Maisie's Bread and Butter Pudding

Maisie and I have had a few conversations of late on food my Mum used to make me when I was growing up, Maisie thought Bread and Butter Pudding sounded really funny and not real pudding at all, I was shocked that it was something we'd never made together so set to put that right.

You'll need:

85g of butter

6-8(depending on dish size) slices of thick bread, we used wholemeal which gives a nutty flavour. 

55g of sultanas 

3 large eggs

300ml of milk

150ml of Double cream

55g of Caster Sugar

Some mixed spice

Handful of soft brown sugar.

 Pre heat oven to gas mark 4(about 180c) and get your helper to grease a oven proof dish. 

Cut away crusts from bread and cut into triangles, butter both sides, then lay out the bread in the dish while hiding fruit in-between each layer.

In whisking jug, add eggs, milk, cream, heaped spoonful of mixed spice and caster sugar. Whisk well, and pour over the bread in dish, leave mixture for about 20minutes so the bread can soak up the mixture. 

Poke down any sultanas not hidden well so they don't burn in the oven.

The joys of having a kitchen helper like Maisie is how proud they look when they've made something and know they'll to eat it themselves late on.

Sprinkle over handful of soft brown sugar, and and a little more mixed spice.

Place on a baking tray and into oven for about half an hour, or until golden brown on top.

 Opps, ours got a little overdone on sticky out parts but tasted delicious. Maisie was very impressed and asked what it would taste like if we put Nutella on the bread. 

People I have a genius living with me, why have I never thought of that? 

We'll keep you updated on the Nutella pudding. 

Please enjoy, and if you try our recipe and enjoy it please let me know.

Love Amanda.x.

Happy Samhain

Samhain is another name for Halloween, the word means Summer Sunset or Summers End

Our pumpkin, carved by my lovely Husband Stu.

Before the fancy dress, sweet sellers and merchandisers got hold of this day it was traditionally celebrated as a harvest festival, and a way to  honour the dead. It was the time when you choose which livestock to kill and did a stocktake of the grains store, and then beginning of Winter. Traditional feast were had using seasonal foods,of beets, apples, corn, nuts, pumpkins, cider, mulled wines and gingerbreads. A table place was often set for departed loved ones, and they were toasted, made part of the proceedings.

Being close to the Scottish Border means a lot of their strong Celtic customs are kept here too. When I was little we carved a Turnip, a tradition from Jack of Lantern and then went out Guising in a handmade costume around our small village, I remember being given fruit and money but never sweets.

Another custom was to divine your future Husband, I remember my Nana trying to show me one Halloween.  You were meant to peel an apple all in one long peel, think of your future Husband and throw the peel over your shoulder, and it would spell the First letter of his name. I suppose in my case it did, as it always just looked like an S to me.

These days Halloween in Britain is hot on the heels of the Americans, the traditions that British travels took over there have be changed and sent back. But I think it's still important to remember it's roots in The Harvest.

So today to celebrate Samhain, I made Damson Gin, Pumpkin Soup and Roast Pumpkin Seeds, as well as dressing up my children and giving out sweeties.

Pumpkin Soup 

Ingredients: Big Pumpkin(fleshy big)

2 chopped large onions

4 chopped carrots

2 cloves of garlic 

2 pints of veg. stock

Mustard seeds, cinnamon, turmeric 1 tablespoon each

Splash of milk(or substitute)

Olive oil

Take one lovely fat pumpkin. Take out seedy gloop but don't throw away, place it in a bowl for later. Using a metal spoon or ice cream scoop, scrape out the pumpkin flesh. This way you have a thin shell left to carve.

Heat oil and sauté onions, add garlic and spices and stir through the onions. Add pumpkin and carrots, muddle with spices and onions. Add the veg stock and boil for 20 minutes, then simmer till veg is soft.

While simmering add the milk to give creamed appearance, and using hand blender give it all a whizz.

Hmm, yummy soup.If you like spice you can add chillies at the beginning with the onions. 

Add salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with squishy bread.

Or if you feel very posh some cubes of feta cheese.

 Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Now don't you throw away that gloop from the middle of the pumpkin, mix with some cold water and skim the seeds from the top onto a kitchen towel. 

Lay the seeds onto dry baking tray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 Bake on gas mark 5 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. They could do with a shake in the middle of the time. Then you these little beauties.

Which of course you eat instead of your children's Trick or Treat chocolate, won't you?

The Damson Gin can wait for another post, I've got soup to eat.

Happy Samhain, Blessed Be.

Amanda.x.

Yumola Granola

In the new year everyone's thoughts turn to dieting and healthy food, this is one of my favourites to fill you up at the start of the day.  

However it seems to be eaten as a snack food in my house, and my Husband swears it's the best thing to nibble while drinking whiskey. 

If you have allergies that could be affected by this recipe, you can replace any of the nuts, seeds or berries with others, it's a very versatile recipe, try using coconut, dried bananas, sultanas etc..

Ingredients

400grams of wholemeal oats

2 handfuls of dried cranberries

2 handfuls of sunflower seeds

1 handful of shelled and chopped walnuts

1 handful of sesame seeds

1 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg

150grams of light brown sugar

6 tablespoons of runny honey(2 big squirts in it's in a squeezy tub)

80grams of butter

2 oven trays

Large storage jar.

Pre heat oven to gas mark 3(160c)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, trying not to pick at them as you do.

 

Melt the butter, honey and sugar in a large pan, once heated but not bubbling, add  the dry mix and stir through until it all clumps together.

Spread mixture across the trays and place in oven, after 10 minutes remove and rough up mixture so it forms small clumps, put back in oven for 5 minutes, then take out to completely cool.

Once cool place mixture in air tight container, mine filled a 3 1/3lb glass jar. 

Sorry some of the measurements are vague but I tend to guess most cooking, if you make this let me know how it turns out.


Enjoy Amanda.x. 

Beetroot & Orange Chutney Recipe

Beetroot & Orange Chutney. 

Well my blog seems to becoming very food focused at the moment, but please bear with me crafters more stuff for your enjoyment will appear soon.  But for now my latest recipe, which came about as my Mum delivered a huge bag of fresh dug beets to us. I hope you enjoy.

You'll need:

1lb of Beetroot(I think, sorry I didn't measure it it was about 1 large bunch)

3 large oranges

2 onions

3 apples

500g soft brown sugar

2 bottles of Red wine vinegar(enough to cover ingredients) can be substituted with other vinegar if needed

Tbsp Ground mixed spice

Tbsp Coriander seeds

Tbsp Mustard seeds

Cut up beetroot(you may wear gloves to do this,but I like the pink finger look), apple,and onion into small pieces, place in pan, add the juice and zest from the oranges. 

Add all spices and sugar then stir and small the lovely chunky mixture, pour the red wine vinegar over it all, and bring to the boil then simmer till beetroot will mush, it took about hour and 20minutes for mine.

Give it all a good mash up, and thoroughly stir before placing in sterilised jars.

You should leave it to mature for a month but it does taste nice straight away, we had it with cheese sandwiches which was just yummy. 

It will last a month after opening if kept in a fridge but you'll eat it before then. Oh and it smells of Christmas. Lovely.

Enjoy Amanda.