cabbage roses and cupcakes

Vintage baking . . .

2011-09-05T15:41:00.008+01:00

Yesterday I bought some really cute vintage ACME baking tins from the Car Boot sale . . .

. . and, I couldn't wait to christen them. So, today I've made some baby Orange Poppyseed Cakes glazed with marmalade adapted from this brilliant recipe by Tom Dolby

Orange Poppyseed Cakes

Recipe

2 medium oranges

350g caster sugar

150g self-raising flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

150g ground almonds

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

3 eggs

175g caster sugar

good quality marmalade to glaze

to make cakes . . .

sllice the whole oranges thinly and poach with 400mls of water and the sugar until they are tender (about 20 mins) - leave to cool

measure the dry ingredients for the cake into a bowl and mix together

puree 100g of the oranges with 75mls of the poaching water

in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until they are very pale and fluffy - you'll know it's ready when the mixture looks a bit like the consistency of whipped cream

now, fold the orange puree very lightly into the whisked eggs and sugar

fold in the rest of the dry ingredients, but don't overmix or you will knock out all the air you've worked so hard to whisk in!

spoon mixture into bun cases and bake at Gas 4 / 180C for about 15 to 20 mins until they are golden and spring back to the touch

leave to cool for a few minutes while you melt a couple of tablespoons of marmalade gently in a saucepan. Then, glaze the baby cakes liberally with the marmalade

. . . they are lovely warm from the oven! . . . and the marmalade makes them a good choice for a sweet breakfast treat too

pea green and a new camera app!

2011-07-22T15:07:00.007+01:00

Yes, it's true ...... I have a passion for peas!

One of my favourite ways of eating them (and there are so many!) is in a pea guacamole. Especially at this time of year, when it makes a welcome change to eat food that not only looks good, but tastes fresh and zingy too!

It's really so simple to make, and can be paired with so many things. As a dip it's lovely with tortilla chips and summer crudites - or stir in some creme fraiche and heat to make a creamy sauce for pasta or chicken - or, thin down with olive oil to make a punchy salad dressing.

Today I've added it as a side with a steamed curried fish parcel This is a brilliant, quick, no fuss way to cook fish - and also requires next to no washing up!....

Both recipes are based on versions on a theme from various sources, and tweaked to my own tastes, as ever! ........ and the colours looked so vibrant together that I couldn't resist getting creative with a new camera app

Pea Guacamole
200g frozen peas - cooked for 5 mins and cooled
half a red onion
2 cloves garlic
half a teaspoon cumin
juice of 1 lime
1 small red chilli
half a small bunch of fresh coriander
olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method
- place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth
- drizzle in olive oil to the required consistency
- cover and chill until ready to serve

Fragrant Curried Fish Parcels
2 firm white fish steaks
1 tablespoon thick natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon curry paste of your choice
1 tablespoon creamed coconut
juice of half a lime
a couple of tablespoons of chopped coriander

Method

- mix together curry paste, yoghurt, coconut, lime juice and coriander and rub the marinade into the fish. Cover and chill for as long as possible - at least half an hour -
- to cook - set oven to 200 C / Gas 6
- place fish onto a double layer of baking paper, or foil and cover in the remaining marinade
- wrap the fish up into a parcel, being careful to make sure that it is sealed
- cook for 15-20 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish. It is cooked when the flesh has turned opaque

serve straight away with rice, green salad or the colourful pea guacamole

new arrival!

2011-07-22T14:49:00.005+01:00

pretty pink and white cupcakes to welcome a new arrival!

in search of the perfect Chocolate Brownie!

2010-09-03T19:39:00.008+01:00

You know how it is when you have a tried and tested recipe that you come back to time and again.....well, for years I've used a Mary Berry recipe that never fails to produce a dense, fudgy, chocolatey brownie every time. But, being me, I'm always curious to try out new ideas in search of the definitive recipe.

So, when I saw this recipe for Fudgy Coconut Brownies on the Good Food website I was immediately intrigued; coconut in brownies? hmmm, that's an interesting twist! I have had the recipe bookmarked for ages, but the other day was grey and miserable with just enough of a hint of Autumn in the air to make me think of the warm comfort of baking and filling the house with the aroma of chocolate! The perfect excuse to try out - Coconut Brownies!

This time I didn't make any adjustments to the original recipe because I really liked the way they turned out. Unlike other brownie recipes there is no melted chocolate in the mixture, but they tasted so deeply chocolatey that you would never guess. Despite the name there is really just a hint of coconut in the taste, but it gives the brownies a lovely chewy texture.....and they are very addictive; I had eaten two before they'd even cooled down!

Coconut Brownies

(Recipe from BBC Good Food)

100g cocoa

250g butter

500g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g self-raising flour

100g dessicated coconut

Heat oven to 180C / Gas 4 and line a 21cm square tin with baking paper - I used a standard size swiss roll tin

Melt the butter gently in a large saucepan and then stir in the cocoa and caster sugar until melted and combined. Be careful because it will catch and burn if not stirred constantly

Take off the heat and cool for a few minutes then beat in the rest of the ingredients until well mixed

Pour into prepared tin and bake for about 40 mins until set. Leave to cool in tin and then turn out, dust with icing sugar and cut up into chunky pieces

Beware - they won't last very long!

fresh peach and blackberry muffins

2010-08-08T14:23:00.011+01:00

Following on from my foray with the summer berries and loaf cake, I'm continuing with a bit of a Summer theme.....this time with peach and blackberry muffins. It's not quite blackberry season yet so I did 'cheat' a bit and used frozen blackberries, and they turned out just fine!

...slightly crunchy on top, very fluffy inside and not too sweet, with mouthfuls of fruit that burst through the soft sugary vanilla cakiness.....

I've been searching for some good muffin recipes lately, and this one Strawberry Muffins was one I came across on the Australian website Taste.com. I did tweak it a bit, just because I can't leave anything alone!!

So, here's my version of the recipe - with tweaks - although, as you can see from the comments on the original recipe, this is a very forgiving mixture so you can be inspired to add 'tweaks' of your own! Happy baking!

Fresh Peach and Blackberry Muffins

Recipe (by Alfie)

400g self-raising flour

175g unrefined caster sugar

250g mixed peaches (cut into small chunks) and blackberries

2 eggs

300mls buttermilk

80g melted butter

3 tsps good vanilla extract

set oven to 190 / Gas 5 and put your prettiest muffin cases in to a 12 hole muffin tin

mix together all of the dry ingredients, and then stir in the fruit

mix together all of the wet ingredients

quickly add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix lightly until it just comes together - it's important not too over- mix if you want light fluffy muffins!

fill muffin cases almost to the top and then bake in the centre of the oven until they are golden and firm to the touch - about 30-35 minutes

leave to cool in tin for about 10 minutes just to allow them to firm up a little, and then cool on a cooling rack

perfect for a lazy Sunday breakfast, tea-time treat - or just because!.....

summer berry and vanilla loaf cake

2010-08-02T08:06:00.018+01:00

You know, I think that (well, for me anyway!), the answer to everything is cake! ....Every challenge, every problem is always soothed by the therapeutic alchemy of mixing up lots of sweet, fragrant goodies to a glossy goo, putting it into the oven, and ending up with this wonderful transformation into something beautiful, with the added bonus of filling the house with the evocative and comforting smell of vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, or, in this case, blackberries!.........

I have decided that I don't cook enough cake!

That may sound a little strange seeing as I am always making cupcakes, and, much as I love making those little cuties, whilst looking through all my cuttings and books for inspiration for new flavours I realised that I had so many cake recipes that I wanted to try out. So, that's just what I'm going to do; work my way through all of my cuttings, folders, and books, of all the cake recipes I have wanted to make, but just never quite got around to.......starting with this loaf cake. I feel I must say, in defence of loaf cake, that although it may not sound all that inspiring, it delivers good, down to earth scrumptiousness with no fuss or frills, just good honest comfort food!

This recipe is really just an amalgamation of several that I've had book-marked for ages, and it produced a wonderfully fragrant slab of fruity indulgence - thanks to the delicate perfume of the blackberries and raspberries and the warm vanilla, and the addition,(just because I couldn't resist it!) of drizzly pink icing and fresh fruits on the top. In fact, in the end it tasted more like a pudding than a cake, reminiscent of warm blackberry crumble!

Summer Berry and Vanilla Loaf Cake
Recipe (by Alfie)
125g caster sugar (vanilla sugar is good if you have some)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
80g butter, melted
60mls natural yoghurt
300g self-raising flour
250g of mixed summer berries (fresh, or frozen)

Set oven to 180 C or Gas 4 and grease a standard loaf tin - you can also line it if you want, although with a non-stick loaf tin you probably won't need to

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until frothy, and then pour in the melted butter and yoghurt

Combine dry ingredients together and then toss in the fruit to coat with the flour. If you are using frozen fruit there is no need to thaw it first as it will go a bit too mushy

Add the wet ingredients to the flour and fruit and gently mix until it just comes together. Don't be tempted to over-mix, it will look a little lumpy, but that's fine

Then, just put the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for around 50 mins to 1 hour - until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean - and let the magic happen!

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins and then when the cake is completely cool, ice with a little icing sugar mixed with some fruit puree. Or just leave it plain for a more 'rustic' look

Served warm, this also makes a very yummy pud with ice-cream or thick double cream!

I was going to show you a photo - but it didn't last that long!!

Just for fun!

2010-07-25T16:37:00.004+01:00

summer weddings

2010-07-25T16:17:00.004+01:00

Having fun with wedding cupcakes and samplers.......

Vanilla with lemon and raspberry buttercream frosting and fresh flowers.......so pretty!

Chocolate Truffle with rich chocolate frosting and Vanilla Raspberry

Chocolate Truffle, Banana Maple and Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - very elegant

chocolate puddle cookies...and fluffy pink marshmallows

2010-02-13T07:43:00.039Z

Is it wrong to eat Chocolate Truffle cupcake for breakfast?......

well.....I just couldn't resist when I'm surrounded by them! Over the last couple of days I've baked and iced dozens of cute Valentine Chocolate Truffle cupcakes - chocolate heaven, seeing them all lined up neatly, ready to be boxed and delivered in time for Valentine's Day.

I always love delivering the cupcakes.....to see the smile on people's faces, but delivering the Valentine ones has been especially enjoyable. I've dropped them off with an air of planned subterfuge, and have shared the sense of excited anticipation as I've handed over the gift boxes filled with decadent chocolate treats, knowing that they will later be presented to unsuspecting loved ones!

So,...... with all these chocolate truffle cupcakes in production I found myself left with surplus Pink Velvet cupcakes . and lots of egg-whites that needed using up, and.....the obvious solution was Pink Cloud cupcakes!! Moist fluffy raspberry vanilla sponge, topped with clouds of the pinkest marshmallow meringue frosting

......and these little fluffy pillows of delicate pink raspberry marshmallow using this marshmallow recipe from James Martin.....I'm a sucker for anything pink and edible, especially when it's so pretty!

Coincidentally, I'd also come across this recipe for Chocolate Puddle Cookies the other day on one of my favourite blog sites while looking for some healthy dinner ideas - honestly! (it's amazing how easily distracted I become with chocolate) It was a perfect coming together of serendipitous circumstances; a recipe for fudgy chocolatiness, and spare egg-whites.....

These are soooooo good. I couldn't wait for them to cool, and had to have one while it was still warm from the oven. It was chocolate heaven, soft, fudgy, and dense in the middle, and what's even better - they don't contain any wheat so they're gluten-free, a perfect indulgence, so that even those chocolate lovers with a wheat intolerance don't have to miss out, or compromise on chocolatey bliss!

cupcake crazy

2010-01-01T15:53:00.012Z

A New Year, a new decade, a fresh start.....

I haven't posted in so long, but it's all been a bit cupcake mad lately!!.... I decided that after a love affair with cakes and baking for years, I would start my own cupcake business Pretty Sweet. It was definitely the right idea, and I'm having so much fun doing something that I absolutely love. Seeing all the cupcakes lined up neatly in their colourful rows, and being up to my elbows in icing sugar and buttercream is my idea of heaven!......I have so many plans for new flavours whizzing around in my head for the new year, and a special valentine range in mind for February.

My own passion, as you will know if you are a regular reader (sorry guys for neglecting you for so long!) is for fantastic quality food - real food; so it's no surprise that this goes for my cupcakes too, and I'm passionate about sourcing excellent quality (and local, where possible) fresh ingredients. After all, it's not just about what the cakes look like - it's important that they deliver on taste too! So, I use fresh fruits to flavour and colour the cakes - no nasty additives. Although, I must admit that I have included a 'just for fun' range that indulges my love of all things bright and glittery, and the cake toppings are like I said, just for fun. That said, I am always trying to source additive free sprinkles and decorations.

I'm looking forward to the spring when all the flowers start to bloom again - they are just beautiful sitting pretty on top of the pastel cupcakes for the naturals collection and this is something that I want to develop even more. Of course, there has been a lot of cupcake eating (in the name of research, naturally!) so.... I think my new year will start with getting back to some healthy detox foods - though, of course, this will just allow me to start again with more 'research'. I wish you all a magical New Year....I have a feeling it's going to be a good one :o)

trawling 'Folksy'

2009-07-01T20:03:00.003+01:00

do you remember those yummy foil covered teacakes - all gooey marshmallow covered in crispy chocolate?.....

This is definitely on my 'wish list'!! - from the UK version of Etsy, the curiously named 'Folksy'

why we love retro

2009-06-14T13:22:00.004+01:00

Little known early prototype of the iPod!!

from a wonderfully nostalgic site Bills Retro World

blackberry lime friands

2009-06-05T09:41:00.006+01:00

These lovely little treats are very popular in Australia, and may be derived from the traditional French petit four financiers. They have a slightly crunchy exterior and a buttery-nutty flavor; outside they are a bit chewy, inside, soft and almondy.

They are such a perfect treat with morning coffee, and very moreish. But, then again they are equally good served warm with ice-cream or cream!

Traditionally friands are cooked in oval friand tins, but I don't have any, so have cooked these in a standard muffin tin.

blackberry lime friands

(Adapted from Mary Cadogan)

100g unsalted butter

140g icing sugar

45g plain flour

85g ground almonds

4 egg whites

grated rind of 2 limes

preheat oven to 190 degrees / Gas 5 and butter muffin tin.
melt butter and leave to cool
whisk the egg whites for about a minute until you get a light, floppy foam
sift the almonds, flour, and icing sugar into the egg whites and stir to just combine
stir in the melted butter and lime rind lightly and then divide between the tins
drop one to two blackberries onto the top of each cake (don't overdo the fruit as the friand mixture is very light and won't hold together too well if there's too much fruit to the batter)
bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until light golden and firm to the touch
leave to cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes to allow the friands to firm up a little before running a knife around the outside of each friand to loosen them

the friands will store in an airtight container, or in the fridge. But, they are really best eaten on the day that they are made!

eat real butter.....

2009-05-31T15:46:00.010+01:00

......not only because it's better for you than synthesised chemical margarines, but,.....you also get to use a proper butter dish too, like this vintage 50's one!

How many people, I wonder, would enjoy those spreads that the manufacturers tell us are 'just like butter', and are so good for us because they will look after our hearts, if they really knew just how it's made! I've known about the process since being a Home Ec. student way back in the eighties, and I haven't touched the stuff since! Give me 'real' food any day. You know, the stuff that generally doesn't come with a list of 'ingredients' (or is that artificial chemicals masquerading as 'food'!)

"Margarine is man made. And it is one of the most chemically processed and refined substances to be found in the modern kitchen."

Firstly the raw ingredients of margarine manufacturing must undergo a series of preparatory measures. The oil - maize, coconut, olive, cottonseed, and soybean - is treated with a caustic soda solution to remove unnecessary components known as free fatty acids. The oil is then washed by mixing it with hot water, separating it, and leaving it to dry under a vacuum.

Next, the oil is sometimes bleached with a mixture of bleaching earth and charcoal in another vacuum chamber. The bleaching earth and charcoal absorb any unwanted colorants, and are then filtered out from the oil.

The oil is then hydrogenated to ensure the correct consistency for margarine production, a state referred to as "plastic" for very good reason! The oil is subjected to extremely high temperatures (about 500ºF) and pressure, and hydrogen is forced into the molecular structure to harden it. This process requires toxic substances, such as nickel oxide. The oils are mixed with finely ground nickel, a highly toxic substance that serves as a catalyst for the chemical reaction during the hydrogenation process.

An unintended side-effect, however, can result from this hydrogenation process. If the oils are only partially hydrogenated, some will become trans fats, and these have long been identified as being harmful to health

The end result of this process is a lumpy, grey, greasy substance. This is then emulsified to get rid of the lumps and steam cleaned to remove the odor of chemicals, which again involves high temperature and pressure.

The oil now needs to be bleached, coloured, and artificially flavoured again to make it palatable - after all, who wants to spread tasteless grey gloop on their toast!

Now, call me old-fashioned, but I would much rather have a rich, golden totally 'natural' knob of real butter on my toast. After all, how can it be worse for our body than a totally artificially produced tub of chemically altered substances.

Although margarine has synthetic vitamins added to it to mimic the nutritional content of butter, and the manufacturers are working to reduce the amounts of harmful trans fats. Thereby, arguing that this product is more 'healthy' for us. I think this totally deflects from the whole argument that margarine is essentially an 'artificial' substance, stuffed full of, synthetic chemicals.

Butter only has one ingredient - milk. I'd rather eat a little less of this natural food, than risk the unknown effects to my body of a cocktail of synthetic chemicals.

the edible May garden

2009-05-29T16:27:00.016+01:00

Inspired by Nic of Cherrapeno's lovely pictures, and the balmy spring sunshine, I ventured into the garden to capture some glimpses of the garden in May.

It's amazing really, when you stop and look there are so many wonderful things that nature gives us for free!

dainty white thyme flowers look beautiful sprinkled over salads

lemon thyme gives a wonderful aroma when used with lamb or chicken on the BBQ

coriander flowers to add a colourful touch of spice to Asian dishes

ripening figs will soon be ready to enjoy, plump and rich with tangy goats cheese and mellow honey

and who can resist cherries that later will be bursting with redolent juices, just right for summer puddings, clafouti, or cheesecake, or this intriguing Cherry Beet Cake by Dan Lepard

the lemon tree is doing well in it's first 'season' and those buds are a hopeful promise of the waxy yellow fruits to come

and......busy bees fussing over the palest pink blackberry flowers

It's so exciting; the whole garden in coming alive with a burgeoning bounty, most of which has already has found its way to the dinner table in one form or another. What could be more delicious than food picked and eaten fresh, just as it's meant to be.

'credit crunch' garden salad with herbs and flowers

2009-05-23T14:19:00.023+01:00

Everyone has been affected by the so called 'credit crunch' that we all now find ourselves trying to navigate through. But, does this mean that we can no longer eat good, nutritious, elegant food? - no, of course not! It just means we have to get a little more 'creative'.

I love salad, but not usually the price. So, yesterday when I found huge dewy, crunchy salad greens at a local vegetable store for only 69p each I was ecstatic! You may smirk, but they truly were the best buy of my day, and I couldn't wait to get them home and wash and 'spin' them. I wasn't disappointed either, because, with using only half of each lettuce head I still had a HUGE bowl of the freshest, crispest, plump and mouth-watering greens you could ask for. A proud reminder that the sad, and very expensive, washed lettuce bags that we are fobbed off with by the supermarkets all winter in our attempt to produce a passable mixed plate of greenery, are now but a memory, as, once again - for a few months at least! - we can pile our plates high with magnificent drifts of locally grown frisee, raddicchio and lollo rossa.........hurrah for spring! Perhaps I should change this post title to 'ode to lettuce'!

Anyway, having extolled the virtues of the humble salad leaf, so often pushed around the plate to be left wilting in the remains of the dinner's main star - or even worse - used merely as a whimsical decor. I would like to encourage it's use as the main 'player', along with other overlooked treasures of our gardens. After all, the herbs and vegetables that we now take for granted were once little known wild 'weeds' themselves. 'Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the oldest known vegetables, developed from prickly lettuce (L. serriola), a wild plant around the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions which was used as a medicinal herb. Some reports point back as far as the Egyptians in 4500 BC, but it was certainly cultivated by ancient Greeks and Romans. The Emperor Caesar Augustus even had a statute made memorializing the romaine-type lettuce he believed cured him from an illness.' Susan Mahr, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Now is the perfect time to look further than the end of the supermarket aisle, and explore the edible delights that can be found in our own back yards!

So, let's get to the salad in point. This is intrinsically such a basic dish - hard boiled eggs, salad greens, salty olives, herbs and flowers,and a tangy garlic and herb dressing - but, when put together it truly does show that basic eating doesn't have to be boring eating. You may have already noticed that I love 'pretty' food, as well as food with integrity; good wholesome, natural ingredients, and no artificial anything! Well, this simple, delicate salad is a feast not only for the taste-buds, but also for the eyes. Bright yellow just boiled eggs sprinkled with smoky paprika (I like M&S Smoked Paprika mix); strong earthy flavours cut through with the saltiness of black spanish olives, and the tang of a garlicky dressing. All complemented with the delicate herbs and flowers and the crisp, crunch of the salad leaves.

Garden egg, herb and flowers salad

(Alfie - Cabbage Roses and Cupcakes)

Hard boil two eggs per person for around 7-8 minutes, so that they are still a little soft. Meanwhile wash and arrange a colourful mixture of salad leaves on each plate.

When the eggs are done, put them under a running cold tap to quickly cool them down and prevent the dark sulphur ring forming. Then peel and halve and arrange on the salad leaves.

Finally finish off the salad with a sprinkling of paprika over the eggs, and then add the olives and a variety of whatever herbs and flowers you have to hand. I used chives, dill, parsley, and viola flowers.

Dress with a simple garlic, herb vinaigrette made from 1 part cider vinegar to three parts good olive oil, with a crushed clove of garlic and some chopped basil and parsley all whisked up together in a bowl or glass jar.

It's nutritious with protein and iron from the eggs, and a good helping of vitamins and minerals from the various herbs - so it just goes to show that just because money is a bit tight, we don't need to sacrifice good eating!

hazelnut truffle torte....in search of the ultimate chocolate cake!

2009-04-16T13:47:00.009+01:00

In my truly altruistic (well, that's what I tell myself anyway!) quest for the ultimate chocolate cake I have tried many, many, many recipes; searching for that all-elusive tangible experience of dense, velvety chocolatiness; not too sweet, not too bitter - not too heavy, not too dry. Just lately, I've decided to go along the gluten-free route, and following on from the truly indulgent chocolate mousse cake, I was after something a little more firm, that would cut and serve more like a traditional 'cake'. Of course this meant trying out lots of recipes - it's a tough job!........and, in the end I settled on the best bits of all of them. The result is a VERY rich, dark and wicked, truffley chocolate 'cake' that gives you the just the sense of hedonistic guilt that only a true chocolate lover would settle for!

So here it is.....

hazelnut truffle torte

(by Alfie)

400g good quality dark chocolate

6 eggs

50 g caster sugar

175g ground hazelnuts

250mls double cream

topping

75g good quality dark chocolate

2 tablespoons double cream

25g butter

to make the cake, grease and base line a 20cm deep spring-form tin, and set the oven to Gas 2 / 150 C / 325 F
break the chocolate into pieces and put this together with 50mls of the cream in a bowl set over simmering water until it has melted
whilst the chocolate is melting, whisk the eggs and the sugar together for 5-7 minutes until it is thick and creamy and will leave a trail across the top of the mixture
slacken the melted chocolate mixture by adding a little of the egg/sugar mixture (about 2-3 tablespoons) until it becomes a bit more runny, and then stir the chocolate and the egg/sugar mix in together with the ground hazelnuts
whisk the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks, and then quickly fold this into the chocolate batter so that it is all amalgamated
pour into the lined tin - if your tin is not completely water-tight you will need to wrap it in foil
place the cake tin into a roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to come half-way up the cake tin - about 2cms
bake in the oven for about an hour until a skewer comes out clean

for the topping

melt all of the ingredients together over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool and thicken just slightly, and then pour over the cake
decorate with whatever takes your fancy, and enjoy........but be warned, you know what they say about too much of a good thing!

rustic pan-fried chicken in creamy mushroom sauce

2009-04-12T14:13:00.011+01:00

This simple Saturday lunch also makes an effortlessly elegant meal for entertaining. It's a recipe that I've made a few times now, originally adapted from a recipe that I'd had lurking around in my 'to cook' pile from 'BBC Good Food'. It's unfailing ability to hit the spot with it's creamy, tangy, garlicky mushroom sauce, has made it a favourite of mine, especially as it is sooooo easy to make! So, on that basis, because we all love dishes that are uncomplicated and easy to throw together, but look, and taste like we've spent hours in the kitchen, I thought that is was really worth sharing....

Rustic Pan-fried Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

(recipe by Alfie)

1 tablespoon oil

50g butter

handful of fresh or dried herbs (basil, coriander, parsley, oregano, thyme all work well!)

6 chicken breasts or large chicken legs divided into thighs and drumsticks

700mls vegetable stock - I like to use Marigold vegetable bouillon

300mls dry white wine, or whatever you have in the fridge

50g butter

1 onion

400g mixed wild mushrooms - although chestnut mushrooms will do just as well

2-3 cloves garlic

2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

330mls creme fraiche

50-75g ground almonds

another handful of fresh herbs to finish

Fry off the chicken in the oil, butter, and herbs to seal it. This will take about 10 mins, until they're golden brown. You may need to cook the chicken in several batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and steaming the meat.
Transfer to a large saucepan and pour over the stock and wine to cover the chicken.
Bring back to the boil and cover the pan and simmer the chicken for about half an hour.
While the chicken is cooking, fry the onion in the remaining 50g butter until soft but not coloured. Add the mushrooms and fry for about 3-4mins. Grate over the fresh nutmeg and add the grated garlic for a further 1 min, then leave aside until the chicken finishes cooking.
When the chicken is cooked, drain off the stock. Set the chicken aside and add the mushrooms and onion to the stock. Bring back to the boil, and reduce by about a half - at this stage you can reduce it further if want a thicker sauce that will just coat the chicken.
Add the creme fraiche, and the ground almonds and fresh herbs and simmer for 5-10 mins to heat the chicken through, and thicken the sauce slightly.

This is fabulous served simply with hunks of crusty bread warm from the oven for a sumptuous Saturday, or weekday lunch. Or you can dress it up with wild rice, and asparagus or some wilted spinach for an impressive meal for friends. Either way it really is wonderful!

blackberry vinegar

2009-04-02T12:46:00.021+01:00

I don't know about you, but I love the contrast of salty goats cheese with the sweet acidity of fruit. Somehow it seems to cut through the heaviness to produce a combination that's perfect!

So, when I found a recipe for raspberry vinegar I knew I had to give it a try.....well actually I found several recipes for raspberry vinegar, or raspberry 'shrub' as it was known in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was a popular drink and is actually very refreshing in hot weather, served with ice! I know it may sound strange to have a fruit cordial with a vinegar base, but the acidity cuts through the sweetness in a very pleasing way. Apparently, it's even good for sore throats diluted at 1 dessertspoon to 250mls of water!

Anyway, not one to be able to leave a recipe alone, I thought it would make a great fruit vinegar to use in dressings too, so I cut the sugar down in the last stage to keep the tartness. There were blackberries on sale in my local market and I couldn't resist using these instead, just because I love their deep, jammy colour!

Blackberry shrub

The vinegar itself is very simple to make..... you just put your blackberries (or whatever fruit you choose to use) - I used about 500g - into a kilner jar or bottle and cover them with white vinegar.

Leave them to stand for a week, stirring well each day. Then strain the fruit and add one pound of sugar to one pint of liquid ....or in metric, about 500g sugar to 500mls of liquid (though I think it sounds much more evocative in imperial measures!) and boil it up for about 20 minutes, until it gets syrupy. Finally, skim off any white foam, and pour into sterilised bottles, then seal when it is cold. As I said, to make it more of a fruit vinegar I put in less sugar - about half of the amount used for the shrub.

Goats cheese and mango salad with blackberry vinaigrette

Now, you've got your gorgeous burgundy jewelled fruit vinegar...... so here's an idea of how to use it... mix two parts blackberry vinegar to three parts oil (rapeseed is a good oil to use because its delicate flavour won't overpower the fruit) to make a basic vinaigrette that's a little heavier than normal on the vinegar. Liberally drizzle the dressing over a goats cheese and mango salad, all that lovely palate of colours and saltiness and acid fruitiness....then, just sit back and enjoy!

when life blows you a raspberry.....

2009-03-21T19:54:00.007Z

...blow it right back with White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes with a raspberry cream cheese frosting! Ha!... right back at ya with sprinkles on - or raspberries!

These are actually a bit of a mish mash of lots of things that I love all mussed into one, a desire to use up a cream cheese 'surplus' from a carrot cake recipe, plus a whimsical notion to put it all together with white chocolate.....and why not!

So, what I ended up with is a white chocolate cupcake, based on my Banana Chocolate Muffins, using white chocolate instead of dark chocolate. Thrown in with a smattering of fresh raspberries and cheesecake (I snuck the idea of how to incorporate this from David Lebovitz's ..... Cheesecake Brownies )

Then, as if that wasn't enough gorgeousness overload in one cake, I felt like topping it all off with a raspberry ripple cream cheese frosting, based on the cream cheese frosting for the carrot cake!

Definitely just the thing to make the world right again!

pretty pea and lettuce soup

2009-02-26T13:00:00.011Z

This soup is vibrant, and delicious. Just right for brightening up these dull winter days. With a hunk of just baked crusty bread and lots of lovely butter......mmm

It's so simple to make too, which is another plus!.....and who would have thought, lettuce, in a soup would work, but work it certainly does; adding texture and verdant green flecks to set off the delicate pale pea green. Add a couple of succulent and crispy slices of grilled parma ham, and there you have it, perfection in a bowl!

Pea and Lettuce Soup with Parma Ham

(Recipe by Alfie - adapted from various sources)

2 onions

2-3 cloves garlic

2T olive oil

1 lettuce, shredded

500g frozen peas

600mls veggie stock

200mls creme fraiche

half a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

4-6 slices of parma ham

Fry off the onions and garlic for a few minutes until soft and starting to brown - but not too much.

Add the lettuce and peas to the pan and cook for a few minutes more. Only just enough to thaw the peas though.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 4-5 mins, but not too long, otherwise you will lose the lovely bright green colour.

Then add the creme fraiche and the seasonings to taste. Blitz with a hand whisk, or in a blender.

Grill the parma ham until crispy, and then serve the soup with the parma ham arranged on the top.

a rose by any other name........

2009-02-25T13:39:00.000Z

frosted roses

2009-01-15T19:03:00.004Z

there was a real taste of winter this last weekend, with a hoar frost that touched everything with it's magical crystal shroud...

nature can be so amazing

summer's end

2008-09-23T16:30:00.013+01:00

It seems so long now since I last sat down to post something..... these last two months have been a whirlwind, but now life is beginning to settle a little once again!

Those first few days and weeks of hectic craziness, of everything upside down, in boxes, uprooted and misplaced - like camping out, but without the bugs! - is now slowly being replaced by a steadier pace, as we start to organise, and 'pretty up' the house. I still have no kitchen to speak of, just a borrowed cooker stood next to a rickety unit in what will be the heart of the house, and an old linen cupboard for a makeshift crockery store... but we have dreams of what it will become!

We've come a long way since our first meal of take-out curry from our local Indian on a warm July evening. We didn't even notice the peeling wallpaper and bare boards through the excitement of finally being in our new 'old' house.

Since then it's given up a few of it's secrets while we've poked and prodded, stripped back and repaired; the fireplace in the bedroom, which was draped in a musty dark yellow paint, revealed some very beautiful and ornate victorian tiles.

The garden too, has had some treasures of it's own with three apple trees. All different, and all hung heavy with fruit.

So now, with the smell of Autumn heavy in the air, the dusky evenings giving way to starry skies and coal fires, it seemed right to collect the last of the Summer's bounty and bring it in to make crumbles and cakes.

Even with the floorboards still bare, and each room awaiting it's decided dressing, this feels like home; in from the deepening evening chill to good old- fashioned apple crumble, made with the first picking of apples from our garden, eaten in front of a roaring fire - albeit an open chimney breast and old fire-basket, while we still hunt for the perfect old fireplace to put back some of the splendour this old house once had!

asparagus dip

2008-06-24T17:22:00.014+01:00

This has to be one of my most favourite things, ever!.....it's very green, and garlicky; refreshing and clean tasting, it's not at all heavy or cloying like some dairy based dips can be, and it goes well with just about anything from baked potato, to crudites, to oat cakes, and yes, even hard boiled eggs! Don't believe me?....then why not give it a try!

It may sound like a weird combination of ingredients, but it's rich, nutty, almost smoky taste is very addictive. I've been making this dip for years without much change to the original recipe from a book called 'Food Combining for Vegetarians' by Jackie Le Tissier.

Food Combining is a system of eating rather than a 'diet', and was formulated by Dr Hay in the early 1900's; basically, you eat fresh, unprocessed foods, and you don't eat protein foods and carbohydrates at the same meal. As you can probably tell from the other recipes on the Blog, I don't Food Combine in everything I eat!, but I do try to mostly follow the guidelines, and I certainly feel a lot better for it when I do!

Asparagus Dip

1 350g can of asparagus (reserve liquid)

100g ground almonds

2 cloves of garlic

a pinch of smoked paprika

about 1 tablespoon of reserved asparagus liquid from can

Place all of the ingredients, except for the reserved liquid, into a lquidiser and whizz until smooth. You may need to add more, or less, apsaragus liquid to the mix to get your desired consistency. Don't be tempted to make it too runny though, because this can make it separate when it's served.

Cover, and refrigerate until needed (it will last two to three days in the fridge) although this tastes much better if it's eaten at room temperature. Try it piled onto a baked potato with a fresh crunchy green salad, or as a a dip served with crudites.

isn't life great!

2008-06-22T14:24:00.006+01:00

It seems like I haven't posted anything in ages - and I'm getting withdrawl symptoms!!

The thing is, life has got really hectic lately; with my daughters home fom Uni now for the summer there's been lots of catching up to do, and family time, before they're off again! Then, at the same time B and I have been engrossed in buying a run-down Victorian house to do up, with all of the running around that that entails.....(I'm hoping to post more about that later)..... and......our lovely ginger fluffball of a cat, Willow, produced four beautiful kittys last Saturday night.

So, life is wonderful, and trying to fit it all in to just 24 hours a day (let alone go to work!) is great fun!

I apologise that I haven't had time to visit all your lovely blogs either for a while - but I'll soon be back in the swing, I'm sure; not too much time for 'creative' baking at the moment, although B did get a lemon meringue cake for his birthday last week, but it got demolished before I could photograph it! Still I'll be back very soon...

Take care, Alfie

pea, feta and spinach salad

2008-06-02T19:45:00.015+01:00

This salad is so fresh, and vibrant; it is just simple, uncomplicated, good food. Just recently I've had a real hankering for peas....yes, I know, peas! Perhaps it's the longer days, and a promise of Summer (what, you hadn't noticed because of all the rain?), or maybe it's just that they taste so good, all bright green and sweet, and bursting smugly with their own goodness.

This gorgeous, verdant, salad is adapted from a recipe by Bill Granger (Pea, Feta and Mint Salad), but I'm not overly keen on mint, so I left that out, and also adapted the dressing so that I could add garlic (of course!)

The combination of the flavours works beautifully together, and even just looking at it makes you feel instantly healthier! It's colours are jewel like, and although we ate it as a simple lunch, just with a hunk of crusty bread, it would make a wonderfully vivid and appetising side to grace any meal.

Pea, Feta and Spinach Salad

(adapted from a recipe by Bill Granger)

200g fresh peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

30g pistachios

50g baby spinach leaves

75g feta cheese

Blanch the peas in boiling water for about two minutes, and then refresh immediately in cold water to stop them losing their lovely bright green colour.

Cook the onion in the two tablespoons of oil until soft and golden (about five minutes). Whisk together the remaining oil and cider vinegar for the dressing, and season with garlic, salt and pepper.

When the onions are cooked, mix them with the peas and pistachios in a bowl, and toss together with the dressing.

Lightly mix in the spinach to coat the leaves with the dressing and then sprinkle with the crumbled feta to serve.

individual smoked salmon and watercress tian

2008-05-26T18:27:00.022+01:00

Ah..... the Great British Bank Holiday!

Rain again.....but that didn't stop us enjoying it, after all, we wouldn't let a few showers spoil the fun! Not much chance for basking in sunshine in the garden, but, undeterred, we still managed to conjure an illusion of Summer with these individual smoked salmon tian; perfect with a light salad of mixed leaves, dressed with garlic vinaigrette, and freshly made crunchy coleslaw on the side - who cares about the rain when you can create Summer in your kitchen!

A Tian is basically a tart without the pastry crust, named after the half glazed french Tian dish that it was traditionally cooked in. Not only does this mean that it is very easy to make, but...you also get all of the wonderful rich, savoury, flavour of a tart, without all the work of making pastry and lining tart cases etc! Whilst there is obviously still a place for tarts and quiches, these little Tians make a wonderful short-cut, and they're great if you can't eat wheat, or you just simply don't want the extra fuss, or 'packaging' of the pastry crust. They hold together surprisingly well even without a pastry case, so they are also perfect for picnics and packed lunches. (Bet you can't guess what's in my lunch-box for today!....)

Because I wanted small, individual, Tians I improvised and cooked them in my muffin pan. The combination of delicate smoked salmon and punchy watercress is so evocative of lazy Summer eating, and it's all held together with a smooth, creamy textured custard, tinged with garlic and freshly grated aromatic nutmeg (this has an amazing ability to bring out the flavour in any creamy sauce)

Individual Smoked Salmon and Watercress Tian

(Cabbage Roses and Cupcakes)

5 eggs

2 tablespoons creme fraiche

150mls single cream

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

120g smoked salmon

half an 85g bag of watercress roughly chopped (plus a few sprigs for garnish)

1 clove garlic

half a tsp grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Set your oven to 180C / Gas 4. Then, in a large bowl, blend together the eggs, cream, creme fraiche, and parmesan. Stir in the garlic, nutmeg, and watercress, and then season to taste. If you don't have a non-stick pan you may need to oil it a little before pouring in the Tian filling. Pour the filling almost to the top of each muffin mould.

(Because the salmon is heavy and sinks to the bottom of the mixture, I found it easier to divide the salmon between the muffin moulds after pouring in the egg and cream filling to make sure that it was evenly distributed). Finally, place a decorative sprig of watercress on the top of each Tian and bake for 20-30 mins until they are just set and golden brown.

pistachio meringues with blackberry and elderflower granita

2008-05-18T15:38:00.027+01:00

Meringue is one of those things that I find very therapeutic to make, the added bonus being it's always so wonderful to eat too. In the Winter it's comforting with a heavy unctuous chocolate or toffee topping, and in the Summer (well, the sun has been out for a couple of days, so we could be forgiven for thinking that it must be nearly Summer!) what better way to finish off a meal than with a sweet, crisp meringue, dotted with nubs of bright green pistachios, and then piled high with floppy clouds of double cream, and topped off with a tart and refreshing granita?

Firstly, start by making the meringue the day before.

75g shelled pistachio nuts

4 egg whites

200g golden caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and heat the oven to 120C / Gas 1. Tip the pistachios into a shallow baking tin and toast in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Blitz in a food processor or chop roughly and then set aside.

In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Gradually whisk in the sugar a spoon at a time until it's all been incorporated and the mixture is no longer gritty. Quickly whisk in the corflour and vinegar, which you have mixed together into a paste, and then lightly fold in about three quarters of the pistachios.

Spoon the mixture onto the baking tray to make four round shells with a slight hollow in the middle for the filling. Then sprinkle over the remaining pistachio nuts, and bake low in the oven for about an hour, or until they are firm and crisp on the outside. If they brown too quickly you may need to turn the oven down, or put the tray lower down in the oven. When they are cooked leave in the oven to cool - preferably overnight.

To make the Granita.......

225g blackberries (or other soft fruit of your choice)

250mls elderflower and blackcurrant cordial

juice of 1 lemon

....simply puree the fruit with the cordial and push through a fine mesh sieve. Add the lemon juice and then pour into a shallow container and freeze for about an hour. By this time the granita should be starting to freeze around the edges.

Gently stir the crystals with a fork and then put the container back into the freezer. Keep doing this every half hour, taking care not to crush the crystals too much otherwise you will lose the lovely 'grainy' texture.

When the mixture has reached the consistency of a firm slush it's ready to be eaten.

Finally, when you're ready, assemble the meringue with the cream and granita and serve straight away. I know I'm definitely looking forward to a long, hot Summer. It's the perfect excuse for eating lots more lovely meringue with refreshing fruit granita!

banana chocolate muffins with banana fudge glaze - definitely not for the faint-hearted!

2008-05-18T15:37:00.020+01:00

I make no apologies for yet another post about chocolate (I feel there may be a theme developing here!) after all, chocolate is possibly one of my favourite things (what, you hadn't guessed!) and always seems to work wonderfully well in any context; this recipe being no exception......and these muffins have got banana in them, so that makes them healthy, right?

Adding the banana to these chocolate muffins was the result of needing to use up some sad looking bananas that were sat in the corner of my kitchen slowly turning a deeper and deeper shade of black! When they were cooked they looked a little bare, so I made up a fudge sauce and threw in some more chopped bananas (well there were quite a few to use up!) and voila, there you have it.....soft, chewy chocolate/banana muffin, drizzled with buttery banana fudge mmmmmm!....

Banana Chocolate Muffins with Banana Fudge Glaze

(Recipe) Cabbage Roses & Cupcakes

225mls single cream

50g cornflour

100g dark soft brown sugar

3 tbsp cocoa

75g butter

125g dark chocolate

75mls sunflower oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

125g golden caster sugar

125g plain flour

2 and a half tsps baking powder

1 large banana chopped

Fudge Glaze

50mls double cream

175g soft brown sugar

50g butter

1 chopped banana

Put the cream, cocoa, brown sugar, and cornflour into a saucepan and whisk together over a medium heat until boiled and very thick and smooth. Take off the heat and beat in the butter and broken up chocolate until melted and combined into a thick, glossy batter. Next, add the oil, vanilla, one of the eggs and mix this in. Finally add the caster sugar and the remaining egg and beat again until smooth.

Then, sift the flour and baking powder into the chocolate mixture, add the banana and beat through until combined.

Pour the batter into muffin cases or tins and bake for 25-30 mins at 180C/ 350F / Gas 4.

To make the glaze, melt the butter and sugar together in a small pan until the sugar has melted. Add in the cream and boil for 2-3 minutes stirring all the time. Take off the heat and add in the chopped banana. Stir and leave to cool until it has thickened enough to drizzle over the muffins and cover them.

These are best eaten on the day that they're made, but they also make a delicious, and very tempting dessert eaten warm with ice-cream and extra banana fudge sauce!

twisted candy!

2008-05-08T11:19:00.011+01:00

You see the thing is......

while I really do love eating good, fresh, healthy, wholefoods, I can also be tempted to go over to 'the dark side'!

This was one of those times; standing in the checkout queue yesterday, absently waiting my turn, blissfully unaware of the temptation ahead, I spied this twist on a Cadbury Creme Egg

It was calling me, with it's iridescent yellow and red and bluey-purple wrap, well....it was a done deal, and I snuck home furtively with my elicit hoard!

Ah - but what's it like inside the wrapper I hear you ask? (Ginny I thought I'd elaborate!) Well, I ate the evidence before I could take any more photos, but it's basically a chunky twist of chocolate with a creme egg centre. Packaging aside - I still prefer the original though, for it's gooey fun-of-eatingness!

No recipe this time, just a pic of a candy wrapper that I wanted to share - just because......!

Arte Y Pico.. PostScript

2008-05-08T10:14:00.005+01:00

I was amazed, and delighted, to find that Marye at Baking Delights had also passed on this award to me - two in one week! - Thank you Marye; as you say, for a non-blogger it must seem crazy to get excited about a picture to put on your blog. But really it's more about the fun and networking of the blogshere, and all the wonderful people you meet along the way!
Check out Marye's blog, it's inspiring and full of lovely recipes and interesting articles.

Arte Y Pico

2008-05-03T12:29:00.013+01:00

Another lovely surprise yesterday..... from Angela - she chose me for the Arte Y Pico Award This award is for creativity, design, interesting material and contribution to the blogging community. I'm really thrilled to receive it, especially as I'm so new to blogging! So, thank you Angela, and as always it's good to pass on the good feeling.

As I particularly love the beautiful photos that I find on so many of the food blogs out there, it's a pleasure to pass this award on to 5 blogs that I always look forward to reading, as much for their wonderful pictures, as for their imaginative and innovative recipes! Make sure you find some time to check them out and see for yourself.

I love Milk and Cookies
Ilcavolettodibruxelles
Cherrapeno
Cannelle et Vanille
And then I do the dishes

The rules for this award are:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

decadent chocolate mousse cake

2008-04-28T13:08:00.016+01:00

Is it a cake - or is it a mousse? Well, whichever it is, it tastes delicious! When I saw this recipe by Annie Bell I knew I had to make it. What is it, I wonder, about our love affair with chocolate, perhaps it's the velvety texture, or is it the irresistibly rich and decadent taste that wraps itself around your tongue, and into your psyche, leaving you helpless to resist?

This gorgeous cake cum mousse is a very simple cake to make, and it looks stunning. I love the way that the sides bulge under the weight of the just-set, unctuous, moussey, chocolate centre, hinting at the delights within. This is chocolate heaven, and I make no apology at all for posting this luscious recipe; it may be gratuitous in it's extravagance, but it's worth every calorie!

Chocolate mousse cake

Recipe

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

150g golden caster sugar

450ml double cream

1 and a half tablespoons rosewater

300g good quality dark chocolate

Heat oven to 140C/ Gas 1, and then butter a deep sided 20cm cake tin with a removable base (the 'cake' is so soft when it's cooked that it's best not to try and get it off the base!)

Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar until very pale - almost white, in fact, and doubled in volume. Meanwhile heat the cream and the rosewater to boiling point and then pour over the broken chocolate pieces. Stir gently every so often until the chocolate has melted and then add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and sugar and mix together. Pour into the prepared tin and then bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven) until the cake is just set and still has a bit of wobble in it!

Leave to cool in the tin and run a knife around the top to release the crust if it has stuck to the tin. As it cools the top will crack a little but I think makes it look even more appealing! Eat this on the day that it's cooked to get the maximum gooey moussiness, although this will keep well covered in the fridge for a couple of days. Allow it to come back to room temperature before serving.

Lovely served with cream, or real vanilla ice-cream - or if you want a bit of a tang to cut through the rich chocolate, try it with Greek yoghurt!

sunshine granola

2008-04-26T10:09:00.017+01:00

Okay......you know how the theory goes about making sure you have a healthy breakfast, packed with all sorts of good things, and..... you also know how it goes, that even with the best of intentions, and cupboards stocked full of said 'good things' it just never seems to happen - well, not to me anyway! I'm sure that time speeds up in the morning; no sooner have I clambered out of bed, rubbing precious sleep from my eyes, than it seems I have to be rushing out of the door - late again!

I always intend to make a 'proper' breakfast; I love oats in the morning, and sometimes the porridge even makes it from the cupboard to a bowl, although, more often than not, it's more of a whimsical notion, and my healthy breakfast goes by the board - again!

In an effort to redress the balance I've been looking around for a way to eat my oats without having to cook them first. Something I could just 'grab and go'. Then my answer came when I was trawling through my box of recipe clippings, and food magazines. There they were - several recipes for Granola! I've been aware of Granola but never really taken too much notice of it before, but now it seemed like the perfect solution to my breakfast conundrum - or lack of it! I adapted the bits I liked from the recipes I found, and came up with a lovely sweet, nutty mix that ticked all the boxes - just like a bowl of sunshine to start the day!

I enjoy it just with almond milk, and it's disappearing very quickly.....maybe next time I'll substitute maple syrup for the honey, and pecans for the pistachios, and add in some dried fruits (cranberries, strawberries, pineapple) - but then that's the beauty of Granola, the possibilities are endless - B and I are converted!

Sunshine Granola

Recipe

(by Alfie)

3 cups jumbo organic oats

half cup flaked almonds

half cup shredded coconut

half cup chopped hazelnuts

half cup pistachios

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

6 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons walnut oil

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla essence

Mix all of the dry ingredients together to combine. Melt the honey and walnut oil over a gentle heat and then stir in vanilla essence.

Pour the honey mixture into the oat and nut mixture so that it's well coated and then tip into a large open baking tray.

Bake at 300F / 150C / Gas 2 for 20-30 minutes stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking.

When you have a tray full of fragrant toasted nuggets, remove it from the oven. Stir to stop it from sticking together while it cools, and then store in an airtight container.

Serve it with milk, nut milk, or natural yoghurt for a bowl full of nutty goodness to set you up for the day!

naturally sweet!.......sugarless date and apple cake

2008-04-25T18:00:00.013+01:00

Dates are a wonderful sweetener, making the most of all those natural fruit sugars. So, when they're combined with raisins, sultanas and apple, well, there's no need for any added sugar at all! This is a real bonus in a world where it seems that almost everything is packed full of unnecessary 'added sugars'.

This is a recipe by Annie Bell which I came across in the Sainsbury's Magazine while I was looking for a low sugar Birthday Cake. It is so rich and fruity, and it could be iced if you wanted to, but seeing as I was trying to cut down on the added sugar on this occasion, that would definitely have defeated the object!

I must admit, that as it emerged from the oven in it's tinged paper shroud it really didn't look like the prettiest cake I've ever seen!

But, once it was cooled and dressed up with Spring flowers it was special enough to grace any table.......Happy Birthday Mum!

Date and Apple Cake

Recipe

300g unsalted butter

340ml apple juice

300g dates - pitted and chopped

1 bramley apple - about 300g - peeled and grated

350g raisins

300g sultanas

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

150g ground almonds

150g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

finely grated zest of 1 lemon & 1 orange

Heat the oven to 150C / Gas 2. Butter a 20cm round loose bottom tin and line with baking parchment. Melt the butter with the apple juice, and then stir in the fruit. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer this to a large mixing bowl and stir in the bicarb, which will fizz madly! Leave the mixture to cool for around 10 minutes.

Beat the flour, almonds, nutmeg, and zest into the fruit and then pour into cake tin.

As there is so much fruit in the cake it will burn easily, so to protect it while cooking, cut out a sheet of baking parchment that will fit over the tin and halfway down the sides. Cut a hole out of the middle of this paper the size of a 50p piece, and then butter the paper to prevent it sticking to the cake! Lay the paper over the cake and secure with string. Wrap a double layer of parchment around the sides of the tin and tie this in place too.

Now bake the cake for 2 and a half to 3 hours, covering the top of the cake with another layer of parchment if it needs it. It will be cooked when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

This luscious, moist cake will keep in an airtight container for three weeks - if it lasts that long!

dacquoise with summer berry compote

2008-04-20T14:45:00.034+01:00

I don't really know what made me think of it.....Dacquoise. Perhaps it was musing on a light dessert for a relaxing Sunday lunch; an occasion to be savoured as it doesn't seem to happen too often! Or maybe it was my general preoccupation with ground almonds, a sense that seems to shadow me like some half forgotten eidolon.

Well, anyway, whatever it was, it sent me searching through my own hand-written student notebooks; dog-eared recipe books bespattered and smudged with years of loving use as their pages have given up their well-loved treasures time and again. Yet, strangely, this was a recipe that I have had for well over 25 years, and have, as yet, never made! I don't really know why exactly I've overlooked it for so long. It became a family favourite of my class buddy from our sixth-form cookery classes (or Home Economics as it was then!) In fact, I remember her calling me on several occasions when she had been asked to produce this favoured confection, but didn't have the recipe to hand!

Despite this, until now, it had remained for me just so many ingredients on a page. Until today, that is....so I approached the task with interest, wondering what it was that could be so special about what is basically a meringue with ground almonds added to it. Following the recipe I dutifully whisked up the meringue, and folded in the almonds, and then set it in the oven and waited......

Well, I can certainly see why this became a favourite. The ground almonds offer a taste that is rather like amaretti biscuits and the texture light and crispy with a little chewiness - not as sickly as a normal meringue, and perhaps a little more 'grown up'. The original recipe from my notebook was filled with apricots and cream, although the delicate nutty flavour would lend itself to all sorts of different fillings. We had ours with summer fruits though (from the freezer, since we're not yet even fully into Spring! ) as I felt I wanted a sharp contrast to the sweet almondy meringue. I'll definitely make this again, though I don't think I'll wait another 25 years!

Dacquoise with Summer Fruit Compote

Dacquoise

3 egg whites

150g caster sugar

50g ground almonds

Filling:

250ml double cream - lightly whipped

100g summer fruits

sugar to taste

1 teaspoon cornflour

Heat the oven to 140C / 275F / Gas 1 and mark out two 20cm circles on sheets of baking parchment and place these on clean dry baking sheets.

Whisk the egg whites until just stiff, and then whisk in half the sugar so that it becomes smooth and glossy. Fold in the rest of the sugar and the ground almonds gently until they are mixed in evenly.

Carefully divide the mixture between the two circles, spreading them out gently - they will be quite thin. Bake for an hour, or until the paper peels away easily.

For the compote, put two tablespoons of water in a saucepan with the fruit and sugar, and simmer gently until soft (about 5 minutes). Slake the cornflour with a little water to a smooth paste, and then add to the fruits, stirring all the time to avoid lumps. Bring to the boil to thicken the mixture for two minutes and then leave to cool. Alternatively, if you want to do without the cornflour you can just continue to cook the fruit until the juices have reduced to a syrup.

Finally, sandwich the Dacquoise together with whipped cream, and pile the fruit compote on top allowing some of the sweet juices to dapple the sides. Finish off with a light dusting of icing sugar and some toasted almonds. (Try not to assemble this too far in advance or the filling will tend to make the Dacquoise lose it's lovely crunch)

Then sit back, relax - and enjoy this with even more cream.....if you dare!

Ahem!....I'd like to thank....

2008-04-19T12:41:00.013+01:00

Yesterday I discovered that the lovely Nic at Cherrapeno had chosen me for an 'E' for Excellent Award. I only started Blogging in January as an outlet for my love of cooking and photography, and already it's a lot of fun. Special thanks go to Nic as she has been really supportive and encouraging as I took my first faltering steps into the world of Blogging. Her own Blog is full of lovely recipes with beautiful and tempting photos, and every time I visit I always come away with a list of things to cook!

Getting the Award was such a lovely surprise, and although my Blog is really just a big 'canvas' for my own foodie experiments and ramblings it was so nice to think other people like it too! Thank you to all of you who have visited my Blog, and for all the lovely comments and feedback that you've been sending.

As part of the Award I am supposed to pass it on to ten other Blogs which I think are excellent - now that's a really formidable thing to try to do; there are so many wonderful blogs out there, how could I possibly choose?

So anyway...., after MUCH deliberation, and in no particular order (they're ALL so inspiring to read, and seriously gorgeous to look at! ) here are the Blogs that I would like to pass on the Award to....

You say tomato I say tomato
and then I do the dishes
Domestic Goddess in Training
The Knead For Bread
Milk and Cookies
Nordljus
Aapplemint
Tartlelette
The Traveler's Lunchbox
Confections of a Foodie Bride

sweet violet cupcakes

2008-04-14T12:59:00.036+01:00

With Spring unfurling her rainbow hues, my garden is now carpeted with sweet violets, their frail purple blossoms a florid blaze.

Dating back to Roman times there has been evidence of violets being put to culinary use. In Rome they would welcome the Spring with 'Violetum' - a sweet violet wine, and why not? Like other plants, violets too are not without their medicinal properties. Folklore has it that the plant is good for all sorts of ailments from sore throats to headaches, to moderating anger, and even curing cancer. Violet blossoms are, in fact, higher in Vitamin C than any other domestic green vegetable, and also contain Vitamin A! Tea made from the entire plant is used to treat digestive disorders, whilst new research has detected the presence of a glycoside of salicylic acid (a natural aspirin) which affirms its use for centuries in many countries as a herbal medicinal remedy.

There have been recipes for using violets through the centuries, but the violet became particularly popular with the Victorians and Edwardians. A 'Violet Tea' was a Spring event, held when the flowers were in bloom. As violets are such delicate flowers, the Edwardian Violet Tea was presented in suitably elegant fashion. All food was especially light and miniaturized, with bite sized scones and sandwiches flavored with violet jelly or crystallized violets.

The violet is such a beautiful and evocative flower that I was inspired to use those delicate blossoms from the garden. Of course, my thoughts immediately turned to cupcakes! I was also reminiscing over the sickly sweet, but very addictive, 'Parma Violets' that I remember eating as a child. You can still buy them, but I haven't had any for years!

So, I started by baking a batch of cupcakes using a basic sponge mixture and adding lots of vanilla (I decided that anything else might overpower the delicate violet flavour) I wanted a flat topping that would frost the cakes with a slight crunch, so I used Royal Icing and added crushed Parma Violets to it. This produced a lovely pale lilac colour, and also, not surprisingly, tasted like Parma Violets....rather like a grown up and more sophisticated version of the candy! Finally, to decorate the cupcakes how could I better nature, so I picked fresh violet blossoms from the garden and crystallized them with a glimmering coating of fine sugar. They looked so pretty, a bit like ethereal butterflies.

The tender violet bent in smiles

To elves that sported nigh

Tossing the drops of fragrant dew

To scent the evening sky.
(Elizabeth Oakes Smith 1806-1893)

Sweet Violet Cupcakes

(by Alfie)

Sponge mix

100g self-raising flour

100g caster sugar

100g butter softened

2 eggs

1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

Royal Icing

1 egg white

1 teaspoon lemon juice

icing sugar

3 packs of Giant Parma Violets

For the cupcakes, beat together all of the ingredients for 4-5 minutes until well combined and pale and fluffy. Spoon into cake cases but don't overfill - you only want the cakes to come about two thirds up the case when they're cooked.

Bake in a moderate oven Gas 5 for about 20-25 minutes until they are risen and spring back when touched. Take out and leave aside to cool.

When the cupcakes have cooled, cut the dome off the top just to flatten them out a bit so the icing will sit better. Then make the icing.

To make the icing, lightly whisk the egg-white and lemon juice in a clean bowl just to break it up a little, then beat in icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is thick but it will still find it's own level. If you add too much icing sugar and it becomes too thick, just add more egg white to thin it down again. Crush the Parma Violets - I found the easiest way to do this was in a pestle and mortar. Using the food processor made too much fine powdery dust!. Then mix in a little hot water to make a paste. Stir this into your icing and then pour carefully into the cake cases. Leave to set - preferably overnight.

Decorate with the crystallized flowers - attaching them with a little more egg-white

thai sweet potato and carrot soup

2008-04-09T14:37:00.031+01:00

I don't know about you, but I always seem to have things lurking in my fridge that have been bought with great plans in mind, and the best of intentions, but that, nevertheless, seem to get overlooked while life happens! Anyway, so it was that while hunting around in the fridge and pondering on some inspiration for dinner tonight, I came across quite a few things that needed using up; among them a sweet potato, carrots and a huge bunch of coriander. Hmmmmm - the Prawn Laksa I made at the weekend gave me an idea!...........I would use up the vegetables and make it into a veggie version of the lovely Laksa.

Spring hasn't quite arrived yet and the yellowy soup would be comforting, and lift my spirits too.

The spicy, creamy sweet, taste of Laksa is one of my favourite things, and I thought the sweet potato and carrot would work really well with all of the spices and the coconut without overpowering them. So, I based this soup on all of the things I love in a laksa, the spices, the fragrant coconut and coriander, and last, but not least, the chewy noodles to slurp the wonderful and warming spicy liquid through!

Thai Sweet potato and Carrot Soup

Recipe (by Alfie)

2 medium onions (roughly chopped)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

25g butter

Red thai curry paste to taste (I used 2 teaspoons because I don't like mine too hot!)

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

200g carrots (cut into chunks)

1 large sweet potato (also cut into chunks)

2 litres of vegetable stock

100g creamed coconut (grated)

4 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

medium bunch of coriander

250g thick rice noodles (or substitute your favourite noodles)

Start by sweating the onions in the oil and butter until they are soft and golden. Stir in the thai curry paste and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the chopped sweet potato and carrot (there's no need to chop them really finely for this recipe as they will be blended later) and cook in the spicy oil for five minutes so they are lovely and coated.

Next, pour in the stock and then add the crushed garlic, coconut and soy. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for 30 minutes or so until the potato and carrot are soft. Just before the end of the cooking time for the vegetables cook your noodles separately, according to the pack instructions.

When the vegetables are soft, add the coriander and blend the soup to a smooth velvety consistency. Add the noodles to the soup and serve. Alternatively you can put the noodles straight into the bowls and pour the soup over the top.

This is such an easy soup to make, and packed with flavour.

One word of warning though - when making this, don't even attempt to cook, or eat this, in your best white T.......I got off lightly though; now I just have a lovely yellow blender!

'curiosity cola'

2008-04-02T16:40:00.029+01:00

Another lunch-time jaunt to our favourite haunt, at our local Deli....Barrington's. (Crumbs that's almost poetic! )

I love just whiling away the time over lunch, or a coffee, sat at the bistro-style tables, whilst all around is fabulous food of all descriptions; local cheeses, speciality foods and drinks, sauces and pastas, and sweet things, and, of course, my favourite deli counter with the fabulous flans and colourful salads.

Today, while trying to choose which gastronomic delight to indulge in this time, I spied sitting in the chiller cabinet this fabulous little bottle. Straight away I loved the label and the name 'Curiosity Cola' - I had to have it!

I'm a real sucker for anything 'traditional' that keeps alive old methods and is well made. Fentimans Curiosity Cola is part of a range of beverages that are the result of a time honoured process of botanical brewing. As they say 'Colas originated from apothecaries and were heralded as elixirs with health enhancing properties. Legislation now prevents producers from making wondrous claims about the medicinal properties of their drinks, but believe our cola to be somewhat curious through the inclusion of Catuaba & Guarana extracts.'

Well... I can't tell you what it tastes like because I can't bring myself to open it yet - it looks so charming just sat on the kitchen shelf!

So today, I got two treats; lunch and a new 'trouvee' to admire. It really is the little things in life and the serendipity of it all that I love...

caramelised onion flan with nutty oat & carrot pastry

2008-03-29T13:34:00.044Z

It's been one of those early spring days that just makes you feel good to be alive. The air smelled green and fresh, and the feel of the sun on my face kept me sat outside on the step, coffee mug in hand, relishing its warmth a little longer than I intended!

Bumble bees were humming outside the window, and the sweet-pea on the fence has started to snake it's pale green tendrils in search of a better purchase on the twisted trellis......and I was in my favourite place - the kitchen - baking a recipe which I'd come across on the wonderful and inventive food blog by Evelin called Bounteous Bites

Oats bring such a wonderful nuttiness to everything from muffins and bread, to scones and cakes, and now here they were... in pastry! I have come across pizza bases with oats before, but was intrigued to try the concept in a flan... Since I am becoming increasingly interested in finding and developing alternatives to using wheat flour (there are so many other fabulous grains out there to work with!) I further adapted Evelin's recipe to see if it would work without the flour......it did! I think this is going to be one of those recipes that I'll just keep on 'tweaking'.

I substituted ground almonds and cornflour for the wheat flour since I've found that ground almonds work so well in so many things, and cornflour keeps the pastry 'short' or crispy. The pastry crust was lovely and crunchy when it was warm straight from the oven. It did lose it's bite a bit when it cooled down. Even so, the combination of the nutty sweet pastry with the unctuous creamy oniony-garlic filling was really delicious (I couldn't resist substituting cream for the milk either; I love it's velvety thickness in a flan, and, of course, I had to add garlic!)

It didn't last long, and has already become a favourite. Thank you Evelin!

Caramelised Onion flan with Nutty Oat & Carrot Pastry

For the Pastry:

125g oatflakes (fine cut or ground - a little texture is good, but too much or it won't bind together well)

50g ground almonds

50g cornflour

100g grated carrot

100g butter (at room temperature)

half a teaspoon of baking powder

half a teaspoon of ground coriander

For the filling:

300g shallots or onions

50g butter for frying

3 cloves of garlic

200ml cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

a few sprigs of thyme - or whatever you fancy!

seasoning

To make the pastry, measure the oatflakes, ground almonds and cornflour into a bowl together with the baking powder and coriander. Stir to combine and then add in the grated carrot, and finally mix in the butter. I found that cutting it in with a knife until it came together was fine. The mixture will be quite sticky but that's o.k.

Cover and leave in the fridge to rest for about 30 minutes - this way it will be easier to handle!

Meanwhile, slowly cook the onions or shallots in butter.....I used shallots for their shape and sweetness.

until they are gorgeous and caramelised, sweet and sticky...

then add in the garlic almost at the last minute to stop it from being overcooked and burning - which would make it bitter

Roll out the pastry on a floured board (I used more cornflour) and line a flan tin, or individual muffin pans. The pastry is quite sticky and brittle, but if you handle it carefully it's workable. I did find it easier to flatten it out most of the way with my hand before rolling the final round. In fact, where it's quite soft, if it does crack when you line the tins it's no problem to patch up the holes! When you've lined the tin cover and place back in the fridge to rest for another 20 minutes or so to prevent it from shrinking too much.

Then bake the flan blind for 20 minutes at 200C / Gas 6. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 180C / Gas 4. Spread the onion mixture over the base. Mix together the cream and eggs. Add the mustard and seasoning and any herbs you fancy. I used Thyme because it was what was to hand with the fresh spring shoots coming through in the garden.

Pour the cream mixture over the onions and cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes until set and golden brown.

Tastes great straight from the oven with a few fresh spring vegetables, and then have it later for a packed lunch too...

It's not exactly Asian, but the nutty smell of the onions and garlic from my Bento box were certainly tantalizing!

click!......there was life before the food processor

2008-03-29T12:26:00.015Z

As you have probably already guessed, I have a passion for all things vintage! As a natural result of this, together with my love of food, a collection of vintage cooking utensils has evolved, and yes.....I do use them!

There's a wonderful connection about using something that's worn with an age of producing countless meals and feasts. Food, after all, is probably one of the most basic sustenances of life, and there is something very special about preparing and providing food for people you love. As you handle these cherished living pieces of history you can almost feel all the love and energy that's gone into all the things it's ever made, and you can't help but imagine what these might have been.......in the case of this pastry blender; sunday tea-time scones, quiches and flans for summer picnics, or maybe sweet fruit tartlets for a special treat.

"Indeed, pastry is one of the most important branches of the culinary science. It unceasingly occupies itself with ministering pleasure to the sight as well as to the taste; with erecting graceful monuments, miniature fortresses, and all kinds of architectural imitations, composed of the sweetest and most agreeable products of all climates and countries." (Mrs Beeton from 'Mrs Beetons' Book of Household Management')

So, although this post isn't linked with a recipe this time, I thought it was time to remind ourselves that there was life before the food-processor! Not that I'm saying that it doesn't have it's advantages, but sometimes it's good to get back to the basics and really get in touch, and 'up close and personal' with the food that we're making.

As Mrs Beeton said "It must be remembered that..[the kitchen].. is the great laboratory of every household, and that much of the “weal or woe,” as far as regards bodily health, depends upon the nature of the preparations concocted within its walls."

Mrs B would be so proud!

This is my entry for this month's Click! event at Jugalbandi

chocolate fix...chocolate crinkles

2008-03-26T10:49:00.010Z

You know, I'm not entirely convinced that there is such a thing as too much chocolate! Easter seems to have become a time of seasonal chocolate overload, so....in keeping with the custom, I couldn't resist making these as a gift for my family as an alternative to the gaudy foil-wrapped chocolate offerings that we usually succumb to (of course we did have those as well - it is tradition, after all!)

I have been meaning to make these for a while, having come across the recipe on 'Good Food' and been mesmerised by the vivid contrast of the rich dark chocolate and pure white powdered sugar, creating this amazingly beautiful craggy effect. I just had to have a go at making some myself! The method is very similar to making brownies, as is the texture; biting through the brittle crust reveals a velvety chocolate fudge that is very addictive! Use the best quality chocolate that you can find as this makes all the difference to the flavour.

Because you can make up the mixture the day before, these are the perfect, quick and easy cookies if you have friends round for coffee. What could be more delicious than warm chocolate cookies straight from the oven?

Chocolate Crinkles

(adapted from BBC Good Food)

200g dark chocolate - the darker the better!

50g butter

100g soft brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

200g plain flour

pinch of salt

half teaspoon of baking powder

icing sugar to coat

Melt chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water. Take care not to overheat or scorch the chocolate. Remove from heat and leave to cool for a while

In another bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, and then add the vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Finally, mix in the flour, salt and baking powder until you have a smooth batter, and then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.

When ready to cook, heat the oven to 350F / 180C / Gas 4. Roll teaspoonsful of dough into balls and coat in Icing sugar until all the chocolate is covered....this is important as it's what creates the cracked effect of the sugar casing. Place on a sugared baking sheet and press each one down lightly.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and then.... voila!

.....you have gorgeous orbs of fudgy chocolate indulgence - who says chocolate isn't good for you!

easter bento bunny

2008-03-25T13:29:00.017Z

I don't know what it is about those cute Smarties-coloured bento egg moulds........they're just so much fun, and extremely addictive! I mean, who could resist eating an egg shaped liked a rabbit, or a fish, and the whole process is just so simple and amazing.

You take an egg....

pierce the end to stop it from cracking.....
boil it for 10 minutes - and then when it's done, you peel it and slip it into the rainbow coloured magic box, (in this case, orange) and a little later when it's gone cold......hey presto!.....you no longer have just any old boiled egg, you have a perfectly formed, totally cute, and irresistible bunny.

Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that!......... so, as it's Easter I decided to colour it as well. I wanted something suitably bunny-like so I decided on pink. I've made tea eggs before so I thought I would try the same process but with the egg totally peeled. I chose beetroot as my colouring of choice, but found that when cooking the beetroot it disappointingly gave off a rather unpleasant murky orange brown colour - not what I was after at all!

Undeterred however, I tried again, but this time with grated raw beetroot steeped in cold water, and that gave me a much better result. I soaked my boiled eggs in the beetroot water for about 40 minutes, and found that I got a lovely deep velvety pink, although you can vary the shade, depending on how long you leave the egg to soak.
Given that boiled eggs are not always the most appealing of things to eat, this is a fantastic, albeit subversive, way to persuade reluctant egg eaters to give them a try. At the very least they just look pretty in a Bento box!

Bento fun!

2008-03-19T13:51:00.017Z

At the moment I've got an ongoing fascination with Asian food, with a real hankering for those lovely strong, clean flavours. I've also discovered the wonderful, and fun, world of Bento ( Japanese, meaning meal in a box ). There are so many blogs out there dealing solely with Bento. One I particularly like is Just Bento. I love the whole idea of the simplicity, mixed with the visual appeal; some Bento boxes I've seen are real works of art, like this one here - and like a lot of things japanese, there is a cuteness overload........not that I'm complaining!

So, fired up with enthusiasm for my new-found infatuation I bought a Bento box, complete with cutlery and belt, and some cute 'Hello Kitty' pots for the soy sauce condiment. I know, but I just couldn't resist them in all their pink cuteness....not to mention the character moulds for making eggs shaped like rabbits and fish!

My Bento box for today is nowhere near as artistic as some, and a bit of a hybrid, but I thought it looked quite pretty....Teryaki Salmon on mixed salad in the top layer, and sushi rice with grated cucumber and a dressing of Apple Cider vinegar. Cider vinegar might sound a bit weird, but it really cuts through the starchiness of the sushi rice, and the combination of the sweet, salty, garlicky salmon with the soft rice, and the cool, clean-tasting cucumber really works!

...........and even better - it's good for you too!

Teryaki Salmon

(Recipe by Alfie)

For the marinade:

Half a 16oz bottle of soy sauce (or use Tamari to make this Gluten-free)

3 cloves garlic

half a teaspoon of ginger

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons of sake or cooking sherry

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and put into a shallow dish. Put the salmon into the marinade - I found this was enough for 3 large pieces of salmon - cover and chill for four to eight hours.

When needed, cook in a moderate oven 180C / Gas 4 for about 20 minutes, spooning over the remaining marinade occasionally to stop it from drying out. Or, alternatively you can grill the fish, although I find this does tend to catch a little this way because of the high sugar content.

This is lovely and refreshing served with rice - sushi / brown, or even garlic rice, and a crunchy vegetable like carrot sticks, grated cucumber, or mangetout. We like Carrot Kinpira which is carrots cut into matchsticks and cooked in sesame oil until soft. Then you add soy sauce, and sesame seeds (and a little brown sugar if you like it really sweet!) cook a little longer to allow the flavours to develop, and then serve warm.

This style of food is so simple to do, but really delicious!

chocolate celebrations!

2008-03-12T19:42:00.015Z

Yesterday we had a belated celebration for daughter number two's 21st Birthday.....

just a small family affair, but, well......a Birthday is just not a Birthday without 'Birthday Cake' is it! I've always enjoyed making Birthday cakes for the children, even though it's sometimes more of a 'challenge' than I'd anticipated! It's just the fun of putting it all together, more of an engineering exercise than cooking really!

Anyway, as she's not a fan of fondant icing I opted for chocolate - you can't go wrong with chocolate really can you! I was debating whether, or not, to post the recipe for the actual cake since I wasn't overwhelmed by it's chocolateyness, and it did crust a bit on top (but that could be down to my oven being a bit temperamental!).....but, in the end I thought I would post the cake recipe anyway, in it's entirety, so that you could make up your own mind.

I was pleased with the Ganache Icing though - an amalgamation of various recipes - it was lovely and glossy, and was so easy to use; sometimes the ganache goes from too runny to set before you can get it on the cake, leaving a crummy mess! The filling was Chantilly Cream so it wasn't too heavy, and I cut out the numbers from white and dark chocolate melted and then spread out and mixed in a layer on a tray. The feathering around the edge was done simply with melted white chocolate piped onto the ganache while it was still runny, and then drawn out lightly with a skewer.

Chocolate celebration cakeChocolate Cake

(from Good Food Magazine)

250g butter

300g light muscovado sugar

100g plain flour

100g self-raising flour

5 eggs

300g good quality dark chocolate

Heat oven to 160C / Gas 3 and butter and line a 20cm cake tin.

Beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy and then beat in the eggs one at a time - adding flour as necessary if the mixture starts to split.

Melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water - cool slightly and then beat into cake mixture. Fold in the remaining flour and then bake for 1 hour 3o mins (mine actually took nearer to two hours!) The cake should be well risen and a skewer will come out clean when the cake is cooked. There will be a crust on the top, but you can cut this off when assembling the cake.

To make the Chantilly Cream whip together 250mls of double cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2-3 tablespoons of icing sugar. Use this to fill the cake.

For the Ganache:

300g good quality dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons double cream

Melt all the ingredients together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cool a little until it reaches a workable consistency - I found that I could out it onto the cake almost immediately!

So, there you have it,............. nothing too complicated, just a really good chocolate celebration cake...........the few remaining crumbs on the plate were proof of the pudding (um cake)!

simple sunday breakfast

2008-03-09T16:23:00.020Z

This morning the sun streamed in through the open kitchen door. Ahead of me was a lazy, unstructured day - nowhere particular to be, nothing particular to do........a rare oasis of audacious self-indulgence. So....... I relaxed back in my chair, relishing the warmth on my face, and enjoyed an uncomplicated breakfast of vanilla yoghurt with raspberries and pistachios. (Yep!, those bewitching green fellows still have their spell cast on me! )

Lolling in that elusive - and at this time of year, oh so fleeting - glimpse of sunlight; promise of pleasures to come, the words of Art Garfunkel floated through my mind...

"Slow down, you move too fast,

you've got to make the mornin' last,

just, kickin' down the cobblestones,

lookin' for fun, and feelin' groovy"

I love how the sunshine changes everything..........

.............colours glow brighter, light floods all the forgotten corners, and life feels good.

" Through primrose-tufts, in that sweet bower.
The periwinkle trail'd its wreathes;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes."
William Wordsworth

Sometimes the best things in life really are the simple things!

fragrant pistachio, cardamom & lime cake

2008-03-09T14:51:00.020Z

Ever since our trip to Venice I've been tantalized by pistachios; those beautiful lurid green nuggets have bewitched me! So, I decided to appease my craving by baking them into my own version of a play on a lemon drizzle cake. This cake is packed full of pistachios, and fragrant with lime and cardamom. It also has yoghurt to keep it moist, and is topped by a crunchy, zingy layer of lime juice and sugar.

I've always loved pistachios anyway, but you know how it is when you develop a fascination for something foodie, you've just got to find some way of making something with it, right?. For me that usually ends up with baking, since I've got a real weakness for anything sweet and baked! How could I resist?..............they're just so enticing!

And..............even better, they're good for you too; in a nutshell, Pennsylvania State University has found in research that pistachios significantly reduced levels of 'bad' cholesterol, and also concluded that pistachios may calm acute stress reaction! Sounds good to me!

So, if you're feeling a little worse for wear, bake yourself some pistachio cake, sit down with a cup of coffee and..........relax!

fragrant pistachio, cardamom & lime cake

150g unsalted pistachios

half a teaspoon ground cardamom

zest of 1 lime

150g unsalted butter

200g self-raising flour

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

125g plain yoghurt

Topping:

juice of 1 lime

100g sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F / gas 4, and grease and base line a 20cm round cake tin.

Place all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.

Meanwhile, mix the lime juice and sugar together to make a lovely crunchy syrup. The type of sugar you use will determine how crunchy your topping will be. Granulated for very crunchy, and caster for a less grainy texture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. It does tend to brown a lot so keep an eye on this! Leave in the tin to cool. Pierce the top of the cake with a skewer while it's still warm, and drizzle the lime syrup onto the cake a little at a time to allow it soak in.

To serve - top off with some thick and creamy Greek yoghurt and some more crushed pistachio nuts.

Venetian pastries and gothic arches

2008-03-03T14:19:00.036Z

Last week B and I escaped to Venice for a couple of days....we've never been before and it truly was a wonderful place despite the hazy fog that accompanied our visit! Our room had a balcony overlooking the Grand Canal, and it was amazing to watch the hustle and bustle of everyday life from our window.

In the morning we were woken early by the clanging of the church bell across the canal, calling people to Mass. Below the window, office workers and students made their way to work, wrapped up against the February chill. It was absorbing to watch a busy city going about it's business as we took our time enjoying a leisurely breakfast of ham, cheeses, eggs, and light vanilla-y croissants that tasted so good they didn't even need butter!

The narrow meandering streets were full of wonderful pastry shops 'Pasticcerias' with windows stacked up with tempting goodies..........of course, we had to sample them!

Pistachio seemed to be a big theme

and boy was it GREEN!

It was so easy to get around on foot that we spent all our time wandering the alleyways between the beautiful old buildings around the Grand Canal. As you turned each corner there was another vista, another view,............... all so evocative.

At times the architecture reminded me more of Morocco than Venice, with all the gothic arches!

This building is all overgrown and looked so romantic and eerie

........and, I loved the sheer simplitic beauty of the religious icons that we'd come across unexpectedly on walls and buildings.
Even though the streets are bustling with tourists, life inevitably goes on as normal for the Venetians living in the city.

What I wasn't prepared for though, having only seen the Venice portrayed in films and on travel programmes, was that, obvioulsy, as Venice is built around canals, and there are no roads, everything, and I mean everything, has to be transported by boat, and then hiked around the streets on big trolleys especially designed for getting bulky and heavy loads up and over the constant narrow bridges! We watched smiling as we were passed by DHL delivery boats, ambulance boats, and small boats perilously piled with washing machines, building supplies and wheelbarrows........they even have no entry signs..........who knew!

Among the tourist shops, cafes and rambling streets there were markets with all sorts of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, and meats. These Raddichio Treviso caught my eye, weird and wonderful, all red tendrils like some exotic sea creature.

And there was Pizza, of course! In all shapes and sizes.......bellisima!
We couldn't go to Venice and not visit Piazza San Marco..............the Basilica was amazing, but I much preferred the simplicity of the Doge's palace, shrouded in the February mist that hung over the City

and the intricate carvings on the columns, ceturies old, but still alive and bewitching

as were these carvings near to the Bridge of Sighs

I'm definitely looking forward to going back again...

nutty pudding cake - no dairy,no gluten,no really!

2008-02-12T10:58:00.021Z

It seemed a little bit incongruous, that slab of nutty fruit - or should that be fruity nuts, (depending on how you like to look at it), sat on my kitchen counter this morning. After all, Christmas and the Holiday season is long gone, all the tinsel and fire-glow, and plates laden with tantalizing treats, put away, while we find our thoughts turning to Spring and sunshine, and 'healthy' food!..........but then isn't all food technically healthy, or is that another discussion entirely?!

While sorting through my magazine clippings, which at the moment, are in freefall out of the battered box I keep them in, I found this recipe for dairy-free cake by Mary Cadogan. It looked so good that I thought I'd try it out to see if a cake without butter could, indeed, taste as good as it looked in the photo!

Hmmm... call me skeptical, but I wasn't convinced, having had fat-free cakes in the past that just haven't delivered - after all, the whole point of cake is that it's 'comfort' food, right?,rich and indulgent and sinful! I couldn't resist tweaking it a bit either, so I took out the flour as well, and replaced that with ground almonds, and substituted gooey vanilla prunes for the original apricots.

The result was a cross between rich fruit cake and Christmas Pudding, and boy does it deliver.......it's texture is very dense, well I suppose it is basically fruit and nuts!, but it doesn't skimp on the flavour.........and it's dairy free, and gluten free so you don't need to sacrifice gluttony for guilt even if you do have to watch what you eat!

Nutty Pudding Cake

200g pecans
100g hazelnuts
50g blanched almonds
200g juicy raisins
150g pitted chopped dates
150g vanilla prunes
150g glace cherries
100g ground almonds
2 tsp mixed Spice
1 tsp cinnamon
175g dark Muscovado sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp good quality vanilla essence

Grease and base line a 1.5 litre loaf tin.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a LARGE bowl (yes all that mixture WILL fit into the tin, trust me!). Add in the eggs and vanilla essence and mix really well until it all comes together in a lovely fragrant slump.

Pour into the tin and bake at 150C / / Gas 2 for about one and a half hours, or until a skewer prodded into the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out and leave to cool. Dust liberally with icing sugar - although B. felt that this may have been 'gilding the lily'! - and then store in and airtight container. This is so lovely and moist and will keep well for up to two weeks - if it lasts that long!

afternoon tea

2008-02-02T18:44:00.003Z

Alright, I know, this isn't strictly about food, ...........but it is about another passion of mine, anything vintage or kitsch! I just couldn't resist posting about my newest find whilst out trawling the bric-a brac markets this afternoon.Yes, I love food, but there's also something wonderful about wandering among the glittering stalls, and rifling through boxes full of faded newspaper in the hope of an unexpected hoard!

Today, I was lucky, and found this dainty silver spoon with it's delicate handle all twisted and ending in a scrolled heart. It may not be everyone's cup of tea (sorry, couldn't resist it!) but as I searched amongst the detritus of cast off, worn, and dulled cutlery in an old basket, I found it at the bottom waiting for me, and I think it's beautiful!

lemon cloud cupcakes

2008-01-27T17:02:00.001Z

Yes! it's raining again - I know I shouldn't complain, after all it does seem to happen rather a lot! You would think I'd be used to it by now, but really I'm a Summer girl at heart!.........still, it was the perfect excuse to bake a little sunshine into my life. Lemon Cupcakes to banish away those grumpy grey clouds, inspired by the bright yellow and white primulas bravely standing sentinel against the assault of the rain in the barren Winter garden. Not that I ever need an excuse to bake cupcakes anyway, since I love them in all their enticing incarnations...
These ones, I decided, would be lovely and lemony and dense, with a swirl of fluffy pink & white icing. So, off I went with flour, sugar, eggs lemon and butter all thrown into my basin, to be transformed twenty minutes later into gorgeous edible nuggets. Isn't it amazing how a bowl full of apparently unrelated looking creamy goo can manifest into something so wonderfully and completely different, all springy and golden. It's like magic!!

Unashamedly, I'll admit that my favourite part - and sometimes, the whole reason for baking! - is to eat the leftover cake mix straight from the bowl........(funny really how there always seems to be more mixture than I need). It's one of those childhood things that has stayed with me......it was always a real 'treat' to be given the bowl to clean out when mum was baking......scraping around the sides eagerly with a spoon, that velvety, vanilla flavoured confection that just melted on your tongue.

Anyway, here's my own recipe, a blend of various basic principles. The texture of the cakes is more madeira than sponge - a little more heavy which makes them more substantial. For the icing I decided to keep it plain with just a little vanilla flavouring, although you could add some more lemon juice or zest if you wanted it lemony too. The two-tone colour is really easy to achieve as well, simply by loading the icing bag with pink down one side, and white on the other!

And.... before I go, here are some links to some other gorgeous things cupcake-related.....cupcake shaped soaps and so cute knitted cupcakes from Betz White.

Lemon Cloud Cupcakes

175g self-raising flour

100g butter

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs

zest and juice of 1 lemon + a little milk

Icing:

275g Icing sugar

175g butter

4 Tablespoons milk

Pink food colouring

Vanilla essence

It couldn't be easier to make these. Just put all of the ingredients for the cakes into a mixing bowl and whizz up together until it's pale and fluffy (a couple of minutes). The consistency needs to be fairly soft, so you may need to add a little extra milk - flours vary in the amount of liquid that they take up - to make a 'soft dropping' consistency.

Spoon the mixture into cake cases (I used muffin moulds) to about two thirds full, and then bake in the oven at 190C / 375 F / Gas 5 for 20-25 minutes until they are golden and spring back when touched. Leave to cool.

For the icing, soften the butter in a bowl and then mix in the icing sugar and enough milk to make a soft fluffy icing. Divide the icing in half and colour one half with pink colouring, then pile into an icing bag with a star nozzle - pink on one side, and white on the other - and swirl it onto the cooled cakes.

Instant sunshine!

getting started!

2008-01-25T14:05:00.002Z

I just wanted to post a quick hello and welcome to anyone coming across my fledgling blog......I've very recently discovered the wonderful world of food, and non- food, blogs that exists out there. I can't believe I've never stumbled across them before! I'm excited about all the fantastic recipe inspirations, and entertaining commentary I've found - aha!! ......yet another way to feed my fanaticism for all things food related! In fact, I'm loving it so much that I couldn't wait to join in and share my own gastronomic ramble through life with other food-loving souls too. What a fantastic excuse for me to indulge my love of food, cooking, photography, and writing, all at the same time!, and..... giving me the perfect alibi to 'play' on the computer!...........heaven!

So, I hope that you will bear with me while I get started and add more posts to share with you, and that you enjoy my experiences and 'ramblings' as much as I do all of yours!
Alfie

B's deli inspiration

2008-01-24T09:28:00.005Z

Yesterday B was in experimental mood, and inspired by my favourite lunchtime indulgence from our local Deli Barringtons, he decided he would have a go at his first ever proper pastry flan! "I mean, how difficult can it be?" he said in true 'man' style "...it's basically just an omelette in pastry!" Well, I couldn't disagree, he did have a point............Although not strictly a 'Quiche' in the true definition of the word, which brings to mind a rich eggy custard, soft set with a million and one different delicious combinations, this concoction of meltingly sweet, vegetables, slow roasted and piled into a rich crumbly pastry case with eggs, cream and cheese, was heavenly.......I might even dare go as far as to say that it may be even better cold! I brought some to work for my lunch today, and the pungent garlicky smell (you've probably already guessed that I'm a bit of a garlic fiend!) as I opened the crinkly brown paper packet was mouth watering. Thank you B.

B's Roast Vegetable and Mozzarella Flan

Pastry:

50g Lard

50g Butter

225g Plain Flour

Pinch of salt

Roast Vegetable Filling:

1 each of
Red Pepper
Aubergine

Onion

Courgette

2 Sweet potatoes

Good quality Olive Oil

Mix together: 2 eggs, 150 mls cream, 3-4 cloves of garlic, herbs (whatever you have to hand - oregano/basil/thyme/tarragon work well)

Salt and Pepper

75g mozzarella

Cherry tomatoes

Chop the vegetables into chunky pieces, and toss in the olive oil in a roasting tin. Roast the vegetables at 200C / 400 F / Gas 6 for about 45 mins to an hour, until they are soft and starting to brown.

While the vegetables are cooking prepare the shortcrust pastry case. Rub the lard and butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, or whizz in a food processor. I prefer to rub in by hand just simply because it's more satisfying (if a little messy, but then that's what baking is about, right?, getting up close and personal with the food!) and you can control the texture better. Anyway, back to the recipe....bring the pastry together with a little cold water, just enough to bind. Be gentle!, over-handled pastry becomes hard. Cover the pastry in cling film and leave in the fridge to 'rest' for about half an hour. This will mean that the pastry won't shrink so much when it's cooked. Roll out the pastry on a floured board (B used a handy bottle of wine in the absence of a rolling pin!) and use to line a 23cm (9 inch) flan tin.

Prick the base and sides of the flan with a fork to help it to cook evenly, and then bake blind for 15 minutes in the top part of a hot oven 190C / 375F / Gas 5 - 'baking blind' just means baked without a filling. To stop the pastry rising too much, or losing it's shape, you generally line the pastry with baking paper and then tip in dried beans while it cooks, but I've also seen recipes where they suggest crumpling up foil instead. Here's how Delia does it...

When the vegetables are roasted to a melting heap, layer them into the baked pastry case interspersed with the torn up mozzarella, and egg/garlic/cream/herb mixture. Finally, dot the top with cherry tomatoes for extra colour if you like, then bake again for about 30-40 mins in the centre of the oven, 190C / 375F / Gas 5 until the flan is set and golden brown.

I like it served with a crunchy salad and tangy dressing for added bite.....

This is a great flan to add your personal touch to by experimenting with the amount and types of vegetables you choose, and you could also substitute goats cheese, or parmesan for the mozzarella for other scrumptious flavour variations!

lazy sunday afternoon

2008-01-19T14:34:00.001Z

Serendipity:

A happy or lucky discovery that happens by accident

That's what I love most about life, when you stumble upon something wonderful, completely by accident, and just when you're not expecting it!

Last Sunday was grey, damp and blustery, exactly what you'd expect of a January day, no wonder so many animals hibernate........hmmm actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea!
So anyway, to escape the creeping malaise, my man B. and I ventured out to our local Farmer's Market in Winchester in search of inspiration.

I started to get excited at the sight of the green and white striped awnings. The fruity, musty smell of mulled wine and cider drifted around the stalls, mingling with the hog roast, ripe cheeses, smoked garlic and bread. We wandered through the market.......what to choose, what to choose?!
Eventually, we decided on a some rich and buttery Tunworth soft cheese, and some oak-smoked garlic, all warm smelling and woody in it's golden tissued sheath. Excitedly we carried home our hoard, constantly opening the bag to sniff the wonderfully pungent aroma of the mixture, already anticipating the feast ahead!

Deciding that the perfect partner for the cheese and garlic was with some other autumny/wintery tastes; walnut and pear, I baked a Walnut and Pear Tea bread to go with them. A kind of cross, really, between a scone and a soda bread with nutty nuggets and earthy dried pears. I made mine with wholemeal flour, but if you prefer the texture a little lighter you could use half white and half brown flour. It's quite a dense loaf, and really needs to be eaten on the day it's baked - not that that's any real hardship!
With the Walnut Pear loaf cooling on the rack, I baked the cheese in it's box (minus the wax paper of course!) with a few cloves of the oak-smoked garlic nestled in it, in a hot oven - 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6.

What a lovely cosy and indulgent way to end a dismal, dark Winter afternoon; sat by the crackling firelight with a glass of Port, scooping the oozing garlicky cheese straight out of the box with the bread. The nutty, pear-sweet taste being the perfect foil for the luscious creamy, tangy cheese.........mmmmmmmmm heaven!

If you fancy trying the Tea bread for yourself, here's how,...... my adaptation of a basic soda bread / scone recipe........

Walnut Pear Tea bread

175 g wholemeal self-raising flour

50g oats

50g butter

1 egg + 2Tablespoons of walnut oil - made up to 150ml with natural yoghurt

50g each of walnuts

25g-50g dried pears, depending on how sweet you want it

1 tsp salt

Measure out the flour, oats and salt into a bowl and stir to mix.

Rub the butter into the flour mixture - or, if you prefer you could bung it all in a food processor and whizz it up until it looks like the butter is well incorporated, a bit like breadcrumbs. Then stir in the nuts and pears.

Add the wet ingredients, and bring together lightly. If you overwork the mixture you'll end up with very solid, hard tea bread!

Tip out onto a floured surface and knead lightly to bring it all together. Then shape into a rough oval and put on a floured baking sheet. Score lines across the top of the loaf for decoration, and then bake at 190C / 375F / Gas 5 for about 30 minutes until the loaf is golden brown.

This is lovely eaten when slightly warm, either smothered with salty butter, or as we ate it, just dipped straight into oozy unctuous cheese.........enjoy!!