I know, another recipe so soon, what is wrong with me. It's called having sick kids and having to stay at home. I am totally avoiding the huge pile of ironing that is calling me and the sound of the ringing washing machine that is telling me that the washing is ready to hang out. It is so much more fun cooking and listening to the radio and winning movie tickets. Yes my 7 year old thinks I am gold at the moment. I am not a real muffin fan, but these are well, yummy and almost a little bit healthier than the average muffin. They are sort of healthier, but I wouldn't get too carried away with eating more that one, even though you might want to. I picked this recipe up at the back of a book that I finished reading last week. The main character in the story kept making these for breakfast, so I guess the Author thought it only right to give the reader something to do once the book is finished and to satisfy the palate.
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.
125g cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 180. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.
In blender,(I used my hand-held) mix cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla till smooth. In seperate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the cream cheese mix in the blender. (The mix goes very dry, but don't worry) Add eggs, milk and canola oil. With a spoon, fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
NB: I used olive oil instead of the canola as it was all I had at the time. The muffins turned out really good, with a crisp outer edge and soft on the inside. The recipe said to cook them for 35, but mine were ready at about 30 minutes, but it can depend on your oven.
I also made a cream cheese frosting. I used the left over cream cheese tub about 125g, added about 2 tablespoons of icing sugar, one tablespoon of sour cream and a lovely squeeze of lemon to your liking. Blend all together with a mixer and ice when cooled. Another tip that I can give you is to make sure your eggs are at room temp and the milk, it just gives the muffins a softer finish.
These are really easy to make for a morning tea, or just to indulge because you can!
Enjoy!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Chick-peas and Eggplant in Minted Cream
This curry is adapted from the recipe book Classic Curries, by Lisa Dyer. This has to be one of my favourite recipe books and one of my favourite vegetarian curries in this book, besides the Pumpkin Korma which I may add at a later date. I know it has been forever since I posted on my blog, but life just catches up with you and it's hard sometimes to just sit down and write. I think when you have sick kids, the world just stops and it takes a little while to catch up. Winter time denotes a yummy curry that you can soak up with some garlic naan if it suits. My kids love this one, even with the eggplant which isn't always kid-friendly. I think the eggplant soaks up the flavour of the curry and nicely disguises the sometimes bitter taste of this vegetable.
Serves 4
4-6 finger eggplants
2 medium size zucchini
6 Tbsp oil or ghee
1 large onion, peeled, quarted and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 fresh chillies, deseeded and chopped, or use 2 tsp minced chilli from a jar
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground garam masala
425g tin chopped tomatoes
300mls vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper
425g can chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
150ml double cream
Plain or pilau rice, or parathas, to serve
Trim the leaf off the eggplant and slice. Trim and slice the zucchini. Heat the oil or ghee in a saucepan and gently fry the eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic and chillies for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and adding a little more oil to the pan, if necessary. Stir in the spices and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, stock or water and salt and pepper to taste and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chick-peas to the pan and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the mint and cream and reheat gently. Tast and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve with plain or pilau rice, or with parathas if preferred.
NB You can easily omit the chillies if you would rather a milder curry. I just added one small green one, deseeded in the latest curry and it was just the right amount of heat for the kids.
Enjoy
Serves 4
4-6 finger eggplants
2 medium size zucchini
6 Tbsp oil or ghee
1 large onion, peeled, quarted and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 fresh chillies, deseeded and chopped, or use 2 tsp minced chilli from a jar
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground garam masala
425g tin chopped tomatoes
300mls vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper
425g can chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
150ml double cream
Plain or pilau rice, or parathas, to serve
Trim the leaf off the eggplant and slice. Trim and slice the zucchini. Heat the oil or ghee in a saucepan and gently fry the eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic and chillies for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and adding a little more oil to the pan, if necessary. Stir in the spices and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, stock or water and salt and pepper to taste and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chick-peas to the pan and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the mint and cream and reheat gently. Tast and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve with plain or pilau rice, or with parathas if preferred.
NB You can easily omit the chillies if you would rather a milder curry. I just added one small green one, deseeded in the latest curry and it was just the right amount of heat for the kids.
Enjoy
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