Planting Alliums

Allium Big Impact from Thompson and Morgan 

On Wednesday I make the mistake of thinking that I will go for a bike ride later in the day.  It rains later and I am annoyed with myself, so as looked out into the garden yesterday and spotted a box of white papery bulbs on the side I took my trowel and spent ten minutes popping them in the ground.  After a day of cleaning and paperwork it felt good to get my hands in the soil planting splendid summer promises.  

The Contented Cook

Xanthe Clay's Spanish Canas.  
Photograph by Tara Fisher from The Contented Cook, Kyle Books

I spent yesterday packaging vanilla powder for the vanilla gift swap.  The smell takes me straight back to Uganda and the Ndali processing house. I realised that I couldn't take everyone I knew to Uganda .. but I could bring something back here instead.  I am so excited about the vanilla gift swap and I love bringing twitter and blogging into real life.  Seeing people laughing and suddenly meeting someone who they've been chatting with for months in person is just such fun and I have been busy making sweet yellow plums into french soft set jam with just a whisper of that seductive vanilla in it. 

It is my favorite time of year. There is bright September sunshine outside and the glory of summer has faded.  Occasionally I almost forget that we haven’t really had a summer. The only things that did well in my garden this year have been the herbs, the strawberries and the salad.  The rest has suffered with the whether.  Now the vegetable garden needs tending to and my house needs a good tidy after the summer holidays.  I suppose an untidy house is to be expected with three children vs one working mother. Never doubt that behind the scenes of domestic bliss I am peddling like mad to keep afloat.

Last night my husband lit the first fire. Walking across the garden wafts of pine wood smoke drifted. It is autumn and an evening indulging in new cookery books promised.  With the chickens shut away, and the days freshly laid eggs collected I curled up on the sofa to read some of the books that have landed on my doormat in the past few weeks. I have to admit that I feel a little guilty at indulging when there is so much to do, nevertheless I read on, listening to the fire crackle.  

Food writer and Telegraph journalist Xanthe Clay's new book The Contented Cook is exactly the kind of book I can just lose myself in.  The photographs are just beautiful, and the recipes are practical. For someone who has many cookbooks I find often find myself lost in deciding what to cook, but not with this one.  I wanted to cook everything.  You see the recipes in the book are practical in every sense of the word.  They are as you would expect from Xanthe well thought out and in a sensible order, but there is more than that.  It’s classily perfectly written to make me feel I can and will cook from it. I earmark the Hot and Sour Noodle Soup, the Squishy Almond cake and the Pan-fried Onglet with Fennel Seed Roast Potatoes.

As I read I am romanced.  Recipes have an almost therapeutic effect on me and I find myself  thinking that I need to remember that my children will not look back on their childhood and marvel at how clean the kitchen floor used to be… or how tidy the sitting room was.  They will remember the smells of baking, the laughter as we sit at the table and the feeling of warmth as they come home from school with their pockets full of conkers and the treats they ate whilst swapping stories about their day.  So I  shall make the  Spanish Canas for the children this evening and I’ve invited friends for supper later in the week so I’ve ordered the Onglet from my local butcher. 

As the fire glows I wonder how perfect moments happen.  They are like dreams hard to pin down and impossible  rarely but somehow whenever they do there always seems to be food about and there is contentment wherever there is food, and so the title Xanthes book rings so true.  

Here is the recipe for Xanthe’s Cañas

Cañas

The Spanish chef and restaurateur José Pizarro’s parents, whom I was lucky enough to meet, are both in their seventies and still tend a smallholding of 20 hectares. Señora Pizarro fed me on her homemade cañas, crisp curls of flaky cinnamon-scented pastry, which melt richly in the mouth. Gorgeous with coffee or the hot chocolate on page 207.

Makes about 20

125ml olive oil, plus extra for deep-frying

Zest of ½ orange

375g plain flour

125ml white wine

125g caster sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Heat the oil and the orange zest gently in a small pan for 5 minutes.

Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the hot oil and stir to mix. Add the white wine and mix again. Knead the dough lightly to make a soft, silky, but not sticky dough.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut it in strips 15cm long and 4cm wide.

Heat oil in a pan or wok to a depth of about 5cm (ensure the pan is no more than half full) to 185°C or until a scrap of the dough browns in about 1½ minutes.

Take a cream horn mould or a 12cm length of stainless steel tube, about 3cm in diameter and wrap a strip of dough around it in a spiral. Put the whole wrapped mould into the hot oil and allow to sizzle for 10 seconds, or until the dough has stiffened and turned pale. With tongs, carefully pull out the metal mould, allowing the spiral of dough to slide back into the oil. Cook for a further minute or so until deep golden.

Carefully lift the spiral out of the oil and drain on kitchen paper. While still warm, dust with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

 \

Please note that the both  recipe and photograph shown have been reproduced with full permission from the publisher.

The Ndali Vanilla Gift Swap

A little girl sitting with her Grandmother at the Kasemire Organic Farmers Association Uganda

On Sunday lunchtime my family stood quietly in the kitchen for once as I was waiting to listen to the BBC Radio four Food and Drink program with Sheila Dillon.  I’ve worked for my local BBC on Sundays on the BBC Radio Northampton Kitchen Garden show for about 18 months.  I love the radio its like painting pictures with sound and for longer than I can remember I have indulged in The Food Program in a quiet moment. 

But this show was different. The report from Uganda in vanilla was mine. I have no idea how the producer Dilly managed to condense the hours of recordings I sent to her into the amazing concise program I listened to but she did it and as Shelia’s familiar voice opened and William Sitwell set the scene and I was mesmerised listening to the people I interviewed and remembering the incredible difference a fair price made to their lives.

Twitter and my phone went crazy after the program. I had no idea how many people I knew were listening, and my children were so very proud of me.

Listening to the program was in someway surreal, however it certainly brought back the realization that our choices, our decisions our habits have impact far beyond cupcakes, and we have to change the way we think about food. 

On my return from Uganda I felt so different.  It’s a hard feeling to describe but I am somehow haunted and the feeling just won’t go away. It wasn't the poverty; it wasn't the desperate need of basics.  It was the unfairness.  The unfairness as decent hard working farmers who stood in front of me, looked me in the eye and said we don't want charity, we just want a fair price for what we have grown. It doesn't seem like an outrageous request. 

 "We don't want charity, we just want a fair price for what we have grown"

Lulu Sturdy, who owns Ndali estate, is the most incredible woman. She can be pretty cut off from the rest of the world at times, sometimes her electricity is out and other times there is no internet connection for days.  It's not a life of luxury ! ... she lives very simply and throws her entire energy and effort into her estate the community and the people, and she already has 20% of the vanilla farmers are on a fairtrade deal.  That is a truly amazing achievement .. but if we bakers ( and yes I mean you when I say we)  demanded more Fair Trade Vanilla then more of the people I met could benefit from a decent price for their crop.

If I am honest I've never really been radical about much.  I was pretty apathetic about most issues that people got worked up about at university and until now I've actually spent most of my life thinking about myself .. but something almost took me over as I stood and listened to these proud people asking for a just price. I’ve always had a very strong sense of fairness. As a child if something wasn't fair I'd then never give up. It's a basic almost childish instinct and so I decided that I must do something. 

The thing that really shocked me was learning that vanilla is a cash crop.  It's really easy to steal and I met farmers who had been robbed.  One poor farmer had even been tied up whilst a gang stripped his harvest in front of him, and damaged the orchids so the next crop was done for too ...  and there are no state benefits in Uganda. 

The worried farmers are then approached by unscrupulous buyers ..  and the vanilla is sold unripe, often for less than it cost to grown out of fear.  This cheap vanilla isn't good though. It has not had the time to mature into the beautiful plump dark rich vanilla that makes our cakes taste so amazing.   

As I chatted to the farmers it became clear that Fair Trade has been helping the farmers to form associations to close down the places stolen vanilla can be sold.  As well as teaching the farmers to grow sustainably Lulu and new team also work really hard to persuade the farmers to keep their crop on the vines to ripen naturally ..  which is why the vanilla is so flavoursome. 

I realise that I can't cart off the entire baking population to Uganda...  but I can bring Ndali Vanilla to my own community  ... other food bloggers .. and so I have arranged The Ndali Vanilla Gift Swap on Monday 24th September and I am delighted that it will be held at Fortnum and Mason.  

It is also the start of The Big Fair Bake Campaign which seemed so appropriate. 

So  .. on the afternoon of Monday the 24th September at 3pm I am inviting Bloggers to take part in the Ndali Vanilla Fair Trade Gift Swap.   I have just 50 spaces and lots of Vanilla to send out.

On the day 

You will need to bring along your gifts to Fortnum & Mason's 4th floor at 3pm (your forms must be attached securely in an envelope.)  Your gift needs to be entered into the swap by 3.45pm. Your gift get’s a number and a category.  At the end of the event you get to pick out the tickets (According to how many gifts you brought with you) out of the bowl and leave with the gifts correlating to the number that you have picked from the bowl it's like a raffle and you will leave with someone else’s gifts.  I wanted to add a bit of gentle competition to it all ...  so I am delighted that author and Sunday Times food writter Lucas Hollweg has kindly offered the very difficult job of judging the best the gifts. 

 The timetable is as follows: 

4 - 6pm Lucas & team will judge the entries and pick the winning gifts.

6.15 pm you pick a ticket out of all the entries and you leave with a gift.  

The gift categories are:

1 Biscuits

2  Cake  / cupcake

3 Sweets
4 Preserve .... * NEW catagory 

*LOOK *

The Prizes are as follows

1 Best Biscuit - New color Kenwood K-Mix

2 Best Cake / cupcake - New color Kenwood K-Mix

3 Best Sweet - New color Kenwood K-Mix
4 Best Preserve ... * - Fortnum and Maison Hamper 

and runner up prizes New color Kenwood Hand Mixers and Blenders 

Prizes are from the leading brand of kitchen appliances Kenwood.  (hurrah for British design!) 

The Rules

You must first email me with your postal address so I can send you some Ndali Vanilla.   Recipes@vanessakimbell.com

You must then share your  Fair Trade Ndali Vanilla recipe and blog about your gift using the Fortnum & Mason Ndali Vanilla / Fortnum logo used here in your blog post.

You may enter up to 3 categories. Minimum entry is 1 category. 

Any combination of ingredients can be used .. e.g. strawberry and vanilla or chocolate and vanilla .. or just plain vanilla. ..  the choice is yours.  

You must provide an envelope with your forms (that I will email)  inside and your name and email address. Ingredients must be clearly marked to accommodate any food allergies.

All gifts must be packaged in a way that is appropriate for someone to open them to judge easily and for someone else to transport home. 

Prizes will be sent directly to the winners.  If you win you will need to leave your address with me at the end of the day. 

All decisions by the judge are final and there are no cash or product alternatives. 

All the gifts must be handmade using Ndali Vanilla and any other Fair Trade ingredients wherever possible.   

You must be over 18 to participate. 

Some of the recipes will be published and therefore if you participate then you also agreeing that your recipe may be published (and credited to you) at a later date.

Please note that it is free to participate.  I am delighted that the Fair Trade Foundation will be coming along and they are providing gift bag with some more Fair Trade & Kenwood goodies in to take home with you.

My sincerest thanks to Fortnum and Mason and Kenwood for their generosity and to Lucas Hollweg from the Sunday Times for helping show that we can change things for the better one bite at time.

Green vanilla pods that have been left on the vine to mature are plump and full of vanillin

What is the answer to a guilt free posy?

Flowers from Sarah Raven's Complete Cutting Patch with a David Austin James Galway Rose

I don’t know many people who don't appreciate fresh flowers in their house. A posy of sweet peas by the bed, a jug of roses in the kitchen or a show off bouquet in the sitting room; flowers bring the garden inside.

For all their beauty though there is a dark side to cut flowers.  It’s a minefield of poor worker rights, pesticide exposure, water-source pollution linked to the vast flower farms around Lake Naivasha in Kenya and that is before we even get to the issue of air miles and carbon footprint.  Much of the European flower trade is subsidized and in view those flowers could just as easily be grown in the UK.

Of course one of the best solutions is to buy British flowers but even then it’s not that straightforward, because heating greenhouses in the UK to grow certain varieties of flowers expends more energy than if they had been grown aboard.  Looking for the fairtrade logo on flowers certainly solves many of the concerns that I have about workers rights, sustainability and ethical trading, but this still leaves the fact that the flowers then have to be flown in and transported thousands of miles. This isn’t a new problem.  As far back as 2006 Defra published figures showing that the transit of each flower creates far more than its own weight in CO2 pollution.  

So what is the answer to a guilt free posy?

For the time short buying a British grown posy has to be the most obvious choice.  I notice Waitrose are really supporting our British flower industry at the moment.  It’s good to see. In much the same way as buying local food, there is a pride in provenance, reduced air miles and a sense of patriotism in supporting our own.

Sarah Raven at Perch Hill Farm demonstrating how to make up a bouquet

In the current economic climate buying flowers for the home each weeks seems pretty extravagant, but chatting to Sarah Raven  about the dilemma of cut flowers she advocates that really the best way to have beautiful seasonal bouquets of flowers that are also economical is by growing.

Sarah is an expert in growing flower and her philosophy of about getting the most out of the space you have, growing your own cut flowers and doubling up on seasonal planting makes good practical sense.  She suggested panting in succession so that the same space was interesting through out the year.  Certainly for me I shall be planting tulips under my cabbages from now on and I was keen to try out her    cutting garden, especially when I realised that her cut flowers book had been on my shelf for over ten years. 

Sarah kindly arranged for me to try her instant cut flower complete cutting patch, which retails at £99.  I was initially unsure that I would ever pay that much for a cutting patch.  It seemed expensive and extravagant for anyone to spent that much on flowers.  I planted the plants in the rain and looked at some pretty tiny plants surrounded by mud. It was hard to imagine that these tiny plants would turn onto the glorious bouquets that were promised, but they have.  The flowers have been absolutely stunning, despite the weather, the chickens, the dog and the children best efforts to share the same space all the plants have bloomed into stunning displays of summer flowers.

The price of the complete cutting patch has more than been justified and I can happily recommend that you get more than your value for money back.  I’ve made up five had tied bouquets that would easily have set me back £25 a bouquet and had a constant supply of fresh flowers for the house which on making a quick mental calculation I have probably saved £60 over the summer buy not buying flowers. 

Of course it occurs to me that I could grow the flowers even more economically by using seeds next year.  When I asked Gorgie from Common Farm Flowers where she gets her seeds from she said she looks for seeds from small specialist nurseries. “There are so many seed catalogues out there but my favorite ones to use are really small specialist such as Chiltern Seeds, Special Seeds and Higgledy Gardens… you get some really unusual seeds from small scale passionate horticulturalists, but equally you can use annual mixes from the larger suppliers such as Thompson and Morgan too.”

As I walk out into my garden to pick my flowers I feel a sense of wonder and satisfaction. I won’t say that picking them is completely guilt free because as I snip the prettiest blooms and pop them into a bucket of water I remember the positive affects of fairtrade that I’ve seen for myself and then I wonder how well our own British farmers doing.

Click Below to listen to my chat with Sarah

listen to ‘British Flowers  .. support our own ’ on Audioboo

Perch Hill Farm 

  

The Cambridge Cookery School Baking Course for Children

I’m often asked to review cookery classes.  It’s something I love to do, but when I was asked to review a fish class at the Cambridge Cookery School a few weeks ago I wasn’t able to attend.  I called quite dismayed at having to cancel. Not to worry said Tina Roche, the founder of the school.  She pointed out the children’s class, and asked if would I like to bring the children along in the summer holidays to one of the baking courses. She thought that my children might enjoy it..  they certainly did!

The school was started by Scandinavian born Tina Roche.  Tina originally trained at Leiths in London and as I flicked through the local glossy I read her columns about her passion for local food and passion for Scandinavian dishes. She formed the school in 2008 and her partner Liz just joined in May of this year. The school has been based at the old stone masons just outside the centre of Cambridge since 2010. It is beautifully designed with light from the huge industrial windows flooding in to a wonderfully open clean and easy space.

Oh the look on Isobel's face says it all !  

Of course I have taken the children to cookery classes in the past, and to be fair I include the children in so much of what I do. Cooking is second nature to them.  However there have been several occasions when they have been somewhat frustrated when on a children’s course.  Let’s face it kids cooking is always messy and some courses just don’t let the children go for it.  Yes cook, but really cook  .. get your hands in, mould, feel taste, prod, poke and bake.  That is what kids need to do to learn.

Well the Cambridge Cookery School course did just that.  The children got to weigh out ingredients, touch, taste, mix, knead, shape and bake. Every single stage was theirs to do.  I think that it was one of the best kids cookery courses ever.  The prices are also very reasonable at £31 all inclusive.

 Beautiful Scandinavian Ceramics. 

All three of my children were bursting with pride as they come home with armfuls of baked delights.  stomboli, beetroot and feta bread, sun dried tomato and olive rolls.

On the way homeI was listening to the children as they were chatting about the best bits.  My eight year old son just loved that they made a gazpacho soup for their own lunch and my eldest daughter really enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine in the amazing gardens.  She even spent her lunch break drawing one of the amazing garden structures.  They were dying to know when they could go again.

William loving getting hands on!

My youngest daughter Isobel, age 5, was literally bursting with pride as my poor husband was subjected to a no win breadathon tasting when we got home.  All three of them watching intensely, all wanting him to declare that their bread was best. It’s a good job he’s such a diplomat, because they all won. The course was fabulous. The venue was really spacious, light and airy and the people teaching really did seem to enjoy the day as much as the children.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Libiana said it was the best day ever. 

Meeting Rick Stein

The thing with being a fan of someone or like me having a food hero is that you have expectations and your own relationship with them before you meet them in the flesh. Are they the person you see on TV? Will you still love them after you’ve me them or will meeting them change your feelings?
Earlier this month I went to Cornwall on holiday. I remember clearly one fabulous meal we had in Padstow before I was married. My romantic husband took me to one of Rick Steins restaurants, Rick was on TV doing a series and I have been a fan of his ever since. I love his way with people and food and I wanted to ask him about how he felt after writing his first cookery book and what I should expect.

I have to admit that I really wanted Rick to like me. It’s a funny thing to feel and as waited to catch a moment I caught Rick at the end of his book signing. I was in awe, but I needn’t have worried - he was an utter delight.

I like like him even more now I've met him. Rick really is exactly as he is on TV, professional, warm friendly and engaging. He was such a gentleman - with a seriously packed schedule and just his coffee break spare, he kindly shared the few minutes of free time that he had with me. He got on so well with my son, asking him questions and chatting with such genuine interest that he is now a dedicated Rick Stein fan too – I think that the pictures say it all !

Rick's new book Rick Stein's Spain is coming out on the 9th June. - mine is on pre - order.

Bitter taste

I appreciate that you can’t just give your products away. With my family vineyard you can imagine that we are inundated with requests for wine. All sorts of wonderful requests almost daily come in for samples and donations. We often can’t help or truthfully we’d be out of business, but we say no nicely. We wish them luck and hope they do well.
I decided that along my adventure that I would promote people I admire Other authors, artisan bakers, fairtrade vanilla, organic chocolate from sustainable sources and local British food. I am a firm believer that you go through life just once and along your way you can share and encourage others.
Good people, kind people, hard working talented generous and passionate people - my journey is shared. I delight in lovely products and people.
So full of enthusiasm and courage of my conviction I selected a few people to ask to sponsor some key ingredients. This was it. I was going to speak to a chap was being promoted as a seriously ethical fabulous British bloke. I held my breath and dialled the number. The phone rang. This in itself was an adventure,he’d been on TV and was rather famous!
It was him .. how amazing ! I explained that I was full of admiration, That I used his products already and I'd just handed in my notice to follow my dream to write a recipe book and would he consider sending me some samples that I could use to develop some of the recipes. .... There was a stony science.
“… so what you are telling me is that you are actually an unemployed housewife writing a few recipes and you want me to send you some free stuff?”
I am nervous now. Gosh this wasn’t going very well at all. “ Well .. actually I am writing a recipe book and I was hoping you might consider sponsoring this ingredient. I’d only need a few samples and an acknowledged support and I think it might be great PR for you.” I am stuttering a little, but I brave it. My skin in prickling and I want him to say something to undo this uneasy feeling.
I go on.
“I could promote you on twitter and my blog and by using your product people will see your product though me using them in my recipes.”
Now he is practically shouting. His response punctuated with F’s
I don’t need to give you or anyone my product. Not to you or all the other 100’s people who are after free stuff. I mean who are you exactly? Let me tell you. You are no one. You are not even published. I have my own recipe books.. so why would I want you to use my products exactly ? If you want my products they go the supermarket and buy them. I’ve got more important things to do that talk to people after free stuff like you. Click.
Slap. It felt like a slap, hard right across my face. I am red. Heat in my face. It is worse as it was so unexpected this verbal slap from a scornful angry aggressive man. My eyes welled up. I am looking the phone as though it would change what I heard. I will not cry. I will not cry I will not. My tears ignored me and rolled down my cheeks anyway.
So this is how people would now to see me? An unemployed housewife writing a few recipes wanting free stuff? I feel humiliated.
I saw this person yesterday and waited until there was no one about so I could speak to him. I told him quietly and calmly that his response to me a year ago was not only unkind, but that it is completely unnecessary to be so rude to people. I am this person who phoned you. It is me who you were rude to and reduced to tears. Perhaps, I thought, it would dawn on him this voice at then end of the phone that he belittled was a person. A real person, me, with feelings. Perhaps he will say it was all a bad day and he didn't mean those harsh words.
Oh he said .. so you’ve come to gloat then was his response. He is not quite as aggressive in real life as he was on the phone, but there are people around to temper him.
No no no. This was simply not what I meant at all. I just meant that there are nicer ways to say we don’t do samples or sponsorship right now. I meant for him to see. I am not anonymous or indeed a desperate nobody after a freebie. I am simply not the type of person who feels the need to rub in a person’s bad decisions. He can't see me because he is an angry man. My kindness is invisible because nobody has been kind to him. It then dawned on me. He is unloved. Poor man. Poor sad man. No wonder he is angry and hurtful. I suddenly felt sorry for him. What a terrible thing. His life is not really delicious at all. Where is his joy? Where is his love? Where is the laughter, kindness and delight in his life? Poor chap.
What a bitter way to see the world.

Time off from cooking!

It's the first opportunity I have had for some down time! I haven't actually had a day off work since I stopped work to write Prepped! Some of my twitter friends may recall that I went to my friend Gill's house last night to make a Christmas wreath. .. she's the most amazing florist and oversaw me making this.. . it really does declare Christmas for me when I hang it. It's official .. it's just 10 sleeps until Christmas .. and I am soooo enjoying a break to do Christmas the old fashioned way !

Pinching the props

I had no idea when I started out how hard it was going to be to write a recipe book. Indeed I had no appreciation of what goes into developing a recipe. I thought that it would be a simple thing. Cook it, write it down take a photo and hey presto a recipe. yes I know .. that is the process, but throw into that the other things. The exact measuring, the ingredients .. i.e. buying them all and not forgetting a small thing and having to cart off to the shops .. again. The weather. I need daylight to shoot and when it rains .. well there's no point in cooking. Then there the things you know how they should taste and you just can't quite seem to get the taste you want. I've made some recipe 6 times. and finally there the children. My three darling prop eaters. It can drive you mad I say ... I just can't tell you haw many times I've turned my back to find either the children or the cat eating the props !

Just 5 weeks and 5 days until i hand in the manuscript and the pressure is on.

My hero Yotam Ottolenghi

Writing a cookery book often means you have hero's. Not the traditional kind rescuing damsels in distress .. .. but the food kind..turning a floret of broccoli in to a dream mouthful. I have been using Ottolenghi The Cookbook for at least a year if not more. It is one of my favorite books. Last week as I finished my meeting at Rococo I headed straight out of the door across the street to Yotam Ottolenghi’s place on Motcom Street. I remember the first time I spotted the food through the window. It was so beautiful I was almost too over awed to walk in. I stood and looked through the window for several minutes before I ventured in. You see .. it’s not just food. It’s art. The way in which it is presented is an absolute feast to your senses. Your eye cast over glorious cakes, meringues and treats. Your nose is filled with the aroma of delicious and trust me the perfection of layers through the food are utterly brilliant.

There is a service area where you can run in and pick up these heavenly creations and dash back to work to devour .. or you can go the single large round white table and site next to whoever is there to eat. I chose to sit in and eat, and found myself in the charming company of a gentleman called David Ross. The salmon I ate was light, fabulously flavored and served with roast carrots and a broccoli salad. Frankly, this man in a genius with vegetables. He uses flavours from all over the world, and manages the intricate balance of sweet, sour, and spice like no other I know. The ingredients are dressed with layers that keep the food natural but refined.. never over powering the main ingredients, the level of taste and attention to balance is just incredible. I finished with a flourless tart. Slight crunch on the outside, melting into a brownie middle. Heavenly. The table was sociable, with directors of a Dutch banking firm opposite, and the charming David to my left. The only criticism - was that we had to crane our next around a stunning, but nevertheless, huge vase of flowers to converse!

As my meal came to an end I found myself wishing to be back at the start. It was the most delicious company. David insisted on paying for my lunch, which was really too kind and for that I made him promise to come to my book launch and to bring his lovely wife Gloria.

The thing with eating Ottolenghi’s food is, that it makes you want to head straight home and recreate it. To me, this is the finest compliment I can give. Fortunately Yottam not only like to share his food .. but his knowledge too. With his second book Plenty tucked under my arm I headed home intent on making this meal again. You know it's good one when there are 72 reviews of it on Amazon!

Ottolenghi is one of my hero's he inspires the cook in me and I can’t recommend either his restaurant or his books highly enough.

This isn’t just the kind of chocolate I want to eat - It’s the kind I want to be seen eating.

If there were one food that most women say they couldn’t live without it would be chocolate. I can be included in this group. About five years ago I was introduced to Rococo chocolate in London. If you don’t know them then please allow me to introduce you because Rococo represent everything about the way in which chocolate, and it’s production should be, setting a realistic workable and superb example of style, taste and philosophy.

Rococo is chocolate with out compromise. It is fair trade. The plantation where the cocoa beans are grown in Grenada supports the workers giving them a fair shot at life, whilst we here enjoy seriously delicious chocolate that has probably the most stylish presentation and wrappers ever designed, Chantal makes sure the people behind the scenes are treated as they should be.

As I been writing Prepped! I have noticed that around some seriously minded people you sometimes encounter elitist holier than thou attitudes. The sort of thing you see when this is all marketing guff, but with Chantal Coady and the Rococo team that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is the real thing through and through.

Yesterday I met up with Chantal, as she has been kind enough to provide the chocolate for the Prepped! I had a super meeting then popped downstairs to the kitchen to catch up with the fabulous chocolate master Laurent Couchaux. As Chantal left for an appointment I stayed to snap the chocolates bars on the counter .. with my camera .. (of course .) A chap walked in and waited at the counter. He was a big issue seller, and I watched. What happened was not what I expected, and I shall review my own prejudices in private later. The lady behind the counter smiled and asked what flavor he fancied today. He asked her to choose for him and she popped a chocolate in a bag. He smiled …..and I just had to take a photo. This is Kevin. He is the big issue seller on the street, and Seraphina explained that he pops in every now and again- and a little kindness goes a long way.

This is how chocolate should be. This is what makes life taste good. Right there in front of my eyes the sweetest chocolate in the world is that which is made and given with consideration. Rococo philosophy of what tastes good, and what is right and proper in the world goes hand in hand. This isn’t just the kind of chocolate I want to eat - It’s the kind I want to be seen eating.

This weekend Bring your best chocolate cake to the Motcomb St branch (Rococo Chocolates, 5 Motcomb Street, SW1X 8JU) between 10am and 12:00 this Saturday (16th October) for their chocolate cake competition*.

At midday every entry will be tasted by our founder, Chantal Coady, and Laurent Couchaux, head chocolatier and Prof du Choc at Rococo’s Chocolate School. The winner will have their entry posted on our blog and will receive a voucher for a chocolate tasting at Motcomb St.

Plum & Cardamom Crumble with Vanilla Custard

I have thing for Plums. So much so, there is a whole chapter in the book dedicated to them, and as the autumn sets in and the world seems to be falling into a slumber the last of the plums can be found in the local farms shops. Yes, I know that crumble is a little old fashioned, but it’s comforting as the nights draw in. By adding cardamom and jazzing up the topping it gives a fresh perspective on this old favorite, and you can further keep it healthy, by using rapeseed oil in the topping. The deep dark plums sit, stewed in sweetness under a light aromatic crunchy topping. For me it has to be served in a great puddle of creamy vanilla custard. The cardamom binds with the rich plumy base and the vanilla floats effortlessly across the top. There you have it ... a delicious sophisticated crumble.

Makes crumble for 6 - 8 people

Base

800g plums

60g sugar

25g butter

Topping

230g oats

125g sweetened desiccated coconut

100g flaked almonds

50g sugar

1 level tsp ground cardamom

125ml of rapeseed oil

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 Remove the stones from the plums. Place in an ovenproof dish about 10 inches wide and 2 inches deep. Sprinkle the sugar and butter over evenly.

2 Mix all the dry ingredients together, and then drizzle the rapeseed oil. Mix really well.

3 Sprinkle this topping over the plums and bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes, until the topping is a light golden brown and the fruit is bubbling away underneath the crumble topping.

Wait a few minutes for the crumble to cool before serving with warm vanilla custard or thick cream.

Makes 750ml of custard

Vanilla Custard

500ml full fat milk

200 ml double cream

5 egg yolks

100g vanilla sugar

1 In a heavy based saucepan place the milk, cream, and egg yolks sugar and stir on a low heat, and keep moving this lightly using a whisk

2 Keep stirring as the custard thickens. This can take 10 – 15 minutes so take your time an don’t be tempted to heat it quickly ( .. you will get scrambled eggs!) The mixture will thicken. When the custard coats the back of a spoon remove from the heat.

Note: Don’t throw your vanilla pod away. Wash and dry it and add it to your sugar pot.

Nigel Slater's Tender II

There is nothing quite like the thrill of a new recipe book. Especially when it's from one of the best food writers in the country. Waiting for it to arrive is like waiting for a first date, with someone who you really fancy. I get excited, there’s the anticipation, a flutter of nerves even and generally within the first few minutes you know if you are going to get on. This one's a keeper. It was always going to be .. but this book is perhaps his best yet.

My guests have gone home. It is late. Almost midnight. I am a little the worse for wear, but I have decided to blog in the moment . Forgive this post for any mistakes .. it will be short. I have to get to my bed.

Today started with pancakes, and ended with the Tagine of Lamb with Apricots from Nigel Slater’s new book Tender II. As I finished looking through I dashed straight off to the local butchers, Chambers, in Brixworth. Keith diced some lamb up, as I tried to persuade him to start a blog of his own. He just smiled and carried on cutting up the lamb.

The recipe ( See page 712) was, on a practical level, simple and took minutes to make. It was the layering of the flavours and the composition that just worked. . The apricot sweetened the lamb. It was a complex well thought out combination of taste, texture and flavour.

As ever Nigel’s recipes work. But, it’s not just the feel, the texture and the color of this book that I love. It is the weight, the setting of the text and the beautiful photography that hold Nigel’s words together. The recipes are enclosed in the beauty they deserve to be in. From the heavy deep red cover to the weight and shade and texture of the paper it is printed on – this book evokes desire. I wanted to cook from the pages. In fact I couldn’t wait to create. Reading his turns of phrase, and intimate style it is as though I am listening to a classical piece of music. I am moved. He doesn’t write. He composes.

I can’t wait to cook from it again.. but it may have to wait a while as I get back to my own writing and recipe developing .. but when I am done writing my book .. I will return to Nigel and Tender, both Volume I and II.

This book is a practical work of art.

A rare thing indeed.