Birthday Cake

I am a bad girlfriend. It is Dan's birthday today. I forgot about it entirely until saturday, and then it was because my Mum mentioned it that I remembered. Not that Dan minds in the slightest, but I feel guilty.

Cue urgent ordering of a present (which hasn't arrived yet - oops), and slightly frantic wednesday evening efforts on the cake-baking front.

So here's Dan's birthday cake:

Its called a Passion Cake. Not sure why, but its essentially a banana and carrot cake with walnuts (I know that sounds a bit wrong but you can't taste the carrots so its just a moist banana loaf). I sandwiched it together with cream-cheese icing and sprinkled a few walnuts on the top. The walnuts looked lovely - they were foraged late last year in the woods near where we live and have been drying out in a bowl in our living room. It was good to find a suitable occasion to use them.

I won't get to taste-test this one as Dan has taken it to share out at work, but hopefully I'll get feedback. With any luck I managed to cut off all the singed bit on the top caused by the wierd hot-spot in our oven!

UPDATE: Dan said he was the most popular man in the office yesterday, all the cake went in about 2 minutes, and there was much disappointment from those that were too slow to get a piece. 

Sugar and Spice and all things nice

Autumn is a brilliant season in so many ways. Sure, its sad to see the end to the summer, but isn't that bitter pill easier to swallow with the abundance of tasty morsels in the hedgerows and woodlands?

This week I received a gift of hazelnuts from our neighbour and picked up a load of sweet chestnuts in the woods round my parents's place.



So, what to do with them all?



Why not combine my two favourite things - cooking and crafts? I found a yummy-sounding recipe in my Alice in Wonderland craft book. It was described as Sugar and Spice Comfits; a combination of nuts, seeds, spices, and dried fruit. I used roasted sweet chestnuts and hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, blanched almonds, toasted caraway, fennel, and coriander seeds, some crystallised ginger, dried cranberries, sultanas, sunflower seeds, pinenuts and sesame seeds. Go mad - throw in whatever you have to hand (you'll want about 100g nuts, 50g dried fruit, 1 tablespoon spice seeds, 25g other seeds)!



Once I'd chosen my ingredients I made a small amount of sugar syrup by heating 50g caster sugar in a heavy pan over a gentle heat until it melted and turned into a syrup. I then removed the pan from the heat, mixed in the fruit and nuts, then spread it out on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and left it to cool.



These are meant to be brilliant on icecream, or you you can just snack on them as they are (which is what I've been doing). Yummy.



And for my next trick I collected up a load of sloes from the hedgerow, bought a bottle of gin and mixed up some sloe gin (700 ml gin, 450g sloes, 150g sugar, 1/4 teaspoon almond essence).



It won't be ready to drink until the end of January so I'll have to report back then. Between now and deepest-darkest winter I'll be shaking the kilner jar regularly, at least until the sugar dissolves. It'll be ready with perfect timing to see us through the harshness of coming back from a warm holiday to the cold British winter!

Comfort food for a cold weekend

Its been a cold weekend again. Frost in the mornings, icy roads. There's been a beautifully clear and crisp feel to the air.

To my mind freezing weather requires home comforts, and I don't think it can get any more comforting than bangers for tea. Dan's dad and uncle had made a load of sausages and given us a few, so it seemed the perfect time to try out a dish that has been on the 'to do' list for a while: Toad in the Hole. Very traditional, very stodgy, and oh so perfect for a cold night.

I went back to my good old Kitchen Bible for this recipe, so it was Tamasin Day-Lewis' method. It turned out really well, despite the fact that I'd run out of plain white flour so had to use nearly all wholemeal. That didn't seem to spoil it in the least.


It even looked like the picture in the book! I was so proud.

Neither Dan nor I had ever had Toad in the Hole before, but we'll definitely be having it again. Dan had so much that he had to lie down to recover. The combination of crispy yorkshire pudding batter, good sausages, and wholegrain mustard, all dished up with green veg and gravy (me), plus mash (himself) - oh yes, its definitely a keeper.

Also this week, I finally baked the cookie dough I made before Christmas. It has sat in the freezer for over a month feeling unloved, but it is designed to be frozen, and it came out and baked up unspoilt.
So, White chocolate and Pecan Cookies (from the Hummingbird Bakery cook book) were also eaten in quantity over the last couple of days. Yummy. (A few did make it to the intended recipients - my running club - but not as many as I had planned. Dan kept swiping them every time he walked through the kitchen.)

Filo

Christmas being a family affair I am heading to my parents' place for Christmas. That means Mum has sorted out all the Christmas dinner, but I do like to contribute in some small way to the Christmas eats.
Last year I made a Christmas cake, but Mum was making one when I was there the other week, so that didn't seem a good idea for this year. Instead I decided to make some sweet nibbles, and I chose baklava: The reasoning was that I love it, I know my younger sister and my Mum both like Baklava, not sure about my Dad, but fingers crossed!

So today saw me melting a truly extraordinary amount of butter, trying to unwrap and divide up the delicate sheets of pastry, and generally having my first filo experience. All before coffee. Co-ordination wasn't too good!

I made a recipe from the BBC website (I really do use that a lot!) by James Martin, for Walnut and pistachio baklava. It had ginger in the syrup which appealled, plus I already had all the ingredients in the cupboard - a major advantage when the snow is as annoying as it is right now. I did forget to score the top of the pastry before it went in the oven, which was none too clever, but other than that I seem to have ended up with something which does resemble baklava.



The taste was more citrus-y than baklava I have bought in the past, and its less sweet too (although I did reduce the sugar quantities so that may not be due to the recipe!). It has a definite tendency towards falling apart, but then baklava always does, and it is deliciously crunchy.

NB: I didn't need anything like the amount of butter directed in the recipe - I only used about 2/3 or 3/4 of the amount, and I was being pretty generous with it.

As I was left with about 100g of filo pastry from the roll I'd bought I then had to find something else to make with it, and once again James Martin and the BBC came up trumps with a Banana, apricot and cinnamon filo parcel. It sounded like it would make a fab pudding for tonight. After my overly buttery baklava experience I adjusted the quantities slightly. Also, I generally like things slightly less sweet than in recipes, so I also cut down the amount of sugar and honey a bit. It all cooked up just fine though.



The best accompaniment would have been vanilla icecream, served on the parcels warm from the oven, but in the absence of any of that in the freezer I served it up with cream instead. A yummy, wintery, pudding. I do love cinnamon.

This post makes me realise how rarely I do sweet recipes. I really should do so more often.

Tiredness and coldness

Neither makes me feel terribly inspired in the cooking department.

A combination of late nights for work, poor sleep, and a half marathon have conspired to make me feel a bit drained of energy these last few days. I'm officially in a grump!

However, I have discovered a nice lunch salad recently which has made a good work packed lunch for a few days - continuing my exploration of Middle Eastern cooking I have been eating Persian rice and Pistachio salad. A bit more interesting than a soggy sandwich from the canteen!

Persian Rice and Pistachio Salad (for 1)

40g brown long grain rice (or white, I just happen to prefer brown in this as the nutty flavour complements the other ingredients well)
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
Pinch ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
15g dried fruit of your choice (sultanas or raisins seem to work well)
50ml freshly squeezed orange juice
A small amount of fresh mint leaves
15g shelled pistachio nuts
2 sticks celery - chopped finely
Small handful of salad leaves
Salt and black pepper

Put the brown rice in a pan with the spices, salt, and orange rind. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes (top up the water as it is absorbed by the rice - don't let it dry out). Once the rice is cooked take the pan off the heat and stir in the dried fruit, pepper, mint, and orange juice. allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before stirring in the pistachios and celery. Serve with a few salad leaves.

Daring Cooks Challenge No.1!

Ok, so I was rather excited to have a try at my first Daring Cooks challenge.
It was a great one to start on too - we both found it delicious and it was definitely something I wouldn't have thought of doing without it being suggested by someone else.

So, I am proud to present.......Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing



It was easy to do. I made the cashew butter and the sauce a couple of days ahead and it kept in the fridge perfectly well. The dinner was then the matter of about 15 minutes preparation - some light chopping and mixing and soaking of noodles. All quick and easy.

And here's the recipe if you fancy having a go yourself - I highly recommend it.

Yield: 4 servings

notes: You could add or substitute your favorite vegetables. Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and slivered carrots would make nice additions. The dressing is equally as good with peanut butter rather than cashew butter.

Ingredients:

Cashew Butter:
240 ml cashews

Cashew Dressing:
1 cm slice of fresh ginger, chopped
8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
120 ml cashew butter
60 ml soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons vinegar - I used rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
75 ml water
Hot sauce to taste (optional) - I added a pinch of chilli flakes

Noodle Salad:
225g thin rice noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
225g small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used large prawns as that was what they had in the village shop, so I actually used slighty more in weight)
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
60 ml sliced spring onions
60 ml chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped cashews (optional garnish) - I omitted these
Lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

1.Make cashew butter: Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth.
2.Prepare cashew dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 360 ml dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
3.Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
4.Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to the pan and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes or until opaque throughout. Alternately, cook shrimp in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
5.Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add about 120 ml cashew dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more cashew dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you’d like. Scatter shrimp on top. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped cashews if desired.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.