Pecan and White Chocolate Blondies

I have struggled with the concept of blondies for a while now, thinking of them as a rather sickly alternative to brownies.  However, I was messing around with my cookie recipe recently and realised that I had effectively made blondies...and they went down very well!  A bit more fiddling with quantities and here they are, if you think of them as a chewy, gooey chunk of vanilla cookie you're on the right track.

Makes about 20 small blondies

Ingredients

150g Butter

175g Caster Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Large Egg

2 tablespoons Golden Syrup

200g Plain Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

150g White Chocolate, roughly chopped

75g Pecans, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 175C and fully line a brownie tin or deep swiss roll tin (mine is 30x18cm) with baking/greaseproof paper.
• With a wooden spoon beat the butter and sugar together with the vanilla extract and the golden syrup.  Add the egg and mix it in, it may curdle slightly at this point.
• Tip in the flour and baking powder and mix it until it is all combined into a stiff mixture.
• Mix in the white chocolate and pecans until fully incorporated.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until it's risen and golden brown at the edges, puffy but still a bit wobbly in the middle.  
• Allow it to cool almost fully in the tin until it has firmed up enough to take it out by the paper and put it on a board.  Leave it until it is totally cool then cut into pieces.

Curried Lentil Soup

I make this soup often and freeze it in lunch-sized portions.  It's cheap, healthy and, most importantly, very tasty and nourishing.  

You can leave the coconut milk out if you prefer and increase the amount of stock, and if you like it hot, up the spice level and add some chilli!

Ingredients

2 Brown Onions, peeled and finely diced

Olive Oil

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Curry Powder

Salt and Black Pepper

250g Red Lentils

1 medium-sized Potato, peeled and cubed

1 litre Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1 x 400ml Tin of Light Coconut Milk

• Sizzle the onion in a small amount of olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat with a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper.  When the onion is starting to soften add the curry powder, potato and garlic.
• Cook for a minute or two more then tip in the lentils.  Stir to combine then pour in the stock and the coconut milk.
• Give it a stir, scraping the bottom of the pan then bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the cubes of potato are soft.
• Stir and mash through the soup with a potato masher, squashing all the cubes of potato.
• Taste the soup to check the seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with a blob of natural yoghurt stirred in.

Easy Vanilla and Chocolate Cheesecake

I love making a classic baked cheesecake but it is certainly not one to attempt when you are in a hurry.  This speedy version however, can be put together in 20 minutes.  Admittedly it needs to be chilled for at least 3 hours but you can make it the day before and put it in the fridge overnight.  Believe me, you will be applauded, everyone loves a cheesecake and most people don't care whether it's baked or not!
I am rather sold on melted Mars bar as the topping, it's like an instant glaze...also worth considering as a warm sauce over vanilla ice cream (I have only discovered this in the name of research of course).

Ingredients

200g Bourbon Biscuits

75g Butter, melted

400g Cream Cheese

200ml Double Cream

1 Vanilla Pod or 2 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract

100g Icing Sugar

1 x 58g Mars Bar, cut into small pieces (plus 2 tablespoons Double Cream)

• Crush the bourbon biscuits by bashing them in a bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor.  Pour the melted butter into the crumbs and stir until combined.  Tip these buttery crumbs into a paper-lined springform tin (20-25cm diameter) and press them in firmly.
• Put the base in the fridge so that it starts to set while you make the filling.  Beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and either the seeds from the vanilla pod or the vanilla extract with a wooden spoon until it is soft and smooth.  In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until softly whipped then fold this into the cream cheese bowl.
• Dollop the mixture onto the biscuit base and smooth it out.  Put this into the fridge to chill.
• For the sticky chocolate glaze, put the pieces of Mars bar with the cream into a small pan on the lowest hob setting you have.  Melt it very slowly until it is molten and smooth then pour it over the cheesecake and spread evenly.  Put the cheesecake back in the fridge for at least 3 hours until set. 

Easy Egg-Fried Rice

My easy egg-fried rice makes a regular appearance at our house.  It's one meal that I can almost always (I find it never pays to be too confident!) guarantee my children will eat. 
It's also worth saying that it doesn't have to be just for kids...it makes a tasty addition to any Chinese themed meal.  
It's a very flexible recipe...reduce or increase the amounts accordingly!

Generously feeds one three year old and one five year old

Ingredients

1 Onion, diced

1 Carrot, diced (sweetcorn, peas and green beans also work well)

1 Garlic Clove, minced

Approx. 75g Basmati Rice *

Soy Sauce

Boiling water or stock (chicken is good)

1 Large Egg, beaten

Optional: Cooked chicken, prawns or pork

• Add a glug of oil to a frying pan on a medium heat then add the onion and carrot, sizzle for a few minutes then add the minced garlic.  Cook for a couple more minutes, stirring it around so the veg doesn't burn, then add enough boiling water (or stock if you have it) to cover the rice with about a centimetre above.  Add a teaspoon or so of soy sauce, give it a quick stir then cover and leave to bubble on a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
• When all the water/stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked, fork through it gently then tip it all into a bowl.
• Return the frying pan to the hob and add a small glug of oil.  When the pan is hot again pour in the beaten egg and swirl it around to cover the bottom as if you are making a pancake.
• When the egg is set, cut through it with a spatula to break it into pieces then tip the rice back in again along with any cooked chicken or prawns.
• Toss it all around briefly in the frying pan to combine then serve immediately.

* I often make this with leftover cooked rice that I have kept in the fridge.  Leaving out the water or stock and just adding the cooked rice to the frying pan once the onions and veg are cooked, stirring it around with a glug of soy sauce.