Tag Archives | seasonal food

Scrumping

By on September 17, 2010 in Food

The Wartime Housewife has indeed been scrumping.  Whilst prowling the fields looking for Smog yesterday, I came upon a tree, half smothered in ivy and loaded with pears.  Using my jumper as a basket I had as many as I could carry and have left them on a tray in a sunny spot in the kitchen to soften up.  I love pears and, like apples, they are a great fruit for regulating blood sugar.

Actually as I was driving to see Irish Alice this lunchtime, I drove down a road which had apples, pears and plums in astonishing abundance in the hedgerow.  I’ll get my basket.  Meanwhile, here is a recipe for Pear Tart.  I like a nice tart.  I also rather like pears hot with chocolate sauce.

PEAR TART

Utensils:
1 x rolling pin
1 x 8” / 20cm flan dish – greased and floured
Baking beans and greaseproof paper if you have them
1 x mixing bowl

Ingredients:
1/2lb / 240g shortcrust pastry
8floz / 250ml double cream
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of castor sugar
1 tablespoon of sherry or Marsala.  I suspect brandy or Calvados might work as well
4 large or 6 small (scrumped!) pears – peeled, halved and remove stalks and stringy bits

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 / 400 / 6
Roll out the pastry and line the flan dish
Prick the base with a fork
If you have baking beans, put a circle of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and put in a layer of beans
Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is just starting to form a light crust
Remove from the oven and remove the baking beans and the greaseproof paper
Meanwhile, beat together the cream, egg yolks, sugar and alcohol.
Place the pear halves, flat side down, in a flower shape in the pastry case
Pour the cream mixture over the top
Continue cooking for a further 30 minutes

Comments { 13 }

First stew of the autumn

By on September 8, 2010 in Food

It is windy and pouring with rain here in Leicestershire and we felt in need of a warming stew.  I also wanted to use us some stuff that had been in the fridge and freezer for some time.  I was going to put dumplings in but I ran out of time, so click on the link for how to make them.  I also put kidney in because a) we all love kidneys and b) they are cheaper than steak, so make it go a little further.  If you don’t like kidneys, use 1 ½ lb / 750g meat. 

The great thing with a stew is that you can use up odd bits and pieces of vegetables and meat and it can only get more interesting.  If you have no wine, substitute some of the stock with beer, if you have no beer, the make up the quantity with stock.   If you don’t have enough onions, add some leeks instead.  Whole shallots are tasty as well.  For extra taste, plan to have some bacon for breakfast and keep the rinds.  These can be cooked in the oil at the very beginning to add depth to the flavour.

Also, unless you are a manual worker or very thin and cold, I wouldn’t  suggest serving potatoes AND dumplings.  One or the other and a bit of extra veg should fill the average rumbly tum.

BEEF STEW

Utensils:
1 x medium casserole dish with a lid, suitable for a hob top

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion – roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
1lb braising or stewing steak – roughly cubed
4 kidneys – cored and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons of plain flour
¼ pint / 150ml red wine
1 pint / 600ml beef stock and perhaps a splash of Worcestershire Sauce *
1 bouquet garni or a tablespoon of mixed herbs
1 green or red pepper – seeded and roughly chopped
2 carrots – chopped into chunks
6oz / 180g mushrooms – chopped into chunks

Method:
Melt the oil in the casserole dish
Add the onions and garlic and cook gently until soft
Turn up the heat a little, add the meat and cook quickly until just browned
Stir in the flour
Deglaze the pan with the red wine, stirring quckly to mix it all in
Stir in the stock, stirring in a brisk figure of eight movement to avoid lumps
Add everything else and season to taste
Turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook gently for 1 hour – just check that the meat is nice and tender
If you are making dumplings, add these to the pan half an hour before the end of the cooking time

* I had a virtually empty jar of Marmite on the go, so I swilled it round with hot water to extract very last bit and chucked that in a well.

Comments { 10 }

Crumbling and Mumbling or Apple Crumble & Custard

By on September 1, 2010 in Food

There only has to be the slightest nip in the air for my thoughts to turn to warming puddings.  I particularly like anything that can be served with custard and a nice fruit crumble seems just the job.  Also, The Boys go back to school tomorrow and I am sad and in need of comfort.

You have to have a decent amount of actual crumble on the top of a crumble in my opinion and I like to add other things to it like oatmeal or the crumbly bits at the bottom of bran flake packets.  All grist to the mill as someone may or may not have said at an indeterminate point in the past.

So here is my recipe for Apple Crumble with an interesting optional variation for those with adventure in their souls or a need to venture into the hedgerow for a pound of two of blackberries.  Clink on this link for Custard Assistance.

APPLE CRUMBLE

Utensils:
1 x large mixing bowl
1 x ovenproof dish about 2”/5cm deep & 3.5pint/2 lt capacity
1 x chopping board and knife
1 x vegetable peeler

Ingredients:
8oz / 240g butter
8oz / 240g wholemeal flour
4oz / 120g porridge oats or a mixture of oats and the bits from the bottom of cereal packets
4oz / 120g dark brown sugar
3lb / 1.5kg cooking apples – peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 good squirt of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of water
6oz / 180 g white sugar
1 pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon- if liked

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200 / 400 / 6
Put the flour into the bowl and rub in the butter
Add the porridge oats and brown sugar and keep rubbing in until the mixture forms largish breadcrumbs
Place the apples and lemon juice into the ovenproof dish and stir round so the lemon juice coats the apples.
Add the water and sprinkle the white sugar on top.
Cover the fruit with the crumble topping
Put into the oven 15 minutes, then turn the oven down very slightly and continue to  cook for another 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy looking.

ALTERNATIVE FRUIT IDEAS:

Crumbles lend themselves to all kinds of fruit.  Be wild, be fruity, why not try:-

2 ½ lb /1kg apples or pears and a dozen or so prunes or apricots (add a little more water with dried fruit or perhaps a dash or orange juice
3lb / 1.5kg of blackberries or half blackberry/half apple
Ditto Rhubarb – you might need a little more sugar with rhubarb depending on your taste
3lb / 1.5kg stoned plums
1oz / 30g dessicated coconut to the crumble mixture
2oz / 60g almonds or chopped pecans in with the fruit
Use up an elderly banana and slice it into the other fruit

Comments { 7 }

Roly Poly

By on July 21, 2010 in Food

This is not an instruction leaflet for beginners gymnastics or even a portfolio of podges, although, as we progress, the two may become inextricably linked.  No picture again I’m afraid.

I had a request from Mr Parrot for a recipe for suet pudding.  I realize this is not the ideal weather for a warming, fuel food but you must understand that I am merely a slave to the nostalgic whims of my readers.  If suet pudding is demanded, suet pudding will be forthcoming.

Roly Poly pudding first appeared on English tables in the 1800’s.  Suet pastry is wonderfully versatile in that it can be filled with steak and kidney, jam or syrup and some of you may remember being given Plough Pudding which has a filling of bacon, onions and sage.  Gosh I feel hungry just thinking about it.  I won’t torment you with the variation to turn it into Spotted Dick – I will save that one for the cooler, darker days.

The trick with suet pastry is to be gentle with it; use as little water as you can get away with and handle it as quickly and lightly as you can.  Incidentally, if you’re not a vegetarian, don’t mess with vegetarian suet.  It just isn’t as good.

It is ideal energy food and a good filler-upper, particularly for manual workers or when meat is scarce or simply too expensive.  One should never feel guilty about eating this sort of food; it’s not as though it turns up on the table every day.  My justifying mantra is this.  Turn down the heating, go for a walk, have a pudding.

ROLY POLY PUDDING

Utensils:
1 x grater
1 x baking sheet
Baking parchment or greaseproof paper
1 x large mixing bowl
1 x rolling pin
1 x palette knife
1 x pastry brush

Ingredients:
6oz / 180g self raising flour
a pinch of salt
3oz / 90g shredded suet
rind of 1 lemon – finely grated
Water
5-6 tablespoons of jam or Golden Syrup
A butter paper and extra flour for greasing and dusting

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 / 360 / 4
Line the baking sheet with the parchment or paper
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl
Stir in the suet and lemon rind
Stir in just enough water to be able to pull the mixture together into a soft dough
Quickly and lightly, pull it together with your fingers into a ball, adding a little more water if necessary
Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough lightly with your fingers until it is smooth.
Very gently, roll the suet pastry into a rectangle about the size of your baking tray (8×12” / 30x20cm ish)
Using your palette knife spread the pastry with the jam or syrup, leaving a gap of about an inch all the way round the edges
Brush these empty edges with water
Very carefully roll up the pastry, but not tightly or this will squish out all the filling
Put the roll, seam side down onto the lined baking sheet
Place it in the oven for 30-40 minutes until it is nicely risen and golden brown
Leave it to cool for a while before serving or it will scar your mouth for life
Cut into thick slices and serve with custard, or cream if you have an unnatural and unhealthy aversion to custard

Comments { 14 }

Elderflower XL: Sorbet

By on June 30, 2010 in Food

Now that you are all so adept at making elderflower cordial, we’re going to take it a step further.

Elderflower sorbet is a wondrous thing.  It’s incredibly refreshing and cooling as a pudding, but I like to use it as an amuse bouche between courses.  A little plate, with a nicely shaped quenelle of sorbet, and a fruit sauce or couli drizzled elegantly across it, possibly decorated with a sprig of carefully placed mint leaves, makes a wonderful and impressive palate cleanser at a dinner party.  It also keeps for yonks so you can really stretch it out.

Use the remaining egg yolks to add to Yorkshire pudding batter or to make some lovely home made ice cream.  I will provide a recipe anon.

ELDERFLOWER SORBET

Utensils:
1 x medium mixing bowls
1 x whisk
1 x freezer-proof container with an airtight lid sufficient to hold a pint of sorbet
An ice cream maker if you have one

Ingredients:
1 pint / 600ml elderflower cordial
2 x egg whites

Method:
Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form soft peaks
Put the elderflower cordial into the freezer-proof container *
Put the lid on and put in the freezer until it forms slush
Remove from the freezer and fold in the stiff egg whites
Return to the freezer until ready to use

* If you have an ice cream maker, follow the instructions in the leaflet
Basically, this means add the cordial to the bowl and as it forms slush, add the egg whites and let the machine do the rest!

Comments { 3 }

It's Elderflower Time! Make some cordial

By on June 12, 2010 in Food

Boy the Younger took the photo. Shame it wasn't Boy the Elder.

We love squashes and cordials and every year I make a large batch of Elderflower Cordial.  Elder is rife absolutely everywhere and it should be easy to find enough heads to make at least a few bottles.  I usually buy a few of those flat bottles with the self-bunging corks to give as summer gifts to people I like.  Food presents are always welcome.

As long as you sterilize the bottles properly, the cordial will last a long time.  If you make absolutely loads, a Camden tablet popped into each bottle will kill off the yeasts and allow you to store your cordial almost indefinitely – chemists can usually supply these.

If you can, pick the cream coloured elderflower heads on a warm, sunny afternoon.  The starches will be higher then and the resultant cordial will be sweeter.  Dilute the cordial  with still or fizzy water (1 part cordial to 10 parts water – approx).  Delicious.

Utensils:
2 x large pans
1 x large sieve
sheets of muslin to line a sieve OR a jelly bag
1 x funnel
1 x large spoon for scum skimming
Glass bottles

Ingredients:
35 elderflower heads
3 pints / 1.75l  water
3lb / 1.5k white granulated sugar
3 lemons – sliced
2oz / 60g tartaric or citric acid

Method:
Sterilize your bottles like this
or fill the bottles with hot water right to the top, to which has been added 1 Camden tablet and leave for the prescribed time. Empty out the water just before you are ready to fill the bottle.

Place the elderflowers, water, sugar and lemons into the pan
Put the pan onto a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved
Remove from the heat and add the citric or tartaric acid
Cover the pan and leave to infuse overnight
Strain the liquid into a large pan
Then strain it again through the muslin or jelly bag – I do this twice to reduce any light residue
Using the funnel, fill each sterilized bottle, leaving about an inch and a half of space at the top
Wipe clean and seal
Attach suitable labels including the date on which it was made

Comments { 7 }

Time to grasp the Nettles – and make soup out of them

By on May 14, 2010 in Food
Nettle Soup  is really one of the great joys of late Spring.  Nettles are free, have as much iron as spinach and are packed full of antihistamines which makes them excellent prophylactic medicine for the hayfever sufferer.  It freezes well and looks and tastes divine.  Steamed nettles can also be eaten on their own as a vegetable and, if passed through a flame to destroy the stinging hairs, can be eaten raw if one is practising survival techniques.

Nettle Soup

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to wear rubber or gardening gloves to pick nettles and it’s best to use the young fresh stalks or the bright green tops.

I shall have to put the photo on tomorrow as I have temporarily mislaid my camera on which the photograph of last night’s supper waits purposefully for it’s inevitable upload.

Utensils:
1 large pan
1 x chopping board
1 x stick blender

Ingredients:
2oz / 60g butter
1 large onion – chopped finely
1 large carrot – chopped finely
1 large garlic clove – chopped finely
2 pints / 1l chicken stock
½ carrier bag nettles (remove tough stalks)
3 tablespoons cooked rice (to thicken it)
1 pinch nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons thick cream
Bit of extra cream for garnishy swirlyness
Chopped parsley to garnish (if you wish)

Method:
Melt butter in a large pan
Sweat the onion, carrot and garlic until soft but not brown
Add the stock and pile in the nettles
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes until the nettles are tender
Add the rice and seasoning, then purée with the stick blender
Stir in the cream
Garnish with a swirl of cream and chopped parsley
Serve with tasty, seedy bread

Comments { 16 }

Don't Rook Now: A recipe for Rook Pie (but you can use pigeon)

By on April 15, 2010 in Food, The Big, Wide World, The Great Outdoors

A couple of days ago I was tossed a gauntlet by the immeasurable Mr Affer.  At the end of a charming article about the delights of Rookeries, he invited me to submit a recipe for cooking the rooks.

Rooks have long been recognised as a free food source, particularly in the West Country and South Wales.  They are quite hard to acquire these days as most people, even in the countryside, are such hypocritical pansies when it comes to food.  Many people are more than happy to munch on a water injected, formerly tormented pig, but will baulk at a bit of low fat game that has had a happy life.  Bah.

The easiest way to get your hands on some young and tender rooks is to seek out a farmer or gamekeeper who is about to cull them and ask them to save you a few.  They will probably despatch them with a shotgun though, which means you have to watch out for lead shot.  A .22 rifle is a better option.  The only bit of a rook worth eating is the breast, so you don’t really want it full of shot.

The other, more dangerous, way is to climb a rookery.  I would not advise doing this yourself unless you are an experienced climber, but if you are, then make sure you take a small bag up with you.  The young rooks can be popped into the bag ready to be bopped swiftly on the head when you get down.

Sadly, this is not the right time of year to go a-rooking, as the young rooks, or ‘branchers’, are not ready until about the second week in May.  In Victorian times it was considered a perfectly suitable activity for young ladies and boys and they would gather on 12th May for a day’s gentle sport.

Therefore, as it is only mid April, I was unable to obtain any rook breasts.  The recipe below calls for half rook, half pigeon but I had to make do with all pigeon. It was so good I could weep.
I served it with parsnip puree and would have chosen to serve peas, but I had run out.

WILD THANG PIE – serves 6

Utensils:
1 x large saucepan
1 x 10” pie dish
1 x rolling pin
1 x pastry brush
1 x small dish for the egg
1 x bowl for the flour
1 x chopping board & sharp knife

Ingredients:
1 packet of shortcrust pastry (or 1lb/500g of your own recipe)
8 wood pigeon breasts (or 4 rook and 4 pigeon) – chopped into biggish chunks
2oz / 60g plain flour
3 tablespoons oil or dripping
1 medium onion – roughly chopped
1lb / 480g wild mushrooms – sliced into chunks
4floz / 125ml dry white wine
½ pint / 300ml good strong stock
1 x bouquet garni
1 egg – beaten

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190/375/5
Grease and flour the pie dish
Roll out the pastry and line the dish.  Roll out the remains ready for the lid
Put the flour into a bowl, seasoned with salt and pepper and coat the rook and pigeon in it
Heat the oil or dripping in a large sauce pan and briefly sauté the onion
Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, keeping them moving
Add the meat and flour to the pan, cook briefly until just browning
Add the wine and stir it around quickly
Then gradually add the stock, stirring briskly all the time, until it starts to thicken.
Add the bouquet garni and remove from the heat
Brush the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg
Pour the meat mixture into the dish
Place the remaining pastry on top, crimp the edges to seal and make 3 slits in the lid
Brush the top with egg and place in the oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Caw!

Comments { 17 }

Shrove Tuesday: Banana and Bacon Pancakes

By on February 16, 2010 in Food

I was rather relying on Backwatersman to cover Shrove Tuesday, but in his absence, I will give you a nice twist on a pancake which would make a hearty breakfast or lunch.

The word ‘shrove’ is the past tense of ‘shrive’ which means to gain forgiveness for one’s sins through confession and penance.  Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and during Lent Christians are expected to fast, or give up something they like.  This lasts for 40 days and corresponds with the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness, ending on Palm Sunday with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

It has also become known as Pancake Day as the making of pancakes was a good way of using up foods such as sugar, butter and eggs from your storecupboard, which were traditionally restricted during the Lent fast.

BANANA AND BACON PANCAKES
Make pancakes according to the recipe in Breakfast and a Recipe for Crepes.

Utensils:
Frying pan
Fish slice
Mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Jug

Ingredients:
4 Bananas
8 rashers of bacon of your choice (I prefer back but you may like streaky)
2 tblspns Golden or maple syrup
2 tblspns of Lime or lemon juice
Pancake mixture

Method:
Wrap two slices of bacon round each banana
Place under a hot grill until the bacon is lightly browned, turning as necessary
Remove from the grill and keep hot
Mix the syrup with the lime or lemon juice
Make pancakes as per the above recipe
Wrap each bacon banana in a pancake
Drizzle with the syrup

Comments { 4 }

A Red Winter Soup to keep out the chills

By on October 19, 2009 in Food

This soup is full of vegetables and herbs that are blood cleansing, immune system boosting, low fat  and full of vitamin C.  Like most soups, it is quick and easy to make and it uses predominantly storecupboard ingredients.  I would not recommend that people with arthritis eat too much of this, as it is quite acidic; tomatoes and peppers are well known to exacerbate arthritis.

Utensils:
Red Winter Soup 19.10.091 x large saucepan
1 x medium saucepan
1 x stick blender
1 x chopping board
1 x wooden spoon

Ingredients:
1 oz / 30g butter
1 medium red onion – finely chopped
1 red pepper – finely chopped
2 large carrots – sliced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
8oz / 240g  red lentils – cooked according to the instructions on the pack
1 pint / 600ml chicken stock (vegetable stock if you prefer)
1 tspn paprika
1 tspn turmeric
½ tspn cumin
A little cream to swirl on top if you like

Method:
Melt the butter in the large pan on a medium heat
Add the onion and pepper and cook until soft but not browned
Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil
Turn down the heat and simmer until the carrots are soft.
Puree with the blender.
Serve with a swirl of cream and nice bread

Comments { 0 }