Sunday 22 December 2013

Go on, give it a go...

If you are like me, and love buying sprouts on a stick, then you probably end up with a few sprouts too many each time you buy?  After eating bangers, mash and sprouts for tea last week, I roughly chopped the remaining few sprouts, grated the carrot and red onion, then mixed with mayonnaise.  It made a lovely coleslaw.  I often make coleslaw from white cabbage, but can never get the pieces small enough.  It was much easier on my teeth using sprouts because there are no thick stems in the leaves. 
Lisa Reid

Saturday 21 December 2013

I had a lovely day last week: I had spotted a sign outside Dingle Farm Tea Rooms on the Lymm side of Appleton, saying that they now have a farm shop.  On the only dry day I had last week I combined food shopping and exercise by cycling to Appleton with a pannier on my bike.  I took a route on country lanes.  It was bliss.  When I arrived I found a beautiful wooden out building has been converted into a modern farm shop.  Lots to tempt the taste buds.  I eventually settled on sprouts, bangers and mash for tea before cycling home. 
I also squeezed in a small red onion and a carrot...but more about that later!

Friday 6 December 2013

Out with the old and in with the new

As it is December, and nearly time for our Christmas decorations to go up, I decided to eat these lovely squash that have been adorning my fireplace for a month or so.  I originally bought one in Morissons and the other on Lymm market.  The skin was difficult to cut through, but they were fine to eat.  I made a great soup with them:  I just skinned and diced them, tossed them along with a red pepper and an onion in oil and smoked paprika, then roasted at 180degrees for 1/2hour.  Then put the lot in a pan, added stock and adjusted the seasoning before zizzing with a hand blender.  I made it slightly smarter by toasting some sliced almonds for sprinkling on the top because we were having visitors. 
I need to move onto more Christmassy food preparation now...has anyone got any ideas for some cranberries I have washed and put in a bag in the freezer?  No points for cranberry sauce!

Thursday 5 December 2013

Basic chutney recipe


I scoured cookbooks and websites to find a basic one-size-fits-all chutney recipe which can be tweaked to suit most gluts.  I honed them all into one and gave it a whirl this week.  Early tasting seems promising, but I won’t be sure how successful it is for a while, since chutney must be kept for about 2 months before eating.  The good thing is, it’s really straightforward with lots of the recipes stressing how hard it is to mess up a chutney-making session, so just have a go like I did. 

 

Basic Chutney Recipe

3 parts fruit and/or vegetables (eg, 100g apple, 100g onion, 100g pumpkin)

1 part sugar (eg, 100g Demerara)

1 part vinegar (eg, 100ml cider vinegar)

Optional: dried fruit, nuts, garlic, salt, spice

 

Method

1.        Prepare your fruit and vegetables well – removing bruised bits. 

2.       Place all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pan and simmer gently for at least an hour with no lid, stirring occasionally.  Check seasoning after ½ hour.  You know it is cooked when it looks like a glossy pulp, and when dragging a spoon through it – the space isn’t immediately filled with liquid. 

3.       While it is cooking prepare the jars: clean them in hot, soapy water, sterilise (along with the spoon and funnel you will use to fill them) and place in a moderate oven to dry.  Don’t use metal lids, as they react with the vinegar. 

4.       Allow the chutney to partially cool, spoon into the jars, close tightly and keep for at least 2 months before eating. 

 

I made a spicy, quite sloppy version using garlic and spices to eat with poppadoms.  I quite like lumpier chutneys with a ploughmans, so I’ll probably do a version with whole shallots and apple next. 

Lisa Reid