Lemon Blueberry Yoghurt Loaf

I have always been obsessed with lemon cake, lemon syrup cake, lemon yoghurt cake, and all of the above.  I found this recipe totally by accident on pinterest.com and decided to make it because we had lots of blueberries in the freezer, and just that morning I had picked some lemons off our recovering tree (Mum had hacked away so much foliage that it didn't have any fruit for ages, but now it's bouncing back beautifully!).  Plus my cousin was staying so I wanted to make something special and yummy for us to all enjoy.

The hardest part about making this loaf was the waiting.  Waiting for it to cook.  Waiting for it to cool.  Waiting for the syrup to soak in.  Waiting for the glaze to harden.  Meanwhile it smells and looks AMAZING.  And surprisingly, all the baking, syruping and glazing wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be, since I like simple recipes with few steps.  But gosh, this was worth all the steps.  Honestly.

INGREDIENTS
 

For the Loaf:
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup  yoghurt (plain, or lemon flavoured)

1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 & 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:
1 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
 

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
• Line one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with baking paper.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. 
• Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 
• In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour.
• Fold them very gently into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack, keeping it on the baking paper.

• While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. 
• Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. 
• Remove from the heat; set aside.
• Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. 
• Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. 
• Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. 
• Let the cake cool completely.

• To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. 
• Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. 
• Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. 
• Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

OK, so I know in the past I have gone on about my detestation of lemon zest (see all my lemon poppyseed muffin attempts...) but honestly, I don't think it's as bad as I thought.  I barely noticed it at all in this loafy cake thing.  And WOAH was it amazing.  Seriously.  SO lemony.  I LOVE it.  I'll definitely be making this again.

My family enjoying it!

 

For this one, we didn't have plain yoghurt, but we had lemon flavoured yoghurt, so I used that, and I think it made it just that little bit more lemony.  AMAZING.  And the blueberries were little bombs of juicy flavour, and hand-staining colour.   I recommend eating with a fork.  It's quite a moist loaf too, so eating with hands is almost silly.  And the glaze, once it's dry and hard, makes a sugary lemony crunchy outer layer that is just incredible.  I cannot gush enough about this cake.  OMG.  It hasn't lasted long... 

Recipe Inspiration: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/05/15/lemon-blueberry-yogurt-loaf/

Curried Lentil Soup

Ok so I've been slack since being back at university and haven't had much of a chance to try my recipes, but I did manage to make this one a few weeks ago!  I just haven't had time to sit down and write about it until now!!  Plus I'm a procrastinator haha.  Took my time.

Anyway, I have a thing with lentils at the moment.  Curry and lentils, just so satisfying.  Love it.  I wanted to try this soup, and we'd had a leek in the fridge to use for a wee while (something we don't normally have in our vege drawer) so I made this on a Monday (I don't have class on a Monday, so I'm able to cook because I'm home!) for meat-less Monday!

INGREDIENT

4 cups water

2 chicken stock cubes

2 medium potatoes

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz.)

1 & 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

2 medium/large carrots

1 large onion

1 big leek

1 cup dried lentil

2 garlic cloves

4 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

dried thyme

pepper

salt

METHOD

 

• Wash and finely mince the leek (cut into quarters lengthwise, fan the leaves apart and run under water to clean)
• Peel and finely mince carrots and onions.  Grate the garlic cloves. 
• Heat 2 tbsp oil and cook onions and carrots for about 5 mins
• Meanwhile you've got 5 min to peel and mince the potatoes
• Once the onions are 'sweating', add the leek and garlic and cook for 3 more minutes
• Add 4 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, and 1 & 1/2 tbsp tomato paste, and cook for 1 more minute
• Add the cubed potatoes, lentils, diced tomatoes, water, chicken stock cubes, a good pinch of salt and pepper, and some dried thyme to taste.
• Stir well and bring to the boil
• Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes until lentils and vegetables are well done
• Check the seasoning, and serve!

This soup was delicious and warm and comforting.  Loved it!  Served it with roti, and it was just like being back in Malaysia.  Will definitely be making this one again!!!! :)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/curried-lentil-soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I LOVE BROCCOLI.  There is absolutely nothing like fresh broccoli, steamed to perfection.  None of this frozen rubbish if I had my way!  However, I will not hold it against you if you have not got access to fresh broccoli, and choose to use frozen florets for this recipe - but I will not be held accountable for the soggy outcome!   

Imagine my delight when I saw that broccoli was majorly on special at the supermarket this week... combined with the 3 cheeses Mum and I had picked up (Gruyere, Edam and Tasty - also Parmesan, but I decided not to include Parmesan in this soup because I have other plans for it!)... It was SOUP time!  I've had this recipe up my sleeve for a while, and had just been waiting for the right time to use it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, diced

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup butter (I used about 250g, if that's an easier measurement!)

pepper to taste

4 cups milk

4 cups grated cheese (I used a mixture of gruyere, edam and tasty cheddar)

lightly steamed broccoli (quantity up to you!)

1 carrot, cut into thin sticks

crusty bread for dipping

METHOD

• In a small covered pan, simmer chopped onion and chicken broth for 15 - 20 min, stirring to prevent onion sticking to the bottom, until onions are soft

MEANWHILE...

• Heat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes
• In a medium sized stockpot, melt butter, then add flour and pepper
• After a few minutes, whisk in warmed milk
• Stir and heat together on medium0high heat until soup starts to thicken
• Add the chicken broth and onions, stirring well until blended
• Add carrot sticks (you may like to pre-steam/cook these, depending on how much crunch you like in your soup!) and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often
• Add cheeses, one handful at a time, allowing the cheese to melt between each handful, and stirring well!
• Add steamed broccoli
• Cook, stirring constantly until you are satisfied with the consistency of the broccoli (some like it soggy, some still like a bit of crunch - it comes down to personal preference!)
• Serve immediately, with crusty bread for dipping!

What can I say.  You KNOW my obsession with the dark green vegetable, and who doesn't LOVE cheese.  Srsly.  To put this simply, without using expletives that my mind keeps urging me  to use, it was like A GIANT BOWL OF STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF THE MOST AMAZING CHEESE SAUCE EVER.  Did caps lock make my point?  I am SUPER in love with this soup.  So SMOOTH (the soupy bit, not counting the veges) with crunchy-ish carrots and broccoli, accompanied by amazing baguette (insert French stereotype here).  

WOW.

Go make it.  Now.  I don't care if it's summer where you live.  You need this soup. 

Although as a side note in tiny tiny writing, possibly not the healthiest soup?  I mean yes, it has vegetables, but honestly... all that cheese and half a cup of butter?!  It's definitely a "special occasion" recipe, not a weekly one!

Recipe Inspiration:
http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384
http://www.acooksquest.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/87-broccoli-cheese-soup.html#more

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

In honour of my mum's birthday yesterday, and also because I finally found the recipe I used to use all the time, I made some brownie muffins.  Really, it's just brownies, but instead of a big lump of brownie to be cut up, I make them in muffin tins because it's easier to deal with!  I love having the portion controlled for me in a muffin size! :D  

Argh why is this picture coming out sideways?  Does anyone know how to fix this?  Leave a comment if you do!

I LOVE this recipe, because it's super easy to make, and the brownies are always hugely chocolatey, and dense and moist and *drools* ok, so we get the picture, I love them.  However, they aren't the healthiest, this recipe uses heaps of butter and eggs and sugar, but oh my, it's totally worth it!  And if you wanted to kick it up a notch in the heart-attack stakes, serve it warm, with vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce, and you've got an amazing dessert right there!  Seriously, it's like mud cake.  

I can't rave enough about this recipe, you all just have to try it.

INGREDIENTS

250g butter

1 & 1/2 cups castor sugar

1 & 1/4 cups plain flour

1/8 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup good dark cocoa

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla essence, but this is optional)

chocolate buttons/chips/berries to top

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C (fan forced)
• Place butter and sugar in a microwave safe jug, cover and microwave for 3 mins (800 watts).  Sugar should not completely dissolve
• Meanwhile, sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a large bowl
• Make a well in the centre and add eggs and vanilla
• Pour in the butter mixture and gently mix until well combined, but do not over-mix (lumpy is good!)
• [EDIT] Put into square (or round) flat silicone dish - just found out that it makes them even better than in muffin tin omg.
• Place chocolate buttons/chips/berries on the top of mixture
• Bake for 20ish mins until just firm.  Stab with a toothpick - when it comes out clean, they're ready!
• Allow to cool for 10 mins before removing from the dish

INDULGE.

Seriously my favourite brownie recipe ever.  (Thank you, Tupperware... haha!)

Tender Beef Brisket

I've been putting off writing about the brisket I made, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I think I'm getting a bit tired of writing.  Not tired of cooking, just the writing bit.  It takes me about half an hour to do each post, and I've been too busy cooking to sit down and write about it! ;)  Plus, I often write when the TV is on in the background etc. and I've been finding that way too hard... so I need to make time to sit down without TV, just with some good music playing softly so I can concentrate on what I'm saying.  Otherwise it's all jumbled and can easily not make sense!!

Anyway, back to the food.  Brisket is a cut of beef (from the neck, I believe) where there is a lot of marbling in the meat, so you have to cook it looong and sloooow so that it melts the marbling stuff and the meat falls apart.  I've mostly associated brisket with Jewish cooking in the past, and I've never cooked it before and had no idea where to start.  I think this Jewish stereotype comes from The Big Bang Theory possibly, where Howard's mom is legendary for her brisket.

I searched on Pinterest for brisket recipes, and came up with two possibilities I could use.  First was one that used an entire bottle of ketchup mixed with a packet of onion soup, and baked slowly for 4 hours.  The second one is the one I used.  I chose it because I liked that it used a range of ingredients (while still being simple), and I didn't trust the simplicity of the first one.

INGREDIENTS

1 brisket (we used 1.1kg, which is smaller than the original recipe suggested, but it was still good - lots of sauce!  They said around 1.8kg)

2 large onions

2 medium carrots

10 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef stock

salt and pepper

baking paper and tin foil

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
• Season the brisket with salt and pepper and place in a LARGE glass/ceramic oven proof dish (9x13 size, the original recipe suggests)
• Top with diced onion, carrots, and garlic cloves, and sprinkle with some more salt and pepper
• Pour over tomato juice, beef stock and wine, making sure it comes up at least halfway on the brisket; if not, add some more broth(the size we used was small, the sauce covered the whole thing! LOL)
• Cover with a rectangle of baking paper that sits just inside the edges of the pan
• Cover the dish tightly with tin foil
• Put in the oven and leave for 3 & 1/2 to 4 hours
• Remove from the oven and take off the covers carefully (watch out - the sauce bubbles madly!)
• Use tongs/fork to make sure the meat is tender (it will come apart easily along the grain of the meat if it is!), and cut into 4 or 5 manageable chunks (if brisket was whole to begin with) and let cool slightly
• Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook at a high simmer for 5 - 10 mins over medium-high heat, to cook off any remaining alcohol, and to reduce and thicken the sauce for more concentrated flavours, stirring occasionally
• Mix 3 tablespoons cornflour with 3 tablespoons cold water, and add to the sauce to thicken more if necessary
• Put the sauce and brisket back together, and serve!

So this turned out like a casserole, and it was delicious.  We ate it with potato bake and steamed green vegetables - broccoli and peas.  In the sauce, the wine wasn't overpowering or anything, and the garlic cloves were like little nuggets of gold hidden among the meat!  The onion and carrot was a nice change in texture, and the meat itself melted in my mouth.  Delicious!  Going to make this again if we ever get another cheap cut of brisket!!

Recipe Inspiration: http://tummyrumblr.tumblr.com/post/4988668577/pimpin-aint-easy