Who doesn’t like a crisp, punchy and vinegary pickled onion? Especially with a nice bit of quality cheddar as part of a ploughman’s or cold platter. Making your own pickles and preserves is not difficult at all, it may cost you a little time but the rewards vastly outweigh any time spent.
IKEA Korken 1.8L Jar, with seal.
Shop bought pickled onions are often not as crisp as I like and often come across as quite mushy or soft. The difference in texture and sharp flavour really goes well with some cheese!
The inexpensive IKEA Korken Jar is ideal for making your own pickles, preserves and even sauerkraut. At the time of writing the price is only £2.50 for the 1.8 L version which seems to be a good compromise between sizes. A sturdy wire frame for the lid assembly and a natural rubber gasket ensures a good tight seal.
We definitely recommend buying a couple for your winter cheese board prep!
IKEA Korken Jar 1.8 L Details:
Measurements: 21.5 x 12.5 cm (Height x Diameter).
Replaceable gasket: Yes (IKEA suggests you may be able to purchase these separately).
Volume: 1.8 L.
Made from: a minimum of 40% recycled glass, natural rubber seal and stainless wire.
Washing instructions: Glass Jar may be washed in a dishwasher, however the rubber seal can only be hand washed.
2020 and 2021 have certainly challenged each and every one of us, is the pandemic tide turning? We certainly hope so, 2022 for us is looking like our much needed break. Time to tick those life boxes.
Kitchen tech, gadgets and a compact kitchen
Well we have certainly accrued a few fair recently, with some very generous family members (thank you all, you know who are!) treating us. So I will at some point provide my feedback and views on each one. They will be very positive so make sure you have hidden your wallets well.
As an idea of what to expect we are now the proud owners of a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer which has many attachments, an Ooni Koda 12 and an oddball surprise with its own culinary challenges.
Travel
We will post a bit more, in time, about a very large purchase we made at the end of 2020/ early 2021. This particular big spend will no doubt, provide some of our greatest memories. It has already transported us to Scotland, kept us warm and dry and fuelled our other hobbies. Our travel plans are not finalised however we are going to have a big holiday this coming year, and we cannot wait!
So it may come as a surprise to many of you, but we really like pizza…..
Well we gave in, after admitting defeat with the idea of building our own woodfired outdoor pizza oven. This will likely be explained with greater detail in time as a another blog post. All was not lost, the hope of being able to smash out fresh hot Neapolitan style Pizzas at home lived on. With COVID curtailing travel and dashing hopes of going to Italy we needed our fix.
Why the Ooni Koda 12?
We felt that the Ooni Koda 12 offered a really good balance between cost and performance. It is after all basically the best entry-level oven a home grown pizzaiolo can buy. It also appears to be compatible with LPG at 30mbar so potentially can be used with a motorhome or caravan BBQ point. Imagine that, portable pizza fixes whilst enjoying the great outdoors…
How much did it cost?
Well we don’t mind too much when talking about money but the suggested retail price from Ooni is £299. However it frequently pops up from other retail outlets with around about a 10% discount (see Hotukdeals or read on).
That said it is also worth signing up to Lakelands very own membership scheme myLakeland, which by the way is free and they will send you a membership pack with some rather tasty vouchers! And if you are really lucky you may get the magical 20% voucher 😉
Don’t delay. Sign up today, it’s free, fun, frivolous and frequent discounts could be yours.
How are we getting on with Koda 12 Pizza Oven?
The Ooni Koda has so far been a massive hit, you can easily smash out Pizzas in around 60 seconds a piece without much of a performance or temperature dip between Pizzas. Catering for hungry friends and family is very easy and you can make a Pizza however you want to suit anyone. We have been using it through November and December and it still works really well even in cooler temperatures, just don’t forget to order a decent infrared laser thermometer. It is important to get one as it takes away any guess work when it comes to checking to see if the base stone is hot enough. Be careful as these are not all created equally and you really ought to get one that can read up to 550 degrees Celsius otherwise it is no good.
Our first few Pizzas…. I promise they look so much better now!
You cannot comprehend the speed or taste of a Neapolitan style Pizza made in your very own home Pizza oven, the Ooni Koda 12 is likely going to be a staple in our Friday night takeaway fix.
Another few days go by and the fleeting memories of extraordinary places I’ve been to keeping coming back and remind of the places I really pine for.
Know that these places will still exist when we inevitably move on past the Covid-19 pandemic in, I am sure of, the near future.
Having never driven on the ‘wrong side’ of the road I felt at ease enjoying the endless miles of N roads (Route Nationale) which were almost always wonderfully smooth, quiet and displaying the lovely French countryside. Driving was not a chore at all during the week in Normandy making comfortable progress away from our base near Lison.
The Tuesday we set out East Bound towards Caen, eventually driving over the replaced Pegasus Bridge making our way into Merville-Franceville-Plage for a quick pit-stop and sight-see whilst on our way to see the Museum and the Merville Battery site.
Douglas C-47 Dakota known here as The Snafu Special
This picture for me was definitely ‘pretty cool’, only after further research (much time later) this particular aircraft was assigned to the 9th US Army Air Force in the 95th Troop Carrier Squadron (Squadron code 9X) of the 440th Troop Carrier Group based at Exeter, England. Which is very local to me! Source.
It’s just not on, but we are doing our bit for our future. It is hard, some dream of staying at home but not everyone can just stop. I’d quite like to get out and about, even just a casual evening drive is now a taboo!
This time of year is normally perfect for that walk in the warm, somewhere nice such as Budleigh Salterton is a favourite of ours and when on the way back indulge in a South-Western favourite, the great Cream Tea.
Who can resist a Cream Tea? A particular favourite spot of ours is known as Southern Cross Tea Rooms which is a fantastically quaint tea rooms located in Newton Poppleford, East Devon.
A solid, go-to Scone recipe (Makes 12 decent sized Scones):
Strong white flour (this will also work with plain white flour too): 500g.
Baking Powder: 1.7 tbs.
Optional bicarbonate of soda: 0.3 tbp if you want additional oven spring / rise.
Pinch of salt, approx 3g.
Thoroughly chilled unsalted butter: 90g.
Milk: 280g.
A single large Egg.
This recipe is very adaptable as you can use the above list to create plain, savoury or sweet scones. For example you could add around 150g of dried fruit and 90g of sugar for a sweetened fruit scone or add 150g of strong cheddar and some mustard powder instead. Another good option is a teaspoon of almond extract, 150g of halved glace cherries, 90g of sugar and a couple of drops of vanilla extract for that super sweet ‘bakewell style’ scone you didn’t realise you wanted…
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 190° Fan.
Get all of the dry ingredients in a suitable mixing vessel (excluding fruits / cheese additions – mustard powder however is fine to go in at this point) and combine thoroughly.
Weigh out the butter and dice into small cubes, smaller the better and colder the better.
Crumb the butter into the flour until fine and the dry ingredients clump together when crushed.
Combine milk, eggs and any other wet ingredients into a suitable mixing vessel and beat thoroughly. I would add 2/3rds of this mix into the dry ingredients and combine using a table knife, trying not to mix it too much. You can cut through it to combine.
When combined to a slightly tacky dough tip out onto a floured surface, roll or press to a thickness of approximately 35mm and cut out into your desired size.
Place your scones to be on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, let rest for 10-15 minutes then bake in the oven.
They will take around 15 minutes, remove once browned to your liking.
Let cool for a little while so they set up nicely, serve with your favourite accoutrements.
Back in October 2016 we travelled to the great Island of Jersey. Took a plane using the now sadly departed FlyBe airline from Exeter and landing promptly at St Helier (after making a stop on Guernsey!).
We were very lucky that the weather was very mild for October, plus being surrounded by the sea usually helps to keep the island fairly warm and free from frost even in the depths of winter.
Man seeks woman, must be interested in film, pizza, breathing oxygen and converting protein intake into muscle energy.
Mark Corrigan, slight modification*
Don’t get me wrong almost everyone loves pizza, however hardly anyone seems to like ‘good’ pizza. You know what I mean, those gormless thoughts you have as you realise you want something quick to eat whilst in the chiller aisle. That aisle of glorious gourmet garbage ready within minutes, loaded with faux cheese and discs of meat. Which crust do I choose? Well you have either stodge or crunchy thin style to choose from. Either of which is almost certainly going to be topped with some overly sugared and salted ketchup sludgy concoction. Then you can choose how much of this drink-enabling disc you want, seemingly available any size you’d like up to around 2 foot across!
Pizza does deserve some of these features particularly when you look at the Americanised joyous creation that is Detroit Style Pizza. A pizza steeped in history from the 1940’s (and cheese grease, in the best way possible) which clearly influenced a lot of what we see now as common or takeaway pizza.
The fine Gentleman Chef Johns own Detroit style pizza recipe.
What makes a good Pizza?
I feel like I am opening Pandora’s box as I type this as it really is open to interpretation, perhaps the easiest way to answer this is whether it depends on what you want? Do you want a pizza that is heavy going, loaded with cheese and toppings? Or something a little lighter, more focused, ingredient orientated and made passionately? Well until recently I thought that pizza is just pizza and generally more toppings is better.
How travelling changed my appreciation of simple food
As I’ve aged, travelled and understood food my perception of what is actually good has changed. I will focus on pizza in this post as previously visiting Italy we stayed in Rome. And enjoyed a great deal food, but didn’t particularly seek a pizza fix (which actually is a daft thing to do – see Roman Pizza). However the next time we embraced Italy we flew to Bologna AKA ‘La Grassa’ meaning, literally, the fat! Not for one moment would I suggest that Bologna is precisely the pinnacle of perfect pizza. But I certainly enjoyed what we found not far from Stazione Centrale.
Those of you unsure of where to go but want to enjoy a fine cultured country such as Italy without worrying about your spondulicks, go to Bologna (there will be a post about this shortly!).
Those of you going to Bologna and want a good pizza, I mean a pizza that is actually like a proper pizza. Then you should, if not must, go to Pizza Export. Just north of Stazione Centrale on the corner next to the roundabout at the end of Via Franco Bolognese.
You may be asking what did this place do right? Well my friend its basically a case of doing things well. To do something well requires focus and reducing distraction. You can be jack of all trades, but you won’t be a master of anything (at all).
You see in Italy they protect the very things that matter to them, pizza is important and must be made with respect. They legislate in great detail about how it should be made and if your selling a Pizza Margherita you’d better be making it correctly (see this PDF). Upon visiting Pizza Export you can see immediately that your going get something quite amazing. The oven pretty much dominates the front of house, the smell of wood smoke in the air is intoxicating. The menu options are not limited, but focused. Not too many single ingredients are going on a pizza.
You see a simple Pizza Margherita is all about balance and the quality of its ingredients. The dough is tender in centre and the crust is chewy but definitely not stodge. The cheese has just about melted, no excess faux cheese grease here! The sauce is pretty much just Tomato, no herbs or garlic. It is simply dressed, prior to be being cooked, with some olive and basil only. Each ingredient must compliment the other.
Piquant pickled aromatic braised red cabbage, that certainly caught my attention whilst trying to think of something to make to accompany some left over roast Duck. More than ideal to go with left over cold cuts or roasted meats like Pork Belly or Shoulder (along with potatoes, roasted or dauphinoise!). This a very flexible recipe as you can add or exchange ingredients to make it your own should you prefer a twist or something a little more tame. This recipe is somewhat inspired by my father who would make an obscene quantity of this slow cooked creation filling the tiny family home kitchen with an intoxicating smell!
Some people generally seem to link spiced red cabbage with Christmas, however make no mistake this is a dish that works through autumn and winter. Winter spices, acidic smells and a lingering peppery background will warm you through. It lends its self well to feeding a crowd or freezing portions for another day.
Braising is just a way of saying that something is partially sautéed or lightly fried then gently stewed. There will be a fair amount of liquid at the start however this will reduce down, along with the rest of the ingredients, into a luxurious syrupy sauce taking on a shine and coating the cabbage.
Talk is cheap, as is this filling side. Lets cook…
Ingredients List:
2 Small or 1 V.Large Red Cabbage, shredded.
4 Small or 2 large Ganny Smith apples, peeled and cored then diced.
2 Medium Onions, diced.
2 Cloves of Garlic, smashed and finely chopped.
2 Star of Anise.
10 Cloves.
2 Knobs of Butter (approx 30G).
Vegetable oil.
3 Tbsp Soft Brown Sugar.
150ml Vinegar: Balsamic, Malt, Red Wine or 500ml sharp Cider.
1/4 Tsp Freshly grated Nutmeg.
200ml Stock: Beef/Chicken/Vegetable.
Method:
Begin to soften the onion and garlic in a large sauce pan, I normally use our 10L Ikea stock pot, in the butter and oil. Adding the diced apple once they have started to soften then the red cabbage. I prefer the red cabbage shredded fairly consistently however you can prepare this however you’d like.
As the red cabbage and base ingredients start to sweat (slight shine to the red cabbage) begin to add the aromatics, sugar and liquids. Combine well and allow it to start simmering before placing a lid on top and lowering the heat to gently simmer away unattended (but of course check and mix throughout the cooking process).
Once the liquor has reduced and slightly thickened its ready to serve, usually I let it sit for 10 minutes or so with the lid on so its not too hot to scoff!
Cooking time may vary and will take around 2 hours to reduce down, however it can go longer or also be cooked in a slow cooker.
