A week ago I was supposed to go to a Pot Luck lunch/meeting with the other Senior Missionaries. It ended up that for reasons of health I was not able to go, however I had already made this delicious salad to take. However some of the younger missionaries came over to borrow our BBQ for an activity they were having that day and so I gave the salad to them to have with their Hot Dogs and Burgers. They were pretty happy about that!
One thing I really love about chicken breasts is their complete versatility and ability to take on other flavours easily. They are like a blank canvas for an abundance flavours, textures and ingredients . . . so long as you don't dry them out. Over-cooked, they are quite tasteless and not very pleasant to eat at all.
I confess I am a great fan of Swedish Design. I love everything about it. I love the colours, the simplicity, the fact that everything they do is meant to not only look good, but have great function. That's why I was really excited to have been asked to tell you about these new Wildo Camp-A-Box's! I have to say . . . I am very impressed.
I recently received this lovely book, Simply Ramen, a Complete Course in Preparing Ramen Meals at Home by Amy Kimoto-Kahn to review. I confess I have never had ramen, although I know a lot of people who have and who rave about it. I was very excited to get this book!
Remind me not to buy such a big ham next year. When there are only two of you it takes a while to use it all up. We had roasted gammon on the day, then I did the omelette thing, then the next day we had it just re-heated in a pan with the vegetable leftovers and now today I have done a pasta dish with it. (Not Todd's favourite but he declared it quite edible. I thought it was rather tasty myself, but then again, I do love pasta!) And there is still ham to use up . . . I may just have to freeze it to have another time, when we are not all "hammed" out as it were!
I think I have really been overdoing it on the carb front lately and so I took advantage of us having leftover ham in the house and lots of eggs to make us a delicious Baked Denver Omelette for our supper tonight. Not only was it quick and easy to make, but it is also relatively low in fat and pretty healthy all round!
Simnel Cakes and Easter go together like peas and carrots! If you don't live in the UK, you are probably very unfamiliar with Simnel Cake. I adore Simnel Cake myself, but then I am a fan of fruit cakes in general.
This very easy simnel cake recipe is one of my favourite go-to's for seasonal Easter Treats. It embodies all of the yumminess of a full sized Simnel Cake, but not a lot of the faffing about! Works for me!
A Simnel cake is a light fruit cake with two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top, that is toasted, and eaten during the Easter period here in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries.
I think it's also made for Mother's Day, but I'm not entirely sure. I did not bake a full Simnel Cake . . . because I didn't have enough Marzipan in my cupboard. However, I did find a recipe for a Simple Simnel Cake which I baked in its place and it turned out lovely.
The original recipe comes from a Good Food cookery magazine, entitled The Good Food Cake Collection. Its filled with lots of yummy cakes.
This is what would be considered to be a white fruit cake, or light. It is stogged full of lovely dried vine fruits, as well as glace cherries. Also included are the flavors of oranges (zest, juice and cointreau), along with the traditional layer of marzipan in the center.
I really love marzipan, don't you? Filled with almond moreishness! It is extremely lovely in this cake. It goes so well with cherries you know.
It's baked in a loaf tin, but do be warned you will need a large one. It is a lot of cake.
I recommend a deep 9 X 4 inch loaf tin at the very least, or two smaller tins. You don't want to fill any tin more than 3/4 full with the cake batter.
The top is glazed with a simple orange glaze icing and topped with caramel crusted almonds.
The original recipe called for whole blanched almonds, but I didn't have any of those. I did have flaked however and they worked beautifully.
So what you get is a beautiful fruity cake, studded with vine fruits, and with a delicious layer of almondy marzipan in the centre, a scrumptious glaze on top and those beautiful crunchy sweet almonds scattered over the top.
Whew! That was a real mouthful!! This is a cake that just begs to be served with a nice hot cuppa. Do indulge . . . and Happy Easter.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE AN EASY SIMNEL CAKE
Make
the candied almonds. Have ready a lightly buttered baking sheet. Toast
the almonds carefully in a skillet, over medium heat, stirring
constantly. Tip out into a bowl.
Add the sugar and let it sit,
undisturbed until it begins to melt. Swirl every now and again until it
is completely liquid and turns a golden caramel colour. Don't be
tempted to rush this process as you will end up with burnt sugar.
Medium heat is sufficient. Remove from the heat.
Tip in the almonds,
stirring to coat. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and tear them
apart with two forks while they are still hot, breaking them up into
little clumps. Allow to cool completely. Remember hot sugar is HOT.
Don't touch.
For a more traditional recipe, and some of the history of the Simnel cake you can find one on the ASDA recipe pages here.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Yield: One large loaf
A Simple Simnel Cake
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 40 MTotal time: 1 H & 55 M
Simnel Cake is a traditional Easter Cake here in the UK. It can be rather over complicated, so it's nice to have a simple version to play with.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- the zest and juice of 2 large oranges
- 2 TBS Cointreau
- 350g of mixed dried fruit (2 1/2 cups)
- 100g whole glace cherries (2/3 cup)
- 250g pack of marzipan (1/2 pound)
- 200g butter, softened (14 TBS)
- 200g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 350g of self raising flour (2 1/2 cups)
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 TBS milk
For the glaze:
- 125g of sifted icing sugar (scant cup)
- zest of one orange plus 1 - 1 1/2 TBS orange juice
For the almonds:
- 50g of toasted flaked almonds (generous half cup)
- 100g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Make the candied almonds. Have ready a lightly buttered baking sheet. Toast the almonds carefully in a skillet, over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Tip out into a bowl. Add the sugar and let it sit, undisturbed until it begins to melt. Swirl every now and again until it is completely liquid and turns a golden caramel colour. Don't be tempted to rush this process as you will end up with burnt sugar. Medium heat is sufficient. Remove from the heat.
- Tip in the almonds, stirring to coat. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and tear them apart with two forks while they are still hot, breaking them up into little clumps. Allow to cool completely. Remember hot sugar is HOT. Don't touch.
- Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F gas mark 3. Butter a large loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.
- Put the mixed dried fruit into a bowl along with the orange zest and juice and the cointreau. Let to set while you make the batter.
- Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs. Tip iin the flour and milk and beat all together until you have a lovely smooth batter. Stir in the fruit plus their juices to combine.
- Shape the marzipan into a log roughly the length of the loaf tin. Roll out to the width of the loaf tin. Trim as necessary.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the lined loaf tin. Cover with the rolled out marzipan. Cover with the remaining batter, smoothing the top over.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes until the cake is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tin before removing. Remove and discard the paper.
- On the day you want to serve the cake, whisk the ingredients together for the glaze icing. Drizzle this over top of the cake, and scatter with the candied almonds. Let set before cutting into slices to serve.
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When I was a child Gammon/Ham was the centre piece of every Easter celebration dinner. It was always served cold, thinly sliced, with mustard and mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side. In all honesty as a child, I was far too full of chocolate and candy to really get too excited about Easter dinner. There would have been a lemon pie for dessert though and that would have gotten me plenty excited. (Its my favourite!)
I don't know about you, but I have very special feelings associated with Good Friday. I have always been a very spiritual person and for me this has to be one of the most emotional days of the year . . . a mix of sadness combined with feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving.
I like to keep food simple on Good Friday. We usually start with hot cross buns for breakfast and then the rest of the day we have basically a vegetarian diet. I like to have a soup for supper, like this delicious Lentil Soup and for lunch this year we are having homemade Falafel.
Lentils are not something I ever had when I was growing up but I have discovered as an adult, I really love them!
(Even if they don't always love me! 'nuff said! Lentils can sometimes be very hard on my diverticulitis!)
This is a very simple soup and uses things I always have in my larder and refrigerator. Onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, dried lentils, vegetable stock (I like Marigold powder) and a variety of spices.
The end result tastes anything but simple. I like to serve it with a simply crusty roll, whole wheat of course!
*Lentil Soup*
serves 61 pound lentils,picked through and rinsed
Stir in the spices. Heat through for a bout a minute
until quite fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to the
boil, then reduce to a slow simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are
tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove about half of the soup and blitz with
a stick blender. Return to the soup pot and heat through. Serve hot
with crusty bread.
Chickpeas are something else which I never ever had when I was a child. Also called garbanzo beans, these are something which also plays havoc with my diverticulitis . . .
however I find that if I use the dried ones, and soak them overnight and grind them in the food processor like this recipe requires, then I can tolerate them quite well!
Another Vegetarian dish, Falafel are deep fried spicy chickpea balls, that are traditionally served with hummus or tahini for dipping, or with a tasty garlic sauce sort of like mayonnaise. (I buy mine ready made at the shops in the middle eastern section.)
I love them tucked into warm pita bread with salad . . . cucumber slices, tomatoes, lettuce. These are fabulous and homemade are even better. Do plan ahead as you need to soak the peas overnight!
*Falafel from Scratch*
Makes about 3 dozen
The Lentils and Chickpeas I used today come from Crazy Jack Organic. Their fabulous Green lentils are known for their full flavour and all round delicious goodness.
Just like the red lentil cousin, they are superb for using in soups and stews. No need to soak, just rinse and add to your soup or stew. They are also good simply cooked and added to salads, or sprouted!
(Sprouted green lentils and brown rice cooked in the rice cooker.)
Crazy Jack Organic Chickpeas aare grown by passionate organic farmers under the warm mediterranean sun. Dried Chickpeas make a great storecupboard staple. All they need is an overnight soak in cold water and then a boiling for 40 minutes to an hour and you have tender chickpeas that taste way better than anything you might find in a tin.
Crazy Jack Organic are purveyors of fine organic foods sourced from from all over the world. As well as their lovely lentils and chickpeas they also offer grains and cereals, other pulses, herbs and spices, dried fruits, nuts and seeds and syrups.
I love, LOVE their pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and dried apricots. That's what I use in my homemade granola along with their coconut. Yum! Do check out their website for more information as well as recipes. They are available at most shops and independant health food shops.
We've also been enjoying snacking on these delicious Japanese Sanchi Tamari Rice Crackers! I love that they are baked to perfection and not fried! Flavoured with Tamari Soy sauce they go down a real treat with me.
They also have no preservatives, artificial colours of flavours added. I love that! You can buy them on Amazon, and at select health food shops.
I've been to Buffalo, New York many times in my life time but I am sorry to say that I have never tried Buffalo Wings in Buffalo. Shame that, because they are one of my favourite things ever. The spiciness of that finger licking chicken . . . and the wings are my favourite part of the chicken (naughty me) . . . along with the cool creaminess of the blue cheese dressing . . . well, to me it's just the perfect combination. A marriage made in heaven. I have promised myself that if I ever have the chance to go to Buffalo again, I will indulge in some Buffalo Wings and at the place they are supposed to have originated from . . . The Anchor Bar. Now that's one for the bucket list if ever there was one!
One of my favourite things to get when we are eating out is a Chicken Sandwich or Burger. Yes, I know . . . we eat chicken all the time at home, and dollars to donuts I eat it again when we are out and about. I am just a boring person I guess! Chicken Sandwiches or Burgers can often be very high in fat and calories however and so today I created one which is delicious and a little bit healthier than normal, well certainly healthier than those breaded deep fried ones you get in the restaurants . . . and not only that, but it is pretty economical as well.
This is something which I made a long time ago and forgot to tell you about. It is loosely based on something which my friend Kathy did in her crock pot, except I did it in the oven with parboiled potatoes, and I used cream instead of soup, etc. It turned out fabulous!
I have always made my own convenience mixes for things . . . . biscuit/scone mix, cookie mix, muffin mix, etc. One of my favourite convenience mixes to have to hand is my Brownie Mix. It comes in very handy and so easy to make and to store. It does make a lot, but you can always cut the recipe in half to make less. Today I used it to make these delicious Easter Basket Brownies!
I do believe I have found THE perfect lemon cookie. I love lemon anything and these cookies are just the absolute epitome of what are some beautiful lemon flavours!
I SO adore lemon in anything, pies, cakes, cookies. Even savoury dishes. I absolutely love Lemon Chicken.
These cookies are crisp, buttery and full on lemony! Wowsa wowsa! Pucker up because these cookies are going to slap you with a lovely lemon kiss!
They are so simple to make nd bake as well. The recipe is one I adapted from a little BBC Good Food Book, entitled Easy Baking Recipes.
They are so simple to make nd bake as well. The recipe is one I adapted from a little BBC Good Food Book, entitled Easy Baking Recipes.
I love those little BBC books, they are chock full of great recipes. I have quite a few of them. When I first moved to the UK I had a subscription to Good Food Magazine.
It was a real favourite of mine. Always filled with great recipes, and so are these little books.
The dough for these cookies is simple butter dough. It is flavoured with lemon and vanilla.
The dough for these cookies is simple butter dough. It is flavoured with lemon and vanilla.
The baked cookie is tender and flakey. I would say that they are not quite shortbread like, but very close. They have a beautiful texture when baked.
The lemon flavour in the cookie itself is very subtle, but not overly so. It's definitely there.
The lemon flavour in the cookie itself is very subtle, but not overly so. It's definitely there.
It just doesn’t smack you in the face!
Additional lemon flavour comes from the lemon curd which you use to sandwich these lovely biscuits together with. Use a good quality curd. I like to one which I know is thick and puckeringly lemony flavoured.
Additional lemon flavour comes from the lemon curd which you use to sandwich these lovely biscuits together with. Use a good quality curd. I like to one which I know is thick and puckeringly lemony flavoured.
It is worth it to pay a bit more for a quality curd or even to make your own if you can. These lovely biscuits deserve more than the cheap stuff. You won't be sorry.
Yet another layer of lemon flavour comes in the sweet lemon icing which is drizzled over top of the sandwiched biscuits. Drizzle icings are very easy to make.
Yet another layer of lemon flavour comes in the sweet lemon icing which is drizzled over top of the sandwiched biscuits. Drizzle icings are very easy to make.
Whisk together a few ingredients and drizzle. Easy peasy. But, that's not all . . . there is more.
A finishing sprinkle of freshly grated lemon zest seals the deal and completes three layers of delightful lemon tastiness.
A finishing sprinkle of freshly grated lemon zest seals the deal and completes three layers of delightful lemon tastiness.
These are lemon cookies you can write home about. These are the lemon cookies you have dreamed about.
Simply put . . . these are gorgeous. These are beautiful enough to serve for a special occasion, like a tea party or a birthday party.
Simply put . . . these are gorgeous. These are beautiful enough to serve for a special occasion, like a tea party or a birthday party.
But they are simple enough to enjoy every day. Be warned. You are sure to fall in love!
Use a good quality thick lemon curd for these. If you love lemon, you will quite simply adore these.
200g soft butter (7 ounces or 14 TBS)
140g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
1 large free range egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
the zest of two lemons
the juice of one lemon
300g of plain flour, plus a bit extra for dusting (2 cups plus 2 1/2 TBS, plus extra for dusting)
1/2 jar good quality lemon curd
140g of icing sugar, sifted (3/4 cup)
Line a few large baking trays with baking paper. Set aside.
Cream
the butter together with the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and the zest of
one lemon until well combined. Add the flour and stir together. You
may need to use your hands near the end to make sure the flour is
completely incorporated, and you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough
in half and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured board.
Stamp into 2 1/2 inch rounds. Reroll trimmings and recut until you
have used all the dough. Place on baking sheets. Chill in the
refrigerator for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 200*C.400*F/ gas mark 6.
Bake
the cookies, one tray at a time, on the middle rack of the oven until
pale golden brown, about 8 minutes or so. Scoop off onto wire rack to
cool. Allow to cool completely before proceeding.
As I was rolling these out, I thought to myself, wouldn't these be lovely cut out with my bunny cutters, filled, glazed and then decorated with some white candy puff tails, and pink eyes . . . and so I cut out roughly half the dough as bunnies.
*Lemon Kisses*
Makes about 20 double biscuits/cookiesPreheat the oven to 200*C.400*F/ gas mark 6.
Spread half of the biscuits with some lemon curd, and top with the remaining biscuits.
Whisk
the icing sugar together with enough of the lemon juice from one of the
lemons to give you a thick drizzle icing. Drizzle this over top of
the sandwiched biscuits and sprinkle with the lemon zest of the second
lemon. Leave to set before serving. Store any leftovers in the
refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.As I was rolling these out, I thought to myself, wouldn't these be lovely cut out with my bunny cutters, filled, glazed and then decorated with some white candy puff tails, and pink eyes . . . and so I cut out roughly half the dough as bunnies.
Never thinking for a minute that if I wanted to sandwich them together I would have to reverse cut half of them . . . DUH. Nevermind. They were still cute and pretty tasty as a single layer cookie, glazed with the lemon icing and decorated simply as it were.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Wow, I can't believe that Easter is almost upon us and that this Sunday it is already Palm Sunday. It seems early this year . . . but then again, time just seems to be flying by at the speed of light don't you think? Easter was always one of my favourite holidays when I was growing up. It meant a new hat, a new dress and we could take our winter tights off and start wearing knee socks! OH, and let's not forget the chocolate! Easter Eggs, Baby Chicks and Easter Bunnies . . . and if they involved chocolate so much the better!
Are these not the cutest cupcakes ever? I love them. They are from the baking experts Dr. Oetker! In the lead up to Easter, Dr. Oetker wants to get people excited about baking with chocolate. To do this, they are creating a super fun, 6ft chocolate Bunny Bum that will appear in two locations in the UK!
In honour of this, they sent me a recipe for these cute Bunny Bum Cupcakes and some ingredients so that I could re-create these delightful little cakes for myself, and if I could add a bit of a twist to them and make them my own . . . so much the better!
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