Things to do in autumn / fall

Autumn is my favourite of all the seasons – and I love all of them already! But there’s so much great stuff you can do in autumn that I can’t help but love it. In order to help me get the maximum out of the season, I’ve created a check list for myself. I’ll be heading back every now and then to check my progress, too!

The beautiful autumn colours of New Forest - by stevestreet

Autumn to do list

• Have Halloween party
• Have Thanksgiving dinner
• Make pinecone decorations
• Make a leaf wreath
• Make jam
• Walk through the leaves
• Gather chestnuts
• Make Christmas pudding
• Celebrate Bonfire Night
• Carve a pumpkin
• Cycle down a hill with my scarf flying behind me
• Make the best hot chocolate
• Make pickles

What’s on your to-do list this autumn?

Omurice

I’m one of those weird people who gets all funny about ketchup. I like it, don’t get me wrong, but I have certain rules about it – which I’ve never really examined in too much depth, to be honest. For example, it is never to be squirted onto food – makes it soggy. Better to go on the side, by itself, so it can be dipped into. Also, it is never to be mixed in with things to create some hideous Frankenfood of soggy ketchup and ‘other stuff’. That’s just wrong.

So, with that in mind, it’s very strange that one of my most favourite and comforting foods should be omurice: the dish that breaks my cardinal food rules and somehow manages to rise above its offence:

Omurice is basically rice and veggies cooked with some ketchup, then coated in an omelette and served with another drizzle of ketchup on top. It’s comfort food for children, which makes it all the more weird how strangely nostaglic the dish is for me, a 28-year-old woman who has never lived in Japan… But nevertheless, there’s something very universal about its combination of starchy carbs, eggy protein, and lashings of tomato sauce.

This recipe makes four portions:

Ingredients

• Butter
• 2 chicken thighs, boned
• 1 onion
• 50g carrot
• 1 green pepper
• 2 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 4 cups cooked Japanese rice
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp sake
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• 8 eggs
• Ketchup to serve

Method

• Finely chop the onion, carrot, mushroom and parsley.
• Debone the chicken and remove the skin. Cut the thigh into small pieces, around 1cm in size, then season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion until slightly softened. Add the chicken and fry until the outside has gone white. Add the carrot, pepper and mushrooms and cook until soft. This could take as long as ten minutes. You need to ensure the carrot is tender, as it will not be cooked again. Add the parsley and remove from the heat, reserving the mixture and wiping out the frying pan.
• Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan and add the hot rice, stirring well. Add the fried mix along with the ketchup, sake and Worcestershire sauce. Season if needed, and keep warm. Do not over cook as this will dry out the rice.
• In another, shallow frying pan, heat 1 tsp butter. Beat two of the eggs, season with salt, then pour into the frying pan, spreading to cover the base. Put a quarter of the rice in the middle of the pan while the egg is still slightly raw. This helps to stick the rice mixture to the omelette.
• When the eggs are slightly set, wrap the edges over the top of the rice and turn out onto a warm plate. Don’t worry if you pierce the egg as you do so, as the edges are tucked under. Using a paper towel, shape it as in our photo, then squirt tomato sauce on the top. Continue with the rest of the eggs and mixture until you’ve made four omelettes.

You can also keep this for the following day, and serve it in a bento ala the picture!

Lemon Posset

Weird story – up until I tried this recipe, I didn’t like lemon in sweet things. Hated it. Thought it was weird. Maybe it was thanks to the dodgy lemon meringues that were knocking around when I was a kid, but I just couldn’t understand why people liked lemon in sweet things. Now I’ve been converted by lemon posset, I realise that it’s just that I don’t get on with the supersweet, barely tart kind of lemon puddings. I like my lemon desserts sharp and creamy! I’m not saying this isn’t sweet – it is – but it’s balanced by the sharpness of the lemons perfectly. I can say all this because it wasn’t me who invented it!

The recipe is supposedly based on a medieval dish of milk curdled with wine or beer, with spices added to it. The alcohol would curdle the milk, which was supposed to be a great cure for things like the cold. Even today, we drink hot milk to get to sleep, so I guess it’s evolved since then! It’s also mentioned in Macbeth, when the evil Lady Macbeth uses possets to knock out Duncan’s guards.

This recipe works on a similar principle – but instead of curdling the cream, the lemon acts to set it, creating a dense, smooth and creamy taste. You can add grated lemon zest to this, but I prefer to keep the smoothness of the cream totally uninterrupted by the nuggets of peel.

Lemon Posset

Ingredients

• 600ml double cream
• 140g caster sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons (at least 75ml)

Method

• Combine the cream and sugar in a pan, and heat until scalding – but do not boil.
• Whilst on the heat, add the lemon juice and allow to boil for 30 seconds, whisking to prevent the cream from burning.
• Allow to cool before pouring into bowls and placing in the fridge until set.

Some people like to serve this with shortbread or other crisp biscuits, but I really don’t think it needs any additions!

The Royal Wedding Nosh

So, I bet you’re wondering what I actually served for MY Royal wedding watching party, right? Considering what a fuss I made about it, anyway. Well, you’re in luck – here’s my write up!

So here’s the overview of the mammoth table of buffet food – we had about 20 people in all, so we didn’t want anyone to go home hungry! We nearly ran out of sandwiches, but other than that, we beat the stomachs and ended up eating leftovers for a couple of days…

As you can see, the sandwiches were cut correctly into finger shapes (mwah hah hah) ala The Ritz – corner shapes are fine, but crustless finger sandwiches are the only option for a posh spread.

We had a variety of sandwiches – smoked salmon and cream cheese, Belgian ham and dijon mustard with salad and baby tomatoes, caramelised onion chutney and cheese, egg mayonnaise, and of course, cucumber (boring). I love a good sandwich!

We also made Jamie Oliver’s mackerel pate from his British Picnic menu from 30 Minute Meals. People went nuts for this, but I really wasn’t keen. I thought I’d love it, but it sort of made me squeamish!

We also bagged Heston’s special royal trifle from Waitrose. It was incredibly pricey, and wasn’t a real trifle. All in all, it was a bit of a miss for me – vastly overshadowed by a family classic called Rennie’s Pudding, which I’ll talk about in a minute.

Heston’s trifle was really pretty though! Caramelised nuts, freeze dried strawberries, rose petals – lovely! Only trouble is, because it was topped with meringue, sitting on cream, it was pretty much destroyed as soon as you tried to take a spoonful.

Anyway, here’s the star pudding – in my humble opinion:

I don’t know where this pudding came from, but we’ve always had it in our family and it’s blimming delicious – and so simple! It’s just fresh fruit, covered with cream, and then topped with sugar caramel.

It is seriously gorgeous! Very easy, too.

I also made a gin and tonic jelly from the delicious Nigella Lawson – how English can you get, right? I’d never made jelly before, although I have made panna cotta, so it was an interesting experience. But it uses a remarkable amount of gelatine – more leaves than they even sell in one pack from the supermarket I shop at. Wowza. Maybe because it contains A QUARTER OF A LITRE OF GIN? That’s right! That’s a lot, I think. This jelly also made me realise I actually do like gin and tonic as well. But I’ll always be a Pimm’s girl at heart…

It looks very innocent, but you should not attempt to drive or operate heavy machinery after eating this jelly…

Now onto the cake.

Sitting proudly on top of the most expensive cake stand I have ever, and hopefully will ever, buy in my life is a Victoria sponge – a real classic. It was spruced up with some chantilly cream and blueberries and strawberries, just to give it patriotic colours. To be honest, we could have done without it, because it’s sort of, shall we say, restrained, compared to some of the outrageous puddings on offer, but I HAD to use my cake stand. This sucker cost me about £50! I’ve had my eye on one ever since I saw it on a blog somewhere – I think it was Bakerella’s, maybe. But I recently suffered a tragic loss in my life after every single damn cake stand I owned fell off the top of the fridge and smashed. I was gutted. The whole collection, gone at once. So I had to replace them, and this cake stand will hopefully last longer. I spent the whole day before the party, and the day of, shrieking at people ‘DON’T BREAK THE CAKE STAND. DO NOT TOUCH IT. IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE’. It didn’t really create the atmosphere of relaxed, casual and classy hosting that I wanted to project, but you know, it’s still in one piece, so it was worth it.

I also dusted icing sugar over the top in the shape of a doily, because, you know, it’s ENGLISH. Somehow.

This was also a new purchase just for this party (I know, ridiculous – I am still literally paying this off) – a cute cake stand from Cake Stand Heaven. You may remember me drooling over these before – LOVE them! I bought this one in green to match my nan’s china, which I inherited from her last year. Unfortunately, I also had to shout at people about this too, as you are expressly NOT supposed to pick it up using the handle on the top, as it can smash the china plates – it’s not a weight bearing handle. So of course, anytime anyone wanted to move this baby around, they used the handle on the top. Tsk.

My mum added these beautiful flowers to the cup right before we ate – a really nice touch! She’s also responsible for the pretty flower display on the table, she did an awesome job!

So, that was our buffet! Do you guys have any memories, photos or blog posts to share to do with your Royal Wedding party?

Related articles

• Heston Blumenthal creates Royal wedding trifle (telegraph.co.uk)
• The ultimate sandwich ideas for a royal wedding watching party (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• Sweet treats for your Royal buffet (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• The definitive list of Royal wedding party food to buy (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)

Sweet treats for your Royal buffet

Image via Wikipedia

CLASSIC BRITISH TREATS

Victoria sponge

A beautifully simple, light cake – classically British, of course – dusted with icing sugar and filled with jam would make the perfect addition to your table. Add whipped cream and fresh fruit to make it even more indulgent!

Gin and Tonic jelly

A great Nigella Lawson recipe – a grown up version of a party staple, and what better way to toast in the newly weds than with some gin and tonic!

Sweet vanilla cream and dulce de leche butterfly cakes

My own recipe for ridiculously delicious caramel and cream butterfly cakes. Forget cupcakes!

Scones with clotted cream and jam

You could make your own scones with this excellent recipe, but, equally, I’m sure no one will mind if you buy it in…

Lemongrass and raspberry trifle

Another Nigella recipe – and if you fancy a classic version, there are tonnes out there for sherry trifle!

Eton Mess

Legend has it this was invented at at Eton College – which is where Prince William was educated, of course, making this the perfect dish to serve on the big day. Just remember to mix it just before serving, because the meringues will melt otherwise! This is Delia’s recipe, but you can also add a splash of Pimm’s at the last minute to transform it into an ever more celebrationary dish!

Related Articles

• A right royal treat: butterfly cakes! (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• Sweet vanilla cream and dulce de leche butterfly cakes (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• Your ultimate recipes for a Royal wedding party buffet (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)

What drinks to serve at a royal wedding watching party

Image by Walt Jabsco via Flickr

You’ve got a host of people over to watch Will and Kate tie the knot – but what the heck do you give them to drink, apart from good, old fashioned tea, of course? Check out this handy list of the best British tipples for your thirsty guests!

DRINKS

Fruit Cup

Pimms isn’t the only fruit cup you can make – check out this awesome blog for reviews of some other great fruit cup liquers! What could be better than a long glass of a fruit-studded cocktail on such a great day?

Buck’s Fizz / Mimosa

In the UK, we mostly have Buck’s Fizz, but whether you call it that or a Mimosa, there’s no denying this classic glass of bubbly and fruit juice is a right Royal winner!

Ginger Beer

You can buy your own, but you could try this great recipe for lashings of the stuff – the appropriate quantity for such a feast…

Lemonade

For your drivers and sober types, you need something without alcohol, lest you fall asleep before the vows are over… Making your own lemonade is easy, just combine lemon juice, water and sugar to taste.

Rhubarb, ginger and apple cocktail

Make use of some very British ingredients for this cool cocktail.

Royal Wedding Cocktail

Gin, Dubonnet, lemonade and pomegranate juice make this symbolic cocktail, especially formulated for Wills and Kate.

Related Articles

• Here’s to Wills and Kate: Toast to the royal couple with these cocktails (canada.com)
• A quick Jamie Oliver menu idea for your royal wedding party (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• “The Royal Wedding Cocktail” and related posts (blogs.villagevoice.com)

The ultimate sandwich ideas for a royal wedding watching party

Image via Wikipedia

I love sandwiches and they should have centre stage in your wedding party buffet! But you have to make sure you cut them correctly – not diagonally into quarters, but into long, dainty finger shapes as they do for afternoon tea at The Ritz!

Because I would imagine you’ve made your own sandwiches more times than you’ve made any other kind of recipe, I’m not offering quantities, just ideas. That way you can be inspired and dish up your own quantities, depending on whether you’re watching the wedding with friends, or the whole street!

SANDWICH IDEAS

• Smoked salmon and cream cheese
• Ham, salad and cherry tomatoes with dijonnaise
• Cheese and caramelised red onion chutney
• Roast beef with horseradish mayonnaise and rocket
• Egg mayonnaise
• Prawn mayonnaise
• Thinly sliced cucumber
• Chicken salad

Have an idea I’ve missed? Tell me in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!

Don’t forget to check out my other post, on your ultimate recipes for a wedding watch buffet, here!

Your ultimate recipes for a Royal wedding party buffet

Image by elana's pantry via Flickr

I’m going to be making a series of posts chronicling the best recipes and ideas for your wedding watching party – starting with traditional British buffet staples! No spread would be complete without these old-fashioned favourites!

BUFFET STAPLES

Sausage rolls

Now, it wouldn’t be a proper British buffet without some sausage rolls on the table. For the record, I like mine hot! Here’s a Jamie Oliver recipe – although if you have Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, try his version from that book which has fennel seeds! Also, don’t forget about sausages on sticks, another old favourite.

Scotch Eggs

Now, I’m not going to be making Scotch eggs for my party, because I’d rather buy them than stand over the deep fat fryer. But if you want to give it a go, this recipe will make some really cute quails’ egg ones.

Cheese Straws

An old-school treat – just make sure you use puff pastry for flakey, delicious straws!

Pork Pie

Now, I’m not convinced it’s worth your time to make a pork pie to go with a buffet – if you’re going to make such a glorious beast, you should at least make it the centrepiece of a luscious picnic! But Nigel Slater knows his stuff, so I’m recommending this recipe for all you gluttons (for punishment).

Coleslaw

Everyone knows how to make their own coleslaw, but this Nigel Slater guide gives you some ideas for ways to liven it up with some twists!

Potato Salad

I love Martha Stewart! I think that people both sides of the pond will be surprised at the other’s claiming that this is a traditional national dish, but just like apple pie, the British and American versions have been embraced by their home countries. Here’s a link to a video and basic recipe, which also has a guide for some great add-ins!

Quiche

Now, it wouldn’t be a proper feast without a quiche, or as my nan used to call it, quince. But what kind of quiche? It has to be something seasonal, and a little bit special – what about smoked salmon? Delia’s the queen of baking, so I offer up her recipe for a smoked salmon tart.

Coronation Chicken

I’ve had loads of arguments with people recently about coronation chicken. I maintain it’s not to be served for a royal wedding buffet, because NO ONE’S BEING CROWNED. But, still, it’s a royally inspired dish, so include it if you like! Here’s a Gordon Ramsey version to make it extra special!

Related Articles

• The definitive list of Royal wedding party food to buy (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• How to theme your royal wedding party menu (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• Royal wedding: Brits plan to stay at home, despite chance for extended break abroad (mirror.co.uk)
• A quick Jamie Oliver menu idea for your royal wedding party (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)

The definitive list of Royal wedding party food to buy

Image by JeanM1 via Flickr

There have been loads of new products on the market to cash in on the Royal wedding! I’ve been trying to keep up with them but it’s a fair struggle to list them all. Here are the ones I’ve managed to track down, listed by supermarket/seller. If you spot anything, comment below and I’ll include it!

WAITROSE

Heston Blumenthal’s Royal Wedding Trifle, £13.99

Saffron-infused cream, strawberry compote, meringue, and crumbled Amaretti biscuits soaked in Marc de Champagne, topped with rose petals, caramel almonds and dried strawberries.

Gingerbread Royal Wedding bride and grooms, 99p each

Cute little gingerbread couples – the groom even comes with a cool Union Jack waistcoat!

Pieminster The Royal Pear pie, £2.25

Poached pears, rum and chocolate – yum!

MARKS AND SPENCERS

Royal Wedding Celebration Collection, £65 for 12 bottles

This huge case contains two bottles of Brut Cava Prestige, two of Bellante Sparking Rose, two Pinot Grigio 2010, two of Vouvray Domaine de la Pouvraie 2009, two classic Claret 2009 and two Nebbiolo d’Alba 2006. Now that’s a party…

SAINSBURYS

Pieminster Kate and Wills Pie, £3.25

What could be more romantic than a pie? Beef, wine, bacon, pearl onions, mushrooms and brandy make this a bit of a treat – although I can’t really see it being served at a party!

Wedding Cake Icecream, £3.39

If you like wedding cake, but you don’t want to go to all the bother of going to a wedding to eat it, compromise with this wedding cake icecream, which features a spiced fruit flavour, along with almond ripple, royal icing drops and sponge pieces.

MORRISONS

Kiss Me Kate beer, price TBC

Brewed by Castle Rock in Nottingham, this beer is sold in 500ml bottles.

Royal Wedding Sandwich Platter, £6.00

Five sandwiches: chicken and stuffing, ham, cheese and pickle, tuna and cucumber, prawn mayo and cheese and onion. Available from 11th April - 3rd July.

Royal Windsor Red Cheese, £9.99/kg

Cheddar with port and brandy, layered with blue stilton. Made by Long Clawson dairy. Available from 11th April – 8th May.

TESCO

Prince William Royal Wedding Cuvee, £19.99 for 75cl

A special French champage specially developed to celebrate the Royal wedding

FOREMAN AND FIELD

Poire William Truffles, £5.95 for four

Developed especially for the Royal wedding, these are white chocolate truffles infused with poire william spirit.

Royal Wedding Hamper, £120.11

A hamper for six, this contains Royal Fillet of London Cure Smoked Salmon, Palace Earl Grey Tea, a homemade Victoria Sandwich cake with Royal blueberry, Mrs Kings’ Pork Pie, Alderton ham, Colston Bassett Stilton and a sensational sparkling wine from Sussex.

FORTNUM & MASON

Royal Wedding Tea, £7.50 per tin

This tin contains 125g of a special blend of large leaf Assam tippy golden flowery orange pekoe 1 and Eastern Kenya orange pekoe leaf tea. Assam is a traditional component of Fortum’s royal tea blends, and the Kenyan leaf is a nod to the country where the happy couple were engaged. What a thoughtful choice!

Royal Wedding Marc de Champagne Truffles, £8.00 for three

Presented in a beautiful white box, these truffles are certainly indulgent given the price!

Royal Wedding Praline Hearts and Crowns, £10.00

With milk and dark chocolate, these novelty shapes are perfect for a leisurelywedding watch – when served with a cup of tea!

Royal Wedding Rose Petal Jelly, £12.95 for 340g

Made with rose petals from Oxfordshire, which are supposedly picked at night when they are at their most fragrant, this jelly is housed in a limited edition jar studded with Swarovski crystals.

Royal Wedding Shortbread, £13.95 for 400g tin

Formed into traditional petticoat tail shapes, these crumbly biscuits are a great way to celebrate the wedding whilst keeping a long-term memento in the cupboard!

Royal Wedding Marc Demarquette Chocolate Heart, £25.00 for 100g

Some extraordinarily nice sounding flavours lurk in this beautifully designed box – all of them handmade in England. The flavours include Devon strawberry caramel, Kentish cobnut, Cornish sea salt caramel, and English rose.

PRESTAT

Union Jack Box, £14.99 for 200g

A selection of various flavours designed to celebrate the Royal wedding: pink Marc de Champagne, sea salt caramel, orange and lemon, praline and passion fruit.

MONTEZUMA’S

Great British Pudding Bars, £2.49 each

Not specifically Royal wedding related, but I had to include these because I thought it was such a cool idea! The 100g bars come in three traditionally British pudding flavours, Apple Crumble (Venezuelan Milk Chocolate with Apple and Biscuit), Spotted Dick (Venezuelan Milk Chocolate with Raisins and Hazelnuts) and Eton Mess (Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate swirled with Creamy White Chocolate with Strawberry & Meringue).

ALL SUPERMARKETS

Twinings Royal Wedding White Earl Grey, £5.00 per caddy

In a commemorative tin, this light Earl grey tea blend has the flavour of rose petals to give it that floral, romantic touch.

Walkers Royal Wedding Shortbread, £10.00 per tin

Plastered with a photo of the happy couple of the day of their engagement announcement, this tin contains 450g of shortbread, and is limited edition.

McVities Royal Wedding Tin, £5.00

A selection of classic McVities biscuits, with another engagement photo on the front.

Country Life Great British Butter (price varies)

A pat of British butter, swathed in the Union Jack and available at all good supermarkets for the month of April.

Related Articles

• Heston Blumenthal creates Royal wedding trifle (telegraph.co.uk)
• How to theme your royal wedding party menu (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• A quick Jamie Oliver menu idea for your royal wedding party (distractedgourmet.wordpress.com)
• Gingerbread Royal Wedding? (kerrycooks.wordpress.com)
• Get a slice of the Royal wedding (thesun.co.uk)

Make your own almond milk

Image by QuintanaRoo via Flickr

I’m no health nut, and I’m definitely not a vegan, but I love soya, almond, coconut and rice milk. I recently bought Jillian Michaels’ excellent Master Your Metabolism Cookbook, and she asks you to replace your diary with other products – specifically not soy, for various reasons. So, I purchased a litre of coconut milk and one of almond milk (and then had to carry them home four miles from the shop, but that’s a whole other story!) and discovered how delicious almond milk was in porridge and banana smoothies. I’d never had it before, and realised precisely why this was when I got to the health food shop – firstly, it’s quite hard to find (only in health food shops and Waitrose, it seems!) and secondly, it’s a whopping £3.00 a litre… Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s quite a lot for me, so I was pretty pleased to discover that it’s really easy to make your own almond milk at home! I’m not saying it tastes better than shop bought – I think the shop bought stuff is sweeter, but at home it gets a bit worrying to continually add honey to your mix, so I stopped after three teaspoons! However, it’s definitely cheaper, as once you’ve bought yourself a nut milk bag, you end up paying about £1.60 or so for every litre – basically, the cost of your almonds.

So, the recipe!

Equipment

Blender

Nut milk bag (buy these on eBay if you find them hard to track down)

Bowl

Jug

Ingredients

220g almonds

Water, to cover

1 litre water, to make milk (4 cups)

Vanilla extract, optional

Honey or other natural sweetner, optional

Method

Cover your almonds with water (I like to rinse mine first as well) and leave to stand overnight, for at least 8 hours, and up to 12.

Drain away the soaking water (I rinse here again) and add the nuts to a blender.

Pour in your four cups / 1 litre water, then blend well. Add in the vanilla extract and sweetner to taste, if using.

Pour the mixture into a nut bag over a bowl or wide jug, and strain. You’ll have to help the process along by squeezing the bag to get the excess moisture out.

Your nut milk is ready! Keep in the fridge, covered, for up to four days.

The leftover almond meal is great for adding fibre to porridge, cereal, etc!