Blackberry lemon cornbread

As August progresses, I'm reminded of late summer fishing trips with my dear and much missed Grandfather, one of the very best men I've ever known. We would spend long evenings along the canal near my childhood home, with Grandad happily perched at a peaceful spot, and my brother and I picking blackberries from the bushes laden with fruit along the tow-paths. This is blackberry season, and even if you don't have a ready supply of free blackberries, you can get punnets of this sweet, jewel-like fruit from any supermarket at this time of year.

This recipe is only very slightly adapted from the wonderful Tracy 'Shutterbean' Benjamin's blackberry cornbread, a lady who, let me tell you, provides much of my inspiration for self-improvement. I've directed you to her site before, and I encourage you to take a look around. She herself adapted her version of this recipe from another inspirational lady, the inimitable Rachael Ray.

It is moist, not too sweet, substantial, but not too heavy. You can call it breakfast, elevenses or dessert. It's most delicious straight from the oven!

You may have tried savoury cornbread before, it's a great accompaniment to Mexican, Cuban or Southern food, and the lovely Fatboy makes a mean jalapeno version. It's made using yellow cornmeal, which is readily available in most UK supermarkets these days, look in the Caribbean section if you have no luck in the baking section.

I've listed ingredients here by volume, not weight. If you've never tried measuring this way, I suggest you try it. It is much quicker, and I find it much easier. Most recipes from US and Canadian sources will be given in cups, so it also pays to try measuring in cups to open up a stack of new recipes to you. 1 cup is equal to approximately 250ml, but it's also used for measuring dry ingredients like flour and sugar. The reason I suggest trying it is that it can be quite tiresome to convert cups to weight measurements, because the conversion depends on the type of dry ingredient. 1 cup of flour does not weigh the same as 1 cup of say, oats, for example. My boyfriend's lovely Mom gave me this beautiful set of measuring cups last Christmas, but if you already have a 250ml measuring cup, you're good to go.

Aren't they just SO pretty?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus extra for topping
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, or sour cream if you struggle to find buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 7 tbsp butter, melted (unsalted is best for baking)
• 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups blackberries, depending on size and personal preference
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C, and grease a small baking dish (around 8 inches will be best, although mine is a little bigger). In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk or soured cream, eggs and butter until thoroughly combined. It is important to make sure that your melted butter has had time to cool, so that it doesn't begin to cook the eggs before time:

Stir the wet mix into the dry. Once completely combined, add the lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract and gently stir through the mixture.

Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread to fill the corners. You will find that it is quite a thick batter. Press your blackberries into the batter, and then sprinkle generously with sugar:

Bake for 25 minutes or until the bread springs back when pressed. Allow to cool for ten minutes in the tin before serving, with a cup of tea, back in bed:

Peanut butter popcorn rocky road

Ok, so, I know this is probably an amazingly poorly-timed post, what with it being bikini season and all, but I've been craving the combination of crunchy PB and smooth milk chocolate ever since Fatboy decided to make my very favourite chicken satay. We were left with a large jar of peanut butter just waiting to be melted together with the bar of chocolate hanging around in my baking cupboard. Sweet, crisp toffee popcorn seemed the next natural step - literally - the bag was sitting next to the jar of PB. What's a girl to do? I was powerless to resist the call of the PB popcorn rocky road.

I think that milk chocolate works best with peanut butter. The bitter tones of dark chocolate seem to be emphasised next to the saltiness of the PB, and the combination is altogether too grown-up - this recipe is way too fun to be grown-up! I love home-popped popcorn, but for this recipe, you really want the crunch of ready-popped corn, and the lovely sticky-sweet coating on toffee popcorn really works with the saltiness of the peanut butter.

If you're going to do this, really do this, you need to commit and go whole-hog. No post-rocky road guilt. Make it, eat it, worry about the bikini later. Maybe the prospect of a holiday seems so distant to me I'm in denial about the whole bikini situation. Maybe I just like peanut butter more than I like my bottom.

Ingredients:

• 150g milk chocolate
• 80g marshmallows, halved if they are large
• 120g toffee popcorn
• 3tbsp honey or golden syrup
• 4 heaped tbsp crunchy peanut butter

Line a loaf tin with cling-film and place in the fridge to chill. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt together with the honey and peanut butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, but not too much, as the mixture stiffens and it's hard to stir your dry ingredients in:

Weigh out your marshmallows and popcorn and stir into the slightly cooled mixture. You want to make sure everything is generously coated. Spread into your lined loaf tin, pushing into the corners:

It will need to chill for a minimum of two hours, although overnight is best. I find it slices easily straight from the fridge, so I'd suggest storing it there (or in your tummy!)

YUM!

Boyfriends, BFFs and Girl Crushes

I know a lot of girls who have had a long list of mediocre relationships that have ended badly, based on the fact that the man in question just didn't live up to their super-high expectations. Some small-ish flaw became a complete 'deal-breaker', and onwards he would go. I really blame the dreaded Hollywood for this; men in the movies may be flawed, but all it takes is that perfect girl to make him over into a new, perfect man. Plus it helps that they are usually ridiculously good-looking.

It's strange, because I know I've never really done this - my wonderful boyfriend, though not perfect (don't worry, he'd say the same about me!), is so many of the things I think are important - kind, motivated, funny, loyal - that no amount of clips of George Clooney being charming, or pictures of Channing Tatum with his shirt off. . . 

Ooh!

Sorry, I zoned out for a second there, where was I? Oh yes, no presentation of the perfect man could make me think that my man is in any way inadequate, or question that I want to spend my life with him. Don't get me wrong, I have high standards, but they are realistic standards, about what relationships and partnerships should really be like. I know they aren't all roses and walks on the beach, but they should be supportive, equal, allow you to be the best version of yourself.

Isn't it funny then, that when it comes to choosing my friends, I can be so incredibly picky? I've had so many so-called 'BFFs' throughout my relatively new adult life, and still, I find my friends falling short of my expectations time and time again. The messy unspoken break-up (which can be so much more messy than breaking up with a partner) is always painful and heartbreaking. I blame my list of celebrity girl-crushes; women in the media who seem to represent the ideal in terms of what I want in my friends, and who I am convinced can be found in real-person form at the next new job/club/event. 

Take the lovely Zooey Deschanel's character Jess, the New Girl of the show's title. My boyfriend was highly amused by my 'Zooey phase', where all I wanted to do was wear a heavy fringe and some geek-chic specs and dungarees. It didn't help that her character is a teacher, just like me! I was sure there was a Zooey/Jess out there for me just waiting for us to become best friends and get into hilarious scrapes together, not minding when the other screwed up, didn't call, got drunk and threw up on our favourite shoes or shouted at us, because we were best friends, and in the next scene we'd be eating ice-cream in our pyjamas together and finishing each other's sentences.

The fringe, the specs, can I be your best friend??? Please?

In real life it's not like that. If you cancel on your friend at the last minute, they're pissed at you for a week, not ten minutes. If they repeatedly get drunk, cry about a boy and then throw up on/near you and abuse you for getting them into a cab, you're sick of their drama and feel like leaving them to wander home by themselves. They aren't going to drive across the city to rescue you from a terrible party where you're stuck with your ex and his new girlfriend, and neither are you.

But guess what girlfriend, that's life. That's what real people are like! I've recently emerged from a period in my life where I was often meeting new people, making new friends and gushing over them for a while until I noticed their many flaws and decided to cool things. But you know what? I've also met some girls who have made me giggle, helped me out of a tough spot, haven't minded when I haven't picked up their call, and just generally been lovely people to be around. They aren't perfect either, but I'm trying this new thing, accepting people for exactly who they are. Let's face it, I have plenty of annoying traits too! If on the whole, they make me laugh more than they make me want to cry, I can put up with a bit of shoe-vomit every now and then.

Web Wednesday!

Weekly inspiration from around the web

I, like so many people, find most of my inspiration on the internet. Whether it's a new recipe or some foodie guidance, a beauty tip, a photography trick of the trade or a new project, I rarely have to venture beyond my Pinterest page (ahem, obsession) or one of the many blogs I follow to find a project that tickles my fancy. I love that out of something that seems so impersonal as connecting via a computer, people are actually helping to build warm, supportive and international communities of people with shared interests! Every Wednesday, inspired by the love for list-making of one of my favourite ever bloggers (see website number 1!), I'm going to share my top three website finds of the week that have inspired me or made me smile.

1. Tracy Benjamin, a.k.a. Shutterbean, is a foodie, photography loving mom in the San-Francisco area of California. Her sense of humour, gorgeous pictures and super, super-fun recipes get me every time. Full on girl-crush.
2. Geneva of A pair and a spare is an Auzzie girl living in HK, creating simple, resourceful and stylish clothing out of thrifted finds. What's not to love?
3. Aran Goyoaga is an author and food stylist. Her photographs are stand-out stunning, her food simple, healthy and seasonal. Her recipes are all gluten-free, but you'd never guess! Check out her beautiful blog, Cannelle et Vanille.

I hope you enjoy reading these wonderful sites as much as I do! :)

Herb-crusted Salmon and sliced baked potatoes

We moved house recently, and house moves always spell a week or two of diet disaster, where take-away and convenience food rule and comfort food fast is the priority. Now we've started to emerge from the confusion of boxes, and thanks to a perfectly timed two weeks off work, I'm starting to take control of the kitchen and our plates. I found myself this afternoon with a basket containing salmon steaks, parmesan, fresh herbs and garden peas, and knew that this would satisfy our craving for light, healthy and tasty food. Did I also mention that this recipe is an absolute cinch?

Ingredients

The basics:

• 1 salmon steak or fillet per person
• 1 medium-sized baking potato per person
• Bag of frozen garden peas
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

For the herb crust (makes enough to coat 4 portions):

• large handful of fresh basil leaves
• large handful of fresh parsley
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 tsp capers
• The juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large handful of good-quality freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 slice of white bread, still fresh
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to around 200 degrees C. 

Start by prepping some potatoes, one medium-sized baking potato per person. Give them a good scrub, and  then slice as thinly as possible, as close to the bottom as possible without actually cutting all the way through:

Place on tin foil in a baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Bung them in the oven for 40 minutes, or a little longer if your slices are quite thick. It's very difficult to over- or under-cook these guys, you will know when they are done!

In the mean time, whiz up your herby breadcrumb crust in a food processor. It's as simple as placing all the ingredients in at once and blasting it until you get fine crumbs. It will be a moist looking mixture, don't worry, it crisps up nicely in the oven! 

I love using fresh herbs, but because I don't have a garden or much window-sill space, I often find myself buying large bags from the supermarket. I simply freeze the excess if I don't think I'm going to use them within a couple of days. You could even make your own fresh herb mix and freeze them with a drop of water in ice-cube trays to drop into meals for a super-easy burst of flavour!

Prepare your salmon steaks or fillets (skin side down if using fillets) by placing on another lightly oiled foil-lined baking tray and simply spreading a few heaped teaspoons over each portion:

Check on your potatoes. About ten minutes before the end of their cooking time, put your fish into the oven. The temperature will be perfect for quickly cooking the crust without overcooking that beautiful fish. When the fish can easily be flaked and the crust is starting to brown a little, it's done!

Serve with fresh or frozen garden peas, a little drizzle of melted butter, and a slice of lemon:

Voila! Eating habits successfully back on track :)