Raspberry Roulade opinion

cooking with kids

2010-08-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Getting busy in the kitchen with your children can earn them more than just some delicious biscuits. To many though, it is only a rainy day past-time to keep curious fingers out of mischief with edible delights to show for it. But the art of cooking forms the very heart of our fundamental understanding of food. And the many facets of it weave off in all sorts of directions.

So, to begin with, a simple cake or biscuit holds four or five everyday ingredients, all with different tastes and textures, too. Flour from the wheat fields, butter from a cow, eggs from a chicken. No tigers or zebras in sight! And when a child is able to experience a key skill like rubbing in, all manor of emotions are let out. It’s soft, squidgy, silky, sticky. Warm, cold, oh no! it’s yuk. They don’t want to put their hands in, some love it, others are plain scared. But we all need to start somewhere! Sadly mud pies seem to have had their day, hence the consternation when some children are asked to touch the ingredients. They are often taught it is dirty. But the feeling of kneading a batch of warm bread dough is brilliant and one of the most enjoyable workshops with a group of excited children. It doesn’t really matter if it is not kneaded to 8 minutes. It’s the experience that counts.

The alchemy of the recipe starts to become apparent as soon as the first ingredients are introduced to the bowl. Rub the butter in and achieve golden flour with the rich smell of butter. Add the egg and find the mixture may curdle and look like porridge. The addition of self-raising flour will almost instantly produce air bubbles giving the children a chance to see it all happening.

A child’s senses are being bombarded and made to work hard! Not only senses, but they are on a huge learning curve. Following a recipe – with some help maybe! - which will help improve reading and maths and fractions play an enormous part too. Weighing out and measuring are hugely important and used in plenty of activities aside from cooking. Food provenance and sustainability - real buzz words of our time – along with seasonal produce and eating locally are all topical too. And quite apart from all of that, the children will develop motor neurone skills and be disciplined to listen and concentrate. Social skills, too, are an integral part of cooking and eating. Sitting around a table with some great food and your family brings on a sense of interest and develops conversation! Many cultures do business at the table and the heart of many home is the kitchen with smells of baking bringing on feelings of nostalgia, security and comfort. How many times have you heard to bake a loaf of bread if you have someone coming to view your for sale house.

So teaching your children to bake a biscuit could be more far-reaching than you think. We need cooks for the next generation. Ones with old-fashioned, essential skills with a modern take. These skills which can then be applied to baking, making and concocting.

But with all of these things comes an acceptance from us as adults. The ones who have to clear up the mess! Children need to be guided sometimes but need to do it themselves. How can they possibly learn if you take over. It doesn’t matter what shape the biscuit it or how the cake is iced. They will love it and love you for it! The sense of achievement for ones so small is obvious on their little faces. And then the realization that food tastes better when you make it yourself!

Freedom is the kitchen is ace!

Networking

2010-08-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's a funny thing how technology goes. I can't keep up with it myself. Good job I have my husband John to keep me in line with it all! Something I am not so keen on is a social networking site like Facebook but I have decided to take the plunge and have joined linked in and twitter. Why not follow me, so I am not left out and get bored with it! I will try and tweet interesting stuff, not just when I am hanging out my washing. It most definitely will be food related!

Jamaican Bananas

2010-08-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Forget your street cred! We turned all a little food retro today.

we were at a friend's house lately, and we had, o ice-cream I think it was. So on the table, we had a tub of ice-cream, some fruit like strawberries and blueberries, a bit of choccy sauce and a can of Anchor squirty cream. I don't think I have had this since my Dad used to make me Jamaican bananas when I was about ten ( a long time ago!)

I did not want to admit it but it was lovely! So Harley and I bought a can - on his insistence of course!- for us to have on, well, anything or even nothing. So tonight, he had a hot chocolate with copious amounts of squirty cream. I am not saying that it is any comparison to Roddas clotted cream. It has it's own unique taste!

Try it, you wont regret it.

Jamaican Bananas

serves 2

50g butter

50g soft brown sugar

2 large bananas

a good glug of rum

Melt the butter and sugar in a large frying pan. Slice the bananas add to the pan and stir gently to coat in the toffee mixture. Cook for around 4-5 minutes to soften the banana. Throw in the rum, flambee then serve with cream. One of the best instant puddings alive!

Come rain or shine

2010-08-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a barbecue really, and I know I have harped on a few times about them but they are always different, easy and sociable. We have spent the last week in Cornwall staying with my Dad. The weather has been rubbish and I have not been too much on the healthy side, but we did manage to get to the beach for a barbecue. And a swim!

Homemade burgers, good sausages, big beef tomatoes that have been seasoned well and a glass of cold white is certainly delicious. Even Harley partook in some Freixenet. It was fortuitous that my step-mum had forgotten the wine. This meant a little jaunt to to Veryan and found a fab little village shop with quaffable chilled wine.

We certainly were keeping a British stiff upper lip as it was not warm August weather but the chocolate brownie we ate afterwards made up for it!

Melt 2 bars of Green and Blacks 70% chocolate with 150g butter. Whisk in 2 eggs along with 250g demerera sugar. Next mix in 125g self raising flour until everything is well combined then pour into a greased 22cm square tin. Experiment with scatterings of white chocolate chunks, pecan nuts or marshmallows. Leaving plain is good too, then bake at 180C for 15 minutes.

Wizard.

in the arctic

2010-07-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic barbecue on Saturday with some of our closest friends. Simple food, well cooked by John and enjoyed by all of us. Needless to say that we had a mammoth amount of food left over!

So changing the subject a little, I am not a big fan of bread. I adore making it but don't so much enjoy eating it. It's mostly too wodgy and actually, I shouldn't eat it as I am annoyingly intollerant to wheat. But we went to Ikea recently and I bought some arctic bread from there. I had used it before when I worked for my good friend Jem in Bristol. It is a soft, flat bread. Just about 1cm thick and really soft.

So back to the barbecue - but lets fuse the two subjects together. We had some little chicken and chorizo skewers left over from the party so we cooked them until sizzling then filled one of these

fabulous little breads with crispy lettuce, chicken, roasted tomatoes, rocket picked from the garden and a scratch of mayonnaise. All of this made a truly delicious supper, in the garden, with my family. Priceless.

glow baby, glow!

2010-07-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

We know a family that have a farm up on the Ridgeway. They have two boys with whom Harley gets on really well and a pretty fab living space. They invited us up there last week as it is glow worm season. I didn't even know what a glow worm was until I saw one on Springwatch this year, so I was really excited to go and see them - perhaps! I thought it was a fantastic opportunity for Harley too. Even though I try to expose him to as much of the natural world as possible there are some things that, unless you are in the know, you wont ever see.

So we arrived at Sally Anne's house to be greeted by a big group of junior young farmers having an interactive talk with insects. Preying mantis, locusts, giant land snails, you name it, Sally Anne has it. However, what caught my eye was what was hanging over the sink. A fresh honeycomb, still in the frame, straight from the hive. I have never tasted honey like it. Even with the wax, the taste was pure ambrosia. The texture even will never be experienced from a shop bought one.

Not only has Sally Anne got all these insects - and her family! - but she has a barn owl. So we saw him being fed too with a chick from the freezer. Defrosted of course! As well as chicks Sally Anne produced a snake from these chilly climes. Beautiful in it's frozen form. You couldn't make it up could you?!

What a fantastic evening that could probably never be recreated.

Oh! and the glow worms! We saw 2 only. But I would probably have never have had the opportunity to see 1 so I think we are all pretty privileged. Especially when Harley held one too. And who cares that we were home at 1am!

strawberry fields

2010-06-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have had the real pleasure of looking after my friend's strawberry patch this week. It is about 4 metres by 2 metres and is packed with fruiting plants. I would dearly love a patch of land to grow some produce on and keep a few chickens. I have had my name down on the list for about 3 years for an allotment but I think I need to pop into the council offices and check what's going on! The possible community aspect of a piece of land alongside many others for the same purpose is really appealing. Maybe I am looking at it through rose tinted spectacles but the idea of pottering around an allotment, maybe a few chickens scratching around and an abundance of the freshest produce you could wish for.

My friend has her allotment in a neighbour's garden. It seems a real sin to me as the garden in question lays vacant, unused and overgrown. In my small row of houses we struggle for garden space and just behind us is this unwanted gem of space crying out for a goat or two! Fruit trees live unattended and what it bears lays rotting in the grass. It's about time we sorted ourselves out and appreciated what we have around us and used it. But values change and shopping in a supermarket has brought about a need for produce to look perfect, unblemished and there when we want it. All shame to those with rotting apples in their garden.

But, the sun is shining and I have a fridge full of strawberries and rhubarb too. So tomorrow I am going to put all the strawberries in a pan, crush them with a potato masher and cook them gently for 5 minutes. I will then add the equivalent weight in pectin enriched sugar, letting it dissolve and then simmer for about 10 minutes until the syrupy mixture is at setting point. Test by placing a little on a saucer and letting it sit for a few minutes. Push with your finger and hope it wrinkles. Pouring into clean warm jars and sealing your creation is a strangely satisfying feeling and to then see the jars lined up on your kitchen counter gives immense pleasure. All shapes and sizes, labeled and ready to go. Preserving is fab.

Keep as presents or spread liberally on hot brown toast!

If this is not your thing try making some meringues or shortbread and serve with plenty of strawberries fresh whipped cream! Mmmmmm............

lettuces!

2010-06-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Jackie, gave me a fantastic Christmas present. Christmas I hear you cry! Well it has taken me this long to get myself together to sort it out. It was a voucher for a box of plants delivered to your door when you are ready. All supplied by a company called Rocket Gardens who seemingly sell plants, kitchen garden stylee. Mine was a window box selection suited to a tiny garden with a scratch of room for some pots. When the box came it was really exciting to open it up and find -nestled in amongst a wodge of hay - a glut of tiny plugs laid in neat rows. Mustard, mixed lettuce, spinach, chard, beetroot, mizuna, some herbs and spring onions too. Not only did I have all of these plants but I was sent a promotional pack of freebies too. More lettuce and mustard that I knew what to do with. And of course, all these salad leaves are cut and come again and are easy to grow and offer delicious leaves for much of the year.

Last night then, being as creative and inventive as possible, I have planted these little beauties in amongst anything and everything where I could find a gap. now I will just need to be inventive with using the end results.

Last year, I won a competition with the National Trust with this recipe using lettuce. Lettuce is one of those things that most think is used only in salads. But it is lovely to cook with too. Braise solid substantial lettuce, or shred into petit pois a la francaise. Use it to make soups and to wrap shredded meats with a delicious savoury sauce.

Mr Mcgregor’s summer garden tart with roasted tomato salad.

Serves 8-10

250g Doves Farm plain flour

150g butter

6-7 tbsp cold water

10 tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

300g peas, fresh or frozen

1 little gem lettuce, shredded

200g Ceri’s Brinkworth blue cheese, crumbled

3 eggs

175ml milk

175ml single cream

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

sea salt and black pepper

seasonal salad leaves

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4

Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in enough of the water to form a dough. Knead for a moment to smooth ball and chill for 30 minutes.

Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, top each half with a little garlic, drizzle with the oil and season well. Place in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes.

Line a 23cm spring form cake tin with the pastry, prick the base, line with baking parchment, fill with ceramic baking beans - or a raw pulse works well – and bake blind for 20 minutes until the pastry is crisp. Fill with the peas, lettuce and crumbled cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, milk and cream and fill the pastry case. Bake for about 30 minutes until the filling is set. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Transfer the roasted tomatoes onto a bed of salad leaves and dress with the vinegar. Slice the tart into 8 and serve with the tomatoes.

Meringue mysteries

2010-06-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

We don't, as a rule, eat puddings in our house. I keep yoghurt, fruit and perhaps some ice-cream most of the time I suppose. But when I have to test some recipes or we have friends over, puddings will have a cameo role. Harley used to really hate meringues but I recently did a recipe for some-one of meringues with Maltesers in them and he now can't get enough. I think that at this time of the year a meringuey pudding is a prudent one with such hot weather upon us we can justify one or two scoops of ice-cream and some seasonal fruits.

Meringues have a bit of a reputation, I think, in that they are often thought of as difficult. All you need is a clean bowl, a whisk - an electric one is best! - an oven, some eggs and sugar. whisk egg whites until stiff. Gradually add sugar - 50g per white - until the mix is glossy. At this point add what you like. A handful of chopped nuts, be it pistachio, hazelnut or walnut. Fold in a couple of spoons of good cocoa, swirling it into the mix. Or some chopped chocolate bars. Just have an experiment. Place the mix in large tablespoons on a tray lined with parchment then bake for an hour at 130 degrees. Leave to cool in the oven. There are many people who have different opinions on meringue making. A very well known chef once put me down in front of an audience for not putting salt in the meringue. Then in the next dem, I did it before he could ask and he then shot me down for that! Some cook for longer, some are piped. Who can tell, it's all down to personal preference- like plenty of food!

Whatever the case, serve with lashings of cream and fresh fruit. They will keep for ages in a tin but if, for any reason, they don't get eaten, put them on the bird table for the local wildlife!

Barbecue bonanza!

2010-05-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Now the weather has turned from pretty chilly to so hot, as a family, we don't know what to do with ourselves! Our house is pretty small so being able to spill out into the garden is fabulous. Most evenings we will endeavor to light the barbecue. Harley loves it and I hope that it gives him some good memories when he gets older. It does not have to be a complicated affair, does it? Good ingredients cooked with thought are the items required. Then some family time around the table in the fresh air completes the picture perfectly. We adore tomatoes cooked on the barbie. And the marriage of a vine tomato and some good grilled meat, be it beef, chicken or fish, just cannot be beaten. Plump for some large vine tomatoes, cut in half then season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and grill for about ten minutes. But if you want to savour the flavour of these little summer gems try this too…

Cut tomatoes in half and lay on a baking tray. Season each tomato with sea salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Drizzle with a little olive oil then scatter with some herbs like basil, oregano or thyme. Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes or so until the tomatoes are shrunken somewhat but still juicy. Some balsamic vinegar will finish them off nicely then devour with a green salad. And lastly, make sure you have some crusty bread to mop up the tomatoey juices.

Passion for food!

2010-05-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

I had a great day of work on Wednesday. I was booked for a day of food styling near Bicester, Oxon, in a unit in the middle of no-where for someone who had a business - called Passion for Food - creating beautiful food for weddings, events and parties. I went with trepidation as he was to cook the food and I was on hand to help out with the styling for the shots. The cooking, as a rule, is an integral part of the day and I did not want to tread on anyones toes.

When I arrived, I immediately saw 3 people. And as I drew closer I knew one of them. Completely by chance, I was going to be working with Phil Baker with whom I had worked many moons previously.

In my mid twenties, I owned a shop. This shop was way before it's time and a bit misunderstood. Hence I had no customers and to sustain any sort of life I had 2 part time jobs as well. One was in a pub in an outlying village from Oxford. I used to commis with Phil as the head chef. It was a good time and even though I dreaded having to prep for hundreds of people the atmosphere was always good. I feel sorry, now, for our fellow workers last Wednesday. How interminably boring is it hearing people reminisce, but it was great for us!

I saw some great food being produced that day. Tried some delicious things and had a smashing time with some good people. One of my most favourite new age foods are pea tops. Instead of being in a bag sprayed with all sorts of chemicals, a case arrived of them in a format much like cress. they were intense and sweet. The ingredient that stood out for me was the most fabulous venison. Really well cooked with a venison sausage and a tiny venison suet pudding. Yum!

Phil has got some great shots for his new website. The picture, above, made myself and Chris - from Voyage the design company - really smile as in fact, it is just a few left overs that I had transferred onto the one plate. When we looked, it seemed pretty enough for a photo. But this is often my sentiment on food styling. The food should be natural. Place the food on the plate.Plant bomb and leave as they say. A possible tweek but not much else will give you a beautiful, natural picture.

We dragged up a few great memories too that day. Good luck Phil. Your food tastes great.

picnic shmicnic

2010-03-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

My husband works some of the time at a local activity farm, Roves farm. I cheer Harley on at rugby on a Sunday and venture over to the farm for us to have lunch with John and for Harley to have a play. Cool bag in hand, I just pack up the contents of our fridge which is quick, easy and much more exciting than a sarnie. They have large picnic tables and I always take a cloth and make the table look nice. I believe people think because it is a packed lunch it doesn't matter. A bit of clingfilm and a soggy sandwich will do. Today we had a selection of cheeses, pate, salad, french bread, chutney, parma ham and some good butter. A couple of plastic plates, knives and forks and you are away. Lots of comments were there for the taking as people pass by. But it does not take any invention or imagination just a little thought away from the ordinary. But even if it is a piece of good cheddar and some crackers and chutney or a pasta salad, going for a packed lunch or picnic does not have to be boring.

Cheesecake played a role in our picnic today. Really simple and in fact, Harley loves making it.

Crush 6 or 7 biscuits, like hobnobs or digestives then mix with 3 tsp cocoa powder and 35-40 g melted butter. Press into a plastic tub - or bowl if you are having it at home. Mix together a 200g tub cream cheese, 250g plain yoghurt, 2tbsp icing sugar and the juice and zest of half a lemon. If the mix is a little runny, never fear as the chemical reaction with the acid of the lemon and the cream cheese will thicken it nicely. Spread over the top of the biscuit base then top with some fruit like satsuma, plum or berries - frozen or fresh! If you feel like going astray, crumble a flake over the top. Take some spoons and devour straight from the tub!

Birmingham nights!

2010-03-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

Birmingham is somewhere I have never ventured, sadly. I am a bit of a bumpkin when it comes to the big city - I quite like the country air!

Last week I worked at the NEC which is huge in itself! It splits itself into little sections with a different show going on in each. But the complex is phenomenal. And the hotel we stayed in was just ginormous. It took at least 5 minutes to get to your room. Phew!

A colleague had planned a couple of places to eat and if I am totally honest, this really made me not want to go. But I am ever so glad I did.

The first evening we ended up in a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Jyoti.

It was kind of like a deli with a few tables seating about 25 people in the back. Brightly lit, it really stood out in the parade of shops near to the centre of Birmingham.

We chose a set menu at the princely sum of £12 per head. Unlicenced meant we could also take in our own wine so all in all this meant we had a fantastically cheap meal.

I don't think I can begin to remember what everything was, but my favourite were these interesting little dooberries that we had to start. Rather like a poppadum texture, it was a little outer casing with a hole in the top, filled with odds and ends like onion and little gram flour strands, you put a couple of spoons of the sauce inside and popped it straight into your mouth hole. Wowsers!! Other starters were the obligatory samosa which were exceedingly tasty and some bhajee of sorts which were jolly hot for my english rose temperament. 6 chef's curries for mains with rice and then a choice of a little sweetmeat. Absolutely brilliant.

It's not often a bargain presents itself, and Jyoti most certainly is the sale of the century.

to chop or not to chop? that is the question.

2010-03-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Time is most certainly moving on fast. I cannot believe it to be mid March already. It becomes a bit of a boring subject, doesn't it, as so many of us bring it up in conversation. But it is most definitely a fact of our ever evolving world.

Much like the subject of a piece on the BBC website today, food is an ever evolving commodity. I was really excited to be called today by the BBC -I think down to some consulting I did for them on a new show airing soon - and was interviewed for an article on lazy food. Cut up bits of carrot or onion, fruits or frozen roast potatoes, our society is geared up for convenience, convenience and more convenience.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8572009.stm

Laziness is a reality in many walks of life and none more so than food. Not only can we buy ready meals by the dozen or ready chopped vegetables, but we have so much choice that we have no seasonal instinct and don't have to think that we may not be able to get an ingredient. This thinking surely creates an ease about what to cook because everything is available all the time and ease often breeds laziness. Adults attitude to food and fast food, say, is being passed on to the children and children learn by example. So many of our young people have no respect for food and have never made anything in their own kitchen.

It is going to be a tough job to re-educate our society that food is something to be mindful about. It has to be planned, grown, transported, packaged and stacked. It does not just appear on the shop shelf like something out of Harry Potter.

So if you know someone who buys these devils of the food world, buy them a descent sharp knife and get chopping!!

Meme's chicken

2010-02-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

I think it is lovely to have recipes handed down to you by a granny or mum. And I always look enviously on a friend who has a recipe book that was his mums with all of her recipes and tips hand written in her swirly writing. So I need to make sure I do something like that for Harley as he is a very natural cook and enjoys it too! I have never had any written recipes handed down except for a christmas pudding from my Nan. I now have the job of cooking them for the family each year from a scrap of paper in her hand, ticked off where she has made it herself. But this recipe is one my French grandmother used to make and I loved beyond compare as a little girl. I have tried to recreate it and I think this is it. I know it looks quite long but it is not so bad and well worth it. picture of it back in my gallery!

Meme’s chicken

Serves 6-8

1 large chicken – about 2kg

1 large onion

2 cloves

2 leeks cut into 4

3 large carrots cut into 1/4s

6-8 sticks of celery cut into 4

2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

1 turnip – about 300g cut into large cubes

2 lemons

3 bay leaves

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

200g long grain rice

50g butter

50g plain flour

2 egg yolks

Place the chicken into a large saucepan with enough room for the vegetables. Chop the onion into a quarters. Stick with the cloves and add to the pan along with the leek, carrot, celery, garlic and turnip. Cut one of the lemons in half and place in amongst the vegetables with the bay. Season well and cover with cold water. Cover, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 11/2 hours.

Ten minutes before the end of the chickens cooking time gently soften the onion in a little goose fat or olive oil. Add the rice and coat in the fat in the pan. Ladle on enough stock from the chicken pan to cover the rice and simmer until the rice is tender.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute or so until bubbling and then add 600ml of the hot chicken stock. Bring back to the boil – whisking all the time – and cook for 5 minutes. Season really well. Remove from the heat and add the juice of the remaining lemon and the 2 yolks.

Joint the chicken and place it on a large charger with the vegetables. Serve with the rice and lemon sauce and a glass of fruity cider.

Easter Spirit.

2010-02-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

When I think of Easter, a Sinmel cake comes to mind but never into reality! Marzipan, fruits and the very traditions of it are what give me the desire to bake it, then many factors contribute to me never making it at all. As Easter is early next month, I thought I would get you ready in advance!

This delicious cake is thought to have originated in the medieval times and has also had ties with Mothering Sunday. Young girls in service took the cake home for their mothers on their day off. You can’t imagine this now can you? There are no girls in service and there are not many who can cook either. But these days a Simnel cake has all the symbolism of Easter. Laden with marzipan and fruits - like a Christmas cake - it then has 11 balls of marzipan on the top representing the 11 true disciples. Sometimes a ball in the middle will be representative of Christ.

Last year, in desperation, I decided to devise a recipe with all of the elements of the original, but a little less time consuming. I am not a lover of a twist on a classic so we perhaps can dub this a Highworth Easter Cake?

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Beat together 150g soft butter and 175g grated marzipan. then add 2 large eggs, beat well then stir through 150g self raising flour, a teaspoon of mixed spice and a teaspoon of baking powder. Next mix in 100g dried berries like cranberries and cherries. Pour the batter into a 2lb loaf tin and scatter over the surface another 175g marzipan, but cubed this time. Bake for just over an hour until the cake is springy to the touch and coming away a little from the sides of the tin. Remember to infuse a touch of Easter spirit whilst mixing or double up on the mix and give some of your spirit away to your friends.

blast from the past!

2010-01-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Today I cooked more of those beef fingers I wrote about a few months ago. I get them from a lovely butcher in a food hall in Cornwall. Tucked away just next to a Macdonalds and a petrol station is a great place called Kingsley village. Not only do they have a terrific food hall but they sell local pottery, art and surfing clothes. Upon leaving Dads house, we stop for petrol and a peruse! For our journey home a roast pork and stuffing baguette is in order! In return for £2.95 you will hold in your hand the most delicious sandwich. And so reasonable in this day and age. A 10-12 inch baguette stuffed with local roast pork and the most amazing crackling. Also on the menu is salt beef or homemade sausages. Seriously, if you are on the A30 in Cornwall, come off at Fraddon in the St Austell area, for a really brilliant experience.

Anyway the point of me putting pen to paper was to talk about these beef fingers. I actually

made something I have always wanted to today and that is scotch broth.

Cook the beef fingers for about 2 hours with some vegetables in water to make a flavourful stock. Chop an onion, 2 carrots and 2 sticks of celery. Soften in a large pan then add about 2 litres of the beef stock along with the bones and meat. Introduce 150g pearl barley, 3 bay leaves and some sprigs of thyme. Season really well then cook for 1.5 hours until the barley is soft. Serve with some chunks of crusty bread and some Mull of Kintyre cheddar. Wowsers!

twisted christmas!

2009-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

christmas is a time when oranges seem to come into their own. foods flavoured with oranges. oranges made into decorations and beautiful clementines still with fragrant leaves attached which look so festive! I love this recipe. in fact, my dad had it in a lovely village restaurant in deepest france and we both have made our own version. so, a lovely seasonal treat the product of chinese whispers. perhaps, if christmas pud is not a favourite, try this to bring your lunch to an end with a bit of a twist!

Divine orange tart

Serves 4

For the pastry

175g plain flour

100g butter, cubed

1 tbsp icing sugar

3 tbsp cold water

For the filling

75g dark fairtrade chocolate

1 large orange about 150g

1 freerange egg

75g golden granulated sugar

100g melted butter

50g chocolate, dark and white is nice

You will need an 11 x 35cm loose bottomed flan tin

Preheat the oven to 180˚c/gas mark 4.

Place the flour in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Add the icing sugar and stir through. Pour in the water and with a round bladed knife stir thoroughly until the mixture comes together into a dough. Finally bring together with your hand then leave in a covered bowl to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry and use to line the tin. Prick the base and fill with greaseproof paper and baking beans, then bake blind for 15minutes. Remove the paper then place back in the oven for a further five minutes.

Carefully melt the chocolate in a bain marie or a microwave and spread evenly over the pastry base. Cool until set.

Cut a generous 2cm slice from each end of the orange, discard and cut the oranges into 6. Place in a food processor and whiz until pureed. Add the rest of the ingredients and process again until you have a fairly smooth mix. Pour over the chocolate and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the filling is set.

Melt the rest of the chocolate and drizzle generously over the top of the tart.

Serve at room temperature with a dollop of crème fraiche.

sausages!

2009-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Sausages are an integral part to our eating habits here in Eastrop. I know that healthy eating is important, but we love them! And if you plump for good quality sausages, the fat content is not so huge. With our inclement weather, we need something to cheer us up and food does this brilliantly. The onset of autumn and winter means our meals tend to become more hearty, more robust, and sausages fit the bill well. Our butchers do excellent ones. The thin plain sausages are a familiar sight in our fridge, along with Highworth banger and Bloody lovely. Any of these do a great job skinned then broken up in a tomato sauce stirred through some spaghetti. Or how about keeping them succulently whole, roasting them, then serve with a stew of sweetcorn, butter beans, onions and cream.

Hearty December nights start like this.. take a pound of sausages, skin them and put in a large bowl. Add a good bunch of chopped chives and a sprig of sage -leaves only- chopped finely. Next, 100g good strong grated cheddar, and a grated apple. Squodge it all together with your hand and season with some black pepper. Cut a block of puff pastry into half and roll both pieces out to the thickness of a pound coin. Brush the edges of one piece with milk or egg and evenly lay on the sausage mix. Fold the second piece of pastry in half and make cuts across the crease, 1cm apart and not all the way to the edge. Lay over the sausage and unfold. Press the edges well down to stick, brush with milk to bring up the shine. Bake for 40 minutes. Green vegetables and some onion gravy will suit this tip top fashion!

…Jack frost nipping at your toes.

2009-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

Maybe I am wishful thinking but it is the time of the year when we should be wrapping up in bobble hats and scarves. Highworth bonfire night was an event not to be missed at the beginning of this month but i was not wearing anything too woolly! and I have been able to light my log fire! With both of these come smells and tastes evoking some far distant memory, none more so that the smell of chestnuts. Are there vendors anymore selling roast chestnuts, huddling over the brazier, nurturing their little shiny brown nuggets? Maybe in the heart of fashionable Covent garden or some such, but I cant imagine for a moment in Swindon. Many of us have lost the ability to appreciate simple pleasures. Everyone strives for more and more and many taste buds have been sadly converted to junk food. But the act of roasting some chestnuts over your autumnal fire is satisfying and – quite frankly – delicious. All you need do is forage for a few, prick their little jackets with a fork and throw into the smouldering embers. Leave one untouched and when that explodes you will find the others are cooked to perfection. But if the task of peeling them leaves you daunted, plump for the canned or frozen ones and enjoy the autumn evenings with a terrifically easy pudding.

Crush 18 digestive biscuits. Mix with 100g melted butter and set aside. Place half a can of chestnut puree in a bowl and soften with a spoon. Add a 200g pack of cream cheese, 6 tbsp natural yoghurt and 3-4 tbsp icing sugar. Whisk everything together really well. Layer the ingredients in four individual glasses and finish off with a drizzle of melted 70 percent chocolate. Bliss.

bunny tales

2009-11-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

We, as parents, have a habit of embarrassing our children. At the start of my forties, my dad still does it. He loves to recount the story of how we had chicken for supper, which in fact turned out to be rabbit. My legs couldn’t carry me quick enough to the hutch in my garden where my two fluffy bunnies sat twitching. Phew! we hadn’t eaten them after all but it was something similarly furry - and it tasted tremendous.

In the butchers today I spotted some wild rabbit. The temptation was just too much to bear, although my six year old son looked up at me, unconvinced. I am always open as to where food comes from with him. If you cover things up there will be mountains of explaining to do sooner or later. So we meandered home with our prize, discussing that pigs make pork and cows make beef. I have it in mind that many parents feel they should spare their children’s feelings by glossing over the true meaty facts. In my day to day job I hear answers such as lion or tiger when you ask which animal produces pork and so on. If we want to be responsible and answerable about the meat we buy we must be true to ourselves about it or become a vegetarian. If the provenance is good, then we can have a guilt free supper.

Reduce your washing up with a one pot wonder. Start off by softening an onion in a large pan. Joint your bunny, flour and brown along with the onion. Add 2 large carrots and 2 sticks of celery -chopped into thick batons -and a handful of dried mushrooms. Pour over enough cider to cover, season, add a tbsp chopped rosemary and gently cook for 2hours.

Serve with buttery mash and some green vegetables.

food filled weekend

2009-11-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well! 2 months later I finally have my computer sorted out. It slipped 12 inches to the floor and promptly stopped working. Fortunately my husband has the nerve to take things apart and he found that the kind gentleman we had bought it from had wedged the hard drive in with cardboard. He generously said he had not done anything wrong and I should get a life. I had to spend 60 quid on a new HD. Rats! The side effects of buying second hand. Wish I could put his name on here but i only have his fist name which is about as good as a chocolate tea pot.

So, more importantly food is always on my mind. I am looking forward to the possibility of a job interview and my Pa has spent the weekend with us and all we thought about was what we were going to eat next! My husband found this astonishing when we first met but now he is the first to offer the seed of thought to the next meal.

I am not a sufferer of celebrity chef syndrome but I admire ones who truly show worth with lack of pretentious image and real love for their wares. On Saturday we ventured to a lovely bistro in Devizes owned and run by Mr Peter Vaughan. Some 3 weeks previous I had visited the very same establishment with a group of children doing 2 dedicated days of food workshops with myself and my good friend Belinda. These are children who are perhaps the wrong side of the law or young carers or even being bullied at school, ones who need care and attention really. They were given the chance to make a lovely loaf of soda bread and left with a beautiful loaf, a chefs hat, an apron and a brilliant memory of an utterly lovely man giving his time to help. I had picked up a menu and wanted to visit with Dad. I am sure many visit the Bistro because of who owns it but I wanted to because the menu I had picked up looked delicious.

Along we ventured taking a beautiful route through Avebury and the captivating landscape

surrounding it.

lunch was most certainly not disappointing. I had the most gorgeous salt beef in a brown pitta with beetroot and coleslaw. I had been eyeing this up since my half term visit, yet ordered soup then changed at the last minute. Harley had a lovely marguerita pizza with a brown base and big chips that we all dived into! John sampled a flavourful thai fish curry and jasmine rice whilst my Dads wife had carrot soup with homemade brown bread. We had to have pudding as it is obligatory even at lunchtime with Dad! - I think its my step mum's influence- so I had a chocolate tart with caramel icecream, john had a kind of eton mess whilst Harley chose the cheesecake that was an age old recipe. The cheesecake was with quince and served with a clove icrecream. Again my poor son had four spoons and forks diving into his pudding of which he was very possessive. It was beautifully balanced and just tasted plain great!

We left feeling we had got our moneys worth. Fantastic service, well cooked food and Aspall cider. What else would you want?

It was supposed to be Dads birthday supper but we were so full I thought it would never fit. We did manage that evening to eat fillet steak with a red wine sauce, pink fir apple potatoes, purple kale and chard. Vegetables courtesy of Devizes farmers market. And our pudding stomach remained empty enough for rum and raisin ice-cream and sticky toffee sauce. Phew we made it! What could be better than a weekend of indulgence?

children's choice

2009-09-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

What is it with people's attitude towards the way children eat? I find it astonishing that many bemoan the fact that their children wont eat things or do not like things and then consequently they feed them rubbish food stuffs. I get fed up with people saying that food is wasted on children. Why is it wasted? Food education is surely like learning behaviour patterns. They learn by example. Children have way more sensitive taste buds than adults and we are told that it is important to keep presenting children with foods they are not sure of. Young people love food actually. And if you start them out in life on good food, they will enjoy a life of appreciation of great ingredients.
This way of life is so rewarding in many ways. Take them to a michelin starred restaurant, feed them mussels, amuse bouche or 80% chocolate. Give them things that you feel they have no way of eating. It may surprise you, somewhat. I think that you need to be open minded. Children are. We learn to be reserved and narrow-minded. Children have no inhibitions.
Harley loves pesto, for instance, and talking to many children, they do too. But parents proclaim their child wont like it. Too highly flavoured, too sophisticated. But in fact these decision makers don't even give them the chance to try.
I worked at a show last week where we were offering 5 salad leaves for children- and adults - to try. Well the amount of adults saying their children will not eat rocket was crazy. In fact, rocket seemed to be the leaf that children loved the most. Why do we, as adults, talk about choice and then strip our children of any. Food is all about choice. We, as individuals, perceive things so very differently to each other and children are no different. So why are children's menus the same the country over. Fish fingers, nuggets, sausages . These make me cross, along with ketchup and coke. An adult's perception is that children only like these kinds of things. Maybe they should open their eyes. Don't make an issue, just present things and see what happens!

berry beautiful!

2009-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

I find it astonishing that so few people go blackberrying! One of the most accessible and plentiful wild bounties in our countryside, blackberries are a versatile fruit that you can use in as many ways as say, raspberries or blueberries.

Your friends may be a little possessive about their picking grounds, but in Highworth these hedgerows are not so hidden that you need to trek for days searching. Take your children or granny and granddad, lots of containers, plenty of time and really enjoy yourself.

We live in such a non-stop society that you may find it gives you time to contemplate and relax too. Meditate on the treasures our lands have to offer and just spend a few purple-hazed moments taking it all in.

September, to me, is the optimum time to pick. You can spot fruit from August until November, but the well-known old wives tale tells us not to pick after 10^th October due to the Devil vandalising the crop. Realistically, this can be attributed to early frosts or dogs!

Use your berries straight away. Freeze on trays and bag once frozen. Make into a beautiful jam using equal amounts of sugar with added pectin or boil with some sugar to make a syrup to pour over ice-cream or baked custard. A feeling of satisfaction will ensue.

Using store cupboard ingredients, try this cake that doubles up as a scrummy pudding. Grease a 9inch/23cm springform cake tin or equivalent. Melt 225g butter and 175g light soft brown sugar together and stir in 200g oats and 125g wholemeal flour. Press half of the mix into the tin. Lay 2 peeled and sliced apples and 300g blackberries evenly on top and sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture over the fruit. Press down really well and bake for 35 minutes at 175c/350f/gas mark 4. Serve warm with some ice-cream or wrap up and pop in your picnic basket.

e numbers.

2009-09-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

As a rule, I don't care for buying branded icecreams for home consumption, instead I plump for Aldi's fantastic creations. They are of a practical size, use real vanilla, only seem to have the ingredients in that should be and they are reasonably priced. But in my local supermarket recently, they had 2 boxes of ice lollies for £3.00. We love a Fab every so often so I bought a box of 8 and then chose a box of Malteser choc ice style thingies. I happen to know that Maltesers contain hydrogenated vegetable fat but I thought once in a blue moon can't be terrible. We ate them. They were horrid. No flavour at all and I would not buy them again.
I actually steer away from rubbish chocolate, veering towards the better quality ones and the reason, really, is because the cheapies don't taste of chocolate, but of sugar and not much else.
Upon looking at the box the Malteser ices came in, it transpired that they not only have hydrogenated vegetable fat but also eight e numbers. I find this outrageous. There is no requirement for this level of additives. I do not know which e numbers are which, equally I have not looked them up to see which they are in the icrecream, but as a rule I buy things without any.
I feel that a company like Mars should really be more in tune with the ingredients in their products. It is a proven fact that children are better behaved when not subjected to additives. Maybe the icrecream may actually taste better without them......?
I feel a small letter to Mars may not go amiss and perhaps they may take some notice. Although do most of the general public really understand this convoluted subject? I know I dont, but that is where buying foods without additives at all is a much more savvy way to shop. Next time you go to the supermarket, give yourself a little longer and have a look at the labels. Do you really want to be giving your child something like MSG, a flavour enhancer which is the equivalent to a drug like speed. Find it in crisps and chinese food.
Enjoy having a little investigation and enjoy eating a better level of food. It will make you fell better all round.