Store Cupboard Barbecue Sauce

 Quick and easy BBQ sauce

The grey clouds have been lingering all day with a constant threat of rain until suddenly the sun is spotted. Before you know it's the best part of the day and the chance for a BBQ has to to be seized. A quick rifle through the kitchen cupboards and freezer and you're clutching some hotdogs, sausages and some pieces of unidentifiable meat. The problem is you have nothing to go with it. A quick and easy sauce would be the answer; something made with stuff you already have at home...

The good people at Kikkoman sent me a selection of their soy sauces and marinade to try out and of course soy sauce is the perfect store cupboard essential. Whilst many people associate soy sauce with just oriental dishes there are many other uses for it and it is a vital ingredient in this tangy BBQ accompaniment.

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15ml) Oil, sunflower or vegetable

1 Onion, chopped

2 tbsp (30ml) Sweet or country pickle or dark fruit chutney

2 tsp (10ml) Kikkoman Soy Sauce

2 tbsp (30ml)Tomato purée

¼ tsp (1.25ml) Caster sugar

1 tsp (5ml) Dijon mustard

1 tbsp (15ml) Vinegar

2 tbsp (30ml) Cornflour

¼ pint (150ml) Water

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onions until softened.

2. In a bowl mix together the pickle, Kikkoman Soy Sauce, tomato purée, sugar, mustard and vinegar.

3. Whisk the mixture until fully combined and then pour into the saucepan.

4. Add the cornflour to the water and stir.

5. Pour into the saucepan and then heat until just boiling and the sauce has thickened.

6. Serve with the barbecue meat of your choice.

Kikkoman sent me the Soy Sauce for free. No payment was made for writing this post.

Richmond Mini Meatballs Stroganoff

Richmond Mini Meatballs Stroganoff with Vegetable Savoury Rice

I recently had the opportunity to try the new Richmond Mini Meatballs as part of the BritMums' Hungry To Happy Challenge. Rather than being beef meatballs they are made of pork like Richmond sausages. 

Their selling point is that they are easy to prepare and take just 8 minutes in the oven to cook. You could of course serve them simply with a selection of potatoes, vegetables or baked beans but here's a way to make things a little more interesting but doesn't take long to cook and prepare either.

We served ours with savoury vegetable rice. This is easy cook rice boiled as normal with a chicken stock cube in it to give it some extra flavour. When the water starts to boil add finely chopped carrots and a few minutes before it is ready add frozen peas and sweetcorn and finely chopped red pepper. You can of course just have plain rice or pasta but remember to start it cooking first.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 4

Equipment: Baking tray, large frying pan

Ingredients

1 packet Richmond Mini Meatballs

1 tbsp (15ml) Oil

1 Onion, sliced

4 Mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp (15ml) Tomato purée

300ml carton of Low Fat Soured Cream

¼ tsp (1.25ml) Ground nutmeg

1 Green pepper, sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4

2. Prepare the vegetables while the oven is heating.

3. In the frying pan put the oil and start to heat up.

4. Put the Richmond Mini Meatballs on a baking tray and place in the oven to cook for 8 minutes.

5. Fry the onions and mushrooms until the onion starts to soften.

6. Add the tomato purée, soured cream, nutmeg, pepper and any salt and pepper you like.

7. Heat through until the Meatballs are ready and add them to the frying pan and stir in.

Serve with rice or pasta.

This post is an entry for BritMum's Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs. BritMums and Richmond sent me a packet of Mini Meatballs for free and no payment was received for this post.

Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffin

Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins

I like a blogging challenge – you may have noticed this if you have read some of the posts on here. So when the lovely Victoria from A Kick at the Pantry Door announced her new monthly blogging challenge of Feel Good Food I was in. To start the challenge the chosen ingredient is the superfood blueberries.

As always I knew I could bake the blueberries into a cake but I was undecided until I saw the theme of this month's Breakfast Club run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours. This month's host, Elizabeth at Elizabeth's Kitchen, has set High Fibre as the challenge and with some wheat bran to use up my mind was made up – muffins it was!

 

I thought I'd make these muffins vegan not just for dietary reasons but on a practical note. Quite often I run out of eggs but still want to bake so having some recipes that can be made out of store cupboard ingredients is very handy. This recipe contains no strange or hard to get ingredients. The bag of wheat bran came from my local branch of Morrisons.

As these muffins don't contain any eggs they don't rise like a muffin normally does. However, if you don't want to hoof down a bowl of cereal whilst trying to put your shoes on and dry your hair at the same time, this is the breakfast for you. Pop a couple in your bag and eat them at a more digestible moment.

Equipment: 12 cup muffin tin lined with cases.

Ingredients

7oz (200g) Wholemeal plain flour

5oz (150g) Demerara sugar

2½ oz (75g) Wheat bran

2 tsp (10ml) Baking powder

4½ oz (125g) Blueberries, washed and dried

8 tbsp (120ml) Sunflower oil

8fl oz (230ml) Water

1 tsp (5ml) Vanilla extract

1½ tsp (7.5ml) Lemon juice

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4.

2. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, wheat bran, baking powder and blueberries together. Make sure the blueberries are coated or they may sink.

3. In a separate bowl mix together the oil, water, vanilla extract and lemon juice.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Unlike other muffin mixes this isn't so wet.

5. Spoon the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cases.

6. Bake for 25 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Triple Mint Chocolate Cake

Who needs ice cream when you can have Triple Mint Chocolate Cake?

Some people class ice cream as a comfort food and while I like it I think it's too cold to qualify as something truly comforting. Cake however is a different matter, especially when served with a cup of tea. Although there has been some bouts of sunshine recently it still hasn't been ice cream melting weather so if you want the flavour of a mint choc-chip ice cream but the comfort of a cake then this bake is for you.

This cake came about through a meeting of the Clandestine Cake Club. The theme of the month was 'Spring Fresh Tastes' and my daughter always likes to make some sort of chocolate cake. For a fresh taste that went with chocolate I interpreted this to be mint and decided to triple it so you couldn't miss it. For the boiled mint sweets I used Sainsbury's Basics clear mints but anything like Fox's Glacier Mints will do. The chocolate I used for the topping was again Sainsbury's Basics.  It has the same cocoa solids content as Cadbury's Bourneville but at a fraction of the price. I also got the peppermint extract from Sainsbury's. It's from their Taste the Difference range but fear not thrifters, it was reduced. For the gel colouring I used Dr. Oekter's 'Lime Green' colour.

This month's We Should Cocoa challenge is being hosted by Victoria at A Kick At The Pantry Door and she has chosen 'Mint' as the theme. This challenge is run by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog and Chele at Chocolate Teapot.

 

With three layers to this cake I'm submitting it for this month's Tea Time Treats jointly run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and this month's host Kate at What Kate Baked.

 

Equipment: 9in (23cm) square baking tin, electric whisk, large mixing bowls, glass bowl to fit over a small saucepan.

Ingredients

Cake

3oz (75g) Cocoa powder

6oz (175g) Butter, softened or baking spread

10oz (275g) Plain flour

1½ tsp (7.5ml) Bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp (2.5ml) Baking powder

10oz (275g) Dark muscovado sugar

3 Large eggs

3oz (75g) Clear mint boiled sweets, crushed

 Frosting

4oz (110g) Butter, softened

10oz (275g) Icing sugar

1 tbsp Water

½ tsp (2.5ml) Peppermint extract

3 drops green gel food colouring

Topping

6oz (150g) Dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

3oz (75g) Butter, softened

¼ tsp (1.25ml) Peppermint extract

Method

1. In a jug measure 12fl oz (350ml) of boiling water and then dissolve the cocoa powder in it. Set aside to cool.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Prepare the tin by greasing/lining it.

3. Pour the cocoa in a large bowl and then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder.

4. Into the bowl add the butter/baking spread, sugar and eggs. Using an electric whisk beat until all well combined.

5. Stir in the mints then pour into the tin.

6. Bake for about 1 hour until cooked through completely. Leave in the tin to cool.

7. For the frosting get a large bowl and add all the ingredients.

8. Mix until well combined and the gel colouring isn't streaky.

9. Spread over the cooled cake base.

10. To make the topping use put the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. 

11. Stir until it is fully melted and smooth.

12. Stir in the peppermint extract.

13. Spread over the frosting.

14. Refrigerate until set – this will be a minimum of 1 hour. 

Back in the Garden

The 1^st of June brought with it a day of fine sunshine and an early knock on the door from the postman. I have to admit I was enjoying a Saturday morning bath whilst reading a copy of Gardeners World so it was quite appropriate that it was a rather splendid children's gardening set from BritMums and Moneysupermarket.com. 

My daughter squealed with delight when she saw the contents of the kit and wanted to start sowing seeds straight away. First things first and we needed to have breakfast before we ventured out. Many people think that gardening means constant expense but in true JibberJabberUK fashion I have a few tips to keep those costs down and be a bit eco-friendly at the same time. Therefore, once breakfast had been consumed the egg shells and tea bags went straight in the compost.

It didn't take long for my daughter to get the gloves on and start planning who was going to plant what seeds. She immediately went for 'Pretty Flower Family'.

To start with we already had a tray of French beans that needed planted on. French beans are an excellent crop to grow, particularly if you have small plot. They are easy to grow and the seeds are a good size for little fingers to push into the soil. The yield is good and you can get several crops throughout the season if keep planting seeds every couple of weeks. I've kept excess seeds for the next year and still got masses of tasty beans.

Both the pot and the bamboo sticks have been used year after year. My son couldn't wait to use the watering can!

Once my son had used the watering can my daughter wanted to use it too so I told her to give my new lime mint plant a water. I bought this herb last week at the garden centre at RHS Wisley. So you're thinking it must have been quite expensive. Indeed not – it cost £1.99 for a strong and unusual plant. It also has the added benefit of attracting bees and butterflies. Don't be afraid of good quality garden centres because if you look hard there's plenty of good value stuff about. Be prepared to buy small and have the pleasure of seeing it grow.

Another good source of cheap plants are clearance sections. True some specimens should be officially classed as 'dead' but many simply need to planted in the ground or a bigger pot and watered. With the weather being so terrible this year I've noticed (and taken advantage of) several large clearance areas in different shops. Some years ago I rescued a twig with a couple of green shoots on it from Sainsbury's for 10p. It's now a thriving gooseberry bush and the kids love a crumble made with freshly picked fruits.

If you're keeping an eye on the pennies who can't get better than free. Aquilegias seed themselves to the extent they could almost be classed as a weed. Ask neighbours, friends and family if they have any spare they can dig up and give to you. They make excellent bed fillers, need no special care and come back year after year.

Our strawberry plants were also free courtesy of an offer from a newspaper that I buy anyway (I subscribe so get a discount, of course). I just had to go my local DIY store to claim them. To help keep the slugs I put the grounds from my husband's coffee around them.

Onto our seed planting! My son couldn't believe his luck when he picked up a trowel and started digging into the bag of compost without being told to stop! Thankfully he was quite happy at getting as little soil as possible in the trough rather than eating it.

Once my daughter managed to fill the trough with some soil it was time to get some seeds in. Although her brother was happy at getting his hands as mucky as possible my daughter was taking no chances and insisted on wearing her gloves! A helping hand from Daddy was required.

After a little persuading my daughter took her gloves off and made sure we knew what we had just planted by writing out some plant tags. Don't be boring and write in black – go multicoloured! I take no responsibility for any spelling mistakes.

My son was literally on hand when it came to the watering of the seeds but this time his big sister was firmly in charge.

Once the seeds were all sown it was time to tidy up and admire our hard work.

After all that it was time to claim our reward of some lemon, ricotta and almond bundt cake and a well earned cuppa!

This post is an entry for BritMums' #KidsGrowWild Challenge. The gardening kit was sent to me for free and no payment was received for writing this post.

Chartwell

Winston Churchill's home of Chartwell

While the days in between the two May Bank Holidays haven't been very good weather wise the actual Bank Holidays themselves have been rather nice in the parts I have been. Not ones to waste such sunshine we decided to make use of our National Trust membership to take a trip to Chartwell.

Michaelmas daisies

Chartwell is situated just outside the Kent village of Westerham. Like many National Trust properties Chartwell has a large main house and a substanital surrounding estate and gardens. However, its 'USP' is the fact that it was the private family home of Winston Churchill or to give him his full name, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill. Churchill bought the Chartwell in 1922 for £5,000 but in the next two years spent £18,000 on renovations to the house before moving his family in. 

Wisteria growing up the back of the house

Churchill lived at Chartwell until the outbreak of the Second World War and returned, somewhat reluctantly after he was ousted as Prime Minister in 1945. My Great-Grandmother, who lived in the east end of London during the war, branded Churchill a 'warmonger' and said people were afraid he would drag the country back into war. Apparently he was so devastated at losing the election he made plans to sell Chartwell and move to France so he could spend his time painting. Friends of Churchill persuaded him to stay in the country but Chartwell was already a huge financial burden that he was struggling to maintain. Enter some very generous friends and a deal to buy Chartwell. Led by Lord Camrose, the group each donated a sum of money in order to buy Chartwell but allow the Churchills to live there for a nominal rent until they both died. After Churchill died in 1965 Lady Churchill moved out and Chartwell was given to the National Trust.

The house from the orchard

Now Chartwell is the third most visited National Trust property and the most visited house in the country. Entrance to the house is by a timed ticket given to you when you arrive but while you wait there is plenty to investigate first. A short walk brings you to the pond that Churchill used to sit beside and feed his fish. Despite being late May there was still a fine display of azaleas and rhododendron.

The pond where Churchill used to sit and feed the fish

At the back of the house there are two lawns which the kids had great fun running round. There are formal aspects as well such as Lady Churchill's Rose Garden.

Lady Churchill's Rose Garden

While it was too early for the roses the wisteria tree was in full bloom.

Wisteria tree in the Rose Garden

At the end of the lawn is terrace is the Marlborough Pavilion built in the 1920s and decorated by his nephew, John Spencer-Churchill, in 1949. Churchill's grandfather was the 7^th Duke of Marlborough and the scenes depict various campaigns of the 1^st Duke of Marlborough.

The Marlborough Pavilion

Inside the house itself it is styled as it would have been in its heyday of the 1930s. Churchill was in his 'wilderness' years at the time while his young family were growing up. No photographs are allowed in the house but there are great views across the Weald of Kent from the terrace.

Churchill's art studio and the Weald of Kent from the house's terrace

There are various displays around the house showing elements of Churchill's varied life as politician, writer and artist. In one room there is a range of Churchill's uniforms and formal robes plus the velvet boiler suit he had specially made to wear in the evenings. The original 'Onesie'!

The back of the house

When you leave the house a path leads down to the orchard. On my way there I came across one the house cats 'Franklin' enjoying the sun. 

One of the house cats, Franklin

Any decent estate would have needed to provide it's own fruit and vegetables. Chartwell has a variety of cherry and apple trees. No doubt some of them would have gone towards making a few pints of Kentish cider.

The orchard

In the kitchen garden one section is given over to growing flowers for the house. At the back is the vegetable garden, planted up but still waiting for the crops to grow.

Vegetable seedlings in the kitchen garden

From the kitchen garden you make your way towards Churchill's studio. Churchill was a prolific artist and used his hobby for both enjoyment and therapy for his depression. The studio has a number of Churchill's personal art collection plus some of his own compositions. Also there are some letters and instructions from Churchill airing his views on the term 'most grateful' and that Istanbul should still be referred to as Constantinople.

View across the orchard to Churchill's studio

There's a large amount of woodland at Chartwell to explore but we didn't time have time to see it as the tea room started to call to us. After a pot of Earl Grey and a look around the shop it was time to make our way home.