Egg and bacon pies are always delish

I got a text from my hairdresser a couple of days ago telling me she was looking forward to seeing me this Friday as it had been too long between cuts. It's the kind of text you love to receive because somebody is actually looking forward to seeing you!
My 6 weekly hair experience is always a pleasurable one. Teneil, my hairdresser is a gorgeous lively fun 20 something who always has plenty to talk about. After we get the pleasantries out of the way it is not long before I hear what she has been creating in the kitchen for herself and partner. She is stick thin but LOVES food, cooking and eating....how could I not like her?

I once told her about my favourite meal Nic cooks (stir fry beef with red cabbage and coriander), she got so excited, she went home and made it that night and loved it so much she took a photo and sent it to me!
She made me feel special, (always a warm fuzzy feeling) so I decided to make a yummy little something to take to my 10am appointment. I made one of my all time favourite snacks- egg and bacon pies.
It takes all of about 5 minutes to prepare, 10 minutes to cook and 2 minutes to eat- delicious!!!

I flavoured these little beauties with basil and goat's feta to give them a bit of a "I didn't really use up the only things left in my fridge feel" and it worked a treat.
My three top tips when whipping these up are:
a) hot oven, about 200 degrees
b) use a 'butter' puff pastry, the flavour is ten times better. The butter puff is usually only used for desserts but it is fab with these.
c) I also find that extra cracked pepper works a treat with the egg and bacon pies.

If all else fails and you don't have the time to make these then pop on over to www.camillabaker.com.au and I'll whip you up a batch myself.

Lasagne and Lemons for a ten year old

Can it really be true? March 8th was the last time I posted?
How is it that it is the 21st already? Am I getting slacker or is life moving a little to fast for me these days? It couldn't possible be the fact that I have my fingers in to many pots?.....no, that is not possible!

Well between the 8th and the 21st my eldest managed to turn 10. Yep, I can hardly believe I am now the proud owner of a ten year old. I am thankful that he doesn't yet smell of boy germs, he still knows how to smile and laugh on occasion and will have a conversation with me that doesn't involve grunting or starting the sentence with "Oh come ON mum!" or "What the......?"

No, I am happy to report I catch him grooving away on his headphones to the latest tunes (thank god for headphones) and he manages to hold a conversation at the dinner table that doesn't revolve around Pokemons!

Just like every other year Max chose his birthday meal. I thought I could of been in for a new selection of foods, alas, beef lasagne won hands down and I think it will be on the menu for a few more years to come, especially if he keep on growing the way he is.

 Max's cake was another story!
Thankfully my copy of Saveur arrived the week before his birthday and it was the issue FULL of awesome Southern cakes. Max's favourite cake is lemon cake. I usually make him a regular pound cake and then fill it with lemon curd, and then Nic does a cool design on the top. This year was a little different. When I showed Max the four tiered layered lemon cake in Saveur he was sold on it and so was I.
I'm not sure if this is the year when we stop doing novelty cakes for him but there was no way I was carving up this one and dousing it in hideous food colouring so it can look like a football!

Now I totally admit that my photos do not do this cake any justice and for that I am annoyed but let me just tell you it tastes unbelievably good. I'm not sure you noticed the picture up top, but I only made half a cake. After reading 10 egg yolks and mega mounds of butter I decided the four of us really didn't need to stuff ourselves on cake for the next week. It may not look normal but let me tell you, we would of demolished the whole thing if it was there and my hips can only hold so much!

 If your up for a bit of layering, baking and whipping then go to Saveur on line and give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

Pikelets- An after school snack

The kids came out of school today with rumbling tummies. It is true, they always seems to be rumbling after the school bell rings but today Max was particularly grumpy and broody. I was contemplating a sticky bun at the bakery but didn't have the energy to walk up and down the big hill and I also didn't have the head space for all the huffing and puffing I would of had to listen to on the way down the hill!

I give them popcorn at least three days a week and thought maybe I should try something else for a change. Alex was in the mood to help out while Max lay on the couch with a book in his hand and a rumbly tummy- the world did not look good in his eyes!

As Alex and I were sifting flour and cracking eggs, I realised I was short on milk. I put it to the boys as to what added flavour they would prefer- apple or orange juice? Apple it was for the last 1/4 cup of liquid and with that said our batter was whipped up in a matter of seconds (no really, it took all of 3 minutes to make!).


The boys were munching their way through the first batch in no time. Alex pulled down every spread he could think of while Max just stood in the kitchen and ate (he is not even into double digits and he is eating me out of house and home!)
A regular batch makes about 35 pikelets so I'll be able to keep some for tomorrows after school feasting. Now I have to go and be the big meanie who makes them do homework and trumpet practice...if only they realised I hate homework time as much as them!

Pikelets
2 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple juice (if you run out of milk!)

Sift flour into a bowl then stir in the sugar.
Drop in the egg (unbeaten) and then mix in the liquid until you have a thick batter, beat for a few minutes.
Heat frying pan or griddle, drop in a tablespoon of mixture and wait for bubbles to appear before turning.

Once bubbles appear, flip and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Remove from heat and spread with jam, peanut butter, nutella or what ever else tickles your fancy.

Father's Day French Toast

Today is Father's Day this side of the world- Happy Father's Day to all the dads in Australia!

Nic doesn't really celebrate Father's day but I do so I will always try to make it a day where the boys at least have a smile on their dial for dad and treat him with kindness and goodwill for the first part of the morning. Being at such a young age it really isn't that hard, it also helps when they have ready made school cards to give dad.

Alex was bursting at the seams waiting to give Nic his homemade tie card, while Max casually throws Nic his 'give a hand' card trying not to exert to much emotion (you really get so cool when your 7 and I believe it doesn't change until your late twenties!)

After Nic was well wished and the cards tossed to him the boys told us of their deathly hunger pains and asked when were we going to get up and make breakfast??

I simply replied "Your making breakfast for your dad".

Alex was totally amped and wanted to race into the kitchen and use every sharp knife available, while Max was deep in thought wondering what it was that he and Alex could make. I suggested French toast seeing as that was one of their dad's favorite breakfasts. Alex cheered and screamed something at us in full volume while Max told me they needed an adult to help. I agreed and told them we'd meet in the kitchen in 5.

Sadly I wasn't over organized so I didn't have any delicious homemade bread left, instead I had a stack of wholemeal sliced bread that would have to do. To add to my yummy father's day breakfast I'd run out of maple syrup and of course there was no bacon in the house (Can you tell I have just gone back to full time work not to mention my own business?).

Not to worry, I decided to make an Australian French toast with oranges and golden syrup!

The boys were great at cracking the eggs into the container; brilliant at measuring in the milk, and sprinkling in the cinnamon, Max even buttered the bread while Alex zested the orange with glee but when it was time to actually cook the toast there were no boys in sight. After calling for help I was simply told I could do the rest because the good stuff was all done and they were really hungry so could I please just cook it already!

With that said who was I to argue? Even though it was store bought bread and I only had a third of the ingredients we managed to make a really tasty brekky and Max told me we should make french toast like this all the time so if your looking for something a little different you should give this a go as it works a treat.

French toast- Australia style

8 slices wholemeal bread (buttered both sides with butter)

4 eggs

1 cup milk

zest one orange

2 teaspoons orange juice

a sprinkle of cinnamon

pinch salt

50g butter

golden syrup

1 orange, peeled and cut into slices

In a long container (one big enough to hold two slices of bread) crack in the eggs.

Add milk, zest, orange juice, cinnamon and pinch of salt.

Gently whisk with a fork until well combined.

Add two slices of bread at a time to mixture and leave to soak for 2-3 minutes.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add 1/3 of the butter.

Once butter has melted remove bread from mixture, drain slightly and fry until golden in colour, flip over and repeat.

Place toast into warm oven and repeat process with remaining slices of bread.

To serve place on orange slices and drizzle with golden syrup.

Serve warm

Ethiopian Chicken

I have been a bit behind in my blogs and I do apolagise. There seems to be an awful lot going on these days and sometimes I wonder how I can fit it all in. I usually look at other blogs and read about so many other

peoples cooking/life experiences but lately I haven't even had time to look at my favorites which I am not to happy about. How do bloggers do it? How do they continually keep their blog updated on a daily schedule, fit everything else into the day and then proceed to blog about the most fantastic meal they happened to whip up in the dinner hour- I don't know?

What I do know is I am trying to keep pace but am slipping! I feel like I haven't cooked an exciting meal in weeks and now I am going to blog about a meal Nic cooked about three days ago when mum was still here because-

a) it was dam fine and

b) it is from my most favorite cooking magazine- Saveur.

As most of you know my hubby is non to shabby in the kitchen. He likes to read a few cookbooks and then try out his version of the recipe at hand. When the April '08 issue of Saveur came out it was the beginning of his best chicken dish yet!

Nic first cooked this for me in April of '08 and I nearly fell off my chair. The flavour was intense, heart warming and I remember feeling duped when I licked my plate clean and there was nothing left but bones sucked dry.

I suggested to Nic he should make it for mum when she was over and he was happy to oblige. The real name for this killer dish is Doro Wot. The only time Nic wasn't really happy with his end result was of course when mum was here. Due to my heavy use of paprika there wasn't as much in the jar as he thought so the above dish was lacking it's usual deep potent redness. I thought the flavour was still wonderful and when you blend in the hard boiled egg with the chicken and sauce you really do feel like you are eating in someone else's home (another reason why I love Saveur so much).

I would love to re write this recipe for you, however when I flip to the page it is filled with handwritten notes in Nic's handwriting and if you have ever had the pleasure of reading Nic's handwriting you'd know it is a no go zone unless you have studied ancient scripts! I will however advise you to find a copy of Saveurs no: 110 issue, flip to page 76 and give it a go. The recipe is not hard and you will be over joyed with the results I promise.

The cafe

I worked the breakfast shift today at the cafe. We usually have a fitness group that comes in every Saturday at 8-am ready for egg and bacon wraps, a 'big roll', or what ever else they fancy after running and jumping all over the place. They didn't come in today, it felt like something was missing to our morning. The hour passed with not much happening at all; I managed to whip up a batch of dark chocolate and cashew nut muffins without interruption (a first), the hollandaise sauce was made at a leisurely pace and all was breezing along. I assumed it was going to be a quiet morning; how wrong was I!

I go my butt whipped to say the least, if I never see another piece of bacon (for the next 12 hours as least) I'll be happy. The fascination Sydney siders have with BBQ sauce amazes me. In all my cooking practice I have never squirted so much BBQ sauce all over eggs and bacon as I have living in Sydney. It must have something to do with the sweet mix of sauce and bacon perhaps? whatever the reason I am now the goddess of egg and bacon rolls and to add to this amazing talent I am the steak sandwich and B.L.T queen!! Not only did I pump out brekkies while Oliver our barrister was getting slammed on the coffee machine, but I pretty much cooked a whole cow in little minute steak size pieces. The smell of steak grilling and the caramelized onions hitting warm Turkish bread and melding with aioli seems to send everyone into a frenzy. You could hear the buzz-

'Can you smell that?'

'What is that? We'll have 4!"

And so that is how my afternoon rolled on, I managed to hang up my scramble apron and don the steak sandwich one. One of these days I am looking forward to actually trying one of these steak sandwiches, but I'll wait until I have only cooked half a cow!

Scramble eggs for dinner?

Have you ever thought- crap, I have to have dinner on the table in ten minutes before all hell breaks loose and you are still in the car trying to find a parking spot close to home with the kids in the back seat 'dying' of hunger? Well I have on more than one occasion! It is usually the day I know Nic won't be home for dinner and I have pushed the 'leaving time' to the red zone. Every time the melt down in the back seat happens I tell myself it isn't worth it (yet I'll have the same conversation with myself a month later- go figure?)

Nic would have a fit if I served him eggs for dinner. He isn't a big fan of the scramble variety so when it is just the boys and I, I try to have it for breakfast/lunch or dinner. The thing I love about eggs is it is a protein packed meal, super fast (especially if you scramble) and they go with just about everything. I can fit the 5 food groups into a 7 minute meal- what more could you ask for!

Pouring through the fridge I found the salsa I had made a week or so ago (and yes it still tastes great). The kids wont eat it but I will. Grate up some cheese, cut a few slabs of bread and toast it while putting the eggs on. Once the eggs are almost cooked but still look a little sloppy, I remove them from the heat, add the grated cheese and then fold onto the toast. I top Max and mine with tomato and leave Alex's plan- due to one less argument that I know I won't win. On the side of the plate I serve a little calamata olive and cucumber salad they devour in seconds. We are all fed within 7 minutes of stepping in the house, food groups are covered and no one died of starvation despite the cries for the last 30 minutes.

Scramble eggs for dinner- absolutely!

5-minute tacos

Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day! Yesterday was one of those days and when I was totally pushing the clock and hoping to find a couple of rolls in the freezer for lunch......of course there was nothing!

 This is when I started having a 'moment' until that is, I remembered I always keep a stash of corn tortillas in the bottom of the fridge. I needed to be out the door in fifteen minutes, have Alex fed (thankfully Max was at a play date) and eat something myself that would tide me over until I got dinner sometime later that evening- probably around 10. ( I don't do well with 8 hours of food down time). Anyhow, I did my old favorite- tacos. Our local farmer dropped in some of her yummy eggs yesterday at work, I had some cilantro kicking round due to still not making my salsa verde and we always have ham in the fridge. While I soften the taco on the back burner then flip it over and sprinkle cheese on top (at this point I turn the heat down low so I don't burn the taco while cooking the eggs) I have a pan on the front, heat some butter and cook up a 'soft' omelet- meaning, you don't cook it all the way through, so it is still soft and fluffy.

Once all cooked, remove the omelet separate into tacos, add cilantro leaves and chili sauce for that power punch (Alex opted to pass on this, as he did with the cilantro) and there you have it- a delicious, filling lunch in 5 minutes!