Fiery Ginger Cordial

I love all ginger drinks imaginable, especially ginger beer. It's almost a space mission to find ginger beer here though, let alone a sugar-free one. I've posted a ginger beer recipe before, but this one is for those with a love of fire!

It's great for making a fiery Dark & Stormy. I'm almost out of Sailor Jerry rum though..



Fiery Ginger Cordial
takes 1 hour 30 minutes
makes approx 400ml

100g fresh ginger
2 cloves
1 juniper berry
1 stick cinnamon
1 heaped tbsp dried ginger
zest of 1 organic lime
125ml/1/2 cup xylitol
juice of 1 lime, about 30ml
1 t citric acid
500ml water

Put dried ginger, juniper, cloves, cinnamon, xylitol, zest in a small pot.
Grate half the fresh ginger over pot, to catch the juices.
Add water. Stir well.
Cook over med-low heat for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
Turn off heat.
Grate remaining ginger over pot.
Add lime juice. Stir well.
Cover pot.
Leave to infuse for 1 hour.
Stir through citric acid.
Strain into sterilised bottle.
Keep refrigerated.
Lasts up to 1 week.

• Mix with sparkling/soda water to make ginger beer
• Use as a mixer in cocktails

Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes

500g of cherry tomatoes seems like quite a bit, but after 10 or more hours in the oven it won't be. I think I might try starting with 1kg next time. If you look closely at the photo you'll see that over half of the jar is already gone!

Citric acid should be easily obtainable from a large supermarket, if you can't find it there, try a health food or home-brew shop. It will help it keep for longer. It should keep for 4-6 weeks in the fridge.

The time the tomatoes will take to dry out depends on your oven and the tomatoes themselves so the time given is an estimation. Yours may need more or less time.



Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
takes 10 hours +/-

500g cherry tomatoes, washed, halved
20ml/1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100ml + olive oil
1/2 t salt
1 t dried marjoram
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried rosemary
1/4 t citric acid


Preheat an oven to 80°C/175°F.
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Gently coat tomato halves in salt, 1 tbsp oil & vinegar.
Place tomatoes on tray cut side up.
Bake 5 hours.
Turn tray around.
Bake another 5 hours, or until completely dried, but not burnt!
Mix together 100ml oil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, citric acid & a little salt and pepper in a small jug.
Place tomatoes in a sterilised jar.
Pour over oil mix.
If need be, add more oil until tomatoes are completely covered.
Store in the fridge.


P.S. I know I was all talk about ration-inspired recipes, but as things sometimes go, the last few didn't work out. Maybe it'll be revisited in the future.

Carrot Fudge

So, I'm back from my trip and am now broke. In the spirit of not having anything, and having developed a love for a TV show hosted by a pair referred to as The Supersizers, I'll be featuring some fantastic (or not ?!) British WWII Ration recipes. Albeit with some modern updates.

This carrot fudge was a typical treat. Carrots were a bountiful substitute for fruits and sweets. Originally it was made with only orange essence or a little squash, so this version is sweeter than the original, and I'm afraid that it only just counts as sweet. Think of how much of a shock the original must've been! I suggest adding a few tablespoons of a liquid sweetener, eg. agave syrup, when you add the orange juice, if you feel that you may be shocked by the lack of sweetness!




Carrot Fudge
makes approx 12 squares

140g carrots, scrubbed, finely grated
100ml orange juice
140ml water
1 tbsp agar flakes

Put carrot & water in a small saucepan.
Cook gently over med-low heat for 10 mins.
Add orange juice.
Cook a further 5 mins.
Turn heat down to low.
Add agar flakes, Stir well.
Cook gently, stirring often, until flakes have dissolved.
Pour into a flat rectangular container, around 500ml size.
Leave to cool for 10 mins.
Place in fridge to set.
When set, Cut into small squares.
Keep in the fridge.

Great Southern Land

I'm off to fly south, far south, to Australia. Not sure how much time I'll get to update this here blog over the next few months. I'm quite excited to just be back and catch up with everybody after being on the biggest and longest roller coaster ride of my life these past two years. I guess you'll all just have to wait and see what happens.

Gigantes Plaki: Greek Giant Baked Beans

You might have guessed that I've got a bit of a thing for Greek food. Gigantes are a type of Greek giant white bean, impossible to find so far North, but lima/butter beans are more than adequate for this recipe.

This would usually be made with fresh dill, but one day I couldn't find any fresh dill so decided to substitute dried dill. Use a really small bunch if you'd like to use fresh.



Gigantes Plaki
serves 2 as a main

700g gigantes or lima/butter beans, cooked (about 350g dried)
OR x 3 400g tins, drained & rinsed
500g tomato passata
2 stalks celery, diced
1 L onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
40ml/2 tbsp tomato paste
30ml/1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1/2 t chili flakes
1 1/2-2 tbsp dried dill
1 S bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
150ml vegetable stock
olive oil, preferably Greek

Preheat an oven to 175°C/345°F.
Oil an oven dish approx 20 x 30cm, 6cm deep.
In a pan over med-low heat,
Sauté bay leaves, onion, garlic, celery in oil.
When onion is soft,
Add tomato paste, chili, vinegar, passata.
Stir well.
Cook 20 mins over low heat.
Add parsley, dill, stock, beans.
Stir well.
Check for seasoning.
Add to oven dish.
Cover dish with foil or lid.
Bake in oven 30 mins.
Uncover dish.
Turn up heat to 220°C/430°F.
Bake 15 mins or until top has started to dry out.
Try to remove bay leaves before serving.

Ramsons Pesto

Ramsons is a type of green leaf wild garlic, related to chives. It's generally found throughout the Northern half of Europe. It's first evidence of human use is from a mesolithic settlement in Jutland. You generally have to go foraging for it yourself if you want it fresh as it's just started to undergo a revival in recent years, but I have seen it for sale in Føtex this week.

I've heard Claus Meyer call rapeseed oil the olive oil of the North - Yes, I do know he's somewhat of a pretentious git. I don't know how much he is aware that rapeseed oil, better known as canola oil to most English speakers, is actually a Canadian product. Wild rapeseed contains the toxin erucic acid and experimentation in Canada in the 1970s produced a rapeseed that was safe for human consumption. The name Canola comes from Canadian oil, low acid. It also sounds nicer than rapeseed oil.

Tusind tak for ramsløg, Rasmus!



Ramsons Pesto
makes about 100ml

40g fresh ramsons leaves
zest of 1/2 lemon
15 whole almonds
3 tbsp/60ml rapeseed oil
sea salt
black pepper

Wash ramsons well.
Process almonds until roughly ground.
Add zest, ramsons.
Process until roughly chopped.
Add oil little by little until desired consistency.
Season with salt and pepper.