House Beautiful Magazine - my web feature

Some of you may have noticed that I was featured recently in House Beautiful magazine's November 2011 edition. I was chosen as one of the three finalists for the Grow It Cook It competition and as a runner up won £2,500 of Neff appliances. 


There is now a feature online about myself and the other runner up Emma Parkes-McQueen. 




To see the feature follow this link - http://www.allaboutyou.com/housebeautiful/housebeautiful-events/House-Beautiful-Grow-it-Cook-it-winners?click=main_sr




The transcript of the article is as follows: 

Meet House Beautiful’s Grow It! Cook It! winners

Discover what inspires them to grow and cook their own food

In this month’s issue there’s a chance to meet Wendy Brazener, winner of House Beautiful’s Grow It! Cook It! cook-off in association with Neff, and try her winning recipe. Now here’s your chance to find out more about our two runners-up, Rosemary and Emma (far left)...

Rosemary’s in charge

Customer service advisor Rosemary Rolls, 23 from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, lives at home with her parents Pamela and Steven and 18-year-old brother Timothy. The Rolls family share an allotment and enjoy eating the fresh produce – Rosemary’s Cheese and Beetroot Pie won plenty of plaudits from the judges and was made with five types of beetroot grown on the allotment.

‘When we first took on the allotment two years ago it was a wasteland,’ says Rosemary. ‘We cleared sacks of broken glass and old bits of brick, we even found a bike buried under the weeds. It took a lot of work to turn the land over to growing vegetables but it was extremely satisfying. In the first year we grew spinach, chard and plenty of root crops and since then I’ve been hooked. ‘The allotment is definitely a family affair, but I’m chief organiser as I love to plan the growing seasons and get the seeds started off in the greenhouse at home. Mum describes me as the ‘Garden Foreman,’ while the rest of the family are the workers.

‘I try and get to the allotment once or twice a week, but love to spend a whole day down there. Over the past year we’ve enjoyed a bumper harvest of runner and dwarf French beans and marrows. It’s just as well my Nan likes them!

‘I like to try new things too, and this year I’ve planted Asparagus Peas. Apparently you just lightly steam them and they're delicious, so I can’t wait to try those.’

Emma’s family favourite

Company owner Emma Parkes-McQueen, 35, lives in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, with her husband Simon McQueen, 39, and their two kids Scarlet, six, and Frederick, two. She’s had an allotment for four years and loves the rewards growing her own can bring. Her Butternut Squash Curry is a family favourite.

‘When I was growing up my parents were self sufficient, so the garden was always full of produce and chickens running around. I had a tiny plot of my own, and have enjoyed it ever since. Even living in flats I’d always have a pepper plant or tomatoes on the windowsill.

‘Now I have to juggle work and kids I don’t have much time to dedicate to the allotment, but I love to take the family down and spend a few hours digging and planting. I used to play lots of sport, but now the allotment is my gym, with the added bonus of fresh vegetables.

‘We’re so used to buying perfect specimens, I think people forget what real fruit and vegetables look like and turn their noses up at nobly potatoes and spotty apples. For me fresh ingredients are just as important as a great recipe so I love experimenting in the kitchen with whatever’s in season.

‘Scarlet now has her own little plot and some of her school friends' parents have allotments so they all play together. Showing them how plants grow and where food comes from has been really rewarding.’

Rosemary and Emma – what the judges said

Simon Boyle, Restaurateur
‘Often with this type of competition there’s one clear winner, but it wasn’t that easy this time. The level of skill on display was exceptionally high and it was impressive to see so much home grown produce being used. Rosemary’s pastry was perfect, Emma’s curry had just the right amount of spice and the winning tiramisu had an amazing elderflower syrup Wendy made herself.’

Lynn Williams, Senior Home Economist for Neff
‘Rosemary's beetroot pie was a very interesting vegetarian idea and despite cooking with electricity for the first time it was a good effort. I did feel a little glaze on the pastry would have enhanced it but was impressed by her combination use of fats which gave good flavour and texture to the pastry. Emma's Butternut squash curry was delicious and attractively served, and she worked really well and was comfortable in her kitchen. She even brought her own music along.’

Jeni Wright, House Beautiful’s food writer
'Whittling down the entrants to three finalists was difficult, but nowhere near as difficult as choosing between Wendy, Rosemary and Emma. All three used their own homegrown ingredients to best effect, and I was bowled over by their confidence and expertise when it came to the cooking – no mean feat with the judges watching their every move.'

National Baking Week Day Six: Sesame Biscuits

These light biscuits make a great alternative to digestives or rich teas. They store well and this recipe makes a generous amount of small cookies.

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1/8tsp salt

125g butter

100g granulated sugar

4tbsp water, more as needed

250g sesame seeds

Method:

-      Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy.

-      Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

-      Mix the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Add enough water to make a smooth dough.

-      Shape into a dough ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

-      Shape the dough into balls the size of walnuts.

-      Put the sesame seeds into a small bowl and roll each ball of dough in it, make sure the seeds cover all sides of the ball.

-     Transfer to a greased baking sheet, spacing them 2inches/5cm apart. Flatten the biscuits slightly.

-      Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown at Gas Mark4/350oF/180oC. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through for even baking. Let to cool completely.

National Baking Week Day Five: Chocolate Mint Cookies

These rich minty flavoured cookies have a sweet soft centre and are filled with delicious chocolate pieces. I think these are possibly my favourite cookies so far this week!

Ingredients:

175g/6oz plain flour

1tsp baking powder

3 dessert spoons unsweetened cocoa powder

75g/3oz soft light brown sugar

50g/2oz granulated sugar

120g/4oz butter or butter like spread

2 tbsp milk

1tsp peppermint essence

50g/2oz plain chocolate, cut into chunks

Method:

-     In a bowl beat together the sugars and butter until light.

-     Next beat in the milk and peppermint essence until thoroughly blended.

-     Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into the bowl, add the chocolate chunks and mix well until combined.

-     Divide mixture into 18 large walnut sized balls. Place on greased baking sheets about 1 ½ inches apart and flatten slightly.

-     Bake 15-20 minutes at Gas Mark 4/350oF/175oC.

-     After removing from oven leave to cool on the trays for approximately 5 minutes, then remove with metal spatula onto a cooling rack.

National Baking Week Day Four: Cardamom, Pecan & Almond Biscuits

These crisp, light cookies have a distinct but subtle flavour which smell amazing when they are baking.

Ingredients:

120g/4oz butter or good quality butter like spread (I used Clover)

50g/2oz icing sugar

25g/1oz caster sugar

125g/4oz plain flour

A few drops of vanilla essence

Seeds of 6 cardamom pods, well crushed

30g/1oz almonds and pecans, chopped into small pieces

Method:

-     Put the butter, icing sugar, caster sugar and flour into a mixing bowl and beat together thoroughly.

-     Stir in the vanilla essence, crushed cardamom seeds and chopped nuts until well combined.

-     Using your hands, shape the dough into 14 equal size balls and placed about 2 inches apart on greased or non-stick baking sheets.

-     Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until lightly browned at Gas Mark 4/350oF/175oC.

-     Remove onto a wire rack to cool.

National Baking Week Day Three: Luxurious Cranberry and Double Chocolate Cookies

These simple to prepare cookies are packed with a chewy filling of cranberries and chocolate and their extra chocolate topping make them a rich treat. The only downside is that they disappear from the biscuit tin very quickly!

Ingredients:

225g/8oz butter, softened

200g/7oz caster sugar

200g/7oz light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

250g/9oz plain flour

1 tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

120g/4oz dried cranberries

175g/6oz white chocolate chips or white chocolate chopped

30g/1oz dark chocolate

Method:

-     Beat together butter and sugars until soft and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs. The mixture may look as if it is curdling, but it will be fine when cooked. Sift in flour, salt and baking powder and mix to combine. Add cranberries and white chocolate chips and mix well. Chill the mixture for at least one hour in the refrigerator.

-     Pre-heat oven to 350oF/175oC/Gas Mark 4. Grease two large baking sheets or line with non-stick baking parchment.

-     Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the baking sheets at least 8cm/3 inch apart. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.

-     Leave to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies with the back of a fork. Leave to cool before serving.

National Baking Week Day Two: Oat and Apricot Slices

It's National Baking Week Day Two and time for a slightly healthier option of apricots and oats. These oat slices also work well with the addition of chopped almonds sprinkled on top of the apricot layer before baking. There is a very similar apricot/almond flapjack sold in Marks & Spencer but these are much softer and richer.

Ingredients:

40g/1 ½oz dried apricots

2 tbsp granulated sugar

150ml/5fl oz unsweetened clear apple juice

120g/4oz plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g/7oz rolled oats

50g/2oz light brown sugar

120g/4oz lightly salted butter

Method:

-     Preheat oven to 375oF/190oC/Gas Mark 5. Grease a shallow 28x18cm/11x7 inch baking tin or line with non-stick baking parchment.

-     Chop the apricots into quarters and place in a saucepan with granulated sugar and apple juice.

-     Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the apricots have softened and absorbed nearly all of the apple juice. Leave to cool completely, then place in a blender and process until smooth.

-     Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, oats and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Blend in the butter using fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

-     Press half of the crumbly oat mixture over the base of the baking tin. Spread the apricot puree evenly over the oat mixture, using a thin metal spatula wetted with a little cold water to help ease of spreading. Cover with the remaining oat mixture, pressing the mixture down lightly. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.

-     Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until pale golden. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into approximately 12 equal sized bars. Store in an air tight container.

National Baking Week Day One: Lime Cream Crunch Cookies

It's National Baking Week and it seems like a great excuse to create some sweet treats!

Every day this week I will be posting a 'tried and tested' biscuit, cookie or oatbar recipe. Some of these recipes I bake regularly and some I have been inspired to try this week in honour of baking week.

To get things started here is a fabulous lime cream biscuit recipe which tastes refreshing good....

Ingredients:

120g/4oz lightly salted butter or good quality margarine

120g/4oz granulated sugar

1 tablespoon milk

175g/6oz plain flour

Finely grated rind of 1 lime

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Filling:

75g/3oz unsalted butter, softened

175g/6oz icing sugar, sifted

1tbsp grated rind of 1 lime

2tsp fresh lime juice

Method:

-     Preheat oven to 350oF/175oC/Gas mark 4. Grease two large baking sheets or line with non-stick baking parchment.

-     Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Mix in the milk, flour, lime rind and lime juice.

-     Place 12 equal sized spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets, allowing 8cm/3in all round for spreading. Flatten the mounds of mixture a little using the back of the spoon.

-     Bake the cookies in the oven for around 12-14 minutes, until pale golden. Remove from the oven and immediately flatten any domed biscuits gently with the back of a fork. Leave the biscuits on the trays for approximately 1 minute to firm then transfer using a thin metal spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.

-     To make the filling, in a small bowl beat together to butter and icing sugar until soft and stir in the lime rind and juice for a soft icing. Sandwich the cookies together with the filling.

I'm ready for National Baking Week

National Baking Week starts tomorrow and in celebration of this great campaign to get Britain baking I will be posting a different scrumptious biscuit or cookie recipe every day this week.

Look out tomorrow for my Lime Crunch Creams!

Tip of the Week: Make the most of Freecycle

Most people have now heard of Freecycle groups but how many of us are getting involved? I have found my local Freecycle organisation extremely useful for both gardening, kitchen and miscellaneous items. For example, this year I have kindly received a compost bin, windfall fruit, 1930s china, jam jars and garden netting.

I have also been able to pass on items I no longer need which the fair way of using the system and a great way to recycle. For anyone who is not familiar with Freecycle, you register online with your nearest group and can post a wanted ad or just browse the list of items being offered.

Creamy Butternut Squash & Thyme Flan

This is the first year I have grown butternut squash and I have thoroughly enjoyed creating recipes and trying out different taste combinations. The recipe below is an original recipe and the herby thyme flavour compliments the sweetness of the butternut squash.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

200g plain flour

100g vegetable margarine

½ tsp dried mixed herbs

For the filling:

350g peeled squash, cut into small chunks

2 red onions

4 spring onions

50g cheddar cheese

150ml single cream

Generous tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

Approx 70ml vegetable stock

25g butter

Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Method:

-     In large bowl add flour, margarine and dried mixed herbs

-     Rub fat into flour and add just enough cold water to bring together into soft but not wet dough.  Set aside in cool place.

-     Add butter to large pan, heat gently then add sliced red onions and spring onions, cooking over low heat for 5/10 minutes until beginning to soften

-     Next add squash chunks to the pan with the vegetable stock, cover and cook on low heat until squash is soft. Stir frequently and add a little extra stock, if necessary,to prevent squash from sticking

-     While squash is cooking roll out pastry and fit into 9” flan dish.

-     When squash is soft, remove pan from heat and stir in cream, grated cheese, chopped thyme and seasoning.

-     Spoon into flan dish and cook for approx 25-30 minutes at 200oC/400oF/Gas mark 6.

-     Serve hot with vegetables or is good cold with salad etc.

2011 Growing Season Highlights

As the growing season finishes it is a time for seed collecting, crop clearing and soil improvement. It is also a great time to reflect on the successes and failures of this growing year to help plan for the start of next year’s growing season.

I thought I would share some of the things I have learnt this year, my second year on the allotment. The reason I love growing is that every year is different and you never stop learning.....

-     Instead of using peat pots or newspaper folded pots, toilet rolls work so much better for early indoor sowings of broad beans, runner beans and French climbing beans. Plant the whole toilet roll into the ground after the plants have been hardened off. The toilet roll will decompose in the soil.

-     Keep rhubarb well watered, especially in dry spells during spring. My crop suffered this year through lack of water.

-     You can overwater courgettes and summer squashes! If the fruit becomes squishy and falls to the ground when it is still quite small, then this is a sign of overwatering.  

-     My outdoor cucumber plants were an unexpected cash crop. For my first attempt at growing cucumbers I tried the variety Marketmore 76 purchased at Wilkinsons for £1.30. The plants were grown up pea/bean netting purchased at Poundland. I planted out 12 plants and these provided an on going supply of cucumbers until late September. I have saved a huge amount of money on supermarket bought cucumber. 12 plants were easily enough to feed 5 people and at one point I had so many cucumbers they were made into a soup! Despite the criticism some people give outdoor grown cucumbers I was really happy with the slightly nutty taste of the crop.

-     I grow main season onions around the edges of all my allotment beds. This saves space and I hope also confuses carrot root fly.

-     Using a seaweed extract when planting potato tubers greatly reduces damage from slugs and wireworm. In future I will never plant potatoes without it!

-     It sounds obvious but I have learnt this year that it is essential to harden off plants before planting out. When planting out beans during the hot spell earlier this year I found that even if the weather was great my plants still sustained wind damage because I hadn’t acclimatised them well enough to outdoor conditions.

-     When the summer petered out this year my large tomato crops were very slow to ripen. My cherry tomatoes though have cropped heavily all summer – I am loving the varieties ‘Sungold F1 Hybrid’ (Thompson & Morgan) and ‘Red Cherry Organic’ (Suttons).

The growing year is not over yet though and I’m still harvesting the following crops:

-     Tomatoes – 7lbs of tomatoes just picked in 1 day!

-     Beetroot

-     Parsnip

-     Hamburg parsley (root crop)

-     Kohl rabi

-     Runner beans

-     Cabbage

-     Carrot

-     Spring onion

-     Parsley leaf

-     Lettuce

-     Peppers

-     Butternut Squash

-     Ruby chard

-     Spinach

Despite saving lots of seed and having more than 1 bulging seed tin I couldn’t resist the Thompson & Morgan seed sale! I have stocked up on my favourite beetroot variety Boro F1 Hybrid (great taste and reliable crop) and I’m trying two different tomato varieties which promise to give me supermarket quality fruits – ‘Tigerella’ and ‘Organic Falcorosso F1 Hybrid’.

Bring on 2012!

Coconut Rice, Beans and Sweet Potato

This colourful meal is quick to prepare and really filling. Try adding a mixture of butternut squash and sweet potato for an extra special dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large red onion, sliced
3-4 spring onions
175g/6oz sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
225g/8oz basmati rice
400g/14oz can red kidney beans, drained
1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Seasoning to taste

Method:

-     Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan. Add the red onion and spring onion and gently fry for 4 minutes until softened. Add the sweet potato and cook for 3 minutes until it begins to soften.

-     Stir in the basmati rice with the coconut milk, gently bring to the boil and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the milk.

-     Stir in the kidney beans and heat through for 3 minutes.

-     Stir in the coriander, parsley and seasoning to taste.

-     Serve with naan bread.

Tip of the Week: Making an apple worm heap

I certainly can't take any credit for this week's tip of the week but I couldn't resist passing on this great idea, as featured in Autumn & Winter 2011 edition of The Organic Way - the official magazine produced by Garden Organic.

Continuing with today's apple theme the following method should make a rich, moist compost. It is also a great way to make use of any windfall apples which are too degraded to use in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
A sturdy compost box/bin
Windfall/rotting apples
Autumn leaves, rough/spent compost or old straw

Method:
Add a layer of fruit, two or three deep, to the compost box.
Chop fruit roughly with a spade
Cover with a layer of wet autumn leaves, rough compost or old straw
Repeat until container is full or you run out of apples

Worms will gradually move in to make a moist compost. The process may take a year or two.

P.S. Always remember to leave some windfall apples on the ground for robins & blackbirds etc to enjoy.

Hughenden Manor Apple Day

Wow, what a scorcher! I have returned home from a wonderful day at the Hughenden Manor Apple Fair, sampling some of the 50+ varieties of apples grown on the estate. It was fascinating to learn about how the flavour of these apples changes in storage and how different flavours can be gained by leaving the apples a little longer on the tree. With so many apples to choose from I finally plumped for 2 eating varieties to bring home for my family to try: Rosemary’s Russett and Ellison Orange.

The picture below shows the two varieties of apples I purchased today. The larger apples are Ellison Orange and the smaller apples are the Rosemary's Russett.

Rosemary’s Russett:

I am told that this old variety of apple isn’t a heavy cropper but it certainly has a rich flavour. The apple is lightly russetted meaning it is easy to eat and doesn’t have the bitter skin of other russett apples.

Ellison’s Orange:

I was immediately astonished by the huge size of this eating apple! It is much larger than anything sold in a supermarket and is easily bigger than some bramley apples. The skin is delicate and the flesh is smooth and soft, very sweet but slightly acidic. I understand that this variety of apple is a cross of the Cox’s Orange Pippin.

Another interesting footnote of the day is that I finally have an identification for a wild apple tree I discovered last year in local woodland. I stumbled across this tree whilst looking for chestnuts and was surprised to see apples so late in the season. I am now certain from seeing apple specimens today that the variety is the Ashridge Brownlees Russett. I have learnt that the Brownlees Russett was a popular late variety in the Victorian era but has faded into obscurity. The skin is a little tough but the apple flesh within is crisp and it stores well. Brownlees Russett:

Whilst at the Apple Fair today I also had the opportunity to try something completely different – mulled cider. Whilst not completely to my taste (as someone who prefers a G&T to cider!) I did like the depth of flavour and it’s always fun to try something new. The brewer was using a Schwartz recipe as follows:

1 litre cider

8 cloves

1 cinnamon stick broken in 2

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 orange

Sugar to taste

Method:

Half the orange and stick a few cloves in each half

Pour the cider into saucepan adding all the other ingredients including the orange

Heat until simmering

The spices and sugar can be adjusted to suit your tastes

Overall I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a summery October day. I was also at the Apple Fair in my capacity as a Master Composter/Love Food Hate Waste Advisor and our stall was pleasantly busy. There was a good mix of people who have never composted, those who have already been composting for years and the beginners who could use a little more advice.

The beautiful surroundings at Hughenden Manor.