My carb addiction

Oh my do i have a carb addiction anything with carbs in it is my friend. I have another friend who shared her version of 5 minute bread and yes its official im addicted.

I whipped a batch of this up on Tuesday as well and i will say i think we need a new fridge so I can have a container of this stuff in the fridge at all times. it would be great to whip something up for after school snacks,lazy dinners, sunday lunches or for when those friends drop by unexpectdly at midnight.

So far with this I have made sweet chilli scrolls, ham and pickles scrolls and last night and todays lunch were yummy pizzas topped with chicken capsicum onion and fresh tomatoes sprinkled with cheese.






The basic recipe for this is

6 cups of warm water
3 satchets of yeast
3 tblspoons of salt
3 tblspoons sugar

Add all into a big container that has a seal on it.

Mix in 13 cups of flour

leave on the bench for 2 hours
refrigerate for a further 3 hours

then use as desired.

Cook in a hot oven. I use the bottom element on my oven so the base cooks properly also.

make sure you have a tray of water in there for steam as well.

For the scrolls i rolled out into a rectangle shape added the sweet chilli sauce and cheese then rolled it up like a sponge and cut it into sections. After about 10 minutes i added more cheese to the top these took about 20 minutes to cook

For the pizza bread i sprinkled polenta on a tray. Rolled out the dough to about 1" thick then added my toppings. It also took about 20 minutes to cook.

ill add pics and recipes for different ways to use this as i try them out.

Bright Bickies

I made these on Tuesday in my baking frenzy that im having at the moment. Also another recipe that has been borrowed.Im not 100% happy with the look of them.I added extra flour as the dough seemed a bit wet so i think they dried out a bit too much. next time i make these i think ill try and roll them into 1 big log and just cut them like that.

Play Dough Cookies
3/4 C butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
assorted food coloring (gel or paste works best)
...

1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Divide dough into Fourths. Tint each with a different food coloring. Wrap in plastic and chill for two hours. (I stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes because I hate to wait!)

3. Preheat oven to 350. Shape colors into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie place one pink, one orange, one green, and one blue ball together and roll to make one giant ball. Roll into a 12 inch long snake, and then starting at one end coil roll to make a cookie. Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet to allow for spreading.

4. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.Enjoy!

The start

Ive decided that even though i have trouble maintaining 1 blog i would start another to post all my recipes. I love to cook and sew, so its only fitting that this shall be the place to store my recipes. Lots of them borrowed, some are mine that are variations on others and hopefully some will come from any readers interested in sending me some.

Ive had a very productive week in the kitchen starting with a cake i made for a gorgeous friend whos little boy turned 1 on saturday. They love frogs so i scoured the internet for pictures of frogs and came up with this one.



And just because i love my kids and think theyre cute i thought id add a pic of them




A friend gave me the recipe for the buttercream that I used. it is perfect for darwins humid conditions and it stood the test of time. I used unsalted butter for the trial run but for future uses i will buy lightly salted butter.

Ingredients:

(this makes enough to cover and decorate a 8″ or 9″ cake, and about 15 reg cupcakes)

3 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

(use white sugar for traditional buttercream, or brown for a caramel version)

150g butter, softened to room temperature

(cube the butter and blitz in the microwave at 7 seconds shots on high power to speed up the process. It is important that the butter be very soft but not melting. Also, tradition calls for unsalted butter but I’ve used salted on occassion and dare I say it, I like it even more. Do use the best butter you can afford. I often splurge on French butter, with the highest butterfat content I can find)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla or any flavoring you want

food coloring, if desired

You need a small saucepan. Find a stainless steel bowl that fits over the saucepan without sinking so low as to touch its bottom. The bowl should rest on the rim of the saucepan. Set aside the bowl and bring some water to boil in the saucepan.





2. While the water is boiling, carefully seperate the egg whites with clean, dry hands into the clean, grease-free stainless steel bowl that you are going to place atop the saucepan or double boiler. It is easier to seperate eggs when they are out of the fridge and cold. Add the sugar and whisk lightly to combine.





3. When the water comes to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. Using oven mitts, carefully place the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. The idea here is to give the whites and sugar gentle heat from the steam of the simmering water, to dissolve the sugar.





4. Stir the contents of the bowl lightly with the whisk. Stir continously because you do NOT want the whites to get cooked- that would give you very yucky bit of scrambled egg in your buttercream. And make sure you keep a hold on the bowl. Remember to keep on those oven mitts.. the bowl gets hot! Stir the whites until they get foamy and very very warm to the touch. To check the teperature, and to see if the sugar is dissolved, dip your -clean- thumb and forefinger into the mixture. It should be very warm and when you rub your fingers together, the mixture should be smooth and not have any grainy sugar crystals. This should take about 4 minutes from the time you place the bowl on the saucepan.





5. Once the whites are ready, remove the bowl from the saucepan and wipe the condenstaion off its bottom. Turn off the flame. Now it’s time to whip the whites. Get your electric beaters, or whisk attachment if you’re using a stand mixer, ready, making sure they are clean and free of grease and water.





7. While the whites are still warm, start whisking them, first at a low speed to allow them to froth up and then slowly moving up to high speed.





8. Whisk the whites until they have tripled in volume, are glossy and hold stiff peaks when you lift the beaters up.





9. Add the softened butter in tablespoonfuls. Beat until thoroughly combined before adding the next tablespoonful.





10. The previously shiny and stiff meringue will now look disastrously soupy. Do not despair. This is normal.





11. Now, is the time to place your faith in the kitchen gods (they do exist you know). Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it thickens. This can take anywhwere from 7 to 15 minutes, sometimes even longer. Ever so often, scrape down the bowl with your spatula. If you’re using a stand mixer, you want to do this step with the paddle attachment on medium speed.





12. As much as you may think it impossible, the mixture will and does thicken and comes together to become that fluffy concoction we know as buttercream.





13. Now, at this stage, you can add vanilla, flavoring and/or food coloring to the buttercream. Add in small amounts and blend in with the beaters on low speed. The frosting can be used immediately, or if the weather is very very hot and humid, bung the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes to stiffen up the buttercream before using. It also can be refridgerated for 4-5 days in a clean, airtight container. If storing in the fridge, let the buttercream soften at room temperature for about an hour, and then whisk or beat until it becomes fluffy again before using.