happy mothers' day

Here are 2 recipes that always remind me of my Mum.

Curry puffs

These are deliciously moreish, particularly fresh out of the oven. So typically there was a huge dent in the number that we planned to take to get-togethers (often along with another family favourite, mango pudding).

You'll need:

500g beef mince
2-3 medium sized potatoes
1 small can of coconut cream
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons of your favourite curry powder
3 sheets of puff pastry
1 egg

1. Boil potatoes until soft, then mash to the consistency that you like. I prefer my potatoes a bit chunky still for that added texture, but a smoother consistency would make the puffs easier to fill.
2. Brown onion on the stove until fragrant.
3. Add mince and stir until cooked.
4. Add potatoes, coconut cream and curry powder and stir to combine.
5. Simmer mince mixture or 5 minutes or so, or until thick.
6. Place mince mixture aside to cool until at least room temperature.
7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
8. Cut puff pastry into squares (either 9 or 16 is fine - 9's will hold more, 16's are, in my opinion, cuter but trickier to fill).
9. Place approximately one teaspoon of filling into each square and fold into a triangle (rectangles, like tiny sausage rolls, also works well).
10. To prevent the filling bursting out of the pastry in an unattractive fashion, use a fork to press down each of the open sides of the triangle/rectangle. I was too lazy this time round.
11. Brush each puff with egg.
12. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
13. Cool on a wire rack and watch them disappear!

You'll often end up with more than enough filling for 3 sheets of pastry, depending on the size of the potatoes and how full you make the puffs - the leftover filling is delicious with rice.

Rice crispies - adapted from this recipe

You'll need:

3 cups of rice bubbles
1 packet of marshmallows (I've used packets of varying sizes and they all turn out ok)
50g of butter

1. Melt marshmallows and butter in a pan until combined.
2. Pour over rice bubbles and stir to combine.
3. Press mixture into lined lamington tray and refrigerate until set.
4. Cut into fingers and enjoy.

You can add some nuts and/or Milo for variety, but I find that the Milo makes it overly sweet.

Hope you all have a great day :) Thanks for everything, Mum!

robertson pie shop, robertson

Found out about this place from the Illawarra Fly website - I'm usually sceptical of places billed as "famous" and it seems that every second pie shop outside metropolitan areas claims to be the best in the country/world/universe. But I was glad we made a pit stop at Robertson Pie Shop during our long weekend sojourn around the South Coast/Southern Highlands - yummy pies and a laid-back atmosphere made it hit home that we were on holidays :)


My potato pie. There's really nothing like instant mashed potato, especially since my proposal to take a packet camping was vetoed.


The all-important sauce anointing ritual. I think that's the curry chicken pie.


A work in progress - a chunky beef pie. Mmmm.


And a before shot of my lemon meringue pie. Crispy fluffy meringue, tart delicious lemon curd... I wonder if they make it in the microwave like they did the other night on Masterchef?

Afterwards. Yum.

We returned to Robertson Pie Shop on our way home to pick up a large steak and mushroom pie and two large sweet pies (apple and rhubarb and apple and strawberry). All very nice (although I didn't get to try the steak and mushroom myself, I'm just going on the fact that it was all gone within the day we got back). Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area - a warning though that the Macquarie Pass (part of Jamberoo Mountain Road, towards the Robertson end) from Albion Park to Robertson is a bit treacherous, but not so nerve-wracking that a warm pie won't settle the tummy.

Robertson Pie Shop
Corner Illawarra Highway and Jamberoo Mountain Road
Robertson NSW 2577

(02) 4885 1330

Open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 7:00pm
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 8:00am to 7:00pm

During winter the shop's closing at 6:00pm Mondays to Thursdays.

From memory small savoury pies will set you back between $3-$4, small sweet pies from $3. Large pies around the $13 mark.

all-purpose buns

I love the smell of baking in the morning.

Doesn't have quite the same ring as the Robert Duvall line, does it? Regardless, these buns are actually great for any time of the day. The recipe was originally given to me to make sausage buns, found in Asian bakeries the world over, but you can substitute any filling you'd like. I've used bacon and cheese this time around - char siu (barbequed pork) and onion, or tuna and corn also work well, or you can try sweet fillings like red bean or chocolate.

You'll need:

500g plain flour
100g sugar
250ml water - you can use milk for a more substantial bun, or try half milk half water
15g yeast - if you get the little pre-packed sachets of yeast (such as the Tandaco brand, which we've used in the past), this is equivalent to 2 sachets. Otherwise use 4 teaspoons of yeast
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
50g butter, melted
1 tablespoon of honey or golden syrup

This recipe makes 24 small, snack-sized buns.

1. Heat the water/ milk to body temperature. Using my microwave it took 30 seconds on high. Don't over-heat it, or you'll kill the yeast.



2. Dissolve the yeast and sugar into the water/ milk. It'll look an unappetising beige/grey colour.



3. Wait 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. There should be little bubbles on the surface of the mixture (unfortunately not too clearly discernible in the photo, also starring the melted butter and the beaten egg).

4. Place flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle of the flour and pour the egg, butter and yeast solution in. If you plan to glaze the buns, reserve a little of the egg at this stage.



5. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to form a ball. Add some more flour gradually if it's too liquid or sticky. Once the dough stops sticking to the spoon, get your hands in there and knead for 15-20 minutes.

6. Cover mixing bowl with a tea towel and place it in a warm place for 1 hour. We put it in an oven that hasn't been switched on.



7. Dough should have risen to twice its original size - don't worry too much about its exact size, the dough will continue to rise when you put the filling in and put it in the oven. Split the dough up into two pieces, it's easier to work with half of it at a time. The second photo shows half the dough being divided up into 12 pieces (first 4 pieces , and then each of the 4 pieces into 3 smaller pieces. Motherflap has been known to weigh them...)

8. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.



9. Fill the buns however you'd like. If you're making sausage buns, the dough is traditionally wrapped around the cocktail sausage. I've taken the lazy route and just popped the cheese and bacon (200g of each for the 24 buns) on top. To make filled buns, roll each piece of dough out to make a circle of about 8cm in diameter. Put the filling in the middle of the circle, then bunch up the edges like a dumpling. Put the dough on the tray bunched side down so that the top of the bun will be nice and smooth.

10. If you'd like shiny buns, mix the reserved egg together with the honey or golden syrup and brush on top of each bun.



11. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

These are great for lunchboxes, picnics or parties. There's just something magical about baking bread - seeing the dough rise, marvelling at the air bubbles that come up when you split it into pieces and most of all the smell that wafts out from the kitchen as it bakes in the oven. It'll bring even the most hardened hibernator out into the sunlight, I promise!



My idea of a pyramid scheme. I don't think it'll catch on just yet in place of cupcakes as a wedding cake substitute...