Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

2 cups (300 grams) flour - I used half white, half wholemeal
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon, or other spices, you could use more or less, or leave it out entirely.
100 grams chocolate chips
125 grams peanut butter
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk (it's not so important, I had leftover buttermilk so that's what I used)
1 egg
3-4 mashed, over-ripe bananas (300 grams with skin off)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a loaf tin.

In one large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (except the sugar, you can't sift that, just tip it in). Add the chocolate chips and give it a good mix.

In another bowl, soften the peanut butter in the microwave, then add the milk and whisk it together well. Whisk in the egg and then the mashed banana.

Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and mix it slowly. You don't want to over-mix it, just give it a good stir with a spoon until it is smooth, then pour it into your prepared tin.

Bake the loaf for about an hour. When you insert a skewer or knife into the centre it should come out clean.

Let it cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Truffles

250 mL cream
400 to 500 grams chocolate
1-2 packets biscuits, broken and crushed up into small pieces (optional)
Coconut or cocoa powder, for rolling the truffles in.

Heat the chocolate and cream together, which you can do in a heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove, in a double boiler, or very carefully in the microwave. You don't want cream to boil, only to be hot, simmering at most. Slowly heat (and stir) the cream and chocolate until the cream is melted and mixed smoothly into the cream.

Let the mixture cool, mix in the biscuits (or anything else you feel like throwing in) and leave it to cool for a few hours.

Scoop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture, roll into balls and coat them with cocoa or coconut. Dip your hands in cold water regularly to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.

The truffles need to be kept in the fridge in an airtight container.

Really Chocolate Brownies

Triple Chocolate Brownies

200 grams butter
100 grams dark chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour (self raising or not, however you like)
200 grams white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius. Grease a 20 by 30 cm cake tin.

Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and vanilla in a saucepan and heat it until everything is melted and smooth.

When the chocolate mixture is ready, measure the sugar into a large bowl and beat the chocolate mixture into it. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Finally, sift the flour into the bowl and mix it in well. Break the white chocolate into pieces and stir them in too. Pour the mixture into the greased tin and bake it until a skewer insterted into the middle comes out clean. It will take about 50 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins

Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins

1 cup white sugar (about 250 grams)
1 1/2 cups plain or wholemeal flour (about 225 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
100 grams chocolate chips
125 grams peanut butter
3/4 cup milk (185 mL)
1 egg
Raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Grease or line a muffin pan and set it to one side.

In a large bowl sift the flour and baking powder, then add the sugar and chocolate chips and mix well.

Melt the peanut butter. Whisk the milk into the peanut butter, then whisk in the egg.

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix it by folding the dry ingredients from the bottom over the top of the liquid. Try not to over-mix.

Spoon mixture in to half-fill each muffin hole, then place a teaspoonful of jam in the centre of each. Spoon the rest of the mixture over the top and then bake for about 20 minutes.

Cookies and Cream Fudge

Cookies and Cream Fudge

150 mL milk
170 grams condensed milk
250 grams caster sugar
100 grams butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract/essence
100 grams icing sugar
1 packet cookies

In a medium sized saucepan place the milk, condensed milk, caster sugar and butter. Turn the heat on to medium until the butter has melted and the mixture begins to bubble. Then turn it down to medium-low and keep it simmering, stirring every now and then.
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While the mixture simmers, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl, chop up the oreo cookies and set them aside, then line a tin (about 17 cm square) with clingfilm.

The mixture will need to simmer for about 30 minutes or longer, until it reaches 113 degrees celsius (236 degrees fahrenheit). It should be bubbling all over the top of it, and continue to bubble as you stir it. If you don't stir it the mixture will burn to the bottom.

When the mixture reaches the right temperature, pour it into the mixing bowl with the icing sugar and beat with an electric mixer for about 4 or 5 minutes, until it's sort of thick. Then mix the cookies into the mixture and pour the whole lot into the prepared tin.

Leave the fudge to cool, then cover it and chill it for about 24 hours, maybe a little more.

Custard Creams

Custard Creams

200 grams butter
85 grams light brown sugar or golden caster sugar
70 grams custard powder
225 grams self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
55 grams butter (softened)
115 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a couple of cookie trays.

Soften the butter and cream the sugar into it, then the custard powder and vanilla. This dough is really high in butter so you may find it has a different consistency to what you are used to. Slowly begin to sift in the flour. You will find after awhile that you need to knead the last of it in with your hands and you will end up with quite a stiff dough.

To make the cookies, you need to take teaspoonfulls, roll them into balls and flatten them on the tray with a fork.

Bake each batch of cookies for 12 minutes and then remove then from the tray to a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cookies are completely cool, prepare the filling by beating together the softened butter, sugar and vanilla. If it seems too runny, add a little more icing sugar. Sandwhich the biscuits together with the filling and leave them to set for a little while.

Sweetcorn Chowder

Sweetcorn Chowder


1 tablespoon butter
400 grams bacon
1 onion
1 red or yellow pepper
1 carrot
3 stalks celery
2 cups milk
750 grams frozen sweetcorn
1 potato
2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or 2 tablespoons fresh)

Chop up the bacon and all of the vegetables into small pieces.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the bacon and onion. Stir it about until it is cooked, then add the pepper, carrot, celery and milk. Add the bay leaves and thyme, then keep it simmering over medium heat.

In another large saucepan place the potato, corn and chicken stock. Bring it to the boil and keep it simmering until the potato is cooked, then blend it. It doesn't have to be completely smooth, unless you like it that way. Then add this to the other saucepan and keep it all simmering until everything is cooked through.

Season with salt and pepper if it is needed, remove the bay leaves and serve.

Brown sugar fudge

Brown Sugar Fudge

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar
3/4 cup (150 grams) evaporated milk
150 grams butter
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 Cadbury Crunchie bars

In a heavy-bottomed, medium sized saucepan place the butter, brown sugar and milk. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir the mixture until all is melted and combined. Keep it on medium-low until the mixture starts to bubble, then keep it simmering for about half an hour.

While the mixture is simmering you need to keep a close eye on it and keep stirring it every now and then, so that it doesn't boil over. If you have a candy-thermometer you can know exactly when the fudge is ready - the mixture should be at 113 degrees celsius (236 degrees fahrenheit).

It is quite slow, and if you don't have a thermometer you can test if the mixture is ready by dipping a spoon in and letting a small drop fall into a glass of cold water. It should form a small ball as it falls through the water. It should take 30 minutes.

While it is simmering line a tin (about 11 cm square) with clingfilm. Then take your chocolate bars, if you are using them, and break them into small pieces.

When the mixture is ready, pour it into a large mixing bowl and beat it until it is thick. This will take about 4 minutes with an electric beater and you will see that it is thick and beginning to set. Mix in the broken candy and pour it into the prepared tin.

Chill the fudge for at least a couple of hours and then slice into squares.

Pumpkin and Barley Soup

Pumpkin and Barley Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried sage (or about 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage)
400 grams bacon pieces
400 grams pumpkin puree
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup barley
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan heat the oil, then add the onion and sage and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the bacon and cook until it is browned on all sides. Then add the puree, stock and barley. Simmer it until the barley is soft and then season to your liking.

Chicken and Butternut Lasagna

Butternut and Chicken Lasagna

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and diced
2 cans tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teasoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 cube/teaspoon chicken stock
Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
100 grams grated cheese (any kind you like, I would generally use cheddar of some kind)
Salt and pepper

Dried instant lasagna sheets

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic. Stir until they are soft and translucent, then add the butternut, tomatoes and 400 mL water. In a small bowl or measuring jug mix the chicken stock, cornflour and oregano with the balsamic vinegar to make a paste (add a bit of water if you need to) and then pour this over the chicken and vegetables. Give it a stir and turn the heat down so that the sauce can simmer away while you make the white sauce.

For the white sauce, take a heavy-bottomed, medium sized saucepan and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir it to make a dry-ish paste, then keep stirring it over medium heat for just one or two minutes. Begin to add the milk very slowly, about a half-cup at a time, stirring vigorously, or whisking, until the sauce is smooth and thick. As you add more milk you will have to wait longer after each addition for it to thicken, but just keep it on medium heat and keep stirring. When all the milk is in add about half of the grated cheese and stir until it is melted.

Taste both of  the sauces and season them with salt and pepper as needed. Stir the chicken into the butternut-tomato sauce.

Begin to layer everything into a very large lasagna dish. Lay down a single layer, then spoon the meat sauce over top to cover it. Spoon the white sauce on top of this and then repeat. You should make three layers, ending with white sauce, over which you sprinkle the rest of the cheese. If your dish is not big enough use two.

Bake at 180 degrees celsius for about 40 minutes.

Plain White Bread

Plain White Bread

450 grams strong flour
1 tablespoon active yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
300 mL warm milk (or water, or a mixture of both)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil

Place the yeast in a small bowl with the warm milk, sugar and oil. Leave this to sit for 5 minutes, until the surface has gone frothy.

Take a large bowl and sift the flour and salt into it. Combine the two mixtures by pouring the liquid slowly into the flour, bit by bit, mixing as you go with a wooden spoon, until the dough is too stiff to be mixed.

Sprinkle some flour onto the clean kitchen bench and turn the dough out of the bowl, along with all the bits of flour that were not incorporated into the dough. Begin to knead the dough and continue for 5 to 10 minutes. It should be really soft and maybe slightly tacky, but not sticky. If dough is sticking to your hands you can powder them lightly with flour, but don't add flour to the dough or it will become too dry.

Place the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover and leave it for an hour or so until it is doubled in size.

Gently press the air out of the dough, take it out and shape it into a loaf and place it in the loaf tin. Leave it to rise again for about half an hour.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. When the oven is hot and the bread risen bake the loaf for about 40 minutes.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Brownie Cookies

90 grams butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teasoon vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup/100 grams chocolate chips
Icing sugar

Preheat the oven on to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a baking tray.

Melt the butter, add the sugar and mix it in well. Then add the vanilla and eggs and mix them in well too.

Next you sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa and give it a good mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix them in well.

Fill a small bowl with icing sugar. Use a small spoon to scoop a ball of cookie mixture and drop it into the sugar. Roll it in the sugar, shake off the excess and place it on the tray. Repeat until tray is full. These cookies will spread so leave plenty of space.

Bake for 12 minutes, then let cool for a few minute before moving them.

Vegetable Pasta Bake

Vegetable Pasta Bake

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small pumpkin/butternut, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, diced or sliced into rounds
1 large bunch of kale/cabbage or spinach, shredded
About a cup or so of dried pasta, like fusilli or penne or bow-ties
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsalmic vinegar
3 cups water
1 cube beef stock
1 tablespoon bisto powder (gravy powder or substitute cornflour)
1 teaspoon dried oregano and thyme

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated cheese

Preheat the oven on to 180 degrees celsius.

Prepare the vegetables as indicated above. Heat the oil in a large pan and first cook the onion and garlic, then add everything else. Add in the pasta, the tomatoes and most of the water. Mix the bisto (gravy powder) into the last of the water before adding to the pan. Add the vinegar, stock, herbs and then salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium sized saucepan melt the butter, then stir in the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, then start adding the milk slowly, like a half cup at a time. After each addition stir the sauce well so that there are no lumps and it is smooth and thick. Add the cheese and some salt and pepper.

Fill a large lasagna or casserole dish with the vegetable mixture. Spoon the cheese sauce over the top.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until the pasta and vegetables are cooked.

Pumpkin Pie

Sweet Short Pastry

2 cups (300 grams) plain flour

1/2 cup icing sugar
125 grams cold butter
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cold water

Sifting the flour and icing sugar together together into a large bowl.

Chop butter into small-ish cubes (about 1 cm square) and rub these into the flour with your finger-tips until it is like breadcrumbs (you can do this with a food processor if you don't want use your hands).

Add the egg and lemon juice and keep on mixing (you could do this bit with a big spoon but hands are easier). Add very small amounts of water until the mixture comes together as a dough.

Knead the dough a little to get all the last bits of flour in and form it into a ball. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

Pumpkin Pie
*New and improved as of 20 May 2013*

1 3/4 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
50 grams butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 cup milk
2 beaten eggs

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius.

Blind bake the pie crust. Roll the dough out large enough to fill a pie dish, of about 22-25 cm diameter. Carefully drape the dough into the dish and trim the top. Place a layer of aluminium foil in the pastry case, and bake in the very hot oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 180 degrees.

Place all the filling ingredients into the bowl of a food processor or blender, and mix well.

Pour the filling into the prepared pastry case. Only fill it to 3/4 full as the mixture will rise a little.

Bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. When it is cooked the filling will be a dark caramel colour and it will be firm all the way through, so if you give the dish a shake it will not wobble in the middle. If you insert a skewer in it will come out clean.