The Best Lemon Drizzle Cake

 

I had a craving for lemon drizzle cake; I always seem to have cravings for foods which I eat recently straight after I eat them. My friend had made lemon drizzle and this had me thinking about it until I eventually got around to making it myself. I just browsed the net for a recipe and I came across this recipe from 'Really Nice Recipes'. The cake came out of the oven having risen really well and also with a perfect golden colour to it. Once I added the lemon syrup the cake was sooo moist that It was actually falling apart whilst I cut it. The next time I make it I would add more of the lemon 'drizzle' as I do like my cake moist and I found that the outer edges were more moist than the middle as I poured the drizzle on top of the cake so it only managed to make it into the edges; pierce more holes into the cake for the drizzle to flow into the centre. All in all this cake was devoured rather quickly and I would definitely make it again. 

Source: Really Nice recipes

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Flickr Account Photo Sharing

This post is just to let everyone know that I have a Flickr page (username is fullestpartolife) with photos of my creations from the kitchen and I shall hopefully add travel pics to it as well. So if you would like to check it out the links are:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/fullestpartoflife/
• http://www.flickr.com/people/fullestpartoflife/

 I have also added a group where the whole world can post their photos up to. I would love to see any pictures of your attempts at any of my recipes or other recipes which you have made. The name for that group is:

Fullest Part of Life- In My Tummy

So as a final note please check out the flickr page and share your pictures the Fullest Part of Life's group.




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Singaporean Style Fried Rice

The best Singaporean noodles which I have had have been at a restaurant named 'Wong Ting' and I tried to recreate them at home however as of yet I am still in search of that exact recipe. I was browsing the Internet for various Singaporean noodle recipes and I stumbled upon 'BBC Good Food's' recipe and since it had good ratings I thought I would give it a shot. I didn't have enough noodles however I did have a big pot of cooked rice in the fridge so I improvised and came up with my version of Singaporean fried rice and I have to admit that it was pretty darn good; lots of flavour, colour and very satisfying. I have a thing for rice dishes, and my favourites being Indian biryani, Spanish paella, Italian risotto, Japanese sushi (well it has rice in it), and I guess I can now add Singaporean style rice to the continental list too.

Serves: 4-8 (Depending on portion size)
Time: 20mins

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Jasmin rice (better to use cold rice that is more than a day old)
1 1/2 medium onions cut into thin crescents
4 cloves garlic
1cm of ginger
1/2 grated carrot
1 pepper sliced finely
10 button mushrooms sliced finely
300g bean sprouts
handful of coriander
4 eggs beaten
20 king prawns
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp curry paste or 4 tbsp curry powder (add less and adjust according to taste)
4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 lemon or 1 lime
olive oil
sesame seed oil
salt to taste
2 tbsp water
1 chili  finely sliced for decoration

Method:
1. In a wok heat around a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of sesame seed oil and add the prawns to it. Fry till cooked and remove from the wok.

2. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of sesame seed oil to the wok and heat. Add the ginger and garlic till slightly brown and then add the onions, peppers and mushrooms. Once they start to soften add all of the dry spices including the curry paste/powder and fry for a minute or so.

3. Add the bean sprout and the grated carrot, soy sauce and water. Fry for a few minutes depending on how raw you like your vegetables.

 

4. Add the rice and mix with the vegetable mixture (add salt at this point) until well combined. Also add a handful of chopped coriander and mix well.

5. Add the beaten eggs to one side of the pan and stir till they are scrambled and cooked thoroughly.

6. Mix the scrambled egg into the rice. Season the rice with more salt if needed.

7. Add the prawns to the rice and mix.

8. Remove from the heat and garnish with a few pieces of lemon or lime wedges (or alternatively you can just mix the juice of half a lemon/lime into the rice) and coriander leaves and fresh thinly sliced chilies. 

Suggestions:
1. You can use what ever vegetables you have lying around in the fridge.
2.  You can also add chicken or pork to the dish.

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Pan-fried Gnocchi with Balsamic Sun-dried Tomatoes

The first time that I ever had gnocchi was in Nice, France, where I tried it with a creamy scallop sauce. It was from that moment on that I knew I would be eating a lot more of the stuff. I fell in love with the soft and slightly chewy texture of the gnocchi- a cross between pasta and a soft potato. Gnocchi is actually made from flour, eggs and mashed potato and then shaped into the authentic oval dumplings and then boiled like pasta. The process to make gnocchi would take quite a bit of time and effort so I resort to buying it in the supermarkets instead; you can get fresh gnocchi in the fridge section or a vacuum packed dryer version in the pasta section. 

I tried pan-fried gnocchi at a restaurant called 'Fellicinni' and the dish was beautifully done; with the gnocchi being accompanied by goat's cheese, cherry tomatoes, olives and salad leaves. I had a craving for weeks to have pan-fried gnocchi again after leaving the restaurant. Consequently I was inspired to make my own version with what I had in the fridge; sun-dried tomatoes. My version definitely left me satisfied and the feeling of wanting more so I guess I will have to make it again. It is something that is so very easy to make and tastes fabulous and looks quite impressive at a dinner party; there is even potential to add more glamour to the dish by simply adding things like cheese (feta or goat's cheese) and green leaves.

Serves: 2

Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

A packet of ready made gnocchi

4 large cloves of garlic finely chopped

around 8 sun-dried tomatoes chopped (I used the ones in oil)

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Pinch sugar

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Pan of boiling water

Method:

1. Boil the gnocchi reading the instructions on the packet- it should only take around 2 minutes once placed in boiling water. Drain the gnocchi.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and fry till golden, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and fry some more.

3. Add the gnocchi to the pan and fry with the tomatoes and garlic till a lightly browned. 

4. Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and fry till the gnocchi are a bit more browned- don't burn them.

5. Add the salt and sugar to taste.

6. Always serve gnocchi warm and never cold as the texture is at its softest when warm.

Suggestions:

1. Serve on a bed of rocket and goats cheese or feta.

2. Add herbs such as basil to garnish

3. Make a balsamic dressing by reducing the balsamic vinegar down to a thick sauce to dress the gnocchi.

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