Herb and Garlic Spirals

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: "Espirais de Alho e Ervas"

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp chives, finely chopped

2 tbsp mint, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 sheet puff pastry

Preheat oven to 200ºC. In a bowl combine herbs, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread herb mixture over puff pastry surface and roll it up. Cut slices about 1cm thick and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Roasted Chickpeas

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: "Grão-de-Bico Tostado"

1 can (830g) cooked chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp cumin seeds

½ tsp coarse salt

Preheat oven to 230ºC. Rinse chickpeas under running water and pat dry on a paper towel. Mix olive oil with spices and salt and drizzle over chickpeas. Toss well to combine.

Spread chickpeas on a baking tray in a single layer. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove from oven and spread over paper towels. Serve warm or cold.

Zucchini and Cheese Muffins

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Muffins de Courgette e Queijo”

These muffins make a great snack. They are light, nutritious and tasty.

¼ cup wheat germ

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp sal

½ tsp pepper

100g butter, melted

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line 18 muffin tins with baking cups. Toast wheat germ in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Remove to a medium bowl and add flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together butter, milk and eggs. Stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Fold in zucchini and 2/3 cup cheese.

Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 18 minutes until golden and when a toothpick is inserted it comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Chicken and Vegetable Pie

 Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Bolo de Frango com Vegetais”

Dough:

2 cups milk

2 cups flour

2 tsp cornstarch

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp tarragon

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Filling:

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced

½ cup/50g peas, cooked

¼ cup/25g corn, cooked

¼ cup/25g carrots, cooked and diced

200g ricotta cheese, broken into small pieces

½ cup/50g olives, pitted

Place all the ingredients for the dough in the thermomix bowl and set 15sec/speed 4. Set aside.

In another bowl mix all the ingredients for the filling.

Pour half of the dough in a rectangular greased pan. Spread the filling over the dough and then pour the remaining dough over the vegetable filling. Place in a pre-heated oven at 180ºC for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

Tuna Spread

 Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Patê de Atum”

1 can tuna

2 hard-boiled eggs          
¼ onion, finely minced

2 tbsp mayonaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Drain tuna and place in a plate. With the help of a fork mash it to small flakes and place in a bowl. Mash the eggs and add to the bowl. Add onion, mayonnaise and season to taste. Serve on small toast as a starter or use as spread on toast with a leaf of lettuce.

Snake

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Serpente”

This snake is very easy to make and with the help of your kids it will be a lot more fun! You’ll need:

A sheet of puff pastry

Mustard

Ham cut in small cubes

Grated cheese

Oregano

Olive

Pickle

Milk

Green food colouring

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC.

Cut puff pastry in half lengthwise. Spread mustard all over and place the ham cubes all along the pastry leaving a margin all around. Sprinkle the grated cheese and oregano.

Roll over the pastry overlapping the ends and giving it a log shape, keeping the ends underneath. Shape the head and tail and bend slightly to form an ‘S’. Cut the olive for the eyes. In a small bowl place 2 tbsp milk and 1 or 2 drops of food colouring. Brush snake completely with milk and place in the oven for 20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven. 

Take a slice of pickle and cut out a triangle to make a forked tongue and place it in the snake’s mouth.

Mummies

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Múmias”

To make the mummies you will need:

A sheet of puff pastry

Hot dog sausages/wieners

Mustard

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC.

Spread mustard over the pastry and cut a few strips using the wider side of the sheet. 

Roll the strips of pastry around the sausage leaving an opening for the eyes. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. With a toothpick dipped in mustard make the eyes.

Witch's Brooms

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Vassouras de Bruxa

To make these appetizers you will need:

Slices of cheese 

Pretzel sticks

Chives

Cut the cheese slices in 4 equal parts, then cut strips leaving a 1 cm margin on the top. Roll the cheese around the stick and secure with a thin chive.

Ideas for Halloween

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Ideias para Halloween”

Halloween is just around the corner so lets get started! Following are recipes I prepared to share with you. Hope you like them!

"Snake" (click for recipe)

Made of puff pastry, ham and cheese it's a sure winner among kids!

“Eyeball Soup” (click for recipe)

Lychees, grapes, jelly beans and jelly are the ingredients for this “soup”.

 “Old Hag's Fingers” (click for recipe)

Made of cookie dough, the sight of these fingers will make you think twice before biting into them…

"Mummies" (click for recipe)

Made of hot dog sausages wrapped in flaky pastry - kids will love them!

 “Witch’s Brooms” (click for recipe).

Made of cheese and pretzel sticks, these brooms make great appetizers everyone will like!

"Frankenstein's Feet" (click for recipe)

A simple meatloaf with a creepy shape!


Let’s have fun with Halloween!

Croutons

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Croutons

  

These small cubes of bread go exceptionally well on salads adding a crunchy bite, in soups or you can have them as a snack – really good!

 3 cups of bread cut up in cubes

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp parsley, very finely chopped

¼ tsp pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC. In a small pan mix all the ingredients (except bread) and put on a low heat to melt and blend. Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the bread with the oil mixture and toss a few times in order to coat the cubes evenly. Spread cubes on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for a further 10 minutes until nice and golden. 

Stuffed Tortillas

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Tortilhas Recheadas

You can stuff tortillas with whatever ingredients you prefer. I particularly like this combination I’m sharing with you. Hope you like it as much as I do.

1 recipe “Mexican Tortilla Flatbreads” (check the blog archive)

1 recipe “Asian Chicken” (check the blog archive)

 1 recipe “Garlic Sauce” (check the blog archive)

1 carrot, grated
½ head of lettuce, cut in strips

Place a tortilla on a plate and spoon some chicken onto the center. Layer some lettuce and carrot on top. Dollop generously with the garlic sauce. 

Roll the tortilla with the seam down, or…

…don’t, and leave it open pizza style, or…

…place another tortilla on top – quesadilla style (but without the cheese), or…

…fold the bottom tip upwards, then the left end to the right, and the right end overlaying the left end resulting in a sort of funnelled envelope. Wrap the bottom part with a paper napkin to help secure the tortilla and make it easier to handle. 

Waffles

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Waffles

These waffles are soooo good!! I don’t even need the chocolate syrup or ice-cream, I can have them just like that! But of course if there’s chocolate syrup in the house who am I to deny myself such a treat… right? Also what I like is they’re really easy to make. This recipe makes quite a few, around 10 but it all depends on the size of your waffle machine. Anyway when we manage to have a few leftover, I just freeze them and that way I always have waffles on hand. To thaw them I put some chocolate syrup over it (yeah, here I go again with the chocolate syrup!) and place it in the microwave for around 30-40 seconds. It comes out thawed and warm and so does the syrup. Then I just spoon some ice-cream over it and I’m good to go! You can also pop them into the toaster for a couple of minutes.

Try out my recipe and then get back to me, I’d love to know how it turned out.

1 ¾ cups/210g flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

3 eggs separated

1 ½ cups/350ml milk

6 tbsp/90g butter, melted

Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl. In another bowl mix the egg yolks along with the milk and add the butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and combine gently. The batter will still have a few lumps. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold quickly into the batter until just barely blended. Heat the waffle iron until the indicator shows it is ready to use. 

Put the batter into a jug, then pour enough batter onto the bottom plate to cover about ⅔ of the surface. Close the lid and cook for about 3 minutes. The waffle will be ready when steam stops coming from the sides and the top will lift off easily.

Serve with chocolate syrup (get my recipe here), maple syrup and/or ice-cream or any other topping of your choice. Enjoy!

Pancakes

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Panquecas

1 cup flour

¼ cup bran

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tbsp butter, melted

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients. In another bowl beat the egg slightly, add the milk and butter and mix. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix lightly. The batter will still be lumpy. Heat a non-stick frying pan and pour enough batter to make a pancake. When the surface begins to bubble turn it over and continue cooking for about a minute. Serve with chocolate syrup (check my recipe here), maple syrup, ice-cream or any other way you fancy!