Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread #BreadBakers

Chewy yet fluffy, this garlic chili pepper flatbread is great on its own as a snack or serve it with your favorite dhal or curry. The garlic and chili add so much flavor to this tasty bread! 

Homemade flatbread is so easy and always turns out nicer than almost anything I can buy on store shelves. I know in a lot of homes around the world, it’s a normal part of everyday cooking but unless I’m cooking curry, I just don’t think to make it. 

Note to self: Make homemade flatbread more often! Note to anyone reading this: You should too. 

Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread

This recipe makes six flatbreads (about 7x4 in or 18x10cm each) and was adapted from one on Taste.com.au. These little guys definitely have a noticeable heat from the peppers. You can remove the seeds before mincing your peppers to make them less spicy.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried active yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 3/4 cups or 218g bread flour

3/4 cup or 180ml warm water (about 100–110°F or 38–43°C)

2 hot red chili peppers

3-4 sprigs fresh parsley, stems removed

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2-3 tablespoons olive oil 

Method

Warm the water to the required temperature and measure your flour into a small bowl. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast and sugar together with about 1/4 of the flour and the warm water. Set aside 20 minutes until foamy.

Mince your peppers, parsley leaves and garlic.

Add them along with the salt to the remaining flour. Stir to combine.

Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and combine using a Danish whisk or your clean hands. 

Knead on a clean surface until smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl.

Cover with a tea towel or cling film, then leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Form the dough into a stout log, then cut into 6 equal pieces. The log just makes it easier to eyeball what six equal pieces should look like. 

If you prefer to use a scale, you can skip that step. My dough ball weighed 212g so each piece was about 68g. Roll them them into balls.

Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll one ball into an oval and brush it with olive oil. 

Roll it up from the short end into a tight tube. 

Use two hands to roll the tube longer and thinner.

Coil the tube into a circle like a snail.

Tuck the end under. Press down gently. 

Repeat until you have six little swirled dough balls. 

Starting with the first one you made, use the rolling pin to form it back into an oval.

Heat a griddle over a medium high heat and cook the flatbread until puffed on top and lightly browned on the bottom. 

Turn and cook the other side. This takes just a couple of minutes on each side. 

Flip it over one last time. 

I like to put the finished flatbreads in a warm oven in a foil pouch to keep them warm. 

Repeat the rolling and cooking process for the remaining five dough balls. Serve warm. (Or eat at room temperature the next day for breakfast - OMG, still so good.)

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes. Our theme is Spicy Breads with Peppers. Many thanks to our host, Radha of Magical Ingredients. Check out the links below: 

• Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Hatch Chili and Gouda Sourdough from A Messy Kitchen
• Jalapeño Popper Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Radish Stuffed Calzone from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Pepper and Onion Spelt Flour Bread from Cook with Renu
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Red Chili Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sambal Oelek Milk Bread Buns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Cheesy Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry

Ripe, juicy tomatoes add a wonderful fresh zing to the fragrant sauce in this easy lamb and fresh tomato curry. Cook it down slowly to intensify the flavors.

Many years ago, my husband and I were living in Abu Dhabi where there is a large Indian and Pakistani population so good curry restaurants abound. We either ate out or ordered in at least once a week. 

He always got the chicken jalfrezi, a relatively dry curry with lots of peppers, tomatoes and tender chicken. I always ordered the chicken maharajah, which came covered in the richest, most succulent sauce. There might well have been ground cashews in there. When I close my eyes, I can still taste it!

Here’s the rub. He always wanted some of my sauce! Nice person that I am, I did share, but not without thinking to myself that he could order his own darn sauce. Am I right?

These days I am way more likely to cook curry at home than to go out, so I always make sure it’s a saucy dish. This particular curry is full of flavor and, thanks to puréed fresh tomatoes, it has plenty of sauce to go round for all the family. 

Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry

I know that not everyone is fond of lamb. If you aren’t lovers of lamb, by all means substitute beef. For me, curry is all about the sauce and this dish is one of my favorites, whatever protein you choose.

Ingredients

1 lb 13 oz or 840g lamb ribs, chopped into bite­sized pieces 

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste when the dish has finished cooking

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vinegar

4 large ripe tomatoes (1 lb 113⁄4 oz or 786g) 

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil for browning the lamb 

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 red chili peppers, minced

3 tablespoons curry paste

1⁄4 cup or 60g plain yogurt

Good handful cilantro, chopped

Optional for garnish:

dollop of yogurt

chopped cilantro

Method

Chop the lamb into bite-sized pieces and put them in a non-reactive bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add vinegar and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate.

Core your tomatoes, cut them in quarters and pop them in a blender. Process until completely liquid. You might have to add about 1/4-1/2 cup of water to get them moving.

In a large skillet over a medium high heat, heat the olive oil and brown the lamb in batches, and remove to a plate.

Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until softened. Add in the garlic and chili peppers and stir.

Add in the curry paste. Stir and fry for a few more minutes.

Put lamb back in the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Stir well to cover the lamb with the curry paste, onions and garlic.

Pour in the puréed fresh tomatoes. 

Stir well. Bring to the boil then reduce the fire to a slow simmer.

Cook covered for 45 minutes or until the lamb is tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove the lid and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, so the sauce is thick and concentrated. This could take another 10­-15 minutes. Taste for salt and add more if necessary.

Finish by stirring through the plain yogurt and chopped cilantro.

Garnish with a dollop more of the yogurt and cilantro in your serving dish, if desired. Serve with rice or naan.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 12th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter L. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the L recipes below:

• Sneha’s Recipe: Lemon Rice/Chitranna 
• Food Lust People Love: Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry
• Culinary Cam: Lingcod Over Legumes 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Lemon Vinaigrette 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Melody’s Homemade Lemonade 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Mediterranean Lentil Salad 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Barbecue Pork Lo Mein 
• Blogghetti Lemon Pepper Tilapia Sheet Pan Dinner 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Fresh Dill Deviled Eggs with a Hint of Lemon 
• Palatable Pastime: Liver and Onions 
• A Messy Kitchen: Lemon Balm Jelly

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry - this post!

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Carrot Zucchini Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sweet and tender, these carrot zucchini muffins are baked with a mix of white and whole wheat flour, sweetened with honey and full of healthy vegetables!

It’s the last Monday of the month AGAIN. You’d think after this many years of participating in Muffin Monday it wouldn’t be able to sneak up on me but you would be wrong. It happens almost every month. 

To complicate matters further, I am traveling today, in anticipation of a wedding party in London this weekend. I am all aflutter, packing and planning! We can’t wait to see the happy couple and the friends and family as well. It should be a lovely weekend of celebrations and catching up. 

Carrot Zucchini Muffins

These guys didn’t rise as much as I thought they would and I’m not sure why because they were light enough, just not very big. The important thing is that they are tasty, right? This recipe was adapted from one on Cupcakes and Kale Chips.

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour

1/2 cup or 60g whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup or 180g finely grated zucchini, lightly pressed to get rid of excess liquid

1/2 cup or 75g finely grated carrot

1/2 cup or 120ml honey

1 large egg

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing the pan

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by oiling it or lining it with paper muffin cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add the grated vegetables to the flour mixture and toss to coat. I use a fork to lightly separate any clumps.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, honey and canola oil until homogeneous. 

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and fold until just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 

Or serve them warm! Everybody loves warm muffins.

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the muffins my baker friends are sharing with us today: 

• Carrot Zucchini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cheese and Chive Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coconut Lime Sourdough Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Ham and Cheese Rye Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Carrot Zucchini Muffins! 

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Dirty Bloody Mary Martini

The arranged marriage between Ms. Bloody Mary and Mr. Dirty Martini, this Dirty Bloody Mary Martini should please the lovers of both savory cocktails. No need to choose the bride’s or groom’s side. Sit on either side of the aisle. We are all family here. 

There are probably as many Bloody Mary recipes as there are bartenders but the classic contains tomato juice, vodka, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Likewise, a dirty martini contains the same ingredients as a classic one, vodka or gin and a hint of extra dry vermouth with the lovely, in my opinion, addition of olive juice. 

Individually, they are two of my favorite drinks. Married together I love them even better! 

Dirty Bloody Mary Martini

I like to use the olives stuffed with anchovies for an extra boost of savory flavor. You can use your favorite cured green olives, of course.

Ingredients

2 oz or 60ml vodka

1 tablespoon olive juice (preferably from green olives stuffed with anchovies)

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons extra dry vermouth

Dash or two Worcestershire sauce

Dash or two hot pepper sauce

2-3 cubes ice

Options for garnish: Stuffed olives, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, cornichons, etc. 

Method

In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, olive juice, tomato paste, dry vermouth, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.

Add ice, cover, and shake vigorously. 

Strain the mixture into a martini glass.

Add a skewer filled with your favorite garnishes/snacks.

Enjoy!

It's Sunday Fun Day so my friends and I are sharing summer cocktails and mocktails to make your day more special. Check out the links below: 

• 2 Ingredient Strawberry Slush from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Acqua Santa Spritz from Culinary Cam
• Dirty Bloody Mary Martini from Food Lust People Love
• Elderflower Martini from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Meyer Lemondrop Martini from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pink Lemonade Vodka Cocktail from Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs

These tasty Korean barbecue-style meatballs are made with both pork and beef, seasoned with garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy and gochujang paste. Roasted in a hot oven, they caramelize beautifully! 

Serve these delightful sweet and savory bites simply with forks or toothpicks as an appetizer or with rice and/or vegetables as a main course. I like to drizzle the rice with kecap manis – sweet soy sauce – or just more regular soy sauce. Either way, the meatballs are wonderful and bursting with flavor.

Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs

The meatball mixture can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for three hours or even overnight. You can use all beef for the mixture but make sure it is at least 80 lean/20 percent fat so you don’t end up with dry meatballs. I prefer the mix of beef and pork. This recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking. cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019763-korean-barbecue-style-meatballs

Ingredients

8 oz or 225g ground beef 

8 oz or 225g ground pork 

4 whole green onions/scallions

2 in or 5cm knob fresh ginger, peeled

5 cloves garlic 

1/2 cup or 38g panko 

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons gochujang paste

2 tablespoons, firmly packed, dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

A few generous grinds of black pepper

Optional to garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley leaves

Method

Heat your oven to 425° or 218°C. Use a small food processor to mince the ginger, garlic and the white parts of your green onions. Chop the green part of the green onions with a sharp knife.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, including the minced items and the chopped green onion.  

Use your hands or a firm spatula to gently mix it all together till homogeneous.

At this point of any meatball or patty recipe, I always recommend you cook just a little of the mixture to see if it needs more salt. This pan is my tiny one for frying a single egg so you can see how little I cooked. Add more salt, if needed. 

Use a spoon or small cookie dough scoop to divide the meat mixture on to a baking pan lined with foil or a silicone liner. With damp hands, shape the meat into balls. As you can see from the baked photo. I made 27 bite-sized balls.

Bake until golden and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Broil for a further 2-3 minutes if you’d like them darker brown. The pan looks like the juices burned but I am here to tell you that once it cooled, we were scraping that off with our bare fingers and eating it! So good! 

Serve warm, sprinkled with a little chopped cilantro or parsley, if desired.

If you are going the rice route, pop the meatballs on top with a little extra soy or sweet soy sauce. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 11th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter K. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the K recipes below:

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Kwasnica (Polish Sauerkraut and Pork Soup) 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Key Lime Pie Cocktails 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Khamang Kakdi 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Kala Chana Batata Chaat 
• Culinary Cam: Purple Napa Kimchi 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Kalamata, Mozzarella, & Tomato Couscous Salad 
• Blogghetti: Key Lime Mousse Tarts 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Kung Pao Chicken 
• Food Lust People Love: Korean Barbecue-Style Meatballs 

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs - this post!

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Fresas con Crema - Strawberries and Mexican Cream

Fresas con Crema is a simple and delicious dessert made from strawberries and Mexican cream, known as crema, a rich store-bought dairy product prepared with two ingredients, heavy cream and buttermilk.

Crema is often used as a topping for savory dishes like tacos, chimichangas or as one of the fillings in burritos but it is also excellent in sweet dishes, like this one, or as a topping for fruit tarts. It’s quite rich and a little bit tangy but less tart than our sour cream, more like crème fraiche.

In Texas, just about every supermarket carries crema, sometimes even from a selection of producers, including a store brand. I've discovered that some are more tangy, even a bit salty, and some are more mild. I actually did that research looking for/hoping to find a crema that I could substitute for clotted cream. 

Some might have done okay but I was responsible for bringing said clotted cream to a bridal shower and, well, I didn't want to let the side down. After all, if you are putting clotted cream on a scone, it's right out there for everyone to judge. I ended up making my own which is a whole 'nother nightmare I might share with you some day. 

Fresas con Crema - Strawberries and Mexican Cream

If Mexican crema isn’t available in your local store, you can substitute clotted cream. You can also sub in sour cream or crème fraiche and skip or reduce the amount of lime, if desired. This may mean that your cream will need a little longer to “set” but it will still taste delicious. 

Ingredients to serve four

1 cup or 200g Mexican crema

1/2 cup or 120ml heavy cream

3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, plus extra for drizzling, if desired

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups or 440g (weight after hulling) chopped fresh strawberries, plus 4 more for garnish, if desired.

Method

Divide the chopped strawberries among 4 serving dishes or ramekins. 

In a small bowl, whisk the crema, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and vanilla.

Top the strawberries with the cream mixture and quickly stir a little to mix it with some of the chopped strawberries. It starts to firm up immediately so do not tarry. 

To garnish with the extra strawberries, you can simple pop one on top each of the bowls, or carefully make slices in the berry, leaving the hull intact, then press gently down to fan the slices out. 

Drizzle the tops with a little more condensed milk, if desired. Serve immediately or keep chilled until ready to serve. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with strawberries! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out the links below:

• Strawberry Breakfast Pastry from Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Smoothie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Triple Berry Greek Yogurt Parfait from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Strawberry Hazelnut Crostini from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Homemade Strawberry Crush from Sneha's Recipe
• Fresas con Crema from Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Cheesecake Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding from Cook with Renu
• Braising Greens in Strawberry-Honey Vinaigrette from Culinary Cam

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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