How to do a Tim Tam Slam

Look! They're in the US.

A special treat we have been sharing with our American friends are the Australian biscuit (cookie) Tim Tam. This is a milk chocolate covered cream filled malt cookie sandwich. It is great on its own but its special qualities of real milk chocolate and meltiness make it perfect for a special activity.
The Tim Tam Slam.
The basic steps are to have a delightful hot drink of coffee, hot chocolate or tea in front of you. Then take a small bite out of opposite corners of the Tim Tam. Then, using the Tim Tam as a straw, suck up your drink through the Tim Tam "straw".

A gooey, sticky, chocolatey mess. Yum!

This process quickly melts the chocolatey cream filling as well as the chocolate on the outside.  Quickly, before the biscuit (cookie) falls apart, you shove the slowly disintegrating taste sensation into your mouth.
Yum.
And a little messy as you lick your fingers so as not to waste any of the chocolate.

Now normally this would be a rare treat in the US as Tim Tams are uniquely Australian. You can imagine the excitement when we discovered that Tim Tams are now available in Walmart Supercenters!

Drink the coffee through the Tim Tam Straw

Father and Son teams are OK too.

We transported across the planet a special cooler bag with eight packets of Tim Tams to share with our friends. These were carefully carried through customs and scanning at each airport and stored in safe places on the airplanes. These 8 packets of goodness were unveiled with ceremony as we shared them with our friends.

Next time we'll just get them from Walmart.

Go to Aisle A.19. Don't walk.

David's Easy Muesli Bars

Too tempting not to try

This tasty treat is based on a recipe found somewhere and perfected with endless experiments and taste tests. It only takes about 15 minutes to make, let cool and then cut into slices.  The recipe is very forgiving.  Throw in whatever is on hand that sounds nice and then glue it together with the goo.
Easy Peasy.

Ingredients

Dry Bits
1 cup toasted muesli or rolled oats
3 cups Rice Bubbles/Rice Krispies
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup Dried fruit bits (we throw in even more)

Goo mix
125g (4.5oz) butter
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar (normal or raw sugar)

• Chuck all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
• Melt goo mix in saucepan.
• Bring to boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes until the goo is caramel like.  The longer you simmer, the chewier it gets.  Just don't let it burn on the bottom of the pan.
• Throw gooey stuff into the bowl and mix thoroughly, ensuring everything gets well gooed.
• Press into greased (or non stick) lamington tin (20  x 30cm/8in x 12in)  and refrigerate.
• Pretty soon it can be cut into bars. A tray should make about 36 bars.

Options:
• Use Tropical muesli to get a wide variety of fruits and stuff.
• Add in finely cut apricots, dried apples and currants/sultanas for added chew. We usually add about 1 to 2 cups of various fruit medley, etc.
• Use more honey and peanut butter for extra chew.

Preparing Dinner for today and tomorrow

Many hands make dinner work

As a family we enjoy the taste of home made crumbed chicken.  Remembering the story of the little red hen and the making of her bread, everyone gets to help.
Lana chops up dried bread in the food processor and then we mix in some pepper and basil and if - we feel up to it - grated lemon rind.  The children then line up for the manufacturing process.
Lana slices the chicken breast into thin pieces.
This goes to Zach (4) who coats it in plain (general purpose) flour.
Clare (13) then dunks it in an egg and milk mixture.
Martin (6) then coats the wet thing in the bread crumb mixture and adds it to the pile.
Meanwhile, Rose (9) and Peter (15) washed and cut up the potatoes that had been peeled by Clare.  Rose cut and peeled the carrots.
Once the potatoes, carrots and peas are boiled, Ariel (22) will assist with the frying of the chicken schnitzels in the electric fry pan.  James (17) and Peter will then help set the table that has been cleared by the other children.
After dinner, James and Peter will do the washup, with the younger ones filling or emptying the dishwasher as required.
So when people ask us "How do you cook for so many?" we can simply answer, "Together".
This really works well because we have the lifestyle that homeschooling allows.  We have no school homework or incessant "extra-curricular" activities to interrupt these life skills.
I think I will record this as today's "Home Economics" lesson.

Lana's Award Winning Muffins

Selling like hot ... muffins.

Once more Lana has been awarded 1st place for her muffins at the local agricultural show.  These shows are like Farm shows, State Fairs, 4H fairs and so on with livestock and produce competitions and the pavilion containing crafts, art, cooking and so on.
We sell the muffins each weekend at our shop and they are easy to make.  It takes a half awake Lana about 45 minutes to make from start to out of the oven and out the door.
They are moist muffins that don't need a drink to wash them down.  They taste just fine as they are.
This is a very forgiving recipe.
Perfect for Lent.

Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 12 large muffins (pictured) or 20 regular sized patty pan/cup cakes.

Ingredients:
125g butter (1/2 cup), softened
250g cream cheese (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups (330g) sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted
300g Raspberries (1 1/2 cups)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 12 jumbo muffin pans with paper cases.
Place the butter, cream cheese and sugar in the bowl. Mix with beater until pale.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.
Add the vanilla and fold in the flour and a pinch of salt.
Dust the fruit with a little extra flour then stir through the mixture.
Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Easy.
They taste great just out of the oven and over the next few days are even better as the flavour spreads through them.
Options include - 
Mixing chopped/sliced strawberries and raspberries.
Raspberries and white chocolate bits (except during Lent).

A trifle into Defcon 4

Martin has just made it into Defcon 4. He has begun climbing chairs (but hasn't yet worked out he can move them), opens cupboards and runs with items that NEED relocating.
Here he is pointing out a tasty target of interest - a huge trifle. A trifle is the best way to use stale cake.
Start with a butter or sponge cake and chop it into about 2" squares. (Accuracy here is not important)
Place them decoratively around the inside of a bowl - glass is better because all the children can look in awe at the yummy contents.
Pour fruit juice over the cake so it soaks in nicely. Place this in the fridge while you make some jelly (Jello) in a  slightly stronger mix than usual. Let it set, then chop it up and throw into the middle of the bowl amongst the soaked cake, or pour it in partly set so it mixes up.  Then throw in some tinned fruit too.
Make up some custard (or pudding) and pour over the top so that it fills all the gaps.
Then you can make it pretty with a bit of cream and fruit on the top.
Refrigerate so it's all cool and serve with ice-cream (of course)
Very yummy.

Oh yes - an important safety tip: Keep chairs away from the bench so that little children don't stick their fingers in.

Family Meal Economics

We are often asked, "How much does it cost to feed all those kids?"
I have kept accurate records of our family finances for over the last ten years and know that our costs have actually matched inflation, even though our family has grown faster than inflation. (Inflation is around 3% per year) We spend around $1,100 (US $880) per month on all grocery shopping, food, cleaning products and whatever we get from the supermarket.
The reason I am revisting this topic is Lana was concerned how much we were spending as she made today's lunch of Vegetarian Meat Lasagne. (This is one of our classic Vegetarians For a Free Choice recipes).
"I was just concerned when I demolished my 4th pack of Lasagne sheets and saw all the empty packs surrounding me," Lana explained.
As you can see by the photo, Lana bakes in quantity! The dish is 37cm x 28cm (15" x 11.5") and the pot is correspondingly large. The resulting dish actually makes dinner for two meals. It incorporates over 3 packs of Lasagne sheets, 1 kg (2 lbs) mince, 1kg cheese, about 2 kg of vegetables and other bits and pieces. Total ingredient costs are about $30.00 ($24.00 USD) which equates to about $15 a meal for 8 people, or around $2.00 ($1.60 US) a person.
For comparison of bought food for the same price, this would equate to about 1.5 pieces of pizza, half a fried fish or half a meat pie.
Once I had calculated the numbers Lana felt that maybe it was all worthwhile after all.

Mmmmm Cheesecake

Today's special Christmas delights included Pavlova and individual strawberry cheesecakes. With ice-cream and cream of course. The Pavlova recipe is posted previously and here is the cheesecake recipe.
Base
240 - 250gm(1 cup/8 oz) Chocolate flavoured biscuits (like Golliwog/Scallywag biscuits in Australia, or chocolate flavoured Tiny Teddies or Teddy Grahams)
125gm (4 oz) melted butter

Mix the melted butter and crushed biscuits/cookies and press into the tray or pan. The base can be either a Lamington tray (9" x 13") or individual muffin pans. This made 28 individual cheesecakes.

Main Part
750gm (240 oz) Cream Cheese (3 packs)
1 cup sugar
600ml (2.5 US cups) cream (thickened or heavy whipping)
3 tablespoons gelatine
1.5 cups mashed fruit (strawberries, mangoes, whatever)

Beat the cream, sugar and cream cheese together.
Dissolve gelatine in half cup hot water and add to cream cheese.
Fold in mashed fruit.
Let it set in the fridge. It sets fairly firm and can be sliced easily. For fullest flavour serve at room temperature.

We obtained this recipe from a friend who made Mango cheesecake for a restaurant. In the photo, we are showing the individual cheesecakes decorated with a dollop of cream and sliced strawberry. Rose is just making sure all is going according to plan.

I forgot the fudge recipe

ALmost a year ago we posted our recipe for Unforgettable Fudge. This weekend Ariel made a batch (with some help from Lana) and I brought along a sample to the client Ariel has been assisting the last few weeks.
Amidst the expressions of delight I was asked about the recipe.
"It's on Bruggietales," I replied and then found that I had forgotten to include it in our recipe list! Oops.
So, the "Unforgettable Fudge" was forgotten. But it is now remembered and placed in Lana's Recipes on the left.

Caramel Slice

Caramel Slice
This is a party favourite and is a speciality of Ariel's friend (known as TTTT). TTTT claims that you cannot be a member of her cooking club until you have burnt the base or caramel filling. Ariel will have to wait until next time to see if she qualifies, as this one went just right.

Base
2 Cups Self Raising flour
1 Cup Pressed Brown Sugar
2 Cups Coconut
250g Melted/8 oz Butter

Place all ingredients in bowl and mix. Press into a lamington tray and bake for 10 minutes at 375 F (190 C).

Filling
2 Tins Condensed Milk
4 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
60 Grams/2 Oz Butter

Place in saucepan and cook until it bubbles then spread on slice. Cook for further 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Topping
Melt 250 grams/8 oz of chocolate then spread on caramel slice. Then put in fridge until solid.

This is a double recipe and makes plenty to share. All the broken and remainders after sharing go to Dad.

Pecan Slice

This is a simple recipe that makes a very tasty slice we obtained from one our US parish friends. This was also known as "fatty cake" or "Cornbread cake". When we asked why it was called cornbread cake - as the ingredients were nothing like cornbread - we were told it was because you mix it like cornbread! Just thrown in the ingredients and stir.
Pecan Slice
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Cooking Oil or Melted Butter
4 Eggs
1.5 Cups Self Raising Flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
1 Cup Choped Pecans
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
Pour in to a lamington (9x13) tray.
Bake at 180C (350F) for 35 to 40 minutes.
(By the way, here is Rose doing her recipe modelling. The best thing is she can eat the samples!)

Brownies that count

Today Peter had fun Maths work. He made brownies from the recipe in his Saxon Maths book.
With a little help from one of our South Georgia friends, we worked out that a "square" of unsweetened chocolate is actually a 2 inch square. To us a square of chocolate is pictured here in front of the plate of brownies. Phew. Lucky we had someone to translate.

Ingredients:
2 x 2in (5cm) squares chocolate (80gm/3oz)
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Melt chocolate and butter.
Beat the eggs and add sugar.
Add the chocolate and butter and beat.
Add flour and baking powder and beat.
Add vanilla.
Bake in greased 8" (20cm) dish
Bake at 300F (150C) for 55 minutes (Don't preheat the oven)

Peter did very well and the brownies are chewy, tasty and probably not low fat. We doubled the recipe and it worked fine in a 9" x 13" tray (Lamington tray). And we ignored the walnuts in the recipe.

Pumpkin Damper

Yesterday we were treated to very tasty Pumpkin Damper. Normally damper can be a bit dry, but this recipe using pumpkin results in a delightful treat. And the best thing? You can't even taste the pumpkin!

Ingredients:
375 gm (13 oz) Pumpkin (skinned and cubed)
1 egg lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2.5 cups Self Raising Flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
3 tblspn Butter
1 cup sultanas (or raisins, chopped apricots)

Method:
Nuke (microwave) or cook pumpkin and mash. Let cool.
Stir in the egg, milk and sugar.
Sift flour, cinnamon and salt into a bowl.
Rub butter in to flour (although Lana just threw it in with the pumpkin mix and it still worked)
Add fruit and pumpkin mix.
Make sure it mixes really well as it will be too sticky to knead. Press onto a cooking tray about an inch (2 cm) thick. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can even be creative and mark it with lines or pictures.

Bake at 200C (400F) for about 20 - 25 minutes until Golden Brown.
It should sound hollow when tapped.
Serve hot or cold. Especially nice with butter!

Bonfire Damper

Lana drips in butter and syrup while Rose waits.

Damper is a simple unleavened bread made by the early settlers and is cooked over a fire. Lana used to do this when she was a child, and we are passing on the tradition.
You get the damper mix and wrap it around a stick of about a finger's thickness. Cook it over the hot embers so it cooks and doesn't burn. When done, pry it carefully off the stick and fill with butter and Golden Syrup. In the US Molasses or honey or Sorghum Syrup would probably do the trick too.
Eat it outside as the butter and syrup melt and go everywhere. Finger lickin' good!
We based this recipe on one from Global Gourmet.

Damper

* 2 cups self-raising flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3/4 cup milk

Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Cut the butter into the dry mixture. Add milk to make a soft dough. Knead lightly on floured board until smooth. Shape into round loaf. If using for bonfire damper, cut into smaller bitys which would wrap nicely on a stick.
If you want to make a loaf, brush with milk, and bake at 375 F/190C for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf makes a hollow sound when tapped.

Passionfruit Slice

Approved by Rose
This is a recipe we were unable to make in the US as several of the key ingredients were not available.
The passionfruit and custard topping makes a tart and sweet taste sensation. The middle and base also complement the topping making a very tasty slice. A definite winner at parties.

Base
1/2 cup Plain (All Purpose) flour
1/2 cup Self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (melted)

Filling
125g Copha (melted) (solidified coconut oil. Unavailable in the US.)
400g/1 tin Condensed Milk
3 teaspoons gelatine
1/2 cup lemon juice

Topping
1 1/2 tablespoons custard powder (similar to pudding - unavailable in the US)
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatine
1/3 cup passionfruit pulp (4) (Hard to find in the US)

Base
• Grease 20 x 30cm (8in x 12in) pan
• Combine flour and sugar
• Stir in butter
• Press in pan
• Bake in moderate oven for 12 minutes
• Cool (man)

Filling
• Beat Copha senseless with condensed milk using electric mixer
• Dissolve gelatine in lemon juice in cup over saucepan of boiling water.
• Stir until dissolved.
• Add gelatine goo to condensed milk and mix well
• Pour over base in pan

Topping
• Blend custard powder with sugar in 3/4 cup water in a bowl.
• Dissolve gelatine in remaining water in cup over saucepan of boiling water.
• Add gelatine goo to custard powder and stir over low heat until thick.
• Cool slightly (a bit) and add passionfruit.
• Pour over filling in pan
• Keep away from Rose until you are ready to serve.

Hot Cross Buns

We carry on a Tradition started by my parents of eating home made Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. As Good Friday is a day of fast, this is all we eat, but it makes a very tasty meal after a long day at Church.
We use a basic Raisin Loaf recipe in the bread machine using the raisin dough setting, let it rise, apply the flour-water-sugar crosses and bake. A glaze is applied as they are taken out of the oven and served hot, split and spread with butter.

Simple Scones

Scones. Perfect for morning tea.This is the recipe for the Robertson Show award winning scones. They are sweeter than "biscuits" in the US and are traditionally served with jam and cream.

Ingredients
4 cups Self Raising flour
1 pinch salt
1 cup lemonade (US: lemon lime soda/Sprite/etc)
1 cup Thickened cream (US: Heavy whipping cream)

Method
Plonk the lot in a bowl, dry ingredients followed by wet.
Mix with a knife.
Roll out about an inch (2.5cm) thick and using circular cutter or small cup place individual scones on prepared tray.
Bake at 200C (390F) until light brown on top.

If putting scones in a show, keep away from little children who like poking fingers in the middle of each scone. (Weight Watchers Points: 2 each)

Apple Raisin Oatmeal Bikkies

We were given this recipe by some of our American friends. It is one recipe we don't have to multiply as it makes a HUGE load of biscuits/cookies. Apparently trying to reduce the recipe doesn't work. This picture shows about half the total! But they will last long enough for a few days of hungry children.
You will need a LARGE bowl for mixing.

Ingredients & Method:
Cream together the following:
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 6 sticks butter (3 cups!)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup apple sauce

Then add these to the creamed mix:
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 cups Plain/all purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder

Blend/mix in the following:
- 12 cups oatmeal (Not quick cooking oats)
- 1 lb. (500 gm) raisins

Cook at around 350F/180C till they are golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes)

Options:
Use sultanas/golden raisins, choc chips, dried fruit, whatever.
Very tasty.
Probably NOT a Weight Watchers recipe.
(Lana has just reminded me - we need more butter.)

Mum's Magic Muffins

These muffins are very yummy.
Based on a recipe by Australian Dairy Corporation ruthlessly experimented with by Lana's Mum.

Makes 12 muffin size muffins. (We always double the mixture)

Mum's Magic Muffins - Banana and Sultanas
Ingredients
Core structure
1.5 cups self raising flour (no need to sift)
1 egg (no need to separate)
1 cup of yoghurt (any flavour)

Extras
Any two of the following:
grated apple (or can of pie apple)
mashed banana
grated pear
cup of boiled dates (no need to chop)
cup of sultanas or raisins

Spices, etc (optional)
Cinnamon
Ginger
Probably not garlic

Method (in her madness)
Combine flour and optional spices, make hole in centre, add egg and yoghurt - in fact you can just add everything in one heap and then stir (don’t shake). (No beating - be gentle)
Bake at 180C to 200C (350F to 400F) for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
The end result should be of a bouncy consistency and taste really nice either warm or cold. Can be frozen, too.

Note: No butter, sugar or salt is in this muffin, yet it still tastes yummy without any modern guilt trips.

Proven combinations:
Apple and sultana and cinnamon
Apple and pear
Banana and dates
Dates and ginger
Apple, pear and sultanas
In fact, any mixture will probably be fine.

Unforgettable Fudge

We obtained this recipe from family friends in Melbourne and it makes marvellous creamy fudge. I tried getting a photo of the fudge alone but those hands couldn't stop!

Ingredients:
500g (16 oz) Milk Chocolate (*)
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
50g (2 tblsp) butter (**)
125g (1/2 cup) peanut butter

Method:
Put the lot in a saucepan and stir over low heat until it all melts and then place into lined tray. Once set in the fridge cut into small squares and stand back.
You can add in sultanas or raisins and crunchy peanut butter (as we did for the batch in the photo).

(*) Chocolate - In Australia Cadbury's works a treat. In the US you could use Hershey's (we wouldn't) but you would be better using the Sam's Club Belgian chocolate ($1 a bar at Walmart when we were there last).
(**) shortening and margarine are NOT alternatives. This works much better with real butter.

Molasses Ginger Biscuits/cookies

Lana noticed this recipe on one of the Cross stitch groups and gave it a go yesterday. We doubled the recipe and it made about 6 dozen or more biscuits/Cookies. Very tasty.

Wet Ingredients:
2/3 cup veg oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg (well beaten)
1/4 cup molasses (Treacle in Aust)

Sift together flour mixture
2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda (Bicarb Soda in Aust)

Add flour mixture gradually to wet ingredients
Use a teaspoon per cookie/biscuit, roll into a ball and dip into sugar and place about an inch (2.5 cm) or so apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350F/180C for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Try 8 or so minutes for soft chewy cookies.....

By Angela from Lana's Cross Stitch group