#33 Stewed Pigeons in Foil

The first of the game dishes made with the produce from my trip to Bury Market. I've not had woodpigeon before, and wasn't too sure if it would be too gamey. I have tried to cook it before but it was so tough it was inedible. My mate John came over for tea and I thought I'd try and do (#33) Stewed Pigeons in Foil. It seemed easy; all was required was time. One pigeon is required per person. Brown the pigeon in butter, breast only, using a hot pan. Allow them to cool. Meanwhile cut pieces of foil large enough to encase the pigeons individually, and spread softened butter over the centre of each piece. Place the birds in the centre and make a parcel with one end still open so you can add the flavourings. Into the cavity add a large knob of butter, thyme, pepper, a slug of brandy, finely chopped onions, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and one of beef stock. Make sure all is sealed well, place on a baking tray and cook for three hours in a low oven. The breasts were removed and seasoned well. It was served with mashed potato and celeriac and the juices from the pigeons (Grigson's orders). I added some purple sprouting broccoli for something green.

This is definitely the most cheffy looking dish I've made so far. It certainly looked the part. The wood pigeon was very tender and moist - it came away from the bone easily. The flavour is very much like liver, in that it's quite metallic, and it's got a slightly grainy texture. The mash was divine - used the ricer that I bought for the first time, and will never go back to mashing! - the celeriac and parsley gave in a herby, perfumed taste. Absolutely brilliant! What's more, eating game is totally sustainable food - even if we all went vegetarian tomorrow, we'd still have to shoot them as part of woodland management (same goes for deer, pheasant, etc...)

FYI: according to the BBC, the wood pigeon is the most common bird in the UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4646685.stm

#33 Stewed Pigeons in Foil. 9.5/10 - I cannot believe how nice this dish was. Can't wait to do more game recipes!

#32 Parsnip and Watercress Salad

As Greg and I gorged ourselves on Bury Market cheese, we needed something to cut through the richness. I'd seen the recipe for the salad as I was flicking through English Food, and thought that I should only make it when able to get really good produce. Apparently, it's an early Seventeenth Century dish, and it's very easy to prepare. The recipe said to use one medium sized parsnip per person, so I doubled that for starters! They were boiled until tender in salted water. While they were boiling, I arranged a head of little gem lettuce in each of our bowls and made a vinaigrette. Jane recommended putting on some toasted nuts and to use the relevant nut oil in the vinaigrette. I used walnut, as I've made parsnips salads before that used walnuts. I made it in the ratio of 1 part walnut oil,1 part vegetable oil (as the nut oil by itself can be overpowering) and 1 part white wine vinegar. Then I seasoned it well. This was used to dress the parsnips. The dressed parsnips were arranged in a ring on top of the lettuce. Finally, a pile of watercress was placed in the centre of the dish along with a sprinkle of chopped toasted walnuts.

I'd forgotten how nice the walnut and parsnip combo is, and how lovely and peppery watercress is, I think that people poo-poo it has boring salad. FYI: watercress is one of the three indigenous vegetable to Britain. The others are kale and....Damn! I've forgotten the other one. I shall try and find the reference again. It's weird to think that all other vegetables have been brought in from foreign climbs, including the parsnip!

#32 Parsnip and Watercress Salad - 8.5/10. This is a great salad. Certainly tasty enough to eat on it's own. I'd have it with some granary bread to mop up any stray vinaigrette at the end!

Bury Market

Greg and I went to Bury Market for the day on Saturday. I'm apologising in advance for the lack of photos. We both forgot to take them because we were so cold. I managed to get hold of some ingredients for some more recipes,along with some nice produce too. The cheese stall there is one of the best you'll ever go to; Greg and I scoffed a load of it last night night - Yorkshire Blue, a nice young goat's cheese, and a lovely mature farmhouse cheddar. It shits on anything you can get in a supermarket, no matter how many 'Extra special' stickers, or whatever they put on them. I also got some game - pigeon and pheasant - so hopefully there'll be some nice things coming my way! I love pheasant, but have never had pigeon - I once tried to cook one by roasting it, and it was so tough I couldn't eat it. The Grigson says to never roast a pigeon. I have seen the error of my ways.

I also got myself a black pudding - a must if you go to Bury, as it is the place where the best are made. I also got white pudding, which I've never had before. I'm saving them for when I have NO visitors!

Kitchen - Phase 1

Hey there!

Not put an entry on for a bit...do apologise. There is a few Grigson-related news to thee an' all and the first is that one side of my new kitchen has been put in my me and (mainly) my brother Ady. Hopefully as the photos of the food get added on throughout the next few weeks, the background scenery will become less and less depressing! Here's some in-progress shots. Obviously, the number of Grigsons has decreased of late, however it won't be like this forever! It's not as bad as the photos now as there's some temporary units in on one side. ***here ends kitchen update***

Sunday Dinner - # 30 and 31

After a Friday night out on the razz and a hangover all Saturday, me and Greg thought we'd do a nice Sunday lunch and get Joff round. We decided to make pretty normal one - pies, gravy, peas, veg , Yorkshire puddings. But we thought the Grigson must have something we could do. Of course, she always delivers; (#30) Carrot and Potato Cake seemed straight-forward and unfussy. Simply fry an onion in butter and stir in 2 or 3 grated carrots along with plenty of salt. Spread half in a cake tin, followed by a pound of thinly-sliced potatoes and then the remaining carrot mixture. Bake in the oven until all has become soft - about 25 minutes. We had a slice of it with our meal and it was a much welcomed addition. The juice from the carrots and the butter made a lovely orange-coloured sweet sauce.

The pudding was an Eighteenth Century-style (#31) Baked Custard Tart. Usually the kind I have is made from eggs, milk, sugar and nutmeg, but this was made from 3/4 pint of single cream boiled with a cinnamon stick and 2 blades of mace. The cream was sieved and added to 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks along with 2 tablespoons of sugar. This was whisked thoroughly and quickly so that it didn't scramble. Then 2 teaspoons of orange flower water was added, and it was all poured into a blind-baked sweet shortcrust pastry base, a flourish of grated nutmeg added to the surface, and baked on a low/medium heat for about 30 minutes until just set. Can't wait to get my new kitchen in - hopefully will be starting it at the weekend. Watch this space!

#30 Carrot and Potato Cake - 7/10. An interesting and fuss-free way of making your typical Sunday veg a bit more interesting (and fattening, natch).

#31 Baked Custard Tart - 8/10. Lovely! Very creamy and fragrant. The orange flower water was a perfumed delight! However, I think I do prefer the recipe I know of - there is several recipes similar to this in English Food, so I won't worry that I'm missing out!

Greg says:

"#31 Baked Custard Tart: 8/10. Woop! Bona to vada your dolly old tart. Me and Joffrey were dry humping over this one. I even gave Pugling a little bit and he made his scratty schnarfing gulp-sound which means ‘I like’. Despite Neil’s misremembering I’m sure this is the only pie of this kind he’s made me and thus is my fave of the breed so far."

Valentine's Day - # 28 & 29

I've been a bit poor recently with the upkeep of this blog, so I'll start with Valentine's Day - least Thursday. If there's Grigsons for special occasions one simply has to make them. So it was a choice between Sweetheart Cake or Valentine's Day Syllabub; I went with the latter. The Grigson suggested making Elegant Sugar Thins to go with. The process for both required some prep the day before. For the syllabub add a splash of white wine, a good squeeze of lemon juice plus the grated zest, a dash of brandy and a big tablespoon of honey to a bowl and leave to infuse. For the bikkies, I simply made the mixture and let it firm up in the fridge shaped into a sausage. There were three - yes count them, three - options for the flavoring; lemon, vanilla or cinnamon. I went with vanilla, as I am loving it the moment after the rice pudding I did last week. The mixture was a basic biscuit one really - I really should find out how much of the Grigson's recipes I can put in the blog without getting done... I only needed about a third of the mixture for the next day, so I've frozen the rest.

On the day, it was pretty straight forward: pour in a small tub of double cream into the lemony mixture and whip up. Place in two wine glasses and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. The Sugar Thins needed slicing very thinly and then sprinkled with sugar. They took only 7 minutes to cook in a hot oven.

For the main course I made chilli baked eggs - a recipe from another excellent book - Leiths Vegetarian Bible. This book is excellent - the recipes are all of such high quality. Most of the hundreds of recipes are traditional and not hippy cuisine at all.

All-in-all Greg and I had a lovely romantic evening, filling our faces and drinking wine as you can see by the photo - I do apologise for the depressing background of drying washing and part-built kitchen cabinets...

FYI: noone really knows who St Valentine was,and it may be a day that celebrates several saints all called Valentine. Also, the association with love and romance seems to have been completely made up as part of a story by Chaucer. I am officially a font of all knowledge...

#28 Valentine's Day Syllabub: 5/10. When I first started eating it I thought it was lovely, but then the wine and brandy made it too rich and bitter for me. I'd have preferred it with just honey and lemon methinks!

#29 Elegant Sugar Thins: 8/10. Lovely delicate, sweet, crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth. I'm so glad I've made a big stash of the mixture in the freezer!

Greg says:

#28 Valentine's Day Syllabub: 6.5/10. I think I liked this more than Neil did, he doesn’t really like boozy foods though. As usual however we tried to eat too much of it, but I think if you got a little egg cup’s worth in a fancy-pants restaurant you’d appreciate it much more. WHEN NEIL GETS A BLOODY DINING TABLE HINT HINT then we can share the wealth a little more. Are you listening?? Any road, the bitterness is nicely offset by these: #29 Elegant Sugar Thins: 8/10. Ooh I like a good thin, me: butter, lemon, cheese or sugar, you names it, I likes it. You could just sit and eat these all night with a brew in fact, they’re like a really classic sweet little biscuit from your Gran’s ‘parlour’. Muchos yum.

#27 Baked Rice Pudding

So many people turn their nose up at milk puddings. I don't know why; Jane Grigson blames it on schools' attempts at it. I must admit the rice/semolina puddings at my school were a bit of an insipid affair. However, if you think you don't like them try the Grigson version, or indeed any recipe that makes it up from scratch. You must use pudding rice with its little fat, almost spherical, grains otherwise it'll be a disaster - it stays quite grainy, whereas normal cooking rice would just become a gluey mess. Also full fat milk MUST be used. The Grigson goes all the way by using Channel Island milk.

Put 2 1/2 ounces of pudding rice in a baking dish with a pint of Channel Island milk, two tablespoons of sugar, an ounce of butter and either a cinnamon stick or a split vanilla pod. I went vanilla. (I've used extract but not a real pod before and nothing compares! Well worth investing in a couple - they can be rinsed, dried and reused several times, so don't be put off by their price). Bake in a low oven - 140 degrees Celsius - for 3 hours, stirring it every hour and topping up with more milk if it becomes too thick. When cooked, you can add more sugar to taste. Although I enjoyed it (you can't go wrong, really) I've used other recipes, and although they are all very similar in ingredients, they seem better. I shall root one out and compare later (I'm at work at the moment...).

I've rabbited on enough...

#27 Baked Rice Pudding: 7/10. On the grand scale all milk puddings are close to perfect, but I've scaled down as I'm sure I've used better recipes...Roll on semolina pud, though!

Cheat's onion gravy

This is one that I do if I want nice gravy but I'm not making a roast dinner, or more often, if there's a (*sharp intake of breath!*) vegetarian. It's very easy and probably doesn't count as a recipe, but fuck it; it's my blog so I can put whatever I like in it... Sorry about that outburst there. I often do this with mushrooms aswell as or instead of onions...

You will need:
Gravy granules
Vegetable stock from any boiled veg you're having, else use boiling water
1 small onion, sliced into half rings
1 tbs sunflower, or any other flavorless, oil
spring of thyme, rosemary or other suitable herb
Pepper

What to do:

1. Fry the onion on a medium heat in the oil along with the thyme until the onion goes dark brown - almost black - around the edges. Season with pepper - don't add salt because gravy granules are salty enough.
2. Make the gravy with the stock, according to the instructions on the packet, or to your own liking
3. Add the gravy to the pan and allow to simmer for around five minutes. Add more water if it's looking a bit on the thick side.
4. Pour into a jug or gravy boat, if posh; or just pour straight onto roast dinner, if not posh.

#26 Roast Parsnips

A quick one cos it's a bit crappo really! Made a nice tea last night with Yorkshire Puddings (see recipe in blog). I bought some parsnips. Followed the Grigson's guidelines which turned out to be what I do anyway! Par-boil your parsnips in salted water for about 3 minutes. Add to a hot roasting tin, season, and roast in a hot oven until they're squidgy in the centre and crispy (but not too crispy) in the outside. If you're cooking them with roast meat, stick them in the tin alongside it. Curiously enough, the Grigson doesn't give a recipe for roast or mashed potatoes - maybe she assumes everyone knows how to do it; but then again, if you can do those, you can do parsnips... I've also noticed some other omissions from the book and will compile a list, methinks and add my own versions.

Anyway, sorry for the rather uninspiring post today, but it's all I could muster this week - still have no money. Boo! However, it is Valentine's Day very soon, so I'll do something from the book then. I intend to go to Bury Market also and get some offal and weird things.

Here's the score for the roasts:
#26 Roast Parsnips: 8/10. You've gotta love em. The Grigson didn't give any new info on them though. Anyone know a better way to do them, or is this the best?

Rice Krispie Cake

Everyone has a favorite recipe for Rice Krispie cake and it's usually their Mum's. But when people try my Mum's they soon see the error of their ways. My Mum used to own her own bakery many years ago before I was even thought of and this the RKC she sold. It has to be the best one. I dare anyone to better it: the secret ingredient is... Mars bars! Although I did try it with Snickers and it worked quite well. Either way, it must be eaten with a cup of tea.

I will try and give amounts because I do it all by eye; use your judgement.

You will need:
2 Mars bars, chopped up
2 tbs golden syrup
1 1/2 to 2 ounces (45-60g) butter (though my Mum always uses margarine)
Rice Krispies
milk chocolate

What to do:

1. Melt the Mars bars, golden syrup and butter slowly in a saucepan, stirring often. Don't let it burn!
2. Pour the melted mixture into a large bowl containing the Rice Krispies. Add more cereal if you need to; the mixture is very rich so a thin covering is all that is required, but you should do it to your own taste.
3. Spread the mixture out into a Swiss roll tin that has been lined in greaseproof paper or foil. Flatten it our neatly with a spatula or palette knife.
4. Melt the milk chocolate over simmering water or on a medium heat in the microwave and spread thinly over the top of the RKC mixture.
5. Allow to cool (if possible) and cut into squares.

FYI...

From my old matey, James...

"Here is you're Christian take on the pagans 40 days of fasting:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temptation_of_Christ"

#25 Harvest Pancakes for the Poor

I did Pancakes for the Rich a while ago, and so as it was Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday yesterday. I thought I'd do the Grigson's recipe for (#25) Harvest Pancakes for the Poor. [I don't know why the pancakes were meant to be for harvest time, seeing as that's in September...] Jane Grigson's recipe is pretty much the same as everyone else, except she puts in ground ginger into hers; which was quite pointless since as you couldn't taste it! Hey-ho. Anyways, many different fillings were made by me and Greg - some English, some not so English. No matter what fillings I try, nothing beats my two favorites: lemon and sugar, or butter and sugar. Yum!

For the pancakes, make a batter by whisking together 5 ounces of flour with half a pint of either milk or mild ale (!) and an egg plus half a teaspoon of ground ginger. Fry over a high-ish heat using lard or cooking oil to lightly grease the pan (pour off any excess and re-grease for each pancake).

FYI: Shrove Tuesday is the last day of Shrovetide which was a long festival that built up to the forty days of fasting in the lead up until Easter. I wonder if the 40 day fast thing is also a Pagan thing taken over by the early Roman Christians like Easter was? Anyone know??

Also I tried to make ice-cream to go with it, but my ice-cream maker is broken - what a crock of shit. I have had soooo much bad luck lately I'm beginning to think I'm cursed...

#25 Harvest Pancakes for the Poor - 8/10. A very good recipe, though I prefer using some water as well as milk, but that's what I'm used to. Why-oh-why is there ginger in it?

Neil's Kitchen Nightmares

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have bought a new kitchen. I foolishly bought it using my current account and have no money until April. Boo! Anyway, I will not go on a massive rant about the never-ending stream of bad luck and terrible customer service I have received from MFI other than to say do not buy a kitchen from there! It is delivered now and I need to start tearing out the old one in stages and replacing it with nice shiny new kitchen bits. I cannot wait to have an oven that actually works properly. I will be posting up pictures as I go. So here's the first two: the God-awful kitchen as it is now and a small sample of the the giant set of flat-packing I have to do.* Hurrah!

Also, on another note, I will be back in the fray again - it's Pancake Day tomorrow so I'll do Grigson's pancakes and see if they're better than my Mum's recipe!

*For some stupid reason Blogger won't let me put photos on - yet another example of the MFI curse. Damn those bastards!**



**it seems to be working now...

Tatties wi' their hats on

Ok. Another of my own recipes. Actually it's one my uncle used to do. He passed away about 12 years ago, but I went to visit my Auntie last weekend and she made this dish. Tatties wi' their hats on has to be pronounced in a Yorkshire accent. Next time you cook a roast dinner make these brilliant potatoes, they're genius! You roast them in the oven in a tray filled part way up with vegetable stock and sliced onions. The tops have a coating of bought, dry sage and onion stuffing straight out of the packet. If you are doing roast pork or chicken pop the meat in and nestle the potatoes around it. It may all sound slightly naff, but it is one of the bast ways to do tatties! I goes particularly well with a roast shoulder of pork (with crackling, of course) and apple sauce.

You will need:
Medium-sized potatoes, peeled (I do 2 per person)
3 medium-sized onions, sliced
Vegetable stock
Sage and onion stuffing
Salt and pepper

What to do...

1. Preheat the oven to 108 degrees Celsius (or if having with meat, follow instructions for the meat you are roasting).
2. Spread the sliced onions evenly on the bottom of a roasting tin
3. Cut the base of each potato so that they can stand up longways (like large eggs!). Dunk the top of each potato in some stuffing and season well.
4. Nestle these amongst the onions, or around the joint of meat. Sprinkle extra stuffing on top
5. Pour enough stock so that it is around 1/2 inch deep.
6. Roast for around 1 1/2 hours until cooked.
7. If you're doing meat - make sure it's a cut that take at least 1 1/2 hours to cook, otherwise it'll dry out

My recipe for lentil and bacon pasta stew

As promised more of my own recipes. This one is adapted from an Elizabeth David book on Italian cookery. It's brilliant if you are being frugal (as I am), you could even miss out the bacon altogether, though I would replace it with some smoked paprika. (Plus swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock, and it's vegetarian) Also, when VERY frugal, instead of using parsley leaves, I use finely-chopped parsley stalks. I freeze all my herbs in freezer bags and have always got loads of stalks to use to flavours soups or stocks. Don't let the huge amount of garlic scare you, it cooks down into a sweet mush.

The recipe makes enough for four as a main I reckon. It freezes well too.

You will need:
4 tbs good olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 or 3 good-quality smoked bacon rashers, cut into squares
1 stick of celery cut in 1cm lengths
the peeled cloves of half a bulb of garlic
6 oz. of brown or green lentils (or a mixture of both)
1 tin of tomatoes
3 tbs chopped mint leaves
4 tbs chopped parsley leaves
2 pints light chicken stock
2 oz. pasta (any kind)
salt and pepper

What to do:

1. Pour boiling water over the lentils and allow to soak for 30-45 minutes
2. Meanwhile, fry the onion in the oil until soft, then add the bacon and fry for about five minutes.
3. Add the celery and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the drained lentils and stir around so that the lentils soak up the oil.
5. Pour in the tin of tomatoes, along with the mint and parsley. Season. Simmer until most of the tomato juices have been absorbed by the lentils.
6. Add the stock and bring to a good simmer. Allow to cook for about an hour, perhaps slightly longer.
7. When the lentils are served add the pasta and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the pasta is ready. Check the seasoning.
8. Eat!

OMG!

Homemade marmalade is absolutely gorgeous! Greg and I had some on toast when we got in from work last night. It's super orangey and not too bitter. It definitely better than any bought stuff and this is my first attempt. I'm going to make loads more jams and shit!

#24 Orange Marmalade: 9/10. Don't want to give it full marks as I may be able to improve on it next year...

Greg says:
I agree, 9/10 for the marmalade, it's SO good, the kind that a little old lady with a hair bun would give you if you knocked on her door to ask for directions in the countryside. It actually tastes like it has something to do with fruit which most marms/jams seldom do. Yum please.

Jenny says:
Yep, 9/10, fantastic marmalade. Tangy, chunky and sticky - bring me more toast at once!

Nic says:
"loving the marmalade neil! very impressed- good use of rind, deliciously fruity but not overly sweet. works well on old school toast and bagels. i'm assigning a score of 9/10. it's on a par with my all time fave -the vintage Oxford one. more please! can i put in a request for lemon curd and/or 'buttery's no-butter peanut butter' please!"

Ange says:
"Sometimes you don't need foie gras or quail's eggs to satisfy your well-educated tastebuds, on occassion only something homely and comforting will do. Take marmalade for example, you don't need fancy melba toast or an organic rye bagel to enjoy its zesty goodness. I believe the only true way to enjoy marmalade is on cheap, thick sliced white bread, toasted a bit more than usual, the merest sheen of butter (not marge mind) and then a thick unctuous layer of boiled sugar and citrus!I looked forward to last weekend knowing that such a treat was within my grasp. Neil's Marmalade (TM) made a satisfying pop when the lid was loosened and expelled a cool draught of lively orange. First taste was exquisitely sweet, dying down to a sharp, but exhilarating tang. A defining marmalade moment. Pat yourself on the back young Neil.I second the motion for lemon curd to be next though!"

#24 Orange Marmalade

Since I've no money and everyone was out having fun, it was the perfect time to make (#24) Orange Marmalade. In a weird and quite geeky way I actually quite enjoyed myself! Boil 3 pounds of Seville Oranges in 6 pints of water for about 1 1/2 hours, scoop out the innards and put in a muslin. Add muslin to pot of water, shred the peel, add shit load (6 pounds) of sugar. Boil. Piece of piss. The tricky bit was getting it to set.

FYI: pectin sets at 105 degrees Celsius after boiling for 10 minutes. Viciously boiling a pot of molten sugar for that long is quite scary and it took ages for me to pluck up the courage! Eventually I did and it passed the 'wrinkle test'. The kitchen and I ended up one massive sticky mess! Then it was the simple procedure of funneling everything in with my new jam funnel. I haven't had a chance to taste it yet, except for the molten splashes that landed on me; and it seems very nice, strong and bitter. I am labelling them up and distributing them about.

FYI: I got all the jam-making stuff and posh jars from internet/ebay shop Country Cook Shop (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/COUNTRY-COOK-SHOP) which is situated in The Travelling Hen, Herefordshire; and very good they are too! Plus the fancy Gingham pot lids were from Greg as a Christmas pressie. I can't believe he feeds my geekiness by buying me these things! Anyone else would be ina permanent state of embarassment...

I think I may start a new career in conserve production...

I may be poor but hopefully there will still be Grigsons to speak of. Today, my order of preserve-making goodies came via the Internet. I just need to get hold of some cheesecloth and I can make some marmalade. I don't have a proper posh pan or a thermometer but hopefully all will be well. As I am poor I will have to be frugal, so I shall hopefully be making more jams etc. soon. Also, I got an ice cream maker for Christmas, so I can do some exciting (and cheap) experiments with that. Anyone fancy a water sorbet!? Even if I don't do stuff from the book I shall put on my own recipes; I haven't done that for a while and I should because I've made some good ones off the hoof and forgotten what I did. Anyway, I'm going to stop blabbering now. Laters!

#23 French Dressing

Now I know what you're going to say; French Dressing isn't very English. Back when English Food was written, we had one type of dressing and it was this recipe. (My sister used the exact same one herself, though not from Grigson.) Now, of course we have millions, so they are definitely part of the English way of eating. And if you don't agree: tough tits it's in the book and I have to make at some point anyway.

The reason that I've made it in the middle of January is because I need to eat something fresh with actual vitamins. Christmas was too indulgent. I may have gout. So it's salads for me. I got a brilliant panini sandwich press thing for Christmas and have been having healthy sarnies and salads. Ta Ma!

Crush a clove of garlic into a bowl or a clean jar and add a quarter teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of French mustard, a tablespoon of wine vinegar, five tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and ground pepper. Give it a good mix or shake and you are done. I know it looks like someone's vommed in a jar, but it's very nice reallly. No, really!

#23 French Dressing 7/10. It's the one we all know and love, but there's more exciting ones out there.

Christmas Dinner, numbers 21, 22

I planned to do alot more than I actually did for the Christmas dinner. It did all go down a treat though. However, only two Grigsons were done. Most of the recipes for the meal were taken from the brilliant Leiths Vegetarian Bible that I bought Greg a couple of years back; I would recommend everyone to buy it whether a vegetarian or not. This was the menu:

Starter: Mushroom pate

Main: Nut roast, (#21) Buttered Parsnips, Brussels Sprouts, Roast Potatoes, Minty Peas, Mustard Gravy

Pud: (#22) Little Pots of Chocolate with Rosemary

'Parsnips need butter' says the Grigson. And so right she is. Buttered parsnips is a way to make roast parsnips without roasting them it seems. Boil your parsnips until nearly cooked, drain, and then saute them slowly in butter. They go all nice and golden and chewy. Yumbo! Add some parsley and salt and pepper and you're done.

The Pots of Chocolate with Rosemary were a strange affair; dissolve 8 ounces of sugar in 8 fluid ounces of dry white wine and lemon juice, add a pint of cream and simmer until it thickens. Now add either a stem of fresh or a teaspoon of dried rosemary (I used dried as they'd run out of fresh at the shop) and 5 1/2 ounces of grated dark chocolate. Simmer for 20 minutes until nice and thick. Pass through a sieve and pour into ramekins to set. All pretty easy. sprinkle with some slivered almonds. The Grigson did warn that it was a very rich dessert, and she was not wrong! Greg and I managed to eat half of one each!

#21: Buttered Parsnips.7.5/10 - A great way to eat parsnips, but are they better the roast!? I don't think so!

#22: Little Pots of Chocolate with Rosemary Cream. 4.5/10. The combination of rosemary-infused chocolate works very well indeed. But the vast amounts of wine and sugar made far too rich even for me!

Happy New Year!

Well 2008 is here. I need to fill you in on Grigson-related activities over the festive period. There actually wasn't that much Grigson action to be honest. The Christmas Cake has gone down well with who tasted it (except for those that don't like Christmas Cake!). I did like the Marzipan as it was less sweet than the shop-bought kind. I liked the royal icing too, but I used (*sharp intake of breath*) Jif lemon! This was because I'd forgot to buy it and didn't have time to go to the shop. The icing's consistency was nice, but the slightly fake lemon flavour was noticeable. I still have a massive wedge of cake to eat, so if someone sends me their address I'll send a slice! My Mum like it too much, though, and it has now become my job to make the Christmas Cake every year.

#15 Christmas Cake, #18 Marzipan, #19 Royal Icing: 9/10. Certainly better than any shop-bought cake. I am knocking marks of for the icing (albeit my own fault)

I have been to Unicorn in Chorlton to buy my Seville oranges so I can make some lovely Oxford Marmalade. I have also ordered jam-making equipment from th'internet. It will be my first forray into the art of preserve-making.

However, dear-reader, do not expect too many Grigson's over the coming months. There are two reasons for this:

1. I have put on more than a stone since October with all the rich food and lack of trips to the gym.
2. I foolishly bought a new kitchen for my house. I paid for it using my debit card because I'd forgotten my credit card. What I didn't know is that these credit cards charge you 5% of the value to transfer it. What I also didn't know is that my card had been cancelled as I'd not used it since 2003! This leaves me with about £30 a week until April (my PhD pays me quarterly).

All Grigsons must be now a, cheap, and b, low-calorie. I don't know how successful I will be at this. I have managed one, and will tell you all about it after I fill you in on the couple I did over Christmas for mine and Greg's veggie Christmas dinner.

#20 Quince Vodka (Part I)

My second quince recipe. All very easy. Grate two Quinces. Put in a 1 litre jar along with 2 ounces of sugar. Top up with vodka. Leave for 2 months. I have no idea what it'll be like. I'll do a more throrough report in February!

Greg says:

Re the quince vodka, I will update you on it's progress weekly as I will be unable to keep my ahnds off the jar for 2 months. Also, I am probably shortly retiring from Grigson life, partly because I can't fit into my Levi drainpipes any more and partly because the veggie selection is drying up. Carnivores, it's over to you . . .

#18 Marzipan, #19 Royal Icing

Finished off the cake yesterday, and it looks as though it is a success. It was all pretty straight-forward really.

First (#18) Marzipan; sieve 8 ounces of icing sugar into a large bowl containing a pound of ground almonds. In a small bowl, beat an egg with 3 or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Use a wooden spoon or the beater attachment on a food mixer to form a paste. Use a knife to cut off the top of the Christmas Cake so that it is nice and flat on top. Knead the marzipan a little while and then roll two thirds out using icing sugar instead of flour to form a top circle, gluing it in place with some warmed apricot jam. The Grigson gave a handy hint at this point – roll everything out on a bit of greaseproof paper to prevent it sticking and falling to bits. She is a star! Now roll out an oblong of marzipan to wrap around the cake, again sticking it with apricot jam.

FYI: Marzipan originated in Persia (now Iran/Iraq), but its name originates from the German for 'March bread'.

(#19) Royal Icing was quite exciting to do; whip two egg whites until foamy but not stiff. Stir in two teaspoons of lemon juice and then, bit by bit, sieved icing sugar until a glossy spreadable icing is formed. Spread it over the marzipan using a palette knife, dipping the knife in water to prevent the icing from sticking. I have no piping bags - nor have I ever used one - so I did a lovely festive snow effect by gently whacking it with a palette knife! It looks very impressive even if I do say so myself. I forgot to buy decorations though! Poo!

#17 Quince Cream

Found a couple of quince recipes. The first is (#17) Quince Cream. Seemed easy enough. In reality it was a massive ball-ache. The quince is one of my favorite fruits - I don't know why they aren't sold in more greengrocers or supermarkets. It may be that you have to cook them to eat them. They combine the best of apples and pears and go a beautiful golden-orange colour when cooked. They were used in medieval times as a jam or jelly - the word marmalade comes from the French (I think) for quince! Weird to think of our lovely English marmalade wasn't made from Seville oranges (which are Spanish). Anyway. It all seemed like it would be easy. Chop up two quinces, add a little water, and stew until soft. Push through sieve. Add cream melted butter, an appropriate spice said the Grigson, so I used cinnamon. Add sugar to taste, plus egg yolks to thicken. I took about an hour and a half to sieve the fucker! I broke one sieve in the process too. Next time I'll use one of the alternative fruit suggested.

Luckily for the Grigson it tasted nice! It was creamy but light. I'm going to have to try and reduce the amount of cream and butter in my diet though! I can feel my arteries harden as I type!

Greg says:

Quince Cream - The smell of quince is a joy and something brand new to me. This dish was lovely, another heart attack masquerading as 'fruit' but it was quite noisy during the preparation thereof, I couldn't hear The Simpsons and had to close the door while Neil scraped away at boiled fruit in the next room. Hush please! It was sloppy and fruity and rich but when I attempted to eat more the following day it had become porridge so I don't care what she says, eat it all on the day! 7/10.

#17 Quince Cream - 7.5/10. Anything with quince is OK by me! I'm starting to get sick of all these calories though!

#16 Palastine Soup

OK. Something with Jerusalem artichokes...
...(#16) Palestine soup. Brilliant. FYI Jerusalem artichokes have nothing to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. It was thought that they tasted similar to artichokes, but I don't think they do. Jerusalem is a corruption of the word Girasole, which is the Italian for sunflower. (I used to grow them in the garden of my old house, and their flowers are like tiny sunflowers.) They are a much under used vegetable - at one point, before the domestication of the potato, it was attempted to make the Jerusalem artichoke a staple crop. It was considered too strong in flavour, and what a shame!

The soup was pretty easy; start by blanching a pound of Jerusalem artichokes in boiling salted water so that the knobbly skins can be peeled away. Place the peeled artichokes in the cooking water to prevent them discolouring. Meanwhile, gently cook 4 ounces of chopped onion, a crushed garlic clove and an ounce of chopped celery. When soft, add two rashers of streaky bacon and then after two minutes add the artichokes and 2 ½ pints of chicken stock. Simmer until the artichokes are tender then blitz. Finally stir in two ounces (!) of double cream and two tablespoons of chopped parsley. And then serve, under the strict Grigson rules, with croutons. It made a lovely soup - really brought out the earthy flavour of the Jerusalem artichokes. It's the best Grigson soup so far. I made a veggie version for Greg too using veggie bacon (!) and vegetable stock. It tasted as good as mine.

Greg says:
Palestine soup - This is my fave recipe to date I think. I had the girl version which Neil made in a separate pan using veg stock instead of chicken stock and veggie bacon instead of real piggy which meant my soup went a litle bit pink due to the colouring and smelt more like bacon than the real stuff! It was clearly the better of the two though possibly not admissbale under the strict Grigson regime. Anyways, the smoky bacony flavour together with the cream and that very specific Jersualem artichoke flavour was honestly amazing, if I'd had it in a restauarnt I would have been supremely chuffed. The croutons were alright but I could live without em, the fresh parsley is garnish enough. Wonderful . 9/10.

#16 Palestine Soup - 8.5/10. A brilliant winter-warmer! It should be part of everyone's repertoire!

Went on a lovely trip to Unicorn in Chorlton (www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk), Manchester the other day to see if they had fresh yeast and they did. Hurray; I thought it would be a nightmare getting hold of it. Whilst I was there I saw loads of seasonal stuff - it's all lovely and local and organic there too - so I stocked up on Jerusalem artichokes and quinces. I also notice they had Seville oranges there too. I plan to make proper marmalade in the new year and people are sending me empty jars to fill. I would've been fucked if I couldn't get them - they only have a one month season so I would've had to wait a whole year to start tracking them down again. Now I've to find some Grigson recipes with Jerusalem artichokes and quinces. I know that there are some. Also is the plural of 'quince' 'quince' or 'quinces'? Does it actually matter? No.

I am blabbering now - pleased to have cocked up my experiments. Which means I can go home and finish my Christmas Cake. Yum!

Bah Humbug!

I'm getting really sick and tired of all the deadlines and seminars and stuff at work. It's getting me down a bit, and I don't feel in the Christmas spirit at all! My viva is tomorrow and there's a conference tomorrow, but after this week it'll all be over. Then I can get all Christmassy and start thinking about the yummy Xmas food I can make from the Grigson. I've missed a load of stuff cos they need to be made well in advance; I suppose I'll just have to make mincemeat at Easter time instead! However, I am nurturing the Christmas Cake that I made at the weekend - I've been adding brandy by the teaspoon, so hopefully I'll be fantastic on the day. It's started to go all sticky with treacle-goodness. I keep worrying that it'll be raw in the middle. Raw or cooked, I'll be forcing people to eat it!

Off I pop - got students to teach!

#15 Christmas Cake

This is the first time I've been able to add an entry whilst making a dish. Yes, it's time for (#15)Christmas Cake. The idea being I can top it up with brandy throughout December ready for scoffing on the big day (assuming I can wait that long!). It is baking as we speak. It's got all you would expect inside - dried fruit, glace cherries, treacle etc etc etc!!!! God bless Greg for giving me an oven thermometer as an early Xmas pressie. My oven is shite! It took an hour just to get it to the right temperature; I have to set it at 100 degrees to actually get the required temperature of 140! It has to bake for 3 1/2 hours so I'm practising a talk as I wait, and of course, updating the old blog. I can't say what it's like, of course. We shall simply have to wait!

To make the cake you first need a huge bowl. Into it, mix together:

1 ½ pounds of mixed dried fruit;
four ounces of blanched, slivered almonds;
four ounces of chopped peel;
four ounces of rinsed, quartered glacé cherries.

Now add the rest of the dry ingredients:
ten ounces of plain flour;
a teaspoon of cinnamon;
a teaspoon of grated nutmeg;
grated rind of a lemon.

Now cream 8 ounces each of lightly salted butter and soft brown sugar in a separate bowl, then mix in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of black treacle. Beat in four eggs one by one until incorporated, and the mix in the fruit and the flour. For the final stage, dissolve half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in a tablespoon of warmed milk, stir it in, and then add enough brandy to slacken the mixture slightly, so that it is a ‘soft dropping consistency’.

Line an eight inch cake tin with greaseproof paper and pour the mixture in, hollowing the top a little to compensate for the rising. Cover with a layer of brown paper to prevent scorching and bake for 3 ½ hours at 140⁰C. Test it after 3 hours though just in case. When done, leave to cool in its tin overnight. The cake needs to be kept for a month or more as you’ll need to sprinkle it with brandy every now and again. Eventually, the cake needs to be finished with marzipan and royal icing (see later posts!)

#14 Leek and Onion Pudding

It was a weird one, but Greg and I are running out of veggie recipes.

Start by making a suet pastry as for a steak and kidney pudding (I used veggie suet, natch). Line a 2 ½ pint basin with the dough. Chop a large onion and a couple of leeks. Layer up within with onion, leek, plenty of seasoning, butter and dried sage. Make a lid from pastry and steam for 3 hours. That’s it!

Sounds awful, bland and stodgy doesn’t it? Well, it was great. Surprisingly tasty. We had it with butter beans and onion gravy. Sorry for the rubbish picture - we only realised we hadn't taken one til we were on second helpings. The video is true excitement, don't you agree? Deffo a nominee for Best Short at the BAFTAs methinks!


Greg says:
#14 Leek and Onion Pudding - Witness how stupidly excited we are on the video. I didn't quite accept that you could make pastry out of steam, apparently you can. The pudding is yum, the pastry is really flowery, as opposed to floury, because of the herbs, and the long slow cook just brings out the ordinary flavours of everything in abundance. I would never have the patience to make it myself though, obv. 7/10

#14 Leek and Onion Pudding: 8/10. Lovely crispy herby crust, surprisingly yummy within.

#13 Pancakes for the Rich

Greg and I thought we needed to stuff our faces with animal fat and sugar so (#13) Pancakes for the Rich (or a Quire of Paper; whatever that means!) was called for. It made 10 pancakes - which were very difficult to fry:

To make the batter beat together 3 ounces of flour, four ounces of melted butter, half a pint of single cream and a large egg along with two tablespoons of brown sherry, a teaspoon of rose or orange-flower water and half a grated nutmeg. Coat a skillet or pan in a very thin layer of oil and fry on both sides until brown. They didn't go firm like normal pancakes, but squidgy and caramelised because of the butter and the very little egg. After wrestling with them - in order to turn one we had to slide it onto a plate, and upturn it back onto the pan, otherwise they ended up a sad blob of batter. We served some up with sugar; as Grigson suggests, but also had some with lemon juice too.

Was it worth it? Not sure; i think I might prefer poor-man's pancakes. I think I'll try her recipe for them soon. But Pancakes for the rich were interesting, particularly for the addition of the beautifully fragrant orange-flower water.

Greg says:

#13 Pancakes for the Rich - Pretty much ditto what he said, they're nice but really not a patch on pov pancakes which may say more about our working class palate than anything else. Mostly though they're a bitch to turn, I am the king of tossing pancakes and these buggers weren't for flippng. But they are tasty and if you're attempting to put on a lot of weight in a very short time, whcih we apparently are, these are for you. 6.5/10.

#13 Pancakes for the Rich: 6.5/10. Delicious, but a big old faff and a bit too rich - even for me!

Another rainy day in Manchester...

On Saturday I completed my Continuation report for my PhD. I quite pleased with it - it could have done with one more draft but since my PC crashed after I'd spent 2 hours making corrections on the previous draft, I could not be ARSED! Anyway, it meant that me and Greg had a whole day together without me doing work - the only problem was it was chucking it down with rain - "it's like stair-rods" as my Dad would say! Rainy day = Grigson extravaganza. I decided that I'd make a Christmas cake and make some nice stuff to eat. We decided on (#13) Pancakes for the Rich for a naughty lunch and (#14) Leek and Onion Pudding for tea in the evening. Didn't have time to make the cake. It was nice going through the book choosing what to make - obviously we were restricted with the savories, but the puddings and teatime treats chapters give me a food boner! It is sad, I know; but there is something therapeutic about looking through cookbooks. Or may be it's just me... I'm really looking forward to making some traditional Christmas fayre. I am gonna be sooooo fat!

#12 Orange Fool

Dessert.

Not sure if I made it properly to be honest; tasty though it was. It's like no fool I've ever heard of. A fool is normally pureed fruit stirred into whipped cream. Not this one, this one’s more like a custard.

Mix three large eggs with half a pint of double cream, two ounces of sugar and the juice of three oranges in a basin along with some ground cinnamon and nutmeg until very thick. Place the basin over a pan of simmering water and whisk until it has thickened. After stirring it for about 15 minutes, I realised it as never going to become even a little bit thick! Oh dear. I soldiered on - the Grigson Padawan always ensures that the show still goes on. Poured it into wine glasses for that 70s kitschness. Top with candied peel and a sprinkle of orange flower water. The delicately perfume flower water made the whole dish very exotic, and although the fool wasn't (in my humble opinion) a fool, or thick. It was pretty special. Very rich and creamy, but the acidic orange juice that cut through the richness allowed you to keep on eating!!


Simon says:
For dessert an orange fool was served up. It did not last long for no sooner was it tasted than it was finished. Sweet and rich, smooth and thick, the glasses were licked clean. 8/10

Then we got pissed in Levy with a dinner lady and her god-awful son. Woo hoo!

I say:
#12 Orange Fool: 7/10. I cocked it up, but not even I can totally spoil a Grigson pud!

#11 Braised Beef with Carrots

Second course. This one couldn't be simpler either - all you need is time...and thyme too.

I got a piece of brisket from Savin Hill Farm (http://www.savin-hill.co.uk/), who have a stall from the farmers' market in Manchester. Brown it in lard and put it into a flameproof casserole. Add loads of sliced carrots, and inch or two's depth of chicken stock and a big sprig of thyme. Cook on a very low heat, topping-up the stock and adding more carrots for about 2 hours. I served it, as the Grigson recommends, with boiled potatoes. I have to say, I'm going to have to give this one mixed reviews. The carrots cooked with the beef and in the thymey stock were beautifully tender. The beef itself was extremely tasty; really....er....beefy! When I bought it, it was a deep red colour with a little bit of marbling. I don't think I've actually cooked brisket before, and tasty though it was, some of it was pretty tough. The Grigson did say you could use the more expensive cut, silverside. Perhaps I should've. I'm sure it wasn't down to Savin Hill's produce. FYI: rolled brisket is the strip of muscle from the breast of the cow rolled up. It is one of the 8 primal cuts of meat. I found out that apparently you've to cook it fat facing upwards to make it lovely and tender. Oh well - next time it'll be better!

Simon says:
A main course of beef with carrots was greedily consumed. The carrots were outstanding, cooked in the meat stock and packed full of thyme flavour. The beef was tasty but rather tough in parts: questions were raised over Grigson's suggested cut for the dish. Served with good peas and spuds. 6/10

I say:
#11 Braised Beef with Carrots: 6/10. I agree with Mr. Simon on this one. Have a feeling it may be my naive beef cookery!

#10 To Make a Nice Whet Before Dinner

Yes, you heard! It's from 1769, you know.

Simon came over and I did a 3 courser and this was the starter! Fried bread (in butter!), anchovy fillet, then grilled with a shed-load of Cheshire cheese on the top. That's it. Quite possibly one of the most delicious (and fattening) morsels I've ever had - I know I keep saying these things on the blog...

Simon says:
The starters was as delicious as it was unhealthy. Butter-fried bread with anchovy fillet and Cheshire cheese. So simple, so tasty. We were drinking red wine but this dish would make a fine accompanyment to a good beer. 9/10

I say:

#10 To make a Nice Whet Before Dinner: 10/10. Delicious, simple, what can I say?? I'd eat it every day if my arteries could cope!

A note on meat...

As well as trying to get to the bottom of what English Food actually is and perhaps discovering some lost foods, it's also important that the food is as close to how it should be eaten. What do I mean by that? I mean the meat, eggs, etc. should come from good quality, healthy, free-range animals. This does of course mean that things are rather more expensive that if I'd go to the supermarket and buy those alarmingly white chicken breasts or surprisingly bright blood red pieces of meat in plastic boxes. However to do the English thing, animals will be eaten, so it is important that they were at least happy. Of course healthy animals with no stress hormones or antibiotics running through their veins are tastier. So I shall get meat, poultry and game from reputable butchers and farms (and fishmongers of course). I will give out their details, like websites, etc., as I go.

#9 Manchester Pudding

First of all I'd like to apologise for the time lapse between making some food and then blogging it! I'm busy! busy! busy! these days. Anyway. I did #9 Manchester Pudding last Thursday as Joff was coming round. Me and Greg cooked a store-cupboard style tea so I thought I'd do a pud that seemed straight-forward enough. On the bus home I flicked through the tome and saw Manchester Pudding. I should have cooked it first, being in Manchester! I'd had Manchester tart before - shortcrust pastry, a thin layer of jam, then thick custard to the brim and sprinkled with dessicated coconut. This pudding was sort of similar:

Line an eight or nine inch tart tin with some puff pastry and spread it with either greengage, strawberry or apricot jam (I went for strawberry). Next put ½ pint of full fat milk into a pan with the pared rind of a lemon and two ounces of white breadcrumbs. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the lemon rind and stir in two ounces each of butter and caster sugar, 2 egg yolks and two tablespoons of brandy. Pour into the pastry case bake for around 30 minutes at 180⁰C until almost set. Meanwhile whisk two egg whites until they’ve got to the stiff-peak stage and spread them smoothly over the tart. Sprinkle over a tablespoon of caser sugar and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes until the whites have turned golden brown. Serve warm.

It was lovely! We scoffed the whole thing between the three of us - so quick, in fact, I couldn't take a photo of it's innards! It was proper poor people's food made slightly posh with the addition of meringue and brandy.

Greg says:
See I reckon there is a difference between Manc tart and Manc Pudding, to me the tart has to have coconut on top as Char mentioned. Regardless, the pudding was amazing! When it came out of the oven after the first baking it was completely alive! It breathed and pulsated like something from Dr Who. Basically it was a textbook dish, and felt quintessentially English too I thought, it had swollen to twice the original size after the second baking and we demolished it quick sharp with knives and spoons, dry-humping accordingly. Neil let me put the jam on so the jam was the best bit. 8/10

I say:
#9 Manchester Pudding: 8/10. Can't knock it really! I'd give it more but I reckon there's better ones out there!

#8 Chocolate Pie

The first Grigson for a bit. Although it's no excuse I've been rather busy doing a PhD. I did the pie for dessert at Greg's auntie's. It was great to be baking again. My mum used to be a baker and me and my brother spent many an afternoon when we were little 'helping' mum make crumbles, turnovers and all sorts of stuff. As a grown-up, I find it extremely relaxing and therapeutic doing some baking as it takes me right back to those times. Anyway, enough of this schmaltz...

#7 Chocolate pie - a crust make from ground almonds, sugar and egg white blind-baked in the oven; an eighteenth century recipe apparently. Fill it with a ganache - nineteenth century recipe - top with sweetened whipped cream laced with rum. If I wasn't following the recipes exactly, I would have missed out the rum - I'm not a fan of spirits in sweets. I'm glad I did though - I used dark rum (she didn't say which type to use) and it was absolutely gorgeous! It was the richest dessert I think I've ever had. I'm writing this 4 days after making and eating it and I still feel pleasantly nauseous. My tastes are obviously changing; think I'll put alcohol in everything. Gin and apple crumble or sambuca trifle anyone!?

Here's what Greg says:
Chocolate pie chocolate pie! This is the best thing he's made so far hands down. Dark chocolate, cream, booze, icing sugar sugar, almonds, it's all your favourite things in one giant ganache of nauseating lurve. Despite what the book says about eat within one hour, we had some the next day and it had settled into a firmer lush cheesecake-like texture and was divine so don't feel duty-bound to wolf the whole thing at once, not hat you could, it's VERY rich. Sounds fairly easy to make but looks so impressive. Pics to follow. Yummmm. 5/5.

#8 Chocolate Pie: 4.5/5 - it's got all the essential ingredients: crispy, nutty crust, loads of chocolate and a pint of cream. The best chocolate dessert I've had for ages - and that includes restaurants!

Ratatouille

Obviously this is not English Cookery at all! But it is one of the things I do off the top of head these days as I've cooked so many times. I'd like to point out that whenever I've had a ratatouille made for me it's always been rather insipid, watery and tasteless, but yet I've understood this because I love all the ingredients. It turns out that a ratatouille shouldn't be all watery; like you get in those nasty tins, but silky and unctuous and oily where the sauce is made up of condensed tomato flavour, broken-down aubergines and olive oil- at least in the Nicoise style. Hopefully, if you cook this I'm sure you'll agree that it's the best ratatouille you've ever had! Now that is a grand claim!!

You will need:
1 large aubergine, sliced into 1/2 centimetre slices
1 large courgette (or 2 small), sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tin of tomatoes, opened
1 big tbs of tomato puree
6 tbs good olive oil (not extra virgin)
1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt, pepper

Method

1. In a large pan, heat the oil until under a high heat and fry the aubergine slices on both sides until golden brown (you may have to do this in batches, unless you're pan is huge!)
2. Reserve the aubergine slices. Turn the heat down and fry the onion and pepper, add more oil if the aubergine absorbed it all. Add the herbs. When the onions are slightly softened, stir the aubergine slices back in along with the garlic. Fry gently - but don't colour the onion- for 5 minutes.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes and puree and simmer slowly for at least 10 minutes, but 15 or 20 is best, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the aubergine's break-down. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. If it was me, I'd serve it with either sliced corned beef or scrambled eggs along with some crusty bread and butter.
5. Enjoy!

October - Lest We Forget

Well wasn't October a total let-down re: Grigson. I can only apologise. However, November is going to be a totally different story. I intend to fill my freezer with Grigson goodies, so expect lots of soups and casseroles. Yum! Also I intend to do to the wonderful Bury Market and stock-up on some game. PLus the plan for Christmas needs to get underway. I will be doing a recipe on Sunday as I'm off round to Greg's auntie and uncle's - Dee and John - along with his sis. I shall be doing the pud, #7 Chocolate Pie! Yum!!

However - I do have some of my own recipes to share with you, if you,re in any way interested...!