Tuesday 8 November 2011

Whopping Whoopies!

For those of you who are fans of my photographs, you know the ill-lit ones which divide my posts so you can get a rough idea of the aesthetic qualities of the dish, I'm very sorry, there aren't any this time. And, also, hello, it's been a while.

For starters, something so simple, I can barely believe I haven't ever made them: dumplings. These were to go in a buffalo stew. I really couldn't believe how easy they were. Just a combination of flour, suet and water. And so satisfying. I'm very glad I've discovered that there are absolutely no tricks to making these--or am I, this could lead to my rapidly becoming as wide as I am tall.

So, my love affair with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cooking continues. I have had a month of buying lovely new cookbooks, one of which is River Cottage Veg Everyday. I bought it because I want to eat less meat. Sam is also, currently, of the mind that a bit less meat might be good for us--I shan't bore you with our reasons. Anyway, I made porotos granados a hearty soup of squash, beans (green and canellini) and sweetcorn--straight off the cob, natch! This is quite spicy from the smoked paprika (and I could only find hot not sweet) but it's everything an autumn soup should be: filling, warming, and a bit like a stew, so you don't feel cheated out of your dinner on a cold night.

Ok, and lastly, the second cookbook I picked up in a post payday Amazon frenzy is Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet, an amazing baking bible, beautifully packaged and wonderful in its variety (there are also some savoury recipes in there). I decided to have a go at whoopies, as I like the name and they're not widely available in Leeds (beyond Harvey Nicks).

Some time ago, whoopies were heralded by certain foodie types as 'the next cupcakes', but I think they are nicer as they have a marshmallow filling, rather than diabetes inducing amounts of buttercream on top. I made Lepard's raspberry varient on these half soft cookie/half cake but a bit like a scone American mallow filled treats--although I used blackberry jam for the filling instead. These also had coconut in them. I mis-read a direction somewhere along the line, and instead of having several small and dainty mini cakes, I ended up with eight truly prodigious ones. No matter, they were good, and easy to make--certainly no harder than cupcakes. I would like marshmallow to glue more of my foods together.

So, I am now a mere dinner party away from completing my 111, which is quite exciting. See you next time.

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