Plum in your mouth

A kindly neighbour had left a basketful of Victoria plums, plastic bags and a sign saying help yourself. It would've been rude not to. Whilst most were de-stoned and frozen, I saved a few for the fruit bowl. Great move as I came across a cake recipe needing just five of the purple beauties.

Plum and Amaretti Bake

4-5 Plums

125g SR flour

75g Ground Almonds

1tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

200g Caster Sugar

200g Soft Butter

Zest of Orange

7 Amaretti Biscuits 

- Halve, de-stone and slice the plums & put to one side

- Mix all the ingredients together except plums & biscuits until soft & fluffy 

- Pour mixture into tin 30x25cm & level

- Scatter crumbled amaretti biscuits over the top and a layer of sliced plums

- Bake for 30mins Gas Mark 4/180 degrees/160 fan

- Cool, slice and dust with icing sugar

This is delicious partnered with a cup of tea but also makes a lovely pudding served warm with cream or ice cream.

Go figure

It's the first day of Autumn in the UK and already we've been enjoying the fruits of the season. Juicy blackberries plopped amongst crisp slices of apple and baked in pies and crumbles. Succulent plums de-stoned and used in jams, chutneys and tarts. One of my favourites, and a versatile gem, is the fig. 

Coming from Turkey at this time of year, the matt dark purple skin gives way to raspberry pink seeded flesh. It's sweet jamminess, although delicious on its own, pairs well with sweet or savoury. It makes best friends with salty cheeses, bitter walnuts and sweet honey. It can be eaten straight from the skin or gently cooked.

My favourite way of eating them is to toast nuts (pistachio/almonds) in a pan. Remove and clean the pan. Squeeze honey into the pan and gently cook the figs cut side down for a few minutes until caramelised. Plate up, sprinkling the toasted nuts over the top and serve with ice cream or Greek yogurt topped with another drizzle of honey.

Whilst Adam tempted Eve with an apple, they must have had an abundance of figs judging by the clothes they wore!

Cheer-up Churros

Whilst not entirely a damp squib, my girly weekend in Malaga was certainly showery with the odd clap of thunder. Wet enough to cancel the procession of La Virgen de la Victoria and stormy enough to prevent sunbathing on the beach, the light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of Sunday churros with chocolate dipping sauce. OMG - YUM!

Churros are deep fried dough traditionally from Spain and Portugal. The dough is piped through a nozzle, either long, straight and thick, or thin ones looped or knotted. Once out of the oil they are usually rolled in sugar (sometimes with cinnamon) or dipped in chocolate sauce. 

We visited Cafeteria Casa Aranda in Malaga for our delicious churros but they can often be bought as street food and eaten as a decadent breakfast or a sweet afternoon treat.

When in Spain ... It would be rude not to.

Smooth Operator

A great way to get your five-a-day is to glug them down in the shape of a smoothie. First drunk in the USA in the 1930s with the invention of the blender, it gained further success in the 1960s with the hippy movement and more people turning vegetarian and vegan. The smoothie has seen a recent increase in popularity with healthy eating (and drinking) being in vogue once again.

The best way to make them is to start with your liquid base of milk (including dairy free alternatives), fruit juice or yogurt. Once inside the blender you can add your fruits/vegetables of choice and blend until you have the desired consistency. At this point have a taste and add any flavourings that may be required. You can stop there or include a bit of texture and some protein if you're on the go and this is a meal replacement.

                            Liquid (milk, inc dairy free alternatives, fruit juice or yogurt)

                                                                     +

                                          Fruit (from frozen works especially well)

                               And/Or vegetables (kale, spinach,avocado, beetroot)

                                                                     +

          Flavourings (cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, vanilla essence, honey, maple syrup)

                                                                     +

                               Texture (oats, chia seeds, flaxseeds, chopped nuts)

                                                                     +

                                         Protein (nut butter, tofu, protein powder)

                 You are master of all you command so make like a chef and get creative.

I enjoyed a simple smoothie the other day based on fridge left-overs. An over-ripe banana, some wilting raspberries, strawberries and blueberries and a squeeze of honey were added to soya milk. Pink and tasty.

One of my favourites was on the White Island and named the Ibiza Delight. It consisted of strawberry, banana, almonds, granola, honey, goji berries and almond milk. It slid down a treat after my sunbathing and swimming session.

Homecoming Queen

My daughter has arrived home after ten weeks in the USA working for Camp America and travelling. I reckoned she'd be sick of bagels, pretzels, twinkies and s'mores so decided to give her a good old British family feast.

What could be more British than a roast dinner? Vegetarian nut loaf, roast potatoes, carrots, brocolli, peas and onions followed by sticky toffee pudding!

She's had a fabulous time and made friends with people from all around the world. As one Australian vegetarian friend used to say, "Veggo ... Yummo!" Couldn't agree more.

Go shorty

It's been my birthday weekend and I've been lucky enough to meet up with family and friends to share my celebrations.

Some of our Birthday traditions are thought to originate when the Greeks would make round cakes in honour of Artemis, the goddess of the moon. The candles represented the glow of the moon and the smoke from the candles carried prayers and wishes to the Gods above. We blow out candles and make a wish on our birthdays although actual birthday cake probably originated in Germany with the idea of adding candles according to one's age.

I have friends who prefer to forget their birthday and hate the fact they're getting older. In fact birthdays should definitely be celebrated whether you're one, one hundred or anywhere in between. It's a sign of living life and that's a celebration in itself.

Whatever the story behind the birthday cake tradition, I'm up for having people sing to me whilst the glow of the candles illuminate my face, enjoy making a wish for something and eventually sharing and eating a little slice of heaven. It's a win-win.  

Music and the food of love

Apologies for the late post but last night was a late one. Arriving home at 1am from the 1980s Rewind Festival in Cheshire there was no time to sit and type out a blog.

The sights and sounds of the festival provided a great throwback to the eighties. Fortunately, festival/street food has come a long way in the last few decades and there were several vegan, vegetarian and gluten free offerings.

I opted for a barbecued jackfruit wrap from Herbivorous on the first day and veggie chilli nachos from the stand next door on the second. The food was prepared with love and care and nicely presented. Both dishes were delicious.

Thankfully there was no Meatloaf but UB40's Red Red Wine would've been good.