Crazy Englishwoman Cooks!

I adore ginger beer. Note that when I say ginger beer, I do NOT mean ginger ale. There is a distinct difference. Ginger beer is fiery. Here in the US, I can usually only find at in the local liquor store in the import section.

Store bought ginger beer is typically not alcoholic, although when I was back in England this spring, I was delighted to find that an alcoholic version is finally available, and I highly recommend it.

I came across a recipe to brew your own ginger beer some time ago and finally decided it was time to try it.
It's actually incredibly simple. Just four ingredients and a glass jar.

Take:

• ½ tsp dried yeast
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Mix them all together in a jar, cover with a piece of muslin and secure with a rubber band. Then every morning for the next week, simply add another tsp of sugar and a tsp of ginger.




That's it!

At the end of the week, you can divide the mix into two. Put one in another glass jar with a cup of water and carry on adding the ginger and sugar each day. You can either keep the other half and do the same, or throw it away, depending how much ginger beer you want to make in your lifetime!

Soon I was ready to make up my ginger beer so I trekked along to Liquor Barn to buy a case of brown bottles and some corks.

In a very large pot, mix together:

• 4 cups sugar
• 24 cups warm water
• ½ cup lemon juice

Strain your ginger "plant" (what you've been growing with yeast, sugar, and ginger), then add it to the pot. Give it a good stir and you're ready to bottle. Seal it well and leave it for a week before drinking.


The resulting ginger beer is not as fiery as what I drink in England, although I plan to experiment over the next few months to see what I can come up with - maybe adding some fresh ginger to the yeast mix, or less water. However, it definitely is not the bland ginger ale I find in a lot of stores - the type where you can barely taste anything.

On Saturday, we decided to try it in a float. Put some strawberry frozen yogurt in a glass, add a few sliced strawberries, a scoop of lemon sorbet, and top with ginger ale.

As we uncorked the ginger ale, the cork flew out with a large bang, bouncing off the ceiling. The contents of the bottle sprayed manically about the room, while the dogs cowered under the table.

Nevertheless, once we'd mopped everything up, it was a darn good float!

Most people have a tendency to pile as much as possible on their pizza and think of cheese and tomato as pretty boring... but it doesn't need to be. This pizza is so good, we've made it twice since Saturday!

For pizza dough, you can either make your own or buy one. Personally I  love the ease of the refrigerated Pillsbury bases, especially their new thin crust.

Roll out your pizza dough on a baking tray. Crush two cloves of garlic in 3 tbs olive oil and brush over the pizza base. Next, sprinkle on top 1 cup feta or goat's cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, and 1/2 cup Parmesan. I also add a sprinkling of oregano and basil.

Put in the oven (400F) for 10-15 minutes and enjoy a fabulously flavorful and seasonal pizza.

I love exploring different types of Asian cuisine but rarely make the time to do so, but this recipe from Saveur magazine had been niggling away at the back of my mind for months.

I should warn Vietnamese purists that I did have to adapt the recipe somewhat since my husband does not like coconut. I had to substitute veggie broth for the coconut juice called for in the original recipe. If this horrifies you, read no further.

Vietnamese Catfish in Caramel Sauce:

1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp molasses
3 tbs fish sauce
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 catfish fillets or steaks
1 tbs oil
1 cup vegetable broth
5 small Thai chillies, sliced in half lengthwise
4 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
bunch of bok choy
rice to serve with (I used brown)

Put the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan and cook for half an hour or so over a medium to low heat until it caramelizes. Do not stir. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes. Then add the fish sauce, molasses, salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir well and use as a marinade for the fish for at least 15 minutes.

Heat the oil and add the fish and marinade. Cook for about 5 minutes, flipping the fish once, until the marinade starts to thicken. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

When the fish is cooked, transfer it to plates with the rice. Raise heat and add chillies, green onions, and bok choy to the sauce. Cook for a few minutes then spoon over the fish and serve.

To those who are still reading and who have not been turned off by the idea of fish in caramel, I highly recommend giving this a try. The sauce is a wonderful blend of sweet and spicy - a definite keeper.

I've been baking again, and this time I've been making some wonderful muffins, courtesy of Federal Grove Bed & Breakfast in Auburn, KY. The inclusion of sour cream makes a deliciously moist muffin. Along with a dab of my homemade strawberry blueberry jam, it is a perfect way to start the day.

Sour Cream Muffins (makes a dozen)

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-raising flour

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix. Slowly add the flour, half a cup at a time. Spoon into an ungreased muffin tray and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.

Despite the fact that there is an entire channel devoted to food here in the US, I am much more likely to watch a cooking show when I'm visiting my family in England.

I have tried watching some but none of the cooking show hosts click with me, whereas in England I can spend an evening with my parents watching The Hairy Bikers, the divine Nigella Lawson, Antony Worral Thompson, or (my discovery on my most recent trip home) Sophie Dahl. Watching them, food feels natural, earthy, communal, rather than a performance.

The only US show I occasionally watch is The Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten so I very pleased to come across the following recipe on someone else's blog. This is an adaptation of a basic yogurt cake recipe from Ina, and it is quite possibly the most delectable cake I have ever made or eaten. I used Greek yogurt which added a fabulous moistness to the cake. Toss in some lemon juice, almond essence, and fresh blueberries and I believe I have created my own little corner of heaven.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free Fage Greek Yogurt)
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tbs lemon juice (or lemon zest if you have it handy)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries tossed in 1 tbs of flour and 1 tbs of sugar to stop them sinking.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, almond extract, lemon juice, and oil.
Slowly combine the dry and wet ingredients, then gently stir in the blueberries, taking care not to crush them.
Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook for 45- 50 minutes.
Let the cake cool.

If you wish, you can then glaze it with a mix of lemon juice and icing sugar.

Some call it Aloo Saag, some Saag Aloo, but whatever you choose to call it, this spicy Indian dish of potatoes and spinach is easy to make and tastes great.

Aloo Saag:

1 tbs oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb potatoes, chopped - make sure that they are chopped fairly small so that they will cook properly
2 tsp cumin seeds
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp paprika
sprinkling chili flakes
2 tomatoes (optional - feel free to leave out)
10 oz spinach

Heat the oil and cook the onion and potatoes for about 10 minutes.
Add the spices and stir for about 30 seconds so everything is nicely coated.
Add the tomato and spinach. Cook for another 10 minutes. The spinach should be wilted and the potatoes tender.

You can eat this on its own or as a side dish to accompany curry, rice and/or naan bread.

We've got a nice healthy dinner here, courtesy of The South Beach Diet Cookbook. Be warned, it doesn't seem that spicy when you take that first mouthful. Then the jalapeno hits your tongue and WOWZER!

This is another of those "not particularly exotic or exciting but different to spag bol" dishes, and it's very flexible. You could use ground meat, ground Quorn, or just a tomato sauce, depending on your tastes.
Negatives about this recipe? Getting all of the pasta to stand up in the baking tin, not to mention the unbelievably hard time I had finding rigatoni?! (Lexington - come on!)

Pasta Pie (from Martha Stewart)
1 lb rigatoni
2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb ground beef (or turkey, Quorn, etc)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
Butter or cooking spray
Salt
Oregano
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz grated mozzarella
 
Cook the pasta for a minute or two less than the instructions state. Rinse in plenty of cold water then toss with 1 tbs olive oil. Set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown ground beef. Add garlic, and a good dose of oregano, salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Toss pasta with Parmesan. Butter or spray a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. (This takes a while and is not the easiest job). Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.

Push the meat sauce down into the pasta holes.  

Cook at 400F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold. 

Cut into wedges and serve with a side salad.

I think I have discovered the most fabulous iced tea imaginable, courtesy of Delish.com.

This is the first time I have tried an iced green tea. Now I don't know how this would be with plain and simple green tea bags, although I'm guessing it would still be pretty good. I used green tea flavored with mangosteen and peach which resulted in a wonderfully fruity tea with a hint of ginger.

So here's how to make it.

Iced Ginger Green Tea

1 cup sugar
9 cups water
3 inch chunk ginger root, peeled and sliced thinly
8 green tea bags

You start by making a simple sweetening syrup. Put 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan with half of the ginger root. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and leave for 30 minutes, then strain.

In another pan, combine the remaining ginger with the remaining 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and add the tea bags. Leave them to steep for 6 minutes, then strain.

Leave to cool to room temperature, then put into a jug with 1 cup of the syrup. Chill before serving.

As promised, here is a shout out to my good friend Julie Blyth, creator of some incredibly unique cakes.
Among her fabulous homemade creations are a giant nose, complete with boogers and goo, made for her husband after he had nasal surgery; and now a giant ho-ho. Truly a thing dreams are made of, this creation, made for her son's birthday, involved a gargantuan number of ho-hos, sandwiched together and covered in frosting. A heart attack on a plate, but one that will have you smiling in satisfaction as they wheel you into the ER! :)

Julie, I salute you!