These are Maltese lemons. Well…what was left of them when I took this picture. I need some sunshine today but I’m not going to get it. In the meantime I am posting these gorgeous beauties to brighten up my day. I hope they also brighten yours.
Rob x
Category Archives: Images
Jarlsberg and fennel muffins
I was thrilled to see Signe Johansen on What’s Cooking last week. Signe, who is one of my very favourite food writers, grew up in Norway. I only got hold of her first book Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking…Scandilicious a month ago I’m ashamed to say, but I’m glad I have it now. I really love this book – I wouldn’t even mention it here if I didn’t – it is a great introduction to some ingredients which are not so familiar to me. Scandi cooking is very homely, very familial. It’s cozy, something I always look for. So this is an easy recipe from Signe’s repertoire, just to get you and me started. I have been baking lots of savoury cakes lately and this fits the bill quite well. There’s spelt flour and Jarlsberg here which of course, is typically Norwegian. If you can’t get hold of spelt flour (it’s easily found in supermarkets these days though) go ahead and use all-purpose flour mixed with wholemeal wheat flour.
- 300g wholewheat spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 loaded tablespoon Marmite, melted with two tablespoons of boiling water
- 150g milk
- 1 large egg
- 40 g butter, melted
- 100g Jarlsberg, coarsely grated, plus extra for sprinkling on top
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C for fan or 190 degrees C for non-convection, and line a 12-muffin tray with baking paper or muffin cups.
Measure the flour, fennel seeds, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, baking powder and bicarb of soda, and sift them into a large bowl, to make sure everything is distributed as evenly as possible.
Use a measuring jug for the milk, and add the melted Marmite to the jug. Add this mixture with the dry ingredients and stir for a few times before adding the grated cheese.
Distribute the muffin batter in each muffin cup, but don’t fill them to the brim. I use a small ice-cream scoop for this.
Bake for around 25-30 minutes, in the upper/upper-middle shelf of the oven.
When they are done, they should be golden brown on the top. Place them on a wire rack to cool and sprinkle more grated cheese on top.
They are good on their own but they are great with a proper brunch. One of my favourite recipes.
Thanks Signe!
Rob x
(Adapted from Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking…Scandilicious by Signe Johansen, Saltyard Books, 2011.)
J’s Pancake Recipe
I introduce to you my lovely husband J. I’ll be cheating today because this is his recipe! J likes to cook and he takes over the kitchen once in a while to whip up some tasty treats. I hand over the baton very graciously during these moments especially during weekends when I mainly bake anyway. I never regret it.
One of my personal favourites is pancakes. He makes a mean stack and they’re always special. Being a perfectionist, he worked and worked on this recipe till he got it right if I may say so myself. He thinks so too I guess but he’ll never admit it. So without further ado here it is. This recipe makes around 6 large thick American style pancakes, and of course if you have a waffle-iron you can make lovely waffles instead of pancakes.
Just a note before we start: instead of buttermilk, you can use the same quantity of milk and leave it at that. You can also add about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the milk and let it sit for around 15-30 minutes. Also feel free to leave the salt out completely. I prefer a salt-free batter personally but I know that J likes a slightly salty flavour. For extra taste and colour contrast J likes to add some blueberries.
- 175g plain flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt – optional
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 35g butter, melted
- 250g blueberries – optional
If you don’t have buttermilk start off by preparing the milk as suggested above. If you’re using only milk then read on.
Measure the flour, baking powder, salt (if you’re using it) and sugar and mix them in a bowl.
For the waffles, or for fluffier pancakes, separate the eggs and use some muscle power to beat the whites into soft peaks.
Mix the milk/buttermilk with the egg yolks and melted butter. Pour these into the dry ingredients but try not to mix the batter too much.
Fold the soft beaten egg whites into the mixture and use a ladle to pour a bit of the pancake batter on a preheated and greased griddle (or a good non-stick pan). Sprinkle in some blueberries if you want at this stage.
Cook on one side until you see bubbles forming throughout the surface and the edges have solidified. Then turn the pancake over on the other side. Repeat until you have used all your batter.
Serve alone with some golden syrup or honey, or with fruit. Or however you want for that matter! Enjoy!
Rob x
Chorizo & Thyme 