I think everyone must be at the Melbourne Cup today or at a lunch. Hope you all had/have a lovely time and win lots and eat lots of delicious things.

Old Fashioned Lemonade
Fast and easy Indian Cooking
Tweaking

I made this exactly as the recipe. I was a bit hesitant about the seeds etc being in there but then realised that it was strained out of the bowl. It was lovely and very refreshing.

Score
5/5

Tuna and Macaroni Bake
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup macaroni - 130g
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion
2 tablespoons flour - 20g
2 cups milk - 450g
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1/2 cup grated cheese
185g tuna in springwater
2 tablespoons parsley
1/2 cup breadcrumbs.

Method
Make breadcrumbs and remove.
Blitz the parsley and remove.
Grate the cheese and remove.
Cook pasta according to the EDC, and place into the thermoserver.
Blitz the onion, add butter and cook 100⁰ speed 1 for 2 minutes.
Add the flour and milk. Cook 10 minutes, speed 4, 90⁰.  The white sauce isn't very thick, it thickens later when you cook the casserole.
Place the pasta into a casserole dish and pour the white sauce over it. Stir in the mustard, cheese, tuna and parsley. Stir gently.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs over and bake for 20-25 minutes in a moderate oven.

Members' comments
CP -  el yummo. Very easy and quick, and ingredients found in the pantry. Can say without a lie, that I will make it again. Did I say cheap too? Actually what I thought moved it up into the next echelon was the wholegrain mustard.

Julie) - Cookie, we loved it.  I did a couple of things different to suit our tastes like frying off the onion in a little butter in a frypan after chopping, then adding to the white sauce, also added  some corn kernels, and with the breadcrumbs I again fried off in a little butter until golden and crisp before sprinkling on top before putting in the oven to heat until bubbling.

JD -  Had no macaroni so used tiny shell pasta, only had large cans of plain tuna so used 2 x 95g cans of tuna in chilli sauce, threw in 1/4 cup creamed corn I had in the freezer and mixed some parmesan cheese in with the breadcrumbs to sprinkle on top.  Served with a tossed salad - very enjoyable, thanks a lot for the recipe.

Chelsea - We really enjoyed this bake with some steamed veg tonight. Simple, tasty and economical!  Thanks Cookie.
I've been making this quite often.  It is the only tuna dish that we all enjoy.  I double the recipe and fill two medium lasagne dishes.  It is great to have a meal in the freezer or to use later in the week. I use 300g macaroni and add a tin of corn kernels. 

KerrynN - This was a resounding success! My tuna-disliking DH went back for seconds and was full of praise. Kids ate it without any complaints too. I thought it was yummy and am glad to have a tuna bake back in the repertoire. I added frozen peas and corn, used a combination of tasty and mozarella cheeses, and topped with baked breadcrumbs so had a nice crunch throughout. May try sneaking in some asparagus next time. Thanks Cookie!

johnro - Another great tasty dish that was so quick and easy - thanks Cookie.  I used salmon as that was what was in the pantry - added 1/2 cup peas and same of corn - followed Julie's suggestion and browned the crumbs on stove top - yum!!!!!

Lellyj - Thanks for this recipe, Cookie, which I found via CP63s fabulous favourites list.  I love tuna and found this recipe very yummy.  I think the mustard is the secret ingredient! There are only 3 of us at home at the moment, but my son and husband are big eaters and I didn't feel like cooking a heap of veg to serve on the side, so I used more pasta and also added corn and just chucked in a little more butter, milk and flour--not a very scientific approach!  Anyway, it all worked and was so darn easy!  Next time I will toast the crumbs as Julie O suggested.  Thanks this will become a regular thing to cook for those "I can't be bothered cooking" nights!  Much cheaper and healthier than takeaway!

Cornish Cream - All three of us enjoyed it immensely. Didn't have macaroni, so used 200g of penne and mixed in some peas. Thanks Cookie for the very easy,fast, tasty, recipe.

Wonder - Left this recipe for DH to make last night. I'm not a fish eater but was able to eat this as there wasn't a really strong tuna flavour. I got him to include some carrot and peas which added to the veggie content a little.  Unfortunately he covered with bought breadcrumbs (something I would never use) rather than making his own, the bought breadcrumbs are way too fine and don't brown up like fresh and ended up a little soggy. A good easy recipe that everyone was happy enough to eat.

Bubbles - I made this yesterday and simply slipped it in the oven tonight for a delicious after work meal that the whole family ate. I also added corn and beans and baked the bread crumbs first. Thanks cookie1.

maddy - Nice and quick, thanks Cookie. I increased pasta to 200g, omitted the mustard, and used 4 x 95g tins of John West mild Indian curry tuna.

Amy -  I used Salmon and Penne instead of Tuna and Macaroni. I used the mustard Kezza gave as her goodie bag gift, it smelled amazing. I also added some frozen peas and corn to add a bit of colour. Thanks for such an easy recipe cookie.

Inthekitchen - Thanks for posting the recipe!  It was delicious & really easy. The only change I made was to add the cheese to the white sauce as it cooked & I saved a little extra to sprinkle on top with the bread crumbs.  This will be a regular for us.

Bedlam - Very tasty, I did a double and added peas and corn and did Julieo's tip frying off breadcrumbs, will definately be a repeater in our house. Yum.

Frozzie - Forgot to post we had this last night.. Kids gobbled it down.

CarolineW - Is there a reason for mixing in the mustard and cheese afterward rather than putting them in the white sauce to make cheese sauce, which is what I would usually do?  Does it have a different effect?
Cookie1's reply - I see no reason why it can't all be put in together.







 

 
 
 
 

Chicken Tikka Masala
Fast and Easy Indian Cooking   page 89
Tweaking

I made the tikka paste with quite a few alterations, mainly because I couldn't get the ingredients. I couldn't get coriander seeds so used a little powder, I only used about 5 dried chillies as I was afraid it would be too hot, and slightly less ginger as I hadn't bought enough.

The Chicken Tikka Masala I made exactly as the recipe but used less oil to cook it with. We really loved the flavour and will enjoy using up the rest of the Tikka paste.

5/5

Pizza Pockets
Lunch Box and After School Ideas  page 22
Tweaking Details
I made the recipe exactly as per the book. After making them I realised that any filling at all would be suitable to put in these. They could be made to use up leftovers of casseroles etc, or with fruit fillings. Would be very handy to have in the freezer for lunch boxes or that quick snack.

I would give these 4.5/5

I will definitely be making them again.

Strawberry Fool
4-6
Ingredients:
250ml cream
250ml natural yoghurt
finely grated rind of a lemon
250g strawberries, hulled
3 teaspoons icing sugar (optional)


Preparation:
Place strawberres in  . Speed 5, 3-4 seconds. They do not need to  be a puree. Remove.
Whip the cream according to the EDC book, taking care not to make butter.
Leave the butterfly in and add the yoghurt and lemon rind and sugar. Speed 2 for 10 seconds.
Add the strawberries. Fold through   speed 2, 10 seconds.
Place in 4 or 6 nice glasses and refrigerate until required. Decorate with sliced strawberries.


This recipe is a modified and adapted version of one in Good Food magazine.


Photos:

Tips/Hints:
I made this without the sugar but found it needed just a little bit folded through. Could be served with nice biscuits.

members' comments
Shayla - How about trying maple syrup instead of sugar - it gives strawberries a wonderful flavour without being too sweet?

Thermomixer - Thanks cookie1 - how about some grog too?? A little triple sec or framboise ?  or a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar on the strawberries while you are whipping the cream?

You can make it healthier by using egg whites instead of cream to give the airy texture, or even a jelly (or low-cal jelly mix) with water that has been allowed to almost set before whipping it up.  But that may be tooooooo healthy ?

Date and Sultana Crunch

Ingredients
125g dates
60g sultanas
rind and juice of 2 oranges
200g rolled oats
45g flour
185g butter
1/3 cup sugar

Method
Check the dates for seeds and place in bowl. Speed 5 for 2 seconds.
Add the sultanas.
Make up the orange juice to 1 cup of liquid with water and add to the bowl.
Cook 5 minutes at 60^o on  .
Then liquify this by using Speed 5 for 10 seconds. It doesn't need to be smooth.
Remove this and cool.

Place rolled oats and flour  into  .
Mix  and for 10 seconds.
Add the butter. Speed 3 for 20 seconds.
The mixture should come together.
Add the sugar and rind. Speed 3 for 10 seconds.

Press half the mixture into a slice tray that has been greased.
Spread with fruit filling.
Sprinkle rest of oat mixture onto the fruit and press down.
Bake in a 190 degreeC oven for about 35 minutes.

This can be served warm as a dessert with custard or as a slice with coffee.

The next time I make it I will place all the oat mixture as a base and sprinkle almond pieces over the fruit mixture.

This was loosely based on a Margaret Fulton recipe.

Thanks to ILB I can say there is a cooking class in Perth with Nico on 25th August. He is making the same things he made at his last cooking class and I can highly recommend it.  This isn't on the TMX site ILB forwarded me an email about it.
Thanks ILB you're a star.