Luscious Tangy Lemon Meringue Pie

If there's one thing I'm known for it's my Lemon Meringue Pie.  This recipe has been perfected over the years from the one my Nanna used and then my Mum.

It's a recipe I'm always asked for so I hope you love making it as much as I do.

Ingredients:
Crumb
1 packed Marie biscuits
125g melted butter

Luscious lemon centre
1 can condensed milk
4 egg yolks (XL eggs)
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Meringue topping
4 egg whites (whites of yolks in middle)
3/4 cup castor sugar


Method:
Crush the biscuits in a food processor till smooth (or if you don't have one put the biscuits in a zip lock bag and smash with a rolling pin/metal potato masher or similar)
Add melted butter and mix till combined. (I use butter blocks)
Add the crumb into a pie dish and press into the sides and base.
Refrigerate while you make the centre.

In a medium bowl add the egg yolks saving the whites, lightly beat with a fork or whisk till pale. Add the condensed milk, lemon juice and rind.  Mix till combined.
Add it to the top of the crust and put it back in the fridge.

Whisk the whites with an electric mixer till soft peaks form then gently add the sugar. Mix till thick and glossy.
You can now either put the egg white mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto the chilled pie or add the mixture to the top of the pie with a spoon, smoothing it out and then using a fork to flick up the egg white mix to form peaks.

Cook in a medium oven (around 150 degrees Celsius) for around 45 minutes till the whites are lightly golden.

Cool the pie and eat it slightly warm or chill, either is equally yummy.

Note: the pie will not quite keep it's shape if eaten warm.

I would love to hear what you think so leave a comment below.

Enjoy
Bec xxx

Banana Bread

There are a few things in life that I adore and Banana bread is one of them.  It's so wonderfully filling and awesome toasted with some butter.
I love this recipe which I adapted from a few recipes as it makes a melt in your mouth consistency.

Ingredients

• 125g butter softened
• 100g brown sugar
• 4 tbl maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 3 ripe bananas (this time I used 2 medium ripe and one still very nice banana, they don't last long enough in  my house to go brown before they are eaten!)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp dry ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 3/4 cups SR flour
• 1/25 cup walnuts lightly broken up by hand into smaller pieces (keep a few whole for the top)

Method:

• Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy
• Add the maple syrup and beat until combined
• Add one egg at a time beating after each addition
• Add the cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice and salt and mix until combined
• Remove from mixer and add by hand the banana, almond meal and SR flour, lightly mix together until combined then add to a loaf tin lined with grease proof paper.
• Sprinkle with a few whole walnuts and a light sprinkling of brown sugar to add a crunch.
• Bake in a 180 degree oven for 1 hour or until golden brown and when inserted with a skewer comes out clean.
• Serve warm with some butter or toasted for a wonderful crunchy treat.

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Broccoli and cauliflower soup

I know I'm doing a great job as a mum when I place a bowl of green soup in front of my kids and tell them what it is and they get all excited.  One mouthful and their eyes shine and they tell me how delicious the soup is as they praise me as a cook.  I couldn't be any prouder!
But you have to try this soup to truly appreciate how yummy and healthy it is!
I serve it with fresh bread (normally wholemeal but a French stick looked appealing today)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 2 broccoli florettes
• 1 medium cauliflower
• 1 1/2 tbls vegetta
• 2 ltrs boiling water
• 1/3 cup cream
• 3 tbls corn flour

Method:

• Cut up the onion into small pieces and saute over medium heat in a large pot with a small dash of olive oil.
• Wash and cut up the broccoli and cauliflower into florettes and remove the stems.
• Once the onion is cooked add the chopped up broccoli and cauliflower and steam in the pot with around 100mls of water.  Cook stirring every minute or so until the broccoli is bright green.
• Add the vegetta to the boiling water in a separate jug. Stir until dissolved (making a vegetable stock) and add to the vegetables in the pot.
• Cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are almost cooked. Don't cook till soft but with a bit of crunch still left.
• Take the pot off the heat and using a stick mixer purée the soup till smooth. (use a blender if you don't have a stick mixer)
• Return to low heat and once it starts bubbling again add the cream while stirring.
• Simmer again.
• In a small jug add the corn flour with a small amount of cold water (around 2-3tbl) and mix till you have a liquid (not a paste).  While stirring over low heat add the cornflour liquid and simmer till thickened (a few minutes)
• serve with crusty bread

Zucchini Bacon Bites

Today Bella and I took two of our recipes and created these tasty little bites.  Even Bellas brother loved them and he tells us he hates eggs!  I even fed my 10 month old a few for lunch today and he gobbled them all up.

They are awesome hot or cold and perfect in lunchboxes instead of a sandwich.  They freeze well and will last a few days in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 tbl vegetta
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• handful fresh parsley cut up (or a few shakes of dried parsley)
• 1 tsp dry coriander (or some fresh)
• 1 cup milk
• 8 shortcut bacon rashes 
• 1 small onion
• 1 1/2 cups of grated tasty cheese
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 2 carrots grated
• 1 zucchini grated
• 1 1/2 cups SR flour

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• Beat the eggs till combined.  I like to use an electric mixer for about 2 minutes.
• add vegetta, mustard powder, coriander, parsley and milk and beat for a further minute till all ingredients are combined.
• cut up the bacon into small cubes (around 5mm) and lightly brown in a frypan, cool then add to egg mix
• cut up 1 onion into small pieces and add to egg mix.
• Then add the grated carrot, zucchini and cheese and mix with a spoon till combined.
• Finally add the SR flour and mix with a spoon till all ingredients are combined.
• using a spray oil grease some small muffin tins.  (I made 10 regular muffins and 36 small muffins (bite size) with this recipe.
• add your mixture to the greased muffin trays, filling each muffin hole till almost the top. 
• Cook for around 25 minutes for the small ones and 30 minutes for the bigger muffins or until they spring back and are lightly golden brown on the top.  Let cool before removing from trays and cooling on a wire rack.

Bella helping to add the mixture to the pans

A bit messy but thats the fun of helping 

Zucchini Bacon bites, yummy!