Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens

A lovely time exploring the conservatory, sniffing out the Titan Arum, searching for the remaining butterflies (two) and watching the steam come down onto the lily pads of the Victoria Amazonica (giant waterlily).

 

 

 

Honey and peanut butter booster bars

This is a 'Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage' receipe.  It's a great snack bar.  However, it can't go in packed lunch boxes as it has nuts, but it's super for an after-school snack and as a pick-them-up at the weekend. 

If you don't have any oranges and lemons, it's ok to use a tablespoon of mixed peel.  Same with the dried fruit and mixed seeds, I finished as many bits and pieces as I could find.  A great larder clearer-outer!  Same with the peanut butter, it doesn't matter if it's smooth.
 
Ingredients
125g mild olive oil or unsalted butter
150g brown sugar
125g no-sugar-added crunchy peanut butter
75g honey, plus a little more to finish
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
200g porridge oats (if jumbo, blend a bit to break down)
150g dried fruit, such as raisins, chopped apricots and prunes or dates
150g mixed seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, linseed, hemp and sesame

Grease and line a baking tin, about 20cm square. Put the oil, sugar, peanut butter, honey and grated citrus zests in a deep saucepan over a very low heat.  Leave until melted, stirring from time to time.

Stir the oats, dried fruit and three-quarters of the seeds into the oil mixture until thoroughly combined.  Spread the mixture out evenly in the baking tin, pressing down and smoothing the top as you go.

Scatter the remaining seeds over the surface and trickle with a little more honey.  Place in an oven preheated to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden in the centre and golden brown at the edges.

Leave to cool completely in the tin, cut into 16 squares.  These bars will keep for 5-7 days in an airtight tin.

Variation: Banana booster bars
Replace the peanut butter with 1 medium ripe banana (about 175g), mashed.  Stir it in after all the other ingredients have been combined.

Regent's Park

It doesn't really look like Regent's Park but this is taken from the bridge between the mosque and the playing fields, near the boating lake.  It's has a slightly Japanesy feel to it, but the plastic bottle floating in the water (which I have airbrushed out) places it in England.

Autumn

It's definitely autumn and I'm itching to go to Kew Gardens to see all those magnificent trees turning their russets, golds and bronzes.  In the mean time all those crispy, crunchy leaves underfoot and the creeping walls will have to be enjoyed.

A glimpse of sun in Regent's Park, London

Polenta Crust Tomato Bread

Whilst the oven is on, I always try and cook a few things.  This bread recipe is a Dan Lepard's from The Guardian (11 September 2010).

A gorgeous smell of tomatoes emanates from this loaf when sliced.  Fabulous for a hearty lunch.

Ingredients
100g natural yogurt
25g tomato paste
25ml olive oil
150g roughly chopped sun dried tomatoes (in oil)
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked (or tsp of rosemary)
125g water

400g spelt flour or strong white flour, if preferred
1 sachet of dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
Polenta for shaping

Mix together the first six ingredients.  Put the flour, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl, pour int he tomato mix and work to a soft dough.  OR put the flour, salt and yeast in the mixing bowl that has the tomato mixture and whizz round with a dough hook.  Leave for 10 minutes, whizz for 10 seconds, and repeat twice more.  Pat into the shape required, brush with water and roll in polenta.  Place on non-stick paper, cover with a clean cloth and leave for an hour in a warm place.  Slash down the centre and bake at 220c for 45 minutes.  Ours came out burnt and overcooked, so check after 35 minutes.

Devour!

Carrot & Pineapple Cake

What to do when there's going to be seven of you for tea!  Something for everyone, healthy, substantial and delicious.

This is a cross between a BBC Good Food recipe and the larder!  It doesn't matter if you don't have all the ingredients, it's good to improvise and get something a little unexpected and original.

Ingredients
300g plain flour (we used a mix of left over spelt and wholemeal self raising)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
200g soft brown sugar (we used 175g of unrefined dark sugar)
4 eggs
250ml mild olive oil
1 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested (we didn't have any of either and used some chopped mixed peel)
200g carrots, finely grated
150g walnuts (we used crushed hazelnuts and pinenuts, as no walnuts in the fridge)
227g tin pineapple pieces, well drained and chopped (used a larger tin and didn't chop)

Heat the oven to 150c.  Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin (or a larger tin if not so deep).  Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar.  Put all the ingredients together in the mixer and whizzed it for a few minutes till nicely combined.  Whizz at a low speed at first, so the flour doesn't fly out of the bowl.  Spoon mixture in the tin and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  If you are using a shallower tin, the baking time will be less.

Gather round a large table with a pot of tea and enjoy.