Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Toffee - Fudge with Almonds, Hazelnuts and Cranberries

 When the going gets tough, the tough .....make toffee 

Amazing goo!
Trick here is be patient, place in freezer for a good solid hardness.

 
Place in bag to catch all the flying toffee pieces as you pound it with the end of a knife


Lovely
Riddled with hazelnuts and almonds and cranberries!
(Didn't have raisins but the cranberries turned out very nice here,  it's sharp sourness contrasted to the  all round sweetness)


Too good!
Too all who tasted, they could not believe how good this was!
I'm not a fan for fudge and frankly this could be said as one of my 'failure's as I was trying to make toffee, still it's a damn fine 'failure' :)

Next time think I will cook for alittle longer for a deeper brown colour, and perhaps more sugar for an extra hard fudge namely ....toffee.

Yep, Second batch came out darker, harder and crunchier. Damn fine toffee.
When the going gets tough, the tough .....make toffee ;)

Recipe:
30gr Butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tbps of condensed milk
Nuts (ie Almonds, Hazelnuts, Cranberries, Raisins etc., )

Heat all in a nonstick pan till starts to bubble.
Bubble for a good 4 minutes.  This part takes practice till you know how long to cook it for.  NEVER be tempted to taste it, it is SUPER SCALDING!
Place on a nonstick metal sheet that can later be place in fridge or freezer.  
Chill till solid, then break to pieces and enjoy.






Monday, April 8, 2013

Toffee

 When the going gets tough, the tough .....make toffee 

Amazing goo!
Trick here is be patient, place in freezer for a good solid hardness.

 
Place in bag to catch all the flying toffee pieces as you pound it with the end of a knife


Lovely
Riddled with hazelnuts and almonds and cranberries!
(Didn't have raisins but the cranberries turned out very nice here,  it's sharp sourness contrasted to the  all round sweetness)


Too good!
Too all who tasted, they could not believe how good this was!
I'm not a fan for fudge and frankly this could be said as one of my 'failure's as I was trying to make toffee, still it's a damn fine 'failure' :)

Next time think I will cook for alittle longer for a deeper brown colour, and perhaps more sugar for an extra hard fudge namely ....toffee.

Yep, Second batch came out darker, harder and crunchier. Damn fine toffee.
When the going gets tough, the tough .....make toffee ;)

Recipe:
30gr Butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tbps of condensed milk
Nuts (ie Almonds, Hazelnuts, Cranberries, Raisins etc., )

Heat all in a nonstick pan till starts to bubble.
Bubble for a good 4 minutes.  This part takes practice till you know how long to cook it for.  NEVER be tempted to taste it, it is SUPER SCALDING!
Place on a nonstick metal sheet that can later be place in fridge or freezer.  
Chill till solid, then break to pieces and enjoy.






Labane from Goat Yoghurt

Garlic
Lots of Green Herbs of whatever on hand (dried or fresh) chopped (ie mint. corriander, thyme)
I love lemon zest in this!
Salt


Good trick, remember to wet the cloth first before pouring the yoghurt in.

Who ha!
Look how much water!
Drain atleast over night, preferably longer, till you get a nice firm ball inside

1 whole tub of yoghurt yields just this small dish!
Cover with olive oil and Enjoy!
Note: After the cheese balls are gone and they will go faster than you think possible, use the remaining flavourful oil on toast or salads etc., :)


So pretty!






Thursday, April 4, 2013

Almond Labane (Cheese)


 Drip...drip...drip



 Soaked and preserved in Olive oil.

Cheese without the cheese?  Well I had to try it.  Especially since I LOVE almonds.  I use to make my own labane so as soon as I hung this lovely ball up, my sons yelped with joy
 "Oh great mum! You're making that tasty cheese"

Have to say they got a bit of a surprise and so did I.
Not sure what to make out of it.
It WAS super easy to make.  And it was tasty, but cheese it ain't.  Very pretty to look at and a real novelty to give.  Would I make it again?....Not sure. 
In all fairness I should give it some time to adjust to the very 'idea'.  
At the very least the respect it deserves and try it on some worthy cracker or quality bread.

I do have some goat yoghurt in the fridge as I speak which I intend to treat the same way and compare.



Recipe

Almonds (preferably without skins, but for lazy people like me, not so necessarily so ;)
3/4 water (fresh)
2 Tps of Olive Oil
1 diced clove of Garlic
Salt
Fresh Mint leaves or coriander or Basil what ever you like. (Adds nice green specks to the cheese too)

Thoroughly soak almonds over night, I soaked in the fridge and forgot about it for an embarrassing long time (just don't forget to change the water each day.)
Place all in a processor and mix for ages or till smooth with no 'bits'
Place in a damp cheese cloth ( I used baby's cloth)
Twist and wring out as much water out as possible, hang overnight.  Place in refridgerator next day.
After a couple of hours the cheese should be more firm/set and easier to handle.
Roll into small balls and place in a nice glass jar. 
Then fill the jar with quaility olive oil.  Add herbs such as a sprig of rosemary or even a red chili.  Not only will this look pretty but infuse the olive oil with even more flavour.

Source Recipe - Click Here

Welp 06.04.13 according to the date.
Two days later.
And it's all gone.
Definitely better a day later, after being steeped in olive oil, resting.  And as my young son reminded me (proud mum smile)  It always tastes better a day later, and the oil is the tastiest part!  He loves to drizzle it on bread and straight on salads.  He was right.
Unanimous conclusion, as long as you don't call it 'Cheese', its  unconfusing and absolutely great!
In this household we called it 'Nut' Cheese (s'cuse the pun)

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Haroset



Last of this year 2013


Dates compact pack NOT tub
Walnuts (slightly crushed)
Wine (sweet)
Cinnamon
Orange Juice
Orange zest
Apples 
Bananas

Cloves (grounded)

Variations: with Orange peel or with rasins in brandy

Mix all and leave to rest, (you and the haroset  
So easy, it's criminal.
Totally delish, recipe from hubby's Jerusalem elderly aunt.

Making a ton for camping






Calamari and Fennel Salad



What did I put in here??
I want to make it again and have no idea what I did!!??

Looks like fennel, basil, olive oil, calamari of-course....then what!

Lasagna





With cottage cheese slightly watered down on top, no bechamel sauce fuss.
Lots of herbs

Monday, April 1, 2013

Roast Potatoes - 5 minute preparation


Slice potatoes in whatever shape, cubes or slices.
Place in a nylon bag and douse in olive oil, sprinkle liberally with spices, here I used:
Sweet Paprika,
Garam Marsala;
Tumeric;
Grounded Corriander;
Dried Thyme/Marjoram.

Give the bag a good rub so all the potatoes are thoroughly covered and spiced up.
(The bag is a real mess-less trick ;)


Roast in 180 oven till done.
Sprinkle on coarse salt before serving.
Still bundled in baking sheet serve as is.

Fish Tiny Babunias


When in season, Baby/tiny babunia are worth soughting.  A true modest fishermens' dish.
Coated in a mix of flour,salt, semolina and spices.  Deep fried, serve immediately. Eaten whole, head and all, with lots of lemon juice and salt.

Call it intuition but at the market I envisioned a dish of tiny babunias.  What were the chances they were in season?  So couldn't believe my luck when the fishmonger bought out from the back a crate of these babies.
So fresh and gleaming.  I didn't even gut them, he insisted it wasn't neessary and he was right!
One very tedious chore skipped :)

Ingredients
1kg  Babunias - 4.35 nis -  ( 1kg/35 nis - I  used here about 1/8 = 4.35 nis)
200gr Flour -  1.5 nis
90gr - Semolina  - 1 nis -
Pinch Paprika - .20
Pinch Salt - .10




Shake in a nylon bag is the easiest and mess-free way to thoroughly coat these gems

Heat the oil to really hot before plunging the babunias in one by one, so they don't stick together..

Against the general rule for delicate fish.  I tend to fry these a tad bit more so they are extra crunchy.  Some places I've seen add a chili in the oil for that extra kick.

Straight onto kitchen towel. Gentle shake.


Then quickly onto individual plates.
Generous squeeze of lemon and sea salt.
Eat whole, head, tail, the lot.




Freaking amazing!
Life is good if you have fish your life :)







 
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