Perfect Summer Loaf: Fougasse Made with a Bread Maker

...and I was pretty happy with the results. Delicious served alongside a Tapas-y lunch of olives, ripe summer tomatoes, Serrano ham and some rocket and salty cheese.  This is a traditional 'focaccia' type loaf originally from Provence in the South of France.  I like it's salty soft texture that is rich with olive oil.

I used dried 'Herbes de Provence' from a cloth bag.  They included some delicious sprinkles of fennel and lavender.

Ingredients

475g strong white flour
1.5 teasp salt
3 tbsp fresh chopped herbs / 1.5 teasp dried mixed herbs
1.25 teasp fast-action yeast
4 tablespoons olive oil
250 ml water

Place in breadmaker.  Set to basic dough (This takes 2 hours in a Panasonic).
Form into two flat shapes and slit with knife.
Leave to rise for 30 mins.
Bake at 220 degrees Celsius or 8-10 mins.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on sea salt.

Devon Book Review: A Taste of the Unexpected by Mark Diacono

Just a quick post to express how much pleasure I got from reading this wonderful book.  The experts on Gardener's Question Time on Radio 4 a few weeks ago were quick to dismiss people's desire to grow 'weird' vegetables - apparently white carrots are tasteless and some of the more extravagantly coloured vegetables often fail to thrive and are generally a waste of time.  So that's that, I thought, don't bother with all that fancy schmancy stuff in my veg patch.  Then...along comes this book by Mark Diacono.  He's one of Hugh's River Cottage experts, runs courses there and grows at Otter Farm near Honiton.

I unreservedly love this book because:

a) there aren't any pictures of the author posing artfully either with cleverly positioned 'mud' on knees or flour on cheek, or smiling winsomely at his prize veg with shabby chic decor in the background and old enamel mug

b) he actually took all the photos of the gardens and veg inside the book (repect!)

c) it also has recipes - some of which are a bit fancy, but some plain and easy

d) he really inspired me to experiment - hell, why not grow apricots, goji berries, szechuan pepper in our back gardens / window boxes

e) only one cute picture of child in a garden (I am really naffed off with cookery / lifestyle writers getting their kids involved in photoshoots)

f) loved his ethos of 'grow expensive/ unbuyable produce' rather than onions, potatoes, carrots type stuff

So, let's grow and eat day lilies - this was a fab bit of advice as I was sat outside next to my sprouting day lilies while I was reading this bit.  I reached over, snapped off a flower bud and it did indeed taste a bit like a French bean but with a slight chilli kick.  How naughty and lovely.  Eating flowers. Nasturtiums are budding so I shall be sprinkling them on my salads, deep frying  day lilies and planning how to fit an apricot into our full-the-brim garden.  And definitely some Egyptian Walking Onions (what a name!).  And possibly some Japanese wineberries just so I can make the delicious sounding Japanese Wineberry Trifle.

He's also got a really good blog.  I have a new foodie hero and, what's more, he's a Devon lad!

And this is our vege patch at the moment- not a gojiberry in sight.

And I had to include a picture of our Angelica (yes that green twiggy crystalline stuff that no-one has put on a cupcake even ironically since the 70s) which has turned into a beanstalk - it was 6ft tall until it keeled over in the wind.

Chocolate, Rosemary and Olive Oil Cake - The Jury's Out

I cribbed this recipe from this lovely blog:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/rosemary-olive-oil-cake-recipe.html

The full recipe is on her site, and I won't repeat it here.  It's adapted from a recipe from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce.

This cake has no butter (or marg), just olive oil and has plenty of chopped nuggets of dark chocolate and a good smattering of finely chopped rosemary.  The top is crisp, crunchy and sugared like a muffin.  I cooked it for a friend who came for lunch and we both loved it, it's unusual but good.  There is a savoury note to the cake (rather like focaccia) but in a good way.

Then I sliced some for my family.  My son refused point blank to have anything to do with a herby cake.  My daughter tried a few tastes and left the rest (it had chocolate in it, for goodness sake, she must have hated it) and my husband's comment was classic.  "It's an anti-cake.  You take a bite of it and it makes you never want to eat any more cake again.  Ever.  It puts you off cake."  Charming!

So, I saved a few slices for myself and gave the rest to my friend and her family - all three of them love it (or are being very polite!).  The jury's out 4 people love it, 3 people loathe it.  What do you think?

Freeze Garden Herbs Now!

It's time to freeze our green herbs - this is our tea tray covered in a veritable mountain of flat leaf parsley from the garden.  I consulted my herb book which says that green herbs such as parsley, chives, basil, dill and coriander can all be frozen directly in freezer bags without any preparation like blanching or chopping.  Ideal.

I'm aware that frosts are around the corner so these herbs have a death sentence on them at the moment.  So quick, if you have any lovely, lush green herbs in your window box / veg patch, get them in the freezer for use over the cooler months.

My book recommends to freeze them in small batches in freezer bags and then place them in a larger box to prevent crushing.  It'll be interesting to see how intact they are when I use them from frozen, or whether they go khaki and mushy.