ezi-edible-gifts

A last post and goodbye

2009-01-19T00:14:00.003+02:00

I have finally decided to stop blogging so there will be no new posts on this blog anymore. I will leave the blog open for a few more months and then take it "off the air" for good.

Many things have changed in my personal and financial circumstances during 2008 and I actually realised that I am not getting younger.

I had to decide what is important for me and one of these is my financial future. I was always interested in affiliate and article marketing as an extra means of income and will now use all the knowledge I gained from blogging to make a living from the internet.

As soon as my new website is up and running, I will post a link to it here for those of you who are interested to find out more about working and earning a living from home.

A big thank you to everybody who has visited this blog since I started it in January 2007. I hope you enjoyed the gift ideas and that you actually tried some of the recipes I shared with you.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Torte

2008-12-15T21:18:00.006+02:00

I love it when I find a recipe that is quick and easy to make. This chocolate torte fits nicely into that category and is ideal to make if you do not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

It doesn't get any easier than this!

Ingredients:

2 x 200g packets digestive biscuits
30g butter
30ml golden syrup
15ml cocoa powder
300g dark chocolate
2 x 250g cartons mascarpone

To make:

Crush biscuits in a food processor, combine with melted butter, syrup and cocoa. Grease a flan pan and line with the biscuit mix. Refrigerate one hour. Melt chocolate, add to mascarpone cheese. Mix well pour onto biscuit base. Refrigerate until firm.

Interesting reading while you eat the torte...

The lighter side of dark chocolate

The history of digestive biscuits

Mascarpone cheese?

Tomato and Chilli Relish

2008-12-11T21:53:00.005+02:00

The menfolk in the family will love this homemade chilli relish.

You will need:

2 kg tomatoes, skinned and quartered
2 red peppers, chopped
4 medium sized onions, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated
200 ml white grape vinegar
120 g (150ml) sugar
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
15 ml salt
15 ml chillies, dried and crushed
15 ml mustard powder

To make:

Blend the first five ingredients together. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer without the lid until mixture is very thick. Don't forget to stir regularly. Store in sterilised bottles.

Tip: Use textured bottles (ask at the local pub to save the empty tequila bottles for you).

Caramel-Peanut Squares

2008-12-07T15:34:00.003+02:00

It is summer in South Africa! Hot days and warm nights and yet, all over the country a lot of baking is going on to stock up on food for the Christmas season.

I for one would love Christmas in winter. I would not really mind spending time in the kitchen baking cookies and biscuits then.

I must admit, as I am growing older, I am also getting lazier every year to do a lot of baking. The local supermarket sells lovely shortbread which can be dipped in melted chocolate or sandwiched together with a filling... and who would know that I did not slave for hours in the kitchen to make them...lol.

On the other hand, Gene Bach wrote such a lovely poem for me last year that I sometimes really feel guilty if I do not do some baking at least twice a year... (when did I become sooo lazy?) He has been visiting this blog a lot lately and is always asking for more recipes, so Gene, these caramel-peanut squares are for you, my friend.

Base:

375 g (400 ml) butter or baking margarine
300 g (375 ml) white sugar
3 egg yolks
360 g (750 ml) flour
100 g (190 ml) selfraising flour
90 ml custard powder
3 ml salt

Topping:

300 g (375 ml) brown sugar, lightly packed
270 g (300 ml ) butter
45 ml golden syrup
375 g (625 ml ) roasted unsalted peanuts

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sifted flours, custard powder and salt, mix to a firm dough. Press mixture into base of greased 27 x 18 x 4-cm lamington tins. Bake in moderate oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, spread with prepared topping, return to oven and bake for a further 5 minutes. allow to cool in tin, cut into squares.

To prepare topping:

Place brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in a small saucepan, stir over low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in roughly chopped nuts.

Yield about 45 squares.

About this recipe: I found it nearly 30 years ago in "The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits" published by the Australian Women's Weekly. Ten years ago it was published in an Afrikaans weekly magazine again.

In the early 90's I baked from home for nearly 2 years to supplement my income and these biscuits were one of the popular sellers. My late father loved peanuts and it was always a joy to bake these and then to see how much he enjoyed eating it.

Hertzog Koekies - True South African Tradition

2008-08-01T09:22:00.007+02:00

These cookies or jam and coconut tartlets are known as Hertzog koekies in South Africa and are part of every South African housewife's traditional recipes.

They were named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, prime minister of the South Africa Union in 1924. According to legend, there was also another cookie baked in nearly the same way (the ingredients were the same) but these were named after General Jan Smuts, Prime Minister from 1919 until 1924 and then again from 1939 until 1948.

Both Smuts and Hertzog played important roles in the early political history of South Africa, both fought in the Boer Wars and the World Wars and both of them had their own staunch supporters. Interesting is that the supporters of the one would not eat the biscuits named after the other one and even today, you will still find a recipe for Hertzog koekies and Jan Smuts koekies if you search for traditional South African cookies.

I grew up with Hertzog koekies (do not know if my ancestors were supporters of General Hertzog...) I personally think that when it comes to good food, politics should not keep you from enjoying food. On the other hand, if politics can lead to such lovely biscuits as Hertzog and Jan Smuts koekies, let the supporters create new recipes and food and then the whole world can enjoy it.

As is so often the case with traditional food recipes, there are many versions and here is the recipe that was used in my family for many, many years.

Ingredients:

The pastry dough

5 x 250ml (5 cups) cake flour
10ml baking powder (2 tsp)
1ml salt
250ml (1 cup) sugar
125g margarine or butter
4 very large eggs

The filling:

Smooth apricot jam
250 sugar ((1 cup)
200g desiccated coconut
5 egg whites

Method:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream margarine/butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one by one and beat thorougly after each addition.
Add dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.

Note: I decreased the baking powder to 5ml (1 tsp). The dough rises a lot and the cookies just looks neater if less baking powder is used.

Tip: Add a little flour if dough is too moist, or a little water if dough is too dry. If you use large or jumbo sized eggs, this is normally not a problem.

Roll dough out thinly and press out circles. Line the base of greased patty pan tins with dough circles.
Spoon a teaspoonful of apricot jam into the middle of each circle of dough.
Beat egg whites until soft peak stage. Add the sugar gradually, while still beating.
Add coconut and spoon egg mixture onto apricot jam filling.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 20 - 25 minutes.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 60 - 72 Hertzoggies.

Tip: To prevent the apricot jam from "leaking" during the baking process, add a teaspoon or two of flour to it.

Festive Touch: Cut red or green glacé cherries into small pieces and add to coconut mixture.

Snickerdoodles - Cookies for old and young

2008-07-25T17:58:00.009+02:00

According to Wikipedia a snickerdoodle is a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon. sugar. Cream of tartar together with the cinnamon gives these cookies their distinctive flavour.

I do not bake snickerdoodles very often, but when I do, I always wonder why I am so lazy... lol. They are really easy to bake and taste wonderful.... crunchy on the outside and rather soft and chewy on the inside. The little cracks on the surface combined with the colours of the cinnamon and sugar makes them a very attractive cookie as well.

Here is my recipe for snickerdoodles.

Ingredients:
250 ml (1 cup) cooking oil
300g sugar
2 eggs
330g flour, sifted
pinch of salt
12,5 ml cream of tartar
5ml bicarbonate of soda

Coating
50ml sugar
10ml ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix oil, sugar and eggs until thoroughly blended, set aside. In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stir into the oil mixture. Refrigerate for 45 minutes, do not omit this part as the dough is rather oily, but once baked, the cookies are very crunchy . Roll into walnut-sized balls.

To coat:
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar.Place on a greased baking tray, about 50mm (2 inches) apart. Bake at 200ºC, 10 minutes or lightly browned.

Makes about 55 biscuits.

My lazy tip: Place the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow plastic container with a lid. Shake to mix. After rolling the dough into balls, flatten each ball a little bit between your palms, place 5-6 balls in the container, seal and then shake to coat the dough balls. A lot quicker than to roll individual balls in the cinnamon sugar.

Ever heard of Schneckennudeln? Me neither, until I did a little research on the name of these cookies. Click on the link to read more about the History of snickerdoodles.

I also found another fun snickerdoodle site for kids, have a look if you want to.

A Cup of Spiced Tea

2008-06-30T18:18:00.004+02:00

If the food prices keep rising as it has done during the past few weeks, I would really have to cut down seriously on my coffee intake. (I was actually supposed to do it a long time ago, but I love my coffee.... strong and black!)

The price of my favourite coffee has gone up so much in only one week, I immediately had a "talk" to the manager of our local grocery store and the sad fact is that there was no mistake on the price tag.

So, one or two cups of tea will be included in my daily ration from now on. Black tea just does not taste the same as black coffee, but I found a recipe for spiced tea that would maybe inspire me to enjoy more tea from now one.

The spicy infusion can also make a good gift if presented in a small glass jar with instructions on how to use it. You can even include a pretty tea cup and saucer as well as some herbal tea, a small jar of honey or flavoured sugar and tea lovers will really be impressed with this gift.

You will need:

125ml water, 160ml orange juice, 4 cloves and 1 stick of cinnamon.

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for a minute or two, then remove from heat, set aside and allow to stand for at least half an hour.

To use:

Make enough black tea for 4 cups, not too strong, and combine with strained infusion. Sweeten to taste and serve hot or well chilled.

Comments can be Great Inspiration

2008-06-25T20:32:00.006+02:00

At the beginning of May I received two comments on what was then the "final" post (written in July 2007)on this blog. Both comments were very positive and I was really thrilled to receive them after my long absence here.

Comments are in a way like the marks you get for exams when in school or college. It is a guideline to show that people like the content of your blog and that they learn something from it. It can also help to drive traffic to your blog if you visit the blog owners who have left comments and look at their blogs and leave a comment. However, it is not really any use to leave a comment in which you just say, " hi, thanks for your visit" - A good comment will be to really say something worthwhile about their blogs and in turn they will (hopefully) come back to your blog again and become a regular visitor.

That is exactly what the Private Chef has done with his comment.

He really inspired me to go on with this blog. Not only did his comment leave a warm feeling in me, but he has made certain that I pay a visit to his site and it is a wonderful place to be when you love cooking. The step-by-step (with photos) "how to" tutorials, as well as the video tutorials make this a very educational cooking site. You can become a member and submit your own videos and/or recipes, there is also a forum which most bloggers know (or should be aware of) to be a goldmine of information and a good way to ascertain traffic to your blog.

I for one will be a regular visitor to see what the Private Chef is preparing every day.

Oh yes, do not forget to visit here every now and then, please. I will also "serve up" new ideas for edible gifts on a regular basis from now on.

The Lemons are in a Pickle (or something like that)

2008-06-24T12:18:00.005+02:00

Just a quick post to show you the outcome of my pickled lemons. As is often the case in the small town where I live, I could not find cardomom pods or star anise.

I substituted the fresh ginger with ground ginger, used cinnamon sticks and fennel in the place of cumin. I also left out the ground chillies because my family is not fond of "hot" foods.

I will give some feedback in 4-5 weeks on the taste of the lemons. If it is well liked by every one in the house, think I will make another batch for the wedding feast as well.

Pickled Lemons

2008-06-18T21:08:00.006+02:00

My lemon tree has not yielded its usual load of lemons during the past few months, but my next-door neighbour's tree has been overflowing with lemons.

As I am not a gardener, I do not know what kind of lemon tree mine is and also for that matter, not hers either. All I know is that these trees bear lemons, but the difference is in the thickness of the skins.

However, I do know what to do with the lemons that she send over yesterday! No, I am not going to make lemon curd again....lol. There is still a bottle in the fridge from the last batch I made. This time I will make pickled lemons which can be served with fish, chicken or even cold meats.

You will need:

1 kg of lemons (I cannot tell you how many lemons exactly - the size of the lemons will determine the weight).
100g salt
500g sugar
5 whole cardamom pods
6 whole star anise
3ml ground cumin
2,5ml cloves
3ml cinnamon
50 ml grated fresh ginger
15ml crushed dried chillies

To make:

Soak the lemons in cold water overnight. Drain and snip off the end parts. Slice the lemons thinly. Sprinkle with salt and leave overnight or for another 12 hours. Place the sugar, cardamom pods, anise, cumin, cloves and cinnamon in a pot. Drain off the liquid from the lemon slices and add this to the sugar and spice mixture. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved, then boil for 2 minutes. Cool. Add the lemon slices, grated ginger and chillies.
Stir through. Layer into sterilised jars and cover completely with the syrup, seal well. Ready to use after 4-5 weeks.

Chocolate Truffle Tree

2008-06-11T22:55:00.006+02:00

Surprise Dad (and the family) this Father's Day with a chocolate truffle tree. The truffles can be made three days in advance and the kids will enjoy helping you to assemble the tree. It can also be used as a centrepiece on the table in place of flowers.

Ingredients for truffles:

100g cake crumbs (1 layer bought Madeira cake)
60g ground almonds
30g white granulated sugar
100g drinking chocolate (do not use cocoa)
200g slab milk chocolate
5ml rum essence
smooth apricot jam (about 100ml or a little less
chocolate vermicelli
desiccated coconut
sprinkle nuts or almond nibs

Method:

Combine the cake crumbs, sugar, drinking chocolate and ground almonds in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
Melt chocolate over a low heat or in a microwave on medium. Add to the dry ingredients and stir together with the rum essence.
Add just enough warmed apricot jam to make a stiff mixture.
Roll small pieces of the mixture into 35mm size balls.
Roll the balls in the coconut, chocolate vermicelli and nuts.
Refrigerate for 2-3 days before assembling. Assemble a few hours before serving.

Makes 35 - Note: A double batch of chocolate truffles is required to fill the size polystyrene ball used in the instructions.

You will also need:

a round polystyrene ball, approximately 38cm in circumference, available from florist wholesalers)
suitable container (plastic, ceramic or earthenware)
1 dowelling stick, approximately 12mm in diameter and twice the height of the container
ribbon in colours of choice (about 4 metres)
thin florist's wire
cyprus or similar foliage
re-usable adhesive
approximately 60 round, good quality toothpicks (not the flat type).

To assemble the tree:

Cover the stick with ribbon. Secure at the bottom and top with Sellotape. Press the stick into the polystyrene ball.
Have ready the container, with a large piece of re-usable adhesive secured in the base to anchor the tree.
Very carefully press the base of the stick into the adhesive.
Break the toothpicks in half and stick them into the polystyrene ball at intervals.
Carefully position the truffles onto the toothpicks.
Make 15 to 20 small bows and secure with florist's wire. Position the bows between the truffles.
Fill the container with foliage, baubles and balls.

A Rub for Father's Day

2008-06-09T14:37:00.007+02:00

So it has been nearly a whole year since I last posted anything on this blog. I am back in blogland again and for a while I have seriously considered it to close this blog and to post the edible gift ideas on my ezi-gifts-galore blog, but I have put so much work and hours into this blog, that I have decided to "open" it again.

If you are still wondering what to give to the man in your life for Father's Day, why not give him a rub this year? No, not a body rub, lol...but a collection of rubs to enhance the flavour of food and a good alternative to marinades. If he is not really into cooking, maybe this will inspire him to spend some time in the kitchen.

A rub is made up of a mixture of herbs, spices and seasonings. By coating the surface of the food with it, it creates a crunchy texture. The advantage of rubs is that it can keep well in an airtight container for up to three months, whereas a marinade has to be used within a day or two.

Not only is a rub quick to make and easy to use, it can also be turned into pretty gifts. Put the mixture in a small tin or glass jar and cover the lid with crêpe paper or a piece of fabric. Tie with a ribbon, raffia or a string of wooden beads. If you wish, you can add a card with guidelines on how to use the rub.

I really like Lemon and Herb Rub - it can be used on a leg of lamb and the flavours also lends itself to chicken and fish. It can even be added to stews for extra flavour.

Mix together-

4 crushed garlic cloves
freshly grated zest from 1 lemon
10ml finely chopped parsley
5 ml dried basil
3ml salt
3 ml dried thyme
3ml coarsely ground black pepper

North African Spice Rub

30ml roast cumin seeds
30ml roast coriander seeds
30ml toasted sesame seeds
20ml sugar
15ml dried mint
10ml turmeric
10ml paprika
5ml crushed chilli
5ml cinnamon

Crush the cumin and coriander seeds and mix with the rest of the other ingredients
*Great on fish, chicken, meat or roast butternut

Listen to your Heart and Survive!!

2007-07-31T02:10:00.001+02:00

There will be no new posts for the next few weeks.

Sadly my copy/typing/design/photo editing business which I run from home has been going downhill at an alarming rate and as it is the ONLY income I have, I now have to concentrate on finding new clients/contracts by launching an extensive personal marketing campaign which will take up a considerable amount of my time.

Luckily it is that time of the year when the schools need photographers for their yearly photos as well as certificates for graduation ceremonies. Theunissen, my home town in the Free State Province of South Africa, is also celebrating its centennial anniversary during September, and so there are lots of opportunities to market my business, but it also means that I will be away from home some days to attend meetings and photo shoots as well as editing and layout of brochures and other marketing materials, which in turn means that I will not be able to make/bake/show gifts/ideas as often as I would like and publish new posts.

Rather than posting only once or twice a week as has been the case in the past few weeks, I have decided to stop blogging altogether for some time. I love blogging and my blogs have become a part of my life, but in every life there comes a time when you have to weigh your options and decide what is important and in this time the "survival" factor is outweighing everything else.

I read the following a few weeks ago: - "Listen to your heart, it will tell you what to do." Presently my heart tells me to take care of my business AND income (to provide for my future) and when it has stabilised, I will take up blogging again.

I still have so much to share with you and the satisfaction I derive from this sharing, gives me a lot of pleasure, so be assured..........

I will be back!!!

Tip of the Week - No 5

2007-07-23T11:30:00.000+02:00

Bubble Wrap Chocolate Baskets

Make attractive chocolate baskets by cutting plastic bubble wrap into squares and spread the bubbly side with a layer of melted chocolate. Place each square into a glass or muffin tin to use as a mould. Refrigerate until hard, remove from mould and carefully peel off plastic. Fill with sweets or serve for dessert filled with ice cream or filling of choice.

Home Made Sandwich Spread

2007-07-18T09:58:00.000+02:00

This vegetable and mayonnaise spread is very popular in South Africa. It is marketed as "Sandwich Spread" and can be bought in every store that stocks groceries, from the corner cafe to the big supermarkets. It is also one of the products that has been around for ever and you either love it or hate it.

However, apart from being used as a spread on bread, crackers or scones, it can also be used to make tasty dips by adding cream cheese, mustard powder and lemon juice to taste.

For a sweet and sour taste, add one or two tablespoons (or to taste) of condensed milk.

Sandwich Spread

1 English cucumber - finely grated
1 onion - finely grated or chopped
2-4 carrots- finely grated
1-2 green peppers finely chopped
1-2 red peppers finely chopped
750ml white grape vinegar
500ml mayonnaise

Place grated/chopped vegetables in a large glass bowl. Add vinegar, cover with cloth and leave for 24 hours.

Using a coriander or sieve, drain vegetables thoroughly, put into a piece of cheese-cloth and squeeze dry. Add just enough mayonnaise to make a thick spreadable paste. Spoon into sterilised glass jars, seal and store in fridge.

Makes 800 ml spread-100 ml spread is enough for 4-6 sandwiches.

Tip: Don't discard the vinegar. Use it to make salad dressing.

Tip of the Week - No 4

2007-07-16T09:46:00.000+02:00

I have decided to move the "Tip of the Week" from the sidebar to an actual post every week to make it easier to come back to read it if you do not have time to write it down. I am also posting the previous three tips again.

Tip of the week No.4

Grated cheese on top of a baked dish, often have a layer of oil on the surface of the melted cheese which can make the dish appear greasy. Prevent this by adding fine breadcrumbs to the cheese, the crumbs absorb the excess oil and improve the appearance.

Tip of the week No.3

Tip of the week No.2

If an egg breaks on the floor, sprinkle a heavy layer of salt over it and let it set for five minutes. This will dry the egg and make it much easier to clean up.

Tip of the week No.1

Read the recipe before starting and make sure that you have all the ingredients and utensils handy.
Follow the recipe in metric or imperial measurement - do not mix and match.
Always use large eggs, unless otherwise stated.
Make sure that your measuring spoons and cups are level, unless otherwise stated.

Flavoured Butters and Spreads

2007-07-15T09:21:00.000+02:00

In my previous post I mentioned that you can add flavoured butters (and spreads) to a loaf of bread when you give it as a gift, so here are some ideas for you.

Lemon, parsley and garlic butter

200g butter, softened
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 small cloves garlic, finely crushed
salt to taste
Juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients together.

Basil and sundried tomato butter

200g butter, softened
small handful fresh sweet basil, finely chopped
30g sundried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together

Feta Cheese Spread

300g Feta Cheese
300ml Bulgarian yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 ml paprika
2ml cayenne pepper
15ml olive oil

Using a food processor, blend the feta cheese and yoghurt to a smooth paste. Add rest of ingredients to taste and blend until combined. Spoon into small jars and pour some olive oil on top. Seal and store in fridge. Serve at room temperature.

Honey butter

200g butter, softened
50 ml honey

Mix ingredients together

Sinful Choc Spread

125g unsalted butter
250g milk chocolate, finely chopped
125g macadamia nuts, finely chopped

Combine butter and chocolate to form a smooth paste. Add nuts and beat until evenly combined. Store in jars in fridge and serve at room temperature.

I have given recipes for Lemon Curd and Tropical Curds a few months ago. It is also quick and easy to make and can really turn a loaf of bread into a special gift.

Bread to Rise to the Occassion

2007-07-13T00:55:00.000+02:00

Let me tell you a little secret about me......... I love bread!!!

I can really live on bread alone... (and coffee, of course). There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread and when it is made with all the good, wholesome ingredients you will find in the recipe, there is no need to feel guilty if you eat too much bread.

Today I enjoyed a few slices with the tomatoes and cheese you see on the photo (added some of my home-made mustard with seeds, too). This seed bread also goes well with jams and konfyt

Surprise a friend with a loaf of freshly baked bread packed in a pretty basket together with some flavoured butters.

Easy Four Seed Bread

2 x 250ml Brown Bread Flour
4 x 250 ml White Bread Flour
500 ml Digestive Bran
10 ml salt
10g instant dry yeast (1 sachet)
125ml cooking oil
125ml honey
1 liter lukewarm water
125ml sesame seed
125ml poppy seed
125ml sunflower seed
125ml linseed

Place the dry ingredients and seeds ( keep some to sprinkle on top of dough) into a large bowl. Mix oil, honey and lukewarm water and add gradually to flour to form a moist, but not sticky, mixture. Stir well. Turn out into greased pans of choice and fill only half full.

Cover with greased plastic and leave to rise until double in volume, about 25-30 minutes. Brush with egg glaze and sprinkle with seeds of choice. Bake in a preheated oven at 200º C for 30 minutes. Lower oven to 180º C and bake for a further 20 minutes.

To make egg glaze - (this gives a shiny finish to your breads)

Beat 1 egg with 2,5ml salt and 12,5ml water

Yeast, Short and Sweet

Dry yeast comes in two forms: active dry yeast or instant active dry yeast. The difference is in how the yeast cells hydrate (absorb) water.

Active dry yeast must be mixed in water to let the particles dissolve. The yeast is then allowed to grow until the mixture becomes foamy. Then it is added to the flour.

Instant dry yeast is unique in that it need not be dissolved in water as the cells are porous. It can be added directly to the dry ingredients (flour) because it absorbs water or other liquids added to the dry ingredients.

Did you know? Yeast is alive because it is a fungus. When we add it to flour we create a growing culture with moisture, food and the proper temperature. (I cover the dough in the bowl or bread pans with a sheet of plastic and a blanket). When these conditions are right, the yeast multiplies and by the time the bread is ready to go into the oven, it may contain millions of live yeast cells.

Yeast feeds on sugar... in breads which contain no sugar, the starch in the flour is converted to sugar. Yeast expel carbon dioxide and alcohol (ethanol) during the "feeding" process. The carbon dioxide gas rises through the bread dough and is captured by the gluten structure in the dough to form gas pockets. The alcohol is evaporated in baking. The "yeasty" flavor of dough is a result of the alcohol as well as other chemical processes that takes place during the rising and baking times.

However, there is no need to worry about all these chemical processes, yeast contains Vitamin B which is essential for energy, so it is good for you.

Winter Bugs "flu" into my house

2007-07-10T11:23:00.001+02:00

Colds, aches and pains were the main ingredients on my menu during the past week and as Stavanger from Blogcrowds put it so nicely in one of his posts, it is fine to skip one or two days' posting on your blogs, but after a few days people will think your blog is dead!!

All too often in the past months it happened to me too that periods between posts were really too long, so I have decided to add some new "ingredients" to this blog. Instead of posting only recipes (I really love to prepare and take photos of the finished edible gifts , but as many of you know by now, a full time business run from home and life in general sometimes do catch up with me)... I will now also post articles related to cooking and entertaining just to add spice to my blog and hopefully the posting frequency will be more up to date.

First on this new list then is an idea for serviette rings with the menu written inside the ring. It is easy to make and can even be turned into a gift if you offer to make them for a friend's dinner party.

You can download the templates(PDF file) with the instructions by clicking on the link.

The rings shown in the photo as well as in the file are 15cm x 5 cm
but you can also make them larger if you like. Print or draw them on white or coloured card, cover with suitable gift paper, write the menu inside or on other contrasting paper and paste inside the ring.

Use your imagination to turn this idea into a conversation piece at your next party or to pretty up your table settings.

Lead Me Not Into Temptation

2007-07-04T00:08:00.000+02:00

On Monday night Gene from Turning the Pages of Life invited me to have a look at some baking he has done and I promptly accepted.

I think I should invite Gene to be my official guest cook on this blog!!! You have to visit his blog and see for yourself what he has done. I made some today and if you are a lover of the ingredients he used, you will enjoy it as much as I have.

I have a love/hate relationship with one of the ingredients he used. I love it so much that I rarely buy it because whenever I have it in the house, I normally hate myself for giving in to temptation and Adri (my daughter) has again tonight while I was busy making the candy, given me a lecture about this "addiction" of mine.

No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut. ~Channing Pollock

Perfect Pancakes

2007-07-01T03:48:00.000+02:00

Here is my pancake recipe as promised in the previous post.

You will need:

500ml flour
1ml salt
2,5ml baking powder
125ml milk
4 large eggs
20ml melted butter or cooking oil
625ml water
10ml brandy (optional)

Sift flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk, 125 ml water and the melted butter or cooking oil (as well as the brandy if you are using any), until blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Using a wooden spoon or whisk, gradually draw in the flour, beat until batter is smooth. Slowly add the rest (500ml) of the water to the mixture and beat well. Cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes. This resting period allows the gluten in the flour to relax so the pancakes will be tender.

Grease and heat pancake pan. Using a ladle, pour in enough batter while tilting the pan, to coat the bottom, cook until small bubbles appear on the surface, (about 1 minute), then flip over using a metal spatula or toss.... something that I cannot do after all these years.

Makes about 15 pancakes of 20cm in diameter

Tips to bake perfect pancakes:

The pancake pan: Use a heavy, flat pan, preferably made from cast-iron with sides about 10mm high and about 18mm in diameter. Food experts say you should never use your pancake pan for anything except pancakes and omelets.

The pan should not be washed after use; simply rub it with paper towels and a few drops of oil. If the pan becomes sticky, rub with salt first and finish with oil.
To season a new pan: Fill with oil and heat to smoking point. Turn off heat and stand 24 hours, pour off the oil, and wipe well with paper towels.

I have used a heavy-based stainless steel pan for nearly 30 years to prepare all kinds of meals in it, and whenever I want to bake pancakes, I just rub it with lots of salt and paper towels to thoroughly clean and smooth the surface and away I go.

The surface of the pan should be very hot before you start baking pancakes. Test with a drop of water- if it sizzles or "dances" across the pan, you can start baking. Pour just enough oil into the pan to cover the surface, (pour off any excess) and heat again before adding the batter.

How to toss a pancake: Pour batter into the pan, tilting the pan to coat the bottom evenly. When bubbles appear on top of the batter and it begins to set, shake the pan to make sure the pancake is not sticking and has browned underneath. Jerk the pan forward quickly until the pancake moves onto the downward sloping part of the pan. Flip the pancake over with a quick movement of the wrist so that the uncooked side is now underneath.

How to freeze pancakes: Stack the pancakes in groups of 8 or 10, (depending on how many you intend serving at one time), separating them with squares of wax paper or foil. Place in airtight freezer bags, then store in the freezer.

How to reheat pancakes: Place on a baking tray, cover with foil and warm in a preheated (160 degrees Celsius) oven for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Siblings and Warm Winter Memories

2007-06-28T07:46:00.000+02:00

Nearly every country in the world has its own version of pancakes. They are so versatile and can range from plain pancakes dusted with cinnamon sugar to the "sophisticated" Crêpes Suzette of France. Pancakes can be served with sweet or savoury fillings, stacked or rolled, with a sauce, or served flat, with a topping.

I grew up with pancakes dusted with cinnamon sugar, rolled and eaten while my mother was slaving away in front of the stove. By the time she poured the last batter into the pan, it was also the beginning of a fight over who would eat this last one. My late father usually solved the problem by eating it himself.

Another memory is about the times when we arrived home from school on bitterly cold winter days and the sweet spicy smell of freshly baked pancakes filled the house. The pancakes were kept warm over a pan of simmering water and when the foil was removed from the pancakes, golden brown pancakes covered in a cinnamon syrup were enough to dispel the cold and to give you a sense of belonging and being loved.

Today is the birthday of my youngest brother, Jackie, who together with his wife Elmarie and three sons, have been living in Qatar for the past year, but will soon be back for a visit.

He not only introduced me to the wonderful world of computers and in the process provided me with a means to an income, he is also a "specialist" when it comes to pancake baking. His ideas for pancake fillings and toppings are second only to his love for his family.

So, Happy Birthday Jackie,...... all the ingredients for pancakes will be in my kitchen next week when you arrive at my house!!

P.S.- I will post my pancake recipe which I have been using for the past 30 years over the weekend.

Tricky Cake Tin Sizes

2007-06-25T11:41:00.000+02:00

Starting today, I will post a "Tip of the Week" on Mondays. You can find it in the sidebar under my profile photo. I thought of starting another blog with helpful hints and tips that I have found useful in my lifetime, but just at the moment I must admit that it will have to wait for another few weeks or maybe months.

However, I hope you will also find it useful and write it down, as it will only appear for a week and then it will be replaced by another.

If you scroll down, you will find a new image with cake tin sizes amongst my list of "easy cooking" information. Often a recipe calls for a certain kind of cake tin and if you are like me, I use the one that is nearest to the size mentioned in the recipe or the old one I made do with all the years.

Maybe that is the reason for all those small flat banana breads and carrot cakes that find their way to the freezer to be used for dessert sometimes??

Energy Bars for Cold Winter Nights

2007-06-22T07:56:00.000+02:00

I normally do my blogging late in the evenings or even at night. With winter in full swing, the craving for something sweet can become quite bad sometimes, so I decided to look for a recipe for something that is sweet yet healthy!!!

As you will see in the recipe, these energy bars are full of "good, healthy" ingredients, so tonight I can really have a few without feeling guilty.

I could not find sesame seeds in the shops (small, small town) so I used linseeds (flax seeds), which I always have in my cupboard for times when I bake my wholewheat and seed rusks. I also added 125ml sunflower seeds to the mixture.

You will need:

1 packet (250g) sesame seeds
120g (375ml) desiccated coconut
100g (125ml) white sugar
80ml peanut butter
125ml honey
5ml vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 160 °C. Spray a Swiss roll tin (32 x 23 cm) with baking spray or grease lightly with vegetable oil.

Mix sesame seeds, coconut and sugar in a large bowl. Put peanut butter and honey in a glass bowl and melt in microwave until the syrup becomes runny, but not hot (about 1-2 minutes). Stir until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until the dry mixture is coated with the honey mixture.

Press firmly into baking tin and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly. Cut into squares and allow to cool for another 15 minutes as the bars will be soft and crumbly. Remove when firm and store in an airtight container.

Gifts from and to Elmarie

2007-06-19T01:01:00.000+02:00

Today I want to dedicate yet another post to a very dear person who has meant a lot to me during the past year. My sister in law, Elmarie, moved to Qatar with her family in June 2006 and although it was a year full of new and strange experiences for all of them, she managed to create a home for her family.

She is also a keen photographer and through her many photographs, her friends and family have been able to see a new country without leaving their homes. My recipe series "Sweetmeats and Childhood Dreams" has started as a result of all these lovely photos. (I have compiled an image of sweets and preserves, some of which the recipes have already been posted. Other recipes will follow in due course).

When I was a child, I used to dream of visits to Arabian countries, fueled also by books in which the heroin was usually carried away by dark, handsome princes on white horses - (more like camels, according to Elmarie) and then off to the harem, surrounded by beautiful belly-dancers, (she is bringing me a CD so I can fulfill yet another dream..........), being fed sweetmeats all day and pampered with milk baths and aromatic oils.

It is her birthday today and as she still cannot decide when she will start a photo blog, I have decided to show you some of her photos and to say thank you for all she has meant to me during this past year.

It was not an easy year, but you have come full circle!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELMARIE

Cool Slideshows!

Chocolate Covered Marzipan

2007-06-16T03:03:00.000+02:00

This post is dedicated to my friend, Karl Heinz from Germany, father of two daughters and grandfather of a baby boy who was born on the 4th of June 2007.

When he visited in May he brought me a box of chocolate covered marzipan from the Niederegger Chocolate company and I really love them. The nutty almond taste blends beautifully with the bittersweet dark chocolate covering, good for times when you need a little sweetness in your life.

Imagine my delight when I found a recipe for chocolate covered marzipan in my mother's recipe book that has recipes from friends and family and is practically falling apart, but still used when she wants to make something special.

Maybe you still have time to make these and show your husband or father how much you appreciate them.

You will need:

250g ground almonds
140g sifted icing sugar
110g castor sugar
5 ml lemon juice
1ml almond essence
1 large egg, lightly beaten
200-300g dark cooking chocolate

Mix almonds, icing sugar and castor sugar in a bowl. Add lemon juice, almond essence and a little egg. Mix well and add more egg to form a firm dough.

Lightly dust work surface with icing sugar and knead the marzipan until smooth. Press into a greased and lined square tin and refrigerate until firm.

Remove from tin and cut into small squares. Melt chocolate and leave to cool. Using a fork, spear each marzipan piece and dip into the chocolate. Place on a wire rack and leave to harden.

Sugar and Spice on Nuts are Nice

2007-06-15T09:41:00.000+02:00

If you have not yet found a suitable gift for Father's Day, why not make some roasted or fried nuts. Pack them in small cane baskets, glass canisters or even a beer glass. Cover with coloured cellophane and add a big bow.

Spiced Nuts
10 ml each of Garlic Salt, Black Pepper, Mixed Spice, Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper and Peri Peri Spice
10 ml Mild & Spicy Curry Powder
30 ml olive oil
500 ml plain peanuts, almonds or pecans

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Mix the spices and set aside. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the spice mixture and stir well. Cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes.
Place nuts in a mixing bowl and add the spice mixture, toss well. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.

Remove from the oven and using a spatula, toss the nuts with any oil and spices that have accumulated on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with more garlic salt and leave to cool before serving.

Sugared nuts

2 cups of shelled whole pecans, walnuts or blanched almonds
2 cups sugar
2,5ml salt
15 ml ground cinnamon
5ml freshly grated nutmeg
2,5ml ground ginger
oil for frying

Curried nuts

2 cups of shelled whole pecans, walnuts or blanched almonds
2 cups sugar
2,5ml salt
15ml curry powder
2,5ml turmeric
2,5ml ground cumin
oil for frying

To make:
Mix all the dry ingredients together, excluding nuts. Simmer the nuts in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain the nuts, shaking off any excess water and immediately toss them in the mixture in a large bowl.

Fill a heavy saucepan with oil to a depth of 10cm and heat to 180degrees Celsius. Fry the nuts until they turn golden brown.

Remove with a strainer and toss again in the mixture. Remove, shake off the excess and cool on a wire rack. The nuts will go crisp on cooling. Serve at room temperature.

Can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Mustard Seeds and Great Fathers

2007-06-12T10:05:00.001+02:00

There are probably as many recipes for mustard sauce as there are commercial mustards on the shelves.

The menfolk in my family love mustardsauce and expect me to have some in my fridge when they come for a visit.

I would like to share three of my favourite recipes with you. The mustard with seeds look lovely and can also be used as a gift for Father's Day.

Pack it into small glass jars, decorate with raffia or gauze ribbon bows. Little wooden spoons to serve it with, turns this into a special gift.

Easy mustard sauce

250 ml white sugar
3 eggs, beaten
100ml white vinegar
50ml mustard powder
2,5ml salt (or to taste)

Place ingredients in given order in a bowl and beat until combined. Heat in a double boiler until the mixture is thick, stir every now and then. It should cover the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool, spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

Makes 400ml

Mustard with condensed milk and seeds

1 can (397g) condensed milk
375ml white vinegar
60ml mustard powder
50g (75ml) yellow and red mustard seeds
4 eggs
100g (125ml) white sugar
5ml salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Combine the condensed milk, 125ml of the vinegar and 30ml mustard powder in a bowl and set aside. Combine mustard seeds and the rest of the vinegar in a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Beat eggs, sugar, the rest of the mustard powder, salt and cayenne pepper until sugar has dissolved completely. Transfer to a double boiler and heat until thick. Add the condensed milk and seed mixtures to the egg mixture, stir thoroughly to combine and heat again for 5 minutes. Spoon into sterilised jars and leave to cool before sealing the bottles.

Makes about 850ml

Tip: Mustard seeds are available from specialist spice shops. If you cannot find mustard seeds, omit it as well as the 125ml vinegar from the recipe and prepare according to instructions.

Old-Fashioned French Mustard

125ml yellow mustard seeds
15ml dry mustard powder
125ml cold water
125ml white wine vinegar
125ml dry white wine
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5ml salt
5ml sugar
3ml dragon
1ml allspice
1ml turmeric

Soak mustard seeds and powder in cold water for 30 minutes. Put rest of ingredients in a saucepan and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve into the mustard seed mixture, stir to combine. Process the mixture in a blender or food processor until seeds are bruised and broken. Place in a double boiler, simmer again for 8-12 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Set aside to cool completely, spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

Makes 250ml

A toast to all dads

2007-06-08T09:22:00.001+02:00

Father's Day is still a week away so that gives you enough time to make one or both of these liqueurs. Many years ago my father and a cousin used to make the Irish cream liqueur whenever they visited each other. Normally liqueur have to "rest" for anything from a week up to a month or more to develop a good flavour, but this one can really be drunk immediately.

I remember they sometimes omitted the coffee and added 5-10ml of peppermint essence and some grated Peppermint Crisp chocolate. Heavenly!!!

Irish Cream Liqueur

sterilised glass bottle
3 beaten eggs
175ml condensed milk
50ml coffee
300ml single cream
450ml whisky or brandy

Mix all the ingredients together until they are well blended. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Pour the liqueur into the sterilised glass bottle and store in the fridge.This liqueur will keep for up to six weeks.

Tip: If you make the "peppermint with chocolate" version, add the grated chocolate after the mixture has been strained.

Nougat Liqueur

Bring 1 carton fresh cream to the boil with 1 packet of vanilla sugar. Dissolve 200g of nougat, cut in pieces, in the mixture. Whisk 4 very fresh egg yolks with 75g sifted icing sugar until frothy. Stir the hot nougat cream into the mixture, pouring it in a thin stream. Leave to cool.Mix with half a liter (500ml) of brandy and pour into a sterilised bottle with a split vanilla pod.

Tip: Use the more popular white nougat for this recipe.

Note: Liqueur made with fresh egg yolks should always be kept in the fridge!!

Try to find bottles with interesting shapes or textured glass bottles. Tequila bottles (don't empty it yourself just to have ones for the liqueur!) often have beautiful patterns on the glass. Use raffia, dried leaves, gold twine, wooden balls or large beads and/or "masculine" ribbon to decorate the bottles.

Sweetmeats and Childhood Dreams - 4

2007-05-06T10:20:00.000+02:00

Fruit in white chocolate

Store these delicacies in an airtight container with greaseproof paper.

300 g dried fruit such as prunes, apricots and dates
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
40 g roasted whole almonds,
roasted almond slivers,
roughly chopped pistachio nuts, chopped
grated chocolate
100 g white chocolate

Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Cut each fruit lenghtways to create a pocket, taking care not to slice through completely. Remove any pips as necessary. Sprinkle the fruit with a few drops of the liqueur and stuff with a roasted whole almond.
Put the almond slivers, chopped pistachios and grated chocolate on separate plates. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Pick up each fruit, dip the bottom half in the melted chocolate and let the excess drip back into the bowl.
Roll the chocolate end of the sweet in either the nuts or grated chocolate. Place them on the tray and leave to set. Put the sweets into small cookie cases and store in a sealed container.

Sugared Almonds

250g whole, shelled almonds
500 g sugar
100 ml water
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180°C . Place shelled almonds on a roasting tray and roast for 5-7 minutes until the skins start to come off. Gently remove the skins.

Place the sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan and heat over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cinnamon and boil briskly until the syrup reaches the hard-boiled stage (see sugar-boiling, sidebar). Add the nuts quickly and sir with a wooden spoon until they are well coated. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the syrup dries on the almonds. Tip the almonds onto a board, separate with a fork and leave to cool and dry.

Sweetmeats and Childhood Dreams - 3

2007-05-01T11:24:00.000+02:00

Crystallized or glacé fruit look lovely and is really very easy to make although it does take some time as it is normally done over a period of four to five days to ensure success.

Be sure to heat the sugar syrup to the correct temperature. (See the chart in the sidebar if you do not have a sugar thermometer)

Fruits such as pineapple, cherries, figs, naartjie/tangerine and orange segments, seedless grapes, kiwi fruit
1 liter water
1 kg caster sugar

Wash and dry the fruit. Remove any tough skins and cut large fruit into wedges. Prick grapes and cherries with a needle. Place the water and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan, (preferably made of stainless steel and without a nonstick surface. The high temperature of the syrup may damage the coating.) Boil until the liquid has reached 107 degrees Celsius and form threads.

Put the fruit in a fine metal sieve over a heatproof bowl. Pour the syrup over the fruit to coat it. Cover with a plate and leave for 24 hours.

Repeat four more times, ensuring that the fruit is coated and reheating the sugar solution to the same temperature. On the last coating, leave the fruit to dry on a wire rack until it does not feel sticky to the touch anymore.

Place the fruit in layers between sheets of greaseproof paper in an airtight box or tin and leave in a dry place. The fruits will keep indefinitely.

Sweetmeats and Childhood Dreams - 2

2007-04-28T10:45:00.000+02:00

Coconut Ice is one of the easiest sweets to make and one of the sweets that I grew up with. My mother used to make it during holidays or on special occasions and I can honestly say that the shop-bought version just does not taste the same.

Adri (my daughter) decided she would try to make it today and she has done a pretty good job of it. The texture is smooth yet firm which means that all the sugar has dissolved completely and the syrup was boiled to the soft ball stage before the coconut was added.

Coconut Ice

250 milk
4 x 250 ml white sugar
180 (550ml) dessicated coconut
40 g (50 ml) butter/margarine
5 ml vanilla essence

Mix the sugar and milk in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove the sugar crystals on the side of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush.

Heat to boiling point. Boil uncovered for about 10 minutes to the soft ball stage.(Do not stir during this time.) To test, drop a little of the mixture into a cup of cold water. The mixture is ready as soon as a soft ball is formed. Remove from heat.

Add coconut and butter and beat until creamy. Add vanilla essence and beat again. Divide the mixture into two batches. Pour the white batch into a buttered baking tray, 23 x 15 cm. Add a little pink colouring to the other batch, beat well and pour on top of the first layer. Leave to cool. Cut into cubes as soon as the mixture has set.

Variations: Omit the vanilla essence from the original mixture, divide and add vanilla to the first batch. Add 5 ml rosewater and pink colouring to the second batch.

Sweetmeats and Childhood Dreams - 1

2007-04-25T09:19:00.000+02:00

My mother loves Turkish Delight and enjoys it so much when she receives a box of these delicately coloured pink and white sweets rolled in icing sugar, cornflour or confectionery sugar. It is also quite easy to make at home and perfect as a Mother's Day Gift.

Turkish Delight

30 ml gelatin
250 ml water
1 lemon
1 orange
750 ml sugar
150 ml cornflour
red or green food coloring
sifted icing sugar

Sprinkle gelatin over 60 ml of the water and set aside to soften. Peel lemon and orange thinly, without any white pith. Squeeze and strain juice. Place lemon and orange rinds and juice in a deep, heavy saucepan with sugar and 150 ml water. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar before boiling point is reached. Boil steadily for 4-5 minutes until a sugar thermometer registers 105 degrees Celsius or when 2 ml of syrup dropped into a cup of cold water forms long threads. Mix cornflour with remaining cold water and add to syrup with softened gelatin. Simmer until clear and gelatin has dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add a few drops of food colouring and strain into a lightly oiled 180 mm shallow tin. leave to set overnight. Next day, cut into squares and roll in sifted icing sugar. Package in layers separated with wax paper lightly dusted with sifted icing sugar and corn flour. Makes about 50 x 25 mm squares.

Variations:- Chopped nuts - almonds, pistachios, walnuts - may be added to the mixture before pouring into tins.

Rose-water Turkish Delight:- Follow the recipe for Turkish Delight, but omit the orange and lemon rinds and juice and flavour with 10-20 ml rose water, tint pink with red food colouring Add chopped pistachio nuts before pouring into prepared tins.

Tip: Rose-water is obtainable from pharmacies.

Creme de Menthe Turkish Delight:- Omit the orange and lemon rinds and juice. Flavour with 2 ml oil of peppermint and colour green with food colouring.

The Link between Driving and Blogging

2007-04-25T00:18:00.000+02:00

Time has caught up with me again and I realised tonight that it is already a week since I have last posted anything. I have, however, decided at this late stage in my life to finally become mobile by getting my license to drive a car.

Many, many years ago I had a learner's license (three to be more exact) but somehow I never got so far as to actually go for the big one. I inherited my father's car after he passed away last year and two months ago I plucked up the courage to get into the car and see if I could still remember where the steering wheel is and what one is supposed to do with it.

I also made an appointment for the learner's license test and as I am sitting here writing this, I am finally again the proud owner of another learner's license and I can actually still drive a car, so maybe I will be forgiven for not posting new recipes.

In a way blogging is the same as learning how to drive a car. When you create your first blog, you have to start with the basic stuff like learning how to create and publish a post, link to other websites or blogs, upload photos and you have to insert codes and Javascript and HTML, things that nobody told you about when you decided to start a blog.

I will attend a driving school now to learn to drive "professionally". I have also found a very good "driving school" in blog land and want to share the links with you.

If you are totally new to blogging and are curious to learn more about the template and its inner workings, you have to click on this link: http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/2006/04/blogger-template-tutorial.html

A few weeks after I started this blog, I decided to add a photo to my profile. I found the instructions here: http://blogger-tricks.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-post-photo-on-profile.html

If you have a two-column template like mine and want to change to a 3 column template, you will find instructions here: http://testing-blogger-beta.blogspot.com/2006/09/3-column-template-for-blogger-beta.html

All the posts have been upgraded for the new version of Blogger. Even if you are an old hand at blogging, it is worth visiting here.

Gift for a Sweet Tooth

2007-04-18T10:10:00.000+02:00

Watermelon konfyt (jam)

Konfyt is the South African word for jam and more particularly fruits preserved and impregnated with a thick syrup. Konfyt varies slightly from jam in that it contains whole fruit or large pieces cooked in a sugar syrup until the syrup becomes clear and thick.

To make konfyt, choose unblemished fruit and peel. The fruit must always be soaked in salt water to prevent discoloration, then pricked all over with a thick, sterilized needle or fork to ensure that the syrup penetrates the flesh. Fruits such as green figs and watermelon must be soaked in a solution of bicarbonate of soda or slaked lime to retain their crisp texture.

Watermelon "konfyt" or jam is a firm favourite of mine, to receive as a gift and to eat. I rarely make this myself as I must admit to my shame that it seems to me like a lot of work, but the end result is worth the time you spend preparing and cooking the watermelon konfyt.

Whenever I receive a bottle of these golden syrup-drenched pieces of watermelon peel with just a hint of ginger I put a note/label on the bottle- "This is mine!!!" and I treat myself to a few pieces every now and then. It does take a lot of willpower not to devour everything at once, but when you really have an urge for something sinful and sweet, this is the ultimate snack.

Serve the watermelon konfyt with freshly baked muffins, scones or bread. If you cut the pieces into small cubes it can be used to garnish cakes, in bread puddings and even over ice cream. Try serving it with a selection of cheeses, a glass of port and coffee. Yummy!!!

I think I will go and finish the bread and konfyt I used for the photo.

You will need:

1 kg watermelon peel
25 ml slaked lime or 45 ml bicarbonate of soda
7 liters water
1 kg sugar
20 ml lemon juice
pinch of salt
a 4cm piece of fresh ginger bruised (or 5 ml ground ginger)

Slice the melon and discard the soft inner flesh. Peel and discard the hard green rind. Cube the white, fleshy peel and prick on both sides. Soak overnight in a solution of the lime, or bicarb of soda and five liters of water.

In the morning, rinse, soak in fresh water for two hours, then drain. Place in boiling water, one piece at a time, and boil uncovered for 20-30 minutes until tender (test by piercing with a matchstick).

For the syrup, stir the sugar, the remaining water, juice, salt and ginger in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, add the peel and boil rapidly for 1½ hours until pieces are translucent and syrup is thick. Pour into hot, sterilized bottles and seal.

There is a link in the sidebar under Digi-Foods to a site with beautiful pictures of watermelon carvings. If you have never seen pictures of this art form, do click on the link to have a look.

Candied Citrus Peel

2007-04-15T08:12:00.000+02:00

When next you buy oranges or grapefruit, do not throw away the peel. Use it to make candied or chocolate covered peel and surprise your guests at tea-time with these bitter-sweet morsels.

Packed in glass canisters, pretty boxes or small baskets lined with rice paper and decorated with a big bow, they can be used as Mother's Day gifts.

Chocolate and Orange Peel

2 large thick-skinned oranges
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Peel the oranges in quarters, leaving the thick pith intact with the skin. Cut into strips 1cm wide. Put in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Drain and repeat this twice. Combine the water and sugar, stir continually until the sugar has dissolved. Do not boil. Add the orange strips, bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, until the strips become translucent. Stir occasionally. Using two forks, lift the strips onto a wire rack and dry overnight.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Dip a few pieces of rind at a time, shaking off any excess and place on foil to set. Store in an airtight container.

Sugar-coated Grapefruit Peel

4 thick-skinned grapefruit
400 g castor sugar
sugar for coating

Peel the grapefruit, keeping a bit of the pith. Cut the peel into long slices approximately 1 cm wide. Place in a saucepan, cover with water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain. Repeat this four more times. Drain well and return to the saucepan with the castor sugar. Cook gently, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved and has coated the peel. Preheat the oven to 110 degrees Celsius. Place the pieces separately on an oven rack over a baking tray. Bake for a few hours until quite dry. Cool completely. Roll the peel in sugar and store in an airtight container.

No More Superstitions after this Nomination

2007-04-13T11:01:00.000+02:00

If ever I was a little superstitious about Friday the 13th, it has been dispelled for ever from my mind with this good news on Gene's blog.

Thank you for nominating me, Gene.

Preserved Sweet Peppers

2007-04-10T09:15:00.000+02:00

When I saw these lovely fresh sweet peppers in the shop the other day, I just had to buy them. If you are lucky enough to find them on sale, buy a lot and use these two recipes to preserve them for use in salads and meat dishes.

Marinated sweet peppers

2 each red, green and yellow peppers
salt to taste
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 sprigs rosemary
500 ml oil, preferably 250 ml soy oil and 250 ml olive oil

Halve the peppers and remove the pips. Cut into strips or cubes. Cook for 3 minutes in boiling water or roast in oven 200 degrees Celsius. When bubbles appear on the skin, remove from oven and seal in a plastic bag. The skin will become soft from the heat in the bag and can be removed easily. Leave to cool complete. Layer with cloves and rosemary in a wide-mouthed sterilised glass jar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add enough oil to cover the peppers completely. Seal or cover with cling wrap and marinate 3-4 days.

Sweet and Sour peppers

10 peppers, different colours
310 ml sugar
250 ml vegetable/cooking oil
250 ml white vinegar.

Cut peppers in strips or cubes.Put sugar, oil and vinegar in a large saucepan and slowly bring to boil. Stir to dissolve sugar. Boil for about 4 minutes. Put the peppers into the boiling mixture and boil for another 4-5 minutes but no longer. The peppers must still be crisp. Remove from heat and bottle immediately. Seal and leave to cool. Marinate three to four days. Store in fridge once opened.

The peppers can be used in salads, lasagna, savory tarts and my son in law even eats it on bread.

I also use the oil mixture for salad dressings.

Tip: Add black peppercorns, sprigs of rosemary or thyme and a few coriander seeds before adding the oil mixture.

Recipe for Disaster

2007-04-09T11:37:00.000+02:00

Just a short post to say I am back after two weeks without internet connection. Shortly after posting the jelly egg recipe/method, disaster struck in the form of one of the worst thunderstorms we had in many months and as a result of this, I was left with a computer without a modem.

Everything is working now again and I will continue with my recipes and gift ideas. Mother's Day is in a few weeks and there are lots of quick and easy edible gifts that can be made to make this day more special.

Eggs of another color

2007-03-29T10:22:00.000+02:00

Turn a humble jelly and custard dessert into something unusual by filling "blown" eggs with different colored jelly and serving it on a nest of flavored custard.

Take as many eggs as you want to make, (a packet of jelly will fill about 6 to 8 eggs), carefully make a hole with a needle in the pointed edge of the egg. Gently move it around to make the hole bigger and to break the yolk, shake the egg to let the yolk and egg white come out. Wash the eggs thoroughly with water and leave to dry.

Prepare a packet of jelly with 125 ml boiling water, stir thoroughly and add 125 ml cold water. Leave to cool completely but do not let the jelly set. Pour enough jelly into the egg shells to fill it halfway. Place into egg holders and leave in fridge until the jelly has set completely.

Prepare another packet of jelly and fill the egg shells with this second color. Put back into fridge and leave to set overnight. Peel the eggs carefully and put back into fridge.

Make a thick custard with custard powder and milk and add a teaspoon of vanilla essence to it. Leave to cool completely. Add toasted coconut and finely chopped nuts of choice. Spoon or pipe into bowls and put jelly eggs on top. Garnish as desired.

Tip: Make chocolate bunnies, eggs or chickens by melting chocolate and spooning it into chocolate molds.

Curried Eggs

2007-03-28T00:03:00.000+02:00

I do not really think that "curried eggs" is a traditional dish, but I grew up with it. It is a good recipe to have on hand for meatless days or unexpected guests. Serve on a bed of rice with tomato salad.

Here is a recipe for a curried apple and sultana sauce as well as a curried banana sauce which can be spooned over the hardboiled eggs or else be served as a salad with fish and barbequed meat.

You will need:

8 eggs, hardboiled

Apple and Sultana Sauce:

1 onion, chopped
25 g butter/margarine
10 ml curry powder
25 ml flour
1 chicken cube, dissolved in 500 ml hot water
15 ml apricot jam
10 ml lemon juice
5 ml tomato purée
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
50 ml sultanas
2 ml salt

Heat butter/margarine in a saucepan. Sauté onion. Add curry powder and stir over low heat for a few minutes. Add flour and stir two minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in stock until smooth. Add jam, lemon juice and tomato purée. Return to stove and bring to boil. Add apples and sultanas and season with salt. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Peel eggs and halve lengthwise. Arrange eggs on rice and pour sauce over.

Serves 4-6

If there are leftovers, it can be kept in the fridge for a day. It also tastes nice when cold.

Banana Sauce

3 medium onions, peeled and chopped
25 g butter/margarine
750 ml boiling water
80g (100 ml) soft brown sugar
30g (60 ml) flour
25 ml medium curry powder
5 ml mustard powder
125 ml cold water
125 ml vinegar
salt and pepper
6-8 ripe bananas

Sauté onions in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add boiling water and cook until onions are soft. Mix sugar, flour, curry and mustard powder in a bowl and add cold water. Stir until smooth paste. Add slowly to onion mixture. Season to taste. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

Peel bananas and cut into slices. Put into a bowl, pour the sauce over, stir lightly to cover bananas with curry sauce. If you are going to use this with eggs, spoon over eggs and serve hot. To serve as a salad, leave to cool and keep in fridge until required.

Serves 6-8

Complimentary Gifts

2007-03-23T09:24:00.000+02:00

Here are three quick chutney recipes which require no cooking. They will compliment the bobotie and can also be served with other curry dishes, roast meat and even baked fish.

Cheat's Chutney

12,5 ml cooking oil
1 large onion, finely grated
1 can (450 g) smooth apricot jam
125 ml brown vinegar
5 ml cayenne pepper

Sauté onions in the oil until soft. Leave to cool and add the apricot jam and cayenne pepper. Stir. Slowly add enough brown vinegar to make a mixture with the consistency of chutney, but not too runny.

I sometimes sauté green peppers and grated apple with the onion and also add freshly ground black pepper.

Spoon into sterilized jars, seal and keep in fridge once opened.

Yield: 500 ml chutney.

Uncooked coconut and apple chutney

4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely diced.
15 ml salt
80 ml freshly grated coconut or 45 ml dessicated coconut
1 large onion, finely chopped
freshly squeezed juice of on lemon
30 ml liquid from fresh coconut (optional)
3 fresh green chillies, seeded and chopped (optional)
45 ml freshly chopped parsley
15 ml olive oil
20 ml liquid honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle apples with salt, add 50 ml water. Stand 15 minutes, drain and rinse in colander.

Blend remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper, in an electric blender or food processor until fine. add half of the apples, blend until smooth. Stir in remaining apples, salt and pepper to taste. spoon into sterilized jar, seal tightly. Store in refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Makes about 625ml.

Uncooked apricot chutney

60g (100ml) dried apricots
150ml malt vinegar
60g (100 ml) sultanas
60g (100ml) stoned dates, chopped
2 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
45g (60ml) soft brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1ml ground ginger
1ml cayenne pepper

Soak apricots in vinegar overnight. Mince all ingredients or process in food processor until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Spoon into clean, dry jar, seal well. Store in refrigerator. Allow to mature for at least two months before using.

Makes about 500 ml

Traditional Gifts

2007-03-21T10:27:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago I promised to post recipes of traditional foods of South Africa. Bobotie is a dish made from minced meat (lamb, beef and lately also ostrich meat) and often described as a South African version of the Shepherd's Pie, but with a distinct Malay influence.

If you would like to read more about South African food culture, click here

Bobotie

Serves 6-8

Oven temperature 180 degrees Celsius

1 slice white bread
1 cup milk
1 kg beef mince
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons butter or oil
5 tablespoons lemon juice
or vinegar
1 tablespoon smooth apricot jam
half cup sultanas
half cup whole blanched almonds
1 tablespoon white pepper
3 eggs
2 bay leaves

in a shallow dish, soak the slice of bread in half the milk for five minutes. squeeze out the milk, crumble the bread and add to the meat.

Sauté the onion, turmeric and curry powder in the butter/oil in a frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice/vinegar, apricot jam, sultanas, almonds, chutney, salt and pepper.

Add the curry mixture to the meat and bread mixture, mix well with a fork and turn the mixture into a greased oven proof dish. bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, whisk the eggs and remaining milk together and pour over the meat. Push the bay leaves into the meat and bake the bobotie for another 30 minutes or until done.

Serve the bobotie with "geel rys" (white rice cooked with turmeric and raisins), chutney, chopped tomato and onion, sliced banana and desiccated coconut.

Yellow rice and raisins:

6 cups of boiling water
5 ml turmeric
7 ml salt
37,5 ml sugar
pinch of cinnamon

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Add 500 ml rice and 250 ml raisins.

Bring to boil again, cook for 10 minutes over high heat, turn down the heat, cover pan with a lid and cook over low heat until rice is soft.

Marbled Eggs

2007-03-18T03:51:00.000+02:00

Here is my method for marbled eggs. It can lend a lot of color to your breakfast table and your guests are definitely going to spend some time discussing the merits of eating colored eggs.

Boil eggs as you normally would.

When the eggs have cooled completely, crack the shells all over with a knife.

Decide how many colors you will use. Pour hot water into bowls and add a few drops of food coloring to make a dark solution.
Put the eggs into the water and leave for about 30 minutes.

Marbled eggs.

If you like to be more adventurous, click here for another method

Breakfast Gifts for Easter

2007-03-17T11:15:00.000+02:00

I have just finished a post on my gift blog on how to make egg cups/nests from salt dough.

They were inspired by nests made from bread dough and I thought it would be a good idea to post the recipe and photos for the bread nests as well.

It is very easy to bake your own bread by using instant yeast because it cuts down considerably on the proving time.

Basic white bread recipe:

6 x 250 ml white bread flour
10 ml salt
25 ml white sugar
1 packet (10 g) instant yeast
25 ml melted butter or vegetable oil
450 ml lukewarm water (test with your finger, the water should feel hot but not uncomfortably so)

Put the flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the instant yeast into the flour mixture and mix well. Make a well in the flour mixture, add the water and butter/oil mixture and mix together with a spoon until it forms a soft but not sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more water, if sticky, add more flour.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes with the heel of your hands pushing the dough away until it begins to tear. Fold the dough back, give a slight turn and continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl , cover with lightly oiled clingwrap. Place in a warm, draught-free place until double in size.

Knock back and divide dough into six to eight pieces. Divide each piece into two again. Roll the dough into sausage shapes, about 1 cm thick. Press two ends together and twist the rolls to form a rope. Make the rope into a circle and join them together. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Put the circles/nests on an oiled baking sheet, cover again and prove until double in size.
Brush with 1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt and bake until well risen and golden brown.

If you want to make a bunny, use the photo as a guideline. Kids love these bread characters.

Autumn and Passionfruit

2007-03-16T10:05:00.000+02:00

Although the days are still very hot here in South Africa, the nights are a little cooler and even early in the mornings there is a chill in the air. Autumn is arriving because many of the trees are starting to loose their leaves and the ripe lemons on my lemon tree are starting to drop to the ground at an alarming rate now.

Tomorrow I will really have to try to squeeze out the juice of as many of them as I can. Lemon juice can be frozen quite successfully in ice cube trays. The lemon ice cubes can then be stored in plastic bags in the freezer and used in cooking. If you can find some ment leaves, place a leaf in the lemon juice before freezing. Instant flavouring for water. Lemon juice can even be stored in sealed glass jars. Pour vegetable oil on top of the lemon juice and keep in the fridge.

I will also make some more lemon curd as well as passionfruit curd. I also have a recipe for tropical curd. The methods for both are basically the same, so I will only give the ingredients for the tropical curd.

Passionfruit Curd

You can use fresh of tinned passionfruit/granadillas to make this smooth, rich curd.

pulp of 12 passionfruit
5 ml finely grated lemon rind
5 ml citric acid
440 g (550 ml) sugar
30 g (30 ml) butter
4 large eggs, beaten and strained

Mix the passionfruit pulp with all the remaining ingredients. Place in the top of a double boiler and cook over gentle heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Store in fridge once opened.

Tropical curd

4 extra large eggs, beaten
1 can (475 g) finely crushed pineapple
1 can (110 g ) passionfruit pulp
100 g (125ml) sugar
9- g (100 ml) butter, cut into cubes
3 ml finely grated lemon rind

Follow the method for the passionfruit/granadilla curd.

The Bestest Easter Egg Recipe

2007-03-14T11:32:00.000+02:00

It is that time of the year again where you really have to try and make believe that you hate chocolates. Easter eggs in all shapes and sizes are displayed in the shops, ads on the radio and TV do not help with healthy eating resolutions and so we close our eyes and buy a few eggs "for the kids" and of course we just have to take a bite to ensure that it tastes OK and the kids can eat it without any health hazards.

Did you know, you do not have to eat those lovely white, yellow and chocolate easter eggs only at this time of the year? Here is a recipe to make them yourself and being able to enjoy Easter eggs the whole year through.

Do this:

Beat 125 g soft butter, 5 ml salt and 10 ml vanilla essence. Add one small can of condensed milk and 730 g icing sugar, stir with a spoon until combined. Knead mixture to form a smooth paste. Add yellow food coloring to one third of the paste. Roll into small balls and cover with the white paste to form eggs. Set aside for 24 hours to harden. Dip into melted chocolate and leave until chocolate is set.

You can decorate the eggs by mixing one egg white with enough icing sugar to make a thick substance. Divide into three or four parts and use two drops of food coloring for each color. Mix thoroughly to form a thick, but not stiff mixture. Spoon into a cake decorating set or make a quick and easy icing bag by snipping of the corner of a small plastic bag, spoon the icing sugar into the bag and push it towards the corner where you have snipped the hole.

PS:- I cheated a little with the photo, it is a shop bought Easter egg. I think if I have to make all the food that I give the recipes for on this blog, I would one day be so round that the last recipe I will be able to give is the one for roly-poly pudding

However, all my recipes are well and truly tried and tested!!!

The Gift of Coffee Art

2007-03-11T06:50:00.000+02:00

In my previous post I have provided a link to Wikipedia for more information on coffee. While I have been reading all this lovely stuff, I found a link to Latte Art with another link to a photo gallery of these beautiful coffee creations. There is also a link for instructions and a video if you want to try to make it yourself.

I have posted the link under Titbits in the sidebar. Do yourself a favor, go and visit this site. It really is a shame to drink these works of art.

Another Chocolate Sensation

2007-03-11T05:25:00.000+02:00

I am still shying away from food preparation as much as possible and so today (Sunday) there was only ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert.

As with my chocolate mousse, this chocolate sauce does not last long in my house. I think the one ingredient that really makes this my favorite chocolate sauce recipe, is the strong black coffee. I am a self confessed coffee addict, the stronger and blacker the coffee, the better.

This sauce can be used either hot or cold and keeps well in the fridge.

Ingredients:

125 ml (50 g) cocoa powder
250 ml (200 g) white sugar
50 ml (25 g) butter
125 ml strong black coffee
125 ml golden syrup
2,5 ml vanilla essence (I use brandy or rum essence)

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a large microwave bowl and microwave on High (100%) for 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved completely. Stir every minute.

Let cool at least 5 minutes before serving over ice cream. When the mixture is kept in the fridge, it will form a lovely thick chocolate sauce.

Saucy Gifts

2007-03-09T00:59:00.000+02:00

Over the past few weeks I have prepared so much food (Valentine's Day, William's Party and also Mia, my granddaughter's party, on Tuesday) that for the last two days I did not even want to go near my kitchen, but alas, one cannot live from cake and sweets alone, so tonight I have served some hake with cheese sauce and a "normal" green salad.

The cheese sauce was very quick to make as I always have a basic white sauce mix in a jar in my fridge and by adding different ingredients to the basic mix, you can make sauce in a jiffy.

Another one of those recipes that can be used as a gift in a jar. Print labels for the instructions as well as all the different sauces you can make with the basic mix, put the mix in a pretty jar, tie the labels to the bottle, add a piece of cheese, some chives and mushrooms all packed in a smallish basket decorated with a big bow and you have once again, a gift that will be met with appreciation.

Here is the recipe:

White Sauce Mix

550 ml milk powder
250 ml flour
250 g cold butter
5 ml salt (Optional) — salt can be added during cooking)
2 ml pepper

Sift the flour and milk powder into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and work into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Place the mixture in an airtight glass container and keep in the refrigerator until you need it.

Yield: 600 g of mix

To make the white sauce, add water to the mix and either cook over low heat on the stove or in the microwave. Stir continuously until mixture reaches desired thickness and is cooked.

Thin sauce: 200 ml cold water and 100 ml mix

Medium thick sauce: 200 ml cold water and 150 ml mix

Thick sauce: 200 ml water and 200 ml mix

Variations:

Egg sauce:
Add 2 roughly chopped, boiled eggs and seasoning to basic white sauce. Serve with poached or steamed fish.

Onion sauce
Cook one peeled whole onion until soft. Drain and liquidise in a food processor . Add to the white sauce together with 25 ml cream, seasoning to taste as well as a pinch of nutmeg. Serve with leg of lamb or lamb chops.

Mustard sauce
Add 12,5 ml mustard powder,12,5 ml white wine vinegar or lemon juice as well as 5 ml castor sugar to the basic white sauce.

Mushroom sauce
Saute mushrooms in butter until cooked and add to white sauce. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.

Parsley sauce
Add 25 ml fresh finely chopped parsley to the white sauce, season with ground black pepper and a dash of lemon juice. Serve with fish or ham, cooked vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower or carrots. (You can add any other fresh herbs of choice to the basic white sauce.)

Cheese sauce
Add grated Cheddar or Parmesan cheese to the hot white sauce, stir well until combined and smooth. Add half a teaspoon of dry mustard powder for extra taste.
Good with anything!!!

Prawn sauce
Mix 85g chopped cooked prawns, lemon juice to taste and 5 ml anchovy paste to the white sauce. Serve with fish.

Tip: Make a quick and easy starter to a meal by adding a few drops of tomato sauce to the prawn sauce. Flake cooked hake or other white fish and mix with the sauce. Spoon into glasses, sprinkle freshly chopped parsley over the fish and serve with melba toast.

Poetic Gifts

2007-03-01T09:38:00.000+02:00

Tonight I once again have to say thank you here on my blog to Gene. Last night I read a lovely poem he wrote to tell his wife how much he misses her while she is away.

I mentioned in my comment that I wish somebody would write me a poem and tonight when I opened my e-mail, there was an invitation from Gene to visit his blog. To my surprise I found this beautiful poem he wrote for me.

When my daughter read it, she said it is such a perfect description of me. Funny that a mother never thinks about all these things when she prepares food. Most of the time it is just one of the things that is a part of being a housewife and mother. It only goes to show that we as mothers do not always realise how our family and other people see us.

Thank you, Gene!
I will treasure this poem for ever.

Cracker Bowls and Salad Gifts

2007-03-01T08:56:00.000+02:00

Here is the recipe for the crunchy cracker bowl and dried fruit salad. If you do not want to make a big bowl, you can always bake smaller bowls to serve the salad individually.

Bran and Herb Cracker Dough

10g sachet (20ml) instant dry yeast
250 ml lukewarm water
5 ml sugar
5 ml salt
45 g margarine, melted
20 g (125 ml) digestive bran
20 ml dried rosemary or thyme
250g - 300 g (500 ml-600ml) flour
1 egg, beaten with 15 ml cold water
garlic and herb seasoning salt
sesame and poppy seeds

Combine yeast and water in a large bowl. Mix in sugar, salt, margarine, bran and dried herbs. Gradually stir in flour, 250 ml at a time until you have a dough firm and easy to handle. Tip dough onto floured surface, knead five to eight minutes or until smooth and stretchy. Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place.

Roll dough out thinly. Spray a suitable heat-resistant bowl on outside with baking (non-stick) spray. Place bowl upside down on baking tray. Carefully place dough over upturned bowl, trimming the edges if necessary. Brush with egg, sprinkle with seeds.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely before removing bowl. Set aside and prepare salad.

Herb, Cheese and Fruit Salad

175 ml French oil-free dressing
250 g dried fruit salad mixture, chopped into small pieces
125 ml (75 g) fruit cake mix
30 ml wholegrain mustard
6 spring onions, chopped, including the green stalks
45 ml hot or mild fruit chutney
125 g low fat Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese, cubed
65 g feta or creamy blue cheese, crumbled
50 g (125 ml) pecan nuts, coarsely chopped
1 large butter lettuce, shredded
1 large read oak lettuce, leaves left whole
125 ml fresh leafy herbs, ie origanum, basil

Heat salad dressing, add chopped fruit salad mix, chutney, mustard and fruit cake mix. Stir, remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Add spring onions, cheeses, nuts and butter lettuce to fruit mixture, toss well. Place cracker bowl on serving platter, line with red oak lettuce, pile salad into leaf-lined bowl. Serve at once.

Jack and the Beanstalk

2007-02-28T11:40:00.000+02:00

Here are a few photos of the bean sprouts I started to grow last week. I do not know if they are supposed to look like the hungry lovable flower in a movie of a few years ago (I cannot remember the name) but they are literally bursting out of their beans and sprouting all these little roots into the air. I am afraid if I leave it any longer, it will grow through the roof.

I had a taste tonight and I think it would go well with salads. It has a nice, subtle "nutty bean" taste. It has been growing now for nearly 10 days and although it does not look like the picture in my recipe book, it may be due to the difference in beans. According to the instructions, mung beans are the best to use for bean sprouts. I used store bought red speckled sugar beans.

I can remember as a kid my brothers and I have "grown" beans by putting dry beans between layers of moist cotton and left it to germinate. These beans did grow quicker than mine did in the last few days.

If any of you have had success or have tips on this, please be so kind as to share it with me and other readers of my blog by leaving a comment.

A Tangy Gift

2007-02-26T09:45:00.000+02:00

Mustard ring

4 large eggs
250 ml water
125 ml white or brown vinegar
150 g/175 ml white sugar
15 ml gelatin
15 ml mustard powder
2 ml turmeric
1 ml salt
250 ml cream

Beat the eggs in the top of a double boiler. Add water and vinegar and beat again.

Mix the sugar, gelatin, mustard powder, turmeric and salt and add to the egg mixture. Stir until well blended. Stir the mixture continuously over boiling water until it thickens slightly. Remove from stove and leave to cool but stir every now and then to prevent a skin from forming.

Whisk the cream until stiff and fold into the cooled mustard mixture. Pour into a ring mold which has been sprayed with baking spray or rinsed with cold water. Put into fridge and leave to set.

Turn out onto a plate before serving. You can also put potato salad in the center of the ring and use sliced dill cucumbers as a garnish.

Pics of a Nice Party

2007-02-25T08:47:00.000+02:00

Here are photos of some of the party foods I wrote about in my post on Friday night. The party was a huge success and everybody enjoyed it so much. Thanks to everybody who send good wishes to William.

Doesn't the watermelon salad look lovely? I also added some kiwi fruit slices for extra color.

Mustard squares are always a big hit with the men at a party. Normally it is served as a mustard ring but I cut it into squares to make serving easier.

I will post the recipe tomorrow night. A few years ago I worked on a game ranch and we even served it as a starter to meals.

It is very easy to make and compliments all meat dishes.

I used a pottery bowl that my sister in law made for my mother many years ago as a mold for the cracker bowl. It really looked so good, but as I had to prepare the salad in advance, I had to line it with foil to prevent it from getting soggy with the salad and it somewhat spoiled the appearance.

The salad was really a surprise. The somewhat sweet taste of the dried fruit mixture blended beautifully with the saltiness of the cheeses and the spring onions, herbs and green salad leaves.

The bowl and salad should be served as soon as possible to be able to eat the bowl with the salad. Today the bowl was already a little to hard to eat because you have to roll it the dough quite thinly and it dries out quickly after being baked. I have put the rest of it into the freezer and maybe in a few weeks I can try to use it in a bread pudding. Birth of a new recipe maybe?

The carrot cake is still moist and tastes really good. The meringue nests filled with chocolate mousse and decorated with thin slices of fresh strawberries and mint leaves were also a big hit.
The meringues should be filled just before serving as it becomes very soft and soggy once it has been filled.

To Say Thank You

2007-02-23T00:51:00.000+02:00

On Saturday I received such a nice and enthusiastic comment on my blog from Gene over at Turning the Pages of Life as well as a review on his blog.

Gene's blog is full of tongue-in-the-cheek cartoons, lovely poems, blog, book and movie reviews and all in all one of those interesting blogs where you can while away hours and hours of your time.

Apparently his one big ambition/desire is to be awarded as a blog of note and so tonight I want to give him my Butterfly Award for "You have made my day".

As I have said in my post A Gift for Ruth, it is always nice to find so much appreciation for one's efforts in the blogging world.

Thank you, Gene.

Birthday Parties and Baking

2007-02-22T11:48:00.000+02:00

My son in law is twenty one years old today and I have been busy with arrangements for his party over the last few days. We are still suffering from very high temperatures in South Africa at the moment and it is much easier to do the baking and other food preparations in the evenings when it is a little cooler, so I have not had time to blog for the past few days.

I have baked two carrot cakes, made mustard rings as well as the chocolate mousse that will be used as a filling for meringue nests. I also made hummus (a kind of spread/paté made from chickpeas and garlic - I substitute the chickpeas with butter beans) , garlic butter for the foccacia and other flat breads as well as some watermelon jam. The bean sprouts that I am trying to cultivate for the salads, are coming along nicely but I do not think they will be ready to use on Saturday.

I have a dried fruit salad recipe which I wanted to make for many years now and will make that as well and it will be served in a crunchy cracker dough bowl made from bread dough and sesame seeds. When the salad is finished, the bowl can be eaten as well - I like that, less dishes to wash at the end! This is another recipe that I wanted to try for many years and the time has come to do it.

I will also make a watermelon salad - cubes of watermelon, black olives, feta cheese, black pepper and sprinkled with a little olive oil. The colors alone are enough to make this a lovely salad. I am still deciding if I will "spike" the watermelon with a little vodka today before making the salad.

There will also be a marvelous "pap tert" (porridge tart)- another favorite in South Africa, made from cooked maize meal and layered with bacon, fried onions, mushrooms, garlic and cheese.

The party will actually be a "bring en braai" - guests bring their own chops, steak and drinks and the host provide all the side dishes and dessert/cake. It is a very popular form of party in South Africa with the high meat and alcohol prices. We have a lovely name for it too - "bring jou meisie, ysie en vleisie" meaning bring your own girl, ice/drink and meat - in Afrikaans the words rhyme and when you invite somebody to these kind of parties, it is usually mentioned in the invitation cards.

Unfortunately I cannot have you all at the party, but I will give you the carrot cake recipe. It is Friday and there is still time to bake it before the weekend guests arrive. This is really one of those cakes that tastes better after two or three days, but as it is so nice, it normally does not last that long. It also freezes well.

You will need:

4 Large Eggs
250 ml brown (molasses) sugar
250 ml white sugar
375 ml cooking oil
625 ml flour
250 ml raisins or fruit mix
125 ml coconut
750 ml finely grated fresh carrots
125 ml chopped nuts of choice (walnuts are good)
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
5 ml baking powder
5 ml salt
5 ml ground cinnamon
5 ml ground ginger
5 ml vanilla essence
5 ml lemon essence

Beat eggs, sugars, oil and carrots well. (Use a large mixing bowl.) Add flour and the rest of the ingredients and beat until well blended. Spoon into prepared baking tins and bake 40 minutes to one hour in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) or until a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into middle of the cake.

Put 500 gram of icing sugar into a bowl and add smooth, unflavored cottage cheese spoon by spoon to prevent the icing sugar from becoming too runny. Spread over the cooled cake and decorate with more chopped nuts.

I will show you photos of all the food on Sunday or Monday night. Have a look on my salt dough blog to see my clever idea for making a lot of serviette rings for the party.

Enjoy your weekend.

Farmhouse Meat Pies

2007-02-19T11:05:00.000+02:00

Monday nights are always a lazy night for me after all the heavy cooking of the weekend. With so much left-over food in the fridge, I try to make something quick but still filling enough to leave everybody satisfied.

Tonight I made meat pies with 500 ml of the Ultimate Baking Mix and left over mince and vegetables from Saturday's vetkoek supper.

Vetkoek is one of the most popular dishes in South Africa and can be eaten with a variety of fillings. I will post the recipe at a later stage because I have decided to do some posts about traditional South African dishes and vetkoek will definitely be included.

To return to the mince pies; put 500 ml of the Ultimate Baking Mix into a large mixing bowl, add 5 ml mustard powder and finely chopped fresh parsley or 5 ml dried parsley to the mix. Beat about 60 - 70 ml of ice cold water and one egg and add this to the Ultimate Baking Mix to from a moist dough. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, then fold the side edges to the inside and roll out again. Fold side edges over again and leave the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 5 mm, cut out circles and place two tablespoons of left over mince meat (or any other filling of choice) onto one half of the dough circle. Moisten the edges of the dough with water or lightly beaten egg white, fold the other half over and press the edges together. Use a fork to really seal the edges so that the filling does not escape during baking. Place on a greased oven pan and bake at 200 degrees Celsius about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve with green salad and chunky home-made chutney.

Word of warning: This is not one of those thin, gone-with-the-wind pies you will find in a delicatessen, but all in all, a very satisfactory and filling meat pie. Good to eat both hot and cold.

Tip: Roll the dough into a rectangle, spoon the mince meat evenly over the dough and carefully roll the dough to form a sausage. Moisten the edges and pinch together to prevent any filling from leaking. Place the sausage onto an oven pan and bake until golden brown on top. Leave to cool for five minutes before cutting thick slices from the roll. You can also cut slices from the roll before baking to make wheels. Bake until well risen and brown on top.

Yield: 4-6 pies depending on the size of the circle.

Earthy Gifts

2007-02-17T11:11:00.000+02:00

I had a lot of trouble last night with my internet connection, so was unable to post the potato snack recipe, but here it is.

POTATO MIXTURE FOR SNACKS

This is my favorite snack to make for parties. By adding different seasonings, fillings and coatings, you can surprise everybody with a different snack every time.

Basic recipe
Boil 4-6 big potatoes until soft. Mash and add salt and pepper to taste. Add just enough mayonnaise to make a firm mixture. Form small balls or sausages and roll in finely crushed potato chips of choice. Store in fridge until needed.

Seasoning
Aromat
Salt and white or black grounded pepper
Lemon pepper
Celery salt
Garlic or onion salt
Soup powder

Add to mixture
Crushed potato chips
Grated Cheddar or cheese of choice
Grated onion
Finely chopped chives, chopped parsley,
Finely chopped celery
Chopped nuts
Fried, crumbled bacon pieces
Hardboiled grated eggs

Fillings:
Cheese cubes
Ham cubes
Gherkin slices
Vienna slices
Filled olives
Small radishes
Small mince balls

Coatings:

Potato chips
Crushed savory biscuits
Sesame seeds
Finely chopped nuts
Finely grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese
Finely chopped parsley
Finely grated biltong

Try this:
Substitute the mayonnaise with cottage or cream cheese.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto polony slices. Spoon the mixture onto ham or other cold meat slices. Roll up and secure with a toothpick or tie a chive around it.

To serve as a vegetable side dish, roll the mixture into bigger balls, put into fridge for 30 minutes, roll into beaten egg and dried breadcrumbs. Put back into fridge for 30 minutes to one hour and then deep fry until crumbs are crisp and golden brown.

Party Gifts for the Weekend

2007-02-15T11:18:00.000+02:00

I was looking through my recipe books today as I have to prepare snacks for a birthday party next week and I decided to include my favorite party snack, made from potatoes, as well.

This is really (again) one of those recipes where you take some basic ingredients and then add a little bit of this and a little bit of that and you have something different every time.

I will post it tomorrow night, but I can tell you that the main ingredient is plain, good old potatoes. So if you want to make something special for the weekend, have a look in your kitchen and buy some potatoes, mayonnaise and maybe some nice Cheddar or Parmesan cheese if you do not have these in stock.

Smooth Chocolate Temptation

2007-02-13T08:48:00.000+02:00

I did not make this chocolate mousse as I am still reeling from all the sugar of the weekend. It is however, a heavenly dessert and one of my favorites. There has been a few fights in my house over this one, everybody wants the last serving.

As with many of my recipes, you can also add other ingredients like finely chopped nuts, grated chocolate (peppermint tastes good), even crumbled cookies/biscuits to the original mixture. I also add a teaspoon of brandy or rum essence to the mixture.
The real thing also gives an exotic taste to the mousse.

Try to substitute the cocoa with strong hot coffee for a lovely mocha dessert.

Low fat chocolate mousse

60 ml custard powder/cornflour
60 ml cocoa
175 ml castor sugar/white sugar
500 ml low fat milk
20 ml gelatin
1 can (410g) ice cold evaporated milk
30 ml cold water

Sift custard powder, cocoa and castor sugar in a saucepan. Add the milk and slowly bring to boil while stirring continuously. Stir until mixture thickens. Cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and leave to sponge (bloom. Add some of the hot cocoa mixture to the gelatin, stir until gelatin has dissolved completely. Add the gelatin and cocoa mixture to the rest of the hot cocoa mixture, stir to combine and then leave to cool to room temperature.

Pour the evaporated milk into the bowl of an electric beater, beat until double in volume. Add the cocoa mixture to the milk and stir until blended. Pour into a glass bowl and leave in the fridge until set. Spoon into individual bowls, top with glacé cherry and peppermint leaves.

Enjoy!!!!

Yield: 8-10 portions.

Sweet Hearts

2007-02-11T11:50:00.000+02:00

The peppermint creams are really quick and easy to make, but I have forgotten how sweet they are.

I also colored and flavored them, rolled it out onto a surface dusted with cornflour and used small cookie cutters for the hearts and flowers.

As I had some left over chocolate from the marshmallow making, I dipped half of the hearts into the chocolate and inserted toothpicks into a few of them.

Put the hearts on sticks into a small glass and wrap with cellophane or put the peppermint creams into a small box and tie a bow around the box to give as a gift.

The teaspoons covered in chocolate on the marshmallow photo in the previous post, are such a nice way to end a romantic dinner with. Use them to stir a cup of strong black coffee to give a chocolate taste to the coffee.

Melt-in-the-mouth Gifts

2007-02-11T09:13:00.000+02:00

After this weekend, I will have to avoid all things sugary, sweet and tempting.

I made marshmallows and then really went overboard with the chocolates, but I can assure you, once you have made this quick and easy marshmallows, you will never buy the ones in the stores or make the cooked version again.

I have used this recipe for nearly twenty years now and have also tried different versions by adding food coloring and food essence to match each other. Yellow banana flavored, green peppermint flavored, pink almond flavored, white vanilla flavored, plain white with grated chocolate added to the mixture, layered between coconut biscuits and topped with melted chocolate, spooned over my favourite sweet shortcrust pastry (pre-baked and cooled), rolled in icing sugar or toasted coconut and then this weekend, Valentine's marshmallow chocolate covered hearts and chocolate cups filled with pink almond flavored, soft, smooth and oh so tempting marshmallow filling.

You will need:

50 g (80 ml ) gelatin
125 ml cold water
375 ml boiling water
4 x 250 ml white sugar
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
5 ml vanilla essence or flavor of choice
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to soften. Add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved. Add the white sugar, egg whites, salt and beat with the whisk attachment of electric mixer for 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture thickens. Pour into a prepared glass dish and leave in the refrigerator until it has set. Dip a sharp knife into boiling water and cut the marshmallows into squares. Roll each square in icing sugar or toasted coconut.

Make chocolate cups by melting baking chocolate in the microwave. Use a pastry or clean paint brush to brush the chocolate evenly up the sides of paper candy cups. Brush two or three coatings if necessary or if you want a thicker cup. Let the chocolate harden and carefully peel of the paper cups. Spoon marshmallow mixture into the cups.

Insert a chocolate heart or other shape into the marshmallow mixture before it sets completely. If already set, use the tip of a knife dipped into boiling water to make a little slit in the marshmallow and then insert the chocolate heart.

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for the chocolate marshmallow hearts. Dip the cookie cutter into hot or boiling water and press it into the set marshmallow mixture. Gently lift out and repeat until you have enough hearts.

If you have heart molds, you can first make the chocolate hearts and then fill it with the marshmallow mixture. When the marshmallows have set, gently spoon barely heated chocolate over it to cover the marshmallows completely. Take care that the chocolate is not too hot , the marshmallows might melt and the chocolate will become lumpy, but then you will have this lovely gooey chocolaty mixture that has to be eaten immediately!!

Spoon the mixture into ice cream cones. Sprinkle thousand and ones, chocolate vermicelli or chopped nuts over the mixture. Good for kids' birthday parties.

Tempting Gifts

2007-02-07T11:23:00.000+02:00

Valentine's Day is only a week away. Gifts and cards, hearts, chocolates, roses, cupids and cuddly toys are displayed in every shop you visit. Open magazines or browse the internet and you will find a hundred and one ideas to make this a day your loved one will not forget.

So here is a quick and easy recipe for smooth peppermint creams. Perfect finish to a romantic dinner or packed in a pretty box as a gift.

You will need:

500 g icing sugar
1-2 egg whites
3 ml peppermint essence (almond tastes good as well)
100 g dark chocolate

Sift the icing sugar into a big bowl. Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add enough of the egg white to the sugar to form a stiff paste. Mix in the peppermint essence.

Roll the paste out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar to about 7mm thickness. Use small pastry cutters to cut into rounds, hearts or desired shapes. Leave them to dry for 2-3 hours.

Melt the chocolates in the microwave or in a double boiler. Dip half of each peppermint cream into the chocolates. Allow to dry on greaseproof paper, which will take about 5 minutes.

Yield about 40 peppermint creams.

Tip: Dark chocolate is best to use, as the milk or white versions would be too sweet. Add a drop of green food coloring to the peppermint creams and pink or red food coloring to almond creams.

No more viewing problems??

2007-02-06T00:11:00.000+02:00

It seems that I have found a solution to the viewing problem many of the readers on this blog had during the past few days. Readers who use Internet Explorer was unable to see all the posts and as I use Mozilla Firefox and could see/read everything and had no trouble with new posts, I was unaware of this problem.

Last night my sister in law in Qatar told me that she could only see the last 4 posts, I had a look in Explorer as I know that she uses this browser and lo and behold, even I could only see the last 4 posts.

I made some changes to the template and I hope all who had problems viewing the blog, will now be able to see and read all the recipes again.

Hopefully I will be able to find another option for the changes I made which caused this problem, but until then, I will leave well alone.

Dessert for the weekend

2007-02-04T11:54:00.000+02:00

I managed to bake the chocolate and coconut pies yesterday. Here is a photo of them. I spread some of the lemon curd on top of the coconut pie after I took it out of the oven. It was a little too sweet, but still the lemon taste went well with the coconut.

I really prefer to eat the coconut pie when it has cooled down completely. On the other hand, it is summer here in South Africa and the days and even nights are so hot, so all food taste good when cold.

Tip: Take care not to bake the chocolate pie too long. The chocolate in the batter tends to sag to the bottom of the pie dish and will burn and the pie itself will be really dry. Test with a metal skewer after 25 minutes and if done, take it out of the oven immediately.

Trouble viewing my blog

2007-02-04T00:20:00.000+02:00

Ruth has had trouble viewing my blog during the week. She can only see my newer posts from the "thank you" post I did for her and nothing before that. Lottie could not copy and paste the muffin mix recipe and had to write it down by hand.

If any of you also have these problems, won't you please leave a comment or send me an e-mail telling me about the problems you have in viewing the blog or any other problems you may experience here. The e-mail link is in the side-bar.

I will send the recipes to you by e-mail if you cannot view the older posts.

From Ultimate Baking Mix to Perfect Gifts (4)

2007-02-01T09:26:00.000+02:00

How quickly time flies. Here we are again at the beginning of another weekend and also the second month of 2007.
I thought I would have time today to bake the two desserts that I am posting the recipes for tonight, so as to inspire you to make them for the weekend, but time has caught up with me, being busy with programs and invitation cards for a 21st birthday party. Hopefully I will be able to bake one or both this weekend, especially the coconut pie, since I really love anything with coconut in it.

If you have trouble in buying buttermilk, you can always substitute it by adding 25 ml (2 tablespoons) of white vinegar or lemon juice to 250 ml (1 cup) fresh milk. Leave to stand for 1-2 hours until it thickens slightly and then use as required in the recipe.

Buttermilk and coconut pie

200 g (250 ml) white sugar
250 ml (one cup) buttermilk
75 g ( 125 ml) ultimate baking mix
50 g (60 ml) melted butter
5 ml vanilla extract
3 eggs
80 g (250 ml) coconut

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F
Grease an oven proof pie dish of 28 cm in diameter.

Beat all the ingredients until smooth. Spoon into the prepared pie dish. Bake 30 minutes in center of oven. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving with fresh fruit pieces and/or whipped cream.

Yield 6 portions

Chocolate nut pie

100 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
50 g (60 ml) butter
10 ml cocoa sifted
4 eggs
100 g (125 ml) soft brown sugar
100 g (125 ml) white sugar
75 g (125 ml) ultimate baking mix
75 g (200 ml) chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F
Grease an oven proof pie dish of 28 cm in diameter.

Melt chocolate, butter and cocoa in a double boiler over medium heat.
Beat eggs, brown and white sugar and baking mix until smooth. Add the chocolate mixture and stir well. Spoon the batter into the prepared oven proof dish and sprinkle nuts on top. Bake 30-35 minutes in center of oven. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and serve with ice cream.

Yield 6 portions

A Gift for Ruth

2007-01-30T09:32:00.000+02:00

Tonight I want to say thank you to Ruth. She shares her life and garden with so many readers and the way that she looks after and takes care of her husband Mick, is an inspiration to many. She is one of my regular readers and I in turn always enjoy visiting her blogs.

This past weekend she has tried my muffin mix recipe and also took photos of the rising process and the finished results.

Sometimes we go to a lot of trouble with our blogs and hope that people will enjoy reading the stories, recipes, daily life happenings, information about our hobbies and everything else that bloggers write about.

I think the majority of bloggers cannot wait to download their e-mails to see who and from where and how many readers have left comments. So, when a reader/visitor does something as nice as what Ruth has done this weekend, you really feel that the time and effort you put into blogging, is worth the while.

Ruth is an avid gardener and what better way to say thank you than to "award" her with a photo of a sunflower from my own garden.

THANK YOU, RUTH

From Ultimate Baking Mix to Perfect Gifts (3)

2007-01-29T10:39:00.000+02:00

I wanted to post a recipe for bread sticks and smooth after dinner mints tonight, but as there are so many other dishes that you can make with the ultimate baking mix, I thought I should post them all and then move on to other recipes and ideas for edible gifts.

I really like to give these quick-to-make baking mixes as a gift. If you put the mix in a pretty bottle, the bottle can always be used to store something else in again. Print or write a few of the recipes on colored labels, punch holes in the labels and tie them all to the bottle with string, raffia or a pretty ribbon.

Another idea is to tie 2 or 3 labels with the recipes to different sized wooden spoons. Put the spoons on top of the bottle and tie with a pretty dish cloth. Put everything into a small basket decorated with a bow.

Green bean side dish:

250 fresh green beans, sliced
1 can (225 g) sliced mushrooms
100 g (250 ml) grated Cheddar cheese
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
375 ml milk
125 g (200 ml) ultimate baking mix
3 eggs
5 ml salt
1 ml pepper

Cook green beans until tender. Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Mix green beans, mushrooms, cheese, onion and garlic, spoon into a greased oven dish. Blend the rest of ingredients until smooth, pour over green bean mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife or metal skewer inserted in the center, comes out clean.

Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm with leg of lamb or pork.

Yield 6 portions

Tip: When I make this dish,I add two to three chopped celery sticks and leaves as well as dried herbs like thyme or rosemary. I also sautee the vegetables in a little oil before spooning it into the oven dish and then let it cool before adding the batter.

I do not eat potatoes, but a friend of mine makes a potato dish with cooked, sliced potatoes, fried bacon, sauteed onions, garlic and mushrooms. She layers the veggies with black pepper and grated cheese, pours the batter over the whole lot, top it with more cheese and bake until cooked and golden brown on top. Always a hit with potato lovers.

Idea: Use cabbage instead of green beans.

From Ultimate Baking Mix to Perfect Gifts (2)

2007-01-22T10:51:00.000+02:00

Here is a recipe for a cheese cake made from the ultimate baking mix. When you are next invited to a dinner party, this will be the perfect thank you gift for your hostess.

You will need:

2 x 250 g cream or cottage cheese
140 g (175 ml) sugar
75 g (125 ml) baking mix
2 eggs
10 ml vanilla essence
2 ml finely grated lemon rind/zest

Topping:

250 ml sour cream
25 g (30 ml) sugar
5 ml vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, baking mix, eggs,
vanilla essence and lemon zest in a mixing bowl.

Pour into greased oven proof dish and bake for
25 minutes or until the cheese cake is set.

Blend the sour cream, sugar en vanilla essence
and pour over the warm cheese cake. Let cool for at
least 3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Yield: 6-8 servings

From Ultimate Baking Mix to Perfect Gifts (1)

2007-01-22T10:42:00.000+02:00

As I have mentioned in my previous post, the ultimate baking mix can be used for a variety of dishes. If you combine the baking mix with milk and eggs to make a batter, you can prepare savory pies in minutes. Savory pies are always a welcome gift at a party or serve it with some salads and your guests will surely compliment you on your culinary skills.

Quick and easy mince meat pie

500 g lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
5 ml dried mixed herbs
375 ml milk
125 g (200 ml) baking mix
3 eggs
5 ml salt
pinch of pepper
2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
100 g (250 ml) coarsely grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F.

Fry the ground beef and chopped onions in a sauce
pan over medium heat until the meat is just done.
Add herbs and stir through. Spoon meat mixture
into a greased oven proof dish.

Beat the milk, baking mix, eggs and seasoning
thoroughly and pour over the meat.
Bake 25 minutes in center of the oven. Take the
pie out of the oven,arrange tomato slices on top
and sprinkle the cheese over the tomatoes.

Put the pie back in the oven and bake for another
5-8 minutes or until the egg mixture is set.
Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6-8 portions.

The Ultimate Baking Mix

2007-01-20T01:18:00.000+02:00

This baking mix can be used for so many things! You can make scones, sweet and savoury tarts (even a cheesecake) and as you go along, you will find lots of other uses for it. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 weeks and if you need a gift for a friend, just fill a smaller bottle or container with the mix, type or write baking instructions on a label and decorate the bottle with pretty ribbon.

You will need:

9 x 250 ml flour
225 ml lowfat dry milk powder
50 ml baking powder
10 ml salt
350 g butter or shortening.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into small cubes and rub into flour with your fingertips or pulse in a food processor. Mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Place into airtight glass containers and store in fridge.

Scones:

500 ml (2 cups) of the baking mix
125 ml (half a cup) of ice cold water
1 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celcius. Place the baking mix into a bowl, add the water and egg to make a moist mixture, (do not knead the dough) turn out onto a floured board and press the dough down to a thickness of about 2,5 cm (1"). Use a cookie cutter to cut out rounds or slice the dough into rectangular shapes with a knife. Place on greased baking sheets. Brush with milk or lightly beaten egg. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Variations:

Cheese scones: Add 125 ml grated cheddar cheese en 1 ml cayenne pepper to the 500 ml baking mix.

Tip: I use dry mustard powder when I make the cheese scones.

Herb scones: Add 60 ml finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil,chives or herbs of choice) to the baking mix.

Sweet scones: Add 125 ml raisins or currants and about 25 ml sugar to the mix.

Garlic scone ring: Melt butter in the microwave oven, add freshly crushed garlic and a dash of lemon juice to the melted butter. Roll the scone dough into smallish balls and dip the balls into the butter mix. Pack the balls close together in a greased ring pan and bake until golden brown. Great with a green salad and barbequed meat!

Tip: I love garlic and also add some dried garlic flakes to the scone dough before I dip them into the butter mix.

A Gift with Many Flavors

2007-01-17T01:00:00.000+02:00

In my previous post I have given the recipe for lemon curd as well as a method to cook it on the stove and in the microwave oven.

Substitute the lemon juice with the juice from other citrus fruits and you have a wide variety of curds.

When you give lemon curd as a gift, use small bottles (empty baby food jars are ideal) and decorate them with handmade tags or make small fruit and leaves from salt dough, print labels on your computer and paste on the bottle itself or make personalised lid covers from salt dough. Take a look at the decoration ideas on my salt dough blog.

Here are the variations and other uses for lemon curd that I promised in my previous post.

Orange curd - Use the juice and zest of 3 oranges and 1 lemon

Lime curd - Substitute the lemon juice and zest with lime juice and zest. This curd has a delicate green color.

Pink grapefruit and lime curd - Juice and zest of 2 pink grapefruits and 1 lime.

For a creamier curd, whip 125 ml (half a cup) heavy cream and fold into the lemon curd.

Add a few teaspoons of liqueur like Advocaat for lemon curd with a kick.

Lemon curd can be used as a spread on muffins, scones and bread or as a filling for pies and cakes.

Blend 1 tablespoon lemon curd, the juice and rind of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons of water to make a dessert sauce. Add sugar to taste. Great over ice cream and hot puddings.

Spread lemon curd on top of freshly baked bread pudding, put back into the oven for a few minutes to let the curd smelt and seep into the bread pudding.

Lastly, make a marinade by mixing 3 tablespoons lemon curd, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar. Make slashes across 4 chicken breasts, coat with the marinade and chill the breasts for 30 minutes. Grill and serve with salad and freshly baked bread rolls.

Spread the Gift

2007-01-16T22:23:00.000+02:00

I love my lemon tree!! It has given me so much joy in all the years I have been living in my house. Apart from the lovely combination of yellow and green colors and the sweet smell of the tiny white blossoms, I never had to buy lemon juice for nearly 17 years.

It bears fruit the whole year through and I have used the lemons for fragrant oils, home made soap, potpourri, salad dressings, in cooking and baking and nothing refreshes you more in the fierce heat of a South African summer than a glass filled with cold water, lemon juice, a few ice cubes and crushed peppermint leaves.

I still have to try my hand at lemon chutney and pickled lemons, but lemon meringue pie has become a favorite in my home and home made lemon curd is always a quick and easy gift.

Here is my recipe for this versatile spread.

250 ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice (about 3 -4 big lemons)
5 ml (1 teaspoon) finely grated lemon zest
125 g butter
625 ml (500 g) white sugar
4 extra large eggs (beaten)

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over low heat until it has melted. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk well. Stir constantly for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. It should coat the back of a spoon. Pour into sterilised glass jars, seal and keep in refrigerator once it has cooled. Use within 2 months.

Microwave method:

Mix the lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter in a microwave bowl and microwave on high (100%) for 3 minutes or until the sugar has melted. Stir after every minute. Beat the eggs in a separate microwave bowl and slowly pour the hot mixture to the beaten eggs while stirring constantly.
Put the mixture back into the microwave and cook on high (100%) for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Stir every minute. Pour into sterilised jars, seal and keep in refrigerator.

In my next post I will provide a few variations and uses for lemon curd.

A Muffin without Temperature

2007-01-12T23:33:00.000+02:00

In my haste to share the muffin baking mix with you, I forgot to include the oven temperatures at which the muffins should be baked. Ruth mentioned it in her comment and I am so glad that she did.

I think the main reason for omitting this, is the fact that with baking mixes, it is the baking mix itself rather than the baked product that is really intended to be given as a gift.

For those of you who want to try the muffins , here are the baking time and temperatures: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown at 180 degrees Celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). If you use a gas cooker, the temperature must be between 3 and 4.

I hope those of you who wanted to bake some muffins but were not sure about the oven temperature, will now be able to do so and that the baking mix will also come in handy if you have forgotten to buy a gift for a friend or family member.

Muffin baking mix

2007-01-04T00:47:00.000+02:00

This versatile baking mix can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month. You only bake as many muffins as you want to, and by adding pieces of fruit or nuts to the mixture, you can have different muffins for breakfast every morning

The muffin baking mix is a great gift on its own. Put it in a bottle and tie a ribbon around the bottle. Write or print baking instructions on a tag or glue a label onto the bottle. To make it more special, you can also tie a scoop to the bottle.

Basic Recipe:

4x 250 ml bran
500 ml oats
625 ml boiling water
125 ml vegetable oil
250 ml brown sugar
4 large eggs,
4 x 250 ml buttermilk
25 ml bicarbonate of soda
625 ml cake flour
625 ml whole wheat flour
10 ml salt

Mix the bran, oats and water together in a large bowl. Add the oil and let the mixture cool. Add the brown sugar,beaten eggs and 750 ml of the buttermilk to the mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the left-over buttermilk, and add to the mixture. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Put the mixture into glass bottles, seal and keep in the refrigerator.

To bake, spoon the mixture into muffin pans or muffin cases to fill the pans or cases. Bake for 20 minutes until the muffins are risen and golden.

Ideas:
Chopped dried or glacé fruit of choice,
Raisins
Nuts and seeds(sunflower, poppy seeds)
Apple pieces and cinnamon to taste
Freshly grated carrots and lemon peel with grated ginger
Grated chocolate or chocolate chips
Coconut and glacé cherries

Tip: Sweet muffins are best served warm.
Dust with icing sugar or top muffins before baking with sugar and chopped nuts.