Hello there
lovely blog reading friends, how are you? I know, it has been ages hasn’t it! Well
let me get my excuses in early...as some of you know my job involves me working
on a large scale sporting event which is being held this summer. Needless to
say it is getting VERY close now and things are getting a little bit busy. So
busy in fact I am finding it hard to find the time to cook/bake never mind blog
about it. Nevertheless I apologise for being so absent, especially after
promising to write more not less!!!
Anyway, April
was my month dedicated to British Classics so let’s launch into the few tasty
dishes I managed to squeeze in to the month.
The great British picnic
I don’t know
about you but I LOVE a picnic. Any excuse to whip out a tartan blanket and to
gorge yourself on finger foods, (some of which you only really get at children’s
parties nowadays) is an opportunity not to be missed. Dave and I spent a week
in the beautiful Lake District this month and we took the opportunity to have
several picnics while we were enjoying some stunning country walks. On the one
day of the week when the weather wasn’t absolutely stunning we also took the
chance to have a picnic indoors in our holiday cottage. I know it is traditional
to eat outside but if the British weather isn’t playing ball I think it is just
as much fun to make camp on the living room floor and enjoy a variety of tasty
snacks. Personally I love things like
mini sausages, quiche, cheese, crisps, crusty bread and chutneys in my picnic
hamper but it really is up to you, there isn’t a set recipe for making up a
picnic feast.
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| Picnic with a view! |
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| Post-walk sarnie |
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| Bringing the picnic indoors is just as much fun as being outdoors! |
We Brits love
the humble picnic so much that we even have a National Picnic Week in June!
Check out the website and get involved, just chuck a scotch egg, a squashed sandwich
and a bottle of orange squash in a bag, head out doors and find your perfect
snacking spot!
A traditional Sunday roast
There is
nothing better than a roast on a Sunday afternoon/evening to ease you into your
Monday morning blues. This Easter Sunday we invited some friends round to paint
and roll eggs and then to feast on roast chicken with all the trimmings. Our
roast was made up of the following:
Roast Chicken – http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/chicken-and-other-poultry/how-to-roast-chicken.html
I always roughly follow Delia Smith's recipe
for roast chicken, you really can’t go wrong by following a Delia recipe for
any sort of classic dish. I’m not a huge fan of stuffing so I leave that out
and just pop a few cut lemons and a garlic bulb inside the bird instead.
Roast potatoes – last Christmas I picked up my father-in-law
Phil’s tried and testing roastie recipe and it has worked a treat ever since.
The instructions roughly go as follows... Phil feel free to chip in if I’ve
misrepresented your recipe!! Chop up as many potatoes as possible, pop them in
a pan of cold water and bring to the boil, simmer for 4-5 minutes, drain the
water and shake the potatoes in the pan to roughen the edges. Pop them into a
roasting tin/dish and cover in lashings of sunflower oil, coating every side of
the potatoes using a pastry brush. Cook for as long as possible at whatever
temperature the oven is already on at for the roast (at least 45 minutes). Half
way through the roasting baste the potatoes with the pastry brush again.
Green beans – just boiled with a knob of butter.
Orange and honey carrots – just boiled the carrots with some
water, orange juice and a couple of table spoons of honey.
Vegetarian pie – http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4540/crispy-greekstyle-pie-
My vegetarian
friend Rebecca was joining us for Easter lunch so I thought I would try to make
something homely, roastie and veggie friendly so a pie was the order of the
day. Now the one I ended up going for was actually a little bit Greek but it
went down a treat with Rebecca and all of our other meat eating guests as well.
Lots of the comments on the recipe suggested adding more cheese and less sun
dried tomatoes so I modified the recipe slightly. I also added some pesto and
pine nuts for an extra bit of flavour/texture. It was easy to make and very
impressive looking on the table, and before you ask no I didn’t make my own
filo pastry, seriously who has the time for that!!
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| Yuuummmmm |
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| Veggie pie |
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| The leftovers..... |
Toad in the hole - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5822/toad-in-the-hole-in-4-easy-steps
I really don’t
know why but I am a little bit obsessed with Cumberland sausages, I think it’s
just so much more fun to have a sausage in a fun, curly shape rather than your
normal run of the mill links. Lucky for me there was a good old fashioned butcher
down the road from our holiday cottage where we could buy authentic Cumberland
sausages. And being brought up in Yorkshire I am also obsessed with Yorkshire
puddings so what better way to combine two of the best regional delights but in
a toad in the hole. It took a bit longer to cook because the sausage was so
thick so the Yorkshire was a wee bit burnt, but covered in lashings of gravy it
was delicious.
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| Swirly sausage...such fun! |
Welsh rarebit - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1500641/welsh-rarebit
I’ve only been
to Wales once, and I am really keen
to go back, especially after making one of their finest exports Welsh rarebit
(aka posh cheese on toast). During my first year of University I have a strong
memory of my good friend Pete making this all the time and I wish I had tried it
then because it is delish. Pete, maybe you can share your secret recipe with
us??
Sticky toffee pudding - http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/easy-sticky-toffee-pudding-180
My month of
British Classics wouldn’t be complete without a hearty, stick to your ribs
pudding. Last weekend my amazing, blog inspiring friend Lydia (of http://todaysthedayi.com/ fame!) was over from
NYC for our friend Rebecca’s wedding. I
thought it was only fair that I put her and her delightful boyfriend Ryan to
work making something seeing as though she inspired me to start this blog! The
two of them were very good pupils and whipped up a delicious, sticky, sweet
pudding.
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| Lydia and Ryan's triumph! |
There are
many many other British Classics I could and should have made and will make
when I have a bit more free time. I am really keen to keep cooking and blogging
during my busy time at work but loyal readers I will just have to ask you to ‘bear
with’ (in my best Miranda Heart voice).
May is dedicated
to the absolute, hands down best meal of the day, Brunch! I promise to try my
best to write again soon.
Have a tasty
month, xx Linds xx
P.S I also baked
a football inspired Free Cakes for Kids cake for Joseph this month, I hope he
had a lovely 15th birthday.
