New Year, New Challenge - Recipe Clippings

#RecipeClippings

Do you have a folder full of recipes cut from magazines, copied from your mother, grandmother or friends?  I have four A4 folders stuffed full of recipes and those are the ones I'm prepared to own up to, as there are also various notebooks with recipes I wrote out by hand in my teens and twenties!


I hadn't intended to create a new blog event, it all came about through an instagram post  about my recipe clippings which seemed to strike a chord with some others.  I was going to keep it to instagram but, after thinking about it, I realised that it would be hard to keep track only through instagram and there would be a real chance that the whole thing would just fade away.

There are a number of ways you can join in and cook up the recipes from your #RecipeClippings


Make a recipe from a magazine/newspaper clipping or note: 

Labels: Bookmarked Recipes, challenge, facebook, Food, Instagram, recipe, Recipe Clippings, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 18:43 30 Comments

#ChilliHour - 20th January 2014

Labels: chilli, Chillihour, Galloway Chillies, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 07:30 2 Comments

Twitter #ScotFood Chat - 6th January, 9-10pm

Sheena of @GallowayChilli

Those of you who tweet will know that I love to chat about food on twitter.  I've taken part in a couple of organised  #ScotFood chats on Twitter since they started in June 2013.  The driving force behind this monthly Twitter Chat is @SusanMcNaughton in her role as social media manager for Crail Food Festival in Fife.

The idea behind the chats is to provide a regular meet up between foodies, food producers, chefs, restaurants, cafés and anyone with an interest in promoting or consuming Scottish Food and Drink. Joining in the chat provides you with new ideas, allows you to meet new people who share your interests, and to discover more about our abundant Scottish larder.  A different region of the country provides the hosts each month, allowing others to discover more about regional differences as well as seasonal specialities.   This month the hosting regions are Borders and Dumfries and Galloway which is how I came to be involved.  #ScotFood chat is on Monday 6 January 2014 at 9 – 10 pm.  All you need to join in is a Twitter account, and to tag your tweets #ScotFood.

It's not all Haggis, Neeps and Tatties!

Even if you don't live in Scotland, you can still take part, as there are some more general questions.

Here is some information, from Susan's website, to help you prepare:

Follow the hosts for the first ScotFood chat of the year to see the questions being tweeted out:

Janice Pattie @FarmersgirlCook

Sheena Horner @Galloway Chilli

Leslie McKie @AbbeyCottage

Kerry Waddell @Giacopazzis

The hosts, and @SusanMcNaughton will be tweeting out the questions for the chat, which will be:

 21:00 Q1 – Introduce yourself: first name, first part of postcode, your business or reason for joining #ScotFood

21:05 Q2 What are your food and drink resolutions for 2014? #ScotFood

21:15 Q3 What kind of food events do we need in D&G and Borders in 2014? #ScotFood

21:25 Q4 How would Scottish food businesses like to work with food bloggers? #ScotFood

21:35 Q5 Food budgeting in January – suggestions for cost cutting while still creating good meals. #ScotFood

21:45 Q6 Burns night is coming, celebrated traditionally with haggis, neeps and tatties. Any alternative ideas for the menu? #ScotFood

21:55 Q7 What famous foods from southern Scotland do you use regularly in your cooking? #ScotFood

Photo sharing is welcome throughout the chat – the more the better! Just tag your photo #ScotFood or use it to answer one of the questions.

22:00 #ScotFood chat ends – till the next time 3 February where we move to Orkney and Shetland, and are looking for hosts!

Would you like to host a future #ScotFood chat or find out more? http://www.susanmcnaughton.co.uk/2013/10/tips-for-hosts-scotfood-chat/

If you’d like to join in the #ScotFood chat here are the tips for participants: http://www.susanmcnaughton.co.uk/2013/10/tips-for-participants-scotfood-chat/

Labels: Chat, ScotFood, Scotland, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 16:34 3 Comments

More Chocolate Porridge for Breakfast Club

I found this great blog post about food photography this morning via Twitter and the Snapseed app was recommended for iphone, so I thought I'd try it out, it has more functionality than Instagram and you can transfer your photos via Instagram, or email and most of the other popular photo hosts as well as sharing via social media.



Anyway back to the Breakfast Club which is being hosted this month at The Chocolate Log Blog by the lovely Choclette.   It was no surprise that Choclette chose 'chocolate' for the Breakfast Club theme.  Now I don't normally eat chocolate for breakfast, but remembered that I had a little chocolate sauce left over from a dessert, it had solidified in the bottom of  a ramekin in the fridge and there really wasn't enough for more than one person.

Choclette featured Chocolate Porridge as her breakfast recipe, but took a different approach.  I used the lovely Flahavan's Irish Steel Cut Oats again and made my porridge with milk but no sugar, then softened the sauce in the microwave for 20 seconds, spooned some into the porridge and swirled it around.  It took me right back to my childhood when I used to love to put a spoonful of black treacle into my Farley's rice, anyone remember that?

I have to say that I probably put too much chocolate sauce in the porridge, but it was VERY good!


To take part, make a breakfast which includes chocolate in some way, shape or form and post it.

• Mention Breakfast Club and use the logo.
• Link to the Breakfast Club page and to Chocolate Log Blog.
• You are welcome to send in old recipes, but please add the information above and republish.
• Entries can be sent to other events, but please respect their rules.
• If you tweet please use #blogbreakfastclub.
• If you do not have a blog, send a photo and details to  - choclette8 AT gmail.com
• All breakfast clubs are also blog hops, so do feel free to grab the code and add to your page.
• Entries to be in by midnight on 25th November please.

Join in the Blog Hop by grabbing the code below

Labels: Breakfast Club, Choclette, Chocolate Log Blog, chocolate porridge, chocolate sauce, Flahavan's Irish coarse cut oatmeal, Fuss Free Flavour, Porridge, Snapseed, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 11:30 5 Comments

Food Bloggers go mad in Ayrshire

Chapter 1  - Sustainability, Seasonality and Ethical Purchasing

When an email from Taste of Ayrshire popped into my in-box in the middle of July, I jumped at the chance to meet up with other bloggers and learn more about the craft of blogging.  There was very little information about the programme, but I booked up anyway then got straight on to Twitter to let the blogging community know.  I'm not sure how many people were sent the email but I do know that there was a bit of a ripple effect from my tweets which reached Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes, Louise at Please Do Not Feed the Animals, Stuart at Mr CakeyBoi  and Kellie at Food to Glow.

It's always a pleasure to meet up with Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes (on the right) more photos of food bloggers in my next post, but as there is a lot of information to share, I am splitting this into 'chapters' expect 'lashings of ginger beer!'.



Our first speaker was Justin Galea, the Executive Chef at the Turnberry Hotel.  Justin is passionate about food and talked about three important aspects of showcase food: sustainability, seasonality and ethical purchasing.  He is able to buy excellent game, beef and vegetables from the local area around the hotel.  He also has access to fresh fish landed at Girvan and  quality seafood from the island of Arran on his door stop. Justin told us the story of a diner who asked for an asparagus omelette out of season and how he is prepared to 'say no' to customers on the grounds of seasonality, if the product is not in season it won't be on the menu.

Sustainability is only one aspect though, buying locally is only sustainable if the product is good and ethically produced.  There were more tales of local suppliers, some of whom were artisan producers farming using organic methods, but unable to get the accreditation.  As long as he was satisfied with that the production was of the highest quality and ethically produced he was willing to pay a premium.  Buying high quality produce locally means that the carbon footprint and environmental impact of the Hotel resort stays low.

It was news to me that the majority of foraged food for the top 50 restaurants comes from Scotland.   Justin is fortunate enough to be able to walk 200 yards from his kitchen into the woods behind the hotel and forage for ingredients which reach high prices in the markets in London.

Justin then moved on to talk about value for money. The Turnberry Hotel is an expensive place to eat, but from Justin's point of view, value for money is about the enjoyment received for the price paid, walking away with an experience.  I would agree, but would be unlikely to be prepared to pay £600 for a dinner for two!

We were also guided as to how to identify a good chef.  Justin recommended quizzing the waiters, they should be able to tell you everything about the dish you have ordered. Ask the name of the farmer who produced the main ingredient, and for meat like beef, ask whether it is grass fed or grain fed.  Was the fish farmed or line caught?  In a nutshell "Where has it come from and why?"

One of the questions asked of Justin was "who influences you and who do you follow online?"  The answer was an interesting one as Justin has been following his food heros, such as Alain Bourdin, since he was 10 years old, when there was no Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.  He 'follows' them wherever he can find them, but also recommended You Tube as a rich source of inspiration citing Grant Achatz of the Alinea Restaurant and Ryan Clift  of the Tippling Club in Singapore as well worth watching.

Chapter 2 coming soon...

Labels: Alain Bourdin, Food to Glow, Grant Achatz, Justin Galea, Mr Cakey Boi, Please Do Not Feed the Animals, Ryan Clift, Taste Ayrshire, Tinned Tomatoes, Turnberry Hotel, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 22:21 12 Comments

Patatas Bravas with Chicken and Chorizo

On Friday, I posted a message on Twitter:  I asked what I should do with the leftover Piri Piri Chicken.  I had replies from  The Glasgow Food Blog, Carl Legge and Edible Things suggesting wraps and risotto, but none of these was really speaking to me.

Anyway, I went back to the fridge and had a rummage and found this:

An onion, a green pepper, a chorizo sausage (hurrah) some reduced price jersey royals and half a bag of coriander.  I was immediately reminded of  Dom's latest chicken thigh recipe, Chicken Thigh Creole Gumbo at Belleau Kitchen.  So this is a sort of homage to the Chicken Gumbo, but with more of a leaning towards Spain than to the Southern States of the US!  Many thanks to all who suggested ideas for my left overs, it's nice to know that people will respond to a request.

Patatas Bravas with Chicken and Chorizo

750g jersey royal or other small new potatoes
Olive oil
225g Spanish chorizo, skinned and sliced
1 large white onions, halved and sliced
1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 tsp hot smoked paprika (pimenton)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Left over chicken (about half a roasted chicken will serve 6)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube
salt and freshly ground pepper

Roast the potatoes: half and quarter the potatoes so they are all a similar size. Cook for 5 minutes in boiling water then drain.  Heat the oil in a roasting tin at 200C, add the potatoes and roast for about 30 minutes until golden and crispy.


Make the sauce: Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute the onion until it starts of soften but not colour,  add the sliced green pepper, the chorizo and the smoked paprika, cook for 5 minutes.  Add the two tins of tomatoes, the stock cube and seasoning and cook for about 10 mintues.  Shred the left over chicken and add to the sauce,

Serve the sauce over the roasted potatoes and sprinkle over the chopped coriander ( I forgot to add it for the photo!)  I have to say that this dish was probably better than the original Piri Piri Chicken and lovely and warming on a cold and damp June day!


I'm entering this for the No Waste Food Challenge at Turquoise Lemons blog.

Labels: Chicken, chorizo, left overs, No Waste Food Challenge, Patatas Bravas, Twitter

posted by Janice @ 07:30 4 Comments