Wednesday 29 November 2017

Cookbook of the Month November 2017: Half Baked Harvest Cookbook.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

It's time to share my cookbook of the month with you all.
For November, I chose the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. I love Tieghan's blog and knew that I wouldn't be disappointed with her book. I wasn't wrong. The recipe book has the most beautiful photos along with simple weeknight recipes and indulgent weekend treats.

Here's what I made from it:

 Breakfast: Warm Cranberry Apple Overnight Oats: I couldn't resist making this autumnal porridge. The recipe calls for all the ingredients to be cooked in a slow cooker overnight but instead, I opted to cook them in a pan in the morning. The porridge is flavoured with apple juice in place of apple cider, apples, raisins in place of cranberries, and lots of cinnamon. Very cozy on a cold morning.

Breakfast: Croque Madame Breakfast Pizza - A pizza with all the flavours of a croque madame sandwich.
The base was spread with a Dijon mustard white sauce. It was topped with cheese, halal "bacon" and fresh spinach.
Once it had baked a bit, I cracked on the eggs.
And that's where things went slightly wrong. Because I hadn't left a border on the pizza, the eggs decided to escape.
Will definitely not make that mistake next time!

Breakfast: Nonnie's Dutch Baby - I've wanted to make a Dutch baby for ages. It's basically a pancake batter which is baked in a pan in the oven. Once baked, it puffs up and looks amazing.
I did make a mistake with this recipe and get mixed up with the butter measurement. Too much went in - definitely something to rectify next time.

Breakfast: Super Breakfast Mango Lassi - MY first time ever using chia seeds! I know! I can't believer it took me so long either.
This lassi was really creamy, sweet and filled with fresh mango, banana and ginger.

Breakfast: Waffles with Browned Honey Butter and Chamomile Syrup - I had to make this recipe as it was an excuse to finally use my waffle machine again. 
The waffle batter was simple. The eggs were separated with the whites being beaten to stiff peaks. These whites were folded in at the end and made the waffles really fluffy. 
I did make a mess cooking the first waffle. I put in too much batter and when the machine shut, all the batter came pouring out the sides.
The great thing about this recipe is that there was no sugar in the waffle batter. That meant that each person could add as much syrup as they wanted.
The syrup was made with water, honey and chamomile tea bags. I didn't have those tea bags so used Earl Grey instead which gave a lovely floral flavour to the syrup.
To spread over the hot and crispy waffles, I made a browned honey butter. So good!
The best breakfast.

Appetizers and Snacks: Simple Guacamole - Unfortunately, I didn't get to try as many recipes from this section as I would have liked. The only one that I had the chance to make was the simple guacamole with avocado, jalapeno and lots of lime.

Pasta and Grains: No-Guilt Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo - I was very intrigued by recipe and so just had to try it. The alfredo sauce is made lighter by one surprise ingredient ....

 .... hummus!
Before I made the pasta, I roasted broccoli in a really hot oven with red chilli and garlic powder.
Cooked pasta was tossed with hummus, lemon, butter and cheese.
And, served with the roasted broccoli.
This was a delicious pasta dish. The hummus went really well with the pasta. Definitely one to make again!

Poultry and Pork: Gyros with Roasted Garlic Tzatziki and Feta Fries - When I was first flicking through the book, this recipe was noted down as a must-make.
The roasted garlic tzatziki was the star here. Greek yoghurt was mixed with cucumber, roasted garlic and plenty of fresh dill.
Gyros usually have fries in them and this one was no different. The fries were roasted with a spicy garlic oregano oil before being tossed with lots of feta.
The tzatziki and fries were joined with the paprika oregano chicken, pickled onions and fresh pitta.
Time to wrap up!
The perfect weekend treat.

Seafood: Root Vegetable and Sage Pesto Baked Salmon - I'm currently loving recipes that bake in one tray in the oven. This baked salmon was just that and so I gave it a go on a dark Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the vegetables. I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots.
Chopped and into the oven to roast.
Toasting pistachios ready to make ...
... a sage and kale pesto.
Once the veg had roasted a bit, on went the fish. I used both salmon and cod.
The pesto was spread on top.
Baked, sprinkled with cheese and ready to eat.

Beef and Lamb: Soy-Marinated Flank Steak with Sesame-Herb Roasted Potatoes - My first time cooking steak!
The recipe called for a large piece of flank or skirt steak but I used pieces that were already cut up. The beef was marinaded with among other things, garlic, soy sauce and coffee. The coffee went really well with the beef.
The thinner pieces of beef cooked on the grill pan but the thicker ones needed a blast in the oven to finish them off. This was my first time cooking steak and it's definitely something that I'll need practice with.
The steak was served with sesame herb roasted potatoes and a Thai basil chimichurri.
Once the beef had rested, it was sliced up.
And, served!

Beef and Lamb: Sunday Meatballs - I really wanted to make this recipe on a Sunday for lunch but just couldn't get round to it. In the end, I made it during the week. This is another recipe where everything is baked in one tray in the oven.
Starting with the beef meatballs. They're shaped and roasted for a bit.
The tomato sauce is stirred up in a bowl.
Poured over the meatballs.
And, baked again!
Finally, the meatballs are covered with cheese and thrown back into the oven to melt.
I served the meatballs with homemade pasta (not the best because I didn't roll it thin enough). The leftover meatballs and sauce made a great pizza topping the day after.

(Mostly) Meatless Meals: Harissa Veggie Burgers - I had been wanting to make veggie burgers for ages and when I saw this recipe, I had to make it.
The burgers were made with carrots, beans, seeds ...
... cooked quinoa and ..
... goats cheese!
Shaped and ready to fry.
To serve on the side, a tahini peanut sauce.
I chose to serve the burgers with chips and ...
... a fried egg!

Desserts: Surprise Tiramisu Cupcakes - Guys, I had such a hard time choosing what to make from the desserts section. The main recipe I wanted to try were these surprise tiramisu cupcakes.
They start with a coconut milk sponge.
The cakes are baked and cooled a little.
Before each one is dunked in a mixture of coffee and condensed milk. Plus the surprise Nutella centre is added!
To finish ...
... each one was iced with a coconut mascarpone frosting.
And, dusted with cocoa powder for that all-important tiramisu look.
Love the coffee soaked through the sponge!

Desserts: Ice Cream Banana Bread - I was so intrigued by this recipe that I had to try it. It's banana bread with ice cream in it.
I used both Cornish ice cream and honeycomb ice cream.
The ice cream is softened ...
... before being stirred into the batter.
Baked!
So good toasted and spread with butter.

Desserts: Bonfire Brownies - With November being the month of Bonfire Night, I couldn't resist baking these brownies. They're basically brownies with all the extras.
Starting with a base of digestive biscuits and a brownie batter with chopped almonds stirred through.
Then, salty pretzels.
I couldn't resist using these cute Christmas tree pretzels from Aldi.
Once the brownie has baked, it's covered in chopped chocolate.
And, marshmallows!
I toasted the brownie under a hot grill until the chocolate had melted and the marshmallows were golden.
These brownies are definitely for those with a serious sweet tooth.
They're super gooey, chocolatey, nutty, sweet and salty all at once!

Cookbook of the Month 2017, previously: heavenly bites // jamie's comfort food // nadiya's british food adventure // simply nigella // fresh india // cooking for jeffrey // summers under the tamarind tree

Keep me in your duas please!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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