When is bread not bread? When it's banana bread! Yep, we all know banana bread is cake, and that just the act of baking it in a loaf shape does not in fact make it bread, but we've all been calling it bread for too long to change now. And isn't it nice to justify cake for breakfast? I mean, we don't generally eat French fries for breakfast but we're always down for a hash brown. It's all about how you market it. Fried po-tay-to, fried po-tah-to. Same rules apply for banana bread.
This oh-so-simple mix and bake recipe is very handy. Feel free to make it your own by adding in different things. Sometimes I add blueberries, or a shot of cooled espresso, and on one decadent occasion, I stirred a giant spoonful of milo through the batter. Delicious! Have fun experimenting and making it your own.
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What's the difference between semolina porridge and semolina pudding? What time of day you eat it! Comforting, creamy semolina can be enjoyed at the beginning or the end of your day. Or both:)
Semolina is fine durum wheat flour. Often used in pasta and pizza dough, it's been around since ancient Roman times. Around the world it has various names like cream of wheat, farina and malt-o-meal. It's famously used in the delicious classic semolina cake. When we make this at our house we enjoy a funny little family tradition of serving the porridge on a flat plate rather than a bowl. A spiral of honey is drizzled from the outside into the centre, and we follow the spiral with our spoons, eating from the outer edge into the middle. This recipe was born from a craving for classic New Zealand Afghan biscuits, coupled with a request for muffins from one of my children.
Afghan biscuits are a beloved classic, and generally only found in New Zealand. Ask a kiwi expat what they miss from their homeland and odds are, the answer will be the afghan bikkie. We Australians have a solid track record of claiming New Zealand classics as ours - think pavlova, the flat white coffee, Russell Crowe and Lamingtons (they were originally called Wellingtons! It's true!). Rest assured we won't try that trick with Afghans. Afghan biscuits are predominantly chocolate, walnuts and cornflakes. I thought, why not make some muffins with these characteristics? It worked out beautifully. I added some goodness by way of yoghurt, wheat germ and bran flakes, which gave the muffins more grunt, while still remaining treat-worthy and delicious. Note: the icing and toppings are yummy but aren't at all necessary. Feel free to omit - rest assured your muffins will stand tall and not look at all underdressed! Honey is a magical,wondrous thing. From how it's produced to how it tastes, looks and feels, we don't get over the marvel of it even as grown-ups! The English language even has a word inspired by it, an adjective that describes smooth and elegant movement, and sweet vocal tone: mellifluous. sweetly or smoothly flowing like honey. How neat is that?
Honey is loved all year round, but it really comes into its own in the colder months. It's almost an essential winter ingredient. Whether you're adding it to your morning porridge or drizzling it over a freshly made crumpet with lashings of butter, its rich fragrance, amber colour and pure sweetness just makes you feel warmer. As good as honey tastes, it's also wonderful at absorbing other flavours, just as other ingredients added to it can enhance the honey itself. While finding the right balance takes a bit of patience, your taste buds will truly be rewarded. I’ve been experimenting with flavouring honey for the past few months. Consequently my kitchen has become stacked with jars of honey and starting to look like a potions lab from Harry Potter. Below are my top 5 combinations. We think you'll enjoy experimenting with honey as much as we have! Clafoutis is everything I love about relaxed French cooking. It's simple, pared down, forgiving, and somehow manages to be comforting and rustic yet chic and sophisticated simultaneously. Whether you present it as dessert at a posh gathering, or throw it together for a quick family dessert or weekend breakfast, the sight of it brings a smile to everyone's face.
What exactly is clafoutis? Pronounced cla-foo-tee, it's essentially a kind of fruit flan, made with a sweet batter that's oven baked in a dish or tin with the addition of fruit generously scattered over the top. Traditionally, clafoutis is made with fresh stone fruit - cherry is the most common. I wanted to make this recipe as adaptable as possible to whatever you happen to have in your pantry, so I've made it with some of our beautiful dried fruit. We are a family divided when it comes to favourite flavours at our place, so I did a half and half affair. Clafoutis is a breeze to do this with, as the batter is poured into the baking dish, then the fruit scattered over afterwards. For this one I made one side with chopped dried peaches, and the other side is chopped dried banana, dessicated coconut and chocolate chips. As long as you stick to the total amount of dried fruit in my recipe, it doesn't matter what mix of fruit or additions you use. I also did a successful experiment with this recipe. Clafoutis batter calls for pouring cream - when I realised I didn't have any cream, I substituted greek yoghurt and it was so delicious that I'll always use yoghurt in my clafoutis from now on! |
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