Cooking and Recipes

[Farseer]

I have ordered a cheese-making kit and am really looking forward to getting stuck into making some hard cheeses with our surplus milk. It's something I've always wanted to do. Next stop, bee hives!

Not sure if I've ever mentioned it but we have at least two male employees (jackeroos) who work here with us throughout the year and I cook all meals for them as well as our family. The men live a short distance from our house in the "Men's Quarters". At other busy times, such as during mustering, there can be up to twelve extra men to cook for.

With this in mind, I usually bake every day but have been baking double and triple the last couple of weeks, and freezing the extra batches, to try and get organised for the rapidly arriving school year when things get especially busy when I am in the schoolroom. Like beef, hamburgers etc I don't often buy shop-bought items for smoko (morning tea) either.

Here's my favourite chocolate icing recipe which, in my recipe book, I have dubbed "The Best Chocolate Icing Ever"...very simple, very easy, can freeze well and lasts being out in the middle of a hot paddock in a tuckerbox:

Place 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar (I think people from the US call it powdered sugar?), 1/2 cup cocoa and 100g of soft butter into a small bowl. Beat together well and then add 4 to 6 tablespoons of boiling water to give a soft spreading consistency. That's it - yum!!!

[Nuytsia]

Wow can't wait to hear how your cheese making goes!
Man, you cook for everyone as well???? How do you ever get the time to come to theplentynet ?????
My mind is boggling.

['thul]

Ok, experimented today on baking a bread from scratch... same dough as previous rounds, but this time full-sized bread... Not sure yet if it worked just as intended or for that matter if these beings had it in the oven long enough...

considering that the baking time could be anything from 30 to 120 minutes, and the fact that 'thul forgot to set a timer thing, and instead went to the store to buy some stuff (while it was in the oven) it will be interesting to feed upon tomorrow...

[redchild]

I am so amused by Titli's French Chocolate Cake demonstration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fDn_j5RZh4&feature=relmfu

[Nuytsia]

Nice one....!
I like getting all those tips that you wouldn't get from (most) cookbooks.
I couldn't see that cake lasting very long in my house, no matter how small I cut the pieces

['thul]

well... when cake doesnt last long there are two obvious solutions...
a) make more cakes
b) make bigger cakes

['thul]

These beings have now just baked another cake...

'thulic manple/apgo cake

600 g margarine
600 g sugar
10 eggs
750 g flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
3 apples
1 mango
10 tablespoons sugar
5 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation:
Stir margarine and sugar white and the eggs are mixed in one at a time. Wheat flour and baking powder sifted in, and the mixture poured into a form of appropriate size. The apples and mango cut into wedges and pressed into the batter. Sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over + possibly some raisins and chopped almonds.

Bake at 200 C for 35 minutes.

[Farseer]

Oh, YUMMO, 'thul beings - this sounds delicious! I love mangoes, and even make mango jam which nobody else seems to enjoy much!!

['thul]

Mango jam? These beings think that sounds interesting.

One note about the cake... Don't make it too thick... it has a tendency to get burned on the top and fluid inside then... It is better to make it in two parts or to scale the recipe down. The batter should be only a few cm thick, with a layer of fruit stuck into it. The cake doesn't cooperate that well with two layers. That is, unless you stick them together after they are baked.

[Farseer]

Mango jam? These beings think that sounds interesting.

Here's the very simple recipe, if you'd like to give it a try, 'thul.

Ingredients:
1 kg ripe mangoes
1 kg sugar
250mls lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Method:
1. Peel and seed the mangoes and then chop the flesh.
2. Place mango flesh, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and coves in a heavy-based saucepan.
3. Stirring throughout, cook slowly until sugar dissolves then bring to boil before allowing to simmer for approx 45 minutes or until syrup thickens.
4. Spoon mango jam into sterilised jars and then seal and label.

One note about the cake...

Noted - thanks for the tip!