A new herb garden

Aromatic plants and herbs have always interested me and for more years than I can remember I’ve grown a range of culinary herbs both in the garden and on the kitchen windowsill. There’s something very satisfying about being able cut what you need for a recipe from the garden without having to make a journey to the shops, in my case it’s a 5 mile journey and very often what I’m after is out of stock.

During the summer months when parsley, mint, sage, coriander and dill are plentiful, I freeze them in ice cubes trays and that keeps me stocked during winter. Other more robust herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage continue growing on quite happily throughout the winter although sage usually needs some fleece protection in winter.

I’ve had my current garden for for 31 years and the herbs have a small bed beside the raised veg beds with several containers dotted around with mint and extra parsley. All the old favourites are there, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay, dill, sage, mints, wild garlic, oregano and marjoram. Basil grows happily all year round on the kitchen windowsill as it never seems to grow well either in the garden or an outside container, even during the warm Scottish summer.

This year I’m making some changes in the garden as growing vegetables and maintaining the beds has become more challenging due to some problems with some old injuries. Scaling back the veg growing leaves me with a large empty bed and I’ve decide to turn that into a kitchen herb garden.

A helping hand to clear the bed from one of my chickens

Sketching a plan and deciding on plants is the challenge at the moment. Obviously growing from seed is the cheapest option but I’ll also be buying some plants as I want to have a number of mature plants in the beds. Several of my seed sowings including parsley, thyme, oregano and basil have already germinated and will help fill the spaces and can also be planted in containers.

Some of the already established plants such as this Rosemary will be replanted into the bed and I’m thinking that Rosemary will will make an attractive small hedge on one side.

Dividing the bed into four sections separated by a narrow cross brick type path seems like the simplest way of arranging the area and that design will allow for easy access to maintain and cut herbs for cooking. I’ll also place some the herbs in containers on the paths around the new bed and near to seating areas in the garden as there is nothing nicer than running your hands through a herbal plant and inhaling the aroma. Close your eyes and you can visualise being somewhere on the med.

Jekka McVicars book, ‘Jekka’s Complete Herb Book’ is a great reference for herbal plants and advice about cultivation and it was interesting to read that some of the plants I have growing in flower beds are classed as herbal plants, some of which are edible.

Here’s a few of those plants.

Alchemilla Mollis, Lady’s Mantle grows prolifically on the banks of the stream and anywhere else it manages to seed itself. The leaves are edible and the bitter tasting leaves can be used in Salads.

Yarrow,Achilea Anthea is growing in the flower beds and the young leaves can used in salads and in a hot infusion is one of the best herbal remedies for fevers.

I’ve always grown bergamot for it’s interest and and for it’s wonderful citrus aroma. The essential of bergamot is a long time favourite of mine and it was one of the oils I used to treat my sons skin when he had shingles as a toddler. The flowers are edible and can be used in salads, while the leaves can be used in sauces, teas and drinks. It has only started growing again so no picture at this stage.

I’ve being growing Angelica for a few years and it has successfully self seeded but until now I’ve enjoyed it for it’s beautiful foliage and flowers. This year I’ll make a point of using the leaves will follow Jekka McVicars advice to add the young Angelica leaves when stewing rhubarb or gooseberries. Less sugar will be needed and although it doesn’t sweeten the fruit, it’s muscatel flavour cuts through the acidity of the rhubarb.

Parsley, protected to keep the chickens out.

I’ll be posting updates on the progress of the new patch over the next few weeks and I’ll be delighted if you’ll share your advice and similar projects with me.

Eating seasonally and a special treat of Scottish tomatoes

Wednesday is delivery day for my organic veg bag and usually means I’ll plan food for the days ahead with the seasonal vegetables for that week. As the seasons change I find myself getting quite excited at the thought of what’s included as I rarely know the contents in advance.

As we move from the winter months into spring there’s a gradual change in the vegetables, moving from then arthy robust swedes, parsnips, winter cabbages, to tomatoes, courgettes, spring greens, spinach, asparagus and new potatoes.

Although there’s always the old favourites such as carrots and broccoli that get cooked every week, it’s nice to start thinking about some lighter dishes to cook.

This week is Fresh Week, launched by Tefal as a celebration of fresh food and healthy eating so it’s seems a good time to be writing about fresh seasonal food. There are lots of recipes for fresh ingredients on the Tefal website http://www.Tefalfreshexpress.co.uk/FreshWeek and you can also take the pledge to give up processed food for the week.

Letting the seasons dictate what I cook is something I enjoy enormously. It’s not just vegetables that signal the changing seasons, the range of meat, fish and game changes and there’s something very satisfying with going with what’s available. It’s such a great way to shop. The rhythm of my food shopping week is the veg bag delivery on a Wednesday followed by a farmers market on a Saturday and maybe even a Sunday.

The past few weeks there’s been plum tomatoes in the delivery but the highlight of a trip to Glasgow farmers market last weekend was undoubtedly Clyde Valley Tomatoes following the recent revival of the the Scottish tomato industry by partners David Craig and Scott Robertson.

Having followed their story since they began the venture last year, it was a real joy to see the tomatoes finally on sale. And shoppers were not disappointed. It was obviously a fantastic sensory experience, sight, touch, smell, and a taste of tomatoes that tasted like I remembered from childhood. It was also great to see so many varieties available, freshly picked and having travelled only 25 miles to market. Cucumbers were also available, and immediately two dishes came to mind. Tomato and cucumber raita to accompany Saturday night’s curry and a Greek salad with a Scottish twist for Sunday lunch.

A vibrant display of tomatoes at Partick Farmers market

Tomato and cucumber raita

130g mixed tomatoes chopped
50g cucumber chopped
200ml Greek Yoghurt.
2 tbsp chopped mint
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper.

Mix the tomatoes and cucumber with the yoghurt. Stir in the mint and cumin. together and season to taste. Tip into a serving bowl and sprinkle with cayenne and pepper.

Greek Salad

4 large tomatoes
Half a cucumber
1 red onion
Black olives ..I use a small pack with about 20 olives.
Block of Feta Cheese
Herbs….fresh…Oregano is good but sometimes I use basil.

Dressing.
I used Summer Harvest rapeseed oil and bramble vinegar, a real favourite of mine
50 ml rapeseed oil
15 ml bramble vinegar
Freshly Ground black pepper and sea salt flakes.

Chop the tomatoes and cucumber into bite size chunks, slice the red onion thinly, add the olives and crumble over the Feta Cheese.
Combine the dressing ingredients and mix through the salad. Scatter the herbs on top, drizzle with some more olive oil and season to taste.

You can find out more about the revival of the Scottish tomato industry and Clyde Valley Tomatoes from http://www.clyde-valley.co.uk
More information on the bramble vingegar and rapeseed oil can be found at http://www.summerharvestoils.co.uk

Bacon Connoisseurs Week

This week is ‘Bacon Connoisseurs Week’ and that means its time to celebrate a real British favourite, the bacon sandwich. And celebrate we have, not a day has passed this week that there’s not been a chef cooking bacon on TV. The Sunday Brunch programme on channel 4 had a ‘Baconologist’ to enlighten the nation on facts about one of their favourite foods. According to a UK Food Network survey, bacon takes the top spot in Britain’s top 100 foods and the bacon sandwich remains popular when we’re eating out with 324 million being sold last year.

What can be said about a bacon sandwich that you don’t already know. We all have our own favourite way of cooking bacon, and we are quite particular about how we like it served, something I’ve learned this week from numerous tweets I’ve received.

Bacon on a roll with tomato ketchup or brown sauce say some. Bread, butter and bacon……nothing else required say others. When it’s served like that there’s something else that makes it special for me, the roll must be warm. Nothing worse than lovely hot bacon in a cold roll.

Of course favourites extend to the type of bacon we have in our sandwich or roll and you only have to peruse the shelves of the supermarkets to see that the bacon industry is a huge part of the British food market. Bacon is a £1.37 billion industry with consumers purchasing 226.9k tonnes per year. That’s a lot of rashers and a lot of pigs.

Bacon has had some bad press recently with a few health warnings being attached, but given the sales figures I suspect it will remain a firm favourite with British consumers. My view…..everything in moderation and always buy the best food you can afford.

What I have learned is that not all bacon is the same and I do like nice bacon. This week I was fortunate to sample some locally produced bacon from Allan and Susan Steele of The Lochbyre Rare Breed Meat Company. They run a small holding just south of Glasgow and rear two kinds of native rare breed pigs, the Gloucester Old Spot and the British Saddleback.

A happy and contented pig at Lochbyre

At lochbyre,the pigs spend their lives outdoors, free to roam, to grow and develop naturally and as a result Allan and Susan produce great flavoursome meat which they sell at the various farmers markets they attend in the Lanarkshire and Glasgow area.

Delicious looking streaky and back bacon from Lochbyres Gloucester Old Black spot pigs

It would be wrong to have Bacon Connoisseurs week and not have a bacon sandwich. I decided to do something different with the Lochbyre bacon as after all it was called ‘connoisseurs week’ and you can have a bacon roll any day of the week. This was special bacon and deserved to be treated as such.

I made a healthy bacon sandwich, meaning that as well as some very tasty bacon you also include some other really nutritious foods, making the sandwich a reasonably balanced meal.

A healthy bacon sandwich

For 2 sandwiches you need :-
6 Rashers of Lochbyre Gloucester Old Spot dry cure bacon.
2 thick slices of sourdough bread
2 thick slices of sourdough bread
Small tub of cream cheese
Handful of spinach leaves
2 tomatoes sliced
1 avocado sliced
I use a griddle to cook bacon but cook to your own preference. I also like to cook the tomato slices for a minute, just enough to warm them through.

Either lightly toast the bread or brush with oil and place on a hot griddle toasting for a minute on each side.

Spread the bread with cream cheese, top with spinach leaves, warmed tomatoes, sliced avocado and the bacon rashers.

Delicious and healthy

The Gloucester Old Spot bacon I used for this recipe was supplied by Lochbyre Rare Breed Meat Company. Full details of the meats and others products available can be found at http://www.lochbyrerarebreedmeat.co.uk.

For details of farmers markets attended by Lochbyre go to http://www.lanarkshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk

Further information and facts on British Bacon from http://www.lovepork.co.uk

British Pie Week and a new look for Acanthus Pies

It’s British Pie Week and that means it’s time to celebrate the country’s love affair with the humble pie. Meat pies have always been  popular with the British, hot, cold, small or large, there’s a pie to suit every taste. A pie can be a part of meal or a snack and  for me  you can’t beat the great old classic the  British pork pie or a savoury cold cutting pie.

Earlier this year I wrote about ‘Acanthus Handmade Pies’  award winning pies made by Perthshire based producer Robert Corrigan and one thing I have learned on my pie journey is that the proof is in the pie when it comes to fillings. There is nothing nicer than a handmade cold cutting pie made with good quality ingredients.

At that time  Acanthus pies were in the process of rebranding and now there’s a new identity, renamed as ‘Mr.Cs Handcrafted Award Winning Pies’.  The pies have fantastic new look,  colourful labelling and hand wrapped in waxed paper all perfectly reflecting  Robert’s strong Scottish roots.  

Mr.Cs new eye catching logo

There are several award winning pies in  Mr.Cs Handcrafted range,  all made with quality meats from some of Scotland’s best small producers. Production started in 2010 and  2011 saw the first award, a gold at the British Pie Awards for the pork pancetta and leek pie. It was no surprise a year later when the Chicken and Ham won a bronze award at the 2012 Scotch Pie awards.

The delicious chicken and ham pie

2013 has proved to be a fantastic year so far for Mr Cs pies. At the Scotch Pie Awards, The ‘Game Pie’  won a Diamond award and the McLean trophy for the best savoury in the 9 Diamond awards category.

There was a Gold award for the Scottish Breakfast pie, pork with streaky bacon, mushrooms, an organic egg with tomato juice added to the jelly, a deliciously different breakfast treat. This was also the pie that was used to launch last years Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight.

The delicious 2013 Gold Award winning ‘Scottish Breakfast Pie at the launch of last years Scottish Food Fortnight.

The aptly named ‘Piggie Black Pie‘, pork with Robert’s pancetta and leek mix layered with  black pudding on the top and bottom layers won a bronze award.

The delightfully named award winning ‘Piggy Black Pie’

A more recent addition is the Haggis, Neeps and Tatties pie, seen here with Hardeep Singh Kohl, launching this years Scotland food and drink excellence awards.

Well known tv presenter and comic,Hardeep Singh Khol launches the 2013 Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards with Mr.Cs haggis neeps and tatties pie.
Photograph by Rob McDougall & Taste Communications.

Ingredients for the range of Mr.Cs pies are sourced with quality in mind, Shipton Mill organic  flour for pastry, Scottish outdoor bred pork from Ramsays of Carluke and wild venison from Highland Game.

Robert also produces  a range of bespoke Pies for some of Scotland’s high end deli’s, food and farm shops. Crombies in Edinburgh stock the chicken and ham pie along with the traditional pork pie.

Lochbyre Rare Breed Meat from Lanarkshire have pork and savoury pork pies made with their rare breed pork and these are available at the weekly Lanarkshire Farmers Markets.

For those of us who shop for quality food products on line, Peelham Farm  (www.peelham.co.uk) stock  a ruby veal and ham pie with wholegrain mustard and a wonderful mutton and capers Pie, all made to the same exacting standard with meats produced on their own farm.

The individual pies are normally 500g, although the six fillings are also available in French style moulds in 1.75kg and 1.85kg. The larger sizes are ideal for parties and buffets and are also popular at game shoots.

Mr.Cs is recognised as one of the best when it come to handcrafted cold cutting pies. There’s no point in comparing the pies to any of the mass produced supermarket pies,no matter how handmade they attempt to make them look. Mr.Cs  pies are in  a class of their own, handmade with good quality local ingredients with care and commitment through every stage. The finished product as you can see from the pictures look outstanding.

Robert and his apprenticie Ollie proudly showing off their awards at the 2013 Scotch Pie Awards.

 

Stockists

Lochbyre Rare Breed Meat Company. http://www.lochbyrerarebreedmeat.co.uk  and Lanarkshire Farmers Markets.

Donald Russell of Inverurie  www.donaldrussel.com

Crombies of Edinburgh http://www.sausages.co.uk

Hopetoun Farm Shop http://www.hopetoun.co.uk

Cornerstone Deli in Blairgowrie 

The Wee Pie Company in Glencarse .www.theweepiecompany.co.uk

Peelham Farm ( on line and at Farmers Markets) http://www.peelham.co.uk

Loch Leven Larder http://www.lochlevenslarder.com

Gloaggburn Farm Shop http://www.gloagburnfarmshop.co.uk

For further information on British Pie Week, recipes and tips on making pies  see http://www.jusrol.co.uk

 

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Cooking your own…local produce…Shepherds pie

The mince theme continues on the blog, appropriate I think given that much of the meat involved in the horsemeat scandal has been in products containing minced meat. For me there’s a clear message for us all ….cook your own food with produce you can trust from local producers or your local butcher.

Most of the meat I buy comes from Farmers Markets where I can talk to the producers and it’s really interesting to hear their news and also pick up tips for cooking. It’s the same at my local butcher, he’s happy to chat about his suppliers and usually asks what I’m cooking and will very often offer cheaper cuts of meat. The lamb I used for this shepherds pie came from Lochbyre Rare Breed Meat and their flock of Sheltland Soay sheep. It has a good strong flavour and is quite lean compared with other lamb mince I have used.

Shepherds Pie was traditionally made with the leftover meat from Sundays roast and would be served up for dinner on Monday. The meat would be minced and my mother talks of also using leftover vegetables by mincing them with the meat to make the base for the pie. If I’m lucky enough to have leftover meat it’s how I like to make shepherds pie but in the absence cooked meat I use minced lamb.

This is real tasty comfort food and I’ve been making this recipe for 30 years and to be honest it’s never really changed much. When the boys were small they loved it with baked beans but as they’ve got older I serve it with whatever seasonal vegetables are available.

Real tasty comfort food

Ingredients.

Filling

500g Minced Lamb

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

6 medium size mushrooms

100 ml Tomato ketchup

1 tsp Mustard

1 beef stock cubes. (The recipe also works well with Kallo French onion stock cubes)

Salt and black pepper to season

Topping

450g potatoes

4 Tbsp Fresh breadcrumbs.

2 – 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves removed.

Heat a large deep sauté pan, add the minced lamb, break up any lumps with a spatula and continue cooking until the mince is browned. If necessary  drain the mince to remove excess fat, returning and meat juices to the mince.

Return the mince to the pan, add the onion and carrot continue cooking for approx 5 minutes.add the tomato ketchup and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the mustard, crumble in the stock cubes and add approximately 200ml  water.

Cover and cook for 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for about 20 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.

Meanwhile prepare the potato topping, cook the potatoes until tender,drain and mash with the creme fraiche or natural yoghurt.

Finally chop the rosemary leaves and mix with the breadcrumbs.

Spoon the filling into a …casserole, top with the potatoes and use the back of a fork to smooth over. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top, place in the oven and bake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until piping hot and the top is golden.

For further information on Lochbyre rare breed meat see …. http://www.lochbyrerarebreedmeat.co.uk and Lanarkshirefarmersmarkets.wordpress.com

An old favourite…Chilli Con Carne

There’s been a lot of discussion about convenience foods during the recent horsemeat scandal and much concern about the quality and content of supermarket convenience meals. For me cooking your own with fresh ingredients is definitely the best and healthiest way to eat, it’s also more economical, particularly when you’re feeding a family.

Cooking your own food is not only enjoyable but I do see it as an essential part of the way we live. Food is such an integral part of our lives so why not buy the best fresh produce you can afford and get cooking. Apparently not that easy according to several, people who sent me comments recently. If you’ve never learned to cook or find it a chore, yes it might not be as easy, but believe me it is not rocket science and once you have a few basic recipes under your belt it is easy to plan for the week ahead.

Yes, I know the world is a busy place, people are working full time, coming home at 5 or 6 to cook a meal doesn’t appeal and why bother when supermarkets have made it so easy!
I’ve been there, I’ll hold my hands up and say yes there was a time in the early 80s when calling into the food section of a well known shop’s food section to pick up something for the dinner had the potential to make my evening easier after a hard day at work. It never became a habit as once I started reading labels and looking at the cost of feeding a family I soon realised that planning ahead and cooking quick and easy healthy meals was not that difficult.

I’ve also worked with groups where the preparation of food was difficult due to health and mobility conditions but we got there using different methods to prepare and cook the ingredients. Mince is such an easy, versatile and economical dish to cook and my advice is go along to your local butcher or local Farmers market as you’ll find better quality produce and you may find it cheaper than the local supermarket as very often they have also special offers on their produce.

Chilli con carne albeit an 70s 80s dish is one of those old favourites that has never lost its appeal for me and usually makes an appearance once or twice a month in our house.  I first started cooking this around 1978 and over the years I’ve made some small changes to the spices but on the whole it’s largely the same recipe. It also works well with other types of mice and I quite regularly use venison mince as an alternative.

Chilli Con carne makes a healthy & filling meal with a few additional accompaniments

This recipe uses 2lb of mince so easily halved and frozen for another day.   Please don’t send me a comment to say you don’t have
a freezer….. Someone else beat you to it !!
Chilli con carne
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves crushed or chopped
5 tsp chilli powder
2tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
2lb Beef mince
4tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
1 beef stock cube
Approx half can of water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 peppers cut into bite size chunks.
1x 400g Kidney Beans
Heat the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion for 8 – 10 min

Add the garlic and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the chilli, cumin and
continue cooking for a minute.
Add the mince to the pan, break up any lumps with a spatula and continue cooking until
the meat is browned.
Add the tomato purée, mix well and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, crumble in the stock cube and approximately half a can of water
Season with salt with salt and pepper.
Cook for about 45 minutes before adding the peppers and kidneys beans. Cook for
another 10 minutes.
To serve.
Chilli con Carne is one of those dishes that can served alone with rice or baked potato and is good wholesome meal in itself. I like to serve accompaniments such as grated cheddar, guacamole, sour cream and pitta bread. These are optional and will make the main dish go further, particularly of you’re serving a crowd.

Wild ice,guacamole,grated cheddar and sour cream, all great to serve with Chilli

Supporting local farmers….Greek Lasagne made with lamb mince

January has been declared a month for mince recipes on ‘Aweepinchofsugar’ and I’ve been cooking dishes using different types of mince. This recipe for Greek Lasagne, made with lamb mince is a welcome change of flavour from the Italian version I regularly make.

As a supporter of local farmers and food producers it is always Scottish lamb for me and my butcher was happy to mince some lamb shoulder for this recipe. However you may live elsewhere but wherever that is please support your local farmers, particularly at a time where supermarkets are stocking foreign lamb over home reared produce.

 

Greek salad and a glass of red wine….all you need for a delicious relaxing meal

750g Minced lamb

1.5 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 medium red onion finely chopped

4 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped

I finely grated carrot

6cm piece of Cinnamon stick

3 tsp dried oregano

2 400g tins chopped tomatoes

4 tbsp tomato purée

2tsp tapenade

Large glass of white wine.

14oz Macaroni pasta

Topping

200ml Natural yoghurt

75g Mature Cheddar grated

75g Feta Cheese crumbled

1 large egg

Pre heat oven to 190c/170c fan

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large sauté pan, add the onion and cook for approx 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 1 minute.

Increase the heat, add the lamb and cook until browned. I like to drain off the fat at this stage as it makes the finished dish less greasy.

Add the tomato purée, stir to mix well with the lamb and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the tapenade and oregano, season and mix well.

Add the tinned tomatoes and half fill the can with the white wine and add to the pan, stir well and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes. Add the grated carrot and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.

During the last 15 minutes of the lamb cooking, cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the packet.

Topping

Beat the egg and add to the yoghurt along with half of the cheese.

Layer half of the macaroni into a deep oven proof dish, followed by a layer of lamb mince.Repeat with a second layer of each and spread with the yoghurt topping and scatter with the remainder of the cheeses .

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until bubbling and lightly browned.

 

Blackface Sheep with Ben Cruachan in the background

 

Salad and bread are all you need to make this a delicious meal.

 

 

My thanks once again to Alice Strange at Potiki.com  for permission to reproduce her artwork in this post.