Tag: Holidays

Jackfruit Scones

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

 

I think this year I have had the most jackfruit! Partly because we have generous neighbours and partly because we have a jackfuit tree in the backyard that is yielding the juiciest fruits. I cannot even begin to describe the joy that comes with harvesting from your own garden! A piece of this sweet fleshy fruit is enough to carry you through the day. Seriously! Because jackfruit packed with a lot of natural sugars (read: very sweet!) and has a sweet pungent fragrance, I have enjoyed baking with it on more than one occasion. Yes some moments have been fails but then some have been so good. And these scones fall in the latter category.  Just so you know I have been making these scones from way back in 2012 and now I am finally sharing this recipe. it is a surprising texture and flavor altogether.

 

What you will need:

I C. Ripe Jackfruit, diced

2 C. Flour

¼ C. Butter/Margarine

¼ C. Milk

2 Tbsp. Sugar

½ Tbsp. Baking powder

 

Method

  1. Combine flour, baking powder and sugar and mix well. Rub in the butter till the flour is like coarse breadcrumbs.
  2. Add the diced jack fruit. Pour in the milk little by little while kneading until a dough forms.
  3. Dust your working area and using your hands press the dough to half an inch thickness.
  4. Cut the dough into three equal parts and pile them on top of each other. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough again to half an inch thickness.
  5. Using a glass or cookie cutter cut out the scones.
  6. Bake till they turn golden brown.

 

Serve warm.

Hope you do try these scones for the holidays.

🙂

Sophie

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Curry Termite Mushroom Soup

~ Sophie ~ 6 Comments

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Happy December! I am sitting here wondering where 2016 went! Honestly as you grow older the years go by faster!

It is raining a lot and rainy season means mushroom foraging because the conditions are favourable for the fungi to grow. It is actually quite exciting to randomly find a mushroom while taking a walk. Two weeks ago we got a midnight call to go harvest termite mushrooms (which I have talked about here). Yes they are that rare and special.  I have childhood memories of picking these mushrooms. It was always a special treat to eat them because they appear randomly during the rainy season and if you can spot them you are a winner. Termite mushrooms are mostly used for soup. Now we Ugandans like using curry powder a lot. A LOT.  Flavouring this soup with curry was only natural. The curry adds to the distinct earthy flavor these mushrooms have. The dried version of these mushrooms is sold in most supermarkets but nothing beats fresh food! I realise I have been sharing quite a number of soups and stews lately. It is only because they are the order of the day.

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Find recipe here

 

🙂

Sophie

 

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

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It is official Caramel is my new favourite flavour! Way back in high school there was this caramel popcorn that we used to always make sure that we had at break time. Perfectly crunchy popcorn with a generous coating of browned caramel. it was addictive. Now popcorn is a huge deal here. There are a ton of popcorn machines in the taxi park and I am always tempted to buy a bag every time I am there.  popcorn has been in our family for as long as I can remember. We have this thick cast iron pot with a lid  that we use to make popcorn. It keeps and distributes the heat well.

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So for the love of popcorn and caramel, I wanted to recreate this caramel popcorn that I used to eat over 5 years ago.  Popcorn is fairly easy to make and so is caramel. You need only three basic ingredients: cream, sugar and butter/margarine.  With Paramount Dairies Whipping cream, you will be able to make rich well-flavoured caramel easily.  And since caramel is so easy to make (Why did not I know this before?) I thought combining the two would create a delightful and surprising dessert or snack really! And it did.

What you will need:

Caramel

1 C. Sugar

½ C. Whipping Cream

1 Tbsp. Butter/margarine

1 Tsp vanilla

¼ C. Water

 

Popcorn

500 gm. Popcorn kernels

¼ C. Oil

 

Caramel popcorn

Caramel

Popped Corn

Observations:

  1. Make sure the cream is at  room temperature
  2. To make good popcorn, use a pan that has a lid or find one that can fit on the pan well to keep all the heat inside

 

Method

Caramel

  1. In a clean sauce pan, combine sugar, water, vanilla and butter. Place on medium fire and let the sugar slowly melt.
  2. Once the sugar has completely melted, increase the fire and let the sugar syrup brown to a caramel colour.
  3. Once it has browned, add the cream and mix well. Remove from fire before the caramel gets very burnt.

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Popcorn

  1. Place the kernels in a bowl. Pour in the oil and mix well
  2. On high heat. Place pan. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of popcorn. Cover the pan and let the corn pop.
  3. Once it stops popping, remover from fire immediately.
  4. Repeat the process till you have popped all the corn.

Caramel Popcorn

  1. Once you have the popcorn, pour in the caramel while it is still hot.
  2. Pour while mixing to make sure all the puffs are coated with the caramel.
  3. Sprinkle some salt.
  4. Wait for the caramel to harden . About 5-10 minutes.

Serve.

 

 

The best flavoured popcorn! It’s true that caramel is addicting. I almost. ALMOST made a batch to just eat out of the jar. Almost.

🙂

Sophie

 

 

This post is made possible by Paramount Dairies. You can find Whipping Cream  and more cream products in major supermarkets in Kampala. Thank you for supporting brands I believe in.