Boccincini, basil and tomato skewers

These little nuggets of deliciousness came out of an old “Women’s entertaining” cookbook, and they really are quite awesome. And easy, which makes them even better.

They look naughty and a little bit fancy but only take a couple of minutes to throw together, and can be as simple or complex as you like.

I opted for simple, as I was putting on a bit of a feast and just ran out of time to marinate the cheese, but if you have an hour spare to let it marinate, definitely give it a whirl.

This makes 6 short skewers (similar to the picture)

Ingredients:

9 cherry tomatoes, halved

4 boccincini balls, quartered

About 30 basil leaves

3 long wooden skewers, cut in half  (could also use toothpicks and just make shorter versions of these)

For the marinade

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh diced chives

1 tablespoon fresh diced parsley

A good crack of black pepper

Once the cheese is cut, coat them in the marinade for about an hour before putting on the skewers

Just thread everything onto the skewers in the order of tomato-basil-cheese-basil-tomato, and voila! They’re done.

So easy and really delicious.

Lamb koftas with yoghurt dipping sauce

This recipe makes about 10 reasonably big koftas, could always make smaller bite-sized meatballs.

Ingredients:

500g lamb mince

1 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs

3 garlic cloves, crushed

½ onion, diced finely

2 teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or chilli powder)

Mint – either 1 tablespoon dried mint flakes, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or equivalent of the mint concentrate in tubes

Mix it all together in a big bowl, best done with your hands so really get into it.

Divide the mixture into 10 pieces, and roll each into a chunky log, flattened slightly.

These are best put on a tray and refrigerated for at least an hour prior to cooking to let it set better.

Cook in a frypan, the oven, on a grill or on the barbecue.

Yoghurt dipping sauce

½ cup plain greek yoghurt

½ Lebanese cucumber, grated and with the moisture squeezed out

3 tablespoons fresh mint, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Good crack of pepper and pinch of salt

Mix it all together in a bowl, taste-testing to make sure the balance is right.

Banana and carrot cake

This is good. So good in fact I have gotten two marriage proposals out of this bad boy. On the same day. It's really a pity Julia Gillard hasn't allowed same-sex marriages yet, otherwise I'd be in a bit of a conundrum.

Cake ingredients:

125g butter

½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

3 small bananas, very ripe, mashed

2 carrots, grated

2 cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda

3/4 cup milk

½ teaspoon mixed spice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

(could also mix through some walnuts or pecans, or even blueberries at the end too)

Cream cheese frosting

125g cream cheese, at room temperature

50g butter, at room temperature

2 ½ cups icing sugar

2 teaspoons milk or water

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

(it doesn’t need the lemon rind, it just adds a bit of flavour but it’s more than delicious without it.)

Method:

Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the carrots and banana, mixing in well with a spoon.

Mix the flour, bicarb and spices together in one bowl, and using a metal spoon, mix into the batter mixture alternately with the milk. You want to mix it so that it is just combined, don’t overwork the batter.

Spoon the mixture into a cake tin, about 25cm round, lined with baking paper.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out cleanly.

Allow to cool in tin for five minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, beat all the ingredients (except the lemon rind, if you’re using any) together with an electric mixture. You’ll need to cream cheese and butter to be quite soft (though not melted) so that it has a smooth consistency. Beat until thick.

Spread onto the cake, and the sides if you wish.

Decoration ideas?

Shredded or desiccated coconut, walnuts, pecans, sliced bananas, passionfruit pulp, berries etc.

I also cut my cake in half lengthways so that I could put icing in the middle because it’s so delicious.

Muesli bars

Just about anything can go in this, just need the oats and enough binding stuff like honey, egg etc to keep it all together

2 cups oats

1 cup dried fruit – sultanas, craisins, blueberries etc

¼ cup seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, chia etc

1/2-1 cup nuts – any kind will work

1/2 cup honey

1 egg

¼ cup flour – or hazelnut or almond meal

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg (not all necessary, just adds a nice fruity flavour)

Mix it all in a big bowl. Add more honey or oats depending on the consistency. You want it to be pretty chunk, not liquidy at all.

I prefer to make these in patty tins, so that I don’t have to slice them into bars and create more mess. It also means I’m less likely to eat more than one.

If you don’t have patty tins, spray a big baking tin with oil and line with baking paper and just put it all in there, flattening it down firmly.

Bake in a 180C oven for about 15 minutes, just to get it all stuck together.

Eat when they’re cold.

Done!