Saturday 24 May 2014

Afternoon Tea + Veggie Pizza + Rainbow Fruit Pots: 17 May - 23 May 2014

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


What a week it's been, alhamdulillah.





 It's been a busy one round here and to be honest, we're all glad to see the weekend.

This hadith hangs on my bedroom wall:
Take benefit of 5 before 5:
Your youth before your old age,
Your health before your sickness,
Your wealth before your poverty,
Your free time before you are preoccupied,
And your life before your death.

I think this hadith can be of benefit to a person, whether they're Muslim or not. So, make the most of this wonderful journey before it ends.

Be kind to everyone, for you know not what hardships and sadness they are going through. Always leave people in a state that they're happier than before you met them. Leave a lasting impression upon them of good character and kindness.

Kindness is one of the greatest gifts you can bestow upon another. If someone is in need, lend them a helping hand. Do not wait for a thank you. True kindness lies within the act of giving without the expectation of something in return.

Saturday: The day began with the urge to make a batch of Millionaire's Shortbread.
I popped the shortbread base into bake. The secret of a crumbly and buttery shortbread is to handle it as little as possible. Best way is to use a machine that way the heat of your hands won't melt the butter.
And, then I boiled up some homemade caramel, poured it over the baked shortbread and chilled it in the fridge overnight.
On Saturday, I made a Macaroni Cheese with a twist.
To the original white sauce, I added Cheddar Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Cheese Triangles, Pickled Jalapenos and Paprika.
Here is the white sauce.
I made quite a bit and then decided to try something new. I put the cooked macaroni into a tray.
And, stirred in some of the white sauce. We let it cool to room temperature, and then chilled it in the fridge overnight.
The remaining bit of sauce we had for dinner stirred into this funky-looking pasta.
Sunday: Mum made her mother's famous recipe for Potato Pancakes.
Topped with a fried egg, it was the perfect brunch for a lazy Sunday.

The weather was spot on and beautiful. Perfect for sitting out in the garden!
Later on, I finished off the Millionaire's Shortbread.
I melted milk chocolate and covered the whole thing, and then sliced into squares.
The squares went back into the fridge to harden up a little. And, I have no idea where that missing square went!
Sunday wouldn't be Sunday without any baking! I baked up some Breakfast Muffins for the week.
Using a few favourite ingredients!
Once baked, they were covered on the cake stand, ready for the morning.
Monday: Another morning being woken up by the glare of the sun.
Breakfast was a bowl of Muesli.
I poured in some cold milk and a drizzle of honey, and it was pure heaven.
Along with a Breakfast Muffin and an early morning walk, I was ready to tackle the day.
First on the list of things to do was to bake another one of my Strawberry Meringue Layer Cakes.
The chocolate meringue went in to bake.
The white meringue was whipped up.
And, sent in to bake!
I was also making a batch of Custard Slices.
The meringues were set aside to cool, ready for tomorrow.
Remember the macaroni cheese from Saturday? Well, it was shaped into balls, and chilled a little more.
Then, rolled in egg and breadcrumbs and fried. The recipe still isn't perfect yet so I won't be sharing it just yet.

We tried this delicious veggie pizza as well.
It was really good especially with the thin base.
Tuesday: Breakfast was this yummy cereal. It's one of my favourite flavours - Maple Syrup!
A good start to a busy day!
Meringue Cakes were assembled.
And decorated!
I'm liking this piping business.
Layers of white meringue, chocolate meringue, strawberry jam, whipped cream, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
Then, the Custard Slices were put together.
A delicious, vanilla infused creme patissiere piped between two layers of flaky, buttery puff pastry.
And, there were mini ones too!

To finish them off, they were decorated with a simple icing and melted chocolate.

On Tuesday, my cousin hosted a spring afternoon tea.












Since it is May, there were plenty of fresh flowers around.


The bunting was up too.

On the menu, to begin with, was a Tomato Soup made with both tinned and fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, onion, seasonings, vegetable stock and single cream.

Next, a Versatile Vegetable Soup. You can find the full recipe for it here.

The sandwich selection included Red Pepper Hummus and Red Onion Marmalade.

There were also some filled with Tuna and Sweetcorn. Finally, there were Chicken and Avocado Sandwiches made with cooked chicken, mashed avocado, seasonings and mayonnaise. 

Next, there were Mini Chicken Sandwiches. These were so good and the last few were fought over!

They were made with cooked chicken, peri peri sauce, mayonnaise, cucumber, lettuce and these cute little sandwich buns which you can buy from Marks and Spencer.

Fries with a selection of dips


Potato Wedges with a selection of dips

Pasta Salad

With all that food, people need things to drink!

First, there was Iced Tea.

To make this drink for 4-6 people, you'll need: 
4 Tea Bags (the ones in the pictures were made with fruit teabags), Fresh Mint, 100 grams Caster Sugar, Juice of 2 large Oranges, Juice of 2 Lemons, Sliced Strawberries, Ice, Lemon Slices and Orange Slices.

Put the teabags and half of the mint leaves into a large jug. Add 1.2 litres of boiling water. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes, and then remove the tea bags. Stir in the sugar and leave to cool. 
Once cooled, remove the mint. Add the orange and lemon juice, and chill completely in the fridge.
Serve over ice, strawberries, orange and lemon slices and fresh mint.


Also being served was Pink Lemonade.

On the sweet side, there were Devon Scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

My Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake


Custard Slices
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Rolled in either coconut, hazelnut and pistachio.
A few were drizzled with white chocolate. You can find my recipe for Chocolate Truffles here.

Then, there were platters of Viennese Biscuits filled with chocolate.


And, finally, a Strawberry Cheesecake with layers of crushed biscuit, sweet cream cheese and fresh strawberries.

On to the cakes. First, a Lemon Teapot Cake

This is a lemon sponge decorated with fondant icing.

A rich Chocolate Cake

It was covered with more chocolate and Maltesers. 

My favourite cake was next - the Carrot and Walnut Tray Bake.

You can find the recipe here.

Fresh Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes
A vanilla cupcake topped with fresh, whipped cream and a strawberry.

Rose and Pistachio Cake


You can find the cupcake version of the recipe here.
A Strawberry Cake which you can buy here.
And, a Salted Caramel Cake which can also be bought here.

And, of course, there was tea!
All in all, it was another successful Afternoon Tea along with this one and this one.
Wednesday: Breakfast was Dippy Eggs and Soldiers.
Soft boiled eggs
And crusty toast cut into strips.
Ready to be dunked into a gloriously, soft egg yolk.
Only it wasn't so soft! :( 
Someone decided that she could take better pictures than me!
And, decided to hold her own afternoon tea!
Dinner was a simple stir fry made by my mother with chicken, spinach, spices and bell peppers.
Thursday: I had this juicy Rainbow Fruit Pot today. It was full of watermelon, grapes, yellow melon, orange melon and mango.
This Lemonade was good too, really refreshing and very zingy. It reminded me that I need to make Homemade Lemonade again.
For dinner, I made Gnocchi. I'll be sharing my recipe soon, inshallah!
Did a bit of reading too ..
.. whilst listening to the rain thundering on the roof.
Friday: Booking my driving test! Pray for me!
A pretty scrapbook from my cousin to her sister. You can buy it here.
How cute is this butterfly diary?
My cousin cooked lunch! She mixed chicken, salt, pepper, red chilli powder, cornflour and an egg. And cooked it until nearly cooked.
Then, she added yellow peppers, spring onion, mangetout and fresh basil.
Finally, a tin of tomatoes, tomato ketchup and sweet chilli sauce went in. And everything was cooked until done!
Her sticky chicken was served over boiled rice, and it was very tasty!
I've been loving the 4 apples and 37 raspberries in this juice.

Recipes posted at This Muslim Girl Bakes this week:


Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Honey Banana Loaf

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I hope you all have an amazing week this week, and please, keep me in you duas!

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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