Lazy Ice Cream

This is the laziest ice cream recipe there is, because it is a recipe that does not need to be cooked, does not use eggs, does not need to be stirred from time to time. Ready? So, go for it:

200ml of double cream (or whipping cream)
150ml of condensed milk
3 tbsp of drinking chocolate - the ones you will use to do your hot chocolate. Don't use cocoa powder, it won't mix properly.

Blend the double cream until it makes peaks (you will feel the mixture becoming resistant because of the consistence will change from liquid to creamy).

Pour the condensed milk and the chocolate powder together with the stiff cream and blend again until well mixed.

Pour the mixture into a pot with a lid and put it in the freezer for around 3 hours and it will be ready to serve!

Is that easy enough, Fla???

Sorvete Preguiçoso

Esta é a receita de sorvete mais preguiçosa que existe, porque é uma receita que não precisa ser cozida, não usa ovos, não precisa ser mexida de vez em quando. Pronto? Então, faz prepara:

 

200ml de creme de leite fresco
150ml de leite condensado
3 colheres de sopa de achocolatado - o que você vai usar para fazer o seu chocolate quente. Não use cacau em pó, que não vai misturar corretamente.

Misture o creme de leite até que fique em picos (você vai sentir a mistura tornar-se resistente por causa da consistência mudando de líquido para cremoso).

Despeje o leite condensado eo chocolate em pó, juntamente com o creme dura e misture novamente até ficar bem misturado.

Despeje a mistura em uma panela com tampa e colocá-lo no freezer por cerca de 3 horas e estará pronto para servir!

É fácil suficiente pra ti, Fla??

Easy Cheesy

I know it has taken some time before I posted again, but it will be worthy!
I have been asked to do something practical and easy, so, here we go.
All you will need is:

50g of cheese - I like using 25g of grated Parmesan cheese and 25g of mozzarella
50g of salted butter
50g of plain flour

Put all the ingredients in a mixer and blend until well combined.

Put the dough in cling film and shape it into a log (the thickness will depend on you, when I want many biscuits I make it thinner, but this one I made a little thicker).

Roll into the cling film and put it in the fridge for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cut into disks placing them, with 1cm between one another, in a baking tray covered with baking paper (grease proof) and bake for 6 minutes or until golden.

Leave it to cool and it is ready to serve.

PS. If you want your cheesy biscuits a bit more creative, put a little bit of jam or guava desert in between 2 biscuits and press them together. Bake the same way and you'll have a beautiful filling for the cheese biscuits.

Biscoitinho de Queijo (o nome que eu dei em inglês traduzindo literalmente seria Fácil de Queijo)

Eu sei que tem um tempinho eu postei a ultima receita, mas valerá a pena!
Pediram que eu fizesse algo prático e fácil, por isso, aqui vamos nós.
Tudo que você precisa é:

50g de queijo - Eu gosto de usar 25g de queijo parmesão ralado e 25g de mussarela
50g de manteiga com sal
50g de farinha de trigo

Coloque todos os ingredientes no multiprocessador e bata até misturar bem.

Coloque a massa numa película aderente (cling film) e faça uma salcicha (a espessura dependerá de você, quando eu quero muitos biscoitos faço com espessura mais fina, mas esta eu fiz um pouco mais grossa).

Roll na película aderente e colocá-lo na geladeira por cerca de uma hora. Pré-aqueça o forno a 180 graus Celsius.

Corte em discos e coloque, com 1cm entre um e outro, em uma assadeira coberta com papel manteiga e asse por 6 minutos ou até dourar.

Deixar esfriar e está pronto para servir.

Obs. Se você quer seus biscoitos de queijo um pouco mais criativo, coloque um pouco de geléia ou goiabada entre dois biscoitos e pressione para grudá-los juntos. Asse da mesma maneira e você terá um belo recheio para os biscoitos de queijo.

English Fish Brazilian Moqueca

Researching about English fishes to decide which one I should use to take on Jon's challenge and make this recipe, I found the website http://www.wildengland.com that is an A to Z compendium of England's native wildlife targeting children, and I've learned that:

The Cod is one of our best-known offshore native fish. It is commonly associated with our traditional 'fish and chips'

So I have chosen cod to cook my moqueca, but it is a flaky fish. If I could suggest (and I guess I can), use monkfish as it is meatier fish with a dense firm texture and sweet flavour (often compared to lobster) and won't "melt" on the sauce. In Brazil we would use "Pintado" especially (it seems that the equivalent is the fish cherne) . And by the way, don't research about monkfish, its picture will put you off!!!!
OK, let's go for the recipe:

1 cod fillet - it would be a good idea to ask your fishmonger to take off the bones and skin
1/2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 green pepper sliced
1/2 orange pepper sliced - you can use the yellow or red ones
2 tomatoes sliced
1/2 onion
1/2 chili pepper
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Bunch of coriander
Bunch of parsley (flat leaf)
1 tsp of garlic paste
4 tbsp of "azeite de dende" (palm oil) - found in Brazilian or African shops in UK
Pinch of coriander seed grinded
1/2 of a tin of coconut milk
Salt and pepper to your taste
Cut the fillet in about 5 pieces and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. In a mixer blend the onion, chili, lemon zest, coriander, parsley, garlic paste and coriander seed until well combined.
If you have a shallow casserole you will need to preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, if not the cooking process can easily be done on the stove.
In a shallow casserole (as you can see I don't have one, so I used a frying pan) put the olive oil, heat it and put the fish to fry a little. Add all the sliced peppers and tomatoes, pour the blended mixture over it and the palm oil.

Leave it to fry a little bit, about 3 minutes and add the coconut milk. Put it in the oven to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, if your doing it in a frying pan, put a lid on and leave it to cook on a moderate heat for the same time described for the oven. When it is ready the sauce will have thickened and will look as below:

Then it is ready to serve. I love it with white rice (as it is Brazilian main side dish), but you can have it with some potatoes (mashed, cooked, anyway).

I really love it and after I have been to some Indian restaurants it reminds a bit of Korma, but still different, at least for me. Hope you enjoy it, Jon!

My 3 Countries Pork

Having tried food from everywhere I can and picking influences of every cuisine, I make things my way, but using these influences!
For my pork I used the inspiration of my mum serving pineapple with pork (influence from Brazil), English Sunday Roast (pork roast) and Japanese restaurants in Brazil serving shitake mushroom with pineapple in a parcel.
I thought that roasting a pork with my spices and adding these 2 other ingredients (pineapple and mushroom) would bring nice flavours for MY Sunday Roast!
What to use and how to do:

500 gr of pork loin 
150 gr of pineapple cut in cubes
150 gr of mushroom - I used oyster as well as button mushrooms
1/2 of a large onion
1 tsp full of garlic paste
1 glass of white wine - about 500 ml
6 tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1/4 tsp of mixed spices
1 tbsp of honey or golden syrup
1 tbsp of butter
A pinch of grated ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
A piece of a chili - it will really depend on your preference for the size of the piece and for the type of chili you will use here
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 fan).
Season the pork with a little bit of salt and pepper on all its sides and seal it on a frying pan until golden brown. Score the pork to better absorb the sauce. The pork will release some of its fat. Put the pork in an ovenproof dish, reserve the frying pan with the pork fat to cook the mushrooms and pineapple.
In a mixer put the onion, garlic, half of the glass of white wine, 3 spoons of the soy sauce, all the paprika, mixed spices, grated ginger and the chili (if you decide to use it) and blend it until well mixed. Pour 2/3 of this mixture over the pork, cover well with a tin foil and put it in the oven to cook.
In the same frying pan that you sealed the pork, with the fat released, add a spoon of butter and fry the mushrooms until golden brown. Add the pineapple, cook it with the mushroom for about 3 minutes and add the rest of the wine, soy sauce, golden syrup (or honey) and the 1/3 of the onion mixture left.

Cook a little to reduce the juices, about 5 minutes.

Take the pork from the oven, turn the pork, pour the mushroom and pineapple sauce over it, cover back and back in the oven for 15 minutes until you turn it again and uncover it to finish cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes.
If you have a left over of rice in your fridge, I recommend to serve it with some almonds fried in butter as a side dish for the pork. I used the equivalent of:
4 servings of pre-prepared white rice 
2 tbsp full of flaked almonds 
1 tbsp of butter

Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the almonds and fry it until golden brown. Add the rice and serve with the pork.

It is totally worth it and might bring some compliments of who tries... My husband said it was the best pork he's ever eaten!!!

The Easy and Delicious Brownie

Last week I went to the library looking for a nice book to read in bed, something inspirational! I also had a look at some recipe books and this one came to me.
I cooked this brownie recipe last week and it was beautiful!!! I have promised to put it on the blog this week and Mihaela made it clear that she's been waiting for it! I have done it by the book, because my husband was taking some brownies to his colleagues at work to try and Roger is allergic to nuts (which would be my twist to the recipe), so:

50 ml of vegetable oil
150 gr of white sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1 tsp of vanilla extract - although is not on the picture, it was used!!!
4 tbsp of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking powder
8 tbsp of plain flour
1 1/2 tbsp of the nut of your choice - I would use pecan or walnut, but I am sure that almond would also be delicious
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Mix together the oil, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a bowl, stirring until well combined.

In another bowl put the cocoa powder, the plain flour and the baking powder and sieve them into the oil, sugar and egg mixture mixing well. Add the nuts and combine. Grease and flour or just grease and use a baking parchment in a 20x20cm baking tray.

Pour the mixture into the baking tray and bake it for approximately 15 minutes. Leave the brownie to cool down and then cut them. If hot serve with ice cream or cream, or have it cold, or do it your way! But do it!!!

O Brownie Fácil e Delicioso

Na semana passada fui até a biblioteca à procura de um bom livro para ler na cama, algo inspirador! Eu também dei uma olhada em alguns livros de receita e este veio a mim. Eu cozinhei esta receita de brownie (bolo de chocolate mais "molhado" no meio) na semana passada e estava delicioso! Eu prometi colocar no blog esta semana e Mihaela deixou claro que ela está só esperando por isso! 

Meu marido queria levar alguns brownies, para que seus colegas de trabalho pudessem experimentar, e como Roger é alérgico a castanhas (que seria o meu toque na receita), fiz a receita exatamente como no livro, mas aqui vai minha sugestão: 

50 ml de óleo vegetal  

150 gr de açúcar   

2 ovos bem batidos  

1 colher de chá de essência de baunilha

4 colheres de sopa de cacau em pó - não pode ser achocolatado, tem que ser cacau em pó

1/2 colher de chá de fermento em pó  

8 colheres de sopa de farinha de trigo  

1 1/2 colher de sopa de castanha de sua preferência - eu usaria nozes ou amêndoas

Pré-aqueça o forno a 180 graus Celsius. Misture o óleo, açúcar, ovos e baunilha em uma tigela, mexendo até misturar bem.  

Em outra tigela coloque o cacau em pó, a farinha e o fermento em pó e peneire sobre a mistura de óleo, açúcar e ovos. Misturando bem, adicione a castanha, combine todos os ingredientes.

Unte e enfarinhe ou apenas unte e use um papel manteiga num tabuleiro 20x20cm. Despeje a mistura no tabuleiro e asse por aproximadamente 15 minutos. Deixe o bolo esfriar e depois corte-os. Se servir quente, fica ótimo com sorvete ou creme de leite, ou coma frio, ou do jeito que você quiser! Mas coma!

Scallops with Coriander Crumble

This week I have been craving for fish, so today my husband and I went shopping and we splashed out on seafood. So the next few recipes will probably be based on aquatic feasts!
I created this recipe for today influenced by the billions of TV cooking shows (especially Rick Stein - the seafood lover) I have been watching since I got in UK.
I totally LOVE scallops and by now you might have been thinking: Cyntia loves ANY food!!! And if you think that you are right!
Anyway, scallop is special!!!
For this recipe you will need:

4 scallops on their shell
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
The sauce:
1/4 of onion finely chopped
1/2 leek chopped
1 tsp of garlic paste
1/2 tbsp of butter
1/2 tbsp of olive oil
150 ml of milk - 100 ml to start the sauce and 50 ml to dissolve the cornflour
1 tbsp of cornflour
1 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp of grated mozzarella
1 tbsp of double cream
1 egg yolk
A pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to you taste
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the onion, frying until golden brown. Add the leek and garlic and fry them a little bit before adding the 100 ml of milk.

When the milk starts boiling, dissolve the cornflour in the rest of the milk and add to the sauce pan. The sauce will become thicker. Take it out of the heat, start beating the egg yolk and add the sauce little by little (if you add it straight away the egg will curdle). After the mixture is combined, take the pan back to the heat (low heat) and add the Parmesan and the mozzarella as well as the double cream and pinch of nutmeg. Try it and season to taste. Pour a spoon or so over the scallops on their shells and reserve.
For the crumble:
1 slice of white bread - the ones you use for toast
A bunch of coriander - as much or as little as you like 
1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend all the ingredients in a mixer until it looks like a green couscous. Sprinkle on the top of the scallops (which will have the sauce by now). And bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Serve it straight away with a drizzle of lemon.

It is VERY YUMMY!!! And I hope you love it!!!!

Vieiras com Crosta de Coentro

Passei esta semana com desejo de comer peixe, então hoje meu marido e eu fomos fazer compras e gastamos em frutos do mar.

Sendo assim, as próximas receitas provavelmente serão baseadas em comilanças aquáticas!

Eu criei a receita de hoje influenciada pelos bilhões de programas de cozinha (especialmente Rick Stein - o amante de marisco) que eu tenho assistido na TV desde que eu cheguei no Reino Unido.

Eu totalmente AMO vieiras e agora você deve ter pensado: Cyntia ama QUALQUER alimento! E se você pensou isso, você está certo! Enfim, vieira é especial!

Para esta receita você vai precisar de:

4 vieiras nas próprias conchas 

Pré-aqueça o forno a 200 graus Celsius.  

O molho:  

1/4 de cebola picada  

1/2 alho-poró picado  

1 colher de chá de pasta de alho  

1/2 colher de sopa de manteiga  

1/2 colher de sopa de azeite de oliva  

150 ml de leite - 100 ml para iniciar o molho e 50 ml para dissolver a maisena  

1 colher de sopa de maisena  

1 colher de sopa de queijo parmesão ralado  

1 colher de sopa de mussarela ralada  

1 colher de sopa de creme de leite  

1 gema de ovo  

Uma pitada de noz-moscada 

Sal e pimenta a gosto  

Derreta a manteiga com o azeite em uma panela e adicione a cebola, fritando até dourar. Adicione o alho-poró e a pasta de alho e frite-os um pouco antes de adicionar os 100 ml de leite. Quando o leite começa a ferver, dissolva a maisena no restante do leite e adicione à panela. O molho vai engrossar. Retire do fogo, comece a bater a gema de ovo e junte o molho, pouco a pouco (se você adicioná-lo de imediato o ovo vai coalhar). Após a mistura ter sido toda combinada, coloque a panela de volta ao fogo (fogo baixo) e adicione o parmesão e a mussarela, assim como o creme de leite e a pitada de noz-moscada. Experimente e tempere a seu gosto. Despeje uma colher ou mais (se couber) sobre as vieiras nas conchas e reserve. 

Para a crosta: 

1 fatia de pão branco - pão de forma
Um punhado de salsa - tanto ou tão pouco como você preferir
1 colher de sopa de queijo parmesão  

1 colher de sopa de azeite 

Sal e pimenta a gosto 

Misture todos os ingredientes no multiprocessador e bata até que a mistura se pareça com um cuscuz verde. Polvilhe em cima das vieiras (que terá o molho por agora). Assar no forno por 10 minutos ou até que a crosta doure. Sirva imediatamente com uma espremidinha de limão.

É MUITO gostoso! E eu espero que você AME!!

The unplanned sausages and beans salad

When my husband is working and I have to cook only for myself I normally chose to "clean up" the fridge and use ingredients that are there for some time.
Today I felt like a salad and following the tradition, cleaned the fridge!
I know that the planned recipe was the moqueca, but I think this salad is so nice that you should give it a go...
Ingredients:

1 ramekin of Polish sausage (kabanossi) - you can find it at Tesco in UK and in Brazil is the "paio"... Sorry if I can't give information on how to find it in any other country
1 ramekin of butter beans in water
1 ramekin of finely chopped courgette - about half courgette
1 ramekin of green peas
1 tomato finely chopped - if you prefer the cherry ones, you can use about 8 of them cut in disks
1/3 of a red pepper finely chopped
1/3 of a yellow pepper finely chopped
1/2 an onion finely chopped
1 tsp of garlic paste
Soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Fry the sausage in a frying pan with no oil at all - it will release its own oil. The add the courgette and fry it for about 5 minutes, then add the onion and fry it until golden brown. Add the garlic paste, cook it for about a minute and add the beans and peas. Cook it mixing all the time for 3 minutes. Take from the heat, put in a bowl and mix the other ingredients (tomato and peppers). To season I normally use:
1 tbsp of the soy sauce
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of olive oil - extra virgin is the best
Some salt and pepper.

You can serve it hot as it is or cold. I like it with leaves salad (watercress, rockets and spinash).
Hope you like it as much as I do!!!