Kesari

I never liked kesari and only fell in love with it after eating some in a shop on Dato' Keramat, Penang run by some old Indian grandfathers. After I moved back south, I found that no shop or Aunt I knew made kesari like that. Many years passed without me eating even a bit of kesari. 

A few weeks ago, I was hit by a sudden craving to eat kesari. So I experimented until I finally made what I think tastes closest to the kesari in dear old Penang. 

KESARI

1 teacup Coarse Sugee

3/4 - 1 teacup Caster Sugar

3/4 teacup Ghee

5 Cardamon Pods

About 2 teacups Water

1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon Orange colouring

1 teaspoon Rose Essence

Pinch of Salt

Cashew Nuts & Raisins (optional)

Fry the Cashew Nuts in a little Ghee if you're using them. Set aside on paper towels to drain any access oil. Pour any remaining Ghee into a container. Wash the wok with soap and water. Dry the wok.

In the clean wok, warm the Sugee and Cardamon over medium fire for about 1 - 2 minutes constantly stirring with a wooden spoon so it is warmed through evenly. Stir in the Ghee (from the teacup and container) and Salt. Roast the Sugee in the ghee (stirring constantly) for about 3 - 4 minutes watching carefully that it does not burn.

Lower the fire and very slowly pour in the Water while stirring the mixture. (Mixture will bubble and spit ferociously) Pour just enough water to make the Sugee grains moist but not mushy. KEEP STIRRING. Quickly stir in the Rose Essence and Orange colouring. Stir in Sugar (mixture will loosen up a bit) and mix well. Keep stirring until the mixture dries up a little and comes away from the sides of the wok cleanly into a ball.

Remove from the stove and mix the Cashew Nuts/Raisins through now if you're using them. Put the kesari in either a container you have ready or flatten it into a Pyrex cover or pie dish cut into wedges. 

Notes

1. I used a teacup. Any teacup will do. All you need to follow are the proportions of the ingredients given.
2. I used QBB Ghee as I prefer its flavour.
3. You may need slightly less than 2 teacups of Water if you are using fine Sugee as opposed to coarse. Coarse Sugee can be found in supermarkets under the Alagappa's brand, while fine Sugee can be found in most baking supplies shops. 
4. You must keep stirring the kesari through its cooking process as it has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the wok and burn. 

I am the Rainbow Princess

This cake has intrigued me for a long time. Unfortunately for me, this is a Plan-and-Bake cake. One cannot simply come home after a day at work and decide 'Oh, I'd like to bake a rainbow cake today!' So, here it is finally in all its glory, baked and iced over 2 days at a leisurely pace with Opus playing in the background. 

This is how I'm feeling right now. As someone put it quite aptly - full of rainbows and white roses. Long  before this song became the anthem for some friends, this song was only famous for being sung by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and winning an Oscar for Best Original Song. 

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly

Birds fly over the rainbow

Why then oh why can't I?

If happy bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow why oh why can't I?

RAINBOW CAKE

Cake

9 ounces (250g) Butter, softened

10 ounces (283g) Caster Sugar

12 ounces (340g) Plain Flour 

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

5 large Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

1 teaspoon Orange Essence (optional)

8 tablespoons Full Cream Milk

Preheat the oven to 140 Celsius. Grease and line a 18cm round cake tin. 

Cream Butter and Sugar until pale with an electric mixer. Beat in Eggs one by one beating well between each addition. Beat in Vanilla and Orange essences. Fold in Flour by hand alternately with Milk beginning and ending with Flour. Beat batter for a few seconds with the electric mixer to ensure everything is well incorporated. 

Divide batter into 6 bowls (about 1 1/4 cups of batter each). Colour the batter red, yellow, orange, green, blue and purple. (I used approximately 1/8 teaspoon of the Wilton gel icing colours for each bowl) Mix the colours well into each divided batch of the batter.

Pour the red batter into the prepared tin and bake in the pre-heated oven at 140 Celsius for about 15 minutes or until a skewer poked through the centre of the cake comes out clean. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Repeat with all the rest of the batter until all the colours are baked and cooled.

Store the layers between squares of baking paper (beginning and ending with baking paper, beginning with the red layer and finishing with purple) in a large tupperware overnight in the fridge.

Note - I had only one 18cm round cake tin. I pre-cut 6 rounds of baking paper and in between baking each layer, washed, dried, greased and lined the tin. I did this 6 times for the 6 layers. It takes about 3 hours to bake the 6 layers if you only have one baking tin.

BUTTERCREAM ICING (makes about 3 cups)

(Adapted from Cake Connection)

160g Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Orange Essence
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Full Cream Milk
450g Icing Sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon Meringue Powder

Cream Butter with Essence and Milk. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Continue mixing until mixture is creamy.

Note - I made 2 batches of the icing recipe above. It made just enough icing to sandwich, crumb-coat and pipe the roses on. For a tutorial on piping the roses, please see HERE. 

Assembly

1. Remove the cakes from the fridge. 
2. Peel the baking paper off the purple cake and place it on a cake board just slightly larger than the circumference of the cake. 
3. Insert pieces baking paper around the cake covering the cake board (as you see in the photo).
4. Using an offset spatula, spread some buttercream on the top of the purple cake.
5. Next, take the blue cake, peel off the baking paper and place it on top of the purple cake. Repeat with the icing and build the cake with the rest of the colours in this same way.
6. Once done, crumb-coat the the cake and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
7. Remove from the fridge and pipe on the roses. 
8. Pull out the pieces of baking paper. They have done their job of keeping the board clean while you ice the cake.
9. Once done, put the cake back into the fridge to set. Leave it for 30 minutes to an hour before cutting. 

Notes

• I used Queen's Orange Essence.
• I used Wilton Gel Colours to colour the cakes. 
• I used Salted Butter in both the cake and the icing. 
• I used a Wilton 1M tip to pipe the roses. 
• For a sturdier icing, please use 80g of butter and 80g of shortening in the icing recipe above. This will hold up better in hot weather, while an all-butter icing tends to melt quickly. 

Sip, sup & sigh

Alice Medrich's Robert's Brownies My Way

Some say chocolate heals, while others say it is tea that heals. I say both. Tea AND chocolate calms the soul like whispers of cool wind on hot skin. There's nothing better for you than to sip, sup and sigh away the blues. Tell the diet to go on a holiday way up in the mountains for a day or two, perhaps even a week. Once you've sipped, supped and sighed just enough, it can come home to join you once again as you plunge headlong back into life as it was.

Ooooops... almost all gone...

ROBERT'S BROWNIES MY WAY
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies

56g Butter
310g semisweet 53% Callebaut Chocolate Baking Chips
130g Caster Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
2 large Eggs, cold
46g Plain Flour

• Preheat the oven to 140 Celsius. Line an 8 inch by 8 inch baking tin with foil hanging over the edges for easy lifting out of the brownies later. 
• Melt the Butter and Chocolate in a heavy-based saucepan on very low heat stirring all the time to prevent burning. Once the mixture is melted and smooth, remove from the heat.
• Stir in the Sugar, Salt and Vanilla. 
• Add in 1 Egg and stir until it is well incorporated. 
• Add in second Egg and mix in as above. 
• Stir in the Flour until it just disappears into the chocolate mixture. 
• Using a wooden spoon or spatula, beat the batter vigorously until the batter starts coming away from the sides of the pan. As the batter comes together it will become harder and harder to beat the mixture. Keep going until it comes away from the sides. Do not stop mixing until it does. 
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes at 150 Celsius or until a skewer poked through the centre comes away with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. 
• Cool on a rack. When completely cool place in the fridge to cool even more. Remove after a few hours and cut into pieces with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry for clean, neat slices. 

What about the tea then? Well, this is what I am drinking now. I love breathing in the heady perfume of Jasmine while sipping it hot. It's cleansing and comforting. 

Not my 5-a-day breakfast

This is a no-healthy-muffin-and-certainly-not-a-5-a-day post. I better declare that early because the only thing remotely healthy about this muffin is the fact that I used unbleached organic plain flour but nothing else. NOTHING else. 

Right now, I feel terribly clever. Terribly clever indeed for making such gorgeous muffins - like that which you could get at a bakery with coffee - come true in my own kitchen. Yay yay yay says my tummy! 

An indulgent, lemony-vanilla, moist, fine-crumbed muffin chock-a-block with the tiny semisweet chocolate chips I love; finished with a demerara, walnut, chocolate chip topping. Now why wouldn't that be the perfect way to start the day?

I suppose now that I've made a muffin so lovely in all its state of unhealthy grace, I should attempt some which are 'healthy'? Is sneaking in a bit of wholemeal flour and some rolled oats into the batter considered doing the healthy thing or an illusion of the healthy thing? 

Also, why is it that instead of actually making some healthy muffins, all my thoughts are now completely consumed with glorious visions of lemony Blueberry Muffins and boozy Rum & Raisin ones? Is there no help for me at all? 

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

115g Salted Butter, softened

160g Raw Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

200g Greek-style Yoghurt

240g unbleached organic Plain Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Scant 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Mini semisweet Chocolate Chips

Zest of 1 Lemon, grated

Pinch of Salt

Topping - Some Demerara Sugar, chopped Walnuts and mini semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 140 Celsius. Line a 12-case large cupcake tray with paper cases. Set aside.

Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda in a bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the Butter and Sugar for a couple of minutes, just until combined. Beat in one Egg with an electric mixer, just until well combined. Repeat with the second Egg. Add in Vanilla, Lemon zest and pinch of Salt. Next, beat in the Yoghurt. Now, with a spatula fold in the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda into the wet mixture to create a slightly stiff batter. Add in the Chocolate Chips.

Measure out all the batter into the 12 paper cases which have already been prepared. Sprinkle on the topping mixture. Place the tray in the oven and increase the temperature to 160 Celsius. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until the tops are golden and a skewer poked through the centre of a muffin comes out clean. 

Lounge lizard & friends

Relaxing

Ronald W. Hull

Come, float with me for a while.

Imagine a dream with a subtle smile.

Imagine horizons wherever you view,

Placid waters green upon blue.

Come, sit with me for a while.

Imagine a dream like a crafted cloud.

Gentle breezes caressing your skin,

While the sun gently warms your brow.

Come, dance with me for a while.

Imagine a dream with her in your sway.

Glide to the sound of the steel drum round,

And calypso your life away.

Come, prance with me for a while.

Imagine a dream, white beaches serene.

Dig your feet in; let the granules to skin,

Massage them ever so clean.

Come, splash with me for a while.

Imagine a dream with foamy cream,

Where life was scrolled from the sea.

Rejuvenate! Make young the old of me.

Silver linings...

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?

Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?

Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?

Paul Varjak: Sure. 

Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Alice once again...

This photo doesn't do this cake any justice. My fault. As usual I waited until nightfall to snap the photo. 

Alice Alice Alice... I finally bought Pure Dessert and I love it to bits, despite the fact that some recipes were slightly less than perfect, but I blame that entirely on being overly enthusiastic about trying the recipes and was baking when I was tired and should have been resting. (hmmmm... that was a long sentence)

To keep things short - Kamut or Khorasan as it is sometimes known is an ancient grain. It is not easy to find in Malaysia and I found mine in the BMS Organics shop in the basement of Empire Gallery Shopping Mall. I almost wept with joy when I found it and the other grain I was looking for - Spelt - sitting oh-so-pretty on the shelf. Yay! Brownie points to me for being determined enough to look for them in every shop I could think off.

Before anyone else tries this recipe, please note that Kamut has a VERY distinct taste. You can love it or hate. It's like a durian thing I suppose. No sitting on the fence. Too me it tasted and smelled like nutty soya milk. It also has a high protein content and is quite nutritious. Look it up in Wikipedia or something.

Sorry for the American measurements here. I didn't want to tamper with the recipe too much.

KAMUT POUND CAKE
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert

3 tablespoons Full Cream Milk, room temperature
3 Eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
1 cup (3.5 ounces) Plain Flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (1.75 ounces) Whole-Grain Kamut Flour
3/4 cup Caster Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
13 tablespoons (6.5 ounces) Salted Butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 150 Celsius. Butter and line a 9 inch x 5 inch loaf pan with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, combine Milk, Eggs and Vanilla with a whisk. Set aside. 

Sift the Flours, Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt into a large bowl. Add any bran left in the sifter back into the mixture. 

Place the Butter into the Flour mixture, then pour in half of the Egg mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are just combined.

Add in the remaining Egg mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Add in the rest of the Egg mixture and beat for another 20 seconds. 

Pour batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. About 55 - 65 minutes. Cool in the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

French Yoghurt Cake

I have finally succeeded in making a really lovely French Yoghurt Cake. I am grateful for Tongue in Cheek and my one-time obsession with buying yoghurt in glass jars from Carrefour. Since I kept all those marvellous glass jars, I used them to make this cake. 

The only ingredient I didn't have was lemon, so I substituted orange juice instead. Oh, and then just because I do not like baking soda, I substituted baking powder. It still came out lovely. I'm keeping this recipe almost as is. You can use a regular plastic yoghurt cup (about 200g) for this. Just make sure you use the same cup of yoghurt you're using in the cake to measure out all the necessary ingredients.

Pop over to the blog link above if you would like to read more about what variations you can make with this basic recipe

FRENCH YOGHURT CAKE (GATEAU YAOURT)

Adapted from Tongue in Cheek

1 pot of Greek Yoghurt

3 pots of Plain Flour

2 pots of Caster Sugar

1/2 pot of Sunflower Oil

2 Eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

A pinch of Salt

The juice of 1 small Orange

Preheat the oven at 150 Celsius. Butter and flour a 3-Cup Bundt tin really well to prevent sticking. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the Sugar and Eggs with an electric mixer until pale, creamy and double in size. Add in all the other ingredients and mix for a few seconds until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. About 40 - 50 minutes. Leave to cool for about 20 minutes, then turn-out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Vegetarian Kunyit Curry

Yes, same set of vegetables from yesterday's Wholewheat Spaghetti & Vegetable Stir-Fry. Only this time they're in an Indonesian Kunyit Curry. 

I received a packet of wet 'rempah' from Lady C before she went away and this is my lunch for tomorrow. Yay!

VEGETARIAN KUNYIT CURRY

Carrots, sliced

Sweet Peas, de-veined

Baby Corn, sliced

Chinese ready-fried Tofu, sliced

Potatoes, cubed

1 packet Kunyit Curry paste

Salt to taste
A little Water

Put a little Water in a wok. Add in the Kunyit Curry paste and fry the spice mix for a few minutes.

Add in Potates and a little more Water. Cover the wok. Add in Water if needed, a little at a time until the Potatoes are cooked through.

Add in the rest of the vegetables and Salt to taste. Stir a few minutes until the vegetables just get tender. Take it off the heat, divide into bowls and serve with rice.

Is this the start of a healthy diet?

So... my doctor says I'm not so well and need to lose some weight. I have been on a diet of sorts to help me but after I fell sick last week and as a consequence couldn't eat properly for days, I've since yo-yoed back towards my old faithfuls i.e. sweet biscuits, chocolate and rice. 

Yesterday, I decided enough was enough. You see... during the yo-yo period I stuffed myself silly, yet found myself feeling unsatisfied, tired, too full, etc. All the things I had left behind while I was consciously watching my food previously. I didn't want this to go on, so I'm back to watching what I eat. 

I had my swim this morning, which was great but left me hungry. Scoffed two Hazelnut-Nutella Biscuits. Bad bad bad. So for dinner today, I cooked-up some vegetables to (hopefully) off-set the sweeties from this morning. 

WHOLEWHEAT SPAGHETTI & VEGETABLE STIR-FRY

Carrots, sliced

Sweet peas, de-veined

Baby corn, sliced

Chinese ready-fried tofu, sliced

A handful of wholewheat Spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained

Garlic, chopped

Red Onions, sliced

Oyster Sauce

Light Soya Sauce

Sesame Seed Oil

Peanut Oil

Almonds, toasted

First, toast the Almonds in a dry wok. Once done, remove and set aside.

Heat a little Oil in the same wok. Once the Oil is hot and shimmering, saute Onions and Garlic in it for a few seconds.

Add in all the vegetables and Tofu. Stir-fry until for a few minutes. Add a little water every now and then to prevent sticking to the wok. The water will evaporate quickly due to the high heat you're stir-frying on.

Add in Spaghetti and stir through. Again, add a little water to prevent sticking if needed. Add lashings of Oyster Sauce and Light Soya Sauce to taste. Stir through. Lastly, drizzle in a little Sesame Oil, stir through and take the wok of the fire. 

Divide into serving bowls, sprinkle on the toasted Almonds and eat while hot. 

Hazelnut-Nutella Biscuits

I've been ill... and these are my redemption biscuits. The ones to make me feel better after a bout of flu, sore throat and fever. I miss my mother very much during these times and wish she were still around to nurse me to health like in the old days. 

These are not fancy biscuits. They're homey and hit the sweet spot. They may look dry but they're actually the perfect combination of sturdy, crumbly biscuit and ooey gooey Nutella. What can go wrong with Nutella anyway? It is after all the chocolate-hazelnut butter of the gods! 

HAZELNUT-NUTELLA BISCUITS

80g organic unbleached Plain Flour

40g organic wholemeal Plain Flour

30g Ground Hazelnuts

125g Butter, softened

50g Caster Sugar

Pinch of Salt

Preheat the oven to 160 Celsius. Line a tray with baking paper and set aside.

Cream Butter, Sugar and Salt till light and fluffy. Fold in both the Flours and Ground Hazelnuts with a spatula until just combined. The dough will look crumbly, so with clean hands bring the dough together into a ball.

Divide the dough into 16 balls and place on the prepared baking tray. Make indents into the balls by pressing them down with your thumb. The dough may crack at the sides but it's okay.

Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the trays back to front and bake another 10 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and with the handle of a wooden spoon press down gently on the indents again. Put back into the oven for another 5 minutes to set, remove from oven and cool completely on the baking tray.

Once cool, fill with as much Nutella as it will hold. Store in an airtight container on a single level. Do not pile them on each other as the Nutella will not set hard. 

Happy Easter!

Well, technically it's still Easter-tide until Ascension Day, so I think it's okay to wish everyone a Happy Easter a week late. 

So I am sitting here on my bed at the end of a long day trying to make myself feel great that it's 'Yay' Monday around the corner again and failing miserably. Still, it should be a time for celebration methinks since it's the first time I've done my tax e-filing before the eleventh hour!!

What have I done this weekend? Had a lovely brunch/lunch with some lovely friends at Plan B in Paradigm Mall; signed-up for facials after such a long time; slept, slept and slept; and discovered that I hate using bicarbonate of soda in baking because I can smell it from miles away and it tastes soapy on my tongue. A pity really, because I have a batch of chocolate chip cookies bars which I cannot bear to eat! 

However, I seem to be the only one at home with an aversion to the taste of bicarbonate of soda, so some lucky people in the office will benefit from the chocolate chip cookie bars tomorrow.  

I never thought I'd say this but I think I'm all chocolate chip cookie-ed out! From trying to make small batch chocolate chip cookies, to making the one from Alice Medrich's famous Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies book, I think I am. From all this I have learnt that bicarbonate of soda is not my friend and I much prefer baking powder as a rising agent as it doesn't seem to leave a soapy aftertaste.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies which didn't quite hit the sweet spot

America's Test Kitchen Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies which DID hit
the sweet spot but didn't look so appealing

I've never had a failed Alice Medrich recipe, and yet her chocolate chip cookie recipe didn't quite hit the spot and they spread like crazy on the baking sheet! I think it's something to do with the temperature here. Next time, I'll have to try them with less butter, more flour and baking powder. Still... there was redemption in her Coffee Walnut Biscuits. They're oh-my-lovely! 

Coffee Walnut Biscuits

Hot Cross Buns

A tradition in some places. Not a tradition in others. In St. Paul's, we get this after Good Friday service. They're delicious little morsels of joy after a three-hour sit down in church. I've been meaning to make them for years, but somehow never got around to it. Here they are now in all their wholemeal-ly glory.

I made mine with wholemeal flour as that was what I had on hand. Was too lazy to pop out to make a special purchase of organic unbleached white bread flour, so made the best of the lovely Doves Farm Organic Strong Wholemeal Flour which was part of my inheritance. 

I found a workable recipe here. It uses only wholemeal flour and not half-and-half like some of the other recipes I found online. I didn't feel guilty eating these fresh from the oven or even toasted and slathered with good Irish butter and homemade strawberry jam. They were remarkably lush and lovely.

However, I did feel that the flavour of the spices didn't quite shine through. Perhaps it was because of the nuttiness of the wholemeal flour, perhaps it needed more than the recommended amount of spices I don't know. I do know that when I make them again I will be more generous with the spices, mixed peel and golden raisins as well as add a teeny bit of vanilla essence to it for a certain je ne sais quoi. 

My aunt brought home some shop made Hot Cross Buns from church this afternoon. Have a look.

How were they? Made from brown flour I think instead of wholemeal. They were lighter, slightly stickier, sweeter and spicier than mine with a yeasty aftertaste. Mine were denser, not sticky, less sweet and not so spicy fragrant. One looks refined, the other looks like it walked out of the middle ages. Some points to improve on the next time? 

Here they are side by side toasted and slathered with butter and jam.  

Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow??

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! 

One a penny two a penny 

Hot cross buns,

If you have no daughters give them to your sons, 

One a penny two a penny 

Hot cross buns!

Old English Nursery Rhyme

WHOLEMEAL HOT CROSS BUNS

Adapted from Coffee Muffins

450g organic Strong Wholemeal Flour

14g instant Yeast

50g Caster Sugar

1 teaspoon Mixed Spice

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Sugar

130g Golden Raisins

130g Mixed Peel

Grated zest of 1 Orange

150ml Warm Milk

50ml Warm Water

1 Egg, lightly beaten

50g melted Butter

4 tablespoons Plain Flour mixed with a little Water to make a stiff paste

2 tablespoons Orange Juice mixed with a little Icing Sugar to make a glaze

Place the Flour, Yeast, Sugar, Spices, Golden Raisins, Mixed Peel and Zest together in a large bowl. Mix through with your hands to ensure everything is mixed evenly.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredient and pour in the Milk, Water, Egg and Butter. Mix into a dough. Scrape out onto a clean work top and knead until elastic for about 10 - 15 minutes. Add in a little more Milk if necessary in stages if the dough is too stiff to work with.

Place dough into a clean, buttered bowl . Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Once risen and double in size, remove from bowl and gently knock out the air. Knead gently for a few minutes and split dough into 12 pieces. Shape the pieces into balls, place onto a lightly buttered baking tray and flatten slightly.

With a sharp knife cut a cross in each one. Rest for about 20 minutes till risen again. 

Put the ready-mixed paste into a piping bag and pipe into the cross indents.

Bake at 175 Celsius for about 15 minutes until done. Remove from the oven and brush with glaze while still hot.

Put back into the oven for 5 minutes with only the top heat on so the tops get nice and brown. Remove from the oven, let it cool (or not) and eat toasted with butter and jam.

Good Friday: My offering

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea.

A great high Priest whose Name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands

My name is written on His heart.

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within.

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Saviour died

My sinful soul is counted free.

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness.

The great unchangeable I AM

The King of Glory and of grace.

One in Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood.

My life is hid with Christ on high

With Christ my Saviour and my God. 

Charitie L. Bancroft

5-Ingredient Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt

Please don't ask me how or why I am bitten by the Nutella bug. Please don't ask me how much time I spent last night looking for the perfect cake and cookie recipes with this gorgeous chocolate-hazelnut spread in it. Please don't ask me how I went off to the shops yesterday and again today to buy Nutella and more Nutella. Please don't ask me why I made these on a Monday night, or why I'm talking about them when it's just about time for me to go to sleep. I just did and so here it is. 

This is one of those times when the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover' comes to mind. Nothing much to look at but beautiful inside. 

These cookies looked like chocolate lace when I pulled them out of the oven. I had a small panic attack that perhaps they were baked crunchy throughout? They weren't. They were gorgeous. Fudgy, chewy, gooey gorgeous. I had three. 

5-INGREDIENT NUTELLA COOKIES WITH SEA SALT

Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

1 cup Nutella

1 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Plain Flour

1 Egg

More Sea Salt for sprinkling

In a large bowl, mix the Sugar, Sea Salt and Plain Flour together. Add the Nutella and Egg. Mix with a spatula until well combined. 

Place in fridge for 10 minutes. Remove and roll mixture into balls. Place on baking paper lined trays. (You need just one tray or two depending on how large you roll the balls) 

Bake at 175 Celsius for about 8 - 10 minutes until the tops look dry and set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with Sea Salt and let the cookies cool on the baking tray. With a small pallet knife loosen the cookies from the baking paper. Store in an airtight container.

Rose Biscuits and a word of gratitude for the 'inheritance'

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."

Emma Goldman

Thank you. Thank you for the Cinnamon Sugar, Spice, Oils; the Coffee that I'm yet to drink and  the Tea that I have; as well as all the other goodies sitting in my larder today. Those wonderful store cupboard essentials.

Thank you also for the gorgeous chocolates, delicious biscuits, homemade mince pies and all the little things you've brought back on your trips home. 

These are for you. I ate five on your behalf with a nice, hot cup of 'inherited' Earl Grey. Here's wishing you all the best in the land of famous ruins, rose water and orange blossoms. 

ROSE BISCUITS

125g Salted Butter, softened

50g Icing Sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons Rose Water

1 drop Rose Essence

150g Plain Flour

A teeny bit of Pink Gel Paste

Put Butter and Sugar in a large bowl. Mix till combined with a spatula. Add in the Rose Water and Essence. gently mix through. Fold in the Flour until the mixture comes together into a soft ball of dough. Mix in the Pink Gel Paste until the dough is evenly distributed throughout.

Place dough in a biscuit press and press out shapes on a un-lined, un-greased baking tray. Press out shapes until all the dough has been used up. You may need 2 baking trays.

Bake the biscuits for about 20 - 25 minutes at 170 Celsius. Do turn the trays around at the 10 minute mark to ensure even baking and watch the biscuits so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container. 

You will notice that the biscuits are a teeny bit brown and not so clean a pink in colour. This is how I like them. Taking them out when they're just set, while the pink looks fresh and oh-so-pretty leaves you with a slightly under-baked biscuit. So I let them bake a little more for a crunchier biscuit. In my little kitchen, biscuits are crunchy and cookies are soft. 

Broccoli Salad

I suppose I should call it Let's-Use-Up-What's-In-The-Fridge-And-Larder-Salad, because that's what this was really about. A bunch of broccoli lying in the fridge; a pack of walnuts in the larder; some almost sad looking golden raisins and the bacon that I'd forgotten about.

I have also in recent days, received an 'inheritance' of sorts from friends. Part of the 'inheritance' included a bottle of Walnut Oil. I have been waiting to try with something, and this was the something. While it isn't exactly a salad that most people would call healthy, it certainly was yummy!

It is Sunday after all. Everyone is supposed to have some treat or other on Sunday before the hectic work week starts, so this was a treat to myself. This AND the five Rose Biscuits I've eaten today. Shhhh... don't tell anyone. 

BROCCOLI SALAD

A head of Broccoli

A handful of Golden Raisins

A handful of Walnuts

Some Back Bacon 

Roasted Nuts salad dressing

Walnut Oil

Cut Broccoli into florets. Blanch in hot slightly-salted water, drain and refresh in cold water. Put them  into the bowl you will be eating from. Chop and toast the Walnuts. Dice and fry the Bacon till crisp in a little sunflower oil. Place cooked Bacon on kitchen towels to drain-off as much oil as possible.  Sprinkle Raisins, Walnuts and Bacon over the Broccoli. Drizzle the salad with one tablespoon each of Roasted Nut dressing and Walnut Oil.

Eat!

Corned Beef & Potatoes

Corned Beef & Potatoes how my mother used to make it. With spices and lots of potatoes and curry leaves. Salty and spicy and very satisfying with a bit of resam and white rice. 

CORNED BEEF & POTATOES

1 can Corned Beef

3 - 4 Potatoes, cubed

1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds

1 teaspoon Jeera Seeds

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 Star Anise

2 sprigs Curry Leaves

Chilly Flakes or Chilly Powder, to taste

1 - 2 medium-sized Onions

3 - 4 cloves Garlic

Oil

Remove Corned Beef from the can, break-up with fork and set aside. In a large wok, heat oil. Fry Potatoes. Once Potatoes are cooked through, remove some of the oil from the wok. 

Then add Cinnamon, Star Anise, Mustard Seeds and Jeera Seeds to the Potatoes. Fry till the Mustard Seeds split. Add in Curry Leaves, Onions and Garlic. Fry for a few seconds and add Chilly Flakes or Chilly Powder to taste. 

Last of all, add in the Corned Beef. Stir-fry until all the ingredients are mixed through well. Check seasoning. If okay, remove from heat and place in a serving dish. If not, add Salt or more Chilly to taste. Stir-fry a little longer and remove from heat. 

Watercolours in the sky

Sunsets are pretty,

Sunsets are pink,

Sunsets are red,

Sunsets are purple,

All because of the sun going down.

Silhouettes are black,

Clouds have yellow outlines,

All because of the sun going down.

Water and seas are red,

Water and seas are pink,

Water ans seas are purple,

All because of the sun going down.

Sunsets are beautiful,

Sunsets are the best thing,

All because of the sun going down.

Lisa Daborn

30 December 1991

A beautiful poem which reminded me of the sunset I once saw from my bedroom window. It was magical to watch at the end of a long, long day. A gentle reminder to a busy soul to stop. Just stop. Stop and look at the beauty around and above.