Date and Coconut Bread

'Bread with bits' was the challenge from Jen at Jen's Food and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy Food for Families for the May Bready Steady Go!  The Bread with Bits challenge is hosted at Utterly Scrummy Food for Families

Now you might not think this bread I made had many bits in it, they are certainly not obvious but you can certainly taste them because this is Date and Coconut Bread.  I seemed to have a surfeit of dates in my cupboard and some dessicated coconut I'd bought for another recipe, it seems like a good combination to go with and I was right.  The bread is slightly sweet but not overpoweringly so.  It is fabulous just with butter or as toast with marmalade, but would also work with cheese or with a soup like butternut squash or parsnip where there is already some sweetness.

Date and Coconut Bread 
makes a 450g (1 lb) loaf

130g strong white flour
130g wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp fast action yeast
4 tbsp chopped dates
4 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 egg
3 tbsp water
65ml milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt.

I made my loaf in the bread maker using the programme for fruit bread.  This meant simply adding all the ingredients except the dates and coconut and using the fruit and nut dispenser to automatically add them in later.

If you are making your bread without a bread machine, then here are the instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients, apart from the dates and coconut, in a large bowl. Make sure  the yeast does not come into direct contact with the salt when you  first add them to the bowl.
2. Knead well until the dough is elastic, smooth and shiny. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rise for one hour.
3. Add the dates and coconut  to the dough and knead again for 5 minutes until they are mixed through the dough.
4. Either shape and place into a 450g (1 lb) tin or form into a round and place on a baking tray, leave to prove for an hour in a warm place.
5. Bake at 220C/425F/Gas 7 for 30 minutes until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Labels: allspice, Bread, bread machine, Bready Steady Go, coconut, Date, honey, yeast

posted by Janice @ 21:35 16 Comments

3 Super Creative Sandwiches and a Pizzette!

Have you seen the 2015 food trends hot list?  Creativity, contract and convenience are the new watch words on the food scene this year and as we are becoming a nation of grazers, quick, portable and smaller Portioned foods on the go are replacing traditional meal occasions.

Adventurous sandwiches are tipped to become a hot trend in 2015 and Warburtons have asked me to come up with three creative sandwiches made with their Sandwich Thins to share with you.

Warburtons are a family bakery established in 1876 and actively run by the fifth generation of the Warburton family.  Warburtons Sandwich Thins come in four different types: White, Half and Half, Brown and Seeded and as an extra bonus, they are only 100 Kcal per thin.


First up is a real gourmet sandwich, this would be equally good for vegetarians without the chicken as there is so much flavour in the rest of the ingredients.

Chicken, Avocado, Mozzarella, Pepper and Spinach
1 chicken breast, 2 avocados, 1 Mozzarella ball and about half a jar of peppers and a handful of baby spinach will make four sandwiches. 

1. Spread both sides of the Warburtons Sandwich Thins with mayonnaise.
2. Cover with slices of cooked chicken breast.
3. Top with slices of ripe avocado (if you are not going to eat the sandwich straight away, dip the avocado slices in lemon juice to prevent browning)
4. Add some slices of mozzarella and drizzle with a flavoured oil (optional)
5. Now add some Antipasti roasted peppers (drain most of the oil off on kitchen paper first)
6. Top with a few baby spinach leaves and cover with the top of the Warburtons Sandwich Thin


Sandwich two is ideal for children but would also make a great breakfast or post-exercise snack.  I used the Warburtons Brown Sandwich Thins for this healthy and filling snack.

Banana, Honey and Almond Butter Sandwich Thins
1. Spread one side of the Sandwich Thin with Almond Butter (peanut or other butter would also be good)
2. Top with a sliced banana, drizzle with honey and place the top of the Thin on top and cut in half.

Serve with milk and a comic!


Now for something warming, we ate these melts for lunch but they would also work for breakfast or supper, using chicken sausages means they are lower in fat, the beans add fibre and you don't need much cheese to create the 'melt' effect.

Sausage and Bean Thin Melts
Serves 3
4  cooked sausages (I used Heck Food Chicken Italia sausages), sliced
200g baked beans
50g mature cheddar

1. Heat the oven to 200C
2. Place the thicker base slice of the Sandwich Thins on a baking tray.
3. Top with sliced sausages, beans and thin slices of cheese.
4. Add the top of the thin.
5. Place another baking tray on top and put in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melting and oozing out of the sides.

My thoughts on Warburtons Sandwich Thins

• They make excellent toast, we had some Thin toast with soup
• Warburtons Sandwich Thins are handy to keep in the freezer and I was able to defrost them quickly in the microwave. They don't take long to defrost even without the microwave, if you lay them out on a wire rack. 
• I took the Chicken, Avocado etc sandwich to work for my lunch and, although the oil from the peppers had seeped through to make the base a little damp, the Thins did not disintegrate as some breads would have done.  The sandwich still tasted great, but I would recommend eating them fairly soon after making. 
• I did go a bit Sandwich Thin mad at the weekend and even turned them into 'Pizzettes', or little pizzas, usually I would use muffins (English Muffins) so these were a nice change and make a thin and crispy Pizzette.

I was supplied with Warburtons Sandwich Thins, received expenses and payment to develop these sandwich ideas. However, I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: almond butter, avocado, banana, Chicken, Chicken Italia, Heck Food, honey, Mozzarella, peppers, sandwich, Sandwich Thins, Warburtons

posted by Janice @ 07:00 12 Comments

Bring us a Figgy Pudding (with chocolate)

This is a very simple dessert, the sauce is sweet and a good contrast to fleshy figs, the flaked almonds add texture and crunch to an otherwise soft dish.

Poached Figs with White Chocolate Sauce
Serves 4

6 fresh figs, stalk removed and halved
1 dessert spoon of honey (I used Scottish Heather Honey)
100ml water
50g good quality white chocolate (I used Hadleigh Maid white chocolate buttons)
25g flaked almonds

1. Place the figs cut side upwards in a pan, add the water and the honey, poach gently until the fig skin is soft, it won't take to long about 8-10 minutes.
2. Remove the figs to a plate, increase the heat and reduce the honey sauce by half.
3. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate buttons, stirring until they have melted and combined with the honey sauce.
4. Pour a little sauce in each bowl, top with three fig halves and sprinkle some flaked almonds around the figs.


I'm am entering this dish for the December We Should Cocoa, the monthly blog event run by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog.  The theme this month is figs which are paired, of course, with chocolate.  If you would like to join in, the linky is open until 28th December.

Labels: almonds, figs, honey, poached, We should Cocoa, white chocolate

posted by Janice @ 20:42 4 Comments

Chardonnay Poached Pears and a Slow Cooked Christmas

Christmas cooking doesn't have to be rich and heavy, full of sugar and fat.  I love a lush sugary treat but sometimes it's also nice to have a lighter fruity dessert like these poached pears.  The recipe, and the wine, were supplied by Eisberg wines and I've replicated the recipe in it's original form below.  However, I used my Slow Cooker to poach the pears instead of a pan on the stove.  I've added the slow cooker instructions below the stove recipe. I would also recommend removing the core of the pear from the base which is not mentioned in the original recipe.

I stopped drinking alcohol for 'Stoptober' and carried on into November, I did have one glass of wine when I was out for dinner recently, but really didn't want any more.  I'm definitely on the look out for alternatives to wine, but I'm afraid this one didn't do it for me.  I'm not a huge fan of Chardonnay and found that this non-alcoholic version was not dry enough for me, however it was very good in the recipe.

Eisberg Chardonnay Poached Pears

Labels: Christmas, Eisberg, honey, Pears, Poached Pears, Slow Cooked Challenge

posted by Janice @ 08:00 9 Comments

Hugh's Honey and Peanut Butter Flapjacks

There was nothing in the biscuit tin.  There was nothing in the cake tin. I wanted something sweet now what did I have in the cupboard that would make a quick and easy sweet treat?  I always have oats, dried fruits and a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds that we use in our bread, so I went looking for a FLAPJACK recipe and found this one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in River Cottage Every Day:

Honey and Peanut Butter Booster Bars

Labels: apricots, cranberries, dried fruit, flapjacks, honey, Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall, oats, peanut butter, raisins, Tea Time Treats

posted by Janice @ 19:51 25 Comments

Because I'm Happy!

Here are a few ideas from Dorset Cereals to help you to find ways to be happy, they do tend to feature breakfast which is, of course, when you can sample the delights of a bowl of Dorset Cereal Muesli or Honey Porridge to set you up for the day:

THINK: As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” So focus on the good stuff. What happened yesterday, what’s good about today? And feel the benefits of a little reflection and observation. Miss this at breakfast and you won’t have time to catch up during the day.

Labels: Dorset Cereals, happiness actions, happy, honey, muesli, Porridge

posted by Janice @ 20:37 9 Comments

Baked Beetroot with Local Honey and Thyme

Some days you get a bonus!  Last week when I had a few days off work, a neighbour saw me and offered me some of the huge crop of beetroot that he had grown in his garden.  His car boot was full of beetroot and he reckoned he was feeding half the village.  I certainly wasn't going to turn down these beauties which I saw him pull from the ground just a few minutes before I took these photographs.

I made Beetroot Chutney with the biggest of the beets, like this monster above.  I kept the four best beets to bake.  I cleaned the worst of the earth off them in a bucket outside, then removed the leaves and scrubbed them.  You can bake them as they are but I like to wrap them in foil to save them from burning or drying up.  The baking time depends on the size of the beetroot, I cooked mine at 180C for an hour and a half.  When the beetroot is cooked, take them out of the foil and while still warm, slip off the skins (I usually wear rubber gloves, otherwise you end up with purple hands) and quarter the beets.


Place the quartered beetroot into an ovenproof dish and spoon over two teaspoons of good local honey, 1 tbsp of rapeseed or other light oil and a tsp of fresh thyme leaves.  Put this back into the oven for about 5 minutes to warm through, then add 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar.


This is the fabulous local honey I used from John Mellis Apiaries at Auldgirth.  It is thick but not grainy, the flavour is intense and so good.  A little goes a long way and I'm guarding it carefully from Mr Farmer who would have it finished in a matter of a couple of days.

I'm entering this recipe for Shop Local, the Blogging Challenge run by Elizabeth's Kitchen.

 I'm also entering this for Cooking with Herbs, the monthly blogging challenge run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage, for any recipe cooked with herbs.

Labels: baked beetroot, beetroot, honey, Shop Local, thyme

posted by Janice @ 07:30 11 Comments

Spaghetti and Chicken with Truffles

I have had very little exposure to the flavour of truffles, those rare funghi, hunted out in forests in central and northern Italy.  I have had some truffle oil before but it wasn't of the quality of the oil that I was supplied to review by Truffle Hunter, the only company manufacturing Truffle products in the UK. 

Truffle Hunter supplied me with a block of Black Truffle Butter, a jar of honey infused with White Truffle and a bottle of the English Truffle Oil part of a range developed by Truffle Hunter in the Cotswolds, using Cotswold Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil.

Spaghetti with Chicken and Truffles
Serves 2

100g good quality spaghetti (I used Garofallo)
25g Truffle Hunter Black Truffle Butter
1 chicken fillet
1 tsp Truffle Hunter White Truffle Honey
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Parmesan Cheese Shavings

1. Cut the chicken fillet into small pieces.  Melt the Truffle butter in the pan and cook the chicken over a medium heat  until golden brown.
2. While this is cooking, cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling salted water.
3. When the chicken is cooked, add the honey and stir the chicken around in the pan to coat.
4. Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan with the chicken, butter and honey sauce.
5. Add the parsley and serve, topped with the Parmesan shavings.

We really enjoyed this simple pasta and chicken dish, there was not need for any other seasoning, the truffle products added a special something, quite unlike any other flavour, gloriously rich and tasty.


I was very impressed with the intensity of the flavour of the Truffle Hunter products.  A knob of Black Truffle butter on a Corn Cob elevated it to gourmet status and when I added some of the butter to our breakfast scrambled eggs we were blown away by the delicious savoury taste.

If you had to try one Truffle product I would recommend the Black Truffle Butter, it is the most versatile.  You can also freeze it, so I would suggest that you slice it into portions and freeze, it may seem expensive but a little goes a long way.

Black Truffle Butter 100g - £6.55
English Truffle Oil 100ml - £5.95
White Truffle Honey  60g - £6.55

You can get 20% discount on products from Truffle Hunter until the end of October,  by using the code FARMERSGIRL20

I was provided with these products from Truffle Hunter to review.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Black Truffle Butter, Chicken, corn cobs, honey, parmesan, pasta, truffle, Truffle Butter, Truffle oil, White Truffle Honey

posted by Janice @ 21:11 4 Comments

Bircher Muesli for Farmhouse Breakfast Week

As part of National Farmhouse Breakfast Week, the Shake up Your Wake up team are asking us to follow @breakfastweek on Twitter and share a picture of your breakfast every day from 20th - 26th January with the hash tag #BreakfastWatch. You can also post your photos to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.



Anyone checking out my breakfast every day is going to be in for fairly monotonous viewing because from Monday to Friday every week, both my husband and I eat a bowl of muesli soaked in yogurt.  We have been making and eating this breakfast since 1979.   Even when I was in the maternity hospital after giving birth, he would bring me in my muesli at evening visiting and the midwives would put in the fridge for me for the next morning, I'm of an age where they kept you in!   As this breakfast is very much an institution for us I thought it would be fun to get Brian to show you how it is made.

 Bircher Muesli (6 portions)

375g wholegrain muesli (no added sugar)
500g natural yogurt
1 tbsp runny honey

Mix together in a plastic bowl or tub with a lid.  Place in the fridge overnight, this will keep for 2-3 days refrigerated.

I will tweet my bowl of muesli tomorrow but I will also be posting alternative breakfast ideas all week, here at Farmersgirl Kitchen. 


Here are some breakfast facts

• Breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers.
• Eating breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance at work and at school.
• It provides you with the nutrients and energy needed for an active lifestyle.
• Research shows that breakfast eaters are less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.

Labels: Bircher Muesli, honey, muesli, National Farmhouse Breakfast Week, Shake up your Wake Up, yogurt

posted by Janice @ 06:00 8 Comments

St Clements Marinade for Olives from Spain

The world is divided into those who love olives and those who don't.  When I was a child, I couldn't understand why my Mum loved these strange green or black fruits, to me they didn't taste good at all.  However, as I reached my twenties somehow I too found a taste for olives.  I was totally converted by olives stuffed with anchovies which I first tasted in Spain.

Olive expert and chef, Omar Allibhoy has created some fantastic marinade recipes for 'Olives from Spain' just in time for the party season.  I've also been included in a group of bloggers who have been challenged to come up with our own festive marinade for Spanish Olives.  Last week, I received a bumper hamper full of lovely Spanish ingredients, olives, olive oil, Manchego cheese, chorizo and a selection of fruits and herbs.


I wanted to create a marinade full of festive colours and flavours so chose to use oranges and lemons, reminding me of the rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St Clements' hence the title for my marinade.

St Clements Marinade for Olives

 150g black olives in brine (drained and rinsed)
1 clementine
1/2 lemon
1 tsp pink peppercorns
10 cloves
1 tbsp honey
6 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
3 tbsp dry white wine
1 sprig rosemary

1. Cut the clementine and the half lemon into small pieces.
2. Put Spanish Olive Oil, dry white wine and honey into a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the pink peppercorns, cloves, clementine, lemon pieces and rosemary.

 4. Add the Spanish olives.
 5. Leave to stand for at least an hour, but the flavour will be even better if you put them into a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
 I was delighted with the light fresh flavour of the olives and marinade.  I deliberately didn't use vinegar or lemon juice in the marinade because of the citrus fruit that was already included and this meant that he olives have a fresh but mild flavour.  The fruit pieces are also edible and have absorbed some of the oil and wine so are also delicious.  I loved the pretty colours, the contrasts of  the reddish pink peppercorns, green rosemary and orange and yellow fruits against the shiny black olives.

We enjoyed the olives with some Manchego cheese and Medjool dates with a glass of wine before dinner.

Why not visit the Olives from Spain website, the Facebook page 'Taste of Spain' for more information and recipes and follow Taste of Spain on Twitter for all the updates.

I received a hamper from Olives from Spain and have created a marinade recipe using some of the ingredients from the hamper and some ingredients from my own kitchen.

Labels: honey, lemons, olives, olives from Spain, oranges, pink peppercorns, Rosemary, Spain

posted by Janice @ 21:19 2 Comments

California Prune Energy Bars

California Prune Energy Bars (makes 6-8 bars)

Labels: California Prunes, Fabulicious food, flapjacks, honey, rolled oats, Sporitng Snacks, stem ginger

posted by Janice @ 20:28 7 Comments

Best of British - The Scottish Round Up

Loch Tay from Kenmore

When the sun shines, Scotland is one of the most stunning places you could ever visit.  Glorious hills, lochs and coastal villages.  There is also a rich heritage and culture to enjoy.

Pittenweem Harbour

We also have some incredible produce, beef, lamb, seafood, milk, cheese, butter cream and glorious raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants.

Langoustines

Blackcurrants

We are lucky that New World Appliances as proud BRITISH manufacturers of kitchen appliances are sponsoring this event for the first six months.  Each month, one entrant will be picked AT RANDOM to receive a £50 Amazon voucher.  And, at the end of the six month period we will have a regional showdown, with a judge to pick the best entry (we are still working on who that will be and should be able to announce it shortly).  New World Appliances have kindly offered £300 of Amazon vouchers for the overall winner, so if you enter every month you have 6 chances to win the grand prize!


Thank you to all the lovely food bloggers who entered the Scottish challenge for Best of British in partnership with New World Appliances , it was fun to read about what Scottish food means to you and see the delicious meals that you made.  Fiona will also be blogging the round up at the Face of New World blog 'A Whole New World', in the next few days.

1. First past the post was Chris Halfmann from 'Cooking Around the World' with his Scottish Whisky Cake and remember, the whisky is supposed to go IN the cake!

2. Next up is this fantastic Pork and Haggis Meatloaf with Honey Mustard and Whisky Apples from Claire at Under the Blue Gum Tree. Claire is based in South Africa and really impressed me sourcing haggis from local butcher with Scottish roots!

Skirlie

Selkirk Bannock

3.  Jill from Lapin d'Or and More wrote a lovely post telling about her time cooking at a shooting lodge in Tomintoul and a bit about Catherine Brown, author of  Scottish Regional Recipes, the book the recipes for Skirlie and the Selkirk Bannock came from.

4. Ros at The More Occassional Baker  consulted her Scottish friends who suggested she make one of the most difficult, but total delicious, Scottish sweets - TABLET!  Tablet is notoriously difficult to get right and although Ros felt hers was a bit on the soft side, it tasted just right, mmmmm I love tablet.


5.  Scottish Mum brings us Traditional Scottish Oatcakes a quick and simple biscuit (cracker) and a great accompaniment to stovies, corned beef hash, or any slow cooked meal, stew or stroganoff.  In fact that reminded me that as children, we used to crumble them into any gravy left on the plate, usually from mince, totally delicious!

6. Jacqueline of How to be a Gourmand made me laugh with her quote from Billy Connolly “There are two seasons in Scotland – Winter and July” although I have to say that this year, it would be hard to tell them apart!  Jacqueline chose Scottish Raspberries and made this lovely looking Scottish Raspberry and Pinenut Bake.


7. Caroline of Caroline Makes decided to recreate a Scottish tea time favourite, 'Tunnocks Teacakes' using some Marshmallow Fluff she had found at a bargain price and was happy enough with the results that she plans to make them again and may even make her own marshmallow next time.

 My own entry is an Iced Cranachan with Raspberries.  Cranachan contains cream, honey, oatmeal and whisky.  I used these ingredients to make an icecream and froze it into little moulds just to make it look more cheffy! 

8. Karen at Lavender and Lovage brings us some traditional Scottish baking, not in the oven but on the girdle, as we call it in Scotland, with her Scotch Griddle Cakes with Heather Honey .  These were probably the first thing I ever baked, standing on a stool at my granny's cooker, dropping spoonfuls onto the girdle and the eating them warm and dripping with butter.

9. It's breakfast time and time for Tattie Scones at the home of Tinned Tomatoes blogger, Jac!  Jac says "These are traditional potato scones, made in Scotland. A simple scone made from mashed potato, flour and butter. Once cooked they can be kept in the fridge and re-heated in a toaster or under a grill."

10. Back to the sweet stuff with traditional shortbread with a twist: this is Chocolate Scottish Shortbread from Janine at Cake of the Week and it come highly recommended!

11. Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog used the challenge as an opportunity to make Cranachan, she says  "It's been on my list of things to make for years AND I wasn't going to miss this opportunity to give it a whirl. For the uninitiated cranachan is a traditional Scottish celebration dish consisting of oatmeal, whipped cream, honey & whisky and sometimes raspberries."  It looks great and, of course, as it was from Choclette, it includes some sprinkles of white chocolate!


12. Caroline from Cake, Crumbs and Cooking is a big fan of Scottish Cook, Sue Lawrence, and chose to make Treacle Scones and Parlies.  Here's a photo of the Treacle Scones but you will have to visit Caroline's blog to exactly what the Parlies might be!


13. And so back to breakfast again, you would think that we Scots ate nothing but breakfast and tea, although those are some of our best meals.  Fiona of London Unattached is the instigator of the Best of British Challenge with help from Karen at Lavender and Lovage and a few co-conspirators hosting the regions.  Inspired by childhood memories of her Scottish aunts, Fiona chose to make a breakfast dish of Kippers and Oatcakes.

14. And so we come round full circle with a Whisky and Honey Cake from Gloria's Canela Kitchen.  A lovely confection of whisky, honey and almonds.

And the WINNER, chosen by Random Number Generator, is......drum roll please..........................

Labels: Best of British, cake, Cranachan, Griddle, haggis, honey, kippers, oatcakes, pancakes, raspberry, Scotland, Scottish, Selkirk Bannock, shortbread, skirlie, Tablet, Tattie Scones, whisky

posted by Janice @ 20:47 15 Comments