One just for Alice....

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Well, I wasn't inspired by the contents of Lucy's 'Ready, Steady, Cook' bag. Even I couldn't really come up with a satisfactory meal made from sweet potatoes, tinned tomatoes and vanilla yoghurt. So, I gave in an ordered pizza. It was so bad, but so good.



(Alice, no need to out me, I'm doing it myself! Oh and just to shock you a little more, about once a year I also get a craving for a Big Mac, but I've never had three bowls of Rice Krispies!)

Kedgeree

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This has been waiting to be shared for a couple of months now and I promised I'd post something soon, so here it is...

The first time I had Kedgeree was when my friend H made it for me. It's one of H's favourite meals and it quickly became mine. It's easy and for me definitely falls within the category of comfort food. It's traditionally served for breakfast, but to me it's a perfect dinner and I always make sure that there is enough to take to work for lunch the next day.

So when H, Lucy and I went on holiday together it was no surprise that we had kedgeree one night. Here is H's version, sorry there are no measurements, it kind of just works everytime, even if slightly different:



Kedgeree

smoked fish (undyed haddock is my favourite)
2-3 eggs
peas
basmati rice
fresh parsley
curry powder
lemon juice
butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Poach your fish in some milk or water until it flakes easily.

Use the poaching liquid to cook the rice until done, whilst keeping the fish warm.

Whilst the rice is cooking, hard boil the eggs, peel and roughly chop.

Cook the peas.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter, add the rice, flaked fish, peas and season with curry powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot with bread and butter.

Enjoy!

Still alive

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I am still alive and seem to be too busy enjoying life and this glorious autumn weather to blog.

Thanks to all of you who have asked me what's up and told me to get blogging again. I will. Shortly. Promised.

Moonblush Tomatoes

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What to do if you have another washed out summer? Well, apart from packing your things and heading for the hills, or even better the beaches you could make moonblush tomatoes.

I got the recipe from Nigella's Feast. I think these are much better than sundried tomatoes, much juicier, really flavourful and delicious. They are perfect for salads, picnics or a buffet table. They do take all night to make (that's of course where the moonblush comes from), but they are absolutely minimum effort and maximum outcome.




Moonblush Tomatoes

500g (about 24) on-the-vine cherry or other baby tomatoes
2 teaspoons Maldon salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 x 15ml tablespoons olive oil


Preheat the oven to 220C / gas mark 7.

Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle with the salt, sugar, thyme and olive oil.

Put them in the oven, and immediately turn it off.

Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day without opening the door.

Double Chocolate Muffins

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My friend V and I were born in the same hospital on the same day, we grew up in the same village and we went to the same school and even when I moved, first to Norway and then to England, we always kept in close contact. In March this year V had a beautiful baby boy and it just so happens that I'm in Germany this week and am able to attend his christening today.

Being fully aware of my love of cooking and baking, V asked if I could bake some chocolate muffins to bring for the celebrations. That's the least I could do of course, so I've been busy this morning.




Double Chocolate Muffins (makes 12)

200gr plain flour
100gr caster sugar
50gr cocoa powder
1tsp cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
125gr dark chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
100ml vegetable oil
250ml milk

Preheat oven to 200C.

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder and dark chocolate.

In a separte bowl whisk the eggs.

Add the oil and stir well until combined.

Add the milk and mix in again.

Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry with a fork or wooden spoon until just combined. You don't want to overwork it.

Divide the dough between a 12 hole muffin tray, lined with paper muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Elderflower Champagne

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I should have probably posted this earlier, as the season for elderflower is now over, but I guess you can bookmark it for next year or be adventurous and find a recipe for elderberry wine, as elderberries will be everywhere very shortly.



I made the elderflower champagne with my friend J and we actually nearly left it too late ourselves. A few Sundays ago we got on our bikes and scoured the hedgrows, but many of the elderflowers had already gone and had started becoming elderberries. We did manage to find just enough to make one batch of elderflower champagne, even if we nearly killed ourselves in the process. I should point out that that was in the picking stage, not the actual making stage, which was pretty easy. What wasn't easy was to avoid the chest-high stinging nettles, brambles and other scratchy and prickly nasties along the River Mersey.

Well anyways, I can only advise you to try it, it's delicious, nearly free and there is nothing as good as making something from things you have picked yourself in the hedgerows. We're still amazed that we made it and that it actually pops and sparkles! The recipe I have copied below is by Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, himself a great advocate of forraging and preparing seasonal food.

Bottoms up!




Elderflower Champagne (makes about 6 litres)

4 litres hot water
700g sugar
Juice and zest of four lemons
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
about 15 elderflower heads, in full bloom
pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)

Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid in total.

Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.

Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised strong glass bottles with champagne stoppers (available from home-brewing suppliers) or Grolsch-style stoppers, or sterilized screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for at least a week before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place. During the first two week of fermenting in the bottle we released the pressure every other day, by popping them briefly.

Summer Fruit Trifle and a very berry tea cosy

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It's about time that I wrote something I guess, before all my readers disappear. So, it was perfect timing that I hosted the Second Annual Cherry Berry Festival yesterday.



The Cherry Berry Fest was an idea my friend's daughter V came up with last year. After seeing a programme about Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall's strawberry fest, she thought we should have our own version and celebrate the abundance of berries at this time of year. It was such good fun that we decided there and then to turn it into an annual event. This time round it was at my house.

Everyone invited brings along a dish containing cherries or any other berry and since that gets a little sweet, there are also some savoury dishes, but I'll tell you about some of them another time.



If your wondering where the fantastic strawberry tea cosy comes from, it was sent to me by All Tea Towels. It's a great website if you want to treat yourself or are looking for a great gift for a friend who likes kitchen things (like me). As well as my tea cosy, I really like the vintage tea towel range, expecially the ones with the the silver cutlery and tea pots.

Well, getting back to Cherry Berry, my dish this year was a summer fruit trifle. It's really easy to make (You can make it more complicated and involved if you make custard from scratch and bake your own sponge base, but why would you?) and always goes down a treat. So without much more rambling on, here's the recipe or maybe instructions is a better word....



Summer Berry Trifle (serves 6-8)

madeira cake or sponge cake, enough to line the base of your trifle bowl
1 pint custard
1/2 pint whipping cream or double cream, whipped
700gr summer fruit, washed
50 ml contreau, amaretto or sherry if you want a more traditional trifle

Pour the contrau into the base of a glass bowl.

Slice the madeira cake or sponge cake into 1 inch slices and line the bottom of the bowl with them. Pressing down so it soaks up the alcohol.

Place half of your fruit in a separate bowl and mash them with the back of a fork. I used 1 punnet of strawberries and 2 punnets of raspberries.

Spoon the fruit over the sponge and top with about half of the remaining fruit (you want to keep enough back to decorate the top of the trifle).

In another bowl stir half of your whipped cream into the custard before adding it as the next layer to your glass bowl to top the fruit.

Top the custard layer with the remaining cream. You can either just spoon it on and spread it across with a palette knife or pipe it on.

Top with the remaining fruit and chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Olive and Sundried Tomato Swirls

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The dog days are here and I hope they'll stay. It's been hot and sunny for a few weeks now and I don't yet quite believe our luck. Should we really be having a lovely summer this year? I hope I'm not cursing it by talking about it. As I type there is a fine rain falling outside my window, but it feels fresh and soothing. Ready for more sunshine to follow.

When it's really warm, I never feel like much cooking. Why would I want to turn the hob or oven on in my tiny kitchen and make it even warmer, but I still have this recipe waiting that I have been meaning to share since I had a party at the end of May.



Olive and Sundried Tomato Swirls


1 block of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 package cream cheese
1 package cream cheese with herbs
1/2 jar sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
a handful of olives, pitted and sliced
150gr gouda, grated
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 200C/Gas 6.

In a bowl mix all ingredients, except the puff pastry and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the block of puff pastry into a large rectangle. To make it a little easier, I divide the block into two and roll out two rectangles.

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the pastry.

Starting from the long side, carefully roll up the pastry.

With a sharp knife cut the roll into 1/2 inch thick slices and place them cut side down onto a non-stick baking tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Allow to cool on a wire rack, before serving.

These can be made a day ahead.

Enjoy!