Saturday, July 21, 2007

Sour Cream Apple Muffins

Another new recipe. Since I am always on the lookout for the perfect muffin recipe, I must write down every variation of every recipe I try :-) My version looks like this.

1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 cup white plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 heaped cup baker's apple
1/2 cup sultanas

Combine dry ingredients. Stir through baker's apple, breaking into smaller pieces. Measure margarine and sour cream into a jug; add enough milk to make liquid up to 1 1/2 cups. Add to eggs and beat thoroughly. Combine with dry ingredients. Cook at 180C until cooked through (I forgot to adjust the oven temperature after the last recipe - the recipe I used said 400F for 12-15 minutes).

Made 12 large and 17 mini muffins.

ETA: unfortunately these were not very nice. They were certainly deliciously moist, but there wasn't enough sugar to disguise the taste of the fats. Next time I will adjust total sugar to 1 cup.

Salmon Loaf

New recipe to try.

As usual, I extemporised like mad with this recipe and made all sorts of changes, so I'm hoping I can remember them all... First of all, I thought that 2 cups of breadcrumbs was excessively bland, so I substituted 1/4 cup of ground almonds and 1/2 cup of wheatgerm. Then I only used about a heaped 1/2 cup measure of breadcrumbs on top of that, instead of making it the full 2 cups of the recipe. I only used 1 tin of salmon, because that was all I had.

1 tin pink or red salmon
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup wheatgerm
1-2 tbsp minced onion or shallot
¼ cup evaporated skim milk (or juice drained from salmon whisked with milk powder to thicken)
2 eggs
2 tbls salmon juice
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbsp sour cream (optional)
¼ tsp tarragon
pepper
3 small-medium potatoes, steamed and mashed
1 carrot, grated
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced

Whisk eggs together, add liquid ingredients and sour cream, then ground almonds, wheatgerm, and enough breadcrumbs to make a thick paste. Add vegetables and salmon, season. Pack firmly into a greased glass loaf pan or square pan, and cook in the microwave on medium (6) for 35-40 minutes, checking for doneness after 30 minutes (may take a little extra to get the centre cooked through).

Friday, July 13, 2007

Recipe to Try

Martha's Chinese Chicken Salad - from Elise's Simply Recipes blog.

Only thing I would do differently is boil the beanthread rather than fry them - fried noodles don't do much for me at all.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Satay Tofu and Rice

This recipe originated from a vegan nasi goreng recipe, but I don't think it bears much resemblance to classic nasi goreng so I've renamed it. I haven't made it for years and had lost the recipe, so I'm writing it down now so I don't forget it again!

Ingredients
Satay sauce:
1/2 onion, finely diced
4-6 tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter
2-3 tbsp kejap manis (or substitute soy sauce)
2-3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp grated ginger (I didn't have any so I used 1 tsp ground)
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 small tin lite coconut milk
water

Tofu and Rice:
375g firm tofu, diced
2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 1/2 onions, sliced
1/2 head broccoli
1 large carrot, sliced
1 red capsicum, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 celery sticks, sliced (optional)
1/4 won bok, shredded

Cook the brown rice until tender, then remove cover and continue to cook, stirring, until most of the moisture has evaporated and the rice grains separate easily. Allow to cool while making the peanut sauce.

Saute onion until transparent, add ginger and cook until fragrant. Add peanut butter and thin with enough water to make a thickish sauce. Add kejap manis and sweet chilli sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in coconut milk and reduce heat to low. Heat through but don't let it boil.

Remove sauce from heat, cool slightly, then marinate diced tofu in sauce for a minimum of half an hour, stirring occasionally. Prepare the rest of the ingredients while waiting.

Stir fry onion until beginning to soften, then add broccoli and carrot and stir fry for a minute or two. Add capsicum and celery and continue to stir fry for another minute. Add rice and stir through vegetables. Pour sauce and tofu into wok and stir to mix and heat through. Finally, add won bok and stir until beginning to soften. Serve immediately.