CHOCOLATE AND NUT MERINGUES

I made these meringues and this time tried them with normal table sugar rather than caster sugar. My dear friend Ozlem in Turkey mention that her meringues were not turning out right using normal sugar, so this is for you Ozlem, hope you like them.

YOU NEED

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 level tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios or walnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate drops or grated chocolate

Preheat the oven to 150 C. Line the baking tray with greaseproof paper.

• Beat the egg whites until fluffy and foamy in a bowl. Make sure the utensils and the bowl is completely grease free.
• Add cream of tartar and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks.
• Sprinkle sugar little at a time, beat until the mixture is shiny and stiff peaks are formed.
• Fold in chocolate and the chopped nuts.
• Place a 1 heaped tsp on baking tray leaving 1-2 cm space between the meringues.
• Bake for 20- 30 minutes. Leave in the oven to cool completely. Makes 40- 42

QUINCE JAM - AYVA RECELI

In my opinion, quince jam is one of the nicest jams of all. Today I used 3 large quinces, diced into small pieces, sugar,lemon juice and cloves for that extra special taste.. I included the seeds of the quinces to get a lovely dark pinkish colour as seen above.

First wash and peel the quinces then cut them in to small pieces. Place them into a deep pan with 4 cups of water and juice of a lemon. Prepare a muslin bag with 6-7 cloves and the pips from the quinces, tie and drop it into the pan. Bring it to boil. Boil the quinces for 5 minutes then add 1 cup of sugar. Boil it for 10 minutes and then add the second cup of sugar, boil for 10 minutes. Then add the last cup of sugar ( 3 cups of sugar in total ) and boil until it just starts to thicken. After about 30 minutes in total your jam will be ready . Cool it for 5 minutes before transferring the jam into sterilized jar.

TURK LOKUMU TARIFI VE CESITLERI. ( EV YAPIMI )

Merhabalar, bir haftadir lokum yapiyorum dersem inanirmisiniz. Once lokum yapmak kolay olur diye dusundum ama, kivamini dengelemek bayaa zor bir olay. Tam kivamini buluncaya kadar birkac kilo sekere yazik oldu diyebilirim ama sonunda basarabildim, onemli olan bu tabii. Az kaynatinca yeterince sert olmuyor, cok kaynatinca sert olup kesilmiyor, bayaa ugrastim ve simdi tam ayarini bulunca tarifi sizlerle paylasmak istedim.

MALZEME

• 1 kilo seker
• 4 bardak su ( 1 bardak = 350 ml )
• 90 gr nisasta
• 1 kahve kasigi krem tartar
• 1 bardak su
• findik, ceviz, hindistan cevizi,
• 2 yemek kasigi gul suyu
• istediginiz renk ve aroma
• 2 cay bardagi pudra sekeri
• 1 cay bardagi nisasta

YAPILISI

1) Once sekeri 4 bardak su ile seker eriyinceye kadar hizli ateste kaynatin. Bir tasim kaynadiktan sonra ocagi orta atese getirin ve surubu 1 saat kaynatin.

2) Derin bir tasda bugday veya misir nisastasini krem tartarla karistirin. 1 bardak su ile ezin.

3) Surubun kopuklerini alip, surupdan kepce ile, hazirlanan nisastaya 2 kepce sicak surup ilave edin. ( Nisasta karisiminin ilimasi icin )

4) Nisasta karisimini kaynayan suruba ilave edin ve hizli ateste bir tasim kaynatin. Kaynadiktan sonra bu sefer ocaginizi iyice hafife ayarlayip lokum karisimini 1 saat ve 10 dakika yavas yavas pisirin. Gul suyu kullanacaksaniz, 2 yemek kasigi gul suyunu son 10 dakikada ilave edin. Dibine yapismamasi icin arada tahta kasikla lokumu karistirin.

5) Sari renk ve sakiz kivaminda olunca ocaktan alin ve istediginiz renk, aroma, findik, ceviz ilave edin. Dokeceginiz tepsi veya tabagi hafif yaglayin ve yagli kagidi tepsiye gore kesin ve kagidi da yaglayin. Lokumu hazirlanan tepsiye dokun. Uzerine biraz nisasta serpin, serin bir kenarda sogumaya birakin. ( Gul suyu kullanacaksaniz, ocaktan almadan 10 dakika once ilave edin. ( 2 yemek kasigi.)

6) 24 saat bekledikten sonra, 2 cay bardagi pudra sekerini 1 cay bardagi nisasta ile karistirin. Un ve nisasta carisimi olan bir zeminde lokumu kesin veya rulo yapip arasina ceviz koyun ve kesin. Eger sade istiyorsaniz, karelere kesin, pudra sekeri ve nisasta karisimi ile harmanlayin. 1 - 2 gun tepside bu karisimin icinde birakin sonra kutulara tek sira halinde yerlestirin. ( Hemen yenip bitmezse tabii!!!)

Bu olculerden 90 - 100 kadar lokum cikiyor.

AFIYET OLSUN.

NOT: Seker veya recel dereceniz varsa, 2 saat pisirdikten sonra dereceyi lokum karisimina batirip derecesini olcebilirsiniz. 113C en uygun kivami oluyor. Dereceniz yoksa yukarda bahsettigim gibi tam 2 saat 10 dakika sonra lokumunuz hazirdir.

BRANDY SAUCE

This sauce s so good with Christmas pudding and mince pies.

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 250 ml milk
• 3 tbsp brandy

Mix cornflour with egg yolks and sugar  in a bowl until smooth. Add the milk gradually and transfer this mixture into a non stick sauce pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the brandy. Take it off the heat and stir it well. Serve it  straight away or warm with Xmas pudding and  sweet mince pies.

BANANA,CHOCOLATE CHIP AND HAZELNUT MUFFINS

This  is my friend Lisa's recipe from Canada. They are ready in no time and are  simply delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 230 g whole wheat flour
• 230 g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100 g chocolate chips
• 100 g chopped hazelnuts
• 100 g fresh or frozen bananas
• 125 ml milk
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla or rum extract
• 230 g brown sugar
• 2 large eggs

METHOD

Pre heat the oven to 350F, 180C, 160 Fan.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix well. Add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a blender, add chopped bananas, eggs, milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla and rum extract. Blend until smooth. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Mix well until all combined together. Spoon the muffin mixture into the paper cases, bake in the middle shelf for 20-30 minutes.

NOT: I didn't have enough chocolate chips, so used sultanas to make up the amount. I also sprinkled the muffins with sugar and cinnamon mixture just before they went into the oven. I hope you don't mind Lisa, LOL !!!

LISA'S BLOG: www.lisaopolis.wordpress.com

MEVLANE BOREGI ( Mevlane pasties )

These boreks ( pasties ) are the speciality of City KONYA  where MEVLANE ( see above ) lived.

These are delicious filled with mince meat, but today I used  mince meat  and some  goats cheese, parsley filling  for some of the boreks  which was equally nice.

INGREDIENTS

• half a kg lean mince meat
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 lage onion, chopped finely
• fresh parsley, chopped
• half tsp chili flakes
• salt and pepper
• half a kg flour
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1tsp sugar

First cook the mince with the onion in oil until it is browned nicely. Add the parsley, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Add 1-2 tbs water if it starts to stick to the pan. Take off the heat and set aside. This should take  about 10 - 12 minutes.

NOW MAKE THE DOUGH

 

Mix yogurt, oil with sifted flour. Add the egg, sugar and bind it together until you achieve a soft dough. Take a size of a walnut open the dough piece about 10 cm round shape on a floured surface. I do this by hand but a rolling pin can be used if it is easier.

Place 1 tbsp of cooled mince mixture in the middle and fold it over to cover it. Seal the edges well and brush the pasties with egg yolk. Transfer the pasties on a greased baking tray, brush with whisked egg yolk and cook on preheated oven 180C for 15- 20 minutes until they are cooked and golden in colour. Makes 20 -25.