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Nov 22

Butternut squash soup, with thyme pesto oil

Butternut squash soup with thyme pesto oil

Soup is the ultimate winter soul food. Nourishing and sustaining, with endless varieties, I never get bored with it.

This soup was borne out of pretty much the entire contents of my fridge – a squash, a couple of shallots, a carton of chicken stock and a little double cream. It was frankly a pretty bare fridge, but I had no desire to head out to the shops and this was the first thing that came to mind. I guess thats the joy of soups, there are no rules, you make make a soup from practically anything.

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Nov 14

A simple supper, just for me

What is it that makes food a treat? It needs to be out of the ordinary, something you don’t eat everyday. Where the anticipation of eating is part of the allure. With a definite element of indulgence. It needs to be right food for the right time and the right place. So here is my little Thursday night treat. A simple potato, patiently baked in the oven for a good hour. Slathered in butter, the faintest smear of mushroom pesto, finished with cheddar. The perfect supper for a crisp November night.

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Nov 7

Parkin with blue cheese, port jelly and figs.

Parkin, blue cheese, port jelly, figs

I do like to have a cake on hand when I have weekend guests. The moment invariably arrives where a cup of tea and a slice of something sweet will go down nicely. Given the time of year, I thought I’d make a Parkin. I grew up having Parkin as a Bonfire night treat and only latterly did I learn that this type of cake is indigenous to Lancashire and Yorkshire and rarely eaten in other parts of England. Even my Cheshire-bred husband never had Parkin. Now I’m not going to get started on the differences between Yorkshire and Lancashire versions, all I will say is that there is something appealing about celebrating and preserving my regional heritage, even if I am now mostly feeding suspicious southerners!

The best way I can describe a Parkin is a cross between a ginger cake and a flapjack. It’s imperative to make it about a week before you want to eat it, which gives the flavour time to mature and, most importantly, allows its texture to develop. It becomes denser and stickier the longer you leave it, evolving from an oaty ginger cake into something really special. I nearly always forget to bake it in time, but this year I had it in the oven a week in advance and then it sat, patiently wrapped in foil, ready for its weekend unveiling. Read more

Nov 3

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Two birthday brownies: Butterscotch peanut butter cheesecake and triple chocolate chip

Butterscotch peanut butter cheesecake brownie

Sometimes more is most definitely more. There is something about American food that seems to encourage outrageously over the top combinations and brownie is no exception. Just when you think you’ve done enough, added enough extras, pimped it up to the max, then you should just sling in one more thing. That’s what gives it the edge. Hence this possibly excessive but amazing combination of peanut butter cheesecake, peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips, swirled into a squidgy dark chocolate brownie. The alternative brownie is pretty much my default brownie – a fudgy dark brownie base studded with chunks of milk and white chocolate. Read more

Oct 25

A good home for a couple of spare apples – gingerbread pudding!

Apple gingerbread pudding

Apple gingerbread pudding

Two bramley apples had been languishing in the fruit bowl for a couple of weeks. This was their destiny – a fruity, sticky, warm and spicy pudding.

As is the risk with any dish made off the cuff, this didn’t turn out exactly how I envisaged. I anticipated a layer of cooked apple topped with a layer of sticky ginger sponge. However, the batter was such that the pieces of apple floated to the top whilst baking so I ended up with apple pieces throughout rather than the layered effect. Nevertheless, the end result was just what we were after.

 Set the oven to 160C. Peel and chop 2 medium sized bramley apples into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of a 20cm square baking dish. Then make the batter. In a medium pan melt 75g butter with 100g dark brown sugar and 130g golden syrup. Once melted together add 250ml dark ale, 150g plain flour, 2 tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda. This will thicken and needs a good stir to get any flour lumps out. Finally add 1 egg and 120ml plain yogurt or sour cream. If you have some available, some finely chopped stem ginger would also work a treat. Pour over the apples and bake for about an hour, having a look after 45 mins, using a skewer or similar to check the middle for uncooked batter. This hot and spicy pudding would be excellent with some cool, creamy vanilla ice cream.

Oct 25

Autumn roasted vegetables, hazelnut dukkah, tahini yogurt

Autumn roasted vegetables, hazelnut dukkah, tahini yogurt

Autumn roasted vegetables, hazelnut dukkah, tahini yogurt

Sunday night dinners are always some of my favourites. It’s the one night I try very hard to be at home, to have a relaxed night in, as a last bit of indulgence before the weekend is over. Sunday night is a recuperative night, to restore and soothe you for the week ahead. Good food is integral to this and I absolutely believe that a slow cooked supper is the best foundation for a languorous night on the sofa. If you can dedicate your mind to it, chopping and stirring can be almost meditative, having a gentle rhythm to help escape from that endless to-do list whirring around your mind. Not to mention that slow cooking naturally lends itself to comfort foods – succulent slow cooked meats, casseroles and puddings, such a luxury compared to weekday grab and go meals.

The rain felt endless this weekend. A deluge from the sky. The sort of weather where the most tempting activities are all sofa based. I’d eaten a lot of meat and rich food over the weekend, a big plate of roast veggies was just the thing I needed. Having spent the summer months without consuming anything resembling a root vegetable, roasted roots have regained their appeal, so I set about chopping with zeal. Without any accompaniment, this is probably enough for 3 or 4 portions, so providing a few leftovers for the two of us. Read more

Sep 18

Can it really be autumn?

There have been definite signs of autumn this week: 1. I’ve had the heating on in the last couple of evenings. 2. My opaque tights have been on a couple of outings. 3. There is a crumble in the oven.

Maybe its time to let go of summer after all. Baking a crumble seems like a definitive acknowledgement of autumn.Whilst I am still trying to deny it, to stretch out the last of the long warm days, my food preferences do change perceptibly with the change of seasons, so my stomach is in autumn even if my head isn’t. Although I do enjoy the rhythm of changing cooking with the seasons. The allure of a crisp cool salad slowly wanes in September, to be replaced with a longing for warm spices, squashes roasting in the oven, mushrooms and chestnuts, thick soups and crumbles, all soothing as the nights draw in. Read more

Sep 15

An afternoon of PYO and a blackcurrant arctic roll

Blackcurrant arctic roll

Blackcurrant arctic roll

I absolutely adore blackcurrants. I used to grow them a few years ago – I had a bush that grew quite happily in a pot on the flat roof in my old flat, but when I moved and planted it out into the garden here, it promptly died and I’ve not yet replaced it. I picked a good crop of blackcurrants at the PYO without any particular plans for them. My first thought was a blackcurrant trifle, but R peculiarly objects to whipped cream. But some way of combining the tart fruit with thick cream and sweet soft cake stuck in my mind. A cake wouldn’t do, we wouldn’t eat it fast enough, so I decided to invent a new version of an arctic roll. I’ve not eaten an arctic roll for years. It is ripe for reinvention, there must be so many variations you could do. It must be set for a comeback, I almost can’t believe it’s been out of fashion for so long.

This one is definitely a weekend baking project and I’m afraid a bit washing-up tastic. But worth it. I’m sure there are many ways that this could be simplified, but it’s not complicated, it just needs time. Read more

Sep 15

Mid-summer picnic, including the prettiest salad ever made

One of those hot summer weekends where you have to get outside as much as possible to absorb the sunshine in the hope of storing it up for the long winter months. We had a picnic planned with some friends and luckily our local market was on excellent form, so I was able to pick up plenty of mixed leaves and interesting veg. I settled on making a simple roast vegetable tart and some little cheesecakes, packed into jars for easy transportation.  Read more

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