Peanut Butter Bread Rolls
Wednesday, June 03, 2009"No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut." Allow me to quote Channing Pollock to start the post. Peanut butter is not only nutrient-dense but also very delicious. It is widely used in baking and most commonly used in sandwiches and as a spread. I just love its rich flavour, and gooey, smooth texture.
Information about the benefits and nutrients about peanut from Food Navigator.
Peanuts and peanut butter are whole foods that contain a variety of vitamins and minerals, ample protein and beneficial unsaturated fats. Since they are a plant food, they naturally contain no cholesterol. Research studies on large groups of people have found that people who often eat peanuts and nuts have much lower risks of heart disease. Also, scientists are finding that diets high in monounsaturated fats, the type found in peanuts, may also protect against heart disease.
If you are allergic to peanuts, then replace them with Nutella, or poppy fix. I am sending this to "peanutbutterboy - The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition"
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- Dissolve sugar with warm water in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle dry yeast over and let proof for about 10 minutes. Add in bread flour and egg. Stir at low speed until a rough dough ball formed. Stir in salt and butter until evenly dispersed. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until a soft and elastic dough has formed. The dough should pass the windowpane test. (stretching the dough to see if it thins out).
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover tightly with a plastic wrap and let proof until doubled at room temperature. Coat one of your fingers with flour, then press it gently into the center of risen dough to the bottom. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready.
- Press down the dough, round up, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Flatten the dough and roll into a rectangle, about 30cmx20cm. Spread the peanut butter over the first two-thirds of the dough rectangle. Leave 1cm unbuttered all the way around. Fold the unbuttered third over the center third of the rectangle. Fold the buttered third top down to cover it. Give the dough a 90 degree turn to the left. Gently roll out the dough into a long strip 45cm by 18cm and fold the two shorter ends to meet each other in the middle. Rotate the dough 90 degree to the left again and roll it out into a 40cm by 18cm rectangle.
- Roll up the rectangle along the long edge. Moisten the edge with water, and lightly press to close. Cut the loaf into five sections. Place them with cutting side up into a regular loaf pan lined with baking paper and let proof until double in volume. (I have also tried doubling the recipe and baked it in a rectangular pan). Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and bake the loaf until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Lemon Squares
Tuesday, June 02, 2009When I saw Lavanya's Lemon Squares two weeks ago, I knew then I was going to love those and would bake them myself. Besides Lavanya, another recipe created by Carole Clements (cook's companion) has inspired me to adjust the recipe.
The balance of sweet and sour makes "Lemon Squares" a favourite tea treat for all. To ensure the crust crumble, it is important to have it pre-baked before adding the lemon filling.
Hazelnut Crust | Lemon Layer |
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- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease a 20x25 cm baking dish. Sift the flour, icing sugar, ground hazelnut and salt into a mixing bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Mix with a fork until the mixture forms a ball. Press the mixture evenly into the baking dish and bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Beat the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Mix together the flour and baking powder and add into the lemon mixture. Fold to combine.
- Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut into 5x5 cm squares and dust with icing sugar.
Stir-fried Sliced Chicken With Mango
Saturday, May 30, 2009Mango is one of the most delicious fruits in the world and regarded as a valuable item of diet. The flavor of the mango is described as a delicate, exotic blend of peach and pineapple flavors. They are great with poultry, seafood, smoothies, etc. and they can be eaten fresh.
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- Rinse, pat dry and shred the chicken breast. Place the shredded chicken in a bowl, adding in the marinade, mix and set aside for 30 minutes. Cut the fresh mango lengthwise, along the pit. Peel and slice the flesh.
- Heat up some oil in a skillet. When hot, add in the marinated chicken and stir briefly until the pink colour has turned into ivory. Scoop out and drain.
- Leave one tablespoon of oil in the skillet and heat up again. Stir the minced garlic and shredded onion until aromatic. Add in white parts of spring onion and return the chicken to the skillet. Stir briefly. Add in water, mango slices, and tomato wedges, stirring, and season with salt if necessary, until all the ingredients are well-combined.
Strawberry Marmalade
Tuesday, May 26, 2009Strawberry marmalade is great for bagels, biscuits and toast. Gelling sugar I used for the recipe is a kind of sugar for making marmalade, which contains pectin as a gelling agent. Double the portion of sugar if a regular sugar applied. I am sending this to Strawberry Feast promoted by Happy Cook - Kitchen Treasury.
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- Prepare 2 or 3 1lb-jars and lids by washing well in warm soapy water and rinsing thoroughly. Bath them in a pan of boiling water for a while. Dry the jars.
- Well wash, remove stems and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. Slice strawberries. Peel the lemon and thinly shred lemon rind. Drop in squeezed lemon.
- In a big nonaluminum pan, add the prepared fruits and the preserving sugar and combine them briefly. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. You would see a lot of liquid coming off the strawberries. Heat the strawberry mixture to boiling over medium heat, and allow it to boil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Ladle marmalade into still very warm jars to prevent the jars from cracking when the hot filling is added. Wipe jar rims clean and seal with lids and bands. Store marmalade in a cool and dry place. After opening jar, store marmalade in the refrigerator.
Spiced Carrot Cookies
Sunday, May 24, 2009Flavored with chilli, nutmeg and oregano,and studded with grated carrot, these one bowl carrot cookies are so easy to make, tender and delicious. If desired, add some roasted nuts, raisins or chocolate chips to the dough,whatever sounds good to you is the way to go.
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- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Wrap the mixture with a plastic film and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Remove the mixture from the fridge and shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until cookies are firm. Remove and cool completely on a wire racks. Store the cookies in an airtight container. This recipe makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.
Kirsch-Blechkuchen Cherry Butter Cake
Saturday, May 23, 2009"Blechkuchen" is usually a basic sheet cake topped with seasonal fruit, very similar to a coffeecake. The name is a combination of two words "Blech" meaning "baking sheet" and "Kuchen" cake.
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- Drain the canned cherries. Grease a 15x25-cm rectangle glass baking pan and sprinkle the bread crumbs on the bottom. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
- Sift the flour into a bowl. Add in sugar and vanilla Mix together the flour, sugar and vanilla sugar. Add in butter and eggs, blend to mix well. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Flatten the cake surface with the wet hands.
- Place the drained cherries on the cake, and lightly press them into the batter. Bake for 45 minutes. The cake is baked through when you insert a skewer and it remains clean. Cool the cake completely and dust with icing sugar.
Spätzle German Egg Noodles
Tuesday, May 19, 2009Spaetzle(literally translated from German language as (little sparrow). The dough typically consists of just flour, eggs, and a bit of salt. It can be firm enough to be cut into small thin pieces or batter-like, which can be pressed into a boiling salted water via colander or a special Spätzle press or maker.
There are two kinds of Spätzle: button-shaped/Knoepfle and elongated noodle alike. Spätzle is not only just popular in Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland. Spätzle is eaten as a side dish and usually served with gravy or other desired sauces. Of course you can try making flavoured Spätzle, herb?paprika?cheese? Just give it a try. And I LOVE to stir-fry the plain Spätzle with some vegetables(like cabbages, onions or sweet peppers) in red chilli oil, just giving it a spicy touch.
Find Monday Mouthful Spätzle by Chef E and Mindy .
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- Stir together eggs, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and flour in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water to make a thick but smooth batter.
- In a large pot bring 5 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt to a boil. Set the Spaetzle maker over the pot. Scoop the batter in and crank the handle to have the button-shaped Spaetzle fall into the boiling water.
- Boil gently for a few minutes till they float to the top of the water. Remove them with a slotted ladle and toss with a little butter. So that they won't stick together. If you prefer stir them with some chilli oil and vegetable shreds. Another way to prepare them is to bake them with grated cheese and onion.
Shrimp Cake served with Prune Sauce
Sunday, May 17, 2009You will find "shrimp cakes" in Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Koren and Chinese cuisines. They are either coated with bread crumbs or sandwiched with wraps, and then pan-fried until golden crispy. This version of shrimp cake is said to be invented by Thai restaurants in Taiwan and has been called Yue Liang Xia Bing (月亮虾饼), literally translated as "Moon Shrimp Cakes" in English, because its round shape. Shrimp paste are spread between two sheets of spring roll wrappers and pan-fried. If you have the difficulty to get spring roll wrappers, then tortilla wraps would be a perfect substitute.
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- Mix all the ingredients, except for the wrappers, in a bowl. Stir the mixture until it becomes a paste with smooth and shiny consistency.
- Spread a tablespoon of mixture on a wrap, top with another to form a pancake. Heat up some oil in a frying pan on medium heat. When the oil is ready, put the shrimp cake in and start frying until both sides turn golden.
- Drain and serve with plum sauce.
Diced Chicken and Carrot with Sweet Fermented Flour Paste
Thursday, May 14, 2009“Sweet Fermented Flour Paste” (or Tian Mian Jiang in Chinese) is a savory runny paste with salty sweetness made from flour and flour through fermentation. It is an ideal fix for stir-fry dishes, and a dipping for Peking duck. It’s not made from soya bean, and it’s not the same as hoisin sauce or plum sauce. It’s a traditional sauce used in northern Chinese cuisine while hoisin often seen in Cantonese or other southern kitchens and used as a substitute to serve with Peking Duck.
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- Clean the chicken breast and pat it dry with kitchen towel. Cut them into 1-inch dices. Marinate chicken dices with cornstarch solution and salt for 30 minutes. Rinse the carrots and cut into 1-inch dices too.
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Set aside. Deep-fry diced carrots for about 5-8 minutes until cooked. Pour all but a tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add in marinated chicken and stir until tender.
- Remove chicken and add in sesame oil in a skillet, add in the sauce and stir until thickens. Return the carrots and chickens, stir until thoroughly heated.