Saturday, November 29, 2008

just sky

skies from where i live.










Saturday, November 15, 2008

delectable broccoli

i'm still sick with the cold and flu and in the past days it was raining as hell, so i was in the mood for some already winterish soup.

when i was a kid broccoli to me was the thing that goes with orecchiette pasta and nothing else. we used to eat this very italian dish now and then, in the season of fresh broccoli, and nothing could convince me this vegetable was to be used to make something else.
dont get me wrong, i really like broccoli.. it's probably one of my fav vegetables ever. i just loved that pasta so much and my mother was not using it to make anything else. besides, even though i like cauliflower too, broccoli in my mind was something like the cool brother of cauliflower LOL

i'll make some broccoli pasta soon, with maybe fresh orecchiette or strascinati.. lots of garlic and olive oil, a little chili pepper and tons of broccoli eheh

anyway the other day i made this awesome soup.. to be honest i was surprised with the result, it came out so velvety and creamy i was amazed :)
i cant really give precise doses because with vegetable soups i tend to measure things roughly just with a look.. besides, maybe it's the fact that i love vegetables, maybe it's because i know if i have just the soup i'll be damn hungry in 2hours, i tend to make a lot of it eheh
broccoli&potato soup
500g potato
500g broccoli
100ml cream
chicken stock
olive oil
100ml cream
garlic and chili pepper
parmesan cheese

boil the vegetables, chopped, in chicken stock. if the stock is good and well balanced, it wont need to add salt to the soup. strain them a moment before they're completely done and let cool a bit.
put the vegetables and some few spoons of stock in the mixer and mix them well, till they make a soft creamy mixture.
in the meanwhile sautee some garlic with olive oil in a saucepan, then pour the broccoli mixture, the cream and the chili pepper. stir well and cook on a low heat for about 10min, adding some spoons of stock if needed.
serve grating some parmesan cheese all over the soup and accompany with some toasted bread slices.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

saffron memories

i've always loved saffron.. the world's most expensive spice by weight, dried crocus stigmas, luminous color, beautiful aroma. i recall when i was a kid.. dad making risotto and me being the one who prepared saffron.. i would carefully open the little bag, one dose packaging, saffron in powder.. and make it melt in warm water.. smelling the perfume, watching the color changing.

risotto alla milanese is just so good.. saffron and parmigiano cheese.. marvellous match, melting in mouth rice, the meat stock aroma in the background.
in italy we also have the strega (literal meaning: witch) a herbal liqueur, sort of digestif, colored with saffron (and tasting like hell since it's about 40% vol eheheh) and i remember my grandparents had this bottle of yellowish stuff in the living room.. i was fascinated by that but i must admit when i eventually tasted a drop of it i was quite a disappointed kid :D

just lately, maybe a couple of years or so, i've been trying saffron in sweet food for real.. and i really like saffron buns and saffron bread, so delicious :)
these scones are so yummy.. i just tried to mix some saffron in a basic recipe and they came out awesome, i didnt expect such a good result! definitely one of my fav scone ever.
saffron scones
(makes 6-8)
300g plain flour
60g sugar
60g butter
120ml milk
a pinch of salt
baking powder
saffron and nutmeg, ground

melt saffron in warm milk. mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. rub the ingredients with butter till fine crumbs and mix in milk. flatten the dough (about 2.5cm thick) and cut rounds.
bake the scones for about 15min in preheated oven at 180°C.

Monday, November 10, 2008

carrot principle #2

if you havent thought of baking with carrot,
there's a whole world for you to discover.
my mom never tried to really bake carrots.. she was a little skeptical when i made roasted carrots there for the first time. for some reason, here carrtos usually go raw or, if someway cooked, they're boiled. i definitely despise boiled carrots.. cant say why, but the taste and texture they get is awful to me eheh
actually carrot can be roasted with awesome results.. same way it is very good in baking recipes, such as cookies, breads, cakes and so on. i just grind it finely because i dont like too much the feel of shredded carrot in the dough.. still, i have to say there are some few recipes where a rougher texture just does the best.
so.. another carrot recipe :) as i said previously, i like carrots a lot.. that's why i decided to make one of my fav breads ever with the addition of this orange very versatile ingredient.
carrot scones
(makes 6-8)
240g plain flour
150g carrot
60g demi-sel butter
60g sugar
baking powder
a pinch of cardamom
80ml milk

grind carrot in the food processor and mix it with the butter. mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom with the cattor mixture. rub the ingredients and stir in milk.
flatten the dough (about 2.5cm thick) and cut square, without dividing them. bake the scones for about 15min in preheated oven at 180°C.
divide the squares and enjoy!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

a rice cuddle

this is such a sweet cuddle.. rice pudding is an awesome thing :)
i'm still in full flu, so tonight i felt like eating something nice and cuddling myself a bit.

i use slightly salted butter because i like the taste better than unsalted butter in this recipe.. i also dont like it too sweet, if it's too sugary it tires me soon.
sweet milk&rice
100g rice
40g demi-sel butter
600ml milk
40g sugar
vanilla flavor
cinnamon, nutmeg
50g dark chocolate

cook rice with butter, milk, sugar and vanilla stirring often. let simmer for about 30min, adding ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
pour in a bowl (or single portion cups) placing a bit of chocolate in the middle. grate some chocolate on top.
you can eat it still hot, warm or let it cool in the fridge till the chocolate on top solidifies.

Friday, November 7, 2008

au marché j'ai acheté..

i'm sick as a dog.. the first flu of the season and my sinusitis is already raging.
so i havent been cooking that much, still i made some experimental scones that reminded me the match caprese salad is made of.. tomato and mozzarella, with some fresh basil, a little oil, salt and pepper :D

this afternoon i had to go out to the drug store and coming back, i stopped by a vegetable stand.. there were these marvellous looking tomatos (dont ask me how come we have such beautiful specimens in november.. i dont want to know LOL) whenever i go to an old school market, i love to look at the goods.. it always reminds me a song we learnt during my french course, that says au marché j'ai acheté [insert name of vegetable] kinda kiddie song to learn the names of stuff. no idea why i still recall it so good ehehe

these scones are awesome accompained by some fresh mozzarella (better if a burrata or a buffalo milk mozzarella) that tenderly melts on the scones.. but some fresh white cheese will work too.
tomato scones
(makes 8 big scones)
320g plain flour
100g olive oil
100ml milk
2tomatoes
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1tbsp sugar
fresh basil

mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and stir in the olive oil. rub the ingredients till fine crumbs and mix in milk.
when the dough is soft and smooth add the tomato chopped and the fresh basil. flatten the dough (about 2.5cm thick) and cut rounds.
bake the scones for about 15-20min in preheated oven at 180°C.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

carrot principle #1

if you dont LOVE carrot cake, it's because you have not eaten a good one yet.
i've always been digging carrots. when i was a kid i used to crunch them, now i still eat them like that but i added some few variants eheh
at first i had to eat them because they told me to, it's good for your sight.. sure, i ate tons because of that. the result was that my sight kept on slowly worsening anyway and at school i got named bugs. ya know i have big teeth so, there you go LOL

at home we never got snacks.. i didnt like snacks myself to be honest, yea i was one of those nerdy kids eating fruit at school break and i enjoyed it.
but one day the parents came up with this new snack and i could eat it.. it was made of carrots so kinda apparently healthier according to mom, and i love carrots. so they bought me these camille.
i didnt have any idea about who this camilla was, but surely she had to be a lucky girl if she had these awesome treats named after her.. i was happy. they were so moist and carroty, not too sweet, wondefully crumbly.. i like everything about them, small delicious domes of orange, carrot and almond.

so thinking about a cake for mom's birthday i decided for carrot cake.. it's been a while since i made it last time and i'm looking forward to taste it :D

i make various versions of carrot cake.. and my two faves are with cream cheese filling and this one, with chocolate coating.
chocolate carrot cake
250g plain flour
120g butter, softened
175g sugar
300g carrots
120g almonds, peeled
3eggs
baking powder
1pinch of salt
orange flavor
- coating:
200g dark chocolate
50gbutter

mince almonds and carrots in the blender, set aside. beat the butter with sugar till creamy, add eggs and orange flavor.
stir in the flour mixed with salt and baking powder, then carrots. mix well and pour the batter in a baking tin (about 24cm diameter).
bake for about 45min in preheated oven at 180°C. let the cake cool.
melt butter with chocolate stirring. spread on the cake and keep in the fridge till serving.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

apple delight

yea i know i'm posting kinda twice today.. but this post i wrote it down yesterday then didnt publish it because i was busy doing and just saved the draft. here it goes then :)

i like apples.. i started to like cinnamon because i loved the match apple/cinnamon, but till a while ago i couldnt really stand cinnamon alone. i still dont like too spiced sweet food, like some nordic christmas breads and cookies.
i dont mind finnish piparkakut though, because they're so thin it's not really a cookie to me.. more like a cute sheet of sweet matter eheh

my fridge is filled with apples.. i usually eat an apple a day, after dinner, because it's such an versatile yet simple fruit.. it's fresh, can be tasty, if you peel it texture and taste are a little different, you can chop it, munch it, bake it, grate it, juice it.. you can store kilos of apples and they wont get spoiled (i bought some green bananas the other day and today they're already soft and brownish.. got to eat them quick like a monkey)
i'm not so much into apple juice though.. it's a bit strange to me, i'm never sure if i dig it or not eheh
apple clafoutis cups
2apples chopped
4tbsp plain flour
2tbsp sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1tbsp butter, melted
150ml milk

mix the dry ingredients together, stir in milk and butter. add some extra milk if the batter is not smooth enough, whisk it well.
put the chopped apple in 4 single portion baking tins and pour the milk mixture all over them.
bake for about 18min in preheated oven at 200°C.

about scones and informatics

i'm struggling badly with the net connection.. for some awful reason the wireless one is not working and this pissed me off hugely this morning.
i'm not too good at informatics and such.. or better, i could be pretty good if i was not so upset-able by the smallest trouble. when i get these warning messages about errors and programs closing by themselves i tend to freak out a little bit LOL

i was so annoyed and trying to find a solution that i skipped breakfast and when i checked the time it was already 1pm and i realized i was hungry as hell eheh so once again the choice went to one of my fav things and made some quick scones.
there's something weirdly attractive in scones.. they get on well with salty spreads, sweet spreads.. even better when there's a little contrast salty-sweet.. they're quite bread-like but it's not such a pain to make them (i made bread some few times and it came out good.. too bad it took me a lifetime ahah)
they're a bit like muffins.. extremely quick and easy to make, they give you almost total freedom of flavor choice.. you can put the hell in that dough and it will work :D
when i'm to make muffins and scones, usually it's a sudden decision and the approach is more like cooking creativeness on a very versatile basis.. i have a basic recipe and from there i can change it to suit a new ingredient, a different flavor.. mix all together a bit roughly (because you never have to mix these two kinds of dough too much or the delicious texture will be lost) and bake!these scones are pretty good.. i usually prefer not to put salty ingredients like bacon or seasoned cheese in the dough because i like to spread them with berry jams. in this case i dig spreading fresh cheese, cottage cheese or (in such moments of dreadful taste LOL) peanut butter. sounds weird but to me it doesnt taste bad at all on these here.
i used speck instead of bacon.. first of all because i had one and not the other, secondly i like speck way better than bacon eheh i have to precise though that usually i use pancetta, which is italian kind of bacon, of the smoked kind (that imo tastes way better)

bacon scones

(makes 6-8)
270g plain flour
150ml milk
50g olive oil
1tsp sugar
2tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1pinch of nutmeg and allspice mixed
bacon

mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and stir in the olive oil. rub the ingredients till fine crumbs and mix in milk.
when the dough is soft and smooth stir in the bacon in thin stripes. flatten the dough (about 2.5cm thick) and cut rounds.
bake the scones for about 15min in preheated oven at 180°C.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

scones addiction

yea i did it again. i made scones randomly just to have a good breakfast :D
it's two days weather really sucks.. this rainy windy thing is not my cup of tea. i have to say though that here it's still a bit warm, not really cold outside, and this makes things a bit better. i also got a cold and i despise that.. in this season it just calls for sinusitis with me, bla :P

i like nutmeg a lot. i guess it's one of my fav spices ever, its flavor kinda intrigues me.. i'm used to have an awesome sugar to sprinkle on sweet food, made mixing caster sugar, sugar in a bit bigger crystals, nutmef, cinnamon and allspice. so i chose a recipe including yogurt because i had wish of soft soft scones and added a bit of spices to it. to me the match nutmeg flavor - fresh cheese just makes a delicious breakfast plan eheh

yogurt scones
with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg
50g softened butter
200g plain flour
1tbsp sugar
1tbsp baking powder
280g plain yogurt
1pinch of salt
1pinch of ground nutmeg and cinnamon, mixed

rub together flour, salt, baking powder, spices and butter with fingertips to make fine crumbs. stir in sugar and yogurt, mixing roughly. i like to keep the dough very soft for these scones, even if it may be way softer than normal scone dough. it keeps then very soft once baked. spread the dough on a baking sheet, cut it in 9 or so parts without separating them.
bake for about 10min in preheated oven at 220°C. divide the scones and eat them when still warm.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

mosquitos make scones

when i woke up today i was so mad.. i couldnt sleep last night because of some mosquitos in my room (and for some other reason i dont really know) weather got a little chillier and there they are, trying to survive enjoying my heating and sucking my blood!
well when i got up, my left arm was covered with bites.. i'm quite sensitive (i dont say allergic but who the hell knows) to insect bites so you can imagine its conditions. i rubbed some tons cortisone lotion and decided to make the brunch of a queen, just to cheer myself up.

well it worked :D
i made some quick scones.. whatever scone you make, they always turn out awesome. i chose to give them the perfume of cardamom, i met this spice in finland for the first time and loved it.
blueberry jam and white fresh cheese on warm scones.. how can one stay upset after that?
sipping my caffelatte, reading mail and news with a sort of pleasant snobbish aloofness.. it's nice sometimes not to care of the outer world at all.
the man just sent me a sort of good morning email.. together with a good breakfast, small things that make my day :)


cardamom scones
(makes about 8)
250g plain flour
180ml milk
50g butter, softened
1tbsp sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of cardamom
1tsp olive oil

rub flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom, sugar and butter with fingertips to make fine crumbs. stir in the milk and knead lightly till the mixture is smooth.
flatten the dough to 2,5 cm in thickness and cut rounds in it. place on a baking tray and brush the top of the scones with a little olive oil.
bake for about 10min in preheated oven at 220°C.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

one good merenda

i recall pretty well this merenda.. it was on suomenlinna island, finland :)
the place was a very nice small cafè, my mom and sister went there in the winter too and told me it moved to a bit bigger place.. i like old finnish wooden buildings, with so weird pastel colors and nice claddings.

that was probably the best cappuccino i've ever had in finland, a real cappuccino eheh but i really loved that sort of big fried soft and yummy thing, filled with blackberry jam.. mmh so good. i must find a good recipe of it, though i'm really a culinary disaster about fried food :P

i enjoy very much merenda time, that nice break around mid afternoon to have some treat and a cup of tea or coffee.. that's the italian name of it but i guess you can call it teatime if you will :)
it's a nice interval during the day, something that can cheer you up or just accompany your activities.. i prefer some real break like these above, but even nibbling at some cookies with a glass of milk will do perfectly.
every year when everything starts off i tend to skip merenda and, in the rush between the gym and the school or the bus, i just eat some cereals bar quickly and just because my body screams for food ehehe
so now that i'm settled and i begin to really organize my time, i'll think of some way to have a good merenda even in the middle of such activities. a few years ago i used to make pain au chocolat on sundays so my sis and i would have a nice homemade snack.
last year instead i started to make some awesome puff pastry stuff.. and that's where i mean to go back to :D

Friday, October 24, 2008

a swirl of peanuts

i love peanut butter.. it's one of those things i should never buy because i'll start using it insanely till the jar is completely empty eheh
i make brownies and cookies, but also an awesome sauce for pasta and chicken.. i like the salty-sweet taste of it very much.

when i was in finland i tried many different kinds and i really liked the bio peanut cream made by some swedish company or something.. (un)fortunately in italy it's not very common to find, so i had to content myself with a small jar of skippy the smooth. they tell me there's 772peanuts in a jar.. i see. well not that i trust them so much after the diatribe about their "natural" version which does contain trans fat even if the label screams it doesnt LOL

but i like peanut butter so much that i'm gonna try to make it myself soon.. i found some good recipe, it's pretty easy but i didnt have the right doses :)
so first thing i made with my jar is this peanut butter and chocolate heaven.. it's a brownie recipe but i make it also in small single serving tins, they just need to bake a little less.
chocolate and peanut butter brownies
150g dark chocolate
150g butter

3eggs

200g brown sugar
120g flour
2tbsp cocoa powder

1tsp vanilla flavor
1pinch of salt


150g peanut butter

6tbsp milk

1tbsp flour

some peanuts, chopped


melt chocolate and butter, set aside. beat eggs with sugar and vanilla flavor till fluffy. stir in the chocolate, then the flour sifted with salt and cocoa. mix well and pour into the baking tin.
mix the remaining ingredients to make a soft peanut butter mixture, then drop it over the chocolate batter. stir slightly to swirl the mixtures together. sprinkle some peanuts to top.
bake for 25min in preheated oven at 180°C.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

smoked, please

today i was at the supermarket, undecided about salmon.. i love salmon but what was i inspired about, smoked or fresh? i ended up with some nice scottish smoked salmon.. pinkish slices so tender they melt in your mouth.. so nice.
it counted 4 slices and i thought maybe tomorrow i can make a nice smoked salmon and caviar sandwich instead of the overdone ham and fresh cheese (which i like but that's just the quickest toast one can make eheh) and use a half to make pasta this evening.
and that's what i did.

angel hair pasta with smoked salmon and red caviar
while pasta is getting done, sautee some shallot in butter. add smoked salmon roughly cut and freshly ground black pepper.
when the pasta is al dente, throw it in the pan with the salmon sauce, stir in a few spoons of milk and sautee quickly. taking the pan from the heat, add a spoon red caviar, mix well and serve.

as "side dish" i made roasted carrots.. i really like that, it's so easy to make and the result is so good. i dont like boiled carrots at all and rosting them this way is the best to me to eat carrots if not raw :)

roasted carrots
put carrots on the oven rack (i put an aluminium sheet but you can use a baking tin as well) and drizzle some olive oil all over them. ground some black pepper and spread a pinch of salt onto them. you can use whatever spices you prefer, i like it so simple with pepper only.
bake in preheated oven at 200°C for about 20min.

wondrous pear cake

though pear and chocolate is a classic and a very good match, i found it hard to get a good recipe for a cake. this is my version of a recipe i tried once and i must admit the result is awesome :D

chocolate and pear soft cake
3big firm pears (williams)
200g dark chocolate
150ml milk
200g wheat flour
baking powder
170g butter
2egg yolks
3egg whites
100g sugar

melt 100g butter and the chocolate in a bain marie. whip sugar with egg yolks and mix with sifted flour and baking powder. add milk and melted chocolate, mix well. Blend with beaten egg whites.
peel and slice pears. Pour half of the dough in a baking tin and spread pear slices on it, then cover them pouring the remaining dough. bake in preheated oven at 200°C for 40minutes.

you can spread a simple icing on the cooled cake, made of milk and icing sugar, or a chocolate icing.

les orangettes!

i don't like too much orangettes myself, i use to make them for my family (they're definitely fond of those :)
it's not easy to find good candied orange peels, that's why i've stored some tons when i found some awesome ones in a confectionery wholesale.. they drip with their own sugary juice, splendid :D
sometimes i tried to make candied peels by myself but i disliked the process and then they were too thin.. all things considered i look for them already candied whenever i can and i try to use peels cut in quarters.

i like to make both orangettes and nuts covered with chocolate (which i really like to eat myself eheh)


orangettes and choconuts
dark chocolate (at least 50%cocoa)
candied orange peels
minced nuts: peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pine seeds

melt the chocolate in a bain marie, mixing well. in the meantime cut the candied orange peels in a half and mince the nuts.
dip the peels in the chocolate, one by one. place them gently on a rack till the chocolate is solified.
place some spoons of minced nuts in small baking tins (like tartellette tins wrapped with baking paper) and pour on them melted chocolate. i usually mix more or less the same amount of chocolate and nuts.
when the chocolate is solified completely, keep orangette and choconuts in the fridge till serving.


Sunday, October 12, 2008

super delicious

so long i havent updated.. but september was very busy with moving and starting off in a new city.. so well, now i'm (almost) settled, still i'll move to a new flat as i find a better one.. but now i'll have a bit more time to update, i swear :D
i cooked though and i have a lot of food pics and recipes to write down and put here!


this cake was inspired supposedly to joanne harris' chocolat novel.. or better to its main character, vianne. i loved the movie and also the book, harris' one of my fav authors even if this is not my fav novel of hers ^^
so the cake is awesome.. slightly perfumed with orange (do i love cointreau
), very soft, rich and chocolateous.. a super treat.. i like to make this cake specially for birthdays of the few people i love, because to me a gorgeous cake is the best present ever :)

i love specially the ganache.. i've tried many different recipes of it, changing doses, ingredients, process.. but in this one, i love the contrast between the dark rich cream and the crunchy crystals of sugar. i have to say i kinda "stole" the idea from some chocolate i like a lot, it's a very dark tablet with big sugar crystals in it (a bit too big sometimes though, but it's not industrial made so it depends on the confectioner ^^)
i like to use marine salt crystals too, but that's a bit more particular match that not everybody appreciates, so i try not to do
that when the cake's gonna be eaten by many people eheh
(unfortunately i didnt have my own camera with me so the pic is not that good)



vianne cake
125g butter, softened
150g caster sugar

2eggs

230g dark chocolate, melted

1tsp cointreau
230g wheat flour

2tsp dark cocoa powder
baking powder qs
200ml milk
topping

(chocolate ganache):

230g dark chocolate
230ml fresh cream

1tsp cane sugar in crystals


whip butter and sugar till fluffy, beat in eggs one by one, the melted chocolate cooled and the cointreau. sift flour, baking powder and cocoa together, add stirring to the chocolate mixture alternating to milk.
pour in a baking tin (24cm diameter) and bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 min. let cool.

in the meanwhile prepare the ganache: bring cream to boil slightly, then pour it on the chocolate. when the chocolate is melted, stir well the mixure till it's creamy. let cool in the fridge for 15 to 45 min, stir in the sugar crystals then spread onto the cake.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

i love berries

one of the things i liked of finland are berries for sure.. they have such a variety of those, in color, taste, shape. i love berries and for some reason i have a special liking for the dark ones.. blueberry, blackberry, mulberry, blackcurrant.
besides i love shortbread eheheh so buttery, slightly salty.. i like to use the basic shortbread mixture to make different kind of sweet food, from classic shortbread cookies to these bars.
i guess these reasons are enough to tell why this is one of my fav cakes ever.. in the recipe there's blueberry, but i actually make it with all the kinds of berry. yesterday for example i made it with a raspberry and blueberry mixed jam and fresh mashed blackberries.. awesome result :D


blueberry shortbread bars
150g butter
150g sugar
210g wheat flour
2egg yolks
1tsp baking powder
1pinch of salt
blueberry jam (i use more or less 100g)
fresh blueberries
vanilla flavor

Combine butter with sugar, then add yolks and vanilla flavor and beat well. Add sifted flour, baking powder and salt to the butter cream and make a soft dough. Halve the dough, wrap the pieces in food cellophane and let them stand in the fridge for 30minutes. Then put them in the freezer for 15minutes.
Wrap a square baking tin (about 20x20) with baking paper and grate (with large grater) a piece of dough in it, spreading the shreds around. Spread jam (as much as you like) onto the grated dough, then grate the other piece to cover the jam layer. Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for about 30minutes. Let it chill a bit and cut the cake into squares.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

bread of the elves

i dont even remember where and when i found this recipe.. i was just looking for something weird and i bumped into lembas. i'm all about elves so i tried it at once.. no idea if lotr elves actually used to eat anything like this.. but i have to say it's a delicious cookie :D for sure it's a pretty good mixture.. i tend to keep mine a bit salty, not too sweet, because i like the taste better. today i was in the mood for cookies but not the usual kind, so lembas is what i made!


lembas
the elven bread

110g butter, softened
40g sugar
1tbsp honey

2egg yolks

1pinch salt

250g flour

fresh orange zest, grated

2tbsp ground hazelnut

baking powder qs


beat butter with sugar and honey until fluffy, stir in egg yolks and the rest of ingredients. mix well, when the knead makes crumbs make a ball and let cool in the fridge for about 30min. flatten the dough (about 3mm thick) and cut it in rectangles, place them on a baking tin. bake in preheated oven at 200°C for 10min.


Sunday, August 24, 2008

i love clafoutis

so.. after the veggie clafoutis recipe, another clafoutis variation i like quite :D it has a crusty surface, a bit more than usual clafoutis (which recipe i'll manage to post asap, it's been a while since the last time i made my yellow plums clafoutis and i'm looking forward) i made it with a mix of strawberries and peaches because, although i like cherries a lot, i dont like to make chocolate clafoutis with those.
useless to say it came out delicious! i like clafoutis also because it's such an easy recipe to make.. once you get the mixture in the proportions you like the best and the right balance between sweet and fruit, it's almost impossible to make a bad clafoutis ^^


peach strawberry chocolate clafoutis
200g straberries
250g peaches
2eggs
40g cornstarch
40g flour
40g sugar (+2tbsp)
2tsp baking powder
75g dark chocolate
50g butter
50ml milk
lemon juice

clean the fruit and chop it, squeeze some lemon juice on it and set aside.
melt butter and chocolate in a bain marie, let it cool. beat eggs with sugar till fluffy, gradually stir in sifted flour, baking powder and cornstarch. beat in milk and melted chocolate.
place the fruit at the bottom of a greased baking tin, pour the mixture to cover it. bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 25min. spread some sugar and a bit of butter all over the surface and bake for 10min still