Mrs. Bridges' ~ Upstairs, Downstairs Cookery Book

 

I suspect most know about the BBC series, Upstairs, Downstairs, and the goings on at the Bellamy home with head cook, Mrs. Bridges and the servants quarters. So when this cookbook was given to me I was delighted not only because of its slight vintage... retro-ness; but because it brought back fond memories of time spent with my mum watching this show. After receiving this book I had placed it in my pile, yes I have a cookbook pile, and sadly within a week after placing it there, Jean Marsh, the actress who played parlourmaid, Rose Buck, passed away. 

This commerative cookbook is mostly made up of Victorian and Edwardian recipes with eight categories of menus. Since there is no real life Mrs. Bridges, this book is written as if there were, very straightforward in the character's straight faced kind of way. The book does stray from the kitchen and food preparations and goes into personal matters about the fictional members of the Bellamy household, and that is part of it's charm, keeping things in character, connecting the book and television series together. There are a handful of black and white photographs and over 70 illustrations or drawings to help guide with serving, carving and using the right utensils for whatever the culinary, kitchen task may be. 

With plenty of classic recipes such as: Kedgeree, Lancaster Hot Pot, Cottage Pie, Parsnip Fritters, Apple Charlotte and Seed Cake, I decided to share the Boston Brownie recipe, as it is written from the book. 

Boston Brownies

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4 oz flour

4 oz butter

8 oz sugar

2 eggs

4 oz chopped walnuts

2 oz plain chocolate 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

vanilla essence or sugar

Melt chocolate in a pan with a dessertspoon of water, stirring constantly, but do not allow to boil. Cream the butter and sugar, beat the eggs and add them by degrees to the butter mixture, then add the chocolate. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, and blend well with the chocolate mixture. Stir in the essence and the nuts. Pour into a greased, square cake tin and bake at 350º for about 30 minutes. When cold, cut into squares. 

Gin and Pink Grapefruit Tonic Cake

 

You don't have to be a King or Queen... or royalty to revel with a slice of this fragrant jubilant cake. However, if you are celebrating the coronation of King Charles III; this is an exceptionally bubbly luscious nod to not only toast such a regal occasion, but for any special occasion you wish.   

Gin and Pink Grapefruit Tonic Cake

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200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease

200 g (7oz) caster sugar

4 medium eggs, beaten

few drops of pink or red food colouring

200g (7 oz) self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

finely grated zest of 1 pink grapefruit

75ml (3 fl. oz) gin

FOR THE SYRUP:

75g (3 oz) caster sugar

75ml (3 fl. oz) pink grapefruit tonic water, such as Fentimens Pink Tonic Water

3 tablespoons gin

FOR THE DRIZZLE ICING:

100g (3 1/2 oz) icing sugar, sifted

1 and 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC, 160ºC Fan, Gas Mark 4). Grease and line base and sides of a 900g (2 lbs) loaf tin with baking parchment. making sure that the parchment comes up about 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) higher than th sides of the tin.

2. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the eggs, beating well, after each addition. Use a cocktail stick to add a very small amount of food colouring to the batter, to tinge it a pale pink, repeat if necessary until you get the desired shade. 

3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and grapefruit zest (reserve remaining grapefruit for later), followed by the gin. Spoon onto the prepared tin and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

4. Meanwhile make the sugar syrup. Half the grapefruit and squeeze the juice from one half only. Gently heat the caster sugar and tonic water in a small pan, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and mix in the gin and 1 tablespoon of grapefruit. 

5. When the loaf comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a skewer and slowly drizzle over half the gin syrup mixture. Leave to soak on for 10 minutes, then drizzle with the remaining syrup. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

6. Cut the remaining half of the grapefruit in half again. Then slice a couple of thin half moons from one of the halves. Lay the slices flat on a board, cut along the segments lines into small triangle shapes. Put the triangles on a kitchen paper to dry.

7. Gently remove the cake from the tin, peel off the parchment and place back on the wire rack. Mix the icing sugar with enough grapefruit juice, about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons, to make a slight thick but pourable icing. Spoon icing over the cake and decorate with the grapefruit triangles. 

 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Lime Pickle

I was a bit unsure where to categorize this post so I put it under a few, food photo of the day, random thoughts, and finds and favourites, if I haven't done so already. Myself, or rather, we quite enjoy lime pickle and Marks & Spencer make a fantastic one. This was the last jar we had and for awhile it was holding on for all it was worth and the other night it came to a culinary end. Poof! the lime pickle... finished. Lime pickle is not only enjoyed while we are eating curry or with poppadoms. I absolutely like making grilled cheese and lime pickle sandwiches! Which are quite tasty.    

Until we meet again... thanks for the delicious memories!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. This week is flying by, it is Wednesday already and before I can blink it will be Saturday. - JD

The Mustard Club

Can't say I have heard of the Mustard Club. I suppose most things that are enjoyed can be made into a club. Since there is no publication date in the book and if the illustrations are any indication as to the period then it is safe to say this was well produced before my time. The roaring '20's... jazz, cocktails, the speakeasy and mustard, apparently. This 32 page cookbook was published for the Mustard Club by J & J Colman Ltd... the very famous British mustard manufacturer in Norwich, Norfolk, England. British mustard has quite a distinct taste, hot and tangy, than American mustard which is sweet and tangy.

It is a good cook booklet that gives one a strong reminder to look at mustard differently. It is just not a condiment for sandwiches. One can use mustard to braise, stew, bake, cook and taste just about anything. For mustard stimulates the appetite, aids in digestion, and brings out the flavour in food. One of my favourite sandwiches as a child was cheese and mustard. 

Since summer is here and there will be plenty of room for salad I thought I would include a salad dressing recipe and a fun recipe using celery.  

Mustard Dressing

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1 gill of olive oil

clove og garlic

1/4 gill vinegar

1 teaspoonful celery salt

1 teaspoon castor sugar

2 teaspoons made mustard

1 teaspoonful salt

Rub the cut clove of garlic in the side of the basin. Mix the celery salt, mustard, sugar and   salt. Add the vinegar and oil and whisk throughly together. 

Celery a la Normande

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Shred finely about 5 oz. of the white part of celery, and leave it in cold water for half an hour. Then drain, and add to it two small apples, peeled and chopped fine. Season with Mustard Sauce with Cream.

Mustard Sauce with Cream

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Put into a bowl a small teaspoonful of made mustard, a pinch of salt, a little pepper and the juice of a quarter lemon. Add very gradually, in the same way as when making mayonnaise, about a gill and a half of cream, stirring all the time. 

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. It is Wednesday, the middle of the week and there are plenty this to do. -JD 

Fortnum and Mason ~ 2014

I know Christmas is on it's way when the Fortnum and Mason order arrives. Nothing beats carefully opening and rummaging through the packing peanuts and guessing through the bubble wrap at the glorious culinary treasures inside. As usual we get a selection of our favourites like Smoky Earl Grey tea, Horseradish, Charcoal biscuits, a range of English mustards and King George cake. There are more festive delights like Christmas tea, Christmas coffee, Christmas Glitter Shortbread, Frost Fayre Christmas Spiced biscuits, Christmas Spiced Marmalade, and Boxing Day Chutney. Other items... which usually change from year to year, as we try new and different things, are: French Lavender Honey, a selection of other teas, Fig Cheese (a spread for cheese and biscuits/crackers), Devil Gamekeeper Relish, Damson & Claret (spread), Spice Tins: No.119 Dukka and No.49 Nigella Seeds, Ginger Turkish Delight and the exclusive Sweet Theatre Chocolate in Chili Dark (Katherine) and Orange Dark (Lady Macbeth). 

All products will slowly be enjoyed over the days and months however all Christmasy treats will not be opened until December 24th and that includes the King George cake. How we... I mean... I, will manage until then I do not know.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend! - JW  

Parkin

Traditionally a Yorkshire recipe, Parkin is often eaten on Bonfire Night otherwise known as Guy Fawkes Night. November the 5th is highlighting the famous failure of Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. This recipe was easy and I added a twist. Steaming hot custard poured over the gingerly cake. We won't be displaying any fireworks however we will have a sparkler or two to mark the day and this lovely Parkin.    

YORKSHIRE PARKIN

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8 oz / 220g soft butter

4 oz / 110g soft, dark brown sugar

2 oz / 55g black treacle or molasses

7 oz / 200g golden syrup 

5 oz / 120g medium oatmeal

7 oz / 200g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 teaspoon mixed spice  

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons milk

Heat oven to 275ºF/ 140ºC/ gas mark 1

Grease an 8"x8" (20cmx20cm) square cake tin.

In a large saucepan melt the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup over a gentle low heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil. You just need to melt these together.

In a large, bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture, stirring to coat all the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Gradually, beat in the eggs.

Finally add the milk and again stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 1 1/2 hours until firm and set and a lovely dark golden brown.

Remove the Parkin from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin. Once cool store the Parkin in an airtight tin for a minimum of 3 days. That is if you can resist eating it. Leaving it up to a week is even better. Letting the flavour really develop and the mixture softens even further and the Parkin becomes more moist and sticky. Parkin will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container. 

* Eating the Parkin straight away is lovely. With all those warm spices it's so hard to resist. 

* Mixed spice is a British spice. It is a blend of the following ground spices: cinnamon, coriander seed, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice and mace. Although is used in cooking and baking it is particularly used for Christmas cakes, Christmas Pudding and Hot Cross Buns.

* Some Parkin recipes have finely chopped candied peel. However I believe it is more traditional without. 

* Using parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan may help and make it easier to release the Parkin from the cake tin. 

Happy Bonfire... Guy Fawkes Night! - JW  

The Alice In Wonderland Cookbook ~ A Culinary Diversion

This is a slight culinary companion to Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Fans of Carroll will be delighted with this book and fans of illustrator, Sir John Tenniel, will be even more so. This cookbook is out of print and first editions are in limited copies. There are some circling out there and that is why I cherish the copy I have even more. Therefore I highly recommend this purely for collector purposes. Not to dishearten the recipes that are showcased on the pages. One does marvel over the Ambidextrous Mushrooms, Eggs Bonne Alice, Bread-and-Butter Fly Pudding and The Cheshire Cat's Cheese Whiskers. There is plenty of wit, prose and excerpts from Carroll's work to entice even the most lacklustre chef. There also seems to be a gastronomic motif  in earlier works of Lewis Carroll. Here are a couple of recipe to share...

Hot - Tempered Mustard - 3 tablespoons mustard powder / 1 tablespoon castor sugar / 1 beaten egg /  1/2 (half) pint pure malt vinegar / 1 tablespoon olive oil / 1 pinch of salt

Mix mustard, salt and sugar together in a basin. Stir in the beaten egg until smooth. Add the vinegar, beating until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat for five minutes. Leave to cool before stirring in the olive oil. Serve with your savoury dishes to make their appeal "otherwise" than what it might appear to have been.

The Cheshire Cat's Cheese Whiskers - 2 ounces flour / 2 ounces butter / 3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese / 1/2 teaspoon baking powder / 2 ounces grated breadcrumbs / 1/2 saltspoon salt /  1/2 saltspoon pepper / paprika 

Sieve flour, salt and pepper into a basin. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cheese. Rub in the butter with the fingers until you get a smooth paste, adding a little milk if the texture proves difficult. Dust work surface with flour and roll out pastry into a strip about 4 inches wide. one-eighth of an inch. Cut pastry into so many thin strips. Place on a greased tin and bake in a steady oven at 375ºF, gas mark 4 until crisp and brown. Serve hot, sprinkle with paprika. Then sit back and smile contentedly at your achievement, if only to remind yourself that long ago Cheshire Cheeses were moulded into the shape of a grinning cat prior to being sent to Bristol for export. Hence, maybe, the origin of the phrase " grin like a Cheshire cat " Perhaps Alice should have asked her question of the Duchess's cook?  

Hope you enjoy the few photos of Tenniel's illustrations that I included. - JW 

                                 Apparently Lewis Carroll drew this one of himself. 

The Incredible Spice Men

I did not get the priviledge of watching these two men on British television however my fiancé did. And later that day when we were out and about I stood and listened to him recount their appearance. I immediately became intrigued and left the shop with their cookbook. Returning to Canada I googled them and found them on Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. After watching some of their Youtube videos I was even more delighted to have bought their cookbook. These two gentlemen are eloquent, and funny. You can tell they are passionate about what they do and make it look so effortless.

The Incredible Spice Men are taking spices to new levels. Adding twists to many traditional British recipes. They use some of my favourite  spices... cumin and cardamom. Spices are one of the oldest ingredients bought, sold and traded. Rather than accumulate in your pantry, they want to you to rethink and use those spices in dishes you are creating. They list 10 spice which they use and which should be in every pantry. They are: Cassia Bark, Cardamom, Cloves, Cumin, Corriander, Cinnamon, Chili, Nutmeg, Pepper, and Star Anise. Plus there is a wealth of information regarding each spice written as Spice Focus. I am unsure if I can find Cassia Bark in Canada however I will do some research. 

This cookbook is gorgeous and rich from page to page. Everything pops out at you. After leafing through the book from front to back, I went from back, re-reading recipes and gazing at the recipes and photos until I got to the front covers, again. I found this cookbook inspiring. When I made spaghetti sauce with minced chicken I added a fair bit of cumin and it was the best thing I could have done! I want to try Tony's Pawn Pilaf and Punjabi Spiced Salmon. Cyrus's Apple and Pear Chutney and Shepherd's Pie with Oomph and Aah. There are so many wonderful recipes one is left completely mystified.  

Watch one of Tony and Cyrus's videos regarding their cookbook by clicking *HERE*. I know I have seen another video of theirs on Youtube however I can not locate it at this time. I highly recommend this cookbook. Spice up your life! - JW  

The Lyle's Golden Syrup Cookbook

I started off my cookbook buying with Nigella Lawson's Kitchen, at £10, and ended it with this one for £1. I truly had come full circle. How so? In Nigella's Kitchen cookbook she uses golden syrup in quite a few recipes. And as I leafed through the book at my leisure during my holiday's it seemed as though the book would always flop open to those recipe pages. So finding this book at a charity shop in Canterbury a week and a half later was pure coincidence. And buying it was a must. 

I bake with Lyle's golden syrup. I luv how the syrup sits on a dessert spoon and it is my guilty pleasure to lick the syrup remains off the spoon. One can find it at British and Import shops around E-town although it is popping up on regular grocery store shelves too. Most Canadians are probably more familiar with Roger's golden syrup. Which is pretty much the same as Lyle's. This sticky sweet golden syrup was created in 1883 by a Scottish businessman, Abram Lyle and his three sons and has been stocked on British pantry shelves ever since. 

With only 78 pages and 40 recipes this cookbook is a ode to 125 years of Lyle's golden syrup. Recipes range from sweet to savoury. There are historic facts, fun facts and memorabilia throughout the book. One of the few recipes I do want to try is a classic... Syrup Sponge Pudding. For that, I will have to buy a pudding basin. Oh twist my arm!  

This recipe, from the cookbook, is sophisticated and simple. Something you might want to try. 

Courgettes in White Wine & Golden Syrup

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Serves 4

500g courgettes

1 medium onion

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

200ml dry white wine

salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon Lyle's Golden Syrup

12 seedless grapes, halved

Top, tail and peel the courgettes and cut slices on the diagonal about 1cm thick.

Peel the onion and cut it in half. Lay each half face down and slice into thin slithers. Peel the clove of garlic and finely dice.

In a deep fry pan gently heat the olive oil and fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until soft and transparent - you don't want them crispy. Now lay the slices of courgette on top, Turn up the heat to medium high and pour over the white wine. Season with salt and plenty of freshly milled black pepper and let the courgettes gently poach for 8-10 minutes turning several times until the liquid has almost gone. Drizzle the golden syrup over the courgettes, turn once or twice to glaze. Finally toss in the grapes, just enough to warm them, and serve as an easy lunch or to accompany fresh grilled fish or white meat. 

* The book also suggests trying the recipe with sliced, cooked beetroot. 

Enjoy! - JW  

English Pub Favourites

I have only been home for a few days and I am already itching to get back into the kitchen. There is really no big surprise considering that I brought back six cookbooks. However jet lag is lingering. So I thought I would do this post and share some of the menu choices I made while eating out.  

Usually when I go to England the ploughman's is the menu item I order. A quick glance at any menu when eating out and spotting a ploughman's means the search to fill the void is no more. Second to that is fish and chips followed by the Waldorf salad. 

The Ploughman's - The first Ploughman's I had was at the Old Bell in Rye, pictured here. By far this was the best one! The bread was cut thick and so was the cheese. The salad, fresh. The ham, tender. The apple slices crisp and a few crisps for crunch. Even though the ingredients to make up a ploughman's remains the same, every pub does it's own take on this pub classic. 

Fish and Chips - That is the standby favourite and I always have to have my fill. I do find fish and chips here and fish and chips in England are two different things. However this time I was able to try a vegetarian version at the Victoria pub in London, pictured here. Pieces of fried halloumi cheese, chips and mushy peas served with a side of tartar sauce. It was equally delicious and just as satisfying as the real thing. 

The Waldorf Salad - When I see this on the menu I feel compelled to order this. Waldorf salads are few and far between in Canada. Also I always have a bit of a laugh due to the Fawlty Towers episode. Therefore I find it amusing and comforting. I view this salad the same way as the ploughman's, the ingredients remain the same however some may add a few extras. This Waldorf salad, pictured here, from the Riverside Inn in Ashford, Kent was great. It was served with a bed of lettuce and bunches of diced veggies placed around it and then the salad topped with pumpkin seeds crowned the top. Very filling! 

- JW 

The Best of Mrs. Beeton's

Maybe most of you haven't heard of Mrs. Beeton. I heard about her 2 years ago on another visit to England when I picked up this cookbook. To Britain she is a national treasure. She is one of the most famous cookery writers. Her biography is small, dying in 1865 when she was just 28 years old, however she has left a mark on household management that has proceeded throughout many decades.

This edition was published in 2009 by Orion. The 15 chapters offer regional specialities, comforting home traditions and British treats. Last night I leafed through it's 250 pages. Searching for any recipe that I could whip up in no time. I found one that was very fitting considering, November 5th is Guy Fawkes Night. Last year I made a feast of roast jacket potatoes, fried sausages, roasted marshmallows, burnt sparkles and even had a meager homemade paper and popsicle stick Guy Fawkes, which we burnt. This year we are celebrating Guy Fawkes Night with a Gingerbread recipe. Even though it has to sit for a week after baking I may just have to sneak a piece tonight. I will share Mrs. Beeton's recipe with you and the photo of the one I made.

           

        

GUY FAWKES GINGERBREAD

Make this gingerbread at least a week before eating and store in an airtight tin. It is best sliced and spread lightly with butter. An excellent treat for November 5th!

butter for greasing

200 g / 7 oz plain flour

1.25 ml / 1/4 teaspoon of salt

15 ml / 1 teaspoon ground ginger

50 g / 2 oz soft light brown sugar

50 g / 2 oz butter or margarine

100 g / 4 oz black treacle

75 ml / 5 tablespoons milk

5 ml / 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 egg, beaten

  

Line and grease an 18 cm / 7 inch square tin or a 23 x 13 x 7.5 cm / 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf tin. Set the oven 180ºC / 350ºF / gas 4.

Sift the flour, salt and ginger into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar. Heat the butter or margarine, treacle and most of the milk gently in a saucepan until the fat has melted. 

In a second saucepan, warm the remaining milk and stir in the bicarbonate of soda until dissolved. Pour the melted mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg with the milk and soda mixture and beat well.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 150ºC / 300ºF / gas 2 and bake for a further 30 - 40 minutes until cooked through and firm to the touch. 

Makes one 18 cm / 7 inch SQUARE CAKE or One 23 x 13 x 7.5 cm / 9 x 5x 3 inch LOAF

Lavender Scones

These are the scones I made from the Jamie's Great Britain cookbook. Although the recipe didn't ask for it, I dressed the top of them with lavender. They were so delicious and devoured in no time flat! I would use this recipe again. It was easy and I am sure the next time I make them they will turn out even better. I was a bit off on my conversion of the flour. Should have added more. 500 grams of flour translates to about 3 3/4 cups of flour. I was under that. When trying to find the appropriate shape cutter I had a small-medium sized one. What can one do other then to just go with it and make smaller scones. They were being eaten so quickly nobody seemed to notice. Another plus was that there were a few left over so the kidlets got to take them to school in their lunch. - JW  

Sipsmith Gin Distillery Tour

When I was in London I took in a gin distillery tour at Sipsmith. Instead of giving you all the details on the tour. I have decided to share my photos with a few comments thrown in here and there. I do highly recommend this tour. It was fun, informative and sampling the spirits were a bonus! 

Looks can be deceiving! There is a gin distillery behind those blue doors. Step over the threshold and see the only copper distillery in London in over 200 years! Lucky number 27.  

Who needs curtains when empty bottles will do! How many times a month do they do a tour? 

This spirit bottle is empty but beautiful nonetheless. They usually rest the ageing spirits.  

Besides Fairfax, whom is one of the founders, greeting us was a lovely gin and tonic! I don't know how many people were there that night, it was a packed warehouse, warm and the gin and tonic was refreshing.  

Part One: Prudence won't you come out and play! Preferably to make gin and vodka. The name Carl is etched on the centre circle due to it's producer, Christian Carl.   

When you look through the port hole on the side this is what you see. Loads of bubbly action. 

Part Two: The birth of Prudence. It's dated the 14th of March 2009.   

Part Three of Prudence. The Fractional Distillation Column. When making vodka, it's ingredients, barley and water pass through the five plates. However when making gin it bypasses the five plates. Making the gin more botanical.  

All together now. Prudence and Fairfax. A bit blurry but Fairfax was passionate, informative, eloquent and had a very good sense of humour. 

Sipsmiths Summer Cup which is absolutely divine! Their Winter Warmer was as well. Since they are not a bonded warehouse you can't buy directly from them. I bought a bottle from duty-free at Heathrow Airport on my way back to Canada. Sipsmith isn't available across Canada, although Fairfax informed us that the province of Ontario will soon be carrying it... next year I believe. Lucky them! You can find out more about Sipsmith by visiting *here*  and by taking a tour. Happy sipping. cheers. - JW   

The Terrace Times Cookbook

I found this cookbook at the Winchelsea Book Fair. One thing that struck me about this book was the illustrations inside. It had me reminiscing... retracing my steps around London. The Terrace Times: Minimum Effort, Maxmium Effect CookBook London Edition by Helen Arbib and Drawings by Ray Evans pp.[3]64; 1982, published by Collins is a very slim streamlined book filled with a mixture of history, drawings and recipes. It's light-hearted approach makes one feel as though they can cook and have had a history lesson without ever having to enter a classroom. A quirk of the book is that it is dedicated to British Airways. Why? It's not really explained except it states that the cookbook could not have been done without their help. The cookbook has 8 chapters and they are: Introduction, History of London, Cookery Notes, Metrics Without Misery, Before the Main Course, The Main Course, After The Main Course and the Recipe Index. It has some classic British dishes and some interesting ones like Cauliflower Curry, Stilton Soup, Savoury Salmon Custard and Pease Pudding. There is a recipe for Apricot and Coconut Balls which I will make as part of my holiday baking. Shortbread is always my staple however I like to add a few new ones into the mix. - JW  

Here is an example of the illustrations that are throughout the book. 

Ploughmans

No trip to England would be complete unless you ate in a pub or had a ploughmans. I can say I did both quite regularly on my trip. Whenever it was time to grab a meal out I was all about the ploughmans. Every pub seems to offer their own version of this classic British dish.  

The New Flying Horse in Wye offered this ploughmans. Ham, cheese, grated cheese, salad, french baguette, celery, pickles and Branston pickle. I can't understand the grated cheese however this made for an adequate appetizing lunch. 

Marks and Spencers in Canterbury had a pre-packaged jubilee cheese ploughmans. The charming bunting package had me sold. This is my kind of fast food. Fresh and on the go. It was more like eating a homemade sandwich and satisfied my hunger. Luved the fact that they used watercress.    

Kings Head in Hythe offered these two amazing ploughmans. This is the small. It offered Irish brown bread, salad, grapes, pearl onions, massive chunks of cheese (that lie under the slices of bread) and caramelized onions. The two chunks nestle on top of the bread are butter. I rarely butter my bread so I put those to the side. This was a very filling ploughmans.  

This is the full order. Similar to the small however it came with two extra slices of bread, Branston pickle, coleslaw, potato salad and a slice of pork pie. I would only recommend this if you were not going to have anything else to eat for the rest of the day. This is such a simple British dish, why don't we see this more often on the lunch menu?  - JW 

Jubilation!

This weekend marks Queen Elizabeth's 60 years of reign. What better way to celebrate than champagne and Pimm's. Mix together, 2 ccl of Pimm's and top up with champagne and you get the Pimm's Royal Cup. Very refreshing on a summer day and a lovely way to ring in her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. God Save The Queen! - JW   

More than a Minute

I feel this cookbook needs no introduction. Everyone... well almost everyone around the globe will recognise Jamie Oliver. I wanted to review this book now because most recently it has made headlines. Claims of promoting obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The usual suspects: coconut milk, cream, butter and red meat are present in some recipes. Jamie Oliver's recipes are recipes for 4-6 people. So let's put the portions sizes in perspective and everything in moderation. Right? Are you eating a Catherine Wheel seven days a week? Probably, not! Jamie Oliver is only using ingredients that have been used by your parents, your grandparents and their parents and everyone around the globe! If you don't like cooking with those ingredients than use the low fat versions of those ingredients. Personally I would prefer him to use the pure ingredients rather than the modified ones! I like Jamie Oliver for all his Food Revolution efforts, getting people, families back into the kitchen and out of the blur of processed foods and fast food. Whether you luv, like or dislike him you have to admit he has made an impact. He is trying to use his know how in a positive way. Now on with my review...

I found this a very easy cookbook to read. I like how it is laid out. the recipes follow as if Jamie Oliver is in your kitchen guiding you through each step of the process. It speaks to you in the way of how you would cook... how you would do the process. step by step. I own a copy of this book however when I was doing some research about the book I found that the cover used to be called Jamie's 30 Minute Meals: a Revolutionary Approach to Cooking Good Food Fast. Interesting. I feel unless you are a very experienced cook or get your kitchen magic mojo working then the recipes might take more than 30 minutes. Hence the possible title change, Meals in Minutes. Makes sense. Remember the saying practise makes perfect. In time you'll be able to get the recipes down. I know for myself it takes me a bit of time with a new recipe to get my groove on. To get it to a level where I am comfortable. I recommend this book to anyone who wants some good solid meals. Families, couples, people who entertain and luv to cook. Even if you are a single person I feel you could still use this book by freezing the unused portions. I know the idea is fresh food fast so I hope I didn't make Jamie Oliver cringe with that statement.

The photos are stunning and seem to go hand in hand with the step by step recipes on the opposite page. There is a video recorder symbol with recipes so you can visit his website and find helpful techniques to guide you. Which brings the level of interaction with this cookbook to a higher one. There is also a lovely write up by Jamie Oliver at the beginning. Cookbooks now a days almost read like a novel... well to me anyway. I enjoy looking at the entire cookbook. I feel Jamie Oliver is all about trying to give you the power... the cooking power that is! - jw