Peanut Butter and Tim Tam Cookies

I know these cookies are nowhere near healthy, but I just had to. The damned exam period finally got the best of me. You see, I'm currently in the middle my exams, and I have only one paper left; so close to the end! Then, after my third paper, I turned the TV on, and someone was making cookies on the Food Channel. Bad idea. The idea of cookies stuck in my head, so I decided I had to bake some cookies.

Ingredients:
125g butter, at room temperature
275g (1 cup) natural crunchy peanut butter
200g (1 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
1 egg
260g (1 3/4 cups) plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tim tams

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180°C (or about 200°C on a non-fan-forced oven). Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Beat the butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl with electric beaters until creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat until pale. Add the egg and beat until combined. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, and beat until a well mixed dough is formed. Break the tim tams into bits and fold into the mixture using a wooden spoon.

Lightly flour your hands, then roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place about 4cm apart on prepared baking tray. Flatten each ball to about 5cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes for soft cookies, 15 minutes for stiffer cookies, or until cooked through. Stand on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container.

Egg White and Banana Oatmeal

If you're looking for a quick and healthy breakfast, this is it. Now, some people don't like their oats; I know I didn't in the beginning, but I assure you that it's one of the best options for breakfasts because it'll keep you full for longer, contains a lot of fibre, and are dirt cheap.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup quick oats

2/3 cups water (or 1/2 cup low-fat milk)

2 egg whites, whisked to frothy

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of stevia

1 banana, sliced

1 teaspoon ground flaxseed

Instructions:

Add oats and water to a bowl and microwave for one minute. Stir the oatmeal, pour the egg whites in and add the salt, making sure the egg whites are mixed in well. Microwave for another one minute. Stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds (but you should microwave to your desired consistency). Stir, sprinkle stevia, decorate with the banana, and sprinkle the flaxseed.

Kangaroo Chilli Con Carne

I like chilli. I do. I wanted to make chilli con carne a while back, but never did until last night.

This'll be the first kangaroo recipe I'm posting. To some, eating kangaroo may seem a little weird. It's probably the stereotype of cuteness that surrounds the kangaroos, but kangaroo meat is one of the leanest meats available; and it's tasty too! I don't know if kangaroo meat if available outside of Australia, but you can just as easily substitute the kangaroo mince for beef in this recipe. However, if kangaroo meat is accessible, I highly recommend giving it a try!

I didn't plan on having it with white rice at first, but there seems to be a ton of it in my pantry. I originally wanted to steam brown rice but, against my better judgement, my friend (Adam) persuaded me to 'just eat the damned white rice'. However, this is a very versatile dish and can be eaten with (not just rice, but) all sorts of things, e.g. baked potatoes, nachos, etc..

Adam explained to me that Jamie Oliver adds yoghurt to his chilli con carne, and so he did so to his. I didn't try it but he seems to think it's very nice. I'll have to try that one next time.

I, personally, thought the portions wouldn't be big enough for me, so I adjusted accordingly to 500g of kangaroo mince, but this recipe will work well (as is) for four decent servings. I didn't make this one spicy, but the next time I make it, I shall, and I'll post a report.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
350g lean kangaroo mince
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp dried oregano
11/2 cups (390g) tomato pasta sauce
3 x 400g cans red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup water
1/3 cup coriander sprigs, to garnish (Optional)
1 tablespoon non-fat Greek yoghurt (Optional)
Steamed rice, to serve

Instructions:

Heat oil in a heavy-based casserole dish on a medium-high heat. Cook onion for about 5 minutes, stirring until softened. Add kangaroo and cook for another 3 minutes, breaking up mince with a wooden spoon to avoid any large lumps.

Stir through garlic and spices, and cook for another 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in remaining ingredients and 1 cup water.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Garnish with coriander (or, at this point, mix in the yoghurt, or both) and serve with steamed rice.

Note: This recipe is available on MyFitnessPal, for those who are counting calories using that software, as Kangaroo Chilli Con Carne (Macro Meats recipe).

Light Wholemeal Buttermilk Pancakes

I'd been meaning to make pancakes for a long time, but hadn't gotten around to doing so until this morning.

These pancakes are made the same way as normal pancakes, but the ingredients will be slightly different from what's conventional. However, there is no impairment of taste. I'd have to say that this was one of the best breakfasts I've had lately. (But, to be fair, my breakfasts usually consists of either scrambled eggs or baked beans with wholemeal toast.)

Ingredients:

1 cup plain wholemeal flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 heaping tablespoons non-fat natural Greek yoghurt

1 handful frozen berries
Cooking spray, to oil the pan

Instructions:

To a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. When finished, make an indentation/well in the middle.

In a small bowl or large Pyrex glass measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, oil, and egg. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour indentation, and stir until batter is smooth.

Heat and oil a pan. Scoop two tablespoons of batter onto the pan. Wait a few minutes. When the side facing up starts bubbling and the sides look set, flip the pancake. Cook until the second side is lightly browned. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Stack the pancakes, pour the yoghurt over the pancakes, and decorate with fruits. Serve.

Tip: Place cooked pancakes in a preheated oven at 90°C (200°F) to keep warm while cooking the remaining pancakes.

Green Velvet Cake

Let's start off with one of those 'foods for the soul' I mentioned.

I'd watched an episode of DC Cupcakes yesterday where (it was Valentine's Day and) Red Velvet Cupcakes were their best-selling item. I then decided I'd make a different-coloured velvet cake today.

This definitely won't help anybody out searching for a good cut, but is a decent option for those who want to indulge in something sweet as their cheat-meal.

I originally wanted to make it light blue, but it turned out green due to too much colouring. You can play around with the colouring to choose your desired colour(s).

All of the ingredients should be readily available in your local grocery store; I used quite a few of Woolworths' homebrand products.

This recipe is adopted from Joy of Baking (http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html).

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid blue food coloring

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

1 8-ounce (227 grams) tub of cream cheese, room temperature

1 8-ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) icing sugar, sifted

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups cold thickened cream

Instructions:
Cake:

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) (or 160°C (320°F) on fan-forced ovens) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the blue food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Frosting:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and Mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and caster sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the thickened cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble:

With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally (but you'll notice that my cake is only two layers - explanation below). You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake.

Note: My cakes rose too much in the middle. This, I presume, was due to the fact that the oven was too hot, i.e. I had set my fan-forced oven to 180°C when it should have been set to 160°C. Please be sure of what type of oven you are using; usually, when using a fan-forced oven, the temperature should be set 10°C-20°C lower than what is called for in the recipe. This is especially important when baking.