Chocolate Chunk Cherry Cake

It is a little early to be talking about cherries in the UK… a few months early… but it is exciting to see cherries ready on the trees. We might even get some this year instead of the birds. They have already done an excellent job of eating the cherry and plum tree leaves – I had no idea they were that tasty…

We were given a bag of cherries from a friend who takes the left overs from a market for her chickens and gives us a huge portion of it to feed little piggy and chooks. Some were on the turn, queue cherry baking time.

I’ve got a favourite cherry cake recipe (find it here Cherries) but I was lacking in some ingredients and, to be honest, I wanted chocolate cake 😛

So I trawled the internet to find a chocolate one that had the ingredients we had in the house. I had just enough to make one from https://www.kitchensanctuary.com

It is most definitely not my own creation even though I would love to take credit for it, but it is so delicious that I think the word should be spread. It is a new favourite chocolate cake.

Flourless with ground almonds, fresh cherries, chocolate chunks in a chocolate cake, lovely gooey texture – what is not to like?!

Chocolate Chunk Cherry Cake

(Serves 10)

-225g butter, softened -200g granulated sugar -1tsp vanilla extract -4 eggs -200g ground almonds -50g cocoa powder -1tsp baking powder -100g dark chocolate -100g dark or milk chocolate cut into chunks -200g fresh cherries

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 20cm/9inch deep cake tin with baking parchment.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time until well incorporated into the mixture.
4. Stir in the ground almonds, cocoa powder and baking powder, mixing well to combine.
5. Melt 100g of dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over the hob or in a microwave. Mix into the cake mixture followed by the chunks of unmelted chocolate.
6. Scrape the contents of the bowl into the prepared baking tin.
7. Remove the stems from the cherries and cut them open, removing the stones from the centre. Scatter the cherries over the top of the cake’s surface.
8. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin before transferring to the wire rack to cool completely. It is also delicious served warm.
9. When completely cold, store in an airtight container for up to three days.

Recipe: Celeriac Mash

I’ll confess – I was originally making celeriac soup, but it ended up as a sort of mashed potato like variation.

With just the addition of some fried onion, salt and pepper, this versatile dish makes an excellent addition to any dinner with lots of veg sides or as a different replacement for mashed potato.

To learn about Celeriac, click here.

Celeriac Mash

(Serves 6-8) 

-2 large celeriacs -one large onion -olive oil -200-400ml boiled water -dash of salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel the celeriacs and cut them into think pieces. Place them on a non-stick roasting tray, dribble olive oil over the top, and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until just starting to turn crisp. Leave to cool.
2. Slice the onion and fry in olive oil until golden brown.
3. In a food processor, add the celeriac and the fried onion. Blitz.
4. Add a little of the boiling water and blitz again. Continue to add boiling water until you get a mashed potato looking consistency. Add the salt and pepper and blitz again.
5. Tip the contents of the food processor into a non-stick deep based pan and bring to the boil.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Tip: why not add some freshly picked herbs? Thyme, oregano, rosemary, coriander, parsley, sage, lemongrass…

Ps. roasted celeriac sliced thinly can make great chips. 

Mushroom Quinoa Pot

SO… I never did get quite round to growing my quinoa this year.

I’ve finished uni and am now off to the next training course so the veg patch and blog have been neglected this year. But that does not mean that we can’t dream for the future! Fancy growing your own quinoa? Take a look at one of my oldest blog posts here: Quinoa

Despite not growing it this year, how about a little veggie recipe to inspire you?

Mushroom Quinoa Pot

(Serves 2)

-1 large onion, sliced -Olive oil, for frying -450g tomato passata/ sauce -100g quinoa -8 button mushrooms -4 oregano leaves -Sprig of thyme -1tbsp soy sauce -1 1/2tbsp Worcester sauce -Rocket, to serve

1. Slice the onion and place in a non-stick pan with the olive oil. Fry until golden brown and then add the tomato passata or sauce.
2. Add the quinoa and bring to the boil.
3. Cut the mushrooms into fine slices and add, stirring in. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Leave for approximately ten minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the quinoa has cooked and absorbed some of the tomato sauce.
4. Tear up the oregano and thyme and stir in followed by the soy sauce and Worcester sauce. Leave to simmer for another few minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and serve along with fresh rocket.

First salad of 2019 harvested & recipe

Picked our first spinach, rocket and crinkled cress yesterday.

Yummy and fresh.

Now they may look like they are on top of a pile of goo – and it is a pile of goo – but it is very good goo which is meant to look prettier but I cooked it for too long. It is meant to look like this:

(From Banyan Botanicals Website — thank you)

It is kitchari – a traditional Ayurvedic recipe which is meant to be gentle and nourishing for the digestive system. Kitchari, which literally means mixture, is a blend of rice and usually spilt lentils with spices and an assortment of vegetables of choice. A one-pot dish, kitchari originates from Asia and has references dating back thousands of years. The use of spices and vegetables can produce balancing effects for the three bodily dosas in Ayurvedic medicine. Rice and mung dal together create a balanced food that is a good protein combination and is tridoshic. This complete food is easy to digest and gives strength and vitality and nourishes all the tissues of the body.

There are many different recipes with variations and this is just one recipe that I have tried from Banyan Botanicals. It is surprisingly quick and easy to prepare. It can be frozen if needed but best eaten fresh.

Kitchari 

(Serves 4)

• 1/2cup yellow mung dal
• 1 cup rice
• 2tbsp ghee/ coconut oil
• 1tsp black mustard seeds
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1 small pinch of asafoetida (hing) powder
• 1tsp turmeric powder
• 1tsp coriander powder
• 4 thin slices fresh root ginger
• 6 cups of water
• 1-2 cups of vegetables (e.g. sweet potato, courgettes (zucchini), squash, celery, carrot, beetroot etc.) cut into small bite-sized pieces
• Fresh herbs to top, optional

1. Soak the dal overnight in water. Drain.
2. In a non-stick pan, warm the ghee/coconut oil. Add all of the spices an sauté for a minute or two. Add the rice and dal and sauté like a pilau for a couple more minutes. Add 6 cups of water and bring to the boil.
3. Cover and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes until the rice and dal is cooked.
4. Add the vegetables half way through the cooking process, stir and allow to slowly cook for the remaining time.
5. Add more water if needed. From Banyan Botanicals: Typically, kitchari is the consistency of a vegetable stew as opposed to a broth. A thinner consistency is preferable if your digestion is weak. You will notice that kitchari will thicken when it cools and you may need more water than you originally thought.

A good vegetable stew that can us homegrown produce. Enjoy!

https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/diet/how-to-make-kitchari/

https://www.ayurveda.com/recipes/kitchari

 

Blueberry Oats

Some nice little berry biscuit treats. Very simple, only uses three ingredients, vegetarian/gluten/vegan friendly. Cooked blueberries are surprisingly delicious…

Blueberry Oats

-4 medium sized ripe bananas -1-3cups of porridge oats -1 cup of blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a square tray with baking parchment.
2. Mash the bananas in a bowl.
3. Stir in the oats with a fork, a cup at a time, until the oats seem to have absorbed the banana. The mixture should cling together, like a biscuit mixture, and be a little sticky. Be careful not to overdo it with the oats so that it is too dry.
4. Stir in the blueberries.
5. Scrape the contents of the bowl onto the prepared tray. Using the fork, press down onto the mixture, smoothing it out over the surface of the tray. You want it to be thinnish and flat. Think flapjacks.
6. Cut the flattened mixture into squares before placing in the centre of the oven and cooking for about 10-15 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown and the blueberries are cooked.
7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Blueberry Lemon Cake

Come on summer…

Blueberry Lemon Cake

-225g granulated sugar -2tbsp lemon juice -180g plain flour -2tsp baking powder -Pinch of salt – 1/2 cup of milk -1/2tsp vanilla essence -3 large eggs -1tbsp lemon juice -1/2 cup vegetable oil -300g blueberries -1/4tsp plain flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 20cm/9inch deep circular baking tin with baking parchment.
2. Mix the sugar and the lemon juice together. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Mix in the milk along with the vanilla essence. Then mix in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice and the vegetable oil.
4. When it has mixed well, add the blueberries with the 1/4tsp of plain flour and gently mix in.
5. Scrape into the baking tin and bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 1hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave on a wire rack to cool in the tin before turning out the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Harvesting in January

So I have a confession…

I have not worked in the vegetable garden at all this Christmas break.

I know, very bad. But I was juggling work, university work and working in the pig run to prevent it from resembling the battle of the Somme over winter. Those are my only excuses.

Despite my lack of care, the garden has looked after itself pretty well (the grass is thriving in all of the beds it should not be in…)

It has been so long since I worked over there regularly that I had actually forgotten what I still had planted and left to harvest. I had forgotten the kale, the rest of the sprouts and carrots, the tree cabbage… all I thought we had left were potatoes. So I made a big effort and harvested and prepared lots of our produce during the week.

Carrots: these are the last of the carrots sown this year. They were under horticultural fleece and managed to survive some of the freezing temperatures we had suddenly. Not one has rotted so thank goodness we are on sandy soil. They were delicious and not a lot of damage or forking going on. We even had one gorgeous proper sized carrot!

Think they are ‘Flyaway’ carrots.

Celeriac: first homegrown celeriac harvested from this crop. I know, lazy. But it was in really good condition, a good size, and tasted really good. I like to boil mine but roasting them makes an excellent replacement/accompaniment to roasted parsnips as they apparently taste the same. I have also eaten it raw, grated with apple, in a salad and that is surprisingly good too.

Brussel Sprouts – the left over small ones from Christmas finished up. They did really well and packed a punch to the taste-buds.

Kale – the kale is still alive and doing pretty well despite the various slug/pigeon/ cabbage white attacks it had this year. I do love kale boiled and it goes great in stews, on top of pizzas, in casseroles or stir fries. Kale is brilliant because it fills in the cold ‘hungry gap’ aka, winter, when most other things aren’t available.

Garlic – I sneak up a bulb every time I need it. Garlic is still prolific in our garden from years of growing it.

Potatoes – Too. Many. Luckily, they taste really good and are in pretty good condition.

All of this dinner was homegrown, except the lentils. Self-sufficient and proud of my little garden for doing so well all on its own.

Mum’s Baked Apples

Happy New year everyone!

Here is a little winter/autumn warming treat to see you through January and February, and a great way of using apples left over in storage from the harvest of 2018.

Mum’s Baked Apples

Serves 6

-6 large baking apples -3/4 cup dark brown sugar -1/2 cup raisins -1/2tsp ground cinnamon -1/4tsp grated nutmeg -1tbsp butter

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Wash and core apples, then remove a 1-inch strip of peel around the middle of each. Arrange the apples in a baking dish, 2-quart shallow.
3. Combine the brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Carefully fill the center of each apple and dot with 1/2tsp of butter.
4. Add just enough water to the baking dish to cover the bottom. Bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes, or until the apples are tender (larger ones will take longer). Baste the apples with the juices occasionally.
5. Serve the apples warm. Left-overs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Pumpkin, Cheese and Garlic Bake [Vegetarian Christmas dish]

Christmas dinner can be a little tricky if you are vegetarian. Sure, you’ve got all the veg, bread sauce, Yorkshire puds and vegetarian stuffing if you like it, but unless you are splashing out on a nut roast, there isn’t a lot to make up a ‘main meal’. As a vegetarian – not just a vegetarian, but a fussy vegetarian who needs a balanced meal with all the groups for health reasons – Christmas dinner can be a pain when it comes to protein. I don’t like bread sauce, Yorkshire puds, stuffing or nut roast, so I’m basically doomed. This year, as I was catering for two vegetarians, I thought it was time to try a new recipe. I still had three pumpkins from the veg patch and I thought it was perfect for xmas dinner – I know they are traditionally linked with Thanksgiving, but in the UK we didn’t have it a month earlier so we could afford to use the pumpkin again!

I needed something quick and simple, with some protein in. I opted for cheese. As pumpkin is, well, bland, I also decided to throw some garlic in there too.

It is really basic and can be made in advance of the big day so it doesn’t take up space in the kitchen. Of course, you could make this any time of the year too 😉

Pumpkin, Cheese and Garlic Bake

(Serves 6)

-1 large pumpkin -Olive oil, for drizzling -260g cheddar cheese -20g Swiss gruye -2 garlic cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Cut the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into large slices and place on baking trays. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden and cooked. Allow to cool completely.
3. Cut the pumpkin up into small cubes and place in an oven-proof dish.
4. Grate the cheese and dice the garlic up into small pieces. Mix together and then sprinkle it over the top of the pumpkin.
5. Preheat the grill to high and heat the bake until the cheese has melted at the top is golden – it should only take a minute or two so keep an eye on it. Or, preheat the oven to 200C and bake for approximately 10-20 minutes, or until the top is golden and the cheese has melted.
6. Serve. Store in the fridge when cold.

Christmas from the garden

Christmas is one of the busiest times in the kitchen, but it doesn’t mean you can’t pop out to the garden too… especially to harvest things.

Christmas cooking can be like the climax of the harvested year. You can give your jams away as presents, eat redcurrant and cranberry jelly and sauce with your Christmas meal. Harvested chestnuts or other nuts can be used in desserts. Dried cranberries or raisins are great for puds. And of course, anything that is still green at this time of year can be added to your wreath or house for festive cheer.

Dried Cranberry Chocolate Cake anyone?

But you don’t have to stop there… what about the main Christmas meal?

What about growing and cooking your own Christmas dinner?

For future thinking, here are some traditional Christmas dinner things you could plan to grow for next Christmas:

• Potatoes – we always plant so many we still have plenty in the ground come Christmas day. As long as they are well buried and not planted in too damp a place, potato tubers will be fine against the frosts.
• Brussel Sprouts or Brukale (Brussel sprout crossed with kale).
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Carrots – yes, you can still be harvesting carrots from the ground at Christmas, if you cover them with fleece.
• Parsnips
• Cabbages
• Beetroot – why not add some to your roasted roots?
• Celeriac – ditto, or a celeriac mash? Or just boiled?
• Celery – homemade stuffing anyone? And in that case how about freezing some pears or storing some apple too?
• Onions
• Runner- beans or peas – store them in your freezers all year round from the first harvest onwards.
• Pumpkin or squash – usually USA’s Thanksgiving, I know, but how about roasting some and creating a vegetarian/vegan replacement for the usual meat?

Homegrown Brussels and Brukale

Christmas is a holiday, a time of celebration and of having fun with loved ones. To me, it is also a time to be creative and original, to do what I love by going back and cooking from scratch, a way of tying up my year of cooking and growing. This year we will be having our own cabbage, beans, pumpkin, celeriac, beetroot, carrots, potatoes and Brussel Sprouts, not to forget homegrown redcurrant jelly and homemade cranberry sauce… What a way to celebrate an end to 2018!

RIP David Austin Sr. 

What do you grow/dream of growing for Christmas time? Let us know.

For Christmas baking recipes, check out Beagle Baking (https://bellasbakingsite.wordpress.com/home/)

Just type ‘Christmas’ into the search bar and it will show you some festive treats.

And then, after all that food, just follow Rainbow’s advice:

Bed.