Farmersgirl Kitchen

Sunday, 31 May 2015

Black Treacle Marinated Chicken and a feast of flavours on my kitchen table in May

Time for another round up of tasty treats that have arrived at my Kitchen Table in May.
Marks and Spencer are a very British company and they have introduced the Tastes of the British Isles range to celebrate all that's great about British food. There are over 300 delicious new food and drink products including 21st century twists on UK classics the revival of historical dishes and some great nationwide exposure of regional favourites.

The selection of treats I received included lovely buttery Scottish All Butter Shortbread Rounds, and a very tasty Parkin Loaf with the proper texture of oatmeal. The Cucumber, Gin and Mint Relish is the perfect partner for salmon and you can snack on some West Country Cheddar, Chive and Caramelised Onion Jumbo Peanuts and Cashews or Free Range Chicken, Mustard and Worcester Sauce Crisps with your aperitif while you are waiting they are all totally delicious

However, as soon as I spied the Black Treacle and Porter Ale Sauce and Marinade in the parcel I knew I couldn't wait to use it. I knew I would love it and I was right. It's ideal for a quick marinade for any kind of meat. I marinaded some chicken breasts for a couple of hours, pan fried them to blacken the skin, then baked them in the oven for 20 minutes until cooked through and tender. The marinade added a delicious flavour, not too sweet. The chicken breasts were good served hot with some of the unused marinade heated and served as sauce. I also served the chicken cold with salad and it was equally good. With barbeque season upon us, this sauce would be ideal to pep up your barbie fare.

Scottish All Butter Shortbread Rounds £1.50 for 180g
Parkin Loaf £2.00 for 235g
West Country Cheddar, Chive and Caramelised Onion Jumbo Peanuts and Cashews - £3.50 for 200g
Cucumber, Gin and Mint Relish £2.00 for 195g
Free range Chicken Mustard and Worcester Sauce Hand Cooked Crisps £2.00 for 150g (not shown)

Back in 1897, Don Santiago Camacho Roman founded a family business in Seville to produce olive oils. As with all Spaniards, Don Santiago’s home in the sunny Andalucían region of Spain was never without the humble Spanish olive. It was his passion to share Spain’s most delicious olives with others, and so, in 1925, the Fragata Spanish Olive brand was brought to life.

More than 86 years on and Fragata Spanish olives are now sold across the world and remain a firm favourite and kitchen staple for millions of Spanish families.

Fragata Spanish Olives can be used in hundreds of different ways to create authentic Mediterranean dishes and mouthwatering tapas. What better way to create a unique culinary corner of Spain in your own home – go on, Savour the Flavour of Spain!

I'm a bit of an olive freak. I just love them in all their forms and I love to include them in my cooking. Fragata not only produce olives and olive oil, they have a wide range of products including Nonpareille capers and Pimiento Piquillo Peppers.

Fragata Pitted Green Olives (no price available)

Fragata Nonpareille Capers £3.69 (450g)

Fragata Extra Large Anchovy Stuffed Olives £1.55 (350g)

Fragata Pimiento Piquillo Peppers £2.05 (230g)

Karen from Lavender and Lovage and I had a great response to the Great British Rhubarb Recipe Round Up. There are many fabulous ways to cook and bake with rhubarb linked up, one of these was Rhubarb Crumb Bars from Sue at A View from Great Island and what a brilliant recipe it is. It's really simple to make and includes rolled oats, so good for you too.

I used Mornflake Organic Oats to make the Rhubarb Crumb Bars. I took these in to work and they were greatly appreciated, there were also a few requests for the recipe.

Mornflake is the longest established oat miller in the UK (the 8th oldest British company) and have been milling the finest quality British oats in the same family since 1675. They are proud to be one of the few major family owned businesses in Britain and produce a full range of award-winning oats, oatmeal, muesli and granola for all the family, including organic and gluten free. Check out the recipes on their website for some inspiration.

750 g Mornflake Organic Oats £1.99

1.5kg Mornflake Gold Scottish Jumbo Oats £2.55

800g Mornflake Oatbran £2.00

500g Mornflake Coarse Oatmeal 80p

Serenata Flowers don't just deliver beautiful bouquets of flowers, they also have a brilliant range of hampers full of delicious food and wine. If you are looking for a gift to send to a friend or family member, there are so many different types of hamper there is bound to be one that would be perfect.

I chose the Little Luxuries Gift Box which contains the following:

Cheese Board Chutney
Godminster- Vintage Organic Cheddar Cheese
Godminster- Water Biscuits with Rosemary
Handmade Chocolate Meringues
Luxury Organic Bombay Mix
Luxury Chocolate Coated Peanuts & Raisins

The Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar was superb, beautifully sweet and smoky and the water biscuits were the ideal way to eat the cheese as the rosemary flavour is subtle and doesn't overpower it. The Bombay Mix and Chocolate covered peanuts and raisins make lovely snacks for all the family and I used the Handmade Chocolate Meringues in a yogurt and strawberry dessert, they just melted in your mouth.

The Little Luxuries Gift Box from Seranata Flowers costs £39.99 and delivery is included in the price.

I received these products to review, I did not receive payment for the reviews and all opinions are my own.

Labels: capers, Fragata, hamper, Marks and Spencer, olives, On my Kitchen Table, peppers, Seranata Flowers, Tastes of the British Isles, Vintage Cheddar

Saturday, 6 July 2013

Tart with olives and capers - a greek treat from Kitchen Nomad

What will you cook today?
World cuisine delivered monthly, from Kitchen Nomad

Kitchen Nomad is a new subscription service that delivers speciality products and recipes from around the world to your door. Their vision is to offer customers a convenient opportunity to discover world cuisine and cook new recipes in their own kitchen. All this made possible through their website www.kitchennomad.co.uk.

Each month, Kitchen Nomad will select a different country of the world, carefully source authentic products and typical recipes of that country, pack it all up in a beautiful box and deliver it right to your door. So expect brilliant surprises ahead, perfect to discover new tastes in your kitchen.

The first Kitchen Nomad box, launched in June, is based on Greece. The box itself is very well presented, and creates genuine excitement when it is received as there is no way of knowing what is inside, or which country it is themed on, until you actually open it.

Inside there are 9 authentic Greek products, such as Cassia Bark (a cinnamon spice), Orzo (a type of pasta) and vine leaves. The retail value of the products is at least the cost of the box, so it is value for money as well as an experience of discovery and taste.

All the products are sourced from small, speciality suppliers and would be difficult to find in your average supermarket. Not only does this mean that you will get to try something new that you wouldn’t normally be able to buy, but it is good for small businesses too.

There are also five authentic Greek recipes covering starters, mains and desserts that make use of the speciality products, such as Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), Youvetsi (a Mediterranean stew) and a fig & walnut bake. The box does not contain any fresh or perishable products such as meat or fresh vegetables, so you will need to supply these yourself. The upside of this is that you can choose when to cook the meals, rather than having to cook them within a day or two of receiving your box.

For the June box, Kitchen Nomad have partnered with Tonia Buxton – a famous cook of Greek origin and host of the Discovery Channel’s ‘My Greek Kitchen’ cookery programme – and The Real Greek restaurant group, home of authentic Greek and Eastern Mediterranean food and generous hospitality, with six restaurants in London - so you can be sure that the recipes are truly authentic and will help you make delicious meals.

When asked about her involvement, Tonia Buxton said “I was approached by Kitchen Nomad to see if I wanted to work with them, and I really liked the concept so I met with one of their founders to find out more. I share their vision for helping people discover world cuisine so I happily agreed to give them some recipes from my book”. If you like Tonia's recipe, then she also has a book "Tonia's Greek Kitchen" more details on her website.

I chose to cook Tonia's Tarta me elies, Kapari kai tomata
or Tart with olives and capers as a quick and easy supper dish which can be put together and baked after work.

From the box
16 Kalamata olives
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
4 tbsp of Kalamata olive oil

At Home
1 sheet of puff pastry (works with any kind of pastry)
4 large vine tomatoes
1 tsp of caster sugar
salt and pepper
fresh basil or rosemary to garnish

Prep 5 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Serves 4

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Place the dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet and crimp along the edges to form a shallow rim.

2. Thinly slice the tomatoes then overlapthe slices alongthe length of the dough to make 3 rows (look at the picture). Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the tomatoes follwedby a little drizzle of olive oil.

3. Scatter on the olives which you cn either leave whole or roughtly chopped (as you prefer), and finally the capers. Season to taste.

4. Bake for around 20-30 mintues or until the pastry edges are nicely browned, forming crisp handles.

5. Hold back from eating it straight away and leave to cool for a few minutes - the tomatoes will be blisteringly hot.. then garnish with torn fresh herbs before cutting in to slices.

I could probably have left the tart in for a little longer, but we were hungry! It was really simple to make and tasted delicious. There was enough left to take to work for lunch, so I can also recommend eating it cold as it was lovely and moist and tasty.

The Kitchen Nomad box concept is unique on the current market, and has been developed by three friends (an Italian girl, a French girl and a British guy). Clara Fain, one of the founders, commented “We all like to travel, and love trying new food, so we thought this idea was a good mix of both! We hope we can help take peoples’ taste buds on a culinary journey!”

Through their website (www.kitchennomad.co.uk), customers can subscribe to receive a new box every month. There is also an option to buy a one-off box (or more!) as a gift – perfect for that hard-to-please food lover.

Each box will contain 7-9 speciality products, five authentic recipes, and some interesting information about the culinary habits and customs of the country in focus. Watch out for their future boxes, what will you cook next?

I was provided with the Kitchen Nomad Greek box to review, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: capers, Greek, Kitchen Nomad, olives, tomatoes, Tonia Buxton

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Farmersgirl Kitchen

Sunday, 31 May 2015

Black Treacle Marinated Chicken and a feast of flavours on my kitchen table in May

Saturday, 6 July 2013

Tart with olives and capers - a greek treat from Kitchen Nomad

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