Chestnuts roasting by an open fire!

Having tasted my first chestnut some 30 years ago I broke out in a rash and thought I must be allergic. It turned out to be an allergy to elastoplast thankfully! It would be such a shame to miss out on this seasonal produce. It's very rare to see the street vendors with their glowing braziers offering a brown paper bag stuffed with the sweet hot nuts nowadays but, if you do want to see them, now is the time.

Chestnuts are extremely versatile as they can be used in savoury dishes such as soups and stuffings to add flavour and texture. They are a popular addition to Christmas Day Brussels Sprouts.

Much as we would all like to sit beside an open fire roasting our own chestnuts, they do have to be peeled (shell and inner skin) once cooled. However, an easier alternative is to use Merchant Gourmet packets which are already cooked and peeled for convenience. The added bonus is that they can be used all year round.

Alternatively, chestnuts can be boiled in sugar and water then dried in the oven and used as a topping on cakes (marrons glace) or made into a puree (creme de marrons). However, for your convenience, this can also be purchased in a can or jar. 

Having had recent success with Nigella's coffee ice cream I am aiming to make the No-churn chestnut ice cream from her Nigellissima book - seasonal, easy peasy and scrummy - that's my kind of Christmas!

And so, I'm offering this

Simple phrase to kids from

One to ninety-two

Altho' it's been said many times

Many ways

"Merry Christmas to you"

Advent(ures)!

Today is Advent Sunday (as well as Stir-up-Sunday - read last year's blog!) Advent is the Sunday closest to St. Andrews Day (tomorrow this year) and marks the start of the Christmas Season in the UK. Yay! I love all things Christmas and am already feeling the buzz!

Advent is a little like Lent and some people fast or give up certain foods. Orthodox Christians often don't eat meat and dairy during Advent and on certain days also forego wine and fish, therefore practically vegan!

To count the days in Advent we use calendars (the chocolate ones being my favourite) or candles to mark the four Sundays leading to Christmas. Any child of the 1970s will remember the Blue Peter Advent Crown where the mix of wire coat hangers, tinsel and lit candles was surely a fire hazard to any child attempting to make one.

There are also Advent Songs sung in Churches and Schools, the most famous probably being Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel. This should not be confused with Emmanuelle, the rather rude film I accidentally watched in 1979 with a friend at the cinema. Yes really! It was in the days when you got to see two films for the price of one. The film "10" with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore had just come out and we planned to see it. The extra film was Emmanuelle and, eager to get our money's worth and believing it to be a scarey film, we trotted off to see them. Unfortunately Emmanuelle was shown first and we slid down in our seats and concentrated on our sweets and chocolates, not daring to get up and go out for fear of being seen in the rather sparsely populated cinema! Indeed it proved to be a scarey film for two innocent teenage girls and was an endurance test with the prize being the film of the moment, 10.

Giving thanks!

Thanksgiving Day in the USA is the 4th Thursday in November and therefore falls this Thursday November 26th. Rather like our Christmas Day, it is traditionally a family and friends occasion including sharing a special meal. Whilst the pilgrims would have eaten whatever they could lay their hands on, nowadays the fare consists mainly of turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, buttery mashed potato and vegetables. Pudding is pumpkin or apple pie.

Vegetarians may eat tofurkey! This is a a meat substitute of vegetarian protein made from tofu (soybean protein) or seitan (wheat protein) and the stuffing within is made from grains or breadcrumbs bound with a herby gravy. Personally, this does not appeal to me at all but for those who don't eat meat for ethical reasons, it may well be a good substitute.

The Pilgrims probably did eat turkey, along with other fowl and seafood. They would also have had some vegetables, including pumpkin, nuts and fruit including cranberries. Although they would not have understood at the time, the cranberries would have given them necessary vitamin C.

Fresh cranberries are now in season and can be simmered in water, fruit juice or wine with added sugar and spices to make cranberry sauce. I actually have a fridge full of the stuff left over from the breaded camemberts I buy as my go-to meat substitute when the rest of the family are having meat and vegetables.

Cranberries can also be used in muffins, cakes, apple pies and trifles. Another tip is to add a spoonful to gravy, whether it's a meat or vegetarian stock.

Another benefit to these little ruby red gems is that they are a superfood, being one of the richest sources of health promoting antioxidants; although you would need to eat a substantial number of raw cranberries to get the very best out of them!

Teething Trouble!

Today I ate my first Christmas treat; a Maltesers Merryteaser Mini Reindeer (suitable for vegetarians). Well, I'm now going to suggest renaming them Maltesers Notsomerryteethbreaker Mini Reindeer (suitable for vegetatians but unsuitable for anyone wishing to hang on to their precious gnashers). I am pounding away on this keyboard in a state of teary-eyed fury. 

As you know, I am a chocolate lover, 'though Mars products would not be top of my wish list; me being more of a Cadburys kind of girl. However, chocolate is chocolate and Christmas is coming so I succumbed to one of the little blighters, only to get a piece of honeycomb stuck between my two front teeth leaving me (feeling like Nanny McPhee) with a chipped tooth. A moment on the lips, a lifetime with a chip! Hopefully not, as I shall have my Dentist on speed-dial in the morning with a view to repairing it. The outcome will, no doubt, be more dear than deer!

My family have, with some sympathy, had their fun out of my plight. Yes, I may be able to whistle now. Yes, I should mind the gap. Yes, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. 

On that note, please wish me good luck at the dentist and then I can wish you Merry Chrithmath!

Remember Remember!

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot.

And so we have had Bonfire Night with its warming soup, jacket potatoes and stuffed peppers followed by comforting parkin and sticky toffee apples eaten outside by the amber glow of the fire amongst the gunpowder aromas of the fireworks.

This has been followed by another kind of remembering; that of Remembrance Sunday when the whole nation remembers and honours those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom. This day is also known as Poppy Day.

Last year ceramic poppies were planted at the Tower of London to mark one hundred years since the start of Britain's involvement in World War I and each one marked the life of a soldier lost during that time. 

This year, here in Yorkshire, at the Sculpture Park, part of that installation, Wave, can be seen.

Although poppies are known for being toxic with their alkaloids used to manufacture opium and morphine, their seeds are in fact edible and a good substitute for nuts.

In the West we use them mainly scattered on baked items such as breads, bagels and pretzels but they can also be used in baking such as poppy cake, strudels and Danish pastries. In the East they are used in chappatis but can be added to mixed spice and used in some curries as a thickener and to add texture. The whole seeds are used in chutneys. Poppy syrup and poppy oil can also be made. 

Trick or Tr(eat)!

When I was younger pumpkins were associated with two things; Halloween and Cinderella. Now Cinderella based stories have been told in folklore for many years in many cultures but the version we know was written in 1697 and brought in the glass slipper, fairy godmother and the magical pumpkin to carriage scenario.

Pumpkins originate in North America and were the foodstuff pilgrims lived off during the 1600s to see them through the winter months.

Halloween has its origins in Celtic Ireland with the festival of Samhain (meaning end of summer) when autumn signified death and it was thought that spirits wandered the earth in search of a soul to inhabit. The Celts would dress as goulish creatures so the spirits would think they were one of them and leave them alone. Turnips would be hollowed out and candles placed inside to ward off evil spirits and warm good spirits to bring good luck into the household.  During the 19th century Irish immigrants brought their stories with them to America and celebrated Halloween (meaning All Hallows' Eve which was the day before All Saints Day on November 1st.) Pumpkins were then carved and lit rather than turnips. The Americans turned it into a holiday for communities with the emphasis on fun and games rather than pranks and witchcraft. During the 20th century it became more popular with trick or treating and pumpkin carving and has become the 2nd largest commercial holiday in the USA.

Whilst pumpkins are good for carving and illuminating, their flesh can make a tasty meal. They can be steamed, boiled and roasted, baked into muffins, fried in fritters and tempura and bashed into mash.

They make delicious soup, curries, bruschetta, galettes and, of course, Pumpkin Pie (best made using the green kabochahas variety with its vibrant orange flesh). The seeds can be scooped out, rinsed, dried, seasoned, drizzled with oil and roasted for 10 mins before cooling and storing for use in soups, salads and as a healthy snack.

This week I have embraced all things pumpkin (and squash and gourd). At Jamie's Italian I feasted on roast squash bruschetta and pumpkin ravioli, in Starbucks I enjoyed a comforting mug of pumpkin spice latte and at home I roasted squash with red onions, pine nuts and sage before adding tiny cubes of salty gorgonzola. All delicious and a warm welcome to winter.

Size Matters!

As we bid farewell to summer and enjoy the extra hour in bed it's time to ditch salads, picnics and Pimms in favour of warming hearty food and drinks. That said, we should not be tempted to hide our bulging waistlines under chunky jumpers but continue to eat sensibly so that the odd Hot Chocolate with extra whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles is a treat rather than a regular occurance.

Yesterday I ate at Jamie's Italian where the "sugar tax" has been running since June this year. This is Jamie's latest campaign in the fight against obesity (particularly aimed at children and teenagers) where a 10p surcharge is added to the price of sugary drinks. He has begun on home ground with his own restaurants but is wanting the Government to implement it on a nationwide scale. Bravo Jamie I say.

If I were in power I would change things back to the way they were when I was growing up. I believe it's all about portion size! Whilst generally I love all things American, it seems we have taken on some of their bad habits.

Since when did we ditch our buns for muffins? Our biscuits for cookies?

Not only is the food larger, but the glassware and crockery seems to have grown too. I have been married for just over 30 years and still have some of our original items. The photos below tell their own story. Thirty years ago my wine glass was (well,) tiny. I drank tea from a cup and saucer rather than a mug. My dinner plate seemed full with a decent size portion but now I eat from a larger plate with more room for more food! My dessert/soup/cereal bowl was about half the size it is now. All this space gets filled with more food and more drink so therefore I am consuming more. 

So come on Jamie, let's you and I bring out our own range of small, delicate crockery and make the world a better place!