The tractor factor

So tonight sees my first blog post in 5 MONHTS!! Wow, returning back to Africa after 2 years in South Korea has proven to be quit a whirl-wind. Anyhow, here is a worthwile post to get going again.

A few weeks ago my amazing boyfriend turned the big 30 and i decided to go BIG on the cake. Not any old cake…  layers of decadedent chocolate, carrot and vanilla sponge cake somehow transformed in a ‘cakey' metamorphosis into … a fun, and funky tractor theme cake (:

Needles to say he loved it, and we devoured every little morsel.

A handy TIP is to bake the cakes and then FREEZE them! Yip, you heard me.. When sculpting and molding a cake it is much more maneagable when slightly thawed. 

1. Bake
2. Freeze
3. Cover in buttercream ( a turn table will change your cake making life forever!)

Loving the turn table!

4. Roll out fondant on a surface dusted with cornflour. Drape over the cake, smoothing it out with fondant "paddles"

 5. Here is where it all gets a bit ‘naughty’ (: Spray the fondant with some vodka to give it an extra SHINE and shimmer!

6. CONTINUE so with each layer, until………..voila! We have a  lovely ‘marriage’ of flavours and sorts with John Deere and Massey Furguson strutting their stuff.

So if you are in need of a fun and festive cake for a celebration, FEEL FREE to contact me and I may be able to conjure up a cake or 2 (:  sanja.biokin@gmail.com or 0814571570

Brunch Punch!!

So, this must have been the MOST fun I have had with cooking!! When I heard that Anna Sward from Protein Pow(d)er was having a Protein Pancake competition, I immediately started dreaming up images of the most wonderful flavors and pancake creations! Serioulsy, I was so excited to get cooking that I had about 3 sleepless nights!! This is what I came up with -

Check out her website (http://proteinpow.com/) to see my Protein Pancake Entry! 
( Every view counts, and the recipe with the most views is the winner!! (:  ) Being an Elementary School Teacher in South Korea most definitely influenced my recipe. I drew my inspiration from something I deal with EVERYDAY.. The alphabet and colors..

Believe it or not, but these pancakes are all made from the same recipe ! With exception to one KEY ingredient - the liquidy part.
The basic ingredients are 

Basic pancake recipe

This recipe yields 3 lovely fluffy and moist pancakes. 

• 4 heaped tbsp of almond flour
• 2 tbsp of oat flour
• 1 scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
• 1 tsp of honey
• 1 tbs of baking powder
• 1 heaped tbs of butter beans
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup of milk / beet puree / orange juice /blueberry puree

P. erfect Red is my twist on the classic Red Velvet- substitute the milk for 1/2 a cup of beet puree mixed with a tspn of cocoa and a tspn of vinegar. 

O. range Chilli Choc is a delicious combination of sweet and spicy- substitute the milk for 1/2 a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.

W. hey to Blue is a fresh, fruity mix - substitute the milk for 1/2 a cup of blueberry puree, and a dash of cocoa.

I baked the pancakes and then cut out the letters with a stencil. Ofcourse, you could just enjoy them just as they are too.The Butter beans in the recipe lower the G.I. and add a lovely moistness.

Method to the madness:

 After the pancake has slightly cooled, yo can cut out the letters with a stencil.

The subs  for O.range Chilli Choc and W.hey to Blue.

                                          

Homemade Almond milk and protein pancakes!

This recipe was so easy and fun to make I wish I could take full credit for it! The brain behind this one however,  is Anna Sward from Protein Pow(d)er. (She definitely has the power when it comes to cooking with protein!) Seriously, her website will REVOLUTIONIZE your cooking- protein no longer just has to be gulped down with milk, but can be used as a very versatile and nutritious ingredient in ssoooo many other
foods.

So, who guessed you could make your very Almond milk at home. It's ridiculously easy and way cheaper than store bought versions.

Almond Milk

You need: 1 cup of almonds

                  2 cups of water to make the almonds milk with

                 1 tsp vanilla essence

                 1 tbsp honey

1. Start off by soaking 1 cup of roasted almonds in water overnight.

2. In the morning, drain then off and throw them into a blender with 2 cups of water. 

       

3. Add the honey and vanilla and blend baby blend (: Stop once its liquid like and milky. 

4. Strain ( using a sieve ) over a bowl and keep the almond pulp ( its the secret ingredient for the pancakes!!)

Store the yummy milk in a glass milk bottle in the fridge (: 

Now for the Protein Almond'y' pancakes

You need :

1 egg

1 scoop of Whey protein powder ( I used this one)

1/4 tsp baking powder
 1/4 cup of almond meal ( the left over from the milk)
1/2 tsp honey
Mix together and cook!.

I enjoyed mine topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt and blueberries. 

Naan "puff-up" bread

So, I have wanted to try this for ages! Last week I invited some good friends over for dinner and decided it's time...I made a coconut and chicken Indian curry with brown rice and  amazingly soft, scrumptious, and melt in the mouth naan bread! I was super chuffed when they actually puffed up in the oven - just like they do when you get them at a restaurant.. Easy, fun and delicious!

A few simple ingredients:

4 cups of white flour
1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp yeast
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 tspn garlic
1 1/4 cup warm milk

Here's how 

1. Warm your milk slightly and add the yeast to it. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes; the yeast should make the warm milk a little fizzy. 
2. Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, sugar and garlic in a bowl. Add the softened / melted butter.

3. Next, add the warm milk mixture to the flour. Mix and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is elastic. Form a small ball, place the dough in a bowl covered with cling film. 

Allow to proof for 2 hours until it has doubled in size. 

4. Once it has doubled in size, form 8 small balls like this. 

   

           

  

5. Set the oven temperature at 220'. Allow the dough to rest for about 20-30 minutes, and then roll out.

6. Bake in the oven for about 4 minutes. By this time you should see them starting to PUFF up and form light brown spots.

You can wait one or 2 more minutes- just check that they don't brown too much. Take out of the oven, allow to cool a bit and serve with a cream cheese and chive yogurt dip and a spicy curry!

Johan being VERY Korean!

Trifle for dessert

Sweet potato pie with a citrus maramalade glaze

 I can still remember how we savored every little morsel of this pie. I made it for our Christmas Eve dinner, and it just added to the amazing spread of food we all made; Smoked gammon, potato bake, roast chicken with sides and stuffing, broccoli and bacon salad... the list can go on and on (: 

  

I made a pie crust, which proved to be great. BUT to be honest its such a mission to make it from scratch, so will buy one next time. However, if you feel like giving homemade pastry a try have a look here for an easy pie crust.

You need to 'pie' 

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup almond milk/ normal milk

• 2 cups of cooked and mashed sweet potatoes / pumpkin. Must be cooled down.
• juice of one orange, squeezed out
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of ginger

It's as easy as pie (:

1. Set oven temperature at 180'
2. Cream the butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter together
3. Mix the mashed pumpkin and eggs together with the milk and orange juice.
4. Add the pumpkin mixture to the butter mixture
5. Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger together.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. 
7. Pour into a pie crust, and bake for 40-45 minutes until firm. 
8. Allow to cool down and serve with cream cheese / whipped cream .