In some parts of the world it is still illegal to smother a cabbage, but thankfully not in Italy where this recipe originates.
October 2011
In Search of…the Perfect Pasta Sauce No 6
Porcini Mushroom (with Tomato) Sauce This was less of a search for the perfect pasta sauce, and more because we had an empty fridge and needed to knock up something tasty from what is commonly known as ‘store cupboard standbys’. What do you mean you don’t always have porcini mushrooms in the house? Hand in your John Lewis Store Card …
Foraging (an introduction)
A few Saturdays back one of us (me) joined the Incredible Edible Foraging Walk which took place in and around the IE Market Garden Training Centre just down the road at Walsden. Contrary to naive expectations I didn’t skip home through the woods afterwards with a trug filled with wild garlic and exotic fungi, however I did more importantly get …
A Taste of Yorkshire: Jam Round
The woman at the market who sold us our Jam Round informed us that it is sometimes also referred to as a Brighton Tart. Asking the obvious question as to why this traditional local treat is named after an East Sussex town caused much debate among the staff which, even after one had tweeted her friends, came up blank. Further …
Cream of celery soup
Now I know I don’t need to remind you dear reader, that when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calender in 1582 he decreed that the third Sunday of October would herald the beginning of Soup Season (Source: Wikipedia). Obviously in these most modern of times we are much more relaxed about such things and tend to live and eat …
In praise of … Hedgerow Foods
A few Sundays back (BT*) we travelled out east to Walthamstow where we came upon Belinda and her lovely stall of tasties. Once upon a time Belinda was ‘Gavin’s sister Belinda who’s in a band and is an Arsenal fan’. Now she’s Belinda who makes lovely jams and chutneys and cordial too. Special mention also to her father John who …
Observer Food Monthly Awards 2011
Yumblog has won ‘Best Food Blog‘ for an unprecedented tenth year in a row! (Surely some mistake – Ed) So thank you to the thousands of kind and generous readers who voted for us in this year’s Observer Food Monthly Awards. Thanks also to OFM’s panel of judges who singled us out for our extraordinary talent, enthusiasm and vision … …
A Taste of Yorkshire: (Fatty) Dab
Waiting in the Tudor Chippy for the haddock component of our chippy tea to be cooked, I noticed ‘Dab – 30p’ chalked up on the menu board. Enquiring on your behalf, dear reader, I was told it was a lump of mashed potato deep fried in batter. Before I had time to ask for one to be added to my …
In Search of…the Perfect Pasta Sauce No 5
Aubergine Sauce (with tomato and chilli) Well this is as close to perfection as you are likely to get in this increasingly imperfect world. As with all the other sauces in this occasional series, I turned to the ever reliable Marcella Hazan for inspiration and guidance, and once again she delivered the goods with this simple (slightly faffy) delicious recipe.
Grumbeerekiechle au Chevre Chaud…
…or potato pancakes with toasted goat’s cheese. Or indeed rosti with toasted goat’s cheese. But another Alsatian dish anyway.
A Taste of Yorkshire: Fat Rascal
A Fat Rascal is essentially a flat dry fruit scone/Garibaldi biscuit hybrid which, after a disappointing tasting, was fed to the ducks.
A Taste of Yorkshire: Yorkshire Curd Tart
This is another traditional regional delicacy which ended up being a teatime treat for a appreciative family of local ducks. Unlike us, they didn’t seem to mind it being a dry and heavy approximation of cheesecake.
The Great British Bake Off, Mary Berry and Fake Cream
A belated congratulations to Joanne for deservedly winning the final of this years TGBBO and commiserations to Mary-Anne for being such a gracious loser. We would have been happy if either had won, so long as it wasn’t Yummy Mummy Holly (Ooh look, I seem to have already got a book deal!), with whom we took an instant dislike which, …
Ragout of lentils with smoked haddock and horseradish cream
Our recent move to dwellings considerably larger (and colder and damper) than our old lair at Yumblog Towers has meant our cookbooks can now be displayed in a more prominent position and as a result this long forgotten book on Alsatian cookery … I’ll pause for a moment while you insert your own dog joke.… book on Alsatian cookery was …
A Taste of Yorkshire: Sad Cake
Regular readers may be surprised to hear this but neither of us are trained psychologists and so wouldn’t presume to make a judgement on the mental disposition of this particular baked treat, melancholic or otherwise. However we do feel (humbly) that we are qualified to make an impartial assessment of its overall cakiness and, similar to the Barm Cake below …
A Taste of Yorkshire: Barm Cake
Hello again dear reader and sorry for the brief interruption in transmission but the logistics of relocating the entire Yumblog Corporate Empire Inc. from fashionable East London to its new HQ in the even more fashionable outskirts of Media City, plus the switch over from analogue to digital (can you see the difference in quality?), has meant that only now …