8 Easy Steps to Chocolate Heaven

A chocolate brownie is a flat, baked square or bar developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and popularized in both the U.S. and Canada during the first half of the 20th century. The brownie is a cross between a cake and a cookie in texture. Brownies come in a variety of forms. They are either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density, and they may include nuts, frosting, cream, chocolate, or other ingredients. A variation that is made with brown sugar and no chocolate is called a Blondie.

Brownies are common lunchbox fare, typically eaten by hand, and often accompanied by milk or coffee. They are sometimes served warm with ice cream (à la mode), topped with whipped cream or marzipan, or sprinkled with powdered sugar. They are especially popular in restaurants, where they can be found in variation on many dessert menus

This following recipe is do easy that you will be able to make a whole pan, eat it alone and then make another for your friends….. It only has eight easy steps.

If you don’t have a scale use my converter link to the right to see measurements in cups.

250 g butter

200 g dark chocolate

150 g chopped nuts

80 g cocoa powder

60 g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

350 g sugar

4 large eggs

1 oranges zest      

      1.      Preheat your oven to 180°C

      2.       Line a rectangular baking tray with wax paper

      3.       In a pan melt your butter.

      4.       Add the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted.

      5.       Add the nuts and orange zest

      6.       In a separate bowl sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder and the sugar.

      7.       Add this to your chocolate mix and then add your eggs.

      8.       Bake in the lined tray for 25 min but keep an eye on them. You don’t want to overcook them. Brownies should be nice and gooey on the inside. Once it is firm to the touch they are done. Let them cool before removing them from the tray and cutting them.

The Scientology of Cheese cake

Good afternoon

So after taking a break I am back.

For the last few weeks I have been cooking for what felt like thousands of  people (and it wasn't I know). Here is my kick off recipe to get us back on track.

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An ancient form of cheesecake may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece even prior to Romans' adoption of it with the conquest of Greece. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes. Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura includes recipes for two cakes for religious uses: Libum and Placenta.(Did he also write the book on Scientology giving his food that name????) Of the two, Placenta is most like most modern cheesecakes, having a crust that is separately prepared and baked. It is important to note that though these early forms are called cheese cakes, they differed greatly in taste and consistency from the cheesecake that we know today.

Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently. In 1912, James Kraft developed a form of pasteurized cream cheese. Kraft acquired the Philadelphia trademark in 1928, and marketed pasteurized Philadelphia Cream Cheese which is now the most commonly used cheese for cheesecake. (And we all love Philadelphia cream cheese soooooooo much I’d even cook Placenta with it.)

Here is a modern day Cheese Cake….. Hope you enjoy

Vanilla & Citrus cheesecake

Makes 14 servings

For the crust:-
Quick cook oats – 1 cup
Graham cracker crumbs – 2 cups
Butter, unsalted – 13 tbsps

For the filling:-
Cream Cheese – 24 oz, softened
Lemon – 1, zest and juiced
Orange – 1, zest
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Sugar, superfine  – 3/4 cup
Heavy cream – 1 1/4 cup

For the topping:-
Blackberries – 4 cups
Sugar, superfine – 1/4 cup
Liqueur (St. Germain or Cointreau) – 2 tsps

- Butter a 9″ springform baking pan lightly and set aside.

- Heat a skillet on medium low. Add the quick cook oats to it and toast until a darkish brown.

- Cut the butter into cubes and add along with the graham crackers to the toasted oats. Stir until combined. Move off heat.

- Pour the graham cracker-oats mixture into the baking pan and spread over the base of the pan. Press in with your fingers to compact it into a crust. Place in the refrigerator to chill and set for about an hour.

- In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla essence, lemon and orange zests, lemon juice and sugar in the filling section. Stir together until incorporated and a smooth mixture.

- In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it just holds soft peaks. Fold half the cream into the cream cheese mixture until thoroughly mixed. Then gently fold in the other half.

- Pull the baking pan out of the fridge and spoon the filling over the cold and set crust. Smooth out the filling into the pan gently with a spatula. Move back into the fridge to set for another 45 to 60 minutes,

- Put the berries and sugar reserved for topping in a bowl and mix together by crushing the fruit with your hand. When you have a rough syrup consistency, add the liqueur.

Pour the fruit over the cheesecake before serving.

Sorry for not posting but having a very busy week I'll be back next week

Spice guys

Bartholomew Diaz, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco da Gama all have one obvious thing in common. They were all explorers. Why though? Were they looking for some excitement? Something to spice their up lives?  Spice, yes they were all looking for an alternate spice route.

Since the beginning of time man have used spices and herbs in food and for many other uses, medical or not.

The Ancient Greeks were fond of mixing herbs in their bathwater of r the pleasant aroma and students used to place rosemary wreaths on their heads as they believed this would increase their memory and powers of concentration.
 

In Europe, during the middle Ages, mothers were said to have stitched cloves of garlic into their children’s clothing to protect them against epidemics throughout the long winter months. Sage was used to whiten the teeth and thyme and rosemary sprinkled over floors to perfume and disinfect rooms.

Many herbs have a turbulent history of love and passion, but perhaps the most well-known is basil. In Keat’s poem “Isabella, or Pot or Basil”, Isabella kept the head of her murdered lover in a pot of Basil and watered it with her tears!

However, since these times, the use of herbs as a food flavoring has increased and there is seldom a recipe that does not include a variety.

There was a point in history where the spice trade was done over land and was exceptionally expensive. The Ottoman Empire had taken control of Constantinople and was charging hefty taxes. This forced the Europeans to find a better route to India.

Portuguese first crossed the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 on an expedition led by Bartholomew Diaz Just nine years later in 1497 on the orders of Manuel I of Portugal, four vessels under the command of navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, continuing to the eastern coast of Africa to Malindi to sail across the Indian Ocean to Calicut in south India -the capital of the local Zamorin rulers. The wealth of the Indies was now open for the Europeans to explore; the Portuguese Empire was the earliest European seaborne empire to grow from the spice trade.

Vasco da Gama

Calicut

Christopher Columbus was the first to set foot on the New World when, in 1492, in an attempt to reach the Indies by sailing westward, he made landfall on an island in what is now The Bahamas. Believing to have in fact reached India, he named the natives "Indians".

By now the Portuguese had complete control of the African sea route and as such, the Spanish, if they were to have any hope of competing with Portugal for the lucrative trade, had to find an alternate route. Their first, early, attempt was with Christopher Columbus, but he ended up finding an unknown continent in between Europe and Asia. The Spanish finally succeeded with the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.

Years later, 1924 Robertsons Spice Experts have journeyed around the world in search of only the finest and purest herbs & spices. The knowledge of Herbs & Spices have been handed down through the generations and the Spice People at Robertsons have proven through the decades to deliver only the very best to its consumers they offer their consumers over 60 different types of flavors and flavor combinations.

As a result, today Robertsons is South Africa’s biggest and best loved brand bringing the flavors of the world to our consumers spice racks.

We all love the Robertson Spices and it is a South African house brand and so in place in every home as chops on a rugby day.

So for the last year Reuben Riffel has been the face of Robertson Spices and at first, I must admit, I wasn't too excited about the advertisements that he did but it is now part of our evening. News at seven and a new Reuben combination.

Here is the great news....

You don’t have to wait for the advertisement to come on you can simply got to the Robertsons web site and get all you combinations on there. They have a few way of doing it. They have the normal day to day recipe’s, then they have a tab that says combinations so that you can go see what works together and then see what you have in the pantry. The best part for me about this site is the “I feel like” search tab. Here you can say steak, chicken or anything you want to cook and it gives you a few different recipes. I like this because we all have our range of recipes we try but this give us a option to try something different with the same old ingredients.

Here is the link

http://www.robertsons.co.za/

Happy cooking!

Hero unearthed

Fry them, boil them or mash them it doesn't matter potatoes are the staple in any house these days.

Potatoes are more than just a starch on the plate it’s the silent hero of the culinary world. The first potatoes were being grown by the Inca’s 2000 BC. The Inca’s believed potatoes helped with child birth (Don’t see how) and injuries. Potatoes were introduced to Britain and Ireland in the late 1500 s. It didn't go so well at first. Many people blamed them for diseases and condemned them because they weren't mentioned in the Bible. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette wore potato blossoms to spiff up their outfits. (Partly to boost the crop’s popularity in France.)

Potatoes are loaded with Vitamin C and because of that they were eaten on trade ships to prevent scurvy. After conquering the high seas potatoes set its sites on a bigger project. Potatoes were the first plant to be grown in space.

After researching potatoes I found some really interesting facts about potatoes and apples. In French the potato is called pomme de terre, which literally translates as apple of the earth. I guess apple of the earth is just about an acceptable name for a potato but fries being called pommes frites is not. If I thought I was ordering fried apple I’d be a bit disappointed to see a plate of chips in front of me. The French aren't the only ones to associate potatoes with apples though. Back in Tudor Britain they were often referred to as “apples of love” and considered to be a natural aphrodisiac. Potatoes and Apples do seem to get on well. If you store an apple alongside your spuds it will stop them sprouting.

It’s a surprise for many to discover one medium potato (5.3 oz) with the skin contains:

·         45 percent of the daily value for vitamin C

·         More potassium (620 mg) than even bananas, spinach, or broccoli;

·         10 percent of the daily value of B 6

…and all this for just 110 calories and no fat, sodium or cholesterol.

So next time you eat a plate of chips at the local watering hole think about how far this little spud has really come…

Here is a delicious recipe to make your spuds the hero it should be….

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/13/how-to-cook-perfect-rosti

Jamie Oliver Inspiration

For my Birthday two weeks ago I received a Jamie Oliver cook book. It is called Cook with Jamie.

In my opinion it should be called Jamie's food hand guide. It has super recipes for the advanced chef and for the beginner cook; I am simply crazy about every recipe in this book.

Cook with Jamie

My guide to making you a better Cook

I can't tell you how long I've dreamed about writing this book. It's the biggest book I've ever done, and I've really tried to make it a timeless, modern-day classic. Whether you're a student, a young couple, an established cook, or a novice, I'll take you through a whole load of simple and accessible recipes that will blow the socks off your family and any guests you might have round for dinner. There's information on the equipment that I think you should have in your kitchen, advice on how to recognize and cook loads of different cuts of meat, as well as on how to get the best value and quality when you're out shopping. With all of us consuming more processed food than ever, it's a sad fact that most people just aren't confident enough to cook anymore. With this in mind, now is the time for you to get stuck in and reclaim your fantastic cooking heritage!

You know what . . . if you're going to eat three times a day for the rest of your life, you might as well learn to cook properly and enjoy it! So roll up your sleeves and let me help you.

P.S.: By the way, you should feel good about buying this book because every single penny I make from it will go toward training and inspiring young kids from tough backgrounds all over the world to have a career in food through the Fifteen Foundation. So on behalf of them, thank you.

So to no surprise allot of my new recipe's will come from this book as I am trying them all out.

I have adjusted the recipe (off course!!!) but it is still delicious here are mine and Jamie's both the same but also different in many ways.

Jamie’s recipe

Mine is the inserts in blue

Ingredients

1 chicken breast

1 large leek (half a leek)

A few sprigs fresh thyme

1 good lug olive oil

1 pinch salt

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 small swig white wine (leave out)

4 slices higher-welfare pancetta (Bacon works just as well)

olive oil

2 whole sprigs thyme

100g Butternut finely sliced

5 cherry tomatoes halved

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

Make a tray out of foil (Jamie’s picture) or use those foil take away tray’s that you can find in any grocer these days (my picture)

 

The first picture Jamie's recipe (not cooked)
Second Picture my creation.

Make the tray small so that when serving the dish each person gets their own little package of joy.

Put 1 chicken breast, skin removed, in a bowl. Trim and wash a large leek, remove the outer leaves, then slice it into 0.5cm/¼ inch pieces.

Add these to the bowl with the leaves of a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good lug of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a small swig of white wine and toss together. (In my recipe add the butternut and tomatoes to this and only half of the leek and leave out the white wine)

Place your leek and flavorings from the bowl into the tray, then wrap the chicken breast in 4 slices of pancetta (Bacon). 

How to wrap a chicken breast
STEP 1

STEP 2
Remember to season the chicken at this step.

STEP 3

STEP 4

This will not only flavor the chicken but also protect it while it cooks.

Try and bend the sides of the tray in towards the chicken so the leeks don't burn during cooking (not necessary with my recipe you need the heat on the butternut to cook)

Drizzle with olive oil, place a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

 ENJOY!!!

Berry Coulis (Sauce)

Ingredients

·         3 cups fresh, canned or frozen berries (one kind or mixed it doesn't matter. Here I used half strawberries       
      half blue berries)

·         3/4 to 1 cup sugar

·         1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

        Makes About 2 Cups

               Combine the blueberries, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and one tablespoon of the lemon juice in a jug or bowl and blend it well add the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes. 

 Taste the mixture and, if necessary, add more sugar. Continue to heat until any additional sugar is 
       dissolved. 

Strain the coulis through a fine-mesh sieve.

Store in a jars in the fridge and take it out to serve with cheese or fruit or yogurt. You can even use it to
       decorate your dessert plates....

Here are some good  ideas  of how to use on a plate

Simply paint it on the plate with a pastry brush

Simply drizzle on a plate in a circular motion

Put a nice tablespoonful on the plate to form a
circular puddle then with the tip of the spoon
form it into a tear drop shape.
 This takes some practice so do a few before
your friends arrive

Thank You

Thank You for everybody's support of the blog. Hope that you will enjoy the month of April with all that I have planned!

Vote vote vote!!!!!

Please go vote for our poll

Worlds easiest recipe's

Easy recipe's???????
Yes, we all love a easy and quick recipe that you can pull out and impress with. I have found a site that has all  the recipe's you are looking for. Cookies, cakes, stews and roasts. Cooking does not necessarily have to take 3 hours to taste great. a quick 30 min meal can be just as good.

And with a slogan like Any one can cook! I think we all can go and visit this site and see what tricks we can learn there.
http://www.easyrecipeworld.com/

Fascinating Food II

So many of you enjoyed the previous one that I thought I would get more facts about food.

The First is from a super fun site called Today I Found Out and the next is some other food facts I think is weird and wonderful......

·        

·        Peanuts are salted in the shell by boiling them in a heavily salted solution, then allowing them to dry.

      Celery has negative calories.  It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It's a pity that celery doesn't taste like chocolate

·         The canning process for herring was developed in Sardinia, which is why canned herrings are better known as sardines.

·         Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.  Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible. Why would anybody taste mummy honey????

·         Cheese closes the stomach and should always be served at the end of a meal.

·         A quarter of raw potato placed in each shoe at night will keep the leather soft and the shoes smelling fresh and clean. OKAY that's different!!! How long can you use the same potato or should you use a new one each day?

Everybody these days are talking about buying in season produce. It is hard to keep up though. Are strawberries in season?  And what about these mangoes? 

By buying seasonal you can ensure that you have fresh produce that will have more flavor and aren't grown with UV lights. You ensure that you are supporting local produce and not buying produce that is being imported from Spain, England, or Australia.

Here is a very clever chart for South African seasonal Produce.

Fascinating food

Food is the most wonderful thing in the word. Yet some times it can be weird and wacky. Counting down from ten.....

10. Coffee

The Fact: The most expensive coffee in the world comes from civet poop

Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from Civet (a cat sized mammal) poo. The animals gorge on only the finest ripe berries, and excrete the partially-digested beans, which are then harvested for sale. Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States, but it is increasingly becoming available elsewhere. 

9. Feast

The Fact: The largest food item on a menu is roast camel

The camel is stuffed with a sheep’s carcass, which is stuffed with chickens, which are stuffed with fish, which are stuffed with eggs. This feast is sometimes featured in Bedouin weddings. Someone discovered the word stuffed and just went crazy.....

8. Bugs

The Fact: The FDA allows you to sell bugs and rodent hair for consumption

The FDA allows an average of 30 or more insect fragments, and one or more rodent hairs, per 100 grams of peanut butter. Now I'm worried.... well what hasn't killed you.....

7. Soup

The Fact: The first soup was made of hippopotamus

The earliest archeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup! 

Recipe goes: Catch one hippo

I go: What???? How???? I ask again HOW????

6. Liquorice 

The Fact: Liquorice is also used to flavor cigarettes

Liquorice is used to enhance the flavor of cigarette smoke. Licorice extract may be applied to cigarette tobacco to enhance and harmonize the flavor characteristics of smoke, improve moisture holding characteristics of tobacco, and act as a surface active agent for ingredient application.

5. Worcestershire Sauce

The Fact: Worcestershire sauce is made from dissolved fish

Worcestershire sauce, the popular English sauce, is made from dissolved anchovies. The anchovies are soaked in vinegar until they have completely melted. The sauce contains the bones and all. That explains the weird milky sediment..

4. Popsicle

The Fact: The Popsicle was invented by an 11 year who kept it secret for 18 years.

The inventor was Frank Epperson who, in 1905, left a mixture of powdered soda and water out on the porch, which contained a stir stick. That night, temperatures in San Francisco reached record low temperature. When he woke the next morning, he discovered that it had frozen to the stir stick, creating a fruit flavored ice treat that he named the Popsicle. 18 years later he patented it and called it the Popsicle.

3. Microwaves

The Fact: Microwave cooking was discovered accidentally, when a chocolate bar melted in someone’s pocket

This is very true and very scary – imagine what it was doing to his leg! The fact is, Percy LeBaron Spencer of the Raytheon Company was walking past a radar tube and he noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He then tested popcorn in front of the tube (surely turning up the power and standing out of the beam), and it quickly popped all over the room. He is (obviously) known as the inventor of the Microwave oven. 

2. Peanuts

The Fact: Dynamite is made with peanuts

Peanut oil can be processed to produce glycerol, which can be used to make nitroglycerin, one of the constituents of dynamite. Note however, there are other processes that can be used to make dynamite without using peanuts at all. How bad is it to survive an accidental explosion of dynamite just to find out your allergic to peanuts.

1. Coconut Water

The Fact: Coconut water can be used (in emergencies) as a substitute for blood plasma.

The reason for this is that coconut water (the water found in coconuts – not to be confused with coconut milk, which comes from the flesh of the coconut) is sterile and has an ideal pH level. Coconut water is liquid endosperm – it surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition.