Cooking Ideas & Recipes by Joana Reis

May 1, 2012
by Joana
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Salame de Chocolate (Chocolate Fridge Cake) Recipe

My mum has always made a really good salame de chocolate, a portuguese chocolate fridge cake. You can find this at most birthday parties in Portugal and is super easy to do.

So here is her recipe:

Salame de Chocolate

Ingredients for the Salame de Chocolate/Chocolate Fridge Cake;

  • 600g digestive biscuits
  • 5 medium eggs
  • 100g chocolate powder
  • 150g sugar
  • 100g butter

Method for the Salame de Chocolate/Chocolate Fridge Cake;

  •  Put the biscuits in a large bowl and brake them into small pieces

    Broken Biscuits

  • Add the chocolate and the sugar.
  • Mix everything very well.

    Adding the chocolate and sugar

  • Melt the butter.
  • Add the butter to the bowl and using your hands mix all the ingredients.
  • Now add the eggs and mix very well.

    Mixture for the Salame de Chocolate

  • Lay a good sized sheet if foil in a worktop and spread the mixture across, making the shape of a salami.

    Salame de Chocolate

  • Now roll the mixture, while folding the foil. See the video below:
  • Put it in the fridge overnight (around 10 hours) or freeze it for around 2 hours.
  • To serve, remove the foil and cut it into pieces

    Yummy Chocolate Fridge cake

 

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April 2, 2012
by Joana
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Carrot Cake Recipe

First of all sorry for the long due blog post.

This weekend I made a carrot cake (with real carrots), I have to explain this one. My boyfriend didn’t realise carrot cake actually had carrots until this weekend, which I have to say I found hilarious and have been making fun of him ever since.

 

Carrot Cake

Ingredients for my Carrot Cake Recipe:

  • 225g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 225g of light brown sugar
  • 100g chopped walnuts
  • 175g grated carrots
  • 4 eggs
  • 200g of self-raising flower, sifted
  • half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Ingredients for the orange icing:

  • zest of an orange
  • 75g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 75g cream cheese
  • 260g icing sugar, sifted

Yum Carrot Cake

Method for the Carrot Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a cake tin with butter then dust with flour.
  2. In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat the eggs and add a little bit at a time, mixing well after each addition.

    The start of my carrot cake

  3. Add the cinnamon to the mixture
  4. Sift the flour and add in 3 parts to the mixture, mixing well after each addition.

    Sifted Flour

  5. In another bowl mix the grated carrots and chopped walnuts together and stir this through the carrot cake mixture.

    Grated carrots and chopped walnuts

  6. Spoon the mixture to the cake tin and bake for around 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
  7. Once is baked, leave in the cake tin for 10 minutes. Leave it to cool before icing.

Method for the orange icing:

  1. Beat the butter in a bowl until creamy.
  2. Add the cream cheese and mix well.
  3. Sift the icing sugar and add small quantities at a time to the bowl.
  4. Mix in the zest of the orange.
  5. Ice the cake and enjoy!

    Carrot Cake

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February 5, 2012
by Joana
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Vegetable Fajitas Recipe

Fajitas is one of my favourite dishes, because its easy to make but also due to all the little side dishes and dips, it’s a very social meal to have.

I normally make chicken or steak fajitas but recently I have been trying to be healthier with my meals so decided to make vegetable fajitas and is now a favourite dish for me and my boyfriend.

If you fancy something different give it a go, and you can add or substitute vegetables by the ones you like or are on offer when you go shopping.

Vegetable Fajitas

Ingredients for the Vegetable Fajitas:

  • 250g chestnut mushrooms
  • 400g button mushrooms
  • 1 medium courgette
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 leek
  • 1 pepper
  • Fajita mix (the powder)
  • Splash of olive oil
  • Tortilla wraps to make the fajitas

Method for the Vegetable Fajitas:

  1.  Cut all the vegetables up

    Veggies Prepared to use

  2. In a hot frying pan add a splash of olive oil
  3. Dice half of the onion and add to the frying pan
  4. Fry until the onions are nice and gold.

    Frying the onions

  5. Add the pepper and the courgettes (if using other vegetables, always add the ones that are harder to cook first)
  6. When the pepper and courgette are starting to get soft, add the leek
  7. Fry for 2 minutes, add some fajita powder. Stir
  8. Add the mushrooms and fry for around 3 minutes

    Vegetable Fajitas

  9. Dice the rest of the onion and add it to the frying pan
  10. Add more fajita powder (the quantity depends on how much you normally use)
  11. Once the onion and vegetables are cooked, it is ready to serve.

    Ready to Eat

  12. Warm the tortillas and make your wraps
  13. For an added yumminess add salsa, guacamole and sour cream to your wraps and don’t forget the nachos!
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January 14, 2012
by Joana
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Foods of South America

I have just come back from an amazing 4 week backpacking trip to Argentina and Brazil with my boyfriend. While travelling around caring my over-sized, over-packed backpack i had the pleasure to taste some beautiful food.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina after a 14hour flight and a 2 hour local bus I had this pitta sandwich with hummus and grilled squash with home made fries. I know not very traditional but tired as I was it tasted pretty good.

Hummus and Grilled Squash Sandwich

For one of our lunches while exploring Buenos Aires, we had a meat empanada. Its a beef and vegetable pastry, the pastry is very light, thin and crunchy.

Empanada de Carne

We did a strange food combination of sweet apple pie and beer. Both, strangely went very well together. The apple pie had a sweet butter pastry and cinnamon which made it lighter than the traditional English apple pie.

Apple pie and Beer

STEAK!!!! As you all know Argentina is known for wine and Steak. We had the most beautiful, well cooked steak we ever had. I normally go for well done, have issues with bloody or pinkie red meat in general but this time due to language barrier and pure bravery (lol felt a little proud of myself there) I went for medium steak. The steak was delicious, it came with this spicy but tasty homemade chili dip. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. If you are ever in Buenos Aires, head to the Santarem neighbourhood where you will find plenty of good and cheap steak houses.

Steak!

Argentinian Steak

 

While in the Amazon Rainforest, we spent one night camping out (very adventurous I know). Our guide Titan, barbequed, camp fire style, a chicken, the chicken was really tasty and the skin very crunchy but what surprised me the most was that he did not season or marinate the chicken at all but the flavours were amazing.

BBQ Chicken

In Brazil everyone drinks Guarana like we drink coke in the UK. Guarana is a fruit and one of the ingredients in redbull, I have to admit it became my drink of choice for the 4 weeks I was in South America.

Guarana

For one of my dinners, I had a seafood platter style dish. To my surprise I got the below, it was a bit random the variety but it was very delicious. The platter included fried and grilled prawns, cooked crab meat, grilled fish, home made crisps, rice, prawn cocktail sauce and a fish wrapped pancake.

Seafood Dinner

Spending Christmas away from home was hard, my parents love Christmas and is always a big family affair. So spending it in the heat and with just my boyfriend was a little strange. However, our hotel put a smile on our faces with the Christmas breakfast we received. Some of the foods were papaya, grilled banana, fresh bread, cake, orange juice, coffee, tea etc…

Christmas Day Breakfast

When Visiting Salvador in Brazil make sure you try their traditional dishes Moqueca and Bobo. Its a sort of fish stew but very light and with coconut milk, we had prawn Moqueca and fish Bobo.

Prawn Moqueca

Fish Bobo

For dessert one evening while walking around a fishing village we had tapioca filled with grilled banana and chocolate. Tapioca is a type of flour that is cooked similar to a crepe and filled with either sweet or savoury ingredients.

Tapioca

We had Acaraje while in Salvador, Acaraje is made from black-eyed peas formed into a ball and deep fried, then filled with spicy pastes and prawns and salad.

Acaraje

I loved my 4 weeks backpacking experience in Argentina and Brazil and would recommend anyone that is thinking of where to go next on holiday or going backpacking, give South America a go as its beautiful and cheap.

Other things you must try while travelling in Brazil, restaurants by weight, they are really cheap and the food is of good quality. Also Rodizio restaurants if you are a meat fan.

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November 19, 2011
by Joana
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Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

This week I made cupcakes with my little sister, she is 6 year old. We decided to make chocolate cupcakes with melted chocolate on top (she doesn’t like icing).

We had a brilliant time making, decorating and eating these yummy chocolate cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients for the chocolate cupcakes:

  • 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 280g caster sugar, sifted
  • 200g self-raising flour, sifted
  • 120g melted milk chocolate, I used Cadbury’s milk chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons of good quality chocolate powder
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder
  • 240ml of milk
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 120g melted milk chocolate for topping.

Method for the Chocolate Cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Put paper cupcake cases on your cupcake tray.
  2. Put the butter in a large bowl and with the wooden spoon mix the butter.

    Mixing the butter

  3. Add the sugar, with an electric whisk beat the sugar and butter until nice and fluffy.
  4. Add the flour, baking powder and beat on a low speed for a few minutes. Until the mixture is well combined.

    Dry Mixture

  5. Pour the milk into a jug, add the eggs and whisk. Pour some of this mixture to the dry mixture.
  6. Beat on a medium speed, then add a little more and beat again.
  7. Repeat until the both mixtures are combined.

    Well combined mixture

  8. Start melting the 120g of chocolate.
  9. When both mixtures are combined, beat well for a few minutes until the mixture is nice and creamy.
  10. Add the two tablespoons of chocolate powder.
  11. Once the chocolate is melted, add it to the mixture and beat well until the mixture is nice and creamy

    Add the melted chocolate to the mixture

  12. Spoon the batter to the cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean or brown.
  13. Once the cupcakes are done, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 2 minutes in the baking tray.
  14. Remove from the baking tray and leave to cool in a wiring rack.
  15. For the topping, melt 120g of chocolate and spoon on top of the cupcakes.

    Chocolate Cupcakes

  16. Leave to cool for a few minutes and decorate.

    Yummy cupcakes

  17. We used, marshmallows, hundreds and thousands and honeycombs.

    My little helper

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October 24, 2011
by Joana
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Chocolate Cupcakes with Blueberry Icing

This weekend I made some milk chocolate cupcakes with blueberry icing for the bmi team. I added some blue colouring to the icing to go with their company colours.

Chocolate Cupcakes

My boyfriend being the nerd that he is decided to make social media inspired cupcakes with the leftovers…

Social Media Cupcakes

Ingredients for the chocolate cupcakes:

  • 175ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 125g milk chocolate ( I used Galaxy)
  • 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 150g sifted self raising flour

Ingredients for the Blueberry icing:

  • 112g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons of blueberry jam
  • 375g of sifted icing sugar
  • a few drops of blue food colouring to make the icing blue

Method for the cupcakes:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Put paper cupcake cases on your cupcake tray
  2. Pour the milk into a medium sized non-stick pan. Chop the chocolate and add it to the pan with one-third of the caster sugar. Leave it until the chocolate is melted on a low heat. Stir frequently. Once the chocolate is melted remove from the heat.
  3. In a bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer, its much quicker but a wooden spoon can also be used. Beat until the butter is nice and creamy.

    Creamy butter

  4. Add the vanilla extract and the sugar, beat thoroughly for around 4 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  5. Quickly beat the egg in a separate bowl and gradually add it to the mixture. Beating well after each addition
  6. Gradually add the flour and the chocolate liquid, fold the mixture using a metal spoon

    Chocolate Cupcakes Mixture

  7. Mix the mixture well, then spoon the mixture to the cupcake cases.
  8. Bake for around 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen / the skewer comes out clean.
  9. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the baking tray for 2 minutes.

    Cooling Cupcakes

  10. Place the cupcakes in a cooling rack to cool

Method for the blueberry icing:

  1. In a bowl beat the butter until nice and creamy.
  2. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar and mix well after each addition.

    Sifting the icing sugar

  3. Add the vanilla extract and the milk, mix well for a few minutes
  4. When the mixture is nice and creamy add the 4 tablespoons of blueberry jam

    Blueberry icing

  5. Mix and add a few drops of blue food colouring to make the icing blue

    Blueberry Icing

  6. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes

    Chocolate cupcakes with blueberry icing

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October 16, 2011
by Joana
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Roast Lamb Recipe

This weekend I cooked my lovely roast lamb recipe. It’s a great dish for your Sunday Roast dinner.

Roast Lamb

Ingredients for my Roast Lamb:

  • Leg Shanks of lamb
  • a small bottle of cheap white wine
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 6 small tablespoons of butter
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • Thyme
  • Sea Salt

Method:

  1. Cut the excess fat from the lamb shanks.
  2. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them.
  3. Season the lamb with sea salt and the sliced garlic on both sides. Try and do this a few hours before, if not the night before. Put in the fridge to rest.

    Seasoned Lamb

  4. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C.
  5. In a roasting tray, add the seasoned lamb, crumble the stock cube on top and all over the roasting tray. Then sprinkle a few sprigs of thyme over the lamb.
  6. Add four tablespoons of butter, one in each corner of the roasting tray. Finally add a good splash of wine. The wine must cover the bottom of the roasting tray and a little more.

    Ready to Roast

  7. Roast for 25 minutes, then turn over the meat and pour a few spoons full if juice from the tray.
  8. Repeat every 20 minutes for approx. 1 hours
  9. Add another splash of wine and 2 spoons of butter to the tray.

    Pouring juices over the lamb

  10. Pour juice over the meat from the roasting tray and Turn the meat over every 20 minutes. Roast for another 1 hour or until the meat is well done.
  11. The meat should now be well done and very tender, if not cook for another 15 minutess or so.
  12. If making gravy, even if using the instant gravy, add about 3 to 4 spoons full of the meat juice before adding the water. This will give your gravy some extra taste.

    Yum

 

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October 9, 2011
by Joana
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Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

I have been watching the Great British Bake Off series the past couple of months. I loved every episode, even bought the book and some of the recipes have given me ideas for my beloved blog (Recipes to follow).

The winner was announced this week, I was very pleased that my favourite contestant won (Spoiler alert!) it was Jo. To celebrate the end of a mouth watering series I have adapted Mary’s chocolate velvet cupcakes this weekend. For topping I made orange flavoured icing.

Chocolate velvet Cupcakes

 Ingredients for the chocolate velvet cupcakes:

  • 175ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 100g of dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
  • 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 150g sifted self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • to make your cupcakes American red add a few drops of red food colouring

Ingredients for the orange flavoured icing:

  • 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 50g light soft cheese spread
  • 1 teaspoon of milk
  • zest of 1 medium orange
  • 260g of sifted icing sugar

Method for the cupcakes:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Put paper cupcake cases on your cupcake tray
  2. Pour the milk into a medium sized non-stick pan. Chop the chocolate and add it to the pan with one-third of the caster sugar. Leave it until the chocolate is melted on a low heat. Stir frequently. Once the chocolate is melted remove from the heat.

    Cupcakes

  3. In a bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer, its much quicker but a wooden spoon can also be used. Beat until the butter is nice and creamy.
  4. Add the vanilla extract and the sugar, beat thoroughly for around 4-5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  5. Quickly beat the egg in a separate bowl and gradually add it to the mixture. Beating well after each addition.

    Cupcakes

  6. Mix the baking powder with the flour. Gradually add the flour and the chocolate liquid, fold the mixture using a metal spoon.

    Mixture

  7. To make the cupcakes a red colour add a few drops of red food colouring.
  8. Mix the mixture well, when completely amalgamated spoon the mixture to the cupcake cases.
  9. Bake for around 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen / the skewer comes out clean.
  10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the baking tray for 2 minutes.

    Cupcakes Ready

  11. Transfer the cupcakes to the cooling tray.

Method for the orange flavoured icing:

  1. In a bowl beat the butter until nice and creamy.
  2. Add the light cheese spread and beat the mixture.
  3. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar and mix well after each addition.

    Icing Topping

  4. Finally add the zest of an orange and mix well.

    Orange zest

  5. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes

    Chocolate velvet cupcakes

  6. I have added a strawberry flavoured sweet for decoration

Enjoy the Yumminess!

Yum

 

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October 6, 2011
by Joana
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How to Make Sangria

Sangria for me reminds me of Christmas. Every Christmas Eve  my dad makes a big bucket of sangria. We then spend hours at the dinner table eating and drinking sangria.
Sangria is a drink to be shared with family and friends. It’s perfect for parties, dinner parties and pre-drinking with your friends.

I had my girlies round last weekend and as a pre-night out drinking we had some delicious home made Sangria.

Sangria Recipe

Ingredients for Sangria

This recipe makes around 5-6 litres of sangria, enough for 5-6 people. Adapt the recipe according to the occasion.

  • 3 Bottles of red wine. I would say don’t buy anything that costs more than £5 per bottle its just not worth it however, you don’t want to buy the smart value stuff either.
  • 3 Litres of lemonade
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 medium sized apples cut into pieces
  • 3 medium sized oranges cut into pieces
  • a handful of mint leaves
  • 2 shots of whisky

Method for my Sangria Recipe;

  1. Pour all the wine and the lemonade into a big bowl
  2. add the cinnamon sticks and the mint
  3. Then finally add the fruit, the apples and orange

    Sangria

  4. Add the two shots of whisky and mix everything
  5. Taste the sangria, if you feel is too strong add a little bit more of lemonade. Or if you think is too weak add a little more wine.
  6. Taste and share!

    Sangria

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September 25, 2011
by Joana
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Jam & Vanilla Cupcakes

My boyfriend loves strawberry jam so this weekend I decided to make Jam & Vanilla cupcakes. I have to say they went down a treat.

Jammy Cupcakes

Ingredients for Jam & Vanilla cupcakes recipe:

  • 175g self-raising flour, sifted
  • pinch of salt
  • 125g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 175g caster sugar, sifted
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons of milk at room temperature
  • 1 pot of good quality jam, I used strawberry but you can use any flavour
  • 1 pot of whipping cream

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
  2. Cut the butter into pieces and put it in a mixing bowl. Beat it with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until the butter is very pale.
  3. Gradually add and beat the sugar. Once the sugar is added beat the mixture well for about 4 minutes.
  4. Beat the eggs with vanilla, then add it to the mixture one spoon at a time. Mixing well in between each addition.

    Adding the egg one spoon at the time

  5. Gradually add the sifted flour and the milk.
  6. Mix very well for another 4 minutes.

    Mixture is ready

  7. Put the paper-cases in the cupcake tray and add an even mixture to all.
  8. Place the cupcake tray in the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until risen, gold brown.
  9. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool for 1 minute than transfer to a cooling rack.

    Cupcakes Cooling down

  10. While the cupcakes cool down, whip the cream.
  11. Add one good sized teaspoon of jam to the centre of each cupcake.

    Adding the jam

  12. Pipe the whipped cream around each cupcake.

    Jammy Cupcakes

  13. All done & ready to eat!

    Very Soft and delicious

 

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