Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who can resist a chocolate chip cookie?
I ask you.
Who?

Certainly not me, or my children, or it turns out my team at work.

My husband actually found the recipe and then baked the cookies.
A Martha Stewart recipe was bound to be good.
Oh yes.

Here is the recipe, copied from Martha Stewart's website:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks or 230 gram) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius). In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaped tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the centre, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Notes:
I turned up my oven after the first batch to 190 degrees Celsius and then 10 minutes worked perfectly.
My batter yielded 45 delicious cookies :-)

Kids Food #18 - Chicken Drumsticks

Kids love chicken drumsticks.
I think it is because they can grab it with their hands and just eat it off the bone.
It is a little messy, but hey, I don't mind cleaning up after them as long as they eat their food and enjoy it!

I usually make a little marinade by mixing the following for about 4 chicken drumsticks:
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

Cover the chicken with the mixture and let it marinate for about an hour (or as long as you can really, I just never seem to have the time...).

Bake them in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) for about 45 minutes until cooked through.

Serve them hot or cold (good for picnics!).

Weekly Menu

DWZI - Little Block Town

I love my illustration class... last week we completed an assignment.

It all started with some building blocks with which we had to stage a little town.

Everyone in my class had their own ideas and interpretation of the assignment.

Here is my illustration:

Happy weekend everyone!

Egg and Potato Pie

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the lovely Easter brunch we had this year.
My friend Tip made a wonderful egg and potato pie from Sweet Paul Magazine.
She served it with a side salad and some bread.
It was perfect.
Scroll down to see the recipe.
I really hope you try it!

Recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large sheets of puff pastry
plain flour
1 large potato, thinly sliced
60 gram prosciutto (or any nice ham)
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
7 eggs

Serves 6 people

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and saute the onions and spring onions until soft
3. season with salt and pepper
4. roll out the puff pastry so that it covers an ovenproof dish. You might have to use two sheets
5. Use a little plain flour so the pastry does not stick to the surface
6. Layer the onions, potato, ham and thyme in the dish
7. crack the eggs and place on top
8. make some strips of left over pastry and place on top
9. bake until golden and crispy, about 45 - 60 minutes
Serve warm

Thank you sweet Paul :-)

Kids Food #17 - Tuna Fish Cakes

Last night we made tuna fish cakes.
I cannot remember which children's cookbook I found it in originally...  you know, I tend to take an idea and then just improvise. So forgive me for not being very exact with the measurements below.

Basically you boil 3 or 4 potatoes until nice and tender. Mash them real fine.
Now add a can of tuna, mix in 2 eggs and a handfull of finely chopped parsley.
Mix well and then form balls that fit nicely in your palm.
Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan and add the tuna cake balls.
Flatten them until they resemble a patty and cook about 3 minutes per side, until they are heated through and have a golden colour.

The kids liked them and the grown ups too.
Next time I'm going to experiment by adding things like peas, corn, spring onions, etc.
Yummy!

Easy Shortbread

My husband just cannot resist baking cookies. I think it comes from the fact that his grandmother was a master cookie baker. She would bake for her family, the church and the whole neighbourhood.

A quick and easy shortbread recipe on Nigella Lawson's website seemed like the perfect cookie to make, mostly because it required very few ingredients... (3 to be exact!).

It was a big success. Clearly he has his grandmothers genes.
And now the usual battle is raging for me to resist eating more than one. Resist, resist, resist.

Here is a link to the recipe on Nigella's website.

Makes 10 - 12


INGREDIENTS
150g plain flour
100g margarine or butter
50g castor sugar

METHOD
Preheat oven 160C, Gas mark 6.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Gradually mix in the flour. Using your hands knead the mix together into a smooth ball.
Roll out to about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out your shapes and place on baking tray.
Bake for 10-15min. Sprinkle with a little sugar while they cool.