Buying from independents

During the current crisis I’ve decided to make a conscious decision to purchase foods from local and independent UK businesses where possible. Whether that’s a local coffee company, a vegetable grower, a baker or a butcher or even someone that makes their own peanut butter! It’s SO important right now to be putting money into these businesses.

After all, these are the people that the UK food economy needs to survive this crisis. I’m actually starting to believe this whole scenario will change the way people shop to some degree and work. More people will choose to work remotely from home and subsequently have more time to prepare food, make bread and make more effort with what they eat. Maybe people will start to realise how much food makes an impact how you feel? Not just physically but mentally too. Who knows…

I mean it doesn’t take a genius to realise the stuff that’s left on the shelves in the supermarkets at the moment is the stuff that NOBODY (I repeat NOBODY) wants to buy!!! Supermarket buyers should take the hint and rationalise their ranges quickly. After all too much choice is not always a good thing…

Quarantine Cravings

Right now I’m enjoying cooking with things that I have available. My inner Georgina Landemare is emerging and somehow I’m managing to produce culinary delights from limited ingredients and store cupboard essentials (If you don’t know who she is then I suggest you look her up – an absolute LEGEND of her era).

At the same time I’m longing for the world to return to normal so I can go out with friends to incredible restaurants and eat wonderful food while drinking glorious wines. You know…the wines where you are enjoying them so much you forget quite how expensive they are!

BUT I’m also missing really crap foods as well…there’s days when I would like nothing more than a packet of ready salted BIG Hula Hoops or a really dirty burger with some loaded fries. There’s an amazing independent burger place near where I live and it’s probably the best burger I’ve eaten to date…fingers crossed they’ll still be in business after this is over.

Foods in the UK have just become slightly less attainable at the moment and I think it just makes you want them more!

Let me know what your quarantine cravings are!?

Food Podcasts

I love listening to music but sometimes my brain needs something different. Recently I’ve turned to podcast – mostly foodie ones! My recommendations are as follows:

  • Table manners – highly amusing podcast from singer Jessie Ware and her mum! Quite a lot of swearing and mother daughter arguing but very entertaining.
  • Out to lunch – Jay Rayner taking various celebs for lunch. Quite insightful and filled with anecdotes from people’s lives.
  • Off menu – Ed Gamble and James Acaster. This is just off the wall wacky and weird.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions?

5 Foodie films to watch during lockdown

Chef (2014)
Without doubt this is one of my all time favourite feel good films. The food is captured and created in a beautiful way throughout. I still need to make the Chocolate Lava cake… (there’s a Netflix series where they show you how to make all the foods in the film!)

Favourite scene – Scarlett’s spaghetti (aglio e olio) This whole scene is like food porn. If a man cooks you food like that late at night… never leave him!

Julie and Julia (2009)
Based on the american cook Julia Childs. Julie cooks and blogs her way through Julia’s cookbook. Something I’ve been meaning to do but never had the time… maybe now is the moment to start but I need to select an appropriate cookbook (with minimal ingredients that are actually attainable right now!)

Favourite scene – Julia becoming an onion chopping MASTER!

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)
Wonderful story based on a book. Focuses on the elements of both Indian family cooking and traditional French cuisine. Inspiring scenes on mastering the five french mother sauces (Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato)

Favourite scene – Hassan being to taught to make the perfect french omelette.

Chocolat (2000)
I mean come on. Johnny Depp AND chocolate….enough said.

Favourite scene – errr ANY scene that involves JD eating chocolate…!

Ratatouille (2007)
Ok so I realise this is an animation but how Disney Pixar manages to capture passion for food and cooking is magical (even if there is a rat in the kitchen…what am i gonna do?)

Favourite scene – ALL the rats in the kitchen (surprising I know!)

  1. Hannah's avatar

    Honey & Co: The Food Talks Food Matters Live: Table Talk – a bit more detailed for the hardcore foodies!!

Cow Pat cookies….

Ok. So let’s be real about this. Sometimes things just go wrong! This afternoon during my attempt at trying to develop a gluten free cookie recipe a whole array of disasters happened. I started out so positive and optimistic that I would achieve this bake.

From the offset it was a disaster. The oven wouldn’t reach temperature. The oven temperature probe then fell into one of the cookies. Which then had to be rescued so the door had to be opened. Ultimately these actions resulted in possibly the worst cookies I’ve ever made and no word of a lie they look like a cow pat.

They say that every failure is a step to success and I genuinely believe that with gluten free baking. Sometimes it just doesn’t work! Baking is a science and gluten free baking can (more often than not) produce some seriously dodgy results!

Back to the drawing board with this one though! I’ve nailed making normal cookies (the gooey American kind) but gluten free is currently a mystery….wish me luck! 🤞🏻

Let’s kick this off!

I’m currently living in lockdown and I’ve been meaning to get this going for some time, so now seems like an opportune moment. Apart from working I have SO MUCH free time I don’t know what to do…other than bake, watch endless netflix episodes and then exercise sufficiently to ensure that when lockdown is over I can still exit through the front door of my house!

I love to cook….it’s rare that I find cooking stressful. I enjoy it and strangely find it quite therapeutic. I prefer cooking for others far more than just cooking for myself. I like to experiment and only really resort back to my standard go to recipes every once in a blue moon. These include spaghetti carbonara, toad in the hole and pasta puttanesca. Generally these are for times when I’m feeling a bit mis and just need some good ol’ carbs in my life! It goes without saying that right now CARBS (and masses of alcohol) are the only way you can make yourself feel ok about the whole pandemic situation.

Anyway…this blog is for a multitude of different topics including cooking successes, failures and challenges as well as general musings on food….ENJOY!

Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

250g Doves Farm Plain Flour

150g Buckwheat flour

70g caster sugar

1 tsp salt

7g fast-action dried yeast

1 tsp xanthan gum

225ml Semi Skimmed Milk

60g Salted butter

1 egg, beaten

sunflower oil, for oiling the bowl

100g sultanas

30g mixed peel

1 orange, finely grated zest

1 lemon, finely grated zest

2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

FOR THE CROSS

50g Doves Farm Plain Flour

water

FOR THE GLAZE

2 tbsp apricot jam or marmalade

Method

  1. Sift the flour and salt into one side of the bowl and the sugar, yeast and xanthan gum to the other. Make a well in the middle.
  2. Heat the milk and butter together to melt. Pour the milk butter mix and beaten eggs into the well and use a fork to bring together the ingredients. Use your hands to knead the dough together so everything is fully incorporated.
  3. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour
  4. add the sultanas, mixed peel, citrus zest, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg to the bowl and mix into the dough. Cover again and leave for another hour to prove.
  5. Roll the dough into a long sausage and cut into 10 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. allowing room for them to spread. cover the buns with a clean tea towel and let them prove for 1 hour.
  6. Preheat the oven to 220°c
  7. Make the cross paste by mixing the flour with just enough water to pipe it. Using a piping bag pipe a cross onto each bun and then bake them for 15-20 minutes (until golden brown)
  8. Melt the jam in the microwave until runny then brush each bun liberally and leave to cool.

*Recipe adapted from Great British Chefs website*