Food for Thought, Cardigan

The anniversaries are coming thick & fast, aren't they? February seems to be the month for the Recipe Junkie clan to 'do things'. The latest? Well, we've been in Wales a year. 

And it looks like we're staying, with plans afoot for a permanent home, of which more when things are further down the line...

It seems like an age ago we were traipsing round rental properties, looking at schools and generally hanging out in cafes in Cardigan between appointments as the dreadful winter of 2013/2014 raged around us, and I did more than occasionally wonder what on earth we were doing.

Anyway, it's all turned out mostly magnificently. Not saying there haven't been ups and downs, by any stretch, and certainly it's fair to say that what this part of the country has in jaw-droppingly stunning scenery, empty, clean beaches and a slower pace of life is balanced out by various inconveniences. Broadband that could more properly be likened to having a couple of pixies doing tightrope on a very old and frayed bit of string to distribute the 0s and 1s (or whatever code it is these days), for one, and the fact that at the moment, I have to get in the car to do anything. I even have to get in the car to walk the dog who has started to refuse to leave the house on the lead. He goes and sits by the car until I relent and take him down the beach. He simply refuses to go on what was our standard 'round the lanes' walk. I mean, I see his point, but it's not always helpful. And what I'm going to do in summer when many of our favourite beaches are closed to dogs, I don't know.

Anyway, back to the original point, one of the cafes I hung out in quite a lot when we were organising the move here was Food for Thought in Cardigan.

We can recommend the squdgy lemon slice

Cardigan is a town of cafes. Something for everyone, and it seems a new one opening every week (well we've had a flurry in the last 3-4 months, and even - gasp - a 'chain' taking up residence in place of the much mourned 25 Mile). But Food for Thought has been around for a bit and I love it. It's great for coffee and cake, and they have a good selection of lunch meals from sandwiches to more substantial specials.

I have to say that since moving here, I've tended to only go there for coffee (until recently it was the only place selling decent coffee open before 10) but they've been upping their game on the food stakes (perhaps in response to the opening of the coffee chain and also an artisan bakery/coffee shop which I'll be visiting soon) and have been filling their Facebook page with tauntingly delicious sounding Asian inspired lunches. So my friend and I indulged ourselves, and went for lunch.

It's warm and cosy - a big bonus when it's either freezing cold, lashing with rain or - worst case scenario - both, I love the semi-vintage decor and combination of chairs and tables or big comfy sofas, the staff are friendly, and the food is good. They can be a little slow, but then, that's life in Ceredigion... 

Random Recipes - Lemon Layer Sponge

I can't tell you how much my mum means to me. And I am not always grateful to her - I'm sure I don't always show it. But if I can be half the mother she is to me - or half the granny she is to my children, I will be doing OK, because she is truly fabulous.

On leaving an impromptu gathering at my Godmother's on Boxing Day, I heard my father mentioning my blog and saying that there would often be some 'horrid remark' about 'her mother' (that is, my mother). Now, I don't think this is true. Have I said bad things about my mum on these here virtual pages? I may have made a joke at her expense, but horrid? Really? If I have, please strike me down, and Mum, if I have, I am sorry, because you are wonderful and I love you.

Anyway, that over, it's time to move on to the point which is that Dom's Random Recipe Challenge this month on Belleau Kitchen is inspired by his visit to California (I am soooo jealous) for his father's 70th, and looking around his stepmother's recipe collection he came up with the following challenge:

" i've asked my step-mum Jette if I could choose my random recipes from her cookbook collection this month and i'd like you all to do the same... no, not from her collection but from someone else's kitchen... you all must have a good friend or a neighbour, or even your parents or grandparents who must have the most interesting collection of books... and you can be as random about it as you like... perhaps ask them what their favourite book is, or get them to do the selection for you over the phone and read out the recipe... however you do it it should throw up some interesting recipes..."

Well, it was obvious that I would ask my mum. She has a massive collection of recipe books - we cross over a lot at the Nigella/Jamie/Hugh FW end of the scale, but she has some real great ones by people like Claire Macdonald, that I am always diving in to when we are staying there. She has more Nigel Slater than me, too, and a much bigger selection of back issues of Good Food magazine, so I thought she'd be the perfect person to ask.  I might have misread the rules - or miscommunicated them - as she has sent me her favourite recipe, but this is just as likely to have turned up from an entirely random selection from her hugely random cookery book collection. And as I had absolutely no hand in choosing the recipe, it's probably more random than it might otherwise have been, so I'm hoping it will qualify.

Within a couple of days, she'd written me down her selection and sent it to me in the post, and I can do no better than repeat her letter:

"From Good Housekeeping Recipe Book 1972 ! 

Lemon Layer Sponge (for 4)

This is my favourite because it is the ultimate comfort food - very light sponge with thick lemon sauce underneath. First had it when staying with favourite Aunt (Atholl Crescent trained and an examiner for Eastbourne School of Cookery). She used to produce breakfast, lunch (she used to go home to cook lunch) and supper for her husband and 4 children and any one staying, every day of the year and both lunch and supper were two or three courses. I look back with amazement at how she did it especially as I work on the basis that I married my husband for better or worse but certainly not for lunch!

This is a totally delicious recipe!

Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon (make sure 3tblsps juice)
2 oz butter (softened)
4 oz sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 pint milk
2 oz self raising flour

oven temp 400F/mark 6/180C

Add lemon rind to softened butter & sugar & cream the mixture until pale & fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat well. Stir in the milk, lemon juice and flour. Whisk the egg whites stiffly and fold in and pour the mixture into a failry large ovenproof dish - about 2 1/4 pints. Stand the dish in a shallow tin of water and cook for about 45 mins or until the top is set and firm to the touch!"

Yum. Sweet, warming, lemony. Just about the perfect thing for a miserable January day.

Date & Prune Bars - and a timely recipe book review

A new term and a new book to try out. Actually a couple. Just before Christmas, I was sent The Cookiepedia and the Cookie Dough Lovers Cook Book. 

But before I tell you about them, I need to set the scene for today's baking session. So indulge me.

What I wanted to cook today was a cake. I hadn't quite worked it out but what was damn certain was that it was going to have bananas, peanut butter and chocolate in it. This came upon me at lunchtime as I sat there sharing what should have been my first peaceful home alone lunch of 2013 with Blue. The banana/peanut butter combo is what I like to eat when I'm feeling hungover weak, and that was how I was feeling.

I was very ready for the term to start today. I love and adore my children. They are (occasionally) fabulous, funny and engaging. However, after 2 weeks of intense (to the point of fever pitch) excitement over Christmas, culminating in an exceedingly late night on New Year's Eve, followed by a few days of boredom low key R&R as the Husband and I geared back into work last week, I couldn't wait to get them out of the door they were ready and raring to go. 

Except it never quite works out like that does it? As the result of the excesses of Christmas, Blue was suffering a 'blockage' in the bowel department, and whilst not wishing to be indelicate or reveal details in a manner that he might use in future as evidence of parental cruelty, let's say that we were at a critical and, for him, poor lamb, delicate & painful situation which meant that sending him to school this morning was not an option. The dog, on the other hand was, for reasons unknown, suffering at the other end of the spectrum - as the Husband discovered whilst creeping around early morning in the half-dark trying to get out of the house early without waking the rest of us up. Fortunately, he had his shoes on...

For me, a morning at the doctors, at the chemist and trying to work while simultaneously make sure the dog was outside as necessary and the boy was drinking at least a glass of water every hour, meant that I was definitely feeling weak by lunchtime (and not hungover, although I'd nearly reached for the gin bottle on a couple of occasions). I followed my sandwich with banana & peanut butter on toast, just to keep my strength up, you understand, and thoughts of cake flooded into my head.

Now, neither of the books I was sent contain anything like a recipe for a magic mummy rescue peanut butter, banana & chocolate cake - I have decided that I need to formulate one of those in my head if I'm going to meet the precise balance I'd require between the contingent ingredients - but I was flicking through The Cookiepedia, and lo, a recipe for Fig Bars. With thoughts, then, of the boy and his bowels in mind, I decided to selflessly set aside the calorie laden cake thoughts, and devote some time to cookies.

I really like this book. It's American and so the gripe I have about American measurements and insufficient conversion that I raised a couple of weeks ago still applies, but there is a fairly thorough conversion table in the back of this cute, little, ring-bound, hardback handbook. it still doesn't quite go the whole volume to grams thing that I'd like, but I guess you can't have everything.

The Cookiepedia is written by Stacy Adimando with lovely photos taken by Tara Striano. The tag line (if that's what it's called) is 'Mixing Baking and Reinventing The Classics', and there certainly seem to be plenty of classic cookies in here - even as someone who isn't particularly au fait with American baking: chocolate chip cookies, Linzer cookies, shortbread, oatmeal raisin cookies - nearly 50 in all. There are loads of pictures, and I love that each section (there are 6 cookie sections: Buttery, Chocolaty, Fancy, Fruity, Spicy and Nutty & Seedy) has a visual index. 

At the beginning, there's also an 'ABC of Cookie Baking' which is quite interesting to read as a Brit baker because it gives some useful ideas about how to handle the whole US cups issue, and also an insight into US cookie baking, which is not so different from UK biscuit baking, I guess, but I enjoyed reading it.

Look! A 'Notes' section! For guilt-free scribbling

Adimando writes in an informal friendly style, not at all patronising, and with bags of enthusiasm. What I also LOVE is that each recipe has a little section at the end for 'NOTES' - so unlike most of my other tomes which have scribbles all over them, which I always feel slightly guilty about, this one actually invites you to write down things, variations etc. And on the subject of variations, most of the cookies have just that - at least one, sometimes 3 or 4 alternative approaches to the extras or the toppings. Just how most of us bake - and I think this really encourages less confident bakers to be more creative.

Back then to the Fig Bars with Orange Zest. Well, as it's 'austerity January' round here, and I didn't have figs - or as it happened, oranges, after a quick rummage in my (still reasonably well-ordered cupboards) they turned out to be Date & Prune Bars with Lemon Zest. But I think Adimando would approve. I've added the UK measurements I used, checking my conversions against the recipes in Baked in America, and where I substituted ingredients, my substitutions are in italics.

Date & Prune Bars with Lemon Zest

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (225g) light soft brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest grated zest of 1 lemon
2 cups (300g) plus 2 tablespoons all purpose plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda powder
1/4 tsp salt

11/4 cups dried figs approx 200g dates and prunes, chopped
1/4 cup (55g) sugar 2tbsp maple syrup

(Adimando suggests dates and the substitution of maple syrup for the sugar here so I'm not going too far from her original)

Make the cookie dough by creaming together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then add in the egg, vanilla and lemon zest ad mix till combined

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then add gradually to the butter/sugar mix and beat till just combined.

Turn the dough out onto some clingfilm, flatten into a disk, wrap in the clingfilm and put in the fridge for an hour.

Make the filling by heating the chopped dried fruit, the maple syrup and 250ml of water in a small pan till it starts to boil. Reduce the heat and bubble until it starts to look 'jammy'. Set it aside to cool.


Roll half the dough out into a rectangle about 8 by 13 inches, transfer onto a piece of greaseproof paper and trim the edges to form straight lines.

Spread half the fruit mix down the middle of the dough, then fold one side over the filling, then the other side, so that it overlaps. Repeat with the second half of the dough and fruit mixture, then place both 'logs' seam side down on a lined baking tray and put in the fridge for at least 20 mins (I didn't read this bit, and they seemed to turn out OK, but I thought I'd leave the step in).

Pre-heat the oven to 375F (200C).

Bake the logs for 20 minutes or so until golden and firm, then leave to cool on a rack before slicing into 11/2 inch wide slices.

Tasty. Not too dissimilar to a mince pie type thing (and I'm thinking wicked and thigh thickening thoughts as I type about the left over brandy butter that's still in the fridge), but as they cool, I'm also wondering about making a lemon icing and drizzling it over the top too, before feeding them to the boy tomorrow if nothing has, ahem, shifted, by then - all those dates and prunes. Bound to get things moving...


And what of the other book? Well, what can I say. This Cookie Dough Lovers Cook Book is exactly that. It is basically recipes in which you make cookie dough, and then use it in other things - ice cream, brownies, waffles, crispy cakes.

Now I love cookie dough & cake batter as much as the next person with her finger in the mixing bowl, but really? We're talking recipes like Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars  - you know like Millionaire's Shortbread, but with an extra layer - of raw cookie dough - between the caramel layer and the chocolate topping. 

I couldn't go for this. I just couldn't.

The book is presented in a similar way to The Cookiepedia and from that point of view, I enjoyed it. It's attractive to look at and although i didn't make anything out of it, the instructions seem clear and easy to follow. There are invariably long ingredients lists because you are making the cookie dough in addition to whatever cake or confection you are adding it to, but that's inevitable. It's American (of course it is) and there's less in the way of a conversion guide, and introduction generally than in The Cookiepedia, but it's not pretending to be a 'how to' guide, more a show case for "...cookie dough and its many virtues: the rich buttery decadence, the gritty crunch of brown sugar, the exotic aroma of vanilla..." . I know where she's coming from, I really do, but for me it stops with a finger in the bowl, not with Cookie Dough Dessert Pizza.

So there you have it, a hit and a miss for me with these 2 books. I am sure there are people out there who will go for the Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook, but my favourite was definitely The Cookiepedia, which I know I will use again, dodgy conversion issues aside..

I'm also adding this to the Alphabakes Challenge for January 2013 hosted by Caroline Makes
and also Ros at More than the Occasional Baker because the letter this month is D so the Date and Prune bar fits in there just nicely.
 
I was not paid to write these reviews, but I was sent a copy of the books. I was not required to write a positive review and the views are my own.

Bubble & Squeak, Nigella style

Yes, yes, I know I implied that I wasn't going to post for the next few days, but I just can't stop myself. I hope you've all had a lovely time.

The brilliant thing about hosting Christmas Day is that I usually hang up my apron around 2 in the afternoon to rapturous applause (well, perhaps not quite, but some fairly gratifying noises of satisfaction as the table groans under the weight of all that has been laid upon it) and a glass of something, and then I don't have to do more than whip out leftovers in various guises (or soup from the freezer) for about 3 more days. 

This year has been no exception. We had a really great Christmas Day, nothing out of the ordinary food-wise (the usual turkey etc) but it was all utterly delicious, and although I say so myself, I probably managed to make the best gravy I have EVER made, borne out by the fact that there wasn't much left to have on Boxing Day with the Bubble & Squeak.

I'd opened Feast at the appropriate page just to remind myself generally how Nigella does B&S. My Father in Law saw it and remarked that he wouldn't have imagined that people would have a recipe for it, it was just a question of bunging all the left over veg in a frying pan... To an extent (although it pains me to admit it), he is right, but since reading how Nigella does it a few years ago, I have always taken this approach to B&S. It still doesn't fall into the category of 'cooking' in my book, although to be fair, it does involve slightly more than getting everything out of the fridge. But the oven was on anyway to warm up the mince pies, and this really does work better than just bunging it all into a frying pan.

So basically you take all your leftover cooked veg - yesterday there were about 12 chantenay carrots, a good couple of handfuls of sprouts, and about 4 baby leeks - all of which had been steamed, and then from the left over roasties, a good load of celeriac and parsnip and a few potatoes. I had to save some of the roast potatoes to be straight up fried in a pan.

Put all your veg in a food processor with an egg and whizz up to a chunky puree.




 Heat some oil in a large-ish frying pan that you can put in the oven and pre-heat the oven to about 180-200C. Make sure the oil has covered the base of the pan to prevent sticking, then scrape the veg puree in and spread it out. 

Fry for a few minutes, then bung it in the oven for about 20 mins till it has browned on the top.

Remove the pan from the oven (remember that the handle will probably be hot so you will need an oven glove. You don't need to ask why I'm reminding you of that) and invert over a plate so the cake hopefully comes out in a beautiful whole, ready to be sliced and served with the leftover gravy - which may or may not be warmed, according to taste!

 .

I am linking up to Maison Cupcake's Forever Nigella event, hosted this month by Laura on her blog lauralovescakes . Enjoy!

The Sunday Bake Off - the Festive Episode & Christmas Cake Part 3 - The Icing

So here it is - pretty much. Christmas 2012. 

We had our annual outing to the panto yesterday (Oh yes we did!) - Aladdin at the Theatre Royal in Winchester with my mother in law who buys us the tickets as a Christmas present, and then went out for a pizza before returning home. I'm not a lover of panto, but I like the one at Winchester. This is the third year we've been. A lot of the actors are the same every year, and the dame is always exceptional. This year there was much heckling from the junior members of the audience and as a result, much improvisation from the cast, which is always a good thing. We had a good meal, and despite the unseasonally mild, wet and windy weather, Winchester looked beautiful with the lights illuminating the high street. Actually, I watched the Wartime Farm at Christmas the other day, and was very interested to learn that the myth of our 'white Christmases' is almost entirely down to Charles Dickens who experienced the frost fair years of the early 19th century and perpetuated the idea that it is always a white Christmas, frosty, glorious in his novels. But I digress.

I was up early this morning. There's no denying that I am a 'lark' and I consider the early morning at the weekends to be 'my time'. The kids have unfettered access to the TV, the Husband sleeps, and usually, I will be out walking the dog. The dog has been staying with mum for the last 10 days, so this morning, I had a rare opportunity to potter in the kitchen.

First up was a mushroom and bean casserole to go in the slow cooker for lunch. My mother in law is a vegetarian, and this seemed to be a likely candidate for an easy lunch, out of a book by Rose Elliot which my mum gave me as an early Christmas present - quick vegetarian meals: a kind of 30 Minute Meals for veggies. Obviously, by adapting it for the slow cooker, I extended the cooking time somewhat, but the principle was the same - easy and tasty. Necessary food sorted, on to the good stuff.

Cranberry Bakewell Tart. I made cranberry jam yesterday, and the pastry (left overnight in the fridge), so it was a matter of lining the tin with the pastry, spreading in the jam and making the almond sponge topping. The pastry was direct from the recipe in Feast - it's a great pastry: including ground almonds, clementine zest and icing sugar with the flour - but you could use shop bought. The quantities in Feast are for a 26cm loose bottomed tart tin. Mine is smaller than that so I had the opportunity to make more mince pies.

The sponge is made by beating together 125g of caster sugar and ground almonds with 3 eggs, and then mixing in 125g of melted slightly cooled unsalted butted. Once it's all mixed, pour it over the jam, sprinkle over some flaked almonds and bake at 180 for about 45mins. You might want to check after 20 minutes and if it's looking like it might brown too much on top, cover with foil.

Just before serving I made a runny icing using the juice from half the clementine and drizzled it over the top of the tart. Nigella goes for a full on covering of royal icing and golden stars, but I've got wise to her sweet tooth, and the clementine-tinged drizzle was enough.

 With the left over pastry, I made some more mince pies. The ones I made a couple of days ago were OK but this pastry was much better, and if I get a chance tomorrow, I may make some more. I used the Cherry & Almond Mincemeat I made a few weeks ago.

 
















Once the tarts were in the oven, I got on with some bread. I have been neglecting my bread making, but re-enthused by the River Cottage course, I've had a sourdough starter up and running and it's now ready to use. I mixed up a 'sponge' last night (using a third of the flour, dried yeast and liquid I was intending to bake with), and then made my full dough this morning, using the sourdough starter as part of the liquid content, as well as the 'sponge'.  There's going to be a lot more of the bread in the New Year, so for now, you'll just have to be satisfied with a photo. 

good & "rustic"!

Last but not least, I iced the Christmas cake. In the end, Dr Oetker answered all my decorating needs. I came across a can of silver shimmer spray in the Co-Op yesterday when I was supposed to be buying a paper, and was irresistibly drawn to it. I already have a pack of ready to roll white icing in the (beautifully ordered) cupboard, so in the end I went for the path of least resistance. After a minor panic when I couldn't remember where in the beautifully ordered cupboards the box of decorating bits had gone, including the heirloom Father Christmas and Polar Bear, all was well, and I went for marzipan and icing stars, all sprayed liberally with silver shimmer. Marvellous.

All in all a very satisfying potter. 

After all that, the mother in law enjoyed her casserole and left with a big slice of the Cranberry Bakewell, and my parents have arrived, bringing the dog back. We've been out for a long walk to gather in holly, the tree is up, the presents are bought and wrapped. We have a full house till Friday, my parents, one of my brothers and his wife, then my father in law. On Saturday, we're off to London to see some fabulous friends, then we're back to host more fabulous friends here for New Year. It will be busy, foodie and fun. So now, with the scent of clove and onion infused milk wafting from the kitchen, ready for the bread sauce, I am setting down the lap top for a while, but I'll be back in 2013, refreshed and ready to blog.  

I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.  Enjoy!

Coriander & Chilli eggs - for lunch or breakfast!

What a time to be thinking about entering a competition? It's madness here. However, seduced by the possibility of fame, fortune and trip to Australia, I thought "Why not?" and emailed off to enter the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off competition.

Next thing I know, a lovely selection of their tubes of fresh herbs arrives in a cute little pouch. While you can't beat fresh herbs, there are loads of opportunities to use these beauties - in fact when they arrived, I'd run out of fresh garlic and chillies anyway, and as fresh coriander often spoils pretty quickly, I can definitely see the advantage of the tube when you need it for flavour rather than as a garnish in particular.

Now, because of one thing and another, I have decided to take the quick and easy approach to my entry (or entries - I have used the tubes quite a lot, but I need to carve out some time to blog them!), so here's the first:

Coriander and Chilli Eggs

Ingredients for 1 (easily doubled)

splash of olive oil
2 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
1/2 red pepper, deseeded and chopped to similar size
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Coriander
1/2 tsp Gourmet Garden Chilli (or to taste)
1 egg
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tortilla wrap

1 small frying pan
grill proof serving dish (optional if you can put the frying pan under the grill!)




Turn on your grill to medium - high. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the tomatoes and red pepper, cook for a minute or so to start the juices running, then stir in the Coriander and Chilli.

Once the tomatoes and peppers are semi-cooked and the herbs are nicely incorporated, grind in some salt and pepper, stir again, then take off the heat. If you are using the grill proof serving dish, scrape the sauce into the dish, and quickly make a well in the centre of the sauce (or just make the well in the sauce in the frying pan) and crack the egg into it.

Pop the dish/frying pan under the grill, and cook for 8-10 mins until the egg is cooked. This will depend on how hot the frill is and how close your dish/pan is to the element - keep an eye on it!

If you have room under the grill, fold your tortilla in half and pop it under too for a couple of minutes to crisp up.

Serve the eggs with the tortilla and extra salt and pepper as desired.

I ate this for lunch, and it was very tasty. The chilli was sufficiently spicy and the coriander gave a great flavour to the sauce. If you were feeling brave and a little like a taste of Mexico, it would work well as a kind of huevos rancheros style breakfast.