Bahaa's special fried rice

The basics of this dish (rice, egg, soy sauce, oyster sauce, onion, frozen peas) are things I always have in my cupboard or freezer, and you can add pretty much anything that you like to it. A great way to use up a little extra chicken or all those half-vegetables wrapped in cling film looking sad at the bottom of your fridge. My favourite way though is with prawns, the one extravagance I always have in stock.

This works best with cold rice, so next time you're cooking rice make a little extra and eat this the next day! I think brown rice works especially well, but if it's not your taste then plain white is fine.

More after the jump

Lemon Surprise Cupcakes

Another birthday baking post today, and this time with a recipe :) Today was Maddy's birthday and we had a girly lunch out at Zen, an incredible thai restaurant in Durham. Between dim sum, prawn crackers, crispy duck pancakes and noodles Maddy was showered with gifts, balloons, novelty oversize boxes and jaunty hats, somewhat to the amusement of the business men making up the rest of the lunch time diners. Once we were all far too stuffed to eat anything else, I whipped these out, lit up the candles and we all sang happy birthday. Occasions like these make me so sad we're all graduating in a month... (But then I go home and start revising and wishing for it all to be over again, so work that one out.)

These cakes are simple yellow cake flavoured with lemon juice and zest, topped with silky smooth buttercream and with a surprise lemon curd core. I have, in the past, made my own lemon curd. It was fairly straightforward and intensely delicious, but, you know. Finals in 3 weeks and all that.

Recipies after the jump!

Cherry and almond birthday cake

This cake was a risk.

A cherry-covered almond flavoured risk.

I've attempted to make two cakes in this house so far and both of them were disasters, the second even more spectacular than the first. A cake is a delicate beast and is far from hardy in the face of a terrible oven. After a red-velvet valentines failure, I vowed never to make a cake in this kitchen again. However, last year when I baked Bahaa a birthday cake he told me no one had ever baked him a cake before so when his birthday rolled around again I decided it was a risk I had to take!
I learnt from my mistakes, and also went a bit crazy buying equipment... my previously terribly-equipped kitchen can really no longer be described thus, especially since for this cake I invested in electric beaters (at last, a whole world of whipped delights is finally open to me), a wire cooling rack, decent cake tins and even a palette knife. I expect that no one is as excited about all this though as I am, so I shall desist.
I am happy to say that this cake turned out wonderfully! I used this Delia Smith recipe, using 4 eggs and adjusting the other measurements accordingly, adding a teaspoon of almond essence instead of vanilla and dividing the mixture between two tins. It is topped with a simple fluffy almond buttercream, glace cherries and toasted flaked almonds. Fresh cherries would also have been gorgeous if they were in season!

Incredible garlic and chilli pork meatballs

Of all the things my mum cooks, this is definitely my favourite. I only recently started making it myself, since it's nice to have some seasonal treats, as it were. But then... it's just so good I couldn't wait a whole term to eat it again! The meatballs and the sauce are both packed with flavour and, served over noodles, form a wonderful little bowl of dinner that satisfies completely.

Originally a recipe by Mary Berry, the one I give you below has the tweaks my mum has added over the years, as well as a few of my own.

A word of warning though, this is definitely a recipe to make when you're planning a night in... it's seriously garlicky.

Recipe after the jump!

Rosemary Sausage-meat pasta

Sausages are one of my favourite forms of meat. A plump, fried sausage full of garlic and herbs, with some creamy mash and buttered peas... Heaven. But sausage meat is also a brilliant ingredient. Here I turn it into a flavoursome and hearty pasta dish that uses one sausage per person to create a thick and meaty sauce.

One thing that makes all the difference here is using tinned cherry tomatoes. No more expensive than other good-quality tinned tomatoes, these really give sauces an edge. I used them before in a meatball sauce here, they are slightly sweeter, the juice is thick and the cherry tomatoes add a lovely texture. Not much more to say about this little recipe except for honestly, this is the best pasta sauce I have ever made, and I eat a lot of pasta. Make it and you will not be disappointed!

Read on for the recipe!

Coconut Macaroons with plum filling

I can't tell you why, but coconut macaroons remind me of family holidays to Scotland. It seems fitting though as these are much more down to earth than their French cousins, which are notoriously difficult to make!

These only have four ingredients, but you do need a food processor. They are not too sweet, have a crisp exterior and a deliciously chewy middle. They are best eaten the day they're made, so I tempted Mum away from her lesson planning and we had afternoon tea :) I only wish I was home indulging in such leisure for longer!

I experimented with some different jams, but the best filling was some leftover plum compote that I made the other day with the plums that didn't fit on the plum and frangipane tart. Fill your macaroons with whatever you have, I think they would also be very nice dipped in melted chocolate. Best for the first 2 days so snap them up quickly!

Recipes after the jump!

Plum and Frangipane Tart

As soon as I got home my parents threw a 50th birthday party. I spent Saturday cooking Chilli and this Plum and Frangipane tart from "Annie Bell's Baking Bible", a 21st birthday present that I had yet to have a chance to use! The plums on top caramelised beautifully, the pastry was to die for and the frangipane filling was something I've never made before, it had a lovely taste and texture derived from ground almonds and hazelnuts. However something about the filling was too moist and it took an hour longer than the recipe stated to cook. I think the root of the problem was that I ground my own hazelnuts and they were a lot more oily than the ground almonds.

So no recipe for now, as it definitely needs some tweaking. But that doesn't mean you can't feast your eyes! More pictures after the jump...