Recipe of the Week: Cheese Scones

Or as I like to call them:
'Chuck everything in a bowl and hope for the best Cheese Scones.'

The wee cake shop/cafe I work at requires scones to be made fresh daily and if I'm opening up I have the honour of making these scones! I have now got pretty good at chucking all the ingredients together and whacking them in the oven within about 10-15 minutes. Love a good speed scone sesh! I usually make either fruit or cherry; sometimes throw in some berries and white chocolate to mix things up a little.

However, some of our customers do not share my uber sweet tooth and requested the savoury cheese scone! I'm partial to a bit of cheese scone myself because it is food and I love food so I was willing to give it a go! I will own up to being a little nervous yesterday morning when I had to make them for the first time as it is always a little daunting knowing customers are paying to eat your creations. They've got to be good! It also didn't help that my boss gave me some rather vague guidelines, so if you're one of these 'I don't need a recipe book' kind of cooks/bakers then this one is for you!

We start with:
85g butter
350g self-raising flour

(I do measure some things out properly at least.)
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine beadcrumbs. That's how most of the recipe books I have read in my time put it anyway. It is a pretty good description though. If you don't know what breadcrumbs look like (hey, I'm all for equal opportunties) then just keep rubbing until all the butter and flour are mixed together.

This is where things get a little guess-y. I'm sure that's a real word.  My boss literally told me to put in "One and a half handfuls of grated cheese." I'm guessing if you have reeeally big hands then you're going to come out with some reeeally cheesy scones! So one and a half handfuls went into the bowl.

Next is the buttermilk. The secret to amazing scones is buttermilk, but don't tell anyone I said that. Again, I never actually measure this out, I just hope for the best. I would estimate about 200ml though. I just add a fair dollop and start mixing it all together with my hands. If the dough doesn't quite come together and still feels dry and crumbly, add more buttermilk. You don't need much! If it gets too sticky, add a little flour.

When everything is all mixed together nicely and forms a dough, roll it out onto the worktop. I say roll, I can never actually be bothered to use a rolling pin so I just kinda spread it all out with my hands. Lazy cook! Use a scone cutter to help get the required shape; this mix should make about 7 decent sized scones. Sometimes we're left over with a 'tiny scone' which we then have to butter up and taste when they come out of the oven. Quality assurance, people! 

Brush a little milk onto each scone and top with a small amount of grated cheese. Pop in the oven at 180 for around 20-25 minutes or until they're a nice golden colour (more guesswork) and there you have it! 

I think they came out quite well and I did get some good reviews! One customer admitted that they were better than her own!

That recipe probably was no help to anyone whatsoever but I thought I'd share the fun I have at work every day! I'm going to try and make a new cake/soup/meal/general food item every week and share my creations with you all! 

Whilst we're on the subject, I made a fantastic sweet potato, parsnip and bacon soup for dinner last night. Healthy, delicious and really filling! You can find the recipe HERE.

Lentil Stewp

So, I have ventured into my first recipe post. I apologise for the picture quality, next time I'll get more artsy around the chopping board. A second apology for my rough measurements, I'm very much a guesstimate cook. This is a lentil stewp. Stewp of course being a cross between stew and soup, all depending on how much liquid you add during the cook.

This is a super easy recipe, and it is full of nutrients. Have you been feeling run down recently? Just generally a bit unhealthy? Have you got a bit overexcited with the winter comfort food?

Cook up a big batch of this, and have a bit of a body reset. No, it's perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as a pizza, but it will leave you feeling so much better.

Makes 8ish Servings

Ingredients:

4 red onions
4 carrots
4-6 sticks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
Parsley (I used dried, but use fresh if you're fancy)
Oil (I use olive but oil's oil)
1 teaspoon of thyme (dried)
1-2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (don't over do the chilli)
200g green lentils
200g red lentils
2 stock cubes (I use vegetable because I'm a vegetablearian but I guess beef might work)
A tin of cannelini beans (think around 400g)

IMPORTANT! IF YOU ARE USING DRIED LENTILS PUT THEM IN A BOWL OF WATER THE NIGHT BEFORE!

I always forget this and then curse myself for being an idiot. It's not an effort just, bowl, lentils, water, fridge, go to bed and forget about it. 

Directions

Get a huge pan, whack it on the stove, drizzle in some oil, and turn on the heat (medium). Whilst that's doing it's thing, chop your onions. Curse the inventor of mascara.

Chuck those babies in the pan, suppress your bitchy thoughts about my dirty stove.

Let them soften a little whilst you are prepping your carrots and celery. You know how to do that, peel, chop, end etc.

Chuck those in. Whilst they get going, get out your garlic crusher. Screw peeling it because, effort. Put the clove straight in the crusher and crush straight into the pan. The skin will be left, scrape that out with a knife, move onto the next clove, feel good about the precious seconds of your life you just saved.

Get a bit sexy with flavour. Shake that stuff like a polaroid picture all around the pan. Get your spoon and give it a stir. It wants it.

Now play hard to get. Put the lid on it and leave to cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.

You can play the field a bit now, go to the sink drain your lentils...

Use the kettle and make up about a pint of stock (more if you want soup, less if you want stew)

Double check the veggies are soft and then add your lentils and stock. Simmer until the lentils are soft. I'm afraid you're going to have to do some more reading here because it depends what it says on your packet. My lentils take 35 minutes. Suck it.

Now add your beans, simmer for a further ten minutes, than add a sprinkling (too much and you'd die, probably) of pepper and parsley. Stir, stir, stir, then serve. Have bread with it if you want.

If you don't feel like eating all 8 servings at once, pour it into containers and fridge or freeze it for instant goodness later in the week.

Protein is your friend.

I loooove protein! I've been trying to up my intake recently as I've increased my exercise and I get very sore very easily! You can get protein from lots of different foods: meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds. So, I get to eat more chicken? Cool! My protein obsession of the month is hard boiled eggs. I make a batch at the beginning of the week and they make great snacks throughout the day or after a workout. Also extremely tasty with a salad or a few slices of toast. Yay for eggs!

I would also get nowhere without my protein powder! Although I love chicken, I don't actually eat a lot of meat so this acts as a great substitute and has so many different uses. At the moment, I have Holland and Barrett's banana flavoured whey protein. It has 83 calories per scoop and 16.6g of protein. I think it's great because it tastes really good and Holland and Barrett always have offers on. Perfect if you're on a budget like me!

There are so many great ways to incorporate protein powder into your diet. My favourite so far is protein 'pancakes'. I've always had a very unhealthy obsession with pancakes and although these aren't quite the same as the classic pancake, they are a great substitute and are very filling! The recipe I use is here (thanks for the referral Cassius!) I usually have the rest of the banana, some blueberries and maple syrup over the top.  I'd be interested to try them with different flavoured protein powders, like chocolate or cookies and cream!

Another great protein fix is, of course, the smoothie!! I cannot get enough of smoothies. They are so delicious and there are so many flavour options! My favourite would have to be banana and peanut butter, even better when you add some protein powder. You can pretty much mix anything in a blender with milk and it tastes delicious! Great for breakfast or pre/post workout too.

Another protein recipe that I recently discovered is mixing the powder with fat free greek yogurt, bananas and berries. You've probably noticed that I have a slight penchant for bananas... I'm trying to keep it to no more than one a day! With the greek yogurt, I add a bit of honey or maple syrup just to make it slightly sweeter and I find the ingredients gel together better. You can buy greek yogurt with honey already added too. I wouldn't use a whole scoop of powder unless you're using A LOT of greek yogurt because it starts to go really powdery and not very nice if you do. I love having this for breakfast because it's low calorie but it fills me up all morning.

I'm always on the look out for new recipes to make use of my powder and my next step is to buy more flavour options to mix things up a little. If you haven't tried it yet, I would highly recommend buying some!