An Ode to Kinfolk

Devouring the pages of a cookbook is one of my favorite pastimes. It gives me a sense of food entwined wanderlust. None more so than The Kinfolk Table. I want to meet the people, explore their cities, eat their food and bask in their beautiful homes. 
The Kinfolk Table is a celebration of your home, your food and the people you love. It honors food in a way that isn't often seen these days. It isn't  pretentious, a fad diet or the latest trend. It is simple and honest. 

It's easy to get extremely envious whilst reading Kinfolk, the images are simply beautiful. The people are hip. The kitchens are to die for and the food will tease you at every given opportunity. However the Kinfolk attitude is something that we can all adapt to and something I am going to strive to do more often. 

To me there is something so endearing about an individual being so enthusiastic by their food that they simply cant resist devouring a sample then and there, standing over the worktop counter, using their fingers for cutlery. Forgetting everything else at the moment other than the delicious morsel of food they are enjoying. Where else can you do that other than your own home?

Just yesterday my  fiancé and I made steak sandwiches for our tea. We made a mess, a complete and utter mess, all for a sandwich! That mess was the fruit of our labour and completely worth it. Onion peelings on the floor, breadcrumbs scattered over our worktops, buttery knives left askew leaving delicious streaks of butter everywhere. We were chatting and laughing at the mess we had created, our eyes never leaving the pan in which the steak was cooking. The minuet it was ready, we tipped it out onto a wooden board and immediately sliced a piece off. Our fingers were tinged from the heat of the meat, the juices were running down our hands, savoring and enjoying how delicious the mouthful was. Heightening our excitement at the meal ahead of us. That to me is better than any meal served up in a restaurant. 

Cooking shouldn't be a chore. The act of eating a meal shouldn't just be a necessity. A dinner party shouldn't be something for you to stress about in the days prior. 
It should be celebrated and enjoyed. 

Festive Pasty

I apologise (halfheartedly) if you think its too early to start thinking festively, but these pasties are so good you could eat them in the middle of a heatwave and it wouldn't matter one little bit. They are everything a festive treat should be. Sticky, sweet, full of cinnamon and extremely naughty. 

For the pastry:

350g plain flour

180g butter

Pinch of salt

Water 

For the filling:

60g butter

60g brown sugar

2 apples

10 pitted dates

2 tbsp cinnamon

80g cranberries 

40g pecans 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl. Take the butter from the fridge and chop it into cubes. Try to handle the butter as little as possible. You want to try and keep it as cold as you can. Add the butter to the mixing bowl and start to rub it into the flour using your fingertips. Keep going until all the butter and flour are combined and resemble fine breadcrumbs. This can be a laborious task but its a necessity to ensure the perfect pastry. Start to slowly add the water a tablespoon at a time until a firm dough forms. Once you have your dough divide it into 6 equal portions, wrap the portions in clingfilm and store in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minuets. 

Now its time for the filling!

Soak the dates in some boiling water for about 10 minuets. Whilst they are soaking add everything else in a pan over a medium heat. Add the dates and stir so everything combines. The mix should take about 20 minuets to be gorgeously soft and gooey. 

Take your pastry from the fridge and roll out into a 15cm circle. Add about 2 tablespoons of mixture in the center then fold into a semicircle, leave about a centimeter around the edge so you can crimp them tight. You don't want any delicious mixture to seep out! Egg wash your pasties before you pop them in the oven (I like to add a pinch of cinnamon to the egg wash!) Place them on a baking tray and place in the oven for 40 mins. 

These can be eaten straight from the oven or you can wait until they've cooled down. If you're greedily opting for 'straight from the oven' (my personal favorite) The please be careful as the filling will be molten!

I would love to know what you guys think of my recipe :)

One Pan Wonder Granola

Nothing disheartens me more than when I wake up in the morning and remember I've greedily eaten the last of my granola the previous day. Alas, this one pan 15 minute recipe will save the morning.
Now I can't promise miracles, there is still some waiting. Just a lot less! So bare with me.

50g oats
30g almonds
1 tbsp honey
10g cacao nibs
1 tbsp oil
50g mixed seeds

Simply add all of your ingredients into a pan and cook on a medium heat until the oats start to brown and all of your ingredients start to combine. As always if you're planning on adding any dried fruit I would until the very end as you don't want the fruit to burn.
Once you're happy with the consistency and look of your granola take it off the heat. This should only take about 10/15 mins. Now the waiting. It's time to let your granola cool down. It's painstaking, I know! Busy yourself however you please and you'll be good to go in no time. Serve with ice cold milk and enjoy!