I was looking to make us a delicious lunch today, that was not only scrumptious, but also fairly healthy. Todd has been diagnosed with high cholesterol and I am trying to get him to eat a lot healthier. If they can't get his cholesterol down, it will mean him going onto a medication to bring it down. We don't want that if we can help it. (Baking cookies does not help.)



This means using low fat ingredients, and avoiding butter, cheese and fatty meats. No frying etc. You know the drill. Boring . . . when you take the fat and fun out of food, you also take out a lot of the flavour. You have to get it back in there somehow . . .



Going low choleserol is not an easy change to make when you have a man who loves buttered toast with cheese in the evenings, and tinned corned beef sandwiches on buttered bread for lunch.



I had a jar of mostarda di frutta that I had picked up at the store probably about six months ago. A pricey little item, and something that I had not yet used. I also had a package of cooked chicken bits that I wanted to use up, so today I decided to make him a somewhat healthy chicken salad for his lunch.



I used lots of celery and toasted pecans for crunch. I thought the mostarda di frutta would add some interest and a bit of hot sweetness to the mix. It was a fabulous addition . . . I used the plum and orange. I only added a minimum of mayo, and I used the ultra low fat version at that . . .



We were very pleased with the results. Todd really enjoyed this. Of course you could add not so good for you ingredients . . . like chopped grilled bacon or chopped hard boiled egg . . . but in this instance we didn't really miss them.



Chopped apple is also very good in this, or even chopped mustard pickle or chutney.



*Chicken Salad*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A delicous chicken salad, filled with flavour, crunch and little surprises!

For the salad:
250g package of cooked chicken breast bits
(about 2 cups)
2 stalks of celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and chopped
a small handful of pecan nuts, toasted and chopped
two fruits from a bottle of mostarda di frutta, chopped
a drizzle of the syrup from the bottle
several dollops of mayonnaise
salt and black pepper to taste

lettuce leaves for serving
a few toasted pecans for garnishing

If your chicken is in large bits, cut it into smaller bits, about 1/2 inch cubes. Place into a bowl along with the remaining ingredients, adding only enough mayonnaise to moisten. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Arrange some lettuce leaves attractively on two chilled salad plates. Divide the chicken salad equally between the plates, placing it on top of the lettuce leaves. Garnish with some chopped toasted pecans if desired.

Note - this also makes a delicious sandwich filling. If you cannot get the mostarda di frutta you can use mustard piccali, if you wish, or you can use a half of an apple, cored and chopped. Leave the skin on for colour. This adds a touch of sweet and crunch.

Apium graveolens is a tasty plant commonly known as celery, or celeriac, depending which part of the plant is being eaten. We often eat the roots, or celeriac. We love it mashed with cream and herbs, it makes a fantastic gratin and as a soup, it's just lovely. (I make a mean Celeriac, Apple and Stilton soup that is to die for!)

The seeds are wonderful in salads. I always like to add a few to my coleslaw and they are fabulous in a vinaigrette dressing.

Dieters love celery, as it is relatively low in calories, being mostly water. It's when you add the cheese or the peanut butter topping that it ceases to be real diet food. I think because it is normally eaten by dieters that it gets a bit of a bad rap, not to mention it's also really hard to eat quietly.



I can't imagine making a soup or stew without adding at least a few chopped stalks. It adds a lovely flavour in my opinion. And a tuna fish or chicken salad sandwich just wouldn't be that good without chopped celery added in my opinion!



Today I'd like to show you a rather unique and unsual way of using it. These scone like whirls are quite, quite tasty . . .

It goes without saying that wrapping this crunchy vegetable in scone dough, rather takes away from it's fat busting qualities . . . but what the heck!



*Cheese and Celery Whirls*
Makes 10
Printable Recipe

Very pretty with a lovely green celery swirl in the centre. They make an excellent accompaniment to a soup meal and are wonderful as a tea-time savoury. Wonderfully light and very tasty!

340g self rising flour (2 1/3cup)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry English mustard powder
56g butter, softened (1/4 cup)
115g mature cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 large free range egg, beaten
5 fluid ounces milk
3 to 4 stick of celery, trimmed and coarsely chopped



Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/425*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and mustard powder in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add most of the grated cheese, reserving a small amount for sprinkling on top before baking. Mix together the egg, milk and garlic and then stir this into the flour mixture, mixing in well until everything is well mixed together. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly. Pat or roll out into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle. Scatter the celery over the surface. Roll up like a Swiss Roll, starting at the narrow end. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place flat side down on the baking tray. Sprinkle each with some of the reserved cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Note - I'm not sure why this happens but from time to time the flour doesn't seem to absorb as much of the liquid as it should. This could be down to the brand of flour used, the humidity etc. IN any case, only add as much of the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture as will give you the consistency of a soft dough. Sometimes you may need more of it than at other times.

These sandwiches make for a nice light and healthy supper when it gets too hot to cook, or when you are starving at the end of the day and can't be asked to cook.  Not only are they quick and easy to make, but they are diabetic friendly also!

 

I think the British love sandwiches more than anyone else in the world.  Walk into any shop, and I do mean any . . . and you are sure to find a variety of them, ready made, wrapped and for sale to anyone who feels in the need for some potable and portable sustenance of the this kind.   AND, they come in varities which are suitable for any meal of the day . . . breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

 

I recently treated myself to Nigel Slater's latest cookbook, eat.  You all know how I love Nigel and his way of cooking and eating.  That man could make anything look and sound tasty and he is the master as creating delicious and fast food out of just about anything you can get your hands on.   He has one whole chapter in this book devoted to sandwiches and the like.  My kind of guy.  My kind of cooking.



One in particular intrigued me and set my tastebuds to tingling.  This was a sandwich he created using crusty bread, beef drippings and leftover roast from the sunday dinner.  Reading about it . . . made me want one, and reading about it . . . inspired me to create my own version.  I got to thinking hash . . . roast beef hash . . . in a bun.



And so that is what I did.  I made some hash using chopped potatoes, chopped onions, chopped cabbage and some of the leftover roast from yesterday's pot roast.   I seasoned it lightly with some salt and cracked black pepper . . .



Added a touch of herb . . . in the way of summer savoury, and a hint of snap by using some Worcestershire Sauce and a dash of brown sauce.  (steak sauce to you North Americans)  I cooked that all together until the potatoes and onions and cabbage were gilded with little caramelized edges, all golden brown and sweet . . . and the meat was falling apart once more . . .

 

And then I stogged it between two halves of a crisp warm ciabatta roll . . . the bottom spread with just a touch of creamed horseradish sauce . . . a slice of Leerdammer Toastie cheese layed on top of the hot hash, so it melted down into all those gilded crevices, and topped by that crisp  roll-top . . . all that goodness tucked into a tasty and lightly crisped ciabatta suitcase and just waiting for me to tuck in . . .



Good things happen when Nigel inspires me.   Tasty things.   Things I want to indluge in again, and again . . . and again.   I am never disappointed.




Heat the oil along with the butter in a large skillet.   Toss in the onions, cabbage and potatoes.   Cook stirring until they begin to turn golden brown.  Add about 2 TBS stock or hot water, a bit of seasoning, the Worcestershire sauce, brown sauce, summer savory,  and the garlic.  Turn the heat to very low, pop a lid on and cook for about 15 minutes, checking every so often to make sure they don't catch.  At the end of that time they should be knife tender.  Uncover and toss in the beef.  Cook and stir over medium heat, frequently turning it over until the meat is heated through and all is golden brown.   Taste and adjust seasoning as required.   While you are doing this, pop the ciabatta into a hot oven to heat through.


To serve, slice each ciabatta roll in half.  Spread the bottoms with some horseradish sauce (if desired) and then pile an equal amount of the hot hash on top.  Top each with a slice of toastie cheese and then the top of the rolls.  Serve immediately.  Pass the brown sauce or ketchup if desired.

 
(A Simple Butter Cake)

From time to time readers ask me why their cake sank in the middle when baking. They always say something along the lines of: "I followed the recipe perfectly, but it still sank. What did I do?!" While it's impossible for me to know exactly what happened in any specific occasion without my actually being there, and I can't pretend to be an expert baker myself, these are the top 5 things you should look out for which may help to keep your cake from sinking the next time you bake:

1. Old Baking Powder:   Baking powder may only account for a tiny percentage of your entire cake ingredients, but it can ruin the whole thing if you're not careful! Remember that baking powder only stays fresh for about 6 months to a year, so date them when you buy them, and toss and replace any containers that have been hanging around too long.

Not sure if yours is still good? Take 5 seconds to test it before you start baking by placing a teaspoon of baking powder in about a 1/2 cup of hot water. If still good, it should start to bubble rapidly. If nothing (or barely nothing) happens, it's time to head to the store.

2. Too Much Leavening:  As counter-intuitive as it might sound, adding too much baking powder, baking soda, or yeast to a cake will cause it to sink as the amount of air that is created within the cake will be more than the structure can support and the whole thing will come crashing down.

Never add additional baking powder or other leaveners to self-raising flour or cake mixes (they already have it mixed in), and always be sure to read a recipe clearly and measure carefully.

When in doubt, remember that the average ratio for baking powder to flour is 1 to 1.5 teaspoons per cup of AP flour; so if you read a recipe that calls for something way above that, it's probably an error.


3. Overbeating:   this is probably one of the most common reasons why cakes sink. I'm not sure what it is, but we all seem to have a natural tendency towards overbeating cake batter until it is smooth and creamy. This is even easier to do when we rely on the trusty old Kitchen Aid or food processor to do our mixing for us. But beating in too much air into the batter once the dry and wet ingredients are combined will only cause the batter sink.

Go ahead and work the air in when creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs, but as soon as you add the flour mixture, remember that it's ALL about the light hand. Fold the dry ingredients through the wet only until they are just combined, then delicately divide and pour into your cake pans. If adding anything at the end (food coloring, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.), continue to work the addition through the batter as gently as possible in a flowing folding motion.



4. Oven Temperature: an oven that isn't properly calibrated and runs either too hot or too cold, could easily make for a falling cake. If possible, spring for an external oven thermometer (you can find them in the $15-$30 range at stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond) to make sure that when it says 350 on the dial, it's really 350 inside the oven.

Also, don't be tempted to peek inside that oven for at least the first 80% of the suggested baking time. Remember that each time you open the oven door, the temperature inside can drop as many as 10 degrees. These tiny fluctuations in temperature can affect the even rising of the cake. 

5. Timing:  Unless a recipe specifically calls for it, don't let a finished batter sit for very long before baking. 20-25 minutes while the first batch bakes is fine; a few hours while you run out to pick up the kids and finish some errands is not. I always strive to have my cakes in the oven as soon as I have finished mixing them, unless of course I have been otherwise instructed in a recipe.

Remember that the minute the wet and dry ingredients meet, a chemical reaction starts to take place (like those baking soda volcanoes we all made in 7th grade science class). To get a light, fluffy, and beautifully raised cake, you want that chemical reaction to take place inside the oven as the cake bakes so that the air that is created gets sealed into the baking cake. If your batter is sitting on the counter or on the fridge, the air created inside will just escape into the room, and come time for baking, there will be less to lift the cake up.
  

 
(Irish Apple Cake)

And... a few bonus tips!

Preheating IS important. Depending on your oven, it can take as long as 30 minutes for it to reach the optimal baking temperature. Always be sure to do that first before getting on with your recipe or you'll end up with an uneven, lumpy cake.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda are NOT interchangeable. Though baking powder contains baking soda, it also has other components that act as a catalyst for all that good air-creating cake-rising action, and is used in recipes that don't have acidic elements. Baking soda usually works along with an acid (lemon juice, buttermilk, yogurt, chocolate, etc.). Some recipes call for both, but that doesn't mean that you can skip one or the other; if it calls for both, be sure to use both.   



(A Lemon and Pistachio Cake)

Center your oven rack. Unless otherwise told, position your oven rack in the center and place the cake pans right in the middle of the rack. If baking two cake layers at once, place them on the same rack side-by-side; don't put one on top of the other; they won't bake evenly that way.

As much as possible have all your ingredients at room temperature. I know it is very tempting to want to be in a rush and to think that it can't possibly hurt if all of your ingredients are at different temps.  When it comes to the science of baking however, this variance in temperature between ingredients can make a really big difference when it comes to the end result. Bake a cake with frigid butter and eggs and you may end up with something resembling a pancake. That’s why some recipes call for “room temperature” ingredients, a frustratingly general concept, especially from a scientific point of view.  Baking with room temperature butter helps to create "fluffiness."  Too warm or too cold butter can result in either too few air bubbles, or air bubbles with don't hold their shape and flatten quickly. 

Eggs are also crucial in giving loft to baked goods. The white of the egg is 90 percent water and 10 percent protein; when you beat an egg, it’s the protein that traps the air bubbles, and when incorporated into baked goods, these bubbles expand in the heat of the oven. Egg whites can be whipped up to eight times their volume, but this maximum air-trapping happens only when the eggs are warm; in warm eggs, the whites and yolks are looser, so it’s easier to incorporate air into them (which is the whole point).

Warmer eggs are also better when you’re mixing batter for cakes and cookies, because if you introduce cold eggs to a warmer butter-sugar mixture, the fat in the butter could harden. That would impede integration of the butter and eggs, which is why you’re creaming them to begin with.

But you do want your eggs to be cold if you need to separate the whites and yolks. Cold eggs are easier to separate, so if your recipe calls for the yolks and whites to be separated, do it before warming the eggs. 



So now that I have told you all that I can about the science of baking and shared all of my wisdom in great cake bakery, I think it's only fair that I share my absolute favourite cake recipe with you.



 It's a deliciously buttery sponge, filled with fresh raspberries and baked into two moist layers. Sandwiched together with a lovely vanilla butter cream icing and some seedless raspberry jam, and then drizzled with more sweetness. This is one very moreishly scrummy cake.



 *Raspberry Celebration Cake*
Cuts into 12 scrummy slices
Printable Recipe

This is the cake I always bake for summer birthdays.  A light moist sponge, filled with lovely raspberries, butter cream icing and seedless raspberry preserves.  Top with a sweet glaze and serve with more raspberries.

For the Cake:
175g of caster sugar (3/4 plus 1/8 cup)
175g of butter, softened (13 TBS)
4 large free range eggs, separated
100g self raising flour (a scant 3/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds (1 scan't cup)
a few drops of almond extract
125g of fresh raspberries (a heaped cup)

For the buttercream:
75g of butter, softened (1/4 cup approx.)
125g icing sugar, sifted (about 3/4 cup)
few drops vanilla

For the glaze:
100ml icing sugar sifted (1/3 cup approx.)
water to thin 

 

Also about 4 heaped dessertspoons of seedless raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4.  Butter two 8 inch sandwich cake tins.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolks.  Sift the flour and baking powder over the creamed mixture and then fold in using a metal spoon.   Fold in the ground almonds and exract.  Fold only until all traces of the flour have disappeared.

Beat the egg whites until they just hold their shape.  Fold them in gently, by thirds, being careful not to overmix and lose the lightness of the whites.  Lightly fold in the berries.  Divide between the two prepared cake tins and level off carefully.

Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, just until they test done.  A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean and they should spring back when lightly touched on top.

Remove from the oven.  Let cool in the tins for five minutes, then tip out onto wire racks, peel off the baking paper and allow to cool completely.

Make the buttercream by beating together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Place one cake, bottom side up on a cake plate.  Spread completely with all the buttercream.  Spread the raspberry jam over top of the buttercream and then top with the other cake layer, placing it right side up.  Whisk together the icing sugar for the glaze and enough water to make a smooth drizzable mixture.  Drizzle decoratively over the top of the cake.  Allow to set, then dust with more icing sugar if desired.

Have a great weekend!