Pancakes

I know, I know, been ages since I added any new recipes. I promise to do so more frequently from now, since that will save me having to inbox them individually on fb =p

I've been making pancakes since I was a kid.  I have always loved reading - the kids in my novels would always serve their mums breakfast in bed on Mum's Day, and it fascinated me no end. Back then I used to burn them EVERY time, so mum got burnt pancakes for Mother's Day breakfast. Of course, this hasn't happened in ages now, but this is what mum will always remember, no? She makes a crack about it every year: "What, no burnt pancakes? You obviously don't love me anymore" -.-

Anyway, they are super easy to whip up, and there are a large number of variations that may be tried (choc chips, berries, etc). I love mine with either Nutella, or margarine and marmalade!

Here they are:

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
oil

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour" (if using cartonmilk, take 1/2 cup milk and add 2-3 tbsp yogurt to it, as boxed milk does not 'sour').

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

Heat a large pan over medium heat, and add a little oil, only enough to coat the base. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake. Flip with a spatula, and cook until golden on the other side.

DO double the recipe as this usually makes just 4-5-6 Pancakes. 

Only the most awesome carrot cake ever.

So yesterday when I went to henna a friend for her wedding, her mom served an amazing, moist, melt-in-your-mouth carrot cake and I, of course, hounded her for the recipe. I couldn't help it! She was an absolute sweetheart and quickly made this note for me, and promised to share more recipes later - I'm absolutely in love! <3

CAN YOU TELL HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THIS?!!!

It turned out fantastic! What you do is you dump everything together in a large bowl and mix well with an electric beater (or a wooden spoon but that takes a lot more effort).

What I did:
1. Used 2 tsp Baking Powder instead of 1 tsp.
2. Used a spring form pan, and lined it with paper, greasing well. The pan has to be 2/3rd full. Or 3/4th. I forget which. =s
3. I mix the dry ingredients together first, with a whisk, so the Baking powder and Soda is well distributed. Alternately, you may sift the flour, bp and soda together before hand.
4. Did not add the salt. I don't like the idea of putting salt in cakes, idk why.
5. Dumped in the carrots last! OH and IMPORTANT: carrots need to be finely grated.

DONE!

The cake vanished over night and it wasn't just me.

Chicken Bread From My Childhood!

I'll save the soppy story for later of my childhood, right now I'm packing like a mad woman but I promised Meenah that I'll post this before Eid. SO...



Here it goes!


Ingredients for dough:

Flour 4 cups
Instant yeast 1 tbsp
Powdered milk 2 tbsp OR you can use half a cup of warm milk
Salt 1 tsp
Oil 4 tbsp
Egg 1 (plus 1 for glazing)
Castor sugar 1 tsp OR 1 tsp brown sugar

The filling:

Entirely your choice!

In a bowl mix together 4 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp castor sugar, 2 tbsp milk powder, 1 tbsp yeast, 4 tbsp oil and 1 egg, knead to a medium soft dough which should be VERY firm, with slightly warm water, leave to rise for 1 hour. Don't over knead, the yeast will 'lighten' it.

Now divide the dough into two or three parts depending on what size loaves of chicken bread you want. I would RECOMMEND three parts that means you'll have three loaves. Roll the dough to a rectangular shape, snip the sides with scissors or a knife, put filling in the centre and fold each side so they overlap each other (like a braid) the filling will show slightly but that's okay, brush top with beaten egg, sprinkle sesame seeds and bake on 200 degree C for 25 minutes or so.

Right after taking out of the oven apply butter well on whole bread and let it rest covered with a cloth for 2-3 min to soften the chicken bread. Ta-dah. READY to be gulped down.

P.s Also, the batter shall be very sticky. So in the end just put oil on your hands to scoop it out and 'tame' it. Lol. I put it in a well oiled plastic bag and closed it. The dough rose in just 30 minutes. But best to leave it alone for an hour.

Guest Bloggers!

Hello all!

As you may have noticed, I suck at posting and updating this poor blog! My last post was in December! =[ While I have tried numerous new recipes successfully since then, I just haven't found the time to blog about them. SO I am SUPER EXCITED to announce that I have enlisted the support of the awesome Amber Apa - Domestic Goddess - who will now be guest-blogging for us about food, party planning, and her beautiful life style! She is the mother of a tiny, gorgeous little baby which hasn't stopped her from being an amazing cook, a creative hostess and one of the most energetic people I know - there is so much we can all learn from her! [Mashallah]

So a giant WELCOME goes out to Amber Apa, and the rest of you, Fasten Your Seat Belts! ;D

Orange Cake

Winters mean oranges!! =D I had been craving for a slice of Orange cake for a long time. Never having tried it, I was convinced it would be ambrosia to a citrus-lover like me! And as those people who know me can attest, food and recipes are high-involvement decisions for me ;) So after a lot of research, I hit upon a recipe for Orange Cake that had a lot of great reviews. Finally one day, smack in the middle of my semester finals [because everyone knows that’s when you need the comfort of food the most], I decided to give it a try.

It turned out LOVELY! =D I baked it in a loaf tin, because most reviews said it’s more moist that way. But next time, I shall make it in a round cake tin, and I’ll also frost it. I don’t frost cakes the first time I try out a recipe because then you can’t judge the actual cake. Well, this one needed no frosting!

The original recipe is from Allrecipes. I’ve tweaked it slightly, for more orange flavor. I’ll take pictures the next time I bake it. It disappeared too fast, this time around! ;D

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp grated orange zest

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour which ever cake tin you’re using.

• In a jug/bowl, combine milk, 1/2 cup orange juice, oil, beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons orange zest. Set aside.

• Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Mix in sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined.

• Pour batter into prepared pan. Pan should be 2/3 full!

• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting!

Lemon Bread

YET another fantastic recipe from Simple Recipes =D I left off the glaze though, as I found it too sweet. Served it on the side so that people may drizzle it on their slice if they like!

4 ounces (1 stick/8 Tbsp) butter, softened*
1 cup minus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp honey
2 eggs (room temp)
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp honey
* Do not soften butter in microwave. Either leave a stick of butter on kitchen counter for an hour, or place between two pieces of wax paper and rollout with a rolling pin to soften.

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

2 Beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and honey, continue to beat until creamy, a few minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate. On low speed, slowly beat the milk in. Do not worry if the mixture looks a little curdled. Mix in lemon zest.

3 Sift together the flour, salt, cardamom, baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients, beating until smooth.

4 Place batter in prepared pan and bake for 1 hour at 350°F.

5 While the lemon bread is baking, prepare the glaze. Heat the glaze ingredients - lemon juice, sugar, honey - in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.

6 Once you have removed the bread from the oven, poke holes all over the top with a thin skewer (this will help the glaze penetrate). Spoon the glaze over it while the bread is still in the pan and is still hot. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing to serve.

Mum's Tea Party

Mum had her friends come over to tea last Thursday. We sent out invites to about forty ladies, and around thirty showed up. It was very hectic beforehand -with ingredients falling short, tempers running high, Feepo the cat having "accidents" after the cleaning was done and Scoop the dog generally being a nuisance- but everything turned out well after all. =D The guests really loved our efforts: many of them ended up asking for doggie bags! =D

Remember how I said I get these obsessive phases? Now days it's table settings and decor =D I read up on buffet table settings and fall party decor. I even drew sketches for the settings, and made paper flowers and bought new candles. Like most meticulously crafted plans, it didn't turn out exactly the way I saw it in my head. But the guests weren't to know that. They loved it and that made me happy so yaay anyway =D =D

p.s. It looks waaay more christmas-y than how I envisaged it.