Possibly the best ever Choc chip cookies?

I've been waiting to post about these as I needed to post this months 'Fresh from the Oven challenge' first! I've had this recipe for a while, taken from Olive magazine and finally baked them last week - they are really, really good.

Beautifully buttery, oaty, chocolatey, soft, slightly chewy and are even better eaten still warm from the oven. I can see these being a regular bake for me! The only real amendment was that I left the walnuts out, mainly as I'm sure I had some but couldn't find! I did adjust the sugar as to what I had in the cupboard and it thankfully worked perfectly!



Chunky chocolate cookies

Ingredients:
Ingredients100g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
125g unsalted butter
175g soft brown sugar (I only had dark soft brown, used 150g and 50g golden caster sugar)
25g caster sugar (see above)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g walnuts , chopped
175g porridge oats
50g dark chocolate , chopped into small chunks

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Mix the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Cream the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla with electric beaters. Stir in the flour mixture, then add the nuts, oats and chocolate.

Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment and drop large tbsps of dough onto them (mine were more ball like in shape). Press down gently. Bake for 8-10 minutes until light golden. (I cooked a few mins longer as made bigger ones)

Let them cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They will look underdone but will finish cooking on the hot tray. Wait until they are completely cool then pack into a tin lined with baking paper.

Stuffed Bun's - Fresh from the Oven

Over the last year or so I have been really getting into breadmaking and recently read online about a baking blog called Fresh From the Oven
and signed up for this months challenge - Stuffed Buns, certainly a very new and different side of breads for me! They are soft, fluffy little buns and make a good snack or as part of a meal.

The recipe comes from Ria's Collection I have put in brackets some ingredient amendments for UK based bloggers, as this recipe originates from India.

This is a great recipe for a lazy afternoon of baking.

♥Stuffed Bun♥
Yields 12 buns (I made 15, lost count whilst seperating!)


For the dough:

Ingredients:

Dry yeast-1 tbsp (I used 1/2 tbsp of Allinsons Dried active yeast)
Warm water 2 tbsp
Milk 1/2 cup (150ml)
Salt to taste
Oil 1/2 cup
All purpose flour 2 cups (275g, I used strong bread flour)
Sugar 1/4 cup (looks a lot but honestly works!)
Egg 1, beaten
Egg white 1, for egg wash
White sesame seeds for sprinkling

Method

Dissolve the yeast in warm water with 1/2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tbsp of all purpose flour. Leave aside for 10 minutes.

Boil the milk and allow to cool down till it is warm to touch. Add sugar, oil and salt.

Mix well with a wooden spoon till the sugar dissolves and add 1 cup flour and mix to a smooth paste. Add the beaten egg, yeast and mix. Add the remaining flour and mix well till it forms a smooth dough.

Knead well for 10 mins.[We knead it using our hands]

Let it rest till it doubles in volume. (mine didn't double, just a gentle increase but think may have been too cold in the kitchen)

Punch down the dough lightly using your palm and divide them equally.
Flatten them into small discs and fill them with 1 tbsp of the filling. Re-shape them into a ball.

Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.



Let it prove for another 20 mins.

Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 10 mins.(fan 175o) When it starts to brown, give them an egg wash using 1 slightly beaten egg white. (Keep an eye on them as catch quickly!)

♥Spicy Indian chicken filling♥

Ingredients
Boneless chicken-200g, boiled and shredded
Onions 4 big, finely chopped (I used 2 giant ones)
Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp (I cheated with jarred version)
Chilli powder-1/2 -1tbsp [depending on your spice level]
Coriander powder-1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil-3 tbsp

Method

Heat oil, add the ginger garlic paste and saute till it gives out a nice aroma.
Add the onions. Saute them till soft and transparent.
Reduce the heat and add the powders and mix well for 2 mins.
Add the shredded chicken and mix well.

Keep it off the fire and let it cool.

Use it for filling the dough.

*Veggie filling: You can substitute chicken for paneer/cottage cheese, potatoes , mushrooms etc

Barbecue Sausage Pasta

We seem to have had a pasta heavy week for some reason, two pasta dishes at home and one at the in-law's house. The first was this Barbecue sausage pasta, and the 2nd a tuna tortellini one-pot dish, I really liked both! I will post the tuna one another time as its a great speedy worknight supper.

This dish can be easily made and served inisde an hour, its also good the next day cold for lunch. Its also quite economical and becoming a regular in our household! It can also be easily doubled etc. Great man food and good for us ladies too :)

Serves 4

6-8 good quality sausages of your liking - cumberland or pork and apple are also very good in this
500ml sieved tomatoes (also known as passatta)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or 2 tsp garlic powder
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp molasses sugar
1/2 tbsp golden caster sugar
1/2 tbsp honey (1 squirt!)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp dried italian herb mix
550g fusilli or penne pasta


Firstly, squeeze the sausage meat out of their skins and split into 4-5 pieces, roll into balls, heat a deep pan (I use a casserole for this) heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil (will depend how fatty the sausages are!) fry the meatballs until golden all over for about 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, add the onions and brown, stir in the sugar, spices and herbs, all of the sieved tomatoes, simmer for 10 minutes and add the meatballs, cover and gently simmer for a further 25 minutes.

Cook the pasta as per packet, drain well and add to the sauce, mix well and adjust seasoning if needed, a splash of l&p is always a good booster . Serve with grated cheese if desired

Bacon and pea Fridge-tata

In hindsight I should have measured the ingredients for this, rather than throw together bits from the fridge and hope that it worked...for some odd reason I didn't think this dish would be that great and the fact I was primarily making this to feed the boyfriend....I was very wrong and found myself trying to sneak forkfuls of the beloved's plate, much to his horror!! (think that Friends episode where Joey's date tries to eat his chips...)

I also decided to name it fridge-tata instead of frittata as its not very authentic but certainly very tasty :)



Make sure you have a pan that is suitable for going under the grill - I couldn't find the instructions for mine but somewhere in the back of my mind I thought it was okay, and luckily my lovely Meyer pan survived!

Makes 4-6 wedges

Loose instructions due to lack of measuring were:

6 medium eggs
2 handfuls grated mature cheddar
1 tbsp approx grated parmesan
1 heaped tbsp low-fat soft cheese (or whatever is in fridge!)
aprox 1/2 cup of milk
handful frozen peas
8 cooked or raw new potatoes
1/2 chopped white onion
small pack bacon/ pancetta bits
1/2 tsp dried italian herbs
S&P

I started off with raw potatoes, which I then quartered, microwaved with a splash of water for 8 minutes, added the peas and cooked for 2 more minutes

Mix together the eggs, 2/3 the cheddar, other cheeses, milk, and seasoning

Pre-heat the grill to medium-high. Heat a large pan (as above check its grill friendly!), gently fry the onion and bacon bits together - you want them opaque but not too browned, stir in the cooked potatoes and peas and fry for a couple of minutes, pour over the eggy mixture and mix well, stir occasionally until the bottom is setting, now place under the grill and cook until golden brown all over and cooked through, allow to stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

I'm guessing it would be nice cold too for a picnic etc but it didn't survive that long...

More cookery books...

Hello my name is Anne and I *love* cookery books. I am now on 105. How did this happen! 5 years ago I only had 3!!

Seriously, I can't resist them. I don't feel alone though, this does seem to be popular 'hobby'. You can find like minded souls over at the fab UKFBA Website, its well worth a visit!

Unfortunately the bookshelves are now fit to bursting. And this week brought 3 more to find space for. One was donated to me by a friend, its an older book called A Meal in A Minute, by Annette Wolter. Think along the lines of Delia's 'How to Cheat' but slightly more interesting/ disturbing..My least favourite (there are several!) is a soup suggestion consisting of a can/ bag of potato soup, combined with a tin of corned beef and topped with slices of fried onion and peppers. Makes me shudder just to think about the appearance, yet alone the taste...

On the good front, my new purchases came via the local hospice shop (I keep telling myself its for a good cause, would have been wrong not to buy them both..) First up is French Leave by John Burton-Race, which is a mix of recipes and about his time in France cooking and eating. I enjoy reading foodie travel books almost as much as cookery books so am pretty pleased to have this addition! Secondly was a copy of Ainsley Harriott's Low Fat Meals in Minutes, which so far looks like a really great collection of recipes, where you wouldn't even notice they were healthy! Am really looking forward to cooking from this one, especially the lemon garlic chicken with coriander and hot grilled peaches with pistachio brittle mmm! Who would of thought low fat could still be tasty! Will of course blog any goodies!

You will notice below how our poor bookshelves are starting to bend under the weight. And yet I still can't help but buy more! Though am just as bad for other books, there are 2 further same sized bookshelves with fiction etc, though I fear some may have to be rehomed to fit the expanding cookery section!

Back soon!

Sorry about severe lack of postings - have been snowed under juggling my new job and part-time work on the side, hasn't left much time to get creative in the kitchen!!

I don't have internet access at work as I'm on the road all day, so only manage to sneak on the net occasionally now, so sorry too that I've not managed to visit many of your blogs lately!

I've been relying on too many well known cereal bars and finally picked some dried fruit and oats earlier so going to make flapjacks this week mmm! If you have a favourite recipe please send my way! Even more so if its marginally healthy!

Promise will have some new dishes on here soon, including a delish baked tomato & bechamel sauce dish that I need to re-make and remember to take pictures of!!

Hope everyone is well :)