3 Summer Smoothie recipes

Hi, all sorry for the delay in new posts, been a little hectic this end, but i have got a long list of updates to upload, so keep an eye on the page over the next few days/weeks.
As the Spring weather seems to have been more suited to summer, over here in the UK, I have dusted off my Smoothie machine, and been creating a few new drinks. Heres a few quick and easy recipes for a some smoothies, delicious and filling, and a great start to any day, or just as nice when your unwinding on your patio in the evening. Best drank with a thick straw and immediately.


CocoNapple Smoothie (pictured)
TOP TIP: to check if a pineapple is ripe, hold one of the leaves, and if it comes out easily, it'll be ripe. Also, if you give it a good sniff, you should be able to smell the sweetness.
Ingredients
1/2 a very ripe pineapple, core removed and roughly cubed.
120ml of Coconut Milk, the thick stuff from the top of the can is best.
100ml Full fat milk
3-4 Ice cubes
1. Add the Pineapple and ice cubes to a blender or smoothie machine, blitz with the milk.
2. Pour in the coconut milk and wizz away, until smooth and creamy. Decorate with a slice of pineapple or a pineapple leaf. Drink immediately.


The Nutty Banana Smoothie
TOP TIP: for extra smoothness, peel the bananas and place in freezer for a few hours in a freezer bag.
Ingredients

2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter

2 Ripe bananas (best if been frozen first)

500ml Semi-Skimmed milk

3-4 Ice cubes

Optional: A sprinkle of cinnamon 

1. Add the Bananas and ice cubes to a blender or smoothie machine, blitz with the milk.

2. Drop in the peanut butter and wizz away, until smooth and creamy. Decorate with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Drink immediately.

The Mmmmmango Smoothie

Ingredients

1/2 a very ripe Mango, stone removed and cubed.

1 Ripe banana (best if been frozen first)

200ml Plain yoghurt 

200ml Full fat milk

3-4 Ice cubes 

1. Add the mango, banana and ice cubes to a blender or smoothie machine, blitz with the yoghurt.

2. Add the milk and wizz away, until smooth and creamy. Drink immediately.

Scone in 60 seconds . . . . . . well, 20 minutes actually.

Scones, pronounced however you feel, are a small bread of Scottish origin, but eaten all over the world. Famous as a component of Devonshire Tea. Otherwise known as "Rock Cakes," "Fat Rascals," and "Singing Hinnies".

They can be awkward to get right, overcook them and they are more stone than scone, undercook them and they fall to pieces and taste yuck. I'm certainly no expert at making the perfect Scone, far from it, more disasters than successes. This is a recipe that seems to work for me.

As a variation, throw in a handfull of raisins, before adding the milk.

Ingredients

225g Self-raising flour

35g Castor sugar

Pinch of salt

30g Butter (extra for greasing, but I prefer to use a baking sheet)

up to 150ml Full fat milk (you may not require the full amount.)

1 egg, lightly beaten to glaze.

Serve with:

A quality clotted cream

A good jam of your choice. Strawberry is a favourite.

1. Pre-heat oven to 210c

2. Place flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor, and quickly mix. Add the butter and mix again until it looks kinda like small breadcrumbs.

3. Slowly pour in the milk, whilst mixing, until a dough forms, it needs to be quite moist, but not so it sticks to the side of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of milk, so go slow.

4. Heavily flour a clean work surface, make the dough into a ball, and flatten until about 2cm thick.

5. Using a 4-5cm round cutter, cut out the scones, this mix should make around 9-11 scones.

6. Place the scones on a lightly greased tray or I prefer to line one with a baking sheet, lightly brush the scones with the beaten egg, and bake for around 12 minutes, or until they have risen and turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven and slightly cool on a wire rack.

7. Best eaten warm, cut in half, then add a spoon of clotted cream, and a good spreading of jam.

Scrumptious Chocolate cup-cake type thingys

I have been through a bit of a baking experimental stage, of late. Cookies, cakes, bread, pastries and cup cake type thingys. "What is a cup cake type thingy?" I hear you all say. Well I keep forgetting to buy cupcake cases, so i improvised at little, by using a silicone muffin tray/mould, and no cases. This was the pleasant result I got. This mix makes around 10-12 cakes.

Ingredients 

5oz Self raising flour

1 1/2oz Drinking chocolate

1 1/2oz cocoa powder

6oz Castor sugar

3oz Sunflower margarine
3oz Unsalted butter (softened) 

3 Large eggs

3 Tablespoons of hot water.

1. Preheat oven to 140 degrees.

2. Lightly butter the muffin tray, it does not have to be silicone. Place in fridge to chill the butter. (This will help prevent the cakes from splitting when removing from mould.)

3. Gently mix together all the ingredients, except the water. Do not over mix as this will make the cakes stodgy.

4. Slowly add the water, whilst mixing, until a smooth paste is formed.

5. Pour the mix nearly to the top of the moulds.

5. Place in the pre-heated oven for around 35 minutes, or until the cakes feel springy to the touch.

6. Remove from oven. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes, then gently prise from tin/mould and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Coconut and Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

4oz softened butter
6oz icing sugar
2 tbsp Coconut milk or coconut cream
Seeds from one vanilla pod, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

1. Beat the butter and half of the icing sugar until smooth.
2. Add the rest of the icing sugar, beat again until smooth. Scrape the sides of bowl to make sure all is mixed well.
3. Add the Vanilla and coconut milk/cream, beat until very smooth.

Constructing the cakes
1. Once the cakes are cooled, using a sharp bread knife, carefully cut the tops off, creating a nice flat surface. Using cookie cutters/shapes cut stars, hearts, circles or whatever takes your fancy, from the cake tops.
2. Place frosting into a piping bag, or a freezer bag with the corner cut off, and generously pipe onto the cake. Then add your cut out shapes, dust a few with icing sugar and impress your friends with the finished pieces of art!


You can also use the cut-off tops sandwiched together with the frosting, as shown.

Many thanks to Julia England (@wannabefoodie76 on twitter, who also has a great blog A wanna be foodie!) for providing me with the basis of this recipe, general advice and all-round-good-banter!

Lollytastic!

Some of my twitter followers may be aware that I have recently purchased some vintage 1950's ice lolly moulds, especially Julia England (wannabefoodie76 on twitter), as Julia kindly bought my attention to the ebay auction, also the fact that she had forgotten her password and username, helped my cause no end!
These moulds are great, easy to use and the kids love them! So over the coming months and especially when Summer arrives I will be experimenting with flavours, textures and techniques, and hopefully bringing to you some amazing lollies!
Lolly moulds in all shapes and sizes are easy to find in most homeware shops, go get some!

Apple 'n' Cinnamon Ice Lolly.
A nice healthy easy one to start, and just three ingredients!
Ingredients
200ml of Pure Apple juice (as always, get the best that you can afford)
Pinch of ground Cinnamon 
A squirt of honey.

1. Place the ingredients in a jug, and mix well. (You may need to heat a little to get the honey to dissolve)
2. Carefully pour the mixture into moulds.
3. Place in freezer, being careful not to spill, and leave to set, around 3-4 hours.

Please adjust quantities to suit your moulds.

Pascale Saturday!

I have been watching "Baking made easy" on BBC 2, featuring Lorraine Pascale, and my lovely wife bought me her cook book that accompanies the series. So on Saturday it was "Official Pascale Day" in my kitchen, these are a few of her recipes that I tried. And I must say so myself they all turned out perfectly.
I wholeheartedly recommend Lorraine's book, and that you watch her show, its a hive of wonderful tips, recipes and yummyness!

First I made the sausage rolls, the instructions were so simple, and tasted divine, so much better than shop-bought ones.

I have been meaning to do my own bread without the aid of a breadmaker, for some time now, and I now wish I had done it ages ago, the Focaccia was a doddle to do, and it tastes like no bread I have ever bought before, really people you have to give this one a go.

Then I attempted the brandy snaps. These were not so simple, but in the end I think I mastered them, and they were scrumptious, crispy and fun!

MMMmmmango Ice-Cream.

This is great for kids and adults alike. Quick, easy and delicious.

I used a battery operated ice-cream machine, but if you do not have one, you can still create this.

Just place the ice cream mixture in a suitable freezer container that has a lid, and stir with a fork once every half hour, for the first four hours of freezing. This breaks up the ice crystals and makes for a smooth texture.

Also if you do not have a food processor, you can use a hand held blender and a big bowl. 

To add some bite to this, just before you place in the freezer add some fresh mango cubes. Luvly!

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe large mangoes. (must be soft to the touch and sweet!).
• 1 397g tin of condensed milk.
• 150ml of double cream.
• Juice of one lime (optional)

1. Cut around both sides of the flat stone inside the mango. Over a food processor bowl, scrape and squeeze all the flesh and juice from the mango, making sure no skin gets included. (There is a great video guide here to show you how its done.). 

2. Blend the mango flesh into a smooth puree. 

3. Slowly add the condensed milk, blending all the while, until its whipped and airy.

4. Pour in the cream, and if using, add the lime juice and mix until the mixture is smooth. I find this takes around 2 minutes. 

5. Place the mixture into your ice-cream machine and place into the freezer and turn on. Leave overnight, or until firm.

6. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Tinned Tuna & Onion Sushi Maki Recipe!

Just the word 'Sushi' seems to put many people off. And that is because they wrongly think that Sushi = RAW fish. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Sushi in fact means 'Rice that is vinegared with a topping of raw, cooked or marinated, fish, shellfish, meat, vegetables or egg.
Sushi comes in many forms, including bowls of rice with scattered fish, meat and veg, hand rolled sushi with a seaweed covering and stuffed sushi.
Sushi is one of the most healthy foods you can create, and its also very artistic and impresses every one who see's it!
Everyone should try sushi, if your not keen on fish, its great with cooked chicken, beef or veg, such as cucumber, carrot and peppers.
The key to good sushi, is most definitely the rice, get this right and everything else is easy!
And the ingredients are now readily available in most large supermarkets, or if you live local to me, try Janson Hong on Bridge Street in Peterborough, they have everything that you need at prices that cannot be beaten. Also you will need a bambo sushi rolling mat (Makisu).

Sushi Rice.
Ingredients.
300g (10oz) Japanese Sushi rice (no other rice will work)
330ml water
4 tablespoons of Sushi rice seasoning. (vinegar mixture)
2inch strip of Kombu (optional, but recommended)

1. It is very important to clean the sushi rice well, as this helps the rice to stick together. I find the easiest way to do this is to get a fairly large bowl fill it with clean cold water, and place the rice in a seive, and submerge it into the water, wash the rice thoroughly, and keep changing the water until it becomes clear and is no longer cloudy. Drain the water and let the rice stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. Put the washed rice into a heavy based saucepan, add the water and kombu (if using), cover with a close fitting lid. Bring to the boil over a medium heat until boiling, do not be tempted to lift the lid, listen for the boiling to commence, then boil rapidly for 3 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, remove from heat and let stand with the lid still on for a further 10 minutes.  Lift lid and throw away the Kombu (if using)
4. Transfer the rice to a large salad bowl (preferably plastic), I like to add a few drops of the vinegar mixture to the bowl beforehand and smear, this prevents the rice from sticking to the bowl. Spread the rice evenly in the bowl and slowly add the rest of the vinegar mixture a little at a time, whilst using a spatula in a slicing action (do not stir!) to make sure every grain of the rice gets coated.
5. The trick to really sticky rice, is to cool it very quickly, this can be done by fanning the rice, with a thin chopping board or a piece of card etc. You can speed the process up by spreading the rice on a large clean baking tray, then fanning it. It needs to be cooled to room temperature before you even attempt to use it.

Rolled sushi (Maki Zushi) shown on the left of the plate above.
Ingredients.
2 small tins of cooked tuna (preferably in spring water)
1 small onion (chopped very finely)
1 tablespoon of mayonaise
Juice of one lime
Pinch of salt.
4-5 sheets of Nori (rolled dried seaweed)
Wasabi (Japanese horseradish, optional)

Filling.
1. Drain the tins of tuna, and tip into a bowl, add the finely chopped onion, mayonaise, lime juice and salt, stir well.

Construction.
1. Lay your bambo sushi mat on a work surface and place one sheet of Nori, shiny side down on it. Dip your hands in vinegard water, to prevent the rice from sticking to them, form two handfuls of the rice into log shapes and place into the centre of the Nori. (see picture 1.).
2. Spread the rice evenly and gently over the Nori, making sure you leave a 1inch gap at the top, and also try and get the rice as close to the edges as possible. If you like a hint of heat, place a small squirt of wasabi on your finger and spread it gently in a line on the rice. You really do not need much of this stuff, so be warned!
3. Place the some of filling in the centre of the rice, in a long sausage shape, about 1.5cm high (see picture 2.). Now were ready to roll!
4. This is the fun part. Place your thumbs under the bambo mat, and lift the nearest edge to you, and gently tuck the closest edge to you in, making sure it goes over the filling, then bring the mat down and gently squeeze. Then lift the font edge of the mat with one hand, and push the roll forward with the other, so that the uncovered piece fo Nori, seals the roll. It should lot a little similar to a sausage roll. Easy. yeah??  =)
5. Flatten the mat out and tidy the ends of the roll. Set aside in a cool place, not the fridge, as this will dry the rice out. And do the same with the other sheets of Nori.
6. When all the rolls are completed, get a moistened super sharp knife and cut into slices.

Practice really does make perfect. You'll probably struggle the first time, but please, please do not give up. You will get it eventually.
   These are great with all kinds of filling, prawns, breaded chicken, raw tuna, peppers, cucumber, tofu etc.
They really are best eaten pretty quickly after they are made, but can be stored in a sealed tub at room temperature for a couple of hours max.
    The main photo also shows the same filling in a battleship sushi (gunkan maki) and vinegar prawn temari sushi. I'll show you these another time! =-)