From Ground to Grub

So, fellow Bloggers, after an extremely busy summer I'm back and attempting to find time for (one of) my favourite past times - cooking.

I don't think that I've yet shared the wonders of Farm Club with you dear readers? But you need to know about it because I think there should be many. mnay more projects like this around the country.

Farm Club is a community farm - you can have your own small plot of land and can get as involved as you want in all other aspects of the farm. When we discovered this little piece of heaven just a mile or so from our front door I was amazed. It's a brilliant idea and especially for those of us missing the countryside and living in a flat! 

[Check out the website and see for yourself.]

Well, as I've said, it's been a busy time and I'm afraid to say that our lovely plot of land has also been abandoned for weeks. I know :-(

Luckily for us, we share our plot with the lovely and much more proactive Jo & Miles. As a result our little plot has provided us with many lovely veggies - see this week's hoard below.

Now, that's all pretty standard stuff this week. Nothing too odd to deal with! However, I had never cooked chard before. I'd eaten it (and not really liked it) but was assured that it tastes a lot lot better if eaten fresh. I cooked it very simply:

1. Cut off the stalk and cut into 3cm (ish) pieces
2. Roughly chop the leaves
3. Add olive oil, 2 cloves garlic - diced and some rosemary
4. Add the stalks and cook until softened over a medium heat
5. Add the leaves and 3 spoons water, put the lid on and leave for around 3 mins.

The result was a very simple vegetable side dish - nothing fancy - but I tell you, I'm converted. I doubt very much that my cooking had anything to do with it. I suspect that chard is simply a waste of time unless it is FRESH!

Even better, if we can grow it, then you lovely lot definitely can. Give it a go and see!

Citrus Cardamom Shortbread

I absolutely love Earl Grey tea. I would go so far as to say that it's one of my top 10 flavours! 

I treated myself to a cup of this lovely stuff yesterday from TeaPigs (any tea lovers really need to take a look at their website - it's tea heaven!). 

The only downside to my civilized afternoon was a lack of biscuits... I really do need biscuits with my tea, don't you?!

Well, I decided that shortbread would be the very thing.

To accompany the gorgeous bergamot citrus flavours of this tea, I have added delicate lemon, lime and cardamom flavours that I think work really well. Let me know what you think. 

Preheat your oven to 170°C.

• Cream together 225g butter and 100g caster sugar.
• Gently stir in 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 250g plain flour
• Add the zest of 2 limes, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice (or a few drops of lemon flavouring)
• Then take the seeds from 8-10 cardamom pods, crush them to a powder and add them to the mixture
• Stir the mixture. Once it starts to clump together use your fingers to gently press the mixture together into a soft dough
• Put the dough in the fridge for 10 mins (otherwise it will fall apart when you roll it out)
• Flour the surface and roll it out to about 1cm thick
• Use a small cutter (it will make around 25 biscuits) to cut the mixture into small circles
• Put them onto a lightly floured tray and put back into the fridge for 5 mins (this is not essential but it will help your biscuits to hold their shape in the oven so they wont spread out and become too thin)
• Bake for around 10 mins until the shortbread has just a hint of golden colour
• Take them out and sprinkle with caster sugar while they are hot
• Leave them to cool and store in a tin (they'll keep for around a week)

If you don't like the sound of any of the flavours then it will work just as well without them (just add a little vanilla for a plain but delicious alternative).

I hope that you will enjoy them with your afternoon tea - whatever your brew of choice!

Classic Pancakes - the hassle & mess-free way

Happy Pancake Day! 

I thought I'd share my pancake recipe/method with you... don't get me wrong it's a simple pancake recipe, I haven't messed with it! But I think that this is the simplest and most mess free way to do it - perfect for kids.


You need:
100g plain flour
1/2 pint milk
1 egg
a pinch of salt


Measure everything out.


Now... here's the simple bit. Put the 1/2 pint milk back into the milk bottle (if you have more milk than this you will of course need to store the excess in a jug).
Add the other ingredients into the milk bottle. Screw the lid on TIGHTLY!


Then shake it! Cue crazy shaking dance around the kitchen! 


Check that it's lump free. If not, just shake some more.
And that's it done. Leave to stand for around 20 minutes (if you have time, but don't worry if not).

You should now have beautifully smooth pancake mix in a ready-made pouring jug and no messy bowls, whisks, spooons etc to wash up. Joy!

I hope you enjoy your pancakes as much as we did. Now if you'll excuse me I must roll off to flop onto the sofa. x

Simple cocktail for a romantic night in

I would like to introduce you to the Bellini (cocktail) ...if you need introducing:

A Bellini is a long drink cocktail that originated in Venice. It is a mixture of sparkling wine (traditionally Prosecco) and peach purée. It's one of Italy's most popular cocktails.

I'm not generally a fan of making cocktails at home - too many weird ingredients that you'll be left with for months going slowly sticky and disgusting in your cupboards! 

However, this little beauty is simple seductive and scrumptious (if you have yet to celebrate Valentines Day then that would be the ideal excuse for one or three of these!). 

All you need is peach purée and Prosecco or some other kind of sparkling white wine. At this time of year getting your hands on decent peaches could be tricky and who needs the mess of pulping them anyway?! 

I highly recommend that you grab yourself some ready made peach purée (see pic). 

[I'm not sure if it's widely available but Waitrose definitely stocks it].

1/4 fill a glass with peach, add a little wine and stir gently to combine. Then just top it up with more fizz.

Delicately fruity and delicious.

Melt-in-the-Middle Chocolate Brownie Cake

One of my favourite shop-bought puds are those melt in the middle chocolate puddings. They are just sooo sweet and wonderfully gloopy. However I do think they are a bit on the pricey side. So, here is my own recipe. Tried and tested.
It's easy and makes a slim cake shaped pudding. Just cut into generous slices and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Use a regular cake tin. Lightly grease it with butter. Preheat the oven to 160C.

Melt 100g butter and 200g soft brown sugar over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly.

Then whisk in 40g cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 100g plain flour, a pinch of baking powder and a pinch of salt. 
Keep whisking away until it is lovely and smooth and what you might call 'dropping consistency'. If it seems a bit too stiff then add a little milk.

Give it a wiggle until it is evenly distributed. Put into the oven - middle shelf. Now, the important thing is to really keep an eye on it. 

My pudding was ready after 15 minutes, so use that as a guide. This is a very simple recipe but if you leave it too long you will have a dry chocolate cake with no ooze-factor. Disaster.

It's ready when it looks cooked on top but has a slight wobble in the middle. Take it out of the oven and allow it to stand for 2 minutes.

Turn it out. Cut into generous slices and serve while it's still warm with vanilla ice cream. Your desert should have a chocolate Brownie style top, a cakey bottom and a melting middle.  

I promise... there will be no need to head to M&S for those puds any more!

The best hot chocolate - ever!

Hands up, who's for hot chocolate?

Just a quick post today...something that I feel you need in your lives. :-)
In this sudden cold snap hot chocolate has become a firm favourite of mine again. 
Over Christmas I tried out Jamie Oliver's 'Epic Hot Chocolate' and it was indeed EPIC!
I made up a huge batch of it and it lasted right over the holiday and jars of it made lovely pressies for those who came down with colds and flu over the holiday season.


I can't pretend that it was as easy to make as the bung-a-spoon-of-power-in-a-mug stuff I normally use but it was the real deal. 
I recommend making 2 times the quantity suggested and store it in an airtight jar for months of amazing hot chocolate. 
This is a firm favorite with old and young alike. Even my lovely nieces - the Mini Diva's got in on the action and used the mixture for their own chocolate-faced fun! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.


Mr Jamie Oliver -  thank you!

Last minute Christmas treats/gifts - Chocolate Coins

A quick treat to share with friends and family this Christmas.


It's the easiest nibble to whip up for any unexpected guests or as a last minute (cheap) present.


This is so simple that it requires no recipe and no amounts... but here is the method, such as it is.


Simply melt some chocolate (preferably 2 different colours to achieve a ripple effect). Use the best that you can afford. Allow it to cool slightly.


Then take a desert spoonful and drop this onto baking parchment. Allow it to spread out slightly into an even circle (2 bars of chocolate made around 20 coins). Now it's ready for you to add whatever flavour combinations you fancy.


I added a tiny dusting of cinnamon and salt and some chopped dried cranberries. Just make sure that you work fairly quickly as you need to add the flavours while it's still soft.


Then just place them in the fridge for 30 minutes. Once they're set carefully peel them off the paper and they are ready to eat!

Happy Christmas and a very yummy New Year!

x

Pretzels - a simple recipe

When a colleague of mine turned 50 recently, we decided to each make and bring a dish for her Birthday tea that we knew to be one of her favourites. I quickly added my name to the list next to 'pretzels' as I have always fancied having a go at making them. 

However, when you look for a good but simple recipe you find words like 'pate fermente', 'goggles', 'solution of water and lye' etc. I don't think so.

So, after some experimentation here is the simplest recipe that I found and altered that works well. It produces soft, shiny, golden, salty pretzels.

Makes 12 large pretzels

2 teaspoons instant yeast/1 sachet

2 tablespoons brown sugar

375g  white bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

500ml warm milk

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Warm the milk and add the yeast to activate it (the milk must not be hot, just warm).

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl but leave about a third of the flour out to one side. 

Mix in the milk and yeast until it makes a kind of thick batter.

Then add the rest of the flour a little at a time until you make a ball of dough that you can knead. You may not need to use it all.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it becomes springy. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until it has almost doubled in size.

After that, knead briefly and then you are ready to roll it out.

Divide the dough into 12 equal(ish) pieces. Roll each piece out into a sausage shape. To begin with this might be quite tricky because the dough might keep springing back. If this happens, roll them out as far as they'll go, leave them for 5 minutes and then when you come back to them they will have relaxed and should be easier to roll. 

(NB. I thought that mine were thin enough but they puff up a lot when they cook, so try to keep them fairly thin).

Take one piece at a time and lay it out in front of you. Then take hold of both ends, take them upwards and cross them over  - as in the picture.

Then, hold the dough where it crosses over and pull the top section down until it just overlaps the bottom of the loop.

(This all sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. Once you've had a go and finish the first one, the rest are easy.)

Once you have shaped them, place them on a lightly floured baking tray covered with baking parchment.

Here comes the weird bit. Next, you need to boil each pretzel!

I know. But if you dont, they will come out like crusty bread. The boiling creates the glossy, soft bagel-like crust.

Take one at a time and place into gently boiling water. It's a good idea to put each pretzel on a fish slice/spatula so that they don't break up. Dunk each one into the water for only 5seconds each and then return them to the baking tray.

      

Beat one egg.. 

and brush a little all over each boiled pretzel.

        

Sprinkle each with some rock salt. 

Place in the oven for around 15minutes but keep an eye on them and take them out when they look golden brown.

Eat immediately with good butter and a little mustard.

I had never made these before and was really pleased with the result. They tasted good and although it sounded complicated, this version of the recipe makes it as easy as possible. Now that I've had a go it wouldn't be difficult at all a second time around. As you can see, mine look rather too fat! So, next time I shall attempt to roll them out a little thinner. 

These are well worth a try - they don't keep very well but that didn't matter as they were all eaten within two days. Success!


P.S. Don't forget to serve these with some good beer.

Mojito Chicken!

Mojito: Traditionally, a Mojito is made of five ingredients: white rum, brown sugar, lime juice, sparkling water and mint. 


One of the happiest things to be served sitting at the bar for me, is a fresh ice cold mojito. I had just such a happy moment last week @Jamie's Italian, yum. Our dinner there was lovely and I had spatchcoc chicken. This evening of bliss got me thinking... roast chicken recipes tend to work best when the chicken is kept moist and with three key flavour elements: citrus, slight sweetness and something happily alcoholic and fresh to deglaze the pan and create scrumptious gravy.
Sadly, when I got home (and googled it) I found that others had already had my idea. However, none of them seemed to go further than adding a bit of mint and lime to chicken. So...

call me crazy but I'm about to attempt a truly mojito flavoured roast chicken!

You'll need:
1 whole chicken (I used a 1.5kg bird), large of sprig mint, 4 limes, brown sugar, rum, 1 large onion, butter, salt and pepper.

Firstly, cut off any string from the chicken. Cut up 2 limes into quarters and place them inside the chicken cavity.
Next, take 2 heaped spoons of softened butter and mix in the zest of 1 lime. Finely chop a small bunch of mint and mix that in too. Season with plenty of salt and a little pepper.

Mix that altogether. When it is a paste-like consistency, it is ready to put under the chicken's skin. This will keep the chicken really moist and will infuse it with the lovely flavours. Make sure you push the butter all over, underneath the skin.

Cut the onion into large chunks and place in the roasting tin. Place the chicken on top and drizzle on a little oil. The chicken is now ready to cook (further flavours will be added at a later stage but if added now the chicken is likely to burn). Place chicken in the oven and cook as normal (depending on size).


20 minutes before the end of cooking time....


Mix together: 4 tsp brown sugar, 2 shots rum!, 1 shot water, salt and pepper, a good glug of oil, the zest and juice of 1 lime.

Pour this over the chicken and put it back in the oven. Cook for a further 20 minutes basting every 5 mins. 

Once the chicken is properly cooked through and looks golden brown, remove from the oven and from the pan - leave to rest.
Meanwhile... 

Deglaze the pan with a little more rum and add a little flour to thicken. Cook the juices until they thicken slightly to create your gravy. Yum!
Serve with some roast potatoes and a mint, onion and tomato salsa salad. 

The result... well, considering this was a slightly odd idea I think it works really well! Althought the flavours in a mojito are rather strong, the flavours at the end of this recipe were subtle and I think it worked really well!
Sometimes it pays to experiment. :-)

The Ultimate time-saving Chocolate Cake (with the perfect Chocolate Frosting)

I have eaten more than my fair share of chocolate cake over the years. I love to cook them almost as much as I like to eat them. Here's my check list for the perfect chocolate cake:

• it must taste of chocolate - not cocoa
• it must be moist
• it must not be too flat
• soft chocolate icing, not bitter and hard icing
• it must be easy and quick to make
• it must make people smile

So, after much experimentation I have found what, for me, is the ultimate chocolate cake and icing recipe combo.

My favourite cake recipe is by Nigella Lawson but I have altered the recipe slightly (due to personal taste and the need to make it as easy as possible using things you are more likely to actually have in your fridge).

Using 25cm tins x2. This will serve 8-10 people:

300g plain flour

300g caster sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

60g best-quality cocoa

260g soft unsalted butter

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

225ml sour cream

200ml natural yoghurt

25-50ml milk (start with 25ml and add the extra if the mixture looks too thick)

Here's the good part. I have tried the recipe the hard way (i.e. "cream together the butter and sugar, then...") and I have tried it the easy way (i.e. bung it all in together) and here's what I discovered

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE!

None at all.

So, carefully measure out the ingredients. Put all the ingredients into a blender or food mixer together, and blitz! Just make sure that you don't over mix it. Turn off the mixer as soon as everything looks well combined. The mixture should be quite loose.

Bake at 180°C  for around 30 minutes (but keep checking).

Once your cake is perfectly cooked, leave them to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes and then turn out to cool completely. The cake should be very springy and light.

If you have time and would like to ice your cake too...

The best icing recipe I have found to go with this kind of cake does not come from Ms Lawson. I prefer Lorraine Pascale's chocolate frosting. It is simpler and more tasty in my opinion.

Beat 300g butter and 225g icing sugar together. Then mix in 150g melted and cooled dark chocolate. This should make gorgeous, soft, buttery icing that is easy to use.

Use about a third of this in the middle.

Then use a knife or palette knife to smooth the remaining icing all over the outside of the cake.

And there you have it. This is the fastest and tastiest chocolate cake that I can make! 

I challenge you to find a faster one!

...and if you do, I'd love to steal the recipe :-)

Halloween: wicked web cakes

Halloween: originally a Celtic Festival – Samhain, meaning summers end, is a time to acknowledge a change in season, weather and light.

Crucially for us foodies, it is also a feast day. In medieval times it was a time when the poor would go ‘souling’ (the original Trick-or-Treating) in which they would beg door to door for food. In return they offered to say prayers for the dead.

So, let’s not make them beg this Hallows Eve, whip-up these simple spidersweb cakes – they’re great for little trick-or-treaters.

You will need:

• to make vanilla flavoured buns or cupcakes using your favourite recipe. The buns will need to be flat, so if yours rise into a peak as mine did, let them cool and then cut off the tops.
• white icing (mix a few drops of water at a time into icing sugar until you get a smooth medium/thick mixture)
• green icing - made as above. This will need to be slightly thicker.
• a piping bag (or make a simple cone from baking paper and snip off the end)
• a cocktail stick (the point of a knife would do if you don't have any)

The important thing when icing these, is to only do one or two at a time otherwise you wont get the same effect if the icing goes too hard.

Put a teaspoon of white icing onto the middle of a cake. Tilt the cake gently to encourage the icing to spread evenly until it looks like this:

Next comes the piping. Put the green icing into the bag and squeeze it down to the end. Fold over the top. 

Pipe a small circle of green icing in the center of the bun. 

Then pipe 2 larger circles around the first.

Then take your cocktail stick and, starting from the middle of the bun, drag it lightly out to the edge. Wipe off any excess icing and repeat several more times to create around 5 spokes. 

And there you have it! 

Spiders web cakes that will make any little ghosty, vampire or goblin happy. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

P.S. You could try these with pale orange icing and pipe on a black spiders webs. Either way, they'll taste ghoulishly good.