Scalloped Potatoes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
About 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
2 bay leaves
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 190 degrees.

2. Melt butter in large oven proof dish over medium-high heat until foaming subsides. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add potatoes, chicken stock, cream, and bay leaves and bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender (paring knife can be slipped into and out of potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves.

3. Sprinkle evenly with grated cheese. Bake until cream is bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Pea and Ham Soup

This recipe is a variation of Stephanie Alexander's recipe. The flavour was delicious.

3 cups yellow split peas
1 onion, diced
1 small leak finely sliced
5 carrots, peeled and diced
6 - 8 stalks of celery, diced
1kg bacon bones (I think bacon bones give a better result than a ham hock)
3 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 generous sprig thyme
fresh ground black pepper
Cover with cold water

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low or high depending on how quickly you want it cooked, at least 3 - 4 hours on high, longer on low. Get the bread maker going at the same time and time it so that you have fresh bread to eat with the soup. Remove the bacon bones, and scrape meat from the bones and return the meat to the soup. Serve it up!

Sweet potato and roasted capsicum soup

1 medium sized onion, chopped and sauted with 2 cloves garlic
2 fairly decent sized red capsicums, roast and take skin off
500-750g sweet potatoes chopped
Chicken stock to cover
Half a teaspoon cajan seasonings or to your taste
Salt and pepper (optional)

Method:

Simmer until the sweet potatoes are cooked and then puree.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve with a spoon of sour cream and crusty bread

Yummy!

Afternoon Tea

Mini Quiches

I loosely followed a recipe for this.
Cut24 circles from 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry, and gently press into well greased shallow muffin tins. Place a little grated cheese and finely chopped shaved ham into pastry, top with 3 eggs mixed with a couple of spoons of cream. Top with a little finely chopped chives and bake at 190C for about 15 minutes, or until pastry is cooked.

Orange date scones

Ingredients

• Melted butter or margarine, for greasing
• 2 1/3 cups (350g) self-raising flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 40g (2 tbs) butter
• 1 orange, rind finely grated, juiced
• 1 cup (165g) chopped dried dates
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 125mls (1/2 cup) milk
• Butter, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a baking tray with melted butter or margarine to grease lightly.
2. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the orange rind and dates.
3. Combine the orange juice, egg and milk in a small jug. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the combined liquids. Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients with a round-bladed knife until the mixture starts to come together. Use your hands to form the mixture into a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press into a 2cm-thick round. Cut out the dough with a floured 5cm scone cutter and place onto prepared tray. Repeat with any remaining dough scraps.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden and sound hollow when tapped. Serve warm with butter.