Coffee and Vanilla

Turmeric Root / Curcuma

Margot — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:29:24 +0000

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) also called Curcuma, Indian Saffron, Kurkuma, Haldi, Kunyit, Kunir, Manjal is native to tropical parts of Asia.

It’s roots / rhizomes are very similar to those of ginger just smaller with more orange flesh, not without the reason as they both belong to the same Zingiberaceae family.

Turmeric contain 17% manganese, 10% iron and 4% vitamin B6.

Turmeric adding very distinctive flavour to dishes, taste great with many vegetables, especially potatoes and cauliflower. It adds also colour to foods thanks to substance called “curcumin” which is yellow, just like saffron but way less expensive.

In most cuisines powdered turmeric roots are used but in places where you can get turmeric fresh also leaves have use, to wrap and cook food in manner that banana, wine or cabbage leaves in different places.

Also fresh turmeric rhizomes are used in similar way to ginger, as pickles or chunks are added to cooking.

Other uses of turmeric

Helps fight and prevent the cancer.
Anti-inflammatory use in both the Chinese and Indian medicine.
Commonly used to dye saris and Buddhist monks’ robes.
Used to scare off the ants.
Paste made out of turmeric is said to improve the skin condition as it has anti-ageing & anti-bacterial properties.
Turmeric gives the skin also nicer, tanned tone and for that reason it is added to some sunscreens.
Used during wedding and various religious ceremonies in India.
Together with annatto (natural red colouring) turmeric is used to give colour to the cheeses, yogurts, seasonings such as curry powder, butter, stock cubes, pickles, mustards, drinks such as orange juice, biscuits, popcorn, sweets, icings, cereals, jellies, sauces etc. It is practically used in all kind of food products we are using on daily basis.

Here are couple of my favourite recipes calling for turmeric:

Jamaican Power Patties

Red Lentils with Onions & Basmati Rice

Spicy Red Lentil, Curry & Coriander Sauce for Rice

Spicy Red Kidney Beans

Indian Potatoes

Moroccan Style Hummus with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Peppers

and many more…

Recommended Product:
TODDLER SPORT BOTTLE / CUP by Mam
comfortable curved shape & right size | practically leak proof | cleaning is quite easy, only 3 parts
buy from Amazon.co.uk
buy from Amazon.com

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Please notify the author at margot (at) coffeeandvanilla.co.uk if you are reading this post in other place than Coffee & Vanilla website or your personal news reader.
Thank you, Margot

Turmeric Root / Curcuma

Home Made No-Knead Half Brown Bread Loaf & Rolls

Margot — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:55:55 +0000

[This recipe is based on artisan free form bread "boule" recipe from “Five Minute Bread” by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoë François]

INGREDIENTS

500g strong brown flour
500g strong white flour
1 tbs + 2 tsp instant dried yeast
850ml lukewarm water
2 tsp coarse sea salt
oil for brushing the tins
some more flour for dusting

EQUIPMENT

large 5 litre container with lid to make the dough
mixing spoon
non-stick loaf tins or muffin trays to make bread rolls – I used two 11×22 cm (4.5 x 8.5 in) and 12 muffin tray
silicone brush to brush the tins

METHOD

First on the bottom of the container dissolve yeast and salt in lukewarm water.
Stir in the flours, mix with a spoon until well combined.
Cover with a lid, not airtight and leave to grow in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough will rise and fall.
Place in the fridge with the lid on, still not closed airtight, for at least 24 hours but not more than 5-7 days. In my opinion 2-3 day bread taste the best.
On the day of baking remove all or just a portion of the dough from the fridge, dust with flour and place in greased tin or muffin tray (for bread rolls).
Cover with cloth and leave in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes.
Bake in the over preheated to 220°C (425°F) for about 30 minutes. For nicer crust place on the bottom shelf of the oven extra tray/tin filled with about a cup of water.
As soon as the bread is ready remove it from the tins and let it cool down on the wire rack, if you can wait…

This recipe make 4 small loaves of bread or 2 loaves and 12 bread rolls.

NOTES

Remember, you don’t have to use all the dough one time, it can go back in the fridge.

Use only strong white flour for less textured bread or plain flour for lighter bread.

Store the dough longer (up to 5-7 days) for more distinctive flavour.

Mix new portion of the dough in the same / unwashed container so the dough will mature faster.

Above recipe is adapted from the basic artisan free form bread “boule”… but the book itself contains many more the same fast & easy recipes for all kind of breads you can only imagine, including pitta, baguette, ciabatta, challah, pumpernickel and brioche rolls just to mention few… absolutely must have book for any bread lover.

With thanks to Zoë & Jeff for waking up my inner baker.

Traditional English Breakfast Alternative – Green Pepper and Red Onion Egg Fry Up

Margot — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:33:56 +0000

This is my alternative to traditional full English breakfast, which I make sometimes as well (minus the sausages).

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
a little bit of butter or oil to fry (I used real butter)
2 slices of brown bread (toasted)
½ green bell pepper (coarsely diced)
½ red onion (cut into wedges)
couple of cherry tomatoes to serve
Thai chilli & garlic sauce to serve

METHOD

On the frying pan fry eggs.
Top toasted bread slices with it.
In meantime on the same frying pan, without adding any extra butter or oil, fry onions and peppers for a short while, only until browned but still crunchy.
Serve with some fresh cherry tomatoes and generous amount of hot sauce (Thai chilli & garlic sauce is my favourite) on a side.

Serves 1 person.

NOTES

Replace green peppers with any other peppers, if you prefer, personally I like bitterness of the green peppers in combination with sweet red onions.

Optionally sprinkle with some grated Cheddar.

More ideas how to use green peppers:

What To Do With Green Bell Peppers?

Wholesome Lunchbox # 52 (May 2012) – The Round-up

Margot — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:02:19 +0000

Hello, welcome to the 52nd edition of Wholesome Lunchbox Round-up.

Big thank you for submitting all those beautiful, inspiring boxes. I’ve chosen couple of them to be displayed this month. All the rest of submitted entries can be viewed at Wholesome Lunchbox group on Flickr.

I’m already looking forward seeing your photos in June edition of WL.

Please note that, since Wholesome Lunchbox round-ups have a new format, the images are pulled directly from Flickr server so they must be added to the Wholesome Lunchbox group before 15th of the month otherwise they may not show up here. The date also decide about the order of images on the page.

Recycled T-shirt Crochet Rug

Margot — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:00:08 +0000

Don’t throw away old t-shirts, turn them into rugs

MATERIALS

4-6 old t-shirts or pyjama tops in as many or as little colours you like, cut into 2.5 cm / 1 inch strips

EQUIPMENT

fat crochet hook (I used 9 mm one)
needle and a little bit of thread to secure the last chain on the rug

METHOD

stitches used: chain (ch), single crochet (sc), slip stich (sl)

FOUNDATION CHAIN
Start with 7 ch, connect ends of the chain with sl to create a circle.

ROUND 1-3

Work 1 sc 1 ch 1 sc 1 ch etc for the first 3 rounds.

ROUND 4+

Continue working sc but reduce amount of added extra chain stitches in between. You will see if they are needed.

Your rug supposed to be completely flat, if it is turning into hat it means there should be more extra chains added, if it is all wavy it means there should be less chains added if any. Possibly continue only with sc and only add extra ch now and then when some area of the rug bends up.

LAST ROUND

Once you are happy with the size, finish the round with sl stitch and then use needle and tread to secure the ending… and voilà, your rug is ready to use.

CONNECTING THE STRIPS

To connect strips of t-shirt together make cuts at the end of each of them and then tight them together as pictured below.

NOTES

Recycled rug like this can be also done from other fabrics or even stockings.

Use thinner strips and smaller crochet gauge to create placemats.

In the first row instead closing the circle make the chain longer and then start going around it to create oval shaped rug.

Ultimate Dry Skin & Cracked, Split Heel Remedy

Margot — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:49:41 +0000

With summer just round the corner I’m always more than ever concerned about dry skin especially the one on the elbows and heels that is exposed in summer clothes and shoes.

For the past few years, during and after two pregnancies I struggled with those problems a lot and tried most available on the market creams and ointments with very little effect I must say, they are all either worthless or do not have pleasant scent.

But regular applications of plain vaseline / petroleum jelly, just a little bit after bath when I had time to massage it into the skin and let is absorb, worked the magic.

My personal favourite is Vaseline Lip Therapy with Cocoa Butter (£1.99 / 20g at Boots) and recently also Blue Magic Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner (£1.99 / 340g at Pak’s) which in reality is pure petroleum jelly with coconut oil, it smells great and seems to be the best from everything I have tried so far.

If you know of any other brilliant skin products, please do share, I would love to hear about it.

NOTES

In extreme cases of cracked or split heels, after applying petroleum jelly, wrap them into cling film for the night (not too tight) and wear socks on the top of it.

DIY Truffula Fluffy Pom-Pom Trees from The Lorax

Margot — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:16:46 +0000

After watching very much loved “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” movie last weekend, we could not resist making some themed crafts. And with the pot of grass already at hand (leftover from Easter) we had no other choice but to make truffula trees

MATERIALS

wooden skewers
fluffy pom-poms in candy pinks and yellows
flower pot with grass

EQUIPMENT

black permanent marker
all-purpose clear permanent glue (like UHU, Bostik or GSD)

METHOD

With a marker paint stripes on the skewer making zig-zag movements while turning skewer with the other hand… it will make uneven stripes, also wood absorbency will help the design to look more realistic, like on the trees from The Lorax.
Deep the sharp part of the skewer in glue and stick it into the pom-pom.
Place your ready fluffy tree in the pot with grass.
Repeat the same with more skewers and pom-poms until you are happy with your very own truffula forest.

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” Movie Review

Margot — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:01:23 +0000

Last weekend my 6 year old daughter and I we went to Odeon West End to see “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” movie preview. The Lorax is a comedy for children, adaptation of one of Dr. Seuss books written back in 1971 and now animated by Universal Pictures & Illumination Entertainment under direction of Chris Renaud. I completely did not have any expectations as we did not read any of Dr. Seuss books yet, but I was very excited because I haven’t also seen any 3D film before.

After meeting real fury Lorax himself (pictue below), trying some truffula tree snacks we headed to our seat where another nice surprise was waiting on us Lorax popcorn… we put our 3D glasses on and a second later some monster stripy tongue was pointing directly for my face so I automatically moved away… just to make my daughter laugh.

I know I’m outdated not having seen 3D movie before… I always thought it is just for kids and yes, I was very impressed from the very first seconds of the film (!) The graphics / animations are just incredible… everything seems so real and at the same time so magical… for an hour and half I felt like I was living between those little crooked houses, driving extremely narrow streets and seeing for real all those cute animals and fluffy trees. I must admit that it made me a little bit dizzy too especially during car driving scenes.. but I think that was the point.

Although the story was written back in the seventies it is still on time… is spreading sadly very true ecological message and warning because “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not.”

The title character Lorax (voice by Danny DeVito) is the creature guardian of the forest who speaking for the truffula trees that people destroy in greed for their fluffiness they use to make stuff from… and they would not stop until the last tree was down and there is no more trees in Thneedville and people have to buy fresh air in the bottles.
Ted (voice by Zac Efron), 12 year old boy has a crush on Audrey (voice by Taylor Swift), girl from his school whose wish is to see a real tree. That is why Ted decides, despite danger, leave the town to find monster – The Once-ler (voice by Ed Helms) whose greed destroyed the trees to learn from him about the trees that once used to grow on Earth. It’s a children movie so the story has happy ending but at the same time make you think about our future and if we will be able to stop destroying our plantet before it is too late…

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” is absolutely must see family movie! Not only great fun, amazing animation but also the message worth passing on future generations.

Inspired by the movie we purchased our first Dr. Seuss’ book “The Lorax” on the very same day. We have also planted our Lorax’s seeds in our backyard and will be making our very own truffula tree pom-pom forest.

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” movie will be available in the cinemas across UK from July 27th.

For different perspective read other reviews from the same event:

The Lorax on Being Mum To Cami
The Lorax in 3D on Major Love of Film
Review of The Lorax And Little Frankie And Benny’s on Mummy Whisperer Blog
Why we loved “The Lorax” on Not a Notting Hill Mum

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”

DIRECTOR: Chris Renaud
CO-DIRECTOR: Kyle Balda
CAST: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle and Betty White
WRITTEN BY: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio
PRODUCED BY: Chris Meledandri & Janet Healey
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Audrey Geisel
BASED ON: Dr. Seuss book with the same title
RATING: PG (for brief mild language)
LANGUAGE: English
COUNTRY: USA
GENRES: 3D-CGI Feature
RUNTIME: 86 minutes
CREATED BY: Universal Pictures & Illumination Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: 2nd March 2012 (US) & 27th July 2012 (UK)

With thanks for the invitation to Universal Pictures and Nicola from Feref.

Pancake Doodles & Alphabet Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup

Margot — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:43:02 +0000

[Inspired by Good Mornig Hearts from Sherbet Blossom]

I made those pancakes for my older daughter who is not feeling well today and needed some cheering up.

INGREDIENTS

for the pancakes

1½ cups self raising flour or ½ cups plain flour + ½ tbs baking powder
2 cups milk
¼ cup oil (I used hazelnut oil)
2 eggs

for the topping

fruity syrup – I used natural concentrated raspberry juice

EQUIPMENT

non-stick frying pan
spatula to turn the pancakes
recycled squeezable bottle, for instance from ice cream sauce
funnel
whisk
small mixing bowl

METHOD

In a bowl mix all ingredients for pancakes and whisk until smooth.
Using funnel pour the pancake mixture into squeezable bottle.
Squeeze it out onto hot non-stick frying pan creating shapes.
Flip them with spatula and fry on both sides.
Serve topped with some fruity syrup, we love it with Polish raspberry syrup from Łowicz.

Makes enough pancake doodles for 2-4 kids, depending how big and how hungry they are.

NOTES

Just to be on a safe side brush frying pan with little bit of oil before starting to fry, just this one time.

Cut off flap from the squeezable bottle cover, it will be easier to create shapes without it.

More images coming soon… this time around they disappeared so fast I did not get a chance to take more photos.

More kid’s food ideas:

Yeast Teddy Bear Buns

Smurfy Smurfberry Muffins

Black Pasta Monsters

Waffles with Nutella & Blueberries

Marble Eggs

DIY Sponge on a Rope

Margot — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:31:29 +0000

I don’t know if it is just my luck but every time I buy sponges on the ropes for my girls they are either too hard to use or they are breaking after couple of days and we don’t like all those plasticky wash puffs so I decided to make my own ropes for plain sponges.

MATERIALS

sponge
2 acrylic beads with large holes
piece of ribbon or string

EQUIPMENT

crochet hook (I used 3 mm one)

METHOD

Pierce the sponge with a crochet hook.
Fold the ribbon in half and pull it through the sponge.
Thread the beads onto the ribbon on the top and bottom of the sponge finishing with knots.
And voilà, your sponge on a rope is ready.

NOTES

Make sure the colour of the string or ribbon you are using is not running.