Cookie Oats

Image by Navaboo via Flickr

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup natural cane sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugars on the lowest speed for 25 seconds. The butter needs to be a bit lumpy (not creamy). 

3. Next add eggs as well as the vanilla and mix for another 30 seconds. 

4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt until it makes a completely mixed dough (mix for about 1 minute). 

5. Lastly, add chocolate chips.

6. Scoop a half a cup of dough onto a greased baking sheet, this should yield 20 cookies. Bake for 18 minutes and enjoy!

Crabmeat with Paprika Sauce and Almonds

Sentenced crab. :-) Online cooking Schools. Image by pinkricracdesigns

I just love mixing veggies with seafood. Try this simple fare that has almonds to give you a nutty flavor.

Ingredients:

250gms. crabmeat, cut into 1 inch long

a bunch of onion stalk, sliced thinly

250 gms. bean sprout (toge)

1 paprika, sliced into wedges

1 big onion sliced thinly

handful of almonds

2tbsp oysrer sauce

pepper

Procedure:

1. Fry almonds until little bit golden brown. Set aside.

2. Saute onion. Once golden, add all ingredients.

3. Season with oyster sauce and peppers. Toss in the almonds last.

Easy, simple and done in less than 15minutes. Try it!

Chiffon Cake

Chiffon Cake. Image by puamelia

Ingredients:


5 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup pineapple juice
3 tsp. baking powder
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
5 egg white


Procedure:


1. Preheat oven to 180deg C.


2. In a dry mixing bowl, mix together cream of tartar, 1/2 cup sugar, egg whites and vanilla flavoring. Mix until soft peak form.


3. Sift together all remaining dry ingredients. 


4. Make a well in the middle of the sifted dry ingredients and pour in the egg yolks and oil. Mix until free from clumps.


5. Add both mixtures (egg white mixture + dry ingredient mixture) together using the fan-fold technique to prevent bubble forming.


6. Pour in a greased pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Beef and Pepper Stri-Fry

Image by panduh via Flickr

Beef Stir fry at Online Cooking Schools.

A Chinese - restaurant favorite catches our eye this week. A simple and basic feast that can be easily done at home.

Ingredients:

12 oz. beef, thinly sliced across grain

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. vegetable oil

3 peppers, thinly sliced (use 3 different colors for variety)

2 cloves garlic, crushed and pressed

2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 wedges

ground pepper

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, combine beef, 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp ground pepper.

2. Using a skillet, heat 1 tsp oil on medium-high. Add beef in single layer. Cook without stirring for a minute or two. Transfer into a plate. Return skillet on medium high without cleaning.

3. Add remaining oil to skillet. Add peppers, garlic. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until crisp tender.

4. Add tomatoes and remaining sugar. Cook for 3-4 minutes until saucy while stirring. 

5. Return beef to skillet. Add 1/4 tsp black pepper and remaining soy sauce. Cook 1 minute while stirring.

6. Serve over rice.

Tip: Select truly ripe tomatoes so they'll soften enough while cooking to get saucy.

Soups and Stews

Image via Wikipedia

Japanese Dish Soup.

A hearty bowl of soup or stew is always welcome at any table. Be creative and use various leftover meats and vegetables with your favorite stock and create your own unique recipes. When preparing soup or stew, try to allow extra time for it to "simmer". This allows flavors to blend and the meat to be tender.

Helpful Hints:

1. To thicken stew, mix 1/4 cup flour with enough cold water to forma thin paste. Gradually add it to the stew and stir till thickened.

2. If using fresh parsley or herbs in your recipe, add them in the last few moments of cooking to preserve flavor.

3. Save any leftovers for the next day. The flavors increase overnight in your refrigerator.

4. Canned stewed tomatoes or water with bouillon seasoning and spices added make great stock starters for soups and stews.

Prawn Kebabs

Image via Wikipedia

Grilling kebabs.

Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Persia and later on adopted by the Middle East and Turkey, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer or döner kebab served wrapped in bread with a salad and a dressing. In the Middle East, however, kebab includes grilled, roasted, and stewed dishes of large or small cuts of meat, or even ground meat; it may be served on plates, in sandwiches, or in bowls. The traditional meat for kebab is lamb, but depending on local tastes and taboos, it may now be beef, goat, chicken, pork; fish and seafood; or even vegetarian foods like falafel or tofu. Like other ethnic foods brought by travellers, the kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in many countries around the globe.

Ingredients:

8 wooden kewers

225 g (drained weight) king prawns tail (frozen)

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 clove of garlic

16 cherry tomatoes

1 bu ch spring onions

1 baguette roll

50 g garlic butter

Procedure:

1. Allow the king prawns tail to thaw, wash and drain.

2. Crush the garlic cloves and mix with the olive oil. Marinate the prawn in this mixture.

3. Wash the cherry tomatoes and remove the hard base sections.

4. Use only the green, closed parts of the spring onions. Cut them into lenths of about 3 - 4 cm, clean and wash.

5. Blanch the spring onion sin salted boiling water.

6. Cut the baguette rolls into 1 cm slices, spread with garlic butter and cut slices into quarters.

7. Thread wooden skewers alternately with prawns, tomatoes, spring onions and baguette pieces.

8. Once assembled, drizzle the kebabs with the garlic oil.

9. Cook the kebabs in the grill turning frequently.

Tip: Soak the wooden skewers in cold water before use to prevent from burning when grilling.

Dough for a big Torte

Image by Valerie Everett via Flickr

Fruit Torte for summer weekends.

Summer is here and so are the summer fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries and other fresh from the farm fruits. Bake a torte form and top it off with these healthy fruit options.

Ingredients:

125 g room temperature butter

80 g powder sugar

salt

1 bug egg

250 g flour

Procedure:

1. Mix the butter, powder sugar ans a pinch of salt together until soft and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and flour and mix with your hand.

3. Knead and form into a ball.. Cover with aluminum folie and leave it for 2 hours.

4. After 2 hours, roll the dough into desired shape and put in the torte form.

5. Bake in a pre heated oven for 35 minutes 200deg C or until golden.

6. Top off with your favorite fruits. Either mix it up with gelatine or cream. Enjoy!

Thyme and Lemon Chicken Breasts

Image via Wikipedia

Grilled Chicken with Veggies

This recipe is very easy to prepare and ready in just a few minutes using a contact grill. A delicious summer meal, accompanied by a bowl of mixed salad, freshly baked ciabatta and a dey white wine. Lecker!

Ingredients:

800g thinly sliced chicken breast

5 tbsp. olive oil

5 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 lemon

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

4 cloves of garlic

6 black peppercorns

salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Rinse the chicken breasts in cold water and dab dry.

2. For the marinade, wash the lemon thoroughly, quarter and slice.

3. Wash the thyme and parsley, shake well and chop finely with a sharp knife.

4. Peel and finely chop the cloves of garlic.

5. Thoroughly mix all ingredients for the marinade.

6. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken, covering all parts.

7. Cover and leave the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for approximately 6 - 10 hours.

8. Allow your griller to heat. Brush any solid marinade ingredients from the meat.

9. Grill for 5 minutes checking that it is cooked all the way through (poultry must always be cooked thoroughly).

10. Once the chicken is done, add salt to taste.

Beef Burgers

Image via Wikipedia

Burgers to past away the hunger.

A special treat fro the Sunday afternoon snack for the kids and the whole gang.

Ingredients:

500g minced beef

1 small finely chopped onion

1 egg

salt and pepper

oil

beef burger rolls (burger buns)

lettuce leaves

tomatoes

thin slices of cucumber

tomato sauce and mayonnaise

Procedure:

1. Wash tomatoes and lettuce leaves. Allow to dry.

2. Slice tomatoes crosswise.

3. Mix burger ingredients thoroughly (minced beef. egg, salt and pepper, oil, onion).

4. Make four flat burgers form the meat mixture.

5. Heat up your pan or contact grill.

6. Lightly coat burgers with oil.

7. Cook (grill) the burgers until golden brown.

8. Cut the burger rolls in half while the burgers are cooking.

9. Garnish the bottom halves with lettuce, cucumber slices, tomatoes, ketchup and mayonnaise. Top with the other roll half.

Tip: warm the rolls in a toaster for a particularly delicious result.

Biscuit Waffles

Image via Wikipedia

Love waffles for morning breakfast!

Ingredients:


5 egg yolks
5 tbsp. hot water
100 g sugar
grated lemon peel
150 g flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
5 stiffly beaten egg whites
1 tbsp. rum
Icing sugar for sprinkling


Procedure:


1. Beat 1 yolk, water, sugar and lemon peel until fluffy until peak is formed.


2. Add the sieved flour (mixed with baking powder) and then fold - in the stiffly beaten egg white.


3. Bake the mixture immediately at medium temperature in your pre heated waffle iron.


4. Sprinkle icing sugar onto the finished waffles and serve hot.

Cinnamon Waffles

Image via Wikipedia

Use cinnamon in your recipes to add christmasy taste!

Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavoring material. It is used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico, which is the main importer of true cinnamon. It is also used in many desserts recipes, such as apple pie, donuts, and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa, and liqueurs. True cinnamon, rather than cassia, is more suitable for use in sweet dishes. In the Middle East, it is often used in savory dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavor cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices that can be consumed directly. Cinnamon powder has long been an important spice in Persian cuisine, used in a variety of thick soups, drinks, and sweets. It is often mixed with rosewater or other spices to make a cinnamon-based curry powder for stews or just sprinkled on sweet treats. It is also used in Sambar powder or BisiBelebath powder in Karnataka, which gives it a rich aroma and tastes unique.

Ingredients:

125 g margarine or butter

3 eggs

50 g sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar

250 g flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. baking powder

1/8 litre lukewarm water

Procedure:

1. Beat the butter (or margarine), sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a t time.

2. Then stir in the sieved flour (mixed with baking powder) and lukewarm water, add the cinnamon.

3. Cook the mixture straight away on the waffle iron.

4. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar onto the finished waffles and serve hot.

Easy Waffles

Image via Wikipedia

Delicious waffles cooling on the rack for the whole family.

Making delicious waffles is so easy if you have mastered the use of your waffle iron. Here is a recipe that is easy to prepare for a nice morning breakfast with the whole family.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 eggs

3 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinammon powder (optional)

Procedure:

1. Heat up your waffle iron.

2. Lightly grease the heated waffle tins (top and bottom). For this purpose, use butter, margarine or oil suitable for baking purposes.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients until free from clumps.

4. Spread the mixture as evenly as possible onto the bottom waffle tin and close lid carefully.

5. Depending on your waffle iron, waffles are normally finished within 3 minutes.

6. Remove the finished waffle from the tin ensuring that you do not damage the coating. If you damage the coating however, the waffles are no longer easy to remove.

Tip: I prefer putting oil in a bowl and using a brush to lightly brush the tin of the waffle iron.