I can still remember the first time I tasted French Onion Soup.  It was 1974 and I was attending Acadia University with my then husband.  We had a friend named Geoff and he had a girlfriend named Julia who was from Quebec City and who loved to cook.  She had a fancy dinner party one night for the four of us,  and the first course she served was French Onion Soup.  I couldn't tell you what anything else was that she served, but the French Onion Soup bowled me over completely.  (No pun intended!)

  

I was sent a really nice piece of kitchen kit a few months back from the people at Eddingtons.



The PL8 Gourmet Slicer.   I've been really putting it through it's paces over the weeks and wanted to tell you all about it today.   Since I've been using it for all sorts, I've kind of thrown together a meal for your viewing pleasure . . .  some really delicious marinated lamb chops with a potato side dish, a deliciously fruity slaw and a tasty dessert, most of which (with the exception of the lamb) I have been able to use this handy piece of kitchen kit for!  In other words . . .  a really "Grate" meal, every pun intended!

 

It doesn't take much to mak the Toddster incredibly happy.   He's a simple man with simple tastes.   Rice pudding does it for him every time.  I am one of those cooks who can't leave well enough alone however  . . .  and today I just about outdid myself with this lovely version of rice pudding I created just for him.  I had been sent a lovely jar of Manuka Honey a while back and I decided that it would be perfect for both sweetening and flavouring this delicious dessert.

Don't think I'm getting all hoity toity on you now . . .  this really is just a glorified open faced tuna sarnie!   But Tartine sounds very special doesn't it?  Okay so maybe it is a bit hoity toity . . .  but sometimes it's okay to expand your horizons a tad.  That's my story anyways and yes, I'm sticking to it!

Today is the Toddster's Birthday.   He requested a fruitcake for his birthday.   That is his favourite of all cakes.  He's just an old fashioned guy with old fashioned tastes.   

We have two sets of missionaries serving here in the Chester area, a set of young women and a set of young men.   We love to feed them and endeavor to feed each set at least once a month if we can.   Earlier this week we were blessed to feed the Sisters.  I usually try to cook them a meal which  will remind them a little bit of home.  This week it was Chicken Divan Casserole (a great way to get some broccoli into your loved ones) a tossed salad and peas and chantenay carrots.   For dessert I baked two things.   I will show you the first one today and the second one tomorrow.   (I know I do spoil them I do.  ☺)



This is Sister Jones from Utah on the left and Sister Wagner from Idaho on the right.   (I am always telling Sister Wagner that she looks a lot like Susan Branch.  Don't you think she does too?)  Anyways this tasty cake got two thumbs up from the girls.   You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw the Candy Corn on the top!



Candy Corn is not something which is readily available here in the UK, but I did manage to get my hands on some not so long ago and I used some of it for this cake because I knew the girls would love it.   This is a cake that really speaks to me of autumn . . .  Cinderella's Pumpkin Cake, called so because one of the main ingredients is cooked pumpkin and as we all know . . .  Cinderella rode to the ball in a pumpkin coach!

 

And the magic doesn't stop there  . . . it's moist from the pumpkin and dense and delicious . . .  just what a proper autumn cake should be.   Nicely spiced with warm baking  spices . . . ground cinnamon, ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg and some ground cardamom . . .  but the spiced goodness doesn't stop there . . .



It's frosted with a lightly spiced frosting made from cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and both cinnamon and vanilla extracts.  If you can't get the cinnamon extract, just beat in half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  Mine is from Star Kay White.

 

The frosting just adds that extra special touch to the gilding of this pumpkin . . . just like a fairy Godmother waved her magic wand over it, turning this pumpkin cake into something extraordinary!  It smells gorgeous when it is baking and it's a great keeper.  Stored in an airtight container it will keep for several days . . .  if you have it that long that is!  It comes Missionary approved!




Bake for 55 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.   Allow to set in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once it is completely cool, froze with the icing and decorate with the fudge bits.

To make the icing blend together all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.   You may need to add more sugar.  I often do.   Frost the cake and sprinkle on the fudge bits before the icing sets.

I love September.  It always reminds me of when my children were growing up and it was back to school time.  I always endeavored to have something delicious to pop into their sac lunches, or waiting for them when they got home from school.  I love to bake and my kids loved to eat what I baked.   No kiddos in my home anymore . . .  but that doesn't stop me from baking.   Today I baked these lovely Lemon Butterfly Cakes using a recipe that I picked up on the Flora Baking Pages.

This is something which I used to make every once in a while when my children were growing up.  It started with a recipe I found in an old Shaker Cookbook, but gradually morphed into my own recipe through the years.  The original recipe used leftover chicken and had no vegetables in it.  I adapted it to  include some vegetables as well as poached chicken for tenderness, but do feel free to use leftover roast chicken if you wish.

 Several weeks ago I was contacted by a company called Hopps & Woolf and asked if I would like to try out their innovative Milk Maker. I always like to try new things and so I agreed.  I've also been really interested over these last few months in non dairy alternatives to milk.   They can be really pricey however.   This was another reason that I was interested in trying this machine out.

























The Hopps & Woolf Milk Maker is an innovative machine which enables a person to make pure and natural nut or soya milk using raw ingredients with no added preservatives or flavourings.



















 This unique machine is the result of the creative endeavours of two young Bristol Uni graduates, Alex Hoppenbrouwers and Thomas Woolf. Inspiration struck when Woolf, who studied engineering, was tasked with coming up with a business idea as part of a project. He says: "A girl in the group was saying 'I find it annoying, I can't buy the soya milk making machine I use in China in the UK'." Woolf mentioned the idea to Hoppenbrouwers, who was president of the university entrepreneur society, and the rest is history.  In July their Milk Maker, which makes milk out of soya beans, almonds, and hazelnuts, was launched, and they also supply ingredients available through a weekly subscription.

 

It's a very attractive machine, not much larger than a kettle.  This is important to me.  I don't have a lot of room in my kitchen and I have come to learn through the years that things which take up a lot of space usually get relegated to the bedroom closet or the shed and end up only ever rarely being used.

 

 It came with a simple to read and easy to use instruction manual, a handy cleaning cloth, a step by step instruction card, a strainer to strain the resultant meal from the milk  . . .  and . . .





Two 120g bags of one each organic soya beans and whole California almonds.

The machine itself  has a very attractive brushed stainless steel body,  high grade stainless steel blade, an 800W heater and a 250W motor.



You measure out your ingredients and then let them soak in water over night.

 

The next day you just place them into the milk maker with the requisite amount of water, put the lid on and press a button.   The Milk maker automatically gently heats the ingredients and blends and pasteurizes them to a pre-set program.   It takes about 25 to 30 minutes.  The 25 minute cycle slowly releases nutrients to achieve great flavour.



This is what you find at the end of that time.  



You simply then strain out the meal with the handy strainer which is included and presto chango . . .

  

There you have it  . . .  a lovely big jar of almond milk (in this case) or soya milk.   All natural and additive free, and it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to five days! 

And it costs pennies in comparison to most factory made alternative milks . . .  and contains many more nutrients.   Did you know that most nut milks are created by only using about 4 nuts?  How nutritious can that be?   And all those flavourings and chemicals, stabilizers, preservatives, etc. they add.  How good can that stuff really be for you?

I love that this is all natural.  I love knowing that it has been made in my very own pesticide free/clean kitchen. 

You can also use it to make simple soups and or use it a a blender. 

To find out more about  this machine and how to get one of your own,  do check out the Hopps & Woolf site. 

Follow them on Facebook.

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Many thanks to Hopps & Woolf for sending me this machine and making me a believer!  The milk is tasty and so easy to make.   I have been truly converted.  (It's great on cereal, etc.  YES IT IS!)

One thing I have always been fond of is tinned salmon and tuna, not so much other tinned fishes myself, but the Toddster really loves Sardines and Mackerel.   I was really pleased recently to receive a fabulous Bumper Pack  from the people at John West containing a lovely variety of their newest products.  I used some of them to make these lovely Salmon Melt Sliders,  the recipe of which I will share with you today, but first  . . . a little  bit about what was in this truly fab hamper!

John West offer a range of succulent fish products soaked in different flavours including tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines and crab amongst others. We’re also excited to introduce our season and stir; tender chunks of fish with a flavour to add taste to your dish as well as our brand new steam pots. These are the perfect lunchtime snack for work or home.

I think most of the schools here in the UK are back in session today, with possibly a very few exceptions.  They went back to school in Scotland last week.   The summer seems to have passed by very quickly.  It seems it no sooner started and it is now ending . . .  sigh . . .

 



One of the most popular series on British Television over these last few years has to be the Great British Bake Off. Running over a number of weeks, it takes a group of ordinary baking enthusiasts through a series of baking challenge.  It is the ultimate Bake Off Battle.  Each week the bakers tackle a different baking skill, which become progressively more difficult as the competition unfolds.  As the shows go on, bakers are eliminated with one finalist being crowned the winner at the very end.   It is compelling viewing to say the least, especially if you like baking!  (And who doesn't!)

 

Shhh!!!  I'll let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.   The recipes you see on this page  . . .  well they aren't the only activity which goes on in this English kitchen.   Lots of other things get cooked and enjoyed, but for one reason or another, just don't cut the mustard photography wise, so they get shelved . . .  never to be seen.   I'm going to fix that today.   Who cares if there aren't a bazillion pics of each recipe for you to drool over.   A good recipe is a good recipe right?   Right!  And so today I'm going to show you some of the ones that didn't quite make the final cut . . .  but which are quite bloody delicious irregardless of how they look!

Just don't tell Marie I was fooling around on here.   Mum's the word . . .   oh yeh, and I'll be back walloping the pots and pans in the Grantham's kitchen at the end of September.  Can't wait!

One day recently I found out that our little Spanish girl loves pancakes.  It just slipped out in a conversation as these things do . . .  and so I decided to treat her to a lovely batch of them one morning.   I know . . .  I am spoiling her, but it's just so darned nice to have a young person around.  I truly am enjoying the experience and her!