Knedliky

These are spongy bread dumplings which are the perfect accompaniment to goulash.

I wasn't happy with my old recipe so on Sunday I tried this one, and it was really nice.

1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup warm milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp salt (use less if using salted butter)
About 2 or 2 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let rise about 10 minutes. Warm milk slightly on stove, add in butter. Remove from heat. Mix in egg and salt. Add the milk mixture to the yeast. Now add flour, kneading well with hands and adding more flour if necessary for a firm dough. Cover and let rise 1 hour in warm place.

Punch down dough and cut into six portions. Form a ball with each portion and place in a steamer. Let rise for about 20-30 minutes. Then steam for 15-20 minutes. Do not lift cover while steaming. Serve warm with gravy.

Meatloaf

I used to make meatloaf often but not recently. I was surprised that I didn't have a recipe for it. Sort of winged it here but it ended up nice: tasty and moist. Really full of onions. Crispy outside.

On the downside, it was cracked on the top and sort of fell apart when served hot - but not sure if that's really a problem. Might be the sacrifice to make for it to be so moist. Or maybe add some more bread crumbs/oats?

I served it with some leftover tomato sauce, mash and creamed spinach and onion. Yum.

500g beef (organic, 20 per cent fat)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c plain yogurt
1/2 cup quick porridge oats (or bread crumbs)
1 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp chicken stock

Mix all ingredients together with hands, until just combined. Put in baking dish and shape into loaf. Bake at 375F/170C fan for 1 hour.

Spinach cheddar muffins

Found this recipe and tried it. Tasty! A nice savoury muffin, delicious with butter, cheese or jam.

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup chopped green onion/scallions
1 cup cooked spinach, well-drained
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar


Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together milk, yogurt, brown sugar, egg, and oil until well blended. In medium-sized bowl, sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and thyme. Gradually add flour mixture to yogurt mix until well blended. Fold in green onion, spinach, and cheddar.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each cup three-quarters full. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack at least 5 minutes more before serving. Makes about 12 muffins.

Chicken with leek and mushroom

I was sick of baked chicken and we didn't have the ingredients for steamed foil chicken, so I came up with this, based on what we had around the house. Very tasty!

2 Tbsp oil
About 2-3 Tbsp flour
4 chicken thighs
1 leek, diced
About 4 oz dried shitake mushrooms, sliced (could use fresh)
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
2/3 cup stock
1/3 cup mushroom juice (could use stock)
1/2 cup milk
About 1 cup peas
Salt and pepper

Eat oil in skillet with fitted top. Dip chicken in flour, and then brown in oil, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Add leek and mushrooms to skillet and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle veg with about 1 Tbsp of flour and mix in. Add sherry or wine and scrape up any carmelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Add stock and mushroom juice. Bring to simmer. Return chicken to pan. Cover and let chicken cook for about 15-20 mins, flipping the chicken over once and stirring occasionally. When chicken is done, remove from pan. Add peas and milk and cook for about 5 mins, until peas are done. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to pan and serve over rice or noodles.

Easter bread

This was nice - not super sweet but felt special and Easter-y. If I'd had an orange or lemon in the house, I would have grated in the zest for more citrus-ness.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup warm milk (120-130°F)
2 tbsp. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup candied citrus peel, chopped
1/4 cup raisins

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk and softened butter. Beat with whisk for a couple minutes.

Stir in 2 eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and 1/2 cup flour. Beat 2 minutes. Stir in dried peel and fruit; mix well.

Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (you do not need to add it all).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a bowl greased with oil; turn once so that dough is lightly coated in oil.

Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Divide in three. Roll out each piece into a long, thin rope and braid them on a greased pan.

Pinch rope ends together. Tuck in any dried fruit which is sticking out, so it doesn't burn. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350°F/160C fan for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan. Brush top of bread with melted butter.

Squash/carrot soup

This is a Gordon Ramsey recipe which I altered slightly. Was looking for something to use up the carrot and squash from the farmer's market - it was delicious!

The original recipe called for one red chili. I left that out because I thought the 2-year-old wouldn't go for it. Instead the adults added sriracha at the table.

Also, when eating the leftovers, I added one thigh of chicken, shredded, because I wanted something more meaty at that meal.

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and deseeded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
(optional: 1 fresh chili, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 tsp dried crushed chillies)
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
75g dried spaghetti or small pasta shells
250 ml milk
Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft. Chop the carrots and butternut squash into small cubes and add to the pan. Season and cook for another 6-7 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

Stir in the thyme (and the fresh or dried chilli if you're using it), then pour in the stock. Stir and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the carrots and squash are soft and beginning to break down.

Break the spaghetti into small pieces into the soup or add the pasta shells. Stir well and return to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the soup has thickened slightly. Add the milk. Return to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Blueberry oatmeal muffins

I made these for a friend who just had a baby - wanted something with oatmeal (supposed to be good for breastfeeding) and substantial but also tasty. These were great!

1 cup oatmeal/porridge oats
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Combine oatmeal and buttermilk/yogurt in small bowl. Let stand.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in another small bowl.

Reserve one tablespoon of flour mixture and, in yet another small bowl, add to blueberries. Stir lightly to cover blueberries in flour (this helps to prevent the blueberries bleeding into the batter.)

In medium bowl, beat egg. Mix in butter/oil, then sugar and mix well. Add oat mixture and mix. Then add dry ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are just moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

Grease muffin tins and add batter, until about 3/4 full. Bake at 400F/200C/180C fan for about 20-25 minutes. Makes about 9 large muffins.

Carrot parsnip soup

I found this recipe online to use up the carrots and parsnips from the farmers' market. Thought the husband would think it too sweet and want to add chili sauce while the daughter would love it. Turned out the husband loved it (without chili sauce) and the daughter was not too keen. Ah well.

The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp (instead of 1 tsp) curry powder but I cut down to accommodate the toddler - fat lot of good that did me.

In any case, it was easy and tasty (I recommend serving with sriracha) and used up the root veg perfectly.

2 Tbsp oil, chopped in chunks
1 onion
450g parsnips, peeled and chopped in chunks
225 g carrots, peeled and chopped in chunks
350 ml vegetable stock
300 ml milk
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Stir and cook for a few mins until they start to soften. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for a min. Stir in the stock & milk. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15-20 mins until vegetables are soft. Allow to cool a little, then puree in a food processor/blender until smooth. Return to soup pot. If it's too thick add more stock and/or milk. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat but do not boil - and serve.

Goulash

I'm really proud of this recipe. I created it for my husband's birthday in 2003. I was trying to recreate the goulashes we'd eaten in Prague in the early 1990's. I read through loads of recipes. There are so many types of goulash: Hungarian, Austrian, Czach, German. Some are like beef stew with chunks of carrots and potatoes, some simple and meaty. I knew I wanted a meaty one, with lots of gravy-like sauce.

This is it!

I've made it so many times, so many different ways. I've used lamb or venison instead of beef. I've used white wine or port instead of red wine (for port, use only half a cup and then the rest water). I've left out the lemon.

This goulash is best served with knedliky (steamed bread dumplings) but also good with noodles, rice, potatoes, even bread.

3 Tbsp oil
2 lbs beef, cubed
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry red wine
1 Tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 c water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbp flour
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

Heat about 2 T oil in a large dutch oven. Add meat and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove meat and any juices from pan. Set aside on plate. If there's not much oil left, add an extra T. Add onions and saute until soft, about 5 mins. Add garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin and marjoram. Cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Stir in red wine and vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan for carmelised meat bits. Return meat to pan. Add bay leaf and enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until meat is very tender, about 2-2.5 hours.

When meat is tender, create route in a separate saucepan: melt butter and add flour. Cook for 1-2 mins. Stir roue into goulash. Cook for about 5 minutes, until sauce thickens up. Add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Oat bar II

These were better than my first attempt - but also very different.

SWCC described them as "baklava-esque". Indeed it is an apt comparison - very chewy, sweet and crunchy. More like dessert than a breakfast bar; also good for a sweet but sustaining snack.

1/3 c oil
1/3 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp Lyle's golden syrup (could probably substitute honey or maple syrup)
2 Tbps orange juice

130 g/1.25 cups porridge oats (or 1 c oats and 1/2 c raisin bran)
100g dried fruit (1/3 c sultanas; 6 dried apricots chopped)
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, chopped
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, chopped
2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together oil, brown sugar, gold syrup and orange juice. Mix in all the dry ingredients. Bake in a buttered pan (8-inch square or 7x11) at 160C (fan) for 18-20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Oat bars

I've been meaning to come up with a tasty, healthy-ish oat bar recipe for just about my entire adult life. Here we go - first try...

Result: Not very good. Wouldn't repeat this. Too dense. Not quite flavourful enough - neither sweet nor savoury. But it's a start.

1 cup flour (half white/wholewheat)
2 cups porridge oats
4 Tbsp ground seeds
1 egg
1/3 c oil
1/2 c maple syrup
2/3 c orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c raisins

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. Add dry to wet. Stir in raisins. Put in greased 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. Bake at 160C (fan) for 35-40 mins.

Red velvet cake

My grandmother's birthday was on Valentine's Day and we ate this cake with her every year - often made in the shape of a heart. I hear it has now gotten quite trendy. They even eat it over this side of the pond.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. red food color
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans. Cut two circles of wax paper and set one in bottom of each pan. Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Add vanilla. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa into a paste and blend into to butter/sugar/egg mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt. Alternating between the two, add the buttermilk and the flour/salt mixture to the batter a little bit at a time. Quickly mix together baking soda and vinegar and gently fold into the batter with economic strokes. Pour batter into pans. Bake 30 minutes at 350F. (For standard cupcakes: 20-25 minutes; for mini cupcakes: approx. 10 minutes)

Cool cake. Frost with whipped cream frosting.


Whipped cream frosting

2 tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Cook flour and milk over medium heat (stirring constantly with a wire whisk) until it turns thick like pudding. Cool. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy (about 8-10 minutes). Cream in flour and milk mixture. Beat until sugar is not grainy.

Simple white bread

I've been playing around with a very simple white bread recipe which I mix and knead (mostly) in the food processor. It's so easy I've actually made it several times in the past two weeks.

Next: Play around with adding wholemeal, wholegrain and rye flours, and with using quick-rise yeast.

300 ml warm water
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar

1 lb flour (strong white bread flour is best)
2 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp butter (or vegetable oil)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let stand for 15 minutes, until bubbly and frothy.

Meanwhile mix flour, salt and butter in food processor, until butter is crumbly. Once the yeast is ready, put food processor on low speed, and pour the yeast mixture through the funnel. Let it go until the dough clumps up into a big ball.

Remove dough from food processor bowl and put in a largeish bowl with about 1 Tablespoon of flour. Knead for a few minutes. Lift dough and oil bowl, spreading oil on both sides of the dough. Cover bowl with cling film and let rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about an hour.

Grease a standard loaf pan. Punch down dough. Knead lightly and roll into an oblong shape. Place in loaf pan. Cover with cling film and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Bake at 200C (fan oven) for 25 minutes. Remove from loaf pan. Let cool on wire rack.

Pork loin

We've switched to a Delia recipe for crispier crackling and moister meat. Here are the basics...


pork loin joint
onion
sea salt
pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 240C/475F. Score the skin of the pork. Peel and cut onion in half. Now place the pork in a tin, skin-side up, and wedge onion underneath it. Take about 1 tbsp of crushed salt crystals and sprinkle it evenly over the skin, pressing it in as much as you can.

Place the pork on a high shelf in the oven and roast it for 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 190C/375F, and calculate the total cooking time allowing 35 minutes to the pound.

The way to tell if the meat is cooked is to insert a skewer in the thickest part and the juices that run out should be absolutely clear without any trace of pinkness.

When the pork is cooked remove it from the oven and give it at least 30 minutes resting time before carving.

Now you can make a gravy with the charred onion and fat left in the pan.

Whole wheat bread I

I've become dissatisfied with the price and quality of bread in our neighborhood, so am trying to come up with a quick, easy, good bread recipe which I might actually have time to make a few times a week. The first mistake I've made (sort of) is to by active dry yeast - quick or ready bake yeasts tend to be, well, quicker.

This one was nice - moist, slightly sweet, not too dense.

Next up: using the food processor to knead.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tablespoon honey
1 2/3 cups white flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
need in another 2/3 to 1 1/3 cup tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons butter, melted

Mix warm water with yeast, 2 T honey and 1 2/3 cup white flour. Wait 30 mins, until big and bubbly. Mix in oil, 2 T honey and salt. Mix in 2/3 cup whole wheat flour. Then start mixing/kneading in another 2/3 to 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour. Knead for a while, until the dough is soft and elastic. Put in greased bowl, cover with cling film. Let rise overnight in fridge. Punch down in morning. Put in greased 9x5 bread pan. Let rise about 1 hour in tin, until it rises over the top of the pan. Bake for about 30 mins at 160C (fan oven).

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

Another pleasurable read by Ms Pym. Gobbled it up in two days. Saw one more at the library - can't wait!