Cooking Lessons This Weekend From The Lazy Makoti

From baking tips to making delicious chicken recipes, The Lazy Makoti gives you tips on how to turn your kitchen into a food haven

Since baking is science. Mogau Seshoene shares the common mishaps that often happen when you bake and the possible reasons why:

CAKE DID NOT RISE
– Pan too large
– Ingredients too cold.
CAKE RISES TO A POINT 
– Over mixed
-Batter too stiff
– Oven temperature too high

 CAKE SINKS IN THE MIDDLE
– Oven temperature too high
– Oven door opened or cake knocked during baking
– cake not baked long enough
– too much raising agent or sugar
– overmixing
-pan possibly too small

MIXTURE FLOWS OVER TOP OF PAN
-Pan used too small
– too much raising agent

TOP OF CAKE IS SPECKLED
-Air bubbles break on the surface as a result of too much air having been incorporated into the mixture.
– Sugar not dissolved or too coarse – use castor sugar

CAKE BREAKS IN HALF
– Cake on too high an oven shelf
– Mixture too stiff

DRIED FRUIT SINKS TO BOTTOM OF CAKE
– The fruit was wet and not rolled in flour
– fruit pieces too large
– too much raising agent
– cake mixture too soft

Creamy herb chicken

For The Chicken:
4 chicken breasts (sliced lengthwise to make them thinner)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary
salt and pepper, to season
For The Sauce:
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary
1 cup milk ( or 1/2 milk + 1/2 cup cream)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water, until smooth
1cup Blanched veg ( spinach/green beans)
1 cup baby potatoes, cooked
1 cup mushroom, fried

Instructions
Coat chicken breasts herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil a large pan over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness). Transfer to a plate; set aside.
In the same pan, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with parsley, thyme, and rosemary, for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Stir in milk (or cream); season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring to a boil; add the cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan, quickly stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more.
Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Add cooked veg and Serve.

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Ingredients and images supplied by The Lazy Makoti