Its strange that when, when in life, you think you've just got the measure of doing something well another person comes along and shows you a way to get much better results from your actions. A few weeks ago I raved about the making of bread and how much I enjoyed it. Well, when the village all came together for a garden party to celebrate the wedding of Kate and Wills we all brought a dish for the buffet. On the table was some beautiful bread: Crisp rustic crust, full of flavour and oh so much better than you could buy in a shop.
We enquired as to who the producer of this bread was and as it happens we know the gentleman concerned (henceforth, known as the Bread Machine) very well.
The beautiful wife arranged for us all to get together and bake bread -I learned so much.
My dough is now much wetter, I always make a starter of flour, sugar, water and yeast which I leave for a few hours. I've even started using real yeast (you can actually buy this on Amazon!)
In short My bread making has gone from strength to strength - I even made Croissants the other day and now the beautiful wife won't hear of having any "shop bought" breakfast snacks!
Monday, 16 May 2011
A man, a woman and their veg.box.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that the aim for this year was to mix a sense of frugality with food ethics and good eating. Paradoxically, this challenge is being helped by a regular delivery of an organic fruit and vegetable box. I buy our veggie box from Abel and Cole who are probably the most famous provider of boxes in the UK.
The reason I stay with them goes back a few years: We had a box from them on a fortnightly basis when we lived in the inner city and we were very happy with it. However, it began to be stolen and we had to cancel. Not only were the sales people perfectly understanding, they also re-funded the stolen boxes. It was no surprise to learn, when we looked into getting a box again, that they had won awards for the quality of their customer service.
We get a weekly fruit and veg box for 2/3 people and it costs us less than £18 including delivery. Seen as a simple figure, this seems like a lot to pay for just vegetables but that would be far to simple a look at the issue. Since we have got this box we have eaten at lot less meat and we're both eating more fruit (usually chopped over cereal). Owing to the fact that this wonderful produce has been delivered to our door we feel sinful if we don't use it all, this means that two less meals in most weeks have meat as their star ingredient.
Abel and Cole also include leaflets and little books about the farmers who supply them and there's always a humorous card with recipes.
We don't plan our box - we simply take what we're given. I don't even check online as to what's in the box this week, I prefer to be surprised when I open it on getting back from work. The joy of not picking and choosing is that I have been "forced" to use fruit and vegetables that I would not ever buy (even if they were available). Jerusalem artichokes, Sharon fruit, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Spring greens (oh how I love spring greens now) and Beetroot never look so good in the supermarket.
My dear readers I can't encourage you enough to become part of a box scheme - it is not an overstatement to say it has changed the way I cook and eat.
The reason I stay with them goes back a few years: We had a box from them on a fortnightly basis when we lived in the inner city and we were very happy with it. However, it began to be stolen and we had to cancel. Not only were the sales people perfectly understanding, they also re-funded the stolen boxes. It was no surprise to learn, when we looked into getting a box again, that they had won awards for the quality of their customer service.
We get a weekly fruit and veg box for 2/3 people and it costs us less than £18 including delivery. Seen as a simple figure, this seems like a lot to pay for just vegetables but that would be far to simple a look at the issue. Since we have got this box we have eaten at lot less meat and we're both eating more fruit (usually chopped over cereal). Owing to the fact that this wonderful produce has been delivered to our door we feel sinful if we don't use it all, this means that two less meals in most weeks have meat as their star ingredient.
Abel and Cole also include leaflets and little books about the farmers who supply them and there's always a humorous card with recipes.
We don't plan our box - we simply take what we're given. I don't even check online as to what's in the box this week, I prefer to be surprised when I open it on getting back from work. The joy of not picking and choosing is that I have been "forced" to use fruit and vegetables that I would not ever buy (even if they were available). Jerusalem artichokes, Sharon fruit, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Spring greens (oh how I love spring greens now) and Beetroot never look so good in the supermarket.
My dear readers I can't encourage you enough to become part of a box scheme - it is not an overstatement to say it has changed the way I cook and eat.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Pasta proof!
Here's a photo taken by the Beautiful Wife of my latest ravioli making splurge. They were stuffed with roasted Butternut Squash mashed up with a single amoretti biscuit. I served then with noisette butter.
Monday, 9 May 2011
The joys of making your own Pasta
Pasta, like bread, is shrouded in many layers of myth and fantasy. The truth is, it is very easy to make and wonderful when you do. However, this is not a quick and simple process - its one for a long lazy Sunday afternoon.
When you first consider making your own pasta your thoughts will turn to pasta making machines. My experience is that there is no point in buying a cheap pasta roller, you willl use it a few times, the gearing will go and it will be next to useless. I made this mistake and eventually purchased an Imperia machine and I have never looked back.
Unlike most items on this blog, making your own pasta will not save you money. Dried pasta of ordinarry quality is available for very little in the supermarket (though high quality dried pasta is a thing of great beauty).
So, it costs a lot to do and its going to take a great deal of your weekend - so why do it? Once you have tasted the sliky smooth little pillows of your own ravioli you will be forever enchanted, I promise.
I always use a "oo" Italian flour and my recipe is below. I tend to make mine into ravioli. The beautiful wife has a particular love of Butternut Squash ravioli in a beurre noisette sauce.
Pasta
3 eggs
300gms "oo" flour
Pinch of salt
Glug of good olive oil
Sift the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the middle of the flour and slowly, with a fork, draw the flour into the egg. I find using a gentle, angled, stirrring motion works well here. When it is just starting to come together, get your hands in there and mix it untill it fully holds together. Now kneed the dough until it is smooth and pliable. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow it to rest for 20 minutes outside the fridge.
Squeeze the dough into a tongue shape and feed it into your pasta machine which should be set to its widest setting. Fold in half and send through again. Do this a further 4 times before reducing the gap and running it through without folding. Lower the size everytime you pass the pasta though and finally you will be left with a great long strip of lasagne. You can cut this into shapes, use it as Lasange, use the slicing gadget on your machine to make Tagliatelle or even make nice little Ravioli.
I recently purchased a Ravioli plate (also ny Imperia) and now make twelve little cushions of loveliness in a batch. Photos to follow!
When you first consider making your own pasta your thoughts will turn to pasta making machines. My experience is that there is no point in buying a cheap pasta roller, you willl use it a few times, the gearing will go and it will be next to useless. I made this mistake and eventually purchased an Imperia machine and I have never looked back.
Unlike most items on this blog, making your own pasta will not save you money. Dried pasta of ordinarry quality is available for very little in the supermarket (though high quality dried pasta is a thing of great beauty).
So, it costs a lot to do and its going to take a great deal of your weekend - so why do it? Once you have tasted the sliky smooth little pillows of your own ravioli you will be forever enchanted, I promise.
I always use a "oo" Italian flour and my recipe is below. I tend to make mine into ravioli. The beautiful wife has a particular love of Butternut Squash ravioli in a beurre noisette sauce.
Pasta
3 eggs
300gms "oo" flour
Pinch of salt
Glug of good olive oil
Sift the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the middle of the flour and slowly, with a fork, draw the flour into the egg. I find using a gentle, angled, stirrring motion works well here. When it is just starting to come together, get your hands in there and mix it untill it fully holds together. Now kneed the dough until it is smooth and pliable. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow it to rest for 20 minutes outside the fridge.
Squeeze the dough into a tongue shape and feed it into your pasta machine which should be set to its widest setting. Fold in half and send through again. Do this a further 4 times before reducing the gap and running it through without folding. Lower the size everytime you pass the pasta though and finally you will be left with a great long strip of lasagne. You can cut this into shapes, use it as Lasange, use the slicing gadget on your machine to make Tagliatelle or even make nice little Ravioli.
I recently purchased a Ravioli plate (also ny Imperia) and now make twelve little cushions of loveliness in a batch. Photos to follow!
Sunday, 1 May 2011
One a penny, two a penny....
These are the Hot Cross Buns I made. I mentioned them in my last blog - get baking people!
Give us this day...
It has been a long time since I wrote and for that I apologise - life has been so very hectic during the last month.
One of the things which I have most enjoyed over the last 5 months is making my own bread. I must encourage everybody to do the same. I too put up all the usual excuses - "I don't have the time" "it works out very expensive" "will it be any good?" and so on. However, once you begin to make your own and play around with a few basic recipes I promise you it becomes addictive (in a good way, of course).
In terms of the time it takes: You have to be around for an hour and a half or so, but only 15 minutes of that is actually spent doing anything. This is perfect for a weekend afternoon or even an evening during the week.
A 1.5 Kilo bag of good strong bread flour will cost less than £2 (this will make 3 medium sized loaves) add to that 80p for other ingredients and your homemade loaf comes in at about 70p. If you can buy an organic, artisan loaf for that little - please tell me where!
The quality of your loaf is up to you - if you are prepared to spend a little time working out what best works for you then the quality will often be better than what is available to buy.
It is also nice to know exactly what went into your daily bread.
Well that's the technical stuff, so what about the emotional stuff? Bread is culturally vital (and I use the word "vital" in its true sense). It is the "Staff of life", most food cultures in the world have a basic starch (potato, maize, rice, pasta) but nearly all of them also have a bread. It is a basic human desire to make and eat bread with family and friends. As for the making of bread I simply ask if there is a more soothing, tactile, life affirming action than the kneading of an organic, GM free loaf?
I have been so excited by the making of bread that for the Easter period I even made Hot Cross Buns. Why do supermarkets insist on selling these all year round? They are supposed to be a seasonal treat - If you fancy them in August then get rid of the cross and call them "Tea cakes" (minor rant over).
If you want to buy a book with simple and "work every time" recipes then you wont go far wrong with the Breads and Bakes book in the series produced under "The best kept Secrets of the Women's Institute", it is written by Carrie O'Regan and Jill Brand. Incidentally the WI book on Jams, Pickles and Chutneys by Midge Thomas is also very good indeed.
And so to my basic White Bread recipe. This one only needs a single rise and does not require knocking back.
White Bread
1lb Strong White Bread Flour
10floz Hand warm water
1oz Butter
1tsp (heaped) Easy blend (or Quick) yeast (I use Doves farm)
1tsp Salt
Sift the flour into a bowl. add the yeast, butter and salt. Rub the butter in as you would a pastry. Add two thirds of the watter and mix in with a knife. Slowly add the rest of the water and get your hands in there! When the dough has come together, pop it on a floured surface and kneed for 10 full minutes. Your dough should feel springy and soft. Shape your dough into a ball or put it in a suitable oiled loaf tin with oiled cling film over it (a tea towel will also do this job) and allow it to rise in a quiet warm spot till it has doubled in size. This is the magic bit and should take about 40 minutes. Dust the top with flour. Pop it in to a hot oven for about 35 minutes until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Allow it to cool on a wire rack.
Once you have done this loaf, the world is your mollusc. Try different flours, adding seeds, bran, olives, onions, sun dried tomatoes, nuts.......
One of the things which I have most enjoyed over the last 5 months is making my own bread. I must encourage everybody to do the same. I too put up all the usual excuses - "I don't have the time" "it works out very expensive" "will it be any good?" and so on. However, once you begin to make your own and play around with a few basic recipes I promise you it becomes addictive (in a good way, of course).
In terms of the time it takes: You have to be around for an hour and a half or so, but only 15 minutes of that is actually spent doing anything. This is perfect for a weekend afternoon or even an evening during the week.
A 1.5 Kilo bag of good strong bread flour will cost less than £2 (this will make 3 medium sized loaves) add to that 80p for other ingredients and your homemade loaf comes in at about 70p. If you can buy an organic, artisan loaf for that little - please tell me where!
The quality of your loaf is up to you - if you are prepared to spend a little time working out what best works for you then the quality will often be better than what is available to buy.
It is also nice to know exactly what went into your daily bread.
Well that's the technical stuff, so what about the emotional stuff? Bread is culturally vital (and I use the word "vital" in its true sense). It is the "Staff of life", most food cultures in the world have a basic starch (potato, maize, rice, pasta) but nearly all of them also have a bread. It is a basic human desire to make and eat bread with family and friends. As for the making of bread I simply ask if there is a more soothing, tactile, life affirming action than the kneading of an organic, GM free loaf?
I have been so excited by the making of bread that for the Easter period I even made Hot Cross Buns. Why do supermarkets insist on selling these all year round? They are supposed to be a seasonal treat - If you fancy them in August then get rid of the cross and call them "Tea cakes" (minor rant over).
If you want to buy a book with simple and "work every time" recipes then you wont go far wrong with the Breads and Bakes book in the series produced under "The best kept Secrets of the Women's Institute", it is written by Carrie O'Regan and Jill Brand. Incidentally the WI book on Jams, Pickles and Chutneys by Midge Thomas is also very good indeed.
And so to my basic White Bread recipe. This one only needs a single rise and does not require knocking back.
White Bread
1lb Strong White Bread Flour
10floz Hand warm water
1oz Butter
1tsp (heaped) Easy blend (or Quick) yeast (I use Doves farm)
1tsp Salt
Sift the flour into a bowl. add the yeast, butter and salt. Rub the butter in as you would a pastry. Add two thirds of the watter and mix in with a knife. Slowly add the rest of the water and get your hands in there! When the dough has come together, pop it on a floured surface and kneed for 10 full minutes. Your dough should feel springy and soft. Shape your dough into a ball or put it in a suitable oiled loaf tin with oiled cling film over it (a tea towel will also do this job) and allow it to rise in a quiet warm spot till it has doubled in size. This is the magic bit and should take about 40 minutes. Dust the top with flour. Pop it in to a hot oven for about 35 minutes until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Allow it to cool on a wire rack.
Once you have done this loaf, the world is your mollusc. Try different flours, adding seeds, bran, olives, onions, sun dried tomatoes, nuts.......
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