A wholesome pear cake recipe

I've been getting very ornery when passing the cake/biscuit/etc aisles at the supermarket lately. We generally have a sweet snack at home for us to munch on, but the options are just so horrid! Choose from:

A) awful corporate brand name sweet
B) cheap basic option stuffed full of hydrogenates
C) enticing friendly option that's twice the price

Well, I'm going for D) none of the above. I'm going to make our sweets at home from now on. Yes, it's a bit of extra work, and yes, I'm no baker. But it will be a new challenge that's relatively cheap to take on.

Seeing as Waitrose had some "essential" pears (yes, I'm still a sucker for SOME marketing gimmicks) on offer, I decided to scoop them up and make an upside down pear cake.

Now obviously most cake recipes call for fat, eggs, sugar and flour - all in varying amounts and using various versions of the four. I'm keen to keep these cakes as clean as possible and have opted for olive oil, free-range eggs, unrefined caster sugar and wholemeal flour as my ingredients of choice, though none of the items are organic.

As I didn't want to duff up the cake, I went for traditional ratios - though I may tweak in future.

Upside-down pear cake
(serves 8)

4 pears, peeled, cored and halved
1 square springform tin
a dab of olive oil and a dusting of flour for the tin
175 g unrefined caster sugar
175 g wholemeal flour, sifted
2 eggs
8 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ground ginger (though use whichever spice you like - cinnamon would be lovely too)
45 ml skimmed milk

Preheat the oven to 230 C.

Oil and dust the springform tin. Place the pears, cut side down, in a circular pattern in the middle of the tin.

In a large bowl, use a hand blender to combine the sugar and olive oil until as fluffy as possible. Blend in each egg individually, adding the next one only when the mixture is consistent.

Fold the flour and the ginger into the mixture and mix until consistent again, and then pour in milk. Stir until consistent one last time, then pour the mixture evenly over the pears.

Bake for 30 minutes, then remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before popping the cake out of the tin. Serve immediately, or wrap in foil once fully cool. Will keep for 3-4 days in a cool-ish environment.

Calories per serving: 339.

That's higher than I'd ideally like for a snack, so might work on tweaking the sugar content in future. But there's 3.5 g of fibre in each serving as well, so I'm thinking this would make a great snack an hour before a workout.

As for the husband test: had him try it BEFORE telling him about the wholemeal flour (he doesn't mind these things, but if he knows it will impair his enjoyment...) and he was really pleased with it. (Though who isn't pleased when someone makes them a cake, I'd like to know.)

So will continue my cake journey and keep you updated. Do feel free to recommend any other cake ideas and I'll give them a go.

jolly good eating in January

Don’t be glum just because the holidays are over. It’s time for crisp, cold January, the first month of the year, and the month of my birthday no less. It’s the month of the diet, as we all agonise over the holiday weight. I myself managed to put on five pounds, which isn’t horrible, but I’m not particularly pleased with either.

I’m full of ideas, too. Where most people look ahead and think of watery tomatoes and an endless parade of root vegetables, I myself am inspired. Sure, there will be a glut of roots on my table – turnips, squash, potatoes, celeriac, swede – but that’s a good thing. They’re nutritious and warming. Come late spring, we’ll trade them in for asparagus and tomatoes, and be happy to do so. But for now, we’re okay, aren’t we?

There are plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat to keep us full and healthy over the next month. I’m working to find new ways to cook them up.

This is by no means an exhaustive list – but hopefully it’s an inspirational one. See you in the kitchen.

Apples and pears
The pears are starting to get a bit harder at this time of year, so they’ll need more time in the fruit bowl to ripen. The problem is, they go soft extremely quickly.

For a snack, instead of throwing a pear in your bag, slice it up in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice over. It will hold for a few hours and they’ll be easier to eat, too.

As for apples, the good ol’ Bramley is still around for cooking. Throw it in your red cabbage for an excellent braised side dish. Other eating and dessert apples are still around, like the Sturmer Pippin, for snacking. This is the fruit that gets me through to Spring – as long as I can get an apple from the UK or France, I’m happy.

Cauliflower and kale
I love both of these vegetables. Cauliflower is a great winter side vegetable – it’s filling and you can eat as much as you like, guilt free:

A Sunday roast chicken with cauliflower and cabbage is fantastic. (Just eat the breast meat)

For a weeknight meal, I like grilled mustard-coated chicken with steamed cauliflower and shallots.

Kale is brilliant in stews – try a lentil stew with a bit of torn Canadian bacon and a spoonful of crème fraiche on top.

Cauliflower and leek soup is a great lunch option. Just boil up the vegetables for a few minutes with some bouillon and whizz with a hand blender. It freezes well too.

Get back to your roots
Mix and match any of these vegetables – potato, celeriac, parsnip, carrot, turnip, swede. Although sweet potatoes aren’t local, they’re a worthwhile exception. They’re fairly low calorie (about 80 calories per 100g) and they’re filling too.

Roast chunks of any of these, except for perhaps potato, in a bit of olive oil and keep refrigerated. They’ll work well in a winter salad to take to work. I love EAT’s superfood salad – sweet potato, beetroot, spinach leaves, bean sprouts, and a bit of goats cheese – why not make one of your own?

I continue to enjoy the recipe from You are What you Eat’s website for sweet potato and squash soup, although I prefer to leave it chunky. Just be sure to chop your vegetables into bite-size pieces.

Swede-celeriac-parsley mash was a star at my dinner table recently, served with roast monkfish from Borough Market and braised celery.

Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall’s parsnip and apple cakes are one of the most divine creations I’ve had the pleasure of eating.

I like the sound of Delia’s carrot and artichoke soup with saffron. But Nigel Slater’s carrot soup with cayenne is a great choice too.

Shallots
These are the ultimate guiltless flavour addition. Drop them in soups, roast them whole, or fry in a few sprays of olive oil.

This shallot-loving website has loads of ideas should you need a few.

Seafood
Now is the time for some great water treats – scallops, mussels and lobster. A bit pricey, though, so perhaps they’re best for a weekend treat. I’m not about to cook lobster at home though.

Bill Grainger’s recipe for seared scallops with carrot fritters sounds absolutely amazing. I’m keen to try it.

One of my favourite pasta dishes is mussels with garlic and tinned tomatoes over wholewheat spaghetti. A bit of chilli in there doesn’t hurt it a bit. Use cooked mussels or steam them in their shell.

In the new issue of Bon Appetit, there’s a very exciting recipe for scallops with cauliflower, dried cherries and capers. (Which reminds me: dried fruit is an excellent way to make it through the winter months. Just be careful with the sugar content.)

Oranges (not quite English)
Seville oranges will be available soon, and the lovely, yet bitter citrus fruit will help us wait until the berries of late spring.

Chicken with orange, red onion and watercress salad – it’s been done before, but it’s a great way to make a winter salad into a proper dinner.

Forced rhubarb
Now, I’ll admit up front – I’m not really a fan of rhubarb. But maybe I haven’t had it right yet. Evidently, this early bird needs a bit of sugar to make it more palatable.

Delia has come up with a reduced-fat rhubarb dessert to get you (and me) started.

Try a few of the BBC’s recipes for it – and hopefully I’ll have a few recipes for you before long.

November nibbles

It’s November – to some, the official start of the Christmas season. While I wouldn’t go that far, I am excited about all the lovely pears and root vegetables on the way. Many of November’s treats are extremely healthy and very versatile.

So what’s on the menu this month? Of course, looking at it by month is slightly pedantic, as though on 31 October apples are still in season, and on 1 November they are not. It might be useful to look at it by week. (Click here to have a look at what’s in season in Australia)

In any case, prepare yourself for beautiful greens, oranges and reds as we reap the rewards of the harvest.

Pears

Home-grown conference pears have been lurking in the supermarket for a few weeks now, but I’ve been waiting for the elegant comice, with its softer skin and sweeter flesh.

These fruits are wonderful just on their own, as a snack. But these ideas are great – and healthy too:

-poached pears in red wine… add a square of dark chocolate for a stylish touch.

-upside down pear cake – I’ve not made this before, but I’m really coming around to the idea. Or pear muffins, even: try this Epicurious recipe.

-in a salad with walnuts, blue vinney and watercress

-or this salad with roasted fennel and pear and a balsamic dressing

-as part of a stunning autumn/winter chutney

Parsnips

After growing up not knowing what parsnips were, and then spending years turned off by the sight of them (white carrots, what?), I gave in, and tried parsnips. I’ve never looked back – these creamy vegetables are divine.

My favourite parsnip recipes to date:

-Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s parsnip and apple cakes. Absolutely brilliant with a couple of sausages (get them as lean as you can) and a dab of Colman’s.

-this cream of parsnip soup recipe – though without the cream. If anything, use skimmed milk, as the parsnips are creamy and luscious enough on their own.

More to try:

-use parsnip in place of potatoes in classic recipes such as shepherd’s pie. They are stunning in place of mash potatoes – except the parsnips are better as a puree – and served with salmon.

-curried parsnips: the spicy earthy seasonings suit the sweetness of the parsnip. Serve as a side dish or whiz into a soup. Or try Paul Rankin’s spicy burger and roasted parsnip recipe.

Root vegetables galore (pumpkins, potatoes, swede, celeriac)

Aside from parsnips, autumn brings a range of root vegetables to our doorsteps. Pumpkins and butternut squash are still around, potatoes are our perpetual friends, and now swede (also called rutabaga in the States) and celeriac are just waiting to be eaten.

These vegetables are healthy, and importantly to many, cheap! So enjoy. Many of these work beautifully in unison, picking up on each others’ best qualities.

-try this root vegetable gratin from Abel & Cole, though I’m hesitant about all the cream needed. Perhaps a mixture of skimmed milk and cream could do the job just as well…

-my friend Sarah makes an excellent root vegetable stew with dumplings. In go parsnips, carrots, potatoes, swede and celeriac, simmered with a touch of cider, and, if it’s a special occasion, dumplings made of flour, cheese, spring onion, and a bit of butter. Perfect for a dark chilly evening.

-Delia does a great reduced fat slow-cooked soup too

-root vegetable and barley risotto – perhaps with a bit of single Gloucester, as recommended by Godsells cheesemaker

-root vegetable slaw, served with smoked fish cakes. Love it.

Cranberries

Cranberries are another one of winter’s sweet fruits, arriving long after we picked the last of those regal blackberries. This is a down-to-earth fruit, pulled from bogs, and rife with a tart flavour that often needs a touch of sugar. For antioxidant fiends, evidently the fruit has been shown to have more antioxidant phenols than 19 commonly eaten fruits.

Here are a couple of ideas:

-in a pear-cranberry smoothie with low-fat yogurt – the sweet pear will hold up to those tart lovely berries

-homemade cranberry sauce for turkey – either at Thanksgiving in the US or on the Christmas dinner table in the US. (Use the leftovers to make this exciting quesadilla)

Cabbage

This vegetable has some awful historical connotations, much like the swede. Much of this stems from poor preparation – cabbage can be fantastic when cooked properly.

Red, white, green, summer, leafy, savoy – the possibilities are endless. But at this time of year, the hard and round ones are best.

-for red cabbage, try braising it with earthy spices – such as nutmeg and cinnamon – as well as something sweet like apples and a splash of vinegar to preserve the colour. Great with lean poultry and lots of other vegetables for a healthy Sunday lunch.

-stir-fry shredded green cabbage with leeks for one of my favourite crunchy side dishes. All it needs is pepper and some olive oil spray (if it seems dry, just add a splash or two of water)

-the traditional Irish dish colcannon contains potato, cabbage and onion with cream, salt and pepper. For a healthier version, substitute semi-skimmed milk in for cream and use potato, cabbage (or kale) and leeks.

Leeks

I love leeks. Their flavour is so distinctive, yet never too harsh. You know that old phrase, “Behind every good man is a woman”? The analogy applies to leeks. They back up soups, casseroles, stews, you name it.

-a week or so ago I made a watercress soup – that my husband was literally dreading – that ended up a hit. Two rather large leeks were responsible for quite a lot of that flavour.

-leek skillet: sauté leeks with parboiled cubed potatoes. Add a bit of spinach and top with goats cheese before serving. It’s a perfect casual Saturday afternoon lunch.

-roasted leeks add miles to any vegetable combo. Roasted baby leeks work well in a salad.

-in a frittata with mushrooms and watercress.

I could go on forever, especially as I haven’t even touched on beetroot or nuts. But that’s enough to keep you – and me – busy in the kitchen for now.