52 Weeks of Baking (Official) Week #1 - Smoked Salmon and Silverbeet Quiche

It is officially Week #1! It feels quite weird to start week on again (in case you are wondering, this is the first week of this challenge's swap on swap-bot). I totally forgot that week one was over Easter, therefore was a little out of a lot of stuff while the shops were closed.

Lucky for my we had an over supply of smoked salmon in the fridge and the shops were opened again on Monday. Managed to get cream and silverbeet, which ended up replacing spinach since we couldn't find any in the shop.

I've made quiches before and they are simple. Maybe it is because I am using frozen pastry. So if I ever make another quiche throughout the next 52 weeks, I would have to make the pastry from scratch, just to challenge myself further!

52 Weeks of Baking - Week #4 Not So Blooming Brownies...

After the success with my fish pie, I did not look anywhere else for brownies recipe but headed right back to Jamie Oliver's website and picked out his Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies recipe. Although I did not have all the necessary equipment, by that I meant the square baking pan, I soldiered on.

Firstly I was shocked by the amount of butter the recipe required, the whole block of 250g! Then the amount of dried items was made of a little bit flour, a little bit cocoa powder and a whole lot of 360gm sugar. Oh yes, I know it is suppose to be really chocolaty and sweet. But forgive my ignorance here.... that much?!?

Anyways I stuck to the recipe, even went out to buy a kitchen scale (which turn out not small enough), to get it right. But totally forgot the square pan. So in the oven it went and 20 mins later I took it out, just as the recipe said. But the middle was wobbly and wet. Instinctively I put in the oven and left it there for another 20 mins. Alright, I havent developed and instinct for baking yet.

Well it ended up wet and crumbly like my horrible experience with the pineapple upside down cake! Frustrated, I wrapped it in shrink wrap and chuck it in the fridge. The next day we revisited the brownie to decide if it was a keeper or not. To our amazement it set! It was firm in the middle. Although hard to the touch, once in the mouth the crust around it had a chocolate chip cookie texture and the inside was like a soft chocolate bar.

So it was not that bad after all! Jamie Oliver still rocks!


Come join in the fun with this Swap-bot swap.

52 Weeks of Baking - Week# 3 - Fish Pie!

So I thought that from this week on I will include the dish I made in the title, we improve ourselves as we go along... This is my unofficial week 3 as official week begins in April and also when this Swap-Bot swap begins.

Before this weekend I was looking forward to making Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies. Who could resist? But I ended up making a fish pie instead. I started late, felt tired, haven't done the shopping and hubs was asking about dinner.

So I did me some searching for fish pie recipes (since it is my first time) on the internet and found many a little complicating - poach fish with vege in milk, strain, throw out veg, use milk a little in mash.... etc. etc. Too much work for someone who hasn't gone out to get ingredients at 4pm!

Luckily I went back to Jamie Oliver's website and found this fish pie recipe. It is so simple! Literally shred everything in to a baking earthenware dish, cover with mash and bake. And it turned out to be really, really good. I had it again for lunch the day after and still could not believe how tremendously good it is.

I made some alterations to the recipe to suit our taste at home and also because I could not find creme fraiche at the supermarket. I added one medium sized brown onion, about 2 tablespoons of cream and sour cream, and totally forgot to add the fresh chillies. I used about 6-7 slices of smoked salmon, 5 fillets of ocean Perch and 5 large prawns.

I hope you try this AMAZING recipe!

52 Weeks of Baking - Week #2

For week 2 (unofficial week 2), I decided to bake a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The recipe looked simple, had a beautiful photo and I had a pineapple sitting in the fridge. Little did I realize how wrong I was with it being easy!

My first attempt turned out to be a 'crumbly mess' I can't even cut! The cake was still moist but the pineapples were stuck to the caramel, which was stuck to the spring form and everything came out in bits. Straight to the bin it went. But I tasted it before dumping it, it was good but a little too sweet.

So it was back to the mixing bowl! I had some pineapple left and heaps of the other ingredients, so I decided to try another recipe. This one calling for more flour than the one before and simpler in method. The second one held it's shape for... urm 2 minutes! Then it went crumbly as soon as I turned it upside down. That is also because it formed a large lump hill in the centre. This time it was crumbly dry.

At this point, I think the Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a myth! It is one of those recipes that has never turned out right and no one dares to admit so as in admitting so means you are a lousy cook. Well in this case, I would have to admit - I am a lousy cook. And I hope that after week 52, I can say that I am no longer lousy, but improved!

If you have successfully baked a Pineapple Upside Down Cake that did not turn out like mine, I would like to know how you did it. Better yet, if you can tell me where I might have gone wrong with my two above. I will be forever grateful!

Join me in my 52 Weeks of Baking on Swap-bot, where we will exchange emails with photos and recipes, our experiences - where we might have gone wrong, be friends and help keep each other motivated!

My 52 Weeks of Baking

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

Above - Sticky Date Pudding I made this week.

Baking or cooking in general is calming to me. I search recipes out, follow them with some modification and reap the benefits. All in the span of hours - I seek, execute and reward myself. After a good day of baking or 'intentional cooking' - not the every night quick dinner fix - I feel like I have renewed myself.

I am setting out to challenge myself to bake once a week for every week from April onwards. This is in hope I will stick to doing something I set out to do for an entire year. I've always been weak at keeping up with myself! Therefore if you like to motivate me or show some support to my efforts, please join my an email swap I am hosting on www.swap-bot.com - 52 Weeks of Baking.