Foodie Friday : Sunday roast chicken with pomegranate molasses

I've always loved food but as lock down continues, I can't stop thinking about it - what have I got in the cupboards, fridge and freezer ,and what am I going to cook today ?

Living four miles from the nearest shop in the middle of the countryside means I’ve always had to make sure we don't run out of stuff, but now of course during lock down, I'm only going out shopping about once a fortnight.

We're eating very well but I can’t get used to cooking for just the two of us. It  maybe less time-consuming, but I’m missing having my family around for late Sunday lunches and I miss the noise the laughter, the news and gossip around the table. I miss everybody greedily eating with gusto.

So what will I cook for Sunday lunch then, that first one after lock down when we can all be together again?

It's a roast chicken recipe from Joanna Weinberg in her book "How to feed your friends with relish" which was published by Bloomsbury in 2007.

Why everyone loves this roast chicken recipe

I know you're all probably thinking what’s so special about that, but this one is cooked in pomegranate molasses and my whole family love it. So much so my daughter had to buy her own copy of the book. Last week I even got a text from my youngest son asking for the recipe.

Here's a photo of one  I cooked last Sunday.

 You may think it’s a little black or even burnt in places, but don't worry, it’s the molasses which give it colour and make the skin so tangy and chewy. The meat inside is moist with a zinginess thanks to ginger. garlic and cumin.

But one good recipe does not make a great cookbook. Luckily, Joanna's book has many recipes|I turn to time and time again. One is Manuela's chicken with tarragon and cream which was the favourite for Joanna and her siblings when she was young. Manuaela was the family's Portugese housekeeper, the absolute saint who cooked every day for six children of different ages with different tastes .

There's plenty of other stories in the book, even  how Joanna first met her husband Ed, at a dinner she cooked.

I like a recipe book with context,  which draws you in to the authors life and Joanna's book does just that .She takes us to parties, barbecues , Sunday lunches, afternoon teas and meals around the kitchen table with her friends and family.There's also lots  of useful tips on how to create the perfect event and cater for most scenarios..

I feel as if I’m there with her in the kitchen before her guests arrive,  having a  good gossip and a glass of wine and then being in the middle of her gang eating supper. It's an addictive mix of recipes that really work and being part of the author's world , something which always sells food books to me.

So would you like the recipe ? Here it is then ...

Roast chicken with Pomegranate molasses

Ingredients 

1 red onion 

4 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses 

1 teaspoon of ground ginger 

half a teaspoon of ground cumin

1 clove of garlic pounded to a paste

1 lemon halved

 one medium free range chicken 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 220°C gas mark seven, and finely chop half of the onion leaving the other half intact.

Mix the pomegranate molasses,chopped onion ginger, cumin, garlic and a squeeze of lemon together in a small bowl and set aside.

Stuff the remaining half of onion in the cavity of the chicken along with both lemon halves.

When the oven is hot, roast the chicken  for 15 minutes , then remove it from the oven and slather the pomegranate mixture over the skin .

Reduce the oven temperature and continue roasting the chicken for 45 minutes the skin will look black and charred  but fear not it will be delicious. If the bird is larger it may need an extra 10 to 15 minutes cooking.

Remove  the bird from the oven, loosely cover with foil and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

And there you have it....it's so very  easy to make.

Joanna Weinberg recommends cooking this as part of a Middle Eastern wintry Sunday lunch accompanied by saffron mash and chickpea stew. This works well, but is also good with potatoes dauphinoise and vegetables too. I think its perfect for spring and summer lunches with roasted asparagus, perhaps a carrot and and peanut salad, or a fruity couscous. Or with the following....

Yes, that's my wonky writing...and yes, I write notes in cookbooks.

"How to feed your friends with relish" is still available as an e-book I believe, but copies are still available on Amazon or in secondhand bookshops.

Joanna's second book, also published by Bloomsbury, is "Cooking for real life". I just wish she'd get her skates on and write a third.....will there ever be a third one though?

Christmas days

Ah, Christmas...you've been lovely.

The last five days have flown past in a flurry of fun. Lots of eating, drinking, laughing, sharing, caring, singing,...it's been a blast with all of our children, Lucy, Billy and Callum, here.

Our cottage has been bursting at the seams with extra people and animals. For a few days there were seven humans and four dogs staying over, an extra human (Elly) another day, some went home, and then yesterday there were six humans and four dogs , when my lovely sisters in law and their husbands/partners came for lunch with two large spaniels.

I love having a house full at Christmas with my gang....catching up with what's going on, sitting around the kitchen or dining table , relaxing by the fire, watching old favourite films where we know every single line of dialogue and are in fits of giggles waiting or the punch lines.

Usually I do all of the cooking, but not so much this year. In fact, it's been a real joint effort which has worked so well.

On Christmas Eve we broke with tradition. For years, I've baked a large gammon, but this year my son Callum said he would like to cook the meal. Was this because he's bored with the gammon? No, but this was a welcome surprise...and he did everything for that meal from buying, prepping and serving.  It was a gamble though, making a Jamie Oliver's Beef Wellington complete with mushroom pate inside, plus goose fat roasted potatoes and seasonal greens when you've not made a whole dinner before. No pressure with it being our Christmas Eve meal.

 



It was delicious, really flavoursome and we all absolutely loved it, so much so that all the gang were warning me I would have to step up to the plate with Christmas lunch. No pressure there either!

 

Luckily, dear, darling Tom Kerridge saved the day as I made his Turkey Crown....stuffed with sausage meat, pistacios , dried cranberries etc, topped with a toasted crumble of pork scratching, s pistachios and sourdough. Lots of praise indeed , and the ultimate accolade of "best carrots ever " as I faithfully replicated the Kerridge recipe of carrots poached in butter, star anise etc.

 

Make no mistake, this was such a rich lunch, there was no huge pudding this year, and most of us didn't want anything else to eat at all for the rest of the day.

 

Even though the dogs had been walked in the morning, I thought I might spontaneously combust if I just sat down after the meal, so Callum and I took the dogs for a walk around the village.

 

 

 

Even so, I still couldn't eat a thing for the rest of the day, but some  managed  cheese and biscuits at about ten, as we made our way through a  marathon game of monopoly.  It was such fun....the cunning, the guile, the bad language from some (er yes, that would include me) as certain people began putting hotels on all of their properties, the competiveness between my sons who carried on the game until after I'd gone to bed, three and a half hours after the game began.

 

Boxing Day was busy too, but my daughter Lucy and her hairy husband Harry cooked a huge  full English breakfast which lasted us most of the day.

 

Then yesterday, Nigel and Mandy brought the most delicious chicken curry with them for lunch. What a treat.....all I had to do was make a pudding. Home made ice cream with a raspberry coulis made from the raspberries from my allotment, plus some raspberry gin.

 

 

It's been a wonderful five days...the Christmas chaos of a full cottage eating such tasty meals, toasting each other, catching up all on our news and just being together. It's been so busy and  I've been so engrossed in each moment, I've hardly taken any photos.

 

 

 

 

Today though it's quiet. So quiet, even the dining room looks so different without us all squashed around the table, talking at full speed and at full blast.

 

 

Some have gone home, others are away for a few days and my husband is on the golf course. I took the three remaining dogs on a walk earlier around the fields and lanes on the village. One of those glorious mornings where the sun had climbed high after the earlier fog, a morning where I had to walk where the sun has dissolved the hard frost on one side of the road only to try and avoid skidding on the ice.

 

 

 A morning where as soon as we were in the fields and the dogs off their leads, I could admire the different patterns of the ice on the mud and stamp on icy puddles to hear that satisfying thwack and crack as my wellies crashed the ice.

 

 

 

And for the rest of the day, I am relaxing. I'm just about to go and sit by the fire and do nothing.  Until tomorrow that is, when I go back to work, and when I get home , my gorgeous mum (Mama) who I love and adore will have arrived from my brother's on the Isle of Wight to be with us until her birthday  at the beginning of January.

 

Happy Days, and I really hope that you all have had a lovely Christmas too.....

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

A day at the BBC Good Food Show Winter 2015

Well, what a day at the BBC Good Food Show Winter 2015 at the NEC in Birmingham yesterday... a day of food, glorious food. A day of watching the celebrity chefs, a day of fervent food tasting, people watching, present buying...all human life and foodie temptations are there.

 

 

There's hundreds of stalls - some large, some small and some quite beautifully staged and arranged that draw you there....

 

For example The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse

 

 







and The Garlic Farm from the Isle of Wight. I just had to buy some garlic to plant in January. I did taste a few garlicky sauces too...which were lovely but thank goodness, I was prepared . I had a tube of my mints in my bag.

 

 

 

Some stands attracted me because of the sheer beauty of their creations...like Merangz.





 

 

 

And this one, Patchwork Cutters...where a woman was decorating the most beautiful cakes

 

 

 

 

Whereas other stands caught my eye because of their name.

 

 

No, I didn't have a slug of  the sloe gin, it was before midday....but many others were knocking back the gin, prosecco, wines, cocktails, and other fairly lethal looking concoctions with gusto all day.


It's always good fun to people watch at the Good Food Show....to see those whose eyes dart here and there, their antennae on full alert as they spy free samples. In they dive, elbowing others out of the way...before moving on to the next stand.

In one hall, the World Of Cheese Awards were taking place , and I spent a fascinating ten minutes watching the judges deliberations. With around 2,500 cheese to taste, it was a slow process. Everything was tasted in a very considered manner, with nods if liked, slight shakes of the head if not, and of course there was some conferring.

The general public wasn't allowed into the area during the judging, but if I'd have stayed there any longer I would have jumped the safety barrier , fought my way in and grabbed a few of the cheeses myself. And I would have had to question the judges.

 This weekend though, you can book a cheese tour  around the judging tables and there are lots of cheese talks too.

Luckily there were plenty of cheese stands to buy from yesterday

 

 

 

It's so encouraging to see so many local producers of fine foods there, to see someone new, and to find new tastes and flavours.

But back to people watching, and there were plenty of opportunities to sit down and watch the celebrity chefs .The more I see of Michel Roux Junior, the more I like him. He talked openly and honestly on the Lakeland Interview Stage about his life, his favourite meals ..the relish in his voice and his smile as he said his favourite food is chocolate , was quite charming. And he's so good demonstrating different dishes....

And another chef who amused her audiences was Lorraine Pascale. I like her recipes because they really work. She impressed me with her relaxed cooking demo with life stories in between. I knew she had been a model. but didn't realise she had trained to become a car mechanic, (too cold in the garage), a hypotherapist (too boring) before she finally trained to be a chef and found her forte.

I also saw the ever reliable, ever lovely Phil Vickery too...but  one thing struck me  about all three...Lorraine, Michel and Phil...they're all quite skinny, which I think is decidedly unfair.


This weekend at the show, you'll be able to watch Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry. Tom Kerridge, James Martin, Brian Turner and so many more all strutting their stuff, and tempting everyone with their recipes, and their books.

And talking of being tempted, there were so many lovely gadgets and appliances on show...some which I didn't even know I needed, but it's a given  that I shall be back to buy a couple at the next show!

What's also inevitable as  I walked back to the car park, is watching others wandering around  the car parks  having "mislaid" their cars. Feeling smug, I walked straight to mine, but then disgraced myself by getting lost as soon as soon as I left the NEC exit. Again....

Days of loving my cookery books.

Erm...there's 90 of them. Yes, I have 90 recipe books and books about food.

I didn't realise I had so many ....at a guess last year I thought there may be 60. Oops...
Some of them are on the bookshelves in the kitchen

Others can be found on the dining table,

by my bed, on the coffee table...wherever I sit and read, there's bound to be a book about food close by.

My collection of books holds the usual suspects that can be found on many shelves....offerings from Nigel, Nigella and Jamie. There's two from Otam Ottalenghi, a couple from Skye Gingell, a tattered , original old copy of Elizabeth David's French Food as well as several paperback copies of her others, there's quite a few books on Italian cookery, Australian fusion food, thai food, books on fruit,and mother and daughter Jane and Sophie Grigson put in a couple of appearances. And if you want to read a book about cowboy food, well I have one right here.

There's even one that I helped to produce with Kim Hall....a book compiled of 25 years of recipes from Miranda Hall which was published by the British Red Cross to raise funds.

Reading a cookery book isn't just about the recipes, the best , for me, give  an insight into the culture of the country where they came from, and I'm a sucker for personal stories which accompany the recipes themselves.

There's something so comforting about being able to nestle down and read about food. There's something exciting about planning a different meal, to search for inspiration. Plus, there's something so satisfying about looking for a recipe to make  something delicious from fruit and vegetables I've grown myself.

The thing is, I do have my favourite books and my go to recipes of dishes I know and love. Especially if friends are coming around. Better be safe than sorry is my motto.

I also tend to use what I've got...sometimes I'm not organised to select a recipe and make sure I've got all the ingredients in advance!

However, in the spirit of being more organised, and trying out some different recipes , I've decided that each Friday I'm going to be taking two of my favourite or two completely new recipes from a different book in my collection and making them. I'll share them with you.....and let's see where it takes us. Here on this blog, Friday will be Foodie Friday!


In the meantime, why not listen to this?

It's a broadcast from a couple of Fridays ago on BBC Leicester. My friend at work Ed Stagg invited himself around for a late lunch...he wanted to record me making an easy peasy recipe.

So here is what I made....and this is what it sounded like! Go on, you know you want to listen....and the recipe is there too.

 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wqp92

Days mixed up..a Tuesday posting about Friday nights

There's a different smell in the air, the mornings are different.....cooler and bringing the promise of Autumn.

Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn as a season, but it's what lies beyond that...the dark nights and diminished days of winter, that I loathe.

What I always miss about summer are the long light nights....and that's something my friends Laura, Susie and I have been making the most of over the last few months.

Most Friday nights we meet at the local pub..in winter we sit by the fire with a bottle of wine...sometimes more...and we catch up on what's happened, what's going on. We meet early..sixish if we can, , and are usually home by eightish.

It's very civilised...in good weather , we've sat in the pub's little garden with a bottle and an ice bucket....but as the summer temperatures increased, we decided to meet up in each others gardens and really enjoy our summer evenings.

We started off  in June with bottles of wine and a few nibbles..as the nights became longer, our appetites grew larger , we progressed to Pimms ,crudités, hummous...

 

 

 

 

to prosecco, bread and cheese, grapes....

 

 

 

 

to sloe gin cocktails, olives, salads

 

 

 

 

 

to jugs of mojitos, homemade dips ...and the only evening  we sat inside because it was too breezy but with the French doors open....

back to wine.....and as summer has progressed, we've laughed and gossiped our way through the wines , spirits , snacks and canapes of many of our favourite countries. When I say gossiped though...that's not strictly true. The three of us talk about anything from history, news and current affairs, psychology, films, gardening, food...and oh alright, they may be the odd moment when we discuss the latest gossip.

It's been such good fun....and I think I can safely say...it's something we'll be repeating next year.....

In the soundtrack to my summer though, one band has featured prominently...Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo.....if you get the chance to see them, do! They are great live, the girls switching between instruments...but held together by Emily's beautiful and evocative voice. They headlined the marquee stage at this year's  Simon Says festival in Leicester in July  where I was compering...and it was such a pleasure to stand and watch from the side of the stage and appreciate just how enjoyably good they are.

Here's "Ghost Narrative"

 

Days mixed up..a Tuesday posting about Friday nights

There's a different smell in the air, the mornings are different.....cooler and bringing the promise of Autumn.

Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn as a season, but it's what lies beyond that...the dark nights and diminished days of winter, that I loathe.

What I always miss about summer are the long light nights....and that's something my friends Laura, Susie and I have been making the most of over the last few months.

Most Friday nights we meet at the local pub..in winter we sit by the fire with a bottle of wine...sometimes more...and we catch up on what's happened, what's going on. We meet early..sixish if we can, , and are usually home by eightish.

It's very civilised...in good weather , we've sat in the pub's little garden with a bottle and an ice bucket....but as the summer temperatures increased, we decided to meet up in each others gardens and really enjoy our summer evenings.

We started off  in June with bottles of wine and a few nibbles..as the nights became longer, our appetites grew larger , we progressed to Pimms ,crudités, hummous...

 

 

 

 

to prosecco, bread and cheese, grapes....

 

 

 

 

to sloe gin cocktails, olives, salads

 

 

 

 

 

to jugs of mojitos, homemade dips ...and the only evening  we sat inside because it was too breezy but with the French doors open....

back to wine.....and as summer has progressed, we've laughed and gossiped our way through the wines , spirits , snacks and canapes of many of our favourite countries. When I say gossiped though...that's not strictly true. The three of us talk about anything from history, news and current affairs, psychology, films, gardening, food...and oh alright, they may be the odd moment when we discuss the latest gossip.

It's been such good fun....and I think I can safely say...it's something we'll be repeating next year.....

In the soundtrack to my summer though, one band has featured prominently...Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo.....if you get the chance to see them, do! They are great live, the girls switching between instruments...but held together by Emily's beautiful and evocative voice. They headlined the marquee stage at this year's  Simon Says festival in Leicester in July  where I was compering...and it was such a pleasure to stand and watch from the side of the stage and appreciate just how enjoyably good they are.

Here's "Ghost Narrative"

 

A day on Radio 4's Food Programme...

I love food. That's why I'm not a skinny malinky kind of woman....I have curves. Ok, so they're perhaps more curvier curves than perhaps I should have...but hey...

It's not that I'm stuffing myself morning , noon and night....I'm not.....but I like to grow my own food.....
 

.

 

 

and cook. Sometimes the urge to cook just takes over...for example I wasn't going to bake today. No way, too busy ...but then I spotted the bananas in the fruit bowl....mmmn, a tad too speckly...and the next minute I was making this...a banana, chocolate and walnut loaf.

 

Food...growing, cooking and sharing it ... makes me happy. Even when I'm cooking a  recipe from someone I've loved and liked, and who's now not with us.......I like to remember the happy times
we shared...and using their recipes keep those happy times alive.

Over the years, I've collected quite a number of recipes from Granny, my lovely mum in law who died seventeen years ago, Mama..that's my gorgeous mum (who thank the lord, is still very much alive and kicking) and lots of friends. The recipe book has now lost it's  covers, it's so tatty and dog eared, and some of the pages are decorated with cake mixture splodges. But it's one of my most valuable possessions.

Cooking their recipes , the smells coming from the oven take me back to conversations, events, and meals gone by. I 've now transferred the  recipes to a new book...lovingly rewritten them out, just in case the original book completely falls to pieces one day...

This week, the addictive and always excellent " Food Programme "on Radio 4 looks at food and bereavement, carefully crafted by producer Anne -Marie Bullock ....and my darling daughter and I will be sharing our memories of Granny et al and talking about my recipe book during the programme.
.
Here's the link to what's coming up

http://bbc.in/12SIddD   


 Do have a look....and do listen on Sunday at 12.30pm or Monday at 3.30 on BBC Radio 4 on FM 92.5–96....or you can sit at your computer and listen on t'internet. Go on, you know you want to......

Today's track is called "Remembering "by the Avishai Cohen Trio.....