Wednesday is Egg day!

Every Wednesday I collect my eggs from Anita and John. They run a scheme called "Rent a hen" ( http://www.mill-house-farm.co.uk/ ) that the beautiful wife and I discovered a couple of years ago. The idea is that you pay in advance for six eggs a week - in effect renting a good laying hen. You can even have a named hen! It was the marketing idea that first appealed to me - then I tasted the quality of the eggs and was completely sold!
The best bit for me is that every time we pick up our eggs we see chickens looking healthy and with plenty of genuine pasture to roam in. As consumers we need to be very careful about what we buy. The words "free range" give us a sense of happy hens living in a Beatrix Potter like world producing eggs. The truth is often very different and whilst welfare conditions of free range birds are always going to be better than those of the poor battery beasts we need to be realistic about what we're buying and how well these birds are looked after.
By purchasing at the "farm gate" one can see (and smell) how the creatures are looked after - I cannot stress how important this is, not only to your conscience, but also to the quality of the product and whether you will still be able to buy that product in ten years time.
We sometimes get a double yolk egg from the farm and I was horrified to learn that these are weeded out of most industrial egg production methods because people see them as some kind of mutant. Get a grip people - we should be celebrating the double yolk, surely its a sign of good luck to get one.
I sometimes buy little pullets eggs from Anita and John to be poached and slid on top of a creamy pasta or used in scrambled eggs with black pudding. These are practically impossible to sell to supermarkets because they do not fit the size criteria. This is a nonsense!
Okay, the rant's over now you can come out from behind the sofa, here are two recipes which use different bits of the egg to produce very grown up puddings indeed.

I make no bones about it. I am not a fan of puddings! A little something sweet at the end of a meal is all very well but really I find that desert just gets in the way of cheese with a nice glass of port. Anyway why would you spend hours in the kitchen for something which will be demolished by your guests in under 30 seconds?

However, I accept that there are some misguided people who believe that the whole point of a meal is to get to the pudding course and these two are for them. Both these recipes serve two.

Crème Brulé

This literally translates as “burnt cream” which is not too appealing but it is one of the classic puddings. Everyone has an opinion on this one. For what it’s worth, I like my custard soft and unctuous and my caramel thin and crispy

Ingredients 2 Egg Yolks
½ Pint double cream
1-2 Tbsp Caster sugar
2-3 Tbsp Icing Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence (or 2 drops of Vanilla extract)


Beat the egg yolks with the caster sugar until pale. Heat the double cream in a pan until warm DO NOT BOIL. Add the vanilla essence to this. Pour the cream onto the yolks and mix.

Put the mix into a shallow heatproof dish in a bain marie and put in a just warm oven for 1 hour or until set.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool down. When cool and firm, sprinkle over a thin layer of the icing sugar and pop under a pre heated grill, DO NOT ALLOW TO BURN. Repeat this process until a layer of caramel has built up which is to your liking.

Allow to cool and devour!

Chocolate Mousse

This is one of the best dinner party puddings. Make in advance and serve in small ramekins with raspberries.

Ingredients 2 Egg whites
½ Pint Double cream
2 Tbsp caster sugar
? Plain Chocolate (how chocolatey do you want it?)

Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage and add the sugar, beat a little more until silky. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over some boiling water. Beat the cream until stiff.

Gently, and I mean gently, fold the melted chocolate into the egg whites. Then fold this mix into the cream. Pop in the fridge to set.

All usual rules about egg safety stand. The best way to ensure this is to buy high quality eggs.

I'm Back!

So here we are then. I've probably been the worst blogger in living memory but I have been inspired to write again. My inspiration has come from two places: The passionate yet full grounded food genius who is Nigel Slater has published the second part of "Tender" and it is wonderful. Also I'm now getting a weekly organic fruit and veg' box from Abel and Cole.
I am no longer taking school dinners and appear to have developed a habit of making soup which I am thoroughly enjoying for lunch.
My tomato crop this year has been fantastic - it started by me planting far too many seeds and having more than fifty plants to give away. I kept 12 Golden Sunrise and 4 Hundreds and Thousands. In short we haven't bought a tomato since the end of July. I have made sauces and tarts and soups and used them in any number of ways. So imagine my joy when my veg box contained half a dozen beautiful tomatoes! They do call September "the fat month" after all.
I do love this time of year - great fruit and veg at a very reasonable price.
A couple of weeks ago the box from Abel and Cole contained a glorious red cabbage about the size of a football. I braised the whole thing in a giant casserole (see below) and served it as part of a wonderful roast rib of beef from Newitts. The rest has been frozen in readiness for lamb shanks or pot roast belly of pork.

Braised Red Cabbage.
This is one of those recipes which have no real volumes, just educated guesses!

One large red cabbage.
A couple of small onions (red or white wine vinegar would be good).
A couple of apples.
1 large glass of red wine.
Serious glug of red wine vinegar.
A little oil.

Slice the cabbage into small slices about 3-5 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Cut onion into small pieces. Peel and core the apples and cut into small pieces. Place a large casserole on the hob and crank it up to a medium high heat, add oil then onion and apple. Stir for about three minutes then add the cabbage and stir for a further two. Add the wet ingredients and stir. Pop the lid on the pan and put the casserole into the oven at a medium high heat for ninety minutes.
Serve with any red meat, game and pork.

Today's veg box contained broccoli, spinach and an onion squash amongst other thins so it should be an interesting week. More later.