Everyone needs a simple recipe for a dessert that can be whipped up at a moment's notice when unexpected company drops by, or even just when you want a dessert, but don't want to have to go to the shops.



This fits the bill on all counts. It's quick and easy to do. It can be whipped up at a moment's notice because it uses ingredients most people keep in their store cupboards all the time, and you won't need to go to the shops!



It's a deliciously rich date and nut cake which creates it's own lucious toffee sauce while it bakes. Each warm mouthful brings you all the flavours of a sticky toffee pudding without any of the angst and work that making a real sticky toffee pudding involves!



Actually I'd call this a scrumdiddlyumptious doddle! (Don't worry if you are not fond of dates, you can use 3 to 4 apples, cored and chopped (leave the peels on) instead! Of course then it's actually an Apple Walnut Pudding.) It's also very low in fat, having only 1 TBS of butter which when divided amongst 6 people amounts to about 3/4 tsp a piece! (We won't talk about the cream which you are going to pour on top when you eat it. If you don't talk about it . . . well, it doesn't really count does it??? shhh . . . )



*Date and Walnut Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This is an old fashioned, economical pudding, very similar to a sticky toffee pudding with a cake on the top and a lucious toffee sauce on the bottom, which forms while the whole thing is baking.
It's very easy and quick to make.

4.25ounces of plain flour (1 cup)
7 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
125ml of milk (1/2 cup)
5.25 ounces chopped pitted dates (1 cup packed)
4 ounces chopped walnuts (1 cup)

Topping:
7.5 ounces soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
500ml of boiling water (2 cups)
1 TBS butter

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 10 by 10 inch square baking pan, or a deep round dish, 9 inches in diameter. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the milk and briskly mix together until smooth. Stir in the dates and nuts. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish. Heat the brown sugar, water and butter together in a saucepan until it comes to the boil again. Pour this carefully over top of the batter. Immediately place into the heated oven and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling up from underneath. Serve warm with or without pouring cream, custard or ice cream.



There are some delicious Grilled Lamb Chops with a Mint and Coriander Sauce cooking over in The Cottage today.

We recently signed up to Abel & Cole again for a small veg and fruit box delivery each week and our first one arrived this morning. I was so thrilled to see a big bunch of rainbow Chard in it! We tried to grow chard this year, but the slugs never gave it a chance.



I know we could use slug pellets, but we just don't like to use them (bad for the birds) and the other stuff is largely in-effective. One night Todd went out into the garden and picked up no less than 40 slugs. We are going to have to do something about that before next year for sure.



Anyways there was this lovely big bunch of beautiful rainbow coloured Bright Lights Chard in it and of course I just had to cook it tonight for our supper. It was so very pretty with it's deep emerald green leaves riddled with beautiful veins and stems of raspberry pink, blood red, orange and yellow . . .



I just love chard . . . or silverbeet as it is also called. It has an almost earthy flavour . . . and is beautiful to eat when properly cooked. You don't to over cook either the leaves or the stems . . . it goes without saying that the slimmer stems are a bit more tender than the thicker ones, but no less tasty. They just need to be cooked that little bit longer.



I always separate the stems from the leaves and cook them separately, which seems to work very well for me. It's delicious simply steamed and then sprinkled with a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, or vinegar as my mother used to use . . . but if you really want it to shine . . . prepare it as a gratin!



Oh so unctuously rich and creamy . . . with earthy undertones, and just a hint of sharpness from some grainy mustard, this is a real winner all round.



Me . . . I could eat just a plate of this and nothing else, but . . . we had it with some steamed and crushed pink firs from the garden and some lightly grilled Barnsley Chops (double lamb chops, English of course!)that I had simply sprinkled with a mixture of chopped rosemary, lemon zest and minced fresh garlic before grilling.



A most scrummy supper indeed! (The quantities given are for 4 as a side dish, but would make a very delicious light supper for two, served on it's own with some crusty bread for mopping up all those lucious juices.)



*A Delicious Gratin of Chard*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Earthy and moreishly delicious! This is quite simply the best.

450g of swiss chard (a scant pound)
400ml of double cream (about 1 2/3 cup)
2 TBS grainy mustard
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup)

Preheat your oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 5. Butter a shallow baking dish and set aside. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil.

Wash your chard really well. Cut the stalks from the leaves. Cut the stalks into short to medium sized pieces. Plunge the stems into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the leaves and leave in the boiling water only until they are wilted. Toss the stems and leaves together (shake offy excess water) and then place them into the buttered dish. Whisk together the cream, mustard and salt and black pepper to taste. Pour this mixture over top of the chard. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Bake in the heated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling and the top has lightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve.



And in The Cottage today, a delicous Blueberry Gingerbread.

Shhh . . . I'm on holidays and not really supposed to be blogging, but I just couldn't resist showing you what we had for our dinner last night. This is Lamb Rump with a sweet Honey Roast Parsnip, Rosemary & Breadcrumb crust.

A part of the Cook Menu ready meals put out by Marks & Spencers. I picked up a few of them for us to eat while we are away. It gets a little bit expensive eating out everynight, but the cooking equipment in the cottage is a bit inadequate for anything other than heating things up . . . so I told Todd, if am going to have to eat ready meals . . . it has to be M&S ready meals . . at least there will be some meat in their gravy, unlike some I could mention but won't!

Our first night here we had their beef burgers in a cheese crust along with some of their chips and they weren't bad! I've always liked the M&S burgers. Pretty lean and moist, and the cheese on top was quite tasty.



This was our Sunday lunch and I have to say it was also very tasty. The meat was a little bit tough and not as tender as I would have liked, and the crust didn't get crispy like I would have liked either, but that crust was oh so very delicious. It had a delicious proportion of parsnips to bread crumbs and was nice and moist and very flavourful. I loved that the rosemary in it was not overpowering in the least. I am going to try to replicate that stuffing topping when I get home, because we both really liked it a lot!



I served it with some M&S mash and an assortment of their vegetables . . . some chantenay carrots and baby cabbages. Delicious.

I would give this meal a hearty 8 out of 10 for deliciousness, and ease of preparation. (I took off two points because the meat was a bit tough.)

8 out of 10 ain't bad! Beats the pants off of Mickie Dee every time!

We had such a fabulous sunny day here today! Perfect eating outdoors day. The Missionaries came over and helped Todd to trim the hedge and I thought I would bake them something filling for their lunch. Pasty's are perfect picnic food . . . filling, delicious and great for eating out of hand.



The pasty has been a staple food down South in Cornwall for a very long time. It's been known as many things through the years . .. . tiddy oggy was one name used and hoggen was another name, which was used in particular when they didn't contain potato.



Many things were used as fillings through the years . . . meats, fish, vegetables, eggs and sometimes you would have a savoury filling at one end of the pasty and a fruit filling at the other.



There are pasty shops all over the UK, where you can just about any kind of pasty you could want nowadays . . . steak and stilton, steak and ale, Lamb and mint, cheese and onion, to name but a few. (I confess to having a certain fondness for the steak and stilton ones and the cheese and onion ones. Oh so scrummy!!)



These here today are a traditional, no frills steak, potato, onion and swede pasty. (A swede is a rutabaga, but you could also use turnip.)



Delicious and tender meat and vegetables encased in a delightfully flakey pastry. They're not as hard to make as some would suppose, but are really quite simple to execute. What's not to like!!!



*The Great Cornish Pasty*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe

Buttery Puffed Pastry, all flakey and encasing a delicious filling of beef, potato, onion and swede. Perfect and totally portable!!!

1 3/4 to 2 pounds of puff or shortcrust pastry
1/2 pound of beef skirt or chuck steak, sliced into very thin strips
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 small swede, peeled and thinly sliced and chopped
1 ounce butter (2 TBS), melted
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 freerange egg, beaten

Roll the pastry out 1/3 inch thick. Cut into rounds approximately 8 inches in diameter. You will need 4. I find a sandwich plate is perfect to use as a template.

Place the potatoes, onions, swede and steak into a large bowl. Season with salt and generously with lots of pepper.. Drizzle the melted butter over all and mix well together.

Divide the filling between the 4 rounds, placing it just slightly off centre. Brush the edges with some beaten egg and fold one half of the pastry round over to cover the filling. Seal shut and then pinch and roll the edges from one edge to the other, giving it a bit of a rope effect. Place onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Pierce the tops in a few places and brush with beaten egg. Place into the refrigerator to ill for about 1/2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Place the tray of pasties into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and cook for a further 30 to 35 minutes until well risen and golden brown and the filling is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. You can shield with some foil if you think the pastry is getting too dark.

Serve hot or cold as you like. These are great picnic food!



There is a deliciously Creamy Fish Chowder cooking over in Oak Cottage today. If you are a regular reader of A Year From Oak Cottage, you will want to update your bookmarks, as the url has changed! Thanks!

I am just loving summer with all of it's fresh fruit and vegetables! It is by far and away the best time of year for fruit and veg just packed with flavour!



The supermarket shelves (not to mention my garden) are a dancing parade of delicious colour and taste, and I am love, love, lovin' every moment of it!



I especially love the abundance of fresh berries! Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, red and black currants, gooseberries, . . . oh so lovely. And the stone fruit . . . English cherries, early plums, apricots and fresh peaches from the continent . . . oh so yummy!



There is so very much you can do with them and we have been enjoying our fair share of them fresh and eaten out of hand and then in some pretty scrummy desserts . . . but you know what?



They just aren't for dessert! They also make lovely fruity salsa's that are just perfect with grilled chicken, lamb and pork.



Today I did some lovely grilled chicken breasts, all moist tender and flavourful . . . accompanied by a fruity yet zesty fresh berry salsa.



Each mouthful was a delight . . . the berries sweet and yet at the same time tangy from the lime juice and a bit salty from the salt and the pepper, chili and cilantro gave it a nice zip! And let's not forget the rich creaminess from the avocado!



All in all a truly wonderful combination that I hope you will want to try out for yourself! (I am thinking it would also be wonderful in a wrap with either sliced roast turkey or chicken, and perhaps a gutsy lettuce like Baby Gems or even rocket.) Watch this space!

This is light, fresh, colourful and delicious!



*Grilled Chicken with a Summer Berry Salsa*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Berries aren't just for dessert! Moist tender chicken with a delicious berry salsa that has a bit of a bite!

3 TBS olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
the juice and zest of one unwaxed lime
100g of fresh strawberries, roughly chopped (6 large berries)
100g of fresh blueberries (about 3/4 cup)
100g of fresh raspberries (23 raspberries)
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (do be careful not to touch your nose, face or eyes when
working with fresh chilies)
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 ripe avocado, skinned and diced
20g of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (Cilantro) (a handful, leaves only, discard stems)

Heat a griddle to medium heat. Brush 2 TBS olive oil over the butterflied chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on the heated griddle, turning halfway through the cooking time, until cooked through and the juices run clear. (4 to 5 minutes per side.)

While the chicken is cooking, whisk the remaining oil with the lime juice and zest. Season to taste with some salt and pepper.

Put the berries into a bowl. Add the dressing along with the onion, chili, avocado and coriander. Toss gently together.

Serve the griddled chicken with the berry salsa spooned over top. Serve immediately.

I was contacted a week or so ago by the Lizzie at Piper's Farm who wanted to know if I would like to take a look at their website and possibly try some of their products. I took a look, loved what I saw and said I would LOVE to try some of their products!

Located in the heart of Devon, Piper's Farm is a farm dedicated to the production of meat, poultry and meat products via traditional, slow growing methods, allowing the animals to reach natural maturity in a completely stress free environment. In other words, it's farming the way it used to be. Started over 20 years ago, their goal was to produce healthy meat that families could enjoy eating with complete confidence.



I am a great believer in humane farming practices, and have long held the theory and supported the ethos that happy meat is a better tasting meat.

I was quite happy to try some of their products out and the next day a package was delivered from them, right to my door. It was very well packed and arrived fresh and well chilled.

Included in the pack sent was a package of Pork Sausages, Red Ruby Rump Steaks, Smoked Back Bacon, Chicken Fillets, Pork Steaks, a Lamb and Mint Pie and a Red Ruby Steak and Mushroom Pie.



First up were the pies. My Todd is a real pie man. He just loves meat pies and I have to confess to having a certain fondness for them myself. It was very easy to tell which pie was which pie . . . the top crust was very clearly marked and a key was included so that we could figure out which mark meant what.



The Steak and Mushroom Pie was meaty and chock full of lovely chunks of tender steak and mushrooms, in a rich thick gravy.



Likewise the Lamb and Mint Pie was filled with lovely bits of lamb and carrot and a rich and flavourful gravy, with the merest hint of mint that too nothing away from the deliciousness of the Lamb.

Both pies had a beautiful crust, crisp and not at all greasy. In short, these were quite simply the best meat pies that my pie loving husband and I have ever eaten! We both fell in love with them and would buy them in an instant!



The next day we tried out the Rump Steaks. From their site: Red Ruby Beef is legendary, a native Exmoor Breed, Devon Ruby with a tight grain, good fat marbling and a real depth of flavour. I simply pan grilled the steaks, using my fool proof method and serving them with a simple pan sauce created by deglazing the skillet with some red wine and a dessertspoon of Onion Marmelade. They were delicious! See for yourself!



They were tender and well flavoured. We both really enjoyed them as well!



Next up was the sausages. All of their sausages are made using natural skins and ingredients. The ones we were sent to try were the plain Pork Sausages. Made with Pork, Oats and seasoning they were beautiful and so meaty. They were also HUGE. Todd usually can eat about 3 bangers, but he had a hard time finishing the two that I gave him. We both loved them. They were not greasy or fatty and had a wonderful flavour.



Just look at the tastiness of that sausage! We loved them! Now I want to try their Cumberland, which as you know is my favourite kind of sausage.

The next day I cooked their Pork . Their pork is saddleback pork produced from traditional breeds, grown slowly to natural maturity, and spending their summers in cider orchards munching on grass and windfalls. I know I should have just cooked it plainly, but I wanted to do something different and so I did a stir fry with it. It was delicious! I kid you not. I don't like pork that is really . . . well, porky, if you know what I mean. I don't like it to smell like a pig when I cook it. This did not.



The meat was tender, not tough. Sometimes when you cook meat quickly as in something like a stir fry the meat can be quite tough. This was perfect and we both really enjoyed it immensely!



*Stir Fried Pork and Peppers*
Serves 4, but can very easily cut in half
Printable Recipe

Spicy and sweet and scrummy yummy! Better than a take away for sure!

For the meat:
4 lean boneless pork steaks
2 ounces rice wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS brown sugar
5 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To finish:
3 TBS finely chopped fresh gingerroot
1 TBS sweet chili sauce
5 TBS teriyaki sauce
1 green pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded and cut into strips
1 red pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded, and cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded and cut into strips
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a small handful of flaked toasted almonds
2 TBS chopped fresh mint (Optional)

Mix together the rice wine vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, oil and salt and pepper in a bowl. Slice the pork into thin slices, across the grain. Add to the bowl and stir to coat. Set aside to marinate for half an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop the pork strips out of the marinade and add to the hot pan, along with the gingerroot. Cook and stir until the pork begins to turn colour. Stir together the sweet chili sauce and teriyaki sauce. Pour over top. Continue to cook and stir for a few minutes longer, until pork is cooked through. Stir in the peppers and cook, stirring frequently until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds and chopped mint (if using) and serve immediately.

We still had some sausages left and so I made a tasty Pork Sausage Egg Fried Rice to go along with the Stir Fry, which we also really, really enjoyed.



*Leftover Pork Sausage Fried Rice*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A really tasty way to use up leftover cooked pork sausages and rice.

2 TBS vegetable oil
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
3 TBS dark soy sauce, divided
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 TBS minced fresh gingerroot
1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
4 cooked thick pork sausages, cut in quarters and sliced into chunks
2 small carrots, peeled and grated
a large handful of frozen petit pois
2 cups of cold cooked white rice
2 TBS rice wine vinegar

Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Measure out the soy sauce. Take 1/4 tsp of it and beat it together with the eggs. Add the eggs to the heated pan, swirling them to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir until cooked through, but still moist. Scrape out of the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onion white bits. Cook stirring constantly until fragrant. Add the sausage chunks. cook and stir to heat through and brown a bit. Add the carrots, peas and rice, stirring to combine. Add the cooked egg, remaining soy sauce and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is completely coated with teh mixture. Let cook, undisturbed fora bout a minute longer, until heated through. Sprinke the green bits of the onions over top and then serve immediately.

We haven't yet tried the bacon or the chicken fillets, but if the rest of what we were given to try is any idication . . . I am sure we will be more than pleased with them as well!

All the meat sold by Pipers Farm is produced by the Grieg family on their own 50 acre farm community of about 25 small farms. They have an on farm butchery and a kitchen where they produce everything they sell including a variety of ready meals and pies. I have to say that Todd and I were very impressed with everything they sent and with the delivery service and all the information we were given. We both highly recommend and hope that you will give them a try! Many thanks to Lizzie for having given us this delicious opportunity!

I recently received a gift certificate for Amazon.uk from the Fairy Hobmother so that I could buy anything I wanted to treat myself with. It was no surpise that I got myself several cookbooks. I know . . . I didn't really need them, but I do love my cookbooks and I am of the opinion that you can never really have too many! (Shhh Todd!)



Anyways, this was one of the ones I got and I fell completely in love with it. I have long been a fan of Bonne Maman conserves and compotes and so I was intrigued with the idea of a whole cookery book devoted to using them in a variety of ways!



This tasty book is a very appealing collection of 88 delicious looking "Seasonal" recipes for sweet and savoury dishes. The pictures are mouth watering, and I can tell you I have quite a few ear marked for trying out . . . recipes like Herby Lamb with Woodland Dressing, Lemon and Wild Blueberry Swirl Cake, Roasted Potato Salad with Apricot Chilli Mayonnaise, and this tasty one here for Crispy Crumbed Romano Peppers!




There are extra tips and suggestions included with many of the recipes; and there’s a special section with clever ideas for using the very last teaspoon from the jar.



There are also lots of inspirational ideas, beautifully illustrated, on how to use the iconic jars creatively. Things like attractive storage for cooking spices, seed packets, buttons and cotton reels, novel Christmas candle holders or chic summer cordial glasses . . . included are many wonderful and imaginative suggestions on how to use the timeless jars and make a stunning style statement.



I guess you can tell that I am well pleased with this book. The peppers turned out fabulous. It seems quite an unusual combination . . . beautiful romano peppers stuffed with a mixture of golden onions, chopped capers, and blueberry jam . . . then topped with a goats cheese and egg topping, rolled into crispy bread crumbs and then roasted until the peppers are meltingly soft and delicious. As odd as the ingredients may sound, they really do work together wonderfully!!



*Crispy Crumbed Romano Peppers*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Beautifully roasted romano peppers, stuffed with a delicious mixture of onions, capers, blueberry jam and goats cheese, and then rolled in panko crumbs and baked. Scrummy yummy!

2 large spanish onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 TBS butter
4 TBS wild blueberry conserve
2 TBS capers, drained and coarsely chopped
4 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
2 X 200g packs of Romano peppers (4 peppers)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
4 ounces soft goats cheese
8 TBS dried white bread crumbs or panko

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet until foaming. Add the onions and reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the blueberry conserve and tomato puree. Set aside to cool.

Slit the peppers along one side of each. Open out just a little, remove any seeds and discard. Divide the onion mixture between each pepper. Beat half of the egg mixture into the goats cheese. Spread this mixture over top of the onion filling in the peppers.

Put the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Brush the outside of the peppers with the remaining egg, then roll in the bread crumbs, patting lightly to help them adhere.
Place onto the prepared baking sheet.

Roast in the heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is golden brown.