American-Style Pancakes

I have started a new obsession with pancakes. For ages I've had an amazing pancake recipe from Nigella Express (here) that gives you a jar of instant pancake mix to add milk and egg to whenever you want quick and easy squishy-yum pancakes. I forgot how amazing they were until I was in the Barbakan in York, and had the most amazing breakfast pancakes of joy (see above). So delicious and tonnes of food! (The fruit tea is also excellent and look how pretty everything is!) So that started me off on a pancake journey of yummy food parings.

Obviously, bacon and maple syrup is a classic, and it is the best breakfast/lunch/snack.

Dessert pancakes are always amazing. This is from-a-packet mix with cherries in liquor, clotted cream ice-cream, chocolate coated nuts, and maple syrup. Indulgent for the Pancakentines Day I had/invented this year (the beautiful pairing of pancake day and Valentines) I thoroughly recommend this as a holiday.

Other amazing combos are Nutella and peanut butter spread between two pancake layers, or chedder cheese and pepper, both of which are good on cold left over pancakes. As I need around 5,000,000 snacks a day, this is even great to take out. 

Go have pancakes. You won't be sorry. 

Christmas Jam!

Making jam is probably my favourite form of cooking. Once you know how it is done, it is so easy, it makes everything smell amazing, the colours are beautiful, and most importantly, it tastes incredible.

The first one is Spiced Peach, inspired by the book Peaches for Monsieur le Cure by Joanne Harris. As soon as I read her description of this jam as a jar full of summer in the cold depths of winter, I didn't just want to taste it, I wanted to make it too. Jam making should be messy and delicious and fun, and that is exactly what she describes.

I particularly love the blushing peachy pink the bubbles turn when the jam is boiling, it looks so pretty!

Then eventually it turns into a rich, golden orange colour that looks like Autumn leaves

The second one I made was Blackberry and Apple, as we had some in the freezer that were left over from mine and Mum's Autumnal scrabblings around Rother Valley Country Park. I got covered in juice, scratched, and jumped on by an excitable chocolate brown Labrador (which was a highlight) but it was worth it for the taste.

The recipe comes courtesy of a Women's Own Australia Preserves cookbook my Mum bought from a charity shop. I can't help but imagine an excitable Australian women holding up a large jar saying 'This one's got a tarantula suspended in it!' Probably just me reading too much Terry Pratchett...

 

 

This mix turns a particularly delightful deep purpley-red colour, which doesn't show up in the jar, but looks fantastic in the pot and on toast.

It suddenly came to me once I had put this wonderful gloop into their jars that it would appear particularly fabulous and Christmasy if I had bought edible gold and silver glitter to add to them! It would make the peach look even more like an Autumn tree and the blackberry like a beautiful winter's night sky filled with stars. Maybe next time...

Nigella Express Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love these cookies, if I'm stressed or sad I can be completely distracted by baking these and eating them still warm, the chocolate chips melting in the middle, with a glass of milk (full fat, of course). They always go down really well with my friends also, so if you feel generous enough to share them you will be their favorite person for they day! The trick is the melted chocolate IN the batter...

You can find Nigella's recipe here,

You can also make this diabetic friendly by using 1tbsp of each of the sugars instead of the full amount and wholemeal flour, and they are still gorgeous.

Jammy Coconut Sponge

I made this for my Dad for father's day using this Jamie Oliver recipe :)

He's only had it for one day... :D

Chocolate Almond Loaf Cake

I got this from the back of a packet of Doves Farm Rye flour, and it is soooo good :) One slice is definitely not enough.

Ingredients

3 eggs
100g caster sugar
100g plain chocolate
75g butter
75g wholemeal rye flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
75g ground almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 180/Gas4
Beat the eggs and caster sugar together
Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water
Beat this into the eggs and caster sugar
Mix in the flour and the cinnamon
Stir in the ground almonds
Tip into a 1kg loaf tin and bake for 45-50 mins


If you want to ice the loaf, you could use a mixture of;

15g butter
15g cocoa powder
50g caster sugar
2tbsp cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Blanched almonds

Heat the butter, cocoa, sugar and cream in a pan until it has all melted and dissolved together
Boil for 8mins
Cool for 10mins
Beat it smooth and spread over the cake
Scatter the almonds on top

Black Forest Cupcakes

I made this for my friend Lauren's Coffee Morning for Race for Life (donate here). I had some frozen berries left over so I thought I would tweak a double chocolate muffins recipe from my Cupcakes book by Carol Pastor and make them into some gooey, chocolatey, fruity noms - all for a good cause!

Makes 16 large muffins

400g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2tbsp cocoa powder

115g dark brown sugar

2 eggs

150mlplain yoghurt

150ml milk

60ml sunflower or vegetable oil

175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees

Line a muffin tray with paper cases

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl

Stir in the sugar

Make a well in the centre

Separately, beat the eggs, yoghurt, milk and oil together

Add to the dry ingredients

Add the chocolate and berries

Fold in until just mixed

Spoon into the paper cases until almost to the top

Bake for 25-30 mins

Leave to stand and serve warm or cool on a wire rack and keep in an airtight container

   

Spicy Meat Gumbo

I found this recipe in Jamie Oliver's Jamie's America, and it is now one of my favourites! It does take a long time, but it is definitely worth it. I did it for 3, and changed some of the ingredients based on what we had in, so buy the book for the original!

Serves 3

3 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
olive oil
150g chorizo, thickly sliced
3 rashers of bacon, roughly chopped
1/2 a large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 sticks of celery trimmed and finely chopped
1 1/2 heaped tbsps plain flour
3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
500g potato, peeled and roughly chopped
1tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
750ml hot chicken stock
1tsp dried parsley

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper
Put a large pot on a high heat, add a little oil and fry the sausage, bacon and chicken for 15mins, until golden brown and crispy
Remove to a dish
Turn the heat down and add the onion, peppers and celery
Slowly stir and fry for 10mins until softened
Stir in the flour and cook for about 10mins, until it turns the colour of peanut butter
Add the garlic, potatoes, meats, thyme, parsley and bay leaves and stir and fry for 1min
Pour in the hot chicken stock
Bring everything to the boil
Turn down and simmer on a medium heat for 45mins
Cook some rice according to the packet instructions while it is simmering
Serve on a big plate and enjoy!

Home-made Gifts

This Christmas, I made lots of home-made foodie gifts that I really enjoyed making and were very well received! These don't have to just be Christmas presents though, they can be made at any time of year, so I thought I would share my favourites so far. They're great to put in a box with tissue paper as a hamper as a special gift.



Spiced Apple Chutney, from BBC Food



Mari Williams' Tomato and Chilli Jam, from BBC Food



Sophie Dahl's Peanut Butter Fudge, from BBC Food, The Delicious Miss Dahl



Mari Williams' Chilli Oil, from BBC Good Food

Metcalf's Mincemeat and Nigella's Star Topped Mince Pies

Me and my Mum love to make our own mincemeat at Christmas, it smells amazing, it makes a lovely gift and you can have mince pies for as long as it lasts! We save all our jars the rest of the year so we have plenty for this mincemeat and other jams and chutneys. My favourite mince pie recipe is from Nigella Christmas, which can be found on her website here, and her Cranberry Studded Mincemeat Recipe is in the cookbook and here



Nigella's Mince Pies, above

Metcalf's Mincemeat

Makes 2.5kg, 5 x 500g jars

175g suet
1.6kg mixed dried fruit
225g glace cherries
1 large eating apple, peeled cored and grated
100g chopped almonds
450g dark brown soft sugar
1tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon zest and juice
300ml brandy, whisky or sherry

Sterilise your jars by washing them in hot soapy water, the putting them upside down on a tray into a 160 degree C oven for 30mins, or run through a hot dishwasher cycle.
Mix all the ingredients together (we use two large bowls)
Cover with a tea towel and leave for two days, stirring twice a day
Spoon into the jars and leave to mature for 1 week before using in your beautiful mince pies!

Christmas Dinner!

Yes, it's January and Christmas is officially over (sad), but this year I helped out with the big one; Christmas Dinner! So I have to share this as I am super proud of mine and my Dad's efforts!

We have, from the left; steamed veg, spiced red cabbage, chilli tomato jam, home cured pork, stuffing, apple and onion gravy, spiced apple chutney, roast potatoes and bacon and chestnut sprouts :)

The chutneys were part of my present to my Dad and were made a month in advance to allow them to mature, but they are not just for Christmas, they can be made any time of year for great presents! The recipes are from the BBC Food website here and here. There are also loads of other great ideas on there!

The potatoes were made following the perfect roast potatoes recipe from Nigella's Nigella Christmas cookbook (amazing book) which is also on her website here. We used butter instead of goose fat and it still worked beautifully, but I have a suspicion goose fat would be better! The sprouts recipe is also from her Christmas cookbook, and can be found here as well. Two other recipes, the pork and the gravy are in that fabulous book, which I will share. I have made a few adjustments because we didn't have all the same ingredients, so if you want the original, buy the book!

Effortless Home Cured Pork

Serves 8

1.6kg boneless pork loin roast

1 litre of apple juice

1 litre of water

50g table salt

250ml cider vinegar

4 small onions peeled and quartered (or 2 large, cut into eighths)

1 tsp of  dried parsley

cloves from 1 head of garlic, bruised but not peeled 

80g honey

1tsp of cardomom seeds

4 tsps of garlic oil

Put the pork joint in a pan with a lid

Add the remaining ingredients except the garlic oil

Put the lid on the stockpot and place in the fridge or in a cold place for 24-48 hours

Half an hour before the pork needs to go into the oven, pre-heat it to 200 degrees C/ gas mark 6 

Take the pork out of it's brine and sit it on a rack in the sink to let it drain and come to room temperature

Transfer it into a roasting tin and pour the garlic oil over

Roast for 1 1/2 hours before removing to a carving dish. A meat thermometer inserted should read 75 degrees C

Carve it thinly and enjoy!

Apple and Onion Gravy

2 onions, peeled and quartered

2 eating apples peeled, cored and quartered

2 tbsps butter

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tbsp honey

2 tsps flour

1/4 tsp ground ginger

500ml chicken stock

4 tsp soy sauce

Put the onion and apples in a food processor and process to mush (this also works with a bowl and hand held blender)

Put the butter and garlic oil in a pan and cook the onions and apples over a very gentle heat for 30mins stirring occasionally

Add the honey and cook for another 15mins

Stir in the flour and ginger

Still stiring, pour in the stock and turn up the heat

Stir as it comes to a boil and season with soy sauce

Cook until it has thickened slightly, for about 3mins

Enjoy over the pork!

The spiced red cabbage recipe comes from a lovely book by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat, called The French Kitchen: A Cookbook. I've always dreamed of being french and cooking and eating thier wonderful food, and this recipe didn't disappoint! 

Spiced Red Cabbage

50g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red cabbage, finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 red chilli finely sliced

100ml red wine or balsamic vinegar

75g unrefined brown sugar

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

sea salt

black pepper

200ml water

Melt the butterin a pan over a medium heat

Add the cabbage, onion and chilli, stir well and cook for 10mins

Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to the boil

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, checking frequently

Add more water if it gets dry

Serve hot or reheated with the rest of your amazing Christmas dinner!

 

Dinner - Poisson Meuniere

Another gem from The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook by Rachel Khoo. It is quick, easy and cheap (as long as you use white fish!) It was a hit with me and Daddy, so it will be one I can make when I am allowed control of the kitchen! Rachel recommends lemon sole, but white fish is lovely too. I had mine with noodles and fried mushrooms, but this would also work well with boiled new potatoes and a green salad. You can find the recipe and watch how to make it on BBC Food here

Ferndale Garden Centre

Me and Mum spent the bank holiday wandering around the very pretty Ferndale Garden Centre, and I spotted some foodie delights on the way out :)

First up, these little stock and spice packets from Gordon Rhodes for the slow cooker. Great for trying something new, a very easy dinner or a gift for someone who is not so sure on their spices but still likes a good stew/curry/chilli and they have the recipe on the back. 

http://www.gordonrhodes.co.uk/recipes/

Similarly, these are spice packets for various yummy sounding dishes with the recipe included.

http://www.spicentice.com/home.php

These are some awesome looking pickles of weird and wonderful combinations 

And here we have the sweet jams and curds....

....yummy stuff

http://www.thepickledvillage.co.uk/

Locally produced honeys - save the bees! My favourite was the blossom honey in the middle. You can't get the good stuff online, but you can get a Beekeeping Experience Gift Voucher and see how the whole thing is done :)

http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/marketplace/vendors/sheffieldhoney

And these beauties, which reminded me of the lovely cheese lady in York I used to visit, and her Smoked Chedder...Mmmmm.....cheesey. Me and Mum tried the Jamacian Jerk Spicy Gourmet Chedder and it was good but my, was it spicy! Teaches me to read before I eat. Take a look here

I went for the Chicken Jalfrezi and Slow Comfortable Stew mixes for Dad for Father's Day, and this lovely looking bar of chocolaty goodness for me. It is Sicilian Hazelnut Fine Dark Chocolate and the hazelnuts have been roasted and milled to a paste, creating something like super dark, rich Nutella in a bar, only better. It is also Organic and Fairtrade - I love saving the world with chocolate! Find more yummyness here. 

All in all, it was a good foodie day!

The Hummingbird Bakery Cards

I found these delightful notecards in TKMaxx and had to get them, they are so pretty! The best bit is that they have the recipe of the cupcakes pictured on the back, which I just think is a brilliant idea! I would love to get one of these, so I bought them to send to my other baking friends and put a smile on their faces too :D

Marshmallow Cupcake, the pretty tin, Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcake

Vanilla Cupcake, the back of the pretty tin, Lavender Cupcakes

You can find the recipes in one of the cookbooks available from the website here. Or go and visit if you are in London! They also have a blog and twitter competitions, as well as doing various treats to order :) 

The Vanilla Cafe, York

When I lived in York, this cafe was literally 2mins down the road from my flat, alongside Crumbs, and across the road from Coffee Culture :) It was the perfect place to be. I recently went back to visit my friend Becky and decided to take some pics of the very pretty Vanilla Cafe we visited. Hopefully I will be back soon and can take more pics of my favourite places! Next time I will get a pic of the outside as well...

 The view from the window upstairs, isn't that blossom tree gorgeous?

Mine and Becky's favourite sofas, and the super pretty teas sets :)

Link to Google maps - 12 College St City Centre York YO1 7JF‎

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                                 01904 658852

Dinner - Daddy's Pastitsio

This is one of my favourite recipes from my Dad, having always loved pasta and this is fantastic comfort food. I had always assumed it was Italian but it's actually Greek, another gem from my Dad's old and slightly battered Reader's Digest Classic Favourites cookbook. I actually really love that it is old and battered! It has a love-worn look to it which is homely :) You can make it for omnivores with beef mince or veggies with aubergine and mushrooms - I prefer the veggie one for once! We always serve it with a green salad and hunks of bagette, but the book also recommends a Greek salad accompaniment. Mmmmmm.....

Pastitsio
Serves 6 - 8

1 large onion peeled and chopped
2 tbsps sunflower oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
750g lean beef mince
or
750g cubed aubergine and mushrooms
60ml beef stock
125ml red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
500g macaroni or penne, cooked
700ml cheese sauce
3 tbsp parmesan
*you can also add 1 tin of tomatoes if you are not intolerant like me!

Cheese sauce

600ml milk
40g butter
40g flour
1 tsp dry mustard
125g chedder or parmesan cheese
A pinch of cayenne pepper or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Gently heat the milk until warm, then cover and set aside
Melt the butter over a gentle heat
Mix in the flour and stir for 2-3mins
Add the mustard
Remove from the heat and stir in the milk
Still stirring, bring to the boil
Simmer for 5mins, stirring occasionally
When the sauce is creamy, add the cheese a little at a time, stirring
Season with the pepper or nutmeg

Pastitsio

Gently fry the onion in oil
Stir in the garlic
Stir in the beef mince or aubergine and mushroom until browned or tender
Add the stock and wine
Stir until it comes to the boil
Add the cinnamon, bay leaf, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper, and simmer for 45mins
Mix with the macaroni or penne
Cover with the cheese sauce
Sprinkle the Parmesan over
Bake for 45 mins

Green Salad

Mixed lettuce leaves
Chopped fresh; parsley
                        chives
                        thyme
                        mint
                        chervil
                        dill
Spinach
Watercress
Cucumber

Dressing

8tbsp sunflower oil
4tbsp lemon juice
or
8tbsp olive oil
4tbsp lemon juice
1 crushed garlic clove
1tsp dried oregano


Greek Salad

1 lettuce
2-3 medium tomatoes, wedged
1 cucumber, sliced
1 large onion peeled and sliced
6 radishes, sliced
125g black olives
100g feta cheese, cubed
1/2 tsp oregano
125ml garlic dressing

Serve with hunks of bagette and butter, and enjoy!

Treat - Devil's Food Cake

This is so moreish and moist and chocolatey, it is my favourite chocolate cake. I used to make this for me and my housemates when I lived in York, to help us all get through final year, and I think it helped us all get our degrees! You're welcome guys! ;p It is seriously yummy, thank God for Nigella. You can find the cake recipe here. I used chocolate buttercream instead of the chocolate ganache because it was easier and I was feeling lazy, but it is still super yummy :)

Dinner - Lemon and Thyme butter basted roast Chicken and gravy

BBC Good Food pic

My Pic :)

For once, I actually just followed the recipe for this one! Absolutely amazing, it even got my brother to like carrotts! Now it is our Sunday dinner staple :) You can find the recipe here

And for Yorkshire Puddings here

Lunch/Dinner Winter Salad with Melting Camembert

This is a combination of roasted potato, pear, carrot and red pepper with melting Camembert cheese and spinich :) It was inspired by the salade d'hiver avec une mouse au fromage de chevre from The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook by Rachel Khoo, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I love how colourful this meal is, and how the textures and flavours all mix together so well. I sometimes find it hard to get my 5 a day in winter, and this certainly helps! You can also use a mix of seasonal fruits and veg so it is very convenient.

Serves 1

1/2 carrot, peeled
1/4 red pepper
1 small potato, peeled
Handful of spinach leaves
A few slices of Camembert
1/2 pear

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C
Chop the carrot, pepper, potato and pear into 1inch chunks
Put into a baking tray and cover with vegetable oil
Bake for 30mins
Arrange in a bowl and add the slices of Camembert and spinach. This will wilt the spinach and melt the Camembert a little.

Enjoy!

Snack - Passionettes

Carrot, apple and walnut muffins with a whipped cream cream topping

Makes 12

150g butter, melted
100g soft light brown sugar
115g grated carrot
50g grated apple
pinch of salt
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
1/2tsp ginger
2 eggs
100g self raising flour
100g wholemeal plain flour
3tsp baking powder
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
whipping cream, walnut halves and cocoa powder to serve

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases
Beat the butter, sugar, carrots, apples, salt, spice and eggs together
Fold in the flour, baking powder and walnuts
Fill the paper cases
Bake for 20mins
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, a walnut half and dusted with cocoa powder

Enjoy!

Mother's Day Afternoon Tea

I decided to make Mum an afternoon tea for Mother's Day and she really enjoyed it :) It turned out really well so I think it might turn into a yearly tradition :)

In addition to tea shortbread and chocolate digestives, I made Soft Cheese Cupcakes and Cream Tea Cupcakes, which went down very well :)

Soft Cheese Cupcakes

Makes 12

140g softened butter
185g caster sugar
3 eggs
15ml lemon juice
140g cream cheese
20ml milk
200g self-raising flour

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C
Line a cupcake tray with paper cases
Beat the butter and sugar together
Beat in the eggs
Beat in the lemon juice, cream cheese, and milk
Lightly fold in the flour
Spoon the cake mixture into the cases
Bake for 25mins
Leave to cool


Cream Tea Cupcakes

Makes 10

85g softened butter
85g caster sugar
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
85g self-raising flour
1tbsp milk

Jam and whipped or clottted cream for serving

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C
Line a cupcake tray with cases
Beat the butter sugar and vanilla extract together
Beat in the egg
Fold in the flour
Fold in the milk
Spoon the mix into the paper cases
Bake for 15-20mins
Leave to cool
Serve with jam and cream 

Enjoy!