Tuesday, February 9, 2010

My Helen, what lovely buns you have.....

"All the better to entice you with, my dear...".   "Why, thank you!" came the reply til I noticed him peering at a pair of Nutella covered chocolate buns.....I sighed inwardly and offered him one......uh...a bun....cheeky.....!   The buns in question were rather delectable so I can understand the staring.  
 
 Helen's Buns

This is the same recipe, dough-wise as the schnecken  but with 100g more flour and 80g sugar instead of 50g.   You can use oil instead of butter if you wish in this recipe.   So, all is the same up to the stage of rolling out the dough.   At that point, stop!  No longer follow schnecken and go the Helen Bun route instead;  you simply sprinkle over some sugar...a few tablespoons, making sure you coat the entire thing and then sprinkle with chocolate chips, enough to cover the dough evenly.   I used a 100g packet.   You then press the drops firmly into the dough and then roll up as per usual for buns, i.e. starting from the long end, rolling like a swiss roll.   Cut into 14-16 pieces, place on a parchment papered or oiled baking tray and follow the schnecken recipe, i.e. leave to prove and bake at the same temperature.

You don't have the syrup mix on this bun, like the schnecken do...so instead....oh this makes me happy...you take two large tablespoons of Nutella out of the jar and into a bowl, you melt in the microwave for about 10 seconds...stir...another 10 seconds...stir again at which time it should be soft and runny.   Pour over the cooled buns.   Leave to cool again and set a little then sprinkle with icing sugar through a sieve.   Gaze in wonder and have two immediately with coffee, pretending to everyone and yourself that there were only 12 to begin with....12 I tell ya!   At 300 calories each...yup, I worked it out....1 bun is all you should really allow yourself but then, I'd had soup for lunch.....*whistling*...stepping away from the buns....
 
A wonderful breakfast treat

Today's shopping came to just over £92 for two weeks.   There is a lot of chicken dishes this fortnight and a few new cakes which I'm excited to try.   I shall post the receipt and menu plan tomorrow.

Having had rather a lot of leftover cooked salmon from Christmas, I decided it had to be eaten as it was getting near it's throw out date, frozen or not!   I decided to curry it...yup, that's right....curry.   It was mighty fine, good for us and extremely easy, considering I had curry sauce leftover in the freezer as well.   I threw it...the sauce... into a pan and added some water, getting it to a simmer.   I then tossed in some chopped onion, some cherry tomatoes and a potato, peeled and roughly chopped.   After the potato was almost soft...about 10 minutes, I threw in the salmon, broken up into large chunks and simmered for a further five minutes.

I added a sprinkling of ground cumin and coriander and a little turmeric.   I cooked for a further five minutes at a gentle simmer with a lid on and then served the dish with plain, boiled, white basmati rice.
 

So, Scotland, unfortunately, lost the rugby game on Sunday.    France were clearly on much better form and it was enjoyable to watch.   I had prepared some snacks in preparation....

...much to the amusement of my husband.   It's not exactly typical football/rugby fayre, now is it?   This is what I felt like, you know it's my favourite, so that is what I had, plus it was leftover from the girls night on Thursday and needed using up...suuuuure it did.....!

Until tomorrow my friends....have a wonderful, crazy night.   

24 comments:

MrsC said...

Your buns have inspired me to create a new word - volumptuous! A cross between voluptuous and sumptuous. I so want one right now.

LisaDay said...

I like that you are always baking. You are my kind of woman.

LisaDay

Claudya Martinez said...

I think my husband would love my buns smothered in Nutella.

Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey said...

I can almost smell those buns. They look so delicious.

I love your spread. It has everything I love on it,lol.

Nicole said...

YUM!

Virginia Mom said...

OOOHHH GIRL! You made some lovely buns!! :D And the Nutella.... well that just puts them over the top! My family would be hanging off the pan of buns like wild monkeys before I could even get them out of the oven!!! That will definitely go on my list of goodies to bake! I baked up a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies that uses instant pudding mix last night.... that recipe will be on my blog later today!

Enjoy those buns!! (Or at least what's left of them, that is!!!!)

By the way- could you possibly give me a ball park figure for how your total money spent at the grocery store each week translates into dollars over here in the USA? I'm delighted to find another blogger with 5 family members to help compare grocery expenses and see what the averages and low goals should be running! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Nice buns, indeed. And the curry is rocking the house, too! Yummy!

Trudie said...

I love the fact that I found your blog! Great buns btw! Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Beth said...

Ohhhh...the snacks look divine!
Nice buns too ;0

Beth

aladdinsane12 said...

the buns look delish, for sure, but what's really getting me going is the slices of brie! i'm such a cheeseaholic! i would give ANYTHING to be eating that brie right now...

Little Ms Blogger said...

I can't get passed the nutella buns. OMG, they look so yummy. I wish you could just box them up and send to me because there is no way I'm ever going to bake them.

Catherine said...

Your buns look so yummy Helen! Those would make a wonderful breakfast treat!

Brittany said...

Your hot buns are making me drool!

Seriously, I can practically smell them wafting through my apartment.

Every time I drop by your blog, I leave hungrier than I was before ;)

Kristina said...

Oh my gosh....those buns look so yummy! Sorry to hear Scotland lost.....so did my Colts in the Super Bowl...meh!

koralee said...

Oh my goodness....those buns are something from Heaven..wow. I would so love to taste one. Thank you for visiting me the other day...I will be dreaming buns tonight! xox

Kellie Collis said...

Those buns look delicious!! x

koreen (aka: winn) said...

Lovely buns, but it's the curry that gets me. Wowza! You can cook for me anytime! ;)

Helen McGinn said...

Mrs C, *L* Love your new word. xx

Mhel said...

Hi honey, i already added the Google Follower Widget on the right side. I can't wait for that recipe. We rarely have fresh artichokes available, but its my favorite Greek Fondue Dip, with Melted Feta cheese and olives.... U

Mhel said...

yummy snacks!! reminds me of the bountiful Greek cold cuts, cheese, and olives. I will have another follow up blog about Greek cuisine. We just ate at a Greek fastfood. yup, fast food, like McDonalds.

Anyway, i wish I had a bigger oven so i can bake more pastries like you do... lol

mimbles said...

Those nutella buns are so going on my "to bake" list. And it's a very short list because generally the only thing I bake is scones. I'm even training the kids up to do the packet mix brownies that my daughter likes so I won't have to.

Zuzana said...

Helen, you are killing me with these. Can I come and stay with you for a week please?
xo
Zuzana

Mama Up! said...

I am indeed enticed by your buns!

Hey, I meant that in the most innocent possible way ;-)

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