What to Cook?

Deciding what to cook is not only an exercise in frustration at times, but these days, it is a privilege for many. This week's column looks not only at highs and lows of meal planning, but it also asks how all of us can rethink meal planning given the current world food crisis: "I don’t want to sound overly nostalgic, I know that often the “good ole’ days” were also “hard ole’ days” But perhaps the time has come for us to think of meal planning in a different way because if we are not careful, the ability to feed ourselves will have nothing to do with wants and desires as our constraints will be money, health and availability." Click here to read the rest of the column. And for an interesting read, you might like to check out Tea's post: No Words.

This particular dish featured here today is Fried (sauteed Bora & Shrimp) Bora is also know an yard-long beans or snake beans. It is one of my go-to dishes when I'm wondering "what to cook". Click here for the recipe.

My dear friend Zuzana of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen is hosting yet another unique event, Tried & Tasted. I was honoured and just a little nervous :) when she asked that Tastes Like Home be the first blog to be Tried & Tasted. I'm excited to see your creations and interpretations. Please do not hesitate to email me for any of the recipes you'd like to try. If you have questions about the ingredients or about substitutions, I'd be more than happy to answer.

This week I'd like to thank Madhavi, Swati & Vege Yum for bestowing the Yummy Blog Award on Tastes Like Home. Thanks to Roopa of Kitchen Treats for creating this award. Now, I'm supposed to pass this award on to 5 blogs but let me tell you, I had a really difficult time picking just 5 blogs so I picked 6. I thought that since I was awarded the award 3 times I could present the award at least once more than stipulated. Truth be told, I want to give it to everyone! However, I know that the blog love will be passed on just as in pay it forward. So here are my picks.

Lori-Lynn of Taste With the Eyes - the name of this blog says it all;
Sig of Live to Eat - whether she's at home cooking, dining out or travelling abroad, she never neglects those of us who are food-porn lovers :);
Peter of Kalofagas - this man can turn some tricks in the kitchen;
Suganya of Tasty Palettes - I've already threatened to invite myself over to her house;
Marie of Proud Italian Cook - this is homemade gourmet cooking at its best
Coffee of The Spice Cafe - this woman could feed me anything and I'd eat it, even if I didn't want to.

And finally, when I saw this Orange-Lemon Cake last week on Patricia's blog, I could not resist. All I could think of was a big cup of tea and a warm slice of this cake. You've got to try it. The recipe can be found here.

Inspired Baking

Tea Parties, Coffee-Mornings and Bake-Sales have been a big part of my life while growing up. And it was through these baking fests that I was first introduced to some of my favourites. This week's column invites readers to a virtual Tea Party and you're invited.

Among my favourites are cheese scones served warm with some herbed butter.

Mini quiche

And cheese straw wafers

Brew a cup of tea or coffee and let's sit and gaff (gaff is a Guyanese term for chatting)

To try any or all of these recipes, please email me. And for more baking favourites, click on baking in the categories list on the far right-hand column.

Don't forget to check out Forgive Me My Nonsense...

Inspiration & Good News!

As I mentioned in my post at Forgive Me My Nonsense... last week, your muse is where you find it. Well I found mine for this week's column after reading Mark Bittman's conversion to sun-dried tomatoes. Click here to read the column.

I made two types of dried tomatoes, one set, I dried naturally in the sun and I found that they retained a bright red colour.

The other set I dried in the oven and I noticed that they got a deeper shade of red.

So what is a gal to do with all this dried tomatoes? Turn to her blogger friends of course, scour their blogs looking for recipes and how they have used this ingredient. First up is Nora's Two-cheese and sundried biscotti. This was my first attempt at making a biscotti and I loved the fact that it was savoury as I opt for more savoury than sweet stuff. Thanks Nora! This is soooooo good! Check for the recipe here.

Next up was Nicisme, I only discovered her blog last week and browsing, I found this: Sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan & basil whirls. Well I've dubbed them Sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and basil swirls (lol). Make these for a get-together and they'll be gone in no time. The recipe is here. This is also my entry for the Click event.

Sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan & Basil Swirls (CLICK)

I had some of the dried tomatoes left back and I packed them in oil with sliced garlic and large fresh basil leaves. They are currently chilling in my refrigerator.

Okay, okay, finally the good news :) This week, I signed a book deal! It was in the works since late-December but I wanted to wait until all the legal stuff was sorted out and I had put my signature on the contract. The book should hopefully be coming out mid-year, granted I can finish everything by the end of soon. A lot of work on it has been completed but there's still more to be done. Wish me luck. Bee, you are a gem and I thank you for you tributary post at Forgive Me My Nonsense... this week. It reminds of this post you made back in December. Thank you my dear friend!

Edit: the book is part food memoir, part cookbook.

On the mark, set, eat!

What?! Snow in the Caribbean? (lol)

"The Christmas holidays are brutal, they are not for the weak or faint-hearted. Christmas is for the fittest, the strongest and the bravest. You have to possess certain qualities in order to survive, and still have the energy needed for January 2 when you return to work. You need to be an organizer, a shopper, an entertainer and oh, a cook.... And, if we’re not careful, the holidays can take the joy out of cooking even for those of us who love to cook." Click here to read the rest of the column in which I outline a plan for tackling the big meal most of us are going to have this year.

It’s a very flexible plan and can be adjusted to suit your needs and circumstances.

I’ve been busy in the kitchen these past weeks experimenting and remaking some things as I suggest in my column. Experimenting like this is a way to avoid being frustrated on the day itself just in case a dish I’m trying for the first time does not come out right. Today, I’m sharing those dishes with you.

Let me start by drawing your attention to the photograph at the top of this post - pumpkin fritters. There is more than one version of this dish, the one above can be eaten as a savoury dish with a hint of sweetness or it can be eaten as a sweet when dusted with powdered sugar. Be warned, once you start popping these little beauties into your mouth, there is no stopping until all are gone.

I like any dessert with apples and apple pie is one of my favourites. So I thought that I’d experiment by making small individual apple pies, you know, so each guest would feel oh so special with their own little pie. While the thought is a lovely one, don't bother making these if you're having more than 6 people over because it's time consuming; especially if you want to do like I did (inspired by Martha Stewert) and cut out pretty little patterns to cover the pie. Save this dramatic presentation for a smaller gathering, or if you find someone you can designate to be the pie-making person.

Next, it was time to channel two of my favourite chefs in the kitchen. Both of these recipes I've tried before and they have not failed me and more importantly, they never fail to impress.

This is Tyler Florence’s Scallop Potato Gratin. The recipe is here.

And this here is Jamie Oliver's Baked Onions. Click here for the recipe.

Welcome to my table.

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For the past 2 years I've been making my Christmas presents and this year is no exception so when Zuzana at Burntmouth.com announced her event: A spoonful of Christmas, I was excited. My gift basket this year is going to be made up of chutneys, jams, spice rubs and flavoured salts and sugars among other things. Here are the flavoured salts I've made so far. They can be used as finishing salts or as seasoning salts.

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Finally, my good friend Bee of Jugalbandi and I are co-authoring a new blog, Forgive Me My Nonsense... We invite you to come visit and share your thoughts with us, and feel free to add us to your blog rolls and feeds. So you're probably wondering what this blog is all about. I'm not going to tell you, find out for yourself, go on, click here. :)

Please email me if you need any of the recipes in this post.

A Grate Experiment

Let me preface this post by saying this: Do not judge me. While I did what I had to do to deal with my obsession, I also did it for you. Yes you, don't look around as if you think I'm talking to someone else! (lol)

Perhaps you recall a few weeks ago when I told you that I'm nuts for coconuts? Well, it turns out that I'm also obsessed with finding a grater that's going to grate a coconut the fastest with the texture I'm looking for; and that my friends is what this week's column is all about. Go read it and see how I went about the process.

Here are the four graters I used

Left to right: Rotary grater, sit-down grater, food processor and a box grater.

I don't know the proper names for the first two graters so I gave them practical names.

Here's what I found out:

Please click on the image above to enlarge and see the various results (Update: The problem has been solved. If you cannot see a larger version of the image, please email me. Thanks). Do be sure to read the column for my notes on cracking the coconut and the steps necessary in order to work with these graters. Click here to see a slide show of the graters in action and for a close-up look at them as well as the various textures they yield.

My good friend over at East Meets West Kitchen, recently posted about coconuts also and her quest to find a particular grater. Be sure to check it out.

So what did I do with all the grated coconuts? Made a few things and then froze the rest.

The first thing I made was coconut bake, one of the bakes that Trinidad & Tobago is noted for. I adapted the recipe from here.

When I asked Can Cook Must Cook, what's the best thing to serve with this bake, she said sharp cheddar cheese and for us it means, New Zealand or English Cheddar Cheese.

Though I made bunjol and fried smoked herring to have with the bakes, it really is best with the cheddar cheese.

For a tea-time snack, I made shortbread coconut cookies.

And for dessert, oh yeah, gotta have some coconut ice cream.

Please email me if you need any of the recipes.

Trying Something Different

You know how sometimes we get tired of eating a particular dish? or having it a particular way? Well, in this week's column, I offer 3 variations of two pies and a salad. The original versions of these dishes have already been tried, tested and proven to be successful. So why mess with them? Uh, because I can, because I want to and more importantly because I know you'll appreciate my tampering (lol) Click here to read the column.

Tamper # 1

Truth be told, the credit for this tampering goes to my sister-in-law as it was at her house that I first had it. I jazzed it up a little bit and am now making it public. Instead of using regular potatoes, use sweet-potatoes for a twist to this long-time favourite.

Tamper # 2

Macaroni and cheese make a great pie but how about trying macaroni, pumpkin & cheese pie? It's a great way to sneak veggies into your diet without loosing the taste of the original dish. And it's something different to bring to the table.

Tamper # 3

This is sweet potato pie, it's very different from the traditional North American sweet potato pie that's made and served around Thanksgiving as a dessert. This is a savory sweet potato pie with hints of sweetness. In parts of the Caribbean, it is served in many homes for Sunday lunch and on special occasions.

When I thought about this week's column and dishes, I had in mind that the holidays are fast approaching and we're always looking for ideas... I hope that three dishes offer some variation and inspiration. I know I plan to have them on my table.

Please do not hesitate to email me for the recipes.

Today is Eid-ul-Fitr, it marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. This holiday is celebrated in Guyana and throughout the world in Muslim communities. Happy Eid-ul-Fitr to my multi-cultural family, friends and readers of this blog.

Gimme Plantains & Friendship Breads

When many people think about Caribbean food, plantains quickly come to mind. While you can't blame them because we do eat a lot of plantains in these parts, we're much more than plantains, but that's for another column and another post :) Often when plantains are thought of in the Caribbean-food context, it is usually as fried ripe plantains. However, there are so many other ways that we prepare and eat plantains.

In my column this week, I share some of the plantain dishes I enjoy the most and also a new spice-paste combo for sauteed green plantains that I learnt from here. Thanks Sailu. Click here to read the column.

If you'd like to learn more about the plantain and the plantain versus the banana, then Jugalbandi is the place to go. This week they had an insightful and informative post about the plantain.

Asha of Foodie's hope also has profiled some interesting plantain recipes this past week.

Without further ado, I present some plantain treats for you. If you'd like the recipe to any of these dishes, please do not hesitate to email me.

Plantain chips

Plantain Foo-Foo

(Foo-foo/fu-fu is an African dish: made by boiling and pounding startchy root vegetables and making them into balls to be eaten with stews or in soups. Plantains are also made into foo-foo though strictly speaking it is not a root vegetable though we think of it as a ground provision)

Foo-foo with stewed beef

Boiled ripe plantains with herb butter

Fried ripe plantains (very ripe)

Boiled green plantains sauteed with a mustard-coconut-ginger-chili paste

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And now for more fun stuff. Over two weeks ago, a lovely lady by the name of Suganya of Tasty Palettes fame, emailed asking me if I'd like to receive one the Amish Friendship-Bread starter that's been making its rounds all over the USA (that I know of so far). I enthusiastically responded, "yes!" So, here are some of the things I made with my starter after feeding it and sharing it with my friends.

First up - a Currant bread (which is more like a type of sweet bread)

Second - A Tipsy bread (tipsy because the grounded fruits that I used to make this bread have been macerating and marinating in rum for a year!)

Finally, I made the no-knead bread with the starter.

I found the dough to be a lot more sticky and difficult to handle because of the additional liquid. Nevertheless, the bread came out great as you can see. I got the same crust, but the texture was different, not as airy and holey as the original no-knead bread and what was particularly interesting is that the bread had a slight sourdough-taste to it. That, definitely comes from the starter.

Nuts for Coconuts

As some of you may know, I don’t really have a sweet tooth ;) Heaven knows I’ve said that often enough when commenting on your various sweet posts but hey, that does not prevent me from appreciating all those decadent goodies you make. In the strictest sense of the word I don’t have a sweet tooth. However, when it comes to any sweet made with coconut, I’m weak :) so coconut bread (aka sweet bread), coconut drops, coconut buns, coconut ice cream, salara… I’m there.

For sometime now, I’ve found it difficult to buy any of these things commercially made and the reason lies in the main ingredient – coconut. I’ve often found that there is usually not enough coconut or that all the moisture has been squeezed out of it thereby making the baked good dry and flavourless. All you get is the dry husk. Click here for the column if you’d like to read more about my love of all things coconut including the milk, the water and the jelly.

My favourite way to have sweet bread is with a cup of tea or a glass of ice-cold mauby or ginger beer.

Click here and I'll send you the recipe for the salara and or sweet bread. Here are the steps for making the salara.

When it comes to eating salara, I like to unfurl the roll and eat each layer by itself getting direct contact with the filling.

I’d be happy to send you the recipe for both or either of these goodies, just click here. And you can click here for the column.

Finally, my friend, Pat of Pat’s food blog bestowed upon me one of the nicest awards I have received and guess what? It’s the Nice Matters award! Thank you dear Pat. I am chuffed and honoured.

And for each one of you that reads this blog, this award is passed on to you. It's so nice of you everyweek to take time to stop by my blog and leave a kind word. Thank you so very much. Hugs.

No-Knead To Worry

I’ve never been a cool or popular person. At school, I was the quiet student content to be invisible, bury my head in my books and make 1 or 2 very good friends. As I grew into adulthood, I found that I was always late, if ever, in getting on the band-wagon of any trend or anything popular, hence it is now, almost 2 months shy of a year, that I made the much talked, discussed and blogged about No-Knead bread that was brought to us by Mark Bittman, the New York Times’ The Minimalist.

But this post and column is about a lot more than the No-Knead bread, it is about me journeying on an emotional safari and discovering things about my cooking self. I’ve found that I can be over confident, impatient, self-doubting, resolute and yet humble enough to learn lessons. You’ll have to click here for the column to read more and see how these traits manifest themselves.

So, what have I been making that caused this emotional outpouring? Guava jam, guava cheese and for the first time, the vaunted No-Knead bread. Easy, right? Click here and tell me that you don’t see yourself in someway in this column.

The jam and cheese process starts by first peeling and slicing ripe guavas.

Then boiling them and rubbing and pushing the soft pulp through a sieve.

After a little over an hour and a half, one has jam

A little over two hours later and you have guava cheese.

And finally, the bread; there has been enough waxing and waning about this bread and nothing new that I can add to make it more alluring. Here’s what I will say, if you like a crusty, artisan, chewy bread, then this is it. This is the bread for you. It was so good the first time that I made it again the very next day!

Eating the guava jam with this bread was bliss with so many experiences - the crunch of the crust, the chewiness of the texture, the aromatic fruity sweetness of the jam that sunk into the pockets of the bread. Life never tasted so good.

You can click here for the recipe or log on to Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery for the recipe and more.

If you haven’t tried making the bread yet, no-knead to worry, you can wait for a year like I did and then try it :))

A trio of pastries

In Guyana, when we talk about pastry, we mean the rich short crust pastry dough that's converted with fillings to make some melt-in-your mouth delicious-can't-just-have-one pinetarts, patties and cheese rolls. The filling for the patties are a variety, you can have ground meat, ground chicken or vegetables. Each filling is sauteed and seasoned with fresh herbs, salt & pepper.

Pinetarts are sweet, flavourful pineapple jam that's encased in a perfect triangular casing of pastry.

Cheese rolls are made with a sharp cheddar cheese that's seasoned with salt, hot pepper, grated onions and mustard, all mixed into a paste. A heaping tablespoon is lined along the edge and rolled, encasing the paste. Brushed with an eggwash and baked in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 - 25 minutes and I swear that you will want to eat these things everyday! :) No kidding.

Look at this picture, tell me you are not moved by those layers and tell me you can't imagine the joy in your mouth :)

This trio of pastries is the subject of this week's column. Come with me as I take a trip down memory lane and go into the kitchen to recreate these beauties. Click here.

This recipe for a rich short curst pastry dough is fool-proof and I highly recommend it. Click here and I'll send you the recipe(s) for the patties, pine tarts or cheese rolls.

Since I was going to be baking and I was into pastry mode, I thought that'd make some phyllo cups and fill them with whatever I like. So I made a sweet and a savoury filling.

Sauteed chicken tenders with tomatoes and onions filled one set of cups and another set were filled with some slow and low cooked Granny Smith apples with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon and all spice.

Don't forget that you can read the column here. Also, Latha of The Yum blog has asked me to remind everyone of the event she is hosting - Festival Cooking Series. Just click on the links to get there.

Cheese-Batter-Bread

I always like to check the package of certain ingredients where they suggest recipes. That is how I came across this Cheese-Batter-Bread, it was written at the back of one of my Fleischmann's yeast packets. Generally speaking, I can quickly judge a recipe by it's ingredients and method and decide if it's worth trying. The taste judgement I always hold off on until the dish is finished cooking, although regular cooks will tell you, judging from the ingredients, one gets an idea of how something is going to taste.

The ingredients for this bread were straight forward and so was the method. We get really delicious cheddar cheese here that comes primarily from New Zealand and England so I knew right there and then that this bread would be a winner. I've been making it now for more than 5 years and it never fails to impress when served for breakfast, brunch or just before dinner. The great thing about it also is that it is not necessary to eat it with anything and it becomes gourmet when used to make a sandwich.

Recipe - Cheese Batter Bread

Yields 2 loaves

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 envelopes rapid rise yeast (instant yeast)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 large egg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. In a large bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups flour, cheese, sugar, un-dissolved yeast and salt
3. Combine milk, water and butter and heat until very warm
4. Gradually stir the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
5. Mix for 2 mins at medium speed of your electric mixer, or by hand
6. Add the egg and 1 cup flour
7. Mix thoroughly at high speed (stir faster by hand)
8. Stir in the remaining flour to make a stiff batter
9. Cover batter and let rest for 10 mins
10. Turn the rested batter into two greased 2 1/2 inches loaf pans
11. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size
12. Bake in oven for 20 - 25 mins or until done
13. Remove from pan after 5 mins and cool on a wire rack

Soursop Ice Cream & Coconut Drops

Here in the Caribbean, we have a delicious fruit that’s flavorful with an intoxicating aroma that we call soursop, in Spanish guanabana and other South American countries, graviola. Click here for other names and places where it can be found. Soursop is used to make a variety of desserts, such as a flan as created by my Brazilian friend, Valentina of Trem Bom and beverages like punches, drinks and milk shakes. I also have friends who just like to eat the de-seeded pulp with condensed milk. One of my favourite ways to have it is in a homemade ice cream. And that is exactly what I made for my entry to Meeta’s Monthly Mingle, the theme being, Scream for Ice Cream.

Here's what you'll need to make the ice cream.

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup pureed soursop pulp

Method

1. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, or whisk, combine milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (1 - 2 minutes)
2. Stir in cream and pulp
3. Make ice cream according to your Ice Cream maker instructions.

If you do not have an ice cream maker, click here and here for their marvelous creations and a how-to without an ice cream maker.

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Who does not love coconut? It is one of those fruits that is totally useful, the pulp, the water, the shell, the fibrous outer shelling, everything. From the hard flesh we get milk, cream and oil, the water is refreshing and contains vitamins, the jelly when the coconut is young is tender and a pleasure to eat. The shell is used to make decorative ornaments, buttons and other accessories, the fibrous outer layer was used long ago to make mattresses and I’m sure they are used today in many other ways. The branches of the trees are cut and the leaves de-spine to make pointer brooms (that really do sweep clean). I’m sure that there are many other uses of the coconut and the tree itself.

Caribbean cooking would not be what it is without the coconut. Caribbean life would be something else without the coconut. I’m sure that many of you reading this right now have the same reverence for the coconut.

As I continue to get back to my baking, I find myself turning to the things I used to watch and help my mother bake for us on the weekends. One of those things was the coconut drop. It is so simple to make and so satisfying to eat that I’m sure it will become one of those regular things you make just as it was in my home growing up. If you have children, I’d advise you to make 2 batches, one will definitely not do. :)

You'll need:
1 cup flour
2 cups grated coconut
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 oz butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Equipment

• Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Ice cream scoop (regular-sized)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer for 2 - 3 minutes
4. Add egg and essence and continue to mix for a minute
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg-butter-sugar mixture
6. Stir in coconut, raisins and lemon zest
7. Batter should be stiff
8. Using the ice cream scoop, add scoops of mixture onto the lined baking sheet
9. Bake in oven until lightly browned and cooked through, 15 - 20 minutes
10. Yields 9 coconut drops

Notes
You can use a smaller scoop to yield more drops
Use a tablespoon if you do not have a scoop

A Cookie & A Coffee Cake

The baking continues...

While doing my daily blog browsing, commenting etc. I came across two blogs with recipes that I thought I'd like to try. The first one was a cookie. The reason I wanted to try it was because it was so simple and the ingredients were in my pantry. The second one, I was attracted to it just by the look of it, I liked the crumbly topping and the purple colour of the fresh cherries embedded in it.

The Peanut butter and jelly cookies, I found at Cooking with Amy. I followed her recipe which can be found here. The only difference was that I used guava jam instead of strawberry jam.



The cookies were peanut-ty rich and great for dipping into milk. If you are a cookie-lover or if peanut butter is your thing, or if you like PB & J (peanut butter & jelly) sandwiches, then this is the cookie for you.

Just as easy to make was Helen's Cherry & Coconut Cake. Here is the recipe. A couple of things to note. Helen used fresh cherries, I used frozen strawberries. As a result, the strawberries lost all of its colour in the baking process, there were little pockets of lilac-colour where the fruit lay. The recipe calls for half teaspoon ground ginger but I used one teaspoon of freshly-grated-ginger. When I make this cake again, I will definitely use fresh fruit instead of frozen I think it will stand up more to the long cooking process and still maintain elements of its originality.



What I loved about this cake was the crusty topping, that shattered into bits as you cut into it. I have to unashamedly admit that I ate more of the topping than the cake itself. The fresh ginger in it came alive just as you swallowed and the cake was lovingly tender, the lemon zest gave it a fresh light taste with the bits of coconut gently announcing itself.

Baked Eggs

Okay, stop drooling now :)

I am not going to bore you all with info like: eggs are so versatile, they are essential to many things that we cook; what would cooking be without them or the fact that top chefs are now making gourmet egg dishes and giving this humble ingredient the respect and honour it deserves. Rather, I am just going to tell you simply that instead of boiled or scrambled, I thought I'd try having my breakfast of eggs, baked.



These were so good, so simple to make and I am beginning to feel that for a long, long time, this is how I am going to have eggs whenever I feel like having them (at least for breakfast or brunch).

Here's what you need

Baked Eggs
2 eggs (or 3 egg whites)
1 1/2 tbsp finely diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped green onions (white & green parts)
2 tsp oil
Salt and pepper to taste
A pat of butter or margarine

Equipment
1 small saute pan
1 small oven-proof baking dish
1 baking sheet

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat oil in pan, add onions and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and saute for 1 - 2 mins
3. Turn off heat and set aside the pan
4. Rub the pat of butter all over the inside of the baking dish
5. Crack one egg into the dish
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Add sauteed onions and tomatoes
8. Crack the other egg into the dish
9. Season again with salt and pepper
10. Place the dish onto a baking sheet
11. Slide into oven
12. Bake for 15 mins if made with egg whites
13. Bake for 20 mins if made with whole eggs

Serve with toast or whatever you like to have your eggs with.

I am submitting this as my entry to WBB #12 hosted this month by the patient, kind and beautiful, Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me.

Icon courtesy of Nandita of Saffron Trail

Banana-Nut Muffins

Since I started blogging, I've not been baking as often as I would like to. Partly this is because I'm guided by whatever the subject of my weekly column is, and also partly because baking needs a lot more attention. It has special needs and is often exacting - in the measuring of ingredients, minutes to mix, beat, whip, knead or fold, and in the temperatures and times it takes to cook.

However, the end result, once all the pampering is done, cannot be beaten - the risen bread, brown and crusty, the cake moist and golden, the muffins, perfect little mounds of deliciousness...

I love to bake. As I said, it's exacting and demanding, but it is exactly for those reasons that baking gives me a bigger high. Don't get me wrong, I love the adventure that cooking brings - doing so by intuition, experimenting, risking flavour combos etc.

I am getting back to my baking, I am going to make time for my baking; for too long it has been neglected. So every now and then you will see me sharing with you a baked good. Today, it is banana-nut muffins, the recipe can be found here.

These muffins were rich and moist. I particularly enjoyed the added textural feel that came from the bananas that were simply mashed with the fork. (You'll understand further when you read the recipe).



I enjoyed my muffin with a cup of tea.



Today's column can be read here.

Hot Cross Buns

In my column this week, I share my challenges of coming up with a recipe for cross buns and even daring to offer my mom (who is a good baker) something that came out of the oven not looking like the cross buns we both knew at all.

Read the column and come share any similar stories you may have. Also, if you'd like my new recipe, the result of which is exhibited above, email me.