Happy Spring!

This seems to be a much contested and argued point today. Is it Spring yet? The Met office says yes. In fact, they say it started yesterday (coinciding with British Pie Week!). Others say we'll need to wait until the 20th March.

All I can say is, there's a pretty dusting of frost, the sun is out and the daffs are starting to peek their way out of the ground. There might well still be snow in Scotland but let's be positive, eh? Its light when I leave the house at 7am and there's still a hint of sunset in the sky when I board the train for my home bound journey. Oh and I've started on the hot cross buns. A sure sign!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Who ate all the...?

Today marks the start of, would you believe it, British Pie Week. I kid you not, dear reader. Look out for pie-and-pint deals coming to a pub near you. Alternatively, check out the official website (www.britishpieweek.co.uk) for sweet and savoury recipes. Whatever next, eh?

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Spring Salad

The Boy is back from a scholarly week oop North and had been virtuously toiling for a great deal more of the morning than is natural for the weekend. A quick, fresh and speedy lunch was required so I threw together some ingredients we had lying around in the fridge and in the larder.

Squash and French Bean salad

You will need: (to feed one famished scholar and a lounging cook)

¼ butternut squash
One baby gem lettuce
½ orange pepper
Fistful of French beans
A few cherry tomatoes
A sprinkle of finely grated parmesan
A touch of nutmeg
Vegetable or olive oil
Salt & pepper

For the dressing:
1 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp pesto
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp cider vinegar

- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Peel and cut your butternut squash into cubes around 1.5cm.
- Tip into a bowl and add a generous tablespoon of oil, a sprinkle of parmesan and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Get your hands in! Give the squash an even coating and turn out onto a baking tray.
- Season and pop into the oven for fifteen minutes or until starting to crisp.
- Meanwhile, blanch your beans for a few minutes in boiling water.
- Slice the pepper into strips and half the tomatoes and lettuce leaves.
- Remove your beans from the heat when they start to soften, drain and immerse in cold water (this will stop them cooking, keep them nice and green and prevent them from wilting your lettuce).
- Take the squash from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and combine with all of the veggies.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fair-trade verb – a system of trading [while] promoting more equitable global trade, especially to sellers and producers in poorer areas, but also to the environment.

Have you heard? It’s Fairtrade Fortnight! The term ‘fairtrade’ might conjure images of Cuban coffee growers and parched orange earth but fair-trade can extend as far as our merry soils as well. This is less about food and more about people – growers, native traders, community producers. Okay, you might not be able to actually taste the difference when munching on a fairly traded banana but the feel-good factor is definitely tangible. Every year, the Fairtrade Foundation holds two whole weeks of fun to celebrate its growing success; thanks to ethical consumers, around the world, the fair-trade market is currently worth around £800 million! This year, fairtrade fortnight is running from 22^nd February until 7^th March.

So, are you game? Want to get involved? Check out the official fair-trade website for details on events. If you’re looking for everyday ways to get involved, ask your barista if your morning cappuccino is ground from fair-trade beans. Of course, Starbucks touts itself as a big fair-trade contender but many smaller coffee shops and cafés (like this one in Bristol) offer fairly traded beans.

Keep an eye out at the supermarket, too, for fair-trade items – tea and chocolate are easy to find in most supermarkets but Sainsburys has a truly fab selection of products from sugar to flowers that are ethically produced while the Fairtrade Foundation claims that there are over 4,500 products bearing their mark.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is pushing the Foundation’s ‘Big Swap’ to encourage us to swap our usual weekly favourites with fair-trade options. He’s got some great recipe ideas to inspire you (if you need any further persuation!) too.

So...

...How was it for you? That's Valentines Day sorted for another year. The Boy and I had a lovely day though it reaffirmed to me that Valentines Day is best spent holed away from the rest of the world.

Rather than brave the restaurant scene on this notorious day, which has been disastrous for us in the past, we had a quiet night in. We selected choice ingredients from Waitrose as a treat and opted for a light meal of olives, antipasti and baked camembert to nibble on with crusty bread followed by baked seabass in herb butter on a bed of steamed pak choi. Simple, not too heavy (after our mega day of chocolate eating) and requiring very little preparation, leaving us lots of time for cuddles. Heavenly!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

The Chocolate Tart

An afternoon of chocolate making. Can you imagine anything much more heavenly? Sadly, we will not be recommending The Chocolate Tart to our friends and family. We weren't entirely sure what to expect, though the Boy was told that the doors would open promptly at 3pm and not before. This rang true as a growing crowd of chocolate lovers grouped on the road outside, clamouring to get in. A rather unwelcoming start, maybe, but I was reserving judgement.

Nether the less, first impressions were good; the class was held in the Tart's obviously recently converted modern kitchen cum office, decked out in the company's signature fushia pink on the walls with cool stainless steel benches to work on. We were offered refreshments and told to don rather unattractive plastic blue aprons. Ah well, I thought, not quite like the photos on the website but at least I won't feel guilty for getting it dirty! Our first task was rather sensual - dipping truffles in silky melted chocolate with our bare hands! We were taught the technique to truffle rolling which seemed to involve no thumbs or little fingers and slathering your palms in chocolate. Wonderful! The Boy and I were gamely chatting to the couple we were sharing our work bench with and generally having a good time at this point.

Next up, we set about choosing flavourings for the fondant to fill moulded chocolates that we would fill later. All sorts of alchemy ensued with various combinations - from the good, Raspberry and Blood Orange, to the down right ugly, Coffee and Tangerine - with varying degrees of success. We companionably swapped and bartered our precious vials of essence - making suggestions and tasting each others concoctions. Chocolate is a definite friend-maker.

So far so good but I've neglected to mention that we had a photographer in our group. Now I wouldn't have minded if it had simply been a well-meaning amateur who wanted to get some tasty photos. This, however, was different. We were introduced to Marko, an obvious friend of the proprietor/teacher, who took pride of place at the front of the class. "No one minds having their picture taken, do they?" she asks, presumptuously. Actually, it might jeopardise my modelling contract. (Joke.) It quickly becomes clear that he's taking publicity shots for the business. This makes me fume on principle - surely it is common courtesy to notify your customers in advance if you're going to be taking photos for your website? You're told if there are going to be fumbling students present at your NHS doctors appointment, for goodness sake! Here we were, having our senses assaulted by periodic bursts from the photographers enthusiastic hot shoe and paying for the privilege (remembering that these classes are not cheap at £70pp for three hours). Not exactly the relaxing, romantic Valentines experience that we'd hoped for.

We came away with around 1 kilo of chocolate each, as promised. But the whole experience left (forgive me!) a rather bitter taste in our mouths. The chocolate and other products was of good quality but it was the actual experience that left us disappointed. The hosts were inhospitable - rushing us between stages and then dropping us completely when we needed guidance. The class was obviously too big; not only was the kitchen crowded and the teachers stretched to breaking point but there was not enough equipment to go around. The afternoon lacked the dynamic, professionalism and prowess that we had been expecting.

In short, try out some chocolate recipes in the comfort of your own home and enjoy the opportunity to relax. Don't bother with The Chocolate Tart.

Valentines Escapades

You may already be aware of my long-standing illicit love affair. Its written all over my face. The addiction, the deep running passion, is clear. Yes, chocolate has been in my life for a long time. The Boy knows this and chose my birthday present accordingly - a day out making the stuff! He knows me too well. In return, I bought him the same for his anniversaire (its only fair to share the love).

Life got in the way and the months have flown by. Its only now that I'm permanently housed that we can book our places. The Boy takes charge and our date is set. And what a date! Valentines Day chocolate making. And what's more, its in the village where I grew up.

I saw an advert in the Metro (my daily rail-time read) which merrily states "If you love her, you'll buy her roses. If you truly love her, you'll buy her M&S roses." The cheek of it! Friends, if you love her, you'll buy her chocolate. Trust.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device