Kale and Cupcakes

Last night was a bit of a crazy night. Today is my last day at work so i wanted to make some cakes to say thank you for my time there. We also had to collect the for sale sign for the flat and clean everything out of the shed and take it to the dump. Then we had to think about dinner. Somehow, it all worked out…the flat is now up for sale, the cakes made it to work and i’m still full from dinner. Phew!

As soon as we got home i made the pizza dough and left it to rise. Then i made the cakes in two batches because we only had one muffin tray - just to complicate things further! Whilst these cooled i made kale pesto and chocolate icing…not together though now i’m curious as to what that would taste like. I’m thinking probably not a good idea! I iced the cakes and rolled out the pizza dough and finally decorated the pizza. And breathe…

Kale Pesto and Three Cheese Pizza

For the dough:

200g strong bread flour

1 sachet of easy yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

250 ml luke warm water

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Knead for 5mins then cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 1 hour.
2. Put dough on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Then roll out, depending what shape or thickness you want
3. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Kale Pesto

1 bag of kale

2 garlic cloves

handful of pinenuts

handful of parmesan

juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

1. Steam the kale for 1 min to soften
2.  Add all the ingredient to a blender and blitz until smooth

For the topping:

150g cheese – i used mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan

kale pesto (as above)

1. Spread the kale pesto over the pizza base
2. Scatter the cheese over the pizza
3. Add pepper
4. Cook in the oven for 15- 20 mins

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing (makes 12)

Cupcakes:

175g self raising flour

150g butter, softened

150g sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

12 paper cases

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Beat the eggs together in a small bowl
3. Mix the other ingredients together in another bowl and add the eggs. Beat until smooth and silky. This is easier to do with an electric whisk but mine decided to give up the ghost last night so i had to use good old fashioned man power!
4. Line a muffin tray with paper cases and fill with the mixture
5. Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 mins
6. Leave to cool on a wire rack

Chocolate Icing

150g butter, softened

250g icing sugar

2 tbsp coco powder – green & black’s is the best in my opinion

2 tbsp hot water – use more if necessary but don’t make it too runny

1. Beat together the butter and icing sugar
2. Add the coco powder and water
3. Mix until smooth and creamy

Enjoy

Wild Raspberry Syrup and Gin Cocktails

 One of the great things about having a dog is that whenever i’m out for a walk i always have a bag with me. Let me explain… Last night on our walk we came across a huge crop of wild raspberries and after stuffing a few into my pocket and hearing them squelch i remembered the poop bag! Don’t worry, it was empty…my mum used to put my sandwiches in sick bags on aeroplanes so it must be in the genes!

Martin was mortified, to say the least, when i placed the poop bag on the work surface and didn’t really seem to understand my excitement that it was full of raspberries! It then became a mission to convert him to the cause and awaken his senses to the wondrous ways of wild food. The way to do this was to make a syrup and mix it with GIN!!

 I wasn’t quite sure whether gin and raspberries would work but they complemented each other perfectly. The only thing i would say is that after a while the syrup becomes gloopy so you have to keep mixing the cocktail. After a few hours the syrup was more like jam so you either have to drink them really quickly or stir furiously…not that this blogs encourages or condones binge drinking! If anyone knows how to prevent the syrup from thickening then i would love to hear it.

Wild Raspberry Syrup

250ml water

4 tbsp sugar

handful of raspberries

1. Boil the water and add sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved
2. Add the raspberries and simmer for 20mins. Strain.

Wild Raspberry Syrup and Gin Cocktails

1 part wild raspberry syrup

1 part gin

3 parts tonic

1. Pour syrup, gin and then tonic.

This could also be served with vodka, ice or soda water.

Herby Seeded Courgette Rolls with Banana and Madras Sausage Patties

We are lucky enough to have a great butcher, T and R Skinner,  who also acts as a sort of babysitting service for the arrival of our veg box from the wonderful people at the Bellfield Organic Nursery. They have had a pretty bad time lately with vandals and being affected by the rising costs of fuel but they still manage to deliver the best veg each week. This week in the veggie box we have courgettes, celery, tomatoes, kale, potatoes, carrots and broad beans – yum. It’s lovely to have salad type vegetables when the weather is warming up.

 

On saturday i was intent on making some rolls for lunch. I’d heard of courgettes being used in baking but never tried it so decided this was the day. However, we went out in the afternoon and didn’t get to sample them until sunday night but it was worth the wait.

Herby Seeded Courgette Rolls

250g strong granary flour

1 courgette, grated

6g sachet fast action yeast

3 tbsp rice bran oil (still forgot to buy olive!)

50ml water

handful of herb seed mix (i used food doctor)

1 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the oil and water and mix well.
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth then place in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 1 hour
3. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
4. Bake for 25-30 mins and allow to cool on a wire rack

 We picked up some wonderful Banana and Madras sausages from the butcher and me being me i couldn’t just leave them alone. I took the meat out of the skins, formed into patties, inserted a bit of cheese in the middle and wrapped the whole thing in little pancetta parcels. They turned out really well and for once the cheese didn’t ooze everywhere.

 

Banana and Madras Sausage Patties (makes 4)

4 Banana and Madras Sausages (or any you can get your hands on)

8 strips of pancetta

4 cubes of cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the grill to a medium heat
2. Remove the sausagemeat from their skins
3. Form into four patties
4. Make a hole in each and insert a cube of cheese. Cover over so that the cheese cannot escape
5. Take one piece of pancetta and wrap around the patty then take the second piece around the other way to for a cross. Repeat.
6. Heat under the grill for 8- 10 mins each side

Broadbean Salad

6 Broadbean pods, beans removed

3 carrots, grated

1/2 courgette, grated

5 strips of pancetta

glug of balsamic vinegar

juice of half a lemon

1. Cut the pancetta into little bits
2. Fry gently until crispy
3. Add the carrot, courgette and broad beans
4. Add a good glug of balsamic vinegar and the lemon juice.
5. Stir and serve

Thursday Night Cupboard Raid- Bulgar Wheat, Courgette and Tomato Enchiladas

Thursday nights in our household are generally not very interesting foodwise. It’s usually a case of finishing off whatever veg is leftover before the arrival of the new veg box on friday, (yipee!), which often results in a soup of sorts. However, last night the fridge was empty apart from a lonely courgette and some cheese so i had to be a little more creative and come up with a cunning culinary plan. Luckily, the cupboards were a little more inspiring and i decided to make some corn tortillas thinking at least we’d be able to wrap the courgette in something! 

Tortillas are really easy to make and are ready in about 20 mins…or at least they would be if i didn’t have to puppy train Marley who seems to have a sixth sense for wanting to relieve herself at the most crucial points of cooking! Needless to say, the first tortilla did not turn out well and slightly resembled a biscuit! Perhaps it’s like cooking the first pancake or the angels share of whisky…that’s just the way it is. Marley loved it though and i’m beginning to wonder if that was intended all along…border collies are very clever!!

After that, things progressed quite well and i soon had a whole pile of useable tortillas and only a minor problem of what to fill them with. Determination to use up the courgette led me to making a Bulgar Wheat, Courgette and Tomato Filling.

Motivated by the encouraging signs of the tortillas and filling i raced on with enthusiasm to find a way to bring the whole dish together- ENCHILADAS! Or at least as near to enchiladas as i could get with limited ingredients! I got on with making a cheese sauce which meant that i’d completed the thursday night task of emptying the fridge. Phew!

Then it was just a case of assembling the whole thing and bunging it in the oven. By this time the dog was fast asleep. Sod’s law!

Et voila!

Ooops! Once again we have enough food to feed an army. I have serious problems being able to cook for just two people and i think this stems from working in a mexican takeaway years ago and having to make guacamole for 500 people. My mum asked me to make some for her and phoned me from the supermarket to ask how many avocados i needed. Bad words were said when i requested 50! Oh well, at least we’ll always have leftovers.

 

Tortillas (makes 8 tortillas and a few Marley snacks!)

Adapted from Paul Bloxham recipe on Great Food Live.

350g plain flour

100g corn flour

2tsp salt

4tsp baking powder

2 tbsp rice bran oil (i ran out of olive)

250ml warm water

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients
2. Slowly add the oil and combine
3. Add enough warm water to make a soft dough
4. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 5mins, then divide the dough into equal portions and roll each out as thinly as possible
5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Put each tortilla in separately and dry fry until brown on one side, then turn over. Should only take 1-2mins on each side
6. Remove from the pan and cover with a damp tea towel until ready to use so they don’t harden

Next time i think i would add something to the dough to liven it up a little, e.g. chillis, caraway seeds etc.

Bulgar Wheat, Courgette and Tomato Filling (makes enough to fill 8 tortillas)

Glug of oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 chilli

1 courgette, grated

2 cans of chopped tomatoes

200ml red wine

50g bulgar wheat

pinch of sugar

handful of coriander

1. Gently heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, chilli and courgette for a few minutes
2. When soft, add the chopped tomatoes, red wine, bulgar wheat and sugar. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer covered for 20 mins. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
3. Season to taste

Cheese Sauce

50g butter

1-2tbsp cornflour (or just enough to thicken the sauce)

250ml natural yoghurt

100g cheese

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

good grating of nutmeg

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the cornflour and stir. I think it’s easier to use a small whisk as this avoids any lumps. Slowly combine the yoghurt. Add the mustard, grated cheese and nutmeg.
2. Season to taste

I think this may last all weekend!

Beef Olives with Chard, Carrot and Potato Mash

I can’t believe this is actually July. Last night the wind was howling and the rain thrashed down so it was time for some good old comfort food. The boy had been to the butchers and picked up some HUGE beef olives so we threw them together with some mash and warmed up in no time.

I think this work surface is going to feature alot! I remember being highly suspicious of beef olives as a child as i could never find the olive…it’s kind of like those ice-cream surprises that never contained anything  Does anyone know why on earth they are called beef olives? Maybe they were olive-shaped originally or something. Might make some eventually that contain olives just for peace of mind!

Beef Olives with Chard, Carrot and Potato Mash

Serves 2/4, depending on how hungry you are!

4 Beef Olives – bought from butcher. May attempt to make at a later date

Chard, Carrot and Potato Mash

4 carrots

4 potatoes

4 chard leaves

2 garlic cloves

dollop of natural yoghurt

handful of mint

good squeeze of lime

handful of grated cheese

1. Chop the carrot and potato and put in a pan of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender
2. When the carrots are almost ready, put the chard in a steamer and steam for 1 min
3. Empty all into a colinder and set aside
4. Fry the garlic, return the veg to the pan
5. Add the yoghurt, mint and lime juice and mash it all together – I cheated and used the blender for a smoother mash but just play around with it and do whatever suits you
6. Mix in the cheese
7. Serve with the beef olives

 

Banana and Chocolate Bread

After dinner last night i found some poor old bananas at the bottom of the fridge and decided to make some bread. We’ve also had a bottle of decidedly dodgy looking chocolate liquer hanging around the flat for ages so thought this might be a good way to get rid of it! I put the bread in the oven and took the dog for a walk and when we came back the whole flat was filled with the yummy smell of baking goodness. The walk took a little longer than anticipated so the bread was a little over done although i’m told it tasted delicious. Oh yeah, one strange thing about me…i love baking but i hate eating sweet things… more of a savoury type so the poor M&M’s (man and dog) have it forced upon them quite alot!

Banana and Chocolate Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed (keep one for slicing)

200g self raising flour

50g butter

100g brown sugar

2 eggs

25ml chocolate liquer

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper, (you can use any shape of tin that comes to hand)
3. Cream together the butter and sugar
4. Beat the eggs and add them to the butter mixture, then add the chocolate liquer
5. Mix in the mashed banana
6. Fold in the flour until you have a smooth mixture
7. Empty into the tin, cover with the sliced banana and put it in the oven for an hour

The picture and the burning haven’t really done it justice this time!! Keep an eye on the bread when it’s approaching the hour mark especially for fan assisted ovens!

Hello world!

My first post.

I’m passionate about writing and food, food and writing. Stands to reason that after recently discovering food blogging, (i know…where have i been?), i should put the two together eventually! Being a country girl i’m used to fresh, seasonal food but as we currently live in a flat and haven’t quite mastered the art of growing veggies on the window ledge, i wait excitedly for our veggie box to arrive each week. I’m sad like that!

 

 

Weekends are spent walking, foraging, camping and creating or at least they used to be before we recently embarked on a property development project that has gone on and on and on…

From this…

To this…

And that was just one room! Was hard work but learnt alot and feeling quite chuffed at our efforts now. Phew!

Anyway, now that’s all out of the way until the next project, i finally have time to start this blog. I plan to be a good blogger and include loads of recipes etc but the best laid plans and all that…

Let’s just see how it goes