Recipe: Cinder Toffee

Shards of crunchy cinder toffee are made for sharing – but we doubt they’ll last long

Cinder Toffee

330g caster sugar
1 tablespoon black treacle
4 tbsp water
15g butter, plus more to grease tray
pinch of salt
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

1  Butter a 24cm-square baking tray and set aside. 
2  Put all the ingredients except the bicarbonate of soda into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat gently, stirring until all the sugar crystals have dissolved. This takes a while but don’t move on to the next stage until the mixture looks like a completely smooth sauce, grit free. 
3  Turn the temperature up slightly so that the mixture gently bubbles, using a sugar thermometer to monitor its temperature. 
4 When the temperature reaches 138C, take the pan off of the heat and tip in the bicarbonate of soda, then whisk thoroughly so that it is well dispersed through the mix. The mixture will bubble up and grow and you will need to move fast, tipping it out onto the greased tray. 
5  Leave it to cool and set completely, then break it into shards and eat.

This recipe was first published in issue 41 (November 2015)

We have more food ideas to enjoy around the fire in the November issue of the Simple Things, on sale now.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

More Bonfire Night delights…

More from the November issue…

Recipe: Fish pie

Surely the most comforting of comfort foods, great for a crowd and just as good eaten alone on the sofa

In our November issue, Olivia Potts, author of A Half Baked Idea (Fig Tree), talked about how cooking a fish pie helped her grieve for her mother and we all agreed that there’s something very gentle and soothing about both putting together and eating this dish. Baking a fish pie needn’t involve using every pan in your house. In this simple recipe, which first appeared in our November 2015 issue, the veg are included in the pie so you don’t even need a side dish. Spoon it out into a bowl to eat curled up with a blanket or perhaps bring it out for a bonfire night supper with friends.

Fish Pie

You will need

200g boneless white fish fillets
200g skinless salmon fillet (pin-boned)
450ml full-fat milk
750g potatoes, peeled and halved
1 tbsp olive oil
4 baby leeks, finely sliced
3 shallots, diced
2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced
100g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
150g frozen peas
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F.
2 Place the fish in a baking dish, season and pour over 400ml of the milk. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes until the fish flakes slightly when pressed with a fork.
3 Remove the fish, reserving the milk. When cool enough to handle, flake the fish into bite- sized pieces and set aside.
4 Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until soft. 5 Heat the olive oil in a shallow casserole over a low to medium heat on the hob and sautée the leeks, shallots and fennel until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6 Melt 50g of the butter in the casserole, stir in the flour and cook over a low heat for 2-3 mins. Slowly add the reserved milk and continue to cook until thickened, stirring continuously.
7 Add the flaked fish, sautéed leeks, shallots and fennel, peas, 1 tbsp of the parsley and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
8 Drain the potatoes and mash with the remaining 50ml milk, 50g butter and rest of the chopped parsley until smooth. Season to taste.
9 Spoon the mash on top of the fish mixture and smooth with a spatula. Trace a pattern into the mash with a fork.
10 Place the casserole into the oven and bake for 20–25 mins or until golden.

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More comfort food recipes…

From our November issue…

Food from afar: Cornbread (and Thanksgiving)

This American soul food sounds like a simple proposition: a yeast-free loaf rustled up in half an hour to sponge up the juices from a gumbo or turn a bowlful of beans into a filling supper. But, like all cherished national dishes, cornbread stirs up strong feelings among those who grew up on it. No two recipes are alike.

First, the cornmeal: white* in the south, yellow in the north, and sometimes cut with wheat flour for a lighter, cake-like texture – a sacrilege to lovers of crumbly pure-corn coarseness. Second, the liquid: eggs are non- negotiable, but do you stir in milk, buttermilk or sour cream?** Most contentious is the issue of sweetness. North Americans tend to include honey, while southerners like it savoury, often adding onions, corn kernels or chillies.

In Britain we know cornmeal by its Italian name, and while ‘polenta’ is generally finer than the US version, it still combines beautifully with buttermilk to make a spongy ‘cornbread-lite’. But authentically gritty bread requires authentic corn – the indigenous grain native Americans lived on for millennia – so, just like our own real-bread aficionados, American foodies seek out stoneground meal.

Grittily artisan or fluffily fine-grained, the best thing about cornbread is the crust that contrasts so moreishly with its soft centre. It comes from being cooked in a smoking-hot skillet moistened with bacon fat or butter before the batter is poured in. Baked in the oven until firm, it wants to be eaten warm, although any leftovers will surely come in handy. Cornbread dressing (that’s ‘stuffing’ on this side of the pond), is a side dish that no Thanksgiving turkey should be without.

TUCK IN: You can buy stoneground heirloom cornmeal from Anson Mills in South Carolina, which ships to the UK if you fancy making your own (ansonmills.com).

*different varieties of corn produce white, yellow and even blue grains.
** used to enrich the soufflé-style variation known as spoonbread.

This feature was published in issue 41 (November 2015)

More Thanksgiving ideas

From our November issue…

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Mugs: Where to buy similar to those on November's The Simple Things

We didn't source the mugs on the cover of the November issue, but since we've had so many queries about them, Louise (our wonderful Stuff of Life Shopkeeper) has found some great alternatives. 

Check out www.nativeandco.com, www.maudandmabel.com and www.nomliving.com for their ceramic mugs - sea salt hot chocolate at the ready!

And you lot over on Facebook have been sharing your suggestions too. Try the following:

Julia Smith Ceramics

Seasalt Cornwall

Pyaar

Carmel Eskell Ceramics

Leach Pottery

Charlotte Storrs Stoneware

Paul Mossman Pottery

Let us know if you find any others!

How to keep your herbs going over winter

Rosemary, sage and bay are hardy fellows and will survive, albeit in go-slow mode if left in the garden over the winter. Your basic garden mint, grown in a pot and kept in a sunny, sheltered spot will muddle through, too. It’s worth providing a bit of extra TLC by mulching around roots to keep out the cold or covering with horticultural fleece.

They won’t put on much growth so don’t demand too much by way of fresh pickings. Go for new leaves and shoots, avoiding old growth if you can.

A few other things you could try:
1. Move varieties like thyme, parsley and oregano into a cold frame or unheated greenhouse, which will help them flourish.
2. You can sow coriander outdoors in February as it copes well with cold weather and will produce leaves within six weeks. 
3. Try dividing perennials like chives, mint, oregano, marjoram and tarragon to encourage plenty of new growth once the growing season starts. Make sure the ground isn’t frozen and dig up the entire plant. Divide the crown and root ball into two or more sections, using a knife or a spade. Protect them once they are back in the ground by mulching or covering with horticultural fleece. 
4. If you struggle without herbs, why not freeze or dry them so you can enjoy a ready supply over the winter months?

Read more:

From the November issue

Herb recipes

Gardening tips

Fancy sea salt hot chocolate, cinder toffee and firepit cakes, a celebration of toast plus ways to tell a good story around the fire, subversive cross stitch and how to keep your herbs going over winter? Oh and bibliotherapy, crafternoons and a poem about beautiful librarians. 

All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Recipe: Sea salt hot chocolate

This deliciously thick hot chocolate is the perfect combination of sweet and salty, and was deemed beautiful enough to be our November cover star. You can make it with milk, white or dark chocolate and adjust the salt to your own taste.

For a salted caramel hot chocolate and a richer flavour, use a caramel chocolate such as Caramac.

Sea salt hot chocolate

SERVES 2

250 ml milk
250 ml double cream
100 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped
1 tbsp caster sugar
1⁄2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 egg yolk

1 Place the milk, cream and chopped chocolate in a saucepan with the sugar and salt, and heat over low heat until the chocolate has melted, whisking all the time.

2 Taste to see whether you need to add a little more salt for an extra salty kick. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolk to thicken the hot chocolate.

3 Pass it through a sieve, then pour into two cups and serve immediately. 

Read more:

From the November issue

Buttered bourbon mulled cider

Chocolate recipes

Fancy sea salt hot chocolate, cinder toffee and firepit cakes, a celebration of toast plus ways to tell a good story around the fire, subversive cross stitch and how to keep your herbs going over winter? Oh and bibliotherapy, crafternoons and a poem about beautiful librarians. 

All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Grey sky thinking

There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing
Alfred Wainwright

Wainwright's right. And once the clothing is sorted, there's no reason not to make the best use of a soggy spell, whether you decide to delight in the drizzle or stay warm and dry.

If you're a pluviophile - a person who finds joy in rainy days - you might enjoy our Grey Sky Thinking feature on page 38 of November's The Simple Things: have a read for ideas to create a dream rainy day on the sofa (complete with snacks, entertainment and warm socks); ways to bring nature inside; how to fix and finish those niggly jobs; and easy crafternoon ideas.

Meanwhile, this wet weather trivia should make you smile whatever the weather.  

Umbrella: The brolly is a pretty ancient device, and in primitive times would have been an improvised transportable shelter of leafy branches. According to Chinese legend, however, the earliest umbrella can be dated back to 2000BC, when it would have been a mark of rank.

Sou'wester: This collapsible waterproof hat designed to repel wind and rain and beloved by seamen was originally worn by New England fishermen in the 19th century who donned oiled clothing to stay dry. Its name is an appreciation of 'southwester', describing quite literally a strong wind blowing from the south west.

Wellington boots: These British icons were first loved by Georgian patriots, rakes and dandies in the early 19th century after the Duke of Wellington instructed his boot maker to cut his boots below the knee to make them more comfortable with the newly fashionable trouser. But they were first officially called 'Wellingtons' when a Scottish manufacturer began producing them in rubber rather than the original calfskin.

Cagoule: This foldaway lightweight waterproof coat was first invented by the aptly named Peter Storm and launched in the UK in the 1960s. The word has French origin and comes from 'cowl', meaning a long hooded garment.

Name your rain

There's no surprise we Brits have so many different words for rain. Here are four regional favourites:

Plothering: When it's 'plottering' in the Midlands you're going to have to make a dash for it, because there's no escaping these big fat vertical rain drops that are hammering down.

Siling: If it's doing this in the North East, prepare to get soaked.

Letty: The kind of weather that South West famers hate, since it's 'just too blooming letty' to work outside.

Mochy: If a Scot or an Irishman says the weather is mochy it's going to be exactly how it sounds - wet, damp and misty. Brr...

Read more:

From the November issue

Ingredients for a cold-weather reading session

More Think posts

Fancy sea salt hot chocolate, cinder toffee and firepit cakes, a celebration of toast plus ways to tell a good story around the fire, subversive cross stitch and how to keep your herbs going over winter? Oh and bibliotherapy, crafternoons and a poem about beautiful librarians. 

All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Recipe: Danish dream cake

In 1965, a young girl baked her grandmother’s secret family recipe in a competition and won, and the cake has been a Danish favourite ever since... 

DANISH DREAM CAKE

Serves 10–12

for the cake:
3 eggs
225g caster sugar
1 ⁄ 2 tsp vanilla sugar
225g plain flour or cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
150ml whole milk
75g butter, melted

for the topping:
100g butter
150g desiccated coconut
250g cups dark brown sugar
75ml whole milk
a pinch of salt

equipment:
23cm springform or round cake tin, greased and lined with baking parchment

1 Preheat the oven to 190/Fan 170/375.

2 In the bowl of a food mixer, whisk the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla sugar on high speed for a few mins, until white and light. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together.

3 Carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. Mix the milk with the melted butter in a jug and carefully pour into the batter, folding it in until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.

4 Bake for 35–40 mins or until almost done (try not to open the oven door for the first 20 mins of the total baking time).

5 To make the topping, gently melt all the ingredients in a saucepan together.

6 Remove the cake from the oven and carefully spread the topping all over the cake.

7 Return to the oven. Turn up the heat to 200C/Fan 180/400F and bake for a further 5 mins. Allow to cool before eating.

Read more:

From the November issue

Cake recipes

Download our Copenhagen city guide

Fancy sea salt hot chocolate, cinder toffee and firepit cakes, a celebration of toast plus ways to tell a good story around the fire, subversive cross stitch and how to keep your herbs going over winter? Oh and bibliotherapy, crafternoons and a poem about beautiful librarians. 

All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.

November's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Comfort: November cover reveal

Weather is what defines November. The joy of a crisp, bright day, just right for a walk among the autumn colours. Wrap up warm on a cold night for spicy food under the stars. On a rainy afternoon, will you hole up on the sofa with a homemade hot chocolate and toast or perhaps some cake and ale? Light a fire and try out a new skill – subversive cross stitch, anyone? Learn to mend things and make them last. On a grey day, make breakfast in bed and tell a story. There’s comfort to be had in The Simple Things. 

November's The Simple Things is out today - buy, download or subscribe now.

Win! A bibliotherapy session from The School of Life worth £80 (closed)

With more than 180,000 books published annually in the UK alone, how are we to differentiate between the friends and foes of the fiction world? Which is where bibliotherapy, the concept of prescribing literature, comes in. It came to prominence in World War II when doctors doled out Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility to shell-shocked soldiers because it was thought the solid English values and romantic plot lines would cure depression and mental troubles.

But never has the practice been more popular than it is now, thanks to the pioneering sessions of Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, who’ve been offering one-to-one and virtual bibliotherapy at The School of Life in London since 2008. In the last year, they have taken their service on the road, dispensing reading remedies everywhere from the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall to the Jaipur Literture Festival in India. Their book, The Novel Cure (Canongate), came out in paperback in September, and they’re currently writing a children’s version called A Spoonful Of Stories (out in 2016).

“When choosing what to read, you are usually at the mercy of Amazon, bestseller lists and recommendations by friends – all perfectly valid but not tailor-made to help you,” explains Ella. “Through a questionnaire and a one- hour chat, we explore your reading habits and your bigger life issues, whether it’s career crises, relationship trouble or the menopause (all popular
reasons for bibliotherapy), and recommend six books that touch on similar themes or are ultimately uplifting.” 

Though not trained therapists, Ella and Susan, who met at Cambridge University, have an impressive back catalogue of literature at their fingertips. “I read at least three books a week to expand my knowledge and, when writing The Novel Cure, we got through hundreds,” says Ella. They know that stories get you through the toughest of times. “Reading the right book at the right time can change your life,” says Ella. “There are certain titles I go back to whenever I’m feeling depressed or wondering what life is all about. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins is an upbeat and quirky favourite, a magical realist work about the god Pan and the quest for immortality. I also love The Moomins stories by Tove Jansson – they’re for children, but they cover adult themes like melancholia and OCD.” 

Turn to page 80 of November’s The Simple Things (out 28 October 2015) to read Ruth Tierney’s feature on bibliotherapy.
 

WIN A SESSION ON THE COUCH 

We have a free bibliotherapy session from The School of Life, worth £80, to give away to one lucky reader. It can be taken either remotely or in person at the school in London.

Read more:

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Ingredients for the perfect cold-weather reading session

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Competition: Win £500 to spend on shoes! (closed 30 November 2015)

agnes & norman is a collection of shoes, designed for men and women with a discerning eye for classic style and a love of all things vintage.
 
Bold, rich colours in leather and suede are married with delicate stitching, metallics, flattering straps and cute bows to create vintage-stle shoes for work, rest and play. From cute brogues to retro-style peep toes for her, and dapper brogues, loafers and boots for him.

The shoes are created by the well-established bridal shoe designer Rachel Simpson, and are designed to be as comfortable as they are stylish, with carefully selected heel heights and full leather linings.

Every shoe is exclusively designed in the UK and beautifully hand-stitched by skilled craftsmen and women. Emphasis is on quality and comfort, with full leather linings and high-grade leather and suede uppers. 

Each pair is designed to fit perfectly, feel indulgent and exclude unique character and good old-fashioned quality. 

Visit agnesandnorman.co.uk to view the full collection

Details and how to enter

l Two readers will receive £500 to spend with agnes & norman.
l The whole prize must be ordered in one go. If you choose items that total more than £500, you will need to pay the balance. If you do not reach the £500 limit, no cash or vouchers will be provided for the balance. No cash alternative and not to be used in conjunction with any offers. Prize is for full price products only and subject to availability. Should products need exchanging for a different size, the first exchange’s delivery is free, but delivery for future exchanges will be charged. Prize must be chosen within 30 days of winner being notified. 
l Enter by 30 November 2015. You can see Iceberg Press’ full terms and conditions on page 129 of the November issue and at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules

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