Kitchen Chemist

Parsnip cake (tastes of oranges) As referred to in my weekly post, a mid-way carrot cake had to change course as I went to the cupboard only not to find a carrot. The cake is based on a couple of recipes, I didn't want it too moist as the cooking times go haywire. My wife tried a Jamie Oliver recipe once that said something like 40 minutes - 2 hours later it was cooked. This cake ended up moist and tasty, but could probably have looked better in a 1 lb loaf tin not a 2 lb. It got the thumbs up from all other cake eaters in the house. Ingredients 2 oz butter 2 oz sunflower oil 3 oz sugar or substitute (I used xylitol) 2 eggs 4 oz self-raising flour 2 oz sultanas 1 orange, zest and juice 1 oz chopped nuts (I used almonds) 4 oz grated parsnip (you need about 6 oz parsnip to yield this) 3 oz icing sugar for glacé icing Method Cream the butter and sugar, add the oil and continue to beat. Add the eggs and combine. Add the sultanas, orange zest, chopped nuts, p

Onion soup hiding beneath giant cheese croutons Flu between Christmas and the return to work robbed me of the culinary fun I had planned. My wife picked up the slack, cooking through until the 5th when I made my return to the chef's role. Sea bass, roasted with garlic and lemon, and served with an uncomplicated tomato pasta. Saturday continued the revival, and a delicious but simple Onion Soup. 6 onions, sliced and sautéed in butter for 30 minutes. A pint of stock and a pint of cider. Slow simmering and reduction for 2 hours. The cheese croutons soak up most of the juice, and boiling hot from the broth and the molten cheese are somewhat tricky to eat first.    Raspberry lemon sauce pudding No weekend would be complete without a roast, and a delicious leg of lamb from Denstone Hall Farm Shop didn't disappoint. Enough left over for a curry. Pudding was the wonderful Raspberry Lemon Sauce Pudding . One of the many in the repertoire of my mother-in-law, and a

Not blogged for a while. New Year, New Start to recording my food fun. Christmas, a mix of visiting and suffering from flu, was not a great time for culinary adventures. Visits cancelled, Christmas cake unfinished, and no great rush to use up pounds and ounces of leftovers. The new Nigel Slater book, partially flicked, consigned to the shelf for next year. But away with the misery, there is still time for plenty of winter cooking. A lovely bowl of French onion soup, topped with cheesy croutons. A winter pudding, warm and soaked in custard, so accompany the Sunday roast this week. Tonight though, is the first fish meal of the year. Two whole sea bass and a fillet for my son, to be roasted with lemon and garlic.

We're hoping to move. It should have been in the next week or so, but as always there are delays. Since April I have been working to reduce the stock in the cupboard and chest freezer. Two months later and I still haven't finished. I don't think we'll have no frozen items, but there are a few more apple crumbles with frozen stewed apple, some more jam and a few more fish meals to go. Destocking the cupboard has been a much slower task. Somehow we had a few kg of different rices; we're almost at the point where all packets are open and in use. A house-moving fruit cake should help to use up a fair amount of the dried fruit in the baking cupboard.

There are many many tasty ice cream flavours but a few years ago I found an absolutely amazing fruit flavour. Normally the creaminess or sweetness of the rest of the ice cream makes fruit flavours like strawberry or raspberry inferior to the fresh fruit. Redcurrant ice cream is different. I found a Delia recipe for blackcurrant and substituted. It produces a lovely pink ice cream with a strong fruit flavour that goes well with many puddings. Delia Recipe

An easy dinner based on an idea from a colleague, who in turn got it from Jamie Oliver (I think). I adapt the meal to suit the time of year - the type of veg in the roasting pan varies. In winter it's root veg and in late summer it's home-grown onions, tomatoes and courgettes. But at the moment we're still relying on the veg box. Roughly chop your veg, I went for onion, courgette, pepper, tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and add herbs of choice. In winter I use fennel seeds but this time I used oregano. Roast at 170 - 180 °C for 20 minutes. Add the pork steaks / chop and continue to cook for 40 minutes more.