#46 More grumbles and some 'feel better' bits

Hello everyone. How are we all? 

I’m starting this week with another enormous thank you to you all. I do hope my thanks doesn’t just come across as some perfunctory remark; I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Every message, be it about a bake you’ve tried, your kind words, your empathy or simply a ‘bit about you’, makes my week! I feel like we’re a little club of besties and I love that so much. Big, big hugs all round!

News from my week

I sense that I’m becoming fairly predictable at the moment, but I’ve had yet another grind of a week… instead of dwelling too much on the messiness that is ‘me’, I’m bringing you a few good things.

Just to be clear, I’m not trying to hide or brush aside the struggles as if they aren’t justified or don’t exist, however, sometimes they’re just ‘same old’ which seems a bit boring to share, there are other instances where I don’t want to talk about things because it makes them feel more all-encompassing, I also experience episodes where I can’t really articulate exactly how I’m feeling. And so, it’s not that I’m trying to avoid the subject or ignore the feelings, I’m just choosing to focus on the better bits because when I step back, I can appreciate how extraordinarily blessed I am in so many ways, so let’s crack on with the silver linings shall we?

• First off - a dog story. So, changing the kitchen bin bag falls into the very ‘annoying chore’ category… made worse by the fact that we have a 25 year old kitchen which has its quirks; the bin is integrated into a door under the sink, the hinge is extremely rusty, and the whole mechanism is… well, v.broken to put it politely. Anyway, I carried out a long overdue kitchen clean mid-week, and extracted the overflowing bin bag in the process. I predicted I would find further things to throw away during my cleaning mission, so in the spirit of not over-using bin bags, I figured that ‘outside the kitchen door’ was a suitable place to temporarily reposition it.
  The issue here was that the dog was outside in the garden with Mother, and I failed to account for her paranormal ability to sniff out any edible (or inedible) substance. Needless to say, I found her tucking into a gourmet meal of bin effluent which I initially found VERY irritating as I tried to wrestle various things out of her mouth; and subsequently she found very irritating, as she proceeded to regurgitate the contents of said bin bag ALL over the lounge. Not only did I feel an intense guilt and worry over my negligence and the welfare of the dog, but I now also had a sick adorned lounge to deal with. To make matters worse, the clean-up operation which involved a lot of soapy stuff, became extremely soapy when the soap bottle toppled over onto the rug. The dog then decided that soap was something she’d cleanse her palette with (more worry for me to deal with) and all in all, the whole affair was rather stressful. With the dog now recovered and the lounge de-sicked, I can reflect and see the humour in the whole thing! Such fun eh?

• Listening to my body. On a couple of occasions this week, I’ve felt utterly exhausted and overcome with the challenges of life (I know, I know, I sound so overly dramatic, sorry!!). One day was particularly challenging, yet I still tried to muster the energy to go about my day as normal. As I stepped into the gym for a quick 30 minute workout, I realised my body just wasn’t up for it, initially I contemplated ‘powering through anyway’, because that’s what we are so often told to do in life eh? We have to show up regardless and face it all! Well, actually no; sometimes it’s about recognising that there is as much value in rest and recuperation as there is in being productive and working hard, and this was one of those instances. I’m usually pretty poor at giving myself a break, so this was a small win; yes, it felt uncomfortable and a bit ‘wrong’, but it was so right, I felt marginally better the following day and I didn’t put my body under unnecessary stress!

• A food memory - on Thursday the weather was glorious, I was sat outside mindlessly scrolling through articles on my phone when I came across a story of someone who had moved to Majorca with his family. It was a beautiful account of his experience and was enough to make me want to pack my bags immediately and follow suit. Apart from thoroughly enjoying reading his story, it reminded me of holidaying in Majorca as a child, and I had this intense food memory - has anyone ever tried a ‘Maxibon’? I’m not sure it still exists, but it was a block of ice cream - sometimes containing small chocolate chips, one end was covered in chocolate (Magnum style), and the other sandwiched between two biscuits - reminiscent of Oreos, albeit a bit soft having been frozen - honestly, if you ever come across one of these, give it a try - an ELITE ice cream choice. It’s also made me think I *need* to try and make some ice cream sandwich biscuits!!

• A discovery! If you run out of tomato sauce for your pizza, try this: smear with a thin layer of ricotta, then scatter over a medley of cheeses: mozzarella, parmesan, feta (a great addition IMO) cook, then dot with blobs of pesto - it’s literally an ELITE version of cheese on toast!

• A quote from legend Anthony Bourdain":

  “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride”

I’m racking my brain for what more there is to share from my week, but I think that’s about it! How terribly dull? I’m sorry!!!

Below are a handful of my best foodie bits from the week. From feel better bars to a nourishing salad, and a simple hack for easy fool-proof meringues, there’s something for everyone! Meanwhile, over on TCC+ there’s a Blueberry, custard crumble cake to satisfy any mood or occasion! ENJOY!

Feel better Cornflake, peanut butter chocolate bars

As I alluded to above, on Friday, I felt really, really pants, I was tired beyond words, horribly sad, and just yuck, yuck, yuck. I managed the sum total of nothing in the gym because I felt so horrid, I couldn’t focus or concentrate to write (this), and I wanted to go back to bed. By the afternoon, I was in desperate need of some feel better food… and so a very special thing happened.

Firstly, I need to be clear about the meaning of ‘Feel better food’. IMO, it has to fulfil a number of objectives:

• In case it wasn’t clear, it has to make you feel better…

• … the pre-prepared food item must be edible, i.e. I want to be able to eat it in its ‘raw’ form, as I go… #therapy.

• It has to be stupidly easy to prepare… no brain power or physical exertion please!

• It also needs to be quick to prepare… when I feel rubbish, I’m more than likely to: be tired, lose concentration, get frustrated, become bored, or make mistakes quickly…so it has to be snappy!

• Finally, it should be small batch so that we can feasibly consume the lot!!!

Having established all that, I hereby grant you my ‘feel better cornflake, peanut butter, chocolate bars’ - basically a bunch of my favourite things, melted and mashed together to create a magical fusion of joy! If you feel pants, I suggest you sprint, yes sprint, to your kitchen to make these IMMEDIATELY!

Ingredients

40g Cornflakes roughly crushed with your hands
50g Peanut butter (I used Manilife deep roast crunchy, smooth would probably make it less brittle but I like the nutty bits)
25g maple syrup
10g Coconut oil (or butter)
Pinch of flaky salt

70g Dark chocolate
1/2 tsp maple syrup
5g Coconut oil (or butter)

Method

Grease a loaf tin* with butter and line with a piece of parchment.
*size doesn’t really matter.

Combine the maple syrup, coconut oil or butter and peanut butter in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat, heat until melted, bring to the boil and allow to gently bubble for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. Meanwhile, chuck the crushed cornflakes into a large bowl with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Remove the syrupy mixture from the heat and pour over the cornflakes, quickly mix to thoroughly combine. Dump into the prepared loaf tin and use the back of your spatula to firmly press into a flat even layer. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the chocolate, coconut oil or butter and maple syrup in a bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until melted - stirring periodically. Once melted, grab your cornflake mix back out of the freezer and pour the chocolate over the top spreading to form a thin rippled layer - we’re not trying to win an art competition here people - messy as you like.

Freeze again for 20-30 minutes* - then use a sharp knife to slice into chunks.
*I totally didn’t have the patience here so froze it for about 15 minutes while I washed up, then started hacking at it, if you chose to do this (we’re twins) it’s a little fragile to cut, but frankly we don’t care because it’s not about style here, it’s all about making us feel better… which it does!

I like to keep this in the freezer because I like it extra snappy and cold, but the fridge is sufficient… or, just eat it all, I’m not judging!

Black bean and sweetcorn salad with zesty coriander dressing and crumbled feta.

I was delighted to see that Bold Bean Co’s black beans and kidney beans had made their way into my Waitrose store last week. Naturally I HAD to pick up a jar (I went for Black beans) and they formed the basis of what seems to have become a ‘bean-based salad’ ritual each week.

This was one of those happy accident dishes - it came to life very spontaneously and without much prior thought, used up odds and ends I had in the fridge, and ended up being pretty blooming fabulous. It’s sweet, salty, sour, and spicy, layered with textures, bursting with colour and fabulously wholesome and nourishing.

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 large corn cob, peeled if in husk
240g Black beans weight once drained (1 can or half a large jar)
45ml Extra virgin olive oil plus extra for greasing/roasting
1 x Banana Shallot finely chopped
1 red pepper diced
½ - 1* red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped *depending on how spicy you like things
Finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus 2 tbsp lime juice
10g coriander leaves
5g mint leaves
Maldon Salt
Ground black pepper

60g Greek feta, crumbled
25g Toasted pumpkin seeds optional

~ 300g (1 large) sweet potato cubed

Method

First prepare the sweet potato - preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan, place the cubed sweet potato on a lined baking tray or in a roasting dish and drizzle generously with olive oil tossing to evenly coat. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure an even cook - or until browned on the outside and tender in the centre - leave to cool.

Meanwhile, lightly brush the corn cob with olive oil, place on a grill pan, under a hot grill, and cook for around 8-10 minutes - turning frequently to ensure it is lightly charred all over. Once cooked, allow to cool enough for you to handle it, then use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels. Place in a bowl. Add the black beans, shallot, and red pepper and toss to combine.

Prepare the dressing by combining the chili, lime, coriander, mint and oil in a high-speed blender, blitz to a smooth dressing.

Pour the dressing over the bean mixture, season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with the crumbled feta, pumpkin seeds, and sweet potato cubes.

Meringue nests

My friend David, (who I talk about all of the time - he is literally a guru of all baking/sewing/medical… ok, ALL, knowledge it seems) posted a ‘meringue hack’ reel on Instagram during the week which was both very timely, (given that I had egg whites lurking in the fridge having made the pastry cream for the blueberry custard crumble cake), and also kind-of ground-breaking!
The technique? To bung your egg whites into your mixing bowl with all of the sugar (all at once) and whack it on to mix - none of this painstakingly adding the sugar bit by bit - just all in! Now I feel like I’ve seen people perform this kind of recklessness before, and quite honestly (and foolishly), I’ve doubted the efficacy of the technique - but people, IT WORKS. And cooked at 140C/120C fan, for 90 minutes, then removed and allowed to cool to room temp, you yield a pretty perfect meringue - a light crunchy exterior, followed by a delightful chewy centre - I bloomin’ LOVE IT*. Top these nests with something cold, rich and creamy, and some tart fruit, and you have yourself a very heavenly thing.

Ingredients

3 egg whites 113g
180g Caster sugar

Crème Fraîche and berries to top

Method

Clean and degrease the bowl of your mixer (and whisk attachment) by wiping with lemon juice or vinegar. Then add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and whisk first at a low speed for 1 minute, then medium for 3 minutes, then full speed for around 10 minutes or until stiff, bright white, glossy and holding a firm peak.

Pipe spirals around 7-8cm in diameter onto baking sheets lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 140C/120C fan for around 90 minutes or until the meringue nests pull away from the baking parchment. Leave to cool, then immediately transfer to a sealed container to prevent moisture/humidity from spoiling them. Top with crème fraîche and berries.

*Note: full disclosure, whilst I rate this technique for speed, ease and ultimately deliciousness, I did experience a couple of structural/visual imperfections to the meringue which I believe were down to one of a few possibilities:
- how & when the sugar is incorporated.
- the speed of mixing (mixing meringue on a high speed at any point can create an unstable protein network and thus cause some structural issues)
- the temperature of the bake.
Please don’t let that deter you from making them though, they are honestly a no brainer for anyone who requires an easy, quick, and delicious bunch of meringue nests.

MORE STUFF:

• Flower chat: Anyone else noticed how stunning the lavender is this year? From its intoxicating aroma to its eye watering violet flowers; it really is majestic!

• OK, this is your last-minute reminder to stock up on strawberries and cream, and dig out the Pimm’s and lemonade (cucumber/mint/lemon/strawberry… whatever else you chuck in), it’s Wimbledon time and I cannot WAIT!

• Next week, Mum and I are off to the British F1 Grand Prix - if you have been around here since the beginning, you will remember we went last year, (and have done since 2009, God I feel old!), we are both huge fans of the sport and it’s one of the highlights of our year. We meet friends each year, and camp on a golf course next to the track - aside from the excitement of the weekend, there is something incredibly grounding and meditative about the whole weekend which is exactly what I need right now. I’m so sorry to say, that I will therefore be taking next week off, and as such, there will be no TCC newsletter. I will still be posting a cheeky little recipe mid-week for paid subscribers (a sublime tropical coconut and lime layer cake), and normal service will resume in a couple of weeks’ time!

Right, that’s it from me,

As ever, I’m sending huge hugs and bundles of love to you all, take care, look after yourselves, see the beauty around you, and I can’t wait to check back in with you all very soon!

Steph x x x