Tina's Apple pie thingies

So this recipe was invented today by my daughter Tina. I provided the ingredients and the initial idea and my Daughter corrected me, improved the idea, and come up with apple pie thingies! The original recipe (that came from my dad, featured slices of banana, wrapped in a package of pastry, fried and then covered in icing sugar...well Tina said that the banana filling sounded "yucky" adn that we should use up our apples instead....

So, I used my favourite pastry recipe (see "back to basics" post for more info). I rolled it out until it was quite thin, and then Tina cut out rounds, using a wide mouthed plastic cup. We then put around 200g of apple cubed into a frying pan, with a teaspoon of sugar, the juice form one tangerine, quarter of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of butter. We put the frying pan over a medium heat until the butter had melted, adn the apple had turned a golden colour.

Then we took the frying pan off the heat, and put a teaspoon of the apple mixture into each round of pastry. Tina then folded one side of the round to the other, and sealed it, finishing it off cleanly with a cup (empanada style). Tina experimented with some other shapes, including a ball, and I have to say they were all just a delicious! :) These 'parcels' were dropped into hot oil and deep fried until golden brown, and then rolled in icing sugar.Tada!!

Culturally cooking-Under Pressure

I am a member of a Women's Group here in Cyprus, by the name of Cyprus Women of Today. Today it was my pleasure to host one of our Culturally Cooking events. What we do, i a member invites us to her home, and teaches us to cook something. A discussion had arisen over how to use a pressure cooker, and what kind of things you can cook, so i decided to cook a few different dishes, to show how quick and easy and versatile the pressure cooker is. A menu was born-black eyed beans, followed by spare ribs,and  finished off with a steamed chocolate pudding with chocolate fudge sauce...

So, we started with the black eyed beans. I took 2 cups of beans, and placed in the pressure cooker with 1 tablespoon of salt, and 5 cups water.
I sealed the pressure cooker, brought it up to pressure, and cooked for around 9 minutes. I used the quick release, so that i could check on the beans, and saw they needed another 5 minutes. Total cooking time 14 minutes. To serve, ladle into a bowl, not forgetting to add some juice, then drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. This is traditionally served with boiled vegetables (either zucchini or perhaps some swiss chard). We also like to eat a tuna salad as a side dish- 1 can tuna, 1 bunch of parsley chopped,and 2 spring onions chopped.

Now for the  "Oh My" spare ribs (so called because that is the comment they got from one of my best friends, when she first tried them!)

I took about 4 kilos of spare ribs, cut into 2-3 rib pieces thanks to my lovely butcher, and rubbed them down with the seasoning (1tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp paprika). Then i heated about 2 tablespoons oil in the pressure cooker, and browned off the ribs

I added 4 onions that i had sliced into half moons, and the 1.5 cups of ketchup, as well as 0.5 cup of vinegar.

Then i closed the pressure cooker, and brought it up to pressure (then turned it to low to cook), and cooked the ribs for 15 minutes.

When you open the pressure cooker (after letting the pressure dissipate on it's own, or hitting the quick release button) you will smell the most wonderful smell :)

Last but not least, I made a chocolate steamed pudding...I took a 1/4 packet of chocolate chips, and 1 tablespoon of dairy free butter and melted them together in the microwave. Then i added the dry ingredients, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder, 0.5 teaspoon salt,0.5 cup sugar,and 1 cup of flour, to the chocolate/butter mix, and added the liquid ingredients-0.5 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until the batter is smooth, then turn into a cake tin (small enough to fit into the pressure cooker). Place a rack inside the pressure cooker, and then place the cake tin on top. Close the pressure cooker, and bring up to pressure. Cook for 30 minutes, and then check the pudding (you check the pudding the same way you would a cake- stick in a knife and if it comes out clean, it is ready)

So here it is, a full meal cooked int he pressure cooker :) :) :)

It's raining here in Cyprus, and the temperature has dropped a couple of degrees, so it has got me to thinking about comfort food. Today's delight is chocolate sponge with hot chocolate sauce on top...

The chocolate sponge recipe is one i use all the time, 1.5 cups plain flour, 1 cup water or soya milk, 0.5 cup oil, 0.5 cup sugar, 0.5 cup cocoa, 1 egg, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder. Mix the ingredients well, and pour into a cake tin of your choice- today i used a loaf tin.Bake for 30 minutes at 180 (or until a knife comes out clean).




Now for the special stuff- the sauce-take 0,5 cup of chocolate pieces, and warm together with 2 tablespoons of dairy free butter until melted.

 Now add 0.5 cups sugar, and 1 cup soya cream. Warm until the mixture is thick and glossy (today i added 1 tablespoon of custard powder as i wanted the sauce EVEN thicker!







Enjoy!

Zucchini bread

I'm still trying to use up all of my courgettes (zucchini) so i thought i would make a zucchini bread, so i got online to find a recipe. I wanted to make a savoury bread, but all i could find were very sweet cake type recipes, so i thought i would adapt one, and this is what i came up with:


I took 3 cups plain flour,1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp baking soda,1 tsp baking powder,3 large eggs,1/2 cup sugar,1 cup vegetable oil, 2 cups shredded zucchini (with the skins),3 onions, chopped (about 1/2 cup), and a cup of shredded carrot then mixed the mixture, until it was homogenous. Then i turned it out into two10 1/2 inch loaf pans, and sprinkled the top of the loaves with crushed cashew nuts, and crushed pistachio nuts to give it some crunch, I also sprinkled some chili flakes onto the top to give it some zip

Then it was into the oven at 185C for about 55-60 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes or so, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This is another of those baked goods that tastes yummy when it is cooled down, but if you can cut it when it is still warm, and then spread with your favorite 'butter'-its divine!!

The (Shhh! don't tell them the secret ingredient) Chocolate cake!

As a mother, I am always on the look out for new ways to get my children to eat veggies (and if i can sneak it into something that they will eat without them knowing- I'm there!).

Actually, my children are pretty good at eating their veggies, they just won't eat cooked ones-so if you take that and the fact that i have a glut of enormous marrows at the moment, I really needed to find a recipe that will use them up, and , at the same time, get my children to eat them :)

I know, i know , I'm crafty- but admit it- you are still reading- aren't you??

So, it goes something like this; Pre heat the oven to 350F or 180C, then take two cups of shredded zucchini/marrow/courgette, and (before anyone notices they are in the bowl) cover them up with 2.5 cups plain flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp butter,2 cups sugar,and 1/2 cup of orange juice. Mix it all together into quite a thick batter (i had to break out my electric mixer as i couldn't do it by hand!)

Put it into a prepared cake tin, i used a bundt tin 10 inches across, and then into the oven it goes for around 50 minutes (or until a knife come out clean). Take out of the oven, and let it rest and cool for around 15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack until it cools completely.

I finished it off with an orange glaze-2 cups of icing sugar, 5 tablespoons of orange juice, it should look like runny icing. Then drizzle over the top of the cake- et voila!

Auntie Viki's Zucchini Bombs

So, our veggie patch (which hasn't done very well this year) has suddenly decided that it is going to produce monster vegetables! We had a zucchini (or courgette) that was 16 inches long, and 16 inches around at the widest end...and a marrow that weighed in at 2 kilos!

So i took my monster zucchini, and i sliced three rounds (3-4 inches high). Then i scooped out the seeds, and made a 'cup'. 

These i put aside, and i started on my filling. I took 2 cloves of garlic and sliced them, then i took one small onion and chopped it. I sliced around 6 mushrooms and put them to the side. Into a frying pan i put 2 teaspoons of oil, and then threw in the onion and garlic.

 After around a minute, i added the mushrooms, and a minute later i added the mince (around 400g). Once the mince had started to brown i added  400g of tomato puree, 2 tbsp Italian herbs, 1 teaspoon chili flakes (this can be omitted if you don;t like it hot!) and just let it all simmer for a few minutes, so the flavors can all bind and come together.

Next, take your zucchini 'cups' and fill them up, then cover with foil, and into the oven they go at 180C for 40-45 minutes, or until the zucchini is soft (you can stick a fork into it to see if it is done).
Enjoy!

English Muffins

Ok, so i have to admit i LOOOVVEE muffins, banana walnut ones, strawberry or blueberry ones.. the choice is almost endless, but once in a while, i have a craving for English muffins. There is just something about them- the crispiness of the exterior, the butter melting into all the nooks and crannies of the interior...what can i say??
So, I found myself in a dark house when evryone else was sleeping this morning, and i thought-hmm, i could really go for an english muffin. Bearing in mind that in Cyprus such things are not readily available, and if they WERE there is no way i would find them at 4:30am on a sunday morning- so into the recipe book i go!

I found a great recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowitz in her Vegan Brunch cookbook (a totally awesome cookbook by the way!).

You start off with 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of water- place in a bowl, and let it do it's thing for 10 minutes or so, then add the flour (2 1/4 cups) the salt (1 1/4 teaspoons) and the margarine (3 tablespoons). Mix it untilb it forms a sticky dough

Then turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead for 6 minutes or so, until you have a nice smooth dough. Now leave to rise for an hour (in a nice warm place) until the dough has doubled in size.

Now we are ready to roll it out on a floured surface, and using a cookie cutter (or the top of a coffee mug) cut out rounds (about 3 inches across).

Preheat a heavy frying pan or skillet, and melt about a table spoon of margarine in it (the pan should not be hot enough to burn the margarine!). Now, working in batches put a few muffins in the pan at a time, and fry for about a minute on each side until the muffins are lightly browned  and then put them on a greaseproof paper lined cookie sheet, and into a oven at 180C (350F) for 6-10 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes (this is what Isa suggests, but to be honest, these didn't last that long!) Serve dripping in butter and with a nice cup of tea!

St Fanourios cake

Here in Cyprus, on the 27th August, we celebrate St Fanourios day. He is the patron saint of lost things, so if you lose something, or are looking for something (new job, love etc) then you pray to him. As well as being an extremely useful saint to have on your side, he has a cake- that people tend to make after they have found what they are looking for.
 9 years ago my mother made a cake for Saint Fanourios and I met my husband in the same week,so he has always had a special place in my heart. With this in mind (and the children clamoring for cake) I thought i would make his cake today.
Traditionally it has 7 ingredients Flour (2.5 cups), baking soda (2 teaspoons), mixed spice (1/4 tsp),cinnamon (1 teaspoon), sugar(2 cups),oil (1.5 cups)and orange juice (2 cups).

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl, add the dry, mix and put into a cake tin-i used a round tin  am across today. Put into a preheated oven , 180 degrees C for 55-60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife comes out clean, when stuck into the middle.

My children like icing sugar, so i just dust the top to decorate it a little...enjoy!

Sponge cake with a difference

So, I like to trawl the web sometimes to find new recipes, and i found one that caught my eye. Of course, i had to replace some of the ingredients with George friendly ones, but it all came together, and the cake is a keeper! Now the thing about this recipe is that it calls for you to warm the milk and the butter, before adding it to the recipe- don't question it, just do it! :)
So here goes-First preheat your oven to 180C (350F).Take 1 3/4 cups plain flour, add 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups of sugar. Now take your cup of butter, and put it in the microwave for about 1 minute on high, add it to your mixture. Do the same with 1 1/4 cups of milk, add to the mixture. Add 5 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 4 eggs. Mix until the mixture doesn't have any lumps in it anymore, then turn into a greased cake tin (i used a bundt tin today but the original recipe suggests a 9x13 inch tray).
Bake it for around half an hour (or until the top goes a nice golden color, and a knife comes out clean)
Now you can decorate it with your favorite icing, my children just made a quick water and icing sugar icing today, and colored it with a few drops of yellow food color. Then they made it pretty with glace cherries :)

Tina Ballerina's Apple Stars

So, today's inspiration comes from the food network (the pastry) and Tina ,my 5 year old daughter (the star shapes). I made the pastry according to the recipe i scribbled down 1.5 cups plain flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 10 tablespoons butter (only i substituted vegetable oil). Then I added COLD water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture binded together into a flaky dough. I wrapped the dough in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for one hour. While the dough was resting, I found 4 apples in the back of the fridge, they were still firm, but looking a little worse for wear- perfect for apple pie :) I chopped them into little pieces, and into the frying pan they went with 3 teaspoons of sugar, one teaspoon of cinnamon and the juice of one small lemon. As the apples started to soften, and release their juices, i added one teaspoon of dairy free butter, and then sprinkled with 1 tablespoon of flour (to thicken up the sauce a little.)

Now, waiting for the apple mixture to cool, i started rolling out the dough to about a 1.5cm thickness. I used a coffee mug to cut out rounds, and then rolled out the rounds into a bigger, thinner round shape.




 Then i took a tablespoon of the apple mixture, and put it into the middle of the round shapes. I painted water (with my finger) around the top of the pastry shape, and then using my finger and thumb, i went around the shape, pinching as i went, until the pastry looked like a star. I brushed the stars with an egg wash glaze, ans then I put the pastries on a greaseproof lined cookie sheet.Into the oven they went at 180 degrees until they went brown around the edges.
These are guaranteed to fill your house with a yummy smell, so if there is anyone else in the house, don't expect there to be any left by the time they cool down! :)

Cheeky monkey banana bread

Both of the children enjoy eating bananas, but here in Cyprus (where the heat gets the better of most things) they don't look nice and yellow for long...so what to do with black bananas??? Banana bread!
So, I make my banana bread in the same way i make most of my cakes, first put the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet-

For this recipe, we use 2 cups plain flour, add 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 cup sugar.

 Then I add 1/2 cup vegetable oil,2 eggs, and 3 mashed bananas. I also like to throw in a handful of walnuts, and sometimes (if the children are helping) we might add some chocolate chips too!

Turn the mixture into a nice loaf tin (27 x 13cm) and put in the oven (preheated to 175 C) and cook for around an hour, or until a knife (inserted into the middle of the bread) comes out clean. Enjoy!

Georgie's Egg Salad

My seven year old son has always enjoyed helping me in the kitchen- well now he has decided that he wants to be in the driving seat :). He made the egg salad that i will be sharing with you today- i just took pictures :)
Ok, so we made the salad as a main dish for a family of four, so we took 4 eggs and put them on to boil, we also took 3 medium potatoes, cut them into 3 pieces each, and put them on to boil in some salty water.

Then we took a quarter of a small cabbage, and chopped it into small pieces like so..









We then took a couple of leaves of lettuce, tore it into small bite sized pieces, and added both the cabbage and the lettuce to the salad bowl. Next comes tomatoes-we used 4 good sized cherry tomatoes,and chopped them into querters. Into the salad bowl they go.

 Next comes cucumber, we used two small cucumbers. Chop them into bite sized pieces again, adn add them to the salad bowl. Now take your potatoes off the heat, drain adn cool under the cold water tap, and add to the salad. Take your eggs off the heat, drain and cool under the cold water, then peel, quarter adn add to the salad bowl.








Take two pieces of large Pitta bread, quarter and toast. Dress the salad with dressing made from 1/4 cup olive oil, adn the juice of 4 small lemons, salt and pepper to taste, et Voila!

As my son Georgie says- Bon Appetite! (You can catch George's youtube video of this recipe here )

Vegan Scottish shortbread

So, I have been away (recovering from an unplanned surgery) but I am back on my feet, and in my kitchen! Yesterday I went food shopping with my mother, and she bought a packet of traditional Scottish shortbread. Now I don't eat a lot of biscuits, but these are one of my favorites- only problem is, they are made with butter....lots and LOTS of butter! Obviously we can't make the traditional recipe, but once upon a time I managed to come up with a vegan variation that tastes almost as good as the original! All i had to do was hunt down the little piece of paper i wrote it down on- so hunt I did, and lucky for all my lovely fans out there I found it. Now my original recipe used spelt flour (obviously i made it when my son George was still allergic to wheat) so I used 480g spelt flour, but today when i made it with wheat flour, it took more like 530g. I put the flour into a bowl, together with 1 1/2tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 200g sugar. I slowly incorporated 225ml of vegetable oil to form a very soft dough.

I then pressed out the dough into shapes, today i used a round cookie cutter, and also manually cut some rectangle shapes. Put the biscuits onto a greaseproof paper lined cookie sheet, and into the oven they go at 200 degrees C until they are golden brown (it took 30 minutes today).

Let them cool on a wire cooling rack, and serve with a nice cup of tea.

Keep it simple...

Following on from my back to basics post, I wanted to share something else that i have learned over the last 7 years. Being an allergy mum is difficult (no really??) first you have to make sure you read EVERYTHING, looking for the lurking ingredients that might put your child into the hospital.

 Next, you have to be vigilant everywhere you go..when we traveled to Russia, i was surprised to find that most of the bread available in supermarkets had milk in it (here in Cyprus our bread is not made with milk- thank goodness!)

And lastly, when you buy cookbooks and look for recipes online, you usually find really complicated recipes, with 5 ingredients that you are supposed to use in place of the one that you can't (this is especially true if you are trying to replace egg!).

I have found that if you keep it simple, you can usually do the things that you want to do ...simply!

Case in point- pancakes! When George was first diagnosed he was allergic to lots of things- including milk,wheat,eggs,tomatoes,celery, apple and a few others that i can't remember off the top of my head. I really had my work cut out, trying to make pancakes without milk, eggs and wheat! If you are determined though, you can do anything, and i soon figured out that egg, in this case, adds a little richness and protein to the batter- bit that if you leave it out, it really doesn't make too great a difference.


For the milk, you can substitute your favorite non dairy milk, i favor soya, but it will work with just about any liquid (including water). Now wheat- i have to say i LIKE wheat! I found lots of other flours, and i used them when i had to, but i was VERY relieved when he was able to eat wheat again!





So, the simple answer to pancakes? 1 cup all purpose (or plain) flour, 3/4 cup soya milk, (you can add an egg if tolerated to bump up the protein). 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Mix until you batter is thick and smooth. Heat a saucepan, and put in a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot, pour the oil out of the pan, and pour in some batter- fry on each side until golden and put on a plate. Continue until you have no batter left. I make pancakes that are around 4 inches wide, and i made around 13 of them today with this recipe.
Enjoy , people!

Mama Michaelides' Pasta sauce recipe

You may or may not know this, but i hate tomatoes- the fresh ones. They are slimy, have pips, and smell yucky- however, once cooked they transform into this nectar like substance and I can;t get enough- weird huh? Anyway, my wonderful husband (who already likes to provide me with freshly caught fish in the summer) has a very successful vegetable plot going this year, and keeps bringing me tomatoes- what to do, what to do??? Aha- i smell a pasta sauce coming on. So, today i picked around 10 little tomatoes (worked out to 600g) .

Then i put them into the food processor, and 'blitzed' them until they were nice and liquidey, but with some 'bits' you will see what i mean here: 

Put the blitzed tomatoes into a pan, bring to a boil and simmer for approx 5 minutes, then add  a tablespoon of basil, a tablespoon of oregano, and a teaspoon of garlic powder (or crushed garlic- whichever you have on hand). 

Then simmer for another 4-5 minutes, and add 1 tablespoon of cornflour which has been dissolved in 4 tablespoons of water. The cornflour will just thicken the sauce up a little.

Stir the sauce up, and it is now ready to add whatever you like to it. I like to add chunky vegetables (whatever the vegetable patch has ready at the time- peppers, courgettes) or maybe just some mushrooms. Cut the vegetables into chunks, and lay onto a baking tray. Add some cloves of garlic (peeled) and drizzle with olive oil. Put under the grill for a few minutes, or until the ends of the vegetables start to blacken slightly. Then throw them into the sauce...yummy :) or you could put some little meatballs into the sauce like the ones i have made today...

Take 200g minced beef, 200g minced pork and put into a bowl  and 3 slices of bread that have been soaked in soya milk. (just drizzle the soya milk onto the slices of bread until they are moist). 

Then put the bread and the mince into a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon chopped chives, 1/2 minced onion, and 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped). If i am cooking for the children i don't add salt, but tend to make half the meatballs, then add a teaspoon of salt for the meatballs that I am going to eat :) Now, it's time to get your hands in there, and mix it all up.

Now we are ready to make the meatballs. Use a teaspoon, and take small chunks of the mix, fashion into mini meatballs by rolling in between our hands. Then roll the meatballs in some flour so that they do not fall apart in the oil. They should look something like this...

Then all you have to do is fry them- these cook in around 2 minutes, as they are so tiny (just bite sized) but that's the way my lil ones like 'em :) The meatballs can be served on their own (with a dipping sauce) or on top of spaghetti and smothered in the pasta sauce :) How do you eat yours?

Back to basics...

Over the last 7 years, i have changed from a single person, surviving on mainly processed foods bought at the supermarket and microwaved in minutes, to a married mother of two who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, making things from scratch. In fact, the transformation is so complete that i have a nice vegetable patch in the garden, and we grow lots of vegetables, which we pick, cook and serve regularly.

I have become a pretty decent cook, and am proud of the food i put on my children's plates, but one thing that has confounded me for years, is pastry. It would seem to be such a simple thing, flour,fat, water- how can you go wrong?? Well I have, over and over again, for years-but that all stops here. No more lovingly preparing pies and tarts, only to have rock hard pastry- or worse, pastry that crumbles so badly it resembles some kind of dry sandy biscuit! From now on in, i will have light, flaky pastry, that only complements whatever luscious filling i happen to fill it with :)

Since I am such a lovely person, i will save you all the heartache, and let you in on my new found secret... In a medium size bowl, put one cup of water, one cup of vegetable oil, and a teaspoon of vinegar. Now add 1 teaspoon of salt (or sugar if you are making fruit pies) and 2 cups of plain flour. Add a further cup of self raising flour and mix until you have something resembling a nice elastic bread dough. (You may need to add a little more flour- do so a tablespoon at a time until the dough is not sticky anymore).

 

Cover the bowl with cling film and put it into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes, before you want to use it.

Today i did a reboot of the bacon, leek and potato pies as i had some leftover filling-but then i had leftover dough. What to do, what to do??? Well, i had one lonely apple sitting in the fruit bowl, getting bruised, so i cut it into small cubes, put it in a frying pan, added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon. I made little apples pies, and after egg washing the apple pies, a sprinkle on a little more sugar and another pinch of cinnamon.

Whaddaya think??