Category Archives: Food & drink

Spring is here – seeds have been sown!

March 18, 2013   Kevin Woodward   1 Comment

I have a greenhouse full of seed trays all planted out!

I spent the weekend – not all of it but at least a couple of hours – getting my first batch of seeds going.

We started off with tomatoes, cherry ones as well as the tried and trusted “Moneymaker” – these have been started off in a heated propagator along with a variety of chillies called “Fresno” and to make sure the propagator was full we put a half a dozen pots of basil in as well.

In the greenhouse we also got going some kale, some cabbages, some runner beans and in some long root trainers, some parsnips.

I also planted out some garlic cloves!

So, in my household, spring is here, the next task will be to get the beds in the veg plot & poly-tunnel cleaned out to make room for all these plants when they start sprouting – that’ll keep me busy!

Do you garden? Have you started this years plants off yet?

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Do you taste what you eat?

February 08, 2013   robertz   1 Comment

What intrigues me about the revelation that horse meat has been substituted for beef in a number of processed foods is whether anyone tasted the difference. With so many television programmes on gourmet food and so many people obsessed with food, I find this bizarre.

Did people bite into a burger or eat a mouthful of lasagne and say: “This tastes different.”? Or didn’t anyone notice? If not, it suggests that a lot of people don’t taste their food or are too busy to taste it.

It wouldn’t be surprising because if you add fillers and preservatives, the resulting ‘dish’ is unlikely to taste like it would if made fresh with good quality ingredients.

Can you trust any meal in a packet from a supermarket or from a fast food chain or even some restaurants?

 

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Not a current bun!

January 30, 2013   robertz   No comments

I can buy a teacake, usually flat and dry. I can buy a hot cross bun, at any time of year and of variable quality. But it seems impossible to buy a currant bun, even a bad one.

Is the currant bun extinct?

Plump, fluffy, sticky currant buns have figured heavily in my life, although luckily my figure is not a heavy one. However, they are a rare find now.

Go into a baker’s shop or supermarket and you’ll find fake, heavy pastries and not so delicate delicacies of all kinds, but no plain currant buns. Even an iced bun round with a cherry on top would be welcome.

I attribute the decline in almost everything from politicians to public conveniences and popular music to the disappearance of the dependable currant bun.

Have you seen one lately? Have you eaten one lately? Are there pockets of currant buns near you?

Do let me know. I don’t even have a photo of one to add to this blog.

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Not a cordial invitation . . .

July 29, 2012   robertz   No comments

. . . but an energy drink one.

I’m not sure whether I’ve ever drunk an energy drink. Certainly, from what I’ve heard about them and the list of ingredients I’ve read on cans, I would not choose to drink them. However, I do like to give things a try. For all I know, they could be delicious and I could be doing them a disservice because I don’t know what they are like.

A number of years ago, I did testings of so-called premium lagers. I managed to drink all of nearly every one I sampled, although I do remember pouring most of one bottle down the toilet. The result of this test was to confirm that bitter has more flavour . . . and less gas.

But back to energy drinks: I would like to test them, but I really don’t want to drink a whole can of each one.

So I was wondering if anyone else in North Devon is similarly curious enough to join me in an energy drink taster session where we could all have a sip of various brands interspersed with water to cleanse the taste buds.

Is this a good idea or am I suffering from a dose of summer madness due to the recent hot weather?

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Salt….does it hide or enhance flavour?

April 29, 2012   Kevin Woodward   4 Comments

Another culinary question?

In our house we don’t have much salt on our food – not sure why – nothing to do with all the health warnings, we just like to eat the food on our plate without it – on my palate the salt tends to hide the flavour of most foods – although there are some foods that must have salt – boiled egg with soldiers – there must be salt on that egg! I like the crispy fat on roast dinners to have a bit of salt – pork crackling in particular.

Of course bacon is cured in brine and is salty and I love that flavour!

I see a lot of the top chefs expounding the virtues of salt by bringing out the flavours – that Jamie Oliver doesn’t just add a pinch he chucks a load in – but for my palate, as I said above the salt tends to hide the underlying flavour and with a lot of salt that is all I can taste!

What do you think – do you add salt – at the point of cooking, or onto the plate, or like me do you leave well alone and enjoy the flavours as they come?

Just interested!

 

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In search of lunch that packs a punch

September 22, 2011   robertz   No comments

In the late 1980s, when I worked for an international law firm in London, part of my salary was paid in Luncheon Vouchers. So every day I would trot round to a small sandwich shop that made fresh sandwiches while you waited. Then I moved to a company that had a vending machine in which everything was chilled and lumpy or soggy. I started taking my own sandwiches and then my own flask of tea. I also became more interested in cookery, finding out how easy and quick it is to make many dishes. We stopped buying readymade sauces and now cook nearly everything from raw ingredients.

What I find more and more is how disappointed I am when eating out on the move. Now when I travel and I’m going to be out over lunchtime, I think ahead about what I am going to eat and invariably prepare my own packed lunch. Why? Because I hate soggy sandwiches that have been refrigerated and am not impressed with many food outlets. Yesterday at Paddington Station all the food outlets looked unappetising. While there are cafés selling pastries etc, I wondered how many were actually prepared and baked on the spot or cooked from pre-prepared products. You see, I’ve become quite picky.

Does it matter? I don’t consider myself a foodie, but I do think good, real food is important. Life is too short for bad food. I recall Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall stating something to the effect that if you start with good basic ingredients, they will have lots of flavour and won’t need lots of extra things added. I subscribe to that school of thought and because we have shops that sell a lot of fresh and well-produced local meat and vegetables (I’ve watched our butcher skin rabbits), our everyday food is fresh and tasty.

So tomorrow, when I’m driving to the South East, I’ll be passing by the fast food outlets in the service area and stopping in a lay-by with my own luxury picnic.

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Would you like to be a Friend of Appledore Book Festival?

June 12, 2011   JamesH   No comments

The Appledore Book Festival was founded in October 2006 because of the threatened closure of Appledore library and the campaign to keep it open. In November 2006 the Library was saved from closure. Today the Appledore Book Festival is a charity with a mission to spread a love of reading and learning in North Devon whilst focusing publicity on the remarkable village of Appledore.

The launch of the Appledore Book Festival 2011 programme is only two weeks away. On 25 June the brochure detailing the events scheduled for this September will become available. But there’s still an opportunity to get a sneak preview.

September’s events may seem a long way away. But I can remember the frustration last year of finding out that authors I wanted to hear were speaking at Appledore Book Festival, but by the time I knew about it those events had long sold out. Now that experience doesn’t have to be a problem for you.

Launched in 2010, the Friends of Appledore Book Festival offers the opportunity to get advance notice of events for this year’s festival, alongside discounted ticket prices. So not only do you know what’s happening before the general public knows, you get to access the events for the less.

For just £10, not only do you get advance notice of events, but you also get access to several member’s benefits. In 2010, members were inited to an exclusive dinner with guest speaker Kate Adie. This year, not only do members have the chance to have luncheon with renowned food writer Josceline Dimbleby, but they also get a Bodice-ripping Strawberry Fizz Afternoon Tea!

Membership of the Friends offers a great opportunity to support Devon’s premier book festival and enjoy plenty of benefits as well.

Anyone who’s interested in becoming a Friend of Appledore Book Festival can find full details of members’ benefits and how to join on the Festival website: .

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Why do home-baked cakes taste so good?

May 10, 2011   robertz   No comments
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Walk down a supermarket aisle and I find it hard to tempted by cakes and desserts in boxes and plastic. Perhaps it’s because I know that while the packaging and photography are attractive, the list of ingredients will probably turn my stomach.

That’s why I enjoy home-baked cakes so much. There’s always a queue to eat the remains of the cake mixture after it has gone into the oven (naughty!) and the smell while it is cooking is wonderful.

And then, of course, there’s the taste. I like having my cake and eating it!

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