Spicy roots soup, a classic winter warmer

In the spirit of eating healthy I have been prepping some easy lunches that I can take to work, I love soup but only homemade hits the spot for me. By making your own soup you are in control of the ingredients, the level of spicing and also the portion size, and I don't know about anybody else but I can't eat a huge portion of soup (i.e can sized) so taking a packed portion works out great for me.

The clipping from my scrap book that the recipe is based on, I think its from a Tesco magazine.

Recently I noticed in Aldi they had some BPA free snap lockable soup containers on special buy so I took the plunge and purchased a set. I am hoping that this will encourage me to take my portions to work for a nutritious healthy lunch, so far so good.

My new soup container

Its an easy recipe and uses the odd root vegetable you have in your fridge or vegetable rack, the recipe also uses very little oil so its low fat and has lovely gentle spicing which enhances the sweet earthy vegetable flavours in the soup.

What you need

• 1 onion chopped (red or white)
• 2 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Couple of carrots, peeled and chopped ( I use organic if I can get them as I find they are sweeter)
• 1 small swede - peeled and chopped
• 1 large white potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 large parsnip - peeled and chopped
• A litre or so of vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of dried red chilli (I used crumbled whole ones)
• A little yogurt to serve - optional or some omega 3 seeds
• A little rapeseed oil

What you do 

• Gently fry the onion and garlic in a little oil in a large saucepan, until softened slightly.
• Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes until they are starting softened and very slightly caramelised.
• Add the spices to the pan and the vegetable stock and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
• Blitz with a hand blender or in a liquidiser until you reach your desired soup consistency, you may need to add water.
• Re heat to simmering point and serve swirled with natural yogurt or sprinkled with seeds
• Delicious.
• This recipe freezes beautifully

I am linking this recipe up to "Vegetable palette" over at A2K (Allotment to Kitchen), who's theme this month is Detox recipes. 

                               

Also to "Extra Veg" over on Utterly Scrummy Food and also Fuss Free Flavours as this soup contains lots of extra veg.

                                                     

And "No Croutons Required" hosted this month by Lisa's Kitchen a vegetarian challenge for soups and salads, co hosted by Tinned Tomatoes .

                                                           

And a new challenge "Recipe Clippings" as this is based on a recipe I have in my trusty soups scrapbook, this is hosted our on Farmers Girl Kitchen

                                    

And lastly Tea Time Treats, the theme this month being packed lunches and hosted this month over at Hedgecombers. A challenge jointly hosted by Lavender and Lovage.

                                                        

Chestnut maple snowflakes

For quite a while I  have been wanting to experiment with chestnut flour, I think this stems from a holiday memory in idyllic Tuscany, when we stayed in a house over looking a chestnut grove and in it was the cutest rustic drying house. I was fascinated with the gnarly trees, the nuts and the recipes they were used in, chestnut flour is used in Italy to make pasta, pancakes and cakes amongst other things.

Chestnut flour is naturally gluten free and is something you will need to seek out if you want to bake with it as its not routinely stocked in most health food shops, this is possibly due to a shortish shelf life but you can obtain it easily by mail order and most shops will happily order it in for you. If you are baking for a coeliac ensure the flour is truly gluten free.

Chestnuts are synonymous with the festive season so I decided to come up with a biscuit recipe which uses this lovely flour, combining it with maple syrup to give a lovely smoky earthy flavour and use my lovely snowflake cutters to give a seasonal twist to this bake. 

This recipe makes about 12 to 15 cookies, depending on the size of the cutters you use. These would make a lovely gift wrapped in cellophane and lovely festive ribbon or a parchment package. Don't expect a crunchy biscuit these are more tender, the snowflakes aren't overtly sweet either.

What you need

• 12 tbsp chestnut flour (I used Shipton Mill) and little extra for rolling out purposes
• 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 egg 
• Icing sugar for sprinkling purposes

What you do

• Mix all the ingredients in a food processor
• Tip out on to a floured piece of baking parchment, roll out to just a little thinner than a pound coin and using a cutter to cut out the snowflakes.
• Place on a baking tray (I use a silicon sheet to ensure they don't stick) 
• Bake in a pre heated oven at 180c for 10 -15 minutes until just turning golden
• Cool on wire rack, they firm up more on cooling
• Sprinkle with icing sugar or ice with glace icing if you like.
• Store in a tin

This month we are linking up with Treat Petite created by Cakeyboi and hosted this month by The Baking Explorer, the theme this month being Christmas. 

                                                             

                                                              

We are also linking up to Family Foodies hosted by Bangers n Mash and Eat your Veg, the theme being festive foodie traditions, as these snowflakes are liable to become a new tradition in this household as they are delicious and ideal to baked as a gift particularly for adults.

                                      

And lastly December's Teat time treats hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and Jane at Hedgecombers. This months theme is Glitter, sprinkles, candles and shiny stuff, this bake I think qualifies as it has lots of sprinkled icing sugar and the staging includes candles.

                                         

                                                                

Sticky parkin - ideal for halloween or a traditional bonfire night treat

Parkin is a traditional bonfire night treat in Lancashire and this recipe unlike quite a lot of other recipes this immediately has that essential sticky quality that a good parkin needs, easily made gluten free this is also an ideal treat for those unexpected trick or treaters on Halloween.

Featuring a warming mixture of spices and lots of lovely treacly flavours and its flavour improves even further with keeping.

What you need

• 125g butter or quality margarine
• 125g dark brown sugar
• 220g treacle
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150g plain flour (gluten free works fine)
• 2 heaped tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg
• Good pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g oatmeal (fine or medium - ensure gluten free if necessary)
• 60ml of skimmed milk
• 9" by 9" square tin, lined with baking parchment

What you do

• Preheat your oven to 150c (fan) or 170c (std oven)
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar and treacle, once melted add the bicarbonate of soda and allow to cool slightly.
• In a large baking bowl, place the flour, Ginger, nutmeg, cloves,oatmeal and baking powder. Mix well together and then add the melted treacle mixture
• Stir together and add the milk, mix until you have a very loose liquid cake batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes or so until a cocktail stick comes out of the cake clean.
• Cool in the tin until its safe to handle (normally about 30 mins) and then cool fully on a wire rack
• Cut into squares to serve, stores well wrapped in an airtight tin.

I'm linking up to Tea Time Treats co-created by Lavender and Lovage and  this month hosts Hedgecombers, the theme this month being BONFIRE NIGHT!

                                                     

Mediterranean vegetable and herb quiche - gluten free

I have been secretly working in the background perfecting a tasty gluten free pastry that is suitable for using as a quiche base. If you make pastry with just standard gluten free flour its rather tasteless and very crumby and grainy, I have made gluten free pastry using cheese to help bind it and create flour but was looking for something a little less cheesy (pardon the pun) so I thought I would experiment with mixing buckwheat flour with normal GF flour and voila it works, creating a more wholemeal style pastry which is tasty when used as a quiche base.

I decided to make a filling using the ubiquitus courgette, pimped by the addition of a little chopped sun dried tomato and some garden fresh herbs

Excellent hot or cold this quiche it makes a great family meal, also would be ideal in a lunch box with some salad.

What you need

• 100g plain gluten free flour
• 100g buckwheat flour (ensure gluten free - not all is)
• 125g salted butter - cold
• Few sprigs of fresh thyme - chopped finely
• 4 - 6 tbsp cold water
• Egg - beaten 
• A loose bottomed quiche tin - about 24cm across - Lightly brushed with oil

For the filling

• 3 small courgettes - topped and tailed and chopped into thin slices
• 2-3 shallots - peeled and finely chopped
• Chopped sun dried tomatoes
• Thyme, oregano and rosemary - chopped
• Olive oil
• 300ml creme fraiche
• 3 eggs
• Freshly ground Pepper
• 100g cheddar cheese - coarsely grated

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 190c
• To make the pastry its easiest by food processor, add the flours, thyme and cold butter, blitz until its a rough breadcrumb texture.
• Add the cold water little by little with the processor running until the pstry just starts to ball
• Tip onto a lightly floured surface and form a ball
• Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes before rolling to  fit your quiche tin.
• Chill again for about 10 minutes or so before baking the case blind for about 15 minutes, remove your baking beads (rice works well)
• Brush with a little beaten egg and then bake again for 10 minutes, remove from oven.
• Now we will make the filling , fry off the shallots and courgettes until softened, add the chopped sun dried tomatoes and herbs to the pan, allow to cool slightly.
• Add the vegetables to the quiche base, place on a baking tray ready to fill with the egg mixture
• Mix the eggs and creme fraiche together and pour over the vegetables, top off the quiche with the grated cheese.
• Bake for 35 minutes or so until golden and just a little wobbly in the middle.
• Serve slightly cooled or cold

I'm linking up to Cooking with Herbs - the theme this month being mediterrean food, this post contains thyme, oregano and rosemary. Hosted this month over at Lavender and Lovage.

And also to Tea Time Treats which is sharing the same theme as Cooking with Herbs, hosted this month by The Hedgecombers.

Lastly to Simple and in Season hosted this month by Franglais Kitchen.

Earl Grey tea loaf - gluten free

Frankly I don't think you can beat a tea loaf, especially one which is Earl Grey scented. This very British bake is great for taking on picnics or in school lunch boxes and the like, it is also better after a couple of days wrapped and stored in an airtight tin.

To ensure a moist tasty cake please soak the dried fruit for at least a couple of hours in the tea so it doesn't rob the cake of its moisture whilst baking, this is particularly important if you are baking gluten free. I have been experimenting recently with mixing my own gluten free flour rather than relying on ready mixed and must say that I am impressed with the results being achieved.

Earl Grey tea dates from the 1830's and is reputed to be named after the Prime Minister of that time, a black tea with the addition of the oil of the bergamot orange.

What you need

• 275g Dried mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, cranberries, apricots are all lovely)
• 125ml strongly brewed Earl Grey tea
• 90g softened butter or quality vegetable margarine
• 125g golden caster sugar
• 180g plain gluten free flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp xanthum gum
• 125ml warmed skimmed milk ( I use the microwave)
• 2 eggs - free range

1 x 2lb loaf tin base lined or use a liner (I pick them up from the local £1 shop)

What you do

• Soak the fruit in the strongly brewed Earl Grey tea for at least 2 hours
• Once the fruit is soaked and swelled then you are ready to bake
• Pre heat the oven to 160c 
• Beat the softened butter and sugar together in a large bowl or use a mixer.
• Once soft light and fluffy add the rest of the ingredients except the dried fruit 
• Mix until well combined, then fold in the dried fruit
• Pour into the prepared tin and place in the oven
• Bake for 50 -60 minutes, the cake is ready when a skewer inserted comes out clean
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then cool fully on a wire rack
• Once fully cool wrap in foil to store
• Fabulous serve buttered or on its own.

As this cake is perfect picnic food I am linking up to Tea Time Treats whose theme this month is PICNIC FOOD, a blog challenge hosted by Lavender and Lovage and Hedgecombers.

                                         

Blackcurrant and almond traybake - gluten free

This year from the garden we have had a bumper crop of blackcurrants and quite a few are now in the freezer awaiting my attention. I have already made a few jars of jam for the store cupboard and have made some tumbleberry froyo lollies as well, so as usual my thoughts turn to baking. Blackcurrants have a distinct flavour and need careful pairing if you are to get the best from them, somehow and I'm not sure how I came up with it, that they would combine well with almonds to give a twist on the traditional bakewell tart flavour combination. So this moist, tasty traybake was born, I just love the wild purple colours of the berries in the bake.

What you need

• 200g softened butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 free range eggs
• 200g ground almonds
• 1 tsp almond extract
• Approx 200g blackcurrants
• Handful of flaked almonds

Baking tray - lined

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180C
• Mix the softened butter and caster sugar together in a mixer until pale and fluffy
• Add the eggs, ground almond and almond extract to the bowl and mix until smooth
• Pour into the prepared tin, strew with the blackcurrants and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
• Place in the oven 
• Bake for 40 or so minutes or until golden and firm in the middle.
• Cool in the tin
• Serve in generous squares 

I am linking up to teatimes treats with this post, the them this month being traybakes. Created by Lavender and Lovage and Hedgecombers hosted this month by  Hedgecombers.
            
                                                                
               

                                                         

Gluten free rhubarb and rose cake

Yet another Rhubarb recipe, this one is combined with rose cordial in a gluten free cake mixture, satisfyingly tasty and better eaten the next day this a great recipe for lunch boxes in the summertime. Not overtly sweet the rhubarb really sings with the subtle hint of rose.

Currently in the garden rose "Gertrude Jekyll" is flowering prolifically,so this is the inspiration for this bake, a deep rose pink highly fragranced David Austin rose with ample double blooms. Roses always mean summer to me, their luscious fragrances and ample flowers and also quintessentially English.

A delicious bake with a good crumb studded with tangy juicy chunks of rhubarb.

What you need

• 3 or 4 talks rhubarb, washed and chopped into 1cm ish chunks
• 1 1/2 cups of ground almonds
• 1 cup of gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 150g softened butter
• 3/4 cup light brown soft sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 tbsp rose syrup
• 4 eggs - free range

23 cm cake tin, base lined (ideally loose bottomed or spring form)

What you do 

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Toss the prepared rhubarb into the flour and ground almond mixture
• Beat the sugar and softened butter together until light and slightly fluffy, add the vanilla and rose syrup
• Add the eggs one by one , don't worry to much if the mixture curdles slightly keep mixing, add a little of the flour / almond mixture
• Now fold in the rest of the flour, almond and rhubarb mixture
• Scrape into prepared cake tin and bake for about 45 mins or so , bake until golden, slightly risen and done when tested with a cocktail stick.
• Allow to cool in tin
• Wrap and store once cool, its has a better flavour if kept for 24 hours.

I am linking up this post to this month's Tea time treats , hosted in turn by Karen over on Lavender and Lovage and Hedgecomber. This month's theme is Floral, I think this more than qualifies.

                                                                 

I am also linking up to Ren Behan with her Simple and in Season campaign. As this is a very seasonal recipe as it features rhubarb from the garden and is decorated with fallen petals from Gertrude Jeykll rose.

                                             

The best fruited buns, ever !

These buns are amazing, soft, aromatic and stuffed full of fruit and spices, the perfect combination of flavours and great toasted or served simply buttered. Ok, so perfect buns aren't an instant thing but I promise you these buns are worth the additional effort and like any bread recipe its all about planning what you will do in the time your dough is working.

The other good thing is that you are in control of what you want in your buns, so in this mix we have a little crystallized ginger and chopped figs alongside the more traditional, raisins, sultanas and citron peel (hand chopped, ready chopped peel is vile), and you wouldn't want to spoil these amazing buns. To create the soft texture you need to use some fat in your dough, lard and dripping work well but you can also use white chocolate or even milk chocolate at a push, it makes the dough have a soft crumb, just the texture you want for your buns.

The buns would be great for festive celebrations and would easily adapted for Easter too, but frankly you'll love them so much you will eat them all year round !

What you need

• 600g strong white bread flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 14g dried yeast (2 pkts)
• Approx 120ml warm water but this will depend on your flour and the temperature in your kitchen
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (you could maple syrup or honey instead)
• 25g caster sugar
• 50g white fat (dripping, lard, chocolate)
• 300g dried fruit mixed (whatever you like)
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spices (ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon, feel free to mix and match)
• 1 tsp finely ground salt
• 3 eggs - free range please
• Another egg for glazing purposes

What you do 

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, I always add a little flour as I find this get the yeast activated more quickly and leave in a warm place until frothy and the yeast is clearly active.
• Warm the milk and the syrup, caster sugar, white fat until melted and then add the spices, salt and the dried fruits. Allow to cool.
• Add the beaten eggs to the cooled milk mixture.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast mixture and egg and milk mixture, stir until you have an loose dough. Leave this to rest for about 10 minutes covered, then knead again, do this again a couple of times but leaving it rest longer in between.
• You should eventually have a soft well combined active dough, divide this your require number of buns, I went for 10 but these were monster sized.
• Form balls and press flat, leave these to rest again on oiled trays until doubled in size, covered in plastic so the dough doesn't form a skin ( as this is an enriched dough it may take several hours)
• Bake at 200c in a pre heated oven, brush the tops with a beaten egg if you want a shiny top.
• They will be ready after about 15 minutes or so when well risen and golden on top, don't overcook them as they will go dry.
• Cool on a wire rack and devour slathered with butter, toasted or just as they are.

I am entering this post in the Tea time Treats challenge hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and Kate who blogs over at What Kate baked. The theme is "Dried Fruit" and I think this bun more than qualifies.