5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This shouldn’t work, but it does. The original “cup” cake!

  • 4 tablespoons self raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar (I use less)
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • chocolate buds (optional)

Add dry ingredients to a large mug and mix well.

Crack the egg and add it to the mug. Be sure to mix well to avoid any pockets of flour in the corners.

Pour in milk and oil and mix well.

Add chocolate buds if desired, and maybe a dash of vanilla essence.

Put the mug in the microwave and zap for three minutes on maximum power (for a 1000W microwave).

Take the mug out of the microwave and leave it to set for a few minutes. Tip the still warm cake out of the mug onto a saucer and enjoy! (You may need to run a knife around the sides of the mug.)

Update: I tried this again this afternoon with butter instead of oil. It’s slightly more like actual baking (you have to melt the butter), but it tastes infinitely better.

Kezzie’s Chicken Jalfrezi

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 750g skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut in half
  • 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 onion, finely grated.
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 500g can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 3 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 3 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
  • 30g fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
  • oil, for cooking

  1. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes over high heat.

  2. Add the chicken, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently for 5-10 minutes, or until golden brown, scraping the base of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.

  3. Add the tomato, cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes to let all the excess liquid evaporate and the sauce thicken.

  4. Add the oil, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and fresh coriander and simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the fat separates out from the thick sauce.

  5. Serve the chicken pieces with the sauce spooned on top.

  6. This dish could be served with Pulao rice, chapattis or naan bread.

Kezzie’s Pumpkin Dahl

This recipe is so good and easy. I added fried mushrooms but some people might not like that. I made it with rice and a salad on the side, served with lemon and yoghurt.

YUM!

2 cups vegetable stock (carton)
½ butternut pumpkin – cubed
Cream, spinach leaves, garlic
¾ teaspoon tumeric, cumin, ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can chickpeas (rinsed)

Boil pumpkin in vegetable stock until soft. Don’t drain. Roughly mash. Add chickpeas and everything else and stir. Serve with crusty bread or garlic naan or rice or mountain bread.

PS: I normally double the spices—to taste.

Kezzie’s Rocky Road

1 tin of sweetened condensed milk Packet of chocolate melting buds 50 g butter

Melt and combine ingredients, then add marsh mellows, macadamia nuts, raspberry jubes, etc. to suit your taste. Refrigerate and cut in to pieces.

(Michael’s Rocky Road recipe: go straight to Haig’s and buy theirs, it’s the best in the world. ;) )

MUNG BEAN DAHL

• 1 cup mung beans • 6 cups water • 1 clove garlic • 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger • 1 large fresh sliced tomato • 2-3 tablespoons Oil/Butter or Gee • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon turmeric • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste if you don’t like hot)

Wash beans and put into a saucepan with water and boil until soft. In a frypan fry oil garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin seeds and fry until fragrant and cumin seeds pop add and salt tomato.

Add beans to frypan turn to a low boil and cook until the beans are soft and broken up.

I threw in some spinach leaves just before serving so they were wilted and not killed then served on rice with yogurt and papadarums….mmmmm hungry now!!

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

Recipe may be halved as this makes heaps.

2 (500 ml) cups butter 680 g chocolate chips 4 (1000 ml) cups flour 2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar 2 tsp. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp. (5 ml) salt 2 (500 ml) cups sugar 500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate 5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal 4 eggs 2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder 2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla 3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Add chocolate chips, grated Chocolate and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (180 C)..

The above quantities make 112 cookies. Enjoy!

Spinach Timbales

2x 250g packet frozen spinach 4x eggs lightly beaten 1x 500g tub ricotta cheese 2x cups grated Parmesan cheese or other cheeses 2x onions chopped 4tbs chives or other herbs

Squeeze spinach to remove excess water Combine all ingredients in bowl Spoon into greased muffin tin Cook in Moderate oven for about 20min or until firm

Serve upside down with a tomato/onion based sauce or any other to your choosing

Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

Salt 1 pound whole wheat pasta 1/3 cup peanut butter, softened 2 tablespoons honey ¼ cup tamari (dark soy sauce) or regular soy sauce Juice of 2 lines 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or more to taste) 1 clove garlic, crushed 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups skinned and sliced rotisserie chicken (or any cooked chicken) 1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced 1/3 cup shredded carrots (a generous handful) 4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle ¼ cup chopped peanuts (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, and add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain; rinse under cold water and set aside.*

While the pasta is working, in a large bowl whisk together the peanut butter, honey and 1/4 cup warm water. Whisk in the tamari, lime juice, hot pepper sauce and garlic. Pour in the oil in a steady stream, whisking to combine. Add the reserved noodles and toss to coat.

Place noodles in either 4 shallow bowls or one large one to serve on the table, and top with the chicken, spinach, carrots, scallions, peanuts and cilantro.

Enjoy.

*Can be left hot

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder ¾ teaspoons salt ½ cup sugar 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (I use the rind from one lemon) 1 large egg ¾ cup milk 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained * 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ cup sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 ½ tablespoons butter

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine egg, milk, and oil; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Combine blueberries, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1 tablespoon sugar, tossing gently to coat. Fold blueberry mixture into batter. Spoon batter into greased muffin pans (I use paper muffin cups), filling 2/3 full. Makes one dozen.

Combine ¼ cup sugar, 2 ½ tablespoon flour, and cinnamon: cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400’ for 18 minutes or until golden. Remove pan immediately.

  • If using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain them, and pat dry with paper towels. This will prevent discoloration of batter.

Spicy Satay Sauce

Here’s a yummy satay sauce that’s great with chicken (e.g. on a skewer on the bbq).

1 tbs oil

1 small onion, chopped 1 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp sambal oelek

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter 1 small chicken stock cube 2/3 cup water 150g can coconut milk 2 tsp brown sugar 2 tsp light soy sauce