Georgina Hayden

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Wild plum liqueur

10.23.2014 by georgie // 5 Comments

I am lucky to have many wonderful friends in my life, some food lovers, some not (it isn’t friendship criteria but if you don’t appreciate/ love good food I will probably try and convert you). However it must be said that my friend Holly is easily be one of the biggest food lovers I know. I love Holly time, we’ll chat about all sorts of stuff but there will always be some pretty geeky food chat going on. The last time I saw her she had a log of Norwegian butter in her bag, that she had brought me all the way back from Norway, and a bag of frozen wild plums from a foraging trip to Kent. The time before that she brought me a tray of homemade coconut ice cream with rippled tamarind caramel. Seriously… it’s like crack.

So, the Norwegian butter I have eaten simply on fresh bread and it is wonderful, but the plums, well there was only one thing for it. Pre-weighed into 400g batches and frozen (this girl doesn’t mess about), it had to be booze. I love flavouring alcohol, and always have a few bottles on the go at any given time. Sloe gin, bergamot gin, limoncello, kumquat brandy… It is easy to do, tasty as hell and they make great gifts (we made a load for our wedding favours). For some reason I have never used plums or damsons before so was excited to add a new bottle to our collection. Now the obvious pairing for these autumnal treats is gin, and by all means use that! However it is not a joke when they call gin ‘mothers ruin’ so for now I am staying clear. I used good quality organic vodka instead, I just have to wait another month till I can try it…

Frozen plums
Frozen plums

 

WILD PLUM LIQUEUR

  • 400g wild plums or damsons, washed and frozen
  • 125g golden caster sugar
  • 750cl good quality vodka or gin

You will need a 1L kilner jar, as the plums won’t fit in a bottle.

This recipe could not be more simple. Just layer up the plums with the sugar in the large clean kilner jar and then pour over your chosen alcohol. Seal tightly and give it a shake.

Store the jar in a dark spot, away from sunlight, and give it a little shake every day for a week till the sugar dissolves. Leave the jar well alone for 2 – 3 months, only disturbing it to give it a little taste after a month to see if it needs more sugar. Check the sweetness, adding another spoonful or so of sugar if it still feels a little tart. Then seal back down, give it a shake and return to your dark spot.

You can strain it after a few months, but if you can wait a little longer I would leave it. The more patient you are the tastier the booze.

If you want to add a little extra flavour to your liqueur, try popping in a split vanilla pod, or a few bay leaves. You could also make it a spiced plum liqueur for christmas, just add a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, a couple of cardamom pods and a few peppercorns half way through steeping. You don’t want them to overpower the plum flavour, just add a lovely wintery warmth.

Finished booze shot to come…

Plum liqueur in the making
Plum liqueur in the making
Layering the plums
Layering the plums

Categories // Celebration, Drinks Tags // Alcohol, Dairy-free, Drinks, Gin, Gluten-free, Plum, Vodka, Wheat-free

Sweet like chocolate

10.07.2014 by georgie // Leave a Comment

Like a lot of people I often need a 3pm pick me up. A caffeine hit. A sugar high. But since I made a real effort to cut out most sugars from my diet (me and the rest of the world) and cut back on the caffeine, I’ve been at a bit of a lose end. My go to option for most of the year is a hot chocolate. It ticks a lot of boxes for me – sweet, warming, delicious, easily consumable and I don’t feel too guilty (with skimmed milk, obviously). However, at the risk of sounding smug I genuinely find a lot of hot chocolates too sweet now. Cutting out a lot of sugars has been interesting, my palate has changed and foods I adored before have become less desirable and less tolerable.

My favourite hot chocolate which I will make a bee line for is Paul A Young’s, which he sells in his beautiful London shops. At around £4 for a small cup it isn’t cheap, but I think it is worth every penny. The smell that hits you when you walk into the shop is insane, and then you spot this vat of hot chocolate simmering away in the corner, with a little spice rack alongside it… Well, it’s all very ‘Chocolat’, very sensual. Interestingly the hot chocolate is dairy free, using just water instead of milk, which is said to get the most out of the chocolate. So with the days a little colder, I’m needing my fix again, and have decided to make my own.

Spiced hot chocolate
Spiced hot chocolate

PURE HOT CHOCOLATE

If you are thinking creamy milky hot chocolate, think again. This is rich, short and intense. I use Hasslacher’s 100% pure Columbian cacao for this recipe, and it is heavenly – very pure, nothing added and naturally high in antioxidants . You can order it on Amazon for only a fiver.

Serves 1

  • 15g of 100% pure cacao chocolate (2 squares from a bar of Hasslacher’s)
  • A tablespoon of agave syrup, honey or light muscovado sugar
  • a stick of cinnamon or a few cardamom pods, lightly crushed

Melt the chocolate in a small milk pan, over a low heat (as per packet instructions) being careful not to burn the chocolate and letting it melt slowly. As soon as it has melted whisk in 200ml of water with your chosen sweetener and spice. Simmer over a low heat for a few minutes until smooth and hot, but not boiling. Whisk again, taste (carefully!) and add a little more agave/ honey/ sugar if necessary and serve.

 

Hasslacher's chocolate
Hasslacher’s chocolate

Categories // Drinks, Vegan and Vegetarian Tags // Dairy-free, Drinks, Gluten-free, Pregnancy, Vegan, Wheat-free

Easing into breakfast

09.10.2014 by georgie // 2 Comments

Ok, so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start everyday with a coffee. I try and eat well, I don’t eat ready meals or fast food but I’m not a health food aficionado – I need caffeine and I need it within half an hour of waking up. And I’m not even a coffee snob; I adore good freshly ground coffee and living in east London there really is no shortage of amazing coffee roasters and cafes – see below for some of my favourites. However I’m Greek Cypriot and I also have a real love for instant coffee. Nescafé especially, as it reminds me of being a kid. (If you have ever been to Greece or Cyprus you’ll know how much the locals love a frappé).

So this morning was a Nescafé morning. The small caffetiere was dirty and being morning and me being lazy I hit the instant stuff. Heaven.

However anything other than coffee in the morning is a struggle. Weekend brunch is a winner, weekday mornings however just feels a little too early. And at the moment, where I am at home a lot of the day it’s quite easy to skip this all-important meal. I am trying to get into a routine though and this morning I wanted to go for a swim and knew I had to eat something first: cue the breakfast smoothie. I’ve really taken to smoothies over the last few months – it’s ‘something’ as opposed to eating nothing and is easy on the digestion for this breakfast-avoider. But most importantly, it’s the 5-a day thing. Actually consuming your 5 a day is hard work and takes dedication, so knowing I’m getting some nutrients feels like a bloomin’ good reason.

So for today’s breakfast I made a ‘raspberry milkshake’, which was incredibly delicious, nutritious and way better than a crusha down the Wimpy.

And the best tip of all? Chop up any ripe fruit you have lying around and freeze in sandwich bags, always ready for a smoothie attack. Reduces waste and makes smoothies lovely and thick – especially bananas, which give you a gorgeous creamy texture.

Here are a few of my favourites. All recipes serve 1. And if you haven’t got frozen bananas, use fresh and add a couple of ice cubes to chill.

 

Raspberry Milkshake

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • Handful of raspberries
  • 8 grapes (or just use a few more raspberries)
  • Large spoonful of organic black cherry yoghurt (also be delicious with Coyo – dairy free coconut yoghurt)
  • Freshly pressed apple juice

Place all the ingredients into a blender with about 250ml of apple juice. Blitz until you have a smooth and creamy smoothie, adding a little more apple juice till you have your desired consistency.

Raspberry Milkshake

 

Breakfast on the run

  • Heaped tablespoon of rolled oats
  • 1 medjool date, stone removed
  • A couple of good pinches of ground cinnamon
  • A small chopped and frozen banana
  • a teaspoon of chia seeds
  • Full fat cows milk or almond milk (or any milk of your choice – hazelnut, soya, rice etc)
  • A drizzle of honey (I only use honey if I am using cows milk, as the others tend to have a sweetness to them already)

Place all the ingredients into a blender with around 250ml of your preferred milk and leave to sit for 3-4 minutes, to give the chia seeds time to swell up and do their thing. Blitz until you have a smooth creamy texture, adding a little more milk if you think it’s a bit thick.

 

The Popeye

This is based on a favourite of ours where I work, the kermit juice, an absolute winner of a breakfast smoothie. The twist being a squeeze of lime and milled flaxseeds, for optimum iron intake and a hit of omega 3.

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • 1 small kiwi, peeled and chopped
  • Large handful of baby leaf spinach, washed
  • A squeeze of lime
  • Fresh apple juice
  • A tablespoon of milled flaxseed

Place all the ingredients in the blender with around 250ml of the apple juice. Blitz until super smooth, adding a little more juice if needed.

 

Coffee coffee…

So, if you’re ever in London town and want to hit some top coffee spots check out the links below for some of the best beans around.

Monmouth Coffee – Founded in ’78 Monmouth really has been around longer than a lot of these places put together. Expect to queue for what is exceptional coffee and totally worth it (it moves quickly). One of my favourite things? Curling up with a coffee in the Borough Market branch and digging in to the bread, butter and jam in the middle of the large table. All from the market and around £3 for as much as you can eat.

Climpson & Sons – a pioneer in the East London coffee roasting trend, Climpson’s has been around for 9 years and is still one of my favourite brews around. Their Broadway market no-nonsense cafe is always worth a visit, and great value for money.

OZONE – Old St based coffee roasters, this place does an exceptional flat white and some of the best brunch in town. The kedgeree is out of this world.

Caravan Exmouth Market and Caravan Kings Cross – Small batch coffee roasters, the blends are delicious along with superb food. Personal fave is the ham hock hash with poached eggs and mustard hollandaise. Be prepared to queue for a long time on the weekends though.

Allpress – Based in the heart of hipster central, Shoreditch based Allpress do great coffee and simple but delicious food. A perfect mid-shop caffeine hit.

TAP – I have a real soft spot for Tap, their laid back approach and delicious coffee make this an approachable contender. You don’t need to queue for hours or eat anything, you can sit and read and just drink delicious coffee. I spent many hours in there before or after the numerous hospital appointments we have had over the last year. And the staff are always nice.

Workshop – One of the largest of the coffee shops, Workshop Clerkenwell do great coffee and good food. Their corn fritters with halloumi, poached eggs and chutney are dreamy. The other branches have great reviews too.

Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock - Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock – Ozone Coffee Roasters

Categories // Breakfast & brunch, Drinks Tags // Breakfast, Coffee, Dairy-free, Drinks, Gluten-free, Smoothies, Vegan, Wheat-free

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Georgina is an award winning food writer, cook and presenter from North London.
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