Banana and Almond Muffins

There are many different types of muffins from flat, toasted English muffins, to healthy bran and fibre varieties you may pick up from a coffee shop. They are actually quite different to make than generic “Buns” or “Cup Cakes” as the recipes follow different processes and ingredients, they are , in fact, a world apart. It is traditional when making muffins to mix a bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet ingredients and then fold the two mixtures together. This is to allow air into the mixture which with help the muffins rise and stop them being heavy and stodgy. However, you must not over-mix the ingredients here, as this will make the muffins come out with a rubbery texture, instead of a nice crunchy crust on top, and when its bitten into, the soft, moist muffin will melt in your mouth.

My Banana and Almond Muffins are a great way to use up old ingredients, because quite often i find i have half a leftover packet of almonds left, or some old bananas slowly composting in the fruit bowl. By the way, old bananas are best for this recipe and they have had time to go nice and mushy and this releases more flavour. They are also a great filler and are packed full of fibre and vitamins. For instance, bananas are a great source of potassium which is good for your heart and almonds, like most nuts are high in fat, but also very high in nutritious protein.

 

Ingredients-

• 120g Unsalted Butter, melted                   
• 3 Old, Large Bananas, mashed                   
• 2 Beaten Eggs                                            
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract                                      
• 120g Flaked Almonds, unsalted                 
• 240g Self Raising Flour, sifted                    
• 175g Caster Sugar                                        
• 2tsp Baking Powder                                    
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon                             
• Pinch of Ground Nutmeg  

First, preheat an oven to 180’c/Gas 4, and lay out paper muffin cases in a muffin tray. In a bowl, mix the melted butter, mashed bananas, beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Stir thoroughly to avoid lumps and it should form a light, yellow liquid. In a separate bowl, mix the flaked almonds, self raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Now, fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture, but only just enough for the dry mixture to be absorbed by the wet, for me, this generally takes around 20-25 folds. If you over-mix the mixture here, the muffins will be rubbery and wont rise as well. It should fold into an airy, spongy mixture. When the mixtures have been folded together, fill each muffin case to about half way with the mix and spoon any leftover batter evenly between the cases. Bake for around 20-25 minutes until the muffins are risen well over the paper rims and the top have gone golden and crispy.

Update

hi,
just a quick update to apologize for the lack of new posts recently, but its half term next week so expect some new recipes.
my sister is coming home from uni in france, so i will do a three courser next week. im planning on doing-

carrot and corriander soup

mediterenean roast chicken

tropical fruit pavlova.

next week i am also attempting to make-

cream filled macarons

traditional pork pies

i think the macarons will turn out alright, but i cant be sure as ive never tried them before- if they go badly wrong, i will post up a list of what not to do when making macarons!

expect most of these recipes up within the next few weeks.

sam.

Chicken Tikka and Cucumber and Mint Raita

Chicken Tikka is a dish that is a south asian dish, who's name means in traditional pakistani "bits" or "peices". I think this must refer to how the dish is traditionaly made of small cubes of chicken on a skewer. There are many different versions of this dish- but the main ones are the Indian, Pakistani and Afghan versions. The Indian style tikka is very spicey, whereas the Afghan and Pakistani ones are generally more mild and are served traditionaly with salads of onion and lettuce.

However, I am serving mine with an accompionment of a Cucumber and Mint Riata- which most people know as their accompianment to popadoms. It is very light and refreshing after the spice of the tikka marinade.

This dish is best served as a main with rice, but is just as nice without rice as a starter. It can be tailored to individual taste, so if you dont like this much spice, you can simply add it to taste- or more if you like it very hot!

Serves 4

12 Chicken Drumsticks                                     
6tbsp Natural Yogurt- Low Fat if prefered
2tbsp Chilli Powder
1/2 Tsp Ground Tumeric
1/4 Tsp Ground Cinamon

For the Riata

1/2 Cucumber - Grated
1 Tbsp Chopped Mint
1 Tsp Chopped Corriander
400ml Natural Yogurt - Low Fat if prefered

Preheat an oven to 170'c. In a food processor, whizz the 400ml of natural yogurt with the grated cucumber, chopped mint and chopped corriander. Blend the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed and then store in a refrigerater until chilled through- it is best served chilled.
For the chicken, mix the chilli, tumeric and cinamon with the 6tbsp of natural yogurt. Line a baking tray with tin foil and lay the chicken drumsticks on top. Pour over the marinade to make sure that all sides of the chicken are covered and cover the tray with cling film. Place in a fridge to marinate for 1/2 an hour.
When marinated, remove the cling film and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes so the skin is crispy and starting to char. Turn off the oven and leave the pan in the heat for a further 5-10 minutes to dry of some moisture.

Try serving this dish with rice, naan bread and sprinkle over some chopped corriander to garnish.

update

im just about to wrap up warm for an outside tennis session, but when i get back i will be cooking a chinese feast as it is my sisters last night in england before she goes back to france for uni.
im cooking a dish called "Moo Goo Gia Pan" which is like a chicken and veg stir fry in a white sauce. this will be accompanied by stir fried veg in a black bean sauce and egg fried rice.

i will post these recipes up at a later date, possibly with pictures- it depends on how well the food comes out.

Something for the cold

after a brief reprieve, the chill is creeping back into the air.
soups, i find are the best things for cold and more effective than a hot water bottle or blowing into your hands because it warms up from the inside (if soup is in a thermos or mug it will also warm your hands up!)
soups are generally quite cheap to make, being made from seasonal and fairly often local ingredients.

People have been making soup for centuries, and in many different cultures. historically, it has often been associated with a peasants food because it has always been a cheap and quick way of feeding a large family- also, people could make soup to use up their scraps and leftovers- enough said about these dubious ingredients the better i think! But, nowadays, who really cares about eating a peasants food if it tastes so nice?

Pea and Cabbage Soup


This soup is brilliant for filling the gap. It is filling and nutritious- being high in fiber and many vitamins. It is made from two quite often forgotten ingredients but when cooked correctly can taste great.

They are also very healthy ingredients. Cabbage in particular is high in minerals like iron and potassium, as well as vitamins like vitamin K- which stops your blood from clotting and reduces bags under your eyes. This soup is incredibly low in fat and can feed up to six people for about 2-4 pounds.

Ingredients-

1 large head of green cabbage (shredded)
400g tinned garden peas
1 onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
700ml vegetable stock
1tbsp chopped parsley
large knob of butter
salt and pepper

first, heat the butter gently in a large soup pan or stock pot and fry the onion and the carrot for 2 minutes to soften. now add the cabbage and fry for a further minute. Add the stock and the peas, using the water from the can to add to the stock, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes until all the vegetables are very soft. When soft, pour the soup into a blender and blend until it is smooth and creamy.

i like to serve this piping hot, with a sprinkling of strong cheddar over the top.

Haddock Fishcakes

sorry for not updating that recently, ive been quite busy with various things.
ive made this recipe a few times and i have tried experimenting with different kinds of fish. Cod and Salmon work nicely, but haddock is my favourite.

Ingredients –                                                     

1kg Diced and peeled potatoes

150g Butter

600g Skinless white fish (I like to use cod)

200g Prawns

Small bunch of parsley and chives (chopped)

800ml Milk

Salt and pepper

100g Grated Cheese

50g Flour

Preheat an oven to 180ºc/ Gas mark 4

Place the potatoes in a pan of water, boil for around 15 minutes until they are very soft, try mashing them with the back of a fork and if the mash easily, strain and mash with a little milk and half the butter. Place the white fish in a deep bottomed frying pan and pour over the milk. Place over a medium heat and poach the fish for 6-8 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. Remove the fish and flake into a deep oven dish with the prawns, salt and pepper and parsley and chives. Mix. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Mixing constantly, stir in around half of the remaining milk and stir until the milk forms a smooth sauce with no lumps. Pour over the fish. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the fish and sprinkle over the cheese bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

To serve this, add a small handful of watercress to the side of the plate and you can try mixing about 100ml low-fat mayonaise with the juice of one lemon. This will make a lovely, zingy mayo dip.

Vanila sugar

my computers been taken away by a nerd to be fixed at the moment, so i'm just using a library computer whilst i can.

so heres a quick update. i got a call the other day from the council asking wether i would like to go and meet the head chef of the crown at southwold and look around his kitchens- so ive got that to look forward to. But, until i get a computer back, ill just have to upload quick blogs like this.

i was in the super market the other day and saw the price of vanilla pods- £2-50 for 1! at this price you cant afford to waste them so ive found a way of re-using the vanilla flavour/

after using them, dry them out over night in an airing cupboard and then put them in a bag of sugar for a few weeks. this will give the sugar a slight vanilla taste and scent. obviously the stronger you want the sugar to be, the less sugar you use. its good for making custard because you still get the great vanilla flavour, without the vanilla.

bye for now,

sam.