End of summer blues (and rasps and currants)

Berry Blondie Batter

Sliced and Diced

How does mother mature know that when the calendar turns September 1^st we automatically need to start thinking  – wool jumpers, tights, and boots?*  Forever in denial of this fact (I won’t be swapping over my spring/summer wardrobe for fall/winter at least until October**) I concocted some late summer berry blondie bars to capture the essence of the lingering summer days.

I started with a blondie recipe from one of my favourite all-time butter packed cookbook’s, Foster’s Market. However, wanting to summer-fy it up, to the batter I added a trio of berries (blueberries, raspberries, currants) as well as an extra cup of white chocolate (in addition to the semisweet chocolate the recipe already called for).  It was a bit random, I mean - I hardly ever bake with currants (they were on sale, hence the inclusion) but in the end, really very scrummy.  Little bites of buttery sweetness mixed with the tart and colourful fruit made for a mini mouth fiesta.

With my upcoming birthday I'll likely do a fair bit of baking (hosting a wee get-together, an apropos Guilty Pleasure theme of "Birthday Party" on the actual day, and treats for work), and am pretty sure I might keep the summer going just a little bit longer with another batch or two.

*In London this does not apply, as indicated by women everywhere wearing tights and boots on 75 degree days in July.  It’s something I will never fully understand. Yes, GT – I’m speaking to you.

**Current closet space in London is more or less 2 square feet so half of my wardrobe has to live under my bed and in suitcases behind my couch until it’s time to come out with the change of seasons.

Summer Lovin'

Skordalia, Tzatziki, Salad - All consumed lickity split

Sunset drinks (4 Euro per bottle Greek wine)

Swiss Sausage, salad, and pretzel - overlooking the Swiss alps

As summer draws to a close (evident in the three layers I was wearing when I headed out this morning) it’s about time I look back on my summer travels (slightly shortened due to starting the new job back in June) and share some of the food highlights.

The beginning of August brought me to the sunny / sandy shores of Mykonos for a few luscious days and nights of Greek island life.  I was on holiday with one of the Mykonos locals, my good friend Flamingo, who quit her ‘corporate’ job in London the summer of 2010 to spend three months working on the island.  She headed back to London in the fall, but sensing the need to return back as a proper tourist, we booked our flights way back in January - there was a lot of build up, anticipation and excitement over the past seven months whilst waiting for this trip.

Every day without fail we started out with a frothy iced Greek coffee.  Most I’m sure were just instant coffee, ice and milk – but somehow when consumed under an umbrella and in a bikini you’re convinced it’s the most delicious drink ever created.

Evenings were spent water-side drinking fresh fruit cocktails and the food in-between invariably consisting of tzatziki and/or skordalia with pita.  Two dishes I could happily eat each and every day (although friends and family might object to the skordalia).  For those of you less familiar with this Greek dip – it’s a potato-based dip that in essence is 50% roasted garlic.  It’s pungently delicious. 

While August was ushered in with balmy temps and sandy beaches, it was ushered out with the snow-capped peaks and colder temps of St. Moritz, Switzerland.

There for 2 days for the exquisite Studdkler wedding, we feasted on divine swiss hospitality and the 5-star Suvretta House catering.  The wedding cake was even the beloved Sachertorte, baked in the shape of a heart and ready to be consumed by the 155+ guests.  

However, the culinary piece de la resistance of the weekend was for me, the simple Swiss fair at the Trutz mountain restaurant.  After a 5 am finish the night before I thought it would be a good idea to walk off my ‘headache’ with the wedding party’s scheduled “alpine walk”.  Little did I realise that dressing in skinny jeans, my gym shoes, a cashmere sweater and carrying a massive Prada handbag MAYBE wasn’t the smartest thing in the world.   Especially when I met up with everyone and people were mostly in shorts or loose trousers and hiking boots. There were definitely no skinny jeans and handbags. I’m blaming these tactical errors on visiting the only nightclub in St. Moritz that was open (it's the off season) at the slightly shocking hours of 3-5 am. 

Anyway, after a lot of huffing and puffing up the mountainside I was greeted with the most spectacular view of the Upper Engadine lakes and the most glorious local food.  Cucumber salad with dill, pickled beets and carrots, fennel, linzertorte, sausages and homemade breads.  It was a most welcome site and even better once in my belly.

Aloha, Hawaii

Photo courtesy of Miss Flamingo's iPhone (hipstamatic)

A few weeks back I was tasked with the challenge of coming up with some Hawaiian themed cupcakes.  So I sat down and had a little think. Volcanoes, surfing and pig roasts didn’t do much for flavour choices and my go to staple of some sort of lime / lemon / coconut combo seemed a bit same-old, same-old. 

So, as I sat with my coffee that Saturday morning I thought… what else could I offer up? Tropical flowers? Possibly with my new fandangled sugar paste skills…but not as a flavour option.  Tropical cocktails however? Now this was something I could sink my teeth into!

In the end I decided on the straightforward pina colada cupcake.   Good old pineapple, rum, and coconut milk – I could work with that.  Plus, what’s more Hawaiian than the pineapple?  The State even hosts the Dole Plantation, which claims to be  “Hawaii’s Complete Pineapple Experience”.  And yep, you can plan your private parties there too.  I've yet to visit Hawaii, but you betcha it's on my list of places to visit when I do.

So off I went, doing a little bit of research on the pina colada cupcake (there are surprisingly a large number of  recipes out there). In the end I decided on my own combination of pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, coconut milk, toasted coconut, and a healthy dose of white coconut rum to get that Hawaiian tropics feeling.

Taking the theme a step further (and in my opinion, one step too many) I piddled about making a shocking blue (colour of the ocean?) cream cheese frosting and 2-3 hours making some sugar paste tropical flowers.   However, there is something about frosting, even when ridiculously tasty and made with lovely organic butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla beans that when turned the colour of a Smurf is really off-putting.  

Apparently however, I'm the exception to the rule with this opinion - they were greedily snatched up by all of my lovely friends.  Who continued on throughout the afternoon with tongues in a matching shade of blue.

A Sad State of Affairs

I've shed many a tear over this photo...

Not surprisingly, a lot of my sweet and savoury treats end up being rationed and taking short holidays in my freezer. Not too keen on a crap dinner after a late night at work, I often have some of my staple favourites (home-made soups, lasagne, etc.) on hand in individually packaged portions, ready for easy defrost and consumption.

Of course my freezer also hosts get-togethers with any number of cakes, muffins, and tarts. Seriously, considering how often I address the need to get my bake on - I need to freeze about 2/3s of it just to keep from not scarfing it all down my greedy gob.  Plus, when I have friends over I can keep them well fed with an assortment of treats.  So good, right?

So, low and behold when I got back from LB's wedding a week or so ago, and my freezer was making this incessant beeping noise (that would only stop if I turned the entire power switch off) I was slightly concerned for all my little tasty freezer friends. The next day, after a fair bit of manoeuvring I did manage to get the beeping noise to stop, but in it's place was a low guttural buzzing noise.  Perhaps an improvement, but still -  not good.  Fast-forward 10 days and I've had to throw out some chicken soup that Mama made me when she was over for my surgery, 8 individually wrapped portions of meatloaf, home made pizza dough, chicken and vegetable stock, lemon bars, strawberry and rhubarb muffins, and some chocolate pecan tart. I had a few pieces of my olive oil cake left - I made sure to eat those before they went bad.  It was a sad state of affairs - having to bin so many treats. I'd contemplated having an "it's the end of the freezer as we know it" party and divvying all the food out to friends - but since it had been on a steady downhill defrost for a few days I figured that I didn't want to also risk giving mes amis a batch of food poisoning as well.  Again, so good of me right?


So here I am, naked (well - not me, my freezer) waiting for some incompetent man (I'm not being sexist, it really is a man) to come fix it for the second time this week.  The first time he arrived during his "I'll be there at some point between 8 am and 1 pm" slot, and only stayed for 5 minutes. On his way out he said, "I don't have the correct parts - you need to make another appointment for next week."  


I know in previous posts I've lamented the lack of customer service in the UK (or if I haven't I know I think about it almost daily) but what an UTTERLY USELESS WASTE OF TIME.


However, trying to stay positive, I'm hopeful that with the next visit it'll be up and running in no time.  From there I'll be wiling away my days stock-piling once again - getting ready for whatever comes my way (a cold - chicken soup),  (a late night - lasagne), (night before Armageddon - chocolate toffee tarts and coconut lemon cheesecake bars).  You get the picture.

Heaven: Lat: 42.9982 / Lon: 11.0000

Heaven comes with views of rolling vineyards and a welcome glass of Prosecco

Tuscan antipasti - followed by home-made gnocchi with truffled duck 

Breakfast of champions.  Only thing missing from the photo? The homemade mozzarella they served us as well

3 litres of some kick-ass olive oil

Olive oil, yogurt, lime and eggs

Simple, super tasty, and (shock!) - HEALTHY!

This cake is sticking the bird up to butter

I truly believe everyone has a spot (or maybe even two) where they feel completely and utterly at peace...their own personal little 'heaven on earth.' Mine, very scientifically, can be found at Latitude: 42.9982, Longitude: 11.00000 (very useful information when you've no clue where you are going in your rented Citroen).

Also, known as the Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort, in a leap of utter spontaneity I booked a flight (air miles) to Pisa and 2 nights at the resort at 10:30 p.m a few Monday nights ago. Flight departure? 9:05 am the next day.  That gave me approximately 7 hours to pack/ prep/ sleep.  That pre-holiday grooming we all get up to? Yeah, that didn't happen until I got to Italy.

Landing in Pisa, AK and I picked up our car and drove south along the coast, heading in the direction of Rome to a wee place called Ribolla (side note: at one of our many points of being lost we were able to recall where we were located by remembering that our 'town' rhymed with Ebola - nice, right)?

While on a superficial level there didn't appear to be anything particularly extraordinary about the southern tuscany region of Maremma (rolling hills, vineyards, etc.), all I knew was how it made me feel - absolutely wonderful. Tranquil surroundings, stunning scenery, perfect weather, and an amazing place to stay, swim, drink and eat.

During the day, when we weren't by the sea, napping in the sun, or swimming in the pool overlooking the vineyards, we did some winery exploration.  In addition to the bottles of wine I smuggled back in my suitcase, AK and I also managed to find the most delicious olive oil (made and sold at one of the vineyards).  Only available in 3 or 10 litres, I knew this bad boy needed to come home with me - I was seriously tempted to ask the woman working there to turn her back so I could neck the sample bottle she'd taken out for us to try.  So full of flavour and with both a spicy and fruity edge, I was already brainstorming how I might be able to incorporate the olive oil into some baking.

What resulted from a bit of a think and a chat with Mama Cupcakes was the Lime, Olive Oil, Yogurt cake in the above photos.  Is it the most amazing cake I've ever made? nah, but it's not really meant to be.  Like my visit, the cake is simple and straightforward, the flavours are interesting and compliment each other extrememly well....and like I've mentioned, in terms of desserts / cakes etc...except for my addition of a wee bit of toasted coconut on top, it's pretty dang healthy too.  Which perhaps allows me to justify eating nearly half of it in nearly 24 hours?  Hmmm...

1. Mix together: 1/3 cup good olive oil, 3/4 cup greek yogurt (I used 2% fat), juice and peel of two limes, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs
2. Sift 1 and 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and add to 'wet' ingredients
3. Bake at 180 C for about 35 minutes or until lightly browned on top (I used a spring form pan, greased with a little olive oil) but imagine a loaf / muffin tin could work as well...just check on the timing
4. Once out of the oven I mixed a little confectionary sugar with a bit more lime juice and brushed the glaze on top
5. (Optional) I toasted some coconut and covered the top of the cake - a nice little addition

"Club Tropicana, cakes are free. Fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone!"

So in my last blog entry I mentioned giving some tangy lemon bars a go. Using one of my favourite cookbook's out there: The Foster's Market Cookbook: Favorite Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night I pulled out Sara Foster's lemon bar recipe and proceeded to NOT read the recipe through in it's entirety. Read on.

The first thing that struck me when perusing the recipe was the butter quantity.  Calling for 4.5 sticks (approx. 500 grams) of butter, I knew immediately I was going to reduce this.  I mean seriously, how could there possibly be so much just in the crust? I had visions of eating one and having butter coming out of my pores.  Definitely not a good look! So, even though one of the reasons that I love this cookbook is because everything is done with butter and cream abandon, I had to draw the line. Remember, I'm still reeling from my cupcake a day fix. 

Now, what I had missed when skimming the recipe is that unlike 'normal' recipes that you'd throw into an 11x9 inch pan - this recipe called for a 17x12 inch one - which I don't even own (Note: Search Amazon Kitchen/Housewares for one later).  So, ever the improvisor - I filled my 11x9 inch pan and then created about 20 of these 'lemon bar cupcakes'.  I baked the crust and the lemon filling in exactly the same way as the bars (only for slightly less time) and then whipped up a quick mascarpone whipped cream for the top.  Falling into perfect order, I had planned on making some lemony or limey cupcakes for May's Guilty Pleasures, which was themed 'Club Tropicana'.  So while not a conventional 'cupcake', they still worked a treat - especially with some paper umbrellas added for good measure.

Adapted from Sara Foster's recipe for lemon bars with blueberries.

I'm back...Relaxed, Blond, and Breathing

It's been a while. A long long while.  Legitimate excuses in no particular order:

1. Surprise surgery. Thinking that I was destined to have the permanent nickname of 'snotty' (we should all have such wonderful friends, thanks KC) - at the end of March I realised that my permanent sinus infection / cold / allergies were actually the result of some not so nice 'stuff' in my sinuses and nose.  We'll leave it there...presumably you are reading this blog because you enjoy eating...not the drama of my nose growths.

2. My sense of smell, or lack thereof (see item 1 above).  Now typically I have a nose of a bloodhound - I can smell someone eating chocolate in the front of a plane when I'm sat in the back next to the stinky toilet.

I had no concept of how bad my non existent sense of smell was until three days after my surgery.  In the shower I had a "HOLY SH!T" moment. My unscented shampoo I'd been using for nearly 2 months - smelled like a tropical coconut explosion.  Who knew? Clearly this lack of smell made my cooking desire wane a bit as well.

3. Resignation. Right before I found out I had to have surgery I resigned (after nearly 7 years) with Accenture.  I had a month of happy days, however filled with wrapping up work, planning surgery, and entertaining visitors.

4. A travelling food coma.  Yes, that's right people - I've been in a coma - unable to write for the past month because I've literally been eating and eating my way across the northeastern US and southern california.  Who eats a cupcake every day as a 'snack'? Yes, that's right - I did. I kid you not, I think I ate close to 15 cupcakes in a 2 week period.  Add to that a number of delights such as the Fenway Frank (and corresponding Bud Lights) amongst numerous other 'treats'. I am only now starting to emerge.

During my month-long coma I managed to grow a massive food baby.  She goes everywhere with me at the moment.  I'm hoping some nice London R&R and gym time sorts her out.  I'm looking for someone to adopt.  Nothing personal - but she's not the cutest - and is really annoying my jeans at the moment.

So folks - With the new nose, sense of smell, and new job - I'll be back cooking and baking ASAP.  Today has me liaising with some puckery lemon bars and chicken with a rhubarb and cherry sauce.  Will be back in the next few days to let you know how they turn out. Hopefully I'll manage to lose the food baby.  Any takers?