This was a decent cake, but I don't feel like there was enough batter for the 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan called for. Next time I'd try baking it in a smaller 20x10cm (8x4") pan. Also, although it's supposed to be "extra lemony" with lemon zest in the cake itself and juice in the syrup and glaze... I felt like it could've used even more lemon. I think I'd try putting a bit of lemon juice into the batter as well next time, just to really punch it up.

I cut back the sugar in the batter by 1/3 because I was worried about it being too sweet by the time I'd added the syrup and the glaze. I think it probably would've been okay with the full amount of sugar after all, especially if I end up putting some extra lemon juice into the batter, but Reiver was glad for the reduced sugar and said it would've been way too sweet if prepared as written.

Overall, I think I like my grandma's "lemon bread" better, but I'm still glad to have tried this version. And the blueberries were an interesting addition.

Photo goes here.

Lemon-Blueberry Drizzle Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Cake

• 100g butter, softened
• 100-150g sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 210g (1 1/2 c.) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 c. frozen blueberries

Syrup

• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Glaze

• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 60g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease and flour a 20x10cm (8x4") loaf tin.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar.
3. Beat in the lemon zest and juice (if using).
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Mix in the milk.
6. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to combine.
7. Fold in the blueberries.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
9. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 50-60 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool in tin for 10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, Bring the sugar and lemon juice for the syrup to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thickened slightly.
12. Turn cake out onto wire rack and poke all over with a skewer or chopstick.
13. Drizzle or brush with syrup.
14. Allow to cool for at least half an hour longer.
15. Combine lemon juice and icing sugar and mix until smooth and drizzle over the cake.

This was delicious. And I like the ratio of chicken to broccoli.

Chicken and Broccoli in White Sauce

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 large chicken breast (~300g), sliced
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. oil

Broccoli and Sauce

• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 4 c. broccoli florets
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine chicken, water, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and oil, mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the sugar, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and chicken stock, mix well, and set aside.
3. Bring ~6 c. of water to a boil.
4. Add the broccoli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Strain out the broccoli, but keep the water boiling in the wok.
6. Add the chicken to the boiling water and cook until no longer pink. Drain and set aside, this time discarding the water.
7. Clean the wok, then heat the oil over medium heat-high heat.
8. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds.
9. Drizzle in the shaoxing wine around the edges of the wok.
10. Stir the sauce and drizzle that in as well.
11. Give the corn starch slurry a stir and slowly pour it into the wok.
12. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.
13. Add the broccoli and chicken and toss to combine.
14. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until heated through.
15. Serve with rice.

We have an excess of citrus right now, so I picked this out to use up some of it.

Lemon Pudding Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3 lemons
• 50g butter, melted
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. cream of tartar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a 20cm (8") square baking dish inside a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Combine 3/4 c. of the sugar with the flour.
3. Zest the lemons and mix in the grated zest.
4. Mix in 1/3 c. of lemon zest.
5. Stir in the melted butter and egg yolks.
6. Add the milk and stir to combine.
7. In a clean bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar (if using).
8. Beat until foamy, then gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 c. of sugar and beat until stiff.
9. Mix ~1/3 of the meringue into the batter.
10. Fold in the remaining meringue until no longer streaky.
11. Pour the batter into the 20cm (8") pan.
12. Pour hot water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the smaller pan.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until top is lightly brown and firm (~40 minutes).
14. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

I needed to use up a chicken breast and some mushrooms, so this was pretty much perfect. It probably ended up with a bit less chicken than called for, but I had a few extra mushrooms, so I think it all worked out in the wash. I also added some peas, just to have something green in there and make it a little more nutritionally complete.

Chicken Tetrazzini with Peas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion (or 2 shallots), halved and sliced
• 1 tsp. garlic paste (optional)
• 250-300g mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/3 c. flour
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. frozen peas (optional)
• 300-500g cooked chicken, shredded
• 225-300g dried pasta, cooked
• 3/4 c. grated Parmesan, divided
• 1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. margerine (or butter)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and oil a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened (3-5 minutes).
4. Add garlic (if using) and mushrooms, cover, and cook until they release their liquid.
5. Uncover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed or boiled off.
6. Add butter.
7. Once butter is melted, add flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, until no longer raw-smelling.
8. Slowly stir in chicken stock and cook until thickened.
9. Stir in the peas (if using) and cook until heated through.
10. Mix in chicken, pasta, and 1/2 c. of the Parmesan.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Pour into prepared baking dish and top with breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 c. of Parmesan.
13. Dot with margerine (or more butter).
14. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.

We had a bunch of dried out bread heels and odds and ends in the cupboard, so I decided that a bread pudding was in order. I had to increase the amount of custard called for by quite a bit. But my bread was also very, very dry, so I think it needed a bit more liquid than expected to properly hydrate it. I'm also not sure exactly how much bread I used. I just kept putting in bits until it looked like a good amount for the baking dish. I also used a mix of fresh and dried apple rather than purely dried as called for in the recipe. I think I'd put even more fresh apple in next time!

Photo goes here.

Apple Bread Pudding

Adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• stale bread (enough to cover bottom of 23x33cm baking dish), cut/broken into 3cm chunks
• 1-2 apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2-3/4 c. chopped dried apple
• 2 Tbsp. raisins or dried currants
• 2 1/2 c. whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Directions

1. Grease a 23x33cm baking dish.
2. Scatter the bread in the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Scatter the apples and raisins on top.
4. Beat the eggs and brown sugar into the milk.
5. Mix in 1 tsp. of the cinnamon, the vanilla, and the nutmeg.
6. Pour the custard over the bread and set aside for 30 minutes, pressing the bread down into the custard periodically.
7. Meanwhile, mix the remaining cinnamon with the sugar and set aside.
8. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
9. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the pudding.
10. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~1 hour.
11. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
12. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

We had half of a very large daikon left in the fridge and some mushrooms that needed using, so this dish seemed ideal. I was actually a bit short on daikon and we only had white mushrooms, not shiitake. And I only had about half of the amount of mince called for. Given that, I decided to double the mushrooms. I think this worked quite well! I didn't miss the extra meat and I liked the proportion of daikon to mushrooms.

Braised Daikon Bowls

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbsp. oil
• 3 star anise
• 2 tsp. sichuan peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 4 green onions, chopped, greens and whites separated
• 100-200g ground beef or pork
• 500-700g daikon, peeled and cut into 1x2cm pieces
• 8 shiitake mushrooms or 16 white or cremini mushrooms, sliced thick
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Heat oil over low heat.
2. Add star anise and sichuan peppercorns and infuse oil for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, salt, soy sauces, oyster sauce, and water and mix well. Set aside.
4. Strain solids out of oil, return oil to wok, and heat over medium heat.
5. Add garlic paste, ginger paste, and the white parts of the green onions and stir-fry for a minute or so.
6. Add the mince and stir-fry, breaking up, until cooked through.
7. Add the diakon and mushrooms and stir-fry for a minute or so.
8. Drizzle the wine around the edges of the wok and toss to combine.
9. Give the sauce a stir and pour it into the wok.
10. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until daikon is tender (~15 minutes).
11. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and drizzle it into the wok.
12. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until sauce thickens (30-60 seconds).
13. Stir in the green parts of the green onions.
14. Serve over rice.

This is a very rich stew served in a buttery mustard gravy. The beer in question was meant to be a porter, but I used stout. I also used ~250mL less liquid than the recipe called for. I also used less chicken than called for and a mix of drumsticks and thighs rather than just thighs. I doubled the onions and added a bit of garlic as well.

The resulting stew was excellent! That said, I think it could've used more vegetables. I think I'd put more carrots and potatoes next time and/or add a bit of turnip/swede or something.

Beer-Braised Chicken Stew

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1.2-1.5kg chicken pieces
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 400-500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
• 500-600g potatoes, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 kumara, peeled and cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 rutabaga/swede, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces (optional)
• 500mL stout
• 500mL chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 2-3 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. hot water

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear for a few minutes on each side.
3. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
4. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the pot.
5. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to brown.
6. Add the bay leaf, carrots, potatoes, kumara, and rutabaga (if using).
7. Add the stout, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, and thyme.
8. Return chicken to pot and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Mash the remaining 5 Tbsp. of butter with the flour to form a paste.
11. Slowly add 2 c. of the cooking liquid to the flour paste while stirring until smooth.
12. Pour gravy back into pot.
13. Rinse out measuring cup the gravy was mixed in with the hot water and pour that into the pot as well.
14. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
15. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through, season to taste, and serve.