A Little Help From My Friends

I will be honest and admit I spend so much time with Samuel that I can forget I have friends. Yes I know this sounds bad; I'm sure many a marriage counsellor or self help guru would probably profess that I am not nurturing my inner being nor am I ensuring that I haven't lost myself in the black hole of marriage. To be honest I think that this is a load of old toss and if I ever see the words spiritual, help and soul combined on the front cover of a book alongside a photo of someone looking far too happy to be alive, I tend to run the other way; preferably to the cookery section where I can instead use food to feed my soul. Anyway, despite my overt cynicism I do believe you should make time for your friends; it's important to make time for the other people in your life, the ones who bring something unique and special to the table, just as your significant other does.

I would like to introduce you to one of my wonderful friends, Birte, who is the inspiration behind this post and who has selflessly subjected herself to an afternoon of perpetual smiling, and on the odd occasion, slow motion running to feed my photography addiction. By the way the slow motion running was her idea...anyway, the results of this shoot are included in this post.

When I was thinking about what I would write for this post and how I would do justice to the wonder that is Birte, while at the same time, weaving a tapestry of literary genius, the word Honey came to mind. You see, if I had to think of one word that I would forever associate with Birte it would have to be honey (bare with me I'm weaving that tapestry); not only does she have the thickest, most voluptuous mane of honey coloured waves, she is also deliciously sprinkled with gorgeous honey coloured freckles (excuse the food related adjectives, contrary to this description, Birte is not edible). Birte is incredibly sweet; she is sweet in a way that is undeniably genuine and good natured and she graciously exudes this sweetness in a way that is never sickly; unlike too much sugar or a sticky, chewy caramel. She is soft, warm hearted and can blend into any situation, anywhere or with anyone; a bit like the way honey brings an unparalleled flavour and sweetness to both sweet and savoury dishes.

Birte is a truly special person; we have been friends for 9 years and we have been through many life changes together. She is one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I am very grateful that she not only likes me, but is willing to endure my strange foibles, probing questions and photo shoot pestering. She is also one of my biggest blog critiques; openly admitting when she thinks I am rambling and writing nothing but boring, lifeless prose. However, she also indulges in everyone of my blog posts, puts up with my incessant questions about said blog posts and is enthusiastic about trying my recipes (this is about the only thing I didn't have to tie her up for).

Although I am eternally grateful that Birte kindly offered to be my model, her ideas for some poses were slightly, how can I put this; ridiculous and downright awful. For example, the aforementioned slow motion running as well as star jumping (yes you read that right) and supposedly elegant prancing type actions...these have unfortunately not made it to the blog...

Without further ado here are some the pictures I took of Birte on our lovely Thursday afternoon together (sorry the blog has greatly reduced the image quality, that's if these ever were quality images....particularly the colour and contrast, and I am trying solve this problem). I chose these for the blog because in my eyes they ARE Birte, in every sense of the word. I look at these and I feel that they represent the Birte that we all know and love and I hope that she is very proud of the lovely person she is.

This next one is probably my favourite because Birte looks so content and happy.

This photo emphasizes the quirkiness that Birte exudes on a daily basis

Okay I decided to put one photo up of Birte's ridiculous posing ideas; I know she would want me to, and I guess I owe her that much. Please refrain from photographic judgement please.

We finished our photo shoot with mud laden boots and frozen toes (I have to add that it came to a natural end when we ran out of posing ideas and resorted to tree hugging. Not a good look) and headed to Euphorium Bakery. Yes that is the same bakery that I went to with Samuel last week; what can I say, I don't like change and this bakery does stuff with butter that sends shudders down my spine.

We ordered three lovely treats; a piece of sadly unfrosted carrot cake, a blueberry clafoutis, and a savoury ricotta and spinach puff pastry roll. Birte also had a Cappuccino the size of a small village. Before describing these delightful pastries I have to tell you about the eccentric and whimsical young man that served us. I think the banter between us was sparked by my over the top reaction to the fact that they did not have that heavenly white chocolate marquis (the one I mentioned in my previous post) on that particular day. After I grunted and moaned that it was a crime they did not have this eighth wonder of the world, the kind waiter resorted to trying to sell me any dessert that contained the colour white in some way; he even tried to convince me to purchase a dessert containing marshmallow fluff. I am deadly serious here; had I succumbed to this it would have been a grotesque crime against the pastry world and I am not that cruel.

Following this, I chose the blueberry clafoutis; I'm afraid the deep blue shade of the blueberries won over the seriously tempting marshmallow fluff. However, when the waiter was about to plate up my chosen dessert, he asked me which of the four remaining clafoutis I would like. Before I had a chance to answer he said, "here this one is big, and I know you will like big things. Size does always matter for women". I'm sure this was the weirdest sentence ever to be served with butter and sugar.

The carrot cake was moist, orange flecked and perfectly spiced with cinnamon and clove. However, I did miss the cream cheese frosting I have to say and in my opinion, cake can only be improved with a substance so buttery and delicious, it threatens to clog your arteries and sky rocket your cholesterol with every bite. The clafoutis was light and had the texture of layered pancakes; Birte gave this very detailed description worthy of a food review...not: "I like how you can taste the actual blueberries and they're not just for decoration". The spinach and ricotta roll; well it rolled me to a heavenly place where I could swim in melted butter and dance around giant cookie trees. The puff pastry was puffed to perfection and flaked beautifully. It left a lovely gloss on my lips and love in my heart.

And lastly here is Birte with that Cappuccino the size of Everest.

I will finish with this recipe for Bolognese. It may be retro and old fashioned but it's like Chanel, it will never go out of style. This version is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe in "Happy Days with the Naked Chef". What makes the flavours in this meaty bolognese so rich is the sheer volume of tomato puree/paste as well as the long cooking time. Now don't be alarmed, the paste will cook down into a velvety blanket of flavour and you won't know it's there except that you will because it will taste so good. It is important to simmer gently on the hob for at least an hour, even more if you double the recipe. It is this which develops the great flavours. It will also taste even better the next day when reheated. I like to serve this with tagliatelle not spaghetti as its far more soft and welcoming than the harsher spaghetti variety.

Spaghetti Bolognese

1 x 500g lean minced beef (you can use the fatty kind for extra flavour)

3 medium onions or 2 big big ones finely chopped

6 fat cloves of garlic (if they're not fat please add more more more, it massively helps the flavour) crushed

125 g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon chopped

1 tsp of dried oregano

150g tomato puree/paste

1 handful of picked rosemary leaves finely chopped

100 ml of marsala (this is a sweet italian fortified wine not unlike sherry. It adds a lvoely sweetness to the sauce, but if you don't have any red wine would also work)

1 x 400g can of tinned tomatoes

125 ml of chicken stock (I use Knorr Concentrate and add to water, but chicken stock is so much better than water and will help keep it moist while it's cooking)

Salt, pepper and sugar

1. Heat a wide saucepan on high and add some olive oil. Once it's hot add your pancetta or smoked bacon and rosemary and fry until golden and slightly crisp.

2. Turn down the heat to medium and add your onions. Cook until softened and golden

3. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or two

4. Turn up the to high and add your minced meat. Break it up with a wooden spoon so it doesn't clump. Cook and stir until it's no longer red but brown.

5. Add your marsala or wine and let it bubble for a minute or two.

6. Add your tomato paste and stir into the meat.

7. Add your tinned tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to the boil

8. Turn down to a gentle simmer and season with sea salt (go easy if table salt), a good grinding of pepper and a small teaspoon of sugar (sugar is really important in bringing out the sweetness in the tomatoes and it will help the flavour)

9. Simmer for an hour, with the lid on, or for even longer if you have the time. Check for seasoning it may need some, especially salt.

Cook some tagliatelle according to the packet instructions (always check a minute before it says though) and add the cooked pasta to the meat, never the other way around. Serve with some freshly grated parmesan! Yummy!

More posts to come soon. Feel free to comment or ask any questions!

xx