Patty Pan Party

We are now entering the time of the year when the allotment is being really productive. For a few years now, we have had a summer squash plant. The resulting vegetable is eaten willingly by M who won't stomach courgette - even if they are very similar. Now that the summer squash, but I prefer the name patty pan, are in full production mode I am resurrecting some of the recipes that I used last year as well as discovering a few new ones. Unsurprisingly I am using courgette recipes.  First a little help from Nigella, with her Happiness Soup or try some fritters. (also found in her book Forever Summer). More recently, I had been waiting impatiently try Thomasina Miers's summer tacos with courgette and corn, found here in The Observer Food Monthly (but also in her book Mexican Food Made Simple). Sadly the corn is not ready so I had to cheat and use frozen - but still - deeeeelicious!

Jungleberry Jam

In the midst of various berries and currants needing picking, I save time by making a mixed fruit jam.  Some people call it tutti frutti, some mixed berry.  I found the name "Jumbleberry" appealed to me and so I always made Jumbleberry jam when I had a small amount of red gooseberries from our solitary bush, threw in some blackcurrants, the last handful of red currants that I would pick and the throw in some of our prolific raspberries for good measure.  M misheard me - so "Jungleberry Jam" was born!

Ingredients:
2kg of mixed currants and berries (redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries and red gooseberries)
2kg granulated sugar (its way cheaper than jam or preserving sugar if you are not fussy about clarity or setting)
optional: bottle/packet of pectin

1. Warm fruit in large preserving pan and slowly heat, letting the berries burst and juices run.
2. Meanwhile warm sugar in a low oven (& don't forget to warm those dishwasher clean jam jars)
3. Add sugar and stir to ensure even melting of all the sugar.
4. Bring to the boil, keep stirring and bring to setting point (105 C / 220F or passes the wrinkle test).
5. If in doubt stir in the pectin (I used Certo) - if your fruit was acidic enough you may not need it - in my house this jam needs to stay on the toast otherwise I end up treading in jam all the time because SOMEBODY considers plate use optional at times.

Early to rise

Unusually active this morning - up, made up new muffin recipe, baked it, yoga done, coffee brewed & breakfasted.

Jam done

http://instagr.am/p/N1nLygRjhc/
Another 11 pots of jam for the storecupboard.

Everything comes to those who wait

It seemed to take forever for the raspberries to ripen this year (bit like my blog posts).  Now we are picking enough to make plenty of jam.  Which is what am going off to do right now.

Valentine Breakfast

This was more of a Sunday breakfast exercise.  Too much to do first thing on a workday.  Rustled these up for my beloved in anticipation of Valentines night steak and chocolate pudding.  Anyway, will be grateful to be where I am today rather than where I was a year ago.

The weekend

A bit of gardening.

A bit of experimental muffin baking

Rocky Road muffins

Rhubarb and Custard muffins

and a wee bit of sewing (via Podophile) which doesn't even merit a picture (but it does work).

"Bun" of the season

As it is a bank holiday in the UK there is no cup of the day today. Instead, I have had a little extra time in bed and have started the day by sharing a pot of coffee with M over a breakfast of hot cross buns. These were shop bought as previous years efforts have always ended up as hard and too dense. I had other things on my mind of a sewing nature so didn't want to spend lots of time baking.

The perfect baked goods for those who don't want to spend lots of time actually doing any baking are muffins. Which got me wondering about if there is such a thing as Hot Cross muffins. I twittered these very thoughts and when I checked back after my baking exercise I found some kind Austrlian lady had tweeted me a recipe of hers, but ricotta is getting a bit fancy for me. A recipe found in the Daily Mail online (not a natural choice for this Guardian reader) had possibilities and after a major tinkering (okay I nicked the idea for marzipan crosses and made the rest up), I came up with 12 of these beauties:

Matchy matchy

Last Sunday, I wandered down to the pottery cafe just around the corner from me. I spent a nice peaceful hour sponge stencilling some plates. The design was taken from some Bridgewater spongeware mugs which I recently inherited. As the mugs also had matching bowls and a jug I thought a couple of almost coordinating plates would be a nice thing to have. Then I have a nice breakfast set or if soup is on the menu a lunch set. The plate in the photo above is nicely accessorised with some blueberry pancakes, or rather it was (and that solo one didn't last long either)

Blueberry Pancakes (makes 6-8)
125ml rice milk
1 egg
100g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp caster sugar
olive oil
handful of blueberries

Preheat a non-stick pan on the hob. Loosely mix all ingredients except for the blueberries & oil in a jug. Use whisk attachment of blender until mixture is combined and bubbly. Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan. Add 3 small ladefuls of batter to the pan. Sprinkle over blueberries and dribble a little more batter over the blueberries to just cover. Wait for the batter to bubble and dry a little. Flip over pancakes and cook for a further minute or so. Repeat with remaining batter. Dot with a little butter* and eat whilst drinking some decent coffee.

* maple syrup wouldn't go amiss either.

Valentines Day

Erm, no I am not going to get slushy on you. To me, Valentines day is like most commercialised holidays.....a reason for me to play with my food (and that of my poor unsuspecting husband who is banned from buying me flowers today)

Happy Valentines everybody and may it be filled with chocolate.

Todays cup and last night's pizza

Computer print out of some shape manipulation. The shape evolved from a drawing I did of a photograph found in the book "Thai Food" by David Thompson. This was done as part of my design studies for C&G part 1, when we started looking at shape and pattern. I used some of the work in my laptop case which I made as my final piece (accessory) for my part 1.

One other thing I want to note is last night's girls night in. I got together with the last 2 females in the known universe (G & X) who hadn't yet seen Mamma Mia. Pizza was purchased and X asked for tuna and jalapeno - not the most obvious combo. but one which works surprisingly well......

Cake of the Weekend

Carrot cake to be gobbled by me, M, role players and colleagues. Trying out recipe from this month's Delicious Magazine.

Rewards

I have spent the last 2 Saturdays doing sewing related trips or workshops without too much complaint from him indoors. So decided to sew this fabric box for him as a thank you - handily sized for the many CDs and microphone he carts to and from work (singing karaoke every Monday afternoon does count as work). I also rustled up a little home baking. I tried out this Pflaumenkuchen from my mixer cook book, I think I will try something lighter instead next time. (although M would be happier if it didn't contain fruit at all)