Show Stopping Fodder : Pastry with Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil

It’s the product that has it all – Cold Pressed Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil; it has half the saturated fat of olive oil, it is high in omega 3, 6 and 9, it is a rich source of vitamin E, it has a high burning point, and most importantly it’s from Yorkshire!

What makes Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil even more fantastic are their fantastic range of flavoured oils, dressings and mayonnaise. They have cleverly put together a recipe book with different ways the oils can be used too. I’ve been trying out the Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Lemon in just about everything from dips and dressings, frying and baking. My favourite way to use the oil so far has been in pastry. I’ve never used oil in place of butter before so I was a little sceptical about how the pastry would turn out. Of course the texture is different, but the end result is a beautifully light and crispy pastry with an incredible lemony aroma. The flavour of the lemon is most definitely not lost through baking.

The pastry can be used in any of your favourite sweet recipes. It works fantastically in a lemon meringue pie. Or you can omit the sugar and use the pastry for your favourite savoury dish instead – I plan to use it for a chicken pie at some point!

JAM TARTS WITH LEMON INFUSED RAPESEED OIL PASTRY 

INGREDIENTS

200g plain flour
50g caster sugar
2 1/2 tbsp Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Lemon
1 egg
3-4 tbsp cold water
jam or lemon curd – why not try out my recipe for kiwi jam or lemon and ginger curd

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 200c, 400f, gas mark 6.

Mix the flour and sugar together. Beat the Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil and egg together, combine with the flour and sugar mix and gradually add sufficient water to make a soft dough.

Roll out thinly onto a lightly floured surface. Cut rounds using a 3″ cutter and line a bun tray. Put a teaspoon of jam or curd in each.

Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack.

You can find more wonderful products from Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil on stand Q60 at BBC Good Food Show Spring this weekend. Visit http://www.bbcgoodfoodshowspring.com for more information.

You can still book your tickets BBC Good Food Show Spring starting from £13.50. Book using the code BL20 for 20% off (*see t&cs below)

*20% off Adult/Over 65s tickets only. Not valid on VIP or with any other offer. Ends 10/04/16. Standard Supertheatre seat included with Super tickets, subject to availability, Gold seat upgrade £3. Offer valid on Value tickets where available. Details correct at time of print. £1.50 fulfilment fee per advance order. Good Food® Good Food Logo © BBC Worldwide. Organised and presented by River Street Events.

The BBC Good Food Shows are organised and presented by River Street Events Ltd
The GoodFood word mark and logo are trademarks of BBC Worldwide Limited. Copyright 2015 BBC Worldwide Limited.

April 9, 2016April 9, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: BBC Good Food Show Spring, Healthy Fodder, Seasonal Fodder, Spring, Sweet Fodder, UncategorizedTags: Baking, BBC Good Food Show Spring 2016, Food, Food blog, Food styling, Jam tart, Pastry, Rapeseed oil, recipe, Yorkshire Leave a comment

Show Stopping Fodder : Taste Collectiv Pesto and Romesco

A few days ago I came home to a space aged, foil wrapped package. Alas, it wasn’t a parcel from Tim Peake, it was even better; fresh, delicious pesto and romesco from Taste Collectiv who are launching their products at the BBC Good Food Show Spring this weekend. What I love about these products, aside from the taste, is the back story. Taste Collectiv isn’t some faceless corporation, they are foodies Mark and Victoria, who after travelling to Italy were inspired to create authentic, fresh sauces that don’t compromise on flavour. They have sourced the old original recipes, use the only the best ingredients and are super passionate about what they do.

Now we do love pesto in our house – the kids will ask for ‘green pasta’ but we tend to buy it in jars to make life easier. Taste Collectiv pesto is most certainly not like the jarred stuff – infact it’s wrong of me to even make the comparison to the jarred stuff because this pesto is in a league of its own. It’s made fresh, so is stored on the fridge or freezer, and the taste? Oh my! The taste is incredible! What can I say? It is fresh and it tastes FRESH! I can, and did, eat it alone by the spoonful.

The romesco is equally as tasty with a subtly sweet and nutty flavour. I may have had a few lone spoonfuls of this too! I made some really tasty oak smoked pastry and med-veg quiches with the Romesco and I will be sharing the recipe soon along with some others.

Recipe coming soon!

If you are at the show this weekend then make a point of visiting and supporting Mark and Victoria from Taste Collectiv on stand H100 – it’s really delicious stuff!

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: BBC Good Food Show Spring, Seasonal Fodder, Spring, UncategorizedTags: BBC Good Food Show Spring 2016, Food, Food blog, Food styling, pesto, Romesco, Taste Collectiv Leave a comment

Sweet Fodder : Kiwi Jam

There are some strange folk in this world, like those that eat the skins on a kiwi fruit. I know that it’s supposed to be edible, but they look and feel so fuzzy…and I don’t eat fuzzy food.

Lately we’ve been getting through kiwis like I don’t know what – skins removed of course. They’re a great source of vitamin C for the family through the winter months and are relatively cheap with them being in season. I bought 22 kiwi fruits for £2 from our local greengrocer. I much prefer seasonal fruits; not only does it work out considerably cheaper, it tastes a darn sight better too. Occasionally I will get slightly carried away with how much I buy (or pick when foraging) which in turn leads to some form of preservation, so that it doesn’t all go to waste. Of course that was the case with the 22 kiwis…

So I whipped up some jam last night. It’s really quite simple; I managed to make it whilst talking to my mum on the phone… multi-tasking at its best! You will notice the rather random addition of lime juice- this was added in a moment of panic when I couldn’t find the  pectin and realised I had no apples or lemons to use in place. All I had was a half shrivelled, lonesome lime in the bottom of the fruit bowl which I added in the vein hope it would be enough. I found the pectin in the end, after adding the lime juice, so kept it listed. I don’t know if it made any difference to the outcome, so miss it out if you wish.

The general rule of thumb that I follow when making jam is to use equal weight of fruit to sugar. If you have more or less in the way of fruit, just match the sugar accordingly. I would usually use granulated sugar for jam but I used caster sugar this time, as it was what I happened to have in.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb (450g) kiwi flesh

1 lb (450g) caster sugar

1 sachet pectin

juice of 1 lime

KIWI JAM METHOD

Start by sterilising your jam jars. Throughly wash three jam jars and lids. Place the jars upright, onto a clean baking tray. Place into a preheated oven at 120c. Put the lids into a saucepan and submerge with water and bring to the boil for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Put a side plate into the freezer.

Cut the kiwis in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Discard the skins and weigh the flesh until you have the amount you need – I used about 20.

Put the kiwi flesh into a large clean saucepan, and mash them with a potato masher or fork. I like lumps of fruit in my jam, so I only mashed mine slightly.

Mix the sugar and pectin together, then add to the mashed kiwis, along with the lime juice. Mix well and then bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally to stop the sugar from burning. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Take the plate from the freezer and drop a small amount of jam onto it. Leave for a few seconds and then push the jam with your finger- if it wrinkles, then it is ready. If it is still quite runny, cook for a few more minutes before trying again.

Take the jars out of the oven and drain the water from the lids. Put the lids onto a clean tea towel.

Skim any froth from the top of the jam, and carefully fill the jars. Put the lids on tightly and set aside to cool.

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Seasonal Fodder, Sweet Fodder, Uncategorized, WinterTags: Food, Food blog, Food styling, Jam, Kiwi, recipe 1 Comment

Savoury Fodder : Goat Curry

Friday is also known as Fat Day Friday at chez Sloan. Traditionally we have a big fat greasy takeaway – it doesn’t require any effort to cook and leaves minimal washing up. However Friday is a day off for me at the moment, so I’ve been using the time to make our meals for Fat Day Friday instead. We don’t eat a lot of meat (if any) mid-week, so Fat Day Friday is our chance to indulge.

Our local Yorkshire Farmers Meat Company in Harrogate, have been advertising their goat products for a while now; their Moroccan goat and apricot sausages and chilli-garlic goat burgers have featured on the Fat Day Friday menu on more than one occasion. I had never cooked with goat before but I’m becoming quite the convert – particularly after finding out more about goat:

• Goat is eaten by 70% of the world’s population, but is not considered a staple meat in the UK.
• The goat products sold at Yorkshire Farmers is farmed fairly locally, 14 miles from Harrogate, on the outskirts of Ripley.
• It is an ethical source of meat – the meat is from male goats, which would previously have been slaughtered at birth (because they would be no use for dairy producers).
• It produces the same cuts of meat as lamb, tastes very similar but is much leaner.

So last week I decided to try out some diced goat meat in a curry and the flavour was incredible. If you haven’t tried goat before, I would highly recommend it. It does require long, slow cooking with it being so lean…but it’s definitely worth the wait, I promise! The recipe below will serve four hungry caterpillars, or more if you’re a host of sparrows.

GOAT CURRY INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp coconut oil

2 medium brown onions

6 cloves of garlic

3 cm piece of fresh root ginger

1 tsp table salt

2 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp madras curry powder

Small handful of green finger chillies (or less if you prefer a milder curry)

500g carton of passata

1 lb (500g) diced goat meat

1 large sweet potato (or any other vegetable you have handy)

GOAT CURRY METHOD

Roughly chop the onions and place into a food processor or blender with the garlic, ginger, salt and 1 cup of water. Whizz until smooth.

Place into a large saucepan along with the passata and begin to heat it while you slice the green chillies lengthways. Add the chillies to the pan.

When the sauce has reached a simmer, add the coconut oil and ground spices. Continue to cook on a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn or stick to the base of the pan.

Add the goat meat and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes until the meat is browned on all sides.

Turn the heat down to low and place the lid on the pan. Leave to cook for 2 and a half hours.

Peel and dice the sweet potato into similar sized chunks as the goat. Add to the curry for the last half hour of cooking.

Sprinkle with some freshly chopped coriander and serve with roti, naan or rice.

February 13, 2016February 13, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Food and the Family Sloan, Savoury Fodder, UncategorizedTags: Curry, Food blog, Food styling, foodblog, Goat, recipe, Yorkshire Leave a comment

Show Stopping Fodder : Top Tips for Sloan Scones

It would be rude to have a blog that features ‘scones’ alongside my name and not actually blog about scones. I had planned for scones to feature as one of my first posts, but I got slightly sidetracked with all of the other interesting recipes that I had been trying out!

There’s a slight technically, in that this post doesn’t actually include a scone recipe. Instead I am sharing some of my top tips to help achieve success when scone making. However, if you want to put them into practice, the recipe for the Wensleydale and red onion marmalade scones (as shown  in the picture above) can be found on my guest post for Mumbler and BBC Good Food Show Spring here (They are delicious if I do say so myself).

TIP #1 – Cube the fat

Scones have a relatively low fat content in comparison to other recipes using the rubbing in technique, but cutting the fat into smaller cubes will still make it easier to rub in. It can be quite difficult to cut up fats, especially margarines, without them melting – if you put the fat straight in with the flour and use a table knife to cut it up within the bowl, you avoid the fat melting into your hands!

TIP #2 – Use your fingertips

It’s all about making sure that the fat doesn’t melt; the fingertips are the coolest part of your hands. If you have abnormally warm fingertips, try running your hands under a cold tap for a bit. It goes without saying that hands should be thoroughly washed before starting any cookery, particularly before dipping them into a bowl full of ingredients!

TIP #3 – Use a large bowl

Again, it’s all about preventing the fat from melting. Using a larger bowl allows you the space to lift the flour as you rub in the fat. The rubbing in should happen ‘in the air’ (about the height of the bowl) as opposed to keeping your fingers low inside the bowl. The ingredients stay cool and it helps to aerate it too.

TIP #4 – Slowly, slowly

This one is common sense really; add the liquid a little at a time. ‘Cut’ it in, then add a bit more. It’s much easier to add more liquid to a dry mixture than to fix a dough that has become too wet and sticky!

TIP #5 – ‘Cut’ it 

I use a palette knife to ‘cut’ liquid in – this brings the dough together whilst keeping the gluten strands nice and short. Mixing or kneading will develop the gluten, resulting in a chewy, more bread like scone.

Tip #6 – Be gentle and thumb it 

Once you’ve got a nice soft dough, gently bring it together. Don’t over handle the dough, it is not a toy. Place onto a lightly floured surface and with your hands press (gently, gently) to flatten it out evenly. There should not be a rolling pin in sight! The dough should be as thick as the distance from the tip of your thumb to the first knuckle – about 2.5cm/1inch.

Tip # 7 – Don’t twist or drag

The sign of a successful scone is one with a good rise and a tell-tale ‘split’ in the centre. If you twist your cutter or drag your knife, you will seal the sides of the scone and prevent it from getting the 3, 2, 1, lift off. Just press down, then lift up – simple as.

TIP #8 – Make the first cut

Your first cuts, will be the best cuts so get as many scones cut out of your first roll-out pat-down as possible. The second lot will be edible, but they won’t look the part!

So those are my most important top tips! Happy scone making! I’ll be back with some more scone variations soon!

Do you have any top tips for super scones?

February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: BBC Good Food Show Spring, Mrs Sloan Queen of Scones, UncategorizedTags: Food, Food blog, recipe, Scones, top tips Leave a comment

Show Stopping Fodder : BBC Good Food Show Spring 2016

Exciting news! The BBC Good Food Show Spring is returning to Harrogate International Centre for the third year running this April 8-10! Equally exciting news; as part of the Blogging Community and guest blogger for Harrogate Mumbler, I get to share some of the amazing products and events that will be at the 2016 show with you!

I for one can’t wait to trawl the stalls of over 100 speciality and artisan producers, especially when I  can try before I buy. I’m a sucker for for food samples – like a moth to a flame every time!

For more information about the Show read my post for Mumbler here or visit www.bbcgoodfoodshowspring

Tickets for BBC Good Food Show Spring are on sale now and start at £13.50.

Book your tickets now and save *20% off the ticket price using the code BL20 (*see t&cs below)

*20% off Adult/Over 65s tickets only. Not valid on VIP or with any other offer. Ends 10/04/16. Standard Supertheatre seat included with Super tickets, subject to availability, Gold seat upgrade £3. Offer valid on Value tickets where available. Details correct at time of print. £1.50 fulfilment fee per advance order. Good Food® Good Food Logo © BBC Worldwide. Organised and presented by River Street Events.

The BBC Good Food Shows are organised and presented by River Street Events Ltd
The GoodFood word mark and logo are trademarks of BBC Worldwide Limited. Copyright 2015 BBC Worldwide Limited.

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: BBC Good Food Show Spring, Mrs Sloan Queen of Scones, Seasonal Fodder, Spring, UncategorizedTags: BBC Good Food Show Spring 2016, BBCGOODFOODSHOWSPRING, Food, Food blog, Spring 1 Comment

Healthy Fodder : Secret Sauce for Pasta and Pizza

A friend of mine told me about a time when she had a few extra children over for tea and thought that pasta would be the simple solution to feeding them all. How wrong she was. Only one child wanted the pasta sauce, one wanted no sauce but just cheese sprinkled on, another wanted the pasta plain and I think the other wanted ketchup over it.

It seems we parents bend over backwards to cater for our children, just so we are content that they have eaten SOMETHING. We’ve all found ourselves in the position where we are making up slices of toast because the dinner that took you hours to make has been refused, or uttering the ultimate bribe, “just two more spoonfuls and then you can have the sweets for pudding”.

But when cases of childhood obesity, rickets and scurvy are on the rise, can we really afford to be advocating such unhealthy eating habits? Whilst our Big Mini Sloan (7) will try any food if you tell him it has a specific health benefit, our Little Mini Sloan (5) refuses any recognisable vegetable unless it is a carrot and has been cut into rounds.

Experience has taught me that children’s tastes change all the time, so encourage them to try foods that they may not have ‘liked’ previously and make sure that they are introduced to a broad range of foods early on.

Talking to them about the food helps too; children love facts and stories and it will raise their interest in the food. After years of point blank refusal, Little Mini Sloan tried corn on the cob at the weekend (and enjoyed it) after hearing that his older brother used to eat it all the time as a toddler.

If all else fails, blend or grate vegetables into the foods that they will eat – pasta sauces are exceptionally good for this.

The recipe below is for a ‘tomato’ sauce that can be used for pasta or pizza. I used it for some homemade cheesy pizzas when the Mini Sloans had friends for tea this week (they all loved it) and then added a spoonful of dried chilli flakes for the grown up pizzas.

INGREDIENTS

1 carton passata

1 tbsp tomato purée

1/2 courgette, roughly chopped (about 4oz/ 100g)

1 medium pre-cooked beetroot, roughly chopped (about 2.5oz/ 60g)

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp linseeds

1 tbsp chia seeds

2 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp dried basil (or use fresh)

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor or smoothie machine and blend until smooth! It’s as simple as that!

This is enough to cover four pizza bases, with some left to stir into pasta (for 2) for tea the following day.

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Food and the Family Sloan, Healthy Fodder, Savoury Fodder, UncategorizedTags: Beetroot, Chia, Food, Food blog, Food styling, Healthy, Healthy eating, linseed, Pasta sauce, recipe, Tomato Leave a comment

Savoury Fodder : Speedy Chickpea and Spinach Curry

“Where are you from?”

Probably the most commonly posed question when people first meet me. “Harrogate” is my stock response, even though I know that’s not what they mean.

“Oh! I meant what country are you from?”

What they really mean is, “You have brown skin and I can’t figure out what your ethnic background is.”

I allow them to squirm in their pit of political correctness for a bit before I put them out of their misery. I have a mixed ethnic heritage; English and Pakistani.

Roll on phase two of questioning.

“Ooh! What curries do you make!? I love *insert favourite curry type here*. Can you make that?”

This is the point where I become unstuck. A curry was just a curry in our house, it didn’t have any of the million different names you see on a curry house menu. We made the gravy sauce, or the ‘slush’ as it was otherwise known at home, measuring ingredients by eye and allowing what felt like half a day for the onions to soften and flavours to infuse. It was always the same, except for the choice of vegetables or meat used.

The truth is that I don’t make curries often enough, especially not often enough for Mr Sloan. He often jokes that he only married me for a fresh supply of curry…or at least I hope he is joking!

This curry recipe is quite different to the traditional family one; I’ve had to trial it a few times to get it to a point where I am happy to share it. It’s SO quick to make, and can easily be conjured up after a busy day at work. The fresh ginger and garlic could easily be substituted with a quarter teaspoon measure of ground powder or  use pre-chopped versions from a jar or the freezer to save on time. Omit the chillies if you can’t handle the heat, or use half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes if you don’t have any fresh.

I decided to format this recipe slightly differently, so that the ingredient quantities are listed as part of the method. Hopefully this will make it easier to refer back to during cooking, and avoid the endless scrolling up and down the page on your device!

METHOD : SERVES TWO

Put 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan, adding 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp curry powder, and a pinch of salt. Stir to mix and cook on a medium heat while you peel 2 cloves garlic and 2cm cube fresh ginger, and slice 2 green chillies lengthways. Add the chillies to the pan and grate in the garlic and ginger.

Add 500g carton passata, 240g tinned chickpeas (drained weight), and 5 chunks of frozen spinach. Stir well and bring to a near boil- reduce to a simmer*. Cook until the spinach is no longer frozen. SERVE!

*While the curry is on simmer, use this time warm through your side dish (pitta, naan, micro-rice), set the table, pour drinks, or what-have-you.

January 22, 2016January 22, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Food and the Family Sloan, Healthy Fodder, Savoury Fodder, UncategorizedTags: chickpeas, Curry, Food, Food blog, Healthy, recipe, spinach Leave a comment

Healthy Fodder : Avocado and Mango Breakfast Smoothie

Every man, woman and their dog, cat, gerbil and goldfish will be having smoothies as part of their New Year health kick. And why not? It is a simple and quick way to pack in a mix of fruit and vegetables after all.

Smoothies made solely with fruit and fruit juices don’t offer much in the way of satiety and don’t offer the protein that I am looking for in a breakfast. The milk, porridge oats and chia seeds in this smoothie not only boost the protein, but give a sense of fullness too, which means I won’t be on the hunt for the next snack immediately after having it!

The smoothie is quite thick in consistency, and has a distinct ‘breakfast’ taste. I had a whole portion to myself, but it took me a while to get through – so the quantities below could quite easily serve 2 if you were having something else for breakfast, or even as a post-workout snack.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups semi skimmed milk     (or milk of choice)

1 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 avocado, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup porridge oats

1 tsp chia seeds

3 dates, roughly chopped

squeeze of fresh lime juice

METHOD

Place all of the ingredients into a blender or smoothie maker and whizz until smooth.

Pour and serve immediately.

January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Healthy Fodder, UncategorizedTags: avocado, Food, Food blog, Food styling, Healthy, Mango, recipe, Smoothie 2 Comments

Healthy Fodder : Chia and Sunflower Breakfast Pudding

I think Santas Elves must have been short of work this Christmas because they’ve been sneaking into my wardrobe and sewing my seams closer together.

Age old story isn’t it – we eat and eat until we are fit to burst for days (or weeks) on end over the festive period, finding that all we get for Christmas, is fat. It’s an additional unwanted gift that everyone wants to return come January.

The trouble is, I really love food and could not realistically survive on a fad diet of only eating  food that begins with the letter P, or cutting out entire food groups. I would fail miserably and be reaching for a chocolate bar within a few weeks days hours. However, I do find that if I have started my day off well, with a protein rich  breakfast, I am more inclined to continue with healthier options throughout the day.

Early starts mean I don’t often feel like eating immediately, nor do I have the time to whip up a grand portion of scrambled eggs. I’m more likely to grab a croissant on the go, which is not ideal when aiming to eat for nutrition and weight loss. This chia pudding is quite perfect in that it can quickly be prepared the night before so that it is ready for you in the morning. And if you are like me and can’t eat too soon after rising, it can be prepared straight into a jam jar and taken with you to eat when you get to work! How is that for a breakfast on the go!?

There are lots of variations of chia pudding about, all that seem to use non-dairy milk. I use cows milk as that is what I am most likely to have in the fridge, but use whatever works best for you. This recipe serves 2, or half a portion can be kept for the following day.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup semi-skimmed milk   (or milk of choice)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup natural yoghurt

6 dried dates

METHOD

Chop the dates into quarters, and place in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Mix together the ingredients, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Go to bed. Sleep. Wake up.

Divide into two bowls and serve as it is, or slightly warmed through if you prefer. If you are REALLY hungry, scoff the lot yourself and save on washing up.

If I have time, I top mine with fruit too!

DID YOU KNOW?

For such a tiny seed, you get a lot in terms of nutrition from chia; it is high in fibre, protein, omega 3, calcium, magnesium, manganese and phosphorous.

January 8, 2016January 8, 2016 by mrssloanqueenofscones Categories: Healthy Fodder, Mrs Sloan Queen of Scones, UncategorizedTags: breakfast, Chia, chia pudding, Food, Food blog, Food styling, Healthy eating, recipe, Sunflower seeds 6 Comments