Spicy Tomato Pork Tenderloin and the Slow Cooked Challenge is back!

It's been a pretty miserable summer here in Scotland and I've been making many more Slow Cooked dishes than I would usually.  The Slow Cooked Challenge has had a bit of a break over the summer, but as we head into September, it's time think about slowly cooked stews, soups, curries and cakes.

I'm delighted to announce that I have a new co-host for this challenge, the very talented Lucy of Baking Queen 74. Lucy is the queen of baking in her Slow Cooker and will be hosting the Slow Cooked Challenge every other month.


If you are not familiar with the Slow Cooked Challenge, it is a monthly blog challenge dedicated to making recipes using a Slow Cooker/Crockpot or by slow cooking in the oven, aga or other slow method of cooking. Each month there will be a theme e.g. soup, dessert, vegetarian  or an open challenge.



This month it's an OPEN challenge, so you can enter any Slow Cooked recipe.

If you would like to take part, then please:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen and Baking Queen 74
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook @BakingQueen74 and use #SlowCookedChallenge and we  will re-tweet it to our followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 
• A round up of all the entries will be posted on the host's blog.

Rules:

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month and a round up will be posted on the host blog. 

Spicy Tomato Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
450g pork tenderloin (fillet)
Salt and pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 clove garlic crushed

1. Place pork tenderloin in bottom of slow cooker 
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Stir together the canned tomatoes, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, chilli powder and garlic  in a small bowl and pour over the sauce.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Check seasoning before serving. 

Labels: challenge, chilli, Pork, slow cooked, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, spicy, tenderloin, tomato

posted by Janice @ 07:00 14 Comments

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

Happy New Year and the first Slow Cooked Challenge of 2015

It's been a year since I got my Slow Cooker for Christmas in 2014 and launched this challenge to learn more about slow cooking and share recipes with other slow cooking fans. So if you got a Slow Cooker as a gift or nabbed one in the sales, please do join in the rules are simple:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or use other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules: 

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: challenge, Citrus, Cooking, Food, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker

posted by Janice @ 09:00 18 Comments

January Slow Cooker Challenge Round Up

Many thanks to everyone who checked out the Slow Cooker Challenge and particularly to the seven cooks who made some soup in their Slow Cooker and linked up to the challenge.   It seems that soup is not something many people use their slow cooker for which surprised me as a bit of a newbie to this method of cooking.  I have to say that since I got this slow cooker (I had one in the 80s but never really got on with it) I've become a total convert and am cooking just about everything that I possibly can by this thrifty way of cooking.


Turkey and Kale Scotch Broth is a healthy Low-Calorie soup brought to us by Queen of the 5:2 diet, my friend Karen Burns Booth of Lavender and Lovage.  Karen has lost 13 kilos in the last 6 months following this two days a week fasting diet. Find out more about how she did it and get this soup recipe and many more delicious recipes.



Linzi at Lancashire Food tells us she took a little poetic license with the medieval recipe for Lentil and Vegetable Potage.  What she has created, is a lovely thick and comforting plate of soup, perfect for cold winter weather.

Spicy Red Bean Soup is more of a meal than a soup! Deon van Schalkwyk  of Food Jam has brought us this huge pot full of healthy goodness, and just how inviting would that be to come home to? 



Carrot and Coriander Soup is a very popular combination of flavours and has been shared by Ness at JibberJabberUK.  Ness overcame a rather unpleasant experience when making soup in her slow cooker during her student flat sharing days, if you want to find out what happened click through to JibberJabberUK

Red Lentil and Chickpea and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika my own contribution to the challenge found at Kaylyn's Kitchen on the Slow Cooker from Scratch pages, so many really tasty recipes adapted for the slow cooker.

 Jennifer from Girl Eats World took the opportunity of using The Slow Cooker Challenge to give her the push to make her family's Lentil Soup recipe in her slow cooker. It looks like a really warming and filling dish.

Food lover Catherine of Noble Nourishment has adapted her sister-in-law's Tomato and Basil Soup for her Slow Cooker, sounds like a really good idea and one I will definitely be making as these are some of my favourite flavours.

 I am so delighted that, my Twitter friend, Sarah managed to make this Slow Cooker Guernsey Bean Jar, based on a traditional recipe given to her by a friend from Guernsey 30 years ago.  Sarah has recently been in hospital, but was determined to take part in the Slow Cooker Challenge.  Sarah is a very experienced at cooking in the slow cooker, look out for news of her latest e-book at her blog Tales from the Kitchen Shed.

Thanks again for the fabulous entries and remember to come back on the 1st February to find out about the next Slow Cooker Challenge.

Labels: Broth, challenge, January Round Up, lentils, Slow Cooker Challenge, Soup

posted by Janice @ 07:30 4 Comments

Apricot and Apple Chutney

I have a passion for apricots. I like them fresh and I like them dried and I particularly like them in jams and chutneys.  My neighbour gave me some apples from her tree and I always have a pack of dried apricots in my cupboard, so I thought I'd make some chutney.

Apricot and Apple Chutney (makes a couple of jars, multiply the quantities if you want to make more)

150g dried apricots, chopped
225g chopped, peeled apples (about  2 apples)
180ml vinegar
40g sultanas or raisins
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
200g granulated sugar

1. In a large stainless steel pot combine fruit, vinegar, raisins, garlic, salt and chilli flakes, stir well.
2. Bring to the boil.
3. Next, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the apricots have plumped up.
4. Stir in sugar and return to a simmer, cook uncovered, stirring until the mixture is thickened.
5. Sterilise your jars by rinsing in very hot water, then baking upside down in a low oven until the steam has evaporated.
6. Ladle the chutney into the jars and let it cool a little before covering with a screw top lid.

Recipe adapted from a recipe on Food.com

I'm entering the Apricot and Apple Chutney in the Home made and well preserved challenge at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate

Labels: A little bit of Heaven on a Plate, Apple, Apricot, challenge, chutney, Home made and well preserved, preserves, vinegar

posted by Janice @ 11:50 6 Comments

Chocolate and Cherries - We Should Cocoa #24 Round Up

Many thanks to everyone who joined in the We Should Cocoa challenge this month.  It's quite a responsibility to host this well-established challenge and I wanted to do justice to it.  Any anxiety I had at the beginning of the month has long gone, as the trickle of entries turned into a regular flow with a few last minute minnies coming in at the last gasp!



First up is Lapin D'Or and More with this Paul Hollywood inspired Chocolate and Cherry Loaf made with dried sour cherries. 

Susie at Fold in the Flour is a bit of a brownie addict and has been experimenting with The Ultimate Brownie Recipe to create these Dark and Delicious Cherry Brownies.

More brownies, this time from 'reluctant baker' Fiona at London Unattached.   Fiona was persuaded to take part in the challenge and turned out these glorious Chocolate Cherry Brandy Brownies


Quite possibly the prettiest entry for the We Should Cocoa challenge this month, is White Chocolate and Cherry Mousse which comes from Kit at i-Lost in Austen.  Kit accompanies her gorgeous creamy dessert with a quote from Jane Austen's Persuasion.  Personally, I think that dessert is worthy of a picnic at Box Hill!


Do you like Biscotti?  If so you are going to love these Triple Chocolate Cherry Biscotti from The Spice Garden, apparently they are truly orgasmic!  You can't ask for more than that, can you?

When Tiffin met Rocky Road at Lancashire Food, Cherry Choccy Rocky Road was born! Linzi has created a melange of all things chocolately and sugary and come up with a real winner.


Ros, the More than Occasional Baker has had these cookies on her 'bake list' for ages. She brought back some Hershey's Kisses from a holiday in America just to make them! Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are sure to be a hit combining almonds, cherries and chocolate in a bite sized morsel.

More cookies, this time from Kate at Turquoise Lemons.  Kate chose to make Cherry and Dark Chocolate Cookies using chopped dark chocolate and glace cherries.  A simple but effective recipe which could easily be adapted to carry other ingredients.

This is a really pretty dessert created by Elizabeth at Tango Like Raindrop: Black Forest Waffles. It was a special treat for 'Wednesday Pudding Night' and went down a storm with Elizabeth's family.

A childhood favourite now with Australian Crunchies from Karen at Lavender and Lovage, perfect for a lunch box treat.

I feel a little bit responsible for Dom, of Belleau Kitchen, not achieiving 1st prize in the Aby Village Show with his Deep Filled Cherry Pie with chocolate shortcrust lattice top, could it be that he was placed third because of the chocolate pastry?  Whatever, it's done and dusted now and I think that pie looks fabulous and he was robbed!

This little Chocolate and Cherry Pudding was cooked in a Slow Cooker!  Baking in Franglais discovered it while looking for a slow cooker recipe and was so taken with the idea that different pudding combinations are already planned.

Hannah took us on a beautiful trip down memory lane with her Kentish Cherry Fondant Cake at the Corner Cottage Bakery.

 Chocolate Rum and Cherry Cheesecake is the entry from Cake of the Week.  This indulgent dessert is actually made with a sugar substitute so a bit more healthy than you would think!

Choclette of the Chocolate Log Blog, Queen of all things chocolately, and co-owner of the We Should Cocoa challenge brings us a traditional cherry dessert from the Limousin region of Francewith a chocolately twist: Chocolate Swirled Clafoutis. It also gave Choclette a chance to show off her lovely red clafoutis dish.

My own entry was a Chocolate Cherry Cake and very tasty it was too!

Hungry Hinny had planned a Black Forest Gateau but in the end made these cute little Cherry Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with a cherry surpries hidden inside.  These cakes were destined for a friend who is gluten intolerant so with a little extra thought from the Hungry Hinny, no one had to miss out on a treat.

Now for some Chocolate and Cherry cookies from Sharky Oven Gloves.  I love the big chunks of chocolate, hazelnut and dried cherries in these cookies.

Homemade by Fleur really excelled herself with this stunning Chocolate, Cherry and Blackberry Profiterole Mountain inspired by her holiday in France. 


These little Cherry Ripe Bars submitted by Mainly Baking come from a Dan Lepard recipe and are inspired by an Australian confection of the same name.  Chewy, sticky and very rich, but totally delicious in small quantities.

A slice of rich Cherry Chocolate Cake from Cookbooks Galore who describes it as "a Black Forest Gateau without the topping".  It doesn't look like there is much left anyway!

 Congratulations to Anne at Anne's Kitchen on passing her English and Maths GCSEs.  Anne celebrated with Cherry, Cranberry and Chocolate Oaty Cookies another big success.



Thank you so much to everyone who took part, I hope I haven't missed anyone, these were all the recipes on the Linky.  Remember to check The Chocolate Log Blog on 1st September for the new challenge ingredient.

PS:  I was pretty sure I would miss some entries, a couple went to the WSC email address rather than the linky so here are a few more chocolate and cherry treats for you.

Labels: challenge, cherries, chocolate, We should Cocoa

posted by Janice @ 21:01 19 Comments

We Should Cocoa - Chocolate and Cherries

When Choclette, of the Chocolate Log Blog and co-owner of the  'We Should Cocoa' challenge, asked me to guest host while Chele of Chocolate Teapot was taking a break, I jumped at the chance.  Then the panic set in.  What would I choose to go with chocolate?  There have been a frightening number of WSC challenges and they cover a multitude of flavours.  I scanned the list and realised that there had been no challenge using CHERRIES!

 If you haven't heard about We Should Cocoa before, scroll down to the bottom of this post for details.

 My entry is this gorgeous Chocolate Cherry Cake  baked to a recipe by Jason Atherton from the Baking Mad.com website.  It's a bit like a cross between a giant chocolate brownie and a black forest gateau!  It's worth noting that it gets better with keeping, so make it a couple of days before you want to eat it.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Preparation Time 25 minutes
Baking Time 25 minutes
Portions Serves 8-10

200g 70% cocoa solids chocolate broken
125g butter, unsalted, cubed
50g ground almonds
100g self raising flour (Allinson Nature Friendly)
4 Free Range Eggs, Large
125g Silver Spoon Homegrown Caster Sugar
2tbsp cherry jam
Fresh cherries to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Melt, then cool and stir in ground almonds and flour.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, then fold the egg mixture into the chocolate.



 Silver Spoon are committed to reducing energy use, emissions and waste at every stage. All raw materials in the factory are aimed to be transformed into sustainable products.
Disclaimer: Baking Mad supplied me with the ambient ingredients for this recipe, I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own..


The idea is to make something with chocolate each month.  You can use any sort of chocolate or cocoa substance and use any ingredient that you like.  But you must include the special ingredient or ingredients selected by the host.  It can be sweet or savoury, simple or complicated; be as creative as you like.  You can use anyone’s recipe (acknowledging the source of course) or make up your own.


6.     The new challenge will be posted on the 1^st of the month.
7.     If mentioning on Twitter you can use the tag #weshouldcocoa and I will endeavour to retweet.

Add your entry to the Linky Tool below

Labels: August 2012, Baking Mad, British, cake, challenge, cherries, chocolate, Homegrown, Silver Spoon Sugar, We should Cocoa

posted by Janice @ 00:00 23 Comments