Here’s an easy spinach pie recipe that’s great hot or cold. I used a combination of perpetual spinach leaves and swiss chard (my all-time favourite vegetable). Just wash all the leaves thoroughly, put in a bowl, cover with film and microwave for thirty seconds or so until just wilted then they can be added to the pie.

Easy Spinach Pie

• Flaky pastry 
• Large bowl full of a mixture of spinach and swiss chard leaves (I chop up the chard stems as well -about 1 inch lengths- and include them)
• 1 finely sliced onion
• 100 gms (about) grated cheese (a fairly strong cheddar-type is good)
• several slices of tinned corned beef (optional)
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degreesC.

Prepare your pastry (I used a round of ready rolled and made a giant pasty shaped pie but you do what suits you.) Pile wilted leaves on one half of pastry base (use plenty as they will shrink during cooking) add sliced onions, grated cheese and finally, (if you use it) corned beef slices. Wet edges of pastry with water and fold over other half of pastry to form a pasty. Pinch edges together well to form a good seal. Make two small slits in the top for air to escape. Brush lightly with beaten egg or milk to glaze.

Place on oven tray and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Serve hot or cold with new potatoes, or a tomato and cucumber salad.

Enjoy!

Each recipe will make a 2lb (approx) cake and both will freeze.

Tea and Fruit Cake

• 400 gms dried mixed fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins – using some raisins gives a more moist cake)
• 1 mug hot black tea
• 200 gms soft brown sugar
• 400 gms self-raising flour
• 1 beaten egg

In a large bowl, soak the mixed fruit in the tea for several hours, or overnight. After soaking, there may be some tea remaining in the bowl. It will depend on the fruit used. Do not drain the fruit.

Next day, preheat the oven to 160 degreesC.

Add the brown sugar to the mixed fruit and tea and stir well. Add the flour, in two batches, mixing well after each addition. Lightly beat the egg and stir it into the cake mixture.

Pour the cake batter into a 2lb loaf tin, greased and lined with baking paper. (I sometimes use a 9 inch cake tin.) Bake in the centre of the oven for about 2 hours. (When I use a fan oven, I usually check after about an hour and a half.) A clean knife or skewer inserted into the cake and coming out clean will tell you when the cake is cooked.

Cool on a wire tray. Can be eaten the same day but will store in an airtight container for several days.

This cake will freeze well. Don’t forget to label and date it!

Banana and Sultana Cake

The original recipe uses 5 large bananas and 150gms sugar but I made it very successfully, last weekend, with only 3 bananas and the sugar reduced to 120gms. Very popular with H who’s not a huge fan of banana cake but loved this loaf.

• 5 large bananas
• 2 eggs
• 150 gms soft brown sugar
• 100 gms sultanas
• 200 gms self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degreesC.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add eggs and sugar and mix well. Add sultanas and stir in. Lastly, add in the flour making sure it is all absorbed .

Pour into a 2lb loaf tin, greased and lined with baking paper.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 and 1/4 hours. (I usually test after about an hour. See previous recipe.)

Store cake in an airtight container for 24 hours before serving (though H says this is a waste of time!).

This cake will also freeze (as recipe above.)  

Have been off line for a while, result of a damaged modem thanks to recent storms. Still catching up with things, so I’m going to direct you to a great post, from Lucy’s kitchen notebook, in which she lists many things you can make with strawberries. I didn’t have time to read the whole list but did see a couple of old favourites and one or two things I’d like to try.

Here’s a recipe for a Strawberry Pie, that is absolutely heavenly, and so quick to make.

Place a sweet shortcrust pie shell (bought or make your own and blind bake it) on a serving plate. In a large bowl, whip some double or whipping cream with a little icing sugar and a dash of a fruit flavoured liqueur, (though it’s fine without).

Hull and halve/quarter strawberries and, leaving a few halves aside for decoration, fold through the cream. Pile into the pastry case and smooth the surface. Place reserved strawberries, cut side down, on top of the cream mixture.

Optional glaze. In a small saucepan, heat a couple of tablespoons of apricot jam (avoid any pieces of fruit)with a little water. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and allow to cool but not reset. Carefully spoon over the top of the pie.

Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, until the glaze has set. Cut into slices, serve and wait for the compliments.

The combination of crisp shortcrust, soft cream and sweet strawberries is wonderful.

I haven’t made this in years and no longer have the actual recipe, (probably from the seventies, hence the lashings of cream) which is why I haven’t given exact amounts of ingredients. You could try it with fromage frais for a lighter option. 

I’ll be trying it again this summer. Hope you will, too. Love to know how it turns out. 

1-1 1/2 lbs (500 -750 gms) rhubarb 

2 tablespoons sugar

6 oz (170 gms) softened butter

6 oz (170 gms) sugar

2 large or 3 small eggs

6 oz (170 gms) self-raising flour (or 6 oz flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder mixed together)

milk

The carrots and parsnips are just showing but the peas, potatoes and runner beans are really taking off. We’re trying potatoes in huge bins this year as an experiment. I’ll let you know how they get on.

The cats are enjoying climbing the bean frame H has put up. He is not impressed.  

The strawberry plants are looking very healthy and exhibiting some flowers. H bought some red flowered ones, suitable for hanging baskets or containers, from the plant place near Ranes. I’ve never seen them before so it will be interesting to see what they are like.

I bought some French strawberries in the market in Bagnoles de l’Orne on Saturday morning, which were delicious. Red right through and so sweet! I wish I had asked what variety they were, but you think of these things afterwards, don’t you!

Did you know ‘Rhubarb, rhubarb, …’, is what actors used to mutter to each other on stage to suggest conversation to the audience? The rhubarb plants are going mad. We only have three plants but they’ve produced masses of fruit. Here’s a link to a recipe, posted earlier this year, for Rhubarb and Banana Jam. 

Enjoy! 

It’s been so warm, for the most part, here in the Orne for the last week or so, that we haven’t bothered lighting the kitchen range. I’ve had such a great time cooking on it this winter that I’m quite sad in a way. I’ve made some great casseroles, slow cooking them on the top of the range or in the oven. And it’s been wonderful for bread, too. And, apart from that, I don’t have to remember to turn off the electric elements after I’ve used them!

However, a couple of days ago, the temperature suddenly dipped around lunchtime and we did light it. Great, I thought, a good opportunity for a last winter-type casserole slow cooked in the range. I prepared it just after lunch and put it in the oven at about half past four. The casserole cooked slowly for several hours but before too long, the house was filled with the appetising aroma of chicken and herbs. I served it with plain boiled potatoes, skins left on because we prefer them that way, and green peas. The following day, as it was still cool, I reheated the casserole, added dumplings and served it with cabbage, lightly braised with butter and black pepper. Might be the last one for a while, so I’m glad the casserole came out so well.

I have to admit that I make up what goes in my casseroles as I go along. It usually depends on what I’ve bought at the market, or what’s in my vegetable basket. I have given measurements in the recipe but feel free to adjust them. Leeks and mushrooms are such great partners for chicken, that I’d stick with those as the main ingredients, but otherwise use whatever you like. You will need a 2 litre casserole .

Slow cooked Chicken with Leeks and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 4 whole chicken legs (skin left on – I didn’t brown them this time but I often do. Up to you.)
• 4 leeks (2 for initial cooking – 2 to add later)
• about half a punnet of mushrooms (button ones because that was what I happened to have, field mushrooms would be great)
• 2 shallots
• bay leaf
• 2-3 sprigs thyme (I used lemon thyme for this and it was lovely)
• 1-2 cloves garlic (chopped finely, or crushed)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• vegetable stock (enough to just cover the chicken)

Wash and cut leeks into half inch slices, remembering to keep them in two batches. Peel and slice shallots. 

Put the shallots, one batch of leeks, bay leaf, thyme sprigs and garlic in the bottom of the casserole dish. Carefully place the chicken legs on top, only overlapping where you need. Season with salt and pepper. Cover all with vegetable stock, until the legs are just covered. Cover with lid and put the casserole on the floor of your range cooker, (or the centre of your oven at about 160 degrees C) and keep the temperature around 160 degrees C. After about two hours cooking time, the meat should be lovely and tender. 

Move the casserole to the stove top, remove bay leaf and thyme stalks and add the second batch of leeks and the mushrooms, whole, or chopped into two or three pieces, depending on size and cook a further 15-20 minutes. If you need to thicken the casserole, mix a small amount of cornflour with cold water and stir it into the casserole. Cook a further 2-3 minutes.

(I overdid the cooking time and by the time I got back to it, the casserole had been cooking for about three and a half hours. Hadn’t done it any harm, taste-wise, but the meat just fell off the bone.  I removed the bones carefully with a slotted spoon, and the skin as well, and then carried on with the preparation as above.. Obviously, if you want to serve the legs, looking like legs, don’t get busy with something else, and check the casserole after about an hour and a half.)

Enjoy!

Today, some 3000 varieties exist worldwide, although most people would recognise only a few of the most well-known. For many years, potatoes formed the staple diet of the poor all over Europe and North America: they were easy to grow, cropped heavily and were cheap to buy. However, today the potato is honoured by chefs and new recipes are being created all the time.

Potatoes taste good but also provide many essential nutrients. 100 gms of potato provide about half the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. They contain high levels of potassium and iron as well as magnesium. They are low in fat and contain no cholesterol. They are also a good source of fibre, especially when eaten with the skins. Even people who are following a ‘diet’ can eat potatoes by choosing the cooking method and accompaniments. 100 gms of potatoes alone have only 85 kcals when baked or boiled.

Mashed potatoes are the ultimate in comfort food. Cook in barely salted water until soft, then mash with a knob of butter and some milk. Mmmmm. Grated cheese and finely chopped onion or chives also add to the taste. Watching the fats? Try adding a few drops of good olive oil instead.

Perfect roasted potatoes can be achieved by partly boiling peeled and cut potatoes for about ten minutes. (This doesn’t work if you like them roasted in their skins.) Drain them and give the saucepan a good shake – keep the lid on tightly. This breaks up the surface of the potato so that, when it is roasted in a hot oven, the rough edges become crisp. Delicious!

For much of the last year, it has been a very ordinary shed, sitting at the end of the kitchen garden. At times, because the roof leaked and there was no window in place, it was covered with a tarpaulin to keep out the rain. Then, when that didn’t work very well, with a board nailed over the empty space where the window should be.

But no longer is it an ordinary shed. Now, it has a lean-to built on one side for the mower, the woodchipper, and other such garden essentials. H has plans for putting trellis on the outside and is considering moving my beloved blueberry bushes down beside the shed,  ’where the ground will be more suitable for them’.

But, the biggest change is that it now boasts a lovely new front with a window in the centre. And not just any window. Oh, no. This is a double-glazed window. Yes, you read that right. A double-glazed window! How many other sheds have double-glazing, I wonder?

And why? Because somebody made a mistake when ordering the windows for the extension, didn’t he? And, didn’t realise until it was far too late to take it back.

Or was it all a plot to give himself some extra comfort in his shed, while he drinks his tea and snacks on blueberry muffins!

Blueberry Muffins (these are H’s favourite )

• 50 gms (2 ozs) butter
• 50 gms (2 ozs) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225 gms (8 ozs) self-raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• milk (approxomately 5 tablespoons)
• 225 gms (8 ozs) blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Set your oven to 220 degrees C. Either sit large muffin paper cases in muffin tin or grease individual cups in tin. Makes 12.

Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat into creamed mixture. Add dry ingredients and mix well but gently, adding enough milk to give a soft dropping consistency. Finally, stir in the blueberries. (If you are using frozen ones, you don’t need to thaw them first.)

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases or cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cool on  a wire rack, though they are lovely eaten warm.

I use fast acting yeast, which comes in powdered form and needs only one kneading and proving session. I have a very simple recipe which I make up sometimes using white and at other times using a multi-cereal flour. The amount of dough makes one loaf. I usually use a 2lb loaf tin which I have had for years, though occasionally, I take balls of dough (about 7-9) and place them in a round tin for rolls (one roll in the middle and the rest round it).

The bread has a lovely texture and slices beautifully. It also keeps well, too.

 Basic Bread Recipe

• 500 gms strong flour, white or multi cereal  (Pain or Pain multi-céréales)
• 2 sachets quick acting yeast (Levure du Boulanger Super Active)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 300 gms tepid water (275 gms if using multi-cereal flour ) and yes, I do weigh it!

Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir lightly together, leaving a slight well in the centre. Add the water. Mix well with a large spoon, until the flour has been just about incorporated. Don’t be tempted to add any more water, it will work.

Tip dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Work any remaining flour into the dough with your fingers, then knead for 5-10 minutes until it feels smooth and elastic. Mould roughly into the shape of the tin.

Place in the greased tin and cover with oiled film. Put in a warm place for about 2 hours to rise.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Put dough in oven to cook for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Bread is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped on the base.  

Tip out onto a cake rack and leave to cool for at least half an hour.

I sometimes wonder how much of the joy of Easter (in a culinary sense) is lost by the fact that Hot Cross Buns are available for much of the year in English supermarkets. It used to be that they were on the shelves for only a few weeks prior to Easter but these days they seem to be always there. When we moved to France, we couldn’t buy them; the French don’t make them. Although, if my neighbours are anything to go by, they do enjoy them.

This is a recipe I tried for the first time last year, adapting for French ingredients. It was a big hit with H who could take or leave them in the UK (yes, I was guilty of buying them). I think it might have been that they were less spicy, had more fruit in them and no peel, but I’m just guessing.

Hot Cross Buns

• 500 gms (1lb) white bread flour 
• 75 gms (3oz) butter
• 75 gms (3oz) caster sugar
• 2 x 4.6 gm sachets ‘super active’ dried yeast (quick acting)
• 200-300 gms (8-10 ozs) dried fruit (I used raisins, sultanas and currants in quantities that I mixed myself.)
• 1 level teaspoon mixed spice (You could a little more if you like your buns spicier.)
• 1/2 level teaspoon salt
• 275 ml (9 fl oz) milk (just warm) 
• 1 small egg

For Crosses and Glaze

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:

Place flour and butter into a large bowl, rubbing together until mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Add sugar, yeast, fruit, spice and salt and stir in. Beat milk and egg together gently and add to the flour mixture. Don’t add it all at once – use just enough to produce a soft dough that can be handled.

Lightly flour your work surface and tip the dough out on to it. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic ( about ten minutes). 

This amount of dough will make about 12 buns. Cut off equal sized pieces and roll lightly into ball shapes. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet, cover with oiled cling film and leave to double in size in a warm place. 

Turn on your oven to 220 degrees C.

Make the crosses by adding about 3-4 tablespoons of water to the flour. Mix to a smooth paste, the consistency of very thick cream. Either use a disposable piping bag, or make your own from a clean plastic bag, snipping the corner off after you have filled the bag. Make cross shapes on the buns.

At this stage, the buns are ready to be cooked. They will take about 15-20 minutes to rise, turn golden and sound hollow when tapped on the base.

While the buns are cooking, make the glaze, by adding 3 tablespoons of water to the sugar in a small saucepan. Stir gently over medium heat until sugar has melted. To get a syrupy mixture, boil the sugar water for a few minutes, watching it all the time. Take off the heat.

 When the buns are cooked, take out of the oven and set them on a cooling rack. Brush over the hot syrup immediately to glaze.

Hot Cross Buns can be served warm or cold, spread with butter. I like them split in half and toasted the next day. Delicious!

P.S. If you have any left, these will freeze for a few weeks, in a sealed plastic bag or container.

Personally, I like mine fresh, at Easter. Part of the seasonal thing, I suppose. Anyway, enjoy!