Sunday 25 October 2009

Apple & Carnberry Pie

My DH came home with a big bag of organic cooking apples and the Acidity was minimal making a great tasting pie.

My Apple pie did not turn out like i had hoped but it tasted great!

I overloaded it with too much filling, forgot to brush the pastry, used the wrong dish .............the list is endless but it TASTED divine mashaAllah!

You can use this recipe , i just made it up as i went along but this recipe is similar. We served it warm with custard.

Now have a look at my disaster
apple pie
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It's Never Too Late

Last Saturday saw a turning point in my life. I decided to finally go back to University to finish the BA Hons degree i once started inshaAllah. It's never easy when you are a full time mum and home maker to follow your own pursuits. Mother do make a lot of sacrifices for their families , myself I don't regret a single moment but its nice to be able to do something for me for a change!

I was so nervous to attended the open day at the University, my DD offered to come along for moral support. It turned out to be a very informative day alhamduilah. I must admit i was hesitating but going there really helped me make my mind up!

I am just working through the forms and transfre of credit forms at the moment as the good news is i can transfre my old creidts from my unfished degree to the new one.........so less to study. iam really excited about this whole new adventure and look forward to the brain food to come.

Here are some pictures we took on the day
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The open day was here
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Near the Olympic site an unusual bad to find in London but hey London is the city where its all at!
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On the DLR
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Fuel after a day of fun.

Orange Cake

orange cake
A lovely moist cake full of flavour , the recipe is here do give it ago.
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Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Not having had much of a sweet tooth most of my life...i never really went for the sweet foods! Recently i discovered Kheer although it had been there since my childhood. At My study class we had an Eid party and one of the elderly Pakistani ladies brought a bowl. I tell you never have i tasted such lovely kheer its even looked wonderful mashaAllah. I put it down to age and experience as there are mushy versions out there.

On Friday DD comes home with a take away and a take away container of kheer was in there , she loved it , savoured every creamy spoon. I told her i can make this i am sure and decided to try it this weekend. The results ? MashaAllah!

I used this simple recipe
I added grated carrots. you can see a recipe here

kheer
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Wednesday 14 October 2009

Okra & Patoto Curry

Now Okra is something i remember well as a child and it was a dish often eaten in our home. I remember the Saturday afternoons spent in the kitchen with mum , me watching her cook, peel and slice (this is how i learnt to cook). Me and my brother used to mess around with the ends of the Okra sticking them on our faces and fingers, pretending to be scary with pointed fingers.
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There is always a certain excitement when i see Okra in the market. There are different ways i cook it now but this is similar to my mothers recipe except she didn't add potatoes. I added potatoes for the children in my home as no one likes Okra not even DH! A lot of people moan about it being gluppy and sticky but i have a trick to avoid this as much as possible.
Here are mine i made this morning for my Iftar (fast breaking dish ) Latter on this evening inshaAllah!

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Method

Slice one medium sized onion , allow to sweat in a non stick pan with a little oil, once it starts to brown remove the lid a little and add some caraway seeds or cumin (its up to you), after a further 5 mins add some minced ginger and garlic allow to brown. Then add some chopped tomatoes about 2 medium sized ones. Allow this all to simmer for about 7 mins stirring well on a low heat ...........add your spices salt, haldi, garm masla, chilli powder.

I thinly sliced some potatoes and added them first to the masla mix adding a little water and cooking covered until the potatoes were almost tender. Then i added the okra on top and 1 thinly sliced green chilli. Cover and cook until the okra is almost soft , then remove the heat , stir it once to incorporate the okra to the potatoes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.

Enjoy with natural yougart and chappati's.

Cinnamon-Lemon Sweet Rolls

I came across this recipe from a link i followed from Henia's blog i needed a quick fix last night after a hectic morning and was fasting and wanted something to go with my daily dose of Early Grey .

I found the recipe here This is a wonderful blog with great step by step pictures of Azerbaijan influenced foods!

i tweaked it a little to what i had at home , i didn't use cardamom or and egg but they came lovely all the same.

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Monday 12 October 2009

Harvested Gifts!

Many of you may be harvesting your crops in the garden from last season , only now to enjoy them.
My mother sent me over this wonderful marrow she grew
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My sister gave me these lovely organic sweet bell peppers
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I cooked the peppers suffted with brown and white rice, chick peas and diced mushrooms........topped with grated red cheese.
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I have made roasted stuffed peppers before the recipe is here

A tasty aniseed bread

A very quick and easy aniseed flavoured bread!


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Basic bread recipe i used pain flour and wholemeal . Sprinkled the top with aneeds after brushing with egg.

Oven baked Boreks

I used to make these often when i was living in Algeria but frying them as the oven was out of action there for 1 1/2 yrs of my stay. After browsing about on Henia's blog , i saw these and felt inspired to try them again. Henia's dough is the same recipe i use. I instead added wholegrain flour (brown flour) and brushed them with egg and baked them instead. I filled them with mushrooms, shrimps, feta cheese and spinach.
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Mozzarella Sticks

I had a go at making these simple snacks..something new to do with Mozzarella , i got the recipe and idea from Mimi. Here is how mine turned out we used hummous as dips!
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You can find the recipe here

A simple Correction

Now i posted my hexagon to make sure i was doing it right well it turns out i was not it just didn't look right on the last round and alhamduilah i corrected myself!
have a look and compare
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The top ones the correction , i was missing the two chain between the tr on the corner round. I love it when i correct myself mashaAllah!

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Now some of the ones i got wrong my DD7yrs old took them away and made some clothing for her Bratz have a look!
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I also made this simple and quick brooch for my big sister , who has been on at me to teach her how to crochet for some time now!
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I got the patter from here

A lovely simple pattern well explained! Do you like it?

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Citrus Brioche Rolls

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I used plain flour, sugar, melted butter, grated lemon ring, mixed friuts, yeast and a little milk......glazed with egg and sprinkled with sugar. Enjoy warm with your favourite Jam!

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Moon This Morning
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Wholemeal Baps

Just a quick invention of my own,
Whole meal flour, olive oil, yeast, water and salt. I added some sun dried tomatoes and green olives but there was not many so they don't really show. Glazed with egg and topped with sesame seeds.

See other bread recipes for more details on baking bread!

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Healthy Oat & Honey Snack

1/4 cup of sesame seeds
1 cup toasted oats
3 cups rice bubbles (Rice Crisp's , UK)
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
125g butter
1/3 honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raw sugar
what to do?
Line a lamington pan with grease proof paper. Toast the sesame seeds and oats on an oven tray for about 5 mins. Cool to room Temperature. Combine Oats, Rice bubbles, coconut, sunflower and sesame seeds in a bowl. Combine butter, honey , peanut butter and sugar in a sauce pan, stirring constantly not allowing it to boil. Until the butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for a little longer then stir it into the dry ingredients. Press into the prepared pan, refrigerate until set before cutting. i pooped it into the freezer for a bit to speed things up.

These are great snacks for the kids and lunch boxes!
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Apple Cake

Apple Cake
you will need;
185g butter
2 Tsp grated lemon rind
2/3 cup sugar
1 Cup Self Raising flour
1/2 cup of plain flour
1/3 cup milk
2 Apples
2 Tsp water
2 Tsp strained Apricot Jam
A sprinkle of All Spice (optional)
what to do?
Grease a 20cm springform pan. Cream the butter, rind and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beat until combined.
Transfer the mixture and add the flours and milk. Spread into the prepared pan.
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Peel the Apples and cut them into 1/4 remove the cores. Make lengthways cuts into round sides of 1/4 cutting about three quarters of the way through. arrange the quarters , around the edge of the cake (see picture). Bake for about 1 hour.
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In a pan add the jam and water, simmer until smooth, spread mixture over hot cake. Allow to cool. Better eaten warm!
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My Granny Smiths Apples were very acidity by adding the All Spice it seems to have rid some of that tangy taste!

Prayers for Peace

Prayers for Peace