Yotam Ottolenghi's Surprise Tatin

Yes, yes...I love Yotam Ottolenghi! This savoury tatin was an absolute treat to make and an even bigger treat to eat!! 

Baby new potatoes, cherry tomatoes, caramelised onions and puff pastry...what else do you need??  This tatin was easy peasy once all the vegetables were prepared and ready to go...you have to cook the potatoes and roast the tomatoes and sautee the onions before you can get started...but after all that it was simple and such a lovely treat on a hot humid sunday evening.  Totally rustic with a simple green salad and a cold glass of white wine....perfection!! 

The recipe calls for hard goats cheese...which I managed to pick up at the market during the week...and then forgot to layer into the tatin, but I sliced it thinly and ate it along side the tatin anyway!!!  Try it...enjoy it!

ffffffffaaaaava

Last night I finally got around to cracking the spine in Yotam Ottolenghi's new vegetarian cookbook, Plenty, lovingly sent to me for my birthday by my Auntie Sandi.  The recipes in his book are incredible, I mean I have been flipping through it over and over for weeeeeeks...and last night I finally got around to assembling enough ingredients to make his mouthwatering Broadbean Burgers.  I've just linked to the original recipe from the Guardian newspaper, and the reprint in the completed cookbook is very close to the original (except he now suggests to PEEL the beans once cooked...which I did...labouriously). 

These are not the first vegetarian burgers I have made, but I think they are definetly the best for texture, and variety of ingredients and, really...well..everything.  I was really impressed, and so was David! I used frozen broadbeans and they were totally fine! I've frozen the extras, so we'll see what happens...

Double birthday Saturday!! Happy Birthday Auntie Lori and Zeyneb!

Vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream and chocolate buttercream. 

I froze the leftover icing from the last two batches I made and used it yesterday to ice this batch of cupcakes for my friend Zeyneb's party last night.  Sadly, I have a terrible cold and couldn't go to the party! I did manage to drop the cupcakes off though for the others to enjoy! siiiiigh. 

Also...happy birthday to my auntie lori in Canada xxxxx

Come on England! World Cup Pasta

In my mind this pasta was supposed to be red and white...creamy tomato sauce with brilliant white mushrooms...red and white...COME ON ENGLAND!!  but then...I threw in some basil and some fresh wet garlic (white and green) and all of a sudden....VIVA ITALIA!!!!  I couldn't care less about who wins the world cup...I am enjoying the few games that I have watched (have been forced to watch). 

Stuffed Peppers with Grilled Asparagus Salad

I've been so busy lately I haven't been too creative in the kitchen, but the other night after a long day's work and commute and fighting with other travellers I managed to suck up the last few beads of creativity in my brain and made this lovely stuffed red pepper dish served with a salad topped with grilled asparagus covered in parmesean cheese.  The rice stuffing is par-boiled with some chopped onion and a tin of chopped tomatoes, then stuffed into a pepper, drizzled with olive oil and then baked until soft and...essentially....wrinkly! While that was cooking, I just grilled some asparagus, tossed the salad in some vinagerette and voila!!!  easy peasy???

world cup...with icing

Mini vanillla cupcakes with TO.DIE.FOR dark chocolate buttercream icing

The first birthday I celebrated with David was during the world cup four years ago.  My birthday was on a Wednesday (or something) and the Saturday after was the first England game of the world cup...therefore...my birthday...like this year...was a combo birthday-cup bash.  This year (and for my birthday every four years for the rest of my life) will also be combined with the first England match of the World Cup.  Don't get me wrong...it is somewhat exciting...all the patriotic people that appear out of nowhere...but...it's MY BIRTHDAY...sheesh!

To celebrate...mini vanilla cupcakes courtesy of Clare's Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery...and their seriously moorish and delictable Chocolate buttercream icing.  YUM!

30 on the horizon...

Thirty tomorrow...

Pale pink peonies and chocolate cupcakes iced with pale pink icing...

Happy Birthday Me!

My friend Clare lent me her copy of Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery and, since David is seriously wrapped up in exams at the moment, I thought that I would celebrate myself by spending Sunday morning doing what I love most (after David of course)...baking!!  These light and moist chocolate cupcakes were easy to whip up and....happily...my buttercream turned out alright in this stupid humid heatwave we are having (bring on the rain!!) And the peonies? you might ask...well they bloom on cue for my birthday back home in my parent's garden so I thought they were a fitting (if outrageously expensive) treat...hey! I am only 29 for one more day...gotta milk it!

How...English...

In the mail this morning was that cute little card in the background, from Yorkshire Tea...wishing me a Happy Birthday.  How lovely? How English...oh, I forgot to mention that there was also a package of tea inside the card! Thank you Yorkshire Tea!

Enjoyed with a couple of crumbly almond cookies I made yesterday...Happy Birthday (almost) to me!

Crumbly Almond Cookies (makes 12)

100 g butter, soft

50 g caster sugar

150 g flour

a couple of drops of almond extract

25 g slivered almonds

Pre heat oven to 180 C

cream butter and sugar together

add almond extract and mix well

add flour in 2 batches combining well

use fingers to bring dough together

roll dough into walnut sized balls

place on baking sheet

use fork to flatten to about 1cm

sprinkle with slivered almonds

bake 15-20 mins until golden

cool completely

Totally Smitten with Smitten Kitchen

If you haven't had a chance to check out Smitten Kitchen please please please do...I only wish I could create/write like Deb!!  Last week I was happy to open an email link to her post for Shaved Asparagus Pizza and just about drooled all over my keyboard scrolling thorough the photos and instructions.  I just had had had to try it.  I picked up two bunches of fresh locally grown asparagus at the farmer's market on Saturday and have just been waiting for my early day at work to give me enough time to prepare the dough etc. Finally Wednesday arrived and with it my version of Deb's fantastic looking Shaved Asparagus Pizza...

David and I love asparagus and we love pizza...so we just HAD to love this one! And we did! My pizza dough makes enough for two reasonably sized thin crust pizzas, so I should have shaved more asparagus...but alas only enough for one (the other became a focaccia).  Shaved Asparagus tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and some chili flakes all piled high onto a pizza base covered with parmesean and mozzerella cheese....WHAT NO TOMATO SAUCE says David...NO David...this is what is called WHITE pizza...so so so yummy.  I think that the egg and chili were good additions...a little heat kick and the yolk made up for the "missing" sauce.  Try it...trust me!