Seasons Archives - Page 34 of 41 - All That I'm Eating

Honey and Cinnamon Spelt Biscuits

May 9, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

I like books. I can rarely walk past a charity or second hand book shop without having a little nose around. My affection for literature is not just for old books, I love the smell of new ones. As a result of my fondness, and subsequent collection of books, it was about time I sorted a few out in order to prevent some sort of hardback avalanche occurring. So that I didn’t get bored I thought it was a good idea to intersperse the organising with some biscuit making. I had bought some spelt flour a while ago to make some soda bread and there was a recipe on the back for these biscuits. They sounded ridiculously quick and simple and I thought it would be rude not to give them a try.

You can find a very similar recipe on the Doves Farm site here.
You will need:
200g Wholegrain Spelt Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
125g Honey
75g Sunflower Oil

These are some of the easiest biscuits I have ever made; mix everything together, put on a baking tray and bake for only 8-12 minutes.

In amongst all the book sorting, biscuit mixing and desperation in trying to remember to remove all dough from my hands before it ended up on my books I have a few tips to pass on.

Firstly, if you weigh the oil out first and then weigh the honey on top of the oil it will all slide out together and you won’t be stuck scraping honey out of your measuring bowl. Secondly these biscuits grow quite like no other; at least doubling in size so leave plenty of room. Lastly they need at least 12 minutes baking, mine took about 15 minutes in total but that may have been because they were large. read more

Carrot and Orange Gazpacho

May 3, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 33 Comments

Apart from the occasional carrot cake or carrot salad I rarely have opportunity to make the carrot the star of the show. Carrots tend to make an appearance in the vegetable box but this time, instead of stored carrots from last year I had the first spring carrots. Thin and still slightly muddy with great green fronds, these carrots couldn’t simply be added to a stew. I had never made a cold soup before; I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. Was it going to feel like a soup that had been left in the bowl too long or was it going to be more like a vegetable smoothie? What if there were all sorts of unwanted lumpy bits and it looked like wallpaper paste? There was much ooh-ing and aah-ing as I tried to work out how best to juice a carrot. It turns out all the deliberation was worth it, carrot gazpacho is in a soup league of its own. You will need (for two):

500g carrots, peeled and chopped

1/4 red pepper, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

1 garlic clove

1/4 cucumber, peeled and chopped

Few sprigs coriander, chopped

2-3 tbsp orange juice

extra virgin olive oil

white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Three ways with Asparagus 3 of 3: Raw Asparagus Salad

April 21, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 13 Comments

The third and final part of my demo is raw asparagus salad. This is a brilliant way of enjoying asparagus. It almost tastes of fresh peas or beans. Eating asparagus raw means you can enjoy its crunch and subtle flavours. Don’t worry though, it’s far more elegant than shovelling whole spears in your face, it’s delicately peeled into thin strips with a very simple dressing.

You will need (for two):

A bunch of asparagus Rapeseed Oil Old Winchester (or Parmesan) Juice of ½ lemon Black pepper Peeling the asparagus with a hand peeler is actually quite easy; you can attack it full force, bits of asparagus flying everywhere, and it seems to work pretty well. You could try it with a mandoline but I have too much affection for my fingers to try it.

Remove the woody ends of the asparagus but leave enough to hold on to. Peel the asparagus from stem to tip, keep the stems (non woody) for making into a soup, or if you’re really adventurous a soufflé or sorbet. Pile all your peelings into a bowl, drizzle over some rapeseed oil, lemon juice, pepper and a healthy shaving of Old Winchester. Old Winchester is our answer to Parmesan and if you’ve not tried it before it has a similar texture but a bit more bite and acidity. read more

Three ways with Asparagus 2 of 3: Griddled with crème fraîche and Chive Dip

April 20, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 11 Comments

The second part of my cookery demo is all about griddled asparagus. This is a great way of cooking asparagus as you can do it on a griddle inside or outside on the BBQ if the weather is on your side! Whichever way you choose you will get a wonderfully smoky, almost nutty flavour to the asparagus. It’s fantastic on its own or on the side with some poached fish, especially with the chive and crème fraîche dip! read more

Three ways with Asparagus 1 of 3: with Orange, Lemon Zest and Black Pepper Butter

April 19, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

This weekend I am doing my first proper cookery demo at The Greener Living Show in the New Forest. To make things as easy as possible I am keeping it simple and seasonal. I will be cooking asparagus three different ways to show how one vegetable, if prepared differently, can taste completely different.

First and foremost; boiled asparagus. A great way of cooking asparagus but it’s hampered with the lingering fear of over cooking it and ending up with a soggy, limp green stalk. I don’t bother putting only the stems in the water so the heads can steam gently, I just throw it all in and it works every time. read more

Leftover Sloe Chocolate Truffles

April 17, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Considering how long these sloes have been hanging around it’s remarkable they’re still able to be made into something delicious. They were picked early Autumn last year and have so far been made into glorious gin and pleasing port. There comes a time in sloe port making where the sloes have to be removed. It’s an emotional time; what can you do now that many sloe avenues have been exhausted? Sloe chocolate truffles. The sloes were to be even further used and improved with deep, dark, luxurious chocolate. As the sloes had been steeping for several months in various alcohols I was under the impression they would be soft, plump and easy to extract the stones out of. After much ricocheting around the kitchen I managed to tame the sloes with a pestle and mortar. The stones were put back under the sloe tree, I’m not sure what effect alcohol has on sloe germination.

You will need:
A large handful port soaked sloes, de-stoned (recipe for making sloe port here)
150g dark chocolate
150ml double cream
25g butter
Cocoa Powder

Heat the cream up gently until almost boiling, stirring often so it doesn’t catch.

While the cream heats up, grate the chocolate into a bowl, cut the butter up and put this in the bowl too. To be honest I did this before I heated the cream otherwise I knew the cream wouldn’t get the attention it deserved and I’d still be cleaning the kitchen now. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Mixed Mushroom Risotto

April 15, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 13 Comments

I do like purple sprouting broccoli. It seems less like broccoli than a standard green tree and so I feel I should pay it extra care and attention. As much as I enjoy a stem or two on the side of the plate sometimes I want it to be the star attraction. There was a lot of purple sprouting broccoli to get through; a whole bag full in fact from the veg box. One of the reasons I like purple sprouting so much is that it signals the start of Spring. Along with rhubarb, when you see the purple tipped stems standing proud you know it’s only a matter of time until ‘the other stuff’ starts appearing; asparagus, beans, fruits, tomatoes and all sorts of other treats.

An Italian deli has recently opened up nearby and I am lucky to have access to many interesting ingredients that I didn’t before. This also means I have another local shop to happily support and one of the many reasons for returning is their mushrooms. Similar to mushrooms you can buy in a jar but you don’t pay for oil you don’t use. You get all different sorts of mushrooms in a light oil with herbs and a slightly acidic taste. These earthy mushrooms would make a brilliant partner for my sweet broccoli to top a white risotto. read more

Sloe Port: The Taste Test

April 10, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

My sloe journey started on an early Autumn day when I was full of enthusiasm for making sloe gin. After rambling through the hedgerows, dodging a few rabbit holes and being careful of the thorns I had a basket rammed with sloes. I had romantic visions of sloe picking scenes but in reality it was pretty hard work. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The sloe bushes are now in full, sweet smelling blossom and my port is ready. If you are out and about and spot a blossoming sloe bush, make a mental note to remember its location ready for picking come Autumn.

My Sloe Journey

Gin – first of all the sloes were steeped in gin. This particular batch included some blackberries which have to be removed after three months to stop them turning bitter. At this point I had a litre of glorious hedgerow gin and some plump, gin filled sloes that couldn’t be simply thrown away. Port – the berries leftover for the gin weren’t going to be wasted so they were made into sloe port. Chocolate – once the port is finished the berries will be used again to make some sloe chocolate truffles.

So now I have a Rumtopf full of sloes swimming in ruby red port. The port is fantastic; a more rounded version of the sloe gin. You get the flavour of sloes, the warmth of the alcohol and the richness of red wine. There’s nothing else quite like it. I can’t wait to have some with cheese, add it to gravy for richness and put a little in a hip flask for a calm evening walk. My sloes and I have been on a magnificent adventure thus far but where can I go from here? I have a few ideas up my sleeve to ensure that the sloes are used to their full potential. Out of 2kg of sloes I have produced 3l of elixir and I don’t intend to stop there. read more

Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding

April 3, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 20 Comments

Easter provides an opportunity to make things you don’t normally make; Simnel Cake, Chocolate Nests and Hot Cross Buns to name a few. If the weather is horrible it provides time to bake at leisure. This is a recipe for when you have bought or made too many hot cross buns in all the Easter excitement and they have gone a bit stale. It could also be used to disguise a less than perfect batch of homemade hot cross buns. It’s a brilliant way to make the most of this lovely, fruity spiced bun. Warm, crisp on top, gooey centre; what more could you want? You will need: 4 Hot Cross Buns, Butter for spreading and a bit extra, 1 egg and 2 egg yolks, 3 tbsp caster sugar, 410g can condensed milk, A little extra milk Marmalade (optional)

Slice the hot cross buns into four or five slices and butter on one side. I thought I’d be lucky to get three slices but four or five can be easily accomplished with a little perseverance. If you want you can put marmalade on the buttered side too for an extra citrusy zing. Put the buttered slices into an oven proof dish.

Whisk together the egg, egg yolks and sugar with until well combined. Empty the condensed milk into a saucepan and add two tbsp milk. Heat gently until almost simmering and then pour into the egg mixture whisking all the time. If you’re particularly exuberant with the whisking and subsequent calorie burning it would be rude not to reward yourself with extra pudding. Pour the custard over the bread and leave to soak in for a few minutes.

If the pudding is looking a bit parched and there’s not a drop of custard visible, pour over a little extra warmed milk. This will depend on the size of the hot cross buns you use. Put a few small knobs of butter on top of the pudding. read more

Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Broccoli Stir Fry

March 30, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

I get a seasonal vegetable box delivered. I like it because it forces me to try new vegetables and recipes to make the most out of what I have. I shouldn’t admit it but I’m going to: there are some vegetables I could live without. It’s terrible I know but I could happily frolic through life without missing celery or leeks. There are also some vegetables that I adore for a short time but when they turn up in my fridge over and over again I’m tempted to put them on the compost. There’s only so much cabbage a person can eat without genuine fear of becoming a brassica. This recipe was devised because of the cornucopia of vegetables residing in the fridge. You know it’s time to use up as many as possible when you can no longer close the door.

Kohlrabi was the most intriguing vegetable of the lot; it looks a bit like an octopus. Dinner was to be designed around a loving partnership of kohlrabi and carrot. Toasting sesame seeds is one of my favourite smells.

For two people:

For the carrot and kohlrabi salad:

a quarter of a kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
three small carrots, peeled and julienned
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
black pepper
2 tbsp of toasted black sesame seeds

For the broccoli stir fry:

Handful purple sprouting broccoli, woody ends removed and chopped
1 large red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 sachet miso soup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Oil for frying

2 noodle nests

I always remove the ends of the purple sprouting broccoli as I can find them to be a bit woody. You could leave the broccoli stalks in their entirety but they might be a tad tricky to consume gracefully at the table. read more