Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

My Grandma’s Slow Cooker Red Cabbage

My Grandmother was a lively, determined and courageous woman with great style. She kept a beautiful house, and was also a great cook. Not necessarily exquisite cuisine, but more of an everyday cook. Also super fast and very inventive.

She didn’t own a crock pot in those days, but I do remember her slow cooking on a Paraffin Stove.
Slow cooked Red Cabbage with apples and spices, just the smell reminds me of her and my mother who has cooked the same recipe for over half a century. To me this is home cooking.
I don’t make it very often but when the temperature drops it’s just what you need, home made cozy comfort food.

Serves : 6-8
INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp. butter
1 medium red cabbage, shredded on a mandoline or cut thinly with knife
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 medium apples, peeled and diced small
1/4 tsp. ground dry ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground all spice
2 bay leaves
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 Cups water
1/4 Cup red wine (I use alcohol free wine so that works fine too) or more water

METHOD:
This couldn’t be easier.
Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker, toss very well.
Set the cooker to high and put on the lid. Leave to cook for 5 to 6 hours, depending how hot your slow cooker is. The water amount is just right for my slow cooker, but half way through cooking check to see how you are doing on the liquid, it shouldn’t get dry. Add a little water if necessary.
This is one of the few vegetable dishes that you want well cooked.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

Spiced Roast Chicken

4 Replies

This is our go-to roast chicken recipe. It’s one of my favourite recipes, and I use it again and again because it always turns out great without too much effort. Pretty much fool proof.
It’s a combination of Mexican flavours, but also Smokey Bbq.
The spice mix is easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your spice cabinet and it’s great on all sorts of things like burgers, chicken tenders fried up in a pan or even just oven-fries.
The Chicken gets a beautiful deep golden crust, the flavor is smokey, spicy, salty and sweet all at the same time.

Cooking time : 2 1/2 hrs.

Prep time : 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

SPICE RUB:

• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
• ½ teaspoons crushed dried chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ tsp. Onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• A pinch of cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

CHICKEN:

• 3 pound chicken
• 2 heads of garlic separated into cloves
• Thyme, rosemary, bay leaf

ADDITIONAL:

• Potatoes, peeled and quartered

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat the oven to 160 C / 320 F
Wash the chicken with cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel. Sit on a board.
In a bowl mix the ingredients for the spice rub and add the oil to form a thick-ish paste.
Hold the chicken with one hand and with the other loosen the skin by inserting a finger between the skin and the breast forming a pocket. You can also do this by using the back of a wooden spoon. But be gentle as not to break the skin.
Put a few teaspoons of the past under the skin and spread out, repeat with the other breast.
Rub the remaining paste all over the chicken and inside the cavity.
Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
In the cavity insert the herbs and one head of garlic separated into cloves.
Place the chicken in a roasting tin that has been lined with baking paper (easier to wash up) .
Cover (only the chicken and not the entire tin) very loosely with a piece of tin foil that is the same size as the chicken.
Place in the middle of the oven and bake for two and a half hours. Basting twice during cooking, by pouring the juices from the baking tray over the chicken.
After one hour add the potatoes and toss thru the juices and fat in the tin.
After an hour and a half, remove the tin foil.
Bake until golden and crispy.
Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

Berry Cheesecake Crumble Bars

18 Replies

These Berry cheesecake crumble bars are an amazing treat. They combine all the things I love in one. Cheesecake being number 1, crumble…because who doesn’t love crumble and obviously the cookie like bottom. And then the layer of juicy fruit. Which of course you can adapt to your favourite fruit.

They are super easy to make and a real crowd pleaser too.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cashew nuts
3 cups oats
pinch of salt
1/2 cup natural oil or butter
1/2 cup plain sugar or coconut blossom sugar

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose or spelt flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg at room temperature

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2 cups frozen berries of choice
2 tbsp. corn starch dissolved in two tbsp. water
2 tbsp. sugar (or more to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F . Line an 8-inch baking tray with parchment paper.
In a food processor, combine the nuts, oats, and salt and process until you have a coarse flour. Leave it in the processor.
In a small pot, melt the oil or butter with the sugar over low heat, until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the wet mixture on top of the oat mixture in the food processor and process until the mixture comes together.
Set aside 1 cup of the crumble mixture for the topping.
Place the remaining oat mixture over the base of the baking tray and push down with your (slightly wet) fingers. Press the dough down tightly.
Pre bake the crust for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile make the fruit layer by placing the berries in a saucepan and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Add the corn starch slurry and sugar and cook until thickened. Don’t stir to vigorously , try to leave some berries whole.
Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Spread all the cream cheese mixture over the oat base
Spread the slightly cooled fruit in an even layer over the cream cheese.
Crumble the reserved cup of oat mixture evenly over the fruit.
Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes more, until the topping is lightly golden and firm. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least an hour, then transfer the pan to the fridge until completely cool and firm (preferably over night). If you can’t wait, put the slightly cooled tray into the freezer for about 30 to 40 minutes. Lift out and slice into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They freeze well too.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

Pumpkin Beer Bread

9 Replies

Everywhere I look, it’s Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins… and I’m loving it.
I can’t get enough of Pumpkins, I eat them all year round (thanks you frozen pumpkin).
But since I’ve been thinking a lot about Pumpkins lately (no surprise there), I wanted to find more ways to use them. And today I am sharing with you my Pumpkin Beer Bread Loaf. Just like a normal whole grain loaf but with Pumpkin in it, and a little something extra… beer!
The result is a soft textured loaf, hearty with a hint of sweetness and a nice crispy crust.
I’ve kept it plain and simple so you can eat it with anything from cheese to Nutella. Don’t worry you can’t actually taste the beer.
The color of the bread needless to say, is beautiful.
So those of you who are still looking for a new Pumpkin adventure, make this Pumpkin Beer Bread, you’ll love it 🙂

⏰ Prep time: 15 minutes
🎃 Cooking time: ca 30 minutes
🍴 Makes: 2 Loafs

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INGREDIENTS:

4 – 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
1 package instant dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup light beer,
2 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree, freshly made or canned
a small handful of Pumpkin seeds
more flour for rolling out dough

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl mix the two flours with the salt.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the beer, the sugar, oil and 3 cups flour. Add the pumpkin puree. Beat until smooth.
3. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.
4. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
5. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in two greased 9×5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Brush with a little milk and sprinkle with the Pumpkin seeds.
6. Bake at 375 F for 30 – 35 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
7. Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool.

Enjoy !

Myra XO