Hairy Bikers: Alfresco & Pinwheels

Alfresco dining and outdoor cooking: To be honest, the thought of picnics in February was not top of my list during this miserable weather. However, it does make me look forward to long summer days, pitchers of peach bellinis and pimms on the swing seat, picnics at the beach and marinading steaks for the BBQ.

Today I had a go at making pinwheels from this week's episode of Mums Know Best.


My special Hairy Biker's spoon - a gift from my friend

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• ½ medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 500g block of ready-made puff pastry
• 50g mature Cheddar, finely grated (optional)
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees
 and gently fry the onions and garlic for 2-3 mins

Leave mixture to cool and then add herbs, seasoning, flour, purée and mince

Get messy and use your hands to mix it all together

Roll out the pastry and spread out the mince mixture

Add cheese and brush the pastry edges with an eggy wash



Tightly roll up like a swiss roll



Use a serrated knife to cut the "swiss roll" into inch thick slices



Pop on a lined baking tray and brush with an eggy wash, ensuring is doesn't
drip down the edges or else it will stick



Watching the programme on iPlayer:
They look pretty similar! Especially the spoon!

Waiting, waiting, hurry up!

Take out after 15 mins when they're golden brown

Perfect lunch

There are so many variations, here are some I found online - but let your imagination run away with you!

• Pizza puff pinwheels
• Sun-dried tomato and pesto pinwheels
• Prosciutto, brie and fig pinwheels
• Mexican-style pinwheels (using tortillas instead of puff pastry)
• Cranberry feta pinwheels (using tortillas instead of puff pastry)
• At Christmas, I made canape-style pinwheels with pancakes, cream cheese mixed with lemon and smoked salmon. All rolled in the same way into a sausage and sliced into finger food.



Watching this week's episode on iPlayer:
Si and Dave making pinwheels



Enjoy!

 Other recipes from the Mums Know Best series.

Here's my blog post on episode four: Lazy weekends
Here's my blog post on episode five: Distant shores
Here's my blog post on episode six: High tea
Here's my blog post on episode seven: Posh food and my Jammie Dodger cheesecake post



Hairy Bikers: A Taste of Home

Episode two of Mums Know Best aired last Thursday on BBC2 with a theme of "home is where the heart is."

I really appreciated the first mum, Mary, in this episode. Mary is from Wales and made Bara Brith and Welsh Cakes which reminded me of my home, Anglesey.

I currently live in Cardiff and when I visit Cardiff Bay, I always have to pop into a little shop called Fabulous, which sells really scrummy welsh cakes - so I often bulk buy!

My taste of home dishes
Roast Lamb on a Sunday - Although I wouldn't turn my nose up at this on a Monday, Tuesday or a Wednesday either! Lamb fat makes luscious potatoes and I always beg for mashed potatoes too!
Bara Brith -  I've never had a good recipe for this, people in Anglesey who make a good Bara Brith tend to keep it a secret, so I shall be trying out the recipe on the Mums Know Best website.
Flan - Always a party piece at my Aunty's. Simple assembly of a flan base, tinned fruit of your choice and jelly. Served with single cream.
Sponge pudding - Baked with a different flavour of jam at the bottom each time for variety of a mid-week meal.
Spaghetti Bolognaise - Completely agree with the Bikers, this is an all time comforting taste of home.


And you definitely can't go wrong with a good panad (Welsh for cup of tea)!

Keep an eye out for an Anglesey taste of home of my Aunty's that I'm going to find the recipe for over the next few days... Tatws Pump Munud ("five minute potatoes" but apparently takes about 30 minutes to cook!) - onion, bacon and potatoes. And you can't forget the Hairy Bikers Anglesey Eggs from their Food Tour of Britain. I had never actually come across this before I saw the programme, but now it is a new firm favourite.

Home made Anglesey Eggs



Nom nom - nearly all gone!



Here's my blog post on episode three: Alfresco
Here's my blog post on episode four: Lazy Weekends
Here's my blog post on episode five: Distant shores
Here's my blog post on episode six: High tea
Here's my blog post on episode seven: Posh food and my Jammie Dodger cheesecake post

Riverside Community Allotment

The RCMA Community Allotment Garden is nestled next to the busy Western Avenue in Cardiff. Close to the hustle and bustle of commuters you wouldn't think there would lie an exciting plot of nature just behind a few trees.

The beginnings of sustainable living

When we arrived, I instantly saw a familiar face. Deri Reed, the Ethical Chef, was cooking a risotto over an outdoor stove for the community allotment volunteers. 



The Ethical Chef feeds the hungry and hard working
down at Riverside Allotments

Jenny Howell, who runs the project, kindly took us on a tour of the allotments. We were introduced to what they had been planting and nurturing recently.

Of course February is not the ideal month to visit for colour and plentiful produce, but there were still some interesting things going on as there is every month. Jenny described every season as her favourite season at the allotment; as gardeners have to be thinking a couple of months in advance.

Allotments in Cardiff

Tasting mustard leaves left a cool and then a hot sensation in your mouth.

The Orphan hedgerow - trees and plants which
 are dug up for reason or another are re-homed here!

Kale - popular in salads and highly nutritious.

A watchful gnome

They even had a section of the allotments cornered off for bee hives.

The allotment welcomes children who have built this den

Sustainable and green as much as possible

This clever system for water included a solar panel to heat rain water.



Jenny demonstrates how they have constructed a solar panel oven to cook food
 from their vegetable patches... food miles? More like food feet!



Plenty of horse manure.

  

Beetroot brownies soon perhaps?



Before Christmas, Cardiff Council offered an extra 300 allotments as part of their allotment strategy. This demonstrates how the trend of inner city gardening is becoming very popular. If you want to help the Riverside Community Project, they are open 10am - 4pm Wednesdays and 12.30pm - 4.30pm Fridays. Contact the project through their Facebook page or email outreach@riversidemarket.org.uk.

Wrap up in a warm coat, put on your boots and go and introduce yourself to an ever-so-friendly bunch of people.

 
Photographs courtesy of the wonderful photographer, Christofer Rhys Lloyd.

Transition and Fare Share unite against food waste

Cardiff Transition and FareShare, Bristol, are hoping to come together to re-distribute surplus food to the needy in Cardiff once a week.

FareShare in Bristol have a warehouse of food donated from big organisations such as Marks & Spencer's, because the food has become too close to its best before date. Cardiff Transition visited them a few weeks ago to discuss the prospect of Fare Share bringing a van of dry goods across the Severn Bridge for Cardiff to redistribute to homeless shelters and other organisations in the city.

Certain staple foods include rice, pasta, bread, bottled water, juice, curry pastes - and the more unusual Quality Street!

Cardiff Transition facilitates positive community action to the challenges of resource depletion and climate change. They have already been involved with projects like Feed Cardiff in October 2010.

The meeting, last Wednesday, was to see the support from Transition members and talk through the logistical aspects such as renting storage space, transport and petrol.



Tim Fisher (left) discusses issues with other
Transitioners at Milgi Lounge last Wednesday



Transitioners included Deri Reed,The Ethical Chef, who got stuck into the discussions of how to store the food.

Steve Smith, from Fair Trade Wales, was also along to support the cause.

Fun in the yurt at Milgi Lounge

Most of the meeting enjoy a vegan feast

NEW: Hairy Bikers tonight

It's raining, still nearly dark by 5pm, nothing exciting happens in February and summer seems like years rather than months away! So if you're stuck inside tonight with nothing exciting to do, turn on BBC2 at 8pm for the Hairy Bikers' new series of Mums Know Best.

And how appropriate! Their first episode is apparently discovering the best family recipes to put a smile on your face: comfort food! Comfort food  helps you physically and emotionally, which is what we all need during these dreaded winter months. So I'm expecting stews and definitely pies from this cheeky duo.

When I'm feeling a bit, as I like to call it, "meh", or unmotivated there are a few dishes that tend to get me out of my slump:

• Macaroni cheese
• Alex's french cabonara recipe
• Cupcakes and chocolate
• Spaghetti bolognaise or shepherds pie

Carbs with lots of stodgy cheese give me an instant lift, but I always regret it later when I feel that I have exchanged the blood in my veins for cream. However, in the last two meals I use lean mince and lots of vegetables - whatever is in my fridge. I also make this in a big batch and freeze for an instant mood lift another day.

Hairy Bikers Mums Know Best is now into its second series
with accompanying books

Cupcakes just make everyone happy and I find making them (like risotto) very soothing. And chocolate supposedly causes the body to release endorphins which make us happier, while dark chocolate particularly has added health benefits if eaten in moderation.

The only problem is - I could easily
eat this all at once!

We all know where I stand on the cheeky chappies, but the Guardian published a post on their TV and Radio Blog this afternoon highlighting Britain's divided opinion on Si and Dave. I was glad to read that many of the comments on this blog agreed with me that the Hairy Bikers promote good family and food values and always respect each other and their guests. How can you not like them?

90 minutes to go...

Here's my blog post on episode two: Taste of home
Here's my blog post on episode three: Alfresco
Here's my blog post on episode four: Lazy weekends
Here's my blog post on episode five: Distant shores
Here's my blog post on episode six: High tea
Here's my blog post on episode seven: Posh Food and my Jammie Dodger cheesecake post

NEW: The People's Supermarket

A new series started on Channel 4 last night following Arthur Potts Dawson who set up The People's Supermarket last year in London. It is a community focused project to bring down the price of your weekly shop. Members chip in a joining fee to get a "share" of the business. They then have to do a four-hour shift each month in exchange for 10% discount and a say in what is stocked on the shelves.

Channel 4's first episode of The People's Supermarket followed the set up of the supermarket and the much needed help from the community. Arthur, who has a "Tigger-style enthusiasm" as perfectly described in the Telegraph, also organises a fundraiser by cooking a posh meal from food wasted by supermarkets. I found this very interesting watching and I am intrigued to see the progress. But my first reaction is that I wonder if a store like that would work outside of London?
The next episode is next Sunday at 8pm.

Waste not want not
Channel 4's website has a dedicated section called 4Food. I noticed an interesting argument giving two very different views on how to prevent food waste from your shopping:

Shop little and often
OR
Do one big shop

Which do I agree with? Well, I find the one big shop argument difficult. I live on my own and usually do one huge shop a term, where I freeze meat and fish and stock up on store cupboard essentials. I then find that I have to conduct small regular shops for fresh food, otherwise I can't get through a weeks supply of veg before it perishes. I agree with the writer of shop little and often; that big shops do not leave any room for spontaneity. I feel guilty to go for a spur of the moment meal, when I know I'm defrosting a tuna steak to go with my wilting salad at home!

Therefore I tend to lean  more towards the shop little and often, as this also gives me the option to pick up things at farmers' markets on certain days - because my fridge isn't crammed with food at home. However, little and often, as I have learnt from my vast amount of supermarket shopping during my recent exam period, leads you to spend a lot of time queueing in Tesco Metro for that single red pepper and a pint of milk.

Both arguments are extremes of the scale, I don't think it's how often you shop, but planning ahead, making freezable meals and being creative with what's left in your fridge (Channel 4 leftover recipes and tips). Hopefully this programme will make people think about what they are buying a little more rather than putting their shopping routine on auto-pilot.

I also think it's really important for people to use what recycling methods their local council provides or even better compost themselves. I know so many people who don't bother for various reasons and I find it infuriating as it's so simple to do. For information on how Cardiff recycles, see my earlier blog post.

An Italian Dream: Eat Pray Love & other foodie films

I saw Eat Pray Love (2010) at the cinema last summer and quite enjoyed it. Even though the main character is rather selfish, the film is all about taking the audience on a voyage to three amazing and beautiful places; Italy, India and Bali, which inspired me to write about one of my dream destinations.

I've always wanted to take a few months or so and live in Italy. The culture, the history, the language and of course the food all attract me greatly. I have this dream that I could move out to Rome and freelance for food magazines while I'm out there. Discovering their truly local food, travelling to different areas and learning Italian. Perhaps I'd have time to perfect "the sweetness of doing nothing" which is an Italian attitude to "me-time" discussed in the film.

Other films which have spurred on this dream are Letters to Juliet (2010) and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), which are both great Sunday afternoon chick flicks.



Eat Pray Love is out on DVD and Blu-ray from Monday

While on the topic of Italian food I thought I'd share a carbonara recipe that was given to me in my first year of university. It has a French twist apparently (my friend Alex is from France!), which sits nicely with the next film I am going to chat about:

Alex's Cabonare- a la Francais
Serves 2
1 small tub of single cream
1/2 tub creme fraiche
1-2 handfuls grated emmental cheese
Chopped cooked bacon
Put all ingredients into cooked pasta and stir lots. Take off heat and stir in an egg
*Warning - this recipe is amazing, but not waist-line friendly!*

FOOD PORN? Yes Please! My favourite foodie film: Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia (2009) tells the story about blogger Julie Powell who sets herself the task of cooking and blogging her way through Julia Child's classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Full of quick wit, with funny and sentimental moments, this film captured me until the end. Not forgetting to mention a mesmerising performance by Meryl Streep (who plays Julia Child), which was both thoughful and hilarious.



And a special mention to: Lady and the Tramp and Ratatouille
I can't discuss my favourite foodie film moments without mentioning two classic examples from Walt Disney. Who can forget as a child the scene in Lady and the Tramp (1955) where they share a bowl of spaghetti to the music of "Bella Notte"? Classic Italian!



And for those of you who have seen Disney Pixar's achievement Ratatouille (2007), you will remember the food creations made in a French kitchen by a friendly rat! And surprisingly I still really want to make a ratatouille! ...I've got two courgettes in the fridge, maybe I'll give that a go this week?

I'd love to know your favourite foodie films, post me a comment and let me know.

Anglesey Liqueurs and Cardiff Honey

A little bit late but here's a local gift I received for Christmas and a local gift I gave to my friends this year...

Condessa Black Cherry Liqueur

This was from my Aunt, I thought this was such a thoughtful gift as she knows about my local foodie obsession. The company is based in Llanfaethlu on Anglesey and they have been making liqueurs for 40 years as well as low fat cream liqueurs. They have won many awards including Great Taste awards in 2007 and 2009.

I was given a 10cl bottle which I am treasuring. I found it best mixed with lemonade or coke - coke reminding me of an alcoholic Cherry Coke!

Condessa Anglesey Liqueurs - this
cocktail reminded me of Cherry Coke!

Natures Little Helpers Honey and Beeswax Lip Balm

I discovered a lovely old man selling Natures Little Helpers products in the craft section of Roath Farmers' Market and bought myself a soap and an orange lip balm - which is constantly in my pocket. A week later I went back to buy three more lip balms in different flavours for my friends. They were sold to me in little red, drawstring bags and I thought it was a little present which acted also as an example of my love of local products.

Pocket-sized present

Their story begins four years ago, when three friends who met through an allotment site decided to have a go at beekeeping and with help from a local Beekeepers Association they started their hobby. Their hives expanded from two to eighty and the business began two years ago. An added bonus, their products are not tested on animals and contain no artificial preservatives or colourings. Good job guys!