Home-made Gifts

This Christmas, I made lots of home-made foodie gifts that I really enjoyed making and were very well received! These don't have to just be Christmas presents though, they can be made at any time of year, so I thought I would share my favourites so far. They're great to put in a box with tissue paper as a hamper as a special gift.



Spiced Apple Chutney, from BBC Food



Mari Williams' Tomato and Chilli Jam, from BBC Food



Sophie Dahl's Peanut Butter Fudge, from BBC Food, The Delicious Miss Dahl



Mari Williams' Chilli Oil, from BBC Good Food

Metcalf's Mincemeat and Nigella's Star Topped Mince Pies

Me and my Mum love to make our own mincemeat at Christmas, it smells amazing, it makes a lovely gift and you can have mince pies for as long as it lasts! We save all our jars the rest of the year so we have plenty for this mincemeat and other jams and chutneys. My favourite mince pie recipe is from Nigella Christmas, which can be found on her website here, and her Cranberry Studded Mincemeat Recipe is in the cookbook and here



Nigella's Mince Pies, above

Metcalf's Mincemeat

Makes 2.5kg, 5 x 500g jars

175g suet
1.6kg mixed dried fruit
225g glace cherries
1 large eating apple, peeled cored and grated
100g chopped almonds
450g dark brown soft sugar
1tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon zest and juice
300ml brandy, whisky or sherry

Sterilise your jars by washing them in hot soapy water, the putting them upside down on a tray into a 160 degree C oven for 30mins, or run through a hot dishwasher cycle.
Mix all the ingredients together (we use two large bowls)
Cover with a tea towel and leave for two days, stirring twice a day
Spoon into the jars and leave to mature for 1 week before using in your beautiful mince pies!

Christmas Dinner!

Yes, it's January and Christmas is officially over (sad), but this year I helped out with the big one; Christmas Dinner! So I have to share this as I am super proud of mine and my Dad's efforts!

We have, from the left; steamed veg, spiced red cabbage, chilli tomato jam, home cured pork, stuffing, apple and onion gravy, spiced apple chutney, roast potatoes and bacon and chestnut sprouts :)

The chutneys were part of my present to my Dad and were made a month in advance to allow them to mature, but they are not just for Christmas, they can be made any time of year for great presents! The recipes are from the BBC Food website here and here. There are also loads of other great ideas on there!

The potatoes were made following the perfect roast potatoes recipe from Nigella's Nigella Christmas cookbook (amazing book) which is also on her website here. We used butter instead of goose fat and it still worked beautifully, but I have a suspicion goose fat would be better! The sprouts recipe is also from her Christmas cookbook, and can be found here as well. Two other recipes, the pork and the gravy are in that fabulous book, which I will share. I have made a few adjustments because we didn't have all the same ingredients, so if you want the original, buy the book!

Effortless Home Cured Pork

Serves 8

1.6kg boneless pork loin roast

1 litre of apple juice

1 litre of water

50g table salt

250ml cider vinegar

4 small onions peeled and quartered (or 2 large, cut into eighths)

1 tsp of  dried parsley

cloves from 1 head of garlic, bruised but not peeled 

80g honey

1tsp of cardomom seeds

4 tsps of garlic oil

Put the pork joint in a pan with a lid

Add the remaining ingredients except the garlic oil

Put the lid on the stockpot and place in the fridge or in a cold place for 24-48 hours

Half an hour before the pork needs to go into the oven, pre-heat it to 200 degrees C/ gas mark 6 

Take the pork out of it's brine and sit it on a rack in the sink to let it drain and come to room temperature

Transfer it into a roasting tin and pour the garlic oil over

Roast for 1 1/2 hours before removing to a carving dish. A meat thermometer inserted should read 75 degrees C

Carve it thinly and enjoy!

Apple and Onion Gravy

2 onions, peeled and quartered

2 eating apples peeled, cored and quartered

2 tbsps butter

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tbsp honey

2 tsps flour

1/4 tsp ground ginger

500ml chicken stock

4 tsp soy sauce

Put the onion and apples in a food processor and process to mush (this also works with a bowl and hand held blender)

Put the butter and garlic oil in a pan and cook the onions and apples over a very gentle heat for 30mins stirring occasionally

Add the honey and cook for another 15mins

Stir in the flour and ginger

Still stiring, pour in the stock and turn up the heat

Stir as it comes to a boil and season with soy sauce

Cook until it has thickened slightly, for about 3mins

Enjoy over the pork!

The spiced red cabbage recipe comes from a lovely book by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat, called The French Kitchen: A Cookbook. I've always dreamed of being french and cooking and eating thier wonderful food, and this recipe didn't disappoint! 

Spiced Red Cabbage

50g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red cabbage, finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 red chilli finely sliced

100ml red wine or balsamic vinegar

75g unrefined brown sugar

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

sea salt

black pepper

200ml water

Melt the butterin a pan over a medium heat

Add the cabbage, onion and chilli, stir well and cook for 10mins

Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to the boil

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, checking frequently

Add more water if it gets dry

Serve hot or reheated with the rest of your amazing Christmas dinner!

 

Dinner - Poisson Meuniere

Another gem from The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook by Rachel Khoo. It is quick, easy and cheap (as long as you use white fish!) It was a hit with me and Daddy, so it will be one I can make when I am allowed control of the kitchen! Rachel recommends lemon sole, but white fish is lovely too. I had mine with noodles and fried mushrooms, but this would also work well with boiled new potatoes and a green salad. You can find the recipe and watch how to make it on BBC Food here

Ferndale Garden Centre

Me and Mum spent the bank holiday wandering around the very pretty Ferndale Garden Centre, and I spotted some foodie delights on the way out :)

First up, these little stock and spice packets from Gordon Rhodes for the slow cooker. Great for trying something new, a very easy dinner or a gift for someone who is not so sure on their spices but still likes a good stew/curry/chilli and they have the recipe on the back. 

http://www.gordonrhodes.co.uk/recipes/

Similarly, these are spice packets for various yummy sounding dishes with the recipe included.

http://www.spicentice.com/home.php

These are some awesome looking pickles of weird and wonderful combinations 

And here we have the sweet jams and curds....

....yummy stuff

http://www.thepickledvillage.co.uk/

Locally produced honeys - save the bees! My favourite was the blossom honey in the middle. You can't get the good stuff online, but you can get a Beekeeping Experience Gift Voucher and see how the whole thing is done :)

http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/marketplace/vendors/sheffieldhoney

And these beauties, which reminded me of the lovely cheese lady in York I used to visit, and her Smoked Chedder...Mmmmm.....cheesey. Me and Mum tried the Jamacian Jerk Spicy Gourmet Chedder and it was good but my, was it spicy! Teaches me to read before I eat. Take a look here

I went for the Chicken Jalfrezi and Slow Comfortable Stew mixes for Dad for Father's Day, and this lovely looking bar of chocolaty goodness for me. It is Sicilian Hazelnut Fine Dark Chocolate and the hazelnuts have been roasted and milled to a paste, creating something like super dark, rich Nutella in a bar, only better. It is also Organic and Fairtrade - I love saving the world with chocolate! Find more yummyness here. 

All in all, it was a good foodie day!

The Hummingbird Bakery Cards

I found these delightful notecards in TKMaxx and had to get them, they are so pretty! The best bit is that they have the recipe of the cupcakes pictured on the back, which I just think is a brilliant idea! I would love to get one of these, so I bought them to send to my other baking friends and put a smile on their faces too :D

Marshmallow Cupcake, the pretty tin, Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcake

Vanilla Cupcake, the back of the pretty tin, Lavender Cupcakes

You can find the recipes in one of the cookbooks available from the website here. Or go and visit if you are in London! They also have a blog and twitter competitions, as well as doing various treats to order :) 

The Vanilla Cafe, York

When I lived in York, this cafe was literally 2mins down the road from my flat, alongside Crumbs, and across the road from Coffee Culture :) It was the perfect place to be. I recently went back to visit my friend Becky and decided to take some pics of the very pretty Vanilla Cafe we visited. Hopefully I will be back soon and can take more pics of my favourite places! Next time I will get a pic of the outside as well...

 The view from the window upstairs, isn't that blossom tree gorgeous?

Mine and Becky's favourite sofas, and the super pretty teas sets :)

Link to Google maps - 12 College St City Centre York YO1 7JF‎

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