I have an elderly friend that I like to visit on Sunday Evenings most weeks. I always like to bring her a little treat. Some weeks it may be some muffins . . . other times a cake, it all depends on what I feel like baking and what I have in the larder. It is always very much appreciated. We spend a cosy hour together, chatting and I see it as a win/win all round. We get to enjoy the pleasure of each other's company and she gets to enjoy a bit of a sweet treat . . .



She really is a dear friend. One of the first that I made when I moved over here 11 1/2 years ago. In truth I would do anything for her, but she is very independant, and likes to do for herself . . . so baking something nice for her to enjoy and spending some time with her is probably as much as she would ever accept from me, although I do try from time to time to do more.




Today I was able to bring her these tasty little morsels. Buttery and redolent with the wonderful flavours of cinnamon and toasted pecans. They smell gorgeous when they are baking, and always elicit great oo-oo's when people open up the biscuit tin to see what's inside.

Simple, easy and impressive . . . to say the least.



*Cinnamon Nut Crispies*
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe

These smell heavenly when baking. Impressive to look at, they will have people thinking you have slaved over them for hours, but in reality they are very simple and quick to make. Do allow them to cool completely before you dig in. They crisp up wonderfully as they cool and are moreishly scrumptious!

4 ounces (1/2 cup) superfine sugar
10 ounces (2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
4 ounces (8 TBS) vegetable shortening
about 2 TBS water
To finish:
3 TBS softened butter
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 TBS finely chopped pecan nuts
2 TBS Demerara sugar
For the Glaze:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
the juice of half a lemon
a bit of milk as needed


Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl. Whisk together. Add the vegetable fat and rub it in with your fingertips until you have a fairly chunky mixture, with some pieces of fat about pea sized remaining. Add the water a little bit at a time, only adding enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough briefly and then roll it out on a lightly floured board to a rectangle about 16 by 10 1/2 inches in size.

Spread the softened butter evenly over top of the dough. Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nuts together and then sprinkle this evenly over top of the butter. Starting at one long side, roll the dough up tightly. Seal the edge with a little water dabbed over the edge and pressing it together.

Using a sharp knife cut the roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place the slices on the lined baking sheets, leaving a space between them for spreading. Sprinkle some demerara sugar over top of each.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze whisk the lemon juice and icing sugar and milk together, only adding enough milk to make a drizzable glaze. Drizzle this over the cooled biscuits in a decorative manner. Allow to set before storing in an airtight container.



Cooking in The Cottage today, Chili Dog Enchiladas.

(Don't you just love this country kitchen!)

There are three things I keep in my house at all times. Low fat yoghurts. Fresh and tinned fruit. Granola bars and tiny crunchy biscuits. They come in very handy for a myriad of reasons.





The low fat yogurts make a nice healthy snack in the evenings when you are watching the telly and longing for a treat, but don't want to go whole hog and induldge in something really bad. What's more . . . you know it's not good for you to induldge in something naughty . . . You can also throw a few tubs into the freezer and . . . presto chango . . . a tasty low fat ice cream type of treat!



Berries are healthy . . . satisfying . . . high in anti-oxidents . . . and go wonderfully with your morning oats or cornflakes. They make a lovely portable snack as well . . . and they also freeze wonderfully . . . loose . . . and popped into little plastic tubs. You always have fresh berries to hand for lotsa stuff . . . crumbles, puddings, etc. ( I always stock up when there is a special on at the grocery store and freeze them.) I also always have apples and bananas . . . an apple a day keeps the Doctor away!



Granola and Cereal bars make the perfect portable snack for when you are out and about . . . help to keep you away from the naughty things like donuts and cinnamon rolls . . . and those indulgent looking mega muffins. (Back home they have places that just cell nothing but the most decadant cinnamon rolls! So So NAUGHTY!!) If I have a low fat granola bar or cereal bar in my purse, I know I can very easily stave off the temptation . . . not to mention sometimes in the evening if Todd is indulging himself in a piece of cake and I just seriously want something similar . . . one of these low fat treats does the trick!



The mini biscuits have no saving grace . . . bar the fact that they are tiny, cute, tasty and one needn't feel as guilty if they are indulging in a mini biscuit . . . rather than a full sized one.



There is another tastier reason to have all these things about though . . . and that is this . . . ALTOGETHER THEY MAKE A FANTASTIC LOW FAT DESSERT . . . that you wouldn't even be ashamed to feed to guests.



It's simply a matter of layering them in your fanciest glasses or glass dishes. You can do it in literally minutes . . . a layer of crunchy biscuit or granola/cereal bar . . . a layer of yogurt . . . a layer of fruit . . . another layer of yogurt . . . a final layer of fruit and a few mini biscuits or granola crumbles on the top and you are set to go . . . easy peasy, lemon squeezy!



And the best thing is the taste possibilities are positively endless!!! Here today I have two kinds . . . fresh raspberries layered with greek honey and walnut yogurt and little coconut biscuits . . . and fresh blueberries layered with spanish orange yoghurt and litte bon maman butter biscuits.



But just think . . . orange or chocolate yogurt layered with mini oreo cookies and mandarin orange segmants . . . vanilla yoghurt layered with fresh pitted cherries and almond macaroons . . . sliced pear, bananas or apple, layered with toffee flavoured yogurt and crumbled digestive biscuits or granola bars . . . the world is literally your oyster!!



And . . . . best of all, you can make them as decadent or as low fat as the ingredients and your waist line allows!



No recipe here . . . it's quite simply an idea. Run with it and let me know how you get on!

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.