Last seen on my car roof on the M5

Lost and not found.

My Bombay Sapphire ordinary object painting, mixed media.

I've only done this once before.  
Left my handbag on top of the car in my 20's, driven maybe 25 miles, and picked my purse up off the roof at the other end.
I was incredibly lucky.

But this time on Saturday morning, whilst filling my car with painting gear, I haven't wanted to put the picture frame on the ground for fear of scratches or dirt. 

I only remembered the painting when I reached my destination 4 hours later, with a cold flash back, whilst unloading my art kit and noticing its absense.

It's definitely gone, probably smashed under car tyres, 
but I shall paint a replica today in the studio.  There's not that much harm done.
 

Silly me.

quark: delicious days: pogácsa

Too much of a good thing can catch up with you.
My husband has eaten so much Greek yoghurt, that he's finding it difficult to digest nowadays, and needs some time away from the product.

Seeking out a soya alternative for him, has had my eating all the soya yoghurt offerings instead, since he thinks it tastes funny.  And it does too, although I like that flavour.

And I got the same reaction with almost-fat-free Quark, leaving me wondering what to do with it. 

Until yesterday, when a blog post from Munich dropped into my Google Reader page.  Nicky from Delicious Days has just made cheesy nibbles using Quark, giving me the opportunity to use the unwanted pot in the fridge.


Flaky, light, savoury cheeselets, that are ideal as a midday snack to keep you going.

Thank you Nicky.

method    

• no change to her ingredients, mixed all together in the food processor using the plastic blade.
• folded the soft mix 3 times as you would flaky pastry.
• rolled out the pastry to 3/4cm thickness, & topped with parmesan cheese and a grating of Zulu chilli flakes
• cut the area into squares
• and baked undisturbed at 200 for 15mins

how to make coconut milk: Laylita's bacalao encocado

It's not often that I discover something new and different, that I shall incorporate into my cooking today onwards.  
From Laylita's pescado encocado, I decided on the spot that I'd have to try the dish from Central America, just reading it.  
Some posts sing out to be cooked.

I also knew that I wouldn't buy tinned coconut for it, and would attempt to make fresh coconut milk.  
Now the coconuts I've seen in Morrisons are obviously not the Spice Island quality I've tried in the past.  But they'd have to do.
 
As with most things on the internet, there is a lot of guidance out there on how to do it.   All very simple too. 

I blended the coconut pieces with a little liquid (milk, water, cream), I used milk here.  Squeezed hard through a muslin to extract the cream, and .... well, there is no "and".  That's all there is to it.

bacalao encocado: ingredients  


fresh, firm fish fillet cut into chunks - cod, halibut, sea bass etc
the juice of 2 oranges, and 2 lemons
4 garlic cloves
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 red peppers, chopped finely
4 tomatoes, chopped finely
coconut milk, freshly extracted or tinned
freshly chopped coriander herb
salt

Soak the fish in lemon & orange juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika and salt for 1 - 2 hours in the fridge
Sauté the onion, garlic tomatoes and peppers (sofrito) for 5mins
Pour in the coconut milk and simmer for 10mins.  (at this stage you can thicken the sauce with cornflour if you like - I prefer thin sauces and gravies)
Add the cod pieces, cover the pan and cook gently for 15 - 20 mins, dependent upon your fish.

extract your fresh coconut pieces

purée the pulp with milk, cream or water

wring out the juice through a muslin

fine coconut & coconut milk

A delicious fish dish, with a pleasurable, balanced, gently spiced coconut sauce.  

bacalao encocado http://laylita.com/recetas/2012/01/08/pescado-encocado-receta/

2 paintings published on the BBC

I have 3 paintings hanging in the exhibition space and art school in town,  Centre Arts Cheltenham.

& Zaphira had told me that the BBC West and Midlands film crew were interviewing her during the week, and that the news feature would be aired on Friday.  Her business is featured for its setting up in a recession, and for making art accessible to all ages.

My 2 oil paintings are Autumn Walk, and Faded Flowers, seen at the beginning of the article.

Click on the images to view the video:

Short and Sweet: leaven, extra-thin, rye crispbreads

I've always loved crispbreads.
When walking down any shop biscuit aisle, it's the cracker section that reels me in. 
Assorted packets of savoury wafers that go with anything, seemingly.

Unless you buy the heavily herbed ones.

Joanna at Zeb Bakes has just made Dan Lepard's crispbreads from his new book.
So I flick through to page 262, and put on my apron.  I know it's going to get floury in the kitchen.

mix dry ingredients with fresh rye leaven

bring together with the liquid - I used soya milk

rest for 1hr30 then fashion into 25g balls

roll out as thin as you can

bake at 200deg for 7mins

as they cool they crisp up

serve with Heinz-esque tomato soup

José Pizarro: apple pie

I received his wonderful cookbook last year for Christmas.
And, as can happen, haven't indulged in its pages for some time.

But I found myself drawn to his, or rather, his friend Rafael's recipe, in need of something to follow our suckling pork & patatas bravas festive dinner.

My kitchen still smells of Spanish custard this morning.

It's an absolutely delightful pudding.  And lovely to make too.

the recipe


my tweaks

• the sugar content.  I used a third the sugar at each mention, and also included 1-2 tablespoons honey
• the vanilla.  I used a slug of my home made vanilla extract (thank you Celia and Joanna)

patatas bravas and Gordon Rambo's pork recipe

Despite my living in Málaga in my twenties, I tried patatas bravas for the first time this August, whilst holidaying in Catalunya.  

I've never really noticed the dish before on menus or on diners' plates at restaurants, but they are simply divine.
Well I've returned home, wanting to be able to recreate them.


I've also returned home, wanting to create delicious pork recipes.
And Gordon Ramsay's pressed pork belly method comes highly recommended by my dear friends Lucinda and Elisa.

I've started a thread on the BBC foodmessageboard, and received a few version to try, one even comes from Venezuela.
Since the video jug offering for patatas bravas had the appearance of my dish in Spain, I've made this recipe first of all.

Debate as to whether to include mayonnaise or not.
Mayonnaise with the patatas brava sauce is delicious, so I would mix some in, or serve it on the side, as we did last night.

ingredients for the sauce 

maris piper potatoes, blanched and fried or baked
2 small shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 - 2 red chillies
large glass white wine
sugar to taste
1/2 teasp cumin powder
1 heaped teasp Spanish smoked paprika
3 large beef tomatoes, roasted
2 tablsp home-made mayonnaise
salt and pepper


gently fry the onion, garlic and chillies
add the spices and sauté for a minute or two
add the white wine, then the roasted tomatoes and simmer gently till reduced by half
cool
blitz in a food processor
& sieve for a smooth sauce


add a little mayonnaise if you wish.  I added 2 teaspoons.

fry or roast your potatoes

and finish preparing your pork dish according to the recipe

serve with the pork, and runner beans.

soya sourdough naan breads (4) & an Indian style meal

We've not had an Indian meal for ages.  Hard to come by in Spain, but easy to do at home.

So yesterday, I pottered effortlessly in the kitchen making:

a spicy chicken and tomato based curry
a yellow moong dal
onion relish &
a mustard seed & cavolo nero vegetable side dish






Plus soya naans.

I've always got soyas in.  
Cream, milks, which I sub regularly for dairy products in cooking, and haven't had a mishap yet.


soya naan ingredients (4)

400g strong white flour
120g fresh leaven

(250g) 125g water + 125g soya milk + 

Provomel plain soya yoghurt 
salt
a little oil
melted ghee for the baking





mix the leaven with the water compound and rest for 5 mins
add the remaining ingredients and bring together to a dough  
Rest for 15mins
Knead briefly, and rest your dough for 6 - 8 hours till well risen

Shape into 4 equal sized rounds, and press & roll out to your naan shape

Fire up a cast iron pan, plus lid
brush your naan shapes with the ghee, and fry for 2 or 3 mins either side, lid on, until they are puffed up to twice the size, and slightly charred in parts

Serve with your Indian meal, 
and freeze any remaining naans for another day.

Make your own pottery salad bowl

Since getting my bargain wooden salad bowl from TKMaxx, my husband has hated every salad in it.

 So rather than buy a new one, I thought I'd make my own.

 

I booked into my first ever pottery lesson with local ceramicist & potter Viv Ayres, with my salad bowl design in mind, and set about crafting one. 
Her pottery studio was built at the end of her garden at home.

And as her garden is filled with apple trees, I also came home with a sack of cooking apples from the day.

I wanted a 1950's kitchen feel to my salad bowl, and thought mustard yellow, lime green and orange-red would work.
With hand painted wobbly lines.

The other ladies at the studio suggested using masking tape to get my lines perfect.  But I wanted it to look more rustic and home fashioned.

roll out your clay and smooth into bowl mould

create the footing & attach to base

paint your design

give it one firing

coat in the glaze & fire a second time

a dishwasher proof hand made salad bowl

 

And my first 2 pots, on the wheel.  The centrifugal force is a powerful thing to master, but I made it.

my first pot

my 2nd pot

I can recommend local pottery lessons to anyone.
And if you are in Cheltenham, these classes can be found at:


Viv Ayres
Mayfield
49 Haywards Road
Cheltenham GL52 6RQ



http://cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk/artists/vivien-ayres


tel: 01242 570846

How to ... give up coffee

If, like me, you know you drink too much coffee, why not give it a rest for a while and see how it floats.

I drink 4 - 5 mugs in the morning.  And feel the need to check how my blood pressure will react should I cut it out.

If you think nothing of warming up a nice bottle of sake in the morning, or lighting up a succession of cigarettes the moment daylight pricks your eyes, then the first method is called:


1. the Dr Stop!
That's it then.  No more coffee.  Ever.


2. the Half 'n half
Mix half your usual blend of coffee, with decaf for a while, to ease yourself gently into it.


3. the Switch to decaf


4. the Half arsed - I can't be arsed, approach
Resign yourself to giving up tomorrow/ next Monday/ some other time.


Me?  I'm going for the Dr Stop! today.

Say hello wave goodbye, to my last cup of coffee (black, no sugar).

richard bertinet prawn on sourdough

I haven't got his book, nor have I been to his cookery school, and have only seen Richard Bertinet on the BBC.
However, I would like to perfect (his) Richard Bertinet's dough mixing technique. 

I've tried it a couple of times, half heartedly, and have succeeded in working the dough clumsily well.
If you are having trouble keeping your dough firm and shapely, this way of bringing the bread ingredients together will solve that for you.


So yesterday, I worked the sourdough in the RB fashion once again.  Not for too long, I slapped and pulled for about 2 minutes, while he recommends about 10mins, until the dough tightened up just enough for me.

Left to rise for 2 hours, I shaped the dough form into 2 tin loaves.

Rested for a further 2hrs 30.  Then baked at 220 for 40 minutes. 

One thing that I do like is, the easily identifiable traces of your work in the crumb.
You can clearly see the bakers' turn I've used.

 The "Zeb Bakes" slice, a photograph for display purposes only

And garnished with prawns, lemon, mayonnaise and dill.

ingredients  

150g rye flour & 450g white strong flour
350g water
sea salt
evoo


Further information on Richard Bertinet can be found at his website: http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/