I have another recipe to share with you this morning from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, of the River Cottage Fame.  

Here today I am using it in a fabulous slice/bar that would be a great addition to picnic baskets or lunch buckets . . .


These have a lovely fudgy consistency . . .  almost being a cross between a brownie and a cookie . . .


The batter is really simple to make and goes together very quickly.  It also bakes in quick time.  You do have to work super fast when you take them out of the oven to get those chocolate jazzies popped on top while the slice is still hot and they can melt and adhere together.


What is a Chocolate Jazzie?  Well, it's a milk chocolate button, topped with multi coloured non-pareil cake decorations.  You could use anything you want really  . . . just so long as you pop it on while the squares are still hot from the oven.


Thinly sliced Mars Bars or Snickers Bars would be scrumptious.  As would pieces of a chocolate orange, or even just milk chocolate chips or buttons.  Whatever you fancy really, in the chocolate line, would work great!


These would also be a great addition to your Elevensies cuppa, or for an afterschool treat.  Oh heck, I can't think of any time these wouldn't be welcomed!


Moreishly scrumptiously chewy and rich . . .  with a hint of  whatever floats your boat, and nutella on top . . . these spell winner, winner, winner!

Working quickly remove the baked squares from the oven and press the chocolate jazzies firmly on top of the baked squares in rows, leaving about 3/4 of an inch in between each.  Leave to cool completely before cutting into rectangles



I hope you will take the opportunity to bake these this weekend and that when you do you will pop back to let me know how very much you enjoyed them!  Bon Appetit!

Note - the recipe was adapted from one I found in the June Issue of Food to Love.

Sausage Pie.  I can hear you saying, now that sounds a bit unsual!  I hope it also sounds tasty!


Because it is, very tasty.  A delicious crisp and buttery crust filled with a fabulous sausage stuffing mix . . .


Made with two slices of crumbed stale bread, some chopped onion and celery . . .  sage . . . a small leek I had languishing in the bottom of the vegetable drawer that needed using up . . .


A pound of really flavourful breakfast sausages, skins removed and meat crumbled.  I like the Heck 97% myself, or Debbie and Andrew's, but you pick your own favourite breakfast sausage . . .  you don't want to go too crazy with unsual flavours here.  Breakfast sausage will do the trick . . .


Just don't go cheap and nasty.  NO.  NO.  NO.  Blecch.


There is some dried sage in there, and some salt and pepper, just a smidge . . . and then the addition of chopped prunes and apricots which go soooooo well with pork.  Mix it all together and pop it into that crisp buttery crust and voila!  You have a pie fit for a King! And . . . it was so easy to make!


1 large free range egg, beaten



Note - this can also be served cold.  Mustard or  a tomato chutney go very well with this.


This makes a great picnic pie!  And this is the picnic season coming up!  Perfect!  It also makes a nice light lunch with a salad on the side.  Todd really loves this and  think you will too! Bon Appetit!

 I had never had a bacon chop until I moved over here to the UK.  They used to carry them at the butchers down at the Parade of Shops on the other side of our community, but that butchers ended up going out of business. Sadly, he could not compete with the multitude of large chain grocery shops in our area.  I think its really sad when that happens.  I really do. My heart longs for the days when you bought everything you ate locally and in season, produced with old fashioned love and integrity and by people you know and love.


I love bacon.  There used to be a Butcher shop back where I lived in Canada that sold his own home smoked bacon. Oh boy but it was some good.  I often think about it and how delicious it was. I found a recipe in River Cottage Every Day, by Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall for home cured bacon chops and I was really keen to try them. He's a great cook and largely unknown in North America.  You North American's are missing out on a real gem!


You begin by creating a rub using fine sea salt, brown sugar, black pepper, shredded bayleaf and crushed juniper berries.  This gets rubbed into four thick boneless pork loin chops and then placed in the refrigerator to cure for 12 hours at the very least, but no longer than 24 (for extra thick chops.) 



My chops were of a medium thickness and this is what they looked like after they had been sitting for about 14 hours.  You can see that quite a lot of liquid has been released.  You need to rinse them really well under cold running water and then dry them off with some kitchen paper towelling.



After that  you can keep them in the refrigerator, covered, for up to five or six days.  They are not the bright pink of store bought bacon because they are no nitrates involved, which I think is a good thing, don't you?


These are completely natural, using only natural ingredients, nothing artificial here.  And they pan grilled for about six minutes per side, they turned out beautiful.  A bit salty, but I think the extra two hours was to blame for that.  I will do this again the next time we want bacon chops because they were truly delicious and I loved that it was something I could do myself.  Who knows if I get more adept at it, I might even experiment with some other flavours!


To cook, heat a bit of oil in a large skillet and add the chops.  Cook for six minutes per side until golden and cooked through.



I really hope that you will give this a go. It was so easy to do and the results are impeccable. In this day when most of the things we eat are so highly processed, it is nice to have something which can take you back to the basic values and integrity of food preparation that our forefathers practiced.  I felt quite mother earth.  Bon Appetit! 

Hmmm . . .  I wonder if I could interest Todd in a smoker . . .

This is a super simple dish and is quite, quite delicious.  It also makes use of things which most people have around most of the time. 


Things like pasta . . .  and pesto. I always have a jar of pesto in the cupboard, but in the summer I like to make my own. It's really VERY easy to make.  I have a recipe to make your own here.


That is when the basil in my garden is going mad and I have tons of it.  You can freeze it in Ice Cube trays and then pop the cubes out into zip lock baggies for use all year round if you wanted to. Easy Peasy.


Cherry tomatoes.  I always have them in the house as well. We eat a lot of them and in the summer, I grow my own also.  Ours are not ready yet, of course, but this is the perfect recipe for when they are, and in the meantime a good vine grown cherry tomato from the shops will work very well.


I use whole wheat pasta because I am a diabetic and it is better for diabetics to use whole wheat pasta.  But you can use ordinary pasta if you wish.  Just make sure it has lots of crevices and curves to hug all that lovely sauce.


Double cream. Something else I always have in the refrigerator, but here is a little secret I am going to let you in on . . .  low fat evaporated milk.  You can use that instead of double cream and cut down on the calories and fat no problem.  Works fine and with the pesto in the sauce you wouldn't be able to tell that you have used it by taste.  Seriously.

White wine. We don't drink alcohol in our home, but I always keep small bottles of white and red wine in my larder.  I think they contain what would be construed as a single serving for someone who drinks wine.  They are perfect for me because I know they will get used up quickly and won't go off.  They are not all that expensive either, a couple of pounds is all.


Mushrooms, and here is another true confession here.  I have discovered bags of frozen mushrooms.  They work perfectly in dishes where you are going to cook your mushrooms. You can pick up a bag of them at the grocery store in the frozen department.  In ASDA you can get a 600g bag for £1. They are a great store cupboard ingredient for something like this. They are loose frozen so you can just dump out as much as you need, and they come in very handy.


 
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over meidum high heat.  Add the tomatoes and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened nicely and the mushrooms are soft and tender.   Stir in the white wine, cream and pesto sauce.  Bring to a low simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly.  Don't let it boil.  Stir in the cooked pasta and heat through.  Season to taste and serve hot, topped with Parmesan Cheese.



Another true confession.  I have even used tinned cherry tomatoes when I don't have fresh ones in the house (very rare, but it does happen from time to time) and this pasta dish still rocks!  A bit of cheese to garnish each serving and Bob's Your Uncle!  Dinner is served!  Bon Appetit!