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 :)