I've Got the Remedy

As I write this, I have an awful head cold. My head feels as though it has been stuffed full of cotton wool, my nose is bunged up, my throat is as rough as sandpaper and I have an annoying cough that gives me and everyone else a headache.

I don't much like those over-the-counter cold remedies from the chemist, plus I seem to have some kind of reaction to the decongestant that's in it, so I've come up with a far nicer alternative.
It's simple to put together, even when you are feeling groggy and out of sorts.

Pour a pint of water into a saucepan and grate in an inch piece of fresh ginger, skin and all. Take a lemon and peel off the skin into thin pieces using a sharp knife, drop them into the water, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice. Drop in half a cinnamon stick. Bring to a gentle simmer and let all the ingredients infuse for about 15 minutes.
Pour into a jug through a tea strainer, then add a good couple of tablespoons of runny hunny. Stir to dissolve.
Finally pour into your favourite drinking receptacle and sip.

Well it might not actually be the cure for the common cold, but it is soothing and clears the sinuses – aaah that's better!
Photo: ©childsdesign 2010

Cobbled Streets, Cider and Butter

Having recently returned from an enjoyable stay in Brittany, I was still ignited with enthusiasm for the local cuisine and wanted to create something at home. Aside from the ubiquitous moules frites, crêpes and galettes, Brittany has so much more to offer on the food front.

While I was cooking, I was taken back to the steep cobbled streets of Dinan or the rugged shores of Île-de-Bréhat...

Poulet au Cidre Breton

Brittany produces some very fine cider, everything from a good country style not unlike our Somerset or Herefordshire ciders to the more refined ‘Champagne’ varieties. Brittany, although in France is not a wine producing region and so it invests it’s time in using apples to make a pleasing array of brews.
This dish is fragrant with apples as the cider infuses the chicken making it tender and fall-off-the-bone succulent. The chicken is best cooked on the bone to give a robustness of flavour. After I removed the breasts and legs from the whole bird, I used the rest to make stock, picking off any remaining meat after it had cooked.
Although not the most photogenic of dishes, my husband did his photographic best to make it look appetising, but I can assure you it tastes very good, even if I do say so myself.
Sauté potatoes and french beans go very well with it, I think.

Ingredients
1 chicken, jointed, use the legs and breasts
2 apples, preferably Golden Delicious, cored and cut into 1cm dice
3 large onions, sliced
50g butter
500ml dry cider
4 tblsp crème fraîche
a good grating of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In large heavy saucepan, melt half the butter and add the onions and apples and fry gently for about 5-7 minutes until golden.
Melt remaining butter in large frying pan and brown the chicken breasts on all sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to the onion and apple mixture and stir well to combine.
Pour in the cider, add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Allow to simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked and tender remove from the cooking liquid and set aside, keep warm in a low oven.
Skim any excess fat from the liquid and reduce the liquid by half, cooking on a medium heat to allow it to evaporate.
Stir the crème fraîche into the cider sauce and allow to cook for a further few minutes until the sauce thickens.
Serve the chicken in bowls with the sauce spooned over.


Gateau Breton

This cake is wickedly rich and celebrates one of Brittany’s finest products, butter. Part way between a dense sponge and shortbread it has an irresistible flavour and texture.
I decided to add the extra filling of prunes after being inspired by one I bought in Brittany last year. The cake is often plain without the stripe of sticky fruit, but I love the extra dimension that the prunes give – it’s like the most decadent fig roll you’ll ever eat.
The cake is supposed to have diamond shapes scored into the top, but I don’t know what happened to mine – they filled in on cooking, however, that didn’t affect the taste.

Ingredients
250g soft ready to eat prunes
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
200g lightly salted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
250g plain flour
half teasoon baking powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Chopped the prunes, very finely and put into a bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
Beat the egg yolks together in a bowl, then reserve a little of the egg in a small bowl to use as a the glaze.
Add the softened butter to the egg yolks and beat until soft and well blended.
Add the sugar and flour and work into a slightly sticky dough.
Lightly butter a 22.5cm/9inch loose-bottomed cake tin.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
Press one half of the dough into the tin, using your fingers. It does get very sticky to work with, so put a sheet of cling film over the top to stop your fingers getting too messy.
Spread over the prune mixture evenly over the dough.
Press on the second half of the dough, smoothing the top with a palette knife.
Using a knife,score into diamonds across the top, then brush with the reserved egg yolk.
Baked for 50 mins.
Cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack


Meringues
(or what to do with the 
left-over egg whites)

I did think about freezing the egg whites, but knowing my track record of remembering what’s in the freezer, I thought they would be exiled to a frozen doom and be wasted, so meringues were the answer.
Inspired by the stacks seen in patisserie windows (like the one in the quaint medieval town of Moncontour, pictured below) I set about making big crunchy-on-the-outside and chewy-in-the-middle confections. Not wanting anything plain to look at, I got arty with some food colouring.
The texture is achieved by folding in a little cornflour and vanilla extract is added for a more interesting flavour.

Food photos: ©childsdesign 2010




Now for a little favour…

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own home in France, this could be the perfect location for you. (I should know, I've stayed in it and it's lovely)
This 4 bedroomed very detached house, set in grounds covering almost an acre is located in the small town of Lanvollon in the heart of rural Brittany.
Picturesque, peaceful, quiet and in an area of natural beauty Lanvollon is within easy reach of both airports and ports.
See www.buyfrenchhouse.co.uk for more details

In Love with Lahloo Tea

It's almost difficult to imagine that a tea company could be set up by someone who hated tea, but that is how Lahloo came into being. Kate Gover could not abide the stuff until she was introduced to a cup of tea so inspiring that she began her journey in finding some of the best teas in the world and bring them back to Bristol.
I can completely identify with her sentiments, I too hated tea until I'd tasted proper quality leaves.

Through my search for artisan products, to feature on my Tried and Tasted section, I contacted Lahloo through Twitter and a couple of emails later, Kate sent me some samples.
They dropped through my letterbox in a bright and shiny silver bag, all lovingly hand packed into heart shaped tins – just gorgeous. I couldn't wait to try them as they're my two favourite types – Oolong and Green tea.

I carefully opened each of the tins for a quick look and the smell instantly hit my nostrils with a heavenly fresh and sweet aroma, especially the Oolong which was almost caramel-like in character.

The first tea for tasting was
Mr Aoki's Green Loose Leaf Tea.
Along with his son, Mr Aoki grows the tea on a tiny farm in Kyushu, Japan using their own bio-natural fertilisers. The plantation is surrounded by satsuma trees and curiously I found the tea to have a citrussy note.
This green tea is actually very green, even in its dried form, it is vibrantly viridescent and when infused the colour is amazingly luminous, but entirely natural.
With the combination of a sweet, lemony and slightly hazelnut flavour the tea is very refreshing.

I really enjoyed the Orchid Oolong Loose Leaf Tea, there were a lot of flavours that burst out on the tongue that started with the lightness of flower blossom and honey sweetness developing into an aftertaste of what I could only describe as elderflowers. Somewhere in the middle there was a peachiness. Quite an amazing mix of flowers and fruit delivered by the humble camellia leaf!
Orchid is grown in Guangdong, China and hand-crafted by Mr Wang. The leaves are picked in March from old tea trees near Red Flower Village.

Lahloo tea is not cheap, and why would you want it to be? As with most things, you get what you pay for, so it's worth every penny. But, did you know that you can get several infusions from the same spoonful of leaves? Quality and value – I love Lahloo.

Lahloo sell a large selection of fine teas, all with provenance and a story.
To find out more, see their complete range and even buy online visit their website: lahlootea.co.uk
Green tea image taken from Lahloo website

Spirit of The Age: Sipsmith

Never being one to pass up on a free tasting of Vodka, I stopped by the Sipsmith stand at the Real Food Festival, where I was amazed by their products.

Based in Hammersmith, London, tucked away in quiet street, Sipsmith's small distillery, was set up just a short while ago, in Spring 2009, by founders Sam and Fairfax who had always dreamt of creating a true artisan spirit.

LEFT: From left to right – The Sipsmiths, Fairfax, Jared and Sam

They make a Barley Vodka and a London Dry Gin which is gently delivered from their handmade copper-pot still, named "Prudence", the first in London for 189 years. This beautiful still, as well as functional, could also be considered a work of art with its graceful swan neck which has been taken as the inspiration for the attractive label designs.
Producing the spirit in small batches, no more than 500 bottles per batch, in fact, ensures exceptional quality and supreme flavour.

Being a vodka lover, I am quite fussy about what I drink. I wouldn't say I am an expert as such, but I know what I like. I prefer to drink vodka straight and slowly, no knocking back shots in a violent and greedy manner but in a more measured and considerate way so that I may enjoy the flavours.

Anyone who says that vodka has no taste and that it should always be mixed in with tonic and the like, has clearly never fully appreciated a decent spirit.

The Vodka is distinctly British, distilled from English barley spirit and then blended with water from the Lydwell Spring, one of the sources of the River Thames.

Most noticeable is that this spirit does not burn your mouth or throat and is exceedingly smooth, which makes it ideal for slow lingering sipping, Unlike some vodkas that need to be chilled in the freezer to make them tolerable, this is very agreeable even at room temperature.

With its nutiness, and growing sweetness, finally ending with a hint of pepper it is most enjoyable.

I haven't drunk gin in years, mainly because I've found it to have been a bad experience. Maybe it's because of the tonic that I had with it, made me believe it to be bitter. I couldn't have been more wrong.

ABOVE: Ten carefully selected botanicals are used including: Macedonian juniper berries, Bulgarian coriander seed, French angelica root, Spanish liquorice root, Italian orris root, Spanish ground almond, Chinese cassia bark, Madagascan cinnamon, Sevillian orange peel and Spanish lemon peel.

Sipsmith's version is a joy to drink, and the smell is like a breath of fresh summer meadows. Again, as with the vodka, it is mellow in the mouth, the juniper fragrant and refreshing accompanied by bright zesty notes of lemon and orange.
Shameful or not, I could happily drink this pure and unadulterated by mixers.

So impressed was I, that I bought both the vodka and gin to take home for further enjoyment, and all I can say is, that they're both slipping down rather nicely, if a little too quickly!

For further information and where to buy, visit their website: sipsmith.com
Photo source: Sipsmith website

Summertime Sparkle: Breckland Orchard

I'm old enough to remember when 'pop' used to come in a small glass bottle. It wasn't that long ago, but since then, even the most recent soft drinks that were packaged in glass, have moved over to plastic and something got lost along the way.
Breckland Orchard like to use glass to hold their refreshing soft drinks – there's something nicely nostalgic about that. They're even closed with a metal crown cap, so you do need a bottle opener, but that makes them all the more special.

Using Norfolk spring water and real fruit juices, Breckland have managed to capture the essence of long lost summers into every drink. Lightly sparkling they're able to quench the most raging of thirsts as the weather heats up. Shunning large scale factory production, Breckland prefer to make theirs in small batches so a special amount of care goes into every bottle.

When I met Claire Martinsen at the Letchworth Food Festival it was a particularly hot day and her drinks were selling like hot cakes (or should that be cold lemonade?)


I initially bought a box of four; Blackcurrant and Raspberry, Cranberry and Rosehip, Cloudy Lemonade and Ginger Beer with Chilli.
The Ginger Beer turned out to be mine and my husband's favourite. It has an exciting spicy zestiness with a little tingling after kick from the chilli. Not enough to set your head on fire, thankfully, but it gives a lingering extra bite.
The Cranberry and Rosehip is delightfully scented and has a pleasant dry character from the cranberries that's enlivening to the taste buds.
The Blackcurrant and Raspberry, well you can forget about a certain market leading blackcurrant drink, as this knocks the spots off it.
The Cloudy Lemonade? Well what can I say but this is how lemonade should be. It's bright on the palate and actually tastes of lemons.

Returning on the second day of the food festival, we stocked up on more of the Ginger Beer –– it really is that good.

For information about Breckland Orchard and where to buy, visit their website: brecklandorchard.co.uk



Featured on The Artisan Food Trail



Photos: ©childsdesign 2010

teapigs for the Cup!

I want to be part of the tea revolution! A few years ago I probably would never had made that statement, as tea was not high on my beverage list, but lately I have been introduced to some very good real tea. Tea drinking is becoming a habitual treat in my household, providing it is made from high quality leaves, I mean, who can honestly say that they enjoy quenching their thirst with something made from nothing but dust?

teapigs are committed to producing some pretty high ranking teas, everything from good old English Breakfast blends, through fine Green teas and even the most palatable herbal infusions.
I became aware of them at the Real Food Festival and BBC Good Food Show and eventually experienced the taste when I received a Christmas goodie bag. Inside, was a box of Summer Flowers, a herbal blend. After several unpleasant experiences with herbal teas, I was a little apprehensive about trying it, but my expectations were completely turned around. The infusion was fresh with lemon grass, scented with lavender and had an agreeable after-kick of ginger. I was hooked.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be to get some free tickets to the Real Food Festival, from teapigs themselves, so, I made sure I paid a visit to their stand and bought some more teas to try. While I was there, I sampled the Liquorice and Peppermint variety, it’s really rather amazing. If you like liquorice, you’ll love it. It’s naturally sweet and the cool peppermint pleasingly slips down your throat – very relaxing and refreshing.
Being so impressed I bought a pack, along with their Mao Feng Green Tea. I’ve become quite addicted to good green tea and the Mao Feng is now on my list of the chosen few.
I love the gorgeous clear pale green colour it makes, as the whole leaves slowly unfurl, and the taste is very out-doorsey, sort of reminds me of fresh cut grass and fuzzy soft fruit.
It’s summer everyday when I drink it.

For information and to buy online:
www.teapigs.co.uk

Real Food Festival Find: Azorieblue Coffee

'Imagine a coffee that’s smoother than a tiger in a tuxedo and more luxurious than a cashmere codpiece…'

The producers of Azorieblue Coffee make this seemingly crazy claim, but it's a good, if not creative description of their 100% Brazilian Arabica beans.

I have tasted it as a short strong espresso and as a longer filter version, with milk and can say that it's smooth, rich and chocolatey with a pleasing citrus acidity. The fact that it works both ways makes it a versatile roast not often found in many other coffees.

The beans come from world-renowned estates, all with BSCA accreditation. 

Not only does that mean it guarantees the quality of the beans, but it also assures us that it's ethical, so the estate workers get decent pay and working conditions.

The beans arrive in the UK and are then roasted to achieve a unique and special taste, which I could happily drink all day.

For more information about the coffee visit: azorieblue.com

Click here to read about The Real Food Festival


Product photo taken from Azorie Blue website