Banana bread in a hurry

My baking skills are not terribly fantastic- in fact I am not very gifted in that department at all. When I cook, I can afford to behave like an artist and re-create a recipe in my own way and not follow it slavishly word for word. Cooking is both a relaxing and cathartic experience- we can create almost any dish we like and the end result reflects our personality. Baking is a whole different animal, so to speak. If you veer too far from the recipe you 'll have a disaster that cannot be brought back from the brink. A savvy cook can rescue a split Hollandaise but no amount of genius can save a cake that fails to rise.

This recipe is easy and takes no intelligence or technical wizardry. Bananas that are slightly overripe work best. Eat the bread while its warm with a splash of double cream. You can even slice it, brown the slices in butter in a pan and serve with a coulis. Everyone likes this bread and it makes my life easier in the baking department.

Mash 4-6 overripe bananas, add a good squeeze of lemon juice and set aside. Beat four ounces of unsalted butter until creamy and pale. Add two beaten eggs and a splash of vanilla essence and 1/4 teaspoon mixed spice. Add four ounces of self-raising flour and combine. Add the mashed banana and gently fold in. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk or booze. Turn into a greased baking dish. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees C for twenty minutes then at 180degrees C for a further twenty minutes until risen and golden brown.

PS Add a handful of raisins or sultanas, if liked, pre-soaked in boiling water and drained, to the final mixture. Your oven will have to be pre-heated and very hot otherwise the fruit will sink to the bottom of the dish.

 

 

Photo copyright SvD.

Potage de boeuf for when you're poorly

I was recently quite ill with some strange flu. Three days spent in bed feeling extremely sorry for myself but as always I tried to cure myself with food. I had organic beef in the freezer and I know that onions are good for lungs so I invented this potage. First I tossed the cubed beef in flour mixed with paprika then I added it to foaming hot butter. Loads of garlic, thyme, ginger (which is the perfect partner for beef), ton of chopped onions. Once onions were just brown at the edges, deglazed with large glug of dry white wine then a good grinding of pepper and salt, water to cover. I added lardons for extra flavour and another layer of taste and simmered for one hour. I did not render the lardons first as I find they keep their shape nicely and release their smoky flavour if they are added at this stage. After one hour I then added chunks of red pepper for extra colour and crunch. Simmered uncovered for ten minutes more and ready to eat. The end result was very tasty indeed. And you know what? I think it worked!

PS Anyone can cook if they follow basic principles of French cooking. Really not difficult!

Photo copyright SvD.

My family

My darling doggie has been my family for almost fifteen years. He is getting so old now and like his mum towards the end of her life and who died in 2011, he needs to sit down every so often on our walks. Despite a tumour on his hind leg, he still wants to be wherever I am and can just about manage a short walk. If you haven't had a dog you couldn't possibly understand how wonderful they are. I have had dogs for most of my adult life. People come and go, those who you thought were friends will probably let you down but our canine friends would literally move Heaven and Earth just for the chance to be with you. There is a theory that in the course of  evolution, dogs civilised humans. My doggie and I have done some incredible things- he once sat quietly in the back seat of my car all the way to Brittany, France- a nine hour drive- without so much as a whimper. At the end of that journey, he accompanied me to a restaurant where he sat at my feet and ate one half of a large steak. Dogs are just perfect- they are kind, joyful, full of love - if you leave the room for five minutes they behave as if you have been gone on Homer's Iliad and just returned. I shall be bereft when my darling pooch needs to go to the great big kennel in the sky. Quite simply, I do not know how I shall cope. It will be the saddest day of my life.

Photo copyright SvD.

Mid-week fish supper

I love meat and eat a lot of it but at least two to three times a week I try and have fish. This quick and easy supper is fool-proof. The secret is fresh fish and knowing when the oil is hot enough to fry the fish without burning but resulting in a delicious crunchiness. I place my hand above the heating oil and if it feels really hot but is not smoking, I know it's ready. Cooking is made easy by experience so the way to get better is to practice every day. I coat the fish is flour which is mixed with hot paprika and a good grinding of black pepper. If you want a bit more heat, try slipping a few crushed chilies in the oil but remove them as soon as they begin to burn. My local supermarket had just received these Cornish sardines so I grabbed four which weighed 260g in total.

The idea to roast Brussels sprouts is not mine- I heard about this method from a friend. I've added cubes of poitrine fumée as I've just returned from France and it is the one thing I can't live without.  I slice the sprouts in half or quarters depending on their size, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of dried thyme, add the poitrine fumée and roast in a hot oven (200 degrees C) for thirty minutes covered and then fifteen more uncovered. Strong tasting white fish marry well with pork/bacon so go ahead and experiment!

Photo copyright SvD.

Paris

I've just returned from a few days in Paris which in spite of recent terrorist atrocities, remains shockingly beautiful. They say that you cannot expect to go to Paris and not be influenced by the culture and the language- whenever I arrive in France - the only place I ever go to on holiday- I always feel as if I am returning home. Look closely behind me- that's the Arc de Triomphe which the German Army walked through on June 14, 1940 when they invaded France.

The atmosphere in Paris was tense but there were many police everywhere. I felt safe and would urge tourists to visit this wonderful city.

PS I drove from England to Paris and it was an absolute doddle- three hours from the Eurotunnel in Calais to Paris and after a relaxed lunch on the Somme river in Normandy halfway through, the remainder of the journey to Paris seemed to be over in a flash.

The best way to relax

We all live pretty frenetic lives- even on a subconscious level we are anticipating the next thing to do on our daily lists, hence the reason many claim to be too stressed to even relax. I know a couple, for example, who take regular holidays abroad (which cost a small fortune) just to be able to escape the mad, demanding pace in their professional and personal lives. For them, Heaven is a remote beach away from everyone and everything. When they're back in the fray of family and work commitments, they need sleeping pills every night. The mad cycle where the mind and body never get a real rest can be ultimately detrimental to our health. Sure, lying on a beach sipping your umpteenth piña colada may sound fabulous but it clearly doesn't solve the problem of how to cope with life without losing your mind and damaging your health in the process.

Why not try these tests to see how stressed and preoccupied you really are? The first test is to look at the picture below. As you may know by now, I'm a nature fiend- if I feel a cold coming on or I'm depressed, I put on my walking boots whatever the weather. I feel better for walking in the fresh air and preferably in isolation- a very dense wood with the sound of birdsong and where I can smell the seasons works best for me. Finding moments of peace and quiet enable me to keep my head together and banish the blues. Let's face it, life is not easy- or put another way, life is hard if you think too much (hence the reason that mind-altering drugs, too much alcohol and cigarettes are so popular).

Take a good look at the photo. See how long you can look at it and if those dew drops hold any fascination for you. If you can lose yourself staring at this evocative photo, your mind is probably not overloaded with anxiety and stress. If you can barely hold your gaze for five seconds...whoaaaa! Slow down!

In my book, How to be Happy, The Little Book of Peace for the Soul, I write about the sound of silence- the ability to think of nothing. For me it's meditation on the go and something that I can squeeze in no matter where I am. Try looking at these videos. One is of birdsong at dusk as I walked my hound one evening. Just close your eyes and listen to the birds. You should feel calmer and more centred by focusing on the birds' evening melodies. In the process your head will be emptied automatically of all the other stuff that is weighing you down. Try it.

Birdsong at dusk

This second video was made in my garden one summer as I was captivated by a leaf hanging off a filament of a spider's web. The leaf dangling in the wind and actually dancing was somehow mesmerising. The same principle applies- when you focus on the leaf, the computer in your head is forced to shut down. The end result is you feel lighter, less wound up and not as stressed.

Dancing leaf

Best of luck! And peace!


Photo and videos copyright SvD.