Scrumptious Easter Hot Cross Buns

I know its a bit late but I couldn't resist a post about these delicious Hot Cross Buns I made yesterday!

Hot cross buns

3 1/2 cups plain flour
3tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup brown sugar
2tsp cinnamon
2tsp mixed spice
pinch cardamon
pinch ground coriander
2tsp salt
2 eggs
250ml milk, lukewarm
2Tbsp orange marmalade
40g softened butter
250g saltanas/raisins/currants

Cross
Plain four
Water

Glaze
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup water

1.  Mix flour, yeast sugar and spices in large bowl.
2. Whisk egg, milk and marmalade together and pour into flour mixture.
3. Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes until elastic.
4. Add softned butter and knead 5 minutes until smooth.
5. Fold in fruit and knead 3 more minutes.
6. Fold into loaf shape and divide into 12. Roll each piece into a ball and place in a greased dish.
7. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
8. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
9. To make crosses mix water and flour together to form a paste. Pour paste into a plastic bag and snip a small corner to create a piping bag.
10. Pipe crosses onto buns and bake 15-20 mins. Turn onto a wire rack.
11. Make glaze by combining icing sugar and water, apply with a pastry brush.
12. Enjoy!

The best macaroni cheese

The best macaroni cheese

Autumn really made its presence felt here today so comfort food was on order... Macaroni cheese is a bit of an icon in our family.  Its a great go to dinner when time is short and hungry mouths need to be fed. Lots of gooey, cheesey pasta with a hint of tomato topped with crispy grilled cheese goodness. 

Macaroni cheese ingredients...

Ingredients:

300g macaroni pasta
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour 

2 cups milk
1 cup grated edam cheese
1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

1/2 finely diced onion

6 rashers of free range bacon (rindless eye) chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese to top

1. Heat oven to 180°C. Cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 minutes (or according to packet instructions) until just tender to the bite. Drain well.

2. At the same time, melt butter in a saucepan over a medium heat for 1 minute, , then whisk in flour stirring until it forms a smooth paste. Blend in milk a little at a time whisking continuously until a smooth sauce forms. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, remove from heat and add grated cheese, stir until melted.

3. Cook  onion and bacon in a frying pan over a medium heat until crispy.

3. Stir cooked pasta, onion and bacon into cheese sauce and then season with salt and pepper.

4. Spoon mixture into a greased oven dish or 6 individual ovenproof dishes. Scatter with extra grated cheese and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until macaroni cheese is hot and the cheese on top is golden brown.

Easy crochet slippers

My Nana always made her grandchildren crochet slippers, now I make crochet slippers for my children.  These crochet slippers are easy to make to fit any size foot - just keep increasing until you have the size and length you require. Embellish as you desire, the last two years I have made flowers for the top, this year mary-jane straps and flower buttons instead.

Easy crochet slippers

If you are looking for a crochet pattern try one of these:

Good knits (kids) 
Flower toddler slippers

Adult crochet slipper patterns (same basic design):

Good knits
Little house by the sea

Feijoa Jelly

In our house we love feijoas... small green edible packets of delight! Even though they are plentiful this time of year we just can't get enough of them.

If you are lucky enough to have access to feijoas (or maybe even a tree or two of your own) do try this jelly - it's simple to make and delicious on hot buttered toast:

You can use any quantity of feijoas, but you will need about a kilogram of fruit to get a good size jar of jam.

1. Sort through your feijoas, remove any rotten ones, then wash, and top and tail them. Leave a few under-ripe small hard ones in there, it will help your jelly set.
2. Put them in a large preserving pan with about 1/2c of water (just enough to steam).
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher to get all the juice out.
4. Leave to cool in the pan.
5. Strain into a muslin cloth, jelly bag or something similar. Hang up and leave to drain for a good few hours (or overnight if you are like me and these projects lose momentum if they take too long). Don't squeeze the mixture or your feijoa jelly will end up cloudy.
6. When you are ready to make the jelly, measure your liquid then add to your (clean) pan with an equal amount (cup for cup) of sugar.  Boil with a knob of butter for about 15 minutes or until setting point is reached (gently drag your finger through a small sample on a cold saucer. If the surface wrinkles, the setting point has been reached).
7. Pour into hot (oven set to 100 Celsius) clean (dish-washered) jars.  Allow to cool and seal.
8. Slather on hot buttered toast. Eat a number of slices to ensure it is as good as you think it is!

Gorgeous golden feijoa jelly