Food | Things we make

Browsing All Posts filed under »Food«

Peanut Wednesday

April 13, 2011

Today I feel the need for peanuts, and a peanut butter and jam sandwich just isn’t going to cut it. A while ago I made this very moreish Peanut Sauce within minutes of seeing it on David Lebovitz blog. The darkly roasted peanuts ground up with hot tea have an amazing aroma. It’s even better once you […]

Crazy Frosting

April 3, 2011

I’m a bit of a sucker for trying something that sounds like it can’t possibly work. This ‘frosting’ fell into that category as it starts with a cup of milk and 5 tablespoons of flour…being cooked up in a pan. Now, I’ll grant you, that doesn’t feel like the start of one of the dreamiest toppings. […]

Layer Bread

March 28, 2011

I baked these layered rolls, based on a recipe from Richard Bertinet’s ‘Dough’ this morning. We had them for lunch, fresh from the oven, with mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes, pesto and rocket. They are very easy to make as there is no shaping, just some random cutting and stacking. I made two batches of dough to […]

Kale Crisps

March 25, 2011

Surely not. It can’t be true that I never got around to writing about kale crisps. We’d better fix that. Right here, right now. Kale is the only edible thing valiantly flourishing away in the garden at the moment. I’m a bit of a fan of the stuff. Have you noticed? Ever since enjoying several […]

My Polenta Bread

March 5, 2011

This loaf gives you a light, even textured, superbly flavoured bread with a 'not too crusty' crust that's good for toast or sandwiches and lasts for several days.

Ed’s Birthday Cake

February 17, 2011

If I ever ask Ed what cake he wants for his birthday, the answer is a victoria sponge, with buttercream in the middle and icing, sprinkles and a cherry on top. Quite specific really. This year though I had an ulterior motive as I wanted to enter a cake into the #nigellaforever challenge. With a […]

“Improve me”

February 3, 2011

This is something that has been on my ‘to blog’ list for a while: Ice Cream Muffins. When I read that you can make muffins by just using Flour and Ice Cream I was intrigued. When you think about it, a good quality dairy ice cream has eggs, sugar and vanilla in it, as well as cream. Add […]

Khrushchev Dough

January 28, 2011

January’s Fresh From The Oven Challenge is Khrushchev Dough. Apparently this butter rich dough was the favourite bread recipe of the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev. It was left up to us to decide how to shape and fill the bread. I rolled and stuffed some like Serbian Kiflice, tiny stuffed cheese rolls. I made one third with […]

Ed’s Sausage Rolls

January 23, 2011

A food post? By me? Surely some mistake? It’s all true, I did indeed make the sausage rolls in the pictures. They were the product of a happy accident that grew out of the usual christmas fridge surplus, coupled with me having time on my hands. Add to that my closet weakness for savoury […]

Katie’s Cupcake Tower

January 17, 2011

On 1st December 2010 my very special friend, Katie was 40 years old. A magical masquerade ball was planned at Shottle Hall. Unfortunately due to the massive amount of snow we had in early December the party was postponed. Boo! Not to worry though as it was rescheduled to January and even more people could […]

Chocolate Orange Cake

January 8, 2011

I make this cake quite a lot. It serves many purposes: Using clementines makes it feel a little bit festive George always asks for chocolate cake, but I find chocolate sponges a bit ‘meh’ It lasts for days in a tin It is flourless There is no butter in it The flavour is reminiscent of […]

Happy New Year

January 1, 2011

We hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. Thank you for taking the time to read our posts this year. A special thank you to all of our subscribers for sticking with us. We hope you are occasionally inspired to make stuff too. Let us know when you do. We have […]

Bubble and Squeak

December 27, 2010

We hope you all had a good Christmas and are relaxing in this strange lull before New Year. Bubble and Squeak isn’t pretty, but it’s got to be done. It’s something that I avoided as a kid, but I now see as an essential part of Boxing Day and a great way to empty the […]

Brandy Butter

December 23, 2010

Do you think of Brandy Butter as a bit odd? Or does it take you back to childhood Christmases and nicking spoonfuls out of the fridge? I’m in the latter category. In fact I only ever remember surreptitiously eating spoonfuls of it when no one was looking as I have never been a fan of […]

Roast Sprout Tree

December 16, 2010

I bought a ‘sprout tree’ at the supermarket. I guess they are so ‘in season’ that they are a bargain at the moment. It was really fresh and a beautiful thing to look at with its perfect spirals of firm green sprouts. It seemed a shame to chop them all off and cook them. I’d […]

Happy Birthday, Boy

December 11, 2010

Today is the boy’s 9th birthday. George requested a chocolate cake. His wish is my command. I can’t believe where the last 9 years have gone. I made Nigella’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake and it looks lovely. We can’t try it yet though as we are off to The Lego Discovery Centre. We tasted a […]

Market Kitchen

December 8, 2010

I had a fabulous day at Optomen Studios, filming for Derbyshire Week at Market Kitchen. The show aired on Thursday 9th December at 7pm on the Good Food Channel. Leslie Jordan was a guest, he is perhaps most well known for his “Beverley’ character in Will & Grace. He the sweetest, funniest person you could […]

Jambalaya

December 7, 2010

When I don’t feel like standing at the hob stirring a risotto and I’m craving something warming and spicy, we have jambalaya. This is my take on the creole dish which has been tempered down to be child friendly. It is also made with things we very often have in the fridge or freezer and […]

Kenwood vs KitchenAid

December 2, 2010

Here I sit, snowed in for another day. For the last month Amazon has sent me daily special offers for ‘Stand Mixers’. I find this surprising as not only did I buy my stand mixer several weeks ago, but I bought it via Amazon. I am not going to buy another. They are not cheap […]