Rich Tomato & Bacon Risotto

Rich Tomato & Bacon Risotto

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 rashers bacon, diced
2 cups Arborio or other risotto rice
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes
1L Stock (beef, chicken or vegetable)
2 cups (500mL) water
½ cup grated parmesan
cracked black pepper

Heat the stock and water in a saucepan and allow to simmer gently.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot and saute the onion and bacon until soft. 
Add the risotto rice and garlic, stir for 1 minute.
Add the crushed tomatoes, then add the hot stock one cup at a time, stirring it in until absorbed and the rice is tender.
Take off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper to taste.
Leonie

Never Fail Chocolate Cake

1 cup S/R flour
1 cup sugar
½ cup (milk)
½ teas vanilla
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa
125g butter, melted (approx ½ cup)

Prepare a 20cm cake tin. Grease and line the tin to ensure it comes out properly. Preheat over to 180C/350F. Put all ingredients except the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer. Melt butter, add to mixture and beat for 3 minutes, then pour into cake tin. Bake for about 50 mins.
Notes:
 Cake can easily be doubled if required.
 Can use half wholemeal flour.
 Better if heaped tablespoons of cocoa.
 Can halve flour and replace with ground almonds/hazelnuts.
 Can replace milk with orange juice. Also add grated orange rind. Haven’t tried lemon juice and rind but it could be very nice.
 Some liquor can be added – e.g. I put in a tablespoon or two of Grand Manier with orange juice and reduce the amount of milk by the amount of liquor added.

The cake was filled with White Chocolate Mousse
250gms white choc & 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs of water (=1/4 & 1 Tbs water), melt together. When cooled stir into 1.5 cups cream whipped to soft peaks.

Debbie P

Weetbix Slice

½ cup butter (125g)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cocoa
1 cup SR flour
½ cup coconut
1 cup crushed weetbix (approx 4 weetbix)

Melt butter. Gradually mix into rest of ingredients in a bowl. Press in microwave dish. Cook on medium for 6-8 minutes (I do 8). Ice with chocolate icing while still warm and sprinkle with extra coconut. Cut into squares.

Lynn Gosney

Slow Roasted Spiced Pork Belly

1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
¼ cup olive oil
1.5kg pork belly, skin scored
salt

Combine spices & thyme leaves with 2 teaspoons salt in and mortar and using a pestle coarsely grind. Add 1 tablespoon oil and mix into a paste. Place pork skin side up in a glass or ceramic dish and rub all over with spice mix. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 240˚C. Cook pork, skin side up, for 30 minutes or until skin is crisp, then reduce to 170˚C. Pour ½ cup water around pork and cook for 2 hours until meltingly tender. This recipe (which appeared in Gourmet Traveller 2006) recommends serving the belly with lentils; however it would be just as good with a fresh, green salad.

Debbie P

Sally's Moroccan Meal

900g casserole beef,
2 onions,
4 garlic cloves,
1.5 tsp dried ginger,
1.5 tsp cumin,
1.5 tsp saffron,
15 sprigs of parsley,
15 sprigs coriander,
500g potatoes,
400g carrots,
4 tomatoes,
300g turnips,
salt & pepper.

Saute the beef, add onions, garlic and spices. Add veges. Cover with water and cook for an hour. add pArsley and coriander before serving. I cook it in my tagine but it would work as a casserole I guess. We have it with couscous.

Sally

KateG's Sweet Potato & Chick Pea Curry

Tin or two of chickpeas
Tin or two of tomatoes
Peel and chop a sweet potato or two, or some pumpkin, whatever is in the pantry - add anything else you fancy.
Add some curry paste, water and some coconut milk or some coconut milk powder
Cook all day. Mix some chopped tofu in at the end if you like and
serve on rice

KateG

Bron's Vege Bake

Another yummo vegetarian dish (not very pretty tho, so no photo)

I cooked off, in the frypan, some carrot, onion, tomatoes, sweet potato, potato, zucchini and wong bok or some other chinese vege. the carrots, tomatoes, sweet potato, garlic and wong bok came from the garden [Grin]
When quite soft, i added a mix of eggs (from our own chookies), coconut milk, rice milk and a can of tomatoes (the kids didn't pick enough tomatoes for the job, so i added more).
Mix till cooked and serve.

Bron

Debbie P's Grandma's Chocolate Cake

Below is Grandma's flourless chocolate cake. Mum made it for our Austrian Winter Feast. It was yummy. I've made it but found it a bit tricky. So good luck with it. We put a layer of apricot jam on top then cover with chocolate ganach.

1 glass water
¼ pound chocolate
4 oz sugar
4 oz round almonds
5 eggs –separated
1 tbl breadcrumbs

Put water, chocolate, sugar and almonds in a saucepan. Heat, dissolve sugar and chocolate. Cool chocolate mixture. Beat yolks into chocolate mixture. Whip egg whites, fold in breadcrumbs. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 mins to 1 hour.

Triple Choc Brownies

gluten free, dairy free

200g dairy free Dark Chocolate
⅓ cup Cocoa
1¾ cups Brown Sugar
250g Nuttelex
½ cup gluten free Self Raising Flour
4 eggs
¾ cup gluten free Plain Flour

Method
Preheat oven to 160oC fan forced(180oC conventional)
Melt Nuttelex and chocolate together, in the microwave oven (30 seconds at a time, then stir).
Combine eggs, brown sugar and cocoa in a bowl and beat well.
Stir in chocolate and Nuttelex mixture
Gently fold in flours and mix well.
Spray 25cm by 34cm baking tray with oil and line with baking paper.
Pour in mixture.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer poked in comes out clean.
Cool slightly in tin, then cut into rectangles.
May be served warm or cool.

Just in case this is not quite rich enough, Libby likes to add 1 cup of Chocolate Chips along with the flours.
I use Lindt 70% Cocoa chocolate and Cadbury Dark Chocolate Chips, and Orgran Gluten Free flours.

Jeany

Ham Hock & Barley Soup - Linda

A whole hock into a pot of cold water, boil to get out any impurities.
Prepare veges…
3 brown onions diced
3 carrots diced
6 cloves garlic chopped
3 stalks celery chopped

Check if water is boiling, if so remove hock and THROW water out.
Add oil to pot, then add veges for about 10 mins until golden brown
Chop 3 ripe tomatoes, handful thyme, half cup of barley, 2 and ½ cups green split peas (no need to soak), and ham hock, add to pot as well as 2.5 to 3 litres of water and put on low heat.
Leave lid half on, cook for 2.5 hours until meat is coming off the bone. Check every half an hour and add water if too thick.
Serve with black pepper to taste.

Debbie's variation I quite like lamb shank and barley soup. Similar recipe.
I add traditional soup veges to the shanks......onion, parsley,carrot, celery, parsnip, turnip