Brodu Tat-Tigiega (Maltese Chicken Soup)

[norfolkian]

I'm half-Maltese and do a fair a bit of Maltese cooking. Last year I came across a Maltese cooking blog and bookmarked a load of recipes to try. One recipe I came across is for a soup my mum used to make all the time - my mum even showed me how to make it once, but I never got round to making it (I was a student at the time and not much of a cook) and then I kind of forgot about it. I'd never seen a recipe on any blogs or in any of my Maltese cookbooks for this particular soup, so I had wondered if it was a recipe unique to my family, but then I found a recipe for it on this blog and realised that it was almost the exact some recipe that my mum used to make!

Recipe here

I made a number of alterations, partly according to my memories of the version my mum used to make. I used 4 chicken drumsticks instead of a whole chicken and I browned them in the pan first, before adding them back in with the water/stock. I used more garlic (4 cloves instead of 1). And I left out the potato and the egg, as I don't remember my mum ever adding these to her soup.

It doesn't look pretty, but it is hearty and it tastes good.



My mum's rule of thumb is that you can use any meat on the bone - you could even use leftover chicken from a roast dinner. I used orzo pasta as that's what I had in the cupboard, but any small soup pasta will do or you can use some rice. I also think the stock cubes are optional, as the meat and bones will add flavour to the soup, especially if you cook it for a long time.

Maya Angelou's Fried Apples

[colls]

I pulled off one of the cookbooks that I didn't purge but haven't used since I moved.
Hallelujah! the Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes by Maya Angelou

Next, I picked something simple with ingredients I already had on hand. I love fried apples and her method wasn't what I'd done in the past, so I thought I'd give it a try.

( Fried Apples )

Stuffed roasted turkey legs, and trimmings

[pensnest]

I had some Jamie Oliver shows saved from before Christmas, and decided to have a go at something today.

Difficult to provide the actual recipe(s) without going back to the show and transcribing it at length. At least, it may be detailed in a book, but not a book I own. However, it was basically a Christmas menu, involving cooking a turkey crown and turkey legs, with stuffing, plus various roasted vegetables. I planned to do a reduced version involving the legs only and no roast potatoes (because Sainsburys had no King Edwards on the shelves last week, nor Maris Pipers neither). And because there were only three of us having lunch together today.

( So. )

Fresh Apple Cake

[mama_kestrel]

I have a new food processor, which I needed to test while I could still return it if necessary. I also have a bunch of granny smith apples which I need to use up. (I asked my husband to get me 4 large apples. He came home with a 5 pound bag of small ones. End result: extra 3/4 bag of apples.) Solution? Memory said there was a recipe for fresh apple cake in the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, published in 1984. And lo and behold, there it was.

So, recipe, with my modifications in paranthses.

Fresh Apple Cake
Adapted from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, by Marion Cunningham
Cake
• 6 T. butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (I used 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. clove (I used 1 tsp ground ginger. I don't have clove, and we like ginger.)
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 2 cups chopped unpeeled cooking apples
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I had more like 2/3 cup once the food processor was done with them. I threw it all in.)
• 1/2 cup raisins (I used a full cup.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour (or cooking spray) an 8″x 8″ cake pan.

Chop the apples, and walnuts if using. (If you want to measure and combine them in one prep bowl, that's fine. You'll be adding them and the raisins at the same time anyway.)

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating continuously until batter is smooth. Add vanilla extract.

In another small bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Whisk to combine.

Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until just moistened. Fold in apples, nuts, and raisins.

Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Be careful where you put the toothpick; if it hits nuts or raisins, it will come out clean no matter what the batter is doing. Look for shiny spots or slight depressions on the surface, and stick your toothpick in there. If there aren't any shiny spots, then it's probably done. It will also be pulling away slightly from the sides of the pan.

Serve warm, with tea or coffee. This makes a lovely breakfast cake. It's also good with cream cheese frosting.

Next experiment: substituting oatmeal for part of the flour.