End of the Summer that Never Was

It is cold and nasty outside, the last day of a September every bit as wet and wild as 2012's summer that never was.

In spite of the vile weather that began in June and has barely let up since, we did grow plenty on our allotment and in the garden. As ever, though, I failed with tomatoes, with only a few reaching ripeness. Today I gave up hoping that the remaining green ones would even manage a blush of pink, so I picked the lot - lot being about 20 marble-sized fruits - and made them into a salsa.

As anyone who has read other posts here will know one of my favourite cooking verbs is 'to zap'. These enjoyed that treatment, along with some of our own coriander seeds, a red chilli seeds-and-all, some parsley,  and salt and pepper. Very very hot, unlike the weather.

That salsa (with some yogurt, it really is damned hot) will coat chicken breasts for baking tonight, to be served with a spinach salad to help the cooling process and offer some green defiance to the unkind elements.

Bargain Brekky

It's so true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day: it has to keep us going for the whole morning and sets the mood of the day. Muesli would depress me for hours. A favourite that costs very little and everyone loves is the American raised pancake, base for a hundred toppings. I use a mixture of white and wholemeal self-raising flours to sneak a bit of extra fibre in.

For enough to make eight or nice pancakes put about 100g of self-raising flour in a mixing bowl. Add an egg, a heaped tsp of baking powder, 1/2 a tsp of salt, 6 tsps of granulated sugar, a 3/4" cube of butter melted quickly in the microwave, and if you have it several tbsps to half a large carton of plain yoghourt - I use cheapo Sainsbury's Basic, it is tasty and only 55p a carton so why buy something that looks posher for twice the price when seemingly only the packaging is different? Add a little milk then use a hand mixer to blend it all nicely, adding more milk until you have a very thick double cream texture to the batter. It needs no rest. Cook on a flat griddle or thickly based frying pan. They need turning when big bubbles appear on the surface. Keep finished ones warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Maple syrup and butter are neither austerity products nor that healthy, but they are the most luxurious topping. Alternatives are fruit yoghourt, one little carton will do three or more, slices of banana, a freshly squeezed orange and sprinkle of sugar, or apple slices fried in butter. Shop-bought chocolate sauce is another possibility, or just melt a few squares of good chocolate in the microwave - don't overdo it or you end up with a crystalised mess.

If you have too much batter it keeps overnight in the fridge, but the pancakes tend to be a little flatter though still good. Without toppings I reckon its about 60p at most to make enough for three or four people, a nice warming, cheering filler-upper.