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by bitsofcarey

Marmite rules! Cheesy marmite muffins

December 9, 2010 in Baking, Snacks

15 Comments »

Good old faithful Marmite. Most people have a jar of it in the cupboard for the days when you can’t stomach anything else and all you can handle is comforting salty marmite toasties. It’s there for you when you have a cold, tummy bug or just a craving for marmite and cheese on toast…ooh… or with butter on white bread! Veggiemite, bovril, oxo, whatever your fancy- You either love the stuff or hate it. I personally love marmite and veggiemite - in small doses though. But what else can you use this gooey stuff for? It just sits in the cupboard for months!

 

I recently found a useful way to use marmite in baked products! And don’t worry, they are not overpowering at all! Small doses remember…

 

My first encounter with a marmite and cheese tea cake was at my brother’s 30th. His friend’s Mom, Tessa, baked it for ”D” as it was one of his favourite treats. I never pictured my bro for a marmite lover! When I first heard and saw what it was, my first reaction was, “Yikes! that’s weird!” but to be quite honest it was complete nostalgia on my taste buds! There are no words to describe this comforting bake. All I can say is that it’s slightly sweet with a yummy “marmitey” cheesy taste.  Since then I have been obsessed with developing bakes with marmite. ..

 

First up: MARMITE AND CHEESE TEA CAKE:

This is perfect for a tea time treat, it’s “sweetish” like a scone, but savoury too!

You will need:

90g butter

50ml castor sugar

 1 egg

250ml milk

375ml flour

10ml baking powder

2ml salt

 

SAUCE

125ml butter

15ml Marmite

 

TOPPING

250ml grated cheddar cheese

 

 

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Whisk the butter and sugar together until creamy, add the egg and beat. Whisk in the milk.

Sift over the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in to combine.

Place in a greased 23cm cake tin or oven prood dish and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

In the meantime melt the butter and Marmite together.

Remove the cake from the oven and pour over the sauce while the cake is still hot. Sprinkle over the cheese and pop back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Serve warm or room temperature.

 

AND…CHEESY MARMITE MUFFINS

After weeks of pondering, a Marmite and cheese muffin came to mind, I wanted a bake that wasn’t sweet at all, rather, a savoury snack.

makes 12

You will need:

420 g (750 ml) flour

20 ml baking powder

2 ml salt

200 g (375 ml) mature Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

100 g butter

30 ml marmite

300 ml milk

4 large eggs

extra marmite

extra grated cheese

                                                              

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add the cheese.

Melt the butter and marmite together, allow to cool slightly then combine with the milk and eggs.

Add to the dry ingredients.

Fold gently with a wooden spoon – do not over-mix. The mixture should look lumpy.

Spoon into greased muffin pans, drizzle with a bit of marmite and sprinkle with more cheese. 

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

Turn onto a cooling rack to cool slightly.

Eat warm or room temperature.

Perfect as a snack or for the lunch box!

 

 

So here’s to Marmite and all other concentrated yeast/ veg/meat extract spreads!

For nursing us to health when ill and for providing us with B vitamins when spread on our school sarmies( even though we did not enjoy it back then!)

Go marmite!

C x

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by bitsofcarey

Coriander and chilli sweetcorn fritters!

November 23, 2010 in Meatless meals, Snacks

7 Comments »

These are perfect for when you are feeling a little peckish. Serve with some yoghurt dip and you are sorted! Best of all, these are made in a blink of an eye! If you like these, try my minty pea and feta fritters.

 

You will need:

Makes +- 12

olive oil

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

250 g frozen sweetcorn( one of those small packets)

1/4 cup (60 ml) self raising flour

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

a handful of coriander, chopped

In a non stick frying pan, saute the onion, garlic and chilli until soft and aromatic. Add the corn and heat through.

Place the mixture into a mixing bowl together with the flour, egg, seasoning and coriander.

Use a tablespoon to form fritters in the same moderately hot pan.

Fry for about 2 minutes a side or until golden and cooked through.

Drain on absorbant paper.

Serve with tzatiki or make your own dipping sauce(mix some sweet chilli sauce and chopped coriander with 125 ml yoghurt).

Garnish with more coriander( I eat this stuff like it’s lettuce!)

Enjoy! :-)

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by bitsofcarey

Lip smacking sticky chicken for the braai!

November 12, 2010 in Chicken, Roasts, Snacks

6 Comments »

Think sweet and sticky orange and cumin infused chicken. Oh my goodie gumdrops!

For Crush Mag Online Issue 3, I did yummy sticky Moroccan ribs as one of the weekly dinners. Since concocting this basting sauce, I have been addicted and find myself basting and marinating anything I can find! (P.s. try with lamb). In the rib recipe I used cumin seeds, but for the chicken, I just used a bit of ground cumin. I just love how cumin and orange complement each other so well.

You will need:

 

1 packet of chicken drumsticks

1 packet of chicken wings

Par boil the chicken in vegetable stock.

Basting sauce:                                     

250 ml (1 cup)heinz tomato sauce

125 ml (1/2 cup) Worcestershire sauce

Juice and grated rind of 2 oranges

125 ml (1/2 cup) honey

2 ml ground cumin seeds

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Combine the basting ingredients together. Mix the chicken and 3/4 of the basting sauce, reserve the rest for basting while braaing.

Braai until chicken is cooked through completely, sticky and slightly charred – basting all the while.

You can roast the chicken in a 200 degree preheated oven for +- 30 minutes.

 

For steamed veggies on the braai ( something we do very often)

 

You will need:

 

Foil

250 g trimmed asparagus (yes – I cant get enough of it!)

200 g baby corn

200 g snow peas or mangetout

Grated garlic (as much as you like)

Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

A drizzle of olive oil.

 

Add all the above ingredients onto a large piece of foil and fold into a tightly secured parcel. Place over the hot fire for +- 10 – 15 minutes or until al dente.

There’s food on the table in no time at all! Bon appetite!

 

Have a wonderful weekend all :-)

 

C xx

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by bitsofcarey

Fresh tuna pate

November 5, 2010 in Fish, Snacks

11 Comments »

I have had no joy cooking with tuna this week, firstly, it was a mission to find and secondly, I overcooked it during a shoot(this is what happens when you are doing too many things at once)and I had to hunt for some again…not fun!

Well this is what I did with my overcooked tuna(not tough as an old boot overcooked but meaning I wanted mine still pink in the middle not cooked through). Since it was like R50 for +- 350 g, it couldn’t go to waste! Instead, I decided to make a refreshing tuna pate and refreshing it was! So in hindsight, not such a bad experience because I got to make this delight. I firmly believe that some of the best recipes are made by mistake!Spread thickly onto slices of toasted cranberry and nut sour dough bread…heaven!

P.s. This pate is super healthy, low in fat with loads of herbs and lemon for flavour.

You will need:

Makes +- 2 cups

+- 350 g cooked tuna or 1 large tuna steak

125 g smooth cottage cheese

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 large tomato, seeds removed and roughly chopped

Handful of chives (or 2 spring onions, chopped)

Handful of Italian parsley

Handful of coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

Bung everything into a food processor and blend until desired consistency.

Check seasoning.

Toast some lovely artisan bread and serve!

Lasts 3 days in the fridge(if you can manage that!)

mmm….

 

Have a great weekend all!

 

C xx

 

Motto for the weekend: “Do what you can”

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by bitsofcarey

Fruit and seed crunchies

October 16, 2010 in Baking, Snacks, Sweet treats

6 Comments »

Last week I had to develop a low fat and low GI snack. I pondered long and hard and eventually came up with these bikkies. They are packed with cranberries, dried apricots, mixed seeds and oats. The fat and sugar content is low in comparison to many other biscuit recipes I have seen. They are delicious and you don’t feel bad eating 2 or 3 of these with your tea. I can guarentee you won’t eat more than that because it is no.10 on the satiety scale, with all the slow energy release oats, high fibre dried fruit and omega fatty acid rich seeds. These will be great crumbled up and sprinkled onto your yoghurt in the morning. What great timing, Inspiration set a biscuit challenge last week, so I thought why not share with you all!

Makes +- 25 biscuits

You will need:

125 g soft margarine(e.g Flora)

250 ml brown sugar

5 ml vanilla essence

4 egg whites

250 ml cake flour

5 ml baking powder

125 ml nutty wheat flour

750 ml rolled oats

250 ml mixed seeds(sunflower, pumpkin ans sesame)

250 ml dried cranberries

125 ml chopped apricots

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

In a large bowl, cream the marg and sugar until light and fluffy, add the vanilla and then pour the egg whites bit by bit beating continuously until combined.

Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and stir until well combined, damp and sticky.

Squash into small balls and place onto a greased baking tray.

Press the balls down with fork.

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 170 degrees and bake for a further 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

 

OTHER IDEAS:

Replace seeds with 250 ml of dessicated coconut(this will increase the fat content though).

Add some cinnamon or all spice to the mixture if you like.

Replace the cranberries with any other dried fruit, eg. sultanas, raisins, chopped dates etc.

 

Now look at that! Bursting with goodness!

 

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by bitsofcarey

Minty pea and feta fritters

September 29, 2010 in Meatless meals, Snacks, vegetables

14 Comments »

Feel like something light for lunch? or dinner maybe? Try this! It is so easy and super satisfying. The perfect spring snack!

I love this recipe because you don’t need to go out and buy any of the ingredients and it took no more than 15 minutes to prepare. And most of all,  they are uber delicious!

 

 You will need:

serves 2 peeps or makes 6- 8 little fritters

bit of olive oil

1/4 onion or 4 spring onions chopped

250 ml frozen peas

3 Tbs self raising flour

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 feta round, crumbled

a handful of fresh mint, chopped

salt and pepper

 

In a non stick pan, saute the onion in some oil until soft, add the peas and heat through for a minute or two.

Now in a mixing bowl, combine the pea mixture with the remaining ingredients.

 Place heaped teaspoon amounts of batter into a lightly greased non stick frying pan and fry(over a moderate heat) until golden on each side and cooked through( about 1 – 2  minutes a side). Drain on kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.

Serve with a fresh herb salad. Dollop or dip into sweet chilli sauce, lemony mayo or minty yoghurt.

These were gone within a blink of an eye!

 

nom nom!

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by bitsofcarey

Polenta and parmesan chicken strips – a healthy home made take away!

September 14, 2010 in Chicken, Snacks

7 Comments »

Not only are these chicken strips delicious, they are much healthier than the Pub style fried version. No breadcrumbs and no oil! These are perfect for those days when you want food on the table, fast! While they are baking in the oven for 10 -15 min – you make a salad and done! Dinner is served!

You will need:

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips – not too small – +- 2/3 cm thick

Juice of 1/2 lemon

drizzle of olive oil

salt and pepper

“CRUMBS”:

200 ml FINE polenta

25 – 50 ml grated parmesan cheese

loads of salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

                                

Coat the chicken strips with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

 

Combine the polenta, parmesan and seasoning and spread out onto a plate.

Coat the strips with the polenta mixture and place onto a greased baking tray.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes max!

Serve with sweet chilli sauce, lemony mayo and a crispy salad on the side.

How quick was that?

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by bitsofcarey

Smoked snoek ‘n mayo stack

September 5, 2010 in Fish, Snacks

11 Comments »

My body is so happy that the cold weather is starting to thaw out into warmer days. Lighter meals and less snacking is in store for myself and many other people in SA. It gets easier to get out of bed in the morning and the days feel a bit longer (so you don’t end up in your PJ’s first thing when getting home!). And of course you feel more motivated to get on the cross trainer at gym and work off some of that winter bulge! I love winter and all the comforts it has to offer, but I am ecstatic that summer is on it’s way – it’s time for light, fresh and flavourful food!

On those cold days, we would be more inclined to make a soup or a buttery pate out of smoked snoek…a good example of lighter alternative is smoked snoek and mayo stacked with melba toast. I had this for lunch the other day and it was a pleasure to eat!

It’s also a nice change from using tinned tuna.

You will need:

250 g smoked snoek, removed from the bone and shredded

125 ml light mayo

3 spring onions, sliced

a squeeze of lemon

salt and pepper

Mix all the above together.

Stack with Melba toast from Pick n Pay or Woolies

Garnish with wild rocket and mini Italian tomatoes

I say this to myself every year, but I am really going to try and eat my 5 a day, eat more legumes, eat fish twice a week, snack a little less and exercise! I said I’m going to TRY!

Weekend was great! It was my bro’s 30th and I made him a rich chocolate mousse cake with a choc mint ganache(and would you believe I didn’t even take a photo!!), Saturday - cooked for friends at our place and Sunday we had a fish braai, all of which will be posted in my blog in due time!

HAve a good week all!

Cxx

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by bitsofcarey

“Poffertjies” with Rooibos Syrup

July 9, 2010 in Snacks, Sweet treats

17 Comments »

South African Style Doughnuts drizzled with homemade Rooibos syrup. Little mouthfuls of heaven. I got the rooibos syrup idea from a lovely cookbook called “A touch of Rooibos”.  If you have any syrup left over, use it drizzled over your french toast or an alternative syrup for baklava. So delicious and easy to make.

 

 

“Poffertjies” with Rooibos Syrup       

 Makes 30-40

 

What you will need:

600 g (4 x 250 ml) cake flour

15 g (1 1/2 pkts) instant yeast or fresh or dry equivalent

125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar

5 ml (1 t) salt

 

90 g melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

± 250 ml buttermilk

 

 Sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Beat the butter, eggs and buttermilk into a separate bowl.

Add the liquid and mix to form soft dough (add a little extra flour if the dough is too wet or a little extra buttermilk if the dough is too dry).

Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover and leave in a warm place rise (to double in size).

Take two teaspoons to form little balls with the batter.

Spoon batter into hot oil and deep fry until golden, turning once. The “poffertjies” will float to the surface.

Drain cooked poffertjies on absorbent paper towel. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve with Rooibos syrup.

 

 

For the Rooibos Syrup:

125 ml(1/2 cup)  brown sugar

125 ml(1/2 cup)  strong Rooibos tea

5 ml (1 t) corn flour

 

Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Boil until syrupy.

 

 

 

Enjoy the Soccer final all!

 

Here’s to another blessed weekend! :-)

 

C xx

 

 

 

Please note: Copyright:  All pics and recipes belong to Bitsofcarey and cannot be re-used with out permission.

 

 

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by bitsofcarey

There’s nothing better than a freshly baked scone!

July 7, 2010 in Snacks, Sweet treats

10 Comments »

Most scone recipes contain ridiculous amounts of butter! Not this one…and you cant even tell. I personally don’t believe in using soft margerine in scone dough. You need COLD butter and it MUST be rubbed in – this creates that amazingly soft texture that we all love so much. The trick is also not to overwork the dough, as this makes the gluten in the flour tough. Scones are so cheap, easy and versatile! The perfect option to bake on the fly!

 

We polished these beauties off during the Netherlands vs Uruguay game…what a pleasure!

 

You will need:

2 cups self raising flour

1 t baking powder

pinch of salt

1 T castor sugar

50 g COLD butter

+ – 3/4 cup milk, yoghurt or buttermilk

 

To serve: Freshly whipped cream and strawberry jam

 

Put a pot of coffee on, by the the time it’s finished brewing, the scones will be ready to come out of the oven!

 

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl.

Grate or break the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour to form fine “breadcrumbs”.

Pour the milk into the mixture and mix together with a knife until it all clumps together.

Pat onto a floured surface (about 3 cm thick) and cut into +- 6 rounds.

Place onto a baking tray and dust with flour.

Bake for +- 8 minutes depending on the size of your scones.

Break open and serve with cream and strawberry jam!