Raspberry Eton Mess with Vanilla Cream

Just a quick post to share with you this tasty raspberry Eton mess I made today, which I enjoyed whilst watching the Wimbledon tennis final. A big congrats to Andy Murray for his win today - well deserved! 

I currently have an abundance of raspberries that I’ve been picking from the raspberry bush in our garden. I normally just snack on them plain, or use them in my homemade smoothies - but today I decided that I’d use some of them to make a summery dessert. And what’s more appropriate to enjoy whilst watching Wimbledon than an Eton mess?!

I found a recipe on the BBC website for an Eton mess with vanilla cream and mint (check out the link here) – it sounded lovely, exactly what I was looking for. However I did end up making a few adaptations from the original recipe. 

Firstly, the recipe calls for mixing whipped double cream, caster sugar, vanilla essence and broken meringue nest pieces. However I decided to make the vanilla cream first, and then mix it with the meringue. I also used icing sugar in place of caster sugar. So to make the vanilla cream I added the vanilla essence and icing sugar to the double cream, and whipped it all together with a hand whisk until it formed soft peaks. I then mixed the meringue pieces into the vanilla cream.

Additionally, once I’d made the raspberry coulis I decided that I wouldn’t bother straining it, as I don’t mind eating raspberry seeds. But this was personal preference - the coulis could be strained if desired.  I also added a little torn fresh mint into the coulis, just because I LOVE mint! But again, it’s personal preference.

I finished the dessert off with a few whole raspberries and some small mint leaves. And look at this tasty dessert… 

Tucking in...

This is definitely my idea of the perfect summer dessert.

Lisa x

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Homemade Strawberry & Banana Smoothie

I'm currently on a bit of a health kick. I recently realised that ever since starting my new job about a month ago I haven't been doing a very good job of getting my five a day. I've actually been a bit lazy with my cooking in general. But now I'm settled into work and finding it less tiring than I did to begin with (having to get up at 5.30am came as a huge shock to the system at first!), I'm trying to take more time to prepare myself healthy meals and ensure I reach my goal of eating 5 portions of fruit & veg a day. 

I've also been starting my days with nice fruity smoothies to help me along with my fruit intake. My favourite? A simple but delicious strawberry and banana smoothie, great for boosting my energy before heading off to work.

Obviously people will want to alter the ingredients and amounts used to their liking. However, for my homemade strawberry and banana smoothie I use:

1 medium sized banana, cut into chunks
3 or 4 big strawberries (about 80g)
The juice of 2 oranges (about 150ml - 200ml)

I make my smoothies with my Kenwood's Smoothie Maker, but of course they can easily be made in a blender. 

These fruit quantities make enough to fill a generous sized glass (or 2 of the glasses shown in the first photo above) and gives me a couple of my daily portions of fruit right at the start of my day. And it tastes lovely! I know making smoothies isn't rocket science, but I just wanted to share my recipe to inspire any others like me who need some encouragement to up their daily fruit intake. Hope you enjoy!

Lisa x

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My Current Favourite Afternoon Snack!

I currently work between 6.45am and 3.15pm, and have developed a bit of a ritual once I arrive home from work in the afternoon. Most days I make myself a sandwich or salad to have during my workday, normally around noon. So once home I tend to feel ready for a snack to tide me over until dinner.


I recently wrote about the lovely day I spent at the Foodies Festival on Clapham Common and my purchase of some passion fruit curd from The Bay Tree (see here). Three weeks on and I've almost finished the jar, it's so delicious! This is because each afternoon, when I get home from work and am ready to put my feet up for a little while, I tuck into a scone spread with this tasty curd...

I like to enjoy it with a mug of peppermint tea, which I've been enjoying as an alternative to breakfast tea or green tea. I know that drinking green tea is known to have multiple health benefits, but as hard as I tried I have never been able to develop the taste for it! 

Instead, I find drinking peppermint tea refreshing after a long day, and it's known for being beneficial for the digestive system. I just feel that a mug of peppermint tea relaxes me after a long day... and I personally think it tastes so much better than green tea! 

My current favourites to drink are Pukka's Three Mint tea, Teapig's Liquorice & Peppermint tea, and a lovely blend of Moroccan Rose & Mint from Wilkins and Edwards that I bought at Greenwich Market. More on those another time....

Lisa x

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Another Quick Herb Update - My Parsley is Finally Growing!

I wrote recently about how well my sweet basil seeds were growing, but my disappointment with the lack of parsley activity. Well my parsley seeds finally sprouted last week... 

Obviously both herbs still have a long way to go until I can actually use them, but I'm very happy with their progress... I haven't killed them off yet through overwatering/underwatering which is a pleasant surprise. Maybe I will develop green fingers after all!

Lisa x

Homemade Passion Fruit & Orange Cordial

I found this recipe in an old Easy Living Magazine I was flicking through last week - it was featured as an idea for homemade gormet picnic foods. Whilst I have no upcoming picnic plans I was inspired to give this recipe a go - I'm not a massive fan of fizzy soft drinks so I mostly drink water, cordials/squash and tea whilst at home. My family gets through numerous bottles of Robinson's orange squash and Bottlegreen's elderflower cordial! So trying to make my own cordial really appealed to me for a bit of a change.

I'd never made a homemade cordial before, and didn't realise how easy it is to do. The cordial tasted delicious and my family loved it - it wasn't long before it was all gone! I really liked the passion fruit flavour too - when I looked in my local Sainsbury's store there weren't any similar flavours to this, so it was definately more of an exotic flavour to the standard orange squash I normally drink!

Recipe - Passion Fruit & Orange Cordial
Makes about 750ml

Ingredients:

375g sugar (I used white caster)
6 oranges
3 passion fruit

Method:

1. Add the sugar and 375ml of water to a saucepan. Add the zest of one of the oranges to the pan and bring the mixture to the boil - simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring every so often to dissolve the sugar.

2. Squeeze the juice from all the oranges and scoop out the pulp from the 3 passion fruit. Add this to the saucepan and allow the mixture to cool. 

 

3. Once cool, strain the mixture and put it into a bottle. I didn't have anything of a suitable size, so used a couple of empty gin bottles that my mum normally uses for making sloe gin for christmas!

You can dilute the cordial with either still or sparkling water - it will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed bottle in the fridge. Make sure you give the bottle a bit of a shake before each serving, then dilute to your preferred strength.

Lisa x

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Curried Potato Salad with Cauliflower

Last week I posted a recipe taken from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'Take Three Good Things' that used potatoes, asparagus and halloumi (find the recipe here). 

This week I have tried another delicious recipe from this cookbook (available on Amazon) using potatoes, cauliflower and curry as the three key ingredients. I made this for my lunch today and it took me no more than 15 minutes to prepare.

Recipe - Curried Potato Salad with Cauliflower
Serves 4

Ingredients:

400g new potatoes, cut into approx. 2cm chucks
Half a medium cauliflower, trimmed & cut into small florets
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper (to season)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons plain natural yoghurt
1 tsp of curry paste (I actually used a teaspoon of mild curry powder as a substitute, but this still worked well)

Method:

1. Bring a large pan of water (with a pinch of salt) to the boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes. Then add the cauliflower and cook for another 3 minutes until both are just tender. Drain and leave to cool.

2. Make the curried mayonnaise whilst the veggies are cooling - combine the mayo, yoghurt and curry paste/powder in a bowl.

3. Once the potatoes and cauliflower are cool mix them with the curried mayo. Season with some salt and pepper, and add the squeeze of lemon juice.

Done!
A great quick lunch idea. I actually think it would also be nice served warm - just mix the potatoes and cauliflower with the mayo mixture before they have cooled. I think I'll try it this way next time.

Lisa x

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Jamaican Ginger Cake Recipe

This ginger cake is definately not the prettiest of cakes, but it's certainly full of flavour. 
I personally like to eat it as a dessert with some warm custard, or alternatively you could enjoy a slice with a cup of tea for an afternoon treat!

Recipe - Jamaican Ginger Cake
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

75g butter
150g flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
¾ tsp ground ginger
A pinch of ground nutmeg
2 tbsp milk 
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g black treacle
75g golden syrup
75g dark soft brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.

2) In a large bowl sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl mix together the milk and bicarbonate of soda.

3) Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the treacle, syrup, sugar and 75ml of water - kept it on a gentle heat so the mixture does not boil. Add this to the bowl of flour & spices and then add the milk mixture. Stir in the beaten egg.

4) Stir the mixture well and pour into the loaf tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes - or until a metal skewer comes out clean. The cake will be dark in colour, but if it looks as if the top is starting to brown too much during cooking then cover the cake with some foil halfway.

5) Leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. 

Lisa x

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Baked Eggs with Spinach & Leek - Sunday Brunch Inspiration

During the week I normally have a quick bowl of porridge or cereal for my breakfast before heading out to work. Not very exciting! So at the weekend I always fancy taking my time to make something a little more special and delicious. A few months ago I found a recipe for baked spinach eggs in Easy Living magazine, and I've sucessfully made this recipe several times since. It's a great idea for a weekend breakfast or brunch, and it only takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare and another 12-15 minutes to cook.

Recipe - Baked Eggs with Spinach and Leek
Makes4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
2 leek, trimmed & sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
300g baby spinach leaves
4 eggs
80ml single cream
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Salt & Pepper for seasoning
Bread, to serve

Method:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

2) Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook for around 5 minutes until soft. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

3) Blend the spinach and leek mixture in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the cream. Season the mixture and add the nutmeg.

4) Divide the spinach and leek mixture between 4 ramekin dishes. Crack an egg into each one and then divide the rest of the cream into each dish and season with salt & pepper.

5) Place the ramekins into a baking dish and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve with some toasted ciabatta or sourdough bread.

So yummy!!

Lisa x

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