An Egg a Day

Seville orange mousse & Almond thins

2012-01-24T13:03:00.001Z

Every year I welcome the arrival of the knobbly thick skinned Seville oranges into the greengrocers. Some years I get around to making marmalade and some years frankly life feels just a bit too busy. But I still gain a small pleasure from just seeing them, for me they are a true mark of the time of year, a clear signal that January will soon be February as we inch slowly forward towards spring.

I have often thought it a shame that Seville’s were reserved almost exclusively for marmalade. Very bitter and inedible raw they do need to be cooked and sweetened considerably to make them palatable. This mousse was a true experiment, I knew I wanted to harness their unique taste, as I felt it could offer something different and more complex than a standard orange. In the end I added the freshly grated zest of two clementines to the mousse, they added a floral citrus note that the Seville's lacked. The result was a creamy, sharp and interesting flavoured pud that was a success even with the kids.

The almond thins are a real doddle to make as you bake them flat in a large tray then cut them up after cooking. No faffing around with rolling and cutters. What could be easier?

for the mousse:

2 Seville oranges, each cut into six wedges

150g caster sugar

2 eggs

300ml double cream

3 leaves gelatine

for the almond thins:

250g butter, softened

200g golden caster sugar

1 egg

1tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

200g flaked almonds

Start the mousse by adding the orange wedges to a pan along with 500ml cold water. Bring to the boil and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, prodding with a wooden spoon from time to time to release the juice from the flesh and the oils from the skin. Strain into a measuring jug, it should yield approximately 150 ml of orange juice, top up with a little cold water if it is slightly under. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Lay the sheets of gelatine to a shallow bowl of cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Remove the sheets, squeezing out the excess water before stirring through the orange juice, mixing until they dissolve.

Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and stir through the sugar. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, taking care the bowl does not come into contact with the water. Using an electric whisk beat together the egg and sugar until it thickens and turns a pale yellow. Turn off the whisk and lift it a little out of the bowl - if you trail it slightly above the mixture it should leave a thin ribbon in its wake. You can use a balloon whisk rather than an electric one but it will take a fair bit of whisking to get to this ‘ribbon stage’. Pour in the double cream, orange juice and clementine zest continue to whisk for a few moments until it is well combined. Transfer to a large serving bowl, or individual glasses if you fancy, and leave to set in the fridge. This will take 2-3 hours in a large bowl, or an hour or so in small glasses.

To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 170°C. Beat the softened butter together with the sugar in a food mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, flour, vanilla extract and beat again until a smooth paste is formed.

Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment and scoop half the mixture onto the centre of each sheet. Use a spatula and spread the mix outwards in a thin layer until it completely covers the sheet. Sprinkle over the almonds evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes until they are a pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and using a sharp knife cut into squares. Leave to cool in the tin. Stored in an airtight tin, layered with greaseproof paper, they will keep for several days.

Date, orange & pistachio bread & butter pudding

2011-12-08T11:11:00.000Z

After a ridiculously mild autumn, winter seems to have hit with a sudden vengeance and as usual the weather is having a huge affect on what I want to eat. Proper puddings seem to be the order of the day, no longer satisfied with a yogurt or piece of fruit, there seems to be a demand by my body for something richer and more substantial. Today’s bitterly chilly wind and a lingering head cold meant I wanted to go nowhere further than a quick dash to school and back. So pudding had to be constructed from what we already had. For me one of the most pleasurable things about cooking are a peek in the fridge, a rummage through the cupboards followed by a good hard think about the possibilities. Borne, I guess, from sense of frugality and thrift, there is simply nothing nicer than creating something delicious from nothing. No visits to the shop, no hunting for speciality ingredients, but something created from leftovers and bits and bobs. This bread and butter pudding was perhaps one of my best ever ‘bits & bobs’ dishes. I had none of the more usual raisins or currants but I did have some dried dates that were right up against there best before date. I had an orange, half a pot of cream, and of course I had eggs. And a rummage in the booze cupboard yielded a joyful but near empty bottle of Cointreau left over from a cocktail party many moons ago. Only two tablespoons, but enough to lift it from the gorgeous to the completely sublime. Oh yes, I was really very pleased with this…...

100g dried dates, roughly chopped

1 large orange, zest & juice

250ml milk

150ml double cream

3 eggs

2 tbsp orange liqueur, such as Cointreau (optional)

9 slices good quality white bread, crusts trimmed - slightly stale is best (weighing about 250g after crusts removed)

30-40g butter, plus a little extra for greasing the dish

100g shell on pistachios, yielding about 50g nuts, roughly chopped

2-3tbsp demerara sugar

In a small saucepan, simmer the dates in the orange juice for a couple of minutes then turn off and leave to infuse for a few minutes whilst you make the custard.

Mix together the orange zest with the milk, cream, eggs and liqueur if you are using it. Stir through the dates and orange juice.

Generously butter the bread, cut into wedges or triangles depending on the shape of your loaf and arrange half of it in a lightly greased baking dish. I used thin slices from a large flat, round ‘boule’ type bread. It had plenty of lovely air holes which made wonderful pockets for the custard to puddle in. Pour over half the custard, then top with the remaining bread, followed by the rest of the custard. Leave to soak together for around 30 minutes before cooking.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

When you are ready to cook it, sprinkle the pistachios and demerara sugar evenly over the surface. Bake for around 30-35 mins until the custard has just set, but still has a slight wobble to it, and the surface is crisp and golden.

Serve warm from the oven. I found it rich enough to eat on its own but you may want to offer a little extra cream alongside.

Boden cake frenzy

2011-11-11T11:30:00.000Z

Not a recipe post this one, but a quick few photos of some gorgeous cakes I made on a shoot yesterday for the Boden Spring/Summer 2012 catalogue. My excuse for showing them here is simply that they contained a lot of eggs, about 5 dozen to be precise. Not all from my birds I might add!

I shall be writing a full blog post for the Boden website in a day or two so won't give away all my pictures just yet, but here are a few just to tempt you.

An easy, almost instant, supper: Baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream

2011-11-01T18:29:00.047Z

Gosh, what a long day in the kitchen I've had. Today signalled the first photography shoot for my new book Soup! and as such I have cooked and styled 11 different soup recipes today, with the prospect of another 10 to do on day 2 tomorrow. To say I'm a bit tired would be an understatement......

No matter how tired you might be, the eternal question raises its daily head: what's for supper? With numerous bags of soup on the work top labelled and ready for the freezer I guess one of them would be the obvious choice. But to be honest I'm not sure I can face it, my diet so far today being of the purely liquid variety as I tasted and seasoned my way through each of the pans in turn.

What I do feel like is liquid in another form, a small oloroso sherry perhaps, chilled and dry from the fridge, to provide me with a satisfyingly grown up full stop to the day. The sherry leads me straight to this simple recipe, a dish of baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream, an easy and quick supper that feels both comforting and luxurious. Just what you need on a chilly autumn evening.

And now I'm off to relax......

Baked eggs with wild mushrooms & cream

Serves 2 for a light supper

2 generous handfuls of interesting mushrooms - a mixture of wild and cultivated, torn into bite sized pieces

30g unsalted butter

a couple of sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

2 tbsp dry sherry - I like dry Oloroso for its rich nutty flavour

200ml double cream

2 eggs

A few sprigs of flat leaf parsley

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a low heat and add the mushrooms and thyme. Sweat very gently for around 10 minutes until the mushrooms are soft, tender and aromatic.

Add the garlic and fry for a further minute or two before pouring in the sherry. Increase the heat and let it evaporate a little. Pour in the cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for a minute or two to allow the sauce to thicken then divide between two small baking dishes.

Using a spoon make a well in the centre of each dish and crack an egg into each. Season the top of the egg with a touch more salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the white has set and the yolk is cooked to your liking.

Serve straight out of the oven, whilst it is still bubbling, with plenty of bread to dip in.

A small glass of sherry on the side would be a fitting accompaniment, that’s what I did!

First photography day for The Joy of Eggs

2011-10-20T11:08:00.002+01:00

A busy, busy week, with some lovely Fenland celery recipes, written & styled, and plenty of furious writing for my Soup! book, the deadline for which is looming rather large in my mind.

But today is all about planning and preparation for a truly exciting day tomorrow; the first proper day of photography for The Joy of Eggs book. This is the day when all my hard work gets translated into the pictures that will, literally, bring the book alive. I can see these pictures clearly in my mind, having been thinking about them for weeks now, and am really looking forward to bringing my vision to life.

The shoot is all about autumn and the onset of comfort eating, which to my mind means rich creamy sauces, deep earthy flavours and plenty of edible treats to bring us joy as the nights quickly lengthen into winter. It is also about those wonderful childhood rituals - autumn always was my favourite season of the year. Going back to school, the thrill of a brand new pencil case, crunching through piles of crisp burnt orange leaves, carving pumpkins into friendly monsters, rolling apples in molten toffee, being scared witless by screaming fireworks, the smell of woodsmoke in the air.....

I have many recipes to cook and style, including creamy wild mushrooms with baked eggs, pear & ginger cheesecake, cauliflower bhaji's, sage tagliatelle, a subtly spiced moussaka and some toasted coconut marshmallows. And we shall be eating like kings all weekend.

What does autumn mean to you?

Bacon, parsnip & cheese brunch muffins

2011-10-13T12:07:00.001+01:00

Here's a recipe for savoury brunch muffins I made last weekend - I suddenly realised the week had been whistling by, I can't believe its Thursday already. As some of you may be dreaming up your weekend breakfast already it seems like an opportune moment to share this.

Savoury muffins are really easy to knock up and the tasty permutations are endless. These contain bacon and a grated parsnip. I had one lurking in the fridge and thought if you can have a carrot cake, then surely you can have a parsnip muffin. Celery, gently softened in a little butter or oil, would be good too, as would red onion or grated courgette. Add a few chopped herbs, a bit of bacon, chorizo or shredded ham, and some sort of crumbled hard cheese - experiment to your hearts content, just try to keep roughly the same flour to egg and yogurt ratios.

Bacon, parsnip & cheese brunch muffins

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut in 1cm strips

1 fat parsnip, peeled & coarsely grated

150g plain flour

100g wholemeal plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp smoked paprika

130g cheese, crumbled or grated (e.g. cheddar, feta, manchaego)

250g Greek (or other wholemilk) yogurt

2 eggs

4 tbsp olive oil

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

12 hole muffin tin, lined with cases

Preheat oven to 180°C

Fry the bacon for a few minutes until crisp but still succulent. Stir through the parsnip, turn off the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together both flours, the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and the smoked paprika. Stir though the bacon and parsnip, and about 100g of the cheese, ensuring it is well mixed.

In a small bowl beat together the yogurt, eggs, olive oil and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and fold through to roughly combine. Don’t worry about a few lumps and bumps, or even little bits of unmixed flour, muffins, savoury and sweet, benefit greatly from a light touch.

Spoon into the muffin cases, sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and bake for about 20 minutes until deeply golden and springy to the touch.

These are best ate whilst fresh and warm, possibly smeared with a little butter. As a bonus they also freeze really well so you could always make a double batch and freeze half for a later date. To serve, defrost then warm slightly in the oven to bring them back to life.

Sage tagliatelle with roast pumpkin & stilton

2011-10-06T18:24:00.039+01:00

This began life, like the majority of my cooking, as a dish imagined in my mind as I pondered my ingredients, the weather, my mood and the occasion…..In this case the evolution of a recipe took place over many months as I watched my pumpkins grow and ripen over the summer. I was planning to make tortellini, little stuffed pasta shapes with a filling of stilton and roasted pumpkin. Indeed that’s what I started making, but as I was began working my pasta dough it stuck me as how dreadfully wasteful it was to cut, roll and shape tortellini. I glanced at the chickens and felt bad about wasting their precious eggs and realised it is simply not right in this day and age to throw out a third of my dough as I trimmed the pasta shapes. So I stopped and had a rethink. This, then, is the deconstructed version and utterly delicious it was too, filling and deeply savoury.

Whilst I love dried pasta and use it all the time, but the beauty of making your own is the way you can embellish it with herbs, spices and flavourings. I can honestly say it is not something I do very often but it does make a great rainy Saturday afternoon activity that the kids love to get involved in.

Serves 4, generously

for the pasta:

400g ‘OO’ pasta flour

4 large eggs

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Sage leaves - a loose handful (about 5g of leaves, no stalks), finely chopped

for the pumpkin:

1 kg pumpkin (or squash) chopped into 1-2cm cubes

1 large red onion, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

Sage leaves - a loose handful (about 5g of leaves, no stalks), roughly chopped

6 cloves garlic, whole & unpeeled

350g Stilton, crumbled

to finish:

60g unsalted butter

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Pasta dough can be made either by hand, in a food processor or the way I tend to do it; in a food mixer with a dough hook. By hand, add the flour to a large bowl, break in the eggs and add the remaining ingredients. Mix together with a wooden spoon until you have a rough dough, then tip onto the work surface and knead for a few minutes until it is smooth and elastic.

If using a processor simply add all the ingredients to a bowl and pulse until you have a rough dough, then tip onto the worktop and knead. In a food mixer, you add all the ingredients and let the dough hook do the mixing and kneading for you. Whichever way you make it it is important to let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you roll it as this allows it to relax and become more workable. It will keep happily, well wrapped, in the fridge for a couple of days if you want to make it in advance.

The easiest way to roll your pasta is to use a pasta machine. Cut the dough into quarters and feed each piece through the rollers, reducing the setting on the machine to roll it thinner and thinner. Once you have a thin sheet, cover it loosely with cling film and continue with the other pieces. You can also shape your dough into sheets with a rolling pin and a bit of elbow grease. Cut the sheets into tagliatelle, either rustically by hand, or as I did by using ribbon cutter on my machine. Hang the ribbons over a coat hook and leave to dry a little while you cook the pumpkin.

In a large roasting tin toss the the pumpkin (or squash) and red onion in the olive oil and season generously with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt. Stir through the sage, tuck in the cloves of garlic and roast at 180°C for around 25 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and caramelizing at the edges.

Turn off the oven, fish out the garlic cloves and set aside. Sprinkle the crumbled stilton over the roast vegetables and return to the oven so the cheese gently melts whilst you
cook the pasta and and make the butter sauce.

Set a large pan of salted water to boil for the cooking the pasta. Once it is vigorously boiling lower in the tagliatelle and cook until al dente - around 3-4 minutes. Drain and return the pan.

To make the sauce, add the butter to a small heavy based frying pan and melt. Allow it to bubble over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until it has turned a nutty golden brown, taking care it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat. Peel the roast garlic and squidge to a puree with the flat of a knife and mix into the butter. Pour over the pasta and toss until it is coated all over.

Serve the pasta in wide bowls topped with the squash and melted stilton and stir though as you eat.

Rabbit & prune pâté - supperclub prep begins!

2011-09-19T15:59:00.013+01:00

First published in December - this recipe has a special place in my heart, it was my first true recipe of the Egg a Day blog, using one of the very first eggs laid by my girls. And it was such a success I have decided to serve it at the 2nd Egg Supper this Sat.

I have my rabbits, I have my lardons and a good pâté needs a few days maturing to eat it at its best. So thats tomorrows culinary job. In the meantime, here is the recipe again - rabbits are plump and good at this time of year and this is a great way of serving them, particularly if you guests are a little bunnie phobic.

Rabbit & prune pâté
makes 1 loaf tin

1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
50g unsalted butter
1 fresh rabbit, skinned
250g chicken livers
100g fatty pancetta, smoked if possible
1 tbsp olive oil
100ml port
12 prunes, roughly chopped
1 egg
2 bayleaves, finely sliced
1/2 tsp ground mace
Freshly ground black pepper & sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180℃/Gas 4.

Prepare the rabbit by using a small sharp knife to remove as much of the flesh from the body and legs as possible. Set the meat aside. You can roast the bones with carrot, onion, celery and herbs to make a delicious base for a stock or gravy.

In a generous frying pan melt the butter over a low heat, add the onions and garlic and sweat until soft an translucent. The longer and more gently you cook the onions and garlic, the sweeter they become, so don't rush this step - you are not looking to colour the onions at all. Using a slotted spoon (leaving behind as much of the butter as possible), transfer the cooked onions and garlic to a food processor.

Add the olive oil to the pan - this will help stop the butter burning when you fry the meat. Turn up the heat and fry the rabbit meat, chicken livers and pancetta in batches until golden brown. Don't overcrowd the pan or the meat will sweat rather than fry and you will lose a valuable flavour opportunity. Transfer each batch of meat to the processor bowl as it is done.

Add the port to the frying pan and deglaze, taking the time to scrape the sticky caremelised bits of the bottom. Pour the juices into the processor, along with the prune, egg, bayleaves and mace and blitz to a coarse puree. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. As pâté is served cold I find you need to be quite generous with the salt despite the salty pancetta - cold things need much more vigorous seasoning than hot things, just in the same way as custard for ice cream needs to be super-sweet compared to custard for pouring.

Pour the pâté mix into a well greased loaf tin. Wrap in a double layer of greaseproof paper, and finish with a tight covering of foil. Lower into a deep roasting dish and pour in enough boiling water so it comes half way up the tin. Cook in the oven for 1 1/4 hours, after which time the pâté should be staring to come away from the edges of the tin a little. Remove from the oven and weigh down the top to press the pâté down as it cools. I find a couple of well balance tins of baked beans do this job adequately, if a little precariously!

Once the pâté has cooled run a knife around the edge of the tin and invert onto a board. A sharp tap to the base of the tin should release the pâté. Chill until required - the flavour will improve after a few days maturing in the fridge. Pâté also freezers really well. I cut my block into 4, put one in fridge and the other 3, well wrapped in greaseproof, went into the freezer for delicious savoury treat at a later date.

Apples, pears & plums - a story of the amazing heritage varieties in my local greengrocer!!

2011-09-15T14:38:00.005+01:00

What a lovely, & unexpectedly exciting, morning I have had, shopping in a small town called Keynsham. Halfway between Bath & Bristol, and a 10 minute drive from my house, its not the closest place to spend my money, but I do love the old fashioned high street stuffed with charity shops. I often go there looking for props for my food photography work.

But one of the main reasons I visit is to go to Buss's, a greengrocers that looks like it has been there for ever. The staff wear those knee length overcoats of the type seen in post-war ironmongers. Think Arkwright in Open All Hours. I love it.

So todays visit was all about the plums, remembering from this time last year that they stock several interesting varieties that you definitely cannot buy at the supermarket. For supper club next weekend I am planning a plum, amaretto & almond crumble and I wanted to get a few different types to test out the recipe this weekend. Of the 9 varieties they had, some were sadly a day or so over ripe. Could it be that the people of Keynsham don't know whats good for them? I hope not, Buss's truly is a great community asset. I came away with a few Marjorie and a few Guinevere to see which make the nicest crumble.

Perhaps even more exciting than the plums was the whole shelving unit dedicated to heritage apples and pears grown at Brogdale Farm in Kent. Brogdale holds the National Fruit Collection and has over 4000 varieties, including apple types that Henry VIII would have enjoyed. "National Collections" are held for all genera of plants in different locations up and down the country. They are owned and supported by DEFRA principally as a genetic resource for future research.

I brought a few Laxton pioneer apples for munching just as they are, and 4 Siegnour Esperen pears for a recipe idea I am planning - a pear & ginger baked cheesecake. The description on these squat, round little pears was: 'russet skin with firm cream flesh & an aromatic juicy flavour', which makes me feel they might just be perfect for the job. I shall let you know. Expect the recipe sometime next week....

So for those of you that are interested here is a list of the varieties Buss's had this morning. Apologies if I have written them down wrong - in my excitement they were hastily written down on the back of a receipt. If you live close enough to Keynsham perhaps you could go in and see for yourself.

PLUMS: President, Merryweather Damsons, Marjorie, Guinevere, Victoria, Valor, Edwards, Greengages (didn't specify type), Jubelium

PEARS: Maxine, Triomphe de Vienne, Doctor Stark, Cheltenum Crob, Coscia, Nargilla, Doyeene George Boucher, Fondante d'autommne, Siegnour Esperen, Clara Frijs, Madam Fayre

APPLES: Fiesta red, Zomer Delicious, Garden Royal, Wilmuta, Emzo, Ribonde, Firs No 3, Karmijn de Sonnaville, Golden Aukilspur, Banns Margenrot, Macy Goldjour, Shinfeild seedling, Stirling Castle, Laxton pioneer

Cheese & tomato scrambled egg - a hearty breakfast for a hungry day

2011-09-14T14:38:00.006+01:00

I am not normally a breakfast person, my only true necessity being a bucket of strong coffee to get me going first thing. In contrast my husband, Rob, can devour 4 weetabix in a single (and indeed brief) sitting, a fact I have never quite got my head around. But just occasionally I feel ravenous in the morning. Today proceeded in its usual chaotic, flying by the seat of my pants fashion - two kids fed & watered, two packed lunches, a bit of shouting to get a move on, cleaning up after the not-quite-toilet-trained puppy - and once I returned home from the school run I found my thoughts greedily turning to food. I found inspiration from the bowl of shiny super ripe pomodorino tomatoes sitting on the worktop. Its such a perfect time of year for tomatoes, ripened sweetly over a long period of time I think they are at their most delicious in September. Rather guiltily I whipped myself up a breakfast of cheese and tomato scrambled eggs and quickly ate them with a thick slice of toasted rye bread. And I have to say it absolutely hit the spot and kept me going for hours in a way that a bowl of cereal never could. I shall eat eggs for breakfast more often.

Serves 1 (could be be easily scaled up to feed more)

Knob of unsalted butter

5 ripe Pomodorino tomatoes (cherry or baby plum would be good too), sliced in half

2 eggs, lightly beaten, seasoned generously with salt & freshly ground black pepper

Small wedge of mature cheddar (about 40g) grated

a thick slice of toast - ideally wholemeal, granary or rye

Melt the butter gently in a small heavy based saucepan and sauté the tomatoes for a minute or two until they just begin to soften. Pour in the seasoned egg and add the grated cheese and continue to cook, stirring from time to time, until they are creamy and just set. Eat immediately - so hungry was I that I devoured them standing at the kitchen counter.

Cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas

2011-09-08T11:32:00.004+01:00

These croquetas started out as a germ of an idea for the next supperclub, planned as a luscious early autumn feast of fruit, cheese and meat. I adore the Spanish Jamon Croquetas and wanted to try and create an anglicized version. Anything crisply fried and deeply savoury is a big hit in my book. In anticipation of testing the recipe I treated myself to a shiny new deep fat fryer, something I have been toying with getting for ages. Now there really is no excuse for not trying Heston’s infamous triple cooked chip. It may well be steak & chips Friday in our house tomorrow. But in the meantime, the croquetas, I’m pleased to report, worked like a dream. Rich and super cheesy thanks to Keen’s marvelous extra strong cheddar, and packed with plenty of mustard punch. Just what I imagined them to be like in my edible daydreams. What a treat you have in store supper-clubbers! And if you can’t make it, do try the recipe and let me know what you think.

You'll need:

800ml milk

1 small onion, peeled & cut into quarters

1tsp whole black peppercorns

2 sprigs rosemary to infuse in milk

100g butter

150g plain flour

200g extra mature cheddar (I used Keen’s Extra Mature), grated

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

200g fine dried breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

Vegetable oil for deep frying

What to do:

In a heavy based plan, bring the milk up to boil along with the onion, peppercorns and rosemary. Reduce the heat to as low as possible and simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

In a clean saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and stir together to form a roux. Strain the milk and pour onto the roux and whisk until combined. Cook until thickened, stirring all the time to prevent lumps or sticking. You will end up with a rather unappetizing thick and gloopy white sauce - have faith. Add the cheese and mustard mix throughly until combined, scrape into a flat dish and spread out to cool, pressing down a layer of cling film to prevent a skin forming. Once cool, chill in the fridge for an hour or two to firm up.

When you are ready to begin shaping the croquetas, set yourself up a production line with the beaten egg in a small bowl and the breadcrumbs on a large plate. Take a generous dessertspoonful of the chilled mixture and shape into a little rugby ball. I found it easiest to do this with a combination of the scoop of the spoon and the palm of my hand. Drop gently into the egg then lift out and roll in the breadcrumbs until coated all over. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining mixture then chill again for at least 30 minutes. They will rest quite happily in the fridge for 24 hours making it a good fiddly job to do ahead of time.

To cook, heat a deep fat fryer to 180°C and fry in batches for 3 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Alternatively heat a litre of oil in a large saucepan. When a cube of bread dropped in takes 60 seconds to turn a deep golden brown the oil is hot enough to cook. Cook in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan as this will result in a dramatic drop in temperature.

These croquetas are really rich and great served with something a little crisp and sharp, like a watercress salad.

As an added bonus, the croquetas, shaped and rolled, freeze really well. Cooked from frozen - they will take a little extra time to fry - they make a gorgeous & indulgent quick supper. Lovely with a glass of chilled dry sherry, or even an icy cold beer straight from the fridge.

Makes 28-30, enough for 4-6 generous helpings.

The 2nd Egg Supper Menu

2011-09-06T14:42:00.003+01:00

The holiday season is over, school has started, time for me to get back down to work. And my first priority was to finalise the menu for the 2nd Egg Supper on the 24th September 2011. With a little less than 3 weeks to go, and with the weather in Bristol turning suitably wild and windy, I have been mulling over my early autumn feast. It is much more subtly 'eggy' than the first feast but be assured they are still in there!

So, for those of you who have booked a table, here is what you are having:

Rabbit & prune pate, sweet pickled cucumber with homemade rye bread

Keen’s cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas with autumn leaves

Pork & pears braised in cider, buttered greens

End-of-the-summer Mojito sorbet

Plum & almond crumble with creme anglaise

........ and for those of you who haven't booked a table I hope it still makes you salivate.

A quick chicken update: The new chickens, Nellie & Peggy, have settled in well and are laying with the best of them. Poor Doris is still with us but the vet think her days are numbered. She is happy, eating well and not suffering so we have agreed to let nature take its course.

And in other news there is a new addition to the family, a 12 week old rescue puppy of dubious parentage - a little bit lurcher, a little bit collie, a little bit terrier, a little bit who knows? He came from Swansea so has been named Dylan after that other Swansea boy, Dylan Thomas. So the menagerie continues to grow, life will never be quiet again. But the kids love him, and a puppy has got to be easier than having another baby...... isn't it?!

And a long overdue chicken update

2011-08-18T14:37:00.001+01:00

Wow, what a couple of weeks I've had. Blogging has been the furthest from my mind. It has been hard enough to keep up with my work let alone any extra-curricular writing. I have had a cancer scare, which was a roller coaster ride than can be very briefly summarised as: found a lump, went the doctor who confirmed the lump, waited 48hours for a mammogram. Thankfully got the all clear, proceeded with life (including dying/sick chicken dramas), then 9 days later the consultant telephones me to say actually they are now not sure about my mammogram, with one area of particular concern so can I go back in for another set of scans. Had to wait 5 agonising days for a 2nd set of tests. Which thankfully are still all clear. So grateful they were being extra cautious - time is always of the essence in these things - but the waiting and the up's and down's have been dreadful to say the least. But I'm aware that many people go through that and then don't have the positive outcome I had which puts it into perspective. Exhausting though.

So thats me. What about the girls? Doris is still with us. She seems ok, pretty perky, eating well but not laying. So I ended up buying 2 more chickens - yes we now have 5 - Peggy and Nellie. The 'chicken lady' - the lovely Annie Hall - advised me that 2 chickens would settle better with the older girls than 1 chicken.

Nellie is very happy and runs around with the gang as if she's always been there. Poor Pegs is being dreadfully bullied, not so much physically but emotionally, which I am assured is normal and all part of reorganising the pecking order. It should settle in a week or two. But she can't be too stressed as she, and Nellie, are laying daily already. So we're now back up to four eggs a day. Which frankly is a good thing. I was wondering how I was going to write an egg cookery book with only one or two eggs a day.

So life is back to normal on all fronts.

Lemon Cheesecake with raspberries

2011-08-18T14:22:00.003+01:00

I adore a proper homemade cheesecake, its creamy velvety texture a true indulgence on so many levels. You need time and patience for the baking and the chilling, and your wallet need not be too slight either, with all that cheese, cream and fresh fruit this is far from the cheap through-it-together cakes I make on a more regular basis. And as for what the ‘health police’ would have to say….. But what a glorious treat it is and once in a while a true pleasure both to make and to eat. Sometimes, to coin a phrase, you are worth it. And so are your loved ones. On this occasion I was inspired by the glut of cheap raspberries in the shops at the moment, but any seasonal fruit would be lovely, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries - whatever feels right.

As a small aside, I used the leftover lemon, cut in half, to shove inside a chicken I was roasting that evening - the best strategy I know for ensuring a fragrant and moist bird. Whilst I have no plans to give up eating chicken, watching the hens up the garden as I do this gives me a new level of respect for these gorgeous feathery creatures.

A note on the tin: I normally make a cheesecake in a round spring form tin, as is the norm. But on this occasion I chose a rectangular loaf tin, simply because I fancied the idea of cutting a neat square slice rather than a wedge and I’m happy to report it worked well. But do use a more traditional round tin if you prefer.

For the biscuit base

175g digestive biscuits

45g butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

600g full fat cream cheese

125g full fat creme fraiche

2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk

150g caster sugar

Finely grated zest 1 lemon

Raspberry topping:

300g fresh raspberries

1tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Then prepare your tin - either a 25cm diameter springform tin or a long loaf tin of about 30cm. Line the base with baking parchment, and butter well on the sides. With my loaf tin I cut a long strip that came up the sides to help lift the cake out.

Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until they form fine crumbs, then pour in the melted butter and pulse until thoroughly mixed. Tip into the prepared tin and press down firmly with the back of a metal spoon. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes whilst you make the topping.

In a clean food processor, or in a bowl with a wooden spoon, beat together the cream cheese, cream fraiche, eggs and egg yolk. When they are really smooth stir in the sugar and lemon zest.

Take the tin out of the fridge and wrap the base and sides in a double layer of foil then lower into a large roasting tray. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit base and level a little with the flat of a knife. Add enough boiling water to the roasting tray so it comes just over halfway up the side of the cheesecake tin. Cooking in a water bath creates a more gentle and nurturing heat, resulting in a really smooth textured cheesecake. If you are going to the trouble of making a cheesecake I think this extra step has got to be worth it.

Carefully transfer the roasting tin to the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let it cool, with the door shut, for 30 minutes. Lift it out of the roasting tray, unwrap the foil and place the tin on a cooling rack. When it has reached room temperature transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, a little longer if possible.

Slide a knife round the tin to loosen the edges and ease out the cake. Transfer to a serving plate and scatter with about two thirds of the raspberries. Puree the remaining raspberries with a little icing sugar to make a quick coulis and drizzle over the top.

Chicken update - poorly Doris

2011-08-04T12:43:00.001+01:00

We are not have an easy-chicken time of it at the moment. I thought chickens were supposed to be straightforward creatures to look after. Apparently I'm wrong - novice chicken keepers take note. What they are is very good at hiding when they are really ill. After losing Ellie last week, it is now Doris's turn for the vet.

Egg production has been down for a number of weeks. I have sought advice on this via Google and via the chicken shop (Annie Halls Poultry, were we brought the girls) and concluded it was just down to 'one of those things'. Wrong. Ellie had stopped laying because of a tumour in her tummy and was subsequently put to sleep. Doris had stopped laying because she had an egg stuck inside her. A situation the vet thinks had been going on for a week or two because the stuck egg had started to fuse back inside her, making it impossible to now get out. The vet has broken up the egg inside her in the hope that helps but she did say the prognosis wasn't great.

So now we wait. She is on antibiotics, she is not really suffering but if she cannot get the bits of egg out over the next few days she is likely to have to go the way of Ellie. Better start preparing the kids for that eventuality.

Spiced apricot chutney, advanced cooking for the 2nd Egg Supper

2011-08-02T08:52:00.001+01:00

With places for the second ‘Egg Supper’ already booked up, it was time to start the preparations. I haven’t finalised the menu yet but do have lots of ideas milling around in the back of my mind. One of which is a deeply savoury pâté, meat yet to be decided, possibly game, accompanied by some sort of pickle or chutney. You simply have to leave chutney to mellow & mature to get the best flavour so I knew I had to get cracking and make something. A quick glance in the fruit bowl revealed a kilo of apricots leftover from a photo shoot last week, slightly past their eating prime. So apricot chutney it is, lightly spiced with ginger, cloves and coriander, and left to mature quietly in the back of the cupboard, whilst I keep on dreaming up more ideas for the early autumnal feast to come.

Spiced Apricot Chutney

makes 5 jars

1kg ripe apricots, stone removed & chopped

400g onion, chopped (about 2 large onions)

300g sultanas

750ml malt vinegar

450g soft brown sugar

60g fresh ginger, grated

1tbsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 heaped tsp black peppercorns, crushed

5 cloves, crushed

1 heaped tsp ground turmeric

1 heaped tsp paprika

1 heaped tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tbsp salt

Tip the apricots, onion and sultanas into a large saucepan. Pour over the vinegar, stir through the sugar and bring up to a gentle simmer. Add the grated ginger, all of the dried spices and the salt. Simmer uncovered for around 2 hours, stirring from time to time, until the chutney is a deep colour and has thickened to a spoonable consistency. For a simple test to see if it has reduced enough, drag a wooden spoon across the surface of the chutney - it should leave in its wake a shallow furrow that holds its shape for a mere second or two.

Whilst the chutney is cooking sterilise the jars - this batch made 5 full-to-the-brim 370g jam jars. Give the jars and lids a really thorough wash in hot soapy water, then rinse with clean water. Allow to drain for a few moments before lining up on a baking tray and drying in a cool oven (100°C) for 30 minutes. Once they are dry they will be sterile so avoid touching the inside of jar or lid.

Carefully fill the hot jars with the hot chutney and seal tightly with the lid. Store in a cool dark cupboard for at least 6 weeks before eating. If your jars are squeaky-clean the chutney should easily keep, unopened, for a year or more.

4 become 3, a sad day

2011-07-26T18:42:00.000+01:00

A glum & brief post this one I'm afraid.

What a sad day we have had, the beginning of the school holidays tarnished by the death of one of our chickens, Ellie - she's the black and gold one you see to the right.

She's been a little off colour for a few weeks, and egg production has generally been down on the norm. I put it down to warm weather and the possibility that they were eating another poisonous plant like the rhubarb eating episode. But this morning Ellie looked truly miserable, hunched over, eyes half closed. So I found a local vet who specialised in chickens and made an appointment at lunchtime.

We loaded her limp form into the cat's box and, with the kids in tow, off we set to the vets, expecting no more than to come away with some antibiotics and a fat bill. Within a minute or two the vet delivered the startling news that Ellie had a large tumour in her abdomen and the only humane solution was to euthanase her pretty much immediately. My first instinct was to drop to my knees to try explain this difficult information to Izaac and Eve, aged merely 6 and 3.

Izaac went ashen but put on a typically stoic facade, turning immediately to his little sister to say 'Its ok Eve, we can get another who looks just the same'. But as his mum I know what a sensitive soul he is underneath. Eve meanwhile, in true dramatic style, crumpled into floods of tears pronouncing that she didn't want her chicken to die. Possibly my most tricky day a mum yet this one and one I won't forget in a hurry.

We buried Ellie under the apple tree after, at Izaac's suggestion, having trimmed off a few of her most special feathers as a keepsake. Poor Ellie, she served us well during her short time in our garden.

Summer berries & cream shortcake

2011-07-22T14:58:00.003+01:00

I made this cake a week or so ago, on a damp and dreary so-called summers morning aftersports day had just been cancelled for the second time because of the famous Bristol drizzle. I made this to cheer up a disappointed 6 year old for whom performing at sports day in front of his dad was to be the highlight of his term.

It seems laughable now but I had to arrange the raspberries on one side of the cake, and the strawberries on the other as he likes the latter only in jam form. Once asked ‘why don’t you like strawberries, you really like strawberry jam’ - he replied, ‘well they don’t have any jam in them’. Ah, the joys of feeding children. If you don’t have kids you can not begin to understand how frustrating they can be…..

All photos copyright Oliver Edwards

Summer berries & cream shortcake

This gorgeous, indulgent summery cake is based on the American-style shortcake, a sort of hybrid between a scone and biscuit, rather than the crisper Scottish shortbread. I love them both but to my mind this one is marginally easier to eat when sandwiched around a pile of berries and softly whipped cream. You could easily adapt this recipe to make individual shortcakes but I wonder if that would be missing the point slightly - the glory of this cake is ‘wow’ when you present the towering confection to your loved ones.

275g plain flour

25g polenta

75g caster sugar

1tbsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

125g unsalted butter, cold & cut into 1cm dice

150ml full fat creme fraiche

1 large egg

for the filling:

200g raspberries

200g strawberries

2tsbp caster sugar

250ml double cream

1tbsp icing sugar, plus a little extra to dust

1tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor pulse the dry ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Then add the cold cubes of butter and whizz to a breadcrumb texture. Take care not to over process or the result will be a tough not tender shortcake. You could, in theory, do this by hand - rubbing gently between fingers and thumbs as if making pastry the old fashioned way. But as its important not to get the butter too warm I find it more reliable to quickly use a food processor.

In a jug, measure the creme fraiche, beat in the egg and then pour into the processor and pulse until just combined to a dough. Don’t overdo the mixing, less is definitely more in this case.

Turn dough on floured worktop, cut in half roll each half lightly into a ball. Using flat of palm press and turn gently until you a have a disc about 1cm thick and the size of a victoria sandwich sponge tin - about 23-25cm. Keep roughly the same size but don’t worry too much about perfection, this is delicious home cooking not the pasty section of a fancy restaurant.

Carefully lift and slide each circle onto baking trays lined with parchment and bake 180°C for around 10-12 mins until risen and golden brown. Whilst still warm cut one disc into quarters, then each quarter into 2 leaving you with 8 wedges. Set aside to cool completely on a wire rack whilst you prepare the filling.

Mix the raspberries, strawberries and caster sugar in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes. In another large bowl whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla extract - you are looking for soft delicately whipped peaks not stiff solid cream.

Once the shortcakes are cold, place the complete disc on a pretty plate. Pile the cream on top and spread out with the back of knife. Top with the fruit and arrange the wedges of shortcake around in a fan, sprinkling all over with a little extra icing sugar. I found it easier to use only 7 of my 8 wedges, that number seeming to fit better over the filling. Leaving the extra wedge as a little chef’s perk with a cup of coffee…..

This cake is best eaten the day you made it - it will lose a certain something if it sees the inside of a fridge. But if you do need to chill it, make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. Or failing that a mere few seconds per slice in the microwave can have a miraculous reviving effect.

The next supper: 24th September 2011

2011-07-22T13:27:00.001+01:00

Just a quick post to announce the next Egg supper.

After much deliberation it has been decided we will be opening up the house again for another feast on Saturday 24th September.

The menu will be announced a little nearer the time but expect 5 or so courses of seasonal deliciousness and generous helpings, all for a suggested donation of £30 per head. I am feeling that the food may be slightly less egg-centric than last time and, as a nod to the incoming season, there may be some inspiration taken from my STEW! book.

Drop me an email or give me a call if you want to secure your seat - places will be limited to 16 and its first come first serve. We will be operating a waiting list this time in an effort not to be caught out by very last minute cancellations.

Hope to see you then!

Peach & almond cake with lavender syrup

2011-07-13T10:52:00.007+01:00

Almond-based cakes are my all time favourite, perfect as a grown-up pudding with creme fraiche, or for afternoon tea with friends, or even as an indulgent solitary breakfast in the garden. I love the dense, damp eggy-ness you get with almonds and for the baker they are so much more forgiving than the elusive ‘light-as-air’ Victoria sponge, a cake I still feel I have yet to to master.

I am the first to admit that the initial motivation for baking this cake was an aesthetic one, being desperate to capture the gorgeousness of the lavender flowers into something edible. And because they grow in a loose hedge under the peach tree it made sense to me to pair them together in a rich and fragrant cake. As it turned out the flowers, whilst imbibing the syrup with a lovely, almost gingery note, added little in the looks department, darkening deeply on cooking. So the answer was to strain the syrup and sprinkle over a few fresh vibrant coloured flowers at the end. You, and the bees that enjoy them so much, may feel this is a completely unnecessary step, but for me the enjoyment of eating starts simply with the way my food looks.

for the lavender syrup:

180g caster sugar

20g fresh lavender flowers, about 4 tablespoons (pick tight deeply coloured buds)

100ml cold water

for the cake:

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

3 eggs

150g ground almonds

100g plain flower

1 tsp baking powder

500g peach flesh - about 5 large peaches - cut to bite sized pieces

a few extra lavender flowers to garnish (optional)

23-25cm spring-form tin, lined on the base and greased around the sides

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 5.

Make the syrup by bringing all the ingredients to the boil in a small heavy based saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to infuse whilst you get on with the cake.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. The easiest way to do this is in a food mixer, but a wooden spoon and plenty of elbow grease will do the job just as well for the more energetic.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Tip in the almonds, flour and baking powder and fold together until well combined. Finally fold the peach flesh gently through the cake batter. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and pour over the strained syrup, allowing it to cool in the tin a little before you try to remove it. Decorate with a few fresh lavender flowers scattered over the top, which your guests can eat, or simply admire before discretely picking off…...

A day of photos with Oliver Edwards

2011-07-08T13:50:00.003+01:00

Last week I spent a very happy day pottering around my kitchen and garden, cooking egg recipes for the blog and for the book (more on the book in a minute). Oliver Edwards, young and upcoming local photographer, joined me to document the day as a test shoot. Test shoots are a regular thing for food stylists and photographers to see if they like working together, the bonus for me being some professional photography for the blog rather than my usual snap-happy efforts.

Between us we cooked and photographed three dishes, a summer berries and cream shortcake, a florentine-style spinach and egg tart, and a pea, mint and yellow courgette quiche. Here are a few shots of the action - if you want to see more you can find them here: Oliver Edwards test shoot

I'm really thrilled that I've finally been commissioned to write my book on egg cookery - the proposal for which was written some time before the blog was even started - but the success of the blog has certainly played an important part in securing me the book deal. Transworld (part of the Random House group) will be publishing it in spring 2013 under the provisional title of The Joy of Eggs: A Year of Recipes from an Urban Hen-Keeper. To be honest I remain a little unconvinced about the title, something the publishers are aware of, and we have agreed to keep thinking on it. I preferred The Egg Diaries: Culinary Adventures of an Urban Hen-Keeper. Do feel free to give me your thoughts.....

Monica's review of the evening

2011-07-02T17:03:00.001+01:00

I know I said there would be no more about the first supperclub but Monica Shaw, one of the guests & supplier of gorgeous pictures, has just emailed me her review. It was so lovely I had to add a link here just to be sure as many people read it as possible!

So here's the link....
Monica Shaw supperclub review

Next week I shall be posting about the Egg book that was commissioned yesterday - a diary of egg recipes from the garden.......

Monica Shaw captures the evening beautifully

2011-06-29T10:17:00.001+01:00

This, I promise will be my last post on the first Egg a Day supper, but with photos as gorgeous as these by Monica Shaw it would be impossible not to share.....

Monica arrived early, armed with her camera, and as I faffed & fiddled & fretted over organising the tables she quietly set too and documented the evening - the prep, the eating, the laughter, the wine...... and here is her story:

More supperclub pictures

2011-06-29T10:02:00.001+01:00

I woke this morning to gorgeous crisp sunshine, blue cloudless skies and another lovely set of supperclub photos waiting in my inbox. A good start to the day. This time the pictures are courtesy of Monica Shaw another lovely supperclub attendee. Monica has captured some gorgeous shots, particularly of my garden. So forgive this slightly self indulgent presentation of one of the most treasured spaces in my life......

A more sensible post with Monica's pictures of the evening itself will follow.......

The first Egg a Day supper

2011-06-28T12:05:00.001+01:00

After weeks of planning, days of cleaning and organizing, and many, many many hours of cooking, the first Egg a Day supper is over. Done and dusted. How do I feel? Exhausted, relieved we pulled it off, and overall, really rather happy that it was deemed to be a marvellous success.

Over the years I have catered for many events and for large numbers of people, the largest being a wedding with 150 guests, but I can honestly say that cooking supper for less than 20 people in my own home was just as stressful. Post-supper I have been trying to work out why. By inviting people into your home you are opening up your most personal space, where you kick back after a hard days work, the place normally littered with the detritus and junk of family life. And I guess that leaves you feeling a little vulnerable and exposed. But I have to say, the garden looked resplendent scattered with tea lights and the kids, little treasures, behaved themselves.

I need to offer a huge thanks to my lovely friend and co-chef for the evening, Jo Ingleby of Demuth’s Vegetarian cookery school. She remained utterly calm and focussed on the all important food while I fiddled, fretted and flapped over the minutiae of the table settings and whether we could really eat outside as I had always planned. Eventually after much to’ing and fro’ing I finally decided we should be inside but with the French doors thrown open to the evening air. But what a lot of time I wasted whilst I made up my mind. So thanks Jo, for getting on with the food and making it all come together at the right time. And thanks too should go to my lovely husband Rob who did a great job of putting the guests at ease, not to mention his splendid clearing up during most of Sunday when all I could muster the energy to do was lay on the lawn with the newspaper eating leftovers.

The menu followed a loosely Moorish theme, a nod to my favourite foods of the southern Med and North Africa. And people seemed to love it. I am well known amongst friends for over catering, I can’t help myself, nothing would fill me with more dread than people going home hungry. Despite the fact that 3 people cancelled, 2 at the very last minute, there were not excessive leftovers. And what there was very gratefully consumed by me the following day. I woke up on Sunday morning ravenously hungry, realizing that I had existed on mostly fresh air and a few bites of this and that all day Saturday.

So, will I run another supperclub? Yes, I most defiantly I will, but not for a while, maybe at the end of the summer. And maybe it won’t be supper this time. Maybe it’ll be an afternoon tea with a table groaning under the weight of a bounty of cakes, or perhaps a brunchclub with eggs in a multitude of ways, piles of syrupy pancakes and smoky bacon. And much coffee.

Now I’m feeling hungry again, any more leftovers lurking in the fridge…….?

The photos below were taken by a talented supperclub diner, @througheye. With his kind permission I use his photos here - I think they do the food huge justice - to see more of his work go to www.througheye.co.uk

More photos to come soon from another diner, @monicashaw.

Flatbread with caraway & nigella

Chargrilled English asparagus - the last this year!

Labneh with sumac & lemon thyme

Chargrilled English asparagus & saffron alioli

Tortilla & empanadas

Beetroot & walnut dip with coriander, parsley & mint

Palestinian couscous with broad beans, peas, mint & lemon

Moorish pork skewers

Pasteis de Nata, served with fresh mint tea

Pistachio meringues, rosewater strawberries & classic vanilla ice cream

Fiona Beckett - supperclub review & pictures

2011-06-27T09:08:00.002+01:00

.....and another supperclub update: a lovely review by the lovely Fiona Beckett.

http://bit.ly/lPI1V5

More soon.

Supperclub - a few pictures

2011-06-27T09:05:00.001+01:00

Wow, supperclub, after all that planning and prep, is over, done & dusted. A roaring success. I'll be posting about the evening in the next day or so, but in the meantime, just to whet your appetite, here are the links to some fab photos taken by @througheye and @monicashaw - thanks guys!!

http://bit.ly/ldeuR7

http://bit.ly/mFsRHD

http://bit.ly/kT7yyp

The menu - Mostly Moorish Supper - 25th June 2011

2011-06-09T13:05:00.002+01:00

Supper club on the 25th June is fast approaching. We are virtually fully booked and planning furiously. Recipes have been tested, seating plans & crockery sorted and the chickens have been given an egg-boosting pep talk. So we feel ready to release the menu for our 'Mostly Moorish Supper'. Hope it makes you hungry. Perhaps hungry enough to book the last 2 tickets......?

The meal will be served in an informal & relaxed mezze-style in my gorgeous leafy courtyard, surrounded by the herbs, peas, broad beans, zucchini plants that will be contributing to your supper. We will have a few cozy blankets to ward off the chills and the brazier will be warm & glowing but we suggest you bring woolly jumper too. You can, of course, meet the chickens who will have made it all possible. We sincerely hope it won't be raining but we'll transfer inside if it does.

An Egg a Day Mostly Moorish Supper

Sat 25th June 2011

----------------

Flatbread with caraway, nigella & black sesame seeds

Beetroot & walnut pate with coriander, parsley & mint

Labneh with garlic & sumac

-------------------

Chargrilled English asparagus with saffron alioli

------------------

Chakchouka - gently spiced tomatoes, peppers, onions with baked eggs

Merguez sausages & Moorish pork skewers - lightly spiced & straight from the BBQ

Empanadillas - exquisite sweet pepper, tuna & egg pastries

Classic Spanish tortilla, with smoked paprika ketchup

Warm zucchini & carrot salad, cumin & garlic dressing

Mograbiah couscous with broad beans, peas, mint & lemon

------------------------

Pistachio meringues

Rosewater syrup strawberries

Classic vanilla ice cream

------------------------

Mint tea & pasteis de nata

--------------------------

All for a suggested £25 per head donation

BYO, bring plenty, local off licenses a little limited

Address & time will be emailed to those booked a little nearer the date. Central location, about a mile from Temple Meads.

In search of a pudding

2011-05-28T19:26:00.002+01:00

Some nights you just need cake or pudding - something nice to look forward to once the kids have gone to bed. And tonight is one of those nights. Outside its sunny but cold and windy, not al fresco eating weather, so something sweet to comfort and warm as I snuggle on the sofa, thankful Friday is here at last.

Alas, the cupboards and fridge are both fairly bare so I had to wing it a bit. My first thoughts turned to creme brulee, or even a proper rice pudding. Both of these need double cream - I had none. I found a pack of dried figs lurking in the back of the cupboard. A quick snout in the fridge revealed two thirds of a block butter, just about enough to make a cake and, most pleasingly, an unopened bottle of my favourite oloroso sherry.

So cake it was. A sort of fig and oloroso syrup upside down cake. And, of course, a small glass of sherry for the cook. It is Friday after all.

Fig & Oloroso upside down cake

you need:

5tbsp demerara sugar

50g unsalted butter

4tbsp dry Oloroso sherry (I like Sainsbury's Taste the Difference dry oloroso)

250g soft dried figs, sliced in half

zest of 1 lemon

170g caster sugar

170g unsalted butter

2 large eggs

170g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

1-2tbsp milk

23-25cm spring form cake tin, greased & based lined with baking parchment

what to do:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Add the demerara sugar to a heavy bottomed frying pan and warm over a low heat. After a few minutes the sugar will begin to melt - resist the temptation to stir but give the pan a little shake from time to time to release and mix the granules. As soon as they have melted add the butter and sherry, taking care as it will spit and sizzle. The sugar may clump up and harden again, but stir gently over a very low heat until the butter melts and the syrup comes together. Add the figs and lemon, stir thoroughly to mix then pour into the cake tin. Set aside whilst you make the cake batter.

In a food mixer, or with an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each. Sift over the flour and baking powder and pour in the vanilla extract. Fold gently with a large metal spoon, adding just enough milk to make it soft enough to fall off the spoon with ease.

Spoon the batter into the tin over the figs and level with a knife. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin. Carefully turn out the cake onto a large plate and peel off the baking paper.

Like many cakes, this one is at its best when eaten warm, fresh from the oven, perhaps with a dollop of rich Greek yogurt or creme fraiche. Indeed the day after baking a cake, not being remotely snobbish about these things, I often give my cakes, piece by piece, a 10 or 20 second zap in the microwave. It'll revive them no end. I hold my hand up high and admit to using a microwave, not often, but sometimes they are exceedingly useful. And warming cake is a case in point.

Supper Club - book your place now!

2011-05-19T16:47:00.001+01:00

Firstly a confession of the guilt I feel about the lack of blog posts in the last few weeks. The problem is I've been asked to write 2 more books very quickly to turn my first, STEW!, into a series, and I've been trying to get another book commissioned as well. So wonderful news for me and not really a problem at all but there are only so many hours in the day. However, I can happily report that the chickens are well, the egg laying continues at a pace, and I am still testing and writing recipes for the blog. Just not finding time to write them. Sorry!

But, its just over a month to go until the first Egg a Day supper club, so consider this to be the official invite....... Saturday 25th June.

Menus are being planned as I type, but won't be finalised until a little nearer the time, as I'm hoping some veg will be ready from the garden. So far yellow zucchini, peas and broad beans are looking hopeful. What I can promise you is a seasonal eggs-travagansa on a vaguely Moorish theme. I truly, truly hope it will be a balmy midsummers evening and you can dine in the courtyard under the stars. Bring a woolly jumper. If it rains my romantic notions will be dashed and I'll transfer proceedings indoors.

Places are limited, and on a first come first served basis, so send me an email (gen@genevievetaylor.co.uk) to book your slot, giving me a phone number to contact you on. To those of you who were very lovely and said you wanted to come when I first suggested the idea - can you also send me a quick message to let me know you haven't changed your mind!

Thank you, and I look forward to meeting loads of you on the 25th June!

Genevieve

Asparagus season is here!!

2011-04-20T12:38:00.001+01:00

We have just returned from a holiday in the Highlands to find that Bristol has literally sprung from spring to summer during the course of week. In Scotland the trees were barely in bud and the wind was still bitter, whilst at home the woods below our house have turned the bright acid green that signals the true end to winter. The wisteria growing up the front of the house, my botanical pride and joy and a mothers day present from my little boy 4 years ago, is in full bloom now, looking and smelling amazing. The flowers last barely two weeks yet I spend all year anticipating the glorious explosion of purple and white.

The chickens have been looked after by friends who happily have been rewarded amply with eggs. It is the first time they have been left that long and I was a little anxious about it. One of the conditions placed upon their arrival was that we could still find plenty of time for family adventures and wouldn’t be tied to the house over the holidays, so it is with great relief to find they have been utterly content without us.

We came back from holiday to find the asparagus season has started early thanks to near-perfect weather conditions. Like the flowering of my wisteria, the start of the English asparagus season is something I long for every year. It is one of those rare things that I refuse to buy if its not in season. Spanish strawberries I can deal with occasionally, Peruvian asparagus I cannot and it never enters my shopping basket. Once the season starts I eat plenty, several times a week, to get my fill. Luckily it is a natural partner to eggs and I can think of numerous ways to make the most of it - a variety of wonderful tarts and quiches, cheesy asparagus muffins and asparagus ‘soldiers’ for boiled eggs, to name but a few.

But the house is in post-holiday chaos, the washing is spilling in huge piles all over the floor and I have no time for pastry this week. Plus, the sun is shining warmly, the garden looks gorgeous and this is to be the first al fresco evening meal of the year. So it is a simple quick salad I turn too. Using a few odds and sods foraged from a bare fridge, some stale bread and, most satisfyingly, handfuls of salad leaves from the first harvest of the garden.

It was all ready in a matter of minutes and up the garden we went, glass of wine in hand, thanking the chickens for their contribution to our supper as we passed them by…... and yes, you have a little picture, a bit gloomy, it was dusk by the time we ate.

Crispy bacon, asparagus & egg salad with creamy mustard dressing

Serves 2

8 rashers smoked streaky bacon

3 eggs

1 bunch English asparagus, woody ends trimmed

2 generous handfuls salad leaves

2 thick slices of bread, cubed - I used seeded bread as thats what I had,

sourdough would also be nice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled & bruised

for the dressing:

2 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise

1-2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

Cook the bacon until crisp, either by frying or grilling, then chop into bite sized pieces.

To make the croutons, heat the oil in a frying pan along with the bruised garlic. When the garlic turns a golden brown, remove and discard it. Add the cubes of bread and fry until crisp, tossing about in the oil to ensure they are evenly cooked.

Boil the eggs to your liking - I like mine pretty much hard boiled all the way through, so cook them in a pan of cold water brought up to the boil and simmered for 5 minutes. If you like your eggs soft, cook for 3 minutes, or 4 minutes for a midway point between the two. Peel and quarter.

Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients in a small bowl, adding the vinegar to taste depending on how sharp you like it. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Bring a large pan of salted water up to a brisk boil. Cook the asparagus for 3-4 minutes or until just tender but with a little bite. Drain well.

Assemble the salad by arranging the leaves on a plate, topping with the bacon pieces, egg quarters, croutons and asparagus. Finally drizzle over the dressing and eat immediately.

Friend and foe in the garden.....

2011-04-05T20:22:00.001+01:00

What a lovely afternoon I had on Saturday. The sun shone, the breeze blew and I spent a few hours doing what I love best, pottering around the kitchen experimenting in a leisurely way. My friend Jo came over, armed with a nice bottle of rosé, and we set to in the kitchen, cooking and gossiping whilst the kids charged about the garden.

The previous week hadn’t been so carefree. The chickens had been sickly and off colour and egg production was at a real low - from a glorious four eggs a day everyday to just one if we were lucky. We were baffled, nothing had changed in their routine, the weather had been great and yet they had gone from happy to miserable in a matter of days. I contemplated calling the vet but figured that an inner city vet would have a sketchy knowledge of chickens at best. A lot of anxious head scratching later and we had a eureka moment. The rhubarb that had sprung into life over a matter of days was right next to their run and on inspection we found that the leaves had been well and truly stripped wherever they touched the mesh of the enclosure.

Rhubarb leaves, I knew, were poisonous to humans, containing very high levels of oxalic acid, but I had no idea they were harmful to chickens too. A bit of time on Google confirmed it - the chickens had poisoned themselves, or more accurately I had poisoned the chickens by growing my rhubarb so close to them. In my defense the rhubarb came first but nevertheless I felt bad. So we hurriedly created a physical barrier between plant and chicken using a couple of limestone paving slabs leftover from landscaping the terrace, then crossed our fingers and waited to see if the situation improved. I had visions of tearful distraught children as we told them the chickens were ill, not to mention the possible end of the my Egg a Day blog adventure. But thankfully it worked, after a couple of days we were up to two eggs a day, then three, then after a week we were back up to the normal four a day.

So it was in a particularly joyous mood that I set about creating a few eggy recipes this weekend. And the one I wanted to share first was not only a celebration of the eggs themselves, but also of the rhubarb that seemed to make the chickens so poorly. The inspiration was the rhubarb and custard sweets I loved so much as a child - something about the sharp almost fizzy rhubarb side, with the smooth creamy custard side was to my mind sweetie shop perfection. The result was a variation on the classic English egg custard tart, with a layer of sweet-sharp rhubarb on the base.

My resolution for my latest blog entry was to get better at photographing my recipes, both during their creation and the final result. People eat with their eyes and I know pictures would be appreciated. You would think that given my day job as a food stylist I would have no problem with this. But to be perfectly honest with you I am finding something like ‘stage fright’ setting in every time I cook for the blog - that because of my job, my photographs should and could be perfect, yet I am not a photographer, my skill is in the art of presentation, not the science of f-stops. But I will try harder and I will seek help to learn ….next time…. by the time the tart was ready, Jo and I had sunk the rosé, cracked open a second bottle and it had got dark and gloomy. For which I can only apologize.

But believe me, the tart worked - creamy baked vanilla custard, sweet but tart rhubarb, crisp buttery pastry. And healthy, lively chickens once again. A happy day indeed.

Rhubarb & custard tart

Serves 6-8

Give yourself plenty of time to make this tart - there are various chilling and cooling stages that are best not rushed.

What you need:

for the rhubarb:

300g rhubarb, sliced in 4-5cm pieces

80g granulated sugar

for the pastry:

200g plain flour, preferably super fine ‘oo' grade

125g butter

2 tbsp icing sugar

for the custard:

300ml single cream

4 egg yolks

½ vanilla pod

50g caster sugar

1-2 tbsp demerara sugar, to finish (optional)

What to do:

Add the rhubarb, in a single layer, to a shallow non-aluminum pan. Sprinkle over the sugar and add a mere tablespoon or two of cold water. Gently poach the rhubarb over a low heat, resisting the urge to stir too much - you don’t want a mushed up puree but lightly poached pieces in a little syrup. Give the pan a shake to and fro from time to time to make sure to ensure its not sticking. Set aside to cool.

Make the pastry, either by hand or in a food processor. Out of sheer convenience I always use my processor but I have long suspected that my pastry would be better if I made it by hand, the old fashioned way, by rubbing the butter gently into the flour using the tips of your fingers. The way I was taught at school. One day I shall experiment with this theory. Either way stir the icing sugar through the butter and flour crumbs and add just as much cold water as you need to bring it all together in a ball. Wrap well in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Whilst the pastry is chilling pour the cream into a small pan. Cut open the piece of vanilla pod and scrape in the seeds, then add the pod. Gently warm the cream a little, but taking care not to boil it, turn out the heat and leave to infuse.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 25cm loose bottomed metal flan tin and roll out the pastry to fit. Gently line the tin, trim and line with baking parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or so until the pastry is cooked through. Remove from the the oven, allow to cool a little, then spread over the rhubarb and syrup.

Back to the custard. Fish out the pod and discard (or wash, dry and add to a jar of sugar for lovely vanilla-scented baking). Add the egg yolks and sugar and mix really thoroughly before gently pouring into the tart on top of the rhubarb. Carefully transfer to the oven - I find sliding it onto a baking tray helps prevent slops - and bake for 20 minutes, or until the custard has just set.

I finished off the tart by sprinkling over a little demerara sugar and browning it quickly under a hot grill - it looked very pretty and caramelized but I’m not how much it added to the taste.

The wonders of Spring lead to shoddy blogging

2011-03-23T20:45:00.001Z

Spring is a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me. Year in year out I am taken by surprise by the sheer joy this time of year brings. I confess that this blog has been far from my mind in the past 10 days or so. The glorious weather in Bristol has meant every possible second has been spent outside. Winter layers have been unpeeled and the sun feels so amazing on bare arms, I wonder how I managed to get through the winter sane.

The chickens have been enjoyed as interesting creatures in their own right, rather than the egg laying machines they became on the most chilly winter days. The eggs keep coming - still 3 or 4 a day - but we are now also cherishing them for their funny little ways. The kids have a small trampoline at the foot of their run where we lay on our tummies for seemingly endless periods watching them roll around and dust bathe. They make wonderful noises as they do so, and we are convinced they are happy to have us in their company.

But it has not all been about anthropomorphising the birds, there has been much work done since my last post 2 weeks ago. We have been planting seeds at an alarming rate - peas, yellow courgettes, two interesting types of squash, yellow cherry tomatoes and fennel are sprouting in seed trays under my desk. Eve checks them on a daily basis, and we are both overjoyed by how fast they seem to grow and develop. Outside we have planted salad leaves, beetroot and cavolo nero in a sheltered corner of the raised bed in the hope that they won't suffer too badly from being a touch premature. Seeds have been brought for planting in the coming weeks - purple beans, lambs lettuce, basil to name but a few.

Of course I am still using the eggs, and recipes are still being written in my little notebook ready for future use. But today I wanted to celebrate my garden, and the chickens, and convey some of my joy and hope for the year to come. So I hope you enjoy this little celebration of the things I am treasuring most in my life at the moment.

Sat 25th June: An Egg a Day Supper Club

2011-03-11T10:59:00.001Z

Yesterday I decided to go public with an idea that has been brewing in my mind for some time. I am going to hold a special midsummer night one-off Egg a Day supper club. Expecting one or two positive responses I posted on Twitter that I was thinking about it and was overwhelmed by the almost instant response. 10 people have demanded places already and the event is not for months.

So its now official - SATURDAY 25th JUNE - the first, and possibly only, Egg a Day supper.

I am so excited and spent half of last night awake and planning the menu in my mind. The supper will be held in my courtyard, within view of the chickens themselves, lit only with candles and moonlight, the brazier will be glowing to keep the chills away, the air will be heady with the scent of rose petals and incense. The food and atmosphere will be loosely north african. And eggs, there will be many eggs. I am thinking of crab ravioli with coriander & tomato dressing, shakshouka with merguez & baked eggs, flat bread with garlic & seeds, with cinnamon meringue & hazelnut ice cream, bitter chocolate & cardamon ice cream, orange flower water upside down cake.

There will be gorgeous food, delicious people and wine flowing freely. The rain will stay away. Definitely. I promise.

Do come.

Rhubarb & almond streusel cake

2011-03-02T12:56:00.001Z

I think I may have just said it before but, as this is my blog, I feel I can say it again. I love cake. Plain cake, fruity cake, fancy cake, kids cake, grown up cake. You name it. The only cake I'm not too keen on are what I call 'gloopy icing cakes'. You know the ones - where there is more icing than cake and its just all a bit sickly and saccharine, not to mention dreadfully difficult to eat.

With Doris, Ellie, Mabel & Sam laying exceptionally well at the moment (4 eggs every single day for over a week) I am obliged, happily, to keep baking. Like me, they can sense spring in the air and I like to think that its making them happy and productive. Which in turn makes me happy.

And so, here is my latest cake, slotting rather nicely into the grownup cake category. This is a wonderful cake for dessert when you have friends to visit, with a dollop of creme fraiche it is elevated swiftly into 'pudding' territory. But great too for afternoon tea, and also for my favourite time to eat cake, weekend breakfast with good coffee. There is really no need to feel we have to eat muesli or porridge on a Saturday morning.

Rhubarb & almond streusel cake

You will need:

300g young pink rhubarb, cut into 3cm pieces

zest & juice small orange

60g granulated sugar

200g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

140g ground almonds

60g self raising flour

1 level tsp baking powder

100g flaked almonds

40g dark brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180oC. Line the base of a 23cm springform tin with baking parchment and brush a little melted butter around the sides.

Arrange the rhubarb in a single layer in a baking dish. Toss in the orange zest and juice and sprinkle over the sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Make the cake batter by creaming together the butter and caster sugar, either by hand with a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease or, as I did, in a food mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Fold in the ground almonds, flour and baking powder. Pour into the prepared cake tin and level a little with a knife. Press the baked rhubarb pieces lightly into the surface, reserving the cooking juices. It will look like a lot of rhubarb but during cooking it will be enveloped beautifully within the cake. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Whilst the cake is baking make the streusel topping by mixing the reserved rhubarb juice with the flaked almonds, brown sugar and ground ginger. When the cake has had its initial baking spread this mixture gently over the surface and return the the oven for another 20-25 minutes. It is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.

This cake is a great 'keeper', lasting well for several days. I have just eaten a piece 4 days after I made it and it tastes virtually as good as it did on its first outing from the cake tin.

A sublime onion tart

2011-02-27T14:56:00.002Z

Now this tart is the sort of thing I have dreams about - is that terribly sad? My guess is that if you are reading a blog on egg cookery you will have more than a passing interest in food and will therefore understand! It is one of those rare things that comprises a mere handful of ingredients yet the end result tastes hugely complex. I would go as far as to say this is a fairly frugal dish, albeit one of the best sorts that take a very cheap ingredient, onions, in bulk and add to it a little luxury in the form of double cream. The resulting tart is deeply savoury, rich and unctuous and really rather wonderful.

Onion Tart

Makes a 25cm deep filled tart

You need:

for the pastry:

130g plain flour, fine milled '00' will give you a crisper pastry

75g unsalted butter

a few tablespoons ice cold water

fine sea salt

for the filling:

900g white onions, sliced

50g unsalted butter

splash olive oil

1 small sprig fresh rosemary, needles picked & finely chopped

200ml double cream

150ml milk

4 medium eggs

salt & freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas 4.

Begin by making the pastry. In a large bowl, season the flour with a little fine sea salt. Add the butter and rub into the flour, with cold fingers and a light touch, until it resembles crumbly breadcrumbs. Add just enough water to bring the pastry together in a ball. This will be something like 3 tablespoons, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. If you overdo it and it ends up a little sticky add a shake more flour. Wrap tightly in cling and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter very gently in a deep wide frying pan and add the onions, rosemary and a splash of oil. Cook as gently as possible for as long as possible, an hour would be good if you had the time. The point whole of this tart is the melting sublime onions, and this is a step that cannot, must not, be rushed. A square of greaseproof, scrunched up under a running tap then shaken, unfolded and tucked over the onions will provide a steamy cover that will prevent the onions burning.

Whilst the onions are cooking remove the pastry from the fridge. On a floured work surface, roll as thin as you dare and use to line a loose bottomed 25cm flan tin. Prick the base all over with a fork, line with baking paper and baking beans. Bake blind for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden. Remove and allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 160oC.

Lightly beat the cream and milk with the eggs and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the cooked onions over the pastry case and pour in the custard. Bake in the oven for around 35-40 minutes or until the filling is just set. Allow to cool a little before serving with a crisp green salad. I actually prefer this tart at something nearing room temperature - the onions seem to take on a more complex sweet softness when served barely warm. But you can eat if hot if that is what you fancy. I wouldn't, however, eat it fridge cold - the whole subtle point of the dish would be lost.

If the chickens can't come to the kids, take the kids to the chickens

2011-02-27T11:24:00.001Z

To be honest I feel a little more disconnected from my chickens now they are confined, in the main, to their run. It had to be - I love my garden too much to allow then to decimate it - but it was rather wonderful having them scratching around the flower beds, pecking on the french doors and investigating the cat flap. They seem to like human company, Ellie (the black one) and Doris (the white one) particularly liked a stroke down the back.

So what we have taken to doing is going in with the chickens, well the kids, not me. The design of the run doesn't allow easy access for a creaky-kneed grownup. Izaac & Eve take in handfuls of corn and the hens contentedly peck it of of their hands. It seems to be an OK compromise but we are still hoping they can free range in the garden some of the time. Perhaps when the perennials have grown stronger and the spring shoots are not quite so vulnerable......

More recipes to come very soon - you can look forward to salt & pepper scotch eggs, a sublime deep onion tart and a rhubarb & almond streusel cake. All made & written up in my trusty notebook, just waiting for a spare hour to go from notebook to blog.

Coffee custard & bananas - a grown up comfort pudding

2011-02-18T18:26:00.001Z

Banana custard was always a school-days favourite of mine. Mum went one stage better than plain old custard - coffee custard. Logic tells me that coffee and bananas shouldn't work together, but somehow they do, they really do. In the 70's coffee custard meant only one thing. Camp coffee essence mixed into Birds custard powder. I can still taste is now, it was a genius invention and something I have been longing to recreate for years but somehow have never got round to.

Now with my abundance of eggs I suddenly have a reason to make homemade custard. The hens keep on laying and so I need to keep on cooking. So it was to be homemade coffee custard, make with proper coffee, to serve with sliced bananas as kind of retro grown up comfort pudding. The perfect thing for a Friday night on the sofa with the box set of Mad Men.

You could turn this custard very easily into ice cream by churning it, once cool, in an ice cream maker. Custard based ice creams are among the simplest to make, with infinite flavour & texture possibilities that will no doubt be blogged about on another, warmer, day as the year moves on. If you want to turn this into ice cream, the only alternation I'd make to the recipe is to add a little more sugar, another 30g or so. The colder things are the less sweet they become, so frozen puddings will need to be almost cloyingly sweet in their unfrozen state. But don't worry once solid they will taste just right.

Coffee custard & bananas

enough for 2 greedy eaters...

4 egg yolks

60g caster sugar

200ml whole milk

100ml single cream

2 tbsp very strong coffee

2 bananas, cut into slices

In a glass bowl, whisk the eggs yolks with the sugar until sightly thickened. Set aside.

Put the milk & cream in a heavy based saucepan and heat gently until just below boiling point - keep an eagle eye on it, milk is infuriatingly susceptible to exploding over the top of the pan. Just as it reaches a near boil, pour it into the bowl with the egg and sugar whisking all the time until completely combined. Add the coffee and whisk again. Pour the lot back into the pan and heat over the lowest setting, stirring constantly, until it thickens to the consistency of double cream. Be patient, this will take 5 or so minutes. Don't be tempted to turn up the heat as you risk separation and curdling. Should it look like you may have overstepped the mark remove it from the heat and whisk as hard as you can. If the worst comes to the worst and it looks split an energetic blast in the blender usually rescues it. Hopefully you won't need to test this theory.

That is the custard made, now you have a decision to make. Hot coffee custard, or cold coffee custard. My preference is for cold, not ice cold, but chilly room temperature cold. So I pour it into bowl and leave it, top pressed with cling to prevent the dreaded skin forming, until it is cold. And then, only then, do I pour it over my sliced banana.

Heavenly and nostalgic.

A toe dip into spring.....Lime meringue pie

2011-02-07T13:23:00.001Z

February is a month of mixed emotions. The sense of utter urgency that winter finally be gone is often the prevailing one. A feeling that enough is enough, too many grey skies, too many blustery days, coupled with an almost painful longing to feel warm sun on bare skin. And yet brief daily forays into the garden to look after the chickens reveal that every day we nudge just a bit closer to spring. These small signs - tiny buds on the peach tree, nascent flowers forming quietly on the magnolia, the rhubarb crown unfurling through the still cold soil - bring about a wave of almost euphoric happiness. The daffodil bulbs poke barely a centimetre through the ground and yet every time I look at them I am reminded that life is on the cusp of a glorious explosion, that we have very nearly come, once again, through the long dark tunnel of winter.

Eating in February is also an up and down affair, the ways of eating and cooking, as always, working so closely in tandem to the mood of the moment. I want to begin to eat fresher more sprightly things yet I am not quite ready to give up the comfort food my body has grown so used to over the past few months. Comfort eating to me is generally about celebrating fats in all their wonderful guises. Rich creamy sauces wrapped around long ribbons of pasta, unctuous stews made with gelatinous cuts of meat, warming puddings generously dressed with sweet vanilla custard. So I dig deep into the freezer and look for the ever useful supplies of spring-green vegetables, the peas and the broads beans, that can always been found lurking there. I couple them with rich oozing cheeses, perhaps tossed into an omelette or stirred through a risotto to produce a comforting winter meal with one toe dipped barely into spring.

The transition from winter to spring is also reflected in the puddings I make, needing both to deliver something sweet and gentle, yet acid-sharp and lively. Lemon meringue pie, that childhood favourite, seems to fit the bill perfectly. But today I have no lemons, only limes, and it is to them I turn to create my winter-with-a-hint-of-spring Sunday pudding. I am proud to say I flicked through my copy of Delia’s Complete Cookery Course for the basic recipe. Just as you can always rely on winter turning to spring, so you can rely on Delia. She may not be as fashionable as she once was, but her recipes really work and that is the reason her’s is one of my most well thumbed books. The only thing I changed was substituting limes for lemons. The result was an overwhelming success. In the words of a 6 year old: “Mum, I just can’t find the words to describe how amazing this is!”. He went on to eat more than a quarter of the pie in a single sitting. Happiness, for mummy at least, is a well fed child.

Try it yourself, and bounce your way happily through the last month of winter.

Lime Meringue Pie

based on the recipe in Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course.

For the pastry:

110g plain flour

50g unsalted butter

For the filling:

3 ripe juicy limes, zest & juice

275ml cold water

3 level tablespoons cornflour

40g unsalted butter

2 large egg yolks

50g caster sugar

For the meringue:

2 large egg whites

110g caster sugar

Preheat et oven to 190oC/Gas 5.

Make the pastry by whizzing the flour and butter in a food processor to form fine crumbs. As just enough cold water to bring it together, just two or three tablespoons should do it. Wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Lightly grease a 23cm tart tin and roll the pastry into a circle big enough to line it. Don’t worry if it cracks a little, just patch it up in the tin using a little water if you need to stick it together. I find that the best, crumbliest pastry is often the least promising looking when raw in the tin. Line with baking paper and baking beans and bake blind in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the pastry case from the oven, and immediately lower the heat down to 150oC/Gas 2.

Next, prepare the filling by measuring the water into a jug and adding the cornflour and sugar to a bowl. Using a little of the measured water to mix the cornflower to a paste then pour the remaining water in a pan along with the lime zest. Bring up to the boil then pour over the cornflour paste, stirring all the time until it is smooth. Pour the whole lot back into the saucepan and simmer for a minute or so until it has thickened. Pour the lime mixture into the pastry case and smooth with a knife. Set aside while you prepare the meringue topping.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl, or the bowl of a food mixture, and whisk until they form stiff peaks. Add the sugar and carry on whisking until you have a thick glossy meringue. Using a wide knife smooth the meringue over the lime filling, taking care to seal the edges. Add a few artistic swirls if you fancy, and I always do. Bake in the oven for around 35-40 minutes or until the meringue has turned a lovely golden beige.

I can’t tell you why but for me this is a pie that just has to be eaten cold. But feel free to eat it in whatever state you prefer. There are no rules here…..

Marmalade Bakewells

2011-02-04T16:05:00.001Z

It is Seville orange season, the brief few weeks at the end of January and early February when these thick skinned inedible-when-raw oranges should be celebrated. And the best way I know of celebrating them is with a steamy afternoon in the kitchen making a vat of marmalade. I adore marmalade and like it nice and sharp, the bits neither too big nor too slight. Sadly, I have been so snowed under in the early part of the year that I have found no time to make any for myself. Happily for me then that my lovely ‘cooking buddy’ Jo made a batch and presented me with a jar yesterday.

Marmalade is so absolutely perfect for breakfast, you have to envy the clever devil who invented it. It is sweet enough to give the sugar kick so needed first thing in the morning, but sharp and tart enough to wake up the taste buds and bring you alive. When teamed with a decent coffee it really is the perfect pick me up.

As much as I love it on toast, I am often thinking of other ways to showcase its charms. The recipe below is for mini marmalade Bakewell’s - a sweet treat I created for a winter party a couple of years ago. But with my recently acquired jar from Jo I have just spent an hour or so recreating it with my little girl Eve. This time measuring, weighing and timing as I went along so I could write a recipe that others could follow. So much of my cooking is done form my head that it takes huge discipline for me to cook like this. The pastry was initially a disaster and kept falling apart - these things happen to all of us from time to time - but after a bit of cussing and then walking away for a few minutes, we managed to resurrect it into something rather crumbly and delicious.

Mini marmalade Bakewells

Makes 12 mini tarts

What you need:

250g shortcrust pastry, either good quality readymade, or make you own with 160g plain flour & 80g unsalted butter

150g unsalted butter

150g ground almonds

150g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

12 scant tsp marmalade, either homemade or good quality brought stuff

50g flaked almonds

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180oC/gas 4. Prepare a 12 hole jam-tart tin by greasing with a little butter, set aside.

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface until it is approximately 3mm thick. Leave to rest for a few minutes whilst you prepare the filling.

In a food processor, pulse together the butter, ground almonds and sugar until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the eggs and blend to a thick paste.

Cut out 12 circles from the pastry and gently line the tart tin. If your pastry cracks and crumbles, as mine did, don’t despair, just patch it up best you can. Sometimes I find the worst looking pastry ends up tasting the best. Sometimes the best policy is to walk away and leave it alone for a few minutes to allow both you and the pastry to relax. It worked for me!

Place a scant teaspoon of marmalade in the base of each tart - don’t be too generous, you need room for the filling. Add a dessertspoonful of filling to each, and level with a spoon. You can fill right to the top, it won’t grown much in the oven. You may find you have a little filling left over, it freezes brilliantly, so save it for those times when you find you have a little spare pastry and make yourself a quick treat.

Sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top of each to make them look pretty and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until golden brown on top. Allow to cool a little in the tin before transferring to a cooling rack. I really like to eat these cold, but feel free to eat them warm if you prefer.

Sticky beetroot & ginger muffins

2011-01-26T15:03:00.001Z

This month, amongst a million other things, I have been developing a set of ten recipes for 'Love Beetroot', a campaign to promote English beetroot as a delicious and versatile cooking ingredient. They have specifically asked for a few baking recipes which has given me plenty of opportunity to use up quite a few of my plentiful eggs.

The girls continue to lay well, 3 or 4 eggs a day seems to be the norm. To protect the garden, they are still confined to their run and they are, rather reluctantly, getting used to the idea. And I am overjoyed that my garden is recovering. In Bristol its been a cold damp sort of week, but spring is in the air, and the shoots of daffodils and mini irises are nudging up through the cold soil. Much to my delight, the rhubarb crown I planted last year has also made an appearance though the soil. I didn't protect from the frost, and boy did we have frost, but it seems to have survived. Once it gets going and I can pick a few stems I shall treat you to a delicious recipe I conjured up last year - mini rhubarb & ginger pavlova's - a perfect treat with the first of the seasons champagne rhubarb.

But in the meantime, back to the beetroot recipes. I've devised a few that use eggs: The ultimate chocolate & beetroot cake, Beetroot & cheddar brunch bread, Beetroot, raisin & stem ginger pudding, Beetroot pancakes with smoked bacon & maple syrup, Beetroot & vanilla muffins with rose mascarpone icing, and these, Sticky beetroot & ginger muffins with lemon icing. The inspiration was the proper old fashioned sticky gingerbread we used to eat in big squidgy squares as kids.

Sticky ginger & beetroot muffins with lemon icing

Makes 12 large muffins

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

You’ll need:

For the muffins:

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle

150g unsalted butter

125g dark brown sugar

100g stem ginger, cut into fine dice

4tsp ground ginger

2tsp ground cinnamon

250g pack cooked beetroot

250ml milk

2 medium eggs, beaten

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g plain flour

For the icing:

Zest 1 lemon, plus 1tbs juice

150g icing sugar

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4, line a 12 hole muffin tray with cases.

In a saucepan, add the golden syrup, black treacle, butter, dark brown sugar, stem ginger and both ground spices. Warm gently until butter and sugar have melted.

Puree the beetroot in a food processor, and blend with the eggs, milk and bicarbonate of soda. Once the butter and sugar have melted, take the saucepan off the heat and add the milk, eggs & beetroot.

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and beat in the wet ingredients until they are smooth – batter will be quite runny.

Fill the muffin cases with the batter – this is easier if you use a jug – and bake in the preheated oven until firm but springy to the touch. Be careful not to overcook the muffins, they are nice a little sticky. Remove from the tin and allow to cool on a rack.

Whilst the muffins are cooling make the icing by beating all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Drizzle over the muffins when they are completely cold. These muffins keep really well for a few days in an airtight tin.

A cheats post of Huevos revueltos

2011-01-17T14:44:00.001Z

Wow, its been a manic couple of weeks. Good manic but manic. With two young kids I try to only work 3-4 days a week. Not so in January. Its been full on full time. THe kids are suffering, I am suffering (when did my knees become so decrepit? Must be the hours and hours of standing). And my new blog is suffering.

So, I apologise for the re-hash, but here is a recipe I wrote to promote the British bean & pea growing season. Its on a scrambled egg theme (see my last blog post) with the rather more exotic Spanish name of Huevos revueltos. I know peas are not in season yet, but it is also wonderful with frozen peas, which are incidentally are staple in my house.

And as I did it for work, it has the added bonus of a gorgeous professional picture taken by Mike Cooper.

Huevos revueltos with jamon serrano, peas & mint, served on sourdough toast

Serves 4

These luxury Spanish-style scrambled eggs are perfect for serving to friends as part of a lazy Sunday brunch.

Ingredients:

8 eggs

200g shelled peas (approx 400g shell on weight)

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons finely chopped mint

85g jamon Serrano, torn into strips (Parma ham is fine too)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

8 slices sourdough or ciabatta

What to do:

Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes until just tender, drain and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan gently fry the garlic in the olive oil for 1 minute, taking care not to burn it. Add the cooked peas and the chopped mint, and season well with salt and pepper.

Add the egg and scramble until not quite set. Be careful not to over cook the egg as it will continue to cook when it is off the heat – this is not the time for rubbery eggs. Take off the heat and add the jamon serrano and stir briefly to mix though the egg.

Cook the toast, and butter generously. Spoon the egg over the toast and eat immediately, garnished with a little extra mint.