It's going to be quiet for a while

Regular visitors to this blog and my competitions and Twitter advice blog, The Competition Grape Vine will know that my mother has been ill recently and has been in and out of hospital. This week she is due to come out again, and I am going away for a while to spend some time with her, getting her used to being back home and arranging the support services she will need help from.

Mum doesn't have any internet access and getting any mobile signal involves dangling hopefully out of an upstairs window, so I'm afraid the blogs won't be updated for a week or so

Review - Grated Hot Horseradish from The English Provender Co.

I was sent a jar of Grated Hot Horseradish from The English Provender Co  to test and review. I love horseradish, but I usually buy it in the form of ready made creamed horseradish, so I enjoyed the chance to experiment with  using it in other ways.

First of all, I had a dollop of it neat with steak and chips. I'd been a bit worried that it would blow the top of my head off, but in fact it was just right - although the flavour was strong enough to mean I only needed a small quantity,  it didn't have those mind-numbing fumes that go straight to your sinuses. (And I humbly apologise for putting the steaks on the griddle so the stripes  went the wrong way!)

Encouraged by my first taste, I also tried one of my other favourite combinations - horseradish and smoked mackerel. I often use horseradish cream instead  of butter when making a smoked mackerel and cucumber sandwich, so this time I buttered the bread and strewed the horseradish over the top.

The verdict? Delicious. In fact much nicer than when I use creamed horseradish.

Finally I made a trio of sauces for with roast beef. I whisked a little double cream and stirred some horseradish in for a horseradish cream,  blended horseradish into Dijon mustard for a more Eastern European flavour, and mixed horseradish into apple sauce as a gesture to Austrian "Apfelkren".

All three were delicious, and I was impressed with how easily it blended  into the sauces. And you can see from the amount left in the jar after using it in 5 different ways just how economical it is! I've definitely been converted from the ready made creamed horseradish I've been buying for years.

Some other ideas I've had for using it, but not tried yet:

•  added to hot dogs   - another Austrian inspired idea
• whisked  into Yorkshire Pudding batter to serve with roast beef
• mixed into the dough for dumplings when making a beef or game casserole
• whisked into a vinaigrette dressing for a beetroot and red onion salad to serve with smoked fishes and meats
• blended with sour cream, yoghurt or mayonnaise for a salad dressing or dip.

I'm going to have fun experimenting!

Note the sample was sent to me free of charge for review. No other form of payment was received and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

See, I CAN do pretty!

I'm not one for making pretty things - not that I have anything against them, it's just that pretty and dainty never seem to work for me. But I'm a big fan of Nikki Hall's Polkadoodles  designs, and  also a big fan of designs with dragonflies in them (I probably hold some kind of record for the number of dragonfly themed stamps I have) so when I saw issue 2 of her "Pen & Paper Circle" magazine, I had to get it!

The card I made today is based on the first design in the magazine, although instead of colouring in the images with watercolours I stamped them with Memento ink and coloured them with Promarkers,  which I am still very much a beginner with. 

I'm very pleased with the finished result and looking forward to trying more ideas from the magazine.

Tabbouleh and other tasty treats

My husband, who blogs over at Marks Veg Plot is good  at growing mint. He is VERY good at growing mint.  Our mint started out as a tiny £1 pot bought from a farmers market about ten years ago,  and gets stronger and more luxuriant every year. When it is at its best, I love to make a fresh, vibrant tabbouleh with it.  I soak bulghur wheat in hot water for about 15 minutes, drain it well and dress  it while still warm with olive oil and lemon juice, and some finely chopped onion - spring onion, red onion, shallot or common or garden everyday onion, whatever is to hand. When it is cool, I stir in lots and lots of chopped mint and parsley - the more the better.  In Middle Eastern restaurants, tabbouleh is often a huge bowl of  chopped herbs with just a little bulgur speckling it. While I love it that way, we often have it at home as our main  carb, so we adapt the proportions a bit.

This time I served it with home made hummus (chickpeas, sesame seeds - I was out of tahini - cumin, paprika, olive oil and lemon juice whizzed together until smooth) topped with tiny snippets of lamb, quickly fried until cooked through and mixed with toasted pine nuts.

and finally, a tomato, cucumber and melon salad sprinkled with more mint!

I am joining in the Herbs on Saturday challenge at Lavender and Lovage. Herbs used this time were parsley, mint, more mint and yet more mint........

A Bookatrix wedding card

When I want to make an extra special card, especially for a wedding, I almost always  turn to the Bookatrix embossing board. There is something about the open-book style that lends itself particularly well to weddings.  Here is a card I made for a young friend who married recently.

I embossed the outer layer onto pink pearlescent card, also embossing the third line in. Then I cut out along the outer line, and cut floral paper to fit inside the inner embossing line and stuck it in place. Next I embossed the second, third and fourth lines onto white pearlescent card, cut out along the outer line, and cut away the inner rectangle of the fourth lines.  I stuck acetate behind the windows created by this. Then I decorated the edges and windows with peel-offs, gems and paper flowers before sticking the white and pink cards together along the "spine".

The stand was made from card which had been covered on both sides with floral paper to match that behind the windows.

To complete the card, and protect it, I made a matching box. If the bride and groom keep the card - and I hope they will - they will be able to store it in this box.

Memories of Sienna

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to win a recipe competition run by Merchant Gourmet foods. The recipe I submitted was Spiced Lamb with Pastawheat, and the final was a cook-off at the Good Housekeeping Institute.

The prize was a cookery holiday to Tuscany - for one. I was a little nervous about holidaying alone, but we were a small group of people who shared a love of cooking and I had a wonderful time.  Each day was divided into a cookery session and an outing, and one day we went to the historic town of Sienna. I set off to explore by myself,  but it soon started to pour with rain and I dashed into a tiny restaurant where I had a wonderfully reviving lunch of a simple tuna and bean salad with some crusty bread.  Now I think of that holiday every time I make the salad.

It is  wonderfully easy to make. For one main course serving or 2-3 starters, or as part of a selection of antipasti for more, you need

1 small tin tuna, approx 80g (I like Tuna in brine, but tuna in oil would be more  authentic)
1 small tin canellini beans, approx 150g
1 small shallot or  a piece of red onion, very thinly sliced
juice of half a lemon
1 tbs olive oil
seasoning

Simply mix all the ingredients together and serve with crusty bread.

A quick card from a prize kit

A little while ago, I was lucky enough to win a goody bag from a  craft magazine. Some of the elements in it were great for making a quick but striking card - ideal for when I'm pushed for time yet feel the need to do some "therapeutic crafting". I'd never used die cut decoupage before. It feels a bit like cheating, but I was pleasantly surprised by the result. The co-ordinating papers were included in the kit, so all I needed to do was score and fold my card, add some red matting to pick out the colours in the design, and higlight it with a little red Candi.