Miso Sesame Squash & Tofu

The past few weeks have been really busy with travelling for leisure, work and many other things that came up. I have also been taking up some painting for leisure which is something that I have always wanted to do but never thought I would be able to do. However, I took up that personal challenge and so glad I did it. I really found so much serenity in doing this :)

Finally I found sometime to make this. I have been missing quite a few weeks with I Heart Cooking Clubs who have already begun to cook with Heidi Swanson. This week's special is squash. I've always love butternut squash so it is a delight to cook this with Heidi. See my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

2 pounds delicata butternut squash (~3), halved, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch inch thick piece

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons molasses (I omitted this)

1 teaspoon tamari or shoyu (I used light soy instead)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used organic brown rice syrup)

1 heaping tablespoon white or yellow miso 

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

5 tablespoons water

8 ounces organic extra-firm tofu, pressed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Various toppings: toasted sesame seeds, chopped arugula, basil, basil flowers, lemon wedges

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C 180 degrees celsius, with a rack in the middle.
2. In a large bowl, toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. 
3. Spread the squash on a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 40 minutes, turning over with a fork after 20 minutes. Or, until golden on both sides.
4. In the meantime, in a medium-size bowl, whisk together the molasses, tamari, maple syrup, miso, orange juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, water, and the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the tofu, toss to coat, and set aside.
5. When the squash is deeply golden on both sides, remove from the oven.
6. Transfer the squash to a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the tofu mixture over the squash, and gently toss. 
7. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until a good amount of the marinade boils off. Toss a couple times along the way. Finish under the boiler if you like, or if you like a bit of extra color on top. Remove from the oven, and season with salt, if needed. 
8. Finish with some toasted sesame seeds, chopped arugula, and/or herbs, and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side (to squeeze on top).

I love how caramelized the butternut squash is. It really blends quite well with the tofu. I decided not to add too much additional toppings for 2 reasons - sometimes to buy some ingredients and then not use the rest of it is like wastage to me since I don't cook everyday and also, I like to eat it as it is without too much frills. And yes, this dish is as good as it looks even without the frills.

I also made some mushroom garlic quinoa to go with it.

I never expected a vegan dish like this to taste pretty good. I think this made me look at other Heidi's recipes. But of course, the truth is, we ate all of these with a roast chicken leg each. It completes our meal for us. Very yummy and filling for sure.

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs.

Chocolate Pound Cake

It has been sometime since I last baked a chocolate cake and then I realised hey, Donna also bakes pretty decent cakes apart from Nigella. Oops!! And then I found this chocolate pound cake recipe from Donna. Apparently it has very good reviews so why talk further??

Let's check out this recipe from Donna.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (100g) cocoa powder, sifted
• ⅔ cup (180ml) boiling water
• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
• ⅔ cup (120g) brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour

Chocolate glaze

• 100g dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (60ml) single (pouring) cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. Place the cocoa and boiling water in a bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
3. Place the butter and both brown and white sugar together and beat on high speed for 6 minutes or until light and creamy. 
4. Add the vanilla extract, eggs and cocoa mixture and beat until well combined.
5. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
6. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 21cm x 10cm loaf tin lined with non-stick baking paper. I do without the non-stick baking paper to avoid drawing and cutting the paper and it works just fine. I'm probably the laziest baker around :P
7. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. I baked it for 1 hour.*
8. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate, vanilla and cream in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Cool slightly before spreading over the cooled cake to serve.

*Tip: Remember not to overbake chocolate. When you remove the skewer from the cake, the cake crumbs should still be a tad wet and the skewer should not be totally dry. The reason is because the chocolate will still continue to cook inside the cake even if it is out of the oven.

Now does this even look delectable to you? Honestly even the crumbs taste so good that I cannot even stop myself from slicing it immediately just so I could taste 1 slice of it. However, I thought the glaze could have been better if I had more time :P Yes I was doing the glaze just before going to work. Oops!!

So a few days later, I baked this same chocolate pound cake upon the request of one of my girlfriends. 

Forgive me for the lighting but trust me, apart from that, the taste has not been compromised at all. It is very scrumptious. I'm definitely going to bake this every now and then whenever I crave chocolate :):)

Needless to say, Mr G told me to 'keep it coming'. HAHA!!

I'm submitting this to I Heart Cooking Clubs October Potluck.

Piri Piri Chicken

When I saw Curtis Stone's Piri Piri chicken recipe, it gave me an inspiration. However, I decided to do it in a whole chicken version instead of skewers like his so we can eat it with our bare hands since I know it would be fingerlicking good.

Generally, I use the ingredients he used but different proportions. It works fine for me :)

Ingredients:

10 to 15 dried chillies (I rehydrated them with hot water and then cut into 1 inch pieces each)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 to 10 garlic cloves
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
50ml olive oil
juice of 2 lemons

1-2 tsp dried oregano
1 spring chicken, innards all cleaned

Method:

1. Blend the dried chillies, garlic cloves, olive oil and dried oregano together. Then add red wine vinegar and lemon juice.
2. Clean and pat the chicken dry. Cover the chicken with the marinade. Don't forget the cavity as well.
3. Marinate it for at least 4 hours and best, overnight in the fridge.
4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
5. Put the chicken in the roasting tin and coat some of the leftover marinade on top of the chicken. Bake it for about 80 minutes.
6. At every 20 minute interval, turn over the chicken and add more marinade to make the chicken moist.

All Mr G needed to say was, please make this again soon. I knew it was everything that he liked - moist chicken, spicy flavours. If these are also what you are looking for, try this too. So easy you need not spend the whole weekend in the kitchen just prepping this for dinner.

To recap, I have made several dishes with Curtis Stone during his stay with us at I Heart Cooking Clubs.

Chicken cacciatore

Cider-Dijon Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples 

Quinoa bowl with roast pork belly, brussel sprouts and butternut squash

Curry wings

It was sad that due to personal reasons this time round, I could only make 4 dishes with Curtis. However, I have also made some other dishes with Curtis previously below too. You may be keen to make some of them too.

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

Look at the banana bread!!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

Oven-roasted Salmon with Cauliflower and Mushrooms

This chocolate bread pudding!! I cannot resist it for sure.

Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken salad

Roasted chicken and asparagus with rice pilaf

Panfried salmon with broccolini and orange reduction

Having seen so much pictures of Curtis Stone's food, do you actually have an idea about the type of food he loves to cook? It is like a genre of music literally but this being, a genre of food he does. To me, the food he does spells every bit about home. Perhaps it could be because Curtis is a father of two now. He will usually cook for them when he is home. That said, I also hope to continue doing a lot more cooking or baking at home not just to satisfy the hungry tums but also to bring smiles to the faces :)

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs as we are bidding farewell to Curtis Stone before we welcome Heidi Swanson.

 

Curry Wings

When I came across this recipe, I was like, woohoo!! perfect for a no-carb dinner for sure. So it was our dinner yesterday.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 pounds chicken wings, split and tips removed or whole I used 1kg of midjoint chicken wings
2 tablespoons curry paste I used 1 tsp coriander powder and 1 tbsp chilli powder
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. I marinated the midjoints with everything and then kept it in the fridge for about 2 to 4 hours before baking it.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F.
3. In a large bowl, combine the wings curry paste, spices, olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until crispy and browned.

 



This is such a no-fuss recipe that I love it a lot and best of all,  Mr G gets his curry spice. Definitely win-win situation here.

 

I also made some simple HK style kai lan to go with these curry wings for our no-carb dinner.

 

 

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs Potluck for this month.

 

Pork with ginger, spring onion and steamed aubergine

When I saw this recipe, I was chuckling to myself. If Yotam Ottolenghi sees what my mum usually cooks for what is considered as a simple fare dinner, it is definitely his kind of thing.

This recipe is perfect for lazy bummers like me. One dish meal to be cooked and mixed with grains or rice, perfect I would say. See my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

60g raw peanuts  I omitted this as I'm allergic to peanuts
3 medium aubergines, cut into 3cm dice
Salt
60ml groundnut oil
2 bunches spring onions, trimmed and chopped on the diagonal into 3cm slices
60g peeled ginger, julienned
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 green chilli, finely sliced
500g pork mince
4 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp dark soy sauce I used light soya sauce instead
2 tbsp kecap manis
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
10g coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 140C/285F/gas mark 1. Spread the peanuts on a small baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove, set aside and, once cool, chop roughly.
2. Put the aubergines in a large bowl with two teaspoons of salt. Mix well, then tip into a colander over the bowl and leave for two hours at least 30 minutes. Shake the colander to remove any excess liquid, pat the aubergine dry in a tea towel and return to the colander.
3. Steam the aubergine for about 8 minutes and leave it in the pan for the next 2 minutes or so.
4. While the aubergines are steaming, pour half the groundnut oil into a large sauté pan and put on a high heat. Add the spring onion, ginger, garlic and chilli, and fry for four minutes, stirring often, until the garlic starts to colour. Tip into a small bowl and set aside.
5. Pour the remaining oil into the pan and add the pork mince. Fry for three minutes, stirring to break up the meat. Add the mirin, soy, kecap manis, sesame oil, rice vinegar and half a teaspoon of salt, cook for two minutes, then tip the spring onion and garlic mixture back into the pan. Cook for a minute more, then remove from the heat – there should be plenty of liquid in the pan – and stir through the coriander and peanuts the aubergine which is drained.
6. I added the pork mince mixture to some garlic fluffed quinoa I made. Then I just mixed everything together for a good mixture.

We both enjoyed it alot. It was like comfort food at its best. Do try it because I'm sure you will get alot of satisfied faces after that :) Well, Mr G showed me his :P

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs Potluck for this month.

Quinoa/Panko Crusted Pork Schnitzel

This week is our turn to cook with Jacques Pepin. I previously bookmarked this one. Now I have legit reason to try. See my amendments/comments in blue.

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork loin steaks or chops (about 6 ounces each), trimmed of all fat and sinew (about 5 ounces each trimmed)

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten well with a fork in a shallow bowl

3 rice cakes (about 1 ounce total), pounded or processed to a coarse powder (about 2 1/2 cups), 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs, or 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs and 1/2 cup cooked quinoa 

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup Bloody Mary mix

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or chives 

Method:

1. Using a meat pounder (or the side of a hammer), pound each of the pork steaks or chops so they are about 5 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches and 3/8-inch thick. Sprinkle the pork with the salt and pepper, then dip each piece into the beaten egg and coat well with the rice cake crumbs cooked/hydrated quinoa* or bread crumbs. (The meat can be prepared to this point a few hours ahead and refrigerated.)
2. At cooking time, heat the oil and butter in one very large or two medium skillets, preferably nonstick. Add the coated pork and sauté for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and browned on the outside. Transfer to a serving platter. I baked the pork chops in the oven for about 25 minutes and turned the pork chops halfway during cooking time. Remember don't use something sharp lest the toppings fall off like how it did for most of mine :(
3. If using two skillets, combine the drippings in one skillet. Add the vinegar to the pan and cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the chicken stock and Bloody Mary mix and cook for about 1 minute, until slightly thickened.
4. Pour the sauce over and around the steaks or chops and serve with the cilantro or chives sprinkled on top.

Honestly, I have to admit that I was just too lazy to make the sauce which I should have because halfway through eating, we both felt it was a tad too dry. However, I must say that the quinoa/panko crust was really crunchy and very tasty too.

 

*I cooked the quinoa with 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa and then let it cool and drain. Then I toasted it in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes so the moistness gets lesser and easier to coat the pork chops with.

 

I also made roasted cauliflower with some goma sauce and chives inspired by this fusion Japanese chef cuisine I had a few days back. I roasted the cut up florets at 180 degrees celsius for about 25 minutes after marinating them with abit of cumin powder, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I garnished it with chives and goma sauce.

 

 

I'm going to submit this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs.

 

Quinoa Bowl with Roast Pork Belly, Brussel Sprouts and Butternut Squash

For quite a while, poké bowls are the rage over here. If you may ask, so just what is a poké bowl and why is it so popular over here? Apparently, poke is a raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. It is also a Hawaiian verb for "section" or "to slice or cut". A poké bowl is where you add cubed raw fish that is seasoned and added with lots of colourful greens and grains to make a wholesome meal. It is something like this just that this is unagi instead of sashimi but still very yums :) You get the idea.

  

I'm trying to recreate a poké bowl but my style or rather, Curtis Stone's style. When I saw his recipe, that idea hit me and I thought why not?

This recipe is such that you can add a base dish which in this case would be quinoa and a few toppings according to your personal preferences so the sky is the limit. Do it your way I would say :)

Let's begin! My modifications or amendments are in blue.

Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil

2/3 cup rinsed red quinoa I used 1/2 cup quinoa

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup water

Method:

1. Wash your quinoa to rinse/clean the natural coating of quinoa. Rinsing with water is fine. Drain your quinoa and let it drip dry while you get ready to cook it.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add quinoa and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup water and salt and bring to a boil.
5. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Tips:

• It is 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water which means 1/2 cup to 1 cup or 1 cup to 2 cups.
• For fluffier quinoa, I usually add even more water when the liquid is absorbed and I will let it slowly absorb the additional water till I think it is well fluffed for me. You can omit it if you are ok with the texture.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 packet brussel sprouts

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Separate Brussels sprouts into leaves (you'll have about 2 cups). I was lazy so I just halved it.
3. In a medium bowl, toss them with olive oil and kosher salt.
4. Scatter on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until crisped, about 10 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 small butternut squash
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp kosher salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c. 
2. In a medium bowl, toss butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" cubes, with olive oil, agave nectar and salt. 
3. Divide squash between 2 large rimmed  greased baking sheets. 
4. Roast, turning squash a few times to brown evenly, until tender and caramelized, about 45 minutes.
   

Spiced-rubbed Pork Tenderloin

1.5 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garlic powder or chopped garlic
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each)
olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c. 
2. In a small bowl, mix spices together. 
3. On a baking sheet, coat pork tenderloins with ½tbsp olive oil each and the spice mixture. 
4. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil. 
5. Cook pork, turning periodically, until browned but still rare, about 6 minutes. 
6. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast until medium-rare, about 10 minutes. 
7. Set aside to rest 5 minutes. Slice pork against grain into ¼"-thick slices.

Tips: This is a good time to use leftover meat. I used my frozen leftover pork belly made the other day. I just panfried it to make the skin crispy.

Now is the best part. Of course, there must be sauce to make everything blend well together.

Apple cider vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp finely chopped shallots (You can use big red onions, just chop it finely)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, shallots, salt and black pepper.

To Serve:

In a large bowl, toss cooked quinoa, 2 ounces (about 4 cups) arugula and ½ cup apple cider vinaigrette.

                  

Divide among the bowls and top with roasted squash and Brussels sprouts. 

Crumble 4 ounces queso fresco over bowls and sprinkle with 3 Tbsp. raw shelled toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) as desired. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and serve immediately with spice-rubbed pork tenderloin roast pork belly.

There you have it. It was such a big bowl so both of us shared it. We really liked it. It was a tad sinful with the pork belly so you can add any healthy protein that you like. Do try it. It is not too difficult but definitely worth the time to prep.

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs - Finishing Touches.

Slow Roast Pork Belly

It has been quite a while since I last posted seriously. So many things happened at home but now at least things are more settled.

 

But of course, we still have to eat right? :) In any case, let me introduce you to the easiest pork belly made by Nigella. It just needs longer roasting time but the prep time is SUPER FAST. Try it if you are short of time to be in the kitchen for too long. My amendments are made in blue.

 

Ingredients:

1¾ kilograms pork belly (rind scored) I used 1 kg pork belly

4 tablespoons tahini

4 tablespoons soy sauce

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lime

 

Method:

 

1. Get out a shallow dish in which the scored pork will fit snugly and in it whisk together the tahini, soy sauce, lemon and lime juice. Sit the pork on top, skin-side up. You should find the marinade covers the underside and most of the sides, but doesn’t touch the rind: that’s what you want.
2. Leave the pork in the fridge to marinate overnight, covered with foil, and then take out to return to room temperature before it goes into the oven.
3. Preheat the oven to 150°C. I set my oven to 130 as it is pyrolytic.
4. Get out a shallow roasting tin and line with foil.
5. Transfer the pork to the roasting tin and cook it uncovered for 3½ hours, then turn the oven up to 250°C (I set my oven to 180 thereafter) and cook for a further ½ hour to let the skin crisp to crunchy burnished perfection.

 

 

Can you even see how crisp the pork belly skin is? To be honest, I followed this recipe to the T. Literally, no seasoning was on top of the skin. But yet it tastes perfectly fine :) I love it. Mr G was observing me chop up the pork belly with the cracking sounds made with each cut. Haha!! He was trying so hard to resist it.

 

Mr G also made his signature coleslaw. He always say it is a secret on how to make it so I just leave it to him to make it. And guess what? It tastes really good!

 

 

I also made some garlic mushroom quinoa to complement the coleslaw and roast pork belly of course ;) For the quinoa, it was pretty quick. I washed the quinoa as mine is the regular type. I made about 1/2 cup so I poured it into the pot and added 1 cup water (always remember it is quinoa 1 part to water 2 parts. Once it was cooked/fluffed, I let it stand in a bowl. I added olive oil to a pot, added about 1-2 tbsp garlic and stir fried it with some cremini mushrooms. Then I added the quinoa. After stir frying to blend everything together, I added halved cherry tomatoes to stir fry for abit. Then it is ready.  Fast right?

 

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs August Potluck.

 



 

Cider-Dijon Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

It has been a while since I last cooked with Curtis Stone. And I'm trying to get rid of the stuff in the fridge/freezer to make way for new/fresh food. I found out that I had a packet of pork chops and it seems like it is pretty easy to make for dinner. So I googled and turns out that Curtis has this nice recipe with pork chops. Bingo!! I'll make that then.

 

I went to the local market to get some sweet potatoes and apples. Guess what? They have the purple sweet potatoes. They don't have this all the time so I decided to buy them though a lot of people usually steam them to just eat it but to me, yucks! I prefer my food with flavours :)

 

See my modifications in blue.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 boneless pork loin chops (each about 7 ounces and 1 inch thick) I used about 6 pork chops

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup apple cider or apple juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces

1 pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces

2 Pink Lady or Fuji apples, cored and cut lengthwise into eighths I cut them into cubes too

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and cut lengthwise into eighths I used 1 tbsp. dried fennel

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, cut into 1-inch pieces I used 1 tbsp. dried rosemary

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method:

1. Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 450°F 180 degrees celsius. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and heat until very hot.
2. To cook the vegetables and apples: In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, apples, fennel, and rosemary with the olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and spread the vegetables and apples on it. Roast, turning the ingredients over halfway through, for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are nicely browned and tender.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pork: Season the pork with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add the olive oil, then add the chops to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and barely pink when pierced in the center with the tip of a small sharp knife.
6. Transfer to a platter (reserving the oil in the skillet) and let stand for 5 minutes.
7. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of the oil from the skillet, leaving the brown bits in the pan. Return the pan to medium-low heat, add the apple cider, and bring to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Whisk in the mustard and simmer for about 2 minutes to reduce the liquid slightly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter to lightly thicken the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Divide the sweet potato mixture among four dinner plates. Place a pork chop alongside the vegetables on each plate. Drizzle with the pan sauce and serve.

 

Check out the nicely browned pork chops above and the root vegetables. I would say that I rarely cooked these root vegetables so they made a good variation. They were pretty tasty with the seasonings. Further, the pork chops were not too dry with the sauce. But I must say that the sauce is a bit tart. Perhaps in future, I wouldn't use all of the indicated apple cider vinegar?

 

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs - Local & Seasonal.

 

 

 

I'm also submitting this post to Cooking with Herbs June 2016 organized by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

 





3 step basic banana loaf

Would you believe me if I say that you don't even need to have a mixer for this? I hope you do because I only used a big bowl and a whisk. That is basically all for the equipment. And it was all I could do after so many happenings going on in my life. Life is just beginning to settle down once again. I'm trying to get the hang of it.

 

Ok, are you rolling your eyes at this because I've baked too many of the banana breads or banana cakes thingy? Hahaha!! I love to bake them because they are just too easy peasy :P

 

Anyway let's get down to this easy peasy banana loaf.

 

Ingredients:

 

225g buckwheat flour (I used 100g spelt flour and 125g rye flour)

220g coconut sugar (I used 150g brown sugar)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 cup mashed bananas (I used about 4 medium size bananas)

1 egg

140g plain yoghurt (don't use flavoured ones!)

60ml grapeseed oil (I used canola oil)

80ml maple syrup (I used agave syrup)

2 tsp vanilla paste

1 banana, extra, halved

 

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix to combine.
3. Add the banana, egg, yoghurt, oil, maple syrup and vanilla and mix to combine. 
4. Pour into a lightly greased 21cm x 10m x 7cm (1.75-litre-capacity) loaf tin lined with non-stick baking paper I used baking spray and spread it all over the tin and top with the banana halves. 
5. Cook for 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes and then tent it with a foil over the bread for about 10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
6. Brush with extra maple syrup to serve. Serves 6–8.

 

Check out the picture above. It may look unappealing but trust me, before I could even get a decent picture of how the bread looks like inside. It was almost all gone. I probably need to bake one more loaf.

 

I'm submitting this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs - May Potluck.