Faery's Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 21:37:00 +0000

A Change For Faery's Kitchen.
(Not all changes are good)

I've been thinking about my blog, I have abandoned it, I said to myself "sincerity has always been an important value for you, so report how the kitchen o Faery has changed lately" you can compare my previous posts and how this itchen was but then I suddenly stopped posting, then I tried but it has been difficult, not only buying food is really hard but my camera broke and there are none in the stores…beside with the new prices I wouldn’t be able to buy a new one .

I think all who are interested in politics and know how a crisis can affect an entire region know the case of Venezuela, plunged into a crisis of almost 17 years, thanks to a president who was conquered by Cuban dictators, with their politics Venezuela collapsed; We don’t talk about food shortage now, we say lack of food and medicine and the government illegally and unconstitutionally blocks all the measurements the National Assembly takes to overcome the crisis….

I'm changing the purpose of my blog and this is something risky because we do not have freedom of speech either but I’ve had enough; we lack so many things that I’m not afraid to talk about it and that is exactly what I will do: Faery’s Kitchen or the Chronicles of a Kitchen During “Revolution”.
I have to go out and continue “visiting” stores and see what we can buy to eat and try to find my mom's medicine.... Here I leave the pictures of what my sister and I bought this morning, there are 13 items that cost more 7 million bolivars and 3 items we bought at the black market, each costed 1 million bolivars’ ... I remind you that the salary of a Venezuelan is a little more than 11 million. In the next post I will explain how the monetary system works and why the dollar has different prices and Why shopping receipt says prices in thousands and I speak of millions; 1.000 equals 1.000.000

Bye Bye … and yes if my English was bad before …it is worse now hehehe

Please follow the link to read:
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/02/12/venezuela-has-run-out-of-food/

SOY ....

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 20:31:00 +0000

Back to Basics.

You notice at a glance, the joy on people’s faces as you walk on the streets of my country. The triumph of democracy, the people finally left fear behind and they helped us, we who year after year worked very hard without fear to restore the path of progress, law and freedom in this beautiful country. THANKS MY DEAR LORD

But 17 years of destruction do not end so simply, the damage was immense, at all levels so the crisis will continue for a while, but there is a whole people who learned from their mistakes and will work to get ahead.

Our recipe is only instructions more than a traditional recipe with a list o ingredienta an instruccion, as traditional precooked corn flour to make our Venezuelan arepa bread is not available in the markets, I, like many others chose to buy maize and work the way my beloved grandmother Ramona worked the maize to make flour or dough long ago, she used to mill or pound corn or rice with a huge log mortar and wooden pestle that is called Pilón in my country, thanks to the few producers who refused to disappear I buy corn (white or yellow corn) that is ready to use.

So I just have to clean it of any pebble or other object, wash it and let it rest in clean water overnight. The next morning, I cook the corn in clean water until soft but not too soft (it would be difficult to handle the dough), then I grind the corn it should be smooth.

The texture of the dough is just like the commercial flour, if you take a ball of dough in your hands and press it to flatten and edges cracks you have to add a little water and knead until smooth, then you add salt to taste and make your arepas, place them on a Budare (a griddle) I have a budare but used a frying pan with lid instead, brushed it with oil and place the arepas and cover with the lid, cook the arepas on both sides (called faces) on slow to medium heat, to test if one side is already cooked with care not to burn and not distort the arepa grab it with a clean kitchen towel and lift it with a knife then tap with your fingers, it has to sound hollow, if so, turn and cook the arepa on the other side doing the same test to see if it is fully cooked. DO NOT OVER COOK; remember the corn is already cooked, they may become dry

I always like to stuff my arepa with grated fresh cheese, but the stuffing is whatever you want

And remember Arepas are Venezuelan and we are proud that it has become a favorite around the world

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 00:16:00 +0000

A Different Pumpkin or…
Taking the Bull by the Horns

Cooking in Venezuela today, is not easy, believe me ….. But a challenge to serve a dish that is at least tasty and nutritious that might be very cheap in other countries but here, it is very expensive here, Can you believe that 250 grams of cheese costs 400 BsF (400.000 Bs they took out three ceros so people could handle those amounts…)
Well, when I was cooking yesterday, I thought fried chicken, yellow rice and plantain were not enough and I decided to add pumpkin…boiled pumpkin maybe with butter and white cheese, traditional but ugh! So I took what I had at home and made this and to be honest it is so good and easy to make that I will not go for traditional pumpkin style again …nope
You may not know that I am celiac (although I still cook with gluten for others :’( ), and I had to make a béchamel or white sauce for this dish so I could not go for the one part butter, one part flour ratio (for a cup of milk one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon wheat flour) so what I did was using corn starch instead of wheat flour and used a very different technique, not the traditional roux, I like this method better because it is less work and the texture of the sauce is very smooth and silky. Corn starch is not as strong as wheat flour so I had to change the proportion according to my needs; I wanted a lighter sauce because I was adding cheese …

Ingredents:

1 cup milk plus three tablespoons, room temperature

3 Tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon butter

200 grams of muenster cheese, cut in very small cubes

A pinch o grated nutmeg

A pinch of smoked paprika

A pinch of grated black pepper

Boiled pumpkin (not too soft)

1- Heat the cup of milk plus butter.

2- In a small bowl add the rest of the milk and the corn starch stir well and add to the milk butter mixture stir constantly until it thickens

3- Then add the cheese and keep stirring until t is melted

4- Add the pinch o nutmeg or to taste stir well

5- Place the pumpkin in a tray and add the cheese sauce on top the sprinkle the paprika and pepper on top and bake with broiler function

Note: I could have added grated parmesan cheese on top but Can you believe no one is selling it in my town?, I added chopped cheese on top … didn’t like how it looks hehehehe

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:33:00 +0000

Dough.

I don’t know how to call this recipe.

This dough can be used with some stuffing, sweet or savory or plain like I did, it is very easy to make. Well let’s see how my English goes, after so much time I think I forgot how to post and write heheheh

Ingredients.

200 gr self-rising wheat flour.

2 ½ tablespoons oil.

1 teaspoon vodka

¼ teaspoon white vinegar.

1 teaspoon baking powder .

1 pinch salt.

1 tablespoon sugar.

½ cup minus 1 tablespoon water.

1- In a bowl, place all dry ingredients and mix well.

2- Add the vinegar to the water.

3- Add half of the water/vinegar solution to the flour and begging mixing adding water until you have kind of a rustic dough, then add the oil and knead until the dough absorbs all the oil, at this point it is a soft silky dough, put the dough in an oiled plastic bag and let rest for 30 minutes in a cold place.

Roll the dough and use it as an empanada wrap (Venezuelan pastel or pastelito) or as fried “bread”…

Gluten Free “Flour” Empanadas

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:54:00 +0000

Gluten Free “Flour” Empanadas

This is a recipe I found on youtube that I want to share with you all; the recipe is in Brazilian Portuguese. I say “flour” empanadas because in Venezuela we have to kinds of empanada one is made with corn flour (masa flour or cornmeal) and the other is made of wheat flour but as this is gluten free I say “flour” empanadas so you know this is the gluten free version for the wheat ones

Ingredients

2 cups super fine rice flour

2 cups corn starch

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon vodka

10 to 20 tablespoon water

1- Mix all dry ingredients

2- Mix all wet ingredient

3- Mix step one and two and knead until the dough is smooth, let rest covered with a plastic wrap

4- Then make the empanadas as seen on the video and then fry them in hot oil

PS. As I said in a previous post I am not posting my own recipes due the political situation in my country

New post

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

For those who have a strong character and can watch strong images I leave the link for this video about Venezuela during the days after election and how we were treated by the regime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UDAFBtSq5I

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:36:00 +0000

Hello!, after so much time, I will post again to keep this blog “alive” and because I told a friend I will post again, but it will not be a recipe I will post how are we doing here in Venezuela, because due to the communism that ILEGALLY rules this country I cannot buy some items that I need to make what I used to do on this blog: Bake, share my experiments in the kitchen, I feel so powerless, I feel so frustrated, I feel SO angry but I as many other Venezuelans are doing what we can to free our country from this regime that comes from cuba, Food shops in Venezuela are under stocked, food is sparse the typical corn flour that we use to make the traditional Venezuelan arepas does not exist but the government is trying to blame and tell the world it is due to the only independent company that produces this flour is hoarding this and other products….this company can only produce the 48% of the corn flour of the country demand the other 52% is in hands of expropriated companies that are now in hands of the government but these companies are broken not producing not even a gram of flour and like this ALL the other expropriated companies like toillet paper, edible oil, coffee, sugar, milk, butter, margarine or shortening, wheat flour, rice, MEDICINES and many other goods that we do not have now, the worse is you have the money to buy goods but when you go shopping you find nothing on the store’s shelves the places of the Venezuelans regular diet products are now filled with: ketchup, Kellogg’s corn flakes, jams, plastic items, paper napkins (but not toilet paper that is produced by the same company that produce the paper napkins), soda pops, canned sardines of a very bad quality oh and do not try to buy chicken because this is an extinct bird in this country…I cannot keep writing because I am furious more when I think that Venezuela is crying for help but the countries are blind and deaf as long as they are given cheap or even free petroleum they do not care for democracy here, the whole world knows as well as we all know Capriles won the elections but our vote, our will was robbed … But World you should pay attention as power and corruption are so sweet words to some people and they spread so fast that other nations are not immune to this that is happening here.

I will, at least, post videos of other people cooking until all this finishes as I am sure all this will pass and we will be a democratic and prosperous nation again WE THE VENEZUELANS (almost 8 millions) are working on that

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Battenberg Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:13:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers' June Challenge:

Battenberg Cake

Thanks Mandy I ad hours of fun with this challenge, well here is my challenge and I made two gluten free pound cakes, one chocolate and one strawberry, they are soft and delicious, the “glue” for the cake and fondant is peach jam, I don’t know if this cake is decorated like this one but I got creative and wanted to use lots of glitter and gold…kind of gluten free Liberace…Gosh it is difficult

Not easy to apply gold when it gets lumpy

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Daring Bakers' April Challenge:

American Nutmeg Cake

Sorry I’m late…yes again, but I don’t know what is happening to me, if I was a believer in witchcraft I’d cry out loud that someone put a spell on me, I’m not going into details (for fear of writing too many mistakes as my English is vanishing…) but I had another accident (four in three weeks), this time my right index finger, I thought it was broken thanks God it is not, but it looks like an Italian sausage, it hurts like he…well it hurts A LOT; So I only made half of my challenge, I changed wheat flour for gluten free flour and peanuts because we are not in nut season (they are imported )

For the original recipe visit this wonderful blog, thans Jason

Gluten Free Empanada Wrappers

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:35:00 +0000

Gluten Free Empanada Wrappers

These are really good, once you cut this beautiful dough you can fry, bake or freeze your dough discs, you can stuff them with cheese, meat, vegetables….

To get a beautiful dough, we need to make a tapioca gel that should be added in no more than two minutes after cooking it or it might turn into a very sticky monster…like the Blob

First step: We make the “flour”

1- 150 gr corn starch

2- 150 gr tapioca starch

3- 150 gr skimed powder milk

4- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix all the ingredients very well in a big bowl

Second step: We whisk together, in a small bowl:

1- 2 eggs

2- 4 tablespoons corn oil (not a drop more, measure well)

3- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste

And finally: We cook the tapioca gel

1- 150 ml water room temperature

2- 4 tablespoons tapioca starch

Mix both ingredients in saucepan, grab a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat, never stop stirring, until it becomes something sticky and translucent…I mean it loses the initial milky color, then stir two or three times out of the flame. At this point we have the mise en place ready so let’s work fast.

1- Pour the liquids and tapioca gel over the flour, stir with the wooden spoon until it is difficult to work with it, then knead with your hands over the table until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough is smooth.

2- Now we make a log with the dough and divide into four pieces and cover with a plastic wrap.

3- Roll each piece of dough (not too thin) and cut circles, the size you want, if you want to freeze them, they should be place over individual plastic wraps so they don’t stick to each other and place them in a zip lock bag

4- I stuffed my dough discs with grated cheese and fried most of them, for the others I bushed them with egg wash (1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon milk and a pinch of salt) and baked 200°C until golden brown

I hope you like this recipe ;)

Dutch crunch bread or Tiger Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:03:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers March Challnge:

Dutch Crunch Bread

Finally my stove is installed (the way it should be) and my challenge is up, it was so much fun to make these bread buns, I was feeling the same excitement like when I made my first bread and it was ok in every stage of the process. Thanks so much Sara and Erica from baking JDs for this challenge and thanks Lisa. Recipe here

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

Papaya in Syrup

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:29:00 +0000

Papaya in Syrup 2

I am posting the recipe for papaya in syrup for a second time since so many people (from my own country ) stole my pictures so googlebot banned my posts containing the stolen pictures and they are not indexed in the google search page so I’ll have to repost those posts again and I hope they do not steal my pics again……

Ingredients:

1 green (not ripe) papaya mine had 950 grams

950 grams water

800 grams sugar.

1 tablespoon glucose

20 whole sweet cloves or to taste

A pinch of alt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Soaking solution.

1 tablespoon baking soda

Water.

1- Peel the papaya and cut in halves using a vegetable peeler make long stripes from the cut sides of the papaya.

2- Rinse the papaya stripes in water and then place them in a glass bowl sprinkle with baking soda and add water until all the papaya is covered then toss then to dissolve the baking soda and let rest for about 30 minutes (the longer they rest in the solution the crispier they will be so don’t let them rest more that 45 minutes) then thoroughly rinse with water.

3- Place the papaya in a heavy bottomed casserole and cover with water, boil until the papaya stripes are soft enough to roll them over and not break, that would be about 25 minutes then strain them (but don’t throw the water, set aside) , roll them over like you would for a jelly roll and secure them with a toothpick, let aside

4- In the same heavy bottomed casserole add 950 grams of the water you reserved, salt, sugar, cloves and glucose and boil until the consistency of a light simple syrup, then add the rolled papaya and let cook at slow heat until the papaya is translucent and the syrup gets the consistency of a thick cough syrup, add the vanilla extract when the syrup I warm.

French Country Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:08:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers' Dicember Challenge

French Country Bread

Happy New Year… I know it is a bit late but I cached a flu called influenza and it was terrible: pain all over my body, high fever, and a splitting headache so the light hurt my eyes too.

I am sorry I could not post my December challenge when it was due, I completed my challenge about a week before Christmas but by Christmas Eve the fever began ….

I dressed my country bread with a poinsettia because I was expecting a Christmas challenge so I decided to twist my bread shape a little, I decorated it with some of the dough and then painted it with egg yolk and food colors, the two only picture I could take are very ugly because that day we had a long loooong power cut in the entire town so double sorry

Jessica thank so much for this challenge, if you want to make this wonderful bread please click here

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Ricotta cheesecake (my way)

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Ricotta Cheesecake (my way)

I love this cheesecake because its texture is soft but it is compact and you don’t need to make a crust, you can substitute white sugar for splenda , it is easy and you don’t need a water bath to bake it, the two bad points to this cheesecake is that it can be baked in the microwave oven too so is makes this recipe very dangerous for those trying not to eat too much sweets because in about 12 minutes you have a dessert (about 6 for the mise en place and mixing, 3-4 for baking and 2 for the topping) and If you have a very fresh ricotta you need to drain it overnight (as in my case but I prefer my ricotta super fresh).

Ingredients.

600 gr unsalted fresh ricotta

1 can sweetened condensed milk.

1 pich salt.

1 teaspoon lemon peel grated.

2 tablespoons corn starch

5 eggs.

½ tablespoon vanilla extract.

¼ cup white sugar. (op)

Marmalade sauce.

½ cup apricot marmalade

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

¼ cup water or apricot juice

½ cup raisings

1- Mix all the ingredients with a handheld mixer until smooth.

2- Place in buttered ramekins or oven proof glass bowl.

3- Bake 180°C until golden but the center remains a bit soft when you move the bowl.

4- Let cool (better overnight)and spread the top with the marmalade sauce

For the sauce

1- soak the raising in the rum for about 1 hour

2- Mix all the ingredient and cook over low heat until the marmalade is hot

Microwave Version

For the microwave oven version

1- Use buttered ramekins and bake the cheesecake for 3.5 to 4 minutes, the center will always look kind of wet so insert a wooden stick in the center and should come out clean.

For the sauce

1 small jar cherries in syrup

1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch

½ cup cherry syrup

4 tablespoons water

1- mix water and corn starch then add the cherry syrup, place in a micro wave oven safe bowl or mug and cook for 30 second take the bowl out and stir the sauce and cook for other 30 seconds stir until is thickens and it looses the milky color (due to corn starch)

Splenda Cheesecake

For the splenda cheesecake

Substitute the sweetened condensed milk for 300 ml cream or milk and the white sugar for 1 cup granular splenda or to taste and bake until a wooden stick comes out clean, as this doesn’t have sugar it won’t get a golden color

For the topping

1 red or green apple diced

1 cup water or unsweetened apple juice

Splenda to taste

1 pinch cinnamon

1 pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon corn starch

Raisins to taste

1- In sauce pan cook apple, raisins, salt and water until the apple Is soft smash some of the apple cubes and add the corn starch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water.

2- Stir until the sauce thickens; add the vanilla when the sauce is warm.

The Daring Bakers' October Challenge Povitica

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:35:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers' October Challenge

Povitica

The season for all kid of nuts in my country is December…IMPORTED HA HA HA, soooo as we the Latin American have the biggest nut in the world: COCONUT, I decided to combine it with other products from this part of the world….CHOCOLATE and VANILLA, the scent and flavor ... so delicious. I loved this challenge and I learnt a lot, THANK YOU JENNY :D

Original Recipe:

Povitica (makes 4 loaves)

Ingredients

To activate the Yeast:

2 Teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) Sugar

1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour

½ Cup (120ml) Warm Water

2 Tablespoons (30ml/14 gm/½ oz/2 sachets) Dry Yeast

Dough:

2 Cups (480ml) Whole Milk

¾ Cup (180 ml/170gm/6 oz) Sugar

3 Teaspoons (15 ml/18 gm/2/3 oz) Table Salt

4 Large Eggs

½ Cup (120ml/115 gm/one stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted

8 cups (1.92 l/1.12 kg/39½ oz/2½ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Walnut Filling:

7 Cups (1.68 l/1.12 kg/2.5 lbs) Ground English Walnuts

1 Cup (240ml) Whole Milk

1 Cup (240ml/225 gm/2 sticks/8 oz) Unsalted Butter

2 Whole Eggs, Beaten

1 Teaspoon (5ml) Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Cups (480ml/450 gm/16 oz) Sugar

1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) Cinnamon

Topping:

½ Cup (120 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee

2 Tablespoons (30 ml/28 gm/1 oz) Granulated Sugar

Melted Butter

Directions:

To Activate Yeast:

1. In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.

2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:

3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.

4. In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, ¾ cup (180 gm/170 gm/6 oz) sugar, and the salt until combined.

5. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour.6. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.

7. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. Note: I did not use all 8 cups of flour

8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1.25 pounds/565 grams)

9. Place dough in 4 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Make the Filling

10. In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.

11. Heat the milk and butter to boiling.

12. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.

13. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

14. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.

15. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.To Roll and Assemble the Dough:

16. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.

17. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)

18. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.

19. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.

20. Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.

21. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.

22. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.

23. Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.

24. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.

25. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.

26. Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.

27. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of ½ cup (120 ml) of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons (30ml/28 gm/1 oz) of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.

28. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.

29. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.

30. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

31. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.

32. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.

33. Check the bread at 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.

34. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread weighs about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.

35. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Blog-checking lines: The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Venezuelan Patacones

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Venezuelan Patacones

Patacones are delicious they are mostly eaten in Zulia state, they are a kind of sandwich made with fried plantain instead of bread, the filling is up to your imagination I made fried pork with potato, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese (Monterrey Jack or mozzarella or the one you like best), fried bacon, white sauce and green sauce, ketchup. The plantain can be ripe or not it depends on how crispy you want your “sandwich”

Cut the plantain lentghwise and not very thing, one plantain three slices

Fry and then the best part, hit them until they are thin

Beautil, crisp outside but tender inside

Cover one slice of plain with cheese and the filling you chose

Serve

Green Sauce.

About one cup of coriander leaves, about ½ cup parsley leaves, about ¼ cup chopped onion, 2 tablespoon sweet chili, 1 tablespoon jalapeño (optional), ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon cappers, 1 tablespoon chopped celery, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, about ¼ cup oil (corn or sunflower), 3 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, and enough water to make a sauce the consistency is lighter that a pesto sauce, I like it thick, keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve

White Sauce.

Mayonnaise, plain yogurt, roasted bell pepper cut in mall squares, sweet and sour pickles chopped mix everything and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve

Croissants: The Daring Bakers' september Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Croissants: The Daring Bakers' September Challenge.

Thank you Sarah for this wonderful challenge. I made the original recipe and other using carob flour and filled them with quince, for the white ones without filling I garnished them with homemade guava in syrup and MORE butter. Posted at last I think the problem is caused by the internet company and not blogger...well I am nor sure I'll keep traying to find the cause why I can't post or comment :(

They look like wet inside but they were not...

Ingredients

¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)

1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar

1 ¾ cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)

2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar

1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt

½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)

½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter

1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.

2. Measure out the other ingredients

3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar

4. Place the flour in a large bowl.

5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour

6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated

7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl

8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.

9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag (Photos 1 & 2)

10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size. (Photo 3)

11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips. (Photo 4)

12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm). (Photo 5)

13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up) (Photos 6 & 7)

14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag. (Photo 8)

15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge (Photo 9)

16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter. (Photo 10)

17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter

18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.

19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat. (Photo 11)

20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.

21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two. (Photo 12)

22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm). (Photo 13)

23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle (Photos 14 & 15)

24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges. (Photo 16)

25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up. (Photos 17 & 18)

26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book). (Photo 19)

27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm). (Photo 20)

28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up. (Photos 21 & 22)

29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours. (Photo 23)

30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.

31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little

32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes

33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

34. Fold in three, as before

35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)

37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants

38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready

39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter

40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm). (Photo 24)

41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm)) (Photo 24)

42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold

43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).

44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))

45. Place two of the squares in the fridge

46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square

47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles. (Photo 25)

48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles. (Photo 26)

49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape. (Photo 27)

50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet

51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.

52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour

53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water

55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants. (Photo 28)

56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely

57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

COFFEE

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:28:00 +0000

COFFEE

Ok this is how a Faery does coffee, the entire realm here loves my coffee, I hope you like it too, one advise it is said that this kind of coffee pot are never washed with dish washing liquid (only outside and with time it will get browned no matter what you do), only rinse it with cold or hot water. Although I have a cappuccino machine this is how we prepare coffee everyday, with the cappuccino machine read the instruction and your coffee will be delicious all time. I think two girls in Waco and New York will like this recipe. Ok here we go:

This a foam we make for coffee, but if publish this recipe my family will kill me...so I better don't :/

The foam goes up soon

Homemade Guinness beer...naaa, hahaha COFFEE

COFFE:

1- Fill the cup (or filter) of your coffeepot until you reach the edge.

2- Press the coffee with a spoon until it looks very compact, DO NOT ADD MORE COFFE resist the temptation; otherwise you will make Chinese ink or a coffee that will keep awake for 72 hours and hyperactive. WE DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.

3- Add water until you reach the valve that is the bottom (water) reservoir of you coffee pot, NOT more, if you want more coffee then make two batches

4- Then close the coffeepot and heat it until the coffee is in the upper reservoir, turn off the heat serve and enjoy

Refreshing Coffee for a hot day: (my mom’s recipe)

1- In a blender add ice cubes, hot or cold coffee, very cold water, sugar and some drops of vanilla extract. Amounts are the ones you like best, more coffee or less coffee (I used 1 small cup of coffee, half cup of water and about 5 ice cubes)

2- Blend until it is very foamy and serve

3- Options: You may sprinkle cinnamon, cocoa, or add chocolate syrup or whisky your imagination is the limit

Note: it is very refreshing, I love it

The Impossible Cake Is Sooo Possible

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:51:00 +0000

The Impossible Cake Is Sooo Possible

The impossible cake is so easy, a few days ago my depression began again, I was craving for chocolate and wanted something easy to make, so I decided to make a chocolatey cake and this came out of the oven...

Ingredients:

1 package super moist chocolate cake.

1 can sweetened condensed milk.

1 cup milk.

6 eggs.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

Sugar to taste.

1- Prepare the cake according to the package instructions

2- Blend the rest of the ingredients.

3- Spread about 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (or more) on the bottom of the cake pan. You can add 1 or 2 tablespoons Irish cream to this before pouring it on the cake pan or use caramel milk (dulce de leche) to taste instead of sweetened condensed milk

4- Carefully add the chocolate.

5- With the help of the back of a spoon add the flan mix; slowly do not disturb the cake mix.

6- Bake at 180°C until a wooden stick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

7- Let cool, unmold and enjoy.

Streusel Cookie or Crumble Cookie

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:14:00 +0000

Streusel Cookie or Crumble Cookie.

Finally…. I solved the problems I had with blogger I had no access to my own account and still don’t know if I can leave comments on other blogs, will see soon.

This is the “cake” I made for my mom’s birthday it was delicious and I had to cook with splenda because my mom can not eat sugar…well technically she can eat sugar but once she had a high level of sugar in her blood (I’m not a doctor so it I difficult to explain ) and she got scared so she decided to be very careful and NOT to eat sugar at all… only one (1) candied cherry , she loved her “cake” and told me “girl you are in big trouble..I want more of this” :D by the way I had to made this cake in the sawing room because we spend 7 hours without light (power) that day and the kitchen was dark and hot…next day we had a power cut of 24 hours… THAT is Venezuela today

Ingredients:

Bottom layer.

200 gr unsalted margarine.

150 gr ef raising flour.

6 tablepoons splenda or 100 gr white sugar.

¼ teaspoon powder cinnamon.

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.

1 pinch salt

Filling.

1 jar sugar free jam or the regular one

Top layer.

325 gr self rasiing flour.

180- 200 gr margarine.

11 tablespoon splenda or 125 gr white sugar.

¼ teaspoon powder cinnamon.

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.

A pinch salt

Bottom layer

1- sieve together all the dry ingredient

2- Add margarine and vanilla.

3- Mix all ingredients

4- Press this dough on a pie pan and let rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, meanwhile prepare the top layer

5- sieve together all the dry ingredient

6- Add margarine and vanilla.

7- Gently rub flour and margarine between your hands until it looks like wet sand, let rest in the refrigerator for about 10 minute… meanwhile open the jar of jam which lid is so tight that you’ll need muscle and a strong will to open it…K maybe yours is nicer that this one

8- Spread the jam evenly over the bottom layer and then sprinkle the top layer over the jam, then decorate with some candied cherries (drained) and some powder cinnamon .

9- Bake 190°C until it looks light brown on top layer

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:05:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers July 2011 Challenge:

FRESH FRAISIERS

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

Recipe here

THE DARING BAKERS’ JUNE, 2011 CHALLENGE: BAKLAVA

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:35:00 +0000

THE DARING BAKERS’ JUNE, 2011 CHALLENGE:

BAKLAVA!!

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Original Recipe:

Phyllo Dough:

*Note 1: To have enough to fill my 9” x 9” baking dish with 18 layers of phyllo I doubled this recipe.

*Note 2: Single recipe will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish.

*Note 3: Dough can be made a head of time and froze. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw

and continue making your baklava

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour

1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt

1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt

2. Mix with paddle attachment

3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.

4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more)

Too dry:

This is the texture you are looking for, sticks together:

5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.

6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.

7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil

8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 2 hours and it was perfect)

Rolling your Phyllo

** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. I have included a fantastic video at the end of the post on how to roll out your phyllo dough, using a wooden dowel, which worked perfectly for me. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

1. Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.

2. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.

3. Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.

4. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel

5. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds)

6. Remove; notice how much bigger it is!

7. Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.

8. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine

9. Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.

Baklava Recipe

Adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network

30 servings

Ingredients

For the syrup:

• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey

• 1 1/4 cups (300ml) water

• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)

• a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved

2. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.

3. Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and lemon, allow to cool as baklava cooks

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon

15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I just used a few pinches)

3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds

3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts

3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar

phyllo dough (see recipe above)

1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter ** I did not need this much, less then half**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.

2. Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside

3. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan

4. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet

5. Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed)

6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

7. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

9. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

10. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

11. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.

12. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

13. With a Sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge

14. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)

15. When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava!

Next morning all syrup is absorbed

16. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup.

17. Serve at room temperature

Freezing/Storage Instructions/Tips: There are a few ways to store your Baklava. It is recommended that you store your baklava at room temperature in an airtight container. Stored at room temperature your baklava will last for up to 2 weeks. You will notice as the days pass it will get a little juicier and chewier. You may choose to store it in the fridge; this will make it a little harder and chewy, but does increase the shelf life. You can also freeze your baklava and then just set it out at room temperature to thaw.

The Daring Bakers' May Challenge: Marquise On Meringue

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Sat, 28 May 2011 01:53:00 +0000

The Daring Bakers' May Challenge: Marquise On Meringue

…ooops I inverted the order LoL

I’m writing fast because we are expecting another power cut in a few minutes so… I love this challenge because it was easy, delicious and I made it for my birthday today.

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Pizza Buns and Custard Buns.

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:13:00 +0000

Pizza Buns and Custard Buns.

I found this recipe on a Japanese blog called hidehide.net, of course I had to make my own variations due to the different characteristics of flour, for this recipe I used bread flour and self raising flour, also I changed the amount of sugar for the savory and sweet versions of this dough.

For my recipe please write

Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Basil Pesto

noreply@blogger.com (Faery) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Basil Pesto

I was supposed to make and edible bacon container with maple syrup mousse topped with meringue for my Daring Bakers April Challeng…guess what? There’s NO maple syrup in my country, we have communists ruling it (or at least trying to). SSSOOO the only part of the challenge I made was an edible container, it is about a parmesan cheese bowl filled with butternut squash gnocchi topped with basil pesto and tomato