Salivating over Molly's Book...

I think it would be fair to say, i have "treated" myself of late. 2010 has, so far, proven to be a pretty nasty year in all. It is only May however and there might be a few months yet to reprieve. I have indulged, with a ting of guilt, in a few treats for myself in attempt to keep spirits from divebombing.......
I bought this book on whim - A HOMEMADE LIFE by Molly Wizenberg. It developed from a blog ORANGETTE (which i have yet to check out myself)
I bought the book thinking it was pricey at £11.99 - but with the hope that it would be filled with glorious photographs and crafty ideas..... that anticipation was so far from what i received.

But what i did discover was an entire book of magical new recipes and engaging writing. Quite honestly, i am HOOKED on Molly. This book is pure joy.

I am falling into bed at present, sooooo tired from what each day is launching at me, and i reach for Molly and slowly read a chapter before sleep. I don't do this with other books - i race through them all in one sitting. Not Molly's Book. It needs savouring....

The above recipe, i did actually buy the ingredients for today. I am hoping to make these tomorrow morning but i'll see how i get on with getting up and dressed first! There are so many great recipes in here and i can't wait to try these out.

AAaaaahh, there she is - Molly. On the back page of her book. She looks quite slim huh? How does that happen when you eat such great food all the time? (Note to self: Cook well, Eat well, Move more)

In the absence of having something good to cook and eat right at this moment, i shall lick the book. I am so needy right now, it's pathetic - but at least i can come back to cookery. The nurturing, soothing, comfort of Making, Baking and Eating xxx

Buy the book - or better still, order it from the library. It is so good!

Still loving "Miss Dahl"...

So.... i bought her book.
You expected it of me, right? she is now my new best best friend, in my head. The book was worth it to me, just for reading all the personal stories of her life. I can believe it to be true - the travel, the modelling, the weight debate....
Mostly i love her book as it really is close to how i eat. Miss Dahl is a vegetarian and a food lover, like my good self. But she also appreciates (and cooks) good quality meat for those that she loves. So the recipes were all how i would cook.

MOST-est and BEST-est of all though, Sophie Dahl completely understands food in all its goodness:

Have you EVER cried when reading a cookbook? (not you MrsB, it is inevitable you have my gorgeous, soft hearted Love) imagine me in bed last night, reading this:

"...cooking and eating can be so simple, yet both can be a far reaching expression of love and humanity that is universal....

...The last supper, conjured after someone has died or left, that you play over again in your head: What did we talk about? What did we eat? How could we not have known that this was going to be it? Grasping the bones of the mundane and holding them close and dear"

"Grasping the bones of the mundane" writes Miss Dahl, "and holding them close and dear" this is exactly what cookery does for me. She says it so much better than I. And, when i find myself in a horrible dark place, that comes and goes - cookery is that precious mundanity that helps anchor me.

This morning i found myself alone and in need, so i made a batch of Easter Marzipan Cakes (from the wonderfully Motherly Nigella) and, for breakfast, some of Sophie's "Indian sweet potato Pancakes" pg.30 of the book

Some of you may squint at the idea of something curry-ish for breakfast, but i am made of hearty stuff! and i like the thought of a challenge...

I made these this morning and only deviated 'slightly' from the recipe by adding crushed corriander seeds - my dads voice in my head "why can't you follow the recipe as it is? why go adding bits it might not need?" well, it's not as if corriander is so far off the Indian / Asian Palette is it?

They were fresh and tasty - good for you and low in fats etc... as i am beginning to expect of Miss Dahl. But, you know me. They were a little bit too healthy so i added a generous soft slope of Cambozola blue brie on the side....

Taste = heaven!!

With a breakfast like that under my belt, i am either:

a) set up for a good couple of well fuelled hours...... or .....

b) salivating over what's for lunch!

I shall be watching her, tonight, 8.30pm, BBC2 (and Holby City on i-player later)

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

The bigger questions of existence and chocolate....

Spoon? or finger?

Brambley Hedge Jam...

Forgive us for posting 2 jam recipes... it is a joint blog and we love to share :)
This is my own recipe for "Brambley Hedge Jam" and made with the minimum of cost. The amount i made here produced 5 jam jars, so make sure you have friends to share it with x

3 or 4 Apples (windfall or neighbours freebies - the friend i got mine from will receive a jar of jam as 'thankyou', of course)
Hedgerow Fruits: Blackberries, Elderberries and Blackcurrants from my freezer. Don't let your daughter (or Son) be in charge of the scrumping container - when you turn round you will find all fruits have been eaten (!)
Altogether i used about 800g fruit - just so you have an idea of quantities. You will need sugar also - but the quantity depends on the yield... i will explain as you read on!
I use Tate & Lyle JAM SUGAR with added pectin.
I use a lemon for this recipe too.

Wash all the fruits - peel / de-core / remove stalks and chop finely. Then all the fruits go into a large Jam Pan / Saucepan. Add the juice and pips and rind (if you want) of 1 lemon.
Once they are in the pan, cover the fruit with water. You want the water to cover all the fruits 'just'. Simmer this lot for 1 hour - enough time to wash up / clean up / play with children?

Then you have this amazing purple pulp. I have a large metal sieve and i bought a pack of muslins from LAKELAND. I have a recipe that tells me to "strain fruit overnight".... i found this totally un-necceassry. In a muslin and sieve it took no time at all (30 mins top?)

It is an idea to strain it all into a DEEP wide necked measuring jug, if you have one - as you will now need to know how much fruit liquid you have.

Unfortunatley - discard the pulp :( it ain't worth it (as MrsB says in her post)

The MATHS: 400g of Jam Sugar for every 600ml of liquid. I found i had 1,200ml from my 800g fruits so i used 800g Jam Sugar.

Simmer all the liquid with this sugar till it is all dissolved.

We are ready to BOIL! (gulp)

Now - i do use a Jam thermometer. ManFish purchased this for making toffee lat Christmas and it is really useful. I also use a purpose Jam spoon - see below>>> they both have 'hooks' on the back to prevent them from falling into the huge Jam Pan. You might want to invest in these if you preserve alot? Tis up to you x

Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble!!

I literally boil away until the temperature hits the "JAM" line (over 100c)

Maybe 10-15mins.

Often, a 'scum' will appear on top. I like the relaxing process of standing over the jam and scraping off this scum layer. You don't have to but, it makes the jam more attractive.

The jam will become a stunning purple black colour... and the smell? Divine x

As said before: Jam Jars sterilized in a hot-ish oven. Lids popped into a bowl of boiling water.

I use a Jam funnel to pour into the jars to stop it spilling everywhere (this is sticky stuff!)

Pop the lids on tight once the Jam is totally cooled.

I think i am allowed to say it: this tasted sooo good. And i loved how cheap it was to make. I only paid for the Jam Sugar and got 5 full jars from this recipe.

Keep it for up to 3months.

Once opened - keep in the fridge, no longer than a few weeks. x

Man, i love Jam making!!

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

We need to talk about Cous-Cous....

There is 'a Moment' in my family, when somebody mentions the idea of a Barbque.
The Men in the family start talking about Butchers Grade Sausages, Steaks and how many small Chickens they can fit in the gas-fired beast of a bar-b-que.

The Women in my family start talking about "who is bringing which salad"....

I'm not a person who generalises about the sexes too much, but.... Men just don't 'do' salad. It is their prerogative and we need to allow them that independance. We need to nod a small approval when there is the tiniest something 'leafy' or 'green' on their plate. It is a sign they at least know the women are either a) watching or b) approving. SO... Cous-Cous Salad, for the ladies.
If you are a Cous-Cous Virgin, you need to know the following:
Cous-Cous tastes rubbish without a shed load of stuff putting into it.
Cous-Cous is high in Protein - essential for me, as i am a vegetarian (please don't recoil in horror) Cous-Cous is low in fat and high in fibre.
Cous-Cous is very cheap and very easy to prepare. It is a cupboard essential in my kitchen as it can be flavoured in a million different ways and goes with any meal.



STEP ONE: pour some Cous-Cous into a bowl / dish for which you have a LID. I always make up more Cous-Cous than i need as i can eat it again the next day. ONLY keep it for 24 hours once made (and keep in a fridge) it is like rice and can breed bacterias very quickly.
Pour over some stock made with just boiled water **200g Cous-Cous = 250ml stock** approx serves 4 people. Put the lid on and leave it to soak up all the liquid, till you are ready - 20 mins minimum.

p.s THIS is the stock i use in EVERYTHING. It is the worlds greatest stock and even my meat loving friends enjoy this stock.

Whilst the Cous-Cous is 'swelling' fry up half an onion and some courgettes in a saucepan with a knob of butter. Till they are soft and browned. At the last minute add a generous helping of peas from the freezer. Never cook peas - they are too nice to ruin by boiling in water for an age.

Pop this veg into the serving dish you'll use for the salad.
Add 3/4 block of crumbled Feta Cheese (it needs to be a hard, crumbly, salty cheese for this dish)
Add the Cous-Cous and 'fluff' the the little grains with a fork. It tends to clump whilst swelling so separate it with fork and mix it all very well.
THEN - it's up to you... but I added a good splash of soy sauce to mine and a drizzle of Olive Oil, plus a sprinkling of Celery Salt and some Black Pepper

Honestly - yum yum! and i ate the leftover portion for my lunch on the following day. So tasty x

When Life hands you Lemons...

I have 2 absolutely MUST have flavours in my life that make everything OK in the world:
Vanilla and Lemons. MMmmmm.
One is as soft and comforting as the other is sharp and ascerbic (Much like my personality me thinks!)
I alway have a huge bowl of lemons in the kitchen and they are the staple ingredient to so many things... Lemon Curd being one. I make this Lemon Jam / Lemon Cheese / Lemon Preserve for ME and my NANNA as we both love it. It really is quick and easy to make:
3 lemons
200g Caster Sugar
115g diced unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 large egg YOLKS
2 standard jam jars - this list makes 2 jars!

Get a pan of water on the gentle boil. A taller pan works well and you don't need too much water. On 'top' of the pan you're now going to place a heatproof bowl in which to heat the ingredients so you don't want water bubbling up over the edges.

Grate the lemon RINDs into the bowl. Then add the juice of both lemons.

Add the sugar and stir and the butter... keep stirring it all till it dissolves nicely.

Beat together the 2 full eggs and 2 egg yolks. You're now going to add the eggs to this gently heating bowl through a sieve so you might need a metal spoon to help push the eggs through.

Stir the ingredients gently and slowly for maybe 8 mins? The mixture should be smooth and glossy and when you lift the wooden spoon from the pan the mixture should 'coat' the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool ever so slightly.

You need your jars sterilized really. The Curd will preserve for longer and without risk of bacterial interference.

Cover with a wax disc and seal with a lid!

Keep in the fridge and use within 3 months.

Never eaten Lemon Curd? You're missing out!

Would you call me a greedy pig if i tell you i eat this spread on Lemon Drizzle Cake!? It is also divine on American Style Breakfast Pancakes..... or spread on toast... on a slice of bread and butter... as a cupcake topping?

LEMONS are the gift of the gods!
(and i score extra points for giving 1 jar to me Nanna)

National CUPCAKE Week! in September...

Heads up - it's CUPCAKE WEEK 14th - 19th September!
You have plenty of time to blog share with everyone... think up your design/s, then blog the finished articles and share them any day 14th - 19th Sept. I have found links to some that just inspire me to tears... MrsB, you know you can't resist!? x
... Roll on September...

Friday is VEG BOX day...

I had just finished vacuuming the entire house and i even managed to mop the kitchen floor (i know, Knight me) when the Fortnightly "Veg Box" arrived :) We buy tomatos, by the hundred, weekly... they are like sweets in my house. ManFish and ChildFish eat them on a continual grazing routine, like small house trained cows...

These HUGE field mushrooms will be eaten at their best: lightly fried on a low heat with butter, garlic, a splash of water - to keep them fat. Popped into a toasted ciabatta roll with a splodge of organic mayo - veggie heaven!

I get Fruit in my 'Veg Box' too.... and milk and eggs and Apple Juice... i love the fact, that no matter how scatty I am (and I am quite scatty!) there will be food, every fortnight, at my back door. There is a sneaking suspicion we might starve if not, as i have a life threatening allergy to Supermarkets....

AND, because i am the way i am, i left all the veg in its box outside (cleaning anything being LAST on my agenda, especially after having vacuumed AND mopped floor today) i decided to use this book>>>>>> to make some stuff.

This is one of my bestest all time cookery books. I got it from Lakeland for about £4.99 and i swear by it people. You want a preserves book? This is THE ONE x

And these chalky fat bulbs were sat on the top of the Veg Box... Beetroot!! a challenging vegetable i feel...

I was all intent on pickling them ready for Winter but then i found a great recipe in above book for "Beetroot and Orange Preserve"

Yes! Of course i made it - there and then! Whilst my 5yr old and her chum played in the paddling pool (one eye on the chutney / one eye on the dog's drooling / half an eye doing 'health and safety' on the kids...)

I have photographed the whole lot and i'll show you next week.

I also made Lemon Curd for my Nanna... so that is two NEW exciting food posts to follow soon! And, reading this all back, it would seem i have 2 and half eyes!

I LOVE this place, thanks for coming x