Tuesday 12 May 2015

let's cook: tart tatin

tart tatin

We're on a roll!
I think that's the shortest amount of time between cooking challenges to date.

This time we made tart tatin - our choice of topping. My mum went for apple from this book by her namesake, and I chose to use some of the beetroot we got in our veg box this week.

Here are the outcomes...

tart tatin cook-off

My mum served her apple tart with custard and I've heard from my dad that it went down very well.

I followed this recipe from Simply Delicious which paired the tart with a goats cheese cream (my favourite!) The only difference in my method was that I used fresh beetroot so boiled it for about an hour first, before allowing to cool and removing the skin. Also, I didn't have an ovenproof frying pan so I transferred the beetroot to a shallow ovenproof dish before topping with pastry.

It was quite a simple recipe to follow with only a few ingredients, although I think the real test in this challenge was trying not to get myself and the kitchen completely covered in purple - and I succeeded, just.

beetroot prep
tart close-up

It came out such a nice colour, and was lovely and caramelised, if a little rough around the edges.

Ben made up a delicious Ottolenghi salad to accompany the tart, and the goats cheese cream complimented the sweetness of the beetroot really well I think.

I will definitely be making this again if we get another big load of beetroot.

slice of tart

Now, to the scoring...

Ben gave me an 8/10 (not too shabby) - his main complaint being that he had to make the salad, and that it was beetroot alone. Although I think it was also partly due to the fact that I made him wait to eat it while I took some photos.

It turns out my dad likes tarts more than he likes dips so my mum was onto a winner. He gave it 9/10. Really good. Well done Mum!

beetroot tart tatin

Next time we'll be making gnocchi. As suggested by Rhian and Rosie.

I fear it's easy to get it wrong so it might be a tricky one.
Wish us luck!

Tuesday 5 May 2015

vintage gardening

When we were visiting my parents a few weeks ago my mum offered us a rummage through some of her seeds to see if there was anything we fancied planting.

Little did we know that her seed collection dated back to the 60s!

vintage seed packets

Just look at these packets (from 1968/69). What they lack in freshness they definitely make up for in design. I might frame them.

vintage gardening

My parents really need to have a sort out though. 40 year old seeds indeed.

Oh, and here are some pictures of Jerry, who had emerged from hibernation a few days before we arrived.

jerry's house tortoise shell jerry

He looks a little grumpy. Over tired maybe?

Sunday 3 May 2015

crochet compendium

I've finished some more crochet squares for the collection.

stitch library

The project was put on hold for a while because my wool was all packed away but now I'm getting back in the swing of things.

The fruit punch pattern is my favourite here.

crochet

One I'll definitely use again!