What a handsome red cabbage! Or at least, that was my first thought when gifted some of the cabbage overflow from my parents’ bountiful garden. And don’t you agree? And my second thought was coleslaw. Coleslaw, or slaw, has made quite the resurgence of late, I …
The busy run-up to Christmas is paved with good intentions, namely my intention to publish this post. So forgive me for missing the boat a little with this one. I think we can still consider this timely though, as many of us will have tin-foiled lumps …
You all know how much I love a good, old-fashioned cookbook. So I was naturally delighted when this little gem, ‘The Cookin’ Woman: Irish Country Recipes’ arrived in my letter box, thanks to my little sister (Science teacher extraordinaire and blogger at Einstein’s Kitchen).
It’s appropriate not just because I love unusual cookbooks, but also because my better half is Northern Irish. Florence Irwin is the author, lauded as Ulster’s first travelling domestic science instructor. She came to write this book after her expeditions throughout County Down. Her recipes include not only traditional fare and specialties such as dulse, but also suggestions for the modern-day cook such as the outlandish ‘imaginative and healthy vegetable dishes,’ and some household tips.
I myself would be interested to know quite how this little book found its way to this side of the world. The original sales sticker on the back says it is from Four Provinces Bookshop (sadly now closed), 244 – 246 Grays Inn Road, London. From there to Port Chalmers…who knows how that happened?
One of my favourite Irish treats is Soda Bread, or Soda Farl. The leavening agent is baking soda, and the bread itself is dense and wholesome with a pleasant soda twang.
Naturally, the Cookin’ Woman has a recipe for Soda Bread. It’s surprisingly easy to make, being rather like whipping up a batch of scones, and it resulted in a delicious little loaf. I am pleased to report passed the Northern Irish test – all gone rather quickly and washed down with plenty of tea.
You will need:
Preheat your oven to 375 Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius, leaving the tray you will be using for the soda bread in the oven to warm up.
Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
At this point, Florence becomes very firm on instructions to ensure a light loaf. One is not to add it ‘drop by drop.’ Instead, start with adding about half the buttermilk to the well in the centre. Using a knife, draw the batter from the sides and add more liquid as the batter thickens.
To ensure a light loaf, you don’t want it over-worked ‘ragged’ in the centre. And so I stopped mixing at about the point where it was lumpy and not to dry.
Spread the warmed tray with flour. Tip out the dough, dredge it in flour and knead lightly, tucking in the edges to form a circle as you go, and doing so ‘very lightly indeed.’ When the top is smooth, turn it upside down (to distribute flour to what is now the top of the loaf) and roll it to about 1 inch thick.
Cut it into farls. Yes, I had to check this out too – ‘farl’ is an old Scottish word for quarter.
Florence doesn’t specify a time, but just that one bakes it until it is ‘risen, nicely brown and cooked to the centre.’ This took my farls 30 minutes.
Delicious hot with butter and tea!
It’s truly wonderful to be writing about asparagus. The appearance of these little green spears of joy means it must be spring. I’m sure you’ve all enjoyed my endless assault of stodge and apples as much as I have, but there are few things in …
A friend in need is a friend indeed, do you think? I don’t know the exact origin of this phrase (although the finger is pointed at a certain Quintus Ennius), but I do know that anyone in any kind of need can do with a tasty …
How do you like them apples? That’s how I feel I should be addressing you, because we really have had a lot of apply recipes by this point in the Edmonds A section. But I love a good flan and this little number is easy and satisfying, so it’s worth a try if you like the sound of it. d
It all beings with a packet of Edmonds butter cake mix. I haven’t bought cake mix for years. It gives me a little guilty pang and I feel like I should be making my own from scratch. One of the last times I used cake mix was a formative baking experience back in the mists of time. I had to produce a cake for Girls Brigade and Mum, sick with the flu and no doubt not feeling up to chaperoning a junior baker in the kitchen, bought me an orange cake mix. I proudly presented the finished product to the family table and Mum, who probably wanted to eat anything else in the world apart from a vivid orange pile of stodge crafted by a 10 year old, gallantly rose from bed and forced down a bowlful. Being the anxious kid I was, I decided then and there if anything happened to Mum I would always remember that moment. Probably a little hysterical on my part (I always was a worrier) but it was a very touching moment nonetheless and I still appreciate her sucking it up for the sake of my feelings.
If you want to make this Apple Coconut Flan, you will need:
Set the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Combine the coconut and cake mix in a bowl. Edmonds offers you the choice of doing this by hand or with a food processor. I don’t think you need a food processor, I did this by hand very easily.
Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. In another bowl, combine the stewed apple and lemon rind and put in the bottom of a greased, oven-proof baking dish. Spoon the cake mixture over the apples, and then combine the water and lemon juice and pour this over the top. Bake for 55 minutes or until pale golden and firm to touch. You can serve this hot or cold.
The apple in my version caramelised rather charmingly at the corners of the dish and the coconut toasted up a little in the topping. We had ours semi-warmed with some yoghurt and it went down a treat, I hope particularly for my Mum.
It started a sunny beautiful Saturday and how nice to spend it having brunch chez nous with old friends. The majority of today’s spread was very traditional British breakfast fare….bacon, sausages from our excellent Ngaio butcher, some croissants and jam for a sweet, and a …
You may be a bit tired of my Winter and Autumn range of stodgy, warming things that include root crops and apples, and trust me, I’m just tired of Winter, but this is quite a pleasing little loaf and really easy to make. Don’t be …
Well, we are winding through the bitter bones of Winter and it seems like Spring is trying to be sprung. It may even have managed it in some corners of the hemisphere.
In my little neck of the woods, there is an undeniable lightening of the evenings and some lovely little blossoms bravely raising their heads to see if we’re there yet. But the wind is, as ever, persistent and rather cold, and that’s excuse enough for me to keep making roast potatoes to see us through.
You may know a few years the lovely Nigella Lawson nearly caused a mass sell-out of goose fat across the UK with her promise that goose fat makes for the best roast. She’s not far wrong I should think; I make my roast potatoes with duck fat, not goose, but trusted authorities on such matters treat the two interchangeably which makes me feel safe in this decision.
I’ve had these on a number of occasions recently and they go very well with roast lamb, beef and pork but frankly, I could eat an entire plate of just duck fat roast potatoes and not feel shortchanged.
Start with the potatoes: I really like the lovely Agrias for their yellow flesh and agreeableness with roasting. As you know, they need washing, peeling and cutting in to chunks.
Put them in a large pot of water and get them boiling on the hob.
You’ll want to make sure your oven is nice and hot now. This can be a bit of a juggle if you are also roasting other things, but works well if you get any meat out to rest and then crank your oven up to at least 220 degrees.
Let the potatoes boil for about five minutes, and definitely no more than ten, until they are starting to soften a little on the outside. Drain them, put them back into the pot and, with the lid on, give them a shake around, roughing up their edges.
Prepare your roasting pan by placing a couple of spoonfuls of duck fat along the bottom of your roasting tray. This may sound odd, but I find it a good way to ensure the fat is distributed evenly over all parts of the spuds.
Tip the potatoes into the roasting tray. Dot more duck fat over the tops and sprinkle heartily with salt. Use a spatula and / or some tongs to coat the potatoes in the duck fat and salt.
Roast these in the oven for about 45 minutes, until they have crisped up and turned golden. I find the only need to be turned once, if at all.
Enjoy them with other goodies but don’t feel guilty if you just want a big plate of these all by themselves! My only warning is take care not to burn your tongue.
Who doesn’t welcome a splash of colour for lunch at this grey and freezing time of year? I know I do. This spiced bean and tomato soup is on high rotation in my kitchen at the moment. When it gets to Sunday night and I need to think …
