A New Zealand favourite: Bacon & Egg Pie

I have an NZ Actor coffee snob best friend who came to stay with me for two weeks in Tokyo.
This particular friend is very much responsible for my escalating cooking and baking habits and has been encouraging it from many different countries for over 3 years now.

One of my favourite parts about his visit was all the cooking together.  My NZ Actor friend would ask me in his alpha male way "what's for dinner" and I would reply with, "what do you feel like?"
Don't think for one minute I was bothered by this.  I happen to adore cooking for people and for some reason am always inclined to take up a challenge from him.  
So my actor friend and I would play restaurants, he would behave as my sous chef each night as we created dinner.  I still miss his help and company in the kitchen even two months later.  I have to be honest we ate really delicious food but not low in fat... but since it was his choice! what we ate each night it wasn't my fault...

The request on one particular night happened to be bacon & egg pie which is a New Zealand favourite and very fitting since neither of us had lived in New Zealand for quite some time.

I had never made a bacon & egg pie in my life but what this friend wants/demands he's used to getting... haha

Years ago I had learnt beautiful handcrafted gourmet pie making skills from one of the most talented chefs I've ever known, so rather than be afraid of pastry my hands remembered exactly what to do.

I had no recipe and didn't like any of googles suggestions so we came up with the following and I've made it to great success 3 times in the last month.
 

* Bacon & Egg pie is what I call 'boy food' as it's not exactly low in calories...

SCRIPT

4 small sheets or 2 medium sheets pie pastry
6-8 free range eggs
1 small packet of bacon or 4-6 good size pieces
4 cherry tomatoes cut into wedges
1/2 C frozen peas, carrots & corn mix
2 handfuls of grated cheese
1/2 onion diced
add pepper to taste

Choose your dish according to what size pie you want to make.  I like to use a round glass 'quiche' dish.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 190C and lightly grease your dish.
Slice up bacon into pieces and add it to frying pan with 1/2 C of diced onion.  Remove from heat once onion is cooked.

with a lightly floured rolling pin roll out a sheet of your pastry to fit the base and up the sides of your dish cutting off any excess.  If your using two sheets for the bottom you lightly press them together on the base.

Pour the onion and bacon on top of the pastry, add your mixed frozen veges, tomato wedges and a handful of cheese, add pepper to taste (bacon is very salty so I prefer not to add any salt) combining gently with a spoon so as not to break the pastry.

Using the spoon make 6-8 spaces evenly for your eggs and crack them whole into the gaps.

Once you have rolled out your top layer of pastry to fit, place it on top completely covering the pie.
Find the edges of the pastry underneath and squeeze the top and sides together stretching them up slightly and folding and tucking any excess pastry down on to the sides. I was taught a nice rolling and pressing technique but can't really describe it so maybe try a youtube tutorial.

You can sprinkle your second handful of cheese on the top and then finish the pie by mixing an egg in a bowl and brushing it over the top of the pie.  I normally just add the cheese and sometimes a sprinkle of paprika.

Cook it in the oven at 190 degrees C for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven.  Check if it's cooked by placing a knife into the edge of the pie crust and ensuring that it's crisping up and not still doughy.

If your pie pastry still isn't fully cooked but your top is getting too brown you can add a layer of foil over the top to keep it from burning while the pie finishes cooking all the way through.

If your using a glass dish you can tell when your pastry underneath and around the sides is looking cooked.

When you cut into it you'll see all the layers of egg and veges, it's pretty filling on it's own and as a kiwi it wouldn't be bacon & egg pie without serving it with tomato sauce or ketchup on the side.

NOTES
*You can make it lower fat with less pastry by only using pastry for the top.  
*If you make it with both pastry layers then it will take a fair amount of time to cook!

Dan Bars (the ultimate protein/health snack recipe)

This is one of those recipes that should have been patented. How do you even do that by the way?

My friend Dan is crazy awesome and insane he created this recipe in college and since he's still a fitness freak it stuck with him.
In my opinion this recipe is a complete reflection of his life and personality. It's a little bit of everything with a touch of badass and a whole lot of freaking awesome.

They're a health bar
Protein snack
Training aid
No cheat, cheat day treat
Delicious

Without further ado here's the recipe.


SCRIPT

1 C Fruit/ dried cranberries 

2 1/2 C wholegrain oats

1 C whole raw almonds 

1/2C raw walnuts broken up

1/4C Pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds 

1C coconut 
1/2C pecans if you have them 

2 scoops chocolate protein 

1/2-1C chocolate bits I use dark choc

1-2 t cinnamon
1t ground ginger

1t Vanilla 

 To bind it all together:

2T apple sauce or Jam

2 eggs 

Dash of water 

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius and line a large slice or roasting tray. 

Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients one at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 
You want it to be Sticky, and binding together add more water if necessary.  

Press it firmly into tin a lined slice tin and bake

190 degrees for 20 mins. 

Don't over cook them, you  want them to have a soft chew but be bound together and able to be sliced when cooled down. 

*

I pack two every day (maybe 3 if I'm being honest) they are super tasty!
I have one before training as some quick stomach fuel and one after training to hold the hunger off while I'm getting home.

Since acquiring this recipe approximately two weeks ago it has gone viral. In my world at least. I made 3 batches in 4 days and was called for orders by a rugby player and had the recipe demanded of me.