Cooking the Wheel

Happy Hallowe'en

2009-11-02T12:07:00.003-08:00

A very happy Hallowe'en to you! Or happy new year to those celebrating Samhain :)

How did you spend your Hallowe'en this year? I spent mine going a bit pumpkin crazy! Having bought no less than 3 pumpkins, I needed to find a range of wonderfully pumpkin-y things to cook. First off I went for my first attempt at the American classic pumpkin pie. A crisp pate brisee base (slightly sweetened shortcrust pastry) but topped it with crushed pecans and ginger biscuits. Then the filling - a mixture of pureed pumpkin, whipping cream and lovely autumn spices. This seemed to need a lot of sugar, as our pumpkins have turned out very light coloured and watery this year - not sweet at all! Still after baking I got a lovely pumpkin pie - fab with cream and pecan praline!

Hmm the photo of this has gone missing......let me find it!

Next, more inspired by pumpkin than containing it - but the cutest spooky cupcakes ever. Take a look at these!

And....how about these pumpkin patch cakes - pumpkin and carrot cake!!!

Mini apple and wendsleydale pies

2009-10-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

Apples, apples everywhere and all a bite to eat! A highlight of the English harvest must be the glorious variety of apples that grace our trees. I'd rather like an apple tree or even a whole orchard - although until then the grocer will do - and what else to do but make a vast array of apple pies out of them. For me, it's got to be a Bramley though. The Bramley is the pride of all cooking apples and grown only in this country - and did you know that 2009 is 200th anniversary of the Bramley!!

Cooking apples are too sour to eat raw due to thier high acid content and having a lower sugar than your average dessert or eating apple. Unlike a dessert apple which stays crunchy but loses its favour once cooked, the Bramley falls beautifully during cooking - giving the Bramely filled pie a wonderful soft, fluffy and velevty texture and tasting distincltly appley once cooked!

Apple pies all too often make me think of America, even though they are apparently the nations facourite dessert, so I wanted to make sure my pies had a distinctly English twist. So what better thought I, that the Yorkshire favourite - Wendsleydale. "An apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze" as they say. Well, they say that in Yorkshire anyway, and I'm not going to complain about getting more hugs. Even cheese ones!

If you're using Wendsleydale though, the best way to go is with Hawes dairy cheese - the only Wendsleydale now actually made in the Wendsleydale region. Creamy yet crumbly it is a wonderful cheese - and makes the loveliest addition to the apple pies!

Since I was making these for a picnic (yes in October) I prefer to make mini ones as they pack better and just look soooooo cute! Each pie gets its own little hug of cheese :)

Here's a photo from the fabulous Sarka showing off these little gems...

see more of her photos of my pies here

Ideally, these are best served smothered in lashings of hot custard (proper custard though never creme anglaise!). Then all you need is a bowl, a sofa and a hug of your own ;)

Recipe follows.....

Mini apple and wendsleydale pies

375g shortcrust pastry
3 medium Bramley apples
50g sultanas
1 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp each of ground nutmeg & ground ginger
100g Wendsleydale with cranberries
(or add 50g dried cranberries if you use plain wendsleydale)
beaten egg or milk to wash

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out half the pastry to be relatively thin (no thicker than a pound coin) and cut large rounds, placing them into a floured patty tin. Leave the spare pastry and the patty tin in the fridge until ready.

2. Peel and core the apples and chop into small chunks. Place in a small pan with the sultanas, sugar and spices. Add a few tbsp of water and stew until the apples start to go soft (but not completely disintegrated!). This should be about 10mins over a low heat.

3. Put a few tsp of the mixture into each pastry case and crumble some cheese (and cranberries if using) over the top of each one.

4. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut rounds for lids for each pie, crimping the edges to seal. Use any leftover pastry to make mini leaves for the tops. Wash each lid with egg or milk and bake 15- 20mins until slightly golden.

5. Great warm or cold and lovely with custard!

Stuffed acorn squash

2009-10-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

I love autumn. The cold, windswept days with gold and reddening leaves swirling through the streets and the scarves and woolly hats start to make thier first apperances. Let's ignore the endless drizzle and grey days the english autumn often brings...

The best reason to love autumn though is the craving for rich, hearty foods that cold and wind bring. Above all the beautiful squash. The squashes and pumpkins of the world come into their own in Autumn and on the approach to Hallowe'en can be found plentiful in shops. The smaller, sweeter squashes are wonderful simply cut, cleaned and roasted in the oven - drizzle of oil, a little garlic and voila - golden wonder!

A little more hearty is the stuffed squash, filled with a Greek spiced minced lamb and bubbling cheesy goodness.

This works better with small to mid-sized squashes: acorn or butternut are ideal. One half of an acorn squash is good for one person if served with side salad and some crusty bread. Uber-appetites could probably manage the whole caboodle....

Stuffed Acorn Squash (serves 4)

2 acorn squashes
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2tsp chopped thyme (leaves only)
1 large red onion, chopped finely
500g mined lamb
1tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2tbsp tomato puree
2tsp ground coriander
2tsp ground cumin
1tsp chili powder
100 ml water
1 long red Romano pepper, sliced thinly.
100g feta cheese

Sauce:
½ white onion, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
100ml red wine (optional)
300ml tomato passata
1 bay leaf
Pinch brown sugar
Seasoning

Green leaf salad to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Clean the outside of the squash then cut it in half (length ways) and scoop out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet (or ovenproof dish) and drizzle olive oil generously. Season each half and sprinkle over the chopped garlic and thyme then bake for 45mins.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2tbsp olive oil and sauté onion over a low heat until softened, about 5mins. Add the minced lamb then season and add the parsley. Brown until cooked through (about 5-10mins). Add the tomato puree and spices and stir well. Cook for 1min then add the water and red peppers and check the seasoning - simmer for about 10mins.

2. Once the squash is baked, take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5mins. Turn the overn temperature up to 180C. After waiting the 5mins, scoop the top layer of the flesh into a bowl (taking care not to puncture the skin – leave about 1-2cm of flesh attached to the sides). Chop roughly and add to the minced lamb mixture. Crumble the cheese into the mince mixture and stir though gently, before placing the filling into the squash cavities. Bake for a further 15mins until the cheese is starting to melt.

5. To make the sauce, sauté the white onions over a low heat until soft then add the garlic and cook for 1min further. Add the wine (if using) and cook for 2mins. Add the tomato passata, bay leaf and sugar. Season well and leave to simmer for 15mins until thick and velvety.

6. To serve, place a squash half onto each serving plate and generously drizzle the sauce over. Serve with the green salad.

7. Eat and enjoy :)

Lammas Bread

2009-08-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weeks I've been practicing baking bread in honour of Lammas - the first of the year's three harvest festivals.

Lammas day itself is on the 1^st August, its name deriving from the medieval English name “hlaef-mass” or “loaf-mass”. The Anglo-Saxons referred to Lammas regularly in chronicles as the “feast of the first fruits”. With the number of wonderful fruits now in season you can see why! Going back to loaves though, this first harvest was for the grain and it was customary to reap the first of the ripe grain on this day and bake the first new loaf of the season. Often country cooks would make the bread into wonderful shapes - plaits, sheafs or bread resembling a corn dolly. Impressive!

In this vein I've been trying to make better bread. I get the ingredients mostly right, but am really rubbish at kneading. You can't make do with any namby pamby folding of dough. You have to work it properly, like you really, really don't like that bit of dough. With 12 whole minutes of dough bashing, apart from it feeling very therapeutic, my bread came out something like this...

Not bad? maybe a bit crusty, but it made lovely cheese on toast!

Hello and welcome

2009-08-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

I started my first blog in 2003 but gave up soon after as it didn't seem like an idea that would take off. Oh dear...so, a little bit late, I'm rejoining the bandwagon. We live in an age where any celebrity and his wife can write a cookbook without the need for a true love of food! The food bloggers of the world show so much more passion! These words will be a record of my cooking travels as we go round the wheel of the year - through each of the turning seasons. I hope you enjoy some of the recipes and lore I have to share with you.

Please keep reading!