Gammon Raise

The first of June had seen me involved in one of the most exciting games of cricket of my career. This time it was a close finish that saw the team I was playing in get home off one of the last balls of the game thanks to an athletic diving catch by my stocky Sri Lankan Teammate. 

After a steamy night at a Far Eastern Restaurant, a revitalising boiled Goose Egg the morning after followed by a walk to one of the highest local hills it was time for another cooking project. 

I stepped a long way back in time to the mid 1980s and remembered the times when my mum wasn't a quasi-vegan and used to cook delicious Gammon Steaks that were salty yet juicy. It was those memories that inspired me to cook a Gammon Steak with some adventurous ingredients that were barely heard of in the 1980s. The ingredients were:

1 joint of Gammon.
Honey to glaze the Gammon with.  
Mustard Seeds. 
Purple Sage Leaves.


For the Prune Chutney:
3 Shallots 
12 Ounces of Prunes. 
Quarter of a Pint of White Wine.

A side of New Potatoes.

At this point I'd give a big shout out to my local green grocer "Strawberry Box" who supplied the Shallots and New Potatoes. 

On the player was Roy Harper's 1988 effort "Garden of Uranium". Harper didn't release many albums in the 1980s but when he did he certainly hit his straps. Garden of Uranium combines atmosphere, emotion and dry wit and although there are some very 1980s touches to the record they are restrained enough for the album not to sound dated.

The method for this dish was as follows: 

1. Cut all excess fat from the Gammon.

2. Mix together the Honey, Mustard Seeds and Sage Leaves in a mixing bowl and then glaze the Gammon Steak with them using a brush. 

3. Cook the Glazed Gammon in the oven for ninety minutes on Gas Mark 4. 

4. While the Gammon is cooking make Prune and Shallot Chutney by topping and tailing the Shallots and slicing them thinly. 

5. Melt eight ounces of Unsalted Butter in a saucepan and add the Prunes and Shallots. Once the Shallots are cooked add the White Wine and then boil it away on a medium heat until the melted butter, residue of the White Wine and Prunes and Shallots have formed a thick paste. Leave on one side to cool. 

6. Peel the New Potatoes and Steam for 25-30 minutes until they are soft. 

7. Once the Gammon is ready, cut it into slices and serve with the Prune and Shallot Chutney and New Potatoes. 

The combination of Prunes, Shallots and Gammon isn't necessarily one I'd have put together before making this recipe. However the chutney that contained the Prunes, Shallots and White Wine had a rich and earthy flavour that complemented the sweet, rich glaze that encrusted the Gammon Steak. 

Kedging a ride

The weekend after the May Day Bank Holiday seems a time away now; a little like looking at a distant landmark through the wrong end of a telescope. At that time I was still basking in the afterglow of my career best bowling performance in league cricket a week earlier. I had been lucky to follow this up in the next match, after a controversial last minute selection, with another strong performance on a wet wicket. I bowled tightly to remove the opening batsman of a team who are based in the industrial midlands. 

Their home ground , which that particular game was played on, sits in a park in the middle of rundown housing estate where, in a previous life several years earlier, I had walked through on a one-off date with a local mattress saleswoman. 

After the game I headed east for some spontaneous frames of snooker  with a fellow law professional before hitting the sack.

The Dogg woke me early the next morning, by pawing me in the head, and to help recover from my sporting adventures the day before I cooked up my own take on Kedgeree. 

The ingredients were as follows: 

2 Banty Eggs hard-boiled sourced from brilliant local greengrocer The Strawberry Box.

2 Bay Leafs.

2 Smoked Haddock Fillets.

1 Bunch of Broccoli- also sourced from the Strawberry Box. 

2 Shallots.

8 ounces of Rice.

3 ounces of Pine Nuts

3 Spring Onions.

4 sprigs of Fresh Parsley.

2 tablespoons Curry Powder. 

The juice of 1 Lemon.

On the player was Robert Cray's funky and bluesy album "Strong Persuader". I was introduced to this talented and witty blues guitar man at a gig last October and following the gig was inspired to buy this album which stands as the high watermark of his recorded output. 

The method for this recipe is as follows:

1. Fry Haddock 8-10 minutes turning regularly then place on the side once cooked. 
2. Boil Rice for 15 minutes while the Haddock is frying. 
3. Boil Eggs for 5 minutes to make them hard boiled while Rice and Haddock are cooking. 
4. Steam Broccoli 20 for minutes while above ingredients are cooking.
5. Fry in a frying pan in Olive Oil the Shallots, Spring Onions and Bay Leafs for 15 minutes stirring regularly. Add Pine Nuts, Curry Powder, Parsley.
6. Once they have been cooked, using the method above, and cut into pieces add the Haddock, Rice, Broccoli and the Eggs once their shells have been peeled from them and the Eggs quartered.
7. Warm all the contents of the frying pan through and place in a Pyrex dish to serve.

When I'm holidaying, Kedgeree is one of the luxury breakfasts that I plump for. I really enjoy the smokiness of the Haddock coupled with the curried flavours. My take on it was motivated by my cricket adventures and promise to the Dogg and others to walk in a wider range of more taxing terrain which in turn required me to improved my fitness. Part of improving my fitness naturally means watching my diet. That's why the fresh Broccoli and rich Pine Nuts ended up in the recipe and they in turn made the dish rich yet healthy. 

Colourful Kedge- bright Haddock and lots of greens give this recipe a healthy glow. 

Screw the diet, have a Stuffed Pepper

Friday Night. I had taken in some hard travelling at two offices where I found lots of good company. One office was located in an ex-mining town, the other near a former steel mill. Then I hit the road in the Panda and took the Dogg to my pad to kick off an action packed bank holiday weekend. 

On the player was Miles Davis' underrated and quite wonderful 1986 effort Tutu that finds Jazz's greatest artist duet-ting on his trumpet with numerous overdubbed instruments including drum machines and other, at the time, modern instruments. However, unlike some 1980s efforts by other great artists to embrace contemporary fashions Davis' effort hasn't dated and still sounds fresh today.

It genuinely was the first full game of cricket the following day and I needed to cook something quick and easy to give me some energy. I settled on a stuffed pepper recipe. The ingredients used were:

One Yellow Pepper, de-seeded with the top removed. 

One Clove of Garlic, peeled, topped, tailed and cut finely.

A tablespoon of Smoked Paprika. 

A tablespoon of Onion Salt. 

Three Fresh Basil Leaves. 

Six Spring Onions, topped, tailed and sliced thinly. 

Three Fresh Tomatoes cut into cubes. 

Eight Ounces of Quinoa.

A tin of Butter Beans.

The method to make this recipe is:

1. Line a Le Cresceut or Sauce Pan with Olive Oil. Add the Pepper, Garlic, Paprika and Onion Salt.

2. Warm through with the lid on the pan or Le Cresceut on a medium heat for ten minutes turning the Pepper regularly to make sure each side is done properly. 

3. Add the Tomato, Basil, Spring Onions and stew on a medium to low heat for a further twenty minutes stirring regularly. 

4. In the meantime boil the Quinoa in a separate saucepan of boiling water for twenty minutes.

5. Drain the Quinoa with a sieve and add to the ingredients in the Le Cresceut or Sauce pan with the Butter Beans. 

6. Warm through for five minutes and serve. 

There's lots of fantastic protein in this recipe with the Quinoa and Butterbeans while the herb and spices give the whole recipe a real kick and make it a meal of goodness and eclectic flavours. It certainly gave me some energy to take five wickets in the cricket match the following day and help our team win in a match where every team member contributed something positive. 

Stormy Soup

The storm quickly closed in on Friday as we left work. A colleague hurried quickly to her stables so as to move her horses to new pastures. I meanwhile pushed the Panda to the limit to retrieve the Dogg from a local safe house and do the shopping before the worst of the weather hit. 

I had been selected for the first game of cricket of the season, which was supposed to be taking place the following day. That said I had the usual mix of excitement at the promise of good cricket and making more memories, slight nerves and burning anticipation that comes before the first match of the season after long months of practice in Winter and early Spring. If the game was going to go ahead I realised that I needed to be fortified with a warming homemade soup as the match temperatures would be Baltic and the wicket and outfield a sodden glue pot fashioned from the hordes of local clay and buckets of rain. 

I went for a Leek and Potato Soup recipe but decided to put a bit of a twist into it in order to make it more flavoursome and avoid the blandness this recipe can create if it's not done properly.

On the player was, appropriately in light of the weather outside, Bob Dylan's 1977 live album "Hard Rain". The record documents Dylan's legendary 1975/76 Rolling Thunder Tour and while there are better recordings of that tour available, this album still packs a primal power that makes it essential listening. 

The ingredients for this soup are:

8 Shallots, topped, tailed, peeled and finely sliced. 
1 Leek, topped, tailed and sliced thinly.
1 Garlic Clove, topped, tailed and sliced narrowly. 
1 ounce of Mustard.
1 ounce of Mustard Seeds.
1 ounce of Dried Tarragon. 
1 White Potato, peeled and cubed. 
Half a pint of Vegetable Stock. 

The method is as follows:

1. Stew the Shallots, Leek, Garlic Clove, Herbs and Spices in Olive Oil in a Le Cresceut on a medium heat for ten minutes. Stir periodically and when not stirring keep the lid on the Le Cresceut dish to help cook the ingredients. 

2. Add the Potato and repeat the stewing process referred to above for a further ten minutes. 

3. Add the Vegetable Stock and then simmer the ingredients on a medium heat for forty-five minutes. 

4. Leave ingredients to cool and once cooled blend them. 

5. Once blended warm the soup through in a pan or Le Cresceut and once warmed serve in bowls with a garnish of Fresh Parsley. 

Tarragon and Mustard always make a tasteful pairing and when they were coupled with the overripe Shallots it give a richness and flavour to the Leek and Potatoes that made this a filling soup that was delicious. Although the horizontal rain put paid to the cricket match the soup proved good brain food as I used Saturday's Downtime to plot a new course. 

Fancies Allsorts

My Gran always warned us about hanging washing outside on Good Friday. Apparently it's bad luck because of what Christians believe happened on Good Friday and therefore could mean that hanging washing outside could lead to the death of someone close to you. Fortunately for me my washing remained hidden inside the house. Hopefully that meant I had dodged a bullet. 

One activity that isn't frowned upon on Good Friday however is baking and in my case during this Good Friday some Fancies. I put a twist on the traditional approach to preparing Fancies, that usually involves putting Dolly Mixture Sweets atop the cakes, by decorating mine with Liquorice Allsorts. 

As the late April Sun slow cooked the Chilli Plants in the conservatory, I commenced work on the Fancies. On the player was Rush's excellent live album "Snakes and Arrows Live". I was lucky enough to see the band on the UK Leg of the tour this record was culled from with two people who've had a very positive influence on my life. There's something about the rhythm and feel of Rush's music that tends to make me push hard to produce quality food and this cooking project was no exception to that rule. 

The ingredients for this recipe were: 

For the Cake Mix

175 grams of Unsalted Butter.
175 grams of Brown Sugar.
175 grams of Self- Raising Flour. 
3 beaten Eggs. 

For the topping

525 grams of Icing Sugar.
5 tablespoons of Warm Water.
Some food colouring.
Various Liquorice Allsorts. 

The method for this recipe is:

1. Cream the Butter and Brown Sugar until it is fluffy. 

2. Gradually mix in the beaten Eggs until you have a thick paste. 

3. Stir in the Self-Raising Flour until you have a thick paste mixture.

4. Grease 12 Bun Cases and distribute the mixture equally between each bun case. Add the bun cases to a baking tray with 12 spaces for the Bun Cases. 

5. Cook in the top shelf of the oven on Gas Mark 5 (or 190 degrees) for 35 minutes. 

6. Remove from the oven and cool in the fridge for an hour. 

7. Make the topping by sieving the Icing Sugar into a bowl and gradually stirring in the water and no more than three tablespoons of food colouring. This should result in a thick paste. 

8. Once the cakes have cooled spread the Icing evenly over each of them and top them with a Liquorice Allsort of your choice. 

9. Return to the fridge to allow the Icing to solidify and when ready to eat remove from the fridge and allow to warm up at room temperature for about 30 minutes. 


These alternate take on Fancies proved popular both with a good friend, and intellectual giant, when he consumed one after we'd conquered a challenging local mountain on Easter Saturday. While another visitor enjoyed one with a strong glass of pale ale after an evening shift at work. 

They were tasteful cakes for a tasteful and extremely memorable Easter Bank Holiday. 

Two of the Fancies made a delicious late night snack accompanied by some strong Pale Ale.

Duck in the Canaries

The new collection of Duck Eggs had arrived at the greengrocers.Some were a pale shade of turquoise, like a cloudless sky at dawn, while others were speckled and white. I picked a speckled white egg. The day was Saturday and it was the second one in April. 

Freezing hale cut into the Dogg and I as we sat in front of a memorial, that can be seen for miles around, for our picnic dinner of raw lettuce, hummus and cheesy crisps. That said it was the case that by the evening a warm curry with the crew in town was just what was needed. 

The morning after a wonderful night, that was chock full of entertainment, insight and a variation on the Five "Megamix", my eyes were opened by the weak sunshine and I drifted slowly down the stairs to make breakfast.

I employed some ideas from my time in the Canary Islands to poach the Duck Egg and garnish it with a rich Mediterranean Tomato Sauce flavoured with a North African spice that is typically used in sauces of the Canary Islands.

The first Seal Album was on the player with the funky, energetic third track "Crazy", one of the standout tracks, leaping from the speakers. 

This is what I used:

• Three Spring Onions, topped, tailed, and sliced finely.
• Three Tomatoes cut into cubes. 
• Three Basil Leaves that have been shredded thinly. 
• A tablespoon of Smoked Paprika.
• A tablespoon of Ras-El-Hanout Seasoning. 
• One Duck Egg.
• Some Olive Oil.

This is how I did it:

1. Gently fry the Spring Onions and Spices in Olive Oil in a Le Cresceut or a deep frying pan on a medium heat for five minutes.
2. Meanwhile grease the poaching pods of an egg poacher and bring the poaching pan to the boil on the hob. 
3. Add the Tomatoes and Basil to the Le Cresceut or frying pan and stew on a medium heat with the lid on for fifteen minutes. 
4. Crack the Duck Egg and put the white and the yolk in one of the poaching pods and boil in the poacher for five minutes.
5. Serve with the sauce and you should have a runny egg that is very rich but spicy thanks to the tomato sauce. 

Microbrewery in a Stew

The heat-haze had lifted and as the Dogg and I sat at the top of a high hill with sun filtering down through the remaining clouds; it felt like we could see all of the National Park we were currently visiting. We were in the middle of a nine mile walk over familiar and less familiar terrain and were indulging in a picnic of Hummus and Onion Rings. At least I was. The Dogg stuck to her favourite dried food and the sheep dung scattered around our picnic site. 

We descended into the valley and I saw a house I had visited almost exactly nine years earlier. On that date I had a meeting that changed my career forever. The house looked the same as I remembered it. I almost wanted to go and knock on the door and say "thank you" to its current occupant. Yet something, an almost intangible and pathological force, pulled me away from doing that. 

As we drifted through the village to find our car and drive home, we took time to visit the cricket pitch that had staged three significant games in my amateur cricket career. The first was my first competitive game for the club I currently play for. The second was a memorable cup final and the third saw my return to competitive cricket after a hiatus of five years. That said I felt a number of emotions that left me fulfilled but mindful of old ghosts. 

The Panda guided me skilfully home with its windows wound down and James Taylor's underrated 1974 effort "Walking Man" booming from the vehicle's bad ass sound system. Our arrival at home saw me do my annual work of laying ant poison outside the house to stop the expected attempt by the creatures to create an infestation.

It was soon time for tea and I realised I needed something with protein and lots of iron. The recipe was inspired by my purchase of a local beer from a nearby farm shop. The beer is made by a local  micro brewery called the Ashover Brewery and this particular brand is called "The Fabrick". It takes its name from a local rock that forms a viewpoint from which you can see six counties and, on a clear day, a distant cathedral. It is amazing in this day and age you can get a beer named after such an obscure, to those not from the locality, local landmark. I say this as in my early drinking days the choice of beer was mainly restricted to the bland dross of Carling, Fosters, Heineken, Worthington and others. Luckily we,as consumers, are now spoiled for choice with great beer. 

The decision was made to put half of "The Fabrick" in a beef stew. On the player was James Taylor's polished 1976 record "In the Pocket". Tracks such as "Shower the People" prove a timely reminder to value and appreciate the friends and family in your life, while "A Junkie's Lament" pushes the envelope (at least in James Taylor terms) by charting an individual's recovery from heroin addiction. This overlooked album is one to seek out on a sunny day, stick on the player, crack open a beer and close your eyes to allow yourself to be transported somewhere special by the music. 

The Ingredients for this recipe were as follows

For the stew 

400g Diced Beef. 
1 heaped tablespoon of Plain Flour. 
25g of Fresh Parsley.
15g of Black Pepper. 
10g of Onion Salt. 
1 Bay Leaf.
5 Raw Pickling Onions, peeled, topped, tailed and finely sliced. 
Half a Pint of Ashover Brewery "The Fabrick" Beer. 

For the side dish.

5 Steamed New Potatoes, 100g Fresh Broad Beans and 50g of Rocket to serve with the Stew. 

The way to make this meal is as follows:

1. Steam the New Potatoes and Broad Beans on a medium heat for about half an hour to forty minutes or until soft and tender. 

2. Fry the Beef, flour, herbs and spices in a Le Cresceut in Olive Oil for ten minutes stirring regularly to stop the Beef Pieces sticking and to bind the ingredients together. 

3. Add the Pickling Onions and fry all the ingredients for another ten minutes. 

4. Add the Beer and simmer for around twenty five minutes on a medium heat while stirring regularly to avoid the Beef Pieces sticking.

5. Serve with the New Potatoes, Broad Beans and Rocket. 

The Beef was made spicy yet rich by the introduction of the Beer while the flour helped parts of the stew form a thick, flavoursome stock. The Beer was a light one with a sharp, citric taste made refreshing by the warm temperatures. The New Potatoes, Fresh Broad Beans and Rocket lent a welcome taste of summer to the dish and made my restless, questing mind turn to thoughts of new challenges in the coming months. These were challenges that I realised that I had numerous ways of overcoming.