Sweet Potato, Cheese and Sweet Pepper Muffins

1/2 medium sized sweet potato (or equivalent amount of butternut squash)
1 1/2 cups white SR flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 large onion
2 eggs
A handful of chopped peppers, red, yellow and green
A handful of chopped parsley
1-2 oz cheddar
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2-3 tbs milk, the amount of milk to add depends on the flour, the mix should be slightly wetter than soft dropping consistency,
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Cook the sweet potato, I microwaved it for 6 min. When cooked remove the skin.
Blitz the onion in a food processor or Thermomix, Add the sweet potato and blitz again.
Add the egg, peppers and parsley and blitz again.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
 Divide the mixture between 12 paper cases or use a well oiled/greased muffin tray.

Cook at gas 6, 200C for 35-40 min.

These are delicious eaten hot, the outer is almost like a choux bun and are moist and soft inside.

Next time I will try adding some chopped pecans or walnuts.

Orange Polenta cake

Ingredients

Cake

250g butter
250g sugar
4 eggs beaten with 1 tbs milk
2 oranges
215g SR flour
125g polenta
2 tsp baking powder
greased tin 7x10 in or round 9 in

Syrup
Juice of 2 oranges plus (2 tsp lemon juice optional)  approx 100 ml
golden castor sugar 100 g
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds (optional) either grind with a pestle and mortar or buy ready ground  (1/2 tsp wasn't enough to notice so will try more another time)
A piece of orange rind (about 2in) and one of lemon rind
2 tbs water
Put these ingredients in a pan and boil and stir for 5 min. Strain before pouring over the cake. 

Chop the zest finely and put on the middle of the cake for decoration.


Cake
Cut the 2 oranges into quarters, put into a lidded dish with 2 tbs water and microwave for 7 min (power  800 )
Blitz the cooked oranges in a Thermomix or food processor
Add the butter and sugar and blitz again then the beaten eggs and another blitz.
Fold in the flour, polenta and baking powder. The mixture should look quite loose but don't be tempted to add more flour.

Cook at gas 3. Check after 45 min.  Mine needed another 10 min. when I did half quantity it only took 30min.
Remove from the tin after about 15 min. Carefully as its a bit fragile.
Place on a plate. Prick some holes in the top of the cake and pour the syrup over.

My recipe is based on this one from BBC Food 

I made some changes. In the comments section a couple of people thought the cake was a bit dry and one of them suggested boiling the oranges and using the whole fruits.
I added the lemon juice, zests and cardamom to the syrup. The cardamom idea came from a Jamie Oliver recipe.
The cake came out lovely and moist.

Lime and Rum Marmalade

This marmalade was inspired by some home made marmalade I had in Portugal. it comes into my top 3 of hotel/B&B jams. We were staying at a Turismo Rurale in a Qunita. It had lovely gardens that led to plantations of limes and other fruits all grown organically and eventually down to the sea.
This is no insipid sweet green jelly. It has an intense flavour, a rich deep colour and is not overly sweet. If you prefer it sweeter use half as much sugar again. I did n’t have a complete recipe so have been experimenting. This is my fourth attempt and now very close to the original.
 I thought of adding rum, I don't think it was in the original

720g limes
350g Muscavado sugar
750g Golden granulated sugar
700 ml water
Rum to taste (add some to the marmalade as well if you like!)

Put 5 clean jam jars with lids separate on a baking tray and into an oven on gas mark 1
Leave the limes whole and cook with the water for 15 min in a pressure cooker with lid and weights on.. (In the original marmalade the limes had been sliced first. Nice but too much faff for me.)
Or simmer in an open pan until the rinds are soft, stir and make sure it doesn’t boil dry.
Put in a food processor or Thermomix and process so that the peel breaks into smallish pieces. I return this to the pressure cooker, add the sugar, keep stirring and boil fast  until the setting point is reached. Usually when the thermometer says 105C You’re there when a sample will set on a saucer. I love that bit as I usually get to taste several samples before it is ready. you can do the boil in the TM but I find it takes a bot longer.
Pour into the hot jars and immediately screw the lids on tightly.

I have experimented by adding some rum to one of the jars. I didn’t put the lid on this one, waited till it was cool and added some rum.
About 5 teaspoons (25ml) per 1lb pot (454g) tastes good.

Seville Orange and Ginger Marmalade

You will need

Seville oranges and 1 lemon 720g
golden castor sugar 1kg ( you could substitute about a third with brown sugar)
600 ml water
70 g root ginger peeled    (or finely chopped chrystalised ginger)

Easy peasy method

Quarter the oranges and lemon, peel and slice the ginger then cook for 15 min in a pressure cooker on full pressure.
Transfer to a Thermomix and  process on 5 for 5 seconds.
I only used the TM to process the fruit then tipped it back into the pressure cooker before adding the sugar. Its quicker to reach the setting point in a larger pan. It took about 15 min of rolling boil..It set like a dream.
To cook in the TM you would set the temperature to 100C speed 3 and cook until the thermometer  says 105C Some of my TM jams have not set well. Their recipe for marmalade uses pectin which would make the difference.

I wasn't sure what it would be like with ginger. Its very more-ish. The orange is the dominant flavour with the ginger adding a warming effect.

You could pick out any pips that come to the top before putting into jars. I didn't.

TIP  You could try blitzing the unpeeled ginger with some of the sugar, it amazingly vanishes into the sugar!  I do this when I make candied figs. Recipe and photos here

PS I referred to 2 recipes for ideas

Nigel Slater's Orange and Ginger Marmalade
Super easy Orange Marmalade A Thermomix recipe. 

I got the idea of adding ginger from Nigel's recipe. It sounds like he does some experimenting as he mentions ideas like trying cardamom or reducing the sugar. I like experimenting with recipes.

They both have more sugar than I usually use so I reduced that and I reduced the faff of cutting neat shreds of peel etc though realise its necessary if presentation is important.

I have since found a TM recipe with less sugar and no pectin so may try that next time, with the addition of ginger of course.