Spiced Pumpkin Soup
This pumpkin soup almost didn’t make it to the blog. That’s not to say it isn’t delicious (it is), but it’s just so simple anyone could do it. Still, it tasted so good I just had to share it.
Opening Walnuts
Last autumn Gosia went pretty crazy about picking her own walnuts. Now I’ve got nothing against foraging, but she’d spend day after day in the local park filling up buckets with so many walnuts I highly doubt we’ll ever get around to using them all.
It’s the start of 2012; I suppose that means I need to start this post by wishing you all a Happy New Year! Typically for a family with a young child we stayed in on New Year, meaning we missed out on the festivities. This also led to me spending the turn of the year complaining – quite loudly – about how the nearby fireworks had awoken Mia who was now sitting in bed and crying.
Honey-Mustard Roast Ham
When my sister said to me that instead of a present for Christmas she just wanted a chocolate cake I really had to get my thinking cap on! I needed something both eye-catching and delicious – and this is what I ended up with.
The World's Best Chocolate Cake?
This recipe pretty much sums up the phrase “…after the horse has bolted”. Christmas has already been and gone yet here’s my guide to roasting the perfect Goose. I know, I know…
The Perfect Roast Goose
I know the feeling. It’s almost Christmas (or gone Christmas, depending upon when you’re reading this) and you still haven’t decided what to cook. Never fear, what follows is 10 of our quickest and easiest but most delicious Christmas recipes!
Simply click a thumbnail to see a full size version of the image. To see the recipe simply click the “ORIGINAL POST…” link at the top of the photograph page.
And make sure to have an absolutely fantastic Christmas!
Although I started the Christmas season with good intentions of making my own Christmas puddings this year (I even went out to buy appropriately shaped bowls), I never got round to it. So enter this suitably seasonal cupcake recipe, perfect for a last minute Christmas baking hit.
Christmas Cupcakes
Cupcakes are a strange thing. Some blogs are dedicated to them, whereas others – this one included – barely give them a mention. After spending an hour frosting, scraping off and then re-frosting cupcakes this evening I realised why – although anyone can make a cupcake, frosting one beautifully takes skill; one I seem to lack! Even on the one pictured you can see the tell-tale smear under the frosting where it was scraped clean and re-tried – several times. I’m blaming it on my piping bag (and yes, I know a “bad worker always blames his tools”)!
I know, I know. At this time of year I should only be making thing which include cloves, cinnamon or brandy in the list of ingredients. Well this recipe doesn’t – but it still tastes delicious on a cold Winter’s day.
Treacle Sponge Pudding, with a delicious syrupy sauce.
I’ll get straight to the point here. It’s freezing outside, I can’t be bothered going to the shop but fancy something warm and delicious. Enter the World’s greatest comfort food, the Celeriac Gratin.
Celeriac Gratin - food of the gods?
You might think celeriac is a bit boring; it is after all just a nobbly root vegetable which happens to taste a lot like celery – if you’ve even heard of it at all. But you’re missing the point; Celeriac when cooked into a gratin makes on of the most delicious dishes out there, even surpassing the mighty macaroni cheese – and if don’t believe me, give it a go. You’ll be amazed at how good this tastes.
Can you believe 2011 is almost over? Neither can I…It seems only yesterday I was typing up my recipe for Damson Gin, and yet we’re already at the stage where I’m bottling it. Still, I’m not complaining; I not only get delicious gin to drink, but I have the most amazing gin soaked damsons to put to use in the kitchen.
Damsons, soaked in gin
I was sitting yesterday morning after taking a few sips of the damson gin (and note my “few sips” is quite a bit where gin is concerned) and was wondering what to do with the left over fruit when I came across a recipe for Chocolate, Almond and Damson Slab that seemed to tick all the boxes. The damson gin has a strong almond like aroma (presumably from the fruit pits) so combining it with toasted almonds seemed to make perfect sense.
Chocolate slab made with gin soaked damsons and toasted almonds...
Although I haven’t tried the original, I have tweaked it a little. I’ve reduced the amount of cream because as I see it, mixing cream with chocolate is only going to give you sticky fingers and prevent it setting properly. If you use a good quality chocolate the cream isn’t going to add anything anyway; if you’re worried about the dark chocolate being a little too strong, go for one with a lower percentage cacao solids.
Pitted Damsons
Summary: This chocolate slab is a great way of using your alcohol soaked fruit left over from making damson gin. It also works well with sloes!
Sloes (left over from making Sloe Gin) work just as well in this recipe. Also try adding a little chilli to the chocolate to enhance the flavours.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12