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.

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!

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.