Me? Why I am so sweet!

Hello All! My name is Ashley; I am a 21 year old student studying Food and Consumer Science at Abertay University, Dundee. I enjoy simple treats and pleasures in life; especially when it comes to food. A bar of chocolate when I’m feeling down and moody; warm milk and honey to help me get to sleep; a Sunday roast with the family is exceptionally important (especially at Christmas!) and in my opinion a nice home-made curry or lasagne always hits the spot after a night out in the town. Do not forget the Irn Bru!! As a food student studying my final honours year, I absolutely love modifying and creating my own recipes with ingredients that are either unusual or are not used very much in home cooking. Taking a traditional or well-known recipe and altering it to fit my needs, wants and cravings. Experiment!

Family at Christmas 2010...mmm yummy wine!

When I was little, I thought flowers were there to make the garden look pretty; I thought that they were “invented” to make perfume so that my mummy could smell nice. Naïve as I was, I spent most of my days of the summer holidays wrecking the flower display that my mum took ages planting – ripping the petals off the stems, throwing them in water and mixing my home-made perfume solution with a stick. We had Daffodils, Gernanium, Roses and Fuchsia. Looking amazing in a recycled jam jar, I placed all my creations on her bed side table and assumed that she would use it. Little did I know; the “perfume” that I made smelt like garden and I didn’t realise that flowers hold the most amazing nectar that honey bees store – creating honey! 

My Favourite...

Honey, for me, has to be the most interesting ingredient on a supermarkets shelf to date; from looking at the production process to the various forms and varieties of the end product (honeycomb, set, clear). Providing medicinal properties, honey has become my sincere interest throughout this year as I am a sufferer of recurrent tonsillitis and trying to find new remedies to settle or cure this illness. I feel that honey should be used more in recipes allowing consumers to be more aware of the properties that honey holds. Therefore, my aim is to share this information with the online community as it is rare to find something so sweet, luxurious and enjoyable that helps with sore throats, stomach pain, insect bites, gum disease and many more. Therefore, I have decided to explore the many ways honey can be incorporated into our diet, savoury and sweet, as I think it will be a rare treat to pass up. Using Rowse honey products from my local supermarket, it has been an amazing journey in attempting to balance all ingredients with the sweetness of honey and I can only hope that you will enjoy it as much as I have. Don’t worry, if you cannot find this brand…have fun with it; improvise and modify my recipes to suit yourselves as my blogs are here to excite and open your eyes to the wonders of honey.

Enjoy and relax my sweet honey bees!

Honey and Walnut Trifle

Extends shelf-life (preservative); acts as a source of energy that comes in a variety of different flavours, composition and can be used in savoury and sweet dishes. Honey has become a seasonal guilty pleasure for those who enjoy a unique sweet flavour that is so mouth-watering. Exploring honey for the last two months, it has made me think that there is so many qualities that should be shared, demonstrated and included into recipes that are most used in our food culture. After successfully attempting to modify a sticky toffee pudding recipe into one that was surrounded by sticky honey; I came up with the idea of modernising and adapting the classic English dessert, Trifle. Some people may say that jelly, fruit, custard, cream and sherry don’t mix well; some may say it is an excellent dessert for over the Christmas period but I believe that you can make a Trifle with the ingredients that you enjoy the most. However, if you have ever watched the popular television program ‘Friends’, do not do a Rachel and add savoury mince and green peas to a Trifle as it is clearly a BAD IDEA!

Ingredients

Banana Loaf

35g butter, softened
55g golden caster sugar
60g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 bananas, mashed
25g pecans, each snapped in half

Honey and Walnut cream filling

150ml/5 fl oz double cream
25g/1 oz dried walnuts
3 tbsp clear honey

1 banana, sliced, to garnish
1 – 2 tbsp Mead (Optional)

Method

1.    Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 170°F/gas 4

2.    Beat the butter, sugar, flours, baking powder, egg and banana together. Stir in the nuts and spoon into a lined and buttered 450g loaf tin.

3.    Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

4.    For the filling, whip the cream in a large bowl with an electric whisk until thick. Fold in the walnuts and honey. Place in fridge.

5.    When the banana loaf has chilled completely, slice into cubes and begin to layer with the bananas and honey and walnut cream. Garnish with sliced banana, walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

6.    (Optional) Soak banana load with the Mead before putting it into the trifle.

My original idea for this trifle was to have it sitting outside the glass, layered and looking pretty. Unfortunately with a minor disaster in the kitchen due to raising agents I was unable to perfect the recipe in this way and decided to explore further how I could make a beautiful Honey and Walnut Trifle in a cocktail glass. As I have decided to use part wholemeal flour and part plain flour in the banana loaf, you have to make sure that you add the baking powder as it will act as a raising agent and makes your sponge much lighter. In doing so, the cream will be able to subtly seep through the crevices of the sponge, soaking up every inch of flavour. Also, make sure that the banana, before entering the mixture is mashed so that it decreases the risk of any lumps appearing or air escaping. Moving on to the honey and walnut cream filling, make sure that you whisk the cream until it is slightly thick and then add the honey and walnuts. Don’t worry if the mixture is too runny, just put it into the fridge until the loaf has cooled (the mixture will be thick and ready to go) and then start layering ingredients into the cocktails glass with slices of banana and walnuts to garnish. It is a fairly simple recipe however it provides the most irresistible combination of flavours that you cannot miss. The loaf is a little dry for a trifle, therefore you can add an alcoholic tipple while finalising this dessert such as Mead which is fermented honey and water to make either a very sweet or very dry honey wine. Depending on what honey is used through the process – I would choose sweet Mead to compliment the idea of having something that is irresistible and ‘just for you’. You can also add spices to Mead by heating them up in the pan, cooling, then adding to the trifle at the end for a more Christmas feel.

Sweet and Sour Honey Pork Noodles

The honey bee, a socially interactive insect, lives and works in a large community that involves hard labour in the production of a product that is loved by most human consumers. To them, it is a source of food for the winter period however honey is a source of complete pleasure in times of need and desire as it has been identified to have medicinal properties that could support a consumer through chesty coughs, sore throats or even head colds. It is strange to think that a substance so rich and pure could abolish an illness or gradually make you feel better in time. Manuka Honey is a great example of this as it has been said to have properties that assists in throat problems. As a sufferer of recurrent tonsillitis, I am very keen to explore this New Zealand product made directly from the nectar of the Manuka bush and attempt to add it into my weekly diet. You could add it to your steaming, warm cup of tea; spread it onto a flamed piece of toast or you could even add it to a stir fry. Yes, this is a strange concept but I have realised that honey can replace the sugar content in particular dishes no matter what type of honey it is. In this recipe, I have used an organic brand which helps decrease Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) but feel free to try Manuka Honey as an alternative.

Sweet and Sour Honey Pork Noodles is a vibrant, flavoursome dish that can be made from all the left over vegetables, condiments and meats at the end of the week. It is very easy to make and can be a rewarding dinner for when you get back into the house from work. You could replace the pork with chicken or beef and add bean sprouts at the end for extra crunch. No matter what you choose to do, the warm, sweet and sour honey sauce will just capture an intense mouth-watering moment and provide the family with a rare treat. Replacing the caster sugar for organic honey, it has made the ‘sweet’ part of the sauce smooth and syrupy so that the flavour becomes more intense. Balancing the sweetness, additional chilli flakes were put in with the white wine vinegar and tomato ketchup mixture (depending on flavour preferences) so that there was a slight ‘kick’ to the dish. Do not panic if there is very little sauce or it is too concentrated and has a strong flavour. Just simply add a splash of hot water to the mixture – you may need a little more depending on temperature and flavour. When frying the pork, make sure that the sunflower oil is hot enough to capture and seal the flavour when hitting the pan – providing additional colour to visually improve the dish as a whole.

Ingredients

Stir-fry

2tbsp sunflower oil

200g pork fillet, finely sliced

¼ cucumber, thinly sliced

¼ courgette, thinly sliced

¼ red pepper

¼ yellow pepper

¼ red onion

Sweet and Sour Honey Sauce

Dash of olive oil

½ red pepper, finely chopped

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

dried chilli flakes, pinch

splash of water

2 tsp tomato ketchup

25g canned pineapple

50g fine noodles

Spring onions, finely chopped to garnish

Method

1.    For the sweet and sour sauce, mix all ingredients together in a pan for 10 minutes.

2.    For the stir-fry, heat up the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, add the pork and stir-fry for 5 minutes, or until evenly browned.

3.    Add the cucumber, courgette, red pepper, yellow pepper and red onion to the wok and stir fry for an additional 5 minutes.

4.    Meanwhile, boil water in a large pan and add the fine noodles, cook till soft.

5.    When ready, stir in the sweet and sour sauce, stirring constantly for a further 2 minutes (making sure the pork is cooked all the way through). Add the pineapple.

6.    Drain the fine noodles and add to the stir fry.

7.    Serve immediately, garnished with spring onions.

Sticky Honey and Caramel Pudding

Warm, indulgent, sticky and sweet; honey has become a new tea-time treat. It is mouth-watering and flavoursome that is enjoyed by all so treat yourself with a magnificent pudding that has been created to spoil. Soft and delicate; runny and thick, this pudding is easy to make and does the trick. On a wet, cold winters day it will endeavour all your worries away, so here we go, the hints and tricks, to the wonderful Sticky Honey and Caramel Pudding that is way too hard to miss.

A sticky toffee pudding has become a common treat in restaurants and cafes where they invite you to pour warm custard over the smoking hot dessert however, I wanted to indulge these fans with something rare and invite them to explore the sensation of honey. The secret is to soak the dates in strong, warm tea instead of using hot water and bicarbonate of soda (although this is an alternative approach to this dessert). This leaves the dates more succulent and moist, enabling the pudding to own its title…STICKY! However, remember to strain the dates as it will be extremely difficult for the cake to bake and hold its shape due to the amount of moisture and liquid content. Using tea instead of hot water and bicarbonate of soda; the pudding takes a little longer in the oven and appears to concave in the middle. Don’t Panic! Turn the cake upside down and pour the hot, sticky caramel and honey sauce over the top so that it drizzles down with pure delight. Your dinner guests or loved ones will not even notice as they will be ‘digging’ in to the most irresistible dessert that will make them come back for more! Think of lava - it’s molten, hot, thick and full of life/colour. In this case, the honey and caramel sauce has the same effect, however it is more mouth-watering and luxurious rather than terrifying as by heating up the honey, double cream, unsalted butter and dark brown sugar – the mixture begins to boil rapidly; gradually turning into a sticky, light brown caramel foam. Warning! Children should not attempt to make this part of the recipe unless they have an adult supervising as this mixture is very hot and will burn skin very easily. Over a medium heat, make sure the mixture is stirred regularly, maintaining a thin but reduced quality. After two minutes, pour the sauce instantly over the sponge so that it seeps through like water into a sponge. Also, this makes sure that the sauce does not set in the pan but on the cake instead. If you need to leave the sauce to the side as you are waiting for the sponge to cook or you would like to keep the remaining sauce for ice-cream, just add a little double cream when it is over a medium heat and this will thin out your mixture. To store this sauce, keep refrigerated and dispose after a week.

Ingredients

Sponge

225g fresh dates, stoned

300ml tea (1 tea bag; 300ml hot water)

85g unsalted softened butter

170g caster sugar

2 large free-range eggs

170g self-raising flour

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp ovaltine

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

Honey Caramel Sauce

60ml honey

125ml double cream

110g unsalted butter, softened

165g dark brown sugar

Method

1.    Preheat oven at gas mark 4/180˚C/350˚F

2.    Put the dates in a bowl with the tea. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes to soften, then drain. Whiz the dates in a food processor until you have a puree.

3.    Meanwhile, cream your butter and sugar until pale using a wooden and add the eggs, flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and ovaltine. Mix together well then fold in the yoghurt and pureed dates. Pour into a buttered, ovenproof dish and bake in a preheated oven for 33 minutes.

4.    To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Over a medium heat, whisk all ingredients together, until the butter is melted and texture is smooth. Continue to whisk until mixture comes to a full foaming boil.

5.    Stir occasionally while maintaining the boil for about 2 minutes for a medium, thick caramel.

N.B. Caramel will thicken considerably while cooling. It may be thinned down with cream.