by EsmeSalon | Oct 9, 2015 | Cakes cupcakes and cookies, Recipes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2.5mL baking soda
5mL allspice
10mL ground ginger
135mL butter or margarine
1 egg
5mL syrup
Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and spices together. Melt butter and then mix in with the dry ingredients to form a
crumb-y texture. Beat the egg with the syrup, and then mix that into the dry ingredients. It’ll look like the dough will never come together – in fact, it kind of doesn’t. Just mix it as well as can, and it’ll hold together when you form the cookies.
I used a 15mL measure and pressed the dough into it to form cookies. They could probably be a bit flatter, so next time I’ll press them down a bit.
Bake for 14 minutes until the bottoms are just little browned. Allow them to cool on a rack to crisp up.
Source: Corlea Smit – “Sarie” magazine, adapted
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by EsmeSalon | Oct 8, 2015 | Bread: Sweet and Savory, Recipes

12 biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 heaped cup shredded Cheddar cheese
¾-1 cup bacon bits
1 cup buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices to combine, then add green onions, cheese, bacon bits and melted butter and mix.
Make a well in the center of mixture and pour in the buttermilk and mix, but stir as little as possible.
Drop batter by big spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
I turned my oven to Grill (watch carefully) in order to get it nicely browned
Source: The Recipe Hunter, Esme’s kitchen; a modified version of Corlea Smit’s
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by EsmeSalon | Oct 8, 2015 | Recipes, Side Dish, Vegan and Vegetarian, Vegetables

Bok choy or pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinensis varieties do not form heads and have smooth, dark green leaf blades instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens or celery (more…)
by EsmeSalon | Oct 5, 2015 | Bread: Sweet and Savory, Recipes, South African

For some or other reason (not sure why) I have an aversion working with yeast, but I so badly wanted to bake this bread, as it reminds me of the most yummiest bread I bought while still in SA, so I just decided, this is the end of this simple dislike, and that I have to bite the bullet and made it, and it’s the easiest of breads to bake, so I will do this more often!!! (more…)
by EsmeSalon | Oct 5, 2015 | Breakfast, Recipes

¼ cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup honey
2 cups old fashioned oats
½ cup desiccated coconut chips
½ cup pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter and honey together for about 30 seconds in the microwave in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix to coat thoroughly, and then turn out onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. It’s ready when it’s browned, but not necessarily crunchy yet. It becomes significantly more crunchy as it cools.
Delicious over milk or plain yogurt. Also great as a crunchy topping for desserts or pancakes. Can be served with chocolate chips if you are feeling particularly indulgent.
Source: Corlea Smit
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