All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Honey Roasted Persimmons

By 14 Comments

Persimmon

There are so many vegetables around at the moment and fruit is a little thin on the ground. To save me turning into a cabbage I felt I needed something other than a clementine to lift me out of my Savoy stupor. Persimmons (or Sharon Fruit) were something that I had never tried; for some reason they were forever unobtainable. I did manage to get hold of them eventually and was then thoroughly perplexed as to what to do with them.

My dilemma was ended when I asked Twitter how to deal with the situation. Roasting them in honey was my favourite suggestion and so I went about constructing honey roasted persimmons. I was very excited.
I had three persimmons to deal with and not a clue where to begin. The leaves didn’t look particularly appealing so off they came with a little persuasion. Slicing them in half also seemed like a solid start. It was sort of apple meets peach but they smelled of nothing in particular. read more

Game and Root Vegetable Stew

By 10 Comments

Game is a difficult food. It’s hard to convince people to try it when they are absolutely determined they hate it, if you’ve never handled it before it can be intimidating to try and skin a rabbit and despite your best efforts sometimes you wonder why you bothered buying venison when you might as well have bought beef. Regardless of all or any of these, game is tremendously delicious.

I don’t tend to have ‘healthy’ recipes on here, nor do I discuss the fibrous merits of the many vegetables I feature but game is a treat without that feeling of guilt. I heard tell that venison contains less fat than a chicken breast without skin. Marvellous news. Venison is obviously trumping the chicken right about now but not only is it pretty much making you lose weight, it is local and seasonal. This game stew makes the most of all game available at this time of the year and some wonderful seasonal vegetables. read more

Candy Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Tart

By 13 Comments

candy beetroot - inside
It’s almost Christmas and that means indulgence and overeating. A candy beetroot and goat’s cheese tart is the perfect thing to have as a light meal amidst all the festive frivolities. Candy beetroot can’t fail to be eye-catching; pink and white circles which look like a humbug. Beetroot are fantastic at this time of year adding colour to an otherwise mostly green and white season. Whichever beetroot you have it is excellent with goat’s cheese and particularly delicious with caramelised onions.  

Start by roasting the beetroot, boiling the beetroot will result in it turning pink and not retaining its wonderful stripes. Drizzle over a little oil before roasting and roast for an hour at 180C to 200C. While the beetroot roasts, caramelise the onions. Slice an onion and put into a pan over a low heat with a little butter. Leave to cook slowly for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Taste after 20 minutes to see if they need a little sugar or vinegar and season. While all this is taking place, prepare your pastry. For my rich shortcrust pastry recipe click here. read more

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts

By 14 Comments

The poor sprout. I don’t know of another vegetable that has to put up with as much ridicule. People turning their noses up at even the slightest mention of this poor brassica must be hard to deal with if you’re a sprout. Chances are those that turn up their noses have only tried them boiled to within an inch of their life. There’s much more to a sprout than as a soggy green mess at the side of the plate. There is a rumour that sprouts can cause side effects of the flatulent sort. This rumour is also rife for baked beans but it doesn’t seem to put people off. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Bacon Pasta

By 16 Comments

collar bacon, local cheese and broccoli
The first of the season purple sprouting broccoli was standing tall and proud at the Farmers’ Market letting us all know that Spring is just around the corner. Everyone wanted some of this majestic member of the Brassica family.  In order to celebrate the first greens of the year there was only one companion up to the job – extra mature Cheddar cheese. To make it a glorious trio I bought some excellent collar bacon. This is one of those recipes where if you don’t fancy as much cheese you can leave it out, if you want more bacon put it in or if you have some cauliflower lying around later on in the year it would do just as well. 

Ingredients

To feed 4 people I used:

  • 3 bunches of purple sprouting cut into stems and leaves
  • 6 rashers of collar bacon diced
  • 1 wedge of strong Cheddar cheese grated
  • 235g cottage cheese
  • 2 tablespoons single cream
  • 400g pasta
  • Salt and pepper
    • read more

    Chicken Liver Pâté

    By 9 Comments

    Pesto, hummus and bread are just a few examples of things that if you make yourself, couldn’t be further from the shop bought version. Chicken liver pâté is another. I have long had an affection for this most accepted of offal and I felt it was about time I got myself some to see how a homemade one compares. I couldn’t have asked for better livers. They were free range, organic and fresh as you could ask for. I never eat supermarket chicken and so the money I would have spent on that I spend on farmers’ market chicken and just eat it less often.
    This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make so if you find yourself with the opportunity to buy livers, do so. read more

    Chocolate Concrete

    By 26 Comments

    Chocolate Concrete - an old school recipe
    I was on my daily ramble (more like scramble) through the countryside this morning. It was exceptionally blustery. If I had tried to open my umbrella to shield myself from the onslaught of rain I feel quite certain there would have been a Mary Poppins moment. There was only one thing I could think about whilst battling the elements…Chocolate Concrete. Chocolate concrete is an old school recipe that I got from my Granny. There’s nothing quite like this recipe, it’s so versatile, quick and easy to make. I probably make it once a fortnight and it gets consumed like there’s no tomorrow. 

    Ingredients

    For enough to last less greedy families than mine you’ll need:

    • 12oz/300g Margarine
    • 120z/300g Sugar
    • 2oz/50g Cocoa
    • 16oz/400g Plain flour
    • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

    Method

    All you need do is to melt the margarine and add the vanilla extract to it. Sieve all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix them up. Mix the melted margarine into this.

    When you do this you’ll be convinced that it’ll never mix and there’s far too much flour and cocoa and that I’m a fool. Just keep on going and soon it’ll look like the above.

    Put this into a tin, brush the top with water and then sprinkle with sugar – this gives it a nice crust on top. Bake at about 150C for 15-20 minutes or until firm when pressed. read more

    Jerusalem Artichoke and Leek Soup with Collar bacon

    By 10 Comments

    Jerusalem artichokes

    I can see how some might think I’ve recently become obsessed with soup. This is not true but it seems the most appropriate thing to slurp in January. One thing I am obsessed with is Jerusalem artichokes.
    Despite their unsociable side effects they are one of my absolute favourite vegetables. Unfortunately I can never seem to get my hands on them or they all get snaffled up by abdominally superior individuals before I can get to them. When I can get them though I always do.

    I wrestled for my ugly roots knowing full well they were going to be blended with some leeks. I managed to get 400g of artichokes and 2 leeks. It cost me £1.50. This dish ended up serving four people a light lunch. Bargain. read more

    Celeriac, Leek and Apple soup

    By 12 Comments

    A new year and many resolutions to break. I decided to start with good intentions however with a fresh, earthy and filling soup.
    It had three main ingredients; celeriac, leek and apple. To be frank and somewhat rude, the celeriac is not a looker. If you’ve been through life without the celeriac, please overlook its brutal looks in favour of its wonderful flavour. My apple was half a Russet and half a Kentish somethingorother and rather strikingly large. My leeks were still covered in mud and had a little frost still left from picking in the green ends.
    The Farmers’ Market can offer these things in a way that nothing else can. It is for vegetables like this and a hundred other reasons why I love it so much. read more

    Sage and Onion Stuffing with Pigs in Blankets

    By 7 Comments

    This is a classic stuffing and I got the recipe from my Granny. She copied it out for me a few years ago, so when I was down at the Farmers’ Market and I saw some sausage meat I knew it was that time again.
    This is such a simple recipe with great results. I have recently become a little more friendly with my blender. Some might say too friendly. I just can’t believe how much easier it makes things. When you have poor circulation in the extremities, the thought of chopping an onion into a billion pieces is not enticing. read more

    Recent Tweets

    • Error: Invalid or expired token.