Nice bit of crumpet

Crumpets! Who knew that they were so easy to make? There are lots of recipes on the Internet but I used the one in my River Cottage bread book which is similar to one posted on The Guardian site The secret it seems is to get the batter consistency just right. too thick and you won't get the nice bubbles - too thin and the batter will leak from the crumpet rings.

These were fun to make and I will look forward to practising to get the batter just right. Sourdough was off the menu last weekend due to my poor scheduling but these simple tea cakes made amends.This weekend has produced a couple of granary sourdoughs and a personal best in s a 10km road race.......l

Spring time

always
            it’s
                   Spring)and everyone’s
in love and flowers pick themselves

ee cummings


It's Spring. Time for lighter Mediterranean-inspired dishes for these sunny evenings....

Oh.

Not quite. Winter returned with a vengeance  yesterday. We had planned to go to Chesterfield but after standing at the bus stop being passed by smirking 4x4s we realised the bus service had been suspended. Never mind, we did some food shopping and took a few photographs before having lunch in a local pub with a decent pint of a Cornish ale "Proper Job". On the way home I spotted a patch of wild garlic that was not covered by the snow. Ruth had written about wild garlic recently. I usually forget about it until it is passed its best but this year I was more vigilant.

I love wild garlic and as we were planning a pizza night I thought I would pick a bunch to make a pesto accompaniment.

I followed a recipe I had seen in the paper recently by Hugh FW

I love making my own pestos. There's a lot of root veg in my veg box at the moment and the addition of pesto is like a spoonful of sunshine.

We made pizza with last night's home made tomato source and a River Cottage base. Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese completed the topping.

May be we were just hungry but this pizza tasted better than many we have had out.

the light...

Whissendine Windmill White Sourdough

When it comes to flour I tend to use what is available. My local supermarket stocks Bacheldre mill flour - rye and wholemeal - and Dove Farm's Malthouse flour. However I have to go to Chesterfield to find a good white stone-ground flour. I have been using this Whissendine Mill flour on and off for the past year and it makes a tasty bread.

Sunday morning and folding my dough for a white loaf which I intended to bake in my newly acquired enameled cast iron pot.

I used my trusty River Cottage sponge method but when it came to baking I turned the loaves out on to baking parchment and lowered them into the preheated pan and placed in the oven turned up high. I baked for about 30 minutes with the lid on, then 25 mins with it off. I did not slash the dough which may have been a mistake, as I was following the sugestion in Ken Forkish's book to allow the loaves to split in a rustic fashion (but not using his recipe which was a higher hydration!)

The breads came out well, not as dark as I expected considering I baked them longer and at a high temp. The crust was nice but not spectacular. However, I liked using the pot and plan to try some of the recipes in Forkish's book. I like the simplicity of his flour, water, yeast and salt recipes. And I would like to understand more about the science of baking a loaf.

The bread tastes great!

Rother valley

We walked to Rother Valley Country Park this morning dodging snow flurries. Not too many people about but this lone runner braved the elements!

Prashad - a love poem

I thought I might write a review for Prashad - Indian Vegetarian Cooking but ended up writing a love poem. Prashad is currently my favourite cookbook. I love Indian food but often the anticipation exceeds the actuality when either I have gone for an Indian on the High Street or attempted to make my own. This book really does share the secret to making good Indian food in the home.

The most intimidating thing about the book is the list of spices, but once you have the core ingredients it is surprisingly easy to create great dishes.... well, that is, if you have the guidance of Kaushy Patel!

Today I was not at work and have been chilling out at home. I find as i get older I want to "do" less on my days off. We are going to Harrogate for a short break next week which will be fun, but today I was happy to blob, reading John Gray's latest "The silence of animals" and making a forbidden lunch.

Cauliflower is seen as food of the devil by some people in our household. I have to sneak it into the house and cook it when alone in a well-ventilated kitchen. Aloo gobi is a favourite of mine. Potato and cauliflower curry. Potato and cauliflower. Very English ingredients. Not very exciting perhaps... until you add spicy sauce.

What I like about Prashad is that it explains how to make the dish in a clear and concise manner.

You start by making a masala, pounding garlic, ginger and green chillis into a paste. The oil is heated and then cumin seeds followed by asofoetida and then the chopped potatoes. After initial cooking you add the masala paste, tomatoes, and spices (lots of coriander!). Oh, and a big chunk of butter!

The cauliflower and coriander leaf is then added and cooked until tender.

I'm not giving the recipe because there are hundreds of aloo gobi recipes on the internet and if you want Kaushy Patel's version - buy her book!

There are a good twenty main dishes and we have tried over half of them. There's a coconut and yoghurt dip - kopru - flavoured with mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves which is just gorgeous. It was the first recipe I had tried when I was attempting to making masala dosas - lentil and rice pancakes stuffed with a potato curry - for the first time. It was so good I thought that if the dosas were a disaster I would take the kopru with a spoon and sit in the corner and scoff the lot! The dosas were a great success and one of our favourite weekend dishes. I love the dhals too. There are at least three recipes in the book, with the chevti dhal - mixed lentil curry - my favourite. Not just a load of old lentils........

I have also made my own flat breads from the recipe in this book but need to try some of the other breads which look interesting. Today though, I settled for my own malthouse sourdough bread.

The beer will have to wait though. I am off to my running club in an hour. Beer, sourdough, Indian food, a run in good company, a good book and a bit of time to myself away from the demands of the NHS. Now that's what I call a holiday...........

Sweet

I made the rolled oats and apple bread from The handmade loaf. It had a pleasant sweetness. I completely messed up the recipe misreading the 200g grated apple and instead adding 600g. Oops. My dough looked like lumpy wallpaper paste. I did a few calculations and added extra dry ingredients and it came together after a bit of folding and resting.

There are about a dozen more recipes from the book that I would like to give a try. I have been reading Ken Forkish's book and hope to get a Dutch oven to try his method. I am not at all convinced thar trays of water and mist sprays add anything when used in a conventional oven.

I have been tired of late, stressed by work, but have a couple of weeks off so hope to add a few posts. I have continued to bake bread at the weekend, but have kept it simple. I really like Dan's 60:40 Mill loaf and yesterday made two excellent loaves using Dove Farm malt house flour.

My running has been more consistent too and I am now able to run a ten miler most weekends. I love being able to run to different places and explore. Got stopped by someone asking for directions and had to say - "sorry mate, I don't live around here!"

There has been a lot in the news about the Don Valley stadium being closed and although I was not intending to run a half marathon this spring I may well sign up for the Sheffield Half as it will be last time it will be run from there. In a time when politicians speak of an Olympic legacy it is sad to see the stadium close. But it is underused and I know that the money is needed to fund the public sector services which are currently being decimated. Sad.