UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

Group!

Have we all been starving to death???
Had to dig deep to find the thread to share this!

Friend at work told me about this and I've just taken a batch out of the oven for our lunches for the next couple days.

Egg muffins!

Get a 6 thingy muffin tin out of the depths of the back of your cupboard. Wash it. Dry it. Oil it well.

Chop up whatever veg is gently wilting in the bottom of your fridge and toss a small handful into each thingy. Beat the crap out of six eggs and pour it over the veg. Not too full or it will spill over and make a mess. About a 1/2 inch from the top should be okay.

Stick the pan in a 180C oven and ignore for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the egg is set.

Let cool a few minutes before digging them out in bits with a knife because you forgot to oil the pan.

Ta da!

Sounds good Patti. Leftovers can be good. Doing chicken couscous today:

2 pints chicken stock made from chicken carcass simmered for 2 hours with chopped carrot leek onion & celery, bat leaves & 9 peppercorns.

Add 4 small chopped mushrooms, 1 small diced onion, 2 whole sprigs fresh sage, 5 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 6 scrapes of nutmeg, 1 chopped chilli & simmer for 1 hour to make a sauce. Take out sage & thyme after 5 minutes.

sprinkle 2 cups of couscous with water, mix to separate grains, addd 1 tablespoon good olive oil and mix. Add 1 chopped onion, 4 bay leaves, put in mulin bag & steam for 2 hours.

Take couscous from bag put in dish, pour 1/3 sauce over, mix and leave for 5 minutes. Portion couscous up. Add small amount of bite sized pieces of left over chicken to each portion & take to table with rest of sauce in jug for pouring. GO!!

If bat leaves are difficult to come by, use bay instead.

For anyone who likes spicy/Mexican food I found an amazing mole paste in Waitrose and the recipe I use it with is:

1 tbsp. veg oil
8 skinless chicken thighs (bone in)
2 red onions, finely sliced
2 peppers(I use 2 red or 1 red and 1 green)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cinnamon stick, halved
3 tbsp. Waitrose mole sauce
2 dried habanero chillies*
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g pinto or kidney beans
25g dark chocolate
1 lime, zest and juice

1. Season the chicken and fry over a medium-high heat until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the onions and peppers and cook over a low heat until soft, then stir in the garlic.
3. Cook for another couple of minutes before stirring in the cinnamon, mole sauce, chillies, tomatoes and beans. Fill the tomato tin with water and add it to the pan with the chicken.
4. Cover and simmer for an hour. Uncover and cook for another half hour until thick. Season and stir in the chocolate and lime zest and juice. Serve with rice and garnish with coriander. I also serve with some pitta bread if I'm feeling naughty.

*Be advised, habanero chillies are pretty powerful. If you don't like really spicy food, maybe replace the habaneros with ordinary fresh red chillies!

Kath, I need your jelly recipe, please.

Once the munchkins go home, of course. :)

Tayberry jelly

2lb tayberries (or blackberries)
Quarter pint water

Wash fruit and put into a jam pan with water. Simmer gently till very soft, pressing the fruit occasionally.
Strain overnight through a jelly bag or muslin.
Measure juice and add 1lb sugar and 2 tablesoons lemon juice per pint of juice. (I increase the amounts and do 4 or 5 lb fruit at a time)
When sugar has dissolved, boil rapidly to setting point, pour into hot, sterile jars and seal.

Thank you, Kath!

And I can get all the ingredients here!

I'm ready to share a chocolate recipe from my cookbook. Is it okay to write a summary here and link to my own website for the full details, please?

Yes, of course!

Yay! Thank you.

I think I'll post the easiest recipe, not least because it's delicious.

Plain and Simple Dark Chocolate Recipe

Until recently, I had no idea that you could make chocolate at home. That's because you couldn't - at least not unless you sweet talked somebody with his or her own cocoa plantation and hydraulic press.

Now, however, cocoa butter is readily available, meaning that all you need to do is buy some, melt it, stir in some extra ingredients and take part is a (very therapeutic) process where you spread chocolate around a surface with a scraper.

What's more, your kitchen ends up smelling divine!

How to make chocolate at home

Please do let me know how you get on. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. (Or consult Joo/Ignite, who are now also proficient chocolatiers!)



Photo by Claire Wilson, Live Life Explore

The photos being posted on Facebook are simply mouthwatering.

You should link to that, too.

If anybody wishes to join the chocolate testing Facebook group, here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/choco...

People follow my recipes and we share variations and tips.

Yay!

They really are gorgeous. I've just bought fondant icing sugar to try peppermint creams.

Oooh, yum! My favourites.

Then I have orange creams and coffee creams lined up. I blame you!

I adore coffee creams. And I rather like orange creams. Hint, hint....

If you buy the book when it comes out (quite soon) you can make yourself an endless supply. Did I say that right, Rosen? ;)

An endless supply..... That would be a really bad idea!

Perfect, Kath. Thank you!

Please could you share one of your most mouth-watering photos?

On here? Yep, I can do that!

Milk chocolates https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...

Chocs filled with fruit jelly https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...

White chocolate shells with coffee/rum truffle centres https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...

Yay, Kath!

I need to make sure you've got my address for Christmas...

Joo, too!

Oh! Almond bark!

Has anyone done almond bark yet?

I llluuurrrvvveeeee almond bark.

Not done any nutty ones. I have a pal with a serious nut allergy so I try to keep a nut-free kitchen.

You're a good friend, you.

Well, I certainly can't afford to lose one!

Kath wrote: "Well, I certainly can't afford to lose one!"

Not even inadvertently mislay one

Misplace, perhaps.

Where did you see it last?

Oh! I'm told if you say it out loud, you're more likely to find it.

Repeat after me, Kath.

'MIND', 'MIND', 'MIND'

Jim wrote: "Kath wrote: "Well, I certainly can't afford to lose one!"

Not even inadvertently mislay one"

Sit over there, Jim.

We'll look for your marbles next.

Kath, can I please have your recipe for rum truffles? I've been asked to make them for christmas this year!

Also, does anyone know how christmas cake is supposed to look when it comes out of the oven? Is it supposed to look like a fruit cake (fairly light) because it has to develop?

I'm using a recipe that's been in our family for hundreds of years. My great aunt asked me to take up the tradition before she passed away earlier this year, so it means a lot to me to get it right :) It's a fairly vague recipe, though!

Can I second the plea for a rum truffle recipe

Years ago I bought 'Orkney Rum Truffle' which was made, strangely enough, on Orkney. And was only really available there
They were great
But apparently no longer made :-(

This is a recipe from Rosen's book, still unpublished. I don't reckon she'd be totally pleased if we shared them all around. However, I know it's due out later this month and well in time for Christmas making and giving.

Kath, thank you for posting your photos. They're even more delicious than I remembered.

Katy, most Christmas cakes are dark fruit cakes, but my mum made one once that was light. I think it was by Delia, although not her most well-known Christmas cake version.

Everyone, I still need to test one aspect of the milk chocolate truffles. After which, I might post the recipe on my website. If I don't, it'll be because, having combined many types of truffle in one recipe, it'd be a very long and unwieldy post. Many types of truffle, including rum, will feature in the book.



Kath's right. Please don't share recipes from the book yet. Some however, are already in the public domain, as I posted them on my website:
http://www.rosentrevithick.co.uk/reci...

Which aspect is that? If I've got the stuff in, I'll have a go later.

I really wish I could have a go at making some of your recipes, Rosen.

I did look at bringing ingredients back when we were in the uk a few weeks ago but the small amounts I could fit in our luggage didn't make it worthwhile. :(

Thanks for trying!

Some you could make with just cream, fruit and shop-bought chocolate.

Only uht cream here. Vile stuff.

My aunt used to make truffles and give tiny boxes of them for Christmas. If I had time (and could do more in the way of cooking and baking) I would like to try that. I also have the added complication of needing to make sure that the recipes are suitable for a vegan, a vegetarian (actually a pescatarian) and also be gluten free.

Truffles with added fish?

Jim wrote: "Truffles with added fish?"

***insert picture of me being ill***

Rosen has vegan versions of these things.
No fish!

Janet, all my recipes are vegetarian and many are vegan. I've even created a vegan milk chocolate recipe. They all contain allergy advice.

Ooh! Gluten though - I haven't mentioned gluten in my allergy advice. Do you think I should? Most are gluten free, but one or two of the specialist chocolates contain biscuits made with wheat.

As for not having enough time, I'm afraid I cannot help with that, other than to say that simple yet impressive moulded chocolate (not truffles) takes less than an hour to prepare.

gluten advice would be sensible

I made the truffles in an hour. Moulded shells, truffles and topping up with choc. The longest time is waiting for it all to set in the fridge so you can get your gnashers round it!

I think mentioning gluten-free (except when it isn't) is a good idea.

Rosen wrote: "Janet, all my recipes are vegetarian and many are vegan. I've even created a vegan milk chocolate recipe. They all contain allergy advice.

Ooh! Gluten though - I haven't mentioned gluten in my all..."



Labelling as gluten free would certainly help me, as my niece doesn't like being left out of treats that everyone else can have.

Looking forward to making some now!!!

I can't believe how inexpensive they are for a luxury product that, in my opinion, is better than I can buy, not just a decent approximation. All my friends agree. My Christmas list is getting longer!

Okay - I'll add gluten advice once the file comes back from my editor. As far as my limited research can tell, pure chocolate is gluten free anyway.

Kath, I'm encouraged by the speed at which you make truffles but you are one of my chocolate champions!

Economy wise: I think your basic chocolate is comparable in price to good quality chocolate (and much cheaper if you buy cocoa butter in bulk) but once you start making luxury, individual chocolates, you save a fortune. The chocolate coated orange is particularly good value compared with buying it.