Flintstones Tearoom

                                    My friend linda entering Flintstones tearoom

Having had a mini heatwave the weather suddenly turned cold again a couple of days ago. Personally I love a bracing walk on a cold bright day and where better than along the sea shore! My friend linda lives by the shore in the beautiful village of Emsworth, although it is officially a town, Emsworth has a village feel, popular with artists and walkers the town has a long connection with oyster fishing and boat building.

Wrapped up against the elements (it actually snowed later in the day) linda and I walked along the shore until we came to Flintstones café, tucked around the corner from the harbour Flintstones is a tiny two-tiered café within a stone and beamed building. Inside, the cafe is both quirky and charming and a sign reads: 'we don't do fast food but we serve good food as fast as we can'. Life size cardboard figures were perched on the rafters around the cafe which added a sense of fun

                                              The proprietor of Flintstones

We opted for some bacon and brie baguettes and a large pot of tea

Temptation got the better of us and we both had a slice of delicious homemade carrot cake

Emsworth hosts lots of individual shops and non-branded stores which makes it such an appealing place to visit

                                       'Fat Olives' friendly food tasty people!

                                                      The village butcher

                                           Quintessential English cottages

A lovely afternoon was spent and being the loquacious food people that we are I arrived home rather late and decidedly full! Hence I wasn't really in the mood for cooking, however, Glenn and Bert were sat with knife and fork poised, hungry after a hard days work! Fortunately I had the last of my roast shoulder of lamb left in the fridge so it was a case of a quick 'hotch-potch dinner!  I'm not going to labour the point with this recipe but leftover roast meat with a few simple additions makes a lovely meal, and I only emphasise this because I know so many people throw their leftovers away, especially if it's a small piece of meat that's been sitting in the fridge for a few days. See post: 'Two fat ladies' for the gammon version of this pie and whenever you have a little piece of any roast meat left over you can apply it to this recipe.

Lamb hotch-potch

Recipe
Leftover roast lamb
Leftover vegetables, alternatively cook some fresh or frozen vegetables
Leftover roast parsnips and sweet potato
Gravy
Mashed potatoes

Cut meat into small pieces
Mix with vegetables

Add gravy
Top with mashed potatoes and cook for 30-40 minutes

This is actually the origins of shepherds pie, left over lamb and vegetables topped with potatoes, although now most people make it from scratch with minced lamb it is definitely more flavoursome made by the old fashioned method.

'The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.'
-Julia Child

Love Donna xx

Waste Not Want Not!

Further to my post: 'don't forget to eat your greens' in which I lamented upon the tons of food wasted each year in the UK, I advocated the use of overripe fruit and veg in sauces, soups and chutneys. A reader contacted me to ask for a chutney recipe but with a proviso, in his words 'Make a nice quick one, not one of those that needs storing for 10 years!'

We associate chutney as part of the traditional makings of a ploughman's lunch, however, although the ploughman's originated in the UK, chutney comes from the Hindi word 'chatni'. Chutney became a resourceful means of preserving summer fruits and vegetables to last throughout the lean winter months here in the UK, rather ironic given the amount of fruit and veg we now dump on a daily basis!

Chutney is often left to mature because of its vinegar content, any preserve made with vinegar needs time to allow the flavours to develop, vinegar's acidic nature allows it to preserve ingredients almost indefinitely.

I found a recipe for a simple tomato chutney that can be eaten and enjoyed immediately, infact the fresher the better! As always I deviated slightly from the recipe adding a chilli and a ball of stem ginger, I found the combination of fruity tomatoes, pungent ginger and a kick of heat from the chilli delicious, pared with a strong chunk of cheese, some crusty bread and a good wine this makes for a satisfying meal. I have often extolled the virtues of a cheese and wine meal when having friends for dinner, arranged on various platters and boards, fresh cheeses and various chutneys can look quite remarkable and striking rather than something fussy or laboured over.

                                           Photo courtesy of 'plum gorgeous'

So, as I was rummaging in the reduced section in my local supermarket I found bags of perfectly firm tomatoes reduced to 40p a bag. We've had a sudden downturn in the weather, consequently salad produce isn't selling and much of it was greatly reduced. This is another thing to bear in mind when shopping, if it's a hot day you can guarantee people will be buying salad like it's going out of fashion, the root vegetables will invariably be reduced. As I said before, these can be stored in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks, it's about thinking outside of the box! My chutney, three jars worth, effectively cost around a pound to make and it's good for my carbon footprint-a win win situation I would say!

Tomato chutney

Recipe
250g onion, finely sliced
500g tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 chilli, sliced
75ml vinegar
140g brown sugar
1 ball stem ginger, finely sliced (optional)

Put everything in a pan, stir to combine and bring to the boil
Turn the heat down and gently simmer for 30-40 minutes until jammy

Pour into sterilised jars and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks

'My idea of heaven is relaxing at home with a cheese plate and wine.'
-Lea Michele

Mine too!
Love Donna xxxxx

A Domestic Goddess!

Well it's been a year now since I became a full time 'housewife' the very name of which is unglamorous, dated and synonymous with domestic drudgery. Perhaps I should call myself a 'domestic goddess' I certainly take pleasure in domestic chores as, unlike a 1950s housewife, I have all the mod cons at my disposal, I'm not exactly putting my washing through a mangle or humping sacks of coal from the bunker!

I come from the generation of 'new woman' unlike my mother I wanted it all and domesticity didn't come into it. However, the 'superwomen' role models have fallen from grace and there has been a fundamental shift in young Women's attitudes towards life and work. Having watched their own mother's trying and often failing to 'have it all' they don't want to work crazy hours while their children are in nurseries. Young women value happiness before a big salary or high powered career, apparently the age of 'superwoman': worlds best mother, wife, martyr and boss, is dead!

I can't say I blame them, given the choice between my life being on permanent fast forward: work, shopping (and ending up with cupboards full of random impulse buys,) throwing meals together, housework, work..........or my current life, it's a no brainer! Interestingly one in five women born in 1970 has suffered with depression, twice the rate of those born in 1940! One social statistic that has remained unchanged between 1954 and today is the proportion of men who claim to do housework, 12 per cent. I quess in the words of the song: 'you can thank your lucky stars that we're not as smart as we'd like to think we are.'

Without doubt, shopping for and cooking raw ingredients is time consuming, hence why my mother spent so much time in her kitchen, however, it is also very cost effective which is essential for me as I no longer work. Today I made some rissoles with some of the leftover lamb: see post Sunday roast, they were utterly delicious and a very good recipe for using lovely leftovers. As I've said before, some dishes photograph better than others and the photos I have taken unfortunately don't do the rissoles justice, please don't be put off, give these a try and maybe send me your photos to my facebook page: Donna's pink kitchen.

Lamb rissoles

Recipe
225g cooked lamb
1 onion
40g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg, beaten
For coating and frying
Seasoned flour
Oil for shallow frying

Chop lamb and onion in a food processor, place in a bowl and add rest of ingredients
Mix until everything is thoroughly combined
Divide into 6 portions, shape each into a round cake shape, coat each rissole with flour

Chill in fridge until ready to cook
Heat oil in a frying pan, enough to cover base of pan
Fry rissoles for 5 minutes on each side

The ingredients for rissoles are by no means invariable, for something spicy add a teaspoon of chilli powder, for a middle eastern flavour add cumin and coriander. For an Indian influence add curry powder, ginger and turmeric.

You can serve rissoles with salad or seasonal vegetables and some buttery potatoes

'They shared the chores of living as some couples do--she did most of the work and he appreciated it'
-Paula Gosling

Love from the domestic goddess xxxxxxx

Donna's Pink Kitchen: Sunday Roast, 'Be Home'

Donna's Pink Kitchen: Sunday Roast, 'Be Home': The traditional Sunday ritual of eating a large family meal following a church service has been, since time immemorial, common to all of ...

Sunday Roast, 'Be Home'

The traditional Sunday ritual of eating a large family meal following a church service has been, since time immemorial, common to all of Europe and other countries with a Christian heritage. In fact the institution of the 'Sunday roast' is one of the best things about British food culture.

Sadly statistics show that nowadays only 2 per cent of families in the UK regularly sit down to a family Sunday roast. Despite 54 per cent of us having children, the busy lives of adults have led to a fragmented family life. Where once 'mum' would spend a relaxed Sunday morning pottering in the kitchen whilst dad washed the car or spent time gardening and the children played, we have now been eroded by the frantic pace of modern life. Sunday, much like any other day, is now spent shopping or enjoying individual pursuits such as going to the gym.  Added to which the prevalence of technology such as tablet computers and smart phones are playing a huge part in alienating family members.

When I was growing up, the roast was at the heart of every Sunday and a similar story would unfold in most households across the UK. Nothing was nicer than to be sat at the laden table with family and sometimes friends, a truly convivial experience which is still widely practiced in many European countries such as Spain, Italy and France.

After Sunday lunch my parents would have an afternoon nap, but come teatime we would all gather round for 'the golden shot' and 'stars on Sunday' however, in a further departure from tradition, fewer families are congregating in the living room to watch television together.

I was watching a reality programme recently following the lives of a very modern family, surprisingly the glamorous mother cooked a huge Sunday roast for her family which she touchingly referred to as 'be home.' Most people are nostalgic for the Sunday roasts of their childhoods and children today are growing up deprived of this once loved tradition-a tradition where every mouthful spells home!

Beyond the wonderful thing that is a 'roast dinner' is the fact that it is the finest source of leftovers. My weeks cooking is based on my Sunday roast, last week I cooked a gammon ham and stretched this out into three dinners in total. This Sunday I roasted a organic lamb shoulder, an economical and tasty cut that has provided plenty in the way of leftover meat for the week ahead. If you don't cook a regular Sunday roast I hope this will inspire you in time for next Sunday, it beats eating a bowl of pasta or pizza which is somehow wrong on Sunday. Make an exception next Sunday and 'be home'.

Roast shoulder of lamb

Recipe
1 x 2kg shoulder of lamb
fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven to its highest setting
Rub the lamb with olive oil, season and top with sprigs of rosemary
Place lamb in a baking tray and cover tightly with tinfoil, place in hot oven and immediately turn oven down to 170c/gas mark 3 and cook for four hours

When the lamb is nearly cooked, peel and chop a selection of roasting vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips, place in fast boiling salted water for 10 minutes, drain and set to one side
Remove the cooked lamb from the oven and place on a chopping board, cover with tin foil and leave to rest

Add vegetables to baking tray lamb has been cooked in, baste well and cook for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp

Make a Yorkshire pudding batter: 1 cup plain flour, 1 cup half water/half milk, 1 cup beaten eggs, pinch of salt

Use a scant amount of oil from your roasting tray and heat until spitting hot, pour batter in and cook for 20 minutes

When roasting vegetables are cooked remove from oven and transfer to plates
Drain any excess fat from roasting tray, over a medium heat sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into tray and make a roux, gradually add water, scrape all the meaty, sticky bits from the tray and stir until gravy has thickened

Carve meat, add to plates, add Yorkshires and return plates to oven to warm through for a few minutes

Add gravy and tuck in!

Cover any cooled remaining lamb and follow me next week for leftover lamb recipes.

'Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.'
-Albert Schweitzer

Are You Having A Bubble.

Last week I bought a large gammon ham, we've had the roast dinner, see post: famous, rich and hungry. I then made a hotch-potch pie, see post: two fat ladies. Now I have used the last of the gammon in todays recipe.

But before we go to the recipe I want to share a bit of my personality with you. My blog unlike many other food blogs will contain stories, photos of friends and the odd outburst or rant, which may seem peculiar and rather random if you literally want recipes! I hope this will all add to your enjoyment of 'Donna's pink kitchen' I know it wont be everyone's cup of tea, but for those of you who are joining me let's hope we have fun!

Something you should know about me is my love of wordplay, I love the use of spoonerisms, phonetic mix-ups, neologisms and I often go off on rhetorical excursions! For example: 'the world is your lobster' this used to drive my mother crazy, she corrected me every time! Deelipcious and perfy-lume are two of my favourites and over the years certain sayings have stuck. When my son Bert was small he called tin foil 'tin of oil.' The expression 'sky at night, shepards delight' became 'sky at night, turkish delight.'

I used to call crepes 'craps' until one day on a beach in Spain Bert loudly announced (having spotted a crepe bar) 'mummy I want a crap' the lesson learnt: you have to be careful with children when using word play!

The reason I'm telling you all of this (and it's not because I've been on the cooking sherry) is that my rhetorical excursions may sometimes find their way onto this page! It's not to be confused with bad diction which is so common nowadays. I was watching a programme recently where a woman quite obliviously said things like 'paux far' 'parting of the waves' she meant 'ways' and 'Hekyll and Jyde' people use expressions quite often not understanding them, a friend of mine relentlessly says:'for some unreason' when what he means is 'for some reason'.

To go with the leftover gammon I made some bubble and squeak which in honour of the lovely Michael Buble I call 'Buble and squeak'. It's a rather appropriate dish given that I've talked a lot about using up leftovers and surplus ingredients this week. Traditionally fried leftover veg from a Sunday roast would be eaten on a Monday and used to be on most housewives radar. There is no true recipe and mine is just an example, we had ours with gammon but for a meat free, economical dish 'Buble' is delicious served with fried or poached eggs and lashings of baked beans.

Bubble and squeak

Recipe
1 large cabbage, shredded
2 onions, sliced finely
5 large potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed

Preheat oven 200c/gas mark 6

Place cabbage and onions in a large pan, cover with water and boil rapidly for 6 minutes

Drain and squeeze out excess water

Combine cabbage, onion and potato, seaon well

Dust your surface with flour and a handful at a time make a patty with your mixture

Lightly oil some greaseproof paper and line a roasting tray, place patties on tray

Bake for 10 minutes then turn patties over, cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden and hot right through

Gammon with a mayonnaise dressing

Recipe

The last of your leftover gammon, shredded

Mayonnaise

Fresh parsley

English mustard

Combine mayonnaise, mustard and chopped parsley, add the mustard to taste

Combine the shredded meat with the mayonnaise mixture, coating all the meat

Press the meat into a pastry cutter or pared down can to form a nice shape

Add cooked bubble and squeak and garnishes, I added chutney and chilli sauce

For the larger appetite add eggs and hollandaise sauce, basically the meal becomes a posh version of bacon, egg and chips.

'Here lie the bones of one 'Bun'

He was killed with a gun

His name was not 'Bun' but 'Wood'

But 'Wood' would not rhyme with gun

But 'Bun' would.'

-epitaph

Love Donna xxxxx