Just back from a few days in France – where we ate oysters for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We toured Brittany from north, across the middle to south and back up to north east again in one big circle.  The weather was beautiful and we swam in both the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, eating fish of some description every day.  So, keeping to the “fishy” theme, I thought to  give you a fish dish – and because Autumn now beckons, something still light enough for the warm sunny days, but, also with a bit of warmth for the chilly evenings.

Fish Noodle Broth (I’ve deliberately left some of the ingredients’ amounts a bit vague as only you know how hungry you are!)

• 1 vegetable stock cube crumbled into 300 ml of boiling water
• chopped ginger to taste
• 1 – 2 cloves of garlic chopped
•  some baby corn, cut lengthways
•  1 piece of thick cod fillet
•  prawns (either raw to be cooked or thrown in ready cooked near the end!)
•  pak choi, quartered lengthways
•  2-3 spring onions, shredded
•  rice noodles
•  coriander, soy sauce and lime to serve

Bring the water to the boil and add the vegetable cube with the ginger, garlic, baby corn and cod and bring back to simmer. Cook for 6 – 8 minutes uncovered, then gently stir in the pak choi and spring onions (and raw prawns, if using). Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add the noodles to the pan and cook till soft (plus the prawns if using ready cooked). Pour out into a wide dish and serve with coriander, soy and lime wedges.

Spice it up! For those of you with a more adventurous palate, you can add chopped chilli/chopped lemongrass/some thai spices to the water as you bring it to the boil.

Experiment and have fun – that’s really what cooking should all be about!

Just spent a glorious week in Majorca with the Husband, his brother and girl friend and two other very good friends.  The sun shone yellow all day in a sky of blue and the time was spent swimming, reading, talking (a lot of) and much laughter.  We alternated between going out at night and cooking in, each made-up (not our own partners) couple taking a turn to prepare, cook and serve.  We all did very well, I thought, as each evening was rounded off with chocolate and guitars.

Home now and with nearly the last of the blackberries picked, I am now looking at the damson trees which this year are boughed down with fruit.  As it appears as if summer is passing, I thought I would give you one last ice cream recipe – and using the damsons.  You can also make it with fruit you have picked, frozen and defrosted so you can have the Last of Summer all the year round!

Damson Ice Cream

• 4 free-range eggs, separated
• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 300ml/½pint double cream
•  150ml damson puree

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the caster sugar, then continue to whisk until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Whisk the cream in a separate bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.  Fold the cream, egg yolks and puree into the meringue mixture until well combined.  Pour into a plastic container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

A little extra for the weekend . . .

My great friend, Pat, was one of our merry band last week. On the last day of the holiday, she had an accident falling badly on the volcanic rocks which lace the sea. She was a real trooper and bore up well with a visit to the hospital and 12 stiches in her arm! So this next recipe is mostly for her – turns out she has a passion for salted caramel ice cream (thinking of the cones we ate wandering around the old town of Alucida) – and this is one of the easiest possible (if your arm is still out of use ask the lovely Ralph to make it for you!)

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

• 397 grams carnation caramel or dulce de leche (room temperature)
• 300 millilitres double cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch of sea salt flakes (to serve)

Put the caramel into a large bowl and stir to loosen slightly. Add the double cream and salt and whisk until the mixture is thick and just holding its shape. Scoop into a 1 litre airtight container and freeze overnight. Serve with a few flakes of sea salt sprinkled over.

We are off on our holidays with friends tomorrow so I’ve just done a last pick of blackberries – my freezer is full of them but I love the thought of eating their sweet sunniness all through the Winter, boosting my Vitamin C in the darker days.  With all the rain we have been having lately, though, they are going over really fast so you need to be out there picking.  Take an old friend and catch up; take a new friend and get to know each better – confidences and secrets shared never go any further than the last berry!

Blackberry Cordial

• 750g ripe blackberries
• 2 limes, zest and juice of 1, plus slices to serve
• 350g granulated sugar

Place the blackberries and lime zest in a medium saucepan with 100ml water and cook over a very low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly, until the fruit collapses. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a jug, pushing gently to extract all the juice. Transfer the juice to a medium saucepan and add the sugar – you should have about 500ml juice, but if you have significantly more or less, bear in mind that you’ll need 350g sugar for every 500ml of juice, so just adjust the quantities accordingly. Discard any seedy pulp left in the sieve (or keep it and sweeten it up with a little honey before stirring through a bowl of yogurt for breakfast). Gently stir the blackberry juice and sugar mixture over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then increase the heat and bring just to the boil. Once it boils, immediately remove from the heat, then stir in the lime juice and pour the cordial in sterilised bottles.

To serve: dilute 1 part cordial with 5 parts chilled water in a jug. Pour over crushed ice with a slice of lime.

• Tip If you want your cordial to be clear, instead of sieving, let the fruit drip overnight through a jelly bag or muslin.

   See you Soon!

When I was little, I used to go blackberry picking with my mum – and I, in turn, took my own children with my friends, Claire and Beryl, and their children.  Our babies have got babies of their own now and we hope to all go picking again this week – trying to persuade little fingers to put as many of the berries they put in their mouths into their baskets! Our garden is partly an old orchard where the apple trees have fallen down (we have also planted new ones!) and become a secret hiding place for rabbits, squirrels and mice and the trunks homes for woodpeckers and robins.  And over it all, have grown the most wonderful blackberry bushes, their huge, thorny branches weighed down with all their glistening, purple gorgeousness!

There are so many things you can do with blackberries – apart from sweet things, you can make cordials (well, we would, wouldn’t we to go with our rhubarb and gooseberry ones) , savoury sauces – and, of course, you can just freeze them as I do (just bag them up!) and eat every morning with porridge (me) and yogurt (the husband) for a dose of vitamin C throughout the winter.  They are free, picking gets you out in the fresh air and it’s a time to spend with friends, chatting away as you do, as we have done for years behind years!

Overnight Oats and Blackberries

What weird weather we’re having just now-glorious sunshine, torrential rain, heat and mugginess!  It’s also doing weird things to my garden produce.  The plum tree has no plums; the pear trees are covered; lots of blackberries; no raspberries!  The tomatoes are many but green – and my courgettes and CUCUMBERS flower beautifully but come to nothing! Thankfully, there are lots in the shops and relatively cheap so I thought we would look at what we can do with this underappreciated vegetable!

You can obviously add it to drinks – chopped, sliced or ribboned (with a potato peeler) – anything from plain water to cordials to gin and tonics.  Salads, of course, and sandwiches – and you can also cook with them and pickle them. They have a high water content, are low in calories and full of vitamins C and K so what’s not to like?

Green Cucumber and Mint Gazpacho

• 1 cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small avocado, chopped
• bunch spring onions
• small bunch mint
• 150ml pot fat-free natural yogurt
• 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• few shakes green Tabasco sauce
• snipped chives, to serve

In a food processor or blender, blitz all the ingredients, reserving half the mint and yogurt, until smooth. Add a little extra vinegar, Tabasco and seasoning to taste, then add a splash of water if you like it thinner. Chill until very cold, then serve with a dollop more yogurt, mint, chives and a few ice cubes if you like. The soup will keep in the fridge for 2 days – just give it a good stir before serving.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers

1 large cucumber, ends trimmed, cut in half widthways and spiralized into thick ribbons 1 tsp flaky sea salt                                       1 tbsp white wine vinegar                                          1 tbsp caster sugar                                      ½ tsp coriander seeds                                                   a small handful of dill, leaves picked

Toss the cucumber ribbons with the salt in a colander. Leave for 15 mins then squeeze out any excess moisture with your hands and pat the ribbons dry with a tea towel. Mix the other ingredients together in a small bowl then stir in the cucumber.

And to finish . . . Cucumber and Elderflower Spritzer – makes about 6 glasses (you deserve it after all this time in the kitchen!)

Summertime . . . . . and the living is easy . . .  and what could be easier than a sandwich (although, obviously, as WE are cooks, they will be posh sarnies!) I don’t know about you but come the heat I definitely want to eat less – and what I do eat, I want to be tasty and full of flavour so I thought this week we could make ourselves a little picnic of nice sandwiches, fresh salad and fruit – and a quick recipe for gooseberry cordial to wash it all down with.

There are so many bread and wraps out there, I am leaving the hard bit of what to use up to you – I’m just going to give you the fillings,  a meat, fish and veggie one.

Meat and Pickled Cucumber

• Meat of your choice – leftover roast, specially cut ham, even fish meat will do!
•  1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced                     1 tablespoon cider vinegar
•  1 dessertspoon olive oil                            1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
•  mayonnaise

Combine the cucumber, vinegar, olive oil, sugar and salt and pepper in a bowl then pile up the meat, cucumber mix and mayo on top.

Smoked Salmon and Salad Sandwich

• 2 ounces cooked salmon                            2 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise                          1 tablespoon chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives                        1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (you can zest the whole lemon, squeeze the juice and freeze separately – or you can make yourself a gin and tonic!)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and pile up your bread with a dusting of black pepper!

Beets, Spinach and Goats Cheese

• 1 small cooked beetroot                              1 dessertspoon olive oil
•  good handful of spinach                            1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 ounce goats cheese

Cook the spinach in a tiny bit of water until wilted, stir in the vinegar and cool. Layer up the slice beetroot, spinach, cheese – and munch!

Gooseberry Cordial

• 250g sugar (Remember, as with the rhubarb cordial, you are only going to use a tiny amount to dilute so don’t panic at the sugar mound!)
• 3 large lemons, zested and juiced
• 350g gooseberries                                        3 sprigs of mint leaves

In a large pan, gently melt the sugar in 250ml of water.  Add the zest, juice, gooseberries and mint leaves and bring to a simmer.  Cook until very soft.  Strain through a piece of muslin into a bowl.  To serve, dilute with water (still or sparkling), ice, more mint and lemon.                                                                                                                                                   PS if you can still find them, you could add a couple of elderflower heads whilst cooking

What could be more English than a cream tea, Wimbledon men’s final,World Cup Cricket final and what could be easier to make than a cream tea? The tea I leave up to you – Earl Grey is one of my favourites but strong Yorkshire tea works just as well!

I had never been a huge fan of jam until I discovered fridge jam – which uses half the usual amount of sugar thus tasting much more like simple squashed fruit with a little sharpness.  The only thing is that you have to keep in the fridge as it won’t be preserved for as long – but then again it tastes so wonderful it doesn’t last long anyway! For the sugar, buy jam/preserving sugar which has larger sugar crystals than normal, producing a clearer preserve.

TO MAKE JAM:  weigh fruit and sugar which will be exactly HALF that of the fruit weight.  Put the fruit into a pan and mash to break up.  Add the sugar and the juice of half a lemon and leave for an hour or so. Bring to the boil and boil for EXACTLY 5 MINUTES.  Leave to cool slightly before putting in clean jars and store in fridge when cold.

SCONES – traditionalists aren’t going to believe this recipe – but, believe me, it works!  Scones used to be one of those things I was never that good at – but they now work every time!

• 200g self raising flour
• 3 fluid ozs double cream
• 3 fluid ozs LEMONADE   (yes, you have read that right!)

Heat the oven to 220C.  Mix all the ingredients together and tip onto a floured board. Knead very lightly for a minute or so and flatten out to about 2 cm thick.  Cut out shapes (makes about 6 large ones).  Put onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Now all you have to worry about is whether you load up your scones with clotted cream first/then jam – or vice versa!  And whether it’s milk first in your tea or second.  Whatever way you choose, enjoy your delicious mouthfuls of Englishness!

PS I know recipes here are usually for one but it would be impossible to do that here.  The jam will keep for a while and you can freeze the scones individually to eat when you fancy – but wouldn’t it be even nicer to invite a friend or neighbour to share?

It’s hot and sizzling – and for once I mean the weather not what is cooking or on your plate! Finally, sundresses and shorts are out, the sea invites instead of chittering on the side daring to go in and I’m, unbelievably, back to watering the garden! The beans and courgettes are wilting as I look – but the gooseberries are suddenly ripe for picking (I wonder if I can beat my bumper crop of 20lb from my one bush as last year?)

However, even I, don’t want to be in the kitchen in this heat (indeed, not even keen on eating a lot) – but, obviously, we do have to so this week we’re going to be making wraps. A wrap is a filled tortilla –  bit like a Mexican sandwich – and although you can make them (seriously, some shortcuts are meant to be) you can buy them at any of your favourite supermarkets.  You can make them ahead and pop them in the fridge till your ready, lunchtime in the office, or part of a picnic.  Adding a salad and some new potatoes/sweet potato fries and you have dinner in a roll!

2 Simple Wraps

Roast Salmon with Mango and Chilli Salsa Stir some chopped mango, diced red chilli and onion and a little chopped coriander.  Mix in a little sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime juice (lemon is fine if that’s what you have).  Lay out your wrap, top with a handful of spinach (raw) or any green leaves) and some roasted salmon flakes (look in the chilled deli section in your supermarket). Spoon over the salsa and fold or wrap up.

Greek Salad Wrap. Toss some chopped vine tomatoes, diced cucumber and a handful of olives, with a splash of your favourite salad dressing. Crumble some feta into a bowl, add a little finely chopped dill and stir.  Spread the salad mixture over the wrap and top with the feta mixture, some sliced iceberg lettuce, chopped avocado.  Fold or wrap.

Spicy Baked Wrap – dinner shaped with some side vegetables and/or salad

• 3 tbsp cooked broad beans
• 1 spring onion, sliced
• 1 snack-sized salami sausage,  (obviously miss out for a veggie wrap)
• pinch paprika
• 1 tortilla flatbread
• 50g/2oz chopped tomatoes
• 25g/1oz cheddar, grated
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Mash the broad beans in a bowl, then stir in the spring onion, salami, paprika and some freshly ground black pepper. Put the tortilla flatbread on the baking tray and spread over the chopped tomatoes. Spoon the bean mixture onto one half of the wrap and sprinkle over the grated cheese. Fold the wrap in half and cover with the aluminium foil, scrunching the edges into a parcel. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese in melted.

At long last – we have SUN!  After a week of torrential rain, finally some golden rays!  Of course, it has also meant some busy time in the garden and with my vegetable patch – such a shame that the rain needed to make the veggies grow also makes the weeds! The hens and I have been out digging and hoeing (as soon as they see the spade they are with me knowing a good feed of  worms is coming) and everything looks a little back in control again.

In the past week when it was too wet to go out, I was having a bit of a declutter and came across an old metal steamer of my mum’s.  It is battered and lost its lid but couldn’t bring myself to throw it out so I asked around for some suggestions.  Don’t know why I never thought of it but, because as it already has holes in it, the main one was for a planter!  I have a herb garden in pots (no weeding and no running into each other) outside but I thought I could use it for my favourite herbs, coriander, parsley and tarragon – and this is the result, painted and decoupaged, to sit on the kitchen window sill.

This is a very long winded way of leading you into this week’s recipe but because of the heady scent of coriander now permeating the kitchen and because of the sunlight filtering through the window, I thought of Thai fishcakes – a nice light meal for the weather and easy to do so you can go outside and enjoy it.  You’ve probably got lots of recipes for these cakes but I do hope you will give my version a go too!

THAI FISH CAKES WITH A DIPPING SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon red thai curry paste (yes, I know you can make your own but when there are so many good ones in jars, honestly, why bother?)
•  1 small egg
• 150g cod cut into chunks
•  1 tablespoon thai fish sauce (don’t worry if you have to buy a bottle specially for this as it lasts for ages and we will use it again )
•  1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 -2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped (you can buy these fresh, dried or frozen)
•  1/2 dozen fine green beans, chopped
•  oil for deep frying

Beat the curry paste, egg and fish until smooth.  Place in a bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients.  Shape into little cakes and deep-fry  for 4 – 5 minutes until golden and drain on kitchen paper.

DIPPING SAUCE  Bring 30 ml of water to the boil with 50 ml of rice vinegar and 25g sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and cool.  Add 1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped, 1 garlic clove, crushed, 2 shallots, finely chopped and some grated ginger to taste.

Serve the cakes on watercress and/or spinach or stir fry some pak choi with beansprouts, sauce on the side.

I know some of you read this blog are abroad so you probably won’t know that this past week as been an absolute washout – literally!  My beautiful roses are windswept and starting to rot; the hens’ feathers are plastered to their shivering bodies as they squelch their way through the mud in their run; the river at the bottom of the garden is starting to flood over the field – and we’ve even go some heating on in the evening! Thus, instead of giving you light recipes to keep you cool, I’m going back to a soup to keep you warm and give you comfort!  It is, however, of an Italian rustic background – so when eating it I want you to take yourself to a sun drenched trattoria, under a beautiful blue sky, lapping seawater onto a quiet beach . . . .  I’m sure you have the picture now!  I want you to think sunshine in a bowl . . .

ACQUACOTTA SOUP

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock (from a cube will do )
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 4 large plum tomatoes
• 1/2 tin cannellini beans
•  1 egg, per portion
• 3 – 4 slices stale (yes, stale!) bread – ciabatta if you have it (you could just buy a ciabetta roll or two)/baguette ends/anything crusty at the bottom of your breadbin)
• 1-2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme and tomato puree until softened.  Add some stock and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook slowly until they start to break down, add the rest of the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Add cannellini beans and cook on a low heat (gently – you don’t want to end up like mexican re-fried beans!).  In another saucepan, poach your egg (s).  Add the parsley and mix in the torn (this is rustic and doesn’t call for precisely cut!) bread.  Ladle into a (comfortingly large) bowl and top with the poached egg – and a sprinkling of shaved parmesan, if liked.

You could also add pieces of chorizo or chicken / spinach / basil leaves / oregano – go on, have a play – there isn’t much else to do in this weather!

PS apologies for no posts lately but I’ve just got a beautiful PC which my website wasn’t recognising and couldn’t get on to write!  Obviously it is up and running now and, hopefully, next week onwards normal service will be resumed – including the sunshine!