When I was growing up in Canada, weekends would often bring Baked Bean Suppers. These would be held at Church Halls, Volunteer Fire Dept Halls and Community Centers all through the beautiful Annapolis Valley where I lived.
There were not too many people who could resist the temptation of a Baked Bean Supper, cooked by all the best cooks in the community.
These were fabulous social occasions and wonderful fund raisers. People got to enjoy a really tasty and filling meal, catch up on all of the local gossip and help to raise funds for local needs all at the same time.
They have always been win/win/win situations!
There would always be plenty of delicious food on offer. Oven Baked Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Home Baked Beans, pickles and relishes, home baked brown bread, usually an apple pie or crisp for dessert and plenty of tea and coffee to go around.
Brown Bread and Beans . . . a marriage made in heaven.
Brown Bread is one of those fabulous breads that goes wonderfully with the soups, stews and bakes of colder weather.
It's delicious and wholesome . . . and lightly sweetened with molasses and sugar . . . the molasses helping to give it that characteristic golden color and beautiful flavor.
I've never been really good at baking yeast breads myself . . . I don't think I have the kneading power to make it really light and fluffy. My ex husband used to bake all our bread and our kitchen table would dance across the kitchen floor under his ministrations . . . and his bread was lovely.
I can make batter bread though, which is a lot easier and takes no needing. This recipe for Brown Bread is a Batter Bread. You simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl, let it rise, stir it down, pop it into two bread pans, let it rise again and then bake it.
Your reward?? A delicious, nicely textured, wholesome bread that your family will love. And it is perfect with Baked Beans of any kind . . . stews and soups too.
I can make batter bread though, which is a lot easier and takes no needing. This recipe for Brown Bread is a Batter Bread. You simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl, let it rise, stir it down, pop it into two bread pans, let it rise again and then bake it.
Your reward?? A delicious, nicely textured, wholesome bread that your family will love. And it is perfect with Baked Beans of any kind . . . stews and soups too.
*Brown Batter Bread*
Makes 2 loaves
Printable Recipe
A beautiful golden colored bread with a delicious, slightly sweet flavor, and fine crumb. Perfect with soups, stews or baked beans!
2 tsp granulated sugar
125ml of warm water (1/2 cup)
8g of active dry yeast (1/4 oz packet)
300ml of milk (1 1/4 cups)
60ml of molasses (1/4 cup)
50g of granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
115g of butter (1/2 cup)
2 tsp salt
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
325g of whole wheat flour (2 1/2 cups)
300g of plain flour (3 cups)
2 tsp softened butter to brush on top of baked bread
Stir the first amount of sugar into the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over top, and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve the yeast.
Scald the milk in a saucepan. Remove from the stove and stir in the molasses, sugar, butter and salt. Allow the butter to melt, then cool the mixture down to lukewarm. (To scald milk place it in a saucepan and heat just until bubbles appear at the edges.) Stir in the yeast mixture. Pour into a large bowl and then beat in the eggs. Gradually beat in both flours. Cover with a greased piece of cling film and a clean tea towel. Let stand in a warm place for about 1 1/4 hours until doubled in size. Stir the batter down and then divide the batter between 2 well greased loaf tins. cover with the greased cling film and the tea towel again and let rise for 1 hour longer, until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 5. Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they sound hollow on the bottom when turned out of the pan. Turn out onto racks to cool, brushing the warm tops with the second amount of butter. Once cold, store tightly covered.
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Do you know how much I love blueberries? If you've been reading my blog for any time at all now, you will know it is an awful lot. We have our own bushes in the garden . . . a good half dozen now, and they are great producers . . . but of course they aren't producing this time of year. I do have quite a few frozen however, which is never a bad thing! ☺
Do you love coconut as much as I do? Buttery coconut cakes? Macaroons? Do you love Caramel? As much as I do? If you do then this is YOUR bake. You really must bake these delicious squares.
Well, folks, what with having an early spring and such a lovely March, quite a bit of the rhubarb in our garden is ready to begin harvesting now. Not bundles and bundles of it, but enough for me to indulge in a few rhubarb treats.
If you are looking for something a little bit special for the weekend, or maybe even for Easter (albeit not a traditional Easter Roast) look no further. This Pot Roasted Pork Loin will fit the bill perfectly. Simple enough that just about anyone will be able to easily throw it together, and yet at the same time special enough that people will think you put a whole lot of effort into it. Nobody would guess that you hadn't spent all day in kitchen!
I have a confession to make. I love Grapefruit. No . . . I ADORE Grapefruit! Especially pink grapefruit. I love tinned grapefruit and grapefruit juice . . . but most of all I love fresh grapefruit. When I was a girl, it was considered very classy to serve broiled grapefruits with a cherry on top. The very height of sophistication! (Double confession . . . I still like it done this way!)
Did you know that 79% of women in the UK blame rain and cold weather for making them feel unproductive? It doesn't help that only 39% of these women eat their daily allowance of fruit in the winter! I know it's officially Spring now, but that doesn't mean that eating fruit, and especially Florida Grapefruits! Yum!
I can remember visiting a Great Aunt when I was a girl with my family and she served baked beans for dinner one night while we were there.
A delicious casserole of baked beans, flavoured with bacon, tomatoes and maple. Delicious served with crusty bread.
1 TBS vegetable oil
200g of pancetta, trimmed and chopped (scant cup)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dry mustard powder
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS soft brown sugar
2 TBS pure Maple Syrup
120ml of chicken stock (1/2 cup)
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained (14-ounce)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 (240g) tins of butter beans, drained and rinsed (2 14-ounce)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a 1 liter (1 quart) casserole dish.
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown.
I can still remember the wonderful smell wafting throughout her kitchen for most of the day and the anticipation of what was to come . . . and the disappointment when my plate was set in front of me. These weren't baked beans like my mother made.
My mother always used the small white haricots beans for baking . . . and my Great Aunt had used Jacob's Cattle Beans. As soon as my brother, sister and I saw them we made up our minds that we weren't going to like them.
You know what kids are like . . . I am sure my mother was terribly embarassed.
They were probably just as delicious as my mother's beans were . . . they may have even been more delicious. I will never know.
Happy to say that I have outgrown that narrow minded squeamishness I had when I was a child. I keep a wide variety of tinned and dried beans in my larder and I love to use them for all sorts.
They are a great store cupboard ingredient and very versatile. Filled with protein they are also very nutritious.
I saw a similar recipe to this on the Donna Hay site the other day. I pinched the best bits of it and adapted it to what I had in my own cupboard with most delicious results.
I used chopped tinned tomatoes in juice, undrained . . . instead of tomato sauce.
I also chose to bake the casserole in the oven for that oven baked flavour. It took a bit longer, but was well worth it I would say.
They turned out fabulously delicious.
I dare say that the ten year old me would have probably turned her nose up at these . . . but the fifty nine year old me loved them!
They made for a really delicious and simple store cupboard supper that I served along with some of those buttermilk biscuits I made the other day. Economical too!
*Maple Baked Butter Beans*
Serves 4For Printable Recipe Card
see below
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown.
Add the mustard powder, tomato paste, Worestershire Sauce,
brown sugar, maple syrup, chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to the
boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir in the butter
beans. Pour this into the casserole dish. Bang the casserole into the
heated oven.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring about halfway through
the time, until the sauce has thickened nicely and they are lightly
browned on top.
Serve hot with plenty of crusty bread for sopping up
all those fabulous juices!
Yield: 4
Maple Baked Butterbeans
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min
A delicious casserole of baked beans, flavoured with bacon, tomatoes and maple. Delicious served with crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
- 200g of pancetta, trimmed and chopped (scant cup)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 TBS soft brown sugar
- 2 TBS pure Maple Syrup
- 120ml of chicken stock (1/2 cup)
- 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained (14-ounce)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 (240g) tins of butter beans, drained and rinsed (2 14-ounce)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a 1 liter (1 quart) casserole dish.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown.
- Add the mustard powder, tomato paste, Worcestershire Sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup, chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the butter beans. Pour this into the casserole dish. Bang the casserole into the heated oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring about halfway through the time, until the sauce has thickened nicely and they are lightly browned on top.
- Serve hot with plenty of crusty bread for sopping up all those fabulous juices!
All rights reserved The English Kitchen
I was recently sent the most exquisite cookery book for review. Entitled Vanilla Table, and written by Natasha MacAller, it is a culinary celebration of all things vanilla. Containing 100 recipes it boasts contributions from some of the elite of International Award Winning Chefs . . . including the UK's Yotam Ottolenghi, Peter Gordon, William Curley and Galton Blackiston!
You would think that a book based solely on vanilla flavours would be somewhat limiting, but with a forward written by Peter Gordon, Natasha MacAller and her friends have proved that Vanilla is indeed a very versatile ingredient in no less than 9 different chapters covering everything from soup to nuts.
Vanilla is an essential ingredient in my kitchen. I have beans, paste and extract which I use on a regular basis for my baking and desserts. I find it is very easy to use, it gives everything a lift and my cakes always taste and smell delicious. I have also used it in savory dishes . . . my Pot Roasted Chicken with Raspberry Cider is just one example of how I have done this, but it has been really nice to see just how far you really can go with it via the wide variety of recipes contained in this book.
The photography, by Manja Wachsmuth is just beautiful, and you will find that most of the recipes are accompanied with a very tempting photograph. I love cookery books with photos. It's nice to be able to envision what the finished dish should look like.
I was particularly intrigued with the Vanilla Pantry Chapter which shows you how to make your own Vanilla Sugars, Salts, Extracts, Syrups, Oils, etc. I will be making more than a few of these for sure.
Another bonus is that all of the recipes are presented in North American, Metric and Avoirdupois measures, which means that this book can be used with ease just about anywhere in the world. This is a real bonus. There is also a really good source list at the back of the book.
I would stress however that this is not a book which a beginning cook would be able to use with ease. Many of the recipes are what I would consider of a quality restaurant calibre . . . ie. "Cheffy Recipes," but . . . on the plus side, each recipe is well laid out with a paragraph about the story behind the recipe, a table showing the ingredients as well as clear and concise instructions. The photography truly is outstanding and quite helpful in creating an understanding of how the dish should look as well as tempting your taste buds.
NATASHA MACALLER is known worldwide as the “Dancing Chef”. A former professional ballerina, after thirty years of performing with companies such as New York’s Joffrey Ballet, the Boston Ballet and on the stages of Broadway, she decided to move on to what she considered another performing art: cookery. She used her seasonal layoffs from ballet to become a professional cook and eventually set up her own catering business, Dancing Chef Catering, which served TV, theatre, film and food industry folks. In 1996, after graduating number one in her class from The Colorado Culinary Institute, Natasha went from strength to strength, and she now holds her own culinary classes and has become an international chef consultant.
I normally like to share a recipe from the book I am reviewing with my readers and the one I have chosen to share with you from this book is a delicious cake. Two Tone Chocolate Malt Cake. I chose this one because it is a recipe I think most of you could make. The buttercream is a tad bit fiddly, but quite do-able and the cake itself is very straightforward. It's also quite beautiful.
*Two-Tone Chocolate Malt Cake*
Makes one double layer cake
A sampling of some of the recipes in the book which caught my eye and that I want to try:
Starters: Shaved Fennel and KeriKeri Orange Salad, Caramelised Orange Salad, Pate au Poulet with Tipsy Cherries and Heirloom Tomato Bisque.
Main Plates: Slow Roasted Oxtail Pot Pies, Vanilla Lacquer Duck Leg, Seared Scallops with Vanilla Parsnip Puree, Chicken Stroganoff with Chanterelles and Vanilla.
Blue Plates and Brunch Plates: Coronation Chicken on Squashy Poppyseed Buns, Crunchy Cornflake Fried Chicken and Apricot, Almond and Vanilla Clafoutis.
Sharing Plates: Island Crab cakes with vanilla-grapefruit remoulade, The Tonga Trifle, Devilish Eggs with vanilla candied bacon and Saturn Peach, Onion and Blue Cheese Pie.
Dessert Plates: Vanilla Spiced Pineapple Roast, Quince Tarte Tatin, Raspberry Meringue Martinis, Creamy Butterscotch Pudding with Tash's English Toffee and The Anna Pavlova.
Cake Plates: Pure Vanilla Layer Cake, Caramelised Pineapple Carrot Cake, Two-Tone Chocolate Malt Cake and Bittersweet Chocolate Torte.
The Cookie Plate: Chocolate Sticky Bits, Espresso Brownie Bites, Gold Ingots, Cranberry Tweed Cardigans and Black Pepper Chai Truffles.
Bevvies and Bar Snacks: Toasty Coconut Chips and Nuts, Vanilla Passion Martini, Pink Ginger Zinger, Carrot Vanilla Gougeres.
Vanilla Pantry: Vanilla Sugar, Vanilla Salt Flakes, Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Aioli, Raspberry Vanilla Vinegar and Scooter Pastry Cases/Pie Shells.
Personally I think it is a beautiful book. Well written and laid out. Beautiful photos. Well written recipes. Easy to follow for the confident cook.
Vanilla Table, the essence of exquisite cooking from the world's best chefs
by Nasasha MacAller
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth
Published by Jacqui Small LLP
ISBN 978-1-909342-86-6
£25.00 UK/ $40.00 US/ $43.99 CAN
*Special Reader offer
To order Vanilla Table at the discounted price of £20 including p&p* (RRP: £25), telephone
01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG301.*UK ONLY – Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.
Vanilla Table officially releases on 19th March
Many thanks to Jacqui Small for sending me a complimentary copy for review. Any and all opinions are my own.
I am a lover of quick breads . . . scones, tea loaves, baking powder biscuits, muffins, corn bread, etc. I just love them. One of the reasons I love them is because they are quick to put together and they freeze really well. If you are making a pot of soup, it really isn't much extra work to put together a savoury muffin or quick bread to go along with it, and they realy turn a simple meal into something very special.
It's hard to believe that Easter is just two weeks away. This year just seems to be evaporating.
I thought over these next few days I would share a few Easter Treats with you that your family will enjoy over the holidays. First up is this delicious Easter Bark!
Not only is it delicious and pretty to look at, but it's very easy to do. And . . . you only need a microwave in order to make it.
Not only is it delicious and pretty to look at, but it's very easy to do. And . . . you only need a microwave in order to make it.
You could of course also do the chocolate melting on top of the stove, but do be careful not to burn the chocolate and only melt it over either simmering water (don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl) or a very, very low heat.
You could use jelly beans if you wished, but I like to use those little candy covered milk chocolate Easter eggs . . you know the ones I mean.
You could use jelly beans if you wished, but I like to use those little candy covered milk chocolate Easter eggs . . you know the ones I mean.
They are coloured and speckled and kind of look like psychedelic robin's eggs.
I love the delicious mix of salty and sweet . . . creamy and crunchy . . .
I like to add more eggs to the top after I spread it out . . . just to add some additional scrum, and of course a few more broken pretzels.
I'm a big fan of the salty/sweet thing. I know . . . and as Dorcas Lane would say . . .
I love the delicious mix of salty and sweet . . . creamy and crunchy . . .
I like to add more eggs to the top after I spread it out . . . just to add some additional scrum, and of course a few more broken pretzels.
I'm a big fan of the salty/sweet thing. I know . . . and as Dorcas Lane would say . . .
it's my only weakness. ☺
*Easter Bark*
Makes about 1 pound
Printable Recipe
Sweetly scrummy. Easy and quick to make too! I like to add broken pretzels to mine. It's that sweet/salty thing!
12 ounces (weight) of white chocolate chips or candy melts (2 cups)
2 tsp white vegetable shortening
2 (100g) bags of small candy covered chocolate easter eggs such as the Cadbury's ones (about 1 heaped cupful)
a good handful of small pretzel hoops, broken (optional)
Have a baking sheet lined with parchment paper ready. Spray the paper lightly with non cooking spray. Set aside.
Place the white chocolate and vegetable shortening into a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Blitz on the 80% setting (medium high) for about 1 minute. Stir. If the chocolate still doesn't melt, blitz at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Give one packet of the candy eggs a good bash with the bottom of a jar or a rolling pin. You want them broken up coarsely.
Stir the broken candy and pretzels (if using) into the melted chocolate. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it out thinly. Sprinkle with the remaining pack of chocolate eggs. Allow to set until firm. Once firm, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Note: You don't have to use the chocolate eggs. You can also use jelly beans, or coloured smarties if you would rather.
*Easter Bark*
Makes about 1 pound
Printable Recipe
Sweetly scrummy. Easy and quick to make too! I like to add broken pretzels to mine. It's that sweet/salty thing!
12 ounces (weight) of white chocolate chips or candy melts (2 cups)
2 tsp white vegetable shortening
2 (100g) bags of small candy covered chocolate easter eggs such as the Cadbury's ones (about 1 heaped cupful)
a good handful of small pretzel hoops, broken (optional)
Have a baking sheet lined with parchment paper ready. Spray the paper lightly with non cooking spray. Set aside.
Place the white chocolate and vegetable shortening into a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Blitz on the 80% setting (medium high) for about 1 minute. Stir. If the chocolate still doesn't melt, blitz at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Give one packet of the candy eggs a good bash with the bottom of a jar or a rolling pin. You want them broken up coarsely.
Stir the broken candy and pretzels (if using) into the melted chocolate. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it out thinly. Sprinkle with the remaining pack of chocolate eggs. Allow to set until firm. Once firm, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Note: You don't have to use the chocolate eggs. You can also use jelly beans, or coloured smarties if you would rather.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I had not baked a pie in a very long time. It was different when I had a large family to feed . . .
I often baked pies and tarts then, but with there only being two of us now, I don't often bake pies and tarts because I love them so very much and they are far too tempting for me.
I can't control my appetite when it comes to pie! And my favourite pie of all has to be . . . yep, you guessed it, Lemon Meringue!
I quite simply adore Lemon Pie . . . and so having one of these in the house is even more tempting than having any other kind.
This recipe here today is not your normal regular lemon meringue pie . . . no, no, no . . . This one is a tad bit more special.
It's my ex mother in law Elizabeth's recipe and I have been baking it for almost 40 years now.
So just what is it that makes this one special and that different than other Lemon Meringue pies? Well . . . this one has milk in it.
It's also a tad bit sweeter than other recipes. The filling is opague, not translucent.
Silky . . . creamy . . . rich. With lots of lemon flavour and then just a hint of vanilla.
I can hear your eyebrows raising. Vanilla? you say?? Yes, vanilla. Believe it or not Vanilla really enhances the flavour of lemon and vice versa.
You end up with an almost unctuosity . . . it's lemon, but not as you know it. It's ultra lemon, but not smack in the face lemon.
It's subtle and yet . . . at the same time bold. You will just have to try it and see what I am talking about. Nothing artificial here.
It's all natural. And it's just plain good. I think you will agree . . . this could be your new favourite pie too.
*Elizabeth's Lemon Meringue Pie*
Serves 6 to 8
This
delicious lemon pie has a different filling to what most people are
used to seeing in a Lemon Pie. This filling is more opague and not as
bright yellow or as tart. It is somewhat sweeter than the regular
filling and quite delicious!
For the filling:
190g of granulated sugar (1 cup)
70g of sifted cake flour (1/2 cup)
1 TBS cornflour (corn starch)
120ml of milk (1/2 cup)
225ml of boiling water (1 cup)
1 TBS butter
60ml of fresh lemon juice (1/4 cup)
3 large free range egg yolks
a dash of fresh lemon zest (optional)
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the meringue:
3 free range egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
48g of caster sugar (1/4 cup)
You will also need one already baked pie shell
First
make the filling. Whisk the sugar and flour together in the top of a
double boiler, along with the corn flour. Whisk in the milk until
smooth, then whisk in the boiling water. Add the butter.
Place the top
of the double boiler over a pan of simmering water and cook, whisking
frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture has begun to
thicken and bubble around the edges.
Whisk together the lemon juice
and egg yolks. Temper with a bit of the hot mixture and then slowly
whisk the egg mixture back into the hot mixture. Cook for a further 5
minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest, and both
extracts. Allow to cool. If you think the filling is too thick, you
may whisk in boiling water, 1 TBS at a time, until you get the
consistency that you want to have.
Pour the filling into your prepared pie crust. Allow to cool completely before proceeding.
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
Whisk
together the egg whites and cream of tarter until the eggs become
foamy. Keep whisking, adding the sugar a bit at a time until the
mixture forms thick glossy peaks.
Pile this mixture on top of the lemon
filling, spreading it completely to the edges and sealing in the
filling. I like to pile it higher in the centre.
Brown in the hot
oven for about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before
cutting into wedges with a wet knife. (This keeps the meringue from
sticking to the knife.)
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