Pinwheel Pizza Rolls

As with so many things in my life I blame Pinterest for these little morsels of joy!  These Pinwheel Pizza Rolls are so simple to whip up and make a fabulous grab and go lunch.  They’d also make great picnic or party food!

 

The only tricky part might be the bread dough but once you have the hang of that there’s nothing to it!  It’s a good way to practice your techniques for bread too as there isn’t a proper crumb to mess up while you’re learning.

I love making bread of all kinds, its’s so satisfying!  I love how it magically puffs up and fills out.

Makes 9

300g strong bread flour
3g fast action yeast (1 tsp / 1/2 a sachet)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
150ml warm water
5 tbsp tomato puree
3-4 large slices cooked ham
75g grated cheese

– Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add  the yeast on one side and the salt on the other.
– Mix together and make a well in the centre.
– Add the oil and almost all of the water, reserve a little in case
– Mix well until a dough forms.  If it won’t quite come together add the remaining water until it does.  You may not need it.
– Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured worksurface and knead for about 10 minutes until it is soft and elastic.  If you’ve overdone it with the water you can add a little more flour if it is sticking very badly.
– Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl and cover and place in a warm, draft free place for 1 hour until the dough it risen and doubled in size.
– Knock the dough down by ‘punching’ it in the middle, give it a little knead to pick up all of the dough into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured worksurface.
– Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 30cm wide.
– Spread the tomato puree evenly over it.
– Sprinkle over the grated cheese and lay the ham on top.
– Roll the dough up into a long spiral starting from the long edge furthest away from you.
– Pinch the long open end closed so the the dough forms a tube.
– Slice into 9 equal pieces and place cut side up on a large baking tray evenly spaced.
– Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
– In the meantime get your oven preheating to gas mark 7 / 220C.
– Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden brown.
– Leave to cool or enjoy warm, whichever grabs your fancy!  (I know you’re going to eat at least one warm, fresh from the oven!)
– To heat up later simply microwave for 30 seconds.

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Rhubarb and Orange Compote with Yogurt and Museli

A little breakfast recipe here to ease back into the swing of things! This Rhubarb and Orange Compote is a nice zingy way to pep up your yogurt and museli and gets the day off to a great start! I didn’t used to be a breakfast person.  In fact I spent about 28 years avoiding the meal!  Nowadays, however, I cannot get going until I’ve had a good breakfast and I know that a bad breakfast will hold me back the whole day, no matter how much I’ve enjoyed it! (I’m looking at you, croissants!).  I need protein to kickstart me, sugary cereals and pastries do me no good at all.  I tend to turn to eggs but some days you just don’t want anything cooked, a cool bowl of greek yogurt, fruit and museli is just perfect for me then!

My love affair with rhubarb is well documented.  I love the colour and the tartness.  I think the combination of rhubarb and orange is just diving, a really zingy combination that hits your tastebuds and wakes you up! Perfect breakfast food!

 

Serves 2 generously, 4 more reservedly

~3 stalks rhubarb, trimmed
~100-150ml orange juice (just enough to come about halfway up your rhubarb in the pan)
2 tbsp sugar (or  honey as a natural alternative) *

Plain Greek Yogurt and Museli to serve

– Trim your rhubarb and chop it to about 2″ lengths.
– Pop it in a small saucepan with enough orange juice to come about halfway up your rhubarb and the sugar or honey.
– Bring to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 10-15 minutes until your rhubarb is soft.
– You can serve it warm but I like to prep this in advance for a cold breakfast.
– Serve with greek yogurt and museli.  I like to mix up my own museli according to my mood, this time it was oats, almonds, hazelnuts and goji berries.

*You may find you can dial down or even leave out the sugar here if you like.  The sugar in the orange juice may be enough for you, especially if you are using a juice from concentrate rather than fresh as it has added sugars already.  I still have a painfully sweet tooth but I’m getting there cutting down slowly!

 

Anna’s Beekeeping Adventure!

My mother keeps bees.  While she is on holiday I house sit for her and… well, fail to keep bees! Here is a video I made about my attempts to capture the swarm of bees last weekend.

Days Out: Folly! at Studley Royal

I’ve always loved visiting Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, a National Trust property near Ripon.  I have been visiting since before I could walk, was a frequent feeder of ducks (until one bit me!) and during my A Level study leave I would frequently decamp to Anne Boleyn’s Seat to sit in total tranquility and study with no distractions!  A view like this was definitely inspirational!

 

So I was very excited to go an visit the newest exhibition in the water gardens: Folly! This exhibition utilises some of the follys dotted around the water gardens to bring new life to these often overlooked structures.  I’ve always loved the romanticism of follys so this installations really captured my imagination.

I started with the high ride to the Octagon Tower, step inside and stare!

Then along the path through the woods we came to this curious nest at the Temple of Fame:

 

I think this one was the dogs’ favourite, a big pile of sticks! What could be better?

Then we continued down past Anne Boleyn’s Seat and on to Fountains Abbey.  The boys love jumping on the ruins!

Then we turned back towards the water gardens.  The bluebells in the woods were looking lovely and the place was awash with wild garlic!

We made our way up to the Banqueting House, an often overlooked section, which is a shame because it is the perfect spot for a picnic!

But look who was lurking inside!  You have to peer through the windows for this one, which can be tricky due to the light reflecting, but what a sight!

All in all it was a lovely walk.  It takes me and the dogs about an hour all told at a reasonably leisurely pace (you don’t get much faster with Darcy!) I think that Folly! is a fantastic addition to the site and makes you look a little closer at these lovely little buildings and see them in a new light.  It will be there until the end of November so plently of time to visit but I think that it will be great to go back throughout the seasons, especially when the leaves turn for autumn as the whole valley looks delightful then!  Why not take a picnic and make a day of it?

 

 

Unplanned Hiatus

Sorry for the unplanned hiatus, guys! I sort of burnt out a little bit!  Sometimes I can’t stop the ideas and recipes from flowing and other times… well, it stops being fun.  This was sadly, one of those times.  I just wasn’t finding the joy that I usually do in cooking and blogging.  It all just seemed like too much.  So I stopped.  If it’s not fun anymore then that defeats the purpose.  Sorry for not giving any warning but I’ve taken myself off to the countryside, chilled out and managed to get back on track again!

I’m going to be slowing down the posting for a bit to keep the pressure off.  Instead of twice a week I’m aiming for just one Friday post and anything extra is a bonus!  I’ve got some great recipes coming up, I hope you enjoy them and don’t be afraid to comment!  I love to know what’s happening in your kitchens too!

Here’s a little sneak peek at some upcoming recipes: