The Best Rice Pudding Ever . . .

I am quite sure that if you were to look up the word comfort in a dictionary, you would find the words "Rice Pudding." written there in black and white . . . perhaps with a tasty picture that would speak a thousand words about just how tasty and soulful Rice Pudding really is . . .

No???? Well, then they certainly should be!!!



What else speaks of home and love and comfort in such a cozy way.

Milk, rice, cream . . . sugar . . .



Old fashioned flavours . . .

perhaps . . .



Simple . . . yes . . .

Delicious . . . absolutely.




*The Best Rice Pudding Ever*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Creamy and rich, this is our favourite rice pudding. I clipped the recipe from out of a newspaper many years ago and the page is a bit tattered and spotted with time, which just goes to show that it's well loved and much used!

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups cream
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 strip of lemon peel, the pith discarded
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces flaked almonds, toasted and crushed with your fingers
To Serve:
1 1/2 cups tart cherries (tinned or frozen)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cornflour
1 1/2 TBS cherry liqueur (optional)



First make the cherry sauce. Combine the cherries, 1/4 cup of their juices, the sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Mix the cornflour with 2 tsp of water. Stir into the cherries. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in the cherry liqueur, if using. Set aside.

Place the milk, cream, vanilla bean and it's seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom and lemon zest in a large saucepan. bring almost to the boil, then add the rice. Return to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is completely softened, tender and creamy. Remove from the heat. Take out the cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and the lemon peel. Stir in the almonds.

Serve the rice pudding in bowls with a dollop of the cherry sauce spooned on top. Serve immediately.

Note - Rice is one of those foods that you really need to handle with care. Improper handling of cooked rice is one of the leading causes of food poisoning in restaurants, and in fact I never re-heat my rice at home. What doesn't get eaten on the day, gets tossed. Make sure that you cool it down quickly after cooking, and chill it thoroughly, and then, if you are going to re-heat, that you are sure to re-heat it to a very high temperature, all the way through to the middle.

Apple, Blackberry and Cheese Torte

So, this is the season of apples and blackberries and the two placed together create the most wonderful marriage of flavours. It's classic.

The hedgerows that surround our cottage are just drooping with blackberries, likewise the apple trees are full of apples that are being picked daily. We are lucky that we can help ourselves to the drops. Back home they would have used the drops to make apple juice . . .



The air rings with the sound of Polish as that is where most of the pickers come from and is filled with the smell of fermenting apples . . . there are tons laying beneath the trees, far too many to use and a lot are decaying now, hence the smell. Back home the deer would be snuffling them up.



Apples and cheese are a pretty formidable combination as well. My mom always served up her homemade apple pies with a tasty slab of cheddar on the side. What happens when you combine the lovely flavours of apples, blackberries and cheese??? Why . . .

You get a fabulously tasty autumnal torte!! You can use Raspberry preserves if you can't get the blackberry. Apricot goes very well also.



Who wouldn't love a sweet cake-like crust, spread with jam and encasing a delicious cheesecake filling topped with sweetly spiced and sliced apples . . .

It's pretty hard to resist!



*Apple and Cheese Torte*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

This so good and is delicious warm or cold. It's a great brunch item as well as a fabulous coffee break treat, not to mention dessert!
Base:4 ounces butter, softened
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup flour
1/3 cup of blackberry jam
Filling:
1 - 250g package of cream cheese
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
Topping:
3 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon



Pre-heat the oven to 230*C/450*F. Cream the butter and sugar for the base together thoroughly. Blend in the flour. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8 1/2 inch wide spring form pan.

Warm the blackberry jam a bit and then spread it over the base of the tart.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla paste together until smooth and fluffy. Spoon this over top of the jam in the crust.

Toss the apples, sugar and cinnamon for the topping together and arrange on top of the cream cheese mixture.Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200*C/400*F. and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set and the apples are tender.

Cool slightly before removing the pan rim. Serve warm or cold.

Perfect Pork Chops with Apples, Sage and Stilton

(Photo courtesy of deliciousmagazine.co.uk)

I think it was sometime last year that Todd and I decided that we weren't going to eat pork anymore. Don't ask me why . . . it was just one of those silly ideas you get, that really don't go anywhere.

We didn't last very long at it. The idea of perfectly roasted pork or grilled chops was far too tempting for us.

I once lived next door to a lady that decided to raise her own pork one year and whom had 5 pigs living in an enclosure not much larger than most people's bathrooms. They were really cute at first, but as time went on and they got larger, they also got smellier, and we just happened to be downwind. Nevermind . . . that's a whole 'nother tale. I digress . . .



I think the most delicious and succulent pork chops come from a rack of pork. You get the tender loin meat along with some tasty rib bits that are just yum yum yum!

I happened to be in the grocery store the other day picking up a rib roast for work, when I noticed the meatman cutting up a rack of pork into chops and they were just so darned good looking I had to pick up a couple for Todd and myself.

You know how it goes . . .



Anyways, these were absolutely wonderful. I cooked them up yesterday, all panfried and nicely browned, with crispy bits of fat clinging to the edges, and then finally roasted with some lightly sauteed apples laid out on top and crumbly bits of stilton.

Fabulous, darlings . . . just fabulous. A marriage made in heaven . . .




*Perfect Pork Chops with Apples, Sage and Stilton*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is simple but impressive and gives you perfectly cooked pork chops every time. I like to use a good porkchop, like a rack pork chop. Delicious!

4 8-ounce pork chops, preferably free range
sea salt (I like to use smoked)
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and sliced into thick wedges
1 TBS butter
fresh sage leaves
3 1/2 ounces of good Stilton cheese, crumbled



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Slash the pork fat along the edge of the chops all the way to the meat. Fan open. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add some olive oil and allow it to heat while you season your chops well on both sides. Cook the chops in the hot oil until they are golden brown on both sides and the fat is crispy, some 3 to 4 minutes. I always hold them up with a pair of tongs fat side down to make sure the fat gets really crispy. Remove them to a shallow metal baking dish. Add the butter to the pan and then add the apples. Fry gently until golden, but still fairly solid. Fan these out on top of each pork chop. Scatter some sage leaves over top. Place into the oven and roast for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven, scatter the stilton over top. Pop back into the oven long enough to melt the cheese.



I like to fry some tender sage heads in the pan drippings until crispy and garnish the finished dish with them.

Ploughman's Muffins

One of the more popular pub lunches over here in the UK is the delicious Ploughman's Lunch. Generally comprised of a buttered crusty loaf, accompanied with Pickle (usually Branstons or a Chutney) slabs of cheddar cheese, and generally some salad leaves on the side, it has become somewhat of a cultural icon over here.

It is really rather good.



Cheese and crusty buttered bread . . . yummy.

Cheese and pickle . . . delicious



Cheese and crusty buttered bread and pickle together . . . scrumdiddlyumptious!!!

I thought I would go a bit further and combine all the tasty flavours in one delightful little muffin.

I was feeling rather inspired.



My pickle of choice . . . a tasty Apricot and Ginger chutney. These rock! (If I don't say so myself!)



*Ploughman's Muffins*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

I just love ordering a ploughman's lunch when we go to the pub. A tasty hunk of good cheese, along with some chutney or pickle and salad leaves . . . simple and yet extremely delicious. Here is a tasty muffin that combines all the wonderful flavours of a ploughman's lunch into one scrumptious little parcel. Perfect for a packed lunch!

2 ounces butter, melted
1 large egg
250ml of milk
1 tsp English Mustard
3 TBS chutney or French mustard
( I like to use an apricot and ginger chutney)
6 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated and divided
1 TBS baking powder
11 ounces plain flour
pinch salt



Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Butter a 12 hole muffin tin very well. Set aside.

Combine the butter, egg, milk, mustard and chutney in a beaker. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the 5 ounces of the cheese. Add the wet ingredients all at once. Combine only until just mixed. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining ounce of cheese evenly over top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen and firm. Leave in the pan to cool for several minutes before loosening and placing on a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm for a real taste treat. These are also very good cold for lunch.

Butterscotch Blondies

I am all for small indulgences. Not all the time, but once in a while it is good to tempt the tummy with something that is totally scrummy and delicious.

I'm afraid for me that means chocolate . . . good chocolate. The BEST chocolate.



Organic Dark milk chocolate by Green and Blacks is usually what pleases me the most.

I can't help it. I just love the stuff. All dark . . . and yet totally milky and creamy, and no . . . once again I am not being paid to tell you this.



It's the truth. I just love Green and Black's Organic Milk chocolate bars. . . plain, or the tasty one that contains fruit and nuts. I am crazy about chocolate filled with either raisins or nuts . . . or both. I keep a tiny personal sized bar in my purse for just such an indulgence. And it's for me . . . all for me. (Any man worth his salt will tell you, never get between a woman and her chocolate indulgence . . . it's dangerous business.)



I'm also crazy about these tasty bars, and I don't mind sharing them. In fact . . . they were meant to be totally shared.



mmmm . . . dangerous. Scrummily dangerous. Not to be trifled with . . .

Moreish even.



*Butterscotch Blondies*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

These bars are lovely and chewy and full of wonderful butterscotch flavour. I try to use the best milk chocolate possible and that is Green and Black’s organic (in my opinion). They small fantastic when baking and the taste, well, it’s out of this world! Bet you can’t eat just one, which also makes them very dangerous to have around!


140g butter, plus more to grease the pan
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Pinch salt
350g light muscovado sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
250g self rising flour
100g milk chocolate, cut into big chunks
100g macadamia nuts or pecan nuts, coarsely chopped
Icing sugar to dust over the tops when done



Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/350*F. Butter a shallow pan, about 20 X 21 cm in size and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool. In the meantime chop up your chocolate.
Beat the eggs until frothy in another bowl. Add the melted butter along with the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Tip in the flour and mix only until combined. Stir in the chocolate and ¾ of the nuts. Try not to over mix the batter, you'll end up with tough brownies if you do.

Spread the batter into the prepared tin and scatter the remaining nuts on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until done. Don’t overbake. You want them dry on the top with a slight resistance to the touch of a fingertip, but you also want them to be fudgy and moist.
Let cool, then cut into bars and dust with the icing sugar.

Spicy Ginger Traybake

I just love the flavour of ginger . . . all spicy and warm and oh-so-comforting. I know . . . I say that about a lot of things. I guess the truth is . . . I just love food!

I do have my favourite flavours though, and ginger happens to be one of them.



I love it dried and ground and baked into lovely cakes, cookies, and puddings.



I love it fresh and grated and added raw to salads, dressings and marinades.



I love it chopped and added to cooked dishes. A slice of it pounded and mixed with a piece of lemon and then steeped in some boiling water makes a marvelously healing tea when you are down with the sniffles . . . trust me.



I especially love it preserved . . . little round nuggets of ginger, preserved in a delicious syrup. It's delicious chopped and added to all sorts of baked goods. The syrup is fantastic when combined with butter and used to glaze carrots. I also love candied ginger, which is similar, but dry and coated in sugar. I just adore that plain and then dipped into dark chocolate . . . a once a year Christmas Treat just for me . . . okay, I'll share . . . I promise.



This fabulous cake uses it in two forms . . . both dried and ground, as well as preserved in syrup. This is easily one of our favourite cakes, and I hope it will become one of your favourites as well.



Don't you just love the autumn!!! That is when food like this comes into it's own. Ginger cake just suits autumn, no matter which way you cut it. (no pun intended)



*Spicy Ginger Traybake*
Makes 20 squares
Printable Recipe

We just love the warm and spicy flavours of this delicious cake. It is one of those one bowl, one step, wonderful cakes that tastes even better as the days go by. This is one of Todd's favourites! (He's just an old fashioned guy with old fashioned tastes!)

8 ounces butter, softened
6 ounces light muscovado sugar
7 ounces dark treacle
11 ounces self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
4 large eggs
4 TBS milk
3 bulbs of preserved stem ginger, chopped finely

For the Icing:
3 ounces icing sugar, sifted
3 TBS ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar
3 bulbs of preserved stem ginger, chopped coarsely
a bit of milk if necessary



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 12 by 9 inch traybake tin and line with parchment paper.

Weigh out all the cake ingredients and place into a large bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer until well blended. Spoon into the prepared baking sheet, smoothing the top over with a plastic spatula. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until risen, lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, and the top springs back when gently touched. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan for several minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the ginger syrup. Beat with the mixer, adding milk as necessary until the icing is smooth and has a good spreading consistency. Spread over the cake, covering the top completely. Sprinkle the chopped stem ginger over top. Allow the icing to set completely before cutting into squares.

Frozen Lemon Souffle

I cannot imagine my kitchen without a bowl of lemons sitting on the counter. Bright and sunny and oh-so-very handy for lots of things.

Lemons are probably one of my most used fresh ingredients. I usually buy the unwaxed ones, and even if a recipe calls only for the juice, I used my handy dandy microplane fine grater tool to remove the zest and I pop it into the freezer for later use.



And then there is candied lemon peel, so very easy to do, and so tasty. It's also quite handy to have on hand to use as garnishes for cakes and cookies, muffins, and desserts.



I also dry my own citrus peels to be used in cooking stews etc. Just remove the peel, without any of the white pith, and string it up on strings. Hang it in a dry place for a time, until completely dry and then store it in an airtight container. It comes in plenty handy as well. I once had to cook some shrimp for a dinner party starter at work, that called for three types of dried citrus peels, made into a powder to dust the shrimp with before cooking. You cannot imagine how happy I was to know I already had peel dried and at the ready to use!! It's very easy to dry lemon, lime and orange peels. You won't be sorry you did, and I'm sure you will find all sorts of uses for them.



Anyhoo, I digress again . . . lemons. My favourite ingredient and one that I use often.

Always with pleasure . . .

Like in this easy, very tasty and impressive dessert. Note - the finished dish contains raw eggs, so please take this into consideration before serving it to your guests.



*Frozen Lemon Souffle*
Makes 1 large, or 12 individual souffles
Printable Recipe

This is a fabulous dessert that is not only delicious but impressive. Perfectly light and tasty for after a heavy meal. This contains raw eggs so be careful not to serve it to the very elderly and the very young.

250g shortbread biscuits
50ml butter, melted
4 large eggs, separated
the juice from two large lemons
the finely grated zest from two large lemons
225ml of caster sugar, divided
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
375ml double cream
Lemon peel and black berries to garnish



Crush the shortbread biscuits in the food processor. Mix with the melted butter and blitz once more. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan, or in the bottom of 12 3-inch rings that you have laid out on a cookie sheet lined with foil.

Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and 50ml of the sugar. Blend together well.

In another, but very clean, bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the cream of tartar and the salt. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Whip the cream in another bowl until soft peaks form.

Fold the egg whites and whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture. Spoon into the prepared pan(s). Cover with foil and freeze for at least 8 hours. Allow to soften in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving if you have made a large one. If you made small ones, you can warm the sides of the rings with your hands and push them out carefully. Place on individual plates and garnish with some lemon peel and blackberries.

Stuffed Baked Apples . . .

Long about this time of year, when the days start to get shorter and the nights start drawing in . . . and the air is filled with the smell of ripe apples and falling leaves, my heart starts to covet the comforts of home and simple things . . .




Things like warm sweaters and rubber wellies . . .



Sloes and hips and berries . . .



Long walks across the fields . . . with fallen acorns crunching underfoot, and Jess, our much beloved Border Collie, leading the way . . .



Purple sunsets, with a harvest moon hung low in the sky . . .



Bonfires and toasted fingers . . .



Baked apples . . . and cream . . .



*Stuffed Baked Apples*
Makes 6
Printable Recipe

This is the perfect autumn dessert. Impressive, tasty and oh so very easy to do.

6 Granny Smith Apples
2/3 cup cup of flaked toasted almonds
2 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
2 TBS plain flour
1 ounce of softened butter
pinch of cinnamon
6 cinnamon sticks



Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Lightly grease a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all the apples. Set aside.

Using a sharp knife cut out the stem end of the apple. Take a melon baller and hollow out the inside a bit, removing the seeds and core and making a small pocket without going all the way through to the bottom. Make a light score all the way around the apples, horizontally. Place the apples in the baking dish.

Combine the almonds, flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Divide this mixture equally amongst the apples, stuffing it down inside. Stick a cinnamon stick into the centre of each. Bake for 25 minutes or so, until the apples are as soft as you would like them to be for eating. Serve warm with custard or spooning cream. Delicious!