Parkin is a big childhood thing for me. Its traditionally eaten at this time of the year and bonfire night isn't complete without it. people think it's just gingerbread but it's much more than that! I've given this my own twist with a yummy topping


YORKSHIRE PARKIN

4ozs butter - unsalted
3ozs golden syrup
5ozs black treacle
4ozs sugar - I use golden caster when i can find it
8ozs plain flour
8ozs medium oatmeal
pinch of salt
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 large free range egg
3 pieces of crystallised ginger
some brown lump sugar
Method

Pre-heat the oven to 150C or gas mark 1.

Melt the butter. Add the syrup, treacle and sugar and heat over a very low heat till the sugar begins to dissolve. Be careful not to get it too hot, keep it warm rather than hot, no bubbling allowed or you'll start turning the sugar to caramel which would spoilt the texture of the cake.

Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and gradually add the liquid sugar and butter from the saucepan & the beaten egg. Mix to a soft consistency, adding a little milk if you need to.Don't over work the mixture.

Pour into a greased flat tin, a brownie tin is good for this.

whizz the crystallised ginger and lump sugar until you have a rough crumb. Sprinkle this on top of the cake.

Bake for 1 hour then remove from oven. Cool in tin for about 45 mins then turn out onto a wire rack and cool further.

Parkin should always be cut into squares.

I like a nice salad at any time of the year. This is one of my faves;


GOATS CHEESE, PINE NUT AND BEETROOT SALAD

serves 4

400g or so of a firm goats cheese, chevre is lovely and zesty
a bag of mixed salad leaves, rocket works well with this
a handful of pine nuts, toasted in a pan until a bit golden brown (don't leave alone for even a second or they'll burn and be bitter and nasty)
a packed of pre cooked beetroots, not the vinegared kind. usually I am all virtous and roast my own stuff but beetroots leave your hands and everything else an attractive shade of pink - nice in a handbag, not so good on your kitchen surfaces!

combine.

make a dressing with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a dash of maple syrup or if you can get it, pommegranate syrup - delish.

serve with a smile and some bread for a lunch or on it's won as a la de dah starter.

Enjoy!!

Last week was national curry week, so here's a recipe in honour of that. My mum used to make something similar, think hers was one of Madhur's recipes, but I think this might be even nicer...shh...don't tell her ;-)

I made this last week and put some in the freezer too. It was really nice and once I'd tweaked the amounts of spices and mistakenly put a stick of cinnamon in, not just a bit of one, it was really lovely. The cinnamon might be too much for some so if it's not your thing, hlaf a small stick would do. Don't miss out the curry leaves if you can help it, they really do add something.

Enjoy!

Black Eyed Bean & Mushroom Curry

Ingredients
2 x 410g/14oz tins of black-eye beans
About 4 open field mushrooms or 8 smaller chestnut/ closed cap
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 small stick of cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp chilli flakes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
10 fresh curry leaves, or dried if not available
1 medium red onion, chopped finely
5cm/2in piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
400ml water
150 ml coconut milk
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped to garnish/ finish

Method

Put the cumin, coriander, fennel and fenugreek seeds with the cinnamon stick into a frying pan. Roast stirring frequently until the spices change colour and you start to smell them.

Grind the roasted spices into a fine powder in a coffee grinder, and add chilli flakes.

Heat the oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Remove the pan from heat straight away and let the seeds and leaves crackle and pop.

Then, put the pan back on the heat, add the onion, the ginger and the garlic, and cook for 3-4 mins..

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to pan with he ground spice mixture, salt, and water, and bring to the boil.

Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk and cook for further 3-4 mins

Sprinkle with the with coriander and stir in a little.

Serve with rice and mango chutney and more sprigs of coriander.

As I am a big fan of Chai Tea Latte’s from Starbucks, I was pondering as to how I could make a meal of it. And then as I was making porridge the other day it came to me – chai tea porridge! (I can hear my mother groaning in disgust but it really is delicious!)

So here goes:


CHAI TEA PORRIDGE

Mug of porridge oats
Mug and a half of milk
A tea bag
A cinnamon stick
Cardamom pods
Cloves
Whole nutmeg
Demarara sugar


The night before, put a mug and a half of milk into a saucepan with a cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods (lightly bruised), three cloves and about a quarter of a nutmeg, grated.

Heat the milk to just about a boil then knock the heat right back.

Add a tea bag and allow tea and spices to infuse for 2-3 minutes.

Strain to remove tea bag and the spices.

You now have chai tea (you could drink it at this stage, make twice as much and then you can!)

Put chai tea back in pan, cover and leave on stove overnight if your kitchen is cold, or in the fridge if it isn’t!

In the morning, add a mug of porridge oats and a dessert spoon of demerara sugar. Make as you usually would porridge, heating gently until oats swell and thicken – usually takes about 2-3 minutes.

I eat with a dollop of rose petal jam which I found in my local Asian supermarket! Maple syrup might also be nice…

Whizz Bang!

I love this time of year and as I heard my first firework last night, I thought I'd post this today. It's not nutritious but it is delicious. Enjoy!


BONFIRE TOFFEE

Ingredients
1 lb sugar, preferably Demerara
1/3 pint water
1 1⁄4 ozs butter
2 level tablespoons black treacle
1 teaspoon vinegar, any will do, even malt!

Preparation

Get a cup of cold water ready. Put an ice cube in it to maintain coldness.

Put all the ingredients into a strong saucepan (I use an old metal one, no coating, from my student days). Stir over a steady heat until the sugar has all dissolved.

Bring to the boil and cook slowly.

To test for consistency stage drop about half a teaspoon of the mixture into the cup of cold water, if it sets hard then it is done, if still soft and chewy cook for a little longer and test again.

Oil or butter a shallow tin and either allow to set as a slab or mark in squared as toffee becomes partially set. I like to break when set as you get lovely sharp, spicky bits, but that isn’t so good for small kids. And the whole thing should be approached with caution my people with fillings, dentures etc – this stuff is sticky!!

Break when completely set.

Variations: sprinkle based up nuts on top – I like pecans

If the pans a bit of a mess, fill with water and them heat up again on stove – the set mixture will dissolve and you can them wash it up normally.

Here's the first of many recipes! I've just made this, infact I can still smell it...

ROASTED CHESTNUT, PARSNIP WITH LENTIL SOUP

Serves 4 with some left over for freezing or another day!

Ingredients:
250g red lentils
225g chestnuts still in their shells/skins
1.5 litres vegetable stock (I use oxo cubes - 3 for this much liquid)
A carrot
A smallish onion
good splash of olive oil

Pre heat oven to 200 degrees celcius

Put little slits in chestnuts shells and chop parsnip into chunks

Rub a little oil into your hands then rub all over the parsnips

Put chestnuts and parsnip into oven for 20 mins or so

Finely chop the onion and carrot into a small dice.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the chopped vegetables and allow to slowly soften until onion is translucent

Add the lentils and the stock. Bring to the boil then simmer until lentils are soft (about 30 minutes).

Shell the chestnuts (best done sat down with a cuppa and someone to help - thanks Dom!)
Add to soup mixture along with parsnip chunks and simmer for a further 15 minutes or so.

Liquidise until smooth as a babies bum, adding water to get consistency you like – I add about 1/2 pint.

Serve. You can garnish with fried sage leaves and/ or pancetta if you like. I think this would be a good one for near christmas time. or infact any time! It tastes velvety and sweet and unctuous. We will be having it for lunches and my colleague Gillian will also get treated to a portion or two!

I love food, I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to shop for food, I love to read food magazines, recipe books, watch food TV programmes. I love to plan meals and I ALWAYS know what my next meal is and where it's coming from! I'm obsessed and happily so. Food to me is the source of life; it's comforting, inspiring, celebratory, romantic, friendly, exciting, relaxing. So this blog is a record of what I am eating and cooking and a way of sharing my recipes and musings on food with anyone and everyone out there!

Tuck in!