Archive for the ‘food’ Category
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
I don’t think we’ll ever win any prizes for our fruit & vegetable growing. This was our second attempt at growing beetroot. This year the roots were slightly more bulbous than the previous, but still not what you’d call monsters!
But we didn’t despair – we decided to make best use of what (little) we had. We used some of the leaves in salad – they look & taste much like spinach, but with beautiful, burgundy stems.
The remaining leaves & stems made a lovely, earthy winter soup – garnished with a little flourish of cream.
The (baby) beetroots themselves were pickled in balsamic vinegar with whole peppercorns – and they were absolutely delicious served with a selection of cheeses and a salad!
Tags: beetroot, beetroot salad, beetroot soup, gardening, pickled beetroot, vegetables
Posted in food, gardening | No Comments »
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
I’ve been making this baked cheesecake from a Gordon Ramsay recipe that I tore out of a weekend newspaper magazine supplement since way back in 2004!
It’s a dish that I go back to again & again – it’s really easy to make and is simply delicious – especially the day after, when it’s spent a few hours in the fridge. It’s great served with a ginger or summer fruit compote. We had some with a lovely wild blueberry preserve.
biscuit base
- 100g unsalted butter, plus a little to greases the tin
- 200g digestive biscuits (I sometimes us ginger nuts with about half the above quantity of butter)
- 50g caster sugar (Again, I use half this amount if using ginger nuts)
filling
- 500g cream cheese (I’ve used both Philadelphia and marscapone successfully) at room temperature
- 200g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 300g sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin
- Melt the butter gently in a small pan on a low heat. Roughly break up the biscuits and and place them in a food processor. Process the biscuits for 2-3 minutes until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar, then pour in the melted butter and process for 30 seconds to combine
- Put the biscuit mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface evenly. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes
- Rinse out the processor bowl. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and process for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cornflour, sour cream and vanilla essence and process for 30 seconds to combine
- Pour the filling into the tin and bake in a low oven at 150°C for 1 hour. When cooked, the cheesecake should be well-risen, with a golden brown top. It should feel slightly firm to the touch – if the mixture still appears wet, continue to bake a little longer. When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door open. When completely cool, place in the fridge. Serve with summer berries and pouring cream
Tags: baked cheesecake, baking, cake, cheesecake, dessert, Gordon Ramsay, sweet, vanilla cheesecake
Posted in cookery, food | 1 Comment »
Saturday, August 27th, 2011
I opened the car’s glove compartment yesterday in search of a CD… but came across a couple of “past their sell by date” bananas instead. They’d been put there a few days earlier as an “on board” snack for a trip we’d made to Penrith. Rather than throw them out (or giving them to Fudge as a treat) I decided to make some banana ginger parkin.
Parkin is a cake traditionally eaten in the autumn – and especially on Bonfire Night. It’s very popular, and thought to have originated, in the north of England – probably Yorkshire or Lancashire.
The method I used was taken from The Great Big Cookie Book by Hilaire Walden.
Here’s the recipe: (makes 26)
- 200g/7oz/1¾cups plain flour
- 10ml/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 10ml/2tsp ground ginger
- 150g/5oz/1¾cups medium oatmeal
- 60ml/4tbs muscovado sugar
- 75g/3oz/⅓cup margarine
- 150g/5oz/⅔cup golden syrup
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Grease & line an 18cm x 28cm / 7” x 11” tin.
- Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger, then stir in the oatmeal. Melt the sugar, margarine and syrup in a saucepan over a low heat, then stir into the flour mixture. Beat in the egg and mashed bananas.
- Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for about an hour until firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out and cut into squares. (I made mine in a loaf tin, so I cut it into slices).
Perfect with a mug of strong (Yorkshire or Lancashire) tea!
Parkin improves with age and, if stored in an airtight container, keeps for a couple of months.
Tags: baking, banana, Bonfire Night, cake, cookery, cooking, ginger, Guy Fawkes, Hilaire Walden, parkin, recipe, The Great Big Cookie Book
Posted in cookery, food | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 21st, 2011
It’s been a long, long time since I featured a recipe in one of our blogs, but I just had to share this one. It was the first time that I’d made an Irish soda bread loaf and couldn’t believe how quick & easy it was!
Here’s the recipe for 1 loaf:
- 225g/8oz/2 cups unbleached plain (all purpose flour)
- 225g/8oz/2 cups wholemeal (wholewheat) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1tsp salt
- 2tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2tsp cream of tartar
- 40g/1½oz/3tbsp butter or lard (shortening)
- 1tsp caster (superfine) sugar
- 350-375ml/12-13fl oz/1½-1⅔ cups buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour & salt into a large bowl
- Add the Bicarbonate of soda & cream of tartar, then rub in the butter or lard. Stir in the sugar
- Pour in sufficient buttermilk to mix to a soft dough. Do not over-mix or the bread will be heavy & tough. Shape into a round on a lightly floured surface
- Place on the prepared baking sheet and mark a cross using a sharp knife, cutting deep into the dough
- Dust lightly with wholemeal flour and bake for 35-45 minutes or until well risen and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Serve warm
THAT’S IT!
I had a slice straight out of the oven, slathered with butter with a fried egg sprinkled with salt & cracked black pepper – delicious!
The recipe above is from Bread by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter
Tags: baking, bread, breadmaking, Christine Ingram, cooking, Irish soda bread, Jennie Shapter, recipe, soda bread
Posted in cookery, food | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Marks and Spencer are selling these Christmas biscuit selections…
…with gorgeous tins designed by Sanna Annuka.
Future classics with their vintage Scandinavian folk art feel.
She was responsible for this Swiss biscuit tin last Christmas – it’s currently changing hands for £15-£20… without the biscuits!
We’ve bought ours early this year – they’re sure to be popular again.
We’ll be giving a few tins as presents – but some will have to go under our own tree!!
They’ve also got a butter shortbread tin with a sweet little Scottie dog on the front.
We recently posted a blog featuring illustrations by Miroslav Sasek – we don’t know who designed this tin – but it also has a vintage feel is very reminiscent of his work.
Here are the actual illustrations from the book…
…published in 1961.
It’s not only going to be a tin-tastic Christmas in our house – looks like it’s going to be biscuit-tastic too!
Tags: biscuit, biscuits, Christmas, folk art, M & S, M&S, Marks & Sparks, Marks and Spencer, petticoat tails, Sanna Annukka, Scottie, Scottish, Scottish shortbread, Scottish Terrier, shortbread, tartan, tin, tins, Xmas
Posted in Christmas, design, food, illustration, shopping | 2 Comments »
I want an orange fridge/freezer too! Most definitely the orange!
