Bananatoffeerama....

Buds are starting to appear on the fruit trees, ferns are bursting through the ground and there's the coconut  smell of the bright yellow gorse flowers whenever the sun shines. We've made use of the sunshine by clearing the garden. It's stage two of the garden plan which should take us about five years to get looking presentable. This week we had friends to stay and they helped Gareth put in the chicken run. (These chickens are going to have one of the best views in the world.) They'll arrive once the passenger boat starts running in the next couple of weeks. 

I've been working on the old entrance. I've been clearing brambles as thick as a 50p piece and as long as swimming pool. I'm constantly followed by a robin and a fat blackbird taking advantage of all the bugs and worms that are exposed as I pull rocks back. 

Then this week the sunshine stopped. The forecast said snow (which we kind of ignored as it's so rare.)  But it did snow and very heavily. Unfortunately it didn't stick. I had high hopes of building a sledge but there wasn't even enough for a snowball.  

On our friends' last night we cooked pizzas in the wood fired oven. We had a few black bananas left and between them they came up with this recipe....which may become a post pizza tradition.

Wood fired bananas with fudge, chocolate and biscuits (serves 4)....

4 bananas

4 chunks of fudge (preferably Veronica Farm Fudge available here) 

8 chunks of chocolate

4 chocolate digestive biscuits

Chop up the fudge and chocolate. 

 Make a slice down the middle of the bananas (leaving them in their skins.)

Stuff the bananas with the fudge and chocolate. 

Wrap them tightly in foil. Pop them in the embers of the woodfired oven or barbecue for 5-7 minutes (or a 200'c) oven for 15 minutes (using oven gloves). Crush the biscuits in a bowl. 

Carefully take the bananas out and very carefully unwrap the foil using oven gloves. Sprinkle the crushed biscuits over the top. 

Dairy free rhubarb crumble...

This has become my favourite moment of the day. Drawing back the curtains in the living room and trying to catch the sunrise. Sometimes there's an early morning runner making their way around Samson Hill or the odd bird on the patio which flies away in a panic once the curtains are suddenly pulled back.

We tiptoe around the kitchen trying to be as quiet as possible. I thought a fry up would be the most popular but at the moment the homemade granola and fruit seems to be a winner.

After breakfast it's a room tidy and hoover. My other half has managed to go out kitesurfing five times since Saturday and is definitely enjoying island life and it's great to be able to watch him from the living room rather than from a car park.

The guests staying this week don't eat dairy. Saturday I served elderflower jelly which was a great spring pudding I will do again and was easy. Tonight it's dairy free rhubarb crumble....

Dairy free rhubarb crumble....(serves 4-5)

6 rhubarb stalks

caster sugar

water

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

125g plain flour

1 handful porridge oats

100g dairy free spread

1 handful caster sugar

Top and tail the rhubarb and slice into chunks. Put in a pan with the vanilla, a splash of water and 2 tbsps or so of sugar. Put on a high heat. As it starts to boil add more water a splash at a time until the rhubarb is softened. Taste and add more sugar if you need it. Leave to cool.

In a food mixer put the flour, oats, sugar and spread and blitz.

Put the rhubarb in a heatproof tray and sprinkle the crumble on top. Put in a pre heated 200'c oven and bake for 20 minutes or so or until the crumble is browned.

Drifting away....

At work we have a post show meeting. We finish playing the news jingle, make sure the next programme is underway and then discuss how the show went. On Monday it went a bit like this....'So who wants to start....what did we really like about this morning's show?' Me: 'Yeah great show. Can I tell you all about my dinner at the Driftwood on Friday night....' then for about 15 minutes I launched into a full scale review, course by course. Cue weatherman with his head in his hands. Presenter shaking his head trying to work out what I'm going on about. But I couldn't help it. That's just how good The Driftwood is. You want to tell everyone about it.

I'm so over excited by just how great Friday was that my written review will be rubbish. Because even when I think about how to describe it the sentences in my head speed up and phrases like 'yummy crumbly stuff' and 'a red sauce thing' keep making an appearance. Basically it was fantastic. The only thing I will go into detail with is the pudding. I don't really order puddings mainly because I love cheese so much. So I ordered the cheese board and the other half went for a chocolate pudding under the agreement that I could have a spoonful.

It was a chocolate mousse (although it could have been a foam it was so light) a chocolate ganachy layer, puffed rice and then....salted caramel. Not just any salted caramel but the best I have ever tasted. I had my one designated spoonful. Then I went in for another. I think I even managed another swipe before my other half threatened some kind of scene if I didn't return it to his side of the table. Oh God I miss that pudding.

So The Driftwood closes for a couple of months from Friday as it does every winter. And I need something to fill that pudding shaped hole. So I made my own salted caramel pudding. No where near last Friday's effort. However when the other half thought his father in law had polished it off he did almost cry...so it can't have been that bad.

Banana and salted caramel chocolate cheesecake....(serves 8 but probably more...)

2x 200g tubs of cream cheese

250g mascarpone

3 tbsp condensed milk

1 vanilla pod

2 tbsp icing sugar sieved

1 pkt chocolate digestives (I think it was 200g)

100g salted butter

4 bananas

2 tbsps golden syrup

50g butter

2 tbsp dried milk powder

2 flake bars

a little melted chocolate

Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Melt the 100g of butter and add to the crumbs. Push into a cake tin with a detachable base. Chill for an hour or so. To make the salted caramel melt the butter and syrup together when it starts to boil take off the heat and sieve in the dried milk. Give it a good stir and put to one side.

In a bowl put the cheeses, condensed milk, sieved icing sugar and vanilla and give it a good stir. Once the base has been chilled slice the bananas onto the base and drizzle over the salted caramel. Spoon the cheese mix over the top and sprinkle with the crushed flake and the melted chocolate.

Ideally leave it overnight in the fridge. I only left it four hours and it was spooned into bowls. It still tasted awesome but didn't look very cheesecakey. By the next day it was much firmer.

Thanks again to everyone at The Driftwood for a brilliant night.

The Driftwood, Portscatho, 01872 580644

Fifteen Cornwall..

A few weeks ago we had my 'pre wedding girly lunch' at Fifteen Cornwall. It was fab. The food was wonderful, the service was second to none.

Maybe it's the weeks of soup and rice cakes but I'm still dreaming about their treacle tart.

Stalker....

I got a shock last week. I was told that my rhubarb was ready. My poor forgotten rhubarb left to its own devices over the winter months. It knew spring was coming and was bursting with pink shoots when I finally caught on. It made the most delicious pudding.

Rhubarb and vanilla sponges (serves 2)..........

4 rhubarb stalks

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 large egg

50g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g caster sugar

50 soft butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm chunks and put in a pan with the brown sugar and a couple of tbsp of water. Put on a low heat and leave to soften.

Preheat the oven to 180'c. Mix all the sponge ingredients together in a small bowl. Butter a ramekin with melted butter and pop in the fridge for a couple of minutes. Butter again. Spoon the rhubarb mixture into the ramekin. Then add the sponge.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Carefully turn out and serve with custard or clotted cream.

Flipping out.....

We had a heated debate this morning, my boss and I. It was all over pancakes. She doesn't seem to like them and seemed completely non plussed by Pancake Day tomorrow. (Or should I say Shrove Tuesday?) Whereas I get excited by any event. Valentine's Day, St Piran's Day, Christmas all fill me with excitement. I even look forward to giving foods up for Lent because it means trying new things. (This year I'm being brutal- goodbye ice cream, puddings, booze). So as I wave farewell to puddings I made these yummy pancakes in the true spirit of Shrove Tuesday using up Christmas leftovers.

Brandy Butter Pancakes (serves 4)

4oz self raising flour (this makes fluffier pancakes, if you want thinner ones use plain flour)

1 egg

225ml milk

pinch of Cornish Sea Salt

vegetable oil

1 jar leftover brandy butter

Sieve the flour and salt. Add the egg and milk and whisk until you have a creamy batter. Pour a little oil in a frying pan (you only need a very small amount.) When warm add 1/8 of the mixture and swirl the pan to cover the base. Leave for a minute of two until the batter has dried. Use a fish slice to flip it over. (Don't even attempt to flip- I have the burns and the greasy stains to prove it's a bad idea.) Put the pancakes somewhere warm.

Put the frying pan back on the heat. Wait until it's really hot then and add 4tbsp brandy butter. It will sizzle and quickly turn into a sticky toffee. Stir to make sure it doesn't burn.

Pour over the warm pancakes.

A mere trifle.....

The drama is what I love most about Christmas. Everything being sparkly and glittery. Houses being covered in twinkly lights, people being covered in sequins, drinking champagne at 11am and eating chocolate at 11pm.

On Sunday we met up for a last meal together before Christmas when everyone goes their separate ways.

We ate roast dinner with each of us bringing a different part.

I was in charge of the pudding and copped out completely by making a cheat's trifle. But I got out the gold spray and silver bowls and added a bit of Christmas drama...

Easy peasy Christmas trifle......(serves 10)

250g frozen berries (mine we all picked in the summer #smugface)

1 small jam jar of cherry conserve

2 star anise

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 shop bought Madeira loaves

1 litre posh supermarket vanilla custard

600ml double cream

1 handful silver balls

gold edible spray

Slice the cake into 1 cm slices.

Layer in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Defrost the berries in a pan. Add the spices and stir in the jam. Spoon half the warm berries on top of the sponge. Add the rest of the sponge and then the fruit mix. Leave for an hour or so.

Spoon the custard over the fruit and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours. Whip the cream until it is soft and marshmallowy. Spread over the top of the custard. Sprinkle the balls over the top. Then give it a light spray with the edible gold.

Cornwall Food Festival Days 2 & 3

I learnt something new today. When cooking mackerel you should put it in a cold pan. It makes the skin crispier. I didn't know that. And that's what I love about the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival you come away feeling creative and excited about food as if it's all new. This year my favourite new find was this...Cornish rapeseed oil.

It's delicious. I made a dressing this morning for a lunchtime salad (that I'll blog about later this week) and I'll rave about it then. I've just poured it over jacket potatoes with Cornish Sea Salt for an extra crispy jacket. There were so many great products...

And everyone I asked said they had done amazingly well. At a time when people are cutting back on spending money the Cornish thought "stuff that, I need sausages." These are my kind of people. "So I can't afford to put petrol in my car at least I've got enough yarg to last me until Christmas." (2011.)

I spent a lot of money on booze. The other half pounced on the boozey ginger beer when I got home...luckily I had some yarg to distract him with...

Alcoholic ginger beer pudding with ginger sauce......(makes 12 portions, but 6 of you will eat it!)

1 bottle of Beaumonts Alcoholic Ginger Beer (500ml)

200g/7oz dates

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g/4oz butter

2 eggs

200g caster sugar

200g self raising flour

2 tsp dried ginger

For the sauce.....

100g/4oz butter (salted)

1 small pot double cream (142ml)

200g demerara sugar

1 pinch Cornish Sea Salt

1 tsp dried ginger or 1 tsp ginger syrup

Before we launch into the recipe I forgot the most exciting part of today. I made the other half wait for half an hour so we could push to the front and watch Nathan Outlaw's demonstration. Unfortunately three 70 year old women were faster than us (and had lethal handbags) so we had to settle for second row.

He made scallops with squash, bacon and grapes. Then mackerel (with the crispy skin) and lemon mayonnaise. Then an apple and sugared pistachio cheesecake. Oh. My. God. I have never hated being lactose intolerant more than today. Anyway. Where was I? Ah yes pudding. Preheat the oven to 180'c. Then put the dates in a bowl. Warm the ginger beer and pour over the dates. Add the bicarbonate of soda. Leave for 1 hour.

You can leave them whole or break them up a little with your hands. In a separate bowl cream the sugar and butter.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix in. Add the flour and ginger and fold. When mixed, add the date mixture which should be cool by now. Place in a buttered tray.

Cook for 40 minutes or until firm.

In a pan put the butter, sugar, cream and ginger. Put over a low heat, stirring every now and again.

When it's turned a caramel colour and all the sugar has dissolved add the sea salt. Cut the pudding into squares and top with the sauce....

Looking around the allotment this week I've realised there's still a lot of life in it. I've been spending so much time thinking about the winter and how to look after it once it starts getting cold that I've forgotten there's still meals there waiting to be cooked....

Unfortunately some people haven't forgotten... (note big caterpillar sizes holes.)

Going back through my garden diary I've realised some of the first inhabitants were the fruit plants. Blackcurrants, redcurrants, rhubarb and strawberries. The only fruit bearing plants have been the strawberries which have rarely made it out of the allotment.

But the blackberry hedges around the allotment have provided enough to keep me going.

Blackberry Jelly Cumbles (Serves 4).......

250g frozen blackberries

3 sheets gelatine

75g caster sugar

25g/1oz butter

55g/2oz plain flour

25g/1oz brown sugar

Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water until soft. Put the fruit and sugar in a bowl with a splash of water. Once melted boil for a couple of minutes.

Leave to cool a little then push through a sieve with the back of a spoon letting the juice flow into a bowl.

Pour the juice back into a pan and add the gelatine. Put over a low heat and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool for 20 minutes. Pour into four glasses.

Put in the fridge and cool overnight.

In a bowl mix the flour, butter and brown sugar into crumbs. Pour on to a lined baking tray and bake in a 180'c oven for 15 minutes until golden. Leave to cool. Sprinkle over the jelly.

It's like two puddings in one!