Forager's Kitchen at Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham are launching their new Discovery Box very soon. I was asked to test drive the home delivery service in August and it was like no other that I have tried before. The box of foodie goodies was delivered to my door and invited me to Explore, Discover and Enjoy. It was a real treat and included a range of artisan products, information about the producers (not all from Suffolk, so some unfamiliar, which I enjoyed) and introduced some new flavours, cooking methods & skills. Instructions and superb ingredients were included for me to create my own restaurant quality meal at home. A high quality printed magazine featured augmented reality videos giving instant and easy access to every element of the box. Quite a Discovery indeed!
Two things I always make as soon as I get my hands on quinces are Membrillo and Quincemeat. Membrillo is the perfect give away treat, is delicious with cheese and costs a fortune if you have to buy it in the shops. Quincemeat provides a good build up for the festive season, and is a great excuse to eat mince pies in October. A note on preparing quinces - they are a bugger to peel, especially the small, wild knobbly ones so I cook mine whole for my membrillo recipe, then pull off the flesh. However if you have those show-offy perfect, plump quinces then it's easier to peel and core them first, which saves sieving them. The horrible little runt quinces I make into quince jelly to spread on my toast and to glaze fruit tarts.
Literally swimming into Walsham le Willows last weekend. The Suffolk Mermaid, the best fish and chip van in Suffolk. Check Chris and Tanya's FB page for their routes through Suffolk. Next landing in Walsham will be on October 16th at 4.45pm 'til 7.30pm.
So are pork chops on trend? As beef prices rise more restaurants have begun to feature premium cuts of pork on their menus. I enjoyed a very tasty Bertha cooked Blythburgh pork T-bone at The Oaksmere near Brome the other day. Also on the menu a pork chuck for two and some very tempting dry aged beef.
Don't waste the flesh of your pumpkins this Halloween. Chop the flesh into chunks along with onions and carrots cut to the same size. Add some crushed garlic, salt and pepper and a few sage leaves. Splash a little olive oil over and mix well before roasting in a hot oven for about 30/40 minutes until soft but not charred. Use to make Roasted Pumpkin Soup or a delicious and colourful Roasted Squash and Blue Cheese Pizza.
Well done to the East Anglian producers who have scooped 272 Great Taste accolades at this year's awards. Among the Great Taste 3-star winners are a number of products that pack a serious punch, including; Le Rêve Organic Molecular Absinthe from Linden Leaf Botanicals in Cambridge, described as “virtually the perfect expression of absinthe” as the judges enjoyed “pure aniseed-balls on the palate, but backed up by woody, herbal, citrus-noted, warm and spiritous notes”; a coffee and chocolate lover’s dream in the form of 70% Tumaco Colombia Dark Chocolate with Colombian Coffee from Tosier ChocolateMaker in Ipswich, applauded for its ““silky smooth” texture and “wild fruitiness, subtle tobacco hints and perfectly pitched bitter notes”; and the “vibrant and exciting” Blackcurrant Fruit Cream Ice from Alder Tree in Needham Market, declared to be “the essence of blackcurrant”, as one judge said, “the shackles are definitely off with this one… brilliant!” Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers, check out all the 2020 winners here and the wide range of award winning products which are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retail outlets across the country.
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3 star blackcurrant ice cream from Alder Tree
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3 star Le Reve Absinthe from Linden Leaf
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3 star Free Range Norfolk Black Turkey from Morton's in Norfolk
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3 star Tumaco Columbia Tosier chocolate
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When there's no motor racing at Goodwood there's always the lovely Aerodrome Cafe. Watching the planes go by ....
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Well it's September and I haven't written a blog post for ages - how time flies. Eventually, in June, Mr S.Foodie and I moved up north to Gislingham and since then have got stuck in to some decorating and gardening at our new home. I haven't been out much but discovered there's a monthly charity cake stall in the village, with the BEST cakes and the owners of the village shop sell superb homemade Sri Lankan food to takeaway. Now someone please buy the pub.
Hot, spicy Sri Lankan curries from the village shop
Delicious coconut tarts from the charity cake stall
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One of my top pubs because of their slick takeaway service during the lockdown. Efficient ordering and swiftly prepared food that has been reliably good. Nothing fancy but superb burgers, homemade pies, thrice cooked chips and homemade sticky toffee pudding. We've eaten this as takeaway and at the pub during Eat Out To Help Out. It's always been good. Very fair prices too!
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This is the takeaway steak, ale and mushroom pie. £10 with fresh vegetables. It's huge and homemade!
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I've been cooking on my tiny little barbecue in my tiny little back yard while I wait to move house. All my belongings are in storage. I have one frying pan, a handful of cooking tools and the smallest fridge you have ever seen, with a bloody stupid shelf at the bottom, where all the salad stuff is stored underneath meaning I have to move everything, everyday to get at a friggin' leaf of lettuce. I realise how spoilt I've been in the past in my beautiful kitchen BUT it hasn't stopped me! My local farm shop butchery has been providing me with the best ever flank steak and at about £7 a slab it's an economical steak meal for the three of us here in lockdown. So I've been making fajita's because my friend Nic Miller (follow her on Twitter @nicmillerstale or Insta @millerstale) shared her recipe for wheat tortillas and I wanted to make them. Mine came out square, I'm blaming the lack of a rolling pin. You'll find the recipe and instruction for my fajita seasoned flank steak here. Flank steak is often seen on a menu described as a bavette steak. This is not the cut to use if you don't 'do' rare. The flank has long muscle fibres and can be tough if overcooked, it's also very lean and best sliced thinly across the grain for optimum tenderness. Cook it on a very high heat for 2 or 3 minutes a side and then cover with foil and rest for 10 mins. I generally put mine in the oven after it has been turned off, so no heat, just warm surroundings. Slice and serve rolled in the tortilla with fried onions, peppers, tomato salsa, guacomole, grated cheese, sour cream and slobber your way through.
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Two lovely pieces of flank
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Seasoned and herbed up
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Freeze in bags for later
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Cook over a very high heat and only for a couple of minutes a side
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Slice across the grain once it has rested
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Add your own salsa, avocado and cheese
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they call me square
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Now's the time to make your delicious fragrant Elderflower Cordial, capturing the taste of summer. You must pick the elderflowers on a dry, warm and sunny day, when the flower heads are fully open. They must be perfect, with no trace of brown blossoms or squatters. Do not wash them so make sure that you pick them from an area where they are unikely to have been contaminated by wildlife or passing vehicles.The cordial will keep for several weeks in a cool pantry, several months in the fridge or alternatively freeze in plastic containers and it will keep for a year. Citric acid is available from chemists and DIY wine making suppliers, also worth looking in Middle Eastern shops.
Bored and enjoy baking bread? Try your hand at Focaccia Art. #focacciaart
It's going to be hot this weekend so prepare for some al fresco fire cooking. Make yourselves a jar of dry rub ready for your beef. Spice blends, or dry rubs are rubbed into meat before cooking. Some say that salt should not be included in a rub as meat should be dry brined by rubbing in salt a day in advance, in order for the salt to penetrate the meat. The spices in a rub do not tend to penetrate the meat but will help form the delicious spicy crust (or bark). However as we are all so short of time in our busy lives, I make an all in one rub, mixing the salt into the rub and leaving it on the meat overnight in the fridge. Sugar is a matter of taste and needed to help caramelise the crust. I use just a little on beef. Experiment with your own spice blends and store in an airtight jar. Use on a whole joint of rib eye or sirloin for a real treat.
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Cooked on a high heat over the fire creates a good bark but still pink in the middle
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I had a joint of very lean sirloin which I rubbed and left for 24hrs
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Making the rub in a mini blender is easy
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The effects of lockdown have torn through the food industry like a tornado. Food businesses forced to close, with many restaurants staying open for takeaway and every day another business re-opening to dip it's toe into the online-delivery-takeaway market. Suppliers normally serving the trade have had to diversify and react swiftly, some offering online orders and deliveries to the public. Pubs have become community shops. Corner shops have kept us supplied with the store cupboard basics. Store cupboards have determined the dishes we can cook to nourish ourselves and our families. While chefs live stream cookery demo's from their kitchens, the niche social media experts have had to guard their territory as the stay at home population bombard us with their own sourdough, banana bread and brownie recipes. Farm shops providing deliveries, micro breweries and wineries setting up drive thru's there never has been a more challenging time to source food. The crisis has provided an opportunity to drive innovation and now is the time for us to support the independent producers who are working so hard to stay afloat. However, it's also the time for the service industries to keep in touch with their clientele, monitor consumer behaviour and continue to innovate, so that when the race back to reality begins, they're revved up and in pole position. Here's a photo gallery of some of East Anglia's innovative businesses and suppliers that I have used and that are providing top quality service and produce . You'll find plenty more if you check the many social media streams regularly. For Bury St Edmunds folk David Stapleton has created a simple and free web app directory of businesses open.
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Brays Cottage pork pie. Send a pie for a pressie.
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Jolly Asparagus has found outlets for a crop which would generally go to the restaurant industry. Snap it up at Hillcrest Nursery Stanton and Woosters Bakery (main picture)
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Watch Justin from Pea Porridge Restaurant in Bury via Instagram. Masterclasses and the weekly 'clash' with a local Chef
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Slate provisions and deli can send you a selection of cheese in the post. My British selection which arrived last week.
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Flour a problem? I got a sack from Thomas Ridley at Rougham. No account required, log in on their website as a guest.
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Woosters Bakery. Online ordering and collection from Bardwell, Bury, Wyken market.
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Brewshed Brewery pop up at The Cadogan. Ingham. Order a mini keg or take your own container for filling.
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Baron Bigod to order online from Fen Farm Dairy. Bungay
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Beerhouse pop up. Social distancing and well organised.
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Brays Cottage Pork Pie - big family size to order online.
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Order a pizza from Lucy's at Fornham St Martin. Must be pre-ordered and a time slot will be allocated. Book early - it's popular
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