All That I'm Eating

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

Elderberry and Apple Turnovers

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Elderberry and Apple Turnover
The sun was shining, the birds were singing and my bicycle was glistening and raring to go. Foraging can be a trifle difficult when you’re cycling if, like me, you think you’re Victoria Pendleton. Berries can whizz past in the blink of an eye and then you need to brake, reverse to try and find the source of your distraction. When I went out to get these elderberries I took it nice and slowly to ensure I could scour the hedgerows sufficiently. 

It wasn’t quite as smooth as I envisaged, it wasn’t like I could grab the berries as I cycled past; that would have been a bit too suave. Elderberries seem to grow just beyond my reach and there is always a little danger involved when picking; will you fall in the ditch, slip in the mud or even lose a welly. This most recent expedition resulted in me being attacked by some stinging nettles, swearing rather loudly and then just a few moments later kicking my bicycle stand into my own foot. read more

Redcurrant and White Chocolate Muffins (or Cupcakes)

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Redcurrant and White Chocolate Muffins - on plate
I was terribly excited about making muffins. If you had asked me how much I was looking forward to making muffins I would have responded so enthusiastically that you might have thought you’d asked me the wrong question. The reason for my eagerness was twofold; firstly I had never made muffins before and secondly I had some succulent redcurrants at my disposal.

It was all going so well until I realised I had no muffin cases. Not to worry though as I had cupcake cases coming out of my ears. I was under the impression that the two weren’t too dissimilar but the sides of the cupcake cases would not come up high enough in the muffin tin. I could have gone out to get some muffin cases but frankly I couldn’t be bothered and I wanted to sink my teeth into freshly baked cake as soon as possible. Fortunately I had some silicone cases I could use.

You will need:
1 punnet redcurrants
50g white chocolate
2 eggs, beaten
75g caster sugar
225ml milk
100g butter, melted
275g self raising flour
(muffin cases) read more

Rhubarb and Hazelnut Shortbread Crumble

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Rhubarb and Hazelnut Shortbread Crumble - baked
There are times in life where a great slice of cake is just what you need. A bad day at work, it’s been raining and you’ve left the washing out or unexpected expenditure all seems insignificant, smaller somehow, when you’re eating sponge and jam. These problems can even disappear completely if it’s a cake fresh from the oven. There are those other times though. When cake just can’t cut the mustard and it’s the bite of a biscuit that you need.

I had this need, this craving for a properly good biscuit. Nothing disastrous, or even slightly unusual, had occurred but sometimes you don’t need an excuse. I had a fridge load of rhubarb that needed a good home. Rhubarb is always very happy under a crumble topping but a crumble wasn’t going to help my desire for a biscuit. I devised a cunning ensemble where biscuit and crumble would meet. 

You will need:
400g plain flour
100g sugar and a little extra
300g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp chopped, toasted hazelnuts 
6 small sticks of rhubarb read more

Leftover Sloe Chocolate Truffles

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Leftover Sloes
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

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