Feeling a bit ginger?

After all the excessive celebratory food and drink consumed over the last few days I think we are all feeling a little bit ginger! However, there are times when only a cup of (Yorkshire, or at least English) tea will do! We don't have to forfeit the seasonal sweet offerings as they all go perfectly well with this beverage whether it be warmed mince pies, Yuletide log or a slice of Christmas cake (served with cheese in Yorkshire!)

My personal favourite is a ginger biscuit, delicious at any time of year but made seasonal with the use of a snowman, snowflake or star cookie cutter. The recipe below was passed on from my mum who used to let us make gingerbread men as children. You can vary the amount of ginger according to taste but I like mine to do what it says on the tin, ie taste of ginger!

4 oz Stork margerine

4 oz Demerara sugar

8 oz Self Raising flour

1 tbsp Golden Syrup

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

3 tsp Ground Ginger

Cream together the margerine and sugar then add the syrup.

Add all the dry ingredients and form into a ball

Roll out and cut into shapes

Bake on a tray at gas mark 4 for 10-15 mins

Leave to cool for as long as you can manage without trying one!

Can be decorated with piped icing or a dusting of icing sugar

Bake and enjoy ...

Oh Sinner Man!X Oh Cinnamon!

ISorry, no, not the spiritual song recorded by several artists since 1956 and played on recorders in primary schools up and down the country!

Cinnamon is a spice available in stick or powder form and used in cooking, baking and beverages as well as having medicinal uses. Watch any Christmas cookery or baking show and you can be sure the presenters will inhale the aroma of whatever they are preparing and agree, that is the smell of Christmas!

My mum told me that when she was younger they used to light the ends of cinnamon sticks and try smoking them!!

Popular dishes include Christmas Cinnamon rolls baked together in the shape of a Christmas Tree but it is also used in biscuits and cakes. Although available all year round, it's warming properties are possibly what make it a seasonal spice.

Eggnog is a popular Christmas Drink (referred to in the 1932 novel Cold Comfort Farm as "Hell's Angel" and taken for breakfast). It usually consists of milk, cream, sugar and eggs whisked together with brandy (or sherry or rum) added and a good sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Each Christmas as we wrestle with the Christmas Tree, lights and decorations I feel we should be singing carols and clinking our glasses of eggnog in a resonating "Cheers!"

So here it is, a great big Cinnamon Eggnog Cheers to Christmas!

Now bring us some figgy pudding!

Figgy pudding originates in the 16th century when it was a kind of porridge. In the 19th century it resembled the pudding we recognise today and was at the height of popularity, also known as Plum pudding and Christmas pudding. Yes it really is like steamed Christmas pudding but made with the addition of dried figs. In days gone by we vegetarians probably could not have eaten it as it would have been made with suet but nowadays the pudding recipes are mostly vegetarian versions.

The seasonal song "We wish you a Merry Christmas" is sung by Christmas carolers who ask to be paid in figgy pudding. And, of course, they won't go until they get some!

In Victorian England, Charles Dickens penned "A Christmas Carol" and wrote about the pudding made by Mrs. Cratchit which would, no doubt, have resembled the figgy/plum/Christmas pudding we know today:

"... the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.

Oh, a wonderful pudding!"

So, let's indulge ourselves in the past, present and future of Christmas. In the words of the carolers, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".

Chestnuts roasting by an open fire!

Having tasted my first chestnut some 30 years ago I broke out in a rash and thought I must be allergic. It turned out to be an allergy to elastoplast thankfully! It would be such a shame to miss out on this seasonal produce. It's very rare to see the street vendors with their glowing braziers offering a brown paper bag stuffed with the sweet hot nuts nowadays but, if you do want to see them, now is the time.

Chestnuts are extremely versatile as they can be used in savoury dishes such as soups and stuffings to add flavour and texture. They are a popular addition to Christmas Day Brussels Sprouts.

Much as we would all like to sit beside an open fire roasting our own chestnuts, they do have to be peeled (shell and inner skin) once cooled. However, an easier alternative is to use Merchant Gourmet packets which are already cooked and peeled for convenience. The added bonus is that they can be used all year round.

Alternatively, chestnuts can be boiled in sugar and water then dried in the oven and used as a topping on cakes (marrons glace) or made into a puree (creme de marrons). However, for your convenience, this can also be purchased in a can or jar. 

Having had recent success with Nigella's coffee ice cream I am aiming to make the No-churn chestnut ice cream from her Nigellissima book - seasonal, easy peasy and scrummy - that's my kind of Christmas!

And so, I'm offering this

Simple phrase to kids from

One to ninety-two

Altho' it's been said many times

Many ways

"Merry Christmas to you"

Advent(ures)!

Today is Advent Sunday (as well as Stir-up-Sunday - read last year's blog!) Advent is the Sunday closest to St. Andrews Day (tomorrow this year) and marks the start of the Christmas Season in the UK. Yay! I love all things Christmas and am already feeling the buzz!

Advent is a little like Lent and some people fast or give up certain foods. Orthodox Christians often don't eat meat and dairy during Advent and on certain days also forego wine and fish, therefore practically vegan!

To count the days in Advent we use calendars (the chocolate ones being my favourite) or candles to mark the four Sundays leading to Christmas. Any child of the 1970s will remember the Blue Peter Advent Crown where the mix of wire coat hangers, tinsel and lit candles was surely a fire hazard to any child attempting to make one.

There are also Advent Songs sung in Churches and Schools, the most famous probably being Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel. This should not be confused with Emmanuelle, the rather rude film I accidentally watched in 1979 with a friend at the cinema. Yes really! It was in the days when you got to see two films for the price of one. The film "10" with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore had just come out and we planned to see it. The extra film was Emmanuelle and, eager to get our money's worth and believing it to be a scarey film, we trotted off to see them. Unfortunately Emmanuelle was shown first and we slid down in our seats and concentrated on our sweets and chocolates, not daring to get up and go out for fear of being seen in the rather sparsely populated cinema! Indeed it proved to be a scarey film for two innocent teenage girls and was an endurance test with the prize being the film of the moment, 10.

Giving thanks!

Thanksgiving Day in the USA is the 4th Thursday in November and therefore falls this Thursday November 26th. Rather like our Christmas Day, it is traditionally a family and friends occasion including sharing a special meal. Whilst the pilgrims would have eaten whatever they could lay their hands on, nowadays the fare consists mainly of turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, buttery mashed potato and vegetables. Pudding is pumpkin or apple pie.

Vegetarians may eat tofurkey! This is a a meat substitute of vegetarian protein made from tofu (soybean protein) or seitan (wheat protein) and the stuffing within is made from grains or breadcrumbs bound with a herby gravy. Personally, this does not appeal to me at all but for those who don't eat meat for ethical reasons, it may well be a good substitute.

The Pilgrims probably did eat turkey, along with other fowl and seafood. They would also have had some vegetables, including pumpkin, nuts and fruit including cranberries. Although they would not have understood at the time, the cranberries would have given them necessary vitamin C.

Fresh cranberries are now in season and can be simmered in water, fruit juice or wine with added sugar and spices to make cranberry sauce. I actually have a fridge full of the stuff left over from the breaded camemberts I buy as my go-to meat substitute when the rest of the family are having meat and vegetables.

Cranberries can also be used in muffins, cakes, apple pies and trifles. Another tip is to add a spoonful to gravy, whether it's a meat or vegetarian stock.

Another benefit to these little ruby red gems is that they are a superfood, being one of the richest sources of health promoting antioxidants; although you would need to eat a substantial number of raw cranberries to get the very best out of them!

Teething Trouble!

Today I ate my first Christmas treat; a Maltesers Merryteaser Mini Reindeer (suitable for vegetarians). Well, I'm now going to suggest renaming them Maltesers Notsomerryteethbreaker Mini Reindeer (suitable for vegetatians but unsuitable for anyone wishing to hang on to their precious gnashers). I am pounding away on this keyboard in a state of teary-eyed fury. 

As you know, I am a chocolate lover, 'though Mars products would not be top of my wish list; me being more of a Cadburys kind of girl. However, chocolate is chocolate and Christmas is coming so I succumbed to one of the little blighters, only to get a piece of honeycomb stuck between my two front teeth leaving me (feeling like Nanny McPhee) with a chipped tooth. A moment on the lips, a lifetime with a chip! Hopefully not, as I shall have my Dentist on speed-dial in the morning with a view to repairing it. The outcome will, no doubt, be more dear than deer!

My family have, with some sympathy, had their fun out of my plight. Yes, I may be able to whistle now. Yes, I should mind the gap. Yes, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. 

On that note, please wish me good luck at the dentist and then I can wish you Merry Chrithmath!

Remember Remember!

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot.

And so we have had Bonfire Night with its warming soup, jacket potatoes and stuffed peppers followed by comforting parkin and sticky toffee apples eaten outside by the amber glow of the fire amongst the gunpowder aromas of the fireworks.

This has been followed by another kind of remembering; that of Remembrance Sunday when the whole nation remembers and honours those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom. This day is also known as Poppy Day.

Last year ceramic poppies were planted at the Tower of London to mark one hundred years since the start of Britain's involvement in World War I and each one marked the life of a soldier lost during that time. 

This year, here in Yorkshire, at the Sculpture Park, part of that installation, Wave, can be seen.

Although poppies are known for being toxic with their alkaloids used to manufacture opium and morphine, their seeds are in fact edible and a good substitute for nuts.

In the West we use them mainly scattered on baked items such as breads, bagels and pretzels but they can also be used in baking such as poppy cake, strudels and Danish pastries. In the East they are used in chappatis but can be added to mixed spice and used in some curries as a thickener and to add texture. The whole seeds are used in chutneys. Poppy syrup and poppy oil can also be made. 

Trick or Tr(eat)!

When I was younger pumpkins were associated with two things; Halloween and Cinderella. Now Cinderella based stories have been told in folklore for many years in many cultures but the version we know was written in 1697 and brought in the glass slipper, fairy godmother and the magical pumpkin to carriage scenario.

Pumpkins originate in North America and were the foodstuff pilgrims lived off during the 1600s to see them through the winter months.

Halloween has its origins in Celtic Ireland with the festival of Samhain (meaning end of summer) when autumn signified death and it was thought that spirits wandered the earth in search of a soul to inhabit. The Celts would dress as goulish creatures so the spirits would think they were one of them and leave them alone. Turnips would be hollowed out and candles placed inside to ward off evil spirits and warm good spirits to bring good luck into the household.  During the 19th century Irish immigrants brought their stories with them to America and celebrated Halloween (meaning All Hallows' Eve which was the day before All Saints Day on November 1st.) Pumpkins were then carved and lit rather than turnips. The Americans turned it into a holiday for communities with the emphasis on fun and games rather than pranks and witchcraft. During the 20th century it became more popular with trick or treating and pumpkin carving and has become the 2nd largest commercial holiday in the USA.

Whilst pumpkins are good for carving and illuminating, their flesh can make a tasty meal. They can be steamed, boiled and roasted, baked into muffins, fried in fritters and tempura and bashed into mash.

They make delicious soup, curries, bruschetta, galettes and, of course, Pumpkin Pie (best made using the green kabochahas variety with its vibrant orange flesh). The seeds can be scooped out, rinsed, dried, seasoned, drizzled with oil and roasted for 10 mins before cooling and storing for use in soups, salads and as a healthy snack.

This week I have embraced all things pumpkin (and squash and gourd). At Jamie's Italian I feasted on roast squash bruschetta and pumpkin ravioli, in Starbucks I enjoyed a comforting mug of pumpkin spice latte and at home I roasted squash with red onions, pine nuts and sage before adding tiny cubes of salty gorgonzola. All delicious and a warm welcome to winter.

Size Matters!

As we bid farewell to summer and enjoy the extra hour in bed it's time to ditch salads, picnics and Pimms in favour of warming hearty food and drinks. That said, we should not be tempted to hide our bulging waistlines under chunky jumpers but continue to eat sensibly so that the odd Hot Chocolate with extra whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles is a treat rather than a regular occurance.

Yesterday I ate at Jamie's Italian where the "sugar tax" has been running since June this year. This is Jamie's latest campaign in the fight against obesity (particularly aimed at children and teenagers) where a 10p surcharge is added to the price of sugary drinks. He has begun on home ground with his own restaurants but is wanting the Government to implement it on a nationwide scale. Bravo Jamie I say.

If I were in power I would change things back to the way they were when I was growing up. I believe it's all about portion size! Whilst generally I love all things American, it seems we have taken on some of their bad habits.

Since when did we ditch our buns for muffins? Our biscuits for cookies?

Not only is the food larger, but the glassware and crockery seems to have grown too. I have been married for just over 30 years and still have some of our original items. The photos below tell their own story. Thirty years ago my wine glass was (well,) tiny. I drank tea from a cup and saucer rather than a mug. My dinner plate seemed full with a decent size portion but now I eat from a larger plate with more room for more food! My dessert/soup/cereal bowl was about half the size it is now. All this space gets filled with more food and more drink so therefore I am consuming more. 

So come on Jamie, let's you and I bring out our own range of small, delicate crockery and make the world a better place! 

A Brush with Basil!

Writing this speedy blog whilst away in Palma! Yes again I hear you cry! Not a complete jolly this time - have just run (my first) 10K race with 2 friends so hey, three nights in Palma with 3 girlfriends and a run this morning seemed like a win-win to me!

The first night saw us in a gin palace called Ginbo where the bottle lined shelves are illuminated with soft atmospheric lighting and the place is jumping after 11pm. One friend chose an English Garden cocktail which contained gin, ginger beer, lime, rosemary, mint and basil. It was served in a jam jar glass with copious amounts of ice and the flavour and aroma of the basil running through it - delicious apparently!

The next day we lunched at Marc Fosh's restaurant Misa and sat in the cool and airy courtyard. Our dessert was a basil brownie served with curd ice cream and a little green jelly. Well, there was nothing brown about this brownie! Nor anything chocolate to savour at the end of National Chocolate Week which ran 12-18th October (in the UK). This basil brownie was green through and through. Palatable but definitely an acquired taste!

There are many kinds of basil as well as the regular; i.e. purple varieties, opal basil, lemon basil, cinammon basil and clove basil. I often have a pot of basil on the windowsill for culinary use and love the smell of it. I have found that Greek basil, with it's tiny leaves (which saves chopping and tearing) lasts much longer and is more decorative, looking almost like a box ball. Maybe the two uses of basil above will inspire you to use this favourite herb in a more unusual way!

This is now being published back home in Blighty. Sorry for the delay - internet issues!

Share and share alike!

By all accounts, this is the year of the apple. No, not in a Chinese New Year kind of way but by the fact that the apple harvest has been a bumper one of unblemished and plentiful apples. This is good news ... remember believing "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? Not only are they one of our five-a-day but there are numerous ways of cooking apples as well as crunching them au naturale! Another bonus is that there will be lashings of amber liquid for a cider drinker like myself!

When I was growing up we had a James Greaves apple tree at the bottom of the garden and every year the family would go outside on a dry, sunny autumnal Sunday to ceremoniously pick the fruits which would then be individually wrapped in newspaper and placed in the loft to store through the winter months. A friend has recently revealed that during her school days she would refer to the 3 apple trees in their garden as the orchard. I can't say I blame her. When you're young everything seems bigger and the very word orchard conjures up heavily laden branches bowing down and trailing its fruits onto the wild flower meadow at its feet.

In our family everything was shared whether it was a packet of sweets, a bun or indeed an apple. My parents had learned of a fair method of doing this from friends. The rule was "you cut, I'll choose" and so my sister and I learnt to cut precise halves from a very early age. For my last birthday she sent me this card as a reminder (and possibly a way of showing one-up-manship to her little sister!)

Another friend's mum would hold pudding bowls aloft and tell her daughters to choose which hand without the advantage of seeing what and how much was in them. My own children were often told to share nicely whether it was food or toys. Funnily enough whilst googling apples and sharing whilst writing this blog I have come full circle. apple.com say "everything's better when shared, and sharing has never been easier" whilst persuading us to take up Family Sharing on our devices. It's a very clever way of marketing their products by honing in on our values and, they do have a point. Everything is better when shared!

Alligator pears and fertility fruit (aka avocados)!

- Earlier this year my daughter told me about a delicious avocado-on-toast meal she had eaten at local cafe, Toast House in Ilkley, Yorkshire.

- Recently I sat at my kitchen table looking at a solitary ripe avocado and wondering what to do with it. What was the combo I mused.

- A few minutes later - Aha! A moment of recollection; it was mixed with peanut butter! How nutritious!

- A few seconds later - Er, I don't think so; it's pretty vile!

- Fast forward a month and I'm sitting in a wonderful cafe called Mrs Atha's in Leeds eating the most delicious avocado-on-toast meal. Strangely there wasn't a smear of peanut butter to be found! Instead there was perfectly ripe avocado smeared across two slices of granary toast, dusted with a few chilli flakes and topped off with a poached egg bursting with yolkiness.

- Now - I wonder if I can recreate it for my lunch!

Harvest Festival!

Wednesday was the Autumn Equinox which is Latin meaning equal and night. This means that the Earth is pretty much upright, leaning neither to nor away from the sun. In turn, our days are the same length as our nights, i.e. equal. Tonight there should be a Harvest Moon, being the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox and this year, it will be a Supermoon with a Blood Moon eclipse! (I'm getting out of my depth here so I suggest you google it or go outside and have a look for yourselves - pretty spectacular by all accounts!)

I have just (7.20pm) taken the above photo from my front door - amazing sight!

Anyway, the point is, this explains why in Britain we have a Harvest Festival at this time! This is to celebrate the produce of the land and dates back to Pagan times. Services are held in churches and schools and gifts of food are brought for the poor and needy. 

I remember my schoolday harvest festivals when we brought in fruit, vegetables and flowers and these were then taken to the local old peoples home. Sometimes there would be a wonderful wheatsheaf of bread on display and we would all sing harvest themed songs and hymns giving thanks for a good harvest. The array of colourful produce could easily compete with the best market stalls.

Sadly, but possibly more relevantly, our local church today held their Harvest Festival service and asked for gifts of tinned and dried produce and toiletries! I cannot imagine it being the vibrant display of times gone by but, on a practical note, means the goods can be delivered to the needy (in this case the local Food Bank) without the fear of perishing.

In other countries around the world the main harvest is found at different times in various places. The celebrations involve eating, merriment, contests, music and even romance! In the United States it is known as Thanksgiving and has become a national holiday! That makes our celebration look a tad underwhelming!

Berry Tasty!

September, for me, marks the blackberry season. No not the hand held mobile device which, for many, became a crackberry, but the glistening crowd of juicy black druplets encircling a tiny seed. They can be bought in markets, supermarkets and greengrocers or picked in the wild where they are known as brambles.

I have many fond memories of picking them in the countryside. We knew from year to year which hedgerows held them and would make a family trip to gather them. With camping friends we would take plastic bags to the railway embankment and return to the campsite with scratched arms and purple fingers and mouths holding our treasure aloft with pride. In those days they would often be preserved for the winter by bottling and enjoyed during the winter months in pies and crumbles. (I think I have previously mentioned crunching on a snail shell which had been bottled all winter!)

This year I have battled the nettles and picked a few pounds which I have mostly frozen. I did however make a delicious pudding:-

Blackberry and Apple Tray Bake

175g butter

300g plain flour

2 bramley apples

1 red apple

2 tbsp lemon juice

300ml double cream

3 eggs

220g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

300g blackberries

Oven 170/gas 3. Butter & flour a pudding dish 20x30cms

Peel, core and thinly slice apples & toss in lemon juice

Melt butter in cream in saucepan gently - do not boil. Cool.

Beat eggs & sugar & add to cream & butter mix with vanilla essence stirring

Fold in flour then apple and blackberries

Pour into pudding dish & bake for 40 mins. 

Should be puffed up, slightly golden and crisp at edges. Skewer should come out cleanly.

Absolutely yummy served with custard, cream, creme frache, ice cream or greek yogurt!

Blackberries are high in vitamins and low in calories - perhaps they are the new crackberry to which we shall become addicted!

Showing off!

This weekend it has been our village show where people put their skills and wares on display for judging. There are many categories from best photograph to best wooden object and best nature display to best knitted item. There is usually an entry fee and items are entered by age and category and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes are a little bit of money and, of course, the coveted trophies.

Gardeners and growers, bakers and makers show off their best produce from fruit and vegetables to flowers, cakes and jams. When little, my daughter won for her display of pine cones in a basket which took her all of ten minutes to do! My sister has had prizes for her delicious mint jelly at her local show and has entered jams and chutneys whilst her husband entered fruit and vegetables.

To show fruit and veg you normally have to place three near perfect and of equal size and shape on a plate. That is unless you're going for the whopper or the most rudely shaped competition! 

These shows bring communities together and, whilst some may consider them serious, most people see them as a little bit of fun.

On a larger scale are the county shows which date back to the early 19th century. My nearest is the Great Yorkshire Show which started in 1837 in York and was held at different showgrounds around the county. In 1950 a permanent site in Harrogate was built. It is held every July and I remember, as a child, being allowed the day off school by my parents who said it was "educational!" In my twenties I worked for Calor Gas where we had a stand and demonstrated cooking on gas barbecues. Whenever the chance arose I would go and watch the showjumping or the show animals being led and judged around the arena. The white marquees held the craft competitions, food and drink judging and the produce displays. Whilst it isn't possible to eat or drink the entries, there is a myriad of stalls dotted around the show selling hot and cold food and beverages ranging from Pimms to Yorkshire Tea!

Unfortunately many people do not have the garden space to grow their own and in my local area the average time to wait for an allotment to become available is 8 years! I used to live opposite a lovely man called Bill who owned an allotment. I would arrive home from a busy day at work to find a bag of produce hanging on my kitchen door; everything from sweet apples to papery onions and soil covered potatoes! One time he delivered Jerusalem Artichokes and I had to find out what to do with them (roasting proved to be my favourite!) All the benefits of home grown without the work; it was bliss! 

With more people growing and making their own, living sustainable lives with a low carbon footprint and being environmentally aware, one can only assume the village and county shows are here to stay.

Back to school!

Early September and it's back to school for children around the country. Nowadays many religions, cultures and diets are catered for in the dinner hall and, whilst I wasn't vegetarian back in the day, I don't remember anyone having separate or different school dinners.

In my primary school years I would go home for lunch each day, travelling several miles by bus there and back. On the odd occasion I did stay at school to eat, my favourite by far was cornflake tart! In middle school we sat at tables of eight and two people were elected to "serve" the other six, including scraping their plates into the slop bucket which we believed was sent to feed pigs. My friend and I were at a table with 6 boys and we would trade our mains for their puddings. Massive blocks of sponge cake with a jug of (sometimes pink) custard was a real treat. At break the tuck shop sold crisps and at lunchtime an ice cream van would park up at the school gate!

In High School it was a canteen style arrangement and I would bypass the solid crusted meat pies and spam fritters in favour of a salad. This was served with a slab of fish paste which I would give away and make myself a lettuce and salad cream sandwich with the remaining food. Sometimes I would use the 25p to go out of school to buy a carton of milk and an apple or sometimes sweets. A friend's nan lived nearby and she would feed us spaghetti hoops on toast at her home.

The College I attended had a canteen too and I would queue for a salad sandwich and a Nutty Bar (believing that with no chocolate on it I wouldn't get spots ... how wrong I was!)

Upon starting at the village school, my twin niece and nephew returned home with stories of their adventures there. My sister was very puzzled when they told her for lunch they had eaten "really tiny, teeny tiny little meatballs". She told the dinner ladies how much they'd liked them, only to find out it was mincemeat!

My own children seemed to regularly eat pizza, pasta and hotdogs at school although I do remember fruit drinks being banned in favour of water.

A few years ago Jamie Oliver campaigned to ban junk and processed foods from schools and eventually tighter nutritional guidelines were introduced. 

New regulations this year stipulate that there is at least one portion of vegetables and salad each day and no more than two portions of fried and pastry based food on offer each week. Drinking water is the preferred beverage. 

Certainly there is more choice these days with healthier options and specific dietary needs being catered for from halal meats, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan foods. Whilst there is clearly still room for improvement, thankfully school dinners are heading in the right direction!

Happy Herbs!

I'm really not sure if it's currently a trendy ingredient in cooking, but it would seem that borage has jumped onto my radar during the last few months.

My first encounter was probably 30 years ago when the Consultant I worked for invited myself and his junior doctor team over for Pimms and croquet; neither of which I had tasted nor played up until that point. Floating in the Pimms were fruits, cucumber and dainty little blue star shaped flowers, aka borage. 

For the last 20 years I have created a herb garden wherever we moved house and I have included borage along with rosemary, oregano, marjorum, thyme, sage and various mints. A herb garden is a great asset to a garden with the above being easy to grow, looking good pretty much throughout the year and bringing joy every time you step outside to snip a bit to add to your cooking or salads. Borage flowers are usually a piercing blue colour but this year I have added a white flowering one too. These can be added to salads and drinks or candied for cake decorations. The leaves can also be used in summer drinks to add a cool cucumber flavour.

Last week in Majorca I ate out in an Italian(!) restaurant and enjoyed borage stuffed ravioli with walnut pesto. The ravioli was tasty 'tho' personally I found the walnut pesto a little overpowering and sickly.

The flowers are a great source of nectar and so enjoyed by the bees who go on to make borage honey. Whilst away in the Cotswolds this year I enjoyed borage porridge which appeals to my sense of rhyming in the same way as wearing a Hackett jacket does! Imagine how pleased I was on finding that the Celts believed that borage brought courage! The Greeks thought it made people glad and merry - when added to wine(!) More generally it is regarded as comforting the heart, cheering melancholy, giving a sense of well-being and reviving one on a hot day (especially if served in a large glass of Pimms I suspect! Happy days!) 

Top Tapas!

Having spent a few days walking through the golden hued streets of Palma, Majorca, I am writing this from my apartment rooftop in the northern town of Port de Pollenca. 

Majorca, like much of Spain, is famous for its Tapas. The story goes that the sherry drinkers in Andalucia would place pieces of bread over their glasses to prevent fruit flies falling in to their drink. The bread was then often eaten and thereafter developed into lots of different snacks being served with a drink.

The locals eat it as an appetizer but ordering several dishes can make up a complete meal. Whilst many involve meat, fish and seafood, these are my favourite vegetarian tapas dishes:-

Pa amb oli - similar to the widely known bruschetta. It is bread rubbed with garlic, smeared with fresh tomato, given a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of sea salt. Cheese (and ham) are sometimes added.

Aioli - deliciously moreish garlic mayonnaise to dip food into or spread on bread.

Patatas bravas - fried potato cubes with mayonnaise and a spicy red sauce.

Padrones - small green peppers fried with olive oil, garlic and salt.

Truita espanyol or Tortilla espanyol - or Spanish omlette! It is an egg, potato and onion omlette often served in slices and can be hot or cold.

Other tapas or side dishes for the vegetarian are grilled aubergine or sweet bell peppers and steamed broad green beans and artichokes.

For a main course, a local vegetable stew called Tumbet is a winner which uses seasonal vegetables but usually consists of a mixture of aubergine, courgette, peppers, onions, potatoes and garlic. The first time I had it was 20 years ago in a restaurant called Coral in Port de Pollenca. It was like comfort food; wonderfully cooked vegetables in a (Heinz tasting) tomato soup!

A week of two halves!

What a mixed week I've had!

6th August was my husband's birthday and I booked for 4 of us to eat out in Leeds at Fazenda, a rodizio bar and grill featuring continuous tableside service of 15 different prime cuts of meat! Yikes! I did make sure they had a vegetarian option when booking. Upon arrival the meat eaters were given what looked like a beer mat with red (no thanks) and green (yes please) on either side. To begin with we went up to the salad bar which was amazing with its vast selection of delicacies. I could have made that my entire meal but did in fact enjoy a pumpkin risotto and also had a dessert included with my meal. Seeing the meat did not put me off as it all looked good quality. However, it did feel as if the waiters were surrounding me as they sliced their skewers of meat and I played a game of dodgeball with my plate and glass so that no juice nor fat dripped onto my food.

10th August was my birthday and a (meat eating) friend accompanied me to Roots and Fruits in The Grand Arcade in Leeds. This is a vegetarian and vegan cafe which has been open for the last 25 years and changed hands about 2 years ago. The decor is inviting with pictures by local artists adorning the walls and Kay, the owner, offered a friendly welcome. She was knowledgable about the food on offer and informed us that much of the produce is purchased locally at KIrkgate Market. We were there for lunch and whilst my friend chose a vegetable lasagne I went for a Carribean dish which included salad, hummus, coconut and jackfruit (new to me). We drank smoothies and tea and shared a slice of rich chocolate guiness cake. The restaurant is the only one in Leeds approved by the Vegetarian Society and has high ethical and sustainable credits with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free being catered for.

Later in the week my sister came to stay and off we went to The Veggie; an organic vegetarian cafe in Ilkley. I enjoyed a warm toasted pitta stuffed with cauliflower and chickpea fritters with salad, hummus and sweet chilli sauce. My sister had a sandwich of goats' cheese, red onion chutney and rocket in granary bread. We then finished with tea, coffee and a slice of coffee and walnut cake. This cafe also caters for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free diets.

All three places offered good vegetarian meals although if you don't like the look of meat I would not recommend Fazenda. However if, like me, you just don't like the taste, I would actually recommend it. There were 2 vegetarian choices, 2 vegan choices and 2 fish choices and, of course, that wonderful salad bar!

Why was the beach wet?

... because the seaweed! 

Seaweed is definitely having its moment in the sun (and sea) at present. Its culinary uses go way back in history but is probably something we now associate with chinese food and japanese sushi where it is a healthy dietary staple. Years ago we took our children on a trip to Legoland and London whilst staying in Windsor. There was a chinese restaurant with a reasonable buffet which we thought would be a good introduction to chinese food. My daughter, aged 4 at the time, used a chopstick in each hand to carry seconds of crispy seaweed across from the serving platter, hovering over our drinks, to land successfully on her plate where it was consumed with enthusiasm. It's maybe no coincidence that she was really in to The Little Mermaid at the time!

Seaweed contains many nutrients with iodine, calcium, protein and vitamin C amongst them. It is low in fat and high in fibre content. We probably don't recognise that we are eating it in some forms as it is used as an additive in many foods and drinks. Seaweed flakes (dulse) can be used as seasoning.

I have been wrong in thinking that samphire is a form of seaweed when in fact it is a plant from the parsley family which grows along the shoreline and salty mudflats. Whilst harvesting it is a slow fiddly job, cooking it is a breeze as it takes merely 1-2 minutes in boiling water to soften. It has a crisp and salty flavour which, apparently, goes well with fish, but for vegetarians makes a good accompaniment to eggs and other seasonal treats such as asparagus, fennel and peas. The other night I made the following concoction and it was truly delicious.

Panfried samphire and asparagus served with 2 soft poached eggs, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a sprinkling of grated parmesan. From pan to plate in 4 minutes - bliss! Would have been even better with some sodabread on the side.

So, even if you can't get to the seaside this summer, at least you can still have a little taste of the sea!

God's own county!

1st August every year (since 1975) is Yorkshire Day; a celebration of all things Yorkshire.

Over the years I haven't always been aware of the commemorative day until being accosted by people handing out Yorkshire Tea samples or hearing "Ilkley Moor Baht 'at" being played at the bandstand. On one occasion I was picnicking with my children on Ilkley Moor when an octogenarian stood up from his camping chair and cast off his tartan rug to play it on his trumpet whilst his wife looked on - random, eccentric yet somewhat patriotic and heartwarming.

Yorkshire has many things to be proud of; our cities, market towns, scenery, two national parks, agriculture, heritage, sporting prowess, industry, diversity and yes, our food!

Yorkshire Puddings are probably the most famous but we also have our own curd tarts, parkin, fat rascals and pikelets. 

For those with a sweet tooth, we invented liquorice including Allsorts and Pontefract Cakes as well as Yorkshire Mixture boiled sweets with its mix of rock, humbugs, peardrops and sugary fish. Confectioners include Terry's, Rowntree's, Thorntons and Mackintosh's.

Our rhubarb triangle produces both seasonal and forced rhubarb. Cheeses include Wensleydale and Shepherds Purse and you might like to add a splash of our Hendersons Relish on the side. 

As mentioned we enjoy Yorkshire Tea which we mash, not brew! Ginger beer originally comes from Yorkshire too.

We can boast a number of breweries including Timothy Taylor, Black Sheep, Theakston, Tetley's, John Smith's and Copper Dragon as well as a multitude of micro breweries.

I am Yorkshire Born and Bred as they say and, what's more, I'm proud of it!

In the beginning ...

 A friend has boycotted my blog as she's sick of hearing about my trips to Italy (well jel!) so I hope she won't mind me writing about a day trip to York instead!

The day? A sunny Saturday in July

The place? Bettys in York

The reason? To meet up with an old vegetarian friend whom I hadn't seen in 8 years or so ...

I first met her whilst on holiday in Kos in 1987 and we immediately hit it off and saw each other regularly over the next few years. She was a pescatarian at that time but shortly afterwards gave up fish too. As a child she had lived in rural Lincolnshire and was happy to mop up meat blood and juices with white bread - ugh! I'm not sure what made her vegetarian but I'm sure knowing her influenced my decision to become a veggie.

Eating out in the late eighties and early nineties was not easy for vegetarians and we had many a slimy vegetable lasagne over the years but it did show me it was possible to eat meat-less meals. On one occasion we were staying in Aviemore when I decided to extend our break by dropping in on my then pregnant sister. "Could four of us come and stay tomorrow night - oh and one is a vegetarian?" We arrived to the smell of lasagne cooking and settled down to eat. I remember my husband and I looking on in alarm at what we thought were huge balls of mincemeat only to a realise with relief that they were walnuts!

I took the plunge in 1990 and gave up meat and fish completely. After only a few weeks my migraines subsided a little and I felt energised, as if meat had made me sluggish. I think it must have been the sudden change of diet that perked me up but sadly the migraines eventually returned and the energy evaporated!

Around that time I was trying for a baby and, sadly, had many miscarriages. I worried that my diet was contributing and had many tests to try and find the reason. The young registrar looked at my blood test results and pronounced I was the healthiest vegetarian he had ever come across! I am pleased to say that I have since had 2 healthy children.

What is more, I'm actually proud to be vegetarian and so raise a cup of tea and chomp on a Bettys Fat Rascal to my friend of 28 years for showing me the way!

A Taste of Tuscany!

Ok so I've been back from Italy for a week now but thought I would carry on my ramblings about all things Tuscan.

Whilst staying with friends near Lucca we had wonderful meals a casa; home-made pizzas cooked in the outdoor pizza oven, home-grown yellow plums, a delicious antipasti supper etc., and some delicious (and interesting*) meals out.

A favourite starter was a variety of pecorino cheeses served either with honey and walnuts or a selection of chutneys such as chilli, onion and ginger. For il primo or il secondo I enjoyed pasta with sage butter, gnocchi with pesto and a walnut and corgette flower pasta. Not to mention wonderful gelati!

In Florence I feasted on pizza, pasta, melanzane parmigiana (an aubergine bake), tuscan tomato soup and salads. The two most interesting courses were at a new restaurant called La Menagere. For primo I had a kind of risotto made with rice, rosemary, coffee powder, raisins and roasted seeds. Unusual tasting but rather nice. 

For secondo I had a poached egg on stewed red radicchio with melted pecorino cheese and red wine reduction served with a barley cracker - so pretty it looked like dessert! It was lovely to try different vegetarian food combinations.

My only downfall was agreeing to tagliata di manzo* (for 2 people) to share with my friend. Sadly we had only glanced at the menu and mistook tagliata for tagliatelle! The huge platter of sliced grilled beef served on a bed of rocket and tomato arrived with great aplomb and was promptly waved away. We re-ordered whilst the meaty dish was enjoyed by the men in our group!

Perhaps it's time to start learning Italian!

In the market for tasty food!

Having just returned from a week in Tuscany I can't wait to share my new found favourite foodie place with you. Having visited many cafes, bars, restaurants and gelaterias, my favourite is on the first floor of the Central Market in Florence, in the San Lorenzo quarter.

The building itself is very impressive with its two storeys made of glass and cast iron from 1874. It has, in recent years been renovated. The ground floor market itself sells an array of meats, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables, pastas, nuts, spices, olives, oils and some takeaway Tuscan foods. 

Move upstairs and you will find a large airy space flooded with light, vibrant with colour and echoing with the chatter of people enjoying good food. There's a choice of 500 seats so you can be right in the heart of the dining or tucked into a quiet corner to read and eat in solitude or merely people watch in fascination. You will be surrounded by 12 food shops selling ready to eat cheeses, breads, pizzas, pastas, truffles, vegetarian burgers and salads, cakes and pastries (as well as meats and fish). There is a beer bar, coffee bar, Chianti tasting and refreshing juices. Cookery books are sold in one area and a cookery school is tucked into another. It has a great vibe with people from all nationalities coming together and enjoying good, healthy, tasty food.

The strapline is "Quality is a value. Spread the word!" 

The tables were kept clean and clear by a number of staff sporting logo t-shirts and the Mozzarella Man could be heard tooting the horn of his trolley as he moved amongst the customers with his wares. There was a definite sense of pride amongst the people working there. A map showing the layout of the market could be picked up at various points as well as the Information Desk where bookings for the cookery school were taken and a green home service ensured delivery within 3 hours.

I overheard an American lady exclaim how great it would be to have the same set up back home in the USA and I wanted to shout "no, bring it to the UK first!" Many of our markets have become tired and underused and it would be wonderful to re-energise them by bringing people in to eat locally produced and prepared food. Yes we have local farmers markets but how wonderful to be able to go to one central place in the towns and cities and enjoy a quick, nutritious, good value bite whilst on a lunch break from work, shopping or sightseeing.

I enjoyed pizza caprese on my first visit and a popeye veggie-burger the second time - both scrummy!

Taking flight!

Friday afternoon saw me taking a Ryanair flight from Leeds to Pisa. As soon as we boarded I was handed a menu card which, unbelievably, had a good selection of vegetarian snacks. Yes there were the usual pop and sweets and crisps and buns along with a host of hot and cold beverages but, on this occasion, I was not limited to a tube of Pringles and a Kit Kat. This menu offered croissants, cereals and porridge for the morning traveller, two vegetarian snack packs, olives, nuts, two flatbreads, patatas bravas, mozzarella sticks, salad, oven chips, ratatouille with fusilli and a panini. All the food had clear labelling and, in fact, the patatas bravas and snack packs did not have the v-sign, so was very useful.

 

The menu card had this Andy Warhol cartoon type figure and encouraged us to "use call bell to order at any time!" What service!

For a low-cost airline I would agree; definitely a spiffing selection!

Several years ago on a flight to Špain my pre-booked veggie meal was nabbed by someone else. Sure, Spain isn't exactly long-haul but if I don't have food I tend to suffer a travel migraine (as demonstrated on my birthday last year with the infamous birthday barf whilst trying to locate the villa!) The stewardess was very apologetic but could offer nothing vegetarian. She did, in fact, kindly give me an apple from her own locker.

Airport and airline food can be tricky. Even last year when delayed at Barcelona airport the poster in the cafe read "healthy Mediterranean veggie paninis" but was actually with chicken and bacon! 

Of course these obstacles can pale into insignificance compared to actually trying to get a veggie meal abroad ... but those stories can wait until another time! 

Let them eat cake!

I have reached that time in life when the offspring of old friends start to find their way in the world, meet partners and settle down. Yesterday we attended a beautiful church wedding followed by a decadent reception at a picturesque venue. Everything went swimmingly with everyone wearing their best bib and tucker, the bride and groom clearly in love, the food being delicious (including my special vegetarian meal) and the speeches hitting the right notes. It was a fairly traditional affair with the symbolic cutting of the cake at the end of the meal.

At least this groom did not hit his bride over the head with a loaf of barley bread as the Romans did! Nor did the couple have to stand on tip-toe over a pile of buns and attempt a kiss without bringing them toppling down like a stack of jenga bricks!

Food, and particularly cake, has played a big part in wedding celebrations around the world. For instance, in Canada they would hide a nutmeg inside the cake and the person who found it would be next in line for being wed (possibly less of a scrum than trying to catch the bride's bouquet). In Brazil they give cake as favours to guests; we were given iced biscuit dresses and waistcoats as favours.

At yesterday's wedding the Best Man said it had been a very emotional wedding - "even the cake was in tiers!" Haha! In the UK it has been traditional, since Victorian times, to have a tiered icing covered fruit cake. Fruit, nuts and marzipan represent fertility and good fortune. The smallest tier was often saved for the christening of the couple's firstborn (in my case it was eaten the following Christmas which was a good thing as a baby didn't follow for 9 years and the cake would have been mouldy by then!) 

In Ireland, as well as the fruit/irish whisky cake, the couple are served mead, a honey wine beverage, believed to bring virility and fertility. In times past they would have been given a supply of mead to drink until the first moon of marriage and that is, allegedly, where the phrase "honeymoon" comes from.

Nowadays people often have other cakes in their tiers such as sponge, chocolate or red velvet as many people do not like dried fruit. The ritual of the bride and groom smearing each others faces in frosting is not one I like to see; never mind that they've just spent a fortune on hair, clothes, makeup and photos to capture their perfection, what a waste of cake!! 

Whatever the flavour, it's good to see some traditions continue and cake, and hopefully marriage itself, will last until infinity and beyond!

Talking Rhubarb!

Happy Fathers Day! My father, now in his eighties, grew up in the area known as the Rhubarb Triangle (between Pontefract, Wakefield and Leeds) in a small village called Robin Hood. Field upon field of rhubarb grew as the area used shoddy, an early form of recycled scraps of wool from the textile mills, which was shredded and used successfully as compost. The Yorkshire rain also played its part in growing good rhubarb!

Dad has many memories of the rhubarb fields and they provided his childhood with many activities:

- making dens amongst the large plants

- eating raw rhubarb dipped in sugar (a poke was a brown paper cone filled with sugar, coconut or cocoa and sugar for dipping rhubarb, or fingers, for a sweet treat)

- hollowed out rhubarb made a good vibrating whistle (like comb and paper)

- rhubarb seeds made the best pellets for pea-shooters

- the pool of liquid at the base of a pulled stem was seriously alcoholic!

Outdoor grown rhubarb has a season from April - September and is very hardy. It is actually a vegetable and contains carbohydrates, fibres, potassium and vitamin C.

In 1817 the Chelsea Physic Garden made a chance discovery when gardeners accidently buried some rhubarb under soil. When they later dug it up, it had young bright pink stems as it had been denied sunlight and could therefore not use photosynthesis to develop. It was found to be juicy, tender and attractive and has since been grown in the Rhubarb Triangle in dark warm sheds. The plants only need water and heat and are picked by candlelight. It is said you can hear the rhubarb growing as the buds of new stalks pop. This is known as forced rhubarb and is available from December - March.

After the Second World War the sales of rhubarb deteriorated as tropical fruits were introduced from abroad and were more popular. The Rhubarb Triangle therefore became smaller but there are still growers continuing the tradition and, in recent years championing local home grown produce, rhubarb is once more having its moment to shine.

There are lots of recipes using rhubarb and it loves to partner ginger, strawberries and, of course, custard. I have recently put some to good use with an easy rhubarb and custard compote.

450g trimmed rhubarb

150g caster sugar

2 x 15mls vanilla extract

Boil then simmer together for a few minutes until rhubarb is soft. Leave to cool and serve on vanilla ice cream, a thick greek yogurt or a bowl of porridge. Scrummy!

Not so green as you're cabbage-looking!

Yesterday a door was opened and I stepped in to another world. No, it wasn't the back of the wardrobe and no, I didn't find Narnia. It was The Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival held in the fabulous Leeds Town Hall. I approached to the sound of live music and the aroma of cooking burgers outside but inside did take me by surprise.

In the main hall, as expected, were numerous (150 apparently) stalls selling freshly cooked foods and ingredients from around the world. There were also stands with hot chocolate powder and coffee, chocolate and cakes, cider, beer and coconut milk. What I hadn't expected were the stalls selling cosmetics and candles, pet food, homeopathic remedies, slogan t-shirts and jewellery. Many were asking for us to sign up for this and that; save this animal, save that fish, say no to fur, say no to animal cruelty etc etc. Why exactly I hadn't expected it I can't say. I suppose being vegetarian because I don't like to eat meat (it started as not liking the texture) had not made me sit up and question the bigger picture.

Upstairs at the venue was an exhibition on veganism. It was not particularly impressive; just a few screens starting with the evolution of dinosaurs and ending with celebrity vegan quotes and endorsements. I wanted to find out more so went to listen to one of the lectures. In this I learnt that owning a car, flying on holiday, eating honey and even almonds were all bad things. I shouldn't shop in supermarkets but ought to find good sources of vegan produce on the internet but then again, these would have to be delivered from some far-flung place ... and that's a bad thing too. Honestly, it sounds as if being vegan is truly difficult as much research must be done in to where and what is ethically sound, environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced!

Another "vegetarian" in the audience was trying to do her bit and lean towards being vegan and she was praised for just being there and trying to learn something. I took heart from that and have given myself a little pat on the back too. I can't see me ever becoming vegan but it has opened my eyes and made me think of some tiny steps I can make to become that little bit greener!

Brighton Rock(s)!

Bright and breezy Brighton - I am buzzing from my two night stay there with my teenage daughter and anxious to tell you all about the fab places to dine out.

Brighton is famous for many things and we took in the pier, the beach, the Royal Pavilion, the museum and art gallery. Best of all were The Laines with their quirky shops and array of coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. The overriding theme was of real artisans at work using seasonal, local, best quality ingredients. There is a real boho, anything goes, vibe in Brighton and they certainly cater to vegetarians with veggie cafes and nearly everywhere boasted some veggie and vegan choices. We even spotted a vegetarian shoe shop!

In The Laines we visited:-

Coffee Tree - afternoon tea of delicious cakes washed down with tea and fresh smoothies

Grow 40 - breakfast yogurt and granola with a good coffee

Gelato Gusto - caramel & seasalt and creme brulee flavour

The Flour Pot Bakery - bakewell tart with a pot of tea and an iced coffee

Kooks has great reviews but we were disappointed with our breakfast

Evening Dinner:-

Cote (opposite The Dome and situated in what was once the Music Library). This is part of a chain of modern french brasserie style restaurants. After some nice salty olives and warm sourdough bread the asparagus risotto was full of summer flavours yet still warm and comforting.

Terre a terre (on East Street). Featured in the Michelin-guide, this vegetarian restaurant is a must visit (and a must book). The combination of imaginative ingredients, intense flavours and wonderful textures add up to a unique vegetarian taste sensation and I would defy any meat-eater to miss the meat from their plate. The ambience and friendly waiters helped to make it a truly great experience.

My daughter had the Better Batter and Lemony Yemeni Relish which arrived looking for all the world like fish and chips with mushy peas but was in fact a battered halloumi with the most delicious accompaniments. We both (I tried a bit) loved it.

My dish was the Bonbon Beets and Bigarade Rosti which appeared to be a giant thin crispy rosti piled high with artichoke, beetroot and almonds surrounded by a tasty sauce. 

You need to look at the website and menus - there were roughly ten listed ingredients in each dish (some of which I was unfamiliar with) but boy the chef knows how to amalgamate them into something really special. I can't recommend it highly enough. We ended the meal by sharing Churrosimo - yum!

On my to do list for next time is Choccywoccydoodah, Boho Gelato and the newly opened Breakfast Club.

Easy-peasy-pizza!

I can't believe that National Vegetarian Week has passed me by. It was 18-24th May and, had I known, I might have forced the family to unite and support me in my quest to make just one meal for tea! Ha! I think I have already mentioned a very useful book I was given when I first became vegetarian and needed to cook myself a meal alongside the meat dishes for my family. It's called "No meat for me please!" by Jan Arkless and was, quite literally, my bible!

Actually the family do sometimes eat vegetarian food, particularly pasta dishes. The meal I have made since the children were little is Naan Bread Pizza originally taken from a Nigella recipe and, like all pizzas, can be adapted to suit the recipient's taste. Here is my basic recipe:-

Naan bread (plain or the garlic and coriander ones/small ones are good for parties)

Pasta sauce (I use Seeds of Change organic tomato and basil)

Grated cheese (I like cheddar but mozarella would work too)

That's it really. You spread the sauce on the naan with a sprinkling of cheese on top and bake in a moderate-hot oven for 10-15 mins.

The wow factor will depend on what you put on it before it goes in the oven and the possibilities are endless for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. They can be sophisticated or childish but, most importantly, tasty!

Here are two of my favourites; one with caramelised onion and basil, the other a face of caramelised onion hair and roasted pepper eyes, nose and tongue. Go on and give it a go! 

Well, I may have let National Vegetarian Week pass me by but I have made sure that National Gin Day is highlighted, ringed and starred on my calendar - roll on Saturday June 13th!

Eat what it says on the tin!

Funny how we call meats by certain names and not others. For example, I've never heard anyone say "let's have pig for dinner" or "the cow was delicious" yet we do refer to chickens, ducks, rabbits and lambs. When my animal loving nephew and niece were small they were simply told "it's meat". My own children quite often ate "dinosaurs", courtesy of Bernard Matthews! Before that they had been Milupa babies with the odd exception when I would try and puree fruit and vegetables. On one of these occasions my son refused his pureed brocolli whilst his grandpa mused how it looked like grass cuttings!

As the children grew I began to make more of my own food and give them less processed stuff. They and my husband are not vegetarian so I have always cooked meat for them. (I have tried to put my husband off steak and kidney by calling it "cow and wee" 'though it hasn't deterred him!) This means cooking more than one meal at a time. I like us all to be eating a similar meal, i.e. meat and veggie chillis, curries, lasagnes, pastas etc. but when they eat a roast dinner I often fall back on a quick and convenient bought breadcrumbed camembert. These can get a bit tedious so I have found ways of livening them up by inserting a slither of garlic, a sprig of rosemary or a squeeze of honey.

Home made, 'though not really healthy, flapjack has been the staple sweet treat in our family. It's so quick and easy to make and everyone seems to enjoy it's satisfying oaty sweetness. My son is called Jack and when he was little he used to ask for "flap" having been frequently asked "would you like some flapjack?"

Most of you will probably have a much healthier recipe for flapjack but I'm going to share mine with you anyway. It was given to me by a friend in the 1970s and I have recently tweaked it a little.

Fiona's Flapjack:

9oz Stork Margerine

4oz Demerara Sugar

3tbsp Golden Syrup

12oz Porridge Oats (I use 2oz thick milled oats & 10oz wholegrain rolled oats) 

Melt margerine, sugar and syrup together then stir in the oats. Pour into a greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 mins in a moderate oven. Cut into slices whilst warm then allow to cool before removing from the tin. Enjoy!

Pasta Zucchini!

Exactly four weeks ago I was in Capri with husband and friends having taken the hydrofoil from Sorrento. We were like the Famous Five (without the dog) and, rather than take the funicular up to town, we climbed the endless slopes and steps, pausing to look back at the bay we had left behind. After a quick coffee we charged back down to the harbour to meet our boatman at the allotted time. We then experienced a wonderful two hour boat trip around the island courtesy of our wonderful guide, Salvatore.

Back on dry land and in need of sustenance we went to the nearest restaurant (L'approdo) overlooking the small harbour and sat down to a glass or three of rose. Whilst the guys went for fish and meat dishes, we girls opted for a delicious courgette pasta which was one of their specialities. We were hungry after the boat trip and fresh sea air and were definitely seduced by the island with its colourful boats bobbing in the deep blue sea and the overhead cries of the gulls. The food was heavenly much, I suspect, like the rest of Capri.

Back home I have since tried to recreate that wonderful pasta dish. I had a courgette, some pasta and a block of parmesan. With the aid of a clip from Nigellisima I succeeded in making a delicious courgette pasta (almost) as good as my Capri experience.

Cook casarecce pasta according to instructions (used by Nigella, L'approdo and myself but any pasta shape would do) 

A large courgette peeled in stripes then diced

A couple of spring onions sliced (or finely chopped onion/leek)

Cook in garlic oil until soft and squidgy

Splash of vermouth (I used dry white wine)

Chopped parsley (I didn't have this)

Put the lid on the pan and cook gently.

Add a little grated parmesan (enough to add a bit of goo and a lot of flavouring)

Melt in a knob of butter

Add the drained pasta, stir and serve

The Nigella recipe states chilli flakes but I didn't see her add them nor did I detect any in Capri.

And there you have it (although Nigella eats hers out of the pan); a little bit of Capri in a bowl.

Hello Petal!

Now is the time when much of our food is grown; vegetables, fruit, salad, herbs and flowers. Yes that's right, flowers!

Amazingly many of the pretty flowers we grow in our gardens can be eaten; nasturtiums, violas, marigolds, roses, primroses, geraniums, cornflowers, fuschias, phlox, tulips, sunflowers ... an endless list.

From the vegetable garden the flowers of peas, pumpkin, squash, marrow, onion and courgette. From the herb garden the flowers of chives, borage, lemon balm, basil, fennel, oregano, bergamot, dill, mint and coriander. Also blossom from citrus and apple trees and strawberry flowers.

Whilst fancy restaurants and TV cookery programmes have made this fashionable, flowers have been used in cookery as far back as 3,000BC and was a particular favourite in Roman Times and by the Chinese.

Mandy, a girl I worked with in the 1980s, would eat the carnations off the table in any bar or restaurant! My own sister has sprinkled a handful of nasturtiums and pansies in her salads for the last ten years or so. I thought she was a bit of a crank but it turns out she was way ahead of the game with her edible flowers, homemade chutneys and jellies and herb infused oils and she was certainly the first person I knew who recycled on a regular basis 30 years ago!

Whilst flowers can be sugar frosted to go on cakes they can easily be used in salads and sauces, desserts and biscuits as well as being used as a garnish in a cocktail.

If you decide to eat flowers you should ensure that no chemicals or pesticides have been sprayed on them. If you haven't a garden to grow them in you can buy online, visit a farmers market or bob to your nearest Waitrose where they are sold in 5g bags to add to your salad leaves. 

Or, "if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair" - you never know when you're going to need a quick snack!

The Merry Month of May!

Bread and cheese; no not a sandwich, nor a ploughmans, a pizza or a fancy foccacia. I'm talking about the young leaves and leaf buds of the native hawthorn. My father grew up in the then rural village of Robin Hood, near Wakefield in Yorkshire and he and his family and friends would refer to this hedgerow delicacy as a little bit of bread and cheese. 

I have done some research and it turns out that this was quite a common practice amongst country folk who would enjoy this slice of greenery, especially in times of poverty and famine throughout history. It is said to have a nutty taste although, as part of my research, I have tried a few pieces and, to be honest, they taste like leaves to me.

May celebrations go back a long way and the hawthorn has been quite central, symbolising fertility, new life and the start of the growing season. It is meant to be good for the heart when the dried berries and dried blossom are used in herbal remedies and good for affairs of the heart when the wood is turned into a talisman, wand or charm ball.

The rhyme "Here we go gathering nuts in May" probably refers to the "knots" of hawthorn blossom which were used to decorate the May-time celebrations. Maypole dancing was a favourite and I remember my sister doing it in the 1960s at a local park on quite a grand scale whilst my grandma made the dresses for the May Queen and her attendants. From the hawthorn being a sign of good luck and fertility it changed through time to become a tree of misfortune, abstinence and chastity. There would be no weddings held in May and the May Queen was a symbol of purity and innocence.

The hawthorn tree has many other names, the most common being the May Tree. Folklore has always held the tree in high regard and it is still to be respected today. There are stories of sewers and traffic having to be diverted around old hawthorn trees rather than them being cut down. The saying "Ne'er cast a clout til May be out" is probably a reference to the hawthorn blossom being out rather than the month of May ending.

So May has arrived but, as yet, the blossom here in Yorkshire has not. Whilst we wait we can always enjoy a little bit of bread and butter; for poor country folk and vegetarians everywhere.