Things that are happening lately...

I’ve started a new job!  After 7 plus years in the same company it’s scary being the new girl again.  I’m two weeks in and surviving so far.

I no longer have a huge commute.  This is absolute bliss, quite literally.

I get an hour extra in bed.  Again, bliss.

I’ve hardly had a moment to get to grips with cooking/baking/blogging.  Things should balance out soon.  After all just think of all that time I’m saving not commuting.

I’m stuck in a lunch rut of either avocado or baked beans on toast, not together...ok sometimes together (this appals my husband).

I’ve made this apple cake but with pears 4 times since Christmas. It’s too good.

I’m desperate for warm sunny days.  Oh winter how I loathe you. 

This sticky chocolate orange and prune loaf cake over at London Bakes is a rich and decadent treat while still being on the lighter side.  I used brown rice flour to make it gluten free and skipped the liqueur as we never have anything so sophisticated to drink around here. 

Recipe here.

I hope you have a good weekend. x

Everything in a Bowl

Well this has been a sorry state of affairs, no blog post for nearly a month and then all I have to show you is soup, and more butternut squash at that.  I’ve also caught myself in an awkward time zone.  It’s far too late to be mentioning Christmas, New Year or any of those resolution things so let’s just skip it all, talk about soup and pretend I didn’t fail to blog about any of that stuff. 

Soup has featured heavily around here lately.  Since the UK has been battered with storms and relentless rain we’ve gone in to hibernation mode, abandoning our usual routines in favour of reading books and eating anything out of a bowl, which usually means soup or stew but can also stretch to a jacket potato and baked beans.  The civility of the dining table has been abandoned for the comfort of the sofa and the odd film.  Meal times have really gone to pot around here. 

I made this soup for my Dad when he visited for a few days recently and he said it was “wizard” which I choose to take as a compliment.  It requires very little effort to pull together and lets the flavour of the roasted squash take centre stage. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Serves 2-3

600g butternut squash peeled and chopped in to chunks *you can make them smaller than the ones in the photo for speedier cooking time.

Approx 600ml stock

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

Sprinkling of dried rosemary

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 shallots finely sliced.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a baking tray with parchment.  Place the chopped up butternut squash on the tray, toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with dried rosemary.  Roast for 40 minutes until the squash is nicely caramelised. 

About 5 minutes before the squash is ready place a splash of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots for 5 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute.  Remove the squash from the oven and tip in to the pan.  Next add the stock and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Leave the soup in the pan to cool for a few minutes then blend until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and heat through.  Serve with crusty toast and toasted almonds if you like.

Man Flu Is Pretty Bad After All and Lemons in the form of Cake to the Rescue!

The last couple of weeks our house has been under the weather.  First my husband had it so I naturally dismissed it as a case of man flu...then I was felled too.  Runny noses, aches and shivers, coughs and a throat that felt like I swallowed a bag of razor blades.  I feel like all I’ve been eating is soup and the different flavours started to become indistinguishable.  Now I’m emerging the other side my taste buds and appetite are both making a small come back.  So even though I have many excellent soup recipes in my arsenal I don’t want to think about soup for a bit.  I’d much rather talk about this cake instead.

I mentioned this cake a while back and I’ve made it often this year.  For some reason I’ve never quite gotten round to posting the recipe which comes from the ever inspiring blog Sprouted Kitchen.  It’s moist, has a wonderful kick of lemon and lasts for several days if you can resist eating it all in one go.  Please don’t skip the lemon glaze.  It is a very easy extra step and really gives the cake a strong zap of lemon flavour and adds a nice crunch to the outside. 

I’m writing the recipe up here even though I didn’t change much so that you have the flours by weight should you choose to bake that way.  Enjoy.  It will brighten up the greyest of winter days!

Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook via Sprouted Kitchen

2 large eggs

120ml olive oil

60ml plain natural yoghurt

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

120g total demerara sugar

120g ground almonds

100g brown rice flour

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Lemon Glaze

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, 350°F

Line a 9” loaf tin with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl mix together the eggs, oil, yoghurt, lemon zest and juice. 

In a large bowl combine the flour, almonds, sugar, ground flaxseed, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet and mix well.  Pour the mixture in to your prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes.

While the cake is baking make the glaze.  Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  When the cake is ready remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before inverting the cake on to a cooling rack.  Prick holes in the top of the cake and pour over the lemon glaze.  Allow the cake to continue to cool completely as it absorbs the lemon glaze.

Butternut Squash, Pecan, Goat’s Cheese and Honey Toasts

I suppose I have to admit that winter is upon us.  The leaves are dropping from the trees in rapid succession, some of them are already bare, others are hanging on to their golden nuggets until those blustery winter winds finally win the battle and send them heading to the ground.  Soon we’ll be hanging Christmas decorations (most of you probably already have) and before we know it welcoming in a new year.  I’m not quite ready to let go of autumn yet so I’ve been taking quite a few photos of our weekend walks before winter is well and truly here and I forget all about those sometimes golden, sometimes grey skies.

I am also enjoying all things butternut squash.  You have been warned.  Last weekend when I was hunting around for something to eat for lunch I reached for the River Cottage Veg book which always seems to yield something tasty and easy that I can throw together.  The recipe uses sourdough as the bread of choice, which I am sure would be the way to go, however since I’ve yet to try making gluten free sourdough, sub whatever gluten free bread you have.  It will still taste fantastic, I promise.  Here the slightly sweet, caramelized flavour of the roasted squash is balanced out by melted goat’s cheese, toasted pecans and it’s all finished off with a drizzle of honey.  I threw in some kale too, but you should expect that of me by now.

Recipe adapted from River Cottage Veg Everyday! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Serves 2

A handful of toasted pecans (or nut of choice)

1 tablespoon olive oil

200-250g butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite size cubes

2 leaves of cavolo nero kale (optional) stems removed and chopped

1 teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme

50g goat’s cheese (I used hard goat’s cheese, you could also use cheddar)

2 thick slices of gluten free bread, toasted

A trickle of clear honey

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Lay the squash out in a single layer, sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for about 30 – 40 minutes until the squash is tender and beginning to caramelize around the edges.  If you are using the kale I add this to the pan five minutes before the squash is ready.  You just want the kale wilted in the heat of the oven.

When the squash is nearly ready light the grill and lightly toast the bread.  Remove from the grill and top with the squash, kale, goat’s cheese, pecans and finish with a drizzle of honey.  Return to the grill and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

The Dining Room, The Cauliflower and The Grain Free Pizza.

I’m sitting in my dining room, which has just been painted white by our landlord after years of peeling paint and strange patches on the walls.  I feel like I have a blank canvas to play with, full of potential.  Our living room on the other hand is packed full of our dining room furniture and pretty much resembles Steptoe’s Yard.  But I get to start again in this room.  This weekend we’ll start to drag stuff back.  I’ll put my vintage plates lovingly away in the dresser.  My husband will enjoy reorganising our music collection far more than a person should.  We’ll argue over how the books should be arranged and in what order.  Pretty soon it will look much as it ever did, a thoroughly lived in room with all the tapestry of our lives strewn about.  But for now it’s a blank canvas and how often do we get one of those?

I was going to make a tenuous link about pizza bases being a blank canvas but I won’t do that (except I just did). This is a pizza base with a difference since it is made from cauliflower.  I’d seen quite a few recipes for grain free pizza bases made from cauliflower around the internet and the idea intrigued me.  When I saw this recipe on Green Kitchen Stories the simplicity of the recipe appealed to my sometimes lazy attitude towards cooking and so I took the plunge and gave it a try.  It was a great success and my husband declared it the best “gluten free” pizza he’d had.  Notice he said “gluten free” because quite frankly if you are looking for this base to taste like real pizza you will be disappointed.  Personally I’ve forgotten what pizza tastes like but I know this isn’t going to replicate.  It does stand out on its own as a delicious alternative with a slightly nutty, sweet taste and softer texture. 

Since my husband can’t eat tomatoes these days I went for a goat’s cheese topping with roasted fennel and pear.  The result was delicious.  The sweetness from the caramelised fennel and pears complimented the tang of the goat’s cheese perfectly.  We’ll definitely be making this again many times in the future.

Pizza base recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories:  Serves 2-3

1 cauliflower (how much you use will depend on the size of the cauliflower)

80g ground almonds

1 tablespoon of dried rosemary (or whatever dried herb you like)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs beaten

Preheat the oven Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a baking tray with parchment and set aside.

Chop the cauliflower in to florets and process in a food processor to make a fine, rice like texture.  You should end up with about 700ml of cauliflower rice.  I started off in batches and stopped once I had reached 700ml.

Add the ground almonds, rosemary, seasoning and mix together with your hands.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs.  Mix together until a dough is formed, you will probably need to use your hands for this so be prepared to get messy.  Transfer the dough to the baking sheet.  It will be quite loose and sticky.  Push the dough out towards the edges of the baking sheet and flatten with your hands until a flat base is formed.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden.

Topping:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 fennel bulb finely sliced using a mandolin

1 pear finely sliced.

Hard goat’s cheese sliced

While the pizza is baking in the oven, place the fennel on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes until the edges are beginning to caramelise and the fennel is slightly softer. 

When the pizza base is ready remove from the oven and top with the fennel, sliced pear and finally the goat’s cheese.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

Roasted Butternut Squash Rice Bowl

I’m making an early appearance this week due to a hectic weekend ahead.  I’ve a free evening, home alone with too loud Bon Jovi to keep me company (sorry neighbours).  Rather than stare at the walls I thought I’d talk to you lovely people instead.

I feel like I should almost apologise for posting yet another of my rice bowls but I can’t seem to stop making them.  Once I discovered the magic that some toasted nuts, dried fruits and a bit of goat cheese can bring to a bowl of brown rice and vegetables it seems to be an unstoppable express train headed for my mouth.  You can totally make it your own and just throw in whatever combination of roasted vegetables, nuts and dried fruit you want.  I’m having a thing for butternut squash at the moment so here I used it to add a vibrant touch of orange to my bowl of rice.  There is no end in sight to my love affair with pistachios and for a little festive seasonal colour I used cranberries as my dried fruit of choice.  Kale or some sort of green always makes an appearance.  I made a quick dressing out of olive oil and maple syrup.  Honey would be a good sub.  I think roasting the butternut with a little maple syrup would also be a good plan.  I don’t think I need to write this one up.  Here’s the bones of the recipe, mix it up to suit your own style and tastes.  I roasted the butternut for 35 minutes at Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Apple, Cinnamon and Almond Layer Cake

There are few combinations that work better than apples and cinnamon so this cake is already a win without even really trying.  It’s a pretty rustic looking cake, a bit rough around the edges.  I like it that way, minimum effort in cake decoration but maximum taste is always my preference.  It’s not overly sweet but then I did reduce the sugar as is my way.  With a bit of yoghurt on top it makes a good winter pudding.  After a stomp across the downs in a tonne of mud it’s perfect with a cup of tea.  This is the third time I’ve made this cake.  That’s how good it is.  The recipe is adapted from Jamie Magazine.  I’ve started buying it recently and my purse isn’t going to thank me for these purchases.  A few years ago I gave up buying magazines.  The price and the fact that they were half full of advertising put me off.  This current little slip is mainly due to the fact I find recipes like this.  If you can use a mandolin to slice the apples it makes for a prettier end result but if not just slice with a sharp knife.  It will add to the overall rustic effect.

Adapted from Jamie Magazine Autumn edition.

100g (4oz) rice flour (or plain flour if you don’t need it to be gluten free)

100g (4oz) ground almonds

2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

180g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened or if you want to make it dairy free use 180ml olive oil

100g (4oz) demerara sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling *recipe calls for 180g so I reduced the amount.

3 eggs

1-2 eating apples finely sliced

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, 350°F

Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the flour, almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.  In a large bowl mix together the butter and the sugar and then beat in the eggs.  Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet until well combined.  Pour half the batter in to the prepared cake tin then top with a layer of apple.  Pour over the remaining batter and finish with a layer of apple on top.  Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.