| Cheesy Mac |
[01 Aug 2009|11:25am] |
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Cheesy Mac
1 large box large regular white elbow macaroni, cooked.
2 bags shreadded extra-sharp cheddar cheese.
2 cups whole or 2 % milk
1/4 stick butter, softened.
1 &1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour.
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper.
1 cup grated parmasean cheese
( Your Favourite Comfort Food....................Collapse )
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| Basic Bread Recipe |
[22 Apr 2009|05:06pm] |
this is a really basic bread recipe which is really versatile. i like to add basil and tomato paste or seeds. herbs and seeds are added to dry ingredients and wet ingredients like tomato paste should be added just before second proving. Ingredients 3 1/3 cups of plain/all purpose flour 2 teaspoons/1 sachet of yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/5 cups warm water (don't let it be hot as it will kill the yeast) Mix together all dry ingredients and stir to have a even mix. make a well in the centre and slowly add water and stir. put on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. grease the mixing bowl with oil/butter and put the dough back in and coat in the oil/butter, cover with a teatowel and put in a draught free place, for 45-75 minutes to prove (rise). once it's doubled in size punch the dough in the centre and knead again for 2-3 minutes. put in a bread tin and cover again and put out again to prove for 30 mins. brush it with water or oil/butter and place in the oven at 200'C/400'F for half an hour. once you take it out of the oven take it out of the tin immediately so it doesn't go soggy. take a look at my journal if you want more indepth instructions or photos to see the change in dough size after the first proving
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| Tomato pasta sauce recipe (bulk quantities) |
[11 Apr 2009|12:41pm] |
and an extra big dollop of apologies for the cross posting ( Read more...Collapse )INGREDIENTS- tomato paste you dont need much but i chuck the whole jar in so i can use the jar for sauce.
- tomatoes i go for 2 810g cans of tomatoes.
- olive oil
- herbs i use oregano, basil, paprika, salt, pepper, and the mystery jars that have no labels, sometimes curry powders or garam masala, cinnamon or nutmeg (in small quantities, it's got a pretty strong flavour). if you want to get creative chuck in some pine nuts. they can be expensive if you go using a whole box so i only chuck in a hand-full or so. but they add texture and make it a bit ... festive.
- garlic chuck in however much you want. depending on how much you want to chop. i go for a whole bulb but even 4 cloves will do. it also depends on how much you want to taste it i guess
- onions at least one but again, as many as you want. i tend to put in all my onions since its common for me to forget i have them and have to throw them out when they go all manky.
- other vegetables i throw in anything that has to get used before it starts to grow legs. but i can suggest olives, mushrooms, zucchini, tomato chunks, celery, carrots, capers, corn. seriously. ANYTHING.
- stock i use some vegetable stock an a meat stock, either beef or chicken, either OR neither will do depending on whether you're going for a non/meat version. with meat stock in, it means you get meat flavour without putting any meat in. meat can be pretty expensive so its a good way to get around spending more money.
- water this is going to be one of those important ingredients that you tend to forget about. just keep a mug of water handy. you'll need it.
- some music and a drink to pass the time
( Read more...Collapse ) here are a few shots of the pot at different stages of cooking. notice the line at the top of the pot that shows how much i let it boil away and then refill with water to the top of that big tomato smear.
 
i tend to let it cook for 3 to 5 hours so this is why i recommend music and using the time to clean. as long as you have the heat low and keep coming back to stir and check on it, you'll be ok to leave the kitchen. once you pour all the sauce into jars, leave about a centimetre at the top for olive oil. this will help it live longer in the fridge. use plastic jars if you're going to freeze them.
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