Bunting-tastic

During July and August, I spent most of my spare time making bunting for a family wedding in the south of France. The bride asked for a vintage look with pastels, to fit in with her overall theme. I found fabric and double-checked that she liked it, and then got on with the job. In the end, I cut out 280 flags, and made it up in ten metre lengths to make 60 metres to zig-zag across the room. It was a lot of work, but so much fun, and it looked fantastic.


The trick is to find four to six fabrics that work together tone and colour wise. I cut out the flags using pinking shears using this template and then play around with the order until I'm happy with it.

I then pin it up using 2.5cm wide bias binding cut in to ten metre lengths...

And then sew it up...

The real satisfaction came not when I finished it, but when I put it up in the hall where the reception was held. It really set all the other amazing hand-made decorations off. It was a fantastic wedding, and such a pleasure to be a part of in a small way.

Turkish Sausage Rolls

I buy food magazines a lot. Whenever I go home to Australia to visit, I inevitably come back to the UK with many, many pages joyously ripped out and then stuffed in a corner of my over-full bag.

Last time I was there, I ripped out this Turkish Sausage Rolls recipe from Australian Delicious magazine. This weekend, I finally got around to making it. M was very happy with the results, and is gleefully taking these to work as snacks. Me on the other hand, well, I wasn't entirely happy with them. The meat was too hard for my liking – probably because I'm used to traditional pork sausage rolls. If I make them again, I think I'll add some milk soaked bread to soften them up, as well as using fresh oregano and mint.

What I absolutely loved, was the Sumac. What a revelation. It is now officially my favourite spice. It tastes fantastic on everything, especially tomatoes.  I'll definitely be using it in as many things as possible until I get sick of it!

Turkish Sausage Rolls - from Australian Delicious Magazine
500g lean lamb mince
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried oregano
2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp sumac
Pomegranate molasses, for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Combine lamb, garlic, spices and herbs in a bowl and season.

Press the pastry sheets together to form a long sheet, then halve lengthways.

Divide filling between the pastry, shaping it into a log along one side.

Roll up to form a roll, brush pastry edge with water and press to seal. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sumac (lots of it!).

Place, seam-side down, on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Drizzle molasses over sausage rolls and slice, then serve.

Enjoy!

Custard Creams...from scratch

I was a bit late jumping on 'The Boy Who Bakes' band wagon. I didn't watch The Great British Bake Off.  I discovered his blog only a few months ago, and I'm so glad I did. I tried Edd's recipe for Custard Creams, available on his 'The Boy Who Bakes' blog.

Custard Creams are definitely a British institution. Until I arrived in the UK, I'd never tried one. They aren't easy to avoid, every single office in the land has a packet of them somewhere.  So, I decided to try to make some. They were easy to make, and the results were great.

Edd Kimber's Custard Cream recipe... worth a try!

Banana, Chocolate and Pecan Bread

Thomasina Miers single-handedly revolutionised my taste buds and changed my favourite food from Thai to Mexican through her restaurant chain Wahaca.  M and I regularly go there for dinner, but apart from churros, I rarely have dessert there.

I bought her new cookbook over the weekend, and found a recipe for Banana, Chocolate and Pecan Bread. If you're anything like us, bananas don't always get eaten when they should, and so demand to be turned in to banana bread. This recipe takes it one step further but still manages to transcend previous attempts and expectations.  I took some in to work today and received an email from one of my colleagues entitled 'The best cake I've ever tasted... can I have the recipe?'

So here it is. I didn't cook it in a loaf tin as suggested, as mine was too small, instead I used a square loose-bottomed tin. Rave reviews from M, and my colleagues and numerous recipe requests mean that this is going in the favourites file!

Banana, Chocolate and Pecan Bread – from Thomasina Miers 'Wahaca – Mexican Food at Home'