oven braised artichokes with garlic & thyme

I found this recipe on the wonderful food blog Gourmande in the Kitchen, written by Sylvie Shirazi. With the artichokes in season they are everywhere and I was beginning to crave them. I didn't really make any changes, added a bit of garlic and used less oil. I took the photos when I was experimenting with skipping the white wine, so they look less cooked if you compare them with the photos of the original recipe. I wanted to taste them without the wine, just to see how it would work, and I must say that they tasted really good. The recipe with the white wine is, of course, delicious. If you have never cooked artichokes before then I dare you to try it, it's not as difficult as some would think and when you take that first bite it's quite rewarding.

OVEN BRAISED ARTICHOKES WITH GARLIC AND THYME

INGREDIENTS

• 45 ml extra virgin olive oil (3 tablespoons)
• 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/4 cup)
• peel from one lemon
• 60 ml good quality/organic white wine or water (1/4 cup)
• sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 large artichokes
• for garnishing: 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

METHOD

1. In a large roasting pan, combine all the ingredients except the artichokes
2. Pull off and discard the thick outer leaves of the artichokes by bending them back and pulling them down toward the stem. (Remove leaves that are dark green, but do not remove leaves that are green at the top and yellow on the bottom.)
3. Snip off the tops of the leaves (at the point where the green and yellow come together) and trim around the base of the artichoke heart to smooth the sides and peel the stem
4. Cut the artichoke in half and scoop out the fuzzy choke with a small spoon. As each artichoke heart half is completed, add it to the roasting pan with the braising liquid, turning it to coat completely and prevent browning
5. Cover the pan with a lid or parchment lined aluminium foil and cook in the oven on 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 30-40 minutes, until the hearts are tender when pierced with a knife [I cooked them in the oven for exactly 40 minutes]
6. Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and let the artichokes cool in the braising liquid
7. Garnish with chopped parsley [I skipped that step], serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled

apple and cinnamon muffins - 'appins'

I have a confession to make; these are really my I-need-to-manipulate-my-hubby muffins. If I don't have time to bake his favourite, the apple cake, then I can always make these, as the recipes are similar, and have my way with him. Well, sort of, he's not that easily manipulated! By the way, he calls these appins. All jokes aside, these muffins are very easy to make and if I remember correctly I put the recipe together for a Sunday brunch. Everyone in this household finds them delicious and I make them quite frequently. I always use one teaspoon of cinnamon and I don't think the taste is too dominating. Use less if you're sensitive to its taste. I've added a few baking options below the list of ingredients if you would like to pop them up. If using regular baking powder one teaspoon is enough.

APPLE AND CINNAMON MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

• 200 g spelt flour (1½ cup)
• 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg, free-range/organic
• 1 egg white (from a large egg)
• 100 g organic raw cane sugar (½ cup)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 large red apples, peeled and grated coarsely

Optional: You can use less cinnamon and/or add some ground ginger or nutmeg instead, or both. Sometimes I add a handful of chopped pecans and I've also made these with raisins. If you really want to treat yourself then add 20 g of chopped organic dark chocolate and skip one tablespoon of maple syrup.

METHOD

1. In a medium bowl, combine the spelt flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, egg white, sugar, maple syrup and coconut oil (if the oil is solid, place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)
3. Peel the apples and remove the seeds. Grate the apples using a coarse grater and then add them to the egg and sugar blend and mix with a spatula
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix gently. Make sure not to stir, the texture of the dough should be light
5. Lightly grease a silicon muffin pan with some coconut oil and fill each muffin cup about two-thirds to the rim (makes 12 muffins)
6. Bake at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 22-25 minutes
7. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack

hot chocolate with home-made vanilla sugar

Can anyone resist the temptation of a cup of hot chocolate in cold weather? This blend is my children's favourite and it's so easy to throw everything into a saucepan after school on cold days. I don't melt any chocolate to make this one; I just use organic cocoa powder and home-made vanilla sugar. The taste is sweet and you don't really need to serve it with whipped cream. Personally I like my hot chocolate with a stronger chocolate taste, even chilli powder, and of course you can add more cocoa powder or bits of organic dark chocolate to get the desired taste. Or maybe pouring some liquor into the cup will do. wink

HOT CHOCOLATE WITH HOME-MADE VANILLA SUGAR

INGREDIENTS

• 1 litre milk (4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
• ½ tablespoon home-made vanilla sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, preferably organic
• optional: pinch of sea salt 

METHOD

1. Warm the milk in a saucepan on medium heat
2. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and salt, if using, and whisk gently until the cocoa powder has dissolved
3. Bring to an easy boil while you stir and then remove from heat
4. Serve with or without whipped cream

HOME-MADE VANILLA SUGAR

I posted my version of home-made vanilla sugar in a separate post on this blog but I add it here for convenience. It's very easy to make, you only need organic raw cane sugar and one vanilla pod.

I split the vanilla pod lengthwise with a sharp knife. Then I scrape the seeds out with the knife tip. In a glass jar with a lid, I put organic raw cane sugar, all the seeds from the vanilla pod and the split pod itself. (Store in a closed jar.) You don't have to use all the seeds if you don't want too, in fact you don't need to use any. But I like my version with all the seeds.