S'mores and more ...

Before moving to the UK I was fortunate enough to work in a Summer Camp in America two years running. It was hard work, mixed with lots memories like when we shared a platform tent with a skunk and the swimming pool with a snake one morning but I also made some of my strongest friendships while I was there, camp is very much a ying and yang type experience and at the end of the day I wouldn't change any of it for a second!

One experience I was really looking forward to was the all American campfire complete with S'mores. I confess my first experience was a huge disappointment. Hershey's chocolate is an acquired taste, not the milky-creamy-melt-in-your-mouth-sweet chocolate I was used to - although I did develop my fondness for cookies and cream Hershey bars at this time, oh the shame! And continuing in this vein Graham Crackers didn't really do it for me either, it may have been the texture, not sure. But the marshmallows in America are amazing, HUGE fluffy things that positively goo all over your hands and face when biting into said S'more.

So I was resigned to the fact after two summer's worth of S'mores that the two of us just weren't designed for each other but then Donna Hay came to my rescue. Thank you Donna! These are amazing, moreish, addictive - you get the gist?

Chocolate and Oat S'mores

125g butter, softened

220g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 egg

225g plain flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted

100g dark chocolate chips

100g milk /white chocolate chips

30g rolled oats

20 pieces of dark chocolate

20 marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the flour and baking powder and beat until just combined. Fold through the chocolate chips and rolled oats. Roll tablespoons of the mixture and place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, leaving space between them to spread. Flatten slightly and bake for 10-12 mins or until golden. Cool on trays.

To assemble, place the biscuits bottom side up on a tray. Top half with a piece of chocolate and the other half with a marshmallow. bake until the chocolate and marshmallows are starting to melt. Sandwich the halves together and serve.

Makes 20

Taken from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 39

When the girls got these in their hampers I had used a snowflake chocolate mould to shape white chocolate for the S'mores. As it is meant to be 'summer' snowflakes won't do for today so I've made chocolate bark, hope it works!

Barefoot Contessa's French Chocolate Bark

270g white chocolate, broken into squares

225g white chocolate, finely chopped

150g whole roasted, salted cashews

160g dried apricots, chopped

70g dried cranberries

Melt the first portion of chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When melted, add the finely chopped chocolate top temper.

Meanwhile, line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 x 10 inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper face down on the baking sheet.

Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots and cranberries over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark into 24 pieces and serve at room temp (or to accompany S'mores!)

Makes 24

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Recipe

I found that the fruit and nut topping has overwhelmed the chocolate base, and I didn't even put it all on. Next time I'll reduce the topping quantities by half I think.

Chicken, Chorizo and Tomato Paella

In our house every Tuesday Night is Paella Night. If Hubby was asked to list has favourite meals, this one would be in the top 5, and he's not easy to please when it comes to food! He plays 5-a-side every Tuesday night with the boys from work so Tuesday night is the one night of the week I get control of the TV remote and can catch up on all my Sky+ viewing from the week before. Because this recipe is so full proof (Donna Hay is to me what Nigella and Delia are to everyone else) I can throw it together and let it bubble away while I relax.

This recipe is as familiar to me as the back of my hand these days and I've found you can pretty much get away with adding or omitting whatever you like, pasta in place of the rice works really well and if you've forgotten to defrost the chicken (ahem) its just as nice with the chorizo only. I haven't been able to track down fresh oregano anywhere here so I use the dried variety. The chorizo needs to be good quality as the flavour really makes an impact when its soaked up by the rice as it cooks, when we can we get the real macoy from a great little deli in Leith.

Chicken, Chorizo and Tomato Paella

1 tbsp olive oil (I use fry lite)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp paprika (probably closer to 1 and a bit tsp goes into mine but I use the sweet variety, if the chorizo is the real deal the hot paprika can kill the dish)
200g chorizo, sliced
400g chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
400g can diced tomatoes
500ml chicken stock
A good sprinkling dried oregano (or 1/2 cup fresh leaves)
2 cups baby spinach leaves

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the onion, garlic, paprika, chorizo and chicken and cook for 5-10 mins, until golden. Add the rice and tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the stock, reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 15 mins, or until rice is cooked. Stir through the oregano and spinach.

Serves 4 - if you are lucky!
Taken from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials: Chicken

Sticky Five Spice Chicken with Chilli Slaw

We have welcomed two new additions to our family this week.  Yep - TWINS!  While we had been expecting the imminent arrival of Bessie for sometime, I don't mind telling you that Betsy was a little bit of a surprise.  Bessie arrived first;

Isn't she sweet!?!?!  I know - she isn't a real baby, but she is my long awaited KitchenAid Food Processor.  My old food processor (a Kenwood) served me well for a few years but he decided to pop his clogs on Christmas Eve and we've been saving ever since for Bessie. 

The shock addition, Little Betsy (the KitchenAid Blender) is currently in the dishwasher awaiting her very first bath and didn't want any nudie type baby pictures appearing on the Internet thank you very much.  We'll get a photo of the shy little thing when she least expects it though.  As Ken was both a food processor and a blender, his departure from our lives left some big shoes to fill.  Thankfully the retailers are all having sales at the moment so we managed to pick up Betsy for a bit of a song (not a whole song mind!) and she joined our family a couple of days after Bessie.

Big Bertha (the KitchenAid Mixer) is pleased as punch to be a big sister and seems to be sharing her cupboard space well, although a bit of rejigging is required for a comfortable fit.  I wouldn't say it loud enough for Bessie to hear but she is a bit wide around the girth!

So tonight was the night that Bessie got her first proper workout, she helped me make Chilli Slaw to accompany dinner and then also helped with making dessert.  She managed shred cabbage and grate carrots with the minimum of fuss and she is so quite compared to Ken, but of course girls are always far more demure than boys [ahem]!

Chilli Slaw
2 carrots
3-4 red chillies, deseeded
1/4 pointed green cabbage (I used a sweetheart cabbage)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp creme fraiche
2 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Coarsely grate the carrots and place in a bowl.  Finely slice the chillies into strips, add to the carrot and mix well.  Finely slice the cabbage and add to the bowl with the remaining ingredients,  Season, toss well and serve.

Serves 4 as a side
Delicious Mag, August 2010

I wasn't 100% sure how the Chilli Slaw was going to go down with either of us, Hubby isn't it creamy salad dressings at all and usually steers well clear of things like coleslaw. The dressing for this Chilli Slaw is really light and tangy though and doesn't become a really cloying flavour that overpowers all the others. The chilli was the ingredient that worried me, I don't dislike spicy food but I'm not keen on the whole mouth burning from heat sensation. While the heat from the chilli was there, the dressing helped tone it down, a win : win for both of us.

Sticky Five Spice Chicken
8 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
60ml sweet chilli sauce
60ml oyster sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Place the chicken, sweet chilli, oyster sauce, garlic and five spice powder in a bowl and mix well to combine.  Heat a large non stick frying pan over medium heat.  Cook the chicken for 4-5 mins each side or until cooked through and sticky.  Serve with an Asian-style coleslaw and coriander leaves.

Serves 4
Donna Hay Newsletter

The chicken was delish!  I think the sauce would work really well as stir fry as well so I'm going to give that a try next week.  Hubby went back for seconds on both the chicken and the Chilli Slaw which was a bit of a relief after I called him to the table and he took one look at his plate and decided he "didn't like it"!  Honestly!  Who needs children when you have a husband who is a fussy eater ;0)

Chocolate Madeleine's - CBC 12a

12a I hear you ask?  I don't like the other number, the one after 12 but before 14.  Not that I'm superstitious or anything but lets face it my baking has not been going to plan lately and I don't need any more bad luck in the kitchen!  And my theory seems to have worked, these little guys turned out a charm!  Phew.

I will admit to being a bit nervous about trying them to be honest.  I've always wanted to make Madeleine's, their scalloped shell pattern always reminds me of the sea and that reminds me of summer holidays and collecting shells.  Oh the joy of youth!  After some research I knew that a proper Madeleine tin was required, the real deal and not silicone and all the better if you could manage to pick one up from a French flea market and drag it back to your British kitchen kicking and screaming.  Unfortunately I couldn't source one of these so ended up purchasing two plum purple silicone moulds yesterday.  Undeterred (though the colour of the moulds is a little disturbing!) I set about making my first ever batch this afternoon.  My only dilemma was which recipe to use?  I have collected so many and they all sound so great (except for the ginger ones [urgh] but Hubby and his family will love them which is why I collected the recipe!)

How different can a recipe be for the exact same thing?  It would appear that not all Madeleine's are made equal at all.  some use baking powder and others won;t allow the same ingredient within cooee.  Some have ground almonds.  2 eggs, 3 eggs or 4 eggs.  The variations are endless and that is before you even start to think about what flavour you want.  The one thing consistent comment throughout though is that you are looking for a hump to form on the top while baking.  I was filled with the same kind of dread that the mandatory 'macaroon-foot' brought on. 

Head spinning and heart pumping I crossed my fingers and plumped for a Donna Hay recipe ... Nigella needed a break!

Chocolate Madeleine's
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
50g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
60g butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa over the egg mixture and fold through with the melted butter.  Spoon the mixture into greased large Madeleine tins until two thirds full.  Bake for 10 mins or until the Madeleine's are set.

Makes 12 although I actually got 18 out of my mixture
Donna Hay's Simple Essentials Chocolate

I did become filled with panic after the egg and sugar whisking.  How much whisking is required to combine the two?  Are we talking combined as in 'mixed together' or combined as in 'light and fluffy' - argh!  I ended up on middle ground, still slightly foamy and still slightly liquid.  After adding the rest of the ingredients though the dry ingredients went lumpy so I soon abandoned the folding technique and went back to the whisk.  This seems to have worked well, the mixture was perfectly combined and more importantly, the hump formed during baking.  Yay - I think my baking mojo is on the return ;0)

Best served with a cuppa while still warm from the oven.  I find that they are just as happy to pop into your tummy without a cuppa as they are with!

Chocolate Teapot Goes Retro - CBC 12

The final offering for today is in honour of my boys (that would be the Socceroo's - check me out!  I actually know something about soccer!)

And lets not forget Mark Webber who also did us Aussie's proud in the Canadian Grand Prix.  Not first place but he gave it all he had.  Oh why could it not be a month of F1?  Now that I could handle!

This is a Donna Hay recipe, originally for Apricot Upside Down Cake.  I didn't have any apricots so I replaced them with a pineapple.  It turned out really well, a very moist cake with sweet pineapple and caramel to top it all off.  Served with a scoop of ice cream and all is right with the world.

I remember way back in the 80's Pineapple Upside Cakes being all the 'rage'.  Complete with glace cherries!  I even remember being about 13 or 14 (this was right at the end of the 80's mind -ahem) being quite infatuated with one of my brother's friends, summer weekends were spent in either our backyard or theirs having a barbie.  Dessert at ours was pretty much either cheesecake (my brothers favourite) or choux buns filled with whipped cream and topped with chocolate sauce (can't quite remember who's favourite this one was lol) made by my Mum.  Dessert at 'dreamboats' was always Pineapple Upside Down Cake made by his Mum.  I loved it because his mother made it and presumably she made it because it was his favourite ~ anything to get in the good books.  Truth be told it came from a packet mix and was dry and flavourless and the caramel rock hard!

So some reinventing for the modern day was required, without losing any of the the retro appeal if possible.  One thing was a certainty though, no glace cherries here!  I was a bit nervous about making the caramel but it was actually pretty simple and I didn't get burnt once which was a bit of a bonus ;0)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g butter, melted
Topping
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
75g butter
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 160C.  To make the topping, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Increase the heat and boil until the syrup is a golden brown colour.  remove from the heat and stir through the butter.  Pour into a well greased 24cm round cake tin.

To make the cake, sift together the flour and baking powder three times and set aside.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until thick and pale.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold through.  Fold through the butter.  Place the pineapple in an even layer over the caramel.  Spoon over the cake mixture and bake for 1 hour 5 mins or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Allow to stand for 5 mins then invert the cake onto a plate.  Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Serves 10
Adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2

C'on the Aussies!!!!!

Effervescent Pimm's and Apple Cocktail

Combine this cocktail with the Buck's Fizz on Christmas morning and the Passionate Affair that followed and it really was a very Merry Christmas on our wee home. I highly recommend this cocktail, technically one for the warmer summer months but sometimes it's nice to bring the summer to you ;0)

Effervescent Pimm's and Apple

90ml Pimms

3/4 cup pure apple juice

Champagne or sparkling white wine

1 green apple, sliced

Pour the Pimms and apple juice into 6 champagne glasses. Top with the champagne and a few apple slices.

Serves 6

Donna Hay Wedding Magazine

In all honesty we don;t usually have such a boozy Christmas. This year though we had lots and lots of bottles of bubbles left over after our wedding and we decided to save them for Christmas and Hogmanay. This does of course mean that there will be more cocktails on the way!

Hubby's Christmas Present

Here it is - the second last truffle post for the year! Every Christmas Hubby gets a gift of Turkish Delight Truffles and Turkish Delight Rocky Road. Fry's brand is his favourite but if this is too heathenistic for you then I'm sure the proper Turkish Delight will work just as well!

Chocolate Coconut and Turkish Delight Truffles

20g desiccated coconut

300g good quality chocolate, coarsely chopped

125ml double cream

2 x 55g Turkish Delight bars (Fry's brand), finely chopped

250g milk chocolate

Place the coconut in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 mins or until the coconut is golden brown and aromatic. Set aside.

Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half filled with simmering water. Use a metal spoon to stir occasionally until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the pan. Stir in the coconut and chocolate bars. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 6 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Line 2 trays with non stick paper. Use a melon baller or a teaspoon to scoop out 1 1/2 tsp of the chocolate mixture and use your hands to roll into a ball. Place on a lined tray. Repeat with remaining chocolate mixture. Place in the freezer for 10 mins or until firm.

Place the milk chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Use a metal spoon to stir gently for 5 mins or until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove from the pan.

Use 2 forks to evenly coat each truffle in the melted chocolate. Remove the truffle, tapping the fork handle gently on the edge of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate mixture. Use a small spatula to carefully slide the truffle onto the remaining lined tray. Repeat with remaining truffles and melted chocolate. Set the coated truffles aside at room temp for 5-10 mins or until set.

* Place coconut in an oven bag and twist the opening closed. Cook on high / 800 watts / 100% gently shaking the bag every minute, for 1-2 mins or until lightly golden.

* Combine the chocolate and cream in a medium heatproof, microwave safe bowl. Heat, uncovered, stirring every min on medium-high / 650 watts / 70% for 2 mins or until smooth.

* Place the milk chocolate melts in a small, heatproof, microwave safe bowl. Heat, uncovered, on high / 800 watts / 100% in 1 min bursts, stirring every min with a metal spoon for 3 mins or until the chocolate melts and is smooth.

Makes 60

I've had this recipe for quite a few years now and I never noted where it came from originally. Many thanks to the original author though ;0)

This recipes produces a much firmer truffle than my original posts do. This year I was short on time so I didn't cover them in chocolate, instead I just rolled them in coconut. Hubby hasn't seemed to mind about this small deviation from the original.

Turkish Delight Rocky Road

600g dark chocolate (yes - it is a lot!)

2 1/2 cups chopped store bought Turkish Delight

2 cups chopped store bought marshmallows

1 1/2 cups roasted peanuts

Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water for 3-4 mins or until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, add the Turkish Delight, marshmallows and peanuts and stir well to combine. Spoon the mixture into 12 x 1/2 cup capacity mini loaf tins lined with non stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 30 mins or until set.

Makes 12

Donna Hay Magazine - Issue 30

Hubby declared these his all time favourites this afternoon. I still haven't managed to track down mini loaf tins as described in the recipe, last year I made it in one large tin and sliced it into bars once the chocolate was set. Only problem was that it split and crumbled where I didn't want it to split and crumble owing to all the yummy chunks of Turkish Delight and marshmallows and nuts. This year I set it in shallow bun tins that I had first lined with cling film. This seems to have worked much better but they are quite large and even a little bit on the 'too much in one go' side for me, Hubby disagrees of course ;0)

Santa's Rum and Raisin Choc Pudding

Just a quickie as the Christmas Eve festivities are in full swing already.  When Santa pays us a visit later on tonight he'll be sampling a Rum and Raisin Choc Pudding (I have it on good authority that he likes rum very much!)

Santa's Rum and Raisin Choc Pudding
75g raisins
60ml dark rum
120g butter, softened and chopped
90g brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
225g SR flour, sifted
50g cocoa powder, sifted
125ml milk
200g chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 180C.  Place the raisins and rum in a bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until light and creamy.  Add the eggs and beat well.  Add the flour, cocoa and milk and beat until just combined.  Fold through the chocolate and raisin mixture.  Divide between 4 x 1 1/2 cup capacity glass jars.

Place in a baking dish and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the jars.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Seal immediately with a clean, tight fighting lid.  Store for up to 4 days.

Makes 4

Taken from Donna Hay Issue 42

Of course Rudolf is taken care of too ... must find out if his taste buds ever crave something other than carrot!  Merry Christmas everybody.  Where ever you are and however you are celebrating I hope you enjoy yourself to the max!

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

The other day I was searching through some of my Donna Hay magazines when I accidentally stumbled upon this recipe.  It seemed I was fated to make these cookies ... the magazine fell open at the page and as it just so happened I had all the ingredients so didn't even need to battle with the snow to get to the shops and at the moment these things constitute fate in my book!

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
110g butter, softened and chopped
175g brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour, sifted
25g cocoa, sifted
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
120g dark chocolate, melted (I used milk chocolate)
280g dark chocolate, extra, chopped (I used milk chocolate)
120g candy canes, chopped

Preheat oven to 160C.  Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until light and creamy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.  Add the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and melted chocolate and beat until just combined.  Fold through the extra chopped chocolate.  Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into rounds.  Place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, allowing room for the cookies to spread, and flatten slightly.  Press chopped candy canes into the tops of the cookies and bake for 12-15 mins or until the edges are firm.  Allow to cool on the trays.

Makes 20
Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 42

These cookies are the business!  The only thing I would say is that the mixture is far too soft to roll, instead I used a small ice cream scoop to form the cookies and I left them to flatten themselves out in the oven while they baked.  Delish warm from the oven or served with a cuppa as the snow comes falling down ;0)

The Great Hot Cross Bun Hunt - Trial Three

Bet you thought I'd forgotten all about my search for the greatest Hot Cross Bun recipe this Easter. Things have been pretty hectic (again!)but I now have the luxury of a few days off to look forward to which means there will be plenty of time to catch up baking and blogging!

This recipe could be considered a cheat I guess. Technically not a bun but a Hot Cross Loaf. My first justification for including it in the hunt is because its a recipe by my Domestic Goddess, Donna Hay. A search for the greatest recipe just wouldn't be complete without her version thrown into the fray. And my second justification is that its a bit different and I always like to stray from the norm when I can ;0)

Hot Cross Bun Loaf - Donna Hay Style

2 tsp dried yeast

5 tbsp caster sugar

250ml milk, warmed

2 1/2 cups plain flour
40g butter, melted
1 egg yolk
2 tsp cinnamon

160g sultanas

Crosses
75g plain flour
80ml water
Glaze
2 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp water

In a bowl, mix the yeast, 2 tsp of the sugar and the milk. Set aside in a warm place for 5 mins or until bubbles appear.

Place the flour, butter, yolk, remaining sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, add the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. Add the sultanas and knead on a floured surface for 5 mins or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased 20 x 10 x 7cm loaf tin. Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 180C. To make the crosses, whisk together the flour and water and pipe a cross pattern on the uncooked loaf. Bake for 40 mins or until golden.

To make the glaze, place the jam and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the jam is softened. Brush the jam mixture over the baked loaf. Cool slightly in the tin, turn out and slice to serve.

Serves 8-10

Donna Hay Website

Would I make this again? Hmmmmmmmm, not sure. The bread isn't a patch on the Times Online recipe for Hot Cross Buns. But for kitch appeal and if the time and place was right I might consider it again but not as a loaf of bread for munching on as is I'm afraid. The loaf was a bit too dry for that. It does make lovely toast for breakie in the morning though and I'm going to try and turn the leftovers into a Hot Cross Bun Loaf and Butter Pudding for dessert tonight - but we'll see if the thought of all those calories gets the better of me or not lol. Other than that the flavour of the bread is really nice, the cinnamon is very subtle. Much as I never thought I would say this, this isn't the best Donna Hay recipe I've ever tried and the Times Online recipe is still in the lead.

Breakfast Club - Kilner Crunch

This breakfast was inspired by the two course breakfast served at Storrs Hall in the Lake District.  Each morning you picked a 'starter' and a 'main course'.  My choices were the same each morning, Kilner Crunch followed by Eggs Benedict with Cartmel Valley Smoked Salmon in place of the ham, I know it as Eggs West Coast because that is how this dish appears on the menu at my fave brunch spot, not sure if that is how everyone else knows it or not! 

Anyhoo, the Kilner Crunch struck me as being very simple but quite effective so I thought I'd give it a go ... minus some of the pomp and ceremony!  At Storrs Hall they serve it in a kilner jar (hence the name!) and it comes out on a slate placemat, the waiter opens the jar one handed ~ this part impresses me greatly as sometimes I struggle to open a kilner jar with both my hands!  It is basically a layer of fruit compote with slices of fresh fruit mixed in, a layer of yogurt and then a sprinkling of granola / muesli (that'd be the crunch part!) over the top.

I was going to make my own yogurt as well as muesli to go with this but I couldn't get some of the ingredients at my local shop ... and then I decided that it would probably be better to just go for one of the ready made ones that would be lower in fat than a homemade number.  The fruit compote and the muesli are both home made though ;0)

For the fruit compote I used a selection of summer fruits which I simmered in a pan with about 2 tsp of vanilla sugar until they were nice and juicy, then I popped the compote in a bowl and sat it in the fridge over night.  For the muesli I followed one of my favourite Donna Hay recipes.  Donna's recipe uses dried peaches but I've never been able to find them over here so I usually just sub whatever I feel like at the time, yesterday I had some dried mango to hand so I used that.

Peach and Coconut Granola
3 cups oats
1 cup flaked almonds
1/2 cup honey (I use half honey, half golden syrup)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded coconut (also hard to find, I replace this with dessicated coconut instead)
2 cups chopped dried peaches (or whatever you fancy)

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Place the oats and almonds in a large bowl and set aside.  Place the honey (golden syrup), oil and vanilla in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 mins or until the honey is melted.  pour over the oat mixture and stir well to combine.  Spoon the mixture onto a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper and cook for 10-15 mins or until golden.  Stir through the coconut and peaches and allow to cool.

Makes 8 cups
Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 31

Random Recipe Challenge ~ Ricotta and Herb Baked Chicken

For this months Random Recipe Challenge, Dom decided to mix things up a little bit.  We each had to select the 18th book in our collection and select something from that to cook.  Book number 18 for me is Donna Hay's 'Simple Essentials - Chicken', oh how I wish the number had been number 17, then I would of got Donna Hay's 'Simple Essentials - Chocolate'!!!  But I wanted to do Dom's challenge justice this month seeing as I had slightly adjusted the rules last month and stuck fast to the chicken book.  Keeping true to my blog I needed to find a baked recipe and Donna did not fail ... as if she ever would!

Ricotta and Herb Baked Chicken
190g ricotta
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tbsp chopped basil leaves
1 tbsp chopped oregano leaves
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 x 200g chicken breast fillets
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
125ml chicken stock
Extra basil leaves, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Place the ricotta, rind, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.  Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the side of each chicken breast to create a pocket.  Spoon the ricotta mixture into the pockets.  Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish.  Add the tomatoes, garlic and stock and bake for 25 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.  Sprinkle with basil to serve.

Serves 4
Donna Hay, Simple Essentials - Chicken

We had this for dinner last Sunday night served with char grilled asparagus and some cherry tomatoes.  It was OK, not as special as I had hoped for but not a disaster either.  We would probably have this again but next time I would rather that the tomato sauce was a wee bit thicker so it could be served alongside the chicken, the vast majority of the sauce remained in the pot and was ultimately wasted because it was far too soupy to serve on a plate.  A shame but with a few tweaks here and there it has some potential ;0)