We had such a fabulous sunny day here today! Perfect eating outdoors day. The Missionaries came over and helped Todd to trim the hedge and I thought I would bake them something filling for their lunch. Pasty's are perfect picnic food . . . filling, delicious and great for eating out of hand.



The pasty has been a staple food down South in Cornwall for a very long time. It's been known as many things through the years . .. . tiddy oggy was one name used and hoggen was another name, which was used in particular when they didn't contain potato.



Many things were used as fillings through the years . . . meats, fish, vegetables, eggs and sometimes you would have a savoury filling at one end of the pasty and a fruit filling at the other.



There are pasty shops all over the UK, where you can just about any kind of pasty you could want nowadays . . . steak and stilton, steak and ale, Lamb and mint, cheese and onion, to name but a few. (I confess to having a certain fondness for the steak and stilton ones and the cheese and onion ones. Oh so scrummy!!)



These here today are a traditional, no frills steak, potato, onion and swede pasty. (A swede is a rutabaga, but you could also use turnip.)



Delicious and tender meat and vegetables encased in a delightfully flakey pastry. They're not as hard to make as some would suppose, but are really quite simple to execute. What's not to like!!!



*The Great Cornish Pasty*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe

Buttery Puffed Pastry, all flakey and encasing a delicious filling of beef, potato, onion and swede. Perfect and totally portable!!!

1 3/4 to 2 pounds of puff or shortcrust pastry
1/2 pound of beef skirt or chuck steak, sliced into very thin strips
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 small swede, peeled and thinly sliced and chopped
1 ounce butter (2 TBS), melted
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 freerange egg, beaten

Roll the pastry out 1/3 inch thick. Cut into rounds approximately 8 inches in diameter. You will need 4. I find a sandwich plate is perfect to use as a template.

Place the potatoes, onions, swede and steak into a large bowl. Season with salt and generously with lots of pepper.. Drizzle the melted butter over all and mix well together.

Divide the filling between the 4 rounds, placing it just slightly off centre. Brush the edges with some beaten egg and fold one half of the pastry round over to cover the filling. Seal shut and then pinch and roll the edges from one edge to the other, giving it a bit of a rope effect. Place onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Pierce the tops in a few places and brush with beaten egg. Place into the refrigerator to ill for about 1/2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Place the tray of pasties into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and cook for a further 30 to 35 minutes until well risen and golden brown and the filling is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. You can shield with some foil if you think the pastry is getting too dark.

Serve hot or cold as you like. These are great picnic food!



There is a deliciously Creamy Fish Chowder cooking over in Oak Cottage today. If you are a regular reader of A Year From Oak Cottage, you will want to update your bookmarks, as the url has changed! Thanks!

I am just loving summer with all of it's fresh fruit and vegetables! It is by far and away the best time of year for fruit and veg just packed with flavour!



The supermarket shelves (not to mention my garden) are a dancing parade of delicious colour and taste, and I am love, love, lovin' every moment of it!



I especially love the abundance of fresh berries! Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, red and black currants, gooseberries, . . . oh so lovely. And the stone fruit . . . English cherries, early plums, apricots and fresh peaches from the continent . . . oh so yummy!



There is so very much you can do with them and we have been enjoying our fair share of them fresh and eaten out of hand and then in some pretty scrummy desserts . . . but you know what?



They just aren't for dessert! They also make lovely fruity salsa's that are just perfect with grilled chicken, lamb and pork.



Today I did some lovely grilled chicken breasts, all moist tender and flavourful . . . accompanied by a fruity yet zesty fresh berry salsa.



Each mouthful was a delight . . . the berries sweet and yet at the same time tangy from the lime juice and a bit salty from the salt and the pepper, chili and cilantro gave it a nice zip! And let's not forget the rich creaminess from the avocado!



All in all a truly wonderful combination that I hope you will want to try out for yourself! (I am thinking it would also be wonderful in a wrap with either sliced roast turkey or chicken, and perhaps a gutsy lettuce like Baby Gems or even rocket.) Watch this space!

This is light, fresh, colourful and delicious!



*Grilled Chicken with a Summer Berry Salsa*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Berries aren't just for dessert! Moist tender chicken with a delicious berry salsa that has a bit of a bite!

3 TBS olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
the juice and zest of one unwaxed lime
100g of fresh strawberries, roughly chopped (6 large berries)
100g of fresh blueberries (about 3/4 cup)
100g of fresh raspberries (23 raspberries)
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (do be careful not to touch your nose, face or eyes when
working with fresh chilies)
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 ripe avocado, skinned and diced
20g of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (Cilantro) (a handful, leaves only, discard stems)

Heat a griddle to medium heat. Brush 2 TBS olive oil over the butterflied chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on the heated griddle, turning halfway through the cooking time, until cooked through and the juices run clear. (4 to 5 minutes per side.)

While the chicken is cooking, whisk the remaining oil with the lime juice and zest. Season to taste with some salt and pepper.

Put the berries into a bowl. Add the dressing along with the onion, chili, avocado and coriander. Toss gently together.

Serve the griddled chicken with the berry salsa spooned over top. Serve immediately.

I was contacted a week or so ago by the Lizzie at Piper's Farm who wanted to know if I would like to take a look at their website and possibly try some of their products. I took a look, loved what I saw and said I would LOVE to try some of their products!

Located in the heart of Devon, Piper's Farm is a farm dedicated to the production of meat, poultry and meat products via traditional, slow growing methods, allowing the animals to reach natural maturity in a completely stress free environment. In other words, it's farming the way it used to be. Started over 20 years ago, their goal was to produce healthy meat that families could enjoy eating with complete confidence.



I am a great believer in humane farming practices, and have long held the theory and supported the ethos that happy meat is a better tasting meat.

I was quite happy to try some of their products out and the next day a package was delivered from them, right to my door. It was very well packed and arrived fresh and well chilled.

Included in the pack sent was a package of Pork Sausages, Red Ruby Rump Steaks, Smoked Back Bacon, Chicken Fillets, Pork Steaks, a Lamb and Mint Pie and a Red Ruby Steak and Mushroom Pie.



First up were the pies. My Todd is a real pie man. He just loves meat pies and I have to confess to having a certain fondness for them myself. It was very easy to tell which pie was which pie . . . the top crust was very clearly marked and a key was included so that we could figure out which mark meant what.



The Steak and Mushroom Pie was meaty and chock full of lovely chunks of tender steak and mushrooms, in a rich thick gravy.



Likewise the Lamb and Mint Pie was filled with lovely bits of lamb and carrot and a rich and flavourful gravy, with the merest hint of mint that too nothing away from the deliciousness of the Lamb.

Both pies had a beautiful crust, crisp and not at all greasy. In short, these were quite simply the best meat pies that my pie loving husband and I have ever eaten! We both fell in love with them and would buy them in an instant!



The next day we tried out the Rump Steaks. From their site: Red Ruby Beef is legendary, a native Exmoor Breed, Devon Ruby with a tight grain, good fat marbling and a real depth of flavour. I simply pan grilled the steaks, using my fool proof method and serving them with a simple pan sauce created by deglazing the skillet with some red wine and a dessertspoon of Onion Marmelade. They were delicious! See for yourself!



They were tender and well flavoured. We both really enjoyed them as well!



Next up was the sausages. All of their sausages are made using natural skins and ingredients. The ones we were sent to try were the plain Pork Sausages. Made with Pork, Oats and seasoning they were beautiful and so meaty. They were also HUGE. Todd usually can eat about 3 bangers, but he had a hard time finishing the two that I gave him. We both loved them. They were not greasy or fatty and had a wonderful flavour.



Just look at the tastiness of that sausage! We loved them! Now I want to try their Cumberland, which as you know is my favourite kind of sausage.

The next day I cooked their Pork . Their pork is saddleback pork produced from traditional breeds, grown slowly to natural maturity, and spending their summers in cider orchards munching on grass and windfalls. I know I should have just cooked it plainly, but I wanted to do something different and so I did a stir fry with it. It was delicious! I kid you not. I don't like pork that is really . . . well, porky, if you know what I mean. I don't like it to smell like a pig when I cook it. This did not.



The meat was tender, not tough. Sometimes when you cook meat quickly as in something like a stir fry the meat can be quite tough. This was perfect and we both really enjoyed it immensely!



*Stir Fried Pork and Peppers*
Serves 4, but can very easily cut in half
Printable Recipe

Spicy and sweet and scrummy yummy! Better than a take away for sure!

For the meat:
4 lean boneless pork steaks
2 ounces rice wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS brown sugar
5 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To finish:
3 TBS finely chopped fresh gingerroot
1 TBS sweet chili sauce
5 TBS teriyaki sauce
1 green pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded and cut into strips
1 red pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded, and cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, trimmed, seeds discarded and cut into strips
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a small handful of flaked toasted almonds
2 TBS chopped fresh mint (Optional)

Mix together the rice wine vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, oil and salt and pepper in a bowl. Slice the pork into thin slices, across the grain. Add to the bowl and stir to coat. Set aside to marinate for half an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop the pork strips out of the marinade and add to the hot pan, along with the gingerroot. Cook and stir until the pork begins to turn colour. Stir together the sweet chili sauce and teriyaki sauce. Pour over top. Continue to cook and stir for a few minutes longer, until pork is cooked through. Stir in the peppers and cook, stirring frequently until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds and chopped mint (if using) and serve immediately.

We still had some sausages left and so I made a tasty Pork Sausage Egg Fried Rice to go along with the Stir Fry, which we also really, really enjoyed.



*Leftover Pork Sausage Fried Rice*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A really tasty way to use up leftover cooked pork sausages and rice.

2 TBS vegetable oil
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
3 TBS dark soy sauce, divided
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 TBS minced fresh gingerroot
1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
4 cooked thick pork sausages, cut in quarters and sliced into chunks
2 small carrots, peeled and grated
a large handful of frozen petit pois
2 cups of cold cooked white rice
2 TBS rice wine vinegar

Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Measure out the soy sauce. Take 1/4 tsp of it and beat it together with the eggs. Add the eggs to the heated pan, swirling them to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir until cooked through, but still moist. Scrape out of the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onion white bits. Cook stirring constantly until fragrant. Add the sausage chunks. cook and stir to heat through and brown a bit. Add the carrots, peas and rice, stirring to combine. Add the cooked egg, remaining soy sauce and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is completely coated with teh mixture. Let cook, undisturbed fora bout a minute longer, until heated through. Sprinke the green bits of the onions over top and then serve immediately.

We haven't yet tried the bacon or the chicken fillets, but if the rest of what we were given to try is any idication . . . I am sure we will be more than pleased with them as well!

All the meat sold by Pipers Farm is produced by the Grieg family on their own 50 acre farm community of about 25 small farms. They have an on farm butchery and a kitchen where they produce everything they sell including a variety of ready meals and pies. I have to say that Todd and I were very impressed with everything they sent and with the delivery service and all the information we were given. We both highly recommend and hope that you will give them a try! Many thanks to Lizzie for having given us this delicious opportunity!

I recently received a gift certificate for Amazon.uk from the Fairy Hobmother so that I could buy anything I wanted to treat myself with. It was no surpise that I got myself several cookbooks. I know . . . I didn't really need them, but I do love my cookbooks and I am of the opinion that you can never really have too many! (Shhh Todd!)



Anyways, this was one of the ones I got and I fell completely in love with it. I have long been a fan of Bonne Maman conserves and compotes and so I was intrigued with the idea of a whole cookery book devoted to using them in a variety of ways!



This tasty book is a very appealing collection of 88 delicious looking "Seasonal" recipes for sweet and savoury dishes. The pictures are mouth watering, and I can tell you I have quite a few ear marked for trying out . . . recipes like Herby Lamb with Woodland Dressing, Lemon and Wild Blueberry Swirl Cake, Roasted Potato Salad with Apricot Chilli Mayonnaise, and this tasty one here for Crispy Crumbed Romano Peppers!




There are extra tips and suggestions included with many of the recipes; and there’s a special section with clever ideas for using the very last teaspoon from the jar.



There are also lots of inspirational ideas, beautifully illustrated, on how to use the iconic jars creatively. Things like attractive storage for cooking spices, seed packets, buttons and cotton reels, novel Christmas candle holders or chic summer cordial glasses . . . included are many wonderful and imaginative suggestions on how to use the timeless jars and make a stunning style statement.



I guess you can tell that I am well pleased with this book. The peppers turned out fabulous. It seems quite an unusual combination . . . beautiful romano peppers stuffed with a mixture of golden onions, chopped capers, and blueberry jam . . . then topped with a goats cheese and egg topping, rolled into crispy bread crumbs and then roasted until the peppers are meltingly soft and delicious. As odd as the ingredients may sound, they really do work together wonderfully!!



*Crispy Crumbed Romano Peppers*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Beautifully roasted romano peppers, stuffed with a delicious mixture of onions, capers, blueberry jam and goats cheese, and then rolled in panko crumbs and baked. Scrummy yummy!

2 large spanish onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 TBS butter
4 TBS wild blueberry conserve
2 TBS capers, drained and coarsely chopped
4 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
2 X 200g packs of Romano peppers (4 peppers)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
4 ounces soft goats cheese
8 TBS dried white bread crumbs or panko

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with some baking parchment. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet until foaming. Add the onions and reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the blueberry conserve and tomato puree. Set aside to cool.

Slit the peppers along one side of each. Open out just a little, remove any seeds and discard. Divide the onion mixture between each pepper. Beat half of the egg mixture into the goats cheese. Spread this mixture over top of the onion filling in the peppers.

Put the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Brush the outside of the peppers with the remaining egg, then roll in the bread crumbs, patting lightly to help them adhere.
Place onto the prepared baking sheet.

Roast in the heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is golden brown.

If you are looking for a delicious way to cook some lovely spring lamb cutlets look no further!
I found this delicious looking recipe in a book of mine called Secrets from a Country Kitchen by Lucy Young. The original recipe called for studding two 7 chop rack of lamb with garlic and roasting them for about 25 minutes in a hot oven. I didn't have a rack of lamb.



I did have some lamb cutlets though, and so I decided to rub them with some olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and leave them to marinate for half an hour. I then took out my lovely new grill griddle pan and seared them on both sides, just until they were pink in the middle.



The real treat in this recipe is the sauce. It might sound a bit odd, but trust me when I say it's delicious! The original recipe called for two anchovy filets to be simmered with the garlic, but I didn't have any and so I added a tsp of Worcestershire sauce instead and it worked quite well! It was a real treat served with some steamed basamati rice and haricots vert on the side!



This was quick and easy to do and would make a lovely dinner party meal. Lucy suggests also trying the sauce with a saddle of lamb. Sounds like a winner to me!



*Garlic Lamb Cutlets with a Mint and Sun Blushed Tomato Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Garlicky grilled lamb cutlets, cooked till just pink inside, with a creamy mint and sun blushed tomato sauce spooned over top. Delicious!

8 meaty lamb cutlets
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

For the Sauce:
10 fluid ounces of double cream (1 1/4 cups)
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
5 fluid ounces of white wine (5/8 cup)
1 heaped tsp of mint sauce
(from a jar, the stuff with vinegar in it)
2 TBS chopped fresh mint leaves
2 ounces sun blushed tomatoes, snipped in half with kitchen scissors (1/4 cup altogether)
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rub the garlic cloves into the lamb cutlets along with some sea salt and olive oil. Let sit for half an hour, while you make the sauce.

Heat the cream over medium heat along with the 2 cloves of garlic until it comes to the boil. Reduce to a slow simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes over very low heat. At the end of that time, press it through a seive with the back of a spoon into a clean pot. (the garlic should be soft by then) Whisk iin the white wine and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil. Cook whisking frequently over high heat until reduced somewhat. Stir in the mint sauce, chopped fresh mint, the sun blush tomatoes and season to taste with some salt and black pepper to taste. Keep warm while you grill the lamb.

Heat your grill pan. Sear the lamb cutlets on both sides for several minutes per side, or until they are done to your desire. We like them pink, which takes 2 to 3 minutes per side, but you may like them more well done. Place the cooked cutlets onto a heated platter and spoon some of the hot sauce over top. Garnish with some fresh mint sprigs and pass the remaining sauce at the table. Steamed rice and a green vegetable go very well with this.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow! I have a delicious dessert to share with you that you are just going to love!

For someone who had only ever tasted lamb once before I moved over to the UK, I have become a fast and firm lover of this glorious meat. The only time I'd had it back in Canada, was the time my mother thought she would try to cook us some lamb chops. They smelled like mittens burning in the frying pan, and that was the end of that. We never had it again. I'm afraid that experience kind of put me off of it . . . for a very long time.



At our wedding meal, which was held in a Brewer's Fayre pub here in the UK, I decided to be brave, and chose Lamb Loins with a Cumberland Sauce as my meal. The rest is history. I fell in love at first bite, and it's been a happy love affair that has grown from strength to strength ever since!



Oh, I do love a nice lamb chop . . . seasoned and seared until it is just pink inside . . . likewise rack of lamb or leg of lamb. Tender and pink and oh so tasty. The Salt Marsh Lamb over here is the best in the world and a real treat to eat. Although it costs more, I try to eat Welsh or British Lamb over any imported lamb. It's rather strange really that home grown lamb should cost more than the foreign stuff . . . but I do have to say, it is well worth the extra expense!



My favourite cut has to be the shoulder. When cooked properly, this has got to be the tenderest, most flavourful cut of meat ever. Rich and succulent, it is just packed full of taste . . . and it's so very easy to cook. It doesn't take special techniques, or talents. It doesn't even take special spices and herbs. You could do a really tasty shoulder, using nothing but salt and pepper as far as that goes! This is the roast that really cooks itself!




A sprinkle of seasalt and pepper, and a gentle massaging with some olive oil . . . then laid to rest on a bed of rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves . . . and gently blanketed with more . . . this is the roast that is quite happy to be ignored until about half an hour before serving.


And then . . . oh my goodness . . . tender deliciousness that falls apart at the touch of a fork . . . oh so scrummy, served up with a big pan of oven roasted root vegetables . . . carrots, swede, parsnips, beetroot . . . oh and a bit of butternut squash thrown into the roasting pan as well, coz it was there . . . and I felt like it. Oh so sweet and delicious . . . and just perfect with this tender lamb. Some freshly mashed potatoes and Bisto on the side and lashings of Mint Sauce proved this to be a most delectably gratifying, if humble . . . Sunday lunch!



*Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb*
Serves 6 to 8, depending on appetites
Printable Recipe

Deliciously tender. Nothing could be easier. This roast cooks itself. I like to serve this with a pan of roasted vegetables . . . butternut squash, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, swede, and a big pot of mashed spuds.

1 (2kg) shoulder of lamb, bone in
a bunch of fresh rosemary
a handful of garlic cloves, unpeeled
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crack your oven up to the highest temperature it will go. You will need a large casserole roaster with a lid.

Take your piece of meat and cut slashes in a diagonal pattern across the fat on the top of it with a sharp knife. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rub this into the meat with your hands.

Place half of the rosemary sprigs and the garlic into the bottom of the roasting dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the lamb on top. This bed of herbs and garlic will act as a trivet and flavour the meat. Top your lamb with the remaining rosemary and garlic.

Cover and place into the preheated oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 170*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Cook, undisturbed for 4 hours. By then it should be deliciously tender. Remove from the oven and set aside, tented with foil to rest for about half an hour. Use two forks to tear off pieces of the meat for eating.

You can make a gravy with the juices, but I find it has an odd green tint which we don't like and it is difficult to get rid of all the fat. So I just use Bisto. You can squeeze some of the garlic out of the skins to mash and serve with the meat though. It's really quite mellow and delicious.