I spent all day at the Temple today so I really haven't done any cooking at home.  I do have this gumdrop cake recipe to share with you however that I cooked over the Christmas period and just never got around to showing you.   This is my sister's recipe for gumdrop cake and it is the best in my opinion.  We also call it rubber spatula cake because my mother once baked the end of a rubber spatula in it.  It dropped off in the batter and she couldn't find it, so she baked it anyways.   It didn't hurt the cake in any way, and the lucky person who found it got treated to a hilarious story on the side!

This is a recipe I had bookmarked a long time ago in a little cookery book I have from the BBC Good Food people, entitled 101 Storecupboard Suppers.  I love the little BBC Good Food Books.  They are not that expensive and are usually chocker block full of recipes that I want to cook.  I know . . . I know . . . I have enough cookbooks, but as any food enthusiast knows, you can never have too many!  (Todd doth protest!)

We have a very much beloved Cocker Spaniel in our house.  She has a rather ticky tummy, so I don't give her dog food anymore, it always upsets her stomach.  It's real chicken and rice and vegetables all the way with her and that helps to keep her healthy and when she is feeling well, we are happy too.   I cooked some extra chicken yesterday when I was cooking hers, so that we could have this delicious casserole for our dinner today.  (You don't think I would cook my dog anything I wouldn't eat myself do you???)

 


I was recently sent some Spanish meats to try out from a company called Jamonprivé. Jamonprivé is an online site which works with suppliers of the best Iberian Ham and Cured Meat products. What makes them different in the market is their drop-shipping system and integration with TNT’s API.

When we got up this morning it was -7*C  (which is about 19*F) so below freezing.   That's pretty cold, especially in our house where we don't have forced air heating, or a wood stove or a basement beneath the house, just cement and ground . . .  very old windows and not a lot of insulation.  It was pretty cold to say the least!

I really love turkey burgers.  I love the fact that they are supposed to be healthier for you than regular burgers and I love that they are made from turkey.  I love turkey.  It's flavourful and it's lean and it makes great burgers  Turkey is also supposed to be a super food.  So all round, it's a favourite with me.

 

I was feeling very nostalgic today and so I made a Date & Nut loaf.  I just love Date & Nut loaf, and so does Todd.

I kind of like to pull the stops out at the weekend and bake something special.    

The one thing I hated most that my mother cooked when I was growing up was beef burger patties.  I loved most of the things she cooked, but when she cooked these  . . .  I absolutely hate hated them.   She was quite thrifty and used to buy the cheapest mince her money could buy and they were always full of gristle and sometimes even pieces of bone.  I have a really strong gag reflex . . .  and if I got a piece of gristle or bone in my mouth that was it.  I was off!  Say no more!

Brrr.... I think today must have been the coldest day so far this winter.  I just can't seem to get warm.  This calls for a nice hot pot of soup!  A delicious soup that will warm the bones.  A warm bowl of  soup on a hot winter's day is like a hug from heaven, don't you think?

This is a delicious dish I made a while back and am only getting around to showing you now.  It's a delicious Greek Stew made with lamb shoulder, tomatoes, wine and a variety of spices. It may not look like much, but it's really fabulous!

Salmon and broccoli are a marriage made in heaven.  They go together beautifully.  I normally have both in the house . . .  having either frozen salmon fillets and broccoli in the freezer, or tinned salmon and fresh broccoli.  If you have those, you always have a delicious dinner in the making!

Today I wanted to tell you about this cookbook that I received a few weeks back.  Entitled  Gut Gastronomy, this book will be released on 15th January 2015 and is published by Jacqui Small
(Twitter @JacquiSmallPub) www.jacquismallpub.com


Written by Vicki Edgson and Adam Palmer, (photography by Lisa Linder) this innovative book s on the cutting edge of what is popular at the moment and introduces a whole new way of eating with a unique plan which has been developed specifically at Grayshott Spa, one of the world’s leading health spas  (Located in Surrey UK.)

This book  focuses on digestive health as a route to true health with a plan which promised to help to boost your energy and rebalance weight safely through a nutrient rich diet designed to give you everything you need nutritionally, in order to face the demands of modern life.

Dispelling the misguided notion of ‘detoxifying’ through spartan, punitive regimes the plan focuses instead on regaining good health by eating foods which will aid with  the body’s natural detoxification. The Plan can confidently recommend quality grass-fed red meats, fish, eggs, fermented foods, butter, avocado, and organic vegetables.

This is not a plan of deprivation,  but instead it is plan which includes a sensible and satisfying approach to food that brings you back to feeling great. The first section introduces you to the Plan, providing information and meal plans for a short-term course which promised  to help  rest and repair your digestive tract. The Post-Plan sections instructs you on how to introduce more foods into  your diet and keep your gut healthy.  The recipe section contains 100 delicious meals split into breakfasts, soups, main meals, vegetable sides, salads and special occasions.



Normally I would show you a recipe which I had prepared from the book, but the plain truth is that I just have not had the time with Christmas and everything.  There are quite a few in the book however that have really caught my eye.  My sister is always making her own ferments . . .  sauerkraut and kimchi to name just two.  She often encourages me to do the same, but in all honesty I have been a bit afraid to do so.  After reading this book, I feel that I can do so without too much concern for poisoning myself by following their exact instructions and balance of ingredients.


 

I am looking forward to trying their fermented red cabbage.  It does take several weeks to create but watch this space.  I hope to show it to you soon.   There are also recipes for a delicious looking range of smoothies  along with some great looking soups and salad dressings.   All in all I think this is a really good book and well worth investing in even if you didn't want to follow the plan.  You'll find some fantastic recipes and great ideas, and maybe even eat that little bit healthier. 

GutGastronomy
by  Vicki Edgson & Adam Palmer
(based on the health regime created by
Elaine Williams and Stephanie Moore
of Grayshott Spa)
Photograpy by Lisa Linder
Colour, hard back, 250 pages
ISBN - 978-1-909342-83-5

Published by JacquiSmall

RRP £30.00 UK  $45.00 USA, $49.99 Canada

 

One of the things I have learned to embrace over here in the UK, and which I had very little experience with prior to moving over here was curries.  I think my sum experience of eating curry had been when, living on a British Army training base in Canada back in the early 1980's, a British friend of ours cooked us a curry.  I really enjoyed it, but I couldn't tell you now or then if it was authentic or not.  

"Curries with their vast partioned platters of curious condiments to lackey them, speak for themselves.  They sting like serpents, stimulate like strychnine, they are subtle, sensual like Chinese courtesans, sublime and sacred, inscrutably inspiring and intelligently illuminating like Cambodian carvings."
~Alistair Crowley (1875-1947)

I can remember when I discovered Miss Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies.  Oh boy were they some good.  It was in an American Grocery store and it was love at first bite.  Two delicious flattish oatmeal cookies with a layer of marshmallow cream sandwiched in the centre.   *slurp*  I also liked their Star Crunch Cakes.  I think most of them are available in Canada now, but when I first discovered them they were exotic to me!