Lancashire Elderflower delight

I love this time of year when the Elder tree is in flower, from earlier blog posts you can see I have somewhat an obsession with the flowers and what you can do with them. So when I purchased River Cottage Handbook no 7 Hedgerows I was pleased to see another way to use them. Elderflower delight. I just had to have a go, especially as on my last visit to The Red Cat, my favorite restaurant, the team had prepared their own Turkish delight which was served with coffee.

Ingredients

• 20 Elderflower heads
• 20g leaf gelatine
• 700g granulated sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 400ml water
• 130g cornflour
• 30g icing sugar

Method

Soak the gelatine in a shallow dish of water, meanwhile strip the elderflower heads of the flowers and place in a piece of muslin which you are going to make into a bag tied with string. Take the granulated sugar, lemon juice and 300ml of the water, put in a saucepan and heat gently until all the sugar is dissolved, leave this to cool.

In a bowl mix 100g of the cornflour with the remaining water until smooth, then mix into the cooled lemon sugar syrup. Put the saucepan back on a low heat, add the gelatine sheets, squeezed of any excess water and whisk until throughly dissolved.

Bring back to the boil slowly and simmer for 10 minutes stirring all the time. suspend the muslin bag in the mixture and simmer for a further 15 minutes, squeezing the bag to release the flavours. The mixture will become very sticky and gloopy, keep stirring, when ready cool for 10 mins.

Mix the remaining cornflour and icing sugar in a bowl to create the tossing powder, line a shallow baking tin with baking parchment and dust with a tablespoon of the tossing mixture. Poor in the warm delight, removing the bag. Leave to cool fully and then put in the fridge to firm up until rubbery. Cut up with a knife or scissors into cubes and toss in the tossing mixture.

Very impressive and very delicious. The ideal gift.

Easy Peasy Yoghurt Cake

Thought I would quickly share with you one of my all time favorite recipes, its so easy , it doesn't even involve weighing scales. All the measurements are based on the yoghurt pot that your yoghurt has come from. If you have bought your yoghurt in a large pot just use a tea cup / american cup or similar. It scales perfectly. You just might need more baking tins !

Ingredients

• Carton of yoghurt, plain , can be 0% fat if you want
• 1 1/2 cartons of sugar (caster preferably)
• 1 carton vegetable oil (sunflower I use)
• 3 cartons self raising flour
• 2 eggs free range of course
• Vanilla extract / paste - a drop

Method

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and put in a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin, bake @ 350F, 180 c, Gas mark 4 for approx 1 hour until firm and cooked through, test with a cocktail stick. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes and then carefully turnout onto a cooling rack. Best kept for a couple of days wrapped in foil. Freezes beautifully.

A taste of the unexpected

I recently purchased a copy of this book after becoming aware that this was the same chap who did the majority of the food gardening for River Cottage. Mark Diacono of Otter Farm has developed what he calls a “climate change farm” , it run on loose permaculture principles, but more on the basis that he got bored with growing mediocre standard fruit and vegetables and thought he would try something different.

He was inspired by the “mulberry” initially, I agree with Mark, life is too short to be growing vegetables that you can buy cheaply locally , plus these are always the vegetables that are most susceptible to pests and disease because they are grown commercially.

It’s a beautiful book and Mark is very knowledgeable and his enthusiasm comes over well in the book. He also recently featured in the Radio 4 food programme and advocated hosta’s as a vegetable, this meant that myself and Mr B dashed to the garden to try our selection. He tweets and has a blog if you are interested in finding out more.

Inspired by his book we have planted a goji berry and a Japanese wineberry in the garden, so lets see how we go on. I would also like to try a blue honeysuckle as well.

Kitchenaid !

My beloved mixer, after coveting Kitchenaid mixers from a far for a number of years, in February of this year for valentines day my husband purchased a Kitchenaid Classic mixer for me. For the uninitiated the classic is exactly the same as the artisan mixer, other than the bowl supplied is slightly smaller , it only comes in white not the funky colours of the artisan and most importantly is about £100 cheaper !

The mixer is a classic, my favourite local chef (Chris Rawlinson) has a kitchen aid classic , so has Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa), so it comes well recommended. Its chunky , classic and will last you a lifetime, the design is fab as there are no awkward bits that you can’t clean and the different mixer heads are a breeze to swap over. Everything is metal, no plastic bits, I love love love it :-)

Must also say I bought mine via a family firm in Cumbria and they were fab, customer service wise as these mixers can be hard to get hold of.

Slow Food Wild food forage

Just returned from a "Wild Food Forage" organised by Slow Food Lancashire. What a great day we had , rambling around the beautiful countryside nibbling all sorts. We weren't lucky enough to find any edible funghi on this occasion, but we did find loads of edible greens. Hogweed shoots, cleavers juice, sweet cicely, pignut, ramsons and many others. The walk was led by Jesper, who was very knowledgeable and hosted by Andrew and his family from Corless Mill Farm.

After the rambles we enjoyed an alfresco snack of fresh bread, fabulous bacon from Andrew's pigs, shaggy ink caps (Jesper collected these earlier) and steamed hogweed shoots, all washed down with Andrew's homemade cider. Yum, local food at its best.

Bring on the autumn fungal foray !

Panna Cotta and honeyed Rhubarb compote

Inspired by a recent re-run on the TV of River Cottage Everyday , I decided to give a Pannacotta a try. Hugh was making this with his son Oscar. I love all Italian food but I had never attempted making this beautiful wobbly dessert, well executed there is nothing to beat a creamy gently trembling dessert.

As the Rhubarb plants in the garden where developing triffid like tendencies, a honeyed Rhubarb compote was in order to accompany this dessert. You can flavour your pannacotta with coffee, chocolate, elderflower and many other delights but I thought vanilla would be fitting for my first attempt.

Firstly to make your compote poach trimmed rhubarb in a little water with local honey added for flavour and sweetness. Once just soft, remove from heat and allow to cool.

For the pannacotta you need

Ingredients

• 100ml milk ( I used skimmed)
• 250ml double cream
• 40g caster sugar
• Vanilla paste
• 2 gelatine leaves
• 150ml plain yoghurt
• 4 diarold molds / ramekins or similar

Method

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for about 5 minutes until soft.Combine the milk, cream and sugar in a pan and bring just to the boil, do not let it bubble. Remove from heat. Add the gelatine leaves to the hot milk / cream mix, ensuring you squeeze out any excess water and stir until dissolved. Now leave the mixture to cool fully, stirring every now and then. Once fully cool add the yoghurt and vanilla paste and stir until combined and the mixture is flecked with vanilla seeds.

Pour / spoon in to your molds and leave to set fully in the fridge, takes at least 4 hours. When you are ready to eat briefly dip the mold in hot water and then invert on your serving plate, drizzle over the Rhubarb compote.

Yum, yum, delicious and with just the right amount of wobble. Some cheaty restaurants put too much gelatine in them and they end up rubbery.

Classic Victoria Sponge

Apologies for not blogging in a while, naughty facebook has been distracting me. Over the next few days I plan to do a number of back catalogue postings.

Victoria Sponge cake is one of my favourite cakes and not the easiest to do well. I love the light but decadent taste sensation that results. However since I was treated to a Kitchen-aid mixer by my lovely husband, I have found that I can whip a cake in minutes. Filled with homemade jam, there is no better cake. My current recipe is taken from the “The Great British Book of Baking”, one of my favourite cook books currently, with the slight tweak that I tend to use a good quality margarine and of course home laid eggs from my hens.The margarine seems to give a lighter result to butter, but if you prefer butter, use that.

The mixture makes 2 cakes for a round sponge sandwich approx 8 inches in diameter

Ingredients

• 175g softened butter or high quality margarine
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs , free range
• Vanilla extract / paste – approx 1 tsp
• 175g Self raising flour - sifted
• 1 scant tbsp milk ( not always required)
• Jam for filling , whatever flavour your like or have to hand
• Icing sugar for dusting

Optionally you could fill with cream and / or fruit if you wish to elevate this to even greater heights.

Method

Firstly grease and bake line your cake tins, then pre heat your oven to 180 deg c / 350F / gas 4. Whisk the sugar and margarine / butter, until light and fluffy, this is much easier with a food mixer.Beat in the eggs and vanilla, if it looks like your mixture may split add a little flour to prevent this happening, then add the flour and gently combine. Some bakers recommend folding with a metal spoon, but I don’t seem to have any problems using the mixer to give the mixture its final mix. Add the milk if needed.

Place to mix into the tins, splitting the mixture evenly and spreading out across the tin, trying to leave a slight dimple towards the middle so the mixture will rise evenly.

Bake in your oven for approx 20-30 mins, it all depends on your oven, until golden, well risen and springs back when pressed. Cool in tin for a few mins before removing to a wire rack until cold. Fill your cake with jam and place other cake on top, dust with icing sugar and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Glut of Courgettes

I do this nearly every year, get too ambitious and plant too many courgette plants in the garden. Fine for the first couple of weeks but once in full production, I end up fighting a never ending battle trying to keep up with the mountain of produce from the garden. Rather than waste food , Mr B found a recipe for creamy courgette soup which sounded promising.

Ingredients

• 60ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• Handful basil leaves , chopped ( homegrown)
• Sea salt and ground white pepper, to taste
• 750ml/1¼ pint chicken stock
• 60ml/2fl oz double cream / creme fraiche
• 50g/2oz freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
• 1kg/2¼lb green courgettes, cut lengthways into quarters then into 1cm/½in slices
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic , (homegrown in our case)

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat.

Cook the garlic, basil, salt and courgette slowly for 10 minutes, or until the courgettes are lightly browned and softened.

Add white pepper, to taste, then pour in the stock and simmer for 8 minutes, uncovered. Remove from the heat.

Put three-quarters of the soup mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Return the mixture to the pan and stir in the cream, parsley and parmesan.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle over more parmesan, to taste.

Yummy, what a discovery a delicious recipe which uses loads of courgettes. Please try it.

Broad bean Pate

It still rains and everything is growing like topsy. Picked the last of the broad beans today, there were only a few pods so decided to make pate with them .

Ingredients

• Half a bag of broad beans (handful of pods)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Sprig of thyme, chopped

Method

Remove the broad beans from their pods and boil them with the garlic cloves for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.

When the beans are cool enough to handle, remove the outer skin of each bean to reveal the brighter green 'inner bean'!

Blend the beans and garlic with a hand blender and add the salt, pepper and thyme.

Spread on crackers or bread.

Absolutely delicious, a real surprise ! Best of all all home grown, well other than the olive oil !

Zoom - Rocket soup

After the recent rains and wind, the vegetable garden was looking rather shabby. Every year self seeded rocket appears and takes over the garden unless I’m super vigilant. I decided to clear an area of one of the raised beds and was faced with the prospect of composting a large volume of rocket. I needed a recipe that appealed to my sense of using any garden produce. I thought I would given Rocket Soup a try.

Take a few small potatoes and slice two small onions and put them in a pan with some boiling water. Not too much water, but enough to cover it and simmer until soft, I added a vegetable stock cube.

I then rinsed a colander full of rocket leaves, and chopped them fairly coarsely and added them to the soup. The rocket leaves don’t need as much cooking as the potato and onion. Rocket leaves cook down. Liquidise and serve. It’s deep, bright green, having cooked it a bit the rocket isn’t too powerfully strong, as you might expect. Hubby liked this soup, I thought more of an acquired taste.

Roping Garlic

How do you make a garlic rope ?, after harvesting for the first time ever a decent crop of garlic from the garden and drying it for a couple of weeks in the greenhouse. I needed to find out how best to store our bumper harvest. I tried you tube but to no avail, the nearest we got was onions an even then the video wasn’t very good on detail mainly due to the guy demonstrating being stoned ! So hubby and I decided to have a go ourselves with what appears to be great success. Secret seems to be having a cane to work off and loads of string.

Garden Vegetable Soup

As the weather has decided to turn unseasonably unpleasant, thunder, wind and rain. Thoughts have turned to soup , my other half loves soup and would happily eat nothing but if I let him, I am rather more fussy and only really enjoy homemade soup and even then only periodically.

Yesterday whilst surveying the damage in the garden caused by the wind and rain, I collected together the ingredients for what ended up a rather tasty lancashire version of a sort of minestrone. To make the soup just use whatever you have to hand, in my case that was a couple of tomatoes, courgettes including the flowers and a few new potatoes.

Firstly I sweated off a recently picked onion and chopped onion in a little oil, then I added 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped and cooked until the onion and garlic were soft but not coloured, I then added the tomatoes chopped into small chunks, skins, pips and all and cooked for a another 4 or 5 minutes, next the courgettes and potatoes went in . In goes about a pint of vegetable stock and the soup is simmered for about 15 mins, until all the vegetables are soft and then add a couple of fresh basil leaves. Serve with crusty bread. Delicious.

Amalfi- Chorley

In an unassuming side street in Chorley sits Amalfi , a friendly Italian restaurant. We visited on a Tuesday lunchtime, the day of the week when Chorley comes alive for its weekly “flat iron “ Market. Amalfi is a contemporary restaurant serving traditional Italian fare. For the budget conscious at lunchtime there is a special menu and also in the early evening an early bird special.

We were warmly welcomed and seated , the lunchtime menu was extensive , I choose the bruschetta mista, Mr B the funghi trifolia, whilst waiting for the starters we nibbled on good black olives, admiring the photographs of Italy on the walls. Our starters arrived piping hot, my bruschetta was rather large for a lunchtime starter , having no less than 4 different types to sample. The funghi starter was more lunch sized, both were a good start to our meal.

The mains arrived after a suitable break , Spaghetti alio, aglio and pepercino and spaghetti carbonara , both cooked well and very filling. All in all a pleasurable lunch venue and good value too !

Now blogging on Lancashire Life !

I have been invited to blog on Lancashire Life's website, just posted my first restaurant review, check it out !

New Season Gourmet Restaurant Chorley

Last weekend we had booked for Laura Solon, Perrier award winning comedian at Chorley Little Theatre. So I booked a table for an early pre theatre dinner at New Season, a Mediterranean style restaurant in Chorley. We arrived a little early for our booking and were welcomed warmly. The menu is a mix of tapa’s and mezze and larger Mediterranean style dishes. The decor is cool Moroccan / Tunisian and the music chilled out .

Now to the food , we ordered a starter each, bruschetta and breads and olives and olive oil. The portions despite being a starter were quite large, the bruschetta crunchy and smothered with juicy tasty tomatoes, the olives were of really good quality and the oil / Balsamic mix well flavoured. On to the mains, I ordered Chicken Dianne which a arrived both with seasoned rice and little roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables, the chicken was moist and succulent and the sauce excellent. My other half ordered the lasagne, accompanied by both garlic bread and salad, the plate was quickly cleared which I always take as a good sign.

We didn’t have a desert as by now we were quite full but the menu choices sounded very appetizing, the bar is also well stocked, cocktails available and its the first restaurant I have every seen "Tunisian" wine being featured. All in all we were very impressed and will definitely be visiting again.

The Original farmers Arms Eccleston

Lunch stop for a post xmas walk, pleasantly surprised with the quality of food on offer as I have heard mixed reviews. Wide pub grub choice very nicely done. We choose from the light bites menu but the portion size were ample. Country style pub with rooms.

Fusion Room - Preston

Excellent city centre venue, pity about it being on Frairgate but otherwise fab. A party of 18 of us visit for a Xmas lunch package, the food was excellent , beautifully presented and very flavourful. Very Reasonable prices too. I have promised hubby we will visit next time we are in town.

Warehouse Brasserie - Southport

Wow, what a find, tucked down a side street near Lord Street in Southport is the Warehouse Brasserie, we visited for Lunch on a recent shopping trip. We opted for the bargain priced "Lunch Special", 3 courses for £10, we weren't disappointed in any way. The decor is modern and funky , the staff friendly , service attentive. The food was fresh, modern , portion size ample and well presented. We will be visiting again soon

Southport by The Sea and the chippy tea

As Southport is so well served with theatres, we often visit in the evening to attend gigs, concerts, plays and the like. One of our favorite venues for that Lancashire favorite - the "chippy tea" is the Sandgrounder Chippy on Victoria Street. The cafe upstairs is open on Friday and Saturdays in the early evening so you can sit in, its clean , welcoming and the staff are very attentive. Best of all they serve a great selection of meal deals, fish & chips, pie & chips, Pud & chips, even spam fritter, all accompanied with the regulation peas or beans and gravy, bread and butter and choice of tea or coffee. Great value prices too.

Who ate all the pies ?

On a recent shopping trip to Wigan, a town famous for its love of pies, we visited what must have been the only cafe which does not serve this local delicacy. The Stables Brasserie was a revelation , a cosy brasserie / cafe on Millgate. Lovely contemporary style decor, good brasserie style food and attentive service. Delighted to note that they have monthly theme nights featuring different countries cusiene. Visit them soon, it gets very busy at lunch time.

More tomato recipes - Tomato Tart

Further way of using up the glut of tomatoes, Tomato Tart

Using ready made puff pastry , lined an oven tray, spread the base with pesto sauce or oil and chopped basil, then cover with slices of tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar. Bake in the oven @ 200 deg C, until the tomatoes are soft and golden. Serve a large slice with rocket salad or a balsamic dressing.

Butternut squash

Look what I found in the garden today !

I have never grown squashes before so I am pretty impressed with the results. I love butternut squash roasted , so after a few days hardening in the conservatory I will be cooking roast autumn vegetables.

Tomato Ketchup

Still trying to deal with a glut of tomatoes from the garden and no more will fit in the freezer, so ketchup it had to be.

Ingredients

• 3Kg tomatoes roughly chopped
• 4 onions sliced
• 1 red pepper, chopped

Place in a large pan and cook until soft. Push this through a sieve into a large pan.
Add

• 100g soft brown sugar
• 200ml cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp english mustard powder

Add the spices in a muslin bag

• Piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tsp whole allspice
• 1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp ground mace
• 1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
• 1 1/2 whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, bruised

Method
Bring to the boil and simmer , remove the spice bag after 20-30 mins , cook until pulpy , pour into sterilised bottles.

Best used with chips, burgers, etc. Result is pretty almost as good as heinz

Sweet chilli sauce - a taste of lancashire

Last year due to a glut of peppers and chilli's in the garden, I made sweet chilli sauce and very impressive were the results, particularly popular with one of my friends Jo. So this year I promised her we would make her a supply using a combination of our garden produce.

Artichokes, lifes too short

We have been growing globe artichokes for the first time this year and to our surprise they have actually produced a couple of heads. I consulted several books for guidance on the best way to prepare, but what a faff ! by the time you have peeled, acidulated, trimmed and removed the choke there isn't much left to eat, you then got to cook it. Life's way to short, I like the flavour but might try the baby ones next time.

Rather beautiful to look at though

Oak Leaf Wine - result

We have just racked off the first couple of bottles of Oak leaf wine, (see earlier post), and I must say it's pretty good. Slightly sweet but with a dry edge, very palatable. Just had a glass with my dessert

.

Beetroot ice cream anyone !

I know it sounds revolting, but it isn't, rather delicious actually. Following another HFW recipe as a guide and using homegrown beetroots. Its fairly simple, just a rich egg custard, cream and beetroot puree. Yummy ! Photos to follow shortly

Stirk House Hotel Gisburn Lancashire

Just returned from a Shakespeare evening at Stirk House Hotel, Gisburn. Fabulous country house hotel,which practices special attention to local sourcing. We enjoyed a fabulous 2 course dinner, we started with smoked haddock canapes, followed by sea bass on samphire for hubby and Pea lettuce and lovage soup for me. The main courses we beautifully presented , slow cooked lamb shank , soft and tender, falling of the bone with peas, beans and seasonal vegetables, I chose Organic salmon with watercress sauce, again served with seasonal vegetables. Everything was cooked with precision and attention to detail. On leaving the table we were given a basket of goodies to enjoy with the performance, this included champagne, strawberries and cream and sweets.

During the performance interval we were offered home made shortbread and after the performance warm bacon barms.

In the morning we enjoyed a full Lancashire breakfast , of particular merit were the sausages and bacon.

We would thoroughly recommend a break at this hotel for the food alone, but don't miss out on the the wonderful setting and well appointed rooms.

Perry Fruit Jelly ala Mark Hix GBM

We hosted a dinner party recently for friends and wanted to serve a dessert that used fruits from the garden. Over the years we have always watched the "Great British menu" competition on the BBC and were particularly impressed with the perry jelly served a couple of series ago. I was surprised as to how easy the jelly was to make and how impressive the finish was on the completed jelly. The jelly was served with home made elderflower sorbet. Delicious and extremely light and refreshing on a warm summers evening.

Plum Job AKA its raining plums

Its raining plums in the garden, for the first time ever our plum tree has produced a decent crop, its taken about 10 years for this to happen ! I think the variety is called 'Avalon' , its was birthday present quite a few years ago. Its been a race against the wasps for who gets to the ripe fruit first, Due to the size of the glut I think I will be freezing most of it for pie, crumble and cobbler filling, but I also love English plums raw.

The garden has been particularly bountiful this year, currently I am picking

· Cucumber - I can thoroughly recommend cucumber sandwiches a la Val Warner

· Courgettes - that’s a story for another day

· Beans - broad and french

· Rocket

· Tomatoes

· Blackberries / loganberries

· Spring onions

· Beetroot

· Potatoes

· Baby Carrots

Wow that’s a lot of fruit and veg.

Radio Lancashire

Just had fun on Radio Lancashire with Ted Robbins,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p003hxx9/Ted_Robbins_29_06_2009

listen to the last half hour

Sourdough using the creature in the cupboard

Well first sourdough loaf completed, for a first attempt not too bad even looks like the picture in the River Cottage Bread book I have been following.

The process took approx 36 hours to complete so this is real "slow food", firstly you make your sponge with some of the starter ( this is the creature in the cupboard), this is left over night, apperared to be successful and became all frothy, this is then the next morning mixed with more flour to form the dough, this is then needed as normal, the mix is quite sloppy and sticky, but after 10 mins kneading, looks a lot more light normal dough. This is then left to rise until doubled in size, this took about 3 hours for our mix, amazing considering we haven't added any yeast, this is then knocked batch and left to prove again to improve the flavour, this took about 3 hours, you then bake. Result is a very holey chewy and deeply satisfying bread, crust was a bit hard, but this was my first go at sourdough.

Elderflower sorbet recipe

Make this absolutely delicious sorbet with elderflowers and freeze for us later in the summer. Goes particularly well with strawberries / gooseberries, in fact any other soft fruit.

225 grammes white sugar, in 600ml water, boiled for 7 mins to make a sugar syrup, take off heat and add 8 elderflower heads, peel and juice of 3 lemons, allow to cool fully, then churn in ice cream maker. Alternatively if you don't have an ice cream maker, put in freezer box and freeze for an hour, then , beat and refreeze, keep doing this until you have a smooth finish to your sorbet.

Never wash the elderflowers as you loose the flavour, just pick off any insects , leaves etc

Elderflower Champagne recipe

Ingredients

• 4 litres of cold water,
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar,
• 4 large flower heads, (I sometimes use a few more depends on the size of the heads),
• 2 lemons sliced,
• 2tbsp white wine vinegar.

Method
Put all the above in a bucket and cover for a couple of days ( don't worry if it goes scummy), then strain and bottle.
Ready after approx 2 -3 weeks, best served chilled.
Just watch out for the pressure rise in the bottle, you may need to chill your bottles to calm fermentation or alternativelt degass every couple of days.

Cuerden jacobs lamb & mint sauce

I was very fortunate early this year to secure a whole Jacobs lamb which had been raised on Cuerden Valley park by the wildlife trust.Apparently they ahd been so sucessful that they needed to cull a few. The meat was a bargain and was of the highest quality and food miles were minimal given that it travelled approx 2 miles to be slaughtered. I then collected from the butchers in front of the slaughter house in Bamber Bridge. This has meant that my stock of home made mint sauce ran out a couple of weeks ago, so now is the time to replenish stocks, especially as the mint is going bonkers in the garden.

I returned to the faithful WI recipe I have used before, its easy peasy, just strip mint leaves from the stalks, chop the leaves fine (I do this in my food processor) and then pack in a clear glass jar, top up the jar until all the mint is covered with basic bog standard malt vinegar. Store in a cool dark cupboard.

Once you come to use it (leave for at least a few weeks, couple months even better) , dilute with more vinegar and a pinch of sugar.

Victoria's cafe Barnoldswick

Dropped in to this friendly very reasonably priced cafe, whilst detouring due to two sets of road closures. Food good basic cafe fair, but at very good prices.

So if your every in the Barnoldswick neck of the woods call in !

Re opened Travellers Rest Euxton

Visited with friends for Sunday Lunch, not much has changed inside, food average but thinks it something special. May be I'm fussy but I won't be visiting again

Chichory Lytham

Attended this fine establishment for a Lancashire Evening and wine tasting about a month ago. Firstly Lytham was a revelation, quietly sophisticated, Chicory was great, excellent food all sourced from within god's own county ( Lancashire) and accompanied by excellent wine.

A visit is highly recommended

Its food hero time again 2009

Heh, remember to vote for your local food hero at Good Food for 2009. So vote now !

Creature in the cupboard

I've got creature in my kitchen cupboard, it needs feeding every day and doesn't like metal.

What is it ?

My sourdough starter ! recently I have really got into bread making and everytime I make bread things are getting better and better. Initially I had problems getting my dough to rise well and the laof was rather heavy, but I went with advice on the internet to have a more moist / sticky dough and not to be afraid of it. Well I am pleased to say this has really helped. I have now progressed to Sourdough, for the unitiatied amongst you, this bread raised with natural yeasts. I am into natural yeasts in a big way given that elderflower champagne uses natural yeast to create its sparkle. I have to keep feeding it for a week , before I bake with it.

I am hoping for a wonderfully flavourful bread , so lets see.

Oak leaf wine - are we too late !

Further inspired by HFW (Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall) on his recent River Cottage, a couple of weeks ago we set about our first real brew !

Early June saw us scouring our local hedgerows for young oak leaves to turn into wine. Apparently you need young leaves otherwise the end result can tan leather rather than produce drinkable wine, so following HFW recipes in his "A cook on the wildside" we started off the batch, initially in a large plastic bucket for its first ferment, and now in a demi john with airlock. So far so good, we have regualrly bubbles of C02 being given off, so the yeast is working. So will update you in a couple of months when we "rack" off into bottles and get to taste the fruits of our labours.

El ob ! or also know as The Black Bull, Mawdsley

I know the name is strange but this Pub is locally know as "El Ob", something to do with a large poker by the fire. Google it if you are interested in knowing more.

On to the food, hubby and myself decided we would have a relaxed Sunday lunch, the pub looks to be a popular local , very traditional inside, perhaps a bit over decorated in the country style. We ordered 2 typical pub dishes, scampi and pie, both with chips. The food arrived well cooked and with fresh vegetables, the pie and chips looked home made. Alll in all not bad , nice selection of real ales as well.

POND

The team that brought you DUK in Preston, how now opened a bar/bodega also in Preston town centre. My first visit to POND was for a good friends leaving celebration, as she is foolishly relocating down south. A group of 22 ordered a banquet for £16 ahead, the party was on a Friday night so the bar was very busy and noisy, I am quite sure if you visit during the week the atomosphere would be very different.

We weren't disappointed, the food was excellent despite being a little slow to initially appear. In all we shared 11 different types of tapa's , served in little dishes and pots distributed across the long table we shared. Of particular merit were the garlic butter king prawns and the sticky spicy chicken strips.

Great time had by all

DUK

Hey, every find yourself in Preston town centre and have a craving for fab tapas , then try DUK. This tiny basement restaurant serves excellent freshly prepared dishes. The menu is lengthy but covers all tastes . Give it a try you won't be disappointed. Its sister bar / bodega is POND

Railway at Euxton

I have know this pub under various names, The Railway, then The Ordnance, now we are back to The Railway and being advertised as the new gastro pub. We had to try it out.

So one Thursday after work Hubby and I ventured for our evening meal. Firstly the decor was different than last time and also the layout, the emphasis is now very much food.

On the evening we visited they had a special of two courses for £10.95, not bad. We were greeted an seated and pleased to see that at 6.30pm there were already half a dozen tables occupied.

I order the local chicken with creamy wild mushroom sauce, baby roasted pots and green beans, hubby ordered the pea and bean risotto. If you are on the special offer you have a choice of 3 dishes for each course. The food arrive after about 15mins and we were pleasantly impressed, hot, flavourful and well presented in large white bowls. No compliants on the mains.

We then went on to puddings, we both chose the egg custard with berries. The custard was everything we expected wobbly and good, the berry accompanying more of a berry mush, main problem was the chef trying to look funky and including toffee shards, which were to crunchy and hard to eat without fear of loosing a tooth.

All in all a good meal and have since recommended to friends how had much the same experience.

Jerry's or the Plough, Euxton

Technical I suppose this is my local, however probably only visit once every couple of years. Last visit was for lunch with friends, menu is extensive , i.e covers several walls and always makes me think how can one kitchen have all that ready to serve, frozen food must play a part. If you want average pub grub . Then Jerry's is your place.

Chorley Market and Taylor's Cafe

Lancashire in the sunshine, today we visited Chorley Market to introduce a friend from the other side ( I mean Yorkshire) to the delights of Lancashire. She actually lives locally and was wondering where I bought all my lovely produce from, so off we ventured to Chorley. After a quick round of Tyrers Fruit and Veg, so much cheaper and fresher than the supermarket, Pat's cheese stall, and fish stall. We were a little peckish, we had been recommended to try Taylors Cafe , near the town hall, a cut above most other cafes in Chorley which are of the greasy spoon variety. This one is more healthy and Eco in approach. The smoothies were particularly good, the food didn't arrive all at once but other than that pretty good. So if you in Chorley and wish for a healthy bite to eat try Taylors. We will visiting again I am sure.

Volcanic Elderflower champagne

We have always been fortunate to live in a house with a Elder tree in the garden. Guaranteeing pesticide and pollution free blooms for making elderflower cordial. So most summers when the tree is in full bloom I make cordial. A delightful summer treat which normally lasts into early autumn.

This year I thought we would give Elderflower champagne a try as it was my nephew's 21st ( by the way the celebration meal was at the Red cat - as usual fantastic food, service ).

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall had the same idea and also made some on his tv programme. For the first fortnight nothing happened, the recipe for "champagne" is slightly different to the cordial in that you add vinegar so I didn't know what to expect. Then doing the 3rd week we saw small bubbles in one of the bottles, so tentatively we opened this bottle. WOW , POP , its a good job we opened the bottle outside as half the contents exploded out of the bottle. Once things calmed down we tasted the "elixir". It was fantastic a little warm as at this point we hadn't chilled the bottle. We quickly checked the other 4 bottles, still nothing happening with those, so later the same week, once we had go the the dregs of the fizzy bottle , we put a couple of drops in to the other bottles. This did the trick 1 week later all bottles fizzy and having to be tamed by de gassing periodically and chilled.

Try making some its great, friends, neighbour and relations suitably impressed. Next year we are making more ! hick !

Huntleys - Samlesbury

If you have every travelled along the A59 past BAe Systems at Samlesbury you will have seen the signs for this establishment. We first visited a couple of years ago and it was already shaping up as a good local food venue. However a rainy Lancashire summer day, saw 3 friends meet for lunch on a Saturday. Phew was it busy, after fighting our way on to the car park we had a quick look around and were all pleasantly impressed with the new food hall , so now not only can you sample Huntleys Ice cream, you can purchase made on the site bread and cakes and meat, fish , cheese, veg, wines from local suppliers. However we had come to lunch, we grabbed a table quickly as the large homey restaurant started to fill quickly. Hubby ordered the pie ( he's becoming a connoisseur of pies !), I ordered the roast beef and Zoe the Lancashire ploughman's.

Very impressed , all homemade by the look of things, the gravy with hubby's pie was amazing. And portions ample, especially the ploughman's, Zoe had to eat over half a pound of 2 types of Lancashire cheese. Recommend you visit and get there early as it gets very busy.

Newsflash - Clog & Billycock

The team behind the Three Fishes see earlier blogs is to open a 3rd pub in Pleasington, Blackburn. The Clog & Billycock is due to open late August 2008 .

Moonlight Walk Lunches

Firstly apologies for not posting for a while, I have been collecting new foody hot spots whilst training for the Moonlight Walk for St Catherines Hospice, a 13 1/2 mile walk to raise funds. I have completed this now but whilst training it was often the highlight of the training walk to visit a local pub / cafe for lunch.

Robin Hood Inn, Mawdsley - arrived on spec on a Sunday lunchtime and was pleasantly surprised to be able to get a table for 5 despite being a popular pub for Sunday lunch. Some of the party ordered snack type food , some full meal. Food was plentiful and well cooked, suspect most wasn't made on the premises but that's what you get in a lot of pubs now a days. 6/10

Ley Inn, Whittle le Woods - Visited this establishment a couple of times for lunch on both Saturday and Sunday, the ley inn is a large pub / restaurant so you shouldn't really need to book. Food in pub is very reasonably priced and pretty good portions, but on one visit did have a problem with sloppy service and a kitchen to professing to have run out of eggs !! 5/10

Malt House Farm, Whittle - Part of popular chain of food pubs, slight cut above basic pub grub. Particularly impressed with serving mash with a pie instead of the obiquitous chips with everything. British slant to menu, with Mediterranean influences. Prices slightly above some other local establishments, but I am great believer in you get what you pay for. 7/10

Squirrel Meat, is it good to eat?

Seeing that a top Lakeland restaurant is now serving Grey Squirrel on the menu, does anyone know of a butcher here in Lancashire that sells squirrel meat?

Euxton Mills, Euxton, Chorley

After driving past this pub at least twice a week for years, we finally paid a visit for Sunday lunch and were pleasantly surprised.

A traditional pub serving mainly home cooked food. Ok so its a pub, but its not trying too hard to be a gastro pub like a lot of other local venues and then failing badly. We opted for the roast dinner two course option which was very reasonably priced, we have the choice of lamb, beef or salmon. I chose the beef , my hubby the Salmon, both arrived hot and well cooked and with plenty of freshly cooked vegetables which still tasted of vegetables. A good indication of home cooking is when you are served cabbage as vegetable.

Dessert was cheesecake and applie pie. The pub appeared to be popular with locals which is always a good sign.

The Red Cat - Modern Relaxed Dining

This weekend we visited the RED CAT at Wheelton for lunch , despite being rather quiet when we arrived the welcome was warm and friendly and the experience just got better and better. The resturant has a relaxed semi formal atmosphere and the decor is tasteful but not trying too hard. We both opted for the set menu and we were not disappointed, the food was excellent , well presented and delicious. My husband was particularly impressed with the background music as it featured John Martyn, special mention must also go to the fantastic lemon sole I had. We will be back very soon.

UPDATE:

We have just returned from our 4th visit to The Red Cat , this was for our lunchtime Christmas dinner outing. During the Christmas period the team at the Red cat have devised a stunning lunchtime menu which reflects the festive period but still gives a gourmet edge to the food. We choose from 4 starters, I enjoyed the Chicken liver parfait with fig chutney and toasted brioche, hubby opted for the split pea soup with chive creme fraiche. Both fantastic and well presented. On to the mains, braised beef , chive mash, roasted shallots, baby onions and bacon , thyme jus for Mr B, Turkey, sage dumpling, roasted roots and potato dauphnoise for me. Again excellent, especially the potato dauphnoise and the braised beef which both demonstrated the love and attention the kitchen had put in to the dishes. To follow Christmas pudding with the faieres ( I won't spoil the surprise), brandy butter, and white chocolate cheesecake, with cinnamon tuile, vanilla beignet and sherry syrup.

Stunning ! and for £18 per head fantastic value, a deserved award winner. Lancashire Life Casual dining venue 2007

Slice Of Sicily - Penworthham Italian Delicatessen

Two work colleagues and I paid a lunchtime visit to the cosy Italian deli in Penwortham. We each ordered something different of the menu of toasted ciabatta, soups and pasta. We all enjoyed the food and relaxed ambiance, we found it really difficult to go back to work after our lunch.

Slice of Sicily is a real Italian deli, run by a Sicilian family. The food is second to none, and many of the delicacies are made on the premises. The range also extends to ready meals and wine, and the shop has a few tables so you can sit in a have a coffee or light meal. A take-away service is also available.

Pay them a visit for a true taste experience.

Hubbies Birthday - Lunch at Bullivants Deli

Today is my hubby’s birthday so we both had the day off work. We decided the occasion warranted a lunchtime visit to the new upstairs cafe @ Bullivants Deli in Chorley.

Lunch was the special house meat platter , a celebration of Italian and Spanish salami, meats and pate. Served with salad and bread on a stylish wooden platter. The wild boar pate was especially tasty. For a full menu, check out the Deli's Web page.

Talking to Mick during the meal, he informed us that the “upstairs” is open all week serving a full meal or just a cake and coffee. He also hoping to open on the occasional evenings during the week for theme nights and private parties such as birthdays, celebrations, etc. Another great idea he has come up with is to use the facility for afternoon business meetings. If you fancy a meeting with a meal give him a ring !!!!

Chorley Market

In our quest for more local good food, we now regularly visit Chorley Market to buy a wide range of fresh foods.

The best butchers we have found locally is Brown’s, situated on the side of the permanent market stalls. Nominated as a Local Food Hero byUKTV Food and you can see why. You can get any meat from Brown’s, the staff are very helpful, friendly and know there stuff. Of special note are the Steak Puddings, Haggis and sausages.

Chorley is also very lucky in having one of the best cheese stall’s in all of Lancashire – Pats, (another Local Food Hero nominee) where you can get practically any cheese you want, but her selection of Lancashire cheese is second to none, from Leagrams’ soft baby Lancashire to Mrs Kirkhams , and everything between.

The market also has an excellent wet fish stall, Livesey Bros (almost opposite to Brown’s) and several good fruit and vegetable stalls.

Bullivant’s Delicatessen

After seeing an article in the Chorley Guardian for a new deli in Chorley, you can imagine our surprise when we discovered the new deli was owned by none other than one of my husband’s old friends – Mick Bullivant. Mick has recently returned to Chorley from travelling and working for many years across Europe.

The deli is a real coo for Chorley and stocks a wide range of continental delicacies, olives, cheese and the like. Bullivants also provide an interesting range of sandwiches and tortillas, served with fair trade teas and coffees to takeaway and soon to be served on the premises.
Bullivants can also supply your lunchtime buffet, the menu being way more interesting than the usual caterers choice, and for lazy or the discerning Bullivants can also cook for you at home, for that special dinner or celebration.

As Mike say's on one of his flyers

"We at Bullivants only believe in one thing, food satisfaction. We have gone to extreme lengths to source the best food from all over Italy, Spain, Sardinia and indeed England, for your enjoyment at home. We will show you our range of exciting foods and will be happy to try and stock food from other countries. So if we don't have it, tell us and we will, just for you"

So why not give a local lad a try:-

Bullivant’s Delicatessen,

47 Chapel Street, Chorley

Tel 012572 67360

Butter Pie aka Friday pie or catholic pie

Today saw an attempt at "Butter Pie" - traditional Lancashire delicacy. Or for those not in the know, potato and onion pie, traditionally served on a Friday so as to comply with the catholic rule of not eating meat on a Friday. Apparently my version is a little dry when compared with commercial avaliable versions, but very tasty all the same, of course should be served with HP or Heinz tomato sauce if liked, pickled red cabbage or beetroot all work well.

To make the shortcrust pastry

Ingredients

• 8oz of plain flour
• 2oz butter
• 20z white fat (dripping / lard or veg fat)

Method

Blend in food processor and then drizzle in just enough cold water to make the pastry form a ball.

Leave in the fridge to rest for 1/2 an hour

In the mean time, peel 3 large potatoes and 1 onion, cut the potato into large chunks and the onion in to half moon rings. Parboil for approx 20 mins until potatoes are just soft but still holding there shape. Drain and slice into your pie dish , into which you have rolled out a bottom layer, layer in the onions, salt and pepper and flecks of butter. Top off with your top layer of pastry. Bake at 180 degrees for approx 1/2 hour until golden. Serve immediately with your preferred condiment.

Cedar Farm Galleries - Mawdsley

Hubby suggested a walk yesterday, so on our way to Lancashire Wildlife trusts reserve at Mere Sands Wood, we called in for lunch at Cedar Farm Galleries, Mawdsley. The food in the cafe is excellent , modern and freshly produced. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. Also the galleries showcasing local arts and crafts provide interesting browsing for an hour or so. We also purchased some superb oolong tea from Roberts & Co, apparently this supposed to help with high blood pressure and weightloss.

Three fishes - Mitton

Today we had lunch at the best pub in Lancashire, the "three fishes" at Mitton nr Whalley. Owned and operated by Northcote Manor this is the place to experience superb Lancashire food in relaxed and informal atomosphere. The website is on the links on this page.

Blackberries & Apples

Whilst in the garden today dodging the showers, discovered some blackberry on the thorn less blackberry “Loch Ness”. I decided I would make a cobbler with them and also use some apples from the garden.

Ingredients

• 4 oz Blackberries
• 2 eating apples peeled, cored and chopped in to small chunks
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2tbsp caster sugar
• 1tbsp cornflour - Mix all these together in an open proof bowl

• 6 oz Self-raising flour
• 3 oz butter, chopped in to small chunks
• 125ml plain low fat yoghurt3 oz caster sugar

Method

Mix in the food processor until you have a sticky mixture, place this on top of the blackberry and apple mixture, sprinkle top with some extra caster sugar and cook in the oven @ 180 deg C, for approx 40 mins. Serve with custard or cream

Hubby took a picture of the final result; the resulting cobbler was a nice rustic dessert, light and very moreish.

Beetroot soup after the farmers market

Today saw hubby, my brother, nephew and myself all visiting the local farmers market in the rain. The market at Cedar Farm Gallery, Mawdsley is on the first Saturday in the month. The market is well attended and you can get all sorts there. This was my brother's and nephews first visit and both really enjoyed the atmosphere and the resultant goodies they left with.

Several of the producers have been nominated for UKTVfood "Food Hero" awards and the black pudding supplier is even a Rick Stein hero. On returning with some excellent lamb and local Lancashire cheese I decided to make soup with some of the beetroot in the garden.

The beetroot is not the usual purple type and is the striped "choggia" version, still tastes the same though. I also grated an onion, 2 carrots and added half a dozen leaves from a Savoy cabbage. I then simmered this for approx 40 mins with beef stock and some tomato puree. Result a fairly textured soup when liquidised but with a fairly distinct beetroot tang.

Bank Holiday Baking - Malt Loaf

Today’s foodie interlude for the bank holiday was to bake a malt loaf, I’ll need to let in rest in a tin for a couple of days before it will be at its best. All sticky and juicy, I experimented slightly as the recipe said syrup but I had run out so substituted treacle and honey instead. Hopefully the flavour will be ok. The recipe makes a 2lb loaf tin.

Ingredients

• 8oz Self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2tbsp Dark brown sugar
• 6oz Dried fruit
• 2tbsp Syrup or Treacle or Honey 2tbsp Malt extract
• ¼ pint milk

Method

Put the flour, salt, fruit and sugar in a bowl, then place the milk, malt and syrup (or whatever you are using) in a pan, melt together and then mix in to the flour. Beat until thoroughly mixed, pour into a greased and based lined loaf tin and bake for approx 1 1 ¼ hour @ 170 degrees. Cool on a wire rack, when cool wrap in foil and store for a couple of days until sticky if you can wait that long. Serve in thick slices, buttered if preferred.

Raspberry Sorbet & other things !!!

Today I have been experimenting with a simple Raspberry Sorbet using local raspberries. I simply blitzed the raspberries and then pushed the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. I then made a sugar syrup using ½ cup of sugar to the same quantity of water. I was really surprised as the vivid colour of the puree, especially once it was churned in the ice cream maker, really bright pink. The resulting sorbet after 20 minutes churning is delicious with a really clean bright flavour.

The sorbet instantly reminded me of the raspberry sorbet we enjoyed at the fantastic OCC (Otto’s creative catering) in Dunworley, southern Ireland. If you are every in the area you must partake of OCC. A fantastic organic/ local food / slow food / restaurant / cookery school. The food is amazing all fresh, seasonal and prepared with love. Book a table and experience some of the best food in your life.

A place that thyme forgot

I am currently reading the above book, which is the record of the travels of William Black in search of local delicacies from around Britain. Amazingly enough he starts with Preston - England's newest city, my place of work. He bemoans the demise of Tripe - one of the beloved delicacies of Lancashire. I can't really remember it much from my childhood but my husband waxes lyrically about the UCP, on the strength of this reminisance I visited Preston market and found the tripe stall as mentioned in the book still thriving. I also later the same week whilst visiting Booths (heroic north west regional supermarket) was amazed to find tripe for sale in a packet on the butchery section.

I am yet to pluck up courage to try it, but I am told its best served with lashings of malt vinegar. I will let you know how I go on. This month has also seen samphire( succulent seaweed) being pickled, something I haven't done before. I remember fondly picking samphire on a day out at the seaside with my late Granddad and pickling it when we got home. The taste is still the same but I can't perfect the stripping of the branches with your teeth when you eat it, just leaving the stringy core.

REVIEWS

NEW SEASONS @ CHORLEY

STABLES BRASSERIES@WIGAN

3 FISHES @ MITTON

CEDAR FARM GALLERIES @ MAWDESLEY

CHORLEY MARKET

SLICE OF SICILY @ PENWORTHAM

RED CAT @HEAPY

EUXTON MILLS @ EUXTON

HUNTLEYS @ SAMLESBURY

TAYLOR'S CAFE @ CHORLEY

PLOUGH INN @ EUXTON

RAILWAY @ EUXTON

DUK @ PRESTON

POND @ PRESTON

THE BLACK BULL @ MAWDSLEY

TRAVELLER'S REST @ EUXTON

CHICORY @ LYTHAM

VICTORIA'S CAFE @ BARNOLDSWICK

STIRK HOUSE HOTEL @ GISBURN