Crêpe Suzette

Pancakes in boozy orange juice.

Crêpe Suzette is really easy to make - I used to make it for breakfast when we spent our summers in France in the 80s/90s. If you substitute butter for marg and ensure you use vegan alcohol; pretty much any Crêpe Suzette recipe will work.

In fact, you don't really need a recipe at all. Just melt some margarine in a pan and add orange juice/peel, lemon juice/peel, sugar and Cointreau to taste. Simmer down slightly, add pancakes and warm through. If flambéing's your thing then pour a ladle of flaming cointreau or brandy over at the end - it's not strictly needed though. You can leave out the booze altogether if you like.

Here's the quantities I used last night:

• 6 Pancakes
• Knob of Margarine
• 1 Orange (zest only)
• 1 Lemon (zest + juice)
• 200ml Orange Juice
• 100g Castor Sugar
• 75ml Cointreau + extra for flambéing

I blogged my pancake recipe a year ago (clicky click) which worked perfectly. I mixed half of the soya milk with the flour first, then whisked in the rest of the milk. It looked a little thin at first but seemed to do the job and came out lump free.

Zest the orange and the lemon, then juice the lemon. Add to the orange juice along with the sugar and cointreau.

Heat the margarine in a pan, then add the liquid. Simmer for 5 minutes so that it reduces slightly and becomes more syrupy. Taste and add more sugar / booze as needed.

You may choose to remove the zest at this point - whilst it looks nice it doesn't taste so great. Add the pancakes one by one, sliding under the sauce then folding into quarters. Warm through for a couple of minutes.

If you feel the need to set fire to things; either seek professional help or heat a ladle of cointreau, light and add to the pan (or pour the Crêpe Suzette once served).

You can serve with icecream if you like, but it tastes perfectly fine on its own. I can thoroughly recommend eating it immediately whilst the pancakes are still delicate. I discovered to my dismay last night that if you pounce around with a camera for 20 minutes they can become rather chewy! :O

Sunshine

I like winter - to an extent. I enjoy watching the seasons change and totally get the concept of it being a period to reflect, to create your own warmth and to look forward to the year ahead.

I know we're forever whinging about how crap our weather is in the UK, but the last couple of months have been consistently colder, greyer and snowier than any I remember. Romantic season watching aside I've been ready for summer for quite a while now.

My ideal climate would consist of 2 weeks winter, 2 weeks spring, 4 weeks autumn and 44 weeks summer. Enough time to enjoy the unique offerings that other seasons bring (beautifully coloured leaves, snow etc), with the option to spend evenings outside in sandals and a single layer of clothing the rest.

It's not that I find lack of sunshine depressing per se, rather that its presence really boosts my energy levels. I've used a light box for the past couple of years which helps to a degree, especially when having to get up and go to work whilst it's still dark outside. It's no substitute however for the real thing.

I know the obvious answer is move to a warmer climate, but I like the UK and for all it's failings it's a pretty great place to live.

So, rant aside; yesterday we had proper sun for the first time in ages.

Our coatless walk was on reflection a little cold, but it was so refreshing to be outside enjoying the light. For a few moments on Sunday afternoon whilst relaxing by the window bliss was achieved.

Alcohol isn't the answer to many things, but having a glass of something good in your hand when you've nowhere else you need to be often helps.

The following drink was concocted and worth remembering / recreating again:

• 2 Shots Summer Pimms
• 1 Shot Cucumber Gin
• 1 Shot Simple Syrup
• 8 Shots Orange Juice
• 3 Strawberries
• Crushed Ice

Muddle / crush the strawberries in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and add the rest of the ingredients. Shake until your hands go numb from cold, then stain into 2 glasses. Float a 1-2 tsp of the strawberry puree on each.

Warning: this drink goes down very, very easily. It's probably worth making 2 batches (or a jug) in advance.

I'm really loving the cucumber gin I made a while ago at the moment. It's really quite impressively cucumbery and a little goes a long way (you could probably lower the shot to a half if you're less of a fan). I've been a big lover of Pimms since it's vegan status was confirmed a few years ago and strawberries are always good.

Clementine Chocolate Bread

Like banana bread, but without the bananas; i.e. it's actually cake not bread.

I've been making this for a few years now, normally with orange, but as we've got clementines in at the moment it makes sense to use them. It would work equally well with satsumas & mandarins.

Ingredients:

• 75-150g Dark Chocolate
• Zest of 2 Clementines
• 410g Self Raising Flour
• 300g Castor Sugar
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 300ml Clementine Juice
• 150ml Sunflower Oil

Method:

Chop the chocolate into chunks and zest or grate the clementines.


Combine the other ingredients and get someone else to mix vigorously whilst you watch/take photos.


Add the other ingredients to the mixture and fold in, reserving some of the chocolate for the top just before cooking.


Cook in a loaf tin at 200 degrees until done (about 30 minutes in our oven). You can check it's done when a toothpick comes out clean.