Sadie's Toffee

 Sadie says the he recipe is quite simple. 

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

few pinches of salt

 

Just melt down half a cup of butter in a medium size skillet.  When it has melted add one cup of sugar and a few pinches of salt.  The salt helps the toffee not separate.  Turn the temperature up to a medium or high heat depending on whether you would rather it take less time with more of a chance of burning or more time with less of a chance.  Continue stirring it until the mixture becomes a light brown color that when left for a few seconds, and you mix it deep brown streaks turn up.  Most importantly when you can no longer see the sugar particles and it is smooth.  Then remove from heat and pour it onto a parchment paper on a pan of some sort.  Allow to cool completely then crack into pieces.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe and the yummy toffee Sadie! 

Oven Roasted Salmon

Pomolo roasted salmon

Slice pomolo, grapefruit, orange or any citrus fruit and place on parchment paper. Sprinkle with desired fresh herbs. Roast  in oven as usual until desired doneness.  Enjoy the subtle hint of citrus.

Roasted Pears

Jenny served this as an accompaniment to a tender pork loin on a visit over the Christmas holidays.  A perfect compliment to the meal along with cheesy mashed potatoes and a smooth gravy. 

This dish can also be served as a dessert or lunch treat along with ice cream or greek yogourt. 

 2 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 ripe but firm pears (Comice, Bartlett or Bosc)

1/ 1/4 cups dry white wine

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/3 cup pistachios

Peel, half and core the pears.

Quarter the dried apricots.

Toast and chop the pistachios.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Melt 1 1/2 tbsp. butter in 12" oven safe skillet, cookie sheet with parchment paper or casserole dish.

Place pear halves cut side down in skillet and brown for 3 to 5 minutes with medium heat.

Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 15 minutes. Flip and roast for another 15 minutes until fork pierces fruit easily.

Using tongs transfer pears to a platter. Return skillet to medium high heat and add wine, apricots, sugar, cardamon, salt and remaining butter.  Bring to vigorous simmer, whisk to scrape up any browned bits.   Cook until sauce is reduced and has the consistency of maple syrup, 7 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.  Pour sauce over pears, sprinkle with pistachios and serve.

(Alternate method of preparation is to sprinkle the apricots, sugar, cardamom, salt and pistachios over the pears while still in the oven and continue to roast until desired doneness is achieved.)

Substitutions: 

Gala Apples for Pears

Red Wine for White Wine

Figs for Apricots

Walnuts for Pistachios

Pepper for Cardamom

Papa's Bread #2

 

Papa’s Bread # 2

Just like the other recipe this bread is very easy to make, so here goes..

Ingredients 

6 cups of white flour

2 1/2 cups of room temp water

1 tbsp of active dry yeast

2 tsp of salt

And maybe a pinch of sugar

Mixing steps

Combine half the flour and all  yeast and sugar in the mixer bowl by stirring not by the mixer

In the rest of the flour stir in the salt

Add all the water to the flour yeast and sugar bowl and mix by hand until  a soggy mess then place bowl in mixmaster  with the dough hook..

Next turn mixer on a low speed and slowly add  the rest of flour. Nead this for about 8 to 10 minutes adding a little water ( like tbsps  at a time ) to create a sticky dough cleaning bowl sides as needed be. 

Remove from mixmaster and by hand nead a bit to even out in the bowls, cover with Saran and place in warm place. Let raise for about two hours.

While dough is raising dampen the Banneton Bowls and cover the inside with rice flour so dough will not stick to them.

When dough is risen dump out onto counter, nead to remove some of the air. 

Then cut dough in half placing each into a banneton bowl,  needing down a bit to fill the bowls.. return the bowls to the proofer for another two hours..

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake loafs for 45 minutes. When baked turn the loafers out on cooling rackets and if you can’t wait, cut a crust piece, and using ample butter ENJOY!

Amy and Kevin's 25th Wedding Anniversary Chocolate Cake

I made one 9 inch cake for Amy and Kevin 2025 on their 25th wedding anniversary.

This cake is gluten free, keeps well in the fridge for up to 1 week and can be frozen un-iced. Thanks Tristan for sharing your expertise on the difference between almond meal and almond flour.

For two thick 9 inch cakes you need the following for each one ( in other words the following twice if you want two cakes:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup hot water

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

330 g butter (about 1 1/2 cups)

300 g dark chocolate

2 1/4 cups almond meal (I used almond flour)

9 eggs

For one thin 9 inch cake and one 6 inch cake you will need the following for each one.

1/2 cup cocoa powder

                                                  1/2 cup hot water                                                        

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

220 g butter ( about 1 cup)

200 g dark chocolate

1 1/2 cups almond meal (I used almond flour)

6 eggs

Preheat oven to 170 C/338 F. Grease cake tins and line the base with baking paper.
Put cocoa into a medium saucepan and slowly whisk in the hot water to form a smooth paste. Add sugar, butter and chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes to cool. Stir in the almond meal and eggs. Pour into tin and bake for about 60-70 minutes for the two deep 22cm cakes, 50 minutes for thinner 22cm (9 in) cake, and 1 hour 20 minutes for 16cm (6 in) cake or until cooked when tested with a skewer. I baked the 9 inch cake for 1 1/2 hours to get the toothpick to come out clean but read elsewhere that flourless cakes can be taken out when the middle is still a bit jiggly otherwise they can be a bit dry.  Not sure if that applies to this cake.  The cake wasn't overly dry but I will try a bit less time in the oven next time. Cool cake in the tin, then remove, cover and refrigerate until needed. They can all be frozen at his stage if you are planning ahead. Cool, wrap in baking paper then cling film and freeze flat (on a tray is good). Defrost over night . 

Meringue Icing

1 1/4 cups berry sugar

1/3 cup water

6 egg whites

500 grams (1 lb) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, and slowly bring to the boil without stirring. You can swirl the pan slightly, but stirring it can cause sugar crystals to form, which you don’t want. Wash down any sugar crystals from the inside of the pan with a wet pastry brush. When the sugar is completely dissolved, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Boil until soft ball stage on a sugar (candy) thermometer (116 C/240 F). If you don’t happen to have a sugar thermometer, simply drop a little syrup into a glass of cold water, and if it forms a soft sugary ball you’re good to go.

Beat the egg whites with a electric hand mixer in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Continue beating and pour in the sugar syrup in a steady stream into the egg whites. Beat for 3 minutes or until the mixture stops steaming.

Continue beating and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, until it's all incorporated. Beat for a further 15 minutes (the mixture will look curdled at first), then use a metal spoon to mix in the vanilla. Keep in a cool place (not in the fridge) until needed.

To ice I turned the cake upside down on the serving plate as the bottom of the cake is flatter.  For the 9 inch cake the above amount of icing was too much. I would try 2/3 of the recipe next time.

Garden flowers made a pleasing finish to the cake.

August 2025

 

Amy's Summer Bowl

Pictures say it all in this yummy and healthy summer meal! 

This meal can be served using individual large bowls or plates and 

personalized to suit guests' preferences.

Buffet style with prepared ingredients so that diners

 may choose their own combinations.

Ingredients

Meatballs, beef, chicken or shrimp

Rice vermicelli 

Crunchy sliced veggies( radishes, cucumbers, peppers, coleslaw)

Pineapple chunks in cornstarch slurry (can add jelly)

Peanut sauce

Crunchy rice (optional topping)

Peanuts or Almonds (optional topping)

Sweet Corn and Green Chile Baked Flautas

 This is  a vegan recipe but Jenny and Sadie like to add:

Shredded Cheese

Guacamole

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Salsa

The Lewises usually serve the flautas with Carne Asada that is basically

 a seasoned sirloin steak that is served thinly sliced.

This recipe makes about 12 flautas using standard flour tortillas

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow or white onion (about 1/2 onion)

2 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped

3 cups cooked pinto beans

1 -4 oz can mild green chiles

juice of 1/2 lime

1 cup sweet corn kernels

12 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 400.  Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Heat up the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and throw in the onion.  Cook until the onion starts to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds and then turn off the heat.

Throw the beans, chilis, and lime juice together in a big bowl.  Mash them up using a potato masher or a spoon until a paste forms.  It's cool if there are some whole beans left here and there: you don't need to spend the whole day mashing.  Fold in the onions and corn and stir.  Your filling is ready.

Using a griddle, your oven or the microwave, warm up the tortillas.  Grab about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling and spread that in a nice line toward the edge of the left side of one of the tortillas from top to bottom. Then roll that up nice and tight from left to right.  You could even put a small smear of beans toward the other end of the tortilla to help it stay shut.  Place the flauta seam side down on the baking sheet about an inch or two away from its flauta brethren.  Make sure the filling got all the way to the ends and then adjust how you distribute the filling the next time.  Keep going until you run out of tortillas or filling.

Lightly coat them all with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes.  When you pull them out the bottoms should be golden-if not stick them in for another couple minutes.  When the bottoms look good, turn them over and bake until golden and crispy on both sides, another 5 to 7 minutes.  Serve warm topped with your choice of toppings.