Barley-Chickpea Soup

If you live in Melbourne, you'll agree that the past week has just been freezing. So, what do you do when life gives you chilly weather? You make soup of course. This recipe was the result of having left over ingredients in my fridge and my stubborn refusal to eat them on their own. It may not be the best soup in the world, but it was quick, easy and most importantly warming.



Chickpea-Barley Tomato soup

Dice garlic and fry with cumin (or any other herbs you might prefer).

Add a shot of balsamic vinegar

Pour in a can of dice tomatoes and heat through.

Throw in chick peas and barley (Just keep adding until you feel there's enough).

Add in a can of water.

Simmer (and add in more water as needed).

Serve with thick crusty bread (or in my case, cornbread).

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I'm not really a pancakes sort of girl.

In fact, the only time I was actively eating pancakes for brekkie was that one summer when I was travelling around USA. Fun fact: Most hostels there offer free breakfast by way of self-serve/make pancakes.

However, despite not being a frequent eater of pancakes, my memories of them are fondly and irrevocably tied with traveling and home, as each time I'm back, me and my friends would head over to Maccas for hotcake breakfast and a catch-up session.

The problem for me in making pancakes is that I'm just too impatient for it. I'll always try to flip them before they're done, making them winkled, odd-shaped and messy. Either that or I'll get bored waiting, wander off for a bit / turn the heat waaaaay too high and end up with one burnt side.

Needless to say, I rarely make them.

But after coming across a recipe for cottage cheese pancakes and watching the recent episode of Masterchef, I knew i had to make some. So here's my version of Smitten Kitchen's adaption of the Joy of Cooking's cottage cheese pancakes.



Cottage Cheese Pancakes

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1 cup full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
2 large egg yolks

2 large egg whites

Lightly butter a non-stick pan and place over medium heat.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon or nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, cottage cheese and egg yolks.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined.

Beat the two egg whites until they are stiff but not dry and fold them into the batter. (As it was just me, I only whisked the egg white till fluffy before mixing into the batter.)

Spoon batter onto the pan. (As these are a bit thick, they might take a little longer to cook, or if you're like me, impatient, gently spread out the batter so it forms a thinner pancake)

Cook until the top of each pancake is starting to dry around the edges – you will get a few bubbles here and there – then turn and cook until the underside is lightly browned.

Smother with maple syrup and enjoy!

Notes:

I halved the recipe and made around 7-ish. If you like, you can probably throw in some nuts or even choc chips into the batter. I had mine the old fashion way; plain with some butter and maple syrup.

Smitten suggests keeping these in a preheated the oven (200 degrees F) if you're not planning to eat them right away.

Orange-Cranberry Rolls

It's been one of those weeks where I just cant be bothered cooking. Most days I just end up getting take-away or rummaging through my pantry for nonsense. For instance, hypothetically speaking, I may or may not have had a giant bag of chips as a meal, and this may or may not have happened several times. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Anywho, instead of cooking, I decided that needed something sweet to help me get through my statistic assignment. So I made orange-cranberry rolls with some left over marmalade. Very simple and easy, just the thing I need when I'm stressed.

The dough was from my favourite cinnamon buns recipe, and really, you can use whichever recipe you prefer.


Orange-Cranberry Rolls
Dough recipe from The Pioneer Woman

For the dough
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder, heaping
1/4 teaspoon baking soda, scant
1/4 tablespoon salt

For the filling
Orange-cranberry marmalade
115g butter, soften and slightly melted
Brown sugar
Dried cranberries
Nuts, optional

Mix the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture and leave to cool until lukewarm (around 45min).

Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for a minute or so. 

Add in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and stir the mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour. 

Add the remaining flour, the baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Stir mixture together.

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape.

Spread marmalade over the dough. (I used about 4 heaping tablespoon cause that's all that I have left, but what you're aiming for is a nice layer) Spread/Drizzle butter over the dough and sprinkle the sugar over. (I used nearly 1 cup, but it really depends on how sweet or bitter your marmalade is). Finally add chopped nuts, cranberries, etc to taste.

Now, begin rolling the dough up, keep it relatively tight. Pinch the seam to the roll to seal it. Then, cut the rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 190 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Banana Bread Cookie

Now I know these don't look like much, but honestly, you have to make them. The shockingly bad picture doesn't detract from the fact that these cookies are amazing. It just tells you that I've been baking at night again. They pretty much taste like soft pillowy bites of banana bread, encased in a crisp outer shell. Give it a go and let me know how yours turn out.


Banana Bread Cookies
Recipe modified from the Tasty Kitchen

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
splash of almond extract (optional)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup oats

Preheat oven to 185C.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add in eggs and extracts.

Combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix into butter mixture.

Gradually add banana and oats.

Drop by spoonfuls (I used about 1/2 to 1 tsp as I like small cookies) onto prepared cookie sheets.

Baked for 10-12 minutes and cool immediately on wire racks.

Notes:
Be careful not to overbake these. You want it just done enough to have a crisp, slightly brown outside while maintaining a soft interior.

The original recipe calls for 1/2C chocolate chips. If you're so inclined, add them in after the banana and oats.

As I knew I was going to make small cookies (I ended up with about 50), I've actually halved the recipe. If you prefer a more traditional sized cookies, feel free to double the proportions.

Liquid Comfort

On cold rainy days where all you want is to stay in bed and nap, the perfect cure to chase away the lethargy is a warm bowl of soup. Bonus points if it's simple. And in this case, accidentally vegan as well, but don't tell anyone. Top it off with some cornbread and you have a great pick-me-up meal.


Roasted Tomato Soup

Real cooks out there will likely gasp, but this soup can probably double up as tomato sauce, especially if you're like me, and didn't puree it completely smooth or thin it down. Simply bulk it up with some veggies and you're good to go.

1kg tomatoes, halved
1 bulb of garlic, halved horizontally
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon sugar
Fresh thyme
salt & pepper to taste
Stock (optional)
Cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 190C.

Place tomatoes, garlic, onion and thyme into a roasting pan. Add sugar and drizzle with oil.

Roast in the oven for 40mins or so. Remove and allow to cool.

Squish garlic out of their skins and pour roasted mixture into a blender/food processor.

Pulse until smooth.

Serve up and slurp down.

Notes:
If you prefer a thinner soup, add some stock or cream till a desired consistency.
If the soup is too acidic, try adding sugar or a shot of red wine/sherry, just enough to take the edge off.