The mad month of December with it's feasting and glorious anticipation is over.
January is a month of trying to keep the New years resolutions, trying to eat reasonably and trying to spend less money.
That's no reason to stop playing around with good food.
I'm sure that we could all come up with some appropriate excuses to baking cakes and cooking delicious meals.
Mine is an upcoming birthday party...
7 is a big number when you're 6.
It's gonna be a good one :)
I'm trying to decide what to make...
I don't want to make a huge cake which for the most part will likely go uneaten and I'm thinking about ways to draw back on the sugar intake.
kids are energetic enough.
I'm thinking...
Pop-corn, fruits, home made pizzas and maybe a selection of cup-cakes?
we'll see...
09 January, 2013
03 January, 2013
What to do with a Brown Banana?
Well you make banana bread...
Obviously.
There comes a time in the life of every banana when it just doesn't look good anymore. It's been left too long sitting on the table or in the fruit basket.
Brown, not Yellow...
It's just lost that appealing glow.
That's OK.
Don't throw it out.
Just make some really sweet banana bread.
Here's how...
You will need:
1 Egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
150 gr. flour
100 gr. sugar
3 brown bananas mushed up real good
Then you:
Beat the egg and the sugar together, you want to get a smooth light yellow batter.
Add the mushed up bananas and fold into the mix.
Then the flour, baking soda and salt.
Roll it around so it's nice and even.
Pour it into a baking mold.
Bake in oven (where else?)
Heat the oven to 160°C
Bake for 35 to 40 min.
Attention!
You will know it's ready when you attack it with a knitting needle, knife or other prickly object, jabbing it in the middle of the now brown and crusted bread as it lays basking in the heat of the oven, if the object you have chosen comes out moderately clean, albeit a little sticky, you have done well my young padawan and the bread is ready for consumption.
Smear generously with butter, add cheese, and eat while warm.
Happy Banana-baking
Let me know how it turns out :)
Obviously.
There comes a time in the life of every banana when it just doesn't look good anymore. It's been left too long sitting on the table or in the fruit basket.
Brown, not Yellow...
It's just lost that appealing glow.
That's OK.
Don't throw it out.
Just make some really sweet banana bread.
Here's how...
You will need:
1 Egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
150 gr. flour
100 gr. sugar
3 brown bananas mushed up real good
Then you:
Beat the egg and the sugar together, you want to get a smooth light yellow batter.
Add the mushed up bananas and fold into the mix.
Then the flour, baking soda and salt.
Roll it around so it's nice and even.
Pour it into a baking mold.
Bake in oven (where else?)
Heat the oven to 160°C
Bake for 35 to 40 min.
Attention!You will know it's ready when you attack it with a knitting needle, knife or other prickly object, jabbing it in the middle of the now brown and crusted bread as it lays basking in the heat of the oven, if the object you have chosen comes out moderately clean, albeit a little sticky, you have done well my young padawan and the bread is ready for consumption.
Smear generously with butter, add cheese, and eat while warm.Happy Banana-baking
Let me know how it turns out :)
Carrot ? Cake... with chocolate trees
First up...
My Early Winter Nights cake.
Here we go ... (and you just sort of have ti imagine the sound track from Super Mario Bros playing... dum, dum, dum , durrrum, durrum, durrum, durrumm durrummm dumm dumm dumm)
You will need...
2 eggs
180 gr. sugar
150 gr flower
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp milk
100 ml. oil
4 shredded carrots
50 gr dried apples (you can use fresh apples but I like the chewy texture of the dried ones.)
50 gr chopped hazelnuts
one oven heated to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit or there about)
one mixer
one spatula
two baking tins (mine are round 22cm in diameter)
baking parchment (that's posh for paper)
You will then:
1. Beat together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is nice and light and fluffy, about 5 min. in an electric mixer at medium to high speeds, depending on how dangerously you want to live. (meanwhile you could peel the carrots, shred them and chop the dried apples, it's just a suggestion you don't have to... I mean there's no law) You could do the mixing by hand but if you do it's gonna be hurting tomorrow.
2. Add the cinnamon, baking soda and powder to the mix and stir together, just a little bit... be gentle. Then the oil and milk and now you should have some brownish- orangy looking goo. DON'T PANIC.
3. Stop using the electric mixer and add the flower bit by bit mixing it gently, try folding it in with a spatula. You don't want to beat the air out of the mixture with too much force because you want to make the cake nice and fluffy don't you?... yes you do, I know because I read minds.
4. Then you dump in the carrots (which by this point should be peeled and shredded), the apples (which should be chopped to little bitty bits) and the hazelnuts (which you should have bought pre-chopped, if not... well I guess the whole thing is ruined then isn't it?)
5. Now
I like to keep my baking tins clean by lining them with the paper... but it's your mess, you can opt out and just smear them with butter and dust them with flower. (if you have no idea what I'm talking about let me know, but I will be adding this little tip in the "hint's and help" section sometime later)
Pour the mix into the tins dividing it evenly between them... no favorites, it will get you nowhere.
6. Oven... 20-25 min or until it's nice and golden on the outside and the edges are firming up. Test it by stabbing it with a little prick, it should come out clean... or knife. (I use a knitting needle, it's the only thing they're good for... just an opinion)
7. Let it cool down... give it time, it should be very soft and fluffy.
8. Do you want to put cream on it?
You will need
200 gr Mascarpone cheese (it's white and really creamy. You could spread it on bread but then you might as well soak the bread in double cream.)
180 grams powdered sugar (fluffy white stuff)
1 tbsp butter, really really soft... like leave-it-on-the-table-for-a-long-time soft.
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp Maple syrup
Put in a bowl and mix until smooth.
You may want to taste it and see if it needs some more vanilla or maple syrup (or just because you want an excuse to eat nothing but the topping.)
9. Spread over the cake once it has fully cooled down or the cream will melt into the cake. (I'm warning you... I mean it.)
Enjoy
And remember to lick the bowl clean.
My Early Winter Nights cake.
Here we go ... (and you just sort of have ti imagine the sound track from Super Mario Bros playing... dum, dum, dum , durrrum, durrum, durrum, durrumm durrummm dumm dumm dumm)
You will need...
2 eggs
180 gr. sugar
150 gr flower
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp milk
100 ml. oil
4 shredded carrots
50 gr dried apples (you can use fresh apples but I like the chewy texture of the dried ones.)
50 gr chopped hazelnuts
one oven heated to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit or there about)
one mixer
one spatula
two baking tins (mine are round 22cm in diameter)
baking parchment (that's posh for paper)
You will then:
1. Beat together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is nice and light and fluffy, about 5 min. in an electric mixer at medium to high speeds, depending on how dangerously you want to live. (meanwhile you could peel the carrots, shred them and chop the dried apples, it's just a suggestion you don't have to... I mean there's no law) You could do the mixing by hand but if you do it's gonna be hurting tomorrow.
2. Add the cinnamon, baking soda and powder to the mix and stir together, just a little bit... be gentle. Then the oil and milk and now you should have some brownish- orangy looking goo. DON'T PANIC.
3. Stop using the electric mixer and add the flower bit by bit mixing it gently, try folding it in with a spatula. You don't want to beat the air out of the mixture with too much force because you want to make the cake nice and fluffy don't you?... yes you do, I know because I read minds.
4. Then you dump in the carrots (which by this point should be peeled and shredded), the apples (which should be chopped to little bitty bits) and the hazelnuts (which you should have bought pre-chopped, if not... well I guess the whole thing is ruined then isn't it?)
5. Now
I like to keep my baking tins clean by lining them with the paper... but it's your mess, you can opt out and just smear them with butter and dust them with flower. (if you have no idea what I'm talking about let me know, but I will be adding this little tip in the "hint's and help" section sometime later)
Pour the mix into the tins dividing it evenly between them... no favorites, it will get you nowhere.
6. Oven... 20-25 min or until it's nice and golden on the outside and the edges are firming up. Test it by stabbing it with a little prick, it should come out clean... or knife. (I use a knitting needle, it's the only thing they're good for... just an opinion)
7. Let it cool down... give it time, it should be very soft and fluffy.
8. Do you want to put cream on it?
You will need
200 gr Mascarpone cheese (it's white and really creamy. You could spread it on bread but then you might as well soak the bread in double cream.)
180 grams powdered sugar (fluffy white stuff)
1 tbsp butter, really really soft... like leave-it-on-the-table-for-a-long-time soft.
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp Maple syrup
Put in a bowl and mix until smooth.
You may want to taste it and see if it needs some more vanilla or maple syrup (or just because you want an excuse to eat nothing but the topping.)
9. Spread over the cake once it has fully cooled down or the cream will melt into the cake. (I'm warning you... I mean it.)
Enjoy
And remember to lick the bowl clean.
Gingerbread cookies.. or House... or Boot... or whatever
So I finally got round to writing this down for all y'all out there.
This recipe is actually really simple and easy to make and doesn't have to be cooled over night in a refrigerator like so many others.
No, You can use it while it's nice and warm.
That also means you can make nice cookies at short notice.
Great for impatient kids.
You will need.
100 gr butter
150 gr brown molasses sugar (the really dense dark brown stuff)
150 ml syrup
a sprinkling of ginger
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
5-600 gr flower
What you want to do with that is this:
Put the butter and the sugar and the syrup in a big pot and melt it thoroughly together... it needs to start boiling slightly.
You may want to keep the kids away from this part.
When it's nice and dangerous go ahead and take it off the heat and let it cool down so that it's a little less dangerous.
Then...
Add the spices and stir.
Then...
When it's cooled down a little bit more... add at least a third of the flower.
Now it should look like a really gooey brown, sweet smelling, sticky mess...
You've done good so far.
If you feel up to it try to kneed more flower into it...
If it's still too hot... give it a moment... it's been through a lot.
Ok now you should be able to dump it on a tabletop along with the rest of the flower, make a little nest in it and crack open the egg...
It's gonna wanna run, but you mix it up and squish it in.
Now you just keep kneading it until it's nice and smooth... shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Roll it out thin and go wild with the cooky cutters.
fire that oven up to 180 C.
Bake in oven for 10 - 15 min depending on the thickness of the dough.
Let them cool
Decorate if you must...
No I'm kidding... decorate them with Icing sugar and candy, they'll be great.
Good luck
Sweet times.
This recipe is actually really simple and easy to make and doesn't have to be cooled over night in a refrigerator like so many others.
No, You can use it while it's nice and warm.
That also means you can make nice cookies at short notice.
Great for impatient kids.
You will need.
100 gr butter
150 gr brown molasses sugar (the really dense dark brown stuff)
150 ml syrup
a sprinkling of ginger
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
5-600 gr flower
What you want to do with that is this:
Put the butter and the sugar and the syrup in a big pot and melt it thoroughly together... it needs to start boiling slightly.
You may want to keep the kids away from this part.
When it's nice and dangerous go ahead and take it off the heat and let it cool down so that it's a little less dangerous.
Then...
Add the spices and stir.
Then...
When it's cooled down a little bit more... add at least a third of the flower.
Now it should look like a really gooey brown, sweet smelling, sticky mess...
You've done good so far.
If you feel up to it try to kneed more flower into it...
If it's still too hot... give it a moment... it's been through a lot.
Ok now you should be able to dump it on a tabletop along with the rest of the flower, make a little nest in it and crack open the egg...
It's gonna wanna run, but you mix it up and squish it in.
Now you just keep kneading it until it's nice and smooth... shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Roll it out thin and go wild with the cooky cutters.
fire that oven up to 180 C.
Bake in oven for 10 - 15 min depending on the thickness of the dough.
Let them cool
Decorate if you must...
No I'm kidding... decorate them with Icing sugar and candy, they'll be great.
Good luck
Sweet times.
02 January, 2013
New Year... New food
Hello everyone..
Happy new year, hope you had a good one and that this one will be even better :)
Celebrating the New year in Iceland is pretty cool.
We get together to stuff our faces full of some of the best foods we can think of. (there's generally a lot of double cream, butter and other taboo stuff involved.)
Some people break out the barbeque and throw on a slab of meat or two or three.
Seriously... the BBQ! in a snowstorm.
It's the best.
Then there's the traditional "sitting around and watching TV" part of the evening, when the national tv station RÚV breaks out the fine china and tells us all the interesting things that happened this past year both here in Iceland and abroad.
That's nice. We forget too fast.
Then there is a bonfire...
There are about 20 around the capital, big blazing mountains of fire.
Everybody get's together and there is singing involved.
It's funny, because most of the people there are strangers.
Everybody's there to have a good time.
Some people bring little fireworks to light up the sky.
Pretty.
After that we go back home and have a blast of our own.
Have you ever seen a black starlit sky suddenly turn into a puddle of light and color.
I have.
It's amazing.
Everybody and their grandmother get's out and lights at least one little firework.
Kids stand around with blazing torches and sparkling lights.
There is so much noise you have to shout.
But that's ok because you don't want to talk anyway.
There are flashes of light and color that stun you into silence.
This is the Icelandic midnight.
We celabrate the New Year with a boom.
Then a party.
I made a cake...
It's a rocket, heading for the stars.
it's one of those marzipan marvels that taste so good with coffee :)
Happy New Year
Happy new year, hope you had a good one and that this one will be even better :)
Celebrating the New year in Iceland is pretty cool.
We get together to stuff our faces full of some of the best foods we can think of. (there's generally a lot of double cream, butter and other taboo stuff involved.)
Some people break out the barbeque and throw on a slab of meat or two or three.
Seriously... the BBQ! in a snowstorm.
It's the best.
Then there's the traditional "sitting around and watching TV" part of the evening, when the national tv station RÚV breaks out the fine china and tells us all the interesting things that happened this past year both here in Iceland and abroad.
That's nice. We forget too fast.
Then there is a bonfire...
There are about 20 around the capital, big blazing mountains of fire.
Everybody get's together and there is singing involved.
It's funny, because most of the people there are strangers.
Everybody's there to have a good time.
Some people bring little fireworks to light up the sky.
Pretty.
After that we go back home and have a blast of our own.
Have you ever seen a black starlit sky suddenly turn into a puddle of light and color.
I have.
It's amazing.
Everybody and their grandmother get's out and lights at least one little firework.
Kids stand around with blazing torches and sparkling lights.
There is so much noise you have to shout.
But that's ok because you don't want to talk anyway.
There are flashes of light and color that stun you into silence.
This is the Icelandic midnight.
We celabrate the New Year with a boom.
Then a party.
It's a rocket, heading for the stars.
it's one of those marzipan marvels that taste so good with coffee :)
Happy New Year
22 December, 2012
Freshly Baked Little Bread Buns
I love home made bread on the weekends.
I let the kids help me with this one, mixing, kneading, cutting into little buns and topping off with cheese or seeds.
This time we made some nice little buns, warm out of the oven with butter and a generous slice of cheese... Delish...
Here's how...
You will need
1 kilo flour
80 gr. sugar
60 gr. yeast
2 tsp. baking powder
300 ml. water
250 ml. milk
200 gr. butter
1-2 tsp cardamom essence (or not)
Then...
Mix the flour and baking powder together
Heat the water and milk and melt the butter in it, add the yeast and sugar and cardamom drops stirring together.
Pour the liquids into the dry stuff
It's gonna look like this...
Stir it around and make a mess...
Now pour onto the table...
Doesn't look like much... that's OK.
It's time for your daily exercise, kneading the dough...
It's going to be all right
DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR
Just stay with it...
See... told you :)
Now pop this little guy in back in the bowl
Cover for at least 30 to 40 min in a warm place... Maybe more... up to you.
I always fill the kitchen sink half way up with warm water and place the bowl in it, the heat does wonders for the dough.
I left this for 2 hours, went out and did some shopping :)
Then it's time for the next step...
Just turn the bowl upside down over the work surface...
Don't knead it or punch it or anything though it may be tempting,
we want the air to stay in it.
The next part requires some additional items...
You will need:
A nice glass to make the buns, nothing too fancy...
Milk and a brush, (or egg, that works too, but I was out of eggs)
Some grated cheese
A selection of seeds, whatever you like.
Now... Making the buns...
Using the glass, cut a little bit of the bough..
Don't fill the glass, just about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way... depending on how big you want the buns to become, just leave some room in the glass.
Then press down on the glass and make little circular movements, fast.
Kid's can help here too :)
If you spin it around for something like 5 seconds it's going to make the bun nice and even and smooth...
see...
Then it's time for some artistic brush work...
This is something the kid´s like to be in charge of.
Now you will want to add the topping,
I really like the cheese one.
( Add the cheese when it's on the baking tray, otherwise it's going to be hard to move them... that was just a set up for the picture.)
Some cheesy goodness going on here...
A dusting of seeds...
Into the oven
180 degrees C
For about 15 min, but keep an eye on them...
When they turn golden brown they will be getting ready
Yummy
And look, they are so nice and warm and tasty :)
Happy baking Everybody
I let the kids help me with this one, mixing, kneading, cutting into little buns and topping off with cheese or seeds.
This time we made some nice little buns, warm out of the oven with butter and a generous slice of cheese... Delish...
Here's how...
1 kilo flour
80 gr. sugar
60 gr. yeast
2 tsp. baking powder
300 ml. water
250 ml. milk
200 gr. butter
1-2 tsp cardamom essence (or not)
Then...
Mix the flour and baking powder together
Heat the water and milk and melt the butter in it, add the yeast and sugar and cardamom drops stirring together.
Pour the liquids into the dry stuff
It's gonna look like this...
Stir it around and make a mess...
Now pour onto the table...
Doesn't look like much... that's OK.
It's time for your daily exercise, kneading the dough...
It's going to be all right
DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR
Just stay with it...
See... told you :)
Now pop this little guy in back in the bowl
Cover for at least 30 to 40 min in a warm place... Maybe more... up to you.
I always fill the kitchen sink half way up with warm water and place the bowl in it, the heat does wonders for the dough.
I left this for 2 hours, went out and did some shopping :)
Then it's time for the next step...
Just turn the bowl upside down over the work surface...
Don't knead it or punch it or anything though it may be tempting,
we want the air to stay in it.
The next part requires some additional items...
You will need:
A nice glass to make the buns, nothing too fancy...
Milk and a brush, (or egg, that works too, but I was out of eggs)
Some grated cheese
A selection of seeds, whatever you like.
Now... Making the buns...
Using the glass, cut a little bit of the bough..
Don't fill the glass, just about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way... depending on how big you want the buns to become, just leave some room in the glass.
Then press down on the glass and make little circular movements, fast.
Kid's can help here too :)
If you spin it around for something like 5 seconds it's going to make the bun nice and even and smooth...
see...
Then it's time for some artistic brush work...
This is something the kid´s like to be in charge of.
Now you will want to add the topping,I really like the cheese one.
( Add the cheese when it's on the baking tray, otherwise it's going to be hard to move them... that was just a set up for the picture.)
Some cheesy goodness going on here...
A dusting of seeds...
180 degrees C
For about 15 min, but keep an eye on them...
When they turn golden brown they will be getting ready
Yummy
Need I say more?
And look, they are so nice and warm and tasty :)
Happy baking Everybody
21 December, 2012
Leftover lunch
All right... I have a confession to make...
I sometimes cook food in my kitchen, not just cakes...
Today I had about half a chicken leftover from the other night, what to do, what to do?
well... I had two simple choices...
Egg noodle stir-fry with chicken, peas and sweet corn.
That's what the kids had,
They added just a little bit of soy sauce.
Not too bad?
or...
BBQ Chicken salad sprinkled with brown sesame seeds and flakes of sea-salt.
I couldn't help myself..
The cookie cutters were just lying there on the table looking like they wanted to do some work so I had some fun.
Who said you shouldn't play with your food?
This is what happens when you do...
Meet them all...
Starstruck,
Heartfelt and
Be there or be square
Make a simple salad..
Spice up the Christmas salad
Or just have fun...
What do you think?
I sometimes cook food in my kitchen, not just cakes...
Today I had about half a chicken leftover from the other night, what to do, what to do?
well... I had two simple choices...
Egg noodle stir-fry with chicken, peas and sweet corn.
That's what the kids had,
They added just a little bit of soy sauce.
Not too bad?
or...
BBQ Chicken salad sprinkled with brown sesame seeds and flakes of sea-salt.
I couldn't help myself..
The cookie cutters were just lying there on the table looking like they wanted to do some work so I had some fun.
Who said you shouldn't play with your food?
This is what happens when you do...
Starstruck,
Heartfelt and
Be there or be square
Make a simple salad..
Spice up the Christmas salad
Or just have fun...
What do you think?
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