Eleven a.m. and I am longing for custard creams. I don't drink tea or coffee, but still partake of the wonderful British tradition of elevensies . . .




That well earned (or not) break in the morning where you sit down with a nice hot cuppa, a moreish nosh or two and put your feet up for a few . . .



There is not a biscuit in the house, except perhaps for a few broken digestives in the bottom of the tin . . . I eat those, but . . . as good as they are . . . they are not custard creams . . . and I want custard creams . . .



Out comes the scales, bowls, and measuring spoons. There is nothing for it but to make my own . . . I know I can do it.

I am like that little train that keeps on chugging up the hill . . . I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .



Not quite custard creams, but in some ways similar. I may even like these better . . .

Not too sweet, but short and buttery, with just the faintest hint of custard in the moreishly scrummy biscuits . . . the custard flavour coming through in that luciously rich filling.



mmm . . . a mightly tasty crumbily scrummily delicious mouthful. I can't stop at one . . .

and neither will you.



*Custard Buttons*
Makes about 20 double biscuits
Printable Recipe

Deliciously short and buttery with a lucious cream centre, tasting of custard. Fabulous!

6 ounces plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
3 TBS custard powder (you want the stuff that comes in the cardboard
container, not the sachets you add hot water to, you want proper custard powder)
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter (4 1/2 TBS), cut into bits
2 1/2 ounces white vegetable fat, such as Trex or White flora (4 1/2 TBS Crisco), cut into bits
3 TBS icing sugar, sifted
1 large free range egg

For the filling:
2 ounces unsalted butter (4 TBS)
1 TBS custard powder
4 ounces icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
few drops of hot water if necessary

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set aside.

Whisk the flour, custard powder, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and vegetable fat. Rib into the flour mixtue until you have something the consistency of sand. Beat the egg lightly and then stir into the dry mixture, mixing it in well.

Scoop out TBS size pieces of the dough and shape lightly into balls between the palms of your hands. Place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Press down with a fork which you have dusted in flour each time. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until well risen and set, but not coloured.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Cream the butter, custard powder and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Be patient. It will come together eventually and be lovely. If the mixture still seems a bit stiff, add a few drops of hot water and beat until you have the consistency you are after. Sandwich two biscuits together with this custardy filling and then sit back and enjoy!

I just adore Fennel. It's a lovely vegetable, with a delightfully crisp and crunchy texture and a mild licorace flavour. I could eat it just like an apple. I find it wonderfully refreshing and incredibly delicious . . .

Mind you, I can sit and eat All Sorts by the handful, and would . . . but for my conscience.



Did you know that there are both male and female fennel bulbs??? The shorter squat bulb is the female . . . surprise, surprise! Whilst the taller, more slender bulbs are the males. There is no discernable difference in taste between the two. They're both lovely.



Fennel is lovely braised or roasted. The resulting flavour is very mild and it has a beautiful meltingly tender texture, not at all stringly like one would think. Fantastic with fish, and surprisingly tasty with cheese!



I love it in salads though . . . that is where it really shines, and it is my favourite way of preparing it. Sliced into coleslaws, it gives an intriguing flavour that has people wondering what that additional little flavour it. Chopped and added to a leafy salad, it adds a lovely crunch . . .



Thinly sliced and starring in it's own salad, it is wonderfully refreshingly gorgeously delicious. I like to use both the crisp layers and the fronds. It goes fabulously well with citrus fruits, especially orange, which somehow enhances it's delicate flavour. The additional crunch of richly toasted pinenuts is an extravagent addition and adds another wonderful layer of flavour in this fantastic salad.



I love this salad so much I could eat the whole thing all by myself . . . but I restrain myself and share it with Todd. Once dressed you must eat it immediately.

Not a problem . . .



*Fennel Salad with Citrus*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

This is a deliciously light and refreshing salad on a warm day.

1 large bulb of fennel
the zest and juice of one lemon
1 navel orange
3 TBS pine nuts, toasted
a splash of olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Trim your fennel, cutting off any shoots, reserving the fronds, and discarding. Also any bruised or tatty looking or wilted outer bits. Cut the fennel bulb in half and cut out the core, discarding it. Slice the fennel halves paper thin using a mandolin, if possible. Place in a bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon into the bowl, along with the zest of the orange. Using a sharp knife, cut all the pith away from the orange, exposing the inner flesh. Again, with a sharp knife, cut into the orange, between the sections, and slice out the flesh into the bowl. Squeeze the remainder of the orange over the bowl, allowing all the juices to fall into it. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the bowl as well. Chop the fennel fronds coarsely and add along with the pine nuts, a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste. Toss together and serve immediately.

I guess it is a bit of a stretch to call this a Potato Pizza . . . really.


There is no crust . . . not unless you consider crisp skinned baked potatoes a crust . . . the outsides all crisp potato skins . . . crunchy and earthy . . . the insides all fluffy and meltingly tender . . .



Split in half and laid bare . . . with a deliciously cheesy topping chock full of rich tuna, tangy cheddar, spring onions, zesty pepperonata (from a jar) and salty dry cured olives . . . not to mention a bit of Italian spice . . .

I supposed the only way this resembles a pizza is that it is flattened and spread with a delicious topping . . .



Another way of looking at it would be to call them the most scrumptious, taste bud tittilating, gorgously scrummy, D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S jacket potatoes you have ever eaten!!!

Not to mention very easy to make and the kids love em!



Go on . . . make them tonight. Your family will thank you for it. All you need as a go with, is a tastily tossed side salad!




*Potato Pizzas*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy, cheap and the kids love them!

4 medium baking potatoes, washed well and dried
one half of a jar (290g) of pepperonata antipasta
one (225g) jar of albacore tuna in spring water, drained and flaked
2 spring onions, chopped
200g (8 ounces) of strong cheddar cheese grated
(I use the semi skim, no problem)
a handful of black olives, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Prick the potatoes all over with a fork to stop them from bursting during cooking. Arrange them evenly spaces on a microwaveable dish that you have lined with a double layer of paper kitchen towelling. Cook in the microwave on high for 8 minutes. Flip them over and cook them for another 8 minutes. (Alternatively you can bake them in a hot oven for about an hour. I place them directly on the oven rack and bake at 200*C/400*F Gas mark 6 This is my preferred method.)

While the potatoes are cooking make the tuna topping, and preheat your grill to high. Gently mix the tuna, pepperonata, onions, olives, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning together in a bowl along with about 1/3 of the cheese.

Take the potatoes out and cut then in half lengthwise, leaving them still attached along one side. Open them out like a book and place them onto a baking tray. Pile the tuna mixture over top and scatter the remaining cheese over top. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes, until the cheese has melted and started to brown.

 

I'll be right up front and tell you now . . . my mother makes the best potato salad on the planet. Full of flavour and texture, and not over loaded with cloying mayonnaise.

I have to admit my regular potato salad does come a close second, if I don't say so myself, but even so . . . it never quite tastes as good to me as hers does . . . or maybe it is the memory of the taste of her's that makes it an unachievable goal . . . somehow reality never does quite live up to the memories of things does it??



Mom always started her potato salad the day before she was going to serve it. She would boil a big pot of potatoes, in the skins of course, to help retain all that lovely potato flavour and vitamins. I can still see her patiently standing at the counter peeling them once they were cooked and then cooled. Once peeled, she would cube them into precise little cubes . . . along with peeled cucumber in the same size, chopped celery and hard boiled egg . . . with perhaps a tiny bit of grated onion, depending on the mood she was in. A bit of salt and pepper and some Kraft Salad Dressing and it was done. Simple, and yet oh so good for supper on a warm Sunday afternoon . . .



We often had it in the summer, with a dollop of cold tinned salmon fixed on the side of the plate, some sliced ripe juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers . . . and her famous coleslaw, that we could never get enough of . . . sigh . . . summer on a plate.



I find that over here the potato salad is always always drenched to the hilt in mayonnaise or creme fraiche, and has decidedly almost no flavour at all. The potatoes hard and dull . . . and severely lacking in seasoning. Where is the tang? Where is that earthiness that potatoes should taste like? I make my own regular potato salad much in the same way as my mother did, and it is far better than anything I have tasted here. Sorry England, but your potato salad does not quite cut the mustard!



I don't always want a mayonnaise based potato salad though . . . sometimes I long for a vinaigrette dressed potato salad, done in the fabric of the French Tradition of my father's side of the family . . .



The potatoes fork tender and pre-dressed with a bit of stock and wine while they are still warm . . . so that they absorb that lovely salty tang. A final simple vinaigrette dressing of herbs . . . spring onions, dill, parsley and basil . . . a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper . . . and an emulsion of white wine vinegar and good olive oil is all it needs.



The flavour of the potato shines through . . . and that is what you want really . . . in a potato salad. The earthy sweetness of new potatoes enhanced with the tangy herbed flavour of a delicate vinaigrette. A big plate of this along side some lightly steamed and dressed spring asparagus, some sliced ham and perhaps some salted radishes . . . a crusty loaf and butter to mop up all the tangy crumbly potato leavings on the plate at the end . . .

This is bliss . . . pure, and utter bliss.

There is a time for my mother's potato salad . . . but today was not it . . .



*Herbed Potato Salad*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

I love this salad, with it's tangy vinaigrette dressing and punchy herb flavour. I could just sit and eat a huge bowlful of it and nothing else!

2 pounds of new potatoes (I used Jersey Royals
this time, but any new potato will do)
2 TBS dry white wine
2 TBS good chicken stock
3 TBS white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sea salt
2/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 TBS extra virgin olive oil, salad quality
4 spring onions, minced
2 TBS minced fresh dill
2 TBS minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 TBS shredded fresh basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and then drop in the potatoes. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until just fork tender. Drain well in a colander and then let sit for about 10 minutes or so until you can handle them. If they are very large, slip the skins off if you wish, or you can leave them on. It's up to you. (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't) Cut the potatoes into quarters if they are large, or halve if they are smaller. Place them in a medium bowl and toss together with the wine and chicken stock while they are still warm. The warmth of the potatoes helps them to soak up this preliminary dressing. (If you don't do alcohol, use all chicken stock.)

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of the pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until totally emulsified. Pour the vinaigrette over the potatoes. Add the spring onions and herbe and season to taste with the remaining salt and pepper. Toss gently together. Serve warm or at room temperature. Delicious!

Life is not easy when you are a chocoholic and are married to a man that hates chocolate. I know . . . it just ain't natural is it? Imagine hating chocolate.

He does like chocolate candy and chocolate ice cream and hot chocolate . . . but when it comes to cakes, cookies, brownies, pies or tarts . . . he absolutely hates them with a passion. Sigh . . .



That means I never really get to enjoy these things at home . . . I mean, I love chocolate, but I am not going to eat a whole chocolate cake all by myself as much as I would like to do so!



Here is the perfect solution. A delicious little chocolate cake that can be ready to eat in five minutes. I kid you not. It's the truth!



Do you know how dangerous this recipe is???



It means that I am never any further away than five minutes from pure chocolate indulgence!!!!



I served it up with a nice dollop of Cornish Clotted Cream . . .



Because I could!



It's supposed to serve two people. OOPS!! ☺



*Five Minute Chocolate Cake*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A tasty chocolate cake in a mug, just big enough for two. Dense and fudgy and delicious served warm with cream or ice cream. You will need a large mug suitable for use in the microwave.

4 TBS plain flour
4 TBS caster sugar
2 TBS cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
1 large egg
3 TBS milk
3 TBS sunflower oil
3 TBS dark chocolate chips
1/4 tsp vanilla

Put the flour, sugar and cocoa powder into the mug. Give it a good stir to mix with a small whisk. Whisk in the milk, oil, egg and vanilla, whisking together until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place in the microwave (1000 watts) and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Don't worry if the cake rises above the top edge of the mug. This is supposed to happen. Remove from the microwave and allow to cool a bit before tipping out onto a plate to eat. Serve warm with some ice cream or cream. Delicious!

I was looking to make us a delicious lunch today, that was not only scrumptious, but also fairly healthy. Todd has been diagnosed with high cholesterol and I am trying to get him to eat a lot healthier. If they can't get his cholesterol down, it will mean him going onto a medication to bring it down. We don't want that if we can help it. (Baking cookies does not help.)



This means using low fat ingredients, and avoiding butter, cheese and fatty meats. No frying etc. You know the drill. Boring . . . when you take the fat and fun out of food, you also take out a lot of the flavour. You have to get it back in there somehow . . .



Going low choleserol is not an easy change to make when you have a man who loves buttered toast with cheese in the evenings, and tinned corned beef sandwiches on buttered bread for lunch.



I had a jar of mostarda di frutta that I had picked up at the store probably about six months ago. A pricey little item, and something that I had not yet used. I also had a package of cooked chicken bits that I wanted to use up, so today I decided to make him a somewhat healthy chicken salad for his lunch.



I used lots of celery and toasted pecans for crunch. I thought the mostarda di frutta would add some interest and a bit of hot sweetness to the mix. It was a fabulous addition . . . I used the plum and orange. I only added a minimum of mayo, and I used the ultra low fat version at that . . .



We were very pleased with the results. Todd really enjoyed this. Of course you could add not so good for you ingredients . . . like chopped grilled bacon or chopped hard boiled egg . . . but in this instance we didn't really miss them.



Chopped apple is also very good in this, or even chopped mustard pickle or chutney.



*Chicken Salad*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A delicous chicken salad, filled with flavour, crunch and little surprises!

For the salad:
250g package of cooked chicken breast bits
(about 2 cups)
2 stalks of celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and chopped
a small handful of pecan nuts, toasted and chopped
two fruits from a bottle of mostarda di frutta, chopped
a drizzle of the syrup from the bottle
several dollops of mayonnaise
salt and black pepper to taste

lettuce leaves for serving
a few toasted pecans for garnishing

If your chicken is in large bits, cut it into smaller bits, about 1/2 inch cubes. Place into a bowl along with the remaining ingredients, adding only enough mayonnaise to moisten. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Arrange some lettuce leaves attractively on two chilled salad plates. Divide the chicken salad equally between the plates, placing it on top of the lettuce leaves. Garnish with some chopped toasted pecans if desired.

Note - this also makes a delicious sandwich filling. If you cannot get the mostarda di frutta you can use mustard piccali, if you wish, or you can use a half of an apple, cored and chopped. Leave the skin on for colour. This adds a touch of sweet and crunch.