Bagels

Had I known bagels would be so easy to make, I would have attempted this way earlier. The process is like creating any kind of bread, really, with the added step of placing the uncooked bagels in boiling water for a few minutes. This is what creates the harder crust and the spongy interior, which makes bagels so good, so good.

Bagels

3.5 cups all purpose flour
1.25 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt

I make this in a stand mixer - if you're kneading by hand, make sure you have some good music, good company, good drinks or all three combined to make time fly by. Start by mixing the yeast and the sugar with the water - the water should be warm, but not hot. We're looking to awaken the yeast, not burn it to death. Once the yeast and sugar has dissolved completely, pour the flour into a large bowl (the stand mixer bowl, if using) and make a well in the middle. Add the liquid and incorporate some of the flour into it. We're looking to make a very loose batter, not an actual dough at this point.

Let this rest for 30 minutes - you'll notice that it gets very bubbly on top. Once the 30 minutes are up, add the salt and start kneading. If you're using the stand mixer, lube your dough hook up with cooking spray and knead for about 15 minutes. If doing by hand, mix everything up in the bowl and turn on to a floured working space. Knead for 30 minutes, without breaks! Breaks are for the weak. Oh, I'm just kidding.

Once the kneading is done, you should be able to "windowpane" the dough. Take a small piece and flatten it into a disc. Drag the edges, turning with each pull, and the center of the dough should be like a membrane, you should easily be able to see light through it. Here's an example of what that looks like.

Optional step: If you wish to make bagels with something in them, like cranberries or blueberries, now is the time to gently fold them into the dough.

Place the dough back in the bowl (or leave it in the bowl if you're using a stand mixer), cover loosely and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Once done rising, turn the dough back out on the floured work surface and divide it into 8 equally large parts. Now it's time to form bagels - either make a lump and poke a hole in the middle, or roll the lump out into a roll and join the ends together. Either way works. Place the bagels on a baking sheet and cover again.

Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Put water, a large pinch of salt and a large pinch of sugar in a large pot and place over high heat on the stove, until you achieve a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, your bagels should have risen enough - you're looking to have them increase about 50% in size. Now put as many bagels as you can fit in one layer in the boiling water. Leave for one minute, then flip them over and leave for another minute. Place back on the sheet and repeat this step until they are all nice and cooked.

Optional step: at this point, you can top the bagels with whatever you see fit. Grated cheese works well, coarse sea salt is awesome (make sure you push the salt into the bagel lightly, don't squeeze all the air out of it!) and a mix of red onion and cheese is great too. Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, hell, maybe I should try something sweet on there at some point too.

Bake the bagels in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If you're a thermometer lover, they need to be about 210 degrees F on the inside to be done.

Let rest on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes. They freeze exceptionally well - I generally thaw on "3" in the microwave for 1 minute and the toast them in a normal toaster. If not frozen, they won't last 24 hours - share 'em (with me)!

Scotch Pancakes Revisited

I made the pancakes in the video in this post and they turned out better than I could have imagined. It's not the lightest of breakfasts, but the caramel sauce, the bananas (and I don't really like bananas) and the ice cream just works together so well, the pancakes are extremely light and fluffy...yum. I think I'll have to make some this weekend again!

Scotch Pancakes with Caramel Bananas and Rum

3.5 oz (100g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) buttermilk
1/5 cup (50 ml) cold water
2 large eggs
sunflower oil for frying

4 large, ripe bananas
1.75 oz (50g) sugar
1.75 oz (50 g) unsalted butter
rum
2 tbsp water
vanilla ice cream for serving

Start by making the pancake batter. Weigh the flour and sift it into a bowl together with the baking powder. Mix together the water and buttermilk in a separate container. Add the salt to the flour, make a well in the middle and add about half of the buttermilk mixture and the two (beaten) eggs. Mix until you have a smooth batter, then add the rest of the buttermilk mixture.

Put about a tablespoon of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Use some kitchen paper to evenly coat the pan with the oil. Using a small ladle, pour some batter into the pan - if the pan is large enough you should easily be able to make two pancakes at once. Flip after about a minute and cook another 45 seconds on the other side. The pancakes should be browned and puff up slightly.

Peel the bananas and slice them lengthwise, you're looking to make about 1-inch long pieces, about 1/3 inch thick. Add the sugar to a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Let the sugar melt without touching it - once it's melted, let it brown slightly before adding the butter. Stir to combine, then add the bananas. Let cook for about two minutes, or until the bananas are just tender. At this point, add a good splash of rum and light it - be careful, watch your eyebrows and the kitchen furniture. Once the rum, has burned and most the alcohol has evaporated, add about two tablespoons of cold water and cook for another thirty seconds or so.

Serve the pancakes on a plate with some bananas on top, add ice cream and drizzle with some of the caramel sauce. Eat immediately.

Brazilian Vegan Stew

I am definitely not a vegan. As a matter of fact, I eat a lot of meat and I love pretty much all kinds of food - I'd hate to deny myself things like chicken, fish, eggs, cheese (oh, cheese), beef, pork and all the other foods out there. Now and then, however, I come across a recipe that just begs me to make it, and this Brazilian stew that just happens to be vegan (and extremely healthy, and filling at that) was one of those recipes.

Brazilian Stew

2 sweet potatoes
1 red pepper
1 sweet onion
3 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans (or any beans you'd like, just not baked!)
1 ripe mango
fresh cilantro (that's coriander outside the US - here, coriander is the seeds that grow the plant)
tortillas
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
1/2 tbsp Tabasco (optional)

Start by chopping the onion and mincing the garlic. In a large pot, add about two tablespoons of oil and place over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes. Chop the sweet potato into half-inch cubes. Add to the pot and stir. Remove the seeds and chop the red pepper into half inch pieces and add to the pot. Add the tomatoes and stir. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are getting soft. Make sure you stir now and then, to prevent burning. If it appears too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. At this point, it's a good opportunity to fight with the mango - try to get as much meat from it as possible. Here is a good guide!

Once the sweet potatoes are soft, add the beans to the pot, stir and let cook for about two minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, and add Tabasco if you wish. Remove from the heat and stir in the mango. Serve immediately with warm tortillas (I generally heat them on high in the microwave for 15 seconds) and sprinkle with the fresh cilantro.

This meal will make a lot more food than you'd expect and it's very filling. I usually have enough for three meals for two people...so if you're just looking to have a smaller meal for perhaps 4 people, remove one can of beans and one sweet potato from the recipe.

Shrimps with White Wine and Feta

I love shrimps. Jacquie loves shrimps. Thus: we eat a lot of shrimps. I can't remember how I figured out this particular meal out - most likely I found the recipe somewhere and changed a few things around to make it better (or at least different). It's quick, easy and extremely flavorful.

Shrimps with White Wine and Feta

3/4 lb raw shrimps
1/2 red onion
3 cloves garlic
16 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 small bunch fresh parsley
1 small package of spaghetti
salt
black pepper

Start by bringing water in a large pot to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt, then boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package - you're looking for al dente. Once boiled, drain and return to the pot. Next, peel and de-vein the shrimps, then set aside. Peel and chop the onion, peel and mince the garlic. Over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of cooking oil (or olive oil if you prefer that) and sauté the onions. Add the garlic after a couple of minutes, to prevent them from burning (as they will cook much quicker than the red onion). Once they are translucent and smell absolutely wonderful, add the shrimps. Cook the shrimps until just pink, then add the white wine. Stirring occasionally, cook until the shrimps are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.

Crumble the feta cheese and finely mince the parsley (I usually put it in a coffee cup and go to town with a pair of scissors). Once the shrimps have finished cooking, pour the sauce over the pasta. Add the cheese and parsley. Toss and serve immediately.

Scotch Pancakes with Caramel Bananas and Rum

My good friend Luke just sent a link to this video and I just had to post it. Wow.

More Cookies

I made cookies recently, and decided to try again but with a slight variation. Instead of dark chocolate chip cookies, I made them with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. I decided to mix up some cocoa in the batter to give them some color instead of having light cookies with white dots of chocolate and nuts in them. Turned out great. Follow the previous recipe, but replace the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, add about 1/3 cup macadamia nuts (crush lightly, we don't want huge chunks) and add 1/2 cup of baker's cocoa to the batter. Yum yum.

Salsa Chicken Tortillas with Guacamole

I found a recipe for the slow cooker that is amazingly simple and the end result is pretty freaking awesome. Served on a tortilla with some homemade guacamole and shredded cheese, I can't believe it takes all but ten minutes to whip this up, including the time it takes to make the guacamole but naturally not including the 6-8 hour cooking time in the slow cooker.

If you do not have a slow cooker, it can easily be made in a dutch oven or similar, just shorten the cooking time to 1 hour and cook on medium heat.

Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets (preferably with rib meat, not thinly sliced)
1 large can of salsa

Yes, making your own salsa will most likely make this recipe far better, but this isn't haute cuisine we're talking here - this is a simple, middle of the week, comfort food sort of recipe that is so easy to prepare on a day when you have no time or energy to actually cook (rarely for me, but still). Trim excess fat off the chicken. Place the whole pieces in the slow cooker. Dump the salsa on top, making sure to cover the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. The chicken should be cooked through and be shredable, but not dry.

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados
1 medium tomato
1/4 white onion
1 lime
salt
pepper

Make sure the avocados are ripe - they should be soft, but not mushy. You'll have a hell of a time getting the fruit out of the shell if they're too hard or too soft (but too soft is preferable over too hard). Place the avocado in a bowl. Finely mince the tomato and onion. Discard the tomato pulp, you only want to keep the meatier parts. I leave the skin on the tomato, you can peel it if you want to. Add the onion and tomato to the avocado. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over the mix, making sure no seeds from the lime find their way into the bowl. Mash together, salt and pepper to taste.

If you wish to make the guacamole spicy, do not add Tabasco sauce. Tabasco is vinegar based and you do not want to introduce that element to your guac! I suggest a hot sauce made from chilis or - why not - a fresh jalapeño. Your choice!

Once your chicken and your guacamole is finished, heat a tortilla according to the instructions on the packaging (unless you make your own, but that's something I'll save for another day), add salsa chicken, grated cheese (anything goes, cheddar is great for this though) and guacamole. Wrap up, consume. Goes great with a light Mexican beer like Corona or Dos Equis.