Afternoon tea...

Where we live, the sun goes down early.
Well it seems that way because we live in a spot where our (side) yard rises up to the north, the road rises at the front of our house to the east, and behind the house towards the west, there are massive trees in other people's yards that block the sun by about 3.30 pm. In summer this isn't a problem but now that it's winter, once the sun disappears, the temperature drops quickly and it's time to close the house up a bit and have a nice hot cuppa.
My daughter teaches school nearby, so she pops in regularly. Today I didn't have anything to eat to go with the hot cuppa, so had the 'brilliant' idea to make pikelets or pancakes. Now you might think there is no difference between pikelets and pancakes but yes, there is. She chose the pancakes. These are the one's my mum used to make and they are Dutch pancakes...not like the thick small pikelets but very thin, like crepes. They are easy to whip up on the spur of the moment but just be prepared to continue making them while others eagerly devour them.
You'll be eating the last ones...
Enjoy.

Recipe below or click on tab above.

Mum's Dutch pancakes (crepes)

Recipe #2

You will need:
1 cup plain flour
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
good pinch salt
Some cooking oil

In a wide jug or small bowl place all ingredients and mix.
Beat with whisk or wooden spoon till bubbles rise.
Make sure mixture is quite thin and runny and if necessary add more water.

Pour oil into frypan and heat on high heat until it starts to smoke a little bit, then pour excess oil off into a cup. Repeat. (This helps to 'cure' the pan before adding the batter.) Do this once between each crepe.
Pour batter into centre of very hot frypan, swirling the batter to distribute it thinly over the entire surface.
Cook, sliding the pan across heat until one side is cooked.
Toss pancake or use egg slide to flip and cook other side.
When cooked slide onto plate.
Sprinkle with sugar and fresh lemon juice while pancake is hot.
Roll pancake up, using a fork.
Serve.

Repeat until all batter is used and everyone is happy.
You can have the last ones... :-)

Note: This quantity makes about 7-8 crepes. Just double or triple the recipe for however  many you need.
Other toppings: Golden syrup, Strawberry jam, Maple syrup.

Yummy Anzac biscuits

Well, here comes my first recipe.
A few nights ago I was wanting something sweet, but not too sweet.  Something yummy, but healthy. So here is the dead easy recipe for the good old Aussie biscuit (cookie) the ANZAC . This recipe was given to me by a friend many years ago.

Recipe # 1.

YUMMY ANZAC BISCUITS

You will need:
1/2 - 3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
Mix together in bow
Then melt together in microwave or on cooktop:
125gr butter (4ozs)
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbps boiling water
To this add:
    1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarb)
Pour wet mix into dry and mix together with wooden spoon.
Place teaspoons of mix on greased and paper lined baking sheets - about 10cm apart to allow them to spread.
Bake in 180C oven for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on them as they brown quickly.
Cool on rack till they go hard and crunchy.
Enjoy!

Notes:

1.  You can use raw or white sugar but it makes the biscuits too sweet. Brown sugar gives them a more caramelly taste.
2. Add the 1/2 cup of flour first and if still quite wet, add the other 1/4 cup. 

Why this blog?

Well for a start, I love blogging. Just love putting 'pen to paper'...yeah you know what I mean. Love to type away and share my thoughts and it really doesn't matter to me if anyone will read them. Nope not at all. However, if you do choose to read on, I hope you enjoy my  scattered thoughts, crazy ideas and have a bit of fun reading my light hearted ramblings about being an infrequent cook.
Back to the subject...
...I really am not mad on cooking. Cooking of any kind does not really excite me, yet we need to eat to continue living. Hence the 'Occasional Cook', well, that's what I wanted to call this blog, but no luck. That title was already taken, by someone who is most likely in the same boat as I am...not a lover of cooking, but who has enough interest, like me, to get into the kitchen from time to time and turn out something quite reasonable. So I settled for 'An infrequent cook'...which is actually what I am. These days my hubby cooks most of our meals. After over 30 years of cooking for my now 'long left home' family, I gave up 12 years ago when I went back to work full time and hubby became the house husband and stay-at-home dad for our then 10 year old.
My cooking is simple, easy and nourishing. Don't expect to find modern, exciting ideas here that go under the heading of 'Modern Cuisine' or come from the Master Chef kitchen. No bits of salad leaves garnished with dots of some fancy sauce, sprinkled with nuts and a crumbed, deep fried prawn on top. No, not at all. From my kitchen will come recipes that my mum used to make, a friend's cake recipe that is just delicious and is easy enough for me to throw together and maybe even some meatless meal ideas from our long ago Noosa days.
So don't get too excited please.
I am ready to put up a recipe or 2 and photos to show how it's done. You really don't need the photos but I also love taking photos of almost anything, so you will get photos with the recipe whether you like it or not :-)). I refrain from giving myself the label 'Photographer' as I don't do fancy pics, but just an average pic to show you how it's done. Most come from my smart phone, others from my Fujifilm Finepix S1600, so nothing too highbrow.
I hope you enjoy my 'infrequent' cooking adventures.
Welcome to my brand new blog.