Cooking at Christmas...

I have had problems with accessing this blog account so i missed all the great Christmas Cookery Posts i had planned. Aaah well, we are all too busy with our own Christmassy plans to have time for much pleasure reading? But i did want to share a few of the images i had stored...
Above - look at my gorgeous vintage Ceramic rolling pin *Christmas goodies bag from MrsB to me* (lucky lady that i am) i adore my rolling pin - and look closely, you'll see it has "Nutbrown" written on it, like it came from a little squirrel's kitchen!
And, next to that, a Tree Cookie Cutter with a cutout slice so the cookie sits tightly on the rim of One's tea cup.... precious!

I did use my rolling pin for various pastry dishes. Some invoving chocolate chunks, mmmm
and some involving Home-made fruity Mincemeat (i am salivating at the mere memory)

*MrsB - remind me to blog my fruit mincemeat recipe for next festive season?*

I hope you all enjoyed Christmas Cookery and didn't allow it to get too much of a chore?

I have taken my friends advice below: a fizzy mineral tab in a 3/4 pint of water - topped up to a full pint with SPATONE and orange juice.

I feel A L I V E ! zzzziinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg !

I got a Bread Maker Machine!!!

Forgive the photos - the nights are drawing in and light seems scarce...
so, BREAD MAKER! it isn't actually mine. On the last visit to my parents house, i just grabbed it. My dad hasn't used it for a while so i put it under one arm and exited the building...... my dad caught me, with one foot out of the front door, but i convinced him - THIS machine needed a temporary new home. It is really versatile and the number of functions it has.... woah! Baking / half bake / knead / Raisin and nut dispenser... the list goes on.

I started with a basic loaf. I think this macine and i will need to get to know each other over time. I am not sure which the best recipes are or 'settings' that will suit me better.

Excellent fun though! i lurve a new gadget - MrsB turned in her kitchen when i told her and began some long talk about the "joy of kneading bread" / "traditions" etc... i love her and i'm sure she is right, but.... i have fresh bread in 1h 56mins and it tastes YUMMY!

I put a few bags together of the dry ingredients ready to just add whenever i liked instead of getting all the ingredients out EACH time i wanted a loaf.... i am super organised liked that :)

My first loaf: not bad.... needed more salt. A lighter crust setting. I prefer nuts and seeds in my bread. BUT.... overall, not bad.

Do not doubt me cookery friends, when i tell you..... there is plenty more where that came from!!

p.s. A general hit with the FishFamily and my dad did get a loaf made especially for him too.

Granola....

You have to say it with an American accent "Granola".... I don't think we have an equivalent name for it in the UK? it isn't muesli, because muesli is loose and not toasted. So we must call it Granola!?

I am not going to repeat this recipe verbatim as it is in NIGELLAS CHRISTMAS book and it doesn't seem necessary as i didn't alter it much from there. Also because, granola really is just toasted seeds, nuts, oats and spices so you can add what you like.

Mine is a few 100g rolled oats with blanched almond / normal almonds / banana chips = but i put all these in a plastic bag and smashed them all into tiny pieces as i don't like BIG bits in my cereals.

Then i mixed the oats with this smashed mixture in a big bowl with a spoon of sunflower oil + 2 large spoons of honey + tiny sprinkle of cinnamon + couple of spoons brown suger + poppy seeds + pumpkin seed. I turned it all and mixed it wearing plastic gloves and gave gloves to my daughter and her friend too so we all had a good 'hands on', gooey experience.

It was toasted for about 50mins on a low heat in a large oven tray - turning every 10 mins till it was brown and toasted all over.

When it came out the oven, i added a really generous bag of dried of cranberries and mixed well.

Popped it all in a clean Kilner jar and closed it when cooled.

OH my - what a shame. Now no other breakfast cereal will do!! This made a huge jar but i keep dipping my hand in and stealing little treats like a squirrel. THIS will become a staple in my home from this day forward x

Christmas Cookery...

When i say "i love Christmas" i don't mean i love all the consummerism and commercialism - i think it is really the 'preparations' of Christmas i love. It isn't really about a build up to 'the big day' even... it is just about cooking and baking and sewing and 'being' in the Christmas colours. This Christmas Cranberry Chutney (of sorts) was made a few weeks ago, at the end of the warm Summery days, when the wasps were still menacing my apple store.... and i thought it only right and proper that i play my Christmas Music CD (see picture above, which is the cute CD sleeve) whilst merrily at work.

Of course, the puddings to hang from my ears were a little un-neccesary and, for some, a step too far?

SO: CRANBERRY and RED ONION RELISH

250g Red Onions

250g fresh or frozen Cranberries (red currants would be a suitable substitute)

125g light brown sugar

120ml red wine vinegar

120ml red wine

1tsp ground ginger

1tblsp mustard seeds

Port or Orange Liquer

recipe is from my all time favourite book below.... this makes about 1lb of relish so, if you have a larger family you could double this quantity. It isn't a 'cheap' recipe but that is why it's for a special occasion in my mind.

Thinly slice and chop the onions - into a size you are happy with for a chutney / relish. I like my pieces quite small. Use a smaller sweating pan for this = NOT your bigger chutney pot.

Sweat them through slowly in 2 tblspoons of olive oil - about 15mins with the occasional stir.

Add 2 large spoons of the brown sugar and stir to caramelize the onions, maybe takes 5 mins. Then keep off the heat till needed.

Step outside the back door and cry whilst the onions are stinging your eyes (my eyes are watering at the mere memory)

Then find the bigger chutney pan: add CRANBERRIES into the pan with - remaining brown sugar - Red wine - Red wine vinegar - mustard seeds - ginger.

Heat that lot of mulchy fruit SLOWly until all the sugar has dissolved. Then cover the pan and bring it up to the boil. Once at the boil, turn down and simmer for about 15mins. You want the berries to burst and become very tender... this is why you need the LID on the pan,,,, the hot cranberries have been known to fly out of the pan when bursting and these are HOT wee devils!

ADD ONIONS: you can now stir in the caramelised onions. Take the lid off and keep off whilst you cook for a further 12mins. Season with salt and pepper as it brings out the flavours of the fruit and spices.

JARS: i always sterilize mine fully. Wash them in hot soapy water and leave to drain. Pop them in a hot-ish oven (120-ish) for about 20mins till they are hot.

I also sterilize more than i need as you never really know what yield you might get, even if a recipe tells you "this makes 1lb" you never know...

When your relish is cooled off a bit - spoon it into the warm jars - careful not to touch the inside of the jars or the rims. This is why i use one of those JAM FUNNELS / jar filling thingys (see past posts) to avoid any mess or touching the jars at all. It is quick and clean.

Then, pour yourself and nice glass of the red you opened for this recipe... and DESPAIR as you realise one of those pesky wasps has had the cheek to take a dip in the wine bottle!!

Not content with my apples, they're after the rouge nectar.... luckily he came out as i poured.

OH for sniff-a-vision (as a friend said) this smells superb and it is 'oh so christmassy'. Glossy, shiny, fruity red. It looks so good and bright.

IDEAL RELISH FOR:

Stirring into the rich gravy for Christmas Dinner.

As an additional table sauce for your Christmas dinner - with Turkey, Duck, Goose or Beef.

As a chutney / relish for meaty meals after the day. Sandwiches and salads.

Also easy with cheese but it needs a good strong cheese to make a match for this tart and fruity relish.

Any good relish or chutney, vinegar or vodka, makes a lovely gift for someone. Just label the jar with the date made and 'use by' and what the relish is for. This was made 02/09/09 and it stores for 6 months before use, but this is coming out on Christmas day.

You can keep it in the fridge once opened, for up to 3 weeks.

To serve: ideally plonked on the table, as it is, in the attractive Kilner Jar with a Chutney Spoon inside... the relish keeps better if diners are encouraged NOT to to pop their own cutlery into the jar. Saliva and other foods can contaminate the relish so it goes off before it would naturally.

Any Christmas Cookery to share yet MrsB?? xxx

Say Yay For Tray.....

Bakes! How have I not, as a mummy, as someone who always wants to feed folk cake, as a busy but scatty, very modern mim, NOT discovered tray bakes before?
They are fabulous, make loads of yummy cake, take no time and can be turned into absolutely anything that takes your fancy (satisfying the creative side too....with minimal fuss!)Sooooooooooooooo here it is!

Take one throw away roasting tray!
Take a basic recipe for sponge cake (this makes enough mix for a 23x30x3cm roasting tray....half/ double for your size of tray).

225g/8oz soft margarine
225g/8oz caster sugar
275g/10oz self-raising flour
2tsp baking powder
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk

And then the fun can begin! What do you want your tray bake to be? Choc chip? Throw some in. Lemon? Add some zest! When cooked, stab lots of little holes in and squeeze lemon juice over, followed by a generous scattering of caster sugar. Chocolate? Add cocoa! When serving drizzle with warm chocolate fudge sauce! Fruit? Scatter apple slices, blackberries or blueberries, or plums, or strawberries......or yum, raspberries and chunks of white chocolate! Boozy or not! The options are endless! This is very freeing cooking!

FUN TIP
When you want to test if your cake is ready and like me you have no cocktail sticks or skewers, you can take a piece of humble spaghetti and insert this into the centre of the cake. Leave for five seconds, if when you pull the spaghetti out it is clean, with no sticky cake on it, your cake is ready!

And this is what I did with mine!

I sliced my tray bake up,
slathered on some August Bramble Jam and Vanilla Buttercream and dredged (I love that word!) with icing sugar! I think I broke every village WI rule regarding 'proper' Victoria Sandwich! But my, it was tasty with a good mug of hot tea and some knitting!

Bakewell Cupcakes & welcoming in Cupcake Week!

I am stupidly proud of these (the shame of pride) i made these the day i made the Jam of the previous post. I *think* i invented them!? At least i didn't follow any recipe and it felt like a flash of pure inspiration....
The Bakewell Tart - but in a cupcake! These tasted sooo good, i ate so many (the shame of gluttony) Ingredients / Basic cake:
4oz Caster Sugar - mixed into 4oz unsalted Butter.
4oz Plain flour plus 2 t'spoons baking powder.
75g Ground Almonds
Add one egg (with a spoonful of flour) then a second egg (also with flour)
A drop of Vanilla Essence AND a big dollop of full fat (homemade!) yogurt or a splash of milk to give the mixture a little more liquid.

This mixture made enough to fill 12 Muffin cases - the medium sized, not the huge American style ones. If i want these to all be perfect, if they are being put on sale at a craft fair cafe etc... i try and fill the cases evenly. Put a dollop in each and go round filling them each until they all have the same amount in.

When they are cooked and cooled.... use a sharp pointed knife to take out the top of each cake to form a small well. RESIST the temptation to EAT that bit you just cut out!! as it will go on top once you have filled the well with a t'spoon of blackberry / cherry jam.

I used the jam i had just made "Brambley Hedge Jam" as it was sharp and fruity.

The icing is basic Glace Icing. Icing Sugar with the juice of ONE LEMON and a generous splash of ALMOND ESSENCE - that is really 'to taste' but don't over-do it as Almond Essence can be quite powerful. You might need a tiny splash of water with this is there isn't enough liquid to form the gloopy paste.

With the cake tops back on, smother the top of each muffin with the icing.

And pop half a cherry on top to finish...

I also grated some chocolate over the top for a bit of authenticity and a nod to the Mr Kipling variety. I don't even like Glace Cherries! But they didn't look right without one on top.

Cake friends, they tasted luxurious x i will be making these for my 'Craft Cafe' in October and selling them at the Cafe. What a treat!

MrsB... queen of the tarts and the cupcake lover - tell us about cupcakes???

We want to know what you do x

Fish x x x

Choc Chip Loaf with lotsa love x x x

This is definately a cake with love in the ingredients. It is a recipe i first used when i was 17yrs old and the first EVER recipe i wrote down in my new RECIPE BOOK - i had a journal that i was given and decided to fill in with my favourite foods.
So MRS CHRISTY (crazy mum of a school friend) used to make this cake and we'd all sit round her kitchen table and drink tea whilst eating large slabs of this delicious loaf.... Now, i mainly eat it on my own as no-one else round me likes cake!! How could i give birth to a child who doesn't "do" cake?
4oz butter
60z caster sugar
1/2 t'spoon the best vanilla essence
2 eggs
6oz self-raising flour
1/4pt single cream
40z chocolate chips - plain or milk, up to you.

Loaf tin is buttered and floured - ready. Oven is on at 180c.
I didn't have any choc chips in the cupboard (i must have eaten them on some lonely, desperate evening) so i bashed up a bar of quality chocolate. Pop the chunks in a bag and bash them ON A BOARD! till they are small pieces.

Cream together the butter and sugar - as with most cakes. then add the vanilla essence. I think it is worth spending a little more on good quality ingredients... it just increases the taste of your cookery efforts x

Beat in eggs one at a time with spoonfuls of flour to stop any curdling... then add all the flour and mix gently.

Add the cream, gently.

Stir in the choc chips and mix well to distribute.

Pour into your prepared loaf tin.

Make sure there is enough left in the bowl for 'lickage' - and 3 spoons / spatulas.

1=you

1=child

1=dog... (you don't want to share that spoon once the dogs had a slobber on it)

Bake in CENTRE of well warmed oven for 45mins - or still it is risen and firm to touch.

Not teaching grandmothers to suck eggs, promise, but don't go opening oven doors half way through cooking a cake.... the cake drops and will be ruined (something to do with the release of Carbon Dioxide etc...)

It should slip easily out of the loaf tin if you buttered and floured it!?... then cool on a wire rack for a while. Why on a wire rack?... so the bottom doesn't go soggy x (not everybody knows these things)

Dust the top with icing sugar....

EAT.... drink tea...

The world is a better place x