Lemon Iced Tea

Well it has been a little while since my last post, but this b-e-a-youuuu-tiful weather that we have been enjoy has inspired me to write a little bit about this weekend's happenings.

After a hellish journey from London to Southampton on Saturday morning (we stupidly cherished a little bit of a lie in, instead of beating all the revellers on their way to Bournemouth), we got down there about lunchtime.

Firing up the BBQ right away, we needed the perfect accompaniments in the form of some refreshing beverages - what better than some iced tea on the hottest day of the year? Now I love a cup of tea at the best of times, but this summer alternative is just what you want after a 3hr car journey in 30 degrees and no air con..

Here's how to do it...

• Ice - lots
• Black teabags - you can use whatever kind you like. We used English Breakfast, but I quite like it with Earl Grey for a bit more flavour.
• 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp sugar
• A hot sunny day - optional

Source

This is a super quick and even easier recipe, if you can call it that. First things first, you're gunna need a lot of ice - more than you think, trust me. If you haven't got enough, cheat and pop to the shops, if you have then pop the kettle on instead.

Whilst the kettle is boiling, grab yourself a big jug, the one you usually make Pimms in would be perfect! Add in a couple of tea bags depending on how strong you like it, and once the kettle is boiled, fill to almost the top but leaving about 10cm.

Extract your teabags, Stir in two big dessert spoons of sugar and squeeze in your whole lemon.

Now, fill with ice. The first bits will disappear in the boiling water, obviously. So keep adding until the jug is full. Pop in the fridge and then when you are ready for a glass, pop some more ice into a tumbler with a slice of lemon and pour over for a delicious and cooling treat!

If you were doing this for a picnic or had some friends around, you could use old jam jars for cups and add a sprig of mint. You could also experiment with adding orange or lime instead of lemon, I have even heard people use mango, watermelon or raspberry - yum. Topped off with a fancy straw, this is sure to be a crowd pleaser, if I do say so myself.

E x

Creme Egg Cupcakes

Ever since I saw a picture of these re-tweeted by Cadbury's last weekend, I was desperate to re-create them. With no recipe attached, just the picture, my friend Libby and I took on the challenge this Saturday.

First things first, before you even put the kettle on, pop a couple of packets of mini cream eggs in the freezer. If you have a real sweet tooth, you could use regular size, but we thought that might be overkill. These will need a couple of hours to chill - plenty of time for a cup of tea, and catch up with a good friend. This is important as means that the eggs will stay together once heated and not dissolve into the cake batter.

For the 'cakey' bit, out came the Nigella cookbook, and we whipped up a batch of her standard cupcake sponge batter:

• 125g softened, unsalted butter
• 125g caster sugar
• 125f self-raising flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsps milk

Blend all of the ingredients, minus the milk. Once blended, add the milk a spoon at time until the batter is smooth - you might not need all of it.

Line a muffin tray with muffin cases and divide the mixture out evenly. 

Peel the creme eggs and place on top of the batter, pressing them down gently but not so they touch the bottom - you want them to stay in the middle.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 15-20 minutes, or til they are springy to the touch.

If, like us, you cannot bear to wait before you eat them, put the kettle on again and crack one open right away (or once they are cool enough to handle). You won't regret this - the fondant oozes out and is very yummy. For the more arty among us, you could always ice the top in a fancy way, but in my opinion the cake and the cream egg make it sweet enough. That being said, I do claim to be able to eat a whole 6 pack of creme eggs without thinking twice. 

E x

Sunday Brunch: Egg Bombs

I have been meaning to write up this sweet little recipe for a while. A couple of weekends ago, one of my favourite chums, Kelly came to stay with me in London.This in itself was a lovely treat as I don't get many visitors from outside the city, with my family living in Cornwall and my friends all over the place.

Now, being one half of a long distance relationship means I know how to make the most of the weekends. This nearly always includes an enormous breakfast/brunch to start the day. J and I always take the time to cook something scrummy in the mornings. Whether the old favourites, or trying something new.

Taking a look in the fridge for some breakfast ingredients, I was set to whip up what I could find. Turns out, I had some eggs, bacon, butter and bread. As Kelly had a long trip up on the Friday night, I left her snoozing and set to work - egg bombs were born.

Picture courtesy of Kelly as she enjoyed them so much, she made them for her boyfriend at home. I was too hungry to take any snaps!

All you will need for this is:-

• A muffin tray
• 2 eggs per person
• 2 slices of square bread per person (doesn't matter what type but preferably thickly sliced)
• 2 slices of back bacon per person
• Butter for greasing

Start by greasing your muffin tray with a generous helping of butter (or marg for the more healthy conscious. I am a butter girl all the way).

Cut the crusts off your bread and squish it flat with the palm of your hand. Now press this into the muffin tray lining the holes, being careful  not to rip it.

Wrap your bacon around the inside, you can just about get it to cover the lining of the bread, leaving the rind side up so it will crisp up in the oven. Crispy bacon is best. This should provide a sealed 'cup'.

Crack your eggs and pour one in to each 'cup', and season. Don't worry too much if they spill over as this won't affect the taste, just the aesthetics!

Pop in to a pre-heated oven at around 190 degrees and leave for about 10-15 mins before checking. The eggs should still jiggle but not run when tipped, and the bacon should just be catching around the edges. If you prefer your eggs more done (I like them very runny) then you can cook for a bit longer.

All is left is to wake up your sleepy friend with a big pot of freshly brewed coffee, and hand her a plate of these little beauties. Named so as they tend to explode as you cut in to them. Nothing like gooey eggs running into buttery bread, topped off with bacon.

E x

Frangipane Mince Pies

Chances are, most people have probably made their mince pies by now. Me, I like to whip up a batch either Christmas eve, eve, or ideally - Christmas actual eve. This way they are super fresh, and you can even enjoy a few when still warm. Here is a little Christmas themed recipe that is super easy, yet super tasty.

My mince pie of choice, is one a little bit special, and a little bit different. If you are less a fan of pastry, and more a fan of fluffy almond sponge, then you will enjoy these as much as I do. Basically, you do away with the pastry lid and instead, top it with a fluffy, light, almond based sponge - a mincemeat bakewell, if you will.

Source

To make these little scrummies, you will need:

For the pastry -

• 175g plain flour
• 75g butter, cut into cubes
• 25g icing sugar (plus extra for dusting)
• 1 large egg, beaten

For the frangipane topping-

• 100g butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 level tbsp plain flour
• 1⁄2 tsp almond extract, or to taste (in my case, a lot)

For the filling - 

• One jar of mincemeat - I used some of my Mum's homemade, but shop-bought is just fine. My sister doesn't actually like mincemeat, so I made a few with cherry jam in the bottom, as a substitute - she reports that they were yummy.

You can make the pastry by hand, but I used a food mixer. This way, the pastry stays as cold as possible, making it easier to work with (again, you can just get the shop-bought, sweet shortcrust pastry if you prefer/have limited time). To make the pastry and the mixture:

1. First things first, preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Then, in the food mixer, pop in the flour, icing sugar and butter, and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs. Once this has happened, pour in the beaten egg, bit by bit. If your pastry has not quite come together, you can add a splash of cold water (be careful not too add to much as this will be hard to rectify) to bring it together.
2. Spoon out this mixture on to a floured surface and lightly knead to bring it together. Once you have a dough like mixture, wrap it in some clingfilm and put in the fridge to chill for approx. 30 mins.
3. Whilst the pastry is chilling, you can make your filling. For this, pop the butter and caster sugar in to the food mixer - no need to clean it as it is all similar ingredients. Cream these together until smooth. 
4. Pour in the eggs and almond extract, and mix together (do not be alarmed if the mixture looks curdled at this point, it will be ok, I promise). Add the flour and almonds and mix until smooth, and put to one side.
5. Whilst you are waiting, you can grease your bun trays with a little butter, sprinkle in flour, and shake off the excess. Also, pour your mincemeat into a bowl and bring back to life with a glug of brandy, or port, or rum - up to you.

Now for the fun bit, the assembly(!):

1. Roll out your pastry and cut out circles big enough for your bun tin. If you do not have pastry cutters, you can always use a wine glass or tumbler to fit. Place these in the bun tray, lightly (careful not to squash them in, or they will be hard to get out).
2. Spoon in a teaspoon of your mincemeat, and top with a teaspoon-and-a-half of your frangipane mixture (no need to level this out as it will even out in the cooking).
3. If you like, you can sprinkle on a few flaked almonds for decoration.

Now, pop your little treats in the oven for 12-15 minutes, checking they don't catch. Once done, pop them on a plate, or cake stand, and dust them with icing sugar - then, tuck in and enjoy!

I will pop up a pic of this year's attempt at a later date :)

E x

Cinnamon & Orange Tea Cake

In yesterday's post, I wrote about how to make the most tasty glazed ham. I also wrote about how this beast took nearly 4 hours to cook in total, with a long waiting period of 3 hours in the middle. Seeing as between us we had the ingredients for something cake like, we thought we would rustle one up. 

I always have a cupboard load of cinnamon, I put it on most things - cereal, porridge, hot chocolate, most hot drinks and I could go on. We also had some leftover oranges from the ham glaze. Voila - cinnamon and orange cake was born. 

This was the most perfect cake to compliment the sweet, juicy ham of dinner time. We all sat down with a big cup of tea, put our feet up and admired our efforts for the day, over a nice slab of cake :)

Unsure as to why there is a lack of marg in this photo (sorry).

For this delicious cake, you will need:

• 6oz margarine or butter, whichever you prefer. We used marg.
• 6oz Self Raising Flour 
• 6oz caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 orange
• 1tsp cinnamon
• Extra sugar and cinnamon for the topping
• Large mixing bowl
• Cake tins or high sided baking tray if you want to make it into a tray bake
• Cup of tea to enjoy it with once cooked :)

N.B. The ingredients for this cake can be substituted for their 'free from' cousins. I know for a fact that it works just as well with wheat/gluten free flour and dairy free margarine. Thought I would let you know so that most people can join in! I'm not sure of an egg substitute but will keep an eye out.

How to:

The beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to make. No more creaming butter and sugar etc. just all of the ingredients in one bowl. You don't even need a blender.

First things first, preheat your oven to 180C and recruit someone to grease your cake tins/baking tray.

Then, in your large mixing bowl, throw in the margarine/butter, flour, sugar, eggs, zest of the orange, juice of half of the orange and the cinnamon into a bowl and then beat well together until smooth and creamy. If, like us, you cannot find an orange zester, you can always use a potato peeler to take off the zest, and then chop this up finely.

Once all evenly blended, divide between baking tins as you wish. This amount of mixture nicely fills your normal sized cake tins.

Bake in the oven for around 20-30 minutes, checking at 20. The age old test is always a winner, pop a clean knife in to the centre, if it comes out clean, then the cake is done. If it does not, then pop in back in for another 5. Repeat until ready.

Once you have taken your tins out of the oven, pop them on a heatproof side, still in the tins. Pour the juice of the rest of the orange over the cake while it is still warm.

Leave in the tins until the cake is cool enough to handle, by which point you can turn them out on to a cooling rack.

Mix together even quantities of caster sugar and cinnamon, depending on how much cinnamon you like to have (I like a lot!). You will most likely need around 2tsps of each. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the cake.

Sadly, seeing as this cake was something of an afterthought, we didn't have anything to hand to use as a filling. I would suggest perhaps a lovely orange buttercream filling or even some plain whipped cream. Instead, we ended up with two round, deliciously light tea cakes which was great. Both in taste terms, and also for our waistlines!

All that was left to do now, was put the kettle on, grab a still warm slice and enjoy.

E x

Bank Holiday Ham, with Marmalade & Honey Glaze

So in the spirit of a true bank holiday, my housemates and I took the opportunity to do a spot of cooking. We had a ham bone in the freezer for a while that was initially intended for a soup, but we decided it would be best put to use as a yummy bank holiday dinner. One of my favourite things about Christmas is actually the ham that we have, filling the house with delicious smells of honey and spices, so I was more than agreeable. 

First things first, the obligatory chef hats were made.

Now, on to the ham. We followed a recipe from the Hairy Bikers.

You will need:

For the gammon/ham -

• 6kg/13lb 3½oz gammon joint
• Fresh orange juice, to cover
• Water, to cover
• 8 cloves, plus extra for studding the gammon
• 2 onions, peeled, halved
• 4 large bay leaves
• Chunky bread is optional, although it makes for a great sandwich

For the glaze -

• 120g/4oz soft brown sugar
• 3 oranges, zest of three, juice of two
• 3 tbsp clear honey
• 3 heaped tbsp orange marmalade
• 3 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Preparation method:

For the gammon, place the gammon into a large, deep pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and drain.

Return the gammon to the pan, then pour in enough orange juice to cover half of the gammon. Pour in enough cold water to cover the gammon completely. 

Push two cloves into each onion half and add to the pan along with the bay leaves. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook gently for three hours, adding more hot water to the pan as necessary.

When your time is nearly up, preheat the oven to 180C/360F/Gas 4.

Remove the gammon from the pan and place into a roasting tin. Be careful at this point because the meat will be a bit fragile and may fall away from the bone in transit from pan to pan. 

Remove the skin, leaving behind a thin layer of fat. Score the gammon in a diamond pattern with the tip of a sharp knife. Stud the centre of each diamond with a clove (if yours ends up a little mis-shapen, like ours, do not fear and poke the clove in as best you can. It all tastes the same in the end!).

For the glaze, mix together all of the glaze ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Spoon the glaze evenly over the gammon.

Roast the gammon in the oven for 45 minutes, basting frequently with the glaze and pan juices, until the gammon is cooked through and golden-brown all over.

Set aside to rest, then carve into thick slices to serve. Alternatively, the gammon can be eaten cold. The Hairy Bikers suggest that you should serve this with apple compote and pickled red cabbage, but I went for the more traditional roasted new potatoes and broccoli. For the potatoes, just pop them straight in the oven in a heatproof dish, with a splash of oil and a sprinkling of salt. They take about 30 minutes and come out lovely and fluffy, and just a little bit crispy around the edges - just how I like them. They are a great summerly alternative to a full on roast potato and compliment most meals.

This meal does take a bit of time but it is actually fairly little effort for something that tastes AMAZING - the oven does most of the work. I cannot describe how gorgeous the house smells the whole time this is cooking. All of the spices and then the honey and marmalade make for a mouthwatering scent. A perfect way to finish off what has been a most lovely bank holiday weekend :)

If you are lucky, you will have a bit left over - perfect for tomorrow's sandwiches.

E x

The Perfect Roast Dinner

Along with most of Britain, my Sunday evening is not complete without a Sunday roast, with all of the trimmings. I don't care if it is Chicken and stuffing, Pork and apple sauce, Beef and Yorkshire puddings or Lamb and mint sauce - it's all yummy to me. I know that most people have a certain family way of cooking their roast dinners and it is something that is different in every household, but I thought I would do a post on how I do mine. Along with the meat, a lot of effort goes in to making the perfect roast potatoes (the highlight of the meal for me!!).

Here's a bit of background for you - I was lucky enough to grow up with a Mummy who has an Aga, this multi-functional appliance makes light work of a roast dinner (and many other treats too) and is something that instantly makes me think of home. It is definitely a style of cooking that most people find a bit daunting, if you are someone who likes recipes and timings then these are not for you! You basically get an idea of how long things will take and which oven to put them in and then you just play it by ear from then! It is not easy to change the heat on these meaty machines in a hurry, it takes a long time to heat up and a long time to cool down. You basically just have to wing it. Then, I moved out.

Seeing as there are not many student halls that have Agas (!) I had to learn how to cook conventional style. A few burnt dinners and raw sausages later, I just about got the hang of it. Once a bit confident, in my later years of being a student, I took a crack at a roast dinner all of my own, upon the request of my new boyfriend! I think I have just about cracked it now and this is how it goes...

To make a scrummy dinner for two (hungry adults) people:

• Meat of choice (we went for a 1.3lb of roasting Pork Loin)
• 3 large baking potatoes (I find these fluff up the nicest on the inside and get nice and crispy on the outside)
• Seasonal vegetables (we had green beans, Chantenay carrots and cauliflower cheese - J's fave!) 
• Oil
• Salt
• Flour
• Gravy granules
• 1 medium onion
• Sauce for your meat (we had Bramley apple as it was Pork)
• Tasty bottle of wine/non-alcoholic beverage of choice

MEAT:

Take your roasting meat and follow the instructions on the packet. Most supermarket packaging will give you weight and timings for your piece of meat. Butcher's meat will be a bit more illusive but you can ask your butcher to weigh your meat for you and then you can apply the following cooking times:

• Chicken - 20 minutes per lb + 20 minutes resting time.
• Pork - 25 minutes on highest heat + 35 minutes per lb + 30 minutes resting time. 
• Lamb - 20 minutes per lb for rare, 30 minutes per lb for a more well done meat + 30 minutes resting time.
• Beef - Rare - 11 minutes per lb, Medium - 14 minutes per lb, Well done - 16 minutes per lb + 30 minutes resting time.

Be aware that these times are approximate, if you are unsure then check that your meat is throughly cooked through before serving. As a general rule of thumb, if the juices run clear, the meat is cooked.

As we chose Pork, we wanted some crackling. For this - pop your oven up to 240 degrees. Cover the Pork in salt and oil, rubbing it in to the skin. The skin usually comes scored, if not then add a few deep cuts diagonally across the fat on the top of the meat. Put the Pork in the oven at this high heat for 25 minutes. After this, turn it down to 190 degrees and apply the above cooking times.

For example: our piece of Pork weighed 1.3lbs so cooking time was 25 minutes + 46 minutes + 30 minutes resting time.

You should have perfect crackling by following the above guidelines but if not, fear not! Carve the skin and fat off of the top of the meat and lay out flat on a baking tray. Pop this under the grill for about 10 minutes and it should crackle up nicely. Keep your eye on this though as it can catch and burn very quickly!

POTATOES:

Peel your potatoes, allowing 1.5 large potatoes per person as a generous helping. Chop in to rough chunks - you should get around 4 chunks per potato. At this point, cover a sided baking tray in about 0.5mm of oil and stick in the oven, below the meat. You can use Goose fat for this if you are feeling fancy, but normal oil will do just as well. 

Par-boil the potatoes on a simmering heat for about 10 minutes. The potatoes should not be cooked all the way through but just softening around the edges.

Take off the heat and drain them. Sprinkle on a light handful of flour and a generous sprinkling of salt.

Pop the lid back on and grab a tea towel as the pan will still be hot. Now shake the potatoes vigorously, holding down the lid. Have a check to make sure that every potato has softened around the edges and is now covered in flour.

When your meat has around 30 minutes left to go, get your heated tray of oil out of the oven, being very careful not to spill it and spoon the potatoes out on to the tray. This may cause the oil to spit so do be careful. Pop them back in the oven, turning every 15 minutes or so until crispy - usually taking around 40 minutes at 190 degrees.

VEGETABLES:

Depending on what vegetable you chose to cook, follow the instructions on the packet. For the vegetables we chose - I bought a pre-made cauliflower cheese (cheeky, I know, but not many people really have the time!) which took around 30 minutes in the oven, and I boiled the carrots and the beans for about 10 minutes in the same pan. These can be cooked whilst your meat is resting.

GRAVY:

Once you have taken the meat out to rest, pour the juices in to a small saucepan. Chop up your onion and cook it off in the meat juices. For ease, I like to add gravy granules now but you can always make your own gravy with flour etc. Stir in the gravy granules and top up with boiling water. You can add more of each to make the gravy the right consistency that you like. I also like to add wholegrain mustard here or sometimes a few herbs.

All that is left to do now, is carve your meat and serve up. Pour yourself a nice glass of wine or a fruit juice spritzer and enjoy!

The before and after gravy pictures - yummy!

Now, seeing as it is a bank holiday, I couldn't let this pass without whipping up a plate of Rosie T's Slutty Brownies - a thing of marvel and legend! They are the perfect thing to scoff on if you have any room left after your roast dinner. Or even to have later on with a cup of tea :)

E x

Blueberry Pancakes

I have always been a huge fan of breakfast, everything from a cereal bar to a full blown English and everything in between. I cannot start the day without at least a small bite to eat. During the week, I usually just grab some cereal before dashing off to work - stuffing a banana in my bag for elevenses, and I am sorted.

Breakfast at the weekend is a whole new ball game. I am either at home in London or in Southampton with J (who is equally keen on the whole breakfast thing). I absolutely love rustling up something special for breakfast, especially as we only have weekends together so it seems only right to make the most of our time.

My go-to is usually poached eggs with crispy bacon on toasted English muffins with lashings of hollandaise sauce (if your mouth isn't watering right now...). If not all the trimmings, then it is something loosely based around this, maybe a bacon muffin or just poached eggs. Of course, any breakfast would not be the same without a big cup of tea and a glass of juice. As much as I adore this breakfast combo, I thought it would be nice to try something different this weekend as there is the luxury of four whole days off! Yippee!

Cue blueberry pancakes. These are two things in life that I adore equally and happen to go so well together. The recipe is so easy and pretty much fool-proof as you can be pretty slapdash with measuring the ingredients. I usually just make the batter by eye as I am lazy and cannot be bothered to weigh it all out first thing in the morning!

All you need to make these little treats (makes around 6 pancakes) is:

• 120g flour (you can either use plain or self raising, if you use plain - don't forget to add a dash of baking powder so that they will be more spongey than a usual pancake!)
• 1tsp baking powder (only needed if using plain flour)
• pinch of salt
• 30g sugar
• 1/4 pint of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 punnet of blueberries
• dash of oil

1. Firstly, pop a pan on the hob and start heating the dash of oil.
2. Sieve out the flour and the baking powder if you are using plain flour, in to a bowl.
3. Fold in the sugar and add the pinch of salt.
4. In a separate jug, whisk together the milk and egg.
5. Create a well in the middle of the flour mix and slowly pour in the milk and egg, adding bit by bit and stirring all the time to avoid lumps.
6. Chop your blueberries in half and stir in to your batter.
7. Depending on how thick/large you want your pancakes, use a ladle to spoon out your pancakes (it is advisable at this point to do a 'trial run' and drop in a small teaspoon full of batter just to check that your pan is hot enough/not too hot).
8. Flip the pancake when you cant start to see bubbles popping up through, if your batter is too thick, this may not happen so watch out as they can burn rather quickly! About 20-30 secs each side should do.
9. Pour yourself a big glass of orange juice and a brimming cup of tea, you could even smother your stack of pancakes in whipped cream and/or syrup if you fancy, pop on some trashy telly, sit back and enjoy :)

These are a seriously yummy way to start your day, so much so that we actually make two batches this morning - pancake overload!

E x