For nearly 100 years, people have been flocking to Yorkshire for a taste of Bettys. Bettys was founded by Frederick Belmont, a Swiss baker and confectioner who came to England in search of opportunities to develop his craft skills. He opened his first Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate in 1919 and named it 'Bettys'. The reason why remains a mystery to this day.


Lots of things have changed since then. They now have six Café Tea Rooms in Yorkshire and the Bettys name has become famous the world over. They have also added a mail order service which delivers deliciousness to homes from Tunbridge Wells to Tokyo, and they share their knowledge and passion for food through Bettys Cookery School.


But in other ways, they are unchanged. Still family-owned, they believe in doing business in a way that is fair to people and kind to the planet. And at their Craft Bakery in Harrogate they still practice the artisan skills that Frederick Belmont brought to Yorkshire from Switzerland nearly 100 years ago.

 Its now Great British Bake Off Season here in the UK, and in honor of that each week Betty's will be sharing a delicious recipe, plus a video and their baking tips to go with each recipe. The kind of thing you won't find in any cookery book!

This week they sent me some delicious Fondant Fancies to enjoy eating while we enjoy watching the GBBO!  I can't wait to get stuck in. They look delicious!

This is a delicious chicken recipe that I made for our tea the other night.  I had some partially boned chicken breasts that I wanted to use.  I adapted the recipe from one that I found in a Diana Henry cookery book entitled A Bird in the Hand, chicken recipes for every day and every mood.  It's a great book.  I have a number of Diane's cookerybooks and I have to say I really like her recipes.  They are very good.

I was recently sent a sampling of Oteas to try out, some of their herbal blends and fruity teas.  I don't drink regular tea, so its always nice to try something herbal that I can drink.

Oteas was born out of a desire to promote and support an active, healthy and balanced lifestyle. Their teas are expertly blended with the highest quality ingredients.  They are sourced from around the world, from countries including India, Sri Lanka, China and Japan.

 


 The tea is  in pyramid shaped bio-degradable bags to maximise their infusion and to provide a superior taste. They come in 7 different ranges,  each with a variety of different blends.   You can choose from Black, Detox, Fruit, Green, Herbal, Organic or Rooibos and indulge in mouth-watering blends such as Date & Lime, Moroccan Mint and Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon.


The blends are available in pouches or tins, each containing 15 bio-degradable tea bags, with prices ranging from £3.39 to £4.49 per pack.   The most eye catching and quirky member of the Oteas family is their individually boxed tea bags, which is what I received.   They are available in collections of 3, 12 or 24, with prices starting at just £1.29.   These delightful miniature boxes make the perfect gift for any tea-lover.   They would make great stocking stuffers coming Christmas time.

 

For those who are keen to embark on a health kick, they also offer a Detox range, called ‘Oteatox’ which is currently stocked in Lloyds Pharmacy.

Oteas also offers around 400 different teas in a loose-leaf only format, which is rising in popularity.

I quite enjoyed the selection I was sent.  I think my favourite was the Liquorice one.  I love Liquorice anyways and this had a lovely flavour without it being over-powering!  I also loved the cute little pyramid boxes.  Great for gift-giving.

To find out more  do check out their webpage.

I was given a mammoth Courgette the other day. I didn't mind at all . . . we kinda like courgettes, and as long as they aren't overly large, there's still a lot of value in them.  Once they get too big, they get a bit too spongy for me. I prefer small to medium sized ones, but the larger ones are quite good to use to make tasty courgette loaves.  In North America you will probably know this vegetable as the indomitable Zucchini!

 

I love this time of year when we blessed enough to be enjoying an abundance of fresh local produce!  I grew my own tomatoes this year and I have to say I did a really great job of it!  (Not to brag or anything!)  I took advantage of some of them, as well as some which I bought to make up the difference, to make a delicious homemade crock-pot marinara sauce.

I am not sure what it is about poppyseeds, but I love anything with poppyseeds in them.  When I lived out West we used to be able to buy the best poppyseed sweet buns at the grocery store bakery in Medicine Hat.  They were to die for!  I have been craving them ever since!  I will have to find myself a recipe one day and make my own.  These muffins are not quite buns, but they are quite delicious in a different sort of way!

There is no dessert that Todd loves more than a good crumble.   Apple.  Blueberry.   Strawberry rhubarb . . . if it has crumble in the name, Todd loves it.  Well, maybe not as much as the memory of his mother's apple pies, but almost!

mmm . . . mmm . . . mmm . . . This was my ABSOLUTELY favourite kind of day . . .  no, the sun did not shine, nor was it really, really hot.  It was kind of muggy actually and humid, so weatherwise not great.  It was my favourite day in another kind of way, in a tasty baking kind of way  . . .

When my veggie box came this week, there were two lovely big and fat red peppers inside, amongst other things of course! I have always loved the flavours of peppers . . . raw and with dips, sliced and sauteed and in omelets (I like to use more than one colour in these), sliced and sauteed with beef strips to make pepper steak . . . the possiblities are endless. I never run out of ideas on how to use them!

For nearly 100 years, people have been flocking to Yorkshire for a taste of Bettys. Bettys was founded by Frederick Belmont, a Swiss baker and confectioner who came to England in search of opportunities to develop his craft skills. He opened his first Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate in 1919 and named it 'Bettys'. The reason why remains a mystery to this day.


Lots of things have changed since then. They now have six Café Tea Rooms in Yorkshire and the Bettys name has become famous the world over. They have also added a mail order service which delivers deliciousness to homes from Tunbridge Wells to Tokyo, and they share their knowledge and passion for food through Bettys Cookery School.

But in other ways, they are unchanged. Still family-owned, they believe in doing business in a way that is fair to people and kind to the planet. And at their Craft Bakery in Harrogate they still practice the artisan skills that Frederick Belmont brought to Yorkshire from Switzerland nearly 100 years ago.

Its now Great British Bake Off Season here in the UK, and in honor of that each week Betty's will be sharing a delicious recipe, plus a video and their baking tips to go with each recipe. The kind of thing you won't find in any cookery book!

This week they are sharing their recipe for Classic Bread Rolls with us.   After watching the video, I think even I will be able to bake  us some lovely rolls!


11.The bread is baked when golden brown in colour and when tapped underneath they should sound hollow.  Place on a cooling wire.
 
NOTES IN THE MARGINS
~o~Beautiful Bread~o~

KNEADING
When kneading, always work the dough in the same direction. This will deveop the network of gluten strands.

To avoid sticking to your dough, use the one second contact rule - don't touch your dough for more than a second as you knead it

Imprint your dough with your thumb - if it springs back, its ready.

BALLLING OFF
This stage is really important - what you're trying to do is trap energy in the dough.

When Lisa holds up the underside of the balled off dough, you can see the swirls of the core - yet the top is smooth.

The  movement you're looking for is down and over.  Notice in our film how Lisa pushes slightly down and she rotates the dough in her palm, travelling in the same direction.

HOMEMADE PROVER
If you don't hav ea dedicated prover, few of us do, its easy to create one.

Simply take a bowl, turn it upside down in your sink, add hot water and your tray of dough, and cove rwith some cling fim.

Do you get tangled up in clingfilm?  Than fold it back on itself to double line it - it prevents it from misbehaving!

FINISHING THE RACE
Allow the dough a final 10% to finish the race.  In other words, remove the dough from the prover a little before it has completely risen.

This is because the yeast needs a last bit of energy to take into the oven for a perfect rice.

COOLING
When cooling your bread, make sure there's an airflor under the tray.

This prevents soggy bottoms!

Do check out the Betty's Baking Secrets Page, for a whole lot more baking secrets during the GBBO and beyond.   Also don't forget to check back next week to see what's baking next!  (With any luck I might even get it baked myself to show you my results!  There is no rest for the wicked!!)

This lovely salad comes from a cookery book which I just love and can't recommend enough. Genius Recipes, by Kristen Miglore.  Its a compilation of  recipes that promise to rethink the way you cook.   There hasn't been a dud in the bunch.  I have loved every one I have tried, and this one here today is no exception!

So you saw that lovely roast pork I posted yesterday.  I do love a roast dinner, don't you?  I love the leftovers even more!  They are a beautiful ingredient to use to create another delicious meal from.  My mother was great at making pot pies from leftover roasts.   I like to do that also, but if I can create a delicious casserole, so much the better!  Delicious casserles like this Leftover Meat Escallope casserole!  You don't need to use pork in this, lamb, beef or chicken work equally as well.

This is a lovely roast that I cooked a month or so ago and am just getting to show you now.  I figured now that temperatures are cooling down a bit the timing would be better.

Do you love shortbread biscuits as much as I love shortbread biscuits?  Who doesn't!  I think that shortbread biscuits have to be just about everyone's favourite cookie!  I make whipped ones every Christmas which are as simple as beating them together and dropping them on a baking sheet.    I make rolled and cut outs in a variety of flavours.  All are gorgeous.  When I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter ones, I knew I just had to bake them.  Peanut Butter and shortbreads . . . two of my favourite things together in one!

Oneof my friends on Facebook the other day sent me a photograph of a dessert they had found and wanted to know if I had ever seen it, or made anything like it.  I managed to track the recipe down to this place.  It appears to be in German.  I tried to translate it, but had no luck, and so instead I set about recreating my very own version of something similar, and with (I have to admit) most delicious results!  Oh how I love the challenge of creating my own recipes from scratch!

Harry Hill launches campaign for empowerment of children 

Newman’s Own Foundation has committed £150,000 for UK charities and Harry Hill announced the program today. Newman’s Own Foundation, started by the late actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, will grant approximately £150,000 (US$200,000) to registered UK charities for the empowerment of children. To date over £4 million has been awarded to a wide range of UK charities.


Long-time advocate of Newman’s Own, Harry Hill has worked with Newman’s Own Foundation since 2014. Citing Paul Newman as an inspiration, Harry is encouraging UK charities to apply for grants from this year’s campaign after this year visiting one of the recipients of the 2015 grants, Hackney Village. Applications are now open and charities meeting the requirements are encouraged to submit their grant requests by Monday 5th September, 2016. Final grants will be announced on 21st November 2016.


Newman’s Own Foundation was established in 2005 by Paul Newman to sustain the legacy of his philanthropic work. Since 1982, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have donated more than US$ 470 million (approx. £355 million) around the world.




Comedian Harry Hill, says; “I am thrilled to be involved with Newman’s Own Foundation again. Last year I got the chance to meet some of the grant recipients and saw the incredible impact the funds had. Paul Newman has always been a huge inspiration to me personally and I wanted to get involved to help spread the word about this year’s grants and encourage UK charities to apply”. 


Bob Forrester is President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation, and was a close friend of the late Paul Newman. He comments, “We would like to encourage all charities which focus on empowerment programmes to submit a request for a grant during this campaign. We hope our funding can make a difference not only to empower but inspire, encourage and support children throughout the UK to overcome exceptional situations in order to build a better future”.


UK charities that meet the criteria may submit their contact information from 4th August 2016 via the expression of interest form available on www.newmansown.co.uk on or before the 5th September, 2016. Selected organisations will be contacted to receive a full application for funding from Newman’s Own Foundation. Additional charity requirements may be found at newmansownfoundation.org/what-we-support/funding-guidelines/. Grantees will be announced on 21st November 2016.

To find out more visit www.newmansown.co.uk

When I worked at the Manor one of the appetizers that was quite popular for the Dinner Parties was a Hot Artichoke Dip.  It was cheesy and garlicky and went down a real treat.  I also used to do a baked chicken dish slathered in artichokes that the Mr was gaga over.   This week, I created a casserole which incorporates the best of those two things into one delicious dish!

I like to treat us to gammon steaks every now and again, and I usually like to shake things up a bit when I do.  You can get a gammon steak grill at most pubs over here in the UK, served with chips and either a fried egg or a ring of pineapple on top.  Neither one has ever really appealed to me.  Today I created a curried pineapple sauce to serve with them instead and it went down a real treat!

Making Mexican (Tex Mex) food here in the UK has always presented me with somewhat of a challenge.  

Folkington's, a small, independent Sussex drink company, has launched a delightful dose of sparkle in a can with its new range of four fruit pressés called Folkington’s Garden. Each is made from a different harmonious blend of English fruits and flowers complemented with ingredients from sunnier countries only where necessary. Guilt-free, and coming in at under 100 calories each, free from all nasties and never from concentrate, they offer a sip of the English countryside anywhere.



Inspired by the Sussex Downs village Folkington, which was first mentioned in the Doomsday Book, the four flavours available are:

-traditional ‘Elderflower’
Made with wild elderflowers picked from English hedgerows and a dash of sunny Sicilian lemon juice.

- zesty ‘Lemon and English Mint’
A tried and tested favourite.


- a quintessentially English ‘Rhubarb and Apple’
Beautifully English.

- a fiery ‘Ginger beer’
 Using hot West African ginger root balanced with English rhubarb juice and Sicilian lemons.

Folkington’s sparkling pressés are perfect as mocktails for parties, refreshing at barbeques and as an everyday indulgence at work. You can find Folkington’s Garden range in independent shops, cafés and delis.

These drinks are refreshingly delicious served chilled and over ice on a hot summer's day!  Yum!

This is a really delicious chilli that you can make either in the slow cooker or on top of the stove.  It works well either way, so in the summer when it's hot out, I do it in the slow cooker, and in the cooler months when I don't mind a bit of heat in the kitchen, I do it on the stove!  It's hearty and delicious and actually very healthy!

 I so wanted to show you this easy dessert at the weekend, but my photo-bucket account where I store my photos wasn't letting me in so I have had to wait until now.  You are just going to love this simple and delicious dessert!  The timing for this is just perfect as our blackberries are just going into overdrive at the moment with the very beginnings of the seasoning starting and so much more to come!  Apples and Blackberries are a marriage made in heaven!

Kinda like a muffin.  But not like a muffin . . .