Christmas Spiced Shortbread Who doesn't love shortbread? A pointless question, unless you're vegan or avoiding gluten, I suppose—but even then, surely the idea of it still sounds good! Shortbread feels inherently festive to me. Maybe it’s the buttery richness or its association with colder months. I wanted to take this classic treat closer to Christmas, inspired by the warm spices and bright citrus notes of the season. Think Christmas Pudding, Christmas Cake, Mince Pies, or Stollen—there’s something about cinnamon, clove, and allspice that perfectly complements winter’s chill. For my festive version, I’ve added a mix of spices, citrus zest, and a small twist: raisins soaked in Cointreau for a hit of fruity sweetness and orange flavor. (Feel free to switch up the soaking liquid—rum, hot tea, or even water will do.) A quick note on clove: it’s a potent spice, and not everyone loves its strength. If that’s you, reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon. I’ve also added almond extract for a subtle...
Bakehouse News: August 2023
Another segment I’m looking forward to developing is the
Foodie News, we’re going to take a stroll over the previous month and highlight
a few stories that I’ve come across relating to this site and food; this site
is a home for people who enjoy their food, not politics, so there will be a wide
birth from that where possible.
Ommni’s Bakehouse goes live!
Arguably the most important story off the month is that this
blog went live! This would’ve been a July thing if it weren’t for a bit of
medical hijinks, but we got there.
First its first evolution this will be a mix of takes primarily
on baking, but with a spin on food in general, you don’t only have to bake bread.
Current plans are a four-week cycle of events, recipes, book or course reviews,
and news. As I said this a plan, subject to change, but this feels like reasonable
amount of content to crack on with in conjunction with the drudgery of a
working life. A profile page will be coming shortly, for those curious about
your author.
My first published Recipe
As part of the new blog, I’ve been proud to release my first
recipe, for burger buns. Yes, there’s a plethora off recipes already out there
but I’ve adapted a recipe that I’ve been using for a while iteratively and have
come to something that turns out consistently great results and that I genuinely
use regularly.
There are many recipes I’ve made up for myself over the
years, but this is the first time I’ve shared something more structured out
into the world, which feels cool. As the months roll by there will be many
more, and I’m really looking forward to building up a collection of delicious
and useful recipes for me and you to reference.
Food Photography with Barry
I finished a food photography course by Sorted Food, which
may well feature in an article at some point soon. The course had three topics on
lighting, composition, and styling. For a short and frankly cheap, and dare I say
under-priced course the content was engaging, and I feel that I learnt a lot and
improved very quickly. I didn’t walk away a photography guru, but my food
images had vastly improved.
If you’re in a similar position where your photography is
the best-looking point and click you could do and take pictures of your food,
for whatever reason this course is legitimately brilliant. For those of you who
also avidly follow Sorted Food it is a culture shock being taught by Barry, but
he’s very clear and demonstrates his knowledge well. Even with my seven-year-old
phone that’s on life support my images were beyond my expectations.
You don’t need and skills equipment for the course beyond a
camera, preferably on your phone, but you could get the job done with some old-fashioned
technology I assume.
Make sure you check out Sorted Food, these guys are great, sign up to their newsletter to receive information on their upcoming courses, videos, and general foodieness.
In Season – September
As each month draws to a close its worth looking forward to seeing
what ingredients we’ve got to work with. In today’s world we’re not limited to
seasonal produce so much, however from an environmental perspective its worth
looking when you can. In a conversation with a colleague, they brough up the
futility about being environmentally friendly, but the easiest thing you can do
is buy locally. When I say locally, I don’t mean everything has to come from a three-mile
radius, but at least nationally. This isn’t part of a nationalistic drive,
although personally I have no issue with being proud of where you’re from geographically,
but items not in season where you live have likely travelled quite some distance
and used a lot of energy to do so.
The items below pertain to the UK, but the message regarding
produce remains, if you can buy locally produced; I’m not saying don’t buy any ingredients
from elsewhere but just consider the amount of produce travelling involved in
your diet.
July and August are the most abundant months in the UK; however,
September has an electric mix in a transitionary period between Summer and Autumn.
There’s still the warm around to encourage a bit of salad, but some of the
hardier vegetables are starting to creep in.
September UK
(source: Royal Horticultural society
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/in-month/september)
Vegetables |
Fruit |
|
Tomato |
Apple |
|
Salad Leaves |
Pear |
|
French and
Runner Beans |
Quince |
|
Courgette |
Plum |
|
Cucumber |
Grapes |
|
Pepper |
Melon |
|
Sweetcorn |
Fig |
|
Onion |
Kiwi |
|
Marrow |
Cranberries |
|
Pumpkin |
|
|
Squash |
|
|
Globe Artichoke |
|