Kendal Mint Cake. Energy Food for a Pink Power Walk

I took part in the North West Pink Power Walk today for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Karen Keating Trust. With well wishes and a tender speech by Gloria Hunniford we set off to walk thirteen miles around Chester, trekking through the beautiful grounds of the Earl of Grosvenor's Estate. It did nothing but rain, rain and rain again; but was great fun. My legs are still aching and my hair is still damp, but I feel really pleased that we all completed the walk.

Very muddy boots after the walk

In order to make sure I had plenty of energy, I decided to have a go at making that champion energy snack, Kendal Mint cake. It's basically nothing but sugar with a fantastic, icy blast of peppermint flavouring. The original snack was developed in the late 1800's by Joseph Wiper in his factory in Kendal and was supposedly an accident, which occurred while making clear mints. The recipe used now is kept secret but the homemade version is super easy and works well on hikes of all lengths (rain optional).

Ingredients

1lb of sugar  (beware your teeth!)
1/4 pint of milk.
2 teaspoons of peppermint flavouring / 1 teaspoon of peppermint essence

Directions

• Pour the milk into the pan. Add the sugar and bring the liquid to boiling point, stirring all the time.
• Simmer gently until the mixture reaches the 'soft ball stage' (this happens when a small bit of the mixture, dropped into cold water, can be rolled into a soft ball using your finger and thumb), or 114oC / 237oF.
• Take off the heat, add the peppermint flavourings and beat the mixture until it thickens.
• Pour the mixture out onto a greased tin, or a sheet of baking paper and flatten.
• Let it cool (Keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
• Cut it into chunks and eat!  

Sugary, but oh so good!

I love a good Farmer's Market!

As the weather was truly rotten today, something cheery and food based was needed to brighten the day. So the quick trip to Conwy Farmers Market at lunchtime was perfect (thanks for the suggestion Ann B!).

The market is based at the RSPB reserve in Conwy and the view of the estuary is just stunning. Held inside a marque, the market is sheltered and so able to withstand the slightly rough North Wales weather. However, I think the rain may have put some people off as it wasn't incredibly busy; but there was plenty to choose from. Fresh vegetables were on offer, including chard, which I've never seen before never mind tried and some beautiful blue and white pottery. Then there were the jams, chutneys and relishes. So much to choose from; so many tasty samples.

After much humming and haaing (not a word, I know, but certainly the right sound!), I decided to purchase a jar of Butternut and Crystallised Ginger Chutney. Oh wow. Very tasty. Just a bit different with the right amount of ginger, mixed with the sweetness of the butternut squash, resulting in a gentle golden colour and a tangy, sharp aroma. Apparently it goes well with cold meat, cheeses and Indian Food. However, it also seems to go rather well on rice cakes (and actually makes the rice cakes taste good!)  

Ann B and I got also got chatting to Ann Busby (a different Ann B) at her 'Simply Relish' stand and after sampling a few choice chutneys and buying her award winning chilli jam, she kindly let me take her photo. (Lovely to meet you Ann!)

Meet Ann from Simply Relish!

She also told me that Hawarden food shop are hosting an Autumn food fair this Saturday. Hooray - a promising foodie weekend!

Chilli Chocolate Truffles.

Some days are made for chocolate, especially dark chocolate, and today has been one of those days. Mind you, I'm not a huge chocolate fan but when I need it, I need it now!

I do particularly love that most fantastic combination of chilli and chocolate though. Montezuma's have the best one I've tried so far, with just the right kick in the back of the throat. So, in order to satisfy the chocolate craving I thought I'd opt out of trawling through the after work throngs of people at the supermarket, and make my own! Well, make some chocolate truffles. Chilli Chocolate truffles. From my new, recently purchased and already covered in food splashes, Hot! Hot! Hot! book.

Chilli Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:
100ml creme fraiche
200g dark chocolate (chopped up or in button format)
1 fresh red chilli (the recipe in the book calls for half but I don't think that's enough!)
dark cocoa powder
sprinkles

Stirring in first the chocolate, and then the chopped chilli

Directions:

• Melt the creme fraiche gently. Add the chocolate
• Heat until the chocolate is melted and it's well mixed in.
• De-seed and finely chop the chilli
• Take the chocolate off the heat and mix in the chopped chilli
• Let the mixture cool to room temperature
• Pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours so that the mixture thickens up.
• Take it out of the fridge and form the mixture into little balls and then roll them in the sprinkles or cocoa powder. Be warned! This bit is really messy, but great fun! You WILL get the truffle mix all over your hands. It's brilliant.
• I then popped the truffles into little cases and the remaining ones (not many) are keeping cool in the fridge

It's probably best to keep the truffles in a cool place as they aren't terribly solid and have a tendency to start to melt slightly if handled. However, thay taste so creamy and chocolaty that they probably won't have too much time to melt in your hands!

Awwwwwwww, a little pink sparkly one

Popping them in their cases stop them from sticking together

Tomato and Basil Omelette. Sunny day food.

What a beautiful day! It's September and the sun is shining and it's almost warm outside. A wonderful start to the weekend after all of the rain and wind we've out up with this week.
My pot of basil caught the sun this morning and gave off the most wonderful smell, which made me think, use it! Use the basil! Apparently, recent research has shown that basil is packed full of antioxidants, which makes it incredibly good for you. Plus, it tastes delicious. A friend in work has given me some fresh eggs from her hens, and my tomato plants are full of fruit and need to be eaten. Sunny days deserve sunny food. Time for a tomato and basil omelette!


Ingredients:
3 small, fresh eggs
Handful of basil leaves
a pinch of chopped dry chilli
salt and pepper
a handful of cherry tomatoes
Olive oil
Splash of milk

Directions:

• crack open the eggs and mix in a jug. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the pinch of chopped dry chilli. Add a splash of milk and mix well with a fork
• Chop up the tomatoes into quarters
• heat the oil in a frying pan
• Add the tomatoes into the pan and fry gently. They should just start to break up and get the lovely juices running.
• Tear up the basil leaves and add to the pan.
• Take off the heat and add the egg mixture.
• Put back onto the heat and cook over the flame until the omelette starts to solidify.
• I then pop the omelette under the grill to cook the top.
• Once nicely cooked on top, slide out of the pan, onto the plate and eat!

Add the basil last so it doesn't go limp!

However, if like me, you manage to use a non stick pan which should have been thrown away some time ago, you may end up with a scrambled egg version, but it still tastes absolutely fantastic!

Scrambled version of omelette. Still tasting rather fine though.

Perfect with a cup of mango tea

Frijolemole - Holy Moly! (batman)

I have never heard of Frijolemole, so when I saw it on the shelf amongst the Hummus, I thought I'd give it a go. It's now my favourite snack! Garlicky and with undertones of curry, from the coriander and cumin, it's a very tasty alternative to hummus and surprisingly goes very well with fresh minty garden peas. I'm ignoring fat and calories (210) as it is so tasty! One day, I'll try making my own. For now, Tesco's here I come (I imagine it's in other well known supermarkets as well. I just haven't looked!)

Chocolate, marshmallow and Dandelion & Burdock Muffins

I get drawn to charity shops that sell good quality books at incredibly cheap prices. I love em! I've recently found one that sells paperbacks for 25p. I'm in danger of overloading my shelves; all for under a fiver. So, I found a great baking book for 50p; 'Homemade Baking' by Catherine Atkinson. Ring bound for easy use while baking cakes. Lovely.

In the book was a very interesting sounding recipe for Marshmallow, choc and cola muffins. I had planned to bake a cake for a friend's birthday but these muffins seemed perfect. Slightly quirky and I so wanted to know what they tasted like. I'm not a great fan of cola, so I used Dandelion and Burdock (the best pop!).

We ate the cakes in work today and they were quite different from any other muffins I've made. I fully expected the marshmallow to form a gooey centre, but they mixed up with the rest of the muffin and formed a chewy texture. They were much more cakey than muffiny and had a dense, solid weight to them. They didn't look the prettiest ever, but they tasted rather delicious. I think next time I will add chocolate drops into the mixture, and maybe a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

Chocolate, Marshmallow and Dandelion and Burdock Muffins

150ml Dandelion and Burdock

6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 beaten egg

250g self rasing flour

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (I used Green & Blacks)

125g of caster sugar

75g of marshmallows (mini or large, chopped up)

Pinch of salt

• Preheat the oven to Gas mark 5 / 190c/ 375f. Get 12 paper muffin cases ready.
• Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl or large jug mix the egg and vegetable oil.
• Add the pop. Careful - it will froth up!
• Mix and then pour into the dry ingredients
• Mix until just combined
• Place a spoonful of batter into each paper muffin case. Drop in a few mini or chopped marshmallows onto the mixture. Top each with the remainder of the muffin mix.
• Bake in the oven for about 20 mins or until risen and firm. Cool in the tin and then eat!

Marshmallows in the centre

Finished muffins (a bit misshapen)

Spinach and Pea salad and the last days of summer

It looks as though summer is coming to an end, with the leaves sarting to fall and the nights drawing in. However, there's still time to fit some barbecue's in though! Which is just what friends Debs and Tone did today, squeezed into the few hours of sunshine we had between the British summer rain. Sausages, beefburgers, celebratory drinks for their double wedding with Jacqui and Marcus (congratulations folks)...................and salads! 


I've never been a big one for making salads, although I do have a gorgeous book 'Super Salads' by Michael Van Straten (the photos are rather beautiful), which inspires me to at least try every now and again. Way beyond the limp lettuce and squishy tomato salads of school. However, when I asked Debs if I could bring anything and she replied 'salads' I decided to try something new; spinach and pea salad, from a Jaime Oliver cookbook, The Naked Chef (he looks so young on the cover!!). I only made tiny changes to include basil, which always tastes good.


Fresh, light and fragrant, it tastes like summer should be. 


Spinach and Pea salad


Bag of fresh baby spinach
Fresh of frozen peas ( I used frozen, about a handful)
Handful of fresh basil (not used in the Jaime recipe)
Mozzarella (Feta cheese used in the Jaime recipe)
2 tbs of olive oil
2 tbs of lemon juice 
pepper and salt


Directions

• Boil the peas for a few minutes (until just cooked)
• Rinse them in cold water and put on one side
• Wash the spinach and basil and dry
• Place the leaves into a bowl and add cold peas
• Tear the mozzarella over the green
• Mix the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salad.
• Serve and eat

Tasty Courgette Lasagne

Over the past few weeks I've been lucky enough to have been given several courgettes, all straight from friend's gardens. I've even been given yellow ones. (I had to google them to make sure they were ripe; my courgette knowledge is minimal!)

I've never really known what to do with courgettes and have always found them a tad bland. I've tried to jazz them up a bit by either frying them with some chorizo or roasting them in with a mixture of other veggies and a dash of balsamic. So I was rather pleased when I recently came across a delicious sounding recipe for Courgette lasagne which looked fairly easy and quick.


I made a few tweaks as I went along and have now baked it twice (both times making a total mess of the kitchen, but it was worth it!) I decided to write it up this evening to stop myself from eating a second portion.
It makes for four very healthy portions or 6 slightly smaller ones. 


COURGETTE LASAGNE


Dried lasagne sheets
1 onion, chopped
2 - 3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 - 6 courgettes (green or yellow)
Tub of ricotta (250g)
50g - 100g Wensleydale cheese
1 leek
pinch of chilli flakes or one small chopped red chilli (optional)
sunflower oil (olive oil also works for this)
salt and pepper
Nutmeg (optional)


Pre-heat oven to gas mark 6 (200c/400f)

• Grate the courgettes and slice the leek
• Cook the lasagne sheets in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened. Rinse in cold water and oil to stop the sheets from sticking together. If they do, they can be easily pulled apart.
• Fry the onion and garlic lightly until softened.
• Add the leek and fry gently for a minute or so.
• Add the grated courgette and chilli
• Cook for a few minutes until softened. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in two thirds of the ricotta cheese (you can also grate in some of the Wensleydale at this point if you prefer)
• In a large baking dish poor a layer of the courgette mixture in to cover the bottom
• Pour some of the tomato sauce next and grate some of the Wensleydale over; cover with a layer of pasta.
• Repeat again and finish with the pasta. Cover this with blobs of ricotta and Wensleydale, ensuring the cheese seals the pasta at the sides of the dish. At this point I like to grate nutmeg over the top as well, (Rather tasty!)
• Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has browned on top and the pasta is tender.

Other recipes use either Cheddar cheese or Parmesan rather than Wensleydale. I'm trying to teach myself to like cheese, so am easing myself in with a bit of the crumbly stuff.

Even tastes good reheated the next day!

First bite of the month

My first blog post, my first tomato.


I'm rather excited as I've never managed to grow tomatoes before. This year I have several different plants, all bearing fruit, but only one (Heritage variety) has actually turned red! They've been grown outside in my small back yard and have managed to avoid blight; torrential rains and marauding blackbirds.
What a lovely way to start September; a week off with the sun shining and my own home grown tomato. What did it taste like? I was quite surprised that it would taste so different to a shop bought one. Very fresh and juicy with that wonderful warm summery smell that tomato plants give off.

I just need the others to change colour now. Hurry up and grow little tomatoes!

One more almost ready