The last time I wrote, I happened to mention a roast chicken was potentially in my future. That came true, which makes me happy because there are few things less satisfying than putting a nice roast in the oven and pottering about your Sunday while …
Ingredients: Method: I’ve recently subscribed to Wonky Box – what a delight! It gives me a nice little pick-me-up throughout my week – make no mistake, I am exactly the kind of geek who finds vegetable-related updates exciting. Tuesday’s announcement of which goodies to expect …
I am just back from a truly fabulous trip away overseas, so please do forgive my gap in posting. While I recover from jet lag and make my way through a substantial stack of dirty socks and other clothing (why does one half of a pair of socks go missing SO OFTEN?!) I’m sharing some happy tummy highlights.
We carved out a decent chunk of Ireland on a map, hired a car and set to it. What a delight. Warm people, stunning scenery and delicious eating. I could not get enough of the Irish brown bread – every place has its own home-made version. Always hearty with a substantial chew and generous side of butter. Dela in Galway was a particular meal highlight with a plate-heaving vege breakfast and mimosa – their home grown tomatoes starred in the relish and my mouth still waters at the memory. Dublin’s 3fe provided very welcome relief for jet lag with excellent coffee and even better food; there were return visits.
A pit stop in Birmingham introduced me to Saint Kitchen…if you’re in Birmingham, go there! I can still taste the delicious avocado smash; I don’t know what they put in it but rest assured I will be trying to recreate it this summer.
A week in Berlin and I feel we barely touched the surface of this extraordinary city…we did give our best shot at eating as much of the excellent food as possible though. Cheap, varied and dependably great are the words that spring to mind and I have too many photos of all of it to bore you with, but please tolerate some snaps of Wen Cheng’s biang biang noodles, coffee and pastry at Godshot and of course excellent beer at Braugier and Prater beer garden.
I missed cooking and have been back in my beloved kitchen so some more of my own food and recipes will be with you soon.
I think we all need a little sweetness at the moment. Summer holidays, and the little dash of optimism and refreshment they deliver, feel like a long time ago indeed. Luckily, I have this spiced plum shortcake recipe stored up from my own summer holiday, …
Happy New Year! I was lucky to have a pretty decent 2021, and I know I am in the minority here. It was a shocker for many of my favourite people. Wherever January 2022 finds you (ideally somewhere relaxing and on holiday with many tasty …
Happy 2017 everyone! I think we can all agree that the year we have just ushered out was rather bruising, whether you’re talking politically, artistically, or for many of us, personally. So, what we really need to ring in the New Year is not cucumber sticks, lycra, mineral water or resolutions. No, what is called for is a big, comforting, chocolatey cake. Or at least that is how I felt today in amongst reading, watching Netflix and snoozing on the sofa with our cats.
I’m not going to pretend I was feeling sparky enough to whip up my own recipe. And why would I need to, when I’m lucky enough to have my very own copy of Alice Arndell‘s Alice in Bakingland? This recipe, sweetly titled ‘Nanny’s chocolate cake’ is a winner, delivering a pleasingly chocolatey cake every time. Because I really felt the need to up the nourishment factor on this one, I slathered jam and cream on cut halves before sandwiching the cake back together and topping it with a generous serving of chocolate icing.
Take care everyone and I’m hoping this cake sets the tone for a much sweeter, kinder year.
Nanny’s chocolate cake by Alice Arndell
Ingredients:
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees celsius. Grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
Place the butter and golden syrup in a microwave-proof bowl and heat on high until the butter is melted – this is 1 minute 10 seconds in my microwave. Stir to combine and set aside.
Place all other ingredients in a large bowl and beat for 5 minutes. The original recipe calls for a stand mixer, which I don’t have, so I find a handheld electric beater works well. You may need to beat for a little longer if you do this by hand.
Pour in the butter and syrup and mix through.
This mixture is runny so don’t worry! Pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
If you fancy a sugar hangover, look no further. This fudge is mouth-suckingly sweet and all the better for it. A firm Kiwi favourite, it is dense and rich, comprised largely of sugar, sweetened condensed milk and golden syrup. I can’t get to the bottom …
Steamed pudding is like a sweet, jammy hug in a bowl. I love it. It’s a special favourite in our little country. I was recently introduced to a New Zealand specialty steamed pudding which is the queen of both steamed puddings and now of my heart…burnt …
Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally hit the International Dishes section of the Edmonds Cook Book.
As I make my way alphabetically (and rather slowly, I do admit) through the Edmonds Cook Book, the A section to date has yielded a fair bit of baking and things involving almonds. But now, we find ourselves at Antipasto, opening a rather ambitious International Dishes selection including foreign delicacies like nachos and cucumber salad.
I suspect in this day and age, many of us are familiar with antipasto and its role as the opening dish in an Italian meal. In our little far-flung corner of the world, however, the inclusion of Antipasto, and indeed an International Dishes section at all, to the Edmonds was no doubt a bold leap into the unknown at the time.
This may explain why tasty cheese makes up the cheese selection in the ingredients list, when in other antipasto recipes we see rather more exotic cheeses such as aged Manchengo or Gruyere. But tasty cheese is a firm favourite in our shaky isles and it is only appropriate that it features in the Edmonds take on antipasto. And I don’t want to seem as if I am sneezing at tasty cheese. There are very few snacks as lovely as a thick slice of tasty cheese on a cracker with a generous spoonful of my Mum’s tamarillo chutney.
So for an antipasto platter, Edmonds-style, you will need the following:
And the rest is pretty simple chaps. After draining and rinsing the artichokes, all that one is required to do with the ingredients is ‘arrange decoratively on a plate.’ I will leave the arranging up to your imaginations. This is how mine looked and it was most pleasing with a little tipple on a late Summer afternoon. Enjoy.
Today we greet the last entry in the ‘Almonds’ section of the Edmonds Cookbook, Broccoli with Almonds. And can I say, what a delight. Lightly cooked broccoli covered with lemony butter and toasted sliced almonds. Oh yum.