Fun and Games with Mince Roly-Poly after perfect Burgers

A close calamity was averted, quite by accident, when a friend called asking for my aunt's Orange Cake recipe.

I'm sure many of you have recipes written on a piece of paper stuck inside some of your recipe books?

It's high time I got my act together and get all the good ones stored on my computer; either by typing them or better still, scanning, as they will be great mementos in the handwriting of the chef!

Have I told you that I used to collect recipe books, especially the ones that told a little tale for each recipe, and that they were my bedtime stories when I was still learning to cook, and loved experimenting, as the kitchen was and still is my playground!

Just before the telephone call, I remembered that I'd used one packet of ground beef (or mince as we call it) for burgers over the weekend, just for the two of us, but it now was Monday and I had four more mouths to feed.

Homemade Burgers still are the best, don't you think?

• ground beef, crushed garlic, grated onion, diced fresh parsley & mint, rolled oats, dried coriander, salt & pepper, and an egg to bind it all.
  These burgers were really simple - assembled with raw onions, yep, we love them like that, lettuce, burger sauce, and served with chips, it was the perfect Saturday night meal for us.

But...it now was Monday and with three burly young men returning for their week's training, plus Bongikosi our gardener back as well, I had to think quickly as I simply could not run to the store to buy more mince as it would be peak traffic out there, so...pasta it would be...

However, while searching for the Orange Cake recipe that was hiding somewhere inside one of the recipe books, I stumbled on a series of recipe books for TV Home Kitchen, by Annette Human, a well-known food editor for a popular magazine. The cover image of Tempting Time Savers immediately caught my eye.

I was going to make this beautiful Scone Ring filled with Mince, served with vegetables in the centre.

I had all the ingredients, so quickly made up my favourite scone recipe, but...I added a tad too much liquid, making it difficult to handle!

Filling

• 1 diced Onion
• 1 large grated Carrot
• 1-2 cloves Garlic
• 500 ground Beef (mince)
• Chopped Parsley, Thyme & Mint
• Nutmeg, Salt & Pepper
• 2 Eggs

Sautee onions, then add carrots & garlic, sautee a little longer before adding the mince & browning it.
Stir in herbs, seasoning and beaten eggs, stir fry a little till mixture is thick, let it cool.

This is where all the trouble began.

I should have pressed the scone dough into a rectangle on baking paper or cling wrap, as it was a little too soft to roll once the filling was arranged on top!

Plus I had not stuck to the recipe, there was too much filling, which hubby happily ate it as a starter;)

I had to call his help, and we both became contortionist artists trying to lift this very untidy roll onto a baking tray. It had to be scored, and there was no way that I was going to form a neat roll with it, as on the book cover!

I really got worried at this stage; how on earth was I going to present it to these young men?

A good gravy was needed as that can hide many sins, but what else to serve with it as they do not eat their vegetables!?

So, I made savoury rice, chockablock full of mixed vegetables and a really nice rice spice.
They were fooled and ate every morsel!

The untidy and not very tempting roly-poly still tasted really good, and I will be making it again, but will follow the recipe and turn it into a beautiful ring next time!

My very first boss, a dear old man with a wicked sense of humour, trained me in land survey draughting and made me write the following in my notebook, good advice that one can use in everyday life as well:

Think twice and draw once.

AND

It's quite ok to make a mistake, but if you make the same mistake twice, then you are a fool!

I do hope not to become a fool if I fail a second time!

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