Veggie box – the tomatoes

In this heat you have to work fast or your goodies will spoil. I can't possibly use everything all at once so I need to cook and freeze what I can, so the tomatoes are up next. I have it on good authority that they are an Australian variety, suitable only for cooking – that's all I know!

A passata fits the bill and a quick version too. Since it's going to be frozen the flavours will continue to develop and, more to the point, a passata is versatile.

Passata – the quick way

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

4/5 cloves of roasted garlic

1.5kg tomatoes, chopped roughly

6 fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2tsp caster sugar

salt and black pepper

Using a large saucepan – 22cms in diameter, fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft. Transfer to a food processor or blender and blitz to a smooth paste and set aside.

Add the tomatoes and basil to the pan and cook gently, stirring frequently for 20/25 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Cool for 10 minutes then push through a sieve to give a smooth sauce.

Rinse out your saucepan and return the sauce and paste, add the vinegar and sugar and simmer gently for 10/15 minutes, stirring until you have a thick passata. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cool then decant into suitably sized containers for freezing - if you want to use it straight away fridge it – it will keep for 3-4 days. Frozen, your passata will keep for up to 2 months.

As a guide you'll get 600ml of passata from the recipe.

Remember to freeze in small amounts – you never know what you might decide to cook - you can always pull out two or three portions.

Waste not want not!

Passata pics and tips coming next.

Veggie box – crumble - pics and tips

I can't resist doing what I always do with a dessert like the crumble – double the quantities and freeze in portions to suit you – you can pop the crumble top in a freezer bag – it takes up no space and you can show off whenever you want – quickly!

The crumble verdict … “brilliant” - the standout element - the fruit kept its shape.

Since then I have frozen portions and served again, defrosted the fruit and the crumble topping, assembled and warmed for 15 minutes – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 and am happy to report it's just as good.

I love it when a plan comes together, to coin a famous phrase!

The best presents …

… are those that are unexpected. 

Have a look at what I received this week :

I'm not sure where to begin with my veggie box.

The blackberries I think – it just so happens I have a surplus of Pink Lady apples – it has to be a crumble. You can use whatever type of apple you wish – cooking or eating.

Crumble has to be in the top ten of puddings, close to all our hearts. I agree with Raymond Blanc - cook the crumble topping separately. It avoids the sogginess in between the fruit and the topping.

Here's the recipe :

Serves 4

Crumble topping

120g plain flour

60g caster sugar

60g unsalted butter at room temperature,

cut into pieces

Fruit base

300g Braeburn apples – I used Pink Lady

30g unsalted butter

30g demerara sugar

115g blackberries

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5.

The topping

Tip the flour and the sugar into a large bowl. Add the butter then rub into the flour using your fingertips to form breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly coloured.

The fruit base

Peel, core and quarter the apples and cut each quarter into eight pieces. Put the butter and sugar in a medium sized saucepan and melt together on a medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes until the mixture turns to a light caramel. Add the blackberries and cinnamon, cook for a further 3 minutes. Cover, remove from the heat and leave for 2/3 minutes to continue cooking in the warmth of the pan.

When you're ready, place the fruit into a greased overproof dish, top with the crumble mix and reheat in the oven for a further 5/10 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pics up next and a tip or two!

Pandowdy Pics!

By the way, for those who aren't sure about a pastry cutter, here's what it looks like :

It's the black treacle that does it for me – yum – not too sweet.

You can use cooking or eating apples in the recipe - the upside in using eating apples is that they hold their shape better.

Pandowdy

If you're a lover of deep dish apple pie, you'll like this.

Here we go :

Pre-heat the oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5.

Grease an ovenproof glass dish and set aside. I used a circular 3 litre dish – 27x23 cms, which serves 4.

The apples and the sauce

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the water, vinegar and black treacle and whisk. Continue whisking bringing the mixture to a boil until it thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Tip your apples into the sauce and then into the greased dish. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and nutmeg and dot with the butter.

The topping

You'll need a medium size mixing bowl. Sift the flour, add the baking powder and the salt. Drop in the cold butter and “cut” the mixture. You can use a pastry cutter or two round bladed knives until the mixture is rubbed in. Add the milk – the mixture should be lumpy.

Using a small spoon drop the batter over the apples. It should be random and won't cover completely. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and then break through the topping with a fork, pressing it down into the apples. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve warm – with whatever you fancy – vanilla ice cream, pouring cream, clotted cream or even custard or your favourite combination of all four!

Pandowdy pics up next!

My Mate …

who is English, lives in the USA – he's over here to see family and friends and has popped in a couple of times with an American friend, also visiting. Can it be that this friendship has lasted over 30 years?!

We've always hopped backwards and forwards and he has become my oldest student and a good one too!

If you feel inclined check out the USA label on the blog you'll see a series of posts “On location in South Carolina” - actions speak louder than words.

Coincidentally whilst he's been here I came across an American dessert which caught my eye - probably because of the name – Pandowdy!

We have a similar pudding in the UK – a cobbler – here it's usually made with a scone mix as opposed to the batter used in the US version.

Pandowdy

The apples

150g soft light brown sugar

25g plain flour

¼ tsp salt

250ml water

2 tsp cider vinegar

60ml black treacle

675g apples – I used Pink Lady, peeled, quartered

and cored – each quarter cut into eight pieces

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground nutmeg

60g unsalted butter

The topping

100g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

¾ tsp salt

45g cold unsalted butter

180ml milk

There must be something in the air!

Happy Birthday Rose!

I couldn't let the Anglesey holiday go without mentioning that, as usual, our dog Rose came too – she's a real beach baby and loves the sea too.

Whilst we were on holiday she had her fourth birthday and so we took her to her favourite spot as a birthday treat.

Here are her holiday snaps cum postcard of the day :

I just love this place!

Whee!

This is the best way to cool off!

I know this is not at all food related – I just thought it would make you smile.