Ginger biscuits - Tuesday recipe post 1

Somewhere in a very, very safe place is my HG's Aunty Olive's recipe for Ginger nuts. It makes the best ginger nuts ever. However, it is in that very, very safe place. You know what I'm talking about.  I store lots of important things in these very, very safe places. These safe places are usually TOP SECRET, they become top secret the millisecond you want any of the items stored there! We all have them!

So, on reading http://www.frugalqueen.co.uk/2013/08/buttery-gingernut-biscuits.html I thought I'd give them a try!

Firstly I weighed out the ingredients, ( Froogs costs hers out, mine; using the ingredients I had in, would cost more per biscuit than hers. ) which took about three minutes!  She did say it was a quick recipe! I did weigh out the syrup in grams rather than count tablespoons. Top tip, weigh out the sugar first, leave it in the scales dish, then weigh the syrup on top. The sugar slides the syrup out into the pan leaving no mess!

Following her instructions, I made the biscuits. They are currently cooling! They smell good!

Finally I worked out the approx calories for each biscuit. I made 36.
 100g butter ( I used can't believe it ) 540kcal
100g sugar ( I used 50g Demerara 50g golden caster ) 400kcal
350 self  raising flour 1137kcal
200g golden syrup 620kcal

2tspn ground ginger 4kcal

If you add that little lot up, it comes to an eye wateringly whopping 2702 calories. However, that's only if you eat the whole batch! One of my biscuits contains ( roughly ) 75 calories. PLUS you know EXACTLY what you are putting in your mouth! I would have used butter except I didn't have any. But if you read the chemical ingredients on the 'I can't believe it was on offer' which is why I bought it, you know EXACTLY what you are putting in your mouth!! 

P.S. Once I, ahem, find my *safely stored* Aunty Olive's recipe, I will share it with you! What have you made today? What have you got stashed in that *safe* place? 

Spinach and Cottage Cheese Rolls

Why have I not made these before now? So easy, so delicious and only 135 calories, so good for you! 

I know, they are not the neatest, prettiest rolls ever made but now I know what I'm doing, next time they'll be perfect!  Bargain too. Each one cost around 50p tomake. 

Busy social day ahead. Coffee with a pal this morning. Then the picnic lunch and gossipy afternoon with my other pal. 

I also knit the back of the cardi, this time using white - it looks much better. I've a different pattern in mind too for another one. 

At this rate, it will soon be finished! 

Rachel's Manky Veg Curry

Well, as promised in my post yesterday, here is the recipe for my deliciously entitled mouthwatering Curry...

Normally, I turn the Manky veg from the depths of my fridge drawers into Manky Veg Soup. But as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Summer is happening RIGHT NOW in little Ol England! So I was not really in the mood for soup. I also had in the back of the fridge a Tupperware container containing coconut milk. I was pretty sure I was on the cusp of making coconut cheese but on closer inspection, it was still liquidy.

Now if you want to make my recipe, I apologise for the random quantities - it was a case of cut the major mank away and weigh what was left! I used an online calorie counter to work out values! The official serving quantity for my curry is sh*tloads!!

Here we go!
What I used.(  Calories in brackets are for raw product ) 
 227g red onion - roughly chopped. ( 81)
215g jersey royals - roughly chopped. (159)
364g cauliflower - roughly chopped ( you get the idea?). (123)
86g leek - roughly chopped. (18)
231g swede ( rutabaga for my US Blogpals ) - thinly sliced ( ha haaaa ) . (55)
193g green and red pepper - roughly chopped. (28)
( tip of thumb - optional ) * ( calories unknown )
117g carrot - roughly chopped. (35)
240g chickpeas - the drained weight of a 400g tin. (305)
400g tin chopped tomatoes. (88)
200ml reduced fat coconut milk. (154)
200ml cold water. (0)
2tblespns  generic curry paste ( I used Pataks mild ) . (184)
137g mushrooms - quartered. (17)
60g semi frozen petit pois ( best if discovered accidentally left out of the freezer after making the tea for the HG!!) .(31)
20 sprays of one cal spray. (20)
Large oven roasting tray (0)
BIG frying pan with lid (0)

Here's what I did
Rummaged carefully in depths of drawer and see what can be salvaged.
1. Heat large roasting tray in oven while roughly chopping the veg.
2. Add the root veg to roasting pan and spray ten times with spray, roast for ten minutes
3. Add rest of veg, spray again and roast for five minutes
4. Heat generic curry paste for three minutes in large frying pan
5. Add roasted veg, tomatoes, chick peas, coconut milk and water.
6. Bring to boil, add mushrooms and seasoning, reduce to simmer
7. Cover with a lid and simmer til veg is soft ( well cooked - most of it was soft to start!!!!

8. Add peas five minutes before serving.


Done!
Total calories = 1298
Total weight = 2220g

Serves 5 = 260 cal per portion, portion size is 444g
Serves 4 = 325 cal per portion, portion size 555g

You could easily stretch this to 8 good portions!

*whilst roughly chopping the pepper, I was a tad rough and ( the squeamish should look away now ) the knife slipped 3/4 way through the tip of my thumb in a nice slice. My tummy just turned over re living it! It eventually stopped bleeding and a plaster is currently holding it together!

Other things that I have to tell you;
The Y6 bowling trip was fun. My daughter passed her first year of Uni with flying colours and she's been offered a part time to fit in with her studies job! Off to bed for me now! Am shattered!

What do you do with your Manky veg?