Courgette and Red Onion Tart

With fathers day lunch with the inlaws looming and a toddler under my feet, I needed something that could be thrown together quickly and easily but that would come out of the oven looking and tasting great. Hubby stumbled upon this recipe in the Tesco Real Food magazine and with a courgette languishing in the fridge left over from a moussaka earlier that week, it was perfect. I served it with with lemon-herb roasted new potatoes and some chargrilled asparagus - and with a chilled glass of white wine it made for a special, albeit relaxed lunch. S enjoyed it too, cut into grabbable slices with a few of the potatoes and some spears of well cooked asparagus.

Ingredients

• 1 x 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 1 large egg, beaten
• knob of butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 courgettes, sliced
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 50g (2oz) pine nuts
• 150ml (5fl oz) creme fraiche
• 50g (2½oz) Parmesan

Method

1 Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Unroll the pastry on to an oiled baking sheet and score a 3cm (1½in) wide border. Prick inside the border with a fork and brush the pastry with a little of the egg. Bake for 12 minutes, until risen and lightly golden.
2 Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the courgettes, onion and garlic. Fry over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, then stir in the pine nuts.

Gently press down the middle of the pastry, to allow room for the filling. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Mix together the crème fraîche with half the Parmesan and the remaining beaten egg. Spread the mixture inside the border and top with the fried vegetables and remaining Parmesan. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.

Almond Bizcocho

After the lovely weather of a few weeks ago vanished into what looks like being yet another washed out English summer, I found myself dreaming of days spent in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, bones warmed by the Mediterranean sun, delicious food at my beck and call, so this recipe positively leapt off the page of my rain-spattered Metro newspaper on a grey commute into Manchester. I made the cake at the weekend, deciding to forgo the caramel oranges so that we could eat it sliced from the cake tin when the sun yet again failed to make an appearance.

The ground almonds add an almost fudge-like texture to the cake and the scent of the orange zest brings back memories of ad-hoc picnics beneath orange trees in the cloister gardens of the Monasterio de San Clemente in Seville. ¡Muy Delicioso!

Almond Bizcocho with Caramel Oranges

 

 

Ingredients (Serves 8)

200ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing

175g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

100g ground almonds

175g caster sugar

3 large, free-range eggs, lightly beaten

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

100ml freshly squeezed orange juice  

For the caramel oranges: 

8 blood oranges or small, juicy oranges

200g caster sugar

6tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, strained

Method

Step 1: For the caramel oranges, cut a slice off the top and bottom of each orange, then slice away all the skin, ensuring the white pith is completely removed. Cut each orange across the segments into slices, reserving all the juices. Put the sugar into a large pan with 120ml cold water. Leave over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then boil rapidly until the syrup has turned into a brick-red caramel. Remove from the heat and plunge the base of the pan into cold water to stop it cooking any further. Stand back (as it will splutter) and add the orange juice. The caramel will form a lump in the bottom of the pan. Return to a low heat and stir until it dissolves again. Leave to cool very slightly then, while it is still liquid, pour over the sliced oranges and chill for at least 1 hour.

Step 2: For the almond bizcocho, preheat the oven to 170°C /gas mark 3. Grease a 1kg loaf tin with olive oil and line with greaseproof paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in ground almonds and caster sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten eggs, olive oil, orange zest and juice. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet to make a smooth batter. Pour  the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 1 hour, covering the surface loosely with a sheet of paper after about 50min, once it is a rich golden brown. A skewer, pushed into the centre of the cake, should come away clean.

Step 3: Remove the cake from the tin and peel back the lining paper. Leave to cool on a wire rack. To serve, cut into 16 slices. Place a slice on to each plate and spoon some of the caramel oranges partly over the slice. Top with another slice and drizzle over a little caramel syrup.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/900948-jose-pizarros-spanish-flavours-profiles-the-riches-of-the-nation#ixzz1xTgtjnSD

Fridays with S

Recently (probably because S has decided to start sleeping properly so I can actually function outside of his waking hours) I have been feeling inspired to cook, bake and generally produce delicious food again. Needing somewhere to share the recipes I've been finding, I decided to resurrect my Baby Scrumptious blog; however I then realised I didn't really have the energy to maintain two blogs - so I have decided to merge it with Fridays with S. From now on my tales of Fridays spent with the boy will appear here alongside declious recipes and anything else I want to share with my friends.

So, to kickstart the blog again, here is a recipe for Salted Caramel Brownies from The Guardian magazine. Make them, they're amazing. One tip - the recipe for the salted caramel makes about three times as much as you actually need so it's an idea to have some other recipes on hand to use it up - perhaps these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, or maybe just drizzle it warm over some good quality vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Salted Caramel Brownies

For the salted caramel
90g golden caster sugar
60ml double cream
¼ tsp sea salt flakes
60g unsalted butter, cubed

For the brownies
200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
250g unsalted butter
4 large eggs
175g caster sugar
150g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt flakes
20g cocoa powder

Start with the caramel: tip the sugar into a heavy-based pan and add two tablespoons of water. Heat gently, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then turn the heat to medium-high and let the syrup come to the boil undisturbed. Simmer briskly, swirling the pan occasionally but never stirring, until the caramel turns a rich amber. Remove from the heat, stir in the cream and salt, then the butter, and set aside to cool.

Now for the brownies. Line a 23cm x 32cm brownie tin with nonstick baking parchment. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Melt the chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water (or in the microwave), and set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs, sugars and vanilla in an electric mixer (or with a whisk) until increased in volume. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa, pour in the melted chocolate and butter, and beat briefly to combine. Scrape half the mixture into the tin and dot teaspoonfuls of salted caramel over the surface. Cover with the remaining brownie mix and top with more teaspoonfuls of caramel. Slide into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until almost firm in the middle. When cool, turn out and cut into 18 bars.

All Apologies

 'Tyred' at Eureka!

 I have been very lax in updating this blog for the past few weeks for a myriad of reasons - mainly though, I'd started to feel like I'd done everything there was to do on a Friday with S so felt very uninspired to write.

However, I've noticed a change in him over the past week or so; he seems to have suddenly, overnight, become a little boy - no longer a baby. So I'm feeling inspired again and ready to start exploring the world again.

A quick update then. Since I last posted we have attended two Friday birthday parties (both very different in scale and location, both very fun), visited MOSI again a few times for Experitots, been on holiday to a rainy Scarborough and visited Eureka! in Halifax with his Grandparents. All in all we've had a lovely time together.

Tomorrow brings something new for S - a visit to The Bridgewater Hall to see The Casablanca Steps performing a free lunchtime concert. The Casablanca Steps are a 4 piece band who perform music from and influenced by the 1920's and 30's - I'm hoping S will pick up a few Charleston steps!

What Shall We Do Today?

Last Friday, S and I had no plans at all so we decided to just head into Manchester and see what happened. The first thing to happen was that S was sick all down himself on the train, ruining his coat, all his clothes, his footmuff and the straps of his buggy. Following a quick change and a wipe down, he was back into his buggy, happy as Larry. A side note, if you're on a train and see a mum on her own trying to clean up a squirmy toddler, don't just move to the other end of the carriage, try offering some help...

Anyway. Once we arrived in Manchester, after a quick visit to Primark for a spare set of clothes to replace the spare set S was now wearing, we went to Manchester Art Gallery for a play in the Clore Interactive Gallery. We borrowed a sensory bag from the information desk which contained lots of different textured items for S to explore. True to form, he picked up a rubber ball and wandered around the gallery holding it.

After we'd been to the Gallery we headed to the Virgin Money Lounge so that S could have a sleep and I could have a coffee in peace. The staff there are very welcoming and are happy for the two of us to just come along and use their facilities - and the great thing is, everything is free if you are a Virgin Money customer!

Refreshed, the two of us went to MOSI for a run around the Experiment gallery where S played in the soft play area and had a good look around at all the flashing lights.

On the way home, he was sick again... poor S :(

Mini Art Club

On Friday S and I tried the Mini Art Club at Manchester Art Gallery. From their website:

We...head up to galleries to explore and look for things related to the topic of the session - this could be autumn leaves, contrasting colours or faces. It's then back down to studio to explore materials and get messy. There are lots of materials to choose from and we encourage everyone to use their imagination to create something special and unique to them.

I had initially thought that he wouldn't be old enough to appreciate it as he struggled to concentrate at Creation Station recently, however I needn't have worried as it was a lot less structured in that there was plenty of space to walk around and play.

The theme for this week was Loops and Lace. First, we went up to the Craft and Design gallery where we were asked to look for the lace bowls; S preferred however to just wander around exploring every corner. Unlike normal galleries this wasn't a problem as there were plenty of tactile objects that children are encouraged to interact with as well as string and lace cuttings scattered all over the floor for them to pick up and play with.

After we'd had a good look around we moved back downstairs and into the first Education space where there were rolling pins, clay, more lace cuttings and string and trays of white paint with rollers, brushes, black paper and acetate laid out on child sized benches. We were encouraged to make prints with the lace and string and also to use them to make imprints on the clay. The room was a great size for a child like S who likes to be on the move as he was able to move around and explore all the areas with no restrictions.

 

 

The second Education space had most of the lights turned out and there were overhead projectors and light boxes laid out around the outside of the room. There was also lots of silver material and string making a type of maze in the middle and hula hoops for them to play with. The children were encouraged to put the string and lace onto the projectors, creating interesting shadows on the walls.

 

 

It was a messy session but great fun, we will definitely be visiting again!

As we were meeting S's daddy when he finished work we decided to pass the time at MOSI in the afternoon, there were no specific sessions on for S to attend but we just played in the soft play area and had a look around the Experiment gallery. We love MOSI, the soft play is great and I'm looking forward to S being big enough to interact with the exhibits fully. For now though, there are plenty of flashing lights and moving objects to keep him entertained!

Treasure Baskets

On Friday 2nd March S and I tried out the Treasure Baskets session at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.

I think he was probably a little old for the session as the aim of Treasure Baskets is to allow babies who can sit unsupported (but not yet crawl or walk) to explore baskets of found and natural objects, such as loofahs, brushes, torches, feathers and shiny material. S did not want to sit and touch these objects, which surprised me as he loves textures, but instead he wanted to walk around the wide open spaces of the gallery and explore all the dark corners.

   

Once he'd exhausted the exploration opportunities, he did become captivated by the torches for a few minutes, and Carol, who was running the session, also fetched him a basket of musical instruments as I explained how much he loves to make a noise!

 

There were not that many other babies there which was a shame but hopefully over time the session will become more popular as it was a lovely session for both babies and parents.

After the session, we went through to the cafe for lunch, I only had the soup and bread (from Barbakan in Chorlton so of course it was delicious!) due to money saving necessities but it was very filling - although I did need to order another portion of bread as S decided that bread dipped in soup was a much preferable meal to his jar of Organix food!

All in all I would say it's definitely worth a visit if your baby is sitting unsupported or even crawling, but if your child is as active as mine then it's still a lovely session - just expect them to want to run around!