Raspberry Jam

A few days ago my local shop had raspberries on offer, so I bought a few punnets. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them, but buying some seemed like a good idea. I’ve been looking at them for some days, wondering what to make, and last night I decided it would be jam. I’m trying not to eat too much processed sugar these days, so thought it would be a good idea to use honey instead of sugar, and it actually worked really well. Sugar normally works like a preserving agent, so this jam probably won’t last very long (maybe only a month), and should be kept in the fridge. Sugar also normally helps to set the jam, so I’m using agar flakes instead.

Makes 1 jar of jam

250g raspberries

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon agar flakes

1 teaspoon honey

Place your raspberries in a wide pan over moderate heat. A wide pan ensures that all the berries get warmed up quickly, and so your jam is quicker to make, and tastes fresher. Add 2 tablespoons honey and the agar flakes, and mix well. Carefully crush some of the berries to release some liquid. Bring it up to the boil, and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the teaspoon of honey, mix, and add to a sterilised jar.

Sterilising Jam Jars

When making jam or other preserves it is important to have clean jars and bottles for keeping the preserves in. This prevents the quick deterioration of quality that would otherwise happen. An easy way to do this is to clean the jars thoroughly, then place them in a cold oven. Turn the heat on to 180^oC and leave the jars in the oven for 20 minutes after this temperature has been reached. The glasses are now sterilised.

If you use metal lids you should follow the same process for the lids as you did for the jars, they can all go in the oven together.

Remove jars from the oven as and when you need them, using a heat proof cloth so as not to burn your fingers.  Place them on a heatproof mat that can be washed, as you will probably spill some jam here and there.

Add your jam to the jar while they are both warm, and leave for a few minutes before adding the lid.

Some important points to remember are:

• Always sterilise more jars than you think you need, there is nothing worse than not having enough jars and having to repeat the process.

• Never add cold food to hot jars or hot food to cold jars, the glass will shatter and the food will be ruined.

Potato Salad with Coriander

A potato salad can be a perfect companion for many different dishes, from green salads to filled peppers and anything in between. There are as many variations possible as there are people, this particular one is one of my favourites on a warm sunny spring day. 

Serves 4 as a side dish

450g new Jersey Potatoes (or any other new potatoes)

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 pinch sea salt

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1 small pinch freshly ground dried chillies

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons fresh coriander

Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces, or leave them as they are if they are very small. Boil them until just soft. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool until they are lukewarm. Add the mayonnaise and spices, and stir carefully while making sure the potatoes don’t get crushed. Finally add the lemon juice and coriander, and stir again. Save a little bit of the coriander to garnish the top.

“Start Your Own Teashop” Course at Ballymaloe

For the second time this spring I found myself at Ballymaloe in Ireland.  This time I was there to attend a “Start your own teashop” course. The course would last two and a half days, and would include two practical sessions and three demonstrations. I very much looked forwards to this course; it was to include information about the practical aspects of opening a teashop; such as designing the menu, how to manage a small business and how to optimise profitability. It would also include information about how to make the best tea and coffee, and also both demonstrations and practical sessions giving great recipes. Not much information had been given out before the start of the course, apart from “bring your own apron and a knife”. So it was with a lot of curiosity and great expectations that I arrived at the cookery school. I had booked a room in a self catering cottage at the school, so everything looked set for a fantastic few days immersed in cooking and learning.

When I arrived at the school at the agreed time I found the place deserted. We had agreed a time for my arrival so that someone could be there to welcome me and show me to my room, but this seemed to have been forgotten, or not communicated to the person responsible for the cottages. Luckily I had not arrived alone, as I had met up with another girl from my course at the airport. Had I been there alone I would have felt very alone and deserted. As it was, I looked after our luggage as she went for a walk in search of someone who could help us. She eventually found a member of staff, who seemed completely unaware that we would be arriving during daytime. So far not such a good first impression. But I thought I should probably not be so harsh in my judgement, we all make a few mistakes here and there, and we did after all find someone to show us our rooms, eventually. My room was in the Coach House, a newly renovated lovely old cottage. And my room was beautifully light and airy, with big windows and yellow sunshine-coloured curtains. I happily sank down onto my bed for a quick nap before exploring the premises (I had been up and travelling since 3am that morning).

The cookery school is set within a great organic garden and farm. There are fruit trees arranged as a maze, herb gardens, lawns, and a folly at the end of the property. I know it sounds like a cliché, but I felt relaxed and filled with peace as I walked around the gardens. Afterwards I was ready for new adventures, and went up to Ballymaloe House for a snoop around. And I have to say I was impressed. The house itself is a beautiful old stone building clad in purple wisteria, surrounded by a small wood, a great lawn (which turned out to be a golf course), and a field of rape in full yellow blossom. I didn’t go into the house itself, but instead I went to the cookery shop, and to the Cafe at the end of the Shop. The cafe was bustling with life and customers, and there was a little wait before I could get a table, but they were obviously used to being busy, as they had an excellent queuing system. So I wandered around the shop while waiting for my name to be called for the cafe. When I got a table it turned out to be a very modern yet cosy place, with a small but inviting menu. And the cakes at the counter looked gorgeous. I decided I wasn’t very hungry, so went for a piece of cake. It was a lemon sponge; light and delicate, full of flavour. Delicious.

 Day one of the course started with a cooking demonstration by Darina Allen and Pamela Black. Before the demonstration began we were all given a folder containing details of the course, and a list of the recipes that would be cooked while we were there. We were all asked to choose three recipes from that morning’s list that we would like to make during the practical session the next day. It was quite chaotic for a little while, while over 50 course participants were trying make a decision about what to cook, and then to register their wishes all at once.  When we had all made our selection we sat down ready to be dazzled by Darina and Pam and their cooking. They managed to bake a remarkable volume of cakes and tarts that morning, and while baking they gave advice about how to best achieve good results. They made it all look very easy and enjoyable, and at the end of the session I felt inspired to go out and do my own cooking, and also somewhat hungry. Luckily it was now time for lunch.

Lunch was a feast for both the eyes and the palate, with salad, many types of bread, quiches, pasta, and cakes for dessert. Special dietary requirements were well catered for, with gluten free vegetarian quiches, bread and pasta. After this feast I felt more ready to lie down for a nap than for a lecture on business, but thankfully there was quite a long break, where we could go out in the sun and relax for a bit.

The afternoon session was held by Blathnaid Bergin , Darina Allen’s younger sister. She runs a School of Restaurant & Kitchen Management in Ireland, where she provides training for the catering industry. As she started her lecture Darina came in and whispered in hear ear that she should keep her talk short, as people had come to Ballymaloe to cook not to listen to her talk about management, something I found quite strange, as many of the people I had talked to thus far had been tempted to attend that particular course because of the variety of topics offered in the course, including the business module. I also found it rather strange for this to come from the owner of the cookery school; why add the management talk to a course you run if you don’t want it there? After this incident the course got underway, and she gave some good examples of ways to get things wrong, and traps to avoid and not get caught in. Towards the end of the lecture there was a workshop lasting about an hour, where we were divided into groups to discuss potential ways towards failure, and how best to avoid them. As with most workshops it was rather unfruitful, and most of us felt it was a waste of time. However, overall the lecture was good, and I came away from it feeling more inspired to go away and start my own business.

Day two of the cookery course started in the kitchen, where we were divided into teams who had each our chef to assist us. There were four people to my team, and three of us were gluten intolerant. Our chef was Debbie Shaw, a nutritionist who helped us convert our recipes into gluten free ones, and who gave us good advice and hints about gluten free cooking and baking in general. It was a fun morning, where we made bread, cakes and a quiche. At lunchtime we ate the food we had cooked that morning, along with green salad made by the chefs at the school.

After lunch there was another cooking demonstration class. This time it was Rory O’Connell and Pam Black, and the pace seemed considerably more relaxed than at the previous cooking demonstration. While there was not as much talking, and a more relaxed atmosphere, there were more tips about presentation of food for sale, and ideas for edible gifts. And towards the end of the class when all the food was assembled on the cooking counter it became apparent that there were as many items of food as there had been after the demonstration the previous day.

The third and final day was a half-day, and took place in the kitchen. We made what we had chosen the day before, which in my case were two cakes and some macaroons. Again, Debbie helped us adjust the recipes to make them gluten free and gave advice about how to blend flours for successful gluten free baking. It was another fun and busy day, and at lunchtime we again served up our own food, along with leftovers from the day before. There was also the big bowl of green salad made by the school chefs.

After a hectic morning it was fantastic to sit down with some food, but it was also a bit sad, because this was the end of the course, and time to go home. Although I felt some of the content could have been better arranged, and there was a complete lack of organisation both within the kitchen and throughout the school, I had had a great few days, and I felt energised and inspired to go home and think about starting my own teashop.

Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Cheesy Squares

These nibbly squares were intended to be crackers, but while I was rummaging around my cupboards to find ingredients and then adding things to my bowl, I got a little bit carried away, and this was the result. They are a sort of scone-like square cheese straws, ideal for nibbling on along with olives and other tapas and dips, or on their own when you want a small snack. The difficult bit is not eating them all at once, they are terribly more-ish. 

Makes 16 squares

125g gluten free flour (I used Doves farm white flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

a pinch of herbal salt

a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika powder

3 sun-dried tomatoes

5 pimento stuffed green olives

50g butter

1 egg

100ml single cream

50g mexicana cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 180^oC.

Add all the dry ingredients to a kitchen mixer. Mix, and then chop your tomatoes and olives. Add these to the dry mix, and then add the butter. Mix until you have a crumbly texture. Add the egg and cream, and mix until you have a quite sticky but even dough. Finally add the cheese and mix again until all ingredients are mixed well. If you don’t have a kitchen mixer, use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix.

Spoon your dough onto a greased baking tray, shape to a flat square, and slice into 16 pieces. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Leave the squares to cool on a cooling rack.

Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Wensleydale Cheese

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small red onions

2 small cloves garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

210g red peppers (deseeded and skinned)

380g tomatoes (skinned)

200ml vegetable stock

100g traditional wensleydale cheese (or other crubmly cheese if you can’t get hold of Wensleydale)

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

pinch of freshly ground dried chilli

Heat the oil in a saucepan, finely chop your onions and add these to the oil. Sauté until the onions are soft. Finely chop your garlic and add to the onions, and then add the herbs. Chop the peppers and tomatoes, and add to the other ingredients in the saucepan. Leave for a couple of minutes before adding the vegetable stock. Leave the soup to simmer for 5 minutes or so, and then liquidise it using a blender. Finally crumble the cheese and add to the soup. I quite like the effect of the lumpiness of the cheese against the silkiness of the soup, but if you would like a completely smooth soup use the blender again after the cheese has been added. Add black pepper and chilli to taste.