Easy Peasy Jammy Biscuits

Thumbing my way through a back issue of Good Food magazine from March 2006 that I'd obtained via Freecyle, I came across a recipe for some simple looking jam biscuits. Having made a fresh batch of raspberry jam yesterday I decided to give the biscuits a go today. Goodness me they were easy and made a batch of biscuits as pretty as a posy of poppies. Took me about 10 minutes to whip them up and 15 minutes to cook. Mind you, they were even quicker to eat!

Easy Jammy Biscuits (makes 12)

4oz (110g) butter
8oz (225g) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
4oz (110g) caster sugar
A little milk
Jam (flavour of your choosing)

Preheat the oven to 190°C (gas 5) and grease a large baking tray. Chop the butter and place in a bowl. Sift in the flour and salt then rub the fat into the flour until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. Splash in a little milk until it is moist enough to bind into a dough. Use hands to roll the dough into a large sausage shape about 5cm in diameter. Cut the sausage into slices about 2cm thick and put the slices well spaced out onto the baking tray. Use the end of a wooden spoon to make an indentation in the centre of each biscuit. Spoon about half a teaspoon full of jam into each indentation (don't worry if it overflows the hole). Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes until golden then cool on a rack.

Easter Treats

Only a few days to go until the long Easter weekend. Did you know that it is traditional to plant your seed potatoes on Good Friday? Actually, I think this is a historical event because it was one of the only days off that workers used to get so they would make the most of it and plant their potatoes. As it happens, I have planted all my potatoes already - I think I got carried away by the glorious weather we've just had but that's probably a good thing as the weather for the weekend isn't looking too great. Having said that, the garden is certainly in need of a good watering so rain is welcome (just not too keen on sleat and snow and I don't want my fruit blossom to get frosted!).

So what are your plans for your Easter feast? Will you go for the traditional roast lamb? How about a lovely garlic and rosemary lamb leg? Before you put the lamb in the oven, stab it several times with a sharp knife and poke slices of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into the holes. We still have some garlic left in store from last year, although it is starting to sprout now, and the rosemary plant is just putting out new growth and is soft and fresh. You could smear the joint all over with Garlic and Ale Mustard too. If you haven't got a jar of Jammy Cow mustard to hand then you can quickly whip up a similar mustard yourself. Mix a little mustard powder with a dash of real ale (I would recommend Concrete Cow Brewery ale, obviously!) instead of water to form a paste then stir in some crushed garlic. Of course, Jammy Cow mustard is matured for 6 weeks before going on sale to let the flavours develop but letting the mustard mixture stand for an hour before use does the world of good. Once cooked, allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before carving then serve with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables. At Easter that means purple sprouting broccoli, leeks and asparagus.

But what about dessert? After a big roast dinner I like to have something sweet to finish the meal but not so huge I feel bloated. Now, here's an idea that is stupidly simple to make and just great to do with your kids. Mini chocolate Easter cheesecakes. Ever since their first visit to Red Hot World Buffet my girls have loved diddy little desserts, where they can happily be allowed seconds (or thirds) so I bought some suitable containers and have invented a few dishes of my own. This one is probably the easiest yet, thanks to the take-over of Cadburys by Kraft Foods in 2010 which suddenly made the amalgamation of Cadburys chocolate and Philadelphia Cream Cheese a possibility!

Mini Chocolate Easter Cheesecakes

4 digestive biscuits
25g (1oz) melted butter
1 tub of Chocolate Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Cadburys Mini Eggs

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to reduce to crumbs then mix with the melted butter. Divide the biscuit mix equally between 10 to 12 mini contains (foil tart cases or plastic shot glasses work well). Put these into the fridge to harden for a few minutes then dollop 2 teaspoons of chocolate cheese on top of the biscuit base and top with a Mini Egg. Serve chilled.

Mothers Day Treat

It's Mothers Day next Sunday so now is the time to think about how you will give your mum a treat. There are, of course, lots of possible special gestures to choose from but in my mind, breakfast in bed is a lovely way to start a day of pampering.

They say it is the thought that counts and when it comes to saying "I love you", nothing does it better than something that both shows thought and is made by your fair hand. So put a little thought into this breakfast in bed and make it yourself if you can. I'm sure a full English breakfast, followed by toast and tea would be much appreciated if your mother likes that and your skills can handle it. Or you could go with something a little simpler such as some homemade granola, followed by toast and jam.


Granola

Ingredients
350g oats
1 handful wheat germ
40g sunflower seeds
30g dessicated coconut
30g sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sunflower or corn oil
2 tablespoons runny honey

Preheat oven to 180°C. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the oil and the honey and combine well. Spread the mixture over one large or small smaller baking trays to form a thick layer. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes depending on how well you like it toasted. Allow the granola to cool then transfer into an airtight container to store. Serve the granola with milk and dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, cranberries and apricots.



And as this is a special breakfast, why not try a different beverage too. Maybe some lovely freshly squeezed orange juice or a different brand of tea or coffee.

Jo from Yenna Bean, is passionate about tea and says, "I would recommend something like a spiced chai. It is a blend of tea leaves and spices such as ginger root, cinnamon bark and cardamom seeds. It is different but very invigorating and delicious. We stock some at the shop if you'd like to try it." Should you find yourself there, stop for a slice of her homemade Victoria sandwich cake, featuring Jammy Cow seedless raspberry jam, or take your mother for one of her afternoon teas and enjoy our raspberry jam in a diddy little jar.

If coffee is your mother's preferred morning wake up drink then Eric from Coffee Cavern has a suggestion for you. He says, "A lovely coffee like El Obraje, Colombia. Maybe with marmalade or a citrus jam of some sort."

Of course, you may not be able to be there in person to present these delights to your mother so why not package up a bag of your handmade granola with a jar of jam and a special selection of tea and coffee and pop it in the post as a do-it-yourself Mothers Day breakfast? It may not be ideal but if it really is the thought that counts it should be well received.

Jammy Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday has always been an important family occasion for me. Indeed, I was born on Ash Wednesday and my mum still made my dad and my brother their annual pancakes despite being in labour! Now that's dedication!



This year Shrove Tuesday falls on 21st February so I hope you have your frying pan ready and are well stocked up with lemons! I have to confess that I find it hard to beat the classic lemon and sugar combo on pancakes but there are of course lots of other options. Sliced banana drizzled with honey is good, or an apple cooked with some brown sugar and cinnamon works well too.



A while ago I bought a teeny frying pan from the Lakeland catalogue. It was designed for frying one egg at a time but I use it to make mini pancakes in. These prove particularly popular with my girls. Funny how mini sized things often appeal to children. It also makes them think they had eaten "millions!" of pancakes, when in fact 4 of them is only the same as one large crepe. On these pancakes they spread jam so the small size of the pancake also means they have the opportunity to have a variety of different flavours. Try it, it is fun!

Mini Jammy Pancakes

4 oz (110 g) flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
10 fl oz (300 ml) milk
Jam

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg and milk gradually and whisk vigorously to make a smooth batter. If possible, leave the mixture to rest for a while (or overnight). Heat a little oil in a small size frying pan or use a medium frying pan and a fried egg ring. Poor a little batter into the pan (or ring) and swirl the pan round to cover the base. Cook on one side until beginning to crisp at the edges then flip and cook again for a minute or two until done. Lay on a plate and smear with a jam of your choosing. Eat immediately.

Jam biscuits for Valentine's Day

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and there is no better way to a man's stomach than a bit of home baking. So here is a recipe I use for Valentine's Day to reach my husband's heart. Easy to make, tasty to eat and fun to involve the children in making too should you be looking for ways to keep them entertained this half term.

Jam Heart Biscuits

6 oz (175g) plain flour
1 oz (25g) oat bran
4 oz (110g) butter
2 oz (55g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2-3 oz (55-75g) jam

Mix the flour and oat bran with the butter until it is like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of milk then a little at a time until soft dough forms. Preheat the oven to 190°C and grease two baking trays. Roll out pieces of dough and use a heart-shaped cutter to cut out biscuits. Brush each biscuit with egg then cut strips of pastry and form a rim around each biscuit. Brush the biscuit again with egg. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of jam into the centre of each biscuit and roughly spread it to fill the shape. Bake for 15 minutes until golden then cool on a wire rack.

The Classic Victoria Sandwich Cake

On the Jammy Cow website's page, "101 things to do with jam", making a Victoria Sandwich Cake is number 11. After all, a part from spreading jam on a piece of bread in one form or another, there is little more obvious to do with jam than to make a Victoria sandwich cake.

A Victoria sandwich cake was the first big cake that my daughter made on her own. Two years ago, at the tender age of 7, she had decided she had well and truly cracked fairy cakes and biscuits and wanted to try a bigger challenge so we flicked through her Usborne recipe cards of Yummy Things To Make and Eat and she selected the Victoria Sponge Cake. And off she went, with little more than supervision and oven intervention from me. Not to take anything away from her achievement, it is in fact little more than a very big fairy cake in terms of its recipe so it a simple cake to make that looks more impressive than the effort would suggest. She was rightly very pleased with herself and I think the Victoria Sandwich Cake will always hold a fondness for her.



It was little surprise then that this morning when I asked the girls what cake they would like to help me make she suggested the Victoria Sandwich cake. And why not? It took about 20 minutes to mix, 25 minutes to cook and was sandwiched together after lunch shortly before we went out on a rather chilly walk with amble amounts of butter icing and raspberry jam. The thought of a generous slice of that when we got home spurred us on for the last part of our walk. In we came, casting off coats, hats, gloves and scarfs and within minutes we were cuddled up on the sofa with a slab of cake and a warm drink. Perfect!



Victoria Sandwich Cake

225g (8oz) butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
4 medium eggs
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
110g (4oz) butter
225g (8oz) icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
110g (4oz) raspberry or strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 180°C, gas 4 and grease and line sandwich tins. Place the butter into a large bowl and if it is straight out of the fridge heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the sugar and cream together. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring in between additions. Sift in the flour and stir well to combine. Spoon equally into the two sandwich tins then bake for 25 minutes until springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack. In the meantime, mix together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla to make the butter icing. Once the cakes are cool, spread one half with the butter icing and one half with the jam then sandwich the two fillings together.

Random Soups of Kindness

Brr... it's cold out there today. Just been out to deliver the girls to school and am now enjoying the perks of working from home and have wrapped myself up in a blanket to get warm again. I believe it is down to -3°C today. Last year it went down to -13°C here in MK and stayed that way for a fortnight. In that time the pumpkins, squash and potatoes I had in storage in my shed froze and I lost the lot. But, hey, you learn from your mistakes and earlier this week I brought my stores into the garage and tucked them up in an old coat. I have chutney plans for those pumpkin and squash and don't want to lose them.

But what about a more serious loss - what about the thousands of people who die here in the UK each winter due to the cold?

This morning I came across this blog post from "Goddess On A Budget" about this very issue. And her solution: Random Soups of Kindness - to make soup and then to take a bowl to a vulnerable person. What a fabulous idea - the idea itself is heartwarming!



So today I think I shall take some of my stored pumpkin and squashes and cook up a batch of hot, thick soup. And maybe you could do that same.

Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup

(serves 3)

1 lb (450g) pumpkin flesh
1 lb (450g) butternut squash flesh
Olive oil
10 fl oz vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
4 sage leaves
Salt and pepper

Peel and chop the vegetables then fry them in some olive oil for about 5 minutes in the bottom of a large saucepan. Pour in the stock, add the tomato puree and sage leaves and simmer for 30 minutes until soft. Pour into a food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pan. Season to taste and bring back to the boil then either serve it hot or pour into warmed jars.



Or, from more basic ingredients - Leek & Potato

Leek & Potato Soup

(serves 4-6)

1 tablespoon oil
2 leeks
1 lb (450g) potatoes
1¾ pints (1 litre) vegetable stock
½ pint (300ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash and chop the leeks into thin rounds. Wash, peel and cube the potatoes. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and fry the leeks, stirring constantly to avoid sticking until the leeks are soft but not brown. Add the potatoes and continue to fry for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and the milk and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the potatoes are breaking down. Blend in a food processor until smooth and season to taste. Serve immediately or pour into warmed jars and seal immediately.