Homemade Microwave Popcorn

My daughter who is seven was hungry after school yesterday. I had a bag of popcorn, because although it looks unapetising in the bag, is very cheap. We found our recipe for microwaving the popcorn, I asked her to use a glass bowl with a plate over it. It was too hot, but a sister or brother helped put it into another bowl so she could eat it, with her favourite thing, icing sugar.

It comes from one of my favourite recipe books Microwave Cooking for Babies & Toddlers, which I think has been rereleased, by Virginia Hill.

1/4 metric cup popcorn
1 metric teaspoon water

Place corn and water into whatever you are using. Cover. Microwave on high for 5-5 1/2 minutes. Remove when popping has finished. Be careful as the bowl/jug will be hot. Variation toss through 100s and 1000s or nonpareils .

Get Comfortable with Being Alone

This is the same title as a post I read at My Simpler Life. I typed in something like Simple Living in my Google reader in Browse for Stuff and found it there. The post talks about solitude, and a book the author read that suggests an a-z of being alone. Here is my A-Z. Years ago before we moved house the first time, I regularly had a bath while my husband did his correction for his job, an activity he did after the kids went to bed. I also loved just thinking, and looking out the window in my bedroom in the next house. The thinking was great, I always thought up things to help the kids that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't sitting still. My Grandfather spent lovely time sitting on a fold up chair in his shed looking out into the garden. I have felt the loss of my old deckchair, have you seen the price of new ones? You can also do this in one way with little kids while supervising if they are playing in the garden under a tree, I suppose it qualifies if they are fully engaged with playing with each other.

A - Alone
B - Bath
C - Chair
D - Dog
E - Enjoying
F - Feeling the breeze or the sun
G - Garden
H - Hearing
I - Independence
J - Joy
K - Knitting
L - Listening
M - Meandering around the garden
N - Nature
O - Observing
P - Paging through magazines
Q - Quiet
R - Revive
S - Sleep
T - Thinking
U - Unstructured
V - View
W - Water
X -hale
Y - Yoghurt
Z - Zinnias

Baking with Lemons

Please visit Spades and Spoons. Paola has been baking with lemons, so I decided to post my Mum's recipe that has lemon icing.

Chinese Chew

1 large cup self-rising flour

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1/2 large cup chopped walnuts

1 large cup chopped dates

1/2 cup sugar

1/4lb butter

Combine all ingredients, beat eggs and add to melted butter. Mix all together. Bake in flat tin 20 mins. Ice with lemon icing.

I found a recipe in an old scrapbook of mine.

Lemon Icing

1 cup icing sugar/powdered sugar
1 tab lemon juice
2 teas water
2 teas butter

Sift icing sugar into bowl. Add melted butter, water, lemon juice, mix until smooth.

Be Yourself

Pea & Ham Soup with Kranskys & Brussels Sprouts

Image source

This recipe is originally from p150 of some unknown Australian Home Beautiful magazine. Anyone who has read by menus for awhile knows it is a staple at this house.

It is adaptable but we haven't adapted it. Something to think about in the future. We are a family of six, we use the cans that you add water too, and add one kransky per person, though that is probably slightly too much. We use about 200g brussels sprouts, and call it green soup, and don't add garnishes.

Split Pea, Sausage and Brussels Sprout Soup

Serves 4

150-200g cooked sausage such as globassi, continental frankfurts or kransky
30g butter
Few fresh basil leaves or pinch dried basil
2 x 510g cans ready to serve homestyle pea and ham soup
8 small brussels sprouts, shredded
Sour cream and chives, to garnish.

Cut sausage diagonally into thick slices. Heat butter with basil in a saucepan over moderate heat and cook sausage until golden.

Add the soup and stir until smooth, adding up to 1/2 cup water, if needed, for consistency.

Add brussels sprouts and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are tender.

Ladle into warmed bowls, garnish without sour cream and chives and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Variations: Soup can be replaced with leek and potato soup, tomato or pumpkin soup. Instead of sausage use leftover cooked chicken, canned salmon or boneless fish fillets - even canned chickpeas for a vegetarian version. Instead of sprouts, try diced tomatoes, shredded cabbage or canned kernel corn.

For a homemade version I came across this recipe for Pea, Ham & Sausage Soup.

I found a recipe on the Simply Great Meals site that is no longer there, tucked behind my usual recipe (below). It is not unlike this recipe that includes kale or Italian cabbage. Other recipes of interest are Brussels Sprouts & Potato Soup and Brussels Sprout & Sausage Soup where you can get an idea what our soup looks like with the sausages in it.

Sausage, Bean and Brussels Sprout Soup

Serves 4

1 tab oil
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
4 kransky sausages, sliced diagonally
6 cups liquid vegetable stock
140g tub Leggos tomato paste
500g packet frozen Brids Eye Brussels Sprouts
300g can Edgell Butter Beans, undrained

Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion, celery, carrot and sausages and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in stock, tomato paste, frozen brussels sprouts and butter beans. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve soup with warmed crusty bread.

Add 1 teaspoon finely chopped chilli or a little Tabasco sauce in step 2 for a spicy kick.

My favourite You Are What You Eat episode

I like it because I had so much compassion for this lady who didn't know the names of the vegetables, which apparently is common.



part 2 & 3 are on youtube. The lady's friend writes the names on the vegetables for her.

Coles Fare

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This menu is really taking it's time taking shape. I have the main ingredients worked out. I got my groceries from Coles as I had to go into the regional centre. The weisswurst and dim sim wrappers I had collected beforehand locally, and the cooked chicken.

Tuesday from last post: Tuna & Mushroom Spaghetti
Wednesday from last post: something with cooked chicken, changed it to Lemon Paella

Thursday ~ Spicy Kumara & Beans
Friday ~ Chicken wraps for two, spur of the moment, though I did think about it as I knew there were be only two of us
Saturday ~ Pies, Chips & Peas
Sunday ~ Weisswurst
Monday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday ~ Curried Mince & Vegies
Wednesday ~ Sausage Casserole
Thursday ~ Pork & Ginger Dumplings
Friday ~ Pork Mince & Brussels Sprouts
Saturday ~ Italian Sausage Fettucine
Sunday ~ Lamb Sausage Pilaf
Monday ~ Lamb Chops & Greek Salad
Tuesday ~ Turkey Mince as Turkey & Cranberry Burger
Wednesday ~ Beef Sausages as Mediterranean Hot Dogs

Baking: Jam Doughnut Muffins

Gardens in the Street

I was reading a post about the roadside plantings in Tennessee. I agree they are beautiful. I know a town that has extra little bulbs and annuals and things in the street plantings. It is beautiful sometimes. This particular garden had gorgeous nerines under the gum tree last autumn, and this is the winter version.

Stinging Nettles

I was driving around a large sheep farming area on Thursday, and I'm sure I had my chance to pick some stinging nettles. Usually they are under a tree as they are on sheep farms. I should know I grew up one one. But these were on the roadside, maybe the soil washes there. It is a time of year where they are lush. I also remember what stinging nettles look like. I probably had gloves in the car and a bag, but as always, having another 2 hours or less to drive dampened my enthusiasm. I wonder if I will be going by next year?

My Mum had some sheep a few years ago before she moved into town again. We had some soil from there in pots and some plants came up, but we weeded them then thought better of it. The last little plant we didn't look after.

I couldn't choose which photo to publish with it. Not sure if they are the same the world over. Have a look at these fantastic photos.

Weisswurst Adventures

I think I have cooked my goose this time. I have bought two packets of Weisswurst, that confirms I am definitely living in a German area, and have found no recipes to make them into something. I know you are not supposed to do that, but that is what I want to do. I went to the shop for milk and bread. Our freezer is still at the new house, so we don't have bread stocked up as usual. Saw the Weisswurst and bought it. Always on the lookout for meat.


Main Dish:
How To Cook And Eat Bavarian White Sausages

I feel like I shouldn't ruin a good weisswurst and perhaps should make these pretzels, or ask the family to take it on. Maybe even buy the mustard.

Spicy Kumara (or Pumpkin) & Beans

This is a recipe I use for pumpkin and kumara or orange sweet potato. I have heard of another color they sell here, have no idea about that one. The kids often get tricked as the pumpkin and sweet potato look the same. I hope my picture is not offensive. I have made a pumpkin pie from a friend from MN recipe, I am wondering now about sweet potato pie. It must taste really nice as well. Do you use the same spice for it?

This is a favourite standby recipe, and a cheap recipe that we have used often since I found it in a magazine. I didn't really have much experience cooking kumara at that point. We just buy about a 1kg or 2lb of kumara and put it in the pantry and it sits there until we are ready to use it, or the pantry challenges kick in.

Spicy Kumara & Beans

Serves 4

1kg (2lb) kumara or sweet potato, halved and cut into lengths or pumpkin may be used if preferred (we use whatever we have)
2 tablespoons 40ml or nearly 3 US tablespoons olive oil
1 red capsicum/bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 US tablespoon or 15ml red curry paste (we keep it in a jar in the fridge indefinitely)
400g can diced tomatoes or 13oz
400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup (125ml) (US cups are 200ml) vegetable stock
50g or nearly 2oz baby spinach leaves (English spinach not chard)
rice and tzatsiki, to serve (we don't usually bother, not necessary)

Preheat oven to 200oC, (180oC is 350oF). Toss kumara in a baking pan with half of oil. Bake for 20-30 mins, until tender.

Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute capsicum, onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until tender. Stir in red curry paste and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans and vegetable stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Add kumara and baby spinach. Season to taste. Serve with rice and tzatziki.

Adapted from recipe from Australian Table August 2005.

Other Table recipes here.

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