Broccoli Soup

What did people get from X’Mas gifts? I got aprons, bath gels, a cooking plate, Paul Hollywood’s British Baking… and lots of other things. Thank you... all of my lovely friends!!

In Taiwan, we don’t give gifts to people in Chinese New Year. Instead, we put some money in the red envelop and give to people. It is still a gift, but I think there is a different meaning of getting money and gifts. Money, we just see how much we get it. Gifts, you can see how hard your friends and family choose for you. If I could choose, I would like pick every single gift to my family instead of money. What is your idea?

Recipe: Serve 2~3 people

 

Steps of Broccoli Soup

(1) Prepare a saucepan. Melt butter in the pan.

(2) Add chopped onion into the sauce pan. Cover the lid and cook around 3 minutes.
(3) Add chopped broccoli into the pan. Stir a little bit.

 

 

(4) Add water and stock in the pan. Bring it to boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes.

(5) Add milk in and keep simmering it for another 5 minutes.

 

 

(6) Blend all ingredients by a hand blender.

 

(7) Add 80 g grazed cheese into the pan. Stir until it melts. Then, switch the heat off. Add some salt if it is needed

(8) Drizzle the rest of cheese before serving the soup.

 

 

This broccoli soup is very creamy and cheesy and full of goodness. Lots of vegetables can offer us all-day energy. It is very good to drink in the winter time. Enjoy it.

 

Lemon Oat Bread

Guess which X’Mas movie I saw? Not Miracle on 34^th road! Not It's a Wonderful Life. I watched THE HOLIDAY!!

OH My God, it feels like so good to watch again. It gives me more than watching romance movie this time. Of course, the love story in the movie is good. I also like how Iris would like to help Arthur. How Iris cares about Arthur. Maybe, I came to UK alone. Then, I met some friends who would like to care about even though we don’t know each other. The caring they offer is hard to describe by words. The only thing I can say it Thank You to all my friends who have help me in the UK.

Oven Temperature Setting: 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6

Baking Time: 12~15 minutes
Recipe: 8 Lemon Oat Bread

 

Steps of Lemon Oat Bread

(1) Add lemon grazed, flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl. Mix all ingredients well

(2) Add lemon juice, milk with instant yeast and butter into the bowl. Knead it into the chunk

 

(3) Move the dough into the floured table. Knead the dough until it turns softer and more elastic.

(4) Shape the dough into a ball and put back to the bowl. Leave the dough in a warm place to double its size. It takes around 90 ~ 120 minutes

 

(5) After the first grow-up, move the dough to the working table with light flour. Knead 80g of oat into the bread

 

 

(6) Separate it to 8 small balls equally. Shape 8 dough into 8 balls, and put on the greased plated. Set aside at a warm place and wait for the dough double the size again. It takes around 40 ~ 60 minutes.

 

(7) After the double the size, glaze some egg over the top and put some oat over the top. Send them into the pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. It takes around 15 minutes until it turns golden on the top.

 

 

It is a very lemon bread. You can smell lemon flavor and enjoy lemon at every single bite. So, don’t hesitate and just do it. Enjoy

 

Beef Stew with Swede Soup

Congratulation to my friend, Miss S, and me!! We made it. The carol services were good and brilliant :D :D :D It was a very busy week. We needed to practice more and longer to make sure every song is right.

I was so excited before on stage. I was not sure what’s wrong with me?!?! And the choir was so good. We did have a good performance.

 

Recipe: Serve 3~4 people

Steps of Beef Stew with Swede Soup

(1) Dip dice beef with some plain flour. Fry it until it turns brown. Then, set aside.

(2) Use the same pan. Fry onion for around 3 minutes and add carrot and swede in. Cover the lid and fry for another 5 minutes.

 

(3) Add beef back. Add water, beef stock, tomato puree, dry basil. Bring to boil, and then switch the heat off.

(4) Pour the beef stew into slow cooker. Switch to small for around 2 ~3 hours until beef turns tender.

 

Swede makes the soup’s flavor better. I cooked this soup one day before we enjoy it, it was very late. But, we all wanted to open the lid and tasted it immediately. Before the X’Mas feast, try this light soup with all goodness. Enjoy it.

 

Kentish Huffkins

There are lots of traditional things we might need to do during the X’Mas time. Like, you can’t open your X’Mas gifts until 25^th morning. Or, most people still eat turkey as their X’Mas meal. But, more and more people prepare ham or chicken as the replacement. Why do I talk some traditional things today? Because I would like to show you a very local and regional bread, called Kentish Huffkins.

Kentish Huffkins, It is not a very special bread. It is bread with more butter in. Kentish is a small town in the south of England. And, the huffkins was used to call tea bread which is very light and soft. The most important is there is a dimple on the bread, otherwise it is not Kentish Huffkins.

Oven Temperature Setting: 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6

Baking Time: 12~15 minutes
Recipe: 8 Kentish Huffkins
 

Steps of Kentish Huffkins

(1) Add flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl. Mix all ingredients well

(2) Add milk with instant yeast and butter into the bowl. Knead it into the chunk

(3) Move the dough into the floured table. Knead the dough until it turns softer and more elastic.

(4) Shape the dough into a ball and put back to the bowl. Leave the dough in a warm place to double its size. It takes around 90 ~ 120 minutes

(5) After the first grow-up, move the dough to the working table with light flour. Separate it to  8small balls equally.

(6) Shape 8 dough into 8 balls, and put on the greased plated. Set aside at a warm place and wait for the dough double the size again. It takes around 40 ~ 60 minutes.

 

(7) After the double the size, drizzle some flour over the top. Use a finger to poke the hole in the middle of the dough. Brush a little milk or water at the bottom of the dough. Send them into the pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. It takes around 15 minutes until it turns golden on the top.

 

 

As the introduction, it is a light and soft bread. Very Yum!! Full of butter flavor. Eating one for tea time is definitely enjoyable. Other people may be envy at you. Enjoy.

 

Hungarian Chicken Goulash

Go Go Go Leicester!! Oh yes ~~ Congratulation Leicester. Leicester football team won season end champion on Monday. It is a very good gift for people in Leicester. My friend, Miss S, and I drove pass the stadium. OMG, there were lots of people and they all looked very happy. Because we are the season end champion. OH YEAH!! Even though both of us are not fans, we are so proud of them.

 

Another interesting thing is that most people who have no ideas where Leicester is. Now, they know it because of Leicester football team. Hope they can continue their great job in the following seasons.

Recipe: Serve 3~4 people

 

 

Steps of Hungarian Chicken Goulash

(1) Heat the oil up in the sauce pan. Add onion in the pan. Fry around 3 minutes.

(2) Add carrot and tomato in the pan. Cover the lid. Simmer it until it turns tender. Might take around 5~10 minutes.

(3) Blend all ingredients by hand blender. Mix dry basil, tomato purée, and paprika into the sauce. Bring it to boil, and switch the heat off.

(4) Add chicken into the slow cooker. Pour the sauce into the slow cook. Switch it to low and cook for 2~3 hours until the chicken turns tender.

 

Paprika is the spirit of Hungarian Goulash. If you like it, you can increase to 3~4 table spoon. For me 2 table spoon of paprika is perfect. Although the winter this year in the UK is not very cold, I still like to eat this kind of hot food. Enjoy it.

Cheese Scone

X’Mas is closer and closer. Have you put every X’Mas decoration? Do you get your X’Mas jumper? Or, do you start to listen X’Mas songs? When our lives become digitalized, those X’Mas decorations are digitalized as well. When I walked passed our neighbor couple days ago, I saw some scary things. I think, “Oh My God, don’t tell me I see the ghost.” Then I found out I was wrong. It is a light show. There are Santa, snowflake, firework… Those project lights are not always there so you will see some shadow. Technology!! It does make our life easy and make our life scary. Haha

Oven Temperature Setting: 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6

Baking Time: 12~15 minutes
Recipe: 8 Cheese Scone

 

Steps of Cheese Scone
(1) Add flour, baking powder and salt in a big bowl. Mix a little bit. Then, use your finger tips to rub butter into flour. It will turn into breadcrumbs like
(2) Add 80 g grazed cheese into the mixture. Mix cheese into the crumbs like flour until it distributed evenly.
(3) Add milk and egg into the bowl. Use a knife to mix everything well. Do not over mix it. It should be soft, but a firm dough.
(Selena’s Kitchen Talk: I leave one table spoon of egg for the brushing.)

(4) Then, turn the dough into a floured table. Roll it into a round shape with 1.5 cm height. Cut into quarters firstly, then half each quarter diagonally.

 

(5) Place cut scone on a greased plate. Brush some egg over the top. Drizzle the left cheese over the top. Send them into a pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for around 12~15 minutes until it turns golden over the top.

 

 

Scone is very easy to make it. It is my lazy baking. I mean I want to eat some dessert, but I am lazy to do some complicated one. Then, making scone could be my choice for my lazy. So, after hard work on house decoration, why not have a scone with a cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy it.

Sesame Bread

At the end of a year, we are all asked to think about what we did right for this year? What did we do still have room to improve? I start this blog after submitting my dissertation this August!! Some people ask me why I would like to write a blog. It is simply. I start from knowing nothing on how to bake to know a little how to bake. It is not only sharing the recipe, but also sharing how much happiness I enjoy it. In Asia, we have few chance to bake. Oven is not the must-to-have kitchenware in Taiwan. I learn everything from the very beginning. So, I think if I can do it. Lots of people can do it. At the end of this year, I would like to encourage people on trying some new things. Then, you will explore out your adventure.

Oven Temperature Setting: 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6

Baking Time: Around 15 minutes
Recipe: 8 Sesame Bread

                      

Steps of Sesame Bread

(1) Add flour, salt and sugar into a big bowl. Mix a little.
(2) Add 110 ml water with instant yeast and egg into the bowl. Knead it into the chunk
(*Selena’s Kitchen Talk: I leave 1 table spoon of egg for brushing.
**Selena’s Kitchen Talk: My instant yeast’s instruction is to add yeast in the water around 5 minutes. Check the instruction before using it.)
(3) Then, knead olive oil into the dough.

 

(4) Move the dough into the floured table. Knead milk into the dough gradually until it turns softer and more elastic.

(5) Shape the dough into a ball and put back to the bowl. Leave the dough in a warm place to double its size. It takes around 90 ~ 120 minutes

(6) After the first grow-up, move the dough to the working table with light flour. Separate it to 8 small balls equally.

 

 

(7) Roll one small ball into a long stick. Fold in one side and press it into a flat dough. And lightly moisten both ends with water. Using the flat end wraps another end and press to join. Slightly widen the hole in the middle.

(8) Brush egg over the top. And then, drizzle some sesame over the top.

(9) Repeat step (7) and (8) for the rest of 7 dough.
(10) Set aside at a warm place and wait for bagels double the size again. It takes around 40 ~ 60 minutes.

(11) After the double the size, send them into the pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. It takes around 15 minutes until it turns golden on the top.

 

 

It has a very crispy surface. I like it to serve warm and be split with butter. It will make bread moister. Try this new style bread and enjoy it.

 

Beef and Mushroom Pasta

Apart from X’Mas decoration, X’Mas tree and Advent Calendar, there is one more interesting thing in the UK. That is “X’Mas crackers”. It is used to pulled at the Christmas dinner table or at parties. According to Wikipedia, it is not widely popular in the whole world. It is more like a traditional X’Mas play in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. X’Mas crackers is a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated X’Mas wrapping paper. Inside the cracker, there are a color paper hat, a small toy and other trinket and a motto. Then, you need to wear that paper hat during your meal and say the trinket to everyone. I can’t wait to see what my small toy is this time in my X’Mas cracker.

Recipe: Serve for 2 people

 

Steps of Beef and Mushroom Pasta
(1) Prepare a sauce pan for Fettuccine Alfredo. Add it into the boiling water and add a little salt in. Cook around 6 minutes.
(2) Prepare a sauce pan. Add some olive oil and heat on a medium heat. Cook around 3 minutes.

(3) Add thinly sliced beef into the pan, keep stirring until it turns medium. Then, set aside.

(4) Use same pan to cook mushroom. Add some oil if needed. Cover the lid and cook around 2 minutes.

(5) Add cooked Fettuccine Alfredo in the pan. Add around 200 ml pasta water in the pan and beef stock. Cook until the Fettuccine Alfredo ready.

(6) Add beef and onion back. Mix all ingredients well. Add some salt if needed.

 

In Taiwan, those mushrooms are very popular that it is one way I usually cooked it and I love it. Italian people will not disagree of me, but pasta can be used for lots of different food. Even for Indian curry, it is my way of cooking. Try and enjoy it.

Classic New York Cheesecake

It is only 18 days to X’Mas. Ready? Ready? Ready? Some families start to decorate their houses. You can see those hanging lights, X’Mas tree, wreath and different kind of hanging stars and hearts. Soon, you can see almost every house’s decoration. Sometime, it is like a competition. See whose house has the brightest lights, or see whose house gets the beautiful decoration. Guess what kind of the decorations our house will have?

 

Oven Temperature Setting: 170C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: Around 40~50 minutes
Recipe: A 7” Classic New York Cheesecake

 

Steps of Classic New York Cheesecake

(1) Prepare Shortbread Crust: Place butter and sugar in a bowl. Whisk them until the butter turns a light and fluffy. And flour into the bowl. Mix flour into the butter. Line the dough to the baking tray. Bake at pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 around 10 minutes until the top turns golden.

(2) Separate egg white and egg yolk. Whisk egg white until it has stiff peaks form. Add lemon juice in when there are some bubble s at whisking. Then, set aside.

(Selena’s Kitchen Talk: The bowl used for egg white must be very clean.)

(3) Add soft cream, double cream, vanilla extract into bowl with yolk. Mix all ingredients well.

(4) Add sugar, flour, and cornstarch into the batter. Well-mixed all ingredients.

(5) Fold the stiff egg white into the soft cream batter gradually and lightly.

(6) Pour the batter over the top of baked shortbread crust and send to the oven at 170C/350F/Gas Mark 4 around 40~50 minutes

 

Believe me, classic New York cheesecake is such a easy job. And you can bake at home totally. The cheese flavor is very strong like what we eat at restaurant!! Come and try it. Enjoy :D