Guest blogger...

I'm not blogging here today because I'm a guest blogger over at Nora the Kitchen 'Splorer...so come and say hello......

Cake Expectations.....

Last year I had to interview Cornish children and ask them where certain foods originated from. I thought bacon would be relatively easy and I got answers ranging from "a supermarket" to my favourite "eerrrrr Afghanistan?".

In my third year at school Home Economics changed and became "Food Technology". Instead of learning about how to cook and the science of food we learnt how to put a sandwich together in a sandwich factory and designing ready meals....

Gone were the apple crumbles and lasagnes. So here is my tribute to the first recipe we learnt.....it might look naff and scruffy but it still tastes as good as when I unwrapped it on the boat home and ate the lot!

Chocolate and Orange Whirl Cake......

1x 4 egg cake mix
2 tbsp cocoa
2 oranges

Icing:

8oz icing sugar
3oz butter
1oz cocoa

Weigh the four eggs in their shells. Note how much they weigh and put the same amount of self raising flour, caster sugar, butter and the eggs (out of their shells!). Mix.

Put half the mix in another bowl and add the cocoa. Mix. In the other bowl add the rind of 2 oranges and the juice of half an orange. Mix.

Put big spoonfuls of each mix in a lined tin.

Drag a knife through the cake so you get a marbled look.

Bake in the oven for 25minutes. Cool. Melt the butter in a pan. Take off the heat. Add the cocoa and sieved icing sugar. Beat and top the cake.

A–maize–ing Taste.....

Does anyone else get quite excited by sweetcorn? It's the peeling back of the layers to find all those nuggets of summer huddled together. Now the veg garden is looking a bit sparse I've started getting an organic box delivered again. Last Thursday was a corker. As well as the usual spuds, carrots and onions I had cavallo nero and two heads of sweetcorn.

At the weekend I wilted the cavallo nero and served it with poached eggs on toast. The sweetcorn I have saved until today. For me, there is no better way to serve it than boiled for a few minutes and then dunked in hot, salty butter.

But for a boy that is not enough. He's had his eye on the sausages I bought back from the food festival. So tonight I roasted them and served them with sweetcorn fritters.

Sweetcorn Fritters (serves 2)

2 sweetcorn heads
1 egg
2oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 pinches dried chilli
salt and pepper
1 large spring onion

Take all the corn off both heads with the back of a knife.

Take half of the corn and blend in a mini chopper.

Put the paste in a bowl and add all the rest of the ingredients. Pop in the fridge for half an hour.

Put some vegetable oil in a pan. Spoon a couple teaspoons of the mix in the pan and press down. Fry on both sides. (Be careful, the corn pops and explodes a bit!)

Serve with sausages or bacon.

(This is based on Bill Granger's recipe)

Phoenix from the ashes....

Two weeks ago I shared with you the triumph of the Truro Ladies A as they made it to the final of the County gig championships for the first time in ten years. Today I reluctantly got up early to watch the other half in the quarter finals of the men's event.

There was a blanket of slate grey clouds lingering over the harbour and a definate chill in the air as we walked down the steps towards the quay. And it seems it was an omen of what was to come. The boys were disqualified. Disqualified for trying not to hit another gig on a mark. If they had hit it they would have been disqualified. So they tried not to. Apparently that was the wrong decision. So there was many a gloomy face as we walked back to the car park two hours later.

We decided to go to the beach and have a picnic with one of my other half's crew. He drove us to a locals beach we had never been to. The sun came out, the temperature rose and we ate sausage pasta salad and ham rolls and everyone seemed a bit happier.....


Everytime I have a nice day at the beach I always pick up a shell or pebble to take home and put in a plant pot. It's a habit I've picked up and it makes me feel happier in the winter when it's too cold and wet to go out. Today ended up being a brilliant day so I took two home with me....

Yesterday I made jam. Making jams and chutneys is the only way to bottle the sunshine we are having at the moment. My fingers ended up bright purple because I kept dunking my fingers in....

Easy blackcurrant jam.....

2lbs blackcurrents
2lbs jam sugar
splash of water

Put all the ingredients in a heavy based pan......

Let it boil for about 20 minutes or so. Test if it's ready by putting a little bit on a saucer. Leave it for a minute and then drag a teaspoon through it. If it wrinkles, it's ready!

Put in pretty jars.....

Perfect on hot, buttered toast, scones or on fingers!

Festival Saturday....

I've stopped shaking now. It's one thing talking on the radio or telly but it's a whole different ball game when you have a room full of people looking at you.

I was compering at the Cornwall Food Festival. I was given Jude Kereama from Kota at Porthleven and Fiona Were from the Housel Bay Hotel on the Lizard.

Jude made a trio of venison dishes. A venison and Cornish ale pie, vension fillet and venison liver with pancetta and bacon. So good. So so good. Then he made a chocolate fondant...all within 45 minutes! Normally I head to Porthleven just for the fish but Kota is definately on the visiting list...


How perfect is this chocolate fondant made by sous chef Ross? (Served with espresso ice cream and cobnuts).

Fiona did duck three ways. Confit duck gizzard with bruschetta, devilled duck hearts and cured duck breast with blackberries and parsnip puree....I only got to try a tiny bit of the duck breast but it was fantastic....Roger from Terras Farm (the Cornish Duck Company) gave a bit of a speech about ducks. Apparently they are played Classic FM...it was the most cultured duck I have ever tasted. I buy a whole duck off him a few times a year and I will definately think more carefully about how I use the whole bird.

After the compering I wandered around the stall tasting the Cornish blue cheese, sipping fizzy Cornish wine and dipping crackers in various dips, jams, chutneys and sauces.....

This is what I came home with...

But it didn't take long before I opened them....This afternoon I'll make blackcurrant jam...

Festival Friday....

The Cornwall Food Festival 2009 started today. I am working there tomorrow and will be stocking up on everything I can to freeze and use over the winter. Especially 'Ansome Bangers.... the most amazing sausages ever.

I'll do some actual cooking tomorrow but here are a few preview pictures.....

I'm definately going to buy some fresh fish....


And some salami and chorizo to keep for when Team Taylor come to visit in October...

There is a really great recipe for crab pate on the BBC Cornwall homepage feature about the Food Festival. Maybe I'll make that.....

But I'll probably end up spending a fortune on cakes and puddings that need eating straight away....

Blue cheese burgers.....

After work I popped into the butchers at Callenick to look for something for tea. He had big mounds of bright red, minced steak and large slabs of sirloin steak on special offer. So we decided to have a barbecue and watch the sunset at Loe Beach.

Fishermen were coming in as we lit the barbecue and they tried to sell us some mackerel. But I was already prepared!

I love this photo...a tiny bright moon with the sunset beside it.


Ingredients:

8oz minced steak
1 small onion
1 egg yolk
Cornish sea salt and pepper
2oz Cornish Blue cheese

Finely chop the onion and add to the beef. Add the egg yolk and seasoning and mix with your hands.

Shape a quarter of the mix into a burger (I used a measuring cup) and top with a chunk of cheese. Add another quarter of the mix on top.

Repeat until you have two burgers. Try and get them the same size....mine were rubbish.

Put on a barbecue for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Eat with salad, tomatoes and balsamic onions.....and a sunset!