Stylish Blogger Award

Oh My! What fun, I have been awarded the stylish blogger award and I had absolutely no idea that there is one!

Exciting times for us in cyber space!  I shall relish telling The Pink Lovely that this "Aged" mother of hers is "up there" with the cyber babes!...................Today, Alas, I was also introduced to Tweetdeck. What can one say? I have recently just got to grips (rather than I just recently got to grips....!) with my twitter account on my website. An internal groan at the thought of  a new tweet technique to be learnt but the Dear Friend, Bless Her, who enthusiastically showed it to me, over a yummy bowl of Thai Green Curry Soup at lunch time was adamant that it is the only way forward. So, I will prove that I am indeed a technobabe and cast my eye over the site this evening! Well, I have done it...not the tweet deck actually, but I have just phoned a couple of friends and bribed them lavishly with the lure of food and wine to come and set it up for me....

cup cakes and treats

The Pink Lovely, my 7yr old daughter, woke me at 6.30am this morning sure in the knowledge that we could bake before school.  Her beaming face and pleading eyes melted my hard old heart and we found the kitchen in darkness and started making cupcakes and treats which astonished the dogs and the neighbours!The reason for this display of enthusiasm was that a school friend has his birthday tomorrow and his Mum has been called away to Alaska to a very sick relative. The class and their teachers decided that we should all do something to help make the day a bit more special. The Pink Lovely said she really missed her Dad every birthday and knows just how he feels. Very touching and I think she is a sweetie. So we whack it into the oven: never fails to work: this is my prize recipe for any cake at any time with any flavour and it makes 12 x cupcakes, or a loaf, square or round cake.
Recipe
Weight either 2 (small cake or cupcakes) or 3 large eggs and set aside. Remember the weight (difficult at 06.30am!) and weight the same in granulated golden sugar, butter or dairy-free margarine, self-raising (Doves farm gluten free is perfect too) flour.  In food processor or in big bowl with wooden spoon, beat the sugar and fat together until soft and pale. Add 1 egg at a time, with a spoonful of the flour and stir in. Add the remaining flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder and fold in. Flavour with a dash of vanilla, grated citrus zest, chocolate powder etc etc and fold in. Scrape the mixture into prepared tin or cup cake cases in a tin and bake until firm and golden on top. I usually bake at 180C and they don't take long- about 25 minutes for a cake and 15 for cupcakes but times vary.  Leave to cool before removing from the tin to decorate.
Now back to my pheasant, onion, bacon, thyme, white wine, celery, creamy white sauce pie that I am making for dinner tonight.  I am going to top it with ready-made frozen puff pastry (not allergy-free).  I shall roll out the pastry to twice as big as I need and then grate mature cheddar cheese all over it.  Fold the pastry in half and top my pheasant pie filling, crimp it down, score it with a nice pattern and air vent and the shove it in the oven for 35 minutes. When it is puffy and golden it is ready to eat - that is the theory anyway but I have never tried this out before! I will let you know... you can also make this pie with chopped cooked chicken or rabbit.

Farmhouse Breakfast Week

I love a healthy breakfast and I have to admit that I also love a very unhealthy breakfast of almond croissants, pain au chocolat and cappuccino!  Preferably administered by charming people in a serene cafe somewhere, rather than in my chaotic kitchen full of dogs, children and washing up!
The word breakfast was first mentioned in 1463 in English and it meant "Breaking the Fast".  Not much fasting goes on nowadays but it is a nice thought!
Farmhouse Breakfast Week has been going on since 2000 and is trying to make people aware of just how important breakfast is.  It gives lots of great recipes and ideas and there are promotions and offers all over the countryside in local farm shop cafe and organic cafes etc.  I was surprised to hear that 1in 4 people skip breakfast and that they then are tempted by less healthy snacks so that they can get to lunch time.  So, if you live in the country, check out your local inns and shops and see what yummy breakfast deals you can get this weekend.  What a treat, I cannot wait!....

French Macaroons

Just in case you are as passionate about French Macaroons as I am and you cannot get to a London patisserie or a Waitrose where they can be found cradled in chic French boxes.  I have the very recipe that you need! page 136 in my "Learn to Cook Wheat,Gluten and Dairy Free". The beautiful picture set in the previous post accompanies the recipe.  You may think that this advanced baking but I assure you that it is so easy and simple that they cannot fail. You can tint them with any colour you like, bold, or pale and interesting! Fill them with jams, vanilla or coffee cream, chocolate or ganache. Use whipped and flavoured St. Helen's Farm double cream from Waitrose stores for the flavoured cream or ganache fillings.  If you don't have a Waitrose store then the cream is available by mail order.  So have a go and make these irresistible petits fours or tea-time treats just for fun and the pride and joy when you have produced them and they have all been devoured in minutes!

Launching into London

Well, actually, Hurl Myself into London, might be a better description.  A blast of Herefordshire swooshed into Ealing and I launched myself into the house of an amazing publishing consultant Guru. (If you want to know who, then you will have to contact me on the website).  This brain storming ex-senior editor of a renowned publishing house is brimming with astonishing ideas for me to have another best seller! Her business is going so well that she has found publishers for everyone that has come to her. I departed, happy. This time I managed to get onto the right tube train and go to the exact spot that I wished to alight for my next meeting.  This is usually pretty hit and miss and generally, it has to be said that I get off at the wrong station or onto the train that is going in the wrong direction. Triumphant, I arrive at the RA to meet with the Chief-Executive of a Fantastic Cancer Charity.  We have a hugely wicked tea in the members room and tried not to be excited by the fact that we were going to allow ourselves an enormous slice of coffee and walnut cake.  This has to be my ultimate treat as in 7 years, I have never made this, my favourite cake, due to the fact that The Pink Lovely hates both coffee and walnuts. A blessed relief to the waistline but emotionally deprived for years, this was certainly a super big hit!  A dose of culture was also administered and then I flew onto the next rendez-vous and then the next and then the next! One of the things that I particularly look forward to, apart from seeing my dearest friends of course, are my gourmet experiences whilst in London. Dinner was mystical in it's deliciousness and the poached fig in rose syrup with home-made pistachio ice cream was sublime.
Feeling somewhat delicate the next morning, we went in search of both culture and edible delights and ended up at the National Portrait Gallery and after drifting round the galleries, swooning at various 18C oil paintings we discovered the top floor restaurant would let us restore ourselves whilst gazing at the most incredible roof-top view of the capitol.  I almost felt the twitch of  a paintbrush... but no...... back to the really important subject of food.  Ladure Macaroons must be heaven sent.. who else could invent such bite sized morsels of sweetness, chewiness, subtle flavours and gory colours?  Utterly weak at the knees, luckily we were sitting down, I did my best to try out most flavours but in the end defeated at last, we had to get up and go..... onto LUNCH.........
I waddled out of the restaurant to find that a parking ticket had firmly entrenched itself under my host's windscreen wiper. How annoying but at least the congestion charge has been done away with, so he definitely saved £8.00 there. Not sure he saw it quite like that...
Finally, the last activity in the day, a dinner party in Holland Park.  I arrive only to be marched into the kitchen to rescue the pea and mint soup or should I say mint and mint soup.  Luckily, years of "saving" recipes has taught me the three basic rescue steps of almost any soup.
1) Stir in plenty of freshly grated nutmeg-taste and go onto rescue stage 2) stir in some form of liquid chilli sauce- taste and go onto rescue stage 3)stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice-taste, adjust seasoning and swirl in fresh cream and a knob of butter and reheat.  Never fails and the soup was yummy!

Easy Marmalade Recipe

You probably have a wonderful "Granny or even Great Granny" recipe for marmalade but this one is so easy that I have given up on Mrs. Beeton and gone for speed and simplicity.  I also like the fact that you can make stage 1, one day and finish it off the next day. So a very big thank you to the kind lady who parted with her recipe the other day. I filled 11 mixed size jars and had them ready, warm and clean for stage 2.
Most of all, I like this recipe because it uses a kilo LESS sugar than my other ones. Helpful for teeth and waistline alike!
You will need;
1.5kg Seville Oranges (organic are best but certainly un-waxed)
2 large lemons (organic are best but certainly un-waxed)
Put them into a huge pan and cover with water.  Simmer for about 1.5hrs until they are squidgy. Leave them until cold or until the next day.  Halve the fruit lengthwise and pull out any pips or too much pith. Give the fruit a good squeeze, cut in half again and then slice finely on a chopping board. Chuck all the stuff into a huge pan with 3 pints of the leftover orange water.  Top it up with water if there is not enough. Throw in 2kg of granulated sugar and leave to dissolve over low heat.  Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about 45mins, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Test the marmalade by put a teaspoonful on a chilled saucer and leaving it in the freezer for a few minutes. If it is set then leave the pan to cool for about 10 minutes.  Pour the marmalade into the prepared jars, cover with lids and label. Hide them so that the family doesn't gobble it all up!...............

Marmalade Awards

I am bemused! I announce that my marmalade is a triumph on my Tweet and suddenly I have a tweet back from the 2011 Marmalade Awards!  Astonishing Technology! Shall I enter my marmalade for this National competition?  Maybe not, It would be mortifying not to win!
My marmalade is however, sharp and clean cut, yet just sweet enough to feel indulgent. Beautiful colour and lightly set.  For a less guilty breakfast I used 1kg less sugar than usual.  This would be brilliant except for the fact that I then smothered my toast in double the butter!  Not so good.....and then I had a second piece of toast...really not at all good! Especially as The Pink Lovely hates marmalade and that means I have 11 pots all to myself!
I shall write out the recipe tomorrow so that you can have freshly made marmalade for your weekend breakfast.
Meanwhile, I shall be taking some pots up to London, for the friends that I am dining with this week when I go up for my dose of city culture, research, PR and party, party, party!
There was a very imperious marmalade cat sitting on our stone wall this afternoon.  Peering over the tangled branches of our rather vile evergreen hedge, he sat and tried to stare out Coco and Lucy.  There was much tail wagging from Lucy who thinks that even cats should be amusing and good for a romp and a game or two. Coco only has one thing on her mind when she sees at cat and it is definitely not hugely amusing for the cat!  Now I know why there are no rats in the barn, obviously Orlando the Marmalade cat has been vigilant in his housekeeping!

Must get a grip!

Fantastic as my life at Fox Barn is, sometimes I think I must get a grip and deal with the reality of life! The one sure fact of life is that there are only 24hrs in each day and however much I would like about 28hrs,  this is not remotely possible. Unless of course, we could beam ourselves up into some parallel time of the quantum physics type for a few hours each day.  This, I imagine is unlikely for the next few decades and so I need to get a grip and plan a realistic schedule for each day and not..........1) Take The Pink Lovely to school 2) walk the dogs 3)stuff a turkey for dinner party for 10 tomorrow night 4) forget and then rush out to coffee with friends 5) make cranberry and damson vodka sauce (mainly vodka!) 6) forget to make soup and rush to make lunch  for guests arriving at 1pm 7) be nice to everybody! 8) work on the website, proof a recipe, test a recipe, and write to publisher, set up advertising deal and answer all emails, phone calls and tweets 9) attend Hotpoint service of broken down tumble dryer 10) Make a huge apple and mincemeat tart for 10  11)get glamorous for drinks party in Herefordshire tonight 12)forget to get the pink lovely,  then rush to school 13) do homework 14) cook her supper 15) go to party an then... 16) write shopping list for tomorrow 17) finish the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle before midnight 18) read the next chapter of my book club book "Sex with Kings" (absolutely no sex whatsoever!).  19) Take the dogs out 20)meditate peace, calm and tranquillity!
So, this is a what a quiet day in the country is really like...Maybe I should move back to London!!!!!!

Spelt, Raisin and Walnut Bread

This loaf of bread was the end of all my New Year self-discipline! It is gorgeous. I only use organic spelt flour now and it is available in most good supermarkets and Doves Farm do a very good one.  Spelt is not actually wheat free but it is such an ancient grain that has not been mucked about with and therefore so much easier to digest. Organic means it wont have all the dodgy sprays on it which seems to affect people with sensitive tummies.
SPELT BREAD
7g dried yeast that you just add to flour
2 heaped tablespoons local honey
255g wholemeal organic spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
55g roughly chopped walnuts
100g raisins or sultanas

Preheat the oven to 180Cfan/200C/gas 6
You will need a standard 1lb loaf tin and extra organic rye or spelt flour for kneading

In a large bowl, mix the yeast with the honey and 200ml tepid water. Add the spelt flour and salt with the oil and mix with a blunt knife until it comes together enough for you to start kneading it with your hands. On a floured surface, knead in the nuts and raisins and then place in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm area to double in size. After about 1hr, knead the dough again, knock into a loaf shape and then place in the tin. cover and leave for 45 mins. Bake for about 25-30 mins until the crust is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
However tempting it is, you must let the bread cool before eating! the consequence is indigestion and spoiling the bread for the next day. Yummy with cheeses for lunch or jam/honey for tea.....

A special Treat

A glorious moment this morning, I have dreamt of it often!  A little voice calls me up from the depths of my boudoir at 07.45am, I stagger up to the Kitchen where I am told to shut my eyes before I enter, well as I can barely see without my glasses, hence the staggering, I thought this rather sweet. I enter and to my utter amazement, my 7yr old daughter, who we call The Pink Lovely, is in full school uniform, the table is laid for breakfast, the dogs have obviously been out (muddy paw prints every where!) and sitting perfectly centred on a plate is half a toasted muffin with a beautiful pile of perfectly cooked scrambled eggs on top.  Wow! Speechless!
Much praise was given and she was as proud of herself as I was of her.  Next time she wants to do grilled bacon too....Gulp!.....Have I a Master Chef contestant on my hands?
I am going to try a new recipe for bread today and serve it with a selection of cheeses and the most delicious organic white wine jelly.  This amazing jelly comes from a vineyard in South Africa and is translucent to look at and sublime to taste. I hope someone decides to sell it here or even better, why doesn't an English Vineyard make it and then it would not have the air-miles.

I can feel marmalade coming on...

Something is missing from my store cupboard. Jars of damson and apple jam, blackberry and apple jam, piccalilly, pear chutney, lavender and apple jelly,  quince jelly and rhubarb chutney.  Marmalade. That deep golden glowing splodge of orange in a jam jar. None left from 2009, so I start getting that fidgety feeling that happens when you get an idea and then want to do it but have absolutely no idea whether the oranges are even in the shops yet. I missed it entirely last year as I was finishing off my latest "Learn to Cook, Wheat, Gluten and Dairy Free" Cookbook.  I have not even started the next Cookbook so I have no excuse.  I can feel a trip to Ludlow coming on.  If I hover around the cobbled alleyways where greengrocers lurk or the farmers market in the square then maybe I will come across some. Or maybe it is too early?  I shall appease the fidgets by looking up recipes.

Forgot the Yuletide log so here is my kitsch Roulade

Chocolate Roulade is my happy play-time for mummy, pudding!  Not quite the gorgeous pudd that we purchased from the patisserie in Beaulieu on Christmas Eve but goes down a treat when up against more snow and unable to drive further than the five bar gate! All the ingredients are in the store cupboard and it is a doddle to make.  Having had the best Christmas of our lives in Beaulieu this holidays, I have decided that I shall die happy if I can be deposited in the supermarket and patisserie for the entire day every day, not to surface until required to cook said items! Eat them and then retire to my sofa on the veranda gazing at the stars and the bays of Cote D'azure until deep in the night.  What a way to go!..............................
However, back to reality and I must go and drop a couple of pieces of 70% dark chocolate into the venison stew with a couple of pieces of orange rind to finish it off. Candlelit dinner tonight.Totally impressive If I say so myself, but will anyone else? I will let you know.........................
CHOCOLATE ROULADE
can be with or without wheat, gluten or dairy
(for Dairy free use St. Helen's Farm double whipping cream, it is brilliant but you will need 2 pots and it is by mail order only)

• 75g Doves Farm wheat free,gluten free self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 55g x 70% cocoa powder , plus extra for dusting
• 5eggs
• 100g golden caster sugar,plus a little extra Cream Filling
• 300ml double cream 

Decoration

• 50g dark chocolate 
• 4 bay leaves 
• 8 whole almonds 

Extra pot of double or whipping cream for the decoration

• To make the chocolate leaves, melt 50g of the dark chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of water.Paint the shiny side of each bay leaf with a layer of chocolate.Leave to set, then paint over another layer.Set in a cool place,then peel off the chocolate leaves. Paint one side of each almond, leave to set, paint the other side and leave to set.
• Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.Line a 30x40cm swiss roll tin with baking parchment,butter and dust with extra cocoa.Sift the flour,baking powder and cocoa in a bowl.Beat the eggs and caster sugar with an electric mixer until thick,pale and trebled in volume,about 8-10 minutes.Quickly and lightly fold in the flour and mix with a large metal spoon.Scrape into the tin,tipping the tin so the batter is even.Bake for 10-15 minutes or until firm.
• Cool the sponge for a few minutes, turn it out onto fresh baking parchment dusted with caster sugar.Peel off the lining paper and roll up the sponge using the paper underneath.It may crack,but the icing will cover it.Leave it to cool.
• Whisk the cream until soft peaks.Gently unroll the sponge and spread cream out gently.Reroll the roulade as tightly as you can without squashing out the filling.
• Fill a pipping bag with the whipped cream and decorate as much as you fancy!Arrange the chocolate leaves and nuts and dust with extra cacao.   

A Happy New Year and Twelfth Night

We didn't really get to twelfth night as by 4th January the entire Christmas tree was bare of its glossy needles and they lay knee-deep all over the hall floor.  This was more than I could bare and Mr. Henry was called upon to perform! This seemed a good moment to sort out the decorations, some of which have lurked around the nest of cotton wool and tissue paper since about 1960! Time to move on................A few swift and ruthless movements and hey ho, one naked tree!  I am already looking forward to buying lots of gorgeous new trendy decorations next autumn! I then transformed into a whirlwind and swooped on and removed all known Christmas cards, holly and mistletoe lurking around the house. Immensely satisfying and chuck all the green stuff on the wood burner, the cards however get made into an absolutely fabulous collage which The Pink Lovely and I will make one rainy afternoon in February.
New year on the other-hand was unquestionably the best for ages. A mini festive dinner with a glass of champagne at 7pm for The Pink Lovely and a truly heroic friend and babysitter, Sarah. Then on with the crown jewels and high heels and off to the most brilliant party in Herefordshire!  Surrounded by guests from New York, France, London and Worcestershire............... it was dazzling! As was the pink champagne, burgundy, port and more champagne............... You will be glad to know that B&B was on the schedule!
Not well in the morning and staggered around for a bit before going back to bed for two days!  Bye Bye 2010 - Hello 2011!!!!!!!!!  I did manage some pancakes for brunch for The Pink Lovely, with heaps of Maple syrup and butter and here is the recipe which can be made with or without wheat, gluten and dairy.
SCOTCH PANCAKES

115g  Doves Farm Organic self raising flour
30ml(2 level tbsp)caster sugar

1 large egg beaten
150ml Arla Lactofree  milk

Lightly grease a griddle or heavy-based frying pan. Mix the flour and sugar. Make a well in the centre and stir in the egg,with enough of the milk to make a batter of the consistency of thick cream.
The mixing should be done as quickly and lightly as possible.Do not beat .
Drop the mixture in spoonfuls on to a hot surface.For round pancakes,drop it from the point of the spoon,for oval ones,drop from the side.
Keep the griddle at a steady heat and when it bubbles rise to surface of the pancakes and burst -after2-3 minutes-turn the pancake over, using a palette knife.Continue cooking for a further 2-3 minutes,until golden brown on the other side.
Place the cooked pancakes on a clean tea towel, cover with another towel and place on a rack to cool.(this keeps in the steam and the pancakes do not become dry.)Serve with butter or with whipped cream.