Category Archives: Recipes
Homemade Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
I made this soup a couple of days ago using a recipe by Rachel Allen. Perfect for cold wintery days!
Ingredients:
- About 8 ripe tomatoes, halved
- 1 large red pepper cut into chunks
- 1 red onion, peeled and thickly sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic
- Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 600ml vegetable stock
- 50ml double cream
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200′C
2. Arrange tomato halves and red pepper chunks, cut side up, in a single layer on a baking tray and scatter over the onion, garlic, thyme and sugar. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season well with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until softened.
3. Once cooked, tip the entire contents of the baking tray, including any juices, into a blender. Add the stock and blend until smooth, then pour into a large saucepan. Bring the soup to the boil, add the cream, reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes to heat through.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with crusty tiger bread!
I tried my first bowl full of this soup for lunch yesterday, and the verdict was….. delicious!! Although I had been told I smelt of garlic a lot, so I might cut down on the garlic cloves next time!
Sloe Gin & Raspberry Vodka Update
A couple of weeks ago I made my first ever batch of sloe gin and raspberry vodka. You might remember my post about finding the sloes that I used – they had been stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks before I put them to use.
Above you will see everything you need for these simple recipes. If you are going to try making your own, be sure to sterilise the jars or containers that you are going to store the liquids in to prevent the fruit from rotting. You can do this by thoroughly washing the jars inside and out, and then putting them in a hot even for about 5 minutes until hot.
When the jars have cooled down, the sloes need to be individually pricked using a cocktail stick (this is quite a tedious process!), and then placed inside with the sugar and gin. The same goes for raspberry vodka although the raspberries do not need pricking. I also added a touch of vanilla essence to the sloe gin for some extra flavour. The liquids need to be shaken every day for a couple of weeks, and then left in a dark place and shaken once a month. They should be ready after at least 3 months of fermenting, however leaving them longer will make them tastier!
The raspberries looked so vibrant once placed into the vodka!
You will notice a slight colour change after a few days, and they will continue to grow darker and darker…
It looks like I’m starting my own brewery at home! I’m also trying some Skittles vodka, which is 1 litre of vodka mixed with 2 big bags of Skittles (with the tangy green ones removed!), and left to colour for a few weeks. Hopefully these will be ready just in time for Christmas. Happy experimenting!
Home made Onion Tart
- 250g fresh ready-made shortcrust pastry
- 40g butter
- 75g bacon, chopped
- 700g onions, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 50g parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tsp dried sage
- salt & pepper
Things I want to cook
Home made Rosties
- 3 good-sized potatoes
- 1 white onion
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- salt & cracked black pepper
- Olive oil
Baked Vegetables
Homemade Festive Treats!
Homemade Leek & Potato Soup
How to make Sloe Gin
Yummy Food Fun
Cupcakes, Ice Cream Recipe, Blog Award
1 cup milk
A pinch of salt3/4 cups sugar1 vanilla bean5 egg yolks2 cup heavy creamA few drops of vanilla extract
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.
2. Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping. Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
I received this blog award from Haptree a few weeks ago and only just got round to passing it on. It makes me smile and reminds me of the warmer weather. I’d like to pass this award onto the following blogs that I love to read:
Quiche Recipe, cheeky Molly!
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- drizzle olive oil
- 50g parmesan , grated
- 2 eggs
- 284ml pot double cream
- handful basil leaves, shredded, plus a few small ones left whole for scattering
- 280g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
- 140g cold butter , cut into piece
- To make the pastry, tip the flour and butter into a bowl, then rub together with your fingertips until completely mixed and crumbly. Add 8 tbsp cold water, then bring everything together with your hands until just combined. Roll into a ball and use straight away or chill for up to 2 days. The pastry can also be frozen for up to a month.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round about 5cm larger than a 25cm tin. Use your rolling pin to lift it up, then drape over the tart case so there is an overhang of pastry on the sides. Using a small ball of pastry scraps, push the pastry into the corners of the tin (see picture, above left). Chill in the fridge or freezer for 20 mins. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
- In a small roasting tin, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes in a low shelf of the oven.
- Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork, line the tart case with a large circle of greaseproof paper or foil, then fill with baking beans. Blind-bake the tart for 20 mins, remove the paper and beans, then continue to cook for 5-10 mins until biscuit brown.
- When you remove the tart case from the oven, take out the tomatoes, too.
- While the tart is cooking, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add the cream, then stir in the basil and season. When the case is ready, sprinkle half the cheese over the base, scatter over the tomatoes, pour over the cream mix, then finally scatter over the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20-25 mins until set and golden brown. Leave to cool in the case, trim the edges of the pastry, then remove from the tin. Scatter over the remaining basil and serve in slices.
