Heavy rain? Time for ce cream

Summer is officially over here in Balham. The rain is lashing down and our creaky guttering simply unable to cope. So naturally my fireside inclinations are somewhat dampened. 

Confined to the kitchen my thoughts have been turning to the instant gratification of making things that don't require a fire to be lit. Such as ice cream. 

Who'd have thought that egg yolks, sugar and cream could combine to create an amazing piece of alchemy with the addition of cold? And that the simple addition of a double espresso to the above could create a really great coffee ice cream? of course I can say all the above because I have an ice cream maker. Without it all the beating involved would make the instant gratification part a total lie. 

I have to say that the rose water and pistachio meringues (from my ottolenghi recipe book) made with the left over egg whites were considerably less well-received. However, I'm inclined to think that was less to do with the cooking and more to do with the fact that rose water is a little too floral for most. That's hardly surprising I suppose - although saffron doesn't seem floral at all to me. Go figure.

But to paraphrase the aptly named (well for a food blog) Meatloaf, one out of two ain't bad. 

So that's it - a short post with absolutely no real relevance to the title of this blog. Though of course if I could rustle up a gelato, or even a semi-freddo under canvas, that truly would be a fireside feast.

Here's to better weather for outdoor culinary adventures soon.

Anything to escape washing up

As any of my sisters will tell you, as a boy I would do almost anything to wriggle out of doing the washing up. Nigel Slater may tell you that there is something very satisfying about it, but I say that's tosh. 

And when outdoors camping it can be even grimmer than usual: the water is generally tepid; the pans are more filthy than normal; and the light (assuming we're talking about after dinner) is so poor that only a reader of Braille can tell if something is actually dirty. Which leaves only the washer uppers. Whether grown ups or children attention to detail is at an all time low and quality control is zero. 

So in preparation for a family surf trip planned for later on in the month this weekend I was experimenting with edible crockery. Years ago I went to a cafe in Fishermans Wharf San francisco that served chowder in a hollowed out sourdough roll. That seemed quite wasteful as all the insides were torn out, so I experimented with what can only be described as a shaped pizza base.

Making up 250g of normal pizza dough (ie enriched with olive oil) I used some greased upside down ramekins as a mold. I varied the thickness of the dough to see what worked best: thin (about 1 cm deep); medium (2 cm) and thick (3cm).  I put them into a hot oven (240 deg) for 10 minutes, then took them off the ramekins, sparked some olive oil on the inside and returned them to the oven for another 10 or so minutes. This makes the inside more robust - vital unless all diners eat as quickly as I do. They seemed pretty robust, but in this case the proof of the pudding was literally in the eating.

The choice of filling seemed quite important:

- more gloopy than sloppy - anything too watery might sink through too quickly

- a meal in a bowl was required - these bowls don't come with matching saucers!

In the end I made a lamb and squash tagine.

The results? Well I have to say, not bad. They held a good quantity and more importantly lasted a good time. Long enough for two of us to have seconds.

As far as size goes, the thick version really was too thick - more of a loaf with a crater than a bowl. But the thin one was pretty much perfect for the job. The base held together and  meant that at the end it could be broken up and used to swipe the last few bits of tagine from the cooking pot (a bit of a double bonus in the washing up stakes I would say).

Clearly a work in process, but I think that cooking up a batch of these, freezing them and then using for that vital first night dinner when time is short and tempers shorter.  

Anyone else tried this and have any tips? The trip is with about 26 people - I don't think I can afford for it to go wrong!

Let me know. 

And finally, don't forget to sponsor me for the Royal Parks Half Marathon I'm running on October 7th in aid of Cancer UK.

The link is here.http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Jim_and_Alex

Mer et terre

Say what you like about the French, but there's no denying that their attitude to food is very different to the British. 

Just back from a week in the Vendee and the differences are still fresh in my mind. Which is a good place to start really, because that's one of the really noticeable ones. Your average HyperU or Leclerc is a mega-temple for the worship of shopping, with aisle after aisle of every conceiveable kind of item you might want to buy. Shelf after shelf of graphic novels, next to litre jars on Nutella, followed by what can only be described as the most kitsch tableware ever seen. While deals and special offers scream out in every direction. 

Except the fresh food area. 

Here, the mood is more serious. The wet fish counter is nearly 5 metres wide, groaning under an amazing array of really fresh produce. Behind it 3 knowledgeable staff patiently work through the queue of demanding shoppers.

The veg area has barely anything per-packed; a pyramid of Charentaise melons is sniffed and prodded by old ladies with sharp eyes and sharper elbows; sacks of Demi-sec beans are given the once over by burly men with leathery hands and only a passing acquaintance of deodorant. 

People here know what they want and will take the time to get it. 

And what we wanted were simple things for holiday dinners. Fresh sardines from St Gilles Croix de Vie and some little prawn brochettes flavoured 'au curry' and 'a la Provencale'. 

And when we got back home, the French respect for food shone through again. The people next door had given us a huge bag of Mirabelles - small and incredibly sweet plums - freshly picked from their orchard. Despite the temperature, or perhaps because of it, I decided to make a crumble. Inspired by the gift, we tried to add something of our own, in the form of hazelnuts from the one useful tree we had in our garden.

I have to say that picking them in quantity is a pretty time-consuming process, matched only by the shelling. But once roughly chopped, they made a fantastic addition to the crumble topping. And the end result, served with vanilla ice cream was one of the best crumbles I've ever made.

Made even better by eating it outdoors under the summer stars.

When it comes to food, knowing what you want and taking the time to get it can make all the difference wherever you are and whoever you are. Non?