Thursday, August 23, 2012

Lemon Mint Juice


When I arrived to live in Egypt eight months ago, it was cold!  Much colder than I expected.  The heater in our house didn’t work properly and I baked just to keep the oven on to warm the kitchen.  I drank a lot of tea and coffee to warm myself from the inside and I wore my new Marks & Spencer cardigan every single day, with fuzzy slippers inside and shoes with socks when I went outside.  It was quite the fashion statement.  As the year wore on, winter gradually disappeared and summer took its place.  Our evenings are still pleasant but during the daytime, a refreshing drink hits all the right spots.  If it’s summer in your part of the world right now, you will enjoy Egypt’s traditional drink made with lemon and fresh mint.  It’s one of my favorite things and is so easy to make. 

Ingredients for two refreshing glasses
1 large lemon
Handful of fresh mint (or more if you prefer)

1/4 cup or 60ml simple syrup 
Ice for blending and serving

Method
Pick the leaves off of your bunch of mint and rinse well in a salad spinner.  Spin to dry.  Put your mint in a blender.



Peel the lemon and use a sharp knife to cut it into chunks, making sure to leave behind the white parts that separate the pegs of lemon.  Add the lemon chunks to the blender.




Add in your simple syrup and another 1/4 cup or 60ml of water. 


Put in a few cubes of ice.  Blend until completely liquid. 



Serve over more ice.



Enjoy!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Salted Caramel Macchiato Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Salted Caramel Macchiato Muffins are your favorite Starbucks caramel macchiato in muffin form, dripping with salted caramel. Perfect for that on-the-go breakfast or mid-morning snack.

Food Lust People Love: These Salted Caramel Macchiato Muffins are your favorite Starbucks caramel macchiato in muffin form, dripping with salted caramel. Perfect for that on-the-go breakfast or mid-morning snack.

Every morning of every day, the first thing that passes my lips is a hot cup of coffee, with two teaspoons of creamer and one teaspoon of sugar. When I have time to linger over it, I love nothing more than to hold that cup lovingly near my nose and inhale its delicious aroma. 

Is there anything more delightful than to wake up to the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen or even over a camp stove, while you stretch languidly in bed? I think not. (Unless it is the smell of bacon frying in the same situation. But that is a whole other post.)

I give you a coffee haiku.

Precious elixir
My good reason for rising
Coffee, always. Yes!

This week’s Muffin Monday original recipe was for a cappuccino muffin with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Which could already have been perfect. But we all know that I can’t leave well enough alone. 

What would take this muffin to the next level of perfection? The addition of salted caramel sauce, of course. Best of all, you can’t spill this and burn yourself as you travel to work on a busy train or bus or car.  Think of it as your morning coffee made more user friendly. And more delicious. You are welcome. (And don’t even get me started about how great these smell while they are baking! I feel another haiku coming on.)

Salted Caramel Macchiato Muffins

For the caramel sauce, use store bought or make your own from this recipe at Baked Bree, which is what I did. Make the whole batch.  You won’t regret it.  This stuff is great on everything, if you can stop yourself from eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.)

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 170g vanilla sugar (or sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 cup or 240ml milk
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1/2 cup or 115g butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
3 1/2 oz or 100g semi sweet chocolate chips
1/8-1/4 cup or 30-60ml salted caramel sauce 

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C.  Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  


Mix your milk, egg, and coffee granules together.  Stir until coffee is dissolved.  (Don't forget the teaspoon of vanilla extract if you don't have vanilla sugar.)




Add in the melted butter.  Mix well.


Pour coffee mixture into your dry ingredients and stir until just combined.



Fold in the chocolate chips being careful not to over mix.



Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.



Spoon on about half a teaspoon of the caramel sauce for each muffin and swirl with a pointy knife or a toothpick.



Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.  Let cool five minutes in the muffin pan then place on cooling rack.



 When completely cool, drizzle with extra caramel sauce. 



Enjoy!

Need some more muffin recipes?  Of course you do!




Friday, August 17, 2012

Cherry Tomato Sweet Pepper Mozzarella Tart



This summer, I had the pleasure of cooking for my mother- and father-in-law at least a couple of times every week.  The challenge was to make beautiful, appetizing meals that would entice my father-in-law, who is in hospice care, to eat.  This particular dish was beautiful to look at and delicious as well.  We were so excited because, for the first time in ages, he cleaned his plate!  If you don’t believe me, check this out.  

Yes, we were so excited, we actually took a picture!

Give this lovely tart a try and see if your family doesn’t clear their plates as well.

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached but normal flour will do.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening (Crisco is my preferred but I have had to use butter in some countries where Crisco is not available. It works but the crust is not as flakey.)
2-3 tablespoons of cold water

For the filling:
3 medium onions
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
1 1/2 oz or 40g pine nuts
8 oz or 225g mozzarella balls or bocconcini
10.5 oz or 300g red cherry tomatoes
10.5 oz or 300g yellow cherry tomatoes
4 orange mini sweet peppers
Small bunch fresh thyme

Method
Put the flour, shortening and salt together in one bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the flour into the shortening until you have small crumbs.




Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time, blending with the tines of a fork, until the mixture forms a soft dough which can be rolled into a ball.  



Wrap the ball in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.


When you are ready to bake, either roll out the dough and fit your pan or, if you are at your mother-in-law’s and you don’t have a rolling pin, slice the dough into thin pieces.  


Lay them in the pan and quickly press them into a crust.  




Trim the edges with a sharp knife and turn the trimmed pieces over.  Press them in to make a nice even edge.  Cover with cling film and put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake.  (If baking immediately, you can skip this step.)  If you are using a ceramic pie plate or casserole, take it out when you start preheating your oven so the ceramic dish can warm up a little.  Some dishes cannot safely go directly from the refrigerator to the oven. 



Okay, ready to bake?  Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Slice your onions thinly and put them into a small pot with a good drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Cook the onions down slowly over a medium heat until they caramelize and are nicely browned.  Stir frequently and make sure not to let them burn.  Set aside to cool.




Cut your sweet peppers into pieces about the same size as the cherry tomatoes.  



Toast your pine nuts in a small skillet over a medium flame.  


Shake the skillet often to keep them toasting evenly.  This should take just a few minutes.  Be careful not to let them burn.  Set aside to cool. 



Pull the leaves off of all but a few of the thyme stems, reserving some of the thinner stems for adding in whole, with leaves, before baking.

In a big bowl, start to assemble your tart filling.  Add in the cherry tomatoes, cut peppers and mozzarella balls.


Sprinkle liberally with the thyme leaves and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.


Add the cooled caramelized onions and stir thoroughly.   


Pour the filling into the pie shell.  

Top with the reserved thyme and the pine nuts.


Bake the tart for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is crispy and browned and the mozzarella balls are melted completely.


This is a great vegetarian main course but would also be delicious served in smaller slices with grilled chicken or salmon.  I served it with poached salmon with creamy caper onion sauce on a bed of mixed greens. 


Enjoy!


This post is part of the improv cooking challenge,  brainchild of Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.   Perhaps you’d like to join us?