simply swell

 

Creamy Potatoe Soup

 

Bread recipe

 I baked this simple and delicious white bread.  If you would also like to, here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

,

500g white bread flour

7g dried fast action yeast

50g butter softened

2 teaspoons salt

350ml milk, lukewarm

50grams sugar

METHOD

Sift flour into a large bowl, add salt, sugar and butter. Mix together and stir in the dried yeast.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix. Pour in 3/4 of the milk. Use your fingers to mix it together. Add more milk, a little at a time,till all the dry ingredients are mixed (dough should be soft, not soggy). Be careful when adding the milk. The dough is very sticky. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface.

Knead for ten minutes. Take the edge of the dough and turn it over with your fingers, pushing it out with the heel of your hand. Turn in a quarter and repeat. Knead till smooth and springy. 

Coat the inside of a mixing bowl with a thin layer of oil. Shape the dough into a round shape and put into the bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave for 45 mins in a warm place to rise.

 Knock down the dough. Knead until the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. Shape into an oblong form and place the dough into a lined loaf tin. Put it into a large plastic bag and leave to prove till the dough has doubled in size (about an hour). Heat the oven to 180deg. The dough should spring back quickly when you prod it with your finger. Bake in oven for 35 mins. To check if it's ready, tip the loaf onto a wire rack. It should sound hollow when you tap the base.

Allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack.

Bon appetit. Le pain est delicieux

Vietnamese chicken and sweet potatoe curry

 

Easy chocolate cake recipe - no eggs or butter either

 Chocolate cake with no eggs or butter

Ingredients

* 1 and a half cups plus two tablespoons (200g) flour sifted

* 1 cup (200g) white sugar

* 2/3 Cup plus 1 teaspoon (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder

* 4 teaspoons (16g) baking powder

* 1 and 3/4 cups plus two tablespoons (450ml) milk

* 2 and a half tablespoons (35g) oil

*1 teaspoon vanilla essence

* icing sugar for dusting 

Method

Heat oven to 160 degrees celcius

mix flour sugar cocao and baking powder

In a seperate bowl whisk milk, oil and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 22cm pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Mudd pudding and mint ice cream

 Mud Pudding and mint ice cream

serves 5

Mud  Pudding

*125g butter

*80ml sugar

 100g dark chocolate

*180 ml hot water (3/4 of a cup)

*3/4 cup self-raising flour

*3 tbspn cocao

*1/2 tspn instant coffee powder

*1 Jumbo egg

*5ml Vanilla essence

*pinch of salt

*fresh mint for garnishing

Preheat oven to 180 deg c. Grease 5 oven proof glass pudding bowls/ramekins with non stick spray.

Method -  Put the butter, sugar, chocolate and water in a saucepan or microwavable bowl and heat until melted. Stir until smooth.

In a separate bowl,sift the self raising flour,cocoa and coffee together, then slowly stir the mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg, vanilla essence and salt together then add the chocolate mixture. Spoon into the prepared ramekins. Bake for 25 to 30 mins. until cooked but centre still moist. 

Sprinkle mint over them and serve with mint ice cream.

Mint ice cream

*10g fresh mint, stems removed but not discarded.

*Cup of water

*100g Castor Sugar

*1 cup of cream chilled

*230g cream cheese

Method - 

Put the mint stems water and cator sugar in a saucepan and boil until there is 2/3 c of the liquid left.  Leave it to cool then remove the stems keeping the syrup.

Finely chop the mint leaves, add the syrup and process into a smooth paste. Add a little water.  Beat the cream into stiff peaks and then combine with the cream cheese and mint paste.

transfer to a container and freeze.  Stirring every now and again to prevent crystalization.

Serve with the Mud Pudding.