Ornamental quince, Chaenomeles or Japonica quince recipes
Every one loves the look of a quince from a tree. The large size, the slight fuzziness on the skin. The smell of a bowl of quinces can scent a room if they are allowed to ripen. A quince plucked from a tree can keep for months properly stored but windfalls need to be used pretty quickly. We were given a quince tree a few years ago. This summer it hasn’t been happy – losing a lot of leaves during July and generally looking peaky. I gave it lots of extra water and it rallied a bit but the quinces are scant and undersized. So the prospect...
read moreWhite soda bread with oatmeal recipe
Just before I met Danny I attended a bread making course at Darina and Tim Allan’s cookery school in Ballymaloe. It was a great course covering a vast swathe of bread making from brioche to Irish soda bread. The days were packed with information and practical sessions. Set in the heart of the Cork countryside, it was an unforgettable experience. After the course finished I spent the weekend at Ballymaloe House. The food was so good that, even ten years later, I still remember the amazing dishes on the massive hors d’oeuvre table in the...
read morePane Basso. Quick Italian homemade bread
Bread making has become a bit of an obsession. I baked every evening while Danny was away, trying out different recipes and methods. Lots of late nights for me and the trusty old Kenwood Chef that has been eased out of semi retirement to do the kneading. She’s a trooper and as she kneads she gives me the time to prise stray bits of dough off the kitchen worktops and sweep the daubed flour off the tablecloth. I have the book that Veronica suggested on order from Amazon. Waiting for the bread to rise is fine on a day off but when I get...
read moreSuperb field mushroom soup recipe. Created by S
It’s suddenly got a very Autumnal. A mist was rising just above the paddock grass when I slipped in to deliver The Chicken Lady’s smoked bacon this evening. S welcomed me in, wearing an apron. “The paddocks are full of field mushrooms. So I’m making mushroom soup.” I dallied, watching him wash and scrape the skins. Large flat opened gilled specimens picked just hours before. Happy horses, paddocks and mushrooms go together. I’ve read about this bounty. Around here every field and paddock is owned by someone....
read moreNigel Slater’s Pork ribs with honey and anise recipe
Star Anise look so pretty. When I spotted them in herb and spice section of the Daily Bread Cooperative I had to buy them. I’d never used them before so had no plans for their future. I tossed four into some 10-minute soup that I was making. “What are these?” Danny peered into his bowl and lifted one up with his spoon. The soup tasted vaguely reminiscent of spiced aniseed balls in gravy. So they have stayed in their jar in the larder door waiting to make an entrance in someone else’s recipe. Last night I found a cut...
read moreBest Bread Recipes
I mentioned that I was making bread last night. I was going to make Atomic Shrimp’s recipe (I even have the Tesco Value flour!) But at the very last fence I shied away and tried this recipe for French bread. I cut my first slice at one this morning from the loaf in the photograph. Then another as the dogs sampled a bit, drawn down to the kitchen by the warm bread smells. Delicious waistline expanding stuff. This morning as I toasted a slice for breakfast (excellent) I made a sandwich for lunch for my lunch box. Tomato, parma ham and...
read moreFragrant lemon butter poussin, baked with saffron and turmeric recipe
A few weeks ago I noticed a new ceramic pepper shaker standing in my mother’s kitchen table. The powder around the holes wasn’t pepper coloured. Intrigued I tapped a little onto the back of my hand, it smelt spicy and tasted strange. “It’s turmeric. It’s supposed to have all sort of health giving properties. I sprinkle it on my food if I remember.” My mum wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of buying a new pepper shaker and filling it with turmeric on a whim. So I cruised I few internet sites and...
read moreQuick Gratin Dauphinoise recipe
Danny is off to India on business tomorrow. We have had a week bursting with meat and treats to salve the probability of spicy meals in Bangalore. Danny hates hot spicy food. “Apparently there are branches of Domino Pizza everywhere.” Sounds like a week of Super Size Me. Tonight we had rack of lamb with runner beans fresh from the garden and gratin dauphinoise, cooked in my favourite way – with Gruyere cheese. Danny cooks a mean gratin dauphinoise without cheese (it was years before I twigged that gratin referred to the dish...
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