Yu shiang cie tze aka spicy sichuan aubergine

Spicy subergine with pot sticker dumplings

 Work, work, work; all about the work. I'm a busy bee and when I get home from I am completely ravenous. So hungry I could eat a horse puts it mildly.  For mid week meals this makes me very happy. It is really quick and whilst I am loathed to use clichés is it packed full off flavour. Creamy aubergine, heat, salty notes and freshness.

I first had this dish at a restaurant called 'Chop Chop'. It is a great little place; always busy with a 100% focus on the food to the neglect of everything else eg the decor. These aubergines were amazing, the highlight to a feast consisting of about 15 dishes. I've tinkered with the different ingredients and I think this recipe is ready to get aired. We normally have it with a little rice or with some pot sticker dumplings. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it...

Almost there...

Sichuan Aubergine - serves 2-4

vegetable oil for shallow frying

2 firm aubergines cut into long batons

a packet of spring onions, halved then cut lengthwise

1 red chili, finely chopped, seeds and all if you like it hot, hot, hot

2-3cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2-3 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2dsp light soya sauce

2dsp shaohsing rice wine

1dsp light brown sugar

small handful of chopped coriander

Heat a wok on a high heat with plenty of oil and add the aubergines.

They will absorb lots of oil so you may need to add more oil. Oh the guilt!

After about 8-10 minutes they should have gone soft all the way through and brown and crispy around the edges.

Turn down the heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger, chili and spring onions.

Cook for a 3-5 more minutes, until the spring onions have softened.

Mix the soya, shaohsing and sugar together and add to the wok.

Just before serving throw in the coriander and let it cook though for 30 seconds or so to reduce the harshness.

Add more soya as required to taste.

Enjoy.

Homemade lemonade

                                                                                                                                                                           Homemade lemonade

A few weeks ago when Z was over for diner we started reminiscing about the old flat we shared in Stockbridge. It was a lovely old place, once grand now just a bit shabby, no chic. We used to dance in the kitchen on a Friday nights and went through lots of cups of teas watching "Come dine with me" on lazy Sunday afternoons.

One summer a few of the posh kids up the street set up a lemonade stall. It was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen and just about the best 20p I have ever spent. It was something of a time gone by, before all the bad stuff you seem to read about in the newspapers every day. It was totally charming made even more charming by the fact one of them was playing his violin next to the stall, practicing his Bach. 

Having been reminded of the lemonade stall and with it being a sunny bank holiday, today seemed to be the perfect time to make my own.

I've done the recipe by ratios as I think this may be easier for people. I will always have lemons but not always 6 of them for example. Increase the proportions as you require. For example, if you have 3 lemons, times the rest of the ingredients by 3.

To make pink lemonade just mash up a few raspberries and throw these in at the beginning.

Homemade lemonade - 1 quantity, serves 2

1 large lemon or approx 100ml of fresh lemon juice

2 heaped desert spoons of granulated sugar
100ml hot water

200ml soda water

ice cubes and mint to serve

Pare the zest from the lemon in big strips.

Then strip the pith off the back of the zest to reduce the bitterness.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a pyrex jug, add the sugar and zest.

Add the hot water.

Have a taste, you may need more sugar.

Leave to cool, or overnight if you are awfully well prepared.

When you are ready to drink it, add 200ml of soda water.

Serve with ice, lemon zest strips and mint sprigs.

I'll be making a second batch for my royal wedding party this coming weekend. Can't wait. I'm off to order some bunting.

Enjoy.

Vanilla fairycakes with all the trimmings

                                                                                                                                                                                   Vanilla fairycakes

Right, my name is up on the baking rota at work and the pressure is on. I’ve just started in a new area and expectations are high! Oh the pressure.

A few years ago I was due to bake for work but had been out gallivanting and didn’t get back till later. I started baking at about half 11 and in my wisdom went to bed with an alarm set for 35 minutes when my cake was due out the oven. That would have been brilliant apart from one thing... I slept through the alarm only to wake up at 5am with the fire alarm. My ring of cake was now a ring of coal. Yes, I had managed to make coal in a domestic oven.  This was my least successful cake of all time.

At my work baking is used as a serious morale booster, we have few perks but cake day is one of them. Chocolate is a definite crowd pleaser but for me nothing could cheer me up on a Monday morning more than a vanilla fairycake except maybe a vanilla fairycake with glitter and sprinkles. Here they come . . .

This recipe is adapted from the wonderful Hummingbird bakery. I’ve changed the order of the mix as I don’t have a freestanding electric mixer and I don’t feel it works as well with a handheld whisk as suggested. I have also halved the butter icing quantities. The quantities given in the book give a ratio of cake to icing as 1:10 (I’m exaggerating here but bare with me) and personally I find it too sweet. Sometimes I need to be sweetened up but not that much.

Confession time here; I actually really hate making buttericing. This is mainly due to the fact I hate tidying up my kitchen after all the mess of making buttericing. The sugar gets all dusted up and seems to get everywhere. Seriously, everywhere! If anyone out there has found a better way to do this please let me know.

Vanilla cupcakes - makes 11 flat ones (like these) or 9 "proper ones"

You will need a 12 hole cupcake tray lined with paper cases

Oven should be pre heated to 170 degree

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 1/2tsp baking powder

40g unsalted butter at room temperature

120g milk

1 egg

¼tsp vanilla extract

butter icing

125g sifted icing sugar

40 unsalted butter at room temperature

15ml milk

few drops of vanilla extract

few drops of food colouring

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, this will take a few minutes.

Slowly add the beaten egg, mixing throughout.

Shift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.

Slowly add the milk and vanilla and mix up till just incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into the cases.

I find it easiest to use an ice cream scoop for this.

Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

They are ready when they are a light golden colour and the sponge in springy when poked.

A cocktail stick should come out clean.

Leave to cool on a wire rack

To make the buttercream icing

Add the butter and icing sugar together using a hand held electric whisk on a medium speed.

Once mixed slowly add in the milk a couple of tablespoons at a time using a low speed.

Once all the milk has been added, turn the speed up to high and beat for a good 5-10 mins.

The longer you beat it the nicer (and lighter) your icing will be.

Add the vanilla, colouring of your choice, sprinkles and glitter.

Enjoy.