A space for recipes

These are really easy to make, absolutely lethal on the waistline and a firm favourite with children and husbands. fraid the ingredients are in lb and oz as these come from my old notebook of recipes, you can see it has been well used!


Homemade Bounties
8oz dessicated coconut
7oz good quality cooking chocolate
1 small tin condensed milk
2tbsp icing sugar

Mix together in a bowl the coconut, icing sugar and condensed milk. Heat the cooking chocolate over a pan of hot water until a runny considtency. Form the coconut mixture into firm balls, dip into the chocolate and allow to cool on greaseproof paper.

Do not lick your fingers until the very last bountie has been made!

Chocolate Yule Log
4oz (100g) plain dark, good quality cooking chocolate
4oz (100g) plain dark chocolate
2oz (50g) butter
7oz (200g) digestive biscuits
4oz (100g) raisins
2oz (50g) chopped tasted hazelnuts
2oz (50g) glace cherries, quartered

To decorate
4oz (100g) plain dark chocolate
1 tsp icing sugar

1. Put the chocoate and cooking chocolate in a large heatproof bowl with the butter. Stand the bowl over a pan of hot water and stir until chocolate melts.
2. Remove the bowl from the heat. Put the biscuits ina polybag and break them up with a rolling pin until in small chunks.
3. Stir into the chocolate with the raisin, hazelnuts and cherries. Mix together well.
4. Spoon the mix onto a sheet of foil. Fold Foil tightly round the mixture and squeeze it into a thick log shape. Chill until set hard.
5. To decorate: unwrap log and put on a serving plate. Melt remaining cholate in a bowl over hot water. Spread chocolate over log to cover it completely. mark the cholate with a fork so it looks like bark. Leave it to set. Sift a little icing sugar snow over the log. Add a sprig of holly or other Christmassy decoration.

1/2 kilo minced meat (or ideally finely chopped lamb)
 about 50g  butter 
1 chopped medium onion
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dry mint
for decoration
1/2 cup pine nuts (or blanched almond )


Sauce
3-4 tablespoon olive oil 
1 grated garlic clove
1 chilli finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4  finely chopped tomatoes (or tin of chopped tomato)
1 teaspoon salt





Cover with foil and bake for about 1/2 hour at 250. Remove the foil and cook for anothr 15 minutes.

A lot of people hope to become an excellent chef, but the steps that they must take to get there can be very trying. You will be able to cook a great meal in little time, if you just go slowly and take it step by step.

When you are cooking, dont be afraid to be creative. You do not have to follow a recipe to the "T". Give the recipe your own personal twist by leaving an ingredient or two out, substituting, or adding something. These little changes can result in an exceptionally good dish that is better than the original recipe! Now thats real cooking!

If youre dealing with a vegetable or fruit that you arent familiar with, you should take the time to learn more information about it. By performing some research, you could be surprised at how versatile a new food can be. The better prepared you are before you start, the better your kitchen experiences will be.

If you want to lose weight and eat healthier, cut back on the amout of oil that you cook with. Butters and oils contain unnecessary fats. Try using nonstick cooking spray instead: this product does not contain anything unhealthy and works just like oil.

By doing this, fruits can stay fresh all through the year. Another great benefit is that you will have certain fruits on their off season.

Theres almost always leftovers after serving turkey. Rather, cut up the meat and store in in the freezer. Frozen turkey will keep for weeks in the freezer and can be unfrozen and used for a variety of dishes.

Improper storage techniques wont ensure they will last from harvest through the winter months, which is when they are most often desired for inclusion in recipes. Apples need to be kept loosely in plastic bags while in your refrigerator or basement because they rot in dry, warm air. Make sure you check them periodically, however, because even one spoiled apple can cause the others in the bag to rot very rapidly.

A lot of preparatory work can be done ahead of time in order to speed up time spent cooking. Examine recipes and identify which preparations can take place well in advance without risking spoilage. Many different prep tasks can be finished a day or so before cooking the meal. This can make even the most difficult recipes fun and easy.

If preparing dinner becomes overwhelming, try to get some of the prep work done the night before. Easy ways to prep in advance include cutting up any ingredients that needs chopping, throwing together the ingredients for any sauces or marinades or assembling a casserole before you head to bed for the night. You will be a much happier cook if you do not have to do as much the next day, resulting in less stress.

The ability to cook will always come in handy, whether you want to feed your family or romance a prospective beau. Sharing meals is a common tradition among cultures across the globe. Use the guidelines suggested in this article to get you started on the path towards cooking perfection.

A lovely dessert that will more than likely keep you  coming back for more...

Prep: 15 min |
Bake: 30 to 35 mins

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine-grained kosher salt
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated, sweetened coconut, chopped finer

Garnish options:
Fresh strawberries, raspberries, and prepared whipped cream
--(If you wish to macerate* your berries, see Tip below)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in microwave; add to large bowl, along with remaining ingredients in the order listed.

Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and spray with oil (leave overhanging edges to form handles for removing after baking).  Add the batter to the prepared baking dish, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely.  Remove foil, cut into squares, and serve as shown in the photograph above. - Enjoy!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is so fast and easy to have a  delicious meal on the table  in under 30 minutes...

Servings: (6)
Prep/Cook: 30 Mins.


***Steamed basmati rice:
1-1/2 cups basmati rice
3 cups water
½ teaspoon light olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

½ red onion, chopped
2 handfuls of fresh organic sugar snap peas, inner and outer strings removed
2 organic garlic cloves, minced
6 organic crimini mushrooms, sliced
freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 cups cold water
1 cup Alaskan Amber beer
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (or more, if you prefer a thicker gravy)

1 organic roma tomato, chopped

Usually I use the fresh spinach pasta to make lasagne, but I thought I would do something else this time. Looks like Im still on a chicken kick. I actually made a lot more filling than I call for, because I didnt realize how far it would go. I ended up using the extra to make meatballs.

Spinach is probably becoming more widely available right now, but ours is almost over. It always seems to bolt by midsummer. Im pulling a lot of it out already.



60 raviolis (10 to 12 servings)
1 hour prep time not including making the pasta


Make the Filling:
2 large green onions, white and light green parts only
1 clove garlic
6 to 8 button mushrooms
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 teaspoon rubbed basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black peppercorns
250 grams (1/2 pound) ground chicken

Wash, trim and finely chop the white and light green parts of the onions, reserving the green tops for the sauce. Peel and mince the garlic. Clean and chop the mushrooms finely.

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the mushrooms and onions until soft. Add the garlic, basil, salt and pepper, and cook for a minute or two longer. Turn the mixture out into a bowl to cool.

Add the ground chicken and mix in well.

Make the Ravioli:
1 recipe Spinach Pasta

Divide the pasta into 4 portions, and roll each portion out as thinly as possible. Cut out circles of pasta with a 2" round cutter.

Put a teaspoon of the filling onto half the circles, and top with a second circle. Press the dough circles together around the edges to seal. It will likely be necessary to wet the edges to achieve a good seal. Set the ravioli aside on a clean tea-towel or piece of parchment paper as you make them. They could be kept, well wrapped in the fridge, for several hours before they are to be cooked. They could also be frozen, and thawed before being cooked.

To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and boil until tender, about 12 to 17 minutes. Drain well and serve with the sauce.

Make the Sauce:
8 cups spinach leaves
12 to 16 button mushrooms
2 large green onions, green parts only
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup light cream

Wash and pick over the spinach leaves, and chop them coarsely. Set them aside to drain well.

Clean and slice the mushrooms. Use the green onion tops from the filling, and chop them in centimetre pieces.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook the mushrooms until soft and lightly browned. Add the green onion tops and cook them down for a minute or two. Sprinkle the flour over and mix in well. Continue cooking and strring for a minute or two.

Add the chicken stock, stirring well until the sauce is smooth. Add the cream and the chopped spinach, and continue cooking and stirring until the spinach is cooked and the sauce is slightly thickened.

Serve over the cooked, drained ravioli.

I was quite surprised how enthusiastic everyone who it ate it was about this dressing. I mean, I worked on making it good and all that, but I wasnt expecting raves. I guess thats because I am used to living with Mr. Ferdzy, who doesnt get all that excited about buckwheat. He says it tastes like cardboard. However, a bunch of people who had never had it before were amazed and impressed. So there you go! If you havent had buckwheat before, maybe you should try it.

The bits about toasting it and dropping it into water that has already reached a boil are important. Otherwise, it can get sadly soggy and mushy, and then no-one will be very excited about it. Also, it was a happy day when they first started to sell pistachios already shelled. I suggest you look for them.

6 to 8 servings
2 1/2 hours, not including cooking the buckwheat - 40 minutes prep time


Cook the Buckwheat:
1 cup buckwheat
2 teaspoons mild vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the buckwheat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oil is absorbed and the buckwheat is toasted. Remove it to a plate to cool. Put the water and salt into a pot and bring it to a boil. When it boils, add the buckwheat. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. This can be done up to a day in advance, and kept in the fridge until wanted.

Make the Dressing:
1 small onion OR 2 or 3 shallots
2 or 3 stalks of celery
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
the finely grated zest of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup dried cranberries
the juice of 1/2 large lemon

Peel and chop the onion or shallots. Wash, trim and chop the celery. Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion (shallots) and celery until soft and slightly browned. Meanwhile, grind the rosemary and pepper. Add the seasonings to the pan, along with the finely grated lemon zest and the pistachios and cranberries, and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool enough to handle. Mix in the lemon juice.

Stuff and Roast the Lamb:
1 boneless lamb shoulder, about 2.5 kilos or 4 to 6 pounds
lamb or beef stock, OR water

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Remove the string or elastic bag holding the shoulder together, and spread it out in a baking pan. Spread the dressing over it and fold it closed again. Tie it back together so as to surround the dressing with the lamb. The pan should be of a size to hold the prepared roast somewhat snugly. If you cant get all the dressing in (probably not) arrange whatever is left around the roast. Add enough stock or water to cover the bottom of the pan by about a quarter inch.

Bake the lamb at 450°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and cook for a further hour to hour and half, depending on the size and thickness of the lamb and the degree of doneness desired. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.




Last year at this time I made Curried Noodles with Vegetables.

A chocoholics dream dessert...

Servings (12)
Prep: 15 mins. |
Cook 50 mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

***Cake
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
· 3/4 cup unsweetened chocolate powder (I prefer Hershey’s)
· 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 2 large eggs
· 1 cup milk
· 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1 cup boiling water

***Chocolate Buttercream: (Yields about 2 cups)
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened chocolate powder (Again, I prefer Hershey’s)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk

***Garnish
- ¼ cup pistachios, chopped

METHOD:

--Bundt Cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Stir together sugar, flour, chocolate powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In a small bowl whisk the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients in large bowl. Beat mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in bundt pan for 15 minutes, and then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

--Chocolate Buttercream: Meanwhile, begin making the buttercream. Sift the confectioners’ sugar and chocolate powder through the cleaned sieve into a large bowl (do not skip this step as it makes for a creamier frosting). With a hand mixer, begin by adding the butter and mix with sugar on low speed until well blended, and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, and milk, and then continue to beat on medium speed for 2 more minutes, adding additional cream a bit at a time if needed for your desired consistency (see photograph). Frost your cooled bundt cake, and sprinkle top with pistachios. - Enjoy!

Lemon grass cafe in Bandra is one of my favourite restaurants. They serve a variety of Oriental food. Thai, Singapore, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese...you name it they have it on the menu. And unlike a run-of-the-mill oriental restaurant, they dont add soy sauce to everything!

I tried re-creating their Ginto (Raw papaya salad) at home, and to our delight it came out exactly the way I wanted it to. Will probably blog about that when I buy raw papaya from the market. I dont like the vague sweetness in food belong to certain Asian cuisines due to use to peanuts and a sweeter version of soy sauce. Spicy Thai red curry is therefore one of my all time favourites. Somehow, I could never lay my hands on an authentic recipe for Thai red curry. I then decided to put together my own ingredients from the tastes Ive remembered from my visit to the Lemongrass cafe.

The flavour is heightened with generous use of fresh basil.

Ingredients-

5 dried red chillies ( I used the bedki variety)
8 cloves garlic peeled
1 medium sized onion-roughly chopped
1/4 cup tightly packed basil leaves
1/4 cup thick coconut milk ( I used Dabur homemade)
1 tub fresh mushrooms (wiped thoroughly and chopped roughly)
2 green peppers-chopped roughly
1/2 cup frozen peas.
2 tbsp tomato puree
Salt
Turmeric -pinch
1 tbsp peanut oil / vegetable oil

Method-

1. In a saucepan, take a cup of water. Add the chillies, garlic, onion. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes, till the spices have softened. Remove in a bowl and cool.

2.Once cooled, grind the spices with the basil leaves to a fine paste adding a little bit of water which was used for boiling. In case you dont have tomato puree, you can grind a big tomato into the paste.

3. In a pan, heat the oil. Saute the green peppers with a pinch of tumeric and salt, for 3-4 minutes, then add the mushrooms, peas and saute till almost cooked.

4. Add the red paste, tomato puree, coconut milk, salt to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped basil.

If you thought that was too hot, cool off with my entry to Meetas Beat the heat- a tall glass of Ginger lemon iced tea.


Notes-

~Serve hot with rice / noodles.

~I served this with instant sevai (Indian rice noodles) and the combination was just perfect. The curry wasnt over the top spicy-probably because the chillies were boiled in water. You can add or subtract the number of red chillies as per your heat-tolerance.

~Thai red curry served with steamed rice and Ginto makes a great dinner combination.

Tags-Spicy food, curry, Thai curry, Basil