Italian Grape Cake or Vinograd Cherven Grozde Keyk

Oh my goodness this is theeeeee best cake EVER!!!! Thats if you like grapes of course.

Our grapes vines are mixed with both red & white, sweet & dry. I use the sweet red to make this cake & it is gorgeous. Its originally from the Italian vineyard area's of believe it or not, Italy :-)
My mum gave me this recipe, its one she procured years ago on her travels there, when not many people had travelled to destinations outside England ooh many moons ago. I fell in love with this cake the first time she made it & it has been my all time fave ever since along with the rest of the family. So this is my mums recipe, made now from my own vineyard & it brings me lovely memories every time I make it. My husband never had it till we moved here as it was always my mums special cake but with our vineyard I had to make it, it's now his favourite too along with the Yabulka!
I hope you enjoy this recipe, if you like grapes then I guarantee you will adore this cake, it's really moist!

12oz black grapes

Heaped tsp baking powder

7oz Margarine

7oz Caster sugar

4 Eggs

12oz SR Flour

First you need to de seed the grapes, unless you have bought seedless of course!

Cream together sugar & fat.

Add 1 egg at a time with 2oz of the flour till its all mixed in.

add baking powder then grapes mix well to a stiff mixture

Pour into the greased tin & bake for 40 - 45 minuets at 180c or 160c fan

If not ready check it every 4 mins till it is cooked

serve this cold on its own or with cream or mascarpone cheese, Enjoy!

At the moment with no proper kitchen or storage space all I have available are these round tins but if you have a square cake tin this is best as you can cut the cake into squares, then it goes further!!!!

Vinograd Yabulka Torta Or Dorset Apple Cake

This is a traditional English recipe but I now live here & use village eggs & my home grown apples. I am not a fan of the apple as it is which is such a shame as we have masses & I would love to just pluck one & eat but ne dobre!
I have cooked many an apple cake here & it goes down very well with my Bulgarian friends so I proclaim it a soon to be traditional Vinogradian recipe  The recipe has been asked for & given to quite a few Bulgarians & is spreading round the region, the last one I took to a big celebration was talked about for weeks :-)
This cake is delicious on its own sprinkled with icing sugar or served warm with ice cream & cream if you can get it or make it! So, perfect with café, as a hot or cold desert or just a quick snack.
It freezes well to so if like me you have a glut of apples batch cook & freeze to enjoy all winter!

225g Butter or Margarine
450g Apples peeled, cored & chopped 1cm pieces
Finely grated rind zest & juice of 1 lemon
225g caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
225g SR Flour
2tsp Baking powder
1 - 2 tsp Cinnamon
Put oven on 180c or 160c fan
Grease & line a 23 – 24cm cake tin
Toss apple in lemon juice. I do this while I am peeling & chopping so it keeps its colour.
Using a hand whisk, cream butter, sugar & zest until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time adding a little flour with each egg to keep it smooth.
Sift remaining flour, cinnamon & baking powder into the bowl & fold in.
Drain the apple well & stir into the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into cake tin, level & sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for 1 hour until well risen & brown. After 10 mins remove from cake tin & dredge with caster sugar or icing sugar.
If it starts to look a bit too brown while cooking cover with baking paper after 45 mins
ENJOY!!!!!

Rosemary-skewered Fish and Veggies

We swiped this flavorful bbq idea from Brownieville Girl, who blogs about food all the way from Ireland.

You simply use rosemary sprigs as your skewers, cut up chunks of fish (we used tuna), spear the little suckers alternately with cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with seasoning salt, and barbecue 'em up.

The skewers in the back are filled with garden onions and peppers along with the tomatoes.

Delicious. Thanks for the idea, Brownieville Girl.

Peach Nectar

In the epic 2010 battle over the backyard peach tree, with the teams the Castle Dwellers vs. the Stinkin' Squirrels and Blue Jays, I declare we Castle Dwellers the victors.

Exhibit A: We got canned peaches. A couple of batches. Exhibit B: We made off with enough peaches for a pie.

Exhibit C: Peach pit jelly. A minor victory as it doesn't include any actual peaches. But a victory nonetheless.

Let the record show we are not even presenting evidence for Exhibit D, peachy tart, for the simple reason we do not wish to condone the silly practice of peach blotting in any form.

Which brings us to:

Exhibit E: as in excellent. Peach nectar. So good you'll drink it almost as fast as you make it.

Take that, you lousy squirrels and blue jays. We win.

Ha.

You may cease your obnoxious squawking now.

SIMPLE PEACH NECTAR

My favorite way to use up an abundance of peaches, this is the recipe I go back to year after year. No need to can; you simply mix up a batch in your blender, pour into glass jars, and place lovingly in the freezer.

4 c. peeled, sliced peaches

4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

Place peaches and water in large saucepan. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. Place sugar and lemon juice in large bowl and set aside. Working in batches, whirl peach mixture in blender, then pour into bowl with sugar and lemon juice. Repeat until everything's blended. Stir well, then pour into glass jars and freeze.

Peachy Tart

Really, fussy little recipe from upscale food magazine?

After two and a half hours of constructing this orange juice-laced crust, a jam-liqueur glaze,

this pulverized almond, slowly-thickened cream center . . .

you're really gonna make me drain each and every peach slice on a paper towel then pat it dry?

This peach tart had better taste fine, is all I'm saying.

Mighty, mighty fine.

Flaming Omelet

I do love to play with my food.

So imagine my delight when I came across this book at a recent library book sale.

The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: The Best in Flaming Food and Drink (by John J. Poister). What could be more fun?

I'd never set my food on fire (on purpose, that is; the blazing toasted sesame seeds and the s'more pie's marshmallow topping hardly count, and I'd prefer we not mention those again, thank you for asking) until last fall, when I tried a banana, butter, and brown sugar number that you ignite with a touch of rum. Seeing as that was my first intentional kitchen conflagration, I had my son standing by with the fire extinguisher.

That experiment was a complete success, so it was with supreme confidence I set out this morning to flame my omelet, fire extinguisher snugly tucked away in its kitchen cabinet home.

I am happy to report that the flaming omelet was another complete success. All flames stayed in the pan where they belong. You'll note the lack of spectacular flaming photos because, well, I was a little busy there for a few seconds.

We have lots of these onions on hand at the moment, since we had to harvest them before the bunnies did. So I rejoiced to see this omelet called for onion. And also for blue cheese, which, if you check out this post, you will learn is a particular favorite of mine. I am sure, for the non-blue cheese lovers out there, you could substitute any kind of favorite cheese.

Now get out your little skillet, check the cabinets to see if you have any gin handy, find a nearby relative with a fire extinguisher if you're a tad nervous, and get cookin'.

Oh and please do not sue me if you happen to catch anything on fire.

BLUE CHEESE AND ONION FLAMING OMELET FOR ONE

about 1 T. diced onion (or green onion)

1/2 T. butter

2 eggs

2 t. milk (or cream)

2 t. water

salt/pepper, to taste

1 T. crumbled blue cheese

about 2 T. dry gin, warmed in the microwave for 15-20 seconds

Saute onions in butter until soft, but not browned. Remove to small dish. Add a smattering more butter to your skillet, if needed. In small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, water, salt and pepper. Pour into skillet and cook over medium heat until top is pretty well set.

I like to use the wooden spoon to gently lift up the edges of the egg as it's cooking, tilting the pan so the runny part makes its way to the pan's edge. If the center of the omelet is still too gooey for my liking, I'll poke a couple small holes in the middle to let the egg run down to the pan's bottom to cook.

When eggs are pretty set, sprinkle on the onions and the blue cheese. (Poister also added green olives and chopped parsley here, but I did not.) While top of omelet is still creamy, fold over, add the warmed gin, and light on fire. Make sure your wooden spoon is not still on the edge of your pan (ahem). Serves one. Deliciously.

Quote from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: "The pyrotechnical display connected with flaming dishes does and should have a positive psychological effect on both the server and the servee. At the very least it should be a treat, if not a feast for the eye."

Additional note: If you check out the Amazon link to this book, you'll see a very sweet review written by the author's son.

Traditional Baked Rice Pudding with Bulgarian Twist

Mmmmhmmm nothing better in winter or like today on an overcast day warming creamy smooth rice pudding, just like Mummy used to make! Oh but healthier I will put both healthy & unhealthy, has to be done occasionally, recipes here. Unfortunately I can't have the unhealthy one as I have not yet found what I need although I can get a litre of full fat Jersey milk from our friend Gosho the vet. made it with this once & it was truly lovely, I am always looking to make better & creamier rice pudding here in Bulgaria its a challenge!
Years ago there was a milk churner that turned full fat milk into cream, my Mum had one! Well I am desperate to find one as you cannot buy cream here not dairy cream its all long life made from vegetable fat??? Oh My Goodness!!!! You cannot substitute that for the real thing, so I get cravings! When I get to go back to UK I must go to Cornwall & have a proper clotted cream teas or if that's not possible I will get one in Rye or Battle when I visit my mum :D Right that's settled lets get on with the rice pudding!
I have one in the oven right now, can't wait!!!  I am looking forward to my soon to be born grandchild coming over to spend time with Nanna & feeding them traditional English heritage puddings I have such fond memories of my childhood based around food. Both my Mum & my Nan were cooks & my Nan always used to say "This is what they give mad dogs" ie; it calms the soul :D & I have to agree with her.

So, This is what you give mad dogs.....
For a healthier option.....
2 pints Semi Skimmed milk; or for even healthier Skimmed
4 oz Pudding rice; or if in Bulgaria just oris  :D
4 Tsp Sugar
Vanilla Essence
2 tsp Cinnamon or to taste
2 tsp Nutmeg or to taste the more nutmeg the better for the skin !!!!!
You can use mixed spice instead if your not making a skin.


Pre heat your oven to 170c
Grease a pudding bowl or dish with butter or margarine
Wash the rice & mix with the sugar & milk add vanilla, stir it well, mix into this the cinnamon depending on how much you like this spice its just as good without it but I love it, so for me I use lots but a little will do just as well.
Bake in oven 30 mins then give it a good stir then bake again 30 mins & another stir. After the second stir sprinkle over your nutmeg, a whole fresh grated nutmeg is best but ground nutmeg will do fine too.
Now bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours undisturbed. Enjoy hot or cold. Depending on what consistency you like
For a Bulgarian twist serve with Plum compote (see recipe blog all things Sliva) you can also serve it with just the plum juice so one day plums next day juice.

Once in a while recipe.......
2 pints of milk made up with... 1 sml can Evaporated milk then make up to 2 pints with full fat creamy milk
4 oz Pudding Rice
4 Tbl Sugar, you can stick to Dsp if you don't want it sweet
1 oz Butter
Vanilla Essence
2 tsp Cinnamon or to taste
2 tsp Nutmeg or to taste
You can use mixed spice if your not making a skin

Follow the same directions for cooking but dot with butter after all the stirring has been done, Enjoy!!!!!!
If the Evaporated milk is too much just use milk & pour a little evap over your individual serving.
You can also use single cream instead of Evaporated milk, hey whatever works for you personally I would try them all :D