Cookie monster

It's been absolutely shocking weather here - yesterday especially we had torrential downpours and temperatures never got over 8 degrees.  Brrrr!  Now, it's not just that I hate getting cold and wet when walking Keith the dog but on a much more serious note I am very concerned about the impact the weather is having on crops etc.  I haven't seen more than a couple of butterflies so far this year and the bees are not really coming out, so how on earth are plants going to get pollinated?

To cheer us up, I made a couple of batches of biscuits (cookies) which turned out rather lovely with a slight crunch on the outside but soft & chewy middle: chocolate chip & hazelnut and cranberry & blueberry oat ones. 

Both were definite winners and replacing some of the flour with oats (as suggested by Mr Happy Larder) gave a great texture to the fruit ones.  I didn't have quite enough dried berries, so used some frozen ones instead which tasted yummy but made for slightly soft biscuits the following day.  I'd recommend using just dried fruit if you are planning on storing these.


A couple of these with a hot mug of tea helped us forget the rainy day ;-)

Strawberries and cream

When I was a little girl, one of our birthday treats was to choose our the cake for the day.  For me, it was always the same:  a sponge base topped with a light and creamy fruit mousse.  It's called "Mandarinenquarksahnetorte" in German (we like our long words) and still is my absolute favourite. The mousse is made from a mixture of quark (a soft curd cheese very popular in Germany, similar to fromage frais), whipped cream, fruit (mandarin segments), a little sugar and gelatine - it's really easy to make and tastes utterly divine.

At the weekend, I decided to make a variation of the above, using strawberries.  And since the two of us could hardly eat a whole big gateaux by ourselves, we had a couple of little individual ones instead. 

The result was the taste of summer on a plate. :-)

What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is - you can use pretty much any fruit you like (fresh or tinned), change the base to a biscuit crumb one or leave it out completely, serving the topping as a dessert. Or why not fill a Swiss roll (see link) with this?

I had some sponge in the freezer that was left over from my rainbow cake baking (see link), so I used that as my base with dessert rings* (see note) cutting out small rounds and providing the support for the filling.  The base was topped with a spoonful of strawberry jam and I then filled the rings almost to the top with the mousse.  The little cakes rested in the fridge for 30 - 45 minutes to allow the filling to set and were then gobbled up within seconds.

I reckon a birthday cake is good on any day!

PS:  One of the blog readers was after a recipe for a strawberry cake a little while ago - unfortunately, I can't find who it was but I hope this recipe will be useful...

Little treasures...

I was thinking this morning that every time I use one of my mum's recipes, I am only satisfied with the result if it tastes exactly like hers :-)  Even if my dish is nice - if it doesn't taste like my mum's, it's not right.  As a little girl she learned to cook and bake from watching her mother and I guess that's how it happened for me as well.  Having a mum (or dad, for that matter) in the house cooking and baking is a very good inspiration.

My mum makes the best baked cheesecake in the world!  It has a hint of vanilla to it and she sometimes puts raisins into it as well - delicious.  Her recipe uses quark (a type of soft curd cheese) and the cake is just lovely and light.  I will ask her for the recipe, so I can share it with you.

In the meantime I have one for baked mini cheesecakes that I think you will enjoy.  We found that these tasted best the day after baking which is ideal if you want to prepare something for guests in advance.  They also freeze incredibly well - just defrost and you have fresh cheesecakes.  Perfect! 

I will give you the original recipe below which uses cranberries - I replaced these with tinned cherries, cut up into small pieces and put a spoonful of cherry sauce on top (made by reducing some of the juice from the tin plus a few cherry pieces and some sugar over a medium heat).  I also used a different base for the cakes as described below.

Mhm...I could do with one of these little treasures right now...

Spanish delights...

I am reading the most brilliant book at the moment:  "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a Spanish author.  What a treat!  It is one of those books you can't put down but at the same time you don't want it to end.  I am only allowing myself to read a few chapters at a time to make it last longer but the suspense is killing me because I want to find out what happens next.  Don't you just love books?

Mango Salsa...

Continuing the slightly summery theme from the last couple of days, here is today's recipe: mango salsa.  It tastes so fresh and fragrant and whilst we had it with the lamb burgers the other day, I think it would also go extremely well with grilled fish or prawns.  Simply mix some chopped mango, cucumber, coriander, red onion, chilli (or chilli flakes) with a dash of lime or lemon juice and season with salt & pepper.  Job done!
To be honest, the amount of each ingredient depends on how fruity or spicy you like your food - I just went easy on the lemon juice as I didn't want the salsa to be too tangy.  You could also add tomatoes or bell peppers but I quite like this simple version.

I already have a couple of recipes to try out and share with you next week - can't wait!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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!

Of famished food bloggers and muffins

Now, this will make you laugh:  yesterday was a busy day with one thing and another - so busy in fact that in the afternoon I started to feel sick.  What happened?  It turns out that I had forgotten to eat!  How silly is that - a food blogger who forgets to feed herself? :-)  It did make me laugh (once I felt a bit better).  I think it was because I spent most of the morning in the kitchen, preparing food, having little tastes here and there and I just didn't feel hungry when it came to mealtime.  I won't let that happen again!

One of the reasons I was busy was that I was making a batch of muffins for our local community centre.  I think you will like these too - they have been inspired by the German cake "Donauwelle" ( = waves of the river Danube) which is normally baked as a tray bake.  It's a lovely mixture of marble cake, cherries, cream or cream patisserie (basically custard) and chocolate.

I needed the cakes to be portable and easy to eat, so I chose to make muffins and instead of a thick layer of whipped cream, I dug a little well into the muffin and filled it with creme patisserie.  A cherry on top, a light sprinkling of melted chocolate and a dusting of icing sugar...job done!

I'd probably call these "Black Forest Muffins" as they remind me of a Black Forest cake - what do you think?

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...

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!

Of blackberries and plums

The last few days I have been busy turning blackberries and plums into jelly and jam.  It is just so satisfying to collect the fruit (the berries only as I had bought the plums) and to then turn it into jars of loveliness.  We came across a few nice blackberry bushes whilst walking the dog the other day and returned later, armed with a couple of pots to collect some.  Not long later and the blackberries turned into several small jars of jelly.  We now have a rather large supply of different jams...strawberry, gooseberry & kiwi, plum, blackberry, ...  It is rather addictive - the kitchen smelled lovely of stewed fruit and sugar yesterday when I made the plum jam and made me feel all cozy and wintery (not that it is winter yet or even autumn for that matter).  It makes you want to snuggle up with a mug of tea and a homemade treat  :-)

Foraged blackberries being cooked...

Ta-dah...blackberry jelly!

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. 

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 :-)

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...

Bagels with jam....

Bagels...

So, as threatened yesterday, I did try my hand at making bagels and was very pleasantly surprised with the result!  Not only were they easy to make but they taste great (even if I say so myself).  I can highly recommend giving these a go - the recipe I used was from my favourite book "River Cottage Handbook - Bread". They may not be as perfectly uniform as the shop-bought ones but I quite like that they look homemade :-)


With time on my hands I also made my first ever batch of rhubarb and ginger jam.  I had bought the rhubarb for crumble but had some left over, so out came the jam making kit.  It really only took a few minutes to make and I think it has set ok but we'll see when we open the first jar.  I only had enough for two small jars but I can always make some more with other fruit in season to have some variety. 

Rhubarb & Ginger Jam..

Can't wait to give strawberry jam a go, although it'll be a little while yet until the Welsh strawberries are ready.

One of the nice things about making your own jam is that you can adjust the amount of sugar to your own taste, so it needn't be as sweet as some of the jam in the shops and you can just use whatever fruit you have available.

Well, I can see a toasted bagel with jam in my near future...

Romance is in the air...

Pear & Ginger loaf cake...

Yes, it is a day after Valentine's Day but never too late to write about romance of some kind. The frogs in our pond have been enjoying the sunshine and it looks like they are getting romantically involved. Last year we had over 30 of them meeting in our pond, so we are hoping a lot of them will be back again this year. You could hear their frog choir from the upstairs window! And I am sure a lot of baby frogs were the result. :-)

To be honest, I don't like Valentine's Day at all - it is just so commercial and feels as if it just fills the "shopping gap" between Christmas and Easter. Luckily, husband and I feel the same way about it! Should it take a special day in the year to be nice to your loved one?

On the baking front, I have been trying a new recipe - Pear & Ginger Loaf cake. Very nice, although you can't taste the pear that much.

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!