Bread Machine Naan Bread

I love naan bread, and I've tried several recipes to make it at home.  I wanted to share the best one I've found by far.  It is one of those recipes you can make in advance, then enjoy fresh and freeze any leftovers.  I find they defrost really well with a little help from my toaster--it has a defrost setting.  One recipe makes 6. 

Naan Bread basic mixture:

150ml (2/3 cup) hand hot milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon dried yeast
450g (1 lb) plain or strong white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon veg oil
150ml (2/3 cup) natural yoghurt
1 large egg

By Hand:
Put milk in a bowl, add sugar and yeast, stir, then leave to froth for 15 mins
Add all other ingredients and knead for 10 mins
Rest for 20 mins
Divide into 6 balls.
Make tear shaped naan, about 25 cm by 13 cm.
Not too thin or they will be too crisp
Place on greased baking sheet.
bake in hot oven for 10-15 mins until golden brown and puffed up

By machine:
Place all ingredients in machine and run dough cycle.
Rest for 20 mins
Divide into 6 balls.
Make tear shaped naan, about 25 cm by 13 cm.
Place on greased baking sheet.
Bake in hot oven for 10-15 mins until golden brown and puffed up
 ** I have a little disclaimer.  This recipe isn't exactly like the one I use.  The ingredients are all the same, but how you bake it is different.  I heat my oven to 220C and place a cookie sheet in it to preheat.  Then I roll out the naan and bake them one at a time.  Bake for 2 minutes until puffed up, then turn the oven off and the broiler on and cook a further 1-2 minutes until golden.  I've never tried just baking for 10-15 minutes like the recipe I liked up to does.


That is the basic dough which is great on it's own. However you can add other ingredients if you wish, best as you roll it out into 6 balls. Raw chilli cut very small adds a certain bite! Garlic works well. Cumin seeds are nice. Raisons are juicy if you like them.

To serve this hot if made in advance and cooled , simply wrap it in tin foil and place in oven for 5- 10 mins. You can brush butter on top before placing in oven if you wish.

Butternut Bisque

The other day I was at the shop and I couldn't resist the selection of butternut squash.  It is, by far, my second favourite squash.  In my mind nothing can compare to a pumpkin, but that's just me!

I've been making this recipe for several years now, so I have no idea where it originally came from.  I lovingly typed it out on a 3x5 index card and stuck it in my recipe box.  I've gotten better about sighting sources now.

Butternut Bisque

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and cubed butternut squash (I just use one good size squash and don't bother measuring)
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• salt to taste, the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp but if you use a bullion cube for your stock better to taste first
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 cup milk
• Plain yoghurt (or sour cream) to top (optional)

Directions

** I used to always slave over peeling the squash and then cooking it in the broth.  Now I slice it in half, remove the seeds, and microwave it until tender.  Then the skin is easy to par away with a knife.  I find it so much easier!

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender.
2. Add squash into the pot. Pour in stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until  tender. This usually takes 20-25 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool a bit before the next step, I usually leave it for about 10 minutes.
4. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup mixture until smooth. Return to the pot, and stir in the milk, allspice, salt and pepper. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve warm with yoghurt or sour cream. 

To go with the soup I made a spinach salad that was just yummy!  I wasn't sure how it would taste from the ingredients, but I followed the directions on the link I've added above and my faith paid off!  I did add some carmelized onion sausage and diced cheese as well, because I can't help myself.  It tasted like summer!

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Leg warmers, of course!

Ever since I started knitting it has been my desire to knit socks.  I can't think of anything I want to knit more.  Yet I hesitate.  I drag my feet.  I avoid my DPN's like the plague.  Then I decided I had to come to terms with the multitude of needles, and GET ON WITH IT!  Sure, I had some laddering, and maybe I poked myself with a needle or two, but still, I persevered.

I present a pair of leg warmers I made for my daughter.  They are the biggest thing I've ever made on DPN's, previously I only ever used them to finish off hats from circular needles.  These were fun, and you might recognize that yarn from my Sunshine Baby Hat from last week.

A complaint I have is the yarn I used is pretty cheap (Knit Whizz) and it had several knots I had to cut out on the second ball, which is why the purple and yellow pattern aren't the same for each legging.  Not a major thing by any stretch of the imagination, since they were just for fun anyway.

Now, if you are wondering to yourself, yes, I have started a sock!  I am using  Silver Sock Class and giving it a go.  With any luck I might, just might have a sock to share next Friday (don't hold your breath). If anyone knows of a really easy sock pattern that would like to share, I would appreciate it!

On a happy note, I was late posting this morning, and my Mum-in-law came round to give me the cardigan she was knitting for me.  Here are some pictures showing it off--without my head, of course.  Sigh.  I have issues with the self-timer function.

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Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Having grown up Phoenix, and then Southern California, it is a given that I love Mexican food.  Living in Scotland, one of the things I miss (besides Robins Eggs Easter candy, oh how I pine for you) is the readily available ingredients for cooking Mexican dishes.  Of course, that doesn't stop me, so here is a really tasty (and healthy) recipe for making enchiladas from scratch--sauce and all.  The sauce is really more like a mole, but it is divine so I don't care what it should or shouldn't be called.  I tried out numerous enchilada sauce recipes before I found this one.

This recipe also shows up my frugal side.  I have a firm belief that if you cook a (free range please) chicken you should use every part of it you can.  Therefore, even if we have a roast chicken, I throw the carcass in the slow cooker and make broth, and then freeze or can it.  This time I bought the chicken and had hubby chop it up for two different recipes I wanted to make, and into the slow cooker the carcass went.  The recipe below uses 6 cups chicken broth, so it was prefect to make this the next day.  After I make the stock, I always (and I don't like this part much) strip any last meat off the bones.  That is the meat I used for this dish, because you really don't need much, with those delicious black beans.

Enchilada sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp chili powder (do this to taste, esp, if using a hot one)

4 cups chicken broth

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cumin

½ oz dark chocolate (this is a must, don't leave it out!)

Black bean and chicken enchiladas

1 can black beans--I used home canned, so I don't drain them, but if used store bought you probably want to drain them.

½ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup cilantro

1 tomato, chopped

½ cup whole black olives

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground corriander

½ cup chopped chicken

5- 8” flour tortillas
3/4 cup cheese, or as much as you like.  I just grate it over the pan until I am satisfied. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

 

In a bowl combine all ingredients except the flour tortillas.  Mix to combine. 

 

Spread one third of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Take one tortilla and spoon mixture down the centre, fold in either side. 

 

Place seam side down in pan.  Repeat 4 more times. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkle on cheese. Cover dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the covercontinue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

 

 

 

Serve with Mexican Rice, sorry I don't have a picture of it.  Let me just say I searched for a good Spanish rice dish forever, and this is it.  Only as the same says it isn't Spanish, it is Mexcan!

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Sunshine Baby Hat

This week the weather has been really, really nice!  It is so very spring-like I am hopeful it is actually here, and we won't get another snow flurry until next winter.  The sunshine makes me rather happy, and energetic, and this week I used that energy to make this baby hat, which I've dubbed the Sunshine Hat.

I love, LOVE the yarn colours, and how it turned out.  I want to make a few more, because each one will be different due to the variegations.  Hurray for spring!

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A Great Day

To be perfectly honest, I've been feeling just a bit down lately.  I know, it happens to all of us now and then.  My hubby has been struggling at work, and I have had a case of the crafting blahs.  However, that has now turned around, and I'm feeling my super-chipper self again.  Here is one of the reasons why:

I got this fantastic award from Hawthorn at 11am It is my first ever award, and I'm so pleased I could burst.  Thank you so much for picking me!  Now the fun part of this award is that I get to nominate even more blogs for it, and share the love.  So get ready, I'm going to pay it forward!

Here are my nominations, in no particular order:

52 Weeks, 52 Hats

Wisdom Begins in Wonder
barefeetandafreespirit 

Now I must get on and finish my knitting so I have something to post for Creative Friday.  Until then............

Pork Shoulder with Green Lentils

The other night hubby and I went out for dinner at our favorite restaurant in Glasgow--Mzouda.  They serve Moroccan and Spanish food, and it is a real treat to go there.  For my starter I had lentejas estofadas (or something similar, I am terrible with names) and I wanted to try to recreate it at home.  I searched the internet (of course!) but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  So I mashed a few recipes together, used my head and some inspiration, and here is what I came up with:

Pork Shoulder with Green Lentils

This was made in the slow cooker (crock pot), and took about 7 hours, though it could certainly cook longer if need be.

1 pork shoulder steak (I don't know how much it weighed, probably about 1/2 a pound)
1 cup green lentils
3 1/2 cups pork (or chicken) stock, I added a bullion cube
Salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, diced
1 chopped, onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 organic potatoes, washed and diced (I just scrub, never peel)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Directions
1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the potatoes, cilantro, salt and black pepper.
2. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours. About 1/2 way through the 7 hours I cleaned and chopped the potatoes, and then par boiled them on the stove top (for about 5 minutes).  Drain and add to the slow cooker. I do it this way because I have had poor luck with potatoes cooking how I like them in the slow cooker.  It is up to you, you can add them at the start, cook them fully and put them in at the end, or try my way.  Do whatever suits you.  I like to make sure I give them time to soak up the flavors.
3. When cooked to your liking, stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

To serve I made up some whole wheat flat bread, which I wasn't impressed with, so I won't share the recipe here.  Next time I will stick to making naan bread, since I have had good results with that.  Any bread would do though, so use whatever you love.

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