It's just because I'm--

Hello again!

Salad. Yeuch. Right?

I used to think so too!! Well, I've become a convert, a veritable templefoodie (thanks Nigella!) and I have to confess to being just a little bit of a health freak. I love my running, exercise - in fact, a dear friend of mine recently told me that he doubts I ever rest, and that even standing still I vibrate at a high frequency and should be insulated in a lead box on aircrafts. Anyway, restlessness aside, salad is often regrettably reduced to a lot of soupy-looking leaf, wet tomato and insipid cucumber gasping limply on the side of a plate in an effort to be valiant with one's vitamins. I am not the only one championing the rethinking of salads as delicious, rainbow concoctions both divine to look at and heavenly to eat. There will be a few "salads" popping up over the next few days, chargrilled vegetables, thai themed glories and asian inspired salad boosters. This evening we're having my father's homemade shredded chicken and gorgonzola pizzas, and I was delegated salad duty! The salad base was relatively generic - baby spinach, grated carrot and coriander, but I made a separate asian themed concoction of beanshoots, spring onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, soy sauce and nam pla. If I had a lime to hand, that would have gone in too.


You need: 


two handfuls of beanshoots
3 spring onions sliced into pennies
teaspoon dried chilli or 1 red chilli finely chopped and deseeded
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Sprinkling of soy sauce, and of nam pla (thai fish sauce)


In a wok, or frying pan, heat a little oil and fry your spring onions, garlic and beanshoots until they all become slightly soft to the touch, then add your chilli and ginger - cook for another 1-2 minutes until mingled and then sprinkle in your soy sauce and nam pla - sometimes a half teaspoon of sugar is quite nice here, adding depth to the sauce. The soy sauce and nam pla should just coat the onions and beanshoots, not drown them. Turn the salad marinate/dressing/sauce/concotion (I still haven't found a name for it!!) into a bowl and serve either warm or chilled with your salad!!

Anyway, dinnertime for me. (yum!)
Have great evenings!
Love,
Eloise xxx

*Shamelessphotographyplug*

Here's one I made earlier!! Just a few photos of the muffins in their glory.
xxx

Blueberries and rose petals, crystals and storms.

*Insert guilty sentence about not updating blog here*

Hello! I've missed you all. Lots has happened recently, big changes and little ones, new friends, old ones lost, all sorts of things! I have a few foodie photos to share with you, and then a rather appetising recipe, if I do say so myself.

 What do you reckon? I was recently holidaying in Gozo, specificaly the village of Xaghra. The weather was incredible! The people were so friendly, and the food was unbelievable - small peppered goats cheese, warmed olives with the gentlest flavour, sweet air-cured bresaola, huge smiles of watermelon - the list goes on! Getting to to a stormy Scotland however, despite it being the month of August, I made blueberry muffins in a fit of wet-weather gloom. I'm also shortly moving to Corsica, so I am making the most of the gorgeous green aga whislt I have it! Crystallised rose petals were also on the menu - waking up at 6 am this morning had its organisational advantages, and all I had to do today was done by ten, roughly. I shall go and be disheveled and confused for a good while after I post the recipe, in order to readdress the balance!!

Here goes!

For Elo's blueberry and cinnamon muffins, you need:

375g self raising flour

90g unsalted butter

220g caster sugar

200g blueberries

teaspoon cinnamon

310ml buttermilk (Sainsbury's do this in annoyingly sized 284ml pots, so top up the buttermilk with regular milk)

1 egg, lightly beaten

12 hole muffin case, and butter to grease

Sift your flour into a large bowl, and then rub in the butter using the very tips of your fingers. Follow up with the sugar, eggs, blueberries, buttermilk and cinnamon, then mix until lumpy - don't overmix your muffins, you'll lose precious air! Grease your muffin tin, and then scoop out your muffins from the bowl into the tin and bake in a moderately hot over for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and clean to the spearing with a skewer!

The crystallised rose petals are a matter of minutes however, (those they are sticky minutes!!) the rose petals MUST be unsprayed - you really don't want to eat pesticides, and then washed and dried before you brush them with egg white (pastry brush - hello!) and sprinkle them with caster sugar. Lay them flat on some tin foil and then leave to dry, preferably somewhere warm, like an airing cupboard (where mine are crystallising quite nicely).

I hope you all have lovely weeks and lovelier weekends!!

Eloise 

xxx

the chapter in which snow white eats the apple.

I think its high time I told you all a tale about the lovely dinner I've been hinting at for weeks now, when I went around to Prince Charming's house to play. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...
Sadly he brought along his noble steed and thus I didn't have him all to myself, but I was nevertheless treated to an evening of utterly delicious food, which was most therapeutic after an afternoon of torment, spent clearing up a bottle of red wine which I smashed, in true Eloise-fashion, all over the floor. I don't suffer from dyspraxia, I hasten to add, I'm just really clumsy.

So Prince Charming was presented instead with a meagre bar of Green and Blacks, a poor replacement for the wine, but he and his noble steed were also provided with jokes for the whole evening, and it was pointed out to me that I was in heels, and shouldn't touch anything, there were sockets around the room, and Oh! Look! stairs...

Prince Charming also added that he'd done a risk assessment before I arrived and said that if I wanted to enter the kitchen I was going to have to wear a high-vis jacket and a hard hat at all times. Or wrap me in cottonwool. I wasn't impressed either way.

Sitting safely on my chair away from anything breakable, I was duly served three of the most delicious courses I have ever been entreated to in this City: pea and rosemary (flower) mousse, venison casserole, parsnip puree, caramelised beetroot and vanilla (and star anise, blegh) pannacotta, served with sweet pesto, crystallised basil leaves and strawberry coulis.

It sounds fantastic, and believe me, it tasted every bit as good as it sounds. We started off with the pea and rosemary soup (in his extensive gardens Prince Charming has a rosemary bush), in mousse format - a new experience for me, chilled, and sprayed with a super-expensive impressive nozzle into my teacup! Visually impressive, palest jade green, studded with amethyst coloured rosemary flowers. It was almost a shame to eat it.

Almost.

I had no trouble daintily wolfing down my first serving, and didn't turn down seconds. The Prince and his steed had a fight with a sprig of rosemary and the steed received his dinner in a nosebag from then on.

We were then served an utterly beautiful casserole, stewed to within an inch of its life, the venison melting, and the blackberries and chesnuts were an added treat. Combined with a parsnip puree of petit filous creaminess, and sweet, caramelised beetroot, the steed keeled over in bliss, and I nearly joined him. The beetroot was allegedly a worthy adversary in the kitchen, refusing to yield to the prince, enduring torture at 200 degrees celsius, an hours boiling, before finally succumbing to his ministrations. His lordship, Gordon Ramsay, was sent an angry messenger forthwith, pending poor instruction and unnecessary toil on behalf of Prince Charming.

We sat back, post-dinner, in contented bliss, almost full and warm with sleepy fingers and toes. It had been spellbinding, and we still had dessert to go!

And so it was, laid out like a fairytale, a triumphant pannacotta, accompanied by strawberry coulis, sweet pesto, and crystallised basil leaves. Vanilla and star anise pannacotta, glorious and glistening and delicious though it was however, seemed to have adverse effects on me, given my allergy to star anise - generally met with displeasure by my stomach. Innocent of the star anise, however, I polished off pudding, and then wondered why I felt sick for several hours afterwards.

Despite my aversion to star anise, I remain indebted to Prince Charming for such an exquisite meal and wonderful company. Even his steed was mellowed by the wine and fine food, and the evening was spent in good company and high spirits, and we staggered home happily ever after.

Love,
Eloise
xxx

Campo de' Fiori

Because food is gorgeous - please click on the photo to see it in all its glory. Rome '08. I have so much to talk about in some up and coming posts! These chiefly comprise of an utterly divine dinner I was treated to (think rosemary flowers, summer, venison with the most exquisite parsnip puree, pannacotta and sweet pesto and you're almost there...) and a pistachio korma I will experiment with tomorrow for some dear friends of mine who are all coming for birthday tea! My birthday, actually, but I think it's perhaps appropriate for a foodie to celebrate occasions by cooking for others. How is the delightful month of May treating everyone?

Eloise xxx

" and drink very good tea out of a thin Worcester cup of a colour somewhere between apricot and pink..."

So today, lovely people, I have a few indulgent recipes. I've had ever such a busy week, my assignments are starting to rear their heads, I've handed in essays, been wined, dined, and a disaster in the kitchen and am generally winding up the end of the academic year in sleep deprived style!! I have five tests and an exam coming up soon - so forgive me if posts slow down (again...oops...) Anyway! Thursday saw me hosting a movie night with some gorgeous friends, and, ever the opportunist, I spotted the chance to experiment with popcorn. Now, this was a mixed bag, I must say, as the first sachet of popcorn set fire to the microwave (shhhh!), and the second two needed maximum attention whilst popping but otherwise behaved themselves. To cut my prattling short, we would have had buttered popcorn, chocolate and chilli popcorn and Nigella Lawson's "party" popcorn, but in the end, the buttered popcorn became more of an acrid mess that spent its night on my kitchen windowsill, cooling down.

You need:

(cheat's version)
popcorn, in sachets, microwaved. And/or, set fire to.

or (virtuous cooks' version)
two handfuls of popcorn kernels per recipe,
wok oil

Place oil and kernels in a pan over a high heat. Put the lid on and hold on tight - once popcorn has slowed down its popping to roughly two seconds between pops, remove from heat. Don't remove the lid during popping though, unless you want to lose an eye in a very ignominious fashion.
For chocolate chilli popcorn:
popped corn
250g dark chocolate
100ml double cream
sprinkling of chilli flakes
Melt your chocolate (in microwave or otherwise), and stir in your double cream. Tip both chocolate and popcorn into a large bowl and then mix with your hands - I promise there is no other way of doing this, you just have to get messy. Once popcorn is coated in chocolate cream mixture, shake in your chilli flakes and mix again. It's a gorgeous combination of flavours and the chilli gives the chocolate a subtle kick, and the cream prevents the chocolate from solidifying and sticking together in clumps. It was gorgeously addictive, although I recommend you supply your guests with napkins as it makes for messy eating - and your friends might think that you work better as a serviette instead.
For "party" popcorn, hence referred to as spiced popcorn:
lashings of parika, cumin, cinnamon
2 teaspoons fine salt (unless popcorn is already salted, in which case, skip this step)
2-4 teaspoons caster sugar depending on preference.

This is perhaps more inspired by Nigella's party popcorn than derived from it, as she does over complicate it with things like melted butter, and so forth, but the flavours are gorgeous and the marriage or sweet and salted flavours with the spices is a rather more-ish combination! It doesn't take a genius to work out, to be honest, just shake everything over the popcorn in bowl and mix thoroughly (again, your paws are best for this one).

I've always had trouble with just salted or sweet popcorn being a little bit boring - so here you have the above two variations, tried and tested by a fussy bunch. The proof was in the clean bowls I had at the end of the night.

My next recipe for you is a breakfast indulgence, perfect for Sunday mornings in bed. I will confess to scoffing it this morning for breakfast but I think it makes an excellent comfort food regardless of the time of day.

You need:
4 slices of soft white bread (although I used walnut loaf as it was to hand)
two handfuls of blueberries
1 very ripe banana - smushes better
shakings of cinnamon
2 tsp golden syrup
butter
double cream

In a bowl, mash your blueberries and banana with sprinklings of cinnamon and the golden syrup and then spread the mixture onto one slice of bread. Squish down with the other slice of bread to form a sandwich and then fry in the butter until golden. Repeat. Drizzle with double cream and then scoff. Blueberries and bananas are pretty much a match made in heaven, the golden syrup and the subtle warmth of the cinnamon sweeten them slightly, and the mushy filling inside the hot, crispy bread is simply gorgeous. Do try this one. I was grinning like a fool whilst I ate it! It's actually a variation of a previous French Toast recipe, just a little pared down for quick cooking.

I hope you all have lovely lazy Sundays.
Love,
Eloise xxx

Just one of those lazy banoffee days...

Good evening all!!
I'm not sure who paid the Sun King, but Scottish skies today were glorious - not a cloud in sight and enough blue to make a sailor a pair of trousers - most welcome as today we had friends over for a gorgeous Sunday lunch - and I think I can vouch that a wonderful foodie afternoon was had by all! (marinating ourselves slowly with cheese and wine in the sunshine was definitely my favourite part...)
So today I have for you a few sunny photographs and a delightfully kitschy dessert recipe - one of my all time favourites - banoffee pie! I have to confess that at first I got my butter measurements completely skewered and melted 200g of melted butter into 200g of digestives, with interesting results and much cursing taking place as I actually read the recipe! Anyway...

You need:
200g butter
250g digestives/plain biscuits
Can of dulche de leche or premade caramel (roughly 375ml)
4 bananas
300ml double cream
25g dark chocolate for grating!
A flat tin with a removable bottom
Melt your butter in a bowl in the microwave, and place your digestives in a plastic bag and them beat them to a fine pulp with a rolling pin - this is a great stress reliever! Mix your biscuits into the butter until it's all absorbed and then flatten the mixture into the tin so you've formed the base for your pie. Onto this, spread your dulche de leche, and then, if you are making it the day before, let these two layers set slightly in the fridge - mine chilled overnight which made for a firm base. Next, slice your bananas into pennies and place these on top of the caramel in concentric circles. Whip your cream slowly using a hand mixer (doing it the old fashioned way will give you unbelievable armache, honestly.) and then fold it over the bananas so it becomes your fourth layer. I grated some dark chocolate over the top of the pie, but you could decorate with left over banana pennies if you fancied. You can serve it at room temperature for softer caramel or pop it back in the fridge - whatever tickles your fancy!

After lunch we all staggered out into the garden for cheese and grapes (two of my favourite foods) and I spent the rest of the afternoon in a Cambozola-fuelled haze, soaking up the sun.

I hope you've all had beautiful days - I'm going to polish off the last of that pie!
Love,
Eloise xxx