winter warmers #1

I am all for the one pot wonders, I have more cookery books on slow cooking and comfort food than anyone you probably know, so I thought I would share a few with you over the next chilly months to come. This recipe is so quick and easy and only requires one pan a hand blender and a few things you'll find in your larder cupboard. And seen as everyone will be trying to shed those extra festive pounds, it's super healthy but can still be classed as scrummy comfort food. 

Winter Warmers #1

Carrot & Coriander Soup

8 large carrots (more if you have a huge pan)

3 medium potatoes (half the amount of your carrots)

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsps of ground coriander

2 vegetable stock 

Handful of fresh coriander 

Seasoning

Roughly slice the carrots, potato (I like to leave the skin on as it adds more flavour) onion and garlic cloves and throw them all into a pan. Cover the vegetables with stock, season well and add the ground coriander now bring to the boil. Let the pan simmer for about 15 minutes (or until the veggies are soft) Roughly chop and add in the fresh coriander then taste for further seasoning. 

With a hand blender whiz up the cooled vegetables until there are no large lumps.

For the tortilla chips simply brush some tortilla wraps with olive oil cut into eighths and put them in a pre heated oven for 10 minutes.

Laurie Rose xo

Saturday Bakes

I was working last night and had nothing sweet in the house to take into work with me, by 4am I'm either nodding off or my blood sugar seems to drop and I need a sugar fix to keep me going until 7am.

So today I rummage through my cupboards and found the perfect combination of ingredients, Lyle's Golden Syrup, Soya Butter & Rolled Oats. I was making Flapjacks. I rememeber when I was about ten, I went through a faze of making them almost everyday, they're easy, quick and super yummmy!

Add the Syrup and butter to a pan and heat until melted. In a large mixing bowl throw in the oats and a pinch of salt. Pour the hot mixture over the oat and combine until completely covered. 

Butter up a dish and spread evenly, place in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

Then it is imperative you enjoy you warm Jacks with a pot of Earl Grey.

How do you enjoy your Saturday afternoons?

Off to work now!

Laurie Rose xx

Pancake Day!

Shrove Tuesday.

A story of the world best tosser.

Hello everyone, Happy Shrove Tuesday. Whether you are religious or not who can ignore this tasty treat. Why do we just do this once a year eh?

I don't like anything too fancy, traditional pancakes are always the best I think.

This tradition is as old as the day is long, it was making use of eggs and fat before people would commence into Lenten fast, a religious tradition which takes us into Easter. I myself am not religious and neither are my family but hey why should we miss out on this scrummy occasion. 

I love my Pancake thin and crispy with a sprinkling of sugar and a dash of lemon, alternately you can swap that for maple syrup, perfect!

So this is the easy fool proof recipe I use every year, I am not one for measuring this one out as I know it like the back of my hand but for any batter novices out there this is just for you.

Ingredients.

110g/4oz plain flour, sifted

• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
• 50g/2oz butter
  
  
  To Serve.
  Sugar
  
  
  Lemon Juice
  
  
  Lemon Wedges
  or
  Maple Syrup
  
  
  1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.
  2. Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.
  3. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm/7in pan. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
  4. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.
  5. To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Even our lovely Kate had a good go at tossing this year :)

Have a go, just make sure you don't get it stuck to the ceiling!

Have fun & enjoy folks!

Laurie Rose x

p.s I realise it is no longer Pancake Day, this was meant to have been posted this morning, but I set it for the wrong time, oooppps, better late than never, eh?

La La Love You.

Valentine's Day.

A story of my first valentines day ever.

Hello all you lovers out there, so this year I am more than excited that this will be the first year I will actually be in a relationship, now the only problem being Henry doesn't actually like Valentine's Day, but a girl can still dream. We are pretty broke at the minute which doesn't help so trawling the internet I found this recipe. Now I pretty much get breakfast in bed all the time, because Henry is a doll and likes to treat me, this morning it was a cup of tea in my favourite mug and a bacon sandwich. He then had to pop out to run some errands and brought me back a bottle of Lucozade because if I haven't already mentioned I'm sick.

Of course I have a long list of gift I would love Henry to shower me with, but after all do we need a day to celebrate our love? We do that everyday.

So guys your gals will just love this, maybe you could share it because it is quite daunting.

La La Love You

 Ingredients.

3 heart shaped pieces of bread (I used a giant cookie cutter)
 your favorite french toast batter (I used 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, I LOVE CINNAMON!
3 large sliced organic strawberries
2 pads of salted butter
 2 tbs of Mascarpone cheese

 2 tbs of chocolate spread (you can use Nutella but I'm unfortunately allergic to nuts)

*optional whipped cream*

Okay love birds let's get started. Cut your Bread into heart  shaped pieces, soak them into your french toast batter, try not to dribble any along the way, I'm such a messy pup in the kitchen so I'm sure you will manage a lot better than me. Place them onto you HOT skillet, when both sides are beautifully golden, leave them to cool, room temperature is best for this.

 Now it's the fun bit, spread on some wonderful Mascarpone Cheese, if you haven't tried this yet then you are missing out. It's an Italian sweet soft cheese, used in sweet and savory dishes, but I prefer it in deserts such as Tirimasu. It's a mix between soft cheese and whipped cream, yum!
Strawberries are my all time favourite fruit, I know this time of year they are a luxury item in your shopping basket and they tend to be very sour, give them a good sniff, if they smell sweet then jobs a good 'un.

Layer and spread your ingredients until you have a tower of sweet loveliness.

Powder with some icing sugar or cover the top in more Mascarpone  what ever your heart desires, but nothing says I love you better than this sweet treat to share.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Laurie Rose x

No Bake Chocolate Cake

If like me you enjoy the idea of entertaining but come to the day of the gathering you are so far behind on ideas. A planned itinerary which you devised the night before with such conviction, is now already gone to pot as you wake up at least two hours late, find yourself having a dreadful hair day and nothing seems to be going to plan.

You think you'll stick to a recipe you know like the back of your hand - but for desert, your plans of soufflés and beautifully crafted chocolates as goodies have become a distant memory as you realise the kids are writing on the walls and your Dauphionses' are burning.

Well this recipe is perfect, quick and so scrummy, and I can guarantee your guests will LOVE IT! Chocolate lovers, boozy bums and coffee connoisseurs will love all variation of this recipes.

Preparation time: 10 Minutes.

 

Ingredients:

225g 70% Dark Chocolate, Well chopped

225g Heavy Cream

Pinch of Salt

Cocoa Powder to serve

Optional:

25 ml Amaretto

Orange Zest/Juices

2 tsp Finely Ground Espresso

50g Mixed Chopped Nuts (Shelled crushed Pistachio's for Yuletide Gatherings)

Lightly butter a 6 inch loaf tin (any tin/pan will do, I just like the shape)

Line with parchment paper and set to one side.

Barely melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering pan of water, in a separate medium pan heat the cream over a gentle heat, at this point add any optional ingredients, when the cream is warm/ hot to the touch but NOT boiling, remove from heat and stir in the salt.

Slowly pour the chocolate into the cream, steadily stir until all the mixture comes together. They must be well combined and not at all separate. Pour the mixture into the ready prepared tin, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until chilled throughout for a few hours or ideally overnight.

When ready to serve, carefully remove from the tin, let set to room temperature for around ten minutes, dust with cocoa powder, slice and serve with whipped cream.

Serves 12.
Laurie Rose x