Anula's Kitchen

...

2011-12-30T11:39:00.001Z

...

2011-11-22T10:42:00.001Z

Happy 3rd Birthday to... My Blog :) and a giveaway!

2011-10-22T13:00:00.001+01:00

OK so it has been 3 years now. Wow! I haven't noticed that it's already 3 years since I started Anula's Kitchen. So many things learned, so many fantastic people met, new friendships :) and all that possible because of this blog! Amazing 3 years and I hope for many, many, many more to come.

First things first - I was 'quiet' for some time recently but that's because of: moving houses (now I have a BIG kitchen 5m x 5m!), leaving the job for now, taking care of a 16 months Baby J and on top of that being 7 months pregnant! Well... you can imagine I've been pretty busy and what's more (yes, there's more) it took us some time to get the phone line moved to the new address and Internet connected... Now I'm back for good and I hope you'll stay with me :)

To the merit - I've promised a giveaway for my followers and here it is...
The WINNER of: mini Julia Child's cookbook "The Art of French cooking", "The cookie book" and hand made (by me) crochet mug cosy is... the follower no. 36 (I've asked my Hubby to pick 1 number between 1 and 60... I know that's maybe not very 'official' but worked well and I hope you don't mind ;) ).

So the follower no. 36 is Bentobird! CONGRATULATIONS! Please send me an email with your details (or leave a comment under this post) so I can send you your present :)

Pozdrowienia!
Anula.

Sour beetroot soup - barszcz / borscht...

2011-09-23T04:43:00.000+01:00

It is widely known and liked soup, not only in Poland but mainly in Eastern Europe. I used sour beetroot juice I made earlier, but you can easily add acidity to your barszcz by adding either vinegar or lemon juice - it's not 'authentic' but you'll get pretty similar result.
Barszcz in Poland is mainly eaten on Fridays, as it's usually vegetarian soup and in many parts of Poland during Wigilia, on Christmas Eve.
I like mine with a hard boiled egg and boiled, diced potatoes, sometimes with a teaspoon of cream to make it less sour. Traditionally barszcz is served with uszka or sometimes with a krokiet on the side. It's completely up to you and your own taste how you eat it!

"The basic Polish borscht (barszcz) recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or root parsley. The ingredients are cooked for some time together to produce a clear broth (when strained), and the soup is then served as boullion in cups or in other ways. Some recipes include bacon as well, which gives the soup a distinctive "smoky" taste. (...) A key component to the taste of barszcz is acidity. While barszcz can be made easily within a few hours by simply cooking the ingredients and adding vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid; the traditional way is to prepare barszcz several days in advance and allow it to naturally sour. Depending on the technique, the level of acidity required, and the ingredients available, barszcz takes 3–7 days to prepare in this way." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 l sour beetroot juice (you can add few beetroots from the fermentation process too if you like)
- 0,5 l vegetable stock
- salt, pepper, bay leaf, 2 all spice berries

Combine all the ingredients in a pot and boil for few minutes. Serve with traditional Polish uszka or simply with boiled potatoes and/or hard boiled egg.

The above is a basic recipe. If you don't have fermented beet juice make 1-1 1/2 vegetable stock, take 3-4 beetroots, peel and dice them and boil till tender in the stock. Add vinegar or lemon juice to make the soup sour. Then add the spices as per above.

Bon appétit!

Sour, fermented beetroot juice for borscht (barszcz)...

2011-09-20T02:41:00.000+01:00

I know that it may sound horrible, but believe me it's the key ingredient for anyone who wants to try the 'real deal' which is borscht. It's very easy to make and beetroots are mainly what you need. I have to admit though, that it was my first time making sour beetroot juice, as it's my Dad who always makes it (and I had to give him a call to check the details ;) ). You can easily keep it in the kitchen, pantry, utility room but just away from the direct sunlight and maybe not next to heater etc. You can use your beets twice for it, but the second batch of the juice will be less sour.
It's something very traditional, especially in Eastern Europe, but as everything else it's slowly being forgotten. I think we should keep those traditions (not only the culinary ones) alive. Hope you'll give it a go!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 4 medium beetroots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 l tepid water

Place your beetroots in a big jar, small pot etc. add garlic and your lukewarm water. Do not cover it tightly as the air has to flow. You can cover your pot with a lid with a hole in it (those which allow steam to escape) or if you have a jar (or don't have a proper lid) just take a muslin and cover with that.

Set aside, somewhere in your kitchen, where's normal room temperature. After few days you'll notice a foam starting to form - do not touch it!!! It's an important part of the whole process. After the foam you should notice a small circles of mold on the surface. That's the sign we're waiting for - your fermented beetroot juice is ready. Carefully take all the mold, foam from the surface and discard. Now you can use the sour juice as a base of your barszcz or (like many people) just drink it bit by bit for medicinal purpose.

Recipe for borscht will follow in another post (as I have to have my fermented beet juice ready too ;) ).

Bon appétit!

Jam doughnut style muffins...

2011-09-17T20:30:00.003+01:00

Those muffins are great! Highly addictive! They're way easier than traditional doughnuts and healthier too (for what it's worth you're not deep frying them but baking). Very quick and easy to make too. I usually make them when baking the bread. The most energy consuming is actually heating the oven so once it's on the full swing I use it for baking muffins etc. and bread dough has ideal warm condition for rising.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp sunflower oil
- 280 g plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 115 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 200 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- strawberry jam
- granulated sugar for coating

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease a muffin tin (from that amount I got 16 muffins). Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
In another bowl combine lightly beaten eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Beat together until you get quite even consistency.
Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir gently until just combine - don't over mix it!
Divide the mixture evenly into your muffin wholes and place a tsp on jam onto each one - it will 'fall into' a muffin during baking. Bake for 20 minutes until muffins are golden brown and firm to the touch.

Leave the muffins in the tin to cool down for 5 minutes and then coat in the granulated sugar - just like a doughnut :) Enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Stuffed zucchini (or courgette) with tomato sauce...

2011-09-10T22:22:00.000+01:00

I don't know about other countries but in Poland we love our stuffed veges. it will normally be either stuffed peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage leaves etc. this time we tried zucchini - and it was great! You have to look for 'fat' ones so you can put as much stuffing inside as you can. The sauce is simple too - I used a big jar of ready made tomatoes pasta sauce but you can easily make your own - pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, some garlic and that's it!
Another thing - it was hard for me to give you exact quantities of the sauce needed here - the main thing is that it has to cover your stuffed veges.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 250 g minced beef
- 250 g minced pork
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
- handful of chopped, fresh parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- salt, pepper
- 4 zucchinis
- 500 ml tomato sauce

Prepare your veges - cut zucchini into pieces that will fit your oven dish and that there will be enough space to cover it with sauce (you can lay them down or stand them - like I did). With a slim end of a teaspoon (or another tool of your choice) drill out the very inner of the veges (seeds and a little bit of the pulp). Do not peal the zucchinis! Lay aside.

Mix your minced meats and season with salt and pepper. Add egg, rice, onion, fresh breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic. Mix (preferably with your hand - it's the best way to do it) until everything is well combined together. If you're not sure about seasoning you can always make a tiny meatball and fry it - then you'll know for sure if it needs more salt, garlic etc.

Using a teaspoon (or your fingers) stuff the zucchinis. Place stuffed veges in the ovenproof dish. Pour your tomato sauce on top, just enough to fill the 'gaps' between the zucchinis and cover them slightly. Cover your ovenproof dish with the lid or foil (if you don't do it the sauce will splatter all over you oven). Bake in the preheated to 200 C oven for minimum and hour (remember you had raw meat inside!). You have to adjust your baking time to your oven and the amount of the stuffed veges you have, my tip is that from the moment is tarts to cook/'bubble' you have to keep it in the oven for another 20-30 minutes minimum. Serve with rice, pasta or something you like.

Bon appétit!

Gypsy tart...

2011-09-05T01:40:00.004+01:00

I've heard so much about Gypsy tart and wanted to try it for a long time. I couldn't believe that 3 ingredients - pastry, evaporated milk and sugar can taste sooo good. My Hubby called it 'weird' - not bad not good just weird... Well, I love it! It's perfect with some strong, black coffee and a spoon full of crème fraîche.

"A gypsy tart is a type of pie made with evaporated milk, muscovado sugar (though some varieties include light brown sugar), and pie crust. It originates from the County of Kent in England. The tart is extremely sweet and is, for many people, associated with school dinners (...) Originating in Kent, the story behind this pie is that during the early part of the 20th century a lady regularly saw undernourished gypsy children playing in the fields next to her house. One day she decided to feed them but had nothing more than a pie crust, evaporated milk and brown sugar. She made the sweet tart and henceforth the tart has been a Kentish tradition, present in many Kentish bakeries and of course, a regular on school dinner menus during the 1960s, 70s and 80s." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 200 g all-butter shortcrust pastry (just enough for a round tart/flan dish)
- 410 g tin of evaporated milk
- 350 g dark muscovado sugar (I used only 300 g and for me it was sweet enough)

Heat the oven to 220 C. Dust a worktop with a little bit of flour and lay out the pastry, also dusting the top with the flour. Roll this out so that it's just larger than the tart tin. Roll it around the pin, and unroll over the tin. Press the sides down and into the edges and then roll the pin over the pastry for a perfect scalloped edge. Press fork marks all around the base. Line with baking parchment and pour in baking beans. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the pastry edge is just beginning to turn golden. Remove the baking parchment and beans, and return the pastry to the oven for 5 more minutes to dry out the base.
Meanwhile put the evaporated milk and sugar in a bowl. Using a hand-held whisk beat for 15 minutes. Don't scrimp on this, as it makes a real difference (I started beating the milk and sugar already when I've put the pastry to the oven first time and I was beating for over 15 min). You'll get a light, fluffy consistency. Pour milk/sugar mix into the pastry case. Return to the oven, having reduced the heat to 200 C for 10-15 minutes (I've baked for 18 min - by that time it doubled the size, but collapsed when cooling). It should have a slightly tacky surface and will continue to set as it cools. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Bon appétit!

Yes, indeed the best pancakes ever...!

2011-09-03T20:54:00.000+01:00

I wish I could take credit for those - but I can't. Those are really, truly, the best breakfast pancakes ever - and I've tried good few recipes... This one comes from a lovely blog 'A feast for the eyes' and the link is here.
Those pancakes are very quick and easy to make, they're rising very well and are light and fluffy. I was a little sceptical at the beginning when reading the list of ingredients... a vinegar... in pancakes... yack! But you can't taste it and that vinegar is that secret ingredient who makes everything better! So give it a go on those lazy, weekend mornings - I assure you - you'll love it!
I had them first with some maple syrup - heavenly! - and then with some strawberry yogurt - yum!...

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar (see note)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes to “sour”. This is an important step and it is called “soured milk” which is much different that sour milk. I guarantee you will NOT taste the vinegar in the final product. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soured milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but don’t over beat.

NOTE: The batter will be thick, don’t add any more liquid. Let the batter sit, undisturbed for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter, DON’T STIR. Gently dip out a 1/4 cup of batter and place it on a buttered grill or frying pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip with a spatula and brown the other side.
NOTE: This recipe only feeds about 2-3 people, but doubles or even triples nicely.
NOTE: Don’t skip the soured milk part of this recipe, you will not taste the vinegar in the pancakes. The vinegar super-activates the baking soda.

Bon appétit!

Morels Restaurant in The Carlton Hotel, Tralee...

2011-09-02T11:59:00.002+01:00

I usually don't eat in hotel's restaurants, don't really know why is that. It's easier for me to walk of the street to a restaurant than a hotel (even though I have a professional background in hotel industry...). Anyway back to the merit - I'll write you my thoughts and experience about restaurant in one of Tralee's hotels - Morels in Carlton.

I ate there twice - both times lunch - so I could compare.
First time I had baked salmon in white, cheese sauce, mashed potatoes and some choice of vegetables. The only thing I found wrong with the whole dish - not enough of that gorgeous, velvety sauce! The fish was well baked, but not overdone (nothing worse than overdone piece of salmon, which becomes very dry when you do that...). Veges were crunchy. I also had a chance of trying some chips from my friend's plate, which turned out really well and not greasy at all!
My second visit ended with another fish dish - this time it was a hake. Another example of well cooked fish with some potato rosti and selection of cooked vegetables. And again I had only one problem with the dish - not enough sauce! Fortunately that's something I can live with.
I was able to try, just a little bit, of other dishes as there were 8 of us eating there. Some of my friends had chicken - good, but a little bit overdone for my taste; vegetarian ravioli - very nice, served with fresh bread and tomato sauce; gourmet burger - big one! not for someone with a small tummy ;)

There's also a nice bar area, so if you want to stay for a drink or two after your meal you can do so.

All in all very nice place for lunch - unfortunately can't say anything about dinner. Staff couldn't do more for us and service was very quick - even though there were 8 of us, during both visits we didn't have to wait long for our order. It's good to know there's a place in Tralee, Co.Kerry where you can get a fresh fish (not frozen previously) and cooked well - just ask for an extra sauce if you happen to be there :)

P.S. I tend to order fish in a restaurant as I love seafood, but I don't like the smell in my kitchen/house after preparing a seafood dish... I don't know why but I can smell my fishy lunch/dinner for a few days after... any advice/idea how I can avoid that...? If you have any tips on that please, please, please share them with me! Thank you.

Gratin dauphinois... by Raymond Blanc...

2011-08-29T00:40:00.000+01:00

I've already made this dish once, but from a different recipe. This time it was my Hubby who made it and even though that it should be the same dish it was actually completely different one - as he used different recipe from a Raymond Blanc's book. It was very creamy and soft but even though it had great deal of cream and cheese it wasn't heavy at all!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 4 medium potatoes (about 450 g in total)
- 30 ml full fat milk
- 100 ml double cream
- pinch of nutmeg
- 100 g Gruyere cheese, grated
- 1/2 garlic clove, peeled
- salt and pepper

Peal the potatoes and slice them 2 mm thick. Do not wash the potatoes slices! You need to keep the starch in them. In a medium pan, on a medium heat bring the milk and cream to the boil. Add sliced potatoes and stir to coat them well. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Lower the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese and remove the pan from the heat. Rub 20 cm gratin dish with the garlic. Spread the potatoes mixture out on evenly in the dish. Bake in the preheated to 120 C oven for 35 minutes, there should be tiny bubbles on the surface of the dish. To brown the top place the gratin under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes. Leave to rest before serving for about 5 minutes.

Bon appétit!

Beetroot Salad with Cottage Cheese...

2011-08-27T01:34:00.000+01:00

The recipe comes from the new Jamie Olivier's book '30 minute meals'. The whole TV series is fantastic. Thanks to Jamie we no longer cook/boil our potatoes in water but instead we're using microwave to do that - easier and simpler for only the 2 of us (which usually comes to about 4-6 potatoes). I just love beetroots so I had to give this salad a try. It's very fresh and light, perfect accompaniment to a meaty dinner.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of shrink wrapped, cooked beetroot (not in vinegar)
- splash of balsamic
- olive oil, salt and pepper
- a few sprigs of basil
- few sprigs of thyme (unfortunately didn't have it)
- zest of half a lemon
- half a small pot of cottage cheese

Chop your beetroots into easy-to-eat chunks and toss in a bowl with a good splash of balsamic, some oil, salt, pepper and basil. Mix the cottage cheese with the thyme leaves, salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and the lemon zest. Put the cheese mixture on top of the beetroots and enjoy.

Bon appétit!

Eggs with chanterelle mushrooms...

2011-08-25T20:21:00.004+01:00

Got back from my holidays in Poland. Can't really say it was a proper holiday (came back more tired than before going...) - running after 14 months old Baby J, visiting family, friends, some necessary shopping and of course visit in a clinic to make sure that Baby #2 is OK. Baby #2 is in fact better than OK :) growing and healthy and I also know... it's a girl to! My Hubby is doomed :P he'll have to start sitting on the toilet... :P

Anyway back to the merit. So I had one of my all time favourite breakfasts in Poland. As I can't get those mushrooms here it was something I was craving for a looong time. It couldn't be more simply but it's so good and it reminds my about all those great summer holidays spent in the county at my Nan's.
All you need is some eggs and chanterelle mushrooms - I took advantage of my mother-in-law organic eggs from her own hens and freshly picked mushrooms :) YUM!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs, beaten
- few chanterelle mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt and pepper

In a small frying pan melt the butter, add your cleaned chanterelle mushrooms (don't wash them or anything like that, just dust off any soil, leaves etc. Season with salt and pepper and fry your mushrooms for a minute. Add beaten eggs and make a scramble eggs in a consistency you like the most. Serve with some fresh roll or bread.

Bon appétit!

Pasta alla genovese by Nigella Lawson...

2011-07-23T19:48:00.000+01:00

I like Nigella a lot. Her recipes aren't too complicated and they are always a success. This one wasn't any different. We divided the amount of ingredients by half - as it's only 2 of us here and we used only olive oil for the pesto. This dish is quite quick to prepare and you have only 1 pot to clean afterwards! :) I was concerned a little about all the different textures of potatoes and pasta together but I have to admit it worked well. I liked it a lot and definitely will make it again!
Recipe comes from Nigella's new book "Kitchen" - which is very nice collection of checked, hearty and in most of the cases very quick too, family recipes.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 500g large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm slices, each slice quartered into chunks
- 500g linguine pasta
- 200g fine green beans, trimmed and cut in half
for the pesto:
- 100g basil leaves (2 fat bunches from the greengrocer, or 4 supermarket packets)
- 100g grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 100ml regular olive oil
- 100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Put the prepared potato chunks into a large saucepan with enough salted water to take the pasta later, and bring to the boil.
Cook the potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes, then add the pasta. Check the packet cooking instructions, and at about 4 minutes before the end of the specified cooking time, add the green beans. If you are using artisanal egg linguine, which takes less time, you will need to alter your strategy.
While this is bubbling away, whiz the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor. Before you drain the saucepan, remove and reserve about 1/2 cupful of the cooking liquid. Tip the drained potatoes, beans and pasta back into the dry pan.
Add the pesto from the processor and enough cooking water to give a runny sauce that coats the strands of pasta as you work it through with a fork or pasta claw. Serve immediately.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #19 Noodles, makaron, lane kluski...

2011-07-14T20:23:00.012+01:00

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

I simply couldn't miss that one and I didn't have to as my Hubby made good few versions of this month's challenge. For me it was also an occasion to finally buy him a pasta machine :) He's delighted!

Noodles, in polish -> makaron, is very popular in Poland. You can't have your traditional Sunday dinner without clear chicken broth with home made egg noodles. We also made popular in Poland 'lane kluski' which could be done for the broth, tomato soup (like in our situation this time) or I also like them for my breakfast made in simmering milk.

How to make it...

Egg noodles
for a portion for one person you'll need:
- 1 egg
- 100 g plain flour

Mix your egg with the flour and keep kneading till you have a nice, pealabe dough. Leave to rest from 30 min to 2 hours max.

Before rolling knead the dough for a minute again. Flour your work surface if you need to, to prevent dough from sticking. If you're using pasta machine your dough has to be quite tough, not too sticky so it will go through the rolls easily. Take your dough through the rolls on each size few times before cutting into your chosen noodle shape.

Throw on a boiling, slated water for literally 2 minutes! If you're using dry pasta it has to be boiled considerably longer.

We had 2 pasta dinners.

First sweet and very popular version from Poland - served with blueberry sauce and cream fraiche. We always mix the cream well with the noodles and then pour the blueberry (or strawberry) sauce over it. Perfect for summer days!

Second - simple tuna&tomato sauce. Just fry a chopped shallot on a little bit of oil, add a medium can of tuna meat and fry for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 500 ml tomato sauce, some herbs of your choice and bring to the boil. Ready to be served!

Lane Kluski
Last but not least were my favourite (and little Baby J favourite!) lane kluski.
Take 1 egg and beat it lightly. Add around 2 spoons of plain flour and mix. you should aim for a 'custard consistency'. Have your soup/milk simmering a little - it can't boil on full power or your kluski will disintegrate!!! Pour little by little your egg/flour mixture and you'll see your lane kluski forming on the top. Done.

Bon appétit!

Polish white cheese - twarog / twarozek...

2011-07-04T20:12:00.000+01:00

I just love twarozek! But unfortunately you can't buy it here in Ireland so my Hubby decided to make one. It's not so complicated as one may think. I remember when my Granny used to make it from fresh cow's milk. I was a little sceptical if this will work with the pasteurised milk but it did! And what a result!

"Quark is a type of fresh cheese, also known as tvorog (from the Russian творог), topfen (from the Austrian name), biezpiens (from Latvian), and varškė (from Lithuanian). It is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denaturation of milk proteins is met, and then strained. Dictionaries usually translate it as curd cheese or cottage cheese, although most commercial varieties of cottage cheese are made with rennet, whereas traditional quark is not. It is soft, white and unaged, similar to some types of fromage frais. It is distinct from ricotta because ricotta (Italian: recooked) is made from scalded whey. Quark usually has much lower fat content (about the same as yoghurt) than cream cheeses and has no salt added." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 6 l of full fat milk (can't be skimmed as you won't get a lot of cheese)
- 0,5 l of buttermilk
From that amount you'll get about 1,3 kg ready to be eaten twarog.
Equipment:
- BIG pot
- muslin cloth
- sieve

It's ideal to start making your cheese in the evening. Pour all the milk into a big pot and add the buttermilk, cover with a lid. Leave it on the stove or somewhere in the kitchen over night. Just let it be and let all the bacterias work.
Next day morning put it on the hob and start warming up, but very little and very slowly. You can't boil it, Hubby brings the temp up to 45C max 50C and keeps it that way for about 15 minutes. By that time you'll see how cheese is starting to form. Stir from time to time to spread the heat evenly.

Place your muslin cloth on the sieve and start pouring your milk/buttermilk mixture through it. You have to be patient with it - my Hubby complicates things here even more by first pouring it through a fine metal sieve and then putting whats left in the sieve onto a muslin cloth - you may call it double sieving ;) Once you've poured everything leave it to drain - if you want very firm, drier cheese you can squeeze your cheese a little bit - we just leave it like that for a good hour or two.
your cheese will keep well in the fridge for up to a week.

Cheese - Irish Ardrahan...

2011-06-30T13:54:00.003+01:00

I can tell you one thing straight away - Ardrahan cheese is something for brave people and those who aren't afraid of strong(!!!) smells... My Hubby said it smells like pig pen... well there's a hint of truth in that...
Ardrahan cheese is a goat's cheese produced in Co.Cork, Ireland. It's very strong - both in flavour and taste.

Ardrahan is a type of semi-soft cheese with a pungent aroma, Ardrahan cheese has buttery textured honey-coloured centre with a complex delicate flavour. It has a washed rind which grows into a golden colour, and its size and weight tend to vary slightly due to the fact that it is a hand-made product. In general the large wheel weighs about 1.5 kg. There is also a small consumer wheel which weighs 300g. It is yellow-coloured.
Ardrahan also develops a nutty flavour with maturity. It has a unique flavour that lingers, leaving a very pleasant after-taste. It contains only 25% fat approximately. It is hand made using traditional methods and only whole milk and vegetarian rennet are used.

I have to admit - it's not my favourite goat's cheese and I won't buy it again... too strong for my delicate palete ;)

I'm still alive...and got some BIG news for you!

2011-06-28T13:59:00.004+01:00

I'm still alive. Don't worry about me :) Thank you for all the emails/notes asking how am I and if everything is fine. To be honest it's more than fine - which is also a reason for my recent absence...

Well... So... I'm pregnant guys! Yes, Baby J was a year old only on the 7th June, but we wanted another one asap so they can grow/play together. My second baby is due... 31st December, so I'll have a little present for either Christmas or New Year :D Can't wait - and quietly hoping it will be a boy this time (not that I'm http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifso obsessed about that - anything will do, as long as it's well and healthy I don't care!).

I wasn't cooking/baking much recently and so I wasn't present here either because I was sick like a cat... even a smell of food would make me feel very bad (and whoever called them morning sickness was wrong! anytime of the day or night!)... It's all gone now and I'm back to the kitchen :)

P.S. Got a new blog which you can find HERE. I wanted to share with you more than just my cooking/baking. I wanted for yuo to know ME and I wanted to share with you a little bit of my everyday life...

French onion soup - Soupe à l'oignon...

2011-05-15T11:57:00.000+01:00

I'm not a huge fan of onion... to be honest I'm hardly a fan at all... and the reason to that is that onion doesn't go well with me. Raw onion is OK, diced in a salad or on a sandwich but cooked, fired etc. onion kills me... I always(!) have such a huge stomach ache after I eat it that I simply stopped all together.
French onion soup is something my Hubby always wanted to try and he finally did. He loved the soup! I liked it. I was surprised by it's sweet taste and nice soft texture and I have to admit I really liked it, but then again... pain came after about half an hour after eating.
If you like onions try this recipe! You'll love it!
P.S. My Hubby used a recipe from Raymond Blanc's book and that's the exact recipe below.

"French onion soup (Soupe à l'oignon) is an onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings... Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as Roman times. They were, throughout history, seen as food for poor people, as onions were plentiful and easy to grow. The modern version of this soup originates in France in the 18th century, made from beef broth, and caramelized onions. It is often finished by being placed under a broiler in a ramekin traditionally with croutons and gruyère melted on top. The crouton on top is reminiscent of ancient soups." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 medium Roscoff or Spanish onions, cut in half and then sliced into 3mm slices
- 1 tbsp plain flour, toasted in a preheated oven 170°C for 30 minutes
- 200 ml dry white wine, boiled for 30 seconds to remove the alcohol
- 1.5 l of boiling water (beef or chicken stock can be used)
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
Croutons to serve:
- 12 slices of Baguette, cut 1 cm thick
- 150 Gruyère cheese, grated ( Hubby used Cheddar)

On a high heat, in a large non-stick saucepan, melt the butter without letting it brown. Add the onions and soften for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with 10 pinches of salt and 2 pinches of pepper.
Continue cooking the onions for 20–30 minutes to achieve an even, rich brown caramel colour. Stir every 2–3 minutes to prevent burning. Stir the flour into the caramelized onions and mix thoroughly. Gradually stir in the white wine and one third of the boiling water. Whisk well and add the remaining water. Bring to the boil, skim off any impurities from the surface and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning, adding the sugar if required.
Arrange the baguette slices on a baking tray and sprinkle two thirds of the grated Gruyère over them. Place under a hot grill for 3–4 minutes to melt and slightly brown the cheese. Serve the soup in bowls, with the croûtons on top. Serve the remaining Gruyère separately.

Bon appétit!

How to arrange a cheese board - a cheese clock...

2011-05-05T10:35:00.004+01:00

OK so I'm writing here about different cheeses and I'm encouraging you to try different kind soft cheeses: goat's cheese, blue cheese, hard cheeses etc. because even if you wouldn't like some of them - you'll know you tired it, and you know how it tastes (which may be a very precious information in the future, you never know).

I must admit that I don't (maybe not properly) know how to arrange a cheese board and what kind of wine to serve with different kinds of cheeses. But hey - life is a lesson and the fact that I'm not an expert in that matter doesn't mean that I can't enjoy it! So I did a small research online and found few useful information, some with very handy photos and diagrams.

"Your first cheese should be a mild one found using the mild icon and placed at the 6 o'clock position on your plate to begin your cheese flight.
Arrange your selected cheeses in a clock wise manner starting at 6 o’clock position and use the icons 9-12 o'clock , or 12-3 o'clock , or 3-6 o'clock in this step-by-step manner – you may skip icons or select more than one cheese per icon.
Alternate cheese selections between milk types and textures to create balance and harmony." - by Arisanalcheese.com
It's nice to have some fruit as well, obvious choices are: grapes, pears, apples and other fruits that are in season (like berries for example). I'd say that wine (for me at least) will be a matter of taste more than what someone thinks should be right - so experiment here!

!!!YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!!!
Now I have to share with you something that my Hubby discovered - well maybe not himself personally but Jamie Oliver in one of his shows. So you take a slice of cheese (about 5 mm), a hard cheese like Cheddar, you spread some honey on it and you sprinkle it with.... ground coffee! Yes, ground coffee, a pinch will do.
Trust me on this one. When he approached me with this first time I told him his out of his mind! Oh, I was SO wrong! All our guests who are popping for lunch or just a coffee are now converted! Once you try it - you'll never stop.
Please DO try, do it for me (and you'll be really doing it for yourself!) and the PLEASE DO let me know how you liked it - I'm so curious as till now I haven't met anyone who didn't like that combination....

Spaghetti with curried chicken balls...

2011-05-03T22:15:00.004+01:00

Long time - no see... I know I've been out for a month... I hope you'll forgive me. My life is very busy lately. Lot's of things happening around me at the moment, crazy busy at work, busy at hoe with lil J and then I'm just straight to bed. As always we cook a lot - I am taking lots of pictures and writing notes on the side but I have literally no time to put it on the blog. But I promise ti be better - for both: YOU and me.

So we're back to business with one of our family's favourites: I'll be boring here - it's another(!) John Torode's recipe (I just love what he does with a humble chicken, if you don't have his book yet - what are you waiting for!?!). So if you like Indian food and want something on the budget, but something which definitely won't taste like something on the budget... you have to try this one!
P.S. It freezes well too, so don't be afraid to make more :)

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons curry powder (I have medium and it was perfect)
- 50 ml milk
- 100 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 kg chicken mince (we buy whole chicken, take the meat off and mince it, carcase is then perfect for broth!)
- 1 handful chopped parsley
- 500 g dried spaghetti
- 300 ml double cream
- salt and pepper

Put the onion, oil and curry powder, salt and pepper in a large casserole. turn the heat to medium and cook slowly the onions until just soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and take out the onions, leaving the oil behind.
In a bowl combine half the fried onion with milk and breadcrumbs. Add chicken mince, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix very well to form a paste. Roll into balls the size of a ping pong ball.
Put the casserole over a high heat and add the meatballs. Cook for 10 minutes, turning to brawn all the sides. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti.

When meatballs are browned, add rest of the onions and cream. Bring to the boil. Taste and season if necessary. Cook for another 5 minutes then turn the heat off.
Mix the spaghetti with the sauce and meatballs and enjoy while hot!

Bon appétit!

The Daring Bakers #17 Yeasted meringue coffee cake...

2011-03-26T21:06:00.007Z

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Made it exactly on the 13th March for my Bday! It was delicious, but what's not to like if you're a BIG fun of meringue and yeasted cakes! :D So THANK YOU very much for thins month's challenge! It was perfect!
The dough itself was very easy, fuss free and what's more successful! As I have to assure you that it's not so easy(!) to make a yeasted dough and make it rise (both during improving and during baking!). This recipe is a keeper! If not for the 'full' version with the meringue filling, for the dough and the method itself!
I've opted for the Jamie's version as I was expecting some guests and didn't know if they would like 'Indian' flare... though, I would love it!
I've changed the list of ingredients for the filling and added a hand full of sultanas - worked perfectly! :)

How to make it...

Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
- 4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
- ¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
- 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
- ¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
- ½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:
Jamie’s version:
- 1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
Anula's Notes: - I also added a hand full of sultanas! :)

Egg wash:
- 1 beaten egg
- Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

Prepare the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:
In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:
Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).
Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.
Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Bon appétit!

Flour - the mystery unsolved...

2011-03-19T09:50:00.000Z

I know that usually I don't write any kind of food articles here on my blog but... but i was always confused about different types of flour and which flour is the best for baking bread, cookies, sponge cake etc. So I think I'm not alone with those dilemmas... Anyway that's what I found during my research online and I would like to share it with you to save you those hours browsing and looking for the answer ;)
I think of writing more food related articles - please let me know if you'll be interested in them in the future! All feedback welcome!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First why flour is called flour...
"The word "flour" is originally a variant of the word "flower". Both derive from the Old French fleur or flour, which had the literal meaning "blossom," and a figurative meaning "the finest." The phrase "fleur de farine" meant "the finest part of the meal," since flour resulted from the elimination of coarse and unwanted matter from the grain during milling."

What was the first flour...
"Approximately 9000 BC it was discovered that wheat seeds could be crushed between simple grindstones to make flour. Around 3000 BC the Egyptians introduced yeast. The Romans were the first to grind corn on cone mills and in 1879, the beginning of the Industrial Era, the first steam mill was erected in London. In the 1930s began enrichment of some flour with Iron, Niacin, Thiamine and Riboflavin. In the 1940s mills started to enrich flour and Folic Acid was added to the list in the 1990s."

FLOURS:

Unbleached flour is simply flour that has not undergone bleaching and therefore does not have the color of "white" flour. An example of this would be the Graham flour. Sylvester Graham was against using bleaching agents, as being unhealthy, and John Harvey Kellogg, influenced by Graham, invented the cereal Corn Flakes.
Bleached flour is any flour with a whitening agent added and is referred to as Refined flour.
Plain flour is a flour that does not have a leavening agent (typically baking powder) is called all-purpose or plain flour. Cookies are usually prepared using this type of flour.
Self-rising flour is a flour when leavening agents are used with it, especially those with significant gluten content, to produce lighter and softer baked products by embedding small gas bubbles. Self-raising (or self-rising) flour is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. It was invented by Henry Jones and patented in 1845 (self-raising flour is typically composed of the following ratio: 1 cup (100 g) flour + 1 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder + a pinch to ½ teaspoon (1 g or less) salt).
Enriched flour is when during the process of making flour nutrients are lost. Some of these nutrients are replaced during refining and the result is "enriched flour".

TYPES of flour:

Explaining the more common terminology and highlighting a few pitfalls that the uninformed would simply never realise were there. The most useful advice is to read flour packaging and be aware of what it does not tell you.

Wheat
The most effective grain for bread-making is wheat. It tastes good - nutty with no bitterness - and it performs consistently well. An ear of wheat has all the ingredients for a good loaf: starch for bulk to feed the yeast and to turn a golden brown during cooking; germ to give essential fats and oils which enhance breads nutritional value; bran to help our digestive systems; and gluten which allows bread to stretch and rise.

Strong Flour
The primary rule for producing a really good wheat loaf is to use strong bread flour. What differentiates a bread flour from flour more suited to making cakes and biscuits, is the gluten content. Gluten is a protein present in all wheat in varying amounts. Wheat grown in hot, dry summers in a short season will have a higher gluten content. These wheats are known as hard or strong. The high gluten content will ensure an extensive and even rise and a lighter loaf.

Stone ground 100% Wholewheat or Wholemeal Flour
As the name suggests, this flour is ground on a traditional millstone and made from the whole grain of the wheat, from which nothing is extracted and to which nothing is added. There is no difference between wholewheat and wholemeal flour, unless the packaging on wholemeal flour states that barley and/or rye are added to the wheat.
When wholemeal has been stone ground, it will be stated on the packaging. If it does not say this, the chances are that the flour is reconstituted. In other words, it is a roller-milled flour, which is bleached and to which the bulk of the bran and wheat germ removed by the roller-milling process has been returned.

80% - 90% Extraction Flours
Between 10% and 20% of the bran (the outside layer of the wheat) is sieved off to leave a finer, paler and lighter flour than 100% wholewheat. Provided it is labelled as stone ground, this is natural flour with only bran removed; it will not have been bleached or reconstituted. This type of flour is sometimes called wheatmeal and produces a loaf of a finer flavour and texture than wholewheat.

Strong White Flour
The best strong white flour is stone ground which is then sieved to remove most of the bran and the germ which constitutes almost all of the nutritional value. A by-product of this process is the wheat endosperm, which is known as semolina. Strong white flour will make a light and creamy bread which is best eaten very fresh.
Unless the packaging says it is unbleached the flour will have gone through a bleaching process, inspired by a desire for whiter-than-white bread in the 19th Century. Unbleached white flour is a pale cream colour.

Granary-type Flour
This is a combination of 80% - 90% extraction flour and malted wheat or barley flour. Malted wheat or barley has been allowed to start to germinate, thus releasing some of the sugars locked up in the germ. The result is a bread that has a characteristic sweet nutty flavour, much favoured by many people.
Beware additives to granary type flours. Unless the packaging states that it is stone ground wheatmeal with added malted grain, it is almost certain to be roller-milled flour with added caramel, bran, molasses and malt extract.

Brown Flour
This is not normally suitable for making a good bread unless it is a strong brown flour, but it is worth mentioning here as the brown in its name will usually be caramel. Unless the packaging tells you otherwise, it is roller-milled bleached flour with caramel and sometimes some bran added. This is another reconstituted flour.

Other Flours
There are many other flours that are used in bread-making. The most commonly used ones will be covered here.
For people with gluten intolerance it is often wheat which is the main problem. Flours such as barley, rye and oats all have very low gluten content but it is hard to make a palatable risen bread, in the European sense, with non-wheat flours. They tend to be heavier and doughier than conventional bread.

Barley
Barley produces a flour with lower gluten content than wheat and it therefore does not rise as well. It makes a sweeter bread and is an excellent alternative for people who are wheat intolerant. Barley flour, when used 50:50 with wheat flour, makes a flavoursome and sweet bread. Northern British breads and bannocks were traditionally made using barley, which is better suited to growing in cooler and wetter conditions.

Rye
Rye was one of the staple grains of Britain in the Middle Ages and was used with wheat flour to produce maslin flour. Rye flour alone is unstable, resulting in very dense bread2 and it is almost always used with wheat to produce bread with a rich nutty taste.

Spelt
Spelt is an ancient grain which was used throughout Europe. It almost died out in the 19th Century as it is a low-yielding grain and therefore not so commercially viable as other flour grains. Some people who are slightly wheat intolerant are able to eat spelt. It is a fine flour which produces loaves which are not dissimilar to those made using maslin.

And The Rest...

Oats have largely disappeared from modern bread-making, although as they have very little gluten they are an alternative to wheat for those who cannot eat gluten. The main use for oatmeal historically has been for flat breads and bannocks in Scotland and northern England. It is also popular as an element of multi-grain flours in continental Europe.

Maize - or cornmeal - is the yellow meal ground from sweetcorn and is used to make Italian polenta, and Southern corn bread in the USA. Both are non-yeast based breads. Broa is a Portuguese corn bread made with yeast and provides an alternative for people with gluten intolerance.

Rice and rice flour are not suitable for bread-making except as additives to a wheat flour-based loaf, or as unleavened breads.

Soya flour is added to conventional bread dough to enrich it.

Chickpea or lentil flour is used to make unleavened naans and chapattis.

Flour type numbers
In some markets, the different available flour varieties are labeled according to the ash mass ("mineral content") that remains after a sample is incinerated in a laboratory oven (typically at 550 °C or 900 °C, see international standards ISO 2171 and ICC 104/1). This is an easily verified indicator for the fraction of the whole grain remains in the flour, because the mineral content of the starchy endosperm is much lower than that of the outer parts of the grain. Flour made from all parts of the grain (extraction rate: 100%) leaves about 2 g ash or more per 100 g dry flour. Plain white flour (extraction rate: 50–60%) leaves only about 0.4 g.

- German flour type numbers (Mehltypen) indicate the amount of ash (measured in milligrams) obtained from 100 g of the dry mass of this flour. Standard wheat flours (defined in DIN 10355) range from type 405 for normal white wheat flour for baking, to strong bread flour types 550, 650, 812, and the darker types 1050 and 1600 for wholegrain breads.
- French flour type numbers (type de farine) are a factor 10 smaller than those used in Germany, because they indicate the ash content (in milligrams) per 10 g flour. Type 55 is the standard, hard-wheat white flour for baking, including puff pastries ("pâte feuilletée"). Type 45 is often called pastry flour, but is generally from a softer wheat (this corresponds to what older French texts call "farine de gruau", used for croissants, for instance[11]). Types 65, 80, and 110 are strong bread flours of increasing darkness, and type 150 is a wholemeal flour.
- In the United States and the United Kingdom, no numbered standardized flour types are defined, and the ash mass is only rarely given on the label by flour manufacturers. However, the legally required standard nutrition label specifies the protein content of the flour, which is also a way for comparing the extraction rates of different available flour types.

In general, as the extraction rate of the flour increases, so do both the protein and the ash content. However, as the extraction rate approaches 100% (whole meal), the protein content drops slightly, while the ash content continues to rise.

Where to buy flour
Fortunately most supermarkets these days stock a variety of proper flours. However, a greater choice can be found in wholefood shops and farm shops. There are also a number of watermills and windmills that sell their own flour, with many products available to order on the web.

Measuring flour
Whenever possible, flour should be measured using a scale. With a good digital scale with fast response, it is actually easier to measure flour by simply pouring it into a bowl on the scale and stopping when you hit the mark.

If you do not own a scale and need to use a measuring cup, then make sure you use a dry measuring cup. Scoop the sifted flour into the cup and level with a flat straight edge (like a bench scraper or ruler). You'll get really close to 125 g per cup with this technique - but you have to make sure you sift your flour. One easy and mostly effective way to do this is to store your flour in a large air tight container. I use a pickling jar big enough to hold a 5 pound bag of flour with room to spare. Before measuring, pick up the container and shake it so you incorporate as much of the air in the jar into the flour as possible. It works best if the jar is half air and half flour. Once you've done this, let it sit for a few minutes so you don't get a face full of flour when you open the lid. Then scoop and level.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think that's all. I hope it helped you in some way. I'm sure I didn't cover all the topics I could, but it really is a huge part of baking/cooking world. If you have any suggestions, advice, information you would like to share with me and others I'll be more than happy to include it under my article :) For now - happy baking!

Resources:
- Wikipedia.org
- Cooking for engineers
- h2g2
- British Nutrition Foundation
- bbc.co.uk/food

Full Irish breakfast and... Happy St.Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T11:20:00.005Z

"In Ireland, as elsewhere, the exact constituents of a full breakfast vary, depending on geographical area, personal taste and cultural affiliation. Traditionally, the most common ingredients are bacon rashers, sausages, fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, sliced tomato, and fried potato. Sauteed mushrooms are also sometimes included, as well as liver (although popularity has declined in recent years), and brown soda bread.[citation needed] A full Irish breakfast may be accompanied with a strong Irish Breakfast tea such as Barry's Tea, Lyons Tea, or Bewley's breakfast blend served with milk. Fried potato bread, farl, potato farl or toast is often served as an alternative to brown soda bread." - by Wikipedia.org

Full Irish breakfast isn't something we will have regularly. It's a treat and there are few reasons to it: first it's time consuming and secondly it isn't the healthiest of the options. I have a sentiment to this so popular (not only with the tourists) dish. It was the very first(!) meal/ breakfast we had when we've emigrated to Ireland... It was almost 5 years ago...

The traditional full Irish was described above - but you rarely get that anymore. I opted for the 'musts':
- black pudding
- white pudding
- sausages
- tomatoes
- baked beans
- egg
- bacon
- brown soda bread for me and toasts for my Hubby
Two slices/pieces of each will be well than enough per person. Basically you put everything on the hot pan and wait. First you fry bacon (or you do it under the grill) so it has time to brown/crisp properly, then you follow with the sausages and puddings. At the end you add tomatoes and on a separate pan (or if you have a big one) you fry the eggs (the way you most like it, doesn't have to be sunny side up!). I reheated my baked beans in the microwave.
After such a nice (and filling!) breakfast we had nice strong cup of coffee with whipped cream and a dollop of Baileys :)

So the only thing left ->

"Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!"

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Almond & Orange Biscuits...

2011-03-15T02:16:00.000Z

It was my BDay yesterday and yes I baked a cake but I also baked some cookies. I wanted to make my Dad's cookies but decided against it and instead I tried something completely new. The Cointreau is completely my idea and it worked beautiful!!! Hope you'll try them one day - oh, just one thing, in the recipe for the basic almond cookies it says that I should have approx. 25 biscuits, well I got only 16 out of that amount of the dough, but it can be easily doubled - which I'll do next time!

About Cointreau liqueur..."it's a brand of triple sec liqueur, and is produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, a suburb of Angers, France. Cointreau sources its bitter oranges from all over the world, usually Spain, Brazil and Saint-Raphaël, Haiti. Alexis Lichine states that its primitive name was "Curaçao Blanco Triple Sec". In addition to being imbibed as an apéritif, Cointreau is sometimes used as a digestive. Cointreau is considered to be either a triple sec or a unique category of liqueur. With a 40% alcohol content, Cointreau is strong for triple sec, which usually has an alcohol content of between 15 and 40 percent." - by Wikipedia.org
For more info go to the official web site
P.S. I love this liqueur :D

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 120 g plain flour
- 30 g ground almonds
- 60 g caster sugar
- 60 g butter
- 1 egg yolk (from a large egg)
- 2 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur
For the icing
- 90 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 30 g nibbed almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Mix the sieved flour, ground almonds and sugar in a large bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and Cointreau and mix together well to form a dough. Leave to rest for 10 min.
On a lightly floured surface roll the dough until approx. 4 mm thick. Cut into shapes of your choice. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to coll completely on a wire rack.
To make the icing: sift the icing sugar and add the Cointreau and water. Stir until smooth, adding more water if required. Spoon a little icing into the centre of each biscuit and smooth out to the edges. Sprinkle immediately with toasted almonds and leave to set.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #18 and we're going to Peru...

2011-03-14T04:04:00.005Z

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

This challenge was great! Loved the Papas although I would be adding more 'spice' to the filling in the future - as I was preparing the filling and tasted, it was great but... once covered with the dough the 'heat' somehow disappeared and it wasn't spicy enough - for both me and and my Hubby.
I didn't make another part of this month's challenge: the cheviche. I would love to try it but unfortunately I don't have an access to a good, fresh fish and didn't want to try it with something that might give me an upset tummy etc. ... but I have it on my 'to do' list!

How to make it...

For the dough:
- 2¼ lb (1 kg) russet potatoes
- 1 large egg

For the filling:
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) of a light flavored oil
- ½ lb (250 grams) ground (minced) beef
- 6 black olives, pitted and chopped (use more if you love olives) - I used more, about 12 in total, as I love olives!
- 3 hard boiled large eggs, chopped - I used only 2
- 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup (240 ml))
- ½ cup (120 ml) (90 gm) (3 oz) raisins, soaked in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water for 10 minutes, then minced
- 1 finely diced aji pepper (ok to sub jalapeño or other pepper – if you are shy about heat, use less) - I used chili
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press (if you love garlic, add more)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) (1/8 oz) ground cumin (use more if you like cumin)
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) (2 gm) (1/16 oz) sweet paprika
- ¼ c. white wine, water or beef stock for deglazing - didn't use anything to deglaze my pan as I thought that the filling would be too wet
- salt and pepper to taste

For the final preparation:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour
- dash cayenne pepper
- dash salt
- 1 cup dry (240 ml) (110 gm) (4 oz) or fresh (240 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) bread crumbs (you can use regular, panko, make your own or use store-bought)

Oil for frying (enough for 2” (50 mm) in a heavy pan like a medium sized dutch oven).

In order to save time, you can boil the potatoes, and while they are cooling, you can make the filling. While that is cooling, you can make the potato “dough.” In this way, little time is spent waiting for anything to cool.

For the dough:
Boil the potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Remove them from the water and cool. Once the potatoes have cooled, peel them and mash them with a potato masher or force them through a potato ricer (preferred).
Add egg, salt and pepper and knead “dough” thoroughly to ensure that ingredients are well combined and uniformly distributed. While the potatoes cool down before finishing the dough, you can make the filling.

Filling:
Gently brown onion and garlic in oil (about 5 minutes). Add the chili pepper and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add ground beef and brown. Add raisins, cumin and paprika and cook briefly (a few seconds). Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add olives and cook for a few moments longer. Add hard boiled eggs and fold in off heat. Allow filling to cool before forming “papas.”

Forming and frying the papas:
Use three small bowls to prepare the papas. In one, combine flour, cayenne and salt. In the second, a beaten egg with a tiny bit of water. Put bread crumbs in the third
Flour your hands and scoop up 1/6 of the total dough to make a round pancake with your hands. Make a slight indentation in the middle for the filling.
Spoon a generous amount of filling into the center and then roll the potato closed, forming a smooth, potato-shaped casing around the filling. Repeat with all dough (you should have about 6 papas). Heat 1 ½ - 2 inches (4 – 5 cm) of oil in a pan to about 350 – 375° F (175 - 190°C). Dip each papa in the three bowls to coat: first roll in flour, then dip in egg, then roll in bread crumbs.
Fry the papas (in batches if necessary) about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip once in the middle of frying to brown both sides. Drain on paper towel and store in a 200ºF (95ºC) (gas mark ¼) oven if frying in batches.
Serve with salsa criolla (or other sauce of preference) immediately. I served with Mexican salsa (South America as well so why not ;) ).

Bon appétit!

P.S. Happy Birthday to ME!!! :) Yes, it's my BDay today! I'm... 18 + VAT ;)
And all DBs should know what I've baked for my birthday ;) and to those who aren't DBs - you'll all know on the 27th March!

Beer-braised pork knuckles -> pig's feet for you and me ;)...

2011-03-08T20:51:00.000Z

OK, I have to be honest here - I wasn't a huge fan of pork knuckles/pig's feet/ham hocks - or whatever you want to call them - but there is one (well now two) ways I'll eat them. First is the jellied pig's feet and now this! Recipe taken from new Nigella Lawson's book 'Kitchen'. If you only can - try it! Especially when you can get pig's feet at butcher's for nothing! This dish is what I call a 'men's food' ;)
Oh, and just one thing - I know that in some countries (like Poland) it is 'a point of honour' to eat whole pork knuckle, but trust me guys you don't want to do it... one generous pig foot is good for 2, not 1 person!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons sea salt or 1 teaspoon pouring salt
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (cumin seeds)
- 2 garlic cloves (I added 3)
- 2 pork knuckles/hocks, their rind scored
- 2 onions (I added 3)
- 2 eating apples, cored and quartered
- 4 baking potatoes or just under 1 kg main crop potatoes, cut into quarters
- 500 ml good amber or dark beer
- 500 ml boiling water (I didn't have to use it)

Preheat oven to 220 C. Put salt, caraway seeds, grated garlic and mix everything well together. Rub the mixture into the pork hocks.
Peel the onions, slice into rounds and cover the bottom of the roasting tin with them. Sit the hocks on top and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Take the tin out and quickly arrange apples, potatoes around the hocks and pour half the beer over. Put back into the oven for 2 hours and lover the temperature to 170 C.

Turn the oven up again to 220 C, baste the hocks with the rest of the beer and leave to cook at the higher temperature for another 30 minutes.
Take the tin out of the oven and transfer the apples and potatoes to a warmed dish. Lift the hocks onto a carving board, leaving the onion and juices in the tin. Put the tin on the hob over a medium heat and add 500 ml boiling water (I had enough juices and didn't have to add water), stirring to de-glaze the pan and make gravy.
Nigella doesn't write about that but my Hubby took a sieve and put onions and apples with juices through it - it made nice, thick gravy. Take the crackling off the pork and break into pieces, pull apart or carve the meat and serve with potatoes, gravy and maybe some German mustard.

Bon appétit!

Chicken with olives and lemons... a marriage made in heaven!

2011-02-26T02:00:00.000Z

Another great, great, great recipe from a great book 'Chicken' by John Torode. We eat a lot of chicken lately mainly because it's cheap and good (of course if you buy a good product in the first place!). We always buy at least free range chicken and if possible organic - but organic tends to be crazy expensive so we usually opt for the free range one ( €6 for a medium size bird).
This time we decided to roast the whole bird. I didn't want a plain roast chicken though so we grabbed the book from the shelf and picked the one for which we had all the ingredients at hand. One thing - in the future I'll only use black olives (I don't like greens anyway), as I think they are more 'earthy' and the flavour goes better with the meat.
So don't wait any longer - if you planned a chicken roast do this one! It's sooooo worth it!!!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken
- 3 whole lemons, quartered
- 24 green and black giant olives (unfortunately I didn't have the giant olives, normal had to do...)
- 1 kg new potatoes (we omitted that part and we regret the decision now...)
- 60 ml olive oil
- salt and pepper

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Fill the cavity with most of the lemons and olives and give it a good shake.
Put potatoes on a bottom of big cast-iron pot. Mix the oil with the rest of lemons and olives and squash them a bit. Put the bird in the pot on top of the potatoes and pour the oil and lemon mixture over it. Season well then put the pot into the preheated to 170 C oven and shut the door for at least 1 1/2 hours.
Check the chicken is cooked by sticking a skewer between the legs and breast: if the juice that runs out is clear it's cooked, otherwise put it back in the oven.
When done lift the chicken from the pot and pour all the bits from inside the cavity over the potatoes. Serve hot!

Bon appétit!

What makes a perfect coffee shop/cafe?...

2011-02-25T01:38:00.000Z

What makes a perfect coffee shop? Is it the location, the seize of the place, the atmosphere, the extended menu, the beautiful smell when you walk in, your favourite table where you can sit down and read a newspaper/book while sipping your coffee...? What is it for you that ticks all the right boxes?
Well, we all have our 'favourite place' for that morning black (or not for some) coffee. But I was wondering the other day what makes your favourite place favourite?! There are a lot of coffee shops in the town where I live - even though it's a rather small town. All of my friends have their favourite place - and it's rarely the same one!
I have my favourite place too... but it's not as easy as it sounds.
There are actually 2 places in town that I like to go.

First: The Franck Cafe - honestly THE best coffee in town! But I'm afraid that it's all I would order there... We tried their cakes few times and each(!) time the cake was old - and I mean old old. My Hubby found a mould on his piece! They have a big choice of cakes, cookies and I think that this is their problem. They aren't the busier place in town and because they have such a big choice, they can't possibly sell everything before it becomes and old cake/cookie. So in my opinion - cut the choice and concentrate on fewer things, but the best quality possible! OK, finished with complaining ;) My favourite is the vanilla latte - I have no idea what kind of syrup they use - but it's definitely the best one! The coffee itself is great too. My Hubby usually takes 'black' and its perfect! Not too acidic and just the right kick to it.

Second place I have in my mind is The Daily Grind. On the contrary the coffee could be better but their cakes are to die for... Personally I love the chocolate one! Smooth, rich, velvety, soooo chocolaty and always(!) fresh. They are usually crazy busy there, so they have freshly made cakes, cupcakes, cookies every morning. You can also have a lunch there - choice of freshly made sandwiches, soup of the day etc. always available. Coffee is only so-so. The normal 'black' is always too strong and you end up putting way too much sugar in it, than you would like to. The latte has always not enough milk for me - but as my Hubby says I drink 'milky coffee' not a coffee with milk ;)

To sum up - if we want to sit down, chill out and eat something sweet we would go to The Daily Grind - but if it's only the coffee we want, and usually take away one, we would go only(!) to The Franck's. Shame that those two places couldn't be one.

What makes your perfect coffee place?

P.S. Unfortunately (or maybe I'm wrong) we don't have any big coffee chains here like Starbucks or Tchibo - and I would love to try their coffee some day! Does any of you know how to buy Starbucks coffee - I saw their website and they ship orders only within the US and I'm in Ireland...! :(

Cheese - Irish Wicklow Baun, Brie...

2011-02-20T09:27:00.000Z

There was a big break in my 'cheese board' series, but today I have something special for you. I only hope that wherever you live you'll be able to taste this one :) Yes, an Irish cheese and it's a Brie! My Hubby insisted that we try Irish instead of French brie this time and I'm glad I've listened.

"Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese is a small family business in the South East of Co. Wicklow in Ireland. The Hempenstall family have been milking cows on a small dairy farm at Curranstown, Arklow for the past 50 years. John established Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese in 2005 to supplement farm income. He milks approximately 60 cows and has developed a distinctive range of cheeses using only his own pasteurised milk from his herd of Friesian cows. The cheeses are handmade, in a purpose built dairy on the farm, by the entire Hempenstall family, over seen by John. They have won gold, silver and bronze awards at, among others, the British Cheese Awards and have been recommended by John and Sally McKenna." - as per their website.

The cheese itself is very delicate - nice, soft, almost creamy texture and the taste isn't too strong. It will be perfect in a salad or generally to use for cooking, as the taste won't overpower other ingredients in your dish.
It will be perfect on a small crostini with for ex Parma ham and/or a little bit of vinegar. Good red wine like Bordeaux will be the best - as it's not too acidic and will be great with the light, creamy Wicklow Brie.

Stylish Blogger Award... and a little bit about me.

2011-02-17T12:18:00.000Z

What I nice surprise was waiting for me - an award! I know that none of us keep blogs for awards but admit it - we all like to receive them, because than we know that someone out there reads and what's more LIKES what we do! That way I know that what I do has a purpose! That I don't do that for 'nothing'. I'm happy as a child right now :)
At this point I would like to thank ALL MY FOLLOWERS (I'm actually preparing something special for you! :D ) and all my readers - those old and new ones. I'm doing all that for you too guys!!!

So back to the award I got it and now there are four conditions I have to meet.

First: thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
THANK YOU Kris for this nice surprise :) I really appreciate it!!! And you made my day - even though it's rainy and cold outside...!

Second: share seven things about myself.
That's I'm afraid - easier said than done... but I'll do my best. As the purpose of this award is also to know better the person you're awarding. So here we go:

#1 First one's easy - I was lucky enough to have found my 'better half' in this whole world and what's more... a little over 8 months ago, our small family grew to 3! We have baby girl and there's nothing better and more precious in this world to me, than this little person - especially when she hugs me that I can hardly breathe! :)

#2 I'm what, you could probably say, a Renaissance person. I love a good book (H.Cobe, C.Moore, S.Lukjanienko, T.Pratchett), a good movie (especially the ones with Travolta!), theatre (the closest to my heart is musical theater, especially Miss Saigon, Rocky Horror and Notre Dame), a good comedy (Family Guy, Allo!Allo!, Father Ted) my favourite painter - Klimt, a good music (French one is my favourite - Kaas, Bruel etc.) and I love travelling and visiting new places (on my list places to visit, amongst many others, are: Hong Kong, Thailand, OZ, USA and Canada).

#3 My biggest hobby - don't you know it by now... cooking and baking! Unfortunately I don't have much time for both recently... Working is what I mostly do these days...

#4 My biggest dream - move permanently to France and own a small B&B or a small bakery. But to be honest - I'll be happy like mad if my whole family will be together and they will all be healthy and... I wouldn't have to worry where to get money from for food, bills etc. I don't need a fancy big house, 3 cars, holidays in paradise every year... I just need my family and to lead quiet, happy life :)

#5 To have a little house... with a big kitchen... kitchen all in neutral colours with white and blue curtains, all cast iron and kitchen appliances to be ruby red! Ha! :)

#6 More about me... hmm... Let me think... I love colour green, but in kitchen - red! Couldn't choose between sea and mountains... Have a small TV addiction (The Sopranos, CSI, Criminal Minds, Grey's...). I'm stubborn, very ambitious, like to have control. I'm an enemy for a little while (I'm softie) but a friend for life!
Have a HUGE fear of heights, generally a 'chicken' but I would fight for my family like a lioness!
Hate lies, false friends, people who hurt kids(!), early mornings and Irish climate.
Love ice cream, sleep, lazy Sundays, walks with my Hubby and Baby J, good wine and French culture.

#7 To have a chance to do some good in life. To be that person who can say at the end of the road: 'yes, I've made the difference, I've done a lot of good and hopefully no one was hurt coz of me...'

Third: award 15 recently discovered great bloggers. This is probably the best part about getting the award; sharing it with others! It’s my pleasure to give a “Stylish Blogger Award” to the following amazing blogs (in no particular order):

1. Food Nerd Ciao!
2. Polish Mama on the Prairie
3. Gonna Want Seconds
4. The seaside eatery
5. Bake like a ninja
6. Kitchen butterfly
7. A sticky affair
8. Bake me away
9. Cupcake project
10. Coleen's recipes
11. Moveable Feasts
12. A bountiful kitchen
13. Desserts for breakfast
14. My so-called kitchen
15. and the last one... couldn't pick only one... it's for all of you guys! Keep the good job :)

Fourth: contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!
Already done - enjoy guys! You rock!!! :]

The Daring Cooks #17 This time we're going to... Japan!

2011-02-14T01:35:00.006Z

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

As always with Daring Kitchen - something new, something interesting and something... vary tasty! :) The most important thing is that it cost me only € 5 extra for this month's challenge! We're on a budget here so I was very happy that when reading the ingredients list I have realised that I have everything at home! The only thing I had to buy (and I had to buy it only because I really wanted it - but I could do without) was prawns.

I knew tempura but either bought take-away or had ready made, packed tempura mix... if I only knew... It's so easy to make! And waaaaay better than the ready mix! My favourite was... carrot! Yes, a humble carrot! I was a little sceptic when I saw tempura carrot - but I was soooo wrong! It so nice, sweet and tender - YUM! Second favourite was tempura prawns! But that wasn't a surprise ;)

Soba salad was something completely new to me - but it was sooo good. I didn't have a traditional buckwheat noodles but beans noodles which were waiting for something special in the cupboard - and that was it! It was fast and easy to make and the result was great! Served my soba with omelet stripes, ham, cucumber and spicy dipping sauce.

How to make it...

Hiyashi Soba

Soba Noodles
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts (2 Liters) water + 1 cup cold water, separate
- 12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.
Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Spicy Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (4 ⅔ gm) (0.16 oz) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) (0.005 oz) English mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) grape-seed oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed.

Common Hiyashi Soba Toppings:
•Thin omelet strips
•Ham
•Boiled chicken breasts
•Cucumber
•Boiled bean sprouts
•Tomatoes
•Toasted nori (Dried Seaweed)
•Green onions
•Wasabi powder
•Finely grated daikon (Japanese radish)
•Beni Shoga (Pickled Ginger)
All toppings should be julienne, finely diced or grated. Prepare and refrigerate covered until needed.

Serving:
Traditionally soba is served on a bamboo basket tray, but if you don’t have these, you can simply serve them on a plate or in a bowl. Divide up the noodles, laying them on your serving dishes. Sprinkle each one with nori. In small side bowl or cup, place 1/2 cup (120 ml) of dipping sauce into each. In separate small side dishes, serve each person a small amount of wasabi, grated daikon, and green onions.
The noodles are eaten by sprinkling the desired garnishes into the dipping sauce and eating the noodles by first dipping them into the sauce. Feel free to slurp away! Oishii!

Tempura

Ingredients:
- 1 egg yolk from a large egg
- 1 cup (240 ml) iced water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dredging
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) cornflour (also called cornstarch)
- 1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (2½ gm) (0.09 oz) baking powder
- oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
- ice water bath, for the tempura batter (a larger bowl than what will be used for the tempura should be used. Fill the large bowl with ice and some water, set aside)

Very cold vegetables and seafood of your choice ie:
•Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
•Carrot, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
•Pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, thinly sliced blanched
•Green beans, trimmed
•Green bell pepper/capsicum, seeds removed, cut into 2cm (¾ inch)-wide strips
•Assorted fresh mushrooms
•Eggplant cut into strips (traditionally it’s fanned)
•Onions sliced
Anula made: carrot, broccoli, mushrooms, apple, banana and prawns.

Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F/160°C; for seafood it should be 340°F/170°C. It is more difficult to maintain a steady temperature and produce consistent tempura if you don’t have a thermometer, but it can be done. You can test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil. If it sinks a little bit and then immediately rises to the top, the oil is ready.
Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.
Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.
Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.

Bon appétit!

9th Feb -> International Pizza Day...

2011-02-09T10:35:00.000Z

Last year I've participated and this year couldn't be any different! I didn't make traditional pizza dough this time as me and Hubby discovered something better. Puff pizza :) This time I opted for cheese pizza - so I used 3 different kinds of cheese: mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan. It's so easy to make and almost no work whatsoever - well maybe besides preparing your ingredients on the top. I know it's not a traditional pizza - and probably the whole idea of International Pizza day is to teach people how to make the traditional dough. Anyway, that's my take on the pizza day and I really hope you'll try it with the puff pastry - this kind of pizza is very light, crispy and not so filling like the traditional one (perfect for Valentine's Day ;) ).

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet ready made puff pastry
- 1 chicken breast
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 slice of ham, cut into stripes
- 1 mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup tomato concentrate
- oil of olives
- basil, black pepper, salt, paprika

Defrost your puff pastry and lay it on the baking tray - which you previously should cover with a thin layer of oil of olives so your pizza won't stuck to it. Cut chicken into small pieces and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Fry until golden brown on a little bit of oil of olives and put aside. You can use the same pan to fry mushrooms and onions till nice and soft - again put aside for later.
In a cup mix your tomato paste with salt, pepper, basil, 1 tablespoon of oil of olives and mix well.

Cover your pizza base with tomato paste. Next put your ham, chicken, mushrooms and onions as evenly as possible on the pizza. Tearing your mozzarella onto small pieces (you should never cut mozzarella with a knife - you always tear it!) place those pieces on your pizza and follow with the rest of your cheeses.
Put your ready pizza into the preheated to 200 C oven and bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown. Serve immediately.

Bon appétit!

Fish cakes...

2011-02-01T16:49:00.002Z

I know I have been away for some time lately - away from my blog I mean as I really didn't go anywhere. I'm sorry for that and I promise to be good from now :)
I had so many changes happening in my life lately that it was hard to keep up with my own private and professional life, not to mention Anula's Kitchen.
So from the beginning - I've got back to work from my maternity leave and had to leave Baby J at home with her Daddy. They are getting OK, more thank OK even. I'm at work 5 days a week 9 till 6 and have only 2 hours with my Baby in the evenings. Besides that, you would know yourself - when I finally have a day off there's million things to do: shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry and spending some quality time with the Baby.

OK enough with the complaining and back to the merit - it's a cooking blog at the end of the day ;) So, this time something very simple and quick to make. If you only have some mashed leftover potatoes (and who doesn't, I have never cooked just the right amount for 1 dinner only...).

How to make it..
Ingredients:
- some leftover mashed potatoes (I had about 1 cup)
- 1 tin of tuna or salmon (in brine rather than oil)
- flour
- 1 whole egg (lightly beaten)
- stalk of green onion, chopped
- salt, pepper, ginger powder, sweet paprika
- dry breadcrumbs for coating
- oil for frying

Mix your potatoes, tuna, egg and add just enough flour to help keeping whole mix together. Season with salt, pepper, ginger, paprika and add green onion. You should aim for a light, play dough consistency paste, that you can form into little discs. With a tablespoon take some dough into hands, form a disc and coat in breadcrumbs. Fry on a hot, oil on both sides, till golden brown. The only things raw in your mix is flour and egg - and they both need little time to cook. Serve warm with a tomato sauce/sweet chilli sauce etc.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #16 French cassoulet...

2011-01-14T03:42:00.003Z

Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

OK, I couldn't wait to make this month's challenge. As you probably know I love all things French :) I wasn't disappointed with this dish either! I had to make some changes though (because of the time).
- made chicken confit instead of duck (as that what I had in the fridge),
- used canned canneli beans in tomato sauce! (saved a day there! and you would really tell the difference with that tomato sauce in it...),
- added leek to frying onions
- and unfortunately didn't have the pork rind...
Hope you'll try to make cassoulet one day - as it's truly rewarding dish!
I made chicken confit using those directions. Came out perfect!!! :)

Cassoulet
- 5 cups/1200 ml/1100 g/39 oz dried Tarbais beans or white beans such as Great Northern or Cannelini (if you use canned beans be aware that you will need double this amount!)
- 2 pounds/900 gm fresh pork belly
- 1 onion, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 pound/450 gm pork rind
- 1 bouquet garni (tie together two sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme and one bay leaf)
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup/60 ml/55 gm duck fat
- 6 pork sausages
- 3 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 4 confit duck legs (I used chicken)

Day One

1.Place the beans in the large bowl and cover with cold water so that there are at least 2 or 3 inches (50mm or 75mm) of water above the top of the beans. Soak overnight. That was hard, right? (Beans will double in size upon soaking, so use a big bowl!)
Anula's notes - made that part quicker, bought canned beans ;)

Day Two

1. Drain and rinse the beans and place in the large pot.
2. Add the pork belly, the quartered onion, 1/4 pound/115 gm of the pork rind, and the bouquet garni.
3. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes more.
4. Let cool for 20 minutes, then discard the onion and the bouquet garni.
5. Remove the pork belly, cut it into 2-inch/5-cm squares, and set aside. (If you plan to wait another day before finishing the dish, wait to cut the pork belly until then.)
6. Strain the beans and the rind and set aside, reserving the cooking liquid separately.
7. In the sauté pan, heat all but 1 tablespoon/15 ml/15 gm of the duck fat over medium-high heat until it shimmers and becomes transparent.
8. Carefully add the sausages and brown on all sides.
9. Remove sausages and set aside, draining on paper towels.
10. In the same pan, over medium-high heat, brown the sliced onions, the garlic and the reserved squares of pork rind from the beans (not the unused pork rind; you'll need that later).

11. Once browned, remove from the heat and transfer to the blender. Add 1 tablespoon//15 ml/15 gm of the remaining duck fat and purée until smooth. Set aside.
12. Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF/180ºC/gas mark 4.
13.Place the uncooked pork rind in the bottom of a deep ovenproof non-reactive dish. You're looking to line the inside, almost like a pie crust. Arrange all your ingredients in alternating layers, beginning with a layer of beans, then sausages, then more beans, then pork belly, beans, duck confit and finally more beans, adding a dab of the onion and pork rind purée between each layer.

14. Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to just cover the beans, reserving 1 cup/240 ml in the refrigerator for later use.
15. Cook the cassoulet in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF/130ºC/gas mark ½ and cook for another hour.
16. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Day Three

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF/180ºC/gas mark 4 again.
2. Cook the cassoulet for an hour.
3. Break the crust on the top with the spoon and add 1/4 cup/60 ml of the reserved cooking liquid. (Don't get fancy. Just pile, dab, stack and pile. It doesn't have to be pretty.)
4. Reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF/130ºC/gas mark ½ and continue cooking another 15 minutes, or until screamingly hot through and through. Then serve.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Bakers #16 Christmas Stollen...

2010-12-31T14:13:00.003Z

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)
- 2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
- 5 1/2 cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel (link below to make your own)
- 1 cup (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) rum
- 12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)
- 1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds
- melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
- confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath
Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Soak the raisins
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.

To make the dough
Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.
In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath
Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.
Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.
This was before I pinched it together
Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.
Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Anula - I have baked a loaf size Stollen, in a loaf tin as it was easier for me to do.

Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!
When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #15 The art of... poaching!

2010-12-14T02:31:00.000Z

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

First few handy tips passed on by this month's hosts.
So that poaching an egg can be a success:
• Make sure to use the freshest eggs possible. Farm-fresh eggs will make for the best poached eggs. Old eggs will have a harder time with the whites spreading out all over the place when you place the egg in the water.
• Adding a bit of vinegar or acidic agent to your water will help stabilize the eggs and cook the whites faster, and keeping your water just below boiling point (about 190F) will help keep the fragile eggs from all the boiling bubble action rupturing the eggs. Also make sure to salt your poaching water well.
• The other main key to success is to crack your egg into a small bowl first, taking care not to break the yolk. Then it becomes easy to gently slide the entire egg into the water for the poaching process. Some people will also suggest swirling the poaching liquid into a bit of a vortex before sliding the egg in, in order to help keep the egg whites together. I’ve found it works fine whether or not you do this step.
• A poached egg is done when the whites are fully cooked and the yolk has just started to solidify but is still runny when you cut it open – usually three minutes. It’s ok to go a little longer though depending on your desired firmness. I like mine so the edges of yolks are cooking but the inside is still runny, so I usually let them go 30s longer.
• You can poach eggs ahead of time (about a day). Just immerse them in ice water after poaching, and then keep them in a bowl of water in the fridge. When you are ready to use them, place them in hot (not boiling) water until they are warmed through.

I've decided to make poached egg on toast with some tomatoes, lettuce and cheese - exactly the way my Hubby used to make it for me when I was popping home for lunch. This time I made one for him :) It's nice and I love all the different textures - crunchy toast and wobbly poached egg :)

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- slice of toasted bread of your choice
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 poached egg
- few lettuce leaves
- few slices of your favourite hard cheese (I used cheddar) or grated one (I used Parmesan)
- salt, pepper
Put the toast in the centre of your plate. Arrange lettuce, sliced tomato, slices of cheese as you wish, on top place carefully your poached egg (poaching instructions above). Sprinkle with some salt, pepper and enjoy! :)

My first egg came out as it should be. Nice fluffy white and soft yolk in the centre, but... the second attempt was somewhat weird... To my pure shock (and amusement) the yolk separated from the white! So I had white on one spoon and yolk on the other one!!! Is that even possible? :P You can see it on the photo above - as the yolk sits on top(!) of the white, I placed it like that ;) World of cooking is... magic :D

Bon appétit!

Plum & chocolate marmalade...

2010-11-15T19:35:00.000Z

If you like plums and chocolate (and who doesn't like chocolate?!) you'll love this marmalade. As I like both main ingredients of this sweet treat I decided to make it. The result was fantastic and I highly recommend you to try it yourself - it will be also a great idea for a home-made present for coming Christmas :)
P.S. I have to warn you though - it's highly addictive :P

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2,5 kg plums (stones removed)
- 700 g caster sugar (little less or little more depending on how ripe are your plums)
- 100 g dark chocolate (min. 70 % cocoa)

In a non stick, big pan 'fry' - covered - your plums with sugar till they are nice and soft. It will take roughly about 1,5 hour on a low heat. When your plums are soft blend them or just mash roughly (depending what consistency you would like for your marmalade). Add crushed chocolate and fry your marmalade for another good 2 hours, or more. It has to be nice and thick in consistency.
Transfer your marmalade into sterilized jars and close them straight away. Turn up side down and cover with a towel. Leave like that to cool completely. By that time the cover should be 'sucked in' and your marmalade will be perfect for minimum another year (not that it will last so long before you eat it all...).

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #14 Daring to bake... soufflé!

2010-11-14T10:52:00.000Z

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

Made it only.... 4 hours ago! I completely forgot about it... I was so excited when I saw what's for this month's challenge, but with all what's going on around me I forgot that it was already the 14th... Well, better late then never. I've used a recipe for a cheese soufflé from one of my cookbooks 'Culinaria France' (which I had marked ages ago...). The result was fantastic - light, fluffy and soooo big :) I was really surprised how well it has risen :)
P.S. I've always wanted to make a souffle - and here I am :D

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 80 g Cantal cheese (I used cheddar, grated)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 125 ml warm milk
- 3 eggs, separated
- pepper and salt, nutmeg
- butter for greasing

Melt the butter in a small pan. Sprinkle on the flour and whisk well, to prevent lumps from forming. Pour on the milk and continue to whisk until it has combined. Remove from the heat and season with pepper and salt.
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until very stiff. Add the yolks to the pan and stir. Add the cheese and a little grated nutmeg and stir well.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the mixture until they are evenly distributed. Grease the soufflé dishes, transfer the mixture to the dishes and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Bon appétit!

Just so you know a little bit more about this month's challenge:
'A soufflé is a light, fluffy, baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" — an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites. Every soufflé is made from two basic components:
1.a French crème pâtissière base/flavoured cream sauce or purée
2.egg whites beaten to a soft peak meringue
The base provides the flavour and the whites provide the "lift". Foods commonly used for the base in a soufflé include jam, fruits, berries, chocolate, banana and lemon (the last three are used for desserts, often with a good deal of sugar). When it comes out of the oven, a soufflé should be puffed up and fluffy, and will generally fall after 5 or 10 minutes (as risen dough does).' - by Wikipedia.org

An award - this time from me...

2010-11-01T12:58:00.007Z

OK, I know that there are lots of blog awards out there - but I haven't seen one like that. When writing a post about my blog's 2nd birthday I realize that some of us (bloggers) write not only explaining how to bake/cook/knit/draw etc., but also about their everyday lives... Sometimes it's very personal, touching, we're there during their kid's 1st day at school, their job hunting, their happy - but also sad days...
I thought that I should thank them - thank them for sharing their lives with us (which believe me isn't so easy, doing it through the Internet! it takes a lot of courage and some time too). Thank them for inspiring us to do something for ourselves, for not giving up, for teaching us everyday life and how to make that life a little bit easier and better.

The rules of this award are very simple, just 7 people and their blogs (you may ask why 7 - well that's my Baby's day of birth and I think that there's nothing more connected with home, life than our children...). I only ask those 7 nominated to copy the award and pass it to further 7 of their choice - another 7 that they think inspired them, invited into their homes...

Here's my list - and once again THANK YOU(!) for sharing (I know it's something special for both - you and us!):
1. Ruth from 'The crafts of mommyhood'
2. Lois from 'Food is my love language'
3. Michelle from 'All home cooking. All year long'
4. Tamara from 'Mad boastings of a cheapskate mom'
5. Abby from 'A feathered nest'
6. Victoria from '21st century urban hausewife'
7. Basht from 'and so she fell to earth'
Enjoy and keep up the good work! :)

Happy Halloween and a pumpkin soup...

2010-10-31T19:33:00.008Z

It's Halloween, can't believe it's already the last day of October... Time fly too quick! Anyway, as we're living in Ireland and Halloween is celebrated here, this year we decided to buy a pumpkin and cut it :) In Poland Halloween isn't celebrated at all (well maybe now as everything is being commercialized...). Traditionally on the 1st of November Polish go to the graves and light a candle, place some flowers to remember those who are gone (and I have to tell you that the atmosphere on the graveyard after dark, on the 1st and 2nd Nov is amazing, all those candles...)
My Pumpkin 'play' was a great fun today - but why(?) nobody tells you that first emptying and then cutting a pumpkin is tricky and not so easy?! After some hard work (and still with all fingers intact...) I had a nice pumpkin vampire and a bowl full of pumpkin flesh. That way we'll be having a pumpkin soup for next 2 days :) The soup was delicious and it was a very first time ever (for me and my Hubby) to eat a pumpkin soup!!! Recipe taken from a great book by Val Warner 'What to eat now - Autumn and Winter'.
P.S. Can someone explain to me why my pumpkin soup isn't nice and orange in colour but somewhat greenish...? Did I do something wrong or is it the pumpkin's fault...?

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 x 4 kg pumpkin
- 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
- 125 g butter
- 1 cinnamon stick
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 1-2 level teaspoons salt
- pepper
- 1,7 l chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons sherry

Hollow out all the flesh from your pumpkin, chop it roughly and put it aside. Melt the butter in a large pan and throw in the onions. Cook them slowly until nice and soft (around 10 minutes). Add the pumpkin flesh and all other ingredients except for the stock and sherry. Put the heat to medium, cover with lid and cook through for about 40 minutes (stir it occasionally so it won't burn). Add stock and sherry and then either blitz the mixture with a blending stick or in a food processor. Bring the soup to a slow boil and cook for further 30 minutes. Check the seasoning before serving. Serve hot.

Bon appétit!

OMG! I forgot -> my blog's 2nd Birthday!!!...

2010-10-30T09:12:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's been 2 years... the time fly! The other thing is I completely forgot about that - it was actually 22nd October to be exact - but better late then never ;)
So it's 2 years, 2 years of Kitchen's triumphs and disasters, discovering new tastes and cuisines (I love Indian food!) and remembering traditional tastes, tastes from my childhood... New doors opened for me, those culinary ones and those with fantastic people behind them - THANK YOU:
Lisa (La Mia Cucina), Kris (Bake in Paris), Inbal (The Cookie Fairy) all those who follow my blog :) and many, many, many more of you out there who wish me luck, read my blog and have taken this cooking/blogging journey with me :D Without YOU all it wouldn't be possible (and wouldn't make any sens!) :)

Blogging opened my eyes (heart and mind) for the whole new world out there. So besides thanking you all for being here with me, I have to thank you for letting me into YOUR lives. YOU inspire, encourage and touch my heart...
I hope that I'll be able to keep up with my cooking and blogging (which became a little bit more difficult since Baby J is with us ;) ) and that I have many more years to come filled with new food, learning new techniques and what's more important - great new people in my life :D

Anula
xoxoxoxo

The Daring Bakers #15 Doghnuts...

2010-10-27T01:28:00.004+01:00

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

So I couldn't possibly miss this month's challenge... as I already missed last few, but being a new Mum isn't easy (and if anyone thinks that it's piece of cake... well, you're WRONG! but I'm not complaining :D ). So doughnuts this month and... Who doesn't like doughnuts? Anyone? No one...? Thought so ;)
Unfortunately I didn't have time to make a yeast doughnuts, all that waiting and ending up making something with them 4 times during few hours is just impossible with an infant... (and I made these only yesterday night!). Yeast doughnuts aren't anything new in my family, there isn't a New Year's Eve without them (usually filled with rose marmalade, very traditional in Poland). This time I used a recipe I had marked in one of my cookbooks for some time now. The doughnuts were great - although I had to make some adjustments. I decided to make Mexican Buñuelos. The result was a nice and light doughnuts, not too sweet perfect for coating in icing sugar or dipping in chocolate (my Hubby ate them with... maple syrup!).
P.S. I have also another tried and tested recipe for doughnuts HERE, which you may try someday :)

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 225 g plain flour (although I ended up using 300 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 120 ml milk
- 25 g unsalted butter, melted
- oil, for frying
- sugar, for icing or your choice if icing

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder into a bowl, add sugar. In another bowl whisk the egg and milk well together. Pour it into dry ingredients and combine well together. Add melted butter and make a soft dough. Turn the dough onto floured board and knead until it is smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 18 even size pieces, shape into ball and either leave like that or make a whole in the middle.
Pour oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 5 cm. Heat the oil to temperature of 190 C. Fry the doughnuts in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan or they won't have the chance to rise well. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. After cooling dust them with sugar.

If you want to try recipes provided by this month's host and see what other DB members did please go to The Daring Kitchen website.
Bon appétit!

Low-fat cupcake brownies...

2010-10-24T04:58:00.001+01:00

I know what is needed to make proper, traditional brownies but those are slightly less calorific but still tastes delicious! They have that nice, soft, little moist centre :) Instead of baking one big cake and then cut it into pieces I made cupcakes which worked just perfect :) Next time I'm planing on making white chocolate icing!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 100 g plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 150 g caster sugar
- 100 ml natural low-fat yogurt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 25 ml vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl. Stir in the caster sugar. Add yogurt, eggs, vanilla essence, veg oil and beat until well combined. Pour the mixture into prepared cupcake tins. Bake for about 20 minutes until just firm to the touch. Leave in the tins until completely cooled.
This amount of butter makes 12 cupcakes - I advise to make double batch if butter as cupcakes disappear very quick! ;)

Bon appétit!

Masala chai...

2010-10-20T04:44:00.000+01:00

I got the recipe for this tea from a great blog Indian Food Rocks. If you only like Indian food this is the place for you - for an authentic Indian cuisine :)

Last Saturday I made an Indian feast for me and my Hubby. I just thought that we didn't go on holidays this year and we can't go out in the evenings (1st - Baby J and 2nd - saving money) so we had a Night OUT but IN ;) We had Chicken Korma, vegetable samosas, onion bhajis and pakoras, naan bread and a masala tea to drink (didn't have time nor strenght to make lassi...). We had our delightful night and that way we had time for ourselves and we 'visited India' - even if only by food (next time there will be even Bollywood movie playing :D ). I promised myself that from now on I'll be making more of those evenings :) Last Saturday India, maybe next Spain, then Italy and so on...! :)
So time for that beautiful tea...

How to make it...

Heat 1 cup water in a saucepan. Lightly bruise 2 green cardamoms, 1 clove, slender piece of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of fennel seeds and 4-5 black peppercorns using a mortar-pestle. Add to water. Crush two slices of ginger, add to water and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and add 1 tsp tea leaves. Simmer for a couple of minutes and then add 1/8 cup skim milk. If using, add sugar or sweetener of your choice. Turn up the heat until hot but do not boil. Strain into a tea mug.
P.S. I'd say you can experiment with the amount of different spices for your taste.

Bon appétit!

Prune muffins...

2010-10-18T04:32:00.000+01:00

Those muffins are nutritious and very delicious :) what one want more?! It's perfect weekend breakfast or a treat for the lunch box. They are made with oil rather than butter so are quick to mix. If you don't like prunes I think you can change them for chopped apples, dried cherries etc.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 250 ml milk
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar
- 225 g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon grated cinnamon
- 150 g ready-to-eat prunes, stones removed, chopped

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Beat egg with a fork and add oil and milk. Beat a little to mix well together. Stir in the sugars into egg mixture. In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon. make a well in the centre and pour in the egg mixture. Mix well together. Gently fold into the butter prunes, just until evenly distributed. Spoon into prepared muffin tins - this amount of butter will make 12 muffins.
Bake for about 20 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold :)

Bon appétit!

Home made duck preserve...

2010-10-17T22:10:00.000+01:00

I know that recently I've neglected my blog, I've neglected YOU. But the truth is that you can't imagine how much work there is with a small baby until you actually have one ;) Ok, enough with the excuses and now with the post which was waiting for publishing for over a month.
Some time ago we bought a duck (as it's always cheaper to buy whole and use the parts whenever you like). We made delicious duck breasts with oranges and duck confit, but what do you do with left meat on the bone...? So after you take your breasts off and take off you whole(!) legs you're left with the carcass with a lot of meat and fat on it - and here's what we made :)

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- rest of the duck after taking breasts and legs off
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 shallot
- salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 C and put your duck into an oven proof dish. Bake you duck until the meat is done and you have a good cup of fat in the dish (it's hard for me to say how long exactly, depends on how big was your duck etc. mine was baking for more than 1 hour). Leaving 1 tablespoon of fat in a glass, pour the rest into a dish of your choice (may be also a jar) and use it for your baked potatoes, duck confit etc. :)
Carefully take all the meat of the bone. Using a hand blender or a mixer blend the meat with 1 tablespoon of fat, garlic, onion and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer into a jar and your conserve is ready :) It will keep well in the fridge.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #13 Stuffed leaves... done it, but not really...

2010-10-14T04:42:00.006+01:00

This month's challenge was very interesting one and for sure very inspiring too. OK, I know I didn't really take part in this month's challenge but... there are few reasons to that.
First - with Baby J it's not so easy to spend a long time in the kitchen, without any disruption from Her (and there's usually a lot of it! especially now that she's teething)...
Second - Hubby is no longer at home with me, he's out usually from 9 till 5 so he couldn't keep Baby J occupied long enough, so I can make stuffed cabbage rolls (and there's a lot of work with it)...
Third - cooking at night is not an potion for me, I'm half asleep all the time anyway, so I really need all the sleep I can get (and I get it only at night, as Baby J is sleeping all night through till 8 am - woohooo!)...
Fourth - this month's challenge wasn't really 'a challenge' for me. In Poland we stuff cabbage leaves both with meat and vegetarian fillings. It's called 'galabki' (which literally means small pigeons - why? don't ask, have no idea...).

I'm kind of sad/ashamed that I'm not doing challenges EVERY month (both Cooks and Bakers) but it's just not possible at this time and place in my life - for which I'm sorry.

What I'll do is give you a link to my post about it. Hope you'll decide to try it someday - it's one of my all time favourites - but no matter how hard I will try, I can't make them as good as my Dad's....
I know that probably some of you will call it cheating, but please notice that I'm not putting blog checking lines here and I'm giving you my recipe for golabki, because I just want to share with you something I really enjoy and somethig which is a part of my heritage (being it not only a Polish dish, but also a great family recipe!).

So here's the POST - enjoy! :)

P.S. I would love to try and make stuffed grape leaves (as I had them when on holidays in Crete, they were great!) but I just can't find grape leaves anywhere her in Ireland :(

Confit duck...

2010-10-01T02:49:00.001+01:00

"Confit is a generic term for various kinds of food that have been immersed in a substance for both flavor and preservation. Sealed and stored in a cool place, confit can last for several months. Confit is one of the oldest ways to preserve food and is a speciality of southwestern France." - by Wikipedia.org

You can store duck prepared this way simply by placing in a pudding bowl, covering in with the fat and keeping in the fridge - it has to be cover in fat to keep for weeks. The fat used to make confit can be reused over and over, the flavours will improve each time.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 duck legs and thigh joints
- 1 small bunch thyme
- 1 rosemary branch
- 6 cumin seeds
- 4 coriander seeds
- 3 juniper berries
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- about 500 g duck or goose fat

Day before cooking toast cumin and coriander seeds and crush them slightly. Mix crushed seeds, with juniper berries, sliced garlic and salt. Rub the mixture over the duck, scatter with thyme and rosemary and leave for 24 hours.
Next day wipe the duck with kitchen paper - DO NOT wash. (Salt extracts water from the meat and you don't want to put the water in again by washing it! The water will be replaced by fat during slow cooking - that's a whole idea of confit).
Put the duck in a cast-iron casserole and cover with goose or duck fat. Add bay leaves and peppercorns. Preheat the oven to 150 C and put the duck in. Raise temperature by 20 C every 15 minutes for 45 minutes, then reduce at the same rate for further 45 minutes. If you don't have a time to look at it - cook whole at 170 C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Bon appétit!

Lamb liver...

2010-09-25T01:26:00.006+01:00

"Offal is a culinary term used to refer to the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than muscles or bones. In some parts of Europe, scrotum, brain, chitterlings (pig's large intestine), trotters (feet), heart, head (of pigs, calves, sheep and lamb), kidney, liver, "lights" (lung), sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas), fries (testicles), tongue, snout (nose), tripe (reticulum) and maws (stomach) from various mammals are common menu items." - by wikipedia.org

Offal is widely used in Polish cuisine. I already posted 2 recipes with offal, for Kołduny and Jellied pig's feet. Recently I had a huge craving (yes craving!) for liver. I have to admit that from all livers available at butcher (lamp, chicken, calf) the lamb liver is the best - and that's the one I recommend if that taste is completely new to you.
Great website about offal, which I can definitely recommend, is Offal Good.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 600 g liver (lamb or calf)
- 4 onions
- 250 ml of stock (the best will be chicken stock)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- juice from 1 lemon and grated lemon skin
- 3 tablespoons flour
- salt, pepper, sugar

Chop the onion. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and fry chopped onion with pinch of salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice and skin. Add stock and saute for few minutes (until onion is nice and soft). Pepper the liver (do not salt as it will get tough during frying!) and dust with flour. Fry on the rest of the butter 1,5 minutes on each side. Remove the liver to a plate and sprinkle with salt. Serve with onion sauce.
Great accompaniment will be mashed potatoes and pickled cucumber.
Bon appétit!

Cheese - French Rocamadour...

2010-09-22T01:52:00.000+01:00

I know it was a while when I posted about first cheese for you to try :) With the Baby J, all other things to do around the house etc. I have less time for posting, but the time has come to add another cheese to my cheese board.

Rocamadour is a French cheese from the regions of Périgord and Quercy. It takes its name from the commune of Rocamadour in the département of Lot. It has benefited from an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 1996. Rocamadour comes from cheese family called Cabécou. It's very small cheese in a shape of 2 inches flat disc. It is a very young goats cheese of just 35g that can be eaten after just 12-15 days of ageing, but gets more intense after a few months. When young it is often consumed on hot toast, in salads or, as it ages, on its own with a red wine after a meal.

Personally I love this cheese! Made with raw goat’s milk, cheese's rind is thin and inside is soft and creamy, with a subtle taste of milk and mould. The aftertaste is light and the aroma reminds me of hazelnuts. It will be perfect with white wine or very subtle and fruity red.
The only minus - it's SO small - so make sure you buy more than only one ;)

Always perfect crispy duck breasts with orange sauce...

2010-09-20T01:10:00.000+01:00

I love duck. At my family home there's no Easter or Christmas without roast duck. My Dad always debone the bird, stuff it and roast. Then you just have to slice it and enjoy. Unfortunately my Dad is far away so we had ot do something else with our duck. We bought whole, frozen bird for eur10 when in the Chinese take away you'll have to pay eur16 for the half. I'd say it was a good deal ;) My Hubby loves duck breasts so he decided to make it for dinner. The result - fantastic - and he finally learned how to make perfect crisp skin on the breast (the tip was taken from John Torode's 'Chicken' book).

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 duck breasts
- 1 whole orange, sliced
- juice from 3 oranges
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Take your duck breasts and score the skin all the way through the flesh. Season the skin (and only(!) skin) with salt and black pepper. Take a solid, heavy frying pan and turn the heat to 3/4 on your stove. Lay the duck skin down in the cold (!) pan and put over the heat and turn the heat down to 1/2. Now DO NOT touch anything. Leave it alone for good 10 minutes. The fat under the skin will slowly melt and the skin will go brown and crispy. You should have a good 1 cm of duck fat at the bottom. When the skin starts to colour around the outside you're ready to move on. Season the flesh side now and turn the duck breast down. Cook for 2 minutes and turn the heat to full, cooking the duck for further 1 minute. Take the pan from the heat and leave the breasts in the pan for 5 minutes.
You can keep the fat for further cooking - for example for roasted potatoes :)

For the orange sauce - put sliced orange on the pan and sprinkle with sugar, wait till it caramelize. Add orange juice, mix well with oranges and wait till it starts simmering. Reduce your sauce a little and... it's ready.
Serve for example with mash potatoes.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #12 Food preservation...

2010-09-14T02:18:00.002+01:00

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

I couldn't possible miss this month's Daring Cooks challenge. First - the host is a person who I admire and always look forward to His posts and Daring Kitchen challenges results :) Secondly - I love food preservation, don't do it a lot here in Ireland as I really think the full advantage of this is when you have your own little veg patch, some fruit trees etc.
I've picked Apple Butter recipe as I still remember my Nan making apple marmalade every summer - that amazing smell... and that unforgettable taste! I recently made some apple marmalade myself and instead of all spice (as in this challenge recipe) I used vanilla pods - amazing result! :) The all spice version gives it another 'dimension' and my Hubby is already planning a dinner of pork chops and apple sauce - using of course this apple butter :)
As an addition to the challenge I also made a mint syrup - hope you'll try it!

How to make it...
Ingredients:

Reduced Sugar Apple Butter:
- 4 pounds apples (already pealed and cores removed)
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup granulated sucralose (I used normal sugar :) why not!?)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Wash and rinse half-pint or pint canning jars; keep hot until ready to fill. Prepare lids and screw bands according to manufacturer’s directions.
Combine apples and cider in 8-quart saucepan. Cook slowly and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until apples are very soft (falling apart).
Position a food mill or strainer securely over a large bowl. Press cooked apples with cider through the food mill or strainer to make a pulp. Be sure to collect all the pulp that comes through the food mill or strainer; for example, scrape any pulp clinging under the food mill into the bowl.
Combine pulp with sucralose and spices in an 8-quart saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently.

To test for doneness, spoon a small quantity onto a clean plate; when the butter mounds on the plate without liquid separating around the edge of the butter, it is ready for processing. Another way to test for doneness is to remove a spoonful of the cooked butter on a spoon and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon.
Fill hot apple butter into clean hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims with a clean, dampened paper towel and adjust two-piece metal lids and bands.
Process in a boiling water canner. Let cool, undisturbed, 12 to 24 hours and check for seals.

Information about boiling water canning.
Freeze up to 1 year, if using water boiling canning - life shelf up to 1 year. If kept in the fridge - up to 2 weeks.

Mint syrup:
- 50 g freshly picked mint leaves
- juice of 1 lemon
- 250 g sugar
- 1 level teaspoon sea salt

Put the lemon juice into a large bowl. Add the mint leaves and pound with the end of a wooden rolling pin/spoon. Add sugar and salt and continue to crush the mint leaves. Leave to macerate for 8-10 hours or overnight.
Pour 600 ml boiling water over the macerated mint mixture and leave to stand for a further 12 hours.
Strain the syrup through a very fine sieve or muslin cloth. Gently bring to simmering point and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour into warm, sterilised bottles and seal with screw-caps or corks (I used very small jars as it's handier then to use it to a mint tea, summer cold drink with lemonade or tonic, or even for a sauce).
Syrup will keep unopened for 4 months, once opened should be stored in the fridge. If you want your syrup to have a shelf life of 1 year you need to can it using water boiling.
This recipe comes from a great book 'Preserves' by Pam Corbin, one of the River Cottage Handbooks.

Bon appétit!

Red lamb shank Korma...

2010-09-13T11:33:00.003+01:00

I know I'm probably getting a little bit boring with all that Indian cooking - but I just can't help myself! Another great Anjum's recipe :) her cookbook is slowly becoming one of my favourite. The only thing is that I didn't have chillies lying around in my kitchen so had to use red pepper and some chilli flakes instead - definitely will use chilli next time! With the red pepper it was rather delicate and mild dish whereas chilli will give it definitely a kick!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 6 fat red chillies
- 6 large cloves of garlic
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 small lamb shanks
- 5 cm piece of cinnamon
- 1 blade of mace (didn't have it, had to use a little bit of ground nutmeg)
- 10 green cardamons
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, chopped
- 200 ml natural yogurt
- 1 tablespoon white poppy seed, made into paste with some water
- 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 2 1/2 finely ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- salt

using blender make a paste of the chillies and garlic, adding splash of water. Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the lamb shanks. Put them aside. Add the hole spices and fry for 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook until golden brown. Stir in the chilli paste and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Return the lamb to the pan.
Whisk together yogurt, poppy seed paste, coconut and salt and add to the pan (I advise you to add it before you add lamb shanks so you can mix everything well into kind of sauce, with shanks in the pan it was almost impossible). Pour in enough of the water to come 3/4 of the way up the shanks. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over a low heat for about 1 hour (I found that I had to cook mine for 2 hours, as I like my shanks very tender and when meat comes of the bone easily).
When the meat is cooked add ground almonds and garam masala. The gravy should be creamy so add a splash of water or reduce it if necessary (I ended up adding 2 tablespoons of double cream to make it creamier :) ). Serve garnished with coriander.
Bon appétit!

A little sneak-peak into my kitchen. My Hubby got the hold of the camera while I was cooking ;)

Portuguese chicken croquettes...

2010-09-12T22:58:00.004+01:00

Chicken is a main meat in our home recently. As you all know it's one of the cheapest meat and as times are though we're trying to spend as little as possible - that applies to food as well. With the chicken we always try to buy only free range or if organic is 'on sale' that's out first preference - I try and avoid buying mass produce chicken as it taste of nothing to me and I don't really approve the way the are kept... As we have a small budget I tend to look into cook books more than usual, one of my favourites recently are John Torode's books and this recipe comes from one of them. I was slightly disappointed with this dish... I don't know if it was my fault, wrong ingredients, wrong way of doing it or maybe it's just not my taste... I'll definitely try to do this minimum one more time to give it (and myself) a chance to make it better (even John advices in his book to try each recipe few times, to try and 'perfect' it :) ) As it was this time - the croquettes almost fall apart during frying and after they were done the consistency was quite unusual (not to say weird...). Anyway - if you try it, please do let me know about your result!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 50 g butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons plain flour, plus extra for coating
- 225 ml milk
- 150 g sliced ham, chopped
- 1 tablespoon English mustard (I used normal one)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 200 g dry breadcrumbs, for coating
- vegetable oil for frying
- salt and pepper

Poach the chicken in enough salted water to cover for 10 minutes. Leave to cool in the liquid and then put into food processor, blend to a smooth paste.
In the saucepan heat the butter and fry the onion. Add the flour, stirring constantly until it browns. Gradually add the milk stirring for 10 minutes. Add the chicken, ham, mustard, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Leave the mixture to cool and form a thick paste.
Shape into croquettes (I had to put it to the fridge for 1 hour before that step). Dust with flour, dip in the beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Put the croquettes on tray and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.
heat the oil in a wok or deep-fryer. Fry chicken croquettes for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and cool a little bit before serving.

Bon appétit!

Book review - Preserves by Pam Corbin...

2010-09-10T10:29:00.002+01:00

My Hubby recently discovered a series of great books from River Cottage. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a real passionate food producer and consumer :) As it's already autumn in the air and it's THIS time of the year for making jams, relishes etc. for the winter I've picked this book from my shelf to write about.
The book 'Preserves' by Pam Corbin comes from an amazing little handbook series (this one is no.2).
Pam Corbin is very strict on health and safety but in a modern way. There are some really useful tips about sterilising, filling and sealing, all in a form of handy tables. Chutneys are not marmalades etc. This book is like a mini encyclopedia. Of course the real test is in the recipes. I like the way in which book is written and divided into handy chapters: The rules, Jams & Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & Relishes, Cordials, Fruit liquers & Vinegars, Bottled Fruits and few more. Each recipe is on its own page and that there's lots of illustrations. I love the seasonal advice that tells you when to make a particular preserve.
Pam suggests useful variations which you wouldn't think of yourself, like: Whiskey marmalade; Indian spices like fenugreek in the rhubarb relish; Pickled crab apples instead of pears, etc. Things I was surprised with are recipes on how to make: passata, fruit leather(!), quince jelly,compost heap jelly.
This book is not only a great reference on how to preserve food at home but also a great fun with seasonal food. Honestly - if you're looking for a big (in contents) but small (in size) book about food preservation don't look any further!

Kashmiri lamb kebabs and roti bread...

2010-09-07T07:26:00.000+01:00

OK, I'm now officially Indian cuisine mad :) I already have stock up on all necessary spices and Indian like ingredients - by the way it all smells incredibly! Those kebabs are so nice, something different than my usual lamb burger - more taste and depth to it! When seeing them in the cook book I immediately thought about roti bread to go with it - and it was a great idea.
So with a fantastic smell in the whole house me and my Hubby enjoyed an Indian dinner (for a fraction of the price which we would have to pay in the restaurant or even take-away!).

How to make it...

Kashmiri lamb kebabs:
- 16 green cardamon pods, bashed using a pestle and mortar, seeds kept and husks discarded
- 8 cloves
- 1 cm piece of cinnamon stick
- 500 g minced lamb meat
- 1 medium egg
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 large slice of white bread, crust removed and crumbed (I used dry breadcrumbs, about 1 hand full)
- 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 1 rounded teaspoon ginger paste (I used ginger powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Grind the whole spices to a powder and tip into a large bowl with the meat, egg, powdered spices, breadcrumbs, yogurt, ginger paste and salt. Mix well preferably using your hand.
Divide into 20 portions and make into small kebabs. Heat the oil and fry kebabs until browned on all sides and cooked through the middle, around 3 minutes on each side. Serve hot.

Roti bread:
- 150 g chapatti flour or half wholewheat flour and half plain flour (I made using the second option)
- salt
- around 100 ml water

Stir flour and salt and slowly add the water (you may not need to use all of it or maybe need a little more). The dough should be just slightly sticky and will firm up as you knead it. Knead for about 10 minutes. Cover with damp towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes in a room temperature.
Divide the dough into 6 portions and roll into a ball. Using a rolling pin roll out each ball into 13-15 cm circles.
heat a non-stick frying pan and place the bread disc on it. Cook until small bubbles appear on the underside (about 10-20 seconds) then turn. Cook this side until the base has small dark beige spots. Keep the bread warm by wrapping in napkins or foil.

P.S.1 I urge you to watch the heat of the pan as I burned our pan... well there are good and bad days in the kitchen ;)

Bon appétit!

P.S.2 Both recipes come from the book 'Anjum's New India'

Tarka Dal...

2010-09-01T02:14:00.000+01:00

"Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal, or Dhal) ( Hindi: दाल Dāl, Nepali: दाल Daal, Bengali: ডাল Dāl, Kannada: ಬೇಳೆ Bēḷe, Malayalam: Parippu, Marathi: डाळ Ḍāḷ, Tamil: பருப்பு Paruppu, Telugu: పప్పు Pappu, Dāl, Urdu: دال, Gujarati:દાળ) is a preparation of pulses (dried lentils, peas or beans) which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these, a mainstay of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi cuisine. It is regularly eaten with rice and vegetables in Southern India, and with both rice and roti (wheat-based flat bread) throughout Northern India & Pakistan. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat. Sri Lankan cooking of dal resembles that of southern Indian dishes." - by Wikipedia.org

Recently I'm fascinated with Indian cuisine, to be honest not only cuisine but the whole country - it's history, religion, people, geography :) This was my first time making this dish and it was a success - the only thing I will change in the future is to use different lentils, as those disintegrated a lot and I would prefer more texture in my dish :) Though my self-confessed meat eater Hubby liked it a lot! That was a surprise :)
The recipe comes from a great book by Anjum 'Anjum's New India'.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 250g Bengal gram (I used plain yellow split lentils), rinsed until the water runs clear
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 to 4 green chillies, left whole
- 20 g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into julienne strips
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 large tomatoes (I peeled mine)
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- handful of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks, chopped
- salt to taste

Place lentils in 1 litre of water, bring to boil, skim the froth from the top. Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, until lentils are just soft.
Meanwhile heat oil in a small non-stick pan. Add cumin seeds and cook till they release their aroma (around 30 seconds). Add onion, chillies and ginger and cook until golden. Using the blender puree tomatoes, garlic, powdered spices, onions from the pan and 100 ml water. Cook the mixture on moderate heat fro 15-20 minutes until the masala releases its oil.
Stir into the cooked lentils. Add more water if necessary. Bring to the boil, taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the fresh coriander and serve hot.

Bon appétit!

Green mango salad...

2010-08-28T07:00:00.000+01:00

This is mainly my Hubby's dish. He was inspired by Rick Stein's BBC series when he travels around Asia (by the way if you have a chance see it!). Generally I'm not a big fan of fresh mango (prefer the canned one) but this salad works really well. Hope you'll try it :)

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 firm unripe mangoes (mangoes may be green or red-orange in color)
- 1/4 cup dry shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
- 3-4 spring onions, sliced
- 1 medium carrot, sliced into 'matchsticks'
- handful of peanuts or cashews, left whole or roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh basil

Salad dressing:
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce, OR vegetarian fish sauce, OR 4 Tbsp.soy sauce
- 3 to 4 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons (or more) brown sugar (to taste)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Thai chili sauce

Place coconut in a frying pan or wok (no oil required). "Dry-fry" the coconut as if you were stir-frying it 2-3 minutes over medium heat, or until it turns a light golden-brown and is fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Mix together all the salad dressing ingredients in a bowl or cup. The dressing should be a mingling of sweet, sour, spicy and salty, but more sweet than sour. Set aside.
Using a sharp pairing knife, peel skin from mangoes. The flesh of the mango should be firm and light yellow-orange. Using a medium to large-size grater grate the flesh of the mangoes into a mixing bowl (although my Hubby prefers to cut it into thin stripes, so the salad has more texture). Add the bean sprouts, coriander, spring onions, carrot, cooked chicken, shrimp or tofu (if using), plus half the toasted coconut. Toss well to combine.
Add the dressing and toss again. Do a taste-test. Add more fish sauce or soy sauce instead of salt. If you prefer it sweeter, add a little more sugar (honey works too). If you prefer more spice, add more chili sauce. If too salty or sweet, add more lime juice.
Sprinkle the nuts over top plus the basil and remaining toasted coconut. Ready!

Bon appétit!

Chicken biryani...

2010-08-19T03:50:00.001+01:00

"Biryani, biriani, or beriani (Nastaliq script: بریانی) is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means "fried" or "roasted". Biryani was brought to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries." - by Wikipedia.org

First dish made from John Torode's book "Chicken" (more info about the book here). I'm always slightly scared when I have to cook Indian style food. I always think it will be complicated and I won't do it properly. That was completely different experience. The recipe is dead easy and the result is delicious!!! I had all the ingredients at hand at home - although I had to substitute few of them I think that all in all this was a success. This recipe is definitely a keeper and I'll be cooking more from the book!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 300 g basmati rice
- 25 g butter
- 1 large onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cardamon pods
- 1 small cinnamon stick (1 used 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 4 chicken breast fillets, cut into large chunks
- 100 g hot curry paste (I used 2 teaspoons curry powder)
- 1 hand full raisins
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 1 large hand full chopped coriander (unfortunatelly didn't have it)
- 1 large handful toasted flaked almonds

Wash the rice 3 times and set aside to drain. Heat the butter in the saucepan and cook onion with bay leaf, cardamon pods and cinnamon for 10 minutes. Sprinkle turmeric and add chicken, curry and cook for few minutes.
Add rice and raisins, mix well and cook for few minutes till aromatic. Add stock and bring to boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat - don't lift the lid on the pan! Leave for 20 minutes to sit. Before serving add almonds and coriander.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #11 The world of pierogi...

2010-08-14T02:06:00.002+01:00

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

OK, first of all - THANK YOU ALL FELLOW DC MEMBERS FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS MONTH'S CHALLENGE! Hope you enjoyed the world of pierogi and you'll be making them more often (from scratch of course) at home. You all did a GREAT job this month! You came up with such an amazing fillings for the humble pierogi, I wouldn't ever thought of! YOU ROCK :)
I'll try to visit as many blogs as I can (as I really enjoy discovering all those different fillings you made all around the world) and leave a personal note. I know that probably I won't be able to visit all the blogs (for which I'm really sorry)- but I'll do my best (when Baby Julia will go to sleep I'll stick behind with my laptop)! :)

It was such an honour to host a Daring Cooks challenge - thank you once again! :)

How to make it...

Cottage Cheese Wareneki (pierogi)
Dough:
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk (can be whole milk, 2% or skim milk)
- ½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
- 3 cups (450 gm) all-purpose flour
Mix flour and salt, add other ingredients, and knead dough until you have a smooth dough. (I kneaded this dough quite a bit, and it yielded a nice, pliable dough).
On a floured surface roll out fairly thin (1/8” or about 3 millimeters), cut into 2” (5 cm) squares, and fill with 1 tsp (5ml) cottage cheese filling (see below).

Filling:
- 1 lb (455 g) dry cottage cheese (this is usually found beside the “wet” cottage cheese in the supermarket’s dairy aisle. If you can’t find it, please see below for how to proceed with the “wet” cottage cheese.)
- 3 large egg yolks
- Salt to taste
Mix well all the ingredients for the filling.
Put 1 rounded teaspoon (5 ml) of the filling in each square, fold corners to form a triangle, seal edges well using your fingers or a fork
Cook in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.

Sweet version of Warenki (cheese and strawberry filling).

Russian style pierogi (makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings)
(Traditional Polish recipe, although each family will have their own version, this is Anula's family recipe)

Dough:
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
- about 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Filling:
- 3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
- 1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained
- 1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear
- 3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy (you can add more bacon if you like or omit that part completely if you’re vegetarian)
- 1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted
- 1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it’s best to use one’s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass (personally I used 4-inch/10 cm cutter as it makes nice size pierogi - this way I got around 30 of them and 1 full, heaped teaspoon of filling is perfect for that size). Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.

Serve immediately preferably with creme fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.

Notes about pierogi:
- 99% of your dumplings will freeze well so don’t be worried and make more if you want, you can freeze them either before or after boiling (if freezing after boiling, boil them ‘al dente’ not like for immediate consumption)
- when boiling pierogi from freezer put them straight into boiling, salted water - do not thaw them before or you’ll be left with one big ball of mixed dough and filling!
- most of your boiled but already cold pierogi may be fried (in some cases it will actually make them taste better then only boiling)
- it’s a good idea to make double batch of pierogi dough and a few kinds of fillings at the same time (saves a lot of work and you can serve dinner and dessert at the same time)
- when boiling your pierogi try to boil each type of filling separately, sometimes your dumplings can fall apart and you really don’t want a mix of strawberries with bacon...
- when sealing pierogi don’t allow any filling to go between the edges as it won’t seal properly and your pierogi will fall apart when boiling, you don’t have to seal the edges using water, egg whites etc. it should seal by itself very tight
- if your dumplings stick to each other during boiling add a tablespoon of oil into the water

You have a great info about pierofi from around the world here on Wikipedia.org.

Bon appétit!

Ptitim - Israeli couscous...

2010-08-12T15:22:00.001+01:00

"Ptitim (Hebrew: פתיתים אפויים‎, Ptitim Afuyim, "baked flakes") is wheat-based baked pasta, originally produced in the shape of elongated rice grains and today mostly in the shape of round pearls. Known as "Ben Gurion's Rice" in Israel, it is known as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous in the United States and elsewhere and is best known as an Israeli culinary contribution rather than its regional multi-ethnic roots. Pearl shaped ptitim is somewhat similar to the Levantine pearled couscous known as Maftoul or Mograbieh in Lebanon. It is also similar to the Kabyle Abazine and the Sardinian Fregula. Rice shaped ptitim is similar to Orzo." - by Wikipedia.org

I got this as a part of 'swap food products' from my foodie friend Inbal, from Israel - she has a lovely blog worth visiting The cookie fairy. It's Israeli couscous but in my opinion (and mu Hubby's) it's way better than traditional couscous as we know it! It's sooo good! If you have a chance - try it! I prepared it the way Inbal taught me, the traditional way as the Israeli do it. It's a great side dish and will be perfect match with many, many things! Now I just have to find a way of buying some more, as I run out of the pack she sent me...

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ptitim
- 1 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon oil of olives
- salt, pepper, chicken stock powder

Fry onion on the oil till clear. Add ptitim and hot water, mix well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and chicken stock powder. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 8 minutes. Take from the heat and put aside for further 5 minutes and it's ready.

Bon appétit!

Book review - John Torode's "Beef" & "Chicken"

2010-08-10T14:50:00.006+01:00

The presenter and judge of BBC’s MasterChef, John Torode, is now an author of 2 cookbooks. The first one "Beef" and second "Chicken and Other Birds".

"Chicken and other birds" - Don’t judge this wondrous book by its plain cover. John Torode’s Chicken and Other Birds is hugely entertaining (mainly because of the language used in the book - simple, with a bit of humour yet professional and for everyone) at the same time, immensely practical. He calls it ‘beak to tail’ eating. “Although,” he says, “(chicken) is the world’s most popular meat, so many people lack confidence when it comes to buying and cooking it…”
You have chicken (and other birds for all occasions - lunch, quick dinner, lots of curries and festive recipes (ex. for Christmas dinner). There are also ideas for stuffing or different side dishes to serve your chicken with (veges, gravy, sauces...) and last but not least - hot to cut your whole chicken and make perfect chicken stock. I already marked good few recipes, but have big hopes for that one!

"Beef" - John not only gives us every which way to cook with beef, but also gives the history and importance of great and rare breeds, butcher's recommended cuts and true head-to-tail eating. You'll find lots of recipes which use steak, tail and even offal! He recipes are straight from the heart - down-to-earth, tasty, easy to make and gathered from around the world. They include classics such as pies, roasts, steaks and hamburgers as well as contemporary Italian, French and Thai specialities. As with his "Chicken" book you'll find ideas for different ways of serving steak and recipes for side dishes (like gnocchi or prefect chips). You can feel straight away his passion for beef. This book is now officially my Hubby's favourite!

I could write a lot about both books but I think you should have your own chance to see them and cook along with them. My only advice - get them if you can! In both books recipes are easy to make and simple to follow, all of them are home cooking on the highest standard. Recipes aren't complicated, as John thinks that restaurant cooking should stay in the restaurants - couldn't agree more!

Recipes I've already tried:
- Chicken with olives and lemons
- Portuguese chicken croquettes
- Chicken biryani

Shepherd's Pie...

2010-08-07T14:13:00.010+01:00

"Cottage pie refers to an English meat pie made with [Beef] mince and with a crust made from mashed potato. A variation on this dish using Lamb mince is known as shepherd's pie (shepherds - sheep/lambs). Unlike standard pies, cottage or shepherd's pie does not include a bottom pastry crust. (...) The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until the 1870s, and since then it has been used synonymously with "cottage pie", regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton. There is now a popular tendency for "shepherd's pie" to be used when the meat is mutton or lamb, with the suggested origin being that shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle. This may, however, be an example of folk etymology." by Wikipedia.org

I've been living on The Green Isle for over 4 years now and it's the first time we had a home made Shepherd's Pie. It was always easier and quicker to buy ready made version. But from now one it will be only home made Shepherd's Pie - there's nothing better! And you can add cheese, different veges etc. as you like :)
We made 2 loaf size pies, one was for the dinner straight away and the other went to the freezer ready to be baked in the future.

How to make it...
Ingredients (this amount will make 2 leaf tin size dishes or one big):
- 500 g minced lamb
- 3 medium size carrots, pealed and sliced
- 1 big red onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 500 ml tomato puree
- 1 cube vegetable stock
- 500 g potatoes, cooked and mashed
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon oil of olives
- 2 bay leafs, 3 pimento, salt and pepper

Mix mashed potatoes with milk, butter and nutmeg and set aside. On the oil caramelise carrots and onions, put aside. You need nice, smooth mash, not too thick so you can cover the pie easily - to do it add more milk if you need.
On the same pan and oil fry the meat. Put all the veges and meat into a deep pan, add tomato puree, stock, bay leafs, pimento, salt, pepper. Bring to simmering point, cover and simmer for 45 - 60 min. 15 minutes before end of simmering add garlic - this way you'll have a taste of it, in the finished pie. Leave the ready sauce to cool down a little.
Preheat the oven to 200 C. Prepare oven proof dish. First put he sauce and cover with your mashed potatoes. We had some goat's cheese and decided to add few sliced on top - it worked great. You can also grate some cheddar on top or mix it into the mash. Bake for 30 minutes (till the potatoes are golden brown and the whole pie is bubbling) on the middle shelf.

P.S. If you have problems with putting your mash on the sauce put your dish with the sauce to the freezer for few minutes so it hardens.
Oh, It's normal that some of the sauce will run away in the corners of the dish.

Bon appétit!

Sauerkraut salad...

2010-08-03T03:38:00.000+01:00

This is a very popular salad in Poland. In my family we usually eat it with fired fish. It's easy to make, cheap and full of vitamins! It reminds me of my family home. When I was a child I used to hate it and my parent always made me to eat it... Now, times have changed (and tastes too!) and I like it a lot! Just one thing - if you buy sauerkraut and it will be too acidic just put it on the strainer and under running water - it will 'rinse' away some of that acidic juices.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 500 g sauerkraut
- 2 carrots, pealed and grated
- 1 big apple, pealed and grated
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- salt, pepper
- 2 bay leafs and 2 pimentos
- few cumin seeds or a pinch of ground cumin

Mix everything well together - best way to do it is to use fork. Put aside for about 30 minutes - that way all the flavours will blend together.
P.S. It will keep well in the fridge so don't be afraid to make it in advance.

Bon appétit!

Scallops with black pudding and mustard dressing...

2010-08-01T15:10:00.004+01:00

As we're living by the sea we decided to take full advantage of it and eat more seafood, so my Hubby bough scallops (please don't ask about the price - horrendous!). I ate them maybe only twice in my life, but never on their own. We decided to make them with black pudding as it's a very popular way of eating scallops here on the British Islands. OK, maybe it's only me but scallops aren't anything special... I've expected an amazing taste - they were good, slightly sweet, not chewy or rubbery - but to be honest I think I prefer prawns, squid or mussels... Good I had a last minute idea to serve it with mustard dressing (dead easy!). I used Guinness flavoured mustard and it worked perfect. To sum up - for the price we've paid and the smell we had in home after cooking I think I'll stick with restaurant next time I want to eat scallops...

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 scallops
- 3 slices of black pudding
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt, pepper
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

To sear scallops with black pudding, melt the butter in a frying pan and then add the black pudding to the pan. Fry on both sides until crisp, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm.
Season the scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the pan used to cook the black pudding until smoking, rub the scallops with olive oil and fry in the pan for one minute on each side. Pat the scallops dry on kitchen paper.
For the dressing - mix mayonnaise and mustard together and ready! :)
Arrange your dressing, scallops and black pudding on the plate (the way you like it) and eat warm.
Bon appétit!

The English Food Market, Cork...

2010-07-17T09:36:00.000+01:00

I was in Cork good few times, but never properly IN the city. It was the first time that we actually took a stroll down the street, looked around the city centre and the most important went to the English Market. You can read about that place in all guide books, websites about Cork etc. it's a must place to visit (not only if you're a 'foodie').

I didn't expect a lot... Having rather bad experience with Irish farmers/food markets. But I was surprised, a lot! It's not a huge space but you can find anything you want. From all kind of meats, through seafood, chocolates, cheeses (both local and international), chocolates and spices/ingredients from around the world.

We have finally bought a Greek oil of olives (as I don't believe that Italian is the best, sorry to all proud Italians out there!). I've tasted few oils from different countries and I think (my Hubby has the same opinion) that the best oil of olives is from Greece, Israel and countries around that part of the world. It's a taste you can't compare with anything - light and very aromatic.

Besides the oil of olives I finally bought a huge selection of cheeses (which I can't get anywhere else in my area). They were all great, well maybe not all of them but I finally had a chance to try few I was looking for a some time now.

Unfortunately we didn't buy any seafood (although selection was big) or any meat as we had an over 2 hours way back home and didn't have anything to pack it in. We finished our visit in English Market upstairs, eating some lunch - well it was a lunch for my Hubby as he ordered a proper sandwich I spoiled myself a little with... Banoffie pie :) and hot chocolate.

If you'll ever be in Cork English Market should be high on your list of places to visit. I know I definitely be there now each time I'm in the city.
More info about the English Market on their official web site here.

Cheese - French Comté...

2010-07-16T22:35:00.004+01:00

OK I know I'm not very often here lately but you know the reason - Baby J :) But I still eat a lot and cook whenever I can - though usually this was passed on to my Hubby and he's good at this so I'm not complaining ;)
I eat a lot(!) of cheeses being it French, Italian, Irish, Polish, Dutch etc. so I decided to share with you my experience (or lack of it ;) ) in that field. I'm not an expert when it comes to cheeses. I like trying different types of it, like finding out the history, how it's made, from what kind of milk etc. so I hope my posts about all those things will be somehow helpful for you and will encourage you to try some as well :)
Oh, just so you know - all the cheeses I'll be posting about were "tried and tested", I'm afraid I will be judging with my own taste so if I'm not fond of some particular cheese please don't let it put if off trying it for yourself! It will be only my opinion and you really should make your own! :)

I couldn't start with anything else but probably the most famous of French hard cheeses - Comté.

The best way I can describe it is: medium soft texture (although it's a hard cheese), nice distinctive but not too offensive taste, you're left with a king of 'woody' after taste in your mouth (like it was a little smoked, even though it's not). You can definitely taste fruity/flowery overtones.
It's great on it's own - I ate it with a fresh baguette and fully bodied red wine (of course French one ;) )

And now some facts (some of which are highly surprising... like space for the cow!) The manufacture of Comté has been controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958.
The AOC regulations state that:
- Only milk from Montbeliarde Cattle is permitted, and each must have at least a hectare of grazing.
- Fertilization is limited, and cows may only be fed fresh, natural feed, with no silage.
- The milk must be transported to the site of production immediately after milking.
- Renneting must be carried out within a stipulated time after milking, according to the storage temperature of the cheese.
- Only one heating of the milk may occur, and that must be during renneting. It may be heated to no more than 40˚C.
- Salt may only be applied directly to the surface of the cheese.
- A casein label containing the date of production must be attached to the side of the cheese, and maturing must continue for at least four months.
- No grated cheese may be sold under the Comté name.
And can you believe that each cheese takes up to 600 litres (160 US gal) of milk to produce!

If you're creating a cheese board Comté will be in the middle way reg. the consumption order (of course everything depends what other cheeses you'll have).

Very good info about this cheese is here:
- Comte
- Wikipedia

OK, that's it for the first post about cheeses. Hope you like it (please leave a comment so I know to continue with this cheese board or not ;) ) I also really hope that you'll try this fantastic cheese!

The Daring Cooks #10 Nut Butters...

2010-07-14T12:06:00.008+01:00

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

This month's challenge was very interesting. And ye again I left it for the very last minute - made it only today. It's starting to be some kind of tradition for me doing challenges on the day of posting ;) Next month will be different though - as me and another DC member are the hosts! :)
Anyway back to this month - the challenge was great. I picked up the Asian Salad as me and my Hubby love shrimps. We weren't disappointed. It was delicious and very(!) easy to make (this time I did all the cooking while the two of them -Hubby and Baby J - were sleeping...).
I also had a chance to bake delicious peanut butter cookies - for which the recipe you'll find in the previous post.

Oh, thank you all for the wishes reg. Baby Julia :) and she's better now - less colics!!! Yupi!

How to make it...

Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew (or Peanut) Dressing

Recipe notes: Customize the salad by adding or substituting your favorite vegetables. Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and slivered carrots would make nice additions. Obviously, you can omit the shrimp, or substitute chicken or tofu or the protein of your choice. The dressing is equally as good with peanut butter rather than cashew butter. We tested the dressing with nut butters made from salted cashews & peanuts with good results.

Ingredients:

Cashew Butter:
- 1 cup (240 ml) cashews*

Cashew Dressing:
- ½ inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml) cashew butter
- ¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
- Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Noodle Salad:- 1/2 pound (225 g) linguine or thin rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 1/2 pound (225 g) small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped cashews (optional garnish)
- Lime wedges (optional)

Make cashew butter: Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. (*Or start with ½ cup (120 ml) prepared cashew butter.)
Prepare cashew dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups (360 ml) dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to the pan and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes or until opaque throughout. Alternately, cook shrimp in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) cashew dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more cashew dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you’d like. Scatter shrimp on top. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped cashews if desired.

Anula's notes:
- used peanut butter insted of cashew
- added bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms and baby corn
- I fired the shrimps on a little bit of butter

Bon appétit!

Peanut butter cookies...

2010-07-13T14:28:00.002+01:00

I just LOVE peanut butter! Never tried to make peanut butter cookies though so it was a high time... Very easy recipe and a great result. Enjoy!

P.S. Short post - Baby's crying... :(

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 250 g peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 whole egg and 1 egg white
- 5 tablespoons plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180 C. With a wooden spoon stir peanut butter, sugar, eggs and flour in the bowl until mixed well together. With floured hands, roll small balls (tablespoon measurement). Place 2 cm apart on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten with the fork. Bake 15 minutes until cookies look dry with tops crackled. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks to cool completely.

Bon appétit!

The Daring Bakers #14 Chocolate pavlovas...

2010-06-27T11:16:00.009+01:00

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I've only made it today... With a Baby I don't have much time for cooking now (not even for sleeping...) The Baby has horrible colic and sleeps only in my or my Hubby's arms... quite exhausting but it helps her so I don't mind - the only minus is that you can do 3 things while holding her: watching TV, reading or sleeping with her and that's about it... So it's only today I got the chance to make it. I really didn't want to skip this month's challenge as meringue is one of my favourites things in the whole world :) I had to change mascarpone filling for something else - as I didn't have ingredients to make it exactly as per recipe (all my changes are below the recipe). All in all great challenge - the chocolate meringue comes out dry, crisp and very light - it's definitely a keeper :) it will be great in Eaton Mess dessert!

How to make it...

Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):
- 3 large egg whites
- 100 g white granulated sugar
- 30 g confectioner’s (icing) sugar
- 30 g cocoa powder
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.) Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.) Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):
- 355 ml heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
- 255 g 72% chocolate, chopped
- 390 ml mascarpone
- pinch of nutmeg
- 30 ml Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
Put ½ cup (120 ml) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):
- 1 recipe crème anglaise
- 120 ml mascarpone
- 30 ml Sambucca (optional)
- 120 ml heavy cream
Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Anula's changes:
- instead of mascarpone filling I made: fresh whipped cream with peaches (used canned ones)
- changed mascarpone cream for raspberry juice (to give it a little sharpness, as whole dessert was rather on the sweet side...)

Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #9 Pâté & Bread... the perfect couple...

2010-06-14T07:27:00.005+01:00

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

I love pate - in all shapes and sizes :) and I love home made bread. Unfortunatelly this month's challenge wasn't in perfect timing for me... but...

I know I didn't make this months challenge as I should have. I didn't use any of the recipes provided for the pate, but please pop in to The Daring Kitchen to see those 4 great recipes... Reason being for not doing those is that a few days ago I had my Baby Girl (you can read about that here) and wasn't able to do the challenge at all! I want it to make it this month badly - as pate is one of my favourite things in the world! But... my Hubby made it instead. He wanted to make a recipe for pate which he got from my Dad. I admit - quantities are huge (we got about 4 kg of final pate - shared it with my neighbours and rest to the freezer), but if you're making pate, doesn't matter how much of the ingredients you have - work is basically the same...
Hope that this month's challenge will count for me ;) even though I made some significant changes...

How to make it...

Dad's recipe for pate:
- 2,5 kg pork shoulder
- 0,5 kg pork liver
- 1 whole chicken
- 0,5 streaky beacon or smoked pork belly
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 whole demi baguettes (great idea to use your stale bread)
- 2 onions
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 0,5 glass oil of olives or 300 g pork fat
- some oil for frying and baking
- salt, pepper, white pepper, paprika, nutmeg
- breadcrumbs

Rub in seasoning into the pork shoulder, put into oven proof dish, add roughly cut onions, garlic, about 4 tablespoons oil of olives and place your meat tightly in the dish. Add half a glass of water. Cover and put into preheated to 200 C oven wait until it starts 'boiling' and lower the heat to 170 C and leave for 2 hours.
Remove the meat leaving the fat in the dish. Now to the leftover fat add your streaky bacon and your chicken (cut into pieces). Place the dish (covered) in the oven in 170 C for another 2 hours. *If you have an ovenproof dish big enough to put all your meat inside you can bake it all at once.
When all your meat is baked, cool it down, remove from the bone and cut into pieces which will suit your mincer.
Cut the pork liver into pieces, do not season, only fry through out on about 2 tablespoons of oil.
Soak baguettes in the leftover fat and juices from the meat (from this amount of meat you should get approx. 2 glass of juices).
Take all your meat, liver, onions, soaked baguettes and mince everything together (the consistency will be the one you like, you can mince it even twice if you want it very fine). Once it's minced and mixed taste it and season. Add 4 raw eggs and the oil of olives or pork fat (you may not have to add whole half glass of fat, depends how lean your meat was).
Transfer your pate mixture into greased and covered with breadcrumbs baking dish (can be loaf try etc.), sprinkle with breadcrumbs on top of the pate and bake in preheated oven in 170 C for about 1 hour (the time of baking hugely depends on the type of dish you're baking in - you'll know it's ready when the top will brown and look 'crisp'). Take it out of the oven and leave in the dish to cool completely, only then it will remove easily and won't break.

French Baguette
Starter:
- 120 ml cool water
- 1/16 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup
Dough:
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 240 ml to 300 ml lukewarm water*
- all of the starter
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
*Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.

Make the starter by mixing the yeast with the water, then mixing in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; overnight works well. The starter should have risen and become bubbly.
Mix active dry yeast with the water and then combine with the starter, flour, and salt. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface may still be a bit rough. Knead for about 5 minutes on speed 2 of a stand mixer.
Place the dough in a lightly greased medium-size bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and then again after 2 hours.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into three equal pieces. Shape each piece into a rough, slightly flattened oval, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten it slightly, and fold and seal again. With the seam-side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 15" log. Place the logs seam-side down onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan or pans.
Cover them with a cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaves to rise till they've become very puffy, about 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450ºF (240ºC).
Using a very sharp knife held at about a 45° angle, make three 8" vertical slashes in each baguette. Spritz the baguettes heavily with warm water; this will help them develop a crackly-crisp crust.
Bake the baguettes until they're a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2", and allow the baguettes to cool in the oven.

New... Baby Girl!

2010-06-11T20:10:00.004+01:00

As you know (well at least those who are reading my blog from time to time ;) ) that I was expecting a very important "delivery". Well I can announce that my Baby was born on the 7th June at 2:14 am!!! It's "She" and her name is... Julia :D I'm afraid I won't show you Her 'in full' - as that's my choice not to publish mine or her image - but here's a little peak ;) She was 51 cm long and 3,390 kg heavy at the time of birth - don't ask me about those gorgeous, blond, long(!) hair - Hubby is claiming hard that it's his contribution ;)

You will have to forgive me if I won't be so "active" on my blog for some time now, but my life has just changed completely and I have to adjust a little ;) As it's my First Baby, everything is new and exciting and I'm soooo enjoying it! It's a hard job but so rewarding :) I didn't suppose that such a little thing can bring so much love, joy and happiness - not the mention the VERY proud Daddy ;P

Beetroot, chicory and orange salad...

2010-05-29T18:15:00.005+01:00

I'm not cooking much recently... with such a HUGE bump (39 weeks!) on me I can hardly walk, let alone stand for some time in front of a stove... So, my Hubby happy in the kitchen - at last I'm not interrupting ;) But today I was able to help him a little and made this lovely salad. Had it marked in one of my cookbooks for some time now and having all the ingredients I just finally made it. Didn't know if it will be nice but it was delicious! It will be great accompaniment to grilled meats and fish or alone as a starter. The recipe comes from "Fat free, low fat cooking" by Anne Sheasby.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 3 medium cooked beetroots (cooked, pealed and diced)
- 3 heads chicory (sliced)
- 2 large oranges (segments cut out, juice added to the salad)
- 4 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 4 teaspoons mustard
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- salt, pepper, caster sugar

Mix together diced beetroot, chicory and orange segments. In a separate bowl prepare the dressing - mix yogurt, mustard and season to taste. Spoon the dressing over the salad and mix well together. Done! Couldn't be simpler.
Bon appétit!

P.S. You can buy already cooked and pealed beetroots which will make your life much simpler.

Chłodnik soup and heat wave in Ireland!...

2010-05-23T18:59:00.007+01:00

It's just unbelievable how hot it is. I wouldn't mind it normally, but now I really do (try to be 9 months pregnant and survive temp. around 30 C...). I love such weather and I'm happy it's a real spring/summer here (at last!). We really miss sunshine here on The Green Isle and try to grab any that we get. Surviving such weather is different matter all together. I can't eat, I'm just not hungry - but as we all know one has to eat. So... there's a soup, cold soup designed especially for such weather - perfect for hot days. I admit that I had to call my Dad to ask exactly how to make it and what to put inside ;) It was delicious - a true taste of my family home (Dad would be proud!). Hope you will try it - especially that it's not difficult, cheap to make and healthy too.

"Cold borscht (borshch) or Cold beet soup is a cold variety of borscht — beetroot soup traditional to some Northern European and Slavic countries. In Poland it's called 'chłodnik' or chłodnik litewski'. Its preparation starts with young beets being chopped and boiled, together with their leaves, when available. After cooling them down, the soup is usually mixed with sour cream, soured milk, kefir or yoghurt (depending on regional preferences). Typically, raw chopped vegetables such as radishes or cucumbers are added and the soup is garnished and flavored with dill or parsley. Chopped, hard-boiled eggs are often added. The soup has a rich pink color which varies in intensity depending on the ratio of beets to dairy ingredients." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 800 ml plain yogurt
- 4 boiled and pealed and grind young beetroots
- 6 red radishes, grind
- 1 cucumber, pealed and grind
- 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
- spring onion or dill, chopped
- salt, pepper, caster sugar
- lemon juice

In a big bowl or pot mix all the grind veges, spring onion and eggs. Add all the yogurt (if it's too thick, just add some more). Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little of lemon juice. You may also want to add some sugar to 'break' the taste. It's ready - literally 10 min. :) Put your soup into the fridge for min. 30 minutes. Serve cold.
Bon appétit!

Coconut rice with fruit sauce...

2010-05-22T07:25:00.000+01:00

I love coconut. It's such a nice flavour and it goes well with so many things - both meats, veges and other fruits. I had half a can of coconut milk in the fridge and had to use it sooner rather than later - hence this very simple and so delicious dessert. I made the rice, Hubby had an idea with the sauce.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 glass white rice (I used long grain and it worked perfectly)
- 1 glass water
- 1,5 glass coconut milk
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- can of strawberries (I always have canned strawberries as fresh ones are very expensive here - around EUR 12.00 for 1 kg!)
- 1 banana

Cook the rice in water, coconut milk with a pinch of salt and sugar. Your rice should be very sticky - like pudding. Put the rice aside (cool if you like or serve hot - we tried both ways and both are delicious!). Blend canned strawberries with all the juice and a banana till smooth. Place your coconut rice in serving bowls and pour over the fruit juice.
We used mixture of strawberries and banana, as that's what we actually had, but I would guess that pineapples, oranges, peaches etc. would work great as well.
Bon appétit!

Fried Brie... eating all my favourites till I can!...

2010-05-21T07:49:00.004+01:00

Love this dish. Love fried Brie. Unfortunately I don't eat it a lot as I would be a Hippo in no time - unfortunately usually what's tastes great isn't the best for us... Well form time to time you can make yourself 'a present' ;) especially now that my Baby is due in 2 weeks and after that no more fried/grilled/greasy things for me, no more spicy food etc as I intend to breast feed... So now I'm easting what I can, until I can :D Fried Brie is great with a little bit of salad (balsamic dressing works well) on the side and a crouton - makes perfect lunch. If you have a cranberry jam/chutney you have to eat it with fried Brie - trust me on that!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 Brie (round, square - whatever you have which is good for one person)
- 1 beaten egg
- flour and breadcrumbs for coating
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying

Dredge the Brie in the flour, then dip into the beaten egg, then dip into the breadcrumbs. Dip into the egg and breadcrumbs twice more to ensure full coating. Heat the pan and pour the oil. When it's hot place your Brie on the pan and fry on each side till golden brown and till you can feel it's nicely melted inside. Take of the pan and serve immediately.
You can also deep fry it but I prefer to shallow fry - less greasy and in my opinion tastes better too.
Bon appétit!

1 egg tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette)... part of Bento box...

2010-05-20T14:39:00.006+01:00

Recently I'm FASCINATED by Japanese 'art' (yes, that's a kind of art for me :) ) lunch box - BENTO. I love those different kind of bento boxes (still have to buy one, but have no idea where!?), those little pieces of meat, fish, different shapes of rice, salads with dressings in those cute bottles etc. and what's more - I don't think you can make healthier, more balanced and prettier lunch box than bento :) I know that I'm on maternity leave now - so you may ask what's the point, but... I can make bento for my Hubby or just learn how to prepare it for the future (as I know that eventually, someday I'll have to go back to work :/ ....). So today one of the simplest things to put into your bento.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce (regular or light-colored)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon bonito flakes (optional, I didn't have them)
- vegetable oil for cooking

Mix all the ingredients together well. Heat up a small (15cm) non-stick frying pan and spread thinly with oil. Once the pan is hot pour in the egg. Stir gently with a fork until you see it’s half-set. Fold in half with a spatula. Tidy up the other side a bit (folding a little as well). Fold the one third (top part) of the egg over with the spatula. Press down. Fold the other end of the egg over. Press the whole thing down. Flip over and press again. Remove from the heat before it browns too much. A 1-egg tamagoyaki is only about 100 calories and is great as a secondary protein portion in your bento box.

I know that my omlette isn't as perfectly square and/or as fluffy as it should but it was my first try ;) In the room temperature tastes great! Nice part of a lunch box.
Bon appétit!

P.S. If you want to know more about that great Japanese tradition of lunch boxes those are few pages I found very interesting:
- Just Bento : lots of great recipes
- Bento & Co : all 'equipment' you need for your bento from boxes to sauce bottles and sticks
- Soul Soup Soap : blog with new bento box everyday
- Lunch in a Box: Building a better bento
- Bento on Wikipedia : little history on bento, different types of Japanese lunch boxes etc.

The Daring Cooks go Mexican... but without me this time...

2010-05-14T04:27:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's 14th today and Daring Cooks reveal date... Unfortunately I wasn't able to do this month's DC challenge... I WILL dare to do it in the future though - as it sounds fantastic and I like Mexican cuisine. Besides all other daring cooks results look amazing and so delicious :)

Please pop in to The Daring Kitchen for the recipe and to see other DC Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada. This month's challenge was hosted by Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food so please pop in to their lovely blogs too!

In the meantime - have a great day! And 'see' you soon :)

Puff pizza...

2010-05-13T04:04:00.003+01:00

OK I know that with this one I was a little lazy... but you have to forgive pregnant woman ;) I had last one sheet of puff pastry in the freezer and no idea what to do for dinner today. But after some thinking I decided to make pizza using puff pastry. If you never tried it yet - do it! It amazingly light and fluffy. Taste as good as (or even better...) than normal, traditional dough pizza but you don't feel so stuffed after it. I think it will be also great alternative to normal pizza for kids...? Huh? Anyway - use your imagination with the ingredients, buy (or if you dare do your own) puff pastry and enjoy!

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet ready made puff pastry
- 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 5 mushrooms, diced and fried on a little bit of butter
- 1 chicken breast, cut into stripes, seasoned and fried
- few olives (I like and use only the black ones)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree (seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and oil of olives)
- cheese (I think mozzarella would be the best but I didn't have it and used Gouda)

Preheat your oven to 220 C. Lay out your puff pastry on a baking tray (previously greased with a bit of oil of olives). Spread your seasoned tomato puree leaving a bit of space on the edges of the pastry. Spread evenly the rest of the ingredients, ending with the cheese at the very top. Bake your puff pizza for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with some salad on the side - or alone if you like it.
Bon appétit!

Jamaican coconut bread...

2010-05-11T15:48:00.003+01:00

Recently all over the food blog world everyone is making a version of coconut bread - had to finally try it! As I love coconut I couldn't wait any longer. I was looking for a 'perfect' recipe for 2 days but decided eventually to go with the one from Jamaicans.com . It was a good choice. The bread (or really more like a kind of cake) is nice, fluffy and moist. There is one thing I will change in the future though - I will swap the normal milk for the coconut milk, as I believe this will give more 'pronounced' coconut taste.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/3 cups shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 C degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and coconut in large bowl. In separate bowl, beat milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract together until well blended. Add liquid ingredients to dry ones and stir to blend. Do not over-mix. Pour batter into a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert the bread onto a cake rack to cool completely. Make 10 to 12 servings.
Bon appétit!

Pan-fried pork with peaches...

2010-05-10T17:15:00.004+01:00

I know it's been quiet on my blog lately, but that was caused by the fact that today is my first day of maternity leave and I had many things to sort out at work etc. before my big leave... Now, that I'm at home and the Baby isn't due till the 14th June I will cook more and keep you posted :)
So, as we are trying to save as much as possible (with the Baby on the way and me getting less money than I used to earn...) I had a good look through our cupboards and try to use what we have for everyday cooking - rather than buying something new. And believe me - the things I found in our storage cabinet - I forgot that we bought all those things at all!
This recipe is based on an idea taken from the "Fat free, low fat cooking". I was positively surprised by the taste - as I thought that pork and peaches won't mix up well together... It's very simple dish and easy to prepare, taste is rather unusual but everything goes well together.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 2 pork chops
- 150 g long grain rice
- 1 small onion, deiced
- 1 small can of sliced peaches (you can also use fresh ones)
- vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar ( I used cider vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon green peppercorns
- salt and pepper

Cook your rice as per instructions. You can flavour it with chicken or vegetable stock cube. Keep it worm after it's ready.
Season your pork and cover with oil. On a deep, hot pan fry your pork chops about 6 minutes on each side. Take it off the pan, put aside and keep warm. Add diced onion on the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add your peach slices, peppercorns, vinegar and as much peach juice to create a sauce. Simmer for about 3 minutes till everything is nice and soft. Transfer your pork chops back to the pan, so they can 'catch' some of that sauce flavours. Serve with cooked rice on the side and sauce poured over the meat and peaches.
Bon appétit!

Meatloaf a little different...

2010-05-08T16:09:00.000+01:00

As I probably mentioned it before it's hard to buy here a nice cured/smoked meat for your sandwich. If you don't like ham, corned beef or chicken all the time you will have a hard time either in Ireland and/or UK. I'm used to a huge choice of cured meats, sausages, smoked meat etc. as it's a big part of Polish culinary tradition. My Hubby decided to do something about that. He made something very delicious. One slice of that (kind of) meatloaf on your fresh bread, sliced tomato, hot tea and I don't need anything else...

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 300 g minced pork meat
- 2 raw chicken breasts, flattened
- 200 g mushrooms, chopped
- 1 big onion, diced
- 1 raw eggs
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- breadcrumbs
- salt, pepper, paprika
- oil of olives

On a pan and a little bit of oil fry onion and mushrooms. Leave to cool. Mix your minced meat with raw egg, onion and mushrooms, garlic, 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Cover and put into the fridge for few ours so all the flavours mix together well.
Preheat your oven to 200 C. Take your mixed meat mixture and now you can do it on two ways - either flatten your mixed meat, lay chicken breast on top and roll or other way round - put your chicken breast on the board, spread your mixed meat on top and roll. Cover your ready 'roulade' in breadcrumbs and put into a long baking dish (I used a loaf tin) previously spread evenly with oil of olives. Put your meatloaf into the oven. Bake in 200 C for first 10 minutes, lover the heat to 180 C and continue baking for another 50 minutes.
We ate it as a sliced meat on sandwiches, but it will be also great for a dinner - just make some gravy, mash and a salad :)
Bon appétit!

Book review - Encyclopedia of Polish cuisine...

2010-04-29T21:32:00.006+01:00

As I'm Polish you would presume that Polish cuisine has no mysteries and question marks for me... but it's completely different. The reason is that Polish cuisine is complex, with a rich history and every region of Poland has their own recipes and traditions. Me and my Hubby got this book as a wedding present and I returned to it only recently as it was our 2nd Wedding anniversary on 24t April :)

The Encyclopedia of Polish Cuisine is a source of information about Polish cooking years ago and today, it covers both haute, official cuisine and recipes from various parts of Poland. The twenty chapters of the book include recipes for flavoured butters, dips, soups, flour-based dishes, egg and cheese dishes, kashas and rice, potatoes, side dishes, sauces, fish, meat, poultry, game, mushrooms, vegetables, desserts, cold and hot drinks, cakes, liqueurs and preserves. The author Hanna Szymanderska presents such well-known dishes as chicken broth or pork chops, you will also find here some long-forgotten recipes for crayfish, stewed hazel grouse, quail nests or coot in cranberry sauce. The book is written in an easy and understanding language. Each chapter has an introduction, which contains important cooking hints for both the beginner and for the experienced cook.

Overall the book is a great and complete summary of the Polish culinary tradition and is a must in all homes with "Polish roots" as well as those who want to know Poland and it's food little better.

The Daring Bakers #13 British Pudding ...

2010-04-27T01:35:00.005+01:00

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

I didn't have an access to the suet so I choose to make butter based pudding. If you want to get a recipe for the one with the suet and see how my fellow DB did their challenge this month please pop in to The Daring Kitchen.

The result of this month's challenge was fantastic! I didn't want plain pudding though, so I added cinnamon, sultanas and made it with some fresh apples.
I was slightly worried that it won't be a success but... my and my Hubby loved the result!!! It was amazingly light and soft (maybe as a result of slowly steaming it rather thank baking?) We will definitely try it again - next time we're thinking of placing some rich jam/marmalade at the bottom of the pudding basin...

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter
- few drops natural vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs , beaten
- 175g self-raising flour

Grease a 900ml pudding basin. Put butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together. Stir in vanilla extract, then beat in eggs, a little at a time. Sift in flour and carefully fold into the mixture. Spoon the sponge mixture on top and level off surface.
Butter a piece of greaseproof paper slightly bigger than the top of the pudding basin. Make a pleat in the centre and secure over the top of basin. Repeat with a piece of foil, then secure the whole thing with string. Place in a pan half filled with simmering water. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, checking regularly that the pan does not boil dry. Remove cover, invert the pudding onto a plate, then carefully lift off the pudding basin. Serve with crème fraîche or single cream.

Anula's changes:
- 2 apples, pealed and arranged at the bottom of the pudding dish, sprinkled with some cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon added to the batter
- 1 hand full of sultanas added to the batter

Bon appétit!

Tarte Tatin - OMG it's SO delicious!...

2010-04-17T15:45:00.008+01:00

Finally we've made it - and by saying 'we' I mean my Hubby. He woke up this morning and declared - I'm making Tarte Tatin today! And he did :D It was SO DELICIOUS that we ate over half of it straight away! I know it may sound greedy but... when you'll try it you'll know what I mean! It's so simple to make, not time consuming and cheap as well! We served it warm with a little of crème fraiche - which is great, a little sour, accompaniment to that sweet French dessert!
Oh, I also found out that Tarte Tatin has it's own official web site which you can find here.

"Tradition says that the Tarte Tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1898. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. There are conflicting stories concerning the tart's origin, but the predominant one is that Stéphanie Tatin, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day. She started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. An alternative version of the tart's origin is offered on the Brotherhood of the Tarte Tatin website, according to which Stéphanie baked a caramelised apple tart upside-down by mistake. Regardless she served her guests the unusual dish hot from the oven and a classic was born.
The Tarte became a signature dish at the Hotel Tatin and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant Maxim's of Paris.
Tarte Tatin has to be made with firm dessert apples: cooking apples will not do as they mulch down into a purée. Tarte Tatin can also be made with pears, peaches, pineapple, tomatoes, other fruit, or vegetables, such as onion." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 6 apples, pealed, deseeded and sliced
- 5 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 sheet ready made puff pastry (or if you have time and strenght you can make your own :) pastry )

In an 20 cm ovenproof skillet or baking pan melt the butter. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over top. Place your apple slices in the skillet, fitting them tightly together, filling the skillet completely. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Gently cook the apples over a low heat for about 20 minutes until your sugar caramelized (medium-brown colour) and your apples are tender. When cooked remove from the heat.
Roll out your pastry to a circle slightly larger than your baking dish/skillet. Set the pastry on top of your apples covering them completely and score to make light vents. Bake in preheated oven in 200 C for about 20-25 minutes or until it's golden brown. Turn out upside down onto a serving plate. Serve warm.
Bon appétit!

The Daring Cooks #8 Brunswick Stew...

2010-04-14T13:37:00.001+01:00

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

There were two ways of doing this month's challenge. First one long and time consuming (none of which I had this month...) and second one. If you want the full recipe of the first long version, and also see how my DC fellows done this month's challenge please pop in to The Daring Kitchen.

How to make it...

Recipe Two, The Short Way:
This version goes on the assumption that you already have cooked your meats and have broth on hand. This was also my first experience with eating Brunswick stew. It’s got more of a tomato base, has larger, chunkier vegetables, but is just as wonderful as recipe one. However, it is a lot quicker to make than the first recipe.
Brunswick Stew recipe from the Callaway, Va Ruritan Club, served yearly at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival in Ferrum, Va.

Ingredients:
Serves about 10
- 2 1/2 lb TOTAL diced stewed chicken, turkey, and ham, with broth - yes, all three meats
- 3 medium diced potatoes
- 2 medium ripe crushed tomatoes
- 2 medium diced onions
- 3 cups frozen corn
- 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
- 4-5 strips crumbled bacon
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon ‘Poultry Seasoning’
- dash of red pepper
- 2 diced carrots (optional)
- tomato juice

In large stock pot or Dutch Oven, mix all ingredients, heat until bubbly and hot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato juice as desired. Cook until all vegetables are tender. Serve hot.

Anula's notes:
- I used only beef and chicken meat as I couldn't get rabbit
- mine had carrots, mixed beans and sweet corn
- I served mine Brunswick Stew with potato pancakes for which you can find recipe HERE.

Bon appétit!

Happy Easter to all of you!...

2010-04-04T11:56:00.004+01:00

Today very short post - just to wish you Happy Easter and enjoy all those chocolate eggs!!! I know I will ;) This morning was very traditional at my home. Festive breakfast and now a day of laziness with some good coffee and a cake I baked yesterday :) If you want to know more about Polish Easter traditions pop in here to my last year's post about it.

Five brown eggs in a nest of hay,
One yellow chick popped out to play.
Four brown eggs in a nest of hay,
Another yellow chick cheep-cheeped Good day.
Three brown eggs in a nest of hay,
Crack went another one, Hip hooray.
Two brown eggs in a nest of hay,
One more chick pecked his shell away.
One brown egg in a nest of hay,
The last yellow chick popped out to say,
Happy Easter!

Chicken in rice...

2010-04-02T23:19:00.000+01:00

My Hubby in the kitchen again! I don't feel in a high form lately - back and hips pain cos of bigger and bigger tummy ;) - so it's my Hubby's kitchen lately. He made a beautiful lunch yesterday - chicken baked in rice. Very simple and soooo delicious - He already made it twice and I loved it each time. This time Hubby served the chicken with cucumber salad (seasoned, thinly sliced cucumber with Greek yogurt - it's called 'mizeria' in Poland, but you will traditionally use cream rather than yogurt and some are adding chopped chives or dill as well).

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- chicken cuts (whatever you like or whatever you actually have)
- barbecue style marinade for the meat
- white rice (Hubby used paella rice)
- oil for frying
- salted water (double the amount of your rice)

Prepare the marinade - it really depends what you like - Hubby made barbecue marinade as it's perfect for this dish (gives a lot of flavour to the rice). Leave marinated chicken over night in the fridge. Next day heat the oil on the pan and seal the chicken, till it's golden brown. In an ovenproof dish make a thin layer of uncooked rice, place fired, drained chicken and cover tightly with the rest of your rice. Pour over your water and cover your dish. Place in the preheated to 180 C oven and bake for 45-55 minutes. Check if your chicken is ready by uncovering a piece and pierceing it with a sharp knife. Your rice will soak up all the water, juices and flavours from the chicken, but the meat will not dry out. Serve immediately with your choice of some salad.
Bon appétit!

The Daring Bakers #12 Orange Tian ...

2010-03-27T01:43:00.003Z

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

This was quite unusual DB challenge for me as... it's my first anniversary since I've joined Daring Bakers community :) THANK YOU all fellow DB and DC bloggers for support, kind words (when sometimes something didn't exactly go as planned...), great fun and what's more - opening my mind (and my kitchen) to all those amazing new recipes!!! I still remember my first challenge - which was a lasagna... it was hard but rewarding work :)

For the Pate Sablee
Ingredients:
- 2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
- 80 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g unsalted butter (ice cold, cubed)
- salt 1/3 teaspoon (2 grams)
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor. Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a 1/4 inch thick circle. Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

For the Marmalade
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons freshly pressed orange juice
- 1 large orange used to make orange slices
- cold water to cook the orange slices
- pectin 5 grams
- granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes. Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices. Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor). Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar. In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes). Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments
For this step you will need 8 oranges.
Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.
Anula's notes:
- I had to omit that step as I run out of oranges and it was already late...

For the Caramel
Ingredients:
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 400 g orange juice
Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it. Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.
Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.
[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!]

For the Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
- 200 g heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons of hot water
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- 1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
- orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon
In a small bowl, add the gelatin and hot water, stirring well until the gelatin dissolves. Let the gelatin cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatin slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:
Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer. Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone. Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel. Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use. Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snuggly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart. Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle. Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough. Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact. Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes. Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

Bon appétit!

Coq au vin - by Julia Child...

2010-03-21T04:08:00.004Z

I know I'm mad about Julia Child recently - I finally decided to cook as many dishes from her 'Mastering the art...' as I can (and the second part of that great cookbook was already ordered and is on its way to may home :D ). My Hubby once attempted making coq au vin but it was completely his version, out of his head, how he thought it should be - and it was delicious. For comparison we decided to cook Julia's version - and it was amazing! As with all her recipes it involves quite a work but way less than her famous boeuf bourguignon... Again all the work was worth it and we enjoyed it a lot! It gave us 2 amazing dinners: first one served with baguette, second with potatoes - one whole chicken will give you four generous portions.

"Coq au vin is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. While the wine is typically Burgundy wine, many regions of France have variants of coq au vin using the local wine, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coq au Champagne, and so on. The most extravagant version is coq au Chambertin, but this generally involves Chambertin more in name than in practice... Various legends trace coq au vin to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, but the recipe was not documented until the early 20th century; it is generally accepted that it existed as a rustic dish long before that. In 1864 a similar recipe, poulet au vin blanc, appeared in Cookery for English Households, by A French Lady. In one of the earliest printed recipes, published in 1913, the text claimed the recipe dated to the 16th century." - by Wikipedia.org

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 130 g chunk of lean bacon
- 30 g butter
- 1,5 kg cut-up frying chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 50 ml cognac
- 700 ml full bodied red wine
- 280 ml chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 cloves mashed garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 30 g flour
- 20 g softened butter

Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons. Simmer for 10 minutes in water. Rinse in cold water. Dry.
Saute the bacon slowly in hot butter until lightly brown. Remove to a side dish.
Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown in the hot fat in the casserole. Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken. Uncover and pour in the cognac, ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake casserole for several seconds until the flames subside (unfortunately I didn't do that step - lack of cognac...).
Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to simmering point. Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a side dish.

While the chicken is cooking prepare brown-braised onions and sauteed mushrooms.

Simmer the chicken cooking liquid for a minute skimming of the fat. Then raise the heat and boil reducing the liquid. Correct seasoning. Blend flour and softened butter together into a smooth paste. Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a whisk. Bring to simmering point, stirring constantly for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick by now.
Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place mushrooms and onions around it and baste with sauce. Simmer for few minutes until the chicken is hot again and serve.

Bon appétit!

Book review - What to eat now: more please! by Valentine Warner...

2010-03-20T08:57:00.000Z

I already reviewed Val's first book 'What to eat now' - which explored all the goodies from autumn and winter time. This is the second part - all about ingredients and flavours of spring and summer - “This is not a time for the slow, sturdy dishes of autumn and winter” as Val says. He promotes seasonal eating - which is cheap, flavoursome, fresh and healthy too. After reading it I was so mad that I don't have my own little garden with all those fresh veges, herbs within my arm's reach... The book contains over 100 recipes - as for now I've tried maybe only 3... I know I'm bad...
This book may change they way you shop and cook. You will look at the labels more than you used to - no more asparagus from Peru when you live in Ireland and so on. Val is a very enthusiastic cook and a simple one. His dishes aren't complicated, don't involve many hard to get ingredients and most of them aren't labour intensive. Divided into simple chapters such as Fish Dishes, Eggs & Cheese, Flowers & a Drop of Honey and many more - 'What to Eat Now: More Please!' is a bouncily enthusiastic tour of seasonal food.
As spring is on it's way I'm sure I will go back to this book (I already read it from cover to cover - as it's more than a cook book, it's a great reading for the evenings).

Champignons sautés au beurre... Sautéed Mushrooms...

2010-03-19T23:56:00.003Z

Another principle from Julia Child. You can use these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone, with other veges or as a part of stews etc. It's very easy to make them and I assure you that they are delicious (I used them in a scramble eggs - yum!). They have that burn, buttery, almost like wild mushrooms taste. So as per Julia's 'Mastering the art...' here it is.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 500 g fresh mushrooms (washed, well drained, let whole if small or quartered if big)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
As soon as butter and oil start to foam on the hot pan add mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for about 5 minutes. Wait till the mushrooms will begin to brown. Turn them so they can brown evenly. As soon as the have browned lightly, remove from the heat. Put aside - they are ready.

Optional:
- 500 g chopped shallots or spring onions
Toss the shallots or spring onions with the mushrooms. Saute over a moderate heat for 2 minutes.

Sauteed mushrooms may be cooked in advance, then reheated when needed. Season them to taste just before serving.

Bon appétit!