OATMEAL AND RAISIN COOKIES, WITH A ZIMBABWEAN TWIST!

Question-it's a hot summer's afternoon, you have a surplus of oats and raisins, what to do?  I'd been wanting to bake oatmeal and raisin cookies for a loooong time (grandma cookies, my sister calls them), so I finally had the chance to today.  With my mother trying to be more health conscious, I found that I had to alter the recipe that I'd found for them.  Alas, without any wholewheat flour, I improvised with what I had-mealie meal(hence the Zimbabwean twist:).   The result?  A tasty, chewy cookie that we didn't feel guilty about eating!`

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup mealie meal
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon mixed spice(optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk*
A pinch of salt

EQUIPMENT:

2 large bowls
Whisk
Measuring cup
Spoons-teaspoons and tablespoons( you're gonna need a lot!)
Spatula
Baking sheet
Ice cream scoop(optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1.  Mix together the flour, mealie meal, baking powder and salt.  Stir in the mixed spice.
2. Beat the egg until fluffy.  Melt the coconut oil in the microwave, then add in the honey, sugar and vanilla.
3.  Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture and combine well.
*If your dough is a little too stiff, you can add the tablespoon of milk.
4.  Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.  Grease a baking sheet, or line it with greaseproof paper.
5. Using your ice cream scoop(or tablespoon), scoop out the mixture and place it on the baking tray, about an inch apart.
6.  Place it in the oven, and let them bake for 10-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.
7.  Let them cool in the baking tray for about 5 minutes, then put them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. Eat!

SIDENOTES:

-non-stick spray also works very well in greasing the baking pan.
-I usually start preheating the oven only when I'm done mixing the dough: the oven will be hot enough by the time I put the mixture in the oven, and I get to save some electricity in the process.
-to avoid my baking pans from rusting, I wash them as soon as they come out of the oven, and pop them back into the oven so that they completely dry out.

AWESOME AVOCADO SALAD!

Summer is my favourite season for a lot of reasons: beautiful weather, a chance to break out my mini-dresses, reading outside on the grass, and avocadoes.  My parents planted two gigantic avocado trees-one inside the yard, the other just outside our gate.  We don't even have to climb up to get them- we just wake up in the morning, grab a dish, and pick avocadoes off the floor. There's even avocado mush in the driveway coz we always run over them.  Long story short, there are a LOT of avocadoes at our house.  And I love putting them in a really tasty salad:)

INGREDIENTS:

I large avocado
1 large tomato(I used two, but my family said it was tomato overload, so I dialed it down to one)
Feta cheese for an added kick
1/2 onion
Oil (for best results, use olive oil, but ordinary vegetable oil works fine too)
Black pepper
Lemon juice
White vinegar
Salt

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Slice the onion really fine(large chunks of onion will be off-putting).  Boil some water, and soak the onions in the water for 5-10 minutes.  This will get rid of most of the sharp, oniony taste.
2. MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE: Mix 2 tablespoons of oil with 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.  Add in a pinch of salt, and about a teaspoon of black pepper.
3. Wash and cut the tomatoes into thick chunks-I usually cut the tomato in half, cut the halves into halves, and slice them lengthwise.
4. Peel and chop up the avocadoes into chunks as well.
5.  In a salad bowl, add the avocadoes and tomatoes.  
6.  Drain the onions and add into the salad bowl.
7. Crumble the feta and sprinkle it on top of the salad.
8.  Finally, add the vinaigrette, and done!

For a family that isn't adventurous when it comes to food, my family actually liked this salad, even the inclusion of the onion.  Try it out-I'm sure you'll enjoy it:)

YUMMY COFFEE CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

I love cupcakes.  Small, cute and really yummy, they're also a way for me to practice portion control, rather than cutting a huge slice of cake.  Whenever I make cupcakes, it's usually chocolate or vanilla, but honestly coffee cupcakes are my favourite.  They've just got such an awesome kick to them!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
60 ml oil
250 ml milk
2-3 teaspoons coffee dissolved in water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
A pinch of salt

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Sieve the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a whisk to incorporate some air.
3.  Add the oil to the egg, then beat some more.
4. Add the milk, vanilla essence and coffee to the egg mixture, and mix well.
5. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.
6.  Now this is the part that really counts-beat the batter to avoid little clumps of flour popping up in the mixture.
7.  Switch on your over to 190 degrees Celsius.
8.  Line your cupcake tin with muffin cases or spray it with non-stick spray.
9.  Fill the cupcake tin with the batter, then place in the oven to bake for about 20-30 minutes.
10. When they're done, simply pop them out of the tin, and enjoy!

StoveTop Banana Bread Pudding

Before winter came(I live in the Southern Hemisphere), I was all over jelly and pudding for dessert.  Now that the temperature's dropped, those cold treats leave me shivering.  So, I fell in love with bread puddings. Quick, yummy and very satisfying on a cold night, these have become a favourite at my household!

INGREDIENTS:

I banana, cut into thin slices
3-4 slices of bread, or 2 hamburger rolls
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons sugar(white or brown will do)

EQUIPMENT:

1 small pot
Whisk
Wooden spoon
Knife and cutting board

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1. Beat the egg with the whisk, then add milk, sugar, banana and vanilla essence.  Whisk until combined.
2. Cut the crust off the bread and cut into cubes.  If  you're using rolls, then just cut into cubes.
3.  Put the pot on the stove and add the egg mixture.  Stir in the bread, making sure that the bread is soaking up the custard.
4.  Stir continuously until the mixture starts to get thick.  At this point, you can add some more milk if it's too thick.
5.  Leave it on the heat for a few minutes until it just starts to bubble, then take it off the heat.
6. Dish into bowls, grab a spoon and enjoy!

PAN FRIED POTATOES

I really love potatoes.  You can fry them, roast them, bake them, mash them-they taste good every single time.   My whole family's potato crazy, so this recipe really comes in handy when I want to cook potatoes but don't want to closely monitor the pan.  Easy, tasty pan fried potatoes that you're sure to love and cook again!


WHAT YOU NEED:

A good frying pan.  Don't use a non-stick pan.  A deep frying pan is also a good choice if you're making a lot of these.
Oil- you'll need 1/4 cup, minimum.
6 large potatoes
Onion and chopped garlic(this is optional-I add them coz they gives the potatoes more flavour)
Black or white pepper
Cold salted water.


HOW TO MAKE:

1. Peel the potatoes and wash them thoroughly.
2.  Chop them into small pieces-this reduces the cooking time.  Make sure they're all roughly the same size.
3. Leave the potatoes in the cold salted water for a few minutes.
4. Drain the potatoes thoroughly, and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
5.  Heat up the oil in the pan.  Make sure it's nice and hot before you add the potatoes.
6.  This is the time you chop the onion and garlic.  Chop them finely and add to the drained potatoes.  Mix them well.
7.  Season the potatoes with the pepper and some salt.
8.  Put the potatoes in the pan.
9.  This is the part where you wait.  Check the pan every 5 minutes to make sure nothing's burning.  If you'd like, you can toss around the potatoes so that the ones on the bottom don't turn black.
10.  After they've fried for about 10 minutes, cover the pan with a lid.  This will make the cooking process go faster.
11.  When the potatoes are almost done, take the lid off.  This will help them get nice and crunchy.
12.  When they're done, place the potatoes in a colander or sieve to drain off any excess oil
13. And Voila! Your potatoes are done:)

SIDENOTES:

-to avoid splashback(you know, when that burning hot oil flies at you), slide the potatoes into the pan, rather than putting them in straight.  If you're not sure how to do this, it's easy: get the bowl close to the pan edge, then using your hand, slowly push the potatoes in.
-you can eat these on their own, or you can add a little gravy.
-other additions include mixed herbs, curry powder(for some extra bite) and paprika.
-please excuse the quality of the pictures-working on getting a new camera:).  Plus, by the time I could finally find my camera, I'd already done the dishes and they were in a lunchbox.

Easy Peasy Vanilla Pudding

SUPER EASY VANILLA PUDDING RECIPE

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't like instant pudding-the kind that comes from a box.  The texture is weird, it's way too much to finish on my own, and I end up throwing away a whole bowl full of pudding.  In short, a waste.  So one day, I decided to make my own pudding-one whose portions I could control, as well as texture and taste.  The result is a quick, easy and tasty dessert that everyone in my family loves.

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons sugar( adjust to your personal preference)

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon butter or margarine

METHOD:

1.  Put the milk in a saucepan and heat until bubbles start to appear on the surface.

2.  Mix together the sugar and cornflour, then add a little milk to the mixture to make a paste.  This will prevent lumps forming in the pudding.

3. Take the milk off heat and add the sugar cornflour mixture, stirring fast to prevent lumps from forming.

4.  Put the milk back onto the heat and stir briskly, preferably with a whisk but a wooden spoon will do.

5.  When the mixture has thickened, switch off the stove and take the saucepan off the heat.  Stir in the vanilla and butter. 

6.  Pour the pudding into individual dishes(I used little teacups because our dessert are way too big).

7.  Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.  

For garnishing, you can put some shaved chocolate of fresh fruit.

Little Tips:

If the pudding isn't as thick as you would like it to be, add some more cornflour a teaspoon at a time.  Blend the cornflour with a little milk first, then add it to the pudding.

For this recipe, brown sugar works just as well as white sugar.

For a chocolate pudding, mix in 1 tablespoon cocoa powder with the sugar and cornflour.