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Happy Halloween!   Our Guest blogger Ellie is back with a solution as to what to do with all the bits of pumpkin you just hollowed out, whilst making your Happy Halloween Pumpkin lanterns. Katy and I have just finished ours and we are definitely going to try this recipe.

SPOOKY SOUP

I always find that carving a Halloween pumpkin is much harder work than I expected (despite insisting upon doing it every year)!  Obviously it’s worth it in the name of scaring small children, but after all that knife-wielding exertion, you may need some manner of hearty, autumnal sustenance.  What better than a lovely, easy pumpkin-curry soup?

 This is such a foolproof recipe, you can pretty much add or take away anything you want, depending on your tastes, and it should turn out pretty well.  Make it as hot as you like, or experiment with any herbs you fancy.  However, this is a rough guide to making spicy pumpkin soup how I like it.  You will need:

The innards of one pumpkin, seeds removed and the skin hopefully now forming a terrifying orange face at your window; flesh chopped into manageable chunks.  One onion, chopped.   A couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.  One chopped up chilli (or more, or none – birds’ eyes are my favourite).  A big pinch of dried curry leaves, or a big spoonful of curry powder.  Approximately 750mls of vegetable stock – I am lazy so do it from cubes; any kind will do, but I like Kallo Organic best and would use two of them for this recipe. Salt and pepper to taste. A big dollop of double-cream if you’re feeling mildly decadent; half-fat crème fraiche if you’re in-between; or no-fat plain yoghurt if you’re on a diet.  I am terminally dull and usually go for the latter, but it’s still really nice! A splash of the oil of your choice.

• Heat up your oil in a big pan and throw in the onion, garlic and chilli.  Cook until it all starts to soften but not go brown.
• Chuck the pumpkin chunks in with it, add all the seasoning, and cook the lot until it’s going a bit golden and gooey (about 5 minutes).
• Pour your stock in over the top, bring to the boil, and then simmer over a low heat for maybe 20 minutes, until the pumpkin has gone really soft.
• If you have a hand blender (the kitchen gadget of champions, in my humble opinion), then whiz it up in the pan until it’s smooth; otherwise, obviously, you could stick it in a proper blender; if you are not lucky enough to own either of the above, a masher and a lumpy soup will still be tasty.
• Dollop in your creamy component of choice, and then give it another whiz and heat it again for another minute or two.  Serve with some sort of bread.

I would like to eat this with a cheesy naan, preferably whilst watching a bit of Alfred Hitchcock and wearing a ridiculous costume around the house.  I always think it would be really nice with the seeds toasted and scattered on top, but I’ve never quite got round to trying it.

BUT WE DID!…..SO IF YOU WANT TO TOAST YOUR PUMPKIN SEEDS, IT’S VERY SIMPLE:

Take your pumpkin seeds (you can use butternut squash seeds as well, which is also good made in to Ellie’s soup as a pumpkin substitue). I tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.

• Pre-heat your oven to low – Gas Mark 1 120 degrees C for fan  assisted, C140 not
• Rinse your seeds and then pat them dry with some kitchen roll
• Place in a bowl and stir in the oil, salt and pepper and paprika
• Line a baking tray with aluminium foil
• Spread the seeds out on the tray and place in the oven for around 15-30  minutes until golden brown or until your hear them start to pop

We were going to throw these on the top of the soup, but they were so delicious we ate them straight out of the oven with a glass of wine. Experiment with curry powder, worcester sauce, garlic or chilli oil,

I am delighted to present you with another brilliant recipe from our favourite California resident and guest blogger Pete Russell pictured to the left  in a typical pose, accompanied below by the lovely Lynda again indulging in one of their favourite pastimes. Oh, sorry we couldn’t print that one but had to show them wine tasting instead…..Anyway, the last time I had lobster curry was on a beach in Mauritius (pretentious, moi?) and it was a brilliant combination, so I am very excited to try this recipe. Give it a try and leave us a comment! Over to you, Pete.

I was a seventeen yr old student living in North London in the mid 60s, my upbringing was working class, my tastes were pedestrian. I had just started visiting pubs on a regular basis with some new found friends most of whom had cars (I didn’t), which meant I was no longer confined to the local pubs (3) and the local chippy (1). One of the delights was the visit to a Chinese restaurant either before or after the Saturday night dance; trad jazz or rock ‘n roll depending on the venue, and there was plenty of good live music available to young people within a 20 mile radius of where I lived. For the princely sum of about 7/6d (about 40p in new money), I could have a pint of lager and my favourite lobster curry. Looking back it probably wasn’t lobster and the curry sauce – a light brown sauce stuffed with slightly undercooked onions, a dopiaza if you will, the same in all the Chinese restaurants we visited – wasn’t what I’d call a curry sauce today. No matter, to my untutored palate, it was a kingly delight. 

Fast forward forty five years or so (gasp! is it really that long ago?), and you’ll find me often as not preparing a quick version of the “lobster curry” at home, but now with a much more authentic taste. And it’s quick and easy!     You’ll need to start about a hour before you wish to eat, but don’t worry, the prawns need 30 minutes of marinating in the fridge.  My recipe serves 4-6.   Gather together the following:  600g of raw tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a dash of fish sauce, ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, vegetable or olive oil, 1 large onion, peeled and chopped, 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 fresh green chili, deseeded and finely chopped, 2 ½ cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated, 4 tomatoes, chopped, handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves, plus some for garnish, salt to taste, 200g of basmati or long grained rice

I learned the basis of this recipe from the much-loved and missed Keith Floyd, who also taught me that meal preparation should be partnered with a drink of your choice. So pour a glass of wine, gin and tonic, cocktail of your choice or a cool beer and get started.   Mix together the prawns, soy sauce, fish sauce, tumeric and a little salt, cover and leave in the fridge for at least 30 mins. While the prawns are marinading, you’ve got time to prep the onions, garlic, chili, ginger and tomatoes, and talk to your guests, if you’re confident enough.  About 20 mins before you wish to serve, remove the prawns from the fridge and ensure the other ingredients are to hand.   Most rices you can buy will take about 20 mins to cook, so put this on now. If you’ve chosen a rice that takes longer, adjust your time accordingly.  From now on you need to concentrate, take a sip and:

Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic and chilli powder for a couple of minutes.   Add the prawns, fresh chilli, ginger, tomatoes and chopped coriander, and cook for 5 minutes.   Add a small amount of water and simmer, covered for 10 – 15 minutes until the sauce is quite thick.  Serve garnished with coriander leaves, over rice.

And that’s it! Easy eh? I partnered mine with a bottle of 2008 Navarro Sauvignon Blanc, from the Anderson valley in Northern California, medal winner at the California State Fair, and under $20.

Apologies for the photo, I was enjoying myself just a little too much. (Don’t worry, Pete this is how we know and love you best!)

A few Sundays ago, I joined our friends Josh and Lou for a very lazy Sunday boat trip to Windsor, along with a brilliant picnic in a field with a view of Windsor Castle.    Sandwich fillings, scones and my ultimate picnic food. What do you think this is? Some home-baked elaborate quiche, an exotic salad? No, my heart beats faster for a crisp sandwich, so today’s blog is in praise of the old-fashioned British picnic and a childhood treat.  We had beautiful, fresh baked French Bread, butter, none of that low-fat stuff, cooked meats and cheeses, and packets of crisps, of which my favourite happens to be cheese and onion. I really do urge you to try a hunk of fresh bread, lavishly spread with real butter and cheese and onion crisps inside, it is a little like a more convenience-food version of another old friend, the chip butty.  After these and other delights we did treat ourselves to afternoon tea of my home made peach and strawberry jam (See Jams, jellies and infusions), scones and clotted cream.

Scones are reasonably easy to knock up and here is a good recipe for them. They are much better made in a  food processor than by hand, as success with these little guys is about minimum handling, the more they are handled, the heavier they get. This makes 15-16 scones

• Plain flour 525g/17.5ozs – sifted, I know it’s a pain but it makes them lighter!
• 8 teaspoons baking powder
• 4ozs/60g white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons/5ozs/150g unsalted butter
• 7ozs/200g dried currants or sultanas
• 8fl ozs milk  and 4fl ozs sour cream mixed together
• 1 egg, beaten.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C/ 180 fan) gas 6 . Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, butter and salt into the food processor and whizz on high speed until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, add the currants then on the lowest speed add the milk and cream until it starts to form large lumps, this should only take seconds .   Wash your hands under the cold tap until really cold, and dry them thoroughly. Rub some flour on your hands and then make the dough in to small balls and place on a greased, non-stick baking sheet and flatter the top slightly until they are about 3inches or 5cms across. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the scones with the beaten egg.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Break each scone apart, or slice in half. Serve with butter or clotted cream and a selection of jams – or even plain.  They are very good toasted , but oh, that crisp sandwich takes some beating!

It’s always a challenge to make good gluten free cakes, but trust me this recipe rises to that challenge!

. To make 24 fairy cakes or 16 cupcakes you will need: 225g each of softened unsalted butter, gluten-free self raising flour and caster sugar. 4 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of lemon extract, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or sourcream (this keeps them moist). Method:Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4, Electric 180C/160C for Fan ovens.  Chuck all of the above ingredients in your food processor or use an electric whisk and beat until it has no lumps at all. Distribute the mixture in to your cupcake or fairy cake cases. If cupcakes cook for 20 minutes, if fairy cakes 15. Whilst the cakes are baking, place 75g of caster sugar and the juice of a large lemon in to a saucepan. Place on a gentle heat until the sugar is dissolved and then simmer until it is clear and syrupy. remove from the heat. When the cakes comes out of the oven, prick them all over with a fork and gently put 1 teaspoon of the lemon syrup on to the top so it absorbs in to the sponge, this will keep them lovely and moist. Leave to cool. Once they have cooled, ice as you wish, I like a simple fondant icing made with 200g fondant icing sugar and approximately 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

These really don’t taste like gluten-free cakes and everyone can enjoy them!

I went abroad for the first time when I was ten, and this was no mean feat in those days. There was no Stavros, so no cheap charter flights, we drove to Spain in my Uncle Jim’s car and all in all it took about three days non-stop, this was a time when you got thoroughly over-excited to see another British car abroad and flashed your lights and honked the horn wildly when you saw their GB sticker. We stayed at a tiny hotel called the Hotel Jano, in a small fishing village called Tamariu.  I have no idea if it’s still there or what the place is like now. So, did this give me a lifelong appreciation of Spanish culture and European travel? Probably, but mostly it gave me a love of peach jam.   Breakfast at the Hotel Jano consisted of a  fresh, white bread, unsalted butter and a bowl of their home-made peach jam.  I had never tasted anything like it,until then the height of my jam-like sophistication was to have lime marmalade rather than silver shred. I became a stealth jam burglar and would wait until the other guests had finished their breakfast in the hope that they may have left some fo the precious peach heaven that I could just eat by the spoonful.    I have finally re-created that childhood taste and it is just as fresh and fruity as I remember.

Peaches are cheap and plentiful at the moment (2 punnets for 1 at Sainsbury’s Taplow) so go ahead and try it! You will need: approx 1.2kg of peaches, juice of 1 lemon, 1.4 kg of jam sugar and 1/2  bottle of certo, pectin. I am using liquid pectin for this recipe, because it means that you don’t have to over-boil the fruit to get it to setting temperature, which for something as delicate as peaches is important.  Method: First make some light incisions in the peach skin as if you were going to cut it into quarters, then plunge the peaches in to a pan of boiling water. Take the pan off the heat and drain the peaches after 1 minute, the skin will immediately start to shrivel and will be really easy to peel off. Chop the fruit (this is quite messy) in to chunks, weigh it and it should now be 1.kg and place in a large saucepan, add the lemon juice and the sugar and place on a low heat, stirring gently until all the sugar has dissolved. bring to the boil, and let it boil hard for only two minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the certo. Leave for 20 minutes, so that the fruit doesn’t float to the top before bottling in to sterilised jars. This will make about 6 to 8 jars. This jam is lovely on toast, bread and butter, made in to a jam sponge pudding, or just eaten from the spoon.

Viva melocoton!

Meet the lovely Sherri, who amongst her talents which are many, makes the best soft cookies that we know of.  As one of the four baking divas, she volunteered after hours of bullying and psychological torture to make 150 for our party last week.  This is a classic American recipe, and I have persuaded her to share it with us. Enjoy!

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (approx 340g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (220g)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (170g)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (135g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (approx 350g ) of white chocolate chip pieces (could be white choc, dark, milk etc)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional-approx 150g)
• Bake at 375 degrees F or gas mark 4 for 8-9 minutes for crispy outside, smooshy inside or 10 mins for crunchy

I have approximated the american cup sizes to metric weights, don’t be fooled into making them all the same as of course each ingredient has a different density, but then you knew that…I’ll do a blog giving you good conversion chart next week.

Mexican Seven Layer Dip (or Friendship Dip as it is sometimes called)

It is basically exactly what it says – seven different layers of mexican inspired dipping stuff! In order you will need:

2 cans of refried beans, 2 avocados and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 carton  sour cream and 1 packet of cream cheese mashed up with1 package taco seasoning if you want to cheat OR you can make your own seasoning (recipe bottom of page), 4 large  tomatoes, diced, 1 can pitted black olives, chopped, 1 large bunch green onions, chopped and 8 ounces cheddar cheese, 1 jar of drained jalapenos, chopped to put on top if you want it hot (optional) or reserve some black olives to decorate the top.

In a large glass bowl (must be glass, so you can see the layers) first put the refried beans. Next place the mashed avocado – you can use shop bought guacamole if you wish. Next layer is the sour cream/cream cheese and taco seasoning mixture. On top of this, add the chopped black olives. Tomatoes go next, again you can use shop-bought salsa if you prefer. Chopped spring onions next followed by a  final layer of grated cheddar. Put the jalapenos at the top if you want it spicy and hot. It really does look lovely and tastes good, too.

If you want to make your own seasoning: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon each of  garlic powder,  onion powder, dried  red pepper flakes, dried oregano,1 teaspoon paprika , 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin and salt and pepper to your own liking.