All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Blondies

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White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Blondies
It’s been a while since I made anything really indulgent and full of butter. Sometimes you just need to make something you know is ‘bad’ for you although I think anything you make yourself can never be bad and will certainly be better (for you and in taste) than something you can buy. These white chocolate chip and blackcurrant blondies are sumptuous enough to keep the crave away but the added blackcurrants add some acidity and freshness. And fruit, which we all know is good for you.

Ingredients

You will need (to make nine blondies):
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 200g butter, melted
  • 150g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 200g white chocolate buttons or chips
  • 100g blackcurrants, tops and tails removed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C. Grease a 20cm square baking tin then line it with baking paper.

Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy then beat in the melted butter. Add the butter a little at a time.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together then tip this into the egg mixture and fold it in lighlty.

Gently fold in the chocolate buttons and blackcurrants and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown but still gooey in the middle.

As it has been so warm recently it did feel a bit odd baking and eating these in the sunshine but they were so good. The soft, squidgy, cakey blondie mix I was really pleased with. The added white chocolate chips, some of which got caramelised in the oven, gave some texture and were a real treat. I loved using the blackcurrants in this as they gave such a distinctive flavour and wonderful colour and turned almost jam like. Next time you get your cake craving I very much recommend you try these. read more

Broad Bean and Feta Smash with Cucumber, Lettuce and Dill Salad

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Broad Bean and Feta Smash with Cucumber Dill Salad
It’s all about green beans and peas at the moment and a veg box delivery last week left me with beans coming out of my ears! I wanted to put them on toast to make them go as far as possible so I tried out a broad bean and feta smash. I like the slightly odd bitterness from broad beans and it goes so well with salty feta cheese. The cucumber and dill salad on the side adds real sweetness and freshness to the meal. It’s super quick to make too so you won’t be stuck in the kitchen when you want to be outside; perfect for summer.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • Large handful broad beans, podded
  • 100g feta, cubed
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • Salt and pepper
  • Small handful mint leaves, finely chopped

  • 1 ciabatta
  • 1 small cucumber, sliced
  • 1 lettuce, shredded
  • Small handful dill, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Start by adding the broad beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cooking them for 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water before peeling off the grey skins on the outside.

Put the broad beans into a bowl with the feta, a drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Mash it all together so it is slightly combined but still chunky. Put to one side.

Bake the ciabatta according to packet instructions then cut into slices.

Put the cucumber and lettuce into a serving bowl. read more

Swedish Style Burgers

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Swedish Style Burgers
You would have thought that a burger lends itself well to good photo-ability. For some reason when it comes to taking a picture of a burger it never looks quite how I imagine it will. No matter what I try the burgers always shrink leaving even the smallest buns looking far too big. There is either too much or not enough salad so although I make them sort of regularly I rarely blog about them or take a picture. However, when the below recipe came through for Swedish burgers with Västerbottensost cheese I couldn’t resist. 

Recipe from Västerbottensost cheese as part of their ‘Swedish summer to remember’.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 350g minced venison (or beef)
  • 1 rasher fried bacon, chopped
  • 1 tsp crushed juniper berries
  • Salt and pepper
  • Västerbottensost cheese, grated
  • Buns of your choice and salad and condiments to serve

Method

Put the venison mince into a bowl and add the chopped bacon, juniper berries and salt and pepper.

Give everything a really good mix then form into four burger shapes (I made quite small ones).

Heat a pan to high and add a little oil to the pan. Fry the burgers until lovely and brown on the outside and cooked through. For the last few minutes of cooking add the grated Västerbottensost and allow to melt. read more

Caramelised Fennel and Salami Pizza

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caramelised fennel and salami pizza
Does it get much better than homemade pizza? If you can get the base crispy enough that is. I have been working on my dough and tomato sauce recipe for some time and I think I have finally cracked it. I make the dough fresh then divide it up and freeze in individual bags so I can have pizza whenever. The tomato sauce is made from obscenely ripe tomatoes for richness and sweetness. Caramelised fennel and salami pizza is the best pizza topping I have tried so far!

Ingredients

You will need:

For the dough (makes enough for four pizza bases):

  • 400g strong white flour
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 sachet fast action yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 250ml warm water

For the tomato sauce (makes enough for one pizza):

  • 4 large, very ripe tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 small garlic cloves, crushed
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Toppings (per pizza):

  • 1 ball mozzarella, sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, sliced
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • Salami

Method

Make the dough by mixing together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Pour in the olive oil then add the warm water.
Knead for 10 minutes then leave for an hour or so until doubled in size. Divide into four, you can freeze what you don’t use.

Next make the tomato sauce. Add the onion with a little olive oil to a frying pan over a low to medium heat and leave to soften for around 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more then stir in the diced tomatoes. Put a lid on the pan and leave to cook for about 10 minutes then remove the lid, turn the heat up and continue cooking until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste then blend the sauce.

Add the fennel with a good glug of olive oil to a small lidded pan and leave over a low heat for at least 30 minutes or until well softened. Stir occasionally. Remove the lid from the pan and stir in the sugar. Continue to stir until evenly coated and caramelised.

Preheat an oven to 240C. Roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface so that it fits a large baking tray. Lightly flour the baking tray and put the dough on top. read more

Pulled Pork Ribs with Carrot & Ginger Slaw

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I’m often a bit slow on the uptake. Pulled food, more specifically pulled pork, has been doing the rounds for some time now and it’s not something that I had attempted. Yet. I wanted to make an Asian coleslaw that used some spring carrots (I demoed this at Eat Reading Live) but wasn’t too sure what to serve it with. It seemed an ideal time to attempt some sort of pulled pork. If, like me, you can’t be bothered with pulling anything I think this would be fantastic with some leftover roast pork or chicken in a nice soft roll. read more

Dark Chocolate, Orange and Hazelnut Brownies

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Gooey orange and hazelnut dark chocolate brownies
I sit at home sometimes, nothing unusual there, and things pop into my head and then I can’t get them out. If I have a hankering for a particular food, place to go or thing to do nothing else will suffice until I lay my hands on that thing. One evening last week I really needed some chocolate. I didn’t want wishy washy unsatisfying chocolate I wanted full on, one slice is enough, complete chocolate indulgence. The kind where you feel like you have a chocolate hangover when you’re halfway through the first bite. My dark chocolate, orange and hazelnut brownies were created out of desire and the need to use up some hazelnuts in the back of the cupboard. I’ve been practising my brownie recipe for some years now so I thought I’d try a variation on my plain recipe.

Ingredients

You will need (for nine brownies):

  • 100g salted butter
  • 180g golden caster sugar
  • 70g light muscovado sugar
  • 120g dark chocolate with orange (the stuff I used had caramelised orange peel in)
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • Splash vanilla extract
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 50g roughly chopped hazelnuts (mine were blanched)

Method

Line a (roughly) 20cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. You could grease the tin but anything for a life of easier washing up. Melt the butter, sugars, chocolate and golden syrup together in a pan over a low heat until melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Beat the eggs and vanilla extract together then whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together then fold this into the chocolate mix. Gently mix in the hazelnuts. Pour the brownie mix into the tin then bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes. Mark into pieces while still hot.

I think everyone likes their brownies differently; some prefer them cakier, some want them still gooey and others will have them like fudge. The thing I like about this recipe is the corner pieces are cakier than the edge pieces which are fudgier and the (best) centre brownie which is still slightly liquid. The middle piece is my favourite and I try to take it out when it’s fresh from the oven to enjoy hot. This of course is somewhat awkward as you need all manner of kitchen implements to try and extract it; it’s like culinary Operation but well worth the effort. The chocolate is just intense enough, the orange is more of a whisper and the hazelnuts add a welcome texture. Exactly what I wanted. read more

Dried Blueberry and Almond Cereal Bars

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Dried Blueberry and Almond Cereal Bars
You know when you buy an ingredient to make something and the remainder of it sits in the cupboard waiting to be used? I had a bit of this going on with oats, flaked almonds, seeds, maple syrup and dried blueberries. To use them (or as many of them as I could) up I made some lovely crumbly cereal bars. I wanted to keep the butter to a minimum to try and keep them a little on the healthy side.

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 cereal bars):

  • 225g oats
  • 100ml maple syrup
  • 150g butter
  • 75g dried blueberries
  • 50g flaked almonds
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C and lightly grease a baking tray. The one I used was about 20cm x 20cm.

Melt the maple syrup and butter together in a saucepan on a low heat until melted and well combined.

Mix the oats, dried blueberries, almonds and poppy seeds together then pour in the syrup and butter and stir together until well mixed.

Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray and then place into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Mark into pieces while still hot then remove from the tray when cooled. read more

Ultimate Cheese on Toast with Lea & Perrins

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Cheese on toast with caramelised onions

I can’t have cheese on toast without a dribble of Worcestershire Sauce. I’ve added it to countless different meals; cottage pie, risotto and spaghetti bolognese to name a few. Lea and Perrins are working with the guys from Sorted to show different dishes you can add your Worcestershire Sauce to and I was asked to see what I could come up with.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 3-4 medium onions, finely sliced
  • 3 tbsp Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
  • Salt and pepper
  • Oil for cooking
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 150g strong Cheddar cheese
  • 2 thick slices bread

Method

Make the caramelised onions by getting a heavy based frying pan on a low heat and adding a drizzle of oil. 

Tip in the onions, Worcestershire Sauce, a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Leave to soften for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until sticky. read more

Review: Maple Pecan Cupcake Recipe from Baking Mad

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Goose Egg
I learnt something about myself the other day: I am not a domestic goddess. Let me explain. I was sent some baking goodies from Baking Mad and I had chosen to attempt their recipe for Maple Pecan cupcakes. I planned to give them to my Mum for an early Mother’s Day treat. I went for a walk to the pub last week and was offered a goose egg to take home; excellent for my cupcakes. All was going well and I was ready for baking. In my head I’m swishing around the kitchen; mixing a bit there, sprinkling a bit here, birds are singing and the radio is playing non-stop jolly tunes. This is not quite how it happened.

Ingredients

You will need (original recipe here, mine is slightly different):

  • 2 eggs (I used half a goose egg)
  • 125g butter
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

    For the icing:
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 65g butter
  • 125g icing sugar (I used the Silver Spoon Chocolate icing sugar I was sent)
  • Chocolate chips to decorate (I used the Silver Spoon ones I was sent)

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C and line a cupcake tin with 12 cases. I don’t have a cupcake tin so I use silicone cupcake cases.

Place the eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and maple syrup in a bowl and mix together until smooth. I used an electric hand whisk for this.

Divide the batter between the cases then place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until baked.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool.

Make the icing by beating together the butter and icing sugar then add the maple syrup and beat until light and fluffy. read more

Leek, Cheese and Potato Pie

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cheese potato and leek pie ready to serve
I like pastry. I also like cheese and I would happily barge anyone out of the way to get my hands on a cheese, onion and potato pasty. The perfect combination of cheese, potato, onion and pastry can be hard to find and I like chunks of potato and onion not a mush; so I thought I’d best go about making my own version so I can make it just right. It’s also British Pie Week next week so the timing of my pie baking is ideal.

Ingredients

 You will need (for a pie for four):
1 medium potato, peeled and in small cubes
 £0.20
1 large leek, finely sliced
 £0.50
1 tbsp plain flour
 £0.02
75ml milk
 £0.05
125g strong cheddar cheese, grated
 £1.00
Small handful chopped chives
 £0.20
Salt and pepper
 £0.02
Small knob of butter plus extra for greasing
 £0.10
Milk for brushing
 £0.02
Readymade and rolled shortcrust pastry
 £1.50
Total
 £3.61

Method

Boil the potatoes and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender then drain and put to one side. Fry the leeks on a medium heat in a little butter for around 10 minutes, until softened, then add the flour. Cook for a minute then add the milk and stir well while heating to make a thick sauce. Add the potato, cheese, chives and salt and pepper to the cooked leeks. Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a pie dish with butter. Take two thirds of the pastry and line the pie dish. Trim any excess pastry, prick the base with a fork, line with greaseproof paper then fill with baking beans or rice and bake for 12-15 minutes then remove the beans and greaseproof and return to the oven for 2 more minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry case. Brush the edge of the pastry base with milk and roll out the remaining pastry. Top the pie with the pastry and press the pastry well onto the pastry base. Trim any excess and brush the top with milk.

Cut a slit in the top of the pastry then put back into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

The leeks and chives in this give a brilliant green colour to the pie so it’s not all beige. I liked that the filling wasn’t too wet and stodgy but you could clearly see and feel the potato and leek. Comfort food is always welcome, particularly when it’s mostly carbohydrate based and this was my perfect dinner on a rainy evening this week. Not only exactly what I wanted but also a bargain for four people. You could of course make your own pastry but when I’m as busy as I am now, readymade and rolled is my best friend. read more

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