Sunday 28 September 2014

Cheese scrolls

I've just made these and at the moment I am having great difficulty stopping myself from troughing up the lot!  Really delicious!

I made the dough in Thermione but it can be made the more conventional way - just use oatmeal instead of whole oats, mix the dry, rub in the butter, add the water and knead until it is a nice stretchy dough.  Leave to rise, knock back and shape.

So here we go.

Ingredients:
for the dough:
100g oats
400g strong white flour
1.5 tsp dried yeast (the totally instant kind)
1 tsp salt
30g butter
2 tbsp dried milk powder
330mls warm water

for the filling
greated cheese
salt, pepper and mustard powder

Method:
Put the oats in the bowl and blitz at 9 or 10 until powdery
Add the flour, yeast, salt and milk powder and mix on 6 for a few seconds
Add the cubed butter and zizz again until butter is all absorbed (4 or 5 seconds is all it takes)
add the warm water, mix briefly and then knead on the dough setting for 8 minutes.

Allow to rise in the bowl.

This makes a soft dough so I used plenty of flour and also oiled my hands.  Tip dough out (scrape round the edges of the bowl) and knead briefly.  Divide into two and use one half to make a normal shaped loaf unsing a 1 lb loaf tim.

With the other half, shape into a rectangle and roll out until about 1cm thick.  Spread over the grated cheese and then sprinkle over the salt, pepper and mustard powder.  Starting from one end, roll up tightly and then cut into pinwheels.  Arrange the circles on a lined baking tray.

Cover the circles and the loaf in the tin and allow to prove (takes around half an hour or so).

Preheat the oven to 230, then as soon as the bread is in, reduce it to around 190.  I put the loaf on the higher shelf and the scrolls on the lower shelf.

Bake until done (around half an hour if using a non-fan oven, probably quicker for the scrolls if it's a fan oven).

Cool on a wire rack - and try not to eat the lot while it is all still warm!

Saturday 27 September 2014

A quick (very quick) lunch

I threw this together one morning last week.

I was frying tomatoes and decided to do more and use some for lunch.  That's what started it off.

Ingredients:
some cooked rice (I used half a pack of ready cooked rice)
A small can of tuna (I used a value can which is quite small)
Some chopped mushrooms
some tomatoes that have been fried in butter
a bit of salt and a bit of pepper
soy sauce.

What I did.
I piled the rice into a sealable microwaveable plastic carton.
On top I added the tune, the mushroom and the fried tomatoes and stirred the lot together with a bit of salt and a bit of pepper.  I took it to school and at lunchtime I heated it in the mucrowave at school before adding some soy sauce.
It was surprisingly scrummy and made enough for two meals as it was filling.

A bit of grated cheese would have been nice but I didn't think of that at the time.

Sunday 21 September 2014

Spiced blackberry, apple and plum jam

This carries on from where the last one finishes.

I have a sieve full of fruit after straining some stewed blackberries, apple and plums.  I wanted a clear jelly so did't push anything through the seive which meant that there was still quite a lot of pulp there.
I used my mouli to get the rest of the fruit juice and flesh from the pulp and threw the rest away - mostly seeds, pips and skin.

I then mixed in an equal amount of jam sugar, the juice of half a lemon and some mixed spice.  It went into Thermione where it cooked at varoma heat, reverse spin for around seven minutes.  I then checked it for setting point and it was fine.  And that was that.

I got two little pots of jam out of it with a bit that wouldn't squeeze in so I had it on a rice cake and it was truly delicious.

I like making stuff from what would otherwise be thrown away.


blackberry, apple and plum jelly

I was given some blackberries (thanks, K) and I had some apples that someone else had given me (eaters) and some purple plums that needed using up.
Not my photo and I know the plums are the wrong kind!
I chopped the fruit up a bit and simmered it all in some water until everything was soft and mushy.  Then I strained it through a seive and let it stand like that for a couple of hours.

I them measured the liquid and added jam sugar in the proportion pint/pound plus the juice of a small lemon.

There wasn't loads so I used Thermione to boil to setting point.  If there had been more, I'd have done it in the conventional way.  It did take quite a while.

I checked for set using the saucer method.

It tastes wonderful although hasn't made all that much.  That's jellies and jelly bag type methods for you.
I am a bit anti making clear jelly jams as I don't like the waste, but I then pushed the leftover fruit bits through my mouli and have a some unclear, thick 'sauce'.  I think I will add some spice and make some sort of sauce or spicy jam (almost the same thing really).  See separate entry . . .

Chilli tomato passata

Made yesterday.  It's an idea: amounts are variable!  I have no idea whether it should be called a passata but never mind.

One comment:  because the first chilli I used seemed mild, I bunged in two and didn't seed them.  Er - let's just say next time I will take out the seeds!!!!!

I used:
Loads of flavoursome tomatoes.  Enough to fill a good sized roasting dish.  Cut into wodges and cut out any 'bad bits' but keep the cores, etc, for flavour.
2 medium onions, peeled and chunked
some celery, cut into chunks
olive oil - it's a slow roasting thing so OO is fine.
2 bay leaves, torn into bits
some dried mixed herbs (or whatever from the garden)
Some garlic.
2 chillies
a good pinch of sugar
a sloosh of balsamic vinegar
some sea salt

(and anything else you fancy - if I had some wine I would add some, but I don't)

Put the lot in a good sized roasting dish and stir around until everything is coated with the oil.
Place in a show oven and roast until all soft and gooey.  Cover with foil if necessary.

Push through a fine sieve or mouli.  Check seasonings and adjust.  Freeze in sensible sized portions (or use straight away because it may be very hot the way I made it but it is so gorgeous!)


Sunday 14 September 2014

Soft white bread rolls: thermomix

These are really nice.  After a fairly (oh, OK, totally) disastrous effort with a different recipe yesterday, I found this today and converted it for Thermione.  If you want the conventional method, please follow the link below.

It comes from a blog at http://amumwholovestobake.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/soft-rolls.html  which seems to have been abandoned; a shame because there's some jolly good recipes there - well worth a visit.

I've just had one warm with butter and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  I shall definitely use this when I want soft rolls from now on.  It's on the 'do regularly' list.  Thank you very much, mum who loves to bake!

You need:
500g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp dried yeast
1 tbsp soft, brown sugar
50g butter, cubed
170mls milk
170 mls hot water (so that when it is mixed with the milk it makes a lukewarm liquid)

Method:
Put the flour. salt. yeast, sugar and butter in the bowl and blitz for about 5 seconds on speed 6 or 7, until the butter has 'breadcrumbed'.

Mix the milk with the water and pour into the bowl.

Knead for 10 minutes.

Push down any dough that is sticking to the side and sprinkle over some flour.  Replace the lid and MC and leave to rise.

When it is doubles in size, top out onto a floured or oiled surface and bash down again, getting as much air out a possible.

Shape into rolls (I managed to make 14 but I don't like hugely ginormous rolls and they do rise a fair old bit) and place on a lined oven tray (I use a teflon sheet).  Cover with oiled clingfilm or easyleave to prove.

Heat the oven to 170C

Place the tray on the middle shelf and bake until cooked.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cover immediately with a clean tea towel (or similar).



Saturday 6 September 2014

Recipe: Roasted tomato sauce

This was posted on a page on Facebook called Allotment and Vegetable Growers.  I've scrolled down and can't find it so huge apologies to whoever posted it and I will edit this if I find the source (no pun intended).

It makes a delicious sauce, quite sweet in a good way.  Salt/pepper/other seasonings can be added when you use it.

Roasted tomato sauce

Ingredients
2k ripe tomatoes
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
4/5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme or 2 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram or oregano
1-2 tsp soft dark brown sugar
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil

Method
layer the ingredients in a roasting dish, starting with the onions and garlic and covering the onions with the tomatoes.
Roast at 170 for an hour or more until everything is soft and slightly charred.
Push through a mouli or a sieve to get rid of all the bits.

Freeze in portions.