Cheese and Bacon Scones 芝士培根烤饼

Are you new in baking yet wish to bake your own bread with zero failure? Not much time to spare in the morning yet longing for a good English breakfast?  Then this recipe is the best bet for you. J

This recipe is very simple.  Just mix dry and wet ingredients, no yeast, no long proofing time and with some light kneading before throwing the dough mixture into oven. Voila!  You get to enjoy a good English quick bread- Scones breakfast in no time. The recipe shared below is for savory scones. If you like sweet flavor scones, replace the cheese and bacon with chopped dates or fruits of your preference.

I learnt this recipe from the North Shore Women Centre cooking class when I resided in Auckland. The Centre organizes a free Healthy Budget Eating Cooking class once a month, even until now I still received email notifications from them on the invitation to participate in this free cooking class. I missed those days; it was such a great experience for me where I got the chance in meeting up a group of charming Kiwi ladies and learning along with them on Kiwi food and culture.

You can check out more recipes I learnt from this centre here.

The scones I made back in Auckland

 

Mini Pumpkin, Feta and Buttermilk bread 迷你南瓜乳酪面包

Just realised I omitted to set auto schedule to publish this write-up before moving back from Auckland. This was the final episode of Pumpkins series demostrated by Cushla.

Pumpkins Series – Part three

Continuing on the pumpkin series, this was the third pumpkin dishes that Cushla had prepared for us. For this recipe, she used butternut pumpkin. This buff-coloured, pear shaped pumpkin has dense, dry, sweet-tasting flesh, making it the most versatile type for cooking. For this recipe, she has used about 350g, about ¼ of butternut.

You can also make this into gluten free diet by substituting gluten free self-raising flour. These delicious little loaves best served with soup and freeze well.

Pumpkin is a very versatile vegetable and it goes well with either sweet flavors or savory ones. When ripe, pumpkin can be boiled, baked steamed, roasted or even stir fry. Besides baking ideas, you can also check out these old pumpkin recipes that I had shared to blend into Asian cuisine, adding colour, flavour and nutrition to your fall table.

 

MINI PUMPKIN, FETA & BUTTERMILK BREAD Mini Pumpkin, Feta and Buttermilk bread 迷你南瓜乳酪面包 INGREDIENTS: 2/12 cup self-raising flour 1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin, cooled 1 small onion (cut into thin wedges) 40g cold butter, chopped 150g feta, crumbled 1cups buttermilk (approx) 1 tbsp vegetable oil Homemade Buttermilk: Combine 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice or vinegar into a small jug, then topping it up to 1 cup with milk, stir until foamy. METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C Celsius. Grease 4 mini loaf tins, or 8 large muffin tins Heat oil in a small frying pan over moderate heat. Add onion, sauté and stir for 5 minutes until soft Sift flour into large bowl. Using fingertips, rub in cold butter. Make a well in the centre add pumpkin and half each of the onion and feta. Using a round bladed knife, stir in enough buttermilk until mixture forms soft sticky dough. Turn out dough on to a lightly floured surface, knead briefly to combine (dough should be soft and sticky). Press into prepared pans. Sprinkle tops with remaining onion and feta. Baked bread for 25 minutes or until golden. 迷你南瓜乳酪面包 材料： 2 / 12杯自发面粉 (你也可以用免面筋自发面粉) 1杯煮熟的南瓜泥，冷却 1小洋葱（切块成薄片） 40克冷牛油，切碎 150克羊乳酪，切碎 1杯酪乳; 白脱牛奶（约） 一汤匙植物油 自制酪乳/ 白脱牛奶： 混合1个半汤匙柠檬汁或醋倒入一个小罐子，然后加入1杯牛奶，搅拌至泡沫状。 方法： 1）烤箱预热至摄氏200℃。 2）油脂4个小面包烤盘，或8个松饼烤盘 3）把平底锅烧热油至中热。 4）加入洋葱，炒约5分钟至软. 5）面粉筛入大碗中, 加入牛油碎使用指尖揉搓。 6）加入南瓜和一半的洋葱片和羊乳酪采用圆刃刀，倒入适量的酪乳搅拌，直到面团成粘软形式。 8）把面团倒在有面粉的台面轻轻揉搓至结合起来（面团要软又粘）。 9）按入烤盘准备，洒上剩余洋葱和羊乳酪。 10）放进预热了200C摄氏烤箱烤25分钟或至金黄色为止。

Sweet Pumpkin loaf 南瓜疏菜面包

Pumpkins Series – Part two

As mentioned in my previous post, this is the second pumpkin recipe that Cushla shared with us at my last Healthy eating on a budget cooking class on Friday 18/03/2011.

With the weather turned wet and cooler, signs of fall are ushering into the Southern hemisphere. Hence, it is good time to start introducing some great fall's cooking recipes. Harvested in autumn, pumpkin is a seasonal vegetable widely available at a reasonable price during this time of the year. When pumpkins are abundant and cheap, you can to try making some pumpkin puree and freeze for use in soups, pies or healthy and moist Vegetarian loaf like this. The recipe used here is originated from a grated vegetable.

For this recipe we used cooked unsalted pumpkin puree instead. The amount of flour might need to be increased a little to compensate for the extra wetness. For a variation of this appetizing vegetarian loaf, one can use half pumpkin puree and half grated carrot. Adjustment to sweetness of the loaf much depends on the type of vegetable used. If grated carrots are used then use less sugar, however add more sugar if using courgettes.

To serve, slice and butter or ice with a fresh lemon or top with orange juice icing. You can also convert this pumpkin loaf into pumpkin muffins by baking in muffin pan instead. This tasty quick bread is great to serve in kids' lunch box. It is also a brilliant way to disguise vegetable to get veggie-hater like my son to eat veggie!

Sweet Pumpkin loaf   南瓜疏菜面包 -featured in Group Recipes 30/03/2011

SWEET PUMPKIN LOAF INGREDIENTS: A 1 cup grated pumpkin/pumpkin puree/ carrot or courgette 1 large or 2 small eggs ½ cup soya oil ½ to 1 cup raw sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence B 1 cup each whole meal and white flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice Pinch of salt ½ cups chopped walnuts, sultanas or other dried fruit (optional) METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Whisk all ingredients A in a large bowl. Shift flour in and then add all ingredients B into the bowl and mix well. Baked in a greased loaf tin at 180C for 60 minutes or until test doneness with a skewer comes out clean. Tips: The Making of Pumpkin Puree Cut pumpkin into even sized pieces and steam until tender. Drain, cool then remove skin and scoop flesh into processor or bowl. Purée or mash into a smooth puree. Freeze to store. 南瓜疏菜面包 容易，简单又健康的素食谱。 材料： A 1杯磨碎的南瓜/南瓜泥/胡萝卜或青瓜 1粒大号鸡蛋或2粒小号鸡蛋 半杯豆油 半至1杯糖 1茶匙香草精 B 普通面粉和全麦面粉各1杯 半茶匙发酵粉 半茶匙小苏打粉 1茶匙肉桂粉或混合香料粉 少许盐 ½杯切碎的核桃，葡萄干或者其他干果（可选） 方法： 1）把烤箱预热到180C摄氏。 2）把所有A成分搅拌在一个大碗里. 3）筛面粉进碗中后加入所有B材料拌匀。倒入抹油的烤盘. 4）放进预热了180C摄氏烤箱烤60分钟或直到用竹串测试取出来干净为止。 提示： 南瓜泥制作: 南瓜切成均匀大小块，蒸直到熟。沥干水后取出冷却，去皮取肉捣碎成泥。

Baked Pasta with Bacon & Pumpkin 南瓜培根焗意粉

The Pumpkins Series – Part 1

Farewell Healthy Eating on a Budget cooking class

Last Friday 18/03/2011 was my last day to attend this cooking class. As I mentioned in this Christmas posting, I had joined this class since November 2009. Ever since then I had been looking forward to the last Friday of every month to attend the class. I had amazing new experiences and tons of cooking fun here. I'll definitely miss these and the friendly group of people I met here. I especially enjoyed our tea break when we all had a cuppa, happily chatting and tasting new dishes that we had just learnt.

On this final class, I had brought my camera to snap as many photos as I could to cherish the happy moments I shared with these lovely ladies.

Happy family of Healthy Eating on a Budget

Posing with Cushla (1st right) and her sisters

Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to thank North Shore Women center for being a fantastic organizer, actively promoting various workshops ranging from cooking, art crafts, health talks, counseling support groups and even Tai Chi class to local women society, it is definitely a woman's place to be. In addition to this healthy eating on a budget cooking class which has broaden my comfort zone to try out Western Cuisine, I also had wonderful learning experience in their Tai Chi class.

For this class, our charming cooking facilitator Cushla had introduced us to pumpkins. She shared with us numerous nutritious cooking ideas using a variety of pumpkins from Buttercup pumpkin, Butternut pumpkin to crown pumpkin. I would showcase these pumpkin recipes that she had demonstrated one by one, starting with this delectable baked pasta.

Baked Pasta with Bacon & Pumpkin 南瓜培根焗意粉- Featured in Group Recipes 28/03/2011

Final garnishing with my home grown spring onion before serving

BAKED PASTA WITH BACON & PUMPKIN Serves with steamed broccoli and mini Feta Pumpkin bread INGREDIENTS: 375g packet large spiral or penne pasta 450g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cubed 2 Tbsp Olive oil *5 bacon rashers, rind removed chopped 2/3 cup chicken stock 2/3 cup evaporated milk ½ cup grated low fat cheese (eg.Edam) Garnish with chopped parsley (Serve 4) * Choose bacon pieces instead of rashers as an exonomical alternative, or use 2 sliced chorizo sausages for a spiecier version. METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C, grease a 7 cup oven dish. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender, drain and transfer to prepared dish. Cook pumpkin in a saucepan of boiling water for 3-4 min or until tender then drain. Heat oil in a large frying pan over moderately high heat. Add bacon, sauté and stir for 3-4 min or until browned. Add pumpkin toss to coat and season with pepper. Transfer bacon mixture to dish with pasta Whisk stock and milk in a medium jug, pour over pasta mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately with a green salad or steamed beans or broccoli. 南瓜培根焗意粉 材料： 375克大螺旋意粉或penne 意粉 450克白胡桃南瓜，去皮，切块 2汤匙橄榄油 5培根火腿，除去皮,切碎 2 / 3杯鸡汤 2 / 3杯淡奶 半杯低脂奶酪,磨碎（eg.Edam） 装饰用的香菜,切碎 方法： 1）烤箱预热至200℃，用可装7杯水份量的烤盘，抹上一点油备用。 2）烧水加盐煮意粉至熟，沥干水，倒入备用的烤盘。 3）烧另一锅水加入南瓜煮3-4分至熟，沥干水。 4）用中度高温烧热油加入培根，爆香搅拌3-4分钟。 5）才加入南瓜拌炒后加入胡椒粉调味。 6）把培根，南瓜和意粉倒入烤盘里。 7）把鸡汤和淡奶轻轻拌打后，倒入在意粉中搅拌均匀。 8）撒上磨碎的奶酪烘烤10-12分钟或至金黄色起泡。 9）撒上香菜配上沙拉或蒸熟豆类或花椰菜即可食用。

Budget & Healthy Eating Christmas High Tea

Surprise Christmas High Tea

Last Friday was our monthly Healthy Eating on a Budget seminar; it was the last cooking class for year 2010. We were looking forward to learn new Christmas recipes but surprised by our lovely cooking instructor Cushla with a table of fabulous Christmas feast. Not only that, she even made each and every one of us a gorgeous hand knitted Christmas sock with flavorful aromatic mix in it.

I had been attending this cooking class for over a year since last November. I'm truly grateful to North Shore Women Center who organizes such meaningful classes, not only I get to know various ways of budget and healthy cooking and knowledge of Western Cuisine, I get to know a charming group of Kiwi ladies.

I was happy to learn that the cooking class acquired new funding and was going to resume in February 2011. On behalf of all the ladies I want to express our gratitude to Harbour Health who sponsors this program. Last by not least, I would like to thank our gorgeous instructor Cushla Marsh for her time and patience in sharing her skillful cooking with us.

Below are some of the highlights we had last Friday, the quality of photos was not so impressive because this was a surprise party I was not prepared with a proper camera.




Read on for the Christmas recipes by Cushla and hope these will help to add some new ideas to your Christmas meals.