Spring break

Just to let you know that I'm going to take a short break from writing the blog. I'm feeling the need to take a step back for a moment, to relax in the kitchen for a while, to cook old favourites and ugly mishmashes of whatever's in the fridge. I'm sure I'll be back soon, especially as there's a new camera in the post... In the meantime, happy cooking!

Wednesday round-up of deliciousness

Evening all. I hope you've all been having a lovely St Patrick's Day. And if you haven't celebrated yet, let me suggest you cook something! The Daily Spud has hosted the most amazing Paddy's Day Food Parade - soda bread, scones, colcannon, boxty and about a gazillion other cabbagey, bacony, potatoey, or just very green, good things. 

But if you overdose on the Guinness, apparently these Spiced pork buns are just the thing for a hangover. In fact, I think they look just the thing for all kinds of occasions - scrummy spiced pork surrounded by fluffy, glutinous dough. And while we're in pork territory, Korean Noodles in a black bean sauce with pork and vegetables and Stuffed pork chops both also look very tasty indeed. 

There were some rather tasty vegetarian options around this week. I thought that the Individual potato and onion tartes tatin and Paneer tikka were both the kind of ideas that you look at and think "Yes! Why have I never thought of that?" and I'm dying to give them both a go. This Coconut red lentil soup has a wonderful combination of flavours. And for the vegetarians like my Dad (i.e. not proper ones!), let me send you over to see these Fish balls in nut sauce - a dish just dripping in double entendres! And they look very tasty too - an excellent alternative to meatballs. 

Now, chocolate. Always a winner, especially in some of the sweets I spotted. Hazelnut and chocolate is one of my very favourite flavour combinations, so I was very excited to see these gorgeous Hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes. These Two tone chocolate muffins have chocolate truffles in the middle - a marvellous idea, I'm sure you'll agree! This Chocolate mud cake looks like a much more serious affair altogether - dense, dark and moist. And finally, it really is time I tried Whoopie pies, generally accepted to be the next big thing. And that recipe is blue-ribbon-winning, so it looks like a great place to start. 

Next, this Lemon upside down cake looks so pretty. The caramelised lemons on top look chewy and sweet and scrumptious. This Lemon tart 'Amandin' is a wonderful variation on Bakewell tart - I've just got to seek out the 'Amandin' nut mix. And I'm always a sucker for a rhubarb cake, so this Forced rhubarb and yoghurt cake is right up my street. It looks all moist and squishy. In fact it would be a marvellous addition to this amazing Mother's Day afternoon tea. One of these days I'm going to do that properly, with a cake stand and everything, just like Jules.

And finally a couple of delicious desserts with which to impress your friends. Salted butter caramel ice cream sounds spectacular - I REALLY need to get an ice cream maker! In the meantime, I shall be making Blueberry blintzes, which are crepes filled with ricotta cheese and pan-fried, before being covered in blueberry sauce. Yum yum yum!

Irish soda bread

I'm going to start this post with a little advice. I know Christmas is not really top of the agenda, but I urge you to squirrel this snippet away for a few months and dig it out again in December. And the advice is: never, ever, whatever you do, slag something off on Christmas Eve. As you might imagine I speak from experience here. 
Picture the scene: all the family sitting around the fire, all the presents wrapped up nicely and sitting on the window sill (there was no tree - hurumph) and I start explaining how Delia really doesn't do it for me. I believe I said something about her being quite scary and her recipes not working for me. And then, lo and behold, what do I find upon opening my Christmas present from my dearest grandmother? Why, it's Delia's Happy Christmas. Aaargh! I wasn't disappointed by the book - I'm always willing to give a chef another go, but I just WISHED I hadn't said that. Hence the new-found determination to only praise on Christmas Eve. In fact, I think the same could go for the week or so preceding one's birthday, actually, just on the off-chance. 
Anyway, from the moment I saw the book, I knew the best way to save the situation was to cook something from the book and write my grandmother raving about my conversion to Delia's camp. And shamefully, it's taken me until March to do it. But at least I chose something seasonal - Irish soda bread. I'm submitting it to The Daily Spud's Paddy's Day Food Parade in time for St Patrick's Day on Wednesday. 

I'm sure there'll be plenty of soda bread around blogsville this week, but for me, it's the highlight of visiting my relatives in Belfast. Well, that and the scones. (Though scones can be a little stressful - I have been told off by my grandfather for toasting the butter side first!) And this recipe was fab - stupendously easy and tasty. It had a good crunchy crust (make sure your bread knife is ready for the challenge!) and made the best toast ever. Most of the work was in finding buttermilk (Sainsbury's) and pinhead oatmeal (a health food shop).

Irish Soda Bread
275g wholemeal flour
75g plain flour, plus a little extra
50g pinhead oatmeal
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 egg
1 284ml carton of buttermilk
a little milk
1 tbsp rolled oats


Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas mark 5. Grease a baking tray. Put the flours, oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix. Beat the egg and buttermilk together and add them. Mix with a fork and then your hands to form a smooth dough. Shape the dough into an oval, add a dusting of flour, brush with milk and sprinkle with oats. Use the blunt side of a knife to make indentations diagonally across the bread. 

Bake for 50-60 minutes, then put on a wire rack to cool.

So, have I been won over to Delia? Well, almost. There's just one niggly thing. What kind of cookery book index files soda bread only under I for Irish? (Am I just being too fussy?!) 

Waffles

Is there anything in the world more decadent than ice cream for breakfast? I know there's certainly no better way to make Mr 'Splorer happy! And somehow it seems like acceptable thing to do if you pop on top of some waffles. Because, let's be honest, waffles are for being topped with as many delicious, sweet (unhealthy!) things you can get your grubby little mits on. 

Although I am new to this waffle business, I must admit, so I could be making some huge assumptions here. In fact, I don't really know when I'd last had a waffle before this morning. I think of them as rather an unusual treat round these parts (and have trouble not singing 'waffley versatile' to myself when the word waffle comes into conversation). But now I have my wonderful waffle maker on hand, waffles are due to become a regular fixture in my house. Not least because they're so yummy - and so easy. Whip up a quick batter, pop it in the machine for a few minutes and there you have it. Perfect for breakfast, pudding, late night feasts and any number of special occasions.
This recipe comes from Bake by Rachel Allen. That book is amazing - every time I want to make something, I find the recipe there. It's become my first port of call. The only thing is that I made half the recipe and got 5 waffles out of it, instead of the stated 10 - maybe my waffle maker is a whopper! Here's the quantities I used:

Waffles

100g butter
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
300ml milk

Melt the butter and cool. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and mix in the melted butter and milk. Pour the mix into the dry ingredients and whisk together until the batter is smooth.
Heat the waffle maker and ladle in some batter. (My maker took about a ladleful and a half for optimum waffling.) Close the lid and cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and top with something yummy. My serving suggestions are blackberries and maple syrup or Nutella. Though the internet is bursting with other ideas, many of which I shall be experimenting with, so watch this space!

Wednesday round-up of deliciousness

Oh dear, this blog seems to have turned into a long list of Wednesday round-ups of deliciousness. Must stop making rhubarb swirl cheesecakes and letting Mr 'Splorer cook, and get making some delicious things of my own. Having just bought a waffle maker off someone at work on a bit of a whim, I suspect you might see a waffle recipe or two here soon. Or, if anyone has a good one, do feel free to let me know! I'm planning to become the waffle queen of Cambridge before the end of the month. (And determined not to make one batch and then let the machine gather dust at the back of the cupboard for years to come!) 
Anyway, onto the deliciousness. First in my Google Reader is Dense orange and almond cake, aka "the most perfect afternoon cake ever". Another marvellous option for afternoon is these Milk chocolate banana brownies - I can just imagine how moist they must be with the banana. In fact, as usual I seem to have come across lots of desirable cakes! There's also a classic Dundee cake, which Hilary describes as the fruitcake for people who don't like fruitcake. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure those people should be allowed any, because us fruitcake lovers will want to scoff the lot. Next is this Nutella pound cake, which contains an entire jar of Nutella, which is pretty much all you need to know! And then there's a Cornish Saffron cake to belatedly celebrate St Piran's Day. And these English Champagne rhubarb muffins look like a wonderful thing to do with rhubarb.
There were also lots of lovely biscuits around and about. Check out these Blueberry and cream cookies, Chocolate hazelnut cookies, Anzac biscuits and Honey Graham crackers. I'm intrigued to try the Graham crackers, as they seem to be such an American favourite that hasn't really made it over here. And of course the Anzac biscuit is another exotic one! 
And if you're in need of a pud, or perhaps even a dessert, rather than a snack, I also have some stupendous tarts and pies for you. Take a look at this simple, elegant Chocolate tart - so chocolatey and gorgeous. Then we have a couple of apple numbers - always a winner in my kitchen. First of all we have these Apple and cinnamon mini pies, which look really simple, not to mention containing one of my all time favourite flavour combinations. Then we have Raymond Blanc's Apple tart 'Maman Blanc'. I didn't see him making it on TV, but it obviously looked amazing, because it appeared on two separate blogs - The Caked Crusader and Mainly Baking. So I feel that the recipe has been well and truly tested - and found to be a good one by all accounts! The final pie is this Maple hazelnut pie - something much more unusual, but it looks simply amazing.
Next we have some soups. I always seem to include soups, but they are such a marvellous, versatile foodstuff. And so comforting when spring just keeps on refusing to pop its head around the corner. So take your pick from Chicken and sweetcorn soup, Roasted butternut and cumin soup with crispy chorizo and Cauliflower cheese soup with Irish beer bread. Such a wonderful collection of soupy flavours. And if Irish beer bread isn't up your street, there's also this Casserole dish baked bread - a wonderful, rustic looking loaf that would be wonderful with a spot of cheese and soup.
But on days I'm after a more substantial supper, I'll be making myself a Sicilian spaghetti cake - a big wodge of spaghetti mixed with bits and bobs, and baked in an oven. Or perhaps a Broccoli and bacon flan - what a great way to use up your leftover green vegetables in a delicious dish. Then there's Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs from the Ottolenghi cookbook - I've been meaning to try that recipe for ages and it looks so, so tasty. And finally, for something a little more exotic, Ants climbing trees. Just the thing to put our new wok through its paces!

Wednesday round-up of deliciousness

Ah, the weeknight dinner. After a rushed breakfast and an invariably disappointing canteen lunch (though I can't say they're not adventurous - goat curry was on the menu today), dinner is our opportunity to rustle up something scrumptious. Ideally something nutritious, tasty and quick - the holy trinity of supper, if you will. Well, I think I've spotted a few contenders for future weeknight meals. For a start, there's this Rigatoni Al Forno - tubes of pasta with bechamel and meat sauces. I think it looks like lasagne without the hassle! Also in the pasta corner, we have this delicious looking Penne alla vodka. I've wanted to try that for such a long time, and the step by step pictures make it look fantastically easy and delicious. And for a non-pasta based dinner, I definitely want to try these Mint and parsley meatballs.

Next up, I seem to have spent quite a lot of the week lusting after chicken based dishes. I don't know if it's me or blogsville that's developing the obsession, but I defy you to take a good look at Chicken with lentils, Fondant potatoes and ricotta stuffed chicken, Red chile chicken and rice with black beans and Chicken biryani without wanting to dash off to your local chicken emporium. And for a little poultry balance, here's a fantastic looking recipe for Steamed quick duck confit, which involves steaming, roasting and grilling to recreate the deliciousness of a traditional confit. 

Moving on, I spotted three Mediterranean ways with cheese. May I present Gougères (French Cheese Puffs), Butternut squash calzone with sage and leeks and Empanada de jamon york y queso. (The last post is in Spanish, but there's lots of pictures.) My only problem with those three is where to begin! Or for something a little more exotic, I have a couple of Chinese recipes for your delectation: Jiaozi dumplings and Steamed glutinous rice in lotus leaves. Two extremely fine examples of the squishy sticky tastiness of Chinese food. 

Right, the sweets. I'm reading a fascinating book called Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking at the moment. I'd love to get my teeth around some of those old fashioned dishes, so I was delighted to see some historical options around. The Caked Crusader is promising a whole series of historical recipes, starting with Richmond Cakes, from a 1907 recipe book. And they sound yummy. As does Sussex pond pudding, a traditional English suet pudding with a whole lemon in the middle. I'd better make that before summer comes though - it looks very warming indeed! 

I'm not sure about the historical precedents for putting beetroot in your cake, but I think it's about time I gave it a try. I'm not a massive fan of beetroot, but I love the look of both this Beetroot, walnut and hazelnut cake and these Beetroot chocolate muffins. Two excellent ways to top up on whatever vitamins it is that beetroot has in it.

And next in the section for stupendous sweets, I wanted to include Easy moist lemon cake - you can never have too many recipes for lemon cake in my book. This week's prize for most fantastic use of decoration definitely goes to Katie's skull sugar cookies - stupendous! And finally we have Carrot cake inspired cinnamon buns - two of my very favourite things in one sticky, sweet bun. Yum!!

And that's it for tonight. I'm off to sit down with a cup of tea, a chocolate cake made by Mr 'Splorer and an episode of Mad Men. Heaven!