Apple muffins with streusel topping

I don't have an old faithful muffin recipe but I woke up this morning with a deep desire for apple muffins. I didn't have much in the way of cravings last pregnancy but this time around I want apples. Lots and lots of apples.

I found a recipe online and tested it out and it was okay, but not amazing so I tweaked it a little. Different apples will give you different results but I used a Pink Lady because it was what I had on hand. I'm looking forward to making these again with Granny Smiths 

Also, you can prep an extra large batch of streusel and keep the rest in the freezer until you need it.

Ingredients:

For the muffin

280g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

60g butter, softened

125g sugar

1 cup milk

1 apple, peeled and cored. Dice half into 1/2 cm cubes and grate the other half

For the Streusel topping 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cups plain four

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

76 grams (1/3 cup) butter, cold and cubed

Preheat oven to 200C and grease your muffin tray (or use silicone cups/liners)

To make your streusel topping just throw everything into a food processor and let it go for 30 seconds or so until it looks like crumbs. If you don't have or don't want to use your processor then just rub the butter into the other ingredients with your finger tips.

Put the streusel mix into the fridge while you do the rest.

Cream your butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Sift your dry ingredients together.

Add about 1/3 of the dry mix and 1/3 of the milk to the creamed butter and sugar and combine. Repeat until the milk and dry mix are all incorporated then stir in your fruit.

Pour into greased muffin trays (about half way) then top with the streusel mix. Be generous with your streusel, your muffins deserve it.

Bake for 20minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Turn out of the muffin tins and try to let them cool enough to not burn yourself when you tear one open. I failed that last bit, but regret nothing.

(Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/744/basic-apple-muffins.aspx )

I'm eating cookie dough because I'm pregnant and you're not the boss of me.

But it's egg-free so you can't judge me :P

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1 cup self-raising flour

pinch of salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or a flake, or a block of chocolate you've taken a mallet to, or a chopped chocolate bar)

Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up, then try not to eat it all at once.

Baby safe finger paint

Squishy, splooshy and bright! This finger paint is actually simple paper mâché paste with food colouring but its safe for little tummies. Be warned: it can leave a hint of a stain on clothes or skin if you use a lot of food colouring but nothing was left on Lolly after a big bath.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup corn flour

1 cup cold water

Food colouring

Combine your corn flour and water and whisk it until the lumps are gone then put it over a medium heat and KEEP STIRRING until it thickens up.

Once it starts to turn clear-ish and thickens up take it off the heat and divide it into smaller containers then add your food colouring a few drops at a time.

Give it a good stir and allow to cool then set your little artist free!

Easy Split Green Peasy Dhal

When the freezer is bare, the piggy bank is empty and the nights are cold there's one thing that will fill you up and keep you warm.

Dhal.

My favourite is made from split green peas because I find it easier to find big bags of them. I use sesame oil for a little flavour boost (and to make it vegan friendly) but you can use ghee or even regular butter if you don't want to clarify it yourself.

Ingredients:

Half an onion, diced

1 tbsp sesame oil (ghee or butter)

1 cup split green peas, washed

2 cups water (or stock)

2 tsp fresh garlic, grated

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp cayenne (or chilli) powder

1 tbsp tomato paste (Optional)

In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot, cook off your onion in sesame oil (or ghee/butter) with the garlic and ginger on a low heat until the onion is soft and transparent (you don't want it too brown or for the garlic and ginger to burn or you'll get a bitter note).

Put everything else in and turn up the heat until you get a rolling boil then lower the heat to a simmer and put the lid on and leave it for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until the peas are soft and start to break up.

You can adapt the amount of any of the spices to your taste, including adding salt and pepper.

Serve with warm bread. I like to eat mine with my home made tortillas.

Hummus

I love having hummus in the house as a snack with carrot sticks or as a butter replacement on a sandwich.

Ingredients

1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas

1 tsp minced garlic (or about 1 clove)

1 tsp cumin

A good squeeze of lemon juice

A long drizzle of mild olive oil.

Throw everything into a bender and go until its smooth. Add more lemon and garlic to taste. If it's too thick add water 1tsp at a time and blend some more.

If you want to look extra fancy then swirl it in the serving dish and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Alternatively, you can eat it out of a tub with fresh tortilla served on a bunnikins plate.

Tortillas, another thing I'll never buy pre-made again.

It turns out that tortillas are super easy to make! And freshly made, warm tortillas are about a million times tastier than store bough ones.

You will need:

2 cups plain flour (plus extra for dusting surfaces)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups water

3 tbsp olive oil (plus a tiny splash more for cooking)

THAT'S IT! Well almost, you'll also need a bowl for mixing, a rolling pin and a cast iron skillet (though any heavy bottomed frypan should work if you weren't as lucky as me to received one as a hand me down from your Nan)

Combine flour and salt on a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the oil and water. Start mixing from the middle slowly pulling the flour mix into the wet bit in the middle. Once it's a gloppy mess turn it out onto a floured surface and give it a couple of kneads. Add a little more flour if it's sticking to your hands.

Once it's smooth and no longer sticky put it back in the bowl and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Divide into 8 sections then roll them out until they are about 2-3 mm thick.

Put a teeny splash of olive oil into your skillet and heat until its hot but not smoking. Medium heat should do it. Cook each tortilla until it is golden brown and you can see the dough puffing up in a few places then flip it and cook the other side.

Done! Fresh tortillas in less than half an hour and for a fraction of the cost.

Class up your instant ramen

I'm too tired to cook, Miss Lolly has spent all morning being a tiny tornado of destruction and I cannot even look at another peanut butter sandwich so what's in the pantry that will require barely a thought, less effort and no dishes?

Ramen? Yeah, soup ramen!

I know it's full of sodium and preservatives but gimme a break, I'm tired and hungry but there are a few things I like to do to my instant ramen to "elevate" it.

1. Shiitake mushrooms. I always have dried shiitake mushrooms in the pantry. They last forever and I get them cheap from tiny Asian grocery stores.

2. Diced frozen vegetables. Ah, frozen veg. I throw a handful or two into anything to give it a vege boost and ramen is no exception.

3. Sesame oil. Because instant ramen needs more fat. Ha, just kidding, but it is so delicious and really adds to the ramen.

I took this picture then remembered the frozen veg, but I had already packed away the mushrooms and thrown out the wrapper so NO DO-OVERS!

I just throw the ramen packs, mushrooms and frozen veg into a large bowl, pour in my boiling water then put a plate or lid over the top and leave it for 3 minutes. When everything is rehydrated just add a few drops of sesame oil and enjoy your lunch while you pretend your child will actually have a nap instead of artfully arrange all their toys in front of the bedroom door.

Optional extras: Leftover protein (I like to shred leftover chicken), boiled eggs, cilantro, grated carrot, corn kernels, fresh chilli. Your options are limited to your pantry.

No-bake, chewy, nutty muesli balls

This was an absolute by-the-seat-of-my-pants experiment but the results are so good I wanted to share it.

I eyeballed all the ingredients so measurements are all approximates and you'll need a food processor (with mixing attachment if you have one) and a saucepan.

Ingredients (all approx)

1 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

1 cup Cashews (though any nuts could do)

1/4 cup Sesame seeds

2 tbsp Chia seeds

1/4 cup Almond meal

1/4 cup Coconut (plus extra to roll)

1/3 cup Butter

1/3 cup Honey

1/3 cup Brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 tbsp boiling water

Blend the oats and nuts until they're chopped up into itty bitty pieces then switch out to the mix attachment (or chuck it in a large mixing bowl) and add the sesame, chia almond meal and coconut and mix 'er up.

Put the butter, honey and brown sugar into the saucepan on a low heat until everything is melted and any graininess is gone. Stir in the vanilla then add the bicarb and finally the water. Your mix will fizz and bubble (probably doubling in volume).

Tip the wet mix into your dry mix and mix well. Let it sit for a few minutes until it wont melt the flesh off your hands then roll into balls and cover in coconut (HINT: Toddlers love this bit and will gleefully smear it everywhere while "helping")

If your balls won't hold their shape just keep mixing in more almond meal until you get the consistency you want.

Put in the fridge to set for at least half an hour.

They should last up to a week in the fridge but I can pretty much guarantee you they won't last that long.

Quick Moroccan Vegan Casserole

Some very dear friends of mine are Vegan but I still love having them over for dinner so I've refined a couple of dishes that we can all enjoy. 

My requirements for vegan dishes is that I don't need weird ingredients that will only be used in very specific vegan dishes so this one is works well for us.

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 can of diced tomatoes

Moroccan spice mix

Baby spinach leaves

Throw the chickpeas and tomato into a saucepan with a heaped teaspoon of spice mix and cook on a low heat until its just bubbling. Taste and add more spice if required then leave it on a low simmer while you make any sides (I usually serve this with couscous) then when your sides are ready chuck in a few handfuls of baby spinach and give it a stir. You only want to cook the spinach enough to wilt it which is why I have my sides ready.

That's it, you're done!

Welcome to Hip Carry Kitchen

My name is Rachel and I love to cook. Actually, I love feeding people and sharing food. The act of cooking? Meh. I'm a full-time mum of a toddler on a tight budget so a lot of recipes are just too hard, too expensive or too delicate.

Something requires split second timing? Not interested.

Strange cheeses you can only acquire from an organic farm on the side of a pristine mountain? Not a chance.

Quick, cheap, delicious and filling? I sure hope so.

A lot of my tastes developed when my now-husband and I were living in a trendy suburb with two incomes, no kids, gourmet delicatessens and butchers down the road and lots of spare time. Now that we're living in low-income suburbanite hell with a toddler I still like things like quinoa, chia seeds and spices so I make space for them in our budget. Also, I could probably live out of my pantry for a month, I'd just have to go vegetarian.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, some of my best friends are vegan.