Apple and raisin bars

These are quite tasty bars, but they're too a bit too rich for snacking that doesn't follow mountain climbing.


Oat and raisin Bars
Makes 16 bars
Modified from Everyday Food via shutterbean


170 g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1 green apple, grated


Preheat oven to 180°C, then line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper.


In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth. Add flour, oats, and raisins; fold in just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.


Leave to cool completely in pan then cut in to bars.

Gado-gado

Another from the archives of delicious meals past. This peanut sauce is quite spicy, so if you're a thinker you may want to water-down some sauce with coconut for guests who can't handle heat.... Also this recipe it fine without shrimp paste, just add more salt.


Peanut sauce for gado gado
Makes 1 1/2 cups of sauce
Adapted from South East Asian Food by Rosemary Brissenden


1 1/2 cups small raw peanuts
1 tbsp vegetable oil + more for deep-frying
7 chillies, seeded and sliced
2 small cloves of garlic
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp palm sugar
salt to taste
water as necessary
lime juice or white vinegar to taste


Deep fry the peanuts in batches until golden, once they have cooled remove the skins and then grind them into a coarse powder.


Grind the chillies, garlic and shrimp paste in to a paste, then heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the spices until fragrant. Mix the peanuts, fried spices, coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan, bring the mixture to the boil and cook until the sauce thickens. Add salt to taste and water to bring the paste to a pouring consistency; then remove from the heat. Add lime juice or vinegar to balance the sauce and allow to cool before serving.

Historic cake

I must have last eaten this cake in the early 1990s; it's still great. My mum always made it as a loaf, but it actually holds together as a square.

Apple and Pecan Nut Cake
Makes 1 20 cm square cake

2 cooking apples

½ cup of sugar

1 ½ cups plain wholemeal flour

1 level tsp bicarb of soda

2 tsps cinnamon

2 Tsps allspice

1 cup roughly chopped pecan nuts

1 egg

125g butter, melted

Peel, core cut apples in chunks, and mix with sugar. Set aside. Shift flour, bicarb, spices and mix in chopped pecan nuts, beat egg into cooled butter. Add apples, lightly mix in flour- nut mixture and spoon into a greased 20 cm square tin. Bake at 180°C for 45-55 mins.

Olebollen

They don't photograph well, they were golden and delicious. Yum!

A Dutch New Year's tradition, made January 1 2011 (it's been a bit like that this year).


Ollebollen
Makes enough for 6 hungry people
Adapted from Dutch Cooking by H. Halverhout


3 cups plain flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups currants and raisins
50 g glacé ginger
2 small pink lady apples, peeled and diced
1 egg
1 cup milk
Icing sugar
Oil for deep frying


Mix everything together in a large bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour.


Heat the oil to 190°C, use two spoons to shape the batter in to balls and drop them in to the oil.Fry them a few at a time, until golden brown (~8 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper, then pile high and cover with icing sugar.