Mystery Cookies

Mystery Cookies

60 grams melted butter
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 egg
125 grams condensed tomato soup (half a can)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice (original recipe called for nutmeg but I can't stand it)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
2 1/4 cups flour

Melt the butter, add the sugar and mix. Let it cool a bit and then add the egg and soup. Mix it really well, then mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

Add the raisins, pecans and flour. Mix it well, then place it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.

While the dough is in the fridge turn the oven on to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with non-stick paper. When the oven is heated, take the dough from the fridge and use a dessert spoon to scoop large balls onto the tray (because really big biscuits are the best kind). Leave plenty of room for them to spread.

Bake each batch for 15 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown on the top. Let them cool a couple of minutes before removing them from the tray.

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup with Croutons

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons butter or oil
2 small red onions or 1 large red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bell peppers, diced
2 cans tomatoes
1 cup red/yellow lentils
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter or oil in a large saucepan, then add the onions and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the peppers and tomatoes, then fill the tomato cans with water and add that to the saucepan.

Stir in the tomato paste, lentils and spices, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Use a hand blender or food processor to make the soup as smooth or as chunky as you like it, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with toasted bread or croutons.

Homemade Croutons

Leftover bread
Butter
Seasoning - mixed herbs, garlic salt, anything you like really

So I was having a quick look on the internet to see if anybody had any advice for making croutons. The best advice I found was to use real butter and after trying it I really agree - these croutons tasted so good! You could use olive oil of course, but if you can use butter.

First, heat the oven to about 180 degrees celsius.

Take some day-old bread and tear or chop it into small squares. I used leftover focaccia. The amount of butter to use will depend on how much bread you are toasting, of course, but I used about 3 tablespoons of butter for a small roasting dish full of bread.

Melt the butter in the microwave, spread the bread across a roasting dish or baking tray (lined with baking paper if, like me, you are lazy and don't want to do dishes). Pour the butter over and stir the bread about until it seems all covered. While you are doing this you could season them with a teaspoon full of mixed, dry herbs or just salt and pepper, or one of those pre-made seasoning mixes.

Bake the croutons at about 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes, then toss them about and bake them for another 15 minutes. They should be quite brown and toasty all over.

Cupcakes for Two

Two Cupcakes

1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line two cupcake holes with paper liners.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg white and sugar. Add the melted butter and vanilla and whisk until combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in the milk.

Spoon the batter into the two cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool and frost with something yummy.

Lemon Herb Baked Fish

Lemon Herb Butter Baked Fish with Asparagus

4 firm, white fish fillets (I used tuskfish, which is similar to ling and cod)
2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
Garlic salt (or garlic granules plus salt)
Cracked black pepper
2 bunches of asparagus

First, lay the fish fillets in a shallow bowl and squeeze one of the lemons over the top of them. Drizzle the olive oil over and refrigerate for 15 minutes. You don't want to leave it for too long because the acidic lemon juice will harm the flesh of the fish.

In the meantime heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a large baking tray by lining it with baking paper. Slice up the squeezed lemon and the remaining lemon and lay the slices on the tray. Soften the butter so that it is spreadable. Finally, prepare the asparagus by giving it a quick wash and chopping of the pale, woody end.

When the fish is ready, lay each fillet across a couple of lemon slices on the tray. Arrange the asparagus around the fish fillets. Spread each fillet with a tablespoon of butter, then sprinkle mixed herbs, garlic salt and cracked pepper over everything - just as much as you like really.

Bake everything for about 15 to 20 minutes; it will depend on how thick the fish fillets are. Mine took 20 minutes. You will know by cutting into one of the fillets - the flesh will go from somewhat translucent when still raw to opaque when it is done. Serve with extra lemon and enjoy!

Homemade Focaccia

Focaccia
from The Great British Bakeoff

250 grams strong flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
200 mL cold water
More olive oil for kneading
Rosemary and salt for the top

The first strange thing about this recipe that I noticed was that you use cold water. However, I went with it and it worked just fine. So take a large mixing bowl and measure out the flour, salt, yeast and olive oil. Then pour in the water and begin mixing. First mix it with a large spoon, until it is all combined. It will be a very wet, sticky mixture and this point and the next step is to knead it with your hands, which is going to be messy.

Unlike when you knead other breads, don't add any flour to your hands or to the work surface. This bread is all about the oil. So to begin with, coat your hands in olive oil and being to knead the bread in the bowl. It won't really be like normal kneading, more like lifting and folding and squishing. Keep going for about 5 minutes and then scrape the mixture of off your hands as well as you can.

After you have washed all off the mixture off of your hands, take a large chopping board and smear a good coating of olive oil over it. Coat your hands in oil again and then tip the dough onto the board. By this stage it will be holding its shape together somewhat, and you'll be amazed at how it transforms as soon as it hits the oil coated board. The oil somehow holds it together and you will be able to knead it (in a sense). So again use your hands to lift it and fold it and squish it, adding more oil to your hands if it starts to get sticky. After 5 minutes you can put the ball of dough back in the bowl to rise.

As usual, I placed my dough in the warm oven to rise, but it doesn't matter where you put it really, so long as you leave it until it is about double in size. Then you can prepare a tray by lining it with non-stick baking paper and pour the dough into the prepared tray. Coat your hands with olive oil again and flatten the dough, pressing it into the corners of the tray. Rub oil across the top of the entire loaf. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary, then use your finger-tips to press dimples across the dough.

Now you can leave the bread to rise again, just until whenever you are ready to bake it. I left mine on the bench for at least half an hour, during which time I heated the oven to 200 degrees celsius. The bread took 20 minutes to be done, but I actually made a double recipe so perhaps it will only take 15 minutes. The top will be golden when the bread is done. Remove the tray from the oven and let it cool a bit before you try and remove it from the baking paper. Then serve it while it's still warm.

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, diced finely
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli (optional)
4 cups water
2 cubes chicken stock
1 cup red or yellow lentils
Salt to taste

In a large saucepan melt the butter, then add the onion and cook until it is soft and translucent. Add the cumin and chilli and cook until it is fragrant. Then add the water and stock and bring to the boil.

When the liquid is boiling add the lentils. Apparently it is better to add them to boiling water instead of placing them in cold water and bringing it to the boil together. It will be easier to digest. Let the lentils simmer for about 30 minutes, then blend it with a hand blender until you have a relatively smooth soup. Taste it and then season it generously with salt.

Roast Strawberry Surprise Muffins

Roast Strawberry Surprise Muffins

Roast strawberries:
500 grams strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
A pinch of salt
A pinch of cracked black pepper

Muffin batter:
2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup milk
Cream cheese

Lemon glaze:
1/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees celsius and line a roasting pan with baking paper. Place the halved strawberries in the roasting pan and sprinkle the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper over the top. Roast for about 45 minutes. Scoop the liquid out of the pan before you use the strawberries or the muffins will end up with too much liquid.

In the meantime, Sift the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda into a large bowl. You could of course use baking powder instead of the cream of tartar and baking soda but I find that making my own mix of raising agents makes the muffins rise more nicely. Add the sugar to the dry ingredients and stir them well to combine them. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla essence, cooking oil and milk.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners (they really are neccesary for berry muffins because the berries will stick to the tin). You should also grease the top of the muffin tin so that the muffin tops don't stick..

Now, when all the various aspects are ready, including the strawberries, it is time to combine everything. First pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and fold gently just a few times, until it is half mixed. Then add the strawberries and continue folding the mixture until the flour has just been combined with everything else. The mixture should seem lumpy.

Now, place a spoon full of muffin batter into each muffin liner, so that they are about half-way full. Then take your cream cheese and place a heaped teaspoonful into the centre of each muffin. Add another small spoonful of batter to the muffins, so that the cream cheese is all covered.

Bake the muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes (mine took 20 but it will depend on your oven), until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (so long as you avoid the cream cheese that is) and the muffins are golden on top. They should also spring back when you press them gently with your finger.

Take the muffins out of the oven and leave them to cool in the pan for just a couple of minutes before removing them.

While the muffins are cooling in the pan prepare the lemon glaze by placing the lemon juice in a small bowl and stirring in the icing sugar until you have a very thin paste. Brush this onto the tops of each muffin while they are still warm.

Tomato and Chicken Pasta Salad

Tomato and Chicken Pasta Salad

About 300 grams of some sort of pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 sweet red peppers (or normal bell pepper)
1 jar/container/packet/cup of chopped, sundried tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
1 can crushed tomatoes
Leftover cooked chicken or smoked chicken (as much as you like)

Begin by preparing the dressing. Heat the butter in a large sauce pan, then add the onion and cook it until it is very soft and translucent. Add the garlic and peppers and cook some more, until the peppers are soft. Actually,  now that I think about it, roasted peppers would be great in this so consider roasting them first.

Add the sundried tomatoes to the mix. I brought dehydrated sundried tomatoes this time around and ate one before I realised that they had to be rehydrated before they would taste good. So if you have dried ones like I did make sure to soak them in boiling water for half an hour beforehand, or soak them in olive oil overnight if you want them to be just like the ones brought in a jar.

Add the tomatoes, the vinegar and the herbs and check how it tastes. I added a little bit of brown sugar to mine when I was cooking the onions but I haven't added that to the recipe because a lot of people don't like the idea of adding sugar to their meals. There is nothing wrong with adding a bit of sugar to a tomato sauce but beware of adding too much!

Set the cooked tomato mixture aside and let it cool. In the meantime cook the pasta according the directions on the packet. I used really large shells but any pasta will be great. While the pasta cooks chop the chicken up.

To assemble your pasta salad simply mix everything together in a large bowl. I reckon that this would be good with some sort of cheese in there too - maybe some feta or something like that. If you like spicy things I would recommend adding a little chilli or sweet chilli sauce. You could sprinkle parmesan over top or serve it over a bed of leafy greens.

Roast Chicken and Homemade Gravy

Roast Chicken

1 large chicken
1 orange
1 teaspoon dried herbs (use a mix or just one; sage is great with chicken, so is rosemary)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of fine breadcrumbs (you can make your own with slightly stale bread or just buy them)
1 large onion, diced finely
100 grams chopped bacon
1 tablespoon dried herbs (same as above)
Salt and pepper to taste
Anything else that you have on hand and feel like adding (you could add dried fruit to stuffing, like cranberries or apricots, or you could add something for a bit of crunch like walnut pieces)

Turn the oven on to about 180 degrees celsius.

Make the stuffing. Melt the butter and oil together in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook it until it is soft. Add the bacon and cook it until it is tender. Then add the breadcrumbs, herbs, salt and pepper and anything else you might feel like. Cook it, stirring, and the fat from the butter, oil and bacon should bind the breadcrumbs together. If it is too crumbly add water, just a small bit at a time, until you can press it together into a ball. Then take it from the heat and let it cool.

While the stuffing cools prepare the chicken. Most chickens are already clean on the inside these days but you might want to check that there's nothing in there. Then place the chicken on a board or in the roasting dish. Take the cooled stuffing and spoon it into the chicken, stuffing it down really well with the spoon or your hands. Stuff it until it reaches the top of the cavity. If you don't want it to spill everywhere you could stitch together the flaps of skin on either side  or you could secure it with skewers. But so long as you don't overstuff it you shouldn't have to do either of those things. Instead you take the legs, cross them over one another and tie them together with a piece of string.

Place the chicken in the roasting dish, or on a rack that sits over a roasting dish. Cut the orange in half and squeeze half over the chicken. Turn the chicken over and squeeze the other half of the orange on. Rub it in and then sprinkle some herbs over. Place it breast side down and place the chicken in the oven. Depending on the size of the chicken it will take from 2 to 3 hours - check the packaging of your chicken because it might tell you there. Otherwise, after 2 hours insert a skewer or knife into the leg joint of the chicken. That is where the meat is thickest and if the juices run clear then the chicken is done.

If you want roast vegetables with that roast chicken you simply add them in about half way through the cooking time. Potatoes, carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin are all good. If you place them under the roasting rack and around the chicken they will suck up some of the meat juices, which is good. But if you want plenty of fat from the chicken to make your gravy with then you could always consider putting the vegetables in a separate dish, tossing them with some oil or butter and dried herbs and baking them for an hour.

Roast Chicken Gravy

3 tablespoons (or more) of fat from the roasted chicken

3 tablespoons of flour or cornflour

2 to 3 cups water (depending on how thick you want it)

Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is for the most basic gravy. You could embellish it in loads of ways, like add herbs to match the stuffing, add orange juice to match the glaze on the chicken, add chicken stock to give it more flavour. You can make gravy with the water that you cook other vegetables in, like peas and carrots.

The traditional way to make gravy is in the roasting pan. You take out the chicken and any vegetables that were in there and scrape all of the juicy, meaty residue into the corner. You stir in the flour and then place the roasting dish on the stove. You slowly stir in the water and then salt and pepper and simmer it until it's thick. So you could do that and have great gravy.

Alternatively, you can tip the meaty, fatty juices carefully from the pan into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Then proceed to make the gravy like any other sauce - first stirring in the flour, then slowly adding the liquid and simmering it until it is thick.

Indulgent Brown Butter Cinnamon Swirls

Brown Butter Cinnamon Swirls

3 1/4 cups strong flour (500 grams)
1 sachet fast-acting instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sultanas
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 egg

Filling:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting:
100 grams cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups icing sugar

Begin by taking a large bowl and combining 2 and 1/4 cups of flour, the sugar, yeast, salt and sultanas . Then, in a small bowl or jug, heat up the milk, butter and water in the microwave, until it is moderately hot and the butter has melted. Stir the liquid until the butter is fully melted and then make sure that it is not so hot that you cannot put your finger in it. Add the egg and give it a quick whisk.

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir it well with a fork or a large spoon. Then let the mixture just sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. Letting it sit is supposed to help the gluten to relax or something, and will give you a better rise. It gives us time to prepare the filling so we won't question it.

The filling is my favourite part because it involves brown butter. This time around I made it in the microwave and it worked out so great! You will need a small glass bowl or just, one that will hold at least 500 mL. Place the butter in the microwaveable jug or bowl and place a lid or saucer on top, because the butter will bubble and pop and you don't want to make a huge mess. Microwave the butter on high for 3 to 5 minutes (I did 3, took it out and gave it a stir, then another 2). You want to microwave it until it has changed colour. It will bubble up quite a lot and there will be lots of little pops from the microwave. When you take it out it will be very frothy - stir it a little and scrape all of the residue from the sides. Then just let it sit and cool.

While the butter cools you can finish your bread dough. Add the remaining cup of flour and mix it in with your hands. Tip the dough out onto a clean, floured work surface and knead it for 5 minutes - it will go from a sticky, flaky mixture to a smooth, soft dough. When the dough is ready, roll it out into a rectangle that is about 30 cm by 22 cm (like a swiss roll tin).

By now your butter should have cooled and as it has cooled it should have changed colour again, from golden to quite a dark, toasty brown. This is a much better way to do it than on the stove-top, I was so pleased with the result! Add the sugar and cinnamon to the butter and give it a good stir (this is not how the Baker Chick did it but I like short-cuts). Spoon the filling over the dough, spreading it around with the back of the spoon to make it even, until you have used all of the filling. Then you need to roll the dough up really tight (I always have trouble with this part).

Prepare a dish for baking them in - you could use a metal baking tin or a glass oven dish, so long as it is about 30 cm by 22 cm (roughly, I'm sure it will be right, I just used my big brownie tin and it's a fair bit larger than that). I lined mine with baking paper but you don't absolutely have to. Slice your long roll of dough into 12 even pieces and place them in your prepared dish - there should be space for about a centimetre between each one. Let them rise in a warm place (like an oven that has been heated a little and then turned off) for about 30 minutes, then bake them at 190 degrees celsius for just 20 minutes! Take them out and let them cool for about 10 minutes or so.

While the buns are cooling prepare the frosting: simply place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat well. Then spread some frosting on each bun and enjoy them while they are warm and gooey!

Quick and Easy Ciabatta

Quick and Easy Ciabatta

(Recipe from Pease Pudding)

500 grams strong flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
450 mL warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Place all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

Combine the warm water and yeast. Let it sit for five minutes, until it gets frothy.

Pour the yeast mixture into the flour and begin to mix it with one hand. This is a very liquid mixture and is not kneaded like normal bread dough - you mix it with a method that other people call beating. Basically, you grab at the mixture and stretch it up, then slap it back down. You keep doing this for about 5 minutes.

Scrape the mixture off your hand and scrape down the sides of the bowl too. Drizzle the olive oil and then gently spread it around so that it covers the mixture as evenly as possible, right to the very edges.

Let the dough rise for 30 minutes, or until it is double in size.

When your dough is doubled in size you need to prepare a large tray by sprinkling it very liberally with flour. Pour the dough onto it. Then carefully scoop up a side of the dough and fold it over the rest of the dough. Do this for each side of the dough, so that you have a folded-up envelope-like loaf of dough.

Let the dough rise for another 20 minutes or so. While it rises, pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees celsius.

Bake the dough for 30 to 40 minutes.

When the bread is done let it sit for half an hour so that it can dry out in the centre a little before eating.

Muffin Tin Pies

Shortcrust Pastry

2 cups flour
A pinch of salt
125 grams cold butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
1/4 cup water

First measure the flour and salt into a large bowl. Then add the butter and begin to rub it into the flour with your fingertips, until the entire thing is like fine crumbs. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice and water . Pour the liquid into the flour and begin to mix it in with your hands (it's easier to incorporate all of the flour with your hands). Mix the dough until it has all come together into a smooth ball. Wrap it in clingfilm, chill it for at least an hour or so, then roll it out and use it whenever you are ready. You can freeze pastry dough too, for a few months at least, as a ball or rolled into sheets.

Beef Pie Filling

2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400 grams beef mince
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cube oxo beef stock
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon bisto gravy powder
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 cups frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by heating the oil, then cook the onion and garlic a couple of minutes. Add the mince and cook, stirring, until it is browned all over and crumbly. Add everything else and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so, until it's thick. Then, when it is thick and tastes good, take it off the heat and let it cool completely before using it.

To make the pies, roll the pastry out (about 3 millimetres thick). Cut out circles that are going to be bigger than your muffin holes.

Push the dough evenly into the tin, so that there are no air-bubbles between the pastry and the base of the tin. Leave some dough spread over the side of each hole, because as it bakes it will shrink just a little.

It is a good idea to blind-bake the cases so that they don't go soggy - to do this just fill each case with baking paper or tin-foil and then fill them with baking beans (any sort of dried bean, or you can get re-usable ceramic beans). Bake the cases for 10 minutes, then take the beans out and let them cool completely. If you don't want to blind-bake you can leave that step out, but you will have to immediately bake the filled pies in a hot oven otherwise the pastry will get soggy.

Spoon the cold filling into the pies so that it is all the way up to the top. After the pies are filled place another circle of pastry on the top, pinching it around the edges of the baked case. Make a couple of cuts in the top of the pastry so that the steam can escape. Bake them at about 180 degrees celsius for about 10 or 20 minutes (since the filling is cooked already you just need the pastry on top to cook and the filling to get hot).

Potato Crisp Cookies

Potato Chip Cookies

(adapted from Alli 'n' Sons)

1 cup butter (200 grams)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups crushed potato chips/crisps (plain salted flavour, I used a 150 gram bag)
1 cup mini M&Ms

First, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a couple of baking trays.

Soften the butter and then place it in a large bowl. Add the sugars and beat until creamy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla essence, and keep on beating. Beat in the flour, one cup at a time, and the baking soda and salt.

Take your bag of chips and scrunch it up until all of the chips are broken into crumbs. Make the crumbs as fine as possible. Then measure out 2 cups (which should be the entire bag) and add them to the cookie dough. Give it a good mix with the electric beater.

Finally, pour in the M&Ms and stir them in with a large spoon. Drop teaspoons of mixture onto a tray (the dough is very soft so they cannot be rolled cookies).

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then take the tray from the oven and leave them to cool for about 5 minutes. They will be very soft so you must let them cool and harden before moving them, otherwise they will break.

Vegetarian Bolognaise

Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognaise

1 large onion, sliced or diced (whatever you like best)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
250 grams chopped mushrooms
1 courgette, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 can cannellini beans
2 cans tomatoes
1 jar (about 380 grams) sundried tomatoes, drained of oil and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
Spaghetti (just as much as you need, or a different type of pasta.)

To begin, take a large saucepan and heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in it. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Then add the mushrooms and courgette and cook on medium heat until both are soft.

When the mushrooms and courgette are quite soft add all of the remaining ingredients. Let the sauce simmer until it is quite thick, then use your hand blender to process it until it has a good sauce consistency. Or tip the sauce into a food processor and blend it that way for a few minutes.

Cook the spaghetti while the sauce simmers. Serve the sauce over hot spaghetti and sprinkle with some parmesan.