Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table!
I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food.
Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!
Slice the ends off the tomatoes so that you have straight edges. Place the tomato on one of the straight edges and halve it horizontally. Cut out the flesh on the inside so that you are left with 2 tomato rings. Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and place the tomato rings in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, until warm and flip around. Now break an egg in each tomato ring, season with salt and pepper and place a lid on the pan. Cook until the egg is set to your liking and serve at once.
For the pastry: Add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar to a mixing bowl. Add the grated butter and rub the mixture between your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Drizzle the milk over the mixture and bring it together with your hands. Shape the pastry into a ball, slice it in half and flatten each into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
For the filling: Add the corn flour to a large mixing bowl and stir in 50ml of the milk. Add the egg yolks and 50g caster sugar and whisk together. Set aside. Pour the 450ml milk into a small saucepan and add the other 50g caster sugar and ground cinnamon to it. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take it from the heat as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edges. Drizzle the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it on medium-low heat. Stir continuously until thickened. Allow to cook for 30 seconds before removing from the heat. Add the vanilla and mix through. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl and then place plastic wrap directly on its surface. Allow to cool completely.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough to a 5mm thickness. Cut 12 circles with a 12cm diameter from the dough. Spoon 30ml of the filling on the pastry circle. Wet the edges of the circle with water and fold the dough over into a half-moon shape. Seal and crimp the edges with a fork. Refrigerate the pies for 30 minutes. Heat 6cm vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry 3 pies at a time for 6 minutes, flipping them over every now and then. Drain on paper towels. The hand pies may be served as is or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
500g cucumber (about half an English cucumber) 2 avocados 30ml lemon juice 2 salad onions, finely sliced chilli flakes
Peel the cucumber in alternating strips in its length. Take out the seeds with a teaspoon, cut into bite-sized pieces and put it in a colander set in your sink. Sprinkle 5ml salt over, toss together and leave to drain for about 20 minutes. Slice the avocado in half, remove the pip and scoop out the flesh. Cut in to 1,5cm cubes. Add the avocado to a mixing bowl, sprinkle over the lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Shake the cucumber pieces in the colander to get rid of any moisture. Add to the avocado. Add the sliced salad onions and mix again. Now stir the salad vigorously until the avocado breaks down a bit. Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Scatter over some chilli flakes and serve.
The garnish for this vegetable soup was made by horizontally slicing a hotdog roll, drizzling it with olive oil and toasting it in the oven. The garnish on the crouton is homemade mayonnaise with cherry tomatoes and fresh soft herbs.
1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 sticks of celery, leaves included, washed and chopped 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 3 carrots, chopped 400g potato, peeled and cubed
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the tinned tomato and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, add the bay leave, carrot and potato and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes, stirring every now and then. Mash or liquidise half of the soup, cook another 5 minutes and serve with a fresh, crusty bread.
This recipe is for one single serving of margarita.
90ml orange juice 30ml cointreau 60ml tequila 30ml fresh lime/lemon juice 30ml simple syrup
Sprinkle some sugar on a side plate, wet the rim of your margarita glass and lightly push it into the sugar so that it sticks to the rim. Set aside. Pour the orange juice, cointreau, tequila, lime/lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add 125ml of ice and shake it up. Pour into the prepared glass, garnish with a slice of citrus and sit back and enjoy!
Follow the video instructions to shape the marshmallows. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 150℃ for 10 minutes. Remove and place a pistachio nut at the centre of each flower and bake for another hour. Remove the flowers from the oven and allow to cool completely until dry. Use as a decoration for cupcakes.
45ml vegetable oil 60ml Thai green curry paste 500ml chicken stock 1 x 400g tin coconut milk 10ml fish sauce 45ml sugar 1,5ml salt 800g chicken breasts, skin removed and cubed 2 aubergines (about 450g in total), diced a small bunch of basil leaves 30ml lemon juice
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the curry paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and coconut milk and stir to dissolve the paste. Add the fish sauce, sugar and salt. Now add the chicken. Turn the heat to medium-low heat so that the curry simmers lightly. Cook for 20 minutes. Add the diced aubergine and simmer for another 15 minutes. Taste the curry. Add more salt if necessary and also more sugar for a background sweetness. Chop a handful of the basil leaves and add it to the curry. Pour in the lemon juice and turn the heat to low. Cook for 5 more minutes. Serve the curry on a fragrant rice and scatter over some fresh basil leaves.
These tiny loaves are deliciously moist and lemony and can be baked as cupcakes as well. The recipe yields about 10 mini loaves or 24 cupcakes.
200g flour 1,2ml baking powder 1,2ml bicarbonate of soda 1,2ml salt 15ml poppy seeds 105ml vegetable oil 210g sugar grated zest of 1 lemon 3 eggs 150g sour cream 7,5ml vanilla 15ml lemon juice
Lemon Buttercream: 200g butter, room temperature grated zest of half a lemon 10ml vanilla 15ml lemon juice 330g icing sugar, sifted
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line 12 x mini-loaf tins with paper cups (2 x 12-hole muffin tins). Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Add the poppy seeds and set aside. Add the vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on medium-high speed and mix for 1 minute. Turn the mixer down to a slow speed and add the eggs, one at a time. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Turn back on to a low speed and add the flour mixture a spoonful at a time. Now add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice and mix until combined. Divide the batter among the paper cups and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
For the buttercream: Add the butter and lemon zest to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed for 2 minutes, scrape down the bowl and mix for another 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix until incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium speed and add the icing sugar a spoonful at a time. Pipe/spread on to the cupcakes.
145g butter 250g sugar 80g cocoa powder, sifted 1,2ml salt 7,5ml vanilla 2 eggs 65g flour 75g pecan nuts, roughly chopped 2 x 80g slabs of chocolate
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper. Add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir the mixture every now and then until the butter has melted and the mixture is amalgamated. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the vanilla. Stir through. Add the eggs one-by-one and beat to incorporate, with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and beat again to incorporate. Add the pecan nuts and stir through. Spoon half the batter in to the prepared baking tin and spread it out evenly. Place the chocolate slabs, side-to-side, on the batter and cover with the rest of the brownie batter. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool completely. Slice into 16 squares.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray. Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add a dash of vegetable oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and sweet pepper and cook while stirring occasionally until the peppers are softened. Add the minced beef, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Break the mince up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook until there is no liquid left.
For the salsa: Add the diced tomato, spring onions and coriander to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
To assemble: Lay the tortilla wraps on a chopping board and trim the left and right edges so that they are square. Spoon some of the mince mixture on the curved edge closest to you. Spoon some salsa on the mince and scatter with grated cheese. Roll the tortilla into a fairly tight cylinder. Repeat with the other ingredients.
Slice each tortilla roll into 3 equal rolls. Pack the rolls cut side up, in the cake tin. Start on the outer edges and work towards the centre. Sprinkle the remaining 150g cheese over the rolls. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the outer ring of the cake tin and serve immediately.
My Whisk and I 