A chocolate hug

There is lots of snow across parts of the UK today and although it has not hit us here just yet, the cold is making me think of curling up by the fire with a mug of hot tea and - you guessed it - chocolate...or cake...or both rolled into one.  Whether you like it dark & bitter, milky-silky or simply any type in large amounts, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate does the trick...and so do these lovely brownies.

Brownies...

Studded with little chunks of white chocolate they are gloriously rich; divine as an afternoon treat served with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.  A small piece goes quite a long way but fear not, these freeze well for when you next need a chocolate hug. 

For the love of food

I love food.  Only before the age of six when I was ill and doctors prescribed a medicine to encourage my appetite did food not really play a major role in my life.  I now often joke that - as in "Asterix & Obelix" where Obelix fell into the magic potion - I probably fell into the medicine and haven't stopped thinking about food ever since.  I remember events by the food we ate.  My husband will say "Do you remember when we did this or that?" and I will usually answer something along the lines of "Yes, it was a Sunday and you had the pork and I had chicken supreme and sorbet for dessert.".

But not only do I love to eat food, I also love creating it.  And I am beginning to realise that good food doesn't have to be complicated with a long list of ingredients that no one can pronounce. Good food can be simple!  And as long as you have a good recipe to follow, cooking doesn't have to be scary either.  I am still learning and have not even scratched the surface of the cooking techniques out there but somehow that doesn't matter because the food I cook makes us feel happy and satisfied - can there a better reason for cooking?

 

Crumbs...what do I do with that leftover bread?

There it is - a chunk of leftover, slightly stale bread that we somehow never got round to eating whilst still fresh and lovely.  So, what to do with it other than stuffing for roast chicken? I began to look in cook books and on the internet and found exactly what I'd hoped - a cake!  Someone had posted a recipe for their German grandmother's cherry & vanilla breadcrumb cake - I am assuming that this recipe came into being during the years of rationing either during or after the war when food waste was not an issue (I will touch on this again in a little while).

Anyway, I took my sad looking chunk of bread, chucked it into the food processor to make rough crumbs and then put those into the oven to dry for a little before returning them to the food processor for another whiz.  The result was a fine, almost flour-like consistency...Now, you see where I am going with this, don't you?  The breadcrumbs are used to replace some of the flour in the recipe! 
 
I was still a bit skeptical but must admit that I am very pleased with the fluffy & moist result that you can see in the picture below.  The translated version of the recipe will soon appear under the recipes tab but for the German-speaking readers amongst you, please click here for a link to the original.

Souper Trouper

I found a few mushrooms and a rather sad looking bunch of celery at the back of the fridge and what better thing to do than to turn these into some soup for lunch? Just a handful of ingredients made a really satisfying meal.

Mushroom soup - a warm hug in a bowl

Food waste is a big problem and by whizzing up some soup, you can breath new life into those leftover bits of veg that could otherwise so easily end up being thrown away. Definitely a feel-good meal on many levels!

The beauty of food ... and a change in direction

I don't know about you but we seem to have a handful of things we cook regularly and especially in our London lives, those didn't alter much at all due to lack of time etc.  Now we live here and I have the time to experiment a lot more with new recipes, I am pleased to say our meals have become a lot more interesting!  I am not into complicated recipes, so it's always nice to find dishes that are tasty but easy to make.  Today, I baked an apricot & almond cake - yummy!  It could have done with slightly shorter in the oven but tasted lovely - we'll definitely repeat this one!

 And for our dinner I made spinach & ham stuffed pancakes topped with a Roquefort sauce...also very tasty if quite filling and probably not exactly New Year's diet-friendly ;-) It could easily be adjusted to make it vegetarian and I guess could be slimmed down by using less cheese.  We had it with a simple salad and it really didn't need anything else...apart from a lie-down afterwards :-)  Very tasty though and I dare say this will be added to our list of favourites!

Looking at my blog and the individual posts, I realise that I do mainly write about my favourite thing - FOOD!  This may warrant a change in blog name because although I do watch the pond and still very much value the little things, this has now somewhat morphed into a food blog.  Not a bad thing at all but I should really make a few changes, create a library of recipes and keep any posts relating to other subjects under a different heading.  I'll have to see how I can do this but watch this space!

New Year, new post

Happy New Year!  As you can tell, one of my resolutions was to finally post on my blog which has been shamefully neglected over the last few weeks!

Christmas was spent with family and was peaceful and happy.  We had agreed not to give sibling presents and had asked Father Christmas not to overdo it and that worked very well.  It was all about spending time with loved ones, sharing meals etc - perfect!  I had made a Christmas cake with my own decorations for the family and was quite proud at how it came out.

 New Year's Eve was low key for us - until the dog got scared by the fireworks and we ended up staying up until 2am after all.  Luckily, he calmed down eventually, bless him.

I love the start of a new year!  It's a good time to put plans into action and whilst a lot of resolutions eventually fall by the wayside, I think they do help to focus the mind on what we'd like to achieve.  I want to continue making food from scratch and have already begun doing so - a large bread dough is currently rising and I have mixed my first-ever sourdough starter (he's called Sergei - might as well name him as he hopefully will be part of our lives for a long time). :-)  We have also continued with our quest not to waste food and I made some bubble & squeak cakes for lunch on 1st January - served with cold ham and lettuce it made for a very satisfying meal.  I guess food will again feature quite prominently on my blog this year...

I am looking forward to starting out veggie gardening again - after last year's dismal harvest, we are going to invest in a greenhouse.  That way I am hoping to keep the critters out and have my plants grow nicely.  Also, they are unlikely to drown!  The weather has been shocking in 2012 - apparently the wettest on record!  We were lucky enough not to experience any flooding (spare a thought for those who did!) but in terms of gardening and growing food it really wasn't great.  But, after the initial "I'll never bother growing anything ever again", with the new year out comes the ever optimistic veggie gardener who thinks that it cannot possibly be quite so bad again this year.  And so I am already planning what seeds to get, how to organise the greenhouse etc...

Other resolutions?  After successfully completing my knitted winter hat, I will try and make some more things.

 Featuring high on my wish list is a black corduroy skirt...note that I have never attempted to make a skirt, so it'll be interesting to see the outcome...  My lovely husband also gave me a taster wood turning course for Christmas as well as the chisel I have always wanted, so I will try my hand at making a bowl or platter.  I can't wait to get started on this new project but will have to be patient as the course won't be for at least another couple of months yet.

So, with all these resolutions and projects, I hope that 2013 will be a happy, fulfilling and healthy year and wish the same for everyone out there, wherever you are!

Simple meals...

Pasta with broad beans...

More on the theme of simplicity!  A couple of days ago I made a really simple but delicious supper which still makes my mouth water just thinking about it!  Not only was it very tasty but I love the fact that it was made out of only a handful of ingredients and in no time at all.  Pasta with broad beans, garlic, olive oil, mint, a bit of salt & black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice - job done!

And this morning I prepared an equally simple dish for our lunch: mushroom soup!  All it needed was mushrooms (really? :-)), a couple of leeks, some garlic, thyme and vegetable stock (I did use a cube for this).  Again, really straightforward and also very cheap to make.  You can add cream to it but it really isn't necessary and if really hungry, a slice of bread on the side might go down a treat.

It just goes to show how easy it is to make a satisfying meal that doesn't need to cost the earth (quite literally).

Mini peppers...

Before I forget...I harvested some of our homegrown mini peppers again the other day to add to a roast vegetable dish.  How cute are they?  I love the different colours and shapes!  The colours are obviously due to the different stages of ripeness but funny how the orange ones are quite a lot longer/bigger.  I have kept some of the seeds to grow more next year although I am tempted to try the "normal" size variety.  They may have to be grown outside of the house though as their plants are bound to be huge.

This afternoon I will go and collect the last of the tomatoes from the garden.  They are bound to be green ones but I have decided that they need to be harvested before it gets colder.  I will turn them either into green tomato chutney or salsa (the latter can be frozen).  I'd hate to see them go to waste, so that seems to be the best option.

Home, sweet home

Foccacia sandwich...

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, so I went for a walk by the seafront - it was lovely!  I decided to treat myself to lunch in a little cafe/restaurant - I had eaten there before with a friend and loved it, so I was really looking forward to returning.  Well, what a disappointment!  Now, don't get me wrong - I feel incredibly lucky that I can just go and buy myself some food and I really appreciate that.  What was disappointing was how bland the food was - I went for a veggie quinoa burger with fried potatoes and salad.  It sounded really promising from the description on the menu but wasn't tasty at all, not even after adding extra seasoning.  The only good thing was that I was full afterwards :-(
So this lunchtime I made my own lunch - homemade foccacia spread with pesto (also homemade) and topped with lettuce, feta cheese and figs...yummy!  Simple but tasty! :-)

I also harvested the first of our baby peppers :-)  Lovely taste if a little small but hey, they are mini peppers!  I might roast the next lot whole and either preserve them in oil or chuck them into a pasta dish or similar!

Homegrown mini peppers...

What to do on a rainy day...

Well, what not to do is take the dog out before 8am and get absolutely soaked!  You know that the weather is bad when not even your 9 month old puppy is keen to go out!

Old bananas = banana bread...ta dah!

Instead, a much better thing to do is to use up the squishy old bananas that have been lurking in the fruit bowl to make banana bread...mhhhhm! I can see a slice of this with a hot mug of tea in my near future...The funny thing about this weather is that instead of wanting summer foods like salads, I am now craving casseroles and looking forward to making Christmas cake...that is just wrong in July, isn't it?

Gooseberry growing

Gooseberry & kiwi jam...

Last year our gooseberry bush had a total of 2 (yes, two) gooseberries on it and we decided to cut the bush right down to ground level.  It was either grow back better or we'll chuck you out completely...Well, fast forward to this year and I am pleased to say that I harvested 150g worth (a small bowl full). To get the most out of the crop, we decided to make jam - gooseberry & kiwi jam, in fact!  Not a huge amount came out but enough to fill a couple of small jars, so I am very pleased!  Let's hope next year's crop will be even bigger!

As can be seen from the photo, the sun is out today!  How lovely!  We still don't exactly have summer temperatures but at least it is dry today.  Quite worrying just how many floods and flood alerts are occurring throughout the UK - we are quite lucky that we have not been affected by those and just had some miserable wet days. 

Produce....

First spuds 2012

Time for another post, I dare say!  As mentioned before, the weather has been shocking lately, so we couldn't do much in the garden.  With all the wet weather it now looks as if my potato plants have succumbed to blight (although I am not 100% sure).  The plants started to look very odd with dots on the leaves and then they just died...sounds like blight to me.  I did a bit of research and found that the plants should be cut down, so that's what I did today.  I also emptied one of the containers to see if the blight had reached the actual tubers and am pleased to say that whilst small, the spuds look pretty healthy.  We planted King Edward potatoes which will be great for roasting if they reach a decent size.  These little ones will be great just boiled with their skins on- might have to incorporate these into my supper tonight!

First blueberries 2012

The other exciting thing that has happened whilst we were away for the weekend is that the blueberries are now changing colour!  They look really fat and juicy but need a bit more sunshine to ripen properly.  Last year's experience told us that even if they are blue, it doesn't automatically mean they are ripe.  Patience is required!  Not one of my stronger points but I know it'll be worth it.

The pepper plants indoors are now coming into flower which is great!  Hopefully that means that there will be peppers growing on them!  We'll see!  I will have to check if they need a hand with pollination...would be a shame to have lots of flowers but then no actual fruits.

Tasty...

Butternut squash soup

Rainy weather is actually quite useful...I've been getting lots done indoors including all the chores!  And I have prepared a bit of food as well.. some.photos below...

Houmous

I love trying new recipes and these were all previously untested - I have made houmous before but this was by far the best recipe.  Served with toasted pitta bread and vegetable crudites will make a good lunch and I can't wait to tuck in :-)  

Tomorrow morning I will make a small batch of scones to have with homemade strawberry jam...I'd better do some more running soon, given all this food around!  For that I would quite like for the weather to improve a little - I don't mind running in the rain every once in a while but when it is too often, it gets a bit tedious.

Tatendrang

I love this word - it means being full of energy and determination to do stuff and that's exactly what I was like today :-)  I made a batch of strawberry jam...see photo
.  

I  also baked a pineapple cake, prepared frozen yogurt (berry vanilla flavour) and cooked a pork casserole for dinner.  Next thing on the list is a butternut squash soup as I bought a couple of those to have for dinner when my friend arrives on Wednesday but they are so enormous that we can easily share one, leaving one to make said soup.  Whether I can actually peel it now, remains to be seen...never name your vegetables or draw faces on them! :-))  Cooking doesn't get tougher than this :-)

Early bird catches the...cake

Chocolate cake...

We got up early this morning and by 8am I had already changed the bed linen, fed the dog & myself and baked & decorated a chocolate cake - not bad!  It's one of those fool-proof recipes that is just so easy to make but tastes yummy at the same time - very moist and chocolatey with a hint of coffee.  Given the occasion (a friend's baby party tomorrow), I put some pink and blue sugar pearls on top of the icing.  And although it was so early in the day, I had to try a little piece - would have been rude not to :-)

I fear today will be a day for indoor chores as it is really windy and rainy again.  Probably just as well as I do have a few things to do - more washing, tidying up, cleaning, ... It never ceases to amaze me how much time can be spend keeping a house in order.  And that's with all the time/labour-saving devices we nowadays have - God knows how long it would take otherwise if we had to wash the clothes by hand, scrub the floors etc.  So here's a big hooray for irons, hoovers etc!

More bread!

I have just realised that it has been far too long since I posted something food-related :-)  I have been trying new recipes and last night made focaccia, recipe courtesy of the River Cottage Handbook "Bread".  Now, I have always thought that this type of bread would be incredibly hard to make (not sure why) but in fact it was really easy and the result very tasty!  

I'd probably adjust the recipe slightly (e.g. adding a bit more salt to the dough) but otherwise this is definitely a winner.  I am particularly pleased that I was able to use some of the rosemary from the garden to sprinkle on top, so it feels even more homemade (if that makes sense).  I have put a few pieces in the freezer and will report back on how that worked but I have left a couple of pieces out for lunch today - I reckon toasted focaccia with pesto, feta cheese and lettuce should go down a treat! :-)



One of my next missions in the kitchen is to make strawberry jam and also some sort of chutney.  I've been looking at a number of recipes and as soon as I have made up my mind, I will get started.  There is just something about filling jars and bottles with tasty things to be enjoyed later in the year - it is almost like bottling summer for the colder months!  :-)

Jobs in the garden

This week promises to be a sunny one, so I am making a little list of jobs to do in the garden: mowing the lawn, weeding, planting out tomatoes & pumpkins, sowing lettuce seeds, earthing up 2nd lot of spuds... That should keep me busy!  And I suppose I will have to water the veggies as well, since there is no rain at all forecast for the next week or so. 

I fear my broad beans have not survived the onslaught by the slugs, so I will plant some new seeds and hope that the protective netting "cage" I bought will be enough to protect them.  Since the pumpkins are supposed to be going out into the same cage, I do really hope this works as I doubt there'll be anything left if the slugs find a way through it.

In the park this morning everything was peaceful and glorious!  I saw a blue tit flying into one of the nesting boxes, so I guess there are baby blue tits in the making there.  I wasn't fast enough to take a photo but it was nice to watch what was going on.

I did take this slightly wobbly picture though - holding the dog lead in one hand with dog pulling and trying to take a photo is not easy :-)

Oh, and on the baking front a new favourite has been added to the list: pineapple cake!  Recently, I made a pear loaf cake which was ok but not that fruity - well, I have amended the recipe using fresh pineapple instead and the cake was absolutely delicious!  Very fragrant and so yummy that by the time I thought of taking a picture, the cake had already disappeared.  Oops - maybe next time!

Going loco at the local food festival

Food festival goodies

As you know, I love making things, especially when it comes to food.  This morning, however, it was time to visit the "professionals" at the Gorseinon Food Festival.

After going to "just have a look" at the different stalls, we carried home some lovely rye bread, soda bread, goats cheese, nettle cheese, honey, pork pies and honey lip balm as well as a couple of bottles of local ale and some stunning Persian food.  Now, if you have never tried Persian cuisine, I shall urge you to do so at the next opportunity!  It is quite unlike anything I have ever tasted before and utterly delicious!  The dishes we took home were Ash E Reshteh (a thick vegetarian soup with noodles) and Fesenjaan (a meat stew made with pomegranate).  The latter is in the freezer ready to brighten up another day but we had the soup for our lunch - oh wow!  And we still have all the other goodies to tuck into... :-)

A bunch of people passionate about their local produce - a truly delightful way to spend the morning!  We shall definitely look out for more local markets!

More on foraging...

Well, as is often the case, I have been thinking more about my last post on foraging and again, I have noticed just how much I have written this from a Western European viewpoint.  Having the luxury of foraging edible things as a little hobby is nothing in comparison to having to live daily on what you find.  It is very easy to talk about how lovely it is to find food in the wild when you have supermarkets etc on your doorstep.  Who knows how we'd fare if we had to go out and find our dinner...not very well, I reckon.  So, I just wanted to add this to my previous post - not to take away from the fun it is to get a few little edible things outside but to appreciate that life could be very different indeed if foraging was a necessity.

Foraging...

Foraged food...

It's raining heavily this morning, so I am very glad I went out yesterday to collect wild garlic leaves to make pesto.  I have always wanted to try this and found a good recipe online on the River Cottage forum that involved said leaves, walnuts, olive oil, hard cheese and a bit of seasoning.  Whizzed up and put into a sterilised jar it should keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks if it's lucky :-)

There is something quite magical about foraging for food - I haven't done much of it apart from the odd occasion when I have picked "wild" food such as blackberries but I'd like to learn more about it.  It feels basic and natural to go out there and finding something to eat.  The lives most of us lead here in Western Europe are much removed from the original sources of food but when you do go and collect something edible, it seems to resonate with something deep inside.  Since I am no expert, I would definitely not recommend just picking anything that looks tasty - that would be a recipe for disaster - but with the right knowledge, it must be very rewarding indeed.

To eat or not to eat...

Carrot cupcakes

After taking the dog for a walk this morning, I finished off the carrot cupcakes by decorating them with cream cheese icing and a few fancy sprinkles.  The cakes are not terribly sweet, so the icing works well with these.  Might have to make these again sometime... 

Now, as is probably obvious from this and my other blog entries, I enjoy food.  Having a meal either at home or in a restaurant, watching my favourite show "Masterchef" - it's all about lovely food.  But this makes me ponder the question whether it is right to enjoy, in particular, fine dining when there are people starving in the world who quite frankly couldn't give a damn if something was created with a cauliflower foam or jus de whatever.  And yet, I love watching and reading about and sometimes eating this type of food - is that selfish, inconsiderate...?

On top of everything else, the society I live in wants me to be a stick insect thin person, so I am supposed to be on a diet all the time and deny myself the foods I am lucky enough to have.  Great!  :-(  I guess at least part of the answer is to keep enjoying food, be mindful of waste and decadence and thankful to have enough (or rather: more than enough) to eat.