Honey/ thyme poached apricots with cream

The thyme gives the apricots a lovely genteel, aromatic flavour and is a perfect precursor to a cup of strong coffee after dinner.







Ingredients

1 vanilla bean
3-4 tbsp honey
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
twigs of thyme
1 1/2 water
10 apricots


Method

Cut straight down vanilla bean, open up, scrape out the pod and put paste into a medium sized saucepan.
Add honey, brown sugar, thyme and water to vanilla bean paste and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Cut into halves, de-stone apricots and add. Cook for 8-10 minutes until soft but not mushy.
If you cook them too long they will disintegrates and become like compote which should not worry you and is just as delish.
Remember to take out thyme twigs!
Serve with cream, or creame fraiche and, or vanilla icecream
Enjoy!

Recipe idea courtesy of North and South Mag
I pulled the photo off dinnerdujour blog as I forgot to take a picture. Check this blog out, to view click on http://dinnerdujour.org/

Molasses biscuits

These biscuits are so gorgeous, they will take you down memory lane with its flavours of spices and raw sugar and create ideas for new ones!

Check them out at A Drop of Red in Cromwell when you are there next-that's where I discovered them!



Ingredients:
•3/4 cup shortening or butter
•1 cup packed light brown sugar
•1/4 cup molasses
•1 large egg
•2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•2 teaspoons baking soda
•1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•Granulated sugar or larger-grained decorator's sugar
Preparation:
Cream shortening and brown sugar until smooth; beat in molasses and egg until well blended. In another bowl, combine the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and stir until thoroughly blended. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
Heat oven to 375°. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or grease. Add about 1/3 cup of granulated sugar to a small bowl. Have a bowl of water nearby, along with a flat-bottomed cup or glass.

Form dough into 1-inch balls. Dip the top of the balls into the sugar, then place, sugar-side up, on the baking sheet. Leave about 2 to 3 inches between balls. Dip the flat-bottomed cup or glass lightly in the bowl of water. Gently press the top of each cookie with the wet bottom of the glass or cup to moisten lightly. There's no need to flatten the balls; the cookies will spread while baking.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until cookies are set. Let cool for about 1 minute on the cookie sheet. Remove to racks to cool completely.
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Lentils with sausages and thyme

Red lentils are the easiest of all the pulses to work with; they are dirt cheap, fast to cook and a good source of protein.
Thyme is such a aromatic herb, almost has soothing and calming as lavender. What other herb then could compliment the nourishing flavours of lentils and filling power of homemade saussies?

Any sausage would do, pork, venison, mutton. I am using Dave's tomato and garlic ones for this recipe.

2 cups orange lentils
2 cups, 500ml weak vege stock
2 onions, cut into wedges
2 tomatoes, roughly diced
splurge of olive oil
salt, garlic salt is best
3 tsp thyme
6 fresh sausages, approx 500g

Step 1
Pour some oil into medium to large saucepan and heat. Cut onions into wedges, add to saucepan and over low heat soften for 5 minutes. Make sure you do not brown them!
Pour in the lentils add two cups of weak stock (dilute one cube to 500ml of water) and stir to ensure they do not stick to the base of the saucepan.
Boil the lentils for 8-10 minutes or until soft. A couple of minutes before its done add tomatoes. Add fresh or frozen thyme and garlic salt and stir under.


Step 2
Bring water in a medium saucepan to boil. Add raw sausages, simmer for 5-10 minutes until they are cooked. Then put them into a pan and brown them to your liking.

Yum!

MOF MOF dessert - rhubarb icecream loaf

MOF MOF meaning "minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour"

1.5 cans condensed milk
500 ml poached cinnamon rhubarb
1 pack gingernuts

Stage 1
To poach the rhubard dice 6 medium sized rhubarb stems, put the rhubarb into a medium sized saucepan, add a cup of sugar and pour in water until the rhubarb is covered. Add a cinnamon stick and bring the water to the boil and take off the heat and cool.

Stage 2
Take a pack of gingernuts, roll them into a towel and smash the bejesus out of them.

Stage 3
Combine cold rhubarb, condensed milk and gingernuts pieces. Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin and leave in a freezer until it sets (overnight is best)

To serve
Take the loaf tin out of the freezer, let it thaw five minutes and then turn onto a platter so it looks like an icecream loaf. Cut into slices and serve with fresh strawberries and cream.
Enjoy!

Prawn Laksa

Great antidote for exploding head syndrome

Paste - Easy Option
Mae Ploy Curry Paste

Paste - homemade
2 small hot red chillies
3 cloves of garlic
6 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
tsp of lemon grass paste
2 medium shallots
tsp tumeric
tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp hot water

Laksa
2 tbsp peanut or veg oil (or olive and sesame mixed together for extra flavour)
laksa paste
500ml coconut milk or cream
1 l chicken or fish stock
2 tsp Asian fish sauce
juice of 2 limes (or 2 tbsp of ready made and bought lime juice)
1 cup raw prawns, shelled, about 170 g and cost around $2.30 from supermarket deli
2 c rice noodles soaked and cooked in boiling water
100 g tofu (optional)
2 hard boiled eggs (for hard working men add another), halved
250g bean sprout (optional)
sml cucumber cut and cubed
tsp fresh coriander out of tube

Put all the paste ingredients into a food processor or spice grinder and blitz until a paste forms. (even better pound everything in a mortar and pestle - picked one up for half price at Briscoes around $25-29 or consult closest hospice shop or sallies)

Heat oil in sauce pan and when hot add paste.
Fry for a minute until it becomes fragrant. Do not allow it to darken.
Add coconut cream and stock and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Season with fish sauce and lime juice, adding salt if necessary but shouldn't be!
Add prawns and simmer for a further minute until cooked.
Cook noodles to packet instructions
Grab bowls and divide noodles up into four parts. Ladle soup into bowls and add tofu (optional) and eggs. Top with sprouts or chillies (for extra heat) or spring onion or cucumber, peanut bits or herbs and serve at once

Enjoy!