Best Of British 'London' Blog Challenge

The Face of New World Appliances have been organising the 'Best of British Blog Challenge'.  This is a cookery 'Blog Challenge' celebrating the best of Regional Dishes around Britain.  There is rather a good prize for the 'ultimate' winner, £300 worth of Amazon vouchers.  I am always up for a bit of challenge especially where 'cookery' is involved.
           This months challenge is being hosted by Fiona from 'London Unattached', the region being celebrated is 'London'.  After all the Jubilee and 'Limpics' it seems like a good time to celebrate 'London' with food.   I must admit I needed to do a quick bit of research as the only regional 'London' dishes that sprang to mind were 'Jellied Eels' and 'Pie and Mash'.  I googled and found London Travel with a link to 'London Recipes'.  I really like the sound of 'Blackberry Bread and Butter Pudding'.  It brings out the forager in me!  Bread and Butter Pudding is a very traditional dessert and of course it is crying out for blackberries.  I can imagine this being made for 'Tea' after a day blackberrying, by many many families over the decades and beyond.

Blackberries are an abundant and free source of nutrition widely available across the UK at this time of year.  They are very rich in Vitamin C and are used as a key ingredient in traditional 'Cough and Cold Remedies'.  The seeds are a good source of Vitamin E.  The berries are simply there for the picking for anyone brave enough to deal with the brambles.  Euan and I are brave!  We had a lovely Sunday afternoon walk gathering fruit, we even found some Hazel nuts as a bonus too.
             Euan is very enthusiastic about the 'competition' and would like half of any winnings as pay for his blackberry picking efforts.  He came home and 'googled' "Posh Puddings for the Queen London Blackberries".  I used the recipe from 'London Travel' for inspiration but tweaked it considerably, thus making it 'Posher' and fit for a queen, I think you will agree?
Ingredients
2 Crusty White Rolls Sliced and Buttered
150g of Fresh Blackberries
50g of Brown Sugar
2 eggs
100ml of thick cream
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 Tablespoons of Brandy

Method

Line a Pie dish with 75g of Blackberries and sprinkle them with half of the sugar.
Beat the eggs with the cream.
Arrange the bread and remaining blackberries into the pie dish and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Pour over the egg and cream.
Grate Nutmeg liberally over the top of the pudding.
Sprinkle the Brandy evenly over the top of the pudding.

Place in a medium/hot oven for 30 minutes until the 'custard' has set.

Serve with a good dollop of Cream, Custard or Creme Fraiche.

I used Creme Fraiche, honest Gov!  What a fruitful days foraging.  From the bush to the pud in a matter of hours.  Very thrifty and hearty grub.   After my Pud, I would say we are already 'winners'.  :) xxx

Nettle and Courgette Tripoline with Feta Cheese

Let me tell you there is nothing nicer than a heavily charred courgette.  Nope they are definitely not burnt!  Don't even think it!  Well done, but not burnt.  Can't you tell I am a Mom and used to saying stuff like that?  I went on a forage again, don't forget that rhymes with porridge.  I braved the nettles, feeling like an experienced porridger forager by now, I used my bare hands and pinched the nettle tips out assertively and paid the price. . .getting stung again.  When I got home I got creative in the kitchen.  I figured you can substitute spinach with nettles.  I fried off the courgette in spray oil!  Yep spray oil.  Any fool on a diet  healthy eating plan, uses spray oil. . . don't they?  While my 'Tripoline' pasta was boiling I added the nettles to the pan with the courgette and stirred them around until they were cooked.

Tripoline

I must say this 'Tripoline' strikes me as being considerably posher than spaghetti.  When the pasta was cooked I added the nettles courgette and crumbled Feta cheese.  I combined all the ingredients together well and seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper.  Rather delicious even if I do say so myself.

                This Italian 'folk' saying seems rather apt:


   Italian: Nessuno conosce che cosa sta cucinando nella vaschetta meglio di chi fa la mescolatura. 


   English: No one knows what is cooking in the pan better than the one doing the stirring. 

In this house that is too true!

What's for Lunch? - 'Wild' Weeds!

Lavender and Lovage Blog - Herbs on Saturday

(Follow the link to find out how you can enter a Competition for May with 'Herbs on Saturday') 

Over at Allotment 2 Kitchen Shaheen has made a delicious looking 'Wild Weed and Potato Tortilla'.   I mentioned Wild Garlic in a post a couple of weeks ago and leaving it in situ, but I couldn't resist.  So while I was out on my 11385 steps, 4.71 miles, 5 Activity Points (walk), I had a little 'forage' along the way.  I like the word 'forage' it rhymes with porridge.  There is something incredibly primitive about foraging, the dog thought it was great fun.  I gathered some Wild Garlic, leaves and buds.

I gathered a bunch of nice young Dandelion leaves:

 A bunch of Young Nettle tips.

Youch!  Just when I was feeling smug at not stinging myself, I got about three stings on one thumb!  Gah 'Pride comes before a fall'.  I have read about the health benefits of Nettles and Dandelions, both are iron rich, blood tonics and Dandelion is a great diuretic.  It eases water retention.  My Mom used to tell me not to pick Dandelions when I was little,  as a 'folk' name for them is 'Wet the beds'!  I sure hope I don't!
            I came home with my 'rich' pickings and popped them straight in the sink for a good wash.  Now as you know I am back on a 'Healthy Regime'.  I am in week 4 of Weight Watchers, so far I have lost 9.5 lbs.  You will also know you don't get at all hungry on these diets healthy eating plans, nope, no siree, not one bit hungry!  Who is anyone trying to kid?  I was so starving I could have gnawed my own legs!  Wild weeds rinsed, then a looksey in the fridge!  Ham needed to be used, why did I buy a largish packet of ham?  Remind me not to buy ham for a while please.  I found some nice little cherry tomatoes, 30% reduced fat Cheese, which to my surprise and delight tasted great.  Usually 30% reduced anything means you have lost 30% of its niceness.  Straight to the frying pan.  2tsp of Olive oil, it's ok healthy oil is allowed.  In went the chopped ham and halved cherry tomatoes.  I shredded the Wild Garlic and Dandelion and put that in the pan, I put the nettles in as they were.  Do you seriously think I am going to try and shred nettles?   They would shred me first!

I have made Nettle Soup before and know it cooks and tastes very much like Spinach, maybe even better than spinach.  I beat three eggs from my bestest chicken buddies and added them to the pan.  I like a nice ometlette but I don't like them too eggy!  The French have soft almost runny omelettes that you fold in half and let the heat finish off cooking the egg, I don't.  Under the Grill goes my omelette, I like it cooked all the way through.  The verdict:

The Wild Garlic gave a lovely mild hint of Garlic and the buds added a nice texture too.
The Nettles were delicious.  I have made a mental not to myself to use more nettles.  I don't like nettle tea but I love the taste and texture of the leaves.  They cook very quickly too.  They were definitely worth the stings.  My sons's are both desperate to try eating nettles so I may be 'Hunter Gathering' again soon.
Dandelion, seriously who would have thought Dandelion and Cheese would be a flavour match made in heaven?  Move over Cheese and Onion, here comes Cheese and Dandelion.
Wild Weed, Ham, Cheese and Tomato Omelette:  Delicious.  If I owned a Cafe, this would be my current lunchtime 'Special'.  I would serve it with Some delicious warm, crusty bread, French Fries and Mayonnaise a Crisp Green Salad!
My plant identification skills are somewhat lacking, so my foraging skills are limited, I definitely would not forage for mushrooms or fungi, knowing my luck I would not live to tell the tale.  As a child I used to love to pick Blackberries until I discovered grubs.  We used to have family outings to gather Chestnuts, delicious toasted when you get back home.  My favourite used to be gathering Hazel Nuts I used to gather them on the way to school from about the age of five.  I would crack them with my teeth and munch them on the way.  My little eyes got well trained and I could find more nuts than anyone I knew!  Let me tell you my Mom looks ladylike, but nobody can shake a Hazel branch with the same gusto as my Mother, in the Autumn when the nuts are just ready, they rain down if the branches are shook vigorously.  I have always been a bit nutty!  I have also gathered Damsons in the past to make wine, I nearly came to a nasty end on a wet fence!  That is another story.  One year I gathered enough young Oak Leaves to make 'Oak leaf Wine'.  The recipe I have has a warning about the strength of the wine, never underestimate 'The Power of the Mighty Oak'.  My brother can add testimony to that!  Not a traditional 'Country Wine' to give the Vicar when he popped in!  I bet many a great party has been had, drinking 'Oak Leaf' wine, followed by many a stinking hangover!   I am wondering if any of you forage, if you do what do find and what do you do with it?