I contend that there is no such thing as a boring salad.   When we were first married Todd would moan when I would say that I had made a salad. He soon learned that my salads were nothing to turn your nose up at and more than a little bit interesting!

   

WE do love a good cobbler in this house.   We grow all of our own soft fruits in our back garden . . .  black currants, strawberries, raspberries, tayberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  We don't get a lot of anything at any one time . . . not yet anyways.  The bushes are all still young and so at best we get things in dibs and dabs.

  

I tend to freeze a lot of it so that eventually I end up with enough to make a pie or some such with them.   Hopefully with each year that passes, and as we add more bushes and plants, we will one day end up with a plethora of berry goodness.  We do have a lot of strawberries now each season.  It's taken almost four years to get to that point.  The rest will eventually catch up as well, but in the meantime I make a lot of bumbleberry goodies.

  

There really is no such thing as a bumble berry . . .  it's basically a name you give to a pie or dessert which has been created using at least three different berries . . . all "bumbled" together, and so it was with this Bumbleberry Cobbler which I baked for the missionaries when we had them for supper last Tuesday evening.  

  

Containing random bits of all of the berries we have available at the moment . . .  this cobbler had blueberries and blackberries from last year in it (we are still waiting for ours to ripen this year) mixed with black currants, tayberries and raspberries . . . the only real requirement being that there be at least three different types of berries . . . 

  

Lightly flavoured with lemon sugar and topped with a crumbly buttery, vanilla infused scone topping . . . and baked until the berries are all bubbling up and sweet . . .  the scone topping is browned and crisp . . .  and the whole thing together is one delicious mass of tasty cobbler goodness . . . 

  

Served warm . . .  each bowl holding a portion of that thickened sweetened fruit, along with some of that buttery cobbler topping . . .  and topped with a dollop of clotted cream, this dessert delights all of the senses.   In short . . .  it went down a real treat and the platter was licked totally and completely clean.  I love it when that happens.  Job done.




 *Bumbleberry Cobbler*

The rain is bucketing down today.  It's not a great day to go out and do much of anything.  How fitting for the first day of the summer school holidays. I hope it's not a portent of things to come!

  

I had in my mind to make Friands today, but not just any friands . . .  raspberry and marshmallow friands.   I went to the shops and picked up some lovely fresh raspberries and a bag of pink and white mini marshmallows and got home only to discover I had no ground almonds.  I hate it when that happens. 

There are some days when you just don't feel much like cooking.  We all get them.  Even I have those days once in a while.   This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com 

When I was 9 years old I saw the Disney film, The Moonspinners, starring  Haley Mills.  It instilled in me a hunger to visit Greece, which has remained a dream for me up until this very present day.  It is on my bucket list of things I want to do before I die and God willing one year I will actually make it!


Greece is set once more to become a prime holiday destination for Brits this summer, following an increase of 11% in the number visitors from the UK in 2013.  Greek speciality foods producer Gaea has created a beautiful hat trick of recipes using it's authentic tapenades and top quality Greek olive oils to get sun seekers into  Greek holiday mode!

Promising a heavenly taste of sun-kissed Greece, this three-course extravaganza features delicious offerings from the Gaea range, and offers a wonderfully unique chocolate mousse that combines chocolate and the finest Greek olive oil.

Enjoy your meal!

 

Prepare the couscous according to the package directions, using either water or chicken stock.  Add the remaining ingredients and fluff with a fork.  Let stand for 15 minutes and then serve.




Combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs with the exception of the flour and oil for frying.  Knead well. Cover and chill the mixture for 30 minutes.   Shape into meatballs.  Flour lightly.   Heat some olive oil in a large skillet.   Once the oil is hot add the meatballs and fry them in the hot oil until lightly browned and cooked through.


Once fried, the meatballs may be eaten along, packed inside flat breads, or served covered with tomato sauce with spaghetti and for extra Greek authenticity, sprinkle with kefalograviera cheese.




Melt the chocolate over low heat.   Stir in the olive oil and Cointreau.    Beat the egg yolks together with half of the sugar until the mixture becomes fluffy with an electric mixer.  Mix this with the chocolate mixture.  Using clean beaters and a clean bowl, beat together the egg whites and remaining sugar, along with a pinch salt, until stiff peaks form.   Fold this into the chocolate mixture along with the orange zest. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  Divide between individual bowls to serve, garnishing each serving with some whipped cream and chocolate flakes if desired.



Olive oil in Greece, which dates back 4000 years, is globally acknowledged for its purity and exceptional taste. More than 80% of the Greek olive oil is extra virgin, which is the top-ranked classification category in the world. This constitutes Greece as the world’s largest producer of extra virgin olive oil. Gaea’s extra virgin olive oil’s superior quality is appreciated by the international trade, which is the reason why Gaea’s exports to all markets are constantly increasing at a fast pace. Moreover, Gaea produces the 1st Extra Virgin Olive Oils in the world that have been certified Carbon Neutral!


 


Natural ingredients from Gaea – the Greek “Mother Earth” are finely chopped, crushed, or blended to make Gaea’s unique tapenades. They are flavoured with other ingredients such as garlic, herbs and lemon, and can be served as a Greek- meze, the typical Greek appetizer to savour and share. Gaea’s tapenades:

Are exclusively made from natural ingredients
Are combined by traditional, authentic recipes of the oldest and healthiest Mediterranean cuisine and serving suggestions. 

For more recipe suggestions check out the Recipe Folder on the Gaea website.

I saw a photograph of this in one of my Donna Hay books the other day and it just spoke to me.  She always presents her food so beautifully and it's usually pretty healthy.  

    

This is a recipe I have been eyeballing in a baking book for a while now.   It's one of those e-books.  Good Breakfast and Brunch Food from Murdoch.  There is a recipe in it called Sky High Cappuccino and White Chocolate Muffins.  It looked really good and I have long wanted to try it out.


 

I don't drink coffee, but I do like the flavour of it in baked goods.  I normally use Camp which is a British product, composed of water, sugar, 4% caffeine-free coffee essence, and 26% chicory essence.  It makes an excellent substitute for those who don't drink coffee.  I used about 1 TBS of it in these.



In the e-book, they  made baking paper tube, tying them and then lining the ramekins with them.  That just did not work for me, and so I crossed my fingers and just baked them in ramekins which I had buttered really well.  I also lined the bottoms with baking paper rounds.  Worked a charm.  I was really pleased.



I used Green and Blacks quality White Chocolate, cut into nice chunks.  You can see the flecks of vanilla in this chocolate.  It's the white chocolate which I like the best.  It worked beautifully in this recipe.

 

I also dusted mine with some sifted icing sugar to serve.  I did that for several reasons.  Number one I thought it would look really pretty, and number two, it enhanced the coffee/cappucchino flavour of them, with just a tiny bit of sweetness. You could also glaze them with a coffee flavoured drizzle which would be nice.  Look at that lovely chunk of white chocolate you can see there . . .  scrumdiddlyumptious!



They were beautifully moist as well.   We both really enjoyed these.  I also cut the recipe in half because there are only two of us.  That worked fine, no problemo.  If you are looking for a nice muffin recipe with moist muffins that are beautifully flavoured and textured, I highly recommend this recipe.  I hope you will give it a go.

Oh yes, there is a brown sugar and butter mixture that you swirl into top of them prior to baking as well. It kind of sinks in and caramlizes.  Scrummo!



*Jumbo Cappuccino and White Chocolate Muffins*
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until well risen and the muffins test done.  A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. (If you are doing smaller muffins, they should only take 15 to 20 minutes, max.)


You may or may not dust these with icing sugar prior to serving.  It's up to you!