Grandmas Bun Loaf

This recipe was a firm family favourite when I was growing up. Every Sunday we would visit my Grandparents house and every Sunday my Grandma baked a fresh bun loaf. When we arrived it would be waiting in the middle of the kitchen table, still warm, already sliced, buttered and with freshly brewed pot of tea waiting to be poured.

You will need:
400g dried mixed fruit and peel
300ml freshly brewed black tea
250g self-raising flour
100g light brown sugar
100g dark brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs, beaten

Method:
1. Add the mixed fruit to a bowl, pour over the hot tea, cover and allow to soak overnight.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 170°c and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
3. Add the flour, sugar and mixed spice to a bowl and stir.
4. Form a well in the flour mixture, pour in the eggs and stir.
5. Add the mixed fruit, and any remaining liquid, to the flour and egg mixture and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
6. Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin and bake for about an hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Notes:
Serve it sliced and buttered alongside your favourite hot drink.

Dieting and the Rising Cost of Living

So this started life as me moaning about being poor and ended up going off on a slight tangent: When you’ve been dieting for months, and have basically been living off porridge oats, lettuce, cucumber and 20p tins of tuna, you finally reach your target weight/size and realise that the cost of living has increased by so much that you can no longer afford to replace the clothes that are now several sizes too big for you and, since your wages haven’t gone up at all, you can’t even afford a sustainable and healthy calorie intake that would allow you to maintain your current weight.

It’s strange how the extremely rich, and extremely well paid, people working at the top levels of government seem to think that the minimum wage is a ‘living’ wage. These people have never and will never experience life at the low end of the pay scale. I work full time, I work in a fast paced, mentally draining environment, I come home tired every single night, I’m actually paid above the national minimum wage and what I earn would barely be enough for a single person, living on their own, to survive on never mind actually have a decent quality of life on. I honestly don’t know how the minimum wage could ever be referred to as, or actually considered to be, a 'living’ wage.

Slow Realisation

Sitting in bed smoking, listening to music and slowly coming to the realisation that the only original things I've posted in months are my poorly written, somewhat derivative and overly simplistic recipes... damn I'm a boring old fart.

Simple Meatloaf

This is my take on another one of those classic American comfort foods, much like my simple salisbury steak recipe, that for whatever reason just isn't popular over here in the UK.

For the loaf you will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
400g minced beef
400g minced pork
100g fresh-ish breadcrumbs
1 egg
100ml milk
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Good sized pinch of salt and pepper

For the glaze you will need:
100ml ketchup
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp vinegar

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
3. Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for another couple of minutes, then set aside.
4. Whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, tomato puree, worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt and a generous amount of pepper.
5. Put the meat, breadcrumbs, onions and egg mix in a large bowl and combine thoroughly using either a fork or your hands.
6. Line a rimmed baking tray with foil, tip out the mixture into the centre of the tray and shape into a loaf.
7. Mix together the ketchup, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl and brush the glaze over the surface of the loaf.
8. Bake in the oven for an hour, brushing more glaze over the loaf every 15 minutes.

Notes:
Serve with a jacket potato or mash, and a side of steamed cabbage, for a fairly simple yet comforting meal.

Hearty Beef Stew

This recipe is probably a little more complicated than my usual fare, but it’s getting later in the year, the temperature is starting to drop and that calls for something hearty, flavoursome and deeply comforting. What’s more hearty, flavoursome and comforting than a big bowl and beef stew?

You will need:
1000g of braising steak, cut into good sized chunks
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tbsp of tomato puree
2 tsp dried thyme
500ml of ale
500ml of beef stock
200g baby potatoes, washed thoroughly and halved if necessary
200g chantenay carrots, washed thoroughly and halved if necessary
200g baby pearl onions, peeled
200g baby button mushrooms, brushed clean
3 tbsp of vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
Salt and black pepper to season

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
2. In a large ovenproof pan, with a lid, heat 1 tbsp of oil over a medium-high heat.
3. Season the beef generously, with salt and pepper, and add to the pan to brown. Do not overload the pan, cook the beef in batches if necessary.
4. Once browned remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan, using a small amount of the stock, and pour it over the beef.
5. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over a medium heat. Add the diced onion, diced carrot, celery and garlic to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, until the onions softens slightly.
6. Add in the tomato puree and thyme then cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes.
7. Add the beef, any juices from the beef, beer and stock to the pan. If the beef is not covered, add more stock.
8. Bring to the boil, reduce to a low heat and cook for 2 minutes. Cover with the lid and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.
9. Remove from the oven, add in the baby potatoes and chantenay carrots then return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
10. In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over a medium heat, add in the baby onions and mushrooms and fry until browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
11. Remove the stew from the oven and add the onions and mushrooms. Place on a low heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
12. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Notes:
Serve this with a big loaf of crusty bread or alongside a couple of suet dumplings.

Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a recipe that I've been using for years and it seems to produce fairly decent (i.e. 10 cookies usually last a day or two at most before they're all devoured) results every time. To be honest with you this recipe is a bit of a mystery to me, I've had it for years and it's hand written, in my hand writing, on an old piece of note paper, but I don't remember when I wrote it, where the recipe originally came from or why I've never transferred it to somewhere more permanent before.

You will need:
200g butter
200g brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g self raising flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
200g chocolate chunks

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C
2. In a fairly large bowl mix together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and airy.
3. Add in the egg and vanilla then beat the mixture until fully incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time, ensuring it's well mixed before adding more of the flour mixture.
6. Fold the chocolate chunks into the mixture, until there's a fairly even distribution of chocolate.
7. Line a baking tray with parchment, or a silicone baking mat, and using a tablespoon spoon out dollops of the mixture, a few inches apart to allow for spreading, on the tray.
8. Once the tray is full, bake for 10 - 12 minutes in the oven. After removing from the oven allow the cookies to completely on the tray.

Notes:
This makes a fairly dry cookie mix, and the cookies sometimes come out a little cakey, so they're ideal served alongside a hot chocolate or milky coffee. I used this relatively low calorie hot cocoa recipe to attempt to offset (or at least con myself into feeling less guilty) the cookies.

You will need:
250ml almond milk
a cinnamon stick
1 rounded tbsp pure cocoa powder
2 sweeteners

Method:
1. Pour most of the milk into a small saucepan, drop in the cinnamon stick and warm the milk slowly, over a low heat.
2. Pour the remaining milk into a good sized mug, add in the cocoa powder and mix until the cocoa forms a paste and is thoroughly incorporated.
3. Continue to heat the milk for about 10 minutes, but don't allow it boil, until the cinnamon flavours the milk.
4. Drop your sweeteners into the mug before pouring over the hot milk and stirring thoroughly.

Forever A Fatty

So diet wise this weekend has been a complete disaster, however, food wise it's been pretty awesome. Cinnamon hot cocoa with homemade cookies for supper followed, a few hours later, by a rye bread grilled cheese with red onion chutney and pickles for breakfast.