Honeymoon blog
Geoff and I are having an amazing honeymoon in Thailand. To share what we’re up to with family and friends at home, we set up a blog. Looking back through it is so nice for us, it brings back lovely memories!
I had a lovely time at the Berkhamsted Arts and Crafts Christmas card making workshop. It was the first time I had been and Anita was knowledgable and patient. It was great fun trying out new techniques like heat embossing, stamping with multiple layers and using the Cuttlebug dies and embossing tools. I’ll definitely be back for more workshops in the future!
Mediterranean Fast-Roasted Lamb
Not everyone has the luxury of time for slow-roasting. Here is a recipe I created last week which worked really well: 1 roasting tin and no other pots to wash and the whole thing prepped and cooked in under an hour.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees.
Start by chopping up into good-sized rustic chunks:
1 aubergine (slice, sprinkle with salt and leave while you chop the rest - then rinse)
1 red onion
200g medium-sized tomatoes on the vine
3 cloves garlic
1 courgette
200g chantenay carrots or orange peppers
Drizzle the bottom of a big roasting tin with a bit of oil and sling it all in. Put the vegetables in the oven while you prep the meat.
A 600g rolled boneless leg of lamb will feed 2-3. Snip off the string and unroll the lamb, using a knife to even it up with angled slits if needed.
In a small bowl, mix together:
1tsp vegetable bouillon powder
1 tbsp balsamic glaze
1 tbsp tomato concentrate
2 tbsps good mustard (I used wholegrain)
2 tsps Italian style herbs
1tsp paprika
salt and black pepper
Slather the meat thickly in the marinade and if you have one, put it on a wire rack over the vegetables to roast. The vegetables cook beautifully in the marinade and lamb juices. I cooked mine for 40 minutes and rested it under foil for 15 minutes which left it pink and succulent. Delicious!
7Mummy’s Home Made Scones
When I left home, my Mum gave me a set of little laminated cards with favourite baking recipes she had written out. They are adorable and I still have the complete set and use them regularly!
This is her recipe for scones which I made at the weekend, written in her inimitable style!
Herman the friendship cake
My lovely friend Julia gave me a bubbling pot of Herman: a cake mixture with a name and a personality all of its own!
After a week sitting in my kitchen being stirred daily and fed every four days, it ultimately made the most stunningly sticky apple cake ever. We had it hot with custard that evening and then my team demolished the rest on Friday. It was superb - thanks Julia!
Hummingbird Bakery brownies. This recipe never lets me down and is the best crowd pleaser of all my brownie recipes. Not to be missed!
Et voilá! Popina’s oat and raisin cookies with a few tweaks. Yum!
French baked vanilla custards just going into the oven in a bain marie. This is a Dukan recipe and smells delicious!
Smoky bonfire night stew
On a chilly November night this is is exactly the sort of warming comfort food that is called for. It’s a slow-cooked beef stew which takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare followed by at least 3-4 hours in the oven. Perfect for coming home after the fireworks!
I started off with:
750g braising steak from the butchers
1 large onion, chunkily chopped
2-3 cloves smoked garlic, crushed
150g of mushrooms, chopped in big chunks
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
Oil - I use our local Chiltern cold-pressed rapeseed oil because it has a high burning point and is very good for you.
Once you’ve got everything chopped, pre-heat your oven to about 130 degrees / Gas Mark 1.
Soften the onion in a slosh of oil over a medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pan. Once it has done its thing, take the onion out and pop it in a bowl to one side. Brown the meat over a fairly high heat in batches, then put all the meat and the onion back in the pan together.
Add in the carrots, garlic and mushrooms and give it all a stir over a low-ish heat.
For the sauce:
1 tin diced plum tomatoes
1/4 tube tomato concentrate
2 tbsps balsmic vinegar
1 tbsp mushroom ketchup (if you have it)
1 litre of beef stock
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 1/2 tsps sweet paprika
black pepper
The order doesn’t matter at all here so chuck all these ingredients into your casserole, then pop the heat up to high until you’ve got a gentle boil. I wouldn’t add any salt as with the reduction in the sauce will concentrate things quite enough!
I think this stew needs at least 3 hours to get to the point where the meat is falling apart. Four hours is better. The sauce thickens up nicely as it reduces and a teaspoon or two of cornflour at the end will make sure it is the perfect consistency.
I’m serving this with butternut squash which I’m panfrying with some tiny chunks of chorizo and black pepper. A sprinkling of crispy pancetta or a few lardons could work. If you’re going for broke and Dr Dukan isn’t watching, might I suggest some buttery mash? If you can bring yourself to wait, it will be exponentially better for cooling down, leaving overnight and enjoying the next day!
Bon appétit!
