New Yauatcha Macaroons

I'm a sucker for Yauatcha any day of the week. Which is the reason why I force myself to stay in the office on my lunch- if I'm not lured into the super sized Topshop then I'm 'just happening' to stroll past Yauatcha and a bag of macaroons 'just happened' to look at me in a suggestive, come hither, you know you want to sort of glare. Well if it's ain't the macaroons than it's one of the delicious cakes. I know I'm having a crap day if the only thing to put a smile on my face is a macaroon.

I usually get my favourites, so one Friday The Boy presented me with a bag of the latest flavours. How do the new ones rate compared to my usual? Fig Violet (purple) was sweet but had a nice faint taste of violet, Strawberry Tagada (pink) didn't quite have the fresh strawberry taste I was hoping for, Coconut Saffron (light yellow)gave me mixed feelings. One bite would be too sweet for me, but then I'd taste it again and liked the rich saffron taste. My pick of the bunch however was Apricot Ginger (orange). It was fresh, fruity with the occasional bite of stem ginger. A perfect combination.

Fennel and Pear Salad

In the mood for a quick salad for dinner after a long day at work and desperate to use up random bits about the house namely a pear, some fennel and some feta. It turned out to be a refreshingly light salad that just oozed late summer to me. The saltiness of the feta pairs well with the aniseed taste of the fennel and the honey sweetness of the pear.

One note of caution- it doesn't keep too well. Eat the same day and before the pear turns brown.

Fennel and Pear Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 pear, thinly sliced
handful of crumbled feta
handful of walnuts, candied or unsalted

walnut oil, to drizzle

Mix the fennel and pear in abowl. Drizzle with a little walnut oil and toss. Add the walnuts and feta and serve immediately.

Mmmmm pancakes

A major craving (not to mention a raging hangover) has fuelled my recent foray into making American (as opposed to the French) style pancakes from scratch (and without the help of Bisquick). It's surprising easy, you probably already have all the ingredients in the cupboard and they taste pretty damn fine (even when not hungover). Even The Boy has converted and hasn't bitched about been fed pancakes the last three weekends in place of his favourite eggs on toast. Mind you I did bribe him with a side of bacon...

Anyone brought up on pancakes knows that there are many choices when it comes to flavouring these puppies. Mashed up banana was tops as a kid, chocolate chips worked into the mix gives you that extra sugar high- extras can go in the mix or on top it's up to you. In the picture above I topped the stack with summer berries- freshly picked strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and raspberries- and since I was put of maple syrup, I drizzled a little of the syrup from a jar of stem ginger. DELISH!

Fluffy American Pancakes

Makes 10 small pancakes

Ingredients:

3 eggs- separated
120 g. plain flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
150 ml. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix the yolks and the vanilla. Mix in the milk. Add the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt. Put to one side.

Whisk the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. You can add a knob of butter if you want a light buttery taste.

Using a tea cup, pour the mix into the skillet so that you have two or three round pancakes.

It's time to flip the pancakes when they form little holes all over the top side of the pancake- it's almost swiss cheese like holes. You'll know when you see it but allow roughly three to four minutes on each side. Don't worry if you think one side has cooked more than the other- you can flip it back over and cook it to your liking.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

I was feeling very American and was craving BBQ sauce. I'm not a fan of the bottled variety and usually go out to satisfy this kind of craving but I was determined to use up things in the kitchen so I made up my own.

Amazingly it isn't that difficult to make your own sauce and you are smug in the knowledge that you know what is in it. I wanted something smoky with a kick to it- so I added a bit of the pureed chipotle paste I keep in the fridge (just blitz a can of chipotles in adobo and put in a sealable jar).

This is a piece of cake- it's good with steak too.


Xoch's Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce
Enough for 4 drumsticks with plenty leftover to dip in

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. ketchup (to add to your feelings of smugness use an organic version)
2 tbsp. Chipotle paste
3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcester sauce

Mix everything together in a bowl until well blended.

EBBP#5

I love presents. It's therefore only natural that I should love EBBP. EBBP for the unfamiliar stands for Euro Blogging By Post. The easiest way to describe it is like Secret Santa across Europe and with food. It felt like Christmas in July. The way it works is one person (in this case it was Jeanne from Cook Sister) coordinates the names of all the participants and sorts out who each of us have to send a package to. My Asian inspired package went to Petra in Germany.

Once I sent my box off, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my package. Who would be sending it? Where would it be sent from? What would they put in there? A few days later there was a little box in front of my door from Switzerland. Like a kid at Christmas I ripped open the box and was greeted with lovely wrapped collection of goodies. Here's what Pam at Posie's Place sent me:

Polenta with truffles- I hope to make this up this week
Fruit and nut mix- which Pam likes to snack on when sat outside with a glass of wine and which are on my desk at work for my afternoon snack
Tandoori Masala spice mix- with curry recipe included
Home grown and home dried chilis- which I plan to use in a salsa
Fondue- a small pot of fondue that although it's not very summery she was persuaded by a friend to include it as she felt fondue was fab all year long (sorry- it's missing from the picture above)
Zitronen Lackerli- A gingerbready, hazelnutty, lemony biscuit that I love and have hidden away while I debate whether or not to share.
And since it was the national day in her region, Pam sent me a little candle with the Swiss flag on it.

There was a sweet note included as well as a recipe for a curry that I hope to make soon as I am on a curry kick at the moment. I love my package and can't wait to make everything. Thank you Pam- my apologies for not having a chance to write this up sooner. If you're intrigued and wondering what else was sent out, here is Jeanne's round up.

I heart tortillas

Growing up in my house meant that no meal was complete unless my Mexican father had his tortillas by his side - even if we were eating a Chinese takeaway. There were (and still are) two camps in the house; those that only ate flour tortillas and those who ate the corn version. The children always seem to prefer the comforting softness of the flour ones while the grown ups went for the hearty coarseness of the corn tortillas.

With all the interest in Mexican cooking, there hasn’t been enough praise heaped on the humble tortilla. Yes, it makes a meal when eaten as fajitas or enchiladas, but the possibilities are endless. It is the ultimate midnight munchies fix, it makes a tasty breakfast on the go or, as it was when I was growing up, an after-school snack.

Below are some quick and easy recipes that are staples in my house. Use it as a springboard to try other things in a tortilla. As The Boy likes to say- Everything tastes better in a tortilla! But please promise me that you will warm them- eating a tortilla cold is just wrong.

Avocado Burrito

This was my favourite after school snack as a kid. It is my comfort food as an adult and always hits the spot when nothing else will do.
Serves 1

½ avocado
1 tortilla

Warm the tortilla on both sides. Add slices of avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roll into a burrito.


Breakfast Burrito
Serves 1

1-2 eggs
2 strips of bacon
½ tomato, sliced
2 mushrooms, sliced
1 tortilla

Cook up all the ingredients (except the tortilla) as if making a breakfast fry-up. Put the cooked ingredients in the tortilla and roll into a burrito.

That finishing touch...

A few years ago I was given my grandmother's cookbook that was started in the 1940s and by looks of some of the pictures and recipes went through to the 60s. Inside is a mix of handwritten recipes and ripped pages from various magazines. Some days I have a look through and toy with the idea of making her Lemon Meringue Pie that was legendary (as was her Cheese Torte), other days I have a look and giggle at some of the moulded and jellified dishes that were the fashion of the day.

Having a look through recently I came across this snippet of garnishing advice that gave me a laugh (especially since it seems that all of last month's magazines had features on plating food or styling for photography). I don't know where it came from or when but it's great nonetheless. Click on the picture for a closer view.

My favourites are "spoon jelly on sliced cold meat" and "tuck a lemon leaf under a sherbet".

Yum.