I’ve been asked to help a friend in need with a bread sauce recipe. Simple sauce’s like this is very easy to make. So once you have found a recipe that works for you, make sure you write it down in your kitchen scrap book, which we have spoke about before. My scrap book is huge and full of years of combinations and variations of allsorts.  Its never to late to start one and its great to look back at when you stuck for an idea or cannot remember what you did last time with a recipe.

Anyway back to the task at hand, Bread Sauce:

You will need: 1 onion peeled halved and studded with 6 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, 568ml of milk, 200g fresh breadcrumbs, 25g butter and 4 tbsp double cream.

What you need to do is place the onion, bay leaf, peppercorn and milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave this to infuse for 30 minutes at least. Then strain the milk into a clean saucepan, add the breadcrumbs and bring this to a simmer. Make sure you stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Then stir in the butter, cream and season to your taste.  Then pour into your favourite sauce boat and present to your table and guests.

Do you make your own sauces or do you buy a packet? Alot of my friends use to buy packets but now they all make homemade sauces.

You can’t help it but when you have men about the house, when you mention a quick snack ‘quarter pounder’ comes bounding from their lips. Well they do in my house anyway!  With my son and all his testosterone friends about, a quarter pounder saves the day, to fill them up. But I don’t go heading for any well know fast food centre, oh no! home made is a must!

So if like me, you have a houseful of youths or hungry men after a morning’s gardening, decorating, mending the car, cleaning the windows (who am I kidding), here is my homemade quick quarter pounder, just for you:

It’s quick, it’s mean and it’s delicious, (my sons words!)

You will need: 500g pack of lean minced beef, 1 egg beaten, 1/2 cucumber peeled, pinch of salt, dash of malt vinegar, 4 tbsp light mayonnaise, mustard to taste, 1 beef steak tomato cut in to slices, 1 red onion liced into rings, Cobs or Baps of your choice and 1.2 iceburg lettuce divided into leaves.

Simply mix together the minced beef and enough beaten egg to bind it together and season with salt and pepper. Divide you mince into 4 and shape into rounds then pressing down to form a burger shape.

Heat your griddle or grill. Brush your burgers with the oil and cook for 7 minutes on each side for medium and 10 minutes each side for well down.  Meanwhile cut the cucumber in to thick slices and place in a bowl season and add a small splash of vinegar and mix well (obviously if you do not like vinegar leave out this part). Then mix your mayonaise with you choosen mustard to your own taste, again if you do not like this use your favourite homemade relish (or shop brought). I shall have to blog on relishes for you so keep reading.

Then simply cut your baps or cobs in half and place the tomato on one half, then the burger, topping with the mustard mayonaise, cucumber slices and red onion rings. Finishing with a iceburg lettuce leaf and top with the other half of your cut cob or bap. Voile!  Happy full tummies all around.

If your veggie or do not eat beef, as alot of my friends don’t, then replace the beef mince with mince of your choice. If using pork mince add apple slices, if your using lamb add mint in yogurt rather than mayonaise and mustard and if you love veggie mince why not replace the mayonaise & mustard with a tangly fresh salsa.

Tell me you perfect burger combination.

Well with friends around for a meal the other night,  I couldn’t help notice when we sat down to eat, how everyone loves to play with my electronic salt and pepper mills. I must say its becoming abit of a party peice now.

I had my russell hobbs electronic stainless steel salt & pepper mills brought for me as a gift by my dear friend Claire. It was a case of ‘I saw these and thought of you’, as I had this thing about large bright wooden pepper mills, and ended up with rather a collection.

But these one touch electronic mills deliver the salt and pepper effortlessly just where you want it. Their ultra stylish design adds to any table setting no matter what the occassion.  People just have to touch and play with them. Each has a motorised ceramic grinding mechanism which can be adjusted to give you a coarse or fine grinding, it will make you wonder why you ever wanted to spend ages twisting the manual type pepper mill only to cover everywhere with pepper and simply where has this gadget been hiding.

You can actually use it to grind other herbs and spices if you wish.  It is illuminated by a light whilst in operation and so simple to use, you can use it with one hand.

Haven’t got one! well it is a must have for your christmas list. If not on yours then one for a friend,  it will be a talking point all over dinner literally.

Eatting fish can provide us with valuable protein, good fats, carbohydrates and vitamins & minerals.  The UK foods agency recommends that we eat fish twice a week, one of which should be oily fish so thats, herrings, sardines, mackeral, salmon etc.  You also have seafoods like prawns etc but be careful as some people have allergies to crustasens/seafood.  Popular fish is obviously Cod, bass, sole, Hake, Haddock etc, however we are all being told of the depleating cod stocks, so why not ask you fish monger for a cod alternative and give it a try.  We do actually import alot of fish with the majority coming from Iceland.

So as the nights start to draw in one of our favourite suppers is roasted smoked haddock with spinach and mash, its one of those comfort dishes we all have them.

To serve 2, for a great fish supper in front of a roaring open fire with a good white wine, you will need:

600g potatoes, peeled and cubed, 225g baby leaf spinach, 1 tblsp grainy mustard, 2 (150g) smoked haddock fillets, 8 cherry tomatoes, halved, 75g butter, 2 tblsp milk, 2 tblsp chopped fresh parsley.

Cook your potatoes in a pan of boiling water until soft, Steam you spinach until wilted, drain well, season and place in the bottom of a ovenproof dish. Spread the mustard over the haddock and put on top of the spinach with the tomatoes. Dot half the butter and bake in the oven at 200c, 180c (fan ovens) or gas mark 6 for 15 minutes. While your fish cooks, drain the potatoes and mash with the milk, remaining butter, the parsley and season with salt & pepper to taste. To serve pile the mash onto two plates and pile the spinach, tomatoes and fish on top of the mash and enjoy.

Have you a favourite fish? I love Haddock, Salmon, Mackeral, Red Mullet and Sea Bass.

Today there is a wide choice of varieties in all ingredients, which means some varieties are better for some recipes and means of cooking than others to give the perfect result.

The main five varieties of flour are Self-raising, Plain, Strong Plain, Wholemeal and Wheatmeal besides others such as spelt, rye, gluten free etc. Flour is best stored in its original bag on a cool, dry, airy shelf.

Self raising flour is a general all purpose flour which can be used in a variety of recipes.

Plain Flour, is the same as self-raising flour but without the raising agent. This flour is used for mixtures which are not meant to rise those containing other raising agents such as yeast, air etc. 

Strong Plain Flour is especially suited for bread making, yorkshire puddings and rich pastries. ‘Strong’ refers to the quality and quantity of protein which it contains and this is higher than in ordinary plain flour.

Wholemeal flour is made from the whole of the cleaned wheat. You can use this on its own for bread making or mix it with white to make scones for example and family fruit cakes. Wheatmeal flour has some of the coarsest particles removed and may be used in the same way as you would wholemeal flour. Both of these flours can be plain or self-raising and either coarse or finely ground.

Flour is a powder made from cereal grains and it contains a high proportion of starches. Wheat and some other flours also contain proteins called ‘gluten’, this is what gives a dough its elastic nature. Gluten also allows for the retention of bubbles to give a soft texture to such  recipes as cakes and breads. Some people have a intolerance to gluten, this is called ‘coeliac’ or ‘celiac disease’. If a person suffers with this they must adhere to a gluten free diet which has lead to a whole range of gluten free products and flours being launched.  There are many other flours rye, spelt, rice, corn, granary etc.

Which flours do you keep in your cupboard at home as kitchen cupboard staples?

I am presently studying Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology. This is an area I studied years ago but I am really interested in this subject, so I have gone back to university to take a further course.  The tutor was introducing herself and made us all laugh when she said there had been a enormous growth of  interest in this subject since the increased popularity of TV programmes like CSI.

We covered ‘fuel for our bodies’ in this weeks lecture and I was amazed how little many of my fellow classmates knew about basic nutrition, so I thought I would go over some of the basics.

The 5 groups of Nutrition are – protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals.  Proteins are gained from dairy, fish, meat & pulses. We do need a certain amount of fat for a healthy diet.  I will cover this in another blog as I am constantly asked about fats when I am doing talks and in schools etc. Monosaturated fats found in olive & rapeseed oil, are the good fats which can help lower cholesterol. Saturated fats from animal products are the ones we should avoid.

Carbohydrates can be sugary (like cakes, biscuits, soft drinks etc) or starchy (like bread, pasta, cereal, potatoes & rice etc). Carbohydrates are essential for energy, but the starchy carbohydrates are healthier for you.

There are two kinds of vitamins, these are water soluable which cannot be stored in our bodies and fat soluable which are stored in the liver and not needed daily.   Such water soluable vitamins are B vitamin’s ( found in dairy, meat, fish, eggs) and vitamin C ( found in citrus, soft fruits, pots, salad). Fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A (found in vegetables, milk and meat),  vitamin D (found in eggs, meat, oily fish), vitamin E (found in veg oils, nuts, eggs, greens) and vitamin K (found in greens and wholemeal cereals).

The main Minerals are Calcium (milk), Phosphorous, Iron, Magnesium (cereals, pots and veg), Sodium, (salt and salty foods), Potassium, (veg, pots, meat, milk) Chloride, Zinc (meat, veg, pots), Copper (nuts), Selenium, Fluoride, Iodine (milk, cereal, fish) etc

One think we often forget about is Water and this is important, for a healthy life we should look to be drinking 2 litres of water a day.

Salt although essential to life can be very harmful in high quantities and can actually be a cause of heart related illnesses. You should always beware of high salt levels in processed and takeaway foods. We consume around an average of 9g of salt per day and our daily recommended amount is half that.

Omega 3 is a healthy fat, which is suppose to be fantastic for brainpower, you can simply eat oily fish once or twice a week to obtain your omega 3.

Antioxidants are the best minerals and vitamins A, C and E, these fight off free radicals in our body and are anti cancerous.  Free Radicals are nasty chemicals and toxins absorbed in to our diet from the environment, chemicals and unhealthy processed foods.

What about Cholesterol, well this is a waxy like substance essential to life but again like others there are 2 kinds, LDL = low-density lipoprotein (this is said to be the bad/harmful one, it can be deposited in artery walls causing coronary problems. This type of cholesterol comes from saturated fats like fatty meats, dairy, eggs, lard, suet etc0. HDL= high density lipoproteins and this is a protective type of cholesterol.

Another important factor is the amount of Fibre we eat. This can be found in wholemeal flours, pulses, beans and grains.

So as a reminder which we should all revisit from time to time, especially with the colder months now upon us to make sure we are taking in a varied balanced diet to keep our immune systems and our bodies healthy.

Just in the past few weeks we have seen thousands of us flock to the GP’s surgeries for Flu jabs etc, have you had yours this year? Do you take vitamin supplements and if so what do you take?

Well you have your pumpkin so now what are you going to do with it? We could do a savoury or a sweet dish so just for you I have done one of each for you.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie:  For the pastry - 200g plain flour, 100g butter, 50g caster sugar, 50g ground walnuts and 1 egg yolk. For the Filling - 675g pumpkin flesh, cubed, 75g caster sugar, 1 tsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 2 eggs, 250ml evaporated milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and icing sugar for dusting over the top of your pie.

Sift the flour for your pastry in a large bowl and add the butter, sugar and walnuts. Using your fingertips gently rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, mix in well with a palette knife and bring the mixture together to form a dough. Knead the dough lightly until smooth then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile steam (using a steamer) the pumpkin flesh for 15 minutes until tender. Place in a large bowl and mash well to a smooth puree. Preheat the oven to 220 c. 425 f or gas mark 7. Now roll out your pastry and use this to line a 23cm loose bottom flan tin. Add the sugar, flour, spices, eggs, milk and vanilla essence to the pumpkin puree and mix well. Pour into the pastry case.

Bake for 40 minutes until the filling is set and the pastry is golden, serve this warm dusted with icing sugar.

Pumpkin Ravioli: Shops now stock fresh pasta squares or you can even use lasagne sheets for this fantastic recipe.

You will need - 350g pumpkin flesh cubed, 450g fresh pasta squares or lasagne sheets, 1 tbsp olive oil (plus a bit to serve with), 2 shallots finely chopped, 1 garlic clove crushed, 2 tbsp mascarpone cheese, 4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan (plus extra for serving), 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage, 2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley (plus extra for garnishing) and  seasoning.

Steam the chopped pumpkin flesh for 15 minutes until tender. Spread out your lasagne sheets and cut into 24 x 10cm squares, cover these and leave on one side for now. Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook shallots and garlic for about 4 minutes until softened. In a large bowl mash your pumpkin to a pulp and mix with the shallots & garlic, mascarpone, parmesan and herbs and then season to taste. Spoon 1 tablespoon pumpkin filling in to the centre of 12 pasta squares, dampen the edges and place another pasta square on top. Seal the edges by pressing down with the end of a fork and repeat this to make 12 ravioli.  Bring a shallow pan of water to the boil and gently lower the ravioli into the water. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes until pasta is cooked and drain. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan, parsley and ground pepper and serve with a rich fruity wine of your choice.

Let me know what your favourite pumpkin recipe is? tell me all about what you make with your pumpkin?

Halloween  has origins which date back to a ancient celtic festival which was know as ’samhain’. This festival of ‘Samhain’ celebrated the end of the harvest  and marked the end of the season of the sun (summer) and the beginning of the season of darkness & cold (winter).  The Celts celebrated their new year on October 31st. It was a time to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for the winter ahead. The festival would involve bonfires into which the bones of the livestock were thrown. They believed that evil spirits came in the long hours of the winter darkness and thought that both light and noise would frighten off the evil spirits.

It was also known as mischief night which was a night when children would play tricks, hence ‘trick or treat’. During the 3 days from 31st October to 2nd November there are both pagan and christian celebrations with ,’ all hallows eve’ also know as ‘halloween’, followed by ‘hallows day’ which is also known as ‘All saints day’, and this is followed by ‘All souls day’.

One strong symbol of halloween is the cut out pumpkin and in surveys 99% of pumpkins sold are turned in to lanterns. Make sure you have a good sharp knive to cut out your pumpkin as they are very tough and fibrous so check out the selection of knives and knive sets available here.

The pumpkin is a squash which is a member of the cucumber family, it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes and cooked in a variety of ways so why not try a pumpkin recipe this halloween.

There are hoards of brightly coloured pumpkins available now which are often overlooked for cooking which is a shame, as they are versatile, inexpensive, with a great sweet flavour.  They should be peeled and the seeds removed, (toast these as they are very nutritious being rich in fat and protein for a healthy snack), plus they are a good source of vitamin A. Always look for a firm pumpkin which feels heavy when choosing your pumpkin. Their orange flesh is sweet and suitable for both sweet & savoury dishes - soup and pumpkin pie are two very well known favourite pumpkin recipes.

 For some great pumpkin recipes make sure you take a look at my next blog ‘The versatile pumpkin!’The three days of superstition struggling with religious belief.

What is confit I hear you say? something I heard only recently by an enquiring young lady in my local butchers the other day.  Confit is a centuries old process of preservation by salt , so curing the meat. It refers to a cooking term used most often for meats, preserved by being salted and cooked in their own fats slowly. It can be applied also to a condiment of vegetables or fruit cooked to a consistency similiar to jam for instance.

To prepare a confit the meat would be rubbed with salt & garlic and then refridgerated for at least 2 days. In France the meat used in a confit would be placed in a pot and covered with the cooking fat to seal and preserve the meat. Once preserved in this way it can keep for up to 6 months if it is stored in a refridgerator and kept sealed. As this method creates a salty taste you are suppose to serve a confit with something sweet in taste. In France the preserved meats would be used in stews and cassoulets. Fruits are preserved in this manner only using sugar or honey which is a confit too.

For instance Duck Confit is a french dish made with a leg of duck. Prior to cooking the salt would be brushed off the meat. In this classic the duck legs would be grilled or fried in a bit of fat until they were brown and crisp. You could then serve this with potatoe cubes with garlic and rosemary tossed in the duck fat and a spicey red cabbage.  Umm Umm! this is one of my favourites.

Make sure to get superb results you have a good frying pan and you will need various sizes too. Take a look at the options available I love the Le Creuset cast iron pan range. All of their pans are made at the Le Creuset foundry at Fresnoy-Le-Grand since 1925, remain unchanged in the uncompromising method of their manufacture, it’s unlikely that back then they could envisage innovations such as phenolic, dishwasher-proof handles, pouring zones with anti-drip lips or non-stick finishes.  But the basic recipe remains the same and the moden touches are only there to make your life easier.

Le Creuset frying pans are great for frying and sauteing. Available in a variety of colours to match your collection or kitchen, each pan features a phenolic handle which is oven safe up to 190° C and iron helper handle and lets not forget that 10 year guarantee!

Whats your favourite frying pan, tefal, non-stick, cast iron lets run a vote to find out which is our favourite frying pan, send me your vote!

Yes its party time a while most of us are starting to prepare for Halloween, (well while let the kids have all the fun?) make sure you read my next blog for some great recipes I needed to make the most of some fantastic bramley apples off my tree.

This time of year apples are in abundance, everywhere you go you whould be able to find British apples so make the most of them along with the cooking apples too.  Did you know that 21st October  is Apple Day ?  So get ready to celebrate with apples in your recipes for the day. My sons favourite is sauteing apples in a little water and sugar to caramelise then before serving them with some hand made pork sausages. My own however has to be the classic Apple Pie.

Now its all in the pastry as my gran would say, and like the flours you use there is a variety of pastries too which I will cover in future blogs for you as I am always being asked for different pastry recipes and ideas.

So Apple Pie for this we need Shortcrust pastry. This is probably the most universally used pastry and it can be used for both sweet and savoury items. Shortcrust pastry should be crisp but not too hard and also not to short (short is a term used for the crumbliness of a pastry).

For your shortcrust pastry:

200g flour plain or self raising, pinch of salt, 100g fat (50g margarine & 50g lard), cold water to mix.

Mix your flour and salt together in a bowl, add your fats (which have been cut up in to small peices) and then rub the fats into the flour using your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough water (about 40ml) to bind the mixture together into a pliable paste. Knead your paste on a floured board lightly turning over to the smooth side and continue.

For your Apple Pie:

500g cooking apples prepared & sliced (make sure you have a corer this eva solo corer is great and it make the job of preparation very easy), 100g soft brown sugar, 1xtsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp gound nutmeg, 50g sultanas, 50g chopped almonds and 15g butter.

Place a baking tray in the oven whilst preparing your pie. Grease a 20.5 cm ovenproof plate. Cut your pastry into 2 pieces one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the smaller piece using a rolling pin and line the pie plate with this. Trim the edges to make the pastry fit the plate.

Mix together the sugar, spices, sultanas, almonds and butter. Place half the apples on to the pastry lined plate, cover with the sugar mixture then the remaining apples. Damp the edge and roll out the remaining pastry and cover the pie sealing the edges well and trimming the pastry to fit the plate.

Make a small hole in the centre of the pie and brush the surface of the pie with milk, or egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Place onto the baking tray which you earlier placed in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender at 190 c, 375 f or gas mark 5. Cover with greaseproof paper when the top is brown enough.

Serve warm or cold, just as you like it with homemade custard, ice cream or cream, which do you prefer?