One of the oldest methods for preserving foods is fermentation – people have been fermenting their foodstuffs for thousands of years. Not only does it help the food keep for longer, it can make it easier to digest, and most importantly, it adds a whole wealth of interesting flavours. The list of fermented foods is […]
I LOVE NUT BUTTER. This was easy peasy. Not only do I love nutty flavours, I also love the amazing natural nutritional value of these handy little things. In fact this was so easy that I did it immediately but other personal endeavours have meant that I haven’t got round to writing this blog up […]
Apparently it is National Peanut Butter day in America today, which is a rather neat coincidence, as Anya’s next challenge is to make some. Nut butters are incredibly easy to make at home, and are vastly superior to the ones you find on supermarket shelves. Earlier this week, I made three nut butters of my […]
Dave was right when he said this was something I would definitely NOT attempt had it not been for the challenge. And as January is a no-alcohol month, it is also something I am loathed to try without gin. Be sure that when it comes to February the fruits of this labour will be tried […]
It was Anya who started me off on this particular tack. She had been talking to someone at a work Christmas function a few weeks ago, who happened to mention that he made his own tonic water. She later told me about this chance conversation, and I was intrigued by the possibility. I’m very fond […]
WOW! Paneer is easy peasy! I didn’t realise it would be so simple. I faffed and did minor research on this challenge until I finally pulled out ‘Indian Food Made Easy’ by Anjum Anand which had been gathering dust on the cookbook shelf. The ingredients are whole milk and lemon juice. Seriously. That’s it. As […]
Cheese is one of the oldest foodstuffs around – as far as the historical records go, people seem to have been making it for ever. The earliest evidence we have are pieces of ceramic strainers which contain traces of dairy fats – these were found in what is now Poland and date back to around 5,500 […]
After spending some important time whinging at Dave about the challenge and that I didn’t want to do meat and I would never do this, I got over it and decided, ‘well of course! It’s the Challenge – I wouldn’t necessarily make these things – that’s the whole point you whingebag!’. Dave was rather nicer […]
It’s been a great summer for barbecues. Plenty of nice weather, lots of opportunity for lounging around in the garden eating sausages and burgers, together with a nice beer or two. Today though, it’s clear that winter is now here. Last night saw the temperatures fall below freezing, and today we had cold, wet sleet. […]
As Dave well knows I have been fighting the sourdough fight for what feels like centuries. My starters kept dying, smelt like cheese or rancid beer. There was night time baking (waiting until 1am for the dough to rise), baking where the bread was as solid as a brick and baking when I thought it […]