Cooking with more consciousness.

The person whose job it is to prepare the food for the household (or group) has a very important duty to the health of the family or group.
It is not merely a situation of cooking for compliments, but the cook is the family (group) pharmacist behind the scene.
Food maketh the man.
The person who cooks for his/her family can do much to relieve stress, obesity and other ailments. If you love your family, you will love to see them healthy and happy.
A conscious chef will not only cook the food that his/her family (or group) likes, but will prepare it in such a way that it is not only pleasing to the eye but feeds body mind and spirit.
Food preparation is a science and not merely plonking food on a plate to fill tummies.

Carrot Muffins Recipe

This recipe is based on a recipe from "Joy of Baking" who gives the best muffin baking advice.

They write that the pitfall with all muffin batters is in over mixing the batter and ending up with a tough muffin.

Only mix the batter until the ingredients are combined and moistened. (A few flecks of flour are fine.)

To make the job easier, plus to give the baked muffins a nice doomed shape, use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to fill the muffin cups.

If you want standard sized muffins, only fill the muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. However, if you like your muffins with a crown, fill the cups to the top. Just make sure to grease the top of the muffin pan so that as the batter overflows it does not stick to the top of the pan.

Fill any unfilled muffin cups with a little water to ensure even baking as well as preventing the pan from warping.



Recipe:

1/2 cup (50 grams) pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

2 cups (270 grams) grated raw carrot (about 2-3 peeled carrots)

1 large apple, peeled and grated

2 cups (280 grams) Wholemeal flour

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) white or brown (not carmlized) sugar

3/4 teaspoon bicarb (baking soda)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (3.5 grams) salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (180 ml) safflower or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


The muffins do not need a frosting, but if you have a sweet tooth you can use the following topping:


Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces (1/2 cup) (110 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

3 tablespoons icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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METHOD



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.
Prepare muffin pans by placing paper liners in 18 muffin cups.
"Spray-n-cook" the lot if you have aerosol cooking oil avalible.

Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.
Do not overcook.
Let cool and then chop coarsely.

Peel and finely grate the carrots and apple. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Stir in the nuts and coconut. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Fold the wet ingredients, along with the grated carrot and apple, into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

After about 10 minutes remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 18 standard-sized muffins.

This muffin was based on a similar recipe from JoyOfBaking: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotMuffins.html#ixzz0Hls3dx9x&C

get more recipes here:
Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotMuffins.html#ixzz0HlsgaBG0&C

My other blog:
http://grannyrosa.iblog.co.za/

Chicken Bacon and Rice JAMBALAYA

SOUTH AMERICAN JAMBALAYA

(Recipe from my Tastic Rice packet)

A delicious and spicy dish full of South American flavour.

• 15 ml (1 tbs) Oil

• 3-4 Rashers Streaky Bacon, chopped

• 1 Onion, chopped

• 2 Celery Stalks, chopped

• 500 ml (2 cups) Uncooked TasticRice

• 1 litre (4 cups) Chicken Stock

• 3 ml (1/2 t) Salt

• 3 ml (1/2 t) Black Pepper

• 3 ml (1/2 t) Cayenne Pepper

• 1 Bay Leaf

• 1 Green Pepper, chopped

• 1x 410 g can tomatoes, chopped

• 100 g Ham, chopped

• 200g Cooked Chicken, chopped

• 15 ml Parsley, chopped

METHOD

• 1. Heat oil and fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

• 2. Fry the onion until soft, but not brown. Add celery and Tastic Rice, stirring constantly.
  

• Fry for 1 minute.

• 3. Pour in stock, add the salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

• 4. Add green pepper and tomatoes and simmer for 5 -10 minutes.

• 5. Stir in ham, cooked bacon and chicken and simmer for 5 minutes.

• 6. Spoon the delicious Jambalaya into a warmed serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Serves 4-6

TIPS

• 1. For a special occasion, add 200 grams cleaned, cooked prawns or shrimps to the Jambalaya.

• 2. Mushrooms and red pepper can also be added to the ingredients.

• 3. Use cooked chicken pieces in place of chopped chicken.

To navigate to the Tastic Test Kitchen - CLICK HERE