Baked Scotch Eggs

Nick is not a big chocolate fan so when thinking about Easter eggs  decided to make scotch eggs for our camping trip which I thought they would be perfect fuel for walking .
 

We don’t have a deep fat fryer so I was a bit worried about attempting these with a shallow frying pan , fortunately over at FoodStories Helen had carried out a full scientific experiment proving they could be made baked.

These were monster scotch eggs 3 inches wide but totally delicious , I now want to try making with plenty of other fillings , if you are looking for inspiration for sausagemeat flavouring I can definitely  reccomend The Handmade Scotch Eggs Company pages. If my pictures don’t inspire you you can mail order packs of six with morrocan options ,chocolate , black pudding , cheesy  they even have vegetarian options with kidney beans .

Baked Scotch Eggs

Makes 4 Scotch eggs

5 eggs
400g of good quality sausages or sausagemeat ( if you are using sausagemeat you will need to add seasoning , salt , pepper , parsley , sage and nutmeg)
1 medium leek finely chopped
100g of breadcrumbs , made from toasted bread finely chopped in the foodprocessor

1. Hardboil 4 of the eggs , for 6 minutes , remove and plunge into cold water
2. Remove the sausage meat from the skins or  if you are using sausagemeat at this point you will need to add seasoning
3. Mix in the chopped leeks
4. Remove the shell from the eggs .
5. Divide the sausagemeat into four
6. Flatten a piece in your hand , put the egg in the middle squeeze the sausagemeat over to completely cover the egg , complete with all the eggs
7. Refridgerate for 20 minutes
8. Take the uncooked egg and beat on a plate
9. Heap the breadcrumbs on another plate
10. Roll each sausagemeat coated egg first in the egg , then in the breadcrumbs
11. Place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper
12. Bake at 180degc for 30 minutes , turning halfway through.

Camping Kebabs

The end of May Bank Holiday weekend ,and time for another camping trip . This time to Malham in Yorkshire , we had a lovely time up in Settle last year . Nick located a fantastic campsite at Malham Cove with freindly cows and ducks .

We got lucky choosing the North since the South of the UK has been battered by rain instead we got windy sunny weather , thanks heavens since I was eager to try out our new baby , the Kettle BBQ This is not to say that the Le Cruset has in any way been replaced in the camping kit but the last few trips I have been tortured by the smell of BBQ drifting across the campsite.

Since my vegebox was packed with summery vegetables , courgettes , peppers & aubergines since these are best eaten fresh it had to be kebabs . All I needed to do was pick up some shoulder of lamb that I cut into chunks mixed with chopped garlic thyme rosemary and slosh of red wine and pop them into a freezer bag in the cool box.

On the campsite , I sat threading the chunks of lamb and vegetables onto skewers every inch the domestic goddess, sipping red wine while Nick made fire ( Grrr man make fire) , the kettle BBQ worked like a dream , even grilling some asparagus for starters so it will make it into regular camping rotation

The Le Cruset got some use to whipping up a one pot dish of smoked sausage , tinned tomatoes, onions , wild garlic ,black olives , pasta curls .

Managed plenty of quality hiking & even a little climbing fueled by a little Yorkshire Curd Tart , loving my new picnic plates with their lovely vector inspired leaves .

From here

To here

Happy New Year 2008

1. Wild Garlic and Chicken Soup, 2. Coarse Pork Terrine, 3. Spinach and Wild Garlic Pesto Soup, 4. Rosehip Syrup Cakes, 5. Lime Tart, 6. Salmon with Garlic and Dill Aoili, 7. Fennel ,Pancetta, Walnut and Goats Cheese Salad, 8. Rhubarb Tart with Elderflower Cream, 9. Cauliflower and Toasted Walnut Soup, 10. Wild Garlic Pesto, 11. Watercress , Roasted Butternut Squash , Stilton and Walnut Salad, 12. Rabbit with Spring Vegetables, 13. Smoked Salmon and Beetroot Salad, 14. Smoked Mackerel Pate, 15. Chargrilled Vegetable Kebab, 16. Tomato Tart, 17. Stawberry Frangipane, 18. Pear Tart, 19. Pomegranate Jewel Cake, 20. Cabbage Rolls, 21. Not quite Nicoise Salad, 22. Lamb and Cauliflower Salad, 23. Borscht, 24. Kohlrabi and Mackerel Salad, 25. Seared Salmon & Pea Puree, 26. Its spring chicken, 27. Green Tea and Cardamom Madeleines, 28. Lentil and Parsley Soup with crispy Pancetta, 29. Butternut Squash and Leek Quiche, 30. Banana and Rum Cake

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
Its a very busy year cooking wise if you want to see all the food from 2007 is available in my set on Flickr

I am immensely proud of my growth this year in photographing the food that I cook , Flickr has been a wonderful source of inspiration and this blog has given me the chance to talk about the food I love .

Thank you to everyone who has viewed my blog in 2007 and I promise it will get even better in 2008 where my New Years Resolutions include trying even more new foods, being more personal , better spelling and grammar ( I am dyslexic , but I do try, ) , more pictures assisted by the brilliant Christmas gift of a Joby Gorillapod a tiny lightweight tripod, which should make it even easier for me to take pictures and may even mean the lovely boyfriend gets hot food.

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Camping again … surely not

So three weekends in a row under canvas and three national parks

This time Snowdonia ..my first visit and it did not disappoint glorious hills almost totally deserted for some quality walking , lunches in heather and bracken swept hills

Since its traditional nowadays in the UK to have a curry on a saturday night .and standards must be upheld even on a campsite in the middle of nowhere . However I confess that when camping I get a bit lazy this is simply aubergine and mushrooms fried off with a curry paste which contains all the spices in a healthy dose of oil , throw over tin of tomatoes and a little freshly chopped chilli .Simmer for twenty minutes and throw in handfuls of fresh coriander . Perfect with some toasted pitta bread once the sun has gone down… oh and a healthy couple of glasses of red wine

Not sure anyone would have been up for mushrooms made with any finds found this weekend only large numbers of the Sickener ( Russula emetica ) shown below which as its name suggests will cause some pretty violent vomiting . Cannot wait for the autumn to start for a little wild cooking and who knows maybe some wild camping

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Camping it up – Chilli and Pasta

We have been trying to get out camping for weeks now things kept cropping up and the weather was dire, so the tent had stayed packed up . Finally this weekend we hit the Peak District with the car loaded to groaning point don’t do things by half and to be honest food takes up a pretty big proportion ( oh and bottles of wine ) .

From the beer and watermelon after putting the tent up

Plenty of nibbles to see you through the evenings

There is always a lovely atmosphere as the sun goes down and lights come on around the campsite , gentle murmuring sounds , it pretty in August but the chilli was still welcoming

However the chickens attempting to eat up leftovers did wake us up nice and early in the morning to a beautful sunrise

So we had first and second breakfasts ( to sustain us through a long day hike)

The second night Nick cooked up some tasty pasta with sausage and thyme sauce

Cooking and Camping…..

The first camping trip of the year…. reminded me that for camping a Le Crueset is just a dream ( I am of course referring to camping on a site , not suggesting anyone is going to lug a cast iron pot around in a backpack )

Chillis and currys can be made on a camping stove a night before required, leaving the food in the pot overnight gives it tenderness and the flavour diffuses throughout . Warming it through after a long days walking is a dream

Otherwise a good sized saucepan for cooking hearty breakfasts I have a fantastic camping stove , with two rings it is powered by unleaded petrol no need to track down pesky gas canisters and its very economical.

I like to fill up the tiffin carrier with tasty bits like parma ham , cheese and pate as well as having a large jar of sundried tomatoes and olives, these make great snacking material with some red wine in the evening and fillings for sandwiches for day packs.