West Country wonder

This cocktail is so easy to make but the ingredients do all the work.

Makes two or one big one drink

Ingredients 

Allington hill apple juice 33cl bottle

50ml of black cow vodka 

Zest of half an orange 

1/2 cinnamon stick broken up

Before you do any think put the vodka in a shaker with the cinnamon and zest to let it infuse or stick a hole cinnamon stick in the black cow vodka a week before.

Prepare a glass with crushed ice.

Now add to the shaker a handful of ice 200ml of apple juice and shake shake up for 1min and pour over the ice sit back and enjoy 

RHUBARB & VANILLA JAM

RHUBARB & VANILLA JAM

Rhubarb... It has been a very wet and cold start to spring so things are not growing there best but if you can manage to get any rhubarb from your garden make this amazing jam.


500g Rhubarb
500g Jam sugar
1 vanilla pod
1/2 sachet of pectin

• First things First put a saucer in the fridge, you will need this later!

• Cut of the leaves and chop your rhubarb in to 5mm slices but in a heavy based pan with a splash of water and cook for 5mins stirring lots so it does not go to mush.

• Cut the vanilla pod in half length ways and run a knife down the open side scraping up the vanilla seeds, do this to both sides and add the pod and seeds to the pad with the rhubarb. (here is a video i found for you if you don't under stand)

• Add the sugar & pectin, bring the heat up to no more then 104°C stir till the sugar has melted.

•  Turn down to a steady/gentle boil (slowly bubbles popping to the top) cook for 15mins then do the plate test.

• To test the setting point, remove the pan from the heat. Take your saucer from the fridge and place a drop of jam onto the cold plate. After a few seconds push the jam with your finger.
   
   

• If the jam surface wrinkles then it has reached setting point and is ready. If it slides about as a liquid, then it hasn't reached setting point and should be returned to the heat and boiled for a few more minutes before testing again. 

• now pour the jam in to some sterilized jars cover with a wax disk made from some baking parchment paper, close the lid when still warm label and store in a dark place for up to 1 year

WILD GARLIC PESTO RAREBIT

  

WILD GARLIC PESTO RAREBIT

Today I cooked this at a pop up dinner at the Bridport arts centere, page to screen festival

100g butter
100g flour
50g milk
1bottle of nice pale ale
20g of mustard
300g mild cheddar

2 yolks (free range)
Worcestershire sauce
tabasco
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan add the flour and cook out the roux.

Add milk and ale keep mixing it with a wooden spoon so it does not catch
now add the mustard, Tabasco,Worcestershire sauce and the cheddar keep mixing till all the cheese has melted. 

now whisk in the yolks and take off the heat.

Take a nice slice of bread and rub with tomato sauce or chopped toms then cover with wild garlic pesto and spread the rarebit over the top and cook at 200c till the top starts going golden...

Phoenix bakery

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING

Time is getting on and I have had some ups and downs but I am back on track now no thanks to a certain Restaurant In Bridport I wont say names. I am now getting excited about starting full time at the phoenix bakery in the up stairs kitchen cooking tasty lunches. 

I have been working in the Olive Tree in Bridport and weekends at Phoenix in Weymouth baking, learning the breads, cleaning and soon to be cooking upstairs. I was very happy when Aidan asked me if I wanted a job its amazing to see and work with some one who has so much passion for what they do. let alone work some where that makes the most tasty breads and cakes!

If you don't all ready fellow me on Twitter foodfor3

A BIG THANKS TO ANY ONE WHO HAS HELPED ME OUT OVER THE WINTER LET THE SUMMER BE BETTER FOR US ALL.

Blackberrys

They are every where at the moment so go pick them before the black birds eat them all.
we have been using them in ice cream or with our oxtail stew recipe but today I have a nice jelly recipe for you ....

Blackberry Jelly

400g blackberry

50-150g caster sugar you can also use veggie gel 

4 gelatine leaves

Put the blackberrys in a pan with a good splash of water and bring to a simmer. You don't want to actually cook them, just heat them enough to release their juices. Press down with the back of a spoon to help them burst and extract all the juice.

Sieve the juice into a jug and pour it back into the pan, heat gently and add the sugar in 50g amounts until the juice is sweet enough. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes then lift them out and stir them into the warm juice. 

set in any pots or moulds you have ...

Whats coming next...

We are coming to the end of summer, Think I might have missed it or dorset is still waiting, hoping for some good whether. We now move on and get some new food to play with, birds are flying in to the pan and my veg beds are waiting for some more plants to be planted. so here are a few things to look out on our menus this coming month...

carrots  chillies  cucumber  courgettes  aubergine  sweetcorn  watercress  grouse

hare  blackberries  blueberries  damsons  figs  plums  brill  cockles  dab's

POP UP

pop-up update 

Today me and Katy got up at 6:30 am to go foraging for sea veg we got sea kale, sea beet, stone crop and samphire  then worked all day but on my brake drove to some where to pick wood sorrel

Then Monkton wild court to pick up some Fivepenny farm cheese yummy creamy and mild is what they had today so thats what I am using on friday any way... BED...