Potted Ham

“Hold hard a minute, then!” said the Rat … and after a short interval reappeared staggering under a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.

“Shove that under your feet,” he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat. …

“What’s inside it?” asked the Mole, wriggling with curiosity.

“There’s cold chicken inside it,” replied the Rat briefly; “cold-tongue-cold-ham-cold-beef-pickeled-gherkins-salad-french-rolls-cress-sandwidges-potted-meat-ginger-beer-lemonade-sodawater-“

“O stop, stop,” cried Mole in ecstasies: “This is too much!”

(“The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Graham)

There is something distinctly Edwardian about potted meats, coming from a time before the privations of the First and Second World Wars, but when pâté was positively exotic and probably not to be trusted. Even my grandmother would have felt it was old-fashioned. But I have to say that, both from the point of view of reducing waste, and just the sheer enjoyment of eating it, we have been missing out!

I am sure this is a theme to which I will return (there being a glut of potential variations) but to begin with I’m turning to the rather sad, dry nugget of leftover ham which is looking a bit unloved at the back of the fridge … Continue reading “Potted Ham” →

Leftover Brisket Curry

“Leftovers” are key to the way I plan our family meals and reduce labour and waste. I’ve always felt a little more at liberty to experiment with leftovers as they are an “added bonus” – it doesn’t feel like such a disaster if things don’t turn out perfectly. Also it’s much easier to “stretch” leftovers with other ingredients so it can be a really cost effective way to cook.

It’s one of the main tenets of Jamie Oliver’s “Save with Jamie” – a really useful recipe book if you’re cooking for a family. (I will write a proper review at some point.)

As we had a decent amount of brisket left over I had a look through his Beef chapter and realised the Beef Rendang recipe was virtually AIP friendly already so I gave it a whirl! (Especially now my hubby has managed to reintroduce rice into his diet, he is delighted to try new curry recipes whenever the opportunity arises.) It was so good there was only one portion left (which I have my eye on in the freezer next time I am home alone in the evening). Continue reading “Leftover Brisket Curry” →

Piquant Pot-Roast Brisket (Instant Pot)

I never found roasting beef very easy – more often than not it comes out dry and grey whilst making the whole house smell of dripping – but a slow cooked “pot roast” somehow just works, with the added bonus that, because cheaper cuts of meat like brisket cook best this way, you don’t have to remortgage to produce an amazing “Sunday Roast” with a ton of amazing leftovers*.

It is even easier in an Instant Pot and much quicker (which is great if, like me, you can’t even think about lunch at the weekend until you’ve had at least 2 leisurely cups of coffee!) but just as tender and tasty.

Continue reading “Piquant Pot-Roast Brisket (Instant Pot)” →

Homecooked Ham (Instant Pot)

Gammon (or “Hot Ham” as it was always known at home) is not just for Christmas.

Two things which help save my sanity when it comes to cooking for my family are meal planning and factoring in “leftovers” (and I don’t just mean making a “what you can find” meal from scraps, I mean cooking more than you need in anticipation of using it later). This is particularly useful when following a restrictive diet like AIP as food preparation can become a serious burden.

Cooking a Gammon (the raw ham joint – cured and/or smoked) definitely ticks these boxes – delicious hot main meal AND delicious cold ham for several days after (AND if there’s any left over after all that, it freezes well and there are innumerable dishes which can only benefit from the addition of a little chopped ham) – and if you’re careful about the Gammon you buy, you can be sure it isn’t more chemical preservative than meat (something AIPers know to be wary of with Deli meat). Continue reading “Homecooked Ham (Instant Pot)” →

“Best of Both Worlds” Flapjacks

I recently found an old box of books from my youth and childhood in the loft. Amongst my old A-level text books was a vintage gem from my formative years – Katie Stewart’s “The Pooh Cook Book” – a treasure trove of A.A. Milne endorsed, evocative recipes which featured heavily during the wet and wintry weekends of my West Country childhood. Flapjacks I remember being a particular favourite, and the recipe still has my lovely mum’s annotations to scale the recipe for the roasting tin that fitted our late lamented Belling oven (1976-2000).

Thinking (or rather dreaming) of flapjacks led me back to my all-time favourite food columist Felicity Cloake’s definitive Flapjack article (from her most excellent “How to cook the perfect …” series)*. Her advice regarding the mix of bog standard porridge oats and larger rolled jumbo oats guarantees no more batches of accidental flapjack-flavoured granola. She also nails the crunchy vs chewy instructions.

Tinkering with perfection is a dangerous business, but, being a chewy flapjack fan whilst still loving crunch, I was rather tempted by Tom Norrington-Davies’s retro cornflake addition. (My mother’s 1980s health-food obsession meant that the only packaged cereal we had at home was All-Bran which would have been revolting!).

Wanting something a bit more “grown-up” I came across these unadulterated puffed oats which do the trick perfectly. I substitute 25g of these for 50g of the jumbo oats in Felicity’s recipe. (They also add fantastic lightness and crunch to granola and museli and taste nutty and interesting too.)

My tuppence worth is to press the mixture down quite firmly before you bake. An old fashioned masher would be perfect if you have one! Continue reading ““Best of Both Worlds” Flapjacks” →

Butternut Hummous

There are all kinds of “exotic” hummous about the place – caramelised onion, red pepper, chipotle and lime, cumin and coriandar etc.. and that’s just in our local supermarket. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great. But if it ain’t broke why fix it?!

That said, I’m always looking at ways to boost our vegetable consumption. I read somewhere that the “Five A Day” recommendation was mainly based on what it was felt the good people of Britain would be prepared to eat, rather than what would be best for them (somewhere closer to “Nine A Day” with a much heavier emphasis on veg than fruit). So, even though our children are pretty good about eating their veg, I still like to sneak extra veg into whatever I can. (We call it “Stealth Veg”.)

Butternut and chickpeas really work together – the earthy and the slightly sweet. I’ve been bunging them together in tagines for years (probably with inauthentic abandon – do gourds grow in North Africa?). Needless to say, they are awesome together in hummous. Continue reading “Butternut Hummous” →

Tarragon Vinegar

Bring a medium sized pan of water to a brisk boil.

Plunge a bushy sprig of French tarragon into the boiling water for 10 seconds (“blanch”). Remove and plunge immediately into cold water to “refresh” it.

Dry thoroughly on some kitchen towel.

Open a fresh bottle of (Apple) Cider Vinegar (usually 350ml in the UK) and pour out a couple of tablespoons to make room. Ease in the blanched tarragon and screw the lid back on tightly.

Invert the bottle a few times to mix and leave in a cool, dark place to infuse for at least a month before using.

Use in a dressing or mayonnaise for simple poached chicken or fish dishes, warm new potatoes or french beans. Yum!

AIP – the spice is right

Although this is not an AIP blog (and there are some AWESOME ones out there), AIP compliant cooking is something I have had to get my head around over the last 2 years for my hubby since his Crohn’s disease reached potentially surgical severity. It has been a brilliant success but it ain’t half complicated!

One of the types of food that need to be cut out (at least initially – some people are able to reintroduce seeds later on) are seeds and nightshades – and that means a lot of spices – are out. The Paleo Mom aka Dr Sarah Ballantyne explains all the details far better than I ever could.

You’d think that leaving bread or pasta or dairy or coffee behind would be the hardest part but actually spices make so many similar dishes much less “samey” and boredom is the downfall of many a “diet”. Without spices a curry or a tagine can become just another stew, an Italian sausage and a German sausage are indistinguishable, and a tomato-free chilli is in danger of slipping into tomato-free bolognese territory.

Continue reading “AIP – the spice is right” →