De Beauvoir Christmas Fair - 26 & 27 November

I'll be at the De Beauvoir Christmas Fair on Saturday and Sunday, the 26th and 27th of November so why not come along for a local chance to do some independent Christmas and holiday shopping.  Organised by St Peter's Crypt and De Beauvoir Underground community organisation the flyer speaks for itself but there will also be mulled wine, need I say more.  Go to their

facebook

page to find out more information and here is a

map

of where it is. I'll have my luxury homemade chutney, jelly and jam as well as Christmas items such as:

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow us on

facebook

and

twitter

and if you haven't seen it already, here's a little video made by

Emma Crouch

about Smy Chutney:

Smy Chutney Christmas 2011

It's still a bit early yet but I wanted to share what's on offer this Christmas and holiday season from Smy Chutney.  I like to think that the above images form a little Christmas tree, or perhaps a Christmas tree-trug.  The garden trug hamper comes filled with all sorts of yummy items that will come in handy as a gift or for yourself this Christmas.  They each contain:

• Smy Chutney preserves - 2 chutneys, 1 six-pepper jelly, 1 lemon curd and 1 jam (275g jars, early orders may add preferred flavours to their order)
• Smy Chutney homemade oatcakes - perfect for sampling the fine cheeses and preserves (100g)
• Smy Chutney homemade chocolate covered crystallised ginger - rich combination of flavours (125g)
• Smy Chutney homemade mincemeat shortbread - delicious shortbread biscuits made with Smy Chutney luxury mincemeat that offer an alternative to traditional mince pies (250g)
• Smy Chutney mixed-nuts roasted in six-pepper jelly - utterly morish combination of sweet, spicy and salty (125g)
• Smoked mozzarella from Abruzzo, Italy - delicious cheese that can be served as is or used in cooking (100g)
• Bocconcino di Langa cheese from Piedmont, Italy - gorgeous soft cheese (100g)

I had planned on filling them with champagne, wine and port but alas I discovered that I would need a licence to do so, so the boozy trugs will have to wait until next year.

Hampers are £50 plus shipping and postage and will be delivered from 19-21 December and the final order date is 10 December. Please email if you would prefer to have any hampers delivered at an earlier date or if you would prefer to collect from Central London.

Next up are the large gift boxes (£15) which come with three flavours of Smy Chutney in a lovely gift box.  They were really popular last year and you can choose the flavours to suit yourself or the person you are buying for.

Last but not least are the smaller gift boxes which come with 5 small pots of Smy Chutney and they make a perfect preserves sampler or gift to bring along to a dinner party.  I have also found that people really like these as some people are afraid of committing to larger jars and want to try them first.  Luckily they usually come back to buy the larger cousins to the sample jars and as I tell everyone, the majority of Smy Chutney flavours, with the exception of lemon curd, have very long shelf lives however they won't last that long anyway!

You can find further details and flavour options at

http://www.smychutney.com/shop.html

.  If you come and visit me on a Thursday or Friday at Whitecross St Market I will have other Christmas gift options and my latest flavour experimentations that you can taste.  In case you haven't seen the Smy Chutney video you can watch it here:

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Pretty Pink Bicycles

19 october

dalston kingsland

super cute

18 october 2011

westland place

saw this out my window and couldn't stop staring at this beautiful bike, had to pop out to take a photo.

15 April 2011

Whitecross St Market

Julia's Bike

Crafty Fox Pop Up at Old Spitalfields - 5th Nov

I'm really pleased to be included in the Crafty Fox Pop Up at the historic Old Spitalfield's in East London on Saturday 5th November. It's part of the "Four Markets in One Day" event and the space will be shared with Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair, Designers Makers and more.  There will be a selection of 50 amazing stalls selling vintage and handmade creations.  There will be also lots of workshops where you can get hands-on and crafty and meet the makers. For example:

11 - 12.30: Handwritten letters with Claire from Letter Lounge
12.30 - 2: Crafty Fun with Stuffed Nonsense
2 - 3.30: Make an origami Fox with Wil of From Chaos Comes Beauty
3.30 - 5: More fun with Stuffed Nonsense

I met Crafty Fox at a Christmas event last year and heard all about their great events and I am really looking forward to the Old Spitalfield's Pop Up.  You can find out more about them on the Crafty Fox blog and The Other Side has also featured the event on their website.  Our good friend Rachel Loves Bob will be there and a long list of the traders can be found here.  I'll also be trading at the Crafty Fox Christmas Market at the Dogstar in Brixton on Saturday 10 December.

The last time I traded here was about seven years ago when my good friend Karmen and I shared a stall; she was selling her amazing bags, accessories and handmade dolls and I was selling my handmade beads and beaded jewellery.  This time around I will be selling my luxury homemade chutney, jelly and jam...which has always been far more popular than my jewellery!

I won't be demonstrating any chutney or jam-making but I will have all my flavours available for tasting, lots of Christmas and gift boxes and my luxury Christmas hamper that you can pre-order for Christmas.

I'm sure by now that you have jotted this down, in ink, in your diary but if not I will leave you with this video of a previous Crafty Fox Pop Up:

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Butternut Squash and Chorizo Soup

I came back from my last trip to Orford with a butternut squash from Auntie Chrissie's allotment.  I love all manner of squash and find them tasty, indicative of the changing season and also beautiful.  

Meet Buddy the Butternut Squash.  As part of our Ready, Steady, Cook evenings, my friend Aimee brought me a squash several years ago and we gave him a face and a name.  I found it very hard to cook him, but eventually I did.  In our Ready, Steady, Cook nights we each bring ingredients bought for under £5 and they should not involve too much thought but rather what catches your eye, is on offer or in season.  After a catch-up glass of wine or two, both sides unveil their ingredients and a menu is spontaneously put together based on all the ingredients.  It's a brilliant way to try new things....Aims, we are well overdue!

Back to the soup.  I decided to make a soup with the squash and went through the fridge to see what might go well with it.  All the ingredients were ones that I had but substitutions could easily be made accordingly:

Butternut squash - 800g

Chorizo - 200g

Oxtail stock - 500 ml

Peeled plum tomatoes - 1 tin

Red onion - 1

Garlic cloves - 1

Carrot - 1

Celery - 1 stalk

Olive oil - 4 tablespoons

Fresh thyme - large bunch

Smy Chutney six-pepper jelly - 1 heaped teaspoon

Smy Chutney red onion marmalade - 1 heaped teaspoon

salt and pepper to taste

First, I halved the squash and removed the seeds.  

Then I quartered and roasted the butternut squash, after topping it with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme.  I popped it in the top tray of the oven which had been preheated to 200 degrees C.  I left it in there for about half an hour.

While the squash was roasting I chopped one red onion, several garlic cloves and 200g of chorizo.  

I finely shredded a carrot and sliced one celery stalk as thin as I possibly could.  I love the background flavour of celery but do not like it to dominate any dish that I am making.  

The roasting squash filled the flat with such a nice smell and they looked stunning when they were done.  I removed them and allowed them to cool slightly before handling.  

I used the remaining olive oil from the roasting tin that the squash had been in to slowly sweat the red onions.  I then added the garlic and celery and cooked for several minutes before adding the chorizo and cooking for three to four minutes on a low heat.  

I then added a tin of peeled plum tomatoes, increased the heat slightly and left it to gently bubble.

Next I removed the skin from the roasted squash which I then chopped into rough cubes ensuring to keep the roasted thyme. 

The roasted butternut squash and the shredded carrot was added to the pot.

Then I added half a pint of homemade oxtail stock to the pan but you could use vegetable or chicken stock, the stock was left over from an oxtail soup made earlier in the week and needed to be used.  It made the soup a heartier version than if vegetable or chicken stock had been used.  I wanted a bit of spice to the soup so I added a heaping teaspoon full of six-pepper jelly as well as a heaping teaspoon full of red-onion marmalade.  I added half a pint of water, covered the soup and left it on a nice simmer for half-an-hour.  

The butternut squash and chorizo soup was served with a crusty granary bread.

I was really happy with how the soup came out, it was rich, a bit sweet, a bit spicy and full of flavour.  It's fitting that I was reminded of Buddy the butternut squash and Ready, Steady, Cook sessions as now is the time of year when it's so easy and so comforting to have homemade soups at hand.  I find that there are always some potatoes, vegetables or pulses in the kitchen and once combined with a bit of onion, garlic, celery and stock you have a tasty and inexpensive option for lunch or dinner.  I always try make a big batch of soup and freeze portions for those evenings when you may not have time or be bothered to cook.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Pumpkin and Pomegranate Chutney

When I recently visited Orford I took this photo of some pumpkins that my Auntie Chrissie's grew.  I think that they will be used by my cousin's daughter and children in the village for a Halloween celebration and they will make jack-o-lanterns with them.  It's been so suddenly autumnal this week, the leaves are changing, the sky has been blue, the air is crisp and I've debuted my gloves, hat and winter cape.  The hypothalamus in my brain also gets super active this time of year and decides that my normal sleeping patterns are inadequate, that I should probably stay warm by drinking lots of red wine and eating as much as possible.  Having seen some lovely orange pumpkins I thought that I would make a pumpkin chutney.  I was thinking of what ingredient to team up with the pumpkin and with pomegranates being in season I thought that they would nicely accompany one another and that some Asian spices would work with the flavour and texture of the both.

They certainly looked nice and colorful together.

I peeled, deseeded and chopped two pumpkins...

I separated the seeds of two pomegranates...

I added them together with two onions, garam masala, curry powder, some cider vinegar and a bit of water to help the pumpkin to soak up all the lovely flavours.  You can add more or less spices according to your own taste and use less water if you prefer a chunky chutney or more if you prefer a smoother one.

Combine all the ingredients and stir for an hour or so.

Place the chutney while piping hot into sterlised jars and lid.  I ended up with about 16 x 275g jars.

So here are a few of the finished jars.  This week I've been eating the pumpkin and pomegranate chutney with some cheese melted and toasted in a tortilla wrap for lunch.  Well actually, I've been having a range of Smy Chutney cheese wraps for lunch this week and as a snack.  I've had rhubarb chutney, tomato jam, and six-pepper jelly cheese wraps as well, all were very nice if I don't say so myself.  Getting back to the pumpkin and pomegranate chutney, it also went really well as an accompaniment to a chick pea and chorizo rice dish that I make at least once a fortnight. 

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Presenting Smy Chutney

I am really pleased and proud to present...Presenting Smy Chutney, a short film made by Emma Crouch who is a London based photographer, film maker and project manager, a huge Smy Chutney supporter and also a dear friend.  You can see more of Emma's work at her website -

www.isayraar.com

, her

flicker

, her

youtube channel

, exhibited at the

Avo Hotel

and for sale at the

View Tube

.

A few months ago, Emma and I met at

Poppies Fish and Chips

on Hanbury Street for a bit of lunch and a bit of a chat about an idea she'd had about working together.  Emma and I had worked together in the past and I knew her work ethic, attention to detail and resulting work to be outstanding.  I also knew that we would have a lot of fun working together and jumped at the chance to do so.  This was a photo we took at our first meeting at Poppies, we look quite serious, perhaps we were really hungry or perhaps all the other photos we took were a little bit silly.

I am so pleased with the results and cannot praise or thank Emma enough. She has delivered a video that has met, and far exceeded, my expectations from our first meeting.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Foodie Booty - British Larder Suffolk- 1 Oct 2011

Last Saturday I attended the

British Larder's

Foodie Booty event in Woodbridge, Suffolk.  The British Larder Suffolk is the foodie pub/restaurant experience created by two professional chefs, Madalene Bonvini-Hamel and Ross Pike, who are committed to using locally sourced produce.  The event was a car boot sale in their parking lot with a foodie twist and lots of lovely goods on offer.  I had kindly been invited along to attend the Foodie Booty with Pump Street Bakery from my village, Orford and lots of other local food producers. 

It was mid-way through the unbelievable stretch of weather that surpassed anything that I recall experiencing all summer.  It was 1 October and with a sunrise like this how could it be anything but a wonderful day.

Peppered along the fence were a patchwork of spider webs, glistening and dewy in the early sunshine. I was half expecting to see Charlotte conducting the orchestra of spiders.

I set up my stall where I was selling a nice variety of products including, six-pepper jelly, apple and pepper chutney, banana and date chutney, greengage jam, lemon curd, plum gumbo, strawberry and pineapple jam and rhubarb chutney.

Roger

and

Pat

set up the

Pump Street Bakery

stall selling delicious bread and baked treats from the shop in Orford. 

The

Suffolk Providore

brings the best Suffolk food and produce to you. They have a brilliant online shop and convenient delivery service including a very popular fruit and veg box service.  At the Foodie Booty they had local sweetcorn, cabbage, potatoes and fennel on offer.

There were luxurious Belgian chocolate celebration cakes from

Melton Cakes

.

Sutton Hoo Free Range and Organic Chicken

were there and I tried their grilled chicken and chilli sausages which were delicious.

We chatted to the lovely Richard who was selling sweets and I couldn't resist a bag of foam bananas, pure sugar I know but nonetheless tasty.

I was offered a trade of a jar of chutney for a jar of Professor Baker's Pickled Wombats, which I accepted.  Before you call Peta you can rest assured that no wombats were harmed in the pickling of the above jars' contents, they are actually pickled walnuts.

There was fruit, veg, plants and herbs available from David and his daughter they can also be found regularly at the Orford Country Market on Saturdays as well.

Lina's Lottie was a one-stop Foodie Booty bonanza with produce, jams, cookery books and crockery.

There was delicious Suffolk Honey and information on beekeeping available.

I loved

Nut Tree Farm's

gourmet infused vinegars and their beautiful display. The flavours include dark chocolate vinegar, spiced blackberry vinegar and coffee vinegar to name a few of the many available.

And then there was the hog roast provided by

Dingley Dell Pork

.  Charlotte and her spiders were apparently too busy spinning dazzling webs along the fence to write "Some Pig" and save Wilbur below but "Tasty Pig" would have been more appropriate.

Perfect.

Here's Madalene preparing a hog roast roll.....

...and here is me eating the delicious hog roast roll that was generously provided by Madalene and

Dingley Dell Pork

to Foodie Booty traders.  The meat was perfect and the crackling divine.

Here's a selection of gorgeous British Larder treats and preserves and if you go to

Madalene's British Larder blog

you will find all manner of delicious recipes and an

online shop

full of handy kitchen tools.

Here are three lovely ladies, and happy Smy Chutney customers, enjoying the gorgeous day on the British Larder grounds.  I had a great day meeting and chatting to new people, food producers and customers.  I sold out of six-pepper jelly, rhubarb chutney and plum gumbo.  My favourite bit of feedback was from a customer who said the initial sweetness of six-pepper jelly lured him into "a false sense of security" before the secondary wave of spiciness hit.

Many thanks to British Larder for a wonderful day and all the people and traders who came out to celebrate local produce in a really unique and fun community gathering.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Pasta Minchia

LEFTOVER ROAST DUCK 

PLUS

PLUM GUMBO

EQUALS

PASTA MINCHIA 

I recently took a trip to Liguria Italy where I met many lovely people and learned many things...mainly mangia, mangia, mangia and aperitivo, aperitivo, aperitivo. Wherever I travel I love investigating food markets, supermarkets and studying local ingredients and specialties. This trip included introductions to Ligurian olive oil, pasta, fresh seafood, bruschetta, spritzi, delicious fruit and cheese as well as stoccafisso, of which I will blog about at a later date once I have developed photos that I took on my Fish Eye camera.  I had brought some Plum Gumbo as a gift to those who I stayed with and mentioned that it goes extremely well with duck.  The citrus overtones, walnuts and sultanas just work wonderfully with duck.  They noted that they do use duck in their cooking but are more apt to use it in the colder months.  When I came back to London I was really craving duck which is one of my favourite meats to roast.  I ended up roasting a duck and had enough left over for sandwiches and then some.  Thinking of ideas of what to do with the remaining leftovers I came up with a duck recipe that I have christened Pasta Minchia.  I am aware that it may not be the most polite of recipe names as "minchia" is an Italian word of some profanity, but I think it fits and I'm quite keen to learn of Italy and its many ranges from polite to vulgar and back again.  So I give you Pasta Minchia:

Leftover duck meat or duck breast

500-600g Tagliatelle

Several cloves of garlic

1 Leek

2 Tbsp Smy Chutney plum gumbo

Generous amount of double cream

Parmesan cheese

Ligurian olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

The above recipe is for two and is very easy.  If you don't fancy roasting a duck first then take one or two duck breasts (really I think one would give you sufficient meat) rub some olive oil, salt and pepper into both sides of the duck and heat a pan to a really high temperature and put the skin side down until it is nice and crisp, about 4-5 minutes.  Turn the breast and grill that for 4-5 minutes, remove from the pan and then slice the breast thinly or chop as desired.  You may find that they duck is a bit undercooked but you will be returning it to the pan shortly.  The recipe gets going rather quickly so you can put your pasta on cooking a bit earlier or now depending on your own pace.  If you have roasted your duck and are using leftover meat you will want to heat some olive oil in a pan or you can use the duck fat if you have just roasted a breast and gently fry your thinly sliced garlic making sure to not let it brown. Add your leeks and get those going and then add in the duck making sure to either heat up the leftover meat or get your cooked duck breast to the right temperature without overcooking them.  Then add in your double cream and cook for just a few minutes.  Once your pasta is ready and drained you can add your duck, leek and garlic sauce and simultaneously add in 1 or 2 Tbsp of Plum Gumbo depending on your taste.  Stir together well, season as necessary, top with grated parmesan cheese and serve.  I am really pleased with this creation and I expect that as we creep into duck and Plum Gumbo season that this will be in regular rotation in my kitchen.  Why not try it in yours?

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Twin Bananas

Behold the twin bananas that I discovered today whilst making a batch of banana and date chutney! I've photographed them next to a standard banana but they were totally smooth on each side.  They were hiding underneath a small bunch of individual bananas and I gasped as I saw them and turned them over and around, looking at them from all their angles.  The twin hemispheres of my brain were working rather fast but they were slightly confused until they determined, yes - it was a banana but as my hands prodded them I could feel two distinct bananas, twin bananas under one peel.  If they were a hardier fruit I might have thought about keeping them around a bit longer but I'm funny about my bananas, twins or no twins, and these two were already teetering on the wrong edge of how I like to eat and/or use them for my banana & date chutney.  I was obviously wondering if they are a rare or common phenomenon and was planning to take to Twitter to find out but thought I would need photographic evidence.  Had I not lost my camera last month I would have made a video...but please do not get me started on that or the fact that I also lost my Smy Chutney notebook in the same evening, alas, it could have been worse.  But back to the twins, I felt like little Phoebe here and eerily had an almost identical conversation to the one that she has below:

There are lots of images of other twin bananas and even a query on yahoo asking, "Will a pregnant mother give birth to twins if she eats twin bananas? If she splits them behind her back, will she still have twins? Please include research. :)" I do not think this blog constitutes research for or against twin bananas having the power to banana split an embryo into twins, I would think that research is not actually necessary so moving on.

Here are my twin bananas sans peel, just before they were chopped up and sacrificed to a batch of banana and date chutney and as

@EllieBry

stated, "it was a sacrifice any decent banana would make."

I salute you twin bananas, thank you for the memories and I look forward to spreading you on ham and cheese sandwiches.

 and remember: