I wanted to make you something different for pancake day this year. I try to do something special each year for you. Last year it was Honey and Raspberry Pancakes . . . a lovely treat. Mmmm . . . my mouth is watering just think about them.
I had a real longing this year for light and fluffy pancakes, and yet hearty pancakes . . . pancakes that reminded me of my travels during my younger years, when a stay at a hotel meant pancakes for breakfast. When I was a child my mother never ever made pancakes but for once a year, on pancake day . . . oh how we loved them. My poor mom was stuck at the stove for hours fulfilling our pancake desires!
I can remember traveling through Vermont when I was a young woman and stopping at a restaurant for breakfast in the Northern Part of the State past Burlington and near to the border . . . where it gets really watery and lakey and rivery . . . I know of no other words to describe it. It was a cool morning and the mist was rising up over the lake, in an almost ethereal way. The perfect pancake morning.
I ordered pancakes for my breakfast and was served these pancakes which had been made with cornmeal, quite unlike any other I had ever eaten, and it was love, love, love at first bite. I know that things seem to taste better with memory . . . and the memories of those pancakes are no exception. Every time I think of them my mouth waters . . . and of course they were served with fresh Vermont Maple Syrup. Scrummo!
And so I wanted a hearty pancake like that, modernized for today by using polenta. I had also seen photos of pancakes on the web, that had been baked over slices of crisp bacon, the batter flowing around the crisp bacon . . . all crisp and golden. Oh my, but they have always looked so tasty, and so I decided to add this aspect to my 2013 pancake as well.
The result was a delicious pancake, moist from the use of sour milk, with nice bits of crunch throughout from the polenta . . . and that salty smoked moreish flavour from the Bacon, which goes so very well with the sweetness of the Maple Syrup.
And so here you have my pancake day offering for Shrove Tuesday, 2013. Polenta and Bacon Pancakes. Enjoy!
*Polenta and Bacon Pancakes*
Makes approximately 16 (8 servings)
Printable Recipe
Golden brown, sour milk tender, with a slight crunch. Deliciously salty sweet and peppery, should you so choose.
170g of coarse polenta (cornmeal, 1 cup)
100g of plain flour (1 cup)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 rashers of lightly cooked dry cure rindless streaky bacon
(smoked or not, as you prefer)
393ml of sour milk (1 2/3 cup)
(to sour milk, squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the measuring beaker, and fill with
the milk to 393ml. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before proceeding.)
2 large free range eggs
60ml of pure maple syrup (1/4 cup)
4 TBS melted unsalted butter, or bacon fat
(How naughty do you feel?)
To serve:
cold butter and maple syrup
Preheat the oven to low and place a baking sheet lined with baking paper inside.
Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and pepper (if using) together in a bowl. In another bowl whisk together the sour milk, eggs, maple syrup and melted butter or bacon fat. Blend thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry all at once and stir together just to combine. A few lumps are normal and welcome. Transfer to a pouring beaker. (This will make things so much easier, trust me.)
Lightly grease your skillet and heat over medium heat. Place a slice of bacon in the skillet, or two depending on the size of your skillet and leaving a goodly amount of space between. Carefully pour batter over the bacon to cover. (about 1/4 cup) Cook, until the undersides of the pancake are golden brown and the surface of the pancake is covered with bubbles. Carefully flip over and cook until the other sides are golden brown. Transfer to a warm oven and keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.
Serve hot with cold butter for spreading and plenty of Maple Syrup.
Note: If you are feeling really indulgent you can serve them with more bacon and some cold tinned sliced peaches. Nom! Nom!
I was recently sent an assortment of Nakd Bars to try out. I had never tried or even heard of these bars before, but I am always up to try something new . . . just so long as it isn't made from seafood or insects that is. I am not keen to try those things out . . .
There has been a real surge in recent months of people wanting to eat "raw" foods. My sister is one of those people. She has a blog called Flat Belly Files and on it she share's her experiences with raw food. She sprouts her own grains, and makes "raw" cookies and the like. She also uses her dehydrator a lot. When I saw this box of bars, I thought to myself, these would be right up her alley! Too bad she lives in Canada!
Nakd Bars are a raw whole foods bar. They are gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and have no added sugars or artificial flavors. They are never baked. Made from completely natural ingredients that are ground and smooshed together to shape a handy snack and lunch box sized bar.
The mixed case contained quite a variety of flavours. There was Pecan Pie, Cocoa Delight, Cocoa Orange, Cocoa Mint, Cashew Cookie, Gingerbread and Berry Delight. The back of the bar tells you the ingredients, for example the Gingerbread one contains Dates, Almonds, Pecans, Ginger, Cloves and Cinnamon and that’s all. I did notice that most of the bars did contain nuts. There is also a calorie count as well, and not surprisingly they are all relatively low in calories and contain no fat, except that which occurs naturally in the nuts.
Soft to bite, with a lovely taste, I found my favourite ones to be a toss up between the Pecan Pie and the Gingerbread ones. You can really taste the flavours in these bars, the cocoa ones are chocolate flavoured and the nutty ones are nutty. Sweet enough to replace a chocolate snack, but much, much healthier.
They may not be much to look at . . . truly, but who says tasty always has to be pretty?
Nakd Bars are £13.99 for a box of 18 and the delivery is free, but if you order them now you'll be able to get in on a discount that they are offering at the moment of 20% which makes them only £11.99 for a box of 18, plus free delivery. Be sure to check them out!
Many thanks to Nakd for sending me over this box to try out.
Please note: Although I was sent a box of these to try out, my opinions are my own.
When we were in town the other day I saw this sandwich advertised on one of the little cafe windows. I think it was an Italian one.
It sounded fabulous. Cranberry, Bacon and Brie Panini. What's not to like about that!
That very day I bought a wedge of Brie at the cheese mongers in the Market. I was already formulating a plan in my head.
I already had some nice dry cure streaky bacon in the fridge. I like to buy dry cure bacon. It's not pumped full of water. I hate bacon that has been pumped full of water. The dry cure bacon fries like a dream and tastes a bazillion times better.
I used a spicy cranberry chutney, because I rather like that. But regular cranberry sauce would be delicious as well I think. I just happened to have some of my homemade Cranberry Chutney to use.
I also added some greenery . . . mustard cress, for colour and for a bit of a peppery bite. But you can use any microgreen you want, or even just leave greens out altogether.
Some nice fresh Panini rolls and Bob's your Uncle! These went down a real treat. They were rich and smokey and sweet and salty . . . deliciously scrummy.
I do so love a good sandwich. I applaud the Earl of Sandwich who supposedly invented the Sandwich. He was on to a really good thing for sure.
Even my husband who is basically a "cheddar" man loved them. Seriously the man thinks that only cheese worth eating is cheddar.
He complained when we were in France a few years ago and we couldn't get any. Any cheese of the world you could imagine . . . but no cheddar. If it's not cheddar it's not cheese as far as he's concerned!
*Cranberry, Bacon and Brie Panini*
for two
Printable Recipe
Fabulously moreish panini. Salty and sweet, rich and a bit peppery from the mustard cress.
two panini buns
6 rashers of streaky bacon, cooked to your desired doneness
4 slices of brie cheese
a handful of mustard cress (can use rocket or watercress)
4 TBS cranberry sauce
butter
Cut
your panini buns in half horizontally. Spread the bottom half of
each with 2 TBS of the cranberry sauce. Top with 2 slices of Brie on
each some cress and 3 slices of bacon. Place the panini bun tops on
each. Butter lightly on the outsides and then toast in a panini press,
or in a hot skillet just until golden and the cheese has begun to
melt. Serve hot and cut in half on the diagonal.
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Have you ever craved something which you know is sooooo naughty that you really shouldn't have it in the house . . . but before you know it, you are in the kitchen banging on the pots and pans and baking it???
All week I had been craving this cake . . . it was on my mind when I went to bed at night . . . and one of the first things I thought about when I got up in the morning . . . thoughts of it followed me throughout my days . . .
Finally today I could resist it no longer . . . I just had to bake it. It's like "Cake Crack." One bite and you are addicted. Unlike any other cake you've ever known . . . bake this once, and your life will never be the same. Tis totally true . . .
It has the most incredibly moist and fudgy texture. Unlike any other cake I've ever baked or eaten . . . it is almost sludgy . . . but it's not. Actually I don't think there are any words which can describe this delicious cake adequately.
Buttery, dense, sweet . . . incredibly moreish. This is one you will be digging your fork into each time you pass the tin . . . for . . . just ONE more taste . . .
The very first time I made it, some 30 odd years ago (can I possibly be that old???) I thought it had gone totally wrong . . . but I had a bite and that was it. I was totally smitten, love at first BITE.
You've been warned.
*Fudgy Vanilla Tray Bake*
Serves 12
Printable Recipe
Dense and delicious. This is one you will find yourself picking at every time you walk by the tin. Don't say you weren't warned.
225g of butter (1 cup)
250ml of water (1 cup)
200g of plain flour (2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
383g of granulated sugar (2 cups)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
60g of sour cream (1/2 cup)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
110g of butter (1/2 cup)
60ml of milk (1/4 cup)
585g of icing sugar, sifted (4 1/2 cups)
few drops almond and vanilla extracts
115g of chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F /gas mark 5. Butter a 15 by 10 inch baking tin. Dust lightly with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
Cut the butter into bits and put it into a large saucepan along with the water. Bring to the boil. Beat the eggs, Temper them with a bit of the hot butter mixture. Whisk them into the water along with the sugar. Whisk in the flour, baking soda, salt, sour cream and extract until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Spread the frosting over top, sprinkle with the walnuts and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.
To make the frosting combine the butter and milk in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter melts. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar and almond extract. Spread this over the cake. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Have you ever had these biscuits?? I think everyone just loves these biscuits. My ex boss used to bring them back every time they flew. They would have been given them on the plane. They would go into the larder and every once in a while I would sneak one . . . just one. They were sooooo good . . . and then I discovered them at the grocery store and I was in heaven because then I could indulge myself with them anytime I wanted too . . . and then . . . about two weeks ago I was walking through the Waitrose in Chester and look what I discovered there . . . just waiting for me to find it . . .
Of course it just HAD to come home with me. Oh my . . . heaven on a knife. My pot is full of index finger marks . . . where I like to just grab a little taste now and again . . . and think about it . . . Lotus biscuits, spread with Lotus spread. This just HAS to be the food of Angels . . . it just has to be.
The other day as I dipped my finger into the pot . . . yet again . . . I thought to myself . . . I bet this would be really good in a cookie . . . you know like a peanut butter cookie . . . but using Lotus spread instead of peanut butter . . .
And then I thought . . . and what if I added some oatmeal to them . . . just to make them kind of wholesome-like . . . so that they weren't totally decadent and so that they would seem kind of healthy . . . I wondered what would happen. My mind loves to take little "What-if" journeys . . .
Once in a while I end up not liking where the journey has taken me . . . but that is very rare. More often than not I am most pleasantly surprised and end up totally in love with what I have created which is what happened with this cookie/biscuit experiment! Oh my . . . my . . . my . . .
They have the nicest texture! Totally crisp on the outside . . . and yet gorgeously chewy as well!!! They were simply amazing if I don't say so myself! (And I know I just did!) They have become one of my absolute favourite cookies of all time.
But don't just take my word for it . . . bake them for yourself. You know you want to. Resistance is futile! Trust me on this. YOU WILL WANT TO MAKE THESE MORE SOONER THAN LATER! And when you do . . .
Why . . . you'll simply be quite happy that you did.
*Lotus Oatmeal Cookies*
Makes 2 1/2 dozen
Printable Recipe
Delicious little cookies filled with lovely spiced caramel goodness and the wholesomeness of oats. Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside.
125g of butter, softened (1/2 cup)
125g of lotus spread (1/2 cup)
200g of soft light brown sugar (1 cup)
1 large free range egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
125g of plain flour (1 1/4 cup)
80g of rolled oats
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
47g of granulated sugar for rolling (1/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line several baking sheets with baking paper, set aside.
Cream together the butter and lotus spread until creamy and smooth. Beat in the brown sugar and the egg. Stir in the vanilla. Whisk together the flour and soda. Stir this into the creamed mixture. Stir in the oats until well blended. Place the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Scoop out heaped tablespoons full of the cookie dough and roll it into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in the granulated sugar. Place on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each for spreading.
Bake for 8 minutes, just until lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for several minutes before scooping off onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
You can find the Lotus spread here in the UK in Waitrose shops. I think in North American it is called Biscoff spread, and I think it is also called Speculoos spread. NO matter what you call it . . . it's totally addictive. Nom! Nom!
Have you ever been in the position when you have somebody drop by unexpectedly for supper and you want a quick and easy dessert that you can just whip up in no time at all that is not only super simple but actually gorgeously delish???
I have the perfect solution actually. I kind of hesitate to show you this as it's really a bit of a cheat, and not really a recipe at all . . . but what the heck, here I go.
It's an incredibly easy and delicious dessert that I have been making for at least 20 years if not longer and it's one which is always well received . . . and one that you can have on the table and sitting in front of your guests in not much more than half an hour or so, just so long as you keep several things in your cupboard at the ready.
One tin of cherry pie filling. You can use the red or the dark. They both work the same way.
and one devils food cake mix. (Don't judge me.)
With the addition of three large free range eggs, beaten lightly and 1 tsp of almond extract . . . you have a scrummy dessert which is fit for even the most discerning of guests. They don't need to know it came from a box and in truth they'd would never be able to tell that it had.
Beaten together and poured into the pan and . . . Presto . . . Chango! Just like magic you have a beautifully rich and moist chocolate cake, studded with cherries . . . there is a quick cooked icing you can pour over top which is also quite delicious.
But if you keep a tub of this in the cupboard that won't be a problem either . . . coz this works just fine. And, after all you are in a hurry and there's no time to waste! (I'll give you the recipe for the icing though, just in case . . . )
I can honestly say I've never had anybody (except the Toddster who hates chocolate passionately. I know . . . it's just not human.) turn a piece of this down and in most cases if I offer them seconds . . . they're definitely up for it! A little cheat once in a while doesn't hurt does it?
*Chocolate Cherry Squares*
Makes one 13 by 9 inch single layer cake
Printable Recipe
Lickety split and it's done! Delicious!
For the cake:
1 2-layer size devils food cake mix
1 tin of cherry pie filling
1 tsp almond extract
3 large free range eggs beaten
For the optional frosting:
190g of granulated sugar (1 cup)
80ml milk (1/3 cup)
5 TBS butter
180g of chocolate chips (1 cup)
Or 1 tub of chocolate butter-cream frosting and a
handful of chocolate chips to scatter over top and
make it look good
Preheat the oven to 180*C.350*F gas mark 4. Butter a 13 by 9 inch baking tin and lightly dust it with flour, tapping out any extra.
Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until they are well blended. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Combine athe sugar, milk and butter for the frosting in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, stirring until they are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour and spread this frosting over the warm cake. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.
If you are using a tub of icing, just let the cake cool to lukewarm and spread the icing over top and scatter with chocolate chips.
We've had a very dry day today, but it is bitterly cold with a strong wind from the North which just bites through you. Its pretty frigid really.
The sun almost more than makes up for it though. One feels as if they could almost forgive anything when the sun is shining, and I have always said there is nothing prettier than England on a sunny day!
Sunshine or not, this is the type of day that just begs for a warming soup for supper. We are wanting something filling, and hot.
We are craving a REAL belly-warmer-filler-upper!!! Something and warming and substantial, but not necessarily difficult or lengthy to make. Oh, I do so love Winter food . . . don't you?
A frigid cold day like today calls for something filling like a filling chowder. A filling chowder just like this corn chowder.
So what is a chowder you ask and why is it different than a soup?
A chowder is a thick, creamy milky and thick type of soup. It is usually made with fish or vegetables. Clam and sea food chowders are very popular where I grew up in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
The origins of the word chowder are relatively obscure. It is often thought to have originated with the French word "Chaudiere." This was the type of pot first used to cook these warming supper soups in.
They are soups with very strong maritime ties . . . of the North American kind. And to be honest, it was the French were the first settlers there in the maritimes.
At the end of the day it doesn't really matter though . . . how it got it's name or where it originated. What matters most is that it tastes good and is comforting on a cold day like today.
I like the thought that whether across the ocean in Nova Scotia, or here in Chester, I can enjoy a nice hot bowl of corn chowder. Rich, creamy and milky. With lots of bits of corn stirred through, and a nice knob of butter melting on the top.
Me, this Canadian girl . . . I like to enjoy it with crisp salted crackers. Italian ones now . . . as that is all I can get over here that are like the Saltines from back home.
The other half . . . the Brit in him likes it with a thick slice of bread. Crackers or bread aside, this is comfort food. Its plain and simple. I like that.
*Corn Chowder*
Makes 4 servings
Printable Recipe
I have been
making this for years and years. It was always one of my children's
favourite soups and it quite easy and cheap to make as well. It's one
of those very comforting things that seems to enrich your soul as well
as feed your belly. I like it with buttered crackers, but Todd, he's so
English . . . he wants it with bread.
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped coarsely(try to include some of the leaves)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 ounces of streaky bacon chopped coarsely, or proscuitto
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp summer savoury
2 cups milk
1 14 ounce tin of creamed corn
1 knob of butter
Place
the streaky bacon (or proscuitto) into a large saucepan and heat over
medium heat. If necessary you may add a bit of butter to keep it from
sticking. Once it has begun to brown and render out some of it's fat
add the celery, onion, carrots and potatoes. Stir and sweat over medium
heat until they begin to soften. Add the water, making sure it covers
all the vegetables. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper and
add the savoury. Allow to simmer until the vegetables are tender,
about 15 minutes. Stir in the milk and the creamed corn. Gently heat
to a simmer without boiling. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add
the knob of butter and serve in heated bowls with crackers or bread.
Delicious!
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