Four things to {Cook} this month | #1

               

           

1. Breakfast | I am attempting to expand my pancake repertoire. After discovering last month that I can make the best American Pancakes, my boyfriend and I are in constant competition as to who can make the fluffiest pancakes with the most interesting and delicious flavour combinations. These Dutch Blueberry pancakes look like a winner to me, and they look so beautiful in their individual cast-iron pans. 

2. Lunch | As has been mentioned in previous posts, I have a serious case of Scandimania. Hence why I can't wait to make my own versions of Smorrebrod: dark rye bread, topped with a selection of delicious toppings. I personally want to try cream cheese, hot smoked salmon and Danish pickled cucumber. I can't wait to try these properly when I spend my Christmas in Copenhagen and Oslo this year! 

3. Dinner | I love risotto, but I find the gluten in the rice often leaves me feeling stodgy and needing to nap in front of trashy TV for at least 3 hours! This version made with quinoa and loads of fresh mushrooms looks so much lighter but equally filling. I can't wait to try this for dinner when I go back to Uni in September. 

4. Bake | It's no secret that I love baking. But as my skills develop, I'm looking to experiment a little more with new flavour combinations, and stray from the confines of traditional recipes. This classic lemon cake is sexed up with sprigs of fresh rosemary and a tangy, yoghurt icing- the sort of thing I would love to make in my own kitchen! 

American Banana Pancakes

Mornings with pancakes are the best mornings. Especially American style pancakes with their soft, fluffy and sweet interior. These are so easy to make, in my opinion, way easier than traditional flat pancakes which always look like sloppy scrabbled egg when I make them! I had my pancakes with a drizzle of honey, some extra sliced banana and a few ripe, juicy raspberries... and then devoured them inelegantly in the garden with a big'ol glass of OJ. Perfect.

Ingredients (for 3 normal people, or 2 with a healthy appetite)

135g of Plain Flour
1tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
2 tbsp of Caster Sugar
140ml of Milk
1 Large Egg
2 tbsp of melted butter, plus extra for cooking
2 Ripe Bananas, roughly chopped

Sieve your flour, baking power, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Melt your butter in a medium sized measuring jug, then pour in the milk and crack in the egg, whisk quickly with a fork to combine. Add to the dry ingredients, along with the chopped banana. Stir together with a fork until combined and leave to stand for a few minutes.

In the meantime, heat a large frying pan on the hob (I used one big enough to cook 2 pancakes in at a time). Melt the butter and ladle two blobs of mixture on opposite sides of your frying pan. The mixture will be quite thick, don't panic, this is normal. Once the pancakes start to bubble on the top, flip over quickly (stealth and speed is key here) and cook for another 40 seconds or so on the other side. Transfer onto a plate and keep warm in the oven until the rest of your pancakes are cooked.

They should be about 1cm thick and with lovely golden brown speckles on either side. Devour at your own pace.

Conference Pear and Crunchy Granola Muffins

Muffins are the best, especially for breakfast. These are filling, crunchy and sweet: plus they contain two whole pears, making them practically a health food. These are excellent with a nice cup of coffee in the morning, or for pudding with a dollop of custard. The outside remains crumbly and nutty, whilst the inside stays wonderfully moist due to the pear (yes, I do aways comment on the moistness of a cake when tasting)... (yes, I am 94). 

Ingredients

300g of Self Raising Flour

1tsp of Baking Powder

1 heaped tsp of Cinnamon 

1 pinch of Sea Salt

125g of Light Muscovado Sugar

250ml of Milk 

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

100g of Melted Butter

2 ripe Conference Pears, chopped into small pieces

150g of Crunchy Granola (I used a Tesco's Finest 5 nut and honey job)

Preheat your oven to 180'C and line a couple of muffin trays with cake cases.

Sift your flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Then add the wet ingredients, starting with the melted butter, milk and then the two eggs. Mix into a rough batter before stirring in your chopped pears and half of the granola. 

Spoon into cake cases and sprinkle the rest of the granola over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the muffin (cheeky).

Sunday Snapshots | #1

Happy Sunday, all! Today has been a surprisingly lovely day, filled with sunshine, sardines and wonderful company. After a sleepy start (it's was so nice not to wake up to an alarm!) my morning was spent with a luxuriously languid breakfast of porridge, fruit and yoghurt, followed with a trip to the supermarket to buy baking ingredients and browse the homeware- my God, Tesco's have some serious pastel crockery going on!

You can always tell it's summer in England when the air in our estate smells dense and heavy with the scent BBQ smoke, and naturally, today was no exception. Today my dad griddled some fresh sardines: with merely a little olive oil, salt and rosemary for seasoning. The taste was smoky and fresh, reminding me of a seemingly endless summer we once spent in the South of France, where we cooked sardines most evenings on a banged-up rusty BBQ on our moss-covered patio, as the sun set over fields of sunflowers.

This Kinfolk-style make-shift lunch was made all the more wonderful by the company. After a mad week at work, it was so lovely to relax with my parents and boyfriend in the summer sunshine whilst we nattered about food, holidays and my dad's hatred of Macbeth!

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the time always dawns when I have to drive my boyfriend back to his house. I know I'm lucky that we live so close to each other, but after a glorious day like today, it's always a little sad to say goodbye. After a sleepy drive, watching the field whizz past the car window in a blur of sun-dappled green, and singing loudly to Rod Steward with the windows open ('Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?' will always be a classic), I popped into Toby's for a cup of tea, a chat and a cuddle with his adorable dog, Lola. I always feel so relaxed and at-ease when I'm with him and his family, which is so lovely. 

Naturally, I'm spending my evening typing up this post with my labrador Elma taking up the entire sofa with her outstretched legs, leaving me scrunched up in the corner! Whilst I miss uni and the friends I have there, it is oh-so lovely to be home for the summer. 

How's your sunday been? Have you been making the most of the sunshine?

Lemon & Orange Sorbet

When life gives you lemons (and/or oranges, we aren't fussy here) always make sorbet. With scorcher days melting into warm, balmy evenings, something light and refreshing can be just the answer. This teeth-curling sorbet softens into a delicate citrus sweetness, reminding me the South coast of Italy, where dappled views of sparkling blue ocean are always framed by trees ladened with gnarled, ripe,  yellow lemons.

Lemon & Orange Sorbet

250g of Granulated Sugar

450ml of Water

300ml of Fresh Juice (I used 5 lemons and 2 oranges)

Zest of 1 lemon


Combine the water, sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan and set over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture takes on the consistency of a light syrup. Once done, remove from the heat and cool.

In the mean time, juice all of your fruit- being carful to avoid pips.

Once the syrup mixture has cooled, pour in your lemon and orange juice, and pour either into a pre-frozen ice cream maker or a KitchenAid ice cream attachment. Leave this to beat for 20-30 minutes, or until the mixture begins to become stiff. Transfer into a freezable container and freeze until solid.

Scandinavian Rye Bread

I admit it, I have a problem. I have Scandimania. I'm in love with Scandinavian fashion, lifestyle, furniture, design and, most of all, food. It seems that Nordic cuisine has taken the nation by storm with it's simple textures and earthy flavours, a type of straightforward, minimalistic and, above all, homely cooking style that has really grabbed our attention. Nordic cuisine has come on in such leaps and bounds over the last few years that it appears now the true taste of Scandinavia can be found in a simple rye loaf... rather than needing to remortgage my house in order to sample the latest seaweed and moss emulsion in Noma.

This loaf is dark and wholesome, perfect layered with salmon and avocado for my take on smørrebrød, a traditional Danish open sandwich... it's also nice toasted with marmite, just sayin'. 

Scandinavian Rye Bread

175ml of Milk

175ml of Water

2tbsp of Dark Soft Brown Sugar

1 7g Sachet of Dried Yeast

250g of Wholemeal Rye Flour

200g (plus extra for dusting) of Strong White Bread Flour

1tsp of Salt

1tbsp of Caraway Seeds

1tbsp of Fennel Seeds 

Pour the milk, water and sugar into a small saucepan and set over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Once the mixture reaches blood temperature, remove from the heat, add the sachet of yeast and set aside for 10 minutes until small bubbles begin to form on the surface (this means the yeast is working). 

Combine both sorts of flour, salt and crushed caraway and fennel seeds in a large bowl and pour in the yeast mixture. Bring together roughly with a wooden spoon first, then kneed for around 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. In order to make the dough springy and elastic this could take a while... so give it some wellie, and put something good on your laptop to watch (I watched Orange is The New Black- I'm hooked!). 

Once kneaded, put the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place to prove for about an hour and a half (I use my airing cupboard).

When proven, turn out your dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock-back lightly with your knuckles, kneed again for another minute or so and shape into a nice, rounded loaf. Slash twice with a cerated knife, place on a baking tray and return to your airing cupboard (or warm place of choice, I don't judge) for another 40 minutes. 

Once proven again, place into a preheated oven at 180C and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cooked, your loaf should be a rich, dark brown colour and should sound hollow when tapped lightly on the bottom. 

L'italiano, lie-ins and limoncello.

My second trip to Sorrento was just as beautiful as the first... albeit colder, with more bread and less geography worksheets. However, in the 3 years that have passed, little has changed. The streets still bare that unfinished and chipped paintwork; insignias of the Madonna and child glare waxy and unassuming from the exposed rock-faces; ripe viridescent trees hang heavy with gnarled, bitter lemons; and, when plied with carbs and wine, everything seems slower and a little bit calmer.

(The view from a cafe in the main square, never has the need for a linen suit and a panama hat been more apt)

(Pistachio and Lemon gelato mmmmmmmm)

(You'd think we would be more excited for a city preserved from 79AD... apparently not)

(Couldn't resist...)

Also, here is a little bit of footage from my trip. I only chose to film 3 of the days, it was a holiday after all. So here is a snapshot of Sorrento, Pompeii and Vesuvius. (Sorry about the editing, this is my first go). The song is 'Robbers', by the 1975.