Honeycomb - a treat for hubby

Yesterday after the workshop Jenny handed me some goodies which included chocolate covered honeycomb....I woofed the lot except one piece so to keep hubby happy I made him some today its an amazing thing to make this and watch the magic, bit like a chemistry experiment.

3oz butter
3oz golden syrup
8oz caster sugar
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Melt the butter, golden syrup, caster sugar in a deep based saucepan.  Once melted boil rapidly for 5 minutes until it turns a golden colour.  Take off the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda.  Put into a 8in square tin greased with oil and cool, then break into pieces and enjoy.

Monkfish and Prawn Curry

Earlier this week it arrived signed by Lucy Young and Mary Berry the new cookery book - At Home...oh my goodness filled with much delights for me.

So I got hubby to pick our first meal....Monkfish and Prawn Curry....now I will say that next time it will be with a cheaper cut of fish...but I also have to say that it was divine.

Serves 6 (however we adjusted to serve just 2 with boiled rice)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 chopped onions
1 red deseeded and finely chopped chilli
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger (I used dried ginger and worked just as well)
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 x 400g tin/carton chopped tomatoes
300 ml (1/2 pint) fish stock
1 teaspoon runny honey
Juice of 1/2 lime
750g (1 1/2lb) of monkfish, cut into 5cm cubes
250g (9oz) peeled raw prawns
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a frying pan.  Add the onion and fry for about 5 mins until it starts to soften.  Add the chilli and ginger and fry for 1 minute.  Sprinkle in the other spices and fry for one more minute.

Add the tomatoes, fish stock, honey and lime juice.  Stir until combined and bring to the boil.

Add the cubed fish and prawns, lower the heat and gently simmer for about 5 minutes until the prawns are pink and the fish is cooked through - be careful not to overcook it, otherwise the fish will break up.

Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle over the coriander and serve....now you thought Mary was just good at baking...think again!  Buy Lucy and Mary's new book AT HOME you will be forever cooking.  To order a signed book visit www.lucyyoung.co.uk

Bay Tree Cottage Wedding Workshop

A wedding workshop covered by Image Magazine took place at Bay Tree Cottage.  Everyone was taught how to make a very country style handtied bouquet, a corsage and a couple of simple table centrepieces.

Everyone was treated to Jenny's wonderful homemade sweets and cakes.

For more details of the Bay Tree Cottage Workshops visit www.btcworkshops.co.uk

Peterborough Flower Club Demo

It has been a bit of a very down sort of couple of weeks, but finally I am settling into my new temporary post on another ward at work.  I work at Springhill which is very apt at this time of year, a beautiful old school building with a fantastic garden...as I arrived I was very excited about the surrounding foliage...lots of tree ivy and holly and much much more, then I thought I should do some work.  But yes Spring I thought last week was just around the corner then the snow came last night, thank goodness there is not much settling.

On Thursday I took my loyal fan club of Mother to Peterborough to watch my demo entitled Music.  Mother in Law also joined along with her friend....they were very well behaved and both mothers won something in the raffle...not a fix I didn't draw the tickets!  The lady who supplied my refreshments how did she know I had this thing about marzipan I love it so my two mini battenburgs didnt stay on the plate that long.

My loyal woof brought me a huge box of chocolates this morning for Mothers Day....he knows me so well! 

Well here some pictures from Peterborough, I will cook soon I promise got lots of lovely things up my sleeve.  This week I have a family funeral for which I am making a lovely wreath...please let the lilies come out by tomorrow the most temperamental flower in the world they come out when you don't want them and don't when you do.  Off to the South Midlands Area Council meeting on Wednesday to ask that Corby Flower Club be voted in to affiliate, and an exciting local project is underway as well as doing a workshop at Harborough Flower Club on Wednesday, they are calling my piece a Spring Cake, don't know where that name come from but I won't argue the name!

If you are local and want to know all about wedding flowers book into Bay Tree Cottage for the workshop next Saturday click on the link at the homepage of the blog. 

Enjoy these flowers in the meantime.... i think i should bake a cake next weekend....what do you think?

Marinated loin of pork

This recipe is adapted from Mary Berry's marinated loin of pork with pineapple which is in Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook

1.5lb (0.75kg) pork tenderloin

Marinade

250ml (8fl oz) pineapple juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 crushed cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon of chinese five spice

Make the marinade in a flat glass dish.  Combine the pineapple juice, honey, soy sauce, garlic, thyme and five spice together.   Add the pork, cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove the pork from the marinade reserving the marinade.  Put the pork flat fat side up in a small roasting tin.  Cover loosely with foil and cook in a preheated oven at 220c (200c fan, gas mark 7) for 40 minutes.

Remove the foil and pour the marinade over the pork.  Return to the oven for approx 20-25 minutes or until the marinade has darkened and the juices run clear.  Once cooked, carve the pork cover with foil and leave to stand for 10 minutes.  Strain the cooking juices and remove the fat, then reheat.  Serve the pork sliced with the juices poured over.

I served with roasted vegetables and new potatoes which were just drizzled with oil and cooked alongside the pork.

Mary Berry's chocolate cup cakes (add coconut) and a message to Mr Postman

Hi all, well this week I have been slack on the baking front and slack on the floral regalia, something to do with long days at work, and we were entertained by our friends Steve and Jan last night.  Don't despair Jan gave us a recipe which we had for starter but which we are going to do for a main meal this week, and we talked Daffodils so does that count?

The past two days have reminded me that Spring is just around the corner, and today with the help of my dad we planted the holly bush and marvelled at the hellebores in the front garden.  I also made a sign which has been positioned on the front grass as Mr Postman well he delivers our mail, but he insists on walking across the front garden and the snowdrops are being crushed....basically my sign says don't walk on the grass and crush the snowdrops....I will let the window cleaner off he is providing a service. 

The daffodils, tulips and muscari bulbs are poking their heads through, in fact on the way to my training course yesterday I saw daffodils in a garden full bloom.

Well I am going to share my baking treat earlier in the week which were Mary Berry's Recipe for Chocolate Cup Cakes, I added my own twist with adding coconut to the icing.  They were well received by my work colleagues..how am i going to break the news in the morning I was too tired to bake this weekend.....

I watched Mary Berry's appearance on Food and Drink last week and I must say they had to choose between two victoria sponges one made with butter and the other with baking spread...Mary's one with baking spread won.  I will say of every cake recipe i try Mary's come out on time and just light and perfect.

Makes 24   198 cals each

40g (1 1/2 oz) cocoa powder
about 4 tablespoons of boiling water
3 eggs
175g (6oz) baking margarine
175g (6oz) caster sugar
115g (4 1/2oz) self raising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

Icing

60g (2oz) butter
30g (1oz) icing sugar
about 3 tablespoons milk
250g (8oz) icing sugar

2 x 12 hole muffin tins and 24 paper cases

Line the two 12 hole muffin tins with paper cases.  Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl, pour in the boiling water, and mix into a thick paste.  Add the remaining cake ingredients and mix with an electric hand whisk (or beat well with a wooden spoon).

Divide the mix equally amongst the 24 paper cases.  Bake in a preheated oven at 200c (180c fan, gas mark 6) for about 10 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch.  Cool in the cases on a wire rack.

Make the icing.  Melt the butter then pour into a bowl.  Sift in the cocoa powder and stir to mix.  Stir in the milk and then sift in the icing sugar a little at a time to make a glossy, spreadable icing.  Spread the icing over the cakes and leave to set before serving.

I added 3 tablespoons of dessicated coconut to the icing for a twist.

Taken from the book Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook published by Dorling Kindersley.

Lucy Young's Treacle glazed chicken

Lucy Young has been working with Mary Berry for 22 years and worked together at the famous Aga Workshops.  Lucy is in her own right a great cook and this recipe is from Lucy's book Secrets from a Country Kitchen published by Ebury Press.

This recipe Serves 4, although tonight I halved the quantities to Serve 2.

(Preparation time 5 minutes, cooking time 20 minutes - not suitable for freezing)

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
salt and pepper

Sauce
2 tablespoons black treacle
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 180°c/350°f/Gas mark 4

Arrange the chicken breasts snugly in a small roasting tin and season with salt and pepper.  Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and pour over the chicken breasts.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.  Serve hot.

To cook in the Aga - slide the roasting tin on to the second set of runners in the roasting oven for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken breasts are just tender.

Tip - you do not need to use freshly squeezed orange juice - use the type that you have for breakfast.  When a skinless chicken breast is cooked, it lacks the brown crispy top you get with a skin on breast.  Here, however the glaze makes the breasts look very attractive, with a lovely brown shine.

I served our breasts with new potatoes, carrots and spring greens.