Its been a while since I posted....and Pumpkin Soup

Trick or treat!!!

OK so sometimes life takes over as it has done for me the past few weeks and its been a while since I posted......its also been a while since I have done some cooking but I sure have the past few weeks.

I had friends for dinner on Friday, we ate pumpkin soup, beef and chestnut casserole - good food recipe - then I made a Chocolate Orange and Almond Cake from a recipe book and a pear tart.

My friend asked how I made the Pumpkin Soup- and I don't have an exact recipe....but this is what I do. This recipe serves 6-8

Peel and dice a small pumpkin (the smaller the sweeter)
Place in a pan with 2 diced onions, one crumbled vegetable stock cube and a cup of apple juice.
Pour over hot water to cover the pumpkin - about 1-2 litres.
Boil till the pumpkin is soft. Then blend in a blender or a hand blender is best if you have one.
Add three or four tablespoons of honey and salt and pepper to taste.
Heat and serve.

I'm back!!

So I have been absent having spent a week in Germany for work and then a week with the flu.
But I am back on the go and there will updates on here soon!!

Eggy Bread!

This was a bit of a treat when I was a kid. My favourite was when it was made with leftover challah and sprinkled with brown sugar.

But last weekend for my favourite meal of the weekend, brunch, I used leftover raisin bread and had it with maple syrup....and its so quick and simple.

Serves 1.

Cut a thick slice of raisin bread.

Whisk together 100ml of milk and 1 egg. Place liquid in a shallow dish and leave bread to soak in it.

When bread has soaked the liquid up (you may want to toss it a couple of times), fry in a pan for a couple of minutes each side until lightly browned.

Pour maple syrup over the eggy bread and serve with freshly squeezed orange juice.

Delicious!

Easy Raisin Bread

200 ml Water  

75 ml Sunflower Oil  

500 grams plain flour

1 ¼ tsp Sea Salt  

75 ml Honey  

7g dried yeast

1 egg

100g raisins 

First activate the yeast by mixing it with the warm (NOT HOT - 1 part boiling to 2 parts cold) water, and the honey. Stir and let sit for 2/3 minutes and you will see little bubbles/foam on the top.

By Hand:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and the yeasty water mixture. mix together with your hands till you have a dough. Take out the bowl and knead for 30 minutes until it bounces back when you punch into it. Put it back in the bowl and let it rise for 30 mins.

Bread Machine:
This is what I normally do. Put all ingredients in the bread machine and set on dough setting. When finished take out.

Final for both hand and machine methods.
Give the dough another 5 mins kneading and place in a lightly oiled loaf tin. Place a tea towel over the top to keep it warm and allow to sit for 30 minutes - It will rise a lot at this stage!

Remove tea towel (yes that's obvious but I still thought I better say)
Place in a preheated 190°C oven. Bake for about 25 minutes. To test bread - remove from the tin and turn over, give it a light tap with your finger and if it sounds hollow its good. If not stick it back in for 5 minutes. But mine are always good at 25 mins.

Leek and Potato Soup

400g potatoes
300ml water
150ml milk
1 large leek
1 small onion
1 tbsp butter (or oil)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp soy sauce
1 vegetable stock cube
(additional 250ml water)

Serves 4

Slice the leek and onion and soften over a low heat in the butter or oil.
Peel and dice the potatoes, add to the leek mixture, along with the remaining ingredients, (except the additional 250ml water.) Boil until the the potatoes are soft.
Blend till you get a smooth consistency and then add as much of the additional water, until you get the consistency you want and stir through. (I normally add an additional 200ml).

Please note that when you boil the potatoes you loose some of the water which is why you should save the additional water to add in after you have cooked the potatoes.

And serve!

Serving suggestion - grate a little cheese on top (perhaps a tablespoon), I recommend gruyères.

Healthy White Bread

 520g plain white flour

1 egg yolk
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp of dried yeast

250ml warm water

1/3 cup linseeds

This gives you a wonderful light white bread with the nutty taste of linseeds which are an excellent source of fibre. Read here for more infomation on linseeds.

First activate the yeast by mixing it with the warm (NOT HOT - 1 part boiling to 2 parts cold) water, and the honey. Stir and let sit for 2/3 minutes and you will see little bubbles/foam on the top.

By Hand:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and the yeasty water mixture. mix together with your hands till you have a dough. Take out the bowl and knead for 30 minutes until it bounces back when you punch into it. Put it back in the bowl and let it rise for 30 mins.

Bread Machine:
This is what I normally do. Put all ingredients in the bread machine and set on dough setting. When finished take out.

Final for both hand and machine methods.
Give the dough another 5 mins kneading and place in a lightly oiled loaf tin. Place a tea towel over the top to keep it warm and allow to sit for 30 minutes - It will rise a lot at this stage!

Remove tea towel (yes that's obvious but I still thought I better say)
Place in a preheated 190°C oven. Bake for about 25 minutes. To test bread - remove from the tin and turn over, give it a light tap with your finger and if it sounds hollow its good. If not stick it back in for 5 minutes. But mine are always good at 25 mins.

Orange and Passion Fruit Smoothie

I was in smoothie mode again. Here is another good simple combination.

1 banana
Juice of 1 orange
1 passion fruit, pulp sieved and seeds discarded....(yes its a small amount with a powerful flavour).

Blend all together for one of my favourite tasting, and one of the best consistencies of smoothies.

Foody Update 2!

Ok so its been a bit of a crazy week and I have been feeling a little under the weather :(
but I am back in the kitchen now and here is whats coming up on Cappin's Kitchen's Blog

Uploaded later this afternoon is my Healthy White Bread recipe - super yummy white bread softness with fibre! yes really! so pop back later to read how....
Also coming up over the weekend....I am trying a few new recipes I have conjured up in my head....firstly a Raisin Bread....as I saw how many of you looked at my other bread recipes.
Secondly, I am aware of this huge bag of cornmeal sitting at the back of my cupboard, I bought and never used....so I shall be making a Polenta, Tomato and Goats Cheese Tart.

And lastly....or at least....that I have planned.....there will be a Snickers Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake.

Drooling yet? I am.

Wholemeal Banana Muffins

I have a super busy week ahead, so I whipped up a batch of these for breakfast on the go….

This is the simplest recipe there is. I promise.

Makes about 12

Preheat the oven to 170°C

3 over-ripe bananas (mushed to resemble baby food!)

2 cups wholemeal flour

2 eggs

1 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup sunflower oil

2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp all spice (if you have it)

Mix all the ingredients together.

Prepare a muffin/cupcake tray with paper cases. Spoon 1 and a half table spoons into each case. Sprinkle each muffin top with a little extra cinnamon if you have.

Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Leave to cool….then indulge in a healthy low fat muffin.

Strawberry & Banana Smoothie

I have had a really busy morning....been working since 8am so I needed a boost to get through the day.

I just wizzed together:
1 over-ripe (and therefore very sweet) banana
5 strawberries
2 tsp honey
50ml milk

Yum!

Challah Bread

This is a traditional Jewish bread eaten during the sabbath and festivals.
I normally make a traditional plaited one, but this week I experimented with my first round plaited one.




Ingredients:
2 tsp of dried yeast, activated in 200ml of warm water mixed with 1 tsp sugar
520g plain flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 190°C
First activate the yeast by mixing it with the warm (NOT HOT - 1 part boiling to 2 parts cold) water, and the sugar. Stir and let sit for 2/3 minutes and you will see little bubbles/foam on the top.

By Hand:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and the yeasty water mixture. Add in 1 whole egg, and the white of the second egg. (Set the second egg yolk aside for later). Mix together with your hands till you have a dough. Take out the bowl and knead for 30 minutes until it bounces back when you punch into it. Put it back in the bowl and let it rise for 30 mins.

Bread Machine:
This is what I normally do. Put all ingredients in the bread machine (be sure to set aside one of the yolks for later) and set on dough setting. When finished take out.

Final step:
Once you have your dough ball separate it into three balls and roll into long snake shapes and plait. If you want to be adventurous you can then do what I did and tie the plait into a knot.
Place on a baking sheet, and cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise.

Mix the egg yolk you set aside with 1 tablespoon of water and brush on your challah for a nice pale brown glow when its baked. Top with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you have any.
Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Fresh Raspberry Jelly

Enough gelatin/vege gel/fish gelatin  (setting agent) for 750 ml of liquid
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g sugar
300g raspberries

Boil the raspberries in 500 ml of water until they fall apart. About 15 minutes.
Then sieve the mixture and discard the raspberry pulp. You should have a clear dark red liquid. Put this into your measuring jug and top up with water, to just over 750ml. Stir in sugar until dissolved.
Put back in the pan and mix in gelatin/setting agent. Bring to the boil and stir until dissolved.
Sieve the mixture a final time, just in case there is any lump of gelatin that didn't dissolve. Put into a bowl and allow to cool.
Once cool, place in the fridge for 4-6 hours to set.

Week One on the Blog

Wow. Over 150 views in the blogs first week. I am flattered!
Time for you to give me some feedback as to what your reading and why. If you have tried any recipes let me know how they worked.

So please leave some feedback!

Friday Night Dinner Menu!

I know you are all wondering, what does the perfectionist of a home cook make for dinner when she has three VIP guests....the mother....the father...and the baby brother.

So here goes,

Carrot Soup with home made challah (bread)
Lemon and Garlic Roasted Chicken with roasted new potatoes
Red Cabbage and mixed green vegetables.
Fruit and Nicola's own Fresh Raspberry Jelly

Recipes and pictures to be added later (I promise) - as I am super busy cooking and cleaning.

Ultimate Hot Chocolate for Adults

As promised here is my late night ultimate hot chocolate recipe.
Makes 1 mug.

250 ml milk
40g plain dark good quality chocolate
3 desertspoons sugar
1/2 shot glass of cointreau

Slowly heat up 250 ml of milk of your choice, then melt in 40g of good dark chocolate - I use Green & Blacks. Stir in 3 desertspoons of sugar.
Pour half a shot of cointreau into your mug, pour the hot chocolate on top, and stir.

mmmmmmm......

Wholemeal Bread

This is my absolute favourite bread recipe. I probably make it once a month.

In this one I topped it with a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds before baking.You can do this with any seeds, just sprinkle a little water on the bread before baking, sprinkle seeds on top and press very lightly onto the bread.

300g wholemeal flour
200g plain white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons oil
225 ml warm water

Preheat the oven to 190°C

First activate the yeast by mixing it with the warm (NOT HOT - 1 part boiling to 2 parts cold) water, and the honey. Stir and let sit for 2/3 minutes and you will see little bubbles/foam on the top.

By Hand:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and the yeasty water mixture. mix together with your hands till you have a dough. Take out the bowl and knead for 30 minutes until it bounces back when you punch into it. Put it back in the bowl and let it rise for 30 mins.

Bread Machine:
This is what I normally do. Put all ingredients in the bread machine and set on dough setting. When finished take out.

Final for both hand and machine methods.
Give the dough another 5 mins kneading and place in a lightly oiled loaf tin. Place a tea towel over the top to keep it warm and allow to sit for 30 minutes - It will rise a lot at this stage!

Remove tea towel (yes that's obvious but I still thought I better say)
Place in oven (you can sprinkle seeds on top first if you wish as explained at the top). Bake for about 25 minutes. To test bread - remove from the tin and turn over, give it a light tap with your finger and if it sounds hollow its good. If not stick it back in for 5 minutes. But mine are always good at 25 mins.

Foody Update!

OK so its been a busy week in crazy Nicola's world. And I haven't had the time for much cooking...but I have for eating! So here's what I have been munching on.

This week I was in London's Covent Garden, and giving up on queueing to go to Wahaca, my, brother,  cousin and I trotted round the corner to this small little Mexican place called La Perla.

http://www.cafepacifico-laperla.com/

Unlike Wahaca, is essentially a bar, that serves some food. It had a wonderful feel and some very funky decor, particularly in the toilets! It felt more like a Mexican bar/restaurant, than the chain-restaurant feel of wahaca. Food was fairly standard, but good. We all enjoyed the fajitas. Service was good and I would say it was fairly priced. Margaritas - were very good...hic...even being the non-drinker I am, I enjoyed three.

So also this week I went to this moderately well known north London Chinese restaurant. Pretty good, pleasant service when the staff understood you, and overall not a lot to write on the place. If your reading this...you probably know the place.

http://www.metsuyan.co.uk/

The only thing I have had the time to make this week was a loaf of bread. When I wasn't working last year I became quite the bread maker and its really easy once you know what your doing. Anyhow, will upload photo and recipe tomorrow....promise!!

But for now I best get into the kitchen as I have some family for dinner tomorrow.....

oh....whats the menu you are wondering?

....tune in tomorrow to find out.

HAPPY EATING!

Butternut Squash Pasta and Bread Picture

Phew, I am stuffed. Just had a good catch up with some lovely friends. And of course a good feed! We had a butternut squash pasta bake to go with the focaccia. Followed by the orange cupcakes...mmmm...

I should add here, that I ended up adding another 50g of flour to the bread mixture as it was a little more wet than normal. Bread making is trial and error - you would find that the more you do it.

I decided the cupcakes should be renamed Jaffa Cup Cakes.... its a bit of a play on the fact I made them for friends who's surname is Jaffa...the fact that you can buy jaffa oranges...and also a play on the name Jaffa Cake........

Leftover butternut squash pasta bake and the focaccia

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia

I have some friends round for dinner shortly - so I am in the middle of making this to accompany a butternut squash pasta bake - its one of my favourite breads.

For Dough:
550g plain flour
7g dried yeast mixed with 1 tsp sugar - activated in 350 ml warm (not hot) water
1 tsp of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 crushed garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of dried rosemary
To Top:
1 tablespoon of dried rosemary
2 tablespoons of olive oil

-I put all the ingredients into the bread machine on the DOUGH setting.
-Alternatively place them all in a big bowl and mix. Knead for a good 10 mins, then cover with a clean tea towel and the dough will rise if you leave it about 30 mins.

-Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper and dust with flour. Roll dough into a rectangle and place on baking tray.
-Choose one of your fingers, yes, the fun bit (!) and prod rows of little holes into the dough - but don't press through to the very bottom.
-Sprinkle the top with either a tablespoon of dried rosemary, or if you have, even better is fresh rosemary.
-Drizzle the top with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
-Leave in a warm place to rise for 20 mins
- Then bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 25-30 minutes.

Best eaten warm, but also great cold.

PS....picture to follow!

Orange Cupcakes For Grown Ups

My friends are always wondering what will be in the cake dome when they come over and this weekend I have a few friends over so its been filled with these yummy cupcakes!

160g butter/margarine
3 eggs
200 sugar
200g self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of ½ orange
1 tablespoon of cointreau

• Beat together the eggs, sugar and butter.
• Stir in flour and baking powder, followed by orange juice and zest and cointreau.
• Spoon into 12 cupcake cases and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely on a rack before icing.

Orange Icing

250g icing sugar
80 butter
juice of half an orange

• Beat ingredients together and spoon a heaped teaspoon onto each cupcake and spread.

Red Cabbage

2 red cabbages (quartered and sliced)
2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons orange juice

2 apples, peeled and grated

1 teaspoon of allspice

1 cup of water

• Soften the onions in the oil (don’t let brown)

• Then put all the remaining ingredients into the pot (you will need a large one – I used a big stock pot) and stir.

• Allow to simmer on a low heat for about 1.5 – 2 hours until cabbage is tender. You should give it a stir every half hour or so, and add more water if the liquid dries up completely so it doesn’t burn, but the amount of liquid in my recipe works perfectly for me.

This is an easy recipe and can be halved. It requires little effort but takes a while to make, which is why I make so much and freeze it. I just hope my parents like it when they come over for dinner later this week!

Breakfast Bagel

Brunch is one of my favourite parts of the weekend. Sometimes its pancakes, but normally it involves eggs.

So here's the secret of my breakfast bagel.

This may not look like the most exciting picture but its a taste sensation!

Start by scrambelling two eggs with a splash of milk, a teaspoon of dill and salt and pepper. (Not too much salt) Toast a bagel under the grill- just before its finished top each half with a slice of cheddar.

Remove bagel from the grill and top with scrambled eggs.

Now in america they make it with processed sliced cheese and scrambled eggs made from liquid egg. But this is how I like it!

Good Morning!

So, I have finally done it. I have created a blog. How long my enthusiasm lasts, well that remains to be seen, but I figured it was time for some fun.
I am a writer by profession, allegedly, and I love to cook, so maybe its time to take my little hobby to the next step. The only problem is I am not the most technically-minded person. Its only taken me an hour (!) to set up this blog.


But luckily its an hour I had, as I have a big pot of red cabbage sitting on the stove, and if you have ever cooked that before - you will know it takes about two hours to make.


Well, anyhow this is my little welcome to my crazy little world. I am going to attempt to keep my camera in the kitchen and let you follow my antics. I cant deny I am hoping I get some feedback from my lovely friends. Update on the cabbage to follow.....but for now its time for a breakfast bagel for me!