Carrot and Leek Soup - Recipe

Carrot and Leek Soup

After all the eating over Christmas a bowl of freshly made soup is perfect.

Lets be honest some gadgets we purchase aren't going to get used as much as we would like but hubby and I love this soup maker.  From thinking about making soup to serving up takes all of 30 minutes and my new kitchen toy is definitely one of the best gadgets I have in my kitchen.

Hubby needs to lose some weight, I don't believe in diets, and making bowls of warm, comforting soup will be a great way to eat loads of veg, it will be filling and low in calories too.

I love this soup and if you are fed up with the usual Carrot and Coriander then why not give this recipe a try.

Conventional Recipe but can be made in a soup maker
450g leeks
450g carrots
1 medium onion
25g vegetable oil
1.5 litres stock
Seasoning

Clean and wash the leeks, chop, place them into a colander and wash under running  Peel the carrots and cut them into smallish pieces, chop the onion.

Add the oil to a large saucepan, add the vegetables. Stir, cover and ‘sweat’ them for 10 minutes on a low heat, shake the pan from time to time.

Pour in the stock, add seasoning, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the carrot is tender.  Liquidise the soup.

Any leftover soup can be frozen either in zip lock bags or by filling the holes in a silicone muffin tray with soup, freezing and then removing the muffin size portions of soup, as a rule of thumb a couple of these make one serving.  If you have an induction hob it's easy to defrost the portions in a pan on a low heat or defrost in the microwave.

Frozen portions of soup

More recipes:
Spicy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
Mushroom Soup
Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Seeded Bread with Melting Camembert - Breadmaker Recipe

I've absolutely no idea why I decided to line my Camembert Baker with baking paper, it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Afterwards I realised it was a rubbish idea.....I couldn't take a decent photograph of the bread because of the paper and we had  to fight to get the Camembert off the baking parchment because the molten cheese had glued itself well and truly on.

The baker serves two purposes, it helps to keep the risen dough in shape and when the bread is nearly baked the cheese can be placed in the baker to cook into a molten lava.

The dough was made in my new and amazing Panasonic SD-ZB2502 breadmaker and it's all so easy to do.......this recipe however isn't from the book supplied with the machine but from my previous Panasonic breadmaker recipe book.

Breadmaker Recipe
500g strong white bread flour (I used Carr's)
1tsp fast action dried yeast
1½ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
25g butter
2tbsp milk powder
300ml water
To decorate:
1 egg beaten
4 tsp mixed seeds
Box Camembert
White Vermouth

1. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order recommended for your bread machine. Set to dough.
2. When dough is ready remove from the bread machine.  Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a sausage shape 60cm long.  Press the three rolls together at the end and plait the dough together.
3. Grease a large baking tray and place the Camembert baker into the centre of the tray, grease the outside of the baker.  Wrap the plait around the outside of the baker and join the ends up to make a continuous plait.
4. Cover with oiled baking parchment and prove for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 180oC Fan.
6. Brush the dough with beaten egg and sprinkle the seeds over, bake for 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, place the cheese in the baker, cut a cross in the middle of the cheese and pour over the Vermouth.  Return the bread to the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Back soon!

Mini Gingerbread Cupcakes - Recipe

For some unknown reason I've got a mountain of gold mini cupcake cases, this recipe uses 18 cases and I've still got a whole heap left. These cute sticky gingerbread mini bakes are easy to make and a favourite of ours.  They keep for a few days and get stickier by the day but I doubt they'll last that long.

4 tbsp apple and ginger juice (I used Cawston Press) or ginger ale
90g dark muscovado sugar
⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g self-raising flour
1 level tsp ground ginger
1 medium egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil
White icing to decorate

You will need: 18 mini muffin cases - two mini muffin cake tins

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
2. Place the apple and ginger juice and the muscovado sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Take a wooden spoon and break down any lumps of sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
3. Sift the flour and ginger into a bowl. Whisk the egg and oil together in another bowl, then slowly add this to the flour, whilst stirring continuously. Add the apple and ginger juice or ginger ale to the mixture in two goes whilst gently mixing it in.
4. Three-quarters fill each muffin case and bake for about 15 minutes until risen and firm. Remove from the tins and leave to cool.
5. Decorate with white icing.

One year ago:
                          Individual Raspberry Trifles
                          Last Minute Christmas Puddings
                          Meringue Topped Mince Pies
                          Mini Stollen

Baileys Chocolate Truffles - Christmas Recipe

Now look what's happened, I've forgotten my words and everything!

I love Christmas bling and edible gold leaf is a must at this time of the year, just take a deep breath and forget how ridiculously expensive it is. It's a pain to use and sticks to everything except what you want it to stick to. My truffles are so delicious and melt in the mouth that they are worthy of a little adornment.

The recipe is Baileys, coffee, chocolate, butter and cream - yum, yum yum!  Easy to make and far nicer than most truffles you can buy.

Makes: 12
300g plain chocolate
2 tbsp whipping cream
1 tbsp cold strong fresh espresso coffee
2 tbsp Baileys
55g softened salted butter
To decorate:
edible gold leaf
sifted cocoa powder
sifted icing sugar

You will need:  12 sweet cases, baking trays and clingfilm!

Method:
1. Add 100g of the chocolate and the cream to a bowl set over a saucepan of warm water.  Leave until melted.  Remove the bowl from the pan and add the espresso, Baileys and butter, whisk together until smooth and thickened. Cool, cover with clingfilm and chill until firm.
2. Line a baking tray with cling film. Remove the mixture from the fridge and when the mixture becomes pliable roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls using the palms of your hands. Place the truffles onto the tray.  Cover with more clingfilm and place in the freezer.
3. Remove the tray from the freezer.
4. Take a fresh tray and cover with clingfilm. Melt the remaining 200g of dark chocolate. Dip the truffles into the chocolate to coat. Place on the tray. When the chocolate is set place a tiny piece of gold leaf on top of the truffle to decorate.  Roll the remaining truffles in either the cocoa or icing sugar.

Christmas Panettone Pudding - Recipe

Panettone pudding isn't just for Christmas, it's so delicious and luxurious given the chance I would eat it all year. So here we have a luxurious but quick and easy pudding.

Cut two slices of panettone

Break into cubes

Pour over a mixture of sugar, eggs and double cream

Serves: 4
You will need:  300ml double cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 large slices of panettone cut into cubes.

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter an ovenproof dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, single cream, milk, vanilla extract and sugar.
3. Add the cubes of panettone into a large dish and pour over the egg mixture. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
4. Place the dish into a large roasting pan, fill half way with hot water. Bake for 30 minutes or until softly set.
5. Dust the panettone with icing sugar.