Monday, July 25, 2016

Raspberry Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

When you have fresh raspberries that are past their best, mash 'em and make raspberry mini muffins. Sweet raspberries mean not a lot of sugar is needed in these little beauties so they are perfect as a snack or breakfast.



This month I'm in Jersey, Channel Islands so I've been reveling in homegrown or at least locally grown produce. I buy fresh from the markets plus I have a big collection of what my daughters call "pity jam" in the cupboard. You know, from the little old ladies who take a table at markets and donate their proceeds to charity. Yes, I can make my own jam and often do but they look so sweet behind their small stalls, jars all neatly arranged with cloth squares tied to the top and handmade labels. And even if the proceeds don't go to charity, I just can't help myself.

We were at a carboot sale the other weekend and one lady, not so old this time, had baskets of local raspberries and strawberries for sale. I bought two baskets of the raspberries, which we ate with homemade meringues and whipped cream but as they started turning a bit soft, making muffins seemed like the ideal way to use them. And indeed it was.

Ingredients - for 2 dozen mini muffins
1 cup or 125g flour
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 110g mashed raspberries plus more for decoration, if you've got some
1 medium egg
1/4 cup or 75g Greek yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
2 tablespoons canola or other light oil

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your mini muffin pans by lining them with little paper muffin cups, buttering or spraying with non-stick baking spray.

In large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.

In smaller bowl, whisk together the raspberries, egg, yogurt, milk and oil.



Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and fold until just combined.



Divide the batter between your muffin cups. Add a decorative raspberry to each muffin, if desired. I only had 12 nice ones so one pan got raspberries, one pan was plain.


Bake in the preheated oven about 12-15 minutes or until the muffins are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. They turned an interesting blue in places but were most delicious.



Enjoy!


As almost always with Muffin Monday, we don’t have a theme so our bakers make whatever inspires them each month. We hope some of them will inspire you to bake muffins!



#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of 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.

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Sunday, July 24, 2016

Perfect Lentil Burgers

The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat. 

Food Lust People Love: The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat.
Nobody likes a dry burger is one of my mottos. This goes for chicken and beef but it goes double for vegetarian patties. A little fat that won’t evaporate off when cooking is key. I first made these lentil burgers using bread I had baked with thick mozzarella slices in the dough.

The whole family declared them the perfect lentil burgers. The problem was, how to recreate them without having to bake that bread again each time, lovely though it was.


I took apart the bread recipe, figured out about how much mozzarella must have been in the number of slices I used for the first perfect lentil burgers and then added that into the new patty mix with plain whole grain sandwich bread. Much to our delight, it worked. I’ve made these lentil burgers many times since and they are always one of the first things my younger daughter asks for when she comes home. Hope you enjoy them!

Perfect Lentil Burgers

One note about the main ingredient, Puy lentils: You don't have to use green lentils actually grown in the Puy region of France because those can be pricey. I do recommend that you source the (almost) identical French lentils grown in other regions of France. They hold their shape much better than any other lentil I've tried, most of which go from not quite cooked to too mushy in a heartbeat. The French lentils will make a much better burger.

Ingredients – for four patties (about 7oz or 200g each – a substantial patty!)
4 slices whole grain sandwich bread
1/4 medium purple onion
2 eggs
3 1/2 oz or 100g mozzarella, grated
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I also use more. We like things spicy.)
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fine sea salt
1 cup or 210g uncooked (or about 2 1/2 cups or 485g cooked/rinsed) Puy lentils
(If you are cooking them, boil with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda till tender. Drain and rinse.)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and more for pan

To serve:
4 buns
Sliced tomatoes
Lettuce
Sliced onions
Your favorite condiments – mayo, mustard, ketchup, etc. We like mayo with a little garlic and lemon juice added too.

Method
Toast the slices of bread and cut them into cubes. Chop the onion up.

Process the toast cubes and the onion until the bread is in crumbs. Add the eggs and process until well combined.


Tip the mixture out into a bowl. Add the grated mozzarella and mix well.  Add the smoked paprika, cayenne, a generous sprinkle sea salt and a few good grinds of black pepper. Mix well.



Add the rinsed, drained lentils and the extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.



Form into four patties.

Food Lust People Love: The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat.


Pan fry in non-stick pan or griddle with an extra drizzle of olive oil until golden on both sides, about 6-7 minutes a side should do it.

Food Lust People Love: The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat.


Serve with sliced tomatoes, onions and lettuce on a hamburger bun. You wanna put more cheese, you surely can but it's not necessary. We never do.

Food Lust People Love: The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat.


Enjoy!

This week Sunday Supper is sharing a plethora of creative hamburger and hot dog recipes that you are going to love! Many thanks to our host Christie of  A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and our event manager Shelby of Grumpy's Honeybunch for all of their hard work.

All American Burgers & Dogs
Cluck Burgers
Worldly Burgers & Dogs
Where's the Beef Burgers
Where's the Bun Burger
Dessert Burger
How to

Pin the Perfect Lentil Burgers!


Food Lust People Love: The perfect lentil burgers have two secret ingredients, mozzarella cheese for fat and moisture and smoked paprika to mimic a little charbroiled flavor. Truly, you will not miss the meat.

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

Yorkshire Parkin Mini Bundt #BundtBakers

Yorkshire parkin is a rich gingerbread made with treacle and golden syrup. It's a traditional baked treat that might well have been enjoyed by the characters in the beloved children's book, The Secret Garden.



This month my Bundt Bakers group was challenged by our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime, to create a Bundt with the theme Secret Garden. I'm not sure if it's what Sue intended but my mind immediately went to one of my all-time favorite books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's a book I have read over and over through the years. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do. The Kindle edition is free on Amazon right now.

It's the story of an expat kid who loses her whole family to an epidemic and must return alone to England from the only home she's ever known in India. Her supposed home country is foreign to her as are the ways of the local people. After finding the secret garden to nurture in her mysterious uncle's estate, Mary grows from a sour-faced, spoiled and finicky child into one with pink cheeks and a wholesome appetite under the care of a kind Yorkshire maid and her down-to-earth brother, Dicken.

In 1999, Amy Colter published The Secret Garden Cookbook, with recipes inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book. I must confess that I do not own that book but as I was reading its reviews, parkin was mentioned several times as a particularly traditional Yorkshire treat contained therein. I consulted The Google and found this recipe on BBC Good Food, which I adapted to fit my smaller Bundt pan.

I like to think that Mary took parkin just like this from the big house out to share with Dicken and the wee Robin Red Breast who first showed her where the secret garden was hidden.



Ingredients
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons milk
100g butter, plus extra for greasing the baking pan
1/3 cup or 80ml golden syrup
1/4 cup or 50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle (or molasses)
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for pan
Slightly rounded 1/2 cup or 50g oatmeal
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: powdered sugar to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally butter and flour your 2 1/2 to 3-cup mini Bundt pan. (Follow the original recipe for a larger pan. This just happened to be the only pan I own where I am staying right now. Traditionally parkin is baked in a square pan and cut into squares to serve.)

Beat the egg and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix the flour, oatmeal, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.



In a small saucepan, gently warm the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.



Add the dry ingredients to the warm butter mixture, followed by the egg and milk. Stir until well combined.



Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven about 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean and the top is a bit crusty.



Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before turning the parkin out on a wire rack to cool.

The BBC recipe says to wrap it up tightly in parchment paper and foil and to keep it for a few days before eating, as it gets softer and stickier the longer you keep it. I don’t know about that (time will tell!) but I can assure you that even straight out of the pan, it goes quite excellently with a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea, the brand my younger daughter happens to favor.



Enjoy!

Check out all the other Secret Garden recipes the Bundt Bakers are sharing today!

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

Pin it! 

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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Cheddar Chive Shortbread #CreativeCookieExchange

Cheddar chive shortbread is buttery, savory and crisp when first out of the oven, the perfect accompaniment to your afternoon tea or evening cocktail time. 

Shortbread is a traditionally sweet treat but since the main ingredients are flour and butter, I figure there’s no good reason it can’t be savory as well. This month’s Creative Cookie Exchange theme is cheese so I thought it was a great time to test my theory. I am pleased to report that while it feels funny calling these cookies, shortbread is definitely considered a cookie, so here we are. And they are delicious! They are rich and buttery, with a lovely hint of heat from the black pepper and cayenne. They can stand up to a strong drink as well a good cup of tea.

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 oz or 225g extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons finely minced chives or green onion tops
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinches paprika to decorate, optional

Method
In your electric mixer, beat together your butter, salt, black pepper and cayenne until you have a smooth paste.



Add in the cheese, flour and chives and mix at low speed until they form a soft dough.



Shape the dough into roll, wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and chill 30 minutes.



Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and line your baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Unwrap the roll and slice the shortbread into circles about 1/4 in or 1/2cm thick. Place on your prepared baking sheets leaving space around for them to spread. I put mine a bit close together thinking I might fit them all on one pan and ended up needing a second pan for the balance of six cookies. Learn from my errors and just space them more evenly on two pans to start with.



Sprinkle on a little paprika to decorate, if desired. You can use cayenne or black pepper instead but I was afraid mine might be too spicy for my taste testers.


Bake the shortbread until lightly golden and beginning to brown on edges, about 10-12 mins.

I decided that I didn’t like the rough edges for a civilized teatime treat with Manzanilla sherry so I cut them out with a glass to even the edges. This is a totally unnecessarily step, but they do look nicer, don’t they? And we loved the little toasted crumbs that were left behind.



Enjoy!



Check out all the other lovely cheesy cookies my Creative Cookie Exchange friends have made. Many thanks to Renee of Magnolia Days for doing all the behind the scenes work this month!


Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life). We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Pin it! 

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Sunday, July 17, 2016

Fresh Peach Cucumber Salad

Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.

Food Lust People Love: Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.


This week my Sunday Supper group are using peaches in a variety of recipes both sweet and savory. I’m in the Channel Islands right now where apparently they make no bones about the fact that the peaches are picked too young. The little plastic boxes they are sold in say quite boldly – Ripen At Home. But I think we all know how that turns out. They really don’t taste the same or ripen well at home. Never mind, though, because slightly under ripe peaches are still tasty in salad. If you are fortunate enough to have good peaches, those work too!

Fresh Peach Cucumber Salad

Aside from the mint and parsley, the dressing is a basic vinaigrette so if you have a favorite vinaigrette recipe, by all means use it and just add the herbs to the salad itself.

Ingredients
For the dressing:
1/4 cup or 60ml extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup or 30ml good quality white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon whole grain mustard
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon sugar
For the salad:
1 English cucumber
4 peaches
1/4 medium purple onion
2 1/2 oz or 70g pea sprouts

Method
Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar. Close the lid tightly and give it a good shake to combine the ingredients. Set it aside at room temperature while you get on with prepping the salad.

Cut your cucumber lengthwise in half, then cut the halves again so you have four long pieces. If the seeds are too juicy, you can but them off and discard. (My dog loves them!) Chop the cucumber into smaller chunks.

Cut the peach off the pit in slices, then cut those into smaller pieces. If you have freestone peaches, you can remove the pit, then slice and cut.

Finely slice your onion.



Add the cucumber, peaches and onion to a large salad bowl.  Give the herb dressing another good shake and drizzle on just as much as you need to wet the peaches and cucumbers. You might not use it all. (It’ll keep well in the refrigerator for a week or two.)

Food Lust People Love: Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.


Toss to coat.

Add in the pea sprouts just as you are ready to serve and toss again.

Food Lust People Love: Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.


Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.


Many thanks to our Peachy Keen host, Sue of Palatable Pastime and our event manager, Renee of Renee’s Kitchen Adventures. Take a look at all the deliciousness we have for you this week!


Starters:
Breakfasts:
Beverages:
Condiments:
Sides & Salads:
Main Dishes:
Desserts

Pin this Peach Cucumber Salad!  

Food Lust People Love: Fresh peaches that aren’t fully ripe can still be used in a fresh peach cucumber salad, adding a tart bite with a hint of sweet. An herby dressing with mint and parsley complement the peaches beautifully.


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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Cider Honey Quick Loaf #BreadBakers

This rich cider honey quick loaf is naturally sweetened by the cider and the honey. It’s especially delicious toasted.


This month my Bread Bakers are creating sweet breads without refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners. Our host Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni limited us to natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, blackstrap molasses, dates, banana puree, coconut sugar, balsamic glaze, brown sugar syrup, real fruit jam made without any sugar, stevia or palm jaggery. Further, she said NO SUGAR - white, brown, demerara, turbinado, muscovado, etc- . to be used in the bake.

Trying to use what I have on hand, I decided that honey was the way to go. I’m in the Channel Islands right now so I am also fortunate to have ready access to alcohol, unlike at home in Dubai where one must have a license to purchase (and mine has expired.) The first thing we buy is some traditional English cider, often called hard cider in the United States. It's tart and dry with a little sweetness.

Ingredients
3 cups or 375g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons honey
12 oz or 355ml cider, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another smaller bowl, add the honey to half of the melted butter.

Pour in the cider and mix well.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed.



Pour half of the remaining melted butter into the loaf pan.



Spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Jersey butter comes by its color naturally, from the beta-carotene in the grass the cows eat.



Use a pastry brush to spread it around.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking until done.



Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then turn the loaf out on to a wire rack to cool.

Slice and enjoy!



Check out all the wonderful naturally sweetened breads we have for you today! Many thanks to Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni for hosting.
BreadBakers
#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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