P-P-P Poach a Pear

The sky hung low and shone a claustrophobic, dull metallic grey colour. It was mid-morning on the ridge by the wood. A lone, long-billed bird the size of an underfed chicken darted overhead Northwards in silhouette. It was the second weekend in January and the weather was characteristic of that time of year in that it still seemed dark even though sunrise had long been a feature of the day.

The Dogg and I realised that it wasn't a day for staying out for a long period. Also I realised that I had a recipe I wanted to prepare so as to make best use of some Pears recently acquired from the specialist fruit and veg vendor in my local town. 

The cold pale, grey day acquired appropriate music to fit the mood. That said on the player was wintry and wonderful electronica duo Neu's final release; the version I had was released under the title Neu! '86. It was recorded in 1985 but not released at the time as the duo behind the band, ex Kraftwerk men Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger, fell out with only a few of the songs for the album fully complete. After Dinger's death in 2008, Rother worked to finish the album that was released as Neu! '86. 

The record is as vital and essential as their other three albums and combines the atmospheric, cold, yet wonderful moods of Neu! 75', the proto punk of Neu! and Neu! 2 with a fistful of contemporary synth sounds that fit the bill well. It was a handy coda to their career. 

Why not have a listen for yourself at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qugv2kbxAHI&list=PL511fSPfMr9IDVwyFtOXQOTJezTIlxsUh   

So the recipe. The ingredients comprised of:

Five tablespoons of Scotch Whisky. 
Three tablespoons of Brown Sugar. 
Nought point three litres of Water.

Two pears, peeled but not topped and tailed. 

Three tablespoons of powdered Dark Chocolate.
Nought point two litres of Almond Milk. 

This tasty yet surprisingly healthy treat is relatively easy to make:

1. Combine the Whisky, Sugar and Water in a saucepan and leave to soak overnight with the lid on. 

2. The next day bring the contents of the saucepan to boil. 

3. Add the Pears and simmer for ten minutes.

4. While the pears are simmering, combine the Dark Chocolate Powder and the Almond Milk in a saucepan. Stir together thoroughly and warm through while stirring regularly on a medium heat until the Pears are ready.

I served the Pears by dolloping a healthy amount of the chocolate on each and presenting them in a serving bowl. The Pears benefited from rich but sweet taste of the whisky and sugar water. They were also soft but not so soft that they lost their texture and taste. The chocolate sauce meanwhile used strong Dark Chocolate Powder and Almond Milk that are much more healthy than their lighter and dairy counterparts. It was certainly a cheat meal without the need to cheat, too much, because some of  the ingredients were quite healthy in themselves. 

Get saucy- this chocolate sauce is a surprisingly healthy adjunct to the Whisky Sodden Pear. 

Chestnut, meet Beetroot

The change of the clocks can mean many things. Often they are things that people view as negative; ropey weather, long nights and shorter days. It's true that the prolonged darkness can give you, friends, colleagues and clients alike low mood and low energy. There are many times over the years where I've thought like that, especially when, at this time of year, I spend a lot of time in the office during the day in the week and only leave and arrive when it's dark.

There are ways this can be turned on its head. One way is to get some fresh air by taking a walk on your lunch break, going long walks at the weekend and making lots of comforting food. It especially helps if you try some innovative and new seasonal recipes. As we progress through the latter part of winter '18 and '19, come and join me as I make some new recipes and lots of comforting food and drink.

During the weekend of Bonfire Night. I was celebrating an important four year professional anniversary and reflecting two trips to the pub and one epic session of pool during the working week.

On the menu that afternoon were variously homemade Parkin, Calzone (which featured on a recent blog entry), Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Gratin and a Beetroot and Chestnut Soup, which is the feature of today's blog.

The Beetroot and the Chestnut are two foodstuffs that are found in most greengrocers and supermarkets at this time of year. I sourced mine from a local greengrocer that was bought out last year and has lots of exciting potential. It never fails to deliver fresh, quality ingredients that run rings round the two supermarkets close by.

The ingredients of the soup are:

Three Beetroot, topped, tailed and peeled.
The stems and leaves of the Beetroot.
Ten Ounces of fresh Root Ginger, peeled and sliced very thinly.
A tablespoon of Celery Salt.
A pint of Pale Ale.
A quarter of a pint of water.
Olive Oil.

I jumped back to 1989 for the music with Eric Clapton's "Journeyman" album. My esteemed colleague, who is a partner in the firm at which I work, once described the album as still sounding brilliant after all these years. She is, as with her judgment in many professional matters, absolutely spot on in her assessment. Pick tracks include the liability denying "Before you Accuse Me" , "Running on Faith" and gritty covers of "Hard Times" by Ray Charles and "Hound Dog" by Lieber and Stoller.

A link to allow you to listen this record is at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZX7OAdrD-_KgbN5L-GjAzzQnPzJwdpAk

There's a fair bit of cooking time involved in this recipe. The main reason for this is that it takes a good while to cook the Beetroot to ensure it's soft enough to be blended.

The first step is to slash each Chestnut across the middle with a knife to create a hole in it. Then cook the Chestnuts on a baking tray in the oven on Gas Mark 7.

While the Chestnuts are cooking, cut the Beetroot into large cubes and fry in a saucepan in Olive Oil with the stems and leaves and the Root Ginger Pieces over a lowish heat.

After the Chestnuts are ready, rinse them in water to cool them down. Then using either a nutcracker or if, like me you don't have one, use some clean pliers to crack the nuts and remove the skin. Add the flesh of the Chestnuts to the pan with the Beetroot and Ginger.

Once the Chestnuts have been added put in the Celery Salt and stir it in. There is an esteemed french food critic who has praised the virtues of mixing Celery with Chestnuts and that led me to conclude that the Celery Salt would work well in this dish.

After that add the Pale Ale. Lots of pale ales can be used, I plumped for Greene King Pale Ale but any pale ale will do the trick. Then simmer the ingredients on the hob for around thirty minutes. After that add the water and simmer steadily for another hour.

Then place the contents on one side to cool down before adding them into a blender and blending them on the "Puree" setting for about ten seconds at most.

You can then warm the soup through in the sauce pan and serve it in bowls. The taste of this soup was slightly bitter and burned but in a warm way that made me want more. I think because the fresh chestnuts made it rich. Definitely the best Beetroot Soup Recipe I've come across.

Purple Peril- a bright and vibrant soup that is rich and nutritious 

The Artist formerly known as Beef

The words of the title of this blog were uttered many years ago by me to a very close friend when we spotted, in our local boozer, a bloke we'd been at school with who's nickname in those days was "Beef". Unsurprisingly with a nickname like that it revealed his large size which meant he was a key player in the school rugby team. The team had a very successful run in competitive matches. This was mainly through their strategy of simply passing the ball to Beef who would then repeatedly power through shell-shocked defences, much like a sharp knife through low fat margarine, as many times as was necessary to secure the victory. Today old Beef is just a memory. I've not seen him for years and heard he passed away before he was twenty-five through drug use. I hope that's just a rumour.

However whenever I think of the word Beef, it often reminds me of him and the small period when our lives crossed paths. I still walk the streets that he once did and one Saturday recently, from a shop on those streets, I was able to acquire some delicious diced chunks of British Beef for an innovative and warming winter recipe.

Still well galvanized to explore new recipes by the recent cookery course I'd attended I decided to make a spicy Beef recipe with a fair few fresh ingredients. These were the following:

Ten ounces of fresh chunks of Beef.
Five Shallots, topped, tailed, peeled and sliced widely.
Three Garlic Cloves, topped, tailed, peeled and sliced thinly.
A six cm by two cm piece of Root Ginger, peeled and sliced very, very thinly.
An eighth of a pint of Coconut Milk.
A tablespoon of Turmeric.
Three Birdseye Chillis, cut into very small pieces.
A bunch of Fresh Coriander.

To match my new creative flair I listened to Frank Zappa's innovative 1978 double live album "Zappa in New York" which mixes bawdy comedy, jazz-rock virtuosity and peerless guitar to form an irresistible cocktail of entertainment by one of music's all-time greats.

If you want to listen to the record try following this link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pTC8F6i_0I

So to the method. I don't often use meat in recipes but realised that I needed to take more care when cooking the Beef, as compared to Quorn or other meat alternatives, as otherwise I risked under cooking the Beef which could lead to illness. This said I fried the Beef in Olive Oil in a frying pan while turning it regularly for around- twenty five minutes. By that time it was totally brown and well on the way to being cooked.

While the Beef was cooking I prepared the Garlic, Shallots, Ginger, Chili and two thirds of the Coriander. As the Beef came towards the end of its twenty-five minutes in the frying pan I started frying these ingredients in Olive Oil on the hob on a medium heat while stirring regularly. After about five minutes the Shallots were starting to go transparent. That meant it was time to add the Beef.

Fortunately enough I had timed the preparation and initial cooking of the Garlic, Shallots, Ginger, Chillis and two thirds of the Coriander so that when they had been cooking in the Le Cresceut for five minutes the Beef had come to the end of its initial twenty-five minute cooking time. That said I added the Beef and stirred it together with the Turmeric and the Coconut Milk. I then put the lid on the Le Cresceut and, while stirring fairly regularly to stop the ingredients sticking, left the ingredients to stew on the hob on a medium heat for thirty minutes.

 In the meantime I made some mashed Sweet Potato by steaming some chunks of one in a steamer for around twenty-five minutes and then mashing them with a tablespoon of Coconut Milk.

When the stir-fried Beef Mixture was ready I served it with the remaining third of the Fresh Coriander and a side of mashed Sweet Potato. The difference in taste making this recipe with Fresh Ginger and Fresh Coriander made it much more flavoursome than it otherwise would have been. The Chili made it very spicy but not totally overpowering thanks to the presence of the Coconut Milk. It was a well balanced meal and one that was healthy and warming on a winter evening.

Coriander Canopy- spare pieces of Coriander are placed in the mashed Sweet Potato to give the look of a small tree sheltering the spicy Beef, Ginger, Shallot and Chili Stir Fry.

Sloe Gin Coming

At the start of September I was wandering round a wide playing field that had two smaller than average goalposts at either end. To those of my generation it was known as the "Playscheme". A place where many of us would go on hot summer evenings after a day at Primary School to play football and many other things. During my recent trip there I was reflecting on a very memorable summer that I had been lucky to be a part of.

The Playscheme is bordered on one side by lots of red brick council houses with steel frames hidden beneath the brickwork. One such house was the scene of one the most exciting, yet dangerous, house parties I ever attended back in the summer of 2009.

Nine years on I found the Playscheme and the Council Houses to be separated by thick hedges containing wild Sloe Berries. These wild berries prove a fantastic ingredient for festive Sloe Gin and with some foresight I was inspired to procure fifteen ounces of them from a local source.

When the Dogg and I returned home I stuck onto the player Jethro Tull's difficult yet rewarding effort "A Passion Play". If you want to tackle this album then why not have a listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZFlq3zQhQ0 

It's an album that was willfully obscure in terms of the concept behind it and the lyrics. However it contains some of the band's best playing and strong musical themes even if the interlude, which sounds like it was meant to emulate Monty Python, "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" can grate a little after several listens. Nevertheless like all the best albums you hear something new every time you listen to it.

I took a one litre plastic bottle and added the Sloes to it with five ounces of Caster Sugar and two thirds of a litre of Gin. I screwed on the bottle cap very tightly and shook the contents well. I then left it for three months and two weeks, in the back of one of my kitchen cupboards, apart from making sure I shook the bottle once every week or two weeks and then replacing it back in the cupboard.

I also made some Elderberry Gin by taking six Ounces of local elderberries and added them to a  half a litre plastic bottle with three ounces of caster sugar and one third of a  litre of Gin. I stored this bottle of Gin for the same time and in the same manner as the Sloe Gin.

When the Gin was opened it was the Christmas Holidays. After bottling it up in September I had returned briefly to the North Country to take the ashes of a close relative back home. Then after closing that part of the book I had achieved three big victories in my professional life and been partying and socialising non-stop since the start of the month. I was a lucky man to have done all this. The holiday season and the month of December had reminded me of the many good people in my life.

As I type this I've got Mike Oldfield's 1982 record "Five Miles Out" on the player. It's a record that shows how an artist who had been requested by his label to make a 'pop' album was able to come up with something that ticked that box while still having one track that is a twenty-four minute opus as well as two big hit singles. It is a good metaphor for life in the sense that; you should be sure you have plenty of memorable moments that you can share with many others but don't forget to create things that are uniquely yours. Have a butchers at this album and then, if you like it, buy it to support the artist. Here's a link to the record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAiEZhVPekI&list=PLfimnwaZdumhjRFkLSiHSB0y9ag5XJUw5

The Sloe Gin was tested on my Dad at the inaugural family Boxing Day Gathering at my home. Although he's usually a beer and whisky fan he enjoyed the Gin and it contributed to many new memories that were made that evening on what could have been a day of melancholy for the family.

The girlfriend of a very good friend of mine also thought the Sloe Gin was a hit when the pair of them visited me the day after Boxing Day. As she is a genuine connoisseur of Gin this was a great compliment that was as kind as the wonderful Christmas Presents they presented to me on their visit.

Sloe Gin with some Tonic, Juniper Berries and a Lemon

The Dogg looks on as I prepare to sup a glass of Elderberry Gin

Red and White Christmas

"Christmas comes but once a year, relatives come from far and near" so starts the famous song by the Two Ronnies that covers the ups, and downs, of the Christmas. Also made once a year for this occasion is Christmas Cake. In my family for as long as I can remember it was the job of my grandmother to make the Christmas Cake. However these days although she's still here in body, her mind has long since started its final journey into the sunset.

That said I volunteered to step into my Gran's Shoes and make a family Christmas Cake this year. Preparation began early in November by soaking the Sultanas and Raisins used in the recipe in whisky for around three weeks. I got round to making the cake towards the end the last working week prior to the Christmas holiday.

I felt pretty punch drunk but was aided in being motivated to make the cake by listening to "Christmas" by Low. The album is one of the most mellow Christmas Albums out there and offers a different and enjoyable musical take on the holiday season. A link to this great album is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IippcraBPKA&list=PLPaztBWnatcifcyPsq5cymXi4V8kYhXab

The ingredients for this rich cake were as follows:

Cake Mix

Five hundred grams of Unsalted Butter.
Five hundred grams of Brown Sugar.
Five hundred grams of Plain Flour.
Four hundred grams of Sultanas.
Four hundred grams of Currants.
Four hundred grams of Raisins
Two hundred grams of Glace Cherries.
One hundred and fifty grams of Mixed Peel.
Eight Eggs.
A tablespoon of Mixed Spice.
A tablespoon of All Spice.
A tablespoon of Vanilla Essence.
One hundred and fifty grams of Ground Almonds.
Five Tablespoons of Black Treacle.
Five Tablespoons of Syrup.
A quarter of pint of Whisky.

Decoration

One Kilogram of ready to roll Marzipan Icing.
A quarter of a Kilogram of Red Icing.
A tablespoon of Icing Sugar.

The way to make this cake is as follows:

1. In November at some point towards the middle of the month soak the Sultanas, Currants and Raisins in a bowl with the Whisky. Cover the bowl in clingfilm and leave in the fridge until the third full week in December.

2. When preparing the cake pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark Two and grease a twenty-five centimetre wide and ten centimetre deep cake tin with Unsalted Butter.

3. Stir the Unsalted Butter and Brown Sugar together until they become light and fluffy.

4. In a separate bowl or measuring jug beat the eggs together.

5. Once the Eggs are beaten together add them gradually to the Butter and Sugar and stir them in carefully.

6. Add the Glace Cherries, the Fruit soaked in Whisky, Mixed Peel, Vanilla Essence, the Ground Almonds and flour and stir them all together. Once this is done add the Black Treacle and Syrup and stir them in thoroughly.

7. Carefully pour the ingredients into a the Cake Tin and bake in the Oven for around five hours on Gas Mark Two.

8. Remove from the oven and remove the Cake from the tin and leave it to cool overnight.

9. The next day roll out the White Marzipan Icing and cover the cake in it. Add the red icing to decorate the top and sides accordingly with it and then dust with Icing Sugar.

This cake was extremely rich and heavy with the Treacle and Whisky giving it a smoky and burnt taste that took me back to Bonfire Night and the taste of Bonfire Toffee and the smell of smoke in the November Air.

A cross section of the finished cake. Don't mistake the Red Icing for uncooked Sirloin Steak.

Chili Cheese Calzone

A very close friend of mine got me a wonderful birthday present recently. It was an afternoon making street food at a leading local restaurant. At the course he and I learned a number of new recipes and tips to improve our cooking as well as having a lot of fun in doing so. I can safely say that it's one of the best birthday presents I've ever had. One dish we learned to make, while I sported an extremely ironic "Vegan Chef" hat supplied by my friend, was Calzone. The version we made contained Rocket, Mozzarella Cheese and Mushrooms. I'm not the biggest fan of Mushrooms but I saw the potential of the concept of calzone and decided to do my own take on it.

There was more Clapton on the player when I started the project. This time his landmark 1992 offering "Unplugged". In common with many other contemporary music legends the record sees Clapton treating some of his most famous numbers, plus some newbies and lesser known pearls, with acoustic instruments. Along with Neil Young's, Rod Stewart's and Kiss' take on this genre, Clapton's is one of the best. For those who wondered if Clapton, after a turbulent creative period in much of the 1980s, was still God, here's proof that the epithet remained justified.

If you fancy a taste of this record you can do worse than click on: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQL8vLGlM3mmh0vEpglq9x2LAPThDj19T

The ingredients of this dish were the following:

For the filling:

Five tomatoes cubed.
Ten leaves of Fresh Basil Shredded thinly.
Five Spring Onions cut into thin pieces.
Eight Ounces of Chili Cheddar Cheese cut into four equal pieces.

For the Dough

Two Hundred Grams of Wholemeal Bread Flour.
Four Ounces of Garlic Salt.
One Hundred Grams of Olive Oil.
One Sachet of Yeast.
One Hundred Grams of Water.

The method:

Prepare the filling by frying the Tomatoes, Basil and Spring Onions on a low heat in Olive Oil for around fifteen minutes stirring regularly. Once this is done leave the ingredients on one side to cool down.

Next make the Dough by adding the Bread Flour into a large mixing bowl with the Garlic Salt and Olive Oil. Stir these ingredients together and then form a hole middle of them.

In another bowl stir the Water and Yeast together and try and ensure the yeast is fully blended in with the Water. Add the Water and Yeast to the Bread Flour and the Garlic Salt and stir the ingredients together.

Then knead, which you may find very cathartic, the ingredients together until you find you have made a large ball of dough. This should take you around five to ten minutes. Then cover the bowl with cling film and leave the dough in the fridge for one hour to rise.

After one hour remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into two equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough out into a large circle. Add one part of the mixture each to the two circles of dough and  two pieces of the Cheese.

Put the Calzones on a foil-covered baking tray and bake in the oven on Gas Mark Seven for fifteen minutes. After that remove them from the oven and consume or leave in storage to eat cold no more than two days after cooking.

These Calzones had plenty of freshness from the Basil, Tomato and Spring Onion while the Chili Cheese added a real fire and richness.

All Hallows Soup

The reason the Pumpkin has become associated with Halloween in this country is that it is usually hollowed out to look like a skull and then a candle is inserted in it to create a Jack O'Lantern. It wasn't always like that. In fact until the Pumpkin became widely available, following influence from the United States, the Turnip was the vegetable of choice for making such Lanterns. The legend of the Jack O'Lantern originated in Ireland where it is said an individual made a bargain with the Devil and as punishment is forced to walk the Earth with only a hollow turnip to light his path.

Less well-known on this side of the pond are Pumpkin's qualities as a source of food. Over in the States it is used in the sweet Thanksgiving Dish Pumpkin Pie. Here however it is often overshadowed by its more flavoursome counterpart in the squash family, the Butternut Squash. The taste of the Pumpkin is certainly not as accessible and immediately likable as the Butternut Squash, but when combined with the right ingredients it can make some wonderfully comforting Autumn and Winter dishes.

The clocks had just changed and the crisp winter sun crept through the park like the rust of red and gold over the green leaves of the trees it contained. I was having a spot of downtime having in the space of less than week taken in a gig by legendary blues guitarist Robert Cray, Tuesday Tapas, Snooker and Darts through work, a cookery class with a very good friend of mine, a night out in a midland city, a meal in another midland city with a close friend and a buffet tea with my parents. To follow up I had the christening of the first child of some other friends to look forward to,plus a possible midweek game of pool and a lot more.

The temperature had quickly dropped and some heat was needed which inspired me to make a Pumpkin Soup.

I had acquired the only studio album by Eric Clapton's side project Derek and the Dominos. It's not only one Clapton's greatest works, either solo or as part of a working band, but also one of the best records of all time. The record, called "Layla and other Assorted Love Songs", features not just the timeless title track but lots of other country blues classics generated by a man seemingly at war with himself emotionally.

The ingredients for this soup were:

One Pumpkin, de-cored and de-seeded and cut into cubes.
Five Pickling Onions diced.
Two Cloves of Garlic diced.
Four Tomatoes cut into cubes.
Eight Ounces of Red Lentils.
One teaspoon of  Dried Basil.
One teaspoon of Ground Cumin
One of teaspoon of Black Pepper.
Two Birds Eye Chili Peppers ground down very finely.
Six Pumpkin Seeds.
Pine Nuts.

The method is as follows:

1. Warm some Olive Oil on the hob in the bottom of a deep sauce pan or Le Cresceut.
2. Add the Pumpkin Seeds and cook them for ten minutes turning regularly. Then remove them and set to one side.
3. Add the Pumpkin Cubes and heat for fifteen minutes.
4. Add the Pickling Onions, Cloves of Garlic, Chili, Lentils and all spices and heat through for a further twenty minutes stirring regularly.
5. Add the Tomatoes and stir them thoroughly to allow their juices to soften the mixture- especially the Red Lentils. Stew on the hob for another twenty minutes then leave to one side to cool.
6. Blend the soup and return to the Le Cresceut dish.
7. Warm through and serve topped with the Pumpkin Seeds and some Pine Nuts.

The Tomatoes and Spices gave this soup a rich yet fiery taste that brought the taste of the Pumpkin Flesh to life. Meanwhile the seeds added an extra crunchiness that made the Soup something out of the ordinary.