Morecambe

Cadbury's Creme Egg

Found in the attic. This Creme Egg is approximately 37 years old, based on when the box it was in was packed and sealed up.

Richard Bertinet's Dough

I have become a little obsessed with bread making in the style of Richard Bertinet, from his book, Dough. He doesn't knead the bread but employs the use of, what I believe is called, the French fold, or a version of it anyway. It's a lot of fun, if somewhat noisy, but who can resist all that slapping down of the dough? I have watched various demonstrations of the technique, which vary from a lady-like flick and fold to a demonic hurling down of the dough which no doubt is a bit of a workout but hard on the neighbours. I fall somewhere in between at the moment. My most recent batch came out of the oven looking and tasting perfect but, alas, I inadvertently used greaseproof paper not parchment paper and subsequently had to spend quite a while picking paper off the bottoms. If I could only figure out the best surface to prove the buns on and how to transfer them to the pre-heated baking sheet, without smushing them because they have stuck, I wouldn't need the parchment paper. I'm sure there is a method, as it must have been done somehow before the advent of fancy paper. I will try a floured board and a fish slice next time. I have scoured the book but the advice given is to use a wooden peel to transfer them to your pre heated baking stone. I doubt very much that I will ever acquire either of those items without an intolerable amount of eyebrow raising from the family, some of whom already think it's ridiculous to bake bread when you can buy it anywhere - but they wolf it down none the less. My Daughter is all for my new endeavor, she never liked bread before but loves home baked and eats it plain as if it were succulent cake. I shall move on from buns and the impressive fougasse and try an actual loaf next.

 

My version of Moussaka

Recently I re-visited a recipe that I made available via my recipe box at the foot of the page. I decided to re-publish it here, as it was from my old Dear Diary site.

I have tried to cook moussaka in various ways ranging from absolute traditional to a vegetarian mushroom version. Finally I came up with my version that got the thumbs up from Sir, an accolade not lightly given.

Easy Garlic Bread

Having no garlic bread to hand I made some very easily and very quickly.

I heated up my lean mean grilling machine and while that was heating I buttered one side of 4 slices of bread very thinly. I mashed 3 cloves of garlic, a little salt and a spoonful of butter together. This mixture I then spread on two pieces of the bread, on the unbuttered side. For the hec of it I sprinkled a little cheese in as well; topped each slice, butter side up, with the other two slices of bread and then sandwiched in the grill and toasted for about 3 minutes. Once toasted I cut them into triangles and my family wolfed them down with their meal as the were so delicious.

Of course any toastie type machine would work and even an ordinary grill, just remember to turn the toastie during grilling. You could reduce the quantity of butter mixed with the garlic and certainly do without the cheese for a lower calorie version.

Kitchen Contraptions

Oh dear, as if I don't already have a cupboard full of unused gadgets.I came across Kitchen Contraptions whilst researching doughnut makers. Darling Daughter enjoyed these on holiday but if I am honest with myself I know that it is just me that is fancying one. I will resist, the cupboards are full.

Banana and Berry Terrine

This sure does look good.

Banana and berry terrine from Simply Recipes

Brussels Sprouts

I get quite a few search engine hits for Brussels Sprouts recipes because I put some recipes up ages ago. This site has lots of Brussels Sprout recipes, should you be in need of more.

Horlicks Shortage in Morecambe

Darling daughter and I trudged round all the shops in town today and there's not so much as a grain of chocolate flavoured Horlicks to be had. We were too tired to trail down to Morrisons but when I do eventually get there I shall buy as much as I can carry. Meanwhile, I found this recipe using non chocolate Horlicks. I had heard that iced Horlicks was becoming popular and judging by the comments on the recipe it is one to try as soon as I get hold of a banana, if not before.

Vegetarian Tortilla Wraps

My Daughter has a cooking lesson at school tomorrow and they are making chicken wraps. She wants to make a non meat one but she has to actually "chop" and "cook" something (otherwise it would just be a cold sandwhich!) and so we experimented with a few inventions over the weekend. This one was the winner. I have told her to make a great show of slicing the mushrooms and lettuce while everyone is chopping chicken.

J2O

At the time of writing Britvic J2O doesn't have a calorie count on the bottle. It's quite hard to find the calorie count but at last I cracked it. This is my calculation based on what I have gleaned as being the count per 100ml from various sources and is in no way associated with an official Britvic count if there is one published anywhere by Britvic.

Apple and mango, Apple and Cranberry and Apple and passion fruit are 132 calories per 275ml bottle with 30g carbs. Apple and melon comes in lower at 118 calories and 27½g carbs.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2005

Since the above post they have started printing the quantities of ingredients on the label which has enabled me to work out something pretty startling. Apple and Melon, the one with the lowest calories, contains the equivelant of nearly seven teaspoons of sugar. Ooops. I'm not even going to bother working out the others. To think, I stopped taking half a sugar in my tea!