Recipes

[platy]

Does anyone here bake? Do you have any good recipes to share?

[Catherine]

I could probably post some of my favourite recipes. It is really late here right now, but I could post some after I have had some sleep. I have lots of biscuit, muffin and scone recipes.

[platy]

Ooh yes please do!

[Catherine]

I will post some of my favourites tomorrow.

I do make a type of coleslaw that is very different

                             Coleslaw

one celery root(celeriac) peeled and shredded(a food processor helps)

peeled shredded carrots (equaling the amount of celery root)

Peeled shredded apple, a crisp variety (equaling the amount of celery root)

Mix together.

For the dressing, mix tarragon wine vinegar with mayonnaise. It should be smooth and not too thick. Mix up enough to coat the shredded stuff evenly.

It is tangy and tasty and I got the recipe from a neighbour.

You can make tarragon wine vinegar by adding fresh tarragon leaves to white wine vinegar. Refrigerate and leave for a few days until the flavours blend.

[platy]

This sounds really good! I'm not a fan of traditional coleslaw so will definitely be giving this a try! Thank you!

[Tobi]

I LOVE recipe threads because they appeal to my nature  

I used to bake a lot of food, but that was when our house was busy with people coming and going and my husband was still alive. Owing to a difference of opinion with cookers...(you really do not want to know that saga) -I ended up with a mini-oven which works beautifully for me on my own, but into which one can not cram a proper cake! Or do any special cooking as its regulator is a bit basic.

But I used to make an apple cake, back in the old days. I never wrote down the recipe because it was second-nature....and now I have forgotten the subtle details. But basically it was a sponge cake base absolutely saturated in roughly chopped eating-apple (skin can be left on if well washed), with a little finely-grated lemon/orange peel and liberally sprinkled with cinnamon, and a little nutmeg. Even a pinch or two of curry powder won't go amiss in that mix. Don't skimp on the sugar, no matter what the "sugar police" tell you because it's nice if a bit sweet. But that is up to personal taste.

I used to bake on about 200 or maybe a tad less....for as long as it took to get golden brown, and when tested with a thin sharp knife or a skewer, the knife came out fairly dry (ish) but not really sticky. Lining the cake tin with greaseproof paper will stop it burning and getting overcooked around the sides. If by any chance it sinks in the middle that doesn't matter so long as the skewer comes out without sticky stuff on it,

[Catherine]

Quote:This sounds really good! I'm not a fan of traditional coleslaw so will definitely be giving this a try! Thank you!

I hate traditional coleslaw, but this stuff is so good. Every time I serve it, people eat it all up and want the recipe. That is what happened to me. The apple gives it a sweet taste, but the vinegar gives it a tang.

The cake sounds good. I like anything with apples and cinnamon. It would be an easy cake because it doesn't need icing if it has apples.   Too bad you don't have a cake oven. Would your oven work for muffins and biscuits. I bet it could do baked apples.(one at a time)

I am off to the ballet. I will post another recipe tonight. I have favourites and they are all very basic and allow for lots of variations.

[platy]

Yes apple cake sounds awesome! I think winter's the best time for baking.

What are you seeing at the ballet? I can't wait to go again!

[Catherine]

I saw a ballet called Genus. It is inspired by Darwin and the idea of evolution. Genus is the level before Species. Many adaptations occur at that level before a species fills its niche. It then goes on to express the adaptions in its own way. If a species over specializes, it is unable to adapt to change and doesn't survive. Species that still retain some of the potential of the genus level  have a stronger chance of survival.

They expressed all this through dance.

In some ways Ballet is an art form that has developed and filled a niche, but it has the flexibility to change and adapt to new material. The things that make it uniquely ballet do survive, but ballet can be expressed in different ways. So ballet the art form is able to do the classics like Swan Lake and do something very different like Genus. Ballet will survive which is the ultimate test of evolution.

[Tobi]

That sounds like an interesting idea for a ballet. So much could be done through dance, with those ideas. Was the music good?


Back to food!

I used to make potato cakes and they are tasty. It's easy. Boil, drain, dry off for a few moments, then mash some slightly salted potatoes. The best potatoes are those which are fluffy when mashed like Desiree, Maris Piper. or King Edwards. They can be cooked with skin if preferred.

Add butter or favourite spread to the mash, and maybe some black pepper.

Put them in a mixing bowl, and gradually sprinkle in some flour. The best is a white flour. Organic unbleached white is a good one. Wholemeal makes the mix a bit too 'heavy'.

Mix until it's like a soft dough. Taste it, it might need just a pinch or two more salt.

Then roll out on a floured board, and cut into pieces with a cookie cutter or just squares will do. No more than a 1/4 inch thick. Maybe thinner.

Put the slices on a lightly greased baking tray and bake (medium oven) for as long as it takes for them to get golden brown.

They are so nice hot, spread with butter. They can be cooled, stored in a cake tin and re-toasted when needed if preferred.