Pebble soup

Curious Ingredient: Sea Kale - Rosti

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000Z

Last week, I found out that my neighbour is a forager and spends most of his week-ends with friends by the sea-side where they proudly grow all sorts. We have been living in good neighbourly harmony for the pass ten years. I pick his parcels up, he returns the favour and we smile nicely at one another.

Once, he invited us to his new-year's fancy dress party themed around London tube lines. I think we were a bit of a disappointment. We both arrived dressed in black pretending to be the Northern line, looking like misery, in the midst of dancing angels and Seven Sisters.

Lately, we have been exchanging a series of brief e-mails about a local issue. I guess he picked up on my signature. Realising that he lived next door to an author and a food writer, his overture lengthened, "There you are! there is so much I'd like to talk to you about" he said the last time we bumped into one another.

Next thing I knew, we were exchanging tips about restaurants, cheeses, local markets and looking at his Mark Hix's books collection; suddenly we were talking ten to the dozen as if we had known each other for.......a decade.

I left his company with a sense of bewilderment, clutching a bag full of sea kale, his friends had worked hard to grow from seeds. It occurred to me that I did not have a clue who my neighbourg really was but moreover I didn't know to how to cook sea kale without Him looking suspiciously at yet another curious ingredient.

Sea kale grows on shingle beaches but be aware, for the past 30 years, crops have been under specific protection under the wildlife and countryside act, making collection without the landowners permission illegal. It is sold on farmers market in February and March.

In culinary terms, it goes way back, 500 years or so, at one point it was a popular garden plant. Taste-wise it could be chard's cousin only more pungent, its most common use is as a blanched vegetable.

Blanching is best know associated with rhubarb. Blanched vegetables have a more delicate flavour as they are grown deprived of light which produces chlorophyll and gives colour. In crude term, they are forced to grow in the dark, in special enclosed environments or with a bucket over their head.

If you wonder what I did with my gift, here is the recipe I chose rostis slightly boring as you sea-kale makes for a weird and wonderful addition to so much more but nevertheless delicious.

Sea Kale Rostis

Ingredients

sea kale steamed and chopped
a couple of potatoes boiled and mashed
oil
2 tbsp flour
1 egg (beaten)
salt & pepper

Method

Prepare the vegetables
In a bowl mix the chopped sea Kale, potatoes together, beat in the egg, add flour and seasoning.
Make little ball with the mixture, flatten them slightly and fry them in hot oil.

If you wanted to know more about foraging, do take a look at Galloway Wild Foods, Mark Williams' great site.

Sunday Soup : Green Pea Soup with 3 variations

2012-02-11T15:29:00.000Z

Soups are so satisfying. For me, they are synonymous to "perfect comfort food". They also pass muster under the "fat watch" scrutiny. Even if the recipe requires cream. In which case, cheating is always an option: cut the cream with milk.

One day, I would like to be explained why soups have got such a bad reputation. I have an inkling that dehydrated soups, or watery, tasteless tin-soups could be the guilty party.

Another great advantage is their simplicity, most soups can be made from scratch in no time. Never more so then in the case of Pea Soup which requires a bag of peas and cream. However, there is a secret ingredient and that is the kind of bouillon used. I know I tend to bang on about bouillon but truly in a dish which contains a couple of ingredients only, these have to be good.

In the Sunday Soup series, I try to give a basic soup with a few variations but here I am going to deviate a little since after the basic and the variations, I would like to also talked to you about a brand I have been curious to taste so fall asleep in your plate just yet.

Pea Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, chopped
500g frozen peas
100ml/2fl oz double cream
250 ml vegetable stock ( I use Marigold)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onion gently until soft but not brown
Add the bouillon and bring to boil
Add the peas, lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the cream, lower the heat again and cook for another 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
Leave to cool and transfer to the food processor and Blitz until smooth

Variations

Pea Soup and Cress or Rocket (to be added with the cream)
Peas Soup and Ham (add 1/2 the ham in the food processor, dice the other 1/2 add it when serving)
Pea soup and mint (to be added instead of the cream)

Yorkshire Provender Pea Soup and Spinach

I have been trying out commercial brands of soups for ages and never found anything to write home about until now. I will post about Yorkshire Provender soups in details soon. At present, I can tell you that I have been very, very impressed byYorkshire Provender Pea Soup and Spinach and indeed by the the whole range.

Pea & Fresh Spinach with Coriander taste definitely as good as a home made soup with the depth which characterise the use of fresh ingredients.

Smoked Salmon Parfait

2012-02-06T13:48:00.001Z

What is the difference between a parfait and a pâté? This is typically the kind of question, I will ask myself at the most inappropriate of moments, eg: I am in scintillating company, in a great restaurant, the menu is enticing and suddenly a word jumps out.

In that case "parfait", I have cooked parfaits, I have prepared pâtés but until this very moment, I never asked myself what the difference was between the two, and of course the question is going to niggle me until I find the answer.

Back home, I refer to Stephane Reynaud's book "Terrine". The glossary offers a definition of parfait: "....a dish similar to pâté." It is now obvious, that the answer is not going to be easy to find.

The Internet doesn't propose a better description. So after a game of deductions, my personal definition is: "A parfait is a smooth pâté, sometimes pushed through a sieve to give it its typical silky texture"

Now that this is cleared for a lovely recipe created in Pebble Soup HQ, strongly inspired by the salmon parfait I had the pleasure to taste at Odette's.

Salmon Parfait

Ingredients:

100 g smoked salmon
100ml of creme fraiche or thick cream
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon mustard
pepper
chives

Method:
No cooking is required
In a food processor, add the smoked salmon, the lemon juice, mustard, a few chives. Mix until smooth

Tansfer to a bowl with a fork whip the cream lightly, add the pepper

Fill in individual serving glasses or ramekins with the mixture or use two spoons to make quenelles, decorate as you with. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours or until ready to serve. Serve chilled. chilled.

My lunch companion were @VanessaKimbell @FionaMaclean @KarenBurnsBooth @atriflerushed @turquoiselemons @FussFreeFlavour @RenBehan @GoFreeCakes

Hotel Chocolat Valentine's Day Love Notes

2012-02-05T12:05:00.000Z

Is it really true that, "Valentine's day is lovely and everybody should have one?" I wonder, I am rather torn, I am not a fan of behaving like everyone else so mass celebrations are not really my cup of tea. On the other end, love is my driving force, I have learnt to recognise its beauty and fragility. Its very own existence is something to celebrate.

And celebrations warrant a token but you don't want to feel that you are being exploited buying overpriced roses and what is the point of booking a table for two when everybody else will have book one too. Expensive gadgets, are for mysterious reasons not associated with romance but chocolates are.

In the current buoyant chocolates market, Hotel Chocolat is doing very well. I was asked to pick any product I liked in their Valentine range to review. After much consideration and deliberation. Love Notes came up trump.

Aptly named Love Notes as hidden under each heart shaped chocolates there is a quote from Virgil to Eva Gabor. I could not help it every time somebody picked a chocolates, I wanted to know what the box said for me that was the best part + the strawberry, black pepper combo which is nice. Of course there was a romantic hidden message for this very blog, provided by the bard himself, "They do not love that do not show their love."

Description and acknowledgment
Love Notes box contains a blank card and envelop, 12 chocolate hearts and romantic hidden messages – selection included smooth truffles with mellow vanilla and raspberry, comforting chocolate brownie and velvety praline, strawberry & black pepper and super soft caramels with mouth-warming chilli. RRP: £14

I received a free box to review, opinions contained in this post are my own.

Dream Job Series- part 2-

2012-01-30T12:25:00.000Z

Working for Chocolatier.co.uk is a wonderful job. The editor is charming, my colleagues are enticing writers and I get to nibble the products while reviewing. I was not expecting to get a gig as nice as this for a while.

Really, I had to pinched myself when, at the end of last year, I was asked to collaborate with Häagen-Dazs. This delicious ice-cream brand chose 25 people in the UK to engage in their media program called Häagen-Dazs Loves.

I get to preview new flavours, attend parties and be opinionated. Moreover it is perfect timing as this month Häagen-Dazs is launching "its biggest product innovation in recent years, Secret Sensation, a range which, "Features a new patented technology which creates a liquid centre of sauce, enveloped by ice cream."

Häagen-Dazs' single pots have just got a little bit saucier. Two indulgent flavours, you can't really go wrong with Chocolat Fondant and Crème brûlée.

Creamy ice-creams with a "heart" of rich sauce and crunchy nuggets.
Does it work? Ooooh yeees! Crème brûlée is really a sensation, the ice-cream is delicious. With each mouthful, the soft caramel center is screaming "come-back, have a little more" and then there is a myriad of crunchy caramel biscuits pieces which will not leave you alone until the pot is empty.

Chocolat Fondant is as it should be a different story. Again the blend of chocolate ice-cream is delicious, the soft brownie pieces and the chocolate sauce make the overall experience a chocoholic heaven. Sadly it proves a little over the top for me. And to all who say, "You can't have too much chocolate" then that is the dessert for you.

Secret Sensation range is available in packs of two 100ml mini-cups, RRP £3.29 or individual 100ml cup, RRP £1.99

Ceviche, Seviche, Cebiche

2012-01-24T11:31:00.001Z

Fish and seafood lovers hang on to your fishing rods, I have a strong feeling that this truly international appetiser is going to trend in 2012. Fresh and full of maritime flavours, Ceviche is a dish made of bite-size chunks of fish and seafood marinated in citrus (often lime) juice.

As there are as many people as there are ways of preparing Ceviche, if you fall for it, you will soon add your own version of "El Ceviche hecho en casa" to the myriad of recipes.

There is only one fast rule for a good Ceviche. As no heat is used and the "cooking" process is done by acidic reaction, the raw ingredients have to be really fresh, apart from that "the world is your ~~lobster.~~" I make mine with salmon sometimes with white fish.

In Chile, the ingredients are marinated in lime and grapefruit juices. In Peru, where the dish is said to originate from, bitter oranges are used. Apart from the coastal areas of South and Central America, Ceviche is also found in the Philippines. But enough with the geography lesson.

You will have noticed that the picture is not mine, I borowed one of Michelle, a fabulous blogger and food photograph whose work can be read and admired at Greedy Gourmet.

Here is a basic recipe Ceviche, Seviche, Cebiche recipe, spelt and pronounced differently depending where you are in the world.

Ingredients

55g/2oz salmon fillet, cut in small chunks
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 lime juice or 1/2 lime and 1/2 lemon
- a pinch of salt and a pinch of chili
Method: Marinate the salmon dices with some pepper and the lime juice, place in the fridge for at least two hours, three if you can, the larger the chunks the longer the dish will need to marinate

Before serving, in the food processor mix all or part of the following, you can use 4 tbsp of coriander only if it is easier.

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1 tbsp fresh coriander

1 tbsp fresh dill

1 tbsp fresh chives
1 tbsp fresh chervil

add a little olive oil mix with the fish, if you can't serve straight away, leave in the fridge until ready to use.

Sunday Soup: Cauliflower and Stilton Soup + 3 Variations

2012-01-22T21:56:00.000Z

As Soup recipes are going to be a regular feature on this blog, they might as well have a title of their own and Sunday Soup has a ring to it. This week's vegetable is the glorious cauliflower & the soup in question is Cauliflower and Stilton

Tip: In soups all tastes are enhanced so you need to be careful with seasoning and certain ingredients such as Stilton, this is a case of "less is more."

Cauliflower and Stilton

Ingredients

2 medium onions
knob of butter
1 head of cauliflower
1 litre/35fl oz chicken stock
100g/3½oz Stilton
300g/10½fl oz double cream or 300ml milk

Method

In a large pot, cook the onions in butter until soft.
Add the cauliflower florets and the chicken stock.
Cook for 25 minutes or until the florets are soft
Leave it to cool and mix in the food processor
Return to the pan add the Stilton and the cream or milk and bring nearly to the boil
Season serve with crusty bread.

Variations on Cauliflower Soup

The base soup is #1 and 2 in recipe above

Cauliflower Cheese Soup : add nutmeg, 200g of cheddar 1tsp English mustard

Cauliflower Broccoli Mustard soup : add broccoli florets (about 1 head) to stock + 1tsp English mustard in the processor

Cream of cauliflower soup: add 2 gloves of garlic to the stock and a pinch of nutmeg do not use all the stock.

The Winner of the TOTAL Greek bumper Health Pack

2012-01-22T19:23:00.003Z

is Number 15

Beverley congratulations email or DM me your details

Home-Baking Baguettes : Tips

2012-01-20T12:05:00.000Z

It is common knowledge that, "Home-baking baguettes is difficult". Like many, I believed that affirmation therefore, I never tried. I now wish that I had hit this urban myth on the head earlier by researching the subject. Being aware of only a few things can make the process successful.

Major stumbling block: the Baking Tray. Bakers use a canvas cloth, called a couche. Baguettes are nestled in the fold of the floured cloth. I was definitely put off, by visions of flaming linen coming out of the oven baring the remains of charded baguettes. Alternatively, I vaguely flirted with the idea of buying a whole lot of professional equipment, price tag was the problem. Until I spotted the Perfobake baguette tray supplied by Lakeland at £9.99.

The long troughs of flexi-silicone hold the dough in shape while the perforations allow for even browning from top to bottom, and it works. Technology scores 1, old woman's tale, nil.

Then, the scouring issue. The answer is: use a razor blade instead of a knife. Make sure that the blade is very clean.

The golden crispy crust comes with spraying the dough with water while baking. Personally, I put a bowl of water in the oven.

So there you have it, baguettes made easy. My next campaign bound to be, "is it right to pay for bread in restaurant?" if you have a minute let me know what you think.

Disclaimer Lakeland supplied me with a complimentary Perfobake baguette tray however the opinions expressed in this post are my own

Wild Behaviour

2012-01-18T18:35:00.002Z

Once upon a time, the work station used to look over an narrow street worthy of an Oscar Wilde's fairy tale bar the O2 which provides the backdrop to this urban scenery. Then, entered the developers and what was a flat garage became a 2 storeys maisonette with a couple of bedrooms, one is possibly the smallest room you'll ever see.

The mechanic was evicted but a row of lock-ups remains. Now the work station looks over a flat roof. I have got to say that nothing much happens on it and little distracts me from typing away. Except, yesterday when a vixen and two foxes provided an extraordinary spectacle, gekkering, barking and screaming as they fought on the rooftop.

Mini Baguettes

2012-01-15T17:30:00.001Z

You know that sinking feeling you get, after having spent hundreds of years thinking how lovely it would be, to do a certain thing. When you finally get to doing it, it doesn't work.

At Pebble Soup HQ, baking baguettes, has been labelled with a capital F...for Failure and for what I used to say on opening the oven-door. I am not quite there yet but my latest attempt is worthy of posting, so light and crusty that opening the oven door became opening the heaven door. Perseverance paid off.

I am so proud of the end result that my mini-baguettes are being entered in the Tea Time Treats challenge.

"Tea Time Treats is a monthly blogging event that showcases treats from our favourite meal of the day: teatime! Hosted alternate months by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked." This month, it is based around sweet pastries and breads and hosted by Karen.

Mini Baguettes

Ingredients - make 3 baguettes-
90g (3/4 cups) plain (all purpose) flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt (or table salt)
1 teaspoon sugar
375g (3 cups) white strong flour
310ml (1 1/4cup) warm water
Polenta or semolina (pasta flour) or fine cornmeal for sprinkling on the baking sheet

Method

More about shaping baguettes techniques in a post coming soon

Put the yeast, sugar and 310ml warm water in a small bowl and mix well. Leave in a warm draught-free place for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Mix together the flours and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and transfer all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Using a spoon mix until you get a soft dough> Cover leave to rise till it is one third of its original size about 30 minutes.

Knead the dough on a slightly floured surface add a little water is needed to get a soft slightly sticky dough. When the dough is smooth and elastic shape it into a large ball put it back in the bowl with a dampen clothe on the top for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size

Lightly grease two large baking trays and sprinkle with polenta. Punch down the dough and knead for 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough into three portions and press or roll each into a rectangle about 20x40cm. Roll each up firmly into a long sausage shape and place seam side down, well spaced on the tray. cover loosely and leave for another 40 minutes or till doubled in size

Pre-heat the oven 220C/ 425F/ gas 7. Lightly brush the loaves with water and make diagonal slashes across the top at intervals. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. For a really crusty baguette place an oven-proof bowl of water in too. Bake for 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 180/350/4 and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until golden. Colo on a wire rack

Don't Forget to Enter

2012-01-14T19:02:00.002Z

You have until Sunday 22nd to enter January bumper give-away consisting of
A Month’s supply of TOTAL Greek Yoghurt ,
a yoga mat,
a reformer and
2 x 0.5kg hand weights.

Click here to enter

Soup of the Week: Pie-Crust Mushroom Soup

2012-01-14T18:47:00.001Z

Weeks back, I set out to post one soup a week. Soon realising that there were too many tried and tested recipes in my folder to all fit in one winter only. Therefore, it seemed logical to write one recipe and add variations on the theme.

Soup are maximum flavour, the broth or bouillon used is paramount. Making a bouillon takes time however it quite happy to cook away without supervision for a couple of hours minimum. Once cooked, freeze it in 300ml portions. So, the whole exercise does not have to be repeated too often.

This recipe is a basic mushroom soup (+sherry) cooked on the hob then baked in the oven fitted and with a puff pastry "hat".

Six Variations on Mushroom soup

use the basic recipe below (-sherry) and add either:

Cooked leeks or

lentils (cooked) or

White sauce and you get a cream of mushroom as in the cans in this case omit the cream or

Barley (pre-cooked) or

Chicken (grilled first) or

artichokes (use a can) or

Pie-Crust Mushroom Soup

serves 4

cooking time: 35 minutes

pre. time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

400 g large field mushrooms

1 small onion diced

1 garlic clove

60g butter

30g plain flour

750 ml vegetable stock

2tbsp thyme leaves

2tbsp sherry wine

250ml of pouring (whipping) cream

1 sheet puff pastry

1 eggs, beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C Peel and roughly chop mushrooms, including the stems.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir for a minute. Stir in the stock, add thyme and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before transfering to a food processor and blend in batches.

Return the soup to the pan and add the sherry and the cream. stir for another minute to get a good mix.

Pour mix into 4 ovenproof bowls or ramekins.

Cut rounds of pastry slightly larger then the bowl tops, use a ramekin as a guide and cover each bowl with the pastry.

Seal the edges and give each pastry top a light brush with the egg.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden and puffed.

If you would like more information about mushrooms such as which mushrooms are used for which recipe access the Mushroom Bureau

Bumper Give-Away ~ A month supply of Greek Yogurt + Yoga mat + Reformer + 2 x 0.5Kg hand weights

2012-01-12T12:11:00.001Z

Sticking to a healthyNew Year's resolution has suddenly been made much easier with thisbumper give-away. The first of the year.

Pebble soup has teamedup with TOTAL Greek Yoghurt to give one reader the chance of winninga healthy start up pack.

The lucky winner willreceive:

A Month’s supply ofGreek Yoghurt that will include a selection of 0%, 2% and ClassicTOTAL Greek Yoghurt, as well as TOTAL 0% Greek Yoghurt Split Pots inhoney, blueberry, strawberry and tropical fruit.

But carefully managingthe fat intake is not enough so TOTAL has thrown in:

a yoga mat,

a reformer and

2 x 0.5kg hand weights.

TOTAL Greek Yoghurt islike no other! Thick, creamy and authentic, 100% natural and with noadditives or preservatives, it can be eaten all hours of the day –drizzled with honey or blended into a smoothie! It’s also a superbsubstitute for mayo and cream – an ingredient with carefullymanaged fat levels to suit all diets!

So what are you waitingfor….

Here’show to enter:

Youhave three chances:

Follow me https://twitter.com/#!/solangeweb and leave me a comment to tell me you have done so or are already doing so.

Leave me a comment here to tell me one of your tip to slim or keep yourself in shape.

Re-Tweet this sentence “I’ve entered to win a @TotalGreek healthy starting pack via @Solangeweb at Pebble Soup” and leave a comment on the blog to tell me you have done so.

Youcan enter this competition via any or all of the three ways describedabove, but please leave me a separate comment for each time you haveentered. No details of any of the entrants will be passed onto anyoneelse.

Thewinner will be chosen by an online randomiser. I will contact you ifyou have won, and pass your land address to TOTAL who will bedispatching your prize.

Thisgiveaway is open to all UK readers.

Closingdate: SUNDAY 22th JANUARY 2012 at 19pm.

Thewinner will be announced in a separate post.

GoodLuck!

If you would like to read more information aboutTotal Greek Yogurts click here

Book Review: Skinny Meals in Heels by Jennifer Joyce

2012-01-09T18:38:00.001Z

Second week in January and New Year's resolutions are showing signs of flagging. As every little helps, this is Pebble Soup's contribution to make healthy eating less of an effort or rather it's Jennifer Joyce's with her Skinny Meals in Heels.

Jennifer Joyce is a London-based food writer originally from the US and from Italian descent. Her first book Diva Cooking was a big success, now re-printed it was unobtainable for a long time. Jennifer's recipes can be trusted....as long as you follow them. This book is the second in a series.

The glamorous line illustrations are the series trademark, either you like them or hate them, personally I am not a great fan. Call me old fashion but I like to see pictures of finished dishes in a cookbook. Each recipe contains a "skinny" box which explains why and how the fat content is down and a "prep ahead" section which is useful.

The book is divided in 8 chapters, starting with the philosophy behind it: "NOT a diet book....instead a collection of quick mouth watering recipes that 'happen' to be low in fat." Then comes the turn of "skinny tips", such as "Coffee and wine both suppress your appetite", yes you guess what Jennifer's advises while you are trying out one of her tasty recipes.

This book has sections for most of our simple culinary requirements with chapters ranging from "Weekday dinners in under one hour" to "Week-end cooking." I picked a recipe title at random, which is slighly unfair, to give you of the flavour of the book "Turkish Chicken Escalopes with Yogurt Marinade." Most recipes are stress-free, pantry friendly but a few raise the game up a little not sure that Pomegranate Glaze will be on every table soon. It also contains a section on soups, another on pizza-dough.

In a nutshell:

Chiefly, Skinny Meals in Heels made me think about how to prepare food, in order to make sure that dishes are both low-fat and tasty. If you are looking for inspiration to honour your new healthy eating habits, this book will help no-end.

Skinny Meals in Heels was published on th 5th January 2012 by Murdoch Books. RRP £8.79
With thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

Soup of the week: Mystery Soup

2012-01-05T23:07:00.000Z

This is a delicately flavoured soup. Thanks to the avocado it has a creamy texture. It is equally delicious hot or cold. No dilly-dallying today and on with the recipe. To prepare this soup you will need the following:

Ingredients:

450g/1lb leeks

1.2l/2pints chicken stock or straight water

1 garlic clove

1 large ripe avocado

150ml single cream

Juice of half a lemon

Handful of fresh chopped parsley

Salt and cayenne pepper

Method:
Place the bouillon in the saucepan or crumble the stock cubes until it boils.
Add the cleaned and roughly chopped leeks
Simmer for 10 minutes
Use this time to cut, peel, stone the avocado then mash it with the lemon, use a fork or the food-processor, reserve.
Now pulse the leeks with as much bouillon as you wish in the liquidiser.
Return to pan and add avocado mixture. Season. Simmer for a minute
Serve with chopped parsley.

Happy winter days.

Masala Dosa

2012-01-03T15:21:00.000Z

Atthe crack of 2012's dawn, I would like to reflect on types of cooks.Which kind of cook do you think you are? Good or bad is not an answer.The same way that there are various types of cooking which are thebasic methods such as roasting, boiling etc.. Cooks too arecategorised.

Someyears back The New York Times analysed a research indicating 5 typesof cooks. The article described them as:

•“Giving” cooks (22%), enthusiasticabout cooking and specialize in comfort food, particularly home-bakedgoodies.

•“Methodical” cooks (18%) relyheavily on recipes, so their cooking is strongly influenced by thecookbook they use.

•“Competitive” cooks (13%) thinkless about health and more about making the most impressive dishpossible.

•“Healthy” cooks (20%) often servefish and use fresh ingredients, but taste isn’t the primary goal.

•“Innovative” cooks (19%) like toexperiment with different ingredients, cooking methods and cuisines,which tends to lead to healthier cooking."

Iam firmly anchored in the last category however he is a methodicalcook and one who will never give up a recipe until it works.Sometimes it will take years and many unsuccessful, how shall I putthis delicately, "Goo-dishes".

Inthis way, Masala Dosa became a sort of Grail. For the benefit of thereaders who are not aware of this particular Indian street-food.Masala Dosa is a traditional South Indian snack often served atbreakfast consisting of fermented Rice-lentil batter, fried crispbrown both sides then stuffed with a potato filling and accompaniedby a coconut-chutney.

Recipein hand, the correct type of dahl or lentils had to be found. For awhile, we could have opened the pantry as a legumes shop. Urad Dhalor black lentil, not to confused with many other sort of black dhaleven white ones! as I was told by an Indian shopkeeper in the EustonRoad who pointed at snow white lentils assuring me that this was thetrue Urad/black Dhal.

Then,there was the Dosa which warranted a trip to Kerala, to observe thetype of utensils used, the shape and texture. Still nothing worked,"goo-dishes" came out of the kitchen with much shaking ofthe head. Until, last night......

Youwill not get a step by step picture-story. The cook might bemethodical but he, like many of us, doesn't like to share the kitchenspace while preparing, chopping (that includes fingers) and working acertain kind of magic. So here are some recommendations over stolenobservations.

A ready mixture for the Dosa is by far the easiest
The frying pan seems to be crucial: non-stick, nothing else will do.
Use Ghee to fry the batter and a rounded spoon to "fan" it in the pan
White dahl will do, as long as you believe that it's black.
Though a breakfast food, it can be served at dinner and is very filling.
Do not forget to soak the lentils, the day before.

Masala Dosa

Makes 8
For the Potato filling:
Ingredients:

800g potatoes, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes

200g of skinned soaked and cooked split black lentils or urad dal

150g onions, roughly chopped into cubes (optional)

2 large, hot green chillies, minced (or to taste)

2 tsps mustard seeds

1 tbsp ginger, minced

50ml lemon juice

1 1/2 tsps salt or to taste

2 tbsps sugar

8-10 curry leaves

1 tsp turmeric

Method:

Boil the potatoes while they cook until soft

Heat oil in a frying pan, place the mustard seeds in and wait until they pop add all the remaining ingredients except for lemon, sugar, salt and potatoes.

Allow to cook for 5 minutes and then toss in the rest cook for a couple of minutes.

For the Dosa use a commercial mix and follow the instructions on the packet and the tips above.

Top Five in 2011

2011-12-31T00:14:00.004Z

Using a little dose of the French characteristics, such as introspection, but not excessively, adding a spoonful of Google Analytics, I came up with a list of your favorite five posts in 2011 and the top recipe since this blog started.

1- Savoury Crumble: The humble crumble tops the list. Best known for its sweet version, crumbles have made a come back and savoury crumbles are definitely worth considering for the weekly menu.

2- Apple Rosemary Jelly: something soothing to do after weeks of partying.

3- Green Tomato Chutney: A old recipe liked enough to make third place. As for me I am uncertain if I like the taste or association of these two words: green and tomatoes.

4- Jansson Temptation: A traditional Swedish casserole made of potatoes and anchovies.

5- Savoury Polenta Muffins: There is nothing like the kitchen feeling up with the warm smell of fresh baking. However I had completely forgotten this recipe so thanks for reminding me.

Of course, this year, monthly give-aways became a feature. I also was given the opportunity to review products both will continue in 2012.

Now for your favorite recipe since records began: the impressive but so easy to make Smoked Salmon and Crab Terrine.

Hope to see you in 2012....Watch out for the first post of the year. It is great, great, great give-away. Happy New- Year.

Variation on Pineapple Desserts

2011-12-27T20:23:00.003Z

I photographed this pineapple tart in an Asian restaurant a while ago and though, at the time, I was too full to try it out. It stuck in my mind, as a recipe I would have liked to bake and share.

A few months after "the curious encounter with the elusive pineapple-tart", still thinking that I should have made room for a spoon of it. I got talking to May - as in Slow Food Kitchen - about her Malaysian Pineapple tarts which are cooked on the Asian peninsula for occasions. There again I wished I could have had a taste but, hers were entered in a draw so, no way I could steal one...or two.

So unusually for this blog here are recipes which I have never tried out myself but which I am dying to.

Hopefully, I have not forwarded my obsession to you but just in case I have you will get to bake these and I promise to go back to cooking every single recipe on Pebble Soup.

It is Christmas

2011-12-24T13:13:00.000Z

That's it Christmas is here. Time to wish all my fantastic readers a warm festive time. Thank you for your support and your comments, I really enjoy writing for you.

Joyeux Noel
Solange Xxx

Soup of the Week: French Onion Soup

2011-12-23T16:01:00.001Z

There is nothing like an authentic onion soup to warm you up. Few things, I learnt along the way, watching the older generation preparing this French classic:

a) Use as many onions as you can peel- I am fortunate to have this condition where by chopping onions don't make me cry. However even if you have to chop them in batches it is really worth using lots. Brown onions is what you want.
b) The secret resides in load of pepper
c) Seat the cheese on the top of the sliced baguette and brown it under the grill.

No onion soup should be without its "croutons gratinés"

Classic Onion Soup

Ingredients

50g butter

1kg brown onions, thinly sliced

2 pints or just over a liter of beef stock
pepper, salt

for the croutons

1 baguette

1 garlic clove sliced

olive oil

Method

Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onion until the onion is softened but not browned. Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes stir for the last five minutes.

By now the onions should be brown and caramelised do not stop stirring, stirring now and again to stop it catching.

Add the stock and bring to the boil. Season generously. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the bread, rub each slice with garlic, then drizzle with a little oil. Sprinkle with the cheese and grill until golden and bubbling. Serve the soup with the cheese croutons on top.

Unusual Presents: Twinings Tea and Cake

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000Z

There are time when being French is rather annoying. I will forever being refered to as "the French woman". At parties, first question people will ask is: "and where about in France are you from?" Despite the fact that I have spent half my life in London.

At other times, it gives me different outlook on things and that can be an advantage. Take Christmas presents, if there is something that my French friends and family love to be given is tea and cake. "Tea at Christmas?" I hear you say. Well think about it, not such a bad idea.

Years ago, I settled for Twinings. I was told from inveterate tea drinkers that Twinings teas is very good and there is nothing classier than there black and gold line. Take a look at this Mulled Spiced Tea Caddy, and tell me that it would not be adequate as a "small Christmas present." There is a whole range of caddies at £6.00 with a discount when you buy two.

Moreover to buy tea online, feels right. It is the kind of item which does not need to be seen or handled. The only problem with buying on line is the temptation to buy more than tea. That is when cake comes into play. These Christmas tea gifts are really tempting, the free delivery doesn't help to resist, so come on do the "French thing" and buy some tea and cake as to give at Christmas.

Cabana, Westfield, Review

2011-12-17T11:49:00.000Z

Every now and then, Michelle as in Greedy Gourmet organises a restaurant review meet up. It is the equivalent of a pajama party for food bloggers. Loads of smiles and giggles, stories told, food paparazzi effects whenever a plate turns up and a no-non sense appreciation of every single dish.

Sarah of Maison Cupcake, Jeanne of Cook Sister!, Margot of Coffee and Vanilla, Michelle and I met at Cabana Westfield shopping center in Stratford. This is one of the two Cabanas, the other is in St Giles Piazza Covent Garden. Cabana is Brazilian Cafeteria with Poster-lined walls, planked floor, apparent aluminium pipes and a barbecue stall near the entrance which produce brightly color- coded, humongous, skewers, the lot deftly handled by Passadores who circulate in this open-space.

The concept is breezy: you pick a street food, sort of snack, then you turn the green disk like so, choose skewers from the barbecue list sides and salads. Skewers will get to your table until you slap the red disk on. Be aware it is not "eat as much as you like". You pay for each dish ordered so choose wisely.

This is very much a hit or miss affair. Look around before ordering. For example from the Street Food Selection or starters, the crispy Pastels (£4.65) which is a deep-fried fast food promised to be "stuffed with four cheeses" but on that day there were disappointingly near-hollow with hardly any cheese. My Salmon Ceviche was OK but nowhere near that of a Brazilian friend of mine on the other end the Sweetcorn Pamohas (£3.35), Grated sweetcorn steamed in coconut milk, spiced with cinnamon and wrap in a corn husk were a delight.

Now for the piece the resistance the colour coded skewers which are priced between £3.95 and £5.95 for roughly 3 portions. We, collectively, took this very seriously and ordered most things. The winner was the Chimichurri Black Gold Rump which looked and tasted succulent. All the meat from chicken to pork is tender but don't expect much in term of flavours, everything rests on the sauces.

Salads (from £6.95) are enormous but would beneficiate from much much more seasonings, sides (£3.45): cassava chips were dry but sweet potato fries "olé, come again" these were good.

I had to wait until the end, to really get excited about something and that was the desserts, Frozen Yogurts (£2.95) were marvellous. I should have started there and forgotten all about the Cool Colada (£3.95 + topping) which was a thumb down

Overall, Cabana is not without worth, it is a fun concept, staff is enthusiastic and energetic, but the food is uneven and it might be a little expensive for a barbecue.

Cabana Westfield Stratford City

5 Chestnut Plaza, Montfitchet Way
Westfield Stratford City, E20 1GL

E: westfieldstrat@cabana-brasil.com
T: 0208 536 2650
O:12.00am - 11pm, Mon - Sat
12.00am - 10.30pm, Sun

Our thanks to Cabana for having us on a complimentary basis.
Click on the following links for more reviews:
Coffee and Vanilla
Cook Sister!
Greedy Gourmet
Maison Cupcake

Nasi Lemak and Sambal Prawn

2011-12-16T10:20:00.000Z

I have recently developed a passion for Nasi Lemak or Coconut Milk Rice. Being rather fickle, the object of my passion will soon be toppled by another. Though quickly replaced, favourites are never totally forgotten. In the case of Nasi Lemak, how could I ever forget the subtle flavours of coconut and ginger slowly braised in the oven.

In principle the same happened with Gary Rhodes. Sadly Gary never was in my kitchen. However when I arrived in England, Rhodes was my favourite celebrity chef. Since then, I have fallen for many others but I still read and cook his recipes with delight.

Thisdish combines both, it is Nasi Lemak and also a Gary Rhodes recipe. Plus, it is great if you are looking for something new for dinner as this recipe is both easy to prepare andcook, resulting in great pleasure to eat.

NASI LEMAK AND SAMBAL PRAWN

Forthe braised rice:

300glong grain rice, washed in a sieve until water runs clear
400mltin coconut milk
100mlwater
½tsp salt
3-4thin slices of ginger

Forthe prawns:

16-20medium sized fresh king prawns, peeled

1small or ½ large pineapple, cut into ½ cm cubes

2tbsp light soft brown sugar

3tbsp thick coconut cream

4tbsp lime juice

½tsp salt

Forthe spice paste:

50mlvegetable oil

3red chillies, each halved with seeds removed (1 or 2 more can beadded for a more fiery finish)

1cmpiece of fresh ginger, sliced

1large red onion, sliced

3cloves of garlic, crushed

2tbsp water

Method:

Forthe rice:

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
Bring the coconut milk, water, salt and ginger to the boil.
Add the washed rice and return to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid and braise in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes, before removing the rice from the oven. Should the rice be slightly undercooked, leave to stand with the lid on to continue the cooking process for a few minutes before serving.

Forthe spice paste and the prawns:

Grind together all of the spice ingredients to a paste in a small blender, adding a touch of the oil a little at a time to keep the blades turning, if needed.
Heat the remaining oil in a wok or frying pan and stir fry the paste for 6-8 minutes over a medium heat until fragrant.
Add the light soft brown sugar, coconut cream, lime juice and salt, simmering gently for a minute or two before adding the prawns and pineapple.
Continue to simmer for a few minutes more and the prawns are beginning to firm to the touch.
The prawns are now ready to serve with the braised coconut rice.

NOTE:Freshly chopped coriander can be sprinkled over the prawns.

Thesauce, if too thick, can be loosened with a little more water orcoconut cream.

This recipe and photo were kindly provided by Malaysia Kitchen for more information visitwww.malaysiakitchen.co.uk

Love-Lovely Bittersweet Chocolate & Cointreau Tart

2011-12-15T12:13:00.000Z

If you want to feel like a food goddess there is nothing better than to serve, "Une tarte au chocolat."

If desserts were like flowers and had a language attached to them, the sentiment connected to a chocolate tart would be sexiness.

If you are looking for a pudding that looks like it took hours of slaving in the kitchen but in fact was faster than the speed of light to make.

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."

Bittersweet Chocolate and Cointreau Tart

Ingredients

450g good-quality dark chocolate, bittersweet such as couverture, coarsely chopped
225g unsalted butter, softened
2 egg yolks
250ml milk
175g caster superfine sugar
60ml (1/4 cup) Cointreau liqueur
24 x 4cm blind-baked sweet shortcrust pastry case

Method

Put the chocolate and milk in a large heavy based saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate just melts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale. Add the egg yolks, one at the time, beating well after each addition. Whisk, in the cooled chocolate mixture, then whisk in the Cointreau.

Pour the chocolate filling int the blind-baked pastry case. Refrigerate for several hours or until set.
To serve, bring the tart to room temperature.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

2011-12-12T17:16:00.000Z

Once a week I am going to try to touch base with the soup in the title of this blog. No bladi-bladi-bla, no anedoctes nor introduction, if I can help it....just a good straight forward recipe.

This week is my

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil
800g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1.25l (2 pints) vegetable stock or chickenstock
2tbs fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
A dollop of cream or Greek yogurt per bowl, this recipe should serve 6

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan, stir in all the spices.

Add carrots onion and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the bouillon, the bay leave bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes

Allow to cool slightly, transfer to a food processor and blend- you might want to do this in batches or not to add all the liquid.

Served topped with fresh coriander, you also have to option to add a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt in each bowl.

Jom Makan Westfield

2011-12-10T23:30:00.000Z

It all started at the Food Festival in Hampton Court, where I was one of the thousands of visitors who sampled Malaysian delicacies while he went in search of a decent burger. Next, an invitation landed on my virtual door-mat with a VIP pass for the ‘Malaysia Night’ in London’s Trafalgar Square. By then I was starting to appreciate and understand Malaysian most popular dishes. Having been in love with South-East Asia, for decades, I had a solid background.

subsequently, I was asked if I wanted to review "Jom Makan" newly open outlet in Westfield shopping center in Stratford (East London). I was told that the phrase,'‘Jom Makan’ literally translates as 'Let’s Go Eat'' and that, 'The menu offers the best traditional dishes from the family kitchens of Malaysia and the street hawkers of Kuala Lumpur, fused with classic Western influences to bring the shoppers of Westfield a new kind of fusion food.'

I love fusion food so Let's Go Eat.

If are not yet familiar with Stratford Westfield center, it works this way: lower floor very fast-food, top floor fast food eateries, in between shops, shops, shops. Jom Makan is very inviting with its technicolored walls and cheerful staff. Our waitress was a mine of information and she was keen to explain the extensive menu. The place was full but still but it didn't feel crowed at all.

All good signs.

We shared the starter: Enam Satay 6 sticks of a mix of grilled chicken and beef served with a warm peanut sauce on the side (£5.90)- I liked the sauce but the skewers didn't make a impression. It is decent food but that's all what I can say for it- mind you, I don't really recall any satay ever-

Same goes for the Roti, with the provisio, here, that some rotis have stuck in my mind as very good- this one was OK-

More research is needed for the popular Beef Randang (£6.60). A slow cooked beef which was real tender, we couldn't decide if the balance of spices was right or not. So the search for the perfect traditional Beef randang goes on.....

Si Kelapa coconut rice (£2.00) was delicious, I loved it. The rice was cooked to perfection and the subtle taste of coconut tingles my taste-buds all the way home. I liked my AYAM PANDAN (£6.20) too, boneless pieces of chicken, I liked the marinade, it was oozing with flavours but still delicate and the pandan leaves wraps added a seal of authenticity.

Jom Makan offers a decent fare, the fusion doesn't really work and too many concessions are made to conform to our western taste but I am being told that a new chef has been bought over from Malaysia and will soon redress the balance.

Overall our experience was relaxing. The staff is friendly and know their dishes. We both enjoyed the experience. The portions are really large which gives you a feeling of good value for money. So all in all, a good choice if you are shopping in Stratford Westfield.

My thanks to Jom Makam's management for having us as guests.

Carrot Pineapple Snowballs

2011-12-06T15:13:00.001Z

Inspired by the recipe above, I created the scrumptious balls below.

Stated like this, it sounds really grand. However, in the reality of the kitchen, it often happens that you have a recipe, an aim, guests arriving and half the ingredients are missing.

I have built quite a reputation for using fish instead of chicken, an ingredient instead of another, "as long they have the same hue, that will do." Life is not perfect and if we can't have fun with what we have, I ask you: "where is the enjoyment going to come from?"

So "them snowballs" might be on the degenerated side of the good looking balls but they taste absolutely fantastic, they are great fun to make, take no more than 15 minutes to prepare and are easy enough to involve the kids in the cooking process.

The sweetness of the carrots marries so well with the freshness of the pineapple that I have decided to enter the recipe in Love your Garden.com competition. Wish the snowballs, good luck.

Carrot Pineapple Snowballs

Ingredients
Makes 12 balls

425g can pineapple juice
175g grated carrots
200g self-raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
85g melted butter
150g single cream

To decorate

Juice of the pineapple

100g icing sugar

100g desiccated coconut

A dozen of small cake decorations, I used edible flowers and chocolate hearts but the choice is yours

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases or if you have a 6 muffin-holes tray bake two batches. The ball will freeze undecorated for a month.

Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice

Crush the pineapple with a fork or a hand blender for a smoother texture

Melt the butter and let it to cool

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients that's the self-raising flour, the bicarbonate of soda and the sugar.

In another bowl beat the eggs and add all the other ingredients: the melted butter, cream, carrot and crushed pineapple stir well.

Add the "liquid ingredients" to the dry ingredients and stir quickly until smooth

Spoon in the cases

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown

To decorate

Mix 5 tbsp pineapple juice with the icing sugar

Put the desiccated coconut onto a plate or a tray

Peel the balls from their cases and spread icing all over each one. It will get very messy

Roll each ball in the coconut shreds and decorate with the items of your choice.

Tefal Sensorielle Stir-Fry Pan : Product Review

2011-12-05T11:35:00.001Z

Wave if you remember this?

Unless you cook Asian cuisine on a very regular basis, the old fashion wok is the kind of ustensile which is used once in a blue moon. Moreover once used, it tends to get forgotten and languishes in the kitchen cupboard for ever. Cumbersome, difficult to heat to correct temperature and impossible to clean, the traditional wok is brilliant....in theory.

Enters the Tefal Sensorielle 28 cm Non-Stick Stir-fry Pan, retail price at £29.00 :

Once the ridiculous marketing jargon, intensium non-stick + resistal base + Thermo-spot technology, translated, I was keen to give it a go. My first stir-fry "tuna steaks and stir-fry vegetables" was perfectly cooked.

I will not be able to comment on the intensium non-stick or in plain English the long-term non-stick, just yet. Tefal claims that most metal utensils except knifes and whisks can be used. This stir-fry pan looks very solid, a quality product. It is certainly deep and large enough to fry for a family of 4 and it is light which makes tossing comfy and easy.

The red dot: I was ever so sceptical about the thermo-spot technology but it works well. When the pan reaches the correct temperature the dot turns solid red. However what sold it to me is that the Tefal Sensorielle Stir-Fry Pan fries without oil, how cool is that?

The pan works on induction, it is dishwasher safe with the usual proviso.

My conclusion: I am not giving it back and it is not going to disappear in the cupboard's Bermuda triangle.

Traditional Tarte Tatin

2011-12-04T13:16:00.001Z

You have until the 6th to win Hotel Chocolat advent calendar- click here

Have you noticed how one simple sentence dropped in a conversation can trigger a wealth of memories. In this case, the phrase appeared on Twitter. Michelle, the owner of Greedy Gourmet a blog known for its excellent photography and straight talking, was enquiring about tips to bake a Tarte Tatin.

I got in too late, hers was in the oven by the time I replied but yours mine still be in progress. The traditional Tarte Tatin is a caramelised apples upside down tart.

The secret to a delicious Tarte according to my dad, whose signature dish this is, is to plonk a little dollop of butter in each apple where the core was.

So here we go for My dad's Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

6 Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters. Braeburn is best but Cox will do

100g caster sugar

60g unsalted butter, diced

30g unsalted butter, melted

300g puff pastry, rolled into a 24cm round (3mm thick)

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C/gas 6.

2. Put the tarte tatin dish on the hob, over a medium heat, cook the sugar and diced butter to a brown caramel. This is where you have to be very careful not to explode the plate, so ceramic or metal dish and do not attempt this on a ceramic hob

3. Arrange the apple quarters very tight, around the edges first, with the core facing up and drop a little extra butter where the core and brush with melted butter.

4. Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and place the disc of puff pastry on top, tuck in the edges and, with a knife, prick a few holes in the top to allow some of the steam to escape during cooking.

6. Cook in the oven for a further 40 – 45 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown and crisp.

7. Allow to cool at room temperature for up to one hour before de-moulding, apple-side up, on to the serving plate.

Yam and Pumpkin Moussaka

2011-12-01T20:26:00.001Z

You just have to try this yam and pumpkin Moussaka recipe, it needs a little planning, the list of ingredients being slightly involved: pumpkin, red onions, yellow squash, mint, parsley and yam but the result tastes delicious.

At first, I was contemplating sliding this post in the Curious Ingredients series, not for the yam but the pumpkin. You would think that yam is a tricky vegetable to purchase but not at all. The surprise came from pumpkin. Imagine, I was told by the not so knowledgeable vegetable shop-keeper around the corner that pumpkins are out of season at the end of November. Only one natural conclusion can be drawn from that: "pumpkin is a decoration and not a vegetable". Contrary to yam which can be found all year around though not at all ecologically friendly.

Now pay attention, here come the encyclopedic bit: Yam is extremely versatile. It can be barbecued roasted fried grilled, boiled smoked. I remember it from the Filipino and strikingly purple dessert: halo, halo. Yam means to sample, to chew or to eat depending on the language.

The variety of yam you are likely to come across in the UK is not purple but has an ugly dark brown skin and beige flesh. The skin is supposed to be hard to peel but often is not. I wondered if is because, by the time yam gets to our markets it is not freshest of vegetables any longer.

Taste wise it is slightly slimy. I am conscious now that I should not apply for the yam PR job however used in this recipe yam is good. Its function is to replace the potato and soak up all the extra oil that moussakas even vegetarian ones produce.

Yam and Pumpkin Moussaka

Serves 2/3

Ingredients

For the béchamel:

25g butter

30 g all-purpose/plain flour

300ml of whole milk

1 large eggs, lightly beaten

250g Greek feta cheese

100g grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

For the vegetables:

olive oil for sauteéing

2 large red onions, coarsely chopped

flour for dusting

1 pound or 500 g of pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into smallish pieces

1 pound or 500 g of yellow squash, trimmed but not peeled, and cut lengthwise

1 pound or of yams, peeled and cut into medium slices

salt and pepper

1 handful or chopped fresh mint

2 handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method
Make a bechamel by heating the butter in a small pan, add the flour and whisk vigorously don't let it brown add the milk a little at the time as you carry on whisking, I often use the hand blender.
when the mix is creamy add the cheese turn the heat off, season to taste don't forget the nutmeg and reserve

Prepare the vegetable
Caramelise the onions: in a saucepan on hot, add a tablespoon of oil when hot, add the onions, stir well, and reduce the heat and leave to cook for 15 minutes or until the onions have coloured a little.

While this is cooking dust the pumpkin and the yellow squash with flour
shallow fry the pumpkin, reserve. Repeat with the yellow squash
add oil to the pan and saute the yam: place the yam slices in hot oil and cook until brown at the edges.

Assemble the moussaka
In a large ovenproof dish
layer first all the yam, salt, pepper, one third of herbs
then the onions and pour bechamel to cover
now for the pumpkin, more herb, more bechamel
last the squash, the rest of the ingredients

This recipe and adapted from the excellent Zester daily

Give Away # 12: Hotel Chocolat's Ultimate Advent Calendar

2011-11-30T17:46:00.001Z

The winner was picked by a randomiser and is Bella Watts with her comment #9 -Congratulations to Bella, thank you for all of you for your participation

This year you and I are going to count down Xmas together, thanks to Hotel Chocolat's Ultimate Advent Calendar.

Fellow-bloggers tell me that nothing beats a chocolates give-away so "let's begin" Here are two opportunities to win one Ultimate Advent Calendar as pictured above and reviewed below.

To win leave a comment telling me which item you would like to see under your Xmas tree from the Hotel Chocolat Christmas collection

For an extra entry you can

Tweet the following: "I want to win an #Hotelchocolat Ultimate Advent Calendar with @solangeweb" don't forget to leave another comment to tell me that you have tweeted.

Now you could stop reading here or continue to see what I am making of this advent calendar for adults.

To say the least, I am impress by Hotel Chocolat meteoric rise. In 2003, the company opened its first store, 8 years later with 55 UK shops, 5 abroad and its own plantation, Hotel Chocolat is delivering.

The chocolates are good, the reliable kind. Take our advent calendar, milk chocolate, 40 % cocoa, just what you need for a little bite with your morning coffee. The packaging is great with its almost fractal red and white stars. The sculptures and tablets are no-nonsense and definitely something to look forward to. Moreover an advent calendar for adults is a brilliant idea.

Disclaimer and info

This give-away is open to UK and Irish residents only.

It closes on Tuesday 6 December at 10am, the winner will be chosen with a randomiser and notified via twitter or mail and announced on Pebble Soup

If the winner has not claimed the prize by the 9th December I will draw again.

My thanks to Hotel Chocolat for sending Pebble Soup 2 complementary Ultimate advent calendars.

Friday's pictures at Fortnum & Mason

2011-11-20T18:12:00.001Z

Christmas 2011 started on Friday at Fortnum & Mason when the decorations looked like so:

and the nibbles like that:

Lets Make Christmas was a great idea which turned out to be an enchanting event,

where Dan Lepard, the baking guy at The Guardian, cast an expert eye on 50 food-bloggers' handmade Christmas gifts, such as these

Before announcing the winner in each category:

In Pickles and preserves, Botanical Baker for her Blackberry Curd

In Alcohols / Drinks, Jaynerly for her Damson Slivovitz

In Sweets, Orange and Thyme for her Cranberry and Port Mincemeat Pops , below

The best baked goods went to Claire's handmade cakes for her amaretti biscuits....but indeed everybody was a winner as we each got to take away a gift. What a brilliant idea Vanessa Kimbell had and what work that little dynamo must have put in....thank you, Vanessa, you are a legend.

Tefal® Fresh Express Review

2011-11-19T17:29:00.001Z

Sometime ago, what looks like a mini alien landed on the kitchen worktop courtesy of Lakeland. "Oh!" is all what he said to express his befuddlement. Oh, indeed, The Tefal Fresh Express looks a little like a bot-dog, it has a very modern design, yet it is reminiscent of the 1950's. Undoubtedly, extremely stylish with its matt burgundy front and 5 colourful drums to jazz the lot up.

This Mini Food Processor comes with on board accessories which are directly stored in the body. Five little colour coded drums to help prep food: red for coarse grating, thick slicing is dark green as thin slicing is light green, not to forget the orange cone for fine grating and last but not least the yellow implement (more about it later).

Click, click. With one click the chosen cone is fitted in the cone holder with another the latter is engaged in the body and off you go.

The Tefal Fresh Express is extremely handy for small portions. The fact that a bowl or even a saucepan can be place under the machine gives it a edge on its large relative. For example, cheese omelette: grate the cheese directly in the beaten eggs, et voila.

And since no kitchen appliance is without a downside, here the main bug could be defined as "showering". Remember the yellow cone, this little helper is a star, it grates fruits finely and when you need to grate two tonnes of apples for chutney, this is a god sent. However when it comes to most other things, the Fresh Express "sprays and spits" some out, so you end up with carrots, cheese and bread crumbs not only in the recipient below but on the worktop too.

Then, there are some tricks to know to avoid frustration: if you press too hard, especially with "tough" vegetables, the plunger is likely to get stuck in and will be difficult to retrieve. When cheeses are too soft they stick to the drum and don't get grated.

Having said this, The Tefal Fresh Express has found proud place in my kitchen, I use it more and more, it looks good, it grates, cuts, shreds and slices all but fingers, it is fast and compact, easy to clean and partly self-storing.

Click here to see it in action
Costs £49.99 at Lakeland,

Pictures on this post are courtesy of Lakeland

Catherine Wheels Mince Pies

2011-11-10T15:17:00.000Z

Vanessa Kimbell from Prepped came up with the best Xmas 2011 idea: a food bloggers get together to exchange gifts. The event will take place at Fortnum & Mason. I feel extremely lucky to be able to take part.

My offering will be Catherine wheels mince pies. I will be cooking them nearer the time.

Till then, I am asking you to close your eyes and picture a cross between a mince pie, a continental pastry and a squashed Chelsea bun. There, you've got it.This recipe is very easy to make and when you think about all what we will have to do before Xmas, this is just perfect

Catherine Wheels Mince Pies

Ingredients:

50g/2oz golden caster sugar

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

411g jar traditional mincemeat

1tbsp milk

25g/1oz flaked almonds

Method:

Roll

Scatter the sugar over the worktop, unravel the pastry and roll it.

Spread the mincemeat evenly making sure to leave a border of 2cm all around

Fold one of the longest edges over the mincemeat and roll the pastry tightly into a sausage shape, when you get to the other edge brush it with milk and press down to seal

Press both ends in and chill for 30 minutes (if you fancy freezing this is the time to do so)

time to preheat the oven 200C/gas 6/fan 180C
Squash

Cut the roll into 12 rounds about 3 cm thick

Lay them evenly on a baking tray

Flatten them with your hand

Bake

Scatter the almonds on the top and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and the mincemeat sizzle

Leave to cool for 5 minutes

Serve as they are or with ice cream

Is this Really a Tarte Tatin? : Mini Lychee Tarte Tatin

2011-11-04T20:38:00.000Z

On Tuesday, I attended a Master Class at Waitrose Cookery School. The evening was organised by Malaysia Kitchen, led by Tim Anderson, "The guy in the picture" and the 2011 Master-Chef winner.

It took place on the night after Halloween and would I be so inclined as to believe in wizardry, I would have thought no more of the evening. I probably would have said to myself, "This was a little odd but what the heck." However being quite rational, I started to wonder.....

Now don't get me wrong, there is everything weird with Tim Anderson's approach to cooking but that is what makes him stand out. Plus "his weird" is weird in a good way.

And I am sure there is nothing bizarre about Malaysia Kitchen but I am not certain that, what was on offer really promoted Malaysian food. Though all of it was delicious and every single dish included typical Malay ingredients.

Take, the dessert: Lychee Tarte Tatin, completly original idea, looked fantastic, but how can Tatin be representative of Malaysia. Pancakes, fruit salads, fritters, cakes, sweet rice, cookies, fine. But Tatin, nope!.

So sorry to be picky but the terminology is wrong. This was not a Tatin, a basket maybe.

However the combination of flavours was excellent, this is "a Tatin" to impress. I will bake it again.

We also cooked the classic fish custard "Otak Otak" served with Gunard and Scallops. The main was Nasi Goreng with Smoked Mackerel.

Reasons to Like Baking Mad

2011-11-03T14:10:00.002Z

Sometime ago, in the course of a conversation, I was asked to take a look at

BakingMad.com is a website to like and here are some of the reasons why:

Its experts' baking tips: from scones to chocolate cupcakes,
not only experts advise, there is also a forum and opportunities to ask direct questions
It is full of ideas and inspiration under one roof, classified by occasions and by categories
Recipes are easy to follow.

Part two of the assignment was to choose a recipe and to cook it. I wanted to go for one of my own classics. To me, it seemed much more challenging to reproduce something familiar then an unknown. I went for Quiche Lorraine which strangely enough I have never posted, though I tend to create it regularly.

Quiche Lorraine

according to the BakingMad recipe

Preparation
Time 30 minutes
Baking Time 40 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
For the pastry

200 grams plain white flour

100 grams butter

1 pinch salt
For the filling

150 grams bacon, snipped
3 eggs
150 ml milk
4 tbsp double cream
75 grams grated Cheddar

Method:

You will need a 20 cm round, loose bottom flan tin

To make the pastry, place the flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of about a £1 coin. Lift the pastry over the rolling pin, then drape the pastry over the tin and press into the base and up the sides. Trim the edges. Place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220c, 200c fan, Gas 7. Line the pastry case with a circle of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake the pastry case for 10 minutes until pale golden. Remove the baking parchment and beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes until golden and crisp. lower the oven temperature to 190c, 170c, fan. Gas 5.

In a dry frying pan, fry the bacon for 2-3 minutes until just tender and golden. Place in the pastry case.

Beat the eggs, milk and cream together with a little black pepper and pour over the bacon. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 25 mins, or until golden and softly set (the centre should not feel too firm)

My verdict

Very easy recipe to follow.
The quiche was moist and tasty.
Completely different taste from my own: this is much lighter, I missed the taste of nutmeg but the addition of cheddar is a good idea
Don't be tempted to skip any step, especially the blind baking. There is a lot of butter in the pastry and without baking blind it would get soggy.

NB: BakingMad also has special offers discounts, competitions and its very own famous Chef Eric Lanlard. Eric has a programme on channel 4 about baking and a dedicated page on BakingMad http://www.bakingmad.com/baking-with-eric

"Whoo", "Whoo", "Whoo", Whoopie Pies

2011-11-01T10:27:00.002Z

OK, this is a bit of an easy title for Halloween. Last year or so Whoopie pies were almost unheard of in the UK, now they are the new cake phenomenon or they seem to be.

But what is a Whoopie pie? Amish in origin; I bet you will have no difficulty to guess the reasons behind the name.

That doesn't answer, "What are they?" The reply will look like a cop-out: they are a cross between pie, cake and cookie. They look like two gooey cookies with fluffy icing in the middle.

There is no way of telling what the authentic whoopie pies did taste like. The story is that they were baked for Amish workers and put in their lunch-boxes . But if the Amish men were going "whoopie" just at the sight of them there might have been a reason and that reason is simply that whoopie pies are incredibly delicious.

To feed the little devils, wizards and witches of Greenwich on Halloween night, I used a short-cut and got my whoopies out of a Betty Crocker Whoopie Pie mix. Three simple steps, takes 15 minutes to bake and 15 minutes to mix. It worked a treat, next time you are shopping, you could do worse than grab a packet at £2.15 for 10 whoopie pies- though I managed only 9- comes in two flavours Chocolate and Vanilla or Double chocolate. Impressed.

Give Away : Two Dairy Diary Sets

2011-10-21T16:09:00.002+01:00

Halloween pumpkin heads, once again creep behind our curtains to sit on our windowsills grinning manically at neighbours and strangers passing by, while their good friends get roasted in the Kitchen.

So do I. I mean I am currently getting roasted, baking gloriously under the Albanian sunshine. While I am doing so, I was offered a lovely give-away for two Pebble Soup's readers. Not one but two Dairy Diary Sets normally £8.99 including :

Dairy Diary with events stickers
Page markers in five colours
Sticky notes
Notepad
Designer pen
Pocket Dairy Diary

if Halloween gives you the creepies think idea for Christmas stocking filler!

There are two ways of winning a Dairy Diary set.

method one : leave a comment telling us what you intend to cook for Halloween

method two: Tweet this give-away and leave a comment to let me know that you have done so.

This competition is open to UK and Irish residents only, it will close on the 3rd of November at midnight.

The lucky winners were picked by the randomiser they are
Janesgrapevine and susiemcd1

In the meantime and before going back to my holidays, I leave you with a recipe from the Dairy Diary set

Pumpkin Gratin

Serves 4 / Time 50 mins / Calories 334 per portion / fat 24g of which 9.5g is saturated

Ingredients

Pumpkin 1.8kg (4lb), peeled and de-seeded

Parmesan Cheese 50g (2oz), grated

Fresh breadcrumbs 50g (2oz)

Pecan nuts 50g (2oz), roughly chopped

Chopped Thyme leaves 2 tbsp
Butter 50g (2oz), melted

Method

1 Preheat oven to 200°C /400°F/Gas 6. Cut pumpkin into 2.5cm (1in) thick wedges. Place in a lightly buttered oven-proof dish. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2 Mix together Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, pecans, thyme and seasoning in a bowl.

3 Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin. Then drizzle over melted butter.

4 Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes, until pumpkin is tender and topping is golden. Serve immediately.
TIP Rather than Parmesan cheese crumble over some strong blue cheese – if you prefer.

If you like the sound of these recipes and want to see more enter the give-away, good luck.

Lyons Seafood : Dish of the Day

2011-10-06T23:43:00.000+01:00

Lyons Seafood Co, -"never heard of them", never saw their products even though they have been on the market for 30 years. Prawns and speciality seafood suppliers and leading retailer and I have never heard of them. Where have I been for the last 30 years? Twenty Thousand leagues under the sea.

This was going to change this week with the delivery of Lyons brand new range: ready to cook seafood dinners or meal in a carton. And I tell you straight away, this is not something I normally do. 6 minutes to cook a meal for two that does not sound right.

The packaging is very seductive with its 3 little windows which let you peek inside: here is the sauce, in the middle is the main offering and on the side the veggies. Accompagny this with bread, noodles or rice and bang, bang you have a meal.

The instructions are simple, even have little picture to make sure you get it right, not that it is difficult mind you, open, tear, cut, fry, mix, it is that simple. Lyons PR explains that they aim at demystifying cooking with fish as people perceived fish as being too challenging. And with their 6 minutes trick they certainly do that.

The range incorporate a medley of well-known dishes: Malaysian King Prawn Laska, Kerala Seafood Curry, Sweet Thai Chili Prans, Catalan Fish Stew and New England Seafood Chowder.

So is this healthy fast food for two? Yes, you get a whole meal with only 20 grammes of fat and that is if like me you scoff the lot rather than share. I have an excuse he dislikes sea food.

But is it good? again yes....mostly. Malaysian King Prawn Laska was excellent, the sauce was fragrant and creamy, fatty, tasty King prawns, nice baby sweetcorn, ripe cherry tomatoes with crunchy green beans Catalan Fish Stew less so: wine sauce was too thin and there was not enough fish, lots of squids and mussels so I ended up with two meals in my plate yet again.

Would I recommend- strangely enough yes, I am impressed with the quality of the sea-food and it is indeed very simple.

For more information click here. Seafood dinners are retailed at the price of £5.99 with a current offer at £3.99.

Chicken Satay

2011-10-03T11:30:00.007+01:00

This month "Flavours of.." is hosted by Hrishi and devoted to Indonesia, a land and peoples which stole a little bit of my heart 20 years ago. Since Indonesia is made of 6 000 populated islands, the cuisine is as varied as varied can be. But it might be fair to say that Satay is the Fish and Chips, the Indonesian Steak - Frites in short the national dish.

Satay can be street-food or sophisticated food. Satay is a snack or a dish. It is grilled/BBQ cubes of chicken, beef, mutton, fish, prawn, crocodile, snack, tofu to name but a few but not all at once, served on a skewer with a sauce.

The sauce is refered to as Satay. It could be any sauce however with time, Satay have been served mostly with peanut sauce and the word self is used for that very sauce. A perfect peanut sauce has this lovely rich yellow due to the main spice: tumeric. Then it should be not too runny, nor too thick and spicy enough.

Before I leave you with the recipe, I want to add that I took this picture at Malaysia Kitchen Festival and that the blogger event "Flavours of" is the brain child of Nayna Kanabar of Simply Food.

Now for the up-market recipe as prepared by Awana if you fancy a quick version try that of Auntie beeb

Chicken Satay
Printable recipe click here

makes 12 sticks

needs to marinate min 2hours

Ingredients

1.5kg Chicken (deboned)

1tsp gound cumin

4 cloves of garlic

4 shallots

1tsp coriander

3 tbsp tumeric powder

400g sucgar

4 lemongrass stalk

Salt to taste

For the sauce

4 tbsp of groundnut oil

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

2 lemongrass stalks

500g roasted peanuts (roughly pounded)

10g dry chillies

900ml water

100g sugar

2 tsp salt

400ml of coconut mil

200 ml of tamarind concentrate

Method

Thinly slice the chicken meat into 1 inch slices and set aside

Blend the shallots, coriander, cumin, garlic and lemongrass. Mix in the sugar, tumeric powder and salt to taste

Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least tow hours or overnight in the fridge

Soak the skewers

Place the meat on the grill or barbecue, cook thoroughly

for the sauce, blend the shallots garlic, lemongrass and chillies. Heat a little oil and fry the mixture. When it smells nice add sugar, salt, water and the peanuts. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough for dipping.

Week-End Pictures: Fresh & Fantastic Aldeburgh Food Festival

2011-09-27T14:46:00.003+01:00

At the week-end, I attended the sixth Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival. I was very impressed by the extraordinary abundance of local products. Compared to the last Hampton Court (London) Food Festival which offered little with long queues and manyer grumpy faces (probably due to the high prices), this festival had a party atmosphere.

It was packed but cheerful and dynamic, it appeared extremely well organised. Local producers were so enthusiastic that I could have bought everything. The celebration run over two weeks with the week-end events in Snape Maltings.

I came back with a week supply of fresh vegetables and flour, to try, from an independent local miller which I need to check out the state of play with millers and flour. My friend at the Wye bakery will be able to help me out with this research, so watch this space.

I have got one last plea: Please, do ask me again next year.

Do Not Try This at Home

2011-09-26T11:39:00.003+01:00

Durian Ice Cream, a Tim Anderson's creation. Tim Anderson was Masterchef winner 2011 - The youngest to be awarded the title and the guy that loads of us wished on to win for his maverick way of combining and looking at food.

He won. And went on to cook and display more weird and wonderful dish such as this cold extravaganza. For Malaysia Night, hosted in Trafalgar square and organised by Malaysia Kitchen to showcase the cuisine and culture of Malysia, Tim combined cream, honey, durian fruit to create this incredible Durian Ice Cream.

Durian is a fruit found in South East Asia mostly Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. It is used in sweet and savoury dishes. Known as the King of Fruits, its particularity is its smells. It can't be put any-other way: this fruit stinks. In some places, it is banned from public transport, one needs gloves or a tea-towel to extract the seeds before boiling, frying or roasting them. Tim went the cool way with his delicious Durian Ice-Cream.

Green Tomato Chutney

2011-09-23T15:26:00.003+01:00

How on earth did I get from this:

to this:

might remain a mystery for a long time unless it was a case of beginner's luck and a little pinch of mischief (well, quite a big dose of mischief) taking liberties with a recipe written by the revered old dame of preserves, Marguerite Pattern

This Green Apple Chutney now with Lazy Ginger is just to die for. I was thinking of giving it away during the festive season but unless Christmas is bought forward by a few months, I don't fancy the chances of friends, acquaintances and these who helped with the allotment to get their hands on one of these jars.

This chutney has a sharp taste however the vinegar comes through only slightly. The sharpness of the green tomatoes and vinegar combined is rounded by the addition of apples which are of the eating kind not the cooking one and by the fact that the sugar went in the mix from the start. Yes, you read correctly, whereas recipes usually add the sugar at the end of the process, I did at the beginning. Why? simply because I lost my concentration, realised my mistake straight away but the sugar was already sinking among the ingredients and try to fish sugar grains in the midst of chopped tomatoes, sliced onions and grated apple....

There is no denying that making chutney is a longish process so first of all, turn the radio on. Tune in with me here and here is my version of Green Tomato Chutney which I like so much that I am entering it in "a Taste of Tomato" a blog competition organised by lovethegarden.com.

Green Tomato Chutney with Ginger

Ingredients900g green tomatoes
450g onions
1 tbsp lazy ginger +
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ginger
450g apples (cooking) weight when peeled & cored
450ml malt (I used distilled white malt vinegar)

half to 1 teaspoon mixed spice
350g sugar
300g sultanas
salt & pepper to taste

Method
Chop and core the tomatoes
Chop the onions finely and dice the apples
Put all the ingredients & seasoning in a pan and bring to the boil
Simmer until tender stirring from time to time until consistency of hot jam (took about 1hour )
Spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal down with waxed circles.

It is recommended not to eat it straight away (as if you could) Leave it to mature for a month (if you can)

If you are after an Apple Chutney, Karen as in Lovage and Lavender has just published an Old Fashion Apple and Ginger Chutney

Plum Cobbler "Best Pud, No Cobblers"

2011-09-19T22:09:00.000+01:00

I have fallen in love. Yet again. This time, I am besotted with a pudding which is a rare thing because a long time ago I convinced myself that I was not a great fan of desserts.

I am in love with Plum Cobbler's sharp taste and its satisfying stodgy topping. I love its name too. Cobbler, it is so evocative. By looking at the final product you can just imagine a cobbled street, the way the dumplings fit together on the top of the warm stewed plums. Cobbler also meant football and there, you might have to stretch your imagination a little bit but nothing stops you to shape the topping like little balls.

Now for the recipe. First of all, let me tell you, what infuriated me but came as a blessing in disguise at the end. I could not find a recipe which looked like it would work properly so soon I decided to mix a couple of recipes up , the result, best pud this side of September and that's no cobblers.

Doing further research, I read that Cobbler comes in a savoury version so I might just fall out of love with the sweet dish and fall in love...yet again, again, with the other one.

In the meantime here is my version of Plum Cobbler.

Ingredients

750g ripe plum

170g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp water

200 g (7 oz) self-raising flour
pinch of salt
30 g (1 oz) cool unsalted butter, diced
30 g (1 oz) light muscovado sugar
100 ml (3½ fl oz) semi-skimmed milk, plus 1 tbsp milk for brushing

Method

Preheat the oven to fan 160C/ conventional180C/gas 4. Butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof pie dish.
Halve, stone and quarter the plums. put them in a saucepan with sugar and 1 tbsp water. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Turn the fruit into the prepared dish.

Now for the topping

sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar
Make a well in the centre, add the milk and mix to a soft but not sticky dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Roll out to a rectangle about 1cm (½ in) thick and the length of the ovenproof dish. Using a sharp knife or a pastry wheel, cut into strips about 1.5 cm (¾ in) wide
Bake for 45 minutes.

Give Away #10 : Win 3 of 3 Kerrygold Butter Vouchers

2011-09-17T21:03:00.003+01:00

Every little bit helps, this is why I am really pleased to be able to pass three £1 pound vouchers to three readers. It sounds a little confusing doesn't it : nine vouchers in total, kindly offered by Kerrygold.

I would go as far as saying that spreadable butter is the new sliced bread though I don't really think that sliced bread is really great on the other hand spreadable butter is. The process as far as I understand it, goes like so: olive oil is recombined with solid butter to make a spreadable consistency. The taste of olive oil is extremely faint, if non-existent.

As this give away seems to go by three: three vouchers, three winners, three pounds it seemed fitted to have three methods of winning:

Method #1: Click on the subscribe button on the left hand side to get regular Pebble Soup updates and to validate your entry, leave a comment in the comment box saying that you have been doing so.

Method #2: Follow me on twitter (@solangeweb) and to validate your entry leaving a comment saying that you have been doing so.

Method #3: Answer the following question in the comment box : What is your favorite topping on toast?

Good luck- and thank you for entering- This competition closes on the 26th September. It is open to UK and Irish residents.

My Last Fling with Summer: A Pebble Salad

2011-09-15T11:59:00.000+01:00

September marks the end of summer. It should be a little sad and melancholic but depending how you look at the glass it could be focused on the harvest celebrations and probably the best time to eat seasonally in the UK.

Blackberries and their magnificent colour, best in a sorbet.

Courgettes and their cluck, the choice of recipes is endless however Courgette and Cheese Loaf is a favourite on Pebble.

Artichoke, if anybody has a recipe for Artichoke Mousse, please, push it my way and you could become my best friend ever.

Look in your fridge, in the vegetable basket, out there on the patio or in the garden and you will have the basis for a perfect Pebble dish. Mine was a Pebble Salad with basil, cress and the last of the last of the peppers until next year. What do you do with this:

Peel the peppers which takes a bit of time but it is worth it, tear the basil, toss in the cress in, crumble some goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, olive oil , lots of black pepper and a little salt. Good bye Summer

Here is how to peel peppers

List of vegetables at their best in September

Artichoke

Aubergine

Beetroot

Broccoli

Butternut squash

Carrots

Celery

Chillies

Courgettes

Cucumber

Fennel
Garlic

Kale

Kholrabi

lettuces
Mangetout
Marrow
Onions
Pak choi
Peppers

Potatoes

Radishes

Runner beans

Rocket

Sweetcorn
Tomatoes

Watercress + Salad Leaves

Curious Ingredient: Lavender

2011-09-08T12:00:00.059+01:00

An ex-colleague of mine favorite tale from the kitchen is about that Christmas when she baked the turkey after she flavouring it with lavender rather than thyme, having mistaken the two plants when picking herbs in her parents' garden.

For some reason, she was using thyme to flavour the Xmas turkey. Whatever is our take on her culinary skills, what stuck in my mind on hearing the story, was that lavender might be better bought than picked for fear of mistakes.

Therefore when I contemplated making Lavender Frozen Yogurt, I had no intention to try my luck in the neighbour's flower pot and called upon a firm which specialize in flowers: Uncle Roy a firm operating from Moffat in Scotland which was formed in 2003 in response to Roy Anderton-Tyers dislike of English Mustard. Since its beginnings, the company seems to have made a name for itself as a provider of good quality flavouring oils, condiments, sauces and other weird and wonderful things such as edible flowers. Edible Lavender Florets cost £2.75 from the site and there is a list of retailers.

However if you felt brave enough to pick your own. I have since been pointed out in the direction of a very comprehensive post: Which lavender can I use to cook with? by Vanessa Kimbell, with pictures, bliss.

I never tasted lavender in food before, despite spending part of my childhood in Provence. I would describe it as "there is nothing like it" & if the ingredient was an unknown quantity it would be impossible, at least, for me to name it". Or in short as my friend Anne said when trying out the lavender frozen yogurt: "this is bloody delicious, WOOOW".

Lavender Frozen Yogurt

from "Ice-Cream" by Pipper Cuthbert

Makes 1L

Ingredients

200g caster sugar

200ml water

2 Tbsp lavender buds

300ml Greek yogurt

300ml creme fraiche or sour cream

Juice of 2 limes

Method

Combine the sugar, water and lavender buds in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat and simmer the syrup for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the syrup is cool, strain and discard the lavender

Combine the Greek yogurt and creme fraiche in a large bowl. Whisk in the lavender syrup and lime juice. Chill the mixture for 1 hour, then churn in an ice-cream maker, according to the manufacturer's, cover the surface directly with greaseproof paper or foil and put in the freezer.

Give Away #9 and the winner is...........

2011-09-08T11:11:00.001+01:00

the last person to leave a comment: Marian Coburn. Thank you all for taking part and for sparing the time to pick a recipe from BakingMad.com. Marian plumped for Chocolate Cake Pops.

Cake pops are enjoying a recent popularity. They really do "pop up" everywhere and seem to be an efficient if not over the top way to use up leftover cakes. With the autumn celebrations descending upon us sooner than we hope, we are very likely to see many more of these little creations.

This has been great fun, so keep dropping by, I try to offer a give-away a month.

Marian: Could you kindly contact me using the contact button on the blog or twitter to give us a postal address- If the prize has not been claimed within a week - it will be drawn again

Give-Away #9 : A copy of Cox Cookies & Cakes

2011-08-31T18:08:00.020+01:00

It was my birthday on the bank holiday week-end. In order to mark the occasion I would like to offer one of you, a present.

To that effect, I am going to apply the perfect birthday formula which is:

Birthday = cake + presents

I got a bit of help from BakingMad.com who is kindly giving away a copy of Cox Cookies & Cakes by Eric lanlard and Patrick Cox.

BakingMadUK.com is a comprehensive and lively website full of recipe ideas. Whether you are a complete beginner or an enthusiastic home cook, this website will be of interest. The recipes are easy to find, there is a converter, a forum where you can ask the experts your questions and other rubrics such as a blog, competitions, to name but a few.

BakingMadUK also sponsors Channel 4 Baking Mad, a programme presented by Eric Landlard, Master Patissier, owner of the critically acclaimed Cake Boy shop.

For a chance to win a copy of the fashionable "Cox, Cookies & Cakes" by Eric Lanlard (retailed at £16.99) please choose your favorite recipe from http://www.bakingmad.com/recipes/cakes and cut and paste its link in the comment box, leave me a little message too if you wish.

For a bonus entry Tweet the following and let me know that you have done so in the comment box
"Win a copy of "Cox Cookies & Cakes" from @BakingMadUK and @solangeweb http://pebblesoup.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-give-away.html"

This competition is opened to all UK and Ireland residents.

Closing date: 7th of September at midnight

The winner will be picked at random and announced on the 8th September - on Pebble Soup and on Twitter so don't hesitate to follow me @solangeWeb

Chicken with Aubergine and Couscous

2011-08-26T11:11:00.001+01:00

It is every reviewer's nightmare: you are booked for a job, you get to the location clutching confirmation, only to find that somehow your booking has vanished.

It happened last week-end. After a three hours drive, I got to the Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh which I am reviewing for boutiquehotels.co.uk. The hotel was fully booked as one would expect for a mid-August week-end but not a Pebble on the register.

The staff lived up to their 4* reputation. They found alternative accommodation and ferried us back and forth to their faboulous sea-facing restaurant. I took the manager to his word, enjoyed and relaxed.

The Chef, Francis Moore who has previously worked in Le Pont de La Tour and Zinc Bar in London makes the most of fresh fish and produce available locally. The menu has lighter options, an alternative is not that often seen in restaurants.

I started with Treacle cured salmon with cucumber and ginger salad and wasabi cream, I am determined to look into the wasabi cream soon, it was light and so delicate that it transported me to diner's heaven.

Back home, I tried one of Francis Moore's recipe due to a lack of ingredients, remember, I had spent the week-end away, it turned out very different from the recipe but still a very good dish

Chicken with Aubergine and Couscous

serves 2

2 chicken thighs or breasts,
1 large aubergine, sliced or diced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
2 Tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp red pepper

for the couscous

1 cup couscous
1/3 cup raisins
1 cup water
1 spoon butter (choose how much you wish to add)

Pat dry chicken pieces and season with salt. Combine spices in a bowl. In a pan, eat the oil, when it is very hot add the spices, fry for a minute then add the chicken. Lightly brown chicken on each side until just cooked; remove from pan.

Under medium heat, in the same pan saute onions, pepper and garlic until soft. Remove from the pan and place with the chicken. Add oil to the pan and fry the aubergines for a 10 minutes stating on high heat reduce to low when they are just browning.

Return the chicken and all the ingredients to the pan add the tomatoes and leave it to simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary.

Meanwhile prepare couscous, bring a cup of water to boil. Remove from heat, add couscous and raisins, stir quickly, and cover. fluff the couscous after five minutes and add butter

Serve immediately.

Maggi Hambling's Scallop - her tribute to Benjamin Britten on Aldeburgh beach

Writing for Chocolatier.co.uk

2011-08-23T10:27:00.001+01:00

Chocolatier's Taster in Chief is a dream job - I get to taste lots of various, mostly fine chocolates, take pictures and write about their uniqueness. And ah! it also involves a lot of swimming sessions.

Here is the lastest review

Skewers of Glazed Duck à l'Orangina

2011-08-22T11:10:00.002+01:00

Try to say "Orangina" to a French person, the answer will automatically be "Secouez-moi, Secouez-moi" and it will be followed by a little wiggle at the hips.

Indeed in France, Orangina is famous for its commercial campaigns. The iconic pear shaped bottle with its goosebumps texture has remained the same since its creation in 1936.

For most people, this orange, lemon grapefruit and mandarin drink is evocative of summer and terraces de café. It would never have crossed my mind to cook with Orangina, hadn't I seen a intriguing recipe conceived by one of France's leading chef Jean-Francois Novelli. This tasty recipe was created to celebrate the drinks' 75th anniversary.

I made the dish with duck legs, not breasts.
Would I cook it again? yes. However, next time, I will drop the glazing sauce which adds too many extra unnecessary flavours.

It may not be as good as Chicken Coca-Cola but tastes much better than Partridge with chocolate.

So definitely worth giving it a go if only for the surprise factor.
SKEWERS OF GLAZED DUCK A L'ORANGINA

Serves 2

* 2 large duck breasts
* 500ml Orangina
* 1 tablespoon of cherry venegar or rice vinegar
* 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil or olive oil
* 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
* Pinch of sea salt
* Pinch of crushed pepper
* 1 teaspoon of madras curry power
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 bay leaf
* Sprinkle fresh thyme

For the Glazing Sauce

* 150g prunes or apricots or pineapple
* 200-300ml of Orangina
* 2 soupspoons of cherry vinegar
* 2 pimento or birds eye chillies
* A good pinch of sea salt
* 2 star anise

Keep the skin on the duck and cut the breasts into six or eight cubes and put these into a container ready for the marinade.

To make the marinade: Pour half a litre of Orangina into a saucepan and add curry powder and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Leave this marinade to cool down and when it is cold enough, pour over the duck to marinate. Crush two garlic cloves into the marinade, then add a sprinkle of fresh thyme and one bay leaf.

To make the glaze: Pour 200-300ml Orangina into a saucepan and add 150g prunes, apricots or pineapple. Add the chillis and 2 soupspoons of cherry vinegar with a big sprinkle of salt and two star anise - let this boil until it becomes syrupy in consistency. Thread the cubes of marinated duck onto skewers and place the skewers onto a non-stick pan onto a very hot gas ring for one minute. Place the skewers in the oven to cook 180-200C for about 10-12 mins. About 5 mins before the skewers are due out of the oven, pour the glazing liquid onto skins.

Grilled Spring Lamb Cutlets with Anchovy, Olive and Caper Butter

2011-08-19T12:33:00.003+01:00

Last week May of Slow Food Kitchen and I attended Kerrygold Mediterranean Baking day. An event which celebrated the launch of their new spreadable Irish butter with olive oil.

May is particularly interested in butter made with the milk of grass fed cow, 'It is not only that it tastes better,' she says 'it is much better for your health too.' So if there is any brand, out there, listening: do specify "made with milk of grass fed cow" it is a plus for consumers.

The organisers of the day explained the idea behind using olive oil in butter. " To make butter spreadable, it needs another agent usually vegetable oil but here olive oil has been added because it is the nation's favourite cooking oil." I couldn't taste the olive oil which is good as I don't think butter should taste of olive.

We also learnt that Kerrygold, has teamed up with top Irish Chef, Rachel Allen, to produce the very first Kerrygold Community Cookbook. Rachel will choose which recipes to include in the book due for publication in October.

If your aim is to get a recipe published, here's is your chance to submit your best-loved recipe via their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KerrygoldUK . But hurry up as entries must be submitted before Sunday 28th August, 2011

In the mean time here is one of Rachel Allen which will appear in the book.

Grilled Spring Lamb Cutlets with Anchovy, Olive and Caper Butter Served with Buttered Courgettes

Serves 4

Rachel’s quote: ‘Making a flavoured butter is such a useful thing to serve with meat. When making a flavoured butter I like to use Kerrygold, as it gives a real creamy flavour to the recipe. It can be made ahead and chilled or even frozen. The capers and especially the anchovies go particularly well with the lamb, the anchovies won’t taste fishy, but instead adds a gorgeous savoury depth to the meat.’

Ingredients:
·        2 tbsp olive oil
·        12 lamb cutlets
·        Salt and pepper

For the flavoured butter:
·        125g(4 ½ oz)Kerrygold butter, softened
·        1 tbsp parsley, chopped
·        2 anchovies, chopped
·        10 capers, chopped
·        6 black olives, pitted and chopped
·        A squeeze of lemon juice
For the buttered courgettes:
·        25g (1oz)Kerrygold butter
·        2 medium courgettes
·        Salt and ground black pepper

Method:
1.      In a bowl, mix together all ingredients for the flavoured butter. Next, lay out a piece of baking parchment or cling film. Spoon the butter mixture on top of the parchment or cling film in to a rough sausage shape, then use the parchment or cling film to roll the butter into a log about 2.5cm (1in) in diameter. Place in the fridge and keep chilled until needed.
2.      To cook the cutlets, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3.      Place a griddle pan or frying pan on a high heat and allow to get quite hot, then add the cutlets and cook for 2–4 minutes on each side depending on how well done you like them. Take them off the heat, and allow to rest for a few minutes as you cook the courgettes.
4.      To cook the courgettes, first peel them, then slice in half length-ways and remove and discard the soft inner seeds. Next carefully cut the flesh into 1cm (½in) cubes or slices.
5.      To cook, place a frying pan on a high heat. Once hot, add the Kerrygold butter and when the butter has melted tip in the courgette pieces.
6.      Sauté for 2–3 minutes until just softened, tossing regularly, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7.      To serve, cut a few slices of your flavoured butter, about 1cm thick, and place a slice on each lamb chop then serve immediately with the buttered courgettes.

Sponsored post

leeks au Gratin -

2011-08-18T10:45:00.006+01:00

I've got "this thing": for every 10th Twitter follower, I cook a recipe and then post a picture as a thank you. Each 10th has to be a fourth.

For example. limoncello_food was number 74th and had a lemon pie recipe revamped for them, which was great because it happens to be one of their favorite recipe.

Follower number 84 is Leekjobs I am not certain what they do at Leek Jobs but it was very lucky for my little recipe-posts game. As their name is without ambiguity.

This time round, I even cooked the dish on the day. It made a perfect accompaniement for the lamb which I collected from the local farm, after much running around. Dead lambs can be very lively, in my opinion.

Leeks au Gratin

INGREDIENTS:

3 leeks

a pinch seasoning + nutmeg

2 tbsp of thick cream

grated cheese, for topping

METHOD:

Clean the leeks, slice them into one-inch chunks and cook them in a frying pan with milk when then add the cream.
Place the leeks at the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle on the grated cheese and bake at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Qu'est-ce-qu'une Verrine?

2011-08-12T23:00:00.002+01:00

Last time I was at a diner party in France, there was a wave of incredulity when I dropped in the conversation that in London "soirées verrines" were not trendy. Such a statement bought much confusion. Diners needed reassuring, we (the English population) knew, at least, what was a verrine, didn't we?

I have to say that since the conversation was taking place just after the hostess had made an entrance balancing small glasses (or verres) filled with savoury food on a tray, I assume that these were verrines and dismissed the ridiculous question with a "pfffffffff" complemented with shoulder shrugging.

Now I have got to come clean, I had never seen a verrine in my life or if I did, it never occurred to me that it could have a generic name. Mais qu'est-ce-qu'une verrine? It is a confection in a smallish narrow glass, layers of ingredients sweet or savoury.

What are the advantages to layer a dish in a small glass? it looks pretty, it makes smaller portions, perfect as a snack outdoors, an aperitif or a dessert. It says "Look, I have made an effort in you honor or look how clever I am with presentation", There is no other good reason in my opinion to do such a thing.

However verrines are rather cute with their multicolored layers and it leads to being creative, there is a recipe around which I would love to try if only I had the appropriate "verres" for Verrine of salmon mousse on Boursin, easy and probably rather tasty.

The recipe I want to leave you with is that of a dessert which I had a Russell & Hobbs presentation of their new winter collection but more about that in future post.

Ginger Biscuits Yogurt Verrine

makes four

Ingredients
1 Mugs of Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp brown cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
a couple of strawberries
4 crumbled ginger biscuits
the zest of a lime and lime juice

Method
Mix the Greek yogurt with the brown cane sugar and vanilla extract. Keep on the side.
In a small narrow glass layer biscuits and yogurt till you reach the top Add 1/2 strawberry and serve making sure you make an entrance.

And the Winner is..............

2011-08-09T17:43:00.000+01:00

I loved all your comments, thank you all for participating. There will be another give-away in August so keep watching.

The winner of the Dr.Oetken decoration and baking competition is Jacqueline at #22

3 in 1

2011-08-05T11:36:00.001+01:00

Pebble Soup is offering a Give-away which will bring fun and sparkles to your kitchen
http://pebblesoup.blogspot.com/2011/07/give-away-8-dr-oekters-edible.html

I have entered a recipe in love your garden competition and would love if you could vote for it. I have my eyes firmly on the prize
http://www.lovethegarden.com/blog/potty-about-potatoes

New post : Strawberry cookies it must be summer.

Strawberry Shortcakes

2011-08-05T11:22:00.014+01:00

You may remember my attempt at making biscuits when the results looked slightly freakish.

Yes, these were supposed to the perfectly shaped cookies but as we know not everything in life turns out to be the way we think it might.

But this time, to avoid a certain amount of unpredictability I have been choosing my ingredients and recipe with more care. I have used Loseley Summer Meadow Butter before and I was seriously impressed by its great taste.

Therefore, I will be glad to give it another go. I also like the texture as it can be rather annoying to faff about with hard butter. Not that it is a problem during the summer though.

What summer also brings are all these lovely soft fruits and he has hinted that we might go blackberry picking this week-end. Now, this is bliss. In the meantime I intend to bake these perfectly formed shortcakes and I will be very disappointed if they don't turn out anything like this picture.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES

20 minutes preparation time plus chilling and cooling
20 minutes cooking time
Ingredients:
Loseley Summer Meadow Butter 225g (8oz), softened
Caster sugar 110g (4 oz)
Plain Flour 300g (11 oz)
Ground Almonds 50g (2 oz)
Small strawberries 225g (8 oz)
Whipping Cream 300ml (1/2 pint)
Strawberry jam 2 tbsp, soft-set (if you use other fruits, match the jam)
Caster Sugar for dusting

Method:
1. Firstly make the shortcakes. Cream together the Loseley Summer Meadow Butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the flour, salt and ground almonds until the mixture clings together to form a dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth.

2. Lightly press and roll the dough to flatten it to a thickness of 6mm (¼ inch) and, using a 7.5cm (3in) round cutter, stamp out as many shapes as you can. Re-roll the dough and continue stamping out shapes until all the dough is used up. You should end up with about 20 circles.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the shortcake circles on the sheet. Prick with a fork and chill for 40 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F/ Gas 4 and bake the shortcake biscuits for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.

5. To finish, wash the strawberries and hull and slice them. Whisk the cream into soft peaks, and then spoon onto half the shortcake biscuits. Top with a few strawberry slices and drizzle of jam. Add a small dollop of cream and then sandwich a plain shortcake on top. Dust very lightly with sugar and serve immediately.
Makes 10 shortcakes
Biscuits are suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians

This post is sponsored by Loseley Summer Meadow Butter
Loseley Summer Meadow Butter is packed in a 250g tub and costs £1.29p. retailed in independent grocers, Morrisons and Waitrose.

Jansson's Temptation - Potty about Potatoes-

2011-08-01T18:14:00.003+01:00

This blog is asking for a bit of audience participation since this recipe is being entered Lovethegarden.com Potty About Potatoes competition. The recipe which gets the most votes will be win its blogger (Meee) a £200 meal in any chosen restaurant.

So I am hoping for plenty of votes to celebrate this very simple recipe made with humble tatties.

This dish is a take on Gratin Dauphinois/pommes lyonnaises, a kind of crazy Swedish version of this very lyonnais dish. What could be more delicious than cream onions potatoes baked slowly in cream and butter and to give it a weird twist the addition of anchovies.

Get ready.....for...

Jansson's tempation

If you would like to vote for this recipe click here :

Ingredients
30g can anchovy fillets in olive oil
25g butter
2 medium onions, very finely sliced
4 medium, waxy potatoes (about 800g), thinly sliced
284ml carton double cream, made up to 300ml with milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6.
Clean the anchovies gently under tap water and chop
Gently heat half the butter in a saucepan, add the onions and fry over a low heat for 15 minutes.
Thin the potatoes thinly and arrange them in a buttered over dish
One layer at the time
Between layer add onions, the mixture of cream and milk, salt, pepper, anchovies.
Till you reach the top or run out of potatoes
Bake between 50 minutes to an hour. Check the potatoes are well cook as the cooking time depends entirely on the kind of potatoes used. it could take an extra 20minutes more.

Give Away # 8 : Dr. Oetker's Edible Decorations & Baking Products

2011-07-29T14:28:00.009+01:00

I used Dr. Oetker's Shimmer Sugar to decorate cupcakes and you can imagine how popular the sparkling little cakes have been with kids. It is little details that make baking pleasurable adding a pretty lustre finish by springling pink, white, purple & blue decorating sugars, inserting stars moons and hearts on the icing is in a way not much but it makes all the difference.

However very often we buy one or at a strech may be 2 decorating products, it is why I am ever so pleased to announced July Give Away : A lovely bunch of Dr. Oetker's decorating products which will go a long way especially now that schools are out and that kids are once more trying their baking skills.
One lucky winner will be send a parcel containing the following exciting Dr. Oetker's baking and decorating products :

One jar Shimmer Sugar, to give a glimmer finish to cakes

One Cake Release Spray, a vegetable oil spray used by professional bakers

Two packs of Chocolate Fudge Chunks, perfect for baking in cookies & muffins

One pack of Chocolate Stars, Moons and Hearts, Ideal for sprinkling on desserts, cakes, buns, biscuits and ice cream

RULES
This giveaway will run until the 8th August at 22.00h. Products are offered by Dr. Oetker and it is opened to all readers residing in the UK & Ireland.

The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced on the 9th August, I'll contact the winner soon after the draw to get a postal address & Dr. Oetker's PR will be responsible for sending the prize
There is one main way to enter: leave a comment on this blog to tell me what is your favorite bake from cookies to cakes there is plenty to choose from.
For a second chance to win: please tweet the following sentence and comment telling me you have done so
Click here http://pebblesoup.blogspot.com/2011/07/give-away-8-dr-oekters-edible.html for a chance to enter Pebble Soup latest give away and win decoration and baking products @SolangeWeb
For a third chance to win: Please follow me @solangeweb on Twitter and comment below to tell me you have done so.

Last but not least my thanks to Dr. Oetker for offering their products

Chard - RIP -

2011-07-27T23:21:00.003+01:00

This post will have no photo, not many words either. It was a sad day today at the allotment as Chard which got winched out of its socket last week, died. I am told that squirrels pull plants out to eat their roots. Be aware of the little rodents.

Baking Betty Crockers' Cupcakes

2011-07-24T16:30:00.005+01:00

I was asked if I wanted to review one of Betty Crocker's must-try product. At this stage, I could make things up for language fioriture sake and tell you that Betty Croker asked me to help her out but:

a) Betty Crocker never existed - it is a made up name-
b) I have to be careful about lexis as this story shows.

The product in question: Cupcake mix. Not being sure how I felt about cupcakes but going to a BBQ and in need of food which would travel easily on two buses I found the offer opportune and gladly accepted. I knew I was not going to produce what I understand is called Gourmet cupcakes, larger cupcakes based around a theme, the type one sees in specialists' shops.

I was happy to settle for standard cupcakes as long as they rose which has always been my problem with cakes, they often look as flat as yes .... pancakes. It was my chance to shine and rise, except that I do not own a cupcake tray. Off to the neighbours and back with 9 silicon moulds which looked like a rainbow when lined up on an oven tray.

The instructions at the back of the Betty Crocker packets indicate that I would only require 10 minutes to get the mix ready for baking and then 16 minutes for baking- I needed to add water, oil, milk, and two eggs- my first effort concentrated upon the lemon mix which stretched as far as 8 cupcakes, not the promised 9. They did all rise and though it took me 20 minutes to mix, it worked well.
Should I have been able to make cupcakes without the mix. The obvious answer is yes but remember the pancake effect.

The icing - was the bit that amazed me - I have never been able to make a proper icing and here it worked without effort. Now I understand that the secret is to keep working that icing sugar with very little liquid.

I have one grumble : the fluted paper cups, it would not cost much more to include coloured paper cups instead of plain white after all cupcakes thrives on their looks. Moreover the paper cups are far too large and little cupcakes looked a bit drowned.

Attempt number two with the chocolate mix, produced more or less the same results, relatively faster. The acid test was always going to be in the eating. Back to the neighbours with 5 empty silicon moulds and 4 cupcakes. They loved them, praised their moist textures and I now get great big grins when I met my neigbourgs in the street. Personally I thought that the taste of the baking powder was slightly too strong.

As for the BBQ, it may not have been a great choice of cake. On arrival the host told me, "you should not have bake fairy-cakes on my account." I knew the host was gay and that in Australia cupcakes are called fairy cakes but it never occurred to me ....anyway, on the spur of the moment, the only answer that came to my mind was "I didn't bake them, Betty Crocker did."

My verdict :
+ the mix is really convenient, and can be used with kids
- the taste of baking powder comes through a little bit too much
+ there is a lot of fun recipes on the Betty Crocker's website
- Paper cases are not pretty and too big
+The icing is really good and easy to make
+ The cupcakes are moist and light
+ cupcakes mixes are available from ASDA,Waitrose and Morrisons RRP £2.15. which adds up to £0.23 per cupcake.

You may have noticed that some of the cupcakes were sprinkled with glittering sugar and decorated with Daisies stay posted as these sparkles are going to be Pebble Soup's next Give Away

- Blog event- Forever Nigella- Mint Ice-Cream with Bourbon, Chocolate and Meringue Nuggets

2011-07-22T10:06:00.001+01:00

Mint. I associate mint with tea and hot summers, it is always a pleasure to inhale mint's flagrant fresh aroma. In Greek mythology Mint was known as the herb of hospitality a perfect fit for Maison Cupcake blogging event, hosted by a delightful blog: Soul Curry.

I have very little time for Nigella, I can't really see the attraction though Sarah of Maison Cupcake has tried to explain it to me on several occasions. But that was not going to deter me to enter her Forever Nigella event. I had to bid my time a little and wait for a topic which I felt comfortable enough with so not to have to trawl through piles of Nigella's recipes.

As you may have noticed I am going through a phase of ice-cream mania - I was pretty certain that Nigella would have a recipe for mint ice-cream and lo and behold, she did. The interesting addition to her mint ice-cream is Bourbon, my own added nuggets are chocolate and crushed meringue.

When adding alcohol to ice-cream is lowers the point of freezing same with sugar- therefore it takes longer to freeze. Now pay attention that's the scientific bit: too much alcohol and it will not freeze at all. So refrain to add an extra splash you need only to add enough to be able to taste it-
For the non-scientific bit: nothing stops you to have a glass on the side. In her recipe Nigella adds 1/4 cup of Bourbon. Why can't metric be used? that defies my understanding (though Nigella's website has a table of conversion) but there you go, it is 65ml.

Bourbon Mint Ice-Cream with Chocolate and Meringue Nuggets

Ingredients

250 ml whole milk
65ml Bourbon
150 g caster sugar
500 ml double cream
100g plain chocolate (70% cocoa) chopped
30 g chopped fresh mint leaves
2 large egg yolks
Method
Warm the milk, cream, Bourbon and the mint, turn the heat so that it almost boil. Reduce and cook gently for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature until it cool slightly.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan (the milk will be a lovely shade of emerald). Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves.

Meanwhile in a separate heatproof bowl , beat the eggs and sugar, using an electric whisk, until thick and pale. Gradually beat the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and continue stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove the bowl from the heat and cover the surface directly with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming allow the custard to coool completely before refrigerating for at least 1 hour.

Once chilled, chum in an ice-cream maker, stop 5 minutes before the end to add chocolate and meringue. Transfer to a freezer bowl and leave in the freezer.

Chard Alert

2011-07-21T15:09:00.001+01:00

You will never believe this in a million years- Yesterday, I left Chard in companie of newly planted giant pumpkins. I was pretty certain that Chard will be able to hold its own grounds even if the pumpkins are really giant.

Today, at lunch time, I thought that I should check anyway. Lo and behold, somebody had attempted to steal Chard. Steal to steam, I bet.

When I got to the park Chard looked like so. All unearthed with some of its branches broken and its roots up in the air.

I am being told that it may be the wicked doings of an animal........or may be, just may be the giant pumpkins but look at them, they look so sweet, butter will melt on their skin.

After a little bit of restoration, a few bucket of earth (and by the way, nothing like an old cementery to get good earth) I left chard looking much happier

Guest Blog Post : Benefits of Food Hygiene Training Online

2011-07-20T17:20:00.006+01:00

Sometime ago, I started a food hygiene training which sadly I never completed, wrong course, lack of support. Since then, I could have made use of the certificate, so here is a guest post which I hope you'll find useful:

Benefits of Food Hygiene Training Online

Food safety training is vitally important for any business dealing with food; this could be catering, manufacturing or in a retail capacity. Getting the right food hygiene certificate is essential too and High Speed Training provides training and certificates for each sector.

The benefit of their service is based in the flexibility and convenience available in completing the training online. When you buy a food hygiene course from High Speed Training, you are given login details so you can access the syllabus from anywhere, even the comfort of your own home.

This is proving to be vital for food managers who need to get their staff trained up to the right standard. Find the right course online now.

How Long Does a Food Course Take to Complete?

When you buy a food hygiene course online with High Speed Training you can soon have the correct level of food safety training. Typically, the course, whether retail, catering or manufacturing based, will take around two hours complete.

What’s more, because you are given your own set of unique login details you can complete the course whenever you want. You can even save your progress and return to it at a more convenient time should you need to.

High Speed Training will also allow you to print out a copy of your certificate upon completion as proof. They also offer a number of bulk purchase discounts; ideal for managers who need to train up a lot of staff.

Find the right Food Hygiene Course for you now.

Bistro du Vin

2011-07-19T10:55:00.009+01:00

Working on Pebble Soup I get to visit some good restaurants and taste some fine food. Writing for Boutique Hotels.co.uk, I got to interview Robert Cook, the CEO of Hotel du Vin and Malmaison. A man with a seriously impressive work ethic and an ambition to establish a strong focus for Du Vin brand. A focus in which food and wine play a huge part. Check-in at any Hotel du Vin and you will possibly end up eating in their restaurant.

Now we don't have to check in anywhere as Robert Cook's vision for Du Vin brand expansion includes Bistro du Vin. During our interview Robert Cook explained that he believed in fresh products, homegrowned not flowned. However, often enough, what the head thinks has a tendency to dissolve and the message gets lost down the line.

Not here, I was expecting good food, nice presentation, we got much more than that. It was an experience, with us, the diners, at its heart.

I find eating out very much a balancing act, it is nice to be looked after but you don't want a waiter to watch your every move or do a Houdini act on you when you need something. At Bistro du Vin the staff has found the right balance. Being known for zooming around, When he and I arrived, we were asked if we wanted to go directly to our table.

But that evening there was no rush, and that was immediately picked up upon. We were presented with Chase 'Summer fruit punch' and seen to a comfortable seat by the bar. William Chase distillery has created this official cocktail for the opening. This bespoke creation may be a little pricey (£10) but just look at the ingredients: borage, lemon and orange peel, rose petals, elderflower, raspberry, blackcurrant and other summery ingredients oups almost forgot Chase Vodka

Having had time to peruse the menu, we got a tour of the glassed room where cheeses and cured meats are stored and sampled but more about this later.

After some friendly negotiations among ourselves, he ordered Foie gras & chicken liver parfait (£7.95) and I looked forward to eat Cornish crab and toasted sourdough (£9.50).

Bistro du vin offers good value for money.
My crab dish was definitely full of flavour and super-fresh, sourced from Cornwall. his parfait/foie gras arrived in a "bocale" which added a rustic touch. In effect all the dishes on the menu reminded me of my childhood in Lyon minus "lots of cream and butter" which seemed to be part of the Lyonnaise diet when I was growning up.

Mains consisted of Sole Bonne Femme (£13.50). The fish was perfectly boned, I love the delicate texture of sole but overcook it and it crumbles that was not the case, my sole was firm rolled into a little parcel, accompanied by mussels and clams of which they were plenty on a light creamy sauce- simply delicious - he seemed perfectly pleased with veal parmigana (£18.50) and I promised to make it and share the recipe with you. steamed vegetables and thin crisp chips completed this course. On recommendation we drunk Menetou- salon 2010.

Wine is the very lifeblood of the bistro, their master sommelier is Ronan Sayburn. The group runs full-blown wine school week-end called "Ecole du Vin."

Back to the beginning, as we were on our way to the table, we were "diverted" towards a sort of "glass house" for cheeses and dried cured meats where we were introduced to some 70 pre-selected cheeses. It was great fun to hear about Dolly the goat which kindly provided the milk for that very cheese. At the end of our meal the enthusiast person who had shown us around came back with a specially prepared cheese plateau (£16 for 2).

Bistro du vin offers a plat du jour (averaging £12) which changes every day. The wine pairing is also very interesting, shame there is never enough time, if you visit any of the Du Vin establishments, don't hesitate to ask about the provenance of, well, of everything from drinks to glasses. Everything seems to have a story. For the readers who live outside London -the brand also has Pubs du Vin-

We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was curious, I am now a fan. The food could not be faulted, the service was impeccable and the staff seems to have a enthusiasm which is almost contagious.

Bistro du vin
36 Dean Street
London W1D 4PS
020 7432 4800
www.bistroduvinandbar.com

My thanks to the Bistro du Vin for having us as guests

Summer Bells with Chicken and Beans

2011-07-18T13:37:00.001+01:00

Jill Dupleix, author of Lighten Up, has created a fresh and healthy recipe, only problem and a clue is in the title Winter Greens with Chicken and Beans. Not wishing the summer away nor wanting to wait, with a little tweak this simple, and quick to cook dinner, became Summer Bells with Chicken and Beans.

Ingredients
Serves 4
2 red bell peppers
1tbsp olive oil
4 chicken drumsticks
2 chicken breasts, with skin
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
600g (1lb 5oz) canned borlotti beans, rinsed
few thyme sprigs, plus extra to serve
300ml hot vegetable or chicken stock

Method

Deseed and chop the peppers

Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded frying pan. Sear the chicken, skin-side down, for 5 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove the chicken, season well and set aside.

Cook the onion in the pan for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the beans, thyme and stock, and season well. Return the chicken to the pan and cover the lid. Simmer gently for 30 minutes or until cooked.
Add the peppers and simmer for 5 minutes.

Mash a few beans into the sauce to thicken it. Scatter with fresh thyme and serve on warm plates.

Week-End Picture -

2011-07-17T19:23:00.003+01:00

Definitely the girl for the job

This was a studious week-end, I was on an assignment in Bournemouth where I stayed at The Chocolate Boutique Hotel. A fun and lucrative concept, read all about it soon on Chocolatier.co.uk

Ice Cream! by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

2011-07-14T13:29:00.012+01:00

The idea behind getting Lakeland Kitchen ice-cream maker was to make lots of sorbets and the occasional ice-cream and in doing so being able to control the calories provided by one of the most luscious desserts. But I needed a guide for my icy-desserts. Ice Cream! by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson provided just that and much much more.

From semifreddo to gelato, granita to sorbet, this book delves into the cool world of ice cream, exploring classic flavours like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry along with more unusual ones such as Apple and Rosemary frozen yogurt or Geranium Leaf sorbert and some even more than more unusual which will fire up the imagination such as Goat's cheese and honey ice cream.

Ice Cream! is beautifully presented, not every recipe has a photo but not every recipe needs one either. Having said that, there are plenty of pictures which give presentation ideas. After the introduction, the next 20 pages are devoted to the chemistry of ice-cream, ingredients, tips and types. Followed by over 80 ice cream recipes for all occasions.

Let's remember that an ice-cream is not only for summer, it is also great for celebrations whatever the weather therefore having a tub of homemade ice-cream ready is rather useful so is this book.

Ice Cream! is published by New Holland and written by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson retail price £9.99.

Ricetatouille- a Rice Ratatouille

2011-07-13T13:24:00.003+01:00

When we first moved in together he came complete with a cookbook entitled Cooking for One. Back then, cooking was not ranking very high in my list of preoccupations but when I was eating, I was eating for five. So Cooking for One ended up in the cupboard till the other day.......

When I was looking for a bit of inspiration. You see this book is a thin but solid, no nonsense, type of recipe book with some innovative recipes such as Beef Crumble and more traditional others such ratatouille , a dish which has long been a favourite of mine.

This is rustic and "clever" ratatouille. The rice is cook in the same pot as the vegetables so there is no need for several pans -clever-. It takes about 25 minutes, it is full of vegetables and the starch in the rice water give this dish a nice consistency.

Rice Ratatouille

You can ommit or add ingredients according to how you feel or what is in your veg basket. serving suggestion: fish

this is for 2/3

Ingredients

280g cooked rice

1 small green pepper, seeded and diced

2 courgettes, diced

1 medium tomatoes, diced

1 aubergine, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

1/2 pint of stock made with vegetable powder

2 tablespoons oil

ground black pepper

Salt

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the green pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, courgettes and the aubergine slices. Fry all together for 10 minutes. Add the rice, stock, salt, pepper and herbs. Pour the stock in. Cover for a further 25 minutes by the end of the cooking check that it is not drying out if so add a little more water.