Bejewelled Biscuit!

I think preserving sugar might be my new favourite fun thing!!! I'm feeling diamond encrusted biscuits, cookies and cakes of all kinds coming on!!!

Again, a pinch from the Good Food website- http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/502630/sugardusted-wedding-cookies-

A perfect little munch alongside a strong black coffee.

Shallot Tarte Tatin

Sweet and tart, Gooey and crispy, Rich and creamy. What more could you ask for from a simple supper dish. Yum yum yum!

I melted about 25g butter, a tablespoon of demerara and a good slog of olive oil in a quiche dish (about 20cm) in the oven, about Gas 5. Then added enough shallots to cover the base of the dish and a few sprigs of thyme (one of the few hardy characters still surviving this harsh northern winter in my garden at the moment!). Then roasted slowly for 50mins, turning occasionally. Add as many chunks of goat cheese as you fancy (this is quite a fatty and rich dish), and plenty of black pepper. Then top with puff pastry ( about half a pack), and tuck down the sides. Turn the oven up to Gas 7 and bake for 25 mins until risen and golden brown. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a serving plate. Gorgeous with a light salad and green veg.

Treats for my Sweet

Gingerbread hearts for my fabulous Mr Hungry.

I used this recipe from the Good Food Website but used twice as much ginger and added some nutmeg and greatly reduced the cooking time- I cooked them for about 6 minutes.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/147612/spicy-tree-biscuits

Salad Lunch Platter

So, two friends coming for lunch, fab....

Not sure how to feed them both happily so have just made a BIG platter of all my favourite salads.... I thought this was a low risk strategy and that there'd be something for everyone- I hope this is true!

So, we have my Tuna &Cranberry Mix, Carrot and Sesame with White Wine Vinegar and Olive oil, Cold Salmon from last night, Hard Boiled Eggs (everybody eats eggs don't they?), Pickled Cucumber, Lettuce & Rocket with Toasted Flaked Almonds and a Jacket Potato each (I've never met anyone who won't eat a jacket potato!).

Lets see how this goes down....

Beginning the Gastric Adventure!

So, the Hungry Boy has been loving his baby rice for a few days and its time to progress to purees. I know there's a lot of trendy talk about baby led weaning and baby finger food but the Hungry Boy is starting a bit early and I think we'll wait to introduce finger foods. He's already proven to be like his parents by having a massive appetite, so I'm not worried about him not developing a healthy love of great foods in their proper form (no boy of mine will be turning his nose up at Broccoli or Cabbage! (She says optimistically!)), but just not quite yet.

Also, there's a surprising and special joy about little cubes of frozen purees, all stacked in neatly labelled bags in the freezer. Strange but true.

So far his firm favourite seems to be Pear and Parsnip for breakfast, but he has also had Carrot, Apple, Swede, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, all with great success.

An exciting start to a Big Foodie Adventure!

A Quick Salad Idea

Now, don't ask me how I came across this but this is one of my favourite salad combinations; Tuna and Dried Cranberries... I prefer it best with Balsamic Dressing (today I made a red wine and balsamic reduction), and Sunflower Seeds. A generous helping of Freshly Ground Pepper brings the flavours together beautifully. Yum... More filling than you might think.

Let's hear it for Sarah Nelson!

In January we had our first Hungry Family Holiday and decided to go to Grasmere.

We love the Lake District, the snow, the sun, the fells, the lakes, the ale and most of all the Gingerbread!!! Anyone who has had Grasmere Gingerbread willl appreciate that it's worth the journey alone.

The recipe is, of course, Sarah Nelson's closely guarded secret. I often mean to try to re create it but perhaps it's best left as a tasty mystery to be savoured on lakeland holidays.

Nigella and Gnocchi

Hmmm... two things I'm not too fond of. So imagine my surprise when it was Nigella who gave me the key to enjoying Gnocchi. I find gnocchi rather bland and stodgey and always a disappointment, but fried until crispy its another monster entirely. A foodie excuse to eat fast food, perhaps, not too far removed from potato waffles but in bitesize crispy nuggets.

For a Spicy Filling Lunch I started by frying discs of Chorizo, releasing all that porky paprika fat (yum!). Add a sliced red onion and as much gnocchi as you fancy. Fry until the onion is cooked and the gnocchi golden brown.

This is quite rich and oily so I just served this with a fresh crispy salad . Fast and satisfying.

The Only Way to Eat Sprouts.

I really love all cabbage and related vegetables, but I admit to not really liking sprouts until I was once served them this way. Flash fried in a lot of Butter and a really generous grind of Black Pepper. I forgot to take a picture of these once they were cooked because I was so eager to eat them! Oops!

Welcome Hungry Boy!

So, on 16th September the Hungry Boy was born and all my spare time spent thinking, planning and cooking interesting food is gone. The tone of my blog entries is much more likely to be focussed on quick lunches. All useful stuff though!