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

Cheese Scons

I used to make cheese scons every Sunday morning before church when I was in matric and living with my mom. It is dough with cheese... 2 of my favourite things in 1!! I loved it. And I still do. This is my own recipe, and it is soft and delicious - just like the perfect scone should be!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2t baking powder
1t salt
pinch red pepper
125g butter, cold and grated
200g cheese, grated
1 cup ice water
2 eggs

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and red pepper together. 

  
The butter must be very cold. 

Crumb the grated butter into the flour mixture until you almost can't see the butter. Mix in the grated cheese.

Beat the eggs and ice water together. 

Add the ice water mixture and cut it into the mixture with a knife until it is mixed well and starting to come together. Mix the dough well. 

Spray a scone pan with Cook & Bake or cover with butter. Scoop the mixture in to about 3/4 full. 

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160degrees C for about 30 minutes. When the sides start to pull away from the pan and when it is starting to brown it is very close to ready. Check with a tester to see when it is ready. Serve warm with butter and jam and syrup and cream...

Enjoy!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Fried Rice Cakes

These little cakes are a savoury treat. Great for snacks and kiddies lunches, it is also another way of adding some rice to your meal.

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 onion, chopped

60g cheese, grated

2tbs mayonnaise

1tbs parsley

salt & pepper to taste

2tbs margarine

1/2 cup flour

Method

Cook the rice as per packet instructions.

I used my Veri-Mark chopper thingy to chop and mix the ingredients. Add the onion and parsley and chop until finely chopped and well mixed. 

Add the eggs, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and cheese. Mix well. 

Once rice is cooked, drain and add the onion & cheese mixture. Add the flour. Mix well. 

Melt the butter in a pan. Scoop spoonfulls onto the pan and fry until golden brown on one side, then flip over and fry until golden brown. Preferably on a lower heat, to ensure that it cooks evenly through. 

Once golden brown, remove and place on kitchen towel to drain off excess oils.

And serve!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Lemon Tuna Tartlets with Potato-Pumpkin mash

Chicken or fish?

No, we're not flying anywhere... it's our Thursday meal choice!

Last week we had the wonderful Shortcut "Sticky" Chicken, so this week has to be fish. We've had our Baked Haddock already, and I wasn't in the mood for Hake. Hhhhmmm... Oh yes!! TUNA!!

But my Macaroni Tuna has macaroni in it, and although very delicious, it is not suitable for a low-carb diet. (Don't worry, I will still post the recipe!!) So I thought of making little tartlets again, with the side of Potato-Pumpkin Mash...

Preparation Time: 30min

Cooking/Baking time: 1 hour

Difficulty Level: Easy

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3tbs butter

4 eggs

1 onion

1 tin mushrooms / half punnet fresh mushrooms

1tbs german mustard

1t parsley

150g grated cheddar cheese

1tbs lemon juice

1tin tuna in brine

Pepper to taste

Method

Melt 1tbs butter in a pan. Fry the onion and mushrooms until starting to brown. Remove from heat.

 Melt 2tbs butter in a bowl - just melted, not cooking. Add the eggs and whisk very well. Add the mustard, parsley, pepper and lemon juice and whisk well. Add the cheese, tuna and mushroom mix and mix well. 

Spray a muffin pan very well with non-stick spray. Scoop the mixture into the tins. It does not rise, so you can make it as high as you like. 

Bake in the oven at 160degrees C for about 20-30 minutes. The cooking time will depend on how big your tartlets are. 

You will notice that there is no extra salt in the recipe. The lemon and cheese adds quite a zing, which makes salt unnecessary. If you prefer to add salt, be careful to add just a pinch.

Serve warm with a little mayonnaise....

The sweetness of the Potato-Pumpkin mash compliments the zing of the tartlets beautifully!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Cheese & Salami Tartlets

Well, my husband's boss was so kind to give us a whole stick of salami - about 1kg! And I do love my cheese & salami pie!! So I tried to make my own...

Ingredients

1 roll puff pastry
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped salami (remember to take off the rind)
1t mixed herbs
pinch red pepper/cayenne pepper
1/4t paprika
3 eggs, seperated
1 onion, finely chopped
2tbs milk

Method
Spray small muffin pans with non-stick spray. Finely chop the cheese, onion and egg yellow together - I used my stickblender. Add the milk if the mixture is too stiff. Whip the eggwhites to stiff peaks and fold into the egg yellow mixture, with the herbs, pepper, paprika and if you want, salt and black pepper to taste. Fold in the salami.

Roll out the puff pastry, not too thin, about 2mm.

 Press out the rounds for your muffin pan, and gently press in into the pan. Remember: when choosing something to press out, measure it over the pan's cups: It should be bigger to fill up the sides, too. The deeper the cup, the bigger it must be. 

Scoop the mixture into the pan. It does rise a little, but you can fill it to the top. 

Bake in the oven at 180degrees C for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin pan!! And enjoy as a light teatime snack or late night bite in front of a movie...

 This tasty bite is light, cheap and so easy to make. You can substitute the salami with biltong, ham or viennas. And of course it passed the kiddie test!! Perfect for school or lunch, it tastes just as great cold.

Happy baking!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch