Blackberry & Almond Braid

Making bread is so many things. Therapeutic, impressive, aromatic, calming. Also very, very rewarding in a delicious way. I hope you're enjoying 2013, and that you take a bit of time out to relax, read a book and bake some bread. Maybe even this bread - a sweet bread perfect for breakfast, morning tea, afternoon tea or dessert.

Blackberry & Almond Braid

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy milk, slightly warmed

2 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (180ml) coconut milk

3/4 cup blackberry jam

1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Extra soy milk for brushing

To Make

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the warm soy milk, yeast and sugar and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until the top gets frothy.

2. Add the flour, salt and coconut milk to the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead it until it's smooth and elastic, which should take no less than 5 minutes, and as much as 10 minutes.

3. Return to the bowl and and cover with cling wrap or a tea towel. Leave in a warm spot to rise for 90 minutes. 

4. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Divide dough into three equal pieces and place on a floured benchtop. Roll each piece in a long thin strip about 45 cm long and about 6 cm wide (don't get a ruler out, just make them all long and thin and about the same length!).

5. Spread 1/4 cup jam and 1/3 cup chopped almonds along each piece, leaving about 2cm around the edge.

6. Fold the edges in on all three pieces and transfer to a large baking tray lines with greaseproof paper. Pinch them together at one end and braid the strands as tightly as you can (you're probably going to benefit from an extra pair of hands for this). Twist the strands a bit as you plait, to make the jam even more marbled through the bread.

7. Brush the top with soymilk and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cooked through. The jam may spill out the sides a bit, don't worry.

8. Cool to room temperature and slice.

Makes 1 large loaf.

Pumpkin and Rosemary Popcorn Crumble (Chopped/Vegan Challenge)

Vegan/Chopped is a competition hosted and judged by the queen of vegan cooking herself, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. This time around it is a brunch theme, and the challenge is to create dishes which use Butternut pumpkin, fresh rosemary, popcorn and apricot jam. Man, she surely knows how to throw down a challenge. Those 4 ingredients are ones that I could never ever have imagined that I would cook together if it weren't for this! So, I have to give a thank you to Isa for this - because these little crumbles were delicious and I would never have made them if not for Vegan/Chopped. 

Ingredients

700g Butternut pumpkin (or you can substitute other pumpkin varieties)

3 tbsp sugar

2/3 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups popped popcorn (popped according to the directions on the packet)

1 tbsp pepitas

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1/4 cup almonds, chopped up

2 tbsp vegan margarine

2 heaped tbsp sugar

1/2 cup apricot jam

To Make

1. Remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin and chop up. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the pumpkin is well cooked. Drain.

2. Put the cooked pumpkin back in the saucepan and add the sugar, rosemary and nutmeg. Mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Place back on a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.

3. Divide the pumpkin amongst 4 ramekins.

4. Combine the popcorn, pepitas, sunflower seeds and almonds in a bowl.

5. Put a small saucepan over a low heat and add the sugar, margarine and jam. Stir well and keep over the low heat until the it has all melted. Pour over the popcorn mixture in the bowl and mix to coat it all over. 

6. Spread this sticky topping over the pumpkin mixture in the ramekins. Place on a baking tray and put under the grill (at about 180 degrees) for 2-3 minutes, or until browned on the top.

7. Remove from grill and let stand for 15 minutes before eating. 

Makes 4 individual crumbles.

Morabaa-Yeh Haveej (Persian Carrot & Rose Jam)

This month I am so incredibly excited to announce that I will be cooking and posting a plethora of Iranian cuisine! This is the fourth month that I have been featuring a different country each month and I have to say I am SO happy that somebody suggested Iran! So far we have featured Croatia, Chad and Bosnia - so it's definitely time we all visited the Middle East! Iranian food is a wonderful delight of ingredients such as eggplant, rice, okra, pomegranate, nuts, dates, fresh herbs and rosewater! All ingredients that I adore. So thank you from the bottom of my heart to the reader who suggested it!

I anticipate that this month may be the biggest one regarding the number of recipes, just because I found so many dishes that I wanted to try! I'm starting off with this one for two reasons, 1) because it is such an unusual idea that turned out so well and 2) because it fits into the Holiday Recipe Club's Easter/Passover Blog Hop theme. This hop's ingredients are: Spinach, Carrots and Eggs. Clearly eggs are out so carrots or spinach it is. However, I wanted to do something completely different to what I would normally do with these vegetables so here it is: Carrot and Rose Jam. I also wanted to make sure it was acceptable to Pesach food (no chametz and also suitable for any Jews which also abstain from kitniyot).

I know this sounds a bit unusual - however, really it makes a lot of sense. Orange vegetables really do lend themselves to be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Think carrot cake, pumpkin pie, sweet potato brownies (these exist! I have seen recipes on the internet), orange chicken, carrot and orange soup. There are plenty of other examples! The jam also turns out an awesome colour (one day I will try it with purple carrots)!

What are your favourite ways to use orange vegetables in sweet cooking?

Morabaa-Yeh Haveej

Adapted from persianrecipes.net 

Ingredient

1 kg carrots

1 kg sugar
1/4 cup rosewater
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 packed jam setta (for info on this see this other jam post)

To Make
1. Grate the carrots (there is no need to peel them first). This is awesome for building your arm muscles because it is a lot of grating. Alternately, if your food processor has a grating attachment you could use that and save yourself some time.
2. Add the grated carrot, lime juice and sugar to the biggest pot you own (you want it to be big enough that the jam only fills up half the pot).
3. Put over a medium heat and stir continuously until all the sugar has melted. Cover and boil over a medium heat for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and add the jam setta. Boil for a further 10 minutes. Add the rose water and boil for a further  5 minutes.

5. To test whether the jam is ready do the set test. To do this: place a teaspoon full of the jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't then boil the jam for a further 5 minutes and try the test again.

6. Once you have a successful set test remove the jam from the heat.

7. Wash your empty jars in warm soapy water and rinse well. Put the jam in them and screw the lids on tightly. 

8. Line a big saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom or sides) and add the jars full of jam. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes to sterilise. 

Makes 5-8 jars of jam (depending on the size of your jars).

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing Iranian recipes!

Check out my other Iranian recipe posts:

Artichoke and Pine Nut Dolma

Vegan Yakh Dar Behesht (Ice in Heaven)

Iranian Sugar-pickled Garlic

Sholeh Zard (Rice & Rosewater Pudding)

Salad-e Shirazi

Naaz Khatoon (Eggplant with Pomegranate Molasses)

Torshi-havij (Pickled Baby Carrots)

Mokhalafat (Traditional Accompaniments) 

Edible Christmas Gifts Part 1: JAM!! (Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam)

Buying Christmas presents can be not only hard but stressful. But here is the secret - home-made edible Christmas presents are not only cheaper and cooler but are also a lot more special and personal to the person you give them to (they also show off your rad kitchen skillz! and we all know that girls only want boyfriends who have great skills...). Jams are particularly special gifts if you give them flavours that they can't buy anywhere else - like the four listed below.

So, pictured above we have plenty of jam varieties for you to choose from:

Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam (I know, tangelos are a bit hard to get your hands on but if you can then definitely pick this one because it has a delicious tart freshness to it)

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam (you can't go wrong with this one - and if you can't get the mulberries just substitute raspberries or blackberries)

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam (recipe below - it pretty much blew my mind)

Tomato and Pineapple Jam (for those a bit more adventurous, this is both mine and my partner's favourite type of jam - probably the main reason we are together)

So - here are the steps to awesome gifts that everyone will love: 

1. Make your jams

2. Bottle them up 

3. Add some nice handwritten labels

4. You can put some Christmasy fabric on the top

5. Tie some ribbon around it to make it festive

6. Give at Christmas

7. Get ready to accept some serious praise

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients
750g fresh strawberries
750g fresh rhubarb stalks, cut into about 1cm pieces
1.5 kg sugar
1 packet of Jam Setta (for info on Jam Setta see this other jam post)

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Chop the rhubarb into pieces about 1cm long. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam

Jam is a fantastic way to enjoy seasonal fruits all year round so as soon as strawberries get cheap and mulberries come out - this jam is on. Like Donkey Kong. If you don't have mulberries substitute blackberries or raspberries.

Ingredients

750g fresh strawberries, trimmed
750g mulberries, washed and stems removed
1.5kg sugar
1 packed Jam Setta (For info in Jam Setta see this other jam post)
1 tbsp lemon juice

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Halve some of the mulberries and leave the rest whole. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test add the lemon juice and remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).

For more awesome jam check out our Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam.

Homemade Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam

Tangelos and other citrus fruits are abundant at the moment on backyard trees and on of the best ways to enjoy the fruit all year around is to make jam out of it. I've recently been given a box full of them from a friend so made this jam. Tangelos provide a fantastic sour and tart flavour to this jam which makes it tangy and not too sweet. This recipe can apply to any other citrus fruit if you don't have access to tangelos. Use this recipe for oranges, mandarins, tangerines, clementines, cumquats etc. (although I haven't made it with these fruits so let me know what it's like if you do!).

Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam

Ingredients

1.5kg tangelos, peeled (see note 1)

1.5kg sugar

1 packet of jam setta (see note 2)

1 cup goji berries

To Make:

1. Remove all seeds from the tangelo and chop into small pieces (your hands will smell nice and citrusy after this).

2. Put the tangelo and the sugar in a large saucepan and heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the goji berries and simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Add the jam setta and boil for a further 15 minutes. 

4. To test whether the jam is ready do the set test. To do this: place a teaspoon full of the jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't then boil the jam for a further 5 minutes and try the test again.

5. Once you have a successful set test remove the jam from the heat.

6. Wash your empty jars in warm soapy water and rinse well. Put the jam in them and screw the lids on tightly. 

7. Line a big saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom or sides) and add the jars full of jam. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes to sterilise. 

Makes about 7 jars (but this will vary depending in the size of your jam jars of course!). Tastes great with A-dizzle's Lime and Coconut Scones or Pumpkin, Maple and Walnut Scones!  

Note 1: If you don't quite have 1.5 kilos of tangelos you can make up the little bit extra using mandarins or oranges.

Note 2: I'm not really big on plugging brands in my recipes but Jam Setta is an exception because it makes jam making soooooo easy. It should be in the sugar section of your supermarket and the packet looks like this: