Cooks' Corner

[Lesley Cox]

Are we allowed to post anything so wickedly sinful on the Forum?

[Brian Ellis]

my daughters coffee & walnut cupcakes.

makes 12, mix together...

8oz caster sugar
8oz marg
8oz self raising flour
4 eggs
2 pinches of baking powder

seperately mix 5 teaspoons of instant coffee with 1 1/2 teaspoon of water, stir into mix.

they go in oven at 180 until "firm", she uses clear skewer test.

icing - she uses a mix but isn't precise because she doesn't measure but goes on texture, roughly 12 oz of icing sugar & 4 -5 oz marg, if it's too thick she adds a little milk.

coffee for icing = 3 teaspoons of coffee to one of water.

Richard I hate to be pedantic, but where are the walnuts?

[RichardW]

hopefully on top of the icing 

she did ask If I needed the recipe for those, wont repeat what I said 

[Kristl Walek]

Does anyone know the botanical name of the plant producing "black anise seed"

[Maggi Young]

 Star anise is  Illicium verum and  anise as I know it is Pimpinella anisum  and that's black, isn't it? 

[maggiepie]

Kristl, do you mean Star Anise?

Maggi, you are too fast for me 

[Kristl Walek]

no. this is so annoying---and why i hate common names.
if you go online you will see the most incredible and convoluted posts about "black anise seed"---extremely rare, black gold, only grows in one isolated area of Italy, coveted, etc. etc. black market prices.

but what the heck is it?

Not Pimpinella asinum (regular anise)

then i thought Foeniculum???

licorice scented----and is used in Italian breads.....

i found this picture on flickr of a bag of the seed---it does appear to be an Umbellifer---but hard to tell

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdcasa/3169199260/

[Lesley Cox]

It certainly looks like the seed of Foeniculum vulgare which is fennel of course. Maybe in the bronze form but far from being rare and hard to come by it can be a pesky weed, seeding all over the place if you don't cut off the stems before they shed. If it's so rare, how come she has such a huge bag of it there?

[Kristl Walek]

lesley, no kidding go on line and see the crazy stuff---it is supposed to be so rare it only grows in one isolated spot in italy---this all sounds ridiculous to me---which is why i have become obsessed with finding out what the heck it is.

[maggiepie]

If Pimpinella asinum is the regular old plant, then this site is making a fortune.

71.99$ an oz

http://blackaniseseeds.com/

[Kristl Walek]

If Pimpinella asinum is the regular old plant, then this site is making a fortune.

71.99$ an oz

http://blackaniseseeds.com/

well no kidding....and you will notice they call it "black anise seed" but say Pimpinella asinum on the bottom, yet according to all the antecodal stuff on the net, this black stuff is something very different. i have actually written to a few herb experts---looked up a common name cross reference---and it all just gets curiouser and curiouser...

[Hoy]

Does anyone know the botanical name of the plant producing "black anise seed"

Kristl, have you considered Myrrhis odorata? This plant has black anis-tasting seeds and is a weed in my garden, I cant eat all the seeds (It is not the same seed as in the Flickr though)

[RichardW]

sorry for delay in posting these, 3 of my favourite curries  

Cooking Apple! the "marmite" of curries   I love it, is different and adds something very unusual to a meal.

ingredients.

Teaspoon of mustard seeds
Teapsoon of ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chilli
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
little salt

1 lb cooking apples cut into 1cm pieces
tin of chopped toms
100g raisins
Sugar

heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds cook till cracking, add all spices, then apples, whole tin of toms and cook till apples are soft, stir in raisins.

slowly add sugar little at a time tasting as you go, enough to counter the tart of the apples but not making too sweet, cook slowly till the liquid in the toms reduces.

Thai Green & Roast vegetable.

two curries combined, for roast veg I use Butternut squash and chickpeas but almost any combo works, cut up squash, place in a pan with chick peas & drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garam masala toss in pan, roast for approx 20 mins.

Thai green I use a good kit, either chicken or tofu/quorn for veggie, then just mix together, often needs a little coconut milk to thin.

Malaysian Rendang my idea of the perfect curry , works great with chicken or tofu  

1 Clove Garlic chopped.
1 small onion fine chopped
2 Stalks Lemon Grass chopped very fine.
1-3 chillis (being a wimp I only use 1)
2 tblspoon fresh ginger grated.
1 teaspoon turmeric
little salt
little sugar


1 teaspoon tamarind pulp dissolved in little water.
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

2 tblspoon oil (I use groundnut)
250ml tin of coconut milk
creamed coconut
chopped chicken or tofu


mash or blend everything in red, if you're using a blender add a little oil, first time I tried it the dry mix killed my blender! probably the tough lemon grass.

heat oil in a pan then add above paste & cook for 5 mins.

add 1/2 the coconut milk, then the tamarind, star anise & cinnamon, cook for 5 mins.

add the chicken/tofu, then add more coconut milk but don't cover & simmer for approx 20 mins.

just before serving add small amounts of creamed coconut to slowly thicken the sauce.











 

[Maggi Young]

These were worth waiting for, Richard!!

[annew]

Yum!