My Dad Beets All the Rest

Firstly, sorry for being away for so long.  I realised I needed to catch up on my blog when even my Dad mentioned that I hadn't updated it for a while!  Work has been busy and my weekends have been taken up with a short photography course (the results may not be obvious for a while as I need to practice what I've learnt!).

This weekend has been lovely.  I took Friday off to make the Bank Holiday weekend a day longer and spent it with my sisters, Sarah and Claire, and my gorgeous nephew Ben in Tunbridge Wells. 

Today I started with a run, and finished with cooking from Nigel Slater's Tender.  In between, I managed to pick some delicious Victoria plums from a local fruit farm, buy some lovely produce from my favourite organic farm and also visit my parents where I had my pick of their home-grown produce.  They have been eagerly awaiting the first of the beetroot, and I was lucky enough to get the cream of the crop.  This beauty weighed in at 350g and I had to scour my recipe books to find a recipe to do it justice.

Nigel Slater's Tender Volume 1 is a beautiful book.  Think of a home-grown vegetable (in the UK) and there is a whole chapeter dedicated to it with notes on growing, harvesting, cooking and eating.  Here I found a lovely recipe for Chickpea Patties with Beetroot Tzatsiki.  The patties were made by blitzing chickpeas with ground cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic and an egg with some flat leaf parsley and fresh mint (also from Mum and Dad's garden) in the food processor, then shaping and frying in a little olive oil.  The tzatsiki from finely grating the beetroot and mixing with natural yoghurt and fresh mint.   Both served with a wedge of lemon.  Delicious.

My parents maintain that there is no favouritism in our family.  The order goes as follows:

Sarah - first born, so pretty special

Claire - third (and youngest) daughter, and mother of my parents' first grandchild, so also pretty special

Dominic - youngest child, only son, and soon to be father of my parents' second grandchild, so also pretty special

Me, I'm the second born... middle daughter... I regularly visit with my cakes and cookies...  BUT I was given the first beetroot, so I guess that makes me pretty special too.

My Dad x

Rhubarb and Blueberry Crumble

I finished off yesterday's soup tonight and the flavours were even more intense, especially the sweetness of the chestnuts.  (Mental note to get more chestnuts for the store cupboard...)  As I didn't need to cook, I had time to make a dessert instead and just had to decide what to do with the lonesome stick of rhubarb that was lurking in the fridge. 

I recently made a delicious rhubarb and blueberry compote from Nigel Slater's website and thought I would try this fruit combination again in a crumble.  The crumble topping I've been using recently is from Tessa Kiros's Apples for Jam as it's so quick and easy.  I'm not sure I'll ever make a crumble as good as my Mum's but this was pretty good for a Monday night!

Rhubarb and Blueberry Crumble for 2

100g rhubarb sliced
75g blueberries
A sprinkling of caster sugar
35g caster sugar
100g plain flour
25g soft brown sugar
75g butter, softened (strange but true)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

•  Heat oven to 190 C or gas mark5.
• Place the fruit in a small oven proof dish and sprinkle over the caster sugar.
• Mix together the caster sugar, flour and brown sugar in a bowl.
• Add the cubed butter and vanilla extract and rub with your fingertips until the mixture looks like "damp, clustery sand" (I love Tessa's descriptions).
• Sprinkle topping over the fruit and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top and the fruit is starting to bubble around the edges.

Allow to cool a little, if you can, and serve with your choice of custard, ice cream or cream. Mmmm...

Nigel Slater's Rhubarb & Blueberry Compote

Chestnut and Chorizo Soup

One of my favourite blogs is Cocina de Lina, following Emmalene cook her way through the tome that is 1080 Recipes by Simone and Inés Ortega.  Emmalene's exploits are honest, informative and extremely entertaining, and I'm making a note of all of the recipes I want to try for myself (i.e. the ones that work!).  I also have a real passion for Spanish food and have a few other excellent Spanish recipe books.  One of my favourites is José Pizarro's Seasonal Spanish Food (more on that to follow) and another, whilst not purely Spanish food, is Moro The Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark. 

Having a small piece of cooking chorizo to use up and being in need of some comfort food, I decided on this wonderful soup recipe, Sopa de Castanas.  It is probably more of a cold weather soup, but as it quick to prepare from mainly store cupboard ingredients, I would make it any time.  Here is my slightly adapted version:

Chestnut and Chorizo Soup - serves 2 for lunch or supper

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 stick celery, thinly sliced
60g mild cooking chorizo, skinned and cut into small cubes
1 garlic clove, sliced or crushed
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed chillies
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)
1 tomato, fresh or tinned, roughly chopped
200g cooked peeled chestnuts (I used vacuum packed), roughly chopped
10 saffron threads, infused in 2 tbsp boiling water
500ml water/chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan, heat the oil and gently fry the onion, carrot, celery and chorizo for about 20 minutes or until lightly caramelised.
Add the garlic, cumin, chillies and thyme and cook for a further minute.
Add the tomato and the chestnuts and cook for a few minutes.
Next, add the infused saffron and liquid and the water or stock.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher until almost smooth but with a bit of texture.
Season to taste, serve and enjoy (with a glass of Spanish wine if you can)...

It's Friday!!!

When you've had a day like I've had, all you can do when you get home is kick off your shoes, put on the TV and mix yourself a cheeky little cocktail to put that day behind you.  Here is my current favourite...

Eldertini - serves 1

1 measure extra dry martini

1 measure vodka

1 measure St Germain Elderflower liqueur

1 measure = 25ml (unless you've had a VERY bad day, in which case make it 50ml)

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

Add all of the ingredients to the shaker and shake until your arms ache.

Pour into your favourite martini glass.

ENJOY!!!

Happy Birthday Jamie O!

Today is Jamie Oliver's birthday and I send my very best wishes!  I'm a big Jamie fan, always have been.  I love his books, his recipes, his programmes and his Jamie at Home kitchenware.  I especially love his latest book, Jamie Does... and really must try out some more of the recipes (the chorizo and tomato salad was delicious).

Of the other Jamie books I have, there is one that I really haven't cooked from enough and that's Jamie's Kitchen.  I enjoyed a couple of amazing dishes from this book at Easter when my brother-in-law David made the most fantastic Bouillabaise (p.173) with croutons and rouille, followed by the Plum and Almond Tart (p.295) but made with blueberries rather than plums.  Both were delicious and really professional looking.  Here are the pics I took:

So, I have added this book to my pile and chosen a recipe to try at the weekend, more of that later!

Veggie Week!

National Vegetarian Week started yesterday and I will be doing my best to avoid meat this week.  I tend to stick to a vegetarian diet mid-week anyway (although with some fish) and then have good quality (preferably organic and/or locally sourced) meat at some point over the weekend.  So tonight was a perfect opportunity to make a delicious veggie dish, and join in this month's Cookalong on nigella.com at the same time.  The recipe for Griddled Aubergines with Feta, Mint and Chilli is just my kind of dish as I love all of the individual ingredients, and it was so easy to put together. Pefect to make at a barbeque or for a picnic, especially for any vegetarian guests, and just as good for a light supper when you get in late from work (as I usually do!). Yum!

Delicious Date and Apple Cake

A few months ago, after running in the Brighton half marathon, I had a piece of cake in my favourite Brighton coffee shop Coffee@33 called lumberjack cake.  It was heavy with date and apple, with a delicious caramelised coconut topping.  It was the first time I'd heard of this cake but I was smitten!  After a little bit of research, I managed to find a couple of recipes and the favourite so far has been from the forummers recipes on nigella.com and you can find the original here.

Apparently this cake is delicious without the cocunut topping but to me, this is the best bit!!

Anyway, I made this last night to take to a lovely afternoon tea picnic today for my Mum's birthday.  The weather in the south east was wonderful, and I spent the afternoon at Wakehurst Place with my sisters, parents and beautiful Ben (my nephew).  Sarah made perfect finger sandwiches, Claire made heart shaped scones and I made cake.  Ben provided the entertainment. 

Happy Birthday to the best Mum in the world! x

Healthy Granola Bars

Well, detox week was a success!  The scales are being kinder and I feel better in my jeans (jeans never lie, scales sometimes do!).  I stuck to the healthy breakfast smoothie all week, salads for lunch and healthy soups and stews (all veggie) for dinner (except for lunch out on Thursday and a Chinese takeaway last night... oops).  Now, I love my food and that diet alone would not be enough as I am out of the house for 12 hours each day in the week, so I needed some healthy snacks.  Having been initially inspired to detox after discovering goop.com, this week's newsletter had some healthy lunchbox ideas.  The granola bars suggested looked good, and here is the version I made to get me through the week:

Homemade Granola Bars

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup rolled oats, blitzed in a food processor
A pinch each of the following:
fine salt
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
ground ginger
1/4 cup flax seeds/linseeds
1/2 cup dried cherries*
1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds*
1/4 cup groundnut oil
1/4 cup high quality maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Line a 8” square baking pan with parchment paper (my pan was 9" so my slices were quite flat)

Combine the oats, spices, nuts, seeds and dried fruit in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl or jug, whisk together the wet ingredients and then stir them into the dry ingredients.

Put the mixture in the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula and bake for 25-30 mins or until pale golden. 

Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board, remove the parchment and cut into individual bars or squares.

* Use any combinbation of dried fruit and nuts, made up to 1 cup measurement.  Next time I'll be trying date and walnut I think.

Detox and a Chocolate Cake...

The last few weeks have seen my weight creeping up due to lack of exercise and a fair bit of comfort eating.  It was definitely time to kick start a more healthy way of eating and the best way for me is to have a mini detox.  But, the weekends are the perfect time to do some baking so I got the cake making out of the way on Friday and swiftly delivered it to my parents on Saturday!

The recipe is a delicious one: Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake from Nigella's Feast.  Now, I hadn't made a proper chocolate cake for quite some time, and I hadn't attempted this one before.  I chose it because it was going to use up the carton of sour cream I had in the fridge that was fast approaching its sell-by date.  I couldn't have chosen an easier recipe as both the cake and the icing can be whizzed in the food processor, saving lots of kitchen mess and washing up.  I really loved Nigella's suggestion of placing four strips of greaseproof paper under the cake before icing it, as once you remove them you have a lovely clean plate with not a splodge of icing in sight (well almost!).

The recipe can be found here:  http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=191

And here is my cake being assembled:

The cake went down very well with everyone, it was light, moist and very chocolatey!  Definitely one to make again, and next time I'll find some pretty sugar flowers for decoration.

So, even more reason to detox today and keep me away from the cake!

Breakfast comprised a hot water with fresh lemon slices, followed by a blueberry smoothie* made with almond milk and ground flaxseeds and my mid-morning snack was a handful of natural almonds. By lunchtime I was ravenous and had a HUGE bowl of delicious watercress soup which I made after being inspired by Lucie over at Cooking at Marystow.  I didn't add the milk as I am trying to be dairy-free this week, and I added a handful of freshly chopped chives, parsley, oregano and basil - delicious and healthy!

To keep my mind off food (unsuccesfully!) I kept busy with housework, sorting out clothes and ebaying.

Mid-afternoon I made a refreshing drink, blitzing half a peeled cucumber in the blender with some fresh lime, basil leaves and apple juice and served it over ice*.

And finally, it was dinner time!  Wanting to use up vegetables but also add some protein, I made up a big pot of this delicious mediterranean bean stew which I found over at nigella.com.  I halved the recipe, substituted carrots for the red pepper, passata for the tinned tomatoes, and topped it with some freshly made basil and oregano pesto.

*My new favourite website is goop.com which is beautifully written by Gwyneth Paltrow, very inspiring and great for healthy recipes including the smoothie and cucumber drink. 

Who Will It Be??

For somebody who is pretty much apolitical, I am quite enjoying the UK's general election. Well, I'm enjoying Channel 4's Alternative Election Night if that counts...!

I also liked seeing Tyrrell's Crisps election special flavours in Selfridges today: Cameron's Crunchies "Eton Mess", Clegg's Cocktail "Roasted Veg & Hummus" and Gordon's Gourmet "Scotch Egg & Brown Sauce". I also had the pleasure of meeting the top man at Tyrrell's who was very interested to hear about my favourite flavour which is usually a Valentine's Day special edition but should really be available all year round.

So, the polling stations have now closed and the fate of the nation has been decided. So who will it be?? I won't be staying up all night to find out as I need all the sleep I can get at the moment and the morning will come all to soon!

Sorry for the recent lack of posts, technical issues (lack of laptop) and time have been against me, but I do hope to make amends as I have been eating and photographing as much as I can and have plenty of things that I would like to share with you. :D

Birthdays Continued...

Before I move on to more recent cooking, I must post a few words about my Birthday meal at the Cuckoo which was a lovely leisurely Sunday lunch with my whole family. We were once again looked after by the lovely host, Toby, and treated to hearty portions of home-cooked foods.
I started with delicious gnocchi with crayfish in a light creamy tomato sauce which had a subtle hint of chilli. Followed by roast beef with all the trimmings, one of the best I've had. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding - delicious!
Unfortunately we have no more family Birthdays until May, but we're looking forward to our next visit.

Birthdays!

I have been absent for far too long, and need to make amends. There was lots to talk about in December but no time to write it down! January, until this weekend, has pretty much been a month of eating healthily, not going out much and training for a half marathon. But today was my Birthday (can't mention the number out loud) so time to enjoy myself!

Today has been brilliant, starting off with a short run to blow away the cobwebs, in freezing conditions and a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but the sun was shining and it was lovely to get out there. After a lovely hot shower and a modest breakfast came a trip to London with good friend Suzanne, who had bought me a ticket to see The Misanthrope with Damian Lewis, Keira Knightly and Tara Fitzgerald.

We started off with the most amazing brunch at The Wolseley on Piccadilly (sorry, no photos allowed), then shopping in one of my favourite stores, Anthropologie, which almost made us late for the theatre! The play was fantastic, and an absolute "must see" especially for anyone who studied the original version for A level French like us!

There was even time for margaritas and nachos after the show - the perfect end to a perfect day!

More celebrations tomorrow to look forward to, with lunch at family favourite The Cuckoo, and drinks with the girls in the evening. More on all of that to follow.

I may have missed my blog's first anniversary which was earlier this month, but it's lovely to be back!

November Restaurants

I don't eat out all the time, but when I do, I like it to be enjoyable. I love quick lunches in Cafe Rouge, bowls of pasta in Strada and pizzas in Pizza Express. Any eating experience is usually pleasurable for me, but in these regular places, it is the company (family and friends) and the conversation that matters.

It is always nice though when you make a bit more effort and go somewhere new. November brought two such places, the first being Iberica in London. My good friend Suz happened to be in London and we arranged to meet when I finished work. I had had this place on my list since reading about it on Bellaphon's blog and as usual, the recommendation was spot on.

We shared beautiful croquetas de jamon (iberico ham croquettes), a selection of Spanish cheeses served with membrillo (quince paste) and the prize for best dish of the night went to the "broken eggs" served with iberico ham and fried potatoes. Great service and delicious food in a stylish setting. If you like Spanish food, give it a try. We finished the evening saying hello to two fellow bloggers, easy to spot by the size of their cameras! Check out Food by Mark and the LondonEater - these guys are much more qualified to give London restaurant reviews than me so check out their excellent blogs.

Another new restaurant I tried this month was The Cuckoo in Cuckfield, a local village restaurant which has been around for years, but recently had a change of ownership. It had been recommended by my cousin John and his wife Caroline, and already tried out by my brother Dom for my sister-in-law Lynne's Birthday. My Dad treated us to Sunday lunch yesterday to celebrate my sister Sarah's Birthday.

For November there was a special set menu at 10.00 for 2 courses and 15.00 for 3. The choices were very good with something to suit everyone and the food came beautifully presented in generous portions. The starter of gambas pil pil was absolutely delicious, and I throroughly enjoyed my local Balcombe pheasant served with parsnip mash and game chips. The roast lamb looked very impressive, and the sea bass served with olive mash and cherry tomatoes was so good, nobody even offered me a mouthful. Desserts were equally tasty, with the chocolate fudge cake served with pistachio ice cream a clear winner.

The building is full of character, with small cosy seating areas, and the interior has been brought up to date with stripped floors, crisp table cloths, soft grey woodwork and funky artwork. Service was friendly and efficient, and there was no problem when a couple of us chose affogatos (espresso poured over vanilla ice cream) rather than the set menu desserts.

Owner Toby and Chef Matthew should be very proud of this lovely little place which is destined to become a local treasure. Their Christmas menu looks fantastic value and we will definitely be back before too long.

November Cookalong 2: Sweet and Simple Bakes Brownies!

Having really enjoyed last month's Cookalong from the lovely Sweet and Simple Bakes, I couldn't wait for the November recipe and I wasn't disappointed to find that it was for delicious snow-flecked brownies! I have made these once before and couldn't wait to make them again but then I got the dreaded flu which developed into an ear and sinus infection. Not only did I feel lousy and lose my appetite but I couldn't taste anything for almost 2 weeks!

Having lost a couple of pounds, I can safely make and enjoy these now! The recipe can be found here, and it is easy to halve the quantities, as I did. Dark chocolate brownies with white chocolate within, what's not to like? My Dad has decided these are the best brownies I have ever made so I'll be sticking to this recipe from now on!

November Cookalong 1: Breakfast Bars

A bit late I know, but there have been two fab Cookalongs to join in with this month. The first is from the nigella.com forums and features in Nigella Express, with a recipe for these very easy breakfast bars. The recipe can be adapted easily, swapping the peanuts for other nuts (I used cashews) and using a variety of dried fruits. The end result was very tasty but they are a little too sweet for my taste, and rather calorie laden! Good for a post-run treat though.

Nigella Express

I have had this book as my recipe book of the week for quite some time now... I am still working my way through it but already have a few favourite recipes. All those that I've tried have been very quick and easy, many made from store cupboard ingredients and those that need any fresh additions can easily be put together after a quick stop at the local supermarket after work. Many of the recipes can be found at nigella.com but I really recommend getting this book for anyone who is short on time but still enjoys cooking and entertaining at home. If you fancy a warming bowl of chilli or a comforting dish of pasta with ragu sauce but can't face the thought of chopping onions and endless simmering to break down tinned tomatoes, Nigella has some nifty shortcuts. If you're like me, you'll have the odd jar of ready made pasta sauce lurking in the cupboard (although to lessen the guilt of buying "convenience" foods, I try to make mine organic at least!) and one of these can form the basis of a satisfying meal with a few other additions.

If you try one recipe, make it the Quick Chilli. I am a big fan of chilli and usually turn to Jamie Oliver's recipe which uses a jar of blitzed sun-dried tomatoes and a cinnamon stick to produce a deeply aromatic dish which never fails to disappoint, but I was really impressed and quite amazed at this extremely quick recipe. Here is my version of the recipe:

Nigella's Quick Chilli - serves 4
150g chorizo sausage, chopped
500g minced beef
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cardamom pods, bruised
1 x 500g jar tomato and chilli pasta sauce
1 x 390g can chilli beans (I used Biona organic ones from Waitrose)
2 tbsp chilli sauce
A good pinch of chilli flakes

Heat the sliced chorizo in heavy saucepan over a medium heat and cook until a little crispy. Add the mince and cook until browned.
Stir in the spices and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add the pasta sauce, chilli beans, chilli sauce and chilli flakes (there's no such thing as too much chilli!).
Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-30 mins.
I served mine with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chilli from my brother Dom's garden.

Can also be served with rice, topped with grated cheese, guacamole or sliced avocado, or as a topping for jacket potato.

And the no-churn Margarita ice cream makes the perfect dessert - I can't be without a tub of this in my freezer and have converted my friend Suz from her all-time favourite chocolate ice-cream! Next, I'm going to try out some other cocktail flavoured ice-creams, strawberry daquiri could be very good.

Ben's Birthday Brunch!

Today was a VERY special day. My beautiful nephew, Ben, was one today! I can't quite believe he is one already as the year since he was born has flown past. He has brought so much joy to our family and is an absolute little star. To celebrate my lovely sister Claire and husband David decided on a Birthday brunch, and we enjoyed:

Pomegranate bellinis
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels
Sticky aga-baked sausages
Crispy bacon
Homemade organic wholemeal bread*
Slow cooked herby tomatoes
Welsh rarebit muffins*
Banana bread*
Pear and ginger muffins*




Ben's Birthday cake was a delicious spiced honey cake*, made by Claire.



Ben had some lovely presents and really enjoyed his day, almost as much as the rest of us! The great thing is, Christmas isn't too far away and we'll be able to do it all again very soon (and even better, Claire and David are hosting - yay!).




So Happy Birthday Ben with lots and lots of love from your fairy godmother, Aunty Lili xxx

* Recipes to follow!