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Alcoholic pears and chocolate sauce
Did you know that alchohol doesn’t completely evaporate when you use it for poaching? No? Neither did I. I poached some pears in calvados yesterday morning to make this and, once they were cooked, I was tempted, Alice in Wonderland-style, by the delicious-looking poaching juice that had ‘drink me’ written all over it. Big mistake. I’ll leave to your imagination the damage done by a hefty measure of calvados on the empty stomach of someone who gets tipsy on anything more than a glass of wine (in the evening, with food). Just how ‘blonde’ can you get? Yesterday wasn’t a productive day, but it was a happy one!
I suppose that pear alcohol, such as Poire Williams, would work well too. If you try it, please let me know because I’m certainly not taking the risk đ
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 pears, peeled carefully
25ml calvados
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50g of dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids), in small pieces
120ml green tea
Place the pears in a casserole and fill with just enough water to cover them. Add the calvados and cinnamon and gently simmer for 20 minutes. They are cooked when you can stick a knife in with no resistance. Harder varieties, such as Conference will need to be poached longer than say, Williams. Drain well, taking care not to damage them.
Bring 120ml of green tea to the boil in a small casserole. Then add the chocolate pieces and stir well until the chocolate has all melted and you have a homogenous consistency. Serve the pears with the chocolate sauce poured over the top.
This dessert has been suggested for While Chasing Kids’ ‘skinny parade’. -
Leek and Bayonne ham quiche (gluten free)
If the 1980s bestseller ‘Real Men don’t Eat Quiche’ is anything to go by, you might want to refer to this as egg, leek and ham pie if you feel that might go down better with the men at your table. Of course, strictly speaking, I suppose it’s a tart and not a pie, but I’d put money on the fact that a man who won’t eat quiche won’t be buying into ‘tart’ either. Anyway, enough wittering, I believe in calling a quiche a quiche and if the neanderthals eating at my table don’t like it they can go and shoot their own dinner đ My alpha-male husband is actually the exception that confirms the rule – he worships at the altar of The Quiche.
The pastry is made with buckwheat flour, which not only makes it gluten-free, but healthier and tastier than regular pastry; it even stays crisp when served cold. And even if you don’t fancy quiche, it makes a superb base for apple, or any other fruit tart too.
Ingredients for pastry (serves 6-8):
220g buckwheat flour
80g butter
20g virgin coconut oil
Roughly 5 tablespoons of cold water
Ingredients for filling:
3 leeks, washed and chopped
2 shallots, sliced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
75ml chicken or vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
150 ml double cream
2 thin slices of Bayonne ham (or Parma ham), cut into strips
50 mg Cheddar, Parmesan or Comté cheese, grated
To make the pastry, begin by cutting the butter and coconut oil into small cubes. Add to the flour in a mixing bowl and add a pinch of sea salt. Blend by hand until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add the cold water, mixing rapidly with a spoon. Remove the mixture from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until you obtain a ball of pastry (if the mixture isn’t ‘sticky’ enough to form a ball, you may need a drop more water). Wrap in a clean cotton tea towel and leave to ‘rest’ in the fridge for about two hours. This relaxes the dough and makes it easier to use.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry on a clean, lightly floured surface and fill the tart tin or tins. Buckwheat pastry contains no gluten, which makes it very fragile. You’ll find that you have to treat it delicately and possibly fill in the cracks with remaining bits of pastry by pressing gently. I tend to use individual tart tins. Precook the pastry for 12 minutes.
For the filling, begin by frying the leeks and shallots in olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the stock and braise for about 20 minutes, or until the leeks are well-cooked and the stock is absorbed. Break the egg into a small bowl and add the cream and seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika). Beat well to form a homogenous mixture. Place a few small strips of ham on the pastry base, spoon the leek mixture over that, add some grated cheese and then pour the egg and cream mixture over the top. Cook at 180°C for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown in colour.
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Crab noodle soup and dispiriting temporary assignments
I have been working as Builder’s Assistant, though not a very successfully it would seem. LĂ©o, my well-adjusted ten-year-old son (I feel the need to account for his emotional health in view of the calamity that is my dog’s), has been busy building a three-story log cabin, as you do, and needed help with the basement. My job was to lean on the planks of wood while he randomly banged nails into them. As if this doesn’t sound like torture enough, I was yelled at for not ‘leaning heavily enough’ and also for coughing, causing the nails to bend. There was subsequent, rather barbed commentary on the fact that my work wasn’t up to par, and also detail as to why it was my fault that the floorboards of the cabin are now crooked. After much deliberation, I think I’m going to stick to cooking.
Ingredients (serves at least 4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1.25 litres organic chicken or vegetable stock
4 tablespoons frozen peas
4 tablespoons pre-cooked sweetcorn
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3 kaffir lime leaves
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
75g thin Asian rice noodles
1 tin (175g) of crabmeat
Fresh coriander to garnish
Gently heat the oils in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion, garlic, leek, celery, carrot and red pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the stock, soya sauce, peas, sweetcorn, seasoning and herbs and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the noodles and crabmeat and cook for a further five minutes. Serve with fresh coriander chopped and sprinked over the top. -
Antioxidant chocolates
Happy New Year to everyone. It hasn’t been easy to blog recently, what with being surgically attached to the oven and all that. Christmas went swimmingly and canine meltdown was forestalled. Despite my agonising, the Great Christmas Tree Standoff was averted at the last moment with some subtle but timely psychology. Hugo’s chair was moved the day before the tree was put in place, completely avoiding arboreal negative thought association and attendant angst. Hugo and the tree are still co-existing happily as I type; I am nothing short of a genius đ
These chocolates are NOT for dogs, however depressed they might be (chocolate is very toxic for them). Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content really is a powerful antioxidant (great excuse to justify eating them ;-)). And of course hazelnuts and pears are positively virtuous, making these chocolates practically medicinal. Obviously you can fill them with whatever takes your fancy, but I particularly love the combinations pear/chocolate and hazelnut/chocolate. I think next time I’ll try ginger too…
Ingredients (makes 24 chocolates)
For the shells:
200g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
A silicon mould
For the filling:
100g dark chocolate, minimun 70% cocoa solids
40ml cream
15 hazelnuts, chopped
1 pear, chopped into tiny pieces
Melt 150 g of chocolate in a bain-marie, then add the remaining 50g of non-melted chocolate. Mix with a spatula until the mixture becomes shiny and thickens slightly. Pour into the moulds, immediately turning over to allow the excess to run out. Clean the edges with a spatula and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, bring the cream to a gentle simmer then pour over 100g of chocolate. Separate the mixture into two and mix half with the chopped hazelnuts and the other half with the chopped pear. Cool for 15 minutes and then fill the chocolate moulds three-quarters full with one mixture or the other. Set aside to cool.
Finish off the chocolates by ‘sealing’ with the remaining mould chocolate. Leave to cool for an hour and remove from the moulds by gently tapping. -
Curried parsnip and apple soup and badly behaved females
It pains me to admit that the males of our menagerie are far better behaved than their female counterparts. Obviously I’m not including myself in this. The hens spend a bigger part of the day than is ladylike pecking the crap out of each other. Usually over a live worm or dead mouse (I apologise for the revolting visuals) or some such. The prized place on the perch nearest the horses is also pretext for belligerant fisticuffs. The mares are no better; despite being separated by an electric fence, they are incapable of any form of communication that doesn’t involve bitch-slapping. Their hind legs lash out at alarming angles and this is usually accompanied by a side-order of blood-curdling squeals, noises that the male horses couldn’t make if they tried. The last time they were on the same side of the electric fence, I had to administer twice-daily TLC, arnica and clay poultices to both for two weeks. I’m definitely putting an embargo on any further females, Â well, apart from my future labrador bitch and perhaps a few ducks đ
Ingredients (serves 8) :
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 apples (preferably not too sweet), peeled and sliced
4 medium-sized parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
Gently brown the onions and leek in the butter and olive oil in a large casserole or saucepan. Add the apples and potato and continue to brown until golden. Add the remaining vegetables , then the seasoning and stock. Simmer for about 45 minutes and then purĂ©e. You could stir in some single cream before serving, although I don’t really think it’s necessary. -
Healthy gluten-free chocolate brownies. Take II.
Despite living a kilometre from our nearest neighbour and more from the nearest tarmac road, there are nights I hardly sleep a wink due to noise pollution. First, there are the cuckoos that I find very challenging; there’s something extremely provocative about the way they ‘cuck’ at random intervals. Then there are the barking deer – they apparently ‘bark’ to mark out their territory. Deer: as appealing as you are, please go and mark out your territory out of ear-shot, or in the daytime. Alternatively, take a leaf out of Hugo’s book and cock your leg (silently) on a tree. Â On cool nights, the horses rejoice with much noisy, vigorous galloping and bucking. Then there are the ‘break dancing toads’ that amuse themselves at night by dancing in front of our light sensors to switch them on and off, making Hugo bark furiously and at great length. Idem, hedgehogs (the dancing, not the barking). Lastly, from November to February, we have migratory cranes that fly overhead in the very early morning squarking loudly as they go.
These brownies somewhat compensate for lack of sleep. For me dark chocolate and prunes is a match made in heaven.Hugo and LĂ©o catching up on some sleep
Ingredients (makes about 12):
10 prunes, pitted
55ml Armangnac or rum
1 tin of cooked chickpeas (400g), rinsed and drained
50g almonds
2 tablespoons organic cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 tablespoons agave syrup
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids min.)
20g butter
20g organic virgin coconut oil
Ideally, you should soak the prunes in the alcohol overnight. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Blend the chickpeas well, then add the soaked prunes, cocoa powder, almonds, agave syrup and eggs. Blend a little more until the almonds are roughly chopped and the eggs are beaten.  Slowly melt the chocolate, butter and coconut oil in a saucepan or bain-marie, being careful not to burn. Once melted, add the chocolate mixture to the chickpea mixture and combine well. Spoon into a tin roughly 25 x 25cm (or equivalent). Cook for 25 minutes. -
Spicy roast cauliflower and the Christmas tree standoff
It’s exhausting being me; in the aftermath of Bonegate, I have to mediate another potentially explosive situation. Every year the delicate decision of when to put our Christmas tree up presents itself. On the one hand I have LĂ©o, a ten-year-old boy, extremely talented in the practice of strategically ‘fighting his corner’, and on the other I have Hugo, a four-year-old dog, exceedingly accomplished in the induction of overwhelming guilt. The space the tree occupies is usually dedicated to Hugo’s ‘throne’ and apparently a tastefully decorated tree is not compensation enough for the upheaval and attendant inconvenience of temporary relocation.
So every night until the tree goes up, I have to listen to the interminable list of my son’s friends that already have their tree in place. And once the tree is finally up, I have to deal with a distressed labrador, his head bowed in seriously under- medicated silent reproach, sitting in a chair in an undesirable location.
Neither LĂ©o nor Hugo are big fans of this cauliflower dish. More fool them – it’s delicious!
Ingredients (serves four to six):
1 cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the cauliflower into ‘florets’ and blanche in salted boiling water for five minutes and then drain. Mix the seasoning with the chickpea flour. Toss the drained cauliflower florets in olive oil and then the chickpea flour mixture. Add to a roasting tin with the remaining olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden.
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Coral lentil potato cakes and a strangely obsequious dog
I never thought I would see the day that one of our animals proved too yielding; I’m used to them giving me a withering ‘WTF is your problem?’ look if ever dare to raise my voice. Even making allowance for his delicate psychological history, Hugo (over-cosseted, ergo neurotic labrador) surprised me yesterday. We had given him a bone which he immediately hid before checking for potential bone-stealing predators. Once satisfied the coast was clear, he returned to retrieve his ‘treasure’ to discover that the black hen had ‘borrowed’ it. Instead of, at very least, snarling dangerously in an attempt to intimidate her into giving it back, he just cocked his head to one side philosophically and sat down to watch her. Whilst I do admit that the sight of a hen chewing on a bone five times the size of her head is a sight to behold, I found myself almost urging him to ‘swing for her’. Of course, he was only doing to a ‘T’ exactly what we had spent weeks teaching him, which is : ‘even if they’re incredibly annoying, we don’t beat up, eat or even intimidate our fellow inmates.’ In the end, his pathetic expression won me over and I took the hen out on his behalf. He and the bone disappeared for the rest of the day.
These delicious patties contain protein in the form of lentils, but obviously no bones. My nerves are in shreds where bones are concerned for the time-being.
Ingredients (makes about eight patties):
120g coral lentils
3 medium-size potatoes
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon paprika
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chickpea flour
Boil and mash the potatoes and cook the lentils according to instructions. Drain the lentils well and mix into the potato mash. Fry the onion, garlic, red pepper and cumin seeds in a small amount of olive oil until soft (about ten minutes). Incorporate into potato and lentil mixture and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Form smallish round patties about 4 cm in diameter, coat them in the chickpea flour and set aside. Coat a largish frying pan with olive oil and a small amount of coconut oil and fry the patties on each side until golden brown, adding more oil if they appear too dry.
Reasons to love lentils:
Not only are they delicious and very versatile, lentils are also an excellent source of fibre and protein. They also contain iron, folate and potassium in high quantites. Lentils are gluten-free and last but not least, have a very low glycemic index…
Beware of the ferocious dog!
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Healthy chocolate brownies and eccentric culinary methods
Nobody makes a French Fry quite like my husband. Despite this, I think it’s best that he stay away from the kitchen for the time-being. It started with an absolutely exhausting explanation for the benefit of his son-in-law on Optimal Methods for Stacking a Dishwasher. In case you’re interested, this entails rinsing everything (thoroughly) first, then stacking from the back forwards according to size and then according to pattern (assuming of course there’s any pattern left following manically frenzied rinsing). The rules of total segregation  and compartmentalisation should be implemented for forks, knives and spoons. I could go on, but you probably get the drift. The final straw though, was when patient son-in-law became witness to his ‘trick’ of how to tell if butter is hot enough to fry. In case you didn’t know, you spit into the frying pan and if it sizzles that’s your green light. Anyway, one man’s green light is another woman’s red light; Mr Healthy Epicurean has been banished from the kitchen for the foreseeable.
These brownies are not only 100% spit-free, they’re healthy and delicious too.
Ingredients
50g butter
50g coconut oil
100g dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids)
60g oatmeal
30g oat bran
Pinch of salt
30g organic dark cocoa
2 tablespoons flax seed
3 tablespoons agave syrup
100g almonds, chopped
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Melt the chocolate, butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan with about 4 tablespoons of water. Once melted, add the other ingredients one by one, stirring all the time. Once you have obtained a homogenous mixture, spoon into a 20cm baking tin and cook for 30 minutes. Cut into squares in the tin and leave to cool.
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Liebster award
Thank you to Live blissful who nominated me for the Liebster Award.
These are the questions she asked me:
- Cookies or Cake? CAKE
- Dogs or Cats? DOGS
- Latte or Frappe? NEITHER: I ONLY LIKE BLACK
- Beach holiday or Sight seeing holiday? SIGHT SEEING
- Fiction or True story? FICTION
- Fantasy film or Action movie? FANTASY
- Chicken, Fish or Tofu? FISH
- Ipad or Laptop? IPAD
- Cooking or Cleaning? COOKING (OF COURSE!)
- Playing sport or Watching sport? PLAYING
- Roasted potato or Fries? ROASTED
Here are 11 facts about myself:
- I am a (typical) Cancerian
- I used to run half marathons
- I’m a natural blonde!
- I have ‘conversations’ with my animals
- I pass out at the sight of blood
- I absolutely hate shopping malls
- I love to gamble
- I’m extremely untidy everywhere except the kitchen
- I passed my driving test first time, but then failed it when I went to live in the USA!
- I have up to five books on the go at a time
- I have always hated milk.
Here are my 11 nominees:
- Eating like a horse
- A pug in the kitchen
- The kitchens garden
- Common cook
- The happiness in health
- Skinny fat
- A lot on your plate
- Chow divine
- Cooking in Sens
- Fit and fortysomething
- Easy natural food
and here are their 11 questions:
- Spring or Fall?
- Sweet or savoury?
- Black coffee or white?
- Snow or sun?
- One word to describe yourself?
- Romantic or comedy film?
- Meat or vegetarian?
- Are you a morning or an evening person?
- How many languages do you speak?
- Which fictional character would you like to be?
- Starter or dessert?
Liebster Award INSTRUCTIONS
1. Add the award icon to your blog!Â
2. Link to your nominator to say thank you
3. Each blogger should post 11 facts about themselves.
4. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and then create 11 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Choose 11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers, go to their blog and tell them about the award.
