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B is for Bagel... A year ago for Christmas, my sister gave me bagel moulds (also known as witches` hats) and a recipe. Growing up in Switzerland with family in New York, bagels were always a treat, something we couldn't get here but would look forward to on trips to see family. Family coming over here would also bring us bagels in ziplock baggies, bringing a taste of New York to us for a few mornings after their arrival. And, aside from one woman who made homemade bagels that we bought occasionally, they were not available. Somehow, it never occurred to me to try making my own until my sister gave me those moulds last Christmas. Since, I have tried a few different recipes and methods, getting better and nearer the mark with each attempt. The real trick seems to be the slow proof of the dough overnight in the fridge, and the boiling before baking. Having come up with a recipe that works, I have now enjoyed playing around with flavours. Changing what goes in the water to boil the proto-bagels as well as what goes in the dough is a fun way of altering them. I haven't come across cranberry and almond ones before but wanted to try the flavours together. They also seem particularly appropriate to the season! Ingredients: 2 c whole meal flour 2 1/4 c white flour 1 1/4 c water, body temp. A pinch of sugar 1/2 cube yeast 1/2 tbsp salt 1 c dried cranberries 1/2 tsp almond extract Cornmeal Molasses 1 tbsp malt extract 1) In a small saucepan, heat the water to about body temperature - it should be warm, but still cool enough that a (clean) pinky finger dipped in it is comfortable for 10 seconds. Dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar and leave for a few minutes. 2) Combine flours and salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add yeast and water and stir together, gradually incorporating flour from around the well. as the dough comes together, add the almond extract and knead on a clean, floured surface for about 10 minutes until the dough is homogenous and elastic. Towards the end, knead in the cranberries as you go. 3) Place in a clean bowl and leave to rise, covered, in a warm spot for an hour, or until doubled in size. 4) Knock back the dough and divide into 8 roughly even balls. Here you have two options. Either: roll into snakes, then join the ends of these to make rings or: Roll into balls, then poke a thumb through the balls. With your thumb in the hole, gradually widen it, working the dough around so as to have an even, uniform thickness to the dough with a round hole in the middle. 5) Place rings on a baking tray sprinkled liberally with cornmeal, cover and place in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight to proof. 6) Remove the rings from the fridge. Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with water. Stir in molasses and malt extract. There should be enough molasses for the water to look like moderately strong tea. Place a test ring in the water. If it floats, you are ready to go. If not, dry if off and allow the bagels to come to room temperature. 7) When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to bring the water to a simmer. A few at a time, poach the bagels for about half a minute on each side, then fish them out and drain on a wire rack. 8) Sprinkle the baking tray with fresh cornmeal, then place the drained bagels back on the tray and bake at 240°C for 15 - 20 minutes until golden. These turned out well, with the right chewy, bagely texture. The flavour was a little plainer than I had hoped though, so I might try increasing the almond extract next time, as well as maybe putting flaked almonds on top. I may also try fresh cranberries instead of dried, but that might involve trading stronger flavour for altered moistness, so we'll see how that works out. A good combo on the whole though, especially with cream cheese! (In B is for Bagel, Little Bit's alphabet book, X is for EXtra schmeer, never make it less!)

I was going to save this post until the autumn, but accidentally bought a bag of apples which turned out to not be very good eating apples (well, Little One thought they were, but he sometimes has questionable taste) so it seemed like a good time to make more and to post about it. It is also a good time because pectin is useful in jam making for any fruit which isn't high in pectin, helping with gelling. And it's jam season! It is entirely natural and easy to make and allows you to make something of what would otherwise be compost. In order to make pectin, all you have to do is to save apple peels and cores (when I made pectin in the autumn, I made apple sauce from the apples and pectin from the off-cuts, and this time around I dried the apple slices). You then simmer them in water over medium low heat until the liquid turns pinkish and thickens a little. Strain out the bits and save the pectin. Et voilà! I put mine away in the freezer for future use (like in my Watermelon Rind Jam).

I first encountered clotted cream on a trip to Cornwall with my dad when I was 8, and I loved it. Living in Switzerland, it is unavailable here, so it was always only an occasional treat on trips to the UK. And then I moved to Scotland and discovered that I could have it whenever I wanted. And I learned to make scones. Hey Diddle Diddle! It never occurred to me though - growing up with it as a treat, with it commonly available for 6 years in Scotland, or since it has again become an occasional treat - that clotted cream was something I could actually make at home. With minimal faff or effort involved. And then I read somewhere about how simple it actually is and I had to try it. I read a couple of recipes and other people's accounts of making it, and the difference between making clotted cream and cornish cream, and then decided to try it for myself. The biggest impediment was picking a time when I could have it in and out of the oven at low temperatures for several days. Other than that though, it is the simplest "recipe" I think I have ever tried. Here goes. Heat cream at very low temperature for several hours (10-12). Turn off the oven and leave in, cooling oven overnight. In the morning, move the cream to the fridge. Allow to cool completely for several more hours, then scoop off the solid cream. There will be a slight skin or crust over the top, which is completely normal. It came out beautifully! I can't believe how simple it actually was once the veil was lifted. There are a few foods like that that I've enjoyed de-mythifying over the last few years, but this has to be the simplest....I am tempted to start playing around with this a little, like flavouring the cream beforehand for example. I would also like to try it as an ingredient in other dishes and see how it compares to using butter or regular cream. And then, of course, I had to make scones to go with it...

I received an air fryer for my birthday this year. Since, I have been playing around with it, trying out different recipes, my own and others', and getting to know my new kitchen toy. Here is one of the recipes I have tried a couple of times now. It is simple but very tasty and a very good side dish. A bit of faff, but easy, and we are very happy with the taste! The adobo seasoning isn't one I usually use, but I had some on hand from another recipe. Given that it is all spices and herbs I was going to use in the coating anyway, I thought it was a good substitute. NB the quantities of ingredients for the breading will vary a little depending on the size of your broccoli head and the size of florets you cut it into. Ingredients: 1 head of broccoli, floretted 1 1/2 c flour 1 - 1 1/2 c milk 2 eggs 2 tsp adobo seasoning 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1 tsp thyme 1 1/2 c breadcrumbs (Optional: 1/2 c millet 1/4 c sunflower seed oil) Black pepper 1) Place the eggs and about 3/4 c milk in a bowl and beat well. In another bowl, mix the flour and the adobo seasoning, Kashmiri chilli, and thyme. In a third, mix together the breadcrumbs, the pepper, and the millet (if using). Finally, put the oil, if using, in a bowl, and the remaining milk in another bowl (I know that it is a lot of bowls! I've tried it with fewer, but this is how I got the best results, so bear with me!) 2) Dip each floret in the milk, the flour, the eggy mix, the breadcrumbs and then briefly in the oil (or brush it on), making sure that it is well coated after each dip, and then place in the basket of the air fryer. When it is full, leaving plenty of room between the florets. Set the air fryer for 9 minutes at 180°C. We had these served with mayo, the Roasted Red Pepper dip, Sriracha sauce... anything you want really. The millet is optional. We've had it both with and without. I like the texture as it pops a little in the heat, adding a little crunch. Rolling the pieces in only millet and no breadcrumbs didn't work as well though. Instead of the first milk dip, I have alternatively used broth or the egg-milk mix. Both work well, so take your pick. With the oil, that too is optional. I find that the coating is very crispy but a little dry when done with no oil at all. Brushing it on knocks off some of the coating, so the best solution I have found is a very quick dip, without necessarily coating fully, just enough to make it less dry and nice and golden, but not enough for it to be anywhere near saturated. After 9 minutes, these were tender inside and crispy on the outside! Little Bit got very excited helping with these last time I made them. He loves the air fryer and is excited to "watch the air fryer work" (although there isn't much to see), and enjoys commenting on the (not very loud) noise it makes.

When my husband and I first moved to South Africa, I struggled with the heat. I got there and felt sticky and full all the time, so the idea of eating food, let alone cooking it, was anything but appealing (don't worry, that changed, and some great recipes came out of our time there). Obviously sustenance was still required, so I looked up and started experimenting with various cold soups. Gazpacho is a classic, and living right in the middle of South Africa's food belt the watermelons were huge and beautiful and sweet and seemingly always available. What could be more natural than combining these two, producing watermelon gazpacho? Ingredients: 1/2 of a medium sized watermelon 1 medium onion 3 cloves of garlic (Beware: I am normally all for super-garlicking everything, but in this case it is overpowering. Start slow and add more if necessary,) 1 cucumber 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar A handful of basil leaves Salt and pepper 1 slice of bread (Optional) 1) Roughly chop all ingredients and blend - the consistency is up to you. Season to taste - you may need to add a little extra balsamic, depending on how sweet your watermelon is. 2) If your gazpacho appears too thin, blend in the slice of bread. 3) Chill and serve - good with croûtons. I find this soup to provide a refreshing and very light lunch, perfect for a hot day (we're in the middle of a heat wave now!) Since coming back from South Africa, watermelons are less plentiful, but whenever they are available this soup makes it back into rotation.

It can easily be either vegetarian or meaty. This particular version is vegetarian, but the addition of either sausage or bacon (or bits of chicken

So, I'm a little late in sharing this one. It is from when my rhubarb compote was fresh in the spring, not a defrosted one from the freezer, but this year has been a bit busy, and I thought it worth sharing anyway. It was a flavour hunch and it worked out. Ingredients: 1 tart crust 1/2 - 3/4c custard 1/2 - 3/4 c rhubarb compote 4 apples, sliced 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp oats 1) Line a tart pan with the crust. Swirl the compote and custard together and spread on the bottom of the crust. Arrange apple slices on top, and sprinkle with the oats and sugar. 2) Bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy warm. This came out very tasty, but a little on the wet side. Next time I would reduce the compote a little on the stove to thicken it and avoid the problem. Tasty enjoyed with whipped cream or ice cream. I especially liked the extra texture added by the oats sprinkled on top.

It can easily be made without the bacon to be vegetarian.

I've always really liked peanut butter cookies. When working in Greece, I entered into a bit of a relationship with tahini. Hence the idea to try a cookie variant using tahini and sesame seeds, but aiming at a similar consistency as peanut butter cookies. Little Bit came through after his nap with his kiddy baking book asking to bake, and then after deciding on peanut butter cookies with me, he promptly lost interest (toddler attention spans, anyone?), leaving me free to experiment. Here is the result. Ingredients: 3/4 c tahini 1/2 c butter 1/2 c dark brown sugar 3/4 c light brown sugar 3 tbsp milk 1 tbsp vanilla extract 2 tsp almond extract 1 egg 1 3/4 c flour 3/4 tsp baking powder a pinch of salt 1/2 c sesame seeds (I used toasted sesame seeds, but you could use regular ones too.) 1) Beat together the tahini, butter and sugars until fluffy. Work in wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients gradually. Stir in sesame seeds. 2) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 190°C for 8 minutes until golden brown. I was really pleased with how these came out and the overall flavour. What I might try next time though is to replace at least some of the brown sugar with honey as tahini and honey is a flavour I really like. Alternatively, adding in some chocolate, either mixing in cacao powder or chocolate chips, might work nicely as a combo. In any case, having the sesame seeds in the cookies worked very nicely, adding a little crunch.

Out playing in the snow in severely negative temperatures the other day at sunset, we needed something quick and easy to feed everyone before heading into bath and bed routines for the Littles. Initially, we had thought of omelettes, then somehow, via savoury crêpes, we settled on sweet crêpes. I had some dried raspberries in the cupboard (they had been destined for some more chocolate flavouring experiments that I haven't gotten to yet), so in the absence of fresh raspberries (it being winter and all), I used the dried ones for a bit of a twist on our regular crêpes. Ingredients: 1 c flour 1/4 c powdered sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 c milk 1/2 c cream 1/4 c dried raspberries, crushed 2 tbsp lemon juice oil for cooking 1) Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Gradually add other liquids, mixing well until a loose batter is achieved. Stir in raspberries and lemon juice. 2) Heat a crêpe pan over medium-low heat (I have a dedicated cast iron one) and brush with vegetable oil. When it is hot, pour 1/2 ladle of batter in and rotate the pan to spread the batter in a thin round. DO NOT pour the oil in before the pan is hot as it will not spread properly or cook evenly. 3) Once the top side is matte and little bubbles have popped on the surface, flip the crêpe and briefly cook the other side. Serve hot. This hit the spot and was enjoyed by all. It's surprising what a difference a slight twist on a recipe can make sometimes. I personally prefer our regular ones, but Hubby and Little Bit insist that these are the best ever, so I'll let you make up your mind. Where do you sit on this question? Book Pairing: I was listening to Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse when we had these. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the tale of two men, very different with different fates, and their effect on each other. Throughout though, I had a distinct sense of an echo of the Glass Bead Game, also by Hesse, which I listened to over a year and a half ago. I've not been able to put my finger on why. The plot and characters are different... Maybe it is just a stylistic echo, or maybe it was the same reader. I am not sure. It is amazing the difference that a reader can make to a book when you are listening to it instead of reading it off a page yourself...