Recipes: Whole grain banana bread waffles

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Ingredients (for 2 waffles)

1/2 cup (60 g) spelt flour (you can sub whole wheat flour if preferred)

1/3 cup (30 g) oat flour (made by blending oats in a food processor)

2 tsp ground flaxseed (this is optional)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup (125 ml) milk

1 tsp vegetable oil

For the cinnamon-sugar

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp superfine (caster) sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Stir together the first 6 ingredients in a large jug. Add in the vanilla, banana, oil, milk and egg and stir together with a fork until smooth. Leave it to sit whilst you heat up your waffle iron.

Scoop the batter into the waffle iron - about 1/3 cup - and cook according to the waffle iron's instructions until golden brown.

Stir together the 1 tsp of ground cinnamon into the superfine sugar. Use a knife to lightly swipe the waffles, hot from the waffle maker, with butter then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar.

Recipes: Waffles with hot chocolate sauce

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Ingredients (Makes 12)

For the batter

325g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

60g caster sugar

2 large eggs, separated

450ml whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the hot chocolate sauce

75g cocoa powder

75g caster sugar

50g dark chocolate (60–70 per cent cocoa solids), finely chopped

Method

To make the batter, put the flour, baking powder, salt and half the caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk together. In a large jug, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, vanilla and melted butter, then pour it into the flour mixture, whisking until you have a smooth batter.  Put the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl and, using an electric mixer, whisk until they hold soft peaks. Continue to whisk while you slowly pour in the remaining sugar until the meringue is stiff and glossy.  Add the meringue to the batter and gently fold together. Cook the batter according to your waffle iron’s instructions.

To make the chocolate sauce, put 200ml water in a medium pan and add the cocoa powder and caster sugar. Whisk together until smooth.  Put over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes or until the syrup has thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes, then add the chocolate and stir together until melted and smooth. You can serve the sauce warm or cold, but it gets a lot thicker as it cools down. If you have any sauce left over it can be kept in the fridge for up to a month and then reheated at a later point.

Tip

This recipe makes quite a lot of waffles, so you could, of course, halve the quantities, but you can also freeze the cooked waffles. Leave them to cool completely then wrap them in a double layer of clingfilm. When you want to serve them, leave them to thaw fully before reheating them in the oven at 120c (100C fan oven)/gas ½ for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Recipes: Red Velvet Waffles

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Ingredients (Serves 6)

2 cups all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon baking powder


1⁄2 teaspoon table salt


4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar


3 large eggs, separated


2 cups buttermilk


1 1⁄2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder


1 tablespoon red liquid food coloring

Method

Preheat the oven to 200° F and preheat a waffle iron. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to combine.

Combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a separate large bowl. Whisk in the egg
yolks and buttermilk. Mix the cocoa powder and red food coloring in a small bowl to make a smooth paste, then whisk the paste into the butter mixture. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened (the batter should be slightly lumpy).

Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir one-quarter of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining egg whites gently but thoroughly.

Spray a waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As they’re done, put them on a baking sheet and slide them into the oven to keep them warm while you cook the remaining waffles.

For the Cream Cheese Drizzle

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

A pinch of table salt

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Method

To make the cream cheese drizzle: Beat the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Beat in enough milk to make a pourable mixture.

Recipes: Crater Cake

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Ingredients:

Batter:

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups Bisquick  

Topping:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 marshmallows, each cut in half

Method:

Grease and flour a 9-by-9-inch pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first three wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, then add sugar and Bisquick, mixing until smooth and no lumps are visible. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Combine nuts and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl, then sprinkle evenly over batter. Place marshmallow halves on top, evenly spaced in four rows of four.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Note: Greasing a knife with butter makes it easier to cut the marshmallows in half. Betty Peters uses Crisco to grease the baking pan. The cake will also work in an 8-by-8-inch pan, too, but “watch your baking to make sure you don’t over-bake it,”.

fOOD rECIPEs:CHICKEN A LA KING

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Fancy-shmancy just got easy-"pea"sy with our recipe for Chicken a la King in a Hurry! This comforting dinner recipe is said to have been created for a King, who loved it so much he put it on his hotel menu the very next day. Now your whole gang can enjoy having it on their menu!

Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 15 min
What You'll Need:
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chunked cooked chicken (about 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

What To Do:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; saute mushrooms 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Add soup, milk, salt, pepper, and chicken; mix well and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until hot.

2. Stir in peas and pimientos and continue cooking 5 to 7 minutes, or until warmed through.

Serve over warm cooked egg noodles or buttermilk biscuits

Recipes : Chicken Quesadilla with Spicy Mexican Salsa

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Whenever we are craving to eat something spicy the first things that comes to our mind is Mexican food. 
Loaded with lots of fiery flavours Mexican food is just great. But it is not only just about being spicy, you will be excited to hear that it's also about health too.
It's full of protein, fibres and healthy carbohydrates. So that means that you can enjoy Mexican cuisine as often as you want without feeling guilty. So now if you are bored of eating regular boring food and want to spice it up a little bit and if you have a pan, then we have a plan for you.

Ingredients:
(Makes 1 Quesadilla)
Tortilla: 2
Red onion: 2
Garlic cloves: 2
Red chili flakes: 2 tsp.
Chipotle chili or dried red chilli: 1
Dried oregano: 2tsp
Chicken mince: 250g
Mozzarella cheese:  4tbsp
Cheddar cheese:  4tbsp
Salt and pepper
Lime juice (optional): 1tsp
Oil: 1tbsp

For Salsa
Chipotle chilli or dried red chilli: 2
Tomatoes: 2
Garlic cloves:  4
Coriander bunch: 1
Lime juice of 1/2 lime
Salt and pepper
Oil: 1tbsp

Preparation
1.    First let's prepare the stuffing: Chop the onion, Heat oil in a pan and sauté onion till pink.

2.    Finely chop cloves of garlic and add to the pan. Sauté for two minutes.

3.    Now add red chili flakes, chipotle chili or dried red chili, and dried oregano.

4.    Now in a bowl, season the chicken mince with salt, pepper and paprika and add to the pan. Sauté till cooked completely.

5.    Now let's prepare the spicy Mexican Salsa: Chop the garlic, not fine but little big pieces. Also, chop the tomatoes and chipotle chili.

6.    In a pan, heat oil, add garlic, season it little bit, sauté till golden, add chipotle chili or dried red chili and tomatoes. Season it a little bit and sauté till tomatoes are slightly soft.

7.    Now In a blender add the bunch of coriander and the tomato mixture.

8.    Squeeze the lime juice, adjust the seasoning and give it a good blend.

9.    Now let's assemble our Quesadilla. Heat up a pan, preferably griddle pan, drizzle over little bit of oil, place the tortilla. Spread the cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese properly on it.

10.    On top of cheese, spread the chicken mixture and then again on top of chicken mixture spread the cheese, and now top it with another tortilla.

11.    Now for the little difficult part, flip your quesadilla and let the other side get sautéed for just one or one and half minute.

12.    Now take it out on a chopping board and cut it in four quadrants. Serve hot with spicy salsa.

Mexican Recipes: Jalapeno and aged-cheddar corn bread

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Medium cooking: 30 minutes - 1 hour
Serves: 4-6 persons

Cornbread - traditionally served with barbecued food like ribs and pulled pork - is best served warm. This goes really well with any barbecued meat you like, especially if it is slow-cooked and pulled apart.

Ingredients

3-4 fresh corn cobs (about 450g)

180ml canola oil

2 free-range eggs

230ml crème fraîche

5 spring onions, finely sliced

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

220g yellow or white cornmeal (check gluten-free as some corn flours are derived from wheat)

2 pickled jalapeño chillis, finely chopped

100g good-quality aged cheddar, grated

2 tbsp lard

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs and purée in a food processor. Place puréed corn in a bowl and mix with the oil, eggs, crème fraîche and spring onions. In another bowl, mix the baking powder, salt, cornmeal and chilli. Fold these two mixtures together with the grated cheese to create a batter. It will be a bit lumpy, but don't worry.

To bake the corn bread, use a 20cm-22cm ovenproof cast-iron pan for best results. Melt the lard in the pan in the oven and ensure it coats all the pan evenly. Pour the batter mixture into the hot pan and place back in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes - until the top is golden brown, the sides have pulled away from the pan and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove pan from oven and rest corn bread for 10 minutes in the pan before cutting and serving while still warm.

Serving suggestion: Serve with Neil Perry's smoky chicken wings.

American Recipes: Southern-style smoky chicken wings with goat's curd dressing

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Difficult cooking : 1 -2 hours
Serves: 4 -6 persons

Slow down, cowboy - take time out to prepare a little southern comfort food. It's well worth the wrangle. You'll need to brine the wings for two hours before cooking on the barbecue. Brining the wings first will result in more tender, juicy meat and more crispy, caramelised skin. It is so worth the effort.

Ingredients

1 1/2 kg chicken wings

For the brine

2 litres water

1 tsp black peppercorns

4 small dried chillies

4 whole cloves

4 whole allspice

1 piece whole cinnamon (about 4cm)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

3 tbsp sea salt

2 whole garlic cloves, smashed

For the rub

¼ tsp black peppercorns

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp coriander seeds

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tsp caster sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

For the cold-smoking

barbecue coals or 4 briquettes

90g hickory woodchips

For the goat's curd dressing

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

¼ cup coriander leaves

400g goat's curd

2/3 cup buttermilk

Method

Combine brine ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse flavours. When brine is completely cold, add chicken wings and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Toast the peppercorns, cumin and coriander in a dry pan for around 4 minutes until fragrant. Grind and mix with remaining ingredients to create a rub. Remove the chicken wings from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Evenly coat the wings with the rub.

Cold-smoke the wings. Heat coal or briquettes in a small aluminium tray beneath the grill rack of your coal barbecue. Wait until briquettes are burnt down a little (about 15-20 minutes), then place a third of the woodchips on top. Once chips are smoking, lay out wings on grill rack, close the barbecue lid and smoke for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the woodchips: if they catch fire, blow out to continue smoking. Lift up the rack to replenish with another third of the woodchips, smoke for another 20 minutes, then repeat again; the wings should be smoked for 60 minutes in total.

Remove the wings and clean the grill bars. Let the barbecue burn down to hot, glowing coals - don't cook over flames as it gives the food an acrid taste. Grill the wings until they are crispy and slightly charred, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Add herbs to goat's curd and mix in buttermilk to create a dipping consistency. Serve with the wings.

Suggestion: Serve with Neil Perry's cheddar corn bread.

SPANISH RECIPES:Bullhorn chillies stuffed with preserved lemon freekah

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Easy cooking : 30 minutes - 1 hour
Serves : 4 - 6 persons

A stuffed vegetable is a super way to get more nutrients and wow factor in a dish and there are so many things to stuff with different grains that taste great. You can use meat as a stuffing, or freekah as I have with these peppers. Burghal wheat (aka bulghur) and quinoa work too, and paella makes an excellent stuffing. if you can't find bullhorn chillies, use red capsicum instead.

Ingredients

1 brown onion, roughly diced

3 sticks celery, diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp butter

200g freekah (or quinoa for gluten-free option)

400ml water

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 bunch coriander including stalks, chopped

1/2 tbsp preserved lemon, finely diced

*1/2 a ball of shanklish

6 green bullhorn chillies (or red capsicums)

extra virgin olive oil

* A soft aged cheese ball often rolled in herbs; you can find it in Middle Eastern grocery stores.

Method

Sweat the onions, celery, garlic and bay leaves in the butter in a medium-size saucepan.

Add the freekah and water and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and cool slightly.

While the freekah is cooking, preheat oven to 180C.

Put the cooked freekah into a bowl, mix with the tomatoes, coriander, preserved lemon and crumbled shanklish, reserving some of the cheese for the topping.

Lay the chillies on a cutting board and slice them lengthways on one side. Open the cut gently so you don't crack the pepper, remove the seeds then spoon in the stuffing. 

Crumble the remaining shanklish over the top, drizzle with olive oil then bake for 20 minutes.