Recipe 52/2 - Apple Crumble

Apple crumble is a pudding I have fond memories of making when I was little but I don't think I've actually made once since! So when I spotted some cooking apples and blackberries which didn't look like they would be around much longer, this week's recipe 52  was destined! And I always loved that crumble bit you do with your hands!

I went with apples, blackberries and cinnamon (love cinnamon!) but there must be lots of different fruits you can use in a crumble depending on the season. What are your favourite fruits to make a crumble with? It's very simple to make and quite healthy compared to most puddings (just like eating fruit right? and custard or ice cream...)

You will need:

Crumble 
112g plain flour
50g butter/margarine (I used margarine)
25g granulated sugar

Fruit
2/3 cooking apples
a handful of blackberries
1 tablespoon of cinnamon (I thought I had added a lot of cinnamon but I couldn't taste it in the crumble, next time I will add more!)

Preheat the oven to 180C

1. Peel, core and slice the apples
2. Bring apples to the boil and simmer until soft but not mushy (about 5-10 minutes)
3. While waiting for the apples, prepare the crumble
4. Measure the flour into a bowl
5. Add the margarine and sugar
6. Mix and break up the margarine
7. Rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (I like to do this bit by hand but it can also be done in a mixer)
8. Put apples in a dish

9. Add blackberries and cinnamon

10. Cover fruit with crumble
11. Sprinkle sugar over the top 

12. Bake for 30 minutes

 

Down the Rabbit Hole

With my new Alice in Wonderland necklaces in stock, I thought I would write a little bit about my love for Alice in Wonderland and the inspiration behind these necklaces.

I have always been a little bit obsessed with the dream-like world of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is a story you get to know as a child but I read the books properly a few years ago and then I really fell in love with the wonderful weirdness of it all!

"Oh how I wish I could shut up like a telescope!"

The quotes, adventures, drink me bottle and eat me cake, playing with scale, illustrations, time and falling, riddles, playing cards and flamingos. It is squeezed full of concepts that become creative inspiration. There are actually so many creative concepts, trying to stop your imagination running wild and actually thinking of ways you can use them gets pretty hard!

I found a book in a charity shop, with the black and white John Tenniel original illustrations, but I hadn't worked out how to use it yet. When I started using resin in my jewellery it finally gave me an idea of a way to use it in my work. The illustrations are beautiful and each one represents a different scene from the book. To me each necklace has a little bit of the fantasy preserved in it. As I use the original illustrations no two are the same.

Here are a few of my favourite Alice in Wonderland related things… from photography to food!

Image found here - Vogue, Annie Leibovitz

Image found here

Image found here

Image found here - Harpers Bazaar, Chloe Sevigny

Image found here

Think Of Me

Found this amazing engraved bracelet in an old family coin collection… inspiring me to make my own!

Recipe 52/1 - Quiche

I am one of those people who has beautiful unused cookbooks and a folder/pinboard full of amazing recipes that I've always wanted to try making but never do so I have set myself the task of a weekly recipe project. And of course some old recipes I love that I just forget about! My first recipe is one of these.

Quiche is always something you can buy so easily and just stick in the oven I wasn't sure whether it was worth making one myself. I definitely no longer think this! A bought quiche does not even compare with the fresh creamy yumminess of a homemade one. There is a small chance this has to do with the homemade one having a whole tub of double cream… and maybe buying all the ingredients will actually cost more than buying a pre-made quiche (I still haven't worked this out…) but it is definitely worth it! Plus its actually a great 'use up whats in the fridge recipe' in terms of what you can add to it and it is surprisingly simple.

Eggs, double cream, bacon, cheese… what's not to like! 

It does require a bit of trial an error so this is my recipe for quiche, I hope it is not too vague!

You'll need…

1 onion

4 eggs

cheddar cheese

shortcrust pastry (I never get pastry right if I make it myself so instead of ruining the whole quiche I buy a sheet of shortcrust)
double cream (I use a small tub but you can use as much or as little as you want! Single cream also works just use double the amount)

salt and pepper for seasoning

things you can add to the filling - bacon, ham, sausage, mushrooms, pepper, carrot etc...

... anything you want to add really!

Preaheat the oven to 200C 

1. Fry onion and anything else you want to add in the filling.

2. Fit pastry to ceramic baking tray - I use a rectangular one but round would work too.

3. Cook pastry for 5-10 minutes so it is not soggy once ingredients are added.

4. Lightly whisk eggs in small bowl.

5. Season

6. Grate cheese into egg.

7. Add the double cream and mix in with cheese and egg.

8. Add bacon, onion etc. (make sure everything added here is pre-cooked)

9. Pour mix into pastry.

10. Cook for 20-30 minutes.

It smelt so good I didn't manage to take a decent photo of it before it all got eaten, I will on the next one!