CHOCOLATE CASHEW COOKIES AND A WINNER FOR THE PRINT GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the Foodbuzz community these cookies made the Top 9 on 30th August 2010. Happy Buzz Day.

Dreams are strange creatures. You close your eyes again in the hope of dreaming on. Because you want to know how it ends. Like a good movie. But it never does does it? The quest for the complete dream with a beginning, a middle and an end always eludes us. I guess chasing the dream is very much like chasing the 'best ever' cookie recipe. It's endless.

So in my quest, this is another new cookie recipe for the festive season. I will still bake the same old good old but there is always room for the new cookie recipe.  This time it is a chocolate cashew sugar cookie. I got the idea from here at Fake Food Free but made them from an adapted sugar cookie recipe.

It was chocolaty but I think it needed more cashews.  

The recipe ~

6 oz plain flour
2 oz cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 0z  butter
6 oz castor sugar
About 2-3 oz cashews or however much you like, chopped quite finely (I did not measure this)
1 egg 
1 tsp vanilla essence


Sift flour, cooca and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in butter until like fine breadcrumbs. Mix in sugar and as much cashews as you like (leaving some to roll the dough logs in afterwards), add beaten egg and mix until it forms a dough. B ring the dough together with your hands pressing gently until it comes together to form a firm ball of dough.


Roll dough into cylinders or logs in the size you prefer. Roll to coat the logs in crushed or chopped cashews. Chill in the refrigerator and when firm slice into thin rounds.


Bake at 190 C on greased baking trays for 10-12 minutes.

Aaaaaaanndd.................the winner of my Print Giveaway by Brochures Printing Online (by random.org) is........number 18 (I still can't figure out a way to copy and paste the winning number).


Chisum's Crew you're the winner :-)!!!

QUICK BREAKFAST NOODLES

Hi everyone! Here's a quick post of some breakfast noodles. It is simple and uses dried prawns as the main flavour base with added bean sprouts and chives for added flavour and texture.


And crushed bird's eye chillie fo a nice kick. Yum!

I made this on the same day that I made the hot sauce.


I used skinny noodles from a packet (horrors) but it did have a few NO'S on the packet.....like NO preservatives, NO MSG, No Colouring. I suppose that's as close to homemade as I can get. 

I'm out of steam, out of energy and out of time these past few days. I need to get working on those cookies. And I think I'm in  need of a plan just so I can carry out my plans.

 The recipe ~


This noodle dish is so simple yet so full of flavour and makes a nice filling breakfast, lunch, snack or even dinner.


2 squares of skinny noodles

6-7 pieces dried prawns, soaked in water for about 10 minutes
2 pips garlic
2 bird's eye chillies or a large chillie pepper
a handful of bean sprouts
a handful of chives
dark soy sauce
salt 
cooking oil


Blanch noodles in boiling water until it softens and is cooked through.It won't take long depending on the noodles that you are using.

Pound dried prawns, garlic and chillies in a pestle and mortar until fairly fine.

Heat a wok and pour in about 2 tablespoons of oil and then saute the pounded ingredients until fragrant and the paste looks a little golden at the edges. 

Throw in the noodles, bean sprouts and the chives and some soy sauce and the salt. Give it a stir to mix them all up well and evenly. You may add some water if it too dry. Serve with garlic ginger chillie hot sauce and a wedge of lime. Enjoy!

I am submitting this to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday hosted by Shaz of Test with Skewer and 3 hungry tummies.

GARLIC GINGER CHILLIE HOT SAUCE

Nothing fancy here. It's just a garlic ginger chillie hot sauce. A chicken rice hot sauce. All you need is a blender and a swoosh and it's done.

Ju made this exact sauce a couple of days ago as well. I'm not surprised if we had made and photographed it on the very same day. We share the same vibes. I believe that this is the third time we've made similar food and posted it within a whisker's post of each other's. It's one of those strange but true occurrences. 

This hot sauce is great with steam boats, chicken rice, stir fried noodles, rice, soups, as a dipping for fritters. Anything and everything I suppose. Whatever makes you happy and whenever your palate needs a bit of a kick.

Its kind of sour and spicy with a very subtle tinge of sweetness to it. Very very very appetizing.

The recipe ~


10 chillies plus some/many bird's eye chillies if you like
6-7 pips garlic, peeled
1 inch ginger, peeled
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T sugar
salt to taste


Wash and ch0p chillies into chunks. De-seed them if you wish. Put chillies and everything else in a  blender and blitz until it becomes a thick sauce. Add salt to taste. Store in a jar and better still in the refrigerator.

I am submitting this to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday hosted by Shaz of Test with skewer and 3hungry tummies

HApPy dAyS CHCOLATE CAKE AND A PRINT GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is closed today 27th August 2010.Thank you so much to those who participated.

The winner of my Print Giveaway by Brochures Printing Online (by random.org) is........number 18 (I still can't figure out a way to copy and paste the winning number).

Chisum's Crew you're the winner :-)!!!

If you're running a business I'm sure you would have thought of  brochure printing to promote your products or services.

Brochures Printing Online is a company that prints brochures designed to your exact specifications. They help you to create custom brochures and their team of design experts will help check and ensure the quality of your prints before sending them off to their printers. 

"We print your brochures using digital or offset process to make sure that you have the best quality at the best price available." 

Click on the image below to learn more.

And this is the giveaway Brochures Printing Online is offering to one of my lucky readers ~

100 8.5x11 Trifold Brochures   
100lb Paper Gloss   
Trifold/Letterfold, Z-fold   
4 Color Both Sides Printing  
It's limited to US residents 18 years and above.      

Just leave a comment and the winner will be picked using random.org. 

 If you would like to try for an extra entry please visit Brochure Printing Online and leave a comment telling me which item would be most suitable to your needs. 

If you would like to top it with 2 more entries post about this on your blog and/or facebook it and leave me the link/links. 

This giveaway will be opened until the 25th of August 2010. I will announce the winner on the 26th of August 2010.

Good luck and Happy Days!

But far, far away from the land of digital and offset processes I did my own printing ~In cake. It was for N and R's birthdays. They were born on the same day 4 years apart.

I used silicone word moulds sold online at SiliconeMoulds.com. Moulds that were designed by a dear blogger friend Sarah Jane. You must visit her lovely blog, siliconemoulds.blogspot.

Silicone moulds is an online store that sells silicone bakeware moulds for cakes, jellies, chocolate, soap and many other uses and is the only store, online or otherwise, that sells silicone word moulds.

The only decoration I did was a dusting of icing sugar over a piece of plastic grid to get the grid effect.

When you're happy and you know it clap your hands. Happy birthdays to our dearest N and R.

  
                             HApPy dAyS CaKe

The cake I made is one from my favourite cake 'chemist', Rose Levy Beranbaum. Her recipes have never failed me and this chocolate cake is as good as it gets. Fudgy, chocolaty and never too sweet.   

The recipe ~Rose Levy Beraabaum's

85 gm cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water3 large eggs (150 gm without shells)
vanilla extract
300 gm plain flour
434 gm light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt227 gm unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 170 C.

Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans.


Whisk cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cool to room temperature. 

In another bowl combine egg and 1/4 of the cocoa mixture.


In another bowl combine dry ingredients and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add butter and remaining cocoa mixture. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Add egg/cocoa mixture in 3 batches and beat for 30 seconds each time. 


Pour into pans and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

For these moulds I had only to make one recipe of this cake and pour the batter slightly more than half way up the sides of the moulds. When baked leave to cool completely in the moulds before turning out. 


Tips ~ Before turning the cakes out pull the sides of the mould away from the sides of the cakes, gently, to loosen them up. The cakes will then literally fall out of the moulds when you turn it out. 


Turn the cakes the right side up and slice off the mounds to level the cake and then turn them over again so that the bottoms are facing upwards and are displayed as the top of the cakes. Decorate as you desire.

If you're using silicone moulds do go to my CAKE post for further tips on using silicone moulds.