Plumbrillo

After a chaotic couple of months, we are installed in our new house and settling into our new village. Now that I'm feeling a bit better (thank you for all the good wishes) and have unearthed the kitchen equipment, I'm back to the stove and cooking away.

I was a little sad to leave the fabulous garden at our rental property complete with its many fruit trees. The plums were just ripening as the time came to leave and I hated to leave them on the tree for the next tenants. No need to worry though. As fortune would have it, I share an office with someone currently faced with a serious glut of plums. Last week I came home laden with four bags full of the little beauties and with a head full of ideas for transforming them into delicious treats. Four kilos of plums is quite a few to deal with. Especially considering that I'm not especially fond of stone fruit (odd, I know - it is a textural thing). I do love the flavour of plum though so I was keen to preserve the flavour whilst losing the fleshy texture I'm less fond of.

First up was this superb accompaniment to cheese. Plumbrillo is a fruity take on the superb membrillo which is often served alongside Manchego cheese. It is essentially a fruit 'cheese'. A thick, almost jelly-like confection which slices neatly and goes well with lots of cheeses.

It is easy to make and looks very impressive with its gleaming plum-red colour. The only hard part is pushing the cooked plums through a metal sieve. Next time I think I'll invest in a mouli which would make this job much less time-consuming! Whilst this looks best set into small moulds and turned out onto the cheese board, I actually poured most of mine into sterilised jam jars. This way it will keep for up to 6 months and will make nice presents at Christmas time. If you can find small, ramekin-shaped jars, these would be perfect.

I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food website, a great favourite recipe source.

Plumbrillo

Enough to fill approx. 7 small jam jars

Ingredients:

2kg ripe black or red plums

1kg jam/preserving sugar

1. Wash the plums. Quarter and stone all fruit and place in a large preserving pan along with 500ml water.

2. Bring to boil and simmer for around 45 mins until the plums have completely cooked down and are pulpy and dark.

3. Now for the hard bit! Pour the plums into a large bowl. Rinse out the preserving pan and then push the plum mixture through a nylon sieve (or use a mouli) into the cleaned pan. Try to extract as much of the pulpy flesh as you possibly can.

4. Stir in the sugar and heat, stirring all the time until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Bubble for approx 25 minutes until you have a thick puree. The mixture is ready when a wooden spoon leaves a trail along the bottom of the pan for a second before the puree floods the gap.

5. Pot into sterilised pots or jars and seal. Leave to set and cool before labelling. Keep in a cool dark place for up to 6 months. 

Decorating the tree with Christmas biscuits

I had a thoroughly festive weekend. On Friday evening I travelled down to the beautiful city of Bath to meet my mother. We stayed overnight in a hotel just outside the city centre and on Saturday morning headed into the crowded centre to visit the Christmas market. It was fantastic (..if heaving with other people). The scent of mulled wine was in the air as we moved from stall to stall admiring the wonderful artisan and original gifts. Within an hour, I'd managed to tick seven people off my list and was thrilled with the original presents I'd found.

As the crowds began to get a little too much, we headed to Bath's fantastic shops. Before long we were in need of sustenance and stopped of at The Fine Cheese Company for an excellent lunch of Somerset rarebit and Tunisian orange cake. For my review of this place (along with other reviews I've written), do hop across to Trusted Places. Though do be sure to hop back again too!

I got back to London with overflowing bags of Christmas goodies. On Sunday morning up was up early(ish) and went to visit a friend who was exhibiting at the Young Designers Christmas Bazaar at Shepherds Bush. Then it was off to choose a Christmas tree.


I'm exceptionally picky about Christmas trees. Firstly, they have to be real. I don't care about the needles or that a fake one costs less when you consider how much you spend each year on a fresh tree. I'm sure it would be better for the environment if I didn't have a fresh tree each year. But for me, an artificial tree just isn't the same. It doesn't have that lovely Christmassy fragrance. There isn't the annual excitement of heading out in the cold to pick the perfect specimen.

And I'm very picky about the shape. I won't buy one that is already in its string bag. Oh no. I have to look at it carefully. Walk round it a few times. I have to fall a little bit in love with it in fact. Is that odd?

I found my little tree this year and took it home. I unravelled the lights. Discovered they still worked (a miracle?) and then started to decorate it. I'm picky here too. Red and silver only.

But this year, I felt it needed a little something extra. Inspired by Nigella's Christmas, I decided to bake and decorate some edible tree biscuits. What fun it was! The flat filled with a wonderfully spicy, festive aroma and I really enjoyed piping the decoration on the biscuits (...even if I am clumsy...).

I'm so pleased with how they look, dangling from their silver ribbons, that I thought I'd share them with you. Nigella's recipe makes around 40 biscuits, so I halved it (my tree is only wee). I also altered the spices slightly to suit what I had knocking around.

Spicy Christmas Tree Biscuits
Makes approx 20



Ingredients

150g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
50g soft butter
50g soft dark muscovado sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp runny honey
royal icing

1. Pre-heat oven to 170C. Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

2. Whizz together flour and spices in a food processor. Add butter and sugar and whizz until you have fine breadcrumb consistency.

3. Beat together the egg with the honey. With the motor running, slowly add the egg mixture. Go carefully as you may not need to add it all - stop when a dough is just formed.


4. You could chill the mixture for 10 minutes or so. Alternatively, if you are impatient like me, you can get started straight away. Liberally dust the work surface with flour and roll out the dough. Cut out your favourite festive shapes (I had snowflakes, starts, Christmas trees, hearts, gingerbread men and, that wonderfully festive of creatures, the butterfly). Work quite quickly and set the biscuits on the cookie sheet.



5. Using a skewer, cut a small hole just below the top of each biscuit so that you'll be able to tie ribbon through later for hanging on the tree. Bake for around 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are no longer dough-ey in the middle.

6. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack and allow to cool. Mix up the royal icing according to the packed instructions. Spoon into a piping bag and decorate the biscuits once cool.

7. Be patient and leave the icing to set. Don't be like me and get all impatient and try to thread the ribbon through before the icing has set as it will smudge (of course). Once set, wait another ten minutes or so (just to be sure) and carefully thread pretty ribbon through the holes. You may need a cocktail stick to re-pierce the holes slightly. Whilst doing this be sure to 'accidentally-on-purpose' break a couple so that you have to eat them. Marvel at how they actually taste rather good!

8. Hang on the tree and admire. Invite everyone to ooh and ahh at your artistic talent!

I'm entering my edible tree decorations into the December edition of 'No Croutons Required', a monthly event hosted by the lovely Holler of Tinned Tomatoes. She is inviting people to submit a Christmassy picture - I hope that these will evoke the festive spirit for her!

Blogging by Mail!

I was up pretty early this morning seeing as the clocks have gone back an hour. As I was padding round the flat in my dressing gown, the doorbell rang. Not a usual occurrence at 7am! When I opened it I was greeted by the postman who (slightly alarmed at my state of undress) handed me my blogging by mail parcel from Greg in New York!

Blogging by Mail is a terrific event organised by Stephanie over at Dispensing Happiness.

As you can imagine, I almost snatched the parcel from the postman's hands, so eager was I to get a look inside. I LOVE receiving parcels and Greg from Oatmeal Cookie Guy had selected a fantastic assortment of goodies for me. Thank you so much!


Upon opening the box, I saw a tempting packet of garlic bagel chips poking out from beneath the packaging. These will be a great pre-dinner snack next time I have people over (...then again, maybe I won't be able to wait until then). There was also a letter from Greg explaining his choices and how he'd gone for a New York City theme within the box.

It is clear that Greg is, in fact, a mind-reader. Despite having never met me, he seems to know instinctively that I have a trip to NYC planned for early next year. His box of treats could therefore not have been more appropriate!

Want to see what was inside?

Here we go....


Just look at all that great stuff. First up, and what you can't really see, is a nice little T-shirt from The Doughnut Plant. I'm already in love with this place and simply HAVE to visit when I go. Those people at The Doughnut Plant are clever people too - the T-shirt is size small. I am far from size small (too much Food, Glorious Food, don't you know)but the T-shirt is plenty big enough. Those doughnut tree folk have realised that their doughnut-loving clients may not be that 'small' either but if they can get into a 'small'-sized shirt then they'll feel good about themselves and feel they can get away with eating more doughnuts. Cunning hey?

To help me seek out this heavenly-sounding doughnut emporium, Greg has handily included a map of NYC. This will come in super handy for my visit. He's also sent a Zagat guide of the city's restaurants. I use this guide for London restaurants too so am familiar with the format and am sure it will be indispensable next year. I also love the inclusion of New York magazine - like Greg, I think you can learn a lot about a place from reading the local press. The property pages caught my eye - seeing how prices compare to London is interesting.

Next we have a great-looking cookie. I've heard about New York black and white cookies but haven't tried one before. Normally I would have dived straight in, but it is still early... I'll wait until after breakfast I think!

Talking of typical New York foods (and breakfast, for that matter), I also got an authentic bagel! I absolutely adore bagels, especially filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese. I plan to eat literally hundreds of bagels during my trip.


I also got some violet candies which smell just like the violet creams we used to have at Christmas when I was little.

Greg also sent me his favourite CD. I haven't heard of the band Hem but I've been listening to the CD since the parcel arrived and it is lovely. Their music has a melodic, almost lullaby-like quality with hints of a folky-country sound. That makes no sense - a music journalist I am not! You'll just have to get the CD and have a listen. Great to be introduced to a new band though - thanks, Greg.

Finally, Greg sent me a scratch card with a chance to win $1000 a week for life. This was under the condition that if I won, I'd split the winnings with him.

So, did I win?

Let's see....


I'm afraid not! Never mind, maybe next time...

Thank you so much, Greg, for a fantastic NYC parcel full of fun goodies. And thank you to Stephanie for all the work that goes into organising this terrific event!

What about my parcel, you may ask... Well, it hit the post office this weekend (late, I'm sorry) and it is heading across the pond to San Francisco. Bonnie, hope you'll enjoy the contents as much as I'm enjoying mine...

Lemon amaretti creams

Very occasionally, I wonder if Nigel Slater and I are actually the same person. He is certainly my favourite writer of cookery books. His 'Kitchen Diaries' are just as readable as a good novel, detailing his thoughts as he cooks his way through the year, feasting of the best of the seasons' offerings. He talks so much sense. Open any page at random and I find myself nodding along with him, in total understanding. Take this, for example on the randomly opened page 100: 'I stir-fry the leaves with mushrooms. The result is a clean and fresh little vegetable dish. No rice, I can't be bothered'. Oh I know how he feels. How often have I whipped together an impromptu stir-fry to find that cooking rice just seems like too much trouble.

I hope he won't mind the direct quote. I'm assuming he won't, seeing as I'm being so complimentary about his glorious prose and suggesting (or should that be insisting?) that anyone who doesn't own this book, go out and buy it. Or, easier still, click here and buy it. In any case, he won't mind, as he and I are practically the same person...

Take this gorgeously creamy, lemony little dessert, for example. In his introductory spiel, he says that he generally favours the kind of pudding that involves a great big bowl in the middle of the table that everyone can just dive straight into (reminding me of a Nigella comment about how she generally loathes 'portion control'), but that he finds a 'certain elegance' in a dessert served in pretty individual dishes. I agree and upon reading this recipe for lemon amaretti cream pots I knew it would be a hit after the slow-roasted lamb that I served up on Sunday. Better still, I gave me a good nudge to dust off the empty jars in my cupboard and whip up some wonderful home-made lemon curd...


I've been planning to fill my pots for a few weeks, having read about a great event being run by Pixie at You say Tomato... and Rosie at Rosie bakes a 'peace' of cake. They are challenging food bloggers to make preserves, chutneys, jams or curds and post about them. Really, I've been planning to make something a little more interesting than lemon curd and hopefully, I'll still get around to it. But once I spotted this recipe, I knew I had to make some. Furthermore, I thought this lemon curd recipe would be a good one to share as it is perfect for preserving novices. It really is the simplest thing in the world to make - you just throw the ingredients in the pan and keep stirring until it thickens.

For those nervous about the paraphernalia that goes with preserving, do start with a simple curd as you don't need any special equipment. Old jam jars are perfect. Wax disks and cellophane disks to seal over the top are optional really, but easy to pick up in any kitchen shop. Still not convinced? Just read the recipe and wallow in its simplicity. Really not convinced? Believe me when I tell you that this is so totally superior to any shop-bought version that you may never go back. It was so delicious that I ate so much on the spot, straight from the saucepan, I almost made myself sick! Don't do as I did, tie pretty ribbons on your jars and give a couple away - they make great gifts.

Here is the recipe for the lemon curd, afterwards, you'll find the recipe for the creamy lemon pots.

The easiest lemon curd ever
Original recipe courtesy of 'Leith's Cookery Bible'
Makes around 3 jars



Ingredients

2 large lemons
3oz butter
8oz caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Wash jars in hot soapy water and rinse with hot water (or wash on hot dishwasher setting). Pop in oven on lowest heat to dry out.

2. Grate zest of lemons - just the zest, no nasty bitter white pith!

3. Squeeze the juice.

4. Place all ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and stir continuously until mixture is thick and coats the back of the spoon. At this point remove from the heat.

5. Pour into the warmed jars, seal immediately. Once cool, label and keep in fridge for up to 3 weeks.



Nigel Slater's lemon amaretti creams, from The Kitchen Diaries
Serves 6



Ingredients

284ml carton double cream
250g natural yoghurt
280g really good lemon curd (preferably homemade)
100g amaretti biscuits

1. Take a large bowl and whisk the cream until it starts to thicken into soft, billowy peaks. Fold in the yoghurt and the lemon curd with a large metal spoon.


2. Bash the amaretti biscuits into small pieces (pop them in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin). Fold them into the lovely lemony, creamy mixture.

3. Scrape the mixture into individual serving dishes or glasses; the prettier the better. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 2 hours for the flavours to mingle.

4. Serve them with little crisp biscuits of some kind or another. These orange poppyseed ones would go quite well.


So, this is my (first) entry for Pixie and Rosie's 'Putting Up' event. If you have a taste for tangy curds, then do check out the blood orange curd that I made earlier in the year too.

Blogging by mail

I arrived back from holiday yesterday afternoon feeling rather glum. I'd had a great time - more on that later - but descending through the thick cloud and rain into Gatwick was enough to make anyone want to leap on the very next plain back to the sunshine. Everything just looked so grey. Everyone looked so... miserable. Unlike all the smiling, sun-kissed faces I'd met round every corner in Madeira. Having staggered home on the train with bags galore (plus a cumbersome bunch of strelizia which I insisted on bringing back with me), I wearily put my key in the door. What should be sitting outside on the doormat but a great big parcel from Washington. The lovely Lisa Rene had sent me a wonderful blogging by mail box of gourmet gifts. Hooray!

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I just about managed to get my case through the door when excitement got the better of me and I just HAD to rip the parcel open, before even taking my coat off. Fortunately, my camera was at the top of my bag so I managed to capture the beautifully packaged gift. It felt just like Christmas - Lisa had wrapped each gift in brightly coloured tissue paper which added to the excitement. So, what did I get? All sorts of wonderful goodies. Lisa had taken great care to study my blog and work out some of my favourite kinds of foods and wrote a lovely note explaining her choices...

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Want to take a look at the goodies? Here you go...

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Lisa sent me some of her favourite seasonings - she explained how sea salt was her 'essential' seasoning and I couldn't agree more. But she didn't just send me ordinary sea salt. Oh no. She sent three very wonderful flavoured salts that I just can't wait to use.

I'm particularly excited about trying out the truffle salt which she suggested using in pasta or risotto dishes. Sounds wonderful...

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Also included were saffron salt and porcini salt. I think these will really liven up my pasta dishes and the porcini salt should be a great addition to a plainly grilled steak. I can't wait to experiment with these indulgent seasonings. Lisa was so thoughful that she decided that I would need a special something in which to serve these lovely salts, and so she sent this gorgeous pewter salt cellar, shaped like a leaf. I think it may actually be a vine leaf, making it all the more appropriate. It will make a lovely addition to the dining table - thank you Lisa!

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But it didn't end there. Oh no. Lisa had read my post on freshly-caught mackerel and was reminded of some gorgeous chocolate fish that she'd spotted in her local store - they are supposed to be salmon but Lisa and I have decided to pretend that they are mackerel. Either way, they look almost too good to eat, but I'm sure I'll be trying one later today!

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Finally, having spotted my love of all things sweet and 'naughty', Lisa included a typical American campfire treat - a S'more. I've heard about this delicious treat and always wanted to try it as I just adore toasted marshmallows. This version may not have been toasted over a campfire, but it was delicious - I opened it straight away and finished it before I'd even opened my suitcase!

Lisa, I can't thank you enough for these great goodies. It really brightened up my home-coming. What a thoughtful package! For those of you who haven't discovered Lisa's blog, please do so. She cooks up wonderfully tempting yet healthy vegetarian food and great-looking cocktails (though, be warned, she likes them strong!). I'd also like to thank Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness for organising this fantastic event - it has been such fun to participate and your work in pairing everyone off is hugely appreciated! Do visit her blog too - lots of deliciousness over there!

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For those who are interested in what I sent in my package, do hop over to Cave Cibum, where you'll discover the contents of my very British parcel.

Blood Orange Curd

I was very excited on Friday to receive my first organic fruit and vegetable box from Abel and Cole. For £9 a week, I get a good seasonal selection of produce delivered by a very friendly driver on a day that is convenient. Abel and Cole tell you what to expect in your box each week and you can specify if there are particular items that you do not like (fennel, in my case, which last week was changed for alfalfa sprouts). My first box looked like this...

Nothing too unusual, although the Arran Victory potatoes have purple skins, but a good selection. Citrus fruits were to the fore, unsurprisingly, and the box contained both mandarins and blood oranges. Such gorgeous fruits these - so surprising. The orange exterior gives little away - except for a touch of rosy pink on one of them. But cut into them and you are in for a glorious surprise - just look at these beauties...

You'd almost be forgiven for mistaking these for ruby grapefruit. The flavour is an interesting one and, I think, goes to show how eating is a process involving all the senses. You are seeing a deep red colour in the glass and yet... it tastes of orange. It is somehow... unexpected. Rather than eat these as they were, I decided I'd like to use their juice to make something delicious. I toyed with the idea of a jelly to start with, but eventually settled on making this delicious blood orange curd. I just adore lemon curd - all eggy and buttery and tangy - spread liberally on white toast (never brown - all wrong), crumpets, pancakes or sandwiching together a lemony cake. I figured that orange curd would be pretty good too.

Making jams, jellies, chutneys and curds gives me a great sense of domestic bliss and achievement. I urge anyone who has never done so to start with making an orange or lemon curd. It is just so simple and yet so satisfying. And what is more, they make lovely gifts - just think how thrilled someone will be when you go round for dinner and take a homemade gift as well as the requisite bottle of wine.

Sterilising jars may sound like a whole lot of faff, but really it isn't in the slightest. All you do is fill the sink with very hot, soapy water and throw empty jam jars and lids in to soak. The labels will eventually float off with a little help. Give them a bit of a scrub and then rinse under hot water. Place them on a shelf in a low oven to dry out until you are ready to use them. Hardly any trouble in that, is there?

But what about all those funnels and preserving pans and wax disks? Don't you need a lot of equipment? Not really. If you are making jam on a big scale, then yes, some of this equipment will help. But not for a simple curd. I would suggest investing in pack of wax disks - these usually come from any cook shop in a packet along with celophane disks and tiny plastic bands. These just keep everything nice and hygenic and clean.

I based my recipe very loosely on Delia's recipe for lemon curd.Obviously oranges are a lot sweeter than lemons, so I used less sugar and added quite a bit of lemon juice to balance things out a little. The result is much sweeter than lemon curd (next time, I'd use even less sugar, I think) but is absolutely delicious and such a pretty colour. I could eat it straight from the jar... Actually, if the truth be known, I have been doing exactly that as I am out of both crumpets and white bread (...did I mention that curds simply HAVE to be eaten with white, not brown bread, in my book. You can slather them on brown bread if you really must, but do so at your own peril!). If you are short of ideas for using up your curd, may I suggest using it to sandwich together an orange-flavoured Victoria sponge or meringues or even stirring it through some plain yoghurt?

Blood Orange Curd
Fills four regular jam jars

3 blood oranges

1 large, juicy lemon

4 large eggs

10 oz golden caster sugar

8 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

1 dessertspoon cornflour

1. Finely zest two of the oranges and then squeeze the juice from all three oranges and the lemon.

2. Crack the eggs into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk the eggs a little.

3. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the saucepan with all the other ingredients and place over a medium heat. Whisk with a balloon whisk for around 9 minutes, until thickened. Do not worry if it looks very unattractive during this stage. Mine looked as though the butter would never fully melt (I made the mistake of adding it rather cold) and meld with the rest, but it did. Just look how horrible it looked for a while...

4. Once the mixture has thickened, turn the heat down and simmer for a couple of minutes, continuing to whisk. Remove from heat.

5. Remove jam jars from the oven and place on a tea towel. Pour the curd into the jars whilst they are still hot. Any spills will be caught by the tea towel. Top each jar with a wax disk and seal jars whilst still hot.

6. Once the jars are cool, label and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Notes - don't panic if the curd looks a little too liquidy in the jar. Once it has been in the fridge, it will firm up a little more.