Breakfast News

Tomato Sauce Impromptu

My balcony tomato bush has been over-producing so I decided to use some of the ripe and over-ripe fruit to make a sauce.

I wanted it quick, easy and tasty so I decided to invent my own recipe.

I put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. warmed but not sizzling. And then added -

5 cloves of garlic – fine chopped and mashed with a teaspoon of salt using the flat of a chef’s knife

5 pimentoes crushed and fine chopped

Half a green chili, seeded (cos this is a sauce to enhance, not to overpower) and fine chopped.

12 fresh Basil leaves, fine chopped

Mixed Herbs, Just a pinch

500gm Tomatoes – cored and rough cut, leave the skins if you like, I did cos I’m lazy.

Brought to the boil then simmered for 30 minutes.

Used my hand whizzer thing to remove all lumps and to chop (most) of the tomato skins.

The result was more pink than red so the fastidious could add a few drops of cochineal.

The flavour suits me perfectly. Leaving a bit of a bitey afterglow on the tongue this is a sauce I will do again.

 

Vimrod and Caffeine-Free Coffee

 

I’m Reminded of Someone

Burgled from Phil

Adults Only Tia Maria Chocolate Balls

Been a few weeks since I did a Chocolate Recipe.

Here is another boozy one 

INGREDIENTS

• 250g packet of arrowroot biscuits
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 400g can of sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ cup of Tia Maria liqueur
• Chocolate sprinkles for rolling completed balls in

METHOD

• 1) Pour chocolate sprinkles onto a dinner plate and set to one side along with the tray for the finished Adults Only Tia Maria Chocolate balls to go onto.

• 2) Break arrowroot biscuits into pieces and place into food processor, blending until biscuit pieces become crumbs.

• 3) Pour biscuit crumbs into a large mixing bowl along with the cocoa, sweetened condensed milk, and Tia Maria. Mix all the ingredients together until combined. From this point it is important to work quickly as I discovered leaving the mixture for too long it gets harder to work with.

• 4) Scoop up a teaspoon sized amount and roll into a ball before rolling it in the chocolate sprinkles and setting aside on prepared tray.

• 5) Repeat until all the mixture is rolled and coated in chocolate sprinkles.

• 6) Place Tia Maria Chocolate Balls into fridge to set.

Strawberries & Tia Maria Chocolate Sauce

 

Preparation Time – 10 minutes

Cooking Time – 5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 100g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 80ml (1/3 cup) thin cream
• 2 tbs Tia Maria liqueur
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• Vanilla ice-cream, to serve
• 1 x 250g punnet strawberries, hulled, washed

  Method

1. Place the chocolate, cream, Tia Maria and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Use a metal spoon to stir occasionally for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
2. Spoon ice-cream and strawberries among serving bowls. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and serve immediately.

Discovered at Taste.com

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Ingredients

Serves: 16

250g butter
1 cup (250g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 eggs
2 cups (250g) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cocoa
100g chocolate chips
125ml red wine
Icing:
apricot jam
chocolate cake icing

Preparation

Melt the butter in a large bowl and stir with a big spoon until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, sugar and vanilla, stirring constantly.

In another bowl mix the flour with the baking powder and sieve. Add the cinnamon and cocoa to the flour, mix well and all fold into the egg, butter and sugar mixture. Finally, pour in the red wine.

Pour the dough into a greased bread tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 90 minutes. Do a toothpick test; push a toothpick into the centre of the cake. When dough no longer sticks to the toothpick the cake is ready.

Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool.

When the red wine cake has cooled, brush with apricot jam and then cover with chocolate cake covering. The red wine cake tastes great even without the covering.

Not Just Your Average Chocolate Mousse

 Chocolate Mousse in a Mint Chocolate Basket with Mixed Berries and Galliano Liquor

A few complications to make the baskets but after that, it is a bit of a cheat.

Ingredients

• Water
• ½ block of compound cooking chocolate – dark or milk
• 4 drops peppermint oil
• 6 rubber moulds for chocolate basket
• Packet chocolate mousse mixture
• Tia Maria
• Macadamia syrup
• Seasonal berries or chocolate strips and icing sugar for decoration

Method

1. First, you need to make the chocolate basket. Get a large saucepan and add 2 inches of water, and allow it to boil. Set a corningware dish to sit on top of the rim of the saucepan of boiled water, ensuring no water splashes into the corningware dish. Melt a half block of compound cooking chocolate in the corningware dish, adding 4 drops of peppermint oil (optional). When the chocolate has fully melted, remove the saucepan from the stove, and turn off, again ensuring no water splashes into the corningware dish.
2. Get 6 rubber moulds and coat each with the chocolate mixture, and put each mould on a tray and place in the freezer until the chocolate shells are rock hard. Slowly and carefully remove the rubber moulds leaving the chocolate shells whole.
3. Put these to the side whilst preparing the (packet) chocolate mousse mixture. Add Tia Maria or coffee liquor with macadamia syrup for a richer flavour. Prepare the mousse mixture as per the directions on the packet. Once the mixture is prepared, slowly fill each shell up to the rim, and decorate with seasonal berries or chocolate strips. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Serves 4

 

Burgled from lifestylefood

Chocolate Cherry Trifle

Ingredients

• 2 chocolate pound cakes, approximately 12 ounces each
• ½ cup Cherry Jam
• ½ cup Cherry Brandy
• 2 cups Drained bottled sour cherries recommended: Morello

Custard

• 4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate minimum 70 percent cocoa solids, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups Milk plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream plus 1 tablespoon
• 8 egg yolks
• ½ cup Sugar plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Topping

• 3 cups Heavy Cream
• 1 oz Bittersweet Chocolate grated

Method

1. Slice the chocolate pound cake and make jam sandwiches with the cherry jam, and layer the bottom of a large wide trifle bowl.
2. Pour over the cherry brandy so that the cake soaks it up, and then top with the drained cherries.
3. Cover with cling wrap and leave to macerate while you make the custard.
4. Melt the chocolate on low to medium heat in the microwave, checking after 2 minutes, though it will probably need 4 minutes. Or you can place it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is melted, set aside while you get on with the custard.

Custard

1. In a saucepan warm the milk and cream. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl. Pour the warm milk and cream into the bowl whisking it into the yolks and sugar mixture.
2. Stir in the melted chocolate, scraping the sides well with a rubber spatula to get all of it in, and pour the custard back into the rinsed saucepan.
3. Cook over a medium heat until the custard thickens, stirring all the time. Make sure it doesn’t boil, as it will split and curdle. Keep a sink full of cold water so that if you get scared you can plunge the bottom of the custard pan into the cold water and whisk like mad, which will avert possible crisis.
4. The custard will get darker as it cooks and the flecks of chocolate will melt once the custard has thickened. And you do need this thick, so don’t panic so much that you stop cooking while it is still runny. Admittedly, it continues to thicken as it cools and also when it’s chilling in the refrigerator.
5. Once it is ready, pour into a bowl to cool and cover the top of the custard with cling wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
6. When the custard is cold, pour and spread it over the chocolate cake layer in the trifle bowl, and leave in the refrigerator to set, covered in cling wrap overnight.

Topping

1. When you are ready to decorate, softly whip the cream for the topping and spread it gently over the layer of custard. Grate the chocolate over the top.

Recipe burgled from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Feasts

In Granny’s Kitchen

 The Australian Women’s Weekly, Saturday 21 March 1942

Cognac Truffles

COOKING TIME

Prep 10 mins,  cook 5 mins (plus setting time of around 1 1/2 hours)

INGREDIENTS
80 ml (1/3 cup) pouring cream
300 gm 70%  Chocolate, finely chopped
60 ml  Cognac
For dusting: Cocoa powder

METHOD

Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat, stir in chocolate until melted and smooth.

Gently whisk in Cognac.

Transfer to a metal bowl and leave in a cool area, whisking occasionally until chocolate has almost set (1-1½ hours).

Transfer to a small container and refrigerate until just set. (Mixture will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week, bring to room temperature before shaping).

Sieve cocoa powder into a bowl.

Using a heated dessert spoon, scoop quenelle shapes from the chocolate mixture and dust them in cocoa, turning gently to coat.

Keep cool (ideally in a cool pantry) until serving.

Makes about 18 Truffles

 

 

Moar Coffee

In Granny’s Kitchen

 The Australian Women’s Weekly, Saturday 14 February 1942

A Real Quiz. On Diets

The past eight months have seen major changes in my diet and lifestyle for health reasons. This has been accompanied by a nearly 15cm shrinkage in my waistline.

Not my waistline!

I am now reasonably confident in my knowledge of what is required to lose weight and stay healthy.

This quiz may be of assistance to you.

No whiz bang pictures or graphics, just good information.

Eating For Health