#52loavesproject....

I am a unadulterated bread lover, be it a crusty French stick, a soft sweet brioche or our weekly seeded loaf. Nothing makes me feel more content than fresh warm toast, salty butter and a smearing of jam. So when Lou said she was challenging herself to make a loaf a week for a year there was no question if I was to join

My first loaf was made using my new cookbook

I loved the nectar tasting honey and the deep richness of the raisins. It was a little dense, I think I need to give more time to the second rise

Now, to this weeks loaf....

Good food :: Roasted tomato soup

 

In the cold days of winter I yearn for soups, casseroles and pies. If we do go out for lunch you will always find me studying the menu for a red soup, or a buttery pastry topped pie.

My mother is a great cook, when she comes to visit my sons and I will always ask her to make a batch of our favourite vegetable soup.

 For Christmas I was given a really great recipe book, in it I found this recipe, so simple and so delicious.

Have a go when you next see tomatoes reduced at your green grocers, a cheap supper which I think tastes better the next day, great for mid week suppers, when time is in short supply

10 servings
Ingredients
1.75kg tomatoes

 olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 large thyme sprigs, plus extra to garnish

3 x rosemary sprigs

3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

3 fat celery stalks, sliced

1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed

1/2 tsp crushed dried chillies

1.2 litres good vegetable or light chicken stock

1 tbsp tomato purée

2 tsp caster sugar

juice of 1 lime

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the muffins

FOR THE MUFFINS:

115g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

100g dried polenta

85g cheddar, finely grated

1/4 tsp crushed dried chillies

1 medium free-range egg, beaten

175ml whole milk

50g butter, melted
 
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Halve the tomatoes and lay them cut-side up in a single layer in a large, lightly oiled roasting tin. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a few tablespoons of oil and roast for 45 minutes-1 hour, depending on their size, until they have shrivelled and concentrated in flavour.

2. Meanwhile, pour the remaining oil into a large pan and add the garlic, thyme and rosemary. Place over a medium heat and as soon as everything is sizzling nicely, add the onions, celery, fennel seeds and dried chilli. Stir well, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, uncovering and stirring once or twice, until the onion is very soft but not browned.

3. Add 600ml of the stock, bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 more minutes. Uncover, add the tomatoes and juices from the tin, the tomato purée and sugar and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly, then liquidise in batches until smooth. Sieve into a clean pan and stir in enough stock to give the soup a good consistency.

4. For the muffins, increase the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Line a muffin tray with 8 deep non-stick paper cases. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in the polenta, 75g of the grated cheese and the dried chillies. Make a well in the centre, add the egg, milk and melted butter and mix everything together, then spoon into the paper cases. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until well-risen and golden.

5. Shortly before the muffins are ready, gently reheat the soup. Add the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the muffins.

I made this for dinner on Wednesday, then also took it in a flask yesterday to the park, the flavours had defiantly developed overnight and were more mellow.

Coffee and Walnut cake

Knowing I was going to visit two friends on Thursday I wanted to make a delicious cake to take with me. I flicked through several of my bakery books and found this, a delicious coffee and walnut cake. It is such a simple recipe and the combination is classic and sublime.

225g soft butter
225g light soft brown sugar (I did not have any so used golden caster sugar which worked equally well)
4 eggs
3 tea spoons instant coffee powder
2 tea spoons boiling water
225g self raising flour
1.5 tea spoons baking powder
65g walnut chopped
1 tablespoon milk
8-10 walnuts to decorate

For the filling and topping
175g very soft butter
400g icing sugar
2 tea spoons instant coffee  dissolved in 2 tea spoons of boiling water
1 table spoon milk

Pre heat your oven to 180c
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix until light and fluffy
Add the eggs, one by one, mixing after each addition
Put the coffee and boiling water in a small jug and stir until all the granules have dissolved
Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter, sugar and egg mix and stir. Add the walnut and coffee mix and stir until all is combined.
Divide the mixture between two baking tins, I use round 8 inch tins.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden
Allow to cool

To make the filling put butter and icing sugar in a bowl and mix until combined. Add the coffee mix and milk and mix until light and fluffy

Fill your cooled cake with the half the filling, sandwich together and spread the rest on the top of your cake. decorate with the walnuts however you wish

Pizza

My family and I are pizza lovers, we love to visit our local pizza restaurant where the boys get to make their own while B and I chat lazily over cold fizzy drinks. I also love to make pizza for my family. I have tried several recipes over the years and have finally found a simple but great little one. The dough is soft and tasty and with a fresh zingy tomato sauce it epitomizes my favourite kind of pizza. You can make the tomato sauce ahead, I make double then freeze half.

Pizza dough

700 g strong white flour

1 rounded tea spoon salt

1 table spoon sugar

50 g butter

15 g packet (2 x 71/2g sachets) fast-acting yeast

3 table spoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing

350-400 ml lukewarm water

 

Place the flour, salt and sugar in a big mixing bowl. Rub in the butter, add the yeast and mix together. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the oil and most, but not all, of the warm water and mix to a loose dough. Add more water or flour, if needed.

 

Take the dough out of the bowl and let it sit on a lightly floured worktop, covered with a tea towel, for 5 minutes. Then knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it feels smooth and slightly springy. (You can also do this in a food mixer with the dough hook – it takes half the time. Let the dough relax for a few minutes again)

 

Place in an oiled bowl in fridge until ready to use. I make this quantity into 3 pizzas and use anything we have in the fridge. But my absolute favourite is figs and pancetta.

 

 

Preserve Preserve Preserve

 

This summer we have been bottling, jarring and freezing like little squirrels getting ready for winter. I get a deep satisfaction knowing our cupboards are full of jams & cordials, with the freezer holding tupperwares full of blackberries, cooked apples and strawberries for ice-cream.

Now September is upon us and I have just a little more time on my hands I think elderberry foraging is in order.

Natalie

Blackberry cordial

Finding a new blackberry spot is always very exciting to me, with a promise of picking blackberries with a friend I remembered a place not far from where we live, quiet and isolated. It was perfect.

The children played in the trees and in the tall grass while we picked and filled our baskets. After a snack and coffee we headed home with cordial making in our heads. The boys poured and stirred while I measured.

The result, a thick sweet liquid which somehow captures early autumn. We have drunken it with ice cold water and also hot on a cool evening. Both are equally divine

To make the cordial

For each pound of fruit add half a pint of water
Heat gently for 30 minutes
Strain the blackberry liquid through a fine sieve, then add the sugar (golden caster, half a pound for each pint of liquid) stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle in 1 tea spoon citric acid per pint
Pour into sterilised bottles

Natalie

Foraging - Blackberries

For a couple of weeks now I have been searching out good blackberry spots, none were ready but nearly all the bushes we found were groaning under the weight of the yet ripened fruit. Yesterday while walking home from the park we spotted the unmistakable ebony bramble fruits on the verge near our house.

We made ice lollies and blackberry juice with them saving just enough for a crumble this evening. The ice lollies were really easy to make simply adding apple juice to the squashed berries. To make the juice we pushed the berries through a sieve then added water and a splash of apple juice for a touch of sweetness

What do you do with your blackberries?

Natalie

Malteser cake

I have collected many recipes for chocolate cakes over the years, they always go down well with my boys. Here, my latest version is adapted from a cupcake recipe in The Hummingbird Cake days book

150g melted butter

75ml milk

75ml buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
240g self raising
25g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
330g caster sugar

150ml warm water

 

1. Put all ingredients into your bowl and mix until smooth

2. Divide mixture into two 8 inch lined cake tins

3. Bake at 180c for 25-30 mins, check the cake is cooked through by inserting a cocktail stick, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked

4. Cool

 

Topping

 

200g Milk or dark chocolate, whatever you prefer

240ml elmlea double cream, I use this when baking as it lasts much longer than ordinary cream

200g Horlicks

50g full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia)

35g caster sugar

Maltesers to decorate.

 

1. Put all ingredients into bowl and mix until smooth

2. place one cake onto your cake plate and smooth a little of the topping on top, place the next cake on top. Smooth the rest of the topping all over the cake and then decorate with maltesers

 

The other great thing about this recipe is that children can help too as it is an all in one method. My boys made this cake all themselves, all I did was smooth the topping down.

 

Natalie  

 

 

Gooseberry and Elderflower preserve

I came across this recipe on Delia's website, a great idea to mix this classic combination in a preserve which can last the whole year.

We are very lucky here to have a farm shop with it's own pick your own fruits. We collected our gooseberries after school and I was able to whip this up the next day when both boys were at school.

Recipe taken from Delia's website

Ingredients:

900g Gooseberries
4 tablespoons elderflower cordial
900g granulated sugar
2 small plates placed in the fridge

Method

First of all take a large, heavy saucepan and smear the base with a little butter as this will help prevent the preserve sticking at a high temperature. Then top and tail the gooseberries into the pan and add 5fl oz (150 ml) water. Next bring up to simmering point and simmer very gently until the fruit is tender – this will take about 15 minutes.

After that add the sugar and stir well, then, keeping the heat low, wait for the sugar to dissolve completely (about 15 minutes), testing the liquid with a wooden spoon to make sure that there are no little granules of sugar left. Now turn the heat up to its very highest setting and let the preserve boil rapidly for 8 minutes, then take it off the heat to test for a set.

Spoon a little of the preserve on to one of the cold saucers from the fridge, and let it cool back in the fridge. You can tell – when it has cooled – if you have a 'set' by pushing the mixture with your little finger: if it has a really crinkly skin, it is set. If it is not set, boil for 5 more minutes and repeat until the preserve is set.

When set, stir in the elderflower cordial and allow it to settle for 15 minutes before pouring it into warmed sterilised jars. Seal with waxed discs, put the lids on and label when cold.

Natalie

Easy ice-cream

Last year I posted my easy strawberry ice cream recipe, I wanted to share it again but with a slight twist

 

Ingredients:

 

500g Frozen fruit (we use one of the following strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, gooseberries or apples)

 

125g cream or yogurt (the twist for a healthier version)

 

75g icing sugar or caster sugar

 

Put all three ingredients into your food processor and blitz for 3-4 minutes until all fruit is smooth

 

I have started mixing my fruit too, I take my scales to the freezer and take a handful of the fruits I think will work together until I have 500g.

 

The alpine strawberries in our garden are ripening so I am putting them on top of the boys ice-cream until we have picked them all

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do

 

Natalie

 

 

 

Peach Melba tray bake - Recipe corner

 

 

For a birthday treat my Mum made these for me, they are a heavenly mix of sweet peaches, tart raspberries and a soft texture of almonds in the sponge. I have to admit I do love tray bakes, they are easy to prepare and even easier to cut up for transporting.

 

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do here

 

You will need:

250g pack unsalted butter

300g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

200g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

2 just-ripe peaches, stoned, halved, then each half cut into 3

100g raspberries

handful flaked almonds

1 tbsp icing sugar, to finish

 

Line a traybake tin or small roasting tin, about 20 x 30cm. Heat oven to 180C. Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan, cool for 5 mins, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs, then beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour, almonds and ¼ tsp salt

 

Tip the mix into the tin, then lay the peach slices evenly on top – that way each square of cake will have a bite of fruit. Scatter the raspberries and almonds over, then bake for 1 hr-1 hour 10 minutes, covering with foil after 40 minutes. Test with a skewer: the middle should have just a tiny hint of squidginess, which will firm up once the cake cools. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then lift out onto a cooling rack. Once cold, dredge with icing sugar, then cut into squares.

 

Natalie

Easy tarts

This is our favourite dessert right now, easy and good for you

Ingredients:

You will need some premade tart cases, I use the M&S ones. (I normally get a few packs in when I am in the city)
Any yogurt in your fridge, I use Yeo Valley 
Jam
Fruit

Method:

Place a tea spoon a your favourite jam on the bottom of the tart case, pour in 2 tablespoons full of yogurt. Decorate with any spare fruit you have, its a great way to get children to help at this point

Enjoy

Natalie

Easy, peezy strawberry squeezy!

Strawberries are in my top 3 favourite fruits, the others being figs (oh so good on a pizza or wrapped in parma ham with goats cheese) and pomegranates (I have such lovely memories of my nan and I eating them with pins)

We have a wonderful farm shop where I live, it is run by Paul who can be seen using what I think looks like a birthing machine but it actually harvests the asparagus!

The pick your own strawberries are just divine, picked and then plopped in your mouth. My two boys and I go regularly in season and gather as many as we can carry. We have made jam (thanks for the inspiration Laura) and this week we made our first ever strawberry ice cream.

It was so so good, creamy, strawberryie and with just 3 ingredients easy peezy

Here is what you do

Step 1:
Hull 500g of your strawberries (take the green bits off) and place in a Tupperware in the deep freeze

Step 2:
Pour 125ml of double cream and 75g of icing sugar in your food processor (I place my food processor bowl of the scales so I only have one item to wash up)

Step 3:
Pour your frozen strawberries in the bowl with the cream and icing sugar and blitz for 3-4 minutes.....done!

Take care, Natalie xx

Beautiful day x

Hello everyone,

I have started this blog to update you on my business give you some great tried and tested recipes and also my day to day life

Today has been one of those days where everything falls into place, this does not always happen in our house...

A went to pre-school while J and I met a good friend for lunch then went for a lovely cycle ride.

We then cycled and A scooted home, past the stream (bums in the air) and then past a beautiful garden which the boys think is Mr Mcgreggors from Peter Rabbit, I've decided not to correct them as it's so innocent and makes me remember what I was like as a little girl. I used to cut the wings off my My Little Ponies and put them on a little bridge by our local stream, I thought the fairies would use them to make wings for the baby fairies! anyway I digress

I made a delish meal, chicken snizzle, roasted potatoes with some semolina for extra crunch and french peas (I sneaked in a bit of extra broc... 5 a day and all that) for tea, we then all cleaned the kitchen floor together 

To make french peas, put 50g butter into a large sauce pan. Chop 2 leeks and fry gently. Add 500g peas and half a soft lettuce finely sliced. Then add one vegetable stock cube and 50 ml water. Put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes. This is the first time I've been able to get my boys to eat lettuce and they did not even know it!

Speak soon, Natalie xx