Allen’s date, carrot & honey loaf

May 18, 2014 Annette14 Comments

This week’s recipe for #sundaybakingsunday comes from Ella, who I ‘know’ via Instagram.

It’s her grandpa Allen’s recipe – isn’t that lovely?!

I saw a photo of this loaf on Instagram a while ago, liked it and really wanted to try making it myself.

Ella was kind enough to email me the recipe, which I found super easy to follow.

ALLEN’S DATE, CARROT & HONEY LOAF

1 1/2 cups chopped dates*
1 cup honey
1 cup water
60g butter, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups self raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup carrot, grated

Grease and line a 10 x 20 cm loaf pan.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Place chopped dates, honey and water in a small saucepan.
Stir over medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes, until dates soften.
Add the chopped butter to the saucepan, then remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
Transfer the saucepan contents to a medium sized mixing bowl and fold in the flour and carrot.
Pour the mixture into the lined loaf pan and smooth out the top.
Bake for 35 – 40 minutes – test with skewer (when skewer comes out clean, your loaf is ready).
Cool in pan for 5 minutes then cool on wire rack.

* You could substitute figs or raisins for dates. This loaf can be frozen, if it lasts more than the day. If you’ve ‘quit sugar’ I imagine this recipe could be modified by switching out the honey.

Put the kettle on, cut a few slices and you’ve created a perfect morning or afternoon tea. Thanks for sharing this great recipe Ella, it’s one that the kids could easily help you with and it only takes a few minutes to get in the oven. That’s my kind of baking.

What’s baking in your kitchen this weekend?

I’d love to see your efforts on Instagram – just follow @igiveyoutheverbs and tag your baking photos with #sundaybakingsunday.

There are some great bakers getting on board. Are you one of them?

And if you have a simple recipe you’d like to share, I’d love to try it.

Happy baking!

Annette

Sunday means baking – apple & raspberry slake!

April 13, 2014 Annette10 Comments

Another Sunday has come around and I’ve made a breakthrough – I’ve admitted that I am addicted to raspberries!

This week’s #sundaybakingsunday recipe is a double fruiter (that may not be a word) and super easy to put together.

I’ve called it Apple & Raspberry Slake – because it’s kind of cake-y but I baked it in a slice tray – slice + cake = slake.

I used

2 cups of self raising flour

2 eggs

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of milk (adjust a little more or less depending on size of eggs and wetness of mix)

A splash of vanilla extract

A shake of cinnamon or cinnamon sugar – I think it needed about 5 shakes

1/2 tin of pie apple (don’t judge. I’m working through things in my pantry!)

As many frozen raspberries as you like (for me that’s quite a few!)

Demerara sugar for a nice crunch – a few spoonfuls, to taste.

Mix everything, bar the berries and demerara sugar, in a large bowl.

Pour mix into a lamington tray.

Push raspberries in all over the slake.

Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at around 180 for about 30 minutes. My oven is quite slow, so keep an eye on it from the 20 minute mark.

I love the burst of berry goodness in this slake. I’ll amp up the cinnamon next time, and maybe try it with pears.

What’s baking at your place today? I’d love it if you’d like or follow me on a Facebook and Instagram and share your baking triumphs. Don’t forget the #sundaybakingsunday tag.

Happy baking everyone!

Annette

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Super easy Anzacs – Sunday baking Sunday

March 30, 2014 Annette5 Comments

It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here, so I decided to start the day with coffee and some therapeutic measuring and mixing.

One thing I’m really enjoying about blogging is the endless connections I’m discovering – as I read the blogs I like, I find links to blogs those guys really like, which lead to connections with more blogs and on and on it goes. It’s great!

There are so many inspirational, thoughtful, creative people out there, doing their thing, then writing about it, taking amazing photographs, styling, baking, sharing their struggles and triumphs, crafting, and cracking me up.

These connections are how I discovered Kate Berry – a super creative soul and blogger, who is choosing her own adventure on a daily basis. I found the inspiration for today’s baking on Kate’s blog Lunchlady (click through to the recipe) and then added my own little twist via a handful of craisins. I’m crazy for craisins.

The beauty of Anzacs is that they’re so quick to put together, a little measuring, a little melting, a little mixing, ten minutes to put your feet up, or a load of laundry on, and you’re pulling trays of warm still-soft biscuits from the oven.

Yum!

Thanks so much Kate! I’ll definitely be back for more inspiration, from both your blogs.

Have a great Sunday – if you’re baking, please share an image on Instagram and use the #sundaybakingsunday tag.

Sunday Baking Sunday – the savoury edition

March 9, 2014 Annette7 Comments

This week I decided to change tack where #sundaybakingsunday was concerned. I’ve gone off sweet, and on to savoury.

I’m still working my way through the delicious brownies I made last weekend, then I baked a loaf of banana bread mid-week, so I really had no need of anything else sweet tempting me.

As some of you may know, I’m currently looking for a job, which means I have to watch my budget carefully. I decided to whip up a vegetarian pasta bake, which will last me three or four meals, and is tasty, healthy and affordable.

The stars of the show are sweet potato, broccoli, and cannellini beans. With the bean police chorus of ‘eat more legumes’ ringing loudly in my ears, I decided to chuck a tin of cannellini beans into my bake and see if I liked it. I really did, and reckon this is a great, simple way to to get more beans in your belly, aside from via ye olde baked beans on toast.

The pasta bake is really easy to put together.
Peel and chop a sweet potato, douse it with garlic olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for about 20 minutes in a moderate oven.
I’m a big fan of frozen broccoli, as it prevents wastage. About 1/3 of a pack of broccoli (just use as much as you like) goes into this dish, and here’s my tip on prepping it – once the pasta water is almost boiling, I grab a trusty sieve (there’s a great word) and throw the broccoli into that and sit in in the water for about 2 minutes. I don’t want to cook it all the way through, just get it to an easily choppable state.

So, once the sweet potato is baked, the broccoli is chopped, and the beans are rinsed, it’s just a matter of cooking up your favourite shape of pasta. I’m loving ‘little ears’ orecchiette at the moment. Once the prep is done, just combine those delicious things in a lasagna or other suitably ovenproof dish, pour over a jar of pasta bake sauce (I rocked Leggo’s creamy tomato and mozzarella), combine it well, season it – I chose chilli flakes, basil, salt and pepper, then sprinkle the dish with some cheese, bung in in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes and Giuseppe’s your uncle.

You’ll need:
1 sweet potato – peeled, diced and baked
1 head broccoli – chopped
1 can cannellini beans – rinsed well
200g dried pasta – cooked to just under al dente
1 jar pasta bake sauce (you could always make your own if you’ve got the time)
seasonings of your choice – chilli flakes, basil etc
a handful of Parmesan cheese or whatever takes your fancy

Following the method outlined above, I reckon it’s no more than 10-15 minutes of prep, plus 20 minutes baking time, to give you get a great, family friendly meal – or half a week’s worth of single lady dinners!

Pour yourself a glass of wine, watch 1/2 an episode of House Of Cards and dinner will be ready.

What’s your go-to baked savoury dish?

I’d love you to share it, post a picture of it and join the #sundaybakingsunday brigade on Instagram or the I Give You The Verbs Facebook page.

Now, where’s my fork?

How to make brownies

March 2, 2014 Annette8 Comments

I’m enjoying the rhythm of baking on Sundays. I’m tagging my masterpieces with #sundaybakingsunday on Instagram, and hoping people might find a little inspiration to get into their kitchens and make something a bit more fun that school lunches or a weeknight dinner.

One of my fellow Blog With Pip students, Carolyn of www.carolynwritesitdown.com, suggested I bake something chocolate-y this week, and Donna Hay’s standby brownies came immediately to mind. They’re quick, simple and delicious – every single time!

The thing I really enjoy about baking is how simple ingredients, just six in this case, combine to make something so different from what they are when they’re just flour, sugar, eggs, cocoa, butter and vanilla extract.

Here’s Donna talking about this recipe – watching her show really opened my eyes to what a great cook she is. Just goes to show that food that looks fantastic, can actually be quite simple to prepare. I like Donna’s food philosophy – fast, fresh and simple (she even encourages store-bought ‘cheats’ which is great when you’ve got other places, aside from slaving away over a hot stove, to be).

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/15140/standby-brownies

So, another Sunday is almost done, which means there’s a sink full of dishes to do – but before that, I think I’ll enjoy another brownie and a cup of coffee.

How’s your kitchen looking? Let me know if you’ve got any great recipes you’d like to share.

Cheers,

Annette

Kitchen time – Sunday baking Sunday

February 16, 2014 Annette12 Comments

Sunday always seems the perfect day for a spot of baking, especially now that it’s not so hot anymore. Quick, to the kitchen – before the weather changes!

I bought these great new pans recently (on sale if you don’t mind) and have been waiting for bake-spiration to strike.

I decided to modify an already modified muffin recipe I had on hand, and create some Raspberry & White Chocolate Cakey-Muffins.

2 cups SR flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil (I used olive oil – 80% regular and then some zingy lemon olive oil)

3/4 cup milk (you could use buttermilk, but with the lemon olive oil, I didn’t bother)

1 tsp vanilla extract

approx. 1 cup of white choc bits (or however many makes you happy)

approx. 1 cup of frozen raspberries (I used as many as made me happy)

So, I threw the dry ingredients together, whisked up the wet ingredients in my trusty measuring jug, and then combined the two.

Then I tossed in the choc bits and frozen berries, gave them another quick mix and then spooned them into four of my new spring form tins.

My oven was pre-heated like a boss and I baked them at 180 celsius for hmm maybe 20 – 25 minutes – the old clean skewer test is your best bet.

Once they cooled – I always find that bit the most difficult to endure – I decided to be all fancy pants and try ‘plating’ one up.

Don’t worry Donna Hay, your day job is safe – for now!

So, now that I’ve made you all drool, I’m off to make a cuppa and enjoy the fruits of my baking.

Happy Sunday. What’s cooking in your kitchen? Share it with me on Instagram using the #sundaybakingsunday tag.

Toodle-pip!

Annette