Earl Grey Teabread

I love a really good cup of tea, because actually, sitting down in the afternoon with a cup and 5 minutes to yourself can be heaven. I have earl grey just every now and again (mix it up, I know - totally wild) and so I was quite interested to try this earl grey tea bread recipe out. Origin of recipe: Mum. Naturally.

Practical points are 1) it's really easy, 2) it's dairy free and 3) it freezes really well too. 

PREP TIME: 20 minutes
QUANTITY: Makes 1 loaf (about 1lb)

12 oz (350g) mixed fruits - I use sultanas and raisins but you can add cherries, currants etc.
9oz (250g) light muscovado sugar
10oz (300g) self-raising flour
10 fl oz (300ml) hot earl grey tea
Zest of 1 lemon
1 beaten egg

Pre-heat the oven to (150C / 300F / Gas Mark 2) and adjust accordingly for fan ovens. Grease and line a standard size (1lb) loaf tin with non-stick greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the fruits and the sugar and give them a good stir. Then pour over the hot tea and mix again. Cover with a tea towel or similar, and leave in a relatively cool place for about 12 hours. It's best to do this in the evening and then bake in the morning. Soaking the fruits makes them really plump and juicy. 

In the morning, add the flour, lemon zest and beaten egg to the mixture and stir really well until it's all properly mixed together. Then spoon the mixture into the tin and pop it into the pre-heated oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

When it's ready, give it about 15 minutes to cool in the tin and then turn out. This is best served hot with cold salted butter. So, technically it is dairy free but the serving requires some kind of spread - whether that is butter or soya margarine. 

Lastly, I would hate to give the impression that I never make any mistakes or screw things up. It happens all the time. I have made this tea bread recipe and forgotten the sugar before, luckily, somehow, it still tasted good (better with sugar though definitely). I've also forgotten to adjust the cooking temperature for the fan oven, so it ended up completely overdone. And that was just mistakes on this recipe. 

Anyway, if you like your afternoon tea, I would recommend this as a little English accompaniment!

I might try out a spiced version of this using Chai tea, and adding some cinnamon instead of lemon. If anyone has tried this before, please let me know how it turned out.

Louisa 

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Email: louisa@westegg.co.uk
Website: http://www.westegg.co.uk
Blog: http://westegg-interiors.blogspot.com
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So Simple Butternut Squash Soup

So everyone's feeling the chill this week, it's -3C here (7pm) and that is not good. I don't mind the cold too much but this is rubbish. I made this soup to warm me up and fill me up. I thought I'd share the recipe I ended up making up because it's dairy-free and when I've looked for a recipe before they always have cream in. This is a good egg so enjoy. As ever, it's quick and so simple.

TIME: 1 hour and 10 minutes (ish)
QUANTITY: 6 servings

1 x butternut squash, around 2lb (900g) should do it
3 potatoes (350g), peeled and chopped
2 pints (1.2 litres) vegetable or chicken stock
Chilli flakes (optional)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
First thing, pre-heat the oven to 160C, 325F or Gas Mark 3.

Cut the butternut squash in half or if's it a big one, into quarters. I did mine in thirds. It just happened like that.

Put the squash on a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and a few chilli flakes (just a few as they can be deadly). 

Bake for approximately one hour until the squash is soft, brown around the edges (otherwise known as caramelised) - basically squashy. A-hah-hah-ha. Mine looked like this. Yum.

Leave the squash to cool. (It tastes really good but try not to eat it). 

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the potatoes and coat well with the oil. Then add the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Do not go on auto-pilot and drain the potatoes - you need the stock for the soup. 

Once the squash has cooled, scoop out the fleshy bits and put in the blender - add a ladle of the stock to loosen up the mixture otherwise it might be difficult to get moving. Then blend it all together. 

Add the soup back to the pan to warm through and check for seasoning. You can add more chilli flakes at this point too if you like it hot. To serve, drizzle with olive oil and a few more chilli flakes. 

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Email: louisa@westegg.co.uk
Website: http://www.westegg.co.uk
Blog: http://westegg-interiors.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/westeggUK
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/westeggUK