Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

There is nothing better than the smell and taste of freshly baked homemade bread.  Bread is much easier to bake than you think.  And i'ts far tastier than the bread you buy from the supermarket.  This recipe creates a beautiful, delicious, soft whole wheat bread that is to die for.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet dry yeast
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
3 tablespoons soft butter
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat grain
1/2 tsp salt

That's all you need.  Seriously! I told you this recipe was easy!

Method
 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (375 F)
Put the warm water in a mixing bowl and make sure it is warm to the touch and not hot.  Add the dry yeast and put aside for 5 minutes until it starts to froth.
Mix the maple syrup or honey together with the soft butter.  I usually pit it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Add the maple syrup and soft butter mixture to the yeast mixture.
Add in the salt.
Slowly add in the flour, mixing it in.  You might need to add in a little extra flour to get the right consistency.  The dough should not be sticky to the touch.  You should be able to knead it without it sticking to your hands.
Cover the bowl and put it in a warm place so the dough can rise for about 30 minutes.
Punch the dough down and put it in a greased or lined loaf pan.  Cover and let it rise for another 30 minutes.
 It should have more or less doubled its size.
Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until it sounds hollow when you knock on it.
There you have it!  Easiest bread ever!

Cindy Vine is the author of numerous novels including Defective, Not Telling, Hush baby and The Freedom Club.  All her books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback format.

Easiest Cookie Recipe

This cookie recipe is the easiest, no flop recipe for the most delicious cookies you'll ever find.  Throughout the years, I've kept the cookie jar full with these cookies.  And the best thing, is that you can use the cookie dough as a base and add extra ingredients in to create different variations.

Basic Cookie Recipe
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

For chocolate add in a 1/4 cup cocoa powder.
For spicy currant add in 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp mixed spice and a handful of currants.
For orange add in the zest of an orange and replace the milk with orange juice.


Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C (375 F).  Soften the butter, add in the sugar and mix together. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla extract and mix together.  Next put in the salt and baking powder and mix that in.  Finally start adding in the flour, a little at a time, mixing all the while.  You'll end up with a stiff cookie dough that isn't sticky at all.  At this point you can add in the extras if you are creating variants.  What I do, is I split the cookie dough mix into 3 and create 3 variants.  Let the cookie dough rest for 30 minutes.
You can roll out the dough and then ct out different shapes with cookie cutters or you can just roll them into balls and then squash them down with a fork.  Place on a greased or lined baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Done!
Cindy Vine is the author of numerous novels including Defective, Not Telling, Hush baby and The Freedom Club.  All her books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback format.

Veggie Pops from India

1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli or cauliflower florets
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped capsicum
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped spinach
6 finely chopped snap peas
2 tablespoons oil
salt to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro (dried is okay)
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
boiling water for dipping
hot oil for deep frying

Saute the chopped vegetables with pepper, oregano, salt and cilantro on medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add the semolina and 1 cup boiling water.  Mix together and reduce the heat to low.  Cover with a lid and let it cook for 4 minutes.  Add the curry powder and mix it in.  Let it cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool enough so that you don't burn your hands when you roll them into balls.  Add in about two teaspoons of the all purpose flour and mix it in well.  Roll the veggie pops mixture into small balls roughly the size of a large strawberry. Put these aside.
Mix the rest of the flour with the bread crumbs. You can add in a pinch of salt.
Roll the small balls into the flour/bread crumb mixture. Put the veggie pop balls into a sieve and dip them in the boiling water for about 3 seconds. Roll them in the flour/bread crumb mixture again. Then dip them in the boiling water again for 3 seconds.  You will do this 3 times.  Next step is to deep fry the veggie pops in hot oil.  Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.
You can prepare the veggie pops in advance and keep them in the fridge a few days before doing the final step of deep frying them.
Cindy Vine is the author of numerous novels including Defective, Not Telling, Hush baby and The Freedom Club.  All her books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback format.