My new hobby!! Anyone for Crochet?

 

My new hobby – apart from cooking of course!! Anyone else into crochet?? 

The Wandering Cook 786 is back from CYPRUS!!!

 

 

 

 

***The Wandering Cook 786 is back from Cyprus!!!!!*** 
With lots to tell on the food, the country and more food! Next week, I will be blogging a diary on this website from Day 1 – Day 10 of my trip in the sunny island of Cyprus depicting the foods we ate, the places we visited and the blessings I have learnt about food in general ♥ AND then afterwards I will be trying to re-create the foods I had experienced in Cyprus sharing with you the recipes!!!
Lots to come from The Wandering Cook 786

xxx

NEW RECIPE: Chocolate Pudding!

As some of you might know, I’ll be off to Cyprus next week so this week I will be trying my best to uploaded as many recipes including requested ‘Turkish Chickpea Rice’ which hopefully will be up soon also.

 

For this post, I wanted to show you all an easy way to make chocolate pudding with simple ingredients from your cupboard and no eggs needed!

 

I came across this recipe when I had family staying over for the week and we all craved something chocolatey! And since I had no eggs in the fridge and the nearest supermarket is 5miles away from me, I had to research hard on what to make. Till I came across the most yummiest and delicious chocolate dessert that any chocolate-craving fanatic would love and satisfy their craving!

 

I have made this countless times and easy time it comes out a bit different but still with the same rich taste. I have also tweaked it a bit but you don’t have to be too fussy with the measurements.

 

Preparation: 10mins

Cooking time: 35mins

Ingredients:

• 100grams butter (doesn’t have to be unsalted, I use salted as that’s what was in my fridge!)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsps. cocoa powder
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup milk

For the last stage of the method, ingredients needed:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 4 tbsps. cocoa powder
• 2 cups. boiling water

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (Gas mark 4/350 degrees Fahrenheit) 
• Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Do not overmelt.
• Once butter is melted, place into large bowl.

 

 

 

• Next add your sugar and cocoa powder and mix well.

 

 

• Next add in your flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined.

 

 

• Then mix in your milk.

 

 

• Place into a baking dish. Make sure the baking dish isn’t too large otherwise the chocolate pudding will just be a thin layer. Not too small either as the step where you add 2 cups of boiling water will boil over the dish, we need this water for the mixture to soak it up and turn into chocolate sauce at the base of the pudding!
• I used a oval Pyrex baking dish measuring: 10 inches wide (not including the handles) x 3 inches deep.

 

 

 

• Now with your extra ingredients that you have set aside, cover the mixture with the 4bsps. cocoa powder and 2/3 cup of sugar.

 

 

 

• Now it might seem weird, but now add 2 cups of boiling water! Use a ladle to gentle add the water on top. 

 

 

 

• Now add into the hot oven for 35minutes.
• You’ll notice that the water at the top will now be at the base as chocolate sauce and the mixture would be cooked and on the top.
• Serve warm and enjoy! Tip: always nice with a generous pour of double cream. Mmmmm…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whereas you can find The Wandering Cook786

Facebook, where I always give a sneak peek of whats to come before posting on my blog:

 

www.facebook.com/thewanderingcook786

 

 

 

YouTube, where you can find video tutorials of my recipes

www.youtube.com/thewanderingcook786 

 

 

 

 

Twitter, where you can tweet me your versions of Chocolate Pudding or any other recipe on here!

@thewanderincook 

 

 

 

 

xxx Mea xxx

New recipes and travel plans for 2013! Including a trip to Cyprus to explore the Mediterranean cuisine – All on The Wandering Cook 786!!

***NEW RECIPES & TRAVELS FOR 2013***
Indonesian Chicken with coconut milk, Turkish rice with noodles, how to prepare Turkish coffee and authentic Turkish tea, Thai chicken curry, a range of Spanish foods, Lush desserts including chocolate gooey pudding and much much more! Including a trip to Cyprus to experience the Mediterranean cuisine, all on The Wandering Cook 786!

Simple Turkish Lahmacun Recipe using Pitta bread – Turkish Pizza

Lahmacun, lahmajun, or lahmejun (Turkish: Lahmacun), (Armenian լահմաջուն lahmaǰun or լահմաջո lahmaǰo), from Arabic: لحم بعجين‎, lahm bi’ajīn, “meat with dough”, is a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (most commonly beef and lamb) and minced vegetables and herbs including onions, tomatoes and parsley, then baked. Lahmacun is often served sprinkled with lemon juice and wrapped around vegetables, including pickles, tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, and roasted eggplant; a typical variants may be found employing kebab meat or sauces. – Wikipedia.

My take on Lahmacun comes from memories of my childhood when my parents, brother and I used to make home-made Lahmacun by using leftover pitta bread. It was a joyous occasion that has always been kept with me as a memory I cherish. My father would be the one preparing the mince meat, my mother the one placing them in the hot oven or under the grill and my brother and I picking our toppings! So as a childhood memory I decided to make Lahmacun using pitta bread again but my own take incorporating different spices and herbs to enhance the flavor. I definitely recommend making this with your children! And as you wont be making your own dough, it also saves time and creates more time to have some fun while cooking!

Ingredients:

• Handful of fresh parsley
• 50g butter
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato (peeled – refer to Cooking Tips)
• 5-6 pitta breads (sliced in half – refer to Cooking Tips)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. chilli flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried mint
• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp. tomato puree/paste
• 1/2 Ib mince meat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius
• Start by finely chopping your fresh parsley and placing into a large bowl along with your mince meat.
• Next finely chop your onion and garlic (you can blitz them if you have a fine blender). Then using a large frying pan, melt your butter on medium heat and fry your onions and garlic till soft. Lower heat and cover to soften the onions more. Leave for approx. 5mins.

• Then place the onions and garlic also into the bowl with the mince meat and parsley.
• After, peel your tomato (for peeling tomato method refer to Cooking Tips) and finely dice into small pieces and add into the same bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

• At this stage add the tomato puree and your spices and herbs so your cumin, chilli flakes, dried mint, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and add in your lemon juice until well cooperated with rest of the ingredients.

• Next prepare your pitta bread by slicing each pitta bread into half (refer to Cooking Tips).

• Using some olive oil, lightly brush some onto each pitta bread slice and start adding your mince meat onto the bread!

• Place into prepared baking tray and cook in hot oven for 10-15mins until the edges of the pitta bread and mince meat have browned.
• Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh salad!
• Note: after making my Lahmacun if I had to change something it would be to chop the fresh parsley more smaller.

I served my Lahmacun with boiled black-eyed beans with Swiss chard drenched in olive oil and vinegar, fresh parsley salad (featured in above picture), Turkish noodle rice, fresh lemon, olive and for the daring, cooking kidneys.

Whereas you can find The Wandering Cook786

Facebook, where I always give a sneak peek of whats to come before posting on my blog:

www.facebook.com/thewanderingcook786

YouTube, where you can find video tutorials of my recipes

www.youtube.com/thewanderingcook786 

Twitter, where you can tweet me your versions of Lahmacun or any other recipe on here!

@thewanderincook 

xxxxxxx The Wandering Cook 786 xxxx

My chicken and mushroom pithivier with a courgette twist! – RECIPE & VIDEO

Hey guys, after making a yummy roast chicken dinner for family last weekend. I had leftover chicken, so decided to try a go at making Pithivier (French dish using puff pastry). Usually Pithivier is a sweet ‘pie’ but you can also make savory versions, so I made myself chicken and mushroom pithivier with some courgettes I had also leftover in the fridge.

To go straight to the video, scroll to the bottom.

To my surprise, this dish is now my top 5 favorite meals!!

Prep time: 35-40mins

Cooking time: 35mins

Ingredients:

• leftover chicken, shredded
• 2 chicken stock cubes
• hot water
• handful of chopped mushrooms
• spring onions, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• salt & pepper to taste
• puff pastry – shop bought version (I know, bit lazy but perfectly fine!)
• 1 egg
• 1 courgette, sliced
• cooking oil
• 50g butter

Method:

• First preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius and start by preparing your ingredients. Such as, shredding the chicken, slicing the onions and garlic, mushrooms, the courgette and putting the kettle on!
• Once those are done, in a large frying pan on medium-high heat add a bit of cooking oil just enough to cover the pan and start frying your onions and garlic, approx. 5mins.
• Next add in your chopped mushrooms and spring onions into the frying pan and stir well.
• Add your butter now and fry altogether for approx. 3mins.
• While that’s frying, on the side, in a small cup add your 2 chicken stock cubes and add a 1/4 cup hot water, not too much as it’ll make the mixture wet once added. Stir until it dissolves and leave to one side.
• Next add in your chopped courgettes and fry for 5mins approx.
• Now add in your chicken stock and stir thoroughly into the mixture. You would want this to fry for 5mins with the aim of evaporating most of the water by drying out the mixture, but be careful not to burn. This will prevent the Pithivier having a soggy bottom.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste and turn off heat and cover. Leave to one side.

• Now it’s time to prepare the puff pastry, if your using ready made like myself, make sure it hasn’t been in the fridge for the past 2hours. This will make it much more easier to roll as it’ll be room temperature.
• Divide the pastry in half, using the first half start rolling out your dough into a circle. The using a large salad bowl as a template, cut round the dough. If you don’t have a large salad bowl, don’t worry, you can always make a paper template, the diameter I used was 11inches wide.

• Place circle into a prepared baking tray.
• Next start making another circle with the other half of the pastry. But this time, cut 1inch wider from the salad bowl – 12inches.

• Place 2nd circle to one side on a floured surface.
• Any leftover pastry can be used for decoration on top of the Pithivier.

• Now add your chicken and mushroom mix into the center of the circle in the baking tray.
• With the 2nd circle, place on top and seal around the edges with water and pressing down with your thumb.

• Add your decoration and seal them on using water again as the ‘glue’. Make sure you make a hole at the top of the pie as well.
• Using 1 egg, whisk the egg in separate bowl and using a pastry brush, spread evenly over the pastry so it makes a golden crust once cooked.

• Place in hot oven for 35mins or until golden brown.
• Serve warm, enjoy!!!

Served great with potatoes!

For the VIDEO Tutorial which I also made for this recipe accompanied by lovely french instrumental music, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAT5hk12Hw&feature=plcp

(link will open in new window)

You can also click on the picture below…

Let me know how you get on and even tweet me your pictures! @ thewanderincook

Don’t forget we’re also on Facebook, Like to get updates on the latest recipes coming up on my blog!

http://www.facebook.com/thewanderingcook786

Happy cooking!

xxx The Wandering Cook 786 xxx

A useful way to use up leftover Pitta Bread – Home made Garlic Bread RECIPE

Now I for one do not like wasting food! If there’s a little bit of green mold on piece of bread, just take that bit off and continue eating. Or even just break the bread into pieces and toast them under the grill and use them in soup.

If milk is just beginning to go off, turn it into cheese by boiling it with some lemon juice!

 

So for this recipe, I had some pitta breads that were beginning to get moldy I decided to make home made garlic bread out of them from a recipe inspired by the free food magazine in my local Co-operative supermarket. And the results were delicious! A great side to any dish.

Ingredients:

• your leftover pitta bread or any type of bread
• 100g butter
• 1/4tsp. chilli flakes
• 1/2tsp. dried basil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
• Cut your pitta bread into slices, I choose triangles.

• Next, in a frying pan, add your butter, garlic cloves (thinly sliced) and fry until butter has melted and garlic is covered by the butter.
• Add in your chilli flakes and dried basil and stir.

• Next with a small spoon/pastry brush, coat your bread with the garlic butter and place in a hot oven for 10minutes.

• Serve warm!

Enjoy!

Don’t forget I’m also on Facebook! >>> http://www.facebook.com/thewanderingcok786

Twitter>>> #thewanderincook

Any questions feel free to comment below and I’ll do my best to answer as soon as poss.

Let me know how you get on with making these and the best thing is, on the frying stage you can add other things aswell as dried basil, such as mixed herbs, coriander powder, dried mint, olive oil..etc.

xxx

Authentic Pakistani Chicken Curry – with fenugreek and green peppers – RECIPE

My recent dinner party with guests got served this delicious main course…

Yummy Chicken curry, inspired from my Pakistani motherinlaw ❤

This light and flavorsome meal is a delightful surprise with such yummy taste, containing fenugreek leaves (methi), green peppers and potatoes. I whipped this meal up when I had guests by making it the night before and serving the next day, which also increased the intensity of the flavors by letting it sit in it’s spices overnight. This is also not a recipe that contains a millions-and-one ingredients, the majority of the ingredients can be purchased from your local supermarket.

Prep time: 25minutes

Cooking time:25mins (+45minutes simmer time)

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, sliced
• 2 green peppers, sliced
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 1tbsp. ground turmeric (i love this stuff)
• 1/2 tsp. chilli flakes (very mild – add more if you prefer more chilli)
• 1.5tbsp. coriander seeds
• 5-6 potatoes peeled and cut into chunks (can add more if you like)
• Chicken pieces (I used a couple of drumsticks and 1 baby chicken cut into pieces from the butchers)
• 4-5tsps. methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2tsp. coriander powder
• Seasoning to taste (I added 1tbsp. of salt and 1/2tsp. black pepper)
• Hot water from the kettle
• Cooking oil

Utensils needed:

• Blender

Method:

• Prepare all the ingredients (slicing the onions, green peppers, peeling garlic cloves, peeling and cut potatoes, wash chicken pieces).
• In a blender, blend your garlic cloves, turmeric, chilli flakes and coriander powder with half a cup of water altogether for approx 5mins. Try and blend till no lumps, if not, you can always sieve out the lumps afterwards like I did in my YouTube video tutorial for this recipe.
• Once that’s done, in a large saucepan put some cooking oil till it covers the base and place on medium-high heat. Once warm, add in your onions and fry for approx 2mins.
• Next add your green peppers and fry for another 2mins.

• Once green peppers and onions are softened, add in your chicken pieces and fry for 4mins until chicken turns white. Add hot water to prevent the chicken from sticking.
• Next add 4-5tsps of the dried fenugreek leaves (methi) and stir.
• Afterwards pour hot water from the kettle to just about cover your chicken, and add in your potato chunks. Your potatoes will be absorbing a lot of this water so it’s worthwhile to check on your curry now and again.
• Now add in your spice mix that you prepared earlier in your blender and stir. Then add your coriander powder and then the salt & pepper to taste.

• Cover and reduce heat to low and leave to simmer for 45minutes until potatoes have gone soft.
• After 45minutes, turn off heat and serve warm. Or leave overnight and serve next day for extra yumminess.

For the video tutorial that I made for this recipe so you can cook along, click this link >>VIDEO TUTORIAL CHICKEN CURRY

I made this main course, after my starters of Turkish Lentil Soup which can also be found on this blog or also my YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/thewanderingcook786 don’t forget to Subscribe for updates!

Enjoy!

Any questions feel free to comment below.

The Wandering Cook 786  xxxxxx

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Hey all,

As you might of noticed in my previous post about my scrummy Eid Boxes, they contained home made carrot cake (which there is a video tutorial available here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iemiz48dkAw&feature=BFa&list=ULT5Grddo3mzA 

But also had home-made chocolate chip cookies, they were my first time making them so that’s why I didn’t do a video tutorial as yet just in case they didn’t come out nice!

To my surprise, they were delicious and were praised immensely by family and neighbors.

So for that reason here is the recipe and a video tutorial will be in the making!

Prep: 20mins

Cooking: 10-15mins
Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups melted butter
• 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar (I used Demara for the first time which you can still use but lightly packed sugar is much better – it’s like the difference between Granulated and Castor sugar, one is much finer than the other so the texture will be better)
• 2 eggs
• 2tbsps. hot water
• 1/2tsp. baking powder
• 2 2/3cups plain flour
• pinch of salt
• chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and hot water.
3. Next stir in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until well combined. Notice how the mixture has become similar to dough.
4. Mix in your chocolate chips.
5. Now start placing small round circles into a greased baking tray, what I did was gather a small piece of the mixture and roll into a ball using the palms of your hands. Then gently squash it to create a flat round circle. Note: do NOT make them big, as they will double in size in the oven.
6. Bake for 10-15minutes in hot oven.
7. Take out of oven and serve warm with milk!

Enjoy!

xxx

Simple and quick Turkish Lentil Soup Recipe – Mercimek çorbası

After the festive time of Eid, thinking it’s all over until next year. More family members ended up visiting us here in the countryside where it made Eid – part 2. So on with the major cooking!

For that reason, I took the opportunity to do some more Video Tutorials, this time, Turkish Lentil Soup – Mercimek Corbasi. Recipe inspired from my mother.
 My own Video Tutorial – Link

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of orange split lentils
• 1/2 cup plain white rice
• 2 chicken stock cubes – or better still, our own chicken stock
• 2 medium onions
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper & sprinkle of cayenne pepper
• Optional: strips of chicken – added at the boiling stage.

Cooking time: 20-30mins Great for when you have guests!

Method:

1. First start by filling up a medium saucepan with boiling water and place on high heat.
2. Once boiling, add your 2 chicken stock cubes and stir until they dissolve. (If you are using your own chicken stock, follow step 1).
3. If you are adding your chicken strip, add now.
4. Next add your 1 cup of washed orange split lentils and stir. Leave to boil until the soup has turned into a yellow colour and the lentils are cooked through until soft.
5. While the lentils are boiling, chop your 2 onions finely and add into a frying pan on medium heat with cooking oil.
6. Fry your onions for roughly about 5-10minutes until golden.
7. Meanwhile, once your lentils are soft and cooked, add your 1.2 cup of washed plain white rice and boil for a further 10minutes until rice is cooked through.
8. By now, the onions should be fried till golden. Once the rice is cooked, add your onions and stir.
9. Finally, add your lemon juice, 1 tbsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper and sprinkle of cayenne pepper, or until taste.
10. Stir and serve hot!

Enjoy!

Lovely for a winter’s evening