Renshaw (a leading UK baking company) has launched The Great Renshaw Bake Off, a full nine weeks of fun competitions.

The Great Renshaw Bake Off is your chance to join in a series of nine fun weekly challenges and win some fantastic prizes. You don’t have to be a baker extraordinaire to take part. That’s because they will be testing you with games and quizzes as well as asking to see your best - and worst! - culinary creations.

Sounds like fun!

#RenshawBakeOff

Its now Great British Bake Off Season here in the UK, and in honor of that each week Betty's will be sharing a delicious recipe, plus a video and their baking tips to go with each recipe. The kind of thing you won't find in any cookery book! Here is week four of their delicious hints and tips, and week three on how to create a delicious Croquembouche.
 
Cracking Caramel, the Bettys way

INGREDIENTS (makes approximately 300ml)
75ml water
145g caster sugar
60g glucose syrup

METHOD
1. Place the ingredients in a small, heavy base saucepan and set over a medium heat.

2. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved and then increase the heat to bring up to the boil. Do not stir anymore.

3. Brush the sides of the pan using a wet pastry brush to prevent grains of sugar getting stuck to the side of the pan. The grains of sugar may crystallize the syrup.

4. Boil until the syrup turns a light golden colour and stop the cooking process by briefly plunging the pan into a bowl of very cold water. Do take care as this is a dangerous process. The caramel is ready to use. If the caramel cools down and sets, place over a gentle heat to melt. 




Notes in the Margins

Cracking Caramel

WET SAND
Your heavy base pan must be immaculately clean.
Keep some hanging water in the pan so the caramel doesn’t burn.
Use your finger to stir the sugar – create the texture of ‘wet sand’.

SWIRL
The glucose is a vital ingredient.
It keeps the spun sugar flexible later on.
 Pick up the glucose with a wet hand so it doesn’t stick. Do this off the heat.
Once you introduce the caramel to the heat, don’t stir it - swirl.

GOLDEN BLONDE
You’ll see it go to a blonde caramel with a hint of colour.
Watch for it turning to a honeycomb, golden blonde – then remove from the heat.
Be careful – caramel is red hot! Let the choux touch the sugar – not your finger.

This is part three of our series about how to create a Croquembouche. Find out how to create spun sugar to decorate your masterpiece in next week’s episode of Bettys Baking Secrets. www.bettys.co.uk/bettysbakingsecrets 


For nearly 100 years, people have been flocking to Yorkshire for a taste of Bettys. Bettys was founded by Frederick Belmont, a Swiss baker and confectioner who came to England in search of opportunities to develop his craft skills. He opened his first Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate in 1919 and named it 'Bettys'. The reason why remains a mystery to this day.

We do eat a lot of chicken in this house.  You've probably noticed.  That's because it is pretty economical and very versatile.  Especially chicken breasts.  They are a virtual canvas for many flavours and textures.  I love to play with them and come up with delicious ways of preparing them.  This turned out to be one of our favourites!   Chicken with Cheesy Leeks and Spinach!

This is a recipe that I have made on here before, but it was so long ago and the photos are so poor I wanted to do it again, using the fresh tomatoes from our garden.  This is a winner of a recipe and one I just love.  It is so good that I felt it deserved a new write up and updated photographs!

I was supposed to get a large order of frozen curries to trial on Friday and I had to go through the freezer to make room for them.   I realised I had an awful lot of blueberries and decided to bake Todd a delicious blueberry cake with some of them.   I also sent half of it over to our friend Doreen, who is celebrating her 86th Birthday this weekend!  This is a very old recipe, but fabulously delicious!

The traditional Mediterranean way of eating is widely recognised as the healthiest approach to food in the world. Eating Mediterranean involves falling into the rhythm of the seasons and eating the freshest produce possible, when it's at its very best. It means filling your shopping basket with yoghurt, cheese, olive oil, fruit, leafy greens, nuts, seafood, whole grains and pulses and enjoying these foods with friends and family. In fact, you could say that eating Mediterranean is the healthiest way to eat in the world; abundant in fresh produce and legumes, and making great use of poultry and fish rather than red meat. Mediterranean-style eating has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

In Easy Mediterranean, author Sue Quinn adopts the Mediterranean way of eating with 100 delicious light, bright and delicious Mediterranean-influenced dishes that are easy to prepare and share.



Divided into seven tasty chapters with some really nice illustrations and beautiful photographs, this is a lovely compendium of a variety of Mediterranean style recipes.



Starting the Day  . . .  with everything from basic breakfast bowls, to pancakes, crispy cheese pies, stewed fruits, Tomato Bread, etc.  Engineered to get your day off to a delicious and healthy start.



Plates to share . . .  dips and spreads, relishes, tapenade . . .  tasty and delicious ways to share with family and friends.

 

Salads and Soups . . .  we often have a soup for supper or even just a salad for lunch.    This book has a very delicious looking assortment to choose from!



Meat, Poultry & Fish . . . grills, bakes and slow dishes  . . .  guaranteed to make your tastebuds tingle.



Pasta, Beans, Rice and Grains . . . Eat to your carb loving hearts content with a delicious variety of choices!



Vegetables . . . That roasted beet root salad  and those stuffed tomatoes are calling my name and they are only two of the delicious recipes on offer.



Sweet Things  . . .  because a little bit of what Timothy likes does Timothy a lot of good.  Lots of delicious choices here.  From tarts and cakes to granitas.  Yum!


Sue Quinn combines the vibrant flavours of the countries that hug the Mediterranean Sea to create fresh and contemporary dishes that taste wonderful and are also good for you. Vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes and seafood take centre stage in 100 recipes - with meat, poultry and sweet dishes in the mix, too.


All are easy to prepare and share, reflecting a cornerstone of the Mediterranean approach, which is that food should be a pleasure to be enjoyed with friends and family.

I love the quirky illustrations and the beautiful photography.  I cannot wait to get stuck into some of these!

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Murdoch Books (11 Aug. 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1743367465
ISBN-13: 978-1743367469


Sue Quinn is a cookery writer and journalist who won the Fortnum & Mason for her writing online in 2016. Sue's work has appeared in the Guardian, The Telegraph, Delicious magazine, Dorset Magazine and The Foodie Bugle, including recipes and articles about food trends, ingredients and producers. A former national newspaper journalist and foreign correspondent, she has drawn on her extensive travels as inspiration for a number of cookery books. Sue is also the author of Easy Vegan.

Note - I was sent a free copy of this book for review, but was not required to write a positive review. Any and all opinions are my own.

Autumn is the time of year when we start thinking about our gardens.  What we did that was right, what we did that was wrong, what we want to change about our gardening for the next year.   That's why I was really excited to get this new book, Raised Bed Revolution,Build It, Fill It, Plant It ... Garden Anywhere by Tara Nolan.  The soil in our garden is very poor and so this year we did a lot of gardening in pots and had so much success with them that we had been thinking that raised beds was the way to move forward, so this book couldn't have come at a better time!

What a fabulous book it is!  272 pages of everything you wanted to know about Raised Bed gardening and filled to overflowing with all the information you need  to take you every step of the way from building a basic raised bed . . . .  from the smallest to the largest . . . . portable or not.

 

Tara opens the book by explaining that by using the word 'revolution' she is using the word in the context of 'innovation' and 'modernising'.   Here is the opportunity for every gardener, from the beginner to the experienced to explore all manner of raised bed gardening.  There is a wealthy of information contained in 7 chapters, dealing with everything from the basics to planting, etc.  How to do raised beds in small spaces, how to do raised beds in large spaces, how do to raised beds when you aren't particularly handy.  Whatever your skill level or amount of space, this book has it all covered.   Pretty much all types of planting and gardening are covered. This makes it much more than your standard 'how to' book.



Enhanced with gorgeous photography, and very well written, this book covers subjects such as growing-medium options, rooftop gardening, cost-effective gardening solutions, planting tips, watering strategies (automatic water drip systems and hand watering), and more. The process of creating and building raised beds is a cinch, too, thanks to the extensive gallery of design ideas and step-by-step projects.

Containing valuable information on choice of locations, materials needed, composting, verticle gardening and many, many more topics, this book is by far the best book I've seen on raised bed gardening!   Even though I didn't receive this book in time for this year's gardening,  I am non-plussed because I know I will be able to put it to good use over these next few months while I plan out my gardens for next year and with any luck, next year's garden might just be the most productive ever!

Simple, straightforward and with a handful of good ideas and tips that I think I can actually deal with!  I highly recommend!


Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Cool Springs Press (2 Jun. 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1591866502
ISBN-13: 978-1591866503


TARA NOLAN is a freelance writer from the Toronto, Canada, area. Working as an editor and digital consultant, her publishing background is diverse. She's worked everywhere from Yahoo! Canada to Canadian Home Workshop. For over six years, Tara was the web editor of CanadianGardening.com where she won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for the Seed to Supper newsletter. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association and a co-founder of Savvy Gardening. She loves to write about travel, gardening, decor, and health and fitness for print and online publications. If she's not writing, you'll find Tara in the garden, mountain biking, or handcrafting a new project.

Note - I was sent a free copy of this book for review, but was not required to write a positive review.  Any and all opinions are my own.

When I was a child, one of my favourite vegetables was swede. A Swede is called a Rutabaga in the US, or in Canada, Turnip.  In reality, there is actually a huge difference between a Turnip and a Swede.  They are not the same thing at all.

Wondrous Whipping the Bettys way 

From whipping techniques to making use of leftovers, this is everything you need to know about dream cream.

• The higher the fat, the better the set, so if you’re hoping for a chocolate tart that serves up the perfect slice, choose double cream. 
• Don’t heat single cream - it will split. 
• Because of the fat content, cream whips better if very cold. 
• If the weather’s warm, place the bowl and whisk in the fridge in advance. 
• Always use a metal bowl – it will help you whip up the cream up quicker and the cream will hold its shape. 
• Whip cream by hand so you can judge the thickness. 
• When the cream begins to hold in the ends of the whisk, you’re just two to three turns from the perfect whip. 
• Don’t over-whip cream as it will change the texture and cause a fatty mouth feel. Also, if you over-whip cream for a mousse or soufflé it will be very difficult to fold in, and will likely take air out and leave lumps behind. But if it is over-whipped, a few extra tablespoons of cream may fix it. 
• Don’t bin leftover cream - freeze it. You can add it straight into a soup or sauce.

FOR REFERENCE 

Average fat content of different creams:

1. Single cream: 18%
2. Whipping cream: 35%
3. Double cream: 48%
4. Clotted cream: 55%
5. Mascarpone: 60-75%



Notes in the Margins: Perfect Piping

NIP AND TUCK

Tuck the piping bag into the nozzle so mixture doesn’t drip out. Nip the bag between finger and thumb. Create pressure by twisting the bag. Pipe from the top so the mixture is pressured in one direction.

MATCHING CHOUX & HAT
Don’t pipe too close – the bun will be flat, like a beret. Don’t pipe it pointy, like a Dumbledore hat – it’ll burn. Aim for a mound that you twist into a rounded top – like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter!

IN THE OVEN
Spacing is important – too close and they can’t bake. Arrange the small ones at the back and the big ones at the front so they bake evenly. Don’t take them straight out of the oven – you’ll get Yorkshire puddings. First open the door to release steam. Then shut the door and turn the oven off to allow the hanging temperature to create the crisp texture.

This is part two of our series about how to create a Croquembouche. Find out how to make Caramel in next week’s episode of Bettys Baking Secrets.
www.bettys.co.uk/bettysbakingsecrets

As you probably all know by now, the Toddster is not a huge fan of pasta.  In our almost sixteen years of marriage I have not been able to convince him that is it anything other than yuck., although in all fairness he does tolerate it a bit better now.  Its still not his favourite and he will be the first to tell you  he doesn't like Italian food.  I haven't yet been able to convince him that they eat a lot more than pasta and pizza in Italy, but I'm working on it.

I baked us a lovely quiche at the weekend. Who says real men don't each quiche!  Todd loves them.  This version was adapted from a recipe I found in a cookery book entitled Comfort Food Makeovers, put out by America's Test Kitchen. 

I made us a really delicious pot of soup the other day for our supper.  Its nice to have soup for supper once in a while.  They are filling and delicious.  This soup was so simple to make.  The recipe came from the back of a package of Hungry Jack's Organic Soup Mix, which is a hearty healthy mix of organic dried peas, lentils, barley and flakes.  I had never thought of using this type of soup mix in a chicken soup before, but it worked really well!

We love carrot cake in this house. You probably have noticed, I'm sure. I have a delicious recipe for a Scrummy Carrot Cakeon here (this one has pineapple and shredded coconut in it, with a cream cheese frosting), plus another delicious recipe for a Simple Carrot Cake. (This one has plump sultanas and a lemon glaze.)

School will soon be back in session and mornings will be back to being rushed and the people at belVita are here with a convenient and tasty way t begin your day.  It is so tempting to do without breakfast because you just feel you don't have the time to spend on it, but I am here to show you several delicious, quick and easy breakfast ideas from the people at belVita.

Helping people to enjoy a good start to their morning belVita Breakfast biscuits are specially designed for breakfast, with anutritious and delicious option to suit everyone.  They are the only  breakfast biscuit with proven sustainable energy when eaten as part of a balanced breakfast, belVita Breakfast provides energy for the whole morning.



Made with at least five of the finest wholegrains and rich in cereals, its carefully selected ingredients are blended through a gentle baking process, offering a great source of fibre and vitaims B6, magnesium and iron.  They are available in five different ranges:  Core, Yogurt Crunch and Duo Crunch, Crunchy, Tops and Soft Bakes in handy portion packs for breakfast on the move . . . belVita is the perfect choice to get you through the day.



Sunrise Summer Berry Parfait

 





Show You Care belVita Crostini




Note - belVita Breakfast are the only breakfast bscuits proven to slowly release carbohydrates over four hours, when eaten as part of a balanced breakfast. belVita Breakfast biscuits have a high content of slowly digestible starch, which is a slow-release carbohydrate.  Eating foods that are high in slowly digestible starch raises blood glucose levels less after a meal, compared to foods low in slowly digestible starch.  This means that your blood sugar is more steady over the morning.  belVita Breakfast provides energy for the whole morning.  A balanced breakfast with belVita might contain a pack of belVita breakfast biscuits, a portion of fruit, a serving of dairy and a drink for hydration, eg.  an apple and a latte.

Available at all major grocery outlets ranging in prices between £2.59 and £2.79, exculsive of in store offers, which might vary from store to store.

I quite like them actually. ☺

 


This is a delicious and simple recipe that is very family friendly.  It is a fabulous combination of really flavourful beans,  ground beef, cheese and spaghett, baked in the oven until the flavours meld into something quite wonderful.  I have never met anyone yet that doesn't fall in love with it.