Tea, glorious tea...

My friends and family would probably say that I have a rather weird and strange obsession with tea. I’d call it a totally healthy enthusiasm. I’m always on the look out for new teas, teacups, and pots- anything to do with tea really! Last summer I found many a gorgeous teacup in various bric-a-brac shops and car boot sales.

I have also recently stumbled across this rather lovely book ‘Ten poems about Tea’, available at www.candlestickpress.co.uk. I cannot wait to order my copy.

Istanbul Market

On my travels I am always on the look out for new teas, and found some wonderful ones in some of Istanbul’s markets last summer in Turkey, particularly lovely hibiscus and rose hip. 

When in Paris earlier this year and wandering the beautiful Parisenne streets, I was absolutely delighted to stumble across the most gorgeous 

little teashop called ‘Kusmi Tea’. I couldn’t resist and before I knew it I was being babbled at in French about every type of tea you could possibly imagine. The shop was like an Aladdin’s cave full of everything from earl-grey to green tea with orange and cinnamon to spicy chocolate tea. There were huge tins full of tealeaves that you could buy by weight, or alternatively choose from smaller, individual tins, all beautifully packaged in an array of bright colours. After wandering around the shop and sipping on several sample cups, I finally decided on (much to my boyfriend’s relief), a gift set called 'The Momens’ including five different flavoured teas in adorable coloured tins complete with a tea infuser and also a box of divine hand-made green Chinese green tea flavoured with orange, cinnamon, liquorice and sea-buckthorn muslin tea-bags. All packaged up in a colourful paper bag adorned with prints of all the tea-labels- positively frame-worthy!

Since returning I have found the kusmi tea website and am overjoyed that I can get my herbal tea fix with an online order! I have since been enjoying my delicious teas in the gorgeous teacups that I received from my lovely housemates for my birthday!

My next endeavour is to make my own tea bags, my mixing my own combination of various teas and tying them up in sweet little muslin pockets, I shall let you know how I get on.

Frugal Food

On Saturday night we had roast chicken for supper. For me, this is very exciting as it means not just one, but at least two (usually more) delicious meals out of this one chicken. This weekend it provided, roast chicken on saturday night, chicken, pesto and mayo sandwiches for Sunday lunch and delicious chicken noodle soup on Sunday night. There is nothing quite like a home-made chicken stock, so much scrummier than a stock cube, and it is so very frugal!
I took the rest of the meat off the beast and into the fridge and then popped the remaining into a pan a long with some chopped carrots, celery, onions, herbs (this time I used dried oregano and a bay leaf), salt and pepper and filled the pan up with water and onto a low heat for a good few hours! Just let it boil and bubble away for around 3-4 hours and then put it through a sieve and chuck out the veg/bones. Not a thing of great beauty but it tastes amazing, and makes a real difference to so many dishes.

You can then boil it down further to reduce and make a more concentrated stock, which is quite a good idea if you intend to freeze it as if you're freezer is anything like as full as ours, it takes up much less room and when you defrost you can just add more water to reach the right concentration. When it has cooled, the fat will have risen to the top, which you can easily skim off using a spoon. You are then left with a delicious stock to use as you will. We had chicken noodle soup last night: we fried off a chopped shallot and half a chopped chili before adding about half a pint of the chicken stock and topping it up with a bit more water. I then added a teaspoon of garam masala along with a teaspoon of cumin and a sprinkling of coriander and salt and pepper then whacked in the remaining chicken, some noodles, some mange tout, baby corn and some sliced mushrooms and simmered until all the veg is cooked through.

I've put the rest of the stock in a tupperware and into the freezer, which I will hopefully use up over the next couple of weeks in risottos, soups, gravies, and perhaps a chicken pie!

Jamie's 30-minute meals?

After receiving the latest offering from Jamie Oliver in the form of  ’Jamie’s 30 minute meals’ as a gift, it soon seemed that Jamie would be competing with the likes of Delia, with the book selling over 735,000 copies in 10 weeks and gaining the title of UK’s quickest selling non-fiction title. The reviews, however, seem somewhat mixed, with a lot of negative press regarding the 30-minute time limit promised by Mr. Oliver. It seems to me that the majority of his recipe ideas are really great and the photos in the book are amazing. He covers a so many recipe ideas, encompassing a wide-range of cuisines, from pasta dishes to various Asian inspired recipes. Of the recipes I’ve tried his Moroccan lamb is particularly delicious, as are his chicken skewers with satay sauce that my lovely friend Ross made me for supper. The fact that they are all ‘meal’ ideas, with drinks, puddings, and sides included is inspiring, especially if you’re cooking for a dinner party, though I’m not entirely keen on the layout (the order in which to do the whole meal) as often I want to just try out one dish from the meal and its then rather disjointed to follow. 

My favourite dish to date has to be the ‘Pregnant Jools’s Pasta’: penne with a scrumptious, sausage ragu, with a very welcome fennel seed note. I first tasted this last September cooked by Jamie’s team at a Jamie’s Pasta stall at Jimmy’s Harvest Festival. Since appearing in the book I have cooked it three times, all of which were equally pleasing.

For me the time limit isn’t really an issue as I only use the book for recipe ideas and am therefore not too bothered about ensuring that it only takes 30minutes of my time! But it is marketed as such, and I think the only real way to make the whole meal within the time is to have EVERYTHING ready before you ‘set the timer’. The oven preheated, the ingredients laid out, and pans/knives/boards all at the ready. Which almost defeats the point as it’ll take at least ten minutes to do all that plus the inevitable slog of washing up at the end, which is made a further challenge by the requirement of the food processor in almost all the recipes.

For me the recipe ideas are great, and I can’t wait to cook my way through the book, the only issue with the actual recipes I have faced is the strange recipe for his banoffee pie. The sugar and water caramel layer just solidifies resulting in a layer akin to the outside of a toffee apple- not something you want to bite into when you’re expecting the banoffee-esque gooey, caramel! His base for the pie is a shop-bought pie crust (clearly an addition to aid the time-limit), but for me, this essentially removes all the yummiest parts of a banoffee pie, the biscuit base and the gooey caramel!! Regardless of the unmastered pie and the skepticism on timing- I must say I still remain a diehard Jamie fan, and would definitely recommend his book for the majority of recipes. The wide range of brilliant and diverse ideas, exquisite colourful food photos highlight some really great meal ideas. Next on the to-cook list is his rib-eye stir-fry, dan dan noodles and chilled hibiscus tea- I will keep you updated!

Pancake Day!

It’s Shrove Tuesday this week, so get your frying pans at the ready as we explore some scrumptious pancake recipes.

Pancakes, for me, conjure up happy childhood memories as my wonderful chef of a mum would make pancakes for my sister and I each day before school (much to the envy of all our friends!). These days I still can’t seem to contain my childlike excitement when it comes to pancake day, or even if it’s simply whipping up a batch of pancakes for breakfast on a lazy weekend.

The knowledge of a good, basic pancake recipe is a must, something to fall back on at any impromptu pancake-making moment! It is superbly simple and wonderfully versatile, with only three main ingredients that most of you will probably have in your fridge or larder already. The traditional Pancake Day pancakes are for me, the thin, crepe-like treats, providing the brilliant challenge of flipping with the great endeavour of the pancake reaming in one piece and preferably in the pan!

To make 12 pancakes, sieve 110g of plain flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt, make a well in the centre and break in 2 large eggs. Whisk the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour from the edges. Meanwhile, measure out 275ml milk, and slowly add this to the mixture, whisking well to keep lumps at bay! Melt 50g of butter and add 2tablespoons to the pancake batter- save the rest in a bowl and use to keep the pan greased. Now you’re ready to get flipping! Get the frying pan really hot; add some of the melted butter (not too much) and use about 2tablepoons of batter for each pancake, to coat the base of the pan. Fry the first side till it’s golden brown and can easily be flipped over then cook the other side, which shouldn’t take as long. I often find that the first pancake doesn’t work as well as the rest so don’t be disheartened! If making ahead of time stack the pancakes on a plate in between layers of greaseproof paper to prevent sticking. Of course you can’t go wrong with the traditional sugar and lemon adornment, but why not try the following ideas for something special this year!

Try banoffee pancakes by topping them with sliced bananas, caramel and grated chocolate. If you can’t find tins of caramel or dulche de leche in the supermarket, a really quick and easy way to make caramel is to take a tin of condensed milk and place in a pan of boiling water (unopened), keep it simmering for 3hours and allow the tin to cool before opening, and you’re left with gorgeous gooey caramel.

You can’t go wrong with a chocolate and strawberry combination, so try topping your pancakes with sliced strawberries and this irresistible chocolate sauce. Take 4 mars bars and melt slowly in a pan with a little butter, pour in 100ml of single cream and continue to melt everything together. The result is the most divine chocolate sauce, also heavenly on vanilla ice cream.

Pancakes are a great idea for a dinner party pudding; you can make them ahead of time as mentioned above or even get guests to flip their own! Lay the table with bowls of a variety of toppings and get everyone to help themselves.

Pancakes are tremendously versatile, as a sort of blank canvas to embellish with any number and assortment of ingredients you fancy. They are also just as delicious used in a savoury dish, here’s one scrumptious main course pancake recipe that works as a great Monday supper, to use up any leftover roast chicken from the Sunday! Use the basic pancake recipe above to make a stack of pancakes ready to be filled. Meanwhile heat a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, and add one finely chopped onion and clove of garlic with a pinch of salt. When these are soft and starting to colour add a couple of handfuls of chopped mushrooms, I like using chestnut mushrooms for their flavour. Slice a leek finely and add to the pan and let soften. Pour in a glug of white wine, followed by 3-heaped tablespoons of crème fraiche, and stir until this had melted into a creamy sauce. Now add in some leftover/pre-cooked chicken and a handful of chopped lemon thyme. Now for the fun bit- spoon 3-4 tablespoonfuls of the creamy chicken mixture into each pancake before rolling up carefully and transferring to an ovenproof dish. Continue this process until all the pancakes are used, sprinkle generously with a combination of grated cheddar and Gruyere, and bake in an oven pre-heated to 180C for 15-20minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy with a crisp green salad.