gingercream

Orange and Caraway Seed Cake

2012-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall for this amazing recipe. I just can't stop eating it.

Quite a fitting recipe to break the long silence since my last blog. It was never my intention for it to be so long between posts, and the assumption that I have not been cooking at all would be wrong. I made some wonderful cordials during the Summer months last year, starting with the elderflower one and ending with rose hip. As usual I left it late to gather the berries and Autumn saw me off on my bike complete with gloves for the thorns, a bag and a pair of scissors. Making cordials can be very rewarding especially as you drink them through the winter months reminding yourself of the sunshine of the previous year (or not as the case may be)

So here we are almost at the beginning of a new year with some exciting months ahead for cooking, traveling and having fun.

Orange and Caraway Seed Cake. This is great and easy to make. It keeps well for a few days in an airtight tin if it lasts that long.

250g butter, softened,
350g self-raising flour
 ½ tsp mixed spice
 ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg, Pinch of salt
 250g caster sugar
 4 eggs
 30g caraway seeds
 Finely grated zest of 1 orange
 4 tbsp orange juice
4 tbsp brandy or Grand Marnier if you have it
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 22cm spring-form cake tin, and line Sift the flour,mixed spice, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well

Beat in the caraway and orange zest.

Fold in the flour until just combined, then stir in the orange juice and brandy. Spoon into the tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with demerara sugar

Bake for about 45 minutes and test with a skewer to see it the cake is cooked

Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a rack to cool and enjoy.

Elderflower cordial time

2011-06-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well I almost missed it. I was desperately searching the hedgerows for elderflowers that have started their season early and have now almost gone. Every year I like to make elderflower cordial, I know you can buy it but like most food it tastes much better when it is home made.

The elderflower has been well known through out the centuries for its high vitamin C content and its healing properties. The cordial is very refreshing served with sparkling water some ice and lemon. Its also very simple and easy to make.

20 heads of elderflowers
1.5 kg of white sugar
1.2 litres water
2 unwaxed lemons
50 g citric acid

Shake the elderflowers to get rid of any lingering insects, and then place in a large bowl.

Put the sugar into a pan with the water and heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved.

While the sugar syrup is heating, prepare the lemons by taking off the zest and slicing, add to the bowl.

Pour over the boiling sugar syrup and stir in the citric acid. Cover with a cloth and leave for 24 hours

Next day, strain the cordial through a sieve lined with muslin and pour into clean plastic or glass bottles. You can store in the freezer if you wish to keep through the winter.

You can also add it to ice cream or desserts and its great with gin. If you are not storing in the fridge, then loosen the tops of the bottles from time to time as they can ferment and burst. Enjoy.

Traditional Arabic dessert - Knafeh bil Jiben

2011-05-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Why does time seem to speed up the older you get. When we were young, birthdays never seemed to come and we were always waiting for them with excitement, now they come around far too fast. Its a month since I updated my blog, where did the time go? Tempus fugit (time flies).
I was armed with pictures and recipes from Germany where I spent a fantastic Easter, and now its the middle of May and its too late for Easter recipes,
In the meantime someone gave me the recipe for the most fantastic Lebanese desert I have ever tasted, made from cheese and shredded filo pastry topped with sugar syrup

My husband almost grew up with this dessert and he claims its also great for a hangover cure, when eaten for breakfast, but I have only his word for it. I only know that once I make it I can't stop eating it, I keep going back for more. There are many different versions of this recipe but this one is tried and tested and I haven't had any complaints yet.

Knafeh bil Jiben

1 pack of Kaitafi, shredded filo pastry (bought from most Middle Eastern Grocers)
250 grams of Mascarpone
250 grams mozzarella
120 grams of unsalted butter or ghee
yellow food colour (optional, I don't use it)
this will fit a dish about 20 cm x 20 cm

Sugar syrup
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
Rose water or orange flower water

First prepare the syrup
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and heat slowly until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice and bring to the boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes and then add 2 teaspoons of rose water.

Melt the butter and place the shredded filo in a bowl, (use about 300 grams ) and break down by hand, add melted butter and mix again by hand.

Cut mozzarella into small pieces and mix with the mascarpone until smooth, work with the fingers. This is the filling.

Put half the filo into the dish, add cheese and add the rest of the filo and spread on top of the cheese.

Bake in a hot oven 200, for about 20 mins or until brown. Cut into slices and add the syrup.

Serve with chopped pistachios and clotted cream, your choice. Its full of calories and it certainly blew a hole in my diet, but it so delicious.

Tea and Shortbread

2011-04-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

I was browsing in my local library the other day and I came across this book called 'bake' by Tina Bester with some amazing cake recipes in. I often look at cook books but never follow any of the recipes, I like looking at the pictures and the presentations, but anyway I came across a recipe for shortbread. This really brought back memories of my cooking lessons at school when we had a list of ingredients to take. I always left it to the last minute and my mother would be running around the kitchen looking for everything I had on my list. I remember one day we made shortbread and we did mixing and kneading and rolling and it seemed to take a long time. So when I saw this super fast recipe that was so different I just had to try it.

Shortbread

200g flour
200g butter
50g castor sugar, plus extra for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 C
Mix the flour and butter together in a food processor and add the sugar
Process again until the mixture is crumbly
Press into a greased fluted 22 cm round tart tin with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown (Be careful not to over cook it)
While still warm cut into wedges, prick with a fork and dust with castor sugar.

It tasted so good and took such a short time to prepare I have made it many times. I much prefer homemade cakes and cookies but don't always have the time to make them, but this one is so easy. Try it in the afternoon when a friend visits for tea.

The sweetness of doing nothing but eating cake

2011-03-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

Following on from my last blog about doing nothing and feeling guilty, I came across this movie called Eat Pray Love which was a real coincidence as it seemed to legitimize the act of doing nothing. In fact the Italians even have a name for it, 'la' dolce far niente' the sweetness of doing nothing, how fantastic is that and trust the Italians to get it right.

And how much better is it to enjoy that sweetness with some cake. The one I am thinking about has a wonderful sugar syrup tasting of rose water. To be accompanied with a cup of expresso coffee or arabic coffee with cardamon and good book or movie.

This is a cake called Namura

335g semolina flour

1g baking powder

200g white sugar

75g sweetened flaked coconut

55g melted butter

235 ml plain yogurt

60 ml milk or as needed

35g whole almonds

syrup

235 ml water

200g sugar

15 ml lemon juice

a few drops of rose water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). grease an 8 inch square baking dish

In a large bowl, mix together the semolina, baking powder, sugar, coconut and butter.

Add the yogurt and milk and mix until moistened but not liquid. If it is too dry add more milk.

Spread into the baking dish, score with a knife so you have the diamond shape and add the almonds. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden.

While the Namura is baking, combine the water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. heat slowly to make sure the sugar is dissolved, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the drops of rose water to taste.

When cooked, pour over the syrup and leave to rest for about half an hour. Cut into pieces and serve

What are you doing today

2011-03-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am feeling incredibly lazy today. My cooking plans have gone out of the window because I am sitting here doing nothing. I wonder really why we always expect to be doing something with our time as if we have to justify each minute that passes with something productive to show at the end of it. O'h look I baked a cake, or I cleaned the house or I went to work and fought my way home in the traffic and now I have to feed the family. Are we really so far away from that caveman mentality of hunting and foraging as we think we are, or is it just translated into different events like going for a drive, meeting friends and shopping.

Why aren't we happy to just 'be' you know like all the books say 'live in the moment'. Where am I going with this I ask myself as I realise I have just succumbed to the very thing I was writing about, I am doing something...blogging. Well I don't have the answers but its good to be aware of it and think of these things.

I was thinking of a meal I had for the first time when I lived in the Middle East called Makloubeh which means upside down. Quite literally all the ingredients are pre cooked except the rice, it is layered in a pan and then turned upside down to serve. It was so delicious that of course I wanted the recipe. It is a palestinian dish and I think the recipe varies from family to family. This is the one my mother in law used to cook.

Makloubeh

You can use chicken, lamb or beef for this dish, whatever is your preference.

1 chicken or about 1 kilo of lamb or beef
The meat should be cut into large pieces sautéed in oil to brown and then add water and seasoning to just cover the meat. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 40 minutes until cooked. Drain and save the stock for later.

1 small cauliflower and 3 carrots, blanched and fried
1 aubergine grilled
3 onions sauteed
about 250 grams of washed rice
pine nuts to garnish

For the seasoning it is important to use plenty of salt and black pepper and allspice

When all the ingredients are prepared, take a large pan and start layering.

Onions first then the meat, season well with salt, pepper and allspice.
then add the rest of the vegetables seasoning each layer
Add the rice last and then the stock to just cover the rice.
Bring to the boil and simmer until all the water has gone, about 30 minutes. Test the rice to make sure it is cooked.
Take a large plate put it over the pan and turn the pan upside down. Garnish with pine nuts and serve with yogurt and salad
It does take time to prepare all the ingredients but it is a great dish to serve for friends on a special occasion. It looks so good when presented at the table. My photo does not do it credit but I'm working on this.

A thought for Japan

2011-03-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

I had intended to post my latest recipe tonight which was a cake. Lemon yogurt cake, I have been meaning to do it for some time as I cook it quite often. I even bought one of these silicon cake containers to cook it in. I have all the pictures ready to put on the website. But the news.

Japan is devastated after that earthquake so how can I think of blogging about cooking. I have been following the news for most of the day as I expect most people have. My thoughts are with all these people tonight who have lost everything, what can I say.

Walks in the sun and slow cooked lamb with white wine

2011-03-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

A good day out is always followed by a great meal. One that you can smell when you return home feeling cold and hungry, open the door and wow the smell of food. I seem to be following a pattern here for slow cooked meals but I just had to put this one on my blog.

My day out was walking among the snowdrops with friends. Its such a short season that we always try to take advantage of it. Some of these small snowdrop bulbs are worth as much as £300

It will be my last picture of snowdrops I promise.

Lamb with white wine

Take a large roasting pan and a leg of lamb, whole one or half depending on the amount of people eating.

Put some oil in the roasting pan over the heat and add the seasoned lamb and brown.
Meanwhile prepare your vegetables.

I would usually use carrots, celeriac or celery, leeks, onions, garlic, tomatoes and beetroot
rosemary, thyme and 2 bay leaves
not forgetting a bottle of dry white wine.

Chop the vegetables and add to the roasting pan when the meat is brown. Use a whole bulb of garlic sliced across the middle and add the herbs, salt and pepper.

I usually heat the wine before adding and I will use almost a whole bottle depending on the size of the dish. Cover with foil making sure it is sealed well and place in a very hot oven for 30 minutes at 220C turn down to 170 and leave for about 4 hours. It needs this long if the meat is to be tender and falling off the bone. Check after 3 hours and thicken if you need to with cornflour.

I have been a little vague with this recipe as it is flexible in the type of vegetables you use and the herbs. This one works well for me.
I serve with mashed potatoes and a glass of wine

almost spring

2011-02-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

It was such a nice day it felt like spring. There was a flash of colour in the garden

and I felt the compulsion to get my bike out and go for a ride. I cycled for 12 miles, which was a long way for me and it certainly gave me an appetite. The first flowers of spring were in the hedgerows and I was glad of my camera. Snowdrops, what a great sight.

So now I'm hungry and the only person to cook is me, and also the downside is I need to be motivated to cook. You could say that hunger is a great motivator and thats ok if you are making a snack, but to create a meal, I need to see the food on the plate and taste it before I start. Warm weather and food from the med, great colours, and my imagination starts to wander.

Vegetable Penne Pasta Bake
We love this meal at home, its so versatile for a busy family when we don't always have the time to sit down together. Doesn't it look good.

1 red onion cut into thin slices
2 courgettes, sliced
1 aubergine cubed
2 yellow peppers, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
175g penne
1 jar of Italian Passata
3 cloves of garlic crushed
200g mozzarella cut into thin slices
salt and pepper to taste and I like to add some herbs like fresh basil

Pre heat oven to 220C/425F/ gas 7. Place all vegetables in a large baking tray or roasting tin. Drizzle with oil and toss together. Bake for 40 minutes until tender and slightly blackened.
When finished, add the sauce and heat with the vegetables.

cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain

layer all ingredients including mozzarella in a 2litre/3 1/2 pint oven proof dish

finish with the mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes until bubbling. Serve with parmesan and a salad.

Lazy weekends and good food

2011-02-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

What to cook at the weekends has always been a problem especially if I want to chill, spend time with friends and not be in the kitchen forever.

This dish ticks all the boxes when it comes to going out and coming back to a really delicious meal that is cooked and ready to serve.

Beef and ale casserole

This is a slow cooked casserole, you need at least 3 to 4 hours in the oven for all the flavours to combine with the ale and the meat to fall apart. I have this wonderful earthenware casserole pot that I bought in France many years ago, and I swear the meals cooked in this pot taste better every time I use it. If you are not blessed with a pot like this, any oven proof pot will do but you need a cover.

500g diced stewing beef
3 bacon rashers or some pancetta
500ml of ale
3 sticks of celery
2 medium onions
3 carrots
1 courgette
3 tomatoes or tin of tomatoes
1 tbs plain flour
1 bulb of garlic - wash and leave whole
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
mixed herbs

You can increase the amount of ingredients according to how many people you are cooking for
Set the oven to about 200C or gas 6
Roughly chop all the vegetables
Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat and onions
add the vegetables and gently stir in the meat juices for about 5 minutes
add the flour and stir
add the beer and if you are using tinned tomatoes also add them at this point
add the bay leaves, herbs and seasoning an put in the casserole pot. If you have a pot that will go directly on the heat and then to the oven, then its better. Mine is so precious I don't like to try it incase it breaks.
add the bulb of garlic at this point, and there should be just enough liquid to come under the level of all the ingredients.

reduce the oven temperature after 30 minutes, chill out and forget about it for at least 3 hours.

Serve with mashed potato or you can add sliced potato to the pot before cooking in the oven

Bon appetite and enjoy your day out

You cant win them all

2011-02-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

One thing I noticed about food blogs, they always talk about the successful recipes they produce and not the failures. Well I know that logically we don't want to share our failures with the world, until now that is..... anyone ever made Tarte Tatin?

Well I did last night, tomato and caramelized onion Tarte Tatin, I could almost taste it. Prepared the onions, sliced the tomatoes, rolled the pastry and took the pics. Crumbled feta on the finished tart and tasted - it looked good but the pastry was raw in the middle (its disappointing isn't it) which is why I fell back to one of my favorite soup recipes.

My mother in law used to make this for us and I had forgotten it until I visited a friend called Marie in France this New Year. Lentils with Swiss chard, its not the sort of soup you might immediately want to rush and cook but when you eat it you just have to go back for more its so delicious. So I have started to make it again, its an excellent winter dish. A meal in a bowl and so warming and healthy.

Lentils with Swiss Chard
Adas bis-Silq

200g green lentils or puy lentils
1 lt. water
1 large potato diced
2 onions finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic crushed
juice of 1 lemon
large bunch of swiss chard chopped (If you can't get Swiss Chard then use cabbage)
olive oil

wash the lentils and place in a large saucepan with water

bring lentils to a boil, skimming when necessary, cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour or until the lentils are cooked, add swiss chard or cabbage

in a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook until transparent, stir in the garlic and cook for a further minute or two.

add the onions and garlic to the saucepan with the lentils, also add the potato and more water if necessary

season with salt and pepper, add lemon juice and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes.

serve in a soup bowl garnished with a wedge of lemon and chopped coriander leaves (optional)

As for the tarte tatin, its back to the drawing board

Palestinian Musakhan - an awesome chicken dish

2011-01-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

This is a traditional Palestinian recipe with chicken, spices, onions, bread and sumac.

Sumac is not widely known and it is a wonderful dark red spice that has a sour lemon flavour and it can play the same role as salt but you have to use it more generously.

1 chicken quartered

1 ½ tbs ground sumac.

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cinnamon

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Juice of 1 lemon

About 5 finely chopped red onions

2 tbs olive oil

½ cup rich chicken stock (make from the chicken carcass when you quarter it)

flat bread

½ cup pine nuts toasted

Remove excess fat from the chicken

Combine sumac, spices & salt. Set aside 2 tsp of this mixture, mixing the rest with the lemon juice. Rub into the chicken and marinate, its better left over night, or at least for a few hours.

Sauté the onions in olive oil, add half the chicken stock, reserved spices and salt. Cover and cook gently for 30 minutes.

Brown the chicken in a frying pan.

Brush an oven dish with oil and place flat bread in the bottom, put in half the onion mixture, and the rest of the chicken stock

Add chicken pieces and cover with rest of onions. Cover the dish and cook for about 1 hour in a medium oven.

Serve immediately sprinkled with pine nuts

Three salads and a bottle of wine

2011-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

The dark days of winter are still with us and last night in the kitchen I suddenly thought I feel like some color in my food, fresh bright and appetising to remind me of summer.

I love salads and enjoy making them, not just 1 or 2 but sometimes more. I love to see the different dishes all with their own individual texture and look. And then of course out comes the wine. A bottle of Macon Villages which defies the assumption that 'I will only have half a glass' after all I am still on that diet.

Tzatziki

Cool and creamy with a tang. Yoghurt, cucumber with garlic, great with grilled meat or eaten with warm pitta bread.

250g of plain yoghourt

1 clove of garlic mashed

handful of chopped dill

1 tablespoon of white vinegar

half a small cucumber grated

Mix all ingredients together and add a pinch of salt to taste.

Celeriac and carrot salad

Its healthy, has no oil and has a wonderful tang with the lime juice, and a touch of sweetness with the raisons

Peel and grate celeriac and carrots into a bowl (I would use about a half the celeriac and 3 carrots depending on size)

add juice of a lime and the rind and a handful of raisons. Mix well and allow to stand for about an hour to let the flavours mingle.

Tomato Salad

The tomato is so versatile in a salad.

Chop 4 or 5 tomatoes, I always make a large salad, because if there is any left, it tastes even better the next day.

Thinly slice a small red onion and add to the tomatoes with salt pepper, juice of 1 lemon and olive oil. You can add mint or thyme to this. Garlic and chili always go well and you can use balsamic vinegar instead of lemon

We ate this with smoked salmon, parma ham and warm pitta bread.

Quick and Easy

2011-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

Its Sunday and I felt like going out for lunch, I mean its only fair isn't it that the cook likes to be cooked for every so often. I know I should feel pleased that my husband enjoys my food so much, but it reaches a point when he does not like to eat out. I wonder sometimes what does everyone else do with this problem?

Anyway it was lucky that I had some meat and rice filling left over after cooking the courgette with Yoghourt, the day before, so this is what I did.......very quick and easy.

Stuffed peppers with tomato sauce

4 or 5 peppers

4 or 5 sliced tomatoes

1 bulb of garlic (washed and cut in half)

1 tin of cherry tomatoes

1.½ cups of ground meat

1 cup rice

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

Wash the rice drain and mix with the meat and seasoning.

Cut the top off the peppers, remove the seeds and fill with the rice and meat. Fill to about half way as the rice will expand during cooking.

Slice the tomatoes and put in the bottom of an oven dish, place the peppers on top

and add the garlic and tin of tomatoes.

Season to taste, and I usually put a shake of olive oil over all of it, and add some thyme as this goes well with the tomatoes.

Cover and put in a medium oven for about 1 1/2 hours. It takes a while as the rice need to cook.

It tasted good and I got over being in a 'nobody loves me mood' and it went down very well with a bottle of red wine that we brought back from France. Life is too short not to enjoy good food and wine.

My husband said that I have to give him credit for taking the seeds out of the pepper and pouring the wine

sunshine on a cloudy day

2011-01-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thats what marmalade reminds me of, sunshine, especially as its still raining and has been for the past 4 days. So what to do but put some music on and cook.

Seville Orange Marmalade

900 g (2lb) Seville Oranges
1.8kg (4lb) Sugar
2.25 lt (4 pints) Water
1 Lime

squeeze the juice from the fruit and add to the water in a large heavy bottom saucepan

keep the pips and and any pith (the white substance that clings to the skin) place them into a muslin bag, tie this to the handle of the saucepan (to prevent them being hard to find later). The pith contains pectin which will help the marmalade to set.

cut the fruit into very thin shreds and add to the water

cook gently for 2 hours or until the peel is tender.

remove the bag containing the pips, squeezing thoroughly before discarding.

add the sugar stirring until it is fully dissolved.

bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 20 minutes, spoon a little of the marmalade onto a plate, cool, and push with your finger to see if the skin wrinkles, if not then keep boiling and testing every 10 minutes, until the setting point is reached.

skim the surface, allow to cool for 7 - 8 minutes before putting into sterile jars, stir to distribute the peel evenly.

I know that bought marmalade can be good, but this sharp taste of the seville oranges combined with the sweet taste of the sugar when made at home, far surpasses anything from a shop. The season for seville oranges is so short and they are on sale right now.

January and its raining

2011-01-12T03:32:00.000-08:00

Well its January so what are we doing but planning holidays and thinking where to go next.

O'h yes and the weight of course. After Christmas last year I started a spreadsheet to track my weight loss and to motivate me. This went really well for the first 2 months and then somehow got buried amongst other more important activities. Anyway I revived it this year, and what do you think?

I my increased weight was exactly the same as it was last year........ there is a message here somewhere and it needs careful thought.

Now that the new year celebrations are over, actually did something different this year for a change, as we usually do nothing. We drove to France and headed to friends in St Maxime.

Stayed the first night in Lyon and had had a really traditional Lyonnaise meal at Chambert st Fils in the old town.

Visited St Tropez and had lunch on January 1st in a beach restaurant called Club 55.

On the way back we spent a night in Chablis, it was so quiet there but luckily we managed to find this very traditional Hotel in the centre of town.

Drank 2 bottles of wine, not a good idea but we were so excited to be there.

The weather was very cold and misty but it was interesting to see the vines already prepared for next years crop of grape.

And now to more thoughts of cooking. Its the season for Seville oranges so I think marmalade is next on the menu.

Happy New Year

2011-01-09T13:43:00.001-08:00

Well, one has to start somewhere and I have been contemplating this blog for the last six months...... with questions running through my head like 'who would want to read my blog' to 'I can't even compete with any good pics, here it is. My new years resolution that wasn't to be, as all the stats show any resolutions are usually broken by the end of January.

I like cooking and intend to share some of my recipes just as soon as I figure out how all this works.

And why gingercream? Don't know really, except that I like ginger its good for you, I also like cream but its not good for you