Feed Me Scotland

Do you remember when you were at school the first thing the teacher made you do on your first day back  was to write about what what you did on your summer holidays.   Well, as I have been away for a while I will tell you what I have been doing.

Last  year  I was fortunate  enough to visit Scotland again - not just once but twice and attended  the Pitlochry theatre festival. There I watched a The 39 Steps and The Little Shop of Horrors which is all about food.   Watch the video:

I sampled weird and wondrous food in Scotland - not just haggis which I mentioned in "Burns Night Bradford Style" 26 Jan 2012 - but white puddings, clootie dumplings, stovies, tatty scones, bridies and a wee dram or twa at Edradour. . and to finish with I sampled the finest chocolates at The high land Chocolatier  I am told that curried bridie, beans and "chups".were student staples at St. Andrews, especially when carrot soup and mutton pie were on the menu in hall, students dodging lodging fare. 

There are lots of lovely things to see near Pitlochry: the Queen's View over Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, Blair Castle with its Hercules gardens and private army, Salmon ladder  and the magnificent waterfalls known  as the Falls of Bruar.   Right next door to the falls is a shopping centre in the middle of nowhere called House of Bruar

I spent hours in the food hall exploring every counter - the bakery, dairy, deli, pantry, patisserie and even the butcher's which says a lot as I am not a conviction carnivore.   If you are worried about horse flesh that's where you should go for peace of mind.   I bought apple juice, lemon curd, scotish crackers, scrumptious Scottish cheese and a lovely book about potatoes . Who would of thought it that from its humble beginning in Peru it was transported to into every continent on Earth and beyond including a potato plant transported onto space aboard the space shuttle.

For a tiny town Pitlochry has more than its fair share of top notch restaurants.   I tried the Fern Cottage, Port Na Craig, Strathgarry, the theatre restaurant and the restaurant of the House of Bruar. My favourite?  The theatre restaurant commanded the most spectacular views over Ben Vrackie. Fern Cottage was possibly most friendly.   Strathgarry had a great atmosphere.  But the salmon at House of Bruar was delectable and excellent value.

I dined at some interesting restaurants on the way to Pitlochry - Henderson's in Edinburgh and Mother India in Glasgow and the legendary Ubiquitous Chip which merits a post in its own right.Which I will mention again later.

So here's my food tip:  For lovely roast potatoes part boil your spuds fro 10 mins drain & pat dry ,shake in the pan to roughen the edges, place then into hot fat and rotate and bake in a hot oven for 30 to 40 mins. Or you could try" my lovely potato and cahew nuts with cool cumber raita recipe                            

Potato with cashew nuts and lime leaves, served with cucumber raita

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

500g/1lb Potatoes part boiled
60g/2oz cashew nuts
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp paprika
1⁄2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp onion seeds &  a handful of lime leaves
2 tsp dried coriander
1⁄2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp of ginger pulp
1 medium dry whole chilli
salt to taste
Ground nut oil
1tbsp chives
Juice of a Large Lemon
Zest of a lime

For the raita

1⁄2 cucumber grated
250g plain yoghurt
1 clove garlic
1 small rocket chilli
1⁄2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1⁄4 tsp mustard seeds crushed

Preparation

Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks and part boil in salty water for 15 mins. Set aside. (For the raita) Prepare the grated cucumber and remove the water by squeezing it in your hands (For the raita) Crush the garlic, finely chop the green chilli and grind the mustard seeds in a pestle and mortar.

Method

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Lowu or shallow level pan, and lightly fry the cashew nuts, cumin seeds and add the limes leaves and stir.Now add in thre ginger and whole green chilli.
2. Add the potatoes and sprinkle in the onion seeds, paprika, chilli powder, dried coriander, salt and turmeric. Give it all a good stir and cook on a medium heat for 2-3 mins, add in the lime zest and lemon juice. (This brings out all the flavours.) Finally, after a good stir sprinkle over the chives.)
3. (For the raita) Add to grated cucumber: the yoghurt, garlic, chilli, and turmeric and give it stir. Add salt to taste and mix in the crushed mustard seeds.

Enjoy!

use of bruar

Holmfirth food and drink festival.

Holmfirth is a little town in the Pennines just south of Huddersfield.  In previous posts I mentioned the town's vineyard and icecream. Today I visited its food festival.  Holmfirth hosts a lot of festivals through the year. A folk festival and film festival in May. An arts festival in June and lots of other quirky events like a duck race and a torchlight procession.

Probably Holmfirth is best known as the scene of the long running TV sitcom "Last of the Simmer Wine". The series is about three senile delinquents who meet at an establishment (which really exists) known as Sid's Cafe.Today the car park opposite Sid's Cafe hosted an open air food court. A tempting aroma wafted from the Pan House with Wurst, goulash and other goodies.  Not being a great meat eater I ordered a veggie hot dog. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE MISTAKE. Really really yucky. My friend who is a carnivore fared better with a Stilton and apple pork pie.  For dessert I had a sticky toffee cup cake from Racheys and my friend a slice of lemon cake which were scrumptious. That made up for the hot dog.Fortified with lunch I toured the stalls. Those that caught my eye were the Autumn Harvest Mushrooms

(luscious mushrooms - yellow oyster, eryingi, pink oyster, shimeji, girolle, shitake as well as truffle and porcinin butter), the Old Bridge Bakery (the Handmade Bread Company having sold out its stock as per usual).A Spanish tortilla which  I served it with a fresh salad tossed in fruity olive oil and a pomegranate balsamic vinegar dressing. Refreshing.

An olive stall, a venison and red wine pie stall and heard great things from the lads that were tucking into them who were   encouraging me to buy one... and the usual cheese affair.                      Now who's for some bajias? Mushroom of course, try my delightful Dana Jeera mushroom bajia recipe  A good tip: let the bajia batter rest before dipping yr mushrooms in the batter and frying.
                                                                                                                                      

                                      Dana jeera mushrooms bajias
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

14 tbsp gram flour
3 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp green rocket chilli
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp cumin
1⁄4 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
A pinch chilli powder
2 tsp ground nut oil
150ml luke warm water
750g whole medium sized chestnut or button mushrooms
Ground nut for oil for deep frying

Preparation

Grate the ginger and finely chop the green chilli. Prepare the mushrooms by cutting the larger ones in half and keeping the smaller ones whole. Wipe them clean and avoid soaking them in water as this will make the mushrooms limp.

Method

1. In a bowl, sieve the gram flour and add the ginger and green chilli. Add a little water and using your hand beat the mixture to form a paste, making sure to avoid lumps. Mix in some more water and continue to beat.
2. Once you have a smooth thick paste consistency, add the dry spices, 2 tsp oil and salt, and beat. Cover and leave the batter somewhere warm for 1 hour.
3. Approximately half-fill a heavy bottom Lowu or a heavy bottom wok with groundnut oil, and heat.
4. Take the batter and add a little more water to loosen the mixture to form a batter consistency. Mix in the fresh coriander leaves.
5. (Test the oil by dropping a little batter into the oil if it rises to the top within a few seconds and becomes crispy then its ready.) Dunk the mushrooms into the batter and then place them in the hot oil. Give them a few seconds then frequently turn them until crispy and golden brown, drain off the excess oil and eat whilst hot and crunchy. Enjoy!                                            

Preston Guild...well worth the wait.

Being a patron of Yorkshire I try to sure support and promote activities in my county rather than those next door. I have probably made more trips to the Punjab than I have to Preston. But this year I ventured twice across the Pennines to that exotic city because 2012 is the year of the Preston Guild. The last Preston Guild took place in 1992 when John Major was PM and the next one will take place in 2033 when goodness knows who (if anyone) will be in charge.

Preston Guild takes place once every 20 years - or 30 when there is a war on as happened in 1942.  It celebrates the granting of a charter by Henry II to hold a guild merchant in 1179.  Guilds were associations of craftsmen and merchants in medieval Europe and they existed in every city to regulate trade. Their importance diminished with industrialisation but there are still plenty of guildhalls around the country most notably in London. In Preston the guilds are remembered with a festival that takes place every 20 years.  There are ceremonies, concerts, dance, exhibitions, parties, processions and even dresses made from wallpaper.  It is the only festival of its kind anywhere in the world.   Traditionally the Guild festival takes place at the end of August and beginning of September of the Guild year.
I made two visits this Guild: the Vintage Weekend on the 2 September and the Finale on the 9.   Though I saw a lot of the Guild I missed a great deal more including all the processions, the Guild Court and a concert by Jose Carreras and Katherine Jenkins at which I am told that Jenkins changed her dress no less than 5 times. Great Girl!  (see Jane Lambert "Once in Preston Guild" IP Northwest 8 Sept 2012).

Arriving in Preston for the Guild I thought I had gone back in time.   Part of that impression was formed by the Vintage weekend in Avenham Park where there were old newsreels, vintage films an old Cadillac and plenty of stalls selling clothing from previous guild decades.             My impression was reinforced by the orange curry, orange tandoori prawns and orange bhaji  that were served up with 1950s Bollywood music and flock wallpaper at the Dilshad Tandoori  when it was time to say goodbye.  You don't see many of those places nowadays - at least not where I come from.

There was more history in Winckley Square which had been set up for the Square Food Festival.  There were stalls selling cheese, honey, sausages and goodies from Nimes Preston's twin city. I bought some lovely Lancashire creamy, cheese and would have bought some French onions had they not run out of stock but I was most impressed by musicians dressed as chefs.

a story teller who told some tall tales about the history of Winckley Square and "cake city" the principal buildings of Preston reproduced in cake.I ate my cheese melted on some toasted wholemeal bread from   

          Thehandmade bakery simple but truely yummy.

On my next visit Avenham Park was transformed into a theatre for "Les Commandos Percu", a dazzling display of dance, drumming and pyrotechnics.  The sky was ablaze as was the stage at times.
This was the finale attended by 14,000 thousands and more tuned away not only of the Guild festival but also of the finale of the North West celebrations for the London Olympic and Paralympic games.  Though it was the finale it was by no means the only or even the last show. There were concerts, exhibitions, plays and what can only be described as the transformation of ordinary human beings into celebrities.  The hair of a Marks & Spencer's employee, for example, was transformed into a sea of blue on which the artists planted a ship

What was my abiding impression of the festival? In a word "friendliness". Everyone was joyful, helpful and above all friendly.   A few miles from my home there is a neighbourhood near Halifax which is actually called Friendly (I kid you not). As I drove through Friendly I was reminded of Preston.

Happy India independence day,

Today is a national holiday in India to commemorate its tryst with destiny.  It's not been an easy 65 years with horrendous communal violence, wars with Pakistan, China and Portugal and the Emergency.   But India has survived.   To celebrate, some people will be flying kites. Others will be drinking fizz . Yet more will try to picnic .......in the monsoon! But a good time will be had by all.

For Humans and Hedgehogs

So we have won some medals at last! What a relief! Just imagine the embarrassment if we had come away empty handed. I am particularly pleased that our first medal winner comes from Otley, a few miles from Bradford. Well done Lizzie Armistead.

While the games were going on in London I prepared a scrumptious dinner:

      

Skate

Moroccan chicken 

My very own rice pudding

Selection of  North Country cheeses

Coffee

If you want to watch the sport over dinner the skate is a very easy dish to prepare. Here's the recipe. I took this recipe from a wonderful book I was given. Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes
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                                    Burrida Alla Cabrarese 

            (Skate with tomatoes, saffron Garlic and sultanas)  

 I added a pinch of cinnamon to compliment the other sweet flavours, nutmeg to give it an earthy balancing affect and garnished it with slightly bitter char grilled courgettes drizzled in fruity olive oil. It can be eaten with some crusty bread or on its own with some great wine, we served it before the Moroccan Chicken dish. And finished off with a cute bowl of rice pudding topped with shavings of Almonds and Pistachios nuts served with fresh grapes.

While I was preparing dinner I had a little visitor.   I offered it a trio of mushrooms.shiittake, chestnut and button.  Hedgehogs love mushrooms.   As you can see my guest was very happy.   If  hedgehogs could only purr I am sure it would be purring.

Another option, of course, is a takeaway from the Olympic sponsor.  They have widened their menu, so I am told.   
Finally, Katrina Heron has written an interesting article about catering for the athletes and visitors (see "How the London Olympic Games will revolutionize Food." Daily Beast 24 July 2012).

Oranges are the Only Fruit for me - representing England in Israel

The Olympic Games put me in mind of the time I represented my country in the World Schools Championship Volleyball in Israel in 1984.  I say "my country" because the ranking refers to us as "England/GB" but in actual fact we represented Yorkshire.  When we were introduced at the opening ceremony everyone expected us to sing along to a recorded version  "God save the Queen".  They were in for right treat when we actually belted out "On Ilkley Moor Bar T'at" (On Ilkley Moor Without Your Hat") it  was very proud moment indeed and somehow appropriate for a team consisting of girls of Afro-Caribbean, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Anglo-Saxon heritage. Although it was hard for us to identify with England or Great Britain we had a common identity in Yorkshire.

I was 15 at the time - one of the youngest players ever to have been selected. It was my first time on an aeroplane and my first trip abroad. It was the start of my Wanderlust.  We had to work very hard to get to Israel.   Not only did we have to be the best at volleyball (which meant training 15 to 20 hours a week in all weathers including trudging through the snow when the buses were off) but we had to raise the cash for our fares and expenses.  My contribution came from teaching dinner ladies how to make a good curry from which we took a royalty, setting up a tuck shop in competition with the school shop buying our goodies from a cash and carry in Leeds. A sponsored silence (which nearly killed me because I am right talkative) and sponsorship. Almost every shop in Bradford city centre gave us something.  The company  Ring was particularly generous as was HRH the Prince of Wales who said "It would be shame if the girls could not go."  We invited him to afternoon tea and he actually sent an equerry with a very generous cheque.

After such generosity from the heir to the throne some might think that we were a little churlish substituting the Yorkshire anthem for the national one but I am a Bradford lass of Indian heritage and London is a long way off. I had only been there twice - once to play at Crystal Palace and the American school (whom we beat) on another occasion. 

I remember a deadly silence when we had finished, and then applause and cheers. In a huge auditorium with lights so bright and cameras and TV/press intrigued by our squad. And then being accepted in as the England team at the opening ceremony as we exchanged tokens of goodwill with the other teams.

We ate sweet Israeli bread and ate fresh oranges picked from the tree on most days.   My favourite fruit .It was warm and I felt free. The tournament dinning hall was circular.   Food was served from the central reservation and each team had its own quarter. Food galore and the joy of sharing and eating with so many different nationalities and cultures was a feast in itself ...It beat any school dinner.
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We got through to the final stages and came 7th in the tournament and  gave Austria which eventually won the competition their best game. We were awarded the fair play award of the whole tournament which was an honour.  All credit to our great coach and manager..

On rest days we were able to see quite a lot of Israel during that contest - Masada, Bethlehem, Jerusalem
 the Wailing Wall and the Dead Sea stick in my memory particularly. Here are some of things I learned about oranges.

1. Oranges are most succulent at room temperature. Sometimes you can squeeze some extra juice by putting them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.
2. It is good to roll them on the work surface before extracting the juice.
3. If you want the kitchen to smell of orange blossom just prick the skin with a fork and return them to the fruit bowl.

I really loved the sweet bread and wish I could bake it. Do any of my readers have a recipe?  Is it a specifically Israeli delicacy or Jewish? If you happen to know, do let us know.

Melton Mowbray - Cheese, Pies and Traditional Sweets

Last Tuesday I visited Melton Mowbray. The Olympic torch was passing through that day so the town was in carnival mood.   A stage had been set up in the market square before which all the teenagers were performing curious ritual dances.

Enough of anthropology. I had come to the town because it calls itself the food capital of rural England.  Its most famous products are, of course, pork pies and Stilton cheese.   I have already mentioned pork pies so this time I will talk about cheese.

Stilton is a blue cheese like Roquefort and Gorgonzola.   Like those cheeses it is protected by a PDO (protected designation of origin). It can be made only in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire which, ironically, excludes Stilton in Cambridgeshire where the cheese is said to have originated. I am told that it takes 78 litres of milk to make 8 kilos of cheese and that it is the blue veins that give it flavour.  Those veins are caused by bacteria and are in fact a type of mold.Not all bacteria is harmful. This actually is penicillin as this type of bacteria is good for you would you believe......
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As this was my first visit to Melton - even though it is only a few miles from Leicester where there is a large Gujarati community - I asked a car park attendant where I could buy some Stilton cheese.  He directed me  to "Ye Old Pork Pie Shoppe" which, despite its name, sells a lot of things other than pork pies.
Plum bread which you see in the photo particularly took my fancy.   I bought some cheese which was really creamy and some delicious fruit cake to eat with it.  

Nevertheless, the main merchandise was  pies. Mainly pork but also lots of other fillings including some with  combinations of Stilton cheese. Melton pies are very different from Yorkshire ones.  Here is a photo of the chap who makes them.
And as you can see lots and lots and lots of pies.  The red ones are the kind you can buy in Wait rose or Sainsburys. They are made by machines.The white ones, however, are hand made and you have to go to Melton Mow bray to get those.

Pies and  cheese are not the only culinary delights in Melton.   It has a traditional sweet shop with everything from flying saucers to tablet. Take a shufti at this lot.   Tasting as good they looked.

My last stop in town was the magnificent parish church.  There I met a very nice gent called Keith who has been the town's Father Christmas for the last four decades.  He told me that there were 400 Christmas trees in church last year.  It must have been a glorious sight. I lit a candle for my Dad although I am not Christian or even religious.  Keith gave me the biggest hug when it was time to leave.   He said it was from my Dad.

So now  here are some tips on how best to use Silton. First tip eat it straight of the block - it''s too good  to monkey around with. Secondly, it's very good with pears and port.   Thirdly, as an alternative to port, try a glass of Alsatian Rielsling vendage tardive or, better still, Gewurtztraminer..