Blogging

I haven't forgotten about this blog but it's difficult to post without a computer. I'll be back on with more recipes when I'm back online.

Beetroot and Goats' Cheese Muffins.

Disappointingly, though the mixture for these was wonderfully vivid, they did not bake pink. I'm going to try them again soon and try grating the beetroot. I'll let you know.

Carrot Soup

In my quest to find a carrot soup that doesn't contain coriander I invented this recipe on Sunday night. It's so simple I think I might be making it often.

2 large or 3 medium carrots
1 medium onion
Cooking oil
A generous knob of butter
1 pint milk (I use semi-skimmed)
Salt and pepper

• If the carrots are a bit old you can peel them, otherwise just cut them in to large chunks.
• Peel the onions and cut into large chunks.
• Put the carrots and onions into a food processor (I have a blender attachment for my stick processor thingy) and whizz until very, very finely chopped.
• Cook in the oil and butter on a low heat until soft, this could take up to fifteen minutes so be patient.
• Add the milk, salt and a generous serving of freshly ground black pepper and cook on a moderate heat for at least another 10 minutes.
• Check the consistency and add water if you like a lighter soup.
• Garnish with something green (chives, your leafy herb of choice), croutons, cream or a drizzle of flavoured oil.

Serves 2-3 as a lunch (with good bread) or 4 as a starter.

Cheddar and Rocket Muffins

Given the name of this blog it's surprising there haven't been any recipes for muffins before! I'm on a bit of a muffin madness spree at the moment though and have been experimenting with different flavours. Yesterday's were Cheddar and Rocket, very yummy they were too.

Preheat the oven to 375 F, 190 C

200g plain flour

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

75 ml oil (I used olive oil because it was all I had but vegetable oil or melted butter work well and if you're likely to be cooking for my ex may I suggest groundnut oil...*)

1 small packet of Rocket

100g of Mature Cheddar Cheese

Sift the flour and bicarb and baking powder into a large bowl, add the oil and mix. I used my Kitchenaid which has decided to work again but you could use a handmixer or a strong forearm.

This is your basic batter and you can now have fun adding the flavours of your choice. Mine were a small bag of rocket which I snipped into the mixture with scissors and the cheese which I chopped into "chips" rather than grated. Mix these in by hand and then fill muffin cases or a silicon muffin tray 2/3 full. This will make about 9 generously sized muffins. Cook for 20-25 mins and eat whilst warm. They're also nice cool and I think they keep for a few days but I've never had reason to find out.

I'm thinking the addition of some dry mustard powder at the dry ingredients stage may make these even better but I'll leave it out of the recipe until I've had a chance to play with the quantities.

*Obviously you shouldn't use groundnut oil if there is any possibility of your muffins being eaten by someone with a nut allergy.

Flatbread

I cooked for my friend Scott on Wednesday night. We had Lentil Curry but I forgot to taste as we went along so it was a bit bland, an important lesson to learn. I read a cookery book by some top chef the other day and he said that a good chef can smell if a dish is properly seasoned. B*ll*cks! Taste, taste, taste!
Anyway, I didn't feel like eating rice with the curry so I made flatbread, it really is the simplest thing to make and people are enormously impressed...maybe I shouldn't tell you how to make it.

Put some plain flour in a bowl and add seasoning. I'd put in a good pinch of sea salt and twist of pepper for each cup of flour. Add some lukewarm water a little at a time until you have a nice firm dough. You want to be able to manipulate it without it crumbling, but it shouldn't be sticky. Knead a bit in the bowl, but there's no need to take too long. Shape into flat patties the size of your palm and then cook in a heavy-based frying-pan or grill pan with no fat until it has some brown patches(or ridges if you use a grill pan) on both sides.. Pile on a plate, garnish with fresh coriander and tell your friends how clever you are.

Store-Cupboard Tortillas

This is a brilliant recipe that can be made almost entirely with store cupboard ingredients. It's quick, easy and full of savoury yumminess.

• 2 tins of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• A squeeze of lime juice (lemon would work if you don't have lime, but I always have a bottle of lime juice in the fridge anyway)
• 5-6 teaspoons of chilli sauce
• 4 spring onions ( a small amount of ordinary onion would do at a pinch, but I usually have spring onions- or scallions as they're called in Ireland- in the fridge as I never know when the urge to make Champ will strike me)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Cheddar cheese to taste.
• Four large Tortilla wraps (I keep these in my store cupboard as they last and are useful when you're out of bread)
• 1 pot of guacamole or sour cream (optional, and the only thing you'd have to buy specially)

Pre-heat the oven to 200C, Gas Mark 6

1. Roughly mash the beans and add the lime juice and chili sauce.
2. Finely slice the spring onions and crush the garlic and stir into the beans.
3. Spread the mixture on to two of the tortillas and sprinkle grated cheese on top.
4. Top with the other tortillas to make a sandwich.
5. Place on a baking tray and cover with foil, bake for 10 mins. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 mins.
6. Quarter and serve with the sour cream or guacamole. This is also good with a green salad.

Soup.

Gary came to dinner last night and for a starter I made pea soup. It's really easy, you fry a medium onion til it's translucent add a small bag of frozen peas and some water or stock and cook for about ten mins. Blend (preferably with a stick blender and without getting soup on the ceiling) and then add milk to taste and warm through. Season and serve with the garnish of your choice- I used cream, but creme fraiche, yoghurt, sour cream or flvoured oil would work just as well.
I served this in my Nigella Cappuccino Cups with a side of sourdough bread from Grain Wholefoods on Newland Avenue. I know I could have made my own but I like Grain's organic bread.

Blackberries

Hannah and I went brambling on Wednesday and I have the scars to prove it. We had a great time wandering through fields and looking for foraged food. We lay in a field and looked at the clouds (and sneezed, damn hay-fever).
Hannah made shortbread and served it with whipped cream and blackerries steeped in cherry brandy. It was fantastic. Here's a picture of Flapjack overseeing the cooking.










Shortbread

Ingredients

125g/4oz butter
55g/2oz caster sugar
180g/6oz plain flour

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Beat the butter and the sugar together until pale.
3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.
4. Cut into rounds or fingers and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar. Put on a baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Birthday Cake

I just thought I'd post a picture of my nephew's birthday cake. We went a bit over the top with the decoration, but it tasted wonderful. This is after the stripy candles and feather birds had been removed. There's also a picture of the wine we had that day as his dad was rather proud of the collection.

Marrows!

It's that time of year when the garden is full of marrows. My dad gave me one to bring back with me when I was there last week. I wish he'd grow courgettes but he and my mum like to eat marrow stuffed with a savoury mince similar to Bolognese.

I found this recipe in one of Hannah's books, I think it was Leith's Vegetable Bible.








Caramelized Marrow with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• 3 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of soft light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 thinly sliced onions
• 1 oz butter
• 1 oz caster sugar
• 1 marrow- cubed
• 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of fresh sage
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4.

1. Mix together the seeds and the brown sugar and spread on a non-stick baking tray.
2. bake for 7-10 mins and then allow to cool.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and then cook the onions slowly until translucent.
4. Add the butter, caster sugar and marrow to the pan ad stir well.
5. Cook for 10-15 mins ntil the marrow is tender.
6. Increase the heat and add the vinegar.
7. Cook over a high heat until the moisture has evaporated and the marrow is slightly brown.
8. Add the sage, salt and pepper to taste and the seed mixture.
9. Eat and enjoy!
   

Gingernuts

My sister Carol used to make these for me when I was a child. I loved the raw mixture as much as the finished biscuit. I was at her house in Devon last week so I went through her recipe books til I found this.

All measurements are "level" unless otherwise mentioned.

Ginger Biscuits

Heat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

• 4oz plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 2oz butter
• 2 oz castor sugar
• 1 heaped tablespoon of golden syrup

1. Sift the dry ingredients together, add the butter and "rub-in"- this can easily be done in a food processor or mixer as you don't need the same light touch you would for pastry.
2. Add the sugar and mix in.
3. Warm the syrup in a small pan over a low heat until it is runny. Add to the mixture and stir in until you have a soft dough.
4. Shape in to a sausage and cut into 16 equal pieces (this is easy to do, halve the sausage, halve the two pieces etc. until you have 16 pieces).
   
5. Roll each piece into a ball, dip into a saucer of castor sugar ( golden sugar or flavoured sugar would be lovely at this point), and put on to a large greased baking tray (they spread so make it large).
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
   

I'm back!

Not just back to the blog, but back from the painful place my marriage and its end took me to.

A lot of time has passed and I have a whole notebook full of recipes.