Flowers in the Kitchen

Stuffed chocolate cup cakes!

2011-09-19T12:00:00.000+01:00

Yes I know, another cake recipe, I just can't help myself. I have to be totally honest with you here and confess that I've officially sickened my husband of cake, he turns his nose up at it, as its constantly here in one form or another, thankfully I am still involved with the random feeding programme and give cake to anyone who stands near me for long enough, he he.

Well this idea came about because I don't always like the idea of just icing/frosting on the top of a cake, its lovely when it runs through it too.

To make 12 large muffin sized cakes you will need:

6oz soft brown sugar
6oz butter/margarine
3 medium eggs (beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6oz McDougalls sponge flour
1 dessert spoon golden syrup
1 dessert spoon buttermilk
2 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder

For the topping and stuffing you will need:

10oz icing sugar
5oz softened butter
green food colour
1 teaspoon peppermint extract (don't be tempted to use essence it will taste vile)

Heat the oven to 160° fan, 180 conventional, gas mark 4

You will also need a muffin sized cup cake tin and 12 muffin sized cake cases.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and beat well.

Finally add the vanilla extract, syrup, butter milk, flour and cocoa powder and mix until you have a smooth batter, try not to over mix otherwise you will end up with tough cakes.

Add a generous tablespoon of mixture to each cake case.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 20-25 mins or until the cakes are well risen and a skewer comes out clean.

Transfer the cakes onto a cooling rack immediately.

While the cakes are cooling mix all the ingredients for the icing together in a bowl and whisk until light, fluffy and smooth.

To make the hole in the centre of each cake, using an apple corer to pierce and remove the sponge.

Spoon the icing into a piping bag or bottle and squeeze down the centre of each cake before swirling around the top of the cake.

I've finished mine off using Aero bubbles, which I'm glad to say the manufacturers have seen sense and returned the middles to mint green again, much prettier.

Chicken in a basket!!!

2011-09-12T17:49:00.001+01:00

As I'm a child of the 70's I knew there would come a point when this would feature on my blog, it is a typical menu item from country pubs of that era, it was mainly chicken on the bone cooked along with chips and peas all put into a little woven basket and then later plastic ones that looked woven too, I could not find the later in any shops when planning this for dinner so I had to come up with a plan, this quickly came together after watching The Great British Bake Off where they made baskets from bread to put rolls in.

The other version of chicken in a basket come courtesy of The Muppet Show where the Swedish chef would run around with his knife shouting "Chicky in a barsket",this was on the tv during the late seventies.

I've used chicken thighs and drumsticks for this, tossed in a little flour with salt and black pepper and then baked on a tray in the middle of the oven until golden and crisp.

The basket is made from strong bread flour, yeast and a little extra salt than normal, around 500g flour, 1 level teaspoon yeast and a dessert spoon salt.

You will also need a metal or oven proof bowl, oiled and turned upside down, to use as a template for your bread bowl.

Add the flour and yeast to a separate bowl and mix well, add salt and mix again, then add warm water a little at a time until you have formed a ball of dough, knead well and leave to rise for 20mins in a draft free place.

Roll the dough out into a large thin rectangle and then cut into strips to form the basket shape.

Add the strips from one side of the oiled bowl to the other, criss-crossing as you go and then add extra pieces in-between to give it strength and then four final pieces that will form the top of the basket. I've added chicken shapes to the side of my bowl to finish the effect, then brush with egg yolk before putting into the oven.

Cook on the middle shelf of the oven at around 180° for around 25 mins or until golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until almost cold before carefully removing the metal bowl.

Add the chicken to it once cooked and serve immediately.

Corn on the cob!

2011-09-06T10:40:00.000+01:00

These are locally produced corns that were picked the day before I bought them.

I've found a really good way of cooking them to keep them sweet and tender by using roasting bags tied tight and baked in the oven, it keeps all the flavour right where it needs to be.

For each corn you will need a dessert spoon of butter, don't be tempted to use margarine or low fat spreads as you simply won't get the proper flavour.

As stated above you will also need a large roasting bag with a secure tie to keep the bag shut tight while cooking (you can get these from most shops and supermarkets).

pre-heat the oven to 200°fan/220 conventional/ gas mark 7

Place the filled roasting bag to a baking sheet and put on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour or until the corn is soft and juicy.

Serve alone or alongside grilled chicken.

My Mom's Oat Biscuits!

2011-09-06T10:15:00.002+01:00

This recipe has literally gone around the world as I've passed it to so many people. My Mom always made these in huge batches and stored them in tins, the sort you get chocolates in at Christmas as they generally have a good seal to keep the biscuits fresh and crisp. I would often been seen taking a tin to school with me to share out with my friends, my children now do this as they all love them too.

Some points to note:
These can be made with either butter or margarine but both give different results, with butter you get a thicker more rounded biscuit with margarine you get more of a florentine appearance as they spread and are crisper and thinner, both are good.

These do however come with a warning as one biscuit is never enough!!

You will need:

4 oz/ 100g self raising flour
4oz/ 100g porridge oats (not fast or instant oats)
4oz/ 100g butter or margarine
4oz/ granulated sugar
1 rounded tablespoon golden syrup
1/2 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Pre-heat the oven to 180c/160 fan oven or gas mark 4

Grease a large baking tray with butter and set aside.

Mix the flour, oats and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl, make sure you stir thoroughly to evenly distribute the bircarb into the flour and oats.

Put the margarine or butter into a pan along with the granulated sugar and golden syrup and melt on a low heat until the butter and sugar has dissolved and you have a smooth runny liquid, take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 mins.

Pour the butter mixture into the centre of the flour mixture and still well.

Scoop dessert spoonfuls of mixture onto the greased baking tray, spacing out evenly so they don't join together while baking(about two finger spaces).

Cooking on the middle shelf of the oven for 15 mins, they should be golden around the edges when cooked. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 mins before transferring to a cooling rack (this helps the biscuits keep their round shape and from breaking into crumbs.

Repeat until all the mixture has been used.

These taste wonderful served with a cup and tea and still slightly warm.

Chocolate Fudge Cake!

2011-08-30T22:17:00.000+01:00

I don't actually have a recipe to post with this photo as such, I made it using a standard 8oz sponge recipe and added cocoa and buttermilk, baked in two 8 inch sandwich tins for 25 mins.

The filling and topping is made with 100g dark chocolate (melted)
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300g icing sugar
150g butter
2 tablespoons buttermilk

mixed altogether until you have a smooth icing.

spread over the top of one of the sponge cakes, then top with the other and spread the rest of the mixture over the top and sides.

Decorate with flakes or any other chocolate decorations.

I also brushed each sponge with sugar syrup before topping with the icing.

Chocolate and orange cup cakes!

2011-08-26T13:26:00.000+01:00

I know that I already have a recipe on here for chocolate orange muffins but these are slightly different so I thought I'd post it anyway.

Makes 12 large cup cakes

Pre-heat the oven to 160° fan oven/gas mark 4/350f/180 conventional

5oz/125g Stork margarine/butter
5oz/125g light moscavado sugar
3 medium eggs
50z/125g self raising flour
1 teaspoon orange extract (not essence, it has to be the natural stuff otherwise they will taste like cheap orange pop)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon buttermilk or yoghurt

For the topping:

8oz/200g icing sugar
4oz/100g butter (softened)
1 teaspoon orange extract
finely grated orange rind (about half a large orange)
Orange food colouring

Mix the margarine and sugar until pale and fluffy, I prefer margarine to make sponge cakes as it keeps them light and moist, butter is better for frosting and for shortbreads and biscuits.

Add the eggs and orange extract mix well.

finally add flour, cocoa and buttermilk, mix just long enough for a smooth batter (overmixing with cause your cakes to go tough as it overworks the gluten in the flour)

put about a heaped tablespoon of mixture into each case and bake for around 20 mins or until risen or the cake skewer come out clean.

Turn out onto a cooling rack immediately and allow to cool before adding the buttercream.

Mix the icing sugar with the butter and orange extract and rind and beat until smooth and fluffy.

You can either spread over each cake using a palette knife or if you are giving them away as an edible gift use a piping bag with a flower nozzle on to make your own design on the top.

I made the roses using a flower nozzle and piping a swirl underneath first.

Sunken blackberry and apple loaf cake!

2011-08-14T11:31:00.000+01:00

As its mid August the wild blackberries are just starting to ripen here, so we went foraging and just managed to find enough to make these cakes, with a few eaten along the way.

These cakes are simple but are lovely and moist and will keep in an airtight container for 3 days as long as they are stored in a cool place.

You will need:

8oz soft brown sugar
8oz margarine (you can use butter if you like but Stork give a better finish to sponges)
8oz self raising flour
4 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 medium sized apple of your choice peeled and chopped into chunks
about 150g blackberries
a handful of oats
and a little brown sugar for sprinkling.

Pre-heat the oven to 160° (fan oven/ gas mark 4/ 180° conventional oven/ 350f

Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Make a hole in the middle of the bowl and scrape some of the mix around the sides, add all the eggs to the hole and then cover with the mix before beating together (I find this a quicker and better way of adding eggs if using a mixer)

Add the vanilla extract and flour and lightly mix until all the flour has incorporated

.Finally stir in the fruit and make sure it is evenly distributed.

This mixture make two 1llb loaf cakes, using cake tin liners.

Divide the mixture between the two tins, scatter the top and each cake with oats and brown sugar and bake for 35-45 mins or until risen and golden brown.

Leave to cool in the tins before lifting the liners out.

You can serve this with a hot drink preferably tea (for me) or you can use it as a pudding and slice it and pour lovely thick custard over the top.

Old Fashioned Pop!

2011-07-30T13:34:00.000+01:00

When I was asked to sample some traditional style drinks and write about them on my blog I agreed because even though I've been approached many times, I can't just write about any old thing just because its been given to me, it has to have some sort of connection otherwise I would be nothing more than a lab tester and it wouldn't feel right.

I have lovely memories of old fashioned pop which came in glass bottles and if you took the bottle back to the shop you got 10p in return. My Mom and Dad owned a shop which would have been classed as a general store a bit like Open all Hours, they sold all sorts of flavoured pop and one of my favourites was cream soda, this soda was bright pink a bit like the mouth wash you once got at the dentists but without the fright.

Everyone of these Ben Shaws old fashioned cans of pop tastes authentic and all the family loved them, the one that I didn't think would be popular was shandy but my hubs loved it and said it really did taste like a flavour from the past.

The only downside to all this is that since we have sampled the lovely cream soda which I also used in a cake topping and the cloudy lemonade and the aniseedy dandelion and burdock, we cannot get them in any shops locally, I'm hoping they will appear sometime soon.

If you can find them near you and you want a real flavoured drink to quench your thirst then give them a try.

Ben Shaws have been going for 140 years, and in the beginning the pop was transported by shire horses, which was later replaced by a pop van.

They have also been asking people to vote on their favourite flavour, this is quite hard for me as I love both cream soda and dandelion and burdock but I think by a slight margin it was dandelion just.

Chocolate chip cookie cups!

2011-07-30T13:09:00.000+01:00

As its the summer holidays I was trying to think of new things to make for the children and these are what I came up with.

Its a basic soft cookie dough recipe and you still roll into balls as you would do with a tray but you use a muffin tin instead then use a pastry bodger to shape the cup, if you push it down in the centre of the cookie ball, the dough slides up the sides and makes an indent in the centre, you bake for around 20 mins and leave to cool in the tins. Once cool you slide them out and place on a cooling rack.

I made peanut butter filling for them which consists of smooth peanut butter, butter, icing sugar and milk.

Then all you do is pipe a blob into each cup and scatter with chocolate chips, they would also work with set chocolate ganache which you could scoop with an icecream scoop into the centre.

Cookie dough recipe made 22 of these from:

8oz butter
8oz soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 llb self raising flour

Cake Toppings!

2011-06-17T22:15:00.000+01:00

I'm always on the outlook for new things to try and yesterday I popped into Marks and Spencers simply food and headed for the baking section first which I love for the cocoa powder and natural icing sugar both of which are organic and well priced, they now have a new section that is called terribly clever its a range of products that give you the main ingredients in a jar/bottle and then you add a fresh ingredient to them to complete the recipe.

I picked up a jar of butterscotch mousse starter and read the label I couldn't see how it could be turned into mousse as to me mousse is always aerated and fluffy but it did give me an idea as the instructions are clearly labelled on the side of the jar, I thought what if I were to add less double cream to it make it thicker and the flavour more condensed and it would work as a topping for cakes.

I tried this yesterday and this is the result it achieved

I went back today and got more flavours.

If you do have a go at using them the way I did just make sure you store the cake in a cool place or eat it the same day as it has double cream in it and could easily go off in the warm weather. They would also be excellent used in my cakewich.

I would also like to state that this is my own find and in no way have I been sent these for free or been bribed to write about them for a fee etc, I'm not advertising just wanted to pass on a useful tip I discovered.

Roll up Roll up its the.........Cakewich!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-11T20:40:00.002+01:00

Food fashions come and go especially in baking, we had had cup cakes for some years now instead of fairy cakes, then cake pops and more recently woopie pies.

Here I present you with my baking invention the CAKEWICH, they are easy to make and look great, I have no idea why somebody hasn't thought of them sooner.

Here is the basic recipe

Pre-heat the oven to 160°(fan assisted)/180 (conventional)/gas mark 4/350 F.

150g/6 oz margarine
150g/6 oz caster sugar
3 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g/5 oz McDougalls sponge flour
25g/1oz cornflour

Grease and line the baking sheet with baking parchment.

8 x 11 inch baking lipped baking sheet (this mixture makes three trays)

Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the sugar mix a little at a time until it has all been incorporated in.

Add the vanilla extract.

Sieve the sponge flour and the cornflour into the bowl and carefully mix in until you have a spoon batter mix (be careful not to overmix otherwise you will end up with a tough cake.

With the back of a large spoon or palette knife spoon add a third of the mixture to the baking sheet and spread around the sheet until the mixture is flat and even around the tray.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10-15 minutes or until risen, even and golden on top.

Leave to cool for around 15 mins.

Using a serrated knife of moon shaped chopper cut the sponge length ways down the centre, place the up sides against each other so that they are facing the middle of the cake.

Take the top one off and fill with any sweet filling you can think of, spread evenly with a knife (if using buttercream allow to set before cutting into triangles.

The best way to cut the triangle shaped sandwiches is with a moon shaped cutter as you get a cleaner and more even cut with one swoop of the blade, begin by placing the cutter at the left hand corner and with your right hand hold the other handle and move it until you have formed a triangle shape, the second sandwich will go from left to right straight across the sponge to for the other side of the second triangle, repeat until the length of sponge has be used.

Now because this is a cakewich you can add plenty of lovely fillings to create a huge variety, that will work many times over.

These are what we have tried so far:

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM
BUTTERCREAM (VARIOUS FLAVOURS)
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
ICECREAM
CONFECTIONERS CUSTARD
ALMOND CREAM AND CHERRIES
The options are endless.

We ate ours today outside as we had a non traditional English tea party and instead of eating sandwiches and cake we ate cakewich with our cup of tea instead.

Don't forget you saw them here first!!!!!!! if you do have a go pop back and leave me a message, thank you :D

Hip Hip Hooray Its the Royal Wedding!!!!!!

2011-04-28T14:33:00.000+01:00

Well unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks you will know that tomorrow is the day that Prince William and Kate Middleton get married.

Our school held a mock wedding today and I went into the class to make and decorate cakes with them, they all had a red, white and blue theme and I bought little Union Jack edible paper wafers to go on the top of some of them.

I made a large fruit cake, which has marzipan and icing on it and as you can see has the Union Jack colours over it too.

I can't wait for tomorrow as I have fond memories of when Charles and Diana got married, we were sat in our beach hut in Lyme Regis which we had all decorated to celebrate the wedding, My Aunties and Uncles and cousins were there with us too.

I hope you all enjoy watching the wedding tomorrow and I hope William and Kate have a wonderful day and that the weather will hold out for them too.

Jersey Royal Potatoes and Asparagus!

2011-04-26T13:59:00.001+01:00

Being the daughter of two greengrocers has had its advantages over the years, I love potatoes and a meal isn't quite a meal without them. Jersey's are one of my all-time favourites, these days they are called Jersey Royals when I was little the first Jerseys were called mids and were teeny tiny and had the most delicious flavour ever towards the end of the season they were called Royals, now they all have that label, they were also sold in lovely little wooden barrels and my Mom would use a scoop to weigh them out and then wrap them in brown paper bags.

Food that is in peak season like these are at the moment doesn't need anything much with them, just boil in a little salted water until tender, drain and add a generous knob of butter to melt all over them.

I also have some lovely local asparagus so I popped that in for the last minute of cooking too.

Simple but oh so delicious!!!!!

Chocolate Pots

2011-04-26T09:58:00.000+01:00

These little chocolate pots are easy to make and can be whipped up whilst your dinner is cooking, they are quite rich so this quantity makes about 6-8 portions.

You will need:

150g dark chocolate
4 eggs separated
4 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons caster sugar

In a double boiler melt the milk and dark chocolate on a medium heat until the water starts to stimmer, stir until the chocolate is smooth, take off the heat.

Mix the eggs whites until stiff then add the caster sugar and fold in using a metal spoon.

Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and stir well.

Slowly add the chocolate mix, spoon by spoon to the egg whites and stir in until you have a light fluffy chocolate mixture.

Pour into small glasses or cups and leave to set in the fridge for around 45 minutes or overnight if you prefer.

To serve add whipped cream and any fresh fruit that is in season.

Rainbow Bars

2011-04-05T19:10:00.003+01:00

I seem to have a thing for multicoloured cakes and bakes, well this one is no exception.

I saw something a while ago on the internet about some American cereal that had been made into slices, I have no idea what the recipe was, I only saw a picture, which got me thinking because I wanted to make something like this too and was not prepared to search American foodstuff sites in the UK as they are so expensive and who can justify paying £10.00 for a box of cereal, its just plain ridiculous. I'd mentioned this on twitter and my friend Anna suggested the packets of rainbow drops which looked the same minus the artificial colour, great idea thanks Anna!!!

So Here is my recipe:

1 Packet of Fiddes Payne mini marshmallows (mine were pink and white, but you can get chocolate and white too)

2 oz salted butter

4 packets of rainbow drops which equates to almost 4 oz

You will also need an 8 inch square tin either buttered or lined, I lined mine using baking parchment

In a medium sized saucepan, slowly melt the butter, once this is done add the marshmallows and stir until they have melted into a sauce like consistency.

Pour in the bags of rainbow drops and stir well.

Pour into the lined tin.

Instead of trying to fight this sticky treat into the corner of the pan, take an extra piece of baking parchment about the size of the tin and lay it over the top and push it into the corners using the parchment as a barrier, leave it there until it sets.

You can either put this aside for a couple of hours to set or put in the fridge for 30 mins or so if you have no patience like me.

These are perfect for a children's party as they take no time to make, well should I say they appeal to girls my son wouldn't like these at one of his parties as he doesn't do pink he he.

Quick Roast Belly Pork (another way)

2011-04-03T20:33:00.001+01:00

I have another recipe for belly pork way back on my blog but this meat is so tasty and a quite neglected cut that I just felt it was time for another. We have always eaten roasted belly pork in my family for as long as I can remember, it was a regular dinner time meal on a school night.

A Few things I wish to point out are:

Don't bother buying this cut of meat from a supermarket, it will never ever be the same as what you get from a butcher because it needs to be top quality and not something that has led its whole life is a dark shed with a concrete floor not allowed to be roam around freely this is partly because a free range piece of pork with be totally different in texture plus it will not have been injected with saline of similar to bulk it out.
What you don't want is a flabby piece of pork otherwise you will not get the lovely crispness this piece of meat should have. Plus this is still classed as a cheap cut and so far I've never seen the supermarket stuff cheaper or better than I can get from any of the fantastic butchers I use.

Plus one more bossy point: you need a big heavy gauge baking sheet to cook it on, it needs space around each piece to cook properly and not steam, a baking sheet with its low sides is perfect for this, just make sure you have a good quality one that doesn't kink in the oven otherwise you will find yourself with a big cleaning up job once you've got it out the oven.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°

For a Sunday roast type meal I would suggest three good sized pieces each.

Lay each piece of meat on the baking tray (no pre-oiling needed) and space them out well, use two trays if you need to.

Cook on the middle shelf of the oven for around 45 minutes, turning the pieces over half way through.

Each strip should be golden and the rind should be crisp, if it isn't return to the oven until you have the desired effect.

I love to serve this with onion gravy, mashed potato and whatever vegetables are in season, today we are having it with leeks in cheese sauce and local fresh asparagus as the season has just started woo hoo!!

You can also buy this as a whole piece of belly pork and roast it slowly in a low oven for three hours, you can then either slice it or shred with two forks, make the gravy and pour over the meat before serving, I do this with the slices too.

Apologies for the photo, I forgot to take one of the meat on the plate and this was the only piece left that had been put back in the oven so its a little over done but you get the idea right? ;D Its the one that always gets saved for my little old Labrador.

Balti Chicken Curry with Spinach

2011-04-02T12:02:00.003+01:00

For anyone who doesn't know the word balti refers to the pan the curry is served in, these type of curries are mainly served with a large naan bread or chapatti instead of rice as they have plenty of sauce with them and the bread helps mop that up.

I have used a little homemade ghee in this curry, please don't let this put you off, its not hard or time consuming and can be done while chopping the onions or cooking the frozen spinach. If you prefer then just replace it with sunflower oil, the choice is yours.

The other thing I need to point out is this recipe is best made with either tinned (and drained) spinach or Frozen, the reason is it has more depth this way, fresh has its place in many other things and I love eating it raw but just trust me and try either of the others for this.

The quantities are quite large for this recipe but don't let this put you off as its wonderful the next day as the flavours get even more intense, otherwise grab yourself some large freezer bags and portion it out to stash away in the freezer for one night when you rush in late from work or you just have a day that doesn't happen to go to plan, you are just 20 minutes away from a home cooked meal.

You will need:

3 oz butter for the ghee
or a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 kilo chicken breasts chopped into chunks
about 250g frozen spinach or 1 large can
4/5 medium sized onions (thinly sliced or blitzed in the food processor)
ginger (this was a fresh piece that I keep in the freezer and grate from frozen right into the pot, its easier than chopping it into tiny pieces)
2 large garlic cloves (finely chopped or grated)
1 green chilli ( chopped with or without seeds, depending on how hot you like it, I kept them in and my children ate it no problem)
1 heaped teaspoon tumeric
3 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground green cardomon
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 dessert spoon soy sauce
1 dessert spoon lea and perrins
1 dessert spoon white sugar
Salt and white pepper
large bunch of coriander
tomato paste
1 litre chicken stock
A little red onion finely sliced (for serving)

The first thing you need to need do is put the butter into a small pan on your lowest heat and let it gently melt, while this is happening, you can put your frozen spinach in a large pan on a low heat and allow to thaw and any water evaporate.

Once the butter has melted and warmed you will see it has started to almost separate into a clear layer and underneath will be a thick looking milky layer, this is when its done and you can take it off the heat and gently pour the clear layer off into a small jug, discard the white stuff (which is milk solids), if you have any scum floating in the clear layer just remove it with a spoon, this is now the ghee that is ready to use.

Add a little splash of this ghee to a large pot and warm on a low/medium heat.
Add the chopped onions, green chilli, garlic and a good grate of ginger to the pot and a sprinkle of salt to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan, stir well and leave for 5 mins.

Add around 4 tablespoons of the chicken stock turn the heat low and pop a lid on the pan and leave to cook for around 20 mins or until the mix has started to turn a beige colour, and looks a bit like mush, the stock should have evaporated too, if not stir and put the lid back on for another 10 mins and check again.

Once this has been done, remove from the heat and add all the dry spices including the sugar, soy and Lea and Perrins. stir well and return to the low heat to let the spices cook through for a few minutes.

Add the chicken and stir well so that the spices cover it all, set aside for a minute.

While the spices are flavouring the chicken a little, wash the coriander then cut the stalks off the coriander and chop them finely, add these to the chicken along with a little more ghee about a dessert spoon.

Add the chicken stock and turn the heat to high, stir well, let the sauce come to boil then turn down to lowish heat and leave to simmer for around 45 mins.

Add about half to 3/4 of the tube of tomato paste, spinach and salt and white pepper to taste.

If you think you sauce is a little too thick or it has evaporated too much just add a little water to bring a smooth consistency back.

leave to simmer until the top of the curry has a small layer of oil on it, this is the ghee and comes to to top when the curry is cooked. (similar thing will happen with sunflower oil too)

Chop about half the amount of coriander leaves and add to the pot, stir in well and leave to wilt for a few minutes.

Serve in balti dishes if you have them or if not a soup bowl will do just as good, make sure you warm both before you do, otherwise the curry separates.

Scatter the top with coriander and the thinly sliced red onion.

I served ours with puri's which I'd made while the curry cooked, bought naan breads would work too as long as you brush them in a little oil and warm them in the oven before serving.

Even though I live in a rural area I get all my ingredients locally, even the spices come from a fantastic little shop in Bridgnorth which is a health food shop (Maximum Health, St Mary's Street) and sells all the spices in beautiful jars by the gram, you cannot ask for the wrong thing, they even sell ghee in jars if you didn't want to make your own.

Crumbled Rhubarb and Apple Cake

2011-04-01T12:40:00.002+01:00

Out of the oven

I bought the Rhubarb for another recipe but decided I wanted to make something new.

Cake is a bit of an obsession with me, if I couldn't bake I would be totally lost, not only is it something I love to do for my family but I love giving baked goods to everyone or anyone who stands near me for long enough, its spreading a small amount of happiness or just making someone who has had a bad day smile for 10 minutes, no other form of cooking is quite like baking as its totally for pleasure and homemade stuff pleases almost everyone.

I purposely made this in one of my smallest tins because I wanted to test this recipe and see how it would work out, I've made it twice now and its worked out well.

Pre-heat the oven to 180° gas mark 4 or 160° if you have a fan assisted oven like I do.

You will need:

a 6inch round tin (buttered and dusted with flour, this is so the edge of the cake has a crispness to it because the inside is squidgy)

For the cake:

4 oz butter (this has to be butter and not margarine which I always prefer for sponges as it has to support the fruit and crumble)
4 oz soft brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
4 oz self raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon custard powder (see what I've done, crumble and custard ;D plus it gives the cake a beautiful colour)
1/2 a stick rhubarb chopped (don't worry about the other half you can eat it while making the cake he he)
1/2 cooking apple peeled and chopped (same as above, cooking apples are lovely to eat)

For the crumble:

1 oz porridge oats
1 oz self raising flour
1 oz butter
1 oz soft brown sugar

For the cake:
In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy or use a hand/stand mixer (I do this)

Add the eggs and beat until the eggs have incorporated into the butter/sugar mix.

Add the flour and custard powder and mix again until the flour is completely mixed in.

finally add the rhubarb and apple and stir it into the cake mixture.

Add the mixture to the cake tin (please note the mixture should be quick thick and sticky so don't worry)

cake mix in the tin

For the crumble:
Add all the ingredients into a bowl and rub between fingers, until the mixture looks like builders rubble, you work is complete, scatter over the top of the cake and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 -50 mins or until the top is golden and crisp.

Please note: as the cake cooks the edges will rise up, this is normal and will flatten out as it cooks, its because of the crumble top and it will turn out lovely.

The total it cost to make this cake was £1.70p

Flapjacks (but not mine)

2011-04-01T08:04:00.004+01:00

These two beauties belong to my daughter, who made them all by herself, she is a really confident cook and is not afraid to experiment with ideas and recipes.

I won't tell you anymore as she is writing on her own blog about them so here Is a picture instead.

Local Food and a New Farm Shop

2011-03-31T13:05:00.005+01:00

Today is the first day for a new local farm shop which is located just outside Bridgnorth.

Apley Farm Shop has done something really wonderful because lots of farms have sold out to big developers for a quick buck but they have turned theirs into a beautiful set of buildings, thinking of everyone including children with a Play Barn, I love the whole idea and its just a short drive away.

As you open the door all the lovely local vegetables greet you in beautifully displayed boxes, lots of lovely local beers and fruit juices, moving along to a fridge full of lovely dairy products and then onto a display with bowls of anchovies, sunblush tomatoes and olives, they also have an olive oil counter. Moving to the back of the shop is the butcher counter and deli.

All the staff were great and its not always an easy thing to achieve on your first day as they have so many things to worry about.

This was obviously my first visit but it definitely won't be my last. If you are passing by drop in you won't be disappointed.

Next time I go I will also be paying a visit to the cafe too.

Here is what I bought:

Steak

Marmalade and pork sausages

Mr Moyden's blue cheese

Local Asparagus from Quatt

Potatoes

Tyrells crisps

Mawley farm double cream

Tonights Dinner will be.......

Breakfast Bars

2011-03-28T09:44:00.005+01:00

Do you ever get fed up with the same old breakfast stuff? weekdays are generally a mad rush to get everyone out of the door on time and breakfast can be a hurried affair. These bars can be made in advance and stored in an air tight container to see you through the week.

This is a throw together recipe, and is easy to make and bake.

I find the best way to make them is using a food processor as it takes less time plus its a lot less messy.

You will need:

4 oz White spelt flour (if you can't get this use 00 or just plain flour)(1 heaped spoon removed and put aside)

3 oz soft brown sugar

3 heaped tbsp icing sugar

4 oz weetabix (about six biscuits)

6oz butter

3 oz dried cranberries

10 fl oz plain yoghurt

1 tsp lemon extract

2 oz porridge oats

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

You will also need a 9inch square baking tin and baking parchment to line it with

In a food processor add the weetabix and process to a fine crumb, add the butter and pulse until it starts to incorporate into the weetabix, remove the lid from the processor and add the brown sugar, oats and flour, pulse again just enough to combine all the ingredients.

Pour into the lined baking tin and push down and spread into the corners using the back of a dessert spoon.

In a bowl add yoghurt, lemon extract, icing sugar and the spoon of flour along with the cranberries, mix well then pour over the weetabix mixture in the tin and smooth over the top of it spreading evenly.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 mins or until the yoghurt is set.

leave to cool inside the tin, once cool, turn out onto a board and cut into portions.

Store in the fridge or a cool place.

The Green Cafe

2010-07-31T08:45:00.013+01:00

This is something I thought I would never ever do, why? because I see and read what restaurant critics do and think they can be harsh and a little overzealous, after all they are being paid to eat at top notch places and then write about it.

Last night we went to The Green Cafe which is right on the river in Dinham, Ludlow, they are mainly a cafe not a restaurant which opens in the day but they have started opening on certain evenings and last night was advertised as a Slow Food event, you had to purchase tickets in advance and the tickets had a time on them, we were asked to be punctual as tables were limited and that is a fair enough ask. We arrived at 6.20pm as our tickets were for 6.30pm, there we seven of us, including my husband three children and our two very good friends.

Now before I re-run the events of last night I wish to point out that me and my friend have been there plenty of times during the day and the food and service have been very good, couldn't fault them in fact and this is what made us so eager to try the evening event, it really is in an idyllic spot, the outside seating drifts right on to the river and you can hear the mill wheel gently humming in the background and lots of mallards going about their business, you also get fly fisherman standing on the weir casting the rod in hope that they might land a trout, it clearly has to be one of the many reasons that makes Ludlow such a popular tourist destination.

It was pouring with rain when we arrived but we did manage to park in one of the roadside spaces. On entering the restaurant about half the tables were already occupied, we were seated right next to the counter in clear view of the open kitchens, there were three front of house staff and the Chef who owns it (Clive Davis) and a sous chef were all clearly visible from our table.

The ales and beers that were part of the event were all from local breweries, my husband had a pint of Hobsons Old Henry which he said was a really good pint of beer, I on the other hand had a local apple juice the sort that is cloudy and fresh and unprocessed and one bottle was definitely not enough, the children had various things from milk to dandelion and burdock all of which they enjoyed.

The problems began to set it when the waitress came to take our order, everyone except my friend ordered the steak pie, she duly wrote this down and scuttled off to the kitchen to hang the order on the clip, around two minutes later she came back and said I'm sorry but there has to be a 50/50 split on each table??? what? nowhere on the pre-purchased tickets did it say this, the choice was: Steak pie, Pink beef salad or mezze for a vegetarian option, as the waitress was trying her best to explain that the chef (Clive Davis) had ordered her to say each table had to have a 50/50 split between the salad or the pie, he was stood at the entrance of the kitchen hanging on her every word to us and carefully watching our reaction, we were all taken aback by this rule that appeared from nowhere and was not advertised on any of the tickets or promotional leaflets, she said if we all asked for pies then the chef said whom ever came later to dine would only be left with salad, so we tried to figure out how we were going to do this, in the meantime she went back to the kitchen and then came out and said we can give the children linguine and then you are allowed three pies, the children will happily eat pasta and they were quite happy to accept this (in fact there isn't much my children won't eat they have mature pallets because I cook so many different things at home)but at the same time we had paid exactly the same price for their tickets as ours, I also wish to point out that I never mind paying for decent food so the price wasn't an issue but the change was, it felt like we should have been apologising to them, all this while being watched by Clive made for an uncomfortable atmosphere.

As the food arrived the children's pasta came out first which was linguine that had been tossed in a very feint tomato sauce and nothing more, it was cooked and seasoned well but as any parent will agree, most children like sauces and there was nothing like that on the plates, which may be fine for an adult but not for children especially when the menu had been changed.

My friends veggie option arrived which was not mezze at all but a plate of pappardelle with a scattering of broad beans over it, she had to ask if there was any parmesan available as none was offered. Two pies came out along with a pink salad and I had to say that we had ordered three pies a face was twitched and the salad got taken back to the kitchen, we then had to wait while the rest of the food was going cold for the remaining pie to be served. The plates consisted of a single steak and potato pie with green beans and a trickle of gravy across the side of the plate. The pies were delicious the pastry was crisp and crumbly, the meat melted on the tongue it was in essence a good pie, the beans were cooked to perfection but at no point could I find a single potato in that pie anywhere and neither could my husband or our friend and everything was served on cold plates.

We had started to eat when the nearest table to us was being served their food, one of the ladies had also ordered the mezze and again without warning was served the pappardelle so she said to the waitress this wasn't what was ordered and it was sent back to the kitchen, as the rest of the food was about to be served, Clive flew out of the side door and was on the table shouting and ranting at them and said if they didn't like what he served then they should leave, it was a vicious assualt and the table in question had a child the same age as my son and this is where Clive was stood ranting worse than Gordon Ramsey has ever done on tv, the child was clearly distressed and the people on this table had the good sense to say "ok then we will leave" with great dignity and no retaliation at all, from what I could gather the manageress came over and tried to sort it out and she said to them "I don't blame you for leaving, I can only apologise" she was clearly embarrassed with what had gone on, and you could have cut the air with a brick, nobody who was still dining knew what to do.

There were puddings on offer but we really didn't feel like we wanted to stay any longer so we asked for the bill, paid and left.

I'm sure that all the foodie people that Clive has as friends and contacts will no doubt jump on me from a great height as I am a nobody in the food world, I am not paid to eat out and be a critic, I am not a trained chef nor am I a professional food writer, what I am however is a paying customer who has a right to an opinion as everyone else and never before have I seen such disgraceful behaviour, I was hoping to write something here about how marvellous the place was as I've already recommended the cafe by day to many people, sadly this will not be the case any more and yes you might have only lost one more customer but bad news spreads quicker than good and someone, somewhere in or around Ludlow deserves an apology.

Little Coffee Cakes!

2010-06-13T17:11:00.004+01:00

These small free form cakes take no time at all to make, they are perfect for if you get unexpected visitors as they can be mixed together in the time it takes to boil the kettle.

I used some lovely golden jersey butter to make them but you could use whatever you like, margarine or any other butter.

I drizzled a simple chocolate ganache over the top but this isn't necessary I used it because I had extra and if you left them without it they would make great dunkers for a cup of coffee as they are a cross between a biscuit and a cake.

Apologies as the measurments are in imperial as my digital scales are broken and I only have my balance and weigh ones.

You will need:

8 oz Self raising flour
4oz Butter
1 tablespoon Coffee extract or espresso powder mixed with hot water into a paste
3oz Golden Caster Sugar
1 medium Egg
2 tablespoons single cream

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6/200° Electric oven

You will also need a large baking sheet that has been greased with butter.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and then the butter, rub the butter lightly through the flour mix as you would for scones then in a jug, beat the cream, egg and coffee together.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and add about half of the egg mixture, lightly fold in, add the other half a drop at a time as you may not need it all depends on how humid your kitchen is, it need to form a stiff dough (enough so that you can mould it into your hands and form small ball shapes with it.

Add each ball evenly placed onto the baking sheet until you have used all the dough up, the balls should all be around the same size so that they bake evenly, it should make around 16.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10-15 mins or until well risen and golden, when they are done they will look very similar to rock cakes but will be no where near the hardness, these should be slightly crusty outside but light and fluffy within.

Transfer onto a cooling rack and shake over a little sifted icing sugar.

Its quince time!!

2009-11-07T13:33:00.004Z

I had a lovely delivery from my friends orchard yesterday of beautiful fragrant quinces, they still have their beige velvet coats intact too, the smell coming from my fruit dish is amazing.

I always look forward to cooking with them as its such a treat, lots of the quince trees were pulled up shortly after the war to make way for other things, thankfully many farmers have now realised we shouldn't lose our quinces and have started planting them again.

Festive Mincemeat bars!!

2009-11-07T12:12:00.004Z

These are mince pies in a different and simpler form and are great for anyone who doesn't want to make pastry, you can also get away with offering them to people who 'don't do mince pies'.

While they are baking they make the whole house smell cosy.

Here is the recipe:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/ 180° standard electric or 160° fan or 350F

8 inch square cake tin, lined I either use square paper cake tin liners or baking sheets cut to size.

200g/ 70z butter (from fridge so its chilled)
200g/ 70z soft brown sugar
200g/ 7oz plain flour
1 level tsp bicarbonate soda
100g/ 4 oz porridge oats

450g/1lb mincemeat (mine has added glacé cherries to it)
a good slug of chocolate liqueur (it is almost Christmas after all)

Take the butter straight from the fridge and grate it right into the bowl, then add the sugar, flour, bicarb and oats and mix by hand, the mixture will look dry and like it won't come together at this stage but it just like shortbread and as soon as you push it into the tin it will mould together beautifully.

Halve the oaty mix and tip into the tin, push down with fingertips, making sure you get into the corners.

Pour in the mincemeat and spread over the oaty mix with the back of a dessert spoon so that it is nice and even.

Finally pour over the rest of the oaty mix over and push down again with the tips of your fingers until all of the mincemeat is covered.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35 - 40 mins.

Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin and cutting into bar shapes, otherwise it will do this as I have absolutely no patience.

Put some fire in your belly!

2009-09-24T19:30:00.006+01:00

Today I have been to the farmers market in Ludlow, this is run on a regular basis and you are always guaranteed to find something that extra bit special. One of the stall holders today was a man called Talfryn who runs a lovely local company called Fareground he makes the most amazing pepperdew's I've ever tasted they are stuffed with soft cheese and soaked in olive oil, I also picked up some beautiful little onions that were marinated in balsamic vinegar and some freshly made harissa.

From another stall I got lovely yellow courgettes and yellow tomatoes, yellow tomatoes are my favourite and lets face it any tomato that has been chilled and flown x amount of miles is never going to come close to anything like these which were picked this morning and then sold to me a few hours later, I've already eaten half of them while pottering about in the kitchen I like eating them just like an apple, delicious!

Using most of what I bought, here is what I made for dinner:

Harissa Baked Chicken

1 chicken breast per person
1 heaped teaspoon harissa
rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon local honey (mine is obviously from Shropshire, so use what is local to you)

You will also need a lidded oven proof dish.

With a sharp knife (this is a joke in my house as my husband uses my best knifes for DIY jobs when I'm not looking) Cut slits across the top of the chicken breast, this is so the harissa will soak deep into the chicken while its marinating.

Next, in a small bowl mix the harissa with the honey and stir well. Add a little rapeseed oil to the baking dish and rub around the bottom and sides, add the chicken breasts to the dish and then rub each one thoroughly with the harissa that was mixed with the honey trying to ensure each one is well covered. leave in the fridge to work its magic for at least two hours.

Remove the dish from the fridge an hour before you plan to start cooking, while this is happening I prepared my potatoes and courgettes.

The courgettes were topped and tailed and then sliced into thin discs before being cooked in a little rapeseed and butter on a slow heat with a lid on.

The potatoes were halved, slit across the top (just like the chicken) and par boiled for tens mins before being put on a baking tray with more rapeseed oil (I heated this in a small pan along with saffron) and then poured it over the potatoes before putting them in a very hot oven, the rapeseed makes lovely crispy potatoes which is great when you're not having a roast dinner or want something lighter than goosefat.

On a low shelf in the oven cook the chicken in a preheated oven 150°/gas mark 2/300f and bake for 1 1/2 hours keeping the lid on. Check after the first hour, as everyone's ovens are slightly different.

The chicken was so moist and tender I wouldn't hesitate to do it this way again, the flavours of the harissa were amazing, of course I couldn't help but add a final flourish of fresh rose petals, this is me after all, any excuse to add a floral note and I will.

As you can see from the picture I also used the pepperdews and balsamic onions.

Autumn is the season of Plenty!

2009-09-13T21:14:00.007+01:00

Well I haven't blogged for quite a while now and this isn't because I haven't been cooking because I have, I just haven't shared my recipes that's all.

A few weeks back I got bombarded with emails from a very well known supermarket, telling me I should blog and stating that I should use the value range that they stock, well first of all this is my blog and I talk about what I like, I will never ever be pushed around by a big name and secondly I would not buy that rubbish food anyway, I only buy my meat from a proper butcher and try and buy local right from the source, I'd be a bit dumb if I didn't living in such a beautiful place and having some of the best potatoes right on my doorstep, as well as lots of other things. The said supermarket thinks its tapped into a new area by hassling bloggers, let me tell you this isn't the way to go, so take you value range and put it where the sun doesn't shine.

Now I've got that firmly off my chest I will tell you about the beautiful apples I picked from my friends ancient orchard the other day, some are so old they don't even know what varieties they are but the shapes and colours and especially the flavours are pretty wonderful, so here they are ready to be made into a big deep apple pie.

Raspberry Ice Cream!

2009-07-04T14:03:00.006+01:00

The beautiful English Raspberries are in season right now and not everyone wants to turn them into pots of jam so this really simple ice cream recipe is perfect and every spoonful tastes like summer.

600 ml 1 pint double cream
200g evaporated milk (small tin)
1/2 vanilla pod
450g fresh raspberries
250g caster sugar

warm the sugar, double cream and vanilla pod in a pan over a low to medium heat, just until the sugar melts, do not boil.

Remove the pan from the heat then add the evaporated milk and raspberries.

Add the mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth, if you don't have a blender mash the raspberries with a potato masher until they give ooze the fuchsia coloured juice into the cream.

Pass the whole mixture though a wide netted sieve then pour into an icecream maker and churn for 45 mins, then pour into a tub and freeze until required.

If you don't have an ice cream maker pour into a plastic tub and remove every hour and stir until set to break up any ice particles.

This is also lovely on meringue nests.

One Lemon Curd!

2009-05-18T17:26:00.006+01:00

Me and the microwave don't normally get along but this recipe is lovely, you can see the magic working before your eyes.

The rind and juice of 1 lemon (preferably unwaxed because the rind is in the recipe)
25g/1 oz butter
100g/4 oz caster sugar
1 egg beaten

Makes 1 small jar

In a small microwave proof bowl, add the lemon juice, rind, butter and caster sugar, beat well and microwave for 1 min on full power or until the butter has melted.

Remove from the microwave and beat the egg into the mixture.

Return to the microwave and cook for 3 mins, stopping and beating every thirty seconds, this will stop the egg scrambling.

Once the curd has thickened it is ready, remove from the microwave and whisk once more.

Add to a clean glass jar, allow to cool before adding the lid.

this will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Chocolate Orange Muffins!

2009-05-10T09:01:00.006+01:00

As with most muffins recipes these are simple to follow, you need two bowls one for dry ingredients and one for wet.

Apologies for the measurements as they are in ounces as I weighed everything on my balance and weigh scales.

Makes 12 large muffins

11 oz plain flour
6oz soft brown sugar

2 oz cocoa powder
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
4 oz butter (melted)
4 oz chocolate chips
1 tub buttermilk or 284 ml
120ml milk
1 large egg
zest of 1 orange

For topping:
8oz icing sugar (sieved)
60 ml orange juice

12 muffin cases
1 muffin tin

Pre heat the oven to 180/gas mark 4/ 350 f

Add all the dry ingredients to one bowl and mix well.

In the other bowl add the orange zest, egg, milk, butter milk and melted butter and mix together.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into the centre, stir with a metal spoon until the mixture is just about coming together, do not over mix little lumps are fine where muffins are concerned.

Add a heaped dessert spoon to each muffin case until all the mixture has been used.

Bake on the middle shelf for 20 mins or until the tops have gone lovely and crunchy.

Add the icing sugar to a small bowl along with the orange juice, stir well until you have a smooth thick paste.

Spread the topping over the muffins as soon as they leave the oven so it melts and sets over the top.

If you have any extra orange zest you can scatter some over the top of the icing for a final flourish.

Serve immediately with tea or coffee Mmmmm.

Rachel Allen's Date Bars!

2009-05-04T10:01:00.003+01:00

I have a few recipes for similar oat based bars, but these are so simple to make and and keep that lovely moist centre whilst cooking, I cannot recommend them enough, they will keep in an air tight container for a good few days, but even if you live alone I doubt they will last that long unless you have the willpower of rhino.

20 x 20 cm/8x 8 inch square cake tin

200g/7oz chopped dates (stones removed)
350ml/9 fl oz water

175g/6oz plain flour
175g/6oz soft brown sugar
175/60z butter, (at room temp and chopped)
100g/3 1/2 oz porridge oats
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 350f/gas mark 4/ 180°

The recipe tells you to butter the sides of the cake tin but I never do this anymore as I am in love with those lovely re-usable baking sheets, you can buy them almost anywhere and cut them to fit your tins, they happily go through the dish washer time and time again and saves a whole heap of time fiddling around with greasing the tin and then scrubbing any stubborn bits of it after.

Add the water and the dates to a saucepan and bring to the boil, turn down to a low heat and leave for 10 mins, or until the dates have absorbed the water and turned into a lovely sticky mixture, then leave to cool.

In a bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix well, add the butter and rub into the dry ingredients with your fingers (the same way you would with a crumble).

Add half the mixture to the bottom of your prepared cake tin, then spread on the date mixture (the back of a dessert spoon works well) over the base, finally add the rest of the mixture and press over the top of the dates with your fingers.

Bake on the middle shelf of your oven and cook for 40 mins, until golden brown.

leave to cool inside the tin. Once cooled cut into slices, I manage to get 15.

St George and The Rabbit!

2009-04-22T18:46:00.005+01:00

I know the idea of eating rabbit may not appeal to lots of people but not only is it cheap and available all year round, it's very low in fat too.

What better way to celebrate St George's Day than with a Great British Feast! Everything in this recipe is local and in season.

If you are wondering where to obtain a rabbit then the best place is a local butcher who has a licence to sell game, most of them will skin and portion it out for you.

One rabbit will serve two people generously.

Here is the recipe:

Serves 2 (this can easily be doubled up for 4 people)

1 rabbit skinned, gutted and cut into portions
1 pot buttermilk
2 large cooking onions (chopped into slices)
1 stick celery (roughly chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
Rapeseed oil
2 bay leaves
4 juniper berries
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
handful wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Lea and Perrins Worcester sauce
1 teaspoon tomato purée
2 pints chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornflour (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the rabbit 24 hours before you plan to cook it, for which you will need a big dish that will fit inside your fridge, add the rabbit and coat in the whole pot of buttermilk, give it a stir to make sure all the rabbit is coated in the buttermilk, wrap the dish in clingfilm and leave to marinade overnight.

Add about a tablespoon of rapeseed oil to a big pot and allow to warm on a medium heat, Throw in the onions and stir well, leave to cook until the onions are just starting to brown then throw in the celery and minced garlic and stir again allowing another five minutes for the garlic to cook before adding the rabbit into the pot.

Finally add the bay leaves, pepper, juniper berries, dried herbs, tomato purée and chicken stock and a generous shake of Worcester sauce, bring to the boil over a high heat and once it starts to firmly bubble away, clamp a secure lid on the pot and turn down to a low heat so that the liquid simmers away gently for two hours or until the rabbit falls off the bone. Do not add the salt until the rabbit is cooked otherwise it tends to make the rabbit a bit tough.

Once cooked sieve the stock into a new pan (a fine mesh sieve is best for this as it will catch everything) then pick the rabbit from its bones. Add the wild garlic to the stock and reduce over a high heat until it has thickened slightly, if the sauce does not thicken enough add a little cornflour mixed with cold water to form a paste and add this to the stock, stir well and allow to boil. Add the rabbit back to the thickened sauce before serving.

The rabbit was served with local potatoes, mashed with a about 100g of Shropshire blue cheese running through them, along with the potatoes were local asparagus and carrots, finally as a perfect compliment to any game was a generous serving of redcurrant sauce.

Cost per portion is around: £3.00

On Tonights Menu is...

2009-04-14T08:50:00.017+01:00

My Husband came up with this idea, it's for times when you just don't know what to cook for dinner even though you own half a library's worth of cookbooks and nothing jumps of the page at you.

So here is a visual menu:

Sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice.
Faggots in gravy with mashed potato and two kinds of peas.
Puff pastry tart with crushed potatoes
kebab with salad and potato wedges
Steak and ale pie
Roe on mushy peas with sweet, blue and white potatoes.
Mushroom risotto.
Camembert baked in its box with fresh crusty bread.
Cheese and fresh herb pie with salad and garlic bread.
Chicken cooked in coca cola
Steak with lovely Shropshire blue cheese.
Grey peas and bacon.
purple sprouting broccoli, crispy potato slices and roast chicken.
Cheesy leak topped cottage pie.
Chicken pie with crispy puff pastry.
baked new potatoes with chicken and salad.
Oat coated sea bream, with vegetable and parsley sauce.(seasonal)
Shredded chicken with crushed potatoes and roasted tomatoes.
Quiche and salad.
Chilli con carne with sour cream, rice and flat bread.
Grilled lamb with new potatoes, vegetables and homemade mint sauce. (Seasonal)
Spicy Prawn salad.
chicken Piri Piri with chips and salad.
Locally produced fillet steak with sauce bernaise and vegetables. (seasonal vegetables)
Chicken Maharajah, the original recipe was taken from Feast but I switched the lamb for chicken as I found the lamb to rich for the sauce.
Tuna fish pie.
cheese, onion and potato pie.
Beef stew and mashed potato.
Beef Stroganoff.
Chicken Tikka curry with crispy onion rice.
Mince and tatties.
Roast chicken risotto.
Mirin glazed salmon with rice and vegetables.
Flemish beef in beer, which is cooked in beer and mustard.
Crispy belly pork with cucumber and hoisin sauce.
Roast pork sandwich.
Locally caught pheasant wrapped in smoked streaky bacon with vegetables and mashed potato and drizzled with hedgeberry sauce. (seasonal)
Lamb curry with pomegranate and rice.
Jacket potato with a vintage chedder, onion relish and lots of salad.
Chicken chat, which consits of shredded chicken in a spicy tomato sauce and salad.
Broad beans with crispy smoked bacon, peas and croutons.(seasonal)
Roast lamb with mint jelly and seasonal vegetables.
Italian sausages with puy lentils, these are the lentil haters lentil, they are simply wonderful.
Ham cooked in coca cola and roasted in the oven with mustard and sugar.
salami pizza

Treats of a different kind!

2009-04-09T17:21:00.004+01:00

The title is actually referring to these little treats that I created for my three Labrador's, as anyone who has ever owned a lab will know that they will eat practically anything, including the contents of a bin given half a chance, so these create a little distraction between feeding times.

They take no time at all to prepare and everything can be mixed in one bowl so minimum effort I promise.

You need:

24 oz/3 cups/680 g Gram/Besan flour
1 grated carrot
1 chicken stock cube
150ml/1 cup warm water

Add the flour to a bowl and crumble in the stock cube and grated carrot and stir well. Add the water and stir until you have formed a dough type mixture.

The one problem I had while making this recipe up was to figure out how to shape them, so as I sifted through my gadget draw I found a little tool called a falafel maker that Francesca sent me all the way from Israel, it happens to be the perfect size and shape for dog treats but don't worry if you don't own one of these, a teaspoon will produce the same size you need, just wet the spoon the same as you would with the falafel maker and scrape up the side of the bowl and then blob onto an oiled baking sheet.

Bake on the middle shelf at 180°/350f/gas mark 4 for 10 mins, cool on a rack.

NB Make sure you cool them in a high place so that your dogs don't dive on them before they are cooled as mine tried this.

Its Arrived!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-26T10:49:00.003Z

I can't contain my excitement as the first English Asparagus has arrived.

Asparagus is food of the Gods and goes so well with a lovely well aged fillet steak.

The asparagus that is grown locally is cut early in the morning and is in the local shops by 10am, it also takes two whole years for one crop to grow but its more than worth the wait.

Easter nest fairy cakes!

2009-03-24T13:45:00.002Z

These cakes are not exactly culinary masterpieces, they are the type of cakes you make with children, but they do taste delicious and are perfect for Easter as each one is a little chocolate delight.

The recipe is just a basic sponge which consists of:

30z/75g butter/margarine
30z/75g caster sugar
3oz/75g self raising flour
2 eggs
1oz/25g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
6oz/150g icing sugar
3oz/75g butter
1oz/25g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 fairy cake cases
fairy cakes tin which holds 12 cakes

tiny sugar coated chocolate eggs, grated chocolate to decorate (about 100g)

Pre-heat the oven to 170°/gas mark 3/325f

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg one by one beating each time, then add the vanilla extract and mix again. Finally sift together the flour and cocoa powder, mix until you have a smooth batter.

Bake on the middle of the oven for 15 mins.

Turn on a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Beat together the butter, vanilla extract, icing sugar and cocoa powder until you have a smooth mixture.

Dig a hole in the middle of each cake and fill with buttercream and then smooth around the edges of the cake.

Roll the edges in grated chocolate and then place three of four tiny eggs in the buttercream filled hole.

Same but different!

2009-03-05T12:28:00.005Z

I know I already have a recipe for wild garlic soup but I wanted to do another version, this time without cream so its more or less a sin free food.

Everything in the recipe has been grown in Shropshire, the potatoes are a variety called Red Robin and are only grown locally according to the farm, they have a creamy colour and texture. I have also started using cold pressed rapeseed oil instead of olive oil as this again is grown and pressed in Shropshire and has a lovely colour and flavour.

You need:

1 large red onion (roughly chopped)
450g/1 lb potatoes (peeled and sliced)
2 large handful's of wild garlic leaves (ransoms) (these need to be thoroughly washed first)
1 tablespoon cold pressed rapeseed oil
2 pints of vegetable stock
salt and pepper

Add the oil to a large pot and over a medium heat fry the onion until tender and slightly golden, add the potatoes, stock, and a pinch of salt and pepper, bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and plonk a lid over the pot and cook until the potatoes are tender enough to stick a knife through the centre, add the garlic and turn the heat back up for about two mins so that the liquid starts to bubble fiercely.

Remove from the heat and blend to a fine liquid, by using either a stick blender or a jug blender (if you do use a jug blender allow the soup to cool a little first otherwise you may end up with a green coloured kitchen or worse still burns).

Finally put the soup through a sieve to remove any stalky bits that the blender doesn't catch.

Serve with crusty bread or croutons.

Large Lemon Cupcakes

2009-03-03T14:46:00.005Z

As I've been on a chocolate fest lately I decided to make some lemon cupcakes, this is a pretty standard sponge recipe but when you don't have loads of time to fiddle around its the one I turn to.

Heat the oven to 170°/gas mark 3/ 325f

You will need:

12 muffin size cake cases
1 muffin tray
175g/6oz caster sugar
175g/6oz butter/margarine
3 large eggs (beaten)
175g/60z self raising flour
1 tsp lemon extract
rind of 1/2 lemon
milk

For the buttercream:

150g/5oz icing sugar
75g/2oz butter
rind of 1/2 lemon
lemon extract
milk

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, Add the egg a small amount at a time to ensure the mixture does not curdle.

Add the zest and lemon extract and mix well.

Finally add the self raising flour and mix until the flour has been incorporated into the butter mixture, you may need to add a little milk to loosen the mixture but this depends how large your eggs are and how warm/cool your kitchen is.

Spoon into each cake case so each one has around a heaped tablespoon of mixture.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 20 or until golden and well risen.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

To make the lemon icing:

add all the ingredients to a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and fluffy, again you may need to add a little milk to loosen the icing.

Continental Fudge Squares

2009-02-28T13:49:00.006Z

I have become rather fond of these no bake rich chocolate bites lately, and have just discovered another way to make them look and taste different.

This lends itself very well to dinner/party type entertaining as it would look lovely served with some fresh fruit and creme fraiche as a dessert and of course if you oven is already full the only place you have to put this is the freezer for an hour.

You will need:

225g/8 oz dark chocolate
50g/2 oz butter
75g/3 oz sugar
175g/6 oz evaporated milk
2 eggs (beaten)
450g/1lb digestive biscuits (finely crushed)
110g/4 oz finely chopped nuts (this can be any type you like)
1 tablespoon brandy
110g/4oz chopped glace cherries

You will also need an 8 inch square tin to set it in and a non stick cooking liner to save you time and mess.

In a double boiler, add the chocolate and butter and slowly melt.

Add the eggs to the milk and stir well.

Then add the sugar, and milk mixture to the melted chocolate and stir well, remove from the heat so the eggs don't scramble.

Add the biscuits, nuts and cherries along with the brandy, stir until all the biscuits, fruit and nuts are coated in chocolate.

Pour into the tin and leave to set in the freezer for 1 hour.

Once set remove from tin and cut into squares or oblongs.

These squares are not made to be set hard like the others they should have a fudge like texture and melt quite easily as you eat them.

Beautiful Blue Cheese

2009-02-24T21:02:00.006Z

I have to confess to being a fairly new convert of blue veined cheeses and this one is local and the best one I've ever tasted. It has a lovely crumbly melting texture and its perfect partner in crime is fresh out the oven crusty bread.

The cheese has been given the name Remembered Hills and is made at Ludlow Food Centre which is located in Bromfield just outside Ludlow Town, which is at the heart of the Shropshire Hills.

The Centre is a delight to visit for anyone who enjoys great food. The whole place has a lovely relaxing atmosphere about it and that is mainly because nothing is rushed, as you pick up a lovely wicker shopping basket on your arrival a wonderful smells hits your nose as they sell the freshest fruits and vegetables and make everything on the premises, bread, cakes, jam, marmalade, chutneys and ketchups, as you stroll around you notice that each wall is filled with big glass windows, this is because you can see everything in production, the meat gets cut by expert butchers, the coffee is ground and blended ready to be sold in the shop or taken over into the Barn Cafe. The staff are all lovely too and more than happy to help with any query.

I feel really lucky and proud to have all this great food on my doorstep and not only that but its all traceable and beats the supermarkets on price too.

If you happen to be visiting our beautiful county then pay them a visit as the cafe comes highly recommended too, we also have some great B&B's in the area too if you are planning on staying a little longer.

Chocolate Bites!

2009-02-23T21:34:00.004Z

These are a cross between Rocky Road and a Snickers bar. The only cooking required is to melt the lovely milk chocolate, which you can do two ways either in the microwave or in a double boiler on the cooker.

These are perfect for children's parties as they can be scaled down to tiny morsels or made into larger lumps for any chocolate loving adult.

Be warned they are addictive and 1 small bite will not be enough.

I always use the original glace cherries in this recipe as you want that acid stained red to come out and be seen in all its glory.

200g milk chocolate (melted)
1 packet of mini mini marshmallows
6 digestive biscuits (crushed into tiny pieces but not crumbs)
100g glace cherries (chopped)
1 heaped tablespoon crunchy peanut butter

Lightly mix all the dry ingredients together and put to one side.

Add the peanut butter and mix again being careful not to over do it as each bite should taste and look slightly different.

Add the chocolate and mix until the chocolate covers all the filling.

Dot blobs of mixture onto a baking sheet and use either a non stick cooking liner or baking parchment until you have even sized portions then chill in the fridge for around half an hour.

I think because this has that sweet salty element to it, its perfect partner is a lovely cup of tea or maybe milk if you are under a certain age.

Christmas Pies

2008-12-07T22:06:00.004Z

I made these because for the past few days I've been busy bashing out tray upon tray of mince pies and felt I needed something for mince pie haters to munch on.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6/400f/200°c

8oz short crust pastry (I make my own using butter and plain flour)

plum and apple filling:

1 Brambly apple peeled and chopped
8 fresh plums (chopped into chunks with skin and stones intact)
8 oz granulated sugar
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon brandy
(Add all the above ingredients to a pan and simmer on a low heat until the fruit has softened and it turns syrupy, then push through a wide holed sieve into a bowl.

For the topping:

8 oz ground almonds
2 eggs (beaten)
5 oz caster sugar (I used raw cane as it gives the top a better colour)
1 tsp almond extract

Add all of the above to a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smoothish.

Grease a cup cake tin which holds 12 then roll out the pastry and cut with a plain edged circle cutter large enough to just overlap each indent.

Add a teaspoon of the plum filling to each pastry case then top with a teaspoon of the almond topping. Roll out any left over pastry and cut into stars and place on top of each pie and brush with egg wash.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 20 mins or until golden on top.

Sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

NB: make sure they are cooling before taking a bite as the plum sauce holds the heat and may burn.

My Friend Pistachio!

2008-11-06T09:09:00.005Z

It was a very sad day yesterday as my lovely friend known to everyone online as Pistachio passed away. The void that has been left is enormous as all our online friends are scattered around the earth.

She was only ill for a matter of weeks but I do not wish to dwell on her illness but to remember my friend Lorraine who helped me after my Mom had died, we would sit up chatting deep into the night, she would tell me all about her life in the swinging sixties and all the famous people she knew, her flat was right in the heart of it all and the adjoining flats all had famous some of them now legendary residents. She had an amazing collection of Biba clothes as this was the place to shop and she had kept them all, she once told me about a pair of at the time extremely expensive brown suede boots which cost £60.00 and she loved them and wore them everyday.

The one thing that sticks in my mind as we were on one of our many nightly chats was when she heard a strange noise outside and told me to hold on as she would be back, I could hear all sorts of funny noises and when she finally returned she told me that her neighbours donkey from the field on the left had got out onto her land as he was feeling amorous and wanted to find the donkey in the other farmers field who was female, all she could see was a big pair of eyes looking at her in the darkness but she had no fear and promptly sent the donkey back to where he belonged, we laughed so hard when she told me what had happened I had tears running down my face.

Over the past few days I've had messages and phone calls pouring in telling me lovely things about her some of them I never knew, like when she helped a newcomer on the forum translate things from English to German, she was also on hand with her wisely advice. I know a few people were sort of scared of her matter of fact approach but she was one of life's people who didn't tolerate crap and would defend her friends for what was right, she always spoke the truth no matter what.

Her blog is part of her legacy and over the years Lorraine has given me some really good advice, her cauliflower cheese recipe is the best I've ever done and its stayed a regular in our house since I first made it, it was great chatting to someone about food that understood it wasn't a mundane task that had to be done but something you could gain pleasure from.

Goodnight my friend, I know you have plenty of people taking care of you up there, this is not goodbye this is see you later.............

Wispered Mousse!

2008-10-30T21:56:00.004Z

I knew it would only be a matter of time before I did something with one of my most favourite chocolates and here it is.

8oz good quality milk chocolate, (I can't stress how much you need decent milk chocolate or it will totally effect the taste, please don't use things like galaxy or scotchbloc)
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Pinch of salt

Makes 4

Melt the chocolate either over a pan over boiling water in a bowl or zap in the microwave for a few seconds, (I prefer the double boiler but then I don't really use my microwave).

Add the egg whites and pinch of salt to a large bowl and whisk either using an electric mixer or by hand, until you have really stiff fluffy egg whites.

Mix the egg whites into the chocolate by folding them in with a metal spoon, then add the vanilla bean paste and pour into glasses or cups, and leave to set in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Top with whipped double cream, hot caramel sauce (this is a nod towards a limited edition Wispa which was called Wispa Gold and had a layer of caramel riding through the top of it. Then finally shave slivers off a Wispa bar and sprinkle on top of the chocolate.

The mousse should have a Wispa like quality where you feel the tiny bubbles burst on your tongue.

I know it contains loads of calories but sometimes you just have to indulge, Mmmmm.

Some cakes!!!

2008-10-16T15:41:00.002+01:00

I made these cakes for my friends fundraiser.

I was shocked by the fact that most of ladies had never seen anything like them before as I thought large decorated cupcakes were the in thing at the moment.

I also had lots of requests for orders, one lady even asked if I would make her a cupcake wedding cake.

The decorations were all themed around Mama Mia the film.

Its the preserving season....

2008-09-10T18:29:00.006+01:00

And today I decided to pickle some pretty purple cauliflower as I had been given two of them and wanted to do something with them before they went off.

All you need to do is cut and wash the cauliflower, then dry off with some kitchen paper before placing in a preserving jar, with salt and spices, which can either be pickling spices or an assortment of your own, add the spices to the bottom of the jar with the salt and then start stacking the cauliflower tightly into the jar until you reach the top then fill with vinegar, clamp the lid on and leave in a dark place for a couple of weeks until ready.

This is delicious served with sandwiches or salad.

This is the cauliflower after one day and its turned the white vinegar a beautiful pink colour.

Biscuit Bar!!!!

2008-09-06T12:29:00.004+01:00

We have just made this recipe which is the easiest thing ever.

All you need is:

2 large bars of cooking chocolate 1 milk, 1 dark (melted)

1 pack of rich tea biscuits (bashed up)

1 tub of glace cherries (I only had the natural coloured ones but I think the red would look prettier)

2 handful of raisins

Add the biscuits, cherries and raisins to a large bowl mix well and then add the chocolate stir well to make sure everything is well coated then, press into a square or rectangle pan. I lined the pan with bake-o-glide this way the set bar will just slide off when cut up.

Leave to set in the fridge for half and hour or so, until the mixture is set then, cut up into slices.

The only thing is you may need to hide this is a sealed container on a very high shelf or better still on top of the cupboard where nobody can reach it.

Edible Art!!!!!

2008-09-04T11:59:00.003+01:00

I thought I would show you what I made yesterday, its made from sugar paste and food colouring so its all edible.

Apple and Blackberry pie!

2008-09-03T18:03:00.004+01:00

This time of the year apples and raspberries are in abundance so what better way to make use of them both than in a pie.

This is a one crust pie cooked on a baking sheet.

All you need is a batch of shortcrust pastry (about 12 oz) and enough blackberries and sliced apples to fill it and a shake of caster sugar just enough to sweeten the fruit and keep the tang. Cook the fruit on a low heat just enough to release the juices from the fruit and allow to cool before filling the pastry with it.

Roll out the pastry and place the fruit inside, fold the pastry into the fruit to form a circle with a open centre and cook on the middle shelf of a hot oven for about 25 mins or until the pastry has turned golden.

Chocolate bundt with a difference!

2008-08-31T17:11:00.003+01:00

Today has been a pretty miserable day weather wise as its hardly gotten above light and I've had to work in the kitchen with the under cabinets lights on as well and the main kitchen light, so I decided to make a colourful cake that was tasty and fun.

This is the recipe I used click, , the bundt is a Le Crueset silicone one.

The frosting is pinched from the love buns also in Feast, no child I know ever refuses this topping is a perfect childhood treat, as its sticky and makes a perfect mess. I coloured the frosting with blue colour paste.

Another Award

2008-08-29T15:45:00.003+01:00

Thank you to Hottie over at pink bytes for giving me this award, now I sound like I'm making an Oscar speech lol.

Pink bytes is a lovely blog which is full of gorgeous baking, please hop over and leave a comment if you can.

I've copied this part over, hop you don't mind:

1. Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and their contribution to the blogging community.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of Arte Y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.

Now who do I pass this onto who doesn't have it already? this will take some thought.

I'll get back to you..........

Morning rolls with St Clements glaze!

2008-08-25T13:03:00.005+01:00

The original recipe came from a book but I've tweaked it so much I could hardly say it was the same thing, as the original author wrote it in such a complicated way, I just threw all of her ideas out of the window on my second attempt.

This makes 24 rolls

This is an old fashioned trick I use but it works every time for yeast cookery, everything you use needs to be warm, including the bowl and utensils as well as the ingredients as this helps immensely in getting the dough to rise. I usually warm the bowl upside down over the cooker and place the utensils on the top, while I'm warming the milk and water.

This is what you need:

5 1/2 cups/ 1.24 kg strong white flour
1 1/2 cups/355 ml warm milk(I warm the water and milk together)
1/2 cup /120 ml warm water
1 sachet dried yeast
1/2 cup/113 g caster sugar
8 tablespoons butter (melted over a low heat)
2 large eggs (beaten)
1 teaspoon salt

For the filling/glaze you will need:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (this needs to be soft)
1 1/2 cups/ 344 grams caster sugar
grated zest of 1 large lemon and 1 large orange

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, stir well.

Make a well in the centre and add the milk and water, melted butter and the beaten eggs.

Knock the flour from the sides to cover the top of the liquid and leave in a warm place for ten minutes.

When this is done mix the liquid into the flour to form and dough and then knead by hand for ten mins or on low power in a mixer for 5 mins.

Return back to the bowl and cover with a piece of oiled foil and leave to rise for about 50 mins (depending on how warm your area is) anyway it needs to have doubled in size by this point.

You can make the filling while the dough is rising, which is simply creaming the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy I add the zest before creaming as it gives the filling a better flavour because it releases the oil from the zest.

Gently tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to form a large rectangle type shape (this doesn't have to be perfect) about the size of a large baking sheet, then spread the filling all around covering the whole shape.

You now need to roll it up like you would a roulade except you roll the widest part instead of the other way round.

Mark out 24 cuts with a sharp knife, then slice through when they look about even and place into well greased muffins tins.

Leave to rise for another ten to fifteen mins then bake on the middle shelf of the oven at gas mark 5/375 F or 190° for about 25 mins or until golden and puffy.

Daniels Mill Flour!

2008-08-17T18:25:00.005+01:00

I realised earlier today that I'd never posted about the water mill that is very close to my house, they produce the most wonderful stone ground flour. The actual mill is a beautiful tourist attraction in its own right and has been in the same family for over 300 years. here is the link.

They sell bags of flour in different sizes ranging from tiny to 1.5kg, as a tourist attraction they only open during the summer months but the flour is available to buy from there door all year round.

Here is another link which shows some beautiful pictures of the mill, click here.

You can also telephone them on: 01746 762753.

The mill was badly hit by last summers flood and they are trying to raise money to carry on with the repair work, so if you are in the area please pay them a visit.

I have made lovely bread, cakes and biscuits using this flour I will post one of the recipes later.

Cookbooks

2008-08-11T14:42:00.004+01:00

I own quite a lot of cookbooks, some of which have been gifts, I've only ever got rid of two books as I know once they have gone elsewhere I will need that certain book for reference or an idea for a recipe.

Some recipe books are really well written and laid out while others are just directions on how to go about a certain thing, no passion about the food or any history or story as to how the recipe got put there in the first place.

I love Nigel Slater's Real Food as every recipe is filled with excitement and a real genuine love for everything that went into the book, I also love Feast by Nigella for the same reasons.

The books that grate on me are the ones like 1001 ways with chicken/potatoes/eggs, after reading the second recipe I am completely bored, these type of books should come with a red warning sticker stuck to the front cover, as they are exactly the sort of book a novice cook would go for first and then be put off for the rest of their life.

I also like cookbooks that are filled with pictures as I feel you need something to inspire you to cook the recipe in the first place, we eat with our eyes first and that is why a photo is so important.

I've never counted exactly how many books I own, but some are far more precious than others, especially my old books that would be really hard to replace.

Here is a small selection:

Tagged!

2008-08-10T18:54:00.002+01:00

I've been tagged by Bron from Feast with Bron, thank you!!!!!

Here is what I have to do.

Tag Rules:

Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on the blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

6 random facts about me:

I have re-found my love for shoes.

I love old cookbooks.

I can bend my fingers into funny shapes.

I have a morbid fear of spiders.

I love all sorts of music.

I love living in the English Countryside.

I will have to come back with my list of people to tag later.

Vanilla Custard Slice!

2008-08-10T11:47:00.003+01:00

Today I wanted to make something different, something I haven't made for a long time, so I decided to look through some of my older books and found these.

It doesn't really matter if you use bought or home made puff pasty to make them as both are just as good.

You need:

500g puff pastry

570 ml milk
110g sugar
110g plain flour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod (split)

250g icing sugar
water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven 170°

Roll out the pastry quite thinly then prick all over with a fork and place on a large greased baking sheet, and cook
on the middle shelf until the top is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a bowl add all the eggs and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, then pour in the flour and a little of the milk and beat to form a smooth consistency. The rest of the milk and vanilla pod needs to be heated until just starting to boil then slowly added to the egg mixture beating constantly to prevent it turning lumpy. Return all of the mixture back to the saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sauce start to bubbles and continue for another two mins. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Mix enough water with the icing sugar and vanilla extract to form a thick paste.

Cut the pastry into oblong shapes roughly about the same size as each other as each one will form a base and a lid for the slices.

Take two pieces of pastry place one to the side while you take about two tablespoons of the mixture and spread thickly over the first piece, then take the second and sandwich it on top of the custard, then spread a thick even layer of icing over the top layer, leave to set.

Repeat until you have used up all of the pastry and custard.

Back after a long break!

2008-07-14T18:59:00.002+01:00

I have finally decided to start blogging again after a long absence due to being on a diet (I really don't like this word) and not having much to write about because it got as boring as it can possibly get, as there is only so much you can write about a jacket potato. I am much happier in myself for actually losing weight and wanting to keep it off, I've never been an unhealthy eater, I just ate too much of everything and picked at everything I cooked.

I haven't stopped baking how could I when its something I love so much, I haven't been taking photos of anything I have cooked so I need to dust of the camera and get it back in action.

I also need to catch up with everyone's blogs I am so out of touch with everything.

Forget-me-not!

2008-05-06T14:23:00.004+01:00

I have forget me nots growing in both my front and back gardens and also down the wood, they are such pretty little flowers how could they not inspire me to make some cakes in honour of them.

These are just fairy cake size, made with vanilla pods scraped into the batter with fresh eggs collected from the chickens and a splash of butter milk to keep the batter moist.

I made the topping using icing sugar, butter and lemon extract.

Crazy baking day!

2008-04-30T20:05:00.005+01:00

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon baking with my youngest daughter, she is quite creative now and so decided to add lots of my food colouring to a sponge cake we had just made, so she splashed it in and whirled it around and this was the finished result, to me it looks like abstract art.

After we made vanilla sponge with chocolate sponge swirled into spots to make a spotty sponge cake, it was lots of fun.

Get Stuffed!

2008-04-25T18:29:00.003+01:00

This is what I did to four local free range chicken breasts, I stuffed them with local asparagus and leeks.

Feeds 4

4 free range chicken breasts
2 large leeks (washed and sliced)
asparagus ( chop the tips off and save to steam or cook with the finished chicken)
1 small onion (thinly sliced)
1 clove garlic (choppped)
Salt and pepper
olive oil
butter

In a lidded pan add the garlic, leeks, onion and the bottom half of the asparagus thinly slicing until the stalks feel tuff under the knife, add about a tablespoon olive oil and a little salt and cook over a low heat, so they sweat but don't colour, once tender put to one side to cool a little.

Lay the chicken breasts out on a chopping board and bash and flatten out either with a meat mallet (thank goodness for Ikea) or with a trusty rolling pin. until they look even.

In a baking dish smear a little olive oil over the bottom, just to stop the chicken sticking then add one chicken breast at a time, place some of the leek mixture in the middle of the chicken and then roll up making sure the join sits at the bottom of the dish, repeat until all the chicken has been stuffed, add about a level teaspoon of butter to the top of each chicken portion then sprinkle with a little salt and a good grind of pepper.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180°/ 350F or gas mark 4, for about 20 mins or until cooked through and slightly golden on top.

I served this with the rest of the asparagus and Jersey royals, which I love as the smell reminds me of my childhood, I could easily polish off a whole pan of them all by myself, just boiled with a little butter, Mmm.

Thank you Rosie!

2008-04-23T20:12:00.003+01:00

Rosie at Rosie bakes a piece of cake, had given me an award for my blog.

Thank you very much Rosie, its much appreciated.

Now I have to pass this award on so, I'm going to give it to:

Anna at Anna's kitchen table

Welcome To My Blog!

2008-04-23T18:36:00.001+01:00

I love everything about food, cooking and eating, especially baking.

I am lucky enough to live in the beautiful Shropshire Countryside and love the rural way of life.

I am passionate about locally produced food, especially free range meat.

If you have a read then please leave me a comment, thank you.

You are free to email me at the following address

Violets123@hotmail.co.uk

Lemon Droppy Cheesecakes!

2008-04-22T21:36:00.009+01:00

These are so easy to make nothing can go wrong, no cooking is involved unless you count the melted butter.

I have found a great way to make individual cheesecakes, certain members of this household are addicted to Nutella and the standard size ones comes in little glasses with a lid on, once they are empty I bung then through the dishwasher and use them to makes all sorts of desserts in, cheesecakes and mousse being my favourite.

Makes 6

330g digestive biscuits (bashed or blitzed into crumbs)
160g butter (melted)
300g cream cheese (philly is fine)
Juice and grated rind of 1 large lemon or two smaller ones
15og icing sugar

6 teaspoons lemon curd

Mix the melted butter into the biscuits and stir well, using a dessert spoon add the biscuit to the bottom of each glass making sure the biscuit is evened out in each glass.

Put them in the fridge to firm up for 10-15 mins, while this is happening you can get on with the cheese.

Add the cream cheese to a bowl along with the lemon rind and juice add the icing sugar and mix until you have a smooth looking mixture.

Take your glasses from the fridge and simply drop the mixture on to the biscuit base, closely followed by a teaspoon of lemon curd, no smoothing or flattening out required, I have found this is the best way as you don't need to wipe around the glasses to clean them up as you would if you had smoothed it out, its looks great too.

If you feel like being artistic add a flower for decoration.

Chocolate Brazil Nut Cake!

2008-04-21T21:30:00.005+01:00

When I was little I always got a box of chocolate brazil nuts for Christmas and birthdays, the box to which I'm talking about are sadly no longer made, it was a large blue box that had a red velvet bow around them and they had the most delicious chocolate coating, I can still picture the flavour even now.

I've been wanting to make a brazil nut cake for a couple of weeks now and tonight I made this:

I will type the recipe out shortly, as its scribbled over five bits of paper scattered around the kitchen.

I've been tagged again!!!!!!!!

2008-04-20T19:24:00.009+01:00

By my Friend Anna at Anna's Kitchen Table, (check out Anna's blog for more details) she is not only my cyber friend but we are friends in real life too. Anna has been going through the most amazing transformation by going on the Lighter Life diet plan, not only this but she is sporting a fab new hair do too and is now a fully enrolled member at the gym.

Anna you are a complete inspiration.

Here are my ten favourite photo's

This is a red roast quince from Nigella's Forever Summer
These are muffins covered in icing, the children thought they were really cute.
This kinda goes without saying, a classic victoria sponge
Violet and Lemon fondant fancies

Rose topped cupcakes

Here is my Raspberry ruffle cake, I love this photo because I'm not very good at getting the image at the right time and this worked out just right, as the chocolate was oozing down the side.

As you know by now, I love making cakes and this was a flowerpot cake made for my daughters school teacher.

These were vanilla sponge cakes with swirly vanilla icing stained different colours
This is my rainbow cake another of my wacky ideas, which first came to my mind a few years ago, this is the second edition of it.
These were Christmas cupcakes, made for the school Fair

Next I tag:

Farida at Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook

Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie

Claire at Clares Cake Bake

loulou at Kitchen moments in time

Gayle at The oven is on

Slow roast shoulder of Lamb!

2008-04-20T18:59:00.005+01:00

I got this from the butcher yesterday afternoon as I am still craving winter food. Today has been bleak and miserable more like a December day than an April one, its been barely light all day and the lights in the kitchen have been on for most of it other wise, I'd have been rooting around in the dark.

I cooked this in my top oven as I've now turned the aga off (stupid, I know) I placed it on the bottom rack and cooked it for 8 hours on a low heat. When it was ready to serve up, it literally dropped off the bone this really pleased the dogs as knew something good was coming there way.

I served the lamb with all the usual suspects except the gravy which was made with red current jelly and marsala.

The one thing I cannot stand is over cooked vegetables, so the local asparagus was cooked and then thrown in a bowl of iced water, this is one vegetable that doesn't hang around long enough to spoil by boiling the life out of it.

Chocolate Concrete!

2008-04-20T17:13:00.005+01:00

This seems to be a fairly regional recipe and was once served with school dinners, with a jug of mint custard, not that I'm telling any of you to make mint custard as its perfectly lovely all by itself with a cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe comes courtesy of my Cadburys Cookbook and its so simple to make.

75g/3oz butter/margarine
50g/2 oz Trex or similar
50g/2 oz caster sugar
175g/6oz plain flour
25g/1oz cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract (this isn't in the original recipe but it works well for me)
25g/1 oz biscuit crumbs

For the Icing

350g/12 oz icing sugar
30g/1 oz cocoa

Beat the fats together really well then add the sugar, sieve the flour with the cocoa and work into the mixture with the biscuit crumbs.

Spread evenly in the tin, using a palette knife.

Bake in a moderate oven (180°/350f/gas mark 4) for 25 mins.

Cut into oblong shapes whilst still in the tin, then leave to cool in the tin.

Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and mix with enough water so that the icing will spread evenly.

Pour over the top of the biscuits and spread using a palette knife, leave to set before removing from the tin and onto a plate.

Chicken cooked in Harissa!

2008-04-19T21:52:00.003+01:00

This is by no means authentic fayre, not even close, Hubs wanted something with a kick and Francesca had sent me a lovely jar of harissa paste, so I chopped up and onion and some chicken and cooked it in a big spoon of harissa, no marinading (I didn't have time for that) I just added some olive oil to a pan and threw in the onion, quickly followed by the chicken and paste.

I let it cook over a medium heat while the boiled rice cooked, I also added some peas to it.

This was a quick and very tasty dinner, just the sort of thing after I'd spent about three hours looking through books and not deciding on anything until I looked in the cupboard and found that lovely jar.

Sausage and Mash!

2008-04-17T19:46:00.004+01:00

These sausages come from a great butcher called Clive at Bagginswood Farm Meats, they are big and fat and bursting with meat and flavour, just how a proper sausage should be.

Today has been a particularly cold day for April, just perfect for this kind of food, steaming mash and onion gravy with freshly chopped spring cabbage.

Fishes!!!

2008-04-17T18:40:00.005+01:00

This is something my Mom came up with when I was little and it always amazed me, I now do the same thing for my children who love them too. They are great for parties except when you have an elderly Auntie who insists on covering a dish of them in Carnation cream.

You will need:

A bowl like looks like a fish type tank.

Mint or other fresh edible leaves.

4 tablespoons raw cane sugar for the bottom of the tank

1 pack gelatine leaves, enough to makes two pints
4oz granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod
tip of a teaspoon rose extract

1 can baby orange segments or 1 or two fresh tangerines

Pour the raw can sugar into the bottom of the bowl.

In another bowl soak the pack of gelatine leaves in cold water until softened.
In a sauce pan add two pints of water, 4 oz granulated sugar and vanilla pod, heat until boiling, remove from heat and add whisk in the softened and drained gelatine and then return to the heat to bring back to boiling, remove from the heat and add the rose extract, leave to cool.

Drain the oranges if using a can or peel the fresh oranges and stud with either cloves or nigella seeds to make the eyes of the fish.

When the jelly is cool pour half into the bowl and leave to set in the fridge for around 20 mins.

Remove from the fridge and poke in the mint leaves to create the water plants.

Add the goldfish around the side of the bowl so they look like they are swimming, then pour in the rest of the jelly so it covers the fish, but this time it will have start to softly set, which is good because it will only take a further 10 mins in the fridge before eating.

Simple but mighty good!!

2008-04-16T22:14:00.003+01:00

I have just made these for after dinner and every time I make them I always wish I did it more often.

They are called Affogato which I'm sure you know translates to drowned in English because that's what you do you drown very good quality vanilla ice cream in piping hot strong espresso coffee, as simple and wonderful as that.

I served them with those lovely Italian chocolate cigars.

Chicken with honey and orange!

2008-04-16T20:36:00.003+01:00

This recipe is taken from Nigel Slaters Real food and is really easy to make, no marinading or waiting for anything, just pop the chicken in your baking tray along with a little olive, the juice of two oranges and two tablespoons runny honey salt and pepper, that is it.

The recipes uses drumsticks but I used chicken breast and everyone loved it, I served it with green rice and salad, the boys went back for seconds so not only do I have empty plates I also have an empty oven dish too.

This recipe could be made into nugget sized pieces of chicken just for children or whole pieces of breast for adults, its easy and quick even for the most novice of cooks or perfect as a midweek meal.

I've been tagged!

2008-04-16T10:39:00.008+01:00

By Farida at Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook, I love the idea that this gets us us foodie bloggers together so we get to know each other a little better, its a great icebreaker because I read quite a lot of blogs and the ones where I don't really know them or anyone who comments I feel a bit cheeky leaving a comment as if I'm intruding in some way.

This is what you have to do:

I've copied this part from Farida (hope you don't mind)

Each tagged blogger has to describe himself/herself in 6 words, and then tag 5 or more other bloggers. This is to show support to our foodie colleagues, to introduce them to others, to encourage each other and just to make friends. So, please take a moment and visit each of these blogs I am tagging.

Here is mine:

1. Sensitive

2. Greedy (when food is involved)

3. Helpful

4. Protective

5. Fiery (see above is when this comes in)

6. Wacky ( I have an odd sense of humour)

7.
I know this isn't allowed but I had to get it in, I'm Mrs Forgetful the new name for this is Mumnesia which I have a bad case of.

This is harder than I first thought.

Thank you Farida!!!!!!!

Next I'm going to tag:

Vicky at:
http://ahealthyappetite.blogspot.com

Tina at:
http://tina-cookerybookchallenge.blogspot.com/

Princess at:
http://ohmy-applepie.blogspot.com/

Kerry at:
http://kerry-meandmythree.blogspot.com

Welshrabbit at:
http://cakesandthings.blogspot.com

KellyJane at:
http://www.cookbookqueen.blogspot.com

Linda at:
http://wwwthinkingaboutfood.blogspot.com/

Granny at:
http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com/

Bron at:
http://practicallydaily.blogspot.com

Maria at:
http://thegoddesskitchen.blogspot.com

Rosie at:
http://rosiebakesapeaceofcake.blogspot.com/

Lina at:
http://mylifeisyummy.blogspot.com

Sorry I have one more, I apologise I don't know how I manged to leave you out.
My lovely friend Paola:
http://inmylife-paola.blogspot.com

Ok, I'll stop tagging now, promise.

Black Forest Gateau!

2008-04-15T20:42:00.005+01:00

When you read the title of the above cake I bet the first thing you think of is the 1970/80's when this cake was done to death by a certain cake manufacturer and nobody has touched it for years.

I purposely bought a jar of morello cherries to make this cake and I'm really pleased with how its turned out, I used a recipe from one of my old books so at least its authentic for the time.

For the Cake
8 eggs
7oz caster sugar
3 oz melted butter
2 oz cocoa
2oz plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

3 x 8 inch sponge tins (greased and lined)

For the filling and top

1 pint double/whipping cream
1 tablespoon kirsch
2oz icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large jar morello cherries

Chocolate curls

Whisk the eggs in a bowl along with the sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, then add the cocoa and flour into the mixture from a sieve held high over the bowl, beat again.

Finally add the melted butter while whisking, you should be left with a fluffy and glossy looking cake batter.

Divide between the three tins and bake on the middle shelf at 140°/gas mark 1/ 275f
cook for 12 to 15 mins and leave to cool while you make the filling.

In a large bowl add the cream, kirsch, vanilla extract and sugar and whip until you have a soft but spreadable mixture.

You can soak the sponge layers with a little extra kirsch if you wish.

Put the first layer onto your serving plate and spread with the cream so you have an even layer then dot the middle and edges with cherries, put the next cake layer on and repeat the first process.

when the final layer goes on cover the top with any remaining cream and fill with cherries in the middle, decorate the sides and top with chocolate.

I've only had a slither but its a great cake, It should never have gone out of fashion.

Pandan cake!!

2008-04-13T12:19:00.006+01:00

On my visit to the Wing Yip supermarket the other day I came across pandan leaves and asked this elderly lady who was also shopping what they were used for and she explained that can be put into cakes for flavouring, she then took me around to where the baked goods were and showed me an example which looked like a bundt shape, she told me how she made hers which was weighed out using a tea cup, so armed with this advice and a bottle of pandan flavouring I set about
recreating this cake.

This is how the recipe goes:

8 eggs seperated
1 teacup self raising flour this works out to 5 oz or 142g
52g/ 1 3/4 butter (melted)
1 teacup self raising flour or 5 oz or 142 g
1 teaspoon pandan flavouring/extract
2 tesapoons coconut water (to make coconut water add a handful of dried coconut to a cup and fill up with hot water, leave to cool before using)
green food colouring

Heat the oven to 140/gas mark 1/ 275 f

In a clean bowl whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt until they turn stiff, then slowly add the sugar until it has all been incorporated.

In another bowl mix the eggs with the food colouring, pandan flavour and coconut water and the cooled butter, then mix in the self raising flour with a whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Slowly add the egg white to the green batter until they have all been folded in, you should end up with a pale green fluffy looking mixture.

Pour into a bundt mould, (I used my Le Crueset sillicone mould for this)and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour or until risen and the outside has turned a pale brown colour.

Green eggs, yummy!!!

I was really disappointed with how this cake tastes after smelling those fresh pandan leaves, the cake tastes really weird, not a wiff of pandan or coconut, just like eating a meringue with extract of cardboard.

Birthday Cake, another one...

2008-04-12T15:38:00.005+01:00

This time the theme was James bond, the man with the golden gun and a mini, all sort of rolled into one. My friend ask me to make this for her son who has turned 16 today and he is having a party later on to which we are going.

The number 1 cake is a rich moist chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache and then iced and decorated, the number 6 is a rich fruit cake covered in white marzipan and then iced and decorated again.

All of the decorations were made me by hand.

Its here!

2008-04-08T18:27:00.003+01:00

The first of the very local Asparagus has arrived today.

I went into my butchers this afternoon and they had just taken delivery of the very first asparagus, which is grown in field about 4 miles away from here, it was picked first thing this morning and arrived at the shop a few hours later, you couldn't ask for better apart from growing your own which takes a whole two years.

I love this either on a plate all by itself or with a very good piece of steak and sauce bernaise for for dipping into.

Farida's Zebra Cake!

2008-04-07T17:52:00.002+01:00

After seeing this cake on Tastespotting I knew I just had to make it. I have been visiting Farida blog ever since and all her food is lovely.

Here is the link: Farida's Azerbajani Cookbook
Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Here is my version:

An Italian inspired dinner!

2008-04-06T19:50:00.012+01:00

I am trying to find lots of ways to use all this wild garlic that is growing here and I came up with the idea of using the ransoms in replace of spinach with ricotta, not only do you replace the spinach you don't need any more garlic either the wild garlic alone is more than enough flavour.

Nigella describes in Bites that she slips into Italian Mama mode I'm not Italian but I think she means creating food with love at a much slower pace than we normally do here in the UK.

I have done this recipe in step by step using photos as I feel even though pasta is easy to make lots of people are put off by it, so this is what you do:

This quantity serves two.

It is also easy to scale up and down as its 1 egg per 100g pasta flour.

Take 2oog pasta flour
2 free range eggs (I used my legbar egg fresh off the nest this morning)
salt

Weigh the flour then turn it out onto a clean work top, mix in the 1/2 teaspoon of salt then make a hole in the centre of the dough and crack each egg into the hole.

mix the eggs into the flour with your hands until you have formed a dough, if you find its a little dry then add a little olive oil to make it pliable.

Wrap the pasta dough in cling film and leave to rest for at least half an hour.

While the pasta is resting you can make the filling, for which you need:

a handful wild garlic
100g ricotta cheese
salt and pepper

Blanche the garlic in boiling water and then transfer to a food processor to blitz the leaves into a rough pulp, add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Once its rested flatten it out a little before rolling it through the pasta machine so you get a thick even sheet in which to cut out your pasta shapes.

If you don't have a pasta machine then roll it out as thin as possible before attempting to cut at it.

Cut the pasta into circle shapes, I used a tart cutter.

Crack and beat another egg to seal your pasta shapes. (I used the cleaned out ricotta tub to beat the egg in, it was just the right size)

Then brush around the outside of the pasta circle with the beaten egg and dab a little of the filling in the middle, then pinch the middle of the circle followed by the sides so you have a sealed moon shape.

Which should look something like this.

Drop them into a large pan of boiling salted water, they will float to the top when they are cooked.

This is what the cooked result looks like.

And to the serving plates

The tomato sauce you see by the side of the pasta was made while the pasta was cooking by:

Finely chopping a small onion
chopped garlic
olive oil
dried herbs
Can Italian tomatoes

Add the onions and olive oil to the pan and cook over a high heat until they start to colour take off the heat and add the herbs, garlic and tomatoes then return to heat and let it simmer until the sauce has thickened before serving with the pasta.

The only downside to making this was that I didn't make nearly enough it was demolished in seconds.

Cockle Shells!

2008-04-05T17:41:00.003+01:00

I came across these in an old Cadbury's cookbook and thought they looked and sounded lovely.

This is the original recipe except for a few changes I made:

125g/4 oz butter
25g/1oz icing sugar
125g/4oz plain flour
2 tablespoons drinking chocolate (I used cocoa powder instead)

Large piping bag
star piping nozzle
baking tray

Cream the butter and icing sugar together, before adding the drinking chocolate/cocoa and flour, mix until you have a smooth paste, then fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe onto a grease baking tray in shell like shapes.

Bake in in a moderately hot oven (190°/375f/gas 5) for 15 mins.

Lift carefully and cool on a wire rack.

Match the biscuits into pairs before you sandwich them together with some pink (or you choice of colour) butter cream flavoured with vanilla.

for the butter cream you need:

250g icing sugar
125g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pink food colouring

Mix all together until it turns smooth and creamy, pipe or spoon into the middle of each biscuit, then sprinkle with sugar strands or hundreds and thousands.

These were demolished quicker than I could put the butter cream in to them and they were really delicious, I would definitely make them again but next time I would double up on the amount specified.

Fried Green Tomatoes!

2008-03-30T19:05:00.008+01:00

This is about as far away from local cooking as you can get, as not only is the recipe from America but the tomatoes are from afar too. Ever since I bought the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe I wanted to try out this recipe. I assumed I would never be able to get my hands on those big green tomatoes, luckily I managed to find them in Waitrose.

Here is the recipe, which is taken from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flag.

You will need:

3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
3-4 green tomatoes cut into 1/4 inch slices
vegetable oil

Combine the first 5 ingredients, mix until smooth, add additional milk to thin, if necessary; batter should resemble pancake batter.

Working in batches, dip tomato slices into batter, allow excess batter to drip back into bowl, fry in 2 inches hot oil in a large heavy skillet until browned, turning once carefully with tongs.

Transfer to a colander to drain.

3-4 servings.

Sorry everyone I forgot to finish this posting.

The first bite I had I thought these are disappointing as they didn't really have a taste of anything but the more you eat the more the flavours come through, I think I was waiting for a big hit but that didn't happen it was subtle but still delicious, I would definitely make them again as everyone liked them.

Photo's

2008-03-26T21:23:00.005Z

I've just been trawling through some pictures so I thought I would post some here:

This is the view from my back garden a few weeks ago when a hot air balloon came over.

Sunrise on a frosty morning.

A winters sunset.

Down the woods in the summertime

Chocolate Pistachio Parfait with a Raspberry Sauce!

2008-03-26T20:34:00.003Z

I stumbled across this recipe in an old magazine, they made there version with ginger and ginger biscuits, I made this with digestive biscuits, pistachio's and a shot of brandy.

The raspberries are frozen ones and apart from not being picture perfect they still tasted good.

Apart from melting the chocolate there is no cooking or heating involved.

This is what you need:

300g dark chocolate
100 digestive biscuits (crushed into crumbs)
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
small pot double cream
shot of brandy
50g pistachios or other nuts (chopped or bashed up)
1 tub frozen raspberries
100g icing sugar (you may want more of less depending on how sweet your tooth is)

Melt the chocolate into a double boiler and add the cream, stir until you have a thick glossy sauce.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs including the yolk with vanilla extract and sugar until they go pale and fluffy.

Add the chocolate to the eggs and stir well.

Finally add the biscuits, nuts and brandy, stir again.

Turn into a lined tin or silicone mould and freeze for 3 hours until it sets.

Empty the raspberries into a bowl and add about 100g icing sugar and stir well.

Cut into slices and serve with the raspberry sauce poured over.

Hot Chocolate with an Easter bunny!

2008-03-25T08:27:00.002Z

This is made by melting a bar of very dark chocolate into some milk and then adding half a vanilla pod and some condensed milk at the end the sweeten it and a shot of very good brandy.

I'm not even going to think about the amount of calories it must contain but then its not something you would drink everyday and it is good.

Purple sprouting broccoli soup!

2008-03-24T18:32:00.005Z

I know this is a bit criminal but I had a huge bag of this delivered with my vegetable box this week so I used some in this soup so it wouldn't go off.

This is another quickie:

roughly chop and quickly fry an onion, just to give it a bit of colour, add 1 pint of chicken stock and some salt and pepper, next add a generous handful of the broccoli and slap a lid on your pot, leave for 10 mins on a rapid boil, Remove from heat and give it a quick blast with a hand blender and your ready to eat.

Its low fat, healthy and nearly as quick as opening a can, what more could you ask? apart from a lovely fresh baguette to dip into it.

Petit Fours/Fondant Fancies!

2008-03-24T18:14:00.005Z

These are made with a very light sponge using a basic sponge recipe and replacing the standard flour with oo to give the sponge a light as a cloud texture. The whole cake is then cut into little squares and topped with a little ball of lemon butter icing, once this has been left to set for 20 mins they are then dipped into a fondant icing which was flavoured with lemon and violet. They were then placed in these pretty little cake cases, another lovely gift from Francesca.

I made the little flowers you see on the top by hand.

These are the sort of cake I always hope to see if you go into a lovely tea shop but rarely do, its normally things like tea cakes or the standard bought in muffins that generally grace the plastic domed cakes stands.

If I owned a cake shop everything would be homemade and a little bit special with proper tea in lovely teapots.

I would also have a collection of old plates and cups so it was all individual and didn't match on purpose.

Does anyone remember the Yorkshire tea advert where the little girls runs in and her Mom had a teapot with a lid that didn't match, I also have a teapot with a lid that doesn't match it belonged to my Mom, its more special to me than a brand new one from a shop with a perfect lid.

Steak and Ale Pie!

2008-03-23T20:01:00.004Z

I know the must be a million versions of this pie out there but this is my version made with a local beer and local beef and double onions, its not the kind of food you make when you are short of time or tired, it takes time to make but it really is worth it and if you make a big enough batch then you can freeze it in portions ready for a midweek meal.

The beer I have used is a local one made in a little brewery in Bridgnorth, its made with love and not mass produced in a huge factory, here is the link for the brewery its behind a beautiful old pub in the town where you can enjoy a pint of this and the other beers they produce.

My Hubby thought it was awful to put such a good ale into a pie until he tried the finished result and then he changed his mind and went back for seconds.

You will need:

You can easily halve or quarter these amounts, I always do extra to stash away.

Serves 8

6 large cooking onions (roughly chopped)
3lb good quality braising steak (tossed in seasoned flour)
2 garlic cloves (squashed)
6 large carrots (peeled and chopped)
2 handfuls of fresh mushrooms (whichever sort you prefer)
1/2 stick celery (chopped)
1 pint beef stock
2 fresh tomatoes(skinned and chopped) or small tin of chopped ones
1 bottle Bridgnorth Best Bitter
Worcester sauce
salt and pepper
Olive oil

1 packet of puff pastry or the same weight of home made (I make mine using a rough puff pastry)

Place a large lidded pot on the cooker and allow to heat without any oil, once warm add a drizzle of olive oil and about half of the chopped onions stir around replace the lid and leave for 10 mins, this will cooking and brown the onions without burning them but it will create a lovely flavour and the lid will keep the juices in and the onions moist.

Add the carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, celery and the remaining onions stir again, then add the meat and a generous splash of Worcester sauce, Beer and the beef stock, stir well and plonk the lid back on.

Cook on a low heat for about 2-3 just so you have a slow simmer.

Once cooked, i.e. the meat is very tender to the touch, transfer to a baking dish, roll out the pastry and cover the pie, brush the pastry with a beaten egg before cooking on the middle shelf of the oven at 180°/gas mark4/350f until the pastry is well risen and golden on top.

Serve either on its own or with vegetables of your choice.

Rose sponge puddings!

2008-03-22T19:09:00.005Z

My friend Francesca sent me a lovely rose shaped muffin size mould, I couldn't wait to find a use for it so I got my thinking cap on and decided to do a sponge type pudding with rose syrup poured over the top to get the original pudding effect.

This is what I came up with:

Makes 6

6oz 00 flour
6oz butter
4oz soft brown sugar
2oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs (beaten)
little milk if needed to loosen the batter

Rose syrup to pour over the puddings.

Heat the oven to 150°/gas mark 2/300f

Put all the ingredients(except the milk) into one bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth pourable batter, if it doesn't look pourable then add a little milk.

Pour into the rose mould and bake on the middle shelf for 25-35 mins, the puddings should have risen and be a lovely golden colour.

Turn out of the mould while still hot and pour over the rose syrup.

Serve as they are or with some vanilla custard.

Thank you Francesca for this beautiful mould I love it very much.

A very good Icecream Sundae!

2008-03-21T21:12:00.004Z

Nigel Slater once said that his parents wouldn't allow him to eat sundaes as they were vulgar. I cannot see how anyone would call a berry red sauce and a proper chocolate sauce with good quality vanilla ice cream vulgar I can however see how an seaside alternative possibly made with that whippy style ice cream could be.

I bought the organic vanilla bean ice cream as its not really the season for churning my own, its been barely above freezing all day and we've had snow on and off since 4am, so now you are thinking I must be mad making this in such cold weather but my version isn't really cold at all, both the sauces are served warm under the ice cream which makes it taste and feel even better.

You will need:

Chocolate sauce
100g very dark chocolate
teaspoon unsalted butter
25-50g sugar (depending on how sweet you like your chocolate sauce)
also a little water (this way you don't need to use a double boiler) trust me and be brave

Fruit sauce
250g frozen mixed fruit (ie raspberries, strawberries and blackberries)
125g caster sugar

good quality vanilla ice cream

Cadbury flakes (the sort they sell in boxes esp for icecreams)

Add the water and butter to a pan warm until the butter melts into the water, add the sugar and chocolate and stir until you have a smooth glossy sauce.

Add the sugar and fruit to a pan and stir over a hot heat until the fruit starts to give off its juices and all the sugar has melted.

Now all you have to do is assemble it in layers in a large glass or sundae dish, starting with the chocolate sauce first so you get left with a lovely spoonful at the end, then add some fruit then a scoop of icecream then start the layering again until you have filled the glass you could also add some cream and then top with your flake.

I have added the flake ads to my you tube bar as a bit of nostalgia to this lovely old fashioned pudding.

A Jewish Festival!

2008-03-20T20:35:00.004Z

My friend Francesca sent me a lovely book called Jewish Holiday Treats not only does it contain recipes but it also contains crafts for the children to do, my eldest daughter has already earmarked half the book with post it notes of things she wants to try out.

Today I cooked Hamantaschen which are little triangular pastries filled with poppy seeds or prunes, and are traditionally eaten for the festival of Purim.

I really enjoyed making them although they didn't finish up looking triangular in shape they still tasted wonderful with a good cup of coffee.

Lambs!

2008-03-19T11:42:00.004Z

We had decided we were going to get some orphan lambs to look after, the farmer up the lane was more than willing to let us have a couple, so last night we bought two home, the one was extremely weak as neither of them had been fed from the mother she rejected both of them. We got the one feeding quite well the other was just having little drips of milk into his mouth but unfortunately he died this morning.

The other lamb has now become weak and is holding on just about, she is no longer getting up which is not a good sign, I was hoping this post would be on a far happier note.

Another trip to Ludlow!

2008-03-18T12:04:00.005Z

This time it was market day and we got chatting to a lovely man on his stall because he had a sign up saying no cheating here as a poke at Delia, and good for him I say especially when he started explaining what he does. He buys and smokes his own fish which was smoked praws, crab and salmon.

The salmon was made into a mousse like pate and he gave us some to sample which involved me quickly throwing some money in his direction for a pot as he only had two left and a crowd had formed by this point.

He also makes his own pies including pheasant and pork pies as well as local cow pie and chicken pies.

Here is a picture of his lovely salmon pate, served on some freshly baked and toasted bread. You can actually see the pieces of salmon in the pate.

Here is the link for his website:

Key Cottage Catering, www.keycottagecatering.co.uk

St Patricks Day Cupcakes!

2008-03-18T11:46:00.002Z

I've made these because I've never really done anything before to celebrate St Patricks Day, as I don't have any Irish connections within my family or friends.

I bought these cute little shamrock sprinkles online and I thought it was about time I used them, so I made the recipe using Nigellas Chocolate guinness cake recipe with the cream cheese frosting, the recipe can be found on Borders.

You could halve the recipe as I got 36 cupcakes out of it, which wasn't really a hardship as I've given most of them away as I had intended.

Camembert baked in its box!

2008-03-18T11:18:00.003Z

This is a wonderful "recipe" it takes not time at all and if you are in a rush, the only thing you have to do is unwrap it and poke a few holes in it, pour over some wine and rub a cut garlic clove over the top (I just leave mine on it while its cooking) return it to its little wooden crate and bake in the oven until soft, you will know when its done as the top starts to puff up.

You will need: 1 whole camembert per person
enough white wine to pour over and soak into the holes
1 large garlic clove

Fresh crusty bread, mange tout, carrot batons or potato wedges to dip into it.

The Clock is ticking!!!!!!

2008-03-18T10:44:00.005Z

As I'm timing how long it takes me to make proper risotto compared to the cheat version that Delia suggests.

1/4 packet dried porcini (this was a large packet)
1/2 pack Italian risotto rice (about 500 grams)
1-2 pints chicken stock
1 large cooking onion
chopped fresh parsley
1 fat garlic clove (chopped)
good grate mature cheese
salt and pepper
Olive oil

Serves 2.

1. Boil the kettle

2. While the kettle is boiling chop a medium to large cooking onion and the garlic

3. pour some hot water over your porcini.

4. Add onion and a splash of olive oil to a pan season and cook until soft.

time taken, 5 mins.

5. Make up 1 -2 pints chicken stock

6. Add the risotto rice and the porcini and stir well, add a little stock at a time until the rice has softened, keep stirring until the rice turns creamy and absorbs enough stock.

7. Add freshly chopped parsley and a good strong hard cheese of your choice then serve. (I used a local vintage chedder)

Total time 25 minutes.

It took me less time that the packet version and mine looks edible unlike the other version which looked terrible.

Cost:

£1.25 rice
£0.12 onion
£0.05 garlic
£0.10 olive oil
£0.89 porcini
£0.10 fresh parsley
£0.50 vintage chedder
£0.00 chicken stock was made from bones from the roast

Total spend: £3.01

My main ingredients were bought from The Deli on the Square in Ludlow, the rest were from Farmer fruit and veg shop round the corner.

Pineapple Upside down cake!

2008-03-13T20:36:00.003Z

I love nothing more than a good browse through my old cookbooks and today while looking for information I came across a recipe for this cake.

Its circa 1971 and I think you can tell my the ingredient list as it not only calls for glace cherries but also angelica, this must have be the cookery fashion accessory of the time, as every book has them in all sorts of recipes.

Heat the oven to 150°/300f/ gas mark 2

This is my own version:

1 silicone mould (so it won't stick)

8oz butter/stork
8oz caster sugar
4 large eggs
vanilla extract
8oz cake flour
can of pineapple (in its own juice)
Enough cherries for each pineapple hole and angelica to sit aside each cherry.
2 tablespoons golden syrup

At the bottom of the mould add the golden syrup, make sure it is spread evenly, then add the pineapple followed by the cherries and angelica to form a pattern.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg one at a time beating in between each added egg.

Add the vanilla extract and flour beat until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the cake batter over the pineapple and bake for 45-50 mins or until risen and golden and your cake skewer comes out clean.

Vegetables!

2008-03-12T19:14:00.004Z

I went out shopping today into Ludlow, they have a great fruit and vegetable shop which is like an Aladdin's cave you just can't ask for the wrong thing and I always get carried away buying such lovely food.

Here is today's haul:

Large yellow peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, white onions, blue potatoes, yellow courgette, round courgette, sweet potatoes, beetroot and fennel.

Parma Violet Petit fours!

2008-03-09T16:36:00.005Z

Obsessions, obsessions!

This recipe makes 12 tiny cup cakes also known as petit fours, they have vanilla bean and violet extract in the very light and airy batter.

You will need:

Pre-heat the oven to 150°/gas mark 2/ 300f

sorry its in ounces I used my old scales to measure the ingredients out.

2 oz butter/stork
2 oz caster sugar
1 large free range egg (beaten)
vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
violet extract (tip of a teaspoon)
2 oz cake flour

12 mini cup cake cases

For the topping

4 oz icing sugar
2 oz butter
green food colouring
violet extract
packet parma violets (smashed)
crystallised violets 1 for each cake

Cream the butter and sugar until it has a mousse like fluffiness to it, add the beaten egg and the extracts and mix well, finally add the cake flour and stir until it has all been incorporated into the batter.

Divide into the cake cases and cook on the middle shelf for about 7 mins or until risen and golden on top.

While they are cooking, mix together the icing sugar, colouring, extract, and butter until you have a smooth paste.

Turns the cakes out onto a cooling rack and allow to go cold before decorating with the icing.

Either pipe or spoon the icing on to the top of the cooled cakes and then stud the top with a crystallised violet petal and scatter with smashed up parma violets.

Violet Infused Roast Lamb!

2008-03-09T14:56:00.009Z

I bought this leg of lamb from the butcher yesterday, I had decided to roast it with mint and lemon slowly so it drops off the bone when being served.

Well after being in the garden this morning, I was trying to think what I could do with the violets that didn't involve my baking obsession and this is it, the smell is incredible before it goes in to cook and I'm hoping that the violet fragrance will be evident in the lamb once its finished cooking.

Here is what you need:

Leg of Lamb
2 lemons
dried mint
salt and pepper
olive oil
fresh violet flowers
1 tablespoon violet petal jam
freshly crushed garlic 1 or 2 cloves depending on your taste
kettle hot water
aluminium foil (enough to cover your whole baking dish)

In a baking dish add the lamb and rub with olive oil and squeeze over the juice of 1 lemon, then add some salt and pepper and the crushed garlic and massage into the lamb. I put the fresh violet flowers into my pestle and mortar and added some salt and olive oil and ground it up to form a paste, this was also poured and massaged into the lamb. Sprinkle with dried mint and then pour about 2 cups of water into the bottom of the dish, cover with foil insuring the dish is cover snugly so no steam escapes.

Put in a low oven around 140° on the bottom shelf for at least three hours, you may need to top the water up half way through to stop the bottom burning. When its cooked the lamb should be extremely tender and drop off the bone, I shredded it because thats the way I prefer it.

Drain off any fat from the juices that are left in the bottom of the pan and reduce them slightly in a saucepan then add a glass of red wine and a dessert spoon of violet jam along with some chopped mint and a heaped teaspoon of mint jelly, reduce to thicken again and then pour over the shredded lamb.

I served it with squashed new potatoes, peas and purple sprouting broccoli.

Oh and I forgot to mention it did have a lovely subtle flavour of violet not too much but enough.

Spring has Sprung!

2008-03-09T08:38:00.011Z

Well its 7.15 am here in Shropshire and the most beautiful spring morning has greeted me, I'm in the back garden filling up my bird feeders which I have to do on a daily basis as I'm sure most of the regions birds come to my garden to dine, not that this is a bad thing we truly have some wonderful birds come to visit, including three lesser spotted woodpeckers, a pair of willow tits, 12 long tailed tits, endless blue and great tits and one solitary yellow hammer, as well as 4 robins who all fight each other away but still return to grab a bite, our newest visitor is a beautiful thrush she comes first thing in the morning and then returns at dusk to grab the last worm before she settles down in a tree for the night.

I couldn't resist grabbing my camera this morning, even though I still had my PJ's on, I'm fairly sure I couldn't do this if I lived in the town because the neighbours would think I was some kind of weirdo walking around the garden not dressed taking pictures.

All the spring flowers are out in full bloom in my back garden as its well protected not only by a fence but the beautiful big walnut tree that covers the garden like a protective umbrella, I've read that nothing is supposed to grow near a walnut tree as it sucks all the goodness out of the soil, well nothing could be further from the truth here everything flourishes wonderfully.

I have beautiful clumps of violets growing all over the back garden, nature couldn't have given me a better present.

I even have a cabbage growing, this is purely by accident I planted some winter cabbage seeds and none of them took in the front garden after it got washed out last year, I planted the seeds up in the back garden before transferring them to the front and this must have escaped and self seeded.

This is Dick Turpin the cheeky little nuthatch who comes charging into the garden with his black mask to steal the nuts from one of the feeders, if any bird goes near him big or small he attacks them, he's so pretty with his peach coloured underbelly you have to be impressed by him.