Rice Pudding

I sometimes like to cook rice or pasta and keep it in the fridge in covered containers for use in meals over the next couple of days - that way, if we're in a hurry I can throw something together quick like pasta salads, burritos or some quick fried rice to go along with a steak or juicy pork chops, along with anything else that I've already allocated the rice or pasta to.  Three cups of that rice found it's way today into some creamy rice pudding for hubby.  I say for hubby, because quite frankly I've never really liked rice pudding, no matter whether it's from a can or homemade, but hubby LOVES it, so I thought I'd give it a try :o)

Rice Pudding
4 servings (this will keep Dean happy for the next couple of days :o)

3 cups cooked rice (I used jasmine today)
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

• in a medium saucepan bring the cooked rice and milk to a boil.
• reduce heat to a simmer and add all the remaining ingredients.
• simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced and it has reached your preferred consistency.
• serve warm or cold;  Dean likes it plain, but add raisins or even a dollop of jam if you like.
• keep any leftovers in the fridge in a container or covered with plastic wrap touching the surface so that a skin doesn't form.

 Rice Pudding ingredients.

bring the rice and milk to a boil.

add all the other ingredients.

simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced to a creamy consistency.

serve warm or cold.

a spoonful of creamy goodness - or so Dean says :o)

Easter Biscuits

Even though we now live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and have embraced the differences in food and culture and all the other things that make this wonderful country different from England, every now and again I like to bring a little bit of 'the old country' back into my kitchen.  These buttery, subtly flavoured biscuits (yes, biscuits, not cookies :o), bring back sooo many memories of Easter growing up as a child.  Variations of these would be in EVERY bakery and grocery store in the southwest of England, as I'm sure they still are, and they would come out as dessert most nights around the Easter holidays.

Easter Biscuits
makes 30-35 biscuits

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
4-6 Tbs milk
3/4 cup raisins

• preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• in an electric stand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter for a couple of minutes until smooth.
• add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Stop and scrape the sides down halfway through.
• mix in the egg yolks and vanilla until incorporated.
• in a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon.
• add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
• while the mixer is running on low, pour in the raisins and enough milk to form a fairly soft dough.
• on a floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out biscuits using a 3" scalloped cookie cutter;  arrange about 2" apart onto cookie sheets.
• lightly beat the egg whites until frothy and brush over the tops of the biscuits;  sprinkle a little white sugar over the tops if wanted.
• bake for 12-15 minutes - they will stay fairly pale in colour.

 Easter Biscuit ingredients.

separate your eggs.

beat the butter until smooth.

after you've beaten the sugar into the butter add the egg yolks and vanilla.

in a separate bowl whisk the flour, salt and cinnamon.

mix the dry ingredients into the butter mix and once incorporated add the raisins and milk until....

....a soft dough is formed.

on a floured surface roll out to 1/4" thickness.

cut out the biscuits using a 3" scalloped cutter, re-rolling the scraps to make about 30-35 biscuits.

place on cookie sheets, brush with slightly beaten egg whites and sprinkle with sugar.

bake for 12-15 minutes, let cool on the sheets for a couple of minutes, transfer to wire racks and...

enjoy with a nice mug of coffee.

Hot Cross Buns

In just two short weeks it will be that time of year again when, regardless of your religious beliefs behind the celebration, the more secular customs of fluffy bunny's and colourful eggs will undoubtedly find their way into your life, somewhere, somehow - even if it's only being bombarded with images of it all as you make your way around Walmart!!

I'm sure I'll be making some Easter cookies with you all very soon (after all I do have a new 'egg' cookie cutter which I haven't used yet), but as requested from my hubby, the first Easter treat had to be hot cross buns.  Since moving to Canada we have yet to find a hot cross bun in any bakery or grocery store that doesn't contain, in varying quantities, the colourful green and red candied fruit that seems to be the norm over here.  Coming from the UK where usually only raisins or currants are added, we just haven't quite been able to succumb to the chewy little additions.  This is a recipe that I've adapted from the wonderful Dinner With Julie website, and they're pretty close to what we've been used to growing up;  flavourful, sweet, a little denser but very yummy!!
So, these are especially for you honey.....enjoy :o)

Hot Cross Buns
makes 12 buns

Dough
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup raisins, currants or whichever dried fruit you like

Paste for crosses:
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water

Glaze:
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water

• place the yeast, a little of the sugar and the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
• add all the remaining dough ingredients to the yeast mixture and using the dough hook on your mixer, blend everything on low to medium power for about 5-7 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic ball of dough.
• remove the hook from the dough and leaving it in the bowl, cover with a tea towel, place in a warm place and let it rise for approximately 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
• once risen, divide the dough into 12 balls and place them into a 9"x13" baking dish or onto a cookie sheet.  Depending on whether you prefer the 'pull-apart' buns or individual ones, space them from each other accordingly.
• cover again with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot until doubled in size again - about 30-45 minutes.
• preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• meanwhile prepare the paste for the crosses;  in a small bowl combine the flour, sugar and water.
• place the paste into a small ziploc bag, cut off a small piece of the corner, and 'pipe' crosses onto each of the 12 buns.
• bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
• combine the sugar and water in a small bowl for the glaze.
• while they're still warm in the pan, brush the tops with the prepared glaze and after a couple of minutes transfer them to a cooling rack.  The Easter celebrations have begun....

 Hot Cross Buns ingredients.

let the yeast, a little of the sugar and the milk stand for 5 minutes for the yeast to become active.

add all the other dough ingredients...

and mix for 5-7 minutes until you have...

a ball of smooth, elastic dough.

leave the dough in the bowl, covered for 1 hour (you'll see that the sides are nice and clean where everything has been kneaded well).

divide the dough into 12 equal portions and forming balls, place into a 9" x 13" baking pan.

after letting them rise for another 45 minutes or so, prepare the 'cross' paste ingredients.

put the paste into a small ziploc bag, clipping the end to form a small hole.

pipe crosses over the risen buns.

bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and then brush with the glaze mix.

(oh, and by the way, your kitchen will be smelling divine!!!)

Stuffed Peppers

Today was the kind of day that found me standing in front of my fridge and trying to decide what to do with anything that was fast approaching it's 'life as we know it' date.  I found half a bag of bell peppers in the bottom crisper that I had forgotten were there, and one was just beginning to get a little patch of that 'wrinkley' effect as they start the downward spiral towards the compost heap, but they were plenty fresh enough for these stuffed peppers that I decided to make with them.  I like this recipe because you can basically add any spice or flavour that you feel like and they'll usually turn out delicious.

Stuffed Peppers
makes 4-6 servings

4-6 bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can (19 fl oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice (uncooked)
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce
a few dashes of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
1 cup grated cheese

• cut off the tops of the peppers;  remove the membranes and seeds;  sprinkle the insides of the peppers generously with salt.
• put the peppers, upright, into a baking dish and set aside.
• in a large skillet on medium to high heat, saute the onions and ground beef until all the pink has gone.
• add the salt and pepper, diced tomatoes, water, rice, worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce to the browned beef and mix thoroughly.
• reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, approximately 15-20 minutes.
• by the end of the simmering period most of the liquid should of been absorbed.
• add the grated cheese and mix until melted and combined.
• preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• spoon the beef mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells up to the top edge and pack down well.
• bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes until the peppers have softened slightly and the tops are browned.
• these are quite substantial on their own, especially if your peppers are large like ours were, so I just served them with some homemade garlic bread.
• I only had 4 peppers left in the fridge so I popped the remainder of the beef mixture into a container and froze it.  We'll use it either in more stuffed peppers, or even possibly as a filling for burritos.

 Stuffed Peppers ingredients

chop the tops off of your peppers and place them into a baking dish ready to be stuffed.

saute the ground beef and onion until no more pink remains.

add all the other ingredients, except the grated cheese, and combine thoroughly.

once it has simmered most of the liquid away, add the cheese and mix.

stuff the pepper shells well, and bake for 25-30 minutes.

alongside some soft garlic bread.....deeeeeelish!!!!

No Knead Bread

I love making my own bread, whether it's a simple white sandwich loaf or grain and fibre packed artisan rolls, I just love it.  Years ago I used to make it completely by hand, from mixing the ingredients to kneading it until my arms felt like wet noodles, but now, unless I want that upper body workout (which trust me, is never!), I use either the bread machine or stand mixer to do all the hard work.  I have to admit I don't like to bake it in the bread machine very often - my machine produces a fairly uniform 'cube' loaf which gives you big slices, whereas I like the smaller slices that a loaf tin will give you - so I usually mix it in the bread machine and give it that first 'resting' in there and then I'll punch it down and transfer it to a loaf tin to rise and bake in the oven.

When I came across this recipe from Michael Smith (I was actually watching an episode of Chef at Home), I loved the idea of how easy it all seemed to be, with nothing more than the simplest of ingredients, the least amount of effort and a LOT of time.  It may seem a long time to have to wait for that scrumptious loaf of bread that you're craving but take my word for it, it's well worth the wait.

No Knead Bread
makes 1 loaf

4 cups bread flour (I like to do half white, half wholewheat, but use whatever you have)
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups warm water
splash of vegetable oil

• in a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast and salt.
• add the warm water and mix, using a wooden spoon, until all the flour mixture is incorporated:  1 to 2 minutes.
• cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 18 hours;  the dough will double in size and bubbles will form under the surface.  If you pull the surface slightly using your finger you'll be able to see the long gluten strands that have formed naturally from the long resting period.
• 'punch' the dough down and toss it, in the bowl, with the splash of vegetable oil to coat it.
• transfer it to a 9" x 5" loaf tin, leave uncovered, and let it rest in a warm place for another 2-3 hours to double in size again.
• preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.
• (from the photos below you'll see that I didn't use a normal loaf pan this time.  I used a pan that I think is called a 'milk' loaf pan - correct me if I'm wrong.  I brought it back from England on one of my last visits, and it works great for this recipe).

 No Knead Bread ingredients.

put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.

pour in the warm water...

...and mix to incorporate all the dry ingredients - it will be very moist.

after 18 hours of being covered in a warm place it will have doubled in size and you'll see bubbles under the surface.

after all that resting time the dough will have created the long gluten strands needed for wonderful bread.

punch the dough down, toss with a splash of vegetable oil and transfer to a loaf pan.

this is my 'milk' loaf pan - when bread is baked the ridges make it really easy to slice.

comes out golden bread and yummy.

airy, light, slightly chewy.....delicious!!!