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It's been a while since I talked about equipment, so I thought I would take a moment to talk about one of the greatest additions to my kitchen. It's a cookbook stand. I've had it a few months now, but find it hard to imagine how I coped without it. It is always out in the kitchen, and always with a cookbook in it, partly because there is exactly enough space on the shelves for all but one of my books at a time, and partly because I am always working on something; bread, baking, etc. It's nothing fancy, just a moulded piece of perspex that you slot your book behind. It serves not only to hold the books upright for easy reading while you're frantically throwing ingredients together (vital for someone like me who rarely reads all the way through before starting a project if I bake on a whim and who's eyesight isn't exactly the best, even with the glasses) but it also protects your books (well most of them, it's not actually tall enough to cover the whole page) from splashes. Having managed to squirt tomato puree across the kitchen only a few nights ago, and having a penchant for being a slightly messy baker this is key to keeping my cookbooks readable.
Basically if you bake or cook from books or notes regularly this is the perfect piece of equipment. Well, until this becomes readily available at least!
The rhubarb plant in our garden has been the one reliable thing so far this year. It was a gift from friend who's own plant was beginning to take over the place. Who'd have thought that chilly January weekend when we escorted it back from Kent, wrapped in a plastic bag, that it was going to settle in so well. It took us a couple of weeks to get it planted in a large half barrel, and I wondered whether it was going to survive. It was quiet through most of the winter, a small unassuming plant nestled on the edge of the top section of the decking. We watered and feed and waited, watching the wide green leaves and pink stalks, hoping for the best.
Suddenly at the end of May, when we weren't looking, we got it. An abundance of lovely tall stalks just aching to be picked and used. Who was I to argue!
Fortunately not only do N and I both love rhubarb, but the plant just kept on giving. So this month with the British strawberry season in full swing I decided to try a combination of flavours that loads of people have been telling me is lovely, strawberry and rhubarb, a red juicy combination of sweetness and tartness that wonderfully balance each other.
One evening we had them simply roasted together, and yes, it was indeed wonderful, the fruits condensing to produce a rich juicy dish packed with flavour. I immediately wanted to try the combination again. But how, I didn't have enough rhubarb for a pie or crumble. I suddenly remembered a muffin recipe I'd seen that used the fruits. Since I have been making batches of muffins for N to take to work for breakfast it seemed perfect. I could make a batch on Friday, have one for Saturday's late breakfast whilst listening to the cricket, and pop the rest in the freezer for N to indulge in during the week.
I cut down the sugar in the recipe because the strawberries were so ripe and sweet. I also exchanged the butter for apple puree in order to cut out the fat. The result was a light fruity muffin that wasn't too sweet. They were perhaps slightly too sticky, but that could be rectified by a few more minutes in the oven, and leaving them out for a little while after they'd cooled. All in all I was pretty pleased with them, and happily eat them for my breakfast twice over the weekend!
I've called them ruby muffins because the golden batter of the muffins was interrupted by the bursts of bright red and pink of the fruit, which was juicy and shining like jewels.
Ruby Muffins - Adapted from Diane Boneparte's "Mad about Bread" (Makes 12)
300g plain flour
15g baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
140g golden caster sugar
100g Apple puree
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
30g sultanas
100g rhubarb, chopped
200g strawberries, chopped
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan oven) and line a two six cup muffin pans with papers
sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Combine the eggs, milk and vanilla together in a small bowl, and then add them, and the apple puree to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined (don't over mix - lumps are good in muffins). Add the fruit and gently fold into the batter. Spoon the batter into the muffin trays, as high as you can in the cups to get the true risen muffin top. Bake for 25-30mins, until golden and risen and they spring back when lightly pressed.
Cool before eating. Can be frozen to avoid that tendency to eat them all at once!
We are going to stop shopping at supermarkets. That's right, no Tesco, no Sainsbury's, no Waitrose. Just local shops, small producers, farmer's markets and of course our weekly Abel and Cole delivery.
We decided this a couple of weeks ago after a long discussion one evening about how both of us feel about the large conglomerate companies that are monopolising the market, homogenizing the high streets, driving out small independent shops and tricking us all into thinking that food should be cheap, when actually it takes time, effort and care to grow and make good produce and prices should reflect that. We are also a household that are increasingly concerned about the ethical and environmental impact of our lives, and want to know that what we buy reflects this.
We are in a position to make positive choices about how and where we shop. There is a local farmer's market where we can buy fruit and vegetables, cheeses, preserves and breads direct from local produces, Abel and Cole provide not only our weekly stables in fresh produce, but also organic wines, pantry goods and almost anything else you could wish for in the food, drink and household line. There is a health food shop two streets away that stocks the flour, soya and slightly more difficult to source organic or veggie goods we like. Our local shop, knows as "Friendly man" (because it is run by a very nice friendly man), has all sorts of goodness packed away in the tardis of his shop, and for other things (such as the difficult to find organic baking powder and agave syrup that I bought today) there are places like Planet Organic.
Our last online Tesco shop arrived yesterday and so from now on we're hanging up the loyalty cards.
Here begins a new stage in our food adventures. It's really very exciting!
Whilst on our "Rock 'n' Roll road trip" across the desert we discovered this;
It's a mango margarita, or as we have christened it (after a few of them had hit the spot), a "mangarita." It was wonderful. We were pointed in it's direction by the manager of the motel we were staying. We'd just turned up hoping he had rooms, and he did. He then asked us if we like Mexican food and pointed us to his favourite place, adding that "they have the best mango margarita there, and it's staggering distance so you won't have to worry about how many you have." That sounded like a dangerous challenge to us. So off we went, across the street to the back of the darkened mall, and there indeed was a very nice looking local Mexican place. We put together a selection of their veggie stuff (mostly starters, hence our combination in an attempt to make sure we had enough food - we should have learnt about American portions, there was definitely enough!) and ordered our "mangaritas." We're not usually the types who order cocktails, pre- post- or during a meal. We're more a bottle of wine of beer folks. But mango is probably N's favourite fruit, and to add alcohol to it just seemed too much like a good idea to pass up. Oh they were so good. They were not too thick, but not too thin, a good proper alcoholic kick, but without loosing the mango taste. We ordered more, staggered back to the motel room very smug and full and spent the rest of the holiday (especially the three nights in Mexico) frantically looking for more mangaritas on menus.
Alas it wasn't to be. So as soon as we got home we started looking around for recipes, we picked on and I put it in my scrapbook and there it has been lying, dormant, waiting for us to try it. How it's taken us this long I don't know, we've been back well over a month and have certainly had some hot days that would easily help justify a cocktail. Finally this week I hunted out three overripe mangoes and sent N out for tequilla. This was the result:
Our very own mangaritas! They were probably slightly too watery, as the recipe said to blend the mango with some water which upon reflection - and tasting - was definitely not needed. They weren't quite as good as those from the desert, but with a little honing and plenty more trying I think we'll get it right!
How did we serve them? With a slice of lime and a game of chocolate scrabble! A perfect end to a Sunday evening.
Mangaritas (makes enough for about 4-6 drinks depending on the size)
3-4 ripe mangoes
sugar to taste
4 ounces of tequilla
2 ounces triple sec (we used this, but decided it probably isn't necessary so will probably leave it out next time)
1 1/2 cups ice
lime to garnish
prepare the flesh of the mangos, place in a blender and whizz until smooth, adding sugar to taste (baring in mind the tequilla will make the drink slightly bitter, so despite the sweetness of mangoes a little sugar will probably be needed). This will form the base of the cocktail.
mix three cups of the above mango mix in a blender with the ice, tequilla and triple sec, blend until smooth. Divide between four cocktail glasses and add a slice of lime.
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