I have never been much of a bread maker. Bread and I don't get along very well, and that is kind of sad to me . . . for after all, isn't bread considered to be the "Staff of Life?"
I don't make bread, I make doorstops. Nice, heavy, doorstops.
Point in case, yesterday . . . I thought I would make this lovely cardamom scented vanilla bread, but by heck, what did I end up with?????
A lovely cardamom scented door stop. The only thing missing was the handle.
I'm not sure what my problem with bread is. Oh, I make nice enough bread in the bread maker, but then the bread maker does all the work, I just dump the ingredients in, cross my fingers, and hope for the best!
I do make good biscuits though . . . and they are a form of bread. Yesterday I dusted off an old recipe of mine, that I have had for donkey's . . .
After that first failure of the day, I just had to have some success at something . . . besides . . . I was hankering after bread. And what's a gal to do when that happens . . . you bake biscuits, which are not bread . . . but are sometimes better than bread. These are fabulous. Especially when spread with cold butter whilst still warm from the oven. Oh my . . . oh my . . .
*Cheddar Pan Biscuits*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe
Cheddar cheese and basil makes these home baked pan biscuits a tasty supper accompaniment. They are wonderful with stews and soups, and incredibly good with cold meats and salads. I guess they just go well with everything!
1/3 cup butter (75g)
2 1/4 cups flour (225g)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
(plus about 1 ounce more for sprinkling on at the end)
1 TBS baking powder
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk (250ml)
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Place the butter in an 8 inch square baking pan and set it into the oven to melt. (3 to 5 minutes) Remove from the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile whisk together the flour, cheese, baking powder, sugar, basil leaves and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk and stir it in just until the mixture is moistened evenly. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for a minute until smooth. (about 6 or 7 turns)
Pat or roll the dough out to a 12 by 6 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 1-inch wide strips. Dip the strips into the melted butter in the pan, one at a time and then fold each strip in half. Place the folded strips in 2 rows in the same pan as you have melted the butter in. Sprinkle the 1 ounce of shredded cheese evenly over top.
Bake for 23 to 28 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm with cold butter for spreading and enjoy!!
( a picture of our decorated lounge 2012)
If you're looking for a fabulous appetizer or spread for your party buffets and dinners this holiday season, look no further. This one is the best! It's easy, impressive and quick to make . . . and it always goes down a real treat with anyone who tries it. They always want the recipe.
I often made this as an appetizer for the many dinner parties I catered when I worked at the Manor. It was a real favourite with my bosses and their guests.
It combines simple ingredients together to create a fabulous rich spread that goes very well on breadsticks, crackers, toasted baguettes . . . and I confess . . . spread onto celery sticks. (A fab way to munch on the leftovers. )
You don't need to use best quality smoked salmon . . . I usually use the smoked salmon scraps you can buy in the shops. You are going to chop it coarsely anyways, and the scraps are already chopped for you.
The leftovers are also fabulous spread onto slices of sour dough bread that you toast to a golden brown under the grill. A squirt of lemon and a few grinds of pepper and you have a fabulous lunch . . . all the creamy pink deliciousness melting into the toasty crevices of the crunchy toast is quite, quite irresistible.
*Smoked Salmon Spread*
Makes 2 cups
Printable Recipe
This is the perfect Christmas treat. Serve it with breadsticks, crackers or slices of toasted baguette. Deliciously different!
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (340g)
1/3 cup dairy sour cream (40g)
6 dashes of Tabasco sauce
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 spring onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
3 TBS capers, rinsed and drained
8 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
3 TBS chopped fresh dill, or 1 TBS dried dill tops
fresh ground black pepper to taste
fresh dill to garnish
Put the cream cheese, sour cream, Tabasco sauce and lemon juice in a food processor. Blitz to combine. Add the spring onions, capers, salmon, chopped dill and pepper. Pulse to blend. Scrape into a serving bowl. Garnish with the dill and serve chilled or at room temperature. Fabulous!
I was recently sent some really nice things to do some Christmas baking with.
The first article was the Tala Beech Revolving Rolling Pin. (Identical to above, except mine has pretty pale green handles).
It really is a lovely rolling pin. It moved easily with no effort at all and worked wonderfully. If I had any complaint about it at all, it was that the product label was actually stuck to the rolling pin and I had to soak it to remove it. I am not in the habit of washing my rolling pins. I quite simply like to brush them off and rub them with a clean cloth when I am finished. The label did eventually come off though and I will be able to keep seasoning it as I normally do. It is really quite a nice rolling pin, and at £5.99 in most locations, very affordable and good quality for money spent.
The next article was this lovely set of Tala 4 Snowflake cutters. All five fitting into a compact tin for storage. They range in size from 1 1/2 inches in diameter to 3 inches in diameter.
They did a really lovely job of cutting out with really nice clear cuts and were very easy to use. I was well impressed. Sometimes cookie cutters with such intricate edges can be a bit difficult to use, with the dough catching into the edges and not wanting to be released.
As you can see this was definitely not a problem with these cutters. Al;so reasonably priced at £6.99. I was so excited at the lovely snowflake short-bread biscuits I envisioned on serving up to guests over the holidays. I thought they would be quite beautiful dusted with icing sugar using the Tala Sugar Shaker.
Created in their retro style and made from Stainless Steel, this is a lovely Sugar Shaker, also very reasonably priced at £6.99. I didn't get to use it though . . . because the stupid cookie recipe I decided to try was a real total flop.
It rolled out nice and cut nice and I thought they would be beautiful biscuits. Alas when they were baking they spread out all over the pan and ended up hard and crisp and very horribly burnt in the time alloted. I sure hope that the remainder of the recipes in this book are not as horribly out. This one was a real loser. I was so disappointed not to mention annoyed at all that waste of butter and sugar. I can only think that the proportion of butter to everything else was way out.
From now on I'll stick to my old reliable whipped short breads for my Christmas biscuits. They always turn out and are so easy to make. Delicious too.
*Whipped Shortbreads*
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe
All the yumminess of shortbread cookies without any of the hassle of having to roll them out, etc.
8 ounces of butter (1 cup) room temperature
210g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
70g icing sugar (1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line several baking sheets with baking parchment. Set aside.
Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 10 minutes until light and fluffy. Drop by the teaspoon onto the baking sheets. (Leave about 2 inches of space in between each to allow for spreading.) Sprinkle the tops with a varieity or sprinkles or coloured sugars, or chopped green and red cherries.
Bake for about 17 minutes until the bottoms are coloured light brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container.
Many thanks to Eddingtons and Tala for sending me these lovely new baking tools. I am going to use them all again before Christmas to bake some Gingerbread biscuits. I can't wait! They'll look lovely dusted with sugar I think.
There is something intrinsically soul enriching about a pot of homemade chicken soup. Something which speaks to the very essence of our being and at once nourishes as much as it comforts. Homemade chicken soup is like a nice warm hug in a bowl. I love it.
My mom has always been the consummate soup maker in the family. She has always been able to make soup out of absolutely anything . . . and it's always fabulous. Everything I know about making soup . . . I learned holding on to her apron strings. When my marriage broke up some 14 years ago . . . I was living in a rented room in a strangers house . . . not a very nice time for me. I was feeling very much unloved and estranged from my family. It was early in the Canadian Winter . . . and I had a horrible cold. I was sick, sick, sick. My mom showed up with some of her homemade chicken soup and a hug and I instantly felt better. Mom's and chicken soups . . . they just go together . . . kinda like peas and carrots.
They be perfect medicine for whatever ails you. December this year has been a challenging month in many ways, not the least of which has been my mother being diagnosed with Lung Cancer . . . I'll be flying home to be with her soon . . . but in the mean time it is really hard to be so far away. She who has always sustained me . . . is in need of some sustenance herself. I am entering that stage of life which we all have to go through . . . that time where the child now becomes the parent . . .
My good friend April posted this fabulous soup recipe on her blog, Dimples & Delights the other day, and it was just the perfect thing for me to fall upon . . . just like a warm hug from a friend, which I very badly needed. Sustenance for the soul. It looked so good. I just knew I had to make it . . . April is like a breath of fresh air to me. We have never met in person, but I just adore her. We have become kindred spirit friends, and even though I am old enough to be her mother . . . the scales of age just fell away from the get go . . . we be sistas! I love it when that happens . . . it is a rare and beautiful thing, that instant connection.
I made her soup for us yesterday and . . . at the risk of sounding like a mama bear . . . it was just right . . . it was delicious . . . and very much like a warm hug. I felt the love . . . beautiful. The best part of all is it's delicious AND easy . . . and as you all know by now . . . I am a rather lazy person. I had to make a few adaptions due to a lack of availability of ingredients here in the UK. We don't get frozen egg noodles here, in fact . . . I have never seen any kind of egg noodles here. I used potato gnocchi in stead.
They enabled me to keep the integrity of the original recipe and also please my pasta hating husband. Somehow he doesn't see gnocci as being pasta . . . and he loves a thick soup and this is just thick enough to be very pleasing to him.
In all to me . . . it was just like chicken pot pie . . . in soup form. Wonderfully comforting and beautifully tasty! Thanks April! I know you think I could teach you a thing or two about cooking . . . but I want you to know that you have a few tricks up your beautiful sleeve to teach me too.
I love it when a friendship is a give/give thing, don't you? Friendship, love . . . and comfort in a bowl. What a fabulous combination!
*Chicken and Gnocchi Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
A delicious soup based on a recipe from my good friend April. It's mostly her recipe but with a few twists of my own due to unavailability of certain ingredients.
2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 large brown onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 to 3 sticks of celery, washed, de-stringed and chopped
3 to 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick
1 medium leek, trimmed, washed and cut into rounds (white and light green parts)
6 to 8 cups of chicken broth (I used the Knorr chicken stock pots, 3 in number plus 1 1/2 litre of boiling water)
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste (probably not necessary)
fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
a couple large handfuls of potato gnocchi (1/2 of a 500g (1 1/4 lb) packet)
Place the chicken breasts in a pot along with the chicken stock pots and water. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, just until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside. Strain the broth through to a clean jug. Shred the cooked chicken and reserve. Wash the pot and then return to the stove. Add the butter and allow it to melt over medium low heat. Add all of the vegetables, the dried thyme and some black pepper and a bit of salt. Give it all a good stir, Cover tightly and sweat over low heat until the vegetables are becoming tender. It may be necessary to add a TBS of the reserved stock from time to time. You do not want the vegetables to brown, just soften. Once the vegetables are softened, sprinkle the flour over top and stir it around. Cook for about 1 minutes and then ladle in the remainder of the reserved stock, stirring as you go. Bring back to the boil and then throw in the potato gnocchi as well as the shredded chicken. Simmer until the potato gnocchi float to the top. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Scatter with some chopped parsley and serve in heated bowls to enjoy! We had ours with some crusty bread. Scrummo! Thanks April!
Do hop on over and give her a nod! Tell her I sent you! I guarantee you will love what you find. Dimples & Delights
Friday evening saw our annual Relief Society Christmas Party for the ladies in my church congregation. Happy to say everyone had a lovely time. We played games and made crafts, decorated cookies, ate some good food and basically just enjoyed a lovely evening of fellow-shipping with each other.
I had made a variety of sweet loaves, amongst other goodies, to share with the girls. Back home tea breads are always a welcome treat on one of these occasions. Not only are they easy to make, but they are also easy to transport and one of those things that actually taste better for having sat overnight, which makes them the perfect do-ahead item!
I made my perfectly lovely sweet Cinnamon Swirl Bread. You can read all about it and find that recipe here. It's an old favourite of mine, a recipe I gleaned from my old friend Leona many moons ago when our children were all small and we were a lot younger too! I never make it but what I don't think of her and some of the happy times we shared together.
I also made my favourite Sour Cream Banana Loaf. This is also an old favourite of mine. I used to have to bake at least one of these every week when I cooked at the Manor.
The Mr loved it toasted for breakfast, which was not an easy feat. It took me ages in the toaster oven to get it just the way he liked it . . . the edges crisp without being burnt and spread with lashings of butter. You can find that recipe here.
I also made this lovely Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf, which is a real personal favourite of mine. It's moist and fudgy . . . the sour cream and brown sugar in the batter doing their best work . . . with just a hint of instant coffee, which helps to highlight the rich chocolate flavour of this fabulous loaf. I often like to serve it with a sweetened orange cream cheese spread, which goes very well with this particular loaf.
*Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf*Makes one large loaf
Printable Recipe
Rich, moist and very chocolatey. A real long time favourite of mine.
6 TBS Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp instant coffee
6 ounces boiling water (3/4 cup)
115g of butter (1/2 cup)
300g of soft light brown sugar (1 1/2 cups packed)
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 medium free range eggs
200g of plain flour (2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
125ml of sour cream (1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F. gas mark 3. Butter a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan and line with baking paper.
Combine the water and coffee powder. Allow to cool. Stir in the sour cream. Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, soda and salt.
Beat the butter together with the brown sugar. Beat in the vanilla paste and the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with dry. Mix well together. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until risen and the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool ten minutes in the pan before tipping out to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap tightly once cooled and let stand overnight before cutting.
Amazingly enough though, the real star of the evening was my Cranberry and Orange Loaf. This is a recipe I have had for yonks and yonks. Moist and fruity with just the merest hint of orange, this delightful loaf always goes down a real treat, plain or spread with softened butter.
I apologize up front for the lack of super fantastic photos! I didn't get many really before the light faded. But trust me when I say, this is the best sweet loaf every. I highly recommend!
*Cranberry and Orange Loaf*
Makes one 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf
Printable Recipe
I have been making this for years. It's an old standby that has never let me down.
200g plain flour (2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
190g sugar (1 cup)
the finely grated zest of 1 large orange
(Wash it well first)
1 cup of chopped cranberries
1 medium free range egg, beaten,
2 ounces melted butter (1/4 cup)
the juice from one large orange, plus water to make up 177ml (3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and flour a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf tin, shaking out any excess butter. Alternately line with baking paper, buttering both the tin and the paper.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest. Whisk the egg, butter and orange/water together. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Scrape into your prepared loaf tin.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until well risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let stand in the pan for about 10 minutes before tipping out. Cool completely, then wrap and store for one full day before cutting.
I was recently asked how one could substitute for eggs in baking. Here is what I have found out. There are many ways to do this, all tried and true. Take your pick!
(1) Use 1 teaspoon yeast mixed with ¼ cup water
(2) Use 1 ½ tablespoon water, mixed with 1 ½ tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon baking powder
(3) 2 tbsp corn starch = 1 egg
2 tbsp arrowroot flour = 1 egg
2 tbsp potato starch = 1 egg
1 heaping tbsp soy powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg
1 tbsp soy milk powder + 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg.
1 banana = 1 egg in cakes.
Homemade egg substitute recipe
Homemade egg substitutes are less expensive and just as satisfactory. They also have few calories. Here's a low cholesterol egg substitute recipe:
1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder
2 egg whites from large eggs
4 drops of yellow food color
Sprinkle powdered milk over egg whites, then beat them with fork until smooth. Add food color, and beat until blended. This makes 1/4 cup, which is equal to 1 large egg. If you use this homemade substitute for scrambled eggs, cook it in vegetable oil or margarine so the eggs won't be too dry.
(Sources: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/eggsub.html)
You can substitute three tablespoons of mayonnaise for one egg in baking. I have tried this, and it works. You will not notice any difference in flavor or texture.
I hope this helps!
Are you sick of seeing baked donuts yet?? Good, because I keep coming up with tasty and new varieties that I am just having so much fun trying out.
I just love gingerbread. It is one of my absolute favourite cake flavours and the other day I thought to myself . . . why not Gingerbread Baked Donuts???
Why not indeed. These are fabulously spiced . . . and moist too.
I think the white chocolate drizzle dresses them up very nicely. They look just perfect to me.
And who can resist that little bit of moreishly tasty candied ginger sprinkled over top?? NOT me that's who!!
Mmmm . . . so good. One of my favourite things . . . candied ginger. I sometimes sneak a piece just for a treat. So good with chocolate too . . . especially dark chocolate . . . but . . . I digress.
I loved these. I think they are my favourite ones so far! (I know . . . I say that every time, but it's always true!!) I think YOU'LL love them too!
*White Chocolate Drizzled Gingerbread Baked Donuts*
Makes 24
Printable Recipe
Festively perfect for a holiday brunch. Nicely spiced, with a sweet white chocolate drizzle and sprinkled with bits of candied ginger. Soooo good!!
1 1/2 cups plain flour (210g)
1/4 cup packed soft light brown sugar (50g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 TBS unsweetened Cocoa powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup shortening (110g)
1/2 cup mild molasses (115ml)
1 large free range egg
1/2 cup hot water (115ml)
1 bag of white chocolate chips, melted
several chunks of candied ginger, chopped
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Lightly spray several large baked donut tins with cooking spray. You will need to use them more than once. I have two tins which hold six each, which I use twice, allowing them to cool down in between baking.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside. Beat the sugar and shortening together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir together the hot water and molasses and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the dry ingredients, beginning and ending with dry. Spoon the batter into donut hole,filling them about 1/2 of the way up. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until well risen and the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning out carefully. Repeat as needed until all the batter is used, wiping the pans clean and re-spraying in between bakings.
Once they are all baked, melt your chocolate chips, according to your package directions. Drizzle the melted chocolate over top of the donuts and sprinkle with chopped ginger before it sets. Allow to set completely before serving. Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container.
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