2015-03-06/9 Extended Weekend with the 

Australian Campertrailer Group

at Upper Colo River Reserve

I again planned an easy weekend.  I still had some Cranberry Chutney from previous blogs still in my refrigerator, that as topping on a nice room temperature Brie with crackers was my contribution for happy hour on the Friday night. 

The Saturday night I made Queso Fundido which I first made at Burra in SA.The Chorizo for these was much darker but the flavour much the same. It is hot with the Japalenos but its still enjoyed by many.

Pinterest these days has more snack and Happy Hour recipes than I could cook in my lifetime. I felt the following would be quick and easy and only the cheese and wonton wrappers needed to be refrigerated prior to use. I made these on the Sunday night when there were less at the Happy Hour.

Crab Rangoon (Cream Cheese Wontons) 

250 packet cream cheese room temperature

225 can shredded crab drained

1 level Tablespoon icing suger

2 finely chopped shallots 

(optional variation on original)  1 packet Wonton Wrappers (my packet had 30 and I used 24)  Oil for deep frying (I used l ltre bottle of Peanut Oil)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Mix all thoroughly together

Brush outside edges of Wonton wrappers with water and place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the centre.  Pull up the points pressing sides making sure they are well sealed.

Deep fry until golden brown - let cool a little before serving

Serve with a Sweet and Sour dipping sauce or sauce of your preference. I made 24 but with a little less filling could have used the 30 wrappers. They were enjoyed giving some ideas for different fillings and maybe extra crab added to the cheese.

2015 February 06-09 

AUSTRALIAN

CAMPERTRAILER GROUP WEEKEND

AT MYALL LAKES IN NSW

Myall Lakes Primitive Camp is a lovely spot to camp with drop toilets, some water and no electricity.  The majority of the Campertrailer group are set up with battery and/or solar power and its not considered a problem.  Unfortunately it is a no dog area and some of the regulars couldnt come.

My plans were to have an easy weekend and I made this date and nut roll at home and used it for the first happy hour on the friday night. If I dont have Ghee I use butter.

The Date and Nut Roll I adapted from Shobhas blog at http://foodmazaa.blogspot.com/ and for the original recipe visit her site. The ingredients drop down on this Youtube.

I made up Seeded Bread Dough at home and took half, keeping it in the refrigerator.  I divided it into nine rolls and left to rise for an hour and half.  Then Foil, Trivet, Stone (preheated) and cooked them for about 20 minutes on 200C.  The Youtube is from when I made it the first time into a loaf.

Adapted from Betsy's Oat and Seeded Bread in HBin5

2 Cups Wholemeal Flour

3 Cups Plain White Flour

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

2 Tablespoons Flaxseed

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds plus extra for sprinkling on top

3/4 Cup Sunflour Seeds plus extra for sprinkling on top

1/4 Cup Sesame seeds plus extra for sprinkling on top

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated yeast

1 Tablespoon salt

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

3 cups warm water

1/2 cup honey or agave syrup

1/4 cup neutral flavoured oil

A Cheesy Pullapart loaf is easy to make and worked well in the BabyQ.  I mixed a glass jar of cream cheese with a 250g stick of softened butter and a packet of dried french onion soup mix. You can use any shape of dense bread, I felt the long loaf would fit well in the BabyQ.  You cut the bread both horizontal and diagonal as you can see in the picture about 3cm apart and spread it with the mix in every direction.  I sprinkled some extra tasty cheese in as well and wiped the butter paper over the outside.  I then wrapped it tightly in alfoil and cooked it in a foil dish around 200C. On the stone with foil and trivet underneath for about 20 minutes, then undid the foil so the crust would crisp which took about 10 minutes.

This trip I took uncooked premade and frozen Spring Rolls/Lumpia and although I have baked them freshly made in the BabyQ as in the Youtube below(receipe drops down) this time I simply fried frozen 10 at a time in a frypan on a gas burner.  I found they are so hot that I could do a second batch and the first kept hot.  I maybe should consider making the smaller ones or cutting them in half for happy hour.

An escapee was captured and boiled for 20 minutes.

Unfortunately we needed more than one.

I decided to try pizza rollups as an easier way to serve pizza for Happy Hour.  You would be able to google a more exact recipe I made this up as I went.  I was to use the SR flour and Yoghurt dough recipe which is very popular at the moment but decided instead to use a carton of UHT cream which I mostly carry in the van.  I mixed one carton with 2 cups of SR Flour earlier in the day and put it in the refrigerator.

Then I fried a chopped up pepperoni and half an onion and put that aside to cool.

I rolled out the dough.

I like the Stir Through sauces and this was a spicy one.  I use about half a jar on a pizza.  For this I left about 3cm uncovered on the far side.






Sprinkle on the meat and onion mix

Sprinkle over some grated cheese, I happened to have some Pizza mix and I used about a cup full.

Roll it up as tight as you can.

Cut it into 12 equal pieces.  (I miscounted)

I placed them into a greased foil tray as I hoped it would help them hold their shape.

Sprinkled some more cheese on top

Baked about 200C on stone on top of trivit with foil underneath checking at 15 minutes and continuing till the tops were browned about another 5 minutes. The pulled out individually with a little knife help.  I cut them in halves for morning tea.

FREE CAMPING WEEKEND AT MACQUARIE WOODS 

WITH THE AUSTRALIAN CAMPERTRAILER GROUP

COOKING ON THE WEBER BABYQ

The Youtube shows the lovely weather we experienced, it can be cold here and even snow. No fires between November and March and other fire ban times.

There is no power and most used gas for cooking.  The majority of the Campertrailer group have solar panels.  I like to cook but also to enjoy the weekend so this is all quick and easy to make with some prepared and frozen at home.  

I decided to take some  homemade frozen Cheese Triangles in filo pastry.  This was the first time I had cooked them from frozen in the BabyQ and I was pleased with the results.

The filling:   

Large packet of Phillidelphia Cream Cheese 

6 chopped shallots 

Rind off l small lemon and juice from lemon

Good grind of pepper

Cooked around 400C foil or convection tray, trivet and I used a foil container lid but a tin of any sort would do. Cook until brown. Check from about 10 minutes they are very hot inside so let them cool down a bit.
Great Happy Hour food, I serve them with sweet chilli sauce.

Next on the easy list was a Greens Sultana Cake cooked in my new Aldi tin.  It fits perfectly in the Weber and although it looks small makes about 12 slices.  I should do one of these from scratch and take the dry ingredients measured out in a cliplock bag.

Ingredients:  

1 Sultana Loaf dry mix

1 Egg

1 small 200ml carton UHT cream 

(I find this more convenient to use than melting butter)

Mix it together and put into a greased tin.  Cook 400C start checking at 20 minutes.

A family favourite is baked Piroshki and I have made these many times in a camp oven and now I use the BabyQ.  I decided it was something to demonstrate and David was willing to learn and made up a tray full which he cooked in his own BabyQ. 

I had precooked at home my usual beef filling and also made a BBQ Pork filling.  I froze them and defrosted them to use and was happy with the results.  The no knead bread dough I use I simply mixed the night before and left overnight.  I left out the egg because I was not refrigerating it which I would do at home.  My last blog post was Piroshki which gives you the quantities for one lot of filling. It makes about 40 depending on your sizing.
The Pork filling:I used 500g minced pork + 1/3rd cup Cha Sui Sauce OR if you can get it 2 cups Chinese Roast Pork1/2 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sesame Seed Oil
3/4 cup chicken stock

3 Tablespoons flour

Mix together Soy, Oyster Sauce, Sesame Seed Oil and chicken stock and put aside.

Fry the shallots in the oil till translucent not browned then the pork till just cooked.  

Sprinkle over the flour and sugar and stir.  

Add the sauces and stock and cook until thick.  Cool before using.

I both used a tray and tried one batch on baking paper onto the pizza stone (on trivet).  Take care as baking paper can be slippery and I lost half a batch into the dirt off the pizza slide :) usually take around 10-15 minutes.  The ones pictured I made a little larger than usual in a square muffin tin. I serve these with soy and sweet chilli.  Some in my family put tomato sauce on the beef.  I have had suggested that plum sauce would go well with the pork ones and will try that next time.  If at home I freeze them and my family love to zap a plate full in the microwave from frozen state.

The Zucchini Slice recipe I made for the community meal and it came from the Weber BBQ Addicts Page on Facebook and it was posted by Kate Dukes. A man came around selling local fresh eggs and they cooked up an unbelievable colour.  My first time making this I was pleased and it cut well and kept warm a long time.
Ingredients:
375g Zucchini (I used two very large) grated
1 Large Onion finely chopped
3 Bacon rashes (I used about a cup of bacon pieces fried and frozen at home)
1 Cup Grated Cheese
1 Cup SR Flour sifted (I never sift flour these days)
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil 
5 eggs lightly beaten
Pepper to taste
Mix all together and put into a lamington tin and cook on trivet with foil under for 400C 30-40 minutes until brown.  
Cut into squares when cool.

I love to try something new especially when camping and I have lots of happy taste testers.  This one looked good and healthy, potato and spinach balls baked, they contained potato just cooked and mashed, spinach, basil, chives, parsley, garlic, cumin and a splash of white wine (optional).  My feeling was that it needed an egg or something to bind them but I went with the recipe.  They looked good but refused to brown even though I put a fair bit of oil in the tin.  In desperation I flattened them but they wouldnt hold together.  

I almost always have a jar of Onion Marmelade and Cranberry Chutney in the fridge (recipes in the blog) and I hadnt used the Brie cheese so I ditched the balls and took that to Happy Hour.  

These condiments are usually enjoyed and I take a jar from home most camping trips. Can use on pizza or with cheese or on the side.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY  MODIFIED FROM WIVES WITH KNIVES

• 3 cup fresh cranberries (I use two packet of dried and pour boiling water over them and leave it to cool, I then use the water as part of the recipe)
• 1 large tart apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon curry powder (don’t skimp. Its an important ingredient)
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 small cans mandarin orange slices, drained

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chutney will thicken up as it cools. This keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator and will easily form a seal if poured, very hot, into small decorative jelly jars. I keep refrigerated.

ONION MARMALADE - FROM MY CAMP OVEN FRIEND MICHAEL
8 large onions sliced
1 Tablespoon each of cumin seeds, coriander seeds and salt.
2 1/2 cups of Brown Sugar
3 cups of Cider Vinegar.
Boil it until it reaches the thickness you want - it does thicken more when cold. Pour into sterilized jars - makes about four small jars. I keep refrigerated.

A great weekend

WEBER BABYQ BAKED PIROSHKI

Seems a lot of interest in Weber BabyQ cooking lately.  A lot of us love our camp ovens but with so many fire restrictions especially with summer approaching the Weber BabyQ is the answer for baking and grilling.

I have made piroshki before but have used a different bread this time.  Your favourite bread would be fine.  When I first made these may years ago I used an enriched bread and still tend to favour that. 

Not traditional but my version and a family favourite.

Filling make and cool:

1 large onion

500g minced beef makes approx 50 depending on your sizing.

 (750g meat if you dont want left over dough would make approx 70)

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce (or chilli to taste)

1 Tablespoon flour or gravox

Brown onion, then meat. Add sauces and/or herbs and milk, then sprinkle flour or gravox over and mix. Reduce so that the meat has just a small amount of gravy.  Too much liquid will cause splitting when baking.

Alternate Pork filling:

I used 500g minced pork + 1/3rd cup Cha Sui Sauce OR if you can get it 2 cups Chinese Roast Pork

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion

2 Tablespoons oil

2 Tablespoons Sugar

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons Sesame Seed Oil

3/4 cup chicken stock

3 Tablespoons flour

Mix together Soy, Oyster Sauce, Sesame Seed Oil and chicken stock and put aside.

Fry the shallots in the oil till translucent not browned then the pork till just cooked.  

Sprinkle over the flour and sugar and stir.  

Add the sauces and stock and cook until thick.

Dough:

3 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 beaten egg

1 Tablespoon dry yeast

1 Tablespoon salt

8 cups plain flour 

1 Cup skim milk powder (optional)

Topping: 2nd beaten egg and sesame seeds 

Mix liquids with egg, yeast and salt then add flour, it will be a sticky dough.

Leave two hours, can be used then but firms up for easier handling if left to chill preferably overnight. I didnt wait when making the youtube.

Sprinkle on some flour and with floury hands pluck out about a tablespoon of dough and flatten in your palm.

Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre and pinch up and around it.

Put pinched side down on a tray and leave for 30 minutes.

Brush with another beaten egg and sprinkle on sesame seeds if you have them.

Heat Weber BabyQ to 200C - I put foil then trivet and left the piroshki on baking paper on a tin tray. Could be done onto a pizza stone.

Cook checking at 10 minutes could take 15 or more till tops start to brown and bottoms are not over cooked.

I had bread dough over and made a cheesy plaited loaf with it.

I love having Onion Marmalade in the fridge when I go camping and yesterday made it in my slow cooker some for the first time.

I simply put all the ingredients in the slow cooker put it on high for about 8 hours with a tea towel under the lid then on auto overnight.  It could have been reduced down slightly more but I find they seem to thicken once chilled so I left it.  

8 large onions sliced

1 Tablespoon each of cumin seeds, coriander seeds and salt.

2 1/2 cups of Brown Sugar

3 cups of Cider Vinegar.

WEBER BABYQ - PIZZA/TACO CUPS - PART 1

Lots of interest on forums lately using the Stand and Stuff tortillas which is a new product for me.  I made my usual Taco mix and had them for dinner last night and had some filling left over.  I was not that happy with the flavour of the shells. Very popular also has been the 2 ingredient pizza pastry so I decided to test that as a shell.

First put the BabyQ on to heat up to 200C.  I foil on the grill and then a trivet.

Mix:

1 1/4 cups SR Flour (most recipes say l cup but I find that too sticky to manage)

1 cup Greek Yoghurt

I added a teaspoon of Grill Carribean Kick Seasoning (optional) I like all the variations of seasonings available these days and try any new ones I notice.  I feel it adds a subtle flavour to the dough.

It should divide into 12 pieces between a walnut and golf ball size - I rolled each ball out to 10 cm.

I have a square muffin tin which fits nicely into the BabyQ (its just that bit smaller than my normal muffin shaped tin) and I pushed each piece of dough into the squares and baked for 8 minutes.  Being SR flour even though very thin they puffed up a bit more than I would have liked.

I then added some taco meat (about a soup spoon of meat) I had previously cooked and sprinkled on some grated cheese.  I put them back into the BabyQ for another five minutes.  I left some empty and have turned them over so you can see the bottoms were nicely browned in this time and the filling was hot.

Topped with chopped tomato, lettuce and taco sauce they tasted fine.

Out of curiosity I placed the same circles on an upside down mini muffin tray and baked for 10 minutes.  This dough is too soft to stand up and I didnt feel they would hold sufficient filling.  Also they wouldnt be stable whereas the cases done in the square muffin tins are great.

CONCLUSION:  The flavour was good but too much case for my personal taste, I have previously made cases from my no knead pizza recipes and I think I would use that the next time I make my own cases. The size was ideal as a snack or happy hour savoury, I will be packing this tin unless I see another one to buy in my caravan.