Blackberry jam on the boil...the photo isn't that great but the smell is delightful!
Neighbourhood Reflections
Daydreaming from my desk at the reflections from the building across the way. It looks as if the sunshine is playing a game of not-noughts and crosses.
Banella Oatcakes
I love yoghurt with granola and a spoonful of one of my jams for breakfast. I used to have a box of granola bars to stick in my handbag I should need to be "up and out" super early. Unfortunately they are not satisfying, relatively expensive and quite sugary. Now I always have a batch of oatcakes handy to take with me so if I want a mobile breakfast, or a snack, I have something that's homemade, hearty, inexpensive and super easy to make.
There isn't really a recipe but for these banella oatcakes I took a jar of banella jam which is a spread made of bananas, dark chocolate and Courvosier XO then added two bananas and oats.
I mixed and mashed these together until the mixture was bound together. Then I spread in on a sheet of backing paper to a thickness of about 2cm and then use a cutter to cut out the oatcakes. If they aren't holding well together you can remix with a bit of golden syrup if the mixture is too dry and more oats if seems too wet. The drier the mixture the more crunchy they will be and the wetter will produce a chewy oatcake. Once they've been cut I sprinkle a tiny bit of demerara sugar on them and bake them in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 20-30 minutes. They also make a great snack and I have also used them as a pudding base for individual crumbles.
Mr and Ms Food Face Plates
Orford Food Revolution photos
Orford Town Hall proudly displaying the Food Revolution Day banner. Below are some photos from the day which was just brilliant. As of 31 May, over £ 1430 has been raised from the event and that figure was still rising. Joanna, Michelle, Kate and Roger all deserve a round of applause and a rest for organising the day and the ongoing good work in the village and for the young people.
Orford Food Revolution Day
Can you smell the Food Revolution in the air? Well you should as it is happening and upon us. This Saturday 19 May I shall be in Orford, Suffolk for
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day
. The Orford Food Revolution Day will be held in the village square which has been pedestrianised for the day and all the regular Orford Country Market stalls will be there as well as some additional ones, including me - Smy Chutney. This community event will be an opportunity for people who love food to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. It's all about making a difference and getting all the elements of community of all ages together and promote better food and education for everyone. This is also a global event with people all over the world coming together. From schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers' markets, to date the following are involved:
- 543 CITIES
- 57 COUNTRIES
- 391 PUBLIC EVENTS
- 425 DINNER PARTIES
WOW! I'm so excited by the concept and so excited to be participating in the Orford Food Revolution Day - where I am from!
Orford Primary School’s Kitchen Garden Project
has been running for two years as a pilot project for the Jamie Oliver Foundation, thanks to the combined efforts of the local community, and the educational charity
. Using an approach that has been fully integrated into the school’s curriculum, the project teaches children the joys of growing and cooking their own food in the hope of planting a seed for positive eating habits that will last a lifetime.
My earliest memories are of pulling up potatoes, picking and eating strawberries, the smell of the Oysterage, going to see freshly hatched chicks, cracking open coconuts won at the Flower show and eating fish and chips on the castle green. I feel so lucky and proud to be from Orford and can't wait to be part of this event and its message. Now I'm based in London but get back to the village whenever I can and always bring back a bounty of bootiful fruit and vegetables from my dear Auntie Chrissie's allotment. I've posted before on
, the
and
if you're interested.
I'm also thrilled to be involved in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day as I live and work directly across from
in London. I've always been a fan of his passion for food but for five years I've had a unique insight into just how hard all of his team work. No matter what time I get up, the kitchen are already hard at work and continue to do so well into the night. The restaurant team and the team in the offices are also working methodically throughout the day and night. The deliveries in the morning and the Fifteen shutters retracting each night are sounds that regulate my day as do the flashbulbs and chatter of the patrons excited to see the stunning Fifteen building and eager to enjoy their fabulous meal together. Most inspiring is to hear and see all the Fifteen apprentices. I'm not a stalker (promise!) but when I'm not attending to my chutney pots or working at my kitchen desk, I'm at my desk in the window and it's a beautiful view of the cobblestones, Fifteen and
. I was loved Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? book when I was little and it's a bit like that:
So I took it as a good sign for the Orford Food Revolution Day when I heard some commotion outside on Monday and when I looked out, this is what I saw:
Jamie Oliver and Richard Branson! They were at Fifteen where
and the
held a special event at Fifteen to announce the winner of the
competition. Richard Branson has also promised to cook a shepherd's pie on Food Revolution Day and share the recipe.
What will you do on Food Revolution Day? Check out their
to see what's going on in your area or come to the Orford Food Revolution Day! Thanks to Joanne of
and Roger of
for inviting me and all their hard work and involvement and obviously the Jamie Oliver Foundation for their hard work, involvement and vision. I'm donating a percentage of any proceeds that I make on the market stall to the Orford Primary School’s Kitchen Garden Project and am hoping to be inspired and inspire future and existing preserve makers. I have fond memories of the school and I'm sure the project will have a lasting impact on all those involved. Can't wait to see what they've been up to and to see everyone there!
Blog Eat Blog - The Weiner Results
Congratulations to Will the Blog Eat Blog Champion!!!
Will of
)
won with his tasty Jam Hot topping.
Here's the motley crew of from left - me, Abiye of
(
), Will, Paul of the
blog (
), Ian of
(
)
and judge Chris Harding (
)
reveling in our prizes at
(
). Prize packs were 2 kilos of meat in the form of a Big Apple BBQ pack!
And a certificate! If you know me then you'll know that this was almost as exciting as the BBQ pack...well almost.
Abiye having a well deserved slug of champers. Thanks for bringing all us crazy topping nerds together, it was great fun and I can't wait for the next installment, there are already lots of great ideas swirling around.
It was a great tournament and a great night. I'd like to apologise to my neighbours, again, for the very late night hula hoop session that took place in my flat many hours after these photos were taken. Ginger beer, champagne and rum are not conducive to hula hooping techniques. Luckily I awoke to my Big Apple BBQ pack which took centre stage in a massive breakfast and later induced a two-hour sausage coma/nap. Thanks again and see everyone soon!
All Summer in a Day
It seems like it's been raining steadily for the past two weeks. Or should I say that for two weeks now I have been adorning my sexy rainproof shoe covers, mac and rain cape yet still managing to get soaked while out and about on my bicycle. Whenever it's as rainy as it has been I always think of a short film that I saw as a child after moving to America. Years later I was reading a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury when I realised that one of them, 'All Summer in a Day," was the basis for the short film that I had seen years earlier.
The story and film take place on a colony of Venus where the sun only appears for a few hours every seven years. A group of schoolchildren are preparing to see the sun as they were too young to remember it the last time it appeared...all except for Margot who is the the only child to be born on Earth. The other children are skeptical of her memories and drawings of sunshine and flowers as theirs is a grey and dismal world. The film and story are sweet, funny and sad. The film reminded me then and now of England and being stuck indoors as a child when it's chucking it down outside. Playing in the rain, puddles and mud can be as much fun now as it was then but after awhile it gets a bit boring and you just want to see the sun. For years I looked on YouTube for this film and a few years ago it finally popped up. I hope you enjoy it and hope that we don't have to wait as long as Margot and these children do to see the sun again.
The story and film take place on a colony of Venus where the sun only appears for a few hours every seven years. A group of schoolchildren are preparing to see the sun as they were too young to remember it the last time it appeared...all except for Margot who is the the only child to be born on Earth. The other children are skeptical of her memories and drawings of sunshine and flowers as theirs is a grey and dismal world. The film and story are sweet, funny and sad. The film reminded me then and now of England and being stuck indoors as a child when it's chucking it down outside. Playing in the rain, puddles and mud can be as much fun now as it was then but after awhile it gets a bit boring and you just want to see the sun. For years I looked on YouTube for this film and a few years ago it finally popped up. I hope you enjoy it and hope that we don't have to wait as long as Margot and these children do to see the sun again.
Part 1
Part 2
Pt 3
Food Fixie
Sweden-based photographer Fabian Ohrn and art director Joakim Hedblad have created a beautiful fixed gear bicycle that also happens to be totally edible!
The bicycle is made of leeks, kolbaz sausages, regular spaghetti, Swedish rhubarbs, ginger, organic carrots, syrup, lime, lemon, black spaghetti, grapefruit, cowberrys, pear, cheese, whole wheat macaroni sticks, cucumbers, sugar, orange, and extra virgin olive oil.
If I recreated my bicycle out of food I would need lots of aubergine, grapes and dark plums!
Six-pepper Sunday Roast Chicken
I love a Sunday roast. I love six-pepper jelly. So I massaged six-pepper jelly into a chicken and roasted it up.
I've tried this technique many times and the resulting chicken is crispy, spicy and super moist.
There's nothing like sharing a home-cooked roast dinner with friends and family but I knew that I had a hectic week and that by roasting a chicken I would be setting myself up for some easy but tasty meals to eat throughout the week. I made three tasty salads with some of the left over meat and ate those on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This one has the chicken, mixed greens, shredded carrot and beetroot, mixed seeds and a dollop of rhubarb chutney.
With the left over carcass, some onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper I made a chicken stock. I use stock cubes in emergencies but I always try to have an arsenal of homemade stocks in the freezer as they make such a difference in soups and gravies.
From which I then made red cabbage, chicken, parsnip and pinenut soup to have for lunch on Thursday and Friday and I was able to freeze two large portions as well.
I'll share some of my other leftovers meals as there are so many, I have a post nearly ready to go on rissoles and risottos. I'll also post the full recipe for the above soup.