All That I'm Eating

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

Damson Gin, Lychee and Champagne Cocktail

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Damson Gin, Lychee and Champagne Cocktail
As much as it’s lovely to have plenty of ideas for food to cook with a festive feel you can’t very well just make do with mulled wine for the month of December. No indeed. At some point in my life I went from having no spirits in the house to being on the verge of opening a drinks emporium. It seems to have crept up on me (I’m sure it has to everyone) and I have all sorts of odds and ends to do something with. The brandy is being used to make sloe or damson port but the four different gins I have going on need to be used up. It’s getting ridiculous.

Ingredients

You will need (per drink):

37.5ml damson (or sloe) gin
1 lychee from a can plus 3 tsp of the syrup
Champagne to top up

Method

It’s not particularly complicated but who can be bothered with all that exuberant shaking when you’ve just eaten a disgraceful amount of roast potatoes?

Pour the gin into a glass; over ice if you’d like. Plonk the lychee in with the syrup then top it up with Champagne.

You might want to play around with this recipe a little; if your gin is particularly sweet or sharp you may need a little more or less lychee syrup. read more

Baked Blackberry Cheesecake

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baked blackberry cheesecake
You know when you go out blackberry picking you end up eating pretty much all of them and have nothing to show for it when you get home? As much as it is very hard to resist keeping any of the berries for later I thought it would be well worth the effort for a sort of hidden gem baked blackberry cheesecake. Beneath the pillowy layers of soft cheese you can find little bits of sweet, purple fruit. I didn’t have to save too many either as you only need a handful for this recipe. They do say that picking blackberries in October isn’t a good idea as the devil is meant to have peed on them. If you feel like living on the edge then by all means take the risk; if not, a quick trip to the shops should sort you out.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 180g digestive biscuits
  • 75g butter
  • 600g cream cheese
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 150g sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. plain flour
  • Large handful blackberries

Method

Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin. Spring form is your friend for this.
Preheat an oven to 130C.

Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl; I like to use the end of my rolling pin as it’s immensely satisfying. Melt the butter and mix this into the biscuits.

When the biscuits and butter are well combined press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and then chill in the fridge.

Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar then mix in the sour cream.

Add the eggs one at a time then add the flour. read more

Wild Hazelnut Brittle

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I have been noticing more and more things in the hedgerows. Perhaps it’s due to the purchasing of a foraging handbook which has become the mainstay of my bedside table or maybe my observational skills have drastically improved. Whichever the reason it has meant even more slowing down and stopping on a walk; not irritating if you are me but rather tiresome if you are walking with me. Apparently. read more

Elderberry and Einkorn Scones

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Einkorn flour for scones with elderberries
I think it’s fair to say that autumn has arrived. I feel like I made the most of summer this year so I welcome the autumn with much more gusto than usual. It’s been a very long time since I had an apple or a pear so I am looking forward to getting my hands on some fine specimens at the farmers’ market or when I’m lucky enough to find a fruitful tree. Until then I have elderberries to tide me over. 

I’ve been waiting for the elderberries to come out this year as I have a hawk’s eye when it comes to finding the elderflowers so I knew where to start to find what I was looking for. I picked these elderberries on a drizzly day and perhaps a week or so sooner than I should have done as there were a fair few green berries I had to pick out.

The birds had already had their share of the berries so the first few stops were a bit thin on the ground. By the time I had found enough we were pretty damp but the rain can easily be ignored when your foraging companion ever so kindly offers to put you on their shoulders so that you can reach the very best berries; much more fun than scrabbling around in the depths of a thicket. read more

Damson Gin with Lemon and Lime

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damson gin

It’s nice to have a cupboard full of foraged wares. Currently I am housing sloe port made with sloes that were steeping in gin for two years, a nine month damson gin and I am now using the gin soaked damsons to kick off a batch of damson port. I’ve been busy. As nice as it is to sip the damson gin like a thin fruity syrup it’s also nice to be able to jazz it up sometimes.

After nine months of steeping the damson gin has come out a glorious, deep, rich red colour and it is asking to be made into a long drink. This is my perfect summer evening tipple. If I don’t have lemonade in the house it is just as good with a bit of tonic. It doesn’t look fancy, it’s not got any frills but when it tastes this good and fresh it doesn’t need any. read more

Strawberry, Mint and Elderflower Mini Crumbles

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strawberry and elderflower crumble
A crumble to me has a whiff of autumn about it. Apple crumble is a classic pudding but a while ago I tried a strawberry crumble and it was so good I couldn’t wait to give it a try myself. This is a pudding form of my previous cocktail post; a mixture of strawberries, mint and elderflower syrup but under a biscuity crust. The ingredients in this crumble scream of summer and the smell of cooking strawberries and buttery crumble is irresistible.

Ingredients

You will need (for two mini crumbles):

  • 200g strawberries
  • A few sprigs of mint
  • Elderflower syrup
  • 75g butter
  • 175g flour
  • 50g golden caster sugar and a little extra

Method

Start by chopping the strawberries up into halves, quarters, slices and all sizes so that you have a varied texture when the crumble is cooked. Put the strawberries into a little dish or ramekin, until it’s just over three quarters full, then sprinkle over a few chopped mint leaves. Drizzle over a little elderflower syrup; I used around a tablespoon for each ramekin. 

In another bowl mix together the flour and butter with your hands until you have a mix that resembles breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar. Top each little strawberry filled dish with the crumble and then sprinkle over a little extra sugar on top.
Put the dishes onto a baking tray and then into a preheat oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. read more

Strawberry, Mint, Elderflower and Gin Cocktail

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strawberry elderflower gin cocktail
There is a bit of an elderflower theme going on at the moment on here but I do like to make the most of something while it’s around. Having the elderflower syrup present in my kitchen means I am forever thinking up new ways of using it. I adore strawberries and mint and they are heavenly together so I felt like being brave, getting my muddler out and knocking up a summery cocktail. With all this glorious sunshine it would be rude not to.

Ingredients

You will need (for two long cocktails):

  • Around 150g strawberries
  • A few mint leaves
  • 100ml gin
  • 50ml elderflower syrup
  • Tonic or soda to top up

Method

Remove the green bits of your strawberries and put them into a large glass or jug with the mint leaves. Bash, bruise and beat the strawberries and mint together until well muddled. I thought it looked and smelled pretty good at this stage without anything else added. I was surprised how much juice came out of the strawberries.

Add the elderflower syrup and gin and mix together. Pour this into two tall glasses and top up with tonic or soda. Be careful when you top the glass up as when I topped up with tonic the slushy fruity bit started to froth out over the top. Slowly but surely was my friend for topping this up. Add a few fresh mint leaves and a strawberry to the glass if you’re feeling adventurous. read more

Elderflower and Yoghurt Ice Cream

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elderflower yoghurt ice cream
I like making ice cream. I don’t do it that often but when I do I try to make something a bit special. My grandparents bought me my ice cream maker for my graduation present a few years ago; it’s one of those where the bowl inside the machine is frozen before use and I love it. Having the elderflower syrup hanging around means every time I walk past the bottle I think of another way to use or cook with it. I’ve always wanted to make yoghurt ice cream (richer than frozen yoghurt) and here was an opportunity to do so.

Ingredients

To make around 600ml finished ice cream you will need:

Method

Whisk together the yoghurt, cream and around a tablespoon of elderflower syrup in a bowl. Give it a taste to see if it needs more syrup; it depends how strong your syrup is and how you like it. Chill the mixture in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

If you have an ice cream maker put the mixture into your machine and churn until it’s all frozen then put into a container and into the freezer until you’re ready to eat.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker put the mixture into a container in the freezer and leave until almost solid. Remove, blitz in a food processor then put back into the container and back into the freezer until you’re ready to eat. read more

Summer Berry and Elderflower Pavlova

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elderflower berry pavlova
There is a guilt associated with serving up a berry laden pudding. Someone is always going to end up with more fruit or more of one kind of fruit than everyone else. You could of course try making a coulis to atop your dessert of choice but sometimes it’s not the most attractive option; or the most sensible, no one wants a soggy shortbread stack. To counteract any unfair fruit distribution I scatter a few fruits onto the pudding and then serve the rest up on the side so everyone gets their fair share. This berry and elderflower pavlova is the epitome of summer and a great way to use some elderflower syrup.

Ingredients

You will need (for one pavlova, to serve 6-8 people):

  • 3 egg whites
  • 180g caster sugar
  • 150ml whipping cream
  • Elderflower syrup
  • Berries of your choice, I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
This was my first ever attempt at a pavlova; indeed my first attempt of any form of egg white whipping since the unfortunate incident about ten years ago. I shan’t go in to details but the finished meringue was far from white and the baking tray ended up in the bin. Anyway, it turns out that meringue is a doddle if you are just brave. Put the egg whites into a mixer or use an electric hand whisk; whisk them until soft peaks form. Then add the sugar a spoon at a time until shiny firm peaks appear. Honestly, it’s that easy. I was most surprised.

Spoon, smear or pipe the egg white onto some greaseproof paper and then bake at 140C for one hour. Turn the oven off and then leave the meringue in the oven for another half an hour before removing and leaving to cool.
While the meringue is cooling whip the cream with a tbsp of the elderflower syrup. I ended up putting about three tbsp of syrup in but it depends on the strength of your syrup. Whip it all together until you’ve got firm peaks. Spoon the cream onto the meringue and top with berries. read more

Elderflower Syrup

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elderflower syrup
Last year I wanted to make some elderflower cordial but after a series of rainy days, lack of time and effort I didn’t get round to it. This year I wasn’t going to let it escape me but I wanted to make something a bit more punchy. Elderflower syrup seemed like a great idea to me but I had no idea where to start; then I remembered a beautiful violet syrup I had seen over on Karen’s blog Lavender and Lovage. The recipe seemed simple and straightforward so I donned my cycling attire (no Lycra thank you very much) and went off in search of elderflowers.

As you may be aware I love a good forage; you never know what you might find. One thing you will inevitably end up with on or in your foraged goods are little critters and bugs. I’m not sure if you can eat them but it’s probably best to try and remove them. You don’t want a sea of grimacing faces when you pour them out a little beetle. I find shaking your booty (don’t confuse with bootie)* outside to get most of them off works well. To be extra stringent I then give it all another shake and wobble in a sieve; I want the assurance that it is indeed a strawberry seed in the finished dish giving that unusual texture rather than an exoskeleton. read more

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