I don't know about you, but I am right in love with the Joseph Joseph line of cooking and baking utensil products. They are always such fun and in such brilliant colours! I could spend hours looking at all of the line which is available at our local Garden centre, and often do to Todd's chagrin, but then . . . I don't complain when he spends hours looking at man stuff . . . ok . . . so maybe I do a little bit . . .
I have a huge wish list of wants from Joseph Joseph so when I was recently contacted by Find Me A Gift and asked would I like to try out their new 4 piece baking set, I jumped at the chance! It was like all of my Christmas's Birthdays, Anniversaries had come at once! Lucky moi!
Included in the set are a very uniquely elevated pastry brush and spatula, which have weighted handles and really cool integrated tool rests, which help to keep the mess up off the table.
There is also an unusually shaped one hour baking timer, in bright pink, which I found really easy to use.
The thing I loved the most though, is this fabulous rolling pin. Made of beech it is adjustable, with three sets of removable discs which allow you to roll out your pastries, biscuits and other doughs to three different heights, with the measurements showing in both inches and millimeters!
This allows you to roll things out to an exactness which removes any guesswork! I found the discs really easy to change as they are quite simply held in place with a kind of screw thingie. As easy to use as nuts and bolts!
There are other measurements printed on the actual rolling pin as well, which easily help you to measure out whatever it is you are rolling, eg 12" round, 15" rectangle, etc. These are also in both measurements. I love this rolling pin . . . I absolutely love it.
Of course I could not wait to put it all to good use.
I just adore Samosas. When my oldest son was at Uni, I often would stop at the local market on a Saturday morning and pick up some samosas for us to share. He loves them too. I would ring the doorbell to his flat and when he answered the intercom, I would reply . . . "Speedy Samosa Delivery!" He never failed to let me in. Samosas are Indian snack food/appetisers . . . kind of like little curry turnovers. You can get veggie ones, or lamb ones. (My friend Joy makes fabulous lamb ones!) Most usually they are fried. Beautifully spiced and flavoured.
It isn't much of a stretch really to incorporate those flavours into a tasty pie. I had some leftover roasted chicken that needed using up and I thought a chicken pie would be nice . . . and then I thought, why not a Samosa pie. Win/win!
The crust is just lightly spiced with a bit of cumin and uses butter, so it's rich and beautifully coloured. Sturdy enough to stand up to the hearty filling, and yet flake, flake, flaky!
The filling contains the most usual samosa fillings . . . tender pieces of potato and onion, garlic, some cooked carrot, baby peas . . . cooked chicken . . .
Beautifully flavoured with a tasty mix of aromatics and spice . . . coriander, ginger, fennel, cumin, mustard, fenugreek, tumeric (for colour) and cayenne for some heat, this tasty pie pleases on many levels, both sight, smell and taste . . . and with picnic season having arrived it would make a great pie to take on a picnic. I served it simply . . . with some salad and mango chutney on the side. Deeeeeeeee-licious!
*Chicken Samosa Pie*
Serves 8
Your favourite Indian snack in a dinner pie! Couldn't be easier or tastier!Serves 8
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced (2 large)
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 TBS vegetable oil
2 cups of chopped cooked chicken
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp brown or black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS grated fresh ginger root
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
For the pastry:
For the pastry:
250g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
150g cold butter, cubed (2/3 cup)
160ml of milk (2/3 cup)
1 egg beaten, to glaze the pie with
First
make the pastry. Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the salt and
cumin seed. Drop in the butter. Rub it in with a pastry blender or
your finger tips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the milk
and stir with a fork to form a dough. Divide in two and shape each into
a round flat disc. Wrap in plastic cling film and chill while you are
making the filling.
Place the potato and carrot into a
pot of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender,
about 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl. Heat the oil over
medium heat. Add the chopped onion. Saute to soften. Add the seeds
and stir fry until very fragrant. Tip in the salt, cayenne pepper,
garlic and ginger root. Cook and stir for about a minute. Add the
cooked chicken, frozen peas, coriander leaf, and lemon juice. Taste
and adjust seasoning as desired. Allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
Roll
out one disc of the pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness round, large enough
to line a 9 inch pie dish, with some overhang. Spoon the cooled chicken
filling into the crust. Roll out the other disc of pastry to 1/8 inch
thickness, making it large enough to cover the filling with some
overhang. Brush some beaten egg on the edges of the bottom overhang
and top with the other round of pastry to cover. Press the edges
closed. Trim off with a sharp knife and flute the edge decoratively.
Brush the top of the pie all over with some beaten egg. Cut some vents
in for steam. Bake on the bottom rack of the preheated oven for 50 to
60 minutes, until golden brown and tasty!
Cut into wedges to serve. Mango chutney is a good go-with!This delightful Joseph Joseph Baking Set usually retails for up to £40 at most shops but you can get it right now on Find Me A Gift for the low price of only "29.99!" That's a real steal!
Many thanks to Find Me A Gift and the lovely Emma for sending this to me! (Psst! With Father's Day coming up soon you should really check out the Find Me A Gift site. They have ooodles of nice things to choose from on there to suit every price range. They even have a really cool gift finger personal shopper page, which you can find here!)
I have always put my hand up and been very honest in saying I cannot make yeast bread. It's just not something I've ever been able to do successfully . . . until today that is! I think I've finally cracked it!
I found this recipe for plain white bread in an old Co-op cookbook of my mom's when I was home last month and thought I would copy it down and give it a try.
It's for a simple white loaf of bread. The original recipe used the old fashioned yeast, but I have adapted it to use the more commonly available granulated dry yeast which we have today. The end result was a lovely textured bread with a beautifully crisp crust. I think I've found a winner here!
Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the remaining flour, for 8 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, feeling fairly soft. You may add extra flour if the dough is sticky.
Punch the
risen dough down to expel the air. Tip out onto a lightly floured work
surface. Cut in half with a sharp knife. Pat each half out into a
rough rectangle 8 inches in length. Roll up tightly into a loaf. Have
ready well greased 8 by 4 inch loaf tins. Put a loaf into each, seam
side down. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise for a
further 45 minutes, or until the dough has risen just about the edge of
each tin.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. gas mark 4. Bake the loaves for 30 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For Wholemeal Bread: use 450g of plain flour and 450g of wholemeal flour. (3 cups each)Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. gas mark 4. Bake the loaves for 30 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
And of course as you know when I get the ball I like to run with it . . . and so I decided that I would take half of the bread dough and create something deliciously different with it.
I just love the tear and share breads that you can get at the grocery shops and so I decided to make one today with decidedly Greek flavours.
I rolled the bread out to a rectangle and then spread half of the rectangle with some crumbled feta cheese, chopped kalamata olives and sun dried tomatoes . . . and oregano. You can use fresh herbs if you have them, but the freeze dried worked just fine for me.
The end result was something which was moreishly tasty and delish! We loved this. It would make great picnic food packed with an assortment of sliced cold meats, crisp vegetables, hot pickled peppers and some cheese and olives!
1/2 quantity of basic white bread (see Plain White Bread Recipe)
80g pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
Working with one piece at a time, roll up lengthways and place, cut side down, into a well greased 9 by 5 inch loaf tin. Push the ends in to fit and take care not to drop too much filling. Continue to pack the rolls in so that they fit snugly and scattering with any dropped pieces of filling as you go along. Press down on the surface with a damp hand to make it even. Cover with a damp towel and allow to raise in a warm draft free place for about an hour, or until the dough reaches the top edge of the tin.
I think I am really rather late climbing onto the Pulled Pork band wagon. I know it's been around for a while . . . but in all truth, until I tasted my son's fabulous sandwiches recently in Canada, I hadn't even been tempted to taste such a thing.
I think it was a consistency thing for me. I am not overly fond of pork that's well done . . . I am not sure why. When my son said he was making pulled pork sandwiches I thought to myself, here we go . . . and thought I would be polite and eat it anyways . . . but guess what?
I fell in love. Simples . . .
Totally and completely in love. In fact I fell so completely and utterly in love I found myself wondering how I had managed to get this far in life without having tasted one!
Of course I had to make them for Todd when I got home. I knew he would love them. Of course I had to put my own spin on them as well . . .
Homemade barbeque sauce . . . you know it's good. Melted cheddar, chopped spring onions and chopped dill pickles . . . even better. In fact I'd call these totally scrumdiddlyumptious!
*Pulled Pork Sandwiches*
Serves 4Printable Recipe
2 tsp salt
1/2 of a single serving can of Dr Pepper, Root Beer,
or Coca Cola
or Coca Cola
For the sauce:
2 cups tomato ketchup
1/3 cup soft dark brown sugar, packed
1 small onion, peeled and grated finely
2 TBS sunflower oil
3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
1 TBS cider vinegar
1 TBS tomato puree (paste)
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
fresh ground white pepper and salt to taste
To finish:
toasted buns
butter
sliced strong cheddar cheese
chopped dill pickles
chopped spring onions
Put
the spices for the pork into a mortar and pestle and grind them fine.
Rub this mixture all over the pork, rubbing it in well. Put this into
the bottom of a slow cooker. Pour the Dr Pepper (Root Beer or Coca
Cola) around the pork. Pop the lid on and cook for 1 hour on high, then
reduce to low and cook for 6 to 7 hours until the pork is fork tender.
While the pork is cooking make the sauce. Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until thick and the flavours have melded well.
While the pork is cooking make the sauce. Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until thick and the flavours have melded well.
Once
the pork has cooked until nice and tender, remove it from the crock
pot. Scrape off any fat and discard. Using two forks, shred the pork
to your desired consistency. Return it to the crock pot along with
prepared Barbeque Sauce to your taste, stirring it all together.
Butter
and toast your buns under the grill. Top with cheese, pickles and
onions, Pop back under to melt the cheese. Divide the shredded pork
amongst the buns, close up and enjoy!
I had two months of my cooking magazines waiting for me to devour when I arrived home on Friday. (Thank you Toddster for keeping them safe for me.) Oodles of deliciousness to peruse.
I have subscribed to Good Food magazine since I moved over here almost 14 years ago and it remains one of my favourites. When I saw this lovely looking cake on the June cover . . . I knew right away that this was the cake for me! I baked it today. My first baking session since my return home from Canada.
And what a beautiful cake it was to celebrate my homecoming with . . . not to mention the beginning of Strawberry season. There is nothing which tastes finer on earth than seasonal English Strawberries!
Beautiful ripe, sweet and delicious strawberries . . . there are nothing which tastes better than the English berry. Ok, so I am a tiny bit biased on that . . . but oh my . . . that beautiful scent . . . that sweet flavour . . . that taste, all sweet and warm from the sun. Heavenly Bliss . . .
Now pop all of that English strawberry bliss between layers of a beautiful sponge . . . be-speckled with toasted poppy seed crunch . . . and brushed with a delicately orange flavoured sugar syrup whilst still warm. . . .
But . . . that's not all . . . NOW add several layers of a slightly orange flavoured and beaten creme fraiche and Greek yogurt cream filling . . . gorgeous . . . delicately rich . . . just a teensie bit decadent . . .
Garnished with a few sweet berries and a few crunchy poppy seed sprinkles, has there ever been anything prettier, tastier, or more DECADANTLY scrumptious????
Has there ever been anything more beautifully presented or representative of all the gloriousness that an English Strawberry season has to offer its enthusiasts???
I think NOT! Wise choice indeed. Enjoy! We surely did.
I think this will be an annual thing. And why not . . . thanks Good Food!
*Strawberry & Poppy Seed Cake*
Makes one 8 inch cakeServes 10 to 12
Printable Recipe
200g unsalted butter, melted (14 TBS)
225g of plain flour (2 1/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
4 large free range eggs, at room temperature
225g golden caster sugar (1 cup plus 3 TBS)
1 tsp vanilla
For the syrup:
the zest and juice of one large orange
50g golden caster sugar (1/4 cup plus 1 TBS)
1 TBS orange liqueur (optional)
To Fill:
170g full fat Greek yoghurt (3/4 cup)
500ml full fat creme fraiche (2 cups)
50g golden caster sugar (1/4 cup plus 1 TBS)
12 ounces fresh berries, washed and sliced
1 TBS poppy seeds
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line 2 8-inch round cake tins. Set aside.
Dry
fry the poppy seeds in a skillet over low heat until they become
aromatic. Set aside to cool. Beat the eggs along with the sugar on
high speed until it is light and lemon coloured and frothy. Sift
together the flour and baking powder. Whisk the butter and vanilla
into the egg mixture. Fold the flour mixture in with a metal spoon.
Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide between the prepared pans. Bake for
25 minutes, until golden brown and the top springs back when lightly
touched. Remove from the oven. Cool in the pans for ten minutes, then
remove to a wire rack to cool completely. When cold, cut each cake
round carefully into two layers horizontally.
Measure
the ingredients for the syrup into a microwaveable bowl. Heat in the
microwave for about 1 minute until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Beat the yoghurt, creme fraiche and sugar together until the mixture is thick and spreadable.
Place
one cake layer on a plate. Brush with some of the warm syrup. Top
with sliced berries. Top with a portion of the cream mixture. Place
another cake layer on top. Brush with syrup and repeat. Repeat once
more so that you have three layers of berries and cream. Brush the
inside of the final layer with the remaining syrup. Invert on top of
the cake and cover with the remainder of the cream. Garnish with a
few berries and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Allow to sit for half an
hour before serving. Cut into slices to serve.
Well, I am back from Canada and in good old blighty! It's freezing cold here compared to where I just left! Who'd a thunk it? In any case I am home and glad to be here, cold or not. I haven't actually done any cooking yet as I just arrived here at the house late yesterday afternoon, but I did have a few things to share with you that I did when I was in Canada.
The first day that I went to check the post for my mother there was this lovely package for me from my friend Monique (La Table De Nana) and inside was the latest issue of Canadian Living Magazine, amongst a few other niceties! She's a girl after my own heart and she knows what I like! Thank you Monique! The picture on the cover of the magazine was a variety of fresh tacos and I could not wait to get stuck into making at least one of them.
The day my mom went into hospital I took the opportunity to make the Thai Chicken ones for my daughter and myself. I figured cooking together would be a nice distraction for the pair of us, and it was.
They actually called these Lemongrass Chicken Tacos and likened them to Vietnamese, but I felt they were more like Thai flavours. I have adapted it a bit to what I was able to get ingredient wise and what we like to eat. The flavour is fresh and clean and well . . . quite scrummy!!
The chicken is first marinated in a tasty mixture of herbs and other ingredients and then flash grilled until it is nicely crisped and browned on the outside . . . and moist and tender on the insides.
Topping them is a deliciously fresh cucumber salad, which was fabulous in it's own right, and adding a beautiful touch of crunch and colour.
We just loved these. They were different. They were tasty. They were colourful. They were healthy. They were easy to make, and they were addictive. I will be adding them to my recipe rotation for sure. The leftover salad was really good the next day as well, kind of like a pickle.
Enjoy!
The day my mom went into hospital I took the opportunity to make the Thai Chicken ones for my daughter and myself. I figured cooking together would be a nice distraction for the pair of us, and it was.
They actually called these Lemongrass Chicken Tacos and likened them to Vietnamese, but I felt they were more like Thai flavours. I have adapted it a bit to what I was able to get ingredient wise and what we like to eat. The flavour is fresh and clean and well . . . quite scrummy!!
The chicken is first marinated in a tasty mixture of herbs and other ingredients and then flash grilled until it is nicely crisped and browned on the outside . . . and moist and tender on the insides.
Topping them is a deliciously fresh cucumber salad, which was fabulous in it's own right, and adding a beautiful touch of crunch and colour.
We just loved these. They were different. They were tasty. They were colourful. They were healthy. They were easy to make, and they were addictive. I will be adding them to my recipe rotation for sure. The leftover salad was really good the next day as well, kind of like a pickle.
Enjoy!
1 TBS coriander paste (or to taste)
8 soft flour tortillas (6 inch)
a handful of chopped roasted peanuts
For the Cucumber Salad:
2 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
While the chicken is cooking whisk together the vinegar and sugar. Toss in the cucumber and carrot sticks. Set aside.
(Well today I am on way back to the UK. I have a long journey ahead so won't be doing an awful lot of cooking in the first few days, but with out. As soon as I get my mojo back, watch out! I have tons of s rum mines planned! This is a post from last year, but with strawberries coming into season it's the perfect time to make meringues! They are wonderful with fresh summer berries! Enjoy!)
Sometimes as I am creating something in my kitchen, I ponder the alchemy of cookery . . . I wonder things like . . . who was it that discovered that eggs were good to eat . . . and then . . . having discovered that they were indeed very good to eat . . . who was it who discovered that if you beat them together with flour, butter, sugar and leavening . . . you ended up with cake???
And then, having pondered that . . . and in the nature of what I was making today . . . who was it that discovered that if you separated the white and yolks . . . the yolks could be beaten light and fluffy . . . and that having done so, if you beat sugar into them and then baked them . . . the result was lovely sweet, crunchy and light meringues???
Yes, I do have an enquiring mind . . . and sometimes I really do wonder about these things . . . perhaps it's just in my nature.
Today, having use the yolks for another purpose, I found myself with a surplus of egg whites. I decided to make some lovely light and sweet meringues. Lightly spiced meringues . . . redolent of ground cardamom and cinnamon . . . and then scattered with coarsely chopped raw pistachio nuts before baking . . .
Some people are afraid of meringues, but they're really not all that difficult to execute, if you follow a few simple rules. Room temperature whites. Clean, grease-free glass or metal bowl and clean beaters. If you add the sugar slowly, it will kind of melt into the egg whites and you will get a nice smooth texture, not gritty at all, and lovely volume. Oh . . . and don't use really fresh egg whites . . . you want them almost to the sell by date . . .for some reason, that's how you get lots of volume. The older the egg white . . . the larger the meringues.
These are beautiful served with sliced berries anda bit of whipped cream . . . kind of like a de-constructed Eton Mess . . . and every bit as lovely. Today I added a bit of lemon juice and icing sugar to the cream . . . so I got a kind of whipped lemon posset cream. You don't need much lemon juice, only a squirt. Your cream thickens up very nicely. If you find it a bit too thick . . . then just stir in a bit more cream.
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! The perfect light dessert for a warm "late" summer's day . . .with the last of the strawberries of the season . . .
*Cardamom & Pistachio Meringues*
Makes 4 to 6
Printable Recipe
Honey coloured, crisp sweet meringues. lightly spiced with cinnamon and cardamom and sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts. Perfect for serving with poached or fresh fruits.
200g of golden caster sugar (1 cup) (plus a bit extra)
3 large free range egg whites
a generous pinch of each ground cinnamon and ground cardamom
a handful of raw pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two baking sheets with some nonstick baking paper. Set aside.
Measure the egg whites into a large grease free glass bowl. Whip with an electric whisk until they are firm and fluffy. Fold in the sugar and spices. Continue to whip with an electric whisk until the mixture is glossy and thick.
Sprinkle the lined baking sheets with some caster sugar. Place into the heated oven to warm. Remove from the oven and then using two spoons scoop 8 ot 9 huge dollops of the whipped egg whites onto the baking sheets, leaving plenty of space in between for spreading. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachio nuts.
Place into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 140*C/275*F/ gas mark 1. Bake for about an hour until they are pale honey coloured, reducing the temperature if they begin to brown too much. At the end of that time, turn out the oven (turn it off) and leave the meringues to see in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove and cool completely.
Store in an airtight container. Serve with sliced fruit, or poached fruits. Berries are especially good with these.
A few more tips for perfect meringues:
- Make them on a dry day. A humid day or rainy day means there's a lot of moisture in the air and this can adversely affect your meringues
- Cold eggs separate more easily than room temperature ones. Separate them fresh out of the refrigerator, and then let them come to room temperature before whipping.
- Separate your eggs into a small bowl, one at a time, and only adding them to the main bowl when you have done so successfully. The least little bit of egg yolk in the whites means they will not whip. Rather than spoil a whole bowl of whites, better that you only spoil one. You can try to fish it out with a piece of the egg shell, and that will often work, but don't try to use your fingers, as the oil from your fingers will also work adversely against them whipping properly.
- Use superfine sugar if you can. This ensures that it melts better during the whipping process, giving you a smoother textured meringue. Rub a bit of the meringue between your fingers. If it feels gritty, keep beating. Your mixture should be thick, glossy and quite smooth to touch.
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