Lead Up to Christmas

You might be able to guess from the absolute lack of posts that I haven't had much time for creative things. At the start of the school year I had surgery on my lower back so sitting up right was difficult then the new National Curriculum hit wis with a bang (I am a Maths teacher) and every spare minute was spend developing the course, materials and assessments.

It is now time to try me and dad's cider and it is very nice, dry but I like that.

I have managed to potter with peerie things over the year but disappointed that I still haven't finished my Aztec blanket (goal to finish that by end of January).

I have done another 4 rows but must finish it soon

 

For a few weeks me and the lasses would meet up on a Sunday morning and knit, I made a tea cosy from Smith & Jamieson's book... All that's left is to add a pom pom to the top.

As you may have guessed by now I feel strongly about homemade christmas gifts. I feel that now days people just give gifts because they feel they ought to but I like popping past a friend hoose with a peerie something and knowing that they'll get some joy oot of something I have spent time making. I definately do not do it just to get something back. When I wis a teenager whenever my mam and dad asked me what I wanted for christmas I would say a book, perfume or Lego... And I still do.

Festive fireplace, West End Hotel in Kirkwall

This year I had big plans for the peerie boys gifts (there are 4 of them now this year - congratulations to Gina & Robert on peerie Josie) but time ran away with me and then will be next years plan. Instead I made them some sock toys to keep their zebra's company.

Josie's first christmas gift from me ... A peerie sock teddy

 

Oliver's dad has a farm and on that farm they have a collie, so I made him a sock puppy

I also made Lucas a puppy as they have a beagle called Spencer and thought he'd like another.

Last time at was at Ryan's hoose there cat had gone missing so I made them a sock kitten

I made some christmas vodka for the man who started this craze in my flat, Murray my old flatmate, he would always make raspberry gin and something equally as tasty in the festive season so I thought he would appreciate this.

Making Christmas Pudding Vodka at the same time I made a pumpkin pie

Playing on Pinterest I found instructions for making candles which sounded straight forward and original so I made the lasses cinnamon candles in some beautiful glass tumbler I found. [In my excitement I forgot to take a photo of these so plan to beg one of the girls after Christmas Day]

What do you do in the lead up to Christmas?

Boozy Winter Preperation

Over the summer I made cider and ever since I wanted to try ginger beer. Whilst searching for recipes, I would find one that looked good then look a little further and find another recipe that seemed to supersede the last. I finally settled on one that used fresh ingredients and seemed to follow a similar pattern than the cider I had just made.

I got the recipe from a search engine but it turned out to be River Cottage which is always a good place for these type if projects. I was starting with cold when I heated up the lemon and ginger so I also believe this helped to easy my symptoms.

Currently the ginger beer is sitting in a warm place in my kitchen and I can't help but watch it when I walk past, it's fermenting beautifully and almost looks like it is fizzing.

Once it is ready to drink I'll let you know how it tastes... Can't wait!!

DECEMBER 2013:

Sadly this wasn't as good as I would have hoped, the recipe wasn't so clear on how long I should leave it (and my local home brew sales man scared me by telling me I hadn't made cider I had made a bomb) so I left it for 3 months. When I tasted it for the first time it was too dry and didn't taste of anything so I added more sugar after a while this turned to alcohol after a peerie start and the next time I tasted it it was horrible, not even suitable for mulling.

Next plan is to try a kit!!

51 Days of Summer: Week 3

I have set myself a challenge to take a picture each day of my holiday - to encourage me to do something exciting and help me remember what I've been up to.

Day 15

 

For Dad's birthday we went to the Scalloway Hotel it was good

 and appreciated after a big walk to Uyea

 

Day 16 

Book 2 of my Summer reading list

 

Day 17

  

Found this while I was helping my Mam take down a flower arrangement at the Kirk

its is my Grampa and Willie o' da Bouyn working at da cru

 

Day 18 

Frozen apples ready to make some cider

 

Day 19

 Watching Mam make potted mackrel

 

Day 20 

Cider is starting to ferment

 

Day 21 

 Was haunted by a GIANT black bumblebee

Tennis Ice-cream

After watching Andy Murray work his way to the Wimbledon final I decided that my Pimms needed some strawberries and cream to go with it. But I wanted to have a little fun with it so then thought ... ice-cream!

 

When I think strawberries I also think shortbread (very British) so here is what I came up with.

 

Strawberry Cream Shortbread Ice-Cream Recipe

 

 

Ingredients:

600 ml double cream

100 g caster sugar

4 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

150 g shortbread

1.5 punnets of strawberries

1 tbsp jam sugar

 

Method:

First I put the cream and vanilla paste into a heavy bottomed saucepan and put it onto a low heat and brought it to a simmer. Whilst keeping one eye on that I whisked the egg yolks with the sugar until they were pale and fluffy.

 

Once you start to see the milk simmering remove it from the heat and slowly ass it to the egg yolks, whisking all the time. I cheated and used the Kenwood Chef to do this ... as you may no by now Kitchen disasters are a habit for me.

 

Once combined pour it back into the sauce pan and return to the heat continually stirring until it thickens then pour it into a heatproof bowl and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge until completely cold and you are ready to use it.

 

Meanwhile cut up the strawberries (as small as you like) put two thirds into a saucepan with the jam sugar and put on a low-medium heat, soften the fruit for 10-15 minutes until it thickens. Put the rest in a separate bowl and set to one side.

Crush up the shortbread and put on a lined baking sheet and crisp up in the oven for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool.

Once all your ingredients are ready add the custard to your ice-cream machine then when it is almost ready at the raw strawberries and shortbread then at the very end add the strawberry syrup.

And serve xxx

51 Days of Summer: WEEK 1

I have set myself a challenge to take a picture each day of my holiday - to encourage me to do something exciting and help me remember what I've been up to.

Day 1

Listening to the Rolling Stones at Glastonbury while waiting for the boat North

Day 2

 

Making baileys panna cottas with strawberries

Day 3

 

First walk of the summer with the pack... This is Meg in motion

Day 4

 

Working on the Aztec quilt and its starting to take shape

Day 5

 

Molly decided she was more important and escaped from the boot

Day 6

 

Working my way through my Summer reading here is book #1

Day 7

 

Pimms, Wimbledon and the new Simple Things magazine ... Enough said :0)

May Weekend Shenanigans

After two back-to-back weekends of travelling I was so excited to stay in my Kirkwall and chill. So I invited some of the girls over for high tea and a catch-up.

This was a nice way to spend my Saturday, I may post a recipe for the vol-au-vents

in the future but I have plans to make them even tastier

I started my plan with vol-au-vents and mini eclairs but the more I thought about the eclairs the more I wanted to put my own spin on them. I love peanut butter and had a very tasty peanut butter moose at the Kirkwall Hotel the other week and I thought maybe I could use that idea but lighten it up with some fruit, well then I happened to catch the end of a Hairy Bikers programme where they made creme patisserie so I thought that would be the base to add my peanut butter to. Then when I was buying my ingredients I noticed some very nice strawberries and voila...

Peanut-Butter & Jelly Eclairs

Ingredients

Choux Pastry:
60g butter
130ml water
80g plain flour
3 large eggs

Creme Patisserie:
180 ml whole milk
35 g granulated sugar
35 g self raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
2.5 tbsp peanut butter
40 ml double cream

Chocolate Topping:
80 g milk chocolate
80 g dark chocolate (70%)

Method

 

For the pastry melt the butter in the water until all of the butter has melted and the water is simmering. Add the flour to the wet mix and stir over the heat for approximately 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs one at a time, this will go a little runny at first but keep stirring, it will come together.

Pipe onto a non-stick tray and place in the oven, turning it down to 195 degrees celsius for 25 minutes. Place on a cooling rack.

To make the creme patisserie mix the flour, sugar and salt then add the egg yolks and whisk till it is combined and pale in colour.

Then heat the milk until it starts to simmer, carefully/gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Return the mixture to the sauce pan and stir continuously.

Once it starts to thicken add the peanut butter and whisk until its the required thickness. Pour into a heat proof bowl and cover with cling film (make sure it touches the top) and allow to cool.

Once cool, whip the cream until soft peaks then fold in the creme patisserie.

Simple to make just strawberries & jam sugar but super tasty

When you are ready to make the eclairs melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pan of boiling water. Cut the eclairs and spread a layer of strawberry jam (I used homemade but you could use shop bought). Then a layer of the creme patisserie, closing the eclair and drizzling with the chocolate, place on a cooling rack. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge until required.

After words I went a walk with my friend heather and her loopy labradoodle Lucy,

yes she is clean off the ground

 

I didn't get much time between finishing the eclairs and the lasses coming over so only got one photo... I will bulk this up with more photos next time I make them.

Let me know if you try them xxx

Apple & Cinnamon Overnight Oatmeal

 

I am an early bird at the weekends but during the week I have next to no time to get ready let alone make something healthy and filling but I try my hardest.

The other day I was thinking about all my options when it comes to breakfast and I remembered Jamie Oliver's 'Pukkolla' it is super easy and tasty. Here is my version to use up kitchen staples at the end of the month.

Apple & Cinnamon Overnight Oatmeal - Serves 5

8 large handfuls of oats

3 handfuls of sultanas

2 tsp cinnamon

Enough soya milk to cover

4 apples

1 tsp light brown sugar

Instructions:

1. In an airtight container mix the oats, sultanas and 1 tsp of cinnamon and cover with the soya milk,
     refrigerating until needed.

2. Cut and core the apples, place in a pan with the other tsp of cinnamon and the brown sugar, heat on
    a medium heat until they have softened and have a nice light glaze, refrigerate until needed.

3. When you are ready to eat, put a desired amount of apples in a dish and heat. Then spoon out a
    couple of desert spoons of the oatmeal into your bowl, top with the apples and a wee spoon of
    yoghurt and enjoy.

What do you eat for breakie on busy days? xxx 

Wee Trip to Stromness

 

Yesterday I went through to Stromness for a peerie nosey and a change of scenery.

Main aim of the trip was to go to the Bayleaf Delicatessen and get some loose tea I had seen the last time I was there and more popcorn.

Black Olives, Pickeled Figs, Loose Tea, Popcorn & Manchego Cheese

The deli has lots of nice things in it and displayed a local artist sketches, John Cumming (my uncle) and Yvonne Grays's book.

I got a little carried away but made lots of yummy things out of my purchases.

Cake Club Entry #4

I hadn't even started my first day at my current school when my friend Colin told me that he had signed me up for something called Cake Club, it sounded right up my street.


Cake #1

Picture by BBC Good Food (I never remembered to take a picture of mine)

Was a raspberry and chocolate Brownie which a friend gave me the recipe for, it won me a very nice bottle of wine.


Cake #2

The picture sadly does not do this justice but they were so tasty that a second batch had to be made for the staff skiing trip to Aviemore

 

The pressure was on, I wanted to make something that I had never made before and I wanted something tasty. In October 2011 I had a very nice pecan slice from a Delicatessen near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and thought I'd like to try recreating it. I found this recipe for Salted Caramel Pecan Slices from a quaint blog. These slices also won me cake club and I was shocked and honoured.


Cake #3

I got this recipe from pinterest, loved it, wanted to make something nice and since I knew that winning wasn't a possibility so I thought I would have fun with it. I forgot to take a photo AGAIN so have used the one from the actual website (check it out it really good).

Cake #4

Never a bad thing when there are left overs!!!

 

My version of this cake was a complete fluke, my flat mate, Murray, had made Blackberry Brandy and we wanted to do something with the left over blackberries. I first thought handmade chocolate truffles or a cheesecake but it was a miserable Sunday morning and when I saw BBC Good Food's recipe for Blackberry and Apple Loaf I substituted the blackberries with the boozy ones. It was extremely tasty and very grown up, perrie paws were not allowed near it.
I recreated this cake for cake club this term by soaking the blackberries in mulled wine and the hitting them with a splash of Christmas Vodka. Everyone liked it which was lovely to here.

Now I get to sit back and enjoy everyoneelses cakes ... num num num

...What are you baking this weekend?

Monthly Macarons (January)

Heya, long time no blog. Sorry guys it feels like ages since I last blogged, no excuse just a busy time at work.

Macarons No. 1

So my new project for 2013 is my mission to master the Macaron. I have tried it twice before with varied success. The first ones I made were plain with a chocolate ganache, they looked and tasted good the only problem was that I did not make the almond meal fine enough (see above).

Then me an my sister tried wir hands at chocolate macarons, these also had a good consistency but when we put them in the oven they developed a load of air bubbles.

Macarons No. 2

 

If you haven't realised yet I am a bit of a perfectionist so I am really annoyed by my recent attempt, they tasted fab but they looked like I'd thrown them out wir second floor window. So I am now on a mission to perfect the macaron, I will try making them each month until I make the most 'awesomest' macarons ever. As I have tried these in Paris and LOVED them and want to take a little of that Parisian luxury to my flat in Orkney.

Macarons No. 3

Any advice would be greatly received xxx

Mulled Pear Jam

 

Well today is the first day of December and my house smells like there was an explosion in a Christmas factory.

 I bought a large quantity of pears and was unsure what to do with them, then I thought Mulled Pear Jam for Christmas gifts.

After some experimenting I came up with this recipe:

Mulled Pear Jam
 

 
Ingredients

800 g small pears
450 ml mulled wine
1 orange
15 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups of jam sugar


Method

1. Peal and core the pears, putting them into some water with lemon juice to stop them turning too brown

2. Pour the mulled wine in to a medium heavy bottom pan and add the strained pears. Add the slices of orange, cloves and cinnamon then bring it to the boil on a high heat then reduce to medium and allow them to boil until the pears have softened.

 

3. Strain the pears, removing the orange and spices, keep the liquid as you can use it for some other festive recipes. Then return the pears to the pan and mash them to the consistency you like (I like a bit of a bite).

3. Add the sugar and bring to a rolling boil for 15 - 25 minutes until the jam doesn't run when put on to a cold plate.

4. Now transfer to your sterilised jam to the jars, be careful it will have cooled but it is still very hot. I use a sterilised jug and funnel to make sure I do not spill the jam.

5. Put a small disc of grease proof paper on top of your jam, then screw on the lid

 

6. Decorate your jars if you are giving them as gifts, this year I went paper lid covers instead of fabric (think I do prefer fabric though, just wanted to try these for a change) and a little pear shaped tag so that their are no questions about what it is.



If you like it please let me know...

£1 Blackberries

Served warm over frozen yoghurt ... mmmmmm!

 

When at the shop I noticed a bargain but had so many other things going on in the kitchen they got ignored ...

So quick to make - 30 mins max

So I found this recipe for Blackberry & Brandy Sauce on allrecipes.com and thought it must be fate considering I had leftover brandy from the stroganoff.

I'm thinking Sunday pancakes

Really easy - you have got to try it ...let me know how you get on!

Auld School Granny Baking ...

 

I have been missing my Gran's baking recently and been intending to bake her oatmeal scones for many weekends but never gotten round to it. So today I made a point of not picking up my knitting and baking early.

This was not difficult as Fearne Cotton was  on Radio 1 with Jessie Ware in the Live Lounge, it was amazing!!!

Oatmeal Scones

First put your oven to Gas mark 4, then weight out 8 oz of self-raising flour and 8oz of pinhead oatmeal and mix together.

 

Then rub in 6oz of margarine then 4oz of sugar and 1 egg.

 

 

 

Roll this out and bake in the oven on baking trays, dusted with oatmeal, until golden - turning half way through.

I like them with butter and jam or cheese, brought me right back to sitting in my gran's kitchen with my sister and cousins having tea and oatcakes when we came home from school.