A winter warmer

Where is the snow? Im pretty sure somebody (someone to trust) told me we were supposed to get snow but so far nothing. Since Im on holiday just now id like it to fall now, as i don’t really have anywhere to go. But i think it may be too cold and clear for snow to fall! So when its this cold what do you want? A bowl of steaming soup obviously.

 

Normally a new year brings a new health kick to most people. And considering it is now the 15th of January im sure most have fallen off the wagon. But if your still hanging onto it, give this soup a spin. Just the look of it, makes you feel healthier.

I like to blend most of my soups, this one being no exception, but unlike my other soups, it stays a nice consistency not too thin and not a vegetable puree. The vibrant greens comes from not cooking the watercress but only wilting it in the stock.

      

This is the soup i make when i feel i need a hit of health, when i know iv been skimping on my 5 a day. It is also made under 10 minutes so no need for soaking beans or peeling vegetables and waiting for it all to cook.

Here is a quick guide to how i make it, as with most of my cooking, it is a little slap dash.

Pea and Watercress Soup

Bag of watercress (85g)

Cup of peas (or more)

1/4 Leek

Chicken or vegetable stock (half a cube is fine)

mint

 

Slice the leek and soften in a little oil (i used garlic oil).Chuck in the peas and mint (i used dried but im sure fresh would be fine). Add the stock and cook for a couple of minutes. In goes the watercress, mix around and take off the heat. Then blend together and season.

If you prefer a slightly thicker soup, dice a small potato and add to the pan with the stock and cook off before you add the peas.

Festive eats

A few snapshots from over the festive period.  

Homemade mince pies. Made by my stepmum, quite a few of these were eaten when we went visiting. Along with a mountain of food including a full Christmas dinner which was served up over the weekend. My Christmas Eve drink of choice. Lots of ice and mixed with coke. A warming drink for the festivities. I spent a bit of time deliberating over which spiced rum to get but Sailor Jerry came out on top.

                  

Sipping pink fizz, whilst looking over one of my favourite presents. This book really is a celebration of butter and sugar. Cant wait to make the peanut butter birthday cake, Chili cheese fries anyone? Or how about Cinnamon sugar rice pudding? 

Marshmallow reindeer for a Christmas party. I saw these on another blog. Mine we mallows dipped in chocolate, smarties for noses. White chocolate for eyes and pretzels for antlers. They are easy enough to make but are a bit time consuming, not that anyone would notice as they demolished box of them in 2 minutes. 

My new mug from the bf. Its more of a bucket than a cup, holding the kettles 2 cups worth of water! A friend gave me one from the same collection for my birthday so now me and the bf don’t need to argue about who gets the bigger cup. 

My sister had been busy in the kitchen before Christmas making a number of edible gifts. I was lucky enough to receive 2 bags of biscotti which i promptly devoured as it is the best biscotti iv ever had. Also her flat has been slowly taken over by chilli plants so she made a batch of “hot sauce”. It is the accompaniment to have at this time, with all your party food, cold cuts and it perks up every “leftovers” sandwich.

             

Its beginning to look. . . .

. . . . .like Christmas might be coming. Now you can boo and hiss as much as you like but my reckoning its only 39 days till the big day. I in a haze of smugness have bought 90% of presents. Wrapping paper is stocked and ready with a number of stickers and ribbons.

Although i will happily talk about Christmas all year long, for me, i know Christmas is on its way when i see chestnuts in the shops. These instantly make my Christmas. When we were younger we used to sit round our fire whilst our dad roasted bags of chestnuts in a special pan. Once all the skins had cracked open, they would be tipped out onto sheets of newspaper. A pile would be saved for the stuffing whilst the rest was devoured by us. You have to work fast, whilst the nuts are still hot, peeling off the shell and the furry skins, break them in half and dip them in salt. Simple bliss.

Now i dont have an open fire in my house but i do have an oven. To make them, you need to cut a cross on top of all the chestnuts (if not, they will explode and scare the living bejesus out of you) place them in a pre heated oven at 200’C for 10 minutes and your done. Remember to work quick, if they cool down their inner skins really stick to them.

             

Another thing i love to see are Clementine's. I don't really buy any orange citrus fruit throughout the year except now. The instant you peel them and their scent fills the room it is Christmas condensed. I must eat my weights worth during the festive period. I also add slices of them to mulled apple juice or for a really quick desert, poaching them in sugar syrup served with vanilla ice cream doesn't disappoint.

 

       

 

 

Pancakes!

Iv been totally digging pancakes the past week. Maybe its to do with being on holiday so i have more time for pottering at breakfast. Or maybe its the cold wet weather edging me into a warm comforting brekkie, ether way I'm winning.

I had already made plain pancakes with cinnamon spices apples for myself and some more for the bf but with blueberry sauce (frozen blueberries cooked down with syrup). The next day i came across Katie Cakes blog with this post which inspired me even more.Instead of spicing the apples, you spice up the pancakes!

I don't really use a recipe for pancakes, i normally use three dessert spoons of self raising flour, a sprinkle of sugar, one egg, a splash of vegetable oil and enough milk to make it a nice dropping consistency. It makes 4 good sized pancakes. But this time i added some cinnamon, mixed spice and ginger. I would have substituted brown sugar instead of caster if i had it.

I like to cook my pancakes in a little bit of butter, a non-stick pan helps here too. Once you’ve poured your batter your looking for the little air bubbles to start popping before your turn them over. Pancakes are always best served straight from the pan but i kept mine warm in a low oven.

Since i had all my flavours in my batter i opted just to serve them simple with golden syrup. One of my favourite breakfasts!

Being a grown up can suck.

Being a grown up can suck sometime.

For example, when your roof tiles slide out of place and leave your roof exposed to the wonderful Scottish weather. Having to find a reliable roofer in the city who can fix it, is not fun. Having to then contact and arrange quotes is also not what i thought id be doing on one of my days off. But the silver lining being, accepting the boys who do it at a fair price over the bloke who quotes twice as much, but when declining says he would have done it for much less. Eh i don't think so.

Example 2. Having to be in work at 6am, to drag outdoor seating in the dark in freezing temperatures, for the handful of people who are silly enough to sit out in the cold. Not fun but listening to 80s music loud on your iPod helps enormously.

But, after all that (and other moaning i could do about being an adult, buying a winter coat?!, remembering bin day, going to bed at 10pm to get up for work!) there are allot of good things about being a grown up (i don't want to say adult, cause i think I'm far from becoming an adult!).

Example 1. If you want to stay in your pyjamas all day with your cosy socks, you can. I only do this though if I'm staying in all day unlike allot of the residence in the east of Glasgow who find it appropriate outdoor wear.

Example 2. Choosing how you want to decorate your room/flat/home. When i got my new room at home my dad refused to paint my room a colour as i would “cover the walls in posters and rubbish”. I obviously moaned enough as he gave in, my room was painted a mauve colour and i got a massive pin board to cover instead of the walls! At least when your older your in charge of how you decorate (unless your renting, which can be annoying). Iv had a say in all the painting here and next on the agenda is the bedroom.

There are more examples out there and some different to all of us. I remember in the summer i left home, i was annoyed at the fact my step mum had bought some awesome sugary cereal for my brother but it never got bought when i was at home. I was so annoyed and moaned for ages about the injustice of it all, just for my bf to point out that, i was moving out, if i wanted sugary awesome cereal, i could have it everyday. In a matter of days i was going to be the one in charge of my food shop. Nobody was going to be there to say, “no you cant have crisps and dip for dinner”, “a handful off revels is not breakfast” or “don't drink all the blah blah blah”. I'm in charge of the food that i buy and make, it may be a bit lame but I'm thinking that's one of the best grown up perks.

So after being a good grown up and dealing with sliding roof tiles and rubbish morning shifts i wanted to throw caution to the wind and be a child again. A child with a Nutella milkshake all to her self.

I had some Nutella ice cream which i had made a few days before. It wasn't a disaster but nowhere close to a roaring success either, a bit too dense. I threw a few spoons on that into the blender with half a glass of milk and blitzed. Pour it out and hey presto, Nutella milkshake. You can always use vanilla ice cream or a couple cubes of ice and a large spoonful of Nutella or any chocolate spread for the same drink. 

A nosey round

I love a rummage around peoples cupboards. Whenever i go to a friends or family, one of the first things i do is have a peek behind the doors. Normally you get ushered into the kitchen first, so its not so weird. It got me thinking, i also love the “tour” blogposts you see of peoples homes. So iv done a small one for my kitchen.

I got this picture when my sister and I went to Paris for her birthday a couple of years ago. We walked by a man on our way back from the Eiffel Tower who was drawing these brilliant pictures. Each one was of a different animal morphing into said Eiffel Tower. After some small talk and his dire attempts to get us to go to a party he gave us both a picture each with our names written on it. I framed it but for ages didn't know where to put it, then i came home after work one day and my bf had put it up for me.

Another thing i love about my our kitchen is the colour! When we moved in, the kitchen was dull magnolia with dark dark units, which just made the place look glum and dour. When we were looking at houses, one which we were going to put an offer on had a bright red kitchen which we both loved. So it was obvious what we were going to do! I am rubbish at painting, by my own admission and everyone else's, so all the painting has been done by the bf. Thank goodness. We couldn’t keep the units as they were, so instead of getting new ones, “we” painted them too.

This cake stand sits out in my kitchen all the time, much to the annoyance of the bf, but i don’t have space to put it away, not that i would want to.

One of my favourite things in here, is my aid, my Kitchen Aid! We got this a few years ago for a joint Christmas present. I wanted a bright colourful one but I'm glad we got the white, it will go in any surrounding and not look odd. It is wonderful, i don’t know if its any better than the other top range mixers but ours looks stylish and does the job. As you can see, i use it a lot.

One last thing about my little red heaven is this.

Charlie mogs practically lives in this corner of the kitchen, protected between our table and clothes horse. Curled up on top of a hessian bag, apparently this is the comfiest thing in the whole house.

Shortbread

Everyone likes shortbread. I remember the first time i made it. I was at home in the kitchen upstairs, it must have been near Christmas. I made two rounds and they were tied up in cellophane and tartan ribbon (what else?!) and given away as presents. I remember my step mum saying i was a natural at making it, she was being kind, as it is soo simple to make.

The recipe i used, i had noted down from an old cookbook from home. I use semolina aswell as plain flour, the semolina gives it that added bite. You want to treat the dough like pastry, i.e., don't over handle it.

You can but special shortbread moulds or stamps, but i use my loose bottom cake tins. Put your dough in the time and ‘smoosh’ it out, you want it as even as possible and not too thick. If you are using a metal tin, you need to keep an eye on the shortbread, as the ring conducts heat, it will cook the sides faster and if your not careful, you run the risk of burning it. You want to cut it whilst its still warm, as if its cold, it will splinter and shatter.

I love just plain shortbread which has been sprinkled with sugar by a heavy hand, that is not to say you cant add some flavour to your dough. Orange zest, lavender or even choc chips. Shortbread and a wee cup of tea is exactly what you need after a long day.