Dan's Pea Soup

Peas (Duh): About 1 - 1.5 cup(s) per serving

Vegetable stock sufficient to cook the peas, and have a bit extra

Crème Fraiche

Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

Bacon, preferably thick, chopped into small chucks

1) Fry up the bacon, good and hot so it browns all over and starts to crisp up

2) Bring stock to the boil and add the peas

3) Cook the peas until they are almost done. They should still have plenty of bite. Don’t worry, they will keep cooking after you….

4) Drain peas – put the mint in the bottom of the colander so the hot stock drains through it. Reserve the stock

5) Mash peas with a blender / food processor. Keep them coarse.

6) Add enough stock to cover the pure and mix together

7) Taste and season – don’t forget the back will be salty, and the crème fraiche creamy!

8) Finish with crème Fraiche and top with bacon

9) Eat

Potatoes and carrot soup

Hi guys

just so I won't forget to practice, I wanted to post this soup recipe for you.
It is very similar to the one Natália has already published, but it is a bit different. :-)
So here it is.

Ingredients:
- two carrots, sliced
- three to four medium-size white potatoes, in chunks
- 1 onion, chopped or grated
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 glass of milk

* Cook the carrots and the potatoes until they are very soft. Put them aside, but don't throw the water away.
* Chop or grate the onion and fry it on the butter until soft and gold.
* In a blender, put the fried onion, the potatoes, carrots with half the water they were cooked in, and the glass of milk. Mix everything together. You can add a bit more of the water if it is too thick.
* Put the soup back in the pan and simmer until it boils.

Serve with bread and a mature cheese.

Vegetable (Spinach) Soup

Dear friends,

These are some guidelines that you can use to do different vegetable soups. This time we did a spinach one, but you can do it with different vegetables.
It takes about 20 minutes to peel things, 20/25 to do the base and other 15/20 for the vegetable to cook. That is, depending on your choices, it takes between 40-60 minutes.

For the base of the soup I usually use potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic. The quantities and proportions will depend on how thick you like your base/soup and the kind of vegetable you intend to add (sometimes, for a spinach soup for example, more carrots and less potatoes tastes nicer). As a guide for a 2 litre (of water) medium thick soup, you can use 4 or 5 medium/big potatoes, about 3 big carrots, 1/2 onion and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic.

I also tend to add some chicken stock (1/2 cube); add salt to taste. Bring everything to the boil and, when its all cooked (try with a fork), take it out of the hob for a few minutes and blend it all together. You should now have a nice soup base. You can also add different items to this base such as butternut squash or pumpkin.

After the base is ready, put it in the cooker again and add your 'vegetable', washed and sliced/cut in smaller pieces, if necessary. These can include spinach, cabbage, runner beans, leeks, or anything else that occurs to you. You can even use a mix. It looks nice if you also add some sliced carrots (about 1/2 or 1/3) or pumpkin, and some bits of rice or small pieces of pasta (1 small handful). Wait until everything is cooked and add some olive oil (2 or 3 soup spoons) just before turning the cooker off. Your soup is ready to eat.

If you prefer smoother soups, you can cook everything at the same time and blend it all together. You can also add water whenever necessary/desired (but it is faster to cook the base in just enough water and then add for the vegetables' part). If your soup comes out too thin, you can cheat a bit by adding mashed potatoes (flour).

4 Breads: Yeast, Corn, Loaf and Machine

YEAST BREAD: Egg Bread (Challah)

3-31/4 cups flour

1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast
1 cup very warm water
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg

Mix 1 1/2 c flour, sugar, salt and yeast with warm water, oil and egg. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour until dough can be easily handled (not too sticky).

Place dough on floured surface and knead about 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let raise in warm spot for about an hour.

Dough can be rolled out into square, then rolled tightly and placed seam-side down in 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Or dough can be divided into 3 equal parts, each part rolled into rope and loosely braided on cookie sheet. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise another 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 F. Brush bread with one egg yolk to make shiny. If in loaf pan bake 30-35 minutes, if braided bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.




Gluten-free Corn Bread

2 cups yellow or white cornmeal
½ cup boiling water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, heat oven safe skillet or medium size casserole dish. Stir together ½ cup cornmeal and the boiling water. The cornmeal will get the consistency of a thick porridge or grits. Beat the egg into the reserved cornmeal porridge. Whisk in the buttermilk (or substitute) and oil to make a thin batter. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the remaining 1 ½ cups cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisk just until smooth and immediately pour into the hot skillet (or casserole dish). Bake until the center of the cornbread is firm and the edges are golden brown, about 25 to 40 minutes.


Loaf Bread: Zucchini (Courgette) Bread

3 cups shredded courgettes
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Mix all ingredients. Pour batter into either two 81/2 x 41/2x21/2 or one 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake 8 inch loaves 50-60 minutes or 9 inch loaf 1 hour 20 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Swiss roll

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 7-10 mins (less for fan assisted)
Oven temperature: 220C/Gas 7

Ingredients

3 eggs
75g/3oz caster sugar
75g/3oz plain flour
4 tablespoons raspberry jam (we also tried a vanilla cream but I don't have the recipe for that - I'll update this when I have it)
caster sugar for dredging
(we also tried some self-raising flour to try to make the sponge thicker)

Method

1. Line and grease a 23x30cm/ 9x12in swiss roll tin (a normal baking tray will be fine but check the size in case you need more of the sponge mixture to fill it). Whisk the eggs and sugar until very pale and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk is lifted out. Carefully fold in the flour using a metal spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it out very lightly. Bake in a hot oven for 7-10 mins (less for fan assisted).




2. Meanwhile, place a clean tea-towel on a work surface, cover with greaseproof paper and dredge with sugar. Turn out the hot swiss roll on to the paper. Trim off the edges, spread with jam and, using the cloth and paper as a guide, quickly roll up tightly. Dredge with caster sugar and cool a wire rack.




We found the sponge was too thin and broke easily when trying to roll it. Therefore, try playing around with the ingredients or quantities. If you find a way to make this work, or a better recipe, do let us all know!

Chicken Tagine

(This recipe was borrowed from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/chickentagine_74834.shtml. Thank you BBC!)

Ingredients

125g/4½oz green olives
100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp ras-el-hanout (available in some supermarkets or specialist shops)
½g saffron threads
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 large preserved lemon, peel only, chopped
3 tsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
vegetables, to serve

Method

1. Add the olives to a pan of boiling water. Bring the water back to the boil for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Repeat twice more, using fresh water each time.

2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and fry gently, stirring frequently until they are soft and translucent.

3. Add the chicken breasts and fry for a minute or two.

4. Add the garlic, ras-el-hanout, saffron, ginger, and pepper and fry for 2-3 minutes until golden.

5. Add the preserved lemon, coriander, parsley and the blanched olives.

6. Add enough water to just cover the chicken, then bring to the boil.

7. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer on a low heat for about 35 minutes.

8. Serve with a selection of steamed vegetables.

Corn Cake (Bolo de Fubá)

For a big corn cake:

3 whole eggs

2 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of 'polenta' (or corn flour, but polenta is better)

1 1/2 cup of plain wheat flour

1/3 cup of oil

2 soup spoons of baking powder

Mix everything and bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.

Optional: 1 spoon of ground cinnamon and 2 spoons of coconut.

Sausage Rolls 2 ways

1st version - Traditional Sausage Rolls



Ingredients

• 375g/13oz bought ready-rolled puff pastry
• about 2 tbsp either chutney of your choice, cranberry sauce, mustard, pickle, apple sauce, pesto, sun-dried tomato paste or red onion jam (I used bramley apple sauce and caramelised red onion chutney; I used about a tablespoon as I was worried about the sauce spilling out, however the apple ones could have done with more for additional flavour)
• 5 good-quality thick pork sausages (I used outdoor reared pork, pork and apple, and pork and red onion)
• 1 small egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Cut the pastry into 10 rectangles, about 7x10cm/2¾x4in, and place a small spoonful of your chosen filling into the middle of each one.
3. Cut the sausages in half, making 10 smaller sausages, and then peel away the skins. Lay the sausages on top of the filling on the pastry rectangles. Roll the pastry over the sausage, brushing the join with the beaten egg to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet, sealed-side down, and brush them with the egg to give a nice shiny glaze when cooked.
4. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and crispy, and eat as soon as they are cool enough or leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

2nd version - Mini Sausage Rolls in Filo Pastry




Ingredients

• dash olive oil
• 9 chipolata sausages
• 3 sheets ready-made filo pastry
• 30g/1oz butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the chipolatas until lightly browned on all sides. Leave to cool slightly.
3. Cut each sheet of filo pastry into three long strips and brush each strip with melted butter.
4. Place a sausage at one end of each strip and roll up in the pastry. Brush all over with more butter and place onto a baking sheet.
5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp and the sausages are completely cooked through.
6. To serve, place onto a serving plate.

Fruit Salad

Easy, quick, and healthy ...

To do fruit salad all you need are a few different fruits cut into small pieces. I suggest you use the following as a minimum: apple (different varieties?), orange, banana, pineapple, and peach. Other options are: melon, watermelon, grapes, cherries, pear, etc. I would advise against strawberries since they tend to get too soft too quickly (unless you are eating the fruit salad right away). As a guide, you can try to use, at least, 1 piece of fruit per person.

One trick I always tend to use is to get at least one can of fruit (you can choose the peaches, the pineapple or a mixed fruit one) and pour some of its syrup in the salad (this is the only less healthy bit).

Leave it in the fridge for a while before serving; it will taste nicer :P But do bear in mind that the properties of some fruits deteriorate with time, so fruit salad should not be made too long before being served.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes

Makes 24 to 36 cupcakes. For cooking club we cut the recipes in half. If you liked the eggy ones, cut all ingredients in half except eggs, or use normal measurements but double eggs.

Chocolate

21/4 c flour
12/3 c sugar
3/4 c butter/margarine softened
2/3 c baking cocoa
11/4 c water
11/4 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1/4 t baking powder
2 large eggs

Yellow Cake

21/4 c flour
11/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter/margarine softened
11/4 c milk
31/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
3 eggs

Heat oven 350 F. Beat all ingredients. Bake rectangle cake pan (13X9X2 inch pan) 40 minutes, 2 round cake pans (9 inch) 30 minutes, or cupcakes 3/4 filled to top 25 minutes.