(Not a) Meal Planning Monday - 18 March 2013

I don't have a meal planning Monday post this week because it's pretty much going to be leftovers. The recipes I have been cooking have been quite large so I have several portions of roast beef (slice it and freeze it in gravy to keep it lovely and moist*), pea and ham soup, and pulled pork sitting smugly in my freezer. 

What I am going to share with you is the perfect Yorkshire pudding recipe. I the past I either used Margaret Fulton's Yorkshire puff recipe or just chucked the ingredients in a bowl until it looked the like the right consistency. Both were ok, but sometimes they cooked a little too unevenly or quickly in my current oven, leading to occasional disappointing results. Well, not any more! I have found THE best Yorkshire pudding recipe. Try this and you'll never go back, I promise** It's from BBC's Good Food and is simply
140g plain flour
200ml milk
2 eggs
pinch salt

Mix and leave to stand for at least 30 mins. You should always let your pudding or pancake batter stand. I don't know the ins and outs, but it always cooks better. Do the normal bit about getting your fat sizzling, smoking hot before pouring the batter in and cook at 210C / Gas Mark 8 for about 20 minutes for little puds, or 25-30 minutes for a large one. It comes out all golden and puffy before sinking into an dense, squidgy delight so good you might not even both with the meat. 

I've made this twice now and it's turned out perfectly both times. See for yourself

Another recipe I tried this week came from The Girl Who Ate Everything and it's her Chocolate Eclair Cake It's one I posted on a thread last week when I was trying to decide on my birthday cake. I don't have a picture (it didn't look as nice as hers) but you can take my word that it was gorgeous! It does require you making the base the night before (or in the morning of) as it needs to be completely cold. Her recipe calls for vanilla pudding mix. I couldn't find this so I used Asda's Creme Brulee mix and it was ideal. I am ashamed to say it only lasted a day and a half and that I ate a sizable part of it.

If you want some actual Meal Planning Monday inspiration remember to check out Mrs M's linky. I'll do better next week, I promise.


*top tip - take that Delia!
** clearly, if it turns out badly I am not responsible, but if it's great I take full credit.

Oaty Blackberry Pudding

That's a bit of a strange name but I am not really used to writing down the recipes I make. I tend to keep them in my head filed under "PMS", "random bar of dark chocolate" or "too much SR flour cluttering up the pantry" which is probably why they rarely turn out the same way twice. This one was delicious so I wanted to save it for next time I felt like a good stodgy pudding. 

Last week I asked on Twitter for a recipe to use with plums I had picked. The lovely Kate sent me a link to Delia's plum and cinnamon oat slices. Unfortunately when I wanted to bake something similar tonight with blackberries picked yesterday I couldn't be arsed was unable to reach my computer so I made up this loosely based on a recipe I use for ANZAC biscuits (well, they've both got oats in them).

Ingredients
1C porridge/rolled oats
1C SR flour
2/3C sugar (light brown is nice, but whatever you have to hand)
3/4C ground almonds
125g butter
2T golden syrup
1 egg
1tsp cinnamon

Melt golden syrup and butter together. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Put half of mixture in a well greased and lined baking dish or tin and smooth out. Sprinkle around 250g clean blackberries. Make sure they're evenly distributed and push into the batter slightly. Cover the berries with the other half of the batter and back 180C / Gas Mark 4 for around 25 mins until the batter bit is cooked. 

I served them warm with a bit of pouring cream and it was lovely, if somewhat filling. I reckon it could easily be adapted for the slow cooker if you were so inclined. 
  
This is what it looked like coming out of the oven. I totally forgot to take a pic when it was sliced up, but it is all kind of squidgy and berry yummy-ness, trust me.