Friday 17 May 2013

Bunny's Veggie Noodle Soup

Makes 1 serving

This soup changes everytime I make it, because I just use what veg I have lying around. The ingredients listed below are only sample ones. You can use whatever you wish. If making for more than one person, double the veg amount. If you're going to be serving it with bread or as a starter or filler meal, don't double the noodles. 

I often make this in the evening if I haven't eat much during the day, it's great for filling me up.

Ingredients:

1 packet of noodles (super noodles etc)
half an onion, sliced and chopped
quarter of a bell pepper, sliced and chopped
2 cloves of garlic

random herbs & spices

2tsps cider vingear
2tsps lemon juice
1tbsp tomato puree

optional: cheese, egg, left over mashed potato

(if using cardomon and fennel you'll need to add 1tsp malt vingear to balance the soup)

 Method:

1.  boil the kettle, open the packet of noodles (discard the seasoning). put noodles in saucepan (might have to break them half, it doesn't matter if you do this). Pour boiling water over noodles. Ignore noodles.

2.  In a pan (high heat) place a knob of butter with some freshly ground salt and pepper. Place the chopped veg into the pan and stir.

3.  When the onion and garlic begin to change colour add the vingear, lemon juice and tomato puree. Stir.

4.  Add your chosen herbs and spices. Stir. Turn heat down low.

If adding egg to the soup, whisk an egg in a cup on its own, add to the soup and turn up heat to full. Quickly stir the egg into the mix until it cooks. Take off heat.

If adding mashed potato, add it AFTER you add the vinegar etc.

5.  Boil the kettle.

6.  If you using cheese, grate the cheese.

7.  Take the veg mix off the heat.

8.  Drain the noodles and place into soup bowl, fill up soup bowl to just below the top with boiling water.

9.  Add half of the cheese and stir into the noodle and water mix with 2 forks.

10.  Add the veg mix from the pan and stir well.

11.  Add the other half of the cheese on top.

12. Add extra black pepper on top if desired.

13. Enjoy :)

Monday 6 May 2013

Mama Bunny's Irish Potato Bread

There are a lot of recipes for Irish Potato Bread out there, but this is how mama bunny makes it and how I make it.

Ingredients:

left over mashed potato (in cereal bowl)
knob of butter
flour (any kind of flour)

Method:

1.  Heat cold mashed potato and butter in microwave for 2 minutes.

2.  Take out of microwave and mix well with a fork.

3.  Add 2oz/50g of flour, mix well together.

4.  Shape into a round on a chopping board and cut into triangles.

5.  Heat a frying pan, add a little butter and place the triangles into the frying pan.

6.  Cook on medium heat until brown on underside, turn over and cook the other side.

7.  Enjoy

Saturday 23 February 2013

Bunny's Veggie Lasagne

Ingredients:

For the veggies:

1-2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 red onion. roughly chopped
1 courgette (aka zucchini), sliced into circles, then quartered.
6-8 button mushrooms, roughly sliced. (amount depends on the size).
2 eggs
dash of soy milk (or whatever milk you use)

For the tomato sauce:

8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half and then quartered
1 tsbp tomato puree
herbs and spices (I used 2 tsp herbs de provence and 2 tsp chinese five spice).

4-5 lasagne sheets, depending on the size of your lasagne dish.
Vegetarian cheddar cheese
Vegetarian blue cheese

oil, butter, salt and pepper for cooking.

Method:

1.  Place a dash of oil into a heavy pan or wok, add some butter, salt and pepper and let the butter melt.

2. When the butter has melted put all the veggies into the wok and cook slightly on a hot heat. Stirring ocassionally.

3.  Whisk the eggs with the milk and add to the veggies a bit at a time, stirring each time after adding. Usually takes 3 times to add this mixture.

4.  Place the mixture into a lasagne dish.

5. Put the oven on at 200°C, 400°F or Gas Mark 6

6.  Make the tomato sauce.

7.  Place a dash of oil into a heavy pan or wok, add some butter, salt and pepper and let the butter melt.

8. When the butter has melted put the tomatoes in and stir, let it sit on a high heat until the skin is coming off the tomatoes and it's bubbling away.

9. Put in the tomato puree and stir.

10.  Add the herbs and spices and stir.

11.  Layer the lasagne on top of the veggie mix.

12.  Place the tomato sauce on top of the lasagne sheets.

13. Grate a mix of vegetarian cheddar and blue cheese over the top of the lasagne.

14. Put in the oven for 15 - 25 mins

14. Eat and enjoy.

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Note: You can put whatever veggies you like into this. I just used what I had.

If you have no lasagne sheets you could easily make this into a pasta bake, just use pasta instead of lasagne sheets. Though you would need to cook the pasta first.

Sunday 3 February 2013

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

225g (8oz) Digestive Biscuits
75g (3oz) butter, melted
1 x 395g tin of condensed milk
3 medium egg yolks
finely grated zest of 3 and half limes and
the juice of 4 limes. Keep half a lime back to decorate.
284 mil (10floz) whipping cream
1 tbsp icing supar
1/2 coarsly grated lime zest to decorate.

You will also need one 8" / 22cm loose bottomed tart tin.

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 160°C, 325 °F , Gas Mark 3.

2. Leave the eggs out at room temperature.

3.  Place the biscuits into a blender and blend until smooth. Or place them in a strong bag and hit them with a rolling pin.

4. Place the blended biscuits into a mixing bowl.

5. Place the butter into a pan on a low heat and watch it until it melts. DO NOT let it burn.

6. When the butter is fully melted, take it off the heat and add it to the biscuits. Mix well.

7. Place the biscuit and melted butter mix into the bottom of the tin and smooth the base with the back of a spoon.

8. Lift the tin BY THE SIDES and place in the oven ontop of a metal tray. Leave in the oven for 10 mins. After 10 mins remove from the oven and cool at room temperature.

Meanwhile make the filling.

9.  Seperate the egg yolks into a mixing bowl, placing the egg whites into a seperate bowl (Not used in this recipe).  Whisk the egg yolks for 1 min with an electric whisk.

10. Add the condensed milk and whisk for 3 mins.

11. Add the finely grated zest of 3 and a half limes and the juice of 4 limes and whisk again for 3 mins.

12. Pour the filling mix into the cooled base and with a spatula carefully spread it ontop of the base.

13. Lift the tin BY THE SIDES and place in the oven ontop of a metal tray. Leave in the oven for 15 mins.

14. Cool at room tempertaure for 1 hour, then put it carefully in the fridge to chill for 3 hours or overnight.

Before you serve, make the topping.

15.  Carefully remove the pie from the tin and put it on a serving plate.

16. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until the mixture is thick and when you turn the bowl upside down the mixture does not come out.

17. Using a spatula carefully spread the cream over the top of it.

18. Coarsly grate one half of lime zest on top for decoration.

19. Slice, eat and enjoy!

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The above is an amended recipe, the original recipe can be found here 

Sunday 27 January 2013

Ginger Tea Cake

Ingredients:

4 YOGI TEA Ginger Hibiscus tea bags
300ml (1/2 pint) of boiling water
500g pack sultanas
125g (4oz) light brown sugar
250g plain flour
2 rounded tsp baking powder
1 medium egg, (at room temperature) lightly whisked
1/4 tsp ground cinammon
1/4 tsp chinese five spice
Butter, to serve

You also need a 2lb loaf tin, greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper. Also a wooden spoon, this cake mixes better with a wooden spoon.

Method:

1. Put the tea bags into a large mixing bowl pour the boiling water over them. Leave for 10 mins.

2. Take two spoons and squeeze the tea out of each tea bag with the tea bag in one spoon and using the back of the other spoon. 

3.  Add the sultanas. Leave overnight.

4.  * Set the oven to 180 °C, 350 °F , Gas Mark 4

5.  Grease and line the loaf tin.

6.  Measure the sugar and put it into the mixing bowl.

7.  Measure the flour and add the baking powder, cinammon and five spice to the flour. Put all these at once into the mixing bowl.

8. With your wooden spoon, mix the ingredients in the mixing bowl well. There should be no flour or sugar visible to the naked eye.

9. ** Crack an egg into a cup and whisk lightly with a fork, add this to the mixing bowl and stir well.

10. Spoon the mixture into the greased and lined 2lb loaf tin. Use the back of a dessert spoon to even out the mixture in the tin.

11. Place in the middle of the oven on a tin tray. This will ensure that the bottom will get evenly cooked.

12.  *** Bake in the oven for 1 hour. It will have risen slightly (though not much) and will be brown in colour. Test the cake with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is cooked, if not put it back in again for 10 mins and test again. If the cake is brown, put some tin foil over the top of it, this will stop the top of the cake from burning.

13. When the cake is cooked, turn the oven off and put it back in the oven for 10-15mins.

14. After the above time, take the cake out of the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. STILL IN THE TIN, this is important.

15. After 10 mins gently coax the cake out of the tin, if you tip the tin up to one side gently, the cake will slide out with no problems.

16. Place the cake on the wire cooling rack, when it is completly cool, place a clean dry tea towel over it. Leave overnight.

17.  Wrap the cake up in greaseproof paper and string. Then in a clean dry teatowel and string.

18. Place in a dark cupboard and forget about it for 1 week. This will improve the flavour and trust me on this it is worth the wait!

 A week later...

19.  Unwrap your tea cake, spread some butter on it and enjoy! Try not to eat it all at once.

Wrap the tea cake up again in greaseproof paper and string and in the tea towel and string. Place back in a dark cupboard. Will keep for ages (is like xmas cake in this respect) if you can resist it! 

Extra Notes:

* Point 4 - I always make 3 of these cakes at a time. If you are like me and want to make multiple cakes, don't put the oven on until you are about to mix the last cake. This will mean that the oven will be at the correct temperature.

** Point 9 - When making multiple cakes add the egg after you have mixed all the cakes you are wishing to bake.

*** Point 12 - When making 3 cakes it takes roughly 1 & 1/2 hours - 2 hours. You will get to know your oven and when to check them, if making multiples.

Also I make 3 cakes as 3 seperate cakes. They each have a mixing bowl. This ensures that the quanties are correct for the cakes.

After 1 week, the cake is to die for! :) It gets better after 2 weeks (2nd cake). The longer you leave it the yummier it is.