tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32509153178077121152024-03-13T00:03:21.118+00:00The Ample CookWelcome to my blog. Hopefully this will be an interesting and sometimes amusing diary of the food I like to cook and eat, plus other food related snippets.The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-88128270708330669392012-10-25T19:42:00.001+01:002012-10-25T19:42:40.628+01:00I know it's been a long time.......Hello, I'm still alive!<br />
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I've sort of lost a bit of momentum with my blog (huge under-statement!) However I am going to throw myself back in and will hopefully post something up within the next couple of days (if anyone is still interested).The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-13001369514607332132010-09-09T13:58:00.005+01:002010-09-14T17:30:27.094+01:00Theo Randall at The IntercontinentalSo, how did we come to find oursleves trolling round Harrod's Christmas decorations in early August? We were keeping out of the rain, that's how. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mr Ample Cook and myself were having an amble around Knightsbridge (as one does dahling) before makng our way to Theo Randall's restauarant at The Intercontinental Hotel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Weather wise, it was one of those days that was blazing sunshine one minute and coming down in stair rods the next. So, to stop my sling-backs getting completely water logged, we bundled ourselves into Harrods.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whilst wandering aimlessly around the store, I spotted that their Chritmas shop was open, much to Mr AC's complete and utter delight. He indicated his displeasure in a silent but sarcastic way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>I took the hint and after a very brief look at the pretty shining stuff and a whizz through the food hall, we headed back out to a rather nice pub for a quick 'snifter' before arrivng at the restaurant.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had already decided to try the pre-theatre menu, which at £23 for 2 courses and £27 for 3, it seemed a great bargain and made even more so by a free glass of prosecco, for booking through Top Table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whilst we were making our choices and sipping on our prosecco (which by the way arrived completely unprompted) we were presented with some very good sour dough bread which had been rubbed with very ripe, sweet tomatoes and the lightest focaccia I have ever eaten. It was salty and oily and utterly delcious.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To start, Mr AC chose the smoked eel with beetroots, dandelion and fresh horseradish. Whilst I ordered the bresaola, with parmesan and rocket. Both dishes were delicious, in parrticular, the smoked eel was soft and not over smoked.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On to the main course. I don't know if you do this, but we always try not to order the same thing, so that we can taste each other's food. However on this occasion we both wanted the guinea fowl and neither was budging. Thank goodness I didn't give in, because I would have seriously missed out.</div><br />
The breasts of guinea fowl had been stuffed with prosciutto di Parma, mascarpone and thyme, wood roasted and were served on pagnotta bruschetta with Swiss chard and roasted datterini tomatoes (to be precise). <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was dreamy. The bird was perfectly cooked, crispy skin outside and moist and succulent inside. The sauce was creamy, rich and deeply flavoured.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With hindsight I think the zucchini fritters were a dish too far. A rocket salad would have been the sensible choice. Having said that, they were gorgeous, light, crispy and very moreish. They were like that bowl of chips that you order with your pub lunch to share, you don't need them, but you can't stop yourself keep digging in.</div><br />
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Feeling fairly stuffed at this point, naturally the only course of action was to order dessert. We plumped for the tiramisu and the Amalfi lemon tart.<br />
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The tiramisu had a lot to live up to because Mr AC makes a truly amazing one (don't tell him I admitted to that) We are tiramisu 'purists' – snobs even. <br />
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This one was good, if a little too refined. They had used sponge cake rather than boudoir biscuits and the bottom layer was chocolate sponge – tsk. I'm being hypercritical though, it was still very enjoyable.<br />
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The tart was excellent. The pastry was crisp, the filling silky and it was bursting with lemons.<br />
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Even though we couldn't manage to push down a coffee, our waitress still brought us some petit fours: almond tuiles and dark, rich chocolate truffles. Excellent they were too.<br />
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We were deeply impressed with our visit here. The food and the service were excellent and the bill at £80, for 3 courses, 2 glasses of prosecco, a large glass of wine each and 12.5% service, I think you'll agree is a complete bargain.<br />
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</div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-31092335908961331752010-08-04T15:51:00.001+01:002010-08-04T15:52:08.168+01:00From pergola to plate<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjL8gtqTVBAoAiB9Fk1Uji_8OGvQKTFnIlABd8WB-UAvhacbXkZrPe0A8cmwxUQdtUBKnkW7vaYngM8u-NJASynoUmuH0CnXR2TFGDr-aRiYA9Z_W-6ZSvxNX-O9QmtaHERSZ7mqHFLM/s1600/Pergola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjL8gtqTVBAoAiB9Fk1Uji_8OGvQKTFnIlABd8WB-UAvhacbXkZrPe0A8cmwxUQdtUBKnkW7vaYngM8u-NJASynoUmuH0CnXR2TFGDr-aRiYA9Z_W-6ZSvxNX-O9QmtaHERSZ7mqHFLM/s400/Pergola.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKy36xi77Hfj15_HqCxPvv9LOgD0mFIx0_veTV4jMPAMnfR5KmG8Apu4yVSSHLroaKEOOMGgVNuN9Hny6MDpjvmvx_kOqJl3kv4v5KlOY_sFDMjbSThOzGPinPVXd413M4KlCjYuVlv8/s1600/Vine.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500800388824902178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKy36xi77Hfj15_HqCxPvv9LOgD0mFIx0_veTV4jMPAMnfR5KmG8Apu4yVSSHLroaKEOOMGgVNuN9Hny6MDpjvmvx_kOqJl3kv4v5KlOY_sFDMjbSThOzGPinPVXd413M4KlCjYuVlv8/s400/Vine.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
We have had a vine in our garden for about 10 years. It branches out under our pergola, making a lovely shady spot to eat outside when the temperature rises. <br />
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Being lovers of Greek food, we have often made dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) but never using the leaves from our vine. Stupid I know. I can only think that I was always under the misapprehension that they had to be brined first, but no, they can be used fresh.<br />
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I got Tiny to pick quite a few (as he doesn't need to get the step ladders out) making sure he avoided the ones that been, ahem, 'blessed' by the birds. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmQr6OUGlffbS9fCxNOLpkV3K0MZ67us5kyYkyvv4r7eTtP_1xTmQWMq8zD5AkgNEZ_Id02GVR4kdYwM-kgYP9zmSqBhx7TJ60sT-WB4YvCZxr4cAriXILJ8rP6Wy1xyhhqj-EJ8R6A8/s1600/Vine+leaves2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500800391005604978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmQr6OUGlffbS9fCxNOLpkV3K0MZ67us5kyYkyvv4r7eTtP_1xTmQWMq8zD5AkgNEZ_Id02GVR4kdYwM-kgYP9zmSqBhx7TJ60sT-WB4YvCZxr4cAriXILJ8rP6Wy1xyhhqj-EJ8R6A8/s400/Vine+leaves2.jpg" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">These were thoroughly washed and boiled for 10 minutes until they were soft, but still whole.<br />
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I then made a stuffing of ground lamb, arborio rice, spring onions, chopped dill, mint and plenty of salt and pepper.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XNaLCWWJGCx3CmpuBGBL_gGTIA6jMZSNTY06KZSUbkETklP1tPlMym8DykGsn6V5Epi7OnpNLhWxoF6KCe3-8EM2_BLqxjPdlEGw1ON61bn8XOWIJZYnVCt3cFADoeHTBI1xt6zDpUY/s1600/VL+stuffing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XNaLCWWJGCx3CmpuBGBL_gGTIA6jMZSNTY06KZSUbkETklP1tPlMym8DykGsn6V5Epi7OnpNLhWxoF6KCe3-8EM2_BLqxjPdlEGw1ON61bn8XOWIJZYnVCt3cFADoeHTBI1xt6zDpUY/s320/VL+stuffing.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 449px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1310px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1GSU6mzGzu1KwaBEVcnyAkKC3Zo53OgDxjS_oaAkZDVBenEBHorWVjreEyIT_f_74nBhcLmpvoRgardKjDkln4viFnE4wQ_maEMLCeejJBuJjepRnKGHWzSHJApVpAYywzNry_fnZ4k/s1600/Vine+leaves.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500800387014613314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1GSU6mzGzu1KwaBEVcnyAkKC3Zo53OgDxjS_oaAkZDVBenEBHorWVjreEyIT_f_74nBhcLmpvoRgardKjDkln4viFnE4wQ_maEMLCeejJBuJjepRnKGHWzSHJApVpAYywzNry_fnZ4k/s400/Vine+leaves.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLZ9Db2C0aCKb8QF5wg_CfDL-6FufExhKUPK0NFwwm-C_rsFTb-eF3vzr3E7pjqWl-p_xBPXIJSkYxibInCrZXWhnzYBPffzI30kfdPY0xxIDJsSaF-2J-oucQThMCMC7mUANhJqygDI/s1600/Rolling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLZ9Db2C0aCKb8QF5wg_CfDL-6FufExhKUPK0NFwwm-C_rsFTb-eF3vzr3E7pjqWl-p_xBPXIJSkYxibInCrZXWhnzYBPffzI30kfdPY0xxIDJsSaF-2J-oucQThMCMC7mUANhJqygDI/s400/Rolling.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When all of the leaves were stuffed and rolled up, I added a little chicken stock and put them in the oven for about 50 minutes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As I'd only used 250g of the lamb and I'd bought half a kilo, with the rest I made little koftas with chunks of feta.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2arS9-vwr5vaLvMdK20HayWjAc4XoGfFboKdLLtXDJjNL0VnA0KwGdmCuGrHn6xE5n6oocXiB9y0irGDunSDKyHH8XEKiVnDy1ewEBZoWZ-I0DyKsdBkjCZKW7zB3PXG2vt3o45CHodQ/s1600/Kofta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2arS9-vwr5vaLvMdK20HayWjAc4XoGfFboKdLLtXDJjNL0VnA0KwGdmCuGrHn6xE5n6oocXiB9y0irGDunSDKyHH8XEKiVnDy1ewEBZoWZ-I0DyKsdBkjCZKW7zB3PXG2vt3o45CHodQ/s320/Kofta.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdamlNSE44EWcnQS5F9t1cMKXQn0uGXetzECZ7Qj6kXVjCar6j_DbN9W0NCPm0nPOfcj_58fZsE8Vl7suA1sKnQkDzzlK6_Eq0UW0iI_81qvY25Z_tBbQRPA3EPPZHgRjkM0Lsi7BY56g/s1600/Dolmades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdamlNSE44EWcnQS5F9t1cMKXQn0uGXetzECZ7Qj6kXVjCar6j_DbN9W0NCPm0nPOfcj_58fZsE8Vl7suA1sKnQkDzzlK6_Eq0UW0iI_81qvY25Z_tBbQRPA3EPPZHgRjkM0Lsi7BY56g/s400/Dolmades.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We ate the vine leaves with home made tzatziki and rice-stuffed courgettes and tomatoes and a salad. Oh and the kofta, some bread and a few potatoes (well, my motto is 'never knowingly under-catered').</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Even if I say so myself, they were delicious. The contrast of the warm, soft, well flavoured, wrapped lamb, dipped into the cold garlicky tzatziki was bliss.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgK-mnsElr33KaigDWO-G3s5EncCXnJLPcjI6l3SW9Ibcu8PvXuT8rnFGzV50bf51MIr0ZEXFKrLGn24eFLF6OQoqEstgiWCUEYQOYib3ocF3P0pcUMWR8sNA8IW3APd3vnFfbkh9iRY/s1600/Dolmades+%26+Tzatziki.jpg" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500724773550662034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgK-mnsElr33KaigDWO-G3s5EncCXnJLPcjI6l3SW9Ibcu8PvXuT8rnFGzV50bf51MIr0ZEXFKrLGn24eFLF6OQoqEstgiWCUEYQOYib3ocF3P0pcUMWR8sNA8IW3APd3vnFfbkh9iRY/s400/Dolmades+%26+Tzatziki.jpg" style="display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYEAkF9L3GTVInbwzKiS_h6xb1omJMefpym8ML6i2C1JeUkczu7nTF7Za9LfkSZaQovkfWfBZU_mFu1q4t_-_C43EVZS6nUj0aGqZ3FopuUHabcSo9IZ6DBjuS725lm1nxtR5WoXc-Ks/s1600/My+plate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500724768376942514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYEAkF9L3GTVInbwzKiS_h6xb1omJMefpym8ML6i2C1JeUkczu7nTF7Za9LfkSZaQovkfWfBZU_mFu1q4t_-_C43EVZS6nUj0aGqZ3FopuUHabcSo9IZ6DBjuS725lm1nxtR5WoXc-Ks/s400/My+plate.jpg" style="display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-81142926094409276442010-07-22T12:21:00.005+01:002010-07-22T12:47:04.477+01:00Busy, busy, busy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIrZeHr-4UVuFfS9Tvou-HE_1sxiyKWJ6BepnuPMmGZZKgqXvScQSSqJrZRu9ABqkp9x1pP2WkMebOkBrRet69QjwD4RSAr4TH4ZtqE0853Jo0t4DK5a-Ufo2kihUV0ea6kgbibDkXC0/s1600/DSC02252.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496689996525448642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIrZeHr-4UVuFfS9Tvou-HE_1sxiyKWJ6BepnuPMmGZZKgqXvScQSSqJrZRu9ABqkp9x1pP2WkMebOkBrRet69QjwD4RSAr4TH4ZtqE0853Jo0t4DK5a-Ufo2kihUV0ea6kgbibDkXC0/s400/DSC02252.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Apparently, according to my loyal fans (yes, both of you) I don't blog enough. <br /><br />The main reason for this,is that most of the time I'm really busy, but also I usually only post something that I feel will be interesting. <br /><br />Anyway, point taken and I will try and post more frequently.<br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div>In the meanwhile, here is a photo of a pan of fried onions and potatoes that I thought looked particularly tasty. These were destined to accompany some sausages for my Dad. Frozen down in dinner-sized portions.</div><div></div><div> </div><div><br />Every couple of weeks I make a few dinners for his freezer to ensure he eats something other than egg and bacon and Mr Kipling Viennese whirls. He is a little lazy in the kitchen department and if he can get by on cornflakes and Benson & Hedges he will.</div><div></div><div><br />Anyway, I hope to blog a bit faster and thank you for your feedback.</div><div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-10592414069995521652010-07-02T10:50:00.016+01:002010-07-06T16:25:29.910+01:00Here's one I grew earlier<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVehdle5iC7jXPLAXi48VgJFNcv_Byou4XeVgZ6TuN0vcJPq5C7LDdf6mUWfo560ITzxK6OHDZPqOrqPGrpw_bnOU9Np778UHIDDCQ6PvLMEg1tMjkmyU1UUhYQ2XKfdYi2-DD1KSdDKQ/s1600/Beetroot+%26+goats+cheese+salad.jpg"></a>We have enjoyed the fruits of my <a href="http://tinyurl.com/lwp2w3">sister's allotment</a> for quite a few years now. Both she and my brother-in-law work very hard to produce the most amazing vegetables. There really is nothing like growing your own for flavour and freshness.<br /><br />As Lynne has got a rather large allotment she suggested that we might like to take on a couple of plots and have a go at growing our own too. "You'll enjoy it" she said. "It will be fun" Mmmm.<br /><p>So, a couple of weeks ago, having bribed Tiny with a post-digging pint or two of foaming ale, we dug, weeded and prepared two plots and planted carrots, spring onions, beetroots and three types of beans: runner, climbing and dwarf. </p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489266195339745218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZCAKM_3KpZFQnEoTa7q_wo1CvDynUmzi7fLzpF6cr5gKrNhiuly5PqyBeDvMiSNoNu1kRWkfjSiIonu-gJXMtxqDrVDkIm-atzAqjJAuP5wt_cFmgkMaCeIR3MptE9l91W1hCXUzo8k/s400/Beets,+onions+%26+carrots.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 398px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 264px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489266185872822770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGBKW6rTixL9_WkLbAZW01Vw8KbuFYwxB5hBEkV7hw8U0211xWdk7e9d55C4mNhzRsreh4ILlV01djK3WvQSW6YGUnEGLkJX2NWB0xTCTidReZcbhEQuTOIiYleAN7BC8Wapym2Ry5uU/s400/Beetroots.jpg" /></p><p align="center">Three of my babies still in the nursery</p><p align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489266198881685538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXMHSe-9v5IthP7oi24_5pPu9DkFT5e8tg3D5Mlo1_N1cqGiWJkblIg2XDv7oiUPqAanj9wpT2B0LB9gZeBh1hxUQrznakdEQRGmdLQZBJxT7q49ha6JcITuq73fqzXhBc36Iyi6Mo2s/s400/1st+harvest.jpg" />I have to say, that harvesting our first beetroots and spring onions has been quite exciting (I don't get out much).</p><p align="left">Along with some of Lynne's broad beans, we decided to have our 'first born's' in a warm goats cheese salad. </p><p align="left">I roasted the beets and blanched and peeled the broad beans. I then fried up a few smoked bacon lardons, made a mustardy dressing and toasted some walnuts. Finally, I warmed the goats cheese in the oven until it was a bit oozy, then assembled the salad.</p><p align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490324797982871794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDRjxiPPW75z2QOqZ8pBYvzQ4YsyYvMsr6pzvEavSG5YMM5Ji47qQXN8d8vC6CY1Yt8iUjdVKrALQCBbEfVZOHHtsZ-8110CdNC2DCkON9KajnkmjzaDQVRcR0_fhThIiaw6wkf2a_Yg/s400/Beetroot+%26+goats+cheese+salad.jpg" /><br />It was delicious. The beetroots were sweet, the cheese unctuous and the bacon, well, there's nothing that bacon doesn't improve in my opinion.</p><p align="left">Lynne was right, the allotment is worth all the hard work. In fact going over on a sunny evening to water and weed is the perfect way to unwind. All you can hear are the birds singing, the other allotmenteers always smile and say hello and you go home with some really fresh veg for your dinner. </p><p align="left">I think I'm hooked.</p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-50561601997320233312010-05-01T13:38:00.013+01:002010-05-09T16:33:45.216+01:00Black, Belly & BubbleSkinny people or those afraid of fat look away now. There's nothing for you here.<br /><br /><br /><br />To explain the title: Black pudding, pork belly and bubble squeak. Three of my favourite things to eat. They are of course all low fat and form part of your 'five-a-day'..<br /><br /><br />The stuffed pork really kicked off the other two dishes. We were having a couple of friends round for dinner and I'd already got the belly in mind for main course, but wanted to do something a bit different. So, having got some Gloucester Old Spot sausage meat in the freezer, along with a large wodge of black pudding, it set me thinking that the combination of all three would be a winner.<br /><br />So, I made a stuffing by sauteing an onion in butter, added it to the sausage meat with seasoning, bit of sage and then crumbled in some of the black pudding. My trusty kitchen slave Tiny then stuffed the belly and neatly tied it up ready for the oven.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466984518287694370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzBz1TVqgDBPNVUep4tq7u32s8zPQzsy6VryXj7m1PZK08-Z7rXTu8oUblWgsHwftcOhQRR03oG8qAKdac47P3JslBRn6BAKUJcziQDwi_GjHwLd1MAyNXyG1bA2Nw0iVQfJ-4vgJoGM/s400/Stuffing+the+pork.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466987229122327266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpi6HPVtpscuZumVwRjyMmYu5tGBDqn3SYJPCJlRTU1IUjt-KWU2seINjzhD3sekOUNNlSa5VedMqqXLoajRTXXnGxi3Fi5TgitVmhKuKiaJsirVNHwIeX2iurwRg_ydcSP3QsVRjJnU/s400/Stuffed+belly.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466283365403568834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslZ4XCCesg3yQN8WIfCjg36AGouhBl9tX0jb_qzyN14ik0NAHyPDECtdXXIgf0mnSKVha28RHye-x5QKut-PCc99Dc6eaILCoxB_ECsfzuh280ClqerEHY_H4Q9u73PsqtoJIhFYtD3E/s400/Belly+%26+Black+pud.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p>It worked brilliantly. The stuffing was deeply savoury and matched really well with the soft, moist pig meat. It was porktastic.</p><p>Our porkiness knowing no limits, the next morning our thoughts turned to breakfast (well, brunch actually) and the left over stuffing. </p><p>Fried up with a couple of eggs it was shall we say 'hearty' or more accurately 'heart damaging'. But none the less extremley tasty.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLMyiq5uJf7pEg3Ef3LXNO3QUXp18NJsEdXyXZgPopvSXUopt-sHnuPHsHkX0LFVbiMrehks_6zrTSCaybkicZxAPPZ967W1otMSq-N0Sr6oYJDNHXnaQhzMRg-gGOVHP3nrV31OoiN4/s1600/Black+pudding+burger.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466283372057805778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLMyiq5uJf7pEg3Ef3LXNO3QUXp18NJsEdXyXZgPopvSXUopt-sHnuPHsHkX0LFVbiMrehks_6zrTSCaybkicZxAPPZ967W1otMSq-N0Sr6oYJDNHXnaQhzMRg-gGOVHP3nrV31OoiN4/s400/Black+pudding+burger.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469282489610686786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiAAEcVd0D45UJOMZ2hULTNmO8fToqsSKbl186_0DEEdnq8xIjOfgIx5PqtSansaODAjYEMmWcsIV7RHmDWeA_b1jRRpPrA4KGE33CKA-WlzmC7qEzVIbrtFbACraAhCDOknq30RwJwM/s400/Brekkie2.jpg" border="0" /><br />The porkfest doesn't exactly stop there, as there was the leftover stuffed belly to eat up. We didn't have it that night, as that would be too much wouldn't it? Would it? YES it would.</p><p>So, the next day, with cholesterol withdrawl, I topped us both up by making a nice big pan of bubble and squeak to accompany lovely thick slices of the pork. Even when cold, the pork and the stuffing was really good.</p><p>Right, back to the crispbreads and cottage cheese........</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI2gm3gIaeZZqJdoumXH4rNklNoHkmqOL2GMLRhydG0UYT8hI4xVUCFXYL53w6i6hj2RIgIUVOMhiAcBhMisHI3y9hz_lkLXYP0IWIKVWB8F9MTZDDorBuhGB7gRcV76a8DkvMHWn-PY/s1600/Pork+%26+bubble.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466282943631164034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI2gm3gIaeZZqJdoumXH4rNklNoHkmqOL2GMLRhydG0UYT8hI4xVUCFXYL53w6i6hj2RIgIUVOMhiAcBhMisHI3y9hz_lkLXYP0IWIKVWB8F9MTZDDorBuhGB7gRcV76a8DkvMHWn-PY/s400/Pork+%26+bubble.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-49064979542433850772010-04-04T19:21:00.005+01:002010-04-05T09:03:23.484+01:00Would you like to see my buns?<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkmPhjAPfAU6MnBbsAQIG_5LHTWsvcdkGsK4JXWGHpNkt4_pwt7Awyr0vslHUQRP1FlkAq_zMw8BNDBfobzJhTIXe4wUIcpEm4dqk8B8YLSLQPfYx6SO9FpBh1hj1WTVgl8tBAKCEjtA/s1600/Hot+cross+buns+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456351254493861346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkmPhjAPfAU6MnBbsAQIG_5LHTWsvcdkGsK4JXWGHpNkt4_pwt7Awyr0vslHUQRP1FlkAq_zMw8BNDBfobzJhTIXe4wUIcpEm4dqk8B8YLSLQPfYx6SO9FpBh1hj1WTVgl8tBAKCEjtA/s400/Hot+cross+buns+2.jpg" border="0" /></a> I have never made hot cross buns before. Strange but true. I suppose it's because there are such good quality ones out there. There are also, it has to be said some nasty, cheap ones which are doughy and contain very little fruit.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought it was time to have a go myself and obviously Easter was the time to make them. Well actually I made these a week before Easter and then made some more actually on Good Friday.<br /><br />For me, they have to be really fruity and full of spice, otherwise they're just buns, or small teacakes. They're basically bread dough enriched with an egg and some butter and obviously lots of mixed spice, cinnamon and dried fruit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEzwvzKrXLIGfrL9aPe9HBtZ72drq7Dn0KZBZiwBFt8HwiYX02Q5EJf2O2VJwtdlOSlALeaMwX_5fTBCCL1pKUhUUfw2rqB_j21xkq434I05bnb5VYe9Y_YkmVOZP5uGv5aknRZCnY-Q/s1600/Crossing+the+buns.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456349451974999714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEzwvzKrXLIGfrL9aPe9HBtZ72drq7Dn0KZBZiwBFt8HwiYX02Q5EJf2O2VJwtdlOSlALeaMwX_5fTBCCL1pKUhUUfw2rqB_j21xkq434I05bnb5VYe9Y_YkmVOZP5uGv5aknRZCnY-Q/s400/Crossing+the+buns.jpg" border="0" /></a> The 'cross' is very simple, it's just flour and water piped onto the risen buns before baking.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nUF1LfpVkDadgP0rFTwUoDiYBtIbGULyMUPDc9PoQGIE6UzlMaRkHn4HAWPM_YB5IAwJNSVKPQBfYby_aO_OpqvZfVFvB27Uuz0p2spaKfVyHmYPOj_lOpAKLoJaft2syrcrllHNyxk/s1600/Hot+cross+buns.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456349447635530482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nUF1LfpVkDadgP0rFTwUoDiYBtIbGULyMUPDc9PoQGIE6UzlMaRkHn4HAWPM_YB5IAwJNSVKPQBfYby_aO_OpqvZfVFvB27Uuz0p2spaKfVyHmYPOj_lOpAKLoJaft2syrcrllHNyxk/s400/Hot+cross+buns.jpg" border="0" /></a> After baking, a brushing of sugar syrup and hey presto, shiny, spicy, fruity buns.<br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456560879079920450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh549dblXvLjjAoG57Th5Z4_vKKPNdMM1VS7JKSLpD2l5-0D5b7XoCQDDbJet8QrKdYbOFe_gLKMWJZ02VPUCUjasZzHWuNBufo5uXYuj5fmJPysCoQp1dZ0LmabDOpIlh5zXlnXrAoGbE/s400/Buttered+bun.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-18303656433636616282010-02-03T17:23:00.004+00:002010-02-08T18:28:21.210+00:00Sausage Surprise<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujeDrbTW4NLI0fzyy4F3R2IqpCmHtvegweZJvxEx8bhgld2q1JO4TXl-1XwyqI8-cxpiYMTBSTIcWjPVmWbQ2Bpbx9TaDAAZUdu-73f2X-mJZhlV9WkfUBRaGGWNAmyJZNbGE8bU8FUQ/s1600-h/Ingredients.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434409357581115954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujeDrbTW4NLI0fzyy4F3R2IqpCmHtvegweZJvxEx8bhgld2q1JO4TXl-1XwyqI8-cxpiYMTBSTIcWjPVmWbQ2Bpbx9TaDAAZUdu-73f2X-mJZhlV9WkfUBRaGGWNAmyJZNbGE8bU8FUQ/s400/Ingredients.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>I love a good sausage. I'm a bit of a plain sausage girl - really good pork and a bit of herbage, leek if you must. None of your 'duck and cranberry' or 'lamb and apricot' thank you very much. This obviously doesn't include Toulouse or the lovely Italian sausages. I'm talking about a British banger.<br /><br />So, on a trip to the farm shop I surprised Tiny by arriving home with some venison sausages. They were big, plump and looked very meaty and I knew that it wasn't going to do them justice just having them with mash and fried onions. No, that would be wrong. I thought how about doing a sort of sausage bourguignon? lardons of smoked bacon, garlic, time, red wine, bit of chicken stock, garlic and finishing off with some sauteed mushrooms (couldn't be arsed to do the baby onions)</div><br /><br /><div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdM-ObRlvglcOCxUHmtFb3hJhG8Vm_UvQZYsqXDdbbOtDZFpp7xxhpsLnCNZJblWWqxgCOYXK4nP5VwXP4n206vfr58JC8i7LsoQFQRu8Xiq55iwTgNSqTz2iOudPE0ugA2Qee_LKw9Q/s1600-h/Venison+saus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427761201591136834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdM-ObRlvglcOCxUHmtFb3hJhG8Vm_UvQZYsqXDdbbOtDZFpp7xxhpsLnCNZJblWWqxgCOYXK4nP5VwXP4n206vfr58JC8i7LsoQFQRu8Xiq55iwTgNSqTz2iOudPE0ugA2Qee_LKw9Q/s400/Venison+saus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />With a big pile of mash they were superb. Big meaty sausages in a rich, garlicy, red wine gravy. Tiny's verdict? Apparently I can surprise him with a sausage any time I like.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES-xWUvt4Q421nr467V2vmLftJgrq2C-KrsKivVk45xwIlbUd8a343mz92LXyp1Fd8H7Bzdek06fp-QOLaKpIhnzIyfwqqDAM9VTMalHfuLJGd0_wtb3Iy0hEm1U_p-L9B5fltNHTRXA/s1600-h/Venison+Sausages.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427761198090855314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES-xWUvt4Q421nr467V2vmLftJgrq2C-KrsKivVk45xwIlbUd8a343mz92LXyp1Fd8H7Bzdek06fp-QOLaKpIhnzIyfwqqDAM9VTMalHfuLJGd0_wtb3Iy0hEm1U_p-L9B5fltNHTRXA/s400/Venison+Sausages.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-87302925647404122222010-01-06T15:46:00.010+00:002010-01-06T18:33:29.957+00:00An Ample Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_RQJG6-Eb3aBxRwdvh3Rw1sCqJssVuYuoRPc1Zd6dw5wyqxUFlJDCikiZdXxW_5kajW6powD9WLjE54IPqrobtlR8IlEFYw0tVLdSePOK7qjihLHHWziv3XfSDqiGwV4gwjBmiObEP8/s1600-h/Poinsettia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423666045074771682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_RQJG6-Eb3aBxRwdvh3Rw1sCqJssVuYuoRPc1Zd6dw5wyqxUFlJDCikiZdXxW_5kajW6powD9WLjE54IPqrobtlR8IlEFYw0tVLdSePOK7qjihLHHWziv3XfSDqiGwV4gwjBmiObEP8/s400/Poinsettia.jpg" border="0" /></a> December is a busy time for me and this year was no exception. Although 'kitchen fatigue' can set in, it doesn't diminish my enthusiasm for cooking our Christmas goodies.<br /><br />I'd already made the Christmas puddings, sloe gin and mincemeat a few months before, so it was time to do the fresh things.<br /><br />First up was a batch of fudge. This went down particularly well with my nieces. I don't think it made it past Christmas day evening actually.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjE-PeV9McrtzTuZ4daUs58mQHG1GuajgjKnHg79BLklMZ8bQVbeiVk9F6UsKUAwLFPrLvAu9TnkiHDu-cPiWVkpL2udySf1b5M93Z3evkg9cYceCDNIAh9RTt6GWdGARY6zzvu_8yjI/s1600-h/Fudge.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423666042188154834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjE-PeV9McrtzTuZ4daUs58mQHG1GuajgjKnHg79BLklMZ8bQVbeiVk9F6UsKUAwLFPrLvAu9TnkiHDu-cPiWVkpL2udySf1b5M93Z3evkg9cYceCDNIAh9RTt6GWdGARY6zzvu_8yjI/s400/Fudge.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDklIJZ68TT2u0nuGyeZ9PCNUAHE7Vx_ieG82AvT5vVtfQ_WGy1XMP_XN4ZiaTXJsWybJQ7lwOMyXD2ZQnHvsqOfqfJIbR03g-8I7S8X-IXY2E2u7Ed_KR9u7LiBV_MVwmUTggXg27K2U/s1600-h/Cheeseyfeet.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665849785707586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDklIJZ68TT2u0nuGyeZ9PCNUAHE7Vx_ieG82AvT5vVtfQ_WGy1XMP_XN4ZiaTXJsWybJQ7lwOMyXD2ZQnHvsqOfqfJIbR03g-8I7S8X-IXY2E2u7Ed_KR9u7LiBV_MVwmUTggXg27K2U/s400/Cheeseyfeet.jpg" border="0" /></a> Then some cheesy feet! They're quite amusing to serve with drinks. The recipe is from Nigella's 'Feast' book. Sad person that I am, I have in the past pressed sesame seeds into each foot for toenails. I can't believe I've just admitted to that. Oh well.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div>Then, it was time to prepare 'The Pie'. It's a tradition started by Tiny's family, to have a slice of this, with a glass of champagne on Christmas morning when you're opening your pressies. It's usually a combination of chicken, rabbit & pork, but I used some lovely free range turkey thighs instead of the chicken this year.<seeds> <div></div><div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUURZ6B03qUkTrJafOQV2w74lJj4Wd45eeh87FnltC0FFIg2fvF5l9Xub1aRW0YKJ5aliAkhj9GsIfqxkoTu64AezLAQJLl6fJVCDVdZTfKm41jdnF83bZQGTcEpdvlkyXQfBztb6RSdI/s1600-h/Poachers+Pie.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665841179915666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUURZ6B03qUkTrJafOQV2w74lJj4Wd45eeh87FnltC0FFIg2fvF5l9Xub1aRW0YKJ5aliAkhj9GsIfqxkoTu64AezLAQJLl6fJVCDVdZTfKm41jdnF83bZQGTcEpdvlkyXQfBztb6RSdI/s400/Poachers+Pie.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665843855102018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKVrxumXUJ-LPiyrt3IhjrzHJsu7Wq1U8Hvp0kUghlnId1bR_HIghSopT19EJbhR3JQiy0DBMiidYImO2WbByGWmjDSF0ujPr4RrrukNu2vbETLqpSI_C9vy0DP9aM-67gbuy1F_3OoU/s400/Xmas+Pie.jpg" border="0" />As we were obviously going to be tucking in to a fair amount of meat over the next few days we decided to have some fish on Christmas eve. We started with smoked salmon on crostini and then a warm salad of scallops wrapped in bacon. </div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GgQ-l_pUwNIHpY8qldiZRu209c0WPw6rqqmZ6fQonjsJbIV5OYLuZ-AOnTIhpBsjzczQmLVFhccuI4Bq5ACbKBUdXn_LITwFNJMw8Bbz8WEtBPARndk6015z1ruRDEreGgBAQhkSiZM/s1600-h/Crostini+3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665203360658098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GgQ-l_pUwNIHpY8qldiZRu209c0WPw6rqqmZ6fQonjsJbIV5OYLuZ-AOnTIhpBsjzczQmLVFhccuI4Bq5ACbKBUdXn_LITwFNJMw8Bbz8WEtBPARndk6015z1ruRDEreGgBAQhkSiZM/s400/Crostini+3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPN_agch6fK_TUU3BIsHVPQkxJ_crJJ4tWRut19L8sg8dTnAxNZoyhb2RffETSm4Ys6e-mnbz8HJVO2bLifcjsQNEx2YsRdixiYP16Q-IX-xDPl16yYr972Ec3V0eLbJbDnTCyfDWIMI/s1600-h/Scallops+%26+bacon.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665198620433154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPN_agch6fK_TUU3BIsHVPQkxJ_crJJ4tWRut19L8sg8dTnAxNZoyhb2RffETSm4Ys6e-mnbz8HJVO2bLifcjsQNEx2YsRdixiYP16Q-IX-xDPl16yYr972Ec3V0eLbJbDnTCyfDWIMI/s400/Scallops+%26+bacon.jpg" border="0" /></a> Christmas day was spent at my sister's, where we had roast turkey and all the trimmings. She also made a fantastic beef wellington as her Mother-in-law doesn't eat white meat (no trouble!) This was all rounded off with Christmas pud and then later on, although still full, we had some Christmas cake. </div><div><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXkiUJ5UvSEebHjpS2ozCYQJpoYOHr-zPnIYde8LQLz3F3vXND3BgZ4hZBcwEyYyCcKz_VJUbJd8FWfcB3uZWe6fBEMPy_zi2l5XMAyZdeJsqiOe3nYcK9tWFpN2Vm2ZH2_fq6z7A-9s/s1600-h/christmas%2520cake%2520005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423665195727206130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXkiUJ5UvSEebHjpS2ozCYQJpoYOHr-zPnIYde8LQLz3F3vXND3BgZ4hZBcwEyYyCcKz_VJUbJd8FWfcB3uZWe6fBEMPy_zi2l5XMAyZdeJsqiOe3nYcK9tWFpN2Vm2ZH2_fq6z7A-9s/s400/christmas%2520cake%2520005.jpg" border="0" /></a>Lynne's beautiful cake<br /><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div></div><div align="left">It was our turn to have the family over on the Sunday and it was to be a cold meat and pickle meal. I think we enjoy the cold meat meal over Christmas as much as we enjoy the roast on Christmas day.<br /><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div></div><div align="left">We didn't want to do just cold turkey or chicken so we planned to cook a sort of two-bird roast. I set my trusty kitchen Boy (Tiny) the task of preparing the wonderful beastie. He boned out a large free range chicken and then added a layer of pork, apricot & walnut stuffing, then added some boned turkey thigh and finished with a final layer of pork, bacon & chestnut stuffing.<br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb78HsXsq83eRTjLs4K2oUchFcEvr1e4Zcm4brvFlgW__kHNLGlvqsBBC7GuY5QL9ttFET9Mk3xcjJPMQTCJH6xEeYVKxFwUvspTvrKOzIg47skBSehI02M1dMoFWSBDcHt585vj6MZM/s1600-h/Xmas+bird.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423664543345207778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb78HsXsq83eRTjLs4K2oUchFcEvr1e4Zcm4brvFlgW__kHNLGlvqsBBC7GuY5QL9ttFET9Mk3xcjJPMQTCJH6xEeYVKxFwUvspTvrKOzIg47skBSehI02M1dMoFWSBDcHt585vj6MZM/s400/Xmas+bird.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">To go with it, I made a huge pan of bubble and squeak, some creamy mash, roast carrots and parsnips and braised red cabbage and apple. My sister is a vegetarian, so I made her a leek, cheddar & garlic mushroom tart. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThc9_iBTG8GNlHNv7wu7l9jEl5NZE_7GW4bDGQoFcNf56OWSB3aqv75VRjmJuHp_XjmlW3LNwJeInyVqQnCpHJebhan7j19Q7jT8SCwCXpZq1ttr3OyaSfFHDGlTUvMvKOCW0g5mRAzE/s1600-h/Butterscotch+%26+almond+pud.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423664540105708962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 328px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThc9_iBTG8GNlHNv7wu7l9jEl5NZE_7GW4bDGQoFcNf56OWSB3aqv75VRjmJuHp_XjmlW3LNwJeInyVqQnCpHJebhan7j19Q7jT8SCwCXpZq1ttr3OyaSfFHDGlTUvMvKOCW0g5mRAzE/s400/Butterscotch+%26+almond+pud.jpg" border="0" /></a>We finished off the meal with a choice of almond and toffee puddings with toffee sauce or apple & mincemeat crumble. Mr Creosote had nothing on us. </div><div><br />After a very long walk on the Monday we sat down to a much simpler meal of veg and lentil soup with chipolata sprinkles. I also made some poppy seed rolls. </div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagtwVf7sPQc18yN9UbgZVeok75kgJhPEx8IHjbC0AFjbrBY0ySXk6RGlvSXk8Ue-d4-ieCHv6KIRxNf52K19i2xa7GRdOsz-oKxDusONOilXG-xx8pMuoyI7JBUTWVK4-sxdp8XiIyDY/s1600-h/Soup+%26+chipolatas.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423664527953808594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagtwVf7sPQc18yN9UbgZVeok75kgJhPEx8IHjbC0AFjbrBY0ySXk6RGlvSXk8Ue-d4-ieCHv6KIRxNf52K19i2xa7GRdOsz-oKxDusONOilXG-xx8pMuoyI7JBUTWVK4-sxdp8XiIyDY/s400/Soup+%26+chipolatas.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijiAQ3snAr2RcrVFG6ZeugGLyGJFdpINY_6g4Yne_Ik3Bps3TXCp5Gyc411ivUKQ4q_xdWQt14v6POkIR0yXFC185S3zD_K3fCX7oeiN2wAv-NgXofAUX823rurCjjGAqJxTq-9vGOA0/s1600-h/Rolls.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423663776348250194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijiAQ3snAr2RcrVFG6ZeugGLyGJFdpINY_6g4Yne_Ik3Bps3TXCp5Gyc411ivUKQ4q_xdWQt14v6POkIR0yXFC185S3zD_K3fCX7oeiN2wAv-NgXofAUX823rurCjjGAqJxTq-9vGOA0/s400/Rolls.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Christmas over, it was like we blinked and suddenly it was New Year. Now, both being the grumpy 50 somethings that we are, we tend to stay in on New Year's eve. If you stay at home you don't have to try and get a taxi at 2am in the morning, you get something decent to eat and the booze is cheap. Told you we were grumpy. </div><div><br />We decided to have a 'grazing' evening to make coarse pork terrine a couple of days before NYE to enable it to develop its wonderful flavours. We also had some smoked salmon and a couple of cheeses and some fruit. Oh and copious amounts of fizz and wine.<br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ssu_Frs9ohJLhM_WzMFUwcdk4oVKVCLt5L9ZNLrKMhPgm3Il6Zz9ibVjDJp0M7P5gIGH-ODK87lHDaiWjakwtJugBHVnYfImRXKAsnwokwOLrNrwxIxPQFJYbJQJ35kpSb6u4n1RUxM/s1600-h/Terrine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423663774600774738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ssu_Frs9ohJLhM_WzMFUwcdk4oVKVCLt5L9ZNLrKMhPgm3Il6Zz9ibVjDJp0M7P5gIGH-ODK87lHDaiWjakwtJugBHVnYfImRXKAsnwokwOLrNrwxIxPQFJYbJQJ35kpSb6u4n1RUxM/s400/Terrine.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdVyHtEgxy1TpKDSElxRcyml8G4lGOnscLETdbS5-21D41SWdZw-sR-JCBTk_95q5TNm2rDL1fx0tRh6z75pl33ibloWgRi25ZRDjhPEMk1JSGkazD-WazdoyBqAmwz8x5B4J0e7xvGA/s1600-h/Terrine+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423663771825903218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdVyHtEgxy1TpKDSElxRcyml8G4lGOnscLETdbS5-21D41SWdZw-sR-JCBTk_95q5TNm2rDL1fx0tRh6z75pl33ibloWgRi25ZRDjhPEMk1JSGkazD-WazdoyBqAmwz8x5B4J0e7xvGA/s400/Terrine+2.jpg" border="0" /></a>So, any ideas why my jeans are feeling tight? I've tried convincing my self that they've shrunk in the wash and the sad thing is, I'm almost believing it.<br /><br />Happy New Year everyone, from Ample Cook Towers. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-33122103567810885832009-11-26T16:05:00.014+00:002009-12-04T16:05:04.878+00:00The Swan, Lavenham, Suffolk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gjpCCGLanzJQlwwPp6ktTYM8RejyzV4TTVZte6nhOO-rknCc3eNiQXoATxsyEe5sYIud_Px4od0Klf8hthWa7V7Qa56gq4PGjMALOS0dLs69r8pn4Vb4_fNfrHnlKmbQQF1Xe_DBQXo/s1600/Image_1125_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408450531188215570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gjpCCGLanzJQlwwPp6ktTYM8RejyzV4TTVZte6nhOO-rknCc3eNiQXoATxsyEe5sYIud_Px4od0Klf8hthWa7V7Qa56gq4PGjMALOS0dLs69r8pn4Vb4_fNfrHnlKmbQQF1Xe_DBQXo/s400/Image_1125_1.jpg" border="0" /></a> A few weeks ago I got a text from our friends asking if we were free on the 19th November as they were getting married What? in 3 weeks? Blimey. I must admit, congratulations weren't the first thing on my mind, but more selfishly, was I going to be able to find a new frock in that time?<br /><div><div><br /></div><div>Seriously it was great news and made even better because the wedding was going to be held at The Swan in Lavenham. Both The Swan and the village of Lavenham are lovely places. The last time were in Lavenham we stayed in a cottage for a long weekend for Tiny's birthday and had a wonderful time. </div><div><br /></div><p>On the day we drove up it was a lovely crisp sunny day. We arranged to meet a couple of friends in <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yzm32yj">The Angel </a>for lunch as the wedding wasn't until 3.30. I opted out of eating as I was conscious that I was going to have to be shoe-horned into my 'control tights' in an hour or so and therefore thought it best to abstain. The others tucked in though to sausages & mash, home cooked thickly sliced ham sandwiches and sausage, chorizo & bean stew - sorry no photos.</p><p>Then it was off to The Swan (all of 100yds away) to book in and begin getting ready. The Swan dates back to the 15th century and is a wonderful building, full of oak beams and inglenook fireplaces and is beautifully furnished.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411373015232786834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipa_4MrVwbOnFobbEBLO8BaCWWPd8L-cFGqRCB5ibjO7chdDAyW7bIt6DtyNkSMTC2DEaQMJR-RvwX5vlUPzQtXef1dFipnPmwrMO1WzC8kIAgfIfD43IehN7f4qtog3D4JxIa3nydWfY/s400/showpic2.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411383609040828754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2nreiSwVJUJWIJ3r2NbZ_7pe6wVTcMY_pTQ_KfNBMCVda4BSMEkqKCw09vfH0fZ4P5WIGFQjMWmTRumOqGeMro5dCVImLXgh__BXqY0EEYw_BJASk10Ld6lIg100TXWFoA2nNEQPu4Y/s400/Room.jpg" border="0" />Our room was very comfortable and had a huge bed - it was almost wider than I am tall. It's always a relief when we get to a hotel room and find that we have a king sized bed, because if it's a standard double Tiny's feet hang out of the bottom and get cold.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />Having scoffed one of the packets of complimentary biscuits between us (choc chip cookies if you're interested) we started getting changed. We both had new outfits and if I say so myself, we had scrubbed up rather well.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />The ceremony, although quite short, was lovely. There were only 30 of us which made it rather cosy and intimate. </div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411380951776136946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 202px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUn4Wdt1keB5UA5bXfWG_W5IcI6HYmwPfU1ZgPV5lPLMS7D7HOlBJC2gfSL6PbpLtzCBc4uCHgUpIwPOao_4mTL3PpgaP0_KEYIjgnddBHzvJXijq7gozcNIUYg0IaE9SbsRuzlCMvHc/s400/page_85_21.jpg" border="0" /><br />After the photos we made our way to the lounge, where seated on comfy sofas and with a log fire blazing, giving a lovely glow to the room and the guest's faces, we enjoyed champagne and canapes, which was rather civilised. <p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411363309200012018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGz2Y8Pkxz1_ES4-W02H_kmWKEgLDDpKtwq9DFbDjao6SN9SMs8-CjeqjwmAjE85rprC8RMHuwLjdWmgR_LyjFKpzeHzymrGASQbLv4XDvzISZjRohvvdUPY1hmz1LwzKYx84GnuDF4g/s400/Champagne.jpg" border="0" /></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcW1jl8noMh89uIC1x1XB01hsHmBiudWzjXMtL8mxpe9PVpo0bGie-pk7XVkf1Uyrr4z63ZLBypnAqkSipHAtSHz6lOd2TvDRW3zMWYnBCFwF8vdZk09oYUp6h940ZUbX1rSWK3wA1-6A/s1600/Table.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408450528697970450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcW1jl8noMh89uIC1x1XB01hsHmBiudWzjXMtL8mxpe9PVpo0bGie-pk7XVkf1Uyrr4z63ZLBypnAqkSipHAtSHz6lOd2TvDRW3zMWYnBCFwF8vdZk09oYUp6h940ZUbX1rSWK3wA1-6A/s400/Table.jpg" border="0" /></a>After quite a while of quaffing, nibbling and mingling we were beckoned through to dine. The room was bathed in candle light and the tables looked beautiful.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgZUt8ph0wG6O0JhSNmUDSA3teir4ioO72XCeigkqnsV5xWxLX9rlJNlzn5uibm8U5XR-30l1f_UpF2-8hAaTdgJqC8WBuNH-2O53v3IKCEIYCCoVqnAZmUkH8HBDziWyVbNWVfRrg7M/s1600/Candlestick.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408450523370123346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgZUt8ph0wG6O0JhSNmUDSA3teir4ioO72XCeigkqnsV5xWxLX9rlJNlzn5uibm8U5XR-30l1f_UpF2-8hAaTdgJqC8WBuNH-2O53v3IKCEIYCCoVqnAZmUkH8HBDziWyVbNWVfRrg7M/s400/Candlestick.jpg" border="0" /></a> The meal was excellent. We started with chicken and roasted pepper terrine, which was moist, well seasoned and very tasty.</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwrn3JEJ4W-Nt0Wz1V3nX_xTkwHvZgk3W3vz0BkxNp7EBG7HJ4Lk_pXbOY1soJqpObQOHns6YI7cm2p-CQfP4-YsG4Bu-V6lSvH_HleXUtjV12En8ZctM3MN6ldnfpL9OLmHJ31TGW1k/s1600/Terrine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408449960381072530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwrn3JEJ4W-Nt0Wz1V3nX_xTkwHvZgk3W3vz0BkxNp7EBG7HJ4Lk_pXbOY1soJqpObQOHns6YI7cm2p-CQfP4-YsG4Bu-V6lSvH_HleXUtjV12En8ZctM3MN6ldnfpL9OLmHJ31TGW1k/s400/Terrine.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzLvUguU-O7cGZ85-UyO4pmy0O5XPDEjeDMwN8mv8hhgzJi2mW9FFu9zYHDggE77RvsPzwyVGl-w_5Szx3RrWgbNPVy_hN5YE7ycPncts30Bq3-EZzZMCw3zLWcskQzZn4ja8wCtqiYw/s1600/Lamb.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408449955499601058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzLvUguU-O7cGZ85-UyO4pmy0O5XPDEjeDMwN8mv8hhgzJi2mW9FFu9zYHDggE77RvsPzwyVGl-w_5Szx3RrWgbNPVy_hN5YE7ycPncts30Bq3-EZzZMCw3zLWcskQzZn4ja8wCtqiYw/s400/Lamb.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>The main course of roasted rump of lamb, ratatouille and dauphinoise potato was equally as good. The lamb was tender and cooked to perfection and the dauphinoise was creamy, garlicky and unctuous and the ratatouille still had texture and wasn't too tomatoey.</div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-SuqMAkk7w5H9bzIJXIrMN58Zn3FT5esVrQP5smscXgGvbOtNNI4v7jN9DPIruOGZwzr_X0eoX7khvXF5Ffe-KA43W8FO131rKvf_nODilkA4_zbDhnieDyv0TLX0hjYPjggcgNfJJU/s1600/Tart.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408449946818698434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-SuqMAkk7w5H9bzIJXIrMN58Zn3FT5esVrQP5smscXgGvbOtNNI4v7jN9DPIruOGZwzr_X0eoX7khvXF5Ffe-KA43W8FO131rKvf_nODilkA4_zbDhnieDyv0TLX0hjYPjggcgNfJJU/s400/Tart.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The meal was rounded off with a lemon tart and raspberry sorbet which I didn't feel belonged together. Having said that, they were both extremely good. Lovely crisp pastry on the tart and the sorbet was bursting with flavour and not overly sweet. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />After more drinks and some witty and touching speeches we relaxed over coffee in the lounge. Feeling very full, slightly squiffed and happy we weebled up to bed having had a lovely afternoon and evening. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />I thoroughly recommend the Swan. The food, the rooms and the attentiveness of the staff made the occasion very special.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />Just one thing though, if you're tall you might find the hotel a little challenging - as Tiny did.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BV52WQuUB3dkZuMRjOl75dT0tz9AhfFCOeCVjgI-u93uG4d5wn42V9JDOqA9UHSj0qEoxK8GQepQgCD7Vva5Y88HQg7d6OML-ocIjI8kxfc3kH3B4pPHAlA5PDGJ7PwDhoSqhVMW4yU/s1600/Tiny.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408449937543032610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BV52WQuUB3dkZuMRjOl75dT0tz9AhfFCOeCVjgI-u93uG4d5wn42V9JDOqA9UHSj0qEoxK8GQepQgCD7Vva5Y88HQg7d6OML-ocIjI8kxfc3kH3B4pPHAlA5PDGJ7PwDhoSqhVMW4yU/s400/Tiny.jpg" border="0" /></a>The reason the photo is blurred is because I was laughing. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br />The Swan Hotel</div><div align="center">Lavenham</div><div align="center">Suffolk</div><div align="center">CO10 9QA </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk/">http://www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk/</a> </div></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-34185044974680885002009-11-20T17:15:00.021+00:002009-11-26T12:02:47.587+00:00The Crown Prince and the naked pumpkin<div align="left">I think of the seasons in terms of food. I love Autumn because it's the time of year for my favourite foods: casseroles, stews, pot roasts, root veg and hearty soups. Comfort food I suppose. To me it's the mash & gravy season.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br />As regular readers of this blog will know, I am extremely lucky to be on the receiving end of my sister's hard work on her allotment. During the Summer we had <a href="http://tinyurl.com/lwp2w3">no end of goodies</a>. And now Autumn is here I've been taking delivery of leeks, parsnips, onions and some smashing pumpkins (weren't they a band in the 90s?)</div><br /><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408378230259447266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmN6wwRQxCKiN3DRz66sADiHPllFvrKhx8tUIA_Snx-Oxy9P9caANLBPJBNoqXRbQ4kIWjtV33jKW0nLU3SBcQf5IRyomQyBKRM_Av-bpx3syWT3FGXHS6xeKlYuqQLICYUw1jVEhTYA/s400/006.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408004576946475938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBWWDBxn657GS2QxNqKjy3p06goHIqjW2hcDhCUgM8QFmLLbRlWQCuN9fVX4rn1xl7Wq72qMnjSPge8TobPaTRz-m3D3KF0kUASAi_YnQyYBQEHI8rGAy7aaljQZ43czUJZFAZlACTF0/s400/pumpkins+crown+prince+001.JPG" border="0" />These plump beauties are a variety called Crown Prince. Their extremely tough, light grey exterior, is such a contrast to their bright orange flesh. They're fantastic just roasted with a little oil and butter, salt and pepper and served as a veg accompaniment, but they make the most wonderful soup. It's like you've liquidised an orange velvet cushion. It's so silky, warm and comforting. The recipe I use is from a very old Covent Garden Soup cook book, which my sister bought for me years ago. <span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;">(Recipe below)</span><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407646830322008354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9m_PTACfzpE0F4QnAjpAizdCjau7i1KQrLZCMP49cKBINBTLYPA_KStp7YRD16OyBlmdN36hkXQvjHvUgp6CrpYkJMoNsq8bHqlRUQtd7Zoo81BIn1DI5RiZMto67k4USGLalKVzIb8/s400/Pumpkin+soup.jpg" border="0" /><br />The other variety that she's been growing is a 'naked seed' variety. Now, a naked seed pumpkin means that the seeds lack the slightly tough husk that other pumpkins have, therefore they're much nicer to eat.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiR5YPQcJp3Mz02iijHZipm6SWQqmsalQdfyM_uRQLNZ7dj9wjJnBAMwazo-6M9RRqRUIKaF2rdswdIyodcj2owbriWe3djr8mmmJeIhkqpyswelakw_lrTw910_FJ54vZZad3isKI9Y/s1600/Pumpkin2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407647407333254514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiR5YPQcJp3Mz02iijHZipm6SWQqmsalQdfyM_uRQLNZ7dj9wjJnBAMwazo-6M9RRqRUIKaF2rdswdIyodcj2owbriWe3djr8mmmJeIhkqpyswelakw_lrTw910_FJ54vZZad3isKI9Y/s400/Pumpkin2.jpg" border="0" /></a> This gnarly 'naked' brute is a variety called Lady Godiva (great name eh?) It really is only good for its seeds as the flesh is quite tasteless. </p><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7liPy31LEUKWKk__qTK6j9sjQ01QKMUXRkJYRntGjGtE3SCmiHoYNKJiSR5lmgHmG_eRaFpOfLbFKIe4nnw4E1xnSIMZg9UV69RwVsDygWsuVnAWeSGw3vBwKC2igQb-WVsntXSWu89w/s1600/Pumpkin+seeds.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407646840271309010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7liPy31LEUKWKk__qTK6j9sjQ01QKMUXRkJYRntGjGtE3SCmiHoYNKJiSR5lmgHmG_eRaFpOfLbFKIe4nnw4E1xnSIMZg9UV69RwVsDygWsuVnAWeSGw3vBwKC2igQb-WVsntXSWu89w/s400/Pumpkin+seeds.jpg" border="0" /></a> And here they are. Aren't they gorgeous? Silky, pearly little critters - like little legless green beetles. </div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="left">Once they're out of the pumpkin you just dry them off and roast them. You can obviously leave it there, but after roasting I ground up some celery seed, rock salt black pepper and chilli and mixed it into the seeds. They were delicious on top of the soup, but they are great to just nibble (terribly healthy)<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408362359545858146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8__h-o8N9NHxbNbsEpqUHM9YOIFUE27puKYE7JYvirks7Fl6MGNKqQWSovK8yD41r-0hRqaaz7MakX3mr3ex9CiNrrUTN-OuY-VCsZhxpN3EdV-UMiXC5VvipC1LqFsJqWsGWXVEyuy0/s400/Toasted+seeds.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408362356326375778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqahofea71wMKc_4Zt71SK_634J0TRLt6esKRXPtYZI2u0kLwydicd4cnVaDexSGgil1UUd43B1f1DoH4OYYOHSB2RriLJmVl12uB-5XoKrJVvNMLp9bQb_q_FZI4G9Hwh5UzTpYQZXA/s400/044.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">One of the baby pumpkins still in the nursery aaaaah.<br /></p><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408362365269364178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQ80dW_zVCfGE0evVxxPD_9lDDS0gEfZlZXZiHj6IsqTI5msEqsx404IybJnrIh0sxBdK0XV9k4n5hV5Kwa-CDP2m8CXWhOLdrlJsv6w8z1AAu5jo9i9_32ansri-p9eK8Cu-CeWXlPc/s400/Harvest.JPG" border="0" />Some of the older ones having a little go on the trampoline </p><br /><p align="center"></p><br /><p align="center">Pumpkin Soup<br /></p><br /><p align="center">25g (1oz) butter<br />1 medium onion, finely chopped<br />200g (7oz) potatoes, peeled and chopped<br />900g (2lb) pumpkin, diced<br />250g (9oz) carrots, diced<br />1.2l (2 pints) vegetable stock<br />150ml (1/4 pint) milk<br />demerera sugar to taste<br />finely grated nutmeg to taste<br />salt and freshly ground black pepper </p><br /><p align="left">Melt the butter and cook the onion gently for 5 minutes in a covered saucepan, without colouring. Add the potato, 700g (1 1/2 lb) of the pumpkin, the carrots and the vegetable stock. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Cool a little, then puree in a liquidiser. Return to a clean saucepan and stir in the milk. Meanwhile, add the remaining pumpkin to a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and add to the pureed soup. Add the sugar, nutmeg and seasoning to taste.<br /></p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-48416750881870556302009-10-18T08:32:00.007+01:002009-10-24T09:18:30.150+01:00A Sloe afternoon<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnHY3P1WztoHKh5-boUR7NxaA9YlfGuO3fIeCQUH7zk8jNSKZcbuGwGPTs4CygxjKwN7LUiyBEQqey4duKhHmHUd6LzLKB8PdzUGqNYGZ7fsDPoXOtmkjx0NlhTVGLM55F_HPOMCZZVU/s1600-h/Sloe+bush.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395086287461435298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnHY3P1WztoHKh5-boUR7NxaA9YlfGuO3fIeCQUH7zk8jNSKZcbuGwGPTs4CygxjKwN7LUiyBEQqey4duKhHmHUd6LzLKB8PdzUGqNYGZ7fsDPoXOtmkjx0NlhTVGLM55F_HPOMCZZVU/s400/Sloe+bush.jpg" border="0" /></a>Every year around about the end of September Mr AC and I go sloe picking. You have to wait until the fruit has a 'bloom' on it - which means that the little black berries take on a sort of opaque bluishness. NEVER eat one. They're so sour they'll draw your bum up to your elbows (as my Father-in-law used to so eloquently say).<br /><br />Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn bush. Thorn indeed, the branches are covered in incredibly sharp and vicious ones. When we've finished picking our arms look like we've been self-harming.<br /><br />So why do we do this? Sloe gin of course! (and sometimes vodka). Firstly the berries should be individually pricked with a needle or a fork, but as this is incredibly tedious, we just pop them into the freezer for a day or so, then when you defrost them they 'break down' a little bit all by themselves and they're then in a perfect state to release their flavour and their fantastic colour. Then, you just add gin and sugar, shake the contents up every so often and three months later (coincides nicely with Christmas ha ha!) you strain the gin through some muslin and there you are. We usually make enough to give some away as gifts.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395076551422888786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD6ezzg5EQf2dBksXSeEei4QDtkqg66JM1gQ6IlDZysHkIfbpngCjhnAcv-NKvdmWFzd-IrxgHhdd2A9Ib5yJPbOpTSDSdsTtp2MqgejP1t_TEE5zCBww_Fy7UnqI0_CRrHWesF7KjYY/s320/Sloe+gin.jpg" border="0" />However, this is not all we make from these blue/black little devils. Combined with some cooking apples and sugar they make a fantastic jelly.</p><p>You just simmer equal quantities of sloes and bramley apples with some water until they're really soft. You then need to separate the clear juice from the fruit pulp.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCXWbOzzOtLLu7NZMbPiIk47Sq0VJFkbCF4RRQ_6bcDcrNxgGQBQJxqV0v3szfhqYajljXaE0xxBD2h45554YcloXNs0FP6RR9G8fWldLunoiwmamDhbb1XCGZRdvmO1FZWrf41DcA6A/s1600-h/Apple+%26+sloes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395076553764690370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCXWbOzzOtLLu7NZMbPiIk47Sq0VJFkbCF4RRQ_6bcDcrNxgGQBQJxqV0v3szfhqYajljXaE0xxBD2h45554YcloXNs0FP6RR9G8fWldLunoiwmamDhbb1XCGZRdvmO1FZWrf41DcA6A/s320/Apple+%26+sloes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />So, to do this, first sterilise an elephant's condom..........<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PpdvxZb-YsOD2IWLq211n4x_oEwo7ZJg5SEhXl9k0Ug1I7HX2uF2zEQKc9xFOJByU114Dj1E9CJYQTPgvRaQU6uj8gX32oZpDmSa4eVpQXI8EjyKFH1ezFl6LtGZeoTQ8-s25hfN7xQ/s1600-h/Elephant's+condom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395076550434090354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PpdvxZb-YsOD2IWLq211n4x_oEwo7ZJg5SEhXl9k0Ug1I7HX2uF2zEQKc9xFOJByU114Dj1E9CJYQTPgvRaQU6uj8gX32oZpDmSa4eVpQXI8EjyKFH1ezFl6LtGZeoTQ8-s25hfN7xQ/s320/Elephant's+condom.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Only joking, it's a jelly bag!! It fits over a metal frame/stand thingy (which tends to collapse while you're trying to stretch it over). When it's finally in place, you just dollop in the fruity mixture and leave it to drip into the bowl below. One important thing to remember is NOT to squeeze your bag (ooh matron) as this makes the jelly go cloudy.<br /></div><div align="left"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVPzj-NtTNi8vOrrEoInrEaQLiqxfHr38wU8DPVLWWEqH80i-SiZpuc5chhQGL8ZRRXN6e9tuwgIRUYxX7FXnSh7u-273NGrGH6hmTcJP5_v_poGm8tc2ji1KjYDlaTnSC09D8FOaNU8/s1600-h/Jelly+bag.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395075740278617394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVPzj-NtTNi8vOrrEoInrEaQLiqxfHr38wU8DPVLWWEqH80i-SiZpuc5chhQGL8ZRRXN6e9tuwgIRUYxX7FXnSh7u-273NGrGH6hmTcJP5_v_poGm8tc2ji1KjYDlaTnSC09D8FOaNU8/s320/Jelly+bag.jpg" border="0" /></a> When all of the juice has dripped through, you just add sugar (1 pint of juice to 1½ lbs of sugar) and boil it in the same way that you would when making jam. The crimson coloured juice then turns a much darker, almost black coloured jelly.</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZniMg0490fTHaYyEaPl8SZoEmMwRQxHeRpw3i_KmzAr_ay-cgz0dENkp5jh-uCCO3xl4ViVh8QReLGqUjIYmft0yCtNCegXdxUauMxf2l6mM8-frQJgawV_Wdfy4AjPsx4JVaCqxwLQs/s1600-h/Sloe+%26+Bramley.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395075739337137714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZniMg0490fTHaYyEaPl8SZoEmMwRQxHeRpw3i_KmzAr_ay-cgz0dENkp5jh-uCCO3xl4ViVh8QReLGqUjIYmft0yCtNCegXdxUauMxf2l6mM8-frQJgawV_Wdfy4AjPsx4JVaCqxwLQs/s320/Sloe+%26+Bramley.jpg" border="0" /></a>The flavour it develops is not unlike a full bodied, tannin rich red wine. It keeps its fruity flavour, but it leaves a lovely dryness in your mouth and I think it is perfect with white meats. In fact we always have it with our Christmas turkey and pork.</div><div> </div><div>Last weekend though we ate it with some chicken breasts that I stuffed with black pudding and wrapped in bacon. The combination of flavours worked really well.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhy4uCUZUU32_ZpDKTHnQkTyqpG9IcG79AQOzs9SqOSUqoDPYleDsgxgjKsRs8nGzj-AUmTU9KLSHCtLoGEu_9yn409UMW8OgNehRxegvtGswLz_gRSmsSQXyok4BjJF3iEUtvJ2-GzU/s1600-h/Chick,+bpud+%26+jelly.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395075733367683810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhy4uCUZUU32_ZpDKTHnQkTyqpG9IcG79AQOzs9SqOSUqoDPYleDsgxgjKsRs8nGzj-AUmTU9KLSHCtLoGEu_9yn409UMW8OgNehRxegvtGswLz_gRSmsSQXyok4BjJF3iEUtvJ2-GzU/s320/Chick,+bpud+%26+jelly.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-69540259850752932772009-10-15T18:29:00.003+01:002009-10-15T18:53:55.836+01:00Down the panA change of scene for this blog, for 'tis I, Tiny, 'guest blogging'. The Ample Cook was uncertain how to tackle this one so neatly sidestepped and before I knew it the laptop was on my lap. The keener eyed amongst you may notice there has been a slight delay in publishing and there are no photos– this will all be explained further on.<br /><br />The subject of this blog is the <a href="http://www.toulouserestaurant.co.uk/">Toulouse Restaurant </a>in Southend-on-Sea. We had heard mixed reviews from fellow foodies so the opportunity to go with a confirmed supporter gave us the opportunity to make up our own minds. Toulouse is housed in a converted public convenience (two loos, geddit?) on Southend's seafront, away from the gaudy amusements thankfully, with views across the estuary to the twinkling lights of Kent (if you ignore the burger shack dead opposite!). Presided over by Stephane Bailhe, ex-proprietor of Stefans Restaurant, Toulouse opened with the obligatory open kitchen, slick web-site with the arty quotes from the chef proprietor, and minimalist design that passes for 'London chic'. It should be said at this point that we had enjoyed a couple of cracking meals at Stefans so we hoped for an enjoyable evening of French-based food.<br /><br />The evening started well as the welcoming maitre d' guided us to join our friend who was already in residence sipping a glass of prosecco with a selection of olives. AC decided to follow suit with the prosecco whilst I plumped for a G&T choosing Bombay Sapphire over Tanqueray. The drinks arrived with no further olives and my G&T was premixed – not impressed, I like to control how much tonic I add to my gin. Still, lots of catching up to do with our friend and an interesting menu to peruse.<br /><br />Having made our choices we were shown to our table, just near enough to the open kitchen to be able to see what was going on without suffering too much from the noise, perfect for nosey buggers like us. A bottle of Shiraz and a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc were dispensed by the waitress along with a glass of soda water. Is it me, or is £2 a lot for a glass of soda water?<br />Starters arrived, in order of acceptability: crab, and prawn fishcakes with red mullet beignet, salad and oriental dressing; duck terrine with orange chutney and toasted brioche; and caramelised onion and stilton tart with wild roquette. Our friend's fishcakes were made from minced fish, negating the ability to identify any of the ingredients which is probably just as well as the oriental dressing clashed badly with the bland fishcake. On the positive side, the red mullet was deemed 'delicious', the overall dish just seemed ill-concieved. My terrine was of a strange, slimy, texture with a distinct lack of taste and little sign of the slices of duck breast the maitre d' had waxed so lyrically about, whilst the chutney consisted of primarily of hard pieces of orange peel. The single slice of brioche was out of all proportion to the amount of terrine served. These two dishes were off the 'Daily Specials' menu, whilst the AC's dish was off the a la carte.<br />The onion tart had a number of issues: the pastry was so overcooked that approaching it with a fork turned it into space dust; the onions were undercooked to the point that the coarser pieces were stil hard; the stilton was virtually non-existent (which may be just as well considering the state of the cheese board!); but the 'wild roquette' was just what it said on the menu. The AC politely pointed out these shortcomings to the waitress and just as she was gaining momentum it became obvious that our fellow diner didn't have quite the appetite for complaint that we have. We'd already vetoed the idea of taking photos due to the 'embarrassment' factor!<br /><br />On to the main courses. The two ladies chose Honey roasted Breast of Gressingham Duck, Confit of Leg, Potato and Spring Cabbage Cake, Cider Jus and both professed themselves happy with their choice. If we were being picky (which of course you are now expecting) the potato and spring cabbage cake was too wet and lacking in cabbage but the duck and the jus were just right. I chose the Cassoulet Toulousain – just the name conjured up visions of crispy skin yet soft meat of duck confit with a garlicky robust sausage and pieces of slow cooked belly pork nestling amongst unctuous tomatoey beans flavoured with just a hint of thyme. So what did I get? Insipid bean mush with a sausage that had no texture or discernible taste, and a duck leg that was tough and showed very little signs of being confited – I suspect it had just been slow braised. Disappointed would be an understatement! How can a restaurant have a perfectly adequate piece of confit duck on one dish yet get it so wrong on another. I tasted the AC's piece and it was a totally different experience.<br /><br />The ladies chose to forgo dessert (one was full and the other just wanted to escape!) so it was left to me to give Toulouse a chance to redeem itself. In a French restaurant, what can be nicer than the cheeeseboard to round off the meal. Well, in this case, just about anything would have been better. The trolley had a large number of very sorry looking pieces of cheese and I was hard pushed to choose four that I hoped would eat better than they looked. I was, of course, wrong. They were universally rubbish with the pride of place going to the Roquefort which managed to be acidic, harsh and wet. Call me old-fashioned but I like a Digestive biscuit with my cheese but there were none to be had, plus there was only one Hovis cracker left in the stale Jacobs cracker selection. Only to be expected really! By now the AC and I were laughing at the absurdity of the evening only for it to reach new heights – the cheese was served in a shallow dessert bowl. When the AC asked why, the waitress, without a hint of irony explained they hadn't any clean side plates! If she had bothered to look around the restaurant there were empty tables, fully set as they had remained unused all evening, complete with side plates.<br /><br />We called for the bill, and after a discussion with the maitre d' the AC's starter was removed but we still ended up paying the best part of £150 for a fairly awful meal. We were going to blog the meal anyway but didn't want to do a hatchet job, so I contacted the restaurant outlining the exoperience we had 'enjoyed' and inviting their comments and to the Chef's credit he came back to me with his views, some of which I found a little puzzling, so I sent another email to which I didn't get a reply.<br /><br />The best comment he made was “As for the dishes served that night, most of them are removed from the menu and I am back to the drawing board to improve them”. If he knew they were sun-standard, why did he let them out of the kitchen and, more importantly, why was he happy to charge punters for them? Having watched Stephane in the kitchen, perhaps 'happy' isn't a description that sits easily on his shoulders!<br /><a name="PageElt"></a><br />His explanation of the cassoulet was also intriguing: “The Cassoulet in southwest France is a bit like roast dinner in England; every family have they own recipes and interpretations. The dish was designed by peasants to cook slowly all ingredients in one pot over the fire while they were working in the fields. Almost anything was placed in the pot with addition of “haricots blanc” and water. I am sorry that my version did not meet your expectations”. I have never eaten such a poor cassoulet and every recipe I have read fails to mention 'cook the beans until they are a mush, then throw in a bit of tough old duck and a Tesco's sausage' – perhaps I'm wrong? It was how I imagine those cheap tins you see in French supermarkets would be.<br /><br />So, am I going to take up Stephane's offer of “I will be very happy to cater for you and your guests to better standards”? I'm sorry but no. I object to being charged £2 for a glass of soda water, disagree with the practice of charging £3 for a side order of a single vegetable, and, above all, do not go back to a restaurant where I had an awful meal on the promise that they will be better next time! It's a shame that, in an area where there is a marked lack of good places to eat, we have yet another restaurant in the area that has the look and prices of a London venue but without the quality of food to back it up. Given the choice, would you rather spend £48 on the set lunch at Le Gavroche or a meal at Toulouse? No contest I'm afraid.<br /><br />“All fur coat and no knickers” as my mother would say!The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-23703285012580110472009-10-09T15:20:00.001+01:002009-10-09T16:24:52.799+01:00Tatty bye tommys<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvqlwDoIE8JbMQi5v1shloZ_dvOQCybbAFXauee5IpACFLZpkH98od-eU3SAvt6i9UZX8E5OL7kImMHA37VRxtXJG36SHnVZGGQANmo8GTXpllyhvE5jlrHPRpARcF_1J8uqN9xaYqsE/s1600-h/Toms.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388770031018038786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvqlwDoIE8JbMQi5v1shloZ_dvOQCybbAFXauee5IpACFLZpkH98od-eU3SAvt6i9UZX8E5OL7kImMHA37VRxtXJG36SHnVZGGQANmo8GTXpllyhvE5jlrHPRpARcF_1J8uqN9xaYqsE/s400/Toms.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOukzknXIsfs_0X9RJleV6VeX4tc2NXAYHRZ9ftTGvzY99NPyy83ox8fnICJ5IUZr7Yq88JmMP5Ugkp_n-oVMYmK4wrNpQPHm_ONUAa6gLvR0ufn4n8GpE074hcGZ1SVCAiEzK7VaFlcc/s1600-h/Tommys.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388769648729934642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOukzknXIsfs_0X9RJleV6VeX4tc2NXAYHRZ9ftTGvzY99NPyy83ox8fnICJ5IUZr7Yq88JmMP5Ugkp_n-oVMYmK4wrNpQPHm_ONUAa6gLvR0ufn4n8GpE074hcGZ1SVCAiEzK7VaFlcc/s400/Tommys.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I adore tomatoes, so it's always a sad day at Ample Cook Towers, when the tomato plants are pulled up. This year we have had a huge crop. Mind you we did plant 25 of the buggers, which I know is a lot, but it then allows me to make provision for the long dark tomatoless months.</div><br /><div>Some of them have already been turned into hot, sweet tomato relish (Yes <a href="http://essexeating.blogspot.com/">Dan</a>, there's a jar with your name on it). </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390559050546622930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mvJwLHTqZfPr_C012XmTcZOXMBuubh9gJaNJCZChwOj6RpkY5YmuzqVHHarJ0Yt-HvpDzbGj0aYBWi9FzFKTlWpYT_TI6AzUJ1VQzEu2kAYFH1Jr1X4tNGSlSxT4Z0TYKA4Gpbo7TM4/s400/Hot+%26+sweet+tom.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyyTq4DWtwT2w0RepaUBPwIBwndPat2mrjY_YfrBb9aWIPAXyYyKCFTrw4hrZUHAfsy8CxghKqF4_KT4O8eHmgXAT2teoLAeybgTKnMCWU7R1GbohNlmc69qRJycpzB48ue4-ST5q9EU/s1600-h/Tommies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385040128304993986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyyTq4DWtwT2w0RepaUBPwIBwndPat2mrjY_YfrBb9aWIPAXyYyKCFTrw4hrZUHAfsy8CxghKqF4_KT4O8eHmgXAT2teoLAeybgTKnMCWU7R1GbohNlmc69qRJycpzB48ue4-ST5q9EU/s400/Tommies.jpg" border="0" /></a>The majority of them however have been turned into passata using our trusty 'mouli'. It's brilliant, you either roast the tomatoes or simmer them until they're soft, then the mouli sieves them and leaves all of the skin and pips behind ta dah! It's brilliant.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385044660945150866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqn2yK6GYV448kam-Y5SVfYBpWwmkwEdPIpFovo1k0GYJIFCSlrKxtYLskCSVqdq8CQjJPmnjspzXViXySmFK_XiKvZbmZU0v9U9JnL9_IIqhvK3TeckfX3kt1DCUaBZLFNpFQjEHnbo/s400/Mouli.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385044667659800690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xoQHVo5L8O_qoI-Ml2EFLzz2ak3lV1TakNKtBtXVOoAyli1LJcD9CEl43pBPpLJokZxgL_kFOatITHPyVurb97W4CDpnUpiUZUoRLUAj7MhKa0ynaUNPM6zmrTIN3ezn6VKBQndUU0Q/s400/Passata.jpg" border="0" />It's then frozen into portions ready for pasta sauces, pizza bases etc. Here's a pizza we made on Saturday. If it's for a pizza I just simmer a portion of the passata down until it's a bit thicker. </div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390559059916795810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Yy4wv8aPJ6OFFBqZzKX2gxOIXbzUh7I0aTDKn8Xhsl5BlNheEMBNerr62VAXF7KELQghvDAuUmK0IrOCz4k9j9v_IqMhyphenhyphen27nsEnIsvIfUcvK1tkygLlW0vTC_t10B8uLQHG_o1wRfM4/s400/Pizza.jpg" border="0" /></div></div><br />Here are next year's babies. They're tomato seeds that I've extracted, soaking in water to remove the gel-like stuff, then they'll be dried and planted next year.<br /><br />Actually that's not true, it all starts with a Mummy and a Daddy tomato. They have to kiss lots and rub each others vines until a pip is squeezed out, the Mummy then swells up and ripens and that's how you get tomatoes. It's true.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390617593809464546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUmNNIePNk8KNX71ENN_B0sqUEFFLp5_fp9J0YMgcxgS61O5LE2dOQRnARt_W9sFPTFkZ8DCS76nWwBJnoxnAFT3XTW1iLrsc6dCcFicZ699FS5wyOGLE877Co-vYi1Ry2RoaOTOyeaI/s320/Tommy+babies.jpg" border="0" />The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-35558843561224568492009-09-24T20:06:00.027+01:002009-10-05T18:10:14.492+01:00The Ample Cook is 50<div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385113430707086306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn3zgSX1jkm5zy3ihsUwummWh0wapA1bXHz8CcxyMKL4ko9Bv_xIoTLsOg2w6lryAi_SuIIs6ITJ8F6Gw-FvtZV3zI29NXhyphenhyphenr3tDxwlMcpaj22QiyIlAbDoGtkVckJe-KRiyUf94kNnw/s400/DSC00692.JPG" border="0" /> I was a happy baby </div><div align="center">(The photographer must have been waving a pie)</div><div align="center">(1959)</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389140966829110994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVmM4vzZQbC9W48kbk1pF2kl9A8jhu7gyyeeZKHOQfv9pCet3OcMsWqW9RQKju_7sP16gknfi2hY1KnYFmzlDs1xRwMbZToaVauiBUzwpt-Hr7_K9auHI0NTDX0EwjRI_hMoO2MjgAhM/s400/Me.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">That's me in the front and no, I've never grown into those ears.<br />Apparently I sneezed when I was just born and out they flapped.<br />(1963)</p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388317751443440354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVA2VTBj2g3TDs87fA6-RCrD5_aaWTv36QbEIjIuS8VT8zaSlUyy9-XYcmZGW3v4NOkgHZVlVGt3S6uIIlEwVjgqoLavgzRDNP5fXyo3y46r4PXKsslXyk_nltoMBbATSOpL2WaxzKso/s400/Old%2520Jan%2520cropped.jpg" border="0" />Flares & platforms the <em>first</em> time round.</div><div align="center">This was the year that I was planning my wedding to David Cassidy.</div><div align="center">(1975)</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389154532867494850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtf1zGsUHpQ87wfAMIsTGRvKAOxsLeujkdd04d10ARTfWtYO-G6pzC57F0DRCLxh4z2KT1vYVb0Hk_ub3DLBup3ZOLrh3b9rH0vmKLZGPZsqVilgw4w74ihB5l_edLg5QQ_X1CeN17yMA/s320/jan+80s+1.jpg" border="0" /><br />Make-up by Dulux</div><div align="center">(1985)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389153705558132050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 313px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsSM4ycRIN1TQ9YF8SFed9DDnlxa4g0jcqXaJouT4pvhZNpSZfSQnN8DHF-YdSpHeZeA8oha7pbxzyaqMjR6pgsd8Vmp6om5pshIoxK31avb2WI7gWPB846JpHMgWdHJat_BGYAbD2Is/s320/Scary+perm.jpg" border="0" />A scary perm at some point in your life is compulsory</div><div align="center">(1990) </div><p align="center"></p><p align="left">Well I can honestly say that I can't believe I'm 50 as I just don't feel it (that doesn't mean to say I don't look it mind!) In my head I don't feel older than 30. Age, as they say is just a state of mind.</p><p align="left">In reality of course I know that just around the corner lurk the things that 'women of a certain age' will inevitably have to suffer - hot flushes, a hairy chin, grumpiness, varicose veins, control pants, unexpected flatulence and 'easy-fit' polyester trousers*. </p><p align="left">I won't go down without a fight though.<br /></p><p>*Husband informs me that most of these things have already started.</p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-21991576331195862662009-09-14T16:36:00.011+01:002009-09-19T16:28:40.146+01:00Jam packedFrom mid August to the beginning of September my house alternates between smelling of boiling fruit and sugar to the acrid pong of hot vinegar. Yes, it's jam and chutney season. As soon as the fruit trees start producing I'm like a blur in my kitchen. Everything seems to come at once and with fruit you need to turn it into jam as soon as it's picked as that's when the pectin levels are at their greatest which means the difference between jam that you spread and jam that you pour. Add to this, the end of the courgettes and tomatoes ripening by the minute it's been manic.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381359370674127554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIFq8-lLyleAenG72Ddum25eP4eeE8idC66QtRrcgig4kzG3n171KhUe-o-ok8Ywp5Oo39Z5n79GXTDbPlB2baRMrN8hyBwEd7HlHjZ5sGgxq2STX4CK48HuJISUIPNBJkz6u6_lV8OQ/s400/Cherry+plums.jpg" border="0" />This year I've been very lucky as a couple of friends have given me bucket loads of plums and pears. Plums are wonderful and very versatile, they make fantastic jam <em>and</em> chutney. The rest of the fruit I've either picked or bought. Over at the farm I managed to pick loads of blackberries and was given some damsons, and from a local orchard I bought Bramleys and greengages.<br /><p align="left">Unfortunately, as you can imagine all of this fruit attracts those evil little critters in brown and yellow jumpers. I have therefore become very skilled in thwacking them with an oven glove. The score currently stands at Ample Cook 17 - Wasps nil (ha ha!)<br /></p><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmQT1xUjbB6dE5Ug2ZEjWJUNgjKH5LoLquyhvzuTnIPjsCunixjbxHNBlCM1YeAHq_c-9iiDNvvNV8sYNFEGqqfat63vENzJ-rA404G4eiJHM5fWwrSfLXLdLZhaqIXmDb5IuTwNUz7k/s1600-h/Pears.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381357553447232642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmQT1xUjbB6dE5Ug2ZEjWJUNgjKH5LoLquyhvzuTnIPjsCunixjbxHNBlCM1YeAHq_c-9iiDNvvNV8sYNFEGqqfat63vENzJ-rA404G4eiJHM5fWwrSfLXLdLZhaqIXmDb5IuTwNUz7k/s400/Pears.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLFA-h-7SBpLJQMoFtOhHb3MnStzDE8r7ssEtps6gYk9OGHFck6QNe3ZkaJTe18zUkUx9IT94zG4Eepy3aFzRhOxaHctT3_JTkE1tu-4AlZSRzheAbTw9nl7qcG8yZP9U7I5ybwP67XM/s1600-h/Damson+%26+greengages.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381357542293033746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLFA-h-7SBpLJQMoFtOhHb3MnStzDE8r7ssEtps6gYk9OGHFck6QNe3ZkaJTe18zUkUx9IT94zG4Eepy3aFzRhOxaHctT3_JTkE1tu-4AlZSRzheAbTw9nl7qcG8yZP9U7I5ybwP67XM/s400/Damson+%26+greengages.jpg" border="0" /></a> Damsons & greengages<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXxoct2cFvMzLyKpeU0O-JY3pwLNsWbUJCGGu_vmq36dOCf-PnjU_4LGlK657f7J_9yIMqFQIOzznr_2Pw3ipoyPp9QvMCEhkhCOq4NLE956XCELVYbfWTU4S9AF1D6qadOzCseb5TNk/s1600-h/Bramleys.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381357536302284594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXxoct2cFvMzLyKpeU0O-JY3pwLNsWbUJCGGu_vmq36dOCf-PnjU_4LGlK657f7J_9yIMqFQIOzznr_2Pw3ipoyPp9QvMCEhkhCOq4NLE956XCELVYbfWTU4S9AF1D6qadOzCseb5TNk/s400/Bramleys.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwKK3Vz3DNegiza8n3CIC7SjS9HBqDTLJnjxCODK0l5Q-e4og9KQWbZZvl3T_0rZ2xFaE76zrbtNHMQbmOtYE6fmG3v0XiPf2pSIrTKOVTBWlMSA4aXPvAnXVRfA-9zIN1S2qfXldlrM/s1600-h/Blackberries.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381357530174328450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwKK3Vz3DNegiza8n3CIC7SjS9HBqDTLJnjxCODK0l5Q-e4og9KQWbZZvl3T_0rZ2xFaE76zrbtNHMQbmOtYE6fmG3v0XiPf2pSIrTKOVTBWlMSA4aXPvAnXVRfA-9zIN1S2qfXldlrM/s400/Blackberries.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381360715428085858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgM_uSK_DFW24v0xy0QRJbWUzuSARPY7Mh7MnzAJ3Dej5CipGXU8LMWoJHa-uCaByrot-PL5wVsxvTBwTHAkrmk2-zVGTva9azrwJjot2NujMIGOKELjdY6B7VQcMApw7wla_ufuYx7ec/s400/Jams+%26+chutneys.jpg" border="0" /> The fruits of my labour </div><br /><br /><div align="center">(actually this is the tip of the iceberg)</div><br /><div align="left">I know you can buy good quality jams and chutneys these days, but I promise you, nothing tastes like homemade. Just 1 lb of fruit and the same quantity of sugar will make a couple of jars of jam and takes very little time and effort to do. Chutney made now will be ready to eat at Christmas, making a really thoughtful gift. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Go on, give it a go.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="center"></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-37208729943109277162009-08-21T18:10:00.008+01:002009-08-24T17:57:03.442+01:00Who needs Abel & Cole?<div align="center"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372472753543442066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtHWJdp5GeN0APF3xUWRPacmSs9Tz0wNtPUYiTlt7heqe9f_UGNngB-SOjBiNBKCVOcMKQ0Cb_alvsFbYQYqrHXlyyitzcAXPucI0z2ryQefNRsN83ftpuYOUMQQeXG1oe5LTD_TocVI/s320/Veggies.jpg" border="0" />I was going to blog about this a couple of weeks ago, but decided it was a bit too smug. But then I got over it. *<br /><br />This little crate of loveliness is from my sister's allotment. We've had various 'deliveries' over the last few weeks, including : onions, both red & white, shallots, potatoes, runner beans, french beans, beetroots, a few carrots, broccoli and LOTS of courgettes. Oh and of course not forgetting the wonderful raspberries which I made in to <a href="http://theamplecook.blogspot.com/2009/07/well-ripple-my-raspberries.html">raspberry ripple ice cream</a>. Her produce is quite simply amazing and we are very lucky.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373544039910244466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pAaEFfllS_Wojw5-e-kurd6YMqLampwtDdYc6uz80KozrMZfS8vi30B4Xox0QavyWufCizM9uD1ssKBjn9wKGzrB0n0buho5WEh7xC6lrLcNO7oeEHPK-fZ1yRj7HOGiT3Ga6ydhPfE/s320/Red+onions.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373544035567405314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFnLwvqJI2GqA7VIMsybWhxeeJb0j8AzW7Tr6mKT69vB67zq8-4Rfqf4KZ2VwRvM4Bv4RcHWSdvnNIkjyqAuy6Jx0PVG00BmxOpNe5KpMfP_irhuup-tIW1bjcQK0RTk2K-ODqomqVes/s320/Tomatoes.jpg" border="0" />Together with our own 25 tomato plants cropping like an Essex chav shells out babies, we have been blessed. It has been a little challenging shall I say in using all of our bounty and creating something new and exciting. But knowing how hard my sister has worked on her allotment to produce this wonderful veg, we have endeavoured not to waste a single bean. I would be lying though, if I didn't tell you that there was a faint whimper from the other side of the dining table, when I brought in the 'Sunday roast courgette'. I jest, there's been plenty of carnivorous accompaniments. Mike is more likely to eat a vegetarian than become one.</p><p>With regard to our tomatoes, I know that 25 tomato plants sounds a lot, it <em>is</em> a lot but as they crop, those we can't eat while they're still fresh, I just roast, then use a wonderful contraption called a mouli, which sieves all the skins and pips out. It's then reduced down until it's a bit thicker and you have lovely fresh passata, which goes into the freezer to use during the rest of the year. </p><p>Anyway, here's a small selection of how we've used our veg.</p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrOWFJmmPDE4eA34hHeKtdc8B8QGzh4NX2by7JAiaCRE2QOHfKWKeYoFIr49wu61SRmuDluTVT5l5q-fUlIl7ljwPUVWjDp0Yg1Qf9YdlSNe3Lcs4Nx6OGROnAj3YGNAKWqfkoKOqHUY/s1600-h/Roasted+Veg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372472768024180514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrOWFJmmPDE4eA34hHeKtdc8B8QGzh4NX2by7JAiaCRE2QOHfKWKeYoFIr49wu61SRmuDluTVT5l5q-fUlIl7ljwPUVWjDp0Yg1Qf9YdlSNe3Lcs4Nx6OGROnAj3YGNAKWqfkoKOqHUY/s320/Roasted+Veg.jpg" border="0" /></a>Char grilled courgettes & pepper with feta & herbs<br /></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373551085712393570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9b96mKutNzJh-koAlivNpTOw2Z0jj_Y09-5JQLIssfa6PT-tA1GDVeNgmYtjNT1rvwqhIakCzRHA8EhkNIp6-4nhrRkyihacFJEOOBbCkGSj3zMomG1ZWZ3ovXdtIEL5mm2C4a8yqsSM/s320/Roasted+Veg.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373551088766173922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88o_Mn_UQ9K7yIyguFxB-KzM6fqM038xN7Zrw-j6cYLvb7TQjfqw2LbmXpdnRr2tLs6RrHe4FGw3L1MV84dW2YsC69cSpVMRNM52-FxMgGBOpvFL1VTxfd2W39SrChrDfh5pN0x-ZNn0/s320/Spud,+courgette+%26+bacon.jpg" border="0" />The start of a spanish omelette<br /></p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373546903571472754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXT3gHAyUNpGfyb6wCfby5njJEq2qAvuLaFKFjZ15GEqZjeB8YzF02e2pN4jLYhxctSq8SvsnD8_cU5aJR04WqCD1-CzYpjcC1R1UWIEHS_sFon7DfBECxDNWwbP3RfPJ8iTZQO4cYzY/s320/Bean+stew.jpg" border="0" />Roasted tomato & bean stew</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373551096463960706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLq5vsX2q1lPsKAWYeuJbJzZtkGzpQT_4btgfekyK3SUJ5vauC76fTMeY-fCr_gkPEvfpHHKcupAOdfOdbgf3UkkBgM2TM882mhyphenhyphenPIZAJSoYFMzRFcgf5n0CgdcAj2LYZGTlT-INoQI8/s320/Bruschetta.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">Tom & basil bruschetta<br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373544047742612946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14chTtXbZenwpq4uqbKyEhUlXCNFLD89pLV8FyGuyn6YITjqFQf94G6aLa6k33BYU3fr5EJQS-_Z6Y6N01ZYzxDAw4-pfK2yXS1RdXtd7NQ7LHT66VtEq8grLHuEXyqiExUMdmoI5hMo/s320/Courgette+fritters.jpg" border="0" /> Courgette fritters</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373555330622764370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLVI6vurt8Uz29x0HWYjBrUZufRxb_H37Uzhnv422lgFx4f2azmMZMVH4EfIMox_mtE5DsylZXZRNoekwunWzgjJmlQ7Ta1fWhfMk0V-WznPDbQQanbwEHqY_8tiZeMgGo34wFFvc5y4/s320/Roast+tom+%26+courgette.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Roasted toms, courgette & bacon pasta sauce<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373546908313133602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKelHpWC1uA9UAveFXBauwYIY0A0VoaNQNuUIRO1wcZ7CnwBSUJ-JioLFPD7WsweyTiRdpH1KL9sMrrpucdMZ-lwK5ej9D09uTy4qKFnsh53G10Z3k6xrxmvbdxps26fRvA7In1JE4JY/s320/Courgette+pickle.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">Courgette pickle & chutney</p><p align="left"><br />*I should point out that this is by no means a dig at those who did accept the Abel & Cole produce (and I mean that). I also had their offer, but turned them down. </p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-41615597876014415452009-08-12T16:13:00.014+01:002009-08-17T18:20:13.223+01:00Pub nirvana (almost)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvfAItjcRZYy9wBsP__s0L4utotHlBxitLj0YgsFa_hSDPDE2TuOK5O2yPeV5BQuk2Vl33AvPysQMGKtuT2ly5iQAimva7qEECJEkr9wU67av3CCaUNhny7WMqisPKje62_8OCa74qOY/s1600-h/A100-0005_IMG.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370957131322153570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 341px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvfAItjcRZYy9wBsP__s0L4utotHlBxitLj0YgsFa_hSDPDE2TuOK5O2yPeV5BQuk2Vl33AvPysQMGKtuT2ly5iQAimva7qEECJEkr9wU67av3CCaUNhny7WMqisPKje62_8OCa74qOY/s400/A100-0005_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a> If you could design your ideal pub, what would it be like? Maybe it would be set in a picturesque village, surrounded by green fields, with a river running next to it? Perhaps it would have a selection of real ales? Would it serve delicious food, the majority of which had been reared, caught and grown by themselves? Maybe their own smoke house? Wine and fizz supplied by their own <a href="http://www.cartersvineyards.co.uk/">vineyard</a>? Well, believe it or not, such a place does exist.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.anchornayland.co.uk">The Anchor </a>pub situated in the pretty village of Nayland, Suffolk is all these things and a little bit more. Just half a mile from the Essex border, Nayland is quaint and picturesque - think 'Lovejoy'. The pub aims to be as self sufficient as possible, having their own heritage farm. They grow the majority of their own veg in the kitchen garden which is next to the pub and keep longhorn cattle, lambs, pigs, game, trout and venison on their estate. They even work the land with Suffolk punches (which unfortunately are now an endangered breed of horse) These wonderful gentle giants are brought over to the pub twice a week - luckily we saw one working the day we were there. His name was Bruno and he had feet like saucepans.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370961186774729106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGxCOmqSe7C7INg6AIbkBqBSDywrTLkjFoCtK8XBuAoJEGZo9lMwktXA52_cHoJZaHrh5YwC_Vaxiuxk0M3polTjAiPkE_jsBHGw-VQ-Sd7hfHDAurNEOByoJ0749efe_7qxR_x3vQss/s400/Bruno.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369385081927576162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmlTVASdAf6QKW_aEQsyYM_cvguFlF69SLNd6VPCiIMHAS_E5DwkMI84gQyBr8GKJxtSCI8brTnwGoqkuHoamVKQ6T86GYziZ9NeRyxXXEBA1GNB83kfKTFSepQQtNRFjV4L-wxwaF1E/s400/Collage+Nayland.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Starting with a drink at the bar, Mike was impressed with the range of real ales and I was equally impressed by a glass of their own sauvignon blanc for £3.00. We then settled ourselves and perused the menu. I haven't mentioned yet that the kitchen is run by By Carl Shillingford (formerly of The Waterside and Pierre Gagnaire in Paris , both 3 star Michelin restaurants) Just gets better doesn't it?</div><br /><div></div><div>The menu, as you would expect was very seasonal and quite honestly I had a difficult time choosing as there were several things I wanted to try. Well, as I wasn't wearing my 'comfort fit' crimplene slacks that day I chose just one dish from the grill menu, as did Mike. Scallops with chive and tarragon butter for me, and large black pork chops with smoked tomato compote for him. The dishes both came with 2 choices of side dishes, I chose 'thin cut' chips and a dressed salad and Mike chose 'fat cut' chips and grilled baby courgette and aubergine.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369107519489908770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pg_H00z4n7prqalJ9LoqEPlfuIuypKM8pfiIVizfFYU6Fk1VOzu00n3hEANTEzf2eu1Cjpj7ESG11A4aRudZZKydVet2U1a2XtP6koif19K1N8yhe0wwBH7q6VBoufqH4UjHZ5Zcztw/s400/Scallops+2.jpg" border="0" /></div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIua7ig95silQleKcbnfU85uc9CNIdGL938GXOE0ZmOtdg2nhZvqHYrvcBC20GMfySHsdEJ6uJ44zZEtySbENm6KVSBVPdZRKbtwnWysviQwYqCvcUN7918lbh6MAE3rr07c5SRSUqiQ/s1600-h/Pork+chop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369107526868265890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIua7ig95silQleKcbnfU85uc9CNIdGL938GXOE0ZmOtdg2nhZvqHYrvcBC20GMfySHsdEJ6uJ44zZEtySbENm6KVSBVPdZRKbtwnWysviQwYqCvcUN7918lbh6MAE3rr07c5SRSUqiQ/s400/Pork+chop.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369107536159149906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7yLTOcglLl5xJEklzUc7yeh1OJJ05K2D43VQI0KaR1joHR0RzaNiWWahfOsZ72Dg0K1ty9z7Clnl9SUWmMSnp64sAxkZQtFE6S4zb-OP9pF0ZGIgHvpqPRO7_e5Nh7fXlLwGfSOUUrs/s400/Fat+chips.jpg" border="0" />I asked the waiter if I could have my salad dressing on the side. "No problem madam". Well, clearly it was because the salad arrived dressed, well not so much dressed, but drowned. The poor leaves were covered in olive oil - my plate was swimming in the stuff. The scallops could have been warmer too and the chips cooked a bit longer. It was extremely difficult to catch someone's eye to point out the error, so when they eventually brought me a replacement salad I had eaten too many of the scallops and chips to need it. I was really stupid and should have got them to take the complete meal back, but I didn't and then regretted it, so my fault there. On the plus side Mike's meal was fine. The pork chop was big and tasted really porky and the chips were lovely. Again the veg was on the oily side, but tasty. </div><br /><div></div><div>Although the food was a little disappointing the pub was comfortable, and in a lovely setting. There was a good selection of beers and wine and the staff were friendly. The prices, I think in particular were quite reasonable. Our food, plus 2 pints of beer, 1 glass of wine, a diet coke and a coffee was £34. I think it deserves another try and dressed in my 'eating trousers' I will return.</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-8499222898220110092009-07-28T15:35:00.005+01:002009-07-28T16:35:30.539+01:00My name's The Ample Cook and I'm a Gravyholic<div align="left">My addiction to and dependency on, stock based liquids started at a very early age. My Mum was a great plain cook and every roast, pie, stew and casserole had the most wonderful gravy. Every scrap of a chicken was used - roasted, then cold with mash and pickles or bubble and squeak, then the carcass was simmered with carrots, onions and celery to make a wonderful stew, soup or gravy.<br /></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Lamb or mutton stew was a favourite, big round chunks of neck of lamb that had more bone than meat, but those bones yielded a huge depth of flavour, with carrots, onion and pearl barley. Always made the day before so that the hard layer of cream fat that formed on the top could easily be removed.<br /></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363521160219406818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNNu-OQn5Fk3UWIgnTfqln4Uk08ijnXASHHkWh7jl4L9_jCUzkjBiKBtwk06s2Y2xMOShsYmYSgSjGr2NsikWVdKnjaEMhktdPwv-7QZSYD1Jcg2ieFrg-JaEwPm-QBhbiWxulp-dAqg/s400/DSC00118.JPG" border="0" /> This is my drawer of loveliness. A drawer in my freezer that holds little bags and plastic pots of meat jelly saved from a roast and left over gravy. I never, ever throw any meat stock or jelly away, no matter how small as they can either form the basis of a gravy, or sauce or just enrich a stew or soup. I also keep any meat fats - beef dripping, duck fat, pork fat - all fabulous for roasting potatoes.</p><p>This however, I have to admit, is not the full picture. In my larger freezer there are many pots of chicken stock - liquid gold. In our house we are never very far away from a risotto, or onion gravy to go with our sausages and mash or a lovely rich gravy to coat left-over chicken and sauteed leeks for a yummy pie. </p><p>I will hold my hand up here and confess to being a complete gravy and stock snob. The stock that is sold in supermarkets I think is of a very poor standard and expensive. Also, why doesn't it 'set'? If it was made from bones - as it obviously should be - it would, so what's that all about? </p><p>I suppose all this obsessive behaviour stems from my fear of 'Gravy Granules' That gloopy, salty, tongue coating powder of the devil. These are the ingredients taken from a jar of 'Bisto Best' - pork flavour: Maltodextrin, potato starch, salt, flavourings, flavour enhancers (E621 E635), hydrogenated vegetable oil, colour (E150c), Emulsifier (E322) soya, spice & herb extracts & onion extract. Mmmmmmmmm yummy.</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363531847407998866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBmBp_1iWuC4frManhwiwBps6rzkKSKT0xtD5z57Seru72AlWO-WTpeDGCXLlsVwahM6kBPJzHw44CRuwyppOyfjcV_4G-AryNjzlTiPcdy8d7lFdq3WFtCoLn3Qlbio79lO1IkUzdkA/s400/roast+4.JPG" border="0" />Now, doesn't this deserve good gravy?</p><p align="center"></p>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-13653251591518260552009-07-14T10:38:00.010+01:002009-07-14T18:18:41.902+01:00Well ripple my raspberries<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358250154465297266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKOMgN7xH-OnHlh8jn7kIi6YfHD5TIBsoHXeID1Hv5vw6eGS0Ff2aPIcLs1ZlCAG0mCwVuepN0pLIpJLPOVc-9mBcYNAnH-6K4lfbH5yMQNi26RvXsmKclyK446OhxlLfmbXQSFEpCjw/s320/DSC00151.JPG" border="0" /> A visit to my sister on Saturday resulted in me coming home with nearly a pound and half of raspberries, which we picked in her garden. They were gorgeous, really sweet. Now I eat a lot of fruit, especially on my breakfast porridge and granola, but not even I could snaffle down that many raspberries before they went off. So, instead of going for the obvious and turning them into jam I thought some raspberry ripple ice cream would be most welcome, particularly as I had quite a few eggs and a load of cream in the fridge.<br /><br /><br />First stage of the process was make a custard - 568ml of cream (yikes, low cal then) brought to just below boiling with 300ml of whole milk and a split vanilla pod. This was then poured onto 6 egg yolks which had been whisked with 50g of caster sugar. Then the mixture was returned to the saucepan and stirred until it thickened slightly. When it was cold enough I put it in the fridge and left it alone until the next day.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358339678931520978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZMkorBnZQhC-UKyLCIbwpuQ6mp3u3quwT63S8doNil8w_158hLHrS6ktkbcTs5mBfLVXS_fRoFe0ubkBuUEp6lzqBVWebzY2-7VODqsMre6zht5Q_9fJarWyf2mR0RzYiK3AQ0mIo3Ek/s400/blog+cream2.jpg" border="0" />Then, I fired up the ice cream machine (not the quatro). It's only one of those that you keep in the freezer, but it's quite effective. It just churns the mixture with a plastic paddle and gets colder and thicker as ice crystals form. I would like one of those big ones that are always good to go but I just don't I think I'd use it that often and they're just such a big bit of kit to store.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358353715155372450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kDc7LgSipJ6j0-LXd7WdbkySJ2nWQrraXBu4Y6S5jWBwly6KDXk4nWdcKJOpwLO9VIj9khVM7KXIyaB4DufaCV8DhN53WVcI9SC9ypG7KvJmu6OjWWTNZIsMiMCxcgMx9GyE8UZFi_I/s400/Blog+ice+cream.jpg" border="0" />The base vanilla was then squirreled away to firm up a tad more before being 'rippled' with 300g of pureed and sweetened raspberries. Something to note here - when ice cream freezes it always tastes less sweet than when it was in it's unfrozen state, so you have to add more icing sugar than you think to the soft fruit.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSothQgKACwgYxOSISlWtP62iBEMJ3_gRrU58Oz4tZKS7zsYkieo_NPw4NUB86uW0M2criwkRA8-EuyZScZhedygfTLe6a9xejc4BDJai_Ep5MyJNwEDIW6N04bcDDWS_GAYQVOYYH-a8/s1600-h/Blog+ripple.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358349107448462322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSothQgKACwgYxOSISlWtP62iBEMJ3_gRrU58Oz4tZKS7zsYkieo_NPw4NUB86uW0M2criwkRA8-EuyZScZhedygfTLe6a9xejc4BDJai_Ep5MyJNwEDIW6N04bcDDWS_GAYQVOYYH-a8/s400/Blog+ripple.jpg" border="0" /></a> I think this looks like something 'Dexter' would keep in his freezer<br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358349492636853954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSZpsm7dHj-HV-s0Z3RzPb-wUomS3GVHd_jU8T9G1iCQTMtXneJJ42Phf8DXYLkb_CmWiTUbtjYxyCAipQ_CK0DEcqMpvZvf_eiXit04TYGzh65b-nKLNBBASOdQxXPYiONyAKZ8opd0/s400/Blog+Ripple2.jpg" border="0" /> I have to say that it was really worth the effort. I've only ever had commercial raspberry ripple and this knocked spots off it. It was creamy (obviously as it was virtually all cream!) and the rippled parts were really raspberryish and tangy and yummy.<br /></div></div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-46920275826335811432009-07-08T14:13:00.005+01:002009-07-10T16:05:07.657+01:00Sexy Samphire<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGICdNLOzwiE5nGrH8qSKCb9hM7z3LmvrAtl6LVj5NLlWOjJOZCvDhPJm5sOIiO-pWA-VgZeK7PoI3v7qacUJW7TKYkTkIBop2LdP8hr01WK96sWSukV2EmI0QPo30pMuv5dKy6ne6LI/s1600-h/DSC00132.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356082224699167490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGICdNLOzwiE5nGrH8qSKCb9hM7z3LmvrAtl6LVj5NLlWOjJOZCvDhPJm5sOIiO-pWA-VgZeK7PoI3v7qacUJW7TKYkTkIBop2LdP8hr01WK96sWSukV2EmI0QPo30pMuv5dKy6ne6LI/s400/DSC00132.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I always think Samphire is a good name for one of those steroid enhanced, orange skinned amazonian 'Gladiators' on that ITV programme - there might even be one, who knows? Anyway, I digress. I had a nice surprise when I picked up my meat order from the farm at the weekend. Paul (one of the farmers) presented me with a large bag of marsh samphire. The farm borders on the River Crouch which joins the Thames Estuary, so at low tide Paul had hopped over the sea wall and grabbed a load for me, which was very kind of him.<br /><br /><br />Samphire is obviously salty, but in a good way. Eaten raw it has a lovely crispness to it - it's a bit like a salty green bean really. It's known as Glasswort or sometimes referred to as 'sea asparagus' but apart from looking like very thin asparagus I don't think it really tastes like it. It's in season from late June to August. It's a great accompaniment to most fish and you can simply steam it and coat it in butter - but I decided to lace it with a sauce a la Rick Stein which is made by reducing some fish stock, Noilly Prat and cream by three quarters, then you whisk in a little cold butter. We had it with pan fried salmon and new potatoes.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356082229228081426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5Wn9oTBp57pzrWHtz2XCCrCJg2tFPFNcmRhJ1ZIFKNXwMMybsr1B8sQlGFhJAUXL97lQHFL4qeMjsqo0FQZbWtcSDVNa6TAnYWZTYtLm0dwFM8xrM8R_FVNob5joJrfJVZfCwTo2V7Y/s400/DSC00134.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5kinsQHER0Rf6MezStyndCMmyTMs2zxNhxSqryOzjQCTefp25GyN3e-F7Q27xk756EIx4DE6cyRiP7PI6q1dkaOgjwsp4XH3ES8B-Vngr1AAd-zNueCca0qWNp0GmewrUa_wNicU9zc/s1600-h/DSC00138.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356077557967354738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5kinsQHER0Rf6MezStyndCMmyTMs2zxNhxSqryOzjQCTefp25GyN3e-F7Q27xk756EIx4DE6cyRiP7PI6q1dkaOgjwsp4XH3ES8B-Vngr1AAd-zNueCca0qWNp0GmewrUa_wNicU9zc/s400/DSC00138.JPG" border="0" /></a>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-51939397414255401742009-06-26T13:42:00.022+01:002009-06-30T16:41:52.494+01:00Smokey Joe's<span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_xdTuPViwF7BO1LoNo5kQmj5sgydyEHhiMGmEtAbg0UlrE3S7-dx-qES5XeS4W3RqrCWehzSb5gZ7gWlh8yQTNpTRIkFjoOv3SVnW_zYRFv28YTkIpwIs8J-cbxF_fNu1icDFDVdE1o/s1600-h/Blob+smoker.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353073116804448690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_xdTuPViwF7BO1LoNo5kQmj5sgydyEHhiMGmEtAbg0UlrE3S7-dx-qES5XeS4W3RqrCWehzSb5gZ7gWlh8yQTNpTRIkFjoOv3SVnW_zYRFv28YTkIpwIs8J-cbxF_fNu1icDFDVdE1o/s400/Blob+smoker.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-family:times new roman;">R2D2 had tried nicotine patches, but had not been too successful.</span><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">This is our new home smoker. We tested him out this week and were quite impressed. It only 'hot' smokes, so in effect it smokes <em>and</em> cooks the food as opposed to 'cold' smoking which basically cures the food. We decided on a hot smoker because cold smoking is a longer and more complicated process involving brining and maintaining an accurate temperature control. Apparently we can use this one for cold smoking too, but it invloves making a run off pipe in which to cool the smoke down, but I think we'll get to grips with the hot smoking first.<br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">The smoker is made up of a bottom tray where you place the charcoal briquettes - it has to be briquettes - you can't use charcoal as it burns too quickly. Then on top of that there's a bowl to which you add water, plus any aromatics ie woody herbs such as rosemary or thyme. When you've got the briquettes going, you lay a foil pack of wood chippings of your choice. We used hickory.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353074851919642658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsu3_Hs5LwdfTEqmFe75VjAcSAh_eZI0WWIZRfyWNt1u7qP55mWovxyFXUAdQEa5ZM_CwjZlYFbE3AyYHf7-imOD5H4OwgpgpUtZ_r6H_aaXz4tjNmngN2oRNyhj2xy57jea1YSA2-50/s320/Blog+smoker.jpg" border="0" /><br />For our first attempt we put on a small free range chicken, which we spatchcocked (which went on the level just above the water bowl) and a couple of rashers of pork belly and some sausages.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353090911585356946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzA3IM1S_5LmSnFC-YPj3X5Rl-UrThPkNr5Ujmh872X4jPqq9_KwE75SAtz_etkKInP6GWQgSwXNk9MmdLWKPaYjt8cWO4eyW8TWTwFev5IEZkBDgfCDlhxW69ExC4aesqA0jKfagkKA/s200/DSC00033.JPG" border="0" /><br />After the first hour and a half, it really didn't seem to be producing anything other than warm meat, so Mr AC put all of the meat on the top griddle and shifted the water bowl up which allowed more heat to circulate. Aha... success. I know we sound like a couple of numpties but the smoker came without any instructions. We had to phone the company we purchased it from and then rely on the website forum for advice. Yep, I don't know why either. <div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Anyway, the pork slices were very tasty and moist, if a little tough and the sausages tasted really good, a bit frankfurterish - very smokey. The meat doesn't look overally attractive but don't let that put you off.<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS89Qjr8J4ioMJkObT1irvI8ITYQ0Z3GSR-VlwPt1rJsEk9kipMhF7-RJuOQzfMkAqSBGU8UXfwbkraLuVsdS6n3TS24aPGPDicNwZsMUEcdIR0kw2ADV9vAP7NazmjzzohU8qMYB7vEQ/s1600-h/DSC00041.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352026904143914850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS89Qjr8J4ioMJkObT1irvI8ITYQ0Z3GSR-VlwPt1rJsEk9kipMhF7-RJuOQzfMkAqSBGU8UXfwbkraLuVsdS6n3TS24aPGPDicNwZsMUEcdIR0kw2ADV9vAP7NazmjzzohU8qMYB7vEQ/s320/DSC00041.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />As the smoker can double as a straight forward barbecue, we finished the chicken by giving it a bit of colour, directly over the coals. I must stress here that I have a food thermometer and used it to ensure all of the meat reached a safe temperature of at least 70 degrees C.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oEeBMlkmMqEmzsjsdRU-EwuatWYIGUOwuTGqpCuGEh_rplQwhFpesujBEvI6rRrRXn_KxEUbjUqhWQuqH68Q8xNUcpgDYxvOapuZ83ebSfrptO4_brcm8IaNyPGVbi0Rc-UdmVzuUHc/s1600-h/DSC00058.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352017297039777042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oEeBMlkmMqEmzsjsdRU-EwuatWYIGUOwuTGqpCuGEh_rplQwhFpesujBEvI6rRrRXn_KxEUbjUqhWQuqH68Q8xNUcpgDYxvOapuZ83ebSfrptO4_brcm8IaNyPGVbi0Rc-UdmVzuUHc/s320/DSC00058.JPG" border="0" /></a> We used the chicken the next day to make a warm bacon, chicken & mango salad, with some salad leaves, rocket & coriander from the garden. Salmon and mackerel are our next victims.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353075903552584066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC8lySubZygRhXhRp5fz85qo_tBTM6LjSzZkLV9aq0n4XjIlGlwItWIEd6r440kWBJWkTvtjj3OnPlSluR-1MOsbXLBopVwHBs5jdq0O-nn5f0uFEfbY9BkWBgc4hTfL-OzrQ55dgWaA/s400/Blog+salad.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353138073871647602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28IbmE-PbWvlWGuYwq6YjD4qE_NUnO7uwOsri1S6DEx_AGtc-koLQ3YNJuwC9HYXlbbUGTbAs0o3aA-UX7OJEzdAC-Retu06flmsvwwqbWMTvXsefK3cYzTSLmHn9aYmzbkHcQXh0kLI/s400/DSC00098.JPG" border="0" /> </div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-35151467563032757572009-06-18T09:20:00.015+01:002009-06-22T16:16:41.085+01:00Comfort eatingWe've had a couple of very tough weeks in Ample Cook Towers. I've had a couple of unusually mammoth catering jobs and on top of this we were burgled and have spent so much time making endless frustrating telephone calls arguing the toss with insurance co over values etc* (see below) organising for replacement double glazing etc and quite honestly we've had enough. So, a bit of comfort food was required. No matter how busy I am in the kitchen we always eat properly. Thems the rules. To be fair it's not always down to me, Mr AC isn't a slouch in the kitchen either. <div><div><div><div><div><br /><div></div><div>I'm also one of those people who is always planning their next meal whilst still eating the previous one and I look forward to my evening meal probably more than is good for me. Anyway, here are a few photos of some of the food we've been comforting ourselves with.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348931935157510818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiG8-Sm1EP0uPN8qhGQe_3qjuQds-XX90GFTqv4m23ckDdbAJJmbhiWEgPCc9ybgNPV-4zjcfqDfMZ0-NLXO8D7vTMi1t9SXjDueSUfJiqRSpx1yAuKb6Z9UECzHD3YOWKIhkYyQLQcI/s400/2009_0418samos0011.JPG" border="0" /> The last of the British asparagus (a couple of weeks ago) covered in butter and parmesan with some reduced balsamic and some great Parma ham. We polished this lot off with some crusty bread and we followed that with.......</div><br /><div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350135273722040818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVT6RZQBvrcyaKJAf2MqmKVhmzIL014C3buLuSA7AKJLwVLy2u0GzZLF8r3Ylyl5i9gqQOy-eQtpNujhw2k3n9Gcqio-vwJei6rpAfIUEFZ-VecnpAxC1o2PHOZu04JvsFrA-IIuNdYU/s400/2009_0418samos0025.JPG" border="0" />A warm salad of scallops wrapped in smoked bacon. I swilled a bit of mustard and white wine vinegar in the bacon fat and that just slightly moistened the salad leaves.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350137656198602882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9fUBqEWvaYESDvttx1K-YnzepWQmalCf358h-KbhWrQZ2c0bfULhje4Sm_h9vy8uRqBJ3Zinan2FXGGFkt2cwzyNOIbhpa8RiDf4v7TgVThO3dXjb6zgzDRdftPuBARXADQGOeLpZ-k/s400/Belly+pork.jpg" border="0" />The ultimate comfort food of course - pork belly (we have moved on to another night now. Even <em>we</em> couldn't eat all of this in one night, although Mr AC would bravely give it a try if allowed) We had that with mash and onion gravy.</div><br /><div></div>Then another night we had slow roasted shoulder of lamb. I think cuts of meat that lend themselves to being slow roasted or pot roasted are ideal for times when you're busy because you just bung them in and forget about them.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350153043732751826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVne2nOm6LWJNXZ3LmrVmr0Ui1GybACJHtJxTfsZRT10XGbmUiawrEKiss7aCWnvDvoo9zxo4X6p_-t0TFf7TCPZzlyhHiSaJZjipETOBZYgafUInkP-XYdPaQEPlWNSB_2epvfpbTQ9M/s400/DSCF0005.jpg" border="0" />Whilst the lamb was resting, I halved some charlotte potatoes (which were off my sister's allotment) and added them to the pan. They soaked up the lamby juices and went a little bit crisp. They were very yummy. Spring pointed cabbage, roasted pumpkin (again, courtesy of my sister's allotment) and carrots completed the meal.</div></div></div></div></div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350165446782219666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXAkAkDq7XhIXu-0LjYmUhsn2g99GkEtyCMkIhv3obnmCcwKohvbHSoyVFW6uwv5JI1ayXtqJdOP7s_uIOTnW_kOmU6TS086SFQs27qGfHmJXTKV4HVy7kANvIQ224BxFTacN05C0OVU/s400/DSCF0101.JPG" border="0" />*Just a bit of advice my fellow bloggers. Do check your house insurance policies. We hadn't realised that when replacing my stolen items of jewellery, our insurance co will be issuing 'vouchers' to be spent a very small collection of specific jewellers (crap ones in my opinion). If we want the cash and to have the freedom of spending it in jewellers of our choice we will have to take a cut of around 35%. What a con.The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-62800822636717651652009-06-06T17:55:00.003+01:002009-06-07T14:26:12.185+01:00Fancy a tongue sandwich?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil40sePQk27DljcRHhJTUn8K_fLyKiM8L8qzJ6bgQ7_g9tx6sC887TS9HY9hm1qFQz8PRsdWIZG-2NPEykdN3gcjM3tZMNFJkfQxJZ3S_GLFHIAe3eTmb1_38x5ruv8Ssl19F0XSK0bGk/s1600-h/DSCF0041.jpg"></a><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344260502721004914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSBQPJ8GmkCE9OewIobzloLtjQiuXG-_jjmvuGTrKHC3L9coAGPBD-9iGv7wYFgsboPOo7OAZhIR6qYnaNZXQnVXTETAx9b5esqXmR10qFZchVkU4BBBmS31Ywgx9Y7iGpsK7Pgwwx78/s400/DSCF0036.jpg" border="0" />Preparing, cooking and pressing an ox tongue is probably a bit of an old fashioned thing to do these days, but quite honestly it's well worth the effort. The meat is fabulous. It's like beefy offal. It's very silky and quite rich. If you've ever had the cooked supermarket stuff and didn't like it, then trust me, you'd like this, it has so much more flavour.<br /><br />Tongues used to be readily available quite a few years back <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">brined</span> in plastic pouches in the supermarket. Our local Salisbury's definitely used to sell them. I just don't think they're terribly popular today though. To be fair they're a bit gruesome looking and of course they've been in someone el<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">se's</span> mouth haven't they?<br /><br />To cook an ox tongue, firstly, give it a good wash and then poach it in water with the usual suspects: onion, carrots and celery for between 3 and 4 hours, depending on the size of your tongue.<br /><br />When it's cooked, drain and cool slightly but don't let it go cold. Remove the grisly stuff underneath the tongue and peel the top. I find this bit bizarrely satisfying - like peeling little bits of sun burnt skin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">eeeeuw</span>.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344260504989251042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizk1eY4LSer_VK-Y1MkHcRuH_RD30hbCyybn8UdioViWdBr0cgnoDAbS67KADC899X7xQrve2_0nHd-k0KCkdPLqEmyhFb0lO6-9d7cRQacrPE33T7YylRL4UplbI2MYm1ySFG3wAdUH0/s400/DSCF0048.jpg" border="0" /> When the wee <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">beasty</span> is skinned and you've removed the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">nasties</span> underneath, coil it round and put it in a container - I use a basin - where it fits really snugly, then pop a saucer and something very heavy on the top and refrigerate overnight.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344260509091353826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr5lQCl8uYBXWZ3j_kLv5y0EDHlvVR4i3stcQIvyvPzOWPdV6hWGqDjriHXRpMfYXamOG4rzVEmUzqyaTroSjXBmpgazdaesCxdIJlbA7Vpp3MCVgnUWPIkPKkBylZ2z0Ojjbyqx-fl8/s400/DSCF0075.jpg" border="0" /><br />The jelly will ooze and set the meat. It's lovely just with crusty bread and sharp pickles or obviously in a sandwich where mustard is vital. You've just <em>got </em>to have mustard in your sandwich or the tongue police will come round and take it away. </div>The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3250915317807712115.post-18026607176977472802009-05-25T13:31:00.006+01:002009-05-27T16:39:08.202+01:00Temporarily out of orderWell, this post should have been the second part of my trip to Wales, however we were burgled last Thursday and my laptop and camera were two of the items taken along with some very precious stuff. To say I'm upset is a bit of an understatement. We have spent a very stressful few days with police, insurance assessors, double glazing repair men etc and I'm just a bit fed up.<br /><br />Will be back soon though.The Ample Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04324402450263880294noreply@blogger.com8