Avocado-Dressed Shrimp a la Mexicana Tostada

Finally it's that time of the month again Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs. Because i wanted to make this recipe ever since i saw it a few weeks ago but the time wasn't right untill now ofcourse! I made this as an appetizer but i made really small bitsize tostadas and if there wouldn't have been anybody else around i could have eaten them all by myself;-).

To make small tostadas i used a cookie cutter to cut out small rounds from big tortilla's(The leftovers i didn't use this time but there are options enough to do that). Baking small tortillas is another option ofcourse but i was lazy and used storebought tortillas this time around. If you want to make youre own here is the recipe.

The taste of this small tostada is fenominal! The combination of shrimp, avocado and lime do the trick for me. Although my avocado wasn't totally ripe yet, but this recipe is a winner for me and will be my go to summer appetizer this year.


Avocado-Dressed Shrimp a la Mexicana Tostada

Camarones a la Mexicana con Aguacate

Makes about 4 cups, enough for 15 tostadas, serving 15 as a nibble or light appetizer

Rick Bayless Recipe from Season 6 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time

Ingredients

12 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) medium-small, peeled-and-deveined cooked shrimp
1 medium white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large tomato, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (you should have a generous cup)
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Hot green chiles to taste (usually 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapenos), stemmed and roughly chopped
1 medium avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and chopped
1/3 cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
Salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp, onion and tomato. Measure the lime juice into a food processor or blender. Cover and turn on. Drop in the chile(s) and, when chopped, turn off and scoop in the avocado and cilantro. Blend until smooth. Thin to a "creamy dressing" consistence with water (usually 2 to 3 tablespoons). Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon. (You will have about 1 1/2 cups.)
Mix the dressing into the shrimp mixture. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the shrimp a la mexicana and refrigerate. When you're ready to serve, scoop into a serving bowl, decorate with a cilantro sprigs and it's ready.

Fresh Corn Chowder with roasted peppers - Crema de Elote

Yellow i need some more of that lovely color in my live at this moment, it makes me happy!
When i saw this weeks cooking them at I Heart Cooking Clubs and that we would be celebrating yellow foods this week. "Yellow ingredients and/or yellow dishes! Eat the rainbow, right? Don't forget yellow! Red gets all the attention these days, give yellow some love! "
Yesterday when i was running true authentic mexican the sun started shining after a rainy spring "so far", and sudddenly there was a lot of yellow. When i found this recipe for corn chowder.

The chowder was very lovely and i am going to make this one again, because even my boyfriend really liked this soup and he usually doesn't like soup that much. The sweetness of the corn together with the spicy serrano pepper is a great combo.

 
Fresh corn chowder with roasted peppers
Crema de Elote

Rick Bayless, Authentic mexican
Yield: about 1 quart, 4 servings

Ingredients

2½ to 3 cups frozen corn, defrosted
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled an minced
1½ tablepoons cornstarch
2 cups milk, plus a little more if necessary
2 fresh chiles poblanos Serranos, roasted and peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 cup thick cream or whipping cream
salt, about 1 teaspoon
½ cup crumbled mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like feta
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preparing the corn. Simply place the defrosted corn in the blender or foodprocessor and puree it.

The corn puree. Heat half of the butter in a small skillet over medium. Add the onion and fry untill soft, 6 or 7 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook a minute longer. Scrape the mixture into the corn in the blender or processor, along with the cornstarch and ¼ cup water. Process until smooth.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium-large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the corn puree and stir constantly for several minutes, untill quite thick.

Finishing the soup. Whisk in the milk, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring often.
When the soup is ready, strain it trough a medium-mesh sieve. Rinse out the pan, return the strained soup to it and stirin the diced pepper and cream. Season with salt and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
When you are ready to serve, thin the soup with additional milk if it is thicker than heavy cream, then ladle into small, warm soup bowls. Garnish with the cheese and chopped parsley, and serve at once.

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Guacamole Sencillo - Simple Guacamole

After one month cooking with Rick Bayless, i still am a newbie to mexican cooking so nothing hass changed yet. But i have been choosing recipe of wich i could get the ingredients easily because i still haven't found a good source of jalapenos, pobalonos, tomatillos or mexican cheese. So the only green pepper i can buy is the green serrano pepper . So i made up my mind and now the substituting is" on" because otherwise i would not have a real impression of the mexican kitchen after six months. I know serranos aren't the same as Jalapeno, padron or poblano pepers but wat else am i supossed to do. I really enjoyed mexican cooking so far and it can only become better.

This weeks theme for cooking along with the I Heart Cooking Clubs is For mom! And ofcourse its all about pampering the mom in your live! I decided to treat my mom on some homemade guacamole another mexican basic i wanted to learn. I had guacamole before but never made my own and it tasted so much better then store bought(never going to do that again after this). Real easy to make to. My mum really liked it too, although mothersday still has to come;-)

Simple Guacamole

Guacamole sencillo

Rick bayless, as seen here

Serves 8 to 12 as a snack

Ingredients

2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled
Hot fresh green chiles to taste (I’d choose 2 serranos), stems removed
3 ripe avocados, preferably the black-skinned Hass
A couple of tablespoons chopped fresh Mexican herbs (such as cilantro, pipisa or papalo)
1 small white onion (fresh knob onion—green tops still on—is best), finely chopped
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
A little crumbled Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco) for garnish Had to use greek feta
A sliced radish or two for garnish

Directions

Finely chop the garlic and green chiles, and scoop them into a bowl.

One at a time, run a knife down through each avocado, starting at the top, until you reach the pit; continue cutting around the pit until you reach the point you started.

Twist the two halves of the avocado apart. Remove the pit and discard. Scoop the flesh into the bowl with the chiles. Mash coarsely with the back of a spoon or an old-fashioned potato masher.

Add the herbs and onion, stir to combine, then taste. Season with salt (usually about a teaspoon) and lime juice. Scoop into a serving dish and garnish with cheese and radishes.

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Mexican Horchata: Almond-rice cooler

This week at I Heart cooking clubs we are cooking with the theme earth day. Any recipe with use of products grown from the earth is allowed. Should i make something with fruit or root vegetables, No rice is grown from the earth too.We eat a lot of rice but i never had it as a drink. So i decided on this Recipe for Horchata; Almond-Rice cooler. It made me curious, how would it taste?

Rick Bayless says" This has the simplest and most familair flavors of the three most common aguas frescas: a slightly chalky, thirst-quenching refreshment with a flavor reminiscent of rice pudding. This drink is light and rich - exceptionally good hot-weather party fare, poured over ice."

Almond rice cooler
Rick Bayless, authentic mexican

Yield: about 1½ quarts, 6 to 7 servings

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons rice
6 ounces blanched almonds
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 2-inch strips of lime zest(colored rind only)
about 1 cup of sugar - sugar syrup

1. Soaking the rice and the almonds.
Thorougly pulverize the rice in a blender or spice grinder. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the almonds, cinnamon stick and lime zest. Stir in 2¼ cups of hot tap water, cover and let stand at least 6 hours or preferably, overnight.
2. Blending and straining.
Scoop the mixture into the blender jar and blend for 3 or 4 minutes, until it no longer feels very gritty. Add 2 cups of water, then blend for a few second more. Set a large sieve over a mixing bowl and line 3 layers of damp cheesecloth. Pour in the almond-rice mixture a little at a time, gently stirring to help the liquid pass trough. When all has been strained, gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and twist them together to trap the dregs inside. Squeeze the package firmly to expell all remaining liquid.
3. Finishing the Horchata.
Add 2 cups of water and stir in enough sugar to sweeten the drink to your taste. If the consistency is too thick, add additional water. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Stir before pouring.

Notes/ findings:
- The drink keeps for 5 days or more, covered and refrigerated.
- At the last moment i put in some more cinnamon, because i really like cinnamon.
- I used sugar syrup instead of sugar.
- And ofcourse i really liked this drink and Rick was wright it does taste like rice pudding!


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Grilled bananas with cajeta and cream

This weeks cooking theme at the I Heart Cooking Club is sweet tooth!

Searching true the recipes of Rick Bayless i got curious about cajeta at first because i didn't know what it was but now after tasting it, i do! A very nice cinnamon flavoured caramel sauce that is verry popular in mexico i understand.

But Cajeta is better known as dulce de leche in other parts of the world.

Making the cajeta was another daring experiment for me. Again because i tried to make caramel before and i always failed in attempt. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to finish the cajeta because i was afraid it would burn or boil over(don't like all the sticky stuff on my stove top). Like Rick said it would, it turned golden but only after 1 hour and 30 minutes. And i was stirring a lot tho prevent it to stick to the bottom of he pot.

I served the cajeta with this grilled banana recipe from rick and it was lovely. substituded the dulce the leche flavoured ice for cinnamon flavoured ice cream. and sprinkled some halved pecans on top.



Grilled bananas with cajeta and cream
Serves 4
Recipe by Rick Bayless

Ingredients
4 firm, but ripe, bananas with attractive stems
Vegetable oil for brushing or spritzing
8 small scoops best-quality ice cream, preferably dulce de leche flavor
1/2 cup Mexican cajeta (goat’s milk caramel sauce)

Directions
1. Heat a gas grill to medium or prepare a charcoal fire, letting the coals burn until they are covered with a gray ash and are medium hot. Cut the bananas through the stems lengthwise in half. Brush or spritz the cut sides with oil.
2. Place the bananas on the grill cut side down directly over the heat. Cover and grill until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn skin side down and continue grilling until tender and bananas have pulled away from their skins, 2 to 4 minutes more.
3. Arrange 2 banana halves on each serving plate. Top each serving with 2 scoops of ice cream. Drizzle each with about 2 tablespoons of the cajeta. Serve immediately.


Cajeta
Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce
Recipe by Rick Bayless

Makes about 3 cups

INGREDIENTS
2 quarts goat's milk or a combination of goat’s milk and cow’s milk—or even with all cow’s milk (use whole milk in all cases)
2 cups sugar
A  2-inch piece of cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican canela
1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
1.  Simmer the cajeta.   In a medium-large (6-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican copper cazo), combine the milk, sugar and cinnamon stick and set over medium heat.  Stir regularly until the milk comes to a simmer (all the sugar should have dissolved by this point). Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the dissolved baking soda—it’ll foam up if the goat’s milk is acidic. When the bubbles subside, return the pot to the heat.   Adjust the heat to maintain the mixture at a brisk simmer (too high and the mixture will boil over; too low and the cooking time will seem interminable). Cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns pale golden, more or less one hour.   Now, begin stirring frequently as the mixture colors to caramel-brown and thickens to the consistency of maple syrup (you’ll notice the bubbles becoming larger and glassier).  Stir regularly so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Test a couple of drops on a cold plate: When cool, the cajeta should be the consistency of a medium-thick caramel sauce.  If the cooled cajeta is thicker (almost like caramel candy), stir in a tablespoon or so of water and remove from the heat; if too runny, keep cooking.

2.  Finish the cajeta.   Pour the cajeta through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl or a wide-mouth storage jar.  When cool, cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.  Warming the cajeta before serving (a microwave oven is efficient here) makes it extra delicious. Working Ahead:  Cajeta keeps for a month or more in the refrigerator.  Keep it tightly covered to keep it from absorbing other flavors.



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Flour Tortillas a Mexican Basic

A new cook has arrived at I heart cooking clubs. After spending a lovely six months cooking With Tessa Kiros we are welcoming Rick Bayless as our next cook. His comfort zone in Cooking is believe it or not MEXICAN food, And mine definately isn't. I had my fare share of mexican food but mostly in restaurants and the only mexican meal i can prepare is from a manufactured mealkit. So The next six months will be fun or they won't but the main reason i started this blog 2 years ago was to learn better cooking and for that you can't stay in your comfort zone!

So for this first week the theme is ¡Bienvenido Rick! To welcome him at our cooking club and we can choos any recipe we want. So because i don't know anything from mexican cooking i thought it would be nice to start with some basic recipe and that is flour tortillas.

When i was reading some recipe from Rick Bayles i noticed another difficulty for me. He/mexican kitchen uses a lot of ingredient that aren't common in the netherlands. Such as Chipotle, Tomatillos, vegetable shortening or lard and more. So i have to find some creative solutions for that in the next six months.

Starting today with the flour tortillas, there was the first problem of the use of lard or vegetable shortening. I managed to get a jar of vegetable shortening but it cost me 6 euros(1 Euro = 1.3094 U.S. dollars at this moment). I think thats a little bit expensive so i want to find a substitute for it and i don't wan't to use butter.

So i divided the flour in two and made half the recipe with the vegetable shortening and the other half i used sunflower oil. The rolling of the tortillas was a little bit difficult but after a few they turn out almost round. The baking wend well too, both tortillas grilled niceley in the griddle and you can't see any visual differences between te two. The only thing is that the taste is miltlydifferent and the sunflower oil tortillas seemed a little softer then the ones made with the vegetable shortening. So now i know that the sunflower oil works well in this recipe.

Flour Tortillas
Tortillas de Harina

Makes 12 tortillas
Recipe from the Authentic Mexican Cookbook by Rick Bayless

Ingredients

3/4 pound (2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
5 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, or a mixture of the two, or 5 tblsp of sunflower oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
about 3/4 cup very warm tap water

Directions

1. Make the dough. Combine the flour and fat in a large mixing bowl, working in the fat with your fingers, until completely incorporated. Dissolve the salt in the water, pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork; the dough will be in large clumps rather than a homogeneous mass. If all the dry ingredients haven't been dampened, add the rest of the liquid (plus a little more, if necessary). Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth. It should be medium-stiff consistency -- definitely not firm, but not quite as soft as most bread dough either.


2. Rest the dough. Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes (to make the dough less springy, easier to roll).


3. Roll and griddle-bake the tortillas. Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.


On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into an even 7-inch circle: Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a 7-inch circle, lightly flouring the tortilla and work surface from time to time.


Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle (you should hear a faint sizzle and see an almost immediate bubbling across the surface). After 30 to 45 seconds, when there are browned splotches underneath, flip it over. Bake 30 to 45 seconds more, until the other side is browned; don't overbake the tortilla or it will become crisp. Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin placed in a tortilla warmer. Roll and griddle-bake the remaining tortillas in the same manner and stacking them one on top of the other.

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Goodbye Tessa! Nutella Hazelnut chocolate balls

This is the week we say goodbye to Tessa Kiros who whe have been cooking with for the past six months over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. I have been enjoying this six months en fell in love with this cook, where again i'd never heard of before. I own copies of her books Twelve and Apples for Jam and i want to buy Food from many greek kitchens, because where fond on the greek food to.

For this last time a made a real treat Nutella hazelnut chocolate balls, its homemade Ferrero rocher but i liked it even better. Next week where start cooking with Rick Bayless, feel free to join in!



Nutella Hazelnut chocolate balls
adapted from Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam

Makes about 30

3 hazelnut wafer biscuits
250g (9oz) Roasted peeled hazelnuts, copped quite finely
about 165g (6½oz) Nutella/chocolate hazelnut spread
250g(9oz) milk chocolate

Crumble the biscuits into a bowl and add the hazelnuts and about two-thirds of the Nutella to start with. Mix together until it all looks a bit like a mud cake. Try rolling a small portion into a ball, if it breaks up, mix in more Nutella until it will hold shape. If the weather is hot, put the mixture into the fridge for a while before rolling.

Line a tray or a large flat plate with foil. Roll slightly heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture between your cool palms into compact little balls. Put them on the tray and into the fridge for an hour orso to firm up.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, makins sure that the water doesn't touch the top bowl. Remove from the heat and let the chocolate cool for a few minutes. Drop the balls in one by one, turning them around so that they are completely covered. Return them to the tray, where they will flatten a bit on the bottom. Let them set completely, even in the fridge for the first half hour or so if the wheater's hot. Bring them out to room temperature and store in a tin in a cool dark place or the fridge. They will keep for a couple of weeks.

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March meze Madness! Keftedes with fresh pita, tzatziki and cucumber meze

This week its March Meze Madness! over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.

So i made ourselves a little meze party for dinner, when my boyfriend came home from his work he almost couldn't wait to get started. I'm glad whe both like tzatziki. Whe ate the hole bowl so that will keep colds and the vampires away;-)

Keftedes (fried meatballs)

Tessa says,"These are very popular in Greece. They are lovely as a meze with a dish of feta and a few other bits and pieces. Of course they are also great with french fries. Many Greeks roll their keftedes in a little flour before frying."

Serves 35 balls

10½ ounces unpeeled potatoes [about 2]
1 pound 2 ounces ground beef
1 red onion, grated
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint
good pinch of ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper
all-purpose flour, for dusting
olive oil for frying
lemon quarters, for serving

Boil the potatoes, covered, in plenty of water until they are soft when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, put the beef, onion, parsley, oregano, mint, cinnamon and egg into a bowl and mix. Drain the cooked potatoes and when they are cool enough to handle, peel and break up into the bowl. Season well with salt and pepper, then mash everything together with a potato masher. Knead again with your hands to make a compact mix. Form walnut-size balls of about 1 ounce each, but you can make them smaller or bigger if you like. Scatter some flour onto a flat plate and roll the balls lightly in the flour, keeping them in compact balls.

Heat olive oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch in a large nonstick skillet. Add as many balls as will fit to the skillet and fry until they are golden on all sides, flicking them gently to roll over. You will probably have to fry in two batches. Remove carefully with tongs and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Add a little salt (as fried things are always good with a last sprinkling of salt). Serve hot, with a few drops of lemon juice.

Pita bread

Makes 8 pitas

Tessa says,"Generally in Greece pita is found at a souvlaki house and some grill spaces. But it is also wonderful served plain instead of bread at your table with dips etc.
In Greece, the pita are more often wrapped than stuffed for souvlaki and kebabs, so they need to be a bit softer. They are then heated up at the barbecue, or in the oven or chargrill pan before filling. If you will be eating them straight away. However, cook them a little longer, until they just start to colour. These can be frozen once cooked and then just pulled out to thaw."

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
450G (2 cups) bread flour
6 tablespoons olive oil

Sprinkle the yeast in a large bowl. Add the honey and 3 tablespoons warm water and mix to dissolve. Leave it till it starts to activate and get frothy. Add salt, flour, oil, and 7 oz water to the dough and mix until a rough dough slumps around your spoon. Change to your hands and knead until you have a soft springy dough, 8-10 minutes. It will seem sticky at first, but that is good, so only add more flour if the dough clings to your hands.

Wipe out the bowl with an oiled paper towel. Put the dough in, cover with plastic wrap, then a heavy cloth, and leave in a warm place to puff up until about double in size (1 1/2-2 hours).

Preheat the oven to 400. Punch down the dough and divide into 8 balls. Press each ball into a flat disk with your hands and leave for 5 minutes for them to relax.
Roll out the disks into a circle about 1/6" thick. Brush lightly with olive oil and put onto unfloured baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time util they are firmed on the first side, 5 minutes or so, then turn them over amd bake for another 3 minutes, or until the top surface is dry. You will finish cooking them under the broiler or in the oven when you are about to serve, so they should be a little underdone.
Remove and immeaditely stack them on top of each other and wrap in plastic wrap to keep them pliable. To serve, brush each side lightly with olive oil and put under the broiler to warm both sides.

Tzatziki(Yogurt, Cucumber, Garlic)

Serves a nice bowlful

Tessa says, "This is a subtle amount of garlic comparred with some versions that you might come across. So you can add more if you like. If the garlic bothers you, you can leave it out completely, but it's not really tzatziki then. Tzatziki is a beauty as it takes just about anything to a different level. wonderful with chips, lamb chops, bread and many other dishes."

2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small cucumber
1 teaspoon salt
250g Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped mint       

Using the flat of your knife, crush the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste. Put into a small bowl with the oil, and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest.

Top and tail the cucumber and peel it. I like it striped, with one strip peeled and the next left unpeeled. Using the large holes of the grater, grate the cucumber into a sieve. Scatter with the salt and leave it for 30 minutes or so to drain, turning it over a couple of times and even pressing it down with your hands or a wooden spoon.

Put the yogurt into a bowl for serving. Add the garlic and oil, the mint and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Fold the cucumber through and taste for salt. This can be stored in the fridge, covered, for a couple of days. The cucumber will give up a little water, but stir it through to loosen the tzatziki.

Cucumber meze

Serves 2

Tessa says,"This is extremely instant and extremely simple. The kind of thing you could eat a bucket of in summer. The recipe is easy to double; just reduce the olive oil slightly-about 1½ tablespoons.

Serves 2

1 cucumber, about 200g peeled and sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
about 1 Tablebspoon olive oil

Mix the cumcumber, lemon juice, and mint together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Just before serving, drizzle the cucumber slices with olive oil.

Cabbage salad with oranges & lemons

Fight Scurvy - Eat More Citrus! Is this week s cooking theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.
They say'"I find it somewhat amazing that encased in thick, pebbly skins you can find such bright, juicy, glorious bursting fruit! It's like a hit of sunshine for those of us stuck in cold, blustery parts of the world this time of year."
And This salad really whas a hit of sunshine combined with the best of winter produce: cabbage. I bought this lovely Savoy cabbage as Tessa suggested. I added in some extra walnuts.I can't hardly wait for summer to come....
Last friday they also announced our new featured chef for the comming six months. It is Rick Bayless Who's comfort zone is MEXICAN. That surely isn't mine, but i'll just dive in with the rest of the club and maybe after six months i will love it.

Tessa Kiros says, " A soft cabbage like savoy is best here, as the dressing will happily cling to it. You can easily add other ingredients - sometimes i sprinkle in some crushed dried mint or freshly chopped parsley, ground coriander seeds or caraway seeds(although not for my childeren, who say they look like 'gogos'- a word we used in South Africa for something small and insecty). Finely sliced fennel and coarsely grated carrots are also good, and you could use some beautiful purple cabbage for extra colour. It is also lovely with a peeled, cored and chopped apple tossed trough.
Walnuts are great, too. I normally use blood oranges, but, when they are out of season, orange oranges are fine- just make sure that they are bright, sweet and at their very best."

Cabbage salad with oranges & Lemons
Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam

Serves 6

400G (14Oz) finely sliced cabbage
2 smallish leafy celery stalks, finely sliced
2 whole oranges
Ground chili, to serve

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
½teaspoon dried oregano, crushed through your fingers

Put the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for an hour or so. This will help draw away any acid from the cabbage. Drain, rinse and put it in your serving bowl with the celery. Cut the skin and all the pith from the oranges. Slice the oranges into fine wheels(picking out any seeds) and add to the cabbage.
For the dressing, lightly whisk the oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and oregano together. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the cabbage. Mix trough well. Let it settle, then mix trough a few more times so that the cabbage is completely coated. Toss trough a sprinkling of groung chilli just before serving, or pass it around separately for those who want it.
Serve in winter(when cabbage is at its best) with roast pork or chicken, or in summer with barbecued meats.

Zucchini omelette

Soon it will be spring again, in less then four weeks to be exactly. So this weeks cooking theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "lighten up". Because after this enduring winter where i had a lot of dense carbs, i am glad to lighten it up finally. Can't hardly wait for springtime to arrive!

I've chosen this zucchini omelette recipe, but i left the parmesan out this time. The sparkle of citrus is really lovely.

Tessa says,"The amount of zucchini here is enough to make four individual omelettes. Just reduce the zucchini and eggs accordingly if you only want one or two".

Zucchini omelette

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam

Serves 4

About 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit

120g(4¼ oz) small green zucchini, finely sliced

3 or 4 basil leaves, torn up

4 eggs

4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

a little lemon juice

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a non-stick pan. Add the garlic and zucchini and sauté over medium-high heat until lightly golden, shuffling them with a wooden spoon so that they cook evenly. Season with salt and mix in the basil. Remove from the heat and remove the garlic.

Whisk one egg in a bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a 14cm(6inch) non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the egg, swirling it evenly around the pan. Scatter about a quarter of the zucchini over the omelette and about 1 tablespoon of parmesan. Cook until the omelette is set and the undeside is lightly golden. Slip out onto a warm plate while you make the rest, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Serve with a few drops of lemon juice ans a grinding of pepper if you like.

Chocolate cake with icing

Tessa says,"This is exactly the kind of chocolate cake i loves as a child. Sometimes i make this just chocolate, sometimes halved and filled with not-too-sweet raspberry or strawberry jam or puree and a few dollops of cream(and then i don't ice it). If you like, you might also add some chopped nuts in with the flour or scatter some over the top."


Chocolate cake with icing
Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(page. 311)

Cuts into 10-12 slices

180g (6½ oz) butter
50g (1¾ oz) Dark semi-sweet chocolate, broken up
30g (1 oz) unsweeted cocoa powder
3 eggs, separated
180g (6½ oz) caster sugar
125g (4½ oz)/1 cup) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons milk

Icing:
80g (2¾  oz) butter, softened
60g (2¼ oz) confectioners (icing) sugar
30g (1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
2 generous teaspoons golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/gas 4). Butter and flour a 24cm(9½ inch) springform tin. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the chocolate and cocoa and stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they are creamy and stiff. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are foamy, then beat in the sugar. Add the chocolate mixture, a bit at a time initially to acclimatize the eggs. Next, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk and mix until smooth.
Carefully fold in the beaten whites, trying not to deflate them, and gently mix until they are completely incorporated into a fluffy but dense mixture. Scrape out into the thin and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before moving to a serving plate.
For the icing, whip the butter with the icing sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the cocoa a bit at a time so that it doesn't fly everywhere. When it is completely incorporated, add the milk and golden syrup and whisk until very smooth. Spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula, using swift smooth strokes. I like it not completely smooth but in chocolate waves.

La pizza rossa

Whe are cooking al red this week for a study in Scarlet.

Whit this weeks theme for the I Heart Cooking Clubs; A study in scarlet it didn't took me long to decide what i should make going trough my Apples for Jam cookbook i found this Pizza recipe. In the red section ofcourse. It's just a plane normal pizza but the taste was magnificent and in my mind i'm making all this variations on it already, with cheese ofcourse or maybe an all sweet one with apple or other fruits. This bready crust i think it goes with everything!

La pizza Rossa

Tessa Kiros(Apples for jam, page 53)

Cuts up in to 12- 15 pieces

Dough:
435ml (15¼ fl oz/1¾ cups) warm water
20g(¾ oz) fresch yeast, crumbled, or 10g(¼ oz) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
600g (1lb 5oz/4¾ cups) all-purpose flour

Tomato topping:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit
800g(1Lb 12 oz) tinned diced tomatoes
3 basil leaves, torn

Put the water, yeast, honey, olive oil and 3 fistfuls of the flour in a bowl. Mix with electric beaters until smooth. Cover the bowl and leave for 20-30 minutes, until the mixture froths up and looks foamy on top. Mix in the reat of the flour and 1½ teaspoons of salt. The dough will be very soft and sticky(don't be tempted to ad more flour). Now using a dough hook, mix for about 4-5 minutes so everything is completly incorporated. If you don't have a dough hook just mix it with your hands, slapping it from one side of the bowl to the other as it will be too soft to knead. Cover the bowl with a couple of cloths and leave it in a warm and draughtfree place for about 1½ hours, or until the dough has puffed up well.

Very lightly oil a 28x38x4cm(11x15x1½inch) baking tray. Punch down the dough with one firm blow to the centre. Spread the dough gently into the tray, right out to the edges, working it with your palms to stretch it along the tray. If it won't stretch easily, leave it to relax for another 5 minutes and then gently stretch out the dough, starting from the centre and flicking your palms across it. Make sure the dough doesn't break anywhere and that it is more or less evenly spread. Put in a warm draught-free place. Arrange four glasses around the tray and drape a couple of tea towels or a towel over them like a tent to completly cover the tray(so that the dough doesn't stick to the cloth as it rises). Leave for 45 minutes or so, until the dough has puffed up.

For the tomato topping, heat the oil with the garlic in a saucepan and, when you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes, basil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 15 minutes over fairly strong heat, until the sauce loses its wateriness and starts to look thick and bubbly. If you like, you can whiz it a couple of times with a hand-held blender to make it a little smoother, but still keep some chunks.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to its hottest temperature.

Dimple the top of the dough here and there with your fingers, so that the tomato has some nests to settle into(take care not to deflate your dough, though). Scatter the tomato sauce over the top and gently spread it out with the back of the ladle. It may seem like a lot of sauce, but it keeps the pizza lovely and moist. Put the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes(depending on the strenght of your oven) until the pizza is golden and a bit crusty here and there. Check that the bottom is crusty and crisp, too, and cook for longer if you need to. cut up into squares to serve. I think this is best warm but it can also be served at room temperature, or reheated.


Notes:
- I used only half of the ingredients and that was enough for one round pizza baking tray.
- Heated the oven to 270C(518F) and baked the pizza for the advised 20minutes and it came out right the way whe liked it.

Salsicce e fagioli (Sausages and beans)

This weeks theme is " bean there done that" at the I Heart Cooking Club. To get my bean on i made this rustic dish from Tessa Kiros's first book twelve. After eating it i understood why the tuscans love this dish so much. It's on my list of comfort foods now!

Tessa Kiros says, "Tuscans are well known for their love of beans, and this rustic recipe is one of their favorites".

Salsicce e fagioli



Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.56)

Serves 6

500G(1 lb 2 oz) dried cannellini, soaked overnight in cold water
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs of sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large Italian pork sausages, about 100g(3½ oz) each
400G(14oz) tin peeled tomatoes, with their juice, chopped

Rinse the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim the surface of the scum with a slotted spoon. Add 2 whole garlic cloves and one of the sage Sprigs. Cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper in the last half hour of the cooking time.
In a separate large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Prick the sausages in couple of places with a fork and add them to the pan. Fry on a medium-high heat to brown on all sides. Add the remaining garlic clove and the sage, and as soon as it begins to sizzle ad the tomatoes. The sausages should provide enough Seasoning; if not add a little salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce.
Drain the cooked beans, reserving a little of the cooking liquid and add the beans to THE sausage pot. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessery. Simmer for 10 minutes more, adding about 125-250 ml(1/2-1cup)of the reserved water to thin it out a little. Serve warm.

Notes: could not get any fresh sage at the moment so i used dried Sage.

Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

This weeks cooking theme at I Heart Cooking Club is Attitude of gratitude. Wich foods are you most grateful for? Since we don't celebrate thanksgiving in Europe(Those who do celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful time). I cooked something up with chocolate! Because i'm so grateful for every piece of chocolate that i can put in my mouth. I really have to have my "shot" of chocolate well.... almost every day. With christmas coming up i thought this would be a good choice and i'm going to give them away this year as Tessa suggested.


Tessa says, "These I learned from my American friend Sue. When I first made them my children said they were the best ever and I must definitely put the recipe in this book - so here it is. I also love them with dried strawberries instead of cranberries, and sometimes my girls prefer them without the cranberries, just chocolate. I like these small so I make them no bigger than a good teaspoon of dough, but you might like to make them larger. I also like to take them as a gift, packed in a lovely box and tied with a ribbon. Unless you have a huge oven, you will need to bake these in batches so have the two cookie sheets ready."

Chocolate & cranberry cookies

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(pg.58)

Makes 30 cookies

5-1/2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed soft brown sugar

1/4 cup superfine sugar

1 egg

a few drops of vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries would also be nice)

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mash up the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until well mixed, then whisk with an electric beater until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and add a small pinch of salt. Beat with the wooden spoon to make a soft sandy mixture. Stir in chocolate and cranberries.

Lightly moisten your hands and roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Arrange them on the sheets, leaving a fair space between for flattening and spreading. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and darkening around the edges. Remove from the oven, but leave them on the sheet to cool and firm up. These will keep in a cookie jar for a couple of days.



Chicken drumsticks & Wings with Orange tomato glaze

Orange skies...♪♫ is this weeks theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.
Orange skies bring me back to our vacation on the island of Java, Indonesia. We went there two and a half year ago when my brother in-law moved to Bali. Whe took this oppurtunity to see them again with getting to know the country. So whe aranged a ful trip from Jakarta(Java) to Bali by car with a guide and a driver. One of the last days on Java whe went to see the sunrise at Bromo vulcan. It was so breath taking beautiful when that sky turned orange from the rising sun. I Will never forget that morning.

One of our favorite foods during that travel was sweet and sour chicken, and when i saw Tessa's recipe for Chicken with orange(sweet) and Tomato(sour) glaze i immediatly decided to make them. And they where a big hit at my home!

Chicken drumsticks & Wings with Orange tomato glaze

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(page81)
Serves 6

110g (3 3/4oz) light brown sugar
375ml (13fl oz/1 1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
185ml (6fl oz/3/4 cup) tomata passata(pureed tomato)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershiresauce
6 chicken drumsticks
6 chicken wings

Preheat the oven to 160C (315F/Gas 2-3). Put the sugar, orange juise, tomata passata, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring to disolve the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Spred the chicken drumsticks and wings in a baking dish just large enough to fit them in a single layer and pour the sauce over the top. Bake for 2-2 1/2 hours, basting and turning the pieces over every now and then, until the chisken is crispy and sticky and the sauce is a thick sticky glaze. Serve warm, or even at romm temperature.

If you like to know what the other orange dishes are, follow this link below.

Ricciarelli

It's that time of the month again "Potluck" at I Heart Cooking Clubs where whe feature the recipes of Tessa Kiros for six months. And in here book Twelve i found this recipe for Ricciarelli or Almond cakes. And since i had a big batch of almond flour in my pantry, waiting for me to make macarons for months. I used it for this almond cakes instead.
And i totally hadn't any regrets about that after tasting the almond cakes.

Tessa Kiros says, "These small, soft cakes are found in every shop is Siena along with the traditional panforte. They are baked on sheets or individual discs of rice paper, wich are trimmed around the cake when it is cooked and eaten with the small cake. If you do not have rice paper, line your baking tray with a piece of baking paper. When cooled, simply transfer from the baking paper to a tin".

Ricciarelli (Almond cakes)

Tessa Kiros, Twelve(page.365)
makes about 20 biscuits

300g (10 1/2oz) almond flour
280g (10 oz) caster sugar
150g (5 1/2oz) icing(confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 1 orange
2 egg whites
1 sheet of rice paper(or about 20 small rounds) to line the baking tray

Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
Mix the almond flour with the caster sugar, 100g(3 1/2 oz) of the icing sugar, the baking powder and the orange zest in a bowl.
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and combine with the almond mix, using a wooden spoon. Mash the mixture together to make a sticky, wet mass.
mouls oval shapes to 6cm(2 1/2in) long x 4cm(1 1/2in) wide x 2cm(3/4in) thick onto a spoon. Slide the ovals off the spoon carefully with you thumb, and reshape any identations. Put them onto the baking tray, allowing room for them to spread.
Sprinkle the tops with 25g(1 oz), or half of the remaining icing sugar. Leave the biscuits on the tray for 2-3 hours at room temperature to dry them a little before baking.
Preheat the oven to 140C (275F/Gas1). Bake for about 30 minutes or until they are lightly golden and a little firm on the outside. The inside will still be soft.Remove from the oven. Cool slightly before sprinkling with the remaining 25g(1 oz) of icing sugar. Cut the rice paper around the bottom of the cakes. They will keep for about a week stored in an airthight container.

notes: i didn't use the rice paper, because i could'nt find any. Baked them on baking paper.

Spaghettini al Pomodoro

I have been missing a couple of months fun over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.I haven't been able to join in over the last couple of months, but now i'm back. My book of Tessa Kiros (thats the chef whe will be featering the next 6 months) finally came last friday. It took 2 hole weeks to arrive, and yesterday i started immediatly. For this weeks theme "In my pasta bowl"

I made this simple but lovely pomodoro pasta bowl, deffinatly going to make that more often. Would you like to see the wath the others made this week, follow the link below. Or join in on the fun.

Tessa Kiros says,"A general standard for measuring a superb home cook is often their pasta al pomodoro".

Spaghettini al pomodoro (spaghettini with tomato sauce)


Tessa kiros , Twelve(p190)
serves 6

1/2 quantity, about 400ml(14fl oz) tomato sauce(recipe below)
500g (1lb 2oz) spaghettini
1 tablespoon butter
about 120g(1 1/4 cups) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make the tomato sauce.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghettini following the package instructions. If your tomato saucepan is not big enough, transfer the sauce to a bowl large enough to contain all the pasta, and keep it warm.Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta and the butter to the sauce, and mix trough quikle, adding a few drops of the cooking water is necessary. Serve immediately with the pharmesan cheese.

Pomarola semplice (Simple tomato sauce)

Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.382)
makes about 700ml(24fl oz)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
6 tablespoons olive oil
1.2kg(2lb 10oz) of ripe fresh tomatoes,skinned and chopped or
900 g (2lb) tin of peeled tomatoes with juice, chopped
about 12 basil leaves, roughly torn

Put the garlic and olive oil into a saucepan on a medium heat.
When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the tomatoes. Season with about a teaspoon os salt and a little pepper. When the tomatoes begin to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, depending on how much water the tomatoes contain. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and cook until the tomatoes have melted into a thick, smooth sauce. Take care not to dry out the sauce. It should have a thick, soft consistency. If you prefer a completely smooth sauce, pass through a food mill or puree rougly in a blender. Add the basil towards the end of the cooking time.
If you will not be using the sauce immediately, store in a jar in the refrigerator. Cover the tomato sauce with a tin layer of olive oil. the sauce can also be frozen for future use.
If you are using tinned tomatoes, the cooking time will be slightly less. About 15 minutes from when the tomatoes begin to boil.


Notes: i only made half of the sauce recipe, because i didn't had any more tomatoes ad hand. But Tessa writes in her book that you can preserve this sauce very wel in glass jars for months.

Home-made granola with berry compote

In a few days it will be Fathersday, so this weeks theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "Pops is tops". So it time to honour my dad with a home made meal, but i got stuck with this delicious granola recipe. My father eats granola at breakfast and dessert as he pleases. So it was time i make some my own, to give him this sunday.

I adjusted the original recipe. I used hazelnuts instead of mixed nuts. And after the granola was finished to make the dessert i changed the fruitcompote in a fruitpuree. The first time i made granola myself, and o boy how lovely is that. Again a winner i whil try to make granola more often.

original recipe can be found here.
ingredients

• 200g mixed nuts
• 400g rolled or jumbo oats
• 100g pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds
• 400g runny honey
• 200g strawberries, hulled and halved
• 200g raspberries
• 200g mixed dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots)
• 500ml plain yoghurt



method

Jamie says:This healthy pud is quick, easy – and tastes delicious!

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the nuts into a plastic bag, squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Gently bash with a rolling pin until they are lightly crushed, then tip them into a mixing bowl and add the oats and seeds. Warm up the honey to make it extra runny and stir it into the oaty mixture with a wooden spoon until everything’s lightly coated.

Tip the mixture onto a baking tray and spread out roughly with the wooden spoon. Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the mixture is crunchy and a dark golden brown. Meanwhile, place the strawberries and raspberries in a pan on a medium heat for 10 minutes until nicely stewed.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool, then break up the toasted seeds, oats and nuts into clumps and mix in the dried fruit. There you have it: granola! Serve the granola in small bowls or glasses. Top with the plain yoghurt and the hot fruit compote. Any leftover granola will keep in an airtight container for about a month.

Tip: Use any leftover granola as a nutritious breakfast. Serve with natural yoghurt or a splash of milk.

 

wicked chicken with coleslaw

It's that time of the month again, Potluck week at the I heart cooking Club. So we can make any recipe of Jamie Oliver we want or crave. Since my Mr. R had been sick for most of the week i chose a light meal with chicken and bread and coleslaw on the side. He hadn't been eating for some days but was craving for a tasty sammie now he was feeling better. Whe liked this easy dinner a lot end i'm going to make this one more often. Thats for sure. Never had been making my one coleslaw either, and how easy is that! And even more delicious(i Thought) because it was made in my own kitchen and not in a factory wich puts in preservatives so it keeps longer in the groceriestore.

Recipe can be found here
ingredients
(serves 4)

for the sandwich:
• 4 chicken thighs, preferably higher welfare
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 fresh rolls, halved

for the coleslaw:
• 2 carrots
• small white cabbage, outer leaves torn off, cut into 4 wedges
• 1 small onion, peeled and very finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a handful of rocket(i used mixed salat)

method

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Mix the chicken with the lemon zest and juice, the sliced chilli and the garlic, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and leave to marinate for half an hour.

Peel the carrots, throw away the peel and then keep stripping until you get a pile of carrot ribbons. Slice the cabbage as finely as you can with a sharp knife. Place the carrot and cabbage in a bowl with the sliced onion, the mayonnaise and the mustard. Mix well and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the chicken thighs on a tray, skin side up, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the skin is crispy and the meat’s cooked through.

Take the chicken thighs out of the oven, leave to cool slightly until you can handle them and then pull the bone out of the middle (you might need a little knife to do this).

Toast the halved rolls under a hot grill or in the oven, and fill with rocket salad and a chicken thigh. Serve with the coleslaw and tuck in!

Tip: If you don’t like the idea of cutting out the bone, buy your chicken thighs ready boned.
 



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