Talking about student life and the return of many of our children to schools, colleges and universities, we were having a discussion with friends about easy ways for students to cook healthy food while away from home.  One way my children loved to cook is by using a wok.  It can be quick, healthy and so simple. Of course you can also send them off with a microwave too.

With such an array of Woks available today from electric woks to hob top woks, including flat bottomed woks there is one to suit every cook. Cooking with a wok requires the minimum amount of oil, the secret to wok cookery is to obtain a high heat and only place your ingredients in to the wok when the wok is hot and at temperature. If this is done the length of time to cook is short and the majority of the time is spent actually preparing the ingredients.

Take a Pork, Ginger and Salad onion Stir Fry for instance, this dish is fragrant and aromatic, and ginger root just partners pork perfectly.  This dish can be prepared in about 15 minutes and cooked in 10 minutes.

So are you ready? lets go. You will need - olive oil 1 tablespoon, 225g lean british pork loin or fillets cut into thin strips, 1 garlic clove peeled and crushed, 2cm root ginger peeled and finely sliced, 6 salad onion sliced, 50g baby sweetcorn, 1 227g can pineapple chunks drained, 50g green beans sliced and 4 tablespoons of oyster sauce.

Remember, the secret is in the preparation. Make sure all your ingredients are about the same size. For example if you are using different vegetables in your dish, if you have cut one vegetable bigger than the other then one might be over cooked and the other under cooked. So practice your slicing and preparation and have your noodles ready with your plates to serve too.

To make - heat the oil in your wok until very hot. Stir fry your pork for 3 to 4 minutes until cooked. Then add the garlic, ginger, salad onions, baby sweetcorn, pineapple chunks and green beans and cook for about 2 to 3  minutes. Add your oyster sauce cooking for a further 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and serve immediately with noodles of your choice. 

Quick, easy and full of taste and ready in no time at all.

I think the ken hom tao 36 cm carbon steel wok is great to start with and big enough for inviting friends around to share your superb cooking skills and fabulous stir frys with. It is a family sized wok with a durable non-stick xylan coating suitable for all hob types except induction and dishwasher safe with a 1 year guarantee.

How are your students looking to cook while away from home?

Have you been battered, literally? This one recipe is so flexible and diverse it makes batters, pancakes, yorkshire puddings etc all with a variation on a theme from the same recipe.

One batter can make superb yorkshire puddings to serve with your roast. Another would make pancakes which could be filled with either sweet or savoury fillings. Then you can also make crepe suzettes, a perfect dessert for a meal when quartered and served with cointreau, brandy, orange juice, butter and sugar. And there is more, make a simple batter to coat fruits, fish, meats or even vegetables. Even the batter itself you can add so many differing ingredients to create different taste and texture from fluffy light tempura batter to Stout Ale Batter and many more.

In some of our many fish & chip shops they have been experiementing with battering something new.  While they have been looking to find ever new and exciting products to temp us all with, it has been known for them to even batter the most unusal of products such as a chocolate mars bar.

Fruit Fritters are a favourite with many a younger guest in our kitchen and they are so easy to do.

You will need - 100g Plain Flour, pinch of salt, 125ml water,1 x 15ml spoon of oil, fresh or canned fruit and oil for deep frying.

To make - mix  the flour and salt, gradually beat in the water, stir on the 15ml spoon oil. Prepare the fruit as needed, so if fresh fruit peel, core, & slice apples; peel & halve small, firm bananas; peel, core & slice small ripe pears; peel & core rings of pineapple for example. If canned fruit drain the fruit well first. Next dip your peices of prepared fruit in the batter using a fork and then fry in hot, deep oil for about 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown and crisp.  You can then drain on kitchen toweling and serve with some fruity sauces.

Deep fryers can be useful to have around as used correctly they will absorb the least amount of oil if the item is cooked at the correct temperature. This compact Moulinex Minuto Deep Fat Fryer is perfect for kitchens where worktop space is at a premium, or when you only want to fry small quantities of food. The bowl is fixed with a non-stick coating making it easy to clean and holds over a litre of oil. With a 400g food capacity there is room for rustling up some delicious French fries, while a permanent metallic filter suppresses cooking odours. The lid is removable and even has a convenient viewing window. With adjustable thermostat

Tell me your favourite batter and I will blog some further batter recipes for you to try, so let me know whether its sweet or savoury? 

How many times have you heard the term ‘bakers dozen’?

This phrase actually means thirteen or, more rarely, fourteen. Have you ever thought about where this phrase actually came from and why? I had a superb history lesson while visiting a farmers market with a friend who is a Baker by trade.

This phrase is believed to of originated from the practice of medieval English bakers giving an extra loaf when selling a dozen in order to avoid being penalized for selling short weight. England has a long history of regulation of trade and bakers were regulated by a trade guild called The Worshipful Company of Bakers, which dates back to the reign of Henry II (1154-89). The law that caused bakers to be so wary was the Assize of Bread and Ale. In the 1266 Henry III revived a ancient statute that regulated the price of bread according to the price of wheat. Bakers or brewers who gave short measure could be fined, pilloried or flogged.  In 1477 the Chronicle of London reported that a baker called John Mund was ’schryved upon the pyllory’ for selling bread that was underweight.

Whenever bakers sold twelve loaves they then added another identical loaf to make thirteen. However the Assize of bread & ale regulated weight not number. So whenever the bakers sold bread in any quantity they were adding something extra to make sure the total weight wasn’t short. The addition was called the inbread or vantage loaf. When selling in quantity to middlemen or wholesalers they would add an extra loaf or two, but when selling single loaves to individual customers they would offer a small extra piece of bread instead.

The phase itself dates back to at least 1599, and by 1864 Hotten’s Slang Dictionary shows this definition for Baker’s dozen:

“This consists of thirteen or fourteen; the surplus number, called the inbread, being thrown in for fear of incurring the penalty for short weight.”

So while you ponder on the thought of your daily loaf and how nice it would be to get one extra today why not make sure you store your bread correctly to optimise the life of your loaf.  There is such an array of bread bins today in all shapes and sizes with various attachments upon the bin itself.   

I love the idea of having a chopping board incorporated with your bread bin so you do not have to go hunting for a chopping board to cut up your fresh loaf of bread.  The typoon bread bin with chopping board is great and what fantastic colours. 

 What combination of items would you attach to a bread bin to make your life easier?

Spices, we couldn’t invent our tasty dishes without them, could we?   I think be it a pinch of paprika or a grind of nutmeg spices are essential for a great tasting dish.

Spices are dried parts of aromatic plants like seeds, bark, roots and leaves and are mainly tropical. Spices do not like daylight and should be stored in the dark, in airtight containers in a cook dark cupboard and in small quantities in a home kitchen so you use them up at their best.

Mixed spice is a combination of spices. It contains cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, assia, coriander and caraway seeds. Another spice used is All spice but this is a berry from the pimento plant and alot of people manage to mix these two spices up.

There are a range fo spice jars for you to use to store your range of cooking spices in, which will match with any kitchen.

This John Lewis 16 jar spice rack is a great buy and practical.  It keeps all your important herbs and spices close to hand with this revolving chrome spice rack. Each glass jar holds approximately 85g, each one filled with a different spice. The jars have flip-topped lids for easy pouring and shaking. Herbs included: Basil, Caraway, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin seeds, Curry, Marjoram, Mustard, Onion, Oregano, Paprika, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Sea Salt, Thyme. Spice racks make great gifts for anniversaries or even wedding gifts or just for the cook in your family.

 A quick traditional pudding is Spotted Dick Pudding which has mixed spice within it. Try our family favourite. You will need - 150g self raising flour, 75g shredded suet, 1 x 5ml spoon of mixed spice, 50g caster sugar, 75g currants, 25g chopped mixed peel, 1 beaten egg and about 90ml milk.

Simply mix together the dry ingredients then add the egg and milk and stir mixture until it is smooth but gives a dropping consistency from a spoon. Place your mixture in a greased 750ml pudding basin and cover securely with greased foil. Then steam for 2 hours. Turn out and serve with custard and listen for all the ooh’s and arr’s!

Which spice to you use often in your cooking? How are you storing your spices? Let me know what you think to the pudding?

The humble tomato, have you been growing your own?

While most of us are enjoying home grown tomatoes and waiting for them to turn red as this August 2008 has gone on record as one of the dullest ever.  So while we wait for our tomatoes to turn ready for picking, others are up to other sporting activities with this favourite fruit ‘the tomato’.

One tomato festival which takes place every year is where thousands of people take part in the world’s largest tomato fight.  This takes place in Spain on the last Wednesday in August eash year. The battle with overripe tomatoes, which are provided by the City Hall, is the highlight of the festival La Tomatina. Thousands of people flock to Bunol near Valencia on the last Wednesday in August each year for what has become one of the highlights on Spain’s summer calendar.

So some tomato facts for you to bear in mind. Tomatoes contain high levels of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that not only supports our immune systems, but helps maintain healthy skin and tissue linings aswell. They are packed with antioxidant flavonoids and vitamin E, both of which are essential for healthy heart, and are a good source of potassium. One medium-size tomato provides 50 per cent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C; they contain no saturated fatty acids, are low in salt, starch and sugars, high in dietary fibre and have a low glycaemic index.

But that’s not all. Tomatoes are the richest source of an exceptionally potent antioxidant called lycopene - the pigment that gives them their deep red colour. A single lycopene molecule can neutralise 13 free radicals, so the tomato is quite a superfood.

Why not try my grandmothers chunky garden tomato sauce with fresh basil, and serve it with some fresh pasta & salad for a great summers evening dish. 

However, this recipe like many others, involves preparing garlic. So if your not very good with chopping finely then a necessity for you is a garlic crusher or press. These are great kitchen tools for any cook or chef, which not only give consistency but are quick and easy to use.  So make sure you are not only prepared with the finest of ingredients for your recipe dishes but your prepared with the appropriate tools and equipment which you need to make your dishes too.

I like this Brabantia Profile Line, Garlic Press I personally love the stainless steel one to which matches other items in my kitchen, but they have a range to suit everyones taste. Quite simply, this garlic press is dishwasher safe, easy to clean and easy to operate because of its long grip. It is also available with a  matching hanging rack too for you to coordinate your kitchen. With its plastic pressure plate, removable stainless steel perforated anvil, and it comes with 5 years guarantee you cannot go wrong.

So lets get cooking.  You will need - 3/4 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 6 cups chopped tomatoes, canned or about 6 fresh, peeled tomatoes, 3/4 cup dry red wine, 1/4 cup shredded carrots, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sliced courgette, 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms.

To cook simply, heat olive oil in a pan over a medium heat; add onion, cooking until tender. Stir in garlic, tomatoes, wine, carrots, parsley, basil, sugar, and salt. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Add sliced courgette and mushrooms; cook until sauce is thick, about 20 minutes longer. Serve with hot cooked pasta.

Whats your favourite pasta sauce? and have you had a bumper tomato crop this year?

We in the UK work the longest working day in Europe according to many sources. In this present time of credit crunch and soaring prices it is hard to keep the family quality time alive and kicking. Where have the time gone for instance, where we would all sit together as a family to eat, catch up with each other and discuss the days events. I hear this so often from friends and colleagues.

Did you know now according to the daily press only 50,000 of us in Britain actually sit down to a family roast on a Sunday. A British tradition so influenced and now in decline since we opened the shops to 7 day trading.

‘The Sunday roast’, is a traditional English main meal served on Sundays (usually in the early afternoon), and consisting of roasted meat together with accompaniments. It is popular throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Other names for this meal are Sunday dinner, Sunday lunch, Sunday Tea, Roast dinner, and Sunday joint. The traditional Sunday roast can be traced back to Yorkshire, England during the Industrial Revolution. It is believed this tradition arose because the meat could be left in the oven to cook before church on a Sunday morning (and was cooked by the local baker in their ovens then). Your roast would then be ready for you when the family arrived home at lunchtime after attending the Sunday church service. The meat would be used throughout the week to feed the family.  Even down to the vegetable water being used in tea, there was no waste. Part of the tradition was to serve the Yorkshire pudding first.  This would fill the men of the house up so that less meat would be consumed during the main meal and then more meat was left over then which could be used in a further meal the next day.

To serve up a superb Sunday Roast Dinner make sure you have a selection of serving plates and dishes to display your prepared Sunday Roast in all its glory.   Meyer do a great range of insulated serving dishes . The Meyer oval 3.0qt Prestige serving dish shown above with divider, has double wall insulated stainless steel and is finished in a mirror polish effect which is great for keeping your vegetables warm for your dinner guests to serve themselves.

Do you still sit down as a family to a Sunday Roast Dinner?

I was recently talking about how a smell, a particular food dish, a place or even a tune for example can make you recall a magic moment!

For instance when I smell bread and cakes cooking, I can see my gran, as if it were yesterday. There she is in her best flowery piny (apron as its known today) in full cookery mode in her small but loving farmhouse kitchen. Big cooking pots on the agar, a roaring fire in the open fire place where a shiny kettle hung. Strings of onions hung for drying in the corner and rows of big plates and dishes were displayed upon her kitchen dressers.

The kettle was always on, ready to mash a cup of tea in an instance if a visitor came along with freshly baked cakes or scones freshly baked too. There would always be that baking smell wafting throughout the kitchen, which filtered throughout the entire house. You could smell my Grans cooking as you walked up the long drive to the house. Your mouth would be watering at the thought of what was on offer as soon as you entered the back door and entered the kitchen.

I can remember as a little girl how big that old kitchen farmhouse table was and that I had to stand on tip toe to see what was going on upon the table itself. Gran would grab a stool and then while placing me on top she would go about wrapping me up in one of her enormous pinnies, so I looked the part, of course!

There are some fantastic aprons available in all sizes. Of course to keep you clean but in such fun designs for all the family just take a look here - Cooking Aprons.  There are some great childrens aprons, soyou can involve your younger members of the family into enjoy cooking and baking with you too here  - childrens aprons.  I love this childrens monkey apron. Children will love wearing this apron while helping you out in your kitchen.

Once wrapped in my apron my Gran would place me right in the centre of the action. Within moments I would have my hands in a bowl of mixture, have a rolling pin given to me, be peeling vegetables or be simply putting meat through the mincer (do you remember those hand held mincers?).

It was a true home cooks kitchen. Fresh vegetables adorned the vegetable baskets still intack with the fresh dirt on them, where we had picked or dug them up hours earlier. Fresh bread was always in the oven or on the bread board. The pantry was full of endless preserves of all vegetables, fruits, jams, pickles, all lovingly hand prepared by Gran so we could enjoy seasonal offerings throughout the year. I use to love doing the paper tops and creating the labels for her to dress the jars. Of course game hung in the pantry the odd rabbit, pheasant even goose was always in there. A tin bowl of fresh eggs was always on the side, some of them were still warm.

My Gran taught me how to cook, she made it fun. We had countless sessions at the agar. She taught me about seasonal produce, how to shop, how to preserve and budget for the household. How to grow my own vegetables and what to look for in good produce. I have in turn passed this knowledge on to my children.

She was a  home cook and she would prepare wholesome meals for a family no matter what their age or size. I hope my children will pass on this knowledge again to their children  and I have passed on to them, for there are many a magic moments made while cooking or baking in the kitchen.

Send me one of your fond memories and the food you associate with this memory.

There is nothing better to wake up to than the smell of freshly baked bread.  I have been baking my own bread for years now.  When my son was born he had alot of allergies. This meant I had to look differently at some items I brought for sheer convenience reasons, like bread, cakes, biscuits etc.

I decided then that I would start making my own bread.  That way I knew exactly what ingredients were within the bread.   After weeks of making bread completely from scratch, I decided to treat myself, I brought a Morphy Richards Bread Maker. That was 16 years ago and I have to say that this bread maker is still going strong. We all love it to bits. It is so easy to use and it stands constantly on my kitchen worktop, as I bake every night.  With the handy timer upon my machine we all wake up to the sensational smell of freshly baked bread, as its completes its baking just before we all come down for breakfast.

Today the bread makers are more compact and user friendly.

This Morphy Richards 48245 Compact Breadmaker in White is the up to date version of my own machine.

With some great features including 10 baking programmes for you to use and a handy timer. This bread maker bakes 1lb and 1.5lb loaves which gives you flexibility to bake for any oaccassions with out waste.  Further added features include of a variety of bread crust settings and a unique kneading paddle for perfect shaped loaves too.

Its so easy to use. All you have to do is place the main ingredients of water, milk, oil or butter, sugar, salt, flour & yeast into the bread baking tin provided, using the handy measuring cups and spoons to measure your ingredients.  Set your programme and timer and then sit back and let the bread making machine do all the work for you. 

What I love about these bread making machines is that you can let the machine do as much or as little as you want, for example the machine can just prove the dough only for you.   The machine will knead and prove only after which time you can then take out the dough.  You can then shape and bake the dough accordingly.  Or you can simply let the machine do everything for you, from kneading, proving and baking, it is so very versatile and easy.

We love making fruit loaves and making different varieties, and at an average of 19p per loaf how can you possibly go wrong? Tell me your favourite bread recipe and we can feature a blog on bread recipes in the future for you all.

Eggs are produced in the UK through 3 systems which are the laying cage system, barn system and free range & organic system.  The percentage of each of these are 62% being laying cage, 34% being free range (of which 6% is organic) and 4% is Barn. A huge total of 8,473 million eggs are produced a year in the UK. We have 29 million UK laying birds with each bird producing an average of 312 eggs per year.

We have some very high standards in UK egg production with 85% of the eggs produced in the UK produced to the high Lion Quality Standards which were introduced in 1998. These standards include vaccination against salmonella, full traceability of the eggs, a best before date stamp on the egg and packaging and high hygiene standards upon the farms and egg packaging environments.

Now egg sizes can be a mine field when cooking,  so here are some up to date tips to help. Eggs are now sold in four different sizes: Small (53g or under and sizes 5,6 and 7), Medium (53-63g or sizes 3,4 or 5), Large (63 to 73g or sizes 1, 2 and 3) and Very Large (73g or over old size 0 and 1), (these sizes replaced the old sizes 0 to 7). Therefore if you have alot of old recipes which show a old egg size of size 3 for example you are best to use a large egg. So break out those old recipe favourites and get cooking.

Eggs simply poached for breakfast or even eggs benedict are simple and favourites with many. If you don’t like poaching eggs in a saucepan why not treat yourself to a egg poacher.

The John Lewis ‘The Pan’ egg poacher  above is an enamelled aluminium egg poacher with a glass lid and heat-resistant, silicon rubber, easy grip handles. Suitable for all cookers except induction and comes in a 2 hole or 4 hole poacher and to be honest I wouldn’t be without mine.

My son’s favourite egg recipe would be Egg fried rice with chicken. Its quick and easy

You will need 30ml vegetable oil, 1 garlic clove (chopped), 2.5cm piece of root ginger (grated), 225g cooked chicken (diced), 300g of stir fried vegetables of your choice, 350g cooked rice, 6 large eggs (beaten), 4 tbsp dark soy sauce.

To make this simply dish firstly place half the oil in a large wok and cook the garlic, ginger & chicken for about 2 minutes, then add your stir fried vegetables & cooked rice and stir fry for another 2 minutes then place this in a bowl.  Put the rest of oil in the wok , add the beaten eggs and cook for 1 min stirring until the eggs have scrambled. Then return the rice, chicken & vegetables to your wok containing the cooked eggs, add the soy sauce and mix well. All you have to then do is serve immediately with chop sticks.

Send me any egg facts, tips or recipes you have come across. Eggs are packed with a range of nutrients including protein, essential vitamins A, D, E, and B group as well as minerals iron, phosphorus and zinc. They’re relatively low in saturated fat and calories with only around 80 kcals per medium egg – so they are great if you’re on a diet, especially combined with vegetables and salads as part of healthy balanced meals!

I came across a fascinating story which told about how people were coping with the UK’s present credit crunch. One publicans way of getting through was to offer a unique service to homegrowers and producers alike.  Basically the idea is if the pub’s chef can place it on the Menu you can trade that item in at the pub in return for pints of the best beer within the pub.  So if your vegetable patch is bursting with vegetables ready for harvesting, why not take them to your local Pub and offer your produce in return for pints of beer.  One customer regularly brings in rabbits caught on their land for the chef to serve in the restaurant.

From my point of view everyone is a winner in this situation. The ingredients are fresh from the land and the customers spend time in the pub to keep this community establishment open. The pub retains customers from great publicity and quality of food, as well as community spirit, fantastic idea. May be we can spread the word and get these scheme’s going up and down the UK.

Talking of rabbits here is my grannies favourite rabbit hotpot recipe for your to try.  (Basically rabbit is like chicken so you can actually take a recipe which uses chicken and replace it with rabbit if you have never cooked rabbit before.)

You will need:

4 Rabbit portions
2 x 15ml spoons flour
Salt
Black pepper - freshly ground
2 Large onions, peeled and sliced
2 Large carrots, peeled and sliced
300-450ml chicken stock
2 x 5ml spoons prepared mustard
1 x 15 ml spoon freshly chopped parsley
450g potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
25g Lard melted

Season the flour with salt and pepper and coat the rabbit portions, then place in a casserole dish. Add the onions, carrots, stock, mustard and parsley. Cover with the sliced potatoes, then brush with the melted fat. Cover and cook in a preheated moderate oven (150C / 325F or Gas Mark 3) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then remove lid and increase the heat to hot (220C / 425F or Gas Mark 7). Cook for a further 15 minutes or until the potatoes are brown.

To help with the peeling of all those vegetables make sure you invest in a good vegetable peeler. It was the only way I could get my children interested in food preparation, as my daughter used to cut half the vegetable off with the skin when she was helping to prepare a meal until I brought her a vegetable peeler  You can now buy an array of vegetable slicers etc. Take a look as these items can make vegetable preparation alot easier and quicker for you, if you are not brilliant with a knive.

What would you trade into the chef at the pub for a pint of his best beer? Let me know, as it is great to hear from you all.