We love Papayas

The other day, I needed to use up a bunch of carrots that were starting to get a little old in my fridge. I didn't have much other stuff in my fridge and pantry, and the carrots had started going a little soft already. So I was looking for a recipe that called for cooked carrots and not too many ingredients.

I found a recipe for "spicy carrot kofte". I adapted it a bit, mainly removing ingredients I didn't have handy and this is what I ended up with. Not a bad result at all for turning a boring old carrot into a more interesting dinner!I've made the recipe a few times now. It's also an easy twist on the falafel!

INGREDIENTS

• 300g carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 50g dried breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (or according to your tolerance of spicyness!)
• 1 tbsp of cumin
• 1 tsp dried mint or couple leaves of fresh mint

RECIPE

 1 - Simmer the carrots in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes until the carrots have softened.

2 - Drain the carrots ,add the spring onions and garlic and use a blender to mash them up until smooth.

3 - Stir through the breadcrumbs, chilli flakes, cumin and mint.

 4 - Add the beaten egg. Set aside for 10 minutes or so to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the liquid – the mixture will begin to firm up. 

5 - Refrigerate for at least an hour until firm. 

6 - Roll into balls and flatten.

7 -  The first time I tried this recipe, I cooked the koftes in a frying pan. But the second time around, I tried deep frying them. I found this gave a much better result. So crank up your deep-fryer and drop in the keftas for a few minutes, until the are lightly golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper when cooked.

Once they've cooled down a bit, you can enjoy this with a mayo or aioli sauce or even tzatziki. Yuuuum!

I love going to the supermarket when I'm abroad. You always find loads of ingredients that you'd never thought existed or just don't get back home. A couple of years ago, I went on a holiday to the USA and during one of my supermarket excursions, I stumbled upon bags of butterscotch chips, and I couldn't resist the temptation.

I decided I wanted to use them in an oatmeal cookie recipe. I love oatmeal cookies and I reckoned butterscotch chips would be a good addition to an already delicious cookie. I wasn't wrong. It's a hit! The downside is... I've used up all my butterscotch chips, so this was a one -time wonder...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 tbsp of salt
• 1/2 tbsp of cinammon
• 1 cup of butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp of vanilla extract
• 3 cups of rolled oats
• 1 2/3 cups  of butterscotch chips

RECIPE

  1 - Mix the butter and the sugar.

2 - Beat the eggs in.

I think it would probably have been better to start off by beating the sugar and eggs together first, long enough to make them almost frothy. And then, add the butter.

3 - Mix in the flour

 4 - Add the rolled oats and butterscotch chips

 [Recommendation is to let the dough rest for 24 hours. Gives better results, but if you can't wait that long, just keep going]

5 - Roll the dough into small balls, then flatten onto the baking paper.

6 - Cook for 9 to 10 minutes in a 200°c oven.