The Wanderer Has Returned

The wanderer has returned from a saunter around Europe! I am full of both vitality and sadness in equal tow.

Just a little background, I have been away for six weeks altogether, and I have visited ten countries, and sixteen cities in that time. I have eaten and witnessed so many cuisines across Europe that I don't even know where to start, so chances are you'll be reading through one of my future posts and hearing "This one time, in Slovenia..." and so on. Minus the flute. Well, I sat at my laptop for several hours over the past few days and have written nothing but babble and tat (I am aware that this is still leaking into my writing today) but I'm still getting back into the swing of things, so bear with me while I remember how to tie my apron strings.

There was many a time when I thought "I really must make this when I get home", but alas, there were so many things it has formed a bit of a backlog of tryouts in my brain. That's the problem with inspiration, it can be so very inconvenient. To help separate my thoughts I went back to my usuals, Tastespotting, Foodgawker, Allrecipes and Pinterest, but I decided sod it (I didn't say sod, but for the purpose of politeness I'm going to say I did). And I left for the kitchen. I made something incredibly simple. Porridge, that's all I made, handful of oats, a few glugs of water, a few glugs of milk, raisins, bananas and brown sugar. And I was so happy to be home for that minute. Apparently, oats haven't crossed the channel to the mainland in a big way, and I really did miss the taste.

I know it doesn't seem like much right now. But hey, I'm a normal person, I don't always want to freeze ice cream in the shape of a train and I don't have the patience, or skill, to make cake pops. When I want cake, I want a lump of something that resembles a cake, and tastes amazing. And that's it. Sometimes with a little bell and maybe a few whistles.

Peace

JR

Shiny Happy Cashews

I love flicking through cookbooks, it really is one of my favourite past times, it may sound really depressing, but it's really quite inspiring. It's my version of leafing breezily through a chick mag...or porn, depending on how sordid your life is. I have a few favourites that I've learnt the basics from; Pastry from Michel Roux, comfort food from James Martin, and all the classic British-ness from Constance Spry's giant brick and the good ol' Delia collection. Yet, no matter how many times I peruse those well-battered pages, I still manage to get myself into a bit of an excitement at the thought of buying a new bit of cooking equipment recommended by the authors.

I will readily admit that I am so easily led by kitchenware suggestions in cookbooks. I'm not sure if it's just the idea of a new toy to play with, or whether I like to think that i'm more adventurous then I actually am. Either way I just watch myself as if my consciousness and common sense were removed from the scene and i'm witnessing a comedic, gullable character ponder over how much I really need a knife shaped like a hand so I can karate-chop my vegetables (yes, it really >exists<). 

This whole thing stemmed from this crappy weather in England at the moment. Because it's been raining so damn much I can't do the normal summery events, like frolicking in fields of daisies - my back garden - or have a barbecue. Thus I have been resigned to sitting in my window reading cookbooks all day, catching the brief glimpses of sunshine between the parting clouds and hoarding the vitamin D like a bear scoffing salmon, ready for a winter of hibernation. So because of this, I've had a lot of time on my hands to read. 


I'm sorry, I'm getting distracted here! Back to the post for today. Seeing as it has been raining, and it has been really muggy and humid, my appetite has pretty much entirely gone. The only thing I've really wanted is cashew nuts, a cashew nut that's had something special done to it. A warning, from henceforth there will be a lot of talk of my nuts. I dare you to keep a straight face...

Shiny Honey Cashews

2 handfuls nuts/about 400g (I used cashews because they're awesome, but pecans, hazelnuts...whatever, they all work)

160g (ish) sugar

1 tblsp honey

80ml (ish) water

- Put the honey, sugar and water into a pan and heat until it starts to gently boil on the hob (not too high on the heat!), this'll take about two or three minutes maximum. Make sure it's not too runny and the liquid has reduced slightly. The first time I made these I put it in too early and my nuts almost got scorched after a too lengthy cooking.
- Stir in the nuts and stir them constantly for about five minutes, until the water has all evaporated off and the nuts are covered in thick honey goo.
-When it looks sorta like caramel you're sorted, pour them out onto a covered baking sheet and spread them apart from each other pretty pronto, the caramel will be completely cold in about 3 minutes and you'll have to snap them apart (doesn't make them taste any different, they just become a little...spiky?)
- Let them cool.
- Scoff.

This recipe is really easy, it just required a little attention, you really do have to look after it otherwise it'll burn. It's also quite versatile, you can add spices to the mixture at the start, cinnamon works particularly well, a good pinch of cayenne does too. I hope you enjoy them! I'm wishing for sunshine for the whole UK so I can get a little more creative.

Peace

JR

Interrailing and Cherry Bakewells

The past week and a bit has been full of surprises for me. The official end of my Canadian application has fallen through, thank you very much IEC for losing my application. Although a bit of an inconvenience, it's actually turned out to be a positive thing, surprisingly. So instead of travelling one country, I've decided to travel thirty. Yes, The Damson Tree is hitting Europe for six weeks to gain some awesome knowledge to drop on you. Wow, that really sounded like an advert, apologies. 

A photograph I took on my camera phone last time I went to Prague...one of the many places i'm going back to!

But onwards! I won't dwell on the personal bit too much here because I've got some other sexy things to talk about today, but I thought I'd let you know there will be a bit of a change to the way I'm blogging over the latter parts of the Summer. So if you have any requests or questions, best to send them now before the 25th July! 




The reason I gave a bit of a heads up about the travelling, is partly because of the changes, but also because of the choice of recipe i'm giving you today. I thought I'd choose something that embodies all of my English-ness before I go. So I guess I should just dive right in. It's super simple to make!

Jess' Almost-Bakewell Cake

175g caster sugar

175g butter

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

140g self raising flour

80g ground almonds

Small handful of cherries, stoned and halved

Half a regular pot of cherry jam (I used Wilkins & Son's Ltd. Black Cherry Jam), warmed

10 Tblsp Icing Sugar

2 shots of Disaronno Amaretto (if you have it laying around, don't go out especially for it)

- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan)/gas mark 4 and line yourself a nice, reasonably sized square tin! These are going to be rich little almond-jammy squares not big hunks of cake!
- Cream the butter and the sugar together real quick until relatively fluffy, add in the vanilla and then the eggs in one by one, mixing in between.

- Add in the sifted flour and stir lightly in until almost fully incorporated.
- Stir in the almonds and one shot of Disaronno. 

- Spread a thin layer of the mixture across the bottom of the square tin and chuck a few of the fresh cherries onto the top, followed by big spoonfuls of the warmed jam.

- Roughly cover all the cherries and the jam in the rest of the mixture and pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes. You'll probably be closer to 30 minutes, but keep an eye on it because it can catch like a bitch in under a minute!
- Leave it to cool for five minutes in the tin, then pull it out onto a wire rack, keeping the greaseproof/silicone mat attached for now.
- This bit is entirely optional now, if you like it plain, you're very welcome to keep it plain and it'll taste lovely, but if you like it with a little icing on top, make the icing.
- Mix the icing sugar with the Disaronno (add a little at a time to stop it from getting too runny), if by the end of it it's still thick, add half teaspoons of water until it's relatively thin, you're not looking for a massive thick layer, just a thin drizzle really. 

- Pour it over your cooled cake and leave it to set for half an hour until you cut it up into little squares. Have a cup of tea, have a sit down, watch an episode of Futurama, you know, chill out.

And that's about it really, you can decorate it with whatever you like, I happened to have made some sugar cherry blossoms which fit quite nicely with it, but it's entirely up to you.

Peace

JR