Bagel Nosh

Boiled and ready to be baked 

The Finished Product

The recent Jewish holidays left me craving lots of good nosh, and in particular, bagels. Convinced that the only way to get them in London is either en masse in horrible roll format in supermarkets, or to take a half day and schlepp to the outskirts of North London I figured the best option would be to take the challenge to bake some myself.  As a virgin bagel maker I scampered the internet for quite a while until I found a recipe I liked.  Considering the great number of positive reviews (minus some of the donkeys that didn't follow it correctly) I figured I had as good a chance of success as any.  And come on now - look at these babies! I know every good Jewish mother thinks her kids are the best looking and well, I kinda feel that same way about these little guys.

As I opted for a slightly longer boil time they were nice, firm and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  I ate three within 12 hours - which is probably more than I've consumed collectively in the past 6 months.  Luckily they have frozen really well.  I'm planning to have some friends round for brunch so I can make another batch and serve them fresh and warm from the oven. You know those one-off food items that are just so absolutely delicious that you scarf them up so fast you almost don't taste them (I realise this is not a good habit but NEEDS MUST)  - well straight out of the oven and with just a bit of butter, they were just that.

So without further ado... http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/10/new-york-style-bagel-recipe/  (although is it a bit cheeky to say I prefer the more bronzed bake of mine over hers)?  

Foodie Pen Pal - Take 1

Christmukah in July!

Treats from the US and Bristol

Perusing the web a few months back I came across Foodie Pen Pals via The Lean Green Bean. Lucky for me there is a small (but growing) group over in Europe that's started up as well - and I jumped right on in.

The basic premise is that you randomly get paired up with someone (either a fellow food blogger or just someone who really enjoys getting his/her grub on) and send through a surprise foodie package spending less than £10 (not including shipping).  It's monthly and you can be as active or not as you'd like.

I was paired with Sue in Germany over at http://sueintraining.wordpress.com/ and sent through some of my favourite treats (jam, spices, candy) from Ottolenghi's Upper Street store. Unfortunately the prized (and pricey!) passionfruit jam didn't make it in one piece. Dang UK to Germany shipping. Apparently in transit the glass jam jar broke into a thousand shades of inedible. Hopefully she'll still enjoy the homemade raspberry lollipop and za'atar spices.

On the flip side, I received the care package of goodies above from Karen in Bristol.  After a brief introductory email (giving the basics which mentioned my Yankee heritage) she very sweetly decided on a hybrid package.  Thinking I might be homesick (I was, but was also packing for a flight home to the USA 2 days later) she sent through some "all-american treats" as well as some local Bristol goodies such as clotted cream fudge, local cider, and marmalade.  I've not yet tried the latter two but the fudge went down a treat.

On the Stars and Stripes front I got two candy-bars (the Reese's NutRageous has already been demolished) and a Cookies and Cream Hershey's bar (possibly to be used in some chocolate brownies this weekend).  Also in the package? Kool-aid and Fluff.  Now both of these products are something I've not consumed for over thirty years*, which is certainly ironic since I'm not older than 29 (roll of eyes).  I vaguely remember them making their way into my Montessori smurf lunch box though. Man, I wish I still had that thing...but I digress.

My challenge if I choose to accept is to work these classic lunchbox treats into some sort of baked good.  Well, let's be honest - the fluff will become a baked good and the kool-aid in some sort of cocktail to be consumed while making the baked good.

Ironically I've promised some "American themed treats" at a work meeting next week.  I see the possibility of some fluff rice-krispy like snacks in their future.

*I have quite possibly consumed Kool-Aid more recently than the age of 4.  I have a vague memory of an Alpha Delt "Purple Passion" party my freshman year at University. I'm pretty sure this cocktail (if you can call it that as it was served out of plastic bag lined garbage cans) consisted of Everclear and Purple Kool-Aid. I choose to forget.

Bonkers for G'Nosh

It is not often that a product impresses me so much that not only do I go out of my way to buy it at a few select (overpriced) shops but on the off occasion they are sold out, I pout all Piccadilly line ride home.  It's a fricken' dip people, I know - but this one (or rather these two) have wooed me in the best way possible - with pure joy on the tastebuds.

First discovered in Selfridges food hall a few months back, G'Nosh produces a small selection of dips - and two have burrowed their way into my heart, beetroot and mint (with a little kick of chilli and parmesan) and babaghanoush (way better than anything you can find on Edgware Rd / Little Beirut...you get the picture).  You often see small products like this dip in and then 12-24 months later dip out (no pun intended, hardyharhar), but I really hope this one is here to stay.  If they put as much love into all their products as they do these then I can't wait to see what else is in store.

Getting creative with 1 of my 5 a day...

Peach and raspberry "coffee" cake

I've had a bit of a fitness burst in the past couple of weeks.  With a three times a week kickboxing purchase off of groupon (I only go 1-2 times), tap class, my normal gym visits, and my 1-2 weekly yoga sessions, my normal 3-4 times per week workouts have been randomly upped to 5-6 since the beginning of July.  This waranted Mama Cupcakes asking me last night if I was "addicted to exercise". I laughed - because of course I'm not.  But then, I gave it a think for more than 2 seconds and realised it's not the exercise I'm addicted to...it's...well...cake.  Linked to the increase in exercise has been an increase in treats coming out of my oven.  I'm not sure whether or not they are directly correlated, but regardless it's probably for the best (the excessive exercise, not cake making).

I really should give more away at work, but with the office running at about 20% capacity (all of Norway and my fellow Norwegian colleagues here in London seem to be off) there's actually just too much cake to go around at the moment.

Last night's cake making was my standard Silver Palate "coffee cake" but with a number of delicious peaches and raspberries added to the mix.  Just after I started making it I realised I was missing a few key ingredients... just shy of the right amount of butter, not enough sugar...I filled in the blanks with a few other ingredients (e.g. brown sugar instead of white) and added 1.5 cups of the fruit to the cake batter resulting in some interesting textures and tastes.  In its virginal Silver Palate state it's a classic but with the adjustments it was part crumb-like and part delicious fruity and moist bread pudding like.  I'm not sure I could repeat in the same exact way again (I didn't measure very much), but I will keep in mind the addition of fresh seasonal fruit. It's a very palatable way to get one of your five a day I say!

Pimm's Cup(cakes)

Candied minted cucumber

Strawberries and Pimm's cream galore

Pimm's cup(cakes) with candied cucumber

What to drink at an English Summer Garden Party? Pimm's Cup (obviously).

As a party snackaroonie - maybe not quite so obvious? Some Pimm's Cup(cakes).

Last week's GP theme was "English Summer Garden Party". With Koko decked out in some festive bunting and many a party goer in their floral finest I was tempted to stick true to the theme and bake something for the gaggle of GP's motley crew of merrymakers.  Strawberries and cream was the obvious answer, but I figured I could do even better than that.

All of my ambitions aside there was a slight snafu earlier in the week.  On Tuesday, as I was mixing away with my hand mixer for a colleague's birthday cake I started to smell something burning.  Next I noticed red sparks that seemed to be going off inside the machine.  Then there were the small flames coming through the vent.  Last stage? Trying to turn it off and failing.  All speed settings (and the off position) were set to "fast."  Thankfully here in the UK our outlets have those little switches that cut off the power like a light switch.  I'm not sure how keen I would have been to frantically pull the plug directly from the wall.

The death of a much used and loved kitchen appliance is a sad day.  If I'm honest with you all though, this was a classic case of kitchen appliance abuse on my part. I took and took and took some more from this little electric hand mixer. It gave with all it's might and I gave it little time for rest in return.  In the end, it was death by cake batter.

I suppose there are worse ways to go.

So, not wanting to disappoint (and loving the idea of playing around with some candied cucumber), I managed to swing by and purchase one Friday after work right before the shops shut.

And here's what I came up with....

Minted candied cucumber

Cut 1/2 an English cucumber into slices about 1/8-1/4 inch thick and cooked them on the stove top in 2 cups of water, 1 cup sugar and a "large handful" of mint cut finely.  The temp was set to low and stirring fairly frequently I let them simmer for about 25 minutes.

After laying them out single file on a silicone baking sheet I placed them in oven set around 175F or 80C and just let them dry out.  In the end it took about 3 hours or so...although they were pretty tasty at 2 hours I was looking for something a bit crispy as opposed to chewy.  Personal preference really.

Pimm's cupcakes

Using my fail proof martha yellow cupcake recipe that's been posted on abiteof before, I replaced 1/3 of one of the cups of buttermilk with Pimm's.  I also always reduce the flour by 1/2 cup and since they don't have cake flour in the UK - just use all regular flour.  Only additional change I might make? Up the Pimm's to at least 1/2 cup - it could have done with a bit more of the flavour in the cake part of the cupcakes. Note: This recipe makes about 36 cupcakes so you may want to halve (or alternatively like me, freeze half of them for a cupcake rainy day).

For the frosting I kept it simple - I didn't want to start faffing around with a buttercream, especially as it's really not my favourite.  I stuck with something easy that I love - whipped cream and berries.  I wasn't sure how alcohol would take to cream, but seeing as I always use a healthy dose of pure vanilla extract when I whip it up anyway, instead I replaced it with about 1/4 cup of Pimm's. I also added about 4 tablespoons powdered sugar.  After whipping it all up until stiff I folded in strawberries and raspberries.  Note: I used about 1.5 cups whipping cream (and it covered 18 of the cupcakes) but you could certainly double everything if you were throwing a super shindig since you have the 36 cupcakes anyway.

For the strawberries I cut up one cup very finely. For the raspberries, I took about 1/2 cup and smooshed them completey with the back of a flat knife.  The raspberries were what gave the frosting the lovely shade of pink while the strawberries were whole enough to get that real strawberries and Pimm's cream feeling.

For assembly I used a pastry bag with a wide tip nozzle (so those pesky strawberries wouldn't get stuck) and added the candied cucumber and mint for that added flare.  

JubilTEA

JubilTEA party

Chocolate and blueberry curd tart

This week was an exciting one.  In the lead up to Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee weekend (hurray for 2 extra days off!) I received my permanent UK residency (after a horrific 6 hour wait at the Croydon Home Office).  Which essentially means, as long as I want the UK - she's stuck with me.  It also means that in 12 months I can get my British Citizenship.  I'll happily be a two passport totin' lady (I'll get to to keep my US citizenship - obvs).


So in an impromptu play on words I invited some friends around on Monday afternoon to celebrate my "britishness" with a JubilTEA.  I did so at 9 pm the night before.  That meant that it was just a few who came around - as well that I had to put some hustle in my bustle if I was going to have any tea-time treats ready by 3 pm the next day.


Now, I know it was really just the thought that counts and I could have just as easily bought some scones and such but well...that simply goes against everything I know.  So without further ado, I whipped up the following that morning / afternoon (I won't lie, I was pooped by the time my friends arrived).  But all of that said, it was a lovely way to celebrate the Jubilee and my new residency status.


Scones - two ways (plain and with sour cherries and white chocolate) modified from Sara Foster's recipe (I reduced butter by 1/4 and flour by 1/5)


Chocolate and blueberry curd tart


Chocolate crust - 1.5 cups ground chocolate wafers mixed with 3/4 stick melted butter, baked at 325/ 165 for 12 minutes.  Let cool.


Blueberry curd - In a saucepan over medium heat add 2 cups blueberries and the zest and juice from 2 lemons. Cook for about 10 minutes until the blueberries are soft and starting to release liquid. Transfer to strainer and using the back of a spoon press juice from all the berries.  Discard any leftover fruit (or like me gobble it up by the mushy spoonful). Place blueberry juice back on stovetop, add 1.5 cups sugar and dissolve.  Add 100 grams butter and stir until completely melted.  Sloooooowly whisk in 3 slightly beaten eggs and continue to stir for about 30 minutes on a med-low heat until thick and curd worthy. Strain again if you so choose.  Let cool and then pour into chocolate crust.


In celebration of Great Britain I decided to decorate my blueberry tart with a union jack.  I hadn't really factored that blueberries are actually purple...so you'll have to forgive the photo above. I piped sweetened whipped cream and used some strategically cut strawberries as well to complete.  Voila!


Banana, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies


Ok, this flavour combo is more stars and stripes than union jack but even though I do love my adopted country, I am a good American girl through and through.


Now I love peanut butter any which way - and the same can be said for chocolate. Come to think of it - let's throw bananas into this category as well. These cookies are chewy and full of flavour. Oooh lala. These are good.  I'm planning on another batch, this time with candied bacon* pieces mixed in as well. 

2 cups flour

3/4 tspn baking soda

1/4 tspn salt

8 tablespoons melted (and cooled) butter

10 tablespoons melted (and cooled) crunchy peanut butter

1 cuppacked brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F / 165 degrees C.

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In another bowl, combine butter and peanut butter and both sugars until combined. Lightly whisk egg and add to wet ingredients along with vanilla. Fold in smooshed bananas and mix until combined. Add in dry ingredients and finally fold in chocolate chips. Eat with fingers.

Oh wait...no...that's just what I did (at first).  If you so choose (you may or may not) continue along...

Spoon out tablespoon balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Cool completely. Bottom's up!

*No, not gross.  Expectations for deliciousness exceptionally high with the addition of candied bacon.  Clearly not for the veggies in my life. This one will be for the non-Kosher carnivorous sweet toothers.**


**Never a sentence I imagined needing to write.

Spring (on the inside)

Strawberry shortcake with thai basil cream

SAD = Seasonal Affect Disorder

"Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer, spring or autumn."


It's May 20th and I'm still wearing my winter coat. I am still wearing thick black tights to work. My spring / summer clothes are still packed up waiting to be brought to the forefront of my closet. 


This is depressing.


With the weather absolute crap in London (although the long range 10-day forecast does have what appears to be a big yellow circle in the description).  I think it's the sun, but it's been so long since I've seen it one can't really be sure.


With it winter outside I decided to make it spring inside.  The past few weeks I've been buying up as many spring ingredients I could find and cooking away.

• Asparagus every which way (the best way was just steamed, covered in gruyere and baked on buttered brioche)
• Savoury rhubarb and cherry sauce (served with roasted chicken)
• Homemade rhubarb and cherry jam (I bought way too much rhubarb for the chicken)
• Strawberry shortcake with thai basil cream

As you can see from the photo above I keep forgetting to take photos of my cooking.  Pathetic excuse I know. But in actuality, the strawberry shortcake was my favourite of the bunch anyway.

So where did the thai basil come in? 

Saturday I was invited to a dinner party hosted by SA-A - hooray! SA-A and GT had been in Thailand last month and had the opportunity to practice their culinary prowess at a cooking school in Chiang Mai.  They wanted to share (ahem, 'test' things out on a few friends).

When asked what I could bring I was first told that nothing was necessary - food stuff was covered.  But then, well - somehow the possibility of "a second dessert" came up, so we went with that.

Now I didn't get the brief that I needed to bake something Thai, but I figured why not be inspired along with some East Sussex strawberries and see what we could come up with. 

I thought about a few different variations with chocolate perhaps but what I couldn't get out of my mind was how much I love mint and fruit (ala fruity mojitos).  I know that mint and basil are very different but somehow at the time, in my mind - I could use them interchangeably*.  Luckily enough, without a doubt - it worked.  The sweetness of the strawberries and the cream set of the mild bitterness of the basil and gave it that "je ne sais quois".  It gave a traditional strawberry shortcake a "grown-up edge".  

I would have said that generally it would be a dessert for a more mature palate but the next day I received a photo from SA-A.  The lovely hostess had kept the leftovers and brought it to her two young nephews.  The photo? Of one of them gobbling it up with wanton abandon.  

*Note  - my post dinner drink of fresh mint tea will not be replaced with fresh basil tea anytime soon.