Egg Success!!!

It has finally happened. After months of patiently checking the coop, talking nicely to the chickens, pleading with the chickens and then finally threatening the chickens - we FINALLY have our first egg!!!!!
Hopefully the first of many!!!! I am SO excited!!

Sweet Chilli Sauce with a Bite.

What to do with sooooo many chillies?????? Make sweet chilli sauce! And you would not believe how simple it is.

Ingredients

Approx 350grams of chillies.

2 garlic cloves

2 1/4 cups of white vinegar

2 1/4 cups of white sugar

Halve about 70grams of chillies and place in a food processor. Halve and deseed the rest of the chillies and place in the food processor. If you want a bit more bite add more chillies with seeds, if you want less bite deseed more of the chillies.

Add garlic and 3/4 cup of the white vinegar to the food processor with the chillies.

Process until you have little flecks of chillies but not a liquid or paste.

Place the chilli mixture, the rest of the vinegar and the sugar into a saucepan on a low heat.

Heat and continuously stir the mixture for 5minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Increase heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once boiling turn down the heat and simmer for approximately 30-40minutes until you get a slightly syrupy consistency.

Pour liquid into sterilised bottles or jars.

I find the best way to sterilise glass bottles of jars is to wash them in warm water. Then place the jars in an oven preheated to 100 degrees celsius until they are dry. The rule is that if you want to put warm mixture into a jar the jar must be warm. If you want to put cold mixture into the jar you must let the jar cool to room temperature. Otherwise you will have to deal with exploding glass which is never fun! 

All that is left is to do is enjoy the sauce with some dim sims!

Easy Peasy Crusty Bread!

Home made bread is just the best!!! The smell and the taste of warm bread cannot be beaten. We try and make our own bread as often as possible. Every now and then our lives get too busy and we get too lazy and we have to buy a loaf. Every time we buy a loaf we are disappointed and quickly remember how much better home made bread is. Also, it always slightly grosses me out how much longer shop bread lasts compared to homemade bread. It really must be full of some pretty nasty preservatives.
This recipe is so easy. I make it using a dough hook with my mixer but apparently you can you use a food processor as well.

Ingredients

18g of fresh yeast (a must!)

1/2 tablespoon of salt

1/2 tablespoon of white sugar

1 tablespoon of olive oil

700g of flour - we usually use wholemeal but any flour will do

extra olive oil

sea salt flakes

Break the yeast up into crumbly little bits and place in a bowl with 500mls of lukewarm water.

Whisk the mixture until the yeast has dissolved.

Add the salt, sugar and olive oil and mix.

Leave for about 30minutes or until the watery mixture starts to bubble.

Add the flour and place in the mixer or food processor.

Mix dough for 12minutes.

Turn of the machine and let the dough rest for 5minutes.

Mix dough again for 5minutes.

Remove dough, place in a bowl, cover with gladwrap and leave to rise for approximately 30minutes.

Turn the oven on at 230 degrees. 

On a floured surface briefly kneed and shape the dough into a round or loaf or whatever shape you like. 

Place a little bit of olive oil in your hands and rub it all over the dough so that all of the dough is covered and therefore sealed.

Place dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in a warm spot and allow to rise again for 20-30minutes (or until the oven is warm enough).

Drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and place it in the oven.

Bake for 30minutes.

Allow to cool.

Enjoy!