The Coffee Break

Baked rice pudding with stewed cape gooseberries

2013-04-23T23:52:00.001+01:00

Has it been that long since I last posted here? One year flew in a blink of an eye...

It’s not like I have forgotten about my little space. Just life got so busy and I had to choose my priorities...

It certainly has been busy year. Many things happened. We had some wonderful moments and some I wish would have never happened.

After seven years of marriage I finally met my in-laws. I had unforgettable time with them and I will certainly share those moments with you but another time.

We moved to a bigger place with more space and more light. I am so giddy about the later one. We even have little garden where I might plant some vegetables and herbs. We’ll see.

But the most cherished moment was when in November we welcomed our second child. Our son. He is already five and a half month old.

It feels great to be back. I missed it a lot.

I leave you now with a treat. Comforting rice pudding, slowly baked in the oven. It is creamy and rich yet not too heavy. Just right.

Serves 4-6

For rice pudding:

Ingredients:

100g pearl rice

400ml full fat milk

400 single cream

50g brown sugar

1tsp vanilla essence

30g butter plus extra for greasing

Method:

Preheat oven to 140⁰C and grease 1.5l ovenproof dish.

In a saucepan combine milk and cream, add sugar and vanilla essence; gently heat over medium heat until almost boiling. Then remove from the heat.

Place the rice in the ovenproof dish and pour over milk, stir well.

Dot the butter over the top then carefully place it in the oven and bake for 1 – 1 ½ hr, stirring well after first 30 min.

When the pudding is golden brown on the top remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 min before serving.

Serve with stewed cape gooseberries.

For the cape gooseberries:

Ingredients:

2tbs butter

70g sugar

250g cape gooseberries

Method:

In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, add sugar and gooseberries. Leave to simmer for 5 min then remove from the heat.

Scenes of Scotland and Pelmeni Recipe {Russian Meat Dumplings}

2012-01-28T23:59:00.044Z

The coffee aroma spread through the whole apartment. I was sitting in the kitchen with a hot, freshly brewed coffee in my hands.

I felt so calm. So blissful.

I always feel this way when my mom sits next to me. It doesn’t happen often enough so I try to soak up every moment of it.

Every time I visit her, I look forward to eat familiar meals from my childhood, the way only she can cook. One of the meals I request every single time is pelmeni- meat dumplings.

Meat dumplings have been one of our family favourite for a very long time. I still remember my mom and grandmother standing in the kitchen and making hundreds of them by hand. They would freeze them and when there was no time to cook, they would pull out the dumplings from the freezer and minutes later we had a dinner on our table.

And now I do the same. The only difference, I don’t make them by hand but use a mold.

That saves a lot of time for sure.

Pelmeni {Russian Meat Dumplins}

Print this recipe

Prep time: up to 1 hour plus 30 min to freeze

Cooking time: 8-15 min

Makes : approx. 100

Ingredients:

For dough:

400 g all-purpose flour

1 large egg, beaten

2/3 cup of cold water

½ tsp sea salt

For filling:

500 g ground beef

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, pressed

Salt, pepper to taste

Method:

To make the dough, place flour and salt in a large bowl; make deep well in the centre then drop in egg and water. Carefully mix flour mix and liquid ingredients together.

Transfer the dough on the lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover with cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes.

To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

To assemble the dumpling using mold:

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Keep 3 parts covered with cling film or damp towel while working with the first one.

On the lightly floured surface roll out 1 part of the dough, about 1.5-2 mm thick. Then drape the rolled out dough over the mold and fill each hole with ½-1 tsp of filling.

Roll out second part of the dough and cover the meat filling, then using rolling pin roll the top until the pelmeni are formed.

To release the pelmeni, take the mold and pound it couple of times. Arrange the pelmeni on the well floured board and put it to the freezer for 30 minutes, then transfer to the ziploc bag and put it back to the freezer. The pelmeni can be stored for up to 3 month.

To make pelmeni by hand, on the floured surface thinly roll out the dough. Using cookie cutter or glass, about 5 cm in diameter, cut out circles. Place about ½ - 1 tsp of filling onto the circle. Fold into half-moon and pinch the edges together to seal then bring two ends and pinch them together.

To cook pelmeni, in a large pan bring plenty of well seasoned water to a boil. Carefully drop 20-30 pelmeni in and cook for about 10 minutes or until they rise to the surface of the water. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

With a slotted spoon remove the pelmeni from the water and place into large bowl. Serve with butter, sour-cream or vinegar.

Saturday Favourites {14/01/12}

2012-01-14T22:22:00.001Z

Welcome to Saturday Favourites, here I am going to share some of the things I came across the World Wide Web. It could be recipe, awesome product or simply photos I cannot stop staring at.

1. Sagaform Juicy Glasses @ Scandinavian Design Centre

2. Long Melamine Spoons @ Shirleyz

3. How to: Rainbow Cake @ Omnomicon

4. Colourful Mug Tree @ Ikea

5. Kitchen via House Beautiful