As mentioned in Day 84 of The Challenge This is one of my favourite tarts (and for any of you who've been paying attention, I make a lot of tarts). The first time I made it was just before we were going to go away on a trip for a week, so I made mini tartlets and brought them with us so as not to have the onions rot while we were away. Sitting on our (very short) flight all I could smell was the onion wafting down from the over-head compartment... Maybe not my most socially conscious move ever, but by then it was too late. Anyway, they made for a really tasty picnic lunch on our adventures and I've been making this tart, in normal or mini form, ever since. Feel free to omit the tomato or bacon, add spinach, cut the cumin and replace it with some nutmeg or add cheese. All of these options work! Ingredients: 1 pie crust (for pie crust recipe, see here) Half a dozen onions, sliced 100g bacon, sliced 2 tbsp butter 1/4 c flour (scant) 2 eggs 100ml milk 200ml cream (I don't always use cream, sometimes I do it with just milk) 1/2 - 1 tbsp cumin 1 tomato, sliced salt and pepper to taste 1) Line a pie dish with the crust and poke with a fork. 2) Melt butter in a frying pan and fry the bacon with the onions until they are translucent. 3) Mix flour, eggs, milk, cream and cumin. 4) Spread onions and bacon on the pie base. Pour the egg and milk mix evenly over the onions. Place tomatoes on top. Salt and pepper to taste. 5) Bake at 190°C for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot or cold, as a main or a side. It holds its own either way, and I love it! Great finger food for little bit too!

I had heard of but never had Jerusalem artichokes (and had never even heard the French name for them, topinambours) until very recently when one of my neighbours gave me some. One of his colleagues had planted them and then had more than he knew what to do with. Historically, they were the survival food of France during rationing during WWII. Reading up on it, it turns out that it is the tuber of a relative of the sunflower and not related to artichokes at all. They are also not from Jerusalem but originally introduced to the Old World from the New in the 17th Century. The English name comes from a corruption of the Italian sunflower, "girasole". The French name, also a little strange, comes from the name of a Brazilian tribe who were part of an exposition in France at the same time as the introduction of the vegetable. They were also called "poires de terre", that is earth pears, in French early on, interesting as potatoes are earth apples. To look at they resemble ginger, and the bag I got of them was covered, unsurprisingly, in dirt. They are starchy and quite bland, but with an interesting tingle to their taste. We tried experimenting with them. This recipe, as conceived by Hubby and I together and carried out by Hubby, worked very well and was very tasty. The soup we made with the rest of them, a cream of Topinambours soup, needs a little work. It was good but... Ingredients: 4 Jerusalem artichokes, sliced 6-8 potatoes, sliced 1 onion, sliced 1 leek, sliced 1 c milk 1 c cream 2 - 3 tbsp breadcrumbs 100g cheese, grated (we used L'Etivaz) 2 tbsp chives Salt and pepper 1) Combine all veggie ingredients and chives with salt and pepper to taste, roughly layered in an oven proof dish. Pour the milk and cream over them to about the midline of the dish. Place on the hob and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the veg is beginning to cook. 2) Sprinkle cheese and breadcrumbs over the top, and grind extra pepper over it all. Bake eat 180°C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. This was very tasty and it would be worth getting Jerusalem artichokes again if only for this! I need to work on the soup recipe a little, and also want to explore the Topinambours properties and possibilities further. If anyone has suggestions, let me know! It was sweet and creamy and savoury and rich all at once, with just that little extra tingle which sets aside the Jerusalem artichoke from the potato. A good comfort food, and a very nice variant on a regular gratin.

As mentioned in Day 67 of The Challenge This was a pre-night shift dinner for me by my husband and went over very well with all of us, including Little One who has started making definite preferences known. It is a bit of a multi-step process, but so worth it! Warm and filling, it is the ultimate comfort food. Ingredients: 2 eggs 500 g of ziti, penne or other tubular pasta 1 head of garlic, crushed 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tins (800g) tomatoes 2 c (800g) of cottage cheese 600g mozzarella, shredded 1 c milk 1 tsp sugar 2 tsp basil 2 tsp oregano 3/4 tsp cornstarch 1/2 c red cooking wine Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat olive oil with garlic in a heavy bottomed sauce pan, allowing the garlic to infuse gently. Add tomatoes and wine and bring to a simmer. Add basil and oregano. 2) Once the sauce has thickened, add the sugar. 3) Beat eggs, and add cottage cheese and half the mozzarella to them, whisking again. 4) Cook pasta 3/4 of the way there - it still must have some bite to it as it will continue cooking in the oven! Put in a casserole dish and set aside. 5) In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and milk, stirring and heating slowly until they thicken, then remove from the heat. 6) Add the cottage cheese mixture and 1 c of tomato sauce to the milk mix. Add this resulting triple mix to the pasta and stir well to coat all of those little tubes in gooey goodness. 7) Mix remaining tomato sauce with the pasta gooey-ness, and stir in the mozzarella to melt through. 8) Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes until the top is golden (and has a few crispy bits as these are amazing!) So tasty, and almost better as leftovers. I definitely recommend this. Hubby's been promising/threatening to make this for years, and never having even heard of this until he mentioned it, I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, and (after the challenge) this will be making it into regular rotation!

I have always loved both candied and chocolate-covered orange peel, but never tried making it. It was a treat whose makings were shrouded in mystery, and justly so, as something so delectable couldn't be within the realm of mere mortal cooks, but must be kept by master pastry chefs. And then a couple of weeks ago I saw a post on Instagram by Aleks @garlicrosemaryandsalt about trying to make it for the first time. Given that I already save a lot of our orange peel to dry for use as an ingredient in a few very select dishes (ahem almost everything I make), I thought I would give it a try too, and they worked beautifully. Some I sugared, some I covered in chocolate and some I left plain. Ingredients: Orange peel (I think I had about 3 oranges' worth, you can use more or less) cut into strips - I left the pith on but might trim it a little next time. Sugar - I used around 1/2 c for the syrup, and about 2 tbsp for the candying - use more if you like yours sweeter 100 g Chocolate - I used 64% cacao dark chocolate. Milk could be an interesting choice too 2 -3 tbsp milk 1) Place the (clean) orange peel in a saucepan with enough water to cover it and add sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half until the orange peel begins to go almost translucent. 2) Remove and drain, spreading out on a baking sheet to dry overnight, turning occasionally. 3) Place the ones you want to candy in a jar with the sugar, seal and shake, coating them evenly. 4) For the chocolate-coated peels, place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir regularly as the chocolate begins to melt. Add the milk as necessary to get the chocolate to melt smoothly. Dip strips of orange peel into the chocolate and lay on a baking tray covered with wax paper to dry. Place in fridge for an hour or so if necessary. All three methods are delicious. The ones I boiled but didn't coat remain acidic and tart, but without the bitterness and the edge taken off them. The sugared ones are candy, the chocolate ones melt together, the chocolate and orange melding seamlessly into a beautiful duo. Next time I might try a little spicing - some Aloha Spiced Cacao, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, salt or chilli flakes in the chocolate or sprinkled over the top. For a first try though I wanted to leave them simple, and I am glad I did. The candied ones, in addition to being excellent snack food, topped my Orange Chocolate Cake beautifully too! Book Pairing: When I made these, I was listening to Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I was right at the start of the book where, despite knowing vaguely what was going to happen, reinforced by some foreshadowing, I was still early enough in that it was possible to just enjoy the beauty of Nabokov's writing without being fully disgusted with the main character and the story as I was through the rest of the book. It is wonderfully written, but I can't for the life of me work out why it is something one should ever read! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

As mentioned in Day 77 of The Challenge These were experimental, and came out very well. I wanted bread to go with our lunch. But we were out of bread, so I was going to make baking powder biscuits. But I was out of butter, so I decided to make corn muffins, but then realised that I had used the last of the eggs and milk already. So I made corn muffins with what I had - Apple sauce and apple juice instead of the eggs and milk. They were a bit sweeter than normal, and a little moister, but they worked! Ingredients: 1 c flour 1 c cornmeal 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 c sugar 2 eggs 1/4 c sunflower oil 3/4 c apple juice 3/4 c apple sauce 1) Mix together the dry ingredients. Gradually add the wet ingredients, mixing well to prevent lumps. 2) Spoon into muffin cups or into a prepared cake tin. 3) Bake at 200°C for 25-30 minutes. These worked very well? They are certainly more sweet than savoury, and worked best with just butter, no jam or chutney really did justice or had its own justice done on these muffins, but they were tasty never-the-less. In future, I might use a little less apple sauce, and probably cut the sugar a little. Definitely worth a try for a bit of variety though!

I love requests for the blog! This recipe is at the request of one of my cousins who was introducing his girlfriend to Cottage Pie for the first time. (Following a question recently: Cottage pie is made with beef, shepherd's pie with lamb. I like making it with pork too, which I guess is Swineherd's pie? Not sure what a chicken based one would be. Anyone?) No garlic in this one I am afraid as (shock, horror) I was out of garlic. Gasp! Normally I would have included about half a head. I use different veg every time. It depends on what is in on sale and what is in the fridge. Mushrooms and celery are also good, although not included in this particular one. I hadn't made a cottage pie in ages, and I don't think Little Bit had ever had it but it was a hit! Rich, moist and packed with flavour with a layer of creamy mash and melted cheese on top, it was perfect for a chilly March afternoon just above freezing with snow still on the ground. Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 3 carrots, chopped 1/2 - 3/4 c chopped celeriac 1 leek, chopped 500 g (ish) of ground beef 1 /2 tsp baking soda 1 c (ish) of tomato passata 1/2 - 1 c red cooking wine 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp rosemary 1/2 tsp sumac 1/2 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao 2 c - or more, my layer was a little scanty - mashed potatoes (given my eternal supplies of whey these days I mixed mine up with whey and butter, but normally I use milk.) 100g/ 1/2 - 1 c cheese, diced (I used raclette aux herbes) Salt and pepper to taste 1) Sprinkle the baking soda over the beef, mix it up well and leave it to sit while you start on other bits. The chemical reactions involved leave you with tenderer, juicier meat and without the puddle of grease. 2) Heat oil in a cast iron skillet (or a heavy frying pan). Sauté onions (and garlic if using) for a couple of minutes until just starting to soften then add in the carrot and celeriac. Allow these to cook for a few minutes, allowing some of the veg to brown a little. 3) Add the meat and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking until the meat has begun browning, then add the other ingredients except the mashed potato. Cook for about 5 more minutes, then taste test. 4) If you've cooked the meat mix in an iron skillet, then simply layer the potatoes over the top of the meat mix and scatter the diced cheese over the top. Place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is melty and bubbling and the meat juices have bubbled up. I had not had cottage pie in the longest time and am so happy that I had a request for this! This recipe, like many others, never comes out the same way twice, and I feel that this batch was particularly good. As with other favourite dishes, it's a good fridge clearer dish, where almost any veg in the fridge can go in to make this more interesting and bulk it out. Book Pairing: When I made this I was listening to Aldous Huxley's Crome Yellow (and took a trip out to see cows with Little Bit while it was in the oven). I really enjoyed the book, but it was not what I was expecting. Unlike the only other book of his that I have read, it was not futuristic and not a dystopia, just a little sad, a tale of unrequited love, (and strange characters) in a 1920s British manor house for the summer.

In early December, a very good friend of mine was visiting us and we made Christmas Butterballs to celebrate. True to form, I didn't double-check my pantry first and it turned out that we were missing the necessary walnuts. I gave my friend the choice between almonds and hazelnuts to replace the walnuts. Her response was unequivocal. Hazelnuts! They are her favourite, and although ubiquitous here, since moving to the US, they are less common and harder to find. We made the Butterballs with the hazelnuts, and all enjoyed them greatly, but this got me thinking. A lot of our Christmas Cookies require almonds, but how much difference do these make to the actual taste and substance of the cookies. I enjoyed the hazelnut butterballs but missed the originals, whereas Hubby and my friend both liked them better, so clearly it does make a difference, but how much? So I decided to try the Cinnamon Stars, which have ground almonds as their base, using hazelnuts substituted in for the almonds. And then as I thought about it further, hazelnut and cacao seemed like such a natural pairing that I decided to try some chocolatey ones and some regular ones, each variety with and without icing. Ingredients: For the plain ones: 3 egg whites a pinch of salt 1 1/2 c powdered sugar 3 c ground hazelnuts 2 tbsp cinnamon 2 tsp kirsch For the chocolate ones: 3 egg whites a pinch of salt 1 c powdered sugar 1/2 c cacao 3 c ground hazelnuts 2 tbsp cinnamon 2 tsp kirsch 2 tbsp sugar for rolling 1) Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to form stiff peaks. Fold in the powdered sugar and set aside 2 tbsp for the icing. If using, fold in cacao at this point. 2) Mix in the nuts, cinnamon and kirsch to form a stiff dough. Roll out 1 cm thick on a sugared surface and cut out shapes. 3) Lay out on a cookie sheet (preferably greased or with a silicone sheet) and ice with a little dollop of the icing. 4) Allow to rest for 5 hours or overnight. Bake at 250°C for 5 minutes. So the consensus was that these were good, and the hazelnuts worked well for this, including with the cinnamon, but... All the cookie cutters are at my house and we are at my parents' so these are all round, despite the name. Small wine glasses are perfect for this. I do recommend a silicone sheet because the plain batch I allowed to cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, and they were cemented to the tray. Also, I believe that this oven runs a little hot. Pulled out at time, and the second batch at 4 minutes, both batches were a little darker than would have been ideal. Next time, I would do them at 240°C for 4 minutes like the Basler cookies. I also rolled mine out too thin which compounded the problem, so I do recommend making sure they are thick enough. Further, the chocolate ones were too chocolatey and the cinnamon paled into insignificance behind it. the chocolatey ones worked better with the icing as the extra sugar balanced out the flavour of the cookie while the plain ones were better uniced and definitely did not need extra sugar. I would like to try these with only 2 tbsp or 1/4 c cacao instead of a full third of the sugar content - make them hazelnut and cinnamon biscuits with cacao and not chocolate biscuits with a bit of cinnamon and some hazelnuts for texture.

macaroons, two orange date cookies and a freshly baked ginger snap Days 7 and 8 are cookies which are traditional

I also found out that this is traditional both in the South of the US and in Amish country, interestingly

I was invited this week to take part in a collaboration on Instagram for International Tea day on the 21st of May and to put together an Afternoon Tea. In planning this, scones seemed almost a prerequisite. Continuing my earlier quest for scones that rise well without self-raising flour, at some altitude and without the taste of baking powder, I decided to try the use of some baking powder and some baking soda. Soda needs an acid to activate it, and without whey on hand this time, I decided to try using honey, which somewhat surprisingly is acidic. I didn't use any sugar and instead used about a tablespoon of honey, and my scones came out quite well. They didn't rise as much as I would have liked, so I will try again, increasing the quantities of soda and honey accordingly, but as a first attempt at this, they came out nicely and had a lovely flavour. Given the absence locally of clotted cream, I used Double Crème de Gruyère instead which worked delightfully. Ingredients: 1 1/2 c flour 1/2 c butter, cubed 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp honey 1/3 c milk 1/3 c raisins 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1) Place dry ingredients in a bowl. Add butter and rub together with the dry ingredients until they form a crumb-like consistency. 2) Add the honey and milk and stir with a fork, forming a thick dough. Mix in raisins and press dough together without kneading. 3) Roll out on a floured surface to about 1 1/2 cm thick and cut out rounds of the desired diameter. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 180°C for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter or clotted cream and jam or honey for best results. These were very tasty and had a very nice crumb. I would have liked them to rise by about another 1/2 or 1 cm, but I was quite pleased with them doubling in size. They had a taste almost of cinnamon raisin bagels and were particularly nice with homemade Plum and Apple Jam. Book Pairing: I made these while listening to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. it is one of the few of hers that I had not previously read. My sister started reading it aloud to me a year ago on skype but we didn't get very far, so I decided to listen to it on my own instead and wrap it up. I found it thoroughly delightful, if a little frustrating in parts, and Austen's biting satire is as entertaining as ever. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.