You can never have too many lemons in the house. At least that is my thoughts on the subject. I love lemon anything and so I always have a bowlful of them  sitting on my sideboard.   Aside from cheering me up with their beautiful scent and colour . . . the thought of baking a scrummy treat with them makes me smile.

 

I love lemon drizzle cake . . . a sweet tart cake, covered with a tart lemon glaze.  Oh so scrummy.  My recipe has the added scrumminess of a streusel topping.



I also make a great lemon loaf that uses lemon curd as a part of it's batter.  That one is very scrummy too, and moist . . . and stogged full of fresh blueberries.



Sometimes though your heart just yearns for a plain old fashioned simple Lemon Loaf . . . one without pretense or fiddly additions . . .

 

One that goes together in a flash and bakes into something moist and delicious and moreishly tasty.  This one fits the bill on all those counts.  Seriously.  If you can bear it, let it ripen overnight before slicing.   Trust me when I say this one is more than worth the wait.   Leaving it to ripen overnight, makes it even better.

 

*A Very Good Lemon Loaf*
Makes one medium loaf
Printable Recipe

Dense and filled with lots of tart lemon flavour.

150g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large free range eggs, at room temperature
190g of golden caster sugar (1 cup)
2 TBS unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract
the juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 80ml, 1/3 cup)
125ml sunflower oil (1/2 cup)
the finely grated zest of one lemon

For the glaze:
130g icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 TBS lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.   Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and lightly dust with flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice together until well combined.  Add the dry ingredients and beat smooth.  Beat in the oil and lemon zest.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.   Bake for 45 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let stand in pan for about 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.   Beat together the glaze ingredients until smooth.  Pour carefully over warm cake.  Allot to set before cutting into slices to serve.

 

Cinnamon Blondies. Imagine a cinnamon snickerdoodle and a blond brownie smashed all in one and you have a Cinnamon Blondie. A snickerdoodle blondie square. Yum yum!

 

One of the things I love most about the food blogging world is that you get to touch base with food bloggers from ALL over the World!  I think that's pretty cool.   It makes the world . . . well . . . not so big a place, and it opens up your palate to all sorts of variety and possibility.   At least that's my theory.

I was contacted recently and asked if I would be willing to participate in an activity to help to promote the launch of a new cookery book by one of the world's best food photographer/food bloggers Jules Clancy of the popular food blog Stone Soup.  As a part of this activity I was asked to submit an ingredient which she could give me some recommendations for cooking quickly and deliciously.

The Stone Soup Blog is all about cooking fresh, healthy and delicious meals that can be cooked with 5 ingredients and in 10 minutes or less.
 

I asked Jules about Swede.   I love Swede, or Rutabaga as it is known in North America and probably other parts of the world.  We always called it turnip when I was a child, but that was a misnomer.  It is a member of the brassica family, but it's not a turnip per se.  In any case we love them in this house.  Here was Jule's advice to me . . .


SWEDES
I'll be honest, swedes aren't my favourite vegetable.  I usually only buy them once or twice a year when I feel like making a huge pot of my Mum's lamb and veggie soup or making a mixed root veg stew.

Given that they take at least half an hour or longer to cook, they really didn't get a look in when I was planning recipes for my book '5 Ingredients 10 Minutes'.  But if you love swedes and would like to include them in your midweek cooking more often, the best thing to do is to cook them on the weekend.  Just scrub and dice and roast in a little oil until golden.  Then keep in the fridge to throw into soups like the simple minestrone in my book.

The roast cubes can also be quickly warmed in a pan to make warm salads more substantial.  They're also great in any dishes involving lentils or eggs or cheese.  Try using your diced roast swede to add bulk to a frittata or omelette or even scrambled tofu.  Or make your favourite pasta bake recipe a bit healthier by replacing some of the cooked pasta with roast swede cubes.

I agree, they can take some length of time to cook, and I appreciated Jules advice to roast or cook it ahead of time, at the weekend, so that you can have some ready to add to soups, salads, omelettes, etc. I personally have a pretty quick way of cooking it myself, which is quite, quite delicious.   I simply grated it on the large holes of a box grater and then pan fry it in a bit of butter.   It's done pretty quickly and is absolutely delicious.   Tis a trick I learned from a Canadian Mennonite.

 

I do love Jule's book.    It's got a fresh clean look to it and peppered throughout with her beautiful food photography.   All of the recipes are nicely written and quite doable!  And yes, quick . . . Quick . . . QUICK!



Recipes for tasty spreads and dips such as this simply beautiful looking warm Cannellini Bean Spread with Parmesan . . . 



to the unusual . . . like this Cream Cheese, Honey and Soy Crostini.  Now tell me that's NOT appealing and intriguing!   The picture alone begs me to create it and the ingredients list . . . simply crusty baguette slices, cream cheese, honey and . . . well . . . soy sauce!  It could not be simpler.

 

But that's not all . . . there is also a beautiful variety of delicious looking and sounding soups . . .



Tasty and beautiful looking salads . . .



Quick easy, fresh and colourful pasta dishes . . .

 

A variety of mains using meat, fish and poultry . . .



And even fresh and delicious desserts.

And . . . all of the recipes use five ingredients or less and are easily created in just ten minutes or less.   One of the main excuses people use today for not eating healthy is that they don't have the time to cook healthy meals . . . this delightful cookery book blows that theory right out of the water . . . it is indeed possible to cook fresh and delicious food, using healthy fresh ingredients in not an awful lot of time!

 

I was personally intrigued by her recipe for Crunchy Bread Pudding.  We love bread pudding in this house, especially the Toddster.   Too often though the recipes make far too much and most of it ends up being thrown away because it just doesn't get eaten in time.   Was it possible to make a delicious bread pudding in ten minutes or less??

Yes.   It is and I did.



*Crunchy Bread Pudding*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

Take care to watch while it is baking as it can burn very quickly if you take your eyes off it for even a second.

60g caster sugar (I used golden about 1/4 cup)
125ml whipping cream (1/2 cup double cream)
1 large free range egg
2 thick slices of bread, cut into cubes
cream or ice cream to serve

Preheat your oven grill to it's hottest setting.  Line a large baking tray with some aluminum foil.  Spray it lightly with non stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Whisk the sugar, cream and egg together in a bowl.   Add the bread cubes and squash them into the mixture, allowing it to soak up as much of it as possible.   Spread the soaked bread onto the prepared baking tray.

Cook under the heated grill for about 5 minutes.  Turn the cubes over and grill for another 3 minutes or so until golden brown.

Divide the cubes between two small bowls and serve with cream or ice cream.

Note:  you can use coconut cream instead of the whipping cream and egg to make this dairy-free/vegan;  or use a gluten free bread for a gluten free version, you can add cinnamon to give a spiced flavour, or replace the crea, sugar and egg with a commercial egg free custard for an egg-free version.



Another thing I like about Jules' recipes is that there are many variations included for most of them which give you the opportunity to charge things up.  There are also 10 minute tricks of the trade, etc.

All in all I think this book is a real winner and will take pride of place on my book shelf.

Many thanks to the people from Penguin and Jules for sending it to me.

5 ingredients 10 minutes
delicious, healthy recipes for tired and hungry cooks
by Jules Clancy
Published by Penguin books
ISBN 978-0-718-15874-3
U.K. £14.99

Do take a gander at the banner at the top of my right hand side bar to see all of the other people participating in this blogging event. 

 





I can still remember the first time I tasted Korean food.  It was in the late 1980's and at a restaurant very near to where my ex Sister in Law had her office.  

My husband is a really simple man with very simple tastes.  If meat and potatoes are on the menu, he is one very happy camper indeed!  He's been working really hard getting our garden Spring ready these past few days so I thought I would treat him today to a simple stew . . . which is one of his favourite meals of all.

 

I had some cubed leg of lamb that I had picked up at the butchers . . . perfect for a simple lamb stew.   It seems kind of silly presenting this as a recipe as it's something which I just kind of throw together . . .



There might be a few of you though that would appreciate some simple instructions as to how to go about it.   I can do it with my eyes closed, but that is because it is something which I have been throwing together for many, many years . . .

 

Stews are simple creatures . . . a bit of browned meat, some herbs, stock, a few vegetables . . . and you have something which is quite delicious and family pleasing.  Today I had some Chantenay Carrots that I had picked up the other day for 50 pence.  They were a bit larger than they normally are . . . each being about 4 inches in length. I thought it would be fun to simply peel them and then cut them in half before adding them to the stew.



I thought it gave a nice  look to the finished dish . . . unusual . . . and in that same vein of thought, I added peeled whole new potatoes, which held their shape nicely and were not overly large.  Altogether it gave a very rustic look to the finished dish, which I garnished simply with some chopped parsley and a few fresh thyme leaves . . . a bit of coarse salt and black pepper.   It went down a real treat and we are both looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow . . . because as anyone knows, any stew tastes twice as good for having ripened overnight in the refrigerator.




*A Simple Stew of Lamb*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
I love the simple things in life.  They always please, no matter what.


1 TBS olive oil
1 pound leg of lamb cut into bite sized chunks
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 leek, washed, trimmed and cut into rounds
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
2 TBS flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 TBS dried parsley
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
hot chicken stock (about 1 litre)
4 carrots, peeled and cut into batons
(Today I used half a bag of overgrown Chantenay Carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise)
12 medium new potatoes, peeled
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
a handful of cubed Swede (Rutabaga)

 

Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add the lamb cubes, celery, onion and leek.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften and the meat to brown.  Once the meat has browned all over, sprinkle it with the flour, rosemary, thyme, parsley and some salt and pepper.  Cook and stir to coat meat.   Pour over hot chicken stock to cover, giving it all a good stir. Cover tightly and simmer for about an hour.  Add the carrots, parsnip, swede and potatoes, adding more stock as necessary and leaving the potatoes whole.   Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer.  Cover tightly and cook until the vegetables and meat are very tender.   Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Spoon out into heated bowls to serve.

I remember my first brush with Chicken Cacciatore.  I was a 21 year old new bride, living in our first apartment, in Calgary, Alberta.  We had a very limited income in those days (nothing's changed since then, lol) and I was always on the lookout for a great bargain at the shops.



I loved to cook and as inexperienced as I was, I was always wanting to add some adventure into our meals.  One day, the local Safeway shop was offering a reduced rate on chickens.  I bought up several of them and hurried home, my head filled with great ideas of what I was going to do with them.  They were labeled stewing hens.



I was so ignorant and inexperienced,  that I had no idea that stewing hens were old chickens that had spent most of their lives laying eggs, and were fit only to be slowly simmered for long periods of time and made into soups and stews.  They can be quite delicious when cooked properly . . . think Chicken Fricasee, or Brunswick Stew.



I wanted to make Chicken Cacciatore.  I had what I thought was the perfect recipe, taken from the Chicken volume of my Better Homes and Garden's Cookbook Library.  (A library I had carefully saved for and collected over a long period of time.) Oh how sophisticated I thought I was being!  I carefully cut them up and followed the directions in my recipe to the "t."  Unfortunately, we ended up with something that was rather horrible . . . impossible to cut, or chew, or anything else . . . I suppose if I had simmered it overnight, it would have ended up being quite edible . . . but I didn't know that then.

I only knew I had created extreme "rubber" chicken.



That was a long time ago now, some 30 odd years, and I am quite happy to say that years of experience have taught me what to do with a stewing hen now.  I have also quite happily learned how to make a really delicious Chicken Cacciatore.



This is Italian Comfort food, cooked in my English Kitchen.  I'm quite sure a real Italian would point out all my failings in the recipe, but no matter, it's tasty nonetheless, authentic or not . . .

My husband says he doesn't like Italian food . . . hah!!  He always gobbles this up and asks for seconds.



*Chicken Cacciatore*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious chicken dish with a rich tomato sauce.  I like to use chicken thighs as they have enough flavour to stand up to the robust flavours of the sauce.  Serve this with rice or spaghetti for a tasty wintertime supper.  Crusty bread is also a great  "go-with" for sopping up any juices!

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and halved
5 TBS olive oil
2 TBS sherry vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 chicken thighs (Bone in with skin on)
2 TBS chopped fresh Marjoram leaves
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 ounces dry white wine (1/2 cup)
2 (400g) tins of chopped plum tomatoes in juice (about 4 cups)
250ml of chicken broth (1 cup)
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
to garnish:
chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.  Place the mushrooms, caps down, into a small baking dish, in a single layer.  Drizzle with 2 TBS of the olive oil and the vinegar.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes, giving them a stir once or twice during the roasting process so that they cook evenly.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Season the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and 1 TBS of the Marjoram leaves.  Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Lay the chicken thighs in the hot oil, and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned all over.  Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.

Add the onion to the pan drippings and cook over medium high heat until soft and translucent, stirring often.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.  Add the wine and bring to the boil, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce to half the amount by boiling for 20 to 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cook and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the sauce thickens and reduces somewhat.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan and simmer for an additional 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in the mushrooms, parsley and remaining marjoram.  Cook for several minutes longer.  Place the chicken thighs on heated plates and spoon the sauce over top.  Garnish with the grated cheese and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.