The Larder

Drum roll.......

2012-01-05T13:24:00.000Z

It's midday, and this morning I have spent far too long chatting with my friend Kate over cups of tea and discussing the aspects of a perfect cinema (freshly baked cookies and blankets in case you are wondering). I do apologise because I know that you all have been waiting with bated breath to find out the answers of the Christmas Quiz - Food and Drink round as promised. The fact that I have inadvertently lost the piece of paper with the answers on shall not stop us, for it is in my brain - somewhere.

So here we go folks,

1. What was number 1 in the Amazon cook-book bestseller list for 2011?

River Cottage Veg Every Day

2. Which way do you stir the Christmas pudding mixture for good luck?

Clockwise

3. Translate these common food phrases into English...

a) Antipasto - Before the meal

b) A la carte - From the menu

c) Amuse Bouche - Mouth amuser or palate pleaser

4. How many bottles of champagne are there in a Jeroboam?

5. Apple or Tomato?

a. Honeycrisp - Apple

b. Mr Stripy - Tomato

c. Hank - Tomato

d. Rusty Coat - Apple

Mystery Rudolph Round 'Guess Who' - John Torode. Jokes, it was of course the spoon gobbler himself - Mr Gregg Wallace.

So - did you get 10/10? I'd be disappointed if you didn't.

I am controversially going to announce Kavey as the overall winner. Controversially because she failed to answer any question and instead got everything mixed up. It all ended with her explaining that it's not that odd that a tomato is called Hank because she has a friend, who had a friend, who kept a tomato as a pet. In a jar of water. For years. You literally couldn't make that stuff up.

So for sheer amusement, I salute you Queen Kavey of Quiz Land. Here is your imaginary crown.

Let's get quizzical!

2012-01-02T14:33:00.002Z

It has been tradition over the last three years that once the presents have been opened, the sitting room has been hoovered by Grumpy Dave (my dearest Dad) and we have gorged ourselves to oblivion, that Bo and I host The Christmas Quiz. It started the year that the two families joined forces at my parents house and because there was just too many people to agree on a film to watch after Christmas Dinner another activity was needed. Being regulars at The Settle Inn Quiz most Sunday nights and continuing to go even though we have won twice in 8 years means that we are proper quizzers. This completely qualifies us to test the knowledge of our nearest and dearest, whether or not they want to is of no concern because they are too full to leave anyway. It is also tradition that we start discussing the plans for the impending quiz in October, and then leave the writing of it until Christmas Eve. Mild panic ensues, but this slightly shabby approach only adds to the charm.

The writing is split between our strengths, Bo is on Sport and The Mystery Rudolph Round and I am on Film and Television and of course, Food and Drink. Now I'm not saying that the questions on that round were dumbed down for the audience but lets just say with the amount that I read on the subject it could have been slightly trickier, though it's not festive to completely baffle the contestants and I like to give the gift of a few correct answers. This years competition between The Knocky Knees and The Bronze Boobies was the fiercest yet (quizzing just doesn't get tougher than this), and it was thinking caps on to win the coveted chocolate penny medals.

And now, dear readers, it's your turn. Below are the questions for the Food and Drink Round, and knowing you foodies I expect 10/10. Post your answers in the comments box and I will post the correct ones on Thursday morning. All of the chocolate penny medals have melted I afraid so you will just have to settle for a pat on the back and the knowledge that you could have beaten my family; who were rubbish. Good luck and no Google-ing!!

Food and Drink Round 2011

1. What was number 1 in the Amazon cook-book bestseller list for 2011?

2. Which way do you stir the Christmas pudding mixture for good luck?

3. Translate these common food phrases into English;
a. Antipasto
b. A la carte
c. Amuse Bouche

4. How many bottles of champagne are there in a Jeroboam?

5. Apple or Tomato?
a. Honeycrisp
b. Mr Stripy
c. Hank
d. Rusty Coat

Oh and for an bonus point I'll give you one of the Guess Who pictures from the Mystery Rudolph Round.

Happy New Year to you all, Emma xx

P.S If you love a good quiz, and are a bit of a food geek, I highly recommend the Radio 4 Food Programme Christmas and New Year Food Quiz. They do it properly (unlike me) with questions centered around Elvis's favorite recipes and rounds such as 'Ale or Racehorse'. Hosted by food writer Tim Hayward; whom I have so much love for after reading about him saving Fitzbillies, an adored Cambridge cake shop.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T23:14:00.001Z

I could write all about this years Thanksgiving, but I think I'll show you instead...

The most American shopping basket a Scottish supermarket has ever seen. I am not responsible for the squirty cream.

Staci getting her bake on.

With a little help from Ms Crocker.

American splendor

My Pumpkin Pie. Too delicious and recipe here.

The feast. Basically a celebration of bacon, cream and cheese with some cranberries and a little turkey thrown in for good measure.

My cornbread that apparently was very close to Southern cornbread but I would have preferred something with more punch. Try this.

Well done Grahame!

Grahame's signature cheesecake with Staci's signature brownies.
The dish of the night.

Post stuffing feet up.

Staci's wheels and wee Harry's new love. Check out more of her work.

I gave in to the lure of cream in a can.

Jo's Sweet Potato and Marshmallow casserole. Looking forward to this much fabled American classic and was actually pleasantly surprised, but in no way does it go with turkey - sorry y'all.

Ran out of bricks but the sentiment was there...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Your Saturday night starts right here!

2011-11-21T16:00:00.000Z

Or, how to pimp up your bought in curry.

For regular readers you will know about my inability to leave things alone. When I say I am going to have a bowl of pasta for supper, I mean I am going to have a bowl of papperdelle with courgette ribbons, garlic, crushed chilli, homegrown mint with rocket flowers and drizzled with local rape seed oil. I can revel in simple flavours but I have a tendency to get slightly carried away with the creativity of it all. Case in point from last Friday when Alison popped in for a cuppa and some baking banter. Hungry after spending the morning gossiping with the macrobert girls, a quick snack was in demand. Soft goats cheese toasted on wholemeal bread with baby plum tomatoes, homemade onion jam and a sprinkle of lemon thyme. 'You can't just make cheese on toast, can you?' remarked Alison, 'No, not really' was the only reply I could muster. Though having declared it to be the best non cheese on toast she'd ever had I feel this is one bad habit akin to being too tidy. Slightly irritating, but ultimately makes the world a better place. *Smug alert*

It's Saturday and now that we are officially too old to be frequenting Stirling's nightclubs (either of them) we have replaced dancing with eating. Coupled with a glass or two of vino, plus Saturday night telly and good banter = pure bliss. We are also as a nation able to enjoy the spoils of a war that dominates our television advertising. I am talking of course about the War of the Supermarket Titans and whether you revel in their convenience or despair in their crushing monopoly (I am of the latter opinion) it would be almost churlish not to take full advantage of the deals around. Two curries, two side dishes and a bottle of wine for £10 from Marks and Spencer trumps any takeaway for value and still means you can have a lazy Saturday night curry without any fuss. All that was needed now was friends, wine glasses and Dermot's dancing. But you know me right and, once again, I just couldn't keep out of the kitchen...

After a flick through my Indian cookbooks and discussions with significant others I came up with small but tasty starter menu - surely the king of courses?

Mint Yogurt

Easy, peasy. Include grated (and squeezed) cucumber to make Tzatziki, a perfect match for Lamb Koftas.

250g natural yogurt
fresh mint, large handful
fresh coriander, small handful
1/2 small clove of garlic, finely minced
1/4 lemon, juice
salt and pepper

Finely chop the mint and coriander, place in a small bowl and add the garlic, lemon juice. Stir in the yogurt and season to taste.

Mango Chutney

I made this chutney earlier this year and it has kept perfectly. Most mango chutneys seem to be overly sweet and thin, this has good big chunks of fruit and has great spicing. Great for Christmas presents too, and goes particularly well with cold meat leftovers. The recipe uses 4-6 mangoes depending on their size and ripeness, slightly firmer mangoes are best because they won't collapse completely. It will need about 6 weeks to mature properly so if your Saturday night curry can't wait I recommend Geeta's which has the pleasing addition of nigella seeds.

Makes 2-4 jars, depending on their size

You will need a 20cm square piece of muslin.

4 cloves

10 black peppercorns

1 dried red chilli

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger

5 cardamon pods

350g finely chopped red onion

400ml white malt vinegar

2 bay leaves

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 tsp of coriander seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds

900g mangoes, peeled, stoned and sliced into wedges

350g Bramley apples, peeled and sliced

450g golden caster sugar

1/2 cayenne pepper

Bash the ginger until it's slightly broken up. Place it along with the cloves, black peppercorns, dried chilli, and cardamon pods in the center of the muslin square and tie up to make a pouch.

Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and then crush with a pestle and mortar. In a large saucepan sweat the onions on a medium heat for a couple of minutes and stir in the cumin seeds, crushed coriander and nigella seeds. After 30 seconds pour in the vinegar and add the bay leaves and spice pouch. Simmer for 10 minutes before mixing in the mango and apples. Cook for around 15 minutes until the fruit is soft but not completely collapsed. Before adding the sugar make sure you are happy with the consistency of the fruit because it will stop breaking down once sugar is incorporated. Add the sugar and the cayenne pepper and simmer until the mixture is like a thick jam which should take about an hour. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking but be aware that this mixture is lava hot so be careful.

While the chutney is cooking, sterilise the jars and lids in boiling hot water. Spoon into the jars while the chutney is still hot and seal. Label when cool and leave in a dark, cool place to mature.

Spiced Cashews Nuts

Very quick to make and uses mostly store cupboard ingredients. They were the hit of the night and great snack to have with drinks. Feel free to swap about the spices, the recipe is very adaptable and can be made spicier if, like me, you love fiery chilli.

200g cashew nuts
20g butter
1/2 tsp dried chilli
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
6 curry leaves, slightly broken up
salt and pepper

In a large frying pan melt the butter over a medium heat. Toast the cashew nuts until golden brown and then tip in the spices and stir together. Cook for another 30 seconds until the spices are fragrant, season and serve.

Sweet Potato Samosas

The inspiration for these delicious triangles of fun comes from an amazing night spent at the Earthy Foods Pop-Up Coconut Curry Club (read more about this event at my monkfish). Crispy pastry with a creamy, sweet, spicy filling satisfies all my nibbly needs. Again this is a recipe that can be experimented with, the filling could be the traditional potato and pea or you could combine the sweet potato with pumpkin or squash. This filling is inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's Sweet Potato Cakes featured in Plenty which I made and devoured earlier last week. The decision to use filo pastry and bake them made the whole process easier, and slightly healthier if you completely ignore the melted butter.

Makes 10-15 samosas

For the filling:
500g peeled sweet potato, cut into large chunks
50g plain flour
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
100g baby spinach
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of coriander
2 tsp of garam masala
salt and pepper

1 packet of filo pastry
100g melted butter
nigella seeds for sprinkling

Steam the sweet potatoes until completely soft, it should take about 20 minutes. If you don't have a steamer (I don't) place the sweet potato in a colander on top of a large saucepan with 5cm of water. Cover the top of the colander and put on a medium heat, periodically checking that the pan hasn't ran dry. Once cooked cool in a colander and leave to drain for about an hour.

Wilt the washed baby spinach in a dry pan and once cooled squeeze all the water out, roughly chop. Once the sweet potatoes have lost most of their moisture place them in a large mixing bowl with the spinach and all the rest of the ingredients, apart from the spices. Toast the spices in a dry pan until the mustard seeds start to pop and then tip into the bowl. Mix together by hand, mushing the sweet potato, until the mix is a smooth, sticky paste. If it's too soft add a little more flour but do not over mix. This mixture will keep for a couple of days, well covered, in the fridge so can be made in advance.

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4. Now for the pastry - filo has a tendency to dry quickly so work fast and have the melted butter ready. Unroll the pastry and peel off one piece, keep the rest under a damp tea towel. Lay the sheet on a flat surface and brush the whole thing with melted butter. Fold into thirds lengthwise, brushing butter in-between each layer until you have a long strip. Brush again with butter and place one large teaspoon of the filling at the base of the strip. Fold the bottom right hand corner over diagonally, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Keep folding this way up the strip until you reach the end. Trim any excess and brush the whole thing with butter. Place on a baking sheet and cover while the rest of the samosas are made. Sprinkle with nigella seeds before baking for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

The meal was perfectly rounded off by cuddles on the sofa and Alison's amazing raspberry, pear and Toblerone pavlova. Unable to share the recipe because she 'makes it up as she goes along'.

Melancholy Pie

2011-11-07T19:27:00.000Z

Life is a strange beast and when times are hard there's only one thing to do. Make a pie.

Today marks one week since I left the macrobert arts centre, a company I have worked in for eight years. Initially meant to supplement my already dwindled student loan, at the age of 20 I applied to be an usher so I could hang out with my best friend Kirsty and ultimately get paid to go to the cinema. A brilliant plan, I'm sure you'll agree. Unfortunately my CV bulging with catering experience across the globe meant that I was plucked from a future snoozing in the back row to a life filled with lattes, kids parties and, the horrors, curly fries. Welcome to the macrobert cafe bar.

Situated on campus and with a pretty decent program of films, live shows and youth workshops it is the perfect place to work post lectures and pre pub. Disastrously my first shift was crippled with a hacking, full bodied cough that was so horrific I couldn't even keep dry toast down. Coupled with the experience of being locked in the backstage toilets for half an hour and none of the boys behind the bar mumbling a word to me, it was not the most glittering of beginnings. But from humble beginnings come great things, and being part of the macrobert family for the last eight years is one of the greatest.

I managed to evolve from coffee monkey over the years and with every promotion I grew more and more passionate about making the cafe bar the best it could be. It wouldn't be far from the truth to say that breathed, slept and ate everything macrobert from noon to night, Monday to Sunday. I've laughed til I cried, cried til I laughed, had my heart broken, shouted a fair amount, collapsed with pure exhaustion and got very very drunk. Never before I have I been lucky enough to work with such brilliant people, so many people that are now friends for life and without which I couldn't have never got through the days. You know who you are.

But my days of Catering Manager for the macrobert cafe bar are now at an end. Like most places the purse strings are pinching and no matter how hard we've fought, that job is officially redundant, and with it so am I. It's ok, I'm ok - mostly. I hope that a restructure will breath new life and allow the whole company to flourish. I also ~~hope~~ know that this change is a good thing. I'm getting really excited about new challenges, new ideas and a new life centered around what I am really passionate about - good food.

This week though, I'm allowing myself to be sad. Not morose or inconsolable, just a little glum. So I ask myself - WWJB? Those unfamiliar with this acronym will have to look towards one of the most underrated films of all time, I'm talking of course about Waitress. Written and directed by Adrienne Shelly our hero is Jenna, a pregnant and very unhappily married diner waitress who dreams of escape. Jenna is a phenomenal baker of the most magical pies inspired by her dismal life. Who really can resist an opening scene like this...

So What Would Jenna Bake? As mentioned she bakes pies that reflect her situation in life, Bad Baby Pie (after finding out she was pregnant with her horrible husbands baby), I Hate My Husband Pie (self explanatory) and Naughty Pumpkin Pie (after starting an affair with her very handsome doctor). The contents of these pies often reflect their titles, I Hate My Husband Pie is made with bittersweet chocolate, and each is put on special in Joe's Diner. So this week I baked a pie, I'm Glum About Leaving My Job Pie. Made with plums because it rhymes with glum (slightly tenuous link) and spices for medicinal purposes

You don't have to be especially glum to make this pie because as would luck would have it, it also perfectly celebrates the last of Autumns bounty too. Plums were made for pudding and have been used in British cooking since the dawn of time. The second most cultivated fruit in the world (after apples) they have a place in almost every cuisine, from Chinese Crispy Duck with Plum Sauce to Italian Plum Cake. I tend to find golden and red plums sweeter than their purple counterparts but their dusty blue skins are almost too beautiful to resist, in photographs at least. For this recipe I used Victoria plums, probably the most well known but I refuse to knock them for being ubiquitous. I mixed them with apples for the pie to give another Autumnal dimension and cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg for warming spice. Please count the cloves before you put them in and make sure that you find them all before filling the pie. I could only find 3 out of 4 and pie eating in this household turned into clove Russian roulette.

Please don't judge but I used pre-made shortcrust pastry. It shrunk so lesson learned and I promise never to be so lazy ever again. Probably. If you are diligent and want to make your own I recommend this recipe but triple the amounts for this pie. The pastry isn't blind baked, which might have added to the shrinkage, so make sure that the pie lid isn't too tightly fitted.

Melancholy Pie

Serves 8

500g dessert apples - British please

400g plums

140g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 cloves

1 heaped tsp of cornflour

plain flour, for dusting

500g shortcrust pastry

1 egg, beaten to glaze

Heat the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6 and put a large baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up. Butter a 24cm pie dish and place in the fridge.

Place the plums, apples, sugar and spices in large saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved and the plums are juicy. Mix the cornflour with a small splash of water and add to the plum mixture, heat for a few minutes until the juices thicken. Leave to cool.

Dust the work surface with flour and divide the pastry into 2 parts. One for the pie base, which needs to be the largest piece, one for the lid which should be slightly smaller. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the pie base until it is 1/2 cm thick. Line the pie dish by moving the rolled pasty carefully with the rolling pin, press into the side but leave the extra over hang.

Fill the pie with the cooled plum and apple mixture. Roll out the lid to the same thickness as the base and place on top of the fruit. Pinch around the pie with your fingers and then crimp together with the prongs of a fork. Using a knife cut the extra pastry away.

Use this extra pastry to make decorations for the pie top, I went for leaves but you could make plums, unicorns - what ever takes your fancy. Use the beaten egg to stick them to the pie lid and brush the rest over the top. Sprinkle with golden caster sugar. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.

Serve with vanilla spiked custard or cold ice cream to contrast with the bubbling hot fruit.

P.S I thought I would show off my new pinny, courtesy of my lovely flatmate Stevie, bought on his recent trip to New York. I now strut around the kitchen pretending I'm Rachel Green.

My new crappy portrait

2011-10-08T23:37:00.001+01:00

A few months ago, while wasting precious time on Twitter, I came across a tweet from the lovely A Thrifty Mrs (who also has an ace blog). She was waxing lyrical about the wonders of a 'free crappy portrait' that she'd just been sent. Now I'm never one to turn down a free experience so I immediately took a peek at their lovely website. There is literally nothing better than people that accept photos and stories of strangers and then spend their spare time drawing rubbishy/hilarious pictures of them. It makes me proud to be a human being. I submitted a photo of myself taken at the River Cottage Canteen and rambled on for a few hours about all my favorite things - dip and crisps, cider, my lovely ginger boyfriend, roast chicken, pumpkins, prawns, meringues and my fat goldfish Clementine.

They do ask you to wait between one and one million days and I thought it would never arrive; but this morning instead of inbox stuffed only by Groupon - it was here!!

From this....

To this...

Oh, how I love it! Much much better than I was expecting, plus the feast (minus the goldfish) looks really delicious. I might also record the song, it will probably get to number one.

What I did this summer

2011-10-04T23:33:00.000+01:00

When we last spoke the summer was just getting in to full swing, and what a glorious two weeks it was.

Most of the vitamin D that I soaked up was courtesy of a weeks holiday to Devon to see Bo. A holiday where I ate a pasty every day until my loving boyfriend pointed out that I might not fit my behind on the plane seat home. So up'd it to 2 a day in defiance.

Devon has to be the world capital of gluttony. Where else in the world do main food groups consist of carvery, clotted cream and scrumpy? The air is heavy with the smell of buttery pastry and sweet caramelised sausages. Clotted cream ice-cream, jam and fudge are touted on every street corner until you can do nothing but scream YES!! Give me something delicious that will clog up all my arteries, right NOW! If there was no such thing as calories or regret then Devon is the place to happily fill your chops for all eternity. Not that you would remember anything about this contented existence because the scrumpy is officially the fuel for most space missions. I (A SCOT!) could, on average, manage half a pint before falling off my summer wedges.

But here's why this place is special, here's why its not just some run-of-the-mill British seaside holiday that ticks all the tacky boxes but bores you to tears. It has some of the best produce and producers in the whole of the country and they seriously know how to show it off. The seafood, the cheese, the butchery, the apple juice - everything about it screams the Land of Plenty. Newton Abbot, where Bo was based, was a large-ish town a little smaller than Stirling. Not big enough for a Topshop - which is the measurement I use for towns. The farmers market was twice weekly and so vast that it spilled into a large indoor market too. It took me three hours before I felt that I had explored enough and I would have happily gone back every single day.

That post farmers market lunch will go down in history. It might even make the grade for one of the courses in the (ever expanding) menu for the 'last meal before I die'. Creamy Ticklemore goats cheese and local onion chutney sandwiched in the freshest sour dough, washed down with Cox apple juice and followed by blackberries, picked on the way home, sprinkled over clotted cream ice-cream. The King of lunches.

I also was treated to a mystery tour that ended in dinner at The River Cottage Canteen in Axminster, as all good mystery tours should. Situated amongst the deli where you can oggle at all the best produce that Devon has to offer, and then wait, expectantly, for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's team to serve it up to you. We started with a few glasses of local cider and huge bowl of mussels cooked in more cider, bacon and wholegrain mustard. So sweet, so juicy, so fresh and with decent loaf to mop up every last drop. For the main course I finally plucked up the courage to tick one of my New Years resolutions off the list. Mackerel. I have to be totally honest, I'm not a fishy person. White fish I can handle but oily fish have never been on the shopping list. The thing is, I know I should like it. It's good for me, it's sustainable and it can handle some serious flavour. Plus it's Nigel Slater's favorite fish and he's my favorite cook. So therefore on the 1st of January I wrote number 7 on the list - 'Learn to love mackerel'. I have been slightly putting it off for 8 months, but I wanted my first mackerel to be the best mackerel ever plucked from the ocean and cooked to complete perfection. Who could do this better than the River Cottage team?

So there they are, served whole with braised rainbow chard and roast peppers. And (drum roll....) I cleaned my plate. The freshness of the mackerel perfectly complemented the sweetness of the roast peppers and the earthy kale*. I don't think you'll catch me cracking open a tin of sardines in the near future but for a first taste it was near perfection.

It was a sad, sad day leaving the delicious delights of Devon and if someone wants to give me a job there I'd be down like a shot. Although I will have to learn how to take out my waist bands.

Devon was, unfortunately, a lone food highlight in a summer of just eating for energy's sake. I've survived a long distance relationship, moved house, completed an NVQ, packed in three trips to the Edinburgh festival, put in a ridiculous amount of hours at work and waved goodbye to my little brother who moved to Australia. Thank goodness Autumn is here.

So dear readers get ready for an autumnal bounty. I'm already planning great culinary adventures, tell me about yours...

*Kale is my new favorite vegetable. Last week while on a 'thinking walk' I stumbled upon Stirling Council's new initiative to replace boring flower beds with mini allotments filled with kale, sweetcorn, tomatoes, peas and artichokes. In celebration I took a quick snap of the kale leaves in the late summer sunlight, this photo now sits proud as the title of this blog.

And then there was one

2011-07-20T16:22:00.001+01:00

This is not a sad story because at the centre is a new, brilliant, life changing adventure. The only sad part is that it cannot be done together and that basically sucks.

At the beginning of the summer Bo got the news that he had been accepted onto the course of his dreams, one that will totally kick start his dream career in horse racing. He loves horse racing as much as I love food, which is a fair amount. Some nights when reading in bed I'll ask him 'What are you reading about?' and he'll say 'Horses', and then he'll ask me 'What are you reading about?' and I'll say 'Food'. That is our life. It's lovely. He has blagged work on anything connected to the industry for the last year; showing round VIP's on race days, manning the Scottish Racing trailer in the pissing rain, chatting up old dears on the train about course loyalty cards; and he has loved every single second. So the fact that he was accepted as part of the British Horseracing Authority graduate scheme came as absolutely no surprise - to me anyway but I'm biased and think he's ace. The course began at Newmarket for two weeks and then on to his placement in Newton Abbot, Devon to learn all about small racecourse management. If you are interested in any of this (and you don't have to be, I do because I'm sleeping with him) he is writing his own blog on his experiences for Scottish Racing. It's good too, he learnt from the best!

Bo looking serious at the races.

So on Saturday 26th June he moved so very far away. I stayed, had 'crying' face for about a week and got very drunk with my brother. Our wee home suddenly echoed and I soon realised that goldfish don't talk back. There was a pathetic lack of potatoes in the potato drawer, no milk was bought (it gives me the hibbies) and suddenly realised I had nobody to please apart from myself. Which can be a bad thing.

It's been a month now, a month of throwing myself into work and making pillow people to sleep beside, and it's getting a little better. Apart from the phone bills, they're getting worse. Those of you that read this blog regularly (hi mum!) will know all about Bo's famous vegetable phobia so I decided to turn my hearts loss into my stomachs gain and eat LOTS OF VEGETABLES! I honestly think that I can count on one hand how much meat I've had in the last month.

Anyway, where were we, ah yes - vegetables. I don't mean having a plate of carrot and radish followed by a parsnip chaser for lunch, I just mean meals that are not centred around carbohydrates and animal protein. Interesting, semi healthy, quick and most importantly with my new status, easily adaptable for one. My first purchase was Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi and finally found out what all the fuss was about. The most beautiful book that truly celebrates the world of vegetables in the most innovative and exciting way. I know from the core of my being that this will be a cookbook that I treasure for the rest of my days. Get it.

I realise I've divulged too much, this is a food blog and you are here for a recipe not a potted history of my mental state over the last month. For that I apologise and hope that this simple fish supper for one makes up for any boredom or offense caused. This meal is my new TV dinner, to be enjoyed when watching crap detective dramas and followed by 2 squares of Green and Black's Maya Gold.

Sea bass and Fennel Parcels with Tomato Salad

serves 2 - ironically

2 large seabass fillets (or 1 whole but the cooking time will be longer)

1 lemon

1 bulb of fennel

1 clove of garlic

a few sprigs of thyme

small glass of white wine

salt and pepper

For the tomato salad:

4 ripe tomatoes - from the windowsill, not the fridge

large bunch fresh parsley

1/2 a red onion

dressing of your choice, mine was made with white wine vinegar, rape seed oil, lemon juice and a little French mustard

Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/Gas Mark 4. Or fire up the barbecue because this would work just as well either on the grill or nestled into cooling coals.

For the tomato salad, finely slice the tomato and red onion, season, add the parsley leaves and dress. Place on the side while you cook the fish.

Cut the fennel as finely as possible, for this you will need a pretty sharp knife or mandolin. Be careful but the nearer you get to transparency the better. Slice the garlic to a similar thickness. Slice the lemon and pile this up with the fennel, garlic and thyme on a large sheet of tin foil. Season generously and drizzle with olive or rape seed oil. With a sharp knife, score each fillet about 1 cm apart. Not all the way through but just enough to let the flavours penetrate the fish. Lay the fish on the bed of fennel. Bring up the sides of the tin foil to create a large, cornish pasty shaped, parcel. Before closing completely add the wine, it will steam the fish from within. Scrunch the foil together tightly, making sure that nothing can escape but leave room within the parcel for the steam to generate. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes until the fish is opaque.

Serve with a green salad, crusty bread to mop up the juices and a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc.

Last night I braved the Flybe website (why so many questions!) and booked myself a wee holiday to the land of cider, crabs and handsome ginger men. Photos, recipes and adventure stories coming soon!

F is for Friday

2011-05-20T22:00:00.002+01:00

Growing up we were lucky enough to have our mum work from home. Hen was always there to pick us up from the school bus and supply us with unending amounts of bread and strawberry jam while we watched Round The Twist. But running a busy business from home with three children, constantly falling out of trees or wanting to use the the photocopier to photocopy their faces, is not the easiest of tasks. Fridays were work days, and to control the peace Kimmy came to look after us.

Fridays soon became the most looked forward day of the week as we were soon bewitched by Kimmy's wicked sense of humour and adventure. She not only let me wear her frosted pink lipstick but also taught me the words to every Bananarama song. One Friday, probably grasping at straws to keep us amused, Kim put her Sesame Street hat on and announced that we would only do things beginning with the letter F. Cue three children with their feet covered in poster paint walking across a giant sheet of paper in the back kitchen and then, as a reward for our artistic efforts, French toast.

French Toast

I'm aware that this barely needs a recipe but it is one of my favorite things to eat. I'm also aware that most people place French toast in the sweet category (a fact that I didn't find out until my early twenties) and the thought of having French toast with sugar or strawberries is just plain wrong. I could push to bacon and maple syrup but that's the limit.

During the years that Kimmy was looking after us my passions were firmly centred around Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, so much so that I had a gigantic Kylie poster on the ceiling above my bed which is a little bit gay. It was a platonic girl crush, honest. Anyway, to cut a flashback short, Kim used to make us "Kylie and Jason French toast" with the French toast cut up and lovingly arranged around the plate in the shape of an 80's perm (for Kylie) or a mullet (for Jason). Nose, eyes and mouth were courtesy of Heinz tomato ketchup. Delicious and still the only thing I want went I'm ill.

I've now grown up a bit (a smidgen) and like my French toast pimped up a little. Chilli for heat, oregano to bring some Italiano to the mix and served with tomato salad or charcuterie. Or baked beans if I'm being a bad foodie. The bread must be white but make sure it's decent.

Serves 2

4 slices of white bread

4 eggs

milk, a splash

chilli flakes

oregano - fresh if possible, dried if not

salt and pepper

Beat the eggs, milk, oregano, chilli flakes and salt and pepper together. Soak the bread in the mixture until all is absorbed. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a thick bottomed frying pan. When the oil is hot, fry each piece until golden and crisp on each side.

You're having a falaf

2011-05-17T15:04:00.003+01:00

In other news I have been getting better at remembering about lunch. This is a big step towards being a normal person, or so I have been told.

At work, lunch is usually an irritating pang of hunger that is often ignored or quenched by downing a quick bowl of soup. Quite often, in fact, breakfast and lunch are usually combined - unfortunately not in a relaxing brunch kind of way, more like toast and marmalade at half eleven. The thing is, for me lunch is never a meal to get excited about unless I'm on holiday and it includes some chilled rosé and charcuterie in the sunshine.

The last 2 weeks have been different because I actually took time off work (shock!) and the days seem to be longer when you don't have a million things to do. My plans for the time off consisted of sewing, watching crappy films and generally eating what I wanted as the other half was sadly at work (ha ha!). This meant crappy films with subtitles and lots of yummy vegetables, hurrah! For lunchtime I really want to have something that requires very little prepping and cooking, for me that means a variation of a mezze platter. Tasty salad, yogurt dressing, soft pillowy flat bread, babagonush or hummus, grilled chicken or...

Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Falafel

Falafel is the perfect snack, starter or flat bread filling and is getting so popular that McDonald's is now serving the "McFalafel" in some countries, a wonderful wikipedia fact that I couldn't wait to share with you. This variation on the classic falafel includes two of my favorite ingredients, sweet butternut squash and zesty soft goats cheese.

Also this recipe, as well as being delicious, is also very cheap to make. I used dried chickpeas and soaked them overnight because in the past I've used tinned for hummus (humous, houmous?? I never know) and all it tasted of was the fousty brine. Lovely. Plus dried are cheap, 500g was only 97p and more than double in weight once soaked for 24 hours.

I made A LOT of these falafels with the thought that I could could freeze a big batch and lunch would just be a case reheating and munching, this is possible but they are so much better fresh from the pan. I would recommend either only making as much as you will eat (and this an easily adjusted recipe) or make a large batch of the mixture and freeze, then defrost and fry.

This recipe is adapted from the Abel and Cole site which has some cracking recipes that celebrates the wonderful world of veg.

makes 20 - 25 falafel

1/2 small to medium-sized butternut squash, deseeded
4 spring onions, cut finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of chilli seeds
400g soaked chick peas
20g fresh mint
20g fresh coriander
100g Abergavenney goats cheese
100g fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper
plain flour (for rolling)
olive oil (for frying)

The day before soak the chickpeas, at least 24 hours in advance. They will double in size so for the sake of this recipe soak 200g of dried chickpeas. If, after soaking, there is a little more than 400g chuck them in a salad or stew, if its a little less don't worry. Rinse thoroughly once soaked.

The next day preheat the oven to 200c/390F/Gas Mark 6. Cut the squash into 2-3cm chunks, no need to peel as the skin becomes lovely and chewing when roasted and adds texture to the falafel. Place in a roasting tray and sprinkle over 1 tbsp of olive oil, the cumin seeds, chilli flakes, a good pinch of sea salt and a proper grind of black pepper. Toss it all together and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Roast for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally. Once soft and caramelly, cool to room temperature.

Add all the remaining ingredients and the squash (plus any juices) to a food processor and blitz together to make a rough paste. Test a small amount of the mixture by taking a small piece and form a ball, if the paste falls apart too easily add a tablespoon of plain flour and blitz again. Season with salt and pepper.

Scoop the paste into a large bowl with a spatula and cover tightly with clingfilm. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. To shape the falafel; dampen your hands, take about a tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a ball. Dip the ball into plain flour and place on a plate lined with greaseproof paper. Repeat.

Heat some olive oil in a pan, it needs to have a depth of about 1 inch. Test the temperature with a piece of bread, once the bread fries to a golden colour the oil is ready. Cook 5 falafel at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan, for about 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

Have a perfect lunch.

A salad dressing made with natural yogurt, lemon juice and very good extra
virgin olive oil. Goes beautifully with a salad of crisp, thinly cut veg.

Happy To You!

2011-05-07T17:47:00.001+01:00

To my dear friends and readers; some from home, some (bizarrely) from Angola, the time has arrived to celebrate. Put your Kate and Wills bunting back up and pop open something chilled and fizzy (Appletise will do) because...

THE LARDER IS ONE! Hooray!!!

I think the cake was too small for 'birthday'.

And a huge thank you is in order. Firstly and most importantly to you, for taking the time out of your hectic lives to read my rambles through culinary adventures. Someone asked me recently if I would still write a blog (still hate that word) if nobody read it. An interesting question and one that will plague bloggers (eek, worse!) for years to come. My answer? Yes of course, but in no way would I get as much pleasure out of it as I do. With the risk of getting slightly American on you all, through your feedback and friendship I laugh, learn and discover more and more about this wonderful world of all things edible. Your comments are valuable, often hilarious and... oh God I'm welling up here...

Just thanks.

I also want to say a huge merci to my friends and family for helping and listening as always. Particularly to Bo, who not only lets me insult his eating habits on the Internet but proof reads them too.

And lastly, fellow food writers (I can't bring myself to use that word again). Some of which I have met, most of which I've read and some of which I have hilarious Apprentice banter with on Twitter. There is amazing people doing some amazing things out there, it's lovely to be part of it all.

So finally, to show my appreciation I baked you a cake.

Rhubarb and Custard Fairycakes

makes 12

These cakes taste completely of rhubarb and custard. I'm not being blonde but I just want to warn people that might not be too fond of that combination that this is not a hint of rhubarb and custard. Its like a rhubarb and custard bomb going off in your mouth. On the other hand, if like me, you LOVE rhubarb and custard then these are going to make you very very happy. I ate five. In one afternoon.

300g rhubarb, cut into 1cm slices. Plus 1 whole stick for decorating.
125g caster sugar, plus 4 tbsp extra
zest and juice of 1 orange
100ml plain yogurt
2 eggs
100g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
75g ground almonds

For the icing:
200ml milk
2 tbsp cornflour
175g butter
2 tbsp mascarpone
175g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4. Line a cupcake tray with 12 cases.

In a small saucepan add the chopped rhubarb and the whole stick (chop in half if necessary). Add the 4 tablespoons of caster sugar and the juice and zest of the orange. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer for 2 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft but not breaking up. Leave to cool on the side.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs and yogurt together. In a larger bowl sieve in the flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in the ground almonds and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt mixture and fold together. Lift the whole stick of rhubarb out of the pan and put to the side. Strain the rest of the rhubarb away from the juices in the pan - the juices can be used for beautiful summer cocktails or just added to yogurt at breakfast. Fold in the cooled rhubarb into the cake mixture, making sure that the pieces are kept as whole as possible.

Split the mixture between the 12 cases and bake for 19 - 23 minutes on the middle shelf. Cool on a rack once ready.

Meanwhile make the icing. Mix together the cornflour and a splash of milk to make a paste. Pour the rest of the milk into a small saucepan and whisk in the paste. Put the saucepan on a low heat and continually whisk until the milk has thickened to the consistency of custard. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl cream together the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract, mascarpone and a pinch of salt. Cream until pale white and whisk in the milk mixture. Ice the fairycakes generously. Cut the whole pieces of rhubarb into thin, jewel-like circles and sprinkle over the top of the cakes.

This recipe has been brought to you by a Jamie Oliver supplement, although the recipe was wrong (gasp) and I had to fix it, and my Grampa's rhubarb.

Dorset Cereals Little Blog Awards

2011-03-28T23:53:00.000+01:00

Breaking News! Breaking News!

The Larder has been nominated for a Dorset Cereals Little Blog Award and there is less than 1 week left to vote! I'm am very aware that I have been slightly badgering everyone around me but I am very excited and slightly obsessed with winning an egg cup. Currently 4th in the race so if you would like to vote (and that would be tremendous) you can by clicking the link on the right. Blatant self promotion over.

Boy Wonder and his Rainbow Cake

2011-03-11T17:58:00.001Z

When we were growing up my brother (Boy Wonder) and I had an unhealthy obsession with food colouring. Anything that could be made a different, and hopefully a more disgusting colour was fair game. Our tongues were permanently shades of lime and violet much to Mother Hen's horror. Boy Wonder's speciality was pancakes; one pancake batter a vivid flamingo pink another the deepest shade of aquamarine, then both swirled together so the finished item would make you trip a little. It was the only way to start the weekend.

Now I can't actually remember if I dreamt this cake or clapped eyes on it during a bizarre internet search (I'm hoping it was the first because god knows what I'd been searching for) but as soon as it was lodged in my head it was the only cake that could celebrate Boy Wonder's birthday properly. Further investigation proved unfruitful, most 'taste the rainbow' cakes were not dissimilar to our old pancakes in appearances and I wanted to create something that was a bit more grown up but still magical. So I got my pencil crayons out...

The dream was realised...

I have only started to master the art of the Victoria Sponge in the last year. This is down to a few simple rules that I have learnt and I would like to share that wisdom.

1. Make sure that the butter and eggs are at room temperature. Leave them out for a few hours before.

2. Use an oven thermometer, ovens are crap and the wrong temperature will wreck your cake.

3. Never shortcut and miss out the greaseproof paper.

4. A spatula is your best friend.

5. Creaming the butter and sugar is the most important step, it must change colour completely and be a pale ivory. To get the best results use an electric whisk.

6. Adding a little flour with each egg stops it from curdling.

7. Eating the mixture will make you feel sick. Somehow I always seem to forget this.

The Sponge

To make the sponge for this cake I just doubled a basic Victoria Sponge recipe. I knew that each layer would have to contain at least one egg if they weren't going to pancake thin so doubling up from four to eight made sense. The plan then was to make basic sponge, divide into 6 equal amounts, colour and then bake in pairs. I bought 2 shallow sandwich tins at a bargain £2 each, like these. This cake contains a lot of butter - almost 4 packets - please remember that it is a celebration cake and it happens to be huge so don't let it put you off.

8 eggs

450g (16oz) unsalted butter

450g (16oz) self raising flour

450g (16oz) caster sugar

pinch of salt

vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla pod

food colouring - green, blue, yellow and red

Set your oven to 180c/350F/Gas Mark 4. Fold a long length of greaseproof paper over six times and trace around one of the sandwich tins. Cut around the trace making 6 identical circles of greaseproof paper. Grease both the tins and place a piece of greaseproof paper in the bottom.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, this may take some time but it's important. Lightly whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl and, a bit at a time, beat into the sugar and butter - remember adding a spoonful of flour at the same time will stop the mixture from splitting. Once all the eggs are incorporated sieve the flour and salt into the bowl and fold in with a large spatula or spoon.

Divide the mixture into 6 bowls (you can weigh this to make it properly accurate) and start to add the colour. It must be as saturated as possible so don't be afraid to add more than you think. Blue and red make the purple (more blue than red) and red and yellow are mixed for the orange.

Bake two of the sponges at a time for 10-15 minutes (mine took exactly 13 mins, test with the first two sponges and use this time for the rest). When the other sponges are cooking place the others in the fridge covered tightly in clingfilm. Once a skewer comes out clean and the top feels springy take them out of the oven and let them rest in the tins for 5 minutes before turning upside down onto a cooling rack. The underside of the sponge is neater and smoother than the top which can rise unevenly therefore keep them this way. Continue to do this until all the sponges are cooked. The sponges can keep for a few days if properly airtight, alternatively they can be frozen too so make them in advance if time is tight.

Decoration

To contrast with the technicolour interior I wanted the icing to be a brilliant white. Buttercream is a rich icing so to cut through the sugar I added lemon zest and juice to give wee tang. I watched a couple of icing technique videos on YouTube (rock and roll eh?!) and they were really helpful.

420g (15oz) butter

840g (30oz) icing sugar

1 lemon

In a large bowl beat the butter until soft, add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar plus the zest and juice of the lemon and continue to beat until the mixture is full of air and significantly paler. If the mixture is too stiff a drop of milk can be added.

Start with the purple sponge and spread a large tablespoon of the buttercream on the top, smooth it evenly and place the blue sponge on top of it. Continue with this process with green next, then yellow, then orange and finishing with red. By this point there should be at least 2/3 of the buttercream left to cover the top and sides. Start by placing almost half of the buttercream on to top, using a palette knife smooth over the top and down the sides creating a thin layer allover the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for half an hour. This technique is called crumbing (get me!) and seals in all the crumbs so they don't mix in with your icing and ruin the clean effect.

Once the first layer has set, place the remaining icing on top of the cake and work down using a palette knife or spatula. I used a hilarious gadget that my dear father was conned in to buying at Nick Nairn's cook school. It is meant to be used for scrapping ingredients off the chopping board into the pan but why you couldn't just use your knife I will never know. Anyway it was perfect for getting sharp edges along the top and a smooth finish around the sides (so good money well spent Pa!).

So there you have it, the rainbow cake. Decorate with skittles for the full 'taste the rainbow' experience. Also a handy cake to bring if you are coming out to your family.

Compromise

2011-02-14T14:29:00.002Z

Sometimes you get to do what you want, be selfish and act on whims. Sometimes you have to go along with anothers plans to make them happy or because you owe them one. And then there is compromise.

For two people that are so similar (love a charity shop bargain, hated Hot Tub Time Machine) Bo and I can be very different too. The night we met I asked him the question on which I base everything, what would you have as your last meal on earth? This question has be debated within our family for years, mine changes with my mood and consists of pre-dinner snacks, starter, main and desserts with drinks to match each course. Bo's answer; well done steak with Colman's pepper sauce and chips. If he wasn't so handsome...

Our meals at home are usually separate (odd working hours don't help) although we try to eat together as much as possible. With two people with such contrasting views on what constitutes and decent meal this can be tricky. We have about five combo meals that can be split into our personal tastes; curry where he can have the meat and sauce and I can have the sauce and veggies etc. But I get bored. Cooking the same thing week in, week out is the foodies equivalent of Chinese torture.

While flipping through cookbooks trying to find spring roll recipes to bring in the Year of the Rabbit I stumbled upon a Donna Hay spring magazine that Hen bought me during our last trip down under. Donna Hay is the Aussie Jamie Oliver but a girl. I really like her books and although her whole vibe is a bit Martha, the recipes are simple and delicious. Two things that I wholeheartedly support. This week I asked my sister to stockpile me the magazines so I can take an empty suitcase next time I visit, her reaction 'Oh god, not Donna Hay - she's everywhere Em.' Donna Hay = not cool enough for Bondi.

Anyway within the (very glossy) pages there it was, a new Emma and Bo meal. Pizza! It's fun to make, he can have ham, I can have courgettes, its yummy - score!

Pizza

A note on cups, do not shun their crazy American ways - embrace them. Go forth to the nearest pound shop and make your life a little bit easier. Also another note on tomatoes, in December we went to the Foodies festival where we watched the wonderful Mary Contini from Valvona and Crolla who made the most delicious tomato sauce with the barest of ingredients. The key, according to Mary, was the quality of the tinned tomatoes so no more skimping in this house. Mary was mad by the way, but nice mad.

Makes about 4 pizzas

Basic pizza dough
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
1 cup (250ml) lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups (525g) 00 flour - plus extra for dusting
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 tbsp olive oil

Tomato Sauce
1 tin of good quality tinned plum tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
oregano - fresh if you have it but dried is fine
a good pinch of chilli flakes
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

fresh mozzarella
a selection of toppings

Firstly crank up the oven as high as it will go, the higher the heat the crispier the pizza. Place a large baking tray (or even better a pizza stone) in the oven so the heat will transfer to the base of your pizza.

Begin with the sauce, heat a good glug of the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the garlic and chilli. Squish the whole tin of plum tomatoes into the pan, fill the empty tin with water and add this too. Leave the smaller leaves of the oregano whole and roughly chop the rest, add this to the pan. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, cover and leave to simmer until needed. Occasionally use the back of a wooden spoon to mash down the tomatoes and add a little water if its looking too dry.

For the dough, place the yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place (beside the kitchen radiator is a good place) for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface. Bubbles mean that the yeast has been activated.

Place the flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and mix together with your hands until you have a well formed dough. We found the DH's dough recipe far too wet (in Bo's words 'it's gone all Sloppy Giuseppe') so we added at least another cup of flour. Add more if you need it. The dough should be easy to handle and not stick to your hands. Flour a work surface and kneed the dough until elastic and stretchy. Divide it into equal balls depending on how many pizzas you are making. Place on a floured tray and cover with a clean, damp cloth. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until they have doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen take the sauce of the heat and check it for seasoning. Get your toppings and mozzarella ready at hand Press each dough ball into a round and roll out on a floured surface to the desired size and thickness. Stretching by hand is easy too. Thin is good!

Now here you have to work quickly, carefully take the heated tray or stone out from the oven (if you are using a baking tray it is advisable to lightly oil it). Place your rolled out dough onto the tray, take a spoonful of the tomato sauce and smear it over the top, add your topping and scatter over nuggets of the mozzarella.

It needed a little more cheese but otherwise it was perfect.

Place back into the oven and cook for 5-10 minutes. The cooking time may vary depending on how hot your oven can get. Keep an eye on it and remove when the base is golden and the mozzarella is melted.

Toppings

artichokes, egg, olives and mozzarella

courgette ribbons, chilli, lemon zest and goats cheese

rosemary, garlic, potato and pecorino

prosciutto, rocket and mozzarella

field mushrooms, thyme and mascarpone

chargrilled aubergine, roast peppers, courgettes and mozzarella

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T12:49:00.000Z

Hello Springtime!

2011-02-06T12:43:00.002Z

Poached Rhubarb

200g rhubarb (about 2 stalks)
juice and zest of half an orange
1/2 vanilla pod, seeds removed (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)
25g soft brown sugar
25g caster sugar

Heat the oven to 300F/150c/Gas 2.

Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch/2.5cm pieces and lay in a thick ovenproof dish, make sure you choose a dish that will tightly pack the rhubarb in a single layer.

Sprinkle both sugars over the rhubarb. Mix the orange zest, orange juice and either vanilla seeds or vanilla extract. Pour over the sugared rhubarb, adding the leftover vanilla pod if used.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes until soft to touch - remember that it will cook further when cooling. Turn the rhubarb and leave to cool. Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Will go perfectly with rice pudding, ice cream, shortbread and cream, pancakes... but this morning it goes perfectly with granola and greek yogurt.

The Ultimate Spaghetti Bolognese

2011-01-08T19:32:00.018Z

For someone that handed round homemade chutney for presents I was utterly spoilt this Christmas. Along with beautiful 'Ruby' the sewing machine from Henny and Dad; a whole set of Jamie Oliver's blue fluted crockery from Angie, Ronnie and Clare; my dream orange Le Crueset from Bo (which made me cry); a years subscription to Jamie mag from Boy Wonder, my dearest friend Fraser treated me with a brand spanking shiny new Jamie Oliver pasta machine. I am currently Jamie Oliver'd out my nut.

Fraser's presents from me consisted of a 'Pump n' Go' Yankee Candle for his car (which in my defence is funny and he loved it being a full on Yankee Candle fanatic) and the age old go-to present for any male in your life - the Top Gear calender. Guilt is clutching at my soul.

I have owned a pasta machine before and around 4 years ago experimented with ravioli fillings for days. Where the fillings were delish unfortunately the pasta itself was like thick cardboard, but I guess thats what you get for buying a pasta machine for £5.99 from Argos. Since then it has done nothing but sit on the graveyard shelf along with the steamer and the emergency crockery. For anyone that its acquainted with pasta machines you will know that after the dough is made it must be passed through the rollers that are set at different widths. The pasta begins on 7 (the widest setting on my machines) and rolled through each stage until it gets to 1 (the narrowest). My old pasta machine's number 1 setting was as thick as my number 7 on my brand spanking new one, hence the cardboard pasta.

Making fresh pasta it definitely a social activity and to celebrate the unveiling a party had to be held. Slow cooked Bolognese made in my Le Crueset was promised in exchange for garlic bread, vino and helping hands. I might have omitted the do-it-yourself part. Before everyone arrived the Bolognese (just like mama used to make, or actually just me) was put together, set simmering on the hob and Head Chef Bo worked on the dough.

Fresh Pasta Dough

Based on Jamie Oliver's recipe. Obviously.

Serves 6

600g/ 1lb Tipo '00' flour (plus extra for dusting)
6 eggs

Pile the flour on to a clean, large, work surface. If you want to be a little tidier you can use a board or a bowl instead. Make a well in the centre that will be large enough to fit in all the eggs. Crack all the eggs into the well and lightly beat them with a fork.* Incorporate the flour into the egg mixture with the tips of your fingers, a little at a time, until everything is combined. Work the dough together so it comes together in a ball.

Now the dough needs to be kneeded and given a bit of love to stretch the gluten. We highly recommend listening to random jazz as it seems to be perfect kneeding music and really gives you the strength to work that dough. When it turns from rough and floury to smooth and silky (and can be stretched easily without breaking) your pasta dough is ready. Cover the whole ball tightly with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

*At this stage I was recruited to be Dam Woman, making sure that no pesky eggs escaped their doom. It is handy to have a Commis and I told you that pasta making was social!

Cutting the dough

Now I'm not saying that you need 5 people to make pasta but the majority of us were fresh pasta rookies so more hands etc etc. Or was it too many cooks? I'll let you be the judge of that.

We used Jamie's trusty method which you can find here and it worked a treat, the first time was a little sketchy but by the last piece we were like a troop of Italian mamas! Our top tips would be to make sure that you have the worktop space, to make sure that you have a bag of Tipo '00' flour at hand and to not be afraid to cut the dough if it gets too long. All agreed that the pasta was a little too thin for fettuccine and it needed to be a bit more robust to cope with the hearty-ness of our bolognese. Perfect for ravioli though, so stay tuned!

Starring...

Bo - Feeder, Catcher and Handle Cranker

Gillian - Machine Stabiliser and Bo's Right-Hand Girl

Emma - 2nd Catcher, Official Photographer and Question Asker

Stevie - Jamie Oliver Book Reader and Tagliatelle Untangler

Ailsa - Pasta Machine Instruction Reader and Tagliatelle Store Manager

Set: The Smallest Kitchen in the World

Gillian and Bo hard at work

My skills were put to good use

Stevie looking after the precious fettuccine

Yum!

Bolognese

Serves 6

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

2 sticks of celery, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 kg good quality beef mince

1 heaped tbsp tomato puree

1 small glass red wine

1 tsp dried chilli

jar of pasata

250ml of chicken or beef stock

pinch of sugar

1 tbsp of milk

salt and pepper

Put a large, thick bottomed pan on the a medium setting and sweat the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add the chilli, turn up the heat and add the beef. Cook in batches if you have a small pan so the meat doesn't go grey but instead browns nicely. Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef and once cooked pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half. Turn the heat down, stir in the tomato puree, pasata and stock.

Place a bay leaf in the pot, place the lid on and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lift the lid, add the sugar, milk (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes - a good but weird tip!) and season to taste.

Replace the lid and cook for a further 45 minutes.

How about them apples?

2010-11-03T11:43:00.017Z

I have been baking more and more lately - mainly because my attempts are no longer total disasters. I know I bang on about purchases changing my life a fair bit but, after buying a oven thermometer, I discovered that my oven had been running 25c hotter than the thermostat. Now, like magic (or just actual science), perfectly formed and very delicious cakes. Seriously getting very grand illusions of opening a bakery, even though my cake successes are not even in double figures. I like to dream big.

As previously noted life has been rather hectic recently and time at home has been limited. Baking slows everything down, gives you space to think and to concentrate on the simple things. Like creaming the butter and sugar to pale softness and sieving the flour until it falls like snow. And then there is there is the fruits of your labour...

Spiced Apple Muffins

These muffins are a celebration of the British apple. Shopping last week I was slightly shocked to see that 90% of the apples on sale were from France or Spain. Ironic considering the glut we have in this country at this time of year. If you make this recipe (I hope you do because it is lovely) and don't use British apples I may no longer be your friend.

The apples pack in the moisture and the result is fragrant, delicately spiced and very very moreish. Great for breakfast or with a cup of tea on a stormy Autumn afternoon.

100g (4oz) light brown muscavado sugar
60g (2oz) soft unsalted butter
225ml (8 fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
255g (9oz) plain flour
3 tsp of baking powder
sultanas, a small handful
walnuts, a small handful
apples, quartered and cored
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground allspice
pinch of salt

Sieve the flour, salt and baking power into a large bowl. In a second large bowl cream the softened butter and sugar, by hand or by electric mixer - the important thing is that it pales to a light toffee colour. Fold in the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternatively with the milk until smooth.

Now you have the basic muffin batter you can add the flavour. Grate in the apples, skin and all, throw in the sultanas, walnuts and all the spices. Fold together until combined.

Spoon into muffin cases set in a muffin tray and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Easy!

I also want to show off my beautiful new crockery that Bo and Angie surprise me with; how lucky am I! The range is called Blue Fluted by Jamie Oliver and is pretty extensive so that's my Christmases and birthday's sorted for a while. I love the pretty vintage look and am seriously coveting the oval platters. Its so lovely having proper grown up crockery and horrible leftovers from our student days.

Will work for soup

2010-10-20T00:05:00.012+01:00

I've been working rather a lot lately, its not made me very fun to be around. Unless I'm in a slightly hysterical over-tired phase, then my jokes are excellent. The down side to all this is that I'm living off cereal and tea, not much chance to tingle my taste buds and report back to you. The upside to my heavy work schedule is that I've been making a hell of a lot of soup. Now the temperature has plummeted (apparently its going to snow next Tuesday according to Mrs C from number 25) were are getting through 3 huge pots everyday. When lunch service has been hectic there is something quite calming about pottering around the kitchen concocting delicious soups.

The Soup Dragon

This soup I made today and has a special place in my heart. And my tummy.

Roast Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is adapted from both Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and my darling Sous Chef Nayana (who told me about the parmesan secret). Hugh F-W notes that this soup could be made from roast chicken leftovers (stock, roasted onions and squash). A great idea and carbon foot friendly too.

I've been mucking about with butternut squash soup for years, adding chilli for a spicy kick, dropping in cumin for earthy flavours - even melting through coconut milk for that taste of Asia. This soup is different because it really lets the vegetable live up to its name - buttery and nutty with a savory kick from the parmesan. Stripped back and pared down, this soup makes you happy.

2 medium to large butternut squash

2 white onions

5 cloves of garlic

2 sticks of celery - roughly chopped (optional)

1 large potato, peeled
chicken stock
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
double cream
small knob of butter
1 tbsp of grated parmesan
fresh nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/gas 4.

Cut the squashes in half, scoop out the seeds and cut each half into four or five large chunks. Peel and quarter the onions leaving the roots intact to they hold together while roasting. Place everything into a large roasting tray adding the garlic whole (and not peeled) so they are like soft garliky caramel. Drizzle olive oil over the whole tray and season with salt, pepper and the dried herbs. Place in the middle of the oven and roast for around 45 minutes until the squash and onions are soft and golden. Take out the oven and once cool enough squeeze the garlic out of their papery skins.

Put a large pot on the stove and set on a medium heat, add the butter and when melted add the celery. Tip the whole roasting tray into the pot and mix around with celery and butter. Chop the potato into 6 and add to the pot along with enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables. Simmer on a medium heat with the lid on for half and hour. Check that the potatoes are cooked through and add a splash of double cream. Take off the heat and blend until really smooth, take your time - this soup has to be silky. Sprinkle in the parmesan, blend some more and taste before seasoning. Nutmeg is delicious with squash so a modest grating is a lovely addition.

Now back to work...

Of mists and mellow fruitfulness

2010-10-14T22:55:00.009+01:00

The only season that, last year, made me feel glad to be home after spending 2 weeks lying on Bondi Beach. The only season that allows me to dress up as a pirate, make lots of pumpkin soup and wake up happy every morning. The only season that is never a disappointment because it’s supposed to rain every day.

Autumn – I adore you.

October is the king of months for many reasons but mostly for the food. It seems that all my favorites are in season at this time of year. From mushrooms to beetroot to squash to apples; you can get a damn fine meal in October. I'm also still getting late season tomatoes coming through in my balcony boxes, 1-0 Mr Blackbird! With the nights drawing in comfort food is on the menu.

I’m never going to be a no carb, light bite kind of girl – I like bowls of food that warm your cockles, whatever cockles may be. For comfort bowl food you can’t go far wrong with gnocchi, and I’ve eaten a lot of gnocchi in my time. The first taste was a stolen forkful from my aunt Dianne’s plate whilst eating out in Sydney over a decade ago. Nestled in a simple Neapolitan sauce it was worth the thievery. That trip was a lot of first tastes but the pillowy softness of that rustled potato dumpling was something that I knew I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) live without.

Despite eating a lot of gnocchi, I have never actually made it myself – something to do with not owning a potato ricer. A couple of weeks ago I made that purchase and it changed my life. Not actually, but it’s the simple things. So I read up on my favourite little dumplings, the Romans like to use semolina flour whereas the Tuscans favour ricotta, there is pumpkin gnocchi (Autumnal heaven!), basil gnocchi; the list is endless and delicious. For something relatively simple gnocchi sure does come in a lot of guises. I have a potato ricer and I like potatoes so the classic potato gnocchi it was.

Potato Gnocchi with Chestnut Mushrooms,

Goats Cheese and Pinenuts

A celebration of Autumnal ingredients this dish is perfect for a cozy supper. You can bake the potatoes in advance to cut down the prep time. I tried to track down some local, wild mushrooms for this dish but unfortunately our brilliant local grocer has had to close its doors. Sad times but chestnut are a good substitute.

Serves 2

For the gnocchi:
4 medium potatoes
2 tbsp of 00 flour
1 egg
fresh nutmeg
salt and pepper

For the sauce:
8 large chestnut mushrooms
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a selection of fresh herbs - I used thyme, purple sage and parsley
splash of white wine
splash of chicken stock
small knob of butter
soft goats cheese
small handful of pinenuts

Turn the oven on to 220c/425F/gas 7. Rub the potatoes with olive oil, score the tops and bake in the oven for about an hour until the potatoes are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Allow to cool a little and then, while they are still warm, cut in half and scoop out the insides into a ricer. 'Rice' (is that a word?!) the potatoes into a large mixing bowl until lovely and smooth. Add generous pinch of salt, grind in some black pepper and grate in a little fresh nutmeg. Remember with nutmeg a little goes a long way. Whisk the egg and add into the potato mixture. Little by little add the flour, only using enough to bind the mixture. The less flour used, the lighter your gnocchi will be so only use as much as you need to make the dough easy to handle. Split the dough three ways and roll each piece into a long sausage shape. Cut the sausages into inch long pieces, place on a floured plate and leave to set in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes.

Put a saucepan of salted water on to boil. Get a large frying on the heat and toss in the pinenuts. Toast them for half a minute and put to the side. In the same pan add a good glug of olive oil, add the mushrooms to the frying pan and toss until golden brown. Add in the butter, garlic, seasoning and any hardy herbs (thyme, sage etc). When the garlic has cooked, splash in the wine, add the stock and cook for another 5 minutes on a medium heat. While the sauce is cooking take the gnocchi from the fridge and cook in the salted water until they rise to the surface. It should only take a couple of minutes. Remove, gently, with a slotted spoon and add to the sauce. Sprinkle roughly chopped fresh parsley and the toasted pine nuts into the pan, shake everything together and spoon into pasta bowls. Crumble a little soft goats cheese over the top and serve.

Note: I have read that gnocchi can be made without using a potato ricer although it is very important to get the mash as smooth as possible. I picked up my ricer for under a tenner at Tescos.

The herbs I used in this recipe were from our brand-spanking-new community herb garden that I stumbled upon while picking up the papers last week. Perfect timing as my own herb pots and boxes are past their best now. They seem to be very well looked after (particularly the purple sage which is bursting with health) and I hope it is treasured by everyone. A lovely idea for gardenless people like myself.

This post has been entered into the 'In The Bag' food blogging event where 3 seasonal ingredients are brought together to make something delicious and then blogged about. This month it was mushrooms, nuts and herbs. To find out more about 'In The Bag' check out Julia's blog A Slice Of Cherry Pie.

Julia Parsons is the founder of the UK Food Bloggers Association which is a brilliant way to get to know other food bloggers as well as an invaluable source of help and support.

Heat without the Meat

2010-09-23T11:00:00.023+01:00

The spice of chilli is the one thing to polarise the public. You may pretend it doesn't exist but there are definitely chilli people and non-chilli people. With Come Dine With Me contestants reaching for the 5 score-cards because 'the curry was far too hot, not what I am used to' to another eating Birds Eyes until tears are pouring down their flaming cheeks, you must admit the relationship with chilli differs from person to person. I am in the pro-chilli camp for sure. Actually, you might even call it an addiction.

But the big question is can you learn to love chilli? Can the ability to handle spice evolve with the amount you eat? Who knows? Recently I ate some noodles with four Birds Eyes, seeds and all, and could only detect a smidgen of heat. Panicking that I had become immune I shoved half a jar of dried chilli into the next nights pasta and nearly blew my face off. We live and learn. Actually we don't as I have a feeling that fresh chillies of late have been very temperamental in their heat. I am now more reliant on dried because at least I know where I am at with them, unless I'm panicking that I have suddenly lost my chilli taste buds. Probably burnt them off.

Anyway the reason that I am rabbiting on about chillies is that I have recently encountered Meat Free Mondays. I know its being going on for ages and that I'm totally behind the times but the Observer Food Monthly (all hail OFM!) was edited by the McCartney's in July and they banged on about it. A lot. And do you know what? It actually makes quite a bit of sense. Basically the world is doomed but we can make it last longer by combating global warming. According to the UK's Food Climate Research Network livestock is accountable for 20-30% of global green house gas emissions, a figure set to rise as more and more meat is produced to cope with demand. From farm to fork meat takes a lot of energy to produce.

Meat Free Mondays doesn't mean that we have to completely change our eating habits, it just means we don't eat (or buy) meat for one day a week. It also has a lot of benefits for us too, meat is expensive so save the pennies, embrace the world of vegetables because they are delicious and learn to be a bit more creative in the kitchen. You might even being doing it without noticing anyway, I was. You can sign up to Meat Free Mondays here and they have a few more facts, recipes, celebrity testimonials - if you like that sort of thing. Also it doesn't need to be a Monday, good for alliteration but not so good for the Sunday roast leftovers. I went for Thursdays because the man's away so mince is off the menu.

So back to chillies, (feel like this is a bit of a Billy Connally story that never really reaches a point), Asian food is meat-free heaven and the best Asian food is laced with fiery heat. Strong fragrant flavours, filling but healthy, and quick and easy to make. When I'm feeling a bit sluggish and bored the only thing to perk me up is spicy noodles or a decent homemade curry. Something that gives you a shake as well as a hug.

My Noodles

I make this dish at least once a week, I can crave it all day. Most of the ingredients are in my store cupboard and the recipe is never set in stone so whatever is in the fridge will do. There is something about all the chopping that is so relaxing and the finished dish is exciting as well as comforting. You eat it out of a bowl, you can't get more comforting than that. Oh and please eat it with chop sticks - just not the same with a fork.

selection of vegetables, stir-fry types like brocoli, peppers, courgette, mushrooms

coconut milk, half a can

1 large chilli

1 clove of garlic

fresh root ginger, thumb-sized piece

fresh coriander

stock (vegetable on Meat Free days but chicken normally)

noodles (your choice but I have a preference of flat egg noodles)

1 teaspoon of Green Curry paste

splash of Fish Sauce

Small handful of peanuts

Chop all your vegetables into similar sized pieces. Mince the garlic and ginger and slice the chillies - deseed if you like. Put a pan of boiling water on for your noodles and set a large wok on the heat. To the wok add the stock until it reaches a couple of inches, basically you want the stock to cover all your vegetables. Add the ginger, garlic, curry paste and fish sauce into the stock. I refrain from adding the chillies at this point because they tend to lose their heat if cooked too much - if you would like it milder add them now.

Put the vegetables into the stock, the ones that take the longest to cook first and so on. Remember that soggy vegetables are horrible so please only cook them for the minimum amount of time. At the same time put your noodles on to cook. Once the vegetables are nearly cooked add the coconut milk and chillies. As soon as the noodles are ready, drain and add them to the wok. Chop the coriander and add this too.

Now this is where I differ from the regular noodle broth. I hate that broth sauce barely coats the vegetables and noodles so at this point I get a slotted spoon I remove everything apart from the sauce and place it in the bowl I will be eating from. I then return the wok to the heat and reduce the fragrant sauce right down so it is thick enough to cling to the vegetables. Once its ready (it only takes a minute or two) pour the sauce over everything else. Chop up some peanuts, sprinkle over the top and Bob's your uncle!

Oh and I really, really must give you the recipe for a delicious Thai dipping sauce that is exactly like the one we have in our favourite Thai restaurant (The Wilawan which has been lovingly nicknamed The Willy). Great with tempura or anything similarly crispy and hot. I made it recently when my mum, my brother and his girlfriend were over, served it with Bill Granger's Prawn Cakes - ridiculously yummy.

Cucumber Dipping Sauce

1 small cucumber, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped red onion
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
85ml white vinegar
65g caster sugar
2 garlic cloves
2-3 slices of fresh ginger
splash of fish sauce
peanuts and fresh coriander for the topping

Place the cucumber, red onion and chilli in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, place everything else and simmer it all for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has become thicker. Remove from the heat and cool.

Once cool strain into the small bowl over the cucumber etc. Top with chopped peanuts and fresh coriander if desired.

Listen with Your Tummy

2010-09-05T20:11:00.010+01:00

This is firstly an apology of being rather absent of late. Work coupled with a beer/laptop accident (which still means that I need to copy and paste my d's and q's in) has meant that I have been neglecting you all. I am now on a wee holiday, getting to do lovely things like eat and talk about eating.

Today I want to talk about listening about eating; a new concept to those who are used to devouring celebrity chefs on television, and one that reverts us to our past radio-listening selves. I love the radio, my kitchen digital radio is one of my most treasured possessions. I love the randomness of it all, you can be delighted (or annoyed, or tickled) by the most unexpected topics of conversation. But most of all I love the element of belonging to a group of people, both heard and unheard - the talkers and the listeners. Tune in to a show long enough and they become your extended friends and family, people to learn and laugh with.

I have recently joined the modern world and got myself a new fancy phone, this phone is now my best friend. Fact. Its ok, Bo has one too so he's not lonely. My lovely new phone was a little on the pricey side so anything that I can download for free is fair game. This is how I joined the new revolution of podcasts; a revolution that I am happy to wave a flag for because they are ace. Miniature radio shows without the interruption of rubbish songs and depressing news stories, shows that you can store and save up for when there is no-one to interrupt. Perfect. I also love how you can use them as a catch up service - miss your favorite radio show, no worries just download the podcast and listen at your leisure.

And what better to listen to than programs about food...

Spilled Milk

Those who know me know that Molly Wizenburg is a bit of a hero. Her Orangette blog has greatly influenced my writing and blogging style so when I stumbled across her food podcasts I knew I had struck gold. Molly teams up with her friend, and fellow food writer, Matthew Amster-Burton who is equally hilarious and knowledgeable about the wonderful world of gastronomy.

Spilled Milk is recorded every 2 weeks, they pick a subject to talk about (Rhubarb for example) and the shows tag line is 'The show where we make something delicious and you can't have any'. The podcast is recorded in their home city of Seattle so it is a brilliant insight into American eating trends, habits and ingredients. It does mean that some shows can leave you bemused about certain topics - the show on their love of 'Milkshakes' is hilarious but what in God's name is a Chocolate Malt? But be warned Spilled Milk can also make you want to move to Seattle.

My favorite thing to do with Spilled Milk is to listen to it when I am food shopping, everyone around must think I mad chuckling away to myself while picking out tomatoes. iTunes are not being overly sensitive when they labelled the Pea episode 'explicit' but its good natured (brilliantly immature) humour. And the best thing - its all free baby! So what are you waiting for...

BBC 4 Food Program

This is the daddy of all food podcasts, obviously because it is produced by the BBC it is one class act. They don't skimp on this show - if the subject is Kebabs they travel to Istanbul and Bursa to explore the ancient techniques used in authentic Turkish Doners. They mix interviews with producers, historians and the public along with great presenters. The subjects themselves are incredibly varied too, from Chips to Amateur Food Photography, all of which are handled total professionalism by Sheila Dillion and her team. They are also brilliant at covering British food events, the latest show recorded at WOMAD festival takes you right there. Basically this award winning and intelligent radio show (turned podcast) is not one to be missed.

This is the podcast that I treat myself with, the one that I leave until last because I know that even though I might not love the subject matter (pork scratchings anyone?) I will love listening to every single minute because I always learn something. I might even listen to it twice so it sinks in.

So do you agree with my choices and are there any good food podcasts that I am missing out on? Please let me know, I'm hungry for more...

Rise and Shine

2010-07-29T12:42:00.005+01:00

This post is a tribute to my little sister for several reasons, the first being that she has a horrible habit of rising with the larks - something that I have never been particularly good at. The second is that Australia (where she currently lives) is, in my humble opinion, breakfast heaven. So Kettle this is for you, hopefully it will make a change to your porridge habit.

A meal that is often rushed, or even skipped altogether, breakfast is sadly overlooked as a celebration of fresh and delicious ingredients. Too often in this country our imagination only stretches to the full English (or preferably the full Scottish!) - and even though I cannot disregard the time honored traditions, sometimes it is good gain inspiration from our Antipodean cousins. So lets make a big deal of the first meal of the day, whether that means sunrise or noon.

Ricotta Hot Cakes with Honeycomb and Banana

Bill Granger is a bit of a hero, his restaurants and cafes are an integral part of Sydney culture. bills in Darlinghurst is a welcoming, sunny delight and the centre of breakfast heaven. My brother gave me Bills Sydney Food for my Christmas last year so it was the first place I looked to gain ideas for a lazy weekend breakfast. This dish is Sydney sunshine on a plate. The hot cakes are crisp on the outside, light and fluffy in the middle. It calls for honeycomb which you can buy but I decided to be brave and make my own. Give it a go, its worth it.

Serves 6

This recipe is in cups, something that I come across quite often. I bought a set of measuring cups in our local pound shop, a worthy investment

For the hot cakes
1 1/2 cups ricotta
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs separated
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
Butter, for frying

To serve
Banana
Honeycomb butter, sliced (see below)
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the honeycomb butter mix 250g of softened unsalted butter, 100g of finely crushed honeycomb butter and 2 tablespoons of honey. Roll and seal in clingfilm, refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Keep any leftovers in the freezer - its lovely on toast and future pancakes.

Add the ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a large bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt on to the ricotta mixture and mix together. Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites through the batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.

Lightly grease a large, non-stick frying pan with butter and drop 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan, add more hotcakes but don't over-crowd the pan. Cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until golden underneath. Flip over and repeat on the other side. Transfer the hotcakes on to a plate, add the banana and put one slice of the honeycomb butter on the top. Dust with icing sugar.

- Any leftover hotcake mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours as long as it is covered.

The next day I was still feeling a little brunch hungry so I decided to try out something that I saw on the brilliant Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory. Willie Harcourt-Cooze is bringing proper cacao to the UK and having lived in Venezuela learning the cacao trade he is a master at everyday Venezuelan food. This cooked breakfast was served to his whole family and couldn't be further removed from a full fry up. He grates pure cacao into this dish and which I would have loved to have tried but the Dairy Milk in my fridge would not have sufficied. The main reason that this caught my eye is that it includes almost all of my favorite ingredients. Eggs, avocados, tomatoes, peppers, red onions, garlic and chilli - heaven...

Venezuelan Brunch

This actually has to be one of the most delicious things I have ever made. Hovered up in seconds it was fresh, filling, semi healthy and couldn't be easier to make. Never mind breakfast, it would be perfect for a quick lunch or light supper too.

Serves one - because I don't like to share.

Half a red pepper
2 fresh plum tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 clove of garlic
Half an avocado
1 egg
Small bunch of coriander
A large slice of crusty bread
A pinch of dried chilli
Salt and pepper

Slice the red pepper into strips and the red onion into half rings. Crush and chop your garlic and roughly chop the plum tomatoes. Put a medium sized frying pan on the hob with a good glug of olive oil. Fry the pepper and onions on a medium heat until soft and add the garlic and chilli. Add the tomatoes and cook down until soft. Add a little vegetable stock or water to keep moist. Once the all the ingredients are a chunky sauce constincy add the coriander and season.

Make a large well in the centre and crack the egg in the middle - keep on a low heat while the egg cooks. You may need to add a little water round the edges so the sauce doesn't dry out. While the egg is cooking toast the bread on a griddle or frying pan. Drizzle a little extra olive oil on the surface of the bread.

Slice the avocado, put the bread on a large plate and transfer the egg and tomato sauce on top of the bread. Serve with the avocado on the side.

Eat immediately.

A Confession...

2010-06-27T23:02:00.007+01:00

I must be truthful, it wouldn't be right to hold something back, but this is a big confession for a true foodie to make. Are you ready? Ok, here we go... I am rubbish at cakes and desserts. I cannot go on blaming ovens and whisks, it's an inbuilt failure. And I try, oh how I try - last weeks Crème Brulees were slaved over for an age, I lovingly followed the recipe to the letter but still my other half claimed it to be the most horrible thing he has ever eaten. For a man, that a few days ago, ate scampi, black pudding, potato croquettes, fish fingers and beans all on one plate, it was quite an insult. But a truthful one, I managed one mouthful of the crunchy scrambled eggs before completely agreeing with him. Savory I can do, more than can do. I understand which flavours go together, how they should be treated and the rest is instinct. Pastry only reaches that level once the cook has completely absorbed the science and its the science that seems to allude me.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I now have a job that forces me to delve into the world of sweet. Sometimes our wonderful pastry chef Vicky has a day off so I must pick up her mantle, apparently customers need desserts. The last few weeks have been Sex and The City crazy at macrobert and we were offering a 2 course meal + cinema ticket deal. The menu was New York themed so along with New York style Burgers, home-made Calzone and Caesar Salad we had the most delicious Vanilla Baked Cheesecake and Chocolate Brownie Sundae. Having never made a cheesecake in my life I was obviously apprehensive about making 6. But once again I was saved by Jamie. And drumroll... I did it! They may have been a little cracked on the top (I was later enlightened by Vicky, they must be cooled down slowly) but they were almost perfect. I may have danced around the kitchen a little.

New York Style Baked Vanilla Cheesecake

Based on the Jamie Oliver recipe.

This recipe is as easy as a baked cheesecake can be, but so delicious that some customers (definitely not influenced by the cocktail menu) even asked to buy some to take home. We served it with a crushed fruit coulis (blueberries, strawberries and raspberries) and fresh raspberries but this cheesecake is a great canvas for other flavours. Try it and see.

200g unsalted butter (melted, plus extra for greasing)
350g digestive biscuits, crushed
115g caster sugar
3 tablespoons of cornflour
900g full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large free range eggs
115ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, scored lengthways and seeds removed or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/gas 4, then grease the bottom and sides of a 24cm springform tin. First make your biscuit base - mix the crushed digestive biscuits with the melted butter in a bowl. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the tin and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Turn the oven up to 200c/400F/gas 6. Combine the caster sugar and cornflour in a large bowl, add all the cream cheese to this mixture. Beat until creamy. Add the eggs, one by one to the cream cheese mixture then slowly add the cream. Beat the whole mixture until it is the consistency of whipped cream. Lastly drop in the vanilla, orange zest and lemon zest, fold in.

Scrape the mixture on top of the cooled biscuit base, level the surface and place in the middle of the oven. Cook for 35-40 mins, the top should be set around the sides and it should be golden in colour. Slowly (SLOWLY!) cool the cheesecake by turning the oven off and opening the oven door slightly. Cool it in stages, finally leaving in a cool, dry place or fridge. Leave to set for a couple of hours, decorate how you wish!

Vivre La France!

2010-06-23T06:42:00.006+01:00

I went to the South of France almost a month ago and I have been meaning to post about it for ages. Mother Hen had some work to do and she invited my sister and I to go with her, obviously we had to think about it. I like to include a recipe with most posts but I seem to be failing to cook 'French' lately (see next post regarding the Brulee disaster 2010). We had the most magical holiday, ate like queens and looking through my photos this evening (90% are food related) I just had to share them with you.

Pre-dinner snacks and vino, the wine was from the next door 'cave'.

Not only delicious but £1 a bottle.

A simple courgette salad.
Mandoline sliced courgettes with lemon zest and mint fresh from the garden. Drizzled with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

My favorite - nothing beats French artichokes.
Dipping the leaves in a simple vinaigrette and licking my fingers.

Seafood from the local market in Eymet.

I know it's Italian but Spaghetti Vongole with clams as fresh as these cannot be passed up. The recipe is very similar to my Prawn Fettucini.

Barbecued sardines - not my favorite by Mother Hen would sell her soul for them.

Come on! It's France!

And to finish...

The elderflowers outside my room, the smell was heavenly and they begged to be made into Champagne. If only we were there for longer.

Brioche from Bergerac.

A tribute to Valvona's

2010-06-01T23:27:00.003+01:00

There is no bigger slice of heaven on earth than Valvona and Crolla's on Leith Walk. This Edinburgh legend is, to many, the best restaurant and deli this side of Roma. My grandmother used to send for a Valvona hamper and sit with the feast between herself and my grandfather on their thrones. All I can hope for is that I inherit more than just her name.

I remember getting a Valvona carrier bag with bits and pieces from her (you never went home empty handed) and I think I had it for almost 5 years. I thought I was the bees knees carrying my gym kit in a Valvona bag, actually I was the bees knees but it definitely ended my PE career.

When I finally got to the deli/restaurant it already felt like home. Yes its expensive but man its worth it. When I was at the Taste Festival I ended up engrossed at the pop-up book shop with my head in the official Valvona and Crolla cookbook - A Year At An Italian Table. If anyone of my loved ones are reading, birthday present done!

The Feast

2010-05-18T09:41:00.007+01:00

Wow, what a ridiculously busy couple of weeks! This post is a little overdue mostly because of my non existence apart from working and sleeping. My exciting new post as Catering Manager at the macrobert arts centre started a little prematurely but unfortunately I was still working full time in my current job. All in all I have been eating, drinking and sleeping all things macrobert lately (which is no bad thing) but I did manage to squeeze in a big family feast for Mother Hen's birthday.

Family gatherings are few and far between nowadays with everybody scattered far and wide. My sister Katie is due to go back to Sydney next week and with Dad in the middle of National Compost Week (don't ask!!) it seemed the only time for us all to get together in Stirling. The newest (and probably youngest at a mere 23) big thing in comedy Kevin Bridges was playing at the macrobert for 3 nights and I used my charming ways with the box office staff to secure us all tickets for a laughter filled night. Even though we were all excited about the show the main topic of conversation was 'What will we eat for dinner?!'.

This feast was in planning for weeks, months maybe, considering that the shoulder of lamb had been hibernating in my freezer since the beginning of Spring. It was a 'one day' piece of lamb: 'one day I will pour in a bottle of red and stud it with garlic', 'one day I will marinade it with spicy yogurt' etc etc. But since the said lamb was a present from Mother Hen it seemed entirely appropriate to bring it to the table for this occasion. I don't often get the chance to cook for people outside of work, particularly a 3 course feast so I might have gone a little overboard. We are definitely a starter family - anything delicious, picky and can be accompanied with a chilled glass of vino is the star of the show. Most of us have been known to order 2 starters instead of a main in restaurants, which invariably confuses the waiting staff. The best starters are meze, try everything, share everything and debate everything - perfect! So the menu was born - Middle Eastern meze, Spiced Slow Roast Lamb and an Orange and Lemon birthday cake.

I had 2 willing helpers on the day although nap time and Channel 4 Racing might have hampered their handiness to some extent. That said they crystallised rose petals for the cake, peeled a million broad beans and made some excellent flat breads.

The starter meze consisted of Spiced Broad Bean Fritters, Lamb Koftas, Babagonush, Humous, Mint Yogurt and Flat Breads... told you I went a little overboard! Both the fritters and koftas were Jamie Oliver recipes and by lord they were delicious. The fritters were so easy to make (apart from the aforementioned broad bean peeling) and were bursting with beautiful summery flavour. Even spiked with a little spice my chilli-phobic Pa adored them. Crunchy and crispy on the outside, and soft and fresh on the inside. I would make them again and again as long as somebody else peeled the blooming beans. The koftas were an adapted recipe, Jamie has them in flatbreads sprinkled with pistachios but as I wanted picky finger food I decided to add the pistachios into the lamb mixture. Lamb, sultanas and pistachios - is there a better food combination?! Not for me anyway. These koftas would be perfect as a main with cous cous, roasted peppers and salad, and would cook perfectly on the barbie too. Oh but remember to soak your skewers in water first, I didn't and there was a bit of a flame issue.

Lamb Koftas

250g minced lamb
1 heaped tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
1/2 level tablespoon ground chilli
1/2 level tablespoon ground cumin
2 level tablespoons sumac (if you can't find it use lemon zest instead, but there are great suppliers on the web, try The Asian Cookshop)
a good handful of sultanas
a good handful of shelled pistachios

Place the lamb in a large mixing bowl with the chilli, sumac, cumin and thyme leaves. Roughly chop the pistachios and add them, plus the sultanas, to the mixture. Combine all the ingredients together, get your hands in!

Split the mixture into 8 equal balls and get yourself 8 (soaked!) skewers. With damp hands, push and shape the meat around and along each skewer. Press little indents in the meat with your fingers as you go - this will give it a better texture when cooked. Grill the kebabs on a hot griddle pan until golden and cooked through.

Spiced Broad Bean Fritters with Minted Yogurt

1kg fresh broad beans, in their pods (about 300g podded weight) or 500g defrosted broad beans, skinned
6 sprigs of fresh coriander
a small bunch of fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 level teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 a fresh chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 heaped teaspoon plain flour
1 litre vegetable oil
1 tablespoons natural yogurt

Boil any larger white-skinned broad beans for 30 seconds, then drain. When cool, pinch their skins off. Now whiz the coriander and half the mint in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper, then add the spices, chilli, broad beans and lemon zest and whiz until finely chopped. Sprinkle in the flour and pulse for a few seconds. I know this seems a very small amount of flour but believe me it holds everything together perfectly - adding more would only make the mixture too dry.

Pour the vegetable oil into a large saucepan until it's 5 to 7cm deep. Heat the oil. To check whether it's hot enough for frying drop a small piece of bread into the pan, if it turns golden its ready.

Cover a plate with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Scoop up a small amount of the broad bean mixture and either use your hands or two spoons to shape it into little rounds, then put them on the plate. When they are all done, carefully lower one of them into the hot oil with a slotted spoon and fry until they are a golden, dark green colour. When you have the hang of it fry the rest in small batches.

For the lemon minted yogurt, squeeze half the lemon juice into the yogurt. Pick and chop the rest of your mint leaves and stir them in, season to taste.

As for the lamb.... well it was lovely. I used the Moroccan Lamb recipe from the wonderful food for friends yeah but also added Ras el Hanout which is an amazingly fragrant middle eastern spice blend that includes actual rose petals. I cooked it for nearly 5 hours at 140c so it fell away at the bone and hardly needed the extra additions of the left over babagonush, mint yogurt and hummous. There was discussions of it being served with cous cous studded with pomegranate seeds but I decided to be kind to my tattie loving man and served it with roasted new potatoes and cumin roasted squash.

New blog and old favourites

2010-05-07T22:58:00.002+01:00

So welcome! If there's anybody there...

This is my first exercise in writing about what I love/adore/dream about, no not tall ginger gentlemen, but food. Ah food! As well as proving my darling Mother Hen right (again, Roots was amazing) this is hopefully going to be the perfect thing to channel my culinary energies. Basically The Larder will give my family, friends, boyfriend and work colleagues a wee bit of peace from my constant prattling about all things edible. Hopefully you will listen though.

Today feels like the start of summer, although it has the chilly Stirling wind as a companion, so to celebrate Prawn Fettuccini was on the menu. I am disgustingly addicted to tomatoes at the moment, it's a daily essential. At least one meal a day must contain my fix of tomato-y goodness. This recipe is an old reliable and an absolute favorite. The best meals are not the fanciest but the ones that manage to fulfil all your wants on one plate - or one bowl as I always seem to favour bowl food for some reason, must be the comfort factor. The juicy sweet prawns, squashy summery tomatoes and the sharp tang of lemon juice manage to cheer up the dullest Scottish day and the grumpiest Scottish person (not naming any names!) every single time.

Prawn Fettuccini

Serves 2

The fresh chilli is not meant to make it too spicy - it just gives the dish a gentle warmth. Up the amount if you're a chilli fiend (like me) or tone it down if you want something a little softer. Once every 2 months my local market have king prawns on sale so I stuff the freezer but if you don't have them this sauce is well worth making part of your staple repertoire. Quick and easy, minimal ingredients and goes with any type of pasta.

200g of raw king prawns

1 small tub (16 or so) of cherry tomatoes - if you can get a mixture of types and colours even better

2 cloves of garlic

2 handfuls of rocket

1 fresh red chilli

juice of half a lemon

a glug of white wine

1 handful of flatleaf parsley

enough fresh fettuccini for 2

Quarter some of the tomatoes, half some and leave a few small ones whole. Chop up your garlic, chilli and parsley. Run a knife over the back of your prawns, not all the way through, just to devein them. Heat a deep frying pan on the stove with a good glug of olive oil and pop on a pan of salted hot water. When the oil is ready throw the garlic and chilli straight in, stir continuously, don’t let it stick. Keep a close eye on it, burnt garlic is bitter and horrid. At that point add your tomatoes, this will stop the cooking process. Put your fresh pasta on now.

Add your wine and let the whole sauce simmer, it should smell amazing! You should see the tomato skins start to peel off and them to soften considerably. At that point get a potato masher and squish the whole lot down, not too much but just to amalgamate the whole thing. Add your lemon juice, give it a stir and add your prawns. They should take less than a minute to cook through in the sauce.

Drain the pasta and leave in the pan drizzed with some extra virgin olive oil. Once the prawns are pink throughout turn the heat off and add the parsley and seasoning. Sprinkle a layer of rocket over the sauce and then pop the pasta over that (it helps the rocket wilt), don’t stir yet.

Get the plates out, quick 5 second tidy up and pour a few glasses. Take a pair of tongs and stir it all together, add an extra slosh of extra virgin for a bit of fruitiness.