A Little Birthday Baking Magic

In the days leading up to my birthday Finley reminded me at regular intervals that delight was imminent. Each morning as I handed him a banana breakfast, he bestowed a conspiratorial gap toothed smile and whispered that it was three days, two days, tomorrow, until I would have a wonderful surprise. Discussions were held behind closed doors and knowing looks twinkled by both parties when I discovered them tete a tete.

When the day arrived I found I had been granted the luxury of waking in my own time. Just as I was about to roll over and drift back into the most delicious sleep of the day - those stolen moments between waking and rising - the bedroom door opened and a waft of baking opened my eyes like a dose of smelling salts.

Led downstairs by the hand, it became apparent that there had been  much activity in the kitchen while I slept. Nick told me with a roll of the eyes that Fin first woke him at 5.30am, adamant that they needed to get started straight away. An hour later they were both navigating the mysteries of the kitchen, armed only with a printed page from my blog and a huge amount of hope.

Nick had never baked anything in his life, let alone something that was both grain and sugar free. But Finley, (who has helped me out from time to time) was delighted to instruct him as they ground nuts, whisked eggs and filled muffin cases with some lemon scented birthday muffins. (They used the cake part from this recipe and the syrup from this one).

The kitchen looked like a bomb had hit, but their faces glowed with success in such a way that my heart leapt into my mouth.

With nothing to do but relax, I sipped a chamomile tea while the cakes spent their last few minutes in the oven.

Soon six lovingly crafted muffins came to the table on a pretty plate. They were just perfect - accompanied by a lemon syrup to drizzle on top. We broke them reverentially, dipping each piece into the sharp lemon syrup and licking our fingers clean. 

Later, as I cleared away the baking detritus and caught myself tutting at the mess, I took a moment to look at my hand made cards and marvel over the fact that my two kitchen novices had entered into the magic of baking and emerged triumphant.

I tucked the feeling securely into my ticket pocket for those days when I'm turning out yet another meal, to remind me that I could sit down to muffins again any time I wanted - all I had to do was ask.

There was a sea change coming and I welcomed it with open arms.

Wild Garlic Superfood Dip (SCD & Gluten Free)

Oh dear, time seems to have run away from me this month and not only have I not publicized this month's Go Ahead Honey, but I have also failed to create any canapees with which to tempt anyone else to take part. So this month is postponed to next month, the new deadline for submissions of lovely gluten free canapees is April 25th. Please make something tiny for me, even if it's just a tiny cracker with a smear of cream cheese and a morsel of lox (smoked salmon). If anyone would like to host a month of the cooking event Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free! just drop me an email or a comment and I'll sign you up for the month of your choice.

I have been cooking alright, but I'm trying to keep a little back for a recipe book I'm writing, so not everything gets posted these days. I've made a banoffee pie, velvety roast pepper soup, home made sausages, baked bream, tahini dressing, numerous salads, courgette lasagne, shepherds pie and turkish delight martini - all SCD legal.

I promised to post my superfood dip featuring wild garlic, so here it is in all it's green glory.....

Wild Garlic and Parsley Superfood Dip

1/2oz (15g) washed flat leaved parsley leaves

1/2oz (15g) washed wild garlic leaves (or one fat clove of garlic)

2 dessertspoons of light tahini

4 dessertspoons of vegetable oil

1 dessertspoon of a flavourful oil such as olive, cold pressed rapeseed, hazelnut or walnut oil

pinch of sea salt

zest of a lemon

juice of half a lemon

tsp of honey (optional)

1 dessertspoon of yogurt (optional)

Whizz everything together in a blender, scraping down every now and then, until completely smooth. If you leave out the yogurt you might want to add a little water and only add the honey if you think it needs it - some tahini is sweeter than others.

Scrape into a jar or pretty bowl and scoop up with raw vegetables - throw vitamin pills in the bin, who needs them after the calcium, iron, vitamin C and garlic boost you get from this dip? (this is said slightly tongue in cheek - please consult your healthcare practitioner before discontinuing medication of any kind)

Wild Garlic

At the weekend we went on a very short but fruitful walk with Paul, Natalie and their small person, Iris. Fin assumed the role of big brother as soon as we left the house, cajoling and leading Iris like an experienced shepherd and using his best pleading voice (with a pleasing hint of authority) when she failed to move at the required speed. 

At the appointed spot we shook open our paper bags and filled them with handfuls of spring's first wild garlic leaves. Not yet enough leaves to fill the air with the green scent of wild garlic at full throttle, but our hands smelt good enough to eat. As we picked our way back along the rutted track Natalie noticed that there were tiny shoots all along the tractor furrow, thousands of them waiting for a burst of sun to swell into plants. They turned out to be wild garlic shoots, a whole larder full of potential. I guess they would have made an amazing salad, but we left them in the hope that our next visit would yield armfuls of the stuff for soups, salads and omelettes, without worrying that we had not enough for another delicious garlicky dish the next day.

If you live even remotely near some countryside you'll be able to find some wild garlic. Once you know what you're looking for it will leap out of banks and woodland walks just begging you to pick a few leaves and add them to your supper. For those of you that aren't sure what to look for, check out this wikipedia page and avoid eating the mildly poisonous lily of the valley....

We had ours four ways; wild garlic burgers with wild garlic pesto, liver with wild garlic, and a superfood dip combining parsley, tahini, wild garlic and lemon that was about a thousand times better than downing a vitamin pill. Parsley, Wild Garlic and Tahini dip recipe to follow in a couple of days........

I'll give you the other recipes below - except for the liver, that's just too simple - chop some lambs liver into small cubes and some wild garlic leaves into a chiffonade (small strips), get a frying pan (skillet) really hot, pour in a little oil, throw in the liver and stir until it looks about 30 seconds off being cooked (3-4 minutes), season with salt and pepper, add the wild garlic leaves and a knob of butter, cooking for a further 30 seconds to wilt the garlic. Serve with squash or roasted carrot mash and a big pile of watercress or rocket. Yum! 

Wild Garlic Burgers with Wild Garlic Pesto (serves 2)

We ate these burgers with a knife and fork, rather than as a burger in a bap - sometimes though I use larger spinach leaves and put them either side of the burger with a nice fat slice of beefsteak tomato (in the summer) or alternatively sandwich the burger between two griddled  portobello mushrooms (a perfect chance to add more garlic, by crushing a clove and smearing it on before you griddle). They are rich, so accompany with something green, crisp and palate cleansing.

Wild Garlic Burgers (makes four small ones)

2 large handfuls of lean organic beef mince (probably about 300-400 g)

6 large or 10 small wild garlic leaves

2 good pinches of sea salt and a grind of black pepper

To Serve:

1 ripe avocado

washed and dried baby spinach leaves

Wild Garlic Pesto (see recipe below)

Thoroughly wash garlic leaves and chop finely. Smoosh everything together in a bowl and form into four patties. I make mine about 1 1/2 cm (1/2 inch) thick because they spring up again when they cook and don't need so long in the pan.

Fry, barbeque or griddle until they are done the way you like (we like our very pink in the middle and that takes about 2-3 mins either side. Drain on kitchen paper while you arrange the leaves.

To assemble. Place a few spinach leaves on the plates in a circle a little bigger than the burger - one circle per burger. Slice the avocado and arrange this on the leaves. Place a burger on each pile and drizzle with pesto (but resist spattering the plates with it as I did, just hand it round at the table...)

Wild Garlic Pesto

8 large wild garlic leaves, thoroughly washed

3oz (85g) basil leaves

1 1/2 oz (40g) raw pine nuts

1 1/2 oz (40g) Parmesan or Gran Padano cheese

large pinch sea salt and grind of pepper

100ml veg oil

Put everything except the oil into a food processor and blend for a minute. Then add most of the oil and blend again, scraping down occasionally, until you have a smooth paste. Add the rest of the oil if you think it needs it and a little more if necessary - you are looking for a soft paste, on the runny side. Scrape into a jar and keep for up to a week in the fridge (if you can resist it that long)

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