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Posted Saturday, 19 May 2012  /  Written by The Twig  /  Post a Comment

Voting is open for the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2012 You can win some amazing foodie prizes and even vote for your fave food blog (*cough*)

Posted Thursday, 1 March 2012  /  Written by The Twig  /  Post a Comment

Thanks to everyone who entered our Winter competition to win a signed copy of the 3 Hungry Boys book. We'll make the draw soon and the winner will be announced in our newsletter.

Our Spring season starts today and that means a brand new competition. The prize is a great selection of beers from our friends at the Otter Brewey in Devon. Check out our competition page for more details.

Posted Friday, 20 January 2012  /  Written by The Twig  /  Post a Comment

One of our (and London's) favourite food markets is Borough Market. Sprawling in the empty space under the arches of the London Bridge railway line, Borough was first mentioned in literature in 1276 but claims to have existed since before 1014! It has, of course, moved site and evolved considerably during that time and is now home to some of the country's finest food producers. There's no 'sleb chef worth his (Maldon sea) salt who hasn't filmed a piece at Borough Market and the place has certainly earned its reputation as one of London's premier food destinations. If you're a food fan and live anywhere near Sout East London, you're missing out if you don't get down there on a Saturday morning. Our top tip is to go early to avoid the tourist crowds. After about 10.30am the place is packed with nibbling sightseers rather than serious shoppers so getting your groceries done quickly is nigh-on impossible. Your early start will be rewarded with the pick of the produce and if it's British and seasonal, someone at Borough will be selling it.

If you are stuck for seasonal recipe ideas, Borough has lots of recipes on its website but this month it's your chance to inspire others. The Market is running a recipe competition. Winning recipes will feature on the website and will be created in the weekly live kitchen by resident chef, Hayley Edwards. All you need to do is come up with an original and seasonal recipe. If you reckon you've got one, click here for more details on how to enter.

Posted Saturday, 10 December 2011  /  Written by The Twig  /  Post a Comment

Earlier this year we watched Channel 4's latest recruits, Tim, Thom and Trev, AKA the Three Hungry Boys, foraging, fishing and blagging their way around the Scottish islands (no we're not jealous - the lucky beggars are living our dream and get to be on the telly). It would have been tempting to put together a show which made it look easy - success after success showing us that the good, frugal life is within our grasp. Instead, amongst the successes we witnessed some equally entertaining failures as the boys crunched their way through gritty mussels, miserably munched on shore crabs and (in the penultimate show, before a more triumphant sign-off) struggled to get any sleep in a soggy field shelter, hungry and midge-bitten. With refreshing and rather endearing honesty we were shown that foraging, when your next meal really depends on it, can be a painful experience but that shouldn't stop us from getting out there and at least giving it a go. And so it is with the 3HBs' new book, "How to catch, trap, forage and generally blag your way to survival in the wild."

To avoid disappointment, it is worth saying what this book is not: it isn't a survival guide, or a detailed foraging manual or a cookbook in the true sense. Instead, it straddles all of those things in a glossy scrapbook style with hints, tips, pictures, childhood memories and anecdotes. Divided into sections based on foraging environments: river, rocks, sea, woods etc, the book dips into the essentials of outdoor activities including mushrooming, fly fishing, spearfishing and shooting, as well as ancillary skills like bartering and even a couple of pages on playing the guitar. 

In most parts then, the book is a gentle introduction rather than an in-depth exploration of the topics and so anyone looking for the latter will think it lightweight. For example, Thom's tips on pike fishing amount to a two page spread (including pictures) which won't exactly cut the mustard with experienced anglers who know all too well that things are rarely that simple. Equally, the chefs among you will find the recipes, on the whole, unchallenging. Yet, ultimately, none of this really detracts from the book. What you have in HTCTFAGBYWTSITW (doesn't really work as a snappy acronym does it?) is a truly enjoyable ramble through the British landscape, nibbling at, rather than gorging on, the joys of foraging, fishing and wild eating. It's wholesome Boys Own fun for the 21st Century. With lows as well as highs (Tim's piece on the trauma of catching, killing and eating his first pike rang struck a real chord with the Twig who endured a remarkably similar experience), light-hearted banter and entertaining pictures (many taken by Tim Cresswell himself), the book is a joyful, chatty celebration of the great outdoors.

As the boys' introduction says "ultimately, what we would really like is for this book to inspire you to go an adventure of your own" and in that goal it will certainly succeed. If it wasn't so bloomin' cold outside we'd be on the beach looking for razor clams right now. As it is, we might just sit back with a warm cup of cocoa and enjoy a spot of armchair foraging.

Tim Thom and Trev have clearly written their own thoughts and personal memories into this book; TV show spin-off it may be, but it is not lacking the personal touch and it's easy to see why this likeable trio are rapidly recruiting an army of fans. They are young and cool (do the kids still say that?) enough to appeal to the next generation of foragers and foodies alike and the book will no doubt feature on the Christmas lists of many. Just don't buy it for your budding Bear Grylls unless you're prepared to be nagged daily to lead their next expedition.

Three Hungry Boys - How to catch, trap, forage and generally blag your way to survival in the wild is out now (RRP £20). We also have a signed copy up for grabs in our in our Winter competition.

Posted Thursday, 24 November 2011  /  Written by The Twig  /  15 Comment(s)

You know all of those great little artisan shops and producers - that independent cheese emporium down the road, or the bountifully stocked farm shop you simply must visit "when we're next down that way"? Wouldn't it be great if someone compiled a compendium of all of these hidden foodie gems? Well, that's exactly what Rose Prince, longstanding food writer for the Telegraph, has attempted with the Telegraph Good Produce Guide 2012. Now in it's third year, the guide lists over a thousand of Britain's most talented local producers and shops with detailed listings for each including location, opening hours, website and contact details.

The book is handily divided into regions and then into categories including markets, delis, butchers, fish & seafood and dairies. So, for example, if you find yourself in the Devon dying to find a local honey producer, a quick flick through the new "artisan" category of the "West Country" section reveals no less than six likely candidates in the region, together with a brief review of each. A basic map for each locality helps further narrow down your search. Added extras include seasonality charts, a smattering of the better UK food festivals and contact details for some useful organisations likely to be of interest (such as the Marine Conservation Society and Slow Food UK).

By definition, the guide is an ambitious project. We know from our own experience that Britain is brimming over with great quality, small producers who often don't do enough shouting about what they are up to. Rose Prince obviously knows her stuff when it comes to quality food and it's clear from the entries that she has first hand experience of a good number, if not all, of the entries and a good deal of work has gone into compiling the guide.

The guide doesn't claim to be a comprehensive and with "only" a thousand or so entries for the whole country it's inevitable that some will miss out. That said, there are some established favourites of ours who we'd have expected to see but who don't feature. It's hard to say why some don't make the cut but a glimpse at a couple of the maps would suggest that there are some areas that would benefit from some more detailed local research.

Within categories, the entries are listed alphabetically, meaning that if you know the name of the shop you're looking for, you can find it easily. But we thought we'd be more likely to find ourselves touring around and then consulting the map to see what producers were in the area. Browsing in this way is harder because, curiously, the numerical order used on the maps doesn't correspond with the alphabetical one and so, for the sake of a couple of extra pages we'd like to have seen a numerical index included. We felt larger and more detailed maps would also improve usability.

The guide does feel hastily compiled in places. We spotted several typos, particularly in website addresses and even the odd publisher's comment which should have been removed pre-printing, which will no doubt frustrate both the producers and readers trying to find them. Given that is it only the third annual publication, and future contributions are actively invited, we'd expect both the quality and quantity of entries to improve with future editions. Frustrations aside, the book has a good go at compiling a great deal of information on our artisan and independent producers in one place and that aim is certainly laudable. A decent number of great producers are listed, including some which we thought only we knew about! It makes for a helpful and interesting companion for the travelling foodie and we'll be keeping our copy in the Landy's glove box for our next tour around the country.

The Telegraph Good Produce Guide 2012 is available to buy now and at £12.99 is well priced for a Christmas present for your favourite festive foodie. We also have a copy to give away. To enter, just leave a comment below with the name and location of your favourite local artisan producer or retailer. We'll pass all your comments and recommendations on to the Good Produce Guide for inclusion in next year's edition.

Posted Wednesday, 16 November 2011  /  Written by Alex  /  1 Comment(s)

What’s the difference between a stew and casserole? Well, it’s quite simple unfortunately. We were hoping it might have had something to do with vanquished Frenchmen or Mongolian yak herders, but a stew is cooked on the hob and a casserole cooked in the oven. Borrrring.

We’re not too fussed by the distinction and nor is Genevieve Taylor, whose (relatively) new book “Stew!” has plenty of recipes to warm the cockles and nourish your weather-beaten bodies this winter.  We were impressed both by her classic dishes and the new ideas that made use of some of the UK’s best, seasonal ingredients.

And Genevieve has been kind enough to give us three of her recipes below – one simple, one a bit more middle-class and one vegetarian. If that’s not enough, you could win a copy of her book by liking this on our facebook page or tweeting ‘@seasonalfood I love #Stew!’. We’ll pick a winner at some point next week so that you can be neck deep in hotpot by the weekend.

Ps. You do stand a very good chance of winning.

Simple Chicken Casserole

This is so simple - a handful of ingredients and literally a few minutes to assemble is all you need. Then you leave it to work wonders in the oven whilst you get on with something else. This is one of those meals I turn to when don’t feel like cooking and all I really want to do is sit on the sofa with a large glass of wine and the newspaper!

Serves 4-6
Takes 10 minutes to make, 2 hours to cook

900g chicken thighs
2tbs flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
300-400ml chicken stock
2tsp dried mixed herbs

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Coat the chicken thighs in the seasoned flour and fry in a flameproof casserole dish until brown on both sides.

Add the vegetables and herbs and enough chicken stock to just cover everything. Bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 ½-2 hours or until the chicken and vegetables are tender and soft.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a simple green vegetable. Or just a hunk of buttered bread if even that is a step too far.

Beef with cream and green peppercorns

The inspiration for this dish is the classic creamy pepper sauce served with steak. The idea being that you get the rich luxurious taste without the steak price-tag. Skirt is an underused, but really tasty and economical cut of beef - you may need to order it from your butcher, but the extra effort is worth it. This is really quite a peppery dish so if you or your guests are a little pepper-shy just don’t add the black pepper at the beginning. I would serve this stew, perhaps controversially, with thin crispy chips and a mound of soft English lettuce to mop up the creamy sauce. But mash would be good too.

Serves 4-6
Takes 15mins to make, 2 ½ hours to cook

900g piece beef skirt
1tbs black peppercorns, roughly crushed
pinch course sea salt
2tbs olive oil
glug of brandy, about 50-75ml
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400ml beef stock
125ml double cream
2-3 tbs green peppercorns, rinsed and bruised

Preheat the oven to 140C.

Slice the beef skirt into 1-2cm wide strips making sure you cut across the grain of the meat. If you follow the grain you will end up with a stew as tough as old boots. Sprinkle the beef with the crushed black peppercorns and rub in with a little sea salt.

In a heavy based oven-proof saucepan or casserole with a lid, heat the oil over a high heat until just smoking. Fry the beef strips in batches to seal and get a good golden-brown crust, being careful not to over crowd the pan. Once all the beef is browned add the brandy with a flourish - it will spit and sizzle - and deglaze the pan, scraping all the sticky brown tasty bits off the bottom. Return the meat to the pan, along with the crushed garlic and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover with the lid. Cook in the oven for 2-2½ hours or until the beef is literally falling apart.

Once the meat is meltingly tender remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside on a warm plate to rest. Transfer the cooking pot to the hob, add the cream and bruised green peppercorns, bring to the boil and reduce to a desired consistency - I like it to be like thick double cream so it coats the meat wonderfully. Return the meat to the pan and taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. It goes without saying you are unlikely to need extra pepper, but a little more salt may just bring it to life.

Butternut squash & butterbean casserole with parmesan dumplings

This hearty vegetarian casserole won’t leave the meat lovers at your table yearning for a steak on the side. The initial roasting of the vegetables gives a really good depth of flavour which is wonderfully complimented by the super-savoury dumplings. Be prepared for cries of “more please”!

Serves 4-6
Takes 40 minutes to make, 40 to cook

1 medium butternut squash (approx 600-800g), cut into 2.5 cm chunks (leave the skin on for added texture)
12 shallots, peeled and left whole
Loose handful of sage leaves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaped tbsp flour
175ml white wine
1 tin butterbeans, drained and rinsed
400ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp sundried tomato paste

For the parmesan dumplings:

200g self raising flour
100g vegetable suet
3 heaped tbs parmesan
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5-8 tbsp cold water

Place the butternut squash and shallots in a roasting tin along with the olive oil, sage leaves and a little salt and pepper. Toss well to coat in the oil. Roast in a hot oven (220°C/Gas 7) for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tinged with colour at the edges.

Whilst the squash and shallots are roasting make the dumplings by combining all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add enough cold water to bring it together to make a soft pliable dough. Shape the dough into 8-10 small balls and set aside.

When the squash and shallots are cooked, remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 180°C/Gas 4.

Add the flour to the roasting tin, stirring to coat the vegetables and soak up all the roasting juices. Add the garlic and white wine to the roasting tin, scraping at the bottom to release all the delicious sticky caramelised bits. Transfer to an oven proof casserole and add the beans, sun-dried tomato paste and vegetable stock and give everything a good stir.

Cover the casserole with a lid or snug fitting piece of foil and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully add the dumplings so they float on the surface. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the dumplings are crispy on the outside and fluffy and cooked through on the inside. Serve immediately while bubbling hot.

`Stew!` by Genevieve Taylor is published by Absolute Press and is available in all good bookshops (Amazon have a few copies too).

Genevieve’s various noo media offerings are also worth a visit. Check her out:

www.genevievetaylor.co.uk
www.genevievetaylor.blogspot.com
Twitter - @genevieveeats

Wow, that was a long one.

Posted Tuesday, 8 November 2011  /  Written by Alex  /  Post a Comment

We've gone slightly honey mad down here. Not satisfied with just one London beekeeper (see the Twig's post last month), we've sniffed out another urban apiarist who is making some wizz-bang honey from his three hives in Tooting. Garv Shanks and his girlfriend Peta Mclean have been keeping bees in their small South London garden for a couple of years now and at the end of this summer harvested 130kg of floral, runny honey.

Floral? London? 130kg!! Garv carefully explained to the WS simpletons that because his 150,000 bees get the run of 1000s of gardens they can OD on as much nectar as they want. And because it was nice and damp this summer, the nectar and the honey overfloweth. Compare that to the majority of commercial hives that sit next to acres of rapeseed, don't encourage their inhabitants to spread their wings and lead to a honey that is pretty one dimensional. So, Garv and Peta's bees are about as spoilt as the beer drinking, buttock-massaged Wagyu cattle. Kobe bees, you might say.

Anyway, that's enough over-engineered humour for one post. We've got a jar of Garv and Peta's honey to give away to one of you lucky bunch. 'Like' this on our rather unloved FB page or retweet '@seasonal food I am the honey monster' on Twitter. We'll announce the winner at the end of the week. 

If you'd like to buy some of Garv and Peta's honey (what a great Christmas present), email Garv at:

garbhanshanks@hotmail.com

To learn a little more about beekeeping in London, check out Garv's club in Wimbledon:

www.wimbledonbeekeepers.co.uk

Posted Wednesday, 29 June 2011  /  Written by The Twig  /  Post a Comment

Having had such a glorious Spring (we'll gloss over the slightly damp start to the Summer!), we're turning our thoughts to Summer holidays. At Well Seasoned, as you know, we're big fans of UK holidays not only because we like to keep our airmiles down but because there's so much to see and do in the British Isles that it seems a shame to miss it. Our friend Annabella Forbes runs Bed&Fed. We asked her to tell us a bit more about her business and why she thinks Staycationing is here to stay. If you read to the end you'll also see we've also got a really good competition prize on offer....

Staycationing? The beautiful art of holidaying at home - or at least in the same country. We have a wealth of destinations here in the UK that are fascinating, terrific, exciting, breathtaking and beautiful - sometimes you miss the things that are right in front of you. Staycationing is the new black and here’s why:

#1 – Save Money, Cut Carbon and Avoid airport taxes and other excruciating fees.

Airlines, while great at getting you from A to B, can really put pressure on your purse strings with their extra charges when it comes to holidaying abroad. Add to that having to buy food in the airport, paying for taxis and all the other added costs of the journey there and it can be financially painful. Holidaying in the UK means you just need a car or train (or even just a bike). Additionally you can feel extra smug because, unlike your jet-setting friends, your carbon footprint will be as minuscule as that of an ant in stilettos. Holidaying in the UK can also save you a fortune on visas and time - and it can all be done last minute, on a whim. Staycationing allows you to be spontaneous: plan your break away on a Friday afternoon and leave that evening!

#2 – Find Unique and Interesting Places to Stay

Where can you stay on your staycation? Well, there’s a wealth of great hotels and B&B’s in the UK, most of which can be easily researched to avoid surprises! But you should also consider staying in a real homes, like those on the Bed&Fed website, as another great option. Staying in welcoming homes can be less restrictive than staying in a hotel and definitely more fun – plus you don’t have to check in, queue for a seat in the restaurant or wait at the bar to be served. Really affordable accommodation CAN be found in the UK – from cottages to castles, farms to city pads, some of the friendliest, loveliest, cheapest, prettiest, nicest, cosiest, lovely-jubly home-from-home rooms can all be discovered on our very own lovely little island.

#3 – Meet and Eat with new people who could actually become your friends

Let’s face it, you’re probably not going to stay in touch with that lovely waiter from that bar or the lady in the shop who sold you those overpriced sunglasses. Visiting somewhere in the UK however means you have the chance to make friends all over the country (as the saying goes, ‘a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet’) and a much better chance of staying in touch. A home from home experience can make a huge difference to your stay away. It can be really enjoyable and, especially if you are using the Bed & Fed service, you get to meet great people who want to host you in their home – there is no-one better to stay with than people from the area you are visiting, as this will enrich your experience (and if you’re lazy like me you won’t have to read a guide book as they will tell you all you need to know!). Think about it: you ALWAYS have a better time on your travels if you meet people who know the local area.

From me to you, enjoy your stay(cation)!

Annabella Forbes, founder of Bed&Fed a network of home from home guest rooms across the UK and Ireland.

COMPETITION: Like cooking and company? Proud of where you live? Becoming a Bed&Fed Host is fantastic, fun, flexible, friendly and fulfilling way to earn money from your spare room. Bed&Fed is giving away a lifetime’s free membership as a Host (worth £70 A YEAR) - win it for yourself or give it to your friend with the big house! To enter, simply "Like" the Bed & Fed feature on our Facebook page. We'll draw the winner in August.

Posted Tuesday, 16 November 2010  /  Written by A, P & T  /  Post a Comment

Time for a short progress report on the campaign? We think so. 

As you can probably tell, we're still getting to grips with the new website. You might have seen a few things come and go - for which, apologies but we are very nearly there. Technical glitches aside, we're really pleased with the campaign's progress. We've now got hundreds of regular seasonal foodie contributors sending us recipes, photos and competition entries. Do keep them coming. We've got some great prizes for the competitions and more on the way. We'll be uploading lots of the pictures shortly so if you've sent us something, keep an eye our on the galleries.

The seasonal Twitter collective has now topped 5,000 which is brilliant - we have a really friendly network of some of the finest foodies in the country all tweeting the local, seasonal message. 

On our travels we've been speaking with seasonal producers all round the UK from wild boar farmers in Scotland to cobnut growers in Hampshire and everywhere in between. Some trip reports to follow in due course but there's no doubt that the producers, like us, have witnessed a surge in demand for quality, local and seasonal produce so it seems more and more people are buying in to the seasonal way of life. Keep an eye out for details of our next WS event in London. We can't say much yet but details coming soon!

As you've hopefully seen, we sent our first issue of our newsletter The Bramble at the start of the month and are already busy writing the December one. If you haven't received it, you can sign up for future issues here. 

Very excitingly, our all-conquering, super-snazzy seasonality charts are nearly finished. We hope you'll love them - we certainly do. We're producing charts for Fruit, Veg, Herbs, Hedgerows, Fish, Meat and Game so you'll be able to use them to find out when pretty much anything is in season and if you print them off they'll add a real splash of colour to any boring white fridge. Keep an eye out on our What's Good Now? page and if you want to be among the very first to get them, make sure you're following us on Twitter and Facebook.

Now we've mastered (or at least we're no longer being beaten by) the blog, you can expect to see us on here more often. Let us know what you're up to on the seasonal side of things and keep all of those campaign contributions coming in.

Until next time, keep it seasonal!