Cook the Books - July

 

July has been marginally better than June for cooking/baking new recipes. I seem to have lost motivation for trying new recipes, I still enjoyed looking at lots of lovely cookbooks and ideas, but then revert to the quick and easy family favourites.

Week One:
Seeing as I had a s surplus of lemons I made these Lemon Snowflake Cookies, from a recipe I pinned a while ago to my Delicious Board on Pinterest.  They suggest using a small ice cream scoop of dough per cookie, I used a  heaped soup spoon.

Verdict:  Mine didn't seem to spread as much as the ones pictured in the recipe, but they were delicious, tangy and chewy and very edible.

Week Two:
 Leanne (QuiltmeKiwi) was coming to visit me, and deliver my sister's Bird Dance Quilt.  As a long time reader and commenter on my baking related posts, I thought I had better try a new recipe out on her.  I made Danish Dream Cake from Phillipa's Home Baking,  a new book I got out of the library. This is a light sponge type cake with a caramel coconut topping, relatively easy to make with ingredients I had in the pantry.

Verdict: We all enjoyed this, Miss B couldn't get over how light the cake was.

Week Three:  Nothing new was cooked

Week Four:  A beautifully fine but cold weekend, makes you want to snuggle up by the fire with a yummy dessert.  With the rhubarb in my garden still growing well, these delicious looking
 Sugar-crusted rhubarb and apple pies were calling my name.

Verdict:  Absolutely scrumptious, they weren't too fiddly to make, and will definitely become a favourite rhubarb recipe in my collection.

Here's to August, the last month of winter for us, hopefully I will be more inspired to cook and bake.

Cook the Books - May

Week One:  Miss B's birthday meant cake and a nice dinner.  She wanted something international for her main course and a cake that was not too rich or sweet.  I made a Massaman curry from My Underground Kitchen, very yummy and not overly hot or spicy.  Her birthday cake was a Feijoa Lumberjack cake, a recipe which popped up on facebook helping us to use our excess feijoas.

Verdict:  Both were absolutely delicious, and I think the curry will be come a regular in my winter comfort food repertoire.

Week Two: Friday is normally Feed yourself Friday in my house, however I had not worked that day, and after a yoga session then the rest of the day doing some house work and gardening, I needed sustenance.  All I could think about was risotto, luckily my AWW Rice and Risotto book had a nice simple recipe that I had all the ingredients on hand for - Lemon Risotto . I was able to read and sip a chardonnay while continuously stirring.

Verdict:  I really enjoyed it creamy, cheesy and the lemon juice we drizzled over the top took the richness off it.  General consensus was that it tasted like a more deliciously rich macaroni cheese, and I could make it again, just not when Mr J is home.

Week Three: Was a write off in the cooking department, I cooked quick tried and tested one pot meals all week, no inclination to try anything new.

Week Four:  Finding a recipe that used up my limes and the buttermilk sitting in the fridge was a fortuitous find. Lime Syrup Buttermilk Cake from my AWW Cookbook - Classic Cakes is a good fallback for when I need something, and this recipe  was nice and easy to make, and the fresh lime scent as I grated zest was a bonus.

Verdict:  Moist and delicious,  especially slightly warm from the oven.  Yes I would definitely make this again.


Lets see how June goes, and whether I'll be all inspired to be creative in the kitchen after my trip to Australia,  I'm hoping to come home with some baking ingredients we can't get in New Zealand.

Cook the Books - April

Week One:  Fresh grapes and freshly picked rosemary.  A nice simple Focaccia recipe from here.

Verdict:  Why did  I ever wait so long to make this.  Just make sure you start it when you are not starving already.

Week Two:  Autumn obviously brings out the bread maker in me.  Because The Scout, Miss B and Mr J weren't going to be home for Easter, I decided to do some Easter baking a week early.  From Chelsea Winter's  book, Scrumptious, I made Chelsea Bunny Easter Scrolls.  Lightly spiced, and with a chocolaty (I used quite a bit less that what the recipe said too) fruity filling, these were simple if somewhat time consuming (while waiting for dough to rise) bun to make.

Verdict:  I didn't glaze them as we are still trying to not add too much extra sugar to our food, however this did not affect the taste at all.  They were a big hit, and I would definitely make them again.

Week Three:  Chocolate was in order after a week of work stresses . This recipe for Chocolate Custard Cake was in the April edition of delicious magazine.  It features in Valli Little's new book My Kind of Food. A very easy dessert to make. Lots of very similar recipes available on the internet.

Verdict:  It looks rich and decadently sweet, but it isn't, which was a nice surprise. Not a hit with Mr J, who doesn't like anything custard (we told him it was a mousse) but the rest of us enjoyed it.

Week Four:  Feijoa season means buckets of the fruit given to us by our neighbours.  While we all enjoy them raw, it is nice to try different ways of using them.  This recipe for Feijoa and Custard Crumble Tart was actually one that fortuitously popped up on my Facebook page .

Verdict: Not really a difficult recipe to make, we all enjoyed it warm for afternoon tea, including Mr J who didn't realise it had a custard filling.


Due to lack of interest in the Cook the Books Link up, I will not be continuing it, however Cook the Books posts will still carry on as usual for at least the rest of the year.

Cook the Books - March

Week One:  Baking was required for the lunchboxes, this was a recipe my sister sent me - Milo Slice.  A very quick easy slice to prepare and cook, and as a bonus it didn't need icing - not that I have anything against icing, it just meant it was quicker and easier to prepare.

Verdict: Not overly sweet, you don't really taste the milo at all, chewy and crunchy - yes this will be made again, hopefully by one of the kids.

Week Two:  A recipe from a a website download,( though now I've lost the link) I thought I'd try for Miss B who is doing her Sugar free month (by this we basically mean no added sugar) - Banana Oat Bliss Balls - very quick and simple to make, all the ingredients were pantry staples.  A little sticky when rolling, but I think all bliss balls are.

Verdict:  They're nice, I didn't feel the need to eat more than one, however Miss B has been enjoying them as a sweet treat, and would make them again.

Week Three: After most of the month having rushed meals, and not always with everyone present, I decided that we were going to have a leisurely sit down at the table as a whole family and have a nice Dinner on Saturday night.  I had a Pork leg roast in the freezer, which was duly hauled out, skinned by the The Scout and plonked into the crockpot to make a slow cooked Tex Mex Pulled Pork.  The recipe is from Annabel Langbein's Winter  Goodness Annual, I had to adapt slightly as I didn't have a jar of chipotle peppers in adobo Sauce, so I used chopped capsicum and chipotle sauce.  The house smelt divine while this was cooking.  Half the cooked pork was frozen away and the remainder used for Pork and Black Bean Enchiladas - the recipe also from the same book.

Verdict:  Definitely a make again, nice to have some of the meat cooked and frozen ready for another meal too.  I just need to find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for next time I make the recipe.

Week Four:  With half of the family suffering from autumnal colds, I thought a hearty one pot meal was called for.  Baked Risotto with Chorizo and Cherry Tomatoes. Containing onion,  garlic, chicken stock -  all the good things for colds, this is an old recipe from the Australian Woman's Weekly  dated 2009, that had been clipped and stuck into one of my notebooks.

Verdict:  Everyone liked this and as a bonus there was just enough left for me to take to work for lunch the next day.  Unfortunately it didn't prevent me from catching the cold germs!!

April brings Easter, a birthday and school holidays.  Hopefully yummy baking too.

Please feel free to link any Cook the Book endeavours in the linky below, I would love to see what new recipes you have been trying.

Cook the Books - February

Week One:  A birthday always means cake, Mr J's birthday was no exception. As pieces also get taken to school for lunch box treats, I decided not to make anything too rich or inclined to melt in the summer heat we have been enjoying.  I made him Chocolate Chippy Cake from Annabel Langbeins Celebrate Summer Annual.

Verdict:  I found the cake a little dry, but I may have cooked it a little too long.  It was a hit with The Scout, and of course the birthday boy.   I especially like the vanilla icing.

Week Two:  Life has been pretty hectic with school, work and of course all the after school activities that start again.  Finally on Friday afternoon, I managed to get some baking done.  Again a recipe from Annabel Langbein's Celebrate Summer - Peanut Crunch Slice.  This was a very simple and quick recipe to make, the most time consuming part was probably chopping the peanuts.

Verdict:  A nice slice, though mine was a little crumbly due to the fact I misread the size of the tray it was meant to be cooked, meaning the base was a little thinner. Enjoyed by everyone, and I completely forgot to take a photo until it was all gone.

Week Three:  My sister had been raving about the Moroccan Chicken and Apricot Salad from Chelsea Winter's  book, Homemade Happiness.  Nicely flavoured, with apricots, nuts, herbs and lots of different spices in the chicken marinade.  A creamy yogurt dressing tops it all off.

Verdict:  Not too bad, it possibly could have done with a little more salt and if I had read the recipe properly and used spinach instead of assuming it was lettuce, it may have tasted a little different too.  Mr J not overly impressed with the Israeli Couscous,   Maybe next time I'd try it with orzo too.

Week Four:  Plums that needed to be used up, and a fortuitous recipe find on facebook, led to me creating Plum Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Super simple to make, even the wafers were easy to create.

Verdict:  I would recommend making this the day before you intend to serve it, my ice cream was slightly more semi-freddo than solid.  Still very yummy and it received rave reviews from all the family on a hot summer evening.

I think next month's meals maybe a little different as I try to help Miss B in her quest for a sugar free month.  Interesting times ahead.

Please link up your Cook the Book endeavours in the linky below - would love to see what you have all been up to.

Cook the Books- January

Week One:
I was given a large bag of grapefruit just before Christmas, and thought I had better use them.  Not wanting to make marmalade, I went searching the Internet for a Grapefruit Sorbet recipe.  A lot of them require an ice cream churn, luckily this one  - Grapefruit and Mint Sorbet, only needed a food processor.    A reasonably quick sorbet to make, I doubled the quantities which may be why it took a little while to set.  I would also advise tasting your grapefruit juice prior to making it, mine were rather sweet as I discovered after I had mixed the mint syrup into the juice, so I possibly could have reduced the sugar or maybe added a little lemon juice to give it a little more tang. I also removed all the mint leaves from the syrup, rather than pureeing them up.

Verdict:  Very refreshing, you get a subtle grapefruit finish after the initial mint taste. I am quite glad my family are away this week and I get to enjoy it all to myself.

Week Two:
Requiring sustenance for our hike, I made Banana Blueberry Muffins from my old faithful Alison Holst Muffin Cookbook.  I have often made blueberry muffins or banana choc chip muffins from this book.

Verdict: A moist muffin they were a perfect energy boost after all those steps, still think I prefer plain Blueberry muffins though.

Week Three:
Looking for ways to use the glut of cucumbers I had just picked and freshly harvested beetroot, I resorted to some recipes from my pinterest board.  This Thai Cucumber Salad was an easy salad to make, and luckily I had all the ingredients on hand.   The  Raw Energy Beetroot Salad was an easy make, my only gripe was the recipe didn't state how many servings, so The Scout and I have had it for a few meals.

Verdict:  The Cucumber Salad was a perfect accompaniment to the Thai Chicken Curry and rice we had for dinner that night. Refreshing after the heat of the curry.  Definitely a make again. Yes I will make the beetroot salad again, just when I have a lot of people over for dinner to use it up.

Week Four:
I'm going to cheat here,  and use a meal The Scout cooked while we were away camping from his book New Zealand Back Country Cooking.  He made a delicious Kransky and Pumpkin Risotto from scratch, with a lot of stirring done by the rest of us.

Verdict:   Filling, warming and very tasty, definitely a must have on regular hiking/tramping trips.

This month I am introducing a linky, so that you can link up your Cook the Book endeavours. Simply create your blog post, hop back here and add your link, and remember to link it in your blog too. Looking forward to seeing what you have concocted in your kitchens.

An InLinkz Link-up

Cook the Books - December

This is going to be posted before the end of December, so I can have a relaxing Christmas Break and be all refreshed and inspired for the New Year.

Week One:
December means Christmas baking.  Chelsea's Christmas Cookies from her Scrumptious book were first up.  Quite a simple recipe, the icing was yummy. meant to have silver cachous, but I only had these coloured ones which I thought were very festive.

Verdict: Well needless to day these didn't last long.  They are delicately spiced, deliciously chewy a day after they are made.  These will probably be made again before Christmas.  In fact I might put Mr J and Miss B on the job when they finish school.

Week Two: If a surprise 70th  birthday party isn't an occasion to test some new recipes, I don't know what is.  With my sister over from Australia, we cooked and baked for the event.  Three new recipes were tried:

• Real Raspberry Louise Cake from Scrumptious
• Lemon Tarts - from the family cookbook my sister made 
• Roast Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

Verdict: All the food was eaten, so I think that means everything was a success.

Week Three: A morning tea at work saw me making Raspberry and Chocolate Coconut Ice from  Cuisine Magazine issue 161, while a surplus of old bananas got used up in Best Ever Banana Bread from Annabel Langbein's Celebrate Summer Annual.

Verdict: Fiddly to make, I used raspberry essence which gave a nice flavour but not the colour, so had to add pink food colouring. If I had felt like splurging on my work mates, possible the dried raspberry powder may have been a better option.  The banana bread was a nice easy recipe, it makes two loaves which is very handy with an almost teenage boy in the house, tastes delicious too, I added chocolate chips, cranberries and coconut from the suggested list of ingredients.

Week Four: I always make a dessert to take to the in-laws for Christmas Day.  This does prove to be a challenge in itself, as my mother in law is allergic to dairy and chocolate!!  A pavlova is my standby dessert (she can scrape the cream off) - this year I am planning to make Coconut pavlova with mango and passionfruit from issue 120 of the New Zealand Taste Magazine.  I'll try to get a photo before it's served up.

Overall I think I did pretty well managing to try new recipes each month, definitely easier in the beginning of the year.  I ended up getting 3 or 4 new cookbooks too during this time, so probably neglected some of my older ones which I should have used,

I guess the big question now is do I keep this monthly post going in 2017, are you all still interested in reading about my cooking endeavours? Would anyone be interested in doing it with me, perhaps if we link up each month (if I can work out how to do that).

Cook the Books - November

Week One:
After discovering I enjoyed Chelsea Winter's newer cookbooks, I checked out from the library one of her earlier ones - Everyday Delicious.  Needing to do some baking for school lunches, I made
Banana Bran muffins, which used up all the old frozen bananas I had in the freezer.

Verdict:  A nice moist muffin, not overly sweet, delicious warm with butter.

Week Two:
Birthdays always require a cake or two.  Again Chelsea's books came to the rescue:

• Coconut Lemon and Passionfruit Cake - from Everyday Delicious - this looked as though it was going to make an enormous cake, so I divided the recipe and made two  good sized cakes.  One for work and one for the kid's lunchboxes.
• Crazy Italian Chocolate Cake  - from Scrumptious, an utterly decadent treat, this cake is dairy and egg free,  Very moist and dark and the chocolate icing/ganache was sublime.  

Verdict:  Of course they will both be made again.  I may try using a different oil instead of olive in the chocolate cake, and I know now not to leave the chocolate icing in the fridge too long to cool it down for spreading.

Week Three:
Something savoury for a change.  Butter Chicken Rice Pie - this was another of those recipes ripped from a cooking magazine and stuck into that giant note book I have.  I did manage to find the recipe online though - so if you are interested in making it - here it is.  I don't have saffron, so add about 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric powder in the water as I am cooking the rice to get that lovely golden colour.

Verdict:  This recipe was well worth finding, and will definitely be made again for the family.  A little spicy from the chilli powder, but really delicious, with subtle hints of cinnamon.

Week Four:
Yes another Chelsea Winter recipe from Everyday Delicious - Oaty Apricot Slice.  I was concerned at how the apricot topping would set, but it does firm up in the fridge.

Verdict: Not really suitable as a slice for the school lunchboxes, I think the apricot topping would be a bit of a disastrous mess after a couple of hours sitting in there.  However it made  nice dessert, not overly rich or sweet.

December means the beginning of summer and lots of Christmas cooking and busyness, Here's hoping I try some new recipes and not just the good old tried and true, never fail options.

Cook the Books - October

So much for all my healthy fresh salads this month.

Week One:
Holiday baking, so chocolate is the preferred (necessary) treat of choice.  This recipe actually popped up on my Facebook page, and knowing that we are a family of Chocolate  Mint fans, I thought I would give it a go.

Verdict: A little bit faffy to make with the different layers, but very delicious.  My kids both thought it tasted like the Chocolate Mint biscuits we buy as a treat.

Week Two:
Baking for back to school morning teas, was in order. Using my Homemade Happiness book again, I made Delicious Date Loaf.  It made quite a lot of batter, so I used two smaller loaf tins for this recipe.
Verdict: Lightly spiced, moist inside and a lovely chewy crust, this was delicious still warm with slightly melted butter.

Week Three:
Having seen numerous recipes in various books and internet sites for Freekah salads, I finally found some in my supermarket.  Not having things like pomegranates on hand I ended up googling ways to use it and found this salad.  I added some raisins and walnuts to it, and omitted the celery because I didn't have any.

Verdict:  Nice with a hint of smokiness from the way freekah is roasted after harvesting.  I don't feel the urge to stock up on freekah, and could probably easily substitute quinoa, brown rice or burghal in this.

Week Four:  My new Chelsea Winter cookbook , Scrumptious is very inspiring.  Lots of delicious recipes, so far I have made three of them.  Caramel Apple Cake, Snickalicious Slice and Sausage Pumpkin Pasta Bake.

Verdict: Mr J reckons this cake was made to be a dessert, preferably with ice cream, though he was happy to eat it any time.  The Snickalicious slice has been a big hit,  not overly sweet, but rather rich and definitely not everyday baking  I am also thinking this is best hidden away from my family and kept as a 'me treat'. The Sausage Pumpkin Pasta Bake was delicious too, another big hit with the family, it made enough for two nights.  Of course all  will be made again.

Lets see how healthy November will be ......

Cook the Books - September

September has been a rather slow month in the kitchen.  Food has been cooked, but it has all been basic, lets feed the family quickly stuff.  It was not until the middle of the month I finally made something new,

Week 2:
Finally had the time to try making marmalade using the orange limes I was given last week.  I looked at lots and lots of recipes, who knew there were so many different ways to make marmalade. Eventually I decided on Three Citrus Marmalade, substituting the grapefruit for limes.  It was fiddly in respect of the peeling, chopping and trying to separate as much fruit flesh from the pith as possible.  In hindsight I probably could have chopped the zest in the food processor.

Verdict: Looks like marmalade, albeit a soft set one, smells like marmalade, tastes like marmalade, not as sweet as bought marmalade, but we like it.

Week 3:
A little baking was in order, especially as I was taking the sweet part of lunch to my sewing day.    So what did I make?  Salted Peanut Caramel Slice -this I recipe I ripped out of  a magazine, however it was acknowledged as coming from the New Zealand Cafe Cookbook.

Verdict:  A delicious, not overly sweet caramel slice.  Quite a quick recipe to make, my only gripe was that quite a bit of the base crumbled off as I was slicing it up.  Could be the cook's fault not a recipe fault though.  Yes I'll make it again too.

Week 4:
After a busy week of quick meals, I finally had a night where I didn't have to rush anywhere so cooked a nice dinner for the family.  Chicken and Chorizo Paella from My Underground Kitchen.

Verdict: Quite delicious, filling not super spicy at all. A new family favourite.

Now that daylight savings has started, I am wanting salads and fresh flavours, instead of winter comfort food. Lets see what October has me making then.

Cook the Books - August

Week One:
Something a little different this week, Turmeric and Ginger Latte from Annabel Langbein's Winter Annual #4.  This actually makes about 2 cups of chai base, which you then add to hot frothy milk when required. Miss B and I sampled this one day when she was home, sick from school.

Verdict:  A warming drink full of anti oxidants, makes a change from tea and hot chocolates.  The remaining chai base gets kept in a jar in the fridge ( up to two weeks) and used when needed.

Week Two:
Finally the Chelsea Winter book Homemade Happiness arrived for me at the library.  So many lovely recipes in this, that I have succumbed and redeemed some Flybuys points for my own copy.  I thought I'd try the Golden Oat Cookies for school lunches.

Verdict:  I made mine a wee bit smaller than the golf ball size she suggests so got 36 instead of 20. Crunchy and tasty and all from ingredients readily available in my pantry. I am thinking that maybe the rest of this month's Cook the Books recipes will come from this book.

Week Three:
I am still thoroughly enamoured with my new Chelsea Winter cookbook, so this weekend I tried out two recipes.

• Best ever Chocolate Chip Cookies 
• Way better Devilled sausages

Verdict: Again I made my biscuits smaller than her recommendation, but next time I would definitely double the mixture, They are crisp and chewy and caramelly - everything a chocolate chip biscuit should be.  The devilled sausages were fabulous, subtly spiced, a rich flavoursome sauce -definitely a make again dish, though it does take a little time to prepare and cook.

Week Four: Another Chelsea Winter recipe - this time Sesame Chicken, served with rice and steamed greens.

Verdict:  Everyone loved this, though Mr J and the Scout thought it would have been better served without the steamed greens.

Week 5:
Back to my Annabel Langbein Winter Annual #4 - this time for Baked Spanish Chicken.  I served mine with a paella inspired rice from the book My Underground Kitchen.

Verdict:  A big hit, though The Scout and Mr J need to develop a taste for olives.  Luckily they didn't notice the chopped capers.  Yes the cooking dish gets a little messy, but it cleans up easily enough and is worth it for the delicious crispy spicy chicken.

Luckily Chelsea Winter's new book isn't out till the end of September, so I have a month to cook from some of my other still unused books.