Sweet Heart Honey Buns

Pancake day and Valentines day in one week - aren't we lucky! Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent and pancakes originated as a way to use up ingredients that would traditional be avoided for the next 40 days and nights (butter, sugar, eggs). Valentines day has its origins in a fertility festival and feast so what better reason to make something lovely for your lovely?

Somewhere between a crumpet and a pancake, these soft fluffy buns are made with our Original Beer Bread Mix and new Secret Honeycomb Spices and then doused in our new Hibiscus and Rose Nectar.  Really easy to make, they can be whipped up in a jiffy and made to whatever shaped metal cutters you have at home.

Sweet Heart Honey Buns
Makes at least 4 buns - depending on the size of cutter used
1/2 pkt My Secret Kitchen Original Beer Bread Mix
1 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Secret Honeycomb Spices
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 large egg
1/4 pint milk
Vegetable oil / butter for frying
My Secret Kitchen Hibiscus & Rose Nectar, to serve

In a large jug, stir together the Beer Bread Mix, Secret Spices and sugar.  Add the egg and milk and whisk together to make a smooth batter.  Heat some vegetable oil (or butter) in a frying pan and place a metal cookie cutter (heart shaped if you have it) in the middle of the pan. Pour the batter into the cutter until it is half full (the batter will expand and bubble up on cooking).

Reduce the heat (watch they do not burn on the bottom) and continue to cook gently until the top of the bun looks dry and is ready to be turned over. Quickly flip and cook for a few seconds just to lightly brown the top. Whilst still warm, spoon over the Hibiscus & Rose Nectar.

And for those of you with less of a sweet tooth or if you and your lover are cheese lovers, we have some perfect partners to these mini camembert hearts - clockwise from the top, Tapenade with Smoked Garlic, Balsamic Reduction, Fig Pudding Pickle, Jumping Jack Chilli Jam.  All make great accompaniments for a range of cheeses and a hearty red wine (excuse the pun) or bubbly - lay down a rug for an oh-so-romantic indoor picnic.

So whatever the origins and meanings to the celebrations this week, Happy Pancake Valentines and here's to great reasons to love yourself and others with My Secret Kitchen.

Clare
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Saving the best for last

Do you sometimes fnd yourself scraping the barrel....well ok the jar?!

We love our square jars but like you, we often find ourselves trying to reach the last elusive tasty bits that get stuck in the corners. Well here are a few recipes & tips to make sure that you get the most out of our jars!  

Our Tapenade with Smoked Garlic & Jumping Jack Chilli Jam (& even a little Fig Pudding Pickle) are great added to Bolognese, casseroles & soups so when it's not possible to get a spoonful out, add a little hot water from the kettle, give the jar a shake & then tip into your recipe. 

For super speedy and simple dressings, add the extra ingredients needed for these fab recipes straight into the jar and give it all a shake. 

Fig Balsamic & Walnut Dressing 

Tapenade Vinaigrette 

 

How about adding a secret extra to your hot drinks? A Maple Caramel Latte is a yummy treat that if you haven't enjoyed before is definitely a must for the end of the jar - just add your hot coffee to the jar & shake it into the corners to free those last bits of Maple Caramel Sauce then pour into a mug of heated/frothed milk.   Instead of coffee you could use cocoa & enjoy a decadent hot chocolate!  

Hot chocolate is another drink that we enjoy with our Chocolate Peppermint Fondue so at the end of the jar just add in some of the hot milk & shake to melt the last bits of fondue.  

Maple Caramel Sauce is also delicious with apples & pears so if you are stewing or poaching these then add some hot water to the jar to free the sauce & then add to your pan of fruit.  

We hope these tips & ideas help you to enjoy our products right down to the last drop and maybe you'd agree that we save the best for last?!

 

- Laura Virgoe

Store-cupboard Secrets

Store-cupboard Secrets
Clare Moran (Co-founder My Secret Kitchen)

I often gaze at the collection of packets in our kitchen cupboards and consider challenging myself to see how long I could feed our family of 4 on their contents – with a little help from My Secret Kitchen of course and the local village shop for back up. Split peas, puy lentils and polenta occupy our shelves, not to mention the obligatory cans of tuna, white beans and chick peas, just waiting to be transformed into something gorgeous to grace our table.

 The same goes for the freezer with home-made stock, white fish filets and little packets of cheese sauce squirreled away as well as lesser known ingredients that I couldn’t bear to get rid of – the spent sloes from Phil’s sloe gin (destined to be an addition for drunken Ultimate Chocolate Brownies one day), strings of authentic Thai black pepper, and grated pecorino cheese.

January can also feel a little glum and lack lustre in the kitchen department so what better time to put our creativity and store-cupboards to the test?

 The recipes and ideas that follow are the culinary equivalent of ‘make do and mend’ and aim to bring those dull packets that we all have in our cupboards to life with My Secret Kitchen. They all feature Tapenade with Smoked Garlic which is true foodie’s life saver and maybe in a few weeks, like Old Mother Hubbard, our cupboards will be the streamlined version ready to be filled with more secrets.

(Make your own substitutions and tweaks with the store-cupboard ingredients you have available)

Baked Coley with Tapenade & Pecorino Crumb Topping

Bake the fish in paper or foil with a sprinkling of olive oil, fresh herbs and a slice of lemon (or orange) at 190C  for 10 - 12 mins or until just cooked through (if frozen, add another 10 minutes to the cooking time). Top the fish with 1 tbsp Tapenade with Smoked Garlic and a crumb topping made from fresh bread crumbs, Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt and grated pecorino (or parmesan or strong cheddar).  (Prepare ahead tip – these can now be chilled until needed) Place under a preheated medium grill until the top is toasted and the Tapenade warmed through. 

Tapenade & Tuna Bean Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

1 can (240g) borlotti beans, rinsed, drained and dried on a paper towel
1 can (130g) tuna fish, drained well
25g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp My SecretKitchen Tapenade with Smoked Garlic
½ tsp My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced SeaSalt, ground
1 tbsp My SecretKitchen Smoked Rapeseed Oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp semolina
2 tbsp olive oil

Mash the beans in a large bowl and add the tuna fish, breadcrumbs, parsley, Tapenade, Smoked Oil and Lemon & Chipotle Sea Salt.  Mix together (Prepare ahead tip: the mix can now be refrigerated for later). Form the mixture into 4 burgers (approx. 100g each). Mix the flour and semolina together on a plate and flour the burgers in the mixture on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the burgers for 1-2 minutes on both sides until golden. Place on a baking sheet and into a preheated oven (190C) and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.  Serve with another dollop of Tapenade and a green salad.  Alternatively serve in a toasted sesame bun with melted swiss cheese or form the mixture into nuggets (25g each) and serve with noodles and a simple tomato sauce of chopped tomatoes whizzed together with another tablespoon of Tapenade. These also freeze well – double the recipe and freeze half for another day.

 Gazpacho with Puy Lentils and Grilled Polenta Wedges

Serves 4

1/2 jar My SecretKitchen Tapenade with Smoked Garlic
2 tbsp My SecretKitchen Balsamic Reduction
1 can chopped tomatoes
½ cucumber, finely chopped
25g puy lentils, cooked and chilled
2 tbsp olive oil
My Secret KitchenLemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
500ml cold water

Combine all of the ingredients together and serve very cold (put your servings bowls in the fridge for extra effect).  For the polenta wedges, prepare the polenta as instructed but substituting half of the water with milk and season with Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt.  Rub a tray with Smoked Rapeseed Oil and pour the polenta onto the tray and smooth over – chill until set.  Cut the polenta into wedges, brush with more Smoked Rapeseed Oil and under a preheated grill until the polenta is golden and sizzling.

What secrets have you found in your cupboard?  We'd love to hear from you so do get in touch,

Enjoy!

Clare