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Get your pots & pans ready

I’ve been in the kitchen quite a lot this weekend, doing everything from baking to cake decorating with Mini Gourmet Girl and making a massaman chicken curry from scratch. Which saw me digging around the kitchen and marvelling at how many things just don’t seem to get used that often, that it’s the same bits of kit I get out, regardless of what’s on the menu.

If I had just ten things, then these would be the ones I think I would be taking everywhere with me:

1. Plastic mixing bowls – love the look of Mason Cash but just too darn heavy!

2. Good knives – I know this is cheating, but I could live with three: bread, small sharp and larger sharp knife.

3. Chopping boards – plural again, but one wooden and one plastic

4. Food processor – not got anything fancy, it’s rather old and beaten up but still does a multitude of jobs

5. Le Creuset casserole – I’ve had this about 20 years and it’s still going strong

6. Spatula – for getting the last bit out of those bowls when baking

7. Silicone bakeware – at a minimum, then the round ones for Victoria sponge, a loaf shaped one and one for cupcakes

8. Scales – although could do to upgrade as measuring on current ones a bit hit and miss

9. Pestle & mortar – still the best thing for bashing up spices

10. Breadmaker – surprisingly, a gadget that gets used pretty much every other day

I’m taking things like wooden spoons as a given in this! But it does make me wonder about all the other stuff! What’s indispensable in your kitchen? And what do you wonder why on earth you bought it? Yes, Flavour Shaker and mango cutter, I’m looking at you!

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I imagine ours is not the only post Christmas fridge with a whole heap of leftovers to work thr0ugh, and actually their part of my New Year’s resolution. There are some awful stats around each household throwing away between £420 and £610 worth of good food every year, all going into landfill.

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!

What trends does your crystal ball show?

Back in January I wrote a post on what I thought would be the big trends in food, and it’s interesting to look back and see whether any of it came to pass, whether the crystal ball gazing was any good! Here goes:

1. A return to home-made goodies – I think we can safely say this one really took hold over the year, with just about everyone seeming to be busy making jam and cakes. The Tefal Electric Jam Maker seemed to be the upmarket gizmo to help everyone take part in the jam making bonanza, but you were just as likely to find us raiding hedgerows and recycling old jars into new jams.  A Lakeland or John Lewis bag became the new It bag.  Allotment gluts were turned into all manner of jams, pickles, relishes and chutney. We may all have enough for the year ahead! But I reckon this one will run for a bit longer yet!

2. We’d all be feeling very nostalgic – I think recession always makes us nostalgic, and there’s been lots of different examples. The whole M&S 125 year anniversary has seen us looking at designs from the 50s, which has actually ended up looking very fresh now. Nostalgic sweets have apparently seen massive sales growth, as we all craved small treats, ditching expensive artisan chocolate (at least occasionally) for the delights of fizzy cola bottles and sherbet pips. There was even a campaign to stop them changing the packaging of Sherbet Fountains. And the endless march of the cupcakes feeds into the same trend. Will it continue? Maybe, or maybe we will move into a more future looking phase of new cooking.

3. We’ll be be shopping local and real – I am hoping this is a continuing trend, and I think there are signs that it will. The ever-growing number of farmer’s markets, local food festivals, a general rise of interest in great food…all of these good signs that we can begin to really get behind British food, and hopefully take a chink out of the dominance of the big boys in the food chain.

4. It’ll all be about the food – My take on this was that this possibly wasn’t going to be the year of molecular gastrononmy, smears and foams, as we’d all be too busy chowing down on shepherd’s pie and treacle tart. I’m not sure. I think comfort food, nursery food, real British food has been huge, but sous vide seems to have really come to the forefront during the course of the year. I think it may still count as being all about the food though, as the method really maintains the integrity of the ingredients. We had roast beef at the Hinds Head at Bray the other week that was cooked this way, and it was fabulous. Yet to go very mainstream, but 2010 may be the year it does. We’ll see.

5. Good honest kit – it was going to be about investing in one really good piece of kit that would last, rather than buying lots of stuff that doesn’t get used much or that is cheap and cheerful but that breaks really quickly. I think that’s why things like the KitchenAid mixer and Mason Cash mixing bowls have been really popular, things that will really stand the test of time.

So, I think it wasn’t a bad piece of fortune telling on the food front. If only I was this good at predicting lottery numbers. Big question, aside from Saturday’s numbers, is what food trends lie ahead for us foodies in 2010?

Fabulous photo by Richard Lamb Photography.

Be careful what you try to wrap up!

A few people have been looking for ideas on how to put their own hampers together, which I think is a great idea. You get to really personalise to the gift recipient’s own tastes, and you can spend what you want to. Here’s some thoughts on ideas for different themes:

For the tea lovers

You could pack into a teapot, or generous mug, all kinds of tea paraphernalia. I’ve already written about the lovely teas from Bellevue Tea, and these would look attractive in a hamper. Whittard have good tea paraphernalia, like a tea infuser or even a tea bag squeezer, not to mention unusual loose teas. Another option for containing all your gifts, or as an add on, is a tea caddy. I like the bright Union Jack one from Emma Bridgewater, or try John Lewis if you want more traditional looking caddies. And you should probably add some lovely biscuits or cake, just to set up the perfect tea drinking treat.

For the BBQ Lover

Assuming that you are not going to pack this inside a Weber BBQ, we’ll think smaller but still useful. If you want an unusual book, I highly recommend Extreme BBQ, definitely one for the enthusiast. I would consider some good sauces and spices, like the chilli sauces from Gringley Gringo, and I really like the spices and seasonings from Steenburgs. I would think of adding in some of the unusual things like the Indian Fish Rub, just for a change.  They are bound to need good tongs, and perhaps an oven glove. And then you could add something like bottles of ketchup, a squeezy tomato dispenser, and maybe the madness that is the condiment gun!

For the cake baker

You could wrap all this up in a cake tin, although I don’t suggest the popular caterpillar cake tin for this, too many bumps! I do love silicone cases, both for ease of use and for lovely colours, like the heart shaped ones from Lakeland. All bakers will need more wooden spoons, and you could also add in things like cookie cutters, sprinkles and sugars. I really like Splat  who have more of everything than I could ever need! You could also add cake liners, doilies and paper cake cases. This will be a really pretty looking gift.

For the first time foodie

This could be for a foodie in the making, or someone about to leave home for the first time. This isn’t about all the big bits of equipment, more the things you need to help make cooking easier. I would put things in like wooden spoons and measuring spoons, a kitchen timer and an appropriate apron (I still really like the many unique choices at Not On the High Street). You could even go for bales of tea towels and dish cloths, but I would also add some fun stuff like a good beginners cookbook. For students, I would recommend From Pasta to Pancakes, written by a student who loved to cook.

Just four ideas to get you going, a few more to follow pre Christmas. I would say let your imagination run wild, and think of using part of the gift as the container for everything else. Do just remember that you have got to wrap the thing, so don’t make it too awkward a shape!

Photo of one awkward shape to wrap up by harryalverson over on Flickr.

It surely won’t have escaped your notice that today is Children in Need day. You might have been busy knocking up cakes for cake sales, and if not then get ready for next year by stocking up at Lakeland now. There doesn’t appear to be a cookbook to support Children in Need this year, so here are five books out right now that support five very worthwhile charities.

Help for Heroes Cook Book

1. Food for Heroes - I’ve written about this before, and I make no apology about featuring this again, as the Food for Heroes Cookbook has it all. Great recipes, incredibly moving stories and raising money for a very worthwhile charity, Help for Heroes. With recipes from the chefs, celebrities and the heroes from the frontline, both today and in conflicts past, but not forgotten, you’ll find new stuff to cook. Even if you don’t, feel good about buying it.

2. The Caledonian Kitchen - a collection of recipes from around Scotland to
help raise funds for Action Duchenne, the UK charity working towards finding a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Again, this is a collection of recipes from Scottish celebrities, chefs and regular Scots with great recipes to share, and supporting a cause that doesn’t get huge amounts of publicity.

3. Kili Cookbook - again, a cookbook to support a worthwhile charity that you don’t hear a lot about. Climb Your Mountain helps people who are suffering from depression, anxiety and stress. The charity recognises that exercise and the focus of achievement can make a real difference to how someone feels, so Climb Your Mountain offers a wide variety of activities and challenges along with support, training and motivation to help people climb their own personal mountain. These are family favourite recipes from Pené Morgan, who will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro next year in aid of the charity. All profits from this book go to Climb Your Mountain.

4. Think Pink’s Fantastic Recipes for a Fantastic Cause- Must be something about Scotland, they’re obviously very fond of their food, and they are very fond of their charity cookbooks. Funds from this book are going towards funding a laboratory at the new Translational Research Centre in Glasgow as part of the £10 million Beatson Pebble Appeal campaign. Quite an extensive book with 350 pages of great recipe favourites inspired by local people from family, friends, acquaintances, MSPs, athletes, chefs, TV personalities and celebrities, including Gordon Ramsay, Alex Salmond and Lorraine Kelly.

5. The Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook - this is an everyday cookbook showing how easy it is to buy, cook and eat Fairtrade foods. These recipes are combinations from winners of a national competition run by The Fairtrade Foundation and then recipes from celebrities, chefs and other notable figures. And for every cookbook sold, a portion of the cover price will be donated to Fairtrade. I have no idea what Marma Banana Crunchies are but they sound good to me!

So cook good stuff, and do good at the same time! And don’t forget to donate to Children in Need!

Training future gourmets

If you’ve read a few of my posts,  you’ll have spotted the appearance of Mini Gourmet Girl. MGG is a food lover in training, who would name her favourite food as mussels (marinieres, possibly grilled, but not barbecued), chicken pie and Chinese (read chicken chow mein). Which is not bad going for 7.

I know it’s a cliche, but she’s never had a McDonalds burger or a chicken nugget. She knows the sheep we kept is now the lamb we’re eating, and what to bring back when I send her out to the garden to pick any of number of herbs. She’s a dab hand at cake decorating, and is also happy chopping up veg.

And yes, we eat out reasonably regularly. Which is why I was depressed to read in the recent issue of Nottinghamshire Flavoursthat a number of local restaurants wouldn’t accept diners under the age of 18. Or that that led them to only recommend Pizza Express or Ask. Talk about shame on the restaurateurs though, but to be fair I have never been turned away from anywhere with MGG, and she’s had some darn good meals.

I’ve got nothing at all against Pizza Express, we will often use our local one, but it’s just I think kids should have wide range of experiences. I would think (well-behaved) children would be most welcome in most Indian, Chinese, Thai and Italian restaurants, but equally I know the same would apply to World Service in Nottingham.

I think the secret lies in getting them young, and getting them involved in cooking, and growing food, as well as exposing them to lots of different food experiences. For any mini gourmet girls or boys, I’d treat them to any of the following to get them underway:

1. The River Cottage Family Cookbook – this is my favourite cook book to cook together with. Great recipes and great explanations, this is perfect for a starting point but with enough scope for development.

2. Their own apron – guaranteed to get them into the kitchen quick! I really like the range of personalised ones that all the different artisans on Not On the High Street have, very cute!

3. Mini kit – little hands will benefit from little tools to at least get them started, and baking is probably the easiest place to start. As with many things baking, I would turn to Lakeland. They have a 20 piece kid’s size baking set at the moment, which includes mini rolling pins and spoons, cookie cutters and moulds. However, the reviews on the site are not positive at the moment, it may well be worth looking at it instore and making up your own mind. Mini size should not mean mini quality. John Lewis also have a reasonable collection from Miniamo.

4. A cookery day – fantastic idea, get them to make a mess in someone elses kitchen! Probably suitable for slightly older children, google to see what local options there are. That said, Buy A Gift offer a number of foodie gift experiences for kids, including chocolate making as well as more regular cooking. They’re mainly concentrated in the South East though.

5. Growing their own – you must remember growing cress on blotting paper, and the excitement of watching the shoots, let alone eating the crop! Well, try expanding that out to whatever space you can make available. Herbs are a great starting point, and then fruit and veg opens up all kinds of possibilities. Depending on the time of year, you could get seedling collections that are ready to go straight in the ground, or buy a selection of seeds.  I also like the Rocket Gardens, where you can now pre-order the Spring 2010 kids garden, which includes pumpkins, courgettes, strawberries and peas amongst other things

So, just 5 small steps, but the best thing you can do for kids is get them involved: eating, shopping, baking, growing, preparing, choosing. The more they’re involved, the more they’ll want to be involved.

Meanwhile, I’m off to track down those dark age Nottingham restauranteurs, for a bit of naming and shaming!

Photo by Search Engine People Blog on Flickr

Have a cupcake, all week!

This had passed me by slightly, but this week apparently is National Cupcake Week. Which is definitely going to be one of my favourite weeks of the year.

Where did the cupcake come from? How did it raise itself up to be the top cakey treat? Like many trends, I would think we have to blame Sex and the City, and those trips the girls had to the Magnolia Bakery. Now every city seems to have it’s own version, yes, even near my office in Nottingham. The team at the Bluebell Bakery (obviously Magnolia’s distant cousin) delivered half a dozen scrummy ones last week.

Through Twitter, I’ve come across some fabulously talented people making these little tiny delights of scrumptiousness and artistry. If you’re in the Kent area, then you need to be heading to The Kent Cupcakery, for everything from pirates and skull & crossbones (yes, cupcakes for the boys) to pretty florals and ones for wedding anniversaries.

If you’re seriously into cupcakes, then you could head to NYC and tour a few of the famous bakeries. And even those of us who are not friends with wheat or gluten needn’t miss out, if you head to the Lower East Side and stop by Babycakes. Not to mention that they are all vegan as well, so everyone is welcome!

There again there is nothing to beat the smell of cupcakes being lifted fresh out of your own oven, then working out what on earth you are going to put on the top of them. If you’re doing them with kids then the more is more principle will apply. Check out Cupcake Wrappers for an amazing selection of cases and sprinkles and toppers, more than you could ever have thought existed! For more basic but useful stuff, then you can never beat Lakeland!

If you want some inspiration, then there are some fab books around to do just that. On my wish list you’ll find Bake Me I’m Yours…Cupcakes, Hello Cupcake (which has the cutest cover, but not sure how I would feel about eating a Yorkshire Terrier cupcake), and Planet Cake, which is not exclusively cupcakes but very inspiring.

Failing that, I shall be making a run into Peyton & Byrne at St Pancras tomorrow and hoping the 5 for £10 deal is still on!

Always seek a good burger

This is going to sound bad, but in the past week I’ve had a burger on three separate occasions. The only way I can hope to keep up my foodie credentials is to state quite categorically that not one of them has been from McDonalds!

The latest one was at What’s Cooking in Liverpool, and it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t my choice, I am sure Liverpool offers more unique food choices, but it hit the spot after a bit of high culture at Tate Liverpool (highly recommend the Colour Chart exhibition). Service was good, burgers were tasty, and tasted of beef, and nicely chargrilled. Pickles were a bit unimaginative, but overall not a bad experience.

Before that, I’d had home barbecued versions. One lot were Dexter beefburgers that I picked up from Picks Organics at last week’s food festival in Newark, which were amazing. I think they were something like 98% meat, gluten free and incredibly tasty. Simply grilled to medium, served with some fresh soda bread and Tracklements Onion Marmalade was just perfect.

Although, that said, last Saturday night’s homemade burgers with Stilton were pretty sublime too. I am not sure if Colston Bassett would approve of their cheese being used in such a way, but it was delicious. And treated with respect I feel, as we’re not talking a slice melted on the top, but a slice through the middle of the burger so the flavours suffused through the meat.

So whilst the burger gets regularly maligned, I think a true beefburger is a thing of foodie beauty, and taste. I have no idea what the best recipe is, I just think it comes down to using good beef. Ben Watson wrote in last week’s newsletter from Riverford about using diced chuck steak, which is tasty, and very reasonable too because, as he writes, it doesn’t look so attractive and does need a little work. If I was in a rush, then I would just use decent steak mince.  And not a low fat version.

The one thing that is really useful for burgers, especially if you’re making for a crowd, is a burger press. We bought ours from Lakeland years ago, a very good use of £2.99. They’ve even super-sized it now, which means you can now press your own quarter pounders, so hardly excessive. Then the toppings are up to you. If I am being excessive (quite often) then I would be “inspired” by my favourite, the black and blue burger from the OK Diner, which is guacamole and bacon. There again, if your burgers are great, just enjoy them naked. Clothes optional.

Clothes I don’t think are optional at the OK Diner, which is worth a stop if you’re on the A1. You might think Little Chef dreariness, those in the know know it is a true American diner, with great burgers, incredible milkshakes and a brilliant atmosphere. Stop at the one near Stamford and you get the full aluminium clad diner treatment. And in France, I would still skip the golden arches and head for La Boucherie. Not fast in the McDonalds sense, but they know their beef, and the steak hache is a thing to behold.

So go ahead, indulge in a burger without guilt, just put taste over speed!

Photo by Stigeredoo

Whenever you want to moan about the state of British retailing, then go visit a branch of Lakeland. Of course, I am old enough to remember when they were Lakeland Plastics, but they are about so much more these days. But one thing that remains is the terribly nice, mainly ladies, who work there.

The Tefal Electric Jam Maker - easy jam making for the easily distracted

I went in there today, in the pouring rain, to find a very nice lady handing out plastic bags for umbrellas. Lovely.

I then found more things for making jams and preserving things than I thought existed. I restrained myself from buying the Tefal Electric Jam Maker, although I understand it takes the stress out of jam making. Or, in my case, remembering to stir it regularly so not to burn the sugar on the bottom.

I did finally buy an easy-fill jam funnel to make entry into jars much easier, not to mention less messy. I resisted all the twee jam covers though. Which is possibly why my jam is always passed over at the Horticultural Show, due to it being in a recycled pickled onions jar.

I remember the time I had bought a jelly straining kit from them, only to find it had,in error,  no straining bag. And I had a pan full of boiling elderberries on the stove waiting to be strained. The lady on the helpline was very helpful, and laughed with me as I considered what I was going to strain with whilst awaiting the replacement she was sending me (M&S 15 denier as it happens).

So if you ever find yourself in need of an extra bit of kitchen kit, some unusual foodstuffs or just generally stuff you’d never thought about, then Lakeland is the place. It’s also one of the best sources of gifts for foodies that I know of. Not posh, but definitely useful! And such lovely people!