Felicity's Breakfast Scones

These scones make a delicious breakfast or tea time treat

I’ve been using this scone recipe for 17 years now. (Gosh, that makes me feel so OLD !) It came from my Mum’s cousin, Felicity. When I was a student in Durban (South Africa) I used to sometimes go and spend weekends with Felicity, her husband and her daughter as they lived in a suburb of Durban at the time. I loved the break from dorm life, and being in a family environment for the weekend … Felicity used to make these scones for breakfast and serve them warm, right out of the oven with butter melting into them and slathered in a tart raspberry jam.

Mmmm …. they bring back some wonderful memories, and they are now a regular in my own kitchen. I usually make them on a Sunday afternoon, and they are also a great standby if you suddenly have unexpected visitors for tea. (Which, let’s face it, doesn’t happen that often on a remote farm !)

Here is the recipe (which I’ve adapted slightly over the years). The secret to this recipe is to have a very light hand and not to over handle the dough. If you do that, you should have perfect scones every time – this recipe hasn’t let me down once in 17 years !


Felicity’s Breakfast Scones

2 cups Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
2 tbsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Margarine
1 Egg, beaten
½ cup Milk

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar & salt. Rub in the margarine, until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the beaten egg & milk. Mix with a fork, until mixture leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead gently (and quickly) on a floured surface. Roll out quite thick – about 1 to 1 ½ cm – and cut in to rounds. Bake at 200’C/400’F/Gas Mark 6 for +- 10 minutes.

I’ve also made these into cheese scones before (husband’s request !) by omitting the sugar and adding ¾ cup grated Cheddar cheese instead.

Egg & Bacon Pie

Great served either hot or cold, this Egg & Bacon pie makes a tasty brunch or picnic dish

This is one of my mother-in-law’s recipes, and is the perfect pie to serve for brunch … or to take along on an early morning road trip or picnic. It also tastes great served either warm or cold.

I forgot to take a photo of the finished pie with it’s ‘top’ on – but at least the photo above shows the filling clearly (a ‘finished’ pie looks like a pie anyway, no matter what’s inside it !)

As always, you can scroll to the bottom of this page for the ‘Conversion Calculator’ if you’d like to convert the measurements into ones which suit you -:


Egg & Bacon Pie

Pastry:
170 gm Flour
90 gm Butter, chilled
1 tbsp cold Water

Filling:
4 boiled Eggs, chopped into quarters
170 gm streaky bacon, cooked & roughly chopped
1 Egg, beaten
½ cup Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sieve the flour into a bowl. Rub in the butter and add the water to form a manageable dough. Knead lightly and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour or so, before rolling out quite thinly and using to cover the base of a round pie dish measuring approximately 18 cm in diameter.

Place the filling of chopped boiled eggs and bacon inside the pastry ‘shell’. Beat the egg and milk together, add the seasoning and pour this liquid over the egg/bacon filling. Top with the remainder of the pastry, brushing with a little beaten egg if you’d like, and pricking a few holes in the surface (so that the steam can escape as the pie bakes).

Bake at 200’C/400’C/Gas Mark 6 for about 30 minutes. Serves 4 generously.

How To Make Your Own Coffee Bar Style Mocha Coffee At Home !

Homemade Mocha Coffee - a great way to finish off a lazy weekend breakfast !

We don’t have any of the popular international franchised coffee shops here in Tanzania, and in fact, only in the past few years have a handful of ‘proper’ coffee shops sprung up here. Even so, their coffee choices are somewhat limited to the ‘standard’ filter coffee’s, cappuccinos, espresso’s and café latte’s (if you’re very lucky !) Which I suppose is better than nothing – but considering we are a coffee growing country and produce some of the world’s finest coffee beans, this is rather a shame really.

I am a self confessed tea addict, and I only enjoy coffee now and then – and then only the freshly brewed variety. Whenever we travel to a country where there are coffee shops in abundance, I do indulge in my favourite skinny café latte, Mocha coffee or Caramel coffee.

Flavoured coffees and coffee syrups are near impossible to buy in South Africa and Kenya. I have looked in the major centres of Johannesburg and Nairobi too – all to no avail. I order my flavoured coffee from Whittard of Chelsea (UK) and ask visiting family to bring it over with them for me, I then ration it out to make it last (it’s only served on special occasions !)

Over the years I’ve therefore tried to come up with my own alternatives, and although of course, nothing beats an ‘original’ this ‘recipe’ below is a pretty good alternative for Mocha coffee which you can make at home, with limited equipment. (All I use is a coffee plunger pot and a hand blender.)


Homemade Chocolate Coffee Syrup

¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ cup brown Sugar
Pinch of Salt
½ cup water
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Place all the ingredients, except for the Vanilla Essence, into a small pot & bring them to the boil whilst stirring. Turn down the heat & allow to simmer for 3 – 5 minutes, then remove from the heat & add the Vanilla Essence, stirring to blend.

As this mixture cools it will thicken into a syrup like consistency and you can store it in a covered container (a small glass bottle or jar works well) in the fridge for a couple of weeks at least, as this syrup will make you quite a number of Mocha Coffee’s – as you only need a teaspoon or so of the syrup each time you make one. (Of course a much easier option is to just go out to the shops & buy yourself a bottle of chocolate syrup instead - if you can get it where you live !)

To Make/Assemble The Mocha Coffee (amounts below are per person)

¼ cup strong filter/brewed coffee (Espresso if you have)
1 tsp Chocolate Syrup (or, to taste)
¾ cup hot Milk (I use a hand blender to whip it up & make it nice & foamy)

Pour the coffee into a nice sized cup, add the coffee syrup to this and stir well to blend. Now pour the hot, foamy milk over this and give it all a quick stir to combine. Drizzle some more of the syrup over the surface of the coffee (or you can use chocolate sprinkles or shavings) and drink whilst still hot.

Fat Free Waffles

I topped this fat free waffle with honey & sliced strawberries - delicious !

It doesn’t matter which diet you follow – be it low calorie, low fat, low carb, counting points, counting food groups, portion control, food combining, eliminating food groups, a liquid diet or drinking soup all day long – the bottom line when it comes to diet, is that you have to eat less energy than your body uses (and/or burn even more energy off by exercising).

Every single diet under the sun, at the end of the day, all comes down to the number of calories a person eats (calories in, and calories out) – if you eat more than your body needs, you’ll gain weight. If you eat less than your body needs, you’ll lose weight. Sounds simple but we all know that it is easier said than done !

So, if you are watching your weight – and whichever diet you are following – I hope that these delicious Fat Free waffles will make that process a little more enjoyable for you !

This is a recipe I came up with a while ago, trying to keep it as low fat/calorie/sugar as I could. I make batches of them and freeze them in portions of 2, and they are great popped into the toaster and then served with a topping of your choice – honey, syrup, fresh fruit or sugar free jam (if you’re being very good that is !) For my “non-diet-version-husband-friendly” waffle recipe, you can click here.


Fat Free Waffles

2 cups Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Apple Sauce
1 cup Skim (Fat Free) Milk
1 cup Water
2 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 Egg whites, stiffly beaten

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Add the Apple Sauce, milk, water and vanilla essence. Beat well. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and mix to blend. Lightly spray a waffle iron with non-stick spray and pour some of the batter into the iron, cook until golden on both sides.

Makes around 14 waffles (depending on the size of your waffle iron). Each waffle contains around 84 calories. These waffles freeze well.

Banana Vanilla French Toast

This makes a great breakfast - topped with honey & fresh fruit, or peanut butter .... yum !

This is a ‘twist’ on the basic French Toast recipe (you can see my recipe for this over here) as it is made with liquidized bananas. (I have a lot of bananas at the moment, so you'll see a few banana related recipes cropping up on the blog soon !)

It’s a great breakfast treat which I often make for my family on a Sunday – especially if I have bananas which need using up, as I have at the moment. Infact, I made this for breakfast this Sunday just gone -:


Banana Vanilla French Toast

4 small Bananas, roughly chopped
½ cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 slices Bread
Oil for frying

Place the bananas, milk, egg & vanilla essence into a blender and blend until you have a thick liquid. Dip the bread slices into this mixture & lightly fry on both sides until golden. Serve with honey drizzled over the top – or peanut butter, if you prefer.

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict - a special breakfast dish, especially tasty on a cold morning !

This is a ‘classic’ breakfast recipe (which I believe originated in America) that I don’t often make at home (because – if the truth be told - I couldn’t be bothered with making the fiddly Hollandaise sauce !) but sometimes order for breakfast when we’re traveling and at one of those wonderful first world type coffee-bar-come-restaurant type of places !

Traditionally, Eggs Benedict is made with a toasted English muffin as it’s base, but for this recipe I just use a small toasted bread roll bun instead. Some people prefer to use ham or back bacon (Canadian bacon) in place of the Parma ham, too – it’s really up to you.

I usually make a double portion of this for my husband, with 2 poached eggs, 2 slices of Parma ham and using both halves of the bun (if you’re making that fiddly Hollandaise sauce, you might as well make it worth your while !)

The tricky part is that you have to get your timing ‘just right’ with this dish as it must be served hot and fresh, and you’ll find that toasting the bun, serving the poached egg just as it is ready, and taking the Hollandaise sauce off the stove as soon as it is ready, all pretty much happen at the same time – but never mind, it’s all worth it as I’m sure you’ll agree when you sit down and tuck in to the finished product !


Eggs Benedict

1 small Bread roll, halved, toasted & buttered (or an English muffin)
1 slice of Parma Ham (you could also use bacon or normal ham)
1 Egg, poached (hard or soft - however you like it)
1 to 2 tbsp Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows below)

To assemble - toast the bread roll & butter it whilst still hot. Top with the slice of Parma ham, followed by the poached egg and finally the Hollandaise sauce. Enjoy !

Hollandaise Sauce

¼ cup Butter
1 Egg yolk
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
¼ tsp Salt
pinch of white Pepper
3 tbsp boiling Water
3 tbsp thick Cream

In a bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the egg yolk & continue to beat. Then add the lemon juice, salt & pepper and continue beating until nice and fluffy. Next add the boiling water (a tablespoon at a time) & then place all the mixture into a double boiler. Bring to the boil (stirring constantly) and then turn the heat down & simmer the sauce, still stirring constantly, until it has the consistency of custard. Remove from heat, whisk in the cream & serve immediately.

French Toast

I love eating this French toast slathered with golden syrup & cheddar cheese - and 2 slices are always better than 1 !

I hesitated to post this recipe for French Toast because it’s such a simple one - but then I thought well, I’m always looking for simple, easy ideas and I’m sure that other people out there are, too – ideas for making a quick snack or light meal, which is what this essentially is.

When we were growing up, my Mum used to make this for us for breakfast sometimes. She called it “Egg Bread” and it was especially delicious when served with a hot breakfast of bacon, sausages and tomatoes. This was the only way I’d even eaten this bread, until I hit boarding school as a teenager that is. Oh boy.

I went to a very traditional Afrikaans (South African) boarding school or “koshuis” as they were called. It was here that I was introduced to some of my ‘sinful’ food favourites … things I’d never tried before in my traditionally (& rather healthy) English home …. things like Vetkoek and Melkos and this particular way of eating French toast. Which is ….. smothered in thick, sticky, golden syrup and topped with oodles of grated cheese. Ahhhh !

Is it any coincidence that my life long battle with my weight started when I went to boarding school ? I think not ! Since I left school I have gained - and lost again - 25 kg's/55 lb's (& no, that doesn't include my highest pregnancy weight !) *sigh* as I'm at the lower end of this range at the moment, the other day I thought - to heck with it, it’s time for some boarding school style French toast again, calories or not !

Here’s how I make it -:


French Toast

2 Slices white Bread (does not have to be fresh)
1 Egg, beaten
4 tbsp Milk (I use Skim milk, to ease my conscience)
¼ tsp Vanilla Essence
pinch of ground Cinnamon

Cheddar Cheese, grated (to taste)
Golden Syrup (to taste) – this is like corn syrup

A little oil for frying (or, once again - to ease the conscience – non stick pan spray)

Mix the egg, milk, vanilla essence & cinnamon together in a shallow bowl. Dip each bread slice into this mixture, turning so that it soaks through into both sides.

Quickly pan fry until golden, turning once or twice during the cooking process.

Slather with tablespoonfuls of golden syrup, and top with mounds of grated cheese (Cheddar works best). The diet can always start tomorrow, anyway.

Mealie Meal Pap (or Uji Porridge)

Mealie Meal Pap, or Uji Porridge, is an African porridge made from finely ground maize meal. (Here I have served it with brown sugar, butter & milk.)

I love cooked porridge and I eat Oatmeal porridge for breakfast every single day of my life (as I have for the past 5 years !) … so far, I have not yet tired of it.

Of course I also love eating traditional cooked porridge which is made from finely ground maize meal or what is called “Mealie Meal” in South Africa. (I’ve published several recipes on my blog using Maize meal – click on any of the following to see the recipe - Mealie Meal Bread, Mealie Meal Muffins, Mealie Meal Pap.

This porridge is called ‘Uji’ porridge in East Africa and in South Africa it is called ‘Mealie Meal Pap’. Whatever you prefer to call it, it is absolutely delicious and this is how I make mine (based on the South African method) -:

Mealie Meal Pap (or Uji Porridge)

4 tbsp Maize Meal
½ tsp Salt
¼ cup cold Water
2 ½ to 3 cups cold Water
Brown sugar, butter & milk – to serve

Blend the maize meal, salt & ¼ cup water together to form a smooth paste. Meanwhile, bring 2 ½ to 3 cups (depending on the size of your pot) of cold water to the boil. Once boiling, add the paste to it and stir to prevent lumps forming. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer (stirring occasionally) for about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with brown sugar, a few small knobs of butter and a splash of cold milk.

East African Mandazi

East African Mandazi are great when eaten for breakfast, accompanied by a nice cuppa tea !

Mandazi can best be described as an East African version of the donut. They are deep-fried and slightly sweet and are traditionally served in East Africa for breakfast - I especially enjoy eating them with a nice cuppa tea on the side !

Mandazi are also quite a popular ‘street food’ meaning that you can easily buy them along the roadside in the larger cities and even in the smaller towns. You will find them on the menu of most local guest houses for breakfast, and they are also cheap to buy and very filling - so are ideal for the traveller on a budget !

What makes them different from the traditional donut is that they usually don’t have a hole in the middle, and they are cut into a diamond shape instead of a traditional round donut shape. The addition of spices like Cardamom to the dough also makes them different. Some Mandazi (typically made in the coastal areas) also have coconut milk added to the dough.

My favourite Mandazi is the plain variety, which I served recently to my mother-in-law who is out from England at the moment and wanted to experience some traditional Tanzanian food -:

Mandazi

2 cups Flour
5 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1 sachet of Yeast
1 cup lukewarm Milk
Oil for frying

Sift the flour, sugar & Cardamom powder into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over these ingredients and then add the lukewarm milk. Stir to blend and knead into a soft and pliable dough. Leave covered in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down and roll out flat. Cut into diamond shapes & leave these covered in a warm place until doubled in size again. Deep fry in very hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove, drain and serve immediately.

All Waffled Out !

Waffles for Africa !

I recently bought myself an electric waffle iron. I saw it in one of the larger supermarkets in the city (and almost fainted from the sheer shock of even finding such a thing here in 3rd world Africa, of all places !). I did a double-take, pinched myself, realized that I was not dreaming and once the shock had worn off, decided that if I didn’t buy it there and then, I would probably never see another one here as long as I live, so thought I’d better buy it and strike whilst the (waffle) iron was hot, so to speak ….

So I am now the proud owner of a waffle iron, and it is an absolute treat to be able to eat waffles for breakfast, afternoon tea and dessert … I have also experimented with all sorts of different waffle batter recipes and we have tried every imaginable topping.

Justin has also sampled the delights of waffles – something which he had never seen or heard of in his life before (he really enjoyed them, too !) In fact, the house is in “waffle overload” mode at the moment …. as you can tell by the large batch of waffles pictured above, which were frozen in 3’s in the deep freeze and are just so easy to pop into the toaster and warm up, whenever the waffle urge strikes. But for now ? No thanks, I think I’ll pass – as for the time being at least, I’m completely and utterly all ‘waffled’ out !


Waffles (This recipe comed from “The Complete South African Cookbook” by Magdaleen Van Wyk)

2 cups Cake Flour
2 tsp Sugar
4 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Milk
2 Eggs, separated
4 tbsp Butter, melted

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt together in a bowl. Gradually add the milk & mix well. Beat the egg yolks and add to the batter. Fold in the melted butter. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into the batter. Pour into a waffle iron (according to manufacturers instructions) & cook until done.

These waffles freeze well & can simply be popped into the toaster when you need to re heat them again. (They make a great “breakfast on the run”, too !)

Egg & Bacon Cups

These are great when you have a crowd of people to cook breakfast for, as you can prepare them beforehand & just pop them in the oven about 15 minutes before you're ready to eat.

I made these for breakfast a couple of Sunday’s ago, and have been meaning to post about them since then. I’m not sure what their ‘real’ name is, but I just call them “Egg & Bacon Cups”. They are so simple to make - especially when you have a crowd of people, or need a hearty breakfast in a hurry !

I saw this idea on TV a couple of years ago – it originated from Antony Worrall Thompson and I think it was on the show “Saturday Kitchen” that I saw it. (This is just loosely based on his recipe as I can’t even remember what the original recipe was now !)

Basically, you just place whatever you’d like for breakfast into a greased muffin cup, break an egg on top and bake it in the oven. These ‘cups’ can then be served on top of a slice of hot buttered toast for a quick and satisfying breakfast.

The best part of it, of course, is that there’s less washing up to do than if you were frying eggs and bacon on the stove top using all those pans – well, I know that Justin thanks me for it – ha ha !

This is how I made mine the other day -:

Egg & Bacon Cups

These ingredients are per person/cup -:
3 small rashers Back Bacon
1 slice Tomato
1 Egg
Salt & Pepper
(Butter if you wish - a blob in each)

Lightly grease the muffin cups. Place the bacon rashers at the base/sides of the cup to form a “shell”. Place the tomato slice on top of the bacon. Then break an egg on top of the tomato. Season with salt & pepper and add a blob of butter if you like.

Bake at Gas Mark 6/200'C/400'F for 12 to 15 mins.

You could add whatever you fancied to the ‘cup’ before cooking … I used the above as they all sort of cooked at the same time but you could also add items that have been pre-cooked lightly first - like onions or green peppers. Mushrooms (or even a whole, larger one) also work well.

Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie

A refreshing & nutritious smoothie always hits the spot !

Smoothies are a quick, easy and nutritious way to get your daily fruit or vegetable servings down. I must admit that I rarely make vegetable smoothies, and that the fruit smoothies I make almost always contain bananas, as they blend well and add a thick, creamy texture to the drink.

I must admit that I don’t ever drink smoothies myself. Why ? because I’d far rather EAT my calories than DRINK them … ha ha ! But I often make smoothies for my husband and daughter (usually as an ‘after lunch’ treat) with a nifty hand blender my Mum bought for me when I was weaning my daughter and making all my own fruit/veg/meat puree’s for her. It’s become a kitchen ‘essential’ of mine ever since. (Who wants to use – and clean – a bulky food processor every time, anyway ?!)

Smoothies usually contain ice, but we never keep ice in the house due to the fact that it has to be made with bottled water (what a fiddle !) and also because my freezers are usually both packed full of meat and food products and I don’t want to ‘waste’ space by filling them with ice. You could add some ice cubes to the mixture though, if you wanted to.

So, here is my very simple, very tasty Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie recipe -:


Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie

1 large Banana
1 heaped tsp Honey
2 heaped tsp Peanut Butter
½ cup natural (plain) Yogurt
¼ cup Milk
1 tsp Honey (for garnishing)

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and mix until smooth & thick. (It helps if the bananas, yogurt and milk are ice cold.) Garnish with a second teaspoon of honey drizzled over the surface. Enjoy !

A Lemon Cordial Drink Recipe

Our lemon tree, laden with fruit at the moment

The Lemon Cordial syrup, simmering away on the stove

The lemon tree in our garden is heavy with fruit at the moment. Each time I spy it out of my kitchen window, it beckons to me “Come ! Pick my ripe fruit and make something delicious to eat !” I kept ignoring it. Until yesterday, that is. I went out, brandishing a broom stick with an excited child at my feet (along with several dogs) and whacked as many lemons off the tree as I could ! The dogs ran around excitedly, picking them up in their mouths and my daughter shrieked in delight, trying to pick up as many as she could in her chubby toddler’s hands.

So, now I have a huge bowl of lemons sitting on my kitchen counter and their fragrance is intoxicating … enticing me …. teasing me ….. what on earth am I going to do with them ? A few things spring to mind …. lemon marmalade, lemon pickle, lemon meringue pie, lemon curd, lemon sorbet, lemon pudding, lemon biscuits, lemon cake, lemon loaf ….. but I wanted something quick and easy – and immediately thought of my Mum’s Lemon Cordial recipe.

It’s one which she made us as children growing up in Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) and South Africa, and it is one that her mother made her and my Uncle as kids growing up in Northern Rhodesia (present day Zambia). I have now made it for my daughter to enjoy here in Tanzania …. so I guess you could say that this is a real “African Lemon” recipe !

My Mum says that she remembers times as a child, when if unexpected visitors ever arrived on a hot summer’s day and there was not much to drink in the house, my Grandmother would send the kids out to pick some lemons off the tree so that she could quickly whip this recipe up -:

Lemon Cordial Recipe

8 medium sized Lemons
500 gm’s white Sugar (I used brown, as we cannot get white sugar here easily)
1 cup cold Water

Squeeze the juice from the lemons and set aside. Keep the peels of 2 of the lemons, and place in a pot along with the sugar and water. (Try to ensure that there is not much of the white ‘pith’ on the inside of the lemon peels, as this can make the cordial bitter). Bring to the boil, stirring constantly and then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes – just stirring now and again.

Remove from heat, add the reserved lemon juice and bring back to the boil briefly, whilst stirring. Allow to cool and then strain into a bottle or jug (to remove the peel and any other bits like pips etc) and store in the fridge (it will keep for weeks) and add a little to some iced water whenever you feel like a nice, cool drink.

“Cheers !”

Rosella or Hibiscus Flower Syrup

I would never have guessed that a drink made from flower petals could taste so delicious !

Well I mentioned last week that I had found an interesting Tanzanian product which I wanted to feature on the blog soon – and here it is !

The product is Rosella which is actually dried hibiscus flowers (which grow in abundance, especially in our area). They are available in many shops here and I have often seen packets of them for sale, but was never interested in buying any because I did not know really know what to do with them !

Then, a few months ago when I was visiting a friend (who also happens to live on a farm, but in a different area to ours) she offered me a refreshing glass of ruby coloured liquid which tasted really delicious and when I asked her what it was she said that it was “made from flowers which grow in this area – hibiscus, I think”.

So, when I saw the dried Rosella “Hibiscus Flowers” last week, I bought a packet. It is apparently sun dried by local women on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the packet states that the dried flowers are used to make teas, jams, sauces and even wine. It says to ‘simply add water’ to make a delicious drink but I had to play around with a few combinations before I got it right.

The dried Rosella is a deep, burgundy colour which immediately turns water to a deep red when added to it. It has a lovely flavour (similar to raspberry ?) with a definite lemony tang to it, too …. I found that it needed to have sugar added to it, so this is what I eventually came up with to make a gorgeous Rosella syrup -:


Hibiscus Flower (Rosella) Syrup

1 ¼ cups dried Hibiscus flowers (Rosella)
1 ½ cups brown Sugar
5 cups Water

Place all ingredients in to a large pot and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and strain through a sieve. Discard the petals.

Keep in the fridge and add a little to a glass of chilled water to make a refreshing – and ‘different’ – drink ! We have also added sparkling mineral water which make a great “fizzy” drink for kids.

I would imagine that the undiluted syrup would also be great for puddings or even as an ice cream topping.

Some quick facts about Rosella – extract of hibiscus flower is said to possibly lower cholesterol, in Mexico and Jamaica you can get hibiscus flavoured soda and in China it is used to help cure liver or blood pressure problems.

Who knew ?!

Sunday Pancakes

Delicious childhood memories .....

When I was a child growing up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) my Dad used to make these for us on a Sunday night. Television had only recently been introduced to the country then(mid to late ‘70’s ?) and there was a children’s religious programme on every Sunday evening which we used to watch whilst eating these pancakes.

Our “first course” used to be pancakes filled with a cheesy ham sauce (similar to a welsh rarebit sauce) which was followed by “pudding” of pancakes sprinkled with honey, lemon juice and caster sugar. They were a special “Sunday treat” which I will never forget !

Let’s face it, pancakes are a bit of a “fiddle” to make … what with all that flipping and only being able to make one at a time (or, I suppose you could have several pans ‘on the go’ at once) …. so they are not a regular teatime treat in our house, but just one I’ll make when the mood grabs me.

Pancakes

1 cup Flour
¼ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten

Sift the flour, baking powder & salt together. Add a little of the milk. Stir until the mixture is smooth & lump free. Slowly add the remaining milk. Then add the beaten egg & blend well. Pour the mixture in to a jug, and pour a little into a hot, oiled frying pan. Swirl the mixture around, until it covers the base of the pan. Once the pancake has started to cook through, flip it over and cook the other side until golden.

Serve sprinkled with brown sugar, cinnamon and freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice & roll up whilst still hot.