thefoodiegifthunter.co.uk

I’m feeling a bit jealous as some colleagues have gone off to Tokyo for the week. I am really lucky in that I’ve been three times for work, which means I’ve probably done more high end dining there than if I’d gone under my own steam. But the thing that fascinates me most is the bento box, especially the really kitsch stuff. So much of the Japanese restaurants here do the formal, very beautiful stuff, so I wanted to celebrate the stuff that just makes me smile, if not just laugh out loud!

And who knew how many books there were around this subject? If space were unlimited, I’d have all of these. As it is, I may just try to sneak one of these in! See what you think.

1. Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes – talk about playing with your food! Show me a kid or an adult who could resist the Frog Party salad! Got a boy who won’t eat his packed lunch? Super Mario to the rescue! Lunchtime may never be the same again.

2. Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Convenient Japanese Meals on the Go- Kawaii means cute, and then a bit more, and is a bit of an obsession in all kinds of things in Japan. And this book really gives a good view on it when applied to the art of the bento box. I particularly love the rice sheep!

3. The Manga Cookbook- we’re definitely in niche territory here, but definitely an interesting one to have on your bookcase. Manga is huge in Japan, and apparently food appears a lot in the comics. Food sounds good, including onigiri (rice balls), yakitori and oshinko (pickled vegetables). Which are all popular with your average Manga character.

4. Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook - I enjoyed nights in an izakaya more than many of the meals I had, just as it was bit more relaxed, and felt more real than eating beautifully prepared sushi and sashimi in private dining rooms. This is great for a more relaxed style of Japanese cooking, but don’t think presentation goes out the window, far from it!

5. Yum-Yum Bento Box- I know, I’ve featured Face Food and Kawaii Bento Boxes, but this one is just so cute as well, it’s hard to pick between them! Smiley mushrooms, pig sandwiches, chickens made from rice, frogs made from rice…well, at least that’s a new use for the leftover rice!

So explore the fun side of Japanese food, especially if you have kids. These are the sorts of books that will really get kids excited about food, from choosing it to preparing it and then really tucking it and enjoying it. Or just surprise them with a very different lunchbox one day! Can you imagine their faces? Fantastic!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

I think most places around the country are about to start half term (I know, it seems like they just went back). There is good news, roads will generally be quieter. But homes with kids may not be! So this is a perfect opportunity to get kids in the kitchen and get them busy cooking up a storm. There is no better way to get them involved with food than getting them involved in it’s preparation.

So, this post is a bit of a collaboration between me and Mini Gourmet Girl, as MGG has acquired a number of cookbooks over her 8 years (can’t think where she gets that habit from) and she has some favourites, as do I, for really getting stuck in in the kitchen. Here goes:

1. The Usborne Cookbook for Children - this is MGG’s favourite, and you can regularly find her poring over it before coming to tell me what she wants to cook. There’s a good mix of savoury and sweet dishes, both hot and cold, and every step is well-illustrated. There are even useful chef’s tips, like how to make olives less salty, and covers everything from basics like rice and bread through to a very scrummy chocolate cake.

2. Kids’ Kitchen by Fiona Bird – we’ve been playing with this one recently, as Fiona and her publishers kindly sent us a copy. I like the format: individual wipe clean recipe cards, plus some how to cards as well. The colour coding helps them work through all the five major food groups of the Government’s healthy eating initiatives, covering fruit to grains, veg to oils. The steps are clearly written and easy to follow, and the results have so far been delicious. And all the kids I’ve had in the kitchen have loved having their own card to work from and I love being able to wipe them down! I think this is an innovative and interesting approach to kids cookbooks, and worth a look.

3. The River Cottage Family Cookbook – I think this is probably my favourite book for cooking with MGG. I love the explanations of the basics of cooking, of helping kids to understand why things work and how. MGG loves the Victoria Sponge recipe, where you weigh your eggs and match everything else up. This is probably a great book for sevens and over, and will probably be a book they dip in and out of for years.

4. Family Food: A New Approach to Cooking by Heston Blumenthal- this one must be for the molecular gastronomes of the future! Actually, it’s a lot less  contrived than you might think, but will still appeal to the slightly more geeky cook. We have cooked less from this one, but MGG has enjoyed doing things like making cartouches for sauces and things. It’s worth having just to marvel that this is the first cookbook that Heston wrote, as I don’t think many of us would have thought that family cooking would have been where his writing started out.

5. The Gastrokid Cookbook: Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast-Food World- this is a great all round book, both for cooking with, and for, kids to help expand their food horizons. The recipes are tasty, quick to put together and guaranteed to generate clean plates all round! I also lover their courgette hummus for being antoher way to get rid of the courgette glut at the end of the summer!

I honestly don’t think it matters much what you cook with kids, as long as you keep it fairly simple and quick, as they tend not to have great attention spans. Small cakes always work well for me as you get two bites of activity: one to make them and one to decorate them! Go on, go mad with the sprinkles! Don’t rely in your local Sainsbury’s, order now from somewhere like Splat or Cupcake Style. Of course they’ll be on sugar overload, but isn’t that what holidays are for?

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

I’ve tried giving you the tastiest Christmas gifts for foodies that can be delivered to your door, right up to the last minute (and look out for tomorrow’s post for the really last minute versions). But what happens if you’re heading off on a long journey to somewhere remote, that hasn’t heard of dial up, let alone broadband, and you’ve remembered someone you’ve forgotten?

Well, supposing that you’ll have to tackle the motorway network, then what happens if you pull in and try the shop? Some of you might be lucky and find that Tebay is the nearest services, and perhaps their legendary farm shop might still be open, in which case you’re sorted for the foodie. But from everywhere else?

Well, I tried this this morning at Cambridge services on the M11. I would think I was in luck for most foodies, as there was an M&S Food. Of course, you could choose any of the Christmas specials, but you could also do things like tortilla chips and dips, preserves and pickles, tins of nuts, or a whole bag of clementines. I’d also be tempted to throw in the Ouidinot champagne (especially as there’s £5 off) and a bottle of port.

You might get even luckier if you pull into the services, and find one of the rare, but growing, number of Waitrose versions of these food havens. But what happens if there’s neither or they’re shut?

I wandered round the typical services shop, and was a little stuck. I might be tempted to buy the foot scrub in the foot shaped pack, although it may only be good for the sink. There wasn’t a proper book section, but a small selection of special offer cookbooks. If you could find something on local specialities you might be onto a little winner.

I did think you could do a whole nostalgic tastes bag (couldn’t find hampers, but eco friendly shopping bags). Salt & vinegar Monster Munch, Sherbet Fountain and maybe even a box of After Eights. You could probably find a suitably cheesy CD to really set it off (Best of the Nolans anyone?) although sadly no bottles of Snowball.

Sometimes the answer in these situations is generosity. Plunder the magazine racks, but don’t just buy one foodie magazine, buy a whole stack. Along with Olive, Delicious etc, there was more unusual stuff like Country Kitchen, Country Smallholding, Cake Craft & Decoration and Organic Garden & Home. There was ribbon that wouldn’t have looked bad, and my best tip if the wrapping paper isn’t great is buy the Financial Times. That salmon pink newsprint always looks classy.

The chocolate selection wasn’t inspiring, so I would have followed the same principle and just bought up every flavour of Green & Black chocolate. You can make pretty patterns with the colours, and the flavours are pretty good, with something for everyone. I’m very partial to the cherry and the almond, and you could do a fruit theme, all milk, all plain, or just go mad with the whole range.

I ignored the Slankets and strange electrical gadgets that only seem to come out at Christmas. I would go for a good flask, a water bottle, and a waterproof backed picnic blanket, as everyone can always use extra of any of those. And they speak of warm days ahead, which is always good.

And if you’re tempted to buy flowers, again be generous. The Christmas bouquets they had weren’t bad, but were mean. Buy three or four, and wrap them together. Again, you could employ the Financial Times trick, it’ll really upgrade those carnations.

So, I hope you turn up where ever you are going safely, after not too long on the road, and bearing gifts for everyone, and gifts that will ensure everyone is still talking by Christmas lunch. If in doubt, watch this to see the hazards of raiding the wrong part of the shop!

 

Fabulously atmospheric post of dining at motorway services by rightee on Flickr.

I am not sure how many shopping days there are left, all I know it’s kind of the moment when panic tends to set in! The crowds are building in whatever shop/car park you want to be in, what you want is sold out, and your brain is empty of ideas.

Lets face it, whoever thought of Internet shopping was a genius! Cup of tea, comfy chair, sorted! Here’s a quick round up of the funnies from this week:

1. Kitsch cake tin – could be all sorts I guess. Lakeland has trains to dinosaurs, and Splat has Erne the Duck. I would say a 3D duck was fairly kitsch!

2. Vintage tea bag squeezer – now, that is a fairly niche request! Can’t see one on there at the moment, but I would keep an eye on Era Vintage, good for these kinds of things. Or buy them a nice new one!

3. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille – please Santa, let that be someone looking for me! I think you still have to pop by Selfridges or Harvey Nichols for that one, but boy is it worth it. But I could settle for replenishment of Black Orchid please. Not foodie necessarily, but fabulous food notes mean I feel it’s a worthwhile present for this foodie!

4. For the person who searched on the phrase “pour port Stilton” there is only one answer: step away from the Stilton! This is a waste of both port and Stilton. Do it again, and Santa will leave you coal.

5.  Toilet shaped mug – why, oh why, would you do this? Check out why bad gifts destroy the value of your cash.

6. What are Whittard doing for Valentine’s Day?Who knows? Right now, just one person outside of Whittard Head Office cares. That’s taking organisation too far, definitely not romantic!

7. What would Gene Hunt like? Spaghetti hoops I would think. I’ve got a t-shirt that tells me so!

8. What do you get the woman who has everything? Now, if I had the answer to that, I would probably be a very rich woman. But I had a try at what to buy those who say they don’t want anything. Don’t fall for that one, see my suggestions here.

Iwould say the panic is beginning to set in, there is definitely a rise in those looking for last minute ideas, but still waiting the hard-core onslaught. Expecting them about 9.23pm on 23rd December!

Another month gone, and we’re getting so close to Christmas now. After last month’s obsession with unusual foodstuffs like the Gummi Bear, this month has swung into full on gift searching, but at a more general level. And then the usual array of odd searches that cause me amazement, bewilderment and the odd giggle or two.

So, the top 5 things everyone had on their mind this month were as follows:

1. Foodie gifts and presents – bit obvious with the title of the blog, but a big switch, which suggests everyone is looking for ideas for the foodies in their lives. Over the month my ideas have included where to buy a whole pig, gifts for the tea and coffee lovers, gifts on a budget and what to serve if David Tennant pops round for dinner. Always best to be prepared. And if anyone wants to know, David coming to dinner could be the best gift you could send this foodie!

2. Cupcakes – you weren’t so much making your own as looking for two fabulous suppliers, Bedazzled Cupcakes for if you’re up here in the East Midlands, and The Kent Cupcakery for those in Kent. I would think. Great choices, and I would be getting a move on to get my Christmas order in quick with both, or your local provider. Would make a fabulous alternative to mince pies, or to a Christmas cake. For the adults, have a look at what Sally at The Kent Cupcakery is doing with Limoncello cupcakes! Definitely not one for the kiddies!

3. Hampers – these were definitely beginning to creep up the presents chart, all ready for the festive season. I wrote a piece on hampers back in October, and there are some specific posts on hampers from M&S, Not On the High Street and Funky Hampers. A number of you were looking at hampers you could put together yourself, and I’ll be posting some ideas around this shortly.

4. Caterpillar Cake Tins – wow, this really is the cake of the moment!  Don’t get me wrong, I love a caterpillar cake as much as the next mum, but this month I will be attempting a stable with three horses heads, thanks to MGG and her flicking through of Debbie Brown’s 50 Easy Party Cakes. Photos and tales from the kitchen to follow before much longer. The cake tin is a great route though to a very quick and easy cake, so to be recommended for working parents everywhere who want to turn out a great homemade cake.

5. Alcohol free drinks – some of you are getting ready for Christmas, and providing interesting options for those who don’t, or can’t, drink. I’ve written a few times about how much I like the cordials from Belvoir Fruit Farms, and I will certainly be stocking up on Spiced Winter Berries cordial this weekend. I’ll also be testing my resolve with the Bottlegreen limited edition sparkling presses, which are very pretty, not to mention very tasty.

And for entertainment value, these are my choice searches of the month:

1. Lambrini gifts – stop asking me, I still loathe all of them. Please don’t send me one.

2. Turkey twizzlers – please, I’ve told you before, not on my watch!

3. Campbells condensed soup vol au vent filler – ah, retro food lives on for another month!

4. Asda Vin du Soleil – really, once in this lifetime was enough!

5. Comedy photo aprons – just picture your face on Christmas morning if this one is coming your way!

Looking forward to seeing what comes out top of the pops on the foodie present front come Christmas time. Here’s hoping it’s both tasty, and tasteful for all our sakes!

Being nosy and curious are good attributes for what I do. Which means I am quite fascinated by what terms people search on to end up on the blog. The popular stuff gives a feel for what people are thinking about and looking for, and the random stuff gives you an idea on what’s happening on the edges. Sometimes, on the very surreal edges.

Given the title of the blog, and the key thing I write about, it’s probably no surprise that foodie gifts is the top term, so I’m going to ignore that each month, along with anything with the blog’s title in. So, here we go, a view of October

Top 5

1. Top of the shops is the Giant Gummi Bear. Who can tell why? Although I think they’d be fun to watch someone unwrap one. But I’m sure you’d get fed up of it by about half way through!

2. In a similar theme, lots of people were looking for, and buying, Baconnaise. I love bacon and I love mayonnaise, but I think I’d rather have the two things separately. It seems lots of you disagree and are busy stocking up on this.

3. There must have been a lot of kids having caterpillar birthday cakes if the searches were anything to go by! No more M&S cake though, you were after the cake tin, and Lakeland can oblige.

4. Lots of you are on a retro food kick, with vol au vents featuring highly. I think this must be something that’s passed me by, but now determined to see if I can come up with some fabulous versions. Or at least ones that don’t involve Campbells condensed mushroom soup!

5. Finally a lot of you were looking out for a local supplier to me of gorgeous cupcakes. Bedazzled Cupcakes really do put on a dazzling display and you’ll often find them at food festivals in the East Midlands. Worth a mid morning sugar snack!

Top 5 oddities

1. Unless he has a brother, as far as I know it’s Richard Corrigan. Not Keith.

2. What pepper is in the Jamie Oliver kilner jar? Black

3. Sorry, no idea on Thomasina Miers wedding. But hope the half dozen of you looking on the blog for it got her something nice. A quince tree hopefully.

4. How not to burn jam. Keep stirring it. Or buy a Tefal jam maker and let it take the strain.

5. Buy turkey twizzlers? Not on my watch you don’t. I’m not even sure making your own is my favourite idea.

So, bring on November and December, as running into Christmas always throws up some interesting and obscure stuff. Can’t wait!

Fabulous photo to illustrate this by jin.thai on Flickr.

It’s been a busy morning here at FGH HQ, with a whole load of cooking going on ready for trick or treating tonight. I decided to eschew the easy option of the bags of multi coloured goo and sugar from the supermarket, and go for homemade versions.

This has involved MGG poring over the pages of Ghoulish Goodies, one of the books I featured in the Friday Five about cookbooks dedicated to Halloween. I really love it, and there are great ideas for everything for chocolate treats to cookies and full on cakes. Sadly, the whistling past the graveyard cake will have to wait for another day!

First up, Zombie Eyeballs (they’re monsters in the book, but we took a little creative licence). Perfect to make with kids as no cooking involved, although I would probably melt the butter and possibly warm the peanut butter next time, as these were a little crumbly to put together. But MGG was not to be defeated:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These need an hour or so in the fridge before the final step: a roll in chocolate, leaving enough space for a cornea and a mini Smartie for an iris!

Next up, Funny Bones. These were fun and games, as we are obviously not as fond of pretzel sticks as they are in the US. I thought I might be in luck and they’d be in the Christmas snack section, but sadly not. We had to make do with a box of Mikado biscuits, but of course this meant the chocolate has taken on a slighly marbled effect. I did think about nibbling all the milk chocolate off first, but thought that probably contravened several health and safety regs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once dipped, these just need a few hours in the fridge to firm up. What are the joints? Well, there are uses for mini marshmallows other than for sprinkling on hot chocolate!

Next up, eye of lizard. To be fair, these started out as monster toes, but they spread a lot during cooking, and also the M&Ms split their casings. This gives them a slighly surreal eye look, so we have renamed them into that classic cauldron ingredient!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So next up we just need some paper cones, a Halloween menu and we’re ready to go. Unless Dr T has taken the batteries out the doorbell again! But after all that, this is what they have in store:

 

Zombie eyeballs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eye of dragon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny bones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween, may all your treats be tasty!

 

 

I have to say that I have fallen well short of baking time during National Baking Week so far this week! Writing about it has been about as far as I have got! That, and reading about stuff I could be baking, so it only seems right that this week’s Friday Five should all be about baking. So here are 5 that I would want to have to take baking up to the next level.

1. Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionises Home Baking – I’ve already written about baking bread at home this week and I would add this book to your bookshelf if you’re thinking of expanding your breadmaking. This apparently is a very simple way to create fabulous tasting bread every day, for no more effort than it takes to bake a potato. Apparently!

2. Cake Chic by Peggy Porschen – this really is cake decorating at the next level. To be honest, I am not sure I have the patience for this level of decoration, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to look at glorious creations! This is a great book for dedicated cupcake queens or eager cake decorators, or just aspiration for those of us who have not yet got past buttercream and hundreds and thousands!

3. The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy - I would choose this to help me make one of MGG’s favourite foods: chicken pie. And, lets face it, is there any better comfort food than a piping hot pie served straight from the oven? I would think there is something quite comforting and relaxing about making a pie, so this would be therapy and food all at the same time!

4. How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking - still one of my favourite baking books of all time, and I think it should be on every bookshelf of every kitchen. I think I have baked the lemon and cherry loaf about 30 times, not to mention how many batches of the birthday biscuits I’ve knocked up.

5. Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistible Playful Creations Anyone Can Make - this has the cutest looking cover, and I would love to be able to turn out cupcakes like these. And it does say anyone can make them, so it might be worth giving them a go, and buying this for everyone from amateur to hugely experienced baker.

As I’ve already written, Chocolate Week must go down as my favourite week of the year. Although Champagne week comes a close second, having slugged it out with Farmhouse Breakfast Week. So in honour of the wonderous stuff, here’s five books of chocolate delights to tempt you with. Just make sure to use the good stuff!

1. Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A. Young – Paul has been doing things with chocolate that have redefined what can be done with the stuff. Showing us what to do with the wonderful flavour combinations he is renowned for, this is a masterclass in chocolate in your own home. And although not chocolate, I would love to knock up a batch of sea-salted caramel, one of my most favourite things!

2. Willie’s Chocolate Factory Cookbook by Willie Harcourt-Cooze – I bought this for Dr T, along with supplies of the chocolate, and it’s lead to some interesting meals. Part the story of the chocolate, part cookbook, it shows chocolate in all its flavouring facets, and will give you dishes to surprise and delight your fellow eaters.

3. I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas by Marcel Desaulniers – love a double purpose cookbook, makes it easier to “justify” buying yet another one. Combining chocolate and Christmas is every child’s dream I would guess, and there are some dreams of recipes listed in this. I think there could be a new Christmas tradition coming on though. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to Christmas Breakfast Chocolate Sour Cream Crumb Cake?

4. Making Artisan Chocolates by Andrew Garrison Shotts - from the leader of the UK pack to one of the leaders of the US. And, lets face it, the US is not exactly renowned for fabulous chocolate, but Andrew and a number of others have been leading the charge to change all that. This book gives you some of his signature flavour combinations to have a go with at home, and help you to dispel the myths around poor American chocolate.

5. The Chocolate Cookbook: Luxurious Treats for Total Indulgence – this is a really beautiful looking book, really beautifully photographed. It does classic recipes and contemporary techniques, so you can go from easy straightforward stuff to full on impressive, dinner party stuff.

So, this would give every home more chocolate recipes than they can need. Well, for at least the next year. Possibly six months.

I think it’s probably clear I don’t need much encouragement to buy a new cook book! But even I think and pause when it’s around lesser holidays. I mean, I have a couple of titles devoted to Christmas which is, lets face it, just one day. So why nothing for other one day events? Well, with one heading our way, and great enthusiasm for it in this household from MGG, here are five options for inspiration around Halloween.

1. Halloween Fun & Food - this does the lot! Not just spooky recipes but games and decorations for the home. Work through this lot and it’ll be a Halloween to remember! I like the sound of Spider Web Pizzas, sure the kids would love both making and eating these! Plenty of punch recipes, for big kids and small!

2. Halloween by Martha Stewart – I’ve got a bit of a thing for Martha Stewart, and before I had MGG then me and Martha were on good terms in the run up to Christmas. Funnily enough though, I ran out of time for all those twiddly things when MGG was little. Now she’s 7 I think I could start again, and maybe Halloween is a good place to do so. Knowing Martha, there will be the most amazing recipes for good and unusual stuff, as well as wonderfully artistic and tasteful decorations.

3. Ghoulish Goodies - the kids will love this one just for the cupcake on the front! Bet you get requests for that one! In addition to creature feature cupcakes, it promises monster eyeballs, bat wings and witches knuckles. I would love to do these instead of ready packaged stuff from the supermarket and I’m sure kids would love an unusual cookie, rather than another gummy blob. Definitely a good one for the bakers amongst you.

4. Madam Witch’s Halloween Witchery – I love this one just for the title really. Again, it’s a combination of recipes and crafting, but this looks the opposite of Martha. Not very slick looking, but fun and definitely home made!

5. Wormy Apple Croissants and Other Halloween Recipes - again, another great title for getting the kids involved. And if you start with Halloween, you may just get them really into food and cooking all year round. One day wormy apple croissants, the next it’ll be beef wellington!

As Halloween falls on a Saturday then it’s the perfect day to prepare your own treats, rather than the prepackaged stuff. It’ll give the kids something great to do all day, and then something fab to eat all night.