Mocha Frappuccino

I post this recipe as a public service to all those former frapppuccino lovers who have been suffering severe withdrawal these last months after Starbucks changed its formula from icy, chocolatey, coffee perfection to a drink that, alas, while still icy, no longer tastes like either chocolate or coffee.

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth -- and yes, a few beseeching phone calls to Starbucks headquarters -- we, here at the castle, have moved on.

Ok, by we, I mean me.

Ongoing experimentation, aided by other bereft, recovering SB addicts (thank you, LJ), has yielded this recipe, which I happen to love. I hope you will love it, too.

MOCHA FRAPPUCCINOS
This recipe starts with a "base" mixture you stir together and keep in the fridge. When you're ready for your drink, you simply pop 3/4 c. of the mix into the blender, add a dollop of chocolate sauce (about 1 T.), and about 10 frozen coffee cubes, and you're all set.

FRAP BASE
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (about 1 1/4 c.)
2 1/2 c. double-strength coffee (for this, I use instant espresso powder mixed with water, according to the package directions -- about 2 heaping tablespoons in 2 1/2 c. water)
2 1/2 c. milk

Mix the base together and keep in the fridge until you're ready for your yummy drink.
Handy hint: My blender doesn't do a great job at grinding up ice. If yours doesn't, either, use your meat tenderizer hammer-thingie to smash up the coffee ice cubes before putting them in the blender. I don't do this on my tile countertops because I wish to crack the ice, not the tile.

Another handy hint: Any extra hot coffee Kahuna leaves in the pot in the morning gets immediately whisked away and frozen into cubes. If you want to lighten the coffee flavor, you can use 5 coffee cubes in your drink and 5 regular ice cubes.

Cheers.

Courgette, Marrow, Cucumber & Apple Chutney or Tikvichka, Krastavitsa & Yabulka Chutney

My Bulgarian friends don't have an equivalent of chutney & have no idea what it is. They eat bread dry with every meal no butter or marg, chutney or jam, Although they do know jam & their Baba's used to make it, but  they don't seem to nowadays.
This is made from garden produce everyone grows
I have masses of apples in my garden & I'm not an apple eater so I do other things with them as I can't stand the thought of them going to waste. Last year we fed loads to the neighbours pig but this year I was determined to do as much as possible with what I have. So there will be various chutneys, cake, Rakia & Muffins along with any other recipes I can find, I may even do an apple pie mmmm.
Anyway back to this......
This is my own Chutney recipe & packs a bit of a punch, if that's not to your liking leave out the Cayenne pepper!
I gave the small jar to my friends & they said it was very hot, not many Bulgarians like hot!!! I left mine stored for a few months & it was not hot

2lb Apples

1 x Cucumber

1 med Marrow

1 x Courgette or 1lb if you can only get tiddlers

1lb 8oz Onions

1 pint Malt Vinegar

1lb Brown Sugar or golden sugar

1tsp Salt 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2tsp Ginger, ground

Peel, core, chop the apples. Finely chop the onion. Cut cucumber, marrow & courgette/s  in half, scoop out the seeds & peel off skin. Chop finely.

Place apples onion & veg in pan with the vinegar & bring to the boil, simmer till its soft.

Add sugar, salt & cayenne, stir till sugar has dissolved & continue simmering till the chutney has thickened.

make sure you stir it occasionaly to stop it sticking!

Pour into sterilised jars with airtight lids

Sterilise clean jars by 1/4 filling with water & heat full power in microwave for 4 mins, I do the lids by boiling them!

Enjoy! 

Easy Pickled Garlic Or Vinograd Bourkanche Otset Chessun

Garlic is a much grown vegetable here in fact there is two growing seasons, summer Garlic & winter Garlic & they have distinctly different flavours this is my winter Garlic, as yet I have not grown summer Garlic. Again Garlic is grown in every village & I think almost all houses. I know my friends eat it till its gone & will have skin permiating of the pungeant smell for weeks then all of a sudden its gone! Me I like to hang it & use it all year as I can't eat onions I use this instead so I have preserved it in different ways & also use it fresh from my garlic plaits hanging in my kitchen.
I have been waiting for my garlic to dry for a while now & have had it hanging plaited from hooks outside my kitchen. Well I finally got round to pickling some, talk about lots of faffing,
Here is the recipe, but it needs to be left in the fridge for two weeks to cure so be prepared!

Whole peeled Garlic Cloves

Whole Chilli

Red Wine Vinegar

Salt

Slices of Red Pepper

To peel the garlic, first break heads into cloves then place in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into cold water. Drain well & pop garlic out of casing, do this by squeezing gently from the thin end.

Now sometimes it wont pop out but it will peel easier!

When you have peeled your Garlic fill jars, Putting in one whole Chilli & some sliced Pepper, up to you what colour or you can mix it.

Put in one dessert spoon Salt in a large jar adjust for smaller jars & fill to top with Red wine vinegar, in Bulgaria I used the one with the red grapes on the label.& place lid.

Shake the jar/s to dissolve the salt & store in fridge two weeks to "cure".

This should keep almost indefinitely if covered & kept in fridge

Italian Grape Cake or Vinograd Cherven Grozde Keyk

Oh my goodness this is theeeeee best cake EVER!!!! Thats if you like grapes of course.

Our grapes vines are mixed with both red & white, sweet & dry. I use the sweet red to make this cake & it is gorgeous. Its originally from the Italian vineyard area's of believe it or not, Italy :-)
My mum gave me this recipe, its one she procured years ago on her travels there, when not many people had travelled to destinations outside England ooh many moons ago. I fell in love with this cake the first time she made it & it has been my all time fave ever since along with the rest of the family. So this is my mums recipe, made now from my own vineyard & it brings me lovely memories every time I make it. My husband never had it till we moved here as it was always my mums special cake but with our vineyard I had to make it, it's now his favourite too along with the Yabulka!
I hope you enjoy this recipe, if you like grapes then I guarantee you will adore this cake, it's really moist!

12oz black grapes

Heaped tsp baking powder

7oz Margarine

7oz Caster sugar

4 Eggs

12oz SR Flour

First you need to de seed the grapes, unless you have bought seedless of course!

Cream together sugar & fat.

Add 1 egg at a time with 2oz of the flour till its all mixed in.

add baking powder then grapes mix well to a stiff mixture

Pour into the greased tin & bake for 40 - 45 minuets at 180c or 160c fan

If not ready check it every 4 mins till it is cooked

serve this cold on its own or with cream or mascarpone cheese, Enjoy!

At the moment with no proper kitchen or storage space all I have available are these round tins but if you have a square cake tin this is best as you can cut the cake into squares, then it goes further!!!!

Vinograd Yabulka Torta Or Dorset Apple Cake

This is a traditional English recipe but I now live here & use village eggs & my home grown apples. I am not a fan of the apple as it is which is such a shame as we have masses & I would love to just pluck one & eat but ne dobre!
I have cooked many an apple cake here & it goes down very well with my Bulgarian friends so I proclaim it a soon to be traditional Vinogradian recipe  The recipe has been asked for & given to quite a few Bulgarians & is spreading round the region, the last one I took to a big celebration was talked about for weeks :-)
This cake is delicious on its own sprinkled with icing sugar or served warm with ice cream & cream if you can get it or make it! So, perfect with café, as a hot or cold desert or just a quick snack.
It freezes well to so if like me you have a glut of apples batch cook & freeze to enjoy all winter!

225g Butter or Margarine
450g Apples peeled, cored & chopped 1cm pieces
Finely grated rind zest & juice of 1 lemon
225g caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
225g SR Flour
2tsp Baking powder
1 - 2 tsp Cinnamon
Put oven on 180c or 160c fan
Grease & line a 23 – 24cm cake tin
Toss apple in lemon juice. I do this while I am peeling & chopping so it keeps its colour.
Using a hand whisk, cream butter, sugar & zest until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time adding a little flour with each egg to keep it smooth.
Sift remaining flour, cinnamon & baking powder into the bowl & fold in.
Drain the apple well & stir into the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into cake tin, level & sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for 1 hour until well risen & brown. After 10 mins remove from cake tin & dredge with caster sugar or icing sugar.
If it starts to look a bit too brown while cooking cover with baking paper after 45 mins
ENJOY!!!!!

Rosemary-skewered Fish and Veggies

We swiped this flavorful bbq idea from Brownieville Girl, who blogs about food all the way from Ireland.

You simply use rosemary sprigs as your skewers, cut up chunks of fish (we used tuna), spear the little suckers alternately with cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with seasoning salt, and barbecue 'em up.

The skewers in the back are filled with garden onions and peppers along with the tomatoes.

Delicious. Thanks for the idea, Brownieville Girl.

Peach Nectar

In the epic 2010 battle over the backyard peach tree, with the teams the Castle Dwellers vs. the Stinkin' Squirrels and Blue Jays, I declare we Castle Dwellers the victors.

Exhibit A: We got canned peaches. A couple of batches. Exhibit B: We made off with enough peaches for a pie.

Exhibit C: Peach pit jelly. A minor victory as it doesn't include any actual peaches. But a victory nonetheless.

Let the record show we are not even presenting evidence for Exhibit D, peachy tart, for the simple reason we do not wish to condone the silly practice of peach blotting in any form.

Which brings us to:

Exhibit E: as in excellent. Peach nectar. So good you'll drink it almost as fast as you make it.

Take that, you lousy squirrels and blue jays. We win.

Ha.

You may cease your obnoxious squawking now.

SIMPLE PEACH NECTAR

My favorite way to use up an abundance of peaches, this is the recipe I go back to year after year. No need to can; you simply mix up a batch in your blender, pour into glass jars, and place lovingly in the freezer.

4 c. peeled, sliced peaches

4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

Place peaches and water in large saucepan. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. Place sugar and lemon juice in large bowl and set aside. Working in batches, whirl peach mixture in blender, then pour into bowl with sugar and lemon juice. Repeat until everything's blended. Stir well, then pour into glass jars and freeze.