When I was really small my mother used to bake us delicious goodies several times during the week . . . there was always fresh baked cookies in the cookie jar and the occasional pie and cake. She went back to work when I turned 11 though, so all the baking stopped . . . or homemade baking at any rate . . . .at least until I was trusted and allowed to experiment in the kitchen on my own.



She did sometimes buy these pudding cake mix thingies for desserts once in a while. I think there was a chocolate one and a butterscotch one and a really fake apple tasting one . . . but as a child we were just glad to have dessert. It didn't really matter that it came from a mix or that it didn't really taste all that great. It was sweet and that's what counted.



Of course as an adult and experienced baker I have come to appreciate the finer qualities of desserts that are homemade. I love pudding cakes . . . I make a really good Gingerbread Pudding Cake from scratch, as well as a Cinnamon one, and an Apple and Blueberry version which is totally scrummy as well. Let's not forget Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake either, that is like the ultimate of the ultimate pudding cakes!



There is just something that is so very special about the alchemy and magic of a cake that makes it's own sauce when it's baking! It's like a tiny delicious little miracle happening in your very own oven, just for you!!

This is a really scrumdiddlyumptious version . . . with the sweet/tartness of Granny Smith Apples on the bottom . . . topped with a buttery sponge, filled with raisins . . . and a lucious butterscotch sauce that appears like magic and goes fabulously well with it all.



Eaten warm and topped with a nice cold scoop of vanilla bean icecream, I don't think you can get much homier or delicious. Of course my Brit husband would argue that fact and say that custard is much much better . . . but the Canuck in me still longs to have a nice big scoop of ice cream, preferably a good vanilla . . . on top of my cakes, pies and desserts. I just can't help it. Old habits die hard!



But what really is icecream though . . . it is frozen custard. So I guess you could say that we both like custard on our desserts . . . just in opposite forms! He likes his warm and dripping . . . and I like mine cold and melting.



In any case . . . this Apple Butterscotch Pudding Cake rocks! With custard or with ice cream. You just can't get much better than this. I do declare!



*Apple Butterscotch Pudding Cake*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious dessert topped with a fluffy raisin sponge atop tart sliced apples in a delicious butterscotch sauce that appears as if by magic!

4 large Granny Smith or other cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 4 cups)

For the sponge:
150g self raising flour (1 1/3 cups)
50g caster sugar (generous 1/4 cup)
80g unsalted butter, chilled and diced (5 1/2 TBS)
1 medium free range egg
100ml milk (7 TBS))
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
50g of raisins or currants if you prefer (generous 1/3 cup)

For the Sauce:
80g light muscovado sugar (6 1/2 TBS)
25g unsalted butter (2 TBS)
100ml water (7 TBS)
Pinch fine sea salt
the juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180*C/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a 2 litre ovan gratin or other shallow oven proof dish.

Whisk the flour and sugar for the sponge together in a bowl. Drop in the butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Beat together the egg and milk. Stir in along with the lemon zest and the raisings. Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the dish and smooth the sponge mixture on top.

Place the sugar, butter, water and salt for the sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil. Whisk in the lemon juice and then pour this mixture over top of the batter in the dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown on top and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before spooning out into dessert dishes to serve. (A scoop of icecream goes nicely!)



Over in The Cottage today, a homely and comforting casserole, Heaven and Earth Casserole.

I just love a meal that you can fit easily between two slices of bread. That's the lazy person in me I suppose. I guess I just love sandwiches full stop . . . any kind, any place . . . You put it between bread and I am there.



When the Toddster and I used to work at the Service Station together (when I first moved over here) we used to sell tons of Bacon, Sausage, as well as Bacon and Sausage Baguettes every morning . . . just dripping with grease and fat . . . The bacon and sausage were baked in ovens, and then kept warm in a heat cabinet. I would have to clean the heat cabinet at the end of the day and the amount of fat that I had to scrape off and discard was nobody's business. Lots of it ended up in the baguettes too . . . crazy, crazy. Heart attack waiting to happen.



Breakfast sandwiches are always very popular . . .they are big business with fast food companies . . . all loaded with fat and calories. It's not impossible though to have a breakfast sandwich which is relatively low in fat, and yet still satisfyingly scrummy tasty! It's not really all that hard to do actually . . . and when you make it yourself in your own kitchen, you know exactly what's gone into it. No mystery there!



I always use whole wheat toast . . . it's better for you and you get lots of nice extra flavour . . . if it's whole grain as well . . . well that's just the ultimate in taste. (I love the Vogel Sunflower and Barley Bread, or the Vogel's Honey and Oat Bran Brown Bread!!) Now that's mighty good bread.



There is no butter used . . . not in the cooking of the egg, nor is there any butter going on that toast. You spread it with grainy mustard and a drizzle of honey . . . oh so good. I use weight watchers or another brand of low fat thin sliced baked ham . . . Low fat baked ham is not all that difficult to find anyways . . . Low fat cheese is also easy to find these days and I really like the low fat Leerdammer Light, which has great oozing melting qualities. It's a swiss type of cheese and also has a nutty sweetness.



The egg gets it's scrumminess from chopped peppers, onions and a pinch of salt and black pepper.



Put them all together and that's one heck of a sandwich . . . if I don't say so myself!! Oooooh baby, come to mama! The perfect weekend breakfast treat for sure!



*Big Breakfast Sarnie*
Serves 1

Beautifully tasty breakfast sandwich. Surprisingly low in fat too, so not all that bad for you actually!

1 large free range egg
1 TBS chopped spring onion, green and white bits
1 TBS chopped mixed peppers (whatever you happen to have on hand, red, green, orange, yellow)
pinch of salt and black pepper
4 thin slices of shaved ham (bundle them up so they look like more!
1 slice of Leerdammer light cheese
2 slices of whole wheat bread, toasted
1 TBS grainy mustard
drizzle of runny honey

Beat your egg together in a beaker along with the spring onion and peppers. Heat a small nonstick frying pan over medium heat. I spray mine with low fat cooking spray. Pour in the egg mixture. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Allow to cook until lightly browned and set on the bottom. Carefully flip over and then turn off the burner. The other side will cook in the residual heat. Immediately lay the slice of leerdammer cheese on top. The heat from the egg will melt it.

Take your two slices of toast. Divide the grainy mustard betwixt the two, spreading it to cover. Drizzle with a bit of honey. Lay the ham slices, bundling them up a bit, onto one slice of bread, honey and mustard side up. Top with the cooked egg, cheese slice up, then cover with the other slice of toast, honey and mustard side down. Cut in quarters and serve immediately.



Over in The Cottage today, a delicious Upside Down Pizza.

I had a real craving for pasta today and so I decided to cook myself up a mess of noodles and cabbage.



This was a dish I used to cook often for my family when they were growing up. Sometimes we had it as a side dish along with pork chops . . . and sometimes it was the whole dish, served with sour cream and lotsa cheese.



It was a real favourite of everyone. I always made a double batch because the leftovers were always fabulous the day after heated up in a little bit of butter in a hot skillet. The noodles got some brown scrummy bits and it was just wonderful. We liked fried leftover spag bol too.



Todd is not a fan of pasta anything, (as you know only too well), so it's something that I only rarely indulge in these days. I love this recipe because I always, always have what I need to make it in the cupboard. It's quick and it's easy.



You don't have to use white cabbage all the time. Today I had a small head of dark Green Savoy Cabbage and so I used that. I just cooked the cabbage for a shorter time than the white cabbage, and as you can clearly see it gave a nice bright green colour to the dish. Very pretty.


I also added a bit of zip with a light drizzle of cooks&Co Olive Oil with Chillies which I was sent to try out the other day. (Remember the grapeseed oil that I used the other day to make that Treacle Gingerbread Loaf that was so nice?? Same company!)It added a wonderful kick to the dish. Hot chillies are added to this olive oil to help to create a classic condiment for pizza's, pasta dishes, dressings sauces and grilled meats. I really thought it added a lovely depth of flavour. This is great olive oil . . . and a little drizzle goes a long way!



In any case, Todd sat there enjoying his ham sandwich and I sat there enjoying my bowl of Noodles and Cabbage. Everybody was content and happy. ☺ Just as it should be.



*Noodles and Cabbage*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a lovely dish that goes well with most meats, and I have even been known to eat a big plate of it all on it's own. My family always used to love it when I made this. I most often use flat egg noodles such as Fettuccini, but Tagliatele and Farfelle works really well also. I don't think that it is suited to the rounder types of pasta. You can top it with sour cream if you like, but we have always loved to have ours with a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

2 cups egg noodles, or other pasta
(Uncooked)
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, peled and thinly sliced
1 small head of white cabbage, quartered, core trimmed away, and thinly sliced
2 tsp brown sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sour Cream or freshly grated Parmesan Cheese for serving (optional)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions. When done, drain well, rinse in warm water and then keep warm until they are needed. (Tossing them with just a touch of vegetable oil helps to keep them from sticking together.)

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the butter and once it is foaming add the onion. Cook, stirring until the onion begins to soften. Add the cabbage and sprinkle it all with the brown sugar. Cook, stirring and tossing until the cabbage begins to wilt and brown in a few placed, and the onion and cabbage are well mixed together.

Turn the heat to low, pop a lid on top, and cook for five to ten minutes, giving it a stir every few minutes, until the cabbage and onion are nicely softened and beginning to caramelize a bit. Remove the lid and toss in the noodles, mixing all together well. Heat through and season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top of a light dusting of Parmesan Cheese. Delicious!!



Cooking in The Cottage today, Cheater's Apple and Cherry Crumble.

Okay, Valentine's Day is over now and it's back to boring food again . . .
Or is it boring??? It doesn't have to be!



I happen to think that there is no such thing as boring food . . . only boring people. You can make just about anything exciting if you want to. Simple ingredients can be put together creatively to make a wide variety of delicious and interesting meals. Simple need not be boring . . .



Take this casserole for instance. Nothing exciting here . . . cooked pasta, tinned tuna, frozen peas, tinned soups, grated cheese, cracker crumbs . . . simple list of ingredients and something I wager each of us has in our cupboards right now.



Put together and layered in a delicious combination, you have a casserole that is not only pleasing to the eye, but quite, quite tasty indeed!



My kids always loved this. Sometimes I would add a tin of drained chopped tomatoes for colour and interest as well. Just stir them into the pasta along with some chopped spring onions. Va Va Voom!



In any case, this is what we had for our supper and even Todd enjoyed. (I think I can feeling him warming to pasta a bit. Ok . . . maybe it is only in the spirit of tolerance, but this pasta lover will take what she gets!)



*Layered Tuna Bake*
Serves 6Printable Recipe

An old family favourite. Delicious, easy and economical.

1 pound of medium noodles (I use farfalle) (16 ounces)
2 (6 ounce) tins of albacore tuna in water, undrained
1 large mug of frozen petit pois
1 (10 3/4 ounce) tin of cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4 oz) tin of cream of chicken soup, undiluted (Over here in the UK, Batchelors brand)
1 soup tin full of milk
two dessert spoons of low fat mayonnaise (about 1/4 cup)
8 ounces medium to strong cheddar cheese, grated
2 handfuls of round buttery crackers, crushed
3 TBS butter, melted (I use a spritz of low fat cooking spray instead of this)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, leaving them slightly undercooked. Drain well, rinse and drain again. Spread evenly over the bottom of a buttered 13 by 9 inch casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Flake the two tins of tuna over top of the pasta, spreading it out evenly as you can and using the juice. Season to taste. Top with the peas, again, spreading out evenly. Whisk together the soups, milk and mayonnaise. Pour this evenly over top of the peas. Sprinkle with the cheese. Crumble the crackers over top and either drizzle with the butter or spritz with the cooking spray.

Bake, uncovered for about 35 minutes until bubbling and golden brown on top. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If you don't like tuna fish, this tastes equally good when made with salmon, or leftover cooked turkey or Chicken. Or try a combination of chicken and ham. Scrummy!!



Cooking in The Cottage today a delicious Chili Sauce.

So here we are on one of the most romantic days of the year . . . the day when Sweethearts the world over (or at least in the Westernized nations) go out of their way to let their beloved know that they are appreciated in a very special way.



Cards and special gifts will be exchanged . . . Intimate Dinners a Deux will be cooked . . . Champagne Corks will fly . . . the music of love will be everywhere . . . and all over will be heard the words . . . je t'adore . . . je t'adore . . .



Why is French such a romantic sounding language . . . the language of love . . . even English spoken with a French Accent sounds more romantic . . . and I have always wanted to visit the "City of Love" (Paris) with my beloved . . . that is sur ma "Bucket" list . . . or as Hyacinth would say . . . my ♥♥Bouquet list!♥♥ (I think she is so funny!)



Here at ma petite maison, we shall be dining on a starter of Thai Fish Cakes, done to a turn and served on a bed of salad greens . . . with a light Thai Dressing. Next there will be a tasty Steak with a Cognac and Pepper Sauce, Potatoes Boulanger and some vegetables . . . dessert will be this . . .



Delicious Baby Berry Custard Cakes . . . no chocolate here. (Todd hates chocolate as you know.)



Delicious bread puddings made from stale madiera cake and custard, baked over top of fresh berries which are surrounded with raspberry preserves. The cake and custard . . . all goldenly scrummy . . . the custard rich . . . the berries sticky sweet.



With a garnish of berry coulis and a light dusting of icing sugar, this is tres tres magnifique!!



Impressive . . . easy . . . delicious. Light and perfect for a special celebratory meal. What more could you want??? Happy Valentines Day everyone! May your day be filled with sweetness and light and more love than you can count!



*Baby Berry Custard Cakes*
Makes 6 servings
Printable Recipe

Delighful little baby cakes with a delicious madiera cake custard, topping a layer of sweet berries baked in raspberry preserves. Delicious when served with some berry coulis, or chocolate sauce, or warmed and sieved raspberry jam.
The perfect dessert to share with your sweetie pie!

2 TBS raspberry preserves
300g of assorted berries (2 cups) (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants etc.)
60g of madiera cake, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 cup, pound cake)
500ml of evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed) (2cups)
(Can also use single cream or half and half)
95g of white sugar (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs
2 large free range egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla

To serve:
Icing sugar for dusting
fruit coulis, or chocolate sauce, or warmed and sieved raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 6 4 to 6 ounce ramekins. Place 1 tsp of preserves into the bottom of each ramekin. Divide the berries amongst the ramekins. Top each with an equal portion of cake cubes. Set aside.

Whisk together the evaporated milk (cream or half and half), eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Divide equally amongst the ramekins, pouring it in over top of the cake cubes. Place each ramekin into a shallow roasting pan. Place the roasting pan on a rack in the oven and fill with boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until set and golden brown.

Run a sharp knife around the insides of each ramekin to loosen cakes and tip out, then tip back right side up onto 6 dessert plates. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with your desired sauce. Delicious!

As a foodie I am a big fan of several cooking blogs . . . no surprise there. One of my favourites happens to be a Canadian food blog entitled Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It is authored by 10 lovely Mennonite ladies and is just fabulous . . . filled with good old fashioned, non-pretentious cooking.



I happen to know first hand that Mennonite's are wonderful cooks. I have lots of very fond memories of a fabulous restaurant that we used to visit in St Jacob's, Ontario called Anna Mae's. The food there was just wonderful and the restaurant was always super busy. Eating there was just like sitting down to supper at a good friend's house or your mum's . . . everything homemade, delicious and . . . just like at mum's you can tell what day of the week that it is by what's on the menu! (Do take a look at their page and you'll see what I'm talking about.)



Everything was super delicious and the pies . . . homemade bread and rolls and the pies . . . wow. Pie at Anna Mae's = out of this world!



I would be the first one to confess that I am not a great bread baker. My mother made beautiful loaves of bread . . . and my Aunt Thelma's Potato Rolls were the best I've ever eaten. I am afraid I missed out on the bread baking gene when it was being handed out. I saw this recipe over on the Mennonite girl's page one day last week and I thought to myself. YES! I can do that!



And so . . . I adapted the recipe to the ingredients that I have available to me over here in the uk . . . and . . . know what??? They turned out not half bad!



In fact, I would even go so far as to say they are quite, quite scrummy! We had them with a delicious vegetable potage that I will share with you another day, but for now . . . here's the roll recipe.



*Herbed Oatmeal Pan Rolls*
Makes 9 pan rolls
Printable Recipe

Wholesome and delicious. These tasty rolls are perfect with soups, stews or even on their own, buttered with some tasty strong cheddar on the side.

250ml boiling water (1 cup)
40g rolled oats (not old fashioned) (1/2 cup)
2 TBS butter
200g strong white bread flour (2 cups)
65g granary bread flour (1/2 cup, multigrain)
2 TBS caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 TBS easy bake yeast (bread machine, quick rise)
1 large free range egg, at room temperature

For the herby topping:
2 TBS butter, melted
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp finely grated Parmesan Cheese

Combine the boiling water, oats and 2 TBS butter in a small bowl, stirring to melt the butter. Let stand and cool to just warm before proceeding.

Measure the white and granary flours into a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar, salt and yeast. Beat the egg into the warm oat mixture. Stir this into the dry ingredients until all are well incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough until you have a smooth, soft dough, which is not sticky, adding more strong white flour as needed. Shape into a ball and cover with the bowl. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Grease a 9 inch square metal baking tin. Punch the dough down and then press it into the baking tin to fill all the corners. Take a sharp knife and cut down through the dough to the bottom of the pan, cutting it into 9 equal squares. (3 cuts across and 3 cuts down.) Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Once the oven has heated bang the pan of rolls into it and bake for 15 minutes. While they are baking, stir together all the ingredients for the herby topping. At the end of 15 minutes, remove the partially baked rolls from the oven. Brush the tops with the herby topping. Return the pan to the oven and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow on the bottoms when turned over and tapped lightly with your fingers. Tip out onto a wire rack to cool to warm. Best served fresh, but can be revived by a gentle reheating in a warm oven for 8 to 10 minutes.