I like things that are interesting, people that are interesting, not to mention food that’s interesting. So I found the pitch from the PR company representing Capricorn Somerset Goats Cheese really interesting, it even made me smile.

If you have a look at the Capricorn website, then you’ll see the goats. Or the girls as they’re referred to. The pitch asked us to pick between two goats, and their recipes, and then the ingredients were dispatched for trialling. I chose Beryl’s recipe, on the basis that this is an adventurous goat, and one that dislikes dawdling and being fenced in. Sounds familiar.

Beryl’s recipe was for a goats cheese tarte tatin, and it has to be said this is a very simple, quick recipe to put together. Brilliant starter, especially if you have either the pans suggested or some small tart tins. As it is, I made one large one to serve for three for dinner, which worked well. Here’s the recipe to make this for just 2 of you.

Ingredients

100g Capricorn Goats Cheese

75g red onion chutney

Ready rolled puff pastry

A handful of watercress

Salt and Pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C.

Place half of the onion chutney into a small rosti pan or tart tin. Slice the goats cheese in half lengthways, and lay slice on the chutney in the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut a pastry disc to fit the pan, leaving room to make sure that you have sealed it around the edge of the pan. Repeat the same process with the second pan.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm with the watercress garnish.

This is a very simple dish as I’ve said, and tasty. That said, I think the goats cheese got a bit lost with all the onion, and it is an incredibly tasty goats cheese, very tasty, very cream, and very smooth. I would think it would make for a great goats cheese salad with a good dressing and some toasted seeds or pan roasted pecans, or I’d add it to some roasting beetroot for the last 20 minutes, with some cumin seeds.

So, I wish Beryl well with her recipe. She’s converted me to the cheese for sure. Find the cheese at Waitrose and good delis around the country.

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Earlier in the year they sent me an Easter gift for review, which MGG you might remember called goofy! They asked if I would like to review one of their birthday gifts this time, my choice. So, it would have been easy to select a pound box of chocolates, but I was interested to look at how they had expanded the range outside of just pure chocolates, so elected for The Adventurous box from The Chefs Collection.

Now, some may be disappointed, as you’re not going to sit in front of the TV munching your way through the contents of this box. But if you’re someone who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, then this is a pretty good set to receive. taking you through all possible courses and combinations.

Not got time to cook? Throw together an appropriate salad and dress it with the Honey & Mustard Dressing with Cocoa Nibs, not  your average vinaigrette. You could also use the Chilli Chocolate Chipotle on your salad, but its also got a bit more going for it, more stuff you could convert it into. Would make a great dip for something like grilled chicken, sort of cheats mole I guess, but I’d possibly give it a bit more heat.  There’s also a ready made chilli and chocolate glaze for fish and poultry, to give you similar flavours.

There’s a couple of different types of chocolate to add to your cooking, savoury or sweet, and then there’s the penne cocoa pasta. We followed this with their suggested recipe, which is penne with smoked salmon and mascarpone. Quick recipe, needs a lot of seasoning, and I’d recommend it as a starter, got a little dull as a main course. But I can imagine it being a real talking point at a dinner.

As always with Hotel Chocolat, packaging is good quality, and this looks like a lot of gift for £35. I would suggest this is the sort of thing that I would buy not for my nearest and dearest, but for someone that I knew liked their cooking, if not loads else about them. I would say perfect for a co-worker (I can think of one that I wish I’d spotted this for), as good price for office collection type gifting, easy to wrap, and more interesting than a Next giftcard. If they are really popular, then there is also an Expert collection, which is £50, which is pretty much the same plus a cookbook. That said, same cookbook is available for £4.22 on Amazon.

Definitely worth a look if you’re scratching your head on what to get someone for a birthday anytime soon. Thanks to Hotel Chocolat for the sample.

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Which means there is usually a need to bake, and this week was no exception. Baking is normally the prelude to catching up with BFF, this week being no exception. Although went from a twosome to quite a gathering perhaps just because there was cake, who knows. I didn’t mean to make something different only by the mother of necessity and the absence of lemons in the house meant that I know have an orange version of the Lemon and Poppyseed Yoghurt Cake. Very simple, comes in the original lemon format from Tamasin Day-Lewis’ Kitchen Bible.

Just in case life hasn’t given you lemons, here’s my version:

Orange and Poppyseed Yoghurt Cake

45g poppyseeds

150ml yoghurt (I used Greek yoghurt, low fat, it’s all that was here)

200g unsalted butter, softened

zest and juice of 1 orange

140g caster sugar (the original recipe used vanilla sugar, I’d add a few drops of vanilla extract if you’ve none to hand)

3 eggs

255g plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Set your oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Mix the poppyseeds into the yoghurt and ensure they are evenly blended. Cream the butter, orange zest and sugar together by hand if you like the hard work, or get your favourite electric helper to lend a hand. Beat until light and fluffy, making sure that you scrape the mixture down from the sides of the bowl as you go.

Add each each egg one at a time, beating it in between each addition. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and add to the creamed mixture. Add the orange juice and the yoghurt and poppyseed mixture using a metal spoon, folding through thoroughly.

Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or do what I do and buy silicone and do away with all that). Scrape in all the mixture and bake in the middle of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

In the original book, it says this works well with ice cream, or with crème fraîche, but it never really hangs around longer than coffee time here for us to find out.

After the events of the last few weeks, I am as always greatly appreciative of the value of friendship. And great friendship always deserves good cake in my book. And for sure, this is a cake my Dad would have loved too, having always had a sweet tooth. It’s the weekend, go ahead and value your friends with a slice of the good stuff!

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Occasionally, I turn up somewhere unexpected. Like on the radio. This week I was on Richard Spurr’s show on Radio Nottingham, sharing my views on super injunctions (not so super), ash clouds (O’Leary would whine) and my choice for Desert Island Discs (Grease and the Beatles “In My Life”). Richard always chats about the blog a little, and this time wondered if I would know where to get a haunch of venison from.

Sorry to all the great producers, I couldn’t think of someone to name check immediately. I did say it’s not something I’ve tried to track down for anyone before, although have looked for a whole pig. Having done some homework, if you were looking for great venison, then there are some amazing places around the UK to track it down from. For starters, try The Blackface Meat Company. I’ve had their Galloway Beef before, which was stunning, but they also offer wild Scottish venison, from three types of deer. The mixed boxes all have haunches in, although most seem to be pre-jointed to a more manageable size.

Should you require the full haunch, then The Wild Game Co can oblige, and with a range of different size legs. Their haunches can feed from 6 to 32 people, so there should be a size for any occasion. I’m also quite partial to venison sausages, and quite fancy the sound of their Venison and Prune versions.

It does seem to be a meat that is growing in popularity, and lots of local farm shops and butchers seem to carry it to demand. My favourite response was from Jan at Northfield Farm, who said they have theirs shot to order from an estate in Derbyshire. There’s getting close to the food supply chain for you. Does mean you need to do your meal planning in advance and phone ahead. Other recommendations came for Source Food Hall in Bristol, Manor Organic Farm in Long Whatton for organic venison in season, and Chantry Farm Shop in Melbourne.

Now Richard also mentioned adding pink peppercorns and good balsamic to his venison, I think rather top of head rather than something he’d tasted. I think the three might work together, and certainly there are recipes for venison steaks with pink peppercorns around, and a dressed salad on the side would be a good accompaniment. Venison is definitely an underrated meat, and one that we should perhaps be eating more of.

Just don’t think of Bambi.

Picture by twicepix on Flickr.

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Whilst I was away I heard a news article about the price of chillies in Indonesia, where they are now more per kilo than meat. Given how much chilli goes into the average Indonesian dish, you can imagine the uproar! A lot of people are now trying to grow their own out there, which is most definitely worth considering.

I do have a passing interest, as most of our conservatory seems to have been taken over by chilli plants this year, as Dr T tried to grow a whole heap of varities, with varying success. So I thought I’d go straight to the expert and ask Craig, the Wahaca chilli expert, author of the We Grow Our Own blog and general green fingered guru to help make this year’s crop a bit more successful!

Craig, what do you need to grow chillies in the UK, and can they be grown successfully if you don’t have access to a greenhouse?

Ideally, the best time to start planting your chilli seeds is January or February. The reason for this is that it will give your seeds and plants a good head start, so that you can enjoy lots of lovely chillies throughout the summer months.

There are a few bits of basic equipment that you will need. You’ll need a plant pot, some multi-purpose compost, a spray bottle, and obviously your seeds! First fill your pot with the compost and firm it down. Spray the compost with the spray bottle, but the idea is keep the compost moist, rather than drenching it.

If you are using the Wahaca chilli seeds, snap off the matchstick carefully and plant it point end down into the compost to the mark on the matchstick. However, if you are using your own chilli seeds instead, just place them on top of the compost, cover them with another 0.5cm of compost, and then lightly spray it again with the water spray.

Now what your chilli seeds need are heat and moisture. You can help them along by covering the pot with clingfilm and putting it somewhere warm like a windowsill over a radiator, if you do not have access to a greenhouse or a conservatory. Check the seeds every day, and spray the compost again if it seems as if it is too dry. Remember the idea is to keep the compost moist and not wet!

Also, be aware that different varieties of chilli seeds take different times to germinate. On average they can take up to 3 weeks to germinate, but some hotter varieties can take up to six weeks, so just sit on your hands and be patient!

What chilli would you recommend people start with, as an easy grow? Which variety is the most versatile, and which gives the highest yield? And my daughter would like to know which is the sweetest (i.e. not that hot)!

Best varieties to start out with are Jalapenos, Serrano or Hungarian Hot Wax – very reliable. None are guaranteed to give the highest yield, as so many factors can influence how it grows. For example this year’s crop was less than last year due to the awful weather. Beginner’s chillies would probably be either Hungarian Hot Wax or Poblano. Tasty & fruity without too much heat!

How much watering/attention do they need?

Nomally only need watering if the compost looks like it is starting to dry out, and more frequently as the weather grows hotter. Important not to waterlog the plants as it can rot the main stem and weaken the plant.  When the first fruit appears, you should add tomato feed in half the recommended quantity to the water for the chilli plants, or use a specialist chilli feed.

What’s the most common mistake people make when growing them?

Common mistakes are letting the just germinated plant get ‘leggy’; over watering, under watering, not keeping it in a hot place, as chillies like light and warmth!

Is it true the chillies get hotter the longer you leave them on the plant?

Very true!

Are there any chillies that can grow outside in the UK?

Chillies can be grown outside in the UK, and the further south you are the better chance you will have with them. The only ones that cannot really are the Habenero varieties and the other really hot ones, as they need the humidity and the warmth of a greenhouse or polytunnel.

What’s your favourite recipe using chilli? And your favourite product being produced with a chilli angle?

My favourite recipe including chillies would have to be the one that I cooked on the last series of Britain’s Best Dish, namely ‘Thai Spiced Mackerel with a Cucumber & Green Papaya Relish”. This got me through to the last seven in the country where unfortunately I was knocked out. There are so many good chilli based products out there, it is impossible to pick one! The only one I am not so sure about is chilli beer, as I have yet to taste a good one, and I do like my beer!

So, some great advice, and worth putting a few seeds in over the next few weeks if you like to keep it spicy. Even better, stop by Wahaca, have a great meal and then pick up the free chilli seeds in there. And if you’ve got some chillis to use already, here’s Craig’s winning recipe to inspire you!

Chilli shot by David Singleton on Flickr.

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Know your audience

In a completely different context, we were talking about knowing your audience the other day, which led onto a conversation about the blog. Now, I never think of having an audience, but I guess from looking at the search terms that land people here, you can work out a thing or two about the casual reader.

So, for the first 6 months of the year, the most popular searches to land here have been

1) Foodie gifts, and various derivatives thereof. Which, given the title, is really no surprise at all, and would be rather worrying if it wasn’t that popular! Hopefully there is plenty of scope to find what you were looking for, or even for things you hadn’t even thought of looking for.

2) Bedazzled Cupcakes. Great local cupcake company, who obviously have a lot of fans out there. I’ve written about them a couple of times, as I see them regularly at local food events, and MGG tends to make a beeline for them.

3) What is the difference between a mini Melton Mowbray pork pie and a mini pork pie? Say hello to my readers from Morrisons, who have ended up here with every combination of the question, which apparently forms part of one of their NVQs. Given our proximity to Melton Mowbray, we are well versed in the way of the pie and they feature fairly regularly on the blog.

4) SW4 Gin, which I think I’ve only written about once or twice. I still owe them a review, as they kindly sent me a bottle to try, and I’m going to to do a testing with this, Gordons and another of the new London gins. Only problem has been I seem to have a lack of gin loving friends, as BFF is a gin hater and not even prepared to have a sip.

5) Cobb Barbecue – a cooking system I’ve mentioned a few times but not tried yet, but obviously quite a few people are thinking about it. Lakeland seem to be the best source.

6) Three Chimneys Cookbook – I’ve featured many, many cookbooks, but this is the one that I obviously have decent rankings for! Great cookbook, great restaurant, amazing location.

7) Marmite XO – cannot abide the stuff, can’t imagine why you would want an XO version, but it would seem many do.

Save Water Drink Wine Framed Print – my sentiments exactly, and one of my favourite gifts this year. Available from Not On the High Street, and available as a print or useful shopping bag.

9) Bread making kits – not sure I’ve written about kits but I’ve featured the Panasonic Breadmaker a few times as well as great books on bread, not to mention breadmaking courses with Richard Bertinet.

10) Innocent bee friendly seeds – I talked about these when talking about Dr T beginning his adventures in beekeeping, as well as some of the initiatives to support British honey bees. In case you’re interested, the seeds were a mix of snapdragons, poppies and cornflowers. Now you know!

An interesting mix, and interesting to look at the variations year on year. Last July was all about Delia Smith, red velvet cake and blood oranges. Ah, the fickle finger of foodie fate, in one year, out the next!

Audience photo by jot.punkt on Flickr.

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And then that one died.

And on a bit of a whim, plus curiosity, I bought an iPhone. And, other than the appallingly short battery life, I love it! Officially, love it. Especially for the world of apps that it brings to your fingertips. Before I owned one, someone said to me at a party that you could tell a lot about a person by their apps, and not having one probably told him a lot too. But a look now would confirm what most people know: I love food, drink, eating out, eating in, more food.

There are  a lot of food and drink orientated apps out there, with a lot, of course, directed at the US. So, purely in the interest of research, I’ve been playing with some that seem more intended for those of us here in the UK. Here’s my thoughts:

Jamie Oliver 20 minute meals

Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals- had to start here I guess, given how many zillion of downloads there have been of this. The cheeky chap meets high tech and delivers some pretty good after work dinner recipes in his own style. I like the instructional videos for things like the best way to slice and chop an onion, and also how to organise your kitchen. So yes, this is not aimed at the most experience cooks around, but there will be some people who find this great. Recipe groups include soup, risottos, quick curries, salads and even pudding, something for all kinds of tastes. The very inexperienced cook may find it helpful to have a photo of turning the knob on your oven to the lowest setting, but I think most of us can manage without. I’ve used this at work for quick inspiration, used the shopping list feature and then just knocked something out at home. Pretty good, as long as you don’t have your fingers in a mess for when you need to swipe the screen and you can keep it somewhere where it’s not going to fall in pans of stuff whilst you cook. Currently £2.99.

Nigella goes hi tech

Nigella Quick Collection- where Jamie leads…well, the only amazing thing is that it’s only Nigella from the roster of UK chefs and cooks that seems to have followed. Recipes are sorted, possibly in a Sophie Dahl tribute, by food mood, including comfort, romantic and nibbly. Recipes do have a nifty voice control for going forwards or backwards through the steps, avoiding the possibly messy swiping involved with Jamie’s. The videos look like clips from the TV programmes so not ideal to cook along to, but you can email the recipe to yourself and print it out. The invite function is a cute little quirky extra, and I really like that you can set the units and retailers to UK or US. Is it worth £4.99? I’m not sure, you could buy How to Eat for less than that and have a whole host of meals at your fingertips.

Ocado – this is my favourite app, if only because I normally end up in bed reading Olive or something similar and adding stuff straight away to the next delivery. I love that it gives me options to add everything I’ve had before, or some of it, recommends stuff I might like based on other stuff I’ve bought, and is good on highlighting offers. Bit short on inspiration, but high on convenience.

iCook- there is a huge range of cookery styles available in the iCook series, and I’ve been trying iCook Curry. For 59p it’s ok, you could probably Google all the recipes quite easily, but it’s convenient and gives you 18 recipes. Some on here were quite normal (Chicken Tikka Masala) but then included things like Persian Biriyani and Murgh Chana Balti. Instructions are clearly written, but not extensive, but I imagine most competent cooks would be fine with them. The series includes cupcakes and gourmet burgers, and also some more generalist volumes too. Would probably give it a B minus, and could try harder.

Glenmorangie Bar Locator- a very stylish looking app as  you might expect, and does more than locate bars, which they say are the hottest, most happening in any town. I like the guide to their different whiskies, and also the gastronomy section, which suggests great pairings for the different whiskies. Sadly, I don’t think this app is meant for the UK market though, as I don’t recognise some of the products, and it only offers me bars from India eastwards, and down to New Zealand. But next time I’m in Auckland I’ll be trying out Nelson & Simich.

Starbucks- I have no idea what the use of this is, unless I needed to find a decent loo close by. MGG has chosen to create a personalised Venti Strawberries & Cream Frappucino with 20 packets of sugar. At least it’s virtual. It’s up there with the McD’s finder in terms of usefulness to those who enjoy great food.

GoodFood – the magazine has two apps, festive recipes and healthy eating. I’ve got the latter, although would probably like the recipes in the former better. There’s a pick of the day, recipes for each meal and videos for things like preparing a whole fish or how to grill peppers. It’s okay but not particularly inspiring. At £1.79 I’d save up and buy a copy of the magazine.

Good Food Guide- You don’t need this and Zagats I would say, and this is obviously much more comprehensive in its coverage of the UK. I like the  near to me function, giving you everything around where you are, or you can combine this with keywords. The listings include those places that won Reader awards as well as Editors’ awards, those with notable wine lists, and those that have been in the list the longest. I would say this was £4.99 well spent if you want to eat out a lot.

I am sure I’ve not exhausted the list of apps available, as it increases every day, so I’d love to know what you’ve found, what you think I should have a try of. And there are gaps. I can’t find anything relating to farmer’s markets (although you can get a National Farmer app), or much from the big wine makers or retailers. You would have thought that wine pairing would be great as an app. I am sure it will happen!

Meantime, I’m off to the Little Chef to test out their Afghan menu!

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Have a go to recreate your own dim sum banquet!

I love dim sum, and trips to London always tend to include finding somewhere to indulge in great dim sum. This week was New World on Gerrard Place, which is fantastic for that full-on traditional dim sum experience with trollies madly dashing around the room.

Then there are great modern versions of dim sum, with Yauatcha being my favourite, for both the dim sum and the macaroons. And for quick dim sum whilst shopping there is always Ping Pong, which is great for good food in a hurry, and great cocktails too. But to attempt it at home? Where do you begin?

Channel 4 have got a small selection, which all look tasty and good, and I also like Asian Online Recipes has a more comprehensive selection. You’re going to need to stock up on things like soy sauce and Chinese flavourings and spices, as well as more unusual ingredients like won ton wrappers. The Asian Cookshop is a great online source for not just Chinese ingredients but also Thai, Japanese and Indian.

If you’re the visual type, then there are plenty of videos over on You Tube. There’s a great one for steamed buns, which is one of my favourite dim sum recipes. You could create a whole banquet working through all of these videos, and it may make some of the tricky moments easier to follow. I looked at Amazon, and there aren’t huge numbers of books devoted just to the subject of dim sum. I like the look of Dim Sum Made Easy by Lucille Liang, and also the authentic looking Chinese Snacks by Huang Su-Huei.

To be honest, if I had won ton wrappers in this weekend, I would spend all weekend trying out these recipes and techniques. If I’m going to be snowed in, I may as well use the time to good use! And there’s something about filling the kitchen with more exotic scents that fills the day with warmth. Go ahead, change the air around you!

Fabulous picture of a great dim sum spread by Looks Like Amy on Flickr.

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And this year, we’re going to do throw out an awful lot less. Which does mean organising the whole family (those that follow me on Twitter may now I have threatened to divorce Dr T over the food he wastes through not labelling or putting it away properly). But we need a bit of a clear out first! So, yesterday we got through:

Upmarket & varied leftovers

Mid way through

Ta dah! The finished faux pastor

So, here’s hoping there’s less waste heading out from our household. And if Dr T needs more inspiration, then I shall be taking him to The Ministry of Food exhibition at the Imperial War Museum come February!

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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:

Rolling zombie eyeballs

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!

Bones awaiting their dipping

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!

Eye of lizard heading for the fire

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

Zombie eyeballs anyone?

Eye of dragon

Eye of Dragon

Funny bones

Dem Bones

Happy Halloween, may all your treats be tasty!

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