A fancy pancake recipe for Shrove Tuesday

Empty the larder with an inventive twist on the French classic Crêpe Suzette for a Shrove Tuesday pudding (or a pancake pick-me-up any time of year). They’re quite fancy but if you’re up to making them for breakfast, who are we to stop you?

Ingredients
For the crêpes

• 110g plain flour, sifted

• pinch of salt

• 2 eggs

• 200ml milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water

• 50g salted butter

• 1 medium Seville orange, grated zest only - Available in some supermarkets

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

For the sauce

• 150ml orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)

•  1 medium orange, grated zest only

• 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 3 tbsp Chase Marmalade Vodka

•  50g unsalted butter

• a little extra Marmalade Vodka, for flaming

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

2. Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don’t worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.

3. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. These little crêpes should be thinner than the basic pancakes, so when you’re making them, use 1⁄2 tbsp of batter at a time in a 18cm pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be.

4. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, no matter because they are going to be folded anyway. You should end up with 15-16 crêpes.

5. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

6. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients - with the exception of the butter - in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpes in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they’re all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.

7. You can flame them at this point if you like. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little Marmalade Vodka into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.

This receipe was originally created for our February 2013 issue by the Chase Distillery and London's Crémerie Crêperie. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

Recipe | Cardamom and rose water lassi

A sultry midsummer’s eve calls out for an exotic dessert. Enter sweet, iced lassi with a mix of fruitily spiced cardamom and delicate rose water that transforms the traditional Indian drink into a grown-up after-dinner treat. 

75g caster sugar
6 green cardamom pods, split open
2 tsp rose water
500ml plain yogurt
About 150ml full-fat milk
3 tbsp granulated sugar
Handful of ice cubes
Handful of unsalted pistachios, cut into slivers, to serve

1 For the syrup, put 100ml water in a pan and add the caster sugar, cardamom pods and rose water. Place on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and you have a thick syrup.
2 Strain through a sieve and transfer to a blender along with the yogurt, milk, granulated sugar and ice cubes. Blitz until chilled, smooth and frothy. Serve topped with pistachio slivers.

Recipe from Round to Ours by Jackson & Levine (Quadrille).

More from the June issue:

More drink recipes:

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here.

Recipe: Rosemary orangeade

This is a fruity and herbal drink, and beautifully refreshing. Make the syrup ahead of time and store it in the fridge, and then you can make the orangeade up as you need it.

Serves 6–8

500ml water
400g granulated sugar
About 4 good sprigs of rosemary
Fresh orange juice
Sparkling water

1 Put the water, sugar and rosemary into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Once all of the graininess has vanished, bring to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, leaving the pieces of rosemary in the syrup to infuse. Pour into a jar and refrigerate until needed.

2 To make up the orangeade, combine one part cooled syrup with one part orange juice and one part fizzy water. Pour over ice cubes and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. 

More from the April issue:

More drink ideas:

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

Recipe: Lavender lemonade

A refreshing, sweetly herbal fizzy drink for the moment the lavender is at its most fragrant, just as the flowers are starting to open. Add a shot of gin for an adult version.

Makes 6 glasses

500ml water
200g caster sugar
10 lavender flower heads, plus more for decoration
12 lemons
fizzy water

1 Place the water, sugar and lavender flowers into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Simmer very gently for ten minutes, before removing from the heat and leaving to cool completely. Transfer to a jug or jar, lavender flowers and all, and chill.

2 When you are ready to serve, squeeze the lemons into a jug, tip in the lavender syrup and top up with fizzy water, aiming for about a third of each ingredient. Serve over ice with a lavender stalk and a piece of lemon. 

For more of Lia Leendertz's Seed to Stove midsummer menu, including Gravadlax with dill yoghurt and crispbreads, Latvian midsummer cheese, and Strawberry, apricot and cherry shortcake, turn to page 24 of June's The Simple Things.

More from the June issue:

Read more Seed to Stove recipes:

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

How to mix the perfect gin and tonic

Gin-lovers of the world rejoice as World Gin Day returns for its seventh year on Saturday 13 June 2015! Learn how to mix the perfect gin and tonic with our expert guide.

A warm summer's evening calls for this most British of aperitifs. We asked the experts at The Gin Garden how to mix one like a pro.

The gin

Some gins are dry, some floral, some citrussy. To establish your favourite, sample a nip, neat. A good traditional gin is No 3 London Dry Gin: its juniper, balanced with sweet orange, grapefruit and cardamom, marries well with a range of tonics.

The tonic

Buy it in the smallest bottles/cans you can find, to maintain fizz. Fever-Tree is an excellent low-sugar option; Fentimans has a distinctively citrus flavour. Waitrose's own-brand tonic has won several 'blind' taste tests.

How much?

Ratio is a personal thing, some prefer 1:2, others, 1:3. We prefer 1:3 - say 50ml of gin to 150ml of tonic water.

Ice matters

Keep ice trays in zip lock bags so that your cubes don't pick up any freezer odours. Look out for an ice tray that will give you bigger cubes - they melt more slowly.

A chilled glass

Keeps your drink as cool as possible for as long as possible. Serve the Spanish way, in big balloon glasses (or red wine glasses), to let the aroma of your gin blossom.

And to finish

Add a citrus twist: using a peeler or sharp knife, shave a thumb-sized strip of rind off a lemon or lime (avoiding the pith), then squeeze, shiny side down, onto the drink to release the oils before plopping it in.

More cocktail recipes to wet your whistle.

June's The Simple Things is available from all good newsagents, supermarkets and our official online store. Sold out? Download it from Apple Newsstand or subscribe now.

Recipe: May Bowl

This simple punch originated in Germany and is traditionally served on May Day. Sweet woodruff*, Galium odoratum, is a creeping herb found in shady patches under trees. Its leaves and flowers add sweet, herbal, vanilla and woody notes to dry white wine and champagne. Pick the leaves and flowers the day before, so they dry out slightly and give off a stronger scent.

MAY BOWL

MAKES 14 SERVINGS 
1 small bunch fresh sweet woodruff
250ml water
4 tbsp caster sugar 
750ml bottle dry white wine, such as a German Reisling
750ml bottle champagne or dry sparkling wine

TOOLS
baking sheet
sealable Tupperware 
paper towel
small nonstick pan 
wooden spoon
punch bowl
plastic wrap
ladle

1 First you need to dry out some of the woodruff. Remove any damaged leaves from the bunch and spread out about a third on a baking sheet. Place on the bottom shelf of a recently switched-off oven, with the door open, or in an airing cupboard, overnight.

2 Meanwhile, line a Tupperware box with a damp sheet of paper towel and place the remaining leaves and flowers inside to stay fresh. Seal the box and place in the fridge until just before you serve the punch. 

3 About two hours before serving, heat the water and sugar in the nonreactive pan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, place the semi- dried woodruff in a punch bowl and pour the dry white wine over it. Cover and put in the fridge for at least an hour. 

4 As soon as the sugar syrup has cooled, add it to the punch bowl, stir, and return to the fridge for an hour. Before serving, remove the semi-dried woodruff with a ladle and replace with the fresh leaves and flowers from the Tupperware box.

5 Serve in a wine glass topped up with bubbly and garnished with a woodruff leaf or flower.

Suggestion: Strawberries, or even better, wild strawberries would also make a great addition to this punch, as would wild violet flowers and lemon slices.

* Sweet woodruff has been used since the Middle Ages to treat everything from cuts to liver problems. Today herbalists use it as an anti- inflammatory and to treat stomach ache. It contains coumarin, which is toxic in high doses, so drink this punch in moderation, won’t you?

Recipe taken from Wild Cocktails by Lottie Muir (Cico Books, £16.99) Photography by Kim Lightbody.

How to run a book club PLUS an easy book club cocktail recipe

January is a good month for a good book. And if your resolution is to read more, consider joining one of the growing number of book groups in the UK and beyond. 

Turn to page 86 of January's The Simple Things for Frances Ambler's feature on the reads, the snacks and the chemistry that make a literary get-together work. Or read on for our top tips to make your literary appreciation society a success.

How to run a book club

1 Think about numbers: between six and ten people is good – small enough for everyone to be heard, not too pathetic if a couple of people can’t make it.

2 Pick a regular frequency: every 4 to 6 weeks allows enough time for books to be found and read.

3 Think about book length: this might not be the time to try out War and Peace: there’s a rule of book club that means the greater the page count, the lesser the number of attendees.

4 A few ground-rules may be helpful: are you going to allow people to speak in a free-for-all or take it in turns to comment? How are you going to decide what to read next?

5 Meeting snacks are heartily encouraged, see our suggestions on page 86, but be wary of competitive catering. One book group we know imposes a strict soup and sandwich-only rule.

6 The Reading Agency’s Reading Groups for Everyone offers even more tips on running a book group. 

Recipe: Blackberry sage spritzer

This requires a little preparation – making a simple sage syrup – but this takes barely 10 minutes and can be done in advance.
 

20 sage leaves
225g caster sugar
Gin to taste
Handful of blackberries, washed 
1 bottle soda water
ice cubes
Fresh sage and blackberries, to garnish
 

1 Put the sage leaves and sugar in a small pan with 240ml of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to a low simmer and keep on the heat until aromatic and slightly thickened, about 10 mins.

2 Cool the liquid and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve and discard the sage leaves. (The syrup can be decanted into a sealable container and kept in a fridge for up to a week.)

3 Reserve a few of the blackberries for garnish and place the rest in a bowl or jug and add a glug or two of the syrup to sweeten. Mix the berries with the syrup and then pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down the berries with the back of the fork to extract all the juice. Discard the pulp and any
pips left in the sieve.

4 To assemble the drink, place some ice cubes in a glass along with a measure of gin and a glug of the blackberry/sage juice. Top up the glass with soda water, garnish with blackberries and sage leaves and serve. (Omit the gin for an equally delicious non-alcoholic version.) 

Taken from www.buttercupdaysuk.blogspot.co.uk 

Fancy more snack ideas?

Take a look at our Pinterest board.

Follow The Simple Things's board Book group snacks on Pinterest.

And tell us on Facebook and Twitter what you're reading (and eating!) in your book group at the moment.

Not got January's The Simple Things?  Buy, download or subscribe today.

Introduction: Lottie Storey
Feature/tips: Frances Ambler
Recipe and photography: Louise Gorrod

Recipe: Elderflower champagne

Read our feature on ‘posh squash’ on page 35 of June’s The Simple Things? Get picking elderflowers before the season’s out, and use them to make this simple elderflower ‘champagne’ from blogger, Emma Bradshaw. With elderflowers in full bloom, it seems a waste not to use them in the kitchen. Have a go at this recipe from blogger Emma Bradshaw, who says: 'I've tried lots of different ways to make elderflower champagne, but this is my favourite most tried and tested method.'

You will need:

About 30 elderflower heads, in full bloom (pick on a sunny day away from the roadside, making sure you don't strip a tree of all its flowers!) 2kg natural sugar 4 litres hot water + 2 litres cold Juice and zest of four lemons 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar A pinch of dried yeast (although you may not need this)

Method:

1. Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a preserving pan or spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water to 6 litres. 2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently. 3. Cover with a clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast. 4. Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four to five days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised glass bottles. 5. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for a further eight days before serving, chilled.

Makes around 20 bottles.

Recipe and images by Emma Bradshaw. Visit Emma's blog for more wild food recipes and outdoor adventures.

Not got June's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

A nice cup of chai

Tea or coffee? Hmm, tricky. If only you could cram the benefits of both hot beverages into one mug – the perkiness of tea mixed with the warmth of a cinnamon latte. Well, you can! It’s called chai.

An Indian pick-me-up made with strong black tea (usually Assam), milk (buffalo, if you seek total authenticity), sugar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper, chai converts pretty much everyone who encounters it – be they riding a train in West Bengal or nursing a hangover at a boutique festival.

Careful, though – often chai is the first step on a longer path to “finding oneself”. Yoga comes next. In certain extreme cases, people have even been known to purchase books by Deepak Chopra.

Like any ritualised refreshment that’s been around for hundreds of years, chai comes in numerous subtly different modes according to region and vendor. Over here you can buy ready-made teabags from just about anywhere, although enthusiasts swear brewing your own is worth the effort. Just sip from a traditional earthenware cup and try to remember where you put your backpack…

* Or to be specific, since “chai” is the generic word for tea in several countries, “masala chai”

Five things for the weekend: St Paddy's Day

A collection of makes and gifts inspired by St Patrick's Day...

Feta and thyme soda bread The Little Loaf  | Irish cream brownies Butter Cream Blondie  | Guinness soap All Things Herbal | Irish Manhattan Bon Appetit (photo by Tim Mazurek) | 4 leaf clover necklace Sevgl Charms

Friday night dinner for two (behind the scenes)

As it's a Friday and only 7 more days until Valentines,  we thought we'd share a few more captured moments from our dinner for two special (p104 - p111) in this month's The Simple Things.

Duck with spinach and pomegranate recipe found in this month's magazine.

MENU

Aubergine with pistachio

& sesame seed crumbs

*

Duck with spinach

& pomegrante

*

Poached pear with

gingerbread biscuits

Have you tried any of these delicious recipes? Leave a comment below or hop on Facebook and share your perfect romantic meal menu with us.

Happy Friday all!

Tea tips

Apparently, tea is the world's second favourite beverage, after water. It seems that we are not alone is our love of this wonderful drink.

Helpfully, Utility Journal has produced a Tea Tip sheet as a mini-guide. Have you ever wondered about the perfect brewing time? Or if loose leaf is better than tea bags? No? Well, we take tea drinking very seriously. Pop over to Utility Journal get some answers anyway.

Vegetable of the month ... cucumber

Maybe it's because we're so used to just bunging them in green salads. Maybe it's because they're simply not that photogenic. Whatever the reason, when we started hunting out cucumber recipes for July's vegetable of the month, we had much more trouble than usual. Thank goodness we persevered, though, because we've turned up some delicious new cucumber recipes for you to get excited about.

Kicking off our round up is this frankly beautiful cucumber salad from Epicurean Mom. Blogger Katie's recipe uses crunchy veggies and a light, zingy dressing, then makes it all a bit special with edible flowers.

Secondly we have tzatziki from Pinch My Salt. We're not sure how to pronounce it and we had to check the spelling twice, but we are very happy eating it. Tangy and creamy, it's the perfect dipping partner for toasted pita bread and mouthwatering spooned over barbecued meat in a Greek-style wrap.

To finish off, we thought we'd share some cucumber drinks with you. For health-conscious readers, check out Cafe Johnsonia's cucumber, melon and kiwi juice recipe. It's blogger Lindsey's favourite drink, and boasts an ingredient list that takes care of all of your five-a-day in one fell swoop. Impressive.

For those of you that are less well behaved, we're also intrigued by Cookie + Kate's cucumber cocktails. Choose between Cucumber Caipiranha and Cucumber Cooler with watermelon (we're aware of the excessive amount of alliteration going on in this last paragraph) for a refreshing end to a summer picnic.

Mix up your tea break

We're firm believers that there are very few problems that can't be fixed by a good cup of tea.

Even though nowadays there seem to be more types of tea than there are days in the year, our interest was still piqued when we stumbled upon a beginners guide to tea mixology at Yellow Bird Yellow Beard.

Like chamomile? Love mint? Well, now there's no need to make that agonising choice, because we can have both together! Guest blogger Lauren from The Perfect Pear has done all the leg work for us and shared the best combos so we can avoid a nasty oh-that-really-doesn't-work surprise, but we still can't wait to get experimenting for ourselves.

Cool down with fruity ice cubes

We applaud anyone that can take the stress out of summertime entertaining. Bits of Taste’s idea for fruit ice cubes is a cool way to add a colourful twist to your drinks without having to faff around with fresh fruit and the like while your guests are waiting.

Make up a load in advance, then when people arrive, just pop 'em out of their moulds and into your glasses. Tah dah! Instant drama and a cool drink all in one. Cheers.

Vegetable of the month... rhubarb

Vegetable of the month? Rhubarb? Yep. We haven’t cheated, rhubarb is technically a vegetable.

We were going to blog about asparagus (also in season, also fabulous), but for some reason we kept finding ourselves swayed back towards those bright pink rhubarb stems.

There are plenty of options for this lovely veggie other than rhubarb and strawberry crumble (although that is a classic for a reason – that’s our favourite recipe we’ve linked up). To prove it we’ve lined up a whole day’s worth of rhubarb recipes.

Kicking off bright and early in the morning, we want toast but oh, we’re bored of marmite or marmalade. Fear not, the aptly named Lovely Morning has come to the rescue with her rhubarb jam recipe. Munch it on toast, pop it on some natural yoghurt or wrap a jar up as a gift for a friend, its as versatile as you like.

Next we have a casual garden lunch with friends, which we’ll conclude with a cheeky rhubarb crumb bar from White on Rice Couple. Stomachs were rumbling all round when this recipe popped up on our screens, is it having the same effect on you?

Finally, to round off our tiring rhubarb-filled day, we’ll be knocking up an ice-cold fresh rhubarb cocktail courtesy of Sugarlaws. Phew, we told you we could do it. And not a crumble in sight!

Sip some blueberry vodka lemonade

Spring is in the air, and we were daydreaming about picnics and casual al fresco suppers when this recipe caught our eye.

Jennifer from Keep It Simple Foods has breathed new life into traditional lemonade in her blueberry vodka lemonade recipe. The berry vodka gives a vibrant hue and a grown-up alcohol kick to the springtime favourite.

Visit her blog to find out how it’s done. We’re already pondering over which other fruits we can try this out with. All we need now is some sunshine to put our plans into action!