Caramel Icing Glaze - Untested

https://www.errenskitchen.com/caramel-icing-glaze/

1½ sticks butter ¾ cup

1 cup brown sugar packed packed

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute (be sure the butter and sugar are completely combined and you can’t see any separated butter in the mixture).

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the milk and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool. The longer it cools, the thicker it becomes. When it’s at your desired consistency, drizzle over the cooled cake and serve.

Leftover Porridge Cake - Testing

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/384026/recipe/leftover-porridge-cake

https://www.errenskitchen.com/caramel-icing-glaze/

1 - The first attempt at this one was spectacular. The cake is incredibly moist, verging on pudding, and the icing lends itself beautifully. If I don't have leftovers that are Ayurvedic porridge, then the original recipe asks for 1 tsp cinnamon. Although why be so plain? I could also try using 1 tsp of the Poudre Douce spice mix instead.

2 - I have made this so many times now that I'm just going to publish it. One challenge remains in the caramel icing, to get it to the right consistency before pour it out over the cake so that it doesn't just flow off. The other challenge is getting people to keep their hands off it so that it can rest for a couple days before eating it, given that it clearly improves with age.

3 - The cake is perfectly delectable and has been published. But now, I return my attention to the icing. It is very liquid and difficult to spread. I've halved the amount of butter and milk in my first go, and it started to thicken quite quickly, making it hold on the cake better, but I treated it like the old recipe and put it in the refrigerator which was overkill and I couldn't spread it quickly enough!

1/2 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 cups cooked Ayurvedic Porridge

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar. 
3. Mix in the eggs and oatmeal. 
4. In sequence, add the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.
5. Pour into a greased and floured spring form pan.
6. Bake for 55 minutes or until it tests done.
7. Once baked, allow it to cool completely, and preferably let it sit for a full day before removing it from the mold and applying the icing.

For the Icing:

¾ ½ cup butter 

1 cup packed brown sugar 

½ ¼ cup milk

2 tsps vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are completely combined and you can’t see any separated butter in the mixture, which takes at least 1 minute.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue cooking, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the milk and vanilla (careful, the hot sugar mixture will bubble and spit for the first few seconds). Bring back to a boil over medium heat and continue cooking, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. The longer it cools, the thicker it becomes. If it's too hot, it will be too liquid and just pour right off the cake, but completely cold and it will be difficult to apply. Be patient and wait. When it’s at your desired consistency, drizzle over the cooled cake. allow to cool a bit before applying to the cake. Spread quickly as it will set as it looses heat to the cooler cake.

Porridge Cake, gluten free - Testing

https://fromthelarder.co.uk/porridge-cake/

1 - It was fine, but not a fan of it. Not sweet enough, and it took much, much longer to cook, and it was so fragile that it broke when I tried to de-pan it. I could try it again, but it is at the  bottom of my list of priorities.

300 g leftover porridge - cooled

60 g butter - melted then cooled

80 ml honey

3 eggs - medium

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

200 g ground almonds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

125 g blueberries 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C /160°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4.
2. Line and grease a 6 inch round baking tin.
3. Place the leftover porridge, melted butter, honey, eggs and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat until combined.
4. Whisk together the ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and beat to combine.
6. Stir through the blueberries.
7. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared baking tin and place in the centre of the oven. Bake for 1 hour.
8. Remove from the oven and remove the cake from the tin to cool on a wire rack.

Porridge Pankcakes - Untested

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/leftover-porridge-pancakes

0 - I did make leftover porridge pancakes but didn't use this recipe. The other recipe was fine but I found the pancakes too dense. Ben quite liked them.

150g cold leftover porridge

1 1/4 cup flour

3 1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2/3 cup apple sauce 1 ripe banana, mashed

2 large eggs

1/3 cup 100ml milk

2 tsp oil

fruit, yogurt and maple syrup or honey, to serve

1. Mix the porridge, flour, baking powder, apple, eggs and milk in a bowl. 
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. 
3. Drop 2-3 tbsp of the porridge mixture into the pan and cook over a medium heat until the underside is golden and bubbles are popping on the surface.
4. Flip over and cook for another few mins until cooked through, then keep warm in a low oven and repeat until you’ve used up all the batter. 
5. Serve with the fruit and yogurt and top with a drizzle of the syrup or honey.

Saag - Untested

For 2

2 cups fresh spinach

1 small onion, diced

3 whole garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp coriander

½ tsp turmeric

a dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp garam masala

For 20

20 Ounces Spinach

40 Ounces Small Onion

30 Each Garlic

1/3 Cups, 1 Tablespoons, 1 Teaspoons Ginger

1/3 Cups, 1 Tablespoons, 1 Teaspoons Coriander

1 Tablespoons, 2 Teaspoons Turmeric

3 Tablespoons, 1 Teaspoons Garam Masala

1 Teaspoons Cayenne

1. Saute onions in 1/4 (2 cups?) cup water over high heat until translucent. 
2. Add garlic, ginger & spices and saute 2 minutes more, adding more water if necessary to prevent sticking or burning. 
3. Add spinach, 1 cup (5 cups?) water and salt to taste. 
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until the spinach is dark green and wilting. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little. Use a blender or processor to lightly puree greens. Stir in garam masala and serve.

Roast Duck - Testing

http://www.lesfoodies.com/kekeli/recette/canard-roti

https://www.papillesetpupilles.fr/2020/11/comment-cuire-un-canard-au-four-canard-roti.html/

TO TRY

https://canardsdulacbrome.com/recettes/la-methode-infaillible-de-cuisson-dun-canard-entier-roti/

2 Tbsps oil

1 popcorn kernel

1 whole duck

Salt and pepper

1 onion, quartered

a few sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

a generous 1/2 cup of white wine

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Work out the cooking time, which is 1hr for every kg of duck.

In an oven-ready cooking pot with a lid, heat the oil until searing hot (use a popcorn kernel in the oil, when it pops the oil is ready).

While the oil is heating up, sprinkle the duck generously with salt and pepper.

Sear the duck on all sides in the hot oil. 

Add the onion and all to sear on both cut sides.

Add the thyme, bay leaf and the wine. Immediately cover and pop in the oven.

Cook in the oven for the amount of time you figured out in set 1 or until the internal temperature is 165F in the thickest part of the thigh.

Once the duck is done, remove it from the pot and keep covered, probably under foil unless you have a better way of doing it.

Allow the broth in the pot to cool enough to separate the fat from the sauce. Scoop off the fat (and save for later applications) and save the sauce.

Cut up the duck and serve hot with the sauce re-heated.

Chocolate Brownies - Untested

https://kellyneil.com/double-chocolate-buckwheat-brownies/

¾ cup buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt

6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

½ cup butter, room temperature to soft

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly butter a square 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23-cm) baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Place a medium-sized pot on the stove with 1 to 2 inches of water inside. Find a heatproof medium-large bowl that sits snugly on top of the pot without touching the water. Bring the water to a boil. Add the dark chocolate and butter to the bowl and heat both together until smooth and melted, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the bowl from the pot and heat. Add both sugars to the melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
5. Add the eggs to the chocolate, one at a time, whisking each until well blended. Add the vanilla and whisk well.
6. Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the buckwheat flour into the chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold the brownie batter together until the flour is just mixed in. A few streaks of flour in the chocolate is ok. 
7. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared square pan. Bake the brownies for 28 to 30 minutes or until just set in the middle. Remove the brownies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack. Let the brownies cool in the pan before slicing and serving.

Far breton aux pruneaux - testing

http://www.lesfoodies.com/allegretto/recette/far-breton-au-sarrasin-et-aux-pruneaux

http://www.recettes-bretonnes.fr/gateaux-bretons/recette-far-breton.html

1 - The recipe asked to first mix in the butter in the flour and it just made it all lumpy! I changed the recipe to include the liquid before adding the eggs. This did not turn out well at all. By the time the batter started to bake, the buckwheat separated from the custard. I'm calling this a fail. I will try again with regular wheat flour.

220 g flour, + more for dusting

130 g white sugar

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/8 cups of milk 3/4 de litre de lait

20 g butter

500 g prunes

1. Soak the prunes in warm water while preparing the batter.
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg thoroughly then the vanilla and milk.
4. Add the liquid to the dry and gently combine until it becomes a uniform batter.
5. Allow to rest up to 4 hours (this was for the buckwheat, but I'm thinking of the Jacques and the difference in texture it creates).
6. Before baking, preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Grease a square pan (? or gratin dish or lasagna dish?).
8. Drain the prunes, briefly dry then cover with flour (this is supposed to help them float instead of sink while baking. Testing this little theory - the original source does not soak the prunes, so that might negate the effect.)
9. (OR, only pour in part of the batter, bake for 10 minutes, then add the prunes and cover with the remaining batter).
10. Bake for about an hour, total.

 

• 6 oz tomato paste (1 -6 oz can)
• ▢15 oz tomato sauce (1 - 15 oz can)
• ▢1-2 TBS oregano to taste
• ▢2 TBS Italian seasoning
• ▢½ tsp garlic powder
• ▢½ tsp onion powder
• ▢½ TBS garlic salt
• ▢¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ▢1 tsp sugar* coconut sugar for paleo or omit