simple Archives - Page 8 of 9

Blueberry and Maple Syrup Pancakes with Bacon

20|10|2013

I simply love sweet-savory food combinations! When balanced well they can do wonders for your taste buds. What better than fluffy pancakes dripping in maple syrup with crispy salty bacon. And to tie them together juicy blueberries that are bit sweet..a bit tart!

I did tell you about our big Sunday breakfasts and brunches. This is one of the simpler dishes I make for my family with different combinations. With the abundance of seasonal blueberries, I couldn’t have thought of a better addition to my pancakes. I love the way they melt and ooze out when cooked with the batter.

These pancakes are smaller in size than normal ones so you can easily fry two at a time. Smaller stacks work for me. They look cute and cook faster so you can keep the plates coming out quickly when you have guests for brunch. In, Australia, we call them pikelets. You can substitute blueberries with two ripe mashed banana or even a cup of pumpkin puree. These are combinations that I use with the pancake batter.

So do you like food that combines sweet and savory? And which one is your favourite combination?
Without a doubt, Salted Caramel tops my list!

Blueberry and Maple Syrup Pancakes with Bacon (adapted with variation from Good Taste magazine)

11/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 tsp salt
125g blueberries
11/4 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
30 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Bacon rashers, to serve
Extra blueberries, to serve
Maple syrup, to serve

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and salt. Stir in the blueberries. Make a well in the centre and add the milk, egg and butter. Use a metal spoon to stir, until just combined.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Grease with butter. Pour 1/4 cup portions of batter into the pan (2 at a time). Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn and cook for 30 seconds or until cooked through.
Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Serve pancakes with cooked bacon, extra blueberries and maple syrup.

Rhubarb Orange Ginger Jam

15|10|2013

There is something special about making things from scratch. Especially when they are simple, easily achievable and money-saving. Making Jam at home is an easy process as long as you keep in mind a few basic things.

The gelling agent that sets a jam/jelly is Pectin that is a naturally occurring carbohydrate found in fruits. The levels of pectin varies between fruits and therefore it is handy to know which fruits will give you a better consistency while making jam (without having to add an external gelling agent). Does that mean, you cannot use your favourite fruits to make jam or preserve if they are low in pectin? Not at all. In that case, you can combine low-level pectin fruits with a high level one to get the desired consistency. You can refer to this page to understand the levels of pectin in fruits.

This jam is not too sweet and the combination really works. Citrus peel is high in pectin and gives the jam just the right amount of citrusy flavour to balance the sweetness of the rhubarb. The peel along with Glace/Candied/Crystallised Ginger gives the jam a unique texture and bite. Ginger is my all time favourite ingredient and I just need an excuse to add it in my recipes. Rhubarb can vary in sweetness at different time so you will need to adjust the sweetness accordingly. Also, candied ginger is already sweetened so if you are skipping it, the sweetness might again need adjusting.

Rhubarb, Orange, Ginger Jam
Makes 1 jar

1 bunch rhubarb( approx 350 g), trimmed, cleaned and chopped into 2 cm pieces
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Peel from 1 orange, thinly sliced
1/4 cup glace/candied/crystallised ginger, roughly chopped
200 g castor sugar

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and orange peel in a large, wide heavy-based saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, add the ginger and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until jam reaches setting point.

Remove the jam from the heat immediately and ladle into the preserving jars and seal. Set aside until cooled completely. Label, date and store in a cool, dark place.

Pumpkin Fritters

14|10|2013

Brown paper bags make me happy! Grease stained, slightly crumpled and smelling of fried goodness, they have always bought me joy as a little girl. During school vacations when we visited my grandparents I would wait impatiently for my grandfather to come back from his morning walk. He would return holding a paper bag that had my favourite things in it.

I have to admit, Pumpkin is something I have started to enjoy recently. Though, I don’t love it yet there is no denying that Pumpkin recipes are everywhere at this time. Particularly sweet ones. So I decided to go savory and post something which would require minimal effort and can be made without an oven. These fritters are so delicious..even non pumpkin lovers will enjoy them.

I did not have access to canned pumpkin puree, so I have used frozen pumpkin (approx 400g) that has been microwaved on high for 7 minutes and mashed with a fork. You can use the processor to make a fine puree. I wanted to leave little bits and chunks of pumpkin so I used a fork.

The yeast action makes them light and fluffy. You can make them into any size by adjusting the batter that is dropped into the oil. Any seasoning will work too. I love the combination of coriander, mint, onion and chillies since the fritters that I ate as a child would primarily have all these ingredients. Feel free to make your additions and leave out the chillies if you want to avoid heat. They taste best with a chutney which is available in most supermarkets these days. Otherwise tomato ketchup or sweet chilli sauce will also do…we want an accompaniment which will have sweet spicy tangy kind of flavours.

Pumpkin Fritters (minimally adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine)
serves 6

1 cup pumpkin puree
11/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp white sugar
150 ml milk
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/2 onion, finely chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
a handful mint leaves, finely chopped
2 long green chillies, finely chopped
salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Combine flour, yeast, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl, then stir in milk and egg. Stir through onion, coriander, mint, green chilli, pumpkin and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper and salt(to taste). Cover and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size (1 hour).

Heat vegetable oil in a large deep saucepan or deep fryer to 180 degrees C. Deep-fry spoonfuls of batter in batches, turning once, until golden (4-5 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper and serve immediately with tomato chutney (or ketchup/sweet chilli sauce)

Golden Apple Ginger Cake

23|09|2013

In life, we meet so many different people. Some just happen to us and some are sent our way. Some of them, we meet and forget and some we create everlasting memories with. There are some who we don’t meet often yet they touch our lives in a million ways. They listen to you, inspire you, stand by you, protect you and believe in your dreams like it was their own.

This dainty little cake with all my favourite things in it, is to celebrate a birthday…a dear sister, a friend, a woman with a heart of gold. Just 9 days apart (so you know my birthday is coming up too), but at least 900 times wiser, stronger and affectionate. I held on to this recipe for a long time so I could post it today when it is seemed so apt to do so.

Here’s a little tip for my readers. If you are baking a cake for a special occasion but like me, you are not too fond of the frosted ones, just replace the sugar with brown sugar, treacle or golden syrup. It adds an amazing intensity to the cake. The flavour is more like caramel, actually better. Pairing it with spice makes it go up by several notches. This is also one of those cakes that require minimal effort…the ones where you just put everything in one bowl. But the results are amazing. The syrup is essential to give it that wow factor and to keep the cake moist, so no skipping it.

Happy Birthday to my Golden Girl!
I know you will be amongst the first to read this. Like always!

Golden Apple Ginger Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake (minimally adapted from Sweet Food)

For the cake
250g (2 cups) self-raising flour
21/2 tsp ground ginger
165g (3/4 cup) firmly packed brown sugar
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped into cubes
3 eggs lightly beaten
125 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
125g unsalted butter, melted

For the apple topping
175 g (1/2 cup) golden syrup
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced into wedges
25 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp glace ginger/crystallised ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp roasted almonds, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 8 inch round cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Pour half the golden syrup over the base of the tin, spreading evenly with a metal spoon which has been run under hot water. Arrange the apple slices over the golden syrup in a circle, overlapping slightly.

Sift the flour and ground ginger into a bowl. Add the sugar and chopped apple, then the egg, buttermilk and melted butter. Stir until just combined and batter is smooth.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 mins, then carefully invert onto serving plate.

Heat the remaining golden syrup and 25 g butter in a saucepan over low heat until the butter has melted. Spoon the sauce evenly over the cake. Sprinkle with glace ginger and chopped almonds. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.