Yotam Ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi is a master of recipes and tastes. This is the display at his Motcomb St shop in London. While I was there I had baked cauliflower with saffron, sultanas, red onion, pine nuts and parsley. Balsamic glazed carrots and puy lentils with goats cheese red onion and herbs. To take away I had roasted squash with cardamon and preserved lemon yoghourt with spicy pumpkin seeds and mint. The raspberry cheescake was sumptuous.

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

Great Bread

Flourish Bakery From Tottenham High Rd London are at three London farmers markets. Pimlico Rd and Ebury St, Saturday. Nottinghill, Saturday. Thursday Portobello Rd. Sunday Palmers Green train Station. More detail and fabulous photos on their website. http://www.flourishbakery.com/

I picked up one of their great textured and flavoured bread at the corner of Pimlico Rd at the market there. The texture is fantastic and the chewy crust just right. Its obvious the bread is made with a starter. This loaf in the photo has a rye and wheat flour mix. It would be great to dip in soup or eat with cheese.

Cooking with Grannie: Chocolate by Paul Young

Cooking with Grannie: Chocolate by Paul Young

Chocolate by Paul Young

Award winning chocolate maker Paul Young has three shops in London. The Wild pepper bar is award winning and I can taste why. Who ever would have thought of putting chocolate and pepper together, well Paul did and it got him an award. The pepper bar is very filling as its 66% cocoa solids and if you could say pepper was sweet, well it is, and aromatic. Excellent taste.

www.paulayoung.co.uk

Wardour St London W1 8WA
Camden Passage London N1 8EA
The Royal Exchange London EC3V3LP

Baked Parsnips and apple with onions. Seasoned with fennel seeds, nutmeg and a chilli yoghourt dressing

This winter dish is simple and requires about 15 minutes in the oven.

Use 1 to 2 parsnips and half an apple per person.
Peel and cut the parsnips into large chunks. Simmer in salted water for five minutes then toss in an unflavoured oil such as rapeseed. Place on a metal oven tray.Core the apples do not peel them and cut into chunks. Add some chopped spring onions. Bake at 200C until the parsnips are brown and the onion soft. Add a spinkle of fennel seeds and grated nutmeg. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds over the top. To 2 tablespoons of plain yoghourt add a pinch of chilli powder. Serve drizzled over the top.

Cumberland Sausage

HURRAH for Cumberland Sausage. The information below is taken from Yahoo. Please note they have to have 80% meat. If you buy anyother sausage ask how much meat is in it.



The famously coiled Cumberland sausage will have its name protected across Europe after being granted special status, the government said Friday.
The meaty regional delicacy has gained Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status
Enlarge photo .The meaty regional delicacy, produced in the north-west county of Cumbria since the 16th century, has gained Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, and only sausages made in line with strict standards will be able to carry the logo.

The coarse-textured banger will have to be produced, processed and prepared in Cumbria, contain at least 80 percent meat and be at least 20 millimetres thick to display the European Union's coveted PGI mark.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said the move guarantees the heritage and authenticity of the product and will prove a major boost for region's butchers.

"This should be a significant boost to Cumbrian producers, who will now be able to prove that their product is the real thing," Food minister Jim Paice said.

"It's also a boost to consumers who can have confidence in where their sausages come from."

Peter Gott, of the Cumberland Sausage Association, added: "This is a great milestone for the county and a well deserved place in England's food history for a truly sensational diverse food product."

The traditional sausage is the 44th UK food and drink product to have its name protected throughout Europe, joining Cornish clotted cream and Stilton cheese.

Recipes for Cumberland sausage vary but all are sold in a long coil and are highly seasoned, a legacy of the region's strong 18th-century trade links with the Americas and Africa.

DEFRA said the sausage may first have been introduced to the area along with an influx of German miners around 500 years ago.

Costs of food

This blog is about buying fresh food that fits all pockets. I was listening to the radio about the idea to fund vouchers for fresh fruit and veg for some sections of British Society. The lady being interviewed said that as strawberries and blueberries were so expensive they would not be bought very often. I do wish that someone would champion English Apples. They are wonderful and taste even better. Please will someone start an Apple Marketing Board to do that? The variety of flavours is awesome as is the textures and sweetness. A huge variety available for a lot of the year, much better than the standardised imported ones. Although there are very good imported ones too.

I live in a county that is meat producing and does not grow much in the way of fresh fruit and veg. However for the people who say food is expensive here is what I spent at my local ALDI supermarket on 15/2/11 and what I got for my money.

large can red kidney beans 19p
2 pots of cottage cheese plain £1.38
1 large can chopped tomoto's with herbs 41p
specialist porridge with dried fruit £1.29 ( I don't normally pay that much)
250g fresh green beans .55p
1 head brocolli 39p
1 yoghourt 180g 29p
6 pink lady apples 1.99
carrots 500g 39p
pack stock cubes 65p

total £7.53

Well Done Aldi, excellent quality of fruit and veg and very fresh.