Daring Bakers September Challenge

It's that time of the month again... time for all of us Daring Bakers to post about our challenge of the month. This month the challenge was Cinnamon & Sticky buns and it was set for us by Marce from Pip in the City. As you all are probably aware by my lack of posts lately, I am quite busy with university assignments and life in general at the moment, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way of a baking challenge! Or so I thought.

I scheduled my baking day for the day before my friends wedding, although the wedding was the next day we had to travel down the night before as it was 4-5 hrs away and I was in the bridal party so had to be there early. So, the plan was to make buns all day, eat them all night in the car on the way down. Sounded like a perfectly plausable, if not ingenious, idea to me.

Until the day schemed against me that is. It was a fairly cold day and my dough didn't seem to be rising. Turn up the heating and put the bowl in a high spot - still not rising. Put it in the (turned off) microwave with a couple of bowls of hot water - nope that isn't working either. After about 3 hours (the recipe called for 2 hours) it was crunch time, I had to make the scrolls now or throw the dough in the bin - or I wasn't going to make it to the wedding. 'Maybe the dough will rise when it's in the oven' I thought in my desperate state. It didn't, they came out looking like some kind of filled pastry, but unfortunately they didn't taste like them... or sticky buns for that matter. I hastily left them sitting on the bench (along with all the dishes and a big sticky mess) and rushed off to meet up with Chris, Leanne and Leigh who I was going to the wedding with.

I was hoping I would have time to make these again before the end of the month, but I haven't. So I will leave you with some photos of the wedding and push you towards the link in my sidebar to go and look at all of the much more talented Daring Bakers out there who actually completed the challenge this month! Go on... scat!!

Triple Pie Friday!

It's been a while since I posted on Pie Friday, so this week is a bit of a catch up - with not 1, but 3 pies! An aussie classic, a greek favourite and a moroccan pie that is sure to become a new family favourite.

The cooler weather that sends us clambering for some good old comfort food is coming to an end here in Australia (although Melbourne never really shrugs it off completely). So the pie and soup recipes may be a little less frequent around here from now on, after I post the last Soup Sunday for the season of course. If you are just coming into the cooler temperatures, take a look at my Pie Friday and Soup Sunday archives.

First up is the Australian classic meat pie. My family was a bit shocked when I made this pie as I don't eat meat pies. Very un-Australian of me I know, but I used to be a vegetarian so my stomach does flips at the sight of too much meat. The only time I've tried meat pies has been those little party pies, and let's face it - they aren't normally of the highest quality. The best thing about making your own is that you know what is going into it and, if you use quality lean beef mince, you can create something with a lot less fat than store bought and you don't get any of those disgusting grissly bits.

This is another one from the Beechworth Bakery Cookbook, in fact I used the other half of the shortcrust pastry that I made for the Vegetable Medley Pie for the base. I've made it a couple of times now and it is even better if you add in chopped onion, mushrooms, peas, or other vegetables while the meat is cooking. It's very simple to make and a classic family meal that everyone will love, even me, the person who doesn't eat meat pies. Ok, so vegetarians may not be so keen on it! Sorry guys, there is one for you coming up...

Classic Meat Pie (Serves 4)

Preheat oven to 220C, roll out shortcrust pastry and use it to line a greased pie dish. Place 400g lean beef mince, 1 3/4C water, 1/2tsp salt, 1/4tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4tsp pepper, 1 1/2tsp tomato sauce & 2tsp worcestershire sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. This is when you could add in some vegetables for a bit of variety. The book also suggests adding 1/4tsp Parisian essence, which adds a caramel colour to the sauce, I don't see the need for it so I don't add it. Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together 1/4C cornflour, 1Tbsp plain flour & 1/4C water. Stir into meat mixture and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened. Allow to cool slightly before putting in prepared pie dish and topping with 1 sheet puff pastry. Prick the top of the pie with a fork in a few places and bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Why Should I Eat That?

While this pie isn't particularly good for you, it is a good alternative to most bought pies and is relatively low in saturated fat. With the addition of some vegetables it would be high in fibre and you could make the pastry with half wholemeal flour to make it a little healthier too.

Nutrition Information: (per serve)

Energy 2986.8kJ, Protein 31.4g, Fat (Total) 31.6g (Saturated) 6.3g, Carbohydrates (Total) 74.1g (Sugars) 3.2g, Dietary Fibre 3.3g, Sodium 1104.7mg.

Next is a Recipes+ (Issue 14, Jan/Feb 2007) take on the Greek favourite - Spanakopita. This is one of my favourites, in fact I posted the recipe for it on my old blog, but I am going to post it here with a photo. Absolutely delicious hot for dinner, or cold for lunch or at a picnic. Filo pastry can be a little fiddly, but it is worth it for the cute top on this pie. Just keep it covered with a damp (not soaking wet) teatowel while you are working with it so it doesn't dry out.

Spinach & Cheese Pie (Serves 6 as main, 12 as side)

Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a 20×30cm baking dish. Microwave 1kg frozen spinach & 1/4C water in a large bowl for 3-4 minutes or until completely defrosted and then drain thoroughly. You can use fresh english spinach if you like, just blanch to wilt it slightly.

Heat 2tsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook 2 chopped red onions for 2 minutes or until soft. Add spinach and stir to combine. Cool slightly before stirring through 300g low fat smooth ricotta, 200g reduced fat feta, 3 lightly beaten eggs, 1/3C chopped fresh herbs & 1/3C toasted pine nuts.

Place 1 sheet filo pastry in the base of the greased baking dish, allowing edges to overhang sides. Spray with olive oil spray and cover with another sheet of filo pastry. Repeat until there are 5 sheets filo pastry in the base of the baking dish. Spoon in spinach filling and sprinkle with black pepper.

Tear another 5 filo pastry sheets into 5cm wide strips. Scrunch each strip into a loose ball and arrange over filling to cover. Lightly spray with olive oil and bake for 35-40 minutes until filling is cooked and pastry is golden on top. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Why Should I Eat That?

Whether you serve this as a main or side it is low in kilojoules and high in fibre. As a side (serving 12) it is also low in fat, saturated fat and sodium.

Nutrition Information: (per 6 or 12 serves)

Energy 1620 or 810kJ, Protein 26.8 or 13.4g, Fat (Total) 21.6 or 10.8g (Saturated) 7.4 or 3.7g, Carbohydrates (Total) 17.3 or 8.7g (Sugars) 3.9 or 2g, Dietary Fibre 9.5 or 4.8g, Sodium 829.3 or 414.7mg. 2.6 or 1.3 serves of Vegetables.

Lastly, there is this delicious Moroccan chicken pie with sweet potato and almonds from the June issue of Australian Good Taste magazine. It is very different to any pie I have tried before - it's shape, it's ingredients, the taste! It may feel strange dusting a savoury pie with icing sugar, but just go with it - you won't regret it, I swear.

Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Pie (Serves 6)

Preheat oven to 220C and line a large baking tray with non stick baking paper. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and cook 1C flaked almonds for 5 minutes, or until toasted. Remove to a large heatproof bowl.

Melt 40g margarine (or butter) in the same saucepan over low heat and add 1 chopped brown onion, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2tsp grated fresh ginger, 2tsp ground cinnamon & 1tsp turmeric and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk together 4 eggs & 2Tbsp lemon juice and add to onion mixture. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until cooked. Transfer to the bowl with the almonds and set aside to cool.

Heat 2tsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook 500g skinless chicken breast fillets for 8 minutes each side or until cooked through. Meanwhile, steam 500g orange sweet potato for 10 minutes or until tender. Cool chicken and sweet potato for 10 minutes, then finely shred chicken. Add to onion mixture along with 1Tbsp pure icing sugar and mix well.

Place 6 filo pastry sheets on a clean surface and cover with damp teatowels. Place 2 filo sheets on the bench, overlapping by 5cm on the long side, to form a 40cm square. Spray with olive oil and then top with another 2 sheets in the opposite direction. Spray again with olive oil and finish with 2 more sheets facing the same direction as the first. Spoon chicken mixture into the centre and spread to form a 20cm diameter circle. Fold the edges of the filo over the mixture to enclose and scrunch the top of the filo together to form a bit of a dome.

Place the pie on the lined tray and spray with olive oil spray. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until crisp and golden. Combine 1Tbsp pure icing sugar & 1tsp ground cinnamon and sprinkle over pie before cutting into wedges and serving.

Why Should I Eat That?

Aside from the wonderful combination of moroccan flavours in this pie, it is also low in kilojoules, saturated fat and sodium and high in fibre. So make it a new favourite for you family!

Nutrition Information: (per serve)

Energy 2015.4kJ, Protein 30.4g, Fat (Total) 28g (Saturated) 4.4g, Carbohydrates (Total) 25.4g (Sugars) 10.5g, Dietary Fibre 4.3g, Sodium 232.7mg. 1.5 serves of Vegetables.

Printable Recipes:

Classic Meat Pie

Spinach & Cheese Pie

Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Pie

The Tale of Two 'Lasagnes'

I have two recipes for your reading value today, because you know how generous I am! Well, some of you might see through the facade to the truth - I am that far behind in blogging the meals I have tried that I am going to be posting double (and triple... maybe even quadruple) posts to try and catch up.

This is adapted from the cover recipe on the July issue of Delicious magazine, their version was served with buttered walnuts - I thought that would be a bit rich for me, so I just scattered the top of mine with pine nuts, it has enough fat in it as it is without the buttered walnuts! Even without them it lives up to the magazines namesake, so I'm sending this one over to Ruth for Presto Pasta Nights.

Pumpkin, Sage & Ricotta Lasagne (Serves 4)

Preheat your oven to 190C. Cut up 1.2kg butternut pumpkin into 2cm pieces, place on baking trays and drizzle with 2Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/4tsp chilli flakes (or more to taste), sea salt and pepper and roast for 25 minutes.

Once cooled slightly, puree in a food processor with 2Tbsp chopped sage & 1/4tsp ground nutmeg. Clean food processor and then process 350g reduced fat ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1C parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.

Spray a 24cm square baking dish with olive oil, lay 2 lasagne sheets on the base and cover with half of the pumpkin. Add another 2 lasagne sheets and cover with ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, finishing with ricotta mixture. Sprinkle the top with another 1/4C parmesan cheese, cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with 2Tbsp toasted pine nuts and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden. Stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Why Should I Eat That?

This is quite high in fat, but makes a good occassional meal as it is also high in fibre and gives 4 of your 5 serves of vegetables for the day. It is only moderate in kilojoules as well, you could cut down on the fat and kilojoules a bit by reducing the amount of parmesan cheese you use.

Nutrition Information: (per serve)

Energy 2621.2kJ, Protein 32.3g, Fat (Total) 33.3g (Saturated) 13.3g, Carbohydrates (Total) 48.2g (Sugars) 14.8g, Dietary Fibre 5.3g, Sodium 869.8mg. 4 serves of Vegetables.

This second one is from the September issue of Australian Good Taste magazine. It is their take on the Greek favourite, with added vegetables. To tell you the truth it reminds me of a cross between lasagne and ratatouille, but that could just be because I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago. Either way I'm changing it's name - because I can. I know that it is a bit loose to be referring to this as lasagne, but it is layered and it's pretty much lasagne with vegetables replacing the pasta. Any purists who want to complain about me calling it lasagne will be taken with a pinch of salt.

The magazine lists it not only as diabetic friendly, low fat and super healthy, but also as kid friendly. I don't know how yummy 'Beef & Grilled Vegetable Moussaka' would sound to children, but if they have just seen Ratatouille I'm sure they will like the new name. Or call it Remy's Moussaka and watch them come running to the dinner table. A great way to get them to eat their vegetables! And because this one exceeds the 5 a day vegetable recommendation, I am sending this one over to Cate for ARF/5aDay.

Ratatouille Moussaka (Serves 6)

Preheat grill on medium. Deseed and quarter 600g red capsicum and cut 1kg eggplant & 500g zucchini lengthways into 1cm slices, so they are in long sheets not rounds. Line a baking tray with foil.

Spray a large frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add 1 chopped onion & 2 crushed garlic cloves and cook, stirring, for 7 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add 500g lean beef mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 3 minutes or until browned. Add 800g canned tomatoes & 1tsp dried oregano and bring to the boil. Lower heat back to medium-low and cook, simmering, for 30 minutes or until thickened.

Meanwhile, place capsicum skin side up on the lined baking tray and place under grill for 6 minutes, or until blackened and blistered. Transfer to a plastic bag and set aside for 5 minutes to soften the skins. When cool, peel and halve lengthways. Grill zucchini and eggplant in 3 batches for 4 minutes each side and transfer to a plate.

While vegetables are grilling, make bechamel sauce by heating 2C skim milk in a saucepan or the microwave until simmering. In another saucepan over medium-low heat melt 2Tbsp margarine, remove from heat and stir in 40g plain flour. Place back over heat and cook, stirring for 1 minute or until bubbling. Take off heat, gradually pour in the simmering milk and whisk until smooth. Put back onto the heat and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens and comes to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/8tsp ground nutmeg, allow to cool and then mix in 1 lightly beaten egg.

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12C capacity baking dish with olive oil spray. Combine 45g multigrain breadcrumbs, 3Tbsp parmesan cheese & 2Tbsp reduced fat cheddar cheese.

Cover base with half of eggplant, followed by all of the zucchini. Spread over half of the meat sauce and top with the rest of the eggplant, followed by all of the capsicum. Spread over remaining meat sauce and finish with bechamel sauce. Top with breadcrumb mixture and bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until set and golden. Set aside for 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe may take a lot of preparation and time, but it is a great one to make ahead on the weekend or when you have time and freeze until you need it. To do this, after assembling, just wrap the whole baking dish in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of foil and chill for 4 hours in the fridge. You could also assemble it in individual 2C capacity dishes for a healthier alternative to frozen dinners when the family isn't eating together, or there aren't many of you at home. Label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat thaw in the fridge overnight, remove plastic wrap and foil and bake in oven as per recipe. If it isn't completely thawed you will need to bake it for a little longer than specified. Alternatively, you could defrost and heat them in the microwave as needed.

Why Should I Eat That?

This one ticks all the boxes for being healthy, in fact Australian Good Taste gave it their 'Super Healthy' rating. It is low in kilojoules, total fat, saturated fat and sodium, and high in dietary fibre. It also gives you more than your recommended 5 daily servings of vegetables in just one meal, and - it's fresh and tastes great! So why not give this one a go instead of your regular lasagne?

Nutrition Information: (per serve)

Energy 1638kJ, Protein 31.3g, Fat (Total) 14.4g (Saturated) 4.4g, Carbohydrates (Total) 29.9g (Sugars) 19.8g, Dietary Fibre 8.7g, Sodium 285.2mg. 6.6 serves of Vegetables.

Printable Recipes:

Pumpkin, Sage & Ricotta Lasagne

Ratatouille Moussaka

JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation holds the Walk to Cure Diabetes every year all over the world to raise money for critical research that will one day find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Last year over $2.4 million dollars was raised in Australia alone, which helped JDRF in funding research that works towards their 3 main goals - restoring normal blood glucose levels, preventing and reversing complications and of course preventing Type 1 diabetes through finding a cure.

Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic (life-long) autoimmune disease that can strike children as young as a few months old. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 is not related to lifestyle factors and can't be treated through diet and exercise alone. Insulin injections keep us alive, but they are by no means a cure. There is no cure.

Last year I formed a team for the walk - The DiaBettys. 14 of us braved the unpredictable Melbourne weather which was lovely and sunny when we started out, but rained halfway through the walk! With 9 of us raising money, we managed to raise over $1,300 for JDRF. Best of all we came together with 80,000 walkers nationally to show our support for the great work that JDRF have done, and will continue to do, for everyone with Type 1 Diabetes.

My greatest wish is for a cure to be found for this disease. Mainly for all the children who grow up not knowing a simple life without needles, finger prick tests and diet restrictions, who must grow up before their time and never know a 'normal' childhood. I am grateful that I got to live mine free from this disease and my heart goes out to all those families out there who have to deal with all of this every waking moment of their days. It is a hard enough balancing act for me to keep up for myself, let alone for parents to keep up for their children.

That is why I am doing the Walk to Cure Diabetes, to raise money for vital research that could one day find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes and save so much heartache for all those parents out there taking care of young children with diabetes.

If you are interested in sponsoring me in the walk please go to my Personal Walk Page, tax receipts are emailed automatically.

My First Attempt At Making Gnocchi

Another delayed post, this was meant to be posted in time for the Gnocchi round of Hay Hay It's Donna Day. A mere 2 weeks late! Since this gnocchi missed out on its original calling to be part of HHDD#14, I am sending it over to Ruth from Once Upon A Feast for this week's Presto Pasta Night.

This would have to be one of the stickiest, most difficult doughs I have ever worked with. It stuck to the bench, the bowl, my hands and pretty much anything it came into contact with. The fork marks wouldn't stay put as much as I would like them to and it seemed like I was endlessly adding flour to get the dough to form into balls. The less flour that is added, the silkier and lighter the gnocchi will be, so this wasn't what I wanted to be doing.

But the result was nothing short of delicious, and suprisingly low in kilojoules and saturated fat. The portions are quite small, but given that it is a heavy dish it was quite filling. The leek and basil sauce has lots of flavour without taking away from the texture of the gnocchi.

This recipe is adapted from the July 2006 issue of Australian Good Taste Magazine.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Leek & Basil Sauce (Serves 4)

Preheat oven to 200C and line a couple of trays with baking paper. Roast 500g coliban potatoes & 250g deseeded, quartered butternut pumpkin for one hour or until tender. Cool for 20 minutes before peeling and mashing until smooth. Add 1C plain flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour if needed.

Divide dough into 4 portions and roll each into a 2cm diameter log. Use a lightly floured knife to cut into 2cm pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Roll over the back of a lightly floured fork to make gnocchi pattern. Place on a lined baking tray and set aside until needed. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil over high heat.

In the meantime, heat 2Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 leek, cut into thin matchsticks and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring, until golden. Add 1/2C chopped basil leaves & 1 long, deseeded, thinly sliced red chilli, and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Use 40g margarine (or butter) to deglaze the pan, pour sauce into a jug and keep warm.

Cook gnocchi in boiling water in batches for 2-3 minutes each, or until they rise to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to serving plates and top with leek and basil sauce.

Why Should I Eat That?

This dish is low in kilojoules, saturated fat & sodium, relatively high in fibre and contains more than half your recommended 5 serves of vegetables for the day.

Nutrition Information (per serve)

Energy 1642kJ, Protein 8.4g, Fat (Total) 18.1g (Saturated) 2.7g, Carbohydrate (Total) 46.3g (Sugars) 3.8g, Dietary Fibre 4.6g, Sodium 45.3mg. 2.75 serves of vegetables.

Printable Recipe