The Muffins

The Muffin

This, it could be argued, is where it all began, that I realise I quite liked cooking. Baking was always something I steered clear of, thought it wasn't for me - yes, I'll say it, I thought it was a bit girly. 

But I love muffins, I really do. Breakfast or pudding, whenever you want, with whatever you want in them. And as I've said previously, if I love it, I have to be able to do it. 

So I found this great recipe on the BBC Good Food website for a muffin with a healthy makeover (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/359605/the-ultimate-makeover-blueberry-muffins). The original recipe was for blueberry muffins, that classic of the bakery, but you really can adapt it to anything. By using, for example, buttermilk instead of milk and oil instead of butter/fat, these muffins really aren't bad for you at all. 

The muffins I made this time round were cranberry, orange and nutmeg. 

Ingredients

5 tbsp rapeseed oil

225g self-raising flour

115g wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

zest 1 orange and juice

85g golden caster sugar

50g light muscovado sugar

1 tbsp nutmeg (I love nutmeg - add what you think best)

1 small very ripe banana with black skin (about 85g peeled weight)

1 egg

284ml pot buttermilk

225g fresh (can be frozen) cranberries

Method

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Use 1 tsp oil to lightly oil a 12-hole muffin tin (or use paper cases). Mix both flours with the baking powder and orange zest. Reserve 1 tbsp caster sugar, then stir the rest into the flour with the muscovado. Add

Mash the banana well. In another bowl beat the egg, then stir in the banana, buttermilk and oil. Using a large metal spoon, very lightly stir into the flour mix, just to combine. Over-mixing will make the muffins tough. Toss in the cranberries and give just a few turns of the spoon to carefully stir them in without crushing. Add a couple of splashes or squeezes of orange juice. Stir in.

Spoon the mixture into the tin - each hole should be very full. Bake for 20-25 mins until risen and golden.

Mix the reserved caster sugar with some of the orange juice and some more nutmeg. When the muffins are done, remove from the oven, then brush with the sugar and orange mixture while they are still hot. Gently loosen the edges of each muffin with a knife, then leave in the tin for 15 mins to cool a little as they're very delicate while hot. Remove to a wire rack. Best eaten the day of making, but will keep for up to 2 days.

The Moroccan Soup

The Moroccan and Chickpea Soup

Soup is great. It can be really healthy, warming and really filling. Great for making in big batches at the start of the week to do your lunches, just how your Mother would like. 

I make all sorts of different soups, and I tried this one the other day. It is a bit different to what I would normally make, but it is great. Perhaps better as a summer soup, but I'm not sure I could explain why!

This Morroccan and Chickpea soup is originally from the BBC Good Food website (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1499/moroccan-chickpea-soup).


Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
600ml hot vegetable stock
400g can chopped plum tomatoes with garlic
400g can chickpeas , rinsed and drained
100g frozen broad beans
zest and juice ½ lemon
large handful coriander or parsley

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the onion and celery gently for 10 mins until softened, stirring frequently. Tip in the cumin and fry for another min.

Turn up the heat, then add the stock, tomatoes and chickpeas, plus a good grind of black pepper. Simmer for 8 mins. Throw in broad beans and lemon juice, cook for a further 2 mins. Season to taste, then top with a sprinkling of lemon zest and chopped herbs. 

The Fritatta

The Frittata

I love frittatas. They are essentially half way between an omelette and a flan, and you can fill them with all sorts of great things. It is egg based, with no pastry, so a great source of protein without the extra carbs or fat, and really filling too. They often come with cheese in though, so just be careful how much you use. The recipe makes a frittata that fills an average frying pan. It tastes great cold too so I often make extra and have it for lunches, etc. On this occasion I made a red onion, goats cheese and spinach one, but there is plenty of scope to mix it up. I regularly make a sweet potato, feta and spinach one which is great too. If making this one, the only difference is that you should crumble the feta in to the egg mix before adding to the pan.

Ingredients.

6 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan, freshly grated
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion
Approx. 150g of spinach
Goats cheese (enough for 5/6 thin slices)

Method

Slice your red onion into decent sized slices. Heat the oil in the frying pan and add the onion. Fry over a medium heat until turning golden, but still with a bit of crunch. Add the spinach to the pan and allow to wilt over the heat. 

Meanwhile break the eggs into a bowl, and beat with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and some dried herbs too if you fancy. Grate in a little parmesan. Mix together. Pour the egg mixture over the red onion and spinach, and quickly spread to make sure the veg is well dispersed amongst the fritatta. Take the slices of goats cheese and spread them around the top of the fritatta, pushing them into the mixture slightly. 

Continue to heat on the hob until the fritatta starts to set, and is solid around most of the edge. Transfer to a warm grill, and cook under the grill until cooked through. 

I often serve with an avocado and feta salad, with some balsamic vinegar and pine nuts on top. A great meal; filling, healthy, and tasty. Enjoy!

The Beef and Ale Stew

The Beef and Ale Stew

Oh yes, some proper grub. And grub does not get any more wholesome and comforting than a beef and ale stew. For me, this is the stuff of dreams, if you'll excuse the hyperbole. 

The recipe is from the new Hairy Dieters cook book, from the Hairy Bikers. There are some great ideas in there for healthier options, even if you're not looking to diet and lose weight. 

The recipe uses a dark ale or stout, and I used a bottle of Christmas Stout from Tom Woods, a local brewer based near where I grew up in North Lincolnshire, with a great liquorice taste. You'll be fine using Guinness, Murphy's or such like though.

I served it with mashed potato, made by cooking some leeks and spring onions on the hob with a bay leaf, a knob of butter, just a splash of milk, and some pepper, then mixing them in with the potatoes and about 100ml of crème fraiche. Also served with some asparagus and cauliflower. 

I also filled out the stew more than the original recipe did. They originally put parsnips in, but I used sweet potato and swede instead. I also added some fresh rosemary, and some caraway seeds, which gives stews an amazing taste.

Ingredients.

Serves 6.

1tbsp olive oil.
2 medium onions.
4 tbsp plain flour.
Salt.
2 tsp mixed herbs (plus rosemary and caraway seeds if adding)
1kg lean braising beef
1 bay leaf
500ml dark ale or stout
250ml stock (use beef if you can, but not a problem if you cannot)
2 tbsp tomato puree (as I often do, I used tomato ketchup instead!)
2 tsp caster sugar
5 medium carrots - peeled, thickly sliced
2 parsnips (or whatever veg you choose to use, you really can throw anything in)
Freshly ground black pepper.

Method.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180C. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the onions, and fry over a medium heat for about 5mins until lightly browned. Remove the pan from the heat.

Put the flour, salt, and herbs in a large bowl and season with plenty of pepper. Trim the beef of any hard fat and sinew, then cut into rough 3cm cubes. Toss the meat in the flour until evenly coated, then tip into the casserole dish.

Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato puree/ketchup and sugar. Stir well and bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. At this point the original recipe has you cook the beef for an 1hr and 30mins then add the veg for another 45mins, but I like to get it all in together from the start, as I think the texture of the veg after a long, slow cook is great. It is up to you which way you do it. Either way the casserole will cook for 2hrs 15mins, until the beef and vegetables are tender. 

Serve with your mash and/or greens. Also amazing with some dumplings, which can be really easily made and can be healthy too, by just using some plain flour, some wholemeal flour, some butter, and a splash of water, plus seasoning. The meal goes great with a glass of red wine or the rest of the stout you used in the stew. Enjoy!

The Lemon Tart

The Lemon Tart. 

The original recipe for this lemon tart is from the BBC Good Food website. Find it here: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/644635/the-ultimate-makeover-lemon-tart.

While slightly high in carbs and sugar, this lemon tart is low in calories and fat, and tastes amazing. I needed to make a pudding, and thought I'd try something new. I am no good at making pastry, but with a little help did a decent enough job. I would say however, I needed to keep it in the oven for longer than the time it suggests, because it hadn't set enough, even with the hour chilling in the fridge after. 

Trust me, I would never have thought the day would come when I'd be baking a lemon tart, and then showing off about it, but if I can, anyone can. 

Ingredients

For the pastry.

50g butter , cut in pieces
140g plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil
1 medium egg yolk

For the filling.

3 medium eggs , plus 2 medium egg whites
140g icing sugar , plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (about 4 lemons)
125ml lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
200ml tub half-fat crème fraîche

Method. 


Rub the butter into the flour until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar, then make a well and use a round-bladed knife to stir in the oil, egg yolk and 1½-2 tbsp cold water until dough comes together. Without overhandling, gather into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out so it fits a 23 x 2cm loose-bottom flan tin. Ease the pastry into the tin, then trim the edges by rolling the rolling pin over the top. Press the pastry into the flutes so it sits very slightly proud of the edge (this extra height helps in case of any shrinkage). Lightly prick the pastry base with a fork, then chill for about 10 mins. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat the eggs and egg whites together with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then gradually beat in the eggs. If the mix is at all lumpy, simply beat with a wire whisk. Stir in the lemon zest and the juice. Leave to stand so the lemon flavour can develop.

Sit the chilled pastry case on a baking sheet. Line with baking parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 20 mins until well set. Carefully lift out the beans and paper, then bake the pastry case for another 3-5 mins until the base is cooked and pale golden.

Strain the lemon mixture through a sieve. Beat the crème fraîche in a medium bowl until smooth, then slowly stir in the lemon mix until well blended. Transfer to a jug, then carefully pour two thirds into the warm pastry case. Place in the oven with the oven shelf half out, pour in the rest of the filling, then carefully slide the shelf back in. Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Bake for 25-30 mins until barely set with a slight wobble in the middle. 
Cool for about 1 hr, then serve with a light dusting of icing sugar. Best eaten the same day.