Ok if steamed puddings are good enough for The Great British Bake Off they're good enough for me, but as usual because I'm a Jack Russell I'm bringing you a quick and easy Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe that wont stress you and cause you to drop it taking it out the oven! It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and even less time to cook and tastes sensational, especially with that home made ice cream recipe I put on last week.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease and flour 6 individual pudding moulds.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.
Pour the date mixture into the pudding batter and stir until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the moulds (remember to grease and flour them) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.
To make the sauce, heat all of the ingredients in a pan, stirring gently and occasionally, until boiling.
To serve, remove the puddings from the moulds and place onto each of 6 serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Just in case you've forgotten, here's that easy home made ice cream recipe.....
Method..... Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and and vanilla extract with an electric whisk until light and foamy. Clean the whisk, then in another bowl whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the caster sugar until it's thick and glossy, a bit like making meringues. Lightly whip the double cream until it softly holds its shape. Mix with the yolks and egg white mixture until everything is combined. Turn into a container, cover and freeze until solid. Take out of the fridge about 10 mins before serving.
So I was watching The Great British Bake Off and thinking to myself.....that's a lot of work and hassle to make a pie, so as is Ralph's way here's a vegetarian pie recipe that's easy, relatively quick to make and is delicious hot, warm or cold so it can be made well in advance too..... Ingredients:
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold, salted water, then bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer for 5 mins, add the sweet potatoes and continue to cook for 8 mins until just tender. Drain really well. Fry the onion in the oil until soft, add the cumin seeds for 1 min, then stir in the garlic, chilli and ginger with the remaining spices. Cook for a further 2-3 mins, then turn off the heat and stir into the potatoes with the peas, lemon juice and coriander.
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Halve the filo sheets, and use two-thirds of them, overlapping, to line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a little overhang. As you lay in each sheet, brush with melted butter and keep the rest covered with a clean tea towel. Spoon in filling and press down lightly. Cover with remaining filo, then fold up overhanging sides and scrunch up pastry near the edges. Poke several slits in the top of the pastry and brush with more butter. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown. Serve either hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges. Recipe from Good Food magazine January 2011
So me Old Man is planning a weeks holiday and the old git has been phoning round the kennels to see who's crazy enough to take me in......(and me that butter wouldn't melt in me little mouth).....he's off to The Saltaire Festival in September where....his words...there's an eclectic mix of art, entertainment and music with some great food on offer. OK so I thought I'd better take a look see. 'cause you know me I like to make me own mind up.....so here's a taster of what's on offer.
With a varied list of events 2012 is the 10th Saltaire Festival, set to be the best yet!
They love celebrating the beautiful village of Saltaire and its UNESCO World Heritage status. Over the 10 days, the village buzzes with life, energy and vibrancy and they want you to be part of it!
They are already planning lots of exciting events and happenings but there’s plenty of room for more. they’d like to thank all their sponsors and supporters plus their existing band of volunteers without whom none of it would be possible. They will be launching the full 2012 programme in July but in the meantime catch their updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Now music wise which is my vibe there's The Broken Hearts Club Band who I will tell you now will play a stormer of a set.
Word from 'The Leeds Music Scene' is.....
The Broken Hearts Club Band are an amazing mixture of magic, a smidge of skiffle, cheek and some funky driving tunes that will have you tapping your feet, dancing like a loon, and you are guaranteed to have a good time
If you're feeling hungry on your travels why not drop in to the Vicars Cafe Bistro right in the heart of Saltaire where they provide high quality food prepared from locally sourced and fair trade ingredients.
Join them for a family Teddy Bears' Picnic on Shipley Glen! Bracken Hall Countryside Centre will be providing 'teddy bear' activities and there will be prizes for the best dressed teddies.
Can you count the teddies in the trees on the tram ride? Prizes for those who count them all! So come along, hope for the sun and dress up those teddies! Free if walking up to the Glen......bargain!
And if you're looking for a picnic for your little Teddy Bears why not get in touch with Piggy's Picnics. At Piggy’s Picnics they love their food, and picnicking with some tasty treats and a few good pals is their favourite thing to do. Not everyone is as dedicated to the art of picnic making as they are, time inspiration and inclination are often limited. They want to bring back this good old British tradition by doing it for you.
Damion Elson
@SweetyGuyBfd
Door to door SWEETY GUY - traditional sweets and retro style sweets, post on my Facebook Wall your
requests and I will deliver to you :)
Bradford, West Yorkshire
One of Saltaire's premier venues for live music is The Caroline Social Clubhome of The Live Room Bradford's newest venue for live music in Saltaire, the historic world heritage site. The Live Room presents the very best live music: it's our booking policy to feature a challenging and stimulating mix of artists, some with worldwide reps, some cult heroes, others up-and-coming, but all outstanding in their field.
Their aim is to make it the best Bradford live music venue. They believe that informal, intimate, friendly venues make the ideal environment in which to enjoy the artists they present. Having spent nearly ten years as live music promoters, they are confident that The Live Room is a great addition to live music in Bradford. Join Caroline Social Club now for an annual membership of just £7 and you will get reductions on all Live Room gigs and your drinks!
If real ale's your tipple then Ralph has just the place for you and he hopes to be visiting them in order to get his photo on the coveted Dogs in Pubs website! It's The Shipley Pride on Friars Street in Shipley.
Real ale,good music,great people oh and did i mention real ale? That's what The Shipley Pride is all about!
Now I can't put everything on here that's going on but check this out.....the legend that is Country music’s “King of Pain” Hank Wangford brings his trademark cocktail of misery, melody and raw emotion to the Saltaire Festival for the first time!
Hank Wangford has been performing his special kind of Country music for nearly thirty years, inspiring the likes of Billy Bragg, and has helped make the genre more popular with his two groundbreaking television series, "Big Big Country" and "The A to Z of C&W".
"If you want originality, something that still has the bite and twang that drained out of so much Country, the sharp cutting wit and the rawness of hard Country, then there is only one man to see. His name is Hank Wangford." New York Times
Key Sponsor of the event is Aagrah Restaurants and Event Cateringwho's Managing Director made the following statement..... On behalf of Aagrah I would like to say how delighted we are to be supporting the 10th Saltaire Festival.
Saltaire has World Heritage status and is also Aagrah’s proud birth place. Our head office is based there and its where Aagrah’s first restaurant was opened 35 years ago.
Aagrah has strong bonds with the community and continues to supports local events. It’s great to see diverse communities and visitors from a far coming together and enjoying a profusion of activities that take place during the festival climaxing in a spectacular weekend finish.
This year there is an addition to the Saltaire Festival in the form of an Aagrah Food & Drink Festival, incorporated in the finale weekend of September 15th and 16th of the Saltaire Festival in Roberts Park, Shipley.
Aagrah Festival will have stalls, Aagrah Pop Up
Restaurant as well as an Aagrah Chef’s Theatre which will have Masterclass demonstrations throughout the day of Asian and international cuisine from some of the best chefs in the industry as well as the skill and craft of Fruit and Vegetable carvings. All the masterclasses are FREE to attend, be sure to get there early to get your seat.
We look forward to welcoming you with your family and friends.
Mohammed Aslam MBE
Managing Director
Aagrah Group of Restaurants
Other sponsors of the event are..... Click on the Sponsor's links for further information. So I've put a full list of the events on offer for your perusal as they are legion and far too many for my little paws to outline individally so you'll have to do the work and check them all out yourselves!
Ok if steamed puddings are good enough for The Great British Bake Off they're good enough for me, but as usual because I'm a Jack Russell I'm bringing you a quick and easy Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe that wont stress you and cause you to drop it taking it out the oven! It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and even less time to cook and tastes sensational, especially with that home made ice cream recipe I put on last week.Ingredients.....
