Month: February 2012

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Coconut Jam Sandwich Bars

Flicking through The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days book I was transported back to school days.  These biscuitty, jammy, coconutty, yummy things kept me going through many a maths lesson when I was at school and I was desperate to make some and see if I could re-enact days gone by.

Judging by the fact I have already eaten four, you will guess that they were every bit as scrummy.  And fairly easy to make.  The only tricky bit would be the meringue, but as I am blessed with a kitchenaid, this was not a problem.

I urge you to try them.  And if this means buying the book, then do so.  It is worth it for all the other delicious recipes that lie within, including the best vanilla cupcakes I’ve come across.

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Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter

I don’t often do reviews and this is not sponsored or anything like that, but I wanted to write about Lisa Faulkner’s new recipe book ‘Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter“

Lisa Faulkner is a model/actress and recently(ish) won Celebrity Masterchef.  It was during this series that I thought how nice she was and such a good cook!

Anyway, it was with great excitement that I saw she has recently released a book and last week Amazon duly dropped it at my door.

The introduction brought a tear to my eye.  The book is a testimony to her mother who died when Lisa was 16 and for her daughter, Billie, who was adopted after three failed IVF attempts.  It is this that, for me,  makes the book so poignant and although a recipe book, as you read it Lisa makes you feel like you are sharing a real history as well as some very well-loved dishes.

Aside from all this, the book is beautifully set out and full of very accessible recipes.  It is important for me that a recipe is ‘do-able’ for the everyday cook like me with a small kitchen and a temperamental oven.  And that the recipes are not too ‘cheffy’.  The  recipes are something I could serve to the whole family without rasied eyebrows!

My first attempt was the Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pies.  Except I didn’t have any pots, so I served it as one big pie!  The result was tasty, looked good and was consumed with gusto.

Next stop, Rice Krispie Chicken!

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All Hail Nigella!

It is with much giggling I must tell you about the Power of Nigella!

Last week, circa Shrove Tuesday, I replied to a Nigella tweet, extolling the virtues of her pancakes.
Nigella retweeted this (gawd bless her).
My humble blog only averages about 20 hits a day.  After that retweet, in 24 hours, I had 953 blog hits!
This has kept me smiling all week.
I am, naturally, back to normal now.  And this blog is, as I state to your right, just a little outlet for me and my questionable cooking.
So sincere thanks to my loyal followers and hello to the near thousand of you that checked in and promptly checked out again!  And, of course, thank you to the lady herself ;)
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Homemade Pizza

I am prone to fads, and many of them are cooking-related. One was cupcakes. I investigated courses, bought books, nozzles and piping bags galore and baked myself (and my family) up a dress size. Then my attention has diverted to a different type of cuisine…pasta. I am a bit of a pasta snob. Having cooked dried pasta for years, I moved on to fresh pasta and now won’t eat anything else. I fear that the making of fresh pasta will exacerbate this further and soon that will be all I will allow. I have already gone this way with pizza, as have my children who now turn their nose up at shop bought pizzas and demand my homemade pizza instead.
pizza Collage
Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients:
  • 2 tsps dried ‘easy bake’ yeast
  • 3 cups (420g) OO/strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp oil (I like using garlic oil for extra taste)
  • 1 cup (250ml) + 2 tbsp warm water
 IMG_0229
  1. Put all the ingredients into a mixer in the order above. I have a kitchenaid and use the dough hook then mix on speed 1 for 10 minutes. If using a bread machine, simply put it on the dough cycle. For other mixers…or by hand, you’ll have to use your intuition!
  2. When it is elastic and the dough springs back when you poke it, put it in a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for at least half an hour to rise.
  3. Flour (or semolina gives a pizza restaurant finish) your worktop and divide the dough up as you wish. I usually use half of mine to form one, big flat pizza base and roll up the rest into small balls to make doughballs. Sometimes, I make a small pizza for each of us. To form your base you can roll with a rolling pin to get the basic disc-shape and then tease out the dough. I lay it over the back of my hand and then use the other hand to pull out the dough; then jiggle it around on my hand and strectch again, repeating until the base is formed. One day I will be able to throw it around like a pro, but until then I take the safe route!
  4. Spread over a thin layer of passata and then sprinkle with grated mozzarella and toppings of your choice.
  5. Bake at 200ºC for about 10 mins, but check according to your oven. The doughballs take a shorter amount of time. You can buy garlic butter to dip them into or make your own.
 IMG_0247
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Poached Eggs #2

Yesterday was my birthday and I got a fabulous Imperia pasta machine and also the Julia Child cookery Bible ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’.  It was to this I turned for poached egg advice.  Ah, Julia!  She came up trumps!  Following her instructions to the tbsp my results were much improved, in fact Husband said his egg was perfect!

Looked better ‘in the flesh’.  Honestly…

Julia Child’s recipe is:

  • Pour 2 inches of water into a 8/10″ frying pan and bring to a simmer.  For every pint of water used add a tbsp of vinegar.
  • Break a fresh egg into a saucer and as close to the water as possible, let it fall in.  Immediately and gently push the white over the yolk with a wooden spoon for 3 secs.  Maintain the water at simmering point and repeat with any other eggs.
  • After 4 minutes remove egg with slotted spoon and test with finger – the white should be set and yolk soft to touch.
  • Place egg in cold water.  This washes off the vinegar and stops the egg cooking.
Hope this is useful!
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Poached Eggs

I don’t know what possessed me to try and cook poached eggs for breakfast.  Well, I do.  It was the Waitrose magazine coaxing me into trying one of those cheffy, swirly poached eggs that look so elegant.
Mine looked like this.

And this was my second attempt.  I did actually eat the first one, but it was practically hard boiled and in much the same stringy state as this one.
I am not sure what I’m doing wrong.  This frustrates me.  When I follow a recipe to the letter, why doesn’t it work?  Water was simmering, water was swirled to the point of spinning over the sides of the pan, drops of vinegar in egg, egg slipped in to the middle….and instantly it dissipated throughout the water looking like I’d just sneezed egg white into the pan.
No doubt on another misguided day I will try again, but until then I will stick to these:

They might come out looking like a pair of boobs *sniggers* but at least they cook properly.