Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever - A Review

Pure Vanilla. More than just a recipe book, this celebrates the heritage and flavour of vanilla, with an interesting history of the vanilla bean from the Totonac Indians in Mexico who first discovered it to its use in the food and cosmetic industries today. It also includes a useful description of the different forms you can find vanilla in - pod, paste, extract - and 'tasting notes': I didn't know that there are different types of vanilla with different tastes and tones

I opened it up and read the introduction. I liked the style of the author, Shauna Sever, and having had a quick look at her blog, 'Piece of Cake' , I established that she was the sort of baker who would happily closet herself away with a cake and a spoon for company. In the blurb about the first actual recipe, she says "This...represents something I feel deeply about, that is to say, dessert disguised as breakfast". My kind of woman, I thought.

From breakfast (including a savoury recipe for bacon), we proceed through cake & pies and cookies & bars to candies & confections, custards & creams and finally drinks, including a vanilla mojito. I like vanilla and there are plenty of recipes that make me go "mmmm" from the title alone - Slow Cooked Vanilla Spiced Oatmeal, Cherry Vanilla Shortbread Cake Squares, Lemon Vanilla Dream bars, that mojito I mentioned - All good.

The book itself is very 'pretty' in a pale - I guess, 'vanilla' - type of way. Muted tones of cream, brown and blue. If you flick through it, there's not much that stands out to make you stick your finger in the pages and start to drool. so you do have to pay attention. There's also not as much photography as I'd like - you can go from page to tastefully designed pastel page with not so much as a doodle of a cake or a biscuit cookie. May be it's just me - but I do like to see what I'm aspiring to, but that's not the reason why I'm not leaping up and down with enthusiasm for this book.

No, not that. Here is the 'but' for me about this book: All the recipes are written in American measurements, and use the odd ingredient that doesn't fall easily into the shopping trolley in the UK. That's fair enough, the writer is American, but then the book doesn't have an easy conversion table for the measurements. Nor is there an explanation of the ingredients that might not be as familiar to the UK audience as they are in the US - such as corn syrup - and what a substitute might be. There is a conversion table in the back of the book, but it converts 'cups' and 'spoons' into a volume measurement. Call me picky, but I don't want to measure my butter in ml - I want it in grams, I'm afraid. I do have cups, but after a brief flirtation, I'm back to grams. And I have never been able to work out what a 'stick' of butter is. Even if the conversion table did the job I'd want it to do, flicking back and forward to the table is a little annoying in the first place. In Baked in America, probably my favourite American baking book so far, all the recipes have the ingredients in cups and grams, thus avoiding the need for flicking. It's a much more satisfactory way of approaching things. I'm sorry to say that this did put me off actually baking anything from the book at the weekend, when I had intended to.
 
If you can get over the recipe conversion issue - I'm sure I will at some point - and the lack of photos, it's a lovely book. There is a wealth of recipes to be explored, and fans of American baking won't be disappointed.  

If you're feeling like something a little less challenging to convert, rather than a whole cake or cookie recipe, the book has recipes to make vanilla extract and vanilla sugar, and I thought I'd share those here - they both have the potential to make good last minute Christmas presents for the foodie in your life (or, if that's you, then for your own purposes!)

Both these recipes and the photo are taken directly from the book, and I'm copying them with permission of the publisher.

Homemade Vanilla Sugar

Fill a lidded container with about 2 cups* of granulated sugar. Bury a vanilla bean** (or two, for more intense flavor), split lengthwise, in the sugar. Tighten the lid and shake the container like you’re competing in a dance contest at a dive bar. Store in a cool, dark place for 2 days and then open the container, take a deep whiff, and die a little from the glorious fragrance of homemade vanilla sugar, It’s that easy! You don’t even need a whole unscraped pod-use the empty scraped vanilla beans from recipes that call for just the caviar. Store the empty pods in the sugar; when your supply runs low, replenish by adding more fresh sugar on top.

Use vanilla sugar the same way you use the granulated stuff. It adds a bit more oomph to baked goods and is a delicious addition to coffee and tea. If you’re making vanilla-forward recipes like the ones in this book, vanilla sugar is yet another simple way to add that irresistibly ambrosial flavor.

To turn this recipe into a gift, pack the vanilla sugar in a decorative container-like a vintage Mason jar-topped with a scrap of fabric and festive ribbon. For an even fancier version, use raw turbinado*** sugar instead of granulated sugar.

Homemade Vanilla Extract
 
And it couldn’t be simpler. All you need is a clean jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid, whole vanilla beans, and a clear neutral-tasting liquor (vodka is my top choice). For an 8-ounce**** jar, 2 split beans should do, but you can add more if you like. Let the sealed jar sit in a cool, dark place for about 2 months before using. I also add scraped seedpods to the extract jar after I’ve used them in recipes, unless they land in my container of Vanilla Sugar first. As you use the extract, top off the jar with more of the same type of liquor for a nearly never-ending supply.

Aside from being a great way to save money on a pricey ingredient, making your own extract is an excellent opportunity to use some of the more exotic flavors of whole beans in liquid form, since store-bought extracts rarely come in such varieties. Magical! You can also combine several different varieties of vanilla in one batch of extract, creating your own special blends. Few things make a more fabulous edible gift than homemade vanilla extract in a vintage bottle decorated with a darling handmade tag. Martha’s got nuthin’ on you. 

 *OK don't say I never do anything for you - 2 cups of sugar is about up to the 500ml mark on a measuring jug. **A vanilla bean is what I would call a pod, and ***'turbinado' sugar appears to be very similar to demerara, but has hints of honey****An 8ounce jar is, I believe, 250ml. 
 
I was asked to provide a review and received a copy of Pure Vanilla for the purposes of carrying out the review. I was not required to provide a positive review. The views expressed are my own

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Clearing out the cupboards - or how pain and chaos lead to order and mince pies

The last time I cleared out the kitchen cupboards - really cleared them out, was the morning of the day Pink arrived - 6 1/2 yrs ago. I recall quite clearly the look of alarm on the Husband's face to see me sitting, beached whale-like on the floor, surrounded by the contents of the cupboard, furiously labelling jars. 

This, then, is the contents of the same shelves in the kitchen dresser this morning. 

The shelves which have the flour, the sugar, the pasta, the rice, the baking sundries (sundries? well, the baking powder, the vanilla, the cooking chocolate (if I haven't eaten it), the half used, dried up tubes of writing icing...), the dried fruit and the nuts. Ah yes. The nuts. It all started in my quest for ground almonds.

You see, I was going to make the mince pies today, as a distraction activity (more about that later) and having perused both Delia and Nigella for inspiration on the pastry front, I decided that I needed to add some ground almonds. Trouble was, I could only find an unopened packet, and I just KNEW there was a half used packet in there somewhere.

So back to that distraction activity. Yes, while I am most definitely not pregnant, I am trying to cope with some horrible pain in my jaw muscles which has been getting steadily worse since Sunday evening - that's a whole 6 days now. Not that I've experienced much labour, being a veteran of the general anaesthetic and emergency c-section approach to giving birth, but really, honestly, this is worse than I remember that being. I am rattling like a proverbial pill bottle - codeine, paracetamol. neurofen and a low dose of an anti-depressant which is supposed to help with the spasms - and while I've used it to take the opportunity for some lovely reflexology, spending half my time with my face in a hot water bottle is getting a little boring.

After the anti-depressant was added into the mix yesterday (one to be taken at bedtime) I did have an amazing night's sleep last night, with the consequence that I went for longer than I have been without other pain relief. This morning was pretty grim as a result, and the Husband disappeared off with the kids to do some jobs leaving me to my hot water bottle. As the pain eased, I set to, determined to take advantage of the peace and quiet and get on with the mince pies, but first I had to find the almonds.

I emptied everything out on to the floor, so the shelves looked like this. So empty and inviting.

I found 3 open packets of raisins. 2 of pine nuts. 3 of flaked almonds.Several bags of plain flour at various stages of emptiness. 2 bottles of vanilla extract.  I also found the open pack of ground almonds I knew was in there. And a second unopened bag. The shame.

Then it was all out so I had to get it back. reader, I rationalised. I ordered. Where once there were 3 opened bags of raisins, now there is one. Jars have been filled, and don't tell anyone, but I actually threw out a tub of glace cherries which contained 5 little fruit and was so passed the use by date that even I had to admit defeat.

And then I put it all back in the cupboard. Amazing.

And did you want to know about the mince pies? Well, may be tomorrow. Here's a sneak preview:

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Things to do with Cabbage & Gourmet Garden Herbs 2: Stir fried Savoy cabbage with chilli and ginger

I hadn't intended entering 2 cabbage dishes in the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off, but hot on the heels of Red Cabbage Winter Salad, I was looking for something to serve with a delicious oriental style steak dish we had this evening.A savoy cabbage in the fridge provided exactly what I needed.

Stir fried Savoy Cabbage with Chilli and Ginger

serves 2 as a side dish

1 tbsp vegetable oil1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp Gourmet Garden Chilli
1tsp Gourmet Garden Ginger
6-8 leaves of savoy cabbage, stripped from the stalks and finely shredded
splash of soy sauce
sprinkling of sesame seeds


Heat the oils in a frying pan or wok, Add in the chilli and ginger, quickly followed by the cabbage, and stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes, splashing in the soy sauce as you cook. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top and serve.

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Things to do with Cabbage & Gourmet Garden Herbs 1: Red Cabbage Winter Salad

A couple of last minute entries here in the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off competition - 2 recipes for cabbage (of all things!).

Red Cabbage Winter Salad

for the dressing:

1tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Gourmet Garden Garlic
pinch of caster sugar
salt & pepper

for the salad:

1/2 red cabbage, finely sliced/shredded
2 big carrots, coarsley grated
5 spring onions, halved and finely sliced lengthways
1tbsp lemon juice
 2 apples
75g cashew nuts

Make up the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl, or putting them all in a jam jar, securing the lid and shaking.

Make up the salad - in a large bowl, mix together the cabbage, carrots and spring onions. Slice the apples finely, and toss in the lemon juice before adding to the salad (this will stop them turning brown). Add any left over lemon juice to the dressing, mix the apples and cashews into the salad, then pour of the dressing and gently combine.

The other cabbage recipe - stir fried savoy cabbage with chilli and garlic - is here

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Leftovers Strike back - Roast Root Veg Fritatta with cauli & chorizo

You know those days when you stare into the wardrobe and think "I have nothing to wear?" - when quite clearly you have lots of things to wear, just nothing that seems right? It happens to me a lot. I usually end up getting all annoyed, and cobbling some outfit together that is totally wrong. Let's say that I am not renowned for my sense of style.

I had the same feeling looking in the fridge the other night. I wasn't short of things to actually cook, I just couldn't for the life of me decide what I should get out of the fridge and put together. I also had a dish of left over roast parsnip and celeriac (from the garden - but of course) looking reproachfully at me.

I started off getting excited about a chorizo/cauliflower combo. Roasting cauliflower is my new favourite thing. This wasn't helping with the leftovers, of course, but I needed to start somewhere,for goodness sake. "If I roast these together then may be..." I thought.

So I did - a small cauliflower and 120g of cooking chorizo, cut into small florets/sliced and into the oven at about 220 for 10 mins or so then turned down to 180 for another 15 minutes. It looked delicious, but then I couldn't work out what to do with it. May be I should have just served it as it was. I'd have eaten it, but I couldn't help thinking that the Husband might feel a little short-changed.

And the left overs kept catching my eye - but not necessarily in a good way.

I mentally discarded risotto, pasta and potatoes - but how to combine the leftovers and the cauli/chorizo in to meal that I actually wanted to eat, and that would do for the Husband's supper too.

Eventually, after scanning the shelves - although not actually looking in any of the cookery books - inspiration. Something that I remembered vaguely from Veg Everyday. 

I chopped up the left over roast veg quite small into a roasting dish, plus 4 spring onions that were lying limply at the bottom of the fridge, then added in the cauli/chorizo. 

Beat together 5 eggs with about half a tablespoon of finely chopped rosemary and poured it on top. I grated some cheese on top - because cheese is always good in these sorts of situations, and bingo - in the oven for 20 minutes of so: fritatta.

Not perhaps beautiful to look at, but damn tasty, all things considered! I am clearly better at fridge foraging than wardrobe foraging. 


Linking up with Simple and in Season hosted this month by Karen at Lavender & Lovage, and this month's Herbs on Saturday - also hosted by Karen - because this thrown together supper was definitely lifted with the lovely rosemary - one ot he only herbs surviving in the garden after the recent cold snap.

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Thai noodle soup with pork patties

Another speedy entry in the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off competition. You don't want to know about my day anyway - it started off with me smashing a jar of (beautiful, homemade) marmalade all over the kitchen floor then cutting my thumb on the glass, and has got worse. Putting Optrex drops into the (very reluctant) dog's eyes to try and avoid another vet bill has been a high point, I tell you.

So, without further ado, I bring you, hot on the heels of the Coriander & Chilli Eggs:

Thai Noodle Soup with Pork Patties

serves 4

450g minced pork
2 tsp Gourmet Garden Chopped Coriander
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Crushed Garlic
1 medium egg, beaten (you may not need all of it)
good grind of salt and pepper

2 strips of noodles
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 or 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
6 spring onion, halved then finely sliced lengthways
4 chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
3 tsp Gourmet Garden Crushed Thai Spices
500ml chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
salt & pepper




First make the patties.Put the pork, Coriander and Garlic into a bowl with a good grind of salt and pepper, and mix together with a fork, adding the egg to bind as necessary. Form into small meatballs/patties - you should get about 12. Put on a plate, cover and put in the fridge to firm up until you need them..

To make the soup, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, refresh in cold water and set aside. To stop them clumping together, you can stir through a tsp of sesame oil. 

When you're pretty much ready to eat, firstly, brown the pork patties in a non stick frying pan. I am lucky enough to own a pan that didn't need any oil for this - but if you need to use some oil, use as little as possible. Set aside the browned patties and keep warm.

In a large pan, heat the sunflower oil and 1 tsp sesame oil, and add the spring onions and peppers, stir for a minute or 2, then add in the mushrooms, stir, pour in the coconut milk, then the stock, using the stock to clean out the coconut milk tin, then stir through the Thai Spices, grind in some pepper, and bring to a simmer.

Add the patties, and cook, at a simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the pork is cooked. You can fish out one of the patties and slice it in half to check if necessary. They don't take long.

Divide the noodles between soup plates, and top with the spicy soup and the patties.

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River Cottage Christmas Bread Course

In April this year, I was 40.

The Husband took me to Venice, and we had a brilliant party (well, I thought it  was brilliant - it was just what I wanted). I honestly didn't want any presents, but I was very spoiled, and one of the fantastic presents I was lucky enough to be given was a voucher for a River Cottage course. Yes really. Very spoiled.

It will not have escaped the notice of anyone of you lovely people who read this relatively regularly that I am a bit of a fan of Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall and what he stands for. The whole River Cottage thing - even though it's much bigger than it ever was when it was just Hugh and his sports car fresh from London, towing some pigs back to the first River Cottage - I just love it. And while it's surrounded by glorious countryside and is a stone's throw from a wonderful coastline, I'm sure our uncanny ability to end up in the environs of Axminster more often than not when we take off in the camper van has more than a little to do with the presence of River Cottage, a.k.a Park Farm, nestling just outside the town.

Aidan and the fennel top & lemon focaccia

So, anyway a voucher. For a whole day. I won't bore you with the agonies of choice over which course to go for, but a number of factors conspired to find me, yesterday, sleeves rolled up, apron on, making Christmas breads in the company of 17 others, mostly women, a few men, and the brilliantly enthusiastic and passionate Aidan Chapman, proprietor of the Phoenix Bakery in Weymouth. All this after a relaxed cup of coffee and a gorgeous little taster of a salt beef hash bruschetta snackette - just the sort of thing you'd imagine you might get served up at one of the River Cottage parties so beloved of the series'.

The temporary cookery school - a new one is being built

Well, what can I say? It was the most brilliant day.  Despite the bitter cold, even the tractor ride down from the car park to the farm itself was exciting - that first view of the Devon longhouse that I have seen on TV so many times was quite thrilling, and I was almost beside myself to actually get a look inside the farmhouse. That kitchen - wow. The one in all the programmes. Am I sounding star-struck enough yet? 



Despite all this, really, honestly, the best bit was truly the baking. I would say that I am a reasonably competent bread baker, but I've lost a little of my enthusiasm recently - lots of factors conspiring against me. As a result of the day, I am totally fired up again, all my feelings about the value and frankly, the ease of baking amazing bread at home have all been reaffirmed. 

Throughout the day, almost working backwards, Aidan explained the principles of sourdough, used either directly as the raising agent in a loaf, or in a yeasted bread to add structure and depth of flavour. Over the course of the day we made: a cranberry and yoghurt sourdough loaf

 














a yeasted chestnut and walnut loaf

Before...

...and after

foccacia (flavoured respectively with: fennel tops and lemon, roasted elephant garlic, rosemary and sea salt, leeks and blue cheese)

communal foccacia dough making

 flat breads (which were served, again in true River cottage style with some amazing hummus, some utterly divine coriander lamb, some chicken liver parfait and some egg & garlic mayonnaise. I was too busy eating to take pictures. Just imagine typical HF-W party food. Slurp.)

pear, beer and cheddar soda bread

It's not ugly, OK, it's RUSTIC. And bloody lovely.

Italian Christmas Cookies

a cross between a meringue and a macaroon and utterly gorgeous

and pizza dough which we made our final meal of the day with - wood fired oven pizza - toppings including smoked pheasant, River Cottage cured ham, caramelised onions - are you drooling yet?). Once we'd had our own individually rolled and topped pizzas fired in the oven, it was indoors for warmth ( it was a wee bit chilly outside, despite the temperature of the oven) delicious salads, a Stinger beer, and a chocolate cake to die for (with clotted cream). All in time to stagger back up the hill - well, the tractor staggered up the hill) clutching our bags of bread. The car smelt divine on the way home - and the Husband finished the pizza as we drove back up the A303.
  

The whole day was incredibly relaxed, but we got through a huge amount. It helped that all the ingredients for each loaf came out of the kitchens in smart little bowls, pre-measured - no rummaging around in the depths of the cupboards for that ingredient that you're sure is in there somewhere, but Aidan's passion and enthusiasm for his subject and his openness to questions really inspired a huge amount of confidence in all of us, and as we ate our pizzas, we were all discussing what we would make for Christmas, spurred on by our day.



The best bit of the day for me: I have lost my fear of wet bread dough. I am a convert. No more will I panic and chuck extra flour into the bowl for an easy life. My bread scraper is on order, my starter is up and running again, and my bread is going to be FABULOUS. 

There's a pledge you can hold me to. Watch this space.

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