Balloons

"Balloons" are like a doughnuts, soft and a little bit airy inside. When I saw this in Rachel Allen's Book "Rachel's Food for Living, It make me go back to my childhood days when I was still living in Jolo and my mom often buy the palikambing in the coffee shop beside our store for merienda. Palikambing is more heavier, thicker than this balloon. And its usually mixed with mashed banana. I tried the plain and with banana, the outcome is still same with the plain its just that it have a different flavour and texture and colour . My kids loves it with or without the sugar coating. This one is very simple and quick to make.






Balloons

140 g plain flour
2-4 tsp sugar, plus
25g for tossing
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
200 ml milk

1. Heat a deep pan with oil. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix. Add the milk gradually, whisking all the time until you have a thicker batter.
2. When the oil is hot in the deep pan, take a dessertspoonful of the mixture and push it gently using another spoon, so that it drops in a round ball into the oil. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3. Fry until deep golden, about 4-5 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking. Remove wth a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and toss in the caster sugar or you can add some cinnamon to the sugar for different flavor, and serve warm.

Chicken, Olive & Chickpea Stew

A dish with characteristically North African flavors; sweet spices, chickpeas, lemon, and green olives blend together to make a meltingly delicious stew. Serve with couscous to soak up the juices or with rice. This one-pot supper dish releases its wonderful fragrances as soon as you lift the lid. If you like a paler stew,use 1 tsp turmeric instead of 2 tsp.







4 Tbsp olive oil
1 whole chicken or 4 chicken breast
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
4 pods green cardamons, lightly crushed
240 ml chicken stock or water
1 lemon juice
1 tin garbanzos or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 pitted green olives
salt and pepper to taste



1. Heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Remove and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Add in the turmeric, cumin, coriander and cardamon and cook gently for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, juice, chickpeas and chicken.

3. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is tender. Add the olives 10 minutes before the end of cooking.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

Egg-Free Raisin Scones

Traditionally, scones were part of an elegant tea-time spread with jam and whipped cream or with clotted cream along with Earl Grey tea. Scones are easy to make and quick to bake. To be at their very best they should be freshly baked and served warm. Follow this simple recipe, put the kettle on and enjoy simply the best cream tea ever. Piled high with cream and jam, scones become the most luxurious, tempting teatime treat imaginable. This recipe is good for those who are allergic with egg and nuts. I will also add the dairy and gluten free recipes.





Raisin Scone (egg & nut free)

225 g self-rising flour plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
30 g sugar
45 g butter plus extra for greasing
30 g raisins or sultanas
120 ml milk
2-3 tbsp cream or milk to glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
2. Sift together into a medium-sized bowl the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the sugar.
3. Cut up the butter and rub it into the dry mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the raisins.
4. Add three quarter of the milk and mix it quickly with a knife. Add the remaining milk, only if it is needed, to mix to a soft dough. Do not over mix as this will make the scones tough.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured area and pat or roll out 2cm thick.
6. Cut out the scones with a 5cm floured cutter. Gather up any trimmings, roll into a ball, and cut more scones.
7. Place the scones on the baking sheet and brush the tops with milk and dust with flour.
8. Bake near the top of the oven for 10m - 20 minutes or until the scones have risen, are lightly browned on top, and the bases sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

TIP:
1. If you like the scone with a soft crust, cover them with a clean tea towel for one minute after removing from the oven.
2. There's no need to slice the scones. Simply pull each scone apart at the natural break in the middle.


Dairy free Scones

Follow the recipe above, but replace the butter with an equal quantity of firm non-dairy spread( the soft ones have too much water in them); and the milk or cream with the same quantity of soya equivalent.


Gluten Free

Follow the recipe above, using the following ingredients:
60 ml black tea
30 g raisins
225 g gluten-free self-rising flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp xantham gum
30 g sugar
45 g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
50 ml milk
2-3 tbsp cream or milk to glaze

Gluten-free flour can be slightly drier and absorb more water, so make the following alterations. First soak the raisins on the black tea for at least 30 minutes. Add the xantham gum with the dry ingredients in step 2. Drain the raisins and add to the rubbed-in mixture in step 3. Add the beaten egg before the milk in step 4.