Summery food for summer weather...Saturday, 17th May 2014.

A few fine days and we're eating in the garden, round a table beneath the trees, enjoying the pleasure of  sun and dappled shade, the easy friendship of family and friends and a simple repast of familiar foods.

Comfortable foods for a comfortable meal such as warm potato salad with sausage slices, a generous sprinkling of ground black peppercorns, sea salt and a scattering of a favourite herb, perhaps finely chopped chives, mint or parsley.

A pastry creation, be it warm cheese quiche or a quiche Lorraine, a savoury tomato, onion and cheese or a delicious Homity Pie with chopped potato, onions, cheese and garlic, served warm with a choice salad and delicious crusty bread; a glass or two of wine, or sparkling water, goes beautifully with such a fine repast.

Another good meal choice is a just cooked, slightly cooled chicken, or a hot cooked chicken from Sainsbury's, when warmer weather descends too quickly, catching you without a suitable supper to offer your hungry troops home from a busy day.  Hot days happen on weekdays too, not just on weekends when you have the chance to do a little home cooking...!

And we've enjoyed such food these last few days, so much.  Thickly sliced  chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, baby spinach leave and cherry tomatoes.  Also warm and home-made potato and frankfurter sausage salad with mayo, a savoury tart with bacon and cheese, home-made cole slaw this time and home-cooked pork sausages with crusty baguettes and butter.

It's also Barbecue season, of course, as long as the good weather lasts!  Beef burgers, chops, chicken portions, sausages and items cooked in foil parcels such as vegetables, meat and fish.  And fruity mixtures too!  Oh the delight of cooked peaches and almonds, pineapple and sponge with a dash of a liqueur or brandy or any mix you desire.  All such desserts go wonderfully well with cream or ice-cream too, providing a glorious finale to a heavenly evening of warm conviviality, out in the garden.

Well dear friends, roll on the summer weather, and let's enjoy the good times and scrummy food....

Daisy

a beautiful Azalea blossom pictured recntly

Scones and Flapjacks - Monday 12th May 2014

Grr. no time to bake gluten-free scones last weekend - no baking done at all and a mass of other things to do!!!

I used to bake and cook every day and now, well I don't!  Where have the baking hours gone to?

Simply don't know and it's a crying shame!!!

So, for a very quick Sunday breakfast, I found an online gluten-free recipe to trial and I'm very pleased to report on some good results, so far.  Will have another go at said recipe and then find some more to trial and then.....well, watch this space for more baking triumphs....or otherwise!!!

Here's a photo-shot of a first - for years and years - attempted gluten -free scone receipt...!

All eaten nicely warm from the oven, with butter, and more than acceptable for a gluten-free breakfast!!!

Happy baking days!

Daisy

On the trail of good gluten-free scones...Saturday, 3rd May

At catering college, one of our training chefs produced a recipe for brilliant scones, using strong bread flour and baking powder.

This recipe turned out really good scones,  light yet substantial and very easy to mix and bake.  His recipe included sultanas for fruit scones but as an alternative, I added 8ozs. of grated cheese and 1/2 a tsp. of mixed mustard, ground black peppercorns and sometimes scissor snipped chives, for a savoury flavour.

The trick is not to make the mix too wet or to handle it roughly, thereby, creating a tough dough.  So you "pat out" the dough on a floured board to about 2" thick, placing your scones onto a lightly oiled tray and very lightly brush them with a very little milk-wash,  then leave your scones to "recover" or rest for a few minutes, before baking in a very hot oven for approx..15 - 20 minutes.  Once cooked to a light golden brown mixture, place onto cooling rack before eating.  They are delicious warm, with butter!

The trick of baking scones as American "biscuits" i.e. with each item touching each other, to keep the sides soft as they bake, didn't seem to work for my scone recipe; it is a different bake method but it might work for your recipe?

Scones are so easy to make and bake and are good for all occasions, not just with jam and cream for cream teas.  Bake them for breakfast with chopped apricots and nuts or a muesli mix; for lunch with cheese and some crisply fried bacon and ground black peppercorns, or chopped ham and for supper, well, anything food you fancy - what about with lightly sautéed mushrooms and spring onions.....  Mmm! the choice is endless, only limited by your imagination!

So there's no reason this recipe couldn't work with gluten-free bread flour and I shall bake some today, adding Xantham Gum of course.  I believe lemonade is good for gluten-free scones too.  There are many online recipes too, of course, so no reason not to get baking.

And for holiday weekends and great festive occasions, there's no need, really, to buy in masses of shop-baked store bread, sliced or not; oh no, just make some fresh-baked scones and watch as everybody tucks into your warm scones with great relish.  For breakfast, or a handy snack, I love toasted, or oven-warm scones with home-made marmalade.  We even used to eat them with my home-made lemon curd and my own chocolate spread lifted the whole eating experience into even higher realms of delight!!!  Oh my, such happy foodie memories.

Another memory comes from watching my grandmother bake scones and it was she who taught the art of  scone self-reliance and thrift - bake scones-buy less bread".  Grandmother's recipe is safely tucked into my own family recipe book, along with those of other family members.

Oh gosh - no photo-shots for you.....but I'll whip-up a few for later on.  I'm out soon to a local gardening club plant and cake stall event at a favourite village and will be looking out for scones!!!  Somebody is bound to have baked some for sale !

I'll leave you with a posy of flowers instead, from an earlier family birthday meal, for it's a beautiful sunny morning, on a Bank Holiday weekend, and life's lookin' good!!!

Ah Ha! here's one I baked earlier this year - home-made scones with French fig jam, brought home by my daughter from a holiday in France last year.....jolly nice!!!

No scones for this morning, so I dived into my freezer and found frozen Panettone, and toasted some of that...!

just delicious!!!

Happy week-endings for you too!

Daisy