Spring Happiness

After what has been the most gruelling week of my teaching career I am appreciating anew the joys of Spring! Ofsted is over (and we are pronounced 'good with outstanding features'!!), I survived - and even almost enjoyed - a residential trip with 29 children, and now there is only a week of term left before the 2 week Easter Break.

Here is what made me happy yesterday...

A long walk in the countryside on a crisp sunny day. I loved this road lined with ancient trees and golden daffodils.



Blossom on the trees and contented animals in the fields.



Our first attempt at vegetable gardening is off to a good start.



Relaxing in front of a real fire with a nice glass of red wine and a new cookery book - a fascinating mix of memoirs and recipes, stunningly presented in collage-style.



A husband who cooked the entire roast-beef dinner last night, including what were perhaps the best roast potatoes in the whole world! (The Yorkshire Pudding was incredible too!)



Jugs of flowers from the garden. I think the daffodils look wonderful in the blue jug, and the grape hyacinths (which are carpeting our front flowerbeds) are such a beautiful colour.



I hope you are all feeling the joys of Spring as well!

Donuts... Mmmmm!

Last weekend. A day in Oxford. Beautiful sunshine punctuated with heavy showers. What better place to escape from the rain?

I love that Krispy Kreme have changed the spelling in their tagline to read 'doughnuts' so as not to offend us on this side of the Atlantic! The coffee was goooood...

But the donuts? Divine!

Caramel Dream donut, the 'special'. I loved the generous amount of filling, and the chocolate icing, sprinkled lavishly with chocolate shavings.

Oooh La La!

In recent years I have begun to develop a fascination with macarons. Not the coconut-laden English macaroon, but the delicately-coloured, airy, meringue-like, cream-filled, crispy mouthful of heaven that is the classic French macaron. Who could fail to be enchanted by the sight of these beauties? This stack was snapped in Raymond Blanc's Oxford patisserie Maison Blanc, but it seems as though macarons are quietly invading our shores, with shops such as Laduree moving across the Channel, and macaron pyramids seen increasingly often in bakery windows.



Despite my fascination, I never really thought about making them myself. I have made Nigella's Pistachio Macarons (from How to Be a Domestic Goddess) several times and absolutely loved them. But there is no doubt that although they taste divine, they are a somewhat more 'rustic' version of the original. Or maybe that was just mine...

However, I have recently stumbled upon several blog posts about making macarons (here, here and here to be precise) and last week I decided that I was going to go for it.

Making macarons is not difficult, but there is no doubt that the whole process takes up quite a lot of 'brain space' (although again that might just be me...). I found myself obsessing over different recipes, buying hitherto unknown ingredients (egg-white powder?!) and planning the entire event days in advance. To be fair, some planning is definitely necessary as the consensus amongst macaron aficionados is that the egg whites need to be 'aged' before using, which simply means separating the eggs up to 3 days before you plan to bake. Fortunately we made a batch of ice-cream at the weekend which used some egg yolks, so I was able to set aside the whites for 48 hours.



I wanted a double filling - some kind of cream, and some kind of fruit - and I also wanted to make them in a pretty pastel colour. As I have some vibrantly purple blackberry and apple jam that I made last Autumn I decided to make this my theme. I coloured my meringue mixture with food colouring paste so as not to thin the mix too much, and then piped it into rounds.



I was nervous about getting the consistency right, but I guess I struck lucky this time as I managed to get 2 trays of well-near-perfect mauve domes of batter. I didn't bother taking a picture of the third tray... in the process of scraping out the bowl I had obviously knocked all the air from the batter so the last piping-bag full just dribbled out and the macarons spread into eachother in a delightfully messy, but decidedly un-Laduree style!



A couple of the macarons cracked a little in the oven, and a few of them browned very slightly too (next time I will cook them at a lower temperature for a bit longer) but most were fine, and had developed the distinctive macaron 'foot' at the base.



Once cooled, I sandwiched each pair together with the bramble and apple jam - making sure to squidge at least one whole blackberry into each one - and a white chocolate ganache that I had made by simply melting some white chocolate with a splash of cream. Filling them is a delicate job, so I warmed the ganache slightly to make it easier to spread without cracking the macarons.



Then I just sat back and admired them. Pride may be a deadly sin, but I couldn't help feeling just a little bit proud of these.



They are so beautiful, I couldn't resist indulging in a little food-posing... how lovely they look with my purple tulips!



And look, they go well with blue hyacinths too!



And how do they taste? Gorgeous. Crispy on the outside, deliciously squidgy on the inside. I couldn't be more pleased. My mind is already buzzing with ideas for other flavours and colours... watch this space.

There are lots of macaron recipes out there as a quick Google search will testify, but I went for a combination of two which seemed to work for me. Here is what I did:

3 large egg whites, aged
1tsp egg-white powder (I used Meriwhite)
1/2 tsp fine salt
50g granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar)

200g icing sugar
110g ground almonds

In a bowl whip the egg whites, egg-white powder and salt to a foam using an electric-whisk, then gradually add the vanilla sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Add colouring paste if desired at this stage. Combine the almonds and icing sugar in a bowl and use a hand whisk to combine the two, breaking up any lumps. (You could also do this in a food processor, but I couldn't be bothered to add to the washing-up.) Add the sugary almond mix to the meringue, and fold it in confidently using a metal spoon. The whole process should only take a few strokes. I found the many hints and tips about the ideal consistency downright terrifying - it shouldn't be too firm otherwise you will get a 'beak' on top of the macarons, but too well-folded and the macarons will spread) so I erred on the side of too firm, figuring that I could always smooth the tops down when I had piped them (which as it happened was not necessary).

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds onto lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit for an hour or so to firm up slightly. Opinion is divided as to whether this is necessary, but I ended up letting mine sit uncooked for about 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 300F/150C - but I would lower this next time, to perhaps 250F/120C. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on their size. Let them cool completely before filling. Pipe or spoon some of your filling on one shell and sandwich with another one.

Makes about 50 macaron halves, so assume about 20 'perfect' sandwiched macarons, with a few mistakes which are just perfect for tasting!

Bon appetit!

A little bit of Inspiration...

I have a new addiction... browsing through people's blogs. It's like a never-ending world of ideas. For a long time I only looked at cookery blogs, as many of my friends blog on this theme, but I have recently started looking at craft blogs too, inspired by my Canadian friend Sandy who writes a lovely blog entitled By the Lakeside. Sandy makes me want to knit and sew. She modestly says that she can't imagine how anyone could be inspired by her, but anyone who has a young family, works full time, cooks wonderful meals and still manages to create beautiful things is inspirational in my book. I just love her sense of style. Sandy very helpfully has a 'blogroll', listing some of her favourite blogs (note to self, must investigate how to do this myself...) and it was through this that I stumbled upon another great blog, lovelydesign, written by San Francisco dweller, Sharilyn. Sharilyn has a sweet young daughter, Adelaide, and recently wrote this post about making invitations for Adelaide's second birthday party.

I thought these were gorgeous, and wanted to adapt the idea for my own use. So, a little more low-tech than the original, here is my Valentine's card for Rob:


The balloons were cut from the Cath Kidston catalogue. I adore these patterns and dream of furnishing my entire house in them... however for now I will have to make do with my CK bag, purse and iPod case. Oh and the gazebo! (Can't wait 'til Summer!)



The balloon strings and writing were done by me. With a biro. See, I said it was low-tech...



As I was in the groove, I made a thank you card for my teaching-assistant Bee too. Bee is fabulous and has been such a help and support during my first half term in this job, so I thought she deserved a hand-made card.




I am glad that I have rediscovered the fun of making my own greetings cards. I always used to do this, but somehow I just got out of the habit. At least now I don't have any excuse for being out of ideas...

Lots to Celebrate!

Yay!!! Rob is home, and so is my camera! And just in time for Valentine's Day too. Despite our mutual agreement that we 'don't do gifts' on February 14th in a protest at the gross commercialism of the day, I was of course delighted to receive this little haul of goodies from the American PX in Garmisch:



Those Necco Sweetheart candies are gorgeous! And Valentine's Funfetti!?!?! Just how cool is that?! I had to make it. Immediately.



Rob was gutted not to have realised that you have to buy the frosting and sugar hearts separately - "So it's just a cake with red bits?" he said forlornly... However, upon eating the unadorned cake I realised that I actually prefer it that way. It's moist, sweet and vanilla-ey, and the frosting just pushes the whole confection dangerously close to teeth-rottingly sickly. Not that there's anything wrong with that on occasion, but I'm finding it somehow easier to eat huge chunks of this cake than I did when I made a frosted one. Best not to gild the lily!

The weather was beautiful so we went on a long walk to enjoy the remnants of the snow. A heavy frost and bright sunshine - my favourite kind of winters day.



I hope that you all had a very Happy Valentine's Day, however you celebrated it.

Looking for the Little Things

I didn't realise quite how much I love my SLR camera, and how much it has changed my life. It's right there at the top of my list of 'things I would grab before leaving my burning house', right there alongside the laptop, my childhood soft toy and my photo albums. And Rob of course - although I'd hope he'd be helping to carry the photo albums.

But this fortnight I find myself camera-less. Rob is away in Germany on a skiing trip. I think it's officially a work trip (OK, I know it is, and I know he is working very hard!) but it is February and he did take his skis. And he has my camera. He has been abroad for work before and asked if he could take it, but in the past I have always said no (because it's MINE). But in an unusual fit of generosity, and a genuine desire to see some photos of snowy Oberammeragau, I let him take it this time. And now England has the biggest snowfall for 18 years. Typical.

So I'm feeling bereft. Not only am I husband-less for two weeks, but I don't have the one thing with which I would happily fill my days. OK, I have several thousand photos of the snow after two winters in Canada, but this is snow in England, and I have days off school in which to enjoy it!

Still, it has made me realise just how differently I look at the world now I use my camera a lot. I find myself constantly on the lookout for the little details around me - a reflection, a shadow, patterns and colours that it's so easy to overlook. These were taken in Oxford a few weeks ago.





So although I'm frustrated by my lack of camera, I am trying hard to keep my eyes open to these kinds of things. There is so much of interest and beauty around us, whatever the weather, and it's easy to forget to look. As William Henry Davies put it, more eloquently than I ever could:

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

Sweet as Honey

To be honest, if I'd seen a recipe entitled 'Wholemeal Honey Cake', I probably wouldn't have tried it. Why is it that the word 'wholemeal' sounds so... well... worthy? One thing that a cake should never be is dull, and I might have suspected that this one would be, except that I tasted it a while back, as made by my sister-in-law Anne, and it's amazing. The fact that it's made with wholemeal flour just adds to its amazingness as you can pretty much convince yourself that it's a healthfood. If you try to forget the fact that it contains 350g of butter that is...

Honey has featured high on my list of favourite foods recently, since practically the entire month of January has been spent with an ill person in our household. First I got 'the cold from hell' (resulting in a lost voice, among other symptoms, to the delight of my class), and then just as I was pulling out of the slough of sickness, Rob dived right in. Bummer. He has the 'pathetic' look perfected, as you can see.



Still, this provided ample opportunity to serve him cups of tea in our new (but clearly produced 3 years ago) Emma Bridgewater mug...



Where was I? Right, honey... Honey was recommended to me as a throat-soothing antiseptic, so both Rob and I have been eating honey on toast. I'm not quite sure why we didn't go down the hot-toddy route, but I seem to recall that the cold gave one that 'morning after' feeling all day, so the addition of alcohol somehow didn't seem appealing.

However, this cake ticked all the boxes as far as comfort food is concerned, looking - as well as tasting - utterly divine. The honey is not added to the cake batter, but drizzled liberally over the top while the cake is still hot. It permeates the top layer of the sponge making it deliciously moist, but also sits gleaming atop the flaked almonds.



The recipe comes courtesy of Anne, photocopied from the Guardian Weekend magazine, part of an article written by one of my favourite foodies Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Hugh says that this recipe was devised by his Head Chef at River Cottage, Gill Mellor, and suggests serving it warm as a dessert with lashings of cream, or cold with a cup of tea or coffee. We went for it warm from the pan, with frothing mugs of hot chocolate.



And a dollop of creme fraiche!



We found that this was a cake best eaten slightly warmed - just 10 seconds in the microwave is enough to make it even more meltingly tender-crumbed - but I wouldn't push it away if it were cold. It makes a large cake, and one that lasts for several days without suffering. We have been eating a slice a day all week.

I was on the verge of typing out the recipe when I did a quick search and found it here, along with the complete article - full of marvellous honey-facts - and many more honeyish recipes. I'm very tempted by the Honey Parfait.

Hurray for the bees!