Tomato Lasagne

Oh boy, this is my favourite dinner of all time and for the kids.  In fact the whole family devours it and asks for seconds and thirds.   This is extremely satisfying (unless you are very hungry) as Cricket is so fussy with eating.  I found this recipe in the Apples for Jam recipe book by Tessa Kiros.  I adore this recipe book.  I am not so sure how healthy it all is as most of the food in it is fried, but I love the illustrations and stories which come with it...beautifully created.

Tomato Lasagne

Large jar of Passata (the really tall one okay)
2 garlic cloves
3 Tablespoons olive oil
fresh basil leaves chopped
some water (1/4 of a cup)
lasagne sheets
parmesan
béchamel sauce

Put the olive oil in a pan and add the peeled but whole garlic cloves.  When you start smelling the garlic then add the passata.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 25 minutes or until it is all blending together.  Add some water to thin it out a bit and then add chopped basil leaves.  Leave to simmer (remove garlic or blend it in) whilst you make a béchamel sauce.  Make a lot.

Spread a thin layer of béchamel on the bottom of an oven dish.  Add layer of lasagne sheets then a layer of tomato, then some strips of béchamel, a layer of parmesan and more lasagne sheets.  Repeat until all lasagne sheets are in.  Cover with remaining béchamel sauce add 3 or so dollops of the tomato sauce and throw parmesan cheese over.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 deg. C

Mince Pies

Delicious Mince Pie Recipe

I have tried mince pies a few times and they are often crumbly and break apart.  Well I have found one that seems to work every time now.  It is from BBC Good Food - Paul Hollywood.

375g Plain Flour
260g unsalted butter
125g white castor sugar
1 large egg plus an egg for glazing.

I will shortly be trying out making my own mince meat, but for now I have used a jar 410g brought over kindly by friends from the UK.

Rub the flour into the butter and then add the sugar and egg.  Knead briefly until a firm ball - don't overknead or the butter will melt.  The dough should be slightly sticky...if it is too dry then it crumbles when out the oven.

Roll out on a floured surface to 3mm thick.  Punch rounds out using a small glass tumbler.  Place them in a muffin baking tray which has been greased and dusted with flour.  Punch out stars for the top and place on top once you have added a spoon or two of mincemeat.  Brush with beaten egg and place in a preheated oven.  I baked mine at 190 degrees for 20 minutes - my oven is not that hot.  If you have a hot fan oven then 180 should do it.  Paul's recipe says 200 or 220, but I think that is too hot.

Delicious and so much fun to make - I am addicted as they are just so easy and look so lovely all dusted with icing sugar....love love love love.

Christmas Crafts - Wreaths and Centrepieces

We had a ladies get together to do some christmas crafting.  I baked mince pies (see recipe in previous post) and we made some simple wreaths and centrepieces.  It was more an excuse for a good old chinwag than anything else, but fun to do christmassy stuff together.  Here are some pictures...

Firstly the gathering of all the stuff like moss, branches for the wreaths and greenery and berries.

We made wreaths from scratch by binding branches together with wire.

The finished product - really simple but I think it is pretty.

Tiger turns 8

My oldest has turned 8.  8 is sounding older rather than younger and indeed he does seemed to have turned a corner and matured a lot in the last while.  There are less cuddles and he is much more independent and much quieter - busy with his own ideas and thoughts.  What a wonderful boy he is though.  Love him to bits and pieces.  For his birthday we had an indoor laser game party at Zeven Geitjes.  Pics for the grandparents...

Birthday party at the corn maze

I wanted to add some pictures of a birthday party we went to at the t'Fazantje corn maze.  Because besides celebrating a birthday, pumpkins were carved and they were so beautiful I had to put photos of them on.  A lovely afternoon with probably the last of the gorgeous weather before the cold set in.

Cowboy and Indian Cake

The kids' school had a 25 year anniversary and had a week of partying and the theme was cowboys and Indians.  There was a cake baking competition, which both insisted on entering.  They had numerous exciting things on the go at school including riding on a mechanical bull, horse riding, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, making of bows and arrows, a sport day and a field trip to Toverland.  Wow, it was a crazy week.  Here are the cakes...

 

Autumn Activity - drawing with metallic markers on leaves