Belly warmers...

Late again - not sure what is going on at the moment but my early morning blogging appears to have been sidelined by dog duties, chores etc. 

Breakfast was a rather large bowl of porridge this morning. I love porridge!  To save time in the morning, I usually soak the oats in hot water (from the kettle) and a bit of milk in a saucepan overnight - that way, I just have to heat it up with a bit more milk in the morning.  Sometimes I just fancy it plain but this morning I added a handful of raisins to it.  I think my favourite is apple, raisin and cinnamon :-)  I love how this type of breakfast really sets me up for the day and warms me through and through.

Talking of apples, raisins and cinnamon, I have a lovely recipe for muffins that are just too yummy for words.  I made a small batch of these just the other day, putting half in the freezer for another time.  I have had these warmed up with vanilla ice cream for a cheeky dessert or just plain without anything added. Either way, they are very tasty!

Excitement in the Larder...and a recipe update

First of all I can't say just how thrilled I am that some of my recipes are being tried in far-flung corners of the world.  It really means a lot to me to that you are going through the trouble of giving the recipes on this blog a go, so thank you! :-)

Based on feedback I have received  (thank you Softie), I have made a couple of adjustments to the apple crumble cake  which featured early on in the life of this blog - I've been a bit more specific on timings and temperatures, so hopefully that will help.  And since this is a rather large cake, I have also added a note on freezing any leftovers. 

Now, I had better got back to writing a new post with a recipe that I think you might like as much as I do...

Back soon!  Until then, happy baking/cooking/eating!

Impress with French pastry

It's January - the festive season is long behind us and the resolutions for the New Year have been backed up by buying lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Maybe the "buy one, get one free" offer on apples seemed like a good idea at the beginning of the year but now they are sitting in the fruit bowl, getting slightly past their best. 

Well, I have just the recipe for you: a French Apple Tart.  Slightly decadent for January but how about a special treat for family or friends after a Sunday walk, run, play-about- in-the-snow?  You'll have burnt off those calories beforehand and it'll also help use up those old apples...

Apple Tart...

Heartwarming food on a rainy day

It's very stormy and rainy today - a proper April day!  Not ideal dog walking weather...

Bramley Lemon Curd...

I tried out a new recipe yesterday - Bramley Lemon Curd... since curd doesn't keep that long and this was a new recipe, I only made a small jar as a test but I think this could be a winner.  I might use it as a filling in a Swiss roll or in a pie...or just stirred into some plain yogurt.  It's just so nice that I have the time at the moment to try out new things, something that I didn't have when I was still working in London.  I know how lucky I am and feel very privileged!

I forgot to mention that whilst looking out of the window a couple of days I spotted a male bullfinch in the garden!  Now, we haven't seen finches here for ages, so it was really exciting!  I am sure there was a female there too, so fingers crossed they are nesting nearby and that they have a brood of chicks!

Right, the dog now wants his walk, so I better had put on my wellies and rain coat...

Learning lessons...

So, after my last post I had to revisit my own observations regarding palm oil. I realised that the stuff is in many more products than I had initially thought, so I have definitely learned something.
For example, some margarine I was going to buy for baking... on the front of the package it said "contains vegetable fat" but a large proportion of that is palm oil! How are consumers supposed to make ethical choices based on that? Yes, palm oil is vegetable fat but not the kind I necessarily want in my cakes, given its environmental impact. In the end I opted for buying butter - more expensive but at least I know what's in it...for the most part, that is. It just goes to show that we sometimes have to dig even deeper to get to the information we need, the "real stuff".

The end result of my baking session was a apple & raisin crumble cake (or in German "Apfelstreuselkuchen") :-) - flour, baking powder, butter, egg, sugar, apples, raisins, cinnamon...that's pretty much it if I recall the ingredients correctly. There's a whole tray's worth of it and I have frozen a big chunk to have another day. YUM!