I missed my opportunity to make elderflower cordial last year, using the first crop of flowers to make gin instead (priorities). So, this year I kept an eye on the flowers and picked them as soon as enough had bloomed.


It was a few weeks ago now, I used this recipe, chosen because it didn't require a trip to the shop to purchase citric acid. The acid acts as a preservative but I figured it wouldn't last long anyway because I'd gobble it all up pretty quickly.


The instructions say to shake the flowers to remove any bugs, I had a look and thought 'I can't see any', but I went ahead and did it anyway. I'm really glad I did, don't be tempted to skip this step!

Reading the post I was very intrigued to learn that you could make elderflower cream.  I rather liked the sound of that.

'Make elderflower cream by adding a few tablespoons of elderflower cordial and a sprinkling of icing sugar when whipping cream. This livens up any recipe using cream – especially trifles, pavlovas and Eton mess.'

I immediately added cream to my grocery list, along with strawberries and raspberries. I had some meringues left over from making Banoffee Mess the weekend before, so it was the perfect excuse for an Eton Mess.


I made an 'Eton Tidy' as I couldn't be bothered to break up the meringues, I just wanted to get it in my face as soon as possible.

How did it taste? Wonderful! Especially when I remembered that I also had some left-over salted caramel sauce and chopped pecans too. The elderflower added a subtle, delicate flavour to the cream that was really pleasant, and it tasted lovely with the soft fruit.

We rarely have a dessert at home, serving one only when we have guests. It felt wonderfully extravagant, even though we were only having left-overs (lasagna - which always tastes better the next day, don't you think?)

Mostly I've been adding the cordial to sparkling water with lots of ice, but it's also lovely added to a G&T or Prosecco. I added a tablespoon to a cup of green tea yesterday and that was lovely too.


It's nearly all gone now, I knew it wouldn't last long. I wish I'd made more.


The recipe called for lemons and I decided to plant a few pips to see if I can grow a lemon tree, I planted three just in case. If it's successful (I'm still waiting for a shoots to emerge) it'll be another thing ticked off my Day Zero list.

Do you forage?

With so many hedgerows around our home I decided that this year I'd make more of the fruits they have to offer.

Rose hips were in plentiful supply, so I spent a rather soggy afternoon gathering enough to make a good quantity of rose hip syrup.

I used the River Cottage recipe.

I collected 1kg of rosehips which produced almost 500ml of syrup. It was rather therapeutic whizzing them up in batches. I added 1.25 litres water, bought the mixture to the boil, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

I then strained the mixture through two layers of muslin (two layers to be sure to get rid of the little hairs), leaving this to sit for 30 minutes so all the juice drained through.

Next I added 325g sugar, and heated this slowly until all the sugar had dissolved. Once done, I decanted this gorgeous looking liquid into a swing top bottle. It'll keep for four months in the fridge, although I doubt it will last anywhere near that long.


For my first taste I added a glug to plain (soya) yogurt, and topped with apple chunks. Verdict: lovely!

Rose hips contain twenty times more vitamin C than oranges, so they can help ward off a cold in winter, a teaspoon daily is enough or you can mix it with water like a cordial. It makes a tasty refreshing drink - fruity and sweet.


The next morning I enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, replacing my usual maple syrup with rose hip. It gave a slightly tangy fruity taste, a nice change from the norm. Verdict: Delicious, I wanted seconds! I can see myself happily starting the day this way for a while.


I've found a lovely dairy free vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of rose hip syrup gave it a fruity twist. I added some blackberries that were a tiny bit sour, the syrup sweetened them just enough.



Apparently it's good with rice pudding too (one of my favourites) but I've yet to investigate a dairy free version. I could always make my own, and I can imagine the addition of rosehip syrup would be delicious. My porridge is also going to be rose hipped the next time I make it.

You can use it to sweeten and add flavour to tea but I love my teas exactly as they are (I gave up sweetening my tea when I found ants in the sugar bowl on a Brownie camp when I was about ten years old).

At this rate my bottle won't last nearly long enough, so I might just have to venture out again to gather more for a second batch. And when that's gone I'll look forward to making more next year, it can be my annual autumn sweet treat!

Have you made or tried rose hip syrup - how do you use it?

Today's BEDN prompt is Food Glorious Food!

Now, who doesn't have the song from Oliver going around their head?

When I hear the term I always think of comfort food, good hearty meals made in the colder seasons to warm you to your very soul (despite that fact the song was sung by hungry orphans).

When pondering what to cook for supper tonight I was reminded that Andy had never had dumplings. I'll say that again, Andy had never had dumplings! I had an inkling that he'd love them, so I cooked them this evening and because I felt kinda guilty about suet being not the most healthy of ingredients, I decided to make the meal vegetarian.

This took me to my friend's blog Bessie's Veggie Kitchen, to try her recipe for Veggie Stew with Herby Dumplings (recipe originally from Tesco Real Food, although my friend switched it up for the slow cooker). I knew I'd make this one day, I mean how can anyone go through life without sampling the delights of a dumpling?


I threw the veg in the slow cooker this morning and added the super-simple-to-make dumplings half an hour before we ate.

The verdict?

I loved it (although as a meat eater I have to admit that I think it would be improved with a few large chunks of beef). Eating this took me back to winter nights sat around our dining room table, hoping my Mum wouldn't make me eat all of the vegetables on my plate. Supper with a huge side order of nostalgia.

And what did Andy think?

"Can we just have dumplings next time pleeeeease?" As I type he's on the phone asking his Mum why he's never had dumplings before...

I think it's safe to say that the dumplings were a hit.

Ingredients

For the stew
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1tsp paprika
300g Quorn Pieces
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled, chopped
200g mushrooms, sliced (although I don't like mushrooms so I used a parsnip)
1 pint vegetable stock
1tbsp cornflour, blended to a paste with a little water
1 bouquet garni

For the dumplings
100g self raising flour
50g light vegetable suet
1tsp dried mixed herbs (I used parsley)
pinch salt
ground black pepper
75ml milk

Instructions

For the stew
In the morning put the onion and oil into the slow cooker (set to low) and stir
Add the paprika and Quorn pieces
Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms
Stir well and add the stock
When the stock starts bubbling, add the cornflour paste and the bouquet garni

For the dumplings
Make the dumplings by sieving the flour into a bowl, stir in the suet
Add the herbs, salt and pepper and mix to a smooth, elastic dough with the milk
Divide the mixture into 10-12 small pieces and roll into small balls

An hour before you want to eat, turn up to high

30mins before you want to eat, add the dumplings.


Day 3 of Blog Every Day In November with Rosalilium

I didn't think I'd be doing another Soup Sunday quite so soon but I was really keen to try the vegan creamy white bean soup from Bessie's Veggie Food.

Ingredients (serves 4)
- oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp chopped basil
- 1½ tsp dried sage
- 3½ cups low salt vegetable stock
- 3 cups white beans (cooked or canned)
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 5 cups shredded kale
- Salt & Pepper

Instructions
- Soak cashews in water for 6-8 hours. Drain, rinse and set aside until ready to make the soup.
- Heat some oil in a large saucepan & Sauté onions and garlic
- Add the basil, sage, salt, stock, beans, and tomatoes.
- Simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the soaked cashews and water in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream and kale to the soup and mix to combine.
- Cover and turn the heat off. Let it sit for about five minutes.
- And enjoy!

I somehow remembered to soak the cashews when I got home at 1am this morning so I was good to for an early lunch today.

The recipe calls for chopped onion, and being a bit of  a wuss, I hate onion induced eye sting. My eyes don't tend to water but they do sting like a nothing else! My way around this is to use my Pampered Chef chopper. I love this gadget. I can get a finely chopped onion in no time and all the evil onion vapours are contained.

This one was quite expensive (I just looked it up online and it's £35.50 - I don't remember it being that much!!) but I had tried a cheaper version and it was utterly useless.

The recipe measures everything in cups, which I find a little annoying. I prefer a weight measurement myself - how can you get the correct amount of sundried tomatoes with a measuring cup? And surely it's easier to say 1 litre of water instead of 4 cups?


Overall, I liked this, it has a really nice flavour. I would've liked it a little creamier but then considering the creaminess came from nuts it's pretty good.

I served it with a pile of buttered toast soldiers. Delicious!

Feel free to point me in the direction of any good soup recipes.

(Day 15 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

With the weather taking a decidedly autumnal turn I've been preparing heating up soups for my lunch. But I fancied having a go at making some of my own.

I've shared some recipes from Bessie's Veggie Food before (here/here, in fact the mexican lasagne has just gone on my meal plan for next week). On a recent visit to the site, I found a recipe for Miso Soup.

As with any soup, I like to enjoy it with a crusty roll, or a cheese sandwich, to dunk.

Ingredients
4 cups low salt vegetable stock (1 litre)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
1 tbsp thinly sliced red chilli pepper (optional)
3 tbsp miso paste
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
a handful of cubed tofu (optional)
another 2 handfuls of chopped veg. e.g. carrots, asparagus or broccoli spears


Instructions
Place the vegetable stock, ginger, garlic, chilli pepper, and spring onion in a medium pot over high heat. Bring to the boil, uncovered, then reduce to a simmer.

Put the miso paste into a small bowl, and add a little of the stock to it. Use a fork to mash the paste into the stock, then add to the soup pot. Do not allow the broth to return to a boil!

Add the tofu (if using) and veg to the pot. Allow them to heat through for a few minutes so the vegetables cook just slightly.


Verdict? 
Nice! Every bit as good as the one I normally buy (Wakame Miso Soup). Granted this takes longer than squeezing the paste out of a packet and adding boiling water, but it's nice to be able to add veg to your liking.

What would I do differently?
I'd use red chilli pepper. Tesco substituted mine for Mirabella peppers, which had a nice flavour but no heat.

I'd leave out the broccoli, I added this just to finish it off but actually I much prefer the kale (or spring greens) and would've liked more of it. Thinly sliced leeks would be nice too.

I wouldn't use these Kallo stock cubes again. These ones took so long to dissolve, much longer than any I've used before.


What about the ginger?
I ordered fresh root ginger and had no idea how much to buy. I ended up with about four times as much as I needed (a common problem when shopping online). I Googled to see if I could use ground ginger instead only to discover that 'the two are not really interchangeable.'


All in all it was worth the extra effort and I'll be making this again - and not just because I want to use up all of that ginger!

As for Bessie's Veggie Food, I have every intention of trying the cherry choc chip ice cream recipe, but I might wait until cherries are in season again.

I also really like the sound of this vegan creamy white bean soup, so this will be my next recipe to try. I've already gathered together the ingredients.

Any good soup recipes you can recommend?

(Day 8 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

My honeymoon in Switzerland introduced me to Bircher muesli, and this introduction has turned my breakfasts from blah to bloomin' lovely.

Generally I don't 'do' breakfast, most days I just don't fancy it and skip it or just have a slice of toast and a very early lunch instead. Strangely, on holiday, when breakfast is prepared for me, I can eat huge amounts.

Anyway, with my mother's words of 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' ringing in my ears, I've been trying out some different recipes to find my ultimate Bircher!

Bircher Muesli by Tesco Real Food

This is the first recipe I tried, simply because I had most of the ingredients. I was missing OJ and lemon juice so I added the equivalent volume of milk (I used Alpro almond milk). I also added a tablespoon of chia seeds and instead of natural yogurt I used Alpro Simply Plain, which is soya with yogurt cultures, and added calcium and vitamins.

At this point I should say that I try not to eat dairy as I find consuming a lot of it makes me really congested, which can bring on a bout of sinusitis (this is pretty tough for someone who loves milk and cheese, especially brie, as much as I do!)

Verdict - not bad at all!

I liked the flavour and texture, it could've done with a few more apricots and raisins but I compensated by adding more blueberries and raspberries on top. The amount I made seemed a lot for 4 servings but then I'm not used to eating a proper breakfast so I might get used to this amount of food in time.

I used Granny Smith apples for this because they're one of my favourites but they're hard to grate - the skin just doesn't want to give in! Next time I'll use Gala apples as suggested in the recipe. (I did try grating Golden Delicious apples for another batch but these weren't any easier, so I'm guessing all apple varieties put up a little resistance!)


A Modern Way to Eat Bircher  (Recipe from 'A modern way to eat' by Anna Jones)

This was my second Bircher. I found this on the Jamie Oliver website, and this time around I stuck to the recipe (if you can call omitting the pumpkin seeds because you don't like them 'sticking to the recipe').

It was nice, maybe a little heavier than the first recipe but still good. The mixture of pear with dried sour cherries was actually really tasty, although not something I'd want to eat everyday.

Lastly I tried a Basic Bircher Muesli. I liked this easy recipe, it's made with yogurt instead of milk which gives it a slightly different taste (but I do think I prefer the milk version). It's a good base to which all manor of things can be added.

The great thing about Bircher Muesli is that once you've found a basic recipe that you like, you can experiment by adding different ingredients and toppings. With so many options it'll never get boring.

How do you breakfast?

One of the things on my Summer List was to make my own ice cream. And here it is.
I found a no churn recipe on the BBC website and it appealed to my lazy cooking nature. It was super simple to make, it's basically some whisking, and folding, and finding a suitable container to freeze it in.

Apparently you can 'over whisk'. Who knew? I didn't (over whisk or know).

This recipe only had four ingredients - eggs, cream, caster sugar and vanilla extract. I don't know why but I thought there would be more to it than that.

I used vanilla extract 'with seeds', the vanilla alternative to the juicy bits in OJ. I think this gave a very authentic look to my ice cream. I did this on purpose obviously. Ahem.



And I have to say it was pretty bloody delicious!

I have visions of being introduced at parties like this, 'this is Hazel, she's a graphic designer and she makes the most wonderful ice cream'

;)

In early June Andy and I spent a week 'doing lunch'. As neither of us had the time for a holiday this year, it was our way of spending some time together and doing something a little different.

Day one didn't get off to the best start. The first pub we tried was closed, as was the second. Although we did find this amusing, by the time we reached no.3, The Bildeston Crown, we were both really hungry and very pleased to find it open!


Sitting outside we ordered our food, tried not to fill up on bread and chuckled at the other diners. We've done this since our second date, commenting on how happy / annoyed they seem to be in each others company, eavesdropping and making up back stories for them.


I started with a fish cake in chowder and it was delicious! We both had Cod and Chips with crushed peas for our main which was equally good.


Day two we went to Maison Bleue in Bury St Edmunds. It took us a while to find it but when we did I instantly loved the quiet subtle decor, the crisp white table clothes and heavy cutlery. Andy commented that the 'art appears to have bits of sack in it'. He's more of a John Constable kinda guy, but I liked it.


I loved my food, especially the starter - Norfolk quail breast, soft quail egg and asparagus and almond crust. Sadly Andy couldn't identify most of his starter and didn't enjoy his main as it was overwhelmed with corriander - neither of us like it and it wasn't mentioned on the menu.


My main was salmon fillet with langoustine and cognac sauce and buttered salsify. The petits fours where lovely and the coffee divine but Andy was so unimpressed it's unlikely that we'll be returning, but I think it's definitely worth a visit.

On day three we ventured out to the coast. The Anchor at Walberswick is a lovely spot, sadly I was too much of a wimp it was too windy to sit outside but it's just as lovely inside. We both ordered steak, I had one small bite of mine and it was delicious, so flavoursome and cooked just the way I like it. Then I picked up the salt seller to add a little salt to my chips. I turned it the wrong way and emptied half of it onto my plate (so no photo). I wanted to cry.

I scrapped it off the best I could but it was still really salty, never have I drunk so much water with a meal! Shame. When the waitress came to take our plates, I explained what happened and she just gave me the oddest of looks. Andy said 'she thinks you're an idiot'. She was right of course but it did make me laugh.


Day four was a real treat, we went to the Fox & Goose in Fressingfield. I love it there, the food is always amazing! The starter - caramelized mackerel with gooseberry and peppercorn relish, apple, radish and lemon balm salad.


Swiftly followed by cod fillet with runner beans, samphire (I love samphire), tomato confit, lobster sauce and sauté potatoes. Di-vine!


On day five we went back to the pub we tried to go to on the first day - The Buxhall Crown. I had free range slow roasted pork belly, glazed with Crabbies ginger beer glaze, served with spring greens, croquette potatoes and a chunky apple sauce, followed by three scoops of ice cream - lavender, elderflower and beetroot ripple - all made in-house.


I have to be honest I couldn't tell which was the lavender and which the elderflower but both were delicious. Before we ordered, Delia Smith came in and sat down, you can be pretty sure that if Delia Smith is eating somewhere, it's going to be good.

Can you imagine being the owner of a restaurant and having Delia Smith wander in with a rumbly tummy? The pressure!

That concluded our lunching, it felt very decadent and was a real treat to get some proper time together. An added bonus was that neither of us were hungry come supper time so I didn't have to cook for a week.

Any recommendations of where to eat in Suffolk?

Love

After the yumminess of Bessie's Mexican Veggie Lasagne I decided to try another of her recipes - Slow Cooker Quorn Chilli. I love using my slow cooker, with all the hard work done at the beginning of the day, having a meal cooked and ready at supper time, with no more effort required than removing the lid and serving, seems like such a treat!


This is equally as delicious as the lasagne and would be perfect served with crusty rolls and perhaps sprinkled with a little cheese and a dollop of sour cream (I'll definitely be adding both next time I make this). This time around I had wholemeal rice and coleslaw.

The recipe cooks enough for 4-6 people depending on the size of their appetites. We ate this over two days, with Andy eating it for lunch as well, so it's budget friendly!

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Love

I love this recipe, it's so simple and makes a great gift for someone (assuming they like coconut ice, of course).


You'll need;
1 tin of condensed milk
300g desiccated coconut
300g icing sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
food colouring

Grease and line a baking tray
Mine is a rectangular one, about 10" long.

Pop everything, except for the colouring, into a bowl and stir well.
I find that if the condensed milk is cool it is really hard to stir, so I fill the sink with about 2-3" of hot water and stand my bowl in the water to heat it up a little. This makes combining all the ingredients much easier.

Put half the mixture into the lined tray and smooth it out.
This can take a while as the mixture is sticky and doesn't like to be parted from the spoon but it gets the message eventually.

Add food colouring to the remaining half of the mixture.
I've started to use Dr Oetker Gel Food Colour as I find it gives a nice vibrant colour.

Add the remaining mixture to the tray and flatten.
Pop this in the fridge to cool for about 4 hours and then cut into chunks and eat all of it at once, straight from the tray, while no one is looking and remove any evidence of having ever made it in the first place.

Love

I've had this recipe for Mexican (Veggie) Lasagne on my Nums nums (why did I choose to call it that?) Pinterest board for longer than I can remember. So when I saw that the #BEDM prompt for May 5th was 'Let's be Mexican', I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out. But of course I didn't get organised in time and ended up cooking it last night, but better late than never...

It's delicious!


The recipe comes from Bessie's Veggie Food and is really simple and easy to make. I used kidney beans in a chilli sauce for added flavour and, I don't know if I was supposed to do this but, I finished the layering with tortillas topped with cheese, which made for a lovely crispy topping.


The worst part was having to let it 'rest' after cooking for 10 minutes before we could dig in, it smelled divine and totally worth the wait. Served with a salad and black olives it made a nice change from our usual meat suppers. Next I'm going to try the slow cooker Quorn Chilli, which looks ridiculously easy to make.

Today's prompt is 'Out of the comfort zone' and this is kinda out of mine. My first ever food post got no comments. Not one *tumbleweed*... so I've always been weary of posting recipes (and yes that is a hint for you to go back an comment on it).

Love

So I'm just going to jump right in and say I LOVE BREAD! It would be hard to pick a favourite sandwich, I mean where do I even start??

There's my childhood favourite - the jam sandwich (white bread, real butter and 'no bits' strawberry jam), the sandwich of my college years - PB&J - as before but with smooth (never crunchy) peanut butter.

Then of course you have the toasted sandwich - early college years - tuna and ketchup (not tried it? do - it's fabulous) I was introduced to this by a guy in the year above - way cooler than me but he talked to me anyway. I tried it because although it sounds awful I wanted to be cool just like him (and wanted him to talk to me some more). Turns out that my liking for the snack lasted longer than my liking for him. Ha!

Then there is the (molten) cheese and ham toastie of the college cafe - stringy cheese and the cheapest ham imaginable, and yet it sustained me through the final years of my education.


How can I forget the bacon buttie? The best has to be white bread (of course), streaky bacon cooked until crispy, real butter (I have a loathing of margarine), Tiptree brown sauce (the BEST brown sauce known to man) and Heinz ketchup.

(I'm getting hungry, despite having just eaten an entire tin of spaghetti hoops in less than a minute).

Having developed a taste for brie, I can't ignore the triumph that is the bacon, brie and cranberry sandwich. This time multigrain bread is the only way to go - the thicker the better, served with some fancy salad leaves and vegetable crisps.

But then what about cheese on toast? Having helped me through numerous hangovers, although not technically a sandwich, I can't not mention it. White bread, spread with a layer of heinz ketchup, sprinkled with tiny pieces of red onion, a thick layer of cheese that's cooked until golden and bubbling, top off with a splash if Lea & Perrins (if I'm in the mood)...

And do you know what, after all that, I've just realised that there's no bread in the house.

Balls.

Love






This post is part of Elizabeth's #BEDM challenge (which I'm not doing very well at so far) but I am enjoying it anyway.