Rosemary Cornmeal Crackers

I always have crackers in a jar for snacking..and undoubtedly, for me..none of store-bought crackers could beat the homemade ones!

These cornmeal crackers just came through my mind all of a sudden but it was the right time since my last stock was running out... I simply googled to get a variety of recipes and this one was the first result shown which happened to be the winner!

The recipe ( slightly adapted from here )


3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flours, cornmeal, rosemary, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the water and olive oil. Mix until a loose, wet dough is formed. Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface for 1-2 minutes. Wrap the dough with cling film and leave to rest for 1/2 hour.

Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece directly onto a piece of parchment paper until very thin.  Cut the dough into desired shape (squares, triangles, rectangles) with a very sharp knife or cutter.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown.

  

Salted Caramel Chocolate-Chip Bars

A good friend of mine lives in a small but beautiful town where is quite far from my house..anyway, with a little effort made, I've managed to pay her and her little cute boy a visit once in a while and this time I brought these bars along to trade with her fabulous food..:)

The recipe could be found here.

Spanish Fish Stew

This Saturday my husband had two choices to choose for dinner and he pickd up this Spanish Fish Stew which I've got the recipe from BBC Goodfood..

Once he had the first spoon of his dinner, he immediately said that he has definitely chosen the right choice...and he asked when he'd have the stewd again even before he finished the meal..hence, you can easily guess how delicious it is !

The recipe could be found here. ( Note : I used a lot more fish stock than the recipe calls for )

      

Cardamom & Marmalade Scones

When I first saw these scones on seriouseat, I knew immidiately that I must give it a try because I really like a combination of orange and cardamom! However , given a small amount of butter called for in the recipe, on second thought, I didn't think I'd go for it!

Instead, I googled to get more recipes from different sources and finally, found one that I liked the most... and here it is!!

The recipe ( adapted from here ) :


2 cups self raising flour
1.5 tbsp sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled cut into pieces
3/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup orange marmalade (chunky kind with bits of orange peel)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
sugar


Heat oven to 400°F.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom together. Add in the butter and use a fork or pastry cutter to blend into mixture until it is crumbly.

Mix the egg, milk and marmalade together then pour into the dry ingredient and mix until the dough comes together. Add more milk if needed. Dough should come together so that you can roll it out.

Place dough on a board and gently bring it together. Roll the dough out until 1.5 inches thick , using a round cutter cut the dough out into pieces and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the top scone with milk and sprinkle a little sugar on each scone. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.

Apple Pie Cake

I was disappointed with an apple kuchen I made last weekend that turned out totally different from how I expected it to be...and typical me, I couldn't get over with easily..so I knew myself that I needed to do something to cheer myself up and I ended up with this apple cake by mixing & matching between few recipes!

This is what I've done..


Ingredients for the apple pie filling :

3 large apple ( I used Fuji )
1/4 cup raisin
2 TB brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp all spice
a squeeze of lemon juice

Ingredients for the batter :
(A)
4 egg white
1/4 tsp cream of tar tar
2 TB sugar
(whisk ingredients till stiffed, set aside)

(B)
4 egg yolk
2 TB sugar
2 TB self raising flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 TB canola oil
(beat yolks, sugar, vanilla and the oil till fluffy, sift in the flour, salt + baking powder and fold everything until well combined and smooth)

To Assemble : fold ingredients (A) into (B) by 3 batches till everything well combined. Do not over mix the batter.

Method :

Preheat the oven to 180c. Line 8*8 inches pan with parchment paper. Pour 1/3 batter to the tin , then evenly spread the filling over the batter and top the filling with the remaining batter. Bake for 30-45 minutes until done.

PB & Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies

I decided to make and post this cookie as the debut ( for cookie baking ) of the year and fortunately, it didn't let me down !

The recipe could be found here.

Pork Belly with Chorizo & Chickpea Casserole

The new year hasn't made anything changed to my life except it made me feel that time truly flies ! Life still goes on and nothing can stop me from cooking & baking..:)

This pork casserole was my choice for the family Saturday dinner...something that I knew it wouldn't let anyone down!

The recipe could be found here.

A good start of the year..

We was spending  a great time in NZ with good old friends during last year's Christmas break and now have been back to settle with the new year which it's been so far so good...especially about my cooking and baking !

Here is what I've successfully done for a good start of the year..

Begin with this aromatic and tasteful 'Chilli Marrakech' that I've got the recipe from my most favorite food magazine...in my own opinion, it's much more interesting than normal chilli !

Secondly, I chose this 'Finnish Pulla' to be a debut of my baking and it's totally a big hit in my family..:)

And the lastest dish I'd proudly like to present here is 'Masala Chicken Pie' ...the way that makes the curry much more interesting !!