Apple and Blueberry Muffins

Lately, the blueberries have been in abundance and nice and cheap, so I thought I'd make some muffins for snack time. I like muffins that aren't too sweet...that's what cupcakes are for. That way, you can have them for breakfast or afternoon tea without feeling like you've indulged too much. I only managed to get 11 muffins out of the recipe, but I think my cupcake cases are bigger than the average.

Apple and Blueberry Muffins (Printable Recipe)
adapted from Stephanie's Basic Muffins, pg 40
makes 12

240g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tbsp honey
1 apple
125g blueberries
raw sugar, optional

Picnic Time

The weather has warmed up a bit lately, so one afternoon I decided we should embrace the British way, and while we didn't sunbake in our underwear in a public place, which is apparently not at all weird, we went on a picnic in the local park. I went to the shops and picked up a picnic rug and other supplies and then went home to make our dinner. Being pregnant can make picnic food a little tricky, so I settled on a quiche which was still warm from the oven when we sat down on the new rug to devour it. We had the quiche with potato salad, green salad and some fresh fruit for dessert. This recipe is only very loosely based on a recipe from Stephanie, as I wasn't really sure where to start, but the ingredients are quite different.

Bacon and Onion Quiche (Printable Recipe)
adapted from Stephanie's Quiche Lorraine, pg 114
Serves 6

2 medium onions
olive oil
6 thick rashers bacon
375g puff pastry, thawed ready to use
6 eggs
2 tbsp milk
salt
pepper

en Français

The blog has been very quiet for the past few weeks, and with good reason. Lidia has moved house so aside from the fact that all her cooking gear has been packed in boxes, she also has no internet. I have been travelling a bit, which has meant I have not been doing my blog homework. Hubby went back to Melbourne for 2 weeks on business and while he was gone, I went up to visit the family. Last weekend we went to Paris, which had been booked for a while. We met up with hubby's cousin and her husband on their honeymoon. It was an action packed weekend with a lot of tourist attractions squeezed in, but we made time for more culinary escapades. I managed to get to a few cookware shops and bought a madeleine tin. They're such iconic little French cakes that I loved the thought of having a 'French' tin. I also bought a book on molecular gastronomy and while it's in French, so I can't read it, the pictures are enough, although I think I'll give some translation a go one day.

Spanakopita

Hubby had to go back to Melbourne for a week or so, and I decided to go up and stay with the family rather than be a hermit. In the process of cleaning out the fridge, I decided to make some spanakopita rolls. These are strong and cheesy and great for lunch, dinner, or a snack. The original recipe calls for 2 eggs to be added to the mixture, but I forgot to put them in. It tasted pretty good with out them.

Spanakopita (Printable Recipe)
adapted from Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion, pg 928
makes 12

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
150g baby spinach, chopped
2 tbsp chopped mint
2tbsp chopped parsley
pinch nutmeg
125g fetta crumbled
125g ricotta
50g freshly grated pecorino
40g butter, melted
12 sheets filo

Chocolate Healing

I was feeling a bit homesick lately, and nothing cures an emotional ailment quite like chocolate. I love the crunch of nuts or chocolate chips in brownies and when I couldn't find any choc chips, I went with walnuts. I have a standard brownie recipe that I always use, but I had never actually tried the recipe from Stephanie, so was keen to give it a go. Boy have I been missing out! These brownies were rich and chocolately, with a nice bitter tang from using cocoa instead of melted chocolate. I prefer to use cocoa, because I hate melting chocolate, but that's because I'm lazy. The walnuts provided a nice crunch to these gooey brownies. I have to admit that I didn't really follow the method for these, but they turned out great. This is now my go-to brownie recipe.

Walnut Brownies (Printable Recipe)
adapted from Stephanie's Double Chocolate Brownies, pg 311

180g butter
100g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup dutch cocoa
1 1/4 cups golden castor sugar (you can use regular castor sugar)
pinch salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups walnuts (you can use any nuts or choc chips)