It's not to late for Christmas cake

Normally I would never bake a Christmas cake as there is always far to much to eat. I really like Christmas cake but it is rather heavy so I have tried to make a lighter version that does need feed with brandy for weeks. Pour yourself a brandy and enjoy Christmas this is easy no marzipan to make or Royal Icing I have decided to ice the cake with a rum and lime drizzle topped with cranberries. 

What makes this cake is a good sweet mince meat I used mine. 

Butter 200g at room temp cut into small cubes

Soft brown sugar 80g

Caster sugar 120g

Eggs large 2 

Self raising flour 200g

Ground ginger 1 tsp

Grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp

Good quality sweet mincemeat 200g 

Cream the butter and sugars together then add the eggs to make a smooth light batter.

Fold in the dry ingredients make sure not to over mix before folding in the sweet mince meat. 

Place into a prepared cake tin and bake at 150oc in fan oven until golden and cake begins to come away from the side of the tin. 

The icing is just the juice of a lime added to icing sugar and a wee drop of rum to make a thick but pourable icing I like the rustic finish as you can see. Almonds and cranberries scattered on top, next time I make this cake I think I will add another 50g of sweet mince meat. 

I hope you like this and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS :) 

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

It has been a few years since I made Christmas Mincemeat, in fact it was in Rowallane where mince pies where a huge hit. 

I used Delia Smith's Christmas book for the recipe then which is great but thought I would adjust it to make it in a slow cooker and to lighten up the flavours as well as cutting down on the shredded vegi suet used. 

The recipe is fairly straight forward combine all the ingredients into the slow cooker  and give them a really good mix then leave to infuse for 12 hrs in a cool kitchen.

450 g Bramley apples, cored and chopped into small pieces keep the skin on 

100g of firm pear as above

200g shredded vegi suet 

800 g of mixed fruit eg currants, raisins, cranberries, sultanas 

225 g finely chopped mixed candied peel 

350 g unrefined soft dark brown sugar

The grated zest and juice of 1 large orange

The grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

The grated zest and juice of 2 limes

60 g almond slivers 

3 teaspoons of mixed ground spice

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of ground ginger 

Grated nutmeg about 1/2 of one 

Give this a good mix then after 12 hours turn on the slow cooker on low and occasionally stir and cook for 3 hours. 

Turn the slow cooker of and stir every so often as it cools. The fat from the suet will coagulate and coat all of the fruit and apples binding them together, when it is completely cool it's time to add the alcohol.

Delia in her original recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of brandy, I only had a miniature of an almond liqueur which is 2 tablespoons and a 1/4 bottle of whiskey so added the other 4 remaining tablespoons of whiskey + 1 for health.

Store in sterilised dry jam jars or a Kilmer jar. This should keep for a few years in a cool dark cupboard. 

So mince pies soon and a recipe for Christmas Chelsea buns as well as oh I forgot about a Christmas cake recipe. 

Taming the beast into bread

The beast- your sourdough starter, this is the name chefs give to this wonder living yeast. Most famously Antony Bourdain description of feeding the beast has made it into the world of Urban slang.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Feed%20the%20bitch

The beast should be at its most active when baking almost escaping from its home bubbling away and smelling like the mash room of a brewery.

So how do you turn this creature into a wonderful sourdough loaf?

Before you start make sure you have a clear area to knead and patients to wait for a long but worth while method of making this ancient bread.

I have a special bowl for kneading and mixing sourdough made by @ mattthepotter in Rowallane gardens Saintfield.


Weigh out

Strong white bread flour 300g
Sourdough starter            250g
1/2 teaspoon of Malden salt
Mix together with dough scraper while adding water at 18oc to make a wet but light and silky dough.
Knead until the dough is elastic and passes the window pain effect.

 

Leave to rise until doubled in size this can take up to 8 hours

After this it's time to gently shape your bread

I came across this in an old baking book and found it quite apt.
Quote old Scottish verse
Be gentle When you touch bread. Let it not lie Uncared for - unwanted. So often Bread is taken for granted. There is so much beauty In bread - Beauty of sun and soil Beauty of patient toil. Winds and rain Have caressed it. Christ so often blessed it. Be gentle When you touch bread.

I have split the dough into two which weigh 250grams, one I returned to the bowl and placed in the fridge to use in 24 hours to make cracker bread. The other I gently shaped as below.

This was then left to prove for 1 1/2 hours with a closh over the top so the dough does not dry out. 

Before baking in a hot oven of 200oc I scored the bread and sprayed with a mist of water to help crust form. After 10 minutes the oven temp is reduced to 180oc and bread is baked for a further 30 mins or until it is golden crisp and has a hollow tap. 

 

This bread is best eaten the day of baking which is not a problem as it's a small loaf. 

Keeping up with sourdough at home can be hard but don't stress

I left a jar of starter neglected in the kitchen for a month to see what happens, it's a cold room with not much light.  

This is what it looked like

It does not look good but it is, the liquid on top is it crying for a feed. 

So this morning I mixed in some strong white flour to make it a drier mix more like a very wet dough.

A few hours later and it was like this 

Alive again smelling great and starting to bubble away :) almost ready to bake again.

Please note that if there is bad mould on it bin it but this should not happen as sourness prevents mould. 

An afternoon walk in Holywood

Every day  no matter the weather I take Rory the dog for at least 2 walks, today I took time to take a few photos.

The Brain Tumour Charity

Well I am back in Holywood after a great week away, the highlight was The Brain Tumour Charity's Twilight Walk.
This was a 10k walk round the town of Windsor my sister joined me as out Dad died of a brain tumour in March 2007, we felt it was a nice way to reflect on his life and raise money for essential research so maybe some day a cure can be found to help people like me.
There where over 350 walkers from all over and all with their own reasons and memories of those effected by brain tumours. I will let the picture speak for the event the fundraising page is still open :)

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidsemple1

Many thanks to all at The Brain Tumour Charity for their hard work.

                                                   

Living with cancer

As I try to get life back to a more normal routine it can be a challenge, my energy levels are not what they where but are improving. The one health issue that is effecting me more is Epilepsy which is a side effect of the brain tumour to stop any seizures I have to take one tablet twice a day these make me a little spaced out. Some would say what's the difference :)
Not driving is a slightly annoying but just think of the money not being wasted on running a car and the reduction in carbon emissions.
Last week after trying to return to working in a kitchen a few days a week I made a major change in attitude. Everything around me happens to quickly there is too much noise and heat an environment I used to enjoy and was probably slightly addicted too. So after seeing a friends post on Facebook about the local college offering 75% off on part time courses it was time for a change of pace and to move into Organic Horticulture. The terroir is after all the source of all our food and an area of real passion for me along with the environment so on 9th Sept growing will be a bigger part of my life.
For the last 7 month I have been doing an Open University course on the Environment: journeys through a changing world which has been of great interest as well as highlighting the need for us all to use less and become more sustainable. My new change in direction is to help this happen.

I will still keep up the bread course at Belfast Cookery School, I enjoying sharing my knowledge and passion with people and its a fun course with no large amounts of stress or heat.

Many thanks for everyones support or the last 18 months a long journey ahead but at a slower pace. I have started walking more in preparation for  the Brain tumour charity walk in Windsor on 6th October.

Look out for more bread post and I have been asked a lot about Gluten free so will post more on that later this month.

Super salad

Salad does not have to be soggy lettuce raw peppers and picked beetroot, a salad should be seasonal fresh exciting and have lots of different textures as well as tasting great.

So when I do a bread course I put as much thought to the lunch I will serve as I do the bread that will be made.

So this month I shared a grain that I have only recently started to eat- Quinoa. 

Quinoa Salad 

To prepare the salad you must first cook the Quinoa, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water bring to a boil and simmer until the grains turn translucent and al dente. 

Drain the water and spread the grains on a tray to cool, as they are cooling squeeze the juice of a lemon over them. 

For the rest of the salad I roasted a Spaghetti squash which I grew myself, roast with time Broightor Gold oil and a chilli until the flesh is soft. Leave aside to cool. 

For the rest of the salad I added beans, string beans, cranberries, grapes, celery mint, apple. A fennel bulb would be great if you have on just add very fresh veg. 

To assemble take the skin of the squash and shred the flesh adding to the Quinoa, then add the other chopped veg squeeze the juice of an orange and a good drizzle of Broightor Gold rapeseed oil, season with salt and pepper and mix.

Serve in a large bowl to share and garnish with mint leaves and cranberries, pine nuts would be great if you have them. 

Enjoy

Quinoa (/ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots,spinach and tumbleweeds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

Twilight walk

The Twilight Walk will take in Windsor Castle, the Great Park and the River Thames, with every step along the 10k route dedicated to the search for a cure.

On Sunday 6th October I will be taking part in this event, this is a very important issue for me as not only do I have a brain tumour my father Wesley Semple died from a brain tumour in March 2007. 

My sister Abby will be joining me on this walk we would like to raise money for the research of Brain tumour to help find a cure. 

This is what The Brain Tumour Charity can do with the money. 

£100 could enable us to purchase a specialist piece of equipment to analyse genetic make up, study protein structure or manipulate cells to behave in different ways.

£250 could cover a day of research for one of our leading brain tumour researchers to further the understanding of a particular type of brain tumour to provide more targeted treatment.

£400 funds a tailored information pack for 100 people newly diagnosed with a brain tumour, complete with details on how to access the support provided by The Brain Tumour Charity.

£500 could help cover the cost of a researcher to analyse tumour samples of people participating in a vital clinical trial, helping us to understand the impact of the trial and make future recommendations for treatment.

http://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/raising-funds/Events/The-Twilight-Walk

Below is a link to help us raise the money if you have enjoyed my blog or been on my Bread course at Belfast Cookery School it would be great to have your support even just £1.

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidsemple1

Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd

A recipe from a few years ago 

2 large stalks of rhubarb

60 grams unsalted butter

120grms caster sugar

8 eggs

Ok first thing is to gently cook the rhubarb in a little of the sugar until soft, then stain it so you are left with a bright pink liquid.

Now gently melt the butter in a heavy based pan I like my preserving pan for this.

Add the liquid and sugar and stir until dissolved, wisk the eggs and them make sure the heat is low and keep stiring as it will thicken quite quickly.

Once its like a thick smooth custard its ready.

Enjoy

Growing your own food

At last the weather has begun to warm up. Growing your own food is a great hobby but in this climate it's a short season and we are limited in what we can grow.

I have been growing in containers in my back garden which is paved, I have started to run out of space so vertical growing is a new venture. 

Using plastic drink bottles cutting of the bottom and stapling them to the fence. 

The great sourdough project

Well I have decided to conduct and experiment to see if mixing sourdough starters in different environments can really affect the finished bread.

Today I walked into the Holywood hills with flour and water, picked some gorse flowers and mixed it all together.
I have some pictures below and have also taken a few short video clips which I will publish later along with the instructions.

Making Goats cheese

A few weeks ago I got a very cool present, a goats cheese making kit.

So I thought I would do a quick blog to tell you what I thought.

The kit comes with very clear instructions and everything you need other than pots etc and milk.
So I read through it and cleaned everything down went to get milk the only place that stocks goats milk is a supermarket a shame.
All was going well on my first attempt until I spilt the whey and curds, what I save I made bread for myself. The next day I started again using 1/2 the milk much easier to poor and handle. The cheese looked great and had quite a mild taste, I seasoned it and squeezed out a bit too much whey. It still tasted great but a little drier than I wanted, so with that in mind I took it along to my bread course at Belfast Cookery School and made pizza for every one with nettle tops, Passata and goats cheese. Tasted great and enjoyed by all. If you where there and have a photo of the pizza I forgot to talk one could you send me a copy please. I have included the photos of the proses below.

Quick and easy salads

Just before the weekend I felt a bit warmer when out walking the dog, so I turned my mind to what to serve at lunch time for my bread course at Belfast Cookery School. Soups are a winter favourite but I wanted to encourage the seasons on the spring and summer so what better than a salad. So after a tutorial in Belfast on Saturday I walked down to St Georges market to see what would inspire me. Wandering around I spotted some fantastic little red cabbages and korabi so coleslaw popped into my head a nice french dressing apple, mint, celery and a fennel bulb. The mint I grow myself in a few pots in the garden, the next veg to appeal to me was celeriac which make a very good remoulade. So two great salads to go with bread for a relaxed lunch.

A bright tasty coleslaw just grate the veg and add a nice french dressing and mint to garnish.

Celeriac remoulade made easy first mix a good mayo with mustard and lemon juice mix together taste and season prepare celeriac grate it and stir in mayo mix until all is coated. 

Try http://www.helensbayorganicgardens.com for your veg and make sure you book a course with Belfast Cookery School - http://www.belfastcookeryschool.com 

Also Robyn's Nest Cookery School in Swords http://www.cookerycourses.ie

Brain Tumour Awareness Month

March brings us Brain Tumour Awareness Month

As some of you will know I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in Oct 2011.
It was the last thing I would have suspected when I was sent for test, this time last year my tumour had just turned Malignant and I was told I needed surgery and radiotherapy. I have now recovered from surgery and radiotherapy, how ever I have an MRI scan every 3 months so its always a little nervous waiting for the results.
The care team and doctors have been fantastic we just need to let people know more about this cancer.
I must say that http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx have been fantastic I would like to thank them for their support earlier this year.
Below I have posted what the great people at Home restaurant are doing to support this.
So please buy a bandanahttp://www.braintumouruk.org.uk/shop/bandana-for-brain-tumours and wear it while you cook as well as going to Home restaurant and support them. Thank you to Belfast Cookery School for adding this to there newsletter good work Fiona.

Brain Tumour Awareness Month The Brain Tumour Charity calculates that approx 1,127 are affected by tumours in Northern Ireland each year. Of affected patients, 376 will have primary brain tumours whilst a further 2,588 have secondary cancer in the brain arising from cancer elsewhere in the body. Brain Tumour UK reveals that studies have shown that half of all primary brain tumours are missing from the official statistics. And secondary brain cancer is rarely recorded, even though for many cancer patients brain cancer may be the actual cause of death. In light of this the charity is running a 'wear a bandana day' on Friday 1st March. They want everyone to wear a bandana for the day and donate £1 to the charity - so if you can get involved please do. Or if you can't wear one but see anyone participating give them your £1! Our lovely colleagues in Home Restaurant are running an event on 25th March. £50 buys you a 4 course meal and a live band will provide entertainment. Tables are sold in groups of six. All money for food and drink will got to the charity. The band are playing for free and all the staff, kitchen and fornt of house, are working for FREE to ensure maximum donations! If you are interested in attending call 02890234946 to book your table of six. Throughtout the month of March 50p will be added to every bill in Home and will be donated straight to the charity - go in have something good to eat and do your bit for charity this month!

A trip to West Cork to bake on an Island

Towards the end of last year I was getting itchy feet and wanted to head to a more tranquil part of the world. So West Cork is the perfect destination I had heard a lot of good things about Firehouse Bread on Heir Island http://www.thefirehouse.ie there was nothing else to do but book a Saturday baking on the island.
I planned my trip with family and friends in mind so that I could stay in Durrus for a few days afterwards.
Now that I can't drive due to illness public transport is the only option of travel, this turned out to be quite relaxing after booking tickets in advance traveling via Cork.

To break the long journey up I stayed in Cork city for the night, after walking round this compact city and the famous English Market it was time for dinner. I had booked a table for 1 in Fenns Quay Restaurant http://fennsquay.net not being in the review business this was a great meal. Kate Lawlor the head chef has a great skill and the restaurant staff are very welcoming I will be back.

The next day was a bus trip to Skibereen a long and bumpy bus journey but worth it, a short taxi ride to the Quay to catch the 2pm ferry perfect timing.
I arrived on heir island and walked to Firehouse bread, a warm welcome from Patrick and Laura followed tea freshly baked cookies after a long journey is great. Laura's parents who run a sailing school on the island are great hosts, Patrick cooked and very tasty leg of lamb in the wood burning oven for dinner.  The rooms are very clean practical and warm the quite of an Island is wonderful, its makes a great break to arrive before hand explore the island.

So down to the baking after an introduction the 6 bakers for the day got down to learning a new skill a really fun size of a group. Starting off with Sourdough to let it rise in time so we could bake it before the day was out, then everyone has a different recipe to follow a great way to learn lots at the same time. All in all a must do for anyone who loves real bread fantastic food we even had handmade pasta from Laura and soup and salads for lunch before filling boxes of bread to take home. Have a look at the selection on the table in the photos below. So book now! http://www.thefirehouse.ie

It also turned out that 3 of the people on the course lived in Bantry so where able to give me a lift to Durrus many thanks.

just some of the bread made on the day

cooling sodas 

These look and taste great 

morning walk round the island

Evening view next stop USA

Tea smk salmon starter at Fenns Quay

The next few days where spent relaxing in Durrus many thanks to Richard and Linda for your hospitality and to John and Sally Mckenna for a great lunch. I also meet up with @Jaq_Stedman for a great lunch in http://www.thefishkitchen.ie and a few beers after before heading back up north.
Thank you to everyone along the way.