Easter Baking

Easter has flown by! Plenty of baking was done although I took some much needed time out from the computer and have to catch up with posting now.

It began with another batch of Johanna's lovely hot cross buns...

And I even managed to put some crosses on top (without making a mess of it). 

Last week, I trialled making bread loaves using this recipe with the wholemeal variation and as it has been getting gobbled up so quickly, 3 loaves have been made since. Bread is always at it's best when it is still a bit warm from the oven. Due to the lack of preservatives it wouldn't have a very long shelf life, although that's no problem in this house. It does makes very nice toast when it's a day or two old.

The day before Easter holidays started, my postman dropped in a present I had been waiting on for a while - Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. The timing could not have been better, a new cookbook to keep me entertained over the Easter break! 

I had already promised to make Cindy's famous sausage rolls for the troops so the first recipes trialled were a couple of side dishes - sauteed mushrooms and kasha (with a bit of dried tarragon instead of dill) plus steamed broccoli with easy breezy cheezy sauce. The kasha and mushrooms was nice but the cheezy sauce on the broccoli was sooo good. The remnants of the cheezy sauce also tasted great smothered on top of marmite on toast. My mind has been going crazy ever since, thinking of all the ways this wonderful sauce can be utilised.

I also made roasted cauliflower ricotta lasagna with home-made pasta from Appetite for Reduction which was nice but not spectacular. The roasted cauliflower ricotta sounded like it would be a good combination, however the lasagna just didn't turn out with as much flavour as I was hoping for. It had been a long time since the pasta machine was last used so this was a perfect time to dust it off. 

The format of Appetite for Reduction is fantastic. I love having the nutritional information of each meal available, plus there are good mix 'n' match options and loads of handy tips along the way. Some chapters initially grabbed me more than others which is probably due to the oncoming cold season. There are lots of salads that sound interesting but I don't think I'll feel like making them until next spring/summer, however there are plenty of soups, stews, curries, pastas, noodles, sauces and side dishes to keep me going until then.