I've been collecting food blog links for a little while now (I guess they replaced my Cancer Website collection last year). I LOVE to read people's descriptions of the food that they cook, eat or grow... and even more so when food porn photos are involved. There are some stunning food blogs out there - in fact, they have competitions and all sorts of things that I don't really understand, but they get mentioned occasionally.
One thing I've noticed is that whenever a food blogger (and most of the sites I've seen are by women) posts a photograph of themselves up, they are invariably very slim. How?? Maybe they never eat the stuff they cook? Maybe they have incredible will power and self control. I don't know, but it fascinates me. Maybe one day I'll learn the secret.................
Monday 17 November 2008
Evil Green & Blacks.....
I mentioned my new G&B chocolate cookbook recently. Kate - who is Joe the lodger's girlfriend - was here last night and mentioned that she loves flapjacks. She also likes chocolate (strange is the woman who doesn't!). So I grabbed the book off the shelf and pointed at the picture above the Chocolate Flapjack recipe. "You'd like them, then" I said (trying to contain my excitement for I knew I had all the ingredients in stock). "Ooh yes they look all squidgy and yummy" says Kate (or words to that effect).
So, tonight, after dinner (Kate was here again, more on that another time, she is now our second lodger) I wandered into the kitchen to clear up. And make flapjacks. Now, I've only ever made "healthy low fat flapjacks" before and to be honest they're a waste of time - they pretty much crumbled as soon as they came out of the tray. So this time, I meant business - I mean, 350g of butter?? This is most definitely NOT a healthy recipe. But it is so easy.
Melt 350g of butter with 6oz muscovado sugar and 60z soft brown sugar in a pan along with 3 tbsps of golden syrup. (Actually I only had 150g of butter and so made up the balance with Flora Buttery - my nod to healthy eating). Once they are all melted and combined, throw in 450g of oats (I used 200g of extra special large oats, that I buy in to make Granola and 250g of regular Scotts porridge oats) and 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Green & Blacks, naturally. Mix it all well and then pour into a baking tray - I lined mine with greaseproof paper to avoid knife marks when cutting. Bake at 140 for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Cut into about 20 squares. Wait until completely cold until removing from tray. This last bit is difficult... you just want to dive in and eat them, but they fall to pieces until completely cooled. I put mine into the garage to speed up the cooling process...... There is, I have discovered, no instant gratification to be had when making flapjacks. Not even a trace of cake batter to feast on whilst waiting for the finished baked item.
A modification suggested in the book is to add dessicated coconut and I'd have loved to, but Joe the lodger is allergic to coconut and so I decided it would be mean to make a tray of flapjacks that he couldn't eat. This boy, on arriving here in October, told me he didn't really have a sweet tooth - interesting then that he has wolfed down every sugar laden treat I've cooked up since then!!!
So, we finally got to taste these flapjacks at about 9pm. Roy declared them to be "Stunning, better than the muffins". Kate said "oh yes they were all soft inside" (she must like this in a flapjack. I liked them too. Oh Evil Green & Blacks, what have you done to me!
I said to my sister by text tonight that since Joe arrived I'm turning into Aunt Flipping Bessie! She replied that I love it really. And I think I do!
Oh, I will try to put up a pic of the flapjacks tomorrow....
So, tonight, after dinner (Kate was here again, more on that another time, she is now our second lodger) I wandered into the kitchen to clear up. And make flapjacks. Now, I've only ever made "healthy low fat flapjacks" before and to be honest they're a waste of time - they pretty much crumbled as soon as they came out of the tray. So this time, I meant business - I mean, 350g of butter?? This is most definitely NOT a healthy recipe. But it is so easy.
Melt 350g of butter with 6oz muscovado sugar and 60z soft brown sugar in a pan along with 3 tbsps of golden syrup. (Actually I only had 150g of butter and so made up the balance with Flora Buttery - my nod to healthy eating). Once they are all melted and combined, throw in 450g of oats (I used 200g of extra special large oats, that I buy in to make Granola and 250g of regular Scotts porridge oats) and 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Green & Blacks, naturally. Mix it all well and then pour into a baking tray - I lined mine with greaseproof paper to avoid knife marks when cutting. Bake at 140 for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Cut into about 20 squares. Wait until completely cold until removing from tray. This last bit is difficult... you just want to dive in and eat them, but they fall to pieces until completely cooled. I put mine into the garage to speed up the cooling process...... There is, I have discovered, no instant gratification to be had when making flapjacks. Not even a trace of cake batter to feast on whilst waiting for the finished baked item.
A modification suggested in the book is to add dessicated coconut and I'd have loved to, but Joe the lodger is allergic to coconut and so I decided it would be mean to make a tray of flapjacks that he couldn't eat. This boy, on arriving here in October, told me he didn't really have a sweet tooth - interesting then that he has wolfed down every sugar laden treat I've cooked up since then!!!
So, we finally got to taste these flapjacks at about 9pm. Roy declared them to be "Stunning, better than the muffins". Kate said "oh yes they were all soft inside" (she must like this in a flapjack. I liked them too. Oh Evil Green & Blacks, what have you done to me!
I said to my sister by text tonight that since Joe arrived I'm turning into Aunt Flipping Bessie! She replied that I love it really. And I think I do!
Oh, I will try to put up a pic of the flapjacks tomorrow....
Tuesday 11 November 2008
The wonders of baking
One of my favourite things in the whole world (well the world of food) is a Millie's Muffin.
http://www.milliescookies.com/products/muffins.php
The Chocolate Chunk version, to be precise. I've occasionally strayed and bought Cappucino, but the Chocolate Chunk remains my preference. It has become a tradition, when travelling, for Roy and I to celebrate the start of our holiday with a Millie's Muffin and coffee at the airport. They're £1.89 each now. I can remember the time (around 5 years ago) when you could get a Muffin and a coffee for £1.10 as a special promotion. Actually when trawling that website for information, I noticed that the calorie content of these muffins is HORRENDOUS! No wonder I never want to eat anything else all day when I've had one. They come in at around 760 calories! I am pleased to say that the Chocolate Chunk is not quite the highest calorie version - that honour goes to the Double Chocolate at a whopping 780 calories. I wish I'd never looked....
After dinner this evening, I mentioned to Roy that I had an urge to make White Chocolate & Blueberry muffins. This is a recipe I tested, and loved, when my niece Emily was staying with us last summer. In fact, it's about the closest in texture to a Millie's muffin that I've ever baked. It's that fantastic combination of crusty top and soft interior that I like. Of course, my baking urge was in part due to the niggling in my brain telling me "you still have one more bar of Green & Blacks in the fridge". Needless to say, the two bars of Butterscotch had well disappeared, but the white chocolate was sitting there, waiting to be used. I'd originally earmarked it for a duo of chocolate pots (recipe from the G&B book) but then the muffin idea took hold.
It is amazing how quickly you can conjure up a batch of 14 muffins! I got the urge just after 7pm and before 8, there they were - ready to eat, still slightly warm from the oven. And they were as good as I remembered. The only problem is that the top goes soft over night - you just can't retain that fresh from the oven crust. But still pretty good the next day. And the day after that......
Baking is magical.. I know it's a science and so on, but it never ceases to amaze me how people figured it all out... how the combination of some wet and dry stuff can produce instant comfort on a plate.
http://www.milliescookies.com/products/muffins.php
The Chocolate Chunk version, to be precise. I've occasionally strayed and bought Cappucino, but the Chocolate Chunk remains my preference. It has become a tradition, when travelling, for Roy and I to celebrate the start of our holiday with a Millie's Muffin and coffee at the airport. They're £1.89 each now. I can remember the time (around 5 years ago) when you could get a Muffin and a coffee for £1.10 as a special promotion. Actually when trawling that website for information, I noticed that the calorie content of these muffins is HORRENDOUS! No wonder I never want to eat anything else all day when I've had one. They come in at around 760 calories! I am pleased to say that the Chocolate Chunk is not quite the highest calorie version - that honour goes to the Double Chocolate at a whopping 780 calories. I wish I'd never looked....
After dinner this evening, I mentioned to Roy that I had an urge to make White Chocolate & Blueberry muffins. This is a recipe I tested, and loved, when my niece Emily was staying with us last summer. In fact, it's about the closest in texture to a Millie's muffin that I've ever baked. It's that fantastic combination of crusty top and soft interior that I like. Of course, my baking urge was in part due to the niggling in my brain telling me "you still have one more bar of Green & Blacks in the fridge". Needless to say, the two bars of Butterscotch had well disappeared, but the white chocolate was sitting there, waiting to be used. I'd originally earmarked it for a duo of chocolate pots (recipe from the G&B book) but then the muffin idea took hold.
It is amazing how quickly you can conjure up a batch of 14 muffins! I got the urge just after 7pm and before 8, there they were - ready to eat, still slightly warm from the oven. And they were as good as I remembered. The only problem is that the top goes soft over night - you just can't retain that fresh from the oven crust. But still pretty good the next day. And the day after that......
Baking is magical.. I know it's a science and so on, but it never ceases to amaze me how people figured it all out... how the combination of some wet and dry stuff can produce instant comfort on a plate.
Sunday 9 November 2008
Sunday 9th November
No idea what to call this blog, so have just dated it.
It is a miserable, cold, windy and rainy day - so the walk to Temple Newsam did not happen. Instead I pottered around at home. My one achievement? Making dumplings for the first time ever! I did a beef stew and dumplings for dinner. Thanks to Jamie Oliver - I followed (more or less) the recipe from Ministry of Food. I actually have purchased this book as one of Roy's Christmas presents but on leafing through it realised that in all my 40-odd years, I have never made dumplings and the recipe was there, so....
They were pretty easy actually and turned out well. As did the stew.
I also found a huge butternut squash in the garage and because I could not recall exactly how long it had been there (it looked ok) I decided to roast it and then I stood pondering over over to do with the pulp. Eventually I plumped for a butternut squash soup, with a base of onion, garlic and veg stock and spiced up with cayenne pepper and ginger. It is pretty good actually. I'll freeze some and use the rest tomorrow evening.
Still on the topic of food, in Tesco yesterday they were offering a "free" Green & Blacks chocolate recipe book when you purchased three bars of G&B chocolate. I needed no encouragement. I left with 2 bars of butterscotch choc and a bar of white choc (having stocked up on 70% dark choc last week) and my lovely new recipe book. And it is very lovely - there are some fabulous recipes and ideas in there. I can't wait to try some.
I just realised that I haven't yet updated about my lodger! Since early October, we've had my nephew Joe living with us. He's studying at Leeds Uni until the end of this year, and with it only being a sort term placement there, there wasn't much point in him finding accomodation elsewhere. We've enjoyed having him here - his girlfriend Kate is also in Leeds (but living in a shared student flat) and she is here quite a lot too. It's been fun playing surrogate parents! And probably one of the things that prompted back in to the kitchen and my recipe books...
It is a miserable, cold, windy and rainy day - so the walk to Temple Newsam did not happen. Instead I pottered around at home. My one achievement? Making dumplings for the first time ever! I did a beef stew and dumplings for dinner. Thanks to Jamie Oliver - I followed (more or less) the recipe from Ministry of Food. I actually have purchased this book as one of Roy's Christmas presents but on leafing through it realised that in all my 40-odd years, I have never made dumplings and the recipe was there, so....
They were pretty easy actually and turned out well. As did the stew.
I also found a huge butternut squash in the garage and because I could not recall exactly how long it had been there (it looked ok) I decided to roast it and then I stood pondering over over to do with the pulp. Eventually I plumped for a butternut squash soup, with a base of onion, garlic and veg stock and spiced up with cayenne pepper and ginger. It is pretty good actually. I'll freeze some and use the rest tomorrow evening.
Still on the topic of food, in Tesco yesterday they were offering a "free" Green & Blacks chocolate recipe book when you purchased three bars of G&B chocolate. I needed no encouragement. I left with 2 bars of butterscotch choc and a bar of white choc (having stocked up on 70% dark choc last week) and my lovely new recipe book. And it is very lovely - there are some fabulous recipes and ideas in there. I can't wait to try some.
I just realised that I haven't yet updated about my lodger! Since early October, we've had my nephew Joe living with us. He's studying at Leeds Uni until the end of this year, and with it only being a sort term placement there, there wasn't much point in him finding accomodation elsewhere. We've enjoyed having him here - his girlfriend Kate is also in Leeds (but living in a shared student flat) and she is here quite a lot too. It's been fun playing surrogate parents! And probably one of the things that prompted back in to the kitchen and my recipe books...
Saturday 8 November 2008
Autumn is well and truly here
So now it is dark by 5pm and the trees are absolutely stunning this year. I don't know if it is because we had such a wet summer but the colours are incredible and the leaves seem to be sticking on the trees for a long time. The reds, golds, ambers, russets and browns are beautiful. I might venture down to Temple Newsam tomorrow to see what kind of display the trees there are putting on.
Mum has finally had her nose job. She had a basal cell carcinoma (which sounds more alarming than it apparently is) which was mis-diagnosed for many years and therefore being wrongly treated with creams and antibiotics. Finally, it was recognised as a rodent ulcer - the non technical name for it - and she was referred to a specialist. Removing these growth is supposed to be straightforward. You may recall that the removal was supposed to happen last June - on the day dad died - but was cancelled because mum's heart rate was erratic and because the numbing agent contains adrenaline they did not want to go ahead. So, after a long process of referral back to her heart specialist, waiting for cardioversion to correct the heart rate, and waiting again for skin specialist referral - she finally had the ulcer removed this week.
All went well - they did not use a general anaesthetic - but my god her face is a mess! She looks like she has been badly beaten up. This is due to the fact that at the same time as the ulcer is removed a skin graft is taken to cover over the area. The graft was taken from her cheek. It's all very clever, and I am sure it will look great when it has healed but for now it is pretty horrible. Underneath mum's eye is bruised and puffy and she has two big lines of stitches on her face. And through all this she's been terrific - in fact the only thing she's bothered about is having the stitches removed!
The recent cook fest went well. The mushroom risotto was excellent and I will definitely remake. The sticky stuff for the binfire party went down a treat - they'll be repeated too. Salmon fishcakes were also good - and I also made a Nigella chocolate cake which includes half a jar of marmelade - I'd forgotten all about this one, but found the recipe again when I was leafing through "Domestic Goddess". I LOVE the Nigella Christmas book - it's fabulous and there are lots of recipes in there that I intend to try. When I do I need to try to take some pictures - not that I'd ever compete with some of the fantastic food blogs out there.........
Mum has finally had her nose job. She had a basal cell carcinoma (which sounds more alarming than it apparently is) which was mis-diagnosed for many years and therefore being wrongly treated with creams and antibiotics. Finally, it was recognised as a rodent ulcer - the non technical name for it - and she was referred to a specialist. Removing these growth is supposed to be straightforward. You may recall that the removal was supposed to happen last June - on the day dad died - but was cancelled because mum's heart rate was erratic and because the numbing agent contains adrenaline they did not want to go ahead. So, after a long process of referral back to her heart specialist, waiting for cardioversion to correct the heart rate, and waiting again for skin specialist referral - she finally had the ulcer removed this week.
All went well - they did not use a general anaesthetic - but my god her face is a mess! She looks like she has been badly beaten up. This is due to the fact that at the same time as the ulcer is removed a skin graft is taken to cover over the area. The graft was taken from her cheek. It's all very clever, and I am sure it will look great when it has healed but for now it is pretty horrible. Underneath mum's eye is bruised and puffy and she has two big lines of stitches on her face. And through all this she's been terrific - in fact the only thing she's bothered about is having the stitches removed!
The recent cook fest went well. The mushroom risotto was excellent and I will definitely remake. The sticky stuff for the binfire party went down a treat - they'll be repeated too. Salmon fishcakes were also good - and I also made a Nigella chocolate cake which includes half a jar of marmelade - I'd forgotten all about this one, but found the recipe again when I was leafing through "Domestic Goddess". I LOVE the Nigella Christmas book - it's fabulous and there are lots of recipes in there that I intend to try. When I do I need to try to take some pictures - not that I'd ever compete with some of the fantastic food blogs out there.........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)