Down at Redwood Farm, Margaret has been whipping up a storm with this new(to me) recipe. While it’s an old one in her family, I have to confess, I’d never heard of it before. But, with just lemons, sugar and cream in the mix, I simply had to try it.
In fact, it’s spoon-licking divine and it’s called Lemon Posset.
Lemon Possett
The finished result is light as a feather and, seems almost healthy. And, because it takes a few hours to set in the fridge. it’s the perfect dinner party dessert.
Head on over to Redwood Farm for the recipe. You’ll find more recipes there, of course, along with tales from the farmyard, and countrylife, with lovely photographs along the way.
Thank you, Margaret for that Lemon Posset tastebud tingler!
I like to keep my finger on the pulse(or at least somewhere in the general vicinity) of new trends. So, with that in mind, I’ve been keeping a close eye on Teengirl’s modus operandi in the kitchen.
Food is her passion and cooking her therapy. Yet, despite my bank of fifty seven cookbooks, she’ll head straight for her tablet to check out a recipe. A quick google-sometimes with available ingredients, other times with an approximate recipe title-and she’ll work from there.
Could it be that kitchen table cookbook props are holding tablets instead?
And yet, walk into your local Waterstones or Eason’s and whole bookshelves are devoted to the cooking genre.
But even Teengirl will peruse the cookbooks from time to time. And, in that perusal this evening, she came across, what she called ” a really old” cookbook. Actually, it’s only twenty years old and it’s still in print. It’s Delia Smith’s Summer Collection.
With pounds, sorry, kilograms of gooseberries harvested and a twit of a mother available to top and tail same, Teengirl picked out Delia’s “Very Easy One Crust Pie” and set to.
Here’s the end result.
It’s called Very Easy One Crust Pie. And it really is just that-super fast and super easy to make. Just remember to pick up semolina and lard on your next grocery shop. Otherwise, the usual suspects-sugar, butter, plain flour and egg are all that are needed here. And you can use rhubarb, or any kind of fruit that you like if you don’t have gooseberries.
Oh, and my tip for tailing those gooseberries? Just turn on the TV and watch Wimbledon. Especially if it’s anything to do with the Williams’ sisters. (What on earth was the matter with Serena?) Or, even better still, Federer. Swoon. You’ll be totally entranced throughout the whole top ‘n tailing experience.
Or reflect on what is going on with the whole cookbook/tablet thing.
I am hoping there will be room for both in the homes of the future. But, as Teen Girl frequently reminds me, I am ancient. She says books will be obsolete and tablets are the way to go. So who’s right?
It was a day for the garden in this neck of the woods. Nothing too strenous, mind. Just plucking pounds and pounds of berries.
Yes, the Chook House garden has the most amazing crop of blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries, this year. The elderflower isn’t such an odd fellow in the whole mix as I tied up a bunch of them in muslin and cooked them up with the blackcurrants.
There’s a mighty good bunch of blooms on the elder tree too, so I’m thinking that this might be the year that I finally get around to making elderberry wine. Teen Son is very keen to help…
Pots of blackcurrant and gooseberry jam are stowed away now, ready to unleash their plump sweetness in the depths of winter. Redcurrant jam or jelly to follow.
Meanwhile, I am high on vitamins having stuffed myself with berries today. And high on a parkrun time which saw me, by dint of clever planning and race strategy, beating last week’s time….by twenty five seconds!
Hmmmm, maybe I should just stick to gardening and jam making….
I really do try to take protein in some form or another after exercise. I’ll nibble some cheese, or take a couple of spoonfuls of natural yoghurt. But hummus fits the bill perfectly too. It’s my favourite bread spread and, of course, works really well as a dip.
Hummus
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
200g/7oz canned chickpeas
2 tbsp lemon juice or more
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt
100ml/3½fl oz tahini (sesame seed paste)
4 tbsp water (or natural yoghurt if you prefer)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
1.Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Reserve a few whole chick peas for serving.
2.Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, tahini, and water in a food processor, and blend to a creamy purée.
3.Add more lemon juice, garlic, cumin or salt to taste. Turn out into a dinner plate, and make smooth with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and scatter with the reserved chickpeas.
Serve as a dip with carrots, celery or warm pitta bread cut into quarters.
If you’re thrilled with that you might want to go the whole hog and use dried chickpeas for your next hummus adventure.
With overnight soaking and 2-3 hours simmering for the chickpeas, it takes a lot longer. But the resulting flavour is worth it. So, if you’ve time on your hands, you can do no better than make hummus the Yottam Ottolenghi way.
redhenrun 