Is it Summer yet? (shields eyes from the light)

It has been far too long since I’ve written anything and I’ve missed it. There are several reasons for this.  Firstly, I think the recent lack of seasonal variation in weather led to a very repetitive cycle of food; a constant stream of cold wet weather meant an equally repetitive stream of  hot steaming food and, in all honestly, there are only so many times you can mention hot stew or chicken pie or other tummy lining treats.  The other main reason has been an undeniable lack of time.  A full throttle surge into the maelstrom of brownie baking and selling has meant little time for anything other than opening and shutting the oven door and packing and unpacking the car (more brownie tales another time).  For now this blog remains my own personal antidote to chocolate.  

Perfect desserts

I’ve always had a theory that the perfect dessert should contain at least one (preferably more) of the following indulgent elements: cream, citrus flavour, chocolate and (in moderation only) fruit.  Today, despite the hayfever, (a horrible assault on the senses which reduces me to a snivelling wreck,  permanently leaking fluids from orifices above the neck).  Anyway, despite this, it is now officially Summer!  For me, the main indicator of this seasonal change are the elderflowers blooming out along the hedgerows.  Summer food is now filling my mind.  So here we go; an entire meal provided for; the drinks, the main course and a dessert.  Ok so there’s no starter but on a sunny day what else do you need other than a good dose of vitamin D from that big golden globe in the sky.

Elderflower Fizz

 I’m bizarrely grateful for the recent awful weather in so far as it has delayed the blossoming of elderflower thus giving me time to go through those early thought processes (in May) about doing something productive with the blossoms until finally getting around to doing something about it (June). Usually the whole window of opportunity would have been and gone before I picked anything flowery and stocking up with any bottles.  I smiled when I looked up a variety of recipes for Elderflower Champagne (Pah to the French and their appellation control-freakery guarding of the term ‘Champagne’).  Instead of shelling out on relatively expensive glass bottles, at least one recommended heading down to a certain supermarket for their 17p 2 litre bottles of water. Use the water as you wish (even pouring it down the sink for goodness sake) then use the empty bottles for filling with the potentially bubbly brew.  Incidentally these plastic bottles work well because they display the very tell tale evidence of increasing gas build up (and potential explosiveness!) by their swelling girths.  Should this happen simply release a bit of the pressure and feel excited about the changes going on inside. Leave for about two weeks then taste.  Can’t tell you if mine’s good or bad because it’s not ready yet but it has got a bit of fizz going on when I release the top (high excitement!).

I use:    

7 or so large elderflower heads

One gallon of water

Two sliced lemons

Two tablespoons of white wine vinegar

Pound and a half of sugar.

Heat up the water, add sugar, dissolve then leave to cool (heating is not essential but I think it makes for faster dissolving).  Remove most of the green stalks from the elderflowers and place in a clean bucket then pour over the water.  Add vinegar and lemon slices.  Cover with a tea towel and leave for 24 hours.  After this time pour carefully through a seive into the empty bottles leaving a little space at the top.  I’m told that the aim is to bottle the liquid before all the fermenting has taken place.  The natural yeasts on the elderflowers continue to work with the sugary water to produce an alcohol producing reaction (and thus fizz) in the bottle.  Recipes vary greatly (some adding yeast) but this is a very simple recipe with unpredictable results!  Ten days to a fortnight is long enough to leave before drinking.

Pizza

I‘d forgotten what a lovely thing a homemade pizza is.  On the day I made this it was the garlic I was initially craving.  This is another member of the 'dead easy’ group of recipes.

The best pizza I ever ate was in a very dark Italian restaurant in Newcastle.  It was a very basic Marguerita but made all the more unctuous by the final drizzle of garlicky olive oil whilst it was still piping hot.  It was so cheap but so delicious and would literally spill out over the edge of the plate it was so huge and pleasingly non-uniform in shape. 

1.       Make a batch of dough.  Bread flour in bowl (round about a kilo) add a sachet of yeast and enough water to make a pliable dough. If it gets too wet add more flour. We’re not talking critical measures here Robert Bertinet, don’t get your knickers in a twist; it’s pizza dough not a fabulous loaf. Knead it around for a bit then cover with a tea towel and leave to rise to roughly double the volume.

2.      Depending on size of pizza required, break off pieces and roll out to a thin depth to form base.  Place the base onto a large enough baking tray.

3.      Toppings of choice.  My current favourite is a tomato sauce base topped, covered with grated cheddar, torn up oieces of  mozzarella and chopped up feta cheese, rocket leaves , torn up basil leaves and cherry tomato halves. 

4.      Drizzle garlic infused oil over the lot.  Don’t bother buying it just warm some oil in a pan with a crushed clove of garlic.  It’s ready when it smells nice.

5.      Bake in a hot oven (I turn mine up as hot as it will go). Bake for about ten minutes then check regularly.  You’re aiming for a puffed crust edge, nicely, but only slightly, browned. Toppings should be nicely melted and looked cooked (ie, the very edge of browning, any longer and they’d look like they’d burn).

6.       Eat, eat, eat! Share with any Italians you know; wax lyrical about your mamma and offer to share the recipe if they’d like it.

Key Lime Pie so ridiculously simple you’ll know there’s a God.

I don’t know why I got an urge for Key Lime Pie recently but, as with so many ideas, it came totally out of the blue.  Maybe it was because my home menus had been so haphazard.  I’ve had little time to think about meals in a considered way and had become a frequent follower of the school of last minute panic cooking; ie, where are you oven chips, fish or pasta?  Actually making a proper dessert was a major achievement and perhaps a reflection of the fact that I was slowly getting back on top of life.  It satisfyingly ticks the right boxes as far as my dessert criteria is concerned, ie, it’s creamy and citrusy. The lack of chocolate is, for now, a welcome antidote to baking my own body weight in brownies most days.  What better way to make use of FIVE ingredients? Fabulous recipe is below.

One large pot of cream

One small tin of condensed milk (397g)

Eight limes

Packet of digestive biscuits

About a third of a pack of butter

Take a loose bottom cake tin about 23cm wide or thereabouts.  It doesn’t matter too much but don’t make it much smaller as you’ll have too much mixture to fill it (this would be no great trauma as all you’d have to do is sit in front of the telly and lick out the bowl).

Pulverise three quarters of the packet of biscuits in a food processor. Eat the rest at your leisure.

Melt butter in a pan and mix with biscuits.

Smear some butter on base of cake tin then press the biscuit mixture to a depth of about half a centimeter.

Using the fine side of a cheese grater grate the zest off the limes.  This does take a bit of time but really is the most arduous part of the recipe so don’t moan. Pour the cream and condensed milk into a large mixing bowl then add the zest.  Get your electric mixer and beat for a few minutes until the mixture gets good and very thick. 

Squeeze the juice from the limes and mix into the cream mixture using a spatula.

Spoon it all on top of the biscuit base and chill for an hour or so.

Add any chefy touches are required (ie, top with fruit) or eat just as it is.  Absolutely creamy citrus gorgeousness.