Midnight Macaroon Bars

10pm this evening. "Mum don't forget I have to dress up in World War 2 clothes and take in a World War 2 packed lunch and sweets tomorrow to school"
And incidentally, yes I had forgotton. I called my mum for a chat (which I have been meaning to do since the WW2 packed lunch idea was first mooted) and quizzed her about rationing and wartime food. And, other than nipping down to the shop for spam or corned beef, this was the best idea we came up with... and I am so glad we did.

These wee Scottish sweeties are made of mashed potato and sugar - basically it was a way to make a little bit of sugar go a long long way - then tossed in dark chocolate and finished by rolling in toasted coconut. A very special treat when there were few treats around but no less one today. These could easily become a staple with coffee after dinner. Apologies for the dodgy photographs but as I said - it is nearly midnight and I need them for school tomorrow.


Almost a recipe for Macaroon Bars
As much mashed potato as you have left over (at least 3 tbsp)
A big bag of icing sugar
A small bar of chocolate

Some dessicated coconut

Whisk the icing sugar into the mashed potato until you have a firm but pliable dough, don't be surprised that it goes almost runny before it starts to firm up, just keep adding icing sugar until it reaches the right consistency.

Shape into long thin bars or small squares.(squares are best to serve with coffee... bars are best as wartime snacks for hungry 10 year olds)

Chill in the fridge for 30 mins.

Melt the chocolate.

Toast the dessicated coconut under a grill for a few minutes until golden, watch it carefully as it burns very quickly.

Remove the squares of fondant from the fridge, coat in the chocolate and then roll in the coconut. This is a messy business, I found it helpful to have lots of spoons and a jugful of hot water to clean them off handy.
Chill for 30 mins till the chocolate sets hard.

Scotch Whisky Glazed Salmon

I've not been cooking at home properly for a few weeks now. Too much reliance on good weather and a barbecue means that now the sun has disappeared, I am left wondering what we usually live on. Cooking in the cafe all day means that evening meals mid-week need to be healthy and summery but quick and easy to give me a break from the kitchen.

Looking for a robust flavour to add some interest to a piece of unremarkable salmon, something that would stand up to the smokiness of the barbecue but not drown out the delicate flavour of the fish I was hunting around in the cupboard and came across a collection of malt whisky bottles with a shot left in each. Finally deciding on a lightly peaty Talisker whisky, I marinated it for an hour or so then griddled it on the barbecue. adding a gorgeous rich smoky depth of flavour to the fish.

This could be thrown on the barbie and cooked in minutes to serve with a salad but if you are rained off, it is just as lovely on the griddle as the whisky brings its own distinctive smokiness.

Scotch Whisky Glazed Salmon
4x150g (6oz) salmon fillets
2tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Scotch whisky (I used Talisker but any good flavoured whisky would do)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp orange juice
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Mix together the whisky, honey, soy sauce, orange juice and garlic in a ziplock bag.
Add the salmon fillets and marinate for 1 hour 
Heat the olive oil in a griddle pan or heavy frying pan.
Place the salmon fillets in the pan skin-side down and baste with the marinade.
Fry for 2-3 minutes then turn and fry the other side for a minute or two until the fish is opaque.
Remove the fish to a plate, drizzle with the juices from the pan.
Serve with green salad.

Treacle Scones

I've abandoned my blog these past few weeks. There has not been a moment to spare between getting the cafe up and running, creating menus, shopping, testing, advertising and trying to get up to speed with all the legal paperwork required. We've been catering birthday parties, business lunches, training days and somehow trying to create routines and organise the cafe into the bargin. So trying out new recipes has not been a problem, just finding the time to write them down and take photographs of them!

This month I have been experimenting with scones, cranberry and orange, vanilla rhubarb, blueberry, cheese and dill and maple syrup. Many of our customers love the traditional plain scone that has been a staple of most cafe menus for many years but most seem to be attracted to the more unusual fruit-filled versions.

In search of a toffee flavoured scone, I started to search through all my oldest cookbooks. Treacle scones are a very old-fashioned and traditional Scottish tea-time treat. All the leather bound cookbooks I've inherited have recipes, and all the wee Scottish cookbooks picked up on holidays or in charity shops feature their own versions. This is an amalgam of various very similar recipes. The treacle (molasses) can be replaced by golden syrup for a lighter version.

Treacle Scones
225g self-raising flour
55g butter
25g caster sugar
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons black treacle
Pinch of salt
Approx 115ml milk

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub in the butter lightly until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and treacle then add just enough milk to make a soft dough.
Bring together and roll out on a floured board.
Cut into rounds with a 10cm pastry cutter.
Butter a baking tray and place the scones on this.
Brush with a little milk and bake for 12 minutes until golden and aromatic.
Cool on a wire rack and serve dripping with butter and jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

Don't you just love spring. Sometimes it seems forever coming, I spend weeks on wee forages into the garden looking for buds, checking the herbs for signs of new life and then eventually feeling the delight at finding those first tender stems of rhubarb poking through their big cabbage-like leaves.

Most of those early signs of life are snapped up by my boys for the traditional Scottish treat of raw rhubarb dipped in a pot of sugar but I managed to spirit a few away to try these muffins.

Green Apple Cafe is a week old now and the fresh food and home baking seems to be going down well with those who have ventured way out into the countryside to find us. This week we've been trying out all sorts of recipes: oatmeal biscuits, rocky road cookies, cupcakes, tray bakes and scones to name just a few but just for today I need to make the most of this meagre bounty from the garden. I started with rhubarb scones, then made rhubarb crumble cupcakes (definitely coming back to those) but my favourite of the day is rhubarb strawberry muffins. On sale with coffee tomorrow.


Rhubarb Strawberry Muffins

150 g rhubarb
1 tbsp sugar
280g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
85g caster sugar
1 egg
125 ml whole milk
150 ml strawberry yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2oz melted butter
5 strawberries

Chop the rhubarb and place the rhubarb and a tablespoon of sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add just enough water to cover. Cook gently for around 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the muffin batter.
Prepare the muffin tins. Preheat oven to 180C.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.
In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, yogurt, butter and vanilla together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir to combine. The batter will be slightly lumpy.
Add the prepared rhubarb and stir through the muffin batter.
Top each muffin with half a strawberry.
Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Smoked Fish Fritatta

The sun shines gloriously, fooling you in your cocoon that it is warm and spring-like outdoors. When you emerge, the weather nips and the air burns your lungs with its chill. So I've been in the kitchen more than usual this week experimenting with traditional Scottish winter food. It suits the weather and our sense of local and sustainable food but if you're not careful, you might find yourself eating turnip in various forms for six months of the year. Because of that, smoked fish and meat is common in Scotland, helping excite our taste buds and encouraging our winter diet to stray from the ubiquitous tunip.

This whole week has been spent in a fug of smoky air. I've had smoked haddock fishcakes, Cullen Skink, smoked salmon kedgeree and more than one flavour of fritatta. Today it smells like breakfast time in a wee country B&B. Smoked fish, whipped eggs and creamy potatoes are cooking placidly on the hob making a delicate but dense fritatta.

I love smoked fish, not just salmon but trout, mackeral, haddock even smoked mussels and crab. Only gentle cooking and some simple companions are needed to serve as a foil for its strength and showcase its gutsy flavours. This is based on a traditional Cullen Skink soup, rich, creamy and dense but, departing from tradition a little, it has light curry spicing.

Cullen Skink Fritatta
250g smoked, undyed haddock
100ml milk
6 eggs
100ml double cream
2 tbsp butter
1 leek, finely sliced
1 tsp medium curry powder
2 potatoes, cooked and diced
Salt and Pepper
Small bunch parsley

Poach the fish in the milk and enough water to cover for 4-6 minutes till lightly cooked. Drain and set aside
Beat the eggs and cream together till light and fluffy. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and saute the leeks until soft and melting.
Add the curry powder and cook gently for a minute or two. 
Add the potatoes and stir gently for a few minutes to meld with the leeks and spices.
Flake the fish into the fritatta and pour the eggs and cream into the pan.
Cook on a low heat until the fish is cooked through and the eggs begin to set.
Sprinkle with a few grinds of pepper, some parsley and a scant 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt. 
Place the pan under a preheated grill until the frittata is set and golden on top.
Serve with oatcakes and salad and a curry spiced chutney.

Fresh Raspberry and Vanilla Jam

Scotland is known for its prolific berry farms. Brambles, tayberries, blaeberries, blackcurrants and raspberries both grow wild and are farmed throughout - the cooler summers and long days apparently encourage their sweetness. This week I am clearing out my freezer, which mostly means a week of eating portions of frozen chilli and left-over curry. However, hidden deep under the frozen spinach are two bags of raspberries picked and flash-frozen at the height of season last autumn and crying out to brighten this winter's day.

This is no jam in the traditional sense of the word - fruit boiled up for an age and preserved in jars (lovely though that can be). This fruity concoction is somwhere between a fruit compote and a fresh sauce that will liven up any breakfast with only a few minutes work.

Don't expect this raspberry jam to last forever, without the boiling process, it is not preserved! If it is not eaten within hours (which in my house it invariably is), it will keep in the fridge for about a week. Do expect it to be a little runnier than traditional jam - it needs a spoon rather than a knife to spread but the fresh zingy raspberry flavour is more than worth the minor inconvenience. If you are using frozen raspberries, defrost before cooking.

Not so much a recipe but a suggestion for: 

Raspberry and Vanilla Jam

Equal quantities of raspberries and caster sugar

For 2 punnets of raspberries (approx 200g) you will need either 1 vanilla pod or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Place the raspberries in an oven proof dish.

Place the caster sugar in another oven proof dish.

Heat the raspberries and sugar in the oven for around 10 minutes until warmed through.

Watch carefully to ensure the sugar does not burn.

Remove both from the oven and whisk together with the vanilla seeds or extract.

Allow to cool then store in the fridge for a week.

Cullen Skink

My camera is not working.... but I wanted to post this anyway. The wind is howling a gale outside, the rain lashing against the windows and I have a huge list of things to do but can't be bothered so am staying home to make soup. It is time, finally, to lay aside the hot weather food of summer months and embrace winter flavours, I need to make food to warm our bones and comfort us as we pack away the holiday clothes and break out the thermal underwear.

This truly Scottish concoction is not just a soup, more of a stew, a bit like an American chowder, rich dense and warming - perfect for a day like this. Although my version is not entirely authentic, it is exactly what I crave today. Hot garlic, potatoes and cream all flavoured with salty smoky haddock.

The village we live inis a good drive to the nearest fishmonger so we rely on a couple of salt soaked vans travelling through each week to provide us with our fish course. This week its the smoked haddock I can smell as I walk through the village square.

Cullen Skink
500g smoked haddock fillets (undyed if possible)
500ml milk
25g butter
2 leeks, white only finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
500g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 5mm dice
Salt and Pepper
Double Cream to finish

Put the smoked haddock fillets in a pan with 200ml milk. Add a little water to cover the fish if necessary. Boil for 6-8 mins depending on the thickness of the fish, until the fish is just cooked. Remove the fish (reserve the liquid) and flake into chunks.

Add the potatoes to the reserved milk. Boil for 10-15 mins until the potatoes are soft. remove the pan from the heat and mash the potatoes into the liquid until thick, smooth and creamy.

Melt the butter in a large pan and saute the leeks and garlic until they are meltingly soft. Do not allow them to colour, this soup should be a pallid creamy shade, no speckles of green or brown.

Combine the potato mixture and cooked fish in one pan with the leeks and add the remaining 300ml milk. Season well with lots of pepper (white if you have it). Smoked haddock can be very salty so taste before you add salt - you may not need any.

Warm through at a low heat for a few minutes then serve with a swirl of double cream on top some buttered soda or country bread on the side.

Warming the House

A gorgeous night, the unveiling of our friends' new house-extension, interiors worthy of Home and Garden, lovely people in fullest socialising mode, the drinks were flowing freely and the hosts asked me to cook... and I love to cook party food.
I agonised over Mediterranen vs Asian, hot vs cold, one bite vs fork and plate and how to get all my current favourites on one plate at the same time.... at the end of deliberations, the menu was:

• Smoked salmon on rye with curried egg salad
• Indian spiced scones with plum and black pepper chutney
• Lemon and thyme chicken skewers with satay sauce
• Spinach dip with dukkah dippers
• Blue cheese shortbread with honey and figs
• Tandoori prawns on mini poppadoms

and

• Mini cranachan for dessert

With such fantastic hosts, and stunning setting, any food would stand out, but my fave on saturday was the mini cranachan. I found these little shot glasses and spoons and I want to use them for every meal we have. Mini gazpacho before lunch, mini beef stew as an after school snack, mini trifle, they are going to get so much use! If you make these with any little shot glasses, follow the sizes below - otherwise, double the recipe and make full sized desserts for 6 grown ups.

Mini Cranachan (makes around 18 - for full size - just double the recipe)
1 punnet of raspberries
1 tub of double cream
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp good whisky
1 tbsp icing sugar
2oz porridge oats
2oz light muscovado sugar

In the bottom of each glass, place one or two raspberries.
Whisk the cream until it starts to hold its shape then whisk in the honey, whisky and icing sugar till light and airy.
In a dry pan, roast the oats and sugar together, do not leave this alone or it will burn, keep stirring it around the pan until the oats and sugar have melded into a lovely toffee colour and toasted crunchy texture.
Top the raspberries with the cream concoction then sprinkle with crunchy oatmeal.