Saturday 29 June 2013

Quorn and Salad Wraps.

These wraps are really tasty and very easy to make. Give them a try for a light meal :)

Ingredients:
Quorn chicken style pieces (as needed)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion sliced
Mixed coloured peppers ( sliced or diced)
1 Tsp Ginger,garlic and chili paste
Taco seasoning (as needed)
Grated cheese (as needed)
Sliced Cucumber
sliced tomatoes
Chopped lettuce
Mayonnaise (light)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 packet of soft Corn tortillas

Preparation Method:
In a large pan add the olive oil and turn the heat up to medium.
Add the Quorn pieces and cook through until slightly browned.
Now add the Ginger ,garlic and chilli paste and quickly stir through to get the rawness out.
Add the onion and sliced peppers and cook until slightly tender.


Now sprinkle The taco seasoning and mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat.


Time to prepare the salad and grate the cheese :)

Now we need to warm the tortillas!


On a dry skillet warm the tortillas on a medium heat individually for one to 2 minutes on each side.
Do not heat in the microwave as this makes them go soggy and they get cold quickly too.

Let's Fill the wraps!


Arrange the the Quorn filling and salad on the wrap, sprinkle with cheese, add some mayo and salt and pepper.


Fold your Wrap .


Enjoyyyyyyyyy :)

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Summer Salad with warm seasoned Quorn pieces

As the days are getting warmer and you feel like having a light meal while sitting in the garden, why don't you try out this quick and easy salad of mine. It's absolutely delicious and light and best of all very healthy :)

Ingredients:

For the salad:
Chopped lettuce
chopped red radish
sliced tomatoes
sliced cucumber
Sliced bell peppers (any colour)
Quorn chicken style pieces
1 tbs olive oil to fry the Quorn pieces.
Fajita seasoning for Quorn pieces.
1 tsp ginger,garlic and chilli paste

Preparation Method:

Add the above as needed in a large bowl.


For the dressing:

2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp mustard (English mustard)
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
splash of dark soy sauce.
pinch of cayenne pepper

Add All the ingredients of the dressing and mix well.


Now pour the dressing around the edge of the salad, this helps it from clumping in one place.


Now give the the salad a good mix.

Prepare the Quorn pieces :

Add oil to a large pan and heat on a medium flame.
Add the Quorn pieces and a tsp of Ginger,garlic and chilli paste.
Cook until the pieces get golden brownish in colour.



Now you have two choices :)

1. Sprinkle fajita on the Quorn pieces and add to your salad.


Or 2. Add the Quorn pieces as they are :)


Enjoy :)

Monday 10 June 2013

Choco chip Bakewell Cupcakes

These cupcakes were actually an experiment but lucky for me they turned out delicious so I thought I'd share my recipe with you :)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Baking powder
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
chocolate chips as needed ( I used 2 hand fulls of chopped milk chocolate buttons)
1/2 cup of ground Almonds
1 tbs vanilla sugar 

Preparation Method:

pre heat your oven to 180 ( gas mark 4)
In a Mixer or large bowl sieve the flour,salt and baking powder and add the sugar.
Now sieve in the ground almonds and add the vanilla sugar.
Now add in the oil,milk and egg.
Add in the choc chips.

Whisk all the ingredients together to form a smooth cake batter.
Line a baking tray with cup cake cases and fill the cases with the batter.

Place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cupcakes are ready.

Enjoy :)





Saturday 8 June 2013

Refreshing Raspberry and Orangeade

This delicious drink is very refreshing and full of vitamins, great for parties and BBQ'S please give it a go :)

Ingredients:

1 punnet of fresh Raspberries
1 and 1/4 cup of water
Juice of 2 large oranges
1/3 cup of Grenadine ( syrup made with pomegranates also known as bar syrup)
Sparkling water as needed.

Preparation Method:



Wash the raspberries  and add them to to the blender along with the water.



Pulse about 10 times.



Strain the mixture into a large jug.



Squeeze the juice of 2 large oranges over a sieve staright into the raspberry juice.

Sieve the contents of the jug again to get rid of any scum.





Now add the grenadine to the jug and give it a little stir. You can add more to make it sweeter, it's down to taste :)



Cut up an orange into thin wedges and add them straight into the jug/pitcher

Add ice if you wish .

You can either add sparkling water straight into the jug or add it to each serving. 
I decided not to add it to the jug as I wanted to keep the jug in the fridge until ready to use.
If you do add it straight away, serve it immediately to retain the fizz.

For a naughty version of this add vodka, Cointreau or any favourite spirit for a kick :)

Enjoyyyyyyyyyy :) 

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Candied Orange Peel

This candied peel is very easy to make and great for eating as a sweet dipped in chocolate and also for various baking recipes :) Also great for gifts.

Ingredients:
Peel of 4 oranges
Water 1 liter for boiling plus 1 cup for syrup.
Sugar 1 and 1/2 cups plus extra for rolling.(I used some orange sugar that I made a while back but granulated sugar works great)

Preparation Method:


Wash the oranges and cut them in half. Take out the the orange pulp and squeeze the juice into a jar to have a refreshing drink later.

 
Now cut the peel into strips. Don't worry about removing the pith as the bitterness goes away when boiling in the syrup.


Now bring a liter of water to a boil.


Add the orange peel and simmer for 5 minutes.
and drain.

Repeat the boiling and draining twice. Then discard that water.


Now add the sugar and water to a medium pan and bring to a boil.


Now add the peel to the syrup and turn down the heat and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes until the peel becomes translucent ( sort of see through) depending on preference)


Now strain the syrup and keep in the fridge for use in another recipe.


Roll the candied peel into the sugar to crystallize and place them on a parchment paper lined tray to dry out for 3-4 hours.

 
Either eat them as they are or dip in melted chocolate for a treat. You can also use these in some baking recipes.

Store the candied Orange peel in an air tight jar until ready to use. These can be stored at room temp or in the fridge.


Enjoy :)

Monday 3 June 2013

Spiced Drizzle Cake

This cake is really yummy and easy to make, it's delicious eaten alone with a cup of tea or with some yummy custard :)
And it's butter free :)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk ( I used butter milk as I had some from the butter that I made yesterday)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

For the spiced drizzle:

2 tbsp icing sugar
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2- 3 tbs of cold water.

Preparation Method:
Pre heat the oven to 175
In a large mixing bowl sieve the flour and baking powder and add in the sugar and salt.
Now add in the milk,egg and oil.

Whisk everything together and until you get a smooth cake batter.
The batter will be runnier than usual as there is oil in it instead of butter.

Grease and flour a cake tin and pour the batter into it and wrap the pan on the surface a few times to get rid of air bubbles.

Pop the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (oven temps may vary).

Check to see if the skewer comes out clean after the cooking time, if it doesn't put the cake back into the oven for another 2-3 minutes until cooked.

Make holes all over the cake and pour the drizzle all over it  :)

Enjoy :)













Saturday 1 June 2013

Cheese Crackers

These Cheese biscuits/crackers are very moreish and really easy to make :) give them a go, you'll love them :)

Ingredients:

2 cups of grated cheese
1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 stick of butter (cubed)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp mustard

Preparation Method:

Pre heat your oven to 180



Add the cheese and flour into a blender and blitz until finely blended.



Now add the butter,salt,pepper,cayenne pepper and mustard and pulse til it starts coming together like a crumbly dough.



pour the dough into a bowl and using your hands gently bring the dough together by kneading lightly.



Form the dough into a ball.



Flatten it like a disc and cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour.



Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness.



Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife cut into small squares.
Make a small hole in the middle of each cracker for decoration .



Arrange the crackers onto lined baking trays.
Pop the trays in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes.



They're ready :)

Let the crackers cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a plate or container as they are very delicate when hot.

Enjoy straight away or store in an air tight container for up to a week :)



Yummy :)