My delicious friend Jun has made some lovely scones.  Or do I mean my lovely friend Jun has made some delicious scones.

Either way, his photos were so gorgeous I asked him to share with all of you. They make me want to bake (he’s broken it down into steps with photos so it’s even easier) and then eat them fresh from the oven oozing with butter…yummmm.  I wish Jun lived next door.

So here are Yummy Jun’s Amazing Scones.  Or Amazing Jun’s Yummy Scones.

Ingredients : All purpose flour 350g, baking powder 2 ts, butter 80g, 2 eggs, milk 120g, sugar 60g, blueberry 100g

1+2 : Put the eggs, sugar and milk in to the bowl and whip it until the sugar melts.

3+4 : Prepare another bowl and put sieved flour and baking powder, then put the cold solid butter into the bowl.
Using one hand, cover the butter with flour and cut it with scraper until the butter and the flour mix well.
At the end use your hand and knead it until the flour texture becomes crumbly.

5+6 : Put number 2 and blueberry to number 4 and mix with a spatula.
Then wrap the dough and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

7 : After the 30 minutes, roll the dough as 3-4 cm thick. And cut them as triangle shape or as you want.
Put the baking paper on a pan and put the dough. Don’t put them too close as they rise while it baking – you don’t want them to stick.
Use a pastry brush and put milk or egg white on top of the dough. Milk gives the top a brown finish and egg white makes it more brown and glossy.

8 : Bake them in the oven for 180 ‘C, 15 minutes. If the scone top is not brown enough, At the end of baking, blast them – for 20 seconds raise the temperature to 200′C
All the baking is done, cool them down in the room temperature.

All ready for eating!

Friend Bel’s always baking, and I wish she lived closer so I could enjoy the fruits of her labours.

Here’s her recipe for Peanut Butter-Nutella Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
170g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup smooth peanut butter, room temp
2 cups brown sugar
2 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For chocolate glaze
Nutella Spread

INSTRUCTIONS

To make cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in egg. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until batter smooth.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each liner with a generous 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. There will be cracks on the top. Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on wire rack.

Nutella Glaze
Using a small spatula, spread nutella over the cupcakes. Be as generous as you wish.

The cupcakes can be covered and stored at room temp for up to 3 days. ENJOY!

Back when I used to eat pork (I stopped when I realised that pigs are intelligent, and make excellent pets), Bakwan Kepiting was one of my favourite dishes.  And pretty healthful, so I used to have it a lot.  We are experimenting with non-pork versions, with tofu for me now and it’s not bad, although there are still textural challenges…

So what is it?  It’s a Peranakan dish, of crab (kepiting) and pork meatballs in a prawn/bamboo shoot stock.  Usually eaten with sambal belacan, a squish of lemo (calamansi) and rice.  The hearty prawn broth, with the gentle spring of the shredded bamboo shoots in the broth, given a little kick with the belacan, sets off the springy, crabby meatballs.  YUMMY.

Mum reduces all her magic into these incredibly simple recipes – and I don’t know if you can reproduce the magic, but have a go!

Bakwan kepiting, sambal belacan and lemo, with rice ©thegroovini

You’ll need:
200g crab meat
2 eggs
500g minced pork
250g fresh prawns (deshelled)
200g shredded bamboo shoots
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks spring onion – finely chopped
Cooking oil

• Peel, devein & mince prawns. Keep the skin of the prawns for stock
• Heat frying pan & add oil. When hot add skins – cook for 5 mins until skins turn pink
• Remove from pan & blend this in mixer
• Bring water to the boil & add prawn skins – boil for 15 mins – reserve for stock
• Boil bamboo shoots in water for 30 mins. Drain & leave to cool – then julienne bamboo shoots
• Mix minced pork, chopped prawns, crab meat, 2 raw eggs, chopped spring onions, ½ tsp salt & ½ teasp pepper – refrigerate for 30 mins
• Heat pot, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• Stir fry garlic until brown & fragrant. Add prawn stock, bamboo shoots & salt. Bring to boil
• Shape meat into balls & cook in stock
• Serve with coriander leaves, spring onions & fried onions

In sympathy with those on new year’s resolution diets. These recipes look yummy but for some reason lacking in a ton of salad greens!

Donna Hay’s yummy plum, chicken cashew salad

I really really want this!  Madison Mag’s Prawn and Avocado stack (but I’d add a lot of rocket leaves too)

Egg salad with a twist

Jamie Oliver’s Thai-style mango and griddled prawn salad

Curried Rice and Quinoa, for Ryan

I will definitely be trying this one – Cooking Light’s Chipotle Taco Chicken salad

From the wonderful Chiva Som kitchens, prawn and pomelo salad

One of the blessings in my life is Susi, who looks after me and as an added bonus (and my friends), she is a wonderful cook.  She can cook everything except Scrambled Eggs, which completely eludes her.

With the overindulgence that’s bound to happen over Christmas, I thought I’d share this recipe for a simple, flavourful and satisfying dish.  It’s delicious, nourishing, nutritious and pretty clean – a perfect meal – and really easy to make.

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped Kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped Laksa leaves
• ½ cup roughly chopped long bean

Make into a paste:

• 4 shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 chillis

• Flaked Batang fish
• Rice, cooked for 4
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Heat a frying pan
Add the paste
Add the leaves
Add the fish
Cook for 5 minutes

Stir into the rice
Add the beans

Freaking out at the thought of cooking Christmas dinner?  Don’t panic!  Help is at hand for all sorts of Christmas goodies

The Times’ comprehensive guide to Christmas cooking

The Guardian’s fabulous guide to Christmas cooking

Baking for Christmas

BBC’s Good Food Magazine’s guide to Christmas cooking

Mario Batali’s traditional Italian Christmas eve fish feast

We’re using this cornbread stuffing recipe for me this year, since I won’t eat pork

Julia Child’s turkey recipe

Cooking Light for the lighter alternatives

And…reader Carolyn’s Berrylicious Pavlova.  I wish she’d make me one.  Doesn’t it look YUM?

by Carolyn

I loved this recipe because it was easy, could be done ahead of time and is relatively foolproof! And everyone scarfed it down …. not a crumb was left behind. There are some suspicions that someone licked the plate …

Another trick is to slice the strawberries (which can be a little under-ripe), and toss them in a little sugar and balsamic vinegar to create a lovely glaze that sweetens the berries and makes it all lusciously delicious.

• 4 egg whites (try to use the large eggs here)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 cup double cream, whipped
• Assorted strawberries, berries or frozen berry mix
• If strawberries are under-ripe, then:
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C* for 10 min. Draw an 8” circle on an oiled greaseproof paper and place on baking sheet.
2. If strawberries are under-ripe, slice them and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of caster sugar and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. This should be done at least 3 hours before to let the glazing occur. Chill. Toss other berries in one hour before serving.
3. Whisk the egg whites stiffly, add half of the sugar and whisk till stiff again. Fold in the remaining sugar. Add vinegar, essence and cornflour.
4. Spread mix over the baking paper, keeping inside the outline and form a shallow case (with slight depression in the middle). Bake in the centre of the oven for an hour or till firm. Leave to cool. If you do this too early and it starts oozing later, pop it back in the oven for another 20 minutes at 100°C till it dries out.
5. Top with whipped cream and then the berries. If using berries whole without the glaze, then add a dusting of icing sugar on the top for that ‘snowy’ effect.

*Tip: If your oven is fan assisted, lower the heat to 120°C – You need a slow heat to dry out the pavlova more.

This is an incredibly simple and tasty dish, 15 minutes to whip it up, and it’s wonderful combination of pasta, garlic, creamy comfort and a hint of chili heat.

yummy comfort food

Don’t you love that we have both a tummy tuck story and a recipe for a pasta dish in the same place? Ah, it all balances out beautifully!

When you’ve made it once, you can adjust it the next time to suit your taste – more garlic/cream, whatever…

You’ll need

(serves 2)

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon chopped chilli padi
• 6 large prawns, skinned, cut into 2 or 3
• 2 tablespoons fresh single cream
• ½ cup stock (I use a vegetable stock, but you can use chicken too)
• ½ cup green peas
• 2-3 tablespoons white wine (or none – at your taste level. Vodka also good!)
• 1 pack fresh linguine
• Salt
• Black pepper

Ready?

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan, when the oil is hot, turn down the flame and just maintain the heat
2. Drop in the garlic and onion and cook on the medium flame till soft
3. Add the chili
4. After a minute, add the prawns. As soon as they start turning pink, add the stock, wine and frozen peas
5. Add salt and black pepper to your taste
6. Simmer for a minute or so over the low flame
7. Drop the pasta into a pot of boiling water. It only takes a minute, be careful not to overcook!
8. Drain the pasta and run cold water over it to stop it cooking
9. Switch off the flame on the sauce
10. Add the cream to the sauce
11. Mix in the pasta

Eat immediately!

This gorgeous recipe is from reader Carolyn

Cream Scones

It’s best if all the ingredients are cold, and to add the liquid to the dry ingredients all at once, and then to mix everything together quickly and lightly. Another tip –  twist the cutter through the scone dough, rather than cutting straight down, the scones will rise higher during baking. So with this information in mind, let’s get baking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whipping cream or full cream milk

Glaze

Cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (160 degrees C) and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.

Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round. Then, using a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.

Bake for about 15 – 18 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favourite jam.

These scones freeze very well.

Makes about 10 – 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round scones.

Clotted Cream

Recipe:

• 4 ounces mascarpone
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 or 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
• Zest of lemon or lime (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream.  Use right away or cover and refrigerate the cream until serving time

Makes 1½ cups

Rigatoni Lasagne

This is a great dish if you’re having people over for dinner. You can cook it over a couple of days, in stages, so that by the time your guests come, all you have to do is pop it in the oven and get it on the table.

It seems complex but it’s actually very easy, just different bits to get together. Because I use rigatoni, it’s easier to make and rougher in texture than the traditional lasagne, less slimy and more robust. It is so rich and so tasty… and so not low carb or low cal. That’s why it’s SO amazing.

You’ll need:

• Baking tray 15×11 (feeds 10)
• For the meat sauce:
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup rough chopped mushrooms
• Half cup diced carrots
• 1 kg lean mince
• 3 cans chopped tomato
• 1 small can tomato paste
• Half a glass of red wine
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• Quarter of a stock cube
• 1 tablespoon Tomato ketchup

For the béchamel:

• Quarter slab of butter
• 4-6 tblsp Plain flour
• 3 cups Milk

Cheese topping:

• 1 250g pot ricotta
• Grated mozzarella
• Grated parmesan

Pasta:

• 2 250g bags of rigatoni pasta (or fat macaroni)

Start by making the meat sauce (which can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, that only improves it)

• Heat some olive oil in a big pot
• Add in the celery, onions and carrots
• You only need it to soften, not brown, so just 10 mins on a low-ish heat
• When it’s soft, add in the mushrooms
• Then the mince
• Brown the mince, so stir around constantly
• When the mince is brown, throw in the red wine
• Then the chopped tomato
• Give it all a stir
• Add in the tomato paste
• A teaspoon of salt
• A teaspoon of pepper
• Add in the bay leaves
• Add the bit of stock cube
• Add one tablespoon tomato ketchup
• Stir and cover
• Turn down the heat so the flame is small, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes
• After 30 mins, remove cover, stir, and let it sit and cook in its own heat
• That’s done – you can pop it in the fridge till you’re ready with the other bits

The béchamel sauce

It’s just a simple roux sauce, and it’s all in the stirring and timing.

• Melt half of the butter (total of quarter of a slab) you’re going to use in a pan – and keep the flame LOW
• Add in sifted flour
• Stir, until the butter and flour have bonded and formed a putty-like texture (should be about 2-3 tblsp of flour)
• Keep adding the  flour until you get the putty
• When you have the putty, add 1/3 cup of milk
• Stir stir stir until there are few lumps and the milk and putty have integrated
• Add another batch of milk and keep doing this and stirring till you’ve used 1¹_/2 cups
• You should end up with a smooth sauce, not too runny, like custard-consistency
• Do another batch (I split it into 2 batches because it’s impossible to avoid lumps if you make a big batch)

The Pasta

• Boil a pan of water, add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil
• When boiling throw in the pasta, should take about 10 minutes to cook (don’t overcook!)
• Remove from the heat, rinse in cold water
• Let it cool down

To put it all together:

• If you are not using a non-stick baking tray, wipe it over with olive oil or butter
• Line the bottom of the tray with pasta
• Cover the pasta with a layer of the meat sauce
• Pour a layer of béchamel over the meat sauce
• Add another layer of pasta
• Add the béchamel
• Crumble the ricotta over the whole tray
• Add a layer of meat sauce (meat sauce on top for baking protects the creamy béchamel)
• Cover liberally with the grated cheese

When you’re ready to have dinner:

• Pre-heat your oven to 160C
• When hot, pop in your very heavy tray of yum
• It will need 45 minutes to an hour to heat through and for the cheese to melt
• To brown it, turn up the heat in the final 5 minutes

Serve with salad and a bottle of red wine

Don’t weigh yourself for at least a week.

Don’t worry, I’ll post a great salad recipe in a couple of weeks…