Turkish Delight Hot Chocolate

I have a deep love for the flavour of turkish delight.

Good turkish delight is amazing to cook with and of course we all know it goes well with chocolate, so why not drink it?

So here is my recipe for a beautiful turkish delight hot chocolate

Serves 2

Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon of the softest best Turkish delight you can get ( I prefer the kind you can get from traditional lolly shops at the markets) 
- 4 Teaspoons of Rosewater ( not essence)
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- 2 Tablespoons the best coco powder you can get
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 1/2 Cup of milk

Method:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan on a medium heat and stir until all dissolved, do not let boil.
You can add any little chunks of turkish delight left over that didn't get time to melt into each glass if you like.


Enjoy xoxo 

LEMON CAKE!

This is one of my favourite cakes to make. I used the basic recipe I found for a Lemon Tea Cake in an old recipe book. The book was called 'Wonderful ways to prepare Cakes and sweets' -  by Ayers and James, and is still one of my favourite books to go to for a cake recipe.

However the original recipe was not lemony enough, and was a lot more moist in a way that didn't give it the best texture for that kind of cake.

The only way to describe this cake is pure lemony joy. If your a fan of lemon curd, lemon tarts and lemon meringue, then you'll LOVE this.

Please note that although the cake itself has no dairy, there is butter in the icing sugar. There are plenty of dairy free icing recipes you could use, as long as you add the lemon juice. You could use non stick baking paper to line the tin too!

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 small good lemons, make sure they are juicy when you squeeze them and have a good yellow rind and  
   not too much pith.
- 1 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Tablespoon of butter
- 500g Icing Sugar

Utensils: 

- fine grater
- electric beaters
- cake tin
- oven set at 180'C Fan Forced

Method:

Cake:
Take your 5 lemons, wash them and chop of the end and the tops, this make it easier to grate.
Grate your lemons, making sure you get all that good yellow rind, but be careful to not grate for too long in one spot, or you will start grating white pith. Once you have done this set aside your lemon rind. Begin squeezing the juice of 4 of your lemons and set aside another lemon as you will need the juice later to make the icing sugar. Set aside the juice of your 4 lemons, making sure there are no seeds and pulp.

In a mixing bowl big enough for your cake batter, take your eggs and beat them until properly combined and thick. Add the sugar gradually. Now sift your flour and baking soda over your lemon egg mixture and mix together. Butter and flour a non stick cake tin and pour in your batter.

Place in the oven until cake has risen and is golden brown, you should also be able to stick in a skewer and not have batter on the end. Once this is done take out of the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes, then turn upside down to release from tin. Let cool on  a wire rack, then turn it back over so the flat side is on the bottom.

Icing: 
Take the lemon you put aside and squeeze the juice from it. In bowl add your butter and lemon juice,then slowly start adding the icing sugar a few tablespoons at a time and mix until there are no lumps. You may not have to use all your icing sugar, you may have to use a little more. It all depends on how much juice is in your lemon, but you basically want a nice smooth consistency that isn't going to drip and run of your cake.

Once you have this with no lumps, and your cake is fully cooled, ice your cake.

This cake is best left out for the first 48 hours NOT in the fridge, as it may be to moist. Make sure you cover it in foil though.

Yum Yum !

Wholemeal bacon, herb and tomato pasta

This pasta is a nice light basic dish. It has a subtle flavour of herbs, bacon and tomato and uses my new favourite spice- smoked paprika, which gives it a wonderful subtle smoky flavour with the bacon.

The amount of herbs I use is a guide, feel free to add more if you like.

Ingredients:

- 4 Bay Leaves
- Pink Murray River Salt flakes
- 2 1/2  tablespoons dried onion
- 8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- Palm full of fresh oregano, roughly chopped with any woody stems removed.
- Medium bunch of chives, chopped
- 450g Cherry Tomatoes
- 8 rashers of bacon, preferably frozen
- smoked paprika
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you will need a total of about 9 tablespoons
- 1/2 teaspoon Hot English mustard
- 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- Herbamare Vegetable Health salt
- 300g wholemeal pasta

Method:

In a pot add enough water to cook pasta with 4 bay leaves, and a large pinch of salt flakes, bring to the boil.

While you are waiting for the water to boil to add your pasta, get a large mixing bowl and add 1 tablespoon of dried and shredded onion, the chopped basil leaves, chopped oregano and chopped chives.

At this point your water should be boiling, so add the pasta to cook. Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and add ( including the bay leaves) to your herb mixture and mix to coat herbs evenly over pasta.

Take your 450g of cherry tomatoes and divide them in half. Take one half of your tomes set aside and cut each tomato in half and add to you herbs in the bowl. take the other cherry tomatoes you set aside and puncture them with a knife (so the juices leach out when cooking) then add them to a fry pan, preferably non stick. Take your 8 rashers of frozen bacon ( they can be a little thawed at this point ) and dice them.
Add to the pan with the tomatoes and start to cook, the juice form the tomatoes and frozen bacon should be enough to cook them in so you will not need oil.

Once bacon is starting to cook add 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and stir until paprika is mixed evenly and the bacon and tomato turn a beautiful red colour. Then add 1 tablespoon dried onion to the pan and cook for one more minute or so. Once this is done, take off heat and add to pasta dish with 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon hot English mustard, 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese and 4 pinches of Herbamare vegetable salt. Stir, then let sit in the fridge overnight for flavours to develop.

The next day take out of fridge and stir so that the juices that have collected at the bottom coat the pasta evenly, then add 1/2 tablespoon dried onion, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 pinches of Herbamare salt and 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together and enjoy.

Enjoy

4 Herb Garlic Bread

This herb garlic bread is delicious, a bit different from your usual parsley and garlic bread.

It is perfect as a winter snack or when you want to make something a bit more special to go with a meal such as a roast. It also makes great cocktail finger food for a party or a family gathering.

Ingredients:

- Rustic Baguette
- Small bunch fresh chives
- 5 Fresh Basil Leaves
- Small bunch fresh parsley
- Small bunch of fresh oregeno
- 3 Cloves of garlic
- 100g Unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Murray River pink salt flakes (or any quality salt flakes, preferably pink)

Method:

Using a fork, crush butter in bowl, add crushed garlic cloves.
Chop chives, basil leaves and parsley and add to butter. Remove fresh oregano leaves form stem and add to butter - do not chop them, leave them whole.
mix all together until herbs are even distributed throughout butter and garlic mixture.
Cut baguette in half and spread butter on both of the insides.
 Place into 160C oven until butter has melted and bread has just started to turn crusty and golden on the edges.

Remove from oven and half teaspoon of salt flakes on each baguette half.
Cut into however many pieces or sizes you wish.

Enjoy with loved ones. 

Peach and Passion fruit Icy Frozen Yoghurt

This Frozen Yoghurt is not quite as icy as the strawberry version, and it is more creamier. A tip for keeping your frozen yoghurt as smooth as possible, is when scooping it out of the container, try and stay away form the liquid that collects.

I have to say that this is my favourite.




Ingredients:

- 4 Passionfruit
- 1 ripe peach, cut into very small diced pieces
- 3 cups natural Greek yoghurt
- 3 Tablespoon's runny honey
- 3 Tablespoon's Vanilla essence
- teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

1. Add 3 cups of yoghurt and chopped peach to the container you wish to freeze your yoghurt in and stir together.

2. Add 2 Tablespoons of runny honey to the pulp of 4 passion fruit and stir to make a runny syrup.

3. Add to yoghurt mixture and stir until just combined.

4. Add 1 Tablespoon runny honey on top of yoghurt mixture and fold until most of the honey has disappeared, just leaving a few streaks here and there. Drizzle a teaspoon of vanilla essence on top of your mixture and place into freezer until frozen.



    This is how it looks frozen. 

Icy Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

When its 38 C and the heat and humidity is getting to you, pull out a tub of this and have a scoop or two of this tasty and healthy treat. It uses Strawberries, Honey, Vanilla essence, and natural Greek Yoghurt.

Because this recipe uses fruit which contains water and no cream, preservatives or the normal chemicals added that stop store bought yoghurt's from going hard, this yoghurt has little chards of ice in the texture. It's texture is kind of like a slushy or icy, but in summer its quite refreshing and cooling.

Ingredients:
- 3 punnets
- 2 cups natural yoghurt
- 2 cup fulls vanilla essence
- 9 Tablespoons honey

Method:

Chop the green tips of 2 of the punets of the strawberries and add to blender, add 2 cups of natural yoghurt and add 4 tablespoon's honey. Blend in blender until runny and frothy.

Pour into container that you want to freeze your ice-cream into.



Take your third punnet of strawberries and remove green tops and add to blender with 5 tablespoons of honey and blend together.

Pour the strawberry blend in a spiral way over the yoghurt mixture, it will sink instantly to the bottom, leaving just a few traces on the top. DO NOT STIR. simply place into freezer.

After about 12 hours, or the next day, take out and fold. Basically you are trying to get a strawberry ripple from the  strawberry syrup that has settles on the bottom throughout your mixture, but its ok if it is not perfect.

It will still be quite soft and slightly frozen. Pur back in freezer for at least another 4-5 hours and fold again, then put back into your freezer until evenly frozen.

Remember this is quite icy and not smooth like your normal frozen yoghurt.

Welcome to the first post of 2013 for Foodie Fabulous.

This blog is dedicated to a foodie and her constant battle with the good and bad,the healthy and naughty and all the different restaurants  chefs, recipes and meals that inspire her to cook and try new recipes and meals. 

Bring on 2013 and all it has to offer!