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.