Filo Triangles (Cheese and Vege)

A simple but effective recipe for finger food.
The options for filling these are limitless (pumpkin and feta, spinach and cheese, chicken and mushroom, mince and ?).
I have only used 2 sheets of pastry due to limited amount but you could use up to 4 sheets. Remember to brush with the melted butter. Ideally every sheet needs it but you can get away with every second sheet.
The small triangles don't take long in the oven (not the 20 minutes in the recipe).
Serve with a sauce (I did tomato sauce).

Filo Triangles (Cheese & Vegetable)

Equipment

·      Oven tray

·      Small fry pan

·      Mixing bowls

·      Wooden spoon

·      Measuring cup

·      Chopping board and knife

·      Pastry brush

Ingredients

·      Filo pastry (2-4 sheets)

·      Butter, 25g, melted

·      Cheese, 1 ramekin

·      Frozen Mixed vegetables,1/2 cup

·      Onion, ½ sliced

·      Seasoning (small pinch of salt, pepper, herbs, curry powder)

·      Oil for frying

Method

1.    Slice the onion and fry in a little oil until soft.

2.    Add the mixed vegetables into the fry pan with the onion and cook until soft.

3.    Mix the onions and vegetables together with the cheese and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Allow to cool.

4.    Melt the butter in a measuring cup in the microwave.

5.    Lay out the filo pastry and brush each sheet lightly with butter, using the pastry brush.

6.    Lay the 2 sheets of pastry on top of each other and cut 4 strips (down the long side).

7.    Place a small amount of filling on the bottom of the pastry and fold triangles up the strip.

8.    Place folded side down onto a greased oven tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 190⁰C.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

OMG, this has a lot of fat in it!
Eaters beware.
This recipe makes one small cheesecake. Double it to make a normal size cheesecake.
Remember you have to work quickly when you have dissolved the gelatin, otherwise it will set in the measuring cup.
You can use most plain biscuits as the base and you can change the flavours (lemon, vanilla and chocolate) to suit your palate.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (set method)

Equipment

·      Small round tin

·      Baking paper (to fit in the bottom of tin)

·      Measuring cups/spoons

·      Small mixing bowl

·      Rolling pin

·      Chopping board

·      Whisk/ egg beater

Ingredients

·      Biscuit crumbs (from 6 biscuits)

·      Butter, 50g, melted

·      Cream cheese, 2 Tbsp

·      Icing sugar, 1 Tbsp
    Cocoa, 1 tsp

·      Lemon juice, 1 tsp

·      Vanilla essence, ¼ tsp

·      Gelatin, 1 tsp

·      Hot water, 4 tsp

·      Cream, ¼ cup, whipped

·      Chocolate chips, 1 ramekin

Method

1.    Crush up the biscuit with the rolling pin on the chopping board.

2.    Melt the butter in a measuring cup in the microwave and then mix it with the biscuit crumbs.

3.    Line the bottom of the tin with the baking paper.

4.    Pack the buttery biscuit crumb into the bottom of the tin.

5.    Place into the fridge.

6.    Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until they are soft.

7.    Mix the lemon juice, vanilla essence and hot water together.

8.    Dissolve the gelatin in the lemon juice mixture. Heat in microwave if necessary.

9.    Stir the gelatin mixture in with the cream cheese mixture.

10. Fold in the whipped cream.

11. Add the chocolate chips to this mix and pour into the chilled base from the fridge.

12.  Return to the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes.

13. Carefully remove from the tin, cut up and serve.

Seafood Chowder

"Ooooh, yuk, I don't like it!"
Yes, this is the response from most kids before they actually try it.
Then it is "This is actually pretty good. Is there any more?"
I have only put Hoki and a few mussels in this recipe but you could add lots of other seafood.

Seafood Chowder

Equipment

·      Pot and lid

·      Chopping board and sharp knife

·      Wooden spoon

·      Measuring cup/spoons

·      Sieve

·      Mixing bowls

Ingredients

·      Butter, 25g

·      Flour, 1/4 cup

·      Onion, ½, diced

·      Mussels, 3-6

·      Fish, 1 ramekin (about 100g)

·      Potato, 1, diced and microwaved (optional)

·      Water from boiling the mussels, 2 cups

·      Seasoning (pinch of salt/pepper/curry powder)

·      Parsley, 1 tsp, diced finely

Method

1.    Bring a pot of water (2 cups) to the boil.

2.    Place the mussels in the water and boil until they open (5 minutes).

3.    Carefully drain the mussels through the sieve, keeping the water in a mixing bowl.

4.    Allow to cool before opening the shell and extracting the mussel.

5.    Remove the beard and chop up the mussels into rough dice.

6.    Place the pot back on the element on medium heat and melt the butter.

7.    Add the onion and cook until soft.

8.    Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

9.    Take the pot off the heat and pour the mussel water into the pot a bit at a time while stirring.

10.  Return to the heat and bring to the boil. The chowder should thicken up. Keep stirring and turn heat down to simmer.

11.  Add the fish and potato and simmer for 5 minutes until fish is cooked (white flesh).

12. Remove from the heat then add the mussels, parsley and season.

13. Serve in a bowl with bread on the side

Sponge Cake

Aaah, the classic Kiwi Sponge cake.
This is just one of many recipes for this iconic dish.
You could do this recipe twice and have a double sponge cake with cream or jam in the middle.
Make sure you mix the eggs and sugar well (until light and creamy) before folding in the dry ingredients.

Sponge Cake

Equipment

·      Large mixing bowls

·      Egg beater

·      Measuring cup/spoons

·      Cake tin (round or square)

·      Sieve

·      Baking paper

Ingredients

·      Eggs, 3

·      Castor sugar, 3/4 cup

·      Flour, 1 cup

·      Baking powder, 1 tsp

·      Salt, pinch

·      Butter, 50g, melted

·      Cream, 1/4 cup, whipped

·      Jam, 1 Tbspn

Method

Oven on to 175⁰C.

1.    Beat the eggs and salt together.

2.    Add sugar and beat until thick.

3.    Sift flour and baking powder together.

4.    Carefully add to egg mixture.

5.    Fold in the butter.

6.    Pour into a greased and lined deep cake tin.

7.    Bake for 20 minutes or until cake springs back.

8.    Leave for 10 minutes to cool down in tin before turning out onto a cooling rack.

9.    Whip the cream.

10. Carefully spread the jam on the top of the sponge.

11.  Serve with the cream.

Rice Pilaf

This is another way of cooking rice.
Start off by boiling in stock and then finish in the oven under a "Cartouche" which is a circular baking paper to keep in the moisture.
The stock, butter and onion adds flavour to the rice.
You can add any cooked meat or vegetable to this to produce a full meal.

Rice Pilaf

Equipment

·      Glass bowl

·      Small pot

·      Sieve

·      Chopping board and sharp knife

·      Wooden spoon

·      Measuring cup/spoons

·      Baking paper (in a circle to make a “cartouche” inside the glass bowl)

Ingredients

·      Butter, 50g

·      Onion, ½, diced finely

·      Rice, long grain, 1 cup

·      Chicken stock (1/2 tsp powder to 2 cup of hot water)

·      Pinch of Salt and small pinch of pepper

·      Cooked meat (ham, salami, bacon, chicken, fish etc) or vegetable selection (capsicum, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions)

·      Parsley, 1 sprig, chopped finely

Method

Oven on to 230⁰C (hot).

1.    Gently fry the onion in half the butter for 2 minutes.

2.    Wash the rice under cold water in a sieve and allow to drain.

3.    Add the rice and gently fry for 2 minutes.

4.    Mix the stock powder into the hot water and add to the pot with the seasoning.

5.    Bring to the boil (turn up the heat to high).

6.    Carefully pour the rice and liquids into the glass bowl, place the buttered cartouche over the rice and place into the oven for 20 minutes.

7.    Very carefully take the glass bowl out of the oven and place on a wooden board. Remove the cartouche and fold in the cooked meats/veges, chopped parsley and the rest of the butter.

8.    Serve immediately.

Sustainability discussion

How/where is rice grown?

Different types of rice

Apple and Cinnamon Turnovers

A simple and delicious dessert.
This recipe makes 4 turnovers. Just watch the amount of sugar sprinkled on top of the pastry, it can burn easily.

Apple and Cinnamon Turnovers

Equipment

·      Peeler and Corer

·      Small fry pan

·      Sharp knife

·      Measuring cups/spoons

·      Baking tray

·      Mixing bowl

Ingredients

·      Apples, 1, peeled, cored and sliced

·      Butter, 2 knobs

·      Sugar, 1 tsp

·      Cinnamon, ¼ tsp

·      Lemon juice, ¼ tsp

·      Water, 1 tsp

·      Puff pastry, 1 sheet

·      Egg wash (a whisked egg and a little water)

·      Yoghurt, 1 Tbspn

Method

Oven on to 220⁰C.

1.    Peel, core and slice up the apples.

2.    Melt the butter in a small fry pan on a medium low heat.

3.    Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and water.

4.    Cook gently until apples are soft.

5.    Allow apples to cool down by placing in large mixing bowl.

6.    Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 squares (quarters) or 4 triangles.

7.    Place a spoonful of apple near the middle of each square/ triangle.

8.    Egg wash the edge of the pastry and fold over into a triangle and seal the edges well with a fork.

9.    Egg wash the top and sprinkle a little sugar over it.

10.  Make a small hole in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape.

11. Place sugar side up on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.

12.  Serve with a dollop of yoghurt on the side.

Grilled Steak with creamy Garlic Mushroom sauce.

To be able to cook steak properly is a skill.
Many people think they can but fail.
You have to be able to identify the correct degrees of doneness of the steak as it is cooking.
Here are some simple rules to help you master the art of cooking steak.

1. Meat needs to be at room temperature. Cold meat does not cook well. Pull the meat out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
2. Pan/grill needs to be clean, hot and oiled.
3. Flip only once. Wait for the blood to come through before flipping.
4. Test the degrees on doneness by poking with your finger (remember the finger-thumb squeeze indicator).
5. If you are wanting a well done steak, cook to medium in the pan and finish in the oven (10-15 minutes at 150 degrees).
6. Let the meat rest before plating up and eating.

Grilled Steak with Garlic Mushroom sauce

Equipment

·      Small fry pan

·      Chopping board and sharp knife

·      Measuring spoons/cup

·      Tongs

·      Serving plate

·      Mixing bowl

Ingredients

·      Rump steak, 2 portions, needs to be trimmed of fat and silver skin

·      Mushrooms, 2-3, sliced

·      Garlic, 1 clove or ¼ tsp, crushed and diced finely

·      Cream, 1/4 cup

·      Seasonings (salt/pepper/herbs)

·      Butter for mushrooms.

·      Oil for frying

Method

1.    Slice up the mushrooms and crush/dice the garlic.

2.    Heat up the small fry pan (medium heat) and add butter.

3.    Quickly add garlic, then mushrooms.

4.    Toss and fry until soft.

5.    Add the cream, reduce the heat and simmer until thick.

6.    Pour out the sauce into a mixing bowl and keep warm. Season if required.

7.    Clean the fry pan and reheat.

8.    Wait until the pan is hot before adding a small amount of oil.

9.    Fry the steak one piece at a time, waiting for the blood to come through before turning over.

10.  Test for “degrees of doneness” before removing from pan. Poke the meat with your finger.

11. Rest the meat on a plate for 5 minutes before serving with the sauce.

Degrees of Doneness

1.    Blue (very rare)

2.    Rare

3.    Medium rare

4.    Medium

5.    Well done

6.    Very well done

See the pictures for a better idea. Also use the finger poke test.

Resting the meat for 5 minutes after cooking allows the muscle fibres to relax which means the meat is more tender and easier to cut/chew. This should be applied to all meats after cooking.