Red Hot Chicken Noodle Soup

 It's time we all give up the ghost and face it. Summer's over. Pack away your bikinis, dig out your fluffy knitwear and embrace the cold dark months ahead with a bowl of my amazing chicken noodle soup.

It's perfect for colds, warming up after being drenched in the icy English rain, or curing the dreaded 'fresher's flu'. If you've been to uni you'll be familiar with it, and if you're at uni you will have it at least four times before Christmas. I popped up to Reading last weekend for a couple of days of fresher's week (I'm still suffering a bit from the separation) and came home feeling so, so, awful (I blame you LOUISE!). Luckily, I had this trusted recipe to hand. You can make tons of this and freeze it too, perfect for the lazier type. 

Here's what you'll need:

(Mine made about 3 bowls)

•  A few cloves of garlic
• Ginger (about a thumb sized chunk)
• A big teaspoon of crushed chillis/chopped fresh ones
• Zest of half a lime
• Juice of a lime
• 1 pint chicken stock (I'll tell you how to make this)
• Shredded Chicken (as much as you fancy, white and dark meat)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Handful of chopped fresh coriander
• Olive Oil
• Fine Egg Noodles
• Spring Onions for garnishing

To Make Chicken Stock

After a roast, take any excess meat off the carcass and put in a large pan on a lowish heat and fill to about half way with hot water. Put in a generous amount of salt (about a tablespoon/just under?), some garlic cloves, flattened under a knife, black pepper, and a couple of red onions cut into quarters. You can also throw in any leftover veg. Leave to gently simmer for a couple of hours, skimming every now and again. Voila. Delicious stock. It keeps for a few days in the fridge, but you can keep it in the freezer for 2-3 months. 

To Make The Soup

Get a big pan, and put a generous glug of olive oil in it. 

Add your chillies, garlic, ginger and lime zest, give them a good stir and fry them off a bit (you want enough oil that they will sit in it and not burn).

Finely chop your onions and add to the mix, and squeeze in the lime juice, keeping it on a lowish heat. 

Shred your roast/rotisserie chicken (great use for leftovers) and throw it in, stir fry for a minute or so and then add the stock...

...which looks like disgusting greyish jelly.

Once the stock has melted in add your chopped coriander and around a pint of boiling water and give it a good stir.

Just before you want to eat it throw in the noodles (if you're going to freeze it I recommend leaving the noodles out until you want to eat it. No one likes a soggy noodle...).

Wait until they're cooked, and serve. 

Garnish with some chopped spring onion, and apply to face.

Consider your cockles warmed my friend. 

You're welcome. 

Pro Picnic-ing

It's rare that my friend Craig and I are in the same place at the same time, and so we see each other maybe once a year at most. We both happened to be in Salisbury however, and so we decided to celebrate with a picnic by the Cathedral, which is one of my favourite places in the world. Now you can't half-arse a picnic by Salisbury Cathedral - it deserves so much more - so I spent the afternoon rustling up some fancy treats for us.

1. The Londoner's Kali Spera Feta Dip

 I love The Londoner. It's my favourite blog - her recipes are brilliant and I'm completely addicted. I decided to give her feta dip a go, and once again I was not disappointed. It's so simple, just whiz up some feta cheese, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, thyme and a pinch of salt and dig in! You can find the exact recipe on her blog by the link above.

I served it with some celery and cucumber sticks and some hunks of sourdough bread.

2. Sea Bass Ceviche

The wonderful Londoner also has a recipe for this, but it's the simplest thing in the world and I tend to just wing it.

I juiced 2 lemons and a lime, grated a chilli and chopped a handful of coriander and threw it together with a good pinch of sea salt. For the fish I used 2 sea bass fillets, but tuna is also really good, as long as it's super fresh. Just remove the skin, slice into thin strips and mix into the juice/sauce. Then cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours. The citrus juice 'cooks' the fish and you're left with tangy, spicy, deliciousness. Throw in some avocado just before you serve it and bobs your uncle, Ceviche! I love ceviche, I discovered it in Peru where it's kind of a national dish and became a bit obsessed. It's perfect for picnics and barbeques too.

3. Blindin' Bellinis!

This was by far my favourite part (obviously). I did the peaches beforehand as it's pretty messy. You need 3 or 4 really ripe ones, so you can smush them (technical term) through a sieve and collect the juice. I didn't take pictures. Just picture some smushed up peaches. Go on...

You're not actually allowed to drink alcohol on the cathedral grounds so after we did NOT see how high we could pop the cork we did NOT put a bit of puree in the bottom of a glass and then top with prosecco. We certainly did NOT repeat this process throughout the evening, especially NOT with a second bottle.
Wink.

We also had the usual spread of olives, prosciutto, cherries, strawberries...

At night the Cathedral is lit up from underneath, and looks a bit haunted, but still very beautiful.

You can see why I like it so much. When I was a Salisbury shop-girl (incidentally how Craig and I met) I used to come and sit here on my lunch breaks and people watch all the tourists. It's so peaceful, even when it's heaving. Perfect for giggling your way through a catch-up with an old friend. 

Oh hey there James Bond...

The Perfect Summer Martini(s)

This weekend has been so, so hot. I did have a beach trip planned, but had to cancel last minute to dog-sit these little cuties...

I didn't mind all that much... We've been on some nice long walks around Old Sarum and Stonehenge, coming back gasping for something cool and refreshing. Something like my Perfect Summer Martinis.They're delicious, fresh, and best of all can be whipped up in minutes, perfect for a summer barbecue or picnic. I made an Earl Grey Martini (inspired by my recent trip to Jamie's) and a Strawberry Basil Martini, but I'll give you some more ideas at the end.

The Earl Grey Martini

What you'll need:
For each Martini:

• 50 ml Gin 
• 25 ml (ish) Lemon Juice
• 25 ml (ish) Earl Grey Simple Syrup
• Cucumber
• Ice
• Something to shake it in...

To make the syrup:

Simple syrup, or Gomme is used in a hell of a lot of cocktails. Luckily, it's incredibly easy to make. Simply mix equal measures of caster sugar and water in a small pan, and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then allow to cool before use. You can make it in larger quantities as it will keep for ages. Just pop it in a sealed bottle and chuck it in your drinks cupboard. 

To make the Earl Grey Syrup I used 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and 4 teabags. Once the syrup is hot, pop in your teabags and leave to infuse for a few minutes. Then remove and allow the syrup to cool.

To make the cocktails:

Unfortunately my cocktail shaker is packed away somewhere amongst my uni possessions, and so I had to resort to the trusty jam-jar. It works just as well though (they're also great if you want to pre-prepare cocktails, as you can add all the ingredients except the ice and pop in the fridge/on the barbecue table and then people can add ice and shake as they want them. Great for a garden party...). 

1. Pop some ice in your cocktail shaker/jam jar, and add 50 ml of Gin 

2. Squeeze in some lemon 

3. Add your simple syrup and a few slices of cucumber (the cucumber adds a nice freshness), then shake it like a polaroid picture.

It's hard to get a good picture of that bit...

4. Strain into your Martini glass and garnish with a slice of lemon. 

Mmm. Tastes so British. I bet the Queen is tucking into one of these right now (She definitely reads my blog...). 

Some people suggest infusing the gin with the teabags for a while, but anyone who knows tea knows it's best infused in something boiling, and leaving it for too long will result in a really bitter drink. I gave it a go anyway, for experimentations sake and my way is definitely better. Just saying...

The Strawberry Basil Martini (Strawbasiltini?)

Ooh look at those colours...

What you'll need:

For each Martini:

• 50 ml Gin (or Vodka)
• A handful of Strawberries
• 5-6 Fresh Basil Leaves
• Dash of Simple Syrup
• Ice

I'm lucky enough to have lots of fresh herbs growing in my garden in these pretty boxes, but you can easily pick some up from the supermarket. 

1. Pop your strawberries, basil and syrup in a glass, and muddle (mash - think pestle and mortar action). Again my cocktail stuff is packed somewhere, so I just used the bottom of a juicer. Fancy right? Keep going until it's all slushed together. 

2. Add your gin

At this point you can leave it to infuse for a bit, or carry on if you want it now. I like to add in a tiny bit of lemon juice too, but just a tiny bit, but it's up to you...

3. Add ice, shake furiously and then strain into your glass. Garnish with a strawberry or some basil leaves. 

Delicious...

As I said, you can make this in tons of flavours. Here's a few more ideas that all follow a basic shake (with lots of ice) and strain method. 

The Strawberry Mint Martini

• Very similar to the Strawberry Basil, just but with fresh mint instead. Use 50 ml Vodka instead of Gin.

The English Garden Martini

This is one of my absolute favourites for an evening barbecue. This works best if you muddle the mint and lime like a Mojito first, but you can just squeeze and shake.  

• 50 ml Gin
• Squeeze of Lime
• 20ml Elderflower Cordial
• 5-6 mint leaves
• A few cucumber slices
• 25ml Pressed Apple Juice (not from concentrate)

The Lemon-grass and Ginger Martini

SO, SO DELICIOUS. And kind of healthy...as Martini's go..

• 50 ml Gin
• 12.5 ml Vermouth
• Chunk of Fresh Ginger Root (thumbnail size)
• Fresh Lemon-grass stem (chopped)
• 20 ml Honey, or Simple Syrup (honey works best)
• 20 ml Pressed apple juice

Muddle the ginger, lemongrass and honey. Add everything else, shake and strain. You can also use half an apple and muddle it with the first ingredients, if you're feeling super dedicated. 

Now, off to sunbathe. It's almost Martini time, right?