my holiday, and a half-term

so despite being on holiday haven't achieved much, apart from spending time with my family and going for walks.

so here are few pics, that's the best I can do now.

Quick dinner, spring soup.

After having roast chicken dinner, which for just three of us is way too much of a meat I had to something with the rest of the bird.
So I peeled the remaining meat and reserved it, and put the bones with juices from roasting in a pan of water with some herbs (lovage, celeriac leaves, bay) and boiled it.
That made an excellent stock.
Once stock is ready it needs straining.


Then it's all about personal preference or what is to hand.

I put 3 potatoes, 2  carrots, and 1 parsnip all peeled and cut into small cubes. Bring it to boil and when veggies are tender add some greens and maybe a can of beans. Season to taste and here it is.

Dinner in 20 min (providing you have ready stock, which needs simmering for at least an hour).

Perfect if you don't have much time and fancy something wholesome and healthy.

It can be done in vegetarian version, just use veggie stock instead of chicken, but why.

more baking: Black & White

So first the sponge:

6 eggs, separated
150g caster sugar
115g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
40g melted butter

Whip the egg whites with half of the sugar until stiff, then in separate bowl whip egg yolks with remaining sugar until creamy and fluffy.  Add butter to the yolks, add 1/3 of the whites to loosen up the mixture. Add sieved flour and cocoa, mix together. Add the rest of the whites and fold gently. It's important not to knock out the air. Pour into a lined baking tray (I used square 12in one with loose base). Bake for approx 30 min or until inserted stick comes out dry.

In a mean time prepare gelatine - 2 leaves or 2 heaped tbs just cover with hot water and let it dissolve.

For cream in a classic it is just 500 ml double cream and 2 tbs of icing sugar. However I changed it and used 200 ml of double cream and approx 250ml  of stracciatella yogurt. Whipped the cream, added the yogurt and the gelatine.

When the sponge was ready I cut it in half, used the plum vodka to soak it, put the cream on the bottom layer, top it up with second layer and put chocolate ganache on top. Chill it in a fridge for at least 2 hours, or even better overnight.

Chocolate ganache: 100ml of double cream- heated, 100g of dark chocolate (74%) melt in the cream and pour all over the cake.

Enjoy.

Playing with camera

50 shades of violet.

More seasonal food. Spinach.

Went to the garden and seen this:

It was obvious that I have to make something with it.

So I started with filo pastry and butter.

Once I lined the baking dish with overlapping layers of pastry I made the filling.

I put approx 500 g of spinach, blanched in a blender with 2 cloves of garlic, 500 g of drained cottage cheese, (you can use feta, but I prefer less salt) and an egg, a bit of salt and a lot of ground nutmeg.
Then I put this in the filo wrapping.

Covered it with more pastry, generously brushed with more melted butter. So it was sealed all over.

Then baked it for 45 min in 200 C.

Came out like that.

It was yumm.

been in a mood for baking and it's a season for rhubarb,

so made this

and how did I make it? easy:

shortcrust pastry:
250g of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
220g cold butter
100g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbs of ginger
                           
mix together, can be in a blender form the ball and chill for at least 30 min.

In a mean time make vanilla creme patissiere
600 ml of milk
100g of vanilla sugar
6 big egg yolks
40 g of plain flour
40 g of starch or corn flour

mix about 100 ml of milk with sugar, flour, starch and egg yolks. Boil the rest of the milk and then add the mixture and boil for half a minute. Make sure there are no lumps. take of the heat and cover with cling film so no skin will form.

Take a half to the dough and line a tray, bake it for approx 20 min until lightly golden in 180C.
When it's in the oven prepare rhubarb, about 600g of it. Cut  in a cm pieces, dust it with starch or corn flour, sugar and cinnamon.

Take the tray form the oven, spread rhubarb and cover it with creme patissiere, then cover it with the rest of the dough (can grate it to make even layer) and bake for further 40 min.

Cut, serve with coffee and enjoy.

Deep conversations.

I love talking with my husband. He is really brilliant guy and we can have some really meaningful, quite philosophical  chats.
Anyway we talked about our previous marriages, both ended not so well, as you can gather and the conclusion was that trying to live your life by someone else's expectations is like wearing shoes that don't fit.   You can do it for a while, but sooner or later it will hurt. And to save yourself you will have to remove what is causing pain.