First wild garlic of the year

It's incredibly early this year - I don't think I have ever seen the wild garlic coming up in February, but tonight I picked my first small harvest along the banks of the River Severn.

I've got loads of ideas to try out, but when we posted a video of tonight's dinner on Instagram, the response was phenomenal, so I've decided to share this one straight away.

To be honest, it's not really a recipe, I haven't weighed out the ingredients or meticulously timed anything.
This is just a simple, throw together sauce that's ready in 15 minutes.

Large handful of wild garlic, washed
3 large, ripe tomatoes
2 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tblsp white wine vinegar
50g butter

Put a panful of your favourite pasta on to boil.

Roughly chop the garlic and blanch with approx 100ml boiling water.
Blend to a puree.

Put the oil into a frying pan and heat gently.
Chop the tomatoes and add to the frying pan. Fry gently until starting to soften.
Add the salt, sugar, vinegar and garlic puree.

Simmer until the pasta is cooked.
Strain the pasta.  Stir the butter into the tomato sauce and when it has melted, add as much grated cheese as you fancy - anything you can lay your hands on - I used a mature Cheddar tonight.
Pour over the pasta, mix well and serve.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

A perspective on what we eat

More of the waste not campaign, the sugar tax and the environment.....

A bit of a rant.

I have been spurred into finishing this post, by a fantastic piece in today's Observer by Eva Wiseman and all the publicity about the huge amount of sugar in the oversized, mucked about with coffee and chocolate drinks served up by the well known coffee shop chains.

When I was a teenager, we were all urged to lose weight by swapping to saccharine tablets in our drinks which, quite frankly, were vile.  They left a nasty chemical aftertaste and persuaded me that tea and coffee drunk without sugar was the way to go.
But swapping to unadulterated hot drinks - I also like my coffee black - did not remove my sweet tooth entirely and a nice shortbread (made with sugar AND butter AND gluten laden flour) is always welcome.

Things have progressed and the new sweeteners taste far better than those of the 70s.
BUT,  sugar is entirely natural, unlike the chemical cocktails of the alternatives. And as far as I am aware, the side effects of sensible consumption of sugar are significantly less scary than those attributed to aspartame.
My concern about taxing sugary drinks is that it does not really address the heart of the problem, which is that our tastes and our eating habits have changed and this is what we need to be looking at.
It's no good imposing a tax on fizzy pop, if the choice is a sugar free drink and a giant sized chocolate bar.
And what about sweets, cake, all the savoury foods which contain sugar - baked beans- biscuits, ice cream, breakfast cereal...... Need I go on?

Unless we re-educate kids', and even adults', palates then there is little to be gained in taxing fizzy drinks.

My children didn't even know that sugary cereals existed til they went to their first Cub camp. They started on Weetabix and got used to so called adult cereal.

I'd rather they had squash with sugar and cleaned their teeth than risked panic attacks with aspartame laced versions.

And while I am on my soapbox, can I bring up portion sizes?  Being overweight is as much to do with how much you eat as what you eat.
Portion sizes have grown and grown - last week my teenage daughter and I indulged in fish and chips from the local chippie.  We had one portion of cod and chips between us and couldn't eat all of it.
The so called "scandal" of the over sugared coffee drinks need to be put into perspective too - the statistics that were quoted related to the large drinks - who needs a PINT of coffee anyway?

All of this adds to the growing issue of food waste.  We choose larger portions, we are served larger portions and quite often we scoff the lot, but sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and what seemed like a good idea suddenly feels like a mountain to climb and a pile of food goes untouched.

 There are, of course other issues associated with food waste and page upon page has been written about this.
In my opinion, whilst laudable, it's not enough to tell people not to throw away their food when they have no idea where it comes from and what to do with it.

We really need to find a way to get back to basics with our food education.

Trust your senses...does it look ok? Does it smell ok?

Buy fresh from the market, local specialist or farm shop. Ask the retailer or producer about their produce, don't rely on a printed label.

What's wrong with a little mould on the rind of a cheese when we are happy to eat Stilton? Cut it off, grate the remainder and put it in a cheese sauce.

I am not advocating risking salmonella, but I do feel that we should be teaching all generations more about their food, so they can make informed choices about what they eat and how they eat.

We have Scouts who won't touch raw food, don't recognise basic fruit and vegetables and certainly can distinguish between beef and lamb.

I recently taught them how to make baked beans and they...and our scout leader... genuinely didn't realise you could make them at home.

We lead increasingly busy lives, but that's no excuse not to appreciate good food, to shop sensibly and eat wisely and well.
Can we get rid of the notion of  "good and bad" food.

Sure we cannot live on cakes and chips, but food should be a delight, not a chore.  Moderation and exercise can compensate for the occasional chocolate mousse and glass of red wine.

I am worried about the concept of clean eating and guilty pleasures, which can so easily distort our view of eating and enjoyment and result in eating disorders and obsessions.

It's a long way back to where we used to be in our relationship with food, but we need to look forward to find a way to reconnect and to truly relish and enjoy our food. Maybe the current interest in paleo diets and bone broth, aka stock, will trigger more interest.

An understanding and appreciation of food and a knowledge of where it comes from , how to cook it and what it does for us is surely the starting point in the approach to tackling food poverty, malnourishment, obesity and anorexia.

Remember the Sophia Loren quote.......Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.

But it's not just about the food we eat, it's how we cook it and what we cook it in.
We seem to have become a notion fascinated by TV chefs, clamouring for the latest celebrity cookery series or the competitiveness  of GBBO and Masterchef.
But truth be told, once in the kitchen, we become assemblers, with the addition of a jar of pre-cooked sauce to a pan of pasta being regarded as cooking and therefore not  dishing up convenience food.

Just how many people read what goes into this sauces - often too much salt and sugar and a great many fillers.
So many of them can be made better and cheaper and just as quickly from scratch.

So if we can educate people to cook better and learn about where their food has come from and what goes into it, then the next step is to look at the cookware we use.

This is a very long and worrying article, from the NY Times and it may make you think twice before buying another non stick pan.
And don't forget, the first time that you used a chemically coated pan, is the best it will ever be, as continued use will degrade and erode the coating and, as it cannot be restored, the only solution is to buy a new pan.
Ours are naturally coated with Sussex grown flax oil ....

....and if I'm being totally honest, the first time you use is the worst it will be, but the patina and non stick properties will get better and better over time and in the event of a culinary disaster, they can be scrubbed back and restored.

If you look at them in terms of pence per use over the lifetime of the pan, you will realise what good value they are.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Networking and #SBS 2016

Networking - wasn't that something company directors did on the golf course or meetings of the Masons in their secretive lodges?

We have communicated individually or in groups, even tribes, for time immemorial trying to create the most advantageous conditions in which to thrive. Networking is simply business speak for making connections and talking to one another.

I was 39 when we had our first child and consequently we had no friends with babies or young children and after nearly 20 years of going to work, I found being a new mother isolating and lonely, until I joined the NCT, where I met a group of friends who are still part of my support network 18 years later..... And several of the children of that group remain close friends too.
Networking is something that happens on the school playground, swimming lessons and Saturday football.

This week, I attended the 4th #SBS Event, organised by fromer Dragon,  Theo Paphitis, which has to be one of the best networking opportunities you can imagine . What's more #SBS was made possible by Twitter, which is in itself the ultimate networking environment.
If you want to know more about SmallBusinessSunday - have a look here http://www.theopaphitissbs.com/about and if you fancy your chances, make sure you enter on Sunday evenings.
Remember, perseverance is the key.

We have made loads of real friends and met many new customers, both private and retail, simply by using the power of Twitter to communicate our message.
And we clearly got the message across to Mr P. who selected us as one of his winners..... here I am collecting our certificate in 2013.

This year's event was, as ever, inspirational, with speeches not only from Mr Paphitis, sharing his passion and knowledge in his entertaining, informative and inimitable style, but also from Helen Tucker, founder of the phenomenally successful notonthehighstreet and the straight talking Yorkshire man, Mike Pickles, founder and sole owner of Really Useful Products, manufacturer of what really are "really useful"  boxes.

Listening to their stories and realising that they had shared some of the trials and tribulations that, no doubt many of us, undergo, inspired me to kick all thoughts of defeat into the long grass and use our passion for what we are doing to drive us on.
Once again, on shaking legs , I got up to ask a question and the support from fellow SBS winners as well as the response from the platform gave me great encouragement.
At least he remembered who we are and commented that he still uses the Netherton Foundry trivet that he bought - yes, bought, not a promotional giveaway.

                                                        


Those of you who were there, will have heard me mention our unofficial and certainly unpaid global ambassador, Nigella Lawson, who has been singing the praises of our cast iron slow cooker wherever she goes, as well as featuring our loaf tins, not only in the Daily Mail, but also in her latest book Simply Nigella.

Lucky you, many have said, but as Theo pointed out..... the harder you work, it seems the luckier you become.  Whilst there was an element of serendipitous timing that led to this incredibly valuable connection, underlying it was the drive and determination to get our brand name and product range recognised, even if it meant hammering the social media platforms at unsociable hours, when we could have had our feet up with a glass of wine and a box set.

So my messages from today are:
Thanks to Theo Paphitis and the #SBS team for hosting a great event and providing us with hope, advice, inspiration and a good lunch
Thanks also to all the people there and out in the Twittersphere who have extended friendship and support, especially when times have seemed at their worst.
Luck may make a difference, but you make your own luck, so get up and get on with it if you want to be successful, it won't come to you......go after that success with passion, determination and hope.
And you will only stand a chance of winning #SBS if you enter.

I hope you all get the success you deserve and a little bit of luck along the way.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

Floods

The flood waters have receded, the media circus has left town, sacrificial victims have been hung out for public scrutiny and it's as if the great flood of Christmas 2016 never happened.

Except of course, it did and all those people and businesses affected by it are still living with the consequences.

The images of broken bridges, demolished pubs, homes full of filthy water and community centres turned into refugee camps were powerful and moving, the headlines and news reports shocked us all, but what now?  It's all been forgotten so quickly.

For so many people the impact of the flood will last months and some may never recover. 

Thankfully the death toll was mercifully small, but the final reckoning has yet to  be done and without our support may small businesses may not survive.  How can they finance the coming months with no income?

To some extent - greater or lesser, insurance claims will cover the immediate aftermath - damage to buildings and destruction of stock, can all be recompensed and, in the long run, replaced.

But what about the interim and what about all the businesses not directly affected by the rising water.

One of our stockists told me that the Environment Agency had advised people not to visit their entire AREA, when in fact their town was both accessible and dry.  Consequently they had the lowest trading figures in 22 years and that was in  December!! 

So many rely on a good December to take them through the quiet months of January and February, but if December was a write off, then can they hang on until the roads are passable, the bridges repaired, the hotels opened and the Spring weather for customers to return.

You know that we are committed to supporting independent businesses and only supply selected retailers for our range.

But this is a plea for you to support ALL the businesses in all the areas affected by the floods.

Pop into the local for a drink, visit the cinema, have a weekend away at a B&B, shop locally - do your bit to make sure that these communities will still be operating viable businesses this year.  The dry ones are almost as hard hit as the inundated ones and they have no claim on their insurance, just because we have all stayed away.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

Chocolate orange ice cream

"It's not Terry's, it's mine", said Dawn French, referring of course to the irresistible Terry's chocolate orange; a perfect piece of chocolate desirability, whose popularity spans all boundaries.

Chocolate and orange is, of course, a classic combination, so when we were given a bottle of chocolate red wine, it seemed like a good idea to chuck that into the mix as well.... But what to make?

The answer is chocolate orange ice cream and it is the simplest thing to make:

1lb Marmalade, homemade if you've got it

Large tub of double cream

Chocolate - take your pick, I used a 100g bar of milk chocolate, because that's what I had in the cupboard, but I reckon dark chocolate would be even better.

Optional extras - Chocolate red wine, Cointreau, Drambuie

Tip the marmalade into a mixing bowl and stir until it's soft and malleable - warm it slightly if needed.

Chop the chocolate into small chunks.

Whip the cream.

Fold all three ingredients together and stir in a splash of booze.

Pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.

The great thing about this ice cream is that there is no need to churn it and stir it, just leave it to freeze.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Evarro Olive oil review and roasted tomato mayonnaise recipe

I was recently offered the opportunity to review some olive oil and naturally leapt at the chance, not least because this was the first time I had been approached to do a review and I have to admit, it felt good!!!
This Spanish extra virgin olive oil was sent to us by the lovely Gabriele at www.sfoodle.com  and I would urge you to have a look at what they offer.

We love olive oil here at the Foundry and can be very picky about it, so this was a calculated risk - what if we didn't like it?  I'd offered to review it and in keeping with our company philosophy, I felt the need to be completely honest about what we thought.
I needn't have worried........... this oil is first class.

A beautiful greeny yellow colour, glorious smell and a fresh, slightly peppery taste that has made it perfect for dipping, dressings and cooking.

We tried it all ways :-)

First of all, it was simply used as a dip for fresh home made bread, with a side order of olives. I caught my teenage daughter wiping her finger round the bowl - 'nuff said.

Next on the menu, green beans with tomatoes.  This is my favourite way to cook green beans, either chopped runner beans or whole French beans.

Place the beans in a saucepan with a clove of garlic, peeled and sliced, some chopped fresh tomato, a tiny amount of water and a good splash of olive oil.

Simmer for 20 minutes.  Fabulous with roast lamb, but good enough to eat on their own with a chunk of crusty bread.

Then I cooked our creative genius's favourite breakfast - fried eggs with paprika and cumin, dished up on toast..... in one of our own frying pans, naturally  Result?  One happy genius.

  

Finally, I had agreed to create a recipe using this oil, so with a basket full of cherry tomatoes to hand and some super fresh sea bass fillets in the fridge, this is what I came up with.

Marie Rose sauce is a firm favourite with seafood, a luscious mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup, but I fancied something a little more robust to show off the tomatoes and the oil, so here goes:

Roasted tomato mayonnaise

200g cherry tomatoes

Olive oil

Sea salt

Put the whole tomatoes into an oven safe frying pan and pour over a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
Sprinkle with sea salt and roast in the oven at 150º C for 2 hours

Transfer the tomatoes to a mixing bowl/jug and scrape in all the residual oil.  Blend with chilli to taste until you have a smooth paste.  you won't need all of this for the mayonnaise - store the remainder in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and add to tomato sauces for pasta or pizza.

Next make your mayonnaise - you could cheat at this stage and use a good shop bought mayo, but it won't have the same depth of flavour as making your own.

2 egg yolks

250ml olive oil

25 ml white wine vinegar

Ensure yolks and oil are at room temperature

Beat the yolks thoroughly.

SLOWLY drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously - it is important to add the oil slowly or the mixture will split.

When all the oil has been absorbed, whisk in the vinegar,

Stir in 2 heaped teaspoons of the tomato paste and mix well.

Serve with grilled Halloumi, fish, salmon or steak and it's also good in a prawn or egg mayonnaise sandwich.

The picture below shows the sea bass fillets I mentioned earlier, coated in a flour, paprika and lemon zest mix and quickly pan fried in olive oil, served on a bed of peas and leeks.

Please take note that I was not paid for this review and the opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

A new bread recipe

Not so long ago, we added Hawarden Estate Farm Shop to our list of independent retail stockists and I did the initial delivery myself.

Whilst unpacking their first order, I fell into conversation with a delightful couple, Mr and Mrs Welch, who made the very first Netherton purchase at the shop.

They chose a 2lb loaf tin and we had a wonderful discussion on home made bread and they promised to send me one of their favourite recipes.

And here it is, courtesy of Town Mill in Lyme Regis - and this has to be the easiest loaf you will ever make.

THREE MINUTE SPELT LOAF

Ingredients:

·         500g Town Mill spelt flour

·         10g fast-acting dried yeast

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         50g sunflower seeds

·         50g sesame seeds

·         500ml warm water

Method:

1.       Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas 6

2.       Combine all ingredients, adding the water last

3.       Mix well and turn dough into a greased loaf tin

4.       Bake for an hour

5.       Turn loaf out of the tin

6.       Return to oven minus tin for an extra 5-10 minutes