REAL COCOA DRINK

A refreshing but nourishing drink. Cocoa has nearly twice the anti-oxidants of red wine and up to 3 times those found in green tea. Cocoa has about 1/3 of a gram of fat per one cup serving compared with 8g of fat in 40g chocolate bar.

So it is time to enjoy this healthy drink from your own pantry and skip those pre-packed mixes  from your supermarket . They're laden with too much sugar and other additives your body does not need. You can also use low fat milk for this recipe.

REAL COCOA DRINK
Serves      :       4-6
Adapted from  Chocolate Chocolate
by Mary Norwak

4  TB  cocoa powder
3  TB   sugar
150 ml  boiling water
900  ml  milk
pinch of salt

METHOD

Mix cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water and mix to a paste. Simmer for 3 minutes.

Add milk and heat slowly to just below boiling point. Whisk well and pour into hot mugs/glasses.

Serve hot or cold.

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SYRIAN BREAD

This Syrian bread is almost similar to pita bread, the only difference is that this is without pocket.  Practically the preparation is the same as other yeast bread.

The dough is so easy to work with and these turned out amazingly fluffy and very tasty. In fact, I have pan fried half of the dough and it has puffed up beautifully but have been eaten before the photo shoot.  They gone in no time !

SYRIAN BREAD
Servings    :    8

3 C  all purpose flour
1 and 1/8 C warm water
2 TB  vegetable oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
melted butter

METHOD

Place flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir with wooden spoon.

Add in oil  and gradually add the water until it forms into a dough.

Knead dough by hand for 10 minutes and transfer onto greased and covered bowl. Let sit for 1 hour.

Pinch dough down, divide into 8 balls. Roll out each ball into circle about  6 in diameter. Preheat oven @ 200 C.

Brush tops with melted butter and bake 2 at a time for 8 minutes then flip,  apply melted butter and cook for another 5 minutes.

Transfer onto rack to cool. Serve warm.

Source     :       Allrecipes

Linking to  Yeastspotting 8-19-11  

PEACH GALETTE

A traditional French galette is a flat,   round and free- form  pie or tart with a crisp crust  It has either sweet or savory filling..The best part of galette is that the dough is  folded around the edges exposing the filling in the center.

This rustic crust is so easy to put together and I had used canned peaches for this recipe. Make sure you drain the peaches well before adding other ingredients. It is best served warm right after it has been out of the oven, simply irresistible!

PEACH GALETTE
Servings      :     6

CRUST

1 and 1/2 C all purpose flour

2 TB sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter cut into small pieces

3-4 TB  ice water

Extra butter for glazing

FILLING

3-4  peaches cut into eights

1 TB lemon juice

1 TB corn flour

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

METHOD FOR FILLING

Toss all the ingredients and let macerate for 10 minutes.

METHOD FOR CRUST

Combine sugar, salt and flour in a mixing bowl.

Add butter,  process until it resembles course meal either using food processor or by hand.

Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time until a soft dough is formed. Wrap the dough  in plastic wrap,  chill 30 mins -1 hour.

TO ASSEMBLE

Preheat oven @ 190 C. Take the dough out of the fridge, roll out dough into 12 in round about 1/8 in thick, transfer onto baking sheet..

Place the filling in center, leaving about 2 in border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal.

Brush the edges with butter, bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer onto rack to cool. Cut into wedges to serve.

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YEAST COFFEE CAKE

Coffee cake is a sweet cake leavened  either using baking powder or leavened by yeast, normally topped with nut, raisin, fruit and glazed with sugar or frosting, traditionally served for breakfast and brunch with coffee.

Coffee cakes are so versatile and may be baked in any type/size of pan but most popular are bundt, tube, fluted or loaf pan. They can also be baked in braid, ring, twist or whatever shape you like.

Originally this a bread machine recipe but now I have prepared them manually. They are easily browned so watch out during the end of baking time.

YEAST COFFEE CAKE
Adapted from  here

2 and 1/4 C bread flour/all purpose flour
1/4 C  sugar
1 tsp  salt
2   tsp  rapid rise yeast
1  C  milk
1  TB   butter
1  egg yolk (optional)

TOPPING
2  TB  melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C  sugar
1/2  C  chopped almond/pecan/walnut

METHOD

Warm the milk and butter until just warm to touch.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast sugar and salt.

Add milk mixture to the flour, forms into a dough.

Transfer onto floured board, knead by hand for 5-8 minutes. Transfer onto oiled and covered bowl, let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon  and almond, keep aside.

Pat dough into round greased pan or shape as desired and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven at  175 C.

Brush melted butter over top, sprinkle with the topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes on until golden brown.

Transfer on rack to cool.

Linking to Yeastspotting 8-12-11  

HOT & SOUR SOUP

Hot and sour soup is a light and filling dish, you can use any meaty fish such as thread fin, sea bream or mackerel if you intend to add the fish in your soup.  It has tangy and spicy flavor which can be adjusted to your liking.

Since the fish doesn't need longer time to cook, quickly remove from heat once the fish is cooked. Hot & Sour Soup is a warming, satisfying and flavorful meal that goes well with rice.