Sausage Rolls

A good quality pork sausage raw, not the cooked sausage links; not suitable for Italian....a very very mild breakfast sausage will due after you add the spices...or you could make your own.

1 tablespoon butter
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
a sprig of fresh sage, leaves picked
a handful of breadcrumbs
fresh nutmeg, for grating
6 good-quality pork sausages (see note above also remove casing and roll into logs)
250g ready-made puff pastry
1 egg
a little milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then spread out on a plate to cool.

With a sharp knife, slit the skins of the sausages and pop the meat out. Put it in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix and the breadcrumbs, then scrunch well with your clean hands to mix together.

On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle as thick as a pound coin and cut it length ways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the center of each rectangle.

Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture, then fold one side of the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal the join.

Cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve with piccalilli and a cress salad.

Cheese & Onion Pasty/Cornish Pies

"The traditional Cornish recipe uses a cheese such as Double Gloucester or English Cheddar, but I have made some very tasty varieties using Stilton, Feta, Bleu Cheese, and even Havarti."

Ingredients
3 sheets ( I use frozen, but homemade is fine if you are a purist)
3/4 ounce unsalted butter
3 medium onions, finely chopped
3/4 lb double Gloucester cheese or 3/4 lb cheddar cheese, grated
6 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Thaw the pastry.
If using homemade, put your dough in the refrigerator to chill.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Melt the butter in a frying pan on a low heat.
Mix in the onions and cook them until they are just beginning to soften.
Mix them with the cheese and parsley.
Roll out the pastry and cut out 6 rounds, each about 6 inches in diameter.
Put a quarter of the cheese mixture on one half of each one.
Fold over the other side and crimp the edges together.
Lay the pasties on a floured baking sheet and brush them with milk or beaten egg.
Bake them for 30 minutes and serve hot.

Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Bread

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 15 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl.
Place sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add 2/3 cup water and pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

You can also make these low GI by using Gluten free flour and I sub'd 1 cup of sugar substitute with 1 cup reg sugar and used apple sauce instead of oil.

Home hash browns quick

Fast hash browns using your own potatoes not frozen

For two

1 large potato grated, rinse and shake dry (you can leave the skins on if you want)

salt and pepper to taste

small 2-inch onion (omit if you don't like onion) chopped

In a medium microwavable bowl add the grated, rinsed potato with about 2 tbsp water and the salt and pepper, toss to coat the potatoes. Microwave for about 2 1/2 minute, the potatoes will not be completely done and you will be able to still toss them with a fork. If you over cook you will have mush so watch this closely. You want them just par cooked.

While the potatoes are cooking in the microwave get a skillet out and place on stove and turn burner on getting the pan good and hot. Add about 2 tbsp oil to the pan add onion and cook till translucent.

When the potatoes are par cooked drain the water off of them if there is any. Pour potatoes into the hot pan with the onions. Spread around in the pan so that as much surface of the potatoes are touching the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes without turning. After 3 minutes toss potatoes around in pan with a spatula and cook for additional 3 minutes, keep doing this until the potatoes are as crisp as you like.... While all this is going on cook your sausage/bacon and then your eggs. All should be ready at the same time because the potatoes will only take about 6 minutes in the fry pan. I actually put my sausage in the oven at 375 when I put the potatoes in the microwave so I have one less thing on the stove top to worry about.

These are so good and crispy....and cost hardly anything to make.

My crazy dreams

Do you dream of things that when you wake you have the need or compulsion to recreate?  It is so weird but I always have, and generally I am not able to recreate these things, although I feel the need to give it my best shot.  I can not just let it go as just another nightmare.  I have to rummage through all my art supplies and figure out how to recreate that crazy thing I seen in my dream....  Here are some examples but believe me these are the least crazy of them all!

I call the one below, Nose in the News....lol