Farmison sausages with onion gravy

There has been a lot of bad press about meat in the last few weeks, so I was pleased to be approached by Farmison and Co to review some of the products they sell online.

With Farmison you can either choose your own cuts of meat or order one of the hampers.  A monthly meat box is a good way of filling your freezer with a usable selection of meat to plan easy and delicious meals. Farmison say this is  a great selection of our excellent quality products in smaller portions, ideal for individual, but I found that the portions were generous and I was able to extend them to easily feed three or four people.  The labelling on the Farmison products is excellent, the type of meat is clearly labelled and includes details of the breed (if appropriate) and the producer, very important with the current concerns about what we are eating and where it comes from.


These Jubilee sausages are huge, a single sausage is quite enough for one person.  I simply put them in my Mermaid roasting tin with a little oil and put them in the oven at 180C until they were well browned, about 30 minutes.

 I served a single sausage (the equivalent of two ordinary sausages) with yorkshire puddings, red cabbage and onion gravy.


There were three cooked sausages left over from last night so, for lunch, I made 'pigs in blankets'.  I halved the sausages, opened a can of croissant dough, spread each of the triangles of dough with a little dijon mustard, then wrapped the sausage halves in the croissant dough and baked them at 180C for 15 minutes.


Both dishes went down very.  The Jubilee sausages are very meaty (76% pork) and quite highly spiced a bit more like a cumberland sausage than your pork banger..  I can highly recommend the croissant trick,  I had the dough in the fridge and it was nearing its sell by, but I would go out of my way to make these again, the sweetness of the croissant worked very well with the sausage.

I was sent a hamper of meat products by Farmison and Co for review.  I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Farmison, hamper, onion gravy, Pork chops, pork sausages

posted by Janice @ 19:04 3 Comments

Spelt Pancakes with Bacon and Maple syrup for Shrove Tuesday

When I was a child I thought that Shrove Tuesday was an English tradition.  It certainly didn't seem very Scottish, we ate 'pancakes' all year round, the nice, fat ones spread with butter and/or jam.  But those big flat pancakes did not feature much in our lives.  Of course, I now know that it is a world-wide Christian festival designed to use up all the rich and fatty foods before Lent begins.  It is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

I did a bit of a search online and found this which probably explains why Lent is not celebrated in the same way in Presbyterian Scotland:

"Unlike the Old Testament, however, the New Testament does not prescribe a church calendar. Furthermore, Lent became associated in the medieval church with all sorts of rules and superstitions. For the most part, the Protestant Reformers continued to celebrate Lent, but in a more evangelical way. They inveighed against the connection between fasting and penance “as a work of merit or a form of divine worship,” as Calvin put it. Lent is still celebrated today in Lutheran, Anglican, and many Reformed churches.
However, many of the English Puritans and Scottish Presbyterians went further, arguing that such observances fostered superstition, constrained the conscience where God had left it free, and undermined the Christian Sabbath as God’s appointed holy day." The Whitehorse Inn Blog

There are of course many Scots of different denominations and churches who do and did celebrate Lent, but as a child it was not something I was aware of. Fortunately, there is no reason why you need a special day to eat pancakes, but Shrove Tuesday is a good reminder of what a tasty, quick bread a pancake can be.

And when you are an OXO Good Grips Blogger, you also get some new toys to play with :-)

OXO Good Grip Batter Bowl
Measure, add, mix and pour ingredients for pancakes, muffins, cakes and more in the OXO Good Grips Batter Bowl. Bright red, permanent measurement markings are easy to read, even with thick batters. A soft, comfortable grip cushions your hand while mixing and pouring. High side walls prevent splatter, even when used with an electric mixer, and a wide lip and pour spout allow for easy, drip-free pouring. The Batter Bowl has a generous capacity of 8 cups/2 litres. The rubber base is great for stability when you are mixing and it cleans up a treat in the dishwasher.


The OXO Good Grips 11” Silicone Balloon Whisk features heat resistant silicone (up to 600^oF/315^oC) and a teardrop shaped handle that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The soft handle won’t slip out of your hand, even when wet. Beat eggs, stir batter, whip cream and stir sauces in comfort. The Silicone will not discolour, warp or melt and is safe for non-stick, ceramic and metal cookware. This worked really well, whipping up the eggs and batter easily, it also washes easily both by hand and in the dishwasher.

The OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Pancake Turner combines the strength of stainless steel with the advantages of silicone. The silicone outer layer, which is heat resistant to 315ºC/600ºF and safe for non-stick cookware, is bonded to a flexible stainless steel core for added stability. The Turners have thin, flexible edges that glide easily beneath all foods and are perfect for flipping fragile foods while keeping them intact. The Pancake Turner is generous in size and easily flips pancakes, burgers and more. All Silicone Flexible Turners have soft, comfortable, non-slip grips and are the perfect companions to non-stick cookware and bakeware. This is a genius tool, your pancake is safe and easy to flip over with this wide spatula, excellent!

 I've had the Crepe and Pancake book by Cecilia Norman, shown in the photo (now out of print) for many years, but in the end I decided to make breakfast pancakes which are more of an American and Canadian tradition.  So I turned to Betty Crocker for inspiration, then made some changes!

Spelt Pancakes (makes 6 x 4 inch pancakes)
1 large egg
1 cup spelt flour (I used Doves Farm)
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt.

 1.  In your OXO Good Grips Batter Bowl, beat egg with the OXO Good Grips Silcone Balloon Whisk until fluffy.
2. Beat in the remaining ingredients until smooth. For thinner pancakes, stir in 1 or 2 additional tablespoons of milk.
3.  Heat the griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375F, if you have an electric griddle.

Here is a short video clip to show you how to make your pancakes on a griddle and how to tell when they are ready.

4. Grease the griddle with  a butter paper or vegetable oil.
5. Pour or ladle the batter on to the griddle.
6. Cook pancakes until bubbly on top, puffed up and dry around the edges.



7. Turn and cook on the other side until golden brown. 


I made up my batter the night before although that isn't necessary, it just saved me some time in the morning.  I did need to add a bit more milk as the mix had thickened up quite a lot overnight.

I served the pancakes with grilled Farmison back bacon and maple syrup.  The bacon was amazing, the fat crisps up the way it should do and the bacon tastes delicious and meaty.  The spelt pancakes were also a triumph.  I like pancakes but they sometimes taste of nothing very much, just a base for toppings. These pelt flour pancakes had a nutty taste, but were not in the least bit heavy.  I would recommend them and will be making them again.


As this is a cooked breakfast I will be linking it up to the Breakfast Club linky.  I'm hosting Breakfast Club this month for Helen at Fuss Free Flavours, the Linky is open until 24th February and everyone who enters a dish which is cooked or baked and suitable for breakfast, will also be entered into a prize draw for a hamper from the lovely people at Sharpham Park.  They sent me some great samples to try and there is a breakfast hamper for the winner. I think I may become rather evangelistic about spelt products!

Samples from Sharpham Park

Breakfast Hamper

Labels: bacon, Batter Bowl, Farmison, Flexible Pancake Turner, Maple Syrup, OXO Good Grips, pancakes, Shrove Tuesday, Silicone Balloon Whisk

posted by Janice @ 19:00 7 Comments

Summer Vegetable Soup with Granary Bread

Summer is not really a time I associate with soup, however, it has been rather chilly recently and as I was going away for a few days, I realised I needed to use up the vegetables that I had received in my Farmison Vegetable Box.  Soup is the perfect vehicle for any kind of vegetables and with some beans added it makes a the soup into a meal.


So here are the vegetables: celery; carrots, onion, quarter of a fennel bulb; 2 courgettes, 2 potatoes and about a third of a head of broccoli.  It doesn't matter what you have although onion and carrots are always a good base.  Oh and there was on runner bean that had escaped me when I cooked those the other day, so that went in too.

Summer Vegetable Soup

1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1/4 fennel bulb, chopped
bunch of thyme, rosemary and marjoram tied together
2 courgettes, diced
1/3 head of broccoli, chopped
4 tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
100g canellini beans, soaked and cooked for 20 minutes until just tender
3 litres vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper

 1 tbsp olive oil

1.Heat the olive oil in a pan.   Add the onion and celery and cook for 2 mintues, add the carrots, fennel and potoatoes, cook for another minutes.  Add the stock and herbs, season well and cook until the carrot is soft (20-30 minutes)
2. Add the chopped courgettes, broccoli, tomatoes and canellini beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Remove the herb bundle, adjust seasoning and serve with a sprinkling of fresh chopped thyme and rosemary and some Granary Bread.

I'm entering this soup for Karen's  'Herbs on Saturday' blog challenge, it was a really good tasty soup and the flavour of the herbs came through stongly without overpowering the flavours of the different vegetables.

 

Granary Bread

500g Granary Bread Flour
1 1/2 tsp easy blend yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
50g butter
275g lukewarm water

I put all of the ingredients into the bread maker on the dough setting, then shaped the dough onto a baking tray, left to rise again and baked for about 30 minutes at 200C.  If you don't have a bread maker, follow the recipe on the Granary Flour packet.

Labels: Broccoli, celery, courgette, Farmison, Fennel, Herbs on Saturday, onion, potatoes, Rosemary, Soup, thyme

posted by Janice @ 16:30 5 Comments

Salmon with Watercress Sauce - a review

I was asked to review this recipe pack from The Saucy Fish Co.  I have to say I was a little sceptical of the value when I saw that it was basically just two salmon fillets and a packet of watercress sauce for £4.00 (Tesco).  However, I do enjoy salmon and it's something I often have for a quick supper.

I followed the instructions and baked the salmon in the oven for 25 minutes, alternatives of pan frying or grilling were provided.  I added some white wine and salt and pepper to my oven dish and covered it with foil.  The sauce can be served hot or cold and you simple dip the little sachet into a mug of boiling water to heat it.  Couldn't be easier and no extra pot to wash up.

I served my salmon with Jersey Royal potatoes and the lovely green beans and fresh peas from my Farmison hamper.  The fish was excellent, much better than the usual salmon fillets from the supermarket, it had a firm flesh and tasted very fresh.  The watercress sauce was also of a high quality without any additives or processed aftertaste, although I would have liked more of it.  My scepticism was unfounded  and I would recommend The Saucy Fish Co. fish packs as a great way to produce a first class meal without any hassle.  Let's face it, we all have days when we need that.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own. Prices are correct at time of posting.

Labels: Farmison, fish, fresh peas, green beans, Jersey Royals, salmon, The saucy fish co, watercress sauce

posted by Janice @ 17:21 3 Comments

Courgette and Mushroom Pappardelle with Stilton

I never feel much like doing a lot of cooking on a Friday night, so this was a quick and tasty meal that took very little preparation. 

I was asked to review this glorious veggie box by Farmison  the company is the brainchild of John Pallagi and Lee Simmonds, two old friends and colleagues who share a great love for fantastic food.

They promote their 7 core values:

1. Farmison provides home cooks with fabulous foods that would normally only be found in the kitchens of discerning, ingredient-aware chefs.
2. Farmison provides a lip-smacking alternative to the year-round monotony of supermarkets.
3. Farmison constantly changes what it sells to reflect what's in season. When foods are not at their best, we don't stock them.
4. Farmison supports biodiversity in our food chain by promoting rare breed meats and searching out less common fruit and vegetable varieties.
5. Farmison gives small-scale food producers a UK-wide platform to showcase and sell their products, complementing their own local initiatives.
6. Farmison sources food from the UK first and foremost and only chooses imported food if there is no British equivalent.
7. Farmison sells foods produced in a way that respects farm animals, producers and the environment.

I was certainly impressed by the freshness of the vegetables and the variety, they were very well packed too.

 I only needed two courgettes and about 8 mushrooms for this dish so there will be more recipes coming up.

Vegetable Papardelle with Stilton

2 large courgettes, diced
8 mushrooms, sliced
30g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
100g Melton Mowbury Stilton,  crumbled
250g Soli Pappardelle pasta (courtesy of my lovely hamper from Capricorn Goats Cheese)

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the courgettes and mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and golden brown.


Fill a large pan with boiling water, bring to a rolling boil and add the Pappardelle

Add 100ml cream to the pan of vegetables and then add the crumbled stilton cheese.

Turn down the heat and cook gently until the cheese melts into the sauce.

Drain the pasta and mix with the cheese and vegetable mixture.  This made a generous serving for two but would have served four with some bread.  We love Stilton but if it's not for you, then you could use any cheese that melts well.

Look out for more recipes made with my Farmison Veg Box, if you would like to find out more about how you can buy your fruit and vegetables from Farmison there are a variety of boxes available, as well as a range of meats and cheeses.

 Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own.

Labels: Capricorn Goats Cheese, cheese, courgette, cream, Farmison, mushroom Stilton, papparedelle

posted by Janice @ 21:34 6 Comments