Cordial Recipes

I'm ashamed to say there is a bottle of commercial orange cordial sitting in the pantry, it's been there for ages. Last time I tried some I didn't like the taste at all, having been spoilt with the flavour of homemade lemon cordial.

Finally got around to making Lemon cordial tonight and decided to give Orange a go too. The recipe is very simple 1:1:1 ratio of sugar, water and juice.

Sugar Syrup
Heat equal amounts of sugar and water - I used 2 cups of each- in a saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool

For Lemon Cordial I squeezed 5 Lemons - heated for about 20 - 30 seconds in microwave to get more juice. This gave me 400 ml of juice to which I added 400 ml of sugar syrup.

Strain juice through cheese cloth - I use 2 strainers , one finer than the other. The first catches the bulk of the fibre and the second the rest.

Pour into bottle and chill. Serve diluted to taste with cold water and ice for a refreshing drink. It will keep for 3 - 4 weeks in the fridge but I rather make small batches and drink it within 2 weeks. Can also be frozen for later use.

For Orange Cordial the recipe above is the same but it does matter on the flavour of the oranges used, tonight I added an extra 2 oranges to strengthen the flavour.


No wastage, use for the peels

Lemon Cleaneer

Lemon Peels
Vinegar

Into a jar put the lemon peels, jam as much as you can in. You can keep adding extra peels too. Top up the jar with vinegar, screw on lid. Then leave sit for a few weeks.

The end result is a highly lemon scented vinegar which is then diluted 50-50 with water and put in a spray bottle to be used as a general spray cleaner.

Can use orange, mandarin peels in the same way.

ANZAC Biscuits.

Just after my last post I was hungry so went in search of something to eat. Trying to live out of the pantry and freezer at the moment so pulled out a tin of soup. We had Tex Mex soup and toasted bread rolls, was expecting the soup to have a bit of bite but it wasn't in the least spicy. Sharing the tin between 3 of us still left a hole, decided to make some biscuits. Had the ingredients for Anzac Biscuits, substituting quick oats for rolled. Made one tray of plain, added some choc chips to the second tray and rolling some of the dough into balls and freezing them.

These biscuits are very easy to make, they are a traditional Australian biscuit dating from wartime when eggs were hard to come by. The name ANZAC comes from the Australian New Zealand Army Corps and were baked to send to Loved Ones fighting on the fronts. They remain a favourite, baked soft and chewy, hard and crunchy or not baked at all, the dough is safe to eat because it contains no eggs.

ANZAC Biscuits (never ever Cookies)

2 cups Rolled Oats
2 cups plain Flour
2 cups desicated coconut
1 1/2 cups sugar
250g butter
4 tablespoons Golden Syrup
1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda
2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 160 Celicus. Prepare trays with baking paper or lightly grease.

Mix oats, flour, coconut and sugar in large mixing bowl.

Melt butter and golden syrup in a saucepan. Take off heat.

Mix bicarb and boiling water in a cup and add to melted butter in the pan. Pour butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Roll tablespoonful lots in to balls, about walnut sized, put onto trays 5 cm apart. Can be pressed lightly with fork.

Bake for 20 minutes.


In the past I have used muesli in place of some or all of the oats, today was the first time I have added choc chips, they are delicious. My husband just walked in and said "these are different, I've never had ANZACs with flies in them before - is that the traditional way?" I'm guessing that from now on that's what they will be called. I did wonder what they would be like with chopped apple in them or even ginger hmmmm the possibilities.

So much for the clearing out of the freezer, he came home with a craving for burgers so bought mince and rolls. The meat I have out defrosting will be for pies tomorrow and the roast I had in the fridge for tomorrow has gone back in the freezer.

Budget Roast

Yesterday we bought a full rump for just $4.99 a kilo, all up it cost $28.00, at home I cut it into 4. 3 pieces are now tucked in the freezer and the other I popped in the slow cooker before leaving for work today.

Got home to a perfectly cooked roast with it's own gravy, I got the kids to prepare and cook the veggies. We ended up with a lovely meal that everyone raved about and with plenty of meat for lunches for work and school. All for around $10, great for the budget.


This recipe came from Simple Savings (see the link above).

Ingredients:
1.3kg roasting beef
2 tbsp gravy powder
1 crumbled beef stock cube (or 1 tsp stock powder)
1 cup water
2 tbsp cornflour . I used flour instead
1/2 cup red wine (optional)

Method:
Combine the gravy powder and stock with a little water and mix into a smooth
paste. Add the rest of the water and stir until smooth. Pour into slow
cooker. Place meat into slow cooker on top of liquid. Place lid on slow
cooker and turn on to 'low' setting.

Go back to bed, go to work, or find something else to do for 7 hours.

Turn the slow cooker off and pour the liquid into a big shallow container
like a roasting pan and put it in the fridge until the fat solidifies on the
top. This will take a while, so now is a good time to make the
roast/mashed potatoes/veg/etc.

Once the fat has solidified, scrape it off and bin it. Put the cornflour into
a saucepan and pour in about 1/2 cup of the meat juices, stir
into a smooth paste, then pour in the rest and stir over heat until it
thickens.

Slice the roast beef and place it into a shallow serving dish and pour the
gravy over the meat. Serve with all the other stuff you made to go with it.

I have made the gravy for the roast beef without refrigerating the liquid to
solidify the fat (usually because we were all too hungry to wait) and it has
made no appreciable difference to the taste (no greasy taste either) so if
you are really pressed for time or just can't be bothered you can skip it
altogether.

Need a budget.

We'll hear whether it's yay or nay on the car loan this afternoon, I now know why I've never personally gone for loan before, they make you jump through hoops. This will be our first brand spanking new car, in the past we have had second-hand ones but that's a gamble buying someone else's problems. We found out one car had to have under water at one stage. Our last car was almost new - it was a demo, was a few months old but only test driven, we had the cash to buy that at the time. But now 10 years later it's becoming a money drain, as soon as we have money saved, something goes wrong with it and we are forking out to fix it and then find that the worst problem hasn't been fixed.

We both need better paying jobs, I especially need one with reliable hours and less travelling time.

As well as working out a budget, we need to change how we grocery shop. At the moment my husband does much of it, he started when I was pregnant with our second child and found he enjoyed it. But I have a problem with how much junk he buys and then I usually have to head out to buy what I consider as esstentials. Got home yesterday to find there were chocolates, individual packs of biscuits and packaged popcorn in the pantry. This is after I told him not to buy them anymore because I will be baking more in future, he thinks they are essential for the kid's snacks. I had baked Snowballs the night before just for that reason. We waste food here left, right and centre and often buy takeaway. I've been pulling the reins in on the takeaways for myself lately - no more buying lunch from the expensive and only cafe near work and finding quick meals to cook up when I'm in a hurry. The main problem I have is when the kids and I head to the shops, as soon as we are through the door one of them mentions they are hungry. Then it's the husband, he goes out to soccer on Wednesday and Fridays, brings himself home burgers afterwards.

We both spend too much on non food related items, husband mostly spends on DVD, computer related, Cds and other recreational items. I spend on things I just have to have, craft items. I've started reining in on my purchases, I'll put those have to have items back, to think about for a while, either I'll not purchase or find it much cheaper elsewhere. Recently I picked up a beautiful tablecloth marked down to $24, didn't want it as a tablecloth but for the fabric. I carried it around the shop wondering what to use the fabric for, but eventually got tired of carrying it so put it back thinking I could just get it before leaving. I ended up purposely leaving without it and even though I have thought about it since but have decided against it.

The next Spring cleaning catagory has been announced at Beautiful 2 God, it's the master bath - WOO HOO, I already did mine as part of the master bedroom. I can relax this week or get started elsewhere. But I will be diligent about keeping the rooms already done up to scratch.

Snowballs recipe.
This is very much like Macroons but without the work and only has 2 ingredients. They would be great treat for those with egg allergies and intolorance.

3 cups desicated coconut
1 tin of condensed milk (395 ml)

Mix coconut and milk together, place on to baking trays in tablespoon sized heaps (smaller if you wish) and bake in a moderate oven for 10-12 minutes until golden.

They are delicious still warm from the oven, the outside is crisp and the inside moist. They do loose their crispness in storage but it is replaced by a lovely chewy texture.

Yoghurt and Butter Chicken Recipe

Pulled out the Easiyo last night to make some yogurt, kept it really simple by using UHT milk instead of heat treating milk, no dirty pans or extra heat in the kitchen. This morning I poured the runny yogurt into a cheesecloth lined strainer over a bowl and put the lot in the fridge. A couple of hours later I scraped the now thick and creamy yogurt out of the cheesecloth and put it into one of the small easiyo containers, had enough to fill it. There is a lot whey left, it's in the fridge I may freeze it for later use.

My son and I tried it, he had it plain and I had mine with a nectarine. It is delicious. Best I've ever made. I only read the tip of straining it through cheesecloth on the net last night to make it more like Greek yoghurt.

Used 1 litre of lowfat generic brand UHT Milk and 2 - 3 tablespoons of plain yoghurt. Milk was $1.19, carton of yoghurt $1.50. Used the rest of the yogurt in the recipe below.

My daughter and I love Butter Chicken, we usually buy it takeaway or use a bottled sauce but I've been wanting to try making it myself. It was very simple to do, just took time, it's not a last minute dish.

Butter Chicken

1.5kg chicken thigh fillets, trim fat and roughly chop
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
60g butter
410g can tomato puree (this is not the same as tomato paste!!)
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
1 cup cream


1. Combine chicken, spices and yoghurt together in a large bowl * I mixed the spices and yoghurt first then added the chicken combining until well coated. Refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours.

2 Melt half the butter in a large pan, add half the chicken mixture. Stir over heat until chicken is lightly browned. Remove from pan, set aside and repeat with remaining chicken.

3 Return all chicken to pan, then stir in tomato puree, stock cube and 1 cup water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. Add cream and stire over heat without boiling until heated through. Serve with rice.

Happy Australia Day

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I made Passata tonight, found the link through Towards Sustainability, a great blog that I really enjoy reading. I had a false start with the recipe a few days ago, but burnt the tomatoes because I didn't pay attention to them. Had to buy more tomatoes today. Going to make a simple pasta dish with the passata tomorrow to take on our annual Australia Day picnic at a local reserve.

Australia Day commemorates the day the First Fleet first settled in Sydney Cove, our family event isn't that old. It started several years ago when along with David's mother, brother and sister-in-law we decided that we would spend the day at Parramatta Park starting with watching hot air balloons. We got there around 6am, watched the balloons for a while then decided to set up our picnic area. Wasn't long before the Sun became relentless so we started to put up a shelter only to be told that we weren't allowed to do that in the park. There was no way we were going to subject ourselves to the possibility of sunburn so we made the decision to head home, but on the way to the cars we decided to try a nature reserve right at the end of our street. We got there about 8 but didn't have the pick of the main covered picnic areas because they had reserved signs on them so we set up our covers, put a few tables together and invited other family members to join us. About 10am we noticed the ranger removing the reserved signs and were told that if the areas aren't claimed by 10 they were anyone's. We were happy with our site so didn't worry about moving, but noticed that the park was virtually empty. We had a great day, BBQ lunch, playing cricket, watching the Blacksmith before heading home for a nap and heading off to watch a free concert and fireworks at another park. It's now a tradition, hopefully one that will go on. The park is run by local council but their lease is up and state government want to take it over, there is talk of an entry fee as well as booking fees, hopefully that won't happen. We love that it is such a low budget day.

I wanted to share a great blog Eclectic Culture Farm I discovered today, it's making for interesting reading. It's about a family who are living without electricity (by choice) in an Amish community. I wondered if I could live without power, maybe I could but I doubt my family would - whatever would they do without their games consules? But then what would I do without my laptop, sewing machine and being able to sit up at night - I know a great way to save power would be to go to bed early but I get so much done when the house cools down at night.

Happy Australia Day

From Scratch: Easy Quche and dishwasher powder.

Last week .Rhonda Jean wrote a post about the best fast from scratch meals, perfect for those days when you don't feel like cooking. Today was just one of those days for me (I have many of them). I found this recipe over at Best Recipes which fit the bill exactly. In less than 10 minutes it was in the oven. Vegies could be added to it but I only added bacon ( trimmed and chopped 4 rashers) that I fried for a few moments to melt off the remaining fat. This got a definite thumbs up from my family. Even though we had it hot, I had Thomas put together a quick salad.

Easy Quiche

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter or marg, melted
1/2 cup of Self raising flour.
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
2 cups of filling of choice.

Preheat oven to 180 oC
Whisk eggs, milk, butter, flour together until well combined. Fold in cheese and fillings.

Pour into 24 cm quiche dish and bake for 40 minutes or until set.

Can be eaten hot with vegies or cold with salad

I finally got down to my last dishwasher tablets so I tried out a recipe I found at Towards Sustainability. I've been really pleased with it and even tried firmly pushing a dose into a small medicine cup to see if it would hold together as an tablet. So far the couple I made have stayed together, this way they would be easy for the kids to put in, instead of over or under dosing.

Dishwasher Powder

1 cup Borax
1 cup bi-carb soda (baking soda)
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid
30 drops citrus essential oil (I used lemon)

Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight plastic container. Use 1 tablespoon at a time.