Thai Red Curry Ingredients:
· 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
· 3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste
· 2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
· 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
· 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips
· One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk
· 6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)
· 1 Tbs. light brown sugar
· 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
· 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)
· 2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste
· 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
· Kosher salt
Method:
Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.
Variations
To serve 1 vegetarian and 3 meat-lovers: After stirring in the vegetables, coconut milk, lime leaves, and water, transfer about 1 cup of the cury mixture to a 2-quart saucepan. To this smaller pan, add 4 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the basil, and 1 tsp. of the lime juice.
With the remaining curry mixture in the 3-quart saucepan, finish the master recipe above to serve the 3 meat lovers, reducing the amount of chicken to 12 oz.
Oreo cheese cake: Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups Oreo crumbs (from about 20 Oreos)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling
24 oz (three 8-oz packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz cool whip (or homemade whipped cream)
1 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs (from about 16 Oreos)
7-10 Oreos, chopped, optional
additional Oreo crumbs for the top, optional
Instructions:
1. Combine Oreo crumbs (for crust) with melted butter.
2. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set in refrigerator to firm.
3. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth and well combined.
4. Gently stir in Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream).
5. Add Oreo crumbs and chopped Oreos and gently mix until well combined.
6. Pour filling into crust and smooth the top.
7. Top with additional Oreo crumbs, if desired.
8. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until firm.
Chocolate icecream Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves 6 generously
Adapted from: Cuisinart chocolate ice cream recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup of full cream milk
1.5 cups of cream with at least 35% fat content
1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
A small pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Whisk together the cocoa and both sugars until thoroughly combined.
2. Add the milk to this, gently incorporate by hand, and then continue whisking either manually (2-3 mins) or with an electric mixer (30 seconds).
3. Time to add the cream. Now, there's generally some confusion on what type of cream to use for homemade ice cream. I'd say it really doesn't matter as long as your cream has at least 35% fat content. This is what makes the ice cream rich, creamy, and delicious. Pour in the cream, vanilla and add a pinch of salt.
4. Mix again until full incorporated.
5. Pour this mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn for 20 mins, approximately.
6. The mixture should turn into soft serve ice cream like below. You can serve it at this stage or freeze for a harder more ice-cream-like consistency. I always use my Pyrex storage bowls for freezing ice cream, especially since they come with a lid. Use either a glass or plastic container, and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Your Ice cream is done!
NOTES
1. To make chocolate ice cream without an ice cream maker, add the ice cream mixture to a blender and blend on high speed for 2 mins. Transfer to a container and place in freezer. After an hour, take it out and blend again (if too hard, leave outside until thawed and then proceed). You can repeat these steps 2-3 times but the idea is to remove as much water crystals from the ice cream as possible. Since we are using cream and full cream milk, this method should work well. I haven't tried it so please let me know if you do
2. You can add any flavourings of your choice - like a dash of rum, some instant coffee, chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, etc.
3. This chocolate ice cream is quite rich and creamy so a little goes a long way. Store-bought ice cream is mostly air so we can eat a lot more. I'd say this can easily serve 8 but want to be conservative in my estimate since it really depends on your portion size
4. Keeps well for 20 days (I haven't kept it longer to test, really)
5. The difference in colour of ice cream among first three pics is due to lighting differences. Please adjust.
Pizza \
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Main Ingredients: flour tomato cheese
Ingredients: § For Pizza base:
§ Plain flour - 2 1/2 cups (maida)
§ Instant dry yeast - 2 tsps
§ Olive oil - 1 1/2 tbsps
§ Honey - 1 tsp (or 1/2 tsp sugar)
§ Salt - 3/4 tsp
§ Italian seasoning - 1/2 tbsp OR any dried herbs of your choice like oregano, rosemary or basil (optional)
§ Water - 1 cup, luke warm
§ Cornmeal or Semolina - few tbsps
§ For Pizza sauce:
§ Onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
§ Garlic - 3 cloves, finely minced
§ Tomatoes - 2, ripe and large, finely chopped
§ Tomato puree - 2 tbsps
§ Black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
§ Red pepper flakes - large pinch
§ Sugar - 1/2 tsp
§ Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
§ Dried basil - 1/4 tsp or fresh basil - few leaves
§ Salt to taste
§ Toppings:
§ Bell peppers - 1, large, finely sliced
§ Fresh basil leaves - few (optional)
§ Mozarella cheese - 1 cup, grated
§ Parmesan cheese - 4 tbsps (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven at 220 C for 30 mts.
2. In a large wide bowl, add the maida/flour, salt, dried herbs, sugar or honey, yeast and olive oil and mix to combine. Slowly add the warm water and make a dough. If the dough is dry, add a little more water and knead gently for 5-6 mts into a smooth firm dough. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm place for 15 mts.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Cover them with plastic wrap and allow to rest for another 5 mts. This step helps you to roll out a round shape with the right amount of elasticity for rolling.
4. Lightly grease the back side of cookie sheet (place a cookie sheet upside down) with oil and sprinkle cornmeal or semolina liberally (this will give a good crunch to the base as well ease the removal of the pizza from the cookie sheet without sticking)
5. Place a ball of dough on the cookie sheet and spread it out into a flat disk using your hands. After flattening it to a circle, roll the base as thin as possible using your rolling pin. Ensure that the base is evenly spread out and the edges are slightly thick as shown in the image above.
6. Brush the rim of the pizza base with olive oil, spread 2 heaped tbsps of the pizza sauce evenly all over. Sprinkle the grated mozarella cheese liberally all over.
7. Add any toppings of your choice like tomato slices or bell pepper juliennes, caramelized onions, grilled paneer or chicken and fresh basil leaves. The choice is endless. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese if using.
8. Slide the cookie sheet onto the lower rack of your oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese turns golden brown and the pizza base browns along the edges. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes before slicing. (check from 12 mts on wards - oven heat varies from oven to oven)
9. To prepare Pizza Sauce: In a heavy bottomed vessel, add olive oil and heat on medium flame. Add the minced garlic and saute for a mt. Add the dried oregano and dried basil and mix. Add onions and saute for 5 mts. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 3 mts on high. Reduce flame and simmer for 20 mts without lid.
10. Add tomato puree, pepper powder, red chili flakes and salt and mix. Continue to simmer till it becomes a sauce like consistency.
11. Turn off flame and cool. You can blend to a coarse paste at this stage or use the cooked sauce right away. If using fresh oregano or basil, add it towards the end of the cooking process.
Marble cake: Ingredients:
· 225g butter, softened
· 225g caster sugar
· 4 eggs
· 225g self-raising flour
· 3 tbsp milk
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Method: 1. Heat oven to 180C/gas 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper. If you want to make life easy, simply put all the ingredients (except the cocoa powder) into a food processor and whizz for 1-2 mins until smooth. If you prefer to mix by hand, beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
2. Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Take 2 spoons and use them to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the tin alternately. When all the mixture has been used up (and if young kids are doing this, you’ll need to ensure the base of the tin is fairly evenly covered), tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren’t any air bubbles. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.
3. Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.
4. Your cake is ready!
Posted by: Faiza Rehan and Fatima Aamir
· 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
· 3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste
· 2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
· 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
· 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips
· One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk
· 6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)
· 1 Tbs. light brown sugar
· 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
· 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)
· 2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste
· 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
· Kosher salt
Method:
Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.
Variations
To serve 1 vegetarian and 3 meat-lovers: After stirring in the vegetables, coconut milk, lime leaves, and water, transfer about 1 cup of the cury mixture to a 2-quart saucepan. To this smaller pan, add 4 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1/4 cup of the basil, and 1 tsp. of the lime juice.
With the remaining curry mixture in the 3-quart saucepan, finish the master recipe above to serve the 3 meat lovers, reducing the amount of chicken to 12 oz.
Oreo cheese cake: Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups Oreo crumbs (from about 20 Oreos)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling
24 oz (three 8-oz packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz cool whip (or homemade whipped cream)
1 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs (from about 16 Oreos)
7-10 Oreos, chopped, optional
additional Oreo crumbs for the top, optional
Instructions:
1. Combine Oreo crumbs (for crust) with melted butter.
2. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set in refrigerator to firm.
3. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth and well combined.
4. Gently stir in Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream).
5. Add Oreo crumbs and chopped Oreos and gently mix until well combined.
6. Pour filling into crust and smooth the top.
7. Top with additional Oreo crumbs, if desired.
8. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until firm.
Chocolate icecream Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves 6 generously
Adapted from: Cuisinart chocolate ice cream recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup of full cream milk
1.5 cups of cream with at least 35% fat content
1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
A small pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Whisk together the cocoa and both sugars until thoroughly combined.
2. Add the milk to this, gently incorporate by hand, and then continue whisking either manually (2-3 mins) or with an electric mixer (30 seconds).
3. Time to add the cream. Now, there's generally some confusion on what type of cream to use for homemade ice cream. I'd say it really doesn't matter as long as your cream has at least 35% fat content. This is what makes the ice cream rich, creamy, and delicious. Pour in the cream, vanilla and add a pinch of salt.
4. Mix again until full incorporated.
5. Pour this mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn for 20 mins, approximately.
6. The mixture should turn into soft serve ice cream like below. You can serve it at this stage or freeze for a harder more ice-cream-like consistency. I always use my Pyrex storage bowls for freezing ice cream, especially since they come with a lid. Use either a glass or plastic container, and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Your Ice cream is done!
NOTES
1. To make chocolate ice cream without an ice cream maker, add the ice cream mixture to a blender and blend on high speed for 2 mins. Transfer to a container and place in freezer. After an hour, take it out and blend again (if too hard, leave outside until thawed and then proceed). You can repeat these steps 2-3 times but the idea is to remove as much water crystals from the ice cream as possible. Since we are using cream and full cream milk, this method should work well. I haven't tried it so please let me know if you do
2. You can add any flavourings of your choice - like a dash of rum, some instant coffee, chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, etc.
3. This chocolate ice cream is quite rich and creamy so a little goes a long way. Store-bought ice cream is mostly air so we can eat a lot more. I'd say this can easily serve 8 but want to be conservative in my estimate since it really depends on your portion size
4. Keeps well for 20 days (I haven't kept it longer to test, really)
5. The difference in colour of ice cream among first three pics is due to lighting differences. Please adjust.
Pizza \
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Main Ingredients: flour tomato cheese
Ingredients: § For Pizza base:
§ Plain flour - 2 1/2 cups (maida)
§ Instant dry yeast - 2 tsps
§ Olive oil - 1 1/2 tbsps
§ Honey - 1 tsp (or 1/2 tsp sugar)
§ Salt - 3/4 tsp
§ Italian seasoning - 1/2 tbsp OR any dried herbs of your choice like oregano, rosemary or basil (optional)
§ Water - 1 cup, luke warm
§ Cornmeal or Semolina - few tbsps
§ For Pizza sauce:
§ Onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
§ Garlic - 3 cloves, finely minced
§ Tomatoes - 2, ripe and large, finely chopped
§ Tomato puree - 2 tbsps
§ Black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
§ Red pepper flakes - large pinch
§ Sugar - 1/2 tsp
§ Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
§ Dried basil - 1/4 tsp or fresh basil - few leaves
§ Salt to taste
§ Toppings:
§ Bell peppers - 1, large, finely sliced
§ Fresh basil leaves - few (optional)
§ Mozarella cheese - 1 cup, grated
§ Parmesan cheese - 4 tbsps (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven at 220 C for 30 mts.
2. In a large wide bowl, add the maida/flour, salt, dried herbs, sugar or honey, yeast and olive oil and mix to combine. Slowly add the warm water and make a dough. If the dough is dry, add a little more water and knead gently for 5-6 mts into a smooth firm dough. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm place for 15 mts.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Cover them with plastic wrap and allow to rest for another 5 mts. This step helps you to roll out a round shape with the right amount of elasticity for rolling.
4. Lightly grease the back side of cookie sheet (place a cookie sheet upside down) with oil and sprinkle cornmeal or semolina liberally (this will give a good crunch to the base as well ease the removal of the pizza from the cookie sheet without sticking)
5. Place a ball of dough on the cookie sheet and spread it out into a flat disk using your hands. After flattening it to a circle, roll the base as thin as possible using your rolling pin. Ensure that the base is evenly spread out and the edges are slightly thick as shown in the image above.
6. Brush the rim of the pizza base with olive oil, spread 2 heaped tbsps of the pizza sauce evenly all over. Sprinkle the grated mozarella cheese liberally all over.
7. Add any toppings of your choice like tomato slices or bell pepper juliennes, caramelized onions, grilled paneer or chicken and fresh basil leaves. The choice is endless. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese if using.
8. Slide the cookie sheet onto the lower rack of your oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese turns golden brown and the pizza base browns along the edges. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes before slicing. (check from 12 mts on wards - oven heat varies from oven to oven)
9. To prepare Pizza Sauce: In a heavy bottomed vessel, add olive oil and heat on medium flame. Add the minced garlic and saute for a mt. Add the dried oregano and dried basil and mix. Add onions and saute for 5 mts. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 3 mts on high. Reduce flame and simmer for 20 mts without lid.
10. Add tomato puree, pepper powder, red chili flakes and salt and mix. Continue to simmer till it becomes a sauce like consistency.
11. Turn off flame and cool. You can blend to a coarse paste at this stage or use the cooked sauce right away. If using fresh oregano or basil, add it towards the end of the cooking process.
Marble cake: Ingredients:
· 225g butter, softened
· 225g caster sugar
· 4 eggs
· 225g self-raising flour
· 3 tbsp milk
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Method: 1. Heat oven to 180C/gas 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper. If you want to make life easy, simply put all the ingredients (except the cocoa powder) into a food processor and whizz for 1-2 mins until smooth. If you prefer to mix by hand, beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
2. Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Take 2 spoons and use them to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the tin alternately. When all the mixture has been used up (and if young kids are doing this, you’ll need to ensure the base of the tin is fairly evenly covered), tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren’t any air bubbles. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.
3. Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.
4. Your cake is ready!
Posted by: Faiza Rehan and Fatima Aamir