Focaccia Bread

This bread is one I make about once a fortnight. It always works!
It's great toasted or made into bruschetta.
Its from my original Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie blog.

Isabella says - Scrum-diddily-umpchous!

Focaccia Bread

1 1/2 cups of warm water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 1/4 cups of bread flour (high grade)

2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of sugar
2 tsp of yeast

1 cube of frozen pesto (or Italian Herb Mix)

Fresh rosemary, thyme and flaky sea salt

Optional: cherry tomatoes or olives

Put wet ingredients in first, followed by dry and pesto.

Set bread maker to 'dough setting'

Once dough is made, spread on oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkled with flour in a large flat oval shape and leave to rise in a slightly warm oven for a few hours (or over night).

Once it has risen, rub gently with more olive oil, sprinkle with fresh rosemary and thyme and a lot of flaky sea salt. Press cherry tomatoes or olives gently into dough to decorate.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

French Tomato and Cheese Tart

After a slow start, my tomato plants are starting to produce!
I made this recipe from my original Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie blog.

I have to admit to using ready made pastry but for one nailed the blind baking!
I totally enclosed the pastry in baking paper but using a large piece to line the dish and folding the edges up to cover it. I then put another piece on top and weighted it with baking beads.

I left off the olives in an attempt to make it more 'child friendly' and used a mix of edam and gruyere cheese.

Isabella says - Delicious! Very cheesy and a great meal for kids.

Tomato and Cheese Tart

300g Flour
150g cold butter cut into cubes
5-6 tomatoes, sliced 1cm thick
3 Tbs Dijon or wholegrain mustard (I used whole grain and it was great...not over powering)
1 eg beatten
200g Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup pitted black olives
Basil leaves for serving

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
• Butter a shallow tin or over proof dish abut 25cm by 35cm.
• Put the flour, butter and a large pinch of salt into the food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Continue processing and add just enough iced water to make the mixture stick together. Do not over process or the pastry will be tough. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour and alt with finger tips until it s like bread crumbs, then as enough water to make a stiff dough.
• Turn out onto a clean surface and press together into a flattened ball.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the tomato slices on a cake rack side by side.
• Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes to drain. Tilt the rack so the water can drain effectively.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge and allow to soften enough to be rollable,
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the time.
• Cover with foil or baking paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans or rice.
• Place in the oven on a tray and bake 15-20 (or longer to ensure it is browned a bit) minutes until well cooked and browned.
• Remove from the oven.
• Brush the mustard over the bottom of the pastry shell.
• Pour in the egg and sprinkle with grated cheese evenly on top.
• Place the drained tomato slices slightly overlapping on the cheese.
• Put olives in between the tomato slices.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until well cooked and browned.
• Remove from the oven and cool to warm.
• Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve in rectangles.

Charred Corn Salad

Isabella and I made up this recipe after seeing a few different recipes.
I think it's one of those recipes which you can add different things to and it will turn out great.
All of the quantities are approximate.
Isabella charred the corn on the BBQ. A good way for her to get used to using the BBQ with something that is really easy to cook and hard to overcook!

Isabella says - It had a nice smokey flavour. It's a nice fresh summer salad and a good way to use fresh corn.

Ingredients
Salad
4 heads of corn - charred on BBQ or over gas flame
1/2 red onion finely chopped
2-3 spring onion chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped or Chilli
1/2 pineapple chopped into small pieces
2-4 tablespoons of coriander
Salt and pepper

Dressing
Olive oil - approximately 2 tablespoons
Lime juice - approximately 2 limes

Method
Char corn on BBQ and allow to cool.
While the corn is cooling, prepare all salad ingredients and combine.
We often make salads in sealable plastic bags. They make it easy to mix ingredients and take up very little space in the fridge. They can be was he and used again.
Add lime juice and olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper.

Butternut and kaffir lime dahl

This is a Nadia Lim recipe which came over my Facebook feed. We really enjoyed it and it was reasonably easy to make.
It's a 'make again' from me. A good 'meatless' meal.


Ingredients

• oil 2 tablespoons
• onion 1, diced
• garlic 2 cloves, chopped
• ginger 3cm piece, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• kaffir lime leaf 2 small, or 1 large, tough central stem removed, finely sliced
• ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala 1 teaspoon each
• coconut milk 1 x 400mL can
• tomato paste 3 tablespoons
• water 2 cups
• dried split red lentils 1 cup
• butternut 500g, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
• tomatoes 3, roughly chopped
• ground chilli ½ teaspoon (optional)
• sugar 1 teaspoon
• salt ½ teaspoon
• lemon juice of 1
• spinach or silverbeet 120g, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large fry pan or pot on medium heat, cook onion for 4-5 minutes until golden. Add garlic, ginger and kaffir lime and cook for 1 minute. Add another drizzle of oil and spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add about ¼ – ½ cup of the coconut milk and stir to prevent spices burning.

2. Stir in remaining coconut milk, tomato paste, water, lentils, butternut, tomatoes, chilli (if using), sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover partially and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes, or until lentils and butternut are soft. Stir a few times during cooking to make sure lentils don’t burn and stick to bottom of the pan. Add a little extra water if it looks like it is drying out too much.

3. Stir spinach or silverbeet (if using) through dahl at the end, and season with lemon juice and more salt to taste if needed.

Garnish dahl with yoghurt, coriander and cashew nuts (optional), and serve with steamed rice.

Roasted Cauliflower Rice Salad

We had a large cauliflower delivered in last week's Oooby Box which needed using up.I came across a recipe on Pinterest but modified (quite a lot) to suit what I had in the house to use.

Ingredients: 
1 medium-sized head cauliflower (about 2 lbs. before cutting)
2 capsicum, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. smoked garlic salt (or use your favorite all-purpose seasoning blend)
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
2 - 3 sliced spring onion 
1/4 - 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or pistachio nuts
1/4 - 1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese


Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil.

Cut the core out of cauliflower and discard. Cut the cauliflower into smallish same-size pieces. Then using a food processor with the steel blade, buzz half the cauliflower at a time until it's chopped into small pieces (slightly larger than rice.) Don't overprocess or the cauliflower will start to puree. (You can also grate the cauliflower on the large side of a box grater if you don't have a food processor.) Chop the red bell peppers into pieces.

Put the chopped cauliflower into a bowl and toss with the red peppers, corn, olive oil, garlic seasoning, and black pepper. Spread the cauliflower mixture out on the baking sheet and roast in the pre-heated oven 20 minutes. Then use a large turner to turn the cauliflower over, spread it out again, and put back into the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes longer, or until it's starting to look toasted and is browned to your liking.

While the cauliflower cooks, slice green onions and grate parmesan cheese. Put a frying pan over a burner on high heat, add the pine nuts, and toast for about a minute, or until they are barely starting to get some color. (They can get too browned rather quickly; remove from the pan as soon as they are barely toasted.)

When the cauliflower is roasted to your liking, put it back into the bowl and toss gently with the sliced green onions, coarsely-grated Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and additional fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot, warm or cold.

Zesty Lime Prawn and Avocado Salad

We have made this a coulee of times and really like it. We don't stick too closely to the quantities though.

Isabella says: It's a summer treat with a vibrant flavour. I just loved it!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 limes, juice of
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, black pepper to taste
• 1 lb jumbo cooked, peeled shrimp, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 medium hass avocado, diced (about 5 oz)
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced fine
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine chopped shrimp, avocado, tomato, jalapeño. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Kumera Bread

• I came across this recipe when preparing a 'New Zealand' themed dish for my contribution to an 8 course dinner.
• Initially I made it by hand, but it works just as well using the dough setting in the breadmaker, then leaving it to rise. It works well as little dinner rolls or a couple of loaves.
• This is a recipe from a NZ chef Nadia Lim.
• The rolls freeze really well.

Isabella's comment: Great for breakfast - toasted with tomato. Its a healthy option with the satisfying taste of kumera (sweet potato) and made with wholemeal flour.

• INGREDIENTS
  
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• orange kumara (sweet potato) 300g (about 1 medium), peeled and chopped
• active dried yeast 1 tablespoon
• sugar 1 teaspoon
• lukewarm water 1 cup
• high-grade flour 1 cup + extra for kneading and dusting
• wholemeal flour 2 cups
• salt 1 ½ teaspoons
• Rosemary 2 tablespoons finely chopped
• extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons

METHOD

1. Cook kumara in boiling salted water until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Drain well and mash with a little salt to taste.

2. While kumara is cooking, combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl. Leave on the bench for about 10 minutes until frothy.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt and rosemary. Add oil, mashed kumara and yeast mixture, and mix until well combined. If the dough is too wet you may need to add a little more flour.

4. Knead dough for about 10 minutes on a floured surface, adding a little extra flour as needed, until dough is soft and elastic.

5. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or clingfilm, and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes – it should have doubled in size.

6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut dough in half and shape into two loaves. Place loaves on lined tray and cut a few 1cm-thick slashes on top of the loaves with a knife. Leave to rise for a further 20 minutes or so. (I leave it for longer if using bread maker)

7. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. When ready to bake the bread, preheat oven to 200degC. Dust loaves with a little flour. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a crust has developed and the base sounds firm and hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before slicing.

Strawberry Cloud Cake

Frozen Strawberry Cloud Cake

This recipe came up on my Facebook feed and it was perfectly timed for a family get together.
It was really simple to make and the fact that it could be made well ahead (at least 4 hours but possibly several days) really appealed to me. It uses a the punnet of strawberries. The base was different from my usual cheesecake base and was really nice.
This is a good low dairy option - the base has butter but I suspect it could be substituted for coconut oil.

We didn't eat it all and it has lasted beautifully in the freezer for over a week. 

Isabella's comment: It was 'to die for!'

Base

• 150g plain sweet biscuits
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g butter, melted

Filling

• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 250g (1 punnet) ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 Garnish (optional)

• fresh raspberries, strawberries or other berries

 Berry Syrup (optional)

• 3 cups raspberries, fresh or thawed from frozen
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Line the base of a 26-28cm spring form cake tin with baking paper or waxed paper. This makes it easy to lift the cake out later.

Make the base by putting the biscuits in a clean paper bag and crushing them into crumbs with a rolling pin. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the coconut, cinnamon and melted butter and stir well to combine. Alternatively, whizz them in a food processor then pulse in the coconut, cinnamon and butter. Press firmly into the base of the prepared tin. It doesn’t need to be a thick layer – just enough to cover the bottom of the tin. Chill the base while you prepare the filling.  

To make the filling, place egg whites, sugar, sliced strawberries, lemon juice and vanilla in the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved (6-8 minutes). To test whether it is ready, rub a little between your fingers – you should not feel any gritty sugar. If you do, beat a little longer.

Spoon the filling over the chilled base (it should be so thick you have to push it into the corners of the tin), smooth the top, cover with a sheet of baking paper and freeze for at least 4 hours. It will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month.

If making Berry Syrup, put the berries in a pot and add the sugar and water. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and press through a sieve or mouli to extract the juice and remove the pips. Berry Syrup will keep for up to 10 days covered in the fridge.

To serve, remove Strawberry Cloud Cake from freezer and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with fresh berries and serve immediately, cut into wedges using a knife that has been warmed in hot water. Accompany with Berry Syrup if desired.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Isabella - I've been wanting to make these for ages. We made them for an end of year class party last year.









Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • 1 (1 ounce) bottle  Red Food Color
  • 2 teaspoons  Pure Vanilla Extract
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    Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

IngredientsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

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Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and McCormick(R) Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.