Home Made Fig Rolls

For Christmas my friend Chloe very kindly gave me a jar of her home made Figpote: Figs bottled in a honey and orange syrup. I decided to put them to use in home made fig rolls!

You will need:

For the filling:
200g Figpote - Chloe used a Pam Corbin recipe from the River Cottage Preserves Handbook

For the pastry:
75g plain flour
75g wholemeal flour
75g unsalted butter
50g sugar
A pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten and a little reserved for glazing
1tsp vanilla extract
40ml cold water 

Here's how to:

Put the flours, butter, sugar, salt, egg and vanilla into a food processor and whizz until combined. Whilst the machine is running, slowly add the water. Remove the dough, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  

 

In the meantime, cut the figs into small pieces, preheat your oven to 180C and prepare a baking sheet with parchment/greaseproof paper.

Take the dough out of the fridge and using a rolling pin, roll out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle, about 40cm x 12cm. You want the dough to be relatively thin, about 5mm or so. Tidy the edges by trimming.

Arrange the figs lengthways down the centre of the rectangle, then fold one side of the dough over the filling, and then the other side over the top of that.

Cut the roll into pieces about 7.5cm long. Place the rolls fold side down onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining egg and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until they start to turn golden. 

 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Time now for a cuppa I think!

Carnival Cookies

For Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday, I prepared these amazing Carnival Cookies and why the hell not! It's all about being the last night of eating richer foods before Lent isn't it? But actually if the truth be told, these little bundles of delight aren't all that bad, in fact they're butterless, flourless, eggless and virtually sugarless, all thanks to Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks! That just meant we had to make up for really letting our hair down in another way... Hastings Fat Tuesday!

If you're interested in making your own Carnival Cookies you will need;

3 large ripe bananas, well mashed up

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

60ml extra-virgin coconut oil, warmed (not solid)

120g rolled oats

60g ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g shelled peanuts

170g dark chocolate, chopped up

20g popped corn

Preheat the oven to 180C with racks in the top and bottom thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla and coconut oil. In another bowl, whisk together the oats, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  

 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate, then the peanuts and lastly the popped corn. 

Firmly shape into balls with your hands, about 1 heaped tablespoon in each, and place on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 14-17 minutes, swapping the baking sheets from top to bottom once along the way, until the bottoms are deeply golden. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. 

Wow! These really are like a carnival on the tip of your tongue! They are delicious eaten warm when the chocolate is all soft and gooey. Mmm mmm.

Baked Eggs

When you fancy something a bit different to the usual boiled/poached/fried egg on toast, I recommend you try baked eggs! Simple to rustle up and very tasty; perfect for a Saturday or Sunday breakfast or brunch.

Serves 2

- Knob of butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 handfuls of grated cheese
- Nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- Spinach, cooked and drained (cooked mushrooms would also work very nicely)

Here's how:

- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Smear some butter in two ramekins. Layer in your spinach (and/or mushrooms) and a little grated nutmeg.
- Crack an egg over the top, followed by grated cheese, salt and pepper.
- Place your ramekins in a deep baking dish and fill the dish with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the egg yolks are to your liking. 

Sit down and enjoy.

Découpage

A rather bland mirror came with us in the move to Hastings and I had just stuck it out in the shed until I had an idea of how I could jazz it up. I came across these cool découpage sheets of sea shells and creatures and thought they'd be perfect for the job. I also bought a small sample pot of Marston & Langinger, Grey Green for the background colour of the frame.

Here's how you too can jazz up any of your dull items of furniture...

You will need; 

- Your object you wish to decorate 

- A tin of paint in a colour of your choice
- Découpage sheets of your preferred design or magazine clippings, cut out to size
- Découpage glue (I used an exterior quality découpage varnish because my mirror will be hung in the bathroom and I needed to make sure it would be waterproof). PVA glue will also work fine
- Scissors or craft knife
- Paintbrush(es)
- Sheet of sandpaper

Step 1: If you have chosen to paint the base of your object, you may need to give it a rub over first with some sandpaper to smooth out any lumps and bumps and lift off any surface dirt or grease to ensure the paint takes to it. Be sure to thoroughly clean off any dust left behind. 

 

Step 2: Apply a coat of paint to the base of your object. My frame needed a total of 3 coats to achieve a nice even solid colour. Allow to dry between each coat of paint according to the instructions on the tin. 

Step 3: Once the base colour is dry, you're ready to start layering on your paper cut outs. Arrange your cut outs on your object until you're happy with the design, it took me a while to decide on how I wanted to place mine, take your time with this step; move them around and try out different designs, don't be afraid to experiment. 

Step 4: Now you've decided on the final composition, you're ready to start gluing down. Apply a little glue to the back of each cut out (take care not to apply too much as this could make thin paper wrinkle). Gently smooth down each piece. 

  

Step 5: When all your pieces are glued down in place, you will now need to apply a coat of the découpage varnish or PVA over the whole surface of your object. Don't worry if it looks white, it will dry clear! Allow to dry completely at room temperature, usually about 4 hours, and repeat this step. 

And there you have it, your unique piece of jazzed up furniture to enjoy! 

Sweet & Spicy Popcorn

Here's another warming autumn snack for y'all... Sweet and spicy popcorn. I found the recipe here but increased the measures of spices slightly and used maple syrup as a substitute to agave.

You will need:

Sunflower oil
Corn kernels
1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon
Good drizzling of maple syrup

Method:

Heat the oil. Pop the corn. Sprinkle over the spices. Drizzle over the syrup. Eat the delicious popcorn.

Cheddars

These little rich cheesy biscuits with their kick of red chilli are perfect for autumnal comfort snacking. I enjoyed them dipped in a home made cauliflower soup but they would also be a great accompaniment to a nice real ale or a cocktail. Here's how to make them.

You will need:

200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
150g extra mature Cheddar cheese, grate
1 whole medium free-range egg, plus 1 egg yolk

NB The mixture is very dense so these little babies are best made in a food processor.

Put the flour, salt, chilli flakes and cheese into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just combined. 

Add the diced butter and run the machine until the ingredients look like coarse sand. 

Add the whole egg and the yolk and run the processor again until the ingredients come together to form a firm dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a log shape with your hands. Bang the roll down on the work surface a few times to expel any air pockets that may have formed.  With your hands, roll the dough until it forms an even cylinder roughly 50cm long. Cut into 3 equal pieces, then wrap in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. (The dough can be stored for up to 3 days).

When ready to bake, heat your oven to 200c.

Cut the dough into 1cm thick discs and place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

And proceed to devour.

Lunch breaks in Lewes Part 1...

Hastings, here I come!

A fishing boat on The Stade. Watercolour by my good mate, Alan Rafter-Phillips. Thanks Al!

Ahoy me shipmates! Yep that's right, I've decided to trade life in the Big Smoke for a tranquil one by the sea, to Hastings! (Although looking at my ever expanding diary of upcoming events in the town; Hammer Horror movie festivals, Bonfire processions, Storytelling Festivals, I have a feeling that tranquil won't really be the case!) Seaside living posts to follow...Yay!!