I just spent the last week in Dorset. It had me positively wanting to don my walking boots, breathe the fresh air – slightly tainted by manure – and whistle Greig’s Morgenstimmung all day long. Fortunately, my dignity stayed in tact. I was also hampered by the fact I don’t own walking boots and will only walk if there is the promise of food and drink at the other end.
They are so proud of their food down there and Dorset cheeses were offered everywhere I went. They are most excellent. As an homage to Summer, on an almost scorching September day a soup was needed. I found the following things around and about:
Plum Bakewell Tart
What a strange time of year. As a newbie to vegetable gardening and being too distracted by pride with what had been successful, I missed the band wagon and subsequently planted nothing else this year. Curses. All was not lost! A friend of mine with superfluous plums was kind enough to give us a bag full. What to do with that many plums…I consulted my various books and found a recipe I had written out by hand. I’ve no idea where it came from originally but what a recipe it was; Plum Bakewell Tart.
Carrot Cake
After spending my Sunday trying to resist everything I clapped my searching eyes on at my local farmers market, I ended up buying hundreds of carrots. How could I say no to a bunch just picked and two for £1 purple cauliflower? Either way I am now inundated with these sweet orange roots and so I consulted several recipe books and decided a carrot cake was the order of the day. They all asked for different things so I picked out what I thought were the best bits and tried it out.
Ingredients
What you will need:
3 eggs
275g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
200ml mild olive oil
75g dark muscavado sugar
175g light muscavado sugar
150g carrots
juice of one small orange
Broad Bean Hummus and Courgette Surprise
So as I am inundated with thousands upon thousands of broad beans and courgettes, instead of becoming the next Alan Sugar and make millions selling my prides and joys, I decided I shall eat them myself and share them around. I say thousands but I mean more than I hoped for.
One of the meals we had entailed both broad beans and courgettes. I wish my tomatoes were ready but they are stubbornly green. As per usual with these lovely beans they needed to be extracted, boiled and popped out.
After this inevitable ritual common sense prevails on the hummus making front. I put my little gems in my mini blitzer, a good squidge of lemon juice, some fresh mint and some seasoning. Blitz. Then, drizzled smidgen by smidgen, some tasty extra virgin olive oil until the texture is what you see fit as appropriate. Blitzing away all the while. Noisy yes. Worth it? Absolutely.
Broad Bean Omelette
To tell you nowt but the truth, my broad beans have been nothing short of prolific. I cannot urge you enough to throw a few broad beans in the ground and watch them develop. They are so nutty and so so green. There’s nothing like picking a few pods and whiling away a few moments popping the little guys out of their silk lined beds. I really enjoy squeezing them out of their old grey skins once cooked. Unless I’m in a rush.
Despite all the care and affection I have given my beans I did manage to whip up some delectable meals and snacks. The first one (apart from eating a few raw off the stalk) was an omelette that I threw some of my emerald delights into. To start, I satisfyingly took the beans out of their homes.
Strawberry Ice Cream
It has been such a busy time recently. As you may note, not even a tiny snippet of bloggage crossed my keyboard in the whole of July. Not for lack of wanting to but for a lack of time! During the hectic haphazardry that ensued I did manage to whip up a few culinary delights. And so to begin… Strawberry Ice Cream.
Ingredients
What you will need (for enough for 4-6 people):
600g strawberries, stemmed and sliced
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
330g granulated sugar
330ml milk
600ml double cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Caramel Shortbread
I fancied making some shortbread and in my quest I stumbled across an interesting variation of this classic. It was in James Martin’s book entitled ‘Desserts’ (see link below). I love this book, the recipes are so easy to follow and are always yummy. He calls this particular recipe ‘Grandma’s caramel shortbread’ and I am so grateful she shared this recipe with him so I was lucky enough to be able to make and eat it.
Ingredients
What you will need:397g can of condensed milk
Gnocchi with Bacon, Broccoli and Creamy Garlic Sauce
This is another cheap and cheerful recipe that was recently discovered. Again, it feeds two for less than £3 and counts as two of your five a day. My recipe for gnocchi with bacon, broccoli and creamy garlic sauce is quick, easy and frugal too. It’s really creamy and just what you need when you’re craving a dauphinoiseque meal.
Ingredients
What you will need (for two people): Potato gnocchi – 59p 4 rashers of bacon – £1Small head of broccoli – 35p
Feed 2 for £3 – Spaghetti Bolognese
It’s the end of term and funds are running low. Gone are the days of spontaneous eating out and in are the days of making whatever is edible from the darkest corners of the cupboard.
Never fear. Over the last few days I have made meals which feed two for £3 or less and even if I do say so myself are rather nice. Also, they are at least 2 of your 5 a day! Here’s my recipe for a budget spaghetti bolognese.
Ingredients
What you will need (for two servings):
200g minced beef – 99p
A load of fresh tomatoes from the market – 50p
Onion – 10p
Garlic – 3p
Tomato puree – 13p
Spaghetti – 30p
Milk, stock, seasoning and herbs Total price: £2.05 (not including the milk etc.)
Gateau à la Crème
This classic French dessert sounds so impressive but it’s so easy to make and I didn’t have a food processor with a dough hook either! I used my hand mixer and it did the job perfectly. Raymond Blanc made this recently on the television and I was determined to give it a go. Don’t be put off by the bountiful amounts of butter and the gargantuan number of eggs. It’s a treat and so worth the effort.
Ingredients
What you will need (for a Gateau à la Crème and a brioche loaf):
For the brioche dough
500g strong plain flour
A few pinches sea salt
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp yeast
7 free-range eggs
300g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
For the crème filling
6 free-range egg yolks
60g caster sugar
1 lemon, juice and zest
250ml crème fraîche
For the glaze
2 free-range egg yolks
1 tbsp caster sugar
25g/¾oz butter, cut into cubes