Goats Cheese and Vegatable Tart

Ingredients
For the pastry

• 8 oz/ 200 grams White Spelt Flour 
• 4oz/ 100grams Block Butter or Margarine at room temperature cut into small pieces
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 
• 1oz/ 25mls Cold Water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, rub the margarine into flour using finger tips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add a little of the cold water (you may need a little more or less than 1oz) to bind the breadcrumbs together, knead for a 1 minute than put in a plastic bag or wrap in cling film. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest and cool, before rolling out.Roll out pastry and cut into 2 rectangles. Wet the edges of the pastry with water and fold them over to form a ridge all around.

For the filling

• 2-3 medium sized plum tomatoes
• A little seasoning (salt and pepper to taste).
• 2 -3 sliced shallots
• 1 sliced yellow pepper
• A handful of torn basil leaves 
• 1 small goats cheese

Mash the tomatoes and season, spread the mixture evenly on to the pastry rectangles.
Add the sliced shallots, sliced yellow pepper, the torn basil leaves. Gently pull the goats cheese apart and add evenly to the pastry.
Bake at gas mark Gas 5, 190C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown.

Serve with a salad or soup.

Left over queens invite

The left over queen has added me to the foodie-blogroll http://www.leftoverqueen.com/the-foodie-blogroll the little box on the right has loads of wonderful foodie websites & blogs form all over the globe.
A big "Thank you" to the queen for including me :)

Soda Bread

(I made two soda breads from the below recipe this is a picture of one of them, but you can make one big soda bread)
This is an enriched soda bread, sweeter tasting than the ordinary soda bread and softer to. My mom made this and a very similar cake bread (I'll put the recipe on soon) every week, she often made two one plain and one with plenty of mixed dried fruits, so there was always a piece to eat if someone popped in for a chat and a cuppa..
Great eaten anytime of the day, you don't need to toast it (unless you want to). Eat plain or add butter, maybe add a little jam, and aways with a cup of tea :)

Tip: don't put in more soda than needed it will make the bread bitter and strange tasting

Soda Bread

• 1 lb / 500gms/ 4 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 very heaped teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1oz / 25 grams/ butter
• 1 egg
• 1pt/ 1/2 litre/ 2 cups buttermilk
• Some extra egg beaten or milk
• Some extra butter

Sieve all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub in. In a cup break the egg and use a fork to beat. Make a well in the centre and add the egg & buttermilk, mix all ingredients the dough should be quite soft (wet and stickily), if its too dry add more buttermilk, too wet add more flour.Turn onto a lightly floured surface and very gently knead (don't knead like bread its more a light massage)Shape into a circle and place onto a baking tray, with a knife mark into 4 pieces. Brush the top of the soda bread with a some beaten egg or milk. Cook in a moderate oven until golden brown. If you lift the bread and tap-it it should sound hollow, it is cooked.
Using a knife butter the top of the soda bread using a small amount of butter (keeps it soft), wrap the soda bread in a clean tea towel to cool.

Soda Farls

Soda Farls

• 8oz / 250 gms/ 2 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 rounded (not a extra large heaped) teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
• 1/2 pt/ 1/4 litre/ 1 cups buttermilk

Sieve all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk, mix all ingredients the dough should be quite soft (wet and stickily), if its too dry add more buttermilk.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and very gently knead (don't knead like bread its more a light massage)
Shape into a circle and with a knife cut 4 pieces ( farls means quarters)

place on a oiled (some people prefer lightly floured) flat griddle or skillet on medium to low heat (or a frying pan as above) My frying pan is tiny, if you can fit all 4 pieces on yours than please cook them all at once. They do puff up during cooking. Keep checking that the pan is not to hot or they will burn, to cold and they will be doughy inside (about the temperature you would fly an egg. it takes about 10-14 minutes.
Wrap in a clean tea towel until cooled to keep the crust soft (unless you eat it straight away).
Split a farl in two, toast add butter ( some people like to also add jam) and a cup of tea.

Pandan and Coconut cake

My brother wanted to learn to make cakes. He is good at cooking but has never made a cake until now, but not a plain cake, a pandan and coconut cake with buttercream icing. The results are in the photo and were very tasty too.
I was the evil big sister and made him make the cake by hand, I think that way you learn what the mixture should look and feel like. He's allowed to use the mixer for his next cake :)
This is for a small loaf tin the recipe can be increased up for a bigger cake.

Pre-heat your oven and prepare your loaf tin (I use a silicone tin, no flouring or greasing and easy cleaning)

Beat together 2.5 oz/ 70 gms/ 1/3 cup butter and 2.5 oz/70 gms/ 1/3 cup caster sugar until light and fluffy
Add 1 large egg and beat
Add 5 oz/ 145 gms/ 2/3 cup self-raising flour, 2 heaped tablespoons of desiccated coconut, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (I use real vanilla essence it really does taste different), 1 teaspoon pandan essence mix, 4 tablespoons milk (or water if you prefer) until just combined (not over mixing)
Spoon into your prepared loaf tin, make a small well along centre of cake to stop it having a pointy bit in the middle when cooked (unless you want a pointy bit down the middle of your cake) and cook for approx. 30 mins in a moderate heat oven or until brown. Tip: if you put a knife into the centre of the cake it should come out clean (no mixture sticking to it)
Leave to cook
Buttercream
2 oz / 50 gms/ 1/3 cup butter, 4 oz/ 100 gms/ 2/3 cup icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar), 1/2 pandan essence, a few drops warm water (please do not add to much water or the icing will be runny)
Mix all together and spread over the cooled cake, you can sprinkle a little coconut for decoration

Rhubarb Cake

My latest creation with the home grown rhubarb (and it was very tasty) from a little book called Cafe Cakes, as its not my recipe I can't publish the instructions/ recipe (I do stick to copyright). I did change the brown sugar to unbleached caster sugar because I find it makes a lighter cake (I am not a lover of heavy cakes) I served it with creme anglaise (means English cream in French) which is lighter than custard and really brings out the taste of the rhubarb. I will add my creme anglaise recipe soon.

I thought I would add some hints and tips for cooking with fruit as I have not written any recipes this time.

When using dried or fresh fruit in cakes add a little of the flour you will be adding to the mixture (only about 2 heaped teaspoons) and toss in the fruit until it is lightly coated at least 5 minutes before adding to your mixture. This helps keep the fruit even throughout the cake, not sinking to the bottom.

If your apples normally turn brown after cutting, next time just add a squirt of lemon and toss the apples gently as soon as you cut them and it will prevent the browning

Approx. 1 pound raw apples= 1/2 pound cooked apples

If you are using fruits that are very sweet and ripe and taste a bit in the need of a little kick. Just add a teaspoon of grated lemon rind (only the lemon part not the white it is bitter with a nasty aftertaste).

Remember also if you are going to grate the lemon rind check that it is an unwaxed lemon. Lemons are waxed so they last longer, but the rind should not be used in cooking. Better still use an organic unwaxed lemon.

This tip I used on the last recipe - add a couple of teaspoons of ground rice to your pie (on the pastry bottom before adding the fruit) the rice expands and soaks up all the juices keeping your pasty base crisp and your oven (hopefully) from getting sticky fruit juice baked into it.



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Almond muffins

Today I have been in the kitchen sorting out a cupboard (one day soon the rest may get sorted) seeing what products need to used up or given to the birds and squirrels (the birds and squirrels are going to be very happy). I found a large bag of almonds and decided to make some muffins. I went to the London crochet meet up group meeting earlier this month. It was in a bookstore/ coffee shop and I ended up buying some nice small cookery books from the Australian Women's Weekly series (more for the collection) and one of them was a muffin book with almond muffins. So here are the tasty results (the baking tray was a present from my students)

Pt 2 Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie

Shortcrust pastry
8 oz/ 200grams Plain White Flour
4oz/ 100grams Block Margarine at room temperature cut into small pieces
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1oz/ 25 grams ground rice or semolina (this helps keep the pasty bottom from going soggy and soaks up some of the juices that can bubble out all over your oven)
Cold Water
Sift flour and salt into a bowl, rub the margarine into flour using finger tips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water to bind the breadcrumbs together, knead for a 1 minute than put in a plastic bag or wrap in cling film. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest and cool, before rolling out.

Roll out pastry and cut 1 circle for the bottom of your pie and 1 for the top (or whatever shape your pie tray is) line the bottom of your pie tray with the pastry and add a few cuts

Add approx. equal amounts of rhubarb and strawberry (both roughly cut to about the same size pieces)
Add sugar to taste (depends on how sour your rhubarb is and how sweet your strawberries are approx. 2oz/ 50grams)

You can add a little ground ginger and cinnamon if you like.

Wet the edges of the pastry with water and add the pastry top pressing the edges together and again make a few cuts (lets steam out helps stop the pastry cracking) brush with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake at gas mark Gas 5, 190C for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown.

Sorry I only have the before picture, the pie was eaten by someone (they know who they are tu tu tu) before I found my camera

Rhubarb

Part 1. This is the rhubarb growing in our very small piece of garden. It has no nasties put on it and this year it has grown extra large. It will be pulled very soon (a few stalks can be pulled and the rest will continue to grow) and I will made some pies.

Part 2 Making the pies coming soon :)

Dr Who

Dr Who?

Whats that got to do about cakes you ask?

Well as a child (and all through my teens, OK even now) I loved everything sci-fi. Dr Who was on every Saturday and all the family and friends stayed in and watched it usually eating some tasties my mom had made.

So Saturday was the last Dr Who in the series and after me, my brother & father meet up to visit my mom in the nursing home we had diner and watched Dr Who together while munching some gingerbread daleks. For a change I bought the packet ingredients (Greens brand) it also had a reusable dalek cookie cutter which I can use with my own recipes. :)

Little cakes

I try at the weekends to make proper meals and sometimes even get time to make tasty desserts and cakes. Also for birthdays and parties I make something nice. So I decided to record these on this blog. I will try to add recipes when I can.

These mini cakes I made last weekend.
The recipe can be increased for larger cakes.


Basic little cake recipe

Pre-heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5

Beat 2.5 oz softened butter with 2.5 oz caster sugar together, add 1 eggs and mix well.

Fold in 3 oz self-raising flour, Add 1tbsp milk & 1 tsp vanilla extract

Spoon mixture in oiled fairy cake/ muffin tins or place paper cases into the fairy cake/ muffin tin s.

Bake for approx. 8-12 minutes (or until brown, push a strew into a small cake and if it comes out clean the little cake is cooked). Remove from oven and leave to cool.

To make buttercream - Beat together 2oz softened unsalted butter with 3oz sifted icing sugar (I used organic unbleached icing sugar which makes a creamy caramel coloured icing with a mild caramel taste).

Cover each little cake (when cooled) with buttercream and leave plain or add your chosen decoration. I added chocolate shapes to a few cakes.