 waffles.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • 1 cup whole milkpowder
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method

  1. Using a whisk, combine all ingredients
  2. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Lemon Square

Lemon square with a custard-ish topping

A bit too sickly sweet really!

Don’t try this without a food processor
For 16-20 pieces

Ingredients

Base

  • 2 cups of flour (a little bit less)
  • 1/2 cup of icing sugar
  • 170g cold butter

Topping

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • rind of 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 1/4 cup self-raising flour

Method

  1. Turn oven to 160 degrees celcius
  2. Press a large piece of baking paper into a 23cm baking pan, folding the paper so that it totally covers the base of the pan and the sides (fold rather than cut so that the filling cannot run under the paper
  3. Measure the flour icing sugar and cold cubed butter into a food processor fitted with its chopping blade. Blend until the butter is chopped finely through the ingredients.
  4. Tip the mixture into the tin lined with baking paper and press down smoothly with the back of a large spoon or a fish slice/spatula
  5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm and straw-coloured. While the base is cooking, prepare the topping.
  6. Put the sugar in the (unwashed) food processor bowl with the lemon rind. Blend until the lemon rind is very finely chopped through the sugar.
  7. Turn oven down to 150 degrees.
  8. Add the eggs, lemon juice, flour. Blend until smooth.
  9. Pour onto the partly cooked base. Bake for a further 30 minutes until top is lightly browned and centre does not wobble if jiggled.
  10. Let it cool completely.
  11. Cut into squares. Keeps for 3-4 days.
  12. Optionally sift icing sugar over the squares just before serving.

Lemon Cordial

Makes a nice fizzy drink with soda water. Replacement for lemon squash in cocktails.
Keeps for several months.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kgs sugar
  • 8 cups water
  • 6-8 lemons, rind and juice
  • 25g citric acid
  • 25g tartaric acid
  • 25g epsom salts

Method

  1. Bring the sugar, water, and grated lemon rind to the boil.
  2. Remove from the heat and add the joice and other ingredients immediately, stirring well until the acids, and epsom salts dissolve.
  3. Allow to cool a little then strain into bottles which have been cleaned thoroughly. Seal immediately with corks or screw-tops and store in a cool place.

After openinng, keep in the fridge.

Lemon Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
  • 120g unsalted butter softened
  • 1 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup milk room temperature

Lemon Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup icing sugar sifted
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • zest of one lemon

Instructions

  1. Grease and flour (or use non-stick spray) a 21cm cake tin.
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir in lemon zest. Set aside.
  3. About now is a good time to set the oven to 175°C .
  4. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with a hand blender on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating for another 2-3 minutes.
  6. Add eggs, one at a time. Make sure you scrape the bottom of your bowl.
  7. Add lemon juice (the batter will curdle).
  8. Alternate addition of flour and milk (in 2 additions). Mix on low speed until combined. Do not over mix.
  9. If using add-ins, combine gently at this point.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes until golden and cake tester comes out clean.
  11. Lemon glaze: whisk together the icing sugar lemon zest, and lemon juice
  12. While the cake is still in the tin, poke holes all over it.
  13. Slowly pour the lemon juice glaze over the cake
  14. Transfer pan to a rack where it can cool down for about 10 minutes before removing loaf to cool down completely on a wire rack.
  15. Lemon Glaze: Whisk together icing sugar and lemon juice. With a cake tester, poke some holes in the loaf. Brush glaze over warm loaf.

Bacon Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

  • 400g Penne pasta
  • 6 rashers of good bacon without rind, chopped into small pieces.
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped.
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (optionally/preferaly Mexican spiced tomatoes). Extra finely chopped. Use a knife to cut them more in the tin.
  • Pepper, herbs to taste
  • 250g Cream cheese, cubed.
  • Chives/parsley to garnish

Method

  1. Boil the pasta in a large pot – this will be the final serving dish.
  2. While the pasta cooking fry the bacon. When it is cooked, add the flour. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the chopped onion and the garlic to the bacon. Sautee.
  4. Add the tomatoes to the bacon and onion mix.
  5. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it. Transfer the tomato/bacon mix to the pasta.
  6. Add the cubed cream cheese.
  7. Stir.

Banana Cake

0:10 Prep
0:35 Cook

Ingredients

  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 50g butter, melted
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
  • 3 mashed bananas
  • Cinammon & nutmeg / mixed spice

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan-forced. Spray a 7cm deep cake tin with oil. Line base and sides with baking paper, extending 3cm above the rim
  2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre. Add butter, egg, vanilla, milk, banana, spice.
  3. Stir until just combined
  4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted inte the centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Serve warm or transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rice
  • 6 rashers of bacon
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tin corn
  • 3 carrots diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • Capsicum
  • Mushrooms
  • Oyster sauce
  • Soy sauce

Method

  1. Rinse the rice in boiling water then cook in 4 cups of water. Note: preferably cook it well in advance and let it dry on a tray in the fridge.
  2. Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry with the crushed garlic in a wok.
  3. Once the bacon is mostly cooked, add the eggs. Stir them around to scramble them. In one minute when the eggs are cooked, put the eggs and bacon in a dish to wait…
  4. Add the diced carrots to the wok. Fry with a lid on for a minute or two then add the corn and peas. Fry at high temperature.
  5. After a few minutes when the carrots have started to soften, add the rice to the wok.
  6. Add oyster sauce and soy sauce to taste (eg 4 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce)
  7. Add the bacon and egg
  8. Mix together

Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 800g-1kg Potatoes diced 2cm chunks
  • 5-6 firm boiled Eggs (9 mins)
  • 250g Cheddar cheese cubed
  • 6 rashers Bacon
  • 4 Spring onions
  • Sun-dried tomatoes
  • Mayonnaise
  • 1 Capsicum
  • 1cup frozen Peas

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes until firm in a very large pot. This will be your main/serving dish
  2. While the potatoes are boiling, boil the eggs
  3. Chop up the bacon into small pieces and fry
  4. When potatoes are cooked, drain them in a collander, cool them by running under cold water, and return to the pot.
  5. Shell the boiled eggs and cut each into about 6 pieces. Add to the pot

American-style chilli

American style chilli

  • 2×24 oz* Diced Tomatoes
  • 2×24 oz Dark Kidney Beans
  • 12 oz Light Kidney Beans
  • 2 pkg chili powder (1-1.5 oz each. I used 1x50g)
  • 1.5 lbs hamburger
  • 3 potato (cubed ¾ inch)
  • 1 lg white onion, diced
  • 8oz jalepeno
  • Garlic cloves
  • Cayenne pepper
  • To Taste: Red pepper, carrots, celery, other beans (navy, butter, garbanzo, etc), other meats

Pre-brown meats in skillet with onions, drain. Combine all ingredients in large pot and cook over low heat for extended time. (usually 4 hours in over minimal flame, but I put them in a crock pot and let it slowly cook for 24 hours to ensure flavour permeates)

Chili is very much an individual experience, so recipes vary quite a lot. My personal adaptations to this for today are:

  • Less hamburger (beef mince), adding in a mix of bacon, chopped chorizo, & pork sausage
  • No carrots/celery
  • Significantly less spice/heat. I only used one pkg of chili powder, and only tiny amounts of jalepeno and no extra cayenne pepper. Ben’s core recipe is HOT, and I wanted everyone to be able to taste a moderate variety of this common dish.

— is still fairly spicy/hot. Add sour cream to taste and to soften the sharpness if you like. (cheddar shavings good too!)

Three consecutive years, winner of Annual Super Bowl Chili Cook Off

Wooden Foot Saloon, Waverly Iowa USA

* 1 oz = ~30 ml or g