Apricot and vanilla jam

Apricot Jam

I found some apricots at our Food Lover’s market yesterday and bought two boxes.  One of the boxes are reserved for my children’s fibre and vitamin intake, the other I decided to transform into Apricot Jam to capture a bit of Summer for when the season turns again.  I added some vanilla just for fun and a little bit of (like one of our local heroines from our local TV soap-drama would say) Je ne sais quoi.  I don’t speak French but I have gathered that it must be something good…

Apricot and Vanilla Jam

I was  intimidated for a long time by the thought of bottling and preserving and have had my fair share of overcooked, very sticky preserves until a friend of mine showed me what the exact consistency of preserves  should be before bottling  (Thank you Mariana!).  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is not necessary to cook the fruit for hours without end.  Stick to the recommended half an hour and you will end up with a beautiful clear jam with just the right consistency and a pretty sunshiny orange colour.  Do a quick test by cooling a small plate in your fridge, drop a teaspoon of the jam on the plate and let it cool for 2-3 minutes.  When you push your finger in the preserve it must make little ripples, then it is ready to bottle.  (But mostly stick to the time limit of 30 minutes).  Oh yes, and do remember to sterilize your jars, you don’t want a jam explosion in your pantry cupboard or even worse end up with food-poisoning in hospital.

Apricot and Vanilla Jam

So if you currently have an oversupply of apricots gather your empty bottles and cook some preserve.  I filled about ten small jam jars and will be giving some of them out to fiends and family that pass through my house this festive season!  So HO-HO-HO!

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of apricots
• 2 kg of sugar
• 2 cups of water
• 1 vanilla pod (seeds scraped out)
• 2 t of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Place apricots, sugar, water, vanilla-seeds, vanilla-pod and the vanilla essence all in a big pot.
2. Heat all together gently on a medium heat and stir continuously to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. (Brace yourself, as this can be time-consuming)
3. Start timing half an hour, the moment the mixture comes to a boil.
4. Scoop the foam of the the surface throughout the whole cooking process.  Don’t be alarmed if some of the liquid is scooped out as well.
5. After the 30 minutes have lapsed, do a ripple test (See above)
6. Place the jam into sterilized jars (Google if you are not sure!) seal and turn jars upside down until cool.

Apricot and Vanilla Jam

 

Oh yes, and last but not least, I want to say many thanks to Loving Home Made as well as Lovely Buns  for nominating me for the Beautiful Blogger- and the Reality Award.  If you have not run across their blogs yet, go and have a peek.  They are cooking!

Biscotti: a quick treat for afternoon tea and good Christmas gift idea

Coffee Biscotti

I made this Coffee Biscotti yesterday afternoon because I was feeling grumpy.  Yes, you heard me, I bake for therapy! There are not many things, that relax me as much as the sound of my Kenwood  Chef mixing and the smell of freshly baked goods that fill my kitchen.  I instantly start to breathe slower and feel better while I am mixing one or another treat.

This Coffee Biscotti is really fast to put together and really tasty.  It is truly one of those recipes that I am very sure cannot flop even if you want  it to.  I substituted a few things to work with what I had in the house.  Feel free to make it your own…

Coffee Biscotti

I am seriously contemplating to whip up a batch or two of this for Christmas and to give them away as a small gift.  I have truly found that friends really appreciate something that has been lovingly made by yourself.  So if you are looking for something that will take less than an hour to make and that will not cost you an arm and a leg, try this Biscotti recipe.

Coffee Biscotti

This will take you about fifteen minutes to prepare and a further hour to finish baking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cake flour
• 2 Tbsps granulated coffee
• 1t cinnamon ( I substituted this wit a Chai Spice mix that I buy from our local farm market)
• 1/2 t bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 baking powder
• 1 t freshly ground pink himalayan salt
• 1 cup soft dark brown sugar
• 3 large free range eggs
• 70 g whole pecan nuts (I roasted mine but that’s optional)
• 30 g slivered almonds (also toasted)

Note: feel free to substitute with your favourite nuts or whatever you have available.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180° C
2. Mix the flour, coffee, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk the eggs until light and add to the flour mixture to create a dough.
4. Add the nuts and bring together in a ball.  Don’t be alarmed if it seems sticky.
5. Halve the dough and bake two rolls on a baking sheet.  Press down to make it slightly flat.
6. Bake for 45 minutes and let it cool down before slicing into 2 cm slices.
7. Place flat on a baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes before turning over and baking on the other side for another 10 minutes.
8. Drizzle with white chocolate if you wish.

Enjoy at tea time with a cup of your favourite tea..

Fritata for a lazy summer brunch….

I have recently discovered that Fritata is a great way to use up all that left overs that tend to sit in your refrigerator.  I had my in-laws over for dinner a few nights ago and made some pork fillet for them.  Although everyone enjoyed it thoroughly some of it ended up in the fridge.  So yesterday morning we slept in and when we finally got up, I was in the mood for a lazy Sunday morning  brunch. Without too much ado I whipped up this Fritata for us.  The sweet corn bread was also made for the dinner and went well  the second time around with the Fritata’s savouriness.

Fritata and Corn Bread

I sort off just went through the fridge to see what was available and just worked from there.  The great thing about Fritata is that nothing is set in stone and anything you like goes (well…. that’s in my opinion)

Fritata and Corn Bread

This golden lovely will be on the table within 20 minutes and will provide enough for at least 6 portions.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 small onion(chopped)
• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• 1 small yellow sweet pepper cut into Julienne strips
• 1 cup of left over meat (I used pork fillet)
• 1 small potato(boiled and peeled)
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 6-7 eggs
• 50 ml of fresh milk
• a big fist full of parsley (chopped)
• 1t Italian dried herbs
• Freshly ground salt and pepper to season.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 °.
2. Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic and yellow pepper until soft and translucent in a large frying pan.
3. Add the potato and cherry tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk the eggs and milk and add the parsley, herbs, salt and pepper.
5. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until most of the egg has set in the pan.
6. Place the pan in the preheated oven for at least another 5 minutes.  Remove when all of the egg has been cooked.
7. Serve with your favourite bread or toast.

Fritata

What to do when you are playing hookey from school? Sugar Biscuits of course!

Sugar biscuits

The  academic year for our children ended on the 30th of November.  It is therefore optional to attend, until school closes on Friday for our Summer holidays.  There is something very sneaky- feeling about not having to attend to school, even if it is still legal, and with the blessing of your teacher, while some of the other learners are still going (Us, Afrikaners have  a saying: “Shame nê” - which literally means I feel sorry for you).  We have been trying to catch-up with play dates these past few days of playing hookey, resulting in going to a movie and having some of the childrens’ friends over.

This morning we decided to make some  sugar cookies for the holidays and to decorate them.  I had three lovely little helpers and this is what they did on this fine sunny SA-day!

Sugar biscuits

I was really amazed with the amount of creativity each one of them came up with.  Watching them create each little art work, made me reach for my camera.

  
 The result was colourful and very festive as you can see for yourself…

  

 I placed out a few bowls of glaze icing, sprinkles and other ready-bought-decorations on our patio table, not too much ado….  Just a little mixture of icing sugar and water with gel-colorant.

 

Yes, tasting was done and yes, this little one ended up on a sugar- high 

 

Luckily, this Mom saved some cookies that she wants to try and decorate with proper Royal Icing tomorrow… although I feel a little intimidated by all the talent that surrounds me apparently…..

Apple Cake with Earl Grey Apples

I don’t know exactly how it happened but somehow I ended up with three bags of apples in my refrigerator.  Luckily I have children that love apples and eat them as a staple.  Now who am I to complain if they want to keep the doctor away?

Although I also like nibbling on these crunchy lovelies, woman can’t live of fruit alone… That is why I was quite exited when I stumbled onto this recipe in an old Ideas Magazine’s little extra booklet.  This  is definitely one of my favourites I have ever made and I am therefore dying to show it off to all of you!

Apple cake with Earl Grey apples

The cake is beautifully moist with little pieces of apple every here and there and  of-course the must-have cinnamon adds a lovely homely feel to it.  The cherry on …. or rather the apple on the cake, and show-stopper, is definitely the delicate, citrussy, Earl -Grey-Apples.  Trust me this is heaven on a plate!

Apple cake with Earl Grey apples

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of soft butter
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 3 extra large eggs
• 10 ml grated lemon zest
• 1t vanilla essence
• 1 cup natural low-fat yoghurt
• one Granny Smith apple peeled and diced
• 260 g cake flour
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t bicarbonate of soda
• 5 ml baking powder
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 170° c
2. Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light   and fluffy
4. Add the lemon zest and vanilla
5. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until mixture is light and fluffy
6. Add the yoghurt and beat very slowly to mix in
7. Stir in the apple
8. Sift together all dry ingredients and fold into the butter mixture.
9. Spoon into cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean
10. Cool down and decorate with glace icing and Earl Grey apples

Glace Icing:

• 1 cup of icing sugar
• a little water
• zest of the rest of the lemon

1. Just add enough water to get a runny consistency and pour over the cake.
2. Top with lemon zest

Earl Grey Apples:

• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 4 Earl Grey teabags
• 250 ml castor sugar
• 2 Pink Lady apples

1. Bring water to a simmer together with the teabags for  5 minutes.
2. Remove tea bags
3. Add sugar
4. Simmer for 10 minutes until reduced and a syrup has formed
5. Cut the apples into thin slices and place in syrup, remove from stove
6. Leave for at least 1/2 an hour
7. Place onto cake just before serving

Enjoy with your favourite cup of tea.

Apple cake with Earl Grey apples

Roasted Duck in Orange and Orange Liqueur Sauce.

Duck in Orange and Orange Liqueur Sauce

I adore traditional Sunday food!   I feel deliriously happy when I have something roasting in the oven on Sunday morning, plotting what I would fix for dessert to create the perfect Sunday lunch.  This Sunday was no different, only this time I swapped the traditional roast chicken for duck.

It is not every day that fresh free range duck is available in South Africa, so I jumped at the opportunity to take this guy home when I found it at one of our local food stores.  Duck is one of my favorite meals to order when I get the chance at a restaurant.  I am happy to report to my dear readers that the not so skinny cook would be very satisfied and most happy to eat the above recipe at  any restaurant.  As my five-year old son, who watches a lot of cooking shows with his mother, would say (in his best Afrikaans accent): delicious!

Duck in Orange and Orange Liqueur Sauce

Now this duck is firstly roasted, cut into pieces and then gently cooked in an orange flavored sauce, creating a crispy duck in intense orange flavors.   I decided to serve the roast duck with whole roasted baby potatoes, sweet baby carrots, and minted peas.   This Sunday roast was the perfect beginning to a new week with further promises of sun and spring.

Duck in Orange and Orange Liqueur Sauce

This mouth-watering dish will serve 4 persons.  Preparation time about 1/2 an hour.  Cooking time about 41/4 hours.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1   2kg duck
• 10 ml ginger powder
• salt and black cracked pepper
• 1 orange cut into quarters
• 1 onion cut into quarters
• 180 ml Orange Liqueur
• 1 cup of unsweetened orange juice
• 2 cups of  good quality vegetable stock
• 1/2 orange cut into julienne strips
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Method:

1. Rinse the duck with water and remove all unwanted fat around the neck , tail and the cavity of the duck.
2. Rub the duck all over with ginger, salt and pepper.

3. Place all the orange quarters as well as the onion inside of the body cavity.

4. Prick with a fork all over to allow the fats to cook out.

5.  Roast in a pre-heated oven  of 220º C for half an hour on a roasting rack in your pan  and remove from oven.

6.  Drain all fats from the pan and add about 2 cups of water to the pan, prick all over once more and lower the heat of the oven to 180º C.   Pour  a 1/4  of a cup of orange liqueur over the duck before replacing in the oven.  Proceed to roast for another hour.

7. Remove from the oven and turn the duck on it’s back to ensure even roasting.  Prick for a third time and pour another 1/4 cup of orange liqueur over.  Return to the oven for about another hour.  Do a prick test between the thighs and the legs to check if the juices run clear, which is an indication that the duck has been cooked through.  Remove from the oven and place aside while you prepare the sauce.

Orange Sauce.

1.  In a sauce pan bring the veggie stock, orange juice and orange peel to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

2.  Make a paste by adding the remaining orange liqueur and soy sauce to the cornstarch and then add this paste to the cooking orange mixture.  Cook until thick and season further if required.

Final Preparations:

Cut the duck into neat pieces and place in a roasting dish.  Pour the orange sauce over and bake in a pre-heated oven of 160º C.

Enjoy with your favourite glass of fruity white wine and company for a Sunday lunch.

This recipe was adapted from Lynn Bedford Hall’s Keur uit die kookkuns in Suid-Afrika ISBN 186872 520 0  which you can order for further reference from Kalahari.

Roasted Vegetables under Phyllo Pastry

Roast veg under phyllo

 My dearest baby sister is currently dating a very descent guy.  So what on earth would this have to do with the not so skinny cook I hear you say.  Well naturally one doesn’t want to look like a complete hill billy when being introduced to who might be your new brother-in-law.  So I invited the lovely couple over for a Sunday lunch.  Although I made all sorts of traditional Sunday foods like roast chicken and potatoes I also included this as a side dish….  I am however quite sure that this would also suffice as a light lunch when served with a green salad.

Roast veg under Phyllo

The roses are made by shaping sheets of phyllo into roses , don’t worry it is much easier than it looks and will impress your guests endlessly.  Phyllo is quite easy to work with as long as it is brought to room temperature beforehand.  I used olive oil in a spray bottle between the sheets of phyllo thus creating a more healthy version, lower in fat and calories, than when you use butter.  The phyllo was still delish and beautifully brown, and no-one missed the butter.

Roast veg under Phyllo

This can be prepared a day in advanced, just don’t bake once the phyllo roses has been placed on.  Place into your refrigerator and cover loosely with foil to prevent drying out and spoiling.  Bake 1/2 an hour before lunch in a pre-heated oven of 180° c.

Roast veg under Phyllo

So here is how you go about to create this showstopper:

Ingredients:

• 1 package of frozen phyllo pastry (defrosted and brought to room temperature)
• 500g butternut cubed
• 2 red onions peeled and shopped roughly
• 1 red pepper seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow pepper seeded and chopped
• 1 small bunch of spinach remove the large stems and chop
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1/3 cup of pine kernels toasted in a pan for about 2 minutes until brown
• one small roll of goat’s cheese (optional) cut into small chunks
• Vegetable spice of choice  (I use Ina Paarman’s Vegetable Spices)
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220° c
2. Place all the veg (excluding the spinach) on a roasting tray and toss together with about 3 Tbsps of olive oil,  sprinkle with the vegetable spice, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Roast in the pre-heated oven until all veg are soft and caramelized. (About 40 minutes)
4. In the mean time heat 2 Tbsps of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic.  Add one-third of the spinach and stir while cooking.  When the spinach has wilted remove and place aside.  Add more spinach and repeat the process until all the spinach has been wilted.
5. To assemble the dish place the roasted vegetables in a rectangular oven dish, mix the pine kernels through, add the goat’s cheese and stir through gently.  Place the spinach in a layer on top.
6. Remove the phyllo sheets from the packaging and place a wet, clean tea towel over the remaining pastry.
7. Separate the sheets placing one sheet on a clean working surface.  Brush or spray with a thin layer of  olive oil.  Place onto the baking tray and trim off at the sides to fit snugly into the dish.  Repeat with at least 4 layers of phyllo.

Folding a phyllo rose

8. To fold a phyllo rose: Take both hands and pull phyllo up in the centre to make a fold.

Folding a phyllo rose

9. Twist the phyllo around this fold and form a rose.  Place roses on top of the phyllo layer to fit snugly.

Phyllo roses

10.  Finally,  bake at 180° c until the phyllo is crispy and brown.  Serve immediately.