BRIOCHE .

Brioche is a rich, light yeast bread of French origin. It is made with a good amount of egg yolks and butter, usually baked in fluted oven proof moulds, though a traditional muffin pan is quite acceptable. There is no rule as to what shape you bake your brioche. Ingredients......375 gm of plain flour, 5 gm of dried yeast, 1/4 tsp of salt, 55 gm of castor sugar, 180 ml of warm milk, 5 egg yolks, lightly mixed, 125 gm of butter / marg, 1 extra egg yolk, lightly beaten, 1 dsp of castor sugar. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the sugar and milk, until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, then stir in the egg yolks. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the mixture stiffens. Now your hands to mix until a firm dough forms. Divide the butter into 10 portions. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work each piece of bvutter/ marg into the dough, kneading well after each addition and the dough becomes smooth and glossy. Place the dough in lightly oiled large bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size. Grease 12 fluted ovenproof moulds or 12 hole muffin pan. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Divide the dough into 12 portions, remove about a 1/4 of each portion. Roll both the large and small portions into balls. Place the large portions in the prepared pan / moulds, make a small indent in the top of each portion with your fingertip. Place a small round on each indentation. Brush each brioche with the extra egg yolk and sprinkle with a little castor sugar. Stand uncovered, in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size. Bake the brioche in the preheated oven, uncovered for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

MY BREAD AND VEGETABLE LASAGNE.

Ingredients.....1 x 400gm can of condensed tomato soup, 2 x medium zucchini, 6 medium tomatoes, 2 cups of frozen mixed vegies, 1 cup of chopped onions, 8 slices of bread, 300 ml of Apera/ medium sweet sherry, 2 tbs of minced garlic, 1 dsp of minced ginger, cracked black pepper to taste, Italian herb mix, fennel seeds and chopped fresh / dried basil, grated cheese to scatter over top. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish. Tear the bread slices into chunks. Use half of the torn bread to line the base of your dish. Slice 3 of the tomatoes and place over the bread chunks and then top with slices of one of the zucchinis. Sprinkle a scatter of fennel seeds and Italian herbs over. Top with a mix of the frozen mixed vegies, chopped onions and a layer of zucchini slices. Place the remainder of the bread slices over top. Finish off with slices of the remaining 3 tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh / dried basil. In a separate bowl mix together the condensed soup, Apera sherry , the minced ginger and garlic. Pour the tomato soup mixture over the bread lasagne. Scatter over a layer of grated cheese and cracked black pepper to taste. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes and enjoy the warm, welcoming aromas fill your house.

PESTO AND OLIVE SODA BREAD

Ingredients...350 gm of plain flour, 250 gm of wholemeal flour, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 1/2 tsp of salt, 3 tbs of pesto ( I used basil pesto, pecorino and cashews), 300 ml of buttermilk, 85 gm of sliced black olives, extra milk for glazing. Preheat your oven to 200 deg c. line a baking sheet with baking paper. Mix together the flours , salt and bi carb of soda in a large bowl. Combine the pesto and buttermilk, stir this into the flour mix with the olives and mix to a soft dough, add a little more liquid if needed. Shape the dough into a 20 cm / 8" round. Place on the prepared baking sheet. flatten slightly and cut a deep cross in the top with a sharp knife. Brush with a little extra milk. bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown. the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Best served on the day it is baked with soup or cheese and or a salad.

REFRIGERATOR COOKIES.

Make this dough and keep it rolled in a log shape and tightly sealed in a plastic wrap. The dough will keep 3 for days in your refrigerator or 3 months in your freezer. Defrost the frozen dough in your refrigerator before slicing and baking. Ingredients......250 gm of room temp butter/ marg, 160 gm of icing sugar, 375 gm of plain flour. To prepare the cookie dough...beat the butter/ marg and icing sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir the flour in two batches, into the butter/ marg mixture. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 25 cm log. Wrap each log in cling film, refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Flavour variations..... Vanilla.. Beat 1 tsp of vanilla extractinto the butter/ marg and sugar mixture. Lemon....beat 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind into the butter/ marg and sugar mixture. Orange... beat 1 tsp of grated orange rindinto the butter / marg and sugar mixture. Chocolate.... Beat in 2 tbs of cocoa into the butter/ marg and sugar mixture along with 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Line 2 or 3 baking trays with baking paper. Cut the refrigerated / thawed logs into 1 cm slices and place on oven trays 2 cm apart. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Place cooked cookies on a wire rack to cool.

CHAI TEA ….Chaa-ye.

Chai is Indian tea, it is a spiced milk tea and sweet. Recipes of Chai vary, it comes from an ancient Ayurvedic beverage. Avurveda is a form of healing....a way of life too because it contains many disiplines relating to diet, hebal medicines, physical exercise, various therapies, and spiced tea was one of them. Chai tea is made from a good black tea with the addition of clove, cardamon, ginger, cinnamon, milk and of course sugar.

NUTTY FLAPJACK / BISCUIT

Ingredients....200gm opf rolled oats, 115 gm of granulated nuts, 55gm of plain flour, 115 gm of butter/ marg, 2 tbs of golden syrup, 85 gm of light muscovado sugar. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line a 23 cm / 9" square cake pan. Place the rolled oats, granulated nuts and flour in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Place the butter, golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until melted. Pour the butter mixture onto the dry ingredients and mix well. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and firm to touch. Mark into 16 pieces and leave to cool in the pan. when completely cold, cut with a sharp knife and remove from the pan.

GINGERNUTS

Ingredients......350 gm of self raising flour, pinch of salt, 200gm of castor sugar, 1 tbs of ground ginger, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 125 gm of butter/ marg, 75 gm of golden syruop, 1 egg, lightly beaten, 1 tsp of grated orange rind. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Mix together the salt, flour, bi carb of soda, ginger and sugar in a large bowl. Heat the butter / marg and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat until the butter/ marg has melted. Remove from the heat to carefully shape and allow to cool a little, then pour onto the dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg and orange rind. Use your hands to shape the dough into 30 even sized balls. Place the balls well apart on the prepared oven trays and then slightly flatten them with your fingers. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until lightly golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.