De Beauvoir Christmas Fair 2012

 

I'll be at the De Beauvoir Christmas Fair this Saturday which has been organised by the De Beauvoir Association and last year there were loads of fantastic arts, crafts and more on offer.  I will have lots of homemade chutney, jelly and jam and gift boxes. Hope to see you there!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow us on facebook and twitter

and if you haven't seen it already, here's a little video made by Emma Crouch about Smy Chutney:

Nag's Head Christmas Extravaganza 2012

Last year's event was one of my favourite events of last year so I'm looking forward to the 2012 Nag's Head Christmas Extravaganza - Sunday 25 November, 11.30-5.30pm, Holloway Road. Huge free street festival on closed-off section of Holloway Road between Camden Road and Parkhurst Road.  Last year there were lots of different activities, music, dancers, fun stuff, I met loads of great people and there were reindeer! Even scrooge would find himself in the Christmas spirit with the turning on of the lights and reindeer...and the mulled wine always helps as well now that I remember correctly.  I'll have lots of new flavours, gift boxes and more so do come down for a taste of some homemade chutney, jelly, jam and more:

 or just come along for a taste of some Christmas action which includes:

• chance to meet Santa’s real reindeer
• visiting craft and food market
• exciting funfair rides and climbing wall
• six hours of live music and dance on the community stage
• awesome street performers
• free children’s activities such as face painting and story-telling
• Christmas lights switch-on at 4.30pm

The extravaganza is organised by the Nag's Head Town Centre Management Group in partnership with local businesses, Islington Council, City and Islington College and Arsenal, and has been sponsored by the Nag's Head Shopping Centre, Unite, Breyer and Drivers and Norris.  For more details visit: www.nagsheadlondon.com

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow us on twitter and facebook 

and if you haven't seen it already, here's a little video made by Emma Crouch about Smy Chutney:

 

Eggs Benedict Sunday

Smy Chutney Goes Abroad: Colosseo, Roma

 

Check out these jars of Smy Chutney, lounging on a sunny terrace in Rome, marvelling at the Colosseum, having an aperitivo and thinking about the important things like - where has the best pizza in Rome? The best tiramisu? Is there a city in the world as beautiful as Rome?

(grazie Nina e Zappa per le foto! x)

Canapés: can I get a canapé-men?

Feast your eyes on a range of canapés that I made for a recent gathering. They were the prelude to an Italian-made porcini risotto starter, roast beef and caramelised onion main and lemon curd ice cream that I made for dessert.  The canapés were a hit and starting from the right of the photo and moving left they were:

• Brie topped with banana & date chutney
• Cream cheese topped with six-pepper jelly
• Goat's cheese topped with jamón Serrano and black cherry and black pepper conserve
• Rocket topped with pan-seared duck breast and plum gumbo
• Grilled mackerel topped with greengage chutney
• Stilton topped with black cherry and clack pepper conserve.

The top three favourites were the mackeral and greengage chutney, duck with plum gumbo and rocket and the classic banana & date with brie.  The stilton was meant to be paired with a red onion marmalade but we ended up serving it as another accompaniment to the beef with the carmelised onions.  I used Nairn's mini oatcakes for the canapés but I prefer to make my own and add different seeds and spices to complement the canapé or they are nice to eat on their own as an alternative to crisps.

 

Close up of (from bottom to top) duck, rocket & plum gumbo; jamón, goat's cheese and black cherry; cream cheese and six-pepper jelly. 

Close up of (from bottom to top) stilton and clack cherry and black pepper compote; mackerel and greengage chutney.

Shoreditch Still Life Along the Canal

This photo was taken six-weeks ago on the canal. It was a glorious Saturday and these friends and their gorgeous dog were taking advantage with a bbq. I love their reflection along with the Shoreditch sign in the canal.

Preserved lemons

 

Here's a little experiment I undertook with some lemons that I had.  I sliced whole lemons rather thin and immersed them in different flavours so that I could use them for cooking and teas.  The jar on the top far left has the sliced lemon, demerrara sugar, sliced ginger and more lemon juice.  The top middle jar has the sliced lemons, whole dried chillies, sea salt and is topped with more lemon juice.  The jar on the top far right has the lemons, sliced garlic, sea salt and is topped with more lemon juice.  I'll keep shaking them and once I've opened them up I will let you know how they turned out.  I think the lemon and ginger mix will make a great lemon and ginger tea or an addition to a cheesecake.  The other two should work well in soups, roasts and all sorts.

 

Here are the jars before I topped them with the juice of more lemons.

I inadvertently was wearing my new tights while making my preserved lemons which all went towards brightening a grey day in London.

Cakewich by Fred & Friends

 Is it a massive sandwich? Is it a cake? No it's another brilliant product from Fred & Friends...the Cakewich!

Using this mold to make a sponge cake then get creative with your icing, jelly or jam and you can make your own cakewich.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow us on facebook and twitter

De Beauvoir Flower and Produce Show 2012

I unfortunately did not get a chance to go to the Orford Flower Show this year...but on my runs along the canal I kept seeing the sign for the De Beauvoir Flower and Produce Show so I knew that I would attend as I tend to cycle past there most days anyway.  When I say "there" I mean St Peter's Church, De Beauvoir Square and the bit in between where the event was held on Sunday 9th September 2012.

De Beauvoir bunting on the ramp to the crypt.

 

I was involved in the Christmas Market that was held here last year and it is a great space.  I went in the morning, after my run, to deliver anonymous preserves to be judged in the show.  I entered some newer flavours that I've been working on...greengage jam, gooseberry and green tea jam and a greengage chutney. I went back several hours later and here are some photos of the different classes of entries:

I love this delicious looking cake...complete with bunting!

 

Local young artists.

 

A cake that looks delicious, beautiful and is probably soothing all at the same time...genius.

 

Diorama flower power.

Fruit...

 

and veg.

 

Second prize for my greengage jam.

 

Second prize for my greengage chutney.

The preserves table...sadly my gooseberry and green tea jam didn't garner a ribbon but I was informed by a lovely gentleman outside that this year was highly competitive so I was very pleased with my two seconds from my three entries.  I donated my jars to be auctioned for charity at the end of the event.

Outside the De Beauvoir Gardners had loads of beautiful indoor and outdoor plants for sale.

 

There were the much talked about 2012 Rodent Racing events...

...as well as the Snail Games.

 

There were very excited creatures of the two and four legged variety gearing up for the Dog Show.

 

After the dog show I started to make my way back to my bicycle and learnt a fair bit about the tasty local De Beauvoir honey bees and resulting honey.

 

I won three prizes from my four tombola tickets! A faberge-esque egg which I will use for egg and soldiers, a necklace and an Ikea mystery...I'm not sure what the use is for item 610 but it was still very exciting to win it.

Just before left I treated myself to a delicious strawberry ice cream cone from the Rosemary Branch mobile ice cream cart.  Overall it was just a lovely way to spend a Sunday at a well-organised local event.

Ready Steady Cook!

It's Ready Steady Cook but not as you know it.  Ready Steady Cook nights as I know them started when I lived with my friend Aimee and one would call the other and simply say, "Ready Steady Cook?" When we arrived home that evening we would each have brought ingredients that did not exceed the amount of £5 and you use those ingredients to prepare a meal.  Then you get together, have a glass or two of wine and then reveal your ingredients.  The ethos of Ready Steady Cook nights is that by bringing random ingredients to the table you end up cooking something that you wouldn't normally cook.  The rules are that you should choose your ingredients based on what tickles your fancy, something that is reduced, in season, a bit random or something you haven't cooked with before.  I have to admit that there have been accusations made against me that my RSC ingredients were selected with a dish in mind, I choose to not dignify this with a response but will say that it is hard for me to do a shop this way so I really have to get to a zen-like state of mind and just select ingredients that are interesting to me.  Thankfully another rule is that the £5 does not include alcohol so once you've had a drink and a chat and revealed your ingredients you are free to pretend that you are on a cookery programme and discuss what gastronomic delights could be created with the ingredients before you.  You are allowed, within reason, to use general pantry type ingredients like flour, oil, butter, onions but each dish must use the main ingredients.  On this night back in April Aimee brought to the table:

• beef mince
• mozarella
• plums
• lemon
• bread

I brought:

• sardines
• samphire
• Camargue red rice
• sweet long peppers

In the history of RSC most dishes have been really tasty experiments although there have been some that didn't turn out as we'd hoped, one that springs to mind was a prawn and ricotta cannelloni which was probably the only dish that we didn't even finish.  Aims is a phenomenal cook and what I love about cooking with her is that she is quite experimental in her cooking style so this combined with the random nature of RSC always results in some exciting dishes. Sometimes we have a quite laborious RSC and cook about nine different tapas dishes, for this night we decided this RSC that our menu would be:

Starter 

• mini-burgers topped with mozzarella served on toasted baguettes topped with a pepper & plum relish

Main

• grilled sardines served with samphire and roasted peppers stuffed with red rice

Pudding

• plum oatcakes topped with plums poached in cava

The menu was set so it was time to get cooking! We divvy up the tasks with Aims doing the burgers, sardines, stuffing for the rice and me making the plum relish, samphire, oatcakes and poached plums.  Throughout the evening and as the wine flows we continue to pretend that there is a camera crew with us and implore them to, "let's take a look at what Aimee's doing with the sardines...do you have any tips for the audience about grilling fish?" - of course she does!

We made the relish with the plums, long red pepper, onion, red wine vinegar, six-pepper jelly and some salt and pepper.

We added some seasonings to the mince made little burgers and topped with mozzarella after they had been grilled.

 

The sardines we kept simple and just grilled with lots of juice from the lemon.

I always have homemade oatcakes around as they are handy snacks and make brilliant bases for a quick pudding.  For these I simply added butter to oats and we put in some chopped plums and some of my plum jam and baked.

 Ready Steady Cook Starter

 mini-burgers topped with mozzarella served on toasted baguettes  

topped with a pepper & plum relish

Ready Steady Cook Main

grilled sardines served with samphire and roasted peppers stuffed with red rice 

Ready Steady Cook Pudding

plum oatcakes topped with plums poached in cava

 

Since Aims and I no longer live together it makes a fun and inexpensive way to spend an evening together.  This was quite a satisfying RSC in that everything was relatively easy to cook, everything was really tasty and we had plenty of catching up time...if we scored the RSCs this would be right up there in the top three. Perhaps that is the next evolution of RSC, that we each mark the night at the end in areas of creativity, taste and execution...sounds like Aims and I are due another RSC!