British cheese - a British treasure

There is something to be said about British cheese.
They are versatile as much as they are delicious.
I've been a keen explorer of these cheeses for a few years now and I am amazed by the variety of cheeses this country holds.

Caraway seed cheese by Crudges - The Cotwolds

Some are huge, some are tiny some have strange shapes but they all have one thing in common: they are a product of love and caring.

I was lucky to talk to a few cheese makers and the most important thing they all have in common is a passion to create an outstanding product.
As you might know already, my heart beats a little faster when I meet people who are passionate about creating their delicious product.
I enjoy to see the smile on their face when they tell me how they made it, the sparks in their eyes because someone is taking an interest and the warmth they share by telling me about it.

Over the last years the small cheese makers are popping up all over the UK.
There are over 700 cheeses produced in the UK so there will be a cheese to everyone’s taste.




A broad public is becoming more aware of the benefits of artisan products and are starting to prefer these product to the mass produced items the supermarkets have on offer.

Lord London by Alsop & Walker - Kent

Pork stew braised with Cider and apples

The comfort of food
Although it was the last week of August the weather became quite chilly, not to speak about the storms we've been faced with.
There's been thunder and lightning every evening for about a week now. At times the weather got so bad a tent collapsed at a music festival leaving utter destruction and fatalities.
I had some friends there who kept themselves safe, thank god for that. But others did lose friends and are now left to cope with the loss. It leaves you with a strange feeling when tragedy strikes a place where thousands of young people are gathered to enjoy themselves and be merry.
Some of the young people's lives will never be the same and others will be strengthened by it but nevertheless the experience will be a part of their lives for a very long time, if not forever.

Food blogger connect 2011 London

The fabulous venue

So there I was, London.
I was very nervous before I arrived at the Hempel hotel for Food blogger connect.
It felt like the first day of school.
Some people allready knew each other, some were newbies but nevertheless as soon as the canapés arrived and everyone hauled out their camera, the ice was broken.
We were amongst our own kind.
We started to review the food and soon tips for making the best falafel were exchanged.
Suddenly the mood had changed from the first day at school to a high school reunion.
Smiling faces everywhere, everyone excited about what was coming.

The waiter looked very nervous with all the foodies taking pictures!

My wedding food

Our wedding favours ...
Rock candy with our names and customised label!

60 seconds with Regula of Foodwise.be

60 seconds with Regula of Foodwise

Outdoor cooking - Pizza

I dream of having an Italian woodfired oven in my garden...
I have got a smoker and I found out it bakes a mean pizza and great flatbreads!
So what I do is make enough pizza dough for a few pizza's and then just bake the base for a few minutes, bag and freeze them for a rainy day!

The recipe for 8 pizza bases:

• 250 ml warm water

• 1 packet of dried yeast

• 1 tb of seasalt

• 1tb of honey (the clear kind)

• 300 g of semolina typo 00

• 100 g of plain flour

Ad the yeast to half of the water and the honey. Leave it untill it starts to react.
Ad the salt to the flour and the semolina.
When the yeast is activated, ad to the flour, gently mixing it together and adding the rest of the water when needed.

When you have a nice and smooth ball, put it aside and leave to rise for minimum 30 minutes.
Now knock out the air and form the bases. Leave for another 30 minutes before topping them with all kinds of lovely stuff.

Blackadder Whisky tasting

My dad loves Whisky so when he turned 60 I wanted to do something with him that he would really enjoy. When I found out there was a tasting with Robin Tucek from Blackadder in Antwerp, my choice was made.

Blackadder was originally founded by Robin Tucek and John Lamond who you may know as the authors of the popular whisky book "The Malt Whisky File: The Essential Guide for the Malt Whisky Connoisseur". John Lamond ceased to be part of the company by the end of 1999

Blackadder believes in bottling only whiskies that are completely natural.
Robin's challenge, is to select and bottle only individual casks as naturally as possible. To ensure this they only give their whiskies a light filtration to remove any cask particles that may otherwise get into the bottle. Blackadder Raw Cask whiskies, however, are completely unfiltered. Whisky with the bits still in it as Robin referred to it.

All Blackadder whiskies are single cask bottlings. This also applies to whiskies bottled under all Blackadder International labels such as; Aberdeen Distillers, Clydesdale Original and Caledonian Connections whiskies.

"Cask is King."
Each cask is chosen to represent one of the very best examples of its type and age. No two casks of whisky are ever completely alike, because the type of oak used and the conditions under which it is stored will both influence the ultimate spirit produced.

My favourite!

We had the pleasure this evening to taste 6 beautiful Whiskies:
Aberlour, my personal favourite. An 18 year old Whisky by Clydesdale at 60,3%
Tamdhu, 1987 by Blackadder at 49,3%
Amrut, by Blackadder at 62% amazingly made from Barley grown in the Himalaya.
Clynelish, 19 year old Whisky by Riverstown at 67%
A drop of the Irish, 10 years old by Blackadder at 46%
Smoking Islay, by Blackadder

Eggs for soldiers

Eggs for Soldiers is fundraising in support of Help for Heroes, who provide direct, practical support to members of the Armed Forces who have been injured in the line of duty.  The designs for the new brand have a confident colouring, which delivers strong shelf standout.

"All hens live in a free range life where they can spend their days foraging outside on the range covered in lush green grass and trees. They are fed on a cereal based vegetarian diet made with the highest quality raw ingredients."

Now that's what I like to hear!

www.eggsforsoldiers.co.uk

jamie wins TED prize

 

A truly inspirational talk. If anyone asks why I respect Jamie Oliver, this sums it up perfectly...

Click here to see Jamies TED award speech >

Click here for the artikel on jamieoliver.com >