Butternut and Chickpea curry

This is a family favourite...

You will need following...

1 Large Butternut - peeled and cubed

2 Sweet potatoes - cubed

4 Potatoes - cubed

1 Onion- chopped

1 tin Chickpeas

1 Brinjal - optional

2 or 3 (4 or 5!)cloves of fresh garlic

Fresh Ginger- finely chopped

1 tin Coconut Milk or Cream

Curry 
Now this is totally up to you...I used a little box of curry mix from Woolworths. -

 Have you seen these? They are great!!

 But really you can use whatever curry you like to give it the taste you enjoy.  

Cut all the veg into bite size cubes - place in an oven dish and spinkle with a little salt and drizzle with some olive oil, add the garlic and fresh ginger - Roast until cooked - firm, not soft!
Mix the curry into the coconut milk or cream and add to the vegies.
Add the chickpeas. (drain the water off first!)
Return to oven and let it cook and combine for about 15 - 20 minutes.
Add additional salt or pepper to taste.

Serve with ...
Poppadums, Fresh Coriander, Basmati Rice and Creme Fraiche...Yum!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

The weather is really freezing at the moment, and today it has been rainy off and on...

So I decided to make some really yummy wintery type muffins...

You will need:

500ml Flour

7ml Baking Powder

2,5ml Bicarb of soda

2 ml salt

250ml Sugar

65ml Butter

125ml Chocolate bits

125ml chopped walnuts - optional

1 egg, beaten

50ml Milk

2,5ml Vanilla

250ml mashed ripe bananas (approx 2 -3 medium sized bananas)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius - grease hollows of muffin tins.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together.

Add the sugar and mix well.

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Add the chocolate bits and nuts if using. - Mix well.

Beat the egg, milk and vanilla essence together.

Add to the flour mixture and mix lightly.

Add the mashed bananas and combine well.

Fill the hollows of the muffin tin and bake for approx 20 minutes  

(always keep a check as oven temps differ!)

Make about 12 large muffins.

Enjoy warm with some hot chocolate. Yum!

Lemon and Poppyseed Biscuits

Sunday afternoon and the biscuit bottles are empty...

...so I baked some of these delicious biscuits...

 

You will need:

250gr soft butter

625ml sugar

2 large eggs

1200ml cake flour

7,5ml baking powder

2,5ml bicarb

50ml finely grated lemon zest

25ml lemon juice

50ml poppy seeds

Beat the softened butter and sugar together until light in colour - add the eggs and beat well. 

Add the lemon rind and lemon juice and mix in.

Sift in the dry ingredients and mix lightly to form a soft dough.

Mix in the poppy seeds.

Roll into small balls and press flat with the palm of your hands.

 Place on a greased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven

 at 180 degrees Celsius for approx 10 -12 minutes.

Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Dads Chocolate Surfing Birthday Cake

So it was our darling dad and hubby's birthday, every year we bake him a special cake.

 This year my knight wanted to make dad a 'surf birthday cake'...so that's what we did. They had borrowed a friends surfboard with a go pro camera on the front and had lots of fun together on it, so you will notice that the little lego surfboard also has a go pro camera on the front - ah I just adore my knight!!

...and dad LOVED his cake!

This is a very easy - no flop chocolate cake...I used one tin, but sliced the cake in half and spread with icing on the one half and strawberry jam on the other half.

You will need:

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 Tblsp milk

4 Tblsp water

45gr Butter

1 1/2 cups Flour

3 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 Tlbsp Cocoa

Icing

Icing sugar

cocoa

butter

strawberry jam - optional

 

Beat the sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy. Melt the butter, add the water and milk. Add a little boiling water to the cocoa powder to dissolve it and make a paste - add this to the milk mixture.

Sieve all the dry ingredients - except the baking powder into the egg mixture. Add the milk and cocoa mixture and lightly fold together. Sift in the baking powder and once again lightly fold in.

Pour into a greased baking tin or 2 round baking tins.

Bake at 180 Degrees Celsius for approx 15 - 20 minutes (always check as oven temps differ)

Take out and place on a cooling rack .

Ice as desired

Happy Birthday my Love - may you be Blessed this coming year!

We LOVE you!

x

Strawberries 'n Swiss Roll

My young Knight hosts a lego club once a month at our home, so this month while the lads were building and creating, the moms were celebrating a 'special fellow lego mom's' birthday... 
I baked some of these swiss rolls to go along with our tea...
They are truly delicious...

You will need

125ml cake flour

5ml baking powder

1ml salt

125ml castor sugar

3 eggs, separated

15ml lemon juice

2,5ml vanilla

125ml cream

berry jam

strawberries

Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper

Beat the egg yolks, gradually adding the castor sugar (keep aside 1 Tblsp), lemon juice and vanilla essence. Beat very well - the mixture will lighten and thicken.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold  together.

Beat the egg whites and Tablespoon of castor sugar until stiff, then fold into the batter.

Turn the batter into the prepared baking sheet.
Spread evenly.

Bake for approx 10 - 12 minutes

Turn out onto a damp cloth, remove the grease proof paper  and spread with jam -  using the cloth, roll the cake up.

Allow to cool.

Once cool I gently unrolled it and spread with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Then I rolled it up again. I sprinkled the top with icing sugar.

Enjoy...