Homework

 "This week we would like you to explore recipes. You could do some baking, make a sandwich, look through a recipe book or learn about recipes in a way that you would like."

Mr Bee decided that he would have a read through one of his recipe books and he found a recipe for Sausage Skewers. He came shopping with me to buy the ingredients he needed, then did a pretty good job of making lunch all by himself.

Yum, yum, yum!

Quiche - A Recipe

Mini Leek and Ham Quiche

Makes 4

One of my quiet New Years Resolutions was to make pies. And pastry, from scratch. Now I have made pies, but I have been a wuss so far and opted for store bought. So I thought I would start small and see how I get on with a simple shortcrust, starting with delicious mini quiches. They really are so simple (I was terrified of making them!) and they have gone down such a treat at lunchtimes this week. Fancy a go? Find the recipe below, good luck!

You Will Need;

Pastry
55g Butter (very cold)
125g Plain Flour
2-3tbs Cold Water

Filling
1/4 Pint Milk
1 Egg
50g Cheddar Cheese
1 Leek
50g Ham Hock

Method;
Start by cutting your butter into cubes, try not to handle it too much. If using a food processor, put butter and flour inside and pulse until you achieve breadcrumbs. Add the cold water tablespoon by tablespoon, until the mixture comes together.
 If using the bowl method and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until breadcrumb consistency. Add the cold water tablespoon at a time, using a butter knife to incorporate.
Tip the mixture out onto the counter and begin to bring the mixture into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for about half an hour.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees
After chilling, roll the pastry out to a thickness of around 5mm. Roughly cut the pastry to size, allowing the pastry to reach all the way up the edges of the case. I used 10cm greased tins. Lightly fold the pastry and pop into the tin. Shape a scrap of pastry into a ball and use it to tease the sheet into the edges of the tin. Using a butter knife, trim the excess pastry from the edges.

Lightly prick with a fork the base with a fork. Break the egg and lightly wash the pastry, chilling in the fridge for 10 mins. Line the cases with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or pasta/rice. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and parchment paper and return for the oven for 10 minutes.

170 degrees.
Turn your oven down to
Whilst the cases are cooling you can prepare your fillings. You can fill your quiche with whatever you fancy, but we had some leek and ham hock going begging. Generously fill the cases to the top.
Pour the egg (from earlier) into the milk and whisk. Season with salt, pepper and I like a hearty helping of mustard too. Evenly distribute between each case, making sure not to over fill.

 Return to the oven for 25-30 minutes until the fillings are golden brown and semi set, you will know when they are ready.

Serve with a peppery salad and enjoy! 

Little Chef

Today Mr Bee made wholemeal cheese scones for his Pappy, all by himself. This is a great recipe to do with children as it is absolutely easy peasy. With thanks to Paul Hollywood, or 'the baking man' as Mr Bee likes to call him.

What you will need:

125g Wholemeal Flour
125g Self Raising Flour
150-170ml Whole Milk
100g Cheddar Cheese
1 Egg
Parmesan to top.

Method:

Heat your oven to 220C (fan assisted).
Combine the flours and cheddar cheese in a bowl. Gradually add milk until combined. Shape to form a flat circle. Cut into triangles.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden.

Chorizo and Bean Stew - Recipe

The fantastic meal we concocted last week attracted so much attention, I thought I would share the recipe for this scrumptious meal!

You Will Need;

1 can of Mixed Beans (in chilli sauce)

1 can of Butter Beans

1 can of Chopped Tomatoes

1 Pepper, diced (I used 1/2 a red pepper, 1/2 a yellow pepper)

1 Medium/Large onion

100g of Chorizo, cubed

1x Chicken Stock Cube

1 tsp Chilli Flakes

1 tsp Garlic Salt

Vegan/Vegetarian alternative - substitute the chorizo for a good amount of paprika and use vegetable stock instead of chicken.

Method

Place the chorizo in a hot pan and seal until the chorizo is lightly toasted. Remove chorizo into a bowl for later. Fry the onions until soft and brown in chorizo juices with the garlic salt. Whilst the onions are frying, dissolve the stock cube in 200ml of boiled water.

Add both tins of beans to the frying pan along with the chorizo and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2-4 minutes

Pour the stock cube over the beans and mix well. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

Serve with fluffy rice or a jacket potato.

 And enjoy!

Cake Pop Recipe

Louie has been dreaming up his own cake recipes all weekend, making pretend cakes in his kitchen, in the bath, with his playdough, you name it. So I thought it might be a bit of fun to make cake pops with him. He requested chocolate but I am sure you can use whatever combination you like.

First things first is a simple sponge cake. I use my Grandmother's recipe (apparently!) whereby I weigh the eggs and use the same quantities of egg, butter, sugar and self raising flour. For me, it is completely fool proof. When making a chocolate sponge as below, I measure a little less flour and make it up with a good quality cocoa. I like the Green and Blacks cocoa, yum yum!
Spread the mixture into a shallow rectangular tin/tray and bake for around 15-20 minutes on 180oC .

 Once your sponge has cooled, you can start to have fun. Take a large bowl and begin to break the sponge into breadcrumb sized pieces. Its really easy and the kids can get involved so easily. Whilst Louie did this, I set to work on the cream cheese frosting which acts as a binding agent.
I used 25g butter and 150g icing sugar which I beat with the Kitchenaid. Once that resembled breadcrumbs, add 125g of cream cheese. Beat until smooth and creamy but not runny.

Then you can begin adding this to the cake mixture. I started off dollop by dollop as I was effectively making it up as I went along. I suppose it depends how much cake you have!

 It finally comes together beautifully and you are ready to begin shaping the mixture in to balls. I used an ice cream scoop to help start off the shape, and to try and give a uniform to the size of the balls (didn't work...!).  I found squashing the mixture quite tight before rolling into a ball made the balls stick together rather than breaking apart.

Then you can stick the sticks in. Try not to stick them all the way through as it makes it rather tricky when you are decorating. Trial and error lead us to that one, thanks Lou!

 Then you can pop them in the fridge for around two hours to set. Meanwhile, you can practice some more with playdough versions.

When they are feeling quite firm, you can begin decorating. I assumed that just coating them with chocolate would work but it was a little tricky. I used two of the larger bars of chocolate and that covered 9 pops.

 Et voila!

Homemade Rustichella

Rustichella, one of our favourite pizzas recreated at home.

For the Dough
550g Strong White Bread Flour
7g Active Yeast
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Light Brown Sugar
320ml Warm Water

Method
Mix the yeast, olive oil and sugar into the warm water. Stir until combined and leave for 2-5 minutes or until the mixture begins to bubble or froth.
In a bowl, make a well with the flour. Gradually pour in the water mixture, drawing the flour in from the edges. Once combined, knead until you have a springy and smooth ball.
Flour a bowl and cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm until doubled in size.

 

 Take the dough and knock it back gently. Divide into three/four equal balls and then pull the ball out with your hands to stretch into a pizza base. Leave in the fridge for 10 minutes before adding your toppings.

 

 A base of chopped tomatoes, a sprinkling of cheddar, torn ham, cherry tomatoes and a generous helping of mascarpone before putting in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Once out of the oven, add a generous handful of rocket, a few shavings of parmesan and a splash of Caesar dressing.

Our twist on one of our favourite restaurant meals! Enjoy!

How to Make Playdough

If there is one thing that everyone always asks me, it is 'How do you make your Playdough?'. And of course, my answer is always 'It is so easy!' !!

Yes, playdough is readily available from supermarkets and toy shops, but bother when you can make some yourself. It only takes 5 minutes to whip up and costs mere pennies. So here is how you can make your own batch of perfect playdough.

You Will Need:

1 Cup of Plain Flour
1 Cup of Warm Water
1/4 Cup of Salt
1 Tsp Oil
2 Tsp Cream of Tartar

All you need to do is pop all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir until combined. It should be a wet gloopy consistency. Then turn on the hob to a moderate heat and continue stirring gently. After 2-3 minutes, the mixture should begin to thicken. Once the mixture has lost all of its water and has come together you can take it off the heat and tip it out onto a surface.
Leave the playdough for a minute or two to cool (otherwise you will burn your hands!) and then you can begin to knead the dough to bring it together. This is where you can add your colouring.
Any food colouring will do the job, gels tend to be better than liquids but it doesn't really matter. Flatten the dough slightly and press your finger gently to make a slight well, then put the colouring in (a little at a time is advisable!) and then fold it all over and begin to knead. That way your hands wont turn orange or green ;)

Playdough is such great fun as it really sparks the imagination, as well as encouraging motor skills. I think I first made playdough for Mr Bee when he was a little over a year. Armed with cookie cutters and a butter knife, he explored the textures and practiced cutting. Now, he has a branded toy which he loves to play with, creating new textures and shapes with the moulds.

When you are done, just store in an airtight container and it will last for ages!