The best recipe I ever got from a vegetarian cook book was this ginger beer one (the tofu shake next to it was less appealing).  It’s so easy to make and the novelty of making your own fizzy drink complete with home made labels was really enjoyable.  In my next batch I will be adding a bit more ground ginger to the mix but perhaps it’s best you try the base recipe first.

You will need 4 X 1.25 litre plastic bottles.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dried yeast granules
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp lemon essence
• 1 tsp tartaric acid
• 2 litres hot water
• 2 litres cold water

Procedure

1. Stir the first three ingredients together in a glass and leave to stand in a warm place.
2. Measure the remaining sugar, ginger, lemon essence and tartaric acid into a clean bucket. Pour on the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cold water to cool the liquid down.
3. When the syrup is no hotter than lukewarm, add the bubbling yeast.  Cover with a tea towel and leave for 24- 36 hours.
4. Strain even amounts into the four plastic bottles then fill each bottle within 3 cm of the top with extra cold water.
5. Put 1 teaspoon of sugar in each bottle and screw the lid on tight, shake to dissolve sugar.
6. Leave to stand in a warm place* until the bottles feel absolutely rigid when you squeeze them. (2 – 5 days depending on temp & type of yeast etc )
7. Refrigerate and enjoy!

*I found our laundry cupboard (containing the hot water system) was the perfect warm spot to leave the bottles.

I was fiddling around with some recipes the other day and to my palates great delight this super easy lemon cheesecake mousse was born! It’s so quick and easy and I’m sure you’ll get all thumbs up from your family once they taste it.

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese
• 395g condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 10g sachet of gelatine

Procedure

1. Allow cream cheese to soften slightly by leaving it in a mixing bowl for 10 minutes.
2. Beat the cream cheese until smooth then add the condensed milk and beat until well combined.
3. In a small bowl whisk the gelatine in 2 tablespoons of boiling water until completely dissolved.
4. Add the lemon juice and dissolved gelatine into the mixing bowl and beat for a further 2 minutes.
5. Pour into individual servings and allow to set overnight… well at least 4 hours!

You can also make this recipe lower in fat by using low fat cream cheese and lite condensed milk… it still tastes good!

An afternoon cup of tea with two brownies… delicious! This recipe is so easy I let my six year old make it, with my supervision of course.  It’s inexpensive and most people will have all the ingredients sitting in their cupboard right now.

* 150g butter

* 3 eggs (lightly beaten)

* 1 tsp of vanilla essence

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1 cup of self raising flour

* 1/2 cup cocoa

* 1/2  cup of chopped nuts (we use peanuts because they are the cheapest)

Method

1. In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, melt the butter and take off the heat.

2. Add all other ingredients to pot (sifting flour & cocoa) and stir until well combined.

3. Line a 28cm X 18cm baking tray with baking paper and pour mixture in.

4. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

5. Allow to cool on a wire rack then cut into individual squares.

Last weekend we treated the kids to a ‘Hungry Jacks Stunner Meal’ and with my thrifty nature I discovered how to make a good deal great.  At $4.95 each the kids got a cheeseburger, chips, drink and sundae… that’s a good deal.  However since the store had free drink refills I filled the cups up with raspberry fanta and took them home to make ice blocks… now that’s a great deal!

I enjoy making biscuits and I love a good ANZAC biscuit but I think I have found a recipe that beats the usual ANZAC biscuit recipe hands down! It’s an ANZAC slice that is so quick and easy to make your three year old could do it.

On a scale of “Spew” to “Frickin’ Awesome” I give this recipe an “Awesome.”

Ingredients

* 1 cup plain flour

* 1 cup rolled oats

* 1 cup desiccated coconut

* 125g butter

* 1/3 cup golden syrup

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius

2. Combine flour, oats and coconut in a large bowl and mix well.

3. In a small saucepan combine butter, golden syrup and sugar and stir over a medium heat until the butter is melted and mixture is smooth, then take off heat and add the bicarbonate of soda.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.

5. Spread mixture into a 18cm X 28cm slice tin which has been lined with baking paper.  Spread mixture out and smooth the surface.

6. Cook for 20 minutes and allow to cool in the tin.

7. Once cool, slice into individual servings and keep in an air tight container.

OPTIONAL:  Being a chocoholic I like to pipe some melted chocolate over the top, as you can see in my photo.

Recently the kids have started playing Cooking Mama 2.  I always thought this was a sweet little chop-dice-stir simulation game and I suppose in a way it is.  After watching the kids play for fifteen minutes or so I realised that the receipes are so-so and I certainly wouldn’t want to eat at the Cooking Mama restaurant but the chilren seem to really enjoy it.  It’s a typical Japanese style cartoon character game complete with extra large eyes and thick accent which makes the kids giggle.  At the end of the recipe Mama judges you on your culinary skills and if you have done well you character is presented with diamonds in it’s eyes.  However, if your skills are less than desirable Mama calls out, “Don’t worry Mama will help you” and your character is displayed with flames protruding from the eye sockets.  It’s not something I was expecting from this sweet looking game.  Perhaps the next installment in the Cooking Mama range will be called, “Evil Mama: Sharpen your Blades.”

I love cheesecake and I love chocolate so it’s only natural the two should meet in the most delicious recipe ever… Chocolate Cheesecake!!!  I have tried quite a few recipes and in true Frankenstein form I have taken bits and pieces to create a masterpiece… “It’s alive!”… not quite but it sure is easy and mouth-wateringly scrumptious.

Ingredients

* 1 cup chocolate biscuit crumbs (crush them using a blender)

* 1/3 cup (80g) unsalted butter, melted

* 500g cream cheese, softened

* 1/2 cup caster sugar

* 200g chocolate, melted (microwave for a minute or so to melt)

* 1/2 cup thickened cream

* 1 heaped tablespoon gelatine

Procedure

1. Combine biscuit crumbs & butter together in a bowl then press into a baking paper lined base of a spring fold pan.  If you don’t have a spring fold pan simply use a normal cake tin completely lined with baking paper, that way you simply lift the cheesecake out using the excess folds of baking paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, melted chocolate and cream then mix until well combined.

3. In a small bowl dissolve the gelatine in a little bit of warm water then pour into the mixing bowl and continue beating for a minute.

4. Pour onto the crumb base and set over night. Decorate with whipped cream and grated chocolate or just dig in as it is… yum yum!

Tim Tam base alternative

To make this even yummier add 3 or 4 Tim Tams to the biscuits you crumble for the base.  Just remember you won’t need the full amount of butter if you do this because the Tim Tams (or equivalent biscuits) have a soft cream center which help hold the crumbs together.

Recently I have found myself really enjoying cupcakes, not just eating them but also decorating them.  At first I fell for the “icing gels” you can buy from the supermarkets but then I realised that I’m essentially paying top dollar for a little bit of coloured icing.  So now when I make my icing I separate a little out to colour, black, red, blue etc.  I then use a sandwich bag with the corner tip cut off as a disposable piping bag… cheap and easy!  Another thing that’s easy and quite cheap is this cupcake recipe… give it a go!

Ingredients

* 1 cup of self raising flour
* 3/4 cup of sugar
* 100 g butter
* 2 tablespoons cocoa
* 1/3 cup milk
* 2 eggs

Procedure

1. Beat butter and sugar until creamy
2. add eggs and milk, beat a little
3. Add flour & cocoa and beat until all combined
4. Place mixture in patty pans, cook at 180 degrees Celsius for approx. 14 min
5. Let cool on a wire rack then ice and decorate if desired.

I have tried so many pavlova recipes and was so disappointed with the results I was about to give up on the humble pav, but then my grandmother gave me her recipe and it was fantastic!  So give it a try, just remember that a stainless steel mixing bowl is best but don’t stress if you don’t have one.

Ingredients

* 4 egg whites

* 1 & 1/4 cups of caster sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

* 1 pinch of salt

Proceedure

1. Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.

2. Put the mixing bowl in hot water (just half fill your sink with hot water from the hot tap and sit the bowl in that) then add sugar gradually, one heaped tablespoon at a time.

3. Add vanilla essence, lemon juice and corn flour.

4. Line a tray with baking paper and spread mixture out to make a 23cm diameter circle.

5. Bake in a slow oven (150 degrees celsius) for 1 & 1/4  -  1 & 1/2 hours but allow to cool in the turned off oven with the door slightly ajar.

6. Top with whipped cream and fruit or mango fruche and fruit.

Now I have to say that my grandma would just die to see a pavlova with fruche on it instead of cream BUT if you are watching your weight or simply want to enjoy this fantastic sweet without clogging your arteries… give fruche a try!

While doing the shopping this week the check out chick picked up my cos lettuce and said “that’s bok choy isn’t it?”  For a moment I was speechless, I mean this was a grown woman standing in front of me not a child.  Hell my three year old nephew could tell the difference between bok choy and a lettuce that’s for sure!  I just stared at her in disbelief and said “that’s a cos lettuce” to which she replied ” they all look the same.”  When I got home and told Luke all he could say was …”lettuce fail”