Melting Moments Biscuits

Rachel Allen is one of my favorite celebrity chefs known for her work on Television and as a writer.This recipe of her's i just love baking over and over again.Melting moments was a compelling try as an amateur baker.


Melting moments really do live up to their name: they melt in the mouth. The reason for their extra special crumbliness is the addition of cornflour.Here is how i went about Baking them:

Ingredients:
175g self raising flour
125g corn flour
50g icing sugar
225g butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 160C.
2.Put all the ingredients into the food processor and blitz until just combined and forming a dough.
3.Make 40 small balls the size of a large marble and place onto baking trays.Line the trays. Flatten down each ball with a fork – only a little bit though.
4.Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until still very pale in colour but slightly firm.


5.Remove the biscuits from the tray carefully because they’re really fragile, and cool.



Tip: Use Fresh and the Best Butter available in the market as the flavor of the Butter comes through in these Melting Biscuits.

Caramelized Onions & Pumpkin Soup

Summer has almost come to an end and Pumpkins are finding their way to the Markets... -Good Bye Summer.. Hello Autumn/ Fall.

Here is something warm and hearty for the windy/chill evenings.

Ingredients

3 cups of Pumpkin

125g Butter or 3 table spoons Olive oil

1 medium Onion, finely chopped

1 Cinnamon stick

Freshly grated Nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground Black pepper

2 cups of Water or Vegetable stock

1 cup of Whole milk

3 table spoons of Cream

Preparation method

Cut the top off the pumpkin and Scoop out the seeds and fibres from the middle and discard.

Using a sharp knife and a spoon, carefully hollow out the pumpkin, removing the flesh and setting aside.

Roughly chop the scooped-out pumpkin flesh.

Melt the butter/olive oil in a large pan with a lid over a low heat and add the onions. Cook the onions gently for 10-15 minutes, until they are softened and golden-brown.

Add the pumpkin flesh, the cinnamon and nutmeg, and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Increase the heat to medium and cover with the lid. Cook for 40minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the base from burning, until the pumpkin is cooked through.

( or Pressure cook the Pumpkin with water and a little salt )

Add the water or stock and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Return the soup to the pan and bring to a low simmer and cook for a further half an hour with 1 cup of Whole milk and 1.5 table spoons of Cream.

Ladle into bowls and serve topping it off with some cream/olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper.

Mid Week Delights

Honey Mustard Dressing

Summer is here and Salad is the main attraction.Dressings that bind the salad give the salad a wonderful flavor.Here is a quick and easy dressing for any great salad.It incorporates Honey and Mustard.

Ingredients

• 1tbsp French Mustard
• 1tbsp Honey
• 2tsp lemon juice
• 6tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Start off by placing the mustard, honey and the lemon juice in a bowl and gently whisk. Continue whisking and pour in the Olive Oil until all well combined.Season with salt,pepper and drizzle over salad.

The sweetness of the honey combined with the sharp pungent mustard - a lovely Golden treat.

A Wordless Wednesday ...

..... a wordless Wednesday and my holy basil

Summer & Salads

Craving Cold food,Ice candy,Watermelons,Peaches,Salad - Summer is here.Summer and Salads there is something about them.

"Summer" it just begs you for something easy,light, cold & colorful.

Try this salad for your Picnic or Cookout.

A Quick and Easy Chilled Pasta Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Parsley,chopped
• 1 cup Fusilli or corkscrew pasta
• 10-12 grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup steamed or canned corn
• 1/4 cup steamed green peas
• 1/4 cup red onions or salad onions
• 1/4 cup button mushrooms,boiled
• 1/4 cup tofu
• 1/2tsp oregano,dried
• 2tsps Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

To start off with : Heat a large covered sauce pot of salted water and bring it to a boil on high.Add pasta to boiling water and cook as label directs.

Meanwhile,microwave the tofu for 1-2minutes at 500watts. Once done add in a teaspoon of Olive oil,Oregano and season with a little salt & pepper.Let them rest for a couple of minutes.

Next in a bowl,combine the red onions,cherry tomatoes,corn,peas,mushrooms and the marinated tofu.Drain pasta and and add it to the salad bowl with the rest and mix well by adding 1tsp of Olive oil, check for seasoning and garnish generously with Parsley.

Serve chilled.You could add any of these variations to your salad:

• Cucumber
• Bell Peppers
• Olives
• Capers
• or Greek Feta cheese

.... isn't it tempting ?? :)

"Eat your colors" you're always told and now is the perfect time & I love the summer colors and nothing more delightful than having a plate of the colors to enjoy the outdoors.

..Getting Started

It’s finally getting done! :D And i'm almost there... a BLOG. You mite want to know what it is about and *much,much* more. Who am I? What do I/ We do? And while you are waiting ………

Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

And when you want some thing quick and easy you say S-O-U-P-Y :D

Go ahead and try this!

A hearty Bean soup.

I really, really,really love Soups. There I said it :D

There are numerous varieties of Soups available in todays market( now thats for one of those lazziiee days ). But then when we can make it better and fresher and so much more delectable at home why go and reach for the can?

With ingredients for this soup being available all year its easy, colorful,fresh,lively and has a lovely texture.A simple supper or a main course soup the beans in it gives an amazing depth.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 2tbsp-Olive oil
• 1/2tsp-Garlic powder
• 1/4tsp-Cumin powder
• 1/4tsp-Coriander powder
• 1/4tsp-Paprika
• 1/4tsp-Sugar
• 1bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• 2-Onion
• 2-Carrot
• 2-3-Tomatoes, medium sized
• 4-5 Chard leaves
• 750ml-Vegetable stock
• 1Can(appox.200gms) - Cannellini Beans / White Beans
• 3-4tsp of Parmigiano-Reggiano
• A small bunch of Coriander to garnish

Lets get started, here is how i make it :

• Begin by adding the Olive oil to the Pot over medium heat.
• Add the bay leaf,roughly chopped onions,carrots and stir them around until they are soft,but not brown.
• Next goes the tomatoes and the sugar.Bring the heat to a medium low stir occasionally for the next 5minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
• Once the tomatoes are soft add the Spices- garlic,cumin,coriander,paprika and give it a quick stir and pour the stock in ( or stock cubes if using them )
• When the stock comes to a boil add the beans,the chard leaves and salt to taste and let it simmer for 5 -7minutes. (If using canned beans rinse a couple of times or you can soak a cup of white beans over night in water.Next morning drain the water from the soaked white beans,rinse and add fresh water and place the beans with fresh water in a large bottomed pan and bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer on medium heat until cooked or to speed up the process use a pressure cooker)
• Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and garnish it with fresh Coriander leaves...YUM

To Serve: Generously ladle the Soup in a bowl crack some Black pepper and enjoy it with a ciabatta or a slice of fresh baguette with a couple of drops of Olive oil over it.