Huevos heaven - Yorkshire style...

Okay so its not a typical Yorkshire Breakfast, but it is my favourite, and the only one guaranteed to get me on my feet after a late night....

Huevos Rancheros - Yorkshire style...

The onions (from our garden) are sauteed in Yorkshire Rape Seed oil from our local producer Gold from the Wold

 then they get a good sprinkling of smoked paprika - my concession to non yorkshire produce! I get mine from gardengirls shop in Finchley, London - 'Tony's continental'. They're on facebook, check them out if you're ever near, they do the best stuff, often hand packaged by gardengirl herself and at the best prices...

 but enough of the advertising...back to the Huevos...once the onions are soft and smoky I tip in a good portion of chopped tomatoes - if Im being very good they're frozen ones from last years greenhouse haul...if i'm being honest they're usually from a tin1 But I do add some chopped chillis which are usually from the freerange windowsill and then season good and proper ...

 Then in go the eggs...fresh from the hen...

 these go in the oven and bake until they're ready...just perfect!

and then there's only one thing left to do...scoff the lot...delicious!!!

So they might not be true Huevos Rancheros - but they work for us....

A little taste of sunshine...

Last bakeup of the holidays today and a taste of somewhere sunny was definitely needed. We've been surrounded by rain and wind all day, rattling the windows and blowing the wheelie bins down the garden so i wanted something light and zesty to take away the winter blues ( and to use up some the leftover lemons sitting in the fruitbowl!)

These lovely lemon bars come from a favourite cookbook of mine The Dairy HollowHouse Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon - fab name I know! Every recipe has a great anecdote with it so if you ever see a copy snap it up.

Here it is...



And here's the recipe

Mix and press into the bottom of a baking tin

Half cup of butter
1 cup plain White flour
Quarter cup icing sugar

Beat

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Half teaspoon baking powder
Juice and rind of 2 lemons ( I added 1 more to the original recipe)

This mixture will be thin. Pour it over the first layer. Bake for 30 - 35 mins. Let cool slightly then sit with icing sugar.

Okay so they won't help with any diet resolutions but they are lush and brighten up the idea of tomorrow's back to work packed lunch.

I did think that a good walk with the dogs would make me feel less guilty about eating cake...I shook the lead, I put my coat on but these two are having none of it!






Oh well i tried!

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100 posts and a midsummer mousse...

I can't believe that this is my 100th post. Like everyone who gets to this point I'm taken aback by what started as a way of letting a few old friends know what we were up to and what has become a part of my life - the blog! Over the past 100 blogs my attention has wandered , my interests have been diverse and at times I've wondered if i would ever get round to blogging again - you know how real life can get in the way of the things you really want to do! One thing has remained the same though - writing this online diary of the stuff we do has made me remember, think about and focus on...the stuff we do, obvious really, but our freerangelives are so busy every day that the plantgrowing, cakemaking, childrenblossoming stuff that happens all the time can get forgotten in the midst of all our rushing around and if bloggin has done one thing for me its to make me take notice of the lovely stuff, so heres to plenty more!

Enough already! Ive written 100 blogs and am just pretty pleased with it, so heres a recipe to celebrate...

Blackcurrant Mousse

I chose this especially as weve just had our best crop of blackcurrants ever, and we got to them before the blackbirds...its also the nicest mousse ive ever had, not too sweet, not too sharp and super light...

250g Blackcurrants
50g caster sugar
2tsp lemon juice
2tsp gelatine
125ml double cream
2 egg whites

Rub the blackcurrants through a sive, then make up the puree to 150ml with water

Combine the puree, sugar and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Place 2tsp water in a small heatproof bowl and sprinke the gelatine on to the liquid. Set aside for 15 mins until the mixture feels spongy. Stand the bowl over a saucepan until it ahs dissolved completely. Cool slightly

Fold a little bit of the blackcurrant puree into the cooled gelatine, then whisk this mixture into the bowl of blackcurrant puree. Leave in a cool plce until the mixture starts to set.

In a deep bolw, whip the cream until it holds its shape, then fold in the blackcurrant mixture with a metal spoon. Whisk the eggwhites in a grease free bowl, just as you would for meringues, and then fold in. Mix it up thoroughly but dont overmix!

The whole thing can then be poured into a glass dish, a wetted mould or individual glasses. Refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours until set, turn out, decorate and your good to go...

Happy Summer Solstice everyone...

Red, red, rice...

I don't know about you, but I need colour at this time of the year. The golden leaves are now lying in a mud sodden heap, the russet hedges are becoming blackened sticks and as for the glorious hot pink cyclamen I planted, the last time I saw them a small dog was running up the garden with them in her mouth - the less said about that the better. So colour in the kitchen it has to be...

I love Risotto at this time of the year and I'm lucky enough to have a good stock of a really good Arborio rice courtesy of the FriendlyGrocer (who also happens to be Gardengirls husband).

FriendlyGrocer and his family have the most amazing Grocery and Deli in Finchley and we always try to make a trip there when were back in the big smoke to stock up on Cypriot and Mediterranean delicacies that are hard to get hold of. Id been saving my last pack of FGs special rice for a special recipe and this one certainly did the trick.

From Tessa Kiros 'Red plums for jam', the Red rice is actually a Tomato Risotto and very easy to make,

You need

1.25litres Vegetable stock/ broth
Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves (whole)
Half Red Onion, finely chopped
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
200g Risotto Rice
250ml Tinned Chopped Tomatoes
2 Basil Leaves
20g Parmesan Cheese
100g Mozzarella (cut into small chunks)
Grated Parmesan to serve

Saute the onion and garlic over a low heat for a bout 5 mins then stir in the chilli flakes and rice and cook for another minute. Add half the Tomatoes, half the basil and 375 ml of the stock.

Simmer for 10 mins on a low heat and add more stock as needed, stirring it now and them just to make sure it doesn't stick, add the rest of the stock and the tomatoes and simmer for another 10 mins. Fish out the garlic cloves and stir in the Parmesan and mozzarella. As soon as the mozzarella starts to melt your good to go - just sprinkle the extra Parmesan on top!

I served mine with pork schnitzels, but it was just as good on its own and a real winner with the little Freerangers, who whilst quite conservative in their culinary tastes were convinced it was just ketchup and rice, so tucked straight in!

But now my last bag of arborio has gone - so if your listening at Tony's Continental Store - put me some aside for the New Year please, and some macaroni, and some beans, and some octopus, and dolmades and...I tell you what, I'll bring a list!

Rainy days and chocolate cake...

As the songs says, 'I don't care what the weather man says, if the weather man says its raining, then its another excuse for baking, and that's alright by me' ...okay, so that's not quite the words but you get the idea! The weather here in East Yorkshire has been pretty filthy of late. Even walking the dogs round the block is a waterproof and wellies job. The temperatures dropping, the days are dark and the garden looks like one big compost heap...

But on the bright side, the fires are lit and glowing

 

the evenings are longer for knitting and crochet (or putting knots in bits of string as BH would refer to it!)

 

and all the time I would spend in the garden can be put to good use baking cake...

I made this Double Chocolate Loaf Cake at the weekend with the intention of fuelling BH  on the building site this week. The kids loved sprinkling the choc chips and set about scoffing it as soon as it was cool enough to handle. I got the recipe from good food and tweaked it by changing the chocolate chunks to chunks of leftover Toblerone - I know there's no such thing as leftover Toblerone, theres only Toblerone that Mum broke into before Christmas and felt so guilty that she used it up in a cake - there you have it -  confession over, I feel so much better that the truth is out there!

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake

175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
140g self raising flour
85g ground almonds
half teaspoon baking powder
100ml milk
4tbsp cocoa
50g plain chocolate or guilt laden Toblerone

chocolate chips for decorating


Heat the oven to 160C and grease and line a 900g baking tin ( I use the Lakeland liners for convenience).
To make the cake batter beat the butter and sugar until fluffy then beat in the eggs, flour, cocoa, baking powder and milk until smooth. Stir in whats left of your Toblerone then scrape into the tin. Bake for 45 -50 mins until risen and ready.

Then devour and ignore the fact its still raining outside!

Lunchbox essentials...

My school bag is packed, pencils are sharpened and shoes are shined and ready for tomorrow. Thankfully the sun has shone all day and the garden gave us a last flourish before term starts - these nasturtiums were looking eaten and ropey a few weeks ago but have really perked up - just in time to provide us with a late summer glow!

To take my mind off first day nerves I cooked up yet another batch of courgettes - this time following Patrices recommendation for courgette muffins from the allotment.com site. Thanks for tip Patrice! BH wasnt convinced at first, he's still recovering from my trying to slip him a beetroot brownie ( I know lots of people love 'em but I must have taken a wrong turn on that recipe because mine were shocking!)




I shouldnt have worried because these were very popular - They taste quite treacly which helps and are very moist. I might even give courgette cake a go after this!



Perhaps I'll pack one in my lunch box - thanks to the courgettes I can pass it off as one of my five a day!

You say courgette I say zucchini...

Today was Day four in my week of courgette cuisine (i'm determined not to waste any of them). But instead of courgettes today were talking zucchinis, there is a reason for this madness - I promise. For one thing, I figured that if I gave them a different name I might get them past the family for another day running before courgette fatigue sets in - and its in honour of Dom at Bellaukitchen as I believe this recipe came from the states in the first place!


The dish consists of lightly coated fried strips of courgette, loads of mozzarella and a truly gorgeous tomato sauce. The sauce is definitely the secret weapon in this recipe and im going to have a go at freezing some on its own for future use, it has a good glug of balsamic vinegar and white wine in it so it has that sweet and tart taste that you get from seaside ketchup if you know what I mean - lovely!

I topped it with parmesan and then baked until it was ready - the only probelm was waiting for it to cool down before we could dig in! If you try one courgette recipe this season then I would definitely give this a go - it was delicious. BH rated it as his favourite so far ( I think it helped that I didn't call it a lasagne so he wasnt looking longingly for the pasta!)









So it was a big thumbs up from the freerangers - thanks for recipe Dom, we all voted it Truly Great!














But I couldnt end todays post without sharing this picture of freerangenan and bionic grandpas flower baskets - theyve gone crazy this year. I wouldnt be surprised if they get a fine for taking over the pavement without a permit!

Blue skies and Yellow happiness...

It was the last official day of the summer hols today. Oh I know we've still got the weekend, but that doesn't really count - today was our last freebie, before we have to start thinking about uniforms and getting up on time and brushing hair (oops maybe thats just us!) We'd got stuck into boring old chores today when BH put his foot down and said enough was enough - we were off to the beach before the hols were over! It does help that its just up the road!





Its easy to forget the pleasures of an afternoon on the sands - but every time we go down the beach I do feel so lucky to have this on our doorstep. No more trips to the Early Learning Centre to replenish the sandpit - we just sit and play on the beach instead!





I dont know if it was the sunshine or the blue skies that brought out this little Freerangers crazy side but something definitely had a positive effect on him - even his sister couldn't stay 'oh so serious' for too long!



So after all those blue skies and sunshine our dish of the day had to be the Yellow Happiness soup from Nigellas Summer book...



It is so easy, really unbelievably easy considering the taste it packs in.

All I had to do was chop two large yellow courgettes and cook them in a little olive oil with some lemon zest, then add a good dollop of turmeric, 1 litre of stock ( I used chicken), the juice of the lemon I zested and a cup of rice and cook for about 20 mins...and that was it!

I have lots more yellow courgettes to come so this could well become a freeranger staple! I love it, it's light enough to feel virtuous but tasty enough to feel like a treat...perfect!

Must start thinking about tomorrow and day 4 of the the courgette challenge! Dom at Bellau Kitchen shared his courgette lasagne so it would be rude not give it a go really! (maybe I'll call it zucchini just to confuse the kids)

When is a courgette not a courgette...

When its a stuffed marrow of course! Tonight was round 2 in our 7 days of courgette cuisine and after a day back at work I was starving hungry so it had to be substantial... and it certainly was that!



I sauted some garlic, red onions and mushrooms, scooped out the centres and stuffed 'em good and proper. I thought that looked a bit too healthy so I wedged plenty of feta and tomato on top and gave them a good glugging with the olive oil (drizzlings for wimps!). They took a while to bake but we really moist and tasty - the feta definitely did the business adding a salty kick. So far so good!

Tomorrow is officially the last day of the summer hols. Although i've been in at work most days this week, this still marks the end of another summer for me and any other teachers out there - so Friday calls for Nigellas Happiness soup to raise the spirits (thanks Mrs Nesbitt and Brownieville Girl for the tip off!)

And the beet goes on...

As a child I was reknowned for my appetite, no picky eater reputation for me, my mum regularly rolls out the story of my eating new potatoes whole, drinking from the vinegar bottle and climbing on the dining room table before i could walk to polish off a blackberry pie. I do not tell you this out of pride, nor do i recommend such rudimentary table manners, but to explain there wasnt much i wouldn't touch...

apart from

radishes

broad beans

beetroot

and mussels.


My how things have changed...I grew tons of these this year as I was given plants or the seeds were free and the magic of growing them outweighed any reservations I had about the end product. My conversion really started last year but is in full flow with this seasons harvest.



I can't get enough of these radishes in all their Peter Rabbit pinkness. Picked early they're still lovely and crisp and totally gorgeous with guess what...broad beans. Okay, the beans arent from our plot but I couldnt wait for ours to be ready (I never thought I'd be saying that!) When the beans are still young they're tasty in their skins. Mixed with a splash of Olive Oil and lemon juice and then sprinkled with rock salt they're perfect.




But woman can not live on radishes alone - so we also harvested some of our beets tonight, to be honest we've got so many we are going to be harvesting them every night. Last year our beet crop was less than impressive but this year we are more than making up for it. These Boltardys give a perfect little sphere. The only down side to them is that despite successional sowing they're all ready at once!



I'm addicted to beetroot salads at the moment and I cant get enough of this one. The beets are simply boiled until the skins slip off then chopped small. A couple of large dollops of low fat yoghurt are mixed with a good squeeze of lemon juice, a teaspoon of whole grain mustard and a crunch of black pepper. Its that easy. The hard part is getting it to the fridge before it gets scoffed. Oh, and did I mention its fabulously, luridly, shockingly pink!



So whilst i started growing veg to get my children inspired to eat them its had the desired effect on me too.

But I still think mussels are the work of the devil!