WCW Pineapple Ginger Caramel Slice

I love looking through my mum's old recipe book- it is such a trip down memory lane. It is so fun to recall childhood meals and memories of lunchbox baking, and now to have the recipes to give to my family is a very special thing.

One of the recipes in my mum's book was for a slice that I remember her making for adults, which I never tried. Luckily, both of my boys like pineapple and ginger, so when I made this slice the entire family inhaled it and I had something for everyone's lunchbox!



Pineapple and Ginger Caramel Slice
125 g butter

1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp hot water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 450g tin crushed pineapple
2 tbsp crystallised ginger (chopped)

Directions  

Grease a 20cm x 30cm sponge roll tin.
Cream together the first measure of butter and sugar.
Add the hot water and beat.
Sift flour and baking powder together, and add to the butter mix.
Press mixture into tin, retaining a piece the size of a golf ball and placing this in the fridge to chill.
Bake at 190 degrees C for 20 minutes.
Heat the condensed milk, butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan.
Pour over the baked base.
Drain the pineapple well and sprinkle this on top of the base, along with the ginger. 

Grate the reserved base mixture over the top. 

Return to the oven and bake at 160 degrees C for 10 minutes.
Cut when cool.

This is so gooey and yum, and the flavours go together wonderfully. Try to get the best crystallised ginger available for your budget as this really makes a difference to the slice.

What's Cooking Wednesday #20

Time for another chocolate-based item, as who doesn't like chocolate?

I turned to my trusty Simply Heaven Chocolate recipe book and decided to try out a kitchen gadget I got for Christmas- a macaron mat and kit. These are delicious little mouthfuls of happiness and I was a bit nervous to make them myself, but I figured the kit would be able to help me.

Milk and White Chocolate Macarons
(adapted from Simply Heaven Chocolate)
Macarons:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup cocoa
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup caster sugar

Filling:
80g white chocolate melts
30g unsalted butter
100g cream cheese
1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted

Combine the icing sugar, almonds and cocoa in a food processor and process until super fine. Sift and remove any coarse pieces of almond.

Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Continue beating, gradually adding the sugar until dissolved.

Fold the almond mixture into the egg whites until just combined. Pipe onto tray then stand at room temperature for 30 minutes until the macarons form a light crust.

Bake at 150 degrees C for 22-28 minutes or until firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the trays.

To make the filling, combine the chocolate and butter and melt in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Beat together the cream cheese and extra icing sugar then beat into the chocolate mixture. Chill until firm enough to spread.

To assemble, spread chocolate filling on to half of the macarons and top with the remaining halves, pressing together gently.

The kit came with a piping squeeze container and a silicone baking sheet that had circles for guides on it. I was not sure which guide to use as there were two circles, so I did some to the larger circle and some only filling the smaller circle.



When they had cooked, I discovered that I needed to pipe to the outer circle- Now that I know that, my next batch will be more even. I was very pleased with the biscuits themselves though.



I sandwiched them together with filling and they were the perfect size to accompany a cup of coffee.



The verdict- Time consuming but delicious! I am happy to make these again as a lot of time was waiting for them to form a skin, then waiting for them to cool.

How I Meal Plan

To help keep my sanity in check, I try to go with a different meal theme each day so that I have some kind of routine. Here is my general guide to how I meal plan- with a little help from a fantastic website.

Our week usually looks like this.

Monday: Meatless Dish
Tuesday: Fish Dish
Wednesday: Chicken Dish
Thursday: Crock-Pot
Friday: Family Fun Night (with a themed menu and activity)
Saturday: Pasta Dish
Sunday: Family Favourites

On Sunday, we also have a special family breakfast together- usually scrambled eggs or pancakes as the kids can help to cook them but I am looking to change this up a bit so we have other options. What do you like to have for a family breakfast that young children can help to prepare? I need some new ideas!

Most weekends I also bake for the week ahead, and I also bake something for preschool on a Wednesday.

A lot of our Friday and Sunday night meals are red meat based, in case you were wondering, and we also have a few red meat favourites for the Crock Pot.

For example, this week the plan is:

Monday: Cheesy Leek Risotto
Tuesday: Thai Curried Fish with Spiced Rice and corn kernels
Wednesday: Chinese Lemon Chicken with rice and broccoli
Thursday: Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Friday: Swedish Meatballs with Miss Piggy Cupcakes (Muppets Movie night)
Saturday: Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta with Cajun steamed vegetables
Sunday: Sausage Hash Brown Bake

For baking, I made Peanut Butter Banana Swirl Bread and Oddfellow Roll.

How do I keep track of my meal plan and shopping list? I use a website called Plan To Eat.



You can import recipes from the internet or type out your own favourites, then drag them into a weekly or monthly planner. This automatically creates a shopping list for you, which you can edit if you already have the necessary ingredients. I love that you can adjust the list- for example, I have mine done by aisles so I am efficient when I go to the store, but you can have it done by categories such as produce, meat, dairy etc or make the shopping list into whatever subcategories you choose. You can also have categories for your recipes, so I have separated mine by the themes listed above. The other thing I like about Plan To Eat is that you can also have a staples grocery list for things you buy every time you go shopping, and have them separate or merge them into your planned shopping list.

We usually eat the same things for breakfasts and lunches as well as snacks, so I have put them into my staples grocery list and also made them into meals on my Plan To eat menu, with labels such as preschool Lunch and snack options, to effortlessly migrate those items such as yoghurt, fruit and muesli bars to my shopping list.

Finally, to stop everyone asking "what's for dinner?", I write up the weekly menu on my new Magnetic Chalkboard, which was released today! (I got to play with it a couple of weeks in advance, and I love how it looks in my kitchen. Plus I can put memos, notices and receipts on there too.



I hope this helps you to do some meal planning too, this method certainly takes the stress out of feeding my family each week.

NB: I was not reimbursed in any way for my Plan To Eat review, it is just the method that I use and love!

What's Cooking Wednesday #18

When I was thinking about Adam's birthday party (full feature on the blog tomorrow!) I knew I wanted a barnyard theme. It was mostly cow-print, but I used some party food to introduce other animals!

One of the recipes I used was from the wonderful Hats and Bells Children's Party Cookbook. This is a fantastic book that every mother should have, as it is full of different themes such as Under The Sea, Circus, Circus and even a Last-Minute Panic Party! Each section contains ideas for decorations, party games and recipes. You can look through the book preview and purchase your own copy here.

The recipe I chose to use was the Rooster's Roulade from the Farmyard Fun  I changed it up to suit my personal tastes, but it still came out wonderfully.



Rooster's Roulade
adapted from Children's Party Cookbook

2 Baguette Mini loaves (sold in the bakery section of your supermarket)
250g light cream cheese
10 slices of deli ham, chopped
8-10 cherry tomatoes, diced
3 sticks celery, chopped
1/2 lettuce, finely chopped

Slice off the ends of each baguette  and hollow it out, leaving about 1.5cm crust all around.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth and then add in the other ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Fill the baguette with the mixture, working with a piping bag and filling from both ends. This part can get messy so make sure you have some paper towels on hand!

Wrap the baguette tightly in clingfilm and leave to firm in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or a maximum of one day.

When you are ready ti serve, remove the clingwrap and cut into thick slices using a bread knife.



The verdict:

The filling was yummy but the bread did go a bit soggy. The platter looked very pretty though and I got lots of compliments on how delicious it was. The book suggested these could be made two days ahead, which I did, but I have suggested a maximum of one day so that you can avoid any unnecessary sogginess.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesdays!

What's Cooking Wednesday #10

It is that time of the week again where I dust off my cookbooks and try a recipe I have bookmarked but never gotten around to making.

If you live in New Zealand you are probably familiar with Jo Seagar, a bubbly personality with some fantastic cookbooks as well as a cooking school at Oxford. I have yet to try a recipe of hers that didn't result in a fantastic end product, so when I had a lot of rhubarb in the garden I turned to her books for some inspiration.

In her recipe book "You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble darling" you will find heaps of "easy peasy" recipes that look and taste great with minimal effort. Today I made her Rhubarb Spicetrail Shortcake.

Rhubarb Spicetrail Shortcake (adapted from Jo Seagar)

Base
125g butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Topping
1/4 cup flour
1 1 /2 cups castor sugar
4 sticks rhubarb, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar then add the other base ingredients. Pulse to combine. Press into a 20x30cm slice pan.

Mix topping flour, sugar and eggs with the mixed spice in the food processor. Add the rhubarb and pulse until just combined. Pour on top of the base and bake for 55-60 minutes until firm and set.



The verdict:
This was yummy. Straight out of the oven it was gooey, inviting and tasty. My four year old even had two helpings although he had informed me he didn't like rhubarb when I was making the shortcake. My husband was also very impressed. This would have been wonderful with come icecream or custard, but because it was Good Friday when I made this and pouring with rain, we couldn't get to the shops and so we had it plain.

It was even better the next day. I may have had a slice for my second breakfast! This is going to be a great way to use up all the rhubarb in the garden and it has already been requested again.

What's Cooking Wednesday #9

It's that time of the week again where I try a recipe from a cookbook that has been sitting in my cupboard.

I cannot get enough of Annabel Langbein's book- I think I will end up trying 75% of the recipes in her book as they appeal to my food taste. This week, the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake called my name. The original recipe calls for one big cake, but I changed things up and made individual servings using a silicone mini cake form from Tupperware.

2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
finely grated rind of one orange
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup oil

Topping:
50g butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
225g can pineapple rings, drained

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place all cake batter ingredients in a blender or mixer bowl and quickly process until smooth. Melt the topping butter with brown sugar and golden syrup. Pour some into the base of each individual form and then place a pineapple ring on top. Pour over the batter, tapping form on the bench to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes.



These were amazing! Annabel suggests putting 1 teaspoon ground ginger in the cake batter and putting some hunks of glace ginger on top with the pineapple, which I think would be tasty but I did not do this as some family members do not like ginger. They were a perfect individual piece for a potluck dinner, with just the right amount of stickiness.

We served these beauties alongside a tub of Limon Spoonable Fudge. If you haven't tried Tub Dessert, you are missing out! They have a great range of flavours and are perfect as an accompaniment to hot or cold desserts, or even spooned straight out the tub if you just want a sweet pick me up.

This recipe would also be lovely as a full cake, and I would suggest if you make this as one big cake that you cook it for 70 minutes. A cherry in the middle would also be a great option of you don't like ginger.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesday.

What's Cooking Wednesday #1

One thing I love receiving is recipe books- I have post it notes all over them with recipes I want to try.

Well, this year I have decided to bite the bullet and make one recipe a week that I have flagged in my recipe books. I trawl Pinterest and food magazines a lot, but some of my recipe books have great tried and true recipes and it is time to find some new favourites.

My first recipe comes from Annabel Langbein's cookbook The Best of Annabel Langbein This is one of my go-to cookbooks but there are lots of recipes in here I have yet to try. I wanted something light but filling for a hot summer evening, and the Grilled Chicken and Crispy Noodle Salad looked amazing. I was intrigued by the combo of bananas, avocados and pesto with chicken and bacon in a salad, but since my family enjoys all of these ingredients I figured it was worth a try.

I got all of the ingredients together (minus the pesto, which was in the fridge!)



You marinate the chicken in lemon juice and pesto with whole lemon slices- it smelt so good. The recipe called for grilling the chicken, but I had already diced it so I just cooked it in the pan.



Then it was a matter of tossing all of the ingredients together...



And adding the crispy noodles to serve. Yum!



The salad was surprisingly filling, and the combination of flavours worked well. I would happily make this salad again, and wouldn't change a thing.

I really recommend any Annabel Langbein books to any cook wanting a fantastic book for reading as well as recipes- the food photography in this cookbook is so vibrant and it makes me want to cook every time. She is a great New Zealand writer and a lot of her recipes adapt well for busy families.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesdays.