• Home Grown
Friday, 18 August 2017 15:06

Chicken Kebabs with Indian spices.

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I made these succulent chicken kebabs, marinated in Indian spices and yoghurt for a budget saving barbecue supper last night. I used chicken thigh meat which is tastier and more succulent than the breast. Use less chilli powder or cayenne pepper if you prefer less kick, although the amount in this recipe won't have you gasping for water! If you do not have all the spices in your store cupboard, don't worry, just substitute all of the spices with curry powder.

Wednesday, 02 August 2017 14:10

Mekonville

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Who would have thought that in the middle of the peaceful Suffolk countryside that one of the best ever punk bands, The Mekons would re-unite and party like they haven't partied for years. We popped up with our Little House of Cooking cafe and every little crumb was eaten. Thank you for a brilliant weekend!

Thursday, 11 May 2017 18:06

Rook Pie

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May 13th. Today's the day, my dear old Dad would say to make a rook pie. How I miss him.

Monday, 08 May 2017 15:30

#nationaldoughnutweek

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Go eat doughnuts! It's #NationalDoughnutWeek raising money for The Children's Trust. Here we have (starting at the back) a traditional jam, a lemon meringue, a dulce de leche and a sprinkle covered cherry doughnut, all from The Ice Cook School at Rougham. £1 each. They're mine, so go and get your own; they are available everyday this week. PS...they have gluten free ring doughnuts too!

Thursday, 20 April 2017 17:14

Thinking about summer...my guide to good jam making

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It will soon be time to think about jam making with summer fruit. My tips are from my 'Food for Keeps' course and will help you make perfect jam every time. Try making this delicious Fresh Apricot Jam.

  • Never make more than 10lb (10 standard jars) at any time. The less time spent in cooking the jam, the better the final colour and flavour.
  • Choose firmly ripe, fresh fruit, picked dry. Wet fruit will affect the set and flavour of the jam.
  • Prepare the fruit removing any stalks and bruised flesh, only wash if necessary.
  • Use a large, heavy based saucepan. The pan should never be more than half full.
  • Add water only of the recipe says so.
  • Bring fruit to the boil, then simmer gently to break down any skin and to extract the pectin.
  • Pectin is a substance in fruit that reacts with acid when heated, creating the setting agent. Fruits vary in their pectin and acid content.
  • Jam sugar has added pectin and is ideal for fruits that are low in pectin helping jam to set.
  • Do not cover the pan as water evaporation is essential.
  • Underboiling causes jam to be too runny and overboiling makes it sticky.
  • Test the set by dropping a spoonful of jam onto a refrigerated saucer and seeing if the top crinkles when you run your finger or a spoon across it.
  • Warming the sugar in a low oven (110C) will shorten the cooking time. Preserving sugar consists of large crystals of sugar which dissolve evenly producing less froth when boiling.
  • Remove any scum with a slotted spoon once the jam is ready to pot. A nut sized piece of butter at the end of the cooking will help reduce the scum.
  • Cool the jam for 5 to 10 mins before potting, then stir again to help evenly distribute the fruit and stop it from rising to the top of the jars.
  • Always warm jars in a low oven to sterilise and prevent cracking from the hot jam.
Monday, 18 April 2016 16:40

Herb butter

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We had a big family celebration party at the weekend and ended up with a fridge full of leftovers, including a load of butter and selection of fresh herbs. So we made herb butter. This is how ... Snap off any thick stalks, wash and dry the herbs in a salad spinner to remove excess water. Break large pieces of room temperature butter into smaller pieces and drop evenly into the blender. Whizz for a few minutes and if needed gently poke the butter down into the herbs with a plastic spoon. You will need to do this if the butter is too cold and hard. The butter should mix evenly with the herbs. Spoon the mixture onto grease proof paper and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends of the paper to seal. If you want to store the herb butter in smaller quantities cut into discs once the butter has hardened in the fridge. Repack in grease proof paper and store in a plastic tub in the deep freeze until required. Remember to label the packages.Parsley gives a wonderful green tint to the mixture. The butter can be smeared on meat before barbequeing, or on grilled fish and steak. Mint is slightly less verdant than parsley but the butter is delicious added to omlettes or mixed into peas. Dill butter goes wonderfully well with salmon - and is also a great accompaniment to gently scrambled eggs. Add zest of lemon to your dill butter for extra flavour. If you don't have any pesto add basil butter to pasta dishes. Your favourite herb butter can be used to add flavour to jacket potatoes or spread onto warm bread.

Monday, 18 April 2016 13:20

Suffolk Feast ... The edible county!

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So did you know that Justin Sharp from Pea Porridge enjoys chips and bearnaise sauce for his midnight feast, Lee Bye (Tuddenham Mill) enjoys a bowl of muesli and Lola Demille (Darsham Nurseries) goes for a cheap supermarket creme caramel? Just some of the fun facts in Suffolk Feast, a serious food lovers guide and celebration of great Suffolk produce. From field to fork, the book features twenty of the best chefs in the county and their recipes. (They work. I tried them.) Inspiring writing by co-authors Tessa Allingham and Glyn Williams and superb photography, the book includes a directory of farm shops and markets, food and drink producers, places to eat and stay, some of the county’s food festivals and cookery workshops. Buy your copy from one of the featured restaurants or check out the Suffolk Feast website for more details. Coming next is Norfolk Table.  I'm so excited!

Tuesday, 02 February 2016 10:53

The Suffolk Cook Book

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Landing on my door mat this week was a copy of the recently published Suffolk Cook Book.  Featuring over forty five recipes, all submitted by some of the many Suffolk businesses and personalities working within the local food scene. Recipes are diverse, with varying levels of cooking competence required.  From a very simple, very do-able and delicious Suffolk Gold rarebit with caramelised red onions (Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses) to a ... drum roll ...Confit pork belly and pan fried mackerel fillet with carrot buttercream, candied bacon almonds, gin spiked blue berries, marzipan and pork jus, which is more challenging. (Executive Head Chef Alan Paton at Stoke by Nayland Hotel). Tempting my own taste buds and with an inspirational story and a recipe as far away from Suffolk as you could imagine is a Prawn, Pork and Cucumber Salad (Red Chilli Kitchen). The book showcases the fine Suffolk produce and ingredients that are available on our doorstep. I set my 19 yr old niece the challenge to cook anything that she would fancy from the book  and she chose the Elveden Gluten-free sticky toffee pudding (Elveden Courtyard Restaurant) which was absolutely delicious. The Suffolk Cook Book is £14.95 and is available from the businesses featured in the book, from Waterstones and online at www.amazon.co.uk.

StickyToffee

Tuesday, 30 June 2015 09:42

Pork with bread sauce?

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I'm just not sure about last nights show Nigel; it's a bit like roast lamb with Yorkshire puddings, they're not meant to be together, even if it has got apple in it. I like mine with baked red cabbage.

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