When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I discovered Enid Blyton Books. I was totally enthralled with her stories.
At first it was the fairy stories but then I graduated into the adventure books and the books about boarding schools.
The children in the adventure books didn't seem to have much supervision and they travelled all around the countryside.
They were always solving mysteries and getting in and out of scrapes. I longed for adventure.
The children in the boarding schools also had adventures, and tuck boxes and midnight feasts. All of her books were filled with lot of deliciously exotic sounding foods.
There were huge coconut macaroons, billowing meringues, meat paste sandwiches, sausage rolls, cherry cakes and ginger beer . . .
Oh how I longed to go to Boarding School and have a tuck box filled with treats from home. I wanted to gather together with the other girls and enjoy mutual midnight feasts of a gargantuan proportions.
How my heart yearned to take off into the wild blue yonder across the fields with a couple of meat paste sandwiches tied up in a handkerchief along with a slice of cherry cake and a bottle of ginger beer . . .
My friend Tina went to Boarding School in South Africa. She had a tuck box and it was filled with treats from home. Her mother would make her own sweets and cakes and once a week, they were allowed to go into their tuck box and enjoy one of the treats inside.
Her homemade goodies were much in demand and she often was able to trade with others for their "exotic-to-her" store manufactured treats.
They also had midnight feasts in their dormitory. Each girl would steal some bit of food away from their lunch or supper, hiding the goodies in the pockets of their uniform to be shared out and enjoyed later at night after the matron had gone to bed.
They would pretend to be asleep and then in the middle of night they would gather together and tell stories and share their provisions together . . . which had taken on the magical properties of anything which has been purloined . . .
She said that they even would sneak out of the dorm sometimes, putting some of the smaller girls out the windows (because they fit), getting them to unlock the door and then they would all wander about having midnight adventures in the dark.
They left pillows made to look like bodies under the covers back in the dorm.
OH it does sound so very exciting to me, and more than a bit dangerous. Even now as a 64 year old woman. My heart still longs for adventures and midnight feasts.
I think to be sure those days are long gone for me, and I don't think my digestion could take eating anything after 7 o-clock at night.
I have learnt since moving over here that there is nothing exotic or even tasty about meat paste sandwiches . . . or fish paste for that matter (ugh)
There is something incredibly moreishly exotic about sausage rolls, eccles cakes, macaroons, ginger beer and . . . cherry cake.
Perfect for midnight feasts and indoor picnics . . . this cherry cake is well worthy of sharing. Cut into thick slices . . . buttery and moist . . . .
And studded with plenty of glace cherries . . . and topped with a sweet drizzle glaze icing and toasted flaked almonds . . .
Most of the cherries end up evenly distributed, but some do manage to sink to the bottom, no matter how hard you try to make it so that they don't.
Its inevitable, but if anything . . . this only adds to the allure of the cake . . .
You nibble the cake all around their sticky sweetness . . . saving those sunken cherries and bottom bits of cake for a very nice last mouthful . . .
Ahhh . . . there really is nothing so satisfying as a very nice mouthful.
If you only bake one cake this weekend . . . let it be this . . . incredibly delicious, moreishly decadent, cherry stogged full buttery cake!
Excellent washed down with flasks of hot tea, cold milk and spicy ginger beer, and perhaps accompanied with an adventure or two or three!
Yield: cuts into 8 slices
Cherry Cake
A delicious slice of nostalgia.
ingredients:
For the cake:
- 225g self raising flour (1 1/2 cups + 2 TBS)
- 100g ground almonds (1 1/4 cups)
- the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
- 275g glace cherries, preferably undyed or a mix (scant 3 cups)
- 225g butter, softened (1 cup)
- 225g granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 TBS)
- 3 laarge free-range eggs
- a few drops of almond extract
- 2 TBS milk
For the glaze and decoration:
- 65g icing sugar, sifted (1/2 cup)
- milk to thin
- a handful of toasted flaked almonds
instructions:
How to cook Cherry Cake
- Preheat oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Lighty butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin. Line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Rinse the glace cherries in hot water to remove all of the syrup and sugar. Dry well and then cut in half. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the lemon zest and almonds. Stir in the halved cherries.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at at time. Stir in the almond extract. Fold in the flour mixture and milk, making sure the cherries are well dispersed.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Check at about 45 minutes and if you think it is getting too dark, cover loosely with a double sheet of aluminium foil. It is done when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. (Today mine took about 15 minutes extra.) Leave cake in the tin to cool completely.
- Tip out onto a wire rack. Whisk together the icing sugar, a few drops of almond extract and just enough milk to give you a thick drizzle. Flick over the cake and scatter with toasted almonds. Cut into thick slices to serve.
Have you ever noticed how important food figures into a good book or story? When I think of my favourites there was always some kind of food involved. Perhaps thats because children enjoy food and adventure hand in hand, and so long as they are active, they don't have to worry too much about the calories. Ahh to be a child again . . . what were some of your favourite stories/books when you were a child?
I found myself with a half of a white cabbage in my refrigerator that I wanted to use up but I didn't feel like making a coleslaw or anything like that. I wanted something comforting and delicious. Todd's not fond of coleslaw. He doesn't like eating anything that has hard vegetables in it.
I saw this fabulous casserole on Half Baked Harvest one day and I fell in love with the photograph and recipe. I mean . . . . croissants, jam, cream cheese, eggs, fruit . . . what's not to love about that! I thought to myself, I'm IN!
However it was far too large of a casserole for me to justifiably bake for my husbnd and myself, and it will be about a month and a half before my kids come over.
I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to taste this gorgeousness NOW!
I also happened to have 3 large stale croissants here in the house leftover from when my husband bought some at Costco the other day. We had eaten as many of them that we could.
I couldn't bear throwing any of them away. This breakfast casserole was really calling my name.
Her recipe serves 8 people. We are only 2. What to do, what to do.
I reduced it by half and then by half again and crossed my fingers.
Just look at that. It turned out perfectly! Amazingly scrumptiously perfect!
You get flaky butter bits of croissant . . . along with souflee-like bread pudding bits . . . interspersed with pockets of wild blueberry jam and nuggets of rich cream cheese . . . oh my goodness . . .
I love wild blueberry jam . . . and fresh blueberries of course. I just love blueberries and they work wonderfully in this.
Raspberry jam and fresh raspberries would also work, and here's a thought . . . peach or apricot jam with raspberries, kind of like a peach melba . . .
She served hers with whipped cream. I just happened to have a lovely tub of extra thick Jersey cream in the refrigerator. You can't beat that. Its perfection.
And so I dolloped a bit of that on each serving, about a tablespoon full . . . scrummy yummy . . .
Real Maple syrup . . . fresh blueberries . . .
I am definitely going to make this for my children when they come over. They are going to love LOVE it!
I just had a thought that would also be very good . . . Orange Marmalade along with black berries . . .
Oh my the possibilities are truly endless. One thing is certain, I am making this again, and you deffo need to make this!
Berry & Cream Croissant French Toast for Two
Yield: 2 generous serving
A delicious breakfast casserole. You must wait at least 30 minutes to bake it, or up to overnight. Great to throw together the night before, banging it into the oven on the morning.
ingredients:
For the Casserole:
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten lightly
- 120ml whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 TBS Maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3 large stale croissants, torn or sliced into chunks (you want about 3 cups)
- 3 ounces wild blueberry jam (1/3 cup)
- 3 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes
- 2 TBS cold butter, sliced
- powdere sugar to dust at the end
To Serve:
- Whipped cream
- maple syrup
- fresh berries
instructions:
How to cook Berry & Cream Croissant French Toast for Two
- Beat th ggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Add the croissant chunks and gently toss together.
- Butter a 6 by 8 inch baking dish. Layer half of the soaked croissants in the dish. Dot with the jam and the cream cheese. Top with the remaining croissants and pour over any egg/milk mixture that remains in the bowl. Let stand for at least half a hour or in the refrigerator overnight, covered.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 6. Dot the top with the slices of cold butter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the FrenchToast is golden brown and crisp. If you think it is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
- Serve warm with some whipped cream, fresh berres and maple syrup for pouring.
I am enjoying reducing recipes and trying them out in smaller sizes. Its a bit of a challenge, but a most delicious one. One thing I have learned is that its well worth it. Don't ever let the size of a dish daunt you or make you think that you can't possibly remake it as a smaller recipe. What are some recipes/dishes that you would like to see me try to make smaller? I am up for the challenge!
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We like ground turkey in this house. In fact we I probably prefer it over ground beef. For me it is a texture thing and I just prefer the smell and the flavour of turkey over that of beef.
Don't get me wrong. I like beef . . . in a steak, or a roast or a stew . . . cut into chunks, etc. I just am not overly fond of it ground. When I was growing up whenever my mother served us ground beef I always ended up with a piece of gristle or bone in mine, and as soon as it touched my teeth, my gag reflex kicked in.
And, it even happened to me in restaurants! Believe it or not! I got a fingernail sized piece of bone in a hamburger in Harvey's once. Nobody else did. Just me. Its no wonder I can take or leave ground beef!! We just don't get along well together! I never have that problem with ground turkey.
These Turkey Parmesan Meatballs I am sharing today are incredibly delicious. You don't want to use the leanest grade of ground turkey. Get something with a bit of thigh meat ground into it, for extra flavour and moistness. Pure turkey breast meat might be too dry.
The meatball mixture is quite flavourful. I have added onion and garlic powders, rather than actual minced onion and garlic. I like to use the powders in meatballs because they end up less crumbly. I like the consistency better.
There is also some parsley, oregano, seasoning, milk soaked bread, a beaten egg, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.
I roll this mixture into balls about the size of a whole walnut and then I bake them in the oven, just until they are golden brown.
You can roast them on a baking sheet if you want. I just do this right in the dish I intend to serve them from. I spray it first with a bit of non-stick low-fat cooking spray.
I use a good quality Marinara sauce. You probably have your favourites. If I am really lucky I have some of my homemade Marinara Sauce in the freezer. I make it in the crock pot in the autumn when fresh plum tomatoes are in abundance! Its fabulous. I had to use a bottled one today because we are all out of my freezer one. Darn . . .
Just use your favourite brand. I used Lloyd Grossman today. It has some chunks in it and its lovely and thick. I also like the flavour. You just spoon that around the meatballs in the dish and then spoon some over top of each one and sprinkle with a four cheese blend and some grated parmesan and return it to the oven.
Once the sauce is bubbling, the turkey juices run clear and the cheese is nice and melty they are done! Ready to serve to your hungry family! I served them with rice and green beans, but pasta would be great with them as well.
Yield: makes about 20 meatballs
Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
Tender flavour-filled turkey meatballs slathered in marinara sauce and melting cheese.
ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 medium free range egg
- 1 slice of stale rustic white bread
- 2 TBS milk
- 1 TBS minced fresh parsley
- 1 TBS freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
You will also need
- 1 jar of your favourite marinara sauce (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 120g grated four cheese blend (1 cup)
- 45g freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F gas mark 6. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all of the meatballs in one layer.
- Tear bread and put it into a bowl with the milk. Let set for a few minutes, then squeeze out all of the milk. Put it into a bowl along with the remaining meatball ingredients. Mix well to combine and then shape ino 20 walnut sized meatballs. Place into the prepared baking dish.
- Roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and spoon the marinara sauce around and over top of the meatballs. Sprinkle with the four cheese blend and the Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted.
- Serve hot with either pasta or rice.
I am thinking they would also be great in Meatball Subs. Oh, can you imagine . . . crusty bread, tender meatballs, marinara and plenty of cheese. YUM YUM!
Whenever we go to Costco I always pick up one of their rotisserie chickens. They are always delicious and a great value.
I strip them down, freezing the bones for soup at a later date and then we enjoy the meat in sandwiches or casseroles. You can't beat a rotisserie chicken from Costco in my opinion!
I love Chicken and Dumplings and this casserole dish I am sharing is a variation on that. It is loosely based on a recipe from one of those Baking mixes, but instead it is from scratch.
I have also sized it to serve two people perfectly, but I have also included measurements to serve four in the note section of the printable recipe.
Its a "just-like-magic" kind of an entree. Almost like a pudding cake. You know the ones I mean . . . the self saucing ones, except this is not a sweet pudding.
Rather, it is a savoury chicken casserole along the same vein . . .
You melt some butter in the bottom of a shallow casserole dish. Of course you could melt the butter in a bowl and pour it into the dish, but why?
Its going in the casserole dish anyways, and so I just pop the butter into the dish and then place it into the oven while it is preheating to melt the butter.
One less dish to wash. Have I ever told you about how lazy I am? Its true. If I can find a way to save money, time or on the washing up, I will do so!
Especially with the washing up. Not my favourite chore!
Once the butter has melted you tilt it to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Easy peasy. Then just scatter some shredded cooked chicken over top.
I say 2 cups, which works out to 1/2 of the whole chicken breast meat. (I like to use the breast meat in casseroles if I can.) I just tear it into shreds.
You could of course cube it, but shreds are so much more interesting don't you think??? I like my food to be interesting. I want it to taste good, but I also want it to be texturally interesting.
We eat first with our eyes after all.
It does use half a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. I know some people eschew these, but I am not one of them.
I think they are a great store cupboard ingredient and I like to use them in casseroles. They have their place in my larder for sure.
You only need the half can of course, but the other half can be put into a small plastic container and frozen to use another day.
Todd always makes himself a bowl of soup with it. He loves soup, especially cream soups, so it never gets wasted in this house either way.
You make a thin batter using flour, milk, baking powder and salt. This gets drizzled/dolloped over the chicken in the dish.
It will not cover it, so don't think you can just pour it over the whole thing. You will need to dribble it here and there so that most of the chicken is more or less covered with at least some of it.
The half can of soup gets stirred together with some chicken stock/broth and then poured over the whole casserole dish, which is where the magic happens . . .
And when I say magic, I mean real magic . . .
Don't be tempted to stir it in. Just leave it and pop it all into the oven. Let it bake and just like magic, a gravy is formed and dumplings pop up all over the place.
This is seriously yummy folks!
Chicken & Dumpling Casserole for Two
Yield: 2
A fabulously tasty casserole that is quick and easy to make. Shredded chicken gets drizzled with a dumpling batter, with a liquid gravy poured over top. Like magic it makes a saucy chicken in gravy topped with dumplings. Serve with your favourite sides for midweek meal.
ingredients:
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken ( use Rotisserie chicken)
- 240ml chicken broth (1 cup)
- 2 TBS butter
- 70g plain flour (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 (400g) tin of condensed cream of chicken soup (1/2 of a 10 3/4oz tin) (freeze the rest for another time.
instructions:
How to cook Chicken & Dumpling Casserole for Two
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
- Put the butter into a shallow 7 by 11-inch casserole dish and pop it into the oven to melt the butter. Take it out and tilt the dish to cover the bottom with the butter. Scatter the shredded chicken over top of the butter.
- Whisk together the milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Drizzle over top of the chicken. It won't completely cover it so just make sure it is spaced as evenly as you can get it over top.
- Whisk together the soup and chicken broth. Pour this mixture over top of everything. Don't stir.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed up and are golden brown. Serve hot.
NOTES:
For a full sized casserole to serve 4: 3 to 4 cups chicken, 480ml (2 cups) chicken stock, 4 TBS butter, 140g (1 cup) flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 240ml (1 cup) milk, 1 full tin of the soup. Mix and fix as above, using a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
I served it with some leftover stuffing I had frozen from Christmas, sweet potatoes and a mix of peas and carrots. My husband was one very happy camper! Yours will be too!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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