The traveller's dream

Motorway Service Stations are, to my mind, places without soul or joy. I know they are there to fulfil a purpose but why must this mean that they lack individuality or difference? The majority of these road side stops are made up of a couple of fast food franchises (Maybe a KFC and a Burger King or McDonalds), a WHSmiths, a coffee multinational, and an uninspiring cafeteria serving overpriced and uninteresting meals which are, at best fuel for the motorist. All this is done at mark up from the normal high street prices.
When I started this blog, I set out to be positive and for this reason I don't want to dwell on the problem of motorway services but I'd like to put forward some ideas for solving these issues. There are several really wonderful service stations on our roads but there are simply too few.
"So," I hear you ask, "what would the perfect service station look like then?"
Well, first and foremost I wouldn't ban fast food, but if we have a burger bar, why not one serving real, possibly organic burgers and real chips cut from potatoes (we could even leave the skin on and really blow people's minds). Of course the ingredients would have to be local and made by people who really care about the food they are making and serving. With the growth in high quality street food at the moment this is not some kind of dream, this can be done.
Then comes the coffee shop - There is a very positive reason why there are some mega-brands in this market - they often serve great coffee! What my perfect service station would have, however, would be a small, independent supplier of coffee (yes they do exist) and again I'd like a bit of traceability and, of course we would be talking Fair Trade here.
Now the real problem: The Cafeteria. There simply has to be a full English breakfast available and, being fair, a lot of service stations get this right. However, at the price that is charged on the road, we should be able to guarantee the provenance of all the pork (outdoor bred and raised) and the eggs must be free range (and I mean small flock, encouraged to feed outside, no nasty chemicals used). There simply has to be Black pudding - cooked to order not allowed to turn into cardboard on a hot plate.
As the cafeteria has to be open for 24 hours a day, it has to serve real meals. What on earth is wrong with the British classics here - Bangers and Mash (with some proper veg), Ham, Egg and Chips and a really good Pie (yes the crust is supposed to go the whole way round)
On to salads - I don't need to say much here except "Go to France and look at what they can do on the road" (Grated carrots, dressed with a little lemon juice and garnished with poppy seeds and toasted almonds, roast vegetables with pesto dressing, grated celeriac with a wholegrain mustard mayonnaise, etc, etc)
While we're on the subject of France why are Confit of Duck, Tartiflette, and the like never available at the British roadside. These are quite cheap to produce compared with a Steak and Kidney Pie and are perfect for filling up the weary traveller.
I need to stop now else I shall rant for hours, but I will leave you with this one thought: There will be no need for the owners of these service stations to change unless people demand it. As with so much in the food industry, people can change behaviour by voting with their feet (or tires in this case)!

Remembering to taste

Every now and then I find myself pulled up short when it comes to taste. For example, last week I was putting together a cous cous salad lunch for the beautiful wife and I boiled off a handful of green beans which came in the weekly veg box from Abel and Cole.
I blanched them for a couple of minutes and very quickly refreshed them under cold water. I could not resist "stealing" one to nibble on as I cooked and this is when I was pulled up short. The flavour was outstanding. I had completely forgotten how utterly amazing a simple green bean can taste. A similar thing happened with broccoli a few weeks ago.
I think the message is clear: I have vowed to taste everything as if we're tasting it for the very first time, who knows where this might lead. I will not take an ingredient for granted.
We have the builders in for a few weeks so I have harvested the last of my tomatoes and potatoes both of which were close to the house. On occasion they were neglected throughout the Summer and on occasion the Summer neglected them too. I shall be making green tomato chutney again during the week!

The Idle Lunch

I met up with a couple of dear friends on Saturday and caught up with each others gossip. We met at the Cross Keys pub in Thame and it was a very civilised way to spend a couple of hours. I am not a Thame resident but I can walk there in about an hour and Saturday was such a perfect day for a walk that it would've seemed a sin not to cross the fields in the company of the last of the swallows, the yellowhammers, buzzards and red kites (always, always kites) and take in the newly harvested land on my way.
I was quite early, because that's who I am, and was able to sit with a half pint and read the local CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) literature which was left for all to peruse. There was the usual bad news of pubs closing and big bad breweries buying up the independents. However, in the literature there was much to be joyful about. I drank beer from the XT brewing company based in a village (Long Crendon) a couple of miles North of Thame. XT has been brewing for less than a year but is already building a superb reputation for itself and I certainly enjoyed both their No 1 ( A blond bitter - citrusy and clean,4.2 abv and right up my street) and No 4 (Their flagship beer - a very drinkable amber ale at 3.8 abv. It would be very easy to spend a whole night on this particular brew and it shows that you do not need stupid alcohol levels to produce great flavour).
The pub itself has its own micro brewery, alas none of their beers we on the ten pumps on the bar ( all of them serving small brewery or cider products). I'll just have to go back sometime soon to try their own beer.
We are also within a very small distance of two more wonderful independents of the brewing industry - The Chiltern Brewery near Wendover and the Vale Brewery in Brill.
We should be so proud of our brewing heritage. British Real Ale is unique to these islands and delicious in all its forms. Yet we listen to our demons who tell us that "its too warm" "I want something lighter" " Its not cool or cold enough" Its time to listen to our better angels and embrace this natural gem of our food and drink culture.
There can be no mistake though:  when it comes to small independent producers of British Real Ale, if you live in the beautiful area north of the Chiltern Hills, then you are truly blessed. So blessed, in fact, that your pint glass surely overflows.

Nothing to cry about.

The last few weeks have been the most amazing period of sport and we have all watched, and felt every emotion possible. Watching tough men and women finally bursting into tears on the podium as years of hard work gets its pay off seems to have become a sport in its own right.
To a cook the tears flow when you get into competition with onions. A colleague of mine asked me today for a recipe for French onion soup. I can only remember two recipes for this classic of French cookery.
While we're talking about classic dishes, this has been changed and adapted so often that it is quite difficult to find the definative recipe - when I've finished typing, I'm off the consult my Elizabeth David books!

My Mother's cheat recipe for French onion soup
Onions
Can of double concentrate Beef Consomme Soup

Fry off the onions very slowly so they caramelise (no I don't mean "burn"). Pop these in a pan with the soup and dilute according to the instructions. Warm to the boil and enjoy with a cheesy crouton.

My Recipe for French onion soup
2lb Onions (red, white or a mix)
3 pints of beef stock (see note)
A sprinkle of sugar
A glug of good Olive oil

Place the oil and onions in a pan and pop on a low to medium heat. As soon as they start to sizzle cover the pan and shake over the sugar. Keep the temperature low and slowly caramelise the onions, stirring often. (This can take up to 30 minutes) When the onions are are nice and golden brown pour over the stock, bring to the boil and simmer (I really mean simmer - not boil like crazy!) for about 40 minutes. Serve with a cheesy crouton (See other note)

Note on Beef Stock - If you're feeling flush, buy some beef stock from the meat counter in most supermarkets. If you are in a more penurious position use cubes. If you have time, make your own beef stock. You could, of course, use a combination of any of these stocks.

Note on cheesy croutons - There are more recipe's for this than there are soup bowls! My preference is for an oven dried slice of good bread (make sure it doesn't take to much colour) with Gruyere on top. This should then be placed on top of the soup and popped under the grill for just a couple of minutes, until the cheese melts.