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June 19, 2015

An Authentic Pakistani Garam Masala Spice Blend

An Authentic Pakistani Garam Masala Spice Blend

Today, Sumayya shares her mother’s special Pakistani garam masala spice blend recipe,which you can grind yourself in a spice blender at home. It’s the prefect warming combination of spices, including green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and bay leaf – guaranteed to bring a beautiful layer of flavour to your cooking. I’m looking forward to trying some sprinkled over some grilled halloumi, as Sumayya suggests.

I hope you enjoy this special guest recipe on Ren Behan Food. We’d love to hear your comments in the box below. 

If you ask a Pakistani cook to share their recipe for garam masala, they will probably tell you it’s a guarded family secret. As an authentic blend, it is quite surprising that there is no one recipe for garam masala, most families have their own combinations and proportions of spices, and indeed it can incorporate from as little as three to a dozen or more ingredients. And while these blends can vary greatly in composition, in most you will some or even all of these classic spices; black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, black peppercorns and cloves.

Garam Masala Spices

Garam masala translates to ‘hot spice blend’ but it is more a mix of warm spices and their constitution is based on the South Asian philosophy of ‘warming’ the body, mind and soul. They bring flavour to a dish without burning the palate and a key element to balancing its effect is to always season your dish perfectly to bring the spices to life.

Garam Masala Spice Blend

In Pakistan, where garam masala is used in most recipes for rice, meat, vegetables and poultry. It is included at different stages of cooking as we build layers of flavour and how we use it depends on the key ingredient of the dish. For meats, rice, and poultry; ‘khara garam masala’ (whole garam masala blends), are traditional and added to hot oil to infuse the aromatics into the oil. Ground garam masala are versatile and can be added during cooking, and even at the end as a garnish; reviving, enhancing and preserving the flavour of the spices and other ingredients in the dish. I personally love to top lentils, rice and finish curries with my blend!

Garam Masala Lentils

It is the evocative aroma of freshly ground garam masala that always transports me back to my mother’s kitchen in Pakistan. Be it the haunting aroma of biryani infused with star anise and cinnamon or the hot ghee tempering of cumin seeds poured with a sizzle over lentils. This authentic blend alone can help achieve a true South Asian flavour to your food.

Garam Masala Spice Blend

Garam Masala Spices

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An Authentic Pakistani Garam Masala Spice Blend

Author Sumayya Usmani

An authentic Pakistani recipe for a grind-at-home garam masala spice blend

Ingredients

  • 5 green cardamoms
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 1 four-inch stick of cinnamon
  • 7-10 cloves
  • 7-10 black peppercorn (reduce if you don’t like too much heat)
  • 2-3 bay leaves

Instructions

  1. Break down the cinnamon and add with all the spices into a spice grinder and blend until fine.
  2. Store in a airtight glass jar, store in a cool dry place away from other conflicting aromas. Consume with 4-6 weeks, for freshness sake

Notes

You can also dry roast the spices lightly before grinder but this isn’t necessary. Don’t restrict its use in just curries, experiment with it add it to grilled halloumi, mix in yoghurt with ginger and garlic to make a simple marinade for barbecued chicken or put a pinch in chocolate truffles!

Courses Spice Blend

Cuisine Pakistani

Sumayya Usmani is the author of a forthcoming book on Pakistani cuisine called Summers Under the Tamarind Tree, to be published Spring 2016.

Photos by Ren Behan, words and recipe by Sumayya Usmani.

This recipe first appeared on My Tamarind Kitchen 

Editorial 

June 4, 2014

Press Images for The After School Cookbook

Press Images for The After School Cookbook

I’m very much looking forward to the publication of The After School Cookbook by friend and author Nick Coffer this Thursday 5th June 2014. Firstly, because this is Nick’s second book, following on from the huge success of his first book My Daddy Cooks, which means I have a brand new stash of family-friendly, super easy recipes to try. Secondly, because I was asked by Nick’s publishers Hodder and Stoughton to take some press and publicity images for the book which are now finding themselves across the media. Yesterday began with a front page spread in EAT (Metro supplement) with a double page feature (pages 34 & 35) of a couple of recipes from the book, with some of my photos to illustrate – a very proud moment for me! It was a great project to work on and from the minute I received my copy of the book I was eager to get stuck into cooking some of the recipes and to start photographing them.

After School Cookbook Press Images by Ren Behan for Hodder & Stoughton
The After School Cook Book Press Images by Ren Behan for Hodder & Stoughton

 

The recipes from the book that I cooked and photographed (above) were –

  1. Italian Eggy Bread Croque-Monsieur
  2. Cheddar, Parma Ham and Courgette Scones
  3. Pork Chilli Con Carne (pages splashed already!)
  4. Tuna, Carrot and Courgette Salad (MY new favourite lunch, never mind the kids!)
  5. Salmon Courgette and Tomato Linguine
  6. Chicken and Olive Pasta Bake
  7. Cheese and Sweetcorn Pudding
  8. Absolutely Instant Chocolate Mousse

There are a stack more that I can’t wait to cook and so far, every single recipe I’ve made worked first time and has been woolfed down by my family.

After School CookBook

Nick first came to the public’s attention through his video blog called MyDaddyCooks.com in 2009, which led him to his first cookbook deal. Since then, he’s been busy on BBC Three Counties Radio, presenting his Saturday Weekend Kitchen show as well as his five-day-a-week afternoon slot. There’s also recently been a brand new addition to the family, another baby boy, which means that mealtimes really do need to be made as easy as possible to pull off for Nick and his wife, Jo.

The After School Cookbook is really a handy manual for parents, not only of school-aged kids, but of toddlers and older children, too. All of the recipes are suitable for the whole family and there are some very clever recipes and chapters including Mind the Gap – to bridge the gap between home time and dinner time, Inspired Lunch Boxes, Genius Treats and Saving Your Bacon – frugal recipes packed with flavour. Nick shares his tips for cooking with children, with symbols by each recipe to indicate whether the recipe is ‘Very Very Easy,’ –  ‘Very Easy,’ or ‘Easy’ and in terms of timing, ‘Really Really Quick,’ ‘Really Quick,’ ‘Quick’ or ‘Slow’.

The book itself is text only – meaning that it is practical enough for the kitchen with inevitable splashes and stains. Nick’s trademark ‘quick-to-throw-together’ style means that you can make many of the recipes with ease when you are short of time. Nick’s six-year-old son Archie and three-year-old daughter Matlida can very often be found getting stuck in with the cooking. As many of us know only too well, after school patience levels and concentration levels can be a challenge, so the food that makes it to the table needs to be quick and easy yet nutritious, too.

For more updates on the book, you can follow Nick on Twitter @NickCoffer and don’t forget to look out for more press features and recipes to try!

The After School Cookbook By Nick Coffer
120 quick, easy and affordable recipes for your hungry kids
Published: Thursday 5 June 2014
Hodder & Stoughton Trade Paperback & eBook £16.99

Disclosure:

Press & publicity recipe photographs taken by Ren Behan commissioned by Hodder & Stoughton.

Amazon affiliate link included. 

With thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the commission and to Nick Coffer for writing such a lovely book!

Giveaway

Hodder and Stoughton have also kindly provided three copies of the book to giveaway to my readers –

ENTER THE AFTER SCHOOL COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY HERE

May 2, 2014

Guest Recipe: Orange and Pomegranate Cake by Diana Henry

Guest Recipe: Orange and Pomegranate Cake by Diana Henry

This is Diana Henry’s recipe for her Orange and Pomegranate Cake, shared with permission, from her latest book A Change of Appetite. The cake itself is wonderfully simple to make and extremely moist.

Orange Pomegranate Cake
Photo Credit: Laura Edwards – A Change of Appetitie

Incredibly easy. Not sugar-free I know but, as cakes go, not bad. And it is for dessert. Serve thin slices with Greek yogurt. It’s very, very moist (almost pudding-like) so be careful when you’re moving it off the base of the cake tin and on to a plate – Diana Henry

Orange Pomegranate Cake

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Orange and Pomegranate Cake

Prep 10 mins

Cook 50 mins

Total 60 mins

Author Diana Henry

Yield 8

Ingredients

  • For the cake
  • 50g (13⁄4oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 100g (31⁄2oz) ground almonds
  • 175g (6oz) soft light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • finely grated zest of 1½ oranges
  • 215ml (71⁄2fl oz) olive oil, plus more for the tin
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • seeds from 1⁄2 pomegranate
  • For the syrup
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 100ml (31⁄2fl oz) pomegranate juice (pure juice, not ‘pomegranate juice drink’)
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 tbsp runny honey

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, almonds, sugar and baking powder. Add the orange zest, olive oil and eggs and stir well until everything is amalgamated.
  2. Pour the batter into an oiled 20cm (8in) springform cake tin. Put it into a cold oven and set the heat to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until the cake is browned and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  3. Meanwhile, make the syrup by gently heating all the ingredients together. Stir a little until the honey has dissolved, then increase the heat and simmer for five minutes. You should end up with about 100ml (31⁄2fl oz) of syrup.
  4. When the cake is cooked, pierce holes all over the surface and slowly pour the syrup all over it, allowing it to sink in. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. It will sink a little in the middle but don’t worry, this makes a lovely dip for the pomegranate seeds to lie in. Scatter the pomegranate seeds on top just before serving.

 

You can read more about my adventures cooking from the book on Monday and there are some equally stunning recipes by Diana Henry to be found on her column for Stella Magazine in The telegraph or on her own website.

With thanks to Mitchel Beazley/Octopus Publishing Group for my review copy and permission to share this recipe. A Change of Appetite was published on 3rd March 2014, RRP £25. 

February 13, 2014

Samsung Launching People – your chance for a big break?

Samsung Launching People – your chance for a big break?

The simplest ideas can be the best. But, a simple idea with a bit of glitter on it – is far more exciting. – Gizzi Erskine, Mentor, Samsung Launching People

Gizzi ErskineThere are lots of people out there with great ideas and it’s easy to sit back and watch success happen to other people. But, unless you take steps to put your ideas into motion, they’ll still only be ideas. One of the things that I notice most about successful people is that they not only have something unique to offer, but that they also have the confidence to match what they have to offer. They are never afraid of experiencing a set-back. They learn from it. They come back stronger. They are single-focused.

The Samsung Launching People initiative is something that really caught my attention recently. At first, I assumed that it was yet another reality TV talent search – the kind of thing that makes me switch off, or hit delete. Do we need any more celebrities? Do we really need to build even more platforms for fame-seekers? But, after thinking over it, and watching some of the videos, I started to wonder. Is success a matter of coincidence? Do you simply have to be in the right place at the right time in order to climb? Or is there more that we can do to propel a good idea forward? Behind almost every successful person, there has usually been a helping hand, a mentor – someone who has given them a step up or simply, some experience-based advice.

The Samsung Launching People initiative is looking for “ambitious people with big ideas and hungry minds” in four categories – food, music, film and photography. Perhaps you are seeking a career in one of these creative industries? Maybe you lack confidence, or direction, or need a helping hand to get your talent seen?

There are four mentors involved in the Samsung Launching People project –

Food: Gizzi Erskine, leading pop up chef and food writer

Music: Paloma Faith, singer-songwriter, performer and actress

Film: Idris Elba, award winning actor, producer, and DJ

Photography: Rankin, world famous portrait and fashion photographer

If you have a really great idea, and you’d like for someone to sit up and take notice, then this could be the next step for you to take.

Here’s what Food mentor Gizzi Erskine is looking for – note, at the time of writing, the food category has the least number of submissions so you have a great chance of being seen!!

How to apply:

To apply you need to make a 2-minute video all about you and your ambition. This is your chance to get the attention of one of the four mentors. You’ll also need to submit an image and a bit of copy. You can find out more and upload your submission at:

LaunchingPeople.co.uk

What you could win:

Two opportunities for everyone:

  1. The mentors will select four candidates with whom they’ll work one-to-one. The chosen protégés will spend 2-3 weeks together, working closely with their mentors in a house fully furnished with Samsung’s latest technology on their personal projects, building towards a grand launch event and making their ideas and ambitions a reality. If you win, your journey, from meeting the mentors to the launch of your project, will be documented in a television series to air in spring later this year.
  2. There will also be a ‘People’s Choice’ winner per category, voted for by the public on Facebook, who will receive personal tuition (up to £500)  and Samsung products (up to £2000) that will support them in pursuing their dreams.

Timeline:

3rd Feb – 6th Mar 2014 – Submissions and public voting

7th Mar 2014 – Winners of the People’s Choice are announced

13th Mar 2014 – Shortlisted candidates for the Grand Launch will be notified

17th Mar–10th Apr 2014 One-to-one mentoring and filming for a television series

NB You must be available for filming during this time.

Gizzi Erskine

So, get thinking and get pitching!

Leave me a comment in the box below with your thoughts on the project. Do you have the courage (and a good enough idea) to want to apply?!

Or, Tweet, using the hashtag #launchingpeople

Disclosure: This is a commissioned piece. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Photos and video content courtesy of Samsung Launching People.  

November 18, 2013

A seasonal pheasant masterclass

A seasonal pheasant masterclass

Pheasant
Andy Appleton’s Cornish Inspired Pheasant

It was all things pleasant and pheasant inside the Fifteen training kitchen last Tuesday evening. I must have been reasonably well-behaved at the last blogger’s supper at Jamie Oliver HQ, to receive a second invitation, this time to a pheasant masterclass with Jon Rotheram (Head Chef Fifteen London), Andy Appleton (Head Chef Fifteen Cornwall) and needs-no-intro, Gennaro Contaldo. Very rarely do you get the chance to watch three great chefs at work at close call and so when the invitation arrived to celebrate British game, I was intrigued and immediately hungry.

Fifteen Training KitchenBritish game is in season right now and the JamieOliver.com team were keen to cast away any game-related fears and open our eyes and our taste buds to some great British pheasant; wild, naturally organic and free range. I recently visited Borough Market in London, where I saw plenty of pheasant and rabbit on offer. I confess to wandering straight past it without giving it much thought. And that’s what many of us do; walk straight past it, perhaps at the butchers or in the shops, which means that so much game is being shot and then wasted.

Many of us are also quick to dismiss game, perhaps because of fears that the meat may taste too ‘gamey’ or simply because we don’t really know what to do with it or how to cook it. Happily, the pheasant masterclass did much to dispel many of my previously held misconceptions and I now have a better idea of flavour combinations that I know will work. I learnt that game works with many well-known flavours; chilli, garlic, fresh herbs, such as rosemary and thyme, or sweet and sour combinations, such as a sprinkling of raisins steeped in balsamic vinegar, or a red wine reduction spiked with cinnamon – as showcased within the three dishes we tried. Whilst the breasts need hardly any cooking at all, the legs benefit most from being slow-cooked.

A pheasant masterclass at Jamie Oliver HQ
Gennaro Contaldo demonstrates his pheasant dish

First to cook for the intimate crowd of hungry food bloggers was Gennaro Contaldo; the man noted for mentoring and now business-partnering with Jamie Oliver – soon to return to our screens as one half of the Two Greedy Italians. I adored watching Gennaro and Antonio Carluccio as they foraged, cooked and ate their way around Italy and can’t wait for them to reunite in the third series. As animated and exuberant as he is on-camera, Gennaro invoked his deep-rooted love for hunting, foraging and simple food, inspired by his childhood in Italy. Gennaro is most at home when cooking with game and he was quick to thank and credit Jim, Jamie’s Website Editor, for shooting the birds in Essex ahead of the masterclass.

A quick quip about ‘Essex Birds’ ensued, whilst Gennaro prepared a side dish of sliced potatoes, de-seeded tomatoes, salt, oregano and olive oil for the oven, called Patata Arragante. We were then shown how to remove the breasts from the bird, ready to be flattened out and seasoned up with rosemary, sea salt, garlic and chilli. The pheasant was quickly pan-fried in a very hot pan. The only extra ingredient needed was a splash of good-quality white wine to deglaze the pan and to create a little sauce. As he served up his homely and rustic dish, Gennaro humbly added:

“When I am 100 years old, you can call me a chef!”

Gennaro’s top tip:

Use a ceramic bowl, with just a little olive oil rubbed into the bottom, to push down the pheasant once it hits the pan. This helps the chilli and fresh herbs to penetrate the meat. You can use whatever you have to hand – a brick will even work fine!

We quite literally devoured Gennaro’s dish and it was a huge privilege to taste his flavour-charged yet uncomplicated food first hand.

Pheasant Masterclass (12 of 26)
Gennaro’s Flavour Packed Dish

Next to cook for the group was Jon Rotheram, whom some of us had met at the previous supper club above the restaurant itself. Jon showcased an example of the sort of dish he happily cooks at Fifteen, always ensuring that he maximises the bird. Jon said that he always makes use of the legs and the breast and that he very often pan-fries the hearts. He also made a pork and pheasant sausage from the offcuts. Jon served his pheasant and sausage with kale (cooked in the same pan that he’d roasted the bird and cooked the sausage in), onions that had been slow-roasted overnight in a low oven, game chips, pickled quince and a smooth and very moreish bread sauce.

Jon’s top tip:

Ask the butcher or your local game supplier for pheasant hens, as they have a little more fat on them. Jon prefers his game to have a shorter hanging time (up to a week), but to be hung with the guts in to improve the flavour of the meat.

A pheasant masterclass with Jon Rotheram
Next to cook, Jon Rotheram, Fifteen London

Third to the stove was Andy Appleton, who had travelled all the way from his kitchen at Fifteen Cornwall to impress us with his dish of pheasant with Cornish squash, fresh thyme, cherry tomatoes and chestnut caponata. Andy’s cooking is largely inspired by the Italian kitchen and his flavours were equally stunning. Andy had soaked some raisins in balsamic vinegar and also pan-roasted his pheasant on the crown to keep the flavour in. He also made a red wine and cinnamon jus.

Andy’s top tip:

Game goes really well with sweet and sour flavours, so try some fruity sauces, or add some raising seeped in Balsamic vinegar to your finished dish.

Pheasant Masterclass
Andy Appleton, Fifteen Cornwall

As if we needed any additional treats, Jamie’s editorial team had also set out some fine cheeses, pâté, fresh sourdough and rye bread and charcuterie with plenty of red wine to accompany our pheasant-led feast. Of course, the ladies flocked around Gennaro, catching a few shots for our photograph albums, whilst Gennaro shared his personal iPhone albums of seasonal chestnut and mushroom hunting with his family. I think we can safely say that we left with a warm glow, eager and more confident in experimenting with some game recipes during the season and in particular, over the Christmas period ourselves at home.

JO4
Left – Leyla Kazim, Top – Jim Tanfield, Gennaro and me!

If you are looking for some game recipes to inspire you, look no further than Jamie’s selection here. Likewise, there is a great scast of Christmas recipes on offer to inspire you over on JamieOliver.com, too.

Jamie's Book Shelf
Inspiration in the Fifteen Training Kitchen

Where to buy pheasant and game

I spotted plenty of pheasants at Borough Market recently. More locally in Hertfordshire, I can recommend my local butcher, A&C Meats. I also read an article on The Foodie Bugle recently using produce from The Wild Meat Company, although I’ve yet to try their service. Game, including venison, rabbit, quail, partridge, pheasant and grouse is also becoming more widely available through supermarkets. The pheasant season usually runs from October to April.

For more hints and tips, search the hashtag #pheasantmasterclass on Twitter or follow the team on @JamieOliverCom

Other #PheasantMasterclass posts

Leyla  – The Cutlery Chronicles

Annie – Mamasaurus

Rachel – The Food I Eat

You can also catch my weekly blog for JamieOliver.com here.

With many thanks to Jim, Merlin, Subi, Jon, Andy and Gennaro for the invitation to join them for the evening for the pheasant masterclass. All thoughts and opinions my own.

November 8, 2013

How to write and publish a recipe book – a course with Xanthe Clay

How to write and publish a recipe book – a course with Xanthe Clay

I wonder how many people out there dream of writing a cookery book?

Xanthe Clay Juniper & Rose (2 of 25)

Yesterday, I spent the day at Vanessa Kimbell’s Kitchen Garden School, Juniper and Rose, with Xanthe Clay, a guest tutor who had come to share her knowledge and advice with eight aspiring writers. The course, ‘How to write and publish a recipe book’  was a chance to learn and to absorb, to put our ideas out there. Sometimes, even saying something out loud or talking through an idea helps. A gentle push in the direction of where to start or what to do next can be the difference between dreaming and doing.

Juniper and Rose

The day began with chocolate brownies (made by Rachel at Sugar Moon Brownies – a fellow attendee on the course) and tea or coffee. I arrived a little late, since I seem to have a perpetual problem with finding Vanessa’s house, although this seems to only ever happen to me. It’s always lovely to see Vanessa and to have now taken part in a class at her flourishing Kitchen Garden School, on a topic that is particularity close to her heart. Vanessa knows only too well of the trials and tribulations of writing a recipe book, which she documented on her blog whilst writing her debut book, Prepped. With her Kitchen Garden School and a new B&B now in full swing, Vanessa is moving onto her second book – a little wiser to the process, yet no less enthusiastic. In the fourth blog post I ever wrote here, back in November 2010, I shared my excitement at joining Team Prepped and being asked to test some of the recipes in Vanessa’s first book. It’s quite surreal (yet exciting) to fast-forward three years and to think that I might be ready to embark on a cookery book project myself.

Cookery Books

The Contented Cook herself, Xanthe Clay, led the day with poise and grace. Before becoming a food writer, Xanthe worked as a book seller (in the cookery section) and later went onto train at Leiths School of Food of Wine, which led to a career as a chef. Xanthe’s big break came in 1999, when a friend encouraged her to approach The Telegraph. Xanthe secured a ‘Reader’s Recipe’ column and since that time, has been a solid Telegraph food contributor, with three published books under her belt, too.

Kitchen Garden
Xanthe Clay at Juniper and Rose

Xanthe talked about where to start and how to get started in food. The general advice being that any aspiring writer should start a food blog. A blog can act as a portfolio, helping you showcase your skills and build a platform. It can also help to find established publications to write for and to get published away from your own blog. Vanessa recounted how she contacted her local newspaper and asked to be their food writer. Beyond that, she also gained experience in broadcasting at her local BBC radio station.

Blogging
Rachel Lucas of Sugar Moon Brownies

Some additional advice on the subject of blogging, which I have to say I agree with more and more, is that if your ultimate ambition is to write a cookery book, steer clear from taking part in too many brand-led adventures. Although receiving samples and writing reviews can make it seem as though you are gaining something, in reality, you are giving away your time, in most cases, for very little in return. You have to be focused – use your blog as a professional portfolio of what you can do and what your have to offer the world of publishing.

We moved onto discuss what makes a good cookery book and how to come up with a good idea. Xanthe explained it’s really important to research the market to understand what sort of cookery books sell and what sort of trends are starting to emerge. Xanthe also talked about the varying structures of cookery books, looking at very old books with few photographs to modern, glossy examples, including her own most recent book published by Kyle Books.

There was further advice on how to go about finding an agent and a publisher, how to write a cookery book proposal and how to stand out from the crowd. And beyond the ground work, once an idea is successful, we heard more about the process of writing a book, planning, timing, testing recipes and launching the final product.

Xanthe
Xanthe and Vanessa in the kitchen

There was time to chat throughout the day and to ask plenty of questions. Xanthe and Vanessa prepared lunch – a stunning and incredibly tasty recipe for Chicken with Walnut Pesto and Pomegranate from Xanthe’s book The Contented Cook, as well as additional treats from Vanessa’s ever-productive kitchen, including a Panettone bread pudding for dessert.

Lunch
Chicken with Pomegranate and Walnut Pesto from The Contented Cook

My personal view is that investing some time and funds to take a course or a class with a known and established food writer is a very good way forward. You’ll come away with knowledge you didn’t have before and it can be an opportunity to gain some advice on your particular ideas or circumstances. Xanthe was very interested to hear all about our individual ideas and was genuinely supportive of our aspirations. She was incredibly generous with her advice and the day itself was well structured.

I hope you enjoyed the photographs and my experiences of the day at Juniper & Rose. I’m off to refine my proposal…

The cost of this course was £165, including coffee, tea and lunch with wine – I found it to be a particularly enjoyable and encouraging day. 

As far as I know, there are no future recipe book writing courses scheduled at Juniper and Rose – but you can email Vanessa@JuniperandRose.co.uk if you would like to express an interest.

Other posts you might like to read –

Words of Wisom: Meeting Diana Henry

Writing a Cookery Book: By Vanessa Kimbell

An Interview with Sarah Cook, BBC Food Magazine

Food Styling Course at Leiths School of Food and Wine

October 1, 2013

IFBC Seattle 2013 – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan – Post Two

IFBC Seattle 2013 – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan – Post Two

This is my second post on attending IFBC the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle last weekend. I’ve already introduced the event and why I traveled all the way to the West coast of America from London to attend a blogging conference! I hope that in this post, you’ll get to read a little bit more about my experience of attending a US conference and what I learnt.

ifbc2013_banner_amazon

The conference agenda was very tightly packed and since I was battling with an 8-hour time change I found it quite a challenge keeping up with it all. I didn’t make the Thursday evening excursion to Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville (I hadn’t booked onto it assuming I’d be too tired) or the exclusive documentary preview of GMO OMG! as my plane was delayed by over four hours, meaning that I arrived in Seattle very late on Thursday evening.

The folks at the W Hotel, Seattle – the official conference host hotel – were very accommodating and I found the staff to be welcoming and helpful (isn’t everybody in America?!) I was super-impressed with my conference rate room – a Spectacular room with a view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle in the distance. I ordered room service – a much-deserved vodka cocktail and slow-braised beef cheeks with mushrooms and saffron papardelle. Given that this was hotel room food (at 11pm) this meal is up there on the list as one of the best dishes I ate (and there were a lot!) I’ll definitely be keeping a look out for some beef cheeks to slow-cook during the winter months. I also enjoyed tuning into my favourite Seattle-based show, Frasier and was very tempted to order Sleepless in Seattle on pay-per-view…When you’re used to being a busy mother-of-two, a couple of hours to yourself is worth the trip alone!

W_Hotel_Seattle

On Friday morning, the conference officially opened with Gluten Free Carnitas and Tofu Sofrito Bowls provided by one of the conference sponsors Chipotle Mexican Grill. Mexican food is still really big in the US and the Chipotle Mexican Grill aim to serve ‘Food with Integrity’ –  sustainably raised food, sourcing organic and  local produce where possible – also a huge topic at the moment in America.  Our lunch bowls were filled with cilantro-lime rice, pinto or beans, braised pork carnitas and tofu sofrito, along with guacamole, cheese and red-wine vinegar pickled onions. One of the things I noticed pre-conference was the fact that food allergies and intolerance are taken very seriously in America. We were even given the option of specifying ‘Paleo’ as a requirement – catch up, Europe!

Lunchtime was also my first opportunity to meet some bloggers and to try and put a few names to faces. With over 320 attendees, this was no easy task! The very first person I met was a very sweet lady named Meagan Davenport, a local writer and photographer.  We also chatted to a cook and author named Roger Scouton, before heading into the Great Room for the Keynote.

Gluten Free Carnitas & Tofu Sofritas Bowls
Gluten Free Carnitas & Tofu Sofritas Bowls @ChipotleTweets

Keynote – Dorie Greenspan

Excitement filled the conference room as we awaited Dorie Greenspan – our keynote speaker. Dorie has written ten cookery books, which have included authoring Baking with Julia (with Julia Child!) and Desserts by Pierre Hermé. She has won a whole host of awards during her career as a food writer, including awards by the James Beard Foundation and the IACP – the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She was also named in the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. If you are a blogger who has taken part in or read about Tuesdays with Dorie or French Fridays with Dorie, then you may also already be familiar with the work and recipes of this formidable woman. Pretty much every single person in the room, including the men, wanted to be Dorie! It was an incredible privilege to be able to hear her speak.

Dorie framed her keynote around blogging and building a community, speaking of her transition from traditional media (or ‘old media’ as she affectionately named it) to new media. Throughout her career, Dorie has worked in professional kitchens as well as a Television producer, authored ten cook books in print and has worked as a freelance writer. She currently lives between Paris, New York and Connecticut and recently launched a sophisticated cookie business with her son, whilst maintaining a strong presence across social media with a blog and an active Twitter following. She shared some of the following nuggets of advice:

I’m lucky because I work hard. I’m fortunate because I always say yes. I did things because I thought they would be interesting or I’d learn something. I’ve never done something specifically to make money. I didn’t look for money because I was doing things that were interesting to me….Concentrate on the work. It’s the only thing that’s important.

Dorie also spoke about the importance of building a community, believing that writers have never had as much power as they have now. She also spoke affectionately of Julia Child and shared anecdotes;

Working with Julia Child was the greatest experience of my life. She called writing cook books ‘cookbookery!’

Dorie also mentioned the movie Julie and Julia, pointing out that before Julia Powell and her blog, cooking through a book was an unknown phenomenon. Contextually, Dorie said that blogging “gave a new definition to instant gratification,” adding:

As bloggers, we have the chance to speak from our hearts. In the old days, everything was mediated. We used to have to send the Editor our clips, now we have our blogs. It’s the most exciting time that I can think of to be involved with food.

Dorie’s advice was to work as hard as we can to create a community, pointing to Tuesdays with Dorie and French Fridays with Dorie, as examples of how a simple blog-based idea generated a whole new community of people who were interested in cooking and baking. The idea for the two events was unplanned and happened organically, they are less about the author Dorie herself, and more about the community of people cooking from her books, in the process, fueling cook book sales and adding to Dorie’s profile. Dorie loves the fact that so many people cook from her books, sharing her recipes and interacting with one another, as well as with her.

Dorie_Greenspan
Photo courtesy of IFBC/Foodista Website

As a keynote speaker, Dorie came across as being incredibly warm, funny, articulate and modest. She answered all our questions willingly and at ease, setting the tone of the whole conference as a friendly and supportive environment of like-minded food writers. Despite all of her accolades and successes, Dorie sees herself not as someone above learning, but as someone who is always open to acquiring information and knowledge and of taking on new challenges. Above all, Dorie’s best advice was to:

Do what you’re most proud of and always say yes!

There is so much more I want to write about, including more conference highlights and sessions as well as all the food I discovered in Seattle! Stay tuned for more.

With thanks to Foodista and Zephyr Adventures for organising the conference. This trip was self-funded and all posts are completely free of any payment, commercial sponsorship or existing brand relationships.

This is post #2 of 3 – attendees were asked to write 3 posts as part of the$95 ticket deal.

#IFBC Post 1 – Food Blogging Stateside

You can also view my Seattle Food Album on Facebook –

Post by Fabulicious Food.

Are you a fan of Dorie Greenspan and her cook books?

September 28, 2013

A Sneak Peek of Jamie’s Mothership Sunday Roast Lamb Recipe

A Sneak Peek of Jamie’s Mothership Sunday Roast Lamb Recipe

Everybody in our house loves roast lamb, particularly when it has been slow roasted, making it perfecty tender and soft. I’ve been given special permission to share a recipe by Jamie Oliver from his latest book, Save with Jamie, for his Mothership Sunday Roast Lamb, accompanied by a great photograph by David Loftus (I’m a huge fan!) This recipe is perfect for the weekend and I’m sharing it here ahead of it being shown on Jamie’s Money Saving Meals on Monday night on Channel 4 at 8pm. The idea is that you make a huge roast on a Sunday and then use the leftover meat as the basis for more meals throughout the week.

Mothership Sunday Roast Lamb
The recipe itself is one of my favourite’s from this latest installment by Jamie Oliver and there are even a couple of bonus recipes within it, too. You also get the instructions for perfectly crispy rosemary and garlic roast potatoes, an easy fresh mint sauce and a quick Savoy cabbage and streaky bacon dish for the side.

Slow roasted lamb is something that you really can’t go wrong with – you’ll need around 3-4 hours to get this lamb cooked to perfection and literally falling off the one, but I promise you’ll have a really tasty Sunday roast with plenty of meat for leftovers throughout the week. Plus, using a cheaper cut of lamb from the shoulder means you’ll end up with a more flavourful and cost-effective end result.

Other than this Mothership Sunday Roast Lamb recipe, I’m not sure which other recipes Jamie is going to highlight on the show this Monday, but after my recent trip to America where I ate plenty of Tex-Mex rolls and wraps, I’m really hoping that the Bad Boy BBQ Burritos on page 196 of the book will make an appearance at some point as well.  This recipe along with a few other recipes from the book will then be featured on the Save with Jamie recipe page  over on JamieOliver.com.

Jamie Oliver’s Mothership Roast Lamb

Serves 6 plus leftovers
Total time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of fresh rosemary (30g)
olive oil
1 x 2.5kg shoulder of lamb, bone in
3 onions
1.5kg potatoes
1 bunch of fresh mint (30g)
1 teaspoon golden caster sugar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1 large Savoy cabbage
1 tablespoon plain flour
500g frozen peas

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°C/gas 3. In a pestle and mortar, bash
4 peeled garlic cloves, half  the rosemary leaves and a pinch of  salt and
pepper into a paste, then muddle in a good lug of oil. Stab the lamb ten
times, then stick your finger in each hole and massage the marinade in and
all over. Peel and quarter the onions and place in a snug-fitting roasting tray
(this is important), with the lamb on top. Add 50ml of water, cover tightly
with tin foil and cook for 3 hours. Remove the foil, pour away all the fat
(save as dripping – see page 158) and add another 200ml of water to the
tray. Cook for 1 hour more, or until the meat falls away from the bone,
adding another good splash of water, if it starts to dry out.

Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, halving any larger ones, and parboil in a large
pan of boiling salted water for 12 minutes. Drain and shake to fluffup, then
tip into a roasting tray. Strip in the rest of the rosemary leaves, drizzle with
oil, bash and add the remaining unpeeled garlic cloves, and toss with salt and
pepper. Place in the oven under the lamb tray for the final 1½ hours. With
20 minutes to go, pick and very finely chop the mint leaves, scrape into a small
jug and mix with the sugar, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Chop
the  bacon  and  cook  in  a  large  frying  pan  on  a  medium  heat  until
golden. Trim, roughly slice and throw in the cabbage with a splash of water,
cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened, then season to perfection.

Remove the lamb from the oven, transfer to a platter and cover. Put
the tray on a medium heat on the hob and stir in the flour, then pour in
600ml boiling water and any lamb resting juices. Stir well and simmer until
you’re happy with the consistency. Pour the gravy into a jug, or if you
prefer it smooth, pour and push it through a sieve first. Quickly blanch
the peas in a pan of boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain.
Serve everything in the middle of the table, with all the usual trimmings.

Taken from Save with Jamie, published by Michael Joseph
Recipes @2013 Jamie Oliver
Photography @2013 Jamie Oliver Enterprises Ltd. Photos by David Loftus

For more lamb recipes, take a look here.

More related posts on RenBehan.com –

Jamie Oliver Warmly Welcomes Food Bloggers

Recipe – Almost Spring Lamb HotPot – also great with roast lamb leftovers

Disclosure – this is an unpaid post. The recipe and photograph is reproduced with permission. I write a weekly blog for JamieOliver.com

September 11, 2013

Food Blogger Connect #FBC5 and a second My Polish Kitchen Pop-Up!

Food Blogger Connect #FBC5 and a second My Polish Kitchen Pop-Up!

It’s been a busy summer and this year, the one thing we can’t complain about is the weather. It’s been lovely and for once, we’ve been able to enjoy the great outdoors in flip flops, rather than in Wellies! North Wales provided us with lots of greenery, free-roaming farm animals and plenty of much-celebrated local produce. We also explored some of the New Forest in the South of England, with its wild horses and pretty villages. I’ve blogged much less often, though I’ve managed to keep up a weekly post over on JamieOliver.com. Despite the quietness on-line, off-line there were also one or two food events to get to – a blogger supper at Fifteen that I’ve already mentioned, a new kids app launch and a cooking workshop Raymond Blanc (lots more about that to follow) and a brilliant day out at The Big Feastival – also written-up here – with more photos to come. Firstly, though, a few words about Food Blogger Connect (#FBC5) which happened back in June.

Food Blogger Connect
David Lebovitz and Bethany Kehdy opening #FBC5

Food Blogger Connect (FBC) is a conference, with speakers and workshops around the topic of food blogging, now in its fifth year. This summer it took place at The Battersea Arts Centre – a spacious and eclectic community building. This was my third FBC conference and in fact, my own Polish food pop-up adventures were, in part, inspired this year by some of the talks and speakers at last year’s #FBC12. In particular, I remember Sumayya Jamil’s talk on niche food blogging, which prompted me to start my niche Polish food blog. I also loved meeting The Russian Revels, who held a Russian pop-at #FBC12, inspiring me to come back myself this year with a Polish pop-up of my own at the StrEAT party. Since the weekend clashed with a pre-planned family party, I was only able to attend the very first day of FBC#5, but I did make the most of my time by giving a talk to over 150 food bloggers on ‘How to get Published in Magazines,’ as well as running my pop-up. This year was also special for conference founder Bethany Kehdy, who launched her debut cookbook The Jewelled Kitchen – with a much-talked about Arabian-inspired pop-up on the Saturday night.

My Polish Kitchen Pop-Up
(Me!) and my Polish food at the My Polish Kitchen pop-up

Attending FBC is always a great opportunity to catch up with some of my best food blogging friends from around the world – including this year meeting Sukaina from Sips and Spoonfuls and catching up with Sally from My Custard Pie – two ladies (both living and writing from Dubai) who I particularly admire in the blogging world. It was also good to meet Merlin Jobst from the JamieOliver.com team, Leyla Kazim from The Cutlery Chronicles, Jac from Tinned Tomatoes as well as seeing friends I’ve met before such as Kellie from Food to Glow, Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Heidi from Heidi Roberts Kitchen Talk. I enjoyed the keynote and other speeches by renowned author and blogger David Lebovitz, who I’d met once before on a trip to Cognac with Martel. I also got to share a little bit of my Polish food with Niamh Shields of Eat Like a Girl and with Fiona Beckett, who wrote three excellent posts including a post on What Motivates Food Bloggers? here.

Food Blogger Connect
Main image Bethany Kehdy, top right Helen Best-Shaw, Sukaina and Sarka, Joslin and Ceri, Niamh Shield, Sally Prosser and Merlin Jobst

After David’s welcome and humorous keynote, the conference moved onto a panel discussion with David Lebovitz, Niamh Shields and Emma Gardner entitled: “What does successful blogging mean, anyway?” All three panelists had very different experiences to share with unique views on how to grow your blog and engage with your audience. David’s advice was to enjoy the blogging journey and to not be afraid of sharing your vulnerabilities, perhaps documenting some of your ‘mishaps’ as well as your successes. David also said that bloggers should hold back from filling each post with a hundred photographs of the same dish, taken at slightly different angles, when one good photo will suffice! Interestingly, David also believes that although blogging itself is global, it’s very difficult to tap into an American audience if you are based in Europe and that therefore, we should concentrate on building our platforms more or less where we are based.

Having written her first book, Comfort and Spice in 2011, Niamh is now enjoying much more travel writing – a little later on she also spoke about her recent adventures in Canada. Award-winning blogger Emma at Poires au Chocolat, has, since 2009, balanced blogging with academia. She won ‘Food Blog of the Year’ at The Guild of Food Writers Awards in 2012, wrote a cookery book proposal, but then withdrew it, before returning to Oxford University. Emma now combines blogging with working in Switzerland and Oxford. Emma’s blog is single-focused and she writes in order to share her personal adventures in baking whilst developing her photography. She also adheres to a very strict policy of not taking up any commercial or brand-led opportunities, and carries no advertising on her site.

All three panellists agreed that successful blogging, in their view, was down to sheer hard work and consistency. There is no set formula to overnight success – in all three cases my impression was that all three take their blogging seriously. They work hard on developing a strong voice through compelling writing and are all near-obsessive when it comes to perfecting posts alongside meticulous recipe testing.

Next, I shared the floor with Karen from Lavender and Lovage, to offer some useful tips on making the transition from blogging to writing for external publications. We were both a little nervous, being only the second set of speakers, and having to follow David, Emma and Niamh who were excellent – but the audience was kind to us so thank you! All the slides from FBC#5 can be found here on slideshare. 

There were plenty of other talks and workshops on the first day and of course, tons across the weekend as whole. You can read lots of other conference  review posts here. 

The FBC team had worked very hard to try and ensure that this year we were all offered a variety of talks and sessions, as well as lots of food and drink to sample during the weekend. Although I was quite busy setting up the My Polish Kitchen pop-up, I especially enjoyed meeting Selina Periampillai of Yummy Choo Eats (@YummyChooEats) who served up some traditional Mauritian street food. Street traders Pig a Chic (@pigachic) had completely sold out before I had a chance to get to them and at my table, my bigos and Polish flavoured vodkas seemed to go down very well, too. It was the first time that I’d fed people out on a street and with no kitchen facilities – as you can imagine, it was quite a challenge, but it was fun!

Food Blogger Connect
Food at the StrEAT party – main image Yummy Choo Eats – Mauritian street food

FBC is also growing and travelling to pastures new – this weekend saw FBC Lebanon and there is also a second ‘roaming workshop’ in Dubai coming up in October. The event in London next year – #FBC14 – will be taking place on 6th-8th June 2014, so if you are a blogger with a passion for making new friends and you would like to pick up some tips on topics from writing, to styling, to taking better food photographs, it’s worth making a note of the date and keeping an eye open for any early bird ticket offers.

 FBC5-Alumni-Badge

With many thanks to the FBC team, particularly Bethany and Joslin Kehdy, for inviting to speak and to share my Polish food at the StrEAT party.

My blogging adventures are taking me Stateside very soon, which means I’ll get to compare a UK conference to a US conference – I look forward to sharing my experiences and the differences I notice with you when I get back!

Did you attend #FBC5 this year? What was your experience of it?

 

August 7, 2013

Jamie Oliver Warmly Welcomes Food Bloggers

Jamie Oliver Warmly Welcomes Food Bloggers

The summer is in full swing and it’s been so hard to ignore the sunshine in order to sit down and write. There have already been many food-related highlights to share with you, but one sunny evening that stands out in particular was an invitation to a ‘blogger supper’ above Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. The evening promised to be an exclusive event with “eating and drinking and merriment” – with the JamieOliver.com team very keen to extend a friendly hand to some of their favourite food bloggers. Needless to say, it was a huge privilege to have been on the list and to be able to spend the evening finding out a little more about the team behind Jamie’s ever-flourishing empire.

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver is many things, but he’s no fool. For a boy who left school with just two GCSE’s, his success in building such a vast and globally-recognised ‘brand’ is nothing short of phenomenal. Ever since hitting our screens with The Naked Chef, Jamie’s mission has been clear and very specific – to help people to become better cooks. Staying true to his original character, he continues to share his message in his very own relaxed, laid-back, Essex-boy trademark style. I very much remember watching some of his earliest episodes and most, if not all, of his books have been used and splattered with sauce in my kitchen in one way or another over the years. In a very pleasant twist of fate, I’ve recently found myself writing for the JamieOliver.com site – something which still fills me with both a sense of fear and excitement each time a post gets published.

Jamie has always struck me as someone who is keen to keep up with current trends and so it was perhaps by no accident (with my food blogging hat on this time) that I found myself sitting at a mismatched chair at one of his tables. Although Jamie himself was unable to attend, we watched a specially pre-recorded message from him, during which he welcomed us all and wished us an enjoyable evening. It was nice to learn that Jamie has a good amount of respect for food bloggers – recognising perhaps that we’ve helped change the traditional food writing landscape – if nothing else, into something instant and very fast-paced that he’s keen to keep up with!

Jamie Oliver Bloggers Supper

Jamie was very happy to place us into the capable hands of Merlin Jobst, who had bravely taken the lead in organising the evening. I had already met Merlin once before on another sunny day at Food Blogger Connect and it was great to see Jamie’s online Editor Jim Tanfield again, as well as meeting lots of other new and equally friendly faces.

It’s always exciting to get a little peak behind the scenes of where ‘things happen’ – if not a little surreal to be helping ourselves to food from a table perhaps used in a food shoot by David Loftus (a food photographer I adore) or standing by the kitchen counter used by Jamie in some of his video’s and TV shows. I can happily say that we took very well to our new environment for the evening. It was, at times, as though the food paparazzi had descended upon the floor-to ceiling windowed room, as we poked our heads around the corner into the side kitchen to see some of Jamie’s ‘Fifteen’ graduates – zooming in and snapping away at every detail. Luckily, we were surrounded with people who seemed to ‘understand’ us and who didn’t mind our food blogging focused curiosities and appetites.

Jamie Oliver Goat's Cheese Salad

The recipes that we tried throughout the evening were simple recipes that can be found on the JamieOliver.com website. I’d made a couple of them before, but it was nice to try some of the other recipes that were new to me. The starters included a huge plate of sustainable prawns (Jamie’s Pint of prawns recipe with a flavourful Marie Rose sauce) served alongside a tasty Herb salad with goat’s cheese. Both recipes I’d say are really easy crowd-pleasers. I was inspired to pick up some lovely fresh prawns by the Llyn Peninsula just a few days after my visit to Fifteen to make a similar recipe myself.

Whilst nibbling, we were introduced to Jamie’s new head chef Jon Rotheram, who had popped in to see us from the recently refurbished Fifteen restaurant downstairs. Jon demonstrated his recipe for deviled lamb’s kidneys and talked to us about his experience of working as a sous-chef to Fergus Henderson at St John. Whereas Jon had previously faced the challenge of nose-to-tail dining (a concept he’s keen to expand upon at Fifteen) he now faces an altogether different adventure; heading up the team of apprentices from disadvantaged backgrounds at Fifteen – a restaurant from which all the profits continue to be poured into the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation charity.

Jamie Oliver.com team

A little later on, we took to devouring some more of Jamie’s recipes – a Keralan veggie curry and a very moreish Southern Indian crab curry, both served with aromatic Lemon rice. I’d made the Keralan curry before (from Jamie’s Fifteen Minute Meals) and even the kids loved it. I whizzed mine a little with a handheld blender so that the veggies were more manageable for the kids. The crab curry was new to me and was probably the stand-out dish of the evening – definitely on the ‘make for friends list’ – along with the cheesecake – more about that later!

The evening was very much a group effort – with Jamie’s online team, including Jim, Merlin and Danny having done much of the prepping and cooking, with help from Jamie’s graduates, Joe, Merci and Tyrone.

Jamie’s former online editor, Danny McCubbin also took the floor and spoke to us about his latest role heading up the San Patrignano UK London association – a ‘not for profit’ organisation providing support and counselling to anyone struggling with drug addictions. The UK branch of this organisation echoes the amazing work done at the original San Patrignano Institute in Rimini, Italy. In fact, the wine we had been drinking that night had mostly been made by the trainees at San Patrignano in Italy, as part of their rehabilitation programme to learn new skills and artisan trades.

We also heard from Joe Gray, a former graduate of Jamie’s Fifteen, who has also been encouraged to spread his wings, starting a catering business of his own and now a second business called Slovely. Joe now imports products from San Patrignano in Italy as well as from Slovenia, including some of the hand harvested, unrefined Slovenian sea salt, or piranske soline that we tasted and were given to take home. You can buy the salt in Selfridges.

Jamie Oliver Bloggers Supper

To wrap thing up (well, for the evening upstairs at least – a number of us made it downstairs for a cocktail at Fifteen) we demolished Merlin’s recreation of Jamie’s Bloomin’ easy vanilla cheesecake with a boozy cherry compote. This was such a treat – as you would expect, a smooth cheesecake, with the perfect crumbly base, jazzed up with a cherry compote. I’d actually recommend trying any of Jamie’s cheesecakes – I’ve got my eye on the cherry and chocolate cheesecake recipe, particularly as British cherries are in season now, too.

Bloomin Easy Cheesecake

All in all, this was a really enjoyable evening with lots of us making new friends and the JamieOliver.com team showing great keenness to build relationships with food bloggers. I can also recommend the ‘Run n Tings’ cocktail at Fifteen – complete with a striking treacle-rimmed glass!

You can read some other accounts of the evening here –

  • Sally Prosser for My Custard Pie
  • Leyla Kazim for The Cutlery Chronicles
  • Selina Periampillai for Yummy Choo Eats
  • Amy Jones for She Cooks She Eats
  • Rosana McPhee for Hot & Chilli 
More to be added…

If you find yourself making any of Jamie’s recipes – whether from his books or online – the editorial team at JamieOliver.com (@JamieOliverCom) are always keen to re-tweet, share and connect with us all so do make sure you say ‘hi!’ and let them know.

With many thanks to Merlin Jobst, Jim Tanfield and the JamieOliver.com editorial team for the invitation to join them for the evening and to Jon Rotheram at Fifteen, Danny, Joe, Merci and Tyrone for their tasty cooking. All thoughts and opinions my own. 

Are you a fan of Jamie Oliver’s recipes? Do you have a favourite?

 

March 19, 2013

Discover the Origin and Cooking with Jun Tanaka

Discover the Origin and Cooking with Jun Tanaka

Knowing where our food comes from is the hot topic of the moment. Processed foods have never been more out, whilst good quality, origin-specific foods are in. This is a shift in thinking that I welcome 100%. I’d like to be more aware of where our food comes from. I’d like to better understand the supply chain. I’d like to be able to eat the best quality food that I can afford and to know exactly what I am feeding my family. I’d also like to support the artisan, not the illegal horsemeat trader, within the remit of our existing family budget.

Ham_Cheese 

Recently I spent the day at L’Atelier des Chefs with the team behind the Discover the Origin campaign, who are tasked with protecting and supporting five particular PDO products including Bourgogne Wines, Parma Ham, Douro Wines, Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and Port. I ‘discovered’ that protecting the origin of food is something I’m very keen to learn more about and support. Added to which, I’m now also a convert to oak-aged Tawny Port – definitely not just for Granny at Christmas.

PDO & PDI

The European Union’s Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) schemes take the task of protecting the origin, character and heritage of food very seriously. Once a product is certified, European Law ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed to be identified as such when sold. It is a way of ensuring that inferior or imitation products don’t get sold under the same name.

Interestingly, in Britain, the Dialogue Agency recently hosted the first forum discussion in Britain on UK protected food names, which not only highlighted the importance of protecting certain foods, but also looked at raising the awareness of protected foods with a view to positively impacting the British economy. In the UK, there are a growing number of protected products, such as Melton Mowbray Pork Pies (PGI), Anglesey Sea Salt (pending PDO status), Single Gloucester (PDO), Blue Stilton (PDO) and English Wine, but we are far behind our European neighbours when it comes to promotion and export. It makes a great deal of sense, that supporting quality producers would have a positive impact on our economy.

Discover the Origin

Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are perhaps two of Italy’s most well-known and successful exports from the northern Emilia-Romagna region, with a PDO status. I chatted at length to Elke Fernandez who had travelled from Parma to join us for the day about the famous Prosciutto di Parma or Parma Ham, which predates the Roman Empire. The Italians are fiercely protective of Parma Ham. By law, only hams produced and cured in the hills around Parma may become Parma Hams. There is a ‘designated production zone’ within the region of Emilia-Romagna and with only two ingredients: Italian pigs, salt. Added to this you need air and time. Producing Parma Ham is an all-natural process.

Parma Ham is cured for a minimum of one year, but can be cured for up to three years. We tried a 24-month ham and a 30-month ham. Elke explained that Parma Ham is best eaten sliced as needed, not in advance, although pre-sliced Parma Ham can be kept for up to 90 days in the refrigerator, making it a great stand-by ingredient. So, look out for whole Parma Hams, perhaps at your local delicatessen for the ultimate flavour experience and at the very least, look out for the five-point ducal crown brand or PDO logo which denotes authenticity. Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano can be served on their own, as an antipasti, and go beautifully alongside a gentle fizz.  

Parmigiano-Reggiana cheese has a slightly larger production zone, in a region which includes Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and very nearly reaching Bologna. Interestingly, the name ‘Parmesan’ is the French term for the cheese, but Parmesan is also the name used as the common term for cheese imitating Parmigiano-Reggiano. True Parmigiano-Reggiano is handcrafted using methods handed down over more than eight centuries and so it matters to read the label to ensure you are buying an authentic product.

Jun_Tanaka

Cooking with Chef Jun Tanaka

Under Jun’s watchful eye, we made a main course dish of  Baked Chicken with in Parma Ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Honey Roast Root Vegetables. Firstly we layered three thin slices of Parma Ham on a board, and then grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over this, along with lemon zest and some fresh thyme. I had never really appreciated how much the flavour of lemon zest could enhance both Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and since our afternoon of cooking, I’ve been concocting lots of lovely recipes with this trio of flavours.

Tanaka_Prepping

After seasoning a chicken breast, we wrapped it up in the flavoured Parma Ham, sitting it on a bed of seasonal carrots, potatoes, celeriac, swede, garlic and a little drizzle of honey, olive oil and more fresh thyme. Chef Jun very kindly then whisked this all away and baked it in a hot oven for around 35-40 minutes. It helps if your vegetables are all chopped to roughly the same size (ours weren’t as we were too busy chatting!) This was a simple, yet really delicious (and quite impressive) supper dish, which showcased the Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese well.

PlatingUpMain

Dinner was served with a Ladoix 1er Cru, Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand, 2008, from the Bourgogne in France and a Post Scriptum de Chryseia, 2010 from the Duoro region in Portugal. Both were very drinkable, but the stand-out for me was the Portuguese red.   

Discover-the-Origin    

Bourgogne Wine

I mentioned Chablis in a recent post. In fact, Bourgogne wines stretch from Chablis to Mâcon. Within the Bourgogne, there are around 3,800 wine domaines with over 27,900 hectares of appellation d’origine controlee. So, how do you pick a good one? Well, a good tip is to choose a Grand Cru, if you can afford it, otherwise, try a Premier Cru or a village appellation; the bottle will carry the name of the village in which it was produced and you should also see the name Bourgogne on the bottle. For example, Crémant de Bourgogne, is a sparkling wine from the Bourgogne region and we drank that with the Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano antipasti. Pinot Noir is a grape variety from the Bourgogne, whilst Chardonnay originated in the Bourgogne region, too. So, if you are a French wine drinker, it’s likely you will have already tasted, and enjoyed, a wine from the Bourgogne.  

Writting_Bottle

Douro Wines and Port

The biggest surprise of the day for me was the Portuguese wine and Port that we tasted. Though I have visited both France and both Italy on a few occasions, I’ve never travelled to Portugal and so I was less familiar with Douro Wines or with the four main styles of Port – Ruby Port, Tawny Port, White Port and Rose Port. Port is really red wine fortified with brandy, which became a popular practice when England was at war with France in the late 17th century. At the time, the import of French wine was restricted and so the English began importing their wines from Portugal. Very often, the wine didn’t make it across in a very good condition, and so they began fortifying the wine with brandy to preserve it.  

In 2001, the Alto Douro became a World Heritage Site. It is rich, sweeter, of course, than red wine, which makes it very drinkable, particularly with dark chocolate, milk chocolate, caramel, dark fruits and fruit desserts as well as with several types of cheeses.   

For dessert, we made Baked Plums and Pears (En Papillote) With Crème Chantilly. En Papillote means, baked in a bag. We placed our fruit (plums, pears, blackberries and grapes) onto a sheet of baking paper, added cinnamon, a star anise, butter, honey and a drizzle of crème de cassis before scrunching it up and tying it with string. Again, Chef Jun whisked this away and baked it in a hot oven for twenty minutes. To go with dessert, we were served a Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port (1996) and a Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny. The Old Tawny was the definitely the stand-out drink of the day for me! Fortnum and Mason sell a ten–year-old Noval for £18.50, which would make a great gift.

Dessert

So, after a day full of cooking, eating, drinking, sampling, singing (yes, it was incredibly jovial by the end!) I learnt that by making very small changes to our consumer and buying habits (by checking we are buying authentic produce) we can help to protect artisan producers of specialist products.    

Being aware of how and where our food is produced isn’t snobbery; it’s taking control of what we consume. I hope that we can also become prouder of our own artisans and producers in Britain, helping them to maintain the authenticity of their products, too and that we catch up with the number of PDO’s and PGI’s held by our European neighbours.

With many thanks to Discover the Origin for introducing me to some of the producers and protectors of Bourgogone Wines, Parma Ham, Duoro Wines, Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and Port.  

For recipes and more information visit their site here or follow @DiscovertheOrigin on Twitter.  

All photos in this post were taken by Hugo Tyer.

All view are my own.

January 25, 2013

Lussmanns Fish and Grill St Albans

Lussmanns Fish and Grill St Albans

St Albans is fast becoming a city known for good food, as evidenced by the annual St Albans Food Festival, which will soon be in its sixth year, along with three independent restaurant listings in the 2013 edition of The Good Food Guide. Although there are a growing number of ‘award-winning’ restaurants in St Albans, flying the flag for sustainability and ethics is Lussmanns Fish and Grill, located at the foot of our Cathedral and Abbey of St Albans. Eager to find out what really matters to diners and, crucially, what makes them keep coming back, I sat down with local restaurateur, Andrei Lussmann, to find out some of the secrets to his success. Along the way, we sampled some of the most popular dishes on the Lussmanns’ menu whilst I found out a little more about Andrei and his solid restaurant ethics.

Lussmanns St Albans

There can be no doubt that there has been a sudden flurry of interest in the market town of St Albans. We’ve started to see a regeneration of sorts, with plenty of new restaurants taking up residence, working hard to keep diners interested and talking. Of course, popularity swiftly attracts investment from chains, with Jamie’s Italian and Brasserie Blanc being just two of our most recent additions, involving costly and challenging restoration projects in both cases. With competition so high, how do you compete and how to you stay relevant and attractive to a customer? Is it about the name, and the money behind it, or is it about what you stand for?

Andrei Lussmann has been a Hertfordshire-based restaurateur since 2004. With a background in the hospitality industry and having moved to St Albans from London, he is the owner of two independent sites, Lussmanns Fish and Grill Restaurants in St Albans and Hertford. His restaurants have won him a string of awards, which no doubt help in some way to fend off the allure of the rapidly rising rate of other restaurant chains on his doorstep.

Part of Andrei’s success is the ability to very clearly pinpoint what diners can expect when they visit. As set out on his easy to navigate and up-to-date website, “We are the locals’ fish & grill restaurant, championing the best welfare-driven British producers and suppliers, and dedicated to looking after all the family.”

Lussmanns St Albans

Indeed, Andrei’s commitment to ethically sourced food recently led him to receive the coveted Three Star Sustainability Champion status from The Sustainable Restaurant Association, reflecting a ‘clear commitment to consistent improvement of sustainability’ and a ‘highly commendable’ waste management plan.

He also has a strong and dedicated self-imposed mandate – to promote the British pound with the additional aim of keeping that pound as local as he can. To him, this means sourcing British-based products from small producers, where possible, using the produce available on his doorstep, if they meet his standards. This very often involves meticulous sourcing methods and visits, to farms and suppliers in the locality. Localism, to Andrei, means keeping to within a particular region rather than within specific radius. So, for example, he selects his chicken from Ware, on the Hertfordshire/Essex border, because he believes he can’t get better welfare. He once tracked down a very local supplier of pork on a large estate, but in his view the welfare wasn’t as high as he could find over in Sussex, still “a regional player”. As far as organic food is concerned, Andrei’s view is that whilst sourcing organic food is important, it is possibly not as relevant as “being able to demonstrate localism or high welfare”.

It is his attention to detail when sourcing produce for his menus that led Lussmanns Fish and Grill to win the Independent Restaurant category of the RSPCA Good Business Awards in 2012, for the second year running. Andrei is keen to state, on his menu, exactly where his food comes from – an enviable and unique selling point. A quick, taste-bud tickling glance reveals a Cotswold Wild Boar Chorizo, Sussex Free Range Saddleback Pork (delicious, I can confirm, as was the Wild Rabbit Linguine) and a selection of house desserts, with the occasional ‘guest pud’ from The Pudding Stop. Menus are always being updated with the seasons.

When it comes to sourcing seafood, Andrei takes his responsibility as a restaurateur equally seriously. In season, the Norfolk coast provided Andrei with, “the best mussels he’s ever had!” On the menu currently, you’ll find Wild Black Bream, Line-Caught Pollock and South Coast Devilled Sprats, cleverly taking the hard work of keeping on top of sustainability issues away from the diner, whilst supporting a wider and significant cause. You can feel good about eating here; that’s the key.

Lussmanns St Albans

But do awards for sustainability, greenness and ethical sourcing translate into customers, or does it take more than that to stand out in a crowd and keep those tables turning?

Andrei is realistic and he fully accepts that there’s “no point in being a passionate advocate with values if you won’t be here to fly the flag in a week’s time” and that “a quiet narrative of what you stand for is everything, without being on a political tirade”. According to Andrei, it is all about “refined marketing”. For him, “the story is important when done in a sympathetic way”. It has taken him a long time to feel confident about having strong values as a restaurateur without “being on a political march”.

Another critical asset is Andrei’s desire to improve, which never ceases. Competition, he says, only “sharpens the pencil. We become better”. Narrowing the gap between chains and independents is important too, which is why Andrei offers a quarterly changing set menu (two courses for £10.95, three courses for £13.95) alongside his a la carte and specials menu. Menu options for his junior customers include high-welfare, free-range chicken schnitzel and English artisan ice-creams for dessert, so he’s raising the bar and educating the taste buds of his youngest diners, too.

Andrei always has a strong local presence and is keen to get on board and support local events, keeping on top of food trends as well as local demand. This year, at The St Albans Food Festival, alongside cookery demos, he offered a Lussmanns ‘pop-up’ on the high street, complete with hay bales and the same standard of slick and attentive service as indoors. Lussmanns Fish and Grill also beat off stiff competition for the title of Best Local Restaurant for a second time at the St Albans Food & Drink Awards, as well as receiving its fourth listing in The Good Food Guide.

Lussmanns Pop Up

Andrei doesn’t stop there either. He offers outside event catering and themed dinner evenings. For example, in March, Lussmanns will be hosting a series of ‘Film Dinners’ to support the first St Albans Film Festival whilst continuing to highlight issues of importance, with guests from The Blue Marine Foundation, The RSPCA and The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) – two birds, one stone.

As well as all this, he’s turning his attention to supporting British micro-breweries by increasing his British beer list by 100%. In an article for the Herts Ad by Roger Protz, Andrei explained how he’d like diners to “treat Britain’s national drink with as much respect as wine”. Sourcing good quality, local beer also holds the respect of the SRA “since craft brewers buy malting barley and hops from home-grown suppliers and avoid the cheap substitutes such as rice and corn used in mass-marketed brands”.

So it seems there is plenty to keep busy with. By standing up for what he believes in, Andrei continues to demonstrate that he is a strong pillar of our local St Albans community. He is a force to be reckoned with, leading the way in our foodie revolution, placing St Albans firmly on the map.

The chains do what they do, affordable food in a generic environment, but our independent eateries are shouting much louder and there are many reasons for customers to keep coming back. In this particular case, the Lussmann’s name, with its growing collection of accolades and endorsements, stands for much better quality than a celebrity name over the door with little to support the hype.

Lussmanns Eaterie

Follow @AndreiLussmann on Twitter, and @Lussmanns

Website: Lussmans Fish & Grill Restaurants

St Albans Branch

Waxhouse Gate (off High St)
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL3 4EW

T: 01727 851 941

I was a guest of Lussmanns on this occasion, there was no expectation of any review or write-up. Opinions my own.

More St Albans Features –

The St Albans Food and Drink Festival Finale & Highlights

The St Albans Cookbook Club

Eat St Albans – Ren’s Page

Seasonal in St Albans, my blog for Herts Life

What makes a restaurant worth going back to, in your view?

January 14, 2013

Winter Books & St Albans Cookbook Club – January 2013

Winter Books & St Albans Cookbook Club – January 2013

How often do you cook a recipe from a cookbook on your shelf? They say that on average, we cook around three recipes from each book we own, which doesn’t seem like a lot, unless you have a rapidly escalating collection like me. In November, I started the St Albans Cookbook Club, in my town of St Albans, inspired by the Bath Cookbook Club, since we didn’t have anything similar. We met for the first time at a local coffee shop and talked about some of our festive titles. This time, I’ve asked everyone to bring a cookbook they received for Christmas. Next time, we’ll meet in one of our homes and I think we’ll challenge each other to cook a recipe from one of our new books to share.

Winter Cookbooks

For Christmas, I received one new cookbook as a gift, thank you Heidi, which was Peggy Porschen’s Baking Boutique, as well as a book on nutrition, called It Starts With Food. Since one promotes gorgeous cakes filled with buttercream and the other promotes a Paleo-style eating plan with no dairy, grains or sugar (Day 12, going well, by the way!) you could say they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. But that’s what I love about food; there is an endless supply of inspiration out there for whatever kind of cooking takes your fancy.

I reviewed and cooked from a few new cookery books before Christmas and the three-book Quadrille giveway I hosted proved to be hugely successful. Of the three books, I most fell in love with Tom Kitchen’s Kitchin Suppers.

I’ve also tried a couple of recipes from Nigella Lawson’s Nigellissima, including her Banana Bread and Prawn Pasta Rosa – both easy to make and equally delicious. I can also recommend her Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, oh, how I miss chocolate and cake…

Italian Breakfast Banana Bread

I have also enjoyed cooking from a new Polish cookery book, called From A Polish Country House Kitchen (soon to be reviewed) and have made a few good meals from Jamies 15 Minute Meals (which I much prefer to Jamie’s 30 minute meals,) despite the fact the timings suggested by both books are a bit unrealistic, even for a seasoned cook such as myself. I’ve yet to cook from Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Volume II and I can’t wait to dive into Rococo’s beautiful new book, Mastering The Art of Chocolate too.

Today’s snow is making me want to curl up, or make jam, a new skill I learnt from Diana Henry’s Salt Sugar Smoke.

Purple Fig Jam

It looks like it’s going to be a busy spring! 

A quick reminder for anyone local to me, the next St Albans Cook Books Club meets this Wednesday 16th January at 10am, at Bakehouse St Albans. Everyone is welcome, including children.

St Albans Cookbook Club

Did you receive any new cookery books for Christmas?

 

November 12, 2012

Tea with Diana Henry to celebrate the launch of Salt Sugar Smoke

Tea with Diana Henry to celebrate the launch of Salt Sugar Smoke

Sometimes it’s nice to gather together to celebrate. I don’t think we celebrate, or gather together, nearly enough anymore. Time is always too tight and other commitments always seem to take precedence. As Brits, we don’t really go too far into celebrating our successes, either. So, I was delighted to be amongst a group of food writers and bloggers to be invited to tea recently with Diana Henry at her home to celebrate the launch of her latest book, Salt Sugar Smoke, an enchanting guide on preserving meat, fish and vegetables.

Diana Henry Tea

When I first met Diana Henry last year, I was instantly struck by both her generosity and her appreciation of good food. I was also fortunate enough to come away with some invaluable advice on the subject of food writing.  As a food writer and cookery book author, part of Diana’s job, as she sees it, is to gather and collect recipes and then to share them. It’s really quite a straightforward process; Diana cooks and writes and has made a living out of something that she once considered to be a hobby.

On that occasion, Diana was interested in asking me some questions, too, and was quite intrigued, I think, by the evolution of new media and food bloggers. In particular, by the efforts we make and lengths we go to in documenting and tweeting our everyday experiences of food. The propellant, as we came to understand in both our cases, is a deep-rooted passion for all aspects of food.  

High Tea

High tea – ‘a very British kind of meal’ – was what Diana used to have at her great grandmother’s house on a Sunday. There would always be bread and butter and jam, each preserve with their individual spoon. Our celebratory gathering replicated that in some ways, alongside some of Diana’s favourite recipes from Salt Sugar Smoke.    

High Tea

Homemade preserves were served in vintage china bowls, flavours included greengage and gewürztraminer, apricot and lavender, rhubarb, cardamom and rose and purple fig and pomegranate.

Salt Sugar Smoke

Diana had also made whisky and brown sugar cured salmon with a fennel and apple relish, served alongside artisan cheese with whitecurrant jelly and two types of homemade bread; Irish brown and sourdough.

Cured Salmon

A little understated sweetness came in the form of hazelnut pavlovas topped with crème fraiche, autumn raspberries and rosehip jelly, and a simple Victoria sandwich filled with mascarpone cream and passion fruit curd.

Victoria Sandwich

Since our gathering was celebratory in nature, we were also treated to a glass of champagne with a dash of homemade fruit alcohols, including quince liqeueur and sloe gin – although we were all equally happy with refills of warming tea served in pretty pots and china cups!  

Homemade Alcohol

For me, the mantra in all of Diana’s books is to find really good simple food, to share it, to enjoy it. In her own personal quest, Diana is always on the lookout for unusual recipes or ‘otherworldly’ recipes from all over the globe. In Salt Sugar Smoke there is a wonderful section on the joy of the ‘zakuski’ table; small plates of delicacies from Russia and Eastern Europe. There are also delightful Indian and Middle Eastern accompaniments, relishes, chutneys and more ideas for things to have with high tea – hand-crafted pickles and various ‘bits that are served on the side.’ 

Salt Sugar Smoke

Diana explores the many different ways of preserving, with an innate understanding of ingredients and flavours as well as a deep respect for tradition and food history, too. In her view, ‘home cooking – especially the quick kind we do a lot these days – is about accessorizing. We have to think of something good to do with a pork chop or a piece of fish.’

I’ve particularly enjoyed teaching myself some of our lost culinary skills through the book, too. I made purple fig and pomegranate jam on my own for the first time. I also cured a salmon with beetroot, dill and vodka for my sister’s birthday and made a Georgian plum sauce using fresh, seasonal plums to serve alongside our usual Sunday roast. I’ll certainly also look forward to replicating ‘high tea’ and to making some pickles and chutneys to give as gifts for Christmas.  

High Tea

It seems that commercialism, mass production and a need to have things instantly have overtaken our instincts to preserve, sustain and safeguard. Skills that were once considered to be essential to the home have almost become irrelevant to our busy lives. I am hopeful that we are slowly rediscovering the art of making things for ourselves and that in the process; we are sharing and teaching ourselves something new, too.    

It was brave of Diana to open up her home and lay out her food to the scrutiny of food bloggers, editors and writers. We ate, we chatted, we tweeted, we peeked into Diana’s cookery book collection and into her pantry and we took photographs of every detail. Diana was warm, welcoming and very unassuming of her success.

Cookery Books

Tradition met with modernity in many ways on that bright and memorable afternoon. I was also reminded that really good food isn’t about pomp and grandeur. Tea with Diana Henry illustrated that there can be great elegance in simplicity.   

Diana Henry

‘It could seem very grandiose to talk about ‘what makes a good life’ in a book that is simply a collection of recipes. But for me, one of the constituents of a good life is the ability to find pleasure in the small things. A good jam for your toast in the morning. A chutney that is made from apples you gathered last autumn. Cutting salt beef that you’ve made yourself and can feed to a dozen friends. These are seemingly unimportant things, and they won’t change the world, but the sum of happiness in one’s life is often made up of such details.’

Diana Henry, Salt Sugar Smoke

With many thanks to Diana Henry and Fiona Smith of Octopus Books for arranging the afternoon.

Salt Sugar Smoke is published by Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Books

June 25, 2011

Review: ‘The Free Range Cook’ by Annabel Langbein

A short while ago I had the really exciting opportunity of interviewing one of New Zealand’s best loved food writers, Annabel Langbein, for an online magazine called The Foodie Bugle. Annabel was visiting the UK having just published a new cookbook and launched TV series called The Free Range Cook.

I have been so enthralled with this book since receiving it that I wanted to share a few words about it with you here too.

Although, as you are probably starting to guess, I am slightly obsessed with cookbooks, for me, it feels like ‘The Free Range Cook’ most sums up the kind of food I love to cook but also gives me great scope to challenge myself to further improve my skills and my approach to cooking.

Two things really stuck with me following my interview with Annabel. The first is that she has a family mantra which is to “eat food, not barcodes,” which seems pretty simple yet sensible to me. Annabel tries to ensure that family week-day cooking is quick and easy and need take no more than fifteen minutes of your time. She also tries hard to make sure her family sit down together to eat and during evening meals they light a candle to make it almost like a ritual.
The second thing was her philosophy “the closer you get to the source, the better your food is likely to taste.” Again, this is something that I am really starting to learn how to embrace, perhaps even more so as a result of becoming a food blogger. The quality of the food that you select is so important, but even so, good food needn’t be expensive.
Chapters in the book are organised in a really organic and natural style; From the Oven, From the Garden, From the Farm, From Lake and Sea, From the Larder and From the Orchard and are beautifully shot against a backdrop of some of New Zealand’s most amazing landscapes.  There are also sidebars beside some of the recipes with clever ‘Fridge Fixing’ suggestions, where some parts of the recipe may be made in advance or stored or used to combine something else. For example, roasting and adding a bulb of garlic quickly turns Mayonnaise into Roasted Garlic Aioli and you could roast an extra bulb and store it in oil in the fridge for later use in dressings, sauces and risotto.  Recipes cover many different aspects of cooking such as baking, cooking outdoors, cooking with home grown produce (including tips for creating a vegetable garden), preserving, making jams, dips, sauces and marinades as well as putting together meals and menu plans for simple entertaining.

Annabel’s focus, really, is to make the best of everything that nature has to offer. She promises that anyone can make her ‘Busy People’s Bread,’ a one-mix dough which rises in the oven with no requirement to knead. She encourages you to try planting even a small window box of fresh herbs or visit a farm or farmers’ market for the freshest seasonal produce you can find.
Recipes are simple, down-to-earth and inspiring. A few that immediately caught my attention were the Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Fresh Cheese and Pitta Breads, Goat Cheese and Spinach Soufflés and Crispy Pork Belly.
Slow roasted tomatoes with fresh cheese and pitta bread.
Photography copyright Annabel Langbein Media 2010
Goat's cheese and spinach souffle.     Crispy pork belly.
Annabel’s style of cooking seems easy to adopt and she has a really relaxed, laid-back approach to her instruction. I am also especially excited to make the Strawberry Cloud Cake (how good does this look?!) and will post separately next week to tell you how I got on.
Strawberry cloud cake from
Thank you to Octopus Publishing for my review copy of this lovely book

June 2, 2011

Interview: Vanessa Kimbell tells us how to be ‘Prepped!’

There can be no doubt that Vanessa Kimbell is an inspirational woman. Over a year ago, Vanessa gave up her successful career to pursue her dream of writing a cookery book – called Prepped! She came up with a new and exciting concept and landed a publishing deal with Spring Hill who jumped at the chance of giving this new author the opportunity to share her ideas through a recipe book. At the same time, Vanessa started a blog, called Writing a Cookery Book to document her journey charting the highs and lows of the process of writing her first book. Her blog gave those of us who followed it the opportunity to become part of the process, both through reading Vanessa’s posts and in some cases, through recipe testing. As a very new blogger, I was one of the lucky few to be part of ‘Team Prepped!’ testing Vanessa’s recipes for her ready-made Vanilla Pancake Mix and her Chocolate, Vanilla & Black Pepper Cupcakes.

It has been a privilege to be a (tiny part) of Vanessa’s creative journey and to watch the anticipation levels grow in the lead up to the launch of Vanessa’s book. Just a few days before the official publication date, I met Vanessa for the first time in her home to talk to her personally about what really inspired her to write Prepped! and to find out where Vanessa’s journey will take her next.

Vanessa, what was the inspiration for Prepped! – the actual moment that you decided to write a cookery book?

The actual moment, believe it or not, was when I was visiting a hypnotherapist. I had read that you could be hypnotised into losing weight. I was talking about the fact that I was food obsessed and that I woke up thinking about what I was going to cook, that I owned about 400 recipe books, that I think about ingredients everyday, that I listen to the radio and watch the television about food and I suddenly realised that I was somewhat obsessed with food.

I wanted to stop thinking about food because I thought if I stopped thinking about it then I might actually lose some weight. Then, I thought, you know what, I don’t want to stop thinking about food, I need to do something with it. It’s a passion, rather than anything else.

There were also a few incidents that had happened in the lead up to that moment. One of them was that a particular girlfriend would almost look at me and shake her head in disbelief at the fact that I would be able to whip something up out of absolutely nothing on a moment’s notice or that I could turn up to a party with a cake that was already decorated even though I had only been given two hours notice to come. Things that I would take as standard practices, she had no idea about.

So, I went to the book shop and there was nothing that answered her questions – how to do two things at once in the kitchen. A lot of people may have been doing it for a lot of years but nobody, as far as I’m aware, had tackled that particular way of cooking. It’s not what you cook its how you put it together and how you manage the process in a timely fashion.

Does it take a certain amount of confidence as a cook to be able to do that?

I think because I’ve been cooking for many years, some twenty-two years in fact, it is instinctive for me but what I observed was that it is not instinctive for all cooks and in order to make somebody do something you have to give instructions. The difficulty was translating the physical way of cooking two or three things at once into a way that people could follow it.

It took me about a month to work out how I did it myself and the only way I could describe it to someone was that I link my cooking together, like a chain. It’s not even one chain, one recipe could link to ten other things.  For example, an elderflower syrup could make nine other recipes, in fact, more than that because you could substitute or swap it all the way through for perhaps a rhubarb syrup or a lemon syrup, so you can do twenty different things with one base recipe. You could make a cocktail with it, a sorbet with it, you can add it into ice cream, you can add it to a savoury dish.

Prepped! is about thinking: what can I make at the same time? How can I make two things out of one recipe?  This book tackles that really nicely.

Do you think that ‘linked cooking’ is something that people can learn how to do from your book?

Oh totally, just on a very basic level if you are making custard you could make double the recipe – one half you’d use on your crumble and the other half you use as an ice-cream. And the point is that as soon as people start looking at it they are going to realise they will be doing the same amount of shopping, the same amount of cooking and the same amount of clearing up.

What have you found to be the highlights of the process of writing?

There have been so many. Meeting like-minded fantastically, amazing people who have got their own stories and their own recipes. That, to me, has been huge. Yes, as a mum, you meet other mums but through this I’ve actually met people who are like me. To be able to chat about food with other people is a joy.

Another highlight has been broadcasting through the BBC, which also brings me into contact with people. And I suppose getting to meet people like Nigel Slater, Dan Lepard, Rick Stein, Sophie Grigson and Jason Atherton. People who are really seriously amazing foodies who have been supportive and who have been kind and didn’t laugh.

In a nutshell, who is your book for?

My book is for people who are time-short foodies, people who love cooking  already or who perhaps don’t cook as much as they want to because they don’t think they have enough time.

In essence, the way that I cook is multi-tasking so you end up with delicious food but with a more concise and streamlined way of cooking in the kitchen. Although I have been quite instructional and I haven’t made too many assumptions about anybody’s ability. At the same time I haven’t made people who already cook utterly bored with what they are reading.

Do you think your book will  encourage the average busy cook become more adventurous?

What I’m hoping for is not that people will become more adventurous because I think that people are naturally inclined to be adventurous and that’s the fashion at the moment. What I’m hoping for is that instead of people slogging away and missing all the fun they can take advantage of any opportunity that comes their way so that things can be ready to go.

Prepped! is real because I really am a mum, I really have three children, I really cook in my kitchen and I really have to do all my own washing up. The joy of having had all these recipes tested by my team of recipe testers, ‘the preparati’ (as they called themselves) to me is the most important thing because they are all real people. We’re not all about sitting in the test kitchens of celebrity chefs who don’t even have to do their own washing up.

Having got to where you are today would you do it all again?

Yes I would and yes I will. There is a second book that will follow. But I will do things differently. I will go to bed before one o’clock. Past that time I don’t think my work was as good as it should have been. I would take longer than a year to do it. In all honesty, I had no sleep for a year. In a way it has been worse than having a baby because it has been all-encompassing.

Also, with the first book I had a huge learning curve. At the beginning I would write recipes and I would cook instinctively and not measure things. I also had some serious learning to do with photography. Though now there is a template. The first forty recipes I wrote I had to go back and re-write because they were too long for the format they were put in and that was really hard work. It was almost as hard as writing and developing them in the first place.

Is the food in Prepped! genuinely the sort of food that you cook for your kids and your family?

Yes, it is exactly what I cook and how I manage to be this ‘domestic diva’ or ‘kitchen genie’ or whatever I was described as! I have put every trick I know in the book, not only from the point of view of being  a trained chef but also as a working mum.

I believe I have put everything in the pages of Prepped! that will allow a person to tackle their food in the same way.

Prepped! – Gorgeous Food without the Slog – a Multi-tasking Masterpiece for Time-short Foodies is published by Spring Hill (RRP £20.00) Available at Waterstones and Amazon (currently at £10.60)
Thank You to Vanessa Kimbell for cooking me a lovely lunch and for allowing me to interview you with two kids in tow and for my signed copy of your book!
Giveaway now closed – winner Sally at My Custard Pie
Thank you to everyone for entering!

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