Baking with my nephew and a couple of lovely awards

There seems to be a lot going on at Food, Glorious Food! I've got lots to tell you about and lots to catch up on. Firstly, I'm pleased to say that my blogging by mail parcel arrived in San Francisco. The parcel went to Bonnie at Kumquat Connection. What a great blog this is - Bonnie and her friend Leigh live miles apart yet connect each week over a common ingredient. What a terrific way to keep in touch!

Next to tell you is about the fun I had with my two littlest nephews when my mother and I went to look after them a couple of weekends ago. Aged two and one, they really are adorable! The older one took quite an interest in the goings on it the kitchen. Not only did he climb onto his chair to 'help' my mother making Shepherds' Pie, but he also enjoyed baking some cupcakes with his Auntie.



He is nearly three, but I was really amazed how focused he remained throughout the process and how much he enjoyed getting involved. He helped to pour ingredients into the scales and then loved pressing the button to cream the butter and sugar in the food processor. He laid all the paper cases into the muffin tray and kept a close eye whilst they were cooking in the oven. Perhaps we overdid the baking powder - they looked like mini volcanoes when they came out....






He was very enthusiastic with making the icing and refused to let me help. This was not ideal but at least he was determined!



His favourite part though, was decorating the cakes with little sugar decorations that I'd bought. And then deciding who would get which one. His favourites were the frogs. I rather preferred the elephants. It was such fun and just shows that you are never too young to get involved in the kitchen. He was so proud when we'd finished and couldn't wait to show them off to his parents when they returned from their weekend away.




Next thing to tell you is that I've been lucky enough to be given not one, but two lovely blogging awards. I am really so touched and only so sorry that its taken so long to get round to passing them on. Thank you, thank you!



Firstly, Sam over at Antics of a cycling chef thought fit to pass on the 'E for Excellent' award. Sam hasn't been blogging all that long but already his blog is a favourite of mine.

I'd like to pass this on to...

Bonnie to Kumquat Connection


Secondly, the lovely Lucy at Teen Baker gave me the very lovely 'I love your blog' award. Lucy's blog is packed full of gorgeously tempting cakes and treats - I'd love a slice of any one of them.

I'm passing this on to...

Katie at Apple and Spice
Just so many tempting bakes and cakes.

Sylvie at A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit
Such a stylish blog with gorgeous photos and tempting recipes.

Margaret at Kitchen Delights
I've been enjoying the delights from Margaret's kitchen across the web since I started blogging - her blog has long been a favourite!

Rosie at Rosie bakes a Peace of Cake
A prolific and superb baker who is a wonderfully encouraging member of the food blogging community.

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...

Smoked mackerel pâté

Whilst I love going all out when entertaining and spending time creating three, or even four courses to laze over, the truth of the matter is that I don't really have enough plates, knives or forks to allow this. Or rather, I do, but they don't all go together. Furthermore, I have a 'slimline' dishwasher which most certainly doesn't fit all the paraphenalia dirtied by serving multiple courses for eight. Call me selfish, but I loathe washing up.

What I tend to do therefore, is serve a maincourse and pudding (occasionally two) and then make some substantial eatie bits for everyone to tuck into with drinks before siting down to the main event. Sometimes this means getting small and dainty with some nice canapés, but more often than not I'll make something a bit more hearty for everyone to dig into in a messy, informal sort of way. Pâté of some kind or other is usually my top choice, served with wedges of crusty bread - people can just dig in and have as much as they want. Usual favourites are chicken liver or smoked trout. Last week, I dished up the usual favourite chicken liver but decided to make a smoked mackerel version as well.

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I was really pleased with this moreish treat - the leftovers didn't last long the next day and it was clear that my furry companion for the day was rather put out that I'd scoffed the lot without so much as a sideways glance...

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Smoked mackerel pâté

serves 8 as a starter

Ingredients

3 smoked mackerel

200g soft cream cheese (I used half-fat Philadelphia)

1 heaped tablespoon low-fat natural yoghurt

1 heaped tablespoon horseradish sauce (more or less to taste)

handful chopped spring onions or chives

small handful chopped parsley

juice of half a lemon

1. Remove skin and any obvious bones from the mackerel, flake with a fork.

2. Place in food processor along with all the other ingredients and blitz until you have a reasonably smooth consistency (I like a few lumps in mine so tend to leave it quite chunky - you could even mash everything together in a bowl rather than using the processor).

3. Taste. Season with black pepper. Add more lemon juice if required.

4. Serve with melba toast, crusty bread or toasted pittas.

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.