Banana & walnut loaf

Most of the time this is how cooking works for me - firstly I decide on what to make and then I go an buy the ingredients. However, for the past couple of days I had been eyeing the last three bananas that had been in the fruit bowl for a quite some time. And after having one banana with nearly every lunch this week I just could not bring myself to eating those. And there I was - with three bananas that I did not want to eat. Whenever possible I try to make sure that I waste as little (or if possible none) food as I can. So I headed to my cookbook shelf and saw Mary Berry's Baking Bible. As I was in a bit of a bake off mood I decided to flick through it - and there were two amazing banana loaf recipes. Exactly what I wanted! And when I read that one of them is very freezer friendly I was sold.

Most people probably think I'm slightly insane after what I'm going to tell you next. I'm not a massive fan of the way bananas taste like. I find the taste too dominating - whenever you make a smoothie or any other dish and add some banana, that is the only thing you can actually taste! So instead of sticking to the exact recipe I tweaked it a bit by changing some quantities and adding walnuts. 

I was really surprised at how quick and easy this cake was to make. I probably spent 10 minutes preparing it and waiting for the oven to heat up and that was about it. Very fuss free and only used one bowl, so for the people who are not very keen on having to do lots of washing up this recipe is absolutely perfect. And the result - oh my! The cake came out incredibly moist and I found the banana taste was actually quite subtle and the walnuts really added another dimension of flavours and that extra bit of crunchy texture. So after having already eaten my way through one third of the cake I found that it was perfect time to slice it all up, place in a freezer bag with a baking parchment between two slices and store it away for when I need a quick pick-me-up. This definitely makes for a perfect cure for the afternoon energy slump, speedy breakfast on the go or just something one would enjoy with a nice cup of tea. So, if you're like me and have a couple of bananas that you don't know what to do with, this recipe is definitely one to try out. 

Ingredients

- 100g softened butter

- 175g caster sugar

- 2 medium eggs

- 3 ripe bananas, mashed

- 225g self-raising flour

- 1 level tsp baking powder 

- 3 tbsp milk

- 100g walnut pieces

Directions

Firstly preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease a loaf tin and then line it with baking parchment to prevent the loaf from sticking to it. Then place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until everything is well blended. If using an electric mixer add the walnuts after mixing everything else together and mix the nuts in afterwards using a wooden spoon or spatula. Then pour the mixture into the loaf tin and level the surface.

Bake for around 1 hour until well risen and golden brown. Leave it to cool in the tin for the first couple of minutes and then place on a wire rack to allow it to completely cool off. Cut into nice thick slices and enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from Mary Berry's Baking Bible.

 

Blackberry jam

And so my jam making adventure continues. For the first time in my life I made blackberry jam and I have to say it came out absolutely divine. If I'd have to pick my absolute favourite jam it would be raspberry jam made by my great aunt. Sweet, quite runny and oh so good with absolutely everything - from porridge to pancakes. And as I could not get my hands on any raspberries over here I went for the next best alternative - blackberries. I don't think I'd ever seen a blackberry until I move to the UK. And until a couple of weekends ago I had never picked a single one! After spending a couple of hours on a common I was equipped with a good few kilos of blackberries. And when I got home I set out on a mission to turn my blackberries into all things sweet. I set few aside in a freezer bag, waiting to be made into a delicious crumble once the weather gets really cold and nights get really dark and I'm in desperate need of something comforting. And as for the rest it, I made it into a jam.

One big difference between jams over here and back in Estonia is that Estonian jams are runny, whereas the ones over here are thick enough for spreading on toast without having to worry about it dripping. A couple of phone calls later (as usual, when you need to ask something no-one really picks up their phone!) I had the recipe. Or I should say general directions. Because everyone does their jams a bit differently - and I guess that's one of the beauties of making your own jam. You can play around with the sugar and water to make it as sweet and runny as you want. There are no hard rules and limits - whatever you yourself fancy! And after an hour or so later I had a lovely collection of jars to add to my already quite varied jam collection. If I carry on this way I  will be stocked not for just one winter, but many winters to come! I've already polished off a jar by adding a generous spoonful or two to my morning porridge...



Ingredients:
- 2.2kg blackberries, rinsed
- 1.5kg sugar
- 225ml water


Directions:
Place the blackberries, sugar and water into a large saucepan and mix. Bring to boil and skim off the foam. When the berries have broken down and there is no more foam divide up between sterilised jars.

I have to say that this jam is quite on the sweet side so if you prefers yours slightly less sweet reduce the amount of sugar a bit.

Chilli apple jelly

I know it's been literally forever since I last posted anything here, but I've been so incredibly busy over the last months. For those of who don't know yet, I'm now officially a Mrs and anyone who has had any involvement with planning a wedding knows how much time and effort it all takes. And apart from being buys, cooking for one is not that much fun and I've kind of just resorted to making big batches of soup and having that over the week. Which, to be honest, isn't no were near to being a good blogging material.

But now the autumn is slowly creeping in and you can really feel the change in weather. And around this time I go into full blown preserve making mode - as long as I can get my hands on some berries or fruit all I want to do is stock up for the winter. Nevermind the fact that I still have some jams that I made back in 2011. But this year I've decided to try a couple of new things, especially as I still have plenty of the stuff that I've made in the previous years. So, my first project so to speak was chilli apple jelly. After spending a lovely afternoon with my mother in law she told me all about the gorgeous things she had made (and already eaten), and being a massive fan of cheese this jelly recipe really stood out. So equipped with my apples and chillies (which unfortunately I had to buy) I arrived home with a clear mission - I am going to make that jelly. I have to admit when I read the recipe it seemed like a quite long winded process, but as I made the first steps in the morning and let it drip whilst I was out and about and then finished it off in the evening it didn't feel bad at all.

Whenever I make any preserves I never manage to either fill all the jars or there's a tiny bit left over. And what I usually do in these circumstances is I put the leftovers in a glass ramekin or two and enjoy them over a couple of days. This is actually pretty great as I get to taste the real product without having to open up a massive jar and then having to polish that off. And let's face it, if I'm all by myself and want to maintain a relatively healthy diet, eating a lot of cheese with some crackers smothered in apple jelly is probably not the best way to do it. But it definitely would be a very delicious way of doing it!

So, a little bit about the jelly itself. The first thing that I absolutely love is the way it looks - transparent golden jelly with red chilli specks inside. It's quite magnificent. And the taste is just incredible - sweet with a nice kick to it. And to have it with some cheese, I had it with mature cheddar, is just divine - it really adds the final touch to the whole combination. So having finished off my tiny ramekin I can't wait to have an excuse to pop open a jar and have some more of this golden deliciousness.

Ingredients
(Makes about 1.5l of jelly)
- 2kg cooking apples
- cold water
- 1.5kg sugar
- 3 birds eye chillies, chopped

Directions
Roughly chop the apples and place into a large saucepan. There's no need to peel or core the apples, so it makes the whole preparation process a lot easier and faster. Then cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is all soft and squishy.

Then drain the fruit and liquid through a sterilised muslin - leave it for a good 3-4 hours at least.

Measure the clear juice and allow 450g sugar and 1 chopped chilli for every 500ml of juice. Pour the juice, sugar and chilli into a clean saucepan and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and skim off the foam from the surface. Bring back to boil and boil vigorously for 15-20 minutes until the setting point is reached (105C on the sugar thermometer).

Remove the pan from heat and pour the jelly into sterilised jars. Let them cool down and store them away. These will keep for 2 years, unopened.

Recipe adapted from BBC Food recipe "Chilli apple jelly"

Kale crisps

I know I'm a bit late with my kale chips - they have been around for quite some time. But they do say, better late than never! To be totally honest with you I'm not a huge fan of kale. So far I've tried to include it in juices and have tried to steam it a couple of times, but so far no luck - I'm still not convinced that I actually like it. I have never had kale crisps before so I had no idea what to expect and, frankly, I was half expecting that they would turn out not so good. But oh boy was I proven wrong - they came out absolutely divine!

I decided to try out two different flavours. I made one batch with sea salt and the other one with a wasabi sesame spice mix I have and they both came out really nice. I love the spicy kick the wasabi ones have, but out of those two I prefer the classic sea salted one. I really don't know whether that's because the crisps are bigger (I made that batch first) or is it really just because I love the taste. But either way both are really-really nice. It's lovely to have something to nibble on that is not too high in calories and too unhealthy. Only word of advice though - as they have quite a bit of salt don't overindulge.

The only downside I can think of is that as they're so thin and crispy you end up with kale crumbs everywhere. But then again, the same happens when you eat normal crisps so I really should't be complaining.

I will definitely make them again - I have already decided to try one out with chilli flakes, then one batch with Ras el-Hanout, cajun ones could be quite nice and I would love to know how they would taste plain, no salt or anything ... So by the looks of it, I'll be making kale crisps in every couple of days as I really want to try them all!

Ingredients
- 90 kale (after the stalks have been removed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- other spices/herbs/seasoning

Directions
Wash and dry the kale completely (I left it out for half a day to dry out properly). Preheat the oven to 130C fan. Place it in a big bowl and add the olive oil. Mix the olive oil in (I used my hands) to make sure that the kale is evenly coated. Cover the baking tray with baking paper and place half the kale on it, spreading it out and making sure that it is not piled up. Then season it with either salt or other spices and place it in the oven and cook for 20-23 minutes until nice and crispy. After it's cooked, take it out and leave to rest for 5 minutes, this ensures that they really crisp up. Place in a bowl and enjoy!