Issy's Food Blog

As I've said before, one of the fantastic things about the internet generally and blogging particularly is that it gives a voice to anyone who wants to have one. I don't always agree with all the voices I 'hear', but I can choose those I want to listen to. (Even though much of the internet is written, I think you can often hear the voices that are speaking, not in a weird, spooky way, but through the tone and the words that are chosen, you can imagine a voice speaking the words...maybe it's just me). 

One of the voices I choose to listen to is Issy. I'll declare my interest now, Issy is the daughter of one of my oldest and very dear friends, and as such, I've known her since she was a twinkle in her parents' eye. 

For her summer project this year she could choose anything she wanted to do - I'm not quite sure of the parameters, but I remember her mum telling me that they could pretty much take their pick - and Issy decided to write a food blog. 

What I love about Issy's Food Blog is that I can really hear Issy's voice. This is no pretentious pre-teen blog, just a lovely girl enjoying the kind of cooking that you'd expect a nearly 11 year old to be cooking at home. I also love the little stories that she conjours up reflecting the food in its context - Grandpa's Breakfast cooked for a much loved grandparent who'd been in hospital, Really Easy Pasta inspired by a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe but in true good cook fashion, adapted to suit what she found at home, and of course Wonderful Welshcakes - yes, they came to visit in the summer!

Of course I'm biased, but I think it's brilliant that the internet has given Issy and her exploits in the kitchen a voice - why not check out her blog and leave her a comment?

Tomato & Chickpea Bake for the uninspired

So I bet you're all there producing delicious home cooked food for your nearest and dearest, loving it all, floating round the  kitchen, listening to the birds tweeting outside (no 140 character restriction for them), feeling like all is right with the world. 

Tell me you are, because I am most definitely not.

Yes, I am still stuck in a rut. Struck with kitchen paralysis. Needs must, however, and we all have to eat, so at the weekend, I gathered together my not inconsiderable stack of back copies of June Good Food, and worked my way through them, noting down any recipes I liked the look of - even in an "abstract-not-sure-I-can-be-arsed" type of way. For good measure, I did the same with Lorraine Pascale's Fast Fresh & Easy Food, which I got for Christmas and haven't really looked at, and also with the Leon Family & Friends book (ditto, although this one has at least made it to bedside reading).
   


The idea was that once the veg box arrived this evening, I could finalise a meal plan based on the recipes I had bookmarked, finalise an online shopping list (already full of the monthly supermarket staples such as washing powder and dog poo bags), get myself down to the butcher's tomorrow, and then just cook my way back into the groove. That's the idea, anyway. Instead, I'm writing this. But I will sort out the shopping soon. Honest.

Obviously, in the absence of the veg box till this evening, I have been making do. This evening's meal came courtesy of what was on offer in the Co-Op (tomatoes), what was in the garden (lots of parsley & thyme) and this recipe in Good Food June 2009...

Tomato & Chickpea bake

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
1 courgette
1 tsp harissa paste
800g tomatoes, peeled & de-seeded (if you can be bothered)
Some sprigs of thyme, leaves only
fresh ground pepper
400g can chickpeas, drained
big bunch of parsley, chopped
4-6 slices of decent crusty white bread - baguette or similar
50g finely grated cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 200C

Heat 1 tbsps olive oil in a large pan and chop the onion and courgette quite finely. Add to the pan and cook on a gentle heat for 8-10 minutes, then stir in the harissa.

Add the chopped tomatoes and about 200ml water, half the thyme leaves and a couple of grinds of pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes, then add the chickpeas and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley, and tip into an oven proof dish.

Brush the slices of bread lightly with oil from the remaining tablespoon. Mix together the cheese and the rest of the thyme. Lay the bread over the chick peas and tomato mixture, then scatter over the cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes till the cheese and bread are golden

The kids (and the Husband) had it with sausages. I just had it as it was. You might want to add some Tabasco, or other chilli sauce (or just increase the harissa, depending on the palates you are catering for).

As my blogging mojo has disappeared somewhat with my cooking mojo, I am attempting to get myself back up there by linking this up to a few blogging events.

All the parsley and thyme put this squarely in Herbs on a Saturday territory, and June's challenge is hosted by Karen herself on Lavender & Lovage. 

Bookmarked Recipes also applies here, hosted by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes, even though I suppose I haven't really cooked what the recipe was at all. 

Pancakes or cake? Or both? Egg-free Carrot & Pecan cake

I totally missed the Shrove Tuesday boat, didn't I? All day, my blogroll, and Twitter, has been full of variations on the same pancakey theme. American, traditional English, sweet, savoury, all manner of toppings. All the food bloggers touting their best recipes. And where was I?

I'll tell you where. Begging my useless chickens to lay just one egg between them. No time to deliberate and cogitate over which particular variation of pancake would grace our plates - it was touch and go whether there would be any at all. Fortunately, the chickens produced (although they cut it pretty fine). Pancakes saved, but then, another, ahem, issue. The chocolate cake I made the other day lasted an embarrassingly short time, and I have a friend coming round for coffee tomorrow. Cake or pancakes? I could see a bit of a problem.

I know I could have bought some more eggs, but it's Shrove Tuesday - the time to symbolically eat everything up before a fast - or at the very least, the exercise of restraint - over Lent. I have been debating whether, rather than denying myself food of some description, to impose a social media blackout on myself for the next 40 days, but then I think I might shrivel up into a small pile of nothingness and cease to exist altogether. And besides, if I didn't have Twitter, how would I find out that I could make a perfectly delicious cake with - get this - NO EGGS AT ALL.

Well, who would have thought it? Mrs "I eat everything, no allergies here" Recipe Junkie commending, nay applauding, such a thing.

Well, it's mighty fine. The recommendation came from Jen who writes at Blue Kitchen Bake, and although another friend had offered an actual egg, (thanks, Mrs W) I thought it would be more exciting and more in keeping with the whole ethos of Shrove Tuesday to work with what I had and use up rather than acquire more. I fiddled around - less cinammon than Jen's and I added in some nuts and the frosting, but basically it's her idea.

I'll admit I was sceptical, but it's honestly delicious. I should have saved it until tomorrow when my friend is here (and frankly after all the pancakes I met, I could only manage a tiny nibble) but it's lovely cake, and the next time you have no eggs, you could give it a go. As long as you have carrots, of course.


Egg free Carrot & Pecan Cake with Lemony Cream Cheese frosting

120ml sunflower oil
120g honey
120g caster sugar
240g self raising flour
240g coarsely grated carrot - about 2 large carrots
75g chopped pecans
2tsp ground cinnamon
a shake of ground cloves
pinch of salt

And for the frosting:
35g unsalted butter
200g sifted icing sugar
About 3 tsp lemon juice (approx half a lemon's worth)
50g cream cheese
finely grated zest of a lemon

20x20cm loose bottomed cake tin, lined

Pre-heat the oven to 170C.

In a small pan, gently heat the oil, sugar and honey till the sugar dissolves. This ends up making something that looks a little like a brown lava lamp in a pan - especially if you have the heat on too high.

Combine the flour, cinammon, cloves, carrot, nuts and salt in a bowl, then add in the oil/sugar/honey mixture, and mix together.

Scrape into the tin and spread out, then bake for between 45 mins-1hr (or until a skewer comes out clean). Jen made hers in mini loaf tins which took around 30 minutes, and the original recipe is for a large loaf tin which will take between 1hr-1hr20 mins.

While the cake is cooling on a rack, make the frosting  by beating the butter for a minute or so (we're talking Kenwood beating here, not arm and wooden spoon) till it's soft, then add half the icing sugar and beat till it's in crumbs - try not to choke on the fine dust of icing sugar that will inevitably envelop you. Add in the lemon juice, beat to a paste, then add the rest of the icing sugar, the cream cheese and the lemon zest, and beat together till smooth, then spread onto the cold cake.

So given that I'm not going to give up Twitter, what shall I forgo for Lent? Well, perhaps eggs would be a good place to start?
 

Ho ho ho! Some blogging awards to go...

Well, if you read my post a couple of days' ago about the circumstances that led me to clear out the cupboards (unnatural behaviour at the best of times), you'll appreciate that the last few days have been a little bit strange. To tell the truth, I have mostly been in complete and utter agony since last Monday (over a week ago) due to what I now understand is called "Tempromandibular joint disorder" - or a bloody painful jaw. Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that after I went and cried again at the doctors' this Monday afternoon I managed to access the specially strong pain killers. I also had some acupuncture, and now I am high as a kite and almost pain free. Happy times.

I haven't been cooking much. I haven't even wanted to bake which tells you how bad it's been, although I did manage some mince pies. The Husband has been freezer diving (he's a brave man) and has found sausage casserole, chilli, and other delights to keep everyone fed. I have mostly been slurping porridge off a teaspoon. As a result, my usual blog fodder is pretty thin on the ground, but fear not! I have been sitting on a couple of lovely blogging awards for a couple of months now, and it's high time I got round to dealing with them, and passing on the blogging lurve, so here I go.


First up, I received a Leibster blog award from Ryan at Baked With Kindness . This is an award where I don't have to do anything other than to link back to Ryan's blog, to say thank you nicely and pass on the love to five bloggers with less than 200 followers who I appreciate and value. It's hard to tell exactly how many followers any one has, but please don't be offended if I pass it on to you and you do have more than 200 followers. Basically, this award means that I think that the blogs I've nominated are great. Thank you, then, to Ryan.

 

I also received a Beautiful Blogger award from Louise at Yummy Mummy? Really? . Thanks Louise - it was lovely to get the award from you. This award's a little more complicated because as well as passing the love on to 6 other bloggers, I have to tell you 10 things about me. Hmm.  So 10 things, that I haven't let slip one way or another in the course of blogging. 

Here goes:



1. I have a terrible competitive steak, and as a result, I am incapable of playing Monopoly in a civilised fashion.

2. I cry (indulgently) at any opportunity - I love a good cry. I cried at the film of Charlotte's Web on Sunday. I will be a mess when Pink and I read it (after I've given it her for Christmas) together. As I type this, I'm all ready to get the tissues out for the end of Last Tango in Halifax. I'm sorry if that means I drop in your estimation.

3.I once appeared on Tomorrow's World in full cycling gear, giving my comments about a new set of traffic lights.

4. The first pop concert I went to was to see Owen Paul at Leeds Polytechnic. Owen who? "You're my-ay-ay-ay-ayy - you're my favourite waste of time". Ringing any bells? May be not. 

5. After Blue was born. I had my colours 'done'. I am a 'brown summer' if you're interested and I have a little folder full of colours which I use on those occasions (not very frequent) when I buy  clothes. Yes really. I am not someone to whom the words 'natural style' could be applied, and it really, really helps.

OK still 5 more. This is hard. I think I'm going to have to get back to the foodie side of things.

6. I love jerusalem artichoke soup, despite the terrible side effect. If you don't know what I'm talking about, make a pan of jerusalem artichoke soup, and eat it. Just make sure that anyone with you in the same house eats it too.

7. The first thing I remember cooking is Coronation Chicken salad.

8.  If I absolutely had to choose between cheese and chocolate, it would probably be cheese. But please don't make me choose. I might cry (see 2 above).

9. The best meal I have ever eaten is probably the enormous steak the Husband bought & cooked for me when I came home from hospital with Blue. It was rare and wonderful. The best thing  ever after an emergency C-section and 5 days in hospital.

10.  Calamari and garlic mayonnaise. I could eat it forever.

So after all that, and as the tears roll down my face as Last Tango in Halifax draws to a close, here are the beautiful blogs that I am awarding both the Beautiful Blogger award and the Liebster Award to:

Single Married Mum her Hubbie is back from a year in Afghanistan but she's still blogging and I am so pleased. She is so creative and patient, and I love the way she writes about her craft projects, her charity shop finds, and family life generally.


Artypops OK confession time here, this is the blog of one of my friends in Real Life - the wonderful and brilliant Samantha Barnes. She's an artist, runs art classes for children and adults, and is brilliant fun. She has loads of great ideas about things to do with kids - again, arty and creative - and she's a devil of a drinking companion. 

and now on to the foodie blogs

I couldn't give out awards without including Sarah at The View from the Table . She's a great food writer and has just got married and bagged her very own column. Fabulous all round.

My next foodie favourite is Slice of Barnes . She bakes cakes and gets strangers to rate them - but her blog is so much more than that. She's very funny and her cakes are pretty amazing.

Next up is Annie Hall who writes at Scrummy Suppers and Quirky Cakes. She's a bit of a Good Food fan (or seems to be) like me, and is a whizz at the old fridge raid supper - lots of quick and easy but delicious meals on her blog.

Finally, Ruth at Makey-Cakey another great baker. I also love that she sometimes publishes posts which are photos of all the cakes/biscuits that she's taken but not yet blogged. It strikes a chord with me - I have hundreds of photos of unblogged dishes.

So there we go. Merry Christmas!