Spiced Root Vegetable Soup

It's November. It's autumnal outside with the leaves turning red and gold, the clouds turning grey and the air turning damp with fog. It's most definitely comfort food season.

All I could think about for the past few days is how much I wanted some soup. Seriosuly. On Monday I nearly bought a soup when I went to see my brother in Norwich. I settled on sharing a panini with him but he said the soups are excellent (so I might have one next Monday). Al and I went food shopping yesterday and I seized the opportunity to buy loads of vegetables. I could have used the slow cooker to cook the soup overnight so that people could take it to work for lunch but I wasn't organised enough last night. Instead I decided to make it fresh for lunch and ensure there are enough leftovers for my dad to take to work tomorrow.

The soup is warming and hearty. The spice is subtle and allows the vegetable flavour to come through. The carrots and parsnip make it sweet and aonce blended it is think and substantial. Perfect with crusty rolls or bread.

Ingredients
4 medium carrots
1 large onion
2 medium parsnips
A chunk of swede (it's impossible to tell how much I used. I just hacked a chunk off and chucked it in)
1-2 tbsp oil
2-3 tsp cumin powder
2-3 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp balti paste
Enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables in your pan (I used home made chicken stock as I had some in the freezer to use up)
Plenty of black pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method
Chop all the vegetables into similar sized chunks (so they cook at the same rate) and place in a large saucepan with the oil. Fry gently for 5-10 minutes.
Add the spices and paste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Pour the stock over the vegetables until it mostly covers them.
Put a lid on the pan and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender or liquidiser until smooth.
Add plenty of black pepper and lemon juice to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve with bread and real butter.

It really is that simple. It takes about 30 minutes tops to get this soup ready to eat and it's delicious.

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Cake Decorating

It's my brother's 30th birthday today (Happy Birthday!) and we celebrated on Saturday with lots of beer and cake (of course). I had said that I'd make him some cakes as a present and set to work thinking what to do for decoration.

Chris is a metal head. He has been for as long as I remember. I figured I needed to include this somewhere in the cake designs. I had a bit of a search on the internet for images and I went to my local cake decorating warehouse to see what I could find.

I used black muffin cases which I actually really liked. They don't get greasy like the paper ones can and they held their shape really well. I bought some ready made black sugarpaste bats as a something simple to add to 12 of the cupcakes and they turned out great.

I then decided that I'd use lettering on 12 of the cupcakes and rolled out some red fondant icing and cut the letters out using cutters. I did this a couple of days before baking the cakes so that they'd have time to dry out a bit before I put them on the cakes.

Finally I decided to make little fondant hands for decoration on the final 12 cakes. I found a hand template online and resized it before printing. I coloured some white fondant with some pink and yellow colouring to get the skin tone I wanted and then rolled it between two sheets of parchment paper. I lay the paper hand template down and pressed it into the fondant to make sure it stayed put. I followed the outline with a sharp knife and then bent the fingers down to make the right shape. I also tried to add a little detail with a cocktail stick and it kind of worked. I had also thought of adding some black nail varnish with a food marker but, having tried it on a spare hand, I didn't think it looked great. I left the hands plain and let them dry over night.

I transported the cupcakes 160 miles on public transport. I would never have been able to do that until I bought a Cupcake Courier. It holds 36 cupcakes or muffins in a strong and sturdy plastic casing. There is limited movement and enough height allowance for icing and decorations. I'm actually really pleased with how well the cakes held up and very pleased with my purchase. My model also has flat inserts so that you can carry other treats like brownies and bars in it too.

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Slow Cooker Recipes: Steak and Kidney Pie

Every week we make a list of what's on the menu for the days ahead. We then write a list, take it shopping and only need to top up on things like milk, bread and chocolate during the week. My mum had written that we'd have meat pie one day that week. We normally buy two separate pies for the family so I decided I'd make one that everyone would like.

I found some ready cut stewing beef and pigs kidney in the butchery department of Morrisons. They were packaged together and I grabbed a couple of packs to make sure I had enough. I'd never cooked with kidneys before and wasn't entirely sure what I was letting myself in for but I was keen that I could work it out. I've made fruit pies hundreds of times before so I was sure it would be a pretty similar adventure.

Stewing steak likes long, slow cooking. The handy hint on the package of meat said it needed 2-3 hours so I decided I'd stick the filling in the slow cooker and save myself some work. It smelled awful. There was a strong scent of urine from the kidneys and I was really worried we'd need to go and get a take away if this didn't work out. I decided to persevere and used the usual seasonings and herbs for a decent stew.

The result was amazing. I used a cake pan in order to squeeze loads of filling in and have an awesome filling to pastry ratio. I used ready made puff pastry that had been sitting in the fridge waiting to be used and it was a little difficult to work with. It all turned out perfectly and I'm keen to make more meat pies in the future. My dad said it was the best steak and kidney pie he'd ever tasted (and he's tasted quite a few!).


Ingredients
700g stewing steak and kidney mix (cubed)
1 onion, roughly chopped
10 button mushrooms, quartered
1tbsp mustard powder
1 beef stock cube, crumbled
2 bay leaves
Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper
Enough boiling water to come halfway up the meat - though you could use a good stout for a different flavour)
Puff Pastry (you can also use shortcrust)

Method
Place the onion and mushrooms into the slow cooker.
Brown the meat and kidneys (in a well ventilated area) and add to the pot.
Follow with the rest of the ingredients.
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-10
Taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaves and place the mixture into a wide dish to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180C
Roll the pastry out and lay into a loose bottomed cake tin (make sure there's enough left for the lid)
Fill the pastry with the cooled meat mixture - don't be afraid to cram it in there!)
Egg wash the edge of the pastry, cover with the lid and seal tightly.
Egg wash the top of the pie, cut a cross in the centre to let out the steam and then place the pie onto a baking sheet to minimise mess.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden and piping hot throughout. Slice carefully and serve with chips or potatoes and the vegetables of your choice.

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