Blog - All That I'm Eating

On the radio!

November 28, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 12 Comments

All That I'm Eating at BBC Radio Berkshire

I was invited to be on BBC Radio Berkshire yesterday. If you would like to take a listen you can find the link here (it’s since been taken down). It was a great experience and I spoke about all sorts of things but mostly food! I was on from 3pm for 45 minutes so if you only want to hear the food bit you might need to do a little fast forwarding!

Dining in the Dark at The Living Room in Oxford

November 25, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 20 Comments

All That I'm Eating - Dining in the Dark

This was a gifted meal. I was invited to a Dining in the Dark event at The Living Room in Oxford and I was very intrigued. The idea was to try some of the food from their menu, whilst blindfolded, and then to guess what it was you were eating! Three of us were there for the taste off; the lovely Jo from Comfort Bites, my other half (The Accidental Food Photographer) and myself. There was a trophy to win for the most organoleptically adept and so we donned our blindfolds for the first taste.

You can tell a lot by smell, I found, but the taste and texture were better indicators of what it was that you were eating. I thought it would be pretty easy and I was quite surprised at how hard it was to identify something like broccoli! The first thing was a butternut squash and dolcelatte tart; not something I would ever order but I really enjoyed it. Although I thought it was pear, walnut and blue cheese. Close I suppose.

There were two things that I tried that I was really surprised by: Moroccan lamb with giant couscous and the homemade vegetarian Glamorgan sausages. I would be unlikely to order either of these but after having tried them I was surprised how much I liked them. read more

Chocolate Covered Salted and Sweet Popcorn Bars

November 20, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 23 Comments

I love popcorn. I don’t know what it is that makes it so addictive that you carry on eating it even though you know it’ll be stuck in your teeth for hours afterwards. I think popcorn is responsible for starting a lot of arguments; queuing at the cinema inevitably results in the question, “Salted or sweet popcorn”? and the ensuing debate afterwards discussing the merits of both flavours.

If I had to choose it would be sweet. Fortunately I no longer have to make this decision as the ingenious people from Toasted have made the ultimate popcorn; sweet and salt. If ever there was a day to rival the invention of sliced bread it has to be this. Never again do we need to decide and end up wishing we’d had the other. This popcorn deserved to be treated to something a little special.

You will need:
300g milk chocolate (I used Milka with Daim)
A few large handfuls of popcorn (salted and sweet ideally)
100g white chocolate read more

My first published food column

November 16, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 29 Comments

Sometimes things happen at just the right time. I recently had some sad news and things are still on the mend but there are a few bits going on which give me a reason to smile. Amongst these is the publication of my first food column in The Reading Post. The column is about foraging and what to make with any treats you may find. It’s amazing to think how many people might read this column entitled, ‘Caroline’s Kitchen’, and I hope they give a recipe a try.

You can also read the article online read more

Tea and Me: A long term love affair and a review of Teavivre

November 10, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 15 Comments

I have always had my tea in the same way; a splash of milk and never any sugar. Once, my Godmother tried to convert me to sweeten my tea. I determinedly told her I didn’t want sugar in my tea and when she put some in anyway I poured it into the nearest pot plant I could find and stuck to squash when visiting from then on. Things haven’t changed much and I can’t go a day without a cup of tea of some description. My collection of tea is comparable to a spice cupboard; indeed I have a tea chest from Bahrain which holds my rare and unusual varieties alongside my more mainstream leaves. I find tea as fascinating as some people find wine. I think the way that the flavour of tea can be affected by so many things really interesting; hot or cold, dry or damp, early or late picking can affect the appearance, smell and flavour in the finished tea. Then you’ve got all the flavours that can be added to the tea; Earl Grey and Jasmine being two of my personal favourites. I’m not sure I could ever get bored of tea so when Teavivre asked if I would be interested in trying some of their Chinese tea I had to say yes!

First of all I tried the Yun Nan Dian Hong which is a golden tipped black tea. The colours of the leaves are wonderful; they look like autumn. I was really surprised at how dark the colour of the tea was considering the lightness of the leaves. It was really full bodied but refreshing at the same time and not at all bitter.

The next tea I tried was the Bi Luo Chun which is a green tea. It smelled so fresh, almost lemony and the leaves looked extremely dainty. It tasted like I would expect for a green tea but slightly more rounded and complex than some of the others I have tried. read more

An Autumn Picnic 3 of 3: Caramelised Pears with Crumbled Parkin

November 6, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

A picnic must always have something sweet to round it off; a jam tart or two, some chocolate biscuits or even a slice of cake. This being an autumn picnic meant that the sweet must have a seasonal feel. Pears were an obvious choice but you can’t finish a picnic with just a pear that would be akin to having a carrot instead of a birthday cake. No, these pears needed some warmth and caramelised pears seemed just the ticket.

Parkin is a traditional cake eaten on Bonfire Night so I made some a few days before the picnic as I had heard it is a cake better left before eating. This would be the perfect accompaniment to the warm gooey pears. read more

An Autumn Picnic 2 of 3: Garlic Butter Mushroom Burgers

November 4, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 14 Comments

By now those picnic attendees that are left will be crying out for some sustenance and these garlic mushroom burgers really hit the spot; they are warm, juicy and full of flavour. There are several reasons why I chose to use mushrooms rather than meat: you don’t need to take an extra pan, minimum effort is required for delicious results and I think they are actually nicer! Also they sit happily on the BBQ needing barely any attention so you can get on and enjoy the picnic without having to stand and watch over them.

You will need:

4 large mushrooms Garlic butter (butter, garlic, parsley and black pepper) 4 bread rolls

I prepared the butter before I left by crushing three garlic cloves into about 50g butter and mixing it together with a few sprigs of chopped parsley and some black pepper.
Take the mushrooms and wrap them (gill side up) in some foil so they are completely covered. Put the parcel onto the edge of the BBQ, so it is not directly over the heat, and leave them to soften in their own juices for about 20 minutes. When they are soft put a little of the garlic butter onto the mushroom gills and leave the parcel open so that some of the moisture evaporates. After about five minutes toast the buns on the BBQ and put a mushroom in each bun. read more

An Autumn Picnic 1 of 3: Spiced Cider and Sticky Chilli Sausages

November 2, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Who doesn’t love a picnic? The optimum picnic is of course one where the sun is shining, the birds are singing and everyone has some food that they enjoy. This perfection can normally successfully be achieved in summer where there are lower risks of rain, wind and cold. However, that’s not to say you can’t have a picnic in the autumn; as long as you’re a bit clever with what you make. The idea of this autumn picnic is to encourage you to embrace the outdoors even when you might think outside entertainment is over. In the next three posts I’ll be showing you the recipes I created to keep everyone warm and fed on a blustery afternoon adventure. I did actually make this picnic outside; you can find some pictures of it on my Facebook page, and everything I needed for it fit into a picnic set and one other small bag (two saucepans and some foil). The only additional piece of equipment you need is a BBQ or stove; both to cook the food on and to warm your hands and guests.

To kick the picnic off to a good start I made some spiced cider. The reason for this was twofold; it’s a marriage made in heaven when mixed with cinnamon and I thought if my guests drunk a little cider they might get their cider jacket on and forget it’s cold.
When the BBQ is good and hot, put the cider into a saucepan and add a few cloves, a stick of cinnamon and some star anise. Keep on the heat until lovely and warm and then pour into cups and warm up your hands and your insides.

Celeriac Remoulade, Venison and Sourdough Open Sandwich

October 29, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Celeriac remoulade venison sandwich ingredients - All That I'm Eating

I don’t wish to be cruel but a celeriac is never going to win the most attractive vegetable of the year award. To make up for its less than enticing characteristics you would have thought Mother Nature would make it easy to get inside, peel it like an orange for example, but the skin of a celeriac is as tough as old boots. That’s not to say it’s not worth the effort, the hand cramp and the awkwardness; it’s a great root to take some frustration out on.

Celeriac has a wonderful flavour, sweetness and crunch and it is at its best (in my opinion) when raw. Uncooked root vegetables must be dressed, it would be rude otherwise, and a classic celeriac remoulade is something I’ve always wanted to try. For me the remoulade needs to have creaminess, some acidity, freshness and a little mustard heat. Combine that with some lovely venison, peppery rocket and tangy sourdough and you’ve got yourself a match made in heaven. read more

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares with Vanilla Salt

October 25, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 16 Comments

vanilla salted marshmallow crispy cakes - All That I'm Eating

Sometimes I feel like I need to let my inner child out and indulge in something so wonderful and absorbing that I can think of nothing else. I wanted to make some marshmallow rice krispie squares, as I had made them once before with great success, but this time they needed to be even more sensuous and luxurious. Thus, these chocolate coated marshmallow rice krispie squares with vanilla salt were born. A bit of a mouthful both to articulate and masticate. I’m sure lots of people claim to have been on the salted caramel scene before it became fashionable but I was not one of them. No. I was on the salted chocolate scene when I was a teenager enjoying nothing more than alternating a ready salted crisp and a bite of chocolate. I have to admit that I thought it was weird and no one would really ‘get it’ hence why I never made stuffing my face with crisps and chocolate in quick succession a public matter. Now is the perfect time to publicise my secret salted chocolate love affair as I have recently been made aware of Vanilla Salt from Halen Mon. They kindly sent me a tube to try for myself.

You will need:
50g butter
300g marshmallows
120g rice krispies
100g milk chocolate
Vanilla salt

Start by warming the butter and marshmallows over a low heat until melted. Stir in the rice krispies. Put the rice krispie mixture into a greased dish. Those three steps sound wonderfully simple and they do result in exactly what you’d expect them to, however, it’s the bit in the middle you want to watch out for. Once the rice krispies are in it’s a countdown to see how quickly you can distribute and deposit them before you end up like I did. I have never met anything as sticky as this; it could have stuck greaseproof paper to a non-stick frying pan if it wanted to. During the transition from pan to dish the marshmallow underwent some sort of metamorphosis. It changed from being silky and smooth to stringy and awkward. If you had walked into the kitchen at this moment you would have thought I was preparing far too early for Halloween in making my marshmallow cobweb costume. I had to use my hands to scoop the mixture into the dish and then realised I myself was part of the marshmallow mixture and much time and gentle coaxing was needed to extract myself from the tangled web of mallow. If nothing else make this just to have ten minutes pretending you are Spiderman.

Let the mixture cool before you portion it up. Melt some milk chocolate and either dunk or dribble the chocolate onto each square. Let the chocolate cool for just a minute before sprinkling the vanilla salt crystals over the top. You want the crystals to stick to the chocolate but not to dissolve into it. Leave to cool.

I knew what to expect from the rice krispie square before I wrapped my teeth around it but I was really surprised at how the other flavours and textures turned this into an incredibly generous treat. Imagine: firstly your teeth crunch slightly on the chocolate and salt and then sink down into a pink pillow of fluffy marshmallow interrupted by the crisp cereal. Then you get the mouth coating that only chocolate can provide interspersed with sweet and chewy marshmallow and the crunch of the rice krispies. Finally there is the unctuous vanilla salt rounding the whole thing off. This is a treat for all the senses. read more