Many years ago when I was raising my family, I used to watch a television show on the PBS channel called Harrowsmith Country Life. I loved it. It was a lovely mix of all the things I embraced . . . country life, bird watching, care of nature, gardening, wholesome food and cookery. I used to watch it and wish that I could live that type of life. Out in the countryside, with my own big garden, living sustainably off the earth, close to nature, and all that. Mind you, when I was a really young women, still at school, I wanted to live in a commune, like a hippy. I think I had a romanticised notion of it all in my head that was a far distance from the reality.
What did I know about the world and life, not a lot really. Just what I read or saw on the television. Back in the 1990's I picked up this book at a second hand/cheap book shop in Meaford, Ontario. Based on the column in the Harrowsmith magazine entitled Pantry, it is filled with lots of lovely, healthy, mother-earth type wholesome recipes. I adapted the recipe that I am sharing today from it's pages.
They sounded really delicious . . . with plenty of cheese, honey mustard, and liquid honey. Tim Horton's used to make a cheddar cheese muffin that was really good. They has not been on offer in their cafes for a very long time, and I have spent years trying to replicate them. This comes close, but not quite there. If anything they are better.
They do tend to get browned and could easily look burnt if you don't watch them . . . because of the honey and the cheese . . . just keep an eye on them.
The recipe calls for buttering the tins, no mention of using papers. I used papers and regretted it because they did stick to the papers. DON'T be tempted to use papers. Just DON'T!!
DO bake them however, because they are really lovely muffins, with a beautiful flavour and texture.
I just peeled the paper off as best as I could and we ate them anyways, and they were gorgeously flavoured. A bit sweet, a lot savoury . . . with some snap from the mustard. Cheese and mustard, what a lovely combination!
These would go well with soups or salads or scrambled eggs. They are a great muffin and I hope you will try them!!
*Cheddar & Honey Mustard Muffins*
Makes 12
This
is a savoury muffin filled with the tang of honey mustard, some black
pepper, sweet honey and the richness of a good cheddar. Delicious!
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/gas mark 6. Butter a 12 cup muffin
tin really well. Don't be tempted to use paper liners. These will stick
to papers. Set aside.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk in the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the grated cheese. Whisk together the egg, mustard, honey, milk and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and fold in gently, but thoroughly. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Serve warm.
These would make a great muffin for a Ploughman's Lunch. With a bit of ham, some salad leaves, chutney . . . I don't think you could get much better than that! Bon Appetit!
I confess when I was younger I was not all that fond of chicken salad sandwiches. I am not sure why. It is something which I have taken to mostly in my older life. There wasn't anything really per se that I didn't like about them, I guess I just always preferred sliced chicken to chicken salad. To be honest, I hadn't really tried it . . . I just always thought that I wouldn't like them, and so I was hesitant to try. When I worked at the Manor though, I used to make Chicken Salad for my boss now and then, and in the process I was required to taste it, and I then learned that actually, Chicken Salad was kinda tasty!
Did you every have one of those days? By that I mean a day where everything you touch turns to doodoo. You spend all day working really hard, but at the end of it you got nothing to show for it.
Days where you float from one disaster right on into another. Yep, having one of those horrible rotten days where everything I touch turns to dust.
First I had in mind to make some cheesy potato waffles using mashed potato flakes. I could picture them in my mind.
Oh but they were going to be beautiful . . . crisp and golden . . . and I was going to serve them with bacon curls, roasted tomatoes and some fried eggs . . .
First I couldn't get the batter the right consistency for the waffle maker, and the cheese kept getting stuck in the holes. Then I burnt the bacon.
At that point I gave up on them and the batter got washed down the toilet. (Don't judge me.)
I cleaned up the waffle iron and then I thought . . . hmmm . . . lemon and poppyseed waffles with a black currant syrup and some ice cream . . .
Failed . . . again. I'm batting for zero here. Its just one of those days. I gave up. I have no idea what I am going to make us for our supper. We will probably have beans on toast . . . coz its a beans on toast kind of a day . . . we all have em.
In
the meantime I rustled up these Cherry Croissants for my husband to help keep
his hungry dragons at bay.
I am so busy working on the next book (I
want it finished by the end of this month) and I have an art commission
nipping at my heels. There is no rest for the wicked. My mother was
right.
These are a total doddle. If I had messed these up, then there would have been no hope for me at all . . . seriously.
You can't mess them up, even if you ARE having a day from the pits of . . . . hello, what are you doing down here!!!
They only take a few ingredients. A tin of croissant roll dough. Ours is a bit different over here in the UK.
It is more like Croissants, and there are only six in a tin. I know that the American ones are not the same, but they will work also. You will just get more of them.
A tin of cherry pie filling. I used Black Cherry Pie Filling. I have never seen the really red one here . . . just the black one.
Some icing sugar and milk for the glaze. I add a drop of almond essence because cherries and almonds go very well together.
That's it . . . put together in a certain way, simply baked in a hot oven . . . and you have redeemed a lost, horrible, no good, rotten day.
These are good. My husband loves them.
Individual cherry pies, baked in a muffin tin. Easy peasy lemon squeasy.
drop almond extract
1 TBS milk 
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Spray a 6 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Open the croissant dough and separate into triangles. Place one triangle into each cup. Fill with Cherry Pie filling, then fold the ends over top to cover. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Let sit in the pan for a few minutes before lifing out to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk together the icing sugar, amond extract and enough milk to make a drizzle icing. Drizzle over the cooled pies. Let set, then serve.
Note - Any extra pie filling can be passed at the table if you have any.
One more thing today . . . the sun was shining and so I thought, I'll do the wash and get it out. Did that and within minutes it started to rain.
Blah . . . with the exception of these Cherry Croissants, I really can't win here. I don't know that I dare try anything else! Tomorrow is a new day! Bon Appetit!
One of my husband's favourite desserts has to be Custard Pie or Tarts. When I am grocery shopping, I will oftimes pick him up a couple of custard tarts to enjoy. He loves them. They are tall and thick and well coated with nutmeg.
I can't say I am overly fond, although I could not give you a reason why. I like custard, and I like nutmeg, I am just not that fond of Custard tarts . . . its a texture thing I think . . . they are pretty solid . . . I like my custard a bit creamier.
I do like this Magic Pie however. It is basically a lazy man's custard pie, except that it has a lot more going for it.
One . . . its very easy to make. Its as easy as stirring a few things together.
Two . . . it's not just plain custard, it is filled with lots of coconut and almonds. I love both of those.
If something has coconut and almonds in it, I am on board! Love, LOve, LOVE!
It uses things like flour, sugar, dessicated coconut, flaked almonds,eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter, which you simply whisk together and pour into a buttered dish.
If you can measure things accurately and whisk, then you can make this pie. Its so simple, really. Just whisk, pour and bake. That's when the magic happens.
It kind of makes a crust, and a creamy coconut filling. Then there is that nutty topping.It puffs up really high in the oven.
You might be tempted to think . . . "UH OH" . . . when you first see it, but never fear . . . all is well . . .
It sinks back down once you have removed it from the oven and it sits for a while. Don't be afraid when you see how much it puffs up.
It really does puff up quite high. Also don't be afraid when it sinks back down. Its supposed to do that.
I like to dust it and prettify it up a bit with a light dusting of icing sugar when I go to serve it. It just adds a special extra something.
Its a bit like adding a bit of blusher to a plain gal's face, or a touch of lippy. Just brightens things up a little bit. You can leave it off if you don't want to of course.
This is an update of a recipe which I first baked some 8 years ago now. I wanted to take some nicer photos of this and I felt it was a recipe which was worth repeating for you.
You can see the original post here.
On that occasion I served it with some tinned spiced peaches . . . which was and is very good, today however . . .
I served it with some fresh raspberries and blueberries, because I happened to have them in. The tartness of the fresh berries goes very well with the sweetness of this tart . . .
And because I happened to have some in the refrigerator, I added a dollop of clotted cream to the top, which made it all the more irresistable.
This really makes for a lovely dessert all round. Rich, creamy, sweet, filled with texture and beautiful to look at. You can't ask for more than that in a dessert. I would serve this to company.
Serves 8
Printable Recipe
So called because, just like *magic*, presto chango!!! A pile of ingredients separates into three perfect layers! Delicious coconut custard pie that is fabulous served with cream or fruit, or both! I have converted to American measurements as best as I can.
75g plain flour, sifted (1/2 cup plus one scant TBS)
220g caster sugar (1 cup plus 1 TBS plus 1 tsp)
60g dessicated coconut (1/2 cup, slightly heaped)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g of butter, melted (1/2 cup plus 2 tsp)
40g of flaked almonds, divided (scant 1/2 cup)
500ml of whole milk (2 cups)
To serve:
Fresh or tinned fruit and or cream
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4. Butter a deep 9 1/2 inch pie or flan dish well and set aside.
Whisk the flour, sugar, coconut, eggs, extract, butter and half of the nuts together in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring until completely amalgamated. Pour into the prepared dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
Serve cut into wedges along with some cream or fruit, if desired.
If you are looking for a simple and easy dessert to make this weekend, that is also moreisly delicious, look no further. This one fits the bill on all those counts. Very scrummy indeed!
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There is no denying it. Potatoes are my favourite vegetable, which is a darned shame really because they are carbs which get converted directly into sugar. As a diabetic, I need to try to limit these types of carbs . . . oddly enough sweet and new potatoes are not as bad. Go figure! I do eat them . . . regular potatoes that is, but in limited quantities. Recipes such as these breakfast potatoes are pretty not as bad for you because it combines the potatoes with other vegetables, so you are not getting quite as many of the carbs . . .
I like to use red skinned potatoes. (Rooster is what I used today) They have a nice and yellow flesh. Along with them I use red onion, along with both red and green bell peppers.
This makes for a beautifully coloured combination, with lots of texture and a variety of flavours . . .I could just look at this photo for hours, with all of the different colours . . . look at the lovely red rings in the onions . . . such beautiful patterns. The artist in me thrills at such a thing . . .
The vegetables are tossed together with a mix of butter and olive oil, some spices and herbs, and then are spread out onto a large rimmed baking sheet.
You want to leave plenty of space between them, so that the hot air in the oven can circulate around them evenly. This way they actually roast rather than stew. When you are using a vegetable with lots of water in it, like peppers, this is a real hazard. So really spread them out.
Today I used some thyme and marjoram . . . my mother would have used oregano. She discovered oregano back when I was in my last year of highschool. Up to that point, salt and pepper were what she used, with the exception of poultry seasoning when she was cooking our thanksgiving dinner. My father was not fond of spicy things or anything different. Oregano was really a bit adventurous for her! I love herbs and I use them often, and I use a variety. No need to use fresh here, dried work perfectly fine..
Along with the thyme and marjoram, I used fresh garlic, finely minced of course . . . and some seasoning salt, cayenne pepper and a mix of kosher salt and black pepper. Altogether a most brilliantly delicious combination. I don't overdo the cayenne . . . it can be super hot.
If you wanted a TexMex flair, you could use oregano, dried cumin and dried coriander . . . . potatoes done that way would be lovely wrapped in a warm tortilla with some cheese and egg, kind of like a breakfast burrito. YUM!
You needn't only keep these delicious potatoes for breakfast occasions. They also make a great light supper. That is how we enjoyed them today, along with some scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast. I think we have eggs for supper in one way or another at least once a week. In fact we are more likely to have them for supper than we are for breakfast!
*Breakfast Spuds*
Serves 4
1/2 tsp dried herbs as desired (thyme, marjoram, oregano, etc.)
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Have ready a large rimmed baking sheet.Set aside.
Wash the potatoes really well and then cut into large cubes. Place into a bowl along with the onion and peppers. Add the minced garlic, olive oil, melted butter, any herbs you are using and the seasonings. Toss together well.
Wash the potatoes really well and then cut into large cubes. Place into a bowl along with the onion and peppers. Add the minced garlic, olive oil, melted butter, any herbs you are using and the seasonings. Toss together well.
Pour onto the baking sheet and spread out into a single
layer. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender and golden brown,
stirring every 5 minutes.Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve
immediately.
Note - make sure you don't crowd the pan. If they are packed too closely together they won't brown properly. Also I like to line the baking sheet with some baking paper, which keeps them from sticking.
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