Best Citrus Icecream you will eat!

Last night I made the best ice cream I have done in ages. It was creamy, zingy and melt in your mouth. With a pleasant after taste to boot!! My recipe is so very easy to make and it only has 3-4 ingredients!!! You definitely have to try this ice cream.

Citrus Ice-Cream

Ingredients:

1 lemon

2 oranges

1 can of condensed milk

500g thickened cream

Method:

Juice the lemon and oranges. (If you want a stronger flavour grate a little of the peel and add that)

Whip the thickened cream until the cream has stiff peaks. Add the condensed milk to juice and cream and mix well. Put in an ice cream machine and let it do it's magic. The put mixture into a container and pop into the freezer to set.

There you have it! Easy, tasty and so smooth you will never go back. This type of recipe can be adapted for all types of flavours so experiment and let me know how it goes!!!

Fine Cooking Comfort Food: 200 Delicious Recipes for Soul-Warming Meals by Fine Cooking Magazine

Fine Cooking Comfort Food: 200 Delicious Recipes for Soul-Warming Meals by Fine Cooking Magazine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are some fantastic recipes that are so tasty in this book. I hate it when you buy a cookbook and only use 1 recipe. Well with this one you will find more than one you'll want to try.

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The World in Your Lunch box by Claire Eamer

The World in Your Lunch box by Claire Eamer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very interesting history on food. Kids will love to learn where some of their favourite foods come from and why they are called the things they are. Set out in a weekly planning style, you see science, history and recipes for 3-4 different food each day. This is one cook/history book for kids to look out for in Feburary.

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Iced Forged by Gail Z Martin

Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. You get grabbed right from the start when you are confronted with why Blaine gets sent to Velant. You cheer him on but feel sorry for him at the same time. The characters were well written and the storyline was excellent. I finished this in two days and when I got to the end I was like omg, I have to wait to see what happens next!!!! All the elements of a good story are portrayed and you get to like and dislike characters.

A must read for fantasy fans or anyone who likes a great adventure!!

Book 2 is going to be epic!

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The Arcana Chronicles, #1 Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really suprised by this book. I thought that it was just another of those teen romances with the supernatural thrown in as aan after thought. I was wrong! It has a strong storyline, strong hero's/heroines. At first the heroine is a bit ditzy but she pulls through but the time the poo hits the fan. The end of the world has come and the heroine has been having visions about it for years only to be told she is crazy. There is a war going on and the tarot arcana come into play and that's when it gets really good.

Dark, action driven and gritty. I look forward to book 2 coming out. Definatly read this series!

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Book Review - KGI series by Maya Banks

I have been reading a fair bit lately what with the trains being down and having to catch an hour long bus ride to get to work. Here are my reviews on Maya Bank's new KGI books/novellas.

Shades of Gray by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book nearly brought me to tears a few times, in fact it did. The is a well written book and finally shows us a side of PJ that we have never seen before. After a mission goes to hell, PJ quits KGI and goes hunting for revenge. I loved how this one shows that the darker side of human emotions can be tempered with the lighter side. A throughly good read and I am finding that this series is always suprising me. Each book doesn't seem to be the same story diferent characters like some of this genre. Also, all the heroines are NOT virgins. I'm not sure if that bothers anyone else but in some series they are all virgins who are 25+ in age.... not very realistic. Highly recommeded series.

View all my reviews Softly at Sunrise by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great little novella wrapping up Rachel and Ethan's story. Set when PJ goes awol in Shades of Grey it shows us how that couple has come along and that the damage done to Rachel is slowly being healed. Also, Rachel has come out stronger for it as she tackles a day from hell at work.

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I really enjoy this series and get all fan girl when a new one comes out. If you like Lora Leigh then you will love this series. 

Book Review - Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't like zombies. Just stating that before I begin.

I don't like zombie but this book was really good. It starts off a bit oddly for me then somewhere, I am not sure where, you get hooked. I was on page 83 the night I started reading this book and was falling asleep but not wanting to stop. R is very dry at the start and you see the changes affecting after meeting Julie. M is a central character who you aren't sure you like. All the character's are well thought out and I loved the premise of the story but some points of the story didn't click for me. All in all, I really enojyed reading this book and would highly recommend it.

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Lactation Cookies

I have noticed lately a dip in my milk supply, so I started researching lactation cookies. These are what I came up with. They are so nice!!! Not only can I eat them to boost supply, but also anyone can too. My Little A loves them. 

Here is the recipe:

1cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal

3 tablespoons of water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons brewer's yeast
3 cup rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Soak the flaxseed in the water for a few minutes to soften.
Mix butter and sugar together then add the eggs, flaxseed and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and combine together. 

Drop on the cookie sheet and press gently with a fork.

Cook for 10-12 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius.

Written by Tarran J

Delicious Zucchini and Corn Fritters

These fritters were absoulutley fantastic!! I adapted a recipe I found on Taste.com.au

Ingredients:

• 1 tin creamed corn 
• 1 large zucchini, grated
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 onion, grated 
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup grated cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tspn worstershire sauce
• handful of bacon peices

Method:

1. Whisk together the corn, cheese, onion, worstershire sauce, bacon, zucchini, eggs and milk. Gradually stir in the sifted flour, salt and pepper then stir till combined.
2. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Using a tablespoon, place heaped spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan and cook in batches. ( I used my pancake maker which was brilliant) 
   
   
   Note: The fritters may seem undercooked inside, but it's the cheese that makes them seem like that.
    

 

Baking Day! Pizza Scrolls, Orange Cordial and Chicken Ravioli

Today has been busy! 

My Little A is teething and has been very clingy and whingy today but we still got quite a few baking projects done and in the freezer. First off we made orange and mango cordial from scratch. Omg, it is so much better than the store bought ones - and I know what is in it.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups of orange juice, freshly squeezed

1 mango, de fleshed and processed

2 teaspoons of citric acid

3 cups water

1 cup of caster sugar

Method:

Place all ingredients into the pot and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and the water level drops a little. Then strain into heatproof bottles and place it into the fridge. I have used 1/3 cup of cordial to 3/4 cup water as I don't like my cordial too sweet.

Next project was the pizza scrolls. Now I cheated on these, I purchased store bought pastry and used those instead of making pastry for my scrolls.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

1/2 capsicum

2 mushrooms, large

2 sheets of puff pastry

1/2 can of tomato paste

1 onion

1 cup grated cheese (use a hand grater or already grated cheese)

Method:

Place all the ingredients apart from cheese, pastry and tomato paste into the food processor (use the grater blade) and process. Wait for your pastry to defrost slightly then spread the tomato paste. Add the fillings and roll till you have a cigar shaped object. Using a knife, slice into desired thickness and put onto a greased tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven set at 180 degrees C

For the chicken ravioli I used won ton wrappers instead of pasta. This gives them a really nice texture and flavour. 

Ingredients:

1 chicken fillet ( or 500g chicken mince)

1 capsicum

1 onion

1 zucchini

1 packet of won ton wrappers

1 can of chopped tomato's

Method:

Place chicken fillet, capsicum, onion, zucchini into a food processor and whizz until combined. Use the quad blade. Place half of the mince mixture into pan. Then separate the won ton wrappers and brush with water. Place other half of mince filling onto wrapper and place another wrapper on top covering the bottom one. Continue in this vein until you have as many won ton's you need. Steam or boil the won ton's until cooked through.

Cook the mince in the pan and stir through the chopped tomato's. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread over ravioli and serve with grated cheese. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pancakes

My pancake maker has seen vigorous use since I received it for Christmas. Little A loves her pancakes and you can make just about any type. Now last week I posted a blog about choc chip pancakes and they are seriously delish!! These ones take it a little further and I have doubled the quantity of batter as I found it wasn't enough to fill hungry bellies.

        Ingredients:

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 3/4 cup choc chips
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 cup milk with 1teaspoon vinegar/lemon juice
• 15gm butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chocolate powder  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Method:
2. Sift flour, chocolate powder, salt and bicarb into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, choc chips and melted butter. 
3. Stir mix until it is a smooth batter, adding more milk if very thick
4. Spoon mixture into the pan/ pancake maker to make 6cm round pikelets. 

  What are your favourite pancake flavours?

Brilliant Thai Chicken & Marinated Beef *Sausage Rolls*

Sausage rolls - I think most Australians have grown up eating pies and sausage rolls and we have had mostly two choices, Balfours and Villi's. While these two companies are good, homemade is always best. This is a highly adaptable food. You can make them plain or fancy them up. They don't have to be boring anymore or even made of sausage...  

There are a varity of different ingredients you can add to flavour your pastries. Here are two of my favourites.

Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

500g of chicken mince or 1 chicken fillet (if using food processor)

1 onion, finely chopped

2 slices of bread

1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce

1/2 cup corriander leaves

1 tbsp brown suagr

1 tbsp worstershire sauce

1 tbsp sweet sherry

1/2 tsp salt

3 sheets of puff pastry 

1 tbsp milk

Method:

1. Pre heat oven 190 degrees C. Put bread into a bowl of water to soak. Let stand for a few minutes then drain the water and squeeze bread till excess water has gone. Adding bread to the mixture will help prevent the meat from shrinking too much.
2. Place bread into a large bowl or food processor (use Quad Blade). Add mince, onion, chilli, worstershire sauce, sweet sherry, salt, sugar and coriander. Stir/pulse until well-combined.
3. Place a sheet of pastry on a flat surface. Place mince mixture down the long edge of pastry. Brush edges with cold water. Carefully roll to form a long sausage shape. Cut each into four small sausage rolls. With back of knife, flatten rolls slightly at 1cm intervals and score. Brush with milk. Repeat with remaining pastry and mince mixture.
4. Place onto greased baking trays. ( I wouldn't recommend baking paper as they stick hardcore to the paper.) Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Marinated Beef

 2 pieces of marinated steak

1 onion, finely chopped

2 slices of bread

1 cup of diced pumpkin

1 cup of diced capsicum

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp worstershire sauce

1 tbsp sweet sherry

1/2 tsp salt

3 sheets of puff pastry 

1 tbsp milk

Use the method stated for the Thai Chicken rolls and enjoy. If you don't have a food processor, ask the butcher to mince the meat for you or get some marinate powder from the butcher and buy some beef mince and just mix it together.

See, you can add just about any type of meat and veg and you know what has gone into making your *sausage rolls*

My other favourites are pork and apple, italian sausage.

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy New Year's Eve and will have a prosperous 2013!!!!