The pickled cucumber bit

I have just realised that I mentioned delicious pickled cucumbers in my last post and didn't say how to make them!

They are incredibly easy and the idea was given to me by my lovely friend Svetlana. I changed the recipe she gave me ever so slightly as she suggested that it should be made the night before, and I only had an hour! Bit last minute. Svet's recipe doesn't use balsamic vinegar and relies on fresh dill, which sadly I couldn't get hold of in time. (With only an hour to spare!).

Another fab friend Ruth also has a pickled cucumber recipe that I will find the secrets to and share here!

Easy Pickled cucumber:

Half a cucumber
Balsamic vinegar (sloshes of it)
Soda water
Rock salt (lots)
Garlic (as much as you like)
Dried basil
Dried Sage
Peppercorns

Method 1  (my one hour panic version):

1 - Thinly slice the cucumber. Chop the garlic
2 - Place a layer of cucumber in a dish. Sprinkle the dried herbs, chopped garlic and peppercorns over the cucumber. Sprinkle lots of salt all over the mix.
3 - Repeat this until you've used up all of the cucumber.
4 - Remember to use a lot of salt so that it soaks into the cucumber
5 - Slosh some balsamic vinegar over the cucumber mix. Not too much, just enough to cover the base of the bowl.
6 - Top this up with soda water.
7 - Put a heavy bowl on top to make sure the cucumber is covered in the vinegar/soda water mix.
8 - Leave this to stand for an hour or so and then eat!

Method 2 (Svet's less rushed version)

Use the ingredients as above but use fresh fennel rather than the dried herbs. No balsamic vinegar is needed.

1 - Thinly slice the cucumber. Chop the garlic.
2 - Place a layer of fresh dill, peppercorns and garlic in the dish. Add the cucumber. Then another layer of fresh dill, peppercorns and garlic.
3 - For every litre of fizzy / soda water add at least 4 - 5 tablespoons of salt.
4 - Sprinkle the salt over the mix. Add the water.
5 - Add a heavy bowl on top to keep the mix under the water.
6 - Put on one side over night or at least 24 hours.
7 - Eat!

You can slice it a bit thinner than this!

While visiting Svet I also had the chance to try pickled tomatoes, which were a complete revelation. Amazing things! I need to try making those next time.

Aubergine Pizzas

I've mentioned this on a few occasions and to quite a few people, but I have a serious deficiency in creative ideas for veggie dishes. Shame on me.

I am slightly meat focussed and it there isn't a sprinkling or pork or chicken or fish, I struggle. So, while moaning about not knowing what to cook for a veggie friend that was visiting, a lovely colleague in work passed on a really tasty recipe that would go down a treat.

I've had a bit of a google and have found a few variations on this dish and while apparently the version I have been given is for a starter, it works really well as a main meal. In fact, I've had it twice since serving it up to my veggie friend!

Aubergine Pizzas for two
(or starters for four!)

Ingredients:
2 aubergines
small cherry tomatoes
approx 500g of mozzarella cheese
fresh basil tomato sauce / pasta sauce
Two sliced garlic cloves.
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Rock salt
Tin of anchovies (or fresh) - optional as it's mainly a veggie dish!

Method 
Pre-Heat the oven to gas mark 5.
1 - Slice the aubergine into approx 2 cm thick round slices.
2 - Brush olive oil over both sides of the aubergine slices. Drizzle lemon juice over them and sprinkle some rock salt.

 

3 - Place the slices under a grill and cook for a few minutes, turning the slices over and cooking both sides until they start to colour.
4 - Take the slices from the grill and place in an oven dish with sides. Spread the tomato sauce over the slices, adding sliced garlic if you like the taste.

 

5 - Slice the mozzarella and place a piece on each of the aubergine slices. Add torn fresh basil leaves.
6 - Halve the cherry tomatoes and place one or two on top of each aubergine slice.

 

7 - If you like anchovies, you can add one to each of the slices now. make sure you keep them away from the purely veggie slices though.
8 - Now bake in the over for about 20 minutes.
9 - The tomato sauce and cheese may spread about a bit, but this just adds an extra dimension to this super tasty meal.
 

 This really can be used as a starter, but with some pickled cucumber this is a very very tasty main meal.

Lavender Meringues - light and flowery

So, as my first meringue experiment, these turned out quite tasty! Maybe a little bit strong on the lavender, but at the moment, I so love the flavour and I ate almost all of them in no time at all. Of course, I did share a few of them!

For my baking day with my friend, I read up on a few different meringue recipes and found one that worked for me, with a couple of little tweaks. These would be perfect for a summery day, with a glass of chilled white wine or Pimms. Alternatively,as it's still winter, they seem to go fantastically well with a cup of chai tea. (They tasted fab at breakfast time too. Just maybe not the best sugary treat for that time of the morning!)

My first ever meringues!

Ingredients

3 large egg whites

6oz (175g) sugar

Pinch of salt 

1 - 2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers (depending on taste)

Tiny drop of vanilla essence (optional)

drop of blue food colouring (optional)

drop of red food colouring (optional)

Directions

• Heat the oven to gas mark 1 (140oC)
• Prepare a baking tray with a lining of greaseproof paper
• Whisk the egg whites in a bowl. Preferably with an electric whisk.Start on a low speed for approx 1 minute and then slowly increase the speed.
• Whisk for about 2 - 3 minutes until the egg whites form peaks when the whisk is raised out of the mixture.
• Whisk in the sugar, a tablespoon or equal amounts at a time. Whisk until the mixture becomes glossy.
• Add the lavender flowers at this time. Whisk in the drop of vanilla essence with the flowers. The essence is optional but taste rather nice.
• Add a drop of red food colouring and a drop of blue food colouring. Mix this in and you should get a lovely, pale lavender colour. Or you can leave them white.
• Spoon the mixture out onto the baking sheet using metal spoons, forming neat blobs of meringue. 
• Pop the tray and meringues into the centre of the pre-heated oven for around 30 - 40 minutes, or until the meringues look paler and dried out.
• Once ready, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool on the tray.

You can always keep the meringues for a week or so in an air tight tin. If you have any left of course!

Perfect with a cup of tea.


(Recipe adapted from a couple of sources:
http://beingcreative.me.uk/the-basic-meringue-recipe.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lavendercreammeringu_91783 )

Baking with friends is good for your health!

I can't believe I've been so lazy at blogging! How shameful. I must do better in 2012.


To kick start the year, my friend Ruth and I decided to have a baking day. A relaxed, gentle day of baking delicious and tasty goods while drinking tea, trying new recipes and chatting. Well,three out of four isn't bad. We certainly baked some fantastic treats and we definitely chatted and tried out new recipes. The tea? Well......

A slight variation on a snowball to help with the baking. No tea!

I have never tried making meringues, so after exploring a few different recipes, I thought I'd try lavender meringues. I also had a go at mint macaroons and my tried my hand at my first ever  Bakewell Pudding (not tart!). Ruth baked a rather tasty walnut and treacle cake and also some muffin sized chocolate and chai tea cupcakes. The macaroons were quite difficult, but would have been easier if I'd used the piping bag properly. As it was, I filled it to the brim, resulting in the squidgy goodness escaping everywhere. I haven't actually used a piping bag since I was about 10 years old. Well, that's my excuse!


I can highly recommend a day spent baking with a good friend. Very relaxing and enjoyable! The trick is then to invite more friends round to help you eat them. If there are any left that is. 

Ruth, contemplating the next ingredient

I MUST learn how to use a piping bag!

The finished products!

Tea on a stick

Before I forget, another fab friend sent me a fantastic present from Brussels that makes tea brewing really easy! Tea filters on a stick. It's akin to roasting a pig on a spit, only with tea in a little biodegradable bag.
http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/tea-shop/pack-of-100-stick-tea-filters-12537.html

I love them and they are really handy to take to work! Thanks to you too El! Adding to my growing tea collection.

Cinnamon on the outside, Jasmine on the inside.....

I had a lovely present recently from a friend that had been travelling in the Far East. A tiny wooden box inlaid with swirls of cinnamon bark, which give off the most wonderfully sweet and rich smell. You can hold it in your hands and it leaves just the faintest cinnamon aroma behind on your skin. Inside it has the best surprise... tea! Some very tasty jasmine tea. A perfect little present. Thanks Zowie!

Fab little swirls of cinnamon

Teeny tiny teabags

Mmmmmmmmm..................tea

Baked Egg Custard and Happy memories

Such a long time since my last post! My very very late New Years resolution should be to post more!

So, on this rainy Bank Holiday Monday what better way to end the day than with a lovely Baked Egg Custard? I've never been able to make pastry, so it's a solid egg custard for me. It reminds me of being little. My Nana used to make splendid baked egg custard and rice puddings. With real butter, milk and so much sugar you could send a toddler running round for hours with just one spoonful. Brilliant. Just the smell alone takes me back. I used to love the way that she broke into the egg custard, through the thin, caramel coloured nutmeg skin; and the slurping noise of the first spoonful being dished out. As there were quite a few of us there on a Saturday afternoon, the pudding never went very far.

However, for years I was unable to make a really good egg custard; one that didn't have that strange, clear fluid pooled at the bottom of the dish. After many failed attempts, I came across an old cookbook that allowed me to finally succeed. With a little tweaking, I can now make an egg custard that leaves no surplus liquid swishing about once the pudding is finished.....

A lovely skin covered in nutmeg forms on the top

Baked Egg Custard

1 pint Milk (full fat is the best!)
few drops of vanilla essence
2oz Caster Sugar
2 -3 eggs depending on size
Grated nutmeg

• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4
• Beat the eggs in a jug
• Heat the milk, sugar and vanilla essence in a pan over a medium heat on the stove until nearly boiling.
• Pour the mixture over the beaten eggs, stirring all of the time.
• Pour the combined mixture into a 1 pint ovenproof dish or two pudding basins.
• Sprinkle with grated nutmeg, or grate fresh nutmeg over the puddings.
• Place in a baking or roasting tin and pour water into the roasting tin until it comes to about halfway up the sides of the dish / dishes.
• Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until set.
• Leave for a few minutes to cool after taking it out of the oven. It will be rather hot!

It doesn't last long!