Cheddar Cornbread & Lentil Curry

Since I bought a bag of cornmeal to make the Orange Cornmeal Cake, I've been looking around for another cornmeal recipe so that it gets used up. If I don't, it may just be forgotten and I'd end up throwing it away when it expires which is such a waste. 

I came across this almost fat free (except for the cheese) corn bread recipe which turned out to be really delicious. I added a handful of basil which brought a special flavour to the bread. The combination of cornmeal, cheddar and basil was definitely a winning one. 

I also cooked a vegetarian lentil curry dish to go along with the bread. This is one of those recipes which I have made a few times because the cauliflower and sweet potato lends so much sweetness to the stew that not much seasoning is required. It was also a great way of getting more beans into my family diet. 

Cheddar Corn Bread (9 inch cast iron skillet or 8 inch square baking tray)

A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I combined half yoghurt and half milk and let it stand)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• A handful of basil (my own addition)

Method

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees (220 degrees C). In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pepper; make a well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk and eggs to well, and whisk to loosen eggs. Gently incorporate dry ingredients, then mix in cheese.
• Place butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet; bake until butter is melted. Remove from oven, and tilt to coat bottom and sides.
• Pour batter into prepared skillet; bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool in skillet at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap completely cooled bread in plastic, and store at room temperature up to 1 day.

Lentil Curry

From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 head cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds), stemmed and separated into florets
• 1 cup brown lentils, picked over, well rinsed, and drained
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with juice
• Coarse salt
• Plain low-fat yogurt, for serving (optional)

Method

• In a nonstick Dutch oven (5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes.
• Add curry powder; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, cauliflower, lentils, tomatoes and their juice, and 1 1/2 cups water; season with salt.
• Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover, and cook until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately with yogurt, if desired.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake.

Three Flavoured Focaccia

Jamie Oliver claims that this focaccia is not fussy as in its pretty easy and straight forward - and I'm pretty much inclined to believe him as I've tried several of his recipes to great success. . Like Jamie, I made this one lazy weekend afternoon for dinner that evening.

I didn't even bother with my breadmaker as I'm usually quite lazy and would prefer not to hand knead anything. Since this only need five minutes of arm power, I decided to do so. It wasn't too bad after all! Very soon the focaccia was ready to proof and I set about making the toppings. I didn't follow his recipe for the toppings exactly and I made some substitutions yet it was still great! The caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes and cheese toppings went very well with the soft, fluffy focaccia bread. 

The great thing about the this focaccia is that you actually get to eat three different flavours all at once. My family really enjoyed this recipe and I'd be sure to do it again soon. 

Three Flavour Focaccia (1 12 inch by 10 inch tray)

Recipe by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

          

For the dough

• 400 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g fine ground semolina flour or strong white bread flour
• sea salt
• 1 sachet dried yeast (2 1/4 tsp of instant yeas)
• ½ tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 300 ml water, lukewarm
• olive oil

Onion topping

• 2 red onions, finely sliced (I used white)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Basil and cherry tomato topping

• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
• 1 large handful ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

For the three-cheese and rosemary topping

• 30 g Taleggio cheese
• 1 small log goat's cheese
• 1 handful Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked

Method

1. Dough

•  Place the flours and ½ tablespoon of sea salt into a large bowl, and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, and mix with a fork. Leave this for a few minutes and, when it starts to foam, slowly pour it into the well, mixing with a fork as you go.
• As soon as all the ingredients come together, which may take a minute or so, knead vigorously for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with some olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Dust with a little extra flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 and prepare the toppings (I baked at 190°C).

2. Prepare the toppings -

• Onion Topping: For the balsamic onion topping, fry the sliced onions and thyme leaves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, reduce for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
• Basil and cherry tomato topping: Roughly chop the basil leaves and pop them into a bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny splash of white wine vinegar. Add the garlic and mix it all.

3.  Back to the dough

• To cook the focaccia, as soon as the dough has risen, pound it then place on a baking tray and spread it out to cover the tray. Push down roughly on top of the dough like a piano to make lots of rough dips and wells.
• Divide the onion and the tomato toppings over two thirds of the focaccia. 
• For the three-cheese and rosemary topping, break up the Taleggio and the goat's cheese over the remaining third of the focaccia. Sprinkle over the grated Parmesan and rosemary leaves and season with pepper. Finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. 
• Leave to prove for a further 20 minutes then bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top and soft in the middle.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake.

Cream Cheese Brownies

Biting into a moist, rich and grue-y brownie is such a comforting thing. There are days I simply need brownies to shoo away stress of housework!

These rich and moist cream cheese brownies did just that for me... I only made half the recipe and immediately regretted it as it was demolished in no time. The brownie layer was really good, though I thought there was too much cream cheese. 

The next time I do this, I'll halve the cream cheese so that I have more of a chocolate-y later. It would also be better to bake this in a smaller tray so that I'll have a thicker brownie to bite into. 

Cream Cheese Brownies (9 inch square tray)
Recipe by Nigella from here

Ingredients

 125 g dark chocolate

• 125 g unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 200 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 75 g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 200 g cold Philadelphia cream cheese

Method

•  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
• Melt the chocolate and butter over low heat in a heavy based pan.
• Beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla.
• Measure the flour into another bowl and add salt.
• When the chocolate has all but completely melted, take the pan off the heat – the residual heat in the mixture will finish it off.
• Leave for a bit to cool slightly before beating in the eggs and sugar.
• Finally add the flour, and beat till smooth.
• Pour half the mixture into the greased 9 inch square tin, slice the Philly as thinly as you can and put it on the mixture in the tin, pour the remaining mixture over the top.
• Smooth the mix so that all the cream cheese is covered.
• Bake for about 20 minutes – the top should be slightly paled and dry, but a skewer should reveal a slightly sticky centre. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into little squares.

Note: If I were to make this again, I would bake this in a 8 inch square tray (increase baking time by about extra 5 minutes) with half the amount of cream cheese as I prefer a thicker brownie with more chocolate part than cream cheese. 

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

This post is for Bake Along #58, an event organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

The White Chocolate Cheesecake from the book Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas is the next bake for the members of The Home Bakers. The Home Bakers  is hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. If you are keen to join us, please contact Joyce. 

Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House has chosen this lovely White Chocolate Cheesecake for our next bake. I have eaten chocolate cheesecake but not one made of white chocolate. This chesecake is a great choice as it is smooth, rich and I can taste the luscious white chocolate with each bite.

The original recipe came with a raspberry coulis (sauce) but raspberries are really expensive locally so I substituted with a blueberry sauce. For some reason, I love blueberries on cheesecake and I think the bluish tinge looks quite pretty against the white cheesecake too :)

I baked half the recipe in a 6 inch round tin and already it took us almost a week to finish up because it is so rich and we couldn't eat more than a small slice daily. For the full recipe, please go to MiMi Bakery House.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake. at this post.

Cheese Crackers

I was looking for a cookie recipe made of cheese for Chinese New Year and chanced upon these Cheese Crackers. 

These crackers are made of just four ingredients - shredded cheese, salt, flour and butter - and very easy to make. The recipe recommended you blend all the ingredients together in a food processor. But I simply let the butter and cheese out for about 30 mins then rubbed the ingredients together using my hands. 

The trick to getting these really crispy is to roll them out as thin and possible and after you've cut them with a pizza cuter, lift them off the board with a spatula and place them onto the baking tray. These golden cheese crackers are so addictive - reminds me of those fish crackers I loved to buy when I was younger!

Cheese Crackers

Recipe from Diva Can Cook

Ingredients

• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or other types of cheese)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup flour
• course kosher salt for sprinkling, optional

Method

• Add all ingredients, except kosher salt into a food processor.
• Process until a dough forms.
• Shape dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour 
• Remove dough from fridge and let it soften.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.
• Roll the dough out on a smooth surface until it is about ⅛ inch thick (note: Roll it out as thinly as possible or the crackers will not be crispy)
• Use a pizza cutter or pastry wheel and make 1-inch squares.
• Sprinkle dough with kosher salt if desired.
• Use the end of a wooden screwer to make holes in the center of each square.
• Place the squares on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are barely golden.
• Let crackers sit in the pan for a minute before removing to a cooling rack. Crackers will crisp up more as they cool so be sure not to over bake.
• Store in an airtight container.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake. at this post.

I am linking this post to the Bake Along event created by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

Soya Bean Tofu Cheesecake

The post for Little Thumbs Up October: Soya Beans is here. Please go to this link to submit your posting. Thank you!

***

I first posted this Soya Bean Tofu Cheesecake recipe in October last year, and it still remains my favourite cheesecake recipe. 

Unlike normal cheese which tends to be on the heavier side, this version is lighter because tofu replaces some of the cheese and cream. It also uses soy milk instead of milk. What we have a light and pudding-like cheesecake tinged with the fragrance of soya beans. 

I dusted a layer of green tea powder on top and this gives it a light but fragrant green tea aroma with each bite. Instead of a digestive biscuit base, I've used a base of baked almond meal which is more nutritious and delicious.  

I hope you'll enjoy this cheesecake as much as I do!

Soya Bean Tofu Cheesecake (8-9 inches)
Recipe from here. 

Cheesecake Base

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of almond meal
• 3 tbsp oil

Method

• Mix together and press onto the base of a 8-9 inches spring foam tin
• Bake at 175 degrees C for 15 mins till browned
• Remove from oven to cool down, do not remove from base

Tofu Cheese Layer 

Group A:

• Cream cheese, softened at room temperature 230 g
• Caster sugar 70 g
• Smooth silken tofu 230 g
• Sour cream or yoghurt 50 g
• Soya bean powder 30 g

Beat cream cheese and sugar on high speed for 3 minutes. Add in tofu, yoghurt and soya bean powder and beat on high speed for another 4 to 5 minutes.

Group B:

• Diary whipping cream 50 g

Whip the diary whipping cream till stiff and place in refrigerator until you need it.

Group C:

• Soya bean milk 100 g (Another option is to use 30 g of soya bean powder and mix with enough water to get 100 g of soya bean milk)
• Gelatine 15 g

Double boil soya bean milk and gelatine over a water bath till the gelatine is completely dissolved.

Method

Combine Group A, B and C ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture onto of the cheesecaje base. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours till the tofu cheese layer is set. Sprinkle with soya bean power before serving (I added some green tea powder into the soya bean powder for colour).

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

Homemade Tofu Burger

Burger patties sold commercially, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, aren't probably the healthiest version. I've always wanted to make my own tofu burgers with fresh ingredients and no preservatives and additives. 

Now that I'm hosting Little Thumbs Up for October and the theme is Soya Beans, there is no more excuse for being lazy. Finally, here's my home made tofu burger patties with Asian inspired flavours.

Version one - the one without sprouts for my kids...

And version two - the one with sprouts for me!

Although it takes a while to chop up the ingredients aside, this burger is relatively easy to make and I love the aromatic flavours of the coriander, lime leaves, chilli and seasame oil coming through with each bite. It's great served with regular burger condiments such as mustard, relish, pickles or just simply a dollop of ketchup!

For those who want a healthier burger treat, this is really one delicious home made version. I made them into mini patties and my kids loved it so much and had two of these mini burgers each. 

Home made Tofu Burgers (Makes 6-10 patties depending on size)

Recipe adapted from The Little Teochew

Tofu Patties:

• 480 g firm tofu (tau kwa)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced finely
• 1 sprig coriander (leaves only), sliced finely
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced very, very finely
• 1 red chilli (deseeded), sliced very finely
• 1/3 cup sharp cheddar or parmesan, grated (add more if desired or omit for Vegans)
• Pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of salt (taste test as you go because sharp cheeses can be very salty)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I toasted 5 slices of bread and blitzed them in a food processor)
• 1-2 tsp sesame oil
• 6 - 8 tbsp of water (add enough so that pattie holds well together and does not fall apart)
• Vegetable oil for frying

For serving:

• Burger buns (number depends on number of patties)
• Butterhead lettuce or baby romaine leaves
• Tomato slices
• Condiments of your choice - mustard, relish, ketchup

Method

• Mash tofu till crumbly. Add chopped onions, coriander, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, cheese, breadcrumbs and paprika. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper and sesame oil. Do a taste test to determine if more seasoning is needed. 
• Add 6 tbsp of water to the mixture till it resembles fine wet sand. Shape mixture into patties, and flatten them gently using your palms. If the patties do not hold together, add a little more water. It is important to flatten the patties as much as possible so that they brown evenly on the pan.
• In a frying pan, under a small-medium flame, heat the vegetable oil. The oil/pan must hot be too hot because the bread crumbs in the patty will burn. Fry the patties till crisp and golden brown on both sides.
• Slice your burger buns horizontally and lightly butter both halves. Place some lettuce leaves on top of the bun, followed by the tofu patty, and then with tomato slices. Then cover it with the top half of the bun, and you are ready to dig in!

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

Pioneer Woman's Favourite Pizza

When someone who cooks like the Pioneer Woman says this is her favourite pizza recipe, I had to try it since it's that good! 

The dough for the pizza base should be made at 24 hours before baking and a few days if possible. I didn't have the luxury of time to wait for a few days so I only let the dough sit for 24 hours. The dough was a perfect balance of crispness and chewiness. I served it for a dinner party and all my friends said that this pizza base is great!

I used a combination of egg plants, yellow zucchini and cherry tomatoes for the pizza, topped with Mozarella cheese and topped fresh basil before serving. This pizza base would certainly work well with any type of toppings.

Pioneer Woman's Favourite Pizza (Serves 8)

Recipe from Pioneer Woman  

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

FOR THE PIZZA:

• 1 whole Large Eggplant (or Two Medium Eggplants)
• 1 yellow Zucchini (my own addition)
• Kosher Salt, For Sprinkling
• 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 226 g, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Very Thin
• 1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Drizzling
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

• Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
• In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
• Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

TO MAKE THE VEGETABLES TOPPING:

• Preheat oven broiler.
• Slice the eggplant thinly. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and place into a strainer in the sink. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant lightly in cold water, then pat the slices dry between layers of paper towels.
• Slice grape tomatoes in half lengthwise and toss into a bowl with minced garlic.
• Slice mozzarella very thinly.
• Cut eggplant slices into fourths, and toss with olive oil. Cut Zucchini into thin slices and toss with a little olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and place 8 inches under the broiler.
• Broil for 3 minutes, then toss around and broil another 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add tomato/garlic mixture. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and set aside. (May do this 1 hour in advance.)

TO ASSEMBLE PIZZA

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees (I baked at 200 degrees C)
• Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.
• Lightly drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and use fingers to spread. Lay mozzarella slices over the surface of the dough. Spread vegetables all over the surface of the cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter. Serve immediately!

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

This is for our Aspiring Bakers #35: A Palate for Pizza (September 2013) hosted by Joey of Little Accidents in the Kitchen.

Gruyere Brioche Braid

The Gruyere Brioche Braid from the book Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas is the next bake for the members of The Home Bakers. The Home Bakers  is hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. If you are keen to join us, please contact Joyce. 

I have never had Gruyère  cheese before and found it to be creamy, nutty and flavourful. Named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland - it is sweet but slightly salty and has a flavor that varies widely with age. With age, the cheese will become more assertive, earthy and complex. 

Gruyère is the cheese used in this recipe and it made a very delicious eggy brioche. The texture is soft and fluffy and it's one of those breads that is lovely on its own or perfect served with a bowl of savoury soup. Although the recipe did not call for it, I sprinkled some of the cheese on top of the bread before baking to give it a more "chees-y" look. 

This recipe was chosen by Alice of I Love. I Cook. I Bake. Please go to her blog for the full recipe.

Nutella Cheesecake

I have a bunch of Nutella loving kids at home - then again, are there any children who do not like Nutella? When I saw this Nutella Cheesecake on Nigella's website, I knew I had to make it for the kids. Coincidentally, last week was my son's birthday so this became his birthday cake to celebrate at home. 

This cheesecake is really easy-peasy. Nutella, cream cheese and icing sugar is blended together and we're done - no eggs, cream or gelatine needed.  Do note that because there is no gelatine, this cheesecake softens rather quickly. So it needs to be served straight from the refrigerator. Do not leave it outside or it will become too soft to cut properly. 

The taste is absolutely divine - a smooth, nutty and chocolate-y (how else do I describe the Nutella taste?) cheesecake topped with the crushed hazelnuts. This is one cheesecake I'd want to make for everyone!

Nutella Cheesecake (Serves 8)

Recipe adapted from Nigella

Ingredients

• 275 grams digestive biscuits 
• 75 grams soft unsalted butter
• 1 x 375 grams jar nutella (at room temperature) 
• 500 grams cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 60 grams icing sugar (sifted)
• 50 grams chopped toasted hazelnuts for topping

 Method

• Break the digestives into the bowl of a processor, add the butter and blitz until it starts to clump and you have a damp sandy mixture. You can also use your hands to rub the butter in.
• Tip into a 23cm/9inch round springform and press into the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge to chill.
• Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and then add the jar of Nutella (375 g jar) to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined.
• Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the Nutella mixture over the base. Scatter the chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Serve straight from the fridge for best results.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Anuja from Simple Baking.