Ceasar Salad dressing

I finally got the perfect dressing for my Ceasar salad!!! Simple and very tasty!
I always use homemade mayonnaise, so if you are using store bought Mayo, you might need to add Mustard and use milk to make the dressing more liquid. Homemade mayonnaise only takes a few minutes to make and is so much tastier...go on, have a go!

Caesar dressing

Ingredients

        1 cup mayonnaise

        2 anchovy fillets (finely chopped)

        1 big garlic cloves or 2 small (finely chopped)

        2 tbsp of grated parmesan

        2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

        1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (if using store bought mayonnaise)

        salt and pepper

How to

Make the Mayonnaise.

Add the lemon, anchovies, garlic and parmesan.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: This dressing can be made a day ahead. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge.

Natural dog Shampoo

This one is not edible but it was so good, it needed to be shared.
One of my dog (Bull arab X Bull Mastiff) was suffering from dry skin. He was permanently scratching and looked bothered.  We changed his diet, gave him Organic Flaxseed oil but it wasn't improving.
We (as a family) try to limit our chemical use and replace as much as we can with natural products. So we thought we would look into a natural shampoo to help our poor pooch.
Here is the recipe I used (apart from Tea Tree oil as I ran out of it):

Dog Shampoo (dry skin)

Ingredients

        2 cups of water (or infused Camomille tea)

        1/2 cup of dishwashing liquid (I use the Earth brand)

        1/2 cup of white vinegar (skin PH)

        1/4 cup of Aloe Vera gel

        1/4 cup of Glycerin

        1 tsp of Tea Tree oil

        6 drops of Lavender oil

How to

Mix all the ingredients together.

Wet the dog first. Rub some shampoo onto the skin and lather.

Rinse thoroughly and dry your lovely smelling puppy.

 

Bread

Here is the recipe I used to make all the time (before I got hooked on Sourdough Bread). Simple and versatile, I shape it in baguette, rolls, loaves and put some egg wash on it for the crust. Shape it like a thick pizza, brush some olive oil and sprinkle some rosemay leaves for a Foccacia style (perfect for BBQs with homemade dips).
Put some seeds in the dough (dry roasted fennel seeds, caraway seeds, cumin seeds...) for different flavours.
This recipe is waiting for your creative side to come out and play.

Basic bread

Ingredients (4)

Proving mix

       6g of yeast

       50 ml of tepid water

Dough

       300 ml of tepid water

       500g of flour

       5g of salt

How to

In a large mixing bow,  mix the  yeast in water and prove until frothy (about 10 minutes)

Add flour first, then salt to the proving mix ,  add water  gradually.

Put the dough on a floured surface and knead well (until the dough becomes supple and elastic).

Make a ball and put it back in the bowl, cover with cling film and prove for 1 hour or doubled in size. The ambient temperature will have an impact on the rising time.

After the first rise, take the dough again,  work it again and shape it (balls, baguettes...) and let it rise a second time (between 30 minutes to 1 hours depending on temperature)

Brush some egg wash (egg + water) or just spray some water on it.

Make some incision on the bread and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes or until brown.

 

Sourdough Bread

Not only Sourdough bread tastes great, but it is also better for your health. Here is a page that gives (easy to understand) info on the benefits of this wonderful bread.
Sourdough doesn't use Bakers yeast like traditional ones (so it takes longer to rise) but a "starter". The starter is a mix of flour and water left to fermante so the natural yeast in the flour has time to develop.

Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

Starter:

Water and bread flour

Bread:

        200g of starter

        300g of flour

        1 teaspoon of salt

        100ml of water

How to:

Starter:

Day1: in a plastic or glass container, put one cup of water and one cup of flour. Mix together. Cover with a lid but don't close it hermetically)

Day 2: Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water

Day 3: Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water

Day 4: Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water

Day 5: Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water

From now on, the starter can be stored in the fridge and you can use it. Feed it (by adding flour and water) as you use it or once a week.

Bread:

Option 1: You can do this in the kitchen aid, Thermomix or by hand.

I usually do a longer knead to begin with then cover the dough and let it rise for at least 4 hours. I then knead again, shape it and let it rise a second time.

Option 2: Mix all the ingredients together and knead for a few minutes then:

1. Put dough on surface to knead, let rest 10 min.

2. Knead for about 15 seconds, let rest 10 min.

3. Knead for about 15 seconds, let rest 30 min.

4. Knead for about 15 seconds, let rest 1 hour.

5. Knead for about 15 seconds, let rest 2 hours.

Then you are ready for the shaping and 2nd rise. 

Bake in preheated oven at 180ºC