Farmersgirl Kitchen

Saturday, 2 March 2013

The Marmalade Awards 2013

These quirky awards were founded in 2006 by Jane Hasell-McCosh with the initial idea of preserving, growing and widening one of the most British of customs – making marmalade. They have gone on to generate a following far beyond Jane’s wildest expectations and allow many different varieties of marmalade to come together and allow the judges the great opportunity to taste them all!
Proceeds from amateur entry fees will be donated to charity. The 2013 beneficiaries are Hospice at Home and Action Medical Research.

The idea of entering and visiting the Marmalade Awards came out of some Twitter exchanges with Sue from A little bit of Heaven on a Plate and Karen from Lavender and Lovage. It's not that far over the border for me to get to Dalemain Mansion near Penrith where the awards are held, so I was keen to attend. I managed to source some Seville oranges and duly sent off my pot of Seville Orange Marmalade.

The Awards are centred on Dalemain Mansion, a Georgian stately home lived in by the same family for over 300 years, which also happens to hold a very rich archive of Marmalade recipes. The courtyard of Dalemain was set up with various stalls selling artisan foods and other related product. I met up with Sue in the courtyard...NO that's not her, that's an Alpaca!!! Sue likes to preserve a little mystery so there are no photos of her in this blog post. Unfortunately, Karen wasn't able to join us, but we were able to meet up with Vivienne Lloyd, more of that later.

I bought some flour from Little Salkeld Watermill, which is located near Penrith, I'll write a little more about their plans for a community buy out of the Watermill soon.

I also bought a couple of fabulous looking and tasting loaves from More, Artisan Bakery. I chose the Lakeland Walnut and Treacle Loaf and Rye with Figs and Walnuts

As well as the stalls, there was a marquee with workshops and lectures and the location of sponsors Mackays of Dundee.

It was soon time to hear the prize winners announced by, celebrity baker and author, Dan Lepard at the front of Dalemain Mansion.

Here are the winners in the children's category

There was quite a crowd outside the mansion despite it being pretty cold standing there.

Paddington Bear was there with his marmalade sandwich.

The hostess of the Marmalade Festival and Awards was also in attendance.

Jane, a self confessed marmalade bore, is passionate about the preserve. As a child she helped her mother make marmalade year-round, a tradition she has continued with her own three children.

Frustrated by an apparent growing decline in the popularity and standards of marmalade making, Jane decided six years ago to hold a small event with her friends, celebrating this most British of preserve and, at the same time, raising money for Hospice at Home. This became an annual event, growing in size every year, and is now the largest of its kind in the world.

And then it was time to enter the house and find out how we had got on with our marmalade entries. I did not have high hopes as I knew mine was over set and the peel was too thick (I'm not patient enough to spend two hours finely slicing peel!) what I didn't expect was that I would have two points deducted for using a 'commercial' jar! There was no mention in the terms of entry of the type of jar to use and one of the the winning entries used the same type of jar. What was really thrilling was how well Sue did with her entries, a gold and two silver stars! Karen also managed to collect a silver, a bronze and a merit for her entries. Huge congratulations to both!

Winning Merry Marmalade in same 'commercial' jar as my entry

The Awards have inspired people from all over the world to get involved. In 2010, 800 jars of marmalade were sent in from countries far and wide including the Yukon - Canada, Japan, Australia, Spain and France. I overheard one of the organisers say that there were nearly 1500 entries this year.

International Marmalade entries

Amazing Marmalade display in the dining room

The rooms were packed and everyone was very friendly, you can just see me (in the turquoise hat) chatting to some poor innocent bystander!

Oh, there I go again, chatting away to people I've never met before, and looking scarily like my mother from behind - eek! Thanks Sue!

In the middle of the 'madding crowds' sat a huddle of judges, tasting and judging marmalade from Britain and Australia for the Marmalashes Award. That's Vivienne Lloyd, author of First Preserves and winner of the 2008 Marmalade Festival, with Dan Lepard to her right.

Pam 'the jam' Corbin was also judging along with representatives from Fortnum and Mason and Mackays, the last remaining producer of marmalade in Dundee, the home of marmalade.

I loved this replica of Dalemain Mansion with the jars of Artisan marmalade in the the 'windows'.

And here I am with a Marmalade coloured VW Beetle outside Dalemain, what a great day out!

The winners:
Amateurs:　Best in Show - Yen-Chung Chong; Man Made dark and chunky - Adrian Young, Canberra, Australia; Man Made Seville -Tom Maier, Compton, West Sussex; Children's (sponsored by Paddington Bear) - Matthew Foster, Stanwick, Northamptonshire and William Preston, Silsden, West Yorkshire; Seville - Margaret Burke, Knutsford, Cheshire; Heritage (sponsored by Mackays) – Mary & Nicholas Hart, Morden, Surrey; International (sponsored by Mackays) Tom Benford, Kyoto, Japan; Dark and Chunky – Elizabeth Maclay, Andover, Hampshire; Merry - Yen-Chung Chong, Brighton; Novice - Jane Boylan, Penrith, Cumbria; Any Citrus - Jonathan Hamel Cooke, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; Clergy - Rev James Milnes, Macclesfield; Tri-Services - Colonel Kieran O’Kelly, Andover, Hampshire.
Artisan & Commercial Producers: Double Gold - Nase Dobroty
Gold – Nase Dobroty (Marmalade with Interesting Additions Bourbon and Vanilla), Hubble Preserves (Fine Seville Orange Marmalade), Bracken Hill Fine Foods (Savoury Marmalade Orange and Cider), Mary’s Marmalade (Medium Seville and Any Citrus Grapefruit), Radnor Preserves (Medium Seville, Any Citrus Blood Orange and Any Citrus Lime), Mrs Jampot’s Parlour (Savoury Marmalade Clove and Cinnamon), JR Jams (Any Citrus Marmalade Three Fruit), Jammy Bodger (Medium Seville), Jill’s Natural Preserves (Marmalade with Interesting Additions with Somerset Brandy), Love Jam Kitchen (Any Citrus Marmalade Pink Grapefruit), Wild & Fruitful (Savoury Marmalade Thai Lime), Beta 5 Chocolates (Any Citrus Marmalade Yuzu).

To find out more about the Marmalade Awards visit www.marmaladeawards.com.

Labels: A little bit of Heaven on a Plate, Dan Lepard, Fortnum and Mason, Lavender and Lovage, Little Salkeld Watermill, Mackays, marmalade awards, More Artisan Bakery, oranges, Pam Corbin, Vivienne Lloyd

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Delia's Christmas Dried Fruit Compote

Over at Belleau Kitchen, dear Dom has challenged us with his usual Random Recipe teaser. However, in my haste, I misread the challenge and instead of choosing a recipe from a cookbook that I received as a gift last Christmas, I thought we were to choose a 'Christmas Cookbook'. Doh!

I don't have too many Christmas cookbooks, just a couple of Delia's and the Home and Freezer books that I blogged about last week. The original Delia Smith's Christmas was the one that came to the top of the pile and I opened it randomly and was delighted to find myself looking at 'Christmas Dried Fruit Compote'.This version of the fruit compote isn't on Delia's website, but I found it published in the Telegraph online.

When I went to my larder, inevitably, I didn't have everything I needed for the recipe, so substituted some different dried fruits. No figs and no prunes, I could have sworn I had some prunes but must have used them in the instant mincemeat. I had some lovely Medjool dates from the hamper I got from Olives from Spain and some dried mandarins and cranberries, all lovely Christmassy flavours.

The original recipe calls for a liberal dose of Port, well my husband can't drink Port, it gives him migraines, so I used a couple of tablespoons of Amaretto, one of my favourite liqueurs. In the book Delia suggests that the fruit compote is served with flaked almonds, well I didn't have any of those either, so for this, by now VERY, Random Recipe, I used some nice green pistachio nuts to add to the festive colours.

I made the compote last night and was sorely tempted to have some on my porridge this morning, but remembered just in time that it was full of booze and I had to drive into town to the hairdressers! We had it this evening served with Greek yogurt and it was delicious, would be great with vanilla ice cream too. All in all I'm rather pleased that I misread the challenge as I wouldn't have come across this recipe otherwise.

I put up the Christmas tree today, it lives in the kitchen between the cook books and the stove, and is decorated with an eclectic mixture of totally uncoordinated baubles and pretty things I have been collecting since 1980 when we bought our first flat, indeed the coloured lights were a flat warming gift from a friend and they are still working. I used the tree and lights as a background behind the first photo of the Dried Fruit Compote. In the spirit of the Random Recipe challenge, here is a Random Christmas decoration from my tree.

Labels: Belleau Kitchen, Christmas, dates, Delia Smith, dried apricots, dried cranberries, oranges, pistachio nuts, raisins, Random Recipes

Monday, 10 December 2012

St Clements Marinade for Olives from Spain

The world is divided into those who love olives and those who don't. When I was a child, I couldn't understand why my Mum loved these strange green or black fruits, to me they didn't taste good at all. However, as I reached my twenties somehow I too found a taste for olives. I was totally converted by olives stuffed with anchovies which I first tasted in Spain.

Olive expert and chef, Omar Allibhoy has created some fantastic marinade recipes for 'Olives from Spain' just in time for the party season. I've also been included in a group of bloggers who have been challenged to come up with our own festive marinade for Spanish Olives. Last week, I received a bumper hamper full of lovely Spanish ingredients, olives, olive oil, Manchego cheese, chorizo and a selection of fruits and herbs.

I wanted to create a marinade full of festive colours and flavours so chose to use oranges and lemons, reminding me of the rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St Clements' hence the title for my marinade.

St Clements Marinade for Olives

150g black olives in brine (drained and rinsed)
1 clementine
1/2 lemon
1 tsp pink peppercorns
10 cloves
1 tbsp honey
6 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
3 tbsp dry white wine
1 sprig rosemary

1. Cut the clementine and the half lemon into small pieces.
2. Put Spanish Olive Oil, dry white wine and honey into a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the pink peppercorns, cloves, clementine, lemon pieces and rosemary.

4. Add the Spanish olives.

5. Leave to stand for at least an hour, but the flavour will be even better if you put them into a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

I was delighted with the light fresh flavour of the olives and marinade. I deliberately didn't use vinegar or lemon juice in the marinade because of the citrus fruit that was already included and this meant that he olives have a fresh but mild flavour. The fruit pieces are also edible and have absorbed some of the oil and wine so are also delicious. I loved the pretty colours, the contrasts of the reddish pink peppercorns, green rosemary and orange and yellow fruits against the shiny black olives.

We enjoyed the olives with some Manchego cheese and Medjool dates with a glass of wine before dinner.

Why not visit the Olives from Spain website, the Facebook page 'Taste of Spain' for more information and recipes and follow Taste of Spain on Twitter for all the updates.

I received a hamper from Olives from Spain and have created a marinade recipe using some of the ingredients from the hamper and some ingredients from my own kitchen.

Labels: honey, lemons, olives, olives from Spain, oranges, pink peppercorns, Rosemary, Spain

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Hazelnut, Apricot and Honey Wholemeal Loaf

The Alpha Bakes challenge for May is to bake something beginning with the letter 'H'. It's hosted this month by Caroline of Caroline Makes who alternates hosting with Ros from The more than occasional Baker I had a browse through my books and found this Hazelnut, Apricot and Honey Wholemeal Loaf in The Great British Bake Off, How to Bake. That gives me two H's!

It's a sweet wholemeal bread mix, with honey instead of sugar and milk instead of water. Added to it are toasted hazelnuts and chopped apricots. I think I would add a little more liquid to the mix next time as the dough was quite tight and heavy.

In the book they loaf was made as a plait, so I followed suit, then brushed with milk to give a shine to the loaf.

I served the loaf sliced, lightly buttered with sliced Fair Trade bananas and a bowl of Fairtrade oranges and Fairtrade Bananas. It was a really nice change for breakfast and very filling.

I'm entering this for 'Breakfast Club #22, Let's hear it for Fair Trade' run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours. The challenge runs every month with details of hosts on its own Breakfast Club page.

This month there is a prize for entering the Breakfast Club challenge so get over there and join in!

Labels: AlphaBakes, Bananas, Bread, Breakfast Club, Caroline Makes, dried apricots, Fair Trade, Fuss Free Flavour, hazelnuts, More than occasional Baker, oranges

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Honey Baked Figs with Oranges

Figs were on special offer at the supermarket and, as I love them, I bought a pack of four. Then I had to think what I was going to do with them! In the end I decided to split them open, drizzle them with honey and bake them in the oven.

They were probably in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180C, but I just kept an eye on them so they didn't start to shrink too much.

Then I peeled and segmented some oranges and put them and their juice into a glass serving dish (charity shop purchase!) and put the figs on top.

Served with creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chopped pistachio nuts. It was a nice light dessert but with the richness of the honey and figs, the creamy acidity of the creme frache and the crunch of the nuts, it was bloody marvelous!

Labels: creme fraiche, dessert, figs, fresh figs, honey, oranges, pistachio nuts

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