Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Blueberry Lemon Drizzle Cake


Well here I am the eve before a 4 day vacation from work and all I can think about is working in the kitchen. I've been wanting to try a recipe in a new book I just recently purchased, and now seemed like a good a time as any, plus the blueberries I bought were calling out 'Now or never lady', so hence the latest entry of blueberry lemon drizzle cake. This new book was apparently written in the UK because some of the measurements and ingredients were unfamiliar to me. For instance, "scant" or "golden superfine sugar" -- what are those? I am fairly new to the baking world, so these terms were unfamiliar to me. A few phone calls, googling and dictionary.com'ing and I was all caught up. The internet is truly a wonderful tool, oh and so is my foodie partner Pat. I made small modifications to this recipe. I used bread flour instead of self-rising and I had no golden superfine sugar, so I put light brown sugar in the food processor and ta-daa golden superfine sugar. Oh, well you can't really call this a modification, but I added a little extra lemon drizzle because I like that flavor oh so much. The result was really fantastic. The cake was moist and there were blueberries popping out everywhere. Lemon and blueberry always make a good couple. Give it a try and let us know what you think.


The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients -
8 oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 cup golden superfine sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour, sifted
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup ground almonds
7 oz fresh blueberries

Topping -
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 c golden superfine sugar

Directions -
1. Grease and line the bottom of an 8-inch square cake pan. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour toward the end to prevent curdling. Beat in the lemon zest, then fold in the remaining flour and almonds with enough of the lemon juice to give a good dropping consistency.

2. Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries and turn into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface, then scatter the remaining blueberries on top. Bake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees, for 1 hour, or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean.

3. To make the topping, place the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl and mix together. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick it all over with a fine skewer and pour over the lemon cake. Let cool in the pan until completely cold, then cut into 12 squares to serve.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

chicken kabobs with island rice

My friend Pat and I decided it was time to join the ranks of food lovers and bloggers everywhere, and start our very own blog site. It was time to share with the rest of the world our beloved recipes and those not so beloved. You could say we are blog junkies because we are totally addicted. Our first joint effort was our grilled chicken and veggie kabobs with island rice. Pat was unsure about the island rice, but I told her to trust me, she was going to love it. Of course she should have never doubted me -- that's right, she loved it. It was a little hectic with 3 kids running around and trying to grill in a thunderstorm, but we persevered and the result was well worth it in the end. Of course there was dessert and we will post that separately.

The recipe is as follows:

Kabobs -
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 green pepper (or your favorite color pepper)
1 package mushrooms
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 large onion

Marinade-
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp grill seasoning
2 tsp hot sauce
3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Island Rice -
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions -
1. Using skewers that have been soaked in water, create your kabobs alternating between the chicken and the veggies until you have the desired number of kabobs.

2.
In a small bowl, mix the garlic, grill seasoning, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Whisk in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Place kabobs in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over them. Let stand for approximately 30 minutes or longer. While the kabobs are marinating, prepare the island rice.

3. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add rice and next 4 ingredients (rice through salt). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro, onions, and juice.

4. Using a preheated grill, place the kabobs on the grill and cook on both sides until chicken is cooked through.

banana muffins with cinnamon frosting


Shall I have a muffin? Shall I have a cupcake? Hmm... what a dilemma. Oh I know, I will have both! Banana muffins with cinnamon frosting a fabulous combination giving you the best of both worlds. The muffins are moist, full of flavor and very satisfying. The cinnamon frosting on top gives it that special touch that confuses the senses into thinking you just consumed a cupcake. It's really quite wonderful and I encourage you to give it a try.

Recipe is as follows:

Muffins -
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 Cup white sugar
6 Tbsp of milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 1/2 oz. margarine, melted
2 small bananas, mashed

Frosting -
1/4 Cup cream cheese
2 Tbsp margarine
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Cup confectioners' sugar

Directions -
1. Place 12 large paper cases in a deep muffin pan. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.

2. Whisk the milk, eggs and margarine together in a separate bowl until combined. Slowly stir into the flour mixture without beating. Fold in the mashed bananas.

3. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake in a preheated oven at 400F/200C, for 20 minutes until risen and golden. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.

4. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and margarine together in a bowl, then beat in the cinnamon and confectioners' sugar until smooth and creamy. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up, then top each muffin with a spoonful.