Compote of summer berries with scented geranium leaves

Sometimes when you are entertaining or even just fancy a dessert, you don't always want to spend hours on making something or actually want anything to heavy, sometimes its nice to offer a gorgeous chocolate torte with some lovely fresh fruit and cream, well this dessert ticks all of the above boxes.

Its summery, fragrant and delicate, if you are not one for perfumed food, then this clearly is not for you, but I love anything geranium, rose or violet flavoured, so this dessert was just heaven for me.

Again it was part of the gorgeous summer menu from Country Living and again Hubby was not impressed, but like I said on a previous post, its just so full of summer sunshine, romantic and delicious on a hot barmy day.

I brought my geranium plant about a year or so ago, it was recommended somewhere in a magazine, most likely Country Living as being a perfect one for culinary use. You may or may not know, but everyday geraniums (Pelargonium) are just not up to the job, the culinary ones are so over the top fragrant and have a much smaller flower than the bedding variety. If unsure, ask at your local garden centre and they can point you in the right direction.

You can even make scented sugar from the leaves, perfect for making cupcakes with or a scented butter cream and the flowers look so pretty used as cake decorations.

I love mine and when I am not using it in cooking it makes a lovely fragrant house plant, so an all round winner.

Buon appetito

350ml dry white wine
300g granulated sugar
broad strip of lemon zest (no white pith)
8 scented geranium leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon
225g raspberries
225g tayberries or loganberries (or a mixture of both)
225g small strawberries, hulled
225g redcurrants, de-stalked (I left these out as I really don't like them)

Put the white wine and sugar into a saucepan with the lemon zest and geranium leaves.

Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.

Add lemon juice to taste, but be careful not to overwhelm the floral flavour, I left the lemon out as I just wanted it sweet and floral. Chill or leave at room temperature.

Put the fruit into a broad shallow bowl (to prevent them being squashed), I used my late Nan's gorgeous crystal bowl, its so retro its cool! Pour over the scented syrup.

Serve with Madeleines or shortbread, along with whipped cream sweetened with icing sugar.

I didn't want to drown the fruit in syrup and didn't use as many berries as it was just for myself and Hubby, so the left over syrup I have stored in a bottle and will use to pour over ice cream and make cupcakes with.

We are not all Desperate Housewives !

I was recently contacted by the Daily Mail with regards to an article that had recently appeared in their paper about Tandridge Housewives and also later appeared in The Telegraph, it was all about Tandridge being the number one Housewife Hotspot in the country, it was a nice enough article and I commented on Twitter and Facebook that I found it rather amusing to be a statistic!

Now back to why they contacted me, they are now doing a follow up piece, they wanted to know would I be interested in doing a glamorous photo shoot, in a Desperate Housewives sort of style and did I know any other Mums that would be interested. I contacted a couple of gorgeous glamorous Mums that I thought it would be fun to do this with and passed on their details (I feel guilty about asking them now).

Now, I did have a funny niggle about it all and I did voice these to Hubby and the journalist involved, that if in anyway it was going to portray housewives in a dim light or as lazy money grabbing women who just lived off their Husbands, there was no way I was going to be involved!

Anyone who knows me, knows how strongly I feel about this subject, not all of us stay at home Mums spend our days in the beauty salon, at the gym or lunching with the girlies while our Nanny does the school run and the cleaner cleans the house.

Some of us have very old fashioned ideals !

I work damn hard at home, making sure the house is spotless, the dinner is cooked and everything runs like clock work, to the point that I wash and iron Hubbys clothes, placing his work shirts with an accompanying white tshirt ready for him to grab out of his wardrobe in the morning. I even get up on days that I don't have to, to make him a fresh espresso in a take away cup to have on his walk to the station.

Now before everyone says that I am sad, that I have set woman's rights back by decades, I don't care, I am proud of myself for doing a good job. I have dedicated the same amount of strenght and hardwork to being a housewife like other men and woman do to their career. My rewards may not be a fantastic income and promotions, but the rewards are having gorgeous well rounded children, a Husband who says he would of been nothing with out all my hard work and the love and respect of my family. No amount of money or promotion in the World could be better than that. Rewards come in many forms and my 10 year old Son saying that I may not earn lots of money but that I am paid in love for what I do is priceless.

I have been doing this job since I was 19, thats 24 years at the same job and its been tough and its been amazing, but I know this, I wouldn't change any of it. Horses for courses, it may not suit every woman but it suits me and I am proud of my working title of Mother, Wife and Housewife.

My Husband works bloody hard for us and if he can come home and relax, then I am doing a good job, I would feel guilty knowing that while he is working I was sat with my feet up watching brain dead daytime TV!

And why not a positive spin for a change, I have a lot of political beliefs to why I think more Mums should stay home, but thats my personal thoughts and I know I will get slated from some people for them, but why not an article on how much we give back to the community by doing such a great job, reward Mums that stay at home, would a return to the ideals and morals of our Grandparents be so bad???

We are not all brain dead or given up on ourselves or life, I know many stay at home Mums who are super intelligent, have degrees, have had amazing success in their careers, but see the role as Mother, Wife and Housewife as just as important and probably far more important.

I never rant on my blog, its all about recipes for my Children but when the journalist contacted me today to say that the article was going down the high maintenance route, I knew that I couldn't be apart of it, but that I would have my say anyway. High-maintenance, me ? I haven't been to the hairdressers in years and my nails are trashed from housework, decorating and gardening, so thanks for asking but no thanks.

I am now stepping off my soap box before I fall off.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/9465535/Housewife-capital-of-Britain-revealed.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2186045/Want-Betty-Draper-Move-Surrey-The-housewife-capital-Britain-revealed.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2192258/Desperate-housewives-UK-Leafy-heeled-Tandridge-Surrey-revealed-town-stay-home-mothers-Britain-But-lives-residents-perfect-seem.html

Boozy Upside-Down Cake

This is just a quick one, no fancy reason, no interesting story, but just me being thrifty and wanting to make use of the left over fruit from making liqueurs, it seemed such a waste to just bin them, I hate wasting food and if I can put it to good use I will.

Now as you can see, I made an upside-down cake but the fruit would also been very yummy indeed, served with custard or vanilla ice cream, but it was a warm day and I really fancied something quick and simple to go with a cup of tea.

Last night, many of you will know, that 'The Great British Bake Off' returned to our screens for a third series, I actually applied this year, made it to the final auditions, but stupidly tried to hard, didn't stick to what I am good at and blew it, I am so frustrated with myself. Everyone says I should try for series four, but I don't know, we will just have to wait and see where life takes me.

Anyway, last night one of the challenges was to bake an upside-down cake, now this is no beauty or a winner in any sense of the word, but just thought it would be nice to post this today in honour of the great show returning to our screens. Its great to have it back, I am already hooked and wish all the lucky contestants good luck, I already have my favourites :)

If I had been on the show last night, I would of baked this:-

http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/italian-apple-cake.html

Buon appetito

Butter for greasing
2 x 15ml tablespoons sugar
Left over fruit from the recipes below and 3 x 15ml tablespoons of the liqueur:-

http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/cherry-and-vanilla-liqueur.html
http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/apricot-and-lavender-liqueur.html

100g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 200C/ gas mark 6.

Butter a tarte tin, 24cm wide at the top and 20cm diamater at the bottom, do not use a loose-bottomed or springform tin as the syrup will leak out, alternatively you could use a 23cm cake tin.

Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the buttered base, and then arrange the apricots to make a circular pattern, popping a cherry into each one and filling in between any gaps as you go.

Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into a food processor or mixer and beat until the batter is smooth. Now add the 3 tablespoons of liqueur and mix in.

Pour the mixture carefully over the apricots and cherries, it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently, making sure you don't dislodge any of the fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes, then ease a spatula around the edge of the tin, place a plate on top and flip carefully.

Serve warm as a dessert with custard or ice cream, or cold with a cup of tea.

This recipe has been adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe from her cookery book 'Nigella Express', but if you fancy trying another recipe, please see the link below:-

http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pineapple-upside-down-cake.html

Cherry and Vanilla Liqueur

As promised, here is another boozy recipe. I have recently lost my blogging mojo but as the weather has taken a turn for the worse today, I have decided to bake Paul Hollywoods iced buns http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/iced-fingers-paul-hollywood-recipe.html , must of been inspired by 'The Great British Bake Off' starting last night, now these are very simple to bake, but take a lot of time proving, so I am sat at the kitchen table, doors wide open, enjoying the fresh smell of rain and listening to radio 4 while I blog away and get down all the lovely yummy things I have been making, baking and cooking lately, all while my dough proves away in the airing cupboard, now thats multi tasking !

I previously posted a recipe for apricot liqueur, it was so delicious and worked so well, that when I popped into my local supermarket and saw gorgeous ripe local kent cherries on offer, I got to thinking I should make them into a liqueur as well. Now there are loads of recipes out there for cherry liqueur, mostly are just made using vodka or eau de vie, but I like the delicateness of the previous recipe and so applied the same ingredients to the cherries.

I knew that lavender wouldn't work here, but I still wanted an unusual twist and decided on vanilla, using a vanilla pod in place of the lavender sprig worked marvellously. I am actually rather proud of myself, the more I bake and cook, the more confident I become and now over the years I seem to be able to come up with my own ideas and recipes and they actually seem to work.

Well I better go, buns are now in the oven and will be baked in 10 minutes, do not want to ruin my wonderful multi-tasking by burning them now do I !

Salute ;)

250g granulated sugar
350ml dry white wine
1 vanilla pod, split in half
250g cherries, stoned
150ml vodka or eau de vie

Put the sugar and wine into a saucepan and heat gently until dissolved.

Add the vanilla and cherries. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the cherries are tender.

Remove from the heat and stir in vodka. Leave to cool.

Pour into a lidded container (I used my largest Kilner jar), cover and infuse for a week in a cool place.

Strain the liqueur through a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin (if you don't have muslin, a clean tea towel or Jeyes cloth work just as well), then decant into sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cool dry place for a month.

Decant liqueur again, this time through coffee paper, into freshly sterilised bottles.

To make a kir, pour a measure of liqueur (about 3 tablespoons) into a champagne glass and top up with Prosecco, Cava or Champagne.

Apricot and Lavender Liqueur

Summer has been a bit hit and miss this year as far as the weather is concerned but on a personal level it has been one of the best summers ever, this is partly due to our gorgeous new house and beautiful garden but also due to me having the first summer holidays off with Luca in five years and that has made this summer so precious. We have spent a summer of creating memories, many, as is the usual case with us have evolved around food, the recipe below is no exception.

I love 'Country Living' magazine and one of the first sections I always turn to when a new edition arrives is the cooking section, I love the seasonal rustic food and always the stunning photography.

August 2012 edition dropped through the letter box and I swiftly turned to the cooking pages and found this gorgeous summer menu...

Now sunshine or no sunshine, this menu would evoke a little ray of sunshine on the most darkest and wettest days.

I obviously wanted to cook it all there and then, but felt it deserved an occasion, for example a barmy summers evening, just Hubby and I, under one of the apple tree's, pretty bunting blowing lazily in an early evening breeze, table beautifully set, fairy lights festooned around.... !

Well that was the original plan, but barmy summer evenings have been few, so we brought the little garden table into the middle lounge, dressed it with candles and flowers, Hubby cooked, I made the liqueur and dessert and we had such a beautiful evening, which I would like to thank Hubby for as I know the food was not really his cup of tea, but I just LOVED it.

The layering of fragrant flavours through out this menu makes every mouthful taste different and is just so romantic. The liqueur was unlike others that I have made in the past, normally I use just vodka, but often find that this is far to over powering when working with delicate flavours, this recipe uses wine as well and the balance works so perfectly. So well in fact that I applied the recipe to other liqueurs.

This liqueur will keep for up to a year and put into pretty bottles, decorated with ribbons and a few sprigs of lavender would make a fantastic foodie gift or a personal homemade wedding favour. I think that this entire menu would be fantastic for a rustic country summer wedding.

Enjoy 3 tablespoons in a chilled bottle of fizz of your choice and you have the perfect summer kir even if we don't have the perfect summer.

Salute ;)

(If anyone knows where I can buy a gorgeous bottle like the one in the photo please drop me a line, thank you)

250g granulated sugar
350ml dry white wine
1 sprig lavender
250g apricots, halved & stoned
150ml vodka or eau de vie

Put the sugar and wine into a saucepan and heat gently until dissolved.

Add the lavender and apricots. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the apricots are tender.

Remove from the heat and stir in vodka. Leave to cool.

Pour into a lidded container (I used my largest Kilner jar), cover and infuse for a week in a cool place.

Strain the liqueur through a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin (if you don't have muslin, a clean tea towel or Jeyes cloth work just as well), then decant into sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cool dry place for a month.

Decant liqueur again, this time through coffee paper, into freshly sterilised bottles.

To make a kir, pour a measure of liqueur (about 3 tablespoons) into a champagne glass and top up with Prosecco, Cava or Champagne.

It also makes a refreshing less boozy drink mixed with soda.

Olive Oil Jam Tart

Having the boys come home for dinner always gives me an excuse to go over the top with the food, not that I normally need an excuse, but having all five of them at home, around the family table always inspires me to come up with a truly authentic Italian dinner, I have been known to do seven courses, completely over the top and filling, but fun and you just get to sit, chill, drink, chat and laugh, to me this is just perfect and we all get to catch up with each other.

On this occasion as the weather was so gorgeous we had already decided to eat outside, al fresco dinning is one of my most favourite things to do as anyone that knows me will tell you and I had decided that two courses with homemade focaccia would be enough as Simon had taken Oliver and Luca earlier in the day to the cinema and for a MacDonalds.

We had the ragu that I previously blogged on here from the cookery show, 'Simply Italian', and two massive wooden platters on the table piled high, one with my homemade focaccia drizzled in olive oil, garlic and rosemary and the other with grated parmesan.

For dessert I made an olive oil jam tart, now this may sound a little strange, but in Tuscany in times of hardship, butter was considered to heavy and to costly to be used in pastry, this was in both sweet and savoury pastry, olive oil was used instead and gives an intense, authentic flavour, it does not require chilling and is still crumbly and light as any pastry made with butter.

I have such a bad history with pastry, unlike bread, we just don't seem to get a long, but this pastry... well what can I say, we got on just fine and I will be making this time and time again, even Hubby loved it and that is unheard of as he just is not a pudding man.

I served mine cold with a good quality vanilla ice cream as I wanted to make it in advance, but it would work just as well with custard or cream and even served warm, be warned, not straight from the oven as the jam will be as hot as the centre of the earth! Jasmine(Gelsomina), the boys Nonna, use to make jam tarts every weekend and place them up high where the boys couldn't reach them until they were cool enough to eat, it would always make her laugh when I would sneak one whilst they were still scolding hot, I would try and nibble around the edges of the tart, but would always end up burning myself, she would laugh and tell me I was worse than one of the Children, such fond memories.

Use any jam that you like, it is traditionally made with either Fig or Blackberry Jam, sometimes done with both, one flavour on each side of the tart, I was lucky to have some of last years homemade blackberry jam left in the fridge, perfect timing to use it up as blackberry season will soon be upon us again.

http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/blackberry-jam.html

It was nearly all gone in one sitting, but Hubby managed to save a piece for his breakfast the next day.

Buon appetito

Serves 4 to 6

75ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g sugar (recipe didn't state what type, I used caster)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 medium free-range eggs
Zes of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vin santo (I didn't have any, but used white wine instead)
300g of your favourite fruit jam
3 to 4 tablespoons of icing sugar (optional - to decorate)

Preheat the oven, 160C/ Fan 140C/ gas mark 3.

Grease and line a 25cm tart tin.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder with a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, then beat 2 of the eggs and add with the oil, lemon zest and vin santo/wine. Mix, using a wooden spoon , until it comes together, then transfer to a floured work surface.

Cut a third off the pastry and set aside, then form the rest into a ball.

Carefully roll out the pastry to a circle the thickness of a pound coin (the recipe suggested that you may need a lot of flour on your surface when rolling out as the olive oil may make it a little slippery, this was not the case with mine and it rolled out beautifully), then carefully line the greased tart tin, making sure the pastry fits snugly and any excess over hangs the sides.

Cover the pastry with an even layer of jam.

Roll out the smaller bit of pastry into a circle the thickness of a pound coin. Cut into 2cm wide strips using a sharp knife or fluted pasta cutter, then lay out on top of the tart in a lattice. Place the last few strips around the edge to finish off the decoration (I didn't seem to have enough to do this, so I just crimped around the edge using the back of a fork).

Remove the overhanging pastry with a sharp knife.

Beat the remaining egg, then glaze the pastry all over with it.

Bake for 50 minutes until biscuit brown, if it starts to brown to soon, cover with foil.

When cooked, transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. If you want to, when cooled, dust with icing sugar.

Another gorgeous ragu

I know that I have quite a few ragu recipes on my blog already, but I just love them, I love the simplicity of prepping a few simple ingredients and then allowing time to play its part in creating a most delicious and scrumptious meal.

This latest recipe comes from the new series on Channel 4, Simply Italian, its everything that it says on the label, simply and Italian, what more can you ask for, hosted by the lovely Michela Chiappa, not only does she delight you with gorgeous recipes but you also get to see some beautiful parts of Italy.

On the second show they were at a gorgeous restaurant in Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Hubby and I have been very lucky to of eaten here when we first went to Tuscany to stay with my lovely Mother and Father-in-Law who are very lucky to be able to say that Chef/owner Alessandro is a family friend. The food was to die for, in true Italian style we whiled away a long warm afternoon and created some wonderful memories.

So as I have already said, I do have a number of ragu recipes on my blog, but like any good Italian you always make them your own, every region, every Nonna, every Mamma, will have her own version and every one will claim their's to be the best.

So why not browse through my recipes, take a piece of each, add a little of you and what you like and you to will have the best ever ragu.

I served mine with a homemade focaccia http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/paul-hollywoods-focaccia.html my Daughters favourite and a whole lot of love as it was the first time that we had all been together around the table in our new home and it was a truly special evening.

Buon appetito

Just incase you have missed the show:-

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/simply-italian/4od#3392985

This makes a huge amount of ragu, enough to serve 8 to 10 people, which is great when I have the whole Brood at home, but I have made this today and have halved it, we will have half tonight with a very good quality pappardelle, Michela does make her own on the show, so if you have the time, check out the recipes on Channel 4 and give it a go, but the other half I am going to freeze for next week and will either serve again with pasta or make a lasagne with it. Please feel free to half the recipe or freeze for another time.

100g smoked pancetta, roughly chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, peeled and finely chopped
1kg good-quality beef mince
Good glug of red wine
140g tomato purée
2 beef stock cubes
2 bay leaves
Parmesan, to serve
Extra virgin olive oil

       
Put a large pan on a medium heat. Once hot add the smoked pancetta and fry for 2-3 minutes on a low heat, or until starting to crisp up.

Then add the red onion, carrot and celery. Stir together and sweat for roughly 10 minutes with lid on, or until soft and translucent.

Next add your beef to the pan, stirring occasionally until the beef has browned.

Add a good swig of red wine and keep stirring. The aim is to burn off the alcohol leaving just a hint of the lovely wine flavour.

Add the tomato purée and stir into the sauce, then add 500ml of boiling water from the kettle and crumble in the beef stock cubes and the bay leaves. Put the lid on and simmer for 3 hours to let the flavours intensify and the beef break down.

I served mine with homemade focaccia http://dianastaveley.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/paul-hollywoods-focaccia.html

Fanouropita - Saint Fanourios

I have a vast array of cookery books, mostly Italian, a couple of Spanish and rather a lot of Greek ones, I just love Mediterranean food and I love the cultures and traditions of these beautiful countries.

One of my favourite books has to be Maria Benardis, My Greek Family Table, its so beautiful written, not only is it full of gorgeous recipes but Maria pulls you in with her fantastic tale of growing up in a Greek household, firstly on a small Greek Island and then in Australia, even far from home she evokes a feeling of never being far from Greece, traditions, food, family, friends and religion always keeping alive the culture she is so clearly proud of.

As we are now in August and it is still raining here in damp old Blighty, I thought I would bake this very meaningful cake and share with you its lovely meaning, you never know it may help us to locate our lost Summer!

August 27th is Saint Fanourios (fah-NOO-ree-os) name day, on this day a Fanouropita is baked and taken to church to be blessed. Saint Fanourios is the patron saint of the “lost and found” or the saint “who reveals all things” or lost causes, people and things. According to tradition, whenever a treasured possession is lost or you are looking for something, the seeker pledges to bake a fruit cake for Saint Fanourios in the hopes of finding it. Upon locating the item, the owner makes good his/her vow and presents a cake to his neighborhood church for blessings. After the service, the cake is distributed to the poor or whoever is at the church. I think this is just beautiful and I would love to be in Greece one year to see this event.

The recipe below is very simple and makes an extremely light cake, its a very grown up cake, not overly sweet, but perfect with a Greek coffee or a cup of tea. This recipe does not have any fruit in, as many recipes did that I found when I was doing some research, so next time I am going to add some sultanas, I will probably soak them over night in the orange juice.

If you don't like olive oil this cake is not for you, the flavour is quite strong, but if you like the idea of this cake why not try a lighter olive oil or maybe even a rapeseed oil.

So how ever you bake it, with or without fruit, which ever oil you choose to use, I hope what you are looking for is found.

Links below to Maria's Website and for her book.

http://www.greekalicious.com.au/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greek-Family-Table-Maria-Benardis/dp/1921382163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343998905&sr=8-1

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1¼ cups fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 20–25 cm round cake tin with baking paper.

Place the olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves a little.

Gradually add the fl our, mixing well, then add the walnuts, followed by the baking powder. Stir until well combined.

Pour the cake mix into the tin and bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the temperature to 130°C and bake for a further 40 minutes or until cooked (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean). Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.