coconut+raspberry cupcakes

1. cream 3/4 butter and 3/4 caster sugar.
2. add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

3. add 1 cup flour+1 tsp baking powder+2 Tblsps dried coconut, a little at a time.
4. drop into cupcake cases and cook for about 15 minutes at 180º C.
5. let them cool and then frost.

*for the raspberry frosting, cream together:
- 6 Tblsps butter
- 3 Tblsps raspberry jam
- 2 cups icing sugar

It's a happy combo, if I may say so myself. Just imagine it... coconut and raspberry... yum. If you happen to have fresh raspberries they would add prettiness and flavour, placed on top of the frosting.

Oh, do check out this sweet post.

lovely basic bread recipe*

Making bread from scratch made me go back to the time my dad made bread and pizza dough when I was a kid. I remember the aromas, the way he skilfully knedded the dough and how he always left it to rest and grow under the bed covers and blankets.

1. In a bowl mix: 2 tsps powdered yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1 cup warm milk. Let it stand for 5 minutes in a warm spot.

2. In another bowl mix together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 Tblsp olive oil. (You can also add herbs at this point if you like) Add the milk mixture and beat a little. Turn the dough over a floured surface and knead until it is elastic and soft. Put it back in the bowl, cover it well and lay it on a warm place. Let it rest and rise for about an hour. It should double its size and look as pretty as this:

[about 15 minutes before using your dough, preheat your oven]

3. Now you can either shape smaller balls, use as is or put it in a loaf pan. Brush the dough with olive oil and put it in the oven for about 17 minutes or until the crust is nice and golden.

Can you smell it? It's lovely and warm and...

... perfect just with butter!

I think I'll be doing a lot of this...

*adapted from Blue Cooking #10


[note: it's been 8 months since the last post!]

melt-in-your-mouth-salmon

My brother-in-law (who's a chef) taught me how to make this, although he didn't say exact proportions. It's the most delicious way I've ever had salmon!

:: salmon

:: black olives (seedless)

:: grated Emmental cheese

:: salt and olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to about 170 Cº.
2. Prepare a "paste" by grinding about 1 part cheese to 2 parts olives. (Taste it to see if the cheese isn't too overwhelming)
3. Sprinkle some salt on your salmon and drizzle with a little olive oil on both sides.
4. In a hot skillet, over medium heat, let the salmon sit for 1 minute on each side.
5. Lay your salmon on a heatproof dish and cover with a generous amount of olive+cheese paste. Cook for about 6 or 7 minutes.
6. Serve with a salad or mashed potatoes.

It's simply... delicious! And so easy!

oh-so yummy cinnamon rolls

Easy. Soooo yummy. Pretty. Sweet-smelling. Fun to bake. Need I say more?
I missed baking cinnamon rolls and recently I found this recipe by the lovely Emily, although hers are super pretty. Mine turned out bit wonky, but... who cares? They're delicious anyway!
These were baked to celebrate hon's good grade on a paper for his masters degree. :)

{dried tomato+basil muffins}

Miguel and Shana had brought us this lovely jar of dried/smoked tomatoes with herbs and I've been wondering about what to do with them...

Until I found a recipe on the Sep. '05 issue of Delicious (p. 88) for sun-dried pepper and basil muffins. I adjusted the recipe a bit, but here's how it goes...

::: 4 tbsps olive oil, plus a wee bit more for greasing
::: 250 g plain flour (I guess you could try whole, too)
::: 1 tbsp baking powder
::: 1/2 tsp salt
::: 50 g grated Parmesan
::: 30 g dried tomatoes, finely chopped
::: 10 g basil leaves, finely shredded
::: 150 ml milk
::: 1 egg, lightly beaten
::: black pepper (this I forgot!)
::: a bit of rosemary


1. Preheat oven to 180º C. Lightly grease the muffin tins with a little oil.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add some ground black pepper and rosemary. Stir in the Parmesan, tomatoes and basil leaves.
3. Pour in the milk, egg and olive oil. Beat with a wooden spoon until just mixed. Divide between the muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch.

Serve warm with a dollop (or 2!) of butter - this is actually real butter, made by this lady in a nearby town. I would have added some more salt and maybe some more cheese. But if your butter is salty, it's just perfect.

It's lovely with some soup! The soup is tomato+potato+onion+leeks+basil with some other herbs...

If you'd like to make your own sun-dried tomatoes at home, check these recipes here, here, here or here.

{thursday lunch}

::: couscous [with broccoli, carrot, corn, raisins, chopped pecan nuts, green pepper... seasoned with curry, vinegar, black pepper, salt, nutmeg]

::: beet and orange juice [an orange and a small beet, blended with a bit of moscavado sugar]

wednesday night dinner

Oh... what to do... what to do with a huge avocado from Grandma's backyard...?

How about some guacamole? I was wondering what to do with the avocado as it rippened and I saw this at Shana's blog. I also checked one of my favorite cooks for some recipes, like this one. and ended up with a mix of both recipes.

::: guacamole {half avocado, a bit of tomato, coriander, sea salt with mediteranian herbs, pepper, lemon juice, onion}

::: crab crackers
::: mango+honey soy milkshake

Easy Minty Hot Chocolate

Boil your milk with a generous amount of mint leaves. Mix some teaspoons of a favorite powdered chocolate (I used Cadburry's - the plainest one). Enjoy!Ta-da!

from christmas baking