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Yup! this was "made by me"
ALWAYS HAVE AN ADULT HELPING YOU WHEN WORKING IN THE KITCHEN! It's lovely as a summer BBQ pudding, or as an indulgent sunday lunch pud, ...(why wait for sunday)!? If you like banana split's you'll LOVE this! ( it does need to be kept covered in a COLD fridge once made, & will last for a few days without spoiling. There are some really great recipes on the internet, BUT! the simplest way to try it is probably the Dr Oetker (packet mix, with some banana's & a good tub of cream for the topping, look for it in supermarkets). However we made it this way... (it's also a German favourite because the 2 countries are close together) & known there as "MAULWURFKUCHEN" Here's how we made it, ...the video is from Youtube & is silent, it has German & English subtitles so it's easy to follow! when we try a new recipe it's good to have the computer ready to help us out with a step by step video! Izzy recommends: you watch the video to the end with a grown up, then you can work out what's in your cupboard & what you need to buy, (we didn't bother with the cranberries, instead we just used banana as our fruit). We also made a warm caramel sauce to be spooned on afterwards because the cake is quite a dry one, & the caramel go's well with banana's & cream! Yummy (1 slice at a time). By Izzy M. Always have an adult helping you in the kitchen. Everyone ought to know how to put this one together even if someone else shares the work with you you'll have a family meal in no time. ...it's as easy as 1, 2, 3 & has very few things to do in order to make a cheap tasty meal when you are in a rush. Mum nipped into Morrisons after work & managed to pick up some chilled pasta sauces cheaply in the reduced area (we hate waste, & pasta sauces are usually fine to freeze so don't worry about best before dates) . She picked up 4 tubs for the price of one, & some garlic balls. She grabbed some good quality juicy "Paddington" sausages from our fab butchers & we bunged them in the oven to bake off (180 centigrade, pre-heated oven for around 25 minutes or until nicely browned) whilst we sorted the rest out. (one or 2 good sausages per person ). 1. boil up a BIG pan of pasta (your favourite or whatever is to hand) 2.Drain in a colander (metal sieve) & spoon the hot pasta into a shallow enamel / pyrex dish. 3.Pour the pasta sauce on top* *SOME people (& chefs) like to ad a good handful of squashed up crsips on top at this point, as they bake off & add some nice crunchy texture). 4. Add some grated cheese or mozzarella (whatever is in the fridge). 5. Stick it in the oven until it starts to crisp off a bit! (about 20 minutes) 6. just over half way through, we popped the garlic balls (garlic bread is nice as an option) ..they only need about 8-12 minutes in the oven (which is already hot as you started the Sausages off (baking). When ready, get an adult to help you remove the hot food from the oven & plate it up for your family to enjoy, if you need more cheese grate some, BUT the sauce will have worked it's way through the pasta coating most of it & adding flavour. serve with some fresh baby tomatoes as a side dish for everyone to grab from. (i'm taking the leftovers in & eating it cold today for my lunch). By Izzy M
Always have a parent or carer with you when working in the kitchen Specialist tools needed: "apple corer" (easily found at stores such as Dunelm This is a great recipe for any cub, beaver, families & carers to try (& have fun with), we've made these ourselves & they are lovely! You will need some good size baking potatoes & an adult with you to help with coring the apple to make the "stuffing space" inside the potatoes, filled with yummy ingredients, pretty much whatever takes your fancy, (& you have hanging around in the fridge). Watch the video, you could make some ready for a BBQ, around a camp fire, or to make ready for cooking in the oven, it's your choice & fun food! I love mine with bacon on the inside, spring onions & grated cheese or mozzarella, with salt & pepper mixed in! ..& bacon on the outside. If you oven cook these, still wrap them in tin foil to make them crispier, & have a good rich coleslaw (we recommend Morrisons 'slaw) & these are no longer simply bland potatoes, in fact, before I tried these I used to make every excuse not to eat a baked spud, ..now I can't get enough of them. Izzy's Tip Note, when using an apple corer go from the longest point end to end, if it doesn't come straight through, push it as far as it will co & then bang it "point down" on a chopping board, often it will make a raised mark on the potato inside & upon removing the corer you'll be able to see exactly where to re-insert it to finish the job! Anyway watch the video to get an idea then grab a grown up & make up a batch of potato bombs! i'm drooling each time I see the video! ..simple cheap, filling, fun! ..& possible to use towards badgework! such as your Chef badge! Give it a go these will soon be a family favourite, ..baked potatoes will never be the same again! Look out for some more recipes soon, don't forget to try this one, it doesn't get simpler than this! Try Dunelm for an apple corer, they have a good range of well priced kitchenware, ..it's worth buying a corer for this recipe alone, because once you find out what your favourite potato filling is, these will become a regular on your "what you want for supper" list, & can be prepared in advance & stored in the fridge until ready to bake off! http://1stramseyscoutgroup.weebly.com/cooking--kitchen-technique-how-tos.html Kitchen skills, ..we all need to know the basics why not watch a few with your parent or carer!? We now have 25 to choose from! ..and they all help towards getting badges for various skills, not just cooking! Grilled & skewered, a really nice way to try heart. By Izzy M (& her dad). ALWAYS, have an adult helping you in the kitchen. Far nicer than a bush-tucker challenge! My dad grew up around animals on a farm & understands how important it is to look after an animal well & also to try things other people might make a fuss about because good food is really precious, these days we rarely try more than a few traditional cuts of meat, meaning a lot of a good animal is wasted, unlike a few short generations ago, when food was harder to come by & supermarkets didn't exist. So today i'm going to tell you about a fantastic steak meat I have eaten & enjoyed from local animals raised by butchers ( Johnsons of Oldhurst) from Ostrich, Lamb, & OX, as well as from Tesco's (Lamb). I'm talking about heart, ..& it's actually really nice meat that some people squirm about & make a fuss (but there are also people in the world who would find our drinking of milk quite disgusting), ...so it just go's to show what a crazy mixed up world we live in! Heart is a hard working muscle, as a result has very little fat around it (known as lean meat). as one of the hardest working muscles in the body, so it is one of the fullest flavoured. But unlike other hard-working muscles like, say, leg meat, the muscle fibres in a heart are extremely short, so it still manages to be tender & easy to cut through with a steak knife & chew. Compare heart's combination of features (meaty flavor, no fat, short fibres) to that of a Sunday roast (meaty flavour, lots of fat, long fibres) to that of a cut on the leg (meaty flavour, almost no fat, long fibres), and it becomes clear why it's one of the tastiest, and most versatile cuts on the animal. Leg meat can quickly turn tough in the kitchen: leg has neither the short fibres of heart to keep it naturally tender, nor the fat of brisket to keep it moist. Cooking heart, on the other hand, you can choose the methods you'd use on leg meat—hot and fast—or on brisket—low and slow. Why Heart? ..because it's as good as some of the best fillet steak & is a very cheap under-used part of an animal. If we get an OX heart from Johnsons it's very BIG & can weigh around 6-8lb's in weight. Stuffed Lamb hearts can be found in Tesco (often 2 in a pack) for around £1.25 & are a lovely simple meal cooked slowly (casseroled) in a pyrex dish with some simple rice to go with it. Ostrich heart is interesting because it's what we call a "bi-valve" animal (meaning two chambers) & is quite amazing, it cuts into little "medallions" & is one of the best I've tried ...the butcher gave us it as he didn't know what to do with it! ...being food explorers we were keen to try! My mum & dad used to despair because I didn't eat meat! (i was very fussy & didn't eat properly as a baby, in fact I pretty much survived by living off chocolate buttons for the first four years of my life) ..nowadays i'll try any type of meat or veg! If you are up for trying heart then the easiest way is to get a butcher to slice it into steaks about 3/4 of an inch thick, rub them with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, then get a grown up to sear them in a super hot skillet. REMEMBER that they have almost no fat, which means that they'll cook much faster than a normal steak will, and that anything beyond medium-rare will turn them dry and tough! Heart is also really tastey in sausages, recently Tesco started selling them, in "blind" taste tests people preferred them to other sausages, proving that if we aren't daft about food we can often surprise ourselves... Try some & surprise yourself & your family, go on be a food explorer!, heart is a "forgotten cut" but very juicy tender & tastey, Morrisons is a good place to try some of the forgotten favourites, ..if you are scared of trying heart, perhaps try "pigs cheek" instead, (they come ready prepared & just need to be casseroled or hammered to tenderise them (fun, but do it with an adult helping you) & can be cooked on a grill, very tender with only a tiny bit of fat. As i've come back from a holiday in Crete recently I was trying lots of different food & vegetables cooked in a different way, & once again my dad found he really enjoyed some vegetables he's insisted he didn't like, & gobbled them all up off his plate then asked for more! Be a food explorer & simply TRY one new food this week, you might surprise yourself! By web admin We noticed that folk are looking certain info for within the pages via "key word searches" ..as a result we've just updated 2 x cooking pages (in addition to the campfire poncho / fire banket page today).. So we've updated the "made by me" rustic Pizza page (which now has video instruction on how to make & roll dough) ..as well as recipe material for the dough base.. made-by-me-rustic-pizza & we also realised we'd not given anyone a recipe on how to cook naughty chips, so we've borrowed a hairy bikers recipe! ...just to help things along. made-by-me-proper-crinkly-cheesey-chips Hope this helps, let us know if there is anything you'd like info on via the contact pages ...or simply general feedback is appreciated! By Izzy M. ALWAYS have a grown-up parent or carer with you when in the kitchen. Being a big fan of Sushi I enjoy eating smoked salmon, & if you buy smoked salmon trimmings (£0.89p for 120g) from "Morrison's" it can make for a really cheap luxury ingredient ...that works out cheaper than a drained can of tuna for the same weight, without it coming from 1/2 way round the world ..Smoked (uk) salmon is mostly "farmed" in Scotland so it's possibly better for the planet & tuna is getting rare from over fishing (as well as other species often being caught in tuna nets ..such as turtles). We tend to buy a few small packs at a time & pop one in the fridge the others in the freezer, it keeps well for quite a while without being defrosted. Salmon is an OILY fish too so it's extra good for your body & brain, it has lots of flavour, dad puts it in fresh, warmed up onion bagels (Sainsbury's) or any bagel in fact, along with some cream cheese, (you've probably had cream cheese mixed in with pasta) & calls it "Lox" ..The word lox is derived from the Yiddish word for salmon, לאַקס (laks), which comes from the Indo-European word for salmon, laks... I love having a slightly warmed salmon & cream cheese bagel for lunch, but below is scrambled egg with smoked salmon recipe I enjoy making & scoffing with my dad, ..tasty & good for you plus it'll see you through until lunchtime. Serves 2 About 100g of sliced smoked salmon (or cheap salmon trimmings, which make it easier to eat)! 4 medium eggs ..or whatever you have in the cupboard.. 20g of butter plus a bit more for the toasted bagel. 2 bagels ..onion /plain ..whatever you enjoy best! Fine sea salt & freshly ground black pepper ....we like to use a mix of "maldons" salt because it's not strong (mixed in with herbs & peppercorns). This makes a superb school or Sunday breakfast (if you just have it with toast) & is an anytime meal or brunch, you might have a simple way of cooking your scrambled eggs, (sometimes we do them in the microwave for simple speed! Always try to get the salmon trimmings out & open first to warm up a little bit (more flavour) while you cook your eggs. Grab a pyrex bowl & break your eggs into it. Add the salt & pepper mix then whisk it by hand Get a parent or helper to heat up a non-stick pan on a low heat & melt half your butter in it, when the butter bubbles pour the eggs in & start stirring with a wooden spoon... Stick your bagels on to toast (or your toast) on NOW! The egg mixture thickens as it cooks (gets hotter) & get lumpy, within a few minutes, just keep stirring it in on itself scraping the sides & the bottom of the pan (folding the egg over on itself). when it looks about done, add in the rest of the butter & stir it in for another 15 seconds or so. Butter your bagel or toast (quickly) & pop some salmon trimmings on.. Now spoon & spread some scrambled egg on top & you are done! Enjoy it & let me know how you got on!Because Cubs CAN Cook! If you don't like Smoked salmon then why not try some ham instead? ..a bagel is a solid type of bread (but like a ring doughnut in shape), & very filling, and has around 225 - 325 calories before you put anything on or with it, so can make a pretty good energy giving lunch, most are savoury & topped with mixed seeds or poppy seed, but some bagels are sweet such as raisin & cranberry... or raisin & cinnamon, ..delicous. I also like to take plain bagels on a day out, because it's a bit doughy if it gets crushed in your pocket it's still pretty solid & satisfying to eat, so good for hikes too! By Izzy M. Always have a parent or carer around to help you in the kitchen As it's the Easter holidays we are cooking a lot so Dad reminded me of something ANYONE can make which can totally change your food (& it keeps well in the fridge or freezer) ...I first made this a few years ago now. Get yourself a pack or two of butter
If you are using unsalted butter add a pinch of fine sea salt to your mix. Chili Coriander and Lime. (Chili optional)
Basil Parmesan and Tomato.
Garlic and Parsley.
Sweet Citrus butter
Not sure what to use your flavoured butter with? How about simple baked potatoes, ...corn on the cob, ...salmon fillets, (or pretty much any fish) ...freshly baked bread, ...with assorted hot steamed vegetables, cooked roast meat, pan-fried steak. Proving once again that "Cubs CAN cook" ..if you get into the kitchen & give it a go! Be a food explorer & try something new, today for instance I tried pan-fried scallops & bacon with cubed potatoes ...it was delicious, look out for another recipe shortly, because we are making a big vat of clam & seafood chowder today (dad was clearing out freezers to defrost them & has been fishing around in the darkest corners) for things which needed using up! ;) By Izzy M. Always have an adult helping you in the kitchen Have you noticed how expensive flour wraps are in the supermarket? ..they tend to be made from wheat but proper ones are made from cornflour which you can pick up at places like "Janson Hong's" near Peterborough cathederal, & most supermarkets & the ethnic aisle of places such as Asda & Tesco. If you haven't heard of tortilla's have a look at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_tortilla A pack of proper corn tortilla's could cost nearly £3.00 in the shops, but you can make your own FRESH, much cheaper they are just FLOUR & WATER ..if you eat a lot of these like we do, you could save yourself quite a lot of money by making your own! If you can't find "Masa Harina" flour then just use some strong wheat flour. Ingredients ... Flour & water! This is a really good recipe link http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/ Of course a rolling pin can & will make the flour thin for us to make a handful for a mealtime (though slower) just remember to make all your dough balls the same size & weight for better results. Tortilla's are what we used for my enchilada recipe... you can find that in a previous post Quick tip 1...we make ours using a large & shallow pyrex bowl lid (it's see through & very strong) so will take a good deal of pressure on it from a grown up. Quick tip 2... make a set amount of cornmeal flour & try cutting it into 8 (4 knife cuts) with a grown up's help ..that way you know each of the portions is the same size & will take the same time to cook! WHITEBAIT ...VERY YUMMY! By Izzy M. Because Cubs CAN cook! Always have help from a parent or carer when working in the kitchen Whitebait was my first attempt at gutting fish, (as they are so small you don't really need to but my dad thought it might be a bit more interesting for me to have a go...& it gave me some very important practise using a knife safely After washing our hands well we got started! Surprisingly it was very easy & not at all messy (we put some paper down having rinsed off the whitebait) gutted them carefully with a knife & my dad watching me really closely. Then we popped all of the little fish (about the size of your thumb) in a clear plastic food bag with some flour & gave it a really good shake! We tidied away the knives chopping board & paper then washed our hands again because we had finished handling our raw fish. The flour covers & coats the fish which you then lightly fry for a few minutes & gobble them down whilst they are hot bones & all, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice really makes them yummy, or you can add your favourite seasoning such as salt & pepper Because they are SO tiny the bones stay soft, ..tiny morsels you need a good portion per person but they are quick to cook & very different to a boring slab of cod.... & I can make it myself! Just before serving them hot, butter up some white bread & make up a super salad, a simple & supremely tasty food combination! This is a very easy introduction to cooking from raw with children, (& fun shaking up the bag of floury fishies) ! By Izzy M. Made by me, ...because Cubs CAN cook! Always get a parent or carer to help you in the kitchen.. We love banana's & custard, which is a great camp food using a simple packet mix & banana's that you've brought with you or bought from a local shop. Tasty, energy giving fast & simple treat food! But Dad thought it's time I learnt to make simple proper custard & really appreciate how quick it is... People worry about "lumpy custard" but it'd actually quite hard to get it wrong! we used a vanilla pod which gives it about 10 times more flavour than the shop bought custard! ...I sliced the banana's (dad is awkward because he likes his cut super thin! Except for the cornflour (which some people use to make it thicker custard, ..it's thick enough for us) this is nearly the same as making ice cream except you pour it over your pudding instead of churning it & freezing it! Ingredients
*each time we cook or bake with vanilla if we have a spare pod it's chopped up & added to our big bottle of homemade vanilla extract 7. store the egg whites (covered in a bowl) & pop them in the fridge for making yummy sticky meringues or similar! The custard will keep in a fridge for several days, but is too yummy to not eat the same day. By Izzy M. The great thing about Vanilla is that none of it go's to waste. When we cook we often use vanilla extract which is cut up bean pods once the seeds are removed (using scissors). We got a bottle of vodka (which is important) but the alcohol burns off when cooking or baking so it's ok! Then we poured around 100ml out into a measuring cup (we use the spare in our ice cream machine). after that we split open 18 vanilla pods & took the seeds out then popped it into the vodka.. Next we use scissors & chop up the pods to 1cm size & add them in too. Now shake it up for as long as you can! (Dad shook it solidly for over 2 hours while watching a film) ..then shake it every day for a fortnight (2 weeks) then every time you remember! It's best if you can keep them in a dark brown bottle or else keep it in a dark cupboard. After 3 months it will be raw vanilla extract, after 6 months it will be pretty magic to use in baking, it will keep well for several years! after 6 months, pour it through a strainer to separate the pods from the liquid & pop the pods back into the bottle to start another batch! ..you will never run out of vanilla extract & you'll have enough to give as presents to your friends who bake! Months have passed & it's just about ready to strain, we've added so many more vanilla pods when cooking, so not only does it add to the flavour, it saves waste too! ...I cannot wait to bake with another ingredient I made myself. Note: certain religions will not be allowed to consume alcohol (which we use for a base ingredient) so it's always best to ask before you serve folk up something just in case, so always have a list of ingredients to hand, you can make vanilla extract without alcohol but it's a tiny bit more fiddly! ;) Why not practise this neat recipe to improve on Akela Judith's burnt campfood offerings!? Camp pizzas with Creative toppingsPizza Serves 4 Ingredients300g (12oz/1 and a bit cups) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting, a pinch of salt, 150g (3oz/ó cup) margarine or butter, 250ml (ó pint/1 cup) milk Method
Classic Margarita – tomato pizza sauce, sliced mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil leaves. Breakfast pizza – tomato pizza sauce, bacon, sausage slices, mushrooms and a cracked egg on top. Oriental surprise – cooked chicken, spring onions, cashew nuts and hoisin or plum sauce. Seafood platter – flaked cooked salmon, prawns, anchovies and Gruyère cheese. Try something different..
By Izzy M. (always get a grown-up to help you cook in the kitchen) Last night we made Healthy (ish) beef mince Enchilada's... (my mum & I had never tried them before, so Dad taught both of us a new yummy meal idea) As we've made Spaghetti Bolognaise together a few times (so I can remember how to make things) dad reminded me this can be very similar ..but without the spaghetti! We browned off 500g of mince in a big wok (or a shallow pan ,having drained off some of the fat) ,added lots of spinach ..don't worry you can't taste it but it's a superfood & really good for you, we have it on pizza too! We chopped up an onion added some garlic, puree'd (whisked up) & roughly chopped tomatoes & basil to the mince (so it's just like spag bol at the moment) Then added a can of baked beans (4 portions of 5 -a day in a can) various herbs & seasonings, & some worcester sauce & 150g of grated cheddar cheese. we let this bubble & warm through on a slow heat, got our tortilla wraps & filled them with 2 tablespoons of our mix folded them over & lined them up in a big non stick pan. Our oven was nice & hot (180c) ..but we weren't quite finished ..added some more cheese mozzarella & a chopped up bacon on the top of the bed of tortilla wraps... Then we stuck them in the oven for around 20 minutes so the tortilla wraps weren't so soggy & the bacon was cooked.. I ate 2 big enchiladas & never would have known it had healthy spinach in it ...like my dad says (who used to hate veg & hid it in his pockets) .."I don't hate veg anymore I just haven't found the way I like to eat some vegetables ..YET" It made for a really good but different meal from one of my favourite foods. This took about 20 minutes to prepare & dig out all the ingredients (cooking is messy but fun with my dad) & another 20 minutes in the oven , get a parent or carer to help you if you feel like making this for yourself you can make enchiladas with lots of different fillings & ingredients too! ...cubs CAN cook, how about you? Why not plan with a parent or carers help to check for ingredients you have at home & what you might need to get whilst shopping! ..there are kits for Enchiladas but I bet you've got most of the ingredients for a great enchilada dish right now, at home, in cupboards, tins & in the freezer! ..plan it & show us your results & what you thought of your "made by me" meal! (Always remember to clean your work surface, & wash your hands when preparing any food, especially where raw meat is involved) ..you could serve these on their own or with some plain rice. Why not take a photo of what you have made & share it with everyone! ..it might count towards a badge we used... 8 Soft Tortillas 500g of Beef mince 1 old onion from the bottom of the fridge (roughly chopped) 1 tin of DRAINED spinach (or you could wilt fresh spinach in the pan) 1 tin of baked beans 80-150g of grated cheese (any sort) 1 small pack of drained fresh Mozarella (if you want) .. ours needed eating up so we added it to make it creamier & not waste food! chopped tomatoes, ..(a can or lots of fresh ones whizzed up into a gooey mess in a blender) 1 chopped up clove of garlic OR a teaspoon of garlic concentrate (from a squeezy tube or jar) pretty safe to chip potatoes with under adult supervision! By Izzy M. We often walk around a car boot on a sunday for some light exercise (& grab some bargains) ...my dad insisted on buying an old & unloved crinkle chip potatoe cutter! ..My mum laughed & said it would never be used, but now a few years later I can use this safely to cut crinkled chips safely without cutting myself. In fact dad tells me that this sort of cutter is ideal for the blind & partially sighted because they are very safe but cut easily through most vegetables & cheeses & other food-stuff, this is why he let me go crazy with it, because it's good practise with kitchen tools learning how much pressure (strength) is needed to cut or chop through different things for a kid like myself. We don't eat a lot of chips but when we do like "proper" home-made ones with good goose, chicken, or duck eggs to dip. ..dad let me go a bit crazy cutting them & said the TWO large platefuls made up for all the ones he hadn't eaten for the last 20 years! Chips might seem like an odd thing to teach me to make & fry, but we all eat chips, & the best chips are often made from older potatoes ..so you can use up potatoes with "eyes" ..& the uglier looking ones! ..dad say's there are bad chips & good chips so I may as well learn to make & appreciate GOOD chips! as an occasional treat! I had great fun learning to cut them (it helps me learn to use proper kitchen tools too) & even though they take time to cook in a pan of oil it's good to know how make your own ..I think crispy ones are best. Once they're cooked add some grated cheese to melt on them! ...or if you are disgusting like my dad is, lots of stinky mouldy stilton cheese & sweet chili dipping sauce! With a good salad or a portion of grilled fish fingers ...delicious & something I can make myself. Have you got an old fashioned crinkle chip cutter? ..give it a go on a potatoe or two (you don't need to fry them), cut them into wedges (leave the skins on),season them with a drizzle of oil & salt, pepper or herbs & stick them on a hot-plate grille (with an adults help) ..then eat them hot with some mayonnaise or ketchup! (or some mayonnaise mixed in with a bit of ketchup = ..seafood sauce). Here's a recipe if you'd like to try it with a grown-up! (but this one involves frying them) The secret of good chips is to cook them twice at two different temperatures, so you will need a deep pan and a thermometer for this recipe. Ingredients
By Izzy M. Always have an adult helping you in the kitchen! My Dad found this idea on the internet & we played around with it ...it was so good I ate 2 egg whites & everything ..(I used to hate egg whites till I tried this) Dad thinks this is just as good as a fried breakfast! we've made this quite a few times together. Get an adult to help you, ..it's simple , tasty & fun! we sometimes make this before cubs set the timer on the oven to pre-heat & stick it in to cook when we get home. Lightly grill some bacon, enough to line a non stick muffin tray (best because they're deeper) or use a cup-cake tray. (if you haven't got a non stick then use some margerine or butter to line the insides of your tin ..so they don't stick when in the oven. The bacon needs to be wiggly not crisp, you might need to use scissors to cut a base , & then use another piece or more to line the sides of the cup. Now you can crack an egg into the bacon cup ..so it's now a "bacon & egg cup"... Add some salt & pepper, philidelphia cheese, herbs, spinach, even a spoon of baked beans (YOU CAN ADD THESE ON TOP OF THE EGG OR UNDER IT) TOP -TIP DON't fill it to the top or it'll spill over when it's cooking. LEAVE SOME ROOM! OR you could make some scrambled eggs & pour in some of the mix! (we use 2 eggs per person) STICK IT IN A PRE-HEATED OVEN (AT 180c for 15-20 minutes ..check after 12 minutes in case more time is needed) get some bread toasted & buttered a few minutes before you remove the bacon-eggcups! Ask your parent or carer to remove your cooked bacon-egg-cups from the hot oven & slide a knife or spatula round the bacon to "try" & remove them in one piece, doesn't matter if they crumble though! serve up on toast & enjoy! how about mushrooms, sliced peppers, beans pre-cooked chopped up sausage & other things you like as a filling with the egg? ..I really recommend a good dollop of cream cheese! If you give it a go, let us know how you got on! Leftovers! ...Mmm By Izzy M Always have a Grown up helping you in the kitchen! Who say's a Pizza has to be round? Today I made a fresh pizza base with my dad & poured some chili infused chopped tomatoe (puree 'ed) onto the base, covered it with grated mozzerella & cheddar cheese (150 grammes) threw some sliced pre-cooked sausage on top (about 1 big sausage)...& Dad bunged it in the fan oven for 15 minutes at 220c (pre-heated) if you want to try you could ask your parent or carer to buy a small pizza base kit, or you could look up a recipe on the internet... there are so many toppings to choose from! You don't need a food mixer to make dough, just the ingredients, your hands & a rolling pin. Don't worry if you can't make it round it really doesn't need to be, as long as it tastes good. Thin & crispy is ideal, as thick pizza bases need more cooking time & might not be done before the topping is ready (this happened to mine today, as we were busy with other things) :( ...but it's all practise & it still tasted good!!! Important: put the rolled out pizza dough on a baking tray BEFORE you put the toppings on, as you have to slide it into the oven & cook it, if you have a pizza stone get an adult to pop it onto that ((hot)) before carefully adding the toppings, & always roll up the edges of your dough a bit to keep your melting cheese & toppings in place! I'm off to practise another pizza (no burnt bits this time) DAD WANDERED OFF INSTEAD OF TAKING IT OUT STRAIGHT AWAY! Why not give it a go!? cheaper than buying supermarket pizza & way yummier. We realised that we had'nt told you how to make the dough (if you are going to do it from scratch)... so here's a recipe with some video on how to do it, ther are lots of ways, using different flour types... so do look around! ...because we bake quite a bit we have all the ingredients in the cupboard, but you can get single sachets of bakers yeast at most supermarkets if you look! .."wrights" do a good packet pizza dough if you have less time to make your own, but like my dad says ..if it always comes straight from a packet how will I ever learn!? ..besides messing around baking & making is fun & all about experimenting, so whichever way you make it have fun MAKING IT & have fun EATING IT! Ingredients, enough for several pizza's!
Preparation method
1/2 a sweetcorn portion picked fresh in ramsey By Izzy M. ALWAYS HAVE AN ADULT HELPING YOU IN THE KITCHEN We stopped by Freshfields (farm in Ramsey) before coming to Cubs to see how the pumpkins are growing & also to get some yummy sweetcorn straight from the field. it's 25p per cob so cheaper than the supermarket & grown on our doorsteps! Farmer Rob is pleased with this years Pumpkin crop which will be better than last year ..so I'd better get ready for some pumpkin carving practice soon! Wash your hands, strip cobs of leaves & corn strings, give them a rinse in cold water & get an adult to cut them in half... Anyhow, cooking corn on the cob is easy, we pop about 1.5 inches of hot water in the rice cooker, pop the vegetable steamer in & we just let the steamer do it's thing! ..they don't dry out as they simply steam slowly, then after around 20 minutes (or an hour if you are feeling lazy) we take them out & add some butter or flavoured butter & pepper. if you need to cook them early & leave them steaming & warm for several hour just remember to top up the water in your rice cooker or it will steam itself dry! Using a steamer uses less water than boiling it on a stove & doesn't make your corn soggy! ..if you have a rice cooker or a veg steamer try it! With a home-made pizza in the oven it makes for a tasty ,quick & simple meal (especially on pack meeting nights) can't get simpler than that can it!? ..give it a try & let me know how you got on. Left-over corn -cobs go to our dogs to chew on or straight into our wormery for composting, ..don't forget to recycle your corn cobs, husks & leaves . Have you got a favourite food idea you make & would like to share? ..take a picture next time you make it & share with the pack! Being chef I get to choose my piece! ALWAYS MAKE SURE AN ADULT HELPS YOU IN THE KITCHEN! By Izzy M. WE'VE HAD A BUSY DAY BAKING TODAY, TRYING OUT NEW BREAD, EXPERIMENTING WITH CHELSEA BUNS (THEY'LL BE BETTER NEXT TIME) & FINALLY, MY FAVOURITES.... RICE KRISPIE TREATS These are really simple until you have to wrestle the sticky gooey tastey mess into shape on a greaseproof paper lined tray to shape & cut them into portions. Wait till they're cool as they cut far more easily, & you can always heat the bowl of mixed krispie mallows up for 30 seconds in the microwave to soften them up if you need to wrestle with them some more! RECIPE CONTINUED BELOW.. This was a full tub a few hours ago! By Izzy M. ALWAYS HAVE A GROWN UP HELPING YOU IN THE KITCHEN! Today we got our Ice cream maker out, (maybe the LONG shopping trip yesterday was worth it after all). Today I also had the best ice cream in the world! I should have known, when my dad said "Would you like to choose some ice cream"? (while out) So I came back with a big 3 litre tub of Vanilla, dad frowned & said, "feel this, it's as light as air", (Never a good sign for good ice cream), "It should be thick & heavy when frozen", ..(light ice cream is cheating by the maker to sell you more air than ice cream)! He looked at the price & said "we could make our own for this price & it would be better, richer & have real vanilla in it, Let's make some"... If I didn't know better I'd say my dad planned this all along! We have an automatic ice cream maker so it is pretty simple, but as I don't know how to make it (there are different ways) we decided to give it a go! Dad got his Ben & Jerry's Ice cream book out just to check! ..& grabbed a recipe off the internet the other day we were watching Eric Lanlard's "Baking Mad" as he does really simple recipes, we were looking at making a sort of rich vanilla custard but then freezing it into proper ice cream, (dad always tries to make similar things with me so I can use up any special ingredients we buy & also to make me do the same processes over until i'm ok to do them by myself. This time, i'm used to cutting, de-seeding & using vanilla pods, & i'm used to breaking eggs , & whisking things, ..which we do for cakes, scrambled eggs, & other stuff, ..but pretty much the rest is done by the Ice cream maker! So today I have made proper custard! (yummy) ..then we cooled the custard & popped it in the ice cream maker..so I made Ice cream as well. As we only use the yolk of the eggs i'm going to try to make some proper sticky meringues, but not before i've made some more ice cream, (it does keep ok in the freezer IF you can leave it alone long enough)! here's what we did! in case you have an ice cream maker at home! (or are able to borrow one) 500 ml Cream single (we used double as it's what we had) 25 ml MILK 1 Vanilla Pod 200 grams Golden Caster Sugar 6 Egg Yolks (medium to large) How to make "Eye Popping" Vanilla pod Ice Cream
After that we looked around for something else to make a different flavour, Dad wanted to try BACON ice cream!
We had lots of over-ripe bananas so had a look through the cupboard & found some chocolate chips.. we made a bit too much ice cream so we had a banana smoothie from what was left. We made the custard base & mixed it up then added the banana (with lemon juice) & chocolate chips just as it became stiff so it held the dark choc chips in it without them sinking to the bottom. We also tried a different recipe using half as many eggs, ..I don't think i'll ever have shop bought ice cream again! Trust me, there is no such thing as awful homemade ice cream! (except perhaps dads bacon ice cream),..but we'll give that a try, he already has bacon on pancakes with ice cream so I guess he know's what he's talking about, ...I hope he's right! What flavour would you make? ALWAYS GET AN ADULT TO HELP YOU IN THE KITCHEN ! By Izzy M. I've been cooking with my dad again... These are probably my most favourite thing to eat (we make these often)! ..they're really simple but you need to make the sticky sauce (simple) pop them in the oven on low heat for a few hours, not quick but so good to eat with fingers. I think these are much nicer than store bought flavoured ribs, we'll be using the maple flavour Tate & Lyle syrup, lemon juice & either plain sugar or demerara*, keeping it simple is what makes these so tasty! * demerara is a much stronger flavoured brown sugar often used in cakes, but don't worry if you haven't got any! you will need: 1 rack of ribs per adult or 1/2 - 1 rack per child, I will eat the left overs next day, they're so yummy! get a proper rack from your local butcher, or waitrose (tesco's don't tend to sell these plain). these will be proper jumbo ribs not dinky portions in a container, so you don't need many per person. A full rack of ribs costs around £2.20 - £2.60 at waitrose ..but often you can pick them up for less in the evening ;) First Wash your hands, then clean your food prep area with help from your parents or carer. Next get some aluminium foil out (we'll need quite a bit to wrap them well so keep it close). Pre-heat your oven to 160c if you are going to cook them QUICKLY (90 minutes or more) pre-heat your oven to 110c if you wan't to do them LOW & SLOW (4 hours or longer) ..the lower you go the longer they take to cook but the meat will not need cutting as it will be SO tender! get a chopping board to put your ribs on for the next bit With help from an adult Score the boney part of the ribs (WITHOUT THE MEAT) using a sharp knife ..this allows the meat to cook properly & makes a real difference to the meat when it's cooking ...do it in a criss cross pattern (it's a sleeve of skin that when cooking pulls back towards the meat & helps you with the gnawing part of rib eating later). look at the picture above, where we have "scored" the membrane it has shrunk & pulled back during cooking ,...this is why they are called "pulled ribs" ..it lets the meat all stay together, moist & juicy! Now with those CLEAN hands pour some of the maple flavour syrup onto the meaty side, sprinkle some plain orVanilla sugar on top & spread it all over the ribs covering it all (both sides) add more if needed, add a pinch of salt (if you like) & if you have it a little drizzle of lemon juice to start breaking down the meat. ..this helps make a lovely sweet & sour taste when it's cooked! Now place your rack of ribs on the tin foil making sure it sits in the middle so there is plent of room to wrap it so it doesn't leak while cooking. clean your hands again & pop the ribs in the fridge to marinade (soak up flavour) for at least 2 hours, but best left overnight, ..trust me. Wrap it carefully 4 times & fold & press the ends tightly (you need to unwrap them to check later) place them on a baking tray that you can pour any escaped juices back over the ribs every now & again. Pre-heat your oven to 160c if you are going to cook them QUICKLY (90 minutes or more) pre-heat your oven to 110c if you wan't to do them LOW & SLOW (4 hours or longer) ..the lower you go the longer they take to cook but the meat will not need cutting as it will be SO tender! Get an adult or carer to pop them in the oven & set the timer for 90 minutes...(at 160c) OR 4hours at 110c Unwrap carefully & check the ribs they should be pale & just starting to brown, pour the hot sticky syrupy juices back over the ribs, re-seal & pop them back in the oven for another 40 - 60 minutes, depending on how you think they are cooking & if you want them slow cooking for longer. when they are ready get an adult to cut each rib lengthways (or you could do it with some help from an adult). IF you have cooked them quickly, ..the longer you cook them on a low heat the less likely you will be to need to cut them when finished! Share & enjoy on their own or with a side dish. you could try using some bbq sauce or garlic & chili rub if you want a more grown up flavour, but I like them sweet & sour! Tasty, simple, sweet, ..& best of all I made it myself! because... "cubs CAN cook" IT'S EASY!!!! (& has to be for my dad to do it) ALWAYS HAVE AN ADULT WITH YOU WHEN WORKING IN THE KITCHEN By Izzy M. We make & bake our own bread & cakes quite often, & my Dad lets me make loaves too! The one in the picture is a healthy seeded loaf (which had lots of butter on later). We mix our ingredients up in the food mixer then finish off the bread by hand... Learning to knead bread is simple after you've had a few go's at it TOP-TIP ..when kneading keep your fingers clenched & just use the bottom part of your hands (by your wrists, & your knuckles, that way you don't get the mix & yourself in a mess) The picture is when we are waiting for the yeast to make the dough rise before we pop it in the oven (you pop it somewhere warm covered with clingfilm) If you haven't got time to weigh & measure out all the ingredients Wrights bread mixes are really good & tasty to get you started, it might take a few go's to get good at kneading, but fresh baked bread is well worth the effort! Give it a go with help from your parents or carers & let me know how you did, (take a picture of your baking & perhaps we can put them up here for everyone too see) !? |
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Author.1st Ramsey Scout Assoc (collectively) ...News, events & general silliness "Ahem" Archives.
July 2016
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