It’s a Thursday evening. The sky looks very angry. I came home from work and there were three trays of blue berries on the side. Mum said they were to go in the rumtopf but you can’t put them in it. So I said why don’t I make blue berry gin. Now to find the jars couldn’t find the jars so I found two of the bottles I use for preserving. So I use them. I use any gin.
I open the trays I then prick all of the blue berries I put half in one bottle and half in the other. I then weigh out 200g of sugar and put 100g in each bottle. I then pout the gin in the bottled till they are full. All done. Now I will leave it for 3 months and then it will be done.
So to sum up 450g blue berries 200g sugar Gin So until next time happy baking
Time to make the bread for the week. I asked my friend the chemistry teacher do I put bacon into the bread she said yes. So I will.
So I weigh out 50g of rice flour, 50g of rye wholemeal flour and 400g of strong white flour. I put it all into the bowl. I then weigh out 10g of salt and put it in the bowl. I then weigh out 7g of dried yeast and put that in the bowl. I then measure out a tablespoon of honey and put it into the bowl. I then measure out 300ml of milk. I put it in the microwave to warm it up. I then pour it into the bowl I mix it all up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let it kneed the dough for 8 minutes. I then make it into a ball. Put it into the bowl and cover it up and leave it for a hour. While the bread is rising I cook two slices of bacon and the let them cool.
1 hour up. I tip the dough out onto the blue mat. I knock the air out of it. I then roll it out a bit. I put the two slices on the dough. I then roll the dough up. I tuck the ends in and put it into a 4lb loaf tin. I leave it to rise for a hour.
1 hour up I put the tin in the oven which I have pre heated to 220 degrees. I leave it in the oven for 30 minutes. Once cooked intake it out and I put it on the wire rack to cool. I’m looking forward to my breakfast in the morning So to sum up 50g rye wholemeal flour 50g rice flour 400g strong white flour 7g dried yeast 10g salt 300ml milk 2 slices of smoked bacon So until next time happy baking
Now I was set this challenge by my friend panda. Yes biology teacher I haven’t forgot about your two challenges, I’ll get to them soon. So the challenge was dough balls.
I weigh out 75g of spelt wholemeal flour, 25g of rice flour and 400g of strong white flour I put them all in the bowl. I then weigh out 8g of salt and put it into the bowl. I then weigh out 7g of yeast and put it in the opposite side of the bowl. Then I measure out 1 tablespoon of olive oil and put it in the bowl. Then I measure out 1 teaspoon of paprika and put it into bowl. I then measure out 300ml of warm water and put it into the bowl. I then mix it all up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let it kneed the dough for 8 minutes. Once the time is up I make it into a ball and put it back into the bowl I cover the bowl and leave it to rise for 1 hour.
1 hour is up. I get the blue mat out. I tip the dough out and knock the air out of it. I then roll it up into a sausage. Then cut it up into 12 pieces. I make each piece into a ball I then roll one of the balls out into a circle. I then put a teaspoon of pesto in the middle and a piece of mozzarella. I then bring all the sides together and squeeze them together. I then roll the ball in my hand and place it onto the tray seam side on the tray. I repeat this for the rest of the balls. I then leave them to rise for 30 minutes. While the dough balls are rising I preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Times up I now brush the dough with some milk and put them in the oven for 20 minutes. They are cooked. They have slight oozed out some of the cheese and pesto. I need to work on sealing them a bit better but they do taste very nice. There not small dough balls they are massive so next time I’ll try making smaller ones. Do I share these with anyone
So to sum up 75 g spelt wholemeal flour 25g of rice flour 400 g strong white flour 1 teaspoon of paprika 8g of salt 7g dried yeast 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 jar of pesto 1 ½ balls of mozzarella Some milk. So until next time happy baking
It’s Sunday and I was left in charge of my four year old niece or it might be the other way round. This could go very badly or it could go well. I asked her if she would like to help me bake she said yes. So we get her little step out. And we start.
We need to cut the bacon up first. Do my niece holds the bacon while I cut it and the whole time she is telling me don’t cut your fingers. Bacon cut up and in the small frying pan. We then wash our hands. I put the pan on the gas and cook on low. While the bacon is cooking. I get the scales out and ask my niece to hop down off her step as I need it to get the self raising flour down from the cupboard. I promise not to break it. She gives me the look you break it and I will not be happy and will tell you off. I get the flour down and I did not break the step. I get a spoon and give it to my niece she now starts shoveling the flour into the bowl until its 350g. I tell her to stop. Next we get a teaspoon out and measure out a teaspoon of paprika and mustard. They go into the bowl. Now my niece measure out ½ teaspoon of basil and pops it in to the bowl. I put a pinch of salt and pepper into the bowl. I let my niece mix it all up. I then decide it needs an extra teaspoon of mustard and paprika. We mix it up. We then put 50g of butter into the bowl. Now we weigh out 200g of cheddar cheese. I get the electric grater out and I let my niece use it to grate the cheese. She’s so happy and she’s doing a good job. Cheese all grated. I crack an egg in to the bowl. My niece gets a tablespoon out and we measure out 6 tablespoons of milk and put it into the bowl. I then add the cooked bacon and my niece puts the cheese in. I get my hands into the bowl and mix it all up. My niece is laughing at me because my hands are full of scone dough. It all comes together nicely. I get the blue mat out and tip the dough out onto the mat. I flatten the dough out till its about ½ a centimetre thick. I line two baking trays with baking paper. I then let my niece choose which size round cutter to use. She picks the red out as it’s now her favourite colour. She then cuts out all the scones. With the left over bits we roll them together and cut some more out. All cut out. I then pour some milk into her peppa pig bowl. I then give her the brush and she brushes the top of all of the scones. I pre heated the oven to 220 degrees. I pop the scones in and my niece sets the timer for 20 minutes. We both wash up. The timer goes off I get the scones out and put them on the wire to cool. My niece is very proud of her scones
So to sum up 350g of self raising flour 200g of cheddar cheese 1 egg Pinch of salt and pepper 50g butter 6 tablespoons of milk 1 teaspoon of paprika plus a little extra 1 teaspoon of mustard plus a little extra ½ teaspoon of basil. 6 rashes of streaky smoked bacon. So until next time happy baking
Yes I know another mustard recipe but I’m trying different ones to see which I like and which my super taste testers like as I’m thinking of food hampers for Christmas for my friends with all homemade stuff in them. I started this recipe 6 days ago.
So first things first I weigh out 130g of yellow mustard seeds. I put them into a jar. I then measure out 140 ml of dry white wine. Now I had to wait till my dad opened one to do this recipe and luckily we had a BBQ and he opened this one so I was very happy. I then put the white wine into the jar. I then get a tablespoon out and measure two tablespoons of white wine vinegar. I put the vinegar into the jar. I then put the lid on the jar and leave it in a cool dark place for 6 day.
6 days up. I get the mini chopper out. I then put the mustard into the chopper. I wizz it up. But I’m not happy with consistency so a add a splash or two of white wine vinegar to loosen it. I then wizz it up again until its smooth. I then put it into sterilized jars (thank you to head of department for the jars they were just the size). Now leave it for three weeks in the fridge before trying it. Its going to be a long wait.
So to sum up 130g of yellow mustard seeds 140ml of dry white wine 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar A few splashes of white wine vinegar So until next time happy baking
The next thing to dry and make into a powder is garlic. Yes I’m going through a drying and making into a powder phase. I just really want to see if they taste a lot better then shop bought powders.
I get 5 garlic bulbs. Unfortunately not garlic from the garden as we can’t grow garlic for some very strange reason. I peal all the garlic which takes forever. I then thinly slice all the garlic cloves. I line a baking tray with baking paper. Then put the slices of garlic onto the baking tray and put it in the oven at 60 degrees. I then leave it for 5 hours.
5 hours up. I get the garlic out and it has all dried out. I put it into the spice grinder and wizz it up until it is a fine power. I then put it into a jar and put the lid on. All done So until next time happy baking
Bread time. It took a while for me to figure out what bread to make this week. I even talked to my friend the chemistry teacher. She just said bake all the breads, which I knew she would say. She’s a bread monster. I weigh out 100g of spelt wholemeal flour and 400g of strong white flour I put it in the bowl and mix them together. I then weigh out 10g of salt and put it in the bowl. I then weigh out 7g of instant yeast. I put it in the bowl I then measure out 1 tablespoon of honey and put it in the bowl. I then measure out 300ml of warm water. I pour it into the bowl. I mix it up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let the mixer kneed the dough for 8 minutes.
I then take the dough out of the bowl and make it into a tight ball and put it into the bowl and cover it up and leave it for a hour. 1 hour up. I get the blue mat out. I put the dough on it and knock the air out of it. I then make it into a ball. I line a baking tray with baking paper. I put the dough onto the tray. I then use a bread knife and make three slashes on the top. I then cover it with cling film and leave it to rise for 30 minutes. While it’s rising I pre heat the oven to 220 degrees.
Times up I put the bread into oven for 40 minutes. Times up I get the bread out and I put it on a wire rack to cool. I’m so looking forward to my breakfast now. So to sum up 100g spelt wholemeal flour 400g strong white flour 7g dried yeast 10g salt 1 tablespoon of honey 300ml water So until next time happy baking
Lunch number two. This is a new dish for me to try. It’s French I’m not normally very good at cooking French food but I will give it a go.
I cut up 1 ½ chicken breasts and I then spray the pan with 1 cal spray oil. I then cook the chicken in the pan for a few minutes. I then take the chicken out and put it on a plate. I then chop a white onion up and a banana shallot. I then get two tomatoes and I cut them in half. I then deseed them and dice them up. I then spray the pan with one cal oil spray. I add the onion and the shallot to the pan and soften them. I then grate in 3 garlic cloves into the pan I cook for a few minutes. I then add the tomatos and cook for a minute or two. I then measure out 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and half a teaspoon of my homemade American mustard. I mix it all up and let it cook for a minute or two.
I then boil the kettle and measure out 300ml of boiling water. I then add a chicken oxo cube and a white wine stock pot to the water and dissolve them. Then I add ½ a teaspoon of onion powder and ½ a teaspoon of mushroom powder to the water and mix it up. I then pour it all into the pan and mix it up. I then add two tablespoons of white wine vinegar to the pan. I now return the chicken to the pan. I bring it to the boil. I then turn the heat down and put the lid on I let it cook for 25 minutes 25 minutes up. I take the lid off, give a good stir. I then add 170g of crowdie-cheese and two pinches of tarragon. I let the cheese melt. I take it off the heat and its cooked. I pour it into a dish and have a taste it has a nice sharpness. Looking forward to lunch. So to sum up 1 ½ chicken breasts 1 white onion 1 banana shallot 3 garlic cloves 2 tomato’s 1 tablespoon of tomato puree ½ teaspoon of homemade American mustard 300ml of water 1 chicken oxo cube 1 white wine stock pot 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar 170g of crowdie-cheese 1 teaspoon of mushroom powder 1 teaspoon of onion powder 2 pinches of tarragon So until next time happy baking
Morning, afternoon, evening to everyone. I thought I would start this post off slightly different just to change it up. Its time to make lunch for the week I’m going to make to different ones this week. I have made this recipe before and I wasn’t to fussed on it mainly because I’m not a fan of passata I know shocking it just tastes strange. I think I will have to make a homemade one before I totally rule it out, but will have to wait till the tomato plants grow up. I found a different recipe to try this time but in putting my twist on it to make it mine. Let’s get cooking.
I get 1 ½ chicken breasts. I cut the whole one in half. I then wrap them in cling film and bash them with a rolling pin till they are about 5mm thick. I crack a egg into one bowl and whisk it up. I get a slice of brown seeded bread put it into the mini chopper (so love this kitchen gadget) and wizz it up. I then put the bread crumbs into a bowl. I dip one of the ½ of chicken breast into the egg I then put it into the bread crumb bowl and cover it in bread crumbs. Then put it in a dish I repeat this with the other two. Now normally I would use one cal spray but today I’m going to do something a bit different. I have half a jar of sundried tomatoes in the cupboard and since I will be using sun dried tomato’s later in the recipe I thought why not use a bit of the oil they are in to cook the chicken in to give it extra flavor. Plus the sun dried tomato oil has herbs in it so more flavor. I but about a tablespoon of the oil into the pan and heat it up. It smells amazing by the way. I put the chicken in the pan and cook it for a few minutes on each side. I then put it back in the dish. Yes I know its not fully cooked but it will be when I put it in the sauce in the oven.
I chop up one white onion and one banana shallot. I then grate one carrot. I also fish two sundried tomatoes out of the jar and chop them up finely. I then add a bit of the oil from the sundried tomatoes to the pan. I heat the oil up. I put the onions and the grated carrot in the pan and cook for a few minutes. I then grate 4 garlic cloves into the pan and cook for a minute. I then measure out 3 tablespoons of tomato puree and add it to the pan and mix it in. I then add a tin of chopped tomatoes. I then measure out ½ teaspoon of mushroom powder and ½ teaspoon of onion powder I mix it in I then add a teaspoon of oregano and mix it in. I add a pinch of chilli flakes. I then measure out a tablespoon of red pepper and chilli sauce I add it to the pan and mix. I now boil the kettle and measure out 200ml of boiling water to the pan. I then sprinkle in a chicken oxo cube. I then add 150g of crowdie-cheese and mix it all up I add salt and pepper and bring it to the boil and cook for a minute or two.
I then pour the sauce into a dish. I add the chicken on top. I then grate 70g of cheddar cheese and sprinkle it on top. I then sprinkle oregano on top. I put it in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes
Times up I take it out of the oven and try a little and it tastes amazing So to sum up 1 ½ chicken breasts 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 1 teaspoon of oregano 3 table spoons of tomato puree 200 ml water 1 chicken oxo cube ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon of mushrooms powder 4 garlic cloves Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon of red pepper and chilli sauce 70g of cheddar cheese 150g of crowdie-cheese 1 carrot 1 white onion 1 banana shallot 1 egg 1 slice of brown seeded bread Two sundried tomatoes Sundried tomato oil So until next time happy baking
So I made mushroom powder last week so I thought why no give onion powder a go. I get 5 onions out of the garage. I peal them, then I slice them all up. I line a baking tray with baking paper. I put the sliced onions onto the tray. I then put them into the oven at 75 degrees and I leave them in the oven for 6 and a half hours. Every so often I turn them over.
Time is up. The onions are nicely browned and dried out. I now get the spice grinder out and I put the onions in. I blitz them up and I have an onion powder. I pop it into a clean jar. I’m looking forward to using it So until next time happy baking
It’s time to make jam again. This time rhubarb and ginger. The rhubarb got picked on Friday. I washed it and then trimmed it. I then weighted and it weighed 470g. I then chop it into chunks and put it in to the bowl. I then weigh out 470g of sugar and put it over the rhubarb. I then cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it over night for some of the sugar to dissolve.
It’s Saturday time to finish the jam off. I put the rhubarb and the sugar into the preserving pan. I then measure out ½ teaspoon of ground ginger. I put it into the pan. I put the pan on the heat and put it on low. I leave it for about 45 minutes until the rhubarb has softened and most of the sugar has dissolved.
45 minutes up. I stir the rhubarb and sugar and the sugar all dissolves. I get a lemon out of the fridge. I cut it in half and then I squeeze each half into the pan to get the juice out I then chuck the two half into the pot. I stir it all together. I then turn the heat up and get it to a rolling boil for about 20 minutes.
I check to see if its set I use the drop method off a wooden spoon. So when the time is up I put the wooden spoon into the jam lift it out and if the drops run together and form a flake this means the jam is at its setting point. It’s all set. I get a large glass bowl out and a plastic sieve. I put the plastic sieve over the bowl. I then spoon the rhubarb mixture into the sieve once all the mixture is in the sieve I slowly press down on the mixture with the back of a ladle. I keep doing this Until all the liquid is out of the mixture and all that is left is the rhubarb pulp and lemon half’s. I discard the pulp in the bin. Now I have sterilized a jar already. I now pour the jam into the jar. Put the lid on and turn it up side down to seal. Rhubarb and ginger jam done. It makes one jar So to sum up 470g rhubarb 470g sugar ½ teaspoon of ground ginger 1 lemon So until next time happy baking
I wasn’t going to make bread today as it was getting late. Since I have been on a gruffalo hunt in the forest we went for a walk with my young niece. Well she was on her bike and we just walked round it was a good walk it was about 3 miles. And we found the little gruffalo, big gruffalo, the snake, the fox, the owl, and the mouse I think that’s all animals but if I have missed any I’m sure someone will tell me.
Right back to the baking of bread since I don’t have time to make bread with yeast. I’ll make a soda bread I weigh out 400g of strong white flour and 50g of rice flour. I then in the bowl. I then measure out 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda put it in the bowl. I then measure out a teaspoon of salt. I add it to the bowl. I then measure out 350ml of milk and add it to the bowl. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and kneed it. Till it comes together. I then weigh out 50g of sunflower seeds and add them to the bowl. I kneed it for another minute. All done.
I line a baking tray. I make the dough into a ball. I put the dough into the baking tray with a sharp knife I make a cross on the top. I have pre heated the oven to 220 degrees. I put the bread in the oven for 30 minutes. Times up I get the bread out and put it on a wire rack to cool. So to sum up 400g strong white flour 50g rice flour 350ml milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 50g sunflower seeds So until next time happy baking
So it’s Sunday and it’s time to make my lunch for the week. So I bet your still wondering what I’m using the pasta for well I’m going to make lasagne but not the normal way. I’m usi g homemade sausages that I have made in stead of beef mince. So I’m hoping this works out OK or else I’m eating sandwiches all week.
I spray a big deep pan with 1 cal spay oil. I then cut up 6rashes off smoky streaky bacon because every thing tastes better with bacon. I put it in the pan I then cut up 10 homemade sausages and put them in the pan. I cook them in the pan till they are cooked nearly all the way through. While they are cooking I boil the kettle. I put a small jar of dried mushrooms into a bowl. I then pour the boiling water over them and let them rehydrate.
Time to start the sauce. I go up to the top of the garden and I pick some celery. I bring it back in the house and I wash it. I slice it all up including the leaves I put it into a pan that I have sprayed with 1 cal spray. I cut up 3 banana shallots, two white onions and one red onion. I put it in the pan and I cook it all till it is soft. I then grate 4 garlic cloves in to the pan with the onions and I cook for a minute or two. I then grate two carrots and put it in the pan with the onions. I turn the heat up for a minute or to and mix everything up. I turn the heat off and pop the pan to one side.
I stir the sausages and the bacon. I then ad a teaspoon of mushroom power and mix it up. I then squeeze the water out of the mushrooms, I then chop them up and put them in the pan with the sausages and mix it all in. I then add the onions, celery and carrots to the pan with the sausages. I mix it all up. I then add two tins of chopped tomatoes. I measure out 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and add it to the pan. I then measure out 4 tablespoons of tomato puree and put it in the pan and mix it all up. I then measure out 2 tablespoons of tomato and chilli relish to the pan and mix it up. I add a teaspoon of oregano and a teaspoon of basil to the pan. The water that the mushrooms were rehydrating I put in the pan along with a chicken oxo cube I mix it all up. I turn the heat up till it boils. I then turn the heat down and let it cook for 30 minutes.
While that’s cooking I’ll make the white sauce. I grate 70g of cheddar cheese into a bowl. I microwave the milk for two minutes to warm it up. I weigh out 50g of butter and 50g of plain flour I put then both in the pan put it on the heat and mix it together. I then gradually add the milk while whisking constantly. I keep whisking until the sauce is thick. Now I add 2 teaspoons of my homemade American mustard and one teaspoon of my homemade herb mustard to the white sauce. I then add the cheese and mix it all up. I then add a bit of black pepper and its all done.
Time to build the lasagne. I put the tomato sauce in the dish first then I add the pasta sheets then I add some white sauce. I then crumble some of the crowdie on which I made yesterday. I add some tomato and basil cheese that I bought a little while ago and needs using up so I thought why not add it to the lasagne. I then repeat the process again. But this time along with crowdie cheese and the tomato and basil cheese I add some cheddar cheese. All done I now put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Times up in so looking forward to lunch this week.
So to sum up For the meat sauce 10 sausages 6 rashes of smoky streaky bacon 4 tablespoons of tomato puree 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons of tomato and chilli relish 4 garlic cloves 3 banana shallots 2 white onions 1 red onion 2 carrots 1 chicken oxo cube 2 tins of chopped tomatoes 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon of oregano 1 teaspoon of mushroom powder 6 small celery stalks and leaves A small pot of dried mushrooms 300ml of boiling water that the mushrooms rehydrated in
For the white sauce 50g butter 50g plain flour 600ml warm milk 70g grated cheese 2 teaspoons of homemade American mustard 1 teaspoon of homemade herb mustard Black pepper For the pasta Use 200g of spelt wholemeal flour So until next time happy baking
I’m going to make pasta today but not how I normally make it. I was driving home from work on Thursday and spelt pasta popped in my head. I thought I would give it a try. So here goes.
I weigh out 200g of spelt wholemeal flour and put it into the bowl. I then add two large eggs and measure out two teaspoons of thyme oil and put it in the bowl. I then measure out 1 teaspoon of water. I put the dough hook on the mixer and kneed the dough till it all comes together. Now I take it off the dough hook make it into a ball and put it in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 1 hour.
1 hour up I put the pasta maker attachment onto the mixer. I take the dough out of the fridge I cut it in half. I set the pasta maker to setting one which is the widest setting. I put one of the half’s of dough through and for once it didn’t get any holes in it the first time through. I pass it through again on setting one. I the change it to setting two. I pass the pasta through twice. I then change the setting to setting three. I pass it through twice again. After it’s second time through I cut the pasta sheet in half as its getting very long and it makes it easier for me to handle. I now put the pasta maker on setting four and I pass each sheet through twice. I then put it on a floured worktop and go through the same process with the other half of the dough.
That’s the pasta done what will I make with it. Well you will have to wait till the next post So to sum up 200g spelt wholemeal flour 2 teaspoons of thyme oil 1 teaspoon water 2 large eggs So until next time happy baking
The last post of the day. I’m going to try and make a new cheese crowdie. This cheese is said to be Scotland’s most ancient cheese. It goes right back to the Vikings.
First I boil the kettle and let it cool. I the measure out 50ml of the cooled boiled water in to a small plastic scoop. I then dissolve ¼ of a rennet tablet in the cooled boiled water. I get another small plastic scoop and measure out 50ml of cooled boiled water. I then measure out 1 teaspoon of citric acid and put it into the scoop and I dissolve it. I leave them both on the side till I need them.
I pour 8 pints of whole milk in to the preserving pan and I then put the thermometer in the pan. I gently heat the milk to 32 degrees. I then pour the citric acid into the milk and I very gently mix it in, I mix it up and down so that it is evenly distributed. I then take it off the heat and leave it for 30 minutes.
30 minutes up. Its starting to make curds and whey. I now pour the rennet into the milk and stir it up and down to make sure that it is evenly distributed. I then put the pan back on the heat. I heat it up to 40 degrees and hold it at this temperature for 3 minutes. I then take it off the heat. I line a colander with butter muslin. I put the colander over the bowl. I then ladle the curds out into the colander. I then add a teaspoon of salt to get any excess whey out of the cheese. I leave the cheese to drain for a hour. I then spoon the cheese into tubs. Put two in the fridge to use and two in the freezer to use later. It tastes very nice maybe next time I’ll add herbs and spices to it.
I will use the whey up tomorrow if I don’t use it all I will freeze it to use at a later date. So to sum up 8 pints whole milk ¼ rennet tablet 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon citric acid So until next time happy baking
Since its a nice sunny Saturday and it’s really warm on our back garden we decided to have a BBQ. Since we are having a BBQ, I’m going to make the BBQ cheese bread.
I get a bought French stick (yes I’m cheating) I cut a chunk off it. I then slice it three quarters of the way through length ways. I then grate 25g of white mild cheddar and 25g of orange cheddar. I chop up a quarter of a red onion.
I now sprinkle some of the white cheese in the middle I then put red onion on. I sprinkle some parsley on. I do the same with the orange cheese but sprinkle oregano on this time. I keep repeating till all the cheese and onion is used up. I then add a few twists of black pepper on top. I wrap it up in tin foil and put it in the oven at 180 degrees for twenty minutes and it’s done just in time for the BBQ. If your wondering the BBQ was amazing and the cheese bread was amazing.
So to sum up A chuck of French stick 25g white cheddar cheese 25g orange cheddar cheese ¼ red onion Few twists of black pepper Oregano Parsley So until next time happy baking
It’s Saturday and I have mushrooms that are left over from the week. I know I have wrote two posts on drying different mushrooms this one is slightly different as I’m making powder. So here goes
I slice the mushrooms up. I line a baking tray. I then put the mushrooms on the tray and place then in the oven. The oven is on 100 degrees. I leave the mushrooms for about 2 ½ – 3 hours to fully dry out.
Times up I get the mushrooms out of the oven I let them cool. I get the spice grinder out. I put the mushrooms in and I wizz them up until they are a powder. I then but it in to a jar and label it up. Now if your wondering what on earth do you use mushroom powder for well you can sprinkle it on salad, put it in pasta sauces, stews and soups.
All dried up
Mushroom powder
So to sum up Mushrooms So until next time happy baking
Now it’s that time of the week that I make bread for my breakfast. So I wasn’t sure with bread to bake then I came up with this one.
So I weigh out 500g of white spelt flour and 200g of rice flour. I put it in to the bowl. I then weigh out 10g of salt and pop it into the bowl. I then weigh out 30g of butter and put it into the bowl. I then measure out 1 tablespoon of honey and put it into the bowl. I then weigh out 20g of fresh yeast. I crumble it into the bowl. I then measure out 500ml of warm water. I pour it in the bowl mix it all up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and kneed the dough for 10 minutes. I then cover the bowl and leave it for a hour.
One hour is up. I line a baking tray. I get the blue mat out and flour it. I then tip the dough out onto it. I knock the air out. I then roll it into a sausage. I use the dough cutter and cut it in to four bits. I then roll each one into a ball and place it onto the baking tray. I place each of the dough balls next to each other. I then cover it with cling film and leave it for 30 minutes.
I pre heat the oven to 200 degrees. 30 minutes up. I uncover the bread and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up I take it out of the oven and put it onto a wire rack to cool. Breads done for breakfast.
So to sum up 200g rice flour 500g white spelt flour 20g fresh yeast 10g salt 30g butter 1 tablespoon of honey So until next time happy baking
It’s Sunday an I woke up and it had snowed. I was very surprised to see snow in April. So time to make my lunch for the week.
I chop up 1 red onion and two onion. I the spray frying pan with 1 cal spray oil. Put the onions in to cook. While they are cooking I chop up 4 garlic gloves and them to the pan. I then get three red chilli’s out of the freezer and I deseed them the slice them up I put them into the pan and I cook them for 10 minutes. I then put the onions chilli and garlic in to the mini chopper. I add a teaspoon of ground ginger and I wizz it up until its a smooth paste. I leave it to one side.
I then spray the frying pan with one cal chilli oil. I put 750g of 5%fat beef mince into the pan I cook it till its browned. I then add two tablespoons of tikka powder in the pan I then mix it all in. I let it cook for two minutes. I then add the paste to the pan and I mix it all in and I let it cook for 3 minutes. I then boil the kettle and put a chicken oxo cube into a glass jug. I pour boiling water into the jug and measure out 150ml of water. I dissolve the oxo cube. I then pour it into the pan. I then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and I mix it all up. I let it cook for 5 minutes I then add 100g of frozen peas. I let it cook for one more minute and it’s done. Lunch for the week it tastes nice and has one heck of a chilli kick.
So to sum up 750g 5% fat beef mince 1 red onion 2 white onions 4 garlic cloves 1 chicken oxo cube 3 red chillis 2 tablespoons of tikka powder 1 teaspoon of ginger 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 100g of frozen peas So until next time happy baking
It’s a nice sunny Saturday morning and Im going to bake bread. I have some ricotta cheese left over so I think I will make some ricotta and red onion bread.
I chop up one red onion and put it into a jug. I then put it in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften it. I then put it to one side till I need it.
I weigh out 100g of rice flour and 400g of strong white flour I put them both in the bowl. I then weigh out 10g salt put it in one side of the bowl. I then weigh out 140g of ricotta cheese and put it into the bowl. I then measure out 70ml of olive oil and put it into the bowl. I weigh out 20g of fresh yeast and I crumble it into the bowl on the opposite side of the bowl. I then measure out 250ml of warm water I pour it into the bowl mix it all up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let it kneed the dough for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes I stop the mixer and put the red onions in. And kneed for another 5 minutes. I then cover the bowl over and leave it to rise for a hour.
One hour up I then get the blue mat out. I flour the mat. I tip the dough out on to mat. I knock the air out of it. I then roll it in to a sausage and put it on to a lined baking tray. I slash the bread four times. I cover it over and leave it for 30 minutes. I preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
Times up I put it into the oven for 45 minutes. Once the timer goes off the bread is done. I take it out and put it on a wire rack to cool. All done So to sum up 100g rice flour 400g strong white flour 1 red onion 20g fresh yeast 140g ricotta cheese 10g salt 70ml olive oil 250ml warm water So until next time happy baking
It’s the Saturday before Easter Sunday and it’s all go today because in my house Easter dinner is like Christmas Dinner minus the turkey. We have a big joint of beef and. Big joint of pork. All the trimmings. 40 pigs in blankets. Gravy which is like a soup in itself. Lots of different vegetables and potatoes done 5 ways. 3 course to look forward to tomorrow lunch. So I’m making this ciabatta bread to go with one of the starters, the starter is homemade menorcan meatballs. One day I will put the recipe on the blog but just not yet.
I weigh out 100g of rice flour and 400g of strong white flour. I put them into the bowl. I then measure out 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and put it in the bowl. I then weigh out 15g of dried yeast put it on the opposite side of the bowl to the salt. I then measure out 35ml of homemade thyme oil and put it in the bowl. Normally it would be olive oil, but because there is thyme in the meatballs I thought I would put thyme oil into the ciabatta to link the two. I then measure out 400ml of tepid water and pour it into the bowl I mix it all up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes. Ten minutes up I spray oil a large tub and I transfer the dough into the tub and then I cover it up and leave it for 1 hour. I think it’s coffee time. I line two baking trays, with baking paper
1 hour is I get the blue mat out and flour it. I tip the dough onto the mat and I knock the air out of it. I then make it into a ball. I divide it into four. Each quarter I roll into a ball. I then flatten the ball and stretch it out. I then place it on the baking tray and the repeat with the rest of the dough. I cover them over with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Times up I have pre heated the oven to 220 degrees. I uncover the breads and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. I take the bread out and I put it on a wire rack to cool. All done
So to sum up 100g rice flour 400g strong white flour 15g dried yeast 1 ½ teaspoons of salt 35 ml of thyme oil 400ml of tepid water Hoppy Easter So until next time happy baking
I made this bread for my friends birthday last year and she loved it and she asked me to make it again. So here goes I hope it’s as good as the first one.
I weigh out 100g of rice flour yes I have nearly got through one bag of rice flour finally. I then weigh out 400g of strong white flour. I put the flours into the bowl. I then measure out 7g of dried yeast put it in the bowl on one side. I then weigh out 10g of salt and put it on the opposite side of the bowl to the yeast. I then weigh out 1 teaspoon of caster sugar and put it in the bowl. I get a glass measuring jug out of the cupboard. I measure out 3 ½ tablespoons of tomato puree and put it into the jug. I then measure out 300ml of tepid water and put that into the jug. Now I measure 1 tablespoon of thyme oil that I made a few weeks ago. I put it into the jug. I then measure out 2 tablespoons of olive oil and put that into the jug. It doesn’t not look pretty but will make the bread taste amazing. I now pour the mixture into the bowl and mix it all together. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes. I now cover the bowl up and leave it to rise for a hour
I weigh out 30g of sundried tomatoes that have not been in oil. I put them I to a clean bowl and pour boiling water over them to rehydrate them I leave them for 15 minutes. I then drain them and roughly chop them up. I weigh out 120g of sundried tomatoes that have been in oil. I roughly chop them and then mix them with the other sundried tomatoes.
1 hour is up. I tip the dough out onto the blue mat. I then knock the air out of the dough. I make the dough into a circle. I then put the sundried tomatoes in the middle of the dough. I measure out 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and put that on top of the sundried tomatoes. I now pull one side of the dough over the top of the sundried tomatoes so it looks line a semi circular pasty. I then start kneading the dough and mix all the oregano and sundried tomatoes in. Once all incorporated. I then make a tight ball and slash the top three times. I spray the bottom of the baking tray with one cal chilli oil. Then put the dough on the baking tray. I then cover it with cling film that has been sprayed with 1 cal chilli oil. I leave it to rise for a hour.
1 hour is up. I have pre heated the oven to 200 degrees. I put the bread in the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Once cooked I put it on a wire rack to cool. All cooked. Hopefully she likes this one still
So to sum up 100g of rice flour 400g strong white flour 7g dried yeast 10g salt 1 teaspoon of caster sugar 300 ml tepid water 3 ½ tablespoons of tomato puree 1 tablespoon of thyme oil 2 tablespoons of olive oil 120g sundried tomatoes in oil 30 g of sundried tomatoes not in oil 1 teaspoon of oregano So until next time happy baking
One of my very good friends asked me to make her some bread and since I love baking bread I said yes. I wasn’t going to do this recipe just yet but it is her favorite, so looks like I’m making it.
I go out to the garden and cut some rosemary. I bring it on and wash it. I then take the leaves off the stalk and I roughly chop them up. I put them to one side.
I weigh out 100g of rice flour, 400g of strong white flour and put it in the bowl. I then weigh out 10g of dried yeast and put it to one side of the bowl. I then weigh out 10g of salt and put it on the opposite side of the bowl to the yeast. I then measure out two tablespoons of olive oil and add it to the bowl. I then add the chopped up rosemary to the bowl. I mix it all up. I then measure out 350ml of water I add it to the bowl and mix it up. I then put the dough hook on the mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes. Once kneaded I spray a large glass bowl with spray oil. I put the dough in bowl and cover it up with cling film. I leave it to rise for a hour.
One hour is up. I tip the dough onto the blue mat I then sprinkle flour over the top. I knock the air out of the dough. I then make it into a ball and cut it in to four. I then roll each of the quarters into a ball. I take one ball and roll it out in to a long oval shape I then put it on to a lined backing trey I do the same with the rest of the balls of dough. I then pull some leaves of rosemary of and sprinkle them on to the bread. I sprinkle some salt on top. I cover the breads over and let them rise for 30 minutes. I turn the oven on to 210 degrees to pre heat.
30 minutes up. I put the bread in the oven to cook for 20 minutes. Once cooked I put them on a wire rack to cool. All done. I hope my friend likes these breads. So to sum up 100g rice flour 400g strong white flour 10g dried yeast 10g salt 2 tablespoons of olive oil 4 sprigs of rosemary So until next time happy baking
Tonight’s tea. I haven’t had this for a long time. It popped into my head and I thought I would make it for tea. I get three red peppers and one green pepper. I turn the oven to the highest temperature and put the peppers in to blacken the skins. I turn the peppers every so often to ensure that the whole of the peppers skins get blackened. Once the skins are blackened. I take them out of the oven and let them cool before I peel the skins off. Skins peeled off I slice them up and leave them to one side. I then put a good splash of olive oil into a frying pan. I heat the oil. I then add 8 pork loin medallions into the pan put some salt and pepper on and cook them.
I then get a large garlic clove. I peal it and slice it into four and put it on top of the peppers. I then put the peppers and garlic into the pan with the pork and mix it all up and let the peppers and the garlic to heat up. All done this is tea tonight for me and my parents and hopefully some left over for lunch tomorrow. With this I have salad, onion rings and roasted cherry tomatoes.
So to sum up 8 pork loin medallions 3 red peppers 1 green pepper 1 garlic clove Olive oil Salt and pepper. So until next time happy baking
I wish these were our strawberries from our allotment but there not as ours are no where near ready yet a few more months to wait. Since I got this pack of strawberries I might as well make a jar of jam to go on my toast on a morning. Strawberry jam is my favorite.
I cut the tops off the strawberries and wash them. I then put them into the preserving pan. I cut a lemon in half and juice it. I put the lemon juice in the pan and what is left of the lemon. I then put the pan on the hob and I cook the lemon juice and strawberries until the strawberries are soft and can be mushed easily. This take about 10-15 minutes on a medium heat. I then get a vanilla pod half it length ways. I then scrape the seeds out with a knife. I don’t throw the vanilla pod out I put it in the homemade vanilla extract that I started off yesterday. I put the vanilla seeds into the pan and mix it in. I then weigh out 600g of granulated sugar and put it into the pan. I stir it in to dissolve it. I then turn the heat up to get a rolling boil going. I leave it on a rolling boil for 15 minutes.
15 minutes up. I check to see if its set I use the drop method off a wooden spoon. So when the time is up I put the wooden spoon into the jam lift it out and if the drops run together and form a flake this means the jam is at its setting point. The jam is set. I get a glass bowl out, a plastic sieve and muslin. I put the sieve over the glass bowl and then put the muslin in the sieve. I spoon the mixture into the sieve. I then use the back of a ladle and push the mixture through the muslin and sieve till all is left is the lemon and strawberry pulp. I discard this.
I have already sterilized a jar so I pour the jam into the jar put the lid on and turn it upside down to seal it. Looking forward to jam on toast in the morning So to sum up 600g strawberries 600g granulated sugar 1 vanilla pod 1 lemon So until next time happy baking
Yesterday I picked some early rhubarb from our allotment and thought I would give making rhubarb jam a go. So yesterday I washed and tried the rhubarb. I then weighed it and had 556g. I then chopped it up into chunks put it in a large glass bowl. I then weigh out 556g of granulated sugar and pour it in the bowl. I cover with a tea towel and leave over night.
The next day I pour rhubarb sugar mixture in to the preserving pan. I then get a vanilla pod split it in half length ways and scrape out the seeds with a knife. I add the seeds to the pan. I put the vanilla pod in the bottom of the sugar jar and pour a bag of sugar over it to make vanilla sugar. Don’t waste vanilla pods they are way to expensive. I then get a lemon cut it in half and juice it. I put the juice and what is left of the lemon in to the pan. I put the pan on the hob at full heat. I stir to dissolve the sugar. I then leave it on a rolling boil for 30 minutes.
30 minutes up I check to see if its set I use the drop method off a wooden spoon. So when the time is up I put the wooden spoon into the jam lift it out and if the drops run together and form a flake this means the jam is at its setting point.
I get a large glass bowl out and a plastic sieve. I put the plastic sieve over the bowl. I then spoon the rhubarb mixture into the sieve once all the mixture is in the sieve I slowly press down on the mixture with the back of a ladle. I keep doing this Until all the liquid is out of the mixture and all that is left is the rhubarb pulp and lemon half’s. I discard the pulp in the bin. Now I have sterilized a jar already. I now pour the jam into the jar. Put the lid on and turn it up side down to seal. Rhubarb jam done So to sum up 556g fresh rhubarb 556g granulated sugar 1 lemon 1 vanilla pod So until next time happy baking
The last post of the day and this was my tea tonight. I made fajitas. I chop up 1 yellow pepper, three tomotos, two white mushrooms, two chestnut mushrooms, a packet of baby corn, 1 red onion, two banana shallots, one white onion, 4 sundried tomatoes. I put them to one side. I then cut up two chicken breasts. I spray the pan with 1 cal oil and put them in the pan to brown. I then add all the vegetables and cook them all until the chicken is fully cooked. I then put in the fajita spice mix, which I have been working on its not perfect yet so your not getting the recipe yet. When it is perfect I will share. I mix it all up and let it cook for a few minutes while I grate 100g of cheese. I then warm the wraps up in the microwave for 30 seconds. I then put the fajita mixture into the wrap, I then put some grated cheese on, then the salsa and last but not least sour cream. I then fold the wrap and done I do this for the other wraps. Tea is all done.
So to sum up 1 yellow pepper 1 red onion 1 white onion 2 white mushrooms 2 chestnut mushrooms 2 banana shallots 1 bag of baby corn 4 sundried tomatoes 3 tomatoes 2 chicken breasts Fajita mix 100g cheese Sour cream Salsa Wraps So until next time happy baking
With rumtopf you normally put the fruit that is in season into the rumtopf. So normally cherries and strawberries are first and as different fruits come into season they are added to the pot, in my case a jar. This preserve is for Christmas as it will be ready just in time. So I haven’t done it the traditional way. I haven’t done this the traditional way as when shopping I found some fruit at a good price and thought why not just start the rumtopf off.
I slice up a bag of pears put them into the jar. I then was a bunch of grapes and pull the grapes of the stem. I then put them in the jar. I them pour 70cl bottle of dark rum into the jar covering the fruit I then weigh 300g of sugar and pour that into the jar. I then put the lid on the jar and put it in a dark corner of the kitchen.
A few days later I have some kiwis to go in the jar. So I peal the skin off the kiwis and slice them up I then put them in the jar. I weigh out 50g of sugar and pour it into the jar. The lid goes in and it goes back into the dark corner.
A few more days later I have some strawberries. I wash them and cut the top off. I then put them in the jar. I weigh out another 50g of sugar and put it in the jar. The jar is full so that’s the dark rumtopf done. I leave it in the dark corner of the kitchen for three months. I think I need a bigger jar to put more fruit in. So the fruits you can put in the rumtopf are strawberries, cherries, redcurrants, grapes, kiwi, peaches, raspberries, plums, damsons, apricots, pears, pineapple and nectarines. Any other fruits will not work very well. So until next time happy baking
It’s a nice sunny Tuesday morning and as I’m writing this I’m sat in the garden surrounded by preserving books looking to see what I can preserve this year as this my second year of preserving. I still have a lot of mustard seeds to use up so I’m doing another mustard. This time it is honey mustard. I started this one off yesterday. I measured out 300g of yellow mustard seeds put them into a large bowl. I then measure out 400ml of white wine vinegar. I pour this over the mustard seeds and leave over night.
The next day, the mustard seeds have soaked up all the vinegar. I measure out ½ teaspoon of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. I put it in the bowl with the mustard seeds and I mix it all up. I then weigh out 100 of clear honey and put it into the mini chopper. I then spoon the mustard seeds into the mini chopper and blend them all together. I left the mustard quite thick but if you want it a bit thinner just add a bit more vinegar to loosen it till its right for how you want it. I have already sterilized several jars. I spoon the mustard into the jars and put the lids on the jars and turn them up side down for 30 minutes to form an air tight seal. Refrigerate and use with in 6 weeks. In my house I don’t think it will last past two weeks.
So to sum up 300g of yellow mustard seeds 400 ml white wine vinegar ½ teaspoon of ground ginger 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 100g of clear honey So until next time happy baking
It’s Monday and I’m off so what to do well I did get a delivery of 1kg yellow mustard seeds and 500g of black mustard seeds yesterday so I think I will make some more mustard but a different type this time. I’m going to make American mustard but with my twist. Instead of all yellow mustard seeds I’m going to use a mixture of both yellow and black mustard.
Here goes. I weigh out 60g of yellow mustard seeds and then I weigh out 60g of black mustard seeds. I then put them into my spice blender and grind them up till they are a fine power. I then put the mustard powder into a pan. I then measure out ½ teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of turmeric and ½ teaspoon of salt I put them all in the pan. I then measure out 300ml of water. I pour it into the pan. I then put the pan on the hob and bring it to simmer. I simmer it for 10 minutes and keep stirring it.
After 10 minutes I then measure out 100ml of white wine vinegar. I then pour it in to the pan. I simmer it for 15 minutes while whisking it. Its all cooked. I have already sterilized the jars. So I put the mustard into the jars I put the lids on tight and turn the jars upside down to make them air tight for 30 minutes. All done. Leave it for two weeks then open. Unopened it will last 6 months. Once opened refrigerate. I think once you have opened it that it won’t last long.
So to sum up 60g black mustard seeds 60g yellow mustard seeds 100 ml of white wine vinegar ½ teaspoon of paprika 1 teaspoon of turmeric ½ teaspoon of salt 300ml water So until next time happy baking
