Cookbook Recipes

Preparation time:
2 and a half hours
Makes around 18 slices of date and walnut loaf with the following recipe.

225g wholemeal flour
225g plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground mixed spice
1 teaspoon of salt
50g caster sugar
75g margarine
175g finely chopped stoned dates
50g finely chopped walnuts
2 beaten eggs
150 ml skimmed milk
125 ml warmed black treacle

Heat oven to 180C, grease and line a 900-g loaf tin. Sift flours, backing powder, salt and spices into a large, warmed mixing bowl and the rub in the chopped margarine until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Stir in the sugar, dates and walnuts and add the beaten eggs and milk. Add the warmed treacle a spoonful at a time until the mixutre is soft and consistent.

Scrape the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top.

Bake it for 2 hours and when removed from the oven, leave it in tin for 5 minutes. Then turn it onto a wire rack, peel off the lining, leave it to cool and its ready to serve.

• Scald meat and bone ingredients in boiling water first before rinsing them in water to remove any froth and blood. This removes stench and gives a clearer soup.

• When making soup, first bring it to a boil over high heat. Then immediately switch to lower heat and allow it to simmer gently. Maintain small bubbles on the surface of the soup. While too low a heat may inhibit the release of proteins in the ingredients, heating at too high a temperature will cloud the soup and make it murky.

• Add ingredients only when the water has come to a boil and do not add any more cold water in the midst of cooking. This is to ensure that the quality of the soup is not affected and that the ingredients will not stick to the bottom of the pot easily.

• Do not lift the lid unnecessarily to ensure a constant temperature within the pot for a naturally rich and fragrant soup.

• Avoid adding salt too early as salt has a permeable effect that infiltrates food easily, releases moisture and thus speeding up the solidification of protein which will affect the taste of the soup.

• Controlling the amount of water needed is also essential to making good soup. Determinant of the amount of water needed is based on the type of ingredients in use. For ingredients like beans, grains, dried food and medicinal products, more water is needed while for ingredients like vegetables and fruits, that gives out water when stewed, lesser is required. The exact knowledge on the amount needed will easier as you gain more and more experience over time.

For serving up to 10 persons, various salad sauces and their ingredients.

Thousand Island Dressing

Following ingredients to be chopped;

100 gms Green pepper
100 gms Red pepper
50 gms Stuffed olives
3 nos Hard boiled eggs
3 liters Mayonnaise
Mix well and add adjust following seasoning according;

4 drops of Tabasco sauce,
2 teaspoon of horse radish,
2 teaspoon of brandy or adjust according to taste

French Dressing

30 gms Chopped garlic
1 nos Chopped onion
2 teaspoon French mustard
2 liters Corn oil
1/2 liters White vinegar

Mix all ingredients gradually and adjust salt and pepper according to taste.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 liter Red vinegar
1/4 liter White vinegar
2 liters Corn oil
50 gms Stuffed olives (chopped)
10 gms Spring onion (chopped)
1 nos Chopping onion
50 gms Chopped capers
50 gms Chopped parsley
50 gms Chopped gherkins
Mix all ingredients gradually, add salt and pepper to taste.

Here are some recipes for toddlers, easy to prepare, no fuss and delicious!

1. Baked custard

Preheat oven to 180 C. Whisk together 300ml milk, 2 eggs , 1tbsp sugar. Pour into 2 ramekins. Stand the ramekin in an oven tray. Fill the tray with water till halfway up the side of the dish. Bake for 15-20 mins.

2. Veggie puffs

Boil some mixed vegetables and chopped brocoli in a small saucepan until soft. Drain and mix vegetables with some grated cheese.

Preheat oven to 220 C. Roll 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into half. Spread equally the vegetable mixture onto each of the 4 sheets of puff pastry along the long side of each piece. Roll up the pastry to form sausage shapes, brush edges with milk and press to seal.

Place the rolls seam side down on a lightly greased baking tray. Make a few small slits along the rolls. Lightly brush the rolls with milk to glaze and then bake for 10 mins or until crisp and golden. Cut each roll into 6 even sized pieces.

3.Macaroni Cheese

For this recipe, you will need, 1\2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 1 cup milk, 1\2 cup grated cheese and 2 cups cooked macaroni.

Melt butter in a small saucepan, blend in flour, then milk . Cook until sauce boil and thickens. Simmer for 3 mins, season with salt and pepper. Mix the macaroni through the sauce and serve with tomato wedges.