This is a simple and fun way to make toast. It is cute and it will bring smiles.

Do you like toasts? I mean the ones that are crispy and crunchy and are stored inside an airtight container. The kind which you can spread pate, brie cheese, jam and so on…they are so basic and are delicious with either sweet or savory spreads…and all kind of cheese as well. They make great appetizer as well and are usually sold as “mini toasts”.

I love to have these toasts available all the time so when I saw these molds on Amazon I could not resist in getting it…so this week I am sharing the dough that I used for these molds. Moreover, you can make all kind of bread and shape them as you like by using one of the three molds.

By the way, on my last week post I served the egg salad with ham and celery on these star shaped toasts.

Ingredients:

Water roux or Tangzhong

• 20 g bread flour
• 100 ml water

Dough

• 300 g bread flour
• 40 g sugar
• 8 g salt
• 20 g dry milk powder
• 4 g yeast
• 4 g salt
• 1 egg, approximately 51g or 50g heavy cream
• 45 to 50 ml water or milk
• 20 g butter (room temperature)

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film. Please see the recipe in this post.

Dough

Place all the cooled water roux and all the ingredients listed dough except the butter into the bread machine (I use the Zojirushi from HERE) and set to knead. Mix until all the ingredients are together, it will be very sticky. Do not attempt to add more flour. Once the gluten form, it will not be so sticky.

Add the butter when the machine beeps and continue the kneading cycle. Once the cycle ends, start the machine again under kneading cycle, totaling to 2 kneading cycles. After the end of the second kneading cycle the dough will achieve the window pane stage.

You will notice that the dough will no longer stick to the wall of the mixing bowl.

Place the dough into a medium to large bowl. Cover and let it proof until the size double from the original size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide the dough my weighing 240g for the star shape mold and 290g for the flower shape mold.

Flatten the ball and shape like a Swiss roll and place into each mold and let it rise until almost 90% to reach the rim of the pan.

Cover the mold and bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven let it cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently tap the mold and loose the bread. Remove the bread from the mold and transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.

Slice when the bread it totally cool.

Serve as it is or toast in a preheated oven of 275F until crunchy and golden. Once cool store in airtight container.

I you enjoyed this bread recipe you might want to check on these other bread recipes HERE.

Did you know that the browning of the bread is called “Maillard reaction”? Maillard reaction or browning of food occurs when proteins and sugar are exposed to heat. Maillard reaction occurs in cooking with almost all kinds of food, from baking bread, roasting meat to frying chicken.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Today I am sharing a simple recipe for orange cream scones. These scones are delicious and rich and loaded with cranberries. Great for breakfast or for your afternoon tea.

I must admit that this is my first time making scones…I always liked the flavor of scones, but not really the texture…maybe because every time I purchased scones, they were “old” or who knows how they “beat them up”…therefore I never could really understand what was the big deal with scones. Even my husband did not get very excited when I told him that I was planning to bake scone, he was like…”Why? They are so heavy and flavorless…”, well, I was able to prove him wrong with this recipe…after searching for literally dozens of recipes and reading the “what to do”and “what not to do”, I decided to merge a few versions into this recipe…and I must admit, it is so simple and easy to come up with a light, fluffy, moist scone with a thin layer of crispness…

I based this recipe from mainly this two sites…cookbook 365 and Splendid Table.

You can be very creative and you can “color” it the way you like by adding whatever fresh or dry fruit of your preference or other ingredients such as candy ginger, chocolate. You can use buttermilk instead of cream. You can make it savory by adding cheese, bacon, chives, olives…and spice it up with curry, oregano, you name it…so let your imagination float and color your scones the way you want.

By the way, these scones will be great for Easter brunch…

Ingredient:

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp fresh orange zest
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 60 g cold unsalted butter, cut into approximately 12-mm cubes
• 200 ml heavy cream
• 1 large egg, cold
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 60 g cranberry
• Enough heavy cream to brush scones
• Crystal sugar for sprinkling

Method:

Cut the butter and place in the freezer while you are measuring the other ingredients.

Measure the cream and add the egg and vanilla extract, keep in the refrigerator until needed.

In a food processor bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest and salt. Pulse for a few times.

Add the butter pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal and no pieces of butter are larger than a pea.

Pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture, and pulse until a dough forms.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place in a lightly flour surface. Add the cranberry and gently kneading it onto itself for a few times. Do not over mix or knead…gently fold the dough.

Pat the dough into circle of 2 cm thick. Cut the circle first into half, then into quarters until you reach 8 slices. Place the scone gently in a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Let it rest for approximately 1 hour.

When ready to bake, brush the top of the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle the top with crystal sugar.

Bake for approximately 15 to 18 minutes, until the scones are slightly golden. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Allow the scones to sit in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool

Serve warm. Store the “leftover” scones in the freezer for later enjoyment.

To warm the frozen scones, place the scones in a 350F preheated oven for about 5 minutes.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for Orange Cream Scone you might want to check on Bacon, Cheese Green Onion Scone recipe.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a very easy and simple salad using just a few ingredients. The fennel is thinly sliced therefore it is light, crunchy and refreshing.

Have you ever used fennel in your cooking?

I have been very skeptical since I do not care for licorice and was always reluctant to buy fennel, but after seeing so many nice recipes using fennel, especially in salad I decided to try when I saw it at Trader Joe’s a package of a couple of plump fennel bulbs. The simple shaved fennel salad recipe from Kitchen Riffs just clicked, when I searched for the recipe, I then realized that I have been contemplating in trying this salad for more than a year.

I followed the recipe as described by John and I must admit, it was so good…light, crunchy, slightly sweet, a touch of anise (not overwhelming)…now I know what I have been missing all this time.

So if you have never tried fennel, I urge you to try…especially that it is such a simple recipe therefore nothing can go wrong.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium fennel bulb
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Wash the fennel and remove the stalks. Use a mandoline to slice the fennel.

Place the shave fennel in a bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper (I omitted the salt).

Toss gently and serve.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for fennel salad you might want to check on Zucchini Ribbon Salad recipe.

Did you know that fennel belongs to the same family as parsley, carrots, dill and cilantro (or coriander)? Moreover, fennel is a good source of vitamin C and fiber.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a very simple and hearty meal by just topping ground beef sauce over creamy polenta. So easy and yet so satisfying.

I hope you all had a great weekend, either celebrating Easter, Passover or just an enjoyable weekend…

I love to make this dish…it is simple and so delicious. Not to mention so comforting…
This time I added a little jalapeno in the polenta, which added an extra flavor to it. It is so good when you scoop the polenta together with the ground beef and its sauce…yum!

Anyway, enough of bragging about how delicious this dish it is…lets be practical…

Ingredients:

Ground Beef

2 garlic cloves chopped finely
1 small onion cut into small pieces
Approximately 12oz lean ground beef
1 can stew tomatoes
¼ teaspoon ground all spice
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Soft Polenta

1/3 cup cornmeal
2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno
Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh basil leaves

Method:

In a medium sauce pan, sauté garlic and onion in the olive oil until slightly golden brown. Add the ground beef until browned using medium high heat.

Add the ground all spice, dry oregano and the can of stewed tomatoes. Once the mixture starts to boil, lower the heat to low and cover the pan. Let is cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the ground beef is soft.

In the meantime cook the polenta by adding the polenta in the boiling water with butter. Stir constantly in low heat until the fully cooked. As the cornmeal cooks the texture will change from watery to cream consistency. Add the jalapeno, mix gently and remove the polenta from the heat.

To assemble the plate, scoop the polenta in the center of a deep dish and using the back of the spoon make an indent. Add the ground beef on the little crater. Garnish with fresh basil or freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

If you enjoy this simple and delicious dish with soft polenta, you might want to check on Chicken with Soft Polenta or Shrimp with Cheesy Polenta.

Did you know that polenta or its variety is widely used throughout Europe, Africa, North and South America?

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

These little chewy balls are a favorite snack/dessert in Asian cuisine. The white and soft, chewy balls are gluten free and made with glutinous flour and water.

I love the texture of mochi, slightly chewy, soft, gooey…and very versatile, can be served in savory or sweet dishes. This dough can be used in many traditional Asian snacks/dishes and it is gluten free.

Ingredients:

1 lb glutinous rice powder
½ cup boiling water
Cold water

Method:

Place the glutinous rice powder in the mixer with the hook. Add ½ cup of boiling water over the powder and let it sit for 20 seconds, turn the machine on and mix on low speed.
Add more water as needed until a uniform ball forms, stop the machine and scrap the sides as needed. Continue mix for a few more minutes, more you knead the dough chewier the little balls will be.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and make a string, pulling pieces out of the string and make little balls by placing the pieces in between your hands making circular movements. Place the balls in a silicon mate. At this point you can cook them by placing the mochi balls in a boiling water or freeze.

If you decide to freeze, let it sit in the freezer until the mochi balls are totally frozen and then place it in an airtight plastic bag.

When time to cook the frozen mocha balls, proceed as fresh ones by placing the desired amount in a pan with boiling water. Cook until the balls come to the surface and swollen up.

Drain and add the cooked mochi balls to any soup, sweet or savory of your preference.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Some of you must be thinking kum…what? Yes, kumquat. They are little olive shape oranges with rind that is sweet and  juice in the center that is sour, therefore many people just eat the rind.

I have a dwarf kumquat tree that only gave me 5 little ones, but a friend of mine has a big kumquat tree. So I have been getting lots of them while I wait for mine to give more fruits. I like them raw, but I just can eat so much, therefore decided to make a preserve.

Since I grew up with it, I love it and like the whole fruit, I mean almost, except the seeds. My husband did not acquire the taste for it, either raw or  preserved…so I was like, if you do not like it,  do not force yourself so I have more for myself…am I being selfish?

Anyway, I made a couple of versions by using turbinado sugar and coconut sugar. Today I am sharing the one made with turbinado sugar.

I can eat the preserved kumquat like candy…and the syrup is great when diluted in water, either hot or cold. It is so tasty with a touch of tartness.

If you have a chance, please give this a try. If you find out that you do not like them raw, try this simple recipe for kumquat preserve.

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb fresh kumquats
1 ½ cup turbinado sugar
8 whole cloves

Method:

Wash  the kumquats well by soaking in lots of water. Drain the kumquats and place them in a pot with hot water and let them boil in high heat for a minute.

Drain well and place the kumquat back into the pan. Add sugar and cloves, turn the heat to low and let if cook for approximately 1 ½ hour or until the water has been reduced and kumquats are in a thick syrup.

Remove from the heat and let it cool. Store in glass jar and refrigerate. Serve cold over ice cream, bread, cake or anyway you like.

And some vacation pictures from the resorts and Tulum…

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for kumquat preserve and the pictures 

Did you know that kumquat has its origins in Asia? Kumquat was introduced into Florida from Japan in 1885.

Thank you for visiting Simple Recipes…have a colorful week!

First of all…ALOHA! Today I want to share a very easy, simple and refreshing salad. You just need a few ingredients and you have a very light, tasty cucumber salad.

Ingredients:

2 English cucumbers or 3~4 Persian cucumbers
1 teaspoon salt

½ tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon thinly cut fresh ginger
1~2 tablespoons apple vinegar
Hot pepper flakes to taste

Method:

Wash and cut the cucumber (1/2 in), sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 5 minutes. Drain the water from the cucumber. In a small bowl mix the sugar, apple vinegar, ginger and hot pepper flakes. Pour on the drained cucumber, mix gently and serve.

And here are some pictures of our Spring Break…

Did you know cucumbers are flowers since they have enclosed seeds and were developed from flower?

Thank you for visiting Simple Recipes!