December thoughts … a Christmas plan

First things first – before you get to the food choices and the shopping lists you need to be in position to store all your goodies and so clear the decks before you deck the halls – okay - I thought it was quite funny!

Do you have a freezer the size of a shed – if you do then please disregard what follows! You need to think carefully about how you're going to stock it which begs the question how full is it now?

I'm sure you know what's coming next – now is the time to clear out your freezer. It's no good going out and snapping up all manner of goodies and then have to climb on top of it all, ramming it in to make it fit!

Own up to all the stuff that has dropped to the bottom – the bargain that you couldn't live without and seemed like such a good idea at the time and has now gone to that freezer burn waste heap in the sky. Rest assured I'm not casting aspersions – I dread to think what's at the bottom of mine.

I cannot tell you how virtuous you'll feel once you've done the job, not to mention stress free to the point of horizontal when re-filling it.

Next you need to tackle your pantry – or store cupboard - in exactly the same way. You need to be sure that whatever staples you have they are well within their “best before” dates – you can bet your bottom dollar that there'll be the same out of date gremlins here too, you know what I mean, shock horror a jar of passata a year past its best before date. You know I speak the truth – think of it another way – you need space for your non-perishable bits and pieces too - that you can buy now – your first list!

Next up … the other lists and a little self control

December thoughts … the fastest dessert sauce!

You've made the orange ripple ice cream and it's in the freezer. The following chocolate and orange sauce can be made in minutes. The ingredients are in your fridge and your pantry and it takes only minutes to bring the cream and milk to the boil, add the sugar until dissolved and then tip over the chocolate and orange zest.

Chocolate and orange sauce

120ml double cream

80ml milk

50g caster sugar

225g dark chocolate (70%) broken into small pieces in a large bowl

zest of 1 orange

Put the cream and milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove pan from heat and pour over the chocolate, stir until melted. Add the orange zest, then set aside to cool in serving jug or if you'd prefer it warm, pour over a portion of ice cream.

I'd suggest serving the ice cream and sauce with fresh orange segments. You could add an extra element and crush amaretti biscuits and sprinkle over the top – another excellent store cupboard stand by.

An indulgent dessert but one that will probably appeal to those who aren't fans of traditional Christmas pudding.

Here it is :

December thoughts … I have a plan!

December thoughts – the syrup for the orange ripple

I made a double batch of orange syrup – why double? I divided it into half – popped half into the freezer for another day and fridged the other half, ready to turn my basic vanilla ice cream into an orange ripple.

Orange Syrup

400g icing sugar

500ml orange juice (no bits)

Put the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.

You'll achieve approximately 600ml of syrup – divide into two boxes and freeze one of them. Fridge the other, ready to complete your ice cream.

Here's a few photos …

Whisk your ice cream to a stiffer consistency

– thicker ribbons - you're adding syrup which will loosen

the batch

here's the syrup, ready to go

tip the syrup into the ice cream and fold through

gently

here's the orange drizzle ice cream, ready for

the freezer – you can see the vanilla flecks and the

trail of orange syrup running through

Anyone like chocolate sauce with ice cream?

December thoughts …

Everyone has their own food favourites for the holidays. I find it's the whirlwind leading up to the festivities that can turn an organised person into a gibbering idiot!

On that sobering note my next series of stuff concentrates not on the obvious holiday food but ideas for you to make ahead, or have ingredients in your store cupboard so that you can pull together lovely grub quickly and easily – all the separate elements at your finger tips. It doesn't matter whether you're sober or not!

I always seem to begin with ideas for desserts – if you like the other end of a meal – hey, it's as good a place as any.

I've done a “Sticky Toffee Orange” in the past which has been very well received – check out the Oranges label 1/12/18 if you'd like to have a glance. Here's another direction, using oranges.

There's nothing that will serve you better than a home-made ice cream and all my recipes are of the “no-churn” variety. I use the standard vanilla ice-cream base recipe to begin :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff.

Next up … the syrup … to turn into an orange ripple!

Coleslaw … again!

I know I'm always going on about coleslaw, but, if like me you enjoy it all year round, the only downside is you don't always have the time to make up a raw slaw bag.

A raw slaw bag is very convenient – if you have the time to shred the veggies. I'm always on the look out for a product that makes life easier. In the past I've found bags of prepped raw slaw but it has not been pretty – badly shredded, woody and tough.

You'll be very pleased to know there's a new product on the block – a crunch coleslaw mix, washed and ready to eat from M&S Food 300g for £1 – great value. Spot on for pulling together lunches or sides for supper during a working week.

Here's a thought or actually a question. The last time you indulged in a curry did you have sides of raita, mango and onion salad? In other words cold sides. I very often have a side of coleslaw with a cheese, potato and onion pie – if I'm feeling really “Northern” I'd have mushy peas too.

Why not with other favourites. I've not eaten meat for forty odd years but I can still remember having a lunch of Lancashire Hot Pot served with a side of coleslaw – clearly memorable if I can remember that far back!

If it's not something you'd normally try, give it a go, you might be pleasantly surprised.

A tip x 3!

When I demonstrate in a class I always use a portable induction hob. I've had mine for years and it's brilliant. I've never used it outside of demonstrating in class - here's the thing.

My friend Morag text me saying that she was about to embark on a nightmare – the installation of a new kitchen – three weeks of purgatory. An aha moment – Morag sourced a similar version of the portable induction hob - it saved her bacon during the fitting of the new kitchen.

It then occurred that it could have another use - when you needed that little bit of extra cooking capacity when entertaining.

Which brings me to tip number 3 ... how useful would it be during the holidays when you need extra cooking space – the hob and the oven are never enough!

Here's what my portable induction hob looks like :

the added bonus is that it doesn't take up

too much room – stash it away when not in use!

Sadly I can't find the exact model in stock – it looks like it might be discontinued. You can spend as little as £49.99 upwards so the best advice I can give you is check out your favourite search engine.

You might also like to keep an eye on Aldi and Lidl - they have great offers and I've definitely seen portable induction hobs for sale but you know the drill – first come first served.

Happy Shopping!

Supper pudding – scrumptious crumble!

Here's the thing – do you ever get a layer of uncooked crumble topping between your fruit and the top?

Here's my answer. Grab two or three handfuls of the crumble topping and scatter on a baking tray. If you'd like specific measurements – 250g. Pre-heat your oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5. Set your timer for 10 minutes and turn the crumble and repeat. Set aside to cool, then box and you're ready!

the crumb on the tray – before and after

the crumb boxed

Cooking your crumble topping in this way and then adding to your fruit before cooking eliminates the uncooked layer. It also smells absolutely delicious!

Finally the crumble recipe given is huge – 750g. You've used 250g so you have a 500g stash ready for your freezer.

You'll never make a crumble topping the old way again.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and the best bit - making new friends!

After a hectic entertaining month it's time to sit back, relax a little and start thinking about December.