Macaroons

It's Christmas eve and I am in charge of afters this year for the family festivities tomorrow and when I get asked to make afters there is one perfect little bite of pleasure which I know will be well recieved and that is the humble macaroon.

Now some people say they are difficult to make, the internet and cook books abound with horror stories of how instead of individual jewels of brightly coloured nuggets the oven door opens to a quatermass experiment of dull brown! This recipe has worked faultlessly for me everytime so fingers crossed and quick prayer to the kitchen fairy it should for you too!

Once you have mastered the basic recipe you can experiment with flavours and colours and combinations to your hearts content!

Ingredients:
3 egg white
4oz of ground almonds
7oz icing sugar
2 tbs caster sugar
1/2tsp cream of tarter
food colouring - gel or powder work best! you need more than you would to colour icing or a cake so experiment to get the tone you are after.

Place greaseproof paper on two large baking sheets

In a large bowl mix together the icing sugar and ground almonds and mix together until well blended
In another larg bowl whisk the egg whites until at stiff peak stage - whisk in the sugar and cream of tarter and food colouring (if gel if powder add with the dry ingredients)

Gently fold in the icing sugar and almond mix - the mix will look a fair bit like shaving foam at this point (hopefully coloured shaving foam)

Put mix into a piping bag with a large nozzle fitted. On the baking sheets pipe even circles - you can download and print off templates here or just do them by eye - just make sure to make an even number. Space out the circles a little as they spread slightly

Once you have piped all your macaroons pick up your baking tray and bang it down on a hard surface several times - you want to knock out all the air bubbles otherwise the top will crack. If you have any peaks on your macaroons then smooth them down with a wet finger.

Now patience is a virtue - let your macaroons sit and rest quietly on the side for an hour - this is to allow a skin to form and is the key to a successful bake.

Preheat the oven to 125C place one tray at a time into the over for 12 minutes. Check your macaroons after 12 minutes the tops should be shiney and not brown and they should have risen creating a little frilly skirt at the bottom with a domed top.

Remove from the oven and rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully peeling them off the greaseproof and placing on a rack to cool.

Now the choice is what you want to sandwich them together with and the choices are endless from cream to butter cream to lemon curd.

This christmas I have made 3 types

Chocolate Pudding - replace 1oz of the icing sugar with 1oz of coco powder and filled with butter cream made with ginger syrup, mixed spice and clementine zest and iced to look like little christmas puddings

Cranberry cream - basic mix coloured with red and sandwiched with butter cream made with cranberry jelly

Pistacio - replace the ground almonds with ground pistacios and coloured with green food colouring - sandwiched with plain vanilla buttercream because I want the nuts to be the stars.

Merry Christmas, happy cooking and see you in 2013 x

biscotti potty

The festive season is fast hurtling towards us and as the Buy BUY BUY adverts hit the TV screens and you find yourself singing along to Winter wonderlan in the supermarket I find myself wanting to rebel from all the consumerness of it all. So this year rather than buy boxes of brand name biscuits and chocolates which we then stuff our faces with we are going to have home made treats in the biscuit tin - and the great thing is you can give them as inexpensive gifts which look and taste a million pounds!

So here I am with the first item - the biscuit to win all dunking wars whether you drink coffee or tea or hot chocolate or milk - the biscotti stands up to them all - and the great thing about them is you can tailor them to your own taste once you have mastered the recipe - they will sit happily in the tin for weeks (at least a month) and freeze like a dream (although the defrosted ones are a little softer so pop them in a medium oven for 5 minutes to crisp up again)  Biscotti are also not an overly sweet biscuit so make a nice change from the over rich foods of the season!

So for this trial run (yes they have a good shelf life but they probably wont get to see it out!) I have made Chocolate brownie biscotti and Christmas Biscotti

A word to the wise - biscotti are made to be dunked - it is their ambition in life and so they are hard - trying to eat them with out dunking can result in trips to the dentist! you have been warned - however dunk and nibble dunk and nibble is the perfect way to eat them!

Chocolate Brownie Biscotti
This makes a chocolate heaven hit of a biscuit - perfect for an indulgent coffee on a winters day - santa will thank you if you leave one of these out for him with his hot milk!



Makes around 20 fairly large biscuits

75g Butter room temp

135g white sugar

2 eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

85g Milk Chocolate chips

30g chopped walnuts

220g plain flour

30g unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon Water

1 egg yolk

Weigh out the ingrediants and put the chocolate chips and walnuts to one side. Place the egg yolk and water together in a bowl and whisk together - place to one side.
In a large bowl place the sugar and butter and mix until pale. Whisk in the two eggs (one at a time) until you have a smooth batter. Add in the dry ingrediants slowly mixing well - dependant on your mixer you may need to go over to a wooden spoon to mix in the last bits - now add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix in well (hands maybe easier)

Divide the mix in two and roll out into sausages - this is where you decide on how big or small your biscuits are going to be - place on a sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking tray and squash gently to flatten the sausages until they are about 1inch thick (they will spread and rise a little so leave a space between them) Use the egg and water brush the top of each log.

Place in a preheated 180C oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the greaseproof paper and the biscotti logs to a wire cooling rack.

Allow to cool for no more than 10 minutes - it is a fine line between them getting too cold and crumbling when you try and cut and being too hot to handle so practice!

Once you can handle the logs place on a cutting board and with a very sharp knife slice into inch wide biscuits - some people say use a bread knife but I find it easiest with just a sharp carver knife and cut by pushing down rather than trying to drag and cut.

Place the little biscotti back on the baking tray laying flat on their side.

Return to the oven for 10 minutes, remove and turn the slices over and cook for a further 10 minutes (you need asbestos fingers at this point so be careful!)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully on a wire rack then store in an air tight tin or freeze.
For a little extra taste of luxury drizzle the cold biscotti with a bit of melted chocolate!


Christmas Biscotti
Nothing says christmas more than mixed spice, ginger and orange - and these biscuits have all of these and just a little bit of festive red and green thrown in too!















350g plain flour , plus extra for rolling                                           
2 tsp mixed spice                                                                                                                   
250g golden caster sugar
90g shelled pistachios
 2tsp baking powder
3 eggs beaten
Grated zest of a tangerine and its juice
90g dried cranberries
50g crystalised ginger

In a large bowl mix together the flour, spice, sugar, baking powder and grated zest and stir together.
Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg a little at a time - this makes a dough quickly so I find it easier to use my hands - add half the tangerine juice and mix until all the flour is combined - it may look a little dry but keep going if it wont come together then add in a little more of the juice.

Tip out on to a floured board and knead in the cranberries, ginger and pistachios - it is a bit fiddly and the filling will make a bid for freedom so dont make it in your best party dress

Once everything is combined divide into 4 and roll out in to equal sized logs (I like to make these smaller than the chocolate ones as they are so packed with flavour) Place on a lined baking tray and squash to about 1inch flat. Use either and egg wash or a little milk to brush the top of each log.

Place in a preheated 180C oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the greaseproof paper and the biscotti logs to a wire cooling rack.

Allow to cool for no more than 10 minutes - it is a fine line between them getting too cold and crumbling when you try and cut and being too hot to handle so practice!

Once you can handle the logs place on a cutting board and with a very sharp knife slice into inch wide biscuits - some people say use a bread knife but I find it easiest with just a sharp carver knife and cut by pushing down rather than trying to drag and cut.

Place the little biscotti back on the baking tray laying flat on their side.

Return to the oven for 10 minutes, remove and turn the slices over and cook for a further 10 minutes (you need asbestos fingers at this point so be careful!)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully on a wire rack then store in an air tight tin or freeze

Again dipping or drizzling with melted chocolate will add a little luxury to these little biscuits and they look very pretty in celophane bags tied with ribbons for gifts.

Roasted vegetable soup with added stars

Post dental visit, post bonfire night on a sogg chilly november day and I want something soft tasty and most of all warming for my lunch but one with just a little something special to cheer me up - what could be better than a cup of stars in the form of the beautiful little stars which are Stelline pasta. It used to be that you could only get specialist pastas from posh deli shops but I was able to get these from asda in the normal pasta aisle - the tiny stars swell up and thicken the soup beautifully.



Ingredients
Stelline pasta - 145g/1cup
1 Red Pepper - cored and quartered
2 baby turnips - peeled and quartered
7 Salad tomatos - sliced in half
1 onion - sliced
1 chicken stock cube dissolved in a litre and half of hot water
1 tsp easy garlic
1tsp tomato puree
Salt and pepper


Place the tomatos, pepper and turnips in a roasting tray and season well - place in a medium oven for 40 minutes until the turnips are soft (you may need to remove the tomatos and pepper depending on how big your turnips are)

In a large pan fry off the onion over a low heat in a small amount of oil. Once they begin to soften add in the turnips and fry for another few minutes before adding in the rest of the roasted veg and the tomato puree and garlic and stir through. Pour over the stock and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and blitz the soup until smooth. Return to the heat and taste - adjust seasoning as required. Bring back to a simmer and add in the Stelline stiring it through the soup. Simmer for 8 minutes until the pasta is cooked.

Serve and enjoy - if you dont eat it all day 1 then you might need to add in some extra water as you reheat it or the pasta thickens it up too much!

Rustic Sausage and Apple Pie

In our house saturday night tea and autumn means just one thing - Meat pie and potato cakes and beetroot - it is written in stone and has been since well I ate solids - now normally we are talking mince and onion pie, occasionally a chicken pie makes a appearance but sometimes I just want to mix things up abit.

The other half wandered past the other day and said (in a very homer simpson way) mmm sausage pie . . . I have heard of such things . . . . and wandered away. Normally his culinary ramblings go in one ear and out the other but this one got me thinking

Ingredients
1.5 packet of thick sausages - any flavour or type but thick ones.
6oz short crust pastry - either bought or made
2 eating apples - cored and cut into chunks
2 stalks of celery - cut into chunks


Take the sausages and slit the skins and squidge out the sausage meat into a large bowl
Sprinkle over a tablespoon of plain flour. and mix together with the meat. Divide the pastry into two and roll one half out thinly - place on a baking tray.

Take 2/3 of the sausage meat and roughly shape into a round patty. Place in the centre of the rolled out pastry leaving around a 4cm border. Take 1/2 of the celery and apple and gently push into the top of the sausage meat patty to built up your pie. Take the remaining sausage meat and place over the top of the pie then top with the remaining apple and celery.

Roll out the remaining pastry large enough to cover the heap of meat and fruit. Egg wash around the heap and place the pasty over it. Egg wash along the edge and then roll the bottom border of pastry up to make a crust. Cut a small nick in the top of the pie to let the steam out and then egg wash the crust.

Bake in a preheated oven 175C for 20 - 25 minutes until the crust is golden.

Because of the high fat content in sausages you may find the pasty goes a bit on the soggy side.

Pumpkin Seed and Cherry Flapjacks

Flapjacks are a great and easy baking standby - they taste great and you can put anything in them you have in your store cupboard

These ones I put together to take on a family day out to a theme park and wanted something we can grab and eat on the go, will satisfy the sweet cravings of the younger members of the family while giving the older ones some energy to keep going and wont end up looking like a pile of crumbs after a day rattling around in the bottom of rucksack.

Ingredients
80g flora buttery (or similar)
80g brown sugar
60g golden syrup
130g rolled oats
25g pumpkin seeds
20g white chocolate chips
20g dark chocolate chips
100g Glace Cherries - cut into quarters








Put the flora, sugar and golden syrup into a pan and melt together over a low heat. Put the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over the melted sugar mix and stir well to combine it all together.

Pour mix into a greased baking tray - I use a 20cm square one, and smooth it out with the back of a spoon until is evenly covering the bottom.

Place in a preheated oven 180 for 18 - 20 minutes.

Flapjacks need to stay in the tin for at least 10 minutes as it sets as it cools

Slice into even squares - should make 16 small square bars, and place on a cooling rack to fully cool - although a warm flapjack just out of the oven is one of lifes little luxurys! Keep in an airtight tin - or freeze (if they last that long)

Pretzel Dayz

When is bread not a bread . . . when it's a pretzel!

This week I have been on a journey of discovery into the world of pretzels - it all started with himself complaining as to the lack of savoury snacks in the house as I refuse to buy crisps now and so I thought I would have a go at making salty pretzels - the ones I had in mind were those hard stick things you get on airplanes but having wandered in the wilderness of google I discovered that in fact the real Pretzel is a soft dough more a kin to a bread roll than a twig.

So first up I made a batch of savoury ones (got to keep the troops happy) and so the first ones were topped with sea salt

But having tasted them (and flicked off the salt) and looked at the calories I got to thinking - the two things I have REALLY missed since getting on the health kick is white bread rolls and chocolate . . . so if I combined the pretzel dough with some dark chocolate chips I could get a hit of both with out the excess of calories!

Pretzel dough ingredients

1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
packet of dry active yeast - the type you can use in a bread maker (2 tsp if you have it in a tin)
280g Strong plain flour
1 egg
6fl oz of warm water

Toppings

Coarse Sea Salt
50g dark choc chips (refridgerated)
1 tsp brown sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon - you wont use it all so pop the excess in a little pot ready for next time

To Make the dough

In a large bowl place the flour, salt and sugar and mix together - sprinkle the yeast over the top and pour in a third of the water - mix with your hands and keep adding a bit of water and mixing until it is all combined - now you can do all this in a mixer or bread maker but I prefer to do it by hand.

Once you have combined most of the flour into the water tip it out on to a dry board and carry on kneading until your hands are clean and you have a smooth dough - resisiting the urge to add more flour - which when pinched gently returns to its shape - it will take about 10 minutes

Place in a greased bowl with a clean tea towel over the top and leave some where warm for 30 minutes for the dough to proove and double in size (if you dont have a warm place then put your oven on to its lowest setting for 10 minutes switch it off and then place your dough in there.)

Once it has prooved you need to decide what kind of pretzels you want to make

Savoury pretzels

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a dry board. Divide it into 24 equal pieces. Cover any pieces you are not using to prevent them drying out

Take one piece and roll it into a long sausage. Take the two ends and cross them so you have made a circle with a cross at the top shape. Gently pull the crossed ends over so they overlap the bottom of the circle and form the distinctive bow shape of the traditional prezel. Place your pretzel on to a greased baking tray and repeat until all 24 are made.

Gently brush the top of each pretzel with egg and then sprinkle over some of the rough sea salt

Place in a preheated oven 200 degrees and bake for 10 - 15 minutes (dependant on your oven) until they are golden brown on top and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom - allow to cool and store in an airtight container or freeze in batches

Mine did rise a bit more than anticipated but they are lovely and chewy and more of a mouthful even if they did loose their shape!

Chocolate pretzel balls

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a dry board. Flatten out the dough and pour over the chocolate chips - fold over and knead to distribute the chips

Divide into 24 equal pieces and shape into balls and place on a greased baking tray

preheat oven to 200 degrees and allow balls to proove for 10 minutes (while the oven heats up) Brush with egg and sprinkle over the brown sugar and cinnamon mix.

Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped

Allow to cool

Store in an airtight tin or freeze in batches

You can of course make them into the traditional pretzel shape if you like although the chocolate chips will limit your actvity a bit.

Equally if you want to make them bigger - the balls are a about golf ball sized then simply divide the dough less times - happy baking!

warm mango and chocolate pancakes

There are some days (or evenings) when you're home alone and you just really fancy a treat and it has to involve chocolate! You could reach for the dairy milk family sized bar, you could break into a lump of chocolate fudge cake or you could try one of these - which is my preference! These are not healthy (although compared to a large slab of dairy milk or cake it probably is) so not something to indulge in when you have blown your calorie limits already - they are something to be savoured and enjoyed and eaten as a treat!


The recipe will make two large pancakes

Ingredients
Pancakes :-
1 medium egg
55g plain flour
137ml milk
1 tsp oil

filling:-
100g ripe mango cut into small chunks
2tsp fresh orange juice
1tbs chocolate spread

Begin by making your filing - in a small pan place the mango and orange juice and heat gently until the mango softens and the orange juice comes to a simmer - remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate spread - stir gently - the heat of the pan will be enough to melt the chocolate into a gooey sauce with the mango and juice. Put to one side

In a large bowl mix the flour and egg and whisk until combined - add the milk a little at a time whisking well until you have a smooth batter.

Place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add half the oil. Once oil is heated add half the batter (if making two big ones) and tilt the pan to get an even coating. Cook for a couple of minutes and then flip to brown the other side.

Remove from the pan and spread half the mango mixture - roll the pancake and repeat to make your second one.

If you are really pigging out the a spoon of ice cream or cream will add to the experience but it is just as nice with out.

You dont have to be home alone to enjoy this treat - just double/triple the recipe to make enough for everyone!

Slow roasted tomato and pepper soup

October has arrived bringing with it colder damp days (as opposed to the warm damp days that have made up the uk summer this year) and my thoughts turn to warm and comforting food - what can be more comforting that a hot bowl of home made soup - it's cheap, it's good for you and it tastes a million times better than the stuff you buy! It is also very easy to make and even if you think you can't cook you can make soup!

This one takes a bit of forward planning as you want to give the tomatos a chance to slow roast and develop their flavour but it is well worth the effort!

Serves 6 (large bowls)


Ingredients
15 Salad Tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 red pepper
2 carrots (grated)
1 large onion (diced)
clove of garlic (finely diced)
Chicken stock cube
1 1/2 litres hot water
1 tbs tomato ketup
1tbs clear runny honey


Halve the tomatoes and place in a large baking tray cut side up - season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 50C and place the tomatos in for a couple of hours - basically you are almost drying them out

Once the tomatos are soft remove them from the oven

In a large saucepan heat 1tsp of oil and add in the onion and garlic. Cook over a low heat until the onion is soft and clear.

Deseed the pepper and cut into chunks and add to the onion and garlic - fry over a low heat for 5 minutes until it starts to soften. Add in the roasted tomatoes, ketchup and honey and stir. Crumble the stock cube into the hot water and add.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes stiring occasionally.

Turn off the heat and blitz the soup until it is smooth

The pepper gives this tomato soup a very warming and sweet flavour - if you want it a bit hotter then add in a bit of chilli.  The finished soup has a sweet and sour edge to it - delicious with a chunk of crispy bread and perfect for a cold autumn day and at around 70 cal a bowl you can afford to have seconds!

Mince and Onion Pie

Tonights tea is a revamped version of a family favourite - revamped because I am trying out an alternative version of pastry which uses oil rather than butter/marg/lard

I found this recipe while wandering round the internet looking for a less sinful version of pastry to fit in with our healthier lifestyle - was going to go pizza base a la the hairy dieters but my local supermarket was sold out (guess what everyone round here is having for tea) so I went searching and found the grow your own blog and their recipe for low fat pastry

I was a bit dubious at first pastry can be VERY unhelpful if it puts its mind to it - and if you dont understand what I mean by that then you either have never made it yourself or are blessed - it is very fine line between tasty short crust pastry and chewy hard shoe leather and a second too long in bringing it together is all you need for it to cross that line.

Now actually if you are what my gran called a hot handed pastry killer this could well be the pastry for you as unlike its buttery relation it doesn't need cold calm hands or hours sat resting in the fridge.

It comes out short and crispy - maybe a little biscuity than normal pastry but eating it you wouldn't know it was made differently and it is really easy to work and roll - one thing to note  is you do need to get it as thin as possible as otherwise it can get a little tough - but to be honest that is an issue you can get with normal pastry.


Ingredients:
Pastry :- 8oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2oz of vegetable oil of your choice
4 tbs water
1 egg (optional if making for a vegan)
Salt and pepper

Filling :- 400g lean mince beef
1 small onion finely diced
1 garlic clove crushed
2 stalks of celery
4 mushrooms cut into chunks
1 knorr beef stock pot or similar
1 tbs of plain flour
salt and pepper
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tomato ketup
1/2 litre of water
handful of your favourite fresh herbs

Preheate oven 175C


In a large pan sweat off the onion and garlic until it begins to go transparent, add in the celery and mince and fry until browned then add the mushrooms and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add in the stock pot, ketup and worcestershire sauce and stir well. Sprinkle over the flour and mix it it - add the water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the flour cooks out and the filling thickens - stir in the roughly chopped herbs and stir well. Remove from the heat and allow to go fully cold - as with any pastry when making a pie the filling MUST be cold before you add it to the raw pastry.

When the filling is cold put the flour, salt and pepper and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine evenly . In a cup put the oil and water and whisk then add to the flour. Bring together to form a dough - add a little more water if it is a little dry.

Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the lid and roll out the remainder to fit the well greased pie dish. Line the bottom and paint a layer of egg wash in the bottom to help keep the filling from leaking. Place cold filling into the pie and then roll out the lid. Egg wash the edges of the pie base and place the lid over the top cutting a small slit in the centre for steam. Trim off any excess from the edges and egg wash the lid - place the pie on a baking tray in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes

Cook any left over pastry bits for the birds who will love them!

Black bean and chocolate brownies

 

These are not something to wave in front of your friends, kids, family and tell them what is in them BEFORE they taste them!

 They are one of those things which shouldn't work but really do! A gorgeous chocolately hit slightly chewy and very goooey and very very chocolatey - they also have no eggs or fat in them so have the added advantage of being pretty low cal for a chocolate brownie

Ingredients :

15 oz tin of black beans (or two cups of raw beans if you can't get a tin)

1/2 cup of self raising flour

1/2 cocoa powder

1/4/tsp of salt

1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp of intant coffee granuals (these are optional but do enhance the chocolate flavour)

1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips

 

Dried Beans : soak beans over night in at least 3 cups of water. Rinse well and place in a pan with 5 cups of water - bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are soft - keep an eye on the water as it may need topping up - drain the beans and rinse well - Place them in the blender with 1 cup of water - blitz until smooth

 

Canned Beans :  Put beans in sieve and rinse well, place in blender, fill can with water and place in and add it in - blitz until smooth

 

Preheat the oven to 170C

 

Place all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in a bowl and pour in the beans - mix well together - you may need to put in a bit more water if the batter seems a little dry. Once mixed add in the chocolate chips and stir through.

 

Pour into a baking tray and spread out evenly before placing in the oven for 20 minutes - dont over cook

 

Cut into squares while still warm - makes 24 smallish squares or 12 larger - works out at around 45cal per square (24)

 

Lovely warm when it is soft and gooey or cold when it is a bit more chewy

 

So wrong but so right!

 

 

A breakfast muffin in progress

Ok so the other day my other half came home from school work and said - this other bloke at work his wife made him a bacon and egg muffin and it looked REALLY nice . . . . . .

The . . . . .  said only one thing - can you make them for me!!!

So up comes google and out come the recipe books and on go the glasses. These are my first attempt - there are somethings that need tweaking although judging by the way the sample one disappeared I would say maybe the tweaks are more for my taste than his!



Ingrediants - works out at 261 cal per mini loaf

2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup of sugar
4tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of semi skimmed milk
1/4 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs
250g cream cheese
1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese
150g bacon lardons

Preheat the oven to 170C






Fry off the bacon until crispy and then put to one side to cool

Put flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix in 1 egg, the milk and the oil - you need to whisk this by hand as it is very gloopy and will stick to the electric whisks turning them into a piece of modern art!

On a large baking sheet lay out 10 mini loaf cases (or place 12 muffin cases in a muffin tray if you prefer) divide the thick dough between the cases and spread it out - it will half fill the case - put to one side

In a bowl place the cream cheese and whisk in 1 egg - this makes it fairly runny - dont panic!
Stir in the cheese and the cool bacon

Divide the mix equally amongst the cases

Place in the over for 15 - 20 minutes until firm and a fork comes out clean.

Serve warm (20 second zap in the microwave if in a packed lunch)

What you get is a base layer which tastes weirdly like suet pasty although there is no suet in there and is quite dense. The topping is a bacon/egg/cheesey mix a bit like an omlette - together they seem to work


So what will I be changing?
Sugar - less of it or maybe maple syrup instead to tie it better to the bacon and loosen up the batter a bit more.
Salt - there was too much of it with the bacon
Herbs - it needs a fuller flavour - would also be nice with fried onions

Feel free to experiment and tell me how you get on

Peach Iced Tea

When I was in Tokyo I fell in love with peach iced green tea (well at least it tasted peach) it was lovely, so refreshing and tasty - but sadly it is not something served in our coffee shops and I have spent several years on a mission to reproduce it. Green tea is easy enough to come across as is fruit flavoured teas but nothing compares to the taste I was searching for.

So then I tried adding flavoured syrups - the kind of thing you put in coffee - nearly there but no cigar so it is time to try making my own syrup - there are some ideas on the internet but here is the one I have made

Ingredients:
1lb of fruit of your choice - I have used peach and apricot - stone removed and cut into chunks
1lb sugar
1 1/2 litre of water

Place the fruit in a large bowl and place in the microwave for 1 minute - at 20 sec intervals - this will help the juices to release.

Place the water and sugar into a heavy bottom pan and heat gently until the sugar has melted, bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Carefully pour over the fruit and cover with clingfilm. Leave for at least 1 hour. The longer you leave it the stronger the taste.




Once you have reached your prefered strength drain your syrup into the pan and discard the fruit (or eat with ice cream yum!)

Bring the syrup back to a boil for five minutes

Allow to cool and then bottle - store in the fridge


Boil kettle and brew some green tea - allow to seep for 1 hour
Allow to cool and refridgerate.

Combine a cup of the cold tea with 1/4 cup crushed ice and as much syrup as you would use to make a glass of cordial (more or less to taste as it is very sweet)

Blend well and enjoy - when you first blend it, it will turn white - allow to settle for a few minutes until it looks like a pint of shandy!!

Cheese and Tomato Eggy bites

Lunch/Breakfast on the run is a problem most of us face in our busy lives and I have been experimenting with my pastry free quiche to make a tiny version which I can put in hubby's lunch box or grab on my way out of the door - these are the result - you can put anything in them - just like the quiche - these ones are cheese and tomato and come out at 25 calories each and will live in the fridge quite happily for a couple of days - they taste great hot or cold!

Ingredients - make 12 in a little muffin tray
3 eggs
20g low fat grated cheese
60ml water (1/4 cup)
4 cherry tomatoes - sliced into 3
fresh herbs/salt/pepper

Grease the mini muffin tray and preheat the oven to 150C.




Whisk together the eggs and water and add in the herbs and salt and pepper - mix well
Divide the mix between the muffin tray - evenly in each one.
Place a slice of cherry tomato into the centre of each one
Divide the cheese between them

Put in the oven and cook for 10 - 12 minutes until set.

When you take them out they will be puffed up but as soon as you take them out they will shrink and flop - they are meant to do this.

Allow to cool in the muffin tray before running a knife round them and removing each bite - allow to cool fully and then put in the fridge or eat warm!

Sushi days

Made my first attempt at sushi today - and hey it turned out pretty nice!!

Ok so firstly hubby hates fish unless it has batter on it so he was not keen on the sushi idea until I pointed out that sushi actually means sticky rice and does not have to have fish in it - instead I swapped out some teriaki marinated chicken, some carrots and some cucumber.  I got a sushi for 2 kit from the local supermarket - which is a great way to have a try with out having to buy in a load of stuff - even better it comes with instructions - although to be honest it is pretty easy!

So you need

Nori sheets - sheets of dried seaweed - shiney on one side and lined on the other
Some sushi rice - other rice will not work you need the real thing
your choice of filling - really it is entirely up to you what goes in it, cooked meats, fish or just veggies
a rolling mat - yes you can make it with out but life if easier if you have one
sushi vinegar

and thats it you are ready to roll!!

First cook your rice as per the instructions in it, Lay a sheet of Nori shiney side down on your mat
Spread the cooled rice over it leaving a 1 cm gap at the top - dipping your hands in water/vinegar mix will stop the rice sticking to you

Lay your filling in a line at the bottom of the sheet and then get rolling - remembering to move the edge of the mat out else you will get in a pickle

Dip you knife into the vinegar water and slice into 1.5cm rolls - eat dipped in soy or your favourite dipping sauce and enjoy!

The chicken one I made works out at about 30 calories per item - makes 18

Fish ones need eating with in 24 hours but the meat ones can last in the fridge for 48 hours

Ways to improve corporation pop!

So anyone one who knows me knows I am on a bit of a health kick at the moment - the whole lifestyle change kit and kabudel - it is going pretty well - I still have the odd tasty treat (couldn't give up the welsh cakes 100% they are part of hubbies heritage!) but I found I have one massive stumbling block - Water!!! I dont like it - well no it is ok but I would rather not drink it as nature intended if you get my drift! I have tried flavoured water in the past but most of them have either aspartamene (can't have it - it makes me ill) or sugar or they taste well rank to be honest - then a friend waved a concept under my nose and I sat up and took note!

Make your own flavoured water - and no I dont mean by adding cordial!

Basically the method is this - grab a clean glass jar or jug - make it at least a litre in size else you will end up filling it up more than you drink it! Pop in your fav fruit and herbs and pop it in the fridge for at least 24 hours - the fruit will survive for 3ish days and you can smoothiefy it after so it gets used up!

My current favourite is Watermelon (which I freeze first) with a sprig of rosemary and a couple of mint leaves.

The taste is very subtle - so much nicer than the bought stuff and the great thing is you can make it exactly the way you like it and with your favourite combinations of fruit/herbs

Plus it looks really pretty! - Science dude is optional!

Once you drink it simply top it up again






The other alternative I found to plain water this week is iced herbal tea - I am not fond of hot herbal tea - infact I could say the only real way I can drink it is by holding my nose but brew it and stick it in the fridge and it suddenly becomes a refeshing alternative - or blitz it with some cubes of watermelon (hey they are on offer in the super market!) and a squeeze of honey - yum!

When is a sandwich not a sandwich

When it is a bento box!

When I was a little girl I was lucky enough to sample the best of japanese food but nothing in my mind compared with the mystical Bento Box  (which is a tradional japanese packed lunch) My dad would make a phone call and 20 minutes later a little box of wonders would appear, presented so even the most mundane ingredient looked beautiful, it tasted exotic and facinated me - especially the little soy pot which came in the shape of a little fish - I was clearing out some of my old stuff round at my parents the other day and came across a whole box of these little fish and a flood of memories came with it!

So when I was sat thinking of a tasty, healthy alternative to the boring butty for lunch time I thought Bento!

If you google bento you will get ALOT of sites with pictures, ideas, equipment etc. and you can spend hours (which I did) browsing, drooling and getting over excited!!

Soo here is my first attempt of a Bento Box - I went for a deconstructed version of hubbies fav sandwich the BLT with a twist and with out any bread - it is made up of


2 x Quail Eggs hard boiled and peeled
A couple of baby plum tomatos
Cucumber butterflies (made with one of my little icing cutters)
Salad Leaves
Shreaded Gammon
A bit of salad cream for dipping

I really hope he likes it :)




If you fancy a go at making a bento box then all you need is a sandwich box/something to form dividers - I used cup cake cases/ your imagination and some tasty ingredients! Traditionally it would contain rice and meat/fish and most importantly an assortment of colourful tastey bites - but the beauty of this is you can make it your way - happy bento making!

Mushroom soup

A quick and easy use for mushrooms past their best!


Ingredients:
1lb Mushrooms chopped
1 onion sliced finely
1 bay leaf
sprig of tyme
1.5 litre of chicken stock
1 clove of garlic
2tbs plain flour
1/2 cup milk

Put onion, tyme and garlic into a pan with a little oil and cook on a low heat until the onion turns transparent. Add in the mushrooms and turn heat up and fry them for a couple of minutes until they start to brown, add in the flour and mix it with the mushrooms and onion. Pour in the stock and bayleaf and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the bayleaf and liquidise the soup.  Add in the milk and return to the heat and bring to a simmer then serve - if you want it is a little thicker add in some more flour

Quinoa pancakes

Quinoa if you haven't come across it - is a grain which acts a bit like cous cous and tastes a bit like wheat but is a great source of protein, iron, fibre and calcium - you will find it hidden amongst the lentils in the supermarket and a little goes a long way so dont be put off by the smaller bag - you do need to rince the grain before you cook it and because it has a high fat content it is best stored in the fridge

So you can use it like cous cous as the basis for salads and a replacement for rice but you can also use it in a whole multitude of other ways from muffins to pancakes - which we are making today!

Ingredients: makes 12 panckes and average at 65 calories for one pancake

1 cup of cooked Quinoa - 1/4 cup of uncooked, 1/2 cup water - cook it just like you would rice or cous cous
1 egg plus 1 egg white
3/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs butter - melted
1/4 cup semi skimmed milk
2 tbs maple syrup


You do need to be a bit organised to make them as you need to cook the Quinoa first!





In a bowl combine flour, Quinoa, baking powder and salt and mix
In another bowl combine butter, eggs, milk and syrup and whisk until pale yellow - add the dry ingredients and whisk well to combine

Heat a flat bottom frying pan with a little oil over a medium heat
Place a table spoon of batter into the pan - I cook them in batches of 3
allow to cook for a few minutes until the top sets
Flip over and cook the other side

Place on kitchen paper to drain while you cook the others - can be served hot or cold and eaten either dry or with jam, a little more maple syrup or fresh fruit

To mix up the pancakes a bit add half a cup of fresh blueberries to the mix before frying - if you want a real treat add 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips - you will need to keep the heat low as the chocolate will burn - serve with fresh summer strawberries and a drizzle of maple syrup - it ups it to 86 calories - but man it is soooo worth it if you are a chocoholic!!!

They taste somewhere between a scotch pancake and a crumpet but with little beads of melting tastiness - can you tell I like these!

Goji berries

Am always one to try new things and the latest thing to make it off the shelf and into my shopping basket is some dried Goji berries - they are weird little red shrivelled things and I have skirted round them for some time (remind me to tell you about the pomello one day!) but I am on a healthy eating kick at the moment and so with all the hype around celebrities living off them I figured why not.

Should have more been Why bother to be honest - they are weird things and no doubt. Pop one in your mouth and the first sensation is ohh I have eaten a dusty seed! the second is a taste of old raisin which has been left in the sun too long - the ones they sweep on to the floor and the rats turn their noses up at! 

Here I am with a bag of shrivelled red things and I need to use them up - well waste not want not as my granny used to say - so I have started adding them to smoothies - the liquid seems to rehydrate them a bit and at least remove the dusty old seed flavour!!!

So if you have bought a bag and are thinking hey what can I do with these other than force my self to eat them as a snack and pretend they are nice!!! then this one if for you!

Ingredients:
5g Goji berries (dried)
1 Kiwi peeled and chopped
100g blueberries (if you dont like bits then you should blitz these alone and sive the pulp)
1tsp runny honey (optional)
150g Pouring Yoghurt

Chuck it all in your blender and blitz - when you think it is done blitz it a bit more - it should be a rather nice orange colour and tastes slightly of toffee which I can only think is the berries - actually maybe that is what I am doing wrong maybe I should soak them . . . hmm think I will try that . . .

Adobe Pork

'Adobe do you mean we are having PDF pork' - sorry that was hubby's dreadful joke when I answered his whats for tea?? But no there is no paper involved and you dont need to down load software to eat it! Rather it is Pork (or chicken) which is roasted having been brushed with a marinade/glaze - which is really simple to make and can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days if not longer


Ingredients:
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbls red wine/sherry vinegar
2tsp paprika
1 clove of garlic

Pork steaks


Throw everything in the blender (not including the pork) and blitz until it is well combined. Store in the fridge in a sealed jar - will keep for a week or so.

Brush the sauce over both sides of the pork and roast as normal

Also great on vegetables, chicken and fish!

Bumble Jelly

What could be a better use of a rainy June day but to start making jam and in my case our favourite Bumble Jelly - you might think it is a bit early in the season to be making jam but I had a pile of fruit from last summer in my freezer and (purists block your ears) you can make jam anytime from frozen fruit from the supermarket.

You might think that there are plenty of jams on the very same supermarket shelf I could buy rather than go to the effort of making my own but I have to say once you have tasted homemade you will know exactly why I invest the time - besides the pride of having your jars of glistening jam on your pantry shelf and being able to say to guests I made that! the other benefit is you know exactly what went into it - there are no preservatives, no colour additives to make it pretty and if you are lucky enough to grow your own then no pesticides either.

Making Jam is a bit of a labour of love - especially if like me you prefer seedless (jelly) rather than everything in (jam) and you do have to get a little bit organised in advance (see my Jam post) but trust me you will be rewarded tenfold

Our favourite jelly is Bumble Jelly - so call because my little fruit patch doesn't really give me enough of any one fruit to make specific jam so it all goes in - so rather than just call it mixed fruit I call it Bumble Jelly in honour of all the bees who work so hard to pollenate my fruit plants!

Ingredients:

At least 4lb of fruit (frozen or fresh)
Equal amounts of sugar to juice - so if I make 2 pints of juice I will use 2lb of sugar

                                                      1 lemon juiced & zested

Day 1 - place all your fruit and lemon zest into a large saucepan over a low heat and allow the fruit to soften - crush the fruit with a potato masher to release more juice. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil - stirring or else it will burn! simmer for 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat and crush again with the masher.

Now you can do one of two things - if you want clear jam then skip the step below - if you don't mind it a bit cloudy then follow the step below - personally I prefer to get as much juice out as possible and I am going to be eating it not entering it in the WI bakefest so . . .

Put a fine sieve over a large bowl and ladle some of the fruit mix into it - squish gently to pass the liquid through - be careful not to press too hard or else little seeds could pass through into your jelly

Take a smaller bowl and line with a large muslin square which has been run under the cold tap and wrung out and ladle your sieved (or not) fruit mix in - once all your fruit is in the square carefully gather up the edges and wrap with a piece of string and tie securely. Now carefully hang your muslin ball of goo above the large bowl and allow gravity to do its work for 24 hours

Day 2 - Carefully cut down your by now red muslin ball and squeeze gently to get out any remaining juice - now at this point I will remove the fruit mix and rub through a sieve again.  Dispose of your seed mix - the butterflys and bees and some birds will relish a pick/suck at this mush so I always pop it out for them. Rinse off your square and pop it in the next wash.

Add your lemon juice and carefully measure out your juice in a measuring jug and pour in to a large heavy bottom pan.

Put your oven on low

Measure out an equal amount of granulated sugar to the liquid - so for every pint = 1lb - place in a heat proof dish and place in the oven to warm up

Wash fully all your jars and disinfect - I use miltons. Dry full and then place in your oven along with their lids

Get out all your equipment ready

Pour the warmed sugar into the pan with the fruit juice and put over a low heat stirring until the sugar melts. Turn the heat up and place the thermometer in - once the liquid has come up to the marked Jam temp allow to boil for 3 minutes and then start checking for setting point

Once you are happy that it has reached said point turn off the heat

Take the jars out of the oven and stand on a heat proof surface - carefully ladle the jelly into them top with a wax paper circle and leave to cool

Do not put off washing up your jammy pots and pans - it you do it straight away it is much easier - if you leave it then you will be chipping toffee off them as the heat from the pan carries on cooking the leftover jam.

Once the jam is fully cold pop on the lids and lable and you are all ready to spread some on a slice of toast. . . heaven!

Chicken Paprikas

This is a firm family favourite which works great in the slow cooker so you can shove it in and forget about it! My lovely hungarian friend Norbert introduced me to this dish which I have tweaked a little to match an english tastebud!

Serves 8

Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breasts - cut into cubes
1 1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plain flour
1 cup diced green pepper
1 onion finely diced
4 tbs of paprika (smoked or not it is your choice)
1 pint chicken stock
1 tin of chopped tomatos
1 tsp of tomato puree
1tsp garlic granuals

Fry off the chicken to brown and then place in your slow cooker - switch on to a low heat.
Fry the onion in a little oil until it goes transparent then add the paprika and the pepper and mix well. Add in the tinned tomatos, puree and garlic granuals and mix well. Pour over the stock and bring to the boil

Once it comes to a boil pour over the chicken and leave to cook for around 6 hours (or one hour at 180C if you are doing in a casserol dish)

Half an hour before you want to serve mix together the sour cream and flour and add to the chicken mixing well - if you can turn your slow cooker up to high for 15 minutes to cook out the flour - if not 30 minutes at low will cover it.

Serve with rice or dumplings or chips - it is also popular to wrap it in pancakes and then pour over the sauce

It freezes really well

Blueberry and Strawberry Smoothie

It is summer time and rather than tuck into a bowl of cereal I would much rather have a homemade fruit smoothie to start the day

Now this brings me to my newest kitchen gadget which I got for the bargin price of £10 thanks to supermarket vouchers! I have been hankering after a juicer for some time - I used to have one but it was so lumpy and cumbersome that I rarely bothered to get it out - a while ago the Magic Bullet caught my attention but was an un justifiable expense so I stuck to making smoothies in my blender and picking seeds out of my teeth!  Then I discovered the Hinari Genie - which does everything I could want it to do and more - so now I have a shiney new kitchen gadget which doesn't take up much space and am happily consuming fresh juice and smoothies to my hearts content! The blender part turns into a cup so there is less washing up and it even comes with lids so I can take my smoothie with me!


ingredients
50g strawberries hulled
100g Blueberries
1 kiwi (peeled)
1 banana
1 tsp runny honey
150ml pouring yoghurt (or similar - you could use milk if you prefer)


First task is to juice the strawberries, blueberries and kiwi - if you dont have a juicer you can either chuck them straight into the blender and live with the pips or squish them through the sieve to cut down on most of the seeds

add the banana, honey and yoghurt and blend until smooth it is as simple as that

enjoy! this works out at about 296 calories a glass and is a great start to the day

Citrus Chicken

There is nothing better than getting out in the countryside and having a picnic - but if like me you are not a keen butty eater and you are on the look out for something tasty to take along then look no further than these - especially good if you are going to a group picnic - these fresh and zingy strips of chicken will disappear like mist on a summers day and have people queueing up to get the recipe!  They are also lovely served at a bbq or cooked at home with salad and can be eaten hot or cold.

You do have to get a bit organised to make them as the longer you leave them to marinade the better - 24 hours if you can!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts cut into strips (or if you can get them mini fillets)
1 Lemon
500ml fresh orange
1tbs runny honey
1tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic granuals (optional)


Place the orange juice into a measuring jug and add in the honey, soy, paprika and garlic (if using). Zest the lemon and add to the mix and then juice it and add that too. Stir to melt the honey into the juice
Get a large water tight sandwich bag and put in your chicken pieces. Pour in the liquid and seal well before giving it a shake to ensure all the chicken is covered. Place in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 175C and pour the liquid and chicken into an oven proof dish.

Cook for 25 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the pieces of chicken - you can now eat them as is, pop on the bbq to get that additional smokey taste or brown off in a frying pan and leave to go cold ready to pack in your picnic hamper to wow your friends, family or just yourself! - even better they are low fat so wont ruin your diet!

Dreamy Rhubarb Puddy

I have a glut of rhubarb in the garden - its broad green leaves shading over everything else in the veg patch so it is time to make something with it - I could reach for the old favourites like crumble or fool but I fancied something more cakey!

Rhubarb is a wonderful ingredient and can be used for both savoury and sweet dishes, it is also realtively easy to grow so if you have a sunny corner spare or even a big tub I would recommend picking up a plant down the garden centre - give it a year or two and you will be giving stalks away to friends and neighbours - it can be a bit of a brute though and will take over the garden if you let it so pick it regularily and cut it right back at least once a year!

Ingredients
4 cups of rhubarb roughtly chopped - I use 8 stalks medium/small of you are using the big shop bought stems then 4/6 should be plenty
2 tbs granulated sugar
2 tbs water
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt




First place the rhubarb into a pan over a low heat, add 2 tbs sugar and 2tbs of water, put on a lid and allow to cook out for about 10 minutes until it is soft - allow to cool - resist the urge to add any more sugar as you want it to be tart

Preheat the oven to 175C

Place 2 cups of plain flour and the caster sugar into a bowl and mix together - now add in the butter and rub together to form breadcrumbs. Pour this mix into a baking tray and firm down with the back of a spoon to form a firm layer.

Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour and salt and then fold in the cooled cooked rhubarb

Pour the batter over the base and return to the oven for 40 - 45 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool and then cut into squares and serve - this is lovely warm or cold but just remember hot rhubarb is HOT so let it cool past napalm heat.  This very squidgy and very moreish and is utterly divine with a scoop of ice cream!

Pastry free quiche

When the summer heat starts to rise you want something light and easy for dinner and this quiche is perfect with crispy salad in the cool of the evening - it is great warm or cold and is a wonderful picnic addition

Pastry free means it is lower in calories and lighter to eat than the traditional quiche as well as making it gluten free but it is just as tasty and the great thing is you can put whatever filling you like in it!

Today I am making bacon, sweetcorn and asparagus quiche but you can swap out any of the ingredients (other than the eggs and milk) it is equally nice just with crisp in season veg or smoked sausage - watch out for items high in fit like salami though as this can cause pools of oil to form


Serves 4 main meals - approx 316 calories a serving

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of semi skimmed milk
Salt & Pepper
handful of mixed herbs
250g diced bacon
200g fresh asparagus - washed with woody ends removed and sliced
150g drained sweetcorn
1 handful grated cheese







Pre-heat the oven to 160C

In a large bowl/measuring jug whisk together the eggs and milk - season well with salt and pepper and add the herbs

Fry off the bacon and asparagus until the bacon is crispy - add in the sweetcorn and remove from the heat

Take a medium deep flan case - mine is 20cm diameter (not one with a removable bottom else your filling will leak!) arrange the filling evenly in the bottom and sprinkle over the cheese. Gently pour the egg mix over the top and carefully place in the oven - depending on how full it makes your dish you might want to half fill it and then pour the rest in when it is in the oven to stop it spilling as you put it in

cook for 30 - 40 minutes untill it is golden brown but still has a jelly wibble in the centre when you tap it - quiche keeps cooking as it cools so it is important to have this wobble. - start checking it after 30 minutes a knife stabbed in the edge should come out clean and the whole thing should be firm and slightly golden.

As the quiche cools it will loose a bit of its height - dont worry this is normal - it will also sink away from the sides so should be a doddle to turn out when cold and ready to eat.

Now all you need is to cut it into slices to take on the picnic or in quarters to eat with salad for tea! Once cold refridgerate!

Mini Eclaires

Right the sun is in the sky the family is coming round for a bbq and there is only one afters which will do - mini eclaires - these two bite pieces of heaven are the ideal finger food for afters and once you have tasted home made you wont ever want those chewy cardboard flavour ones you can get in the supermarket again! In our case I will make one lot with coffee icing and one with chocolate but the world as they say is your oyster as far as what flavour icing you want to put on!

Eclaires are made with choux pastry which is one of the easiest pastries to make . . . provided you stick to the recipe like glue! The one I use is the delia smith one and it hasn't failed me yet.  The secret is to prepare before you add any heat and to use the right ingrediants in the exact amounts - there are no short cuts!

This is not something to try out for the first time at your big dinner party - so grab a willing sampler and have a practice before hand!


This mix makes about 28 thumb sized eclaires

Ingredients
2 1/2 Oz of strong white flour - the kind you use for bread - plain normal flour will not work!
2 Oz of butter - it has to be butter and has to be proper butter not 'spread'
5fl oz cold water - measure carefully
1 tsp caster sugar
2 medium eggs well beaten




First preheat your oven to 200C and place an oven proof dish of water in the bottom - you want it to be steamy in there.


Measure out all your ingredients - place the water in a large pan (dont use your best non stick as you will be using the beaters in it!) and add in the butter cut in to small cubes. Weigh out the flour and add the sugar to it - you need to be able to tip it in one go so place it in a bowl unless your scales have a pan.  Whisk up the eggs and place to one side. You are going need to use the electric whisk so get that set up ready and if you dont have a handy plug by the stove you need to put something heat proof down to put the pan on when you mix. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and flick a little water over it.

Check everything is ready and then put a low heat under the pan of water and butter and allow the butter to melt. Once it has increase the heat until it comes to the boil then switch off the heat and grab the flour and your mixer - begin beating the water mixture and 'shoot' in the flour in one go carrying on beating.  Within a minute or so the mix with form in to a dough and come together as a ball leaving the sides of the pan clean. Remove from the hot stove (if you haven't already) and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 

Now beat in the egg a little at a time until the dough turns glossy - be very careful at this point - you dont want it to become too fluid or it wont rise - I usually use about 3/4 of the egg but it is dependant on the flour, the size of the egg and the amount of water.  You want it to be a stiff consistancy which will hold peaks well - mash potato or runnier texture is not going to work - it is one of those things that you learn with practice but luckily these are something your family and friends wont mind you practicing!

I pipe my eclaires but you can make them with just two tea spoons and spread it out (not too thin) if you dont have a piping bag - or you can buy eclaires pans from all good cook shops (although these tend to be for full sized ones) I inherited mine from my grandmother

Pipe or squidge logs of the pastry mix onto your baking sheet about the size of your thumb leaving a space between for them to puff up. Dip your clean finger in some cold water and smooth out any sticky up points as these will burn!

Place the eclaires in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn up the heat to 220C for a further 15 minutes until they are risen and golden brown as in the picture. Take out and holding each eclaire in a tea towel make a small slit in the side with a sharpe knife and place on a cooling rack. Now the purests say you should return the pastry to a low oven for a couple more minutes to dry out the insides but I prefer them to be softer and so dont do the oven repeat - so it is up to you.

Once your eclaires are fully cool you can split them and fill with a little whipped cream and ice with a little thick glossy royal icing flavoured with coffee or chocolate (or whatever you fancy) - they are also really nice dipped in melted chocolate and left to set before adding the cream.

Dont be tempted to fill them too early as they start to go soft so really they should be the last thing you do before you guests arrive.

You can make them the day before and place them un filled in an air tight container - pop them in a low oven for 5 minutes to crisp up again before you use them.


p.s - funnily enough there is not a single one of these beauties left from earlier although there is plenty of salad . . . go figure!

Cheats BBQ chicken

This is a firm favourite in our house - I serve it stuffed into pitta bread with salad - a slightly healthier option on the take away - the sticky chicken really hits the spot!


Ingredients
2tbs of Tomato Sauce
2tbs Brown Sauce
1tbs Honey
1/2 tsp garlic granuals
2/3 chicken breasts cut into chunks or butterflied



Put tomato sauce, Brown sauce, honey and garlic granuals into a robust sandwich bag or freezer bag - throw in the chicken and tie a knot in the top. Get squidging to massage the sauce together and into the chicken. Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours to marinade

Put a heavy bottomed frying pan or griddle on a medium heat and cook the chicken well until done - turning regularily - the sugar in the sauce will burn if you are not careful - take care as it does spit a bit while frying

You can also use the sauce as is to top burgers or with mayo in a wrap instead of using it to marinade

Peanut and chocolate cookies (with Banana)

Ok so I have a confession I am a Banana leaver - I buy them full of good intentions, I will eat one every morning, I will have one as a snack etc etc. But then the days go on the yellow turns brown and I reach for something else so I need to find uses for them and there is only so much banana bread/cake you can eat.  My hubby is also a banana hater - well no that isn't true hand him a sweetie version and he will bite your hand off but the natural version forget it - so I also need a way to hide the presence of the yellow fruit.

I was pottering around on the internet the other day - trying to ignore the browning fruit in the kitchen and I stumbled across this american recipe and whipped up a batch - well it beats the ironing!

The instructions say this will make around 30 biscuits - now either american walnuts are a lot smaller than the ones we have in the UK or they can't count - so it will make 30 American walnut sized biscuits or around 15 uk ones!

Ingredients
115g Mashed Over-ripe bananas - around 1 and 1/2
130g Peanut Butter - chunky or smooth it is up to you - although chunky does give you a nicer texture
70g Dark Brown Sugar
100g Caster Sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
165g Plain Flour
1 tbs Baking Powder
40g plain chocolate chips

Mash up the bananas and mix in the peanut butter until well combined.
Stir in sugar and vanilla
Combine the flour and baking powder and mix into the peanut mix
Fold in the choc chips

Put in the fridge and chill for 1 hour

Line baking trays and roll the dough into walnut sized balls - they do spread a little so leave space between them and flatten them slightly

Bake in the oven at 190C for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown - dont over cook as they go hard as they cool.

Allow to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before transfering to the rack to cool completely

The banana flavour is slight and it blends enough with vanilla to be mostly hidden from banana haters