Where I’ve Been…

Previously, I was ill. This time my absence is much more exciting: I was spending two gorgeous sunny weeks on the American East Coast! And it all started with four days in the blistering 100’F heat of Washington DC, where we stayed in the fabulous Eastern Market area. Of course, the farmers market was my first stop once we arrived and I adored seeing the huge range of exciting food and colourful fresh produce which was so different from the markets of England or France. Hope you enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for more holiday posts to come :)

Brunch with Alice Hart, at La Fromagerie

The last week or so I have been ill, hence the absence. After not eating for four days, I was plunged back in at the deep end once recovered with an early Saturday morning wake up call. The parents and I were headed into London to the infamous La Fromagerie restaurant/cheese-shop/grocers/cafe (!) to  watch a cookery demonstration by Alice Hart. A great cookery writer, her bio from the La Fromagerie is so impressive:
The youngest ever food editor at Waitrose Food Illustrated, a chef, and a food stylist. Her popup restaurant Shoreditch in February sold out in less than a day. Later this year she plans to launch a Vietnamese restaurant. And whenever she has the time, she is cooking and travelling in her pride and joy: Myrtle the Hurtle, a bay window, 1972 VW camper van, fully decked-out with kitchen.

Here making aioli from scratch in a pestle and mortar with Patricia Michelson, owner of La Fromagerie, Alice Hart provided the audience of 20or so with great tips and entertaining talk as she coked up delicious food. Firstly, we enjoyed blackberry granola muffins – something I look forward to making and sharing with you fully later this year. They were gorgeous and the use of wholemeal flour, hazelnuts and granola made them feel positively healthy.  Next on the menu were courgette flowers stuffed with fresh goat cheese alongside a summer squash agrodolce. Whilst I am normally into my sweet food, being ill had left me craving savoury and the food here was exciting and new to me – I enjoyed it all! The squash agrodulce was like a summer salad of roasted squash and courgette with a fresh dressing, perfect under the soft richness of the goat-cheese flowers. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures so these are the few from my Dad’s phone. Alice made an interesting point that people often hear of battered and fried courgette flowers and think this is the only way to eat them. Whilst yummy, that is such a faff and the flowers are very versatile – can be eaten raw, shredded in salads or baked. Next up was beetroot cured salmon with a fennel salad and the aformentioned aioli. I haven’t tried much fish before but the beetroot cure made this totally beautiful and the whole audience seemed to love it. The aioli was a wonderful yellow and tasted just as vibrant, it was also new to see it being done in a pestle and mortar with no whisk to be seen. Also saving on washing up because the garlic and salt can be crushed in here first before you go on to create the emulsion. The fish was served with a glass of prosecco with a stunning purple borage flower which tastes of cucumber! (Don’t worry, my prosecco was passed along!) We finished with mocha affogatos (chocolate ice cream with hot coffee poured on top) which were an indulgent end. Overall, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed trying fresh new food and great produce. Alice Hart is lovely and I have noticed many more delicious recipes to try from her new book which I highly recommend. In particular I am looking forward to trying salted caramel mousse cups with scooping biscuits - sounds totally divine.
PS head to the lovely Culinary Travels blog here which has a full review of Alice Hart's book here.

Crunchies

Gift: The WI Book of Biscuits

Recipes: Crunchies

Verdict? Addictive! This gift was a big surprise and it is precious as well – it was my Granny’s for many years and I feel guilty for receiving such a delicious book of hers! Dotted through the book were bright pink post-it notes from my Granny, telling me which cookies she had tried, which worked, what amendments to make etc. I am excited to get through her list of recommendations and trying some of the more unusual biscuits from this book – Curly Peter anyone? Napoleon Hat? In the mean time, I’m sure these will be made again!Arguably all cookies are simple – but these really are. After simply melting the golden syrup and butter, all the dry ingredients are just poured in. At first the ratio of ingredients seems far too dry, but a good old mix and everything is good. Another positive on this recipe? It makes a lot a cookies! Although the dough is pretty good so this number does go down a little ;)   Straight out of the oven these are delightfully soft and chewy. The next day they will be crunchier round the edges but still have a soft and sweet middle. Tempted enough? Here’s the recipe…

Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked Potatoes

For my birthday, I received some fabulous foodie gifts. So much so, I thought I would make a mini-series as I revealed each one and made something using each one. So, today is the day I start!

Gift: Sophie Dahl’s book “Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights”

Recipe: Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked PotatoesNow strictly speaking, these recipes aren’t in the book. Which is a travesty because they were in the TV series that accompanied the book and are both fabulous dishes! The book, like you might expect from a former model, is beautifully laid out, full of pretty pictures and glamorous stories but most importantly to me – good food! Like this deep, rich, hearty-yet-summery, velvety soup. My sister and I have been meaning to make this soup for ages and today regretted waiting so long as it filled the house with the best smell of slowly roasting tomatoes. Sophie Dahl’s recipe is super easy because it cuts down on any fussy chopping, peeling, boiling etc. Everything is just halved and put in a roasting tin, left to cook in the oven and release all their gorgeous juices, then whizzed up in a blender and enjoyed. That was the basic plan, but this leaves a very thick soup – more like a tomato puree or sauce for pasta. After years of extremely smooth Heinz tomato soup, I do look for a smoother soup so after a quick boil and slosh of cream the soup was perfect. And all made by my sister who originally found the recipe. So on to the side dish, made by me…Twice Baked Potatoes. Which essentially means you bake potatoes, cut them in half, scoop out all potatoey goodness and then mix with cheese, chives, and a dollop of yoghurt, replace in the potato and bake for a tiny bit more to crisp up the top. Gorgeous and quite filling by themselves, let alone with a big bowl of soup! These are something I would like to repeat because they make a refreshing change to ordinary jackets and could make good use of odds and ends from the fridge. Individually – delicious. Together, curled up in front of the Doctor Who finale as it rains in the middle of June – perfect. Find the recipe and video of Sophie Dahl making both recipes here, and I do also recommend the charming book! More recipes from that and other birthday gifts to come soon :) 

Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia

Recently, my message was opinions can change. Today, my message is much more basic but just as important: Always Read The Recipe Thoroughly.Unlike when I first made cinnamon rolls and thought the dough was so lovely and easy to work with. Turned out I’d forgotten the egg. Or when my friend E made gingerbread men and simply forgot to add the flour. And definitely not like today, when I didn’t read to add most of the water to my dough and simply poured it all in nicely, before adding an extra two tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth. This not-so-clever mistake then led to fifteen minutes of kneading and liberal additions of flour every now and then. Gradually, slowly, my sticky determined-to-get-everywhere dough morphed into a smooth, calm and elastic dough ball. Then it was ready to get to a warm place, rise, be taken out, stretched out onto a tray, doused liberally in olive oil and salt and set back to its warm place. After a sprinkle of chopped rosemary and twenty minutes in the oven, everything was ready. The family settled down to watch Great British Menu, everybody with a generous square of bread on their plate. Crunchy on top, soft and chewy within. Scented and flavoured with olive oil, salt and rosemary – simple but classic. I think this may be one of my favourite things I have made, simply because I couldn’t stop eating it! Find the recipe here, (the dough recipe is linked to on the page as Classic White Loaf) and my only adaption of course was to leave out the red onions. Enjoy!

BBBB: A Blogger’s Birthday Brunch On a Boat

Scarily eagle-eyed readers may have noticed my sidebar changing from “I am a 14 year old baker…” to “I am a 15 year old baker…” ! This past week I celebrated my birthday in a rather wonderful way… On the last day of our weeks’ family holiday in Suffolk, on my birthday, we got up early (I say early, I mean 9…) and strolled down the main street to Orford Quay. Here we were greeted with the pretty boat Lady Florence, below.This was to be our transport for the morning. The planned route along the river and up to the next town Aldeburgh was explained to us and off we set! My family set up camp at the back of the boat where we enjoyed fresh orange juice in the sunshine and opened presents (of which more another time…) before the time came to head into the saloon for a rather delicious birthday brunch. Why such a “birthday” brunch? Because…I had a candle in my breakfast! It was unexpected but definitely appreciated. And the brunch itself totally delicious and undeniably filling. But after we finished this mammoth breakfast, there was more time out on deck, enjoying the sunshine and the countryside view… …followed by yet more good food – apple pie and chocolate muffins!  We had a lovely morning, sailing and eating and laughing. The boat took us all around the local area, and it was interesting to see places we had previously only noticed from a car from the river perspective. And the sunshine certainly wasn’t a hindrance! All in all, a lovely birthday treat and one I would definitely recommend. Find out more here at the website!