Baked Puff Pastry (Shirini Papioni)

Baked puff pastry or as it’s known by the Persians Shirini Papioni (Sweet Bow) is a very popular sweet in Iran. I remember my mum had to make a special trip to the best pastry shop in town for this treat. In the afternoon the family would gather around the Samovar and mum pouring tea in little glasses one after the other. It was served with black tea and lots of cubed sugar but as a coffee drinker, it is equally tasty with a cup of coffee.

There is nothing better than these little baked puff pastries dusted with plenty of icing sugar and a cup of coffee in cold winter afternoon. It is so good!

Bought puff pastry dough would do the job perfectly with less mess. Always follow the instruction on the pack for the best result, the correct oven temperature and baking time ensures that puff pastry fully puffs and has the crunchy texture you are after.

Cut the puff pastry dough into strips with a very sharp knife or pastry tool and Twist the pastry strips from the centre in a way that the pastry looks like a bow. Place the prepared pastries on a baking sheet lined with baking/parchment paper.

 Make an egg wash (1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water) and brush it over the shaped dough to give the dough a deep golden colour. Bake for the recommended time but check the pastries during baking.

Dust hot baked puff pastry with plenty of icing sugar and if you like mix icing sugar with a little cardamom powder. 

 

 

Summer drink of Mint & Vinegar ( Sekanjebin)

You will twitch involuntarily when drinking this summer beverage. It has an extra ordinary refreshing ability to quench thirst in long hot summer days. It is originated from the Middle East and specially well known amongst Persians. This combination of sweet, sour and mint works magically, some say it almost tastes like wine.

There are many version for Sekanjebin recipe. Originally honey should be used but some recipes use sugar and some are sweeter then others. Depending on what type of vinegar (white or red) using the taste also changes.
I made this recipe many years ago for a dear friend of mine who lives in part of US with hot summers and loves to try new recipes. She passed on this recipe to her family and friends. One day I had email from her saying, "my Mormon Brother-in-law is addicted to this drink and my sister has made many batches of this syrup".

Ingredients

4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup red wine vinegar (the cheap stuff's better for this)
fresh mint, as much as you can get, crushed lightly

Bring the water, sugar and vinegar to a boil and then simmer until reduced ( 20 minutes is a good rule-of-thumb). Remove from heat, add the mint and allow to steep for about 15 minutes to an hour. Remove mint completely and drain syrup into glass bottles for refrigerated storage. Dilute somewhere between 8:1 to 15:1 with water and serve with plenty of ice.

go go Banana Ice Cream

Summer is here and only few days left until holidays to start.  Ice cream is always the winner as summer dessert. The other day I had a quick look in the frozen section of my local supermarket  and there is no new ice cream flavour out yet. Where are NZ Ice cream manufacturers this summer?

 Anyway, I found go go  Banana flavoured ice cream in Tip Top 2 L tap range and to my surprise the frozen section worker told me this flavour has been out for months now and it is his favorite so I bought a tap of this Banana Vanilla chocolate ripple flavoured ice cream.

go go Banana has good Banana flavour with creamy texture.  What makes this flavour special is the mixtures of Banana flavour and the tangy chocolate taste of the ripple that gives this ice cream a tropical touch.

It has perfect yellow colour, like ripe Banana with it's strong aroma sitting in fruit bowel asking to be  used for desserts.

Tip Top 2 Liter tap ice cream will never let you down there is always something in their flavour range to try. Other new flavours are; Lime Swirl and Candy Floss.

   

BBQ - Grilled Chicken with Chorizo and Potato Salad

I am always in the hunt for good salad recipe and this BBQ - Grilled Chicken with Chorizo and Potato Salad recipe from Countdown Food Inspiration ticks all the boxes.

Now, off to supermarket in the search for quality ingredients.

Chocolate Muffins

This recipe is the best one around for that perfect Chocolate muffin.
 Moist, deep dark chocolaty inside with crunchy crust on top. They are ideal for kids lunch boxes and travels well for picnic or freeze individually. The sweetness can be adjusted to ones liking.  I used this recipe for years , always successful as long as it's not overmixed or over baked.
Enjoy while hot and fresh. Very moreish!
Here is the recipe;

Ingredients

2  cups flour
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream or plain yoghurt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Methods

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips . Fold into dry ingredients until just moistened.

A Mighty Sunday Roast

Roast veg is so satisfying and with summer round the corner they are great in salads too!

A Loaf of Bread

A loaf of bread is easy to make.  In a food processor bowl, place 2.5 cups of plain flour, 2 teaspoons yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and pulse a few times to mix the ingredients.  With the motor running, add 1 cup of warm water (half cup boiling water and half cup cold tap water).  It'll take a few seconds for the mix to turn into a ball.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover.  Leave on kitchen bench and come back to it in an hour.  By now it has tripled in size, punch it twice to let the air out.  Turn it into any shape you like and bake at 250C until golden. 

Handy Hints:
Use this recipe for Pizza dough.
For Focaccia bread add olive oil and herbs.

Whittaker's White Raspberry

Just opened  Whittaker’s White Raspberry. Its divine!
A well balanced flavor of very sweet white chocolate with tangy taste of raspberry.  It contains freeze-dried raspberry, which makes it a very enjoyable experience. What a treat!

Fruitfull Smoothie

Full of nature's goodness!

Smoothies can be served at any time of the day as a healthy snack or a morning quick fix.

In our house, I make them after the kids arrived from school. We love our smoothies packed with different types of fruits, especially berries.

These days you can buy berries all year around or just buy them frozen which ever your budget allows.
There are so many recipes to try. I have made smoothies with non-dairy milks like almond and oat milk, which kids absolutely loved.

Next time flovour your smoothie with your favorite ice cream for a treat, one scoop goes a long way.

Garlic and Lime Hummus

Hummus is way too easy and it does last in the fridge. It is as easy as soak, cook and crush. Soak chickpeas overnight and boil until cooked. Once cooked drain it and process in the food processor until smooth. Add crushed garlic, salt, pepper, tahini, lime juice to taste. That is it! It is also a great money saving dip :)

Pickle Pickle

How to pickle? hmmm, quite difficult task I thought at first.  I gave it a go bravely, and it quickly became apparent that this is a simple task which anyone can master! I didn't start with a recipe as most of my cooking is free form.  So, here it goes ... I chopped cauliflowers, carrots and Jerusalem artichoke and place them in a strainer.  Pour salt over it until they are covered fully in salt! Left them over night until all the water drained out of the vegetables.  Boiled water with salt (quite salty) and let it cool.  Added oregano, garlic cloves and bell peppers (from the garden) and place them in a jar.  Splash of cider vinegar in the jar and fill the jar with the salted water.  Close and forget it for about a week and then it is ready! Come summer time and I will give it a go with gherkins.

Queen of Fruits

I remember years ago I reluctantly purchased a few of these at around $15.00 a kilo and thought I got ripped off.  Once tasted all my doubts went away.  It was refreshing semi-sweet delicate fruit and nothing that compared with the look of this fruit.  Later, I found out this is the "Queen of Fruits" Mangosteen.  When I travel, specially somewhere I haven't been before, a trip to the local supermarket is a must! not long ago, in a supermarket in Hong Kong I saw the perfect-est fruits from Japan which made me feel I was in a museum and what an eye candy they are! Then I saw something familiar, at around HK$20 for 6 Mangosteens so fresh you could smell it through the packaging ...  and I knew it was a bargain! Along with the freshest and string-free mangoes, I was in fruit haven! Last weekend, again I saw these at $20 something a kilo, so old and tired from the all the travelling these fruits had to do to make it to our supermarket shelves and there was one thing on my mind ... I wish I lived in the tropics!

my dear polenta

Weekends are for relaxing and doing those chores we dread all week. Polenta chips are a little different but a lot quicker than frying potatoes. This is one task I have been dreading all week. Cook up a batch of instant polenta add a little grated cheese and pour it in a pyrex dish to set. Once set, cut it into fingers and place it on an oven trays brushed with olive oil. Bake this at 200C until golden. Serve with aioli and chopped flat leaf parsley. The best time to do this is when you plan Sunday Roast and what a nice change from potatoes!

Pasta Pronto

We are in the middle of winter in New Zealand and oddly enough fresh aubergines were on supermarket shelves today. I had a thought when I walked past these, to grill them and toss it in pasta for a nice variation and not to mention to match the name of this blog. It has been years since the start of Jamie Oliver TV shows in which he used to show how quickly he could cook weeknight dinners and invite his friends over to tuck in.

I am no Jamie Oliver, but I do know one or two things about quick dinners and that is multi tasking. Chop onions and garlic, then a generous dash of olive oil and let the high heat of a gas stove do the trick. At this stage, I added some dried oregano and chopped capsicum. Let it cook for a bit longer until the capsicum is soft enough. Add some Spanish olives, a can of chopped and peeled tomatoes, a dash of boiled water from the kettle, sea salt and cracked pepper and the lid goes on and reduce heat. While the sauce is simmering, slice an aubergine to 1-2cm thick, brush with olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper and dried oregano and place under a hot grill (220C). Grilling aubergine slices or eggplants takes few minutes on each side. Once done add to simmering sauce and boil the kettle. Boil pasta and by now your sauce has reduced enough. Add the pasta to sauce, stir and serve. All of this for a mere 30 minutes.