Into the thick of it.

How on earth do you working people blog so prolifically?! I'm sending out some serious respect to all of you working bloggers, especially those who are dedicated enough to be managing things like this!
Yes, I am now in the realms of work. Not exactly the nine to five, as it's more 8.30 until whenever things get done. But I'm loving it, which is a good sign. Okay, I'm only two days in, but they've been long days, with a steep learning curve, and so far so good. I'm hoping that once my body gets over the initial shock I'll be right back to the ridiculous amounts of baking and preserving that have graced this blog in the past.But, no fear, I do have a recipe for you today, and lots of other things to share. Firstly, I shall admit to spending the five days after hand-in very well indeed; in the beautiful sunny hills of Italy. We ate too much food, and drank far too much wine, and it was fabulous. The perfect little treat.As ever my photos were mostly food, and frankly with produce as stunning as that from Italy who can blame me. It wasn't quite autumn there, but the gourds were already out in force, showing off their deep oranges and dusky yellows. The grapes were heavy on the vines and the coffee and pastries divine. Mmmm....I also have seven things to share with you as hinted at in the previous post. I was very kindly given the kreativ blogger award by Liz, whose lovely blog occupies this corner of the web, and I think it's about time I share the seven fact about myself. Hmm, it's hard thinking of these things, but I'll give it my best shot. I just hope they're vaguely interesting.

- By the age of 11 I knew I wanted to do a PhD, and by the age of 14 I knew what I was going to do it in. Weird huh?!

- One of the reasons behind wanting a PhD was so that when I was a great rock and roll bass player people I could be called Dr, like Dr Dre or Dr John, and I'd actually be one. I haven't even picked up my bass for ages.

- I don't mind rodents or spiders, I love snakes. However, I am terrified of slugs and snails. They freak me out, and I have been known to freeze and squeal at the sight of them. I kid you not.

- One day I want to own two sheep. One called Eddie, the other called Bill.

- I'm bit odd about white and yellow foods. Eggs are only okay if cooked into cakes, I don't like bananas, and am very particular about creams and custards. It's a texture thing. Blah, slimy.

- I have competed in a national fencing competition. I came second to last.

- I'm not a huge fan of potatoes, or any other carb apart from fresh pasta or bread, but I crave good chips rather more often than I admit to.

And speaking of which, I give you a recipe:
These were perfect just before we went away. Baked rather than fried and seasoned with lashings of salt, pepper and paprika. Amazing. They may seem simple, but try them.

Baked paprika chips.

One large potato per person
2 tsp oil per potato + 2 tsp (I used olive)
salt
black pepper
smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 220C. Coat a large roasting pan with 2 tsp of oil and place in the oven as it warms.

Slice the potatoes into small strips, making them like fries rather than traditional British chips. Once the oven has reached temperature spread the chips out into the pan and drizzle the remaining oil over it, grind some pepper and salt over them and toss. Return the pan to the oven and cook until the chips are golden brown and crisping. You'll need to toss them about every fifteen minutes. Mine took about 45mins.

Remove from the oven. Douse in paprika to your own taste (I like a lot). Return to the oven for two minutes to bring out the flavour of the spice and then serve tossed with more salt and pepper.

See, I've finally given you a recipe! I promise more, honest. Apparently there's a tradition in the office that every Friday someone brings in some sort of cake. Guess who's getting in on that immediately!

As for passing on the award, I have a theory. So many of you out there are creative and blogging, that passing it on to just seven people would be a little cruel, and as it happens I know many of you have already either received the award, or something similar. So, I shall instead just try and pass on my enthusiasm and love of all things creative and hope to continue reading about all the amazing things you are all already doing that inspire me daily and make me realise that no matter how long the days at work, coming back to this little space makes me grin and motivates me. Thank you everyone, for your reading, and for your writing.

Beating a retreat, smugly.

Ta da!

Gosh, I can't quite believe I've done it. It's all done.



For now at least. I still have to sit the exam in a little while, but right now I am going to revel in the fact that it's handed in and I can relax. Well, until next Tuesday when I start my first ever 9-5 job.

Don't worry, I'll be making the best of it until then.

See you in a little while...

(p.s. sorry, photos from my phone so not the best quality)

(p.p.s. I promise I'll get to the lovely award and other things, I just need some space for my head to explode, then I'll be back!)

When in doubt, make pie.

In my usual bleary-eyed early(ish) morning email and blog checking I suddenly noticed that it had been ten days since I'd posted. Ten days! How on earth had that happened? Then I mentally tracked back across those hours and it gradually became clear. What a ten days it has been.

There's been a flurry of strange happenings around here lately and as a result the last week or so has disappeared never to be seen again.

First, Sniff decided that since the tiny bird clearly wasn't impressive enough, he needed to try harder. Enter the rat. Yes, I did say rat. Now, it was a small one, but still twice the size of a mouse, and Sniff conveniently herded it into the study, the smallest, most full, room of the house. Great stuff Sniff, thanks for that. Cue a frantic hour and a half of trying to chase, maneuver, and encourage said rodent out of the place. The relief of its final exit was brief as I returned to absolute carnage. Books off shelves, fabric from my stash on the floor and a broken bobbin case. It was not a good afternoon.

Then after that debarcle came the big stuff, about jobs and all sorts. Followed by stressing over some teaching.


So, what did I do to ease these troubled times? I did the only thing I could. I made pie. On the first of September it was as if the god of weather himself had flicked the switch and made it autumn. The air was chilly, the leaves beginning to crisp and fall, the afternoon light slightly weaker. Great! I thought, now I can get back to pies and sausage and mash, and roasts. Then came the curve ball, it suddenly got warm again. Talk about messing with my seasonal excitement.

So I made the pastry, and it sat in the fridge and went unused, until I couldn't stand it any more. I needed pie, I needed hot fruity bubbling pastry-enclosed reassurance on a plate, covered in cream. I needed something homely and comforting to remind me that despite the rats of this world things are indeed very good.

Now, my only issue with this little pie (well, galette really as I was trying to cut down pastry consumption) is the filling wasn't quite as bubbling and fruity as I expected. Probably by fault as I just adapted the filling of something else. However, when we had it the second day it was much better. Weird, but good of course!

My real delight came from the pastry. I wanted something a bit different, and my experiment worked perfectly. I can't wait to make it again, this time to use with a proper pie filled with British apples.


As a result, I recommend you try the pastry, but use with your own filling recipe, just to make sure. I used 2 cups of blueberries (with some raspberries to make up the amount) 2 tbsp of cornflour and a dash of lemon juice and it just wasn't quite right. In fact it was very much "alright" and next time I'll be back to good ole apple pie, and no messin'

Cinnamon pastry (makes enough for one 8" galette, but could easily be doubled.)

3oz cold butter, cut into small cubes/chunks
6oz plain flour
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
1.4 tsp cinnamon
Milk

In a medium bowl, place the flour, cinnamon and sugar and mix. Rub the cold butter with your fingertips so that it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (I used my new pastry blender, and I'm so in love!) The slowly add a little milk at a time until the pastry just comes together - I make it so it still seems a little dry.

Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

Alternatively you can make it in a food processor, but I'm afraid I don't have one, hence the hand instructions.

oh, oh, oh, how could I almost forgot, I won an award! Thank you Liz! So, in the next post you'll get seven things you might not know about me...(and I promise it won't take as long this time around!)

Rescue mission

Some days I'm trying to be a domestic goddess, some days I'm trying to be an academic, some days I'm just trying to stay awake, and then some days I'm trying to rescue tiny birds from the jaws of a ruthless cat.

This tiny tiny thing was brought in by Sniff today. He was stroked and soothed by me the best I could (I have no experience with birds, but hoped that very gentle stroking would calm it down) and the with Sniff locked in the flat the bird was taken outside. I think he was okay, no obvious wounds other than a little redness where Sniff had carried him. He tried to fly, but was fluttering on the ground and then disappeared under the fence into the grass next door. I keep telling myself that it will be okay, and so far Sniff as returned to the flat empty-jawed, which I can only hope is a good omen for such a sweet little bird.


I love Sniff so much that my heart aches when he eeks unhappily, and bursts when I wake up with him sleeping full length on my chest. But there are times when I wish I could explain to him just why I'm not pleased with his presents. Poor thing looked so sad when I took his toy away.

Things are manic right now, and for once I've been so busy I haven't busted out the baking tins in more than a week. A week, people! A tragedy, I know as alas, not even a three day weekend yielded the usual flurry of activity in this north London kitchen. But I promise I'll try harder, and hopefully have a recipe up in a couple of days.

House hunting

While visiting my parents last week I decided to do a spot of house hunting. The first was quite small, only eight or so bedrooms, open courtyard for afternoon tea and a drawing room with only enough room for one piano. Cramped, but cosy, we'd cope, but it might be a struggle. It's saving grace however was the beautiful walled garden and large greenhouses. Definitely something that would be worth compromising for.


Then I saw this, large with the grandeur that befits our cat (because yes, he is the head of the household). It comes not only with cottages for the staff, it's own hydro-electic power station and a large kitchen with downstairs scullery, but with a whole separate room for making jam. Now that's what I'm talking about.


In all honestly the prettiest places we saw were indeed the staff cottages.

I could just see us in one of these, N curled up writing, and me sewing or knitting, Sniff lounging in front of the fireplace or pottering in the garden.



One day...one day....

Ah, I love the National Trust.

The taste of summer

The last couple of days here have been glorious sunshine, the kind of summer I long for now. I think I've mentioned before that I didn't used to be a summer person, and in some respects I still thrive in the autumn (like Siri, it's the spiced warm flavours and more wintery recipes that dominate my repertoire), which is probably why our shrugging off of the hot weather here and holidaying in the New Zealand winter felt more like a bonus season than a missed opportunity for beach trips and sunbathing.

However, there are many things about summer that draw me in every time, and make me realise that what I really want is a true mix of seasons rather than the seemingly eternal "blah" that most people associate with the British weather (it's not that bad. Well, not always at least). There are two things for me that would make me wish for longer summers, and that's tomatoes and bread. Throw basil into that mix, perhaps with a dry white wine and you've got me, hook, line and sinker.

You can probably guess that we spend most of the summer combining tomatoes and bread as much as possible. Okay, frankly I tend to force this into the depths of winter if I can, so it's not strictly a summer thing, but we all know that those summer tomatoes beat everything else hands down. Usually I roast a bunch of tomatoes whilst making bread and then we have dinner that involves dipping bread into warm roasted tomatoes and their juice. Then suddenly last week I was hit with inspiration, and honestly, I can't believe I hadn't done it before. This time I took some semi-dried tomatoes, chopped them up with some of their oil, tore a whole load of basil and mixed them together, then poked the mix into my rising dough.

The result? Heaven! N said he thought it might be the best thing I've ever made. Fortunately I'd made a huge batch, so for lunch the next day I sliced the pieces in half and made sandwiches. Oh-so-good. So, before the summer is over, before those light evenings disappear, make some of this, pour yourself a glass of wine and relish that vitamin d while it lasts.

Semi-dried tomato and basil focaccia - makes lots.

I cut it into probably 8 pieces, and careful it is very hard to resist not stuffing your face with all of them, there was nearly a fight in our flat over the portions. N won, in case you're wondering, because coming between that man and food is a dangerous business and no mistake (it's almost as bad as coming between Sniff and food, and you don't wanna go there).

500g strong white flour (or plain if you're out, like I was)
15g fresh yeast (or 10g dried instant)
50ml olive oil (the better the quality, the better the bread)
320ml water (I weight mine for accuracy)
Large handful of basil
semi-dried or roasted tomatoes (it's up to you, I used some from a local deli, but next time will just roast my own: punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved and laid cut-side up in a roasting pan, spray with oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar if you like it, sprinkle of salt and some more basil, cook at 190C until just going black at the edges, which will depend on the size of your tomatoes, usually about half an hour for me)

Place the flour and yeast into a bowl with a pinch of salt and stir (if it's fresh yeast crumble it over the top of the flour), make a well in the middle of the flour mix and pour in the oil and then the water. Mix until just coming together and then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and kneed for about ten minutes, until it is smooth, elastic and no longer sticking to the work surface. Alternatively, place in a mixer with a dough hook and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place bag into the bowl, slightly oiled and leave to rise for about an hour in a warm draft-free place, covered with a cloth.

Meanwhile, oil a large sheet baking tray (like a shallow swiss roll pan).

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back gently and then place the dough in the centre of the oiled pan and gently spread it out to the sides using the balls of your hands. You can oil your hands it if helps. Leave to rise for another 45mins or until almost double again.

Meanwhile tear the basil and place in a bowl with either a dash of olive oil, or oil from the semi-dried/roasted tomatoes. How many tomatoes you use is up to you, I like to have lots, so used a large handful. Chop the tomatoes into about thirds and toss with the basil. Leave to stand for five minutes.

Preheat the over to 200C. When the dough has risen, gently poke bits of the tomato and basil mix into it reasonably evenly all over it, any leftover oil rub over the dough. Then cook for 25-30mins until just going golden at the edges. Remove from the over and stand for five minutes before eating.

It's time for cake.

There's about to be a celebration. Just a little one, it'll involve going to the pub and drinking some very fine organic cider and ale. It will probably involve stopping on the way at the luxurious knitting shop and buying purple wool.



What's there to celebrate, I hear you ask? Well, a collection of little things that are about to coincide. Firstly, I think today I will finish the main writing of my thesis. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think there are only a couple of hundred words left to write. Quite the achievement for me, especially considering how much baking I've managed to fit in around it! Secondly, I'm going Up North next week to visit the folks. They've just returned from the most amazing holiday ever, and I haven't been back since December, so it's time. I want to swap holiday photos, knit and sew with Mum and steal as many of my father's amazing photography skills as possible! Finally, it's about to be the weekend. It may seem silly, but it's been "one of those weeks" and not having to get up early tomorrow is such a great and wonderful thing that I think it warrant a raising of glasses. Many glasses!

I think you should all celebrate with me, and so I bring you cake. Yep, this is the very recipe I used for the wedding cake. You should make it, you should treat yourself this weekend because I think you deserve it. It's rich, chocolatey, incredibly moist, and doesn't involve any boiling of eggs! Go ahead...

I'm afraid aside from the finished cake I don't have many photos as I was a little tied up in making everything as perfect as possible to grab the camera - and those sticky chocolatey fingers weren't going anywhere near my nikon! I have however got a couple of the filling and icing process which I'll share because for large cakes the technique I used was really helpful.

Super Sexy Chocolate Cake - serves you! (and maybe a friend or two if they're very lucky)

This recipe makes a large three layer cake, and made up the smallest "tier" of the wedding cake. To make the larger ones I just made lots and lots of this batter and hoped for the best. I also baked it at a lower temperature for longer. I totally recommend you indulge in the cake and share it with friends. Trust me, those will be friends for life! The other alternative is to make a simple two-layer cake and freeze the remaining batter. It freezes and thaws so well that it could mean in a few weeks time, when you're craving chocolate cupcakes, you've got the wherewithal sitting waiting!

I did everything in my mixer (because otherwise my arms would have fallen off I made so many batches,) but I've written it out for mixing by hand because frankly it's such an easy cake turning on the mixer might seem like effort!

3 cups plain flour
3 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

250ml Buttermilk

3 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
250ml
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups freshly brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line three 8" round tins (or two and keep some batter aside)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and cinnamon, until combined. Add the butter and buttermilk and stir slowly until moistened. Once you're now longer puffing clouds of chocolatey flour in the air (I speak from experience, don't try this on high on your mixer!) you can start stirring faster until it's light and fluffy.

Whisk the coffee into the beaten eggs (the coffee must be cool or you'll cook the eggs, a big no-no!). Then add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only until blended after each time. Divide the batter among the prepared pans; each tin will take about 3 1/4 cups of batter if you're using three tins,

Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and cool completely before taking out of the pans (these are really moist cakes, so heed this instruction!).

When stacking I filled mine with a layer of swiss meringue buttercream and then strawberry jam. To avoid over-spill of the jam I piped a ring of buttercream around the edge of the top of each layer, like this:

This not only stopped the strawberry jam escaping, but helped with the stacking and overall icing.

I used the following icing recipe and loved it. I was worried because lots of people say it doesn't work, but if you keep mixing it does. You definitely need an electric hand whisk, or better yet a mixer for this as you need constant whipping action. If you don't have one, and don't need the cake to last long (as if it would!) then I highly recommend whipping cream by hand into peaks and then icing the cake with that. It'll make it like chocolate, strawberries and cream, oh yeah!

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
12 oz butter, softened (the softer the better in my opinion)
1/2 cup of melted dark chocolate

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a big metal bowl over a pot of simmering water (I actually used the mixer bowl as it made the whole thing quicker and easier in the long run) until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.

Move the bowl to the mixer and whip the mixture until it turns white and about doubles in size. Watch for any steam or condensation, you do not want that getting into the mix or it won't whip properly (I put a tea-towel around the bowl as I lifted it to make sure)

Add the vanilla and whip to combine then add the butter a bit at a time whilst whipping (I was putting in about a tablespoon each time, I know it takes forever but it's worth it), then pour in the melted chocolate and the cocoa. Whip, whip, whip! It might seem like it takes forever to come together, (and you'll know when it does) but stick with it and you'll have a great icing and one that can withstand all sorts of pain (like travelling in a hot car!).