*Blueberry, Lime & Coconut Friands*
Makes 9
These lovely little cakes are very simple to make and oh so moreish. Almost dangerously so!
75g plain flour (1/2 cup +1 TBS)
200g icing sugar (1 1/2 cups +2 tsp)
125g ground almonds (scant 1 1/2 cups)
50g dessicated coconut, unsweetened (2/3 cup)
the grated zest of one lime
5 egg whites
175g butter, melted (3/4 cup)
fresh blueberries
icing sugar to dust
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In an attempt to lower my carb intake and eat healthier I found myself throwing together this simple and easy casserole the other day. It was quick easy, and I managed to get in two of my five a day in one fell swoop!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are cubed and tossed together with halved cherry tomatoes and courgette fingers (Zucchini to you North Americans.) I like to season them with a mix of seasoning salt, black pepper and garlic powders, but you could use fresh garlic as well.
You could also use whole chicken breasts as well if you didn't want to cut them up and just scatter the vegetables around them in the baking dish. However, doing so will take a bit longer to bake!
Over top goes a delicious mix/sauce of mayonnaise, sour cream, some of the seasoning and Parmesan cheese . . . I dollop it all over and then spread it out. works a charm.
You can also use low fat mayo and sour cream if you wish to cut back a bit on the fat and calories. A bit more cheese gets sprinkled on top prior to baking.
One thing I love about Parmesan cheese is that you don't need to use a lot to get some lovely flavours from it. It really stands out. Also a bonus.
On the plus side as well, is the fact that it is very easy to cut the recipe in half for only two people. I like recipes that I can reduce or increase according to however many people I am feeding.
Some liquid does accumulate in the dish on baking, but it is very easily drained off. It may not be the most attractive pencil in the box, but it is certainly one of the simplest and the tastiest!
*Parma Chicken Casserole*
Serves 4
This
delicious entree, is easy to make, quick, and low carb. I like to serve
with some salad and a vegetable on the side. You can add some rice for
heartier eaters.
4 single boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 medium courgette (zucchini) trimmed and cut into chunks
about 12 baby plum tomatoes, halved
120g mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
120g sour cream (1/2 cup)
180g grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a shallow
casserole dish large enough to hold all of your ingredients.
Whisk
together the seasoning salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Place the
chicken, courgette and tomatoes into a bowl. Toss together with 1/2
tsp of the spice mixture and then pour into the casserole, spreading it
out evenly. Whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream, along with
the remaining spice mixture and 3/4 of the grated cheese. Spread this
mixture over top of the chicken and vegetables. (I find this easier to
do by dolloping it over top and then spreading out the dollops) Sprinkle
the remaining cheese over all.
Can you ever have too many chicken recipes? I think not! You can look forward to some grilling recipes soon! On Monday I was the happy recipient of a new Gas BBQ, The Space Grill. I can't wait to get stuck in and using it.
Jose and Ariana came over to help Todd to get it up and running. It really wasn't that hard, but it was quite heavy, so the extra help was quite welcome. At 80 and with a hernia, Todd was most appreciative. I can't wait to tell you more about it. It is a magnificent beast! I am in love with it already! Bon Appetit!
Once the warmer months hit, I want to be out and about outdoors. I am all for ease in the kitchen and I really don't want to be chained to the stove if I can help it! Who does!
That's when my lazy streak takes over and I get inspired to do things that are quick and easy, with minimum of fuss and little or no cleaning up. Actually . . . truth be told I try to do that most of the time anyways.
Quick, easy and fuss free doesn't necessarily equate to tasteless however as this recipe I am showing today will show you!
I love tray bakes. They are so simple to put together, and if you line your baking tray with foil, there is very little to clean up!
A quick spritz of low fat cooking spray also ensures that nothing sticks, and keeps the fat down as well. You get the effect of frying without the frying.
Today I have used a mix of vegetables, all cut into similar sized chunks . . . carrots, potatoes, swede, parsnips, leeks and onions. These get seasoned and tossed together with a tiny bit of oil and scattered over the baking tray.
I like to scatter some sprigs of thyme over top also. You can use whatever vegetables you prefer. Sweet potatoes, winter squash, aubergine, peppers, courgettes, slices of corn cobs, all work well.
The vegetable world is really your oyster, but you do want to use things that will cook pretty much in a similar amount of time, or else you could add the ones that take the longest to cook first and then add others as you go along.
These get roasted at a high temperature for about 10 minutes, then you take them out, give them a stir and place sausage chipolatas on top before returning the baking tray to the oven.
A chipolata is simply a thinner sausage, rather than the thick fat ones. They cook faster.
You could of course use the larger fatter ones if you want, but they will take longer to cook. If I was using larger ones, I would parboil them for a few minutes first in a mix of simmering water and lemon juice.
This also helps remove quite a bit of fat. You just drain it away. My ex SIL taught me this trick many, many moons ago, and she was Cordon Bleu trained, so I reckon she really knew what she was doing.
Once the vegetables have gotten golden brown, and the sausages are pretty much cooked through a mix of marmalade and a few other bits gets spooned over the sausages and they get roasted again, until the sausages are glazed and finger licking tasty good!
The glaze has an almost sweet and sour property to it, which I quite like with sausages, and if some of it reaches the vegetables, then so much the better!
Altogether this is really delicious. All you need on the side is a salad to finish the deal! Your family will love this. Children really enjoy the sticky sweet savoury element of this and it is a really delicious way to get them to eat some more veg, which can't be bad!
*Sticky Sausage Tray Bake*
Serves 4
A quick and easy weeknight supper that the whole family will love. You can use any root vegetables you enjoy.
500g new potatoes, unpeeled and cut into chunks (a generous pound)
2 large leeks, trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 small swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 TBS olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic granules to taste
12 pork chipolata sausages (thinner sausages, use a meaty one with a nice flavour)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 dessertspoons of marmalade
1 TBS soy sauce
2 tsp grainy mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray
with aluminium foil (or several smaller ones). Spray with nonstick
cooking spray. Toss the vegetables together with the oil, salt, pepper
and garlic granules to taste. Scatter out into a single layer on the
baking tray. Sprinkle with the fresh thyme sprigs. Roast for 20
minutes, remove from the oven and stir.
Lay the sausages on top. Return
to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip
the sausages over.
Whisk together the marmalade, soy sauce, mustard and
vinegar. Spoon a portion of this over each sausage. Return to the
oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are
tender and the sausages are cooked through and glazed. Remove from the
oven, divide between 4 plates and serve.
Note - If you don't want to heat up the kitchen, his could be done outdoors on the BBQ using a large roasting tin that you don't mind using on the grill. Just heat up the BBQ, and then turn down to medium low, pop the tray on, close the lid and proceed. I have not done this, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. You could also do individual portions in foil packets, with the vegetables on the bottom, topped by a few chipolatas and a spoonful of the marmalade glaze, seal and roast on the grill.
We have really been blessed with beautiful weather this May/June. I am getting rather spoilt with it all. This week coming up is supposed to be even hotter still. I see a week of salads and grills coming! Bon appetit!
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Proof positive here in The English Kitchen today that I don't always cook hedonistic, unhealthy food. I actually cook/prepare a lot of healthy food. Healthy doesn't necessarily have to be blah. This salad is light and delicious with a fabulous rich creamy dressing, and yes, you CAN have your bacon and eat it too!
Two things I really love about the month of June are all of the roses which are blooming profusely in our garden at the moment and all the fresh strawberries we grow and enjoy. The roses in these photos are some of our wild roses, which are just so beautiful.
When you look at the beauty and perfection of these two things, its pretty hard not to be grateful that we are blessed to live with such abundance. Some of our berries are very tiny, almost as small as the wild strawberries that I remember from my childhood. The smaller the berry the sweeter and more concentrated the flavour. I decided to use some of these smaller berries today and make some delicious Strawberry Eclairs for us to enjoy! I had also been sent some lovely new cake sprinkles and so rather than simply dusting them with icing sugar, I glazed them with a light pink icing and sprinkled them with some of the Dr. Oetker Unicorn Confetti . . . just the name of these sprinkles automatically puts a smile on my face.
Dr. Oetker has just launched an exciting new range of sprinkles that will make even beginner bakers look good!
Sprinkles have always been a firm favourite for cake decoration, so Dr. Oetker are launching three new pots that will cover your entire cake with sprinkles.
From dazzling strands and metallic stars to brightly coloured spheres and orbs, the Ultimate Sprinkles Range turns ordinary bakes into showstopping instagramable cakes.
The Glamour & Sparkle Jar – scatter metallic stars and dazzling strands to get your cakes looking red-carpet ready.
The Unicorn Confetti Jar– be a part of the unicorn craze and shower your cake with bright coloured strands and spheres.
The Midnight Magic Jar – sprinkle a few shiny stars, orbs and strands for an out of this world cake.
I really love all of these new sprinkles, not only are the colours rich and beautiful, but I also really like the new sleeker look of the container and that lovely larger hole in the flip-top cap for ease of sprinkling!!
I used some of the gel colouring to tint the glaze a light pink also, almost the shade of the pretty petals on those roses . . .
They turned out lovely and oh-so-pretty . . . I think this was the perfect use for these smaller strawberries that might get lost amongst the larger ones. If you don't have smaller strawberries to use, by all means use larger ones, even if you have to cut them into smaller pieces, or you can use raspberries, which are also delicious.
I was really pleased with the way my choux pastry for the eclairs turned out. I am not the best piper in the world, so don't judge, lol. The art of finesse has never been one of my strengths . . .
I can draw just about anything, but don't ask me to draw a straight line . . . likewise piping. I can't pipe a straight line for love or money. Never mind . . . I was still really pleased with the results.
My pastry was perfect . . . crisp and golden brown . . . without any doughy centres. They were as light as air. Check out my tips to see how yours can be too!
*Strawberry Eclairs*
Makes 12
The
strawberries in these lovely June treats can be replaced with whatever
fruit or berries you wish at any other time of year. Light as air,
crisp and delicious!
55g butter, cubed (1/4 cup)
150ml cold water (5.2 fluid ounces or 10 TBS)
70g strong flour, sieved (1/2 cup bread flour)
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
To fill:
240ml double cream (1 cup)
2 TBS icing sugar plus extra for dusting
110g berries (3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*f/ gas mark 6. Lightly oil a large
baking sheet and line with greaseproof paper. Spritz the paper with a
little water.
Beat in the flour with a wooden spoon, beating until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball of pastry.
Done properly you should be able to stand your spoon up in the ball of dough.
(Don't laugh too hard at my lousy piping skills, lol.)
Transfer to a wire rack to cool, cutting a slice down the side of
each one with a serrated knife so that the steam can escape. Allow to
cool completely before proceeding.
Whip the
cream with he icing sugar until thick. Spoon onto the bottom of the
eclairs and top with some fresh berries. Dust the tops with some icing
sugar prior to serving.
Note - I chose to glaze the tops of mine with a thin icing
drizzle and sprinkle with cake sprinkles, tinting the glaze with a bit
of pink gel colouring. Simply measure a quantity of icing sugar into a
bowl, add a drop of colouring and whisk in enough water to give you a
thinnish consistency drizzle icing. Dribble over the eclairs and
sprinkle on the cake sprinkles. Let set prior to serving.
TIPS FOR CHOUX PASTE PERFECTION:
- Gently heat water and butter until butter has melted and then bring to the boil.
- Once boiling quickly shoot in the flour.
- Using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously together until the mixture is well combined and leaves the sides of the pan.
- Cool to hand temperature and GRADUALLY beat in only enough egg to give you a smooth dough, with a somewhat reluctant dropping texture. (Not stiff but not too loose.)
- Once piped, wet your finger and press down any peaks.
I fell in love with Friands a few years ago when I discovered a fabulous recipe on What Katie Ate. It is the single recipe which inspired me to want to buy her cookbook, and I have to say, I fell in love at first bite!!
This recipe today I am showing is inspired by one I found in the Hamlyn book 200 cakes and bakes for a raspberry and coconut version.
It only makes 9 versus 18 and is every bit as delicious as Katie's. I chose it because not only does it make fewer which is much more realistic in my tiny kitchen/home/family.
It also uses fewer egg whites, which means I have fewer egg yolks to dispose of. (Spaghetti carbonara is the perfect way to use these up by the way!)
Some of you may be wondering what exactly a friand is. A friand is a
small almond and butter cake, usually containing fruit of some kind, and
is closely related to the French Financier cake.
Meant to be just a few
bites, they are fabulously delicious and quite popular cakes in Oz and
NZ.
Today I have decided to use blueberries in the cakes, as well as finely grated lime zest . . .
Blueberries, coconut and lime are a beautiful trinity of flavours and textures.
These cakes are just gorgeous . . . delicious flavours . . . and the texture of the cake is just beautiful . . . with crisp buttery edges . . . and a light crumb that almost floats away . . .
But again, that is not all as they are also a tiny bit chewy . . . almost in a macaroon kind of a way, if you know what I mean.
I also think they are very pretty, and would work well on the tea table . . . impossible to resist . . .
In that case, I would also add ground cardamom, just a pinch and leave out the lime zest.
No need to worry if you don't have a friand pan. A friand pan is a baking tin like a muffin tin except that the holes are oval in shape, which gives you the traditional oval cakes . . . but if you don't have one, feel free to use a medium muffin tin. They will still bake up beautifully. My friand tin only has six holes and I always use 3 muffin cups to make up the lot. Not a problem.
These cakes are so beautiful and light they almost float . . . like an angel's wings . . .
I really think you are going to also fall in love . . . really . . .
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter your friand tins (or muffin tins) well and set aside.
Sift
together the flour and icing sugar. Stir in the almonds, coconut and
lime zest. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the flour
mixture. Stir in the melted butter until thoroughly combined. Divide
the mixture evenly between the prepared friand tin cups/muffin cups.
Top each with a few blueberries.
My brain is going a mile a minute here this morning thinking of other flavour combinations. Chopped fresh pear with candied or preserved ginger. Cubed apples and cinnamon. The sky is really the limit! Bon Appetit and Happy Weekend!
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