Sweet potato beef & broccoli baby food

I know this is a little off the mark, but with a new addition to the family I believe that its very important that the little ones are also well fed with yummy local produce, that I know that is good for them & will most importantly enjoy. So here is a recipe for you babe, I hope they enjoy it like our little Sam does.

Ingredients:

350g Riverine tender cut beef cut into strips

2 tab Cobram Estate olive oil

3 small sweet potato, cubed

3 medium carrots, cut into small cubes

1 medium potato cut into cubes 

half 680g jar tomato Passata

half head broccoli, chopped into small pieces, use the stalk too

2 tab parsley chopped

water or salt free stock

Method:

• Heat pan add olive oil
• Add beef & cook through
• Add diced root vegetables to meat & cook for approx 5 min
• Add in Passata & pour in water to cover.
• Bring back to the boil then cover with a lid & simmer for approx 1 hour (this cooks down the meat making it easier for bub to eat)
• Add in chopped broccoli & parsley, continue to simmer for approx 10 minutes
• Puree for smaller bubs or mash with a potato masher for older bubs
• Add more water if you think its too thick
• Spoon into little serving tubs & cool before freezing
• Freeze for up to 1 month.
• Makes 9 -10 tubs of food

 

 

Valentines bakehouse burger with Beechworth preserves

I was thinking of another local recipe to post & was over baking sweet things for the week for other orders. My son Jordan said he wanted a burger for lunch. We had local Valentine bakery panini rolls & Beechworth preserve relish on hand...yumm!

I hope you enjoy making them with delicious produce from your local area.

Recipe:

500g mince beef

salt & pepper to taste

4 Valentines bakery rolls

Baby spinach

2 tab olive oil

1 onion sliced into rings

4 rashers of bacon (I used Australian Aussie farmers bacon)

4 eggs

2 tomatoes, sliced

4 good tablespoons Beechworth preserves relish

Method:

Season mince with salt & pepper & shaped into 4 even balls, flatten slightly & cook through.

While the burgers are cooking, cook onion rings in olive oil with the bacon until done to your liking

Cook the eggs to your liking

Prepare rolls by cutting in half, you can roast them at this stage

Top rolls with spinach, tomato (I like to add ground black pepper to the tomato), burger, onion, bacon & egg then finish with a generous serve of relish.

Enjoy!

Snowline Blackberry Jam with Tiandi Grove lemons

Snowline fruits are located in Stanley NE Victoria.
Tiandi Grove are located at Allans Flat NE Victoria

Blackberry Jam

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo fresh blackberries
• 2 lemons, one lemon zested & juice of both lemons.
• 50 ml Water
• 1 kilo caster sugar
• 2 vanilla beans, scrape out seeds (keep the pods to make more vanilla sugar), optional.

Method:

• Place the blackberries, lemon juice, lemon zest & water in a heavy base pan.
• Bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Simmer for 15 min or until fruit is soft.
• Add Caster sugar & vanilla bean bring back up to boil & cook, stirring until jam reaches setting point.
• (I use a sugar thermometer & once the jam reaches 104 - 105 degrees Celsius the jam is ready)
• Make sure you stir your jam regularly or it can catch & burn.
• While the jam is cooking sterilize 4-5 medium jars & their lids.
• I wash the jars & lids. Place the jars in a cold oven & turn the temperature to 150 degrees celsius & heat them for about 15 -20 minutes.
• Place the lids in a saucepan & boil for 20 minutes also.
• Once the jam is ready ladle the hot jam into the warm jars, if you have a large funnel this is really handy to prevent spills.
• Seal with the lids

Give as gifts to someone special, spread on your favourite toast or use in your baking. Enjoy!

Vanilla Sugar

Ingredients:

500g Caster sugar
2 split vanilla beans

Method:

• Place vanilla beans in a glass jar & fill with caster sugar.
• Leave for a few weeks & use in your favourite recipes.

Shortbread bikkis made with Myrtleford Butter

Ingredients:

250g Cultured unsalted Myrtleford butter, chilled
100g Caster Sugar
250g Plain flour (I use Manildra or Bakers Secret)
120g Rice flour
1/2 tsp Murray River Pink Salt
2 Vanilla beans, split & scrape out the seeds (keep the left over beans I will show you a little tip)

extra sugar to sprinkle on top

Method:

• Pre-heat oven o 150 degrees fan forced (if you are unsure of your oven temp use an oven thermometer, they are very handy)
• In a food whizzer add all of the ingredients except extra sugar (its helpful to have the butter on the top to start with) & process until it just comes together.
• Turn out & knead gently until it comes together.
• Gently pat out the dough with your hands & with some extra flour roll out gently to 1 cm thick.
• With your favourite cookie cutter or a small round 3.5cm cut out the dough & place on a lined baking sheet, poke holes in the dough with a fork or leave plain & sprinkle with extra sugar.
• Bake for approx 20 - 25 minutes for the small cookies & longer if they a large.

The butter is just beautiful, if you have someone special to bake for its worth the expense.
Call into Dares Fruit & Vegs Wodonga to get your Myrtleford Butter

Dark chocolate ganache

Ingredients:

350g quality dark chocolate (I used Callebaut)
250g thin cream (35% fat)
30g butter (optional)

Method:

• Heat cream, just to boiling point in a saucepan then pour over the chocolate.
• Give it a little wiggle to submerge the chocolate in the cream
• Cover with glad wrap & stand for a few minutes
• Whisk until smooth & glossy
• transfer to a Tupperware container

You can use it at a sauce at this stage or cool in the fridge until it comes to a spreadable consistency to ice cakes, fill macarons or make truffles.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week

Red velvet cupcakes

Red velvet cake
After the last cake which looked good but was abit dry, I have adjusted the recipe to make a cake that slices well  & actually tastes pretty good. I'm unsure what an authentic red velvet cake is supposed to taste like. I wasn't after a bright red colour, something more natural, like beetroot.
This is a combination of Magnolias & Chockylit's red velvet cake, with some alterations by me!!
Let me know what you think. It has a lot of red food colouring for my liking....will have to work on that!
Recipe:200 g butter, soft
460g caster sugar (fine sugar)
4 55g eggs at room temp (In Aust they are sold as 700g cartons)
45 ml red liquid food colouring
400 ml luke warm butter milk (heat gently in the microwave)
500g plain flour (I didn't use cake flour)
25g cocoa powder (I used 22% cocoa solids)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Pre heat oven to 160 degrees fan
Line base & sides of 7.5cm (3") high 22.5 (9") cm round cake tin with heavy duty grease proof paper. I used one layer of paper.
Mix red food colour, vinegar,& luke warm butter milk.
Cream the butter first for approx 1 min
Slowly add the sugar, cream for approx 5 min. Add vanilla essence.
Add eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl after each addition.
Sift flour, salt, bicarb soda, cocoa & baking powder
Add sifted flour mix to creamed mixture alternating with the warm butter milk. Have mixer on low speed.
Remove bowl from stand & with a spatula make sure its all combined.
Pour batter into lined cake pans
Bake at 160 degrees for approx 50 min or until skewer comes out clean, turn cakes half way through cooking.
Remove from oven, stand for 15 min then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Trim the layers, slice in half & fill with your favourite icing.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Note: 1 tsp is 5ml
eggs are 55g out of the shell
liquid food colour was used not paste.

Recipe makes

• one 22 cm round cake or
• approx 36 regular cupcakes or
• approx 70 mini cupcakes

Red velvet batter

Cream cheese frosting recipe

Butter milk with red food dye

Use an ice cream scoop to make even cupcakes

For mini cupcakes its easier to use a piping bag

Baked mini cupcakes

Iced cupcakes cream cheese frosting recipe