Florentines and a new e-mail sign-up

Tomorrow I return to work after a wonderfully relaxing two-weeks off. Normally when colleagues have been on holiday, they returning bearing gifts: Turkish Delight; Japanese savoury snacks; Swiss chocolates; Irish fudge; French madeleines. I feel I shouldn't return empty-handed, not least because a select few have been holding the fort over the Easter break and deserve a thank you.

However, since I've not been away I've not had the opportunity to purchase any exotic foods. Even when shopping in Bath I was too focused on buying shoes; and during my four, yes four, trips to various garden centres I was also rather pre-occupied with getting things to grow rather than things to eat.

Anyway, really it's just a good excuse to produce something from my own kitchen, since that is where I have spent a lot of time over the past two weeks. After poring over various recipes I settled down to attempt some mini honey-nut Florentines.

For these you need to mix 100g chopped candied peel and 10-12 glacé cherries that have been halved or quartered.  To these add 75g blanched almonds and 50g pistachios both roughly chopped. Melt 75g unsalted butter in a small pan and then stir in 75g caster sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of double cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bring to boil, stirring all the time, and simmer for 1-2 minutes, before removing from the heat.

To the sugar and butter mixture, stir in the nuts, cherries and peel, along with 2 tablespoons of plain flour and the finely grated zest of an orange.  Leave until barely warm.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180 C, fan 160 C, gas mark 4 and butter the bases of two, twelve-cup muffin tins.  The latter will not win you any points on the Great British Bake-Off but will stop your Florentines spreading to ridiculous proportions when in the oven. If you are entering a Bake-Off just line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Once the mixture has almost cooled to room temperature, press a teaspoon of the mixture into each of the muffin tin holes or place 12 drops of mixture onto each of the baking trays, leaving plenty of room for them to spread out.  Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Allow them to cool in the tin or on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a clean kitchen towel.  If using the muffin tin you'll need to prise them out with a knife.  Make sure you place them upside down onto the towel.  You want the smooth side facing up.

Once cooled, melt 100g dark chocolate and 100g white chocolate in separate bowls.  Spread 12 of the upturned faces of the Florentines with the dark chocolate and the other 12 with the white chocolate.  When slightly cooled, you could wiggle the tines of a fork through the chocolate to leave a wave pattern. This really is easier said than done but I distinctly recall that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry insisted on this finishing touch in the last Bake-Off. However, if like me, you've made your Florentines in muffin tins you're already out of the running for 'best looking Florentine'. I left the dark chocolate too long, missing the opportunity, and made a bit of a mess of the white chocolate but I've decided mine are to be all about taste. Let's just hope my colleagues agree!

The very observant amongst you will have spotted a new Follow by email box to the right-hand side of the page. This has appeared after feedback from people who like reading the blog but would quite like an alert whenever I post a new blog. To save you randomly checking to see if I've posted anything new, you can now register your email address and you will automatically be sent an email whenever I post a new blog. The email should appear from ElleAyJay (noreply+feedproxy@google.com) so you may need to check your junk filters or add this email address to your contacts so that you don't miss the email (as well as the new blog). Do let me know if you find this helpful of if there are any technical issues with it.

Upcycling

A dress has been hanging in my wardrobe for the past 22  years. I made it for my brother's wedding and can't remember if I have warn it since. It has long gone out of fashion and is also now a saggy fit, thanks to the fact that I am no longer a poor student living on carb-rich pasta, tuna mayo sandwiches, Toffee Crisps and biscuits!

Hurrah for the latter but I continue to really love the fabric which is why I still have it. I really want to use the fabric to make myself an appliqué blanket but can't lay my hands on any dark grey fleece, especially now that the weather is getting warmer and the shops are full of summery cottons. However, when my lovely friend C moved back to New York at Christmas she left me her plain, dark grey duvet set (thank you, C!). Surely there would be something that I could do with the two?

I thought I'd better check the definition of 'upcycling' before I proceed any further with this post, since I wasn't convinced that turning a duvet cover and pillow cases into..... a duvet cover and pillowcases really counts as upcycling. However, it turns out that it does: "the process of turning waste materials or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value."  I think both the dress and duvet set count as unwanted in their current form (unworn for 22 years and left behind) and I'm hoping that the end product will be of better quality, or at the very least, more aesthetically pleasing.

Take one dress...

...and one plain grey duvet set

The dress contains a lot of fabric but much is in fairly long but narrow panels, hence there really wasn't an option to turn it into another dress, top or skirt. However, I am hoping that I can cut out enough small shapes to adorn both the duvet cover and pillow cases with enough for an appliqué blanket when I can lay my hands on some grey fleece.

For now, I'm just testing out new appliqué shapes. I have drawn out a rabbit based on a silhouette I saw in a painting but need to enlarge it, which will have to wait until I can get my hands on a scanner next week.  It's currently drawn out on A4 paper but a king size duvet cover is no small area of fabric to cover and so I feel it needs to be larger.  I don't trust myself to redraw it quite so well a second time hence I'll be calling on technology to do that for me. I'm hoping to use the bottom back panel of the dress, which has a flare to it so should just about be wide enough to fit the rabbit shape.

And since the rabbit is looking up, he really needs to be looking at something. Still on my bird theme, I've chosen some flying birds - swallows to be precise - but was a bit concerned that the numerous points would make the shapes hard to sew around with the appliqué zig-zag stitch. There was only one way to find out - do a test.

Pleased with the results so far - I managed the wing and tail tips fairly well - I'm off to cut out some more bird shapes and can't wait to make the rabbit bigger so I can complete the project.

Paper Garland

Last Saturday was a bit of a revelation. I had read a short magazine article about the regeneration of Frome in Somerset. It talked about the abundance of independent shops and about a fabulous independent market. With a friend coming to stay for the weekend, what better excuse than to have a day out to see for ourselves.

Frome is only about an hour's drive from Bristol but I have to admit that I'd never actually visited before - just seen its name on road signs as I was travelling elsewhere. I was also a bit wary that magazine articles can make even the dreariest of places seem great, and vice versa. However, we were certainly not disappointed.

Once we'd found the long-stay car park and deliberated how long we would need - three hours for £1.90 or do we push the boat out and go for four hours for £3.40 - and been slightly alarmed by the public toilets that talk to you once you're locked inside, saying that your visit is time-limited but neither telling you how long you actually have nor what happens when your time is up, we began to explore.

Thanks to a sudden downpour we headed immediately for the Cheese and Grain, a community centre and cafe that was hosting a craft market. There must have been about 25 stalls with a wide range of crafts: stained glass, jewellery, wood turning, skincare products, painted silk, paper crafts and it wasn't long before we were reaching for our hard-earned cash. One stall holder had some fabulous notebooks that were made from old comics, annuals, sheet music, maps and the like. They were really beautiful and totally unique. She had also made some paper garlands by sewing together discs of paper - simple yet very effective. I'd seen such garlands before and been wanting to try them myself so had a quick chat to pick her brains.

From the craft market we headed through the Saturday morning food market. Although it was coming to an end we still had time to purchase some wonderful British cheeses, freshly made sausages, and some Spanish 'nibbles': spicy fried corn, habas fritas (fried broad beans) and lemon pepper cashews. All have since been consumed and all will be repeat purchases!

Next stop was the high street and to find St Catherine's, which was featured heavily in the magazine article. Fortunately Frome town centre is very small and has good sign posts so it wasn't long before we found it and, in particular, The Garden Cafe, an organic, vegan cafe and deli that we had read about and decided would be a perfect lunch stop. It didn't disappoint and we had to tear ourselves away to explore the shops further up the hill, which also far exceeded our expectations. We ended up having to curtail our trip long before we would have wanted - it turned out four hours just wasn't long enough! We learned that all the independent traders take part in the Frome Independent Market, which takes place on the first Sunday of the month, so I shall definitely be making a return visit!

Inspired by my trip to Frome and whilst taking a break from blanket-making and gardening, I decided to have a go at making a paper garland. I remembered that I had some paper stars lurking in my craft cupboard following an aborted Christmas project a number of years ago. I thought they may be a good test. Turns out stars aren't a great shape to sew as the points have a tendency to get poked into the sewing machine by the needle. However, as the famous saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

The second attempt was slightly better but, if I'm honest, far too fiddly to be able to consistently get a good result.

My third attempt was more along the lines of the ones we saw in Frome.

It's a bit plain but could make an interesting 'ribbon' to contrast a plain coloured gift wrap or, as I have here, draped over a mirror. Surely there's a Christmas version I can come up with?

Ricotta Cheesecake

I left you on Friday night having just made my first batch of ricotta cheese, with the plan of turning it into a cheesecake in time for Sunday lunch. I just couldn't resist sharing the results with you. As proud moments go, this is right up there.

I started off by soaking 3 tablespoons of large sultanas in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and 2 tablespoons of sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry for 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile I mixed most of the cheese (750g - I must have ended up with about 800g) with 150g of icing sugar and then 5 eggs were added, one by one. To the cheese mixture I then added 50g of chopped candied peel, 125g of pine nuts and whole blanched almonds (an equal mix of each), the finely grated zest of a lemon and two oranges, and the drained sultanas. The mixture then went into a 23cm diameter springform cake tin, lined with baking parchment and into the oven (gas mark 4, 160 - 180 C) for an hour.

Whilst it was cooking I had a think about decoration.  The recipe suggested more candied fruit, caramelised oranges or fruit compote. I had the lemon and two oranges left from being zested and the sherry that the sultanas had been sitting in. It seemed a shame to waste any of it so decided to add some sugar and a bit more water to the sherry mixture, slice one of the oranges and cook them up in a non-stick frying pan.  The idea was that they'd be slightly caramelised but super-tasty from the sherry, which has a distinctly raisiny flavour.

The cheesecake came out of the oven looking a bit browner than I had imagined, so perhaps next time I'd take it out sooner or lower the oven temperature a bit, but also looking like the Millennium Dome - a huge puffed up bake. However, it didn't take long to deflate. I imagined this would happen having studied the picture that came with the recipe, but its downfall was still quite remarkable. It almost aged before my eyes, getting more and more wrinkled.

I cooled it in the tin and then popped it in the fridge overnight.

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I'm very pleased to say it didn't disappoint. The citrus really punched through the creaminess of the cheese.

The sherry-cooked oranges may look better on a paler cake

No prizes for food styling but I wanted to show the inside

My lunch guests enjoyed it as much as I did, with someone opting for a second helping and with third helpings going home in a doggy bag!

Also this weekend, I finally finished the scarf for my work colleague. It took three attempts to knit the final few centimetres - on the first two attempts I ran out of wool before I had finished the vital last rows. Anyway, all done. I just hope she'll be pleased.

And two weeks on from sowing my first seeds of 2015, I am the proud owner of 18 tomato seedlings. Sadly, no sign of any chillies yet but there may be a glimmer of life appearing from the tray where I sowed some sweet peppers.

Rest and Relaxation - of the kitchen kind

After a hectic, exhausting and stressful week at work, what better way to unwind than with some hand crafted therapy. I was going to say 'baking therapy' but that wouldn't be quite right. Let's just settle for plain old rest and relaxation.

The day started foggy but that soon cleared, as did the clouds, and we were given a bit of a treat when the meeting I was in at 9am took a break at 9.20am so we could all go out and see the partial solar eclipse. I got to see it through two layers of welding masks.  Not sure if that was strictly 'safe' but it was all we had to hand! Anyway, that was the first solar eclipse I've ever experienced and could be my last so I decided to embrace the situation. I've heard plenty of hyperbole on the radio about people's experience of it.  I wouldn't quite go that far but it was amazing what the welding masks revealed from what was, to the naked eye, a bright but hazy sky.

Anyway, it was still sunny when I got home so, with the back door flung wide open, I set about switching off from work. Sitting quietly doesn't really work for me as I tend to continue thinking about stuff. What I really need to do is turn my attention to something completely different. Something that requires concentration and thought with a bit of hand-eye coordination thrown in for good measure. I began by making a tray of Apple and Raisin Quinoa Slices - a recipe from the Sainsbury's Magazine courtesy of the Hemsley sisters. These are packed with good things, are gluten-free, almost sugar-free save from 2 tablespoons of maple syrup between all 18 slices, and the only fat is from 50g of coconut oil and whatever fat is contained in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and desiccated coconut.  In theory they are just 125 calories per slice and packed with good stuff so will hopefully keep everyone healthily satisfied this weekend!

Fresh from the oven, yet to be sliced!

Whilst the tray bake was in the oven I set about making more cheese from my Big Cheese Mozzarella and Ricotta kit. So far I had only ventured to making mozzarella but this evening's challenge was to test out the ricotta instructions. It still involved 8 pints of whole milk, some citric acid but no rennet, and heating the whole lot up to a much higher temperature. It needed careful monitoring to ensure that the milk didn't catch on the bottom of the pan or boil over. That successfully achieved, it was time to stick a lid on and leave the mixture to split into curds and whey.

The science bit

The magic bit - separating into curds and whey

After 20 minutes of leaving the hot milk and citric acid mix it was time to see what had happened to the 'cheese'. All seemed to be going to plan with the curds and whey nicely separated. All I then had to do was strain the whole lot through some butter muslin and, 30 minutes later, I had a batch of ricotta - ta dah!

Straining the curds from the whey

Leaving it for 30 minutes

The 'ta-dah' moment!

Tomorrow this will be turned into a traditional Italian cheesecake, in preparation for Sunday lunch. I can't wait!

I should probably also add that work isn't all bad, mostly thanks to some fabulous colleagues. I returned from a meeting earlier in the week to find this on my keyboard.

A recipe for Limoncello

They know me well! I have already stashed away a recipe for Spiced Cranberry Vodka so it looks as if Christmas presents in 2015 will have a distinctly alcoholic theme!

Craft, Chatter and Cake

Yesterday was Craft Club and it was my turn to provide the cake. So, first things first, I set about making a Cardamom, Pistachio and Marmalade Drizzle Loaf. I had recently been sent a jar of Riverford Seville Orange Marmalade as a taster and I can report that it is delicious, albeit quite runny. However, the texture made it perfect for this cake, which not only required to have it added to the cake mix but also poured over the top once it was baked.

Whilst the cake was in the oven I set about preparing for the afternoon of craft ahead. I planned to make hot water bottle covers to go with some appliqué blankets but first I needed to make a pattern. Since there were to be six of us at craft club today I thought table room would be limited so thought it best to get the pattern made before I went. It was a simple task once I'd armed myself with a hot water bottle, some brown paper, a pencil and ruler. Having drawn around the hot water bottle I used to ruler to add a 1.5cm seam allowance around all the edges.  I then used this to made two back pieces, making sure to add enough to the bottom of the top piece and to the top of the bottom piece so that they could overlap comfortably.

With the cake out of the oven, the marmalade drizzle appropriately applied and a bag full of craft supplies I set out for my afternoon of craft, chatter and cake.

I think it must be almost a year since all six club participants have all been able to attend, so there was much catching up to do. Tales of family fall-outs over guinea-pigs, and daughters training their mothers to do their paper rounds kept us all entertained and the time flew by. I'm not sure our hostess got much done, between sorting out squabbles between her sons and supplying us with endless cups of tea but I was quite pleased by how much I achieved. Two hot water bottle covers almost complete - with just some blanket stitching and buttons to attach.

The weather is a far cry from last week's balmy weekend so there was nothing to keep me from finishing the bottle covers this afternoon. A very satisfying task!

And, in case you are wondering, the cake was delicious!

Cheese, Cake and Sunshine

I spent last weekend catching up with an old friend.  It must be nearly 13 years since we had a catch up without small children in tow so we indulged ourselves wandering the streets, shops and stalls of St Nicholas Market and Clifton Village in Bristol; nattering, whilst sampling amazingly fresh and tasty food from street stalls and independent delis - a real treat.

In one of the delis I spotted a stack of The Big Cheese Making kits. Regular readers of the blog may recall that I was given one of these for making mozzarella and ricotta last year, and had showed off my attempt at mini mozzarella balls when catering for friends. I was delighted to see that kits also exist for making halloumi as well as a Scottish cheese I've never heard of, so they will definitely be appearing on my birthday wish list. Anyway, spotting them has inspired me to make another batch of mozzarella.

The first step is to boil water in which to dissolve the rennet and citric acid but, once boiled, the water then has to be cooled to room temperature. So, while waiting for  the water to reach the right temperature I thought I'd have a browse through my collection of cake recipes to find something suitable to make for next weekend's craft club. I ended up being so torn between two options that I decided to make one now and the other next weekend. Humn...looks like this weekend is likely to be as food-focused as last.

Anyway, with the polenta, almond and orange loaf cake in the oven, I finally set about making the mozzarella, getting hungrier and hungrier as I went. Fortunately, the cheese takes less than an hour to make and can be eaten immediately so, in next to no time I was tucking into a very fresh and tasty lunch.

From this...

...to this

And finally this...

As I wait for the cake to cool, I am drawn to venture into the garden. As I've been cooking I've had the back door open - so wonderful is the weather. Mind you, this means only one thing - I really should sow some seeds.

When picking up the milk for the mozzarella, I slipped some seed packets into the basket so why not get them sown immediately? I've gone for tomatoes, an annual essential, but also spotted some mini patio sweet peppers which I thought I'd give a try, alongside some cut-and-come-again salad leaves. I normally refuse to grow things that I know the slugs and snails will get to eat well before I do, but last year I recall seeing someone growing salad leaves in small round pots on a table in their garden so I'll give that a go. I'm hoping that traipsing across paving stones before climbing vertically and then upside down to negotiate the table will be too much for city slugs and they will opt for, pardon the pun, lower hanging fruit!

Perhaps by then I'll be able to ice the cake and maybe even try a bit, although right now I'm too full from lunch!

P.S.  the icing on the cake