Cooking with Kelly

Foundations of Good Cooking Lesson 6: Baking Basics & Sweet Treats 🍰🧁

This week the kitchen smelled amazing as students explored the science and techniques behind successful baking. From mastering light, fluffy muffins and buttery scones to learning the secrets of perfect biscuits, they gained confidence measuring, mixing, and baking from scratch.

On the menu: Muffins,Scones, Biscuits 🍪, Chocolate Cake , Baked Cheesecake, Sticky Toffee Pudding and pizza 🍕 and foccacia.

Along the way, students learned about raising agents, mixing methods, texture, and how small changes can make a big difference to the final result. Plenty of delicious treats were enjoyed, and even more baking skills were added to their growing repertoire!

Not a fan of brinjals because of their texture ?
Brinjals ( eggplant / aubergine 🍆) are like sponges and will absorb as much oil as you give them - resulting in a “slimy” soft and oily texture which many people don’t like.
Try slicing them and placing on a roasting tray. Lightly brush on either side with seasoned oil and then Roast at 200°C until soft, about 15-20minutes.
This method ensures delicious roasted brinjal without the oiliness.

Foundations of good cooking
Lesson 5 — Fish Lesson 🐟

This lesson was all about making fish feel approachable and full of flavour. We focused on different ways to cook fish successfully while learning how flavours, sauces and textures can completely transform simple ingredients.

The students made:
• Fish pie
• Fish cakes
• Italian fish bake
• Greek fish bake
• Fish biryani
• Fish bake au gratin

A comforting, flavour-packed lesson that showed just how versatile fish can be — from cosy baked dishes to fragrant spiced meals perfect for everyday home style cooking.

Pear and chocolate fondant pudding

Pear and chocolate is such a classic combo and this pudding hits all those spots. Perfect for winter entertaining or just because - we all deserve pudding on a random Thursday 😉

3 eggs
80ml sugar
85ml flour
2.5ml baking powder
60ml cocoa
160ml ground almonds

1 tin pears liquid drained ( or use fresh pears which have been poached)
80ml chocolate chips ( optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C
Beat eggs and sugar for about 5 minutes until thick and fluffy.
Sieve over flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add ground almonds and gently fold in.
Pour into a pie dish. Top with sliced tinned or poached pear. Sprinkle over chocolate chips.
Bake for 20minutes for a fondant texture or 25-30minutes if you’d like it more set.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream if you wish.
Enjoy ☺️

Deglazing your pan - this is a tip I teach all my students. Adding a splash of liquid after browning your meat helps lift all those delicious sticky bits adding flavour to your food.

Foundations of Good Cooking Lesson 4
The Chicken Lesson 🍗

This lesson focused on versatile chicken dishes and learning techniques that turn simple ingredients into proper comforting meals. We covered roasting, sauces, curries, braises and pie fillings — building flavour in completely different ways using the same protein.

On the menu:
• Roast chicken with potatoes, butternut & gravy
• Chicken curry
• Moroccan chicken tagine
• Phyllo chicken pie
• Classic chicken & mushroom pie
• Coq au vin

A cosy, flavour-packed lesson full of practical cooking skills, beautiful aromas and dishes that feel both rustic and impressive.

Meals in minutes- my spinach pasta was a delicious nutritious and quick meal which we enjoyed last night.

SAUCE
1 packet spinach washed and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 packet basil pesto
1/2-1 tub smooth cream or cottage cheese
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Blitz all the ingredients together in your food processor. Set aside.

1 onion chopped
1 pepper chopped
1 punnet mushrooms sliced
Sauté onion, peppers and mushrooms until soft. Season to taste

1 packet bacon cooked until very crispy and finely chopped
1 punnet baby tomatoes panfried or roasted

1 packet pasta of your choice boiled and drained - I like using the spelt macaroni from Checkers

Grated cheese to serve

Combine cooked pasta with spinach sauce and sautéed onion peppers and mushrooms. Stir to combine.

Top each portion with roasted tomatoes, crumbled crispy bacon and grated cheese. Enjoy ☺️

I love one pan cooking and these meatballs with orzo hit the spot. Ready in around 30minutes it’s the perfect midweek meal.

1 punnet ready made meatballs ( you can make your own of course !😉)

1 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 pepper finely chopped
2 carrots peeled and grated
500ml beef stock
10ml garlic and herb seasoning
30ml Worcestershire sauce
80ml sundried tomato pesto
250ml orzo

180ml grated cheese - cheddar/ Parmesan
Fresh herbs to taste - basil/ oregano/ parsley

Brown your meatballs in a frying pan and then remove.
In the same pan sauté onion and garlic until glossy and soft. Add carrots and peppers and sauté until soft.
Add beef stock, garlic and herb seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and pesto. Stir to combine and bring to the boil.
Stir through orzo.
Return browned meatballs to the pan , cover and gently simmer until orzo is soft and meatballs have cooked through. Stir occasionally as the orzo likes to stick to the bottom of the pan. Ensure you have enough stock topping up if necessary.
Sprinkle over cheese and allow to melt. Sprinkle over herbs before serving. Enjoy 😉

Spoil your loved ones this Mother’s Day with a freshly baked cherry and chocolate muffin warm from the oven. Perfect for brunch or tea they are quick and easy to put together. Remember to do the washing up ! 😉

CHOCOLATE AND CHERRY MUFFINS
500ml flour
10ml baking powder
2.5ml bicarbonate of soda
125ml sugar
60ml cocoa

125ml chocolate chips

125ml oil or melted butter
180ml Forage and Feast cherry and dragonfruit yoghurt
125ml milk
1 egg

180ml@frozen cherries chopped OR
80ml chopped glacé cherries

Change up the flavour by using any yoghurt and fruit combo eg blueberry yoghurt and blueberries OR vanilla yoghurt and chopped apple or pear etc

🍒 preheat oven to 180°C
🍒combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb and cocoa in a bowl. Add the choc chips and stir to combine.
🍒 in a jug combine your liquids - oil, yoghurt, milk, egg. Stir to combine
🍒 add the liquids to the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently stir to combine. Do not overmix. Add your cherries. Gently mix in.
🍒 place mixture in muffin trays. Bake at 180°C for 25 minutes until risen and baked through.
🍒 serve warm. Enjoy 😊