Potage Crecy

For the last two weeks my veggie box has contained a huge bunch of lovely carrots. I love carrots, and not just because they can help you to see in the dark!

What's that you say? My mother was lying??? Say it ain't so!!!



Anyways, I digress . . . Carrots are one of my favourite vegetables, right up there with potatoes, which by the way they have had in the box as well.

I do have quite a lot of carrots that need to be used up and so yesterday, as the weather was kind of cool and breezy (what happened to July?), I decided to make us a tasty soup for our supper, which used up a good lot of those carrots and some of the potatoes and onions too!



This was lovely and full of flavour, quite unlike any other carrot soup I have eaten in the past. In fact, if I hadn't known there were carrots in it because I made it myself, I would have been hard pressed to define exactly where that elusively delicious flavour came from . . .

Note, if you use vegetable stock in this, it becomes Vegetarian.



*Potage Crecy*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Crecy is a small town northeast of Paris, where the carrots are said to be some of the tastiest in the world. Make sure you use a strong chicken or vegetable stock for this tasty soup!

2 TBS butter
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsley chopped
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 small potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups sliced carrots
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves shredded
2 1/2 cups of Chicken or Vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
dash of Tabasco sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 TBS fresh lemon juice



Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sweat over low heat until nicely softened, without browning. This should take some 5 minutes or so. Add the carrots, potato, tomatoes, and basil. Pour the stock over and add the salt. Season to taste with some pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat at the end of the simmering time and puree with a stick blender, or if you don't have one, puree very carefully in very small amounts in a regular blender. Add the Tabasco sauce and lemon juice. Serve hot.

Fresh Plum Crumble

We have Italian Prune Plum trees right here on the Country Estate that I live and work on. During plum season the trees are just dripping with the purple/blue fruits, hanging off the branches like jewels.

Todd and I both love plums, little purple ones, baby fist sized Italian ones, yellow mirabelles . . . ruby coloured pluots, damsons, green gages . . . we love them all equally . . . they are one of our favourite types of fruit.



The ones here on the Estate are not quite ready yet, but the other day, as we were driving down the A21 towards home, I saw a sign that said, "5 lbs local Kent plums, £1.50," and how could I resist! There is a truck stop food van that parks in one of the layby's near home, and they always have local fruits and flowers advertised. We stopped and picked up a bag. I had in mind to make a lovely Plum Crumble or a tart . . .




It was a lovely bag of plums, just chock full of a variety of different plums, all colours and sizes.



The crumble won out. How could it not? This crumble is especially delicious when made with only Italian Prune Plums, but it's also incredibly moreish with a mixture like I had. We really enjoyed this, warm and sweet from the oven, with those crunchy crumbles on top and a huge dollop of fresh Cornish Clotted Cream . . .



*Fresh Plum Crumble*
serves 4
Printable Recipe

I think Plums are one of Todd's and my favourite fruits. Especially during plum season when the trees around here are just dripping with them like little purple jewels. This is one of my favourite ways to prepare them. You get the lovely sweetness of the plums, topped with the sweet and nutty crunch of a delicious streusal. It's just wonderful!

2 pounds pitted and quartered plums
3/4 cup of soft light brown sugar, packed
2 heaped TBS of plain flour
3 TBS of creme de cassis liqueur (If not available you can use fruit juice)

For the Streusal:
3/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup soft light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant oats)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
4 ounces cold butter, cut into cubes

Creme fraiche or clotted cream, for serving



Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Combine the fruit, brown sugar, flour and cassis together in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Measure the flour, white sugar, brown sugar and salt together into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to combine. Add the oats and pultz again. Add the butter bits and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. You want the butter to be the size of peas. Add the walnuts and pulse a couple times just to combine. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over top of the plum mixture in the baking dish. Place on a baking tray to help prevent a nasty spill in your oven!

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the plums are bubbling and the streusal is nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature, spooned into bowls with a dollop of creme fraiche or clotted cream on top of each. (Or ice cream!)

Stilton Burgers

When I was a child, one of my least favourite things to eat would be ground beef. I hated it mixed into things . . . I hated it as meatloaf . . . and I hated it as burgers. I would do anything to avoide it and often could be found hiding it under my plate, or the dining room carpet, or even the heating vents (when nobody was looking). I think I was the only person who could eat meat and macaroni without eating the meat. At the end of the meal, the side of my plate would be lined with bits of ground meat that I had managed to fish out of every nook and cranny . . .

I didn't like the way it felt in my mouth. Also my mother always bought the cheapest ground beef she could find and it was full of gristle and bone. All my teeth had to do was touch one small piece of that nasty stuff and my gag reflex kicked in . . . not very pleasant.



I am able to eat it now, as an adult, and I happen to enjoy it. Well, as burgers and in meatloaf at any rate. I am still not fond of it mixed into things . . .



These are mighty tasty burgers, filled with a rich hint of Stilton Blue cheese. I usually pan fry them along with some onions to lay over top. We get some lovely cheese rolls down at our local shops, and so I normally toast a couple of them as well. If you toast them in the same pan you have cooked your meat in they get all crispy and flavourful with the meat drippings. Be sure to use a high fat content beef. Here is when lean beef is not a good thing. Lean beef creates a tough and dry burger. You want a beef with minimum 16% fat, if not higher. (If you grind it yourself you can make sure there's no nasty stuff in there)



*Stilton Burgers*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe

I know that in these health conscious days we might be tempted to use extra lean grounb beef to make our burgers, but the truth is all you will end up with is a dry and tasteless burger. You need to use ground beef with at least 16% to 20% fat content in order to have a tasty and moist burger. Not a problem if it is a once in a while treat, but not highly recommended for every day. These burgers are moist and delicious with a subtle flavour of blue stilton.

1 pound ground beef (minimum fat content, 16 to 20%)
1 TBS good Dijon mustard
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
2 ounces Blue Stilton, crumbled (I prefer Cropwell Bishop)
1 large egg
1 TBS water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Garnishes:
Toasted cheese rolls, relish, mustard, sliced tomato, lettuce, fried onions etc.



Place all the ingredients into a large bowl. Use your hands to mix well together, but only until just mixed. Over-working the meat will create a tough burger. Shape into flat patties about 1/2 inch thick, and slightly larger than the buns you are going to be using. (Make an indentation in the middle of each. This helps them to keep their shape when grilling.) Cover ahd chill until you are ready to cook them. Alternately you may freeze them. Wrap separately and place in a freezer bag.

Heat up your barbeque or oven grill, and oil the grates. Place the burgers on the oiled grate or on your grill pan and cook for about 5 minutes per side. You may also pan grill them in a bit of butter. Serve on toasted cheese rolls, along with your choice of condiments.

Note - Make sure you don't press down on your burgers whilst they are cooking. This also makes a tough burger as you are pressing all the juices and flavours out of them!

Spanish Tortilla with Chorizo

Sometimes you are sadly lacking in both inspiration and time, yet you are absolutely starving.



Perhaps all you have in the larder is a few eggs, some potatoes and onions, and maybe a bit of Chorizo. Doesn't everyone have some Spanish Chorizo in their larder? I mean, can you actually be a foodie without having some Chorizo in the larder?



I love Spanish Chorizo. It's warm and spicy and a very versatile ingredient. Made in Spain, using coarsley chopped pork and pork fat, and seasoned with spicy smoked paprika, it's a very versatile ingredient. It also doesn't need refrigeration. I use it in my crushed new potatoes, and it makes a tasty hash. It's great as tapas, just sliced, and also pretty wonderful on pizzas.



We were absolutely starving when we got home from church the other day and I just didn't have time to cook a slap up meal and so I cooked us a Tortilla with some potatoes, eggs, onion and Chorizo.

A Spanish Tortilla is not to be confused with a Mexican Tortilla. It is not a flat bread used to wrap around a taco or to be turned into enchiladas (although those are mightly tasty things). It is a thick eggy omelet kind of thing, nicely browned on the top and bottom and stogged full of meltingly tender potato and onion and, in this case, Chorizo!



A Spanish Tortilla is great picnic or packed lunch food as it tastes equally as delicious when hot or when at room temperature! With a little bit of salad on the side, it's the perfect meal!



*Spanish Tortilla with Chorizo*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A tortilla, not to be confused with a flat type of bread eaten in Mexico, is like the Spanish version of an Italian Frittata. A tortilla however, is thicker and has potatoes in it. This is delicious served hot, warm or at room temerature. It's not so good cold though.

100ml olive oil
400g floury potatoes, peeled and diced
2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g chorizo sausage, peeled and sliced
1 fat clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
6 large eggs



Heat two thirds of the oil in a non-stick skillet that is 10 inches in diameter. When hot, put in the potatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes. Add the onions and season lightly with some salt. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the onions are quite soft. Add the sliced chorizo along with the garlic and parsley. Mix well, without crushing the potatoes and then cook for another few minutes, until quite fragrant. Scoop everything out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and allow to cool slightly. Wipe out the frying pan with some paper towel to make ready for cooking the tortilla.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and season lightly with some salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet. Using a spoon, fold the potato mixture into the beaten eggs very carefully. Pour the whole mixture into the pan. Start cooking over medium heat, stirring gently from time to time up from the sides with a fork, as if making an omelete. As soon as the eggs are half cooked, stop stirring and turn the heat to low. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the underside of the tortilla is almost cooked. Slide it onto a lightly greased plate, then invert it back into the skillet until the cooked part is on top and the raw part is on the bottom touching the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes, cooking until both sides are cooked the same and the middle of the tortilla is still soft.

Slide the tortilla onto a plate and serve it whole and cut into wedges. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Hearty Hotcakes with Bananas

Pancakes, or hotcakes as they are also known, have long been a family favourite in my household. When the children were growing up, I always made them for breakfast, every Saturday morning. I also made them when they had a friend to stay overnight.

It was de riguer.



Of course they each had their favourites . . . some liked them just plain without anything fancy added, other's like them made with buttermilk, and my oldest son, he liked the ones I made with sour cream and silver dollar sized. In blueberry season, I always made them blueberry buttermilk pancakes, which they all loved, especially with my homemade blueberry syrup on top along with oodles of melting butter.



Now that there are only Todd and I here, I only ever very rarely make them. Usually I only make them on Pancake Day in February, and then I make the lovely crepe like English pancakes. Sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar as tradition calls for.



The little fella that lives next door was over last evening and was hungry so I whipped up a batch of these tasty Oaty Hotcakes for us all to share. Accompanied with a scrumdiddlyumptious Caramel Banana sauce, they went down a real treat!!



*Hearty Hotcakes with Bananas*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

When my kids were growing up we always had hotcakes, or pancakes as they are called in North America, each and every Saturday morning, as well as when they had a friend to stay overnight. Normally they would be either plain pancakes or buttermilk. I wish I had had this recipe back then. I am sure they would have loved them. Light and fluffy and filled with oaty goodness. The caramel Bananas are the perfect topping, but if you want to be more traditional, you can of course use maple syrup. Other fruit flavoured syrups go very well also, as well as crushed raspberries.

185g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
a touch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 TBS caster sugar
25g rolled oats (not the quick oats)
375ml buttermilk
1 medium egg, beaten
35g butter, melted, plus extra to butter the pan
To serve:
caramel bananas (see below) or maple syrup, fruit syrups, or berries sprinkled with icing sugar and lightly crushed




Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together a bowl. Stir in the oats. Beat the buttermilk, egg and melted butter together. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients all at once and stir together, just until mixed and there are no dry pockets.

When ready to cook, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brush with a little butter. Add pancake batter, 1/4 cupful at a time. Don't crowd the pan or they will run together. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes. Flip them over and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest.

Serve hot, along with the caramel Bananas.



*Caramel Bananas*
Makes enough for 4 servings


Mmmm . . . caramel, bananas . . . deliciously moreish!

3 large bananas
60g butter
90g soft light brown sugar
2 TBS water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the butter, brown sugar, water and vanilla in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk together and heat until the mixture comes to the boil, thickens slightly and forms a caramel. Add the bananas and toss together until they are well coated. Serve while warm.

Gooseberry Gingernut Fool

Oh what a fool I am for a fool. A fool has to be one of the easiest desserts to make ever. All you need is a bit of fruit puree and some whipped cream. Add in some buttery biscuit crumbs and you have a dessert fit for royalty.



You could use strawberry puree and crushed shortcake biscuits and it would be delicious!



You could use blueberry puree and crushed ginger biscuits and it would be fabulous!



You could use raspberry puree and crushed tea biscuits and it would be scrummy!!



Or you could do like I did and use a gooseberry puree and crushed gingernuts and it will be scrumdiddlyumptious!

Easy Peasy, Gooseberry Squeasy!



*Gooseberry Gingernut Fool*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Tart gooseberry puree, softly whipped cream and buttery gingernut crumbs . . . this is a marriage made in heaven. This is absolutely when a threesome works!

4 ounces gingernut biscuits, crushed
1 1/2 ounces sweet butter, melted
8 ounces fresh gooseberries
1 TBS cold water
4 ounces caster sugar
1 cup double cream, whipped



Place the gooseberries into a saucepan along with the water. Cover and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft. At the end of that time, stir in the sugar, and then use your stick blender (my preferred method) to blend them into a puree. Alternately, pop them into your regular blender, or your food processor and blend until pureed. (DO so carefully with a towel over top, as hot things in a blender build up pressure and can pop the lid off, hence why I use my stick blender) Leave aside to cool completely, or pop in the fridge to chill it faster. (You can pour it onto a baking sheet and spread it out and it will chill really fast!) Once the gooseberry puree is completely cool, fold it into the whipped cream.

Mix the gingernut crumbs and the butter together. Place a little bit of them into the bottom of each of six dessert dishes. Spoon half of the fool over top of each. Sprinkle another layer of crumbs over top and then the remaining half of the gooseberry mixture. Top with a final layer of gingernut crumbs. Chill until completely cold.

Serve to six lucky people. Listen to the ooohs and ahhhs!

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

I often wonder why it is that, when I don't have any rhubarb to hand, I can always find loads of recipes that I would love to try using it in. And yet, when I do have some, I struggle to think of something to do with it . . .

I suppose in a way it's like money. I can think of a million things to spend it on, but when I have £20 in my purse, I can't find a single thing that I really want to buy . . .



There was some rhubarb in my Able & Cole veggie box this week and I really had a hard time deciding what to do with it. This was compounded by the fact that I don't really have a working oven at the moment. Roll on Monday!

When I was a girl, my mother used to give us stalks of raw rhubarb to eat, along with bowls of sugar to dip it in. I had always loved this jaw achingly delicious treat, kind of like an all natural lick-em-aid. I didn't think that either Todd or I were quite up to this, although I do confess that I did try a small piece with sugar to see if I still loved it that way. Umm . . . no.



I finally decided to fall back on my Abel & Cole cookbook. I figured that if they sent it to me, then there must be a recipe in that I could use to cook it. There was, Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding, and it was delicious. I halved the recipe, because there are only two of us, and because we can only eat so much, not to mention . . . because my convection oven is only so big. I also skipped the water bath, as, well . . . I just couldn't fit the both of them into my convection oven. Thankfully, it turned out pretty good regardless!



The original recipe didn't have any measurements, only a mug sized measure of things. I decided to actually measure them, and the amounts are reflected in my adaption of the original recipe. You can add more sugar to the rhubarb if you wish, depending on how sweet you like it. The amount I used was perfect for us.



*Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

I have always loved rhubarb . . . in pies, cakes, even shortbreads. I had never thought of using it in a bread and butter pudding until the other day. This is pure genius, and oh so very delicious as well! Adapted from the Abel & Cole Cookbook.

6 stalks of rhubarb, topped, tailed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sugar, divided
butter
12 slices of white bread, crusts removed
4 large eggs
8 ounces cream
4 ounces whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Creme fraiche to serve



Place the chopped rhubarb in a bowl along with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Allow to sit for about an hour or so, so that it softens slightly and becomes all juicy.

Butter all the bread slices on one side and butter a 10 inch square baking dish. Lay 4 slices of the buttered bread, buttered side down in the baking dish. Spread half of the rhubarb over this. Repeat and then top finally with the last four slices of bread.

Whisk together the cream, milk, eggs and vanilla. Slowly strain this mixture over top of the bread. Grate some fresh nutmeg over top and then place in the fridge for approximately an hour to allow the custard to soak in somewhat.

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Place the pudding dish into a large roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pudding dish. Carefully set in the heated oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.

Spoon onto dessert plates and serve warm with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Corn on the Cob with Lime Butter

One thing that we used to really look forward to each year when I was growing up, was corn on the cob season. It was one of our favourite times of year because, we knew that, once the corn was ripe, we would be having a feed of delicious corn on the cob for supper.

And . . . when I say a feed of corn, I mean exactly that. My mother would bring a huge pot of water to the boil, whilst we kids got busy to shucking the corn in the back garden at the picnic table. Once it was all shucked, we'd bring it in and she'd commence to boiling it. Oh the smell of corn that permeated the air, was enough to make our taste buds tingle in anticipation. Once it was cooked just right and crispy tender, we'd sit down at the table and commence to eating . . . cob after cob of that sweet golden goodness, all slathered in butter and salt.



We could eat as much of it as we wanted to, and each of us would try to outdo the others in how many cobs we could manage to eat. I don't think I ever managed any more than three at the most . . . oh how good that corn tasted, with butter running down my chin, all crisp and sweet and buttery in my mouth, my teeth running down the cob like an old fashioned typewriter platen . . . I liked to eat it in rows.



Todd and I don't sit there and try to see how much we can outdo each other these days when we have corn on the cob, and I don't cook oodles and oodles of it either, but during corn on the cob season, I make sure I treat us to this delicious golden treat more than just a few times . . .



Coated with a delicious and tangy lime butter, it is hard not to make a pig of myself . . . and, really . . . who could blame me if I did . . .



*Corn on the Cob with Lime Butter*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Crisp and sweet, just oozing with buttery lime goodness. When it's corn on the cob season, this is one of our favourite ways of eating it.

2 large ears of corn on the cob, or 4 small
(Shucked and all silk removed)
1 TBS sugar
6 ounces butter
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
the juice and zest of 1 small lime
2 TBS fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste



Trim your corn on the cob and cut each ear in half if using large ones. Place in a pan of boiling water that you have added the sugar to. Cover and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, just until the corn is tender.

While the corn is cooking place the butter and cayenne pepper in a small saucepan along with the lime zest. Heat until the butter is melted. Whisk in the lime juice and chopped coriander.

Remove the cooked corn from the pot onto a heated plate and immediately pour the sauce over the hot corn. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Warm Potato Salad with Ham

Earlier on in this year we found that a bag of our potatoes had sprouted in the potato bin we keep them in. If there is one thing I am guilty of, it's frequently buying more potatoes than we can conceivably use. The potato is my favourite vegetable and I just always love to have lots of them around. I have even been known to have nothing but a plate of potatoes for my tea, simply boiled and served with lots of butter, salt and pepper . . . just because I love them so . . . but I digress.

We ended up cutting them up and planting them in bins and are now enjoying our very own new potatoes, the tasty result of our ingenuity and thift!



One of the ways I love to serve new potatoes is in a salad. There is my mother's version, which is full of mayonnaise and then a lovely herby vinaigrette one I make from time to time and then there is this one . . . tangy and warm and full of lovely bits of salty ham. Over here I have learned that ham is called gammon, until it is cooked, then it is ham.



*Warm Potato Salad with Ham*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I love potato salads and often make them in various ways. This is one of my favourite versions. I just love the tang of the gerkins and capers along with the saltiness of the ham.

1 1/2 pounds of new potatoes, peeled
4 ounces cooked gammon, chopped
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
2 TBS tiny capers, rinsed and drained well
8 french gerkins, chopped
3 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

For the Dressing:
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
4 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



Place the potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until just fork tender and then drain and place into a bowl. Cut any large ones into smaller pieces. Add the gammon, shallots, capers, gherkins and parsley. Gently toss together.

Whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes and toss to blend together all the flavours. Allow to set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving, in order to allow the potatoes to absorb the dressing. Serve warm.