Giant Cookies

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, and delicious activity to do with your kids, baking giant cookies is the perfect solution. My kids absolutely love making and eating these oversized treats, and the best part is that they can get as creative as they want with the toppings. Whether you choose Smarties, sprinkles, or chocolate chips, the options are endless, making this a versatile and exciting baking project.

Giant cookies are a hit for several reasons:

Size: There’s something inherently fun about baking a cookie that's as big as your face. The sheer size adds a wow factor that regular-sized cookies just can’t match.

Customization: Kids love having the freedom to choose their toppings. Whether it’s colorful Smarties, fun sprinkles, or gooey chocolate chips, they can personalize their cookie just the way they like it.

Simplicity: The recipe is straightforward, making it an ideal project for little hands. Plus, the quick baking time means they won’t have to wait long to enjoy their creation.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cup flour

1t baking soda (bicarb of soda)

1tbs milk

2tbs corn flour

1/2t salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugar.

3. Add the egg and beat well.

4. Dissolve the bicarb in the milk and add to the mixture.

5. Mix the flour, corn flour and salt.

6. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture.

7. Add your desired topping and mix.

8. Press into a solid ball, then divide into equal sized balls, as big as you want them to be. 

9. Flatten and bake for about 10 minutes, or until done. 

Topping ideas:

- Smarties

- Sprinkles

- Chocolate chips

- Mini marshmallows

- Chopped nuts

- Dried fruit

Tips

1. We found that placing the balls on wax paper, then covering with wax paper and then using a plate to flatten, works the simplest way, with the least amount of effort.

2. Place on a sheet, not straight onto the wire rack in the oven... it sags in between the wires... we learnt from experience!!

Yours in butter and sugar

Risch

Jam Tartlets

 Sometimes you just want something fairly quick and fairly simple to make, something sweet, something tangy... these cute little jam tartlets ticks all those boxes! Soft dough envelopes the jam of your choice, with a little extra taste and texture of shredded coconut added in. 

Simple, easy... with the only drawback being that you're probably not going to be able to make enough! I made a batch, got about 50 (3 sizes: small, medium and large), and before I knew what hit me, there's 10 left!!

So, I don't know how many people you have to feed, but my 3 kids gobbled it up.

Ingredients

Dough

2 1/4 c    flour

1t salt

1c cold butter

1/3c cold water

1 egg + cold water for brushing

Filling

Jam - apricot, strawberry

Shredded coconut

Method

1. Mix flour and salt

2. Grate the butter and rub into the flour until well incorporated. Or put it in the blender and whizz, but don't over mix.

3. Add the 1/3 cup of cold water and gently mix, just bringing it all together.

4. Wrap it up in clingwrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 min or more

5. Once the dough has rested, roll it out and cut out circles.

6. I used these little tartlet makers I bought in a cheap shop and it works really great.

7. Scoop a little jam into the centre - but not too much, otherwise it will cook out

8. Add a little coconut over the jam

9. Brush the outer circle of the dough circle with water to act as glue

10. Close up the tartlet and press the edges together firmly.

11. Mix the egg and a little cold water and whisk with a fork

12. Brush the tartlets with the egg wash

13. Poke a hole or two with a fork into the dough to let out steam

14. Bake in the oven @ 180degrees Celsius for 10 - 15 minutes

15. Remove and let it cool 

16. Enjoy!!

Yours in butter and sugar

Risch

Homemade buns

I love myself some buns, plain buns, portuguese rolls, cheese buns... but the ones from the shop is pure air... it is not filling. These buns, however, is super delicious and very, very filling indeed. 

These buns are perfect with real butter, as simple and as plain as that. For me, that is food fit for a king. Or a queen...

Ingredients

3½ cups flour

1t salt

¼ cup sugar

2tbs instant yeast

1 cups warm water

⅓ cup oil

1 egg

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 200 Celsius.

2. Check the instructions on the yeast you use. I use the yeast that should be added directly to the flour, not be bloomed first

3. Mix the water, oil and egg and beat well. 

4. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix into a stiff ball.

6. Knead the dough for a minimum of 7 minutes - NOT NEGOTIABLE!

7. Cover with a wet cloth and let it rise for min 30 min, until double in size.

8. Knead down, and form into equal balls. Best is to weigh the dough and divide by the number of buns you want to make, so as to make the balls equal in size. This makes baking it better and more uniform.  

9. Cover and let it rise for another 30 minutes.

10. You can brush the buns with egg wash prior to baking, this will help with the browning.

11. After 30min, put the buns into the oven and bake for 10min, until golden.

Optional: Sprinkle with sesame seeds after brushing with egg wash.

Enjoy with butter, cheese, syrup. Or use for homemade hamburgers. 

Yours in oil and veggies,

Risch

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Homemade Buns PDF

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

For a quick and easy meal, this is perfect. Especially if you're not that hungry. But make no mistake, just because it is so simple, it does not mean that it compromised on taste... 

This is comfort food, with class.

Ingredients

500g spaghetti

2L         water

2t         salt, or to taste

120g margarine

2t         whole black pepper corns

½ cup chunky cottage cheese

300g bacon (optional)

250g mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1         onion, diced (optional)

2t         garlic, crushed (optional)

⅛t     nutmeg

parmesan to taste

Method

1 Let the water come to a boil, add the salt and spaghetti and cook to al dente. Strain, but keep the water.

2 Fry the bacon in 30g margarine until crispy. Set aside.

3 Fry the mushrooms (and garlic if you want) in 30g margarine until browned. Set aside.

4 Fry the onion in 30g margarine until lightly browned. Set aside.

5 Melt 30g margarine in a small saucepan and add the pepper corns. Toast for about 1 min (you should smell the pepper toasting), then grind with a mortar & pestle. Add the other peppers and nutmeg, if you want to. Set aside.

6 Mix the bacon, mushrooms, onion and pepper. Add it to the spaghetti with the cottage cheese and mix well.

7 Serve with grated parmesan as garnish and enjoy!

Notes: - ground black pepper and/or ground white pepper can also be added, just keep in mind that the intensity of the pepper increases as it cooks and stands.

- Only add the nutmeg if you use mushrooms

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Asparagus Frittata

 Breakfast can be quite challenging... especially on weekends... when you're not in the mood for toast or porridge, the kids are nagging, and you are not in the mood for hours in front of the stove or even 30 minutes of hard work. 

That's what I love about Frittatas. It's filling, easy to make, little effort and healthy! Plus, you can make it with almost anything you have on hand. The possibilities are endless. Basically if you have cheese and eggs, you're halfway there. 

I've had this tin of asparagus in my cupboard for ages, wanting to make a quiche. But this morning I decided to make the frittata instead. 

This is very delicious and I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did.

Ingredients

8 Eggs

1 Onion

1 tin Asparagus, 430g

100g Cheddar Cheese

1 rind Plain feta cheese

2tbs Plain yogurt

2tbs Mayonnaise

50g Butter / Margarine

½ t salt

¼ t ground black pepper

¼ t dried origanum

½ t dried thyme

¼ red pepper

¼ yellow pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C

2. Chop the onion, yellow & red peppers and cut the feta cheese into blocks

3. Melt the butter and fry the onion and peppers lightly, doesn't need to brown

4. Open the tin of asparagus, drain very well and add to the onion and peppers.

5. Continue to fry on medium heat, stirring regularly

6. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk well.

7. Add the herbs, salt and pepper and whisk.

8. Add the mayonnaise and yogurt and whisk.

9. Grate the cheese and add to the egg mixture. Mix well.

10. Level the onion mixture in the pan, and add the egg mixture.

11. Dot the mixture with feta cheese and put in the oven.

12. Bake for 15-20 min until it is set and the sides are beginning to brown.

13. Remove from the oven and cut like a pizza.

Serve warm with coffee, or orange juice or milk and enjoy an amazing breakfast!

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Asparagus Frittata

Yours in oil and Veggies

Risch

Best Moist Cake

 This is an amazing cake! It is very moist, easy to make and utterly delicious! 

Add some funfetti or M&M's to the vanilla version, or some chocolate chips to the chocolate one. It is very versatile.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup cooking oil
• 3 eggs
• 1tbs vanilla essence
• ½ cup buttermilk / sour milk
• 2½ cup flour
• 3t baking powder
• 1t salt
• 1¼ cup milk

For Chocolate cake: Replace ½ cup of flour with cocoa powder

 

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180˚ C and prepare the baking tins
2.        Mix sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla well
3.     Add sour cream and mix well
4.     In a separate bowl, combine and sift flour, baking powder and salt.
5.    Add half the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix till just combined.
6.      Add half the milk and combine.
7.      Add the rest of the dry mixture and milk and mix well.
8.      Pour mixture half-half into the baking tins.
9.      Bake for 25-35 minutes and cool completely before icing.

Enjoy... anytime!!

Yours in butter and sugar

Risch

For a printable PDF version, click here: Best Moist Cake PDF

Vetkoek

Vetkoek is a traditional South African fried dough bread. It is a deeply engrained and beloved food embedded in South African culture. The word vetkoek literally means "fat cake" in Afrikaans.

It is delicious with just butter, or syrup, or cheese, or syrup and cheese... or mince... or mince and cheese... or use it instead of buns for a hamburger... or lettuce and chicken mayo... oh my goodness... now I'm hungry!!

This is a simple and time & tried tested recipe.

Ingredients

5½ cups flour

2t salt

3tbs sugar

1tbs instant yeast

2 cups warm water

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast well.

2. Add the warm water and bring it together to form a stiff dough.

3. Knead for at least 10 minutes.

4. Smear with oil and cover with a damp cloth and let it rise to double in size.

5. Lightly knead down, and use as you wish. For Vetkoek, divide into equal balls,

cover and let it rise.

6. Heat oil in a pot and fry the balls of dough in the oil until well done.

7. Remove from the oil and drain onto paper towels.

I made spinach and feta vetkoek, as well as bacon and cheese.

Use your imagination, go wild, but most of all... eat, drink and be merry!!

Yours in oil and veggies,

Risch

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Vetkoek PDF

Curry Chicken on Coconut Rice

With winter firmly on our doorstep, the mornings and evenings are quite chilly. But even though the days are nice and warm still, inside our house it is quite cold!! The fabulous thatch roof that provides us with an aircon-like coolness in summer, also provides all-day-cool during winter. With us, you take off a jacket when leaving the house!

Very few things can warm every part of your insides like a perfect, creamy curry. It is simply food for the soul that warms all the corners of your body and your heart. 

And this is what I wanted today. A warming of the soul, a comfort to the heart, and warm support for the spirit - it's been quite a week for me!

 This is also quite quick to prepare, as it is mostly done in the pressure cooker. You can make the meal early in the day and just let it stand until you're ready to eat, and the flavours will continue develop and mature.

Ingredients

8x pieces of chicken, frozen

1x chicken stock block

750ml warm water

2tbs whole coriander seeds

1tbs whole black pepper seeds

1tbs whole cumin seeds

1tbs medium curry powder

1t hot curry powder

2 cups rice

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

2tbs corn flour

250ml cold water

Method

1. Put the coriander, black pepper, cumin and curry powders in a small frying pan on low heat on the stove and heat. Mix regularly, and don't let it burn. Only a couple of minutes is necessary. Remove from the heat and mash it all up using a mortar and pestle.

2. Crumb the stock block in the 750ml warm water and dissolve completely.

3. Put the chicken pieces in the pressure cooker. Throw the spices over and then follow with the chicken stock water.

4. Switch the pressure cooker on for 20 minutes.

5. When done, remove from the pressure cooker and put into a large heavy bottomed pot on the stove and cook over low heat for a further 30 minutes or so.

6. In the meantime, put 2 cups of rice into the pressure cooker and fill with water until 2/5 level. Cook for just under 25 minutes. Let it rest for while, and then add the coconut and salt to taste.

7. Dissolve the corn flour in the 250ml cold water, mix well and pour over the chicken in the pot, mixing everything well. Cook until the sauce has thickened.

Serve warm with beetroot chutney.

And enjoy!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Aniseed Pancakes with Orange

Masterchef Australia Season 10 - the pancake challenge. 

My inspiration for this dish. 

I loooovvvveeee Masterchef Australia! And since South Africa doesn't have a Masterchef competition, I am thinking of moving to Australia just to be able to enlist... Isn't it just super sad and actually so disappointing that there isn't any such a big cooking competition left in South Africa? 

Well, while I am planning my move to Australia, I am working on my cookbook. Who knows... maybe I can be guest chef on Masterchef!! Hahaha!!

Ingredients

1cup cream

2cups milk

3 eggs, separated

2cups flour

2t baking powder

1t whole aniseed

½ t salt

1 cup sugar

½ orange zest

Orange slices

Extra cream for whipping

Method

1. Mix the cream, milk, egg yolk, salt and aniseed.

2. Mix the flour and baking powder.

3. Add the flour to the milk mixture one by one, mixing well every time.

4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

5. Fold into the flour mixture.

6. Bake in a warm pan, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

7. Put the sugar and water in a pot on low heat, and dissolve the sugar.

8. Add the orange zest and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

9. Remove from heat and let it cool a little.

10. Add the juice from one orange, mix well and let it cook again on low heat, till soft ball stage, stirring continuously.

11. Remove from heat.

12. Beat the extra cream till it forms stiff peaks.

13. Dish up with generous portions, and enjoy!

Your is oil and veggies… and pancakes!

Risch

Chicken Broccoli Pasta

No story today. Just recipes.

Ingredients

5x chicken breast fillets

100g margarine

1 ½ tbs soya sauce

2t Cajun spice

1t coriander

½ t all spice

2 onions, sliced lengthwise

½ - 1 cup cream

lemon zest

1 broccoli head

Method

1. Melt the margarine in the frying pan. Add the chicken fillets and fry for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the soya sauce, Cajun spice, coriander and all spice, and fry for another couple of minutes.

3. Put the pot for the pasta on with some salt, and let it cook. Then add the pasta and cook till soft, but firm. Add some margarine and mix through. Set aside.

4. When the fillets are just cooked through, take it out of the frying pan and make it fine in a blender.

5. Put the onion in the chicken’s sauce in the frying pan and fry the onion till soft.

6. Add the chicken to the onion, along with the cream and lemon zest.

7. Cook the broccoli head in a little water in a pot, with a little salt, till just soft, but still stiff.

8. Remove the broccoli from the pot and dunk it in in ice water to stop the cooking process.

9. Break the broccoli into little trees and add to the chicken in the frying pan.

10. Mix the pasta and the chicken and dish up.

Garnish with extra lemon zest, and some chilli for a little bite. And enjoy!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Spicy Tomato Sauce

This is a nice little handy sauce that is quick and easy to make, if you need a quick and tasty sauce. change the spicing to your taste - make it hotter or more peppery as your taste buds may require!

Ingredients
2x tins tomato & onion
1t origanum
1t sugar
1/4t coarse ground pepper
2x twists of ground chilli
1t worcestershire sauce
Optional: 1/2t garlic

Method
1. Put everything in a saucepan, mix well and heat till it just boils.
2. Serve with spaghetti, Spaghetti & Cheesy Meatballs, or with any other dish that require a quick sauce.

Yours in oil and veggies
Risch

Spaghetti & Cheesy Meatballs

Who doesn't love meatballs? Well, actually, I didn't. Guess it always reminded me of the tinned version. Not that there is anything wrong with the tinned version, lots of people love it, I just couldn't stand it. I think we ate in kindergarten... and I hated going to kindergarten! I made such a fuss about not going, that my parents were forced to keep me home just before school and our help looked after me.

Another thing about the meatballs that always put me off, was the tomato. For the longest time I didn't like tomato in food. I love my toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, and I can eat a whole tomato raw like that. And I eat it Spaghetti Bolognaise and Lasagne. But couldn't care for it otherwise.
I must admit, slowly my taste is turning to appreciate the wonder that is tomato. It started with making my own Tomato Soup, and the Spicy Tomato Sauce that goes with these meatballs - well, make it for yourself and see!

Ingredients
800g mince
130g cheddar cheese
1x egg
1/2t ground black pepper
1t salt
1/4t ground nutmeg
1/4t ground coriander
1/2cup raw rolled oats
1tbs origanum
125ml warm water
1tbs sugar
3tbs tomato sauce / tomato puree
Optional:
flour to roll in
butter

Method
1. Mix the mince, cheese, egg, pepper, salt,  nutmeg, coriander, oats and origanum well. Tip: mix everything except the mince and egg well, then mix the mince and egg, and then add the other stuff to the mince and mix well.
2. Make balls that is the size of half your palm and roll it in flour. Arrange it in an ovenproof baking dish.
3. Dot the balls with a little butter.
(The flour and butter is optional, but it gives a little of a crunch to the meatballs)
4. Dissolve the sugar and tomato sauce in the warm water and pour it in the baking dish.
5. Bake at 180degreesC for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until browned.
6. Serve warm with Spicy Tomato Sauce and spaghetti.

... and enjoy!

Yours in oil and veggies
Risch

Prawn Pasta

We are not a rich family, by any material means. We are blessed, though, in having enough. And every so often, we indulge a little in more expensive dishes... like this one... Due to its extraordinary prices, we don't eat a lot of sea food, although we all love it. Especially sushi... but let's not seduce our taste buds with thoughts of other delectable dishes...

It's a very simple dish, but the taste is everything but. Easy to make, quick to prepare and quite filling. And even with the expensive ingredient of prawns, the dish is actually still affordable - especially compared to take-aways or a restaurant dinner. 
We used shell pasta, to add to the "seafood" theme. Any pasta will do, please prepare according to the packet's instructions.

 
 Ingredients
100g margarine
1tbs garlic
1tbs parsley
1t lemon zest
400g prawn meat (frozen)
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method
1. Melt 50g of the margarine in a saucepan, or a deep frying pan, but with a lid. Add the garlic, parsley and lemon zest and fry for a minute or two.
2. Add the prawns and fry with the lid on, for about 10minutes, stirring every so often.
3. Melt 25g of the margarine in separate pan and fry the onions till nicely browned.
4. Add the cream and parmesan to the prawn mixture and stir well.
5. Cook with the lid on for another 5 - 10 minutes, stirring often.
6. Depending on how thick you want your sauce, cook the prawns with the lid on or off until done.
7. Add to the pasta and mix well.
8. Serve warm with extra parmesan, fresh parsley, lemon zest or even a twist of chilli for a kick.

And enjoy!!

Yours in oil and veggies
Risch