Just like Mother used to Make

As it’s British Food Fortnight I wanted to make something very British for our monthly food event, In the Bag, which this month contains seasonal fruit, and what could be more British than the classic fruit crumble?

Fabulously easy and very adaptable, this wonderul pudding has been rounding off family meals for generations. Sweetened fruit beneath a biscuity, crumbly topping, served hot from the oven with custard or cream is surely one of the most comforting and homely puddings in the world.

Although very appealing in winter, this is an all-year-round pudding which can be made with whatever fruit is in season. A summer crumble made with berries and served with ice cream is sensational. Almost any fruit can be used, either just one type or a combination, and the riper the better. The amount of sugar you sprinkle over the fruit will depend on how sweet it is, and how tart you like it, so it’s best to taste it first and make a judgement.

The crumbly topping is made by simply rubbing flour, sugar and butter together between your fingers. Of course you could use a processor for this, but it comes together quite easily and quickly. This, and preparing the fruit, is the only effort involved in assembling the pudding, and to make life even easier you can make large batches of the topping and freeze it in portions, ready to be used the next time round.

But enough of these technicalities, come now, kick off your stilettos, loosen your tie, and fill your tummies with this sweet, warming pud. You’ll soon forget about the cares of this fast, mad world in which we live.

Plum Crumble

150g plain flour
75g butter
55g sugar, plus 2 or 3 tablespoons for sprinkling over the fruit
Approx. 500g, or 10 plums

1. Cut through the plums lengthways around the middle, then twist each half in opposite directions and pull them apart. Remove the stone then cut each half in half again. Put into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with sugar according to taste.

2. Put the flour, butter and sugar into a bowl and rub together between your fingers until the mixture takes on the texture of biscuit or cake crumbs.

3. Sprinkle the crumbly topping over the fruit, covering it entirely. You can press it down a little if you wish, but not too hard, although I don’t bother with this as I like it looser.

4. Put the dish into the oven at 200c or about 30 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the top is lightly golden.

Serves 4

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta

This pasta dish was just what we needed tonight to fill us up and warm us through.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 uncooked chorizo sausage cut into rounds about half inch thick
1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 glass of red wine
Pasta of your choice

1. Cook enough pasta for 4 people in salted water and set aside.

2. Fry the chicken in olive oil until just cooked through and remove from the pan. Repeat with the chorizo sausage.

3. Fry the onion in the oil left from the chorizo for a few minutes until it starts to soften, removing any excess oil.

4. Add the pepper and fry for another couple of minutes, then turn up the heat and add the red wine. Allow to sizzle and reduce, then add the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces.

5. Put the chicken and chorizo back into the pan along with the cooked pasta. Stir everything well and allow to heat through, then season to taste and serve.

Serves 4

Melting Brie and Bacon Sandwich

4 Steps to heaven:

1. Fry or grill 3 bacon rashes (go on, be generous)
2. Lay the cooked bacon on a slice of buttered bread and top with slices of brie
3. Pop under the grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese
4. Put another slice of buttered bread on top and cut the sandwich half

It's British Food Fortnight!

This weekend has seen the start of British Food Fortnight, which is running from 22nd September to 7th October. Now in its sixth year, British Food Fortnight is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces.

Alexia Robinson, organiser of the event says: “Whether you are a shop owner, a teacher, a chef or a member of the public, British Food Fortnight is inspiring people to re-discover the diverse and delicious food our country produces".

I hope you'll join me in celebrating over the next few weeks by cooking some fantastic British dishes with me!

For further information about the event head over to the website by clicking here.

About 'A Slice of Cherry Pie'

(Photograph by Gene Weatherley)

I thought you might like to know a little bit more about ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and me so I’ve added this about page.

What is 'A Slice of Cherry Pie'?

'A Slice of Cherry Pie' is my personal blog, dedicated to my love of food. It's also the name of my first cookbook, which I'm currently writing and is due to be published by Absolute Press next year.

Why blog?

I started ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ in September 2006 after stumbling across the wonderful world of food blogs and loving what I saw. The blog gives me an outlet for my passion for food, cooking, writing and photography. It’s a diary of my cooking where I can record my recipes and thoughts which I can look back on over time. But much more than that, it enables me to interact with wonderful people all over the world who share my interest in cooking and I love that. I love to read other people’s food blogs, I love to read your comments and emails and I love talking to you in this virtual world.

And why the name ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’?

Well I love cherries and cherry pie is my favourite fruit pie. Warm cherry pie and vanilla ice cream is heaven on a plate to me! The idea behind the wording ‘a slice of’ was that this blog shows a piece, or a slice, of my life, and also that each post is another instalment, or slice!

Are you professionally trained?

Not at all. My only qualification is that which comes from a love of good food and from cooking at home on a daily basis. I taught myself what I know now mainly from reading cookery books and absorbing everything I can about cooking from every source I can over the years, and through experiment, trial and error. It’s a continual process; I’m learning and (I hope) improving all the time.

Where does your love of cooking come from?

Primarily my love of cooking comes from wanting to create a warm and welcoming home. I’m a very homely person; my home is my retreat and having a happy home is one of my main priorities in life. I truly believe that good home cooking and eating together play a very important part in happy and healthy family life.

I love opening my dining room up to friends and family and I get immense pleasure from entertaining and feeding them wonderful food. There really is nothing better than seeing empty plates and satisfied faces around the table.

I also love the creative process of creating dishes from scratch, particularly ones from recipes that I’ve adapted or created myself and thereby have put a lot of myself into. There’s a real magic for me in taking simple ingredients and putting them together in a certain way to create the most amazing meal.

Does your cooking have a particular style or theme?

When it comes to cooking I’m a fairly traditional English girl at heart. Having said this there are international influences woven into my cooking, which reflects the widely cosmopolitan strands of British food.

Do you accept products for review?

I’m open to accepting products for review that are relevant to ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and I think will be of interest to my readers. Generally when it comes to reviews if I like something I’ll write about it and if I don’t I won’t.


Press


The Times and The Times Online, April 2010




The Times Online, November 2009




The Independent, June 2009




The Guardian Word of Mouth, June 2009




Wallet Pop UK, May 2009




Food Channel.com, March 2009




The Times Online, March 2009




The Times Online, February 2009




The Times Online, February 2009




Old-School Dinners by Simon Majumdar, The Guardian Word of Mouth, December 2008




All About You, the online home of Good Housekeeping and Prima, October 2008




Blogger 'Blogs of Note', August 2008




BBC Olive Magazine, June 2008




Trusted Places video interview, April 2008

http://trustedplaces.com/blog/2008/04/25/laura-meets-julia-parsons/




Delicious magazine, July 2007




Awards

Sisterhood, March 2009



Thank you to Occasional Martha.

Kreativ Blogger, March 2009



Thank you to Springtime.

Nominated Best Food Blog of the Year, January 2009




Brillante, August 2008



Thank you to Pinku at Pinku - Enchanted Life.


Arte Y Pico, August 2008



Thank you to Angela at 'Stressed out Mum seeks Inspiration'.


Arte Y Pico, May 2008



Thank you to Sylvie at 'A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit'.


Nice Matters, February 2008



Thank you to Antonia from Food Glorious Food.

Win Champagne and Chocolates for a loved one

(photograph from the Hotel Chocolat web site)

You know how I love Hotel Chocolat, right? Well I'm delighted to tell you that I've teamed up with them to give you the chance of winning a decadent box of chocolates from their summer range, along with a bottle of champagne, for a loved one.

To enter, simply click here and say in 100 words or less why your loved one deserves this luxury gift. It’s time to tug on the heart strings and get out your violin, as the most compelling entry will win! The competition closes on 5 October and all entries will appear live on the Hotel Chocolat site.

Hotel Chocolat guarantee that one lucky 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' reader will win this fabulous prize for their chosen one, so what are you waiting for?

Please Note: This competition is organised and facilitated by Hotel Chocolat and terms & conditions apply. All entrants must be over 18 years of age at the date of entry and resident in the UK.

A British Family Favourite...with an Italian Influence

There’s a definate chill around the house tonight, so much so that my toes are cold inside my socks, and we’ve put the heating on. I don't mind so much, I’m starting to get ready to embrace the cooler weather; I bought some cotton tops from Marks and Spencer yesterday (I’ll be layering for warmth this winter) and I’ve just ordered another pair of the Ugg boots I love so much. They’ll keep my toes snug and warm.

The bolognese sauce I’ve made is simmering away nicely now and its smell wafting under my nose as I sit here on the sofa is both appetising and comforting. I simmer my sauce gently for a couple of hours, if I can wait that long, which deepens the mingling flavours, tenderises the meat beautifully, and thickens and enriches the sauce.

I use port in my recipe, which gives it a wonderful depth and sweetness that I love. Unauthentic that may be, but then so it the whole concept of Spaghetti Bolognese, which actually isn’t Italian in origin but is a foreign interpretation of the Italian sauces. Nethertheless, I adore it, it was a favourite in my younger years when my Mum made it and it’s a favourite now. It’s a perfect family meal; mounds of spaghetti topped with thick, meaty sauce and a huge chunk of parmesan to pass around and excessively grate into gloriously pale yellow curles falling on top of your plate.

Step-by-Step

Click here for the recipe.

1. Sauté the finely chopped onion, celery and carrot until soft.



2. Brown the mince well and add it to the vegetables.



3. Add the liquids and herbs



4. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer very gently, so that there is only the occassional bubble on the surface of the sauce, for two hours, topping up with water if the sauce starts to dry out.



5. Cook the spaghetti in salted water until al denté (which means it has a bite to it, ie it's not completely soft all they way through, but still a little firm in the middle).



6. Season the sauce and serve it on top of the spaghetti with parmesen cheese grated over.

Autumnal Chicken

I saw the first of the autumn leaves this morning as I walked to work. They were crisp and golden on the ground and there were so many of them, yet when I looked up the trees were still green, just speckled with red where the leaves were turning. We’re on the cusp of the changing seasons, in a hybrid time which finds us enjoying an Indian Summer one day and wrapping ourselves up warm the next. But those fallen leaves signalled the real start of Autumn for me and in celebration of this wonderful time of year I give you this dish, which I put together for dinner tonight.



Put one large chicken piece per person into a roasting tray along with peeled and chopped butternut squash and sweet potato (I used half of each for the two of us), and a tin of chickpeas.

Sprinkle over a crushed garlic clove and salt and pepper, then drizzle over some olive oil and pour over a glass of white wine. Cover with foil and roast for half an hour at 200c, then remove the foil and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and its juices run clear.

Sprinkle with chopped flat leafed parsley and serve with the juices from the pan.

In Praise of the Sausage

A really good sausage, full of quality meat and nothing much else apart from some herbs and seasoning, will shame the socks off of those unappetising and depressing specimens found far too often in the supermarkets. Do buy from a butcher if you can – he’ll see you right.

Quality sausages need very little to make for a satisfying meal. You can of course go with the classics - put them between two slices of buttered bread and squeeze over some tomato or brown sauce for anytime-of-the-day gastro satisfaction, or for the ultimate in sausage-based comfort food place the sausages on creamy mashed potato and drown them in roasted onion gravy. But just as good is a simple green, herby salad.

I like to cook my sausages slowly in a pan over a fairly low flame, so that they become sticky and succulent, and I don’t prick the skins – the only purpose this serves is in allowing all the juices to escape thus leaving the sausages dry. Pricking the skins no doubt comes from a fear of the sausages exploding but I’ve yet to see that happen so I really don’t believe it’s necessary.

The only problem I have with the slow cooking of the sausages is the impatience I have for them to cook, the smell and the sound of the sizzle is a delicious torture. But, as with all good things in life, they are worth waiting for.

Galia Melon with Parma Ham

Years ago when I first came across the classic melon and parma ham starter I, like many a reserved Brit I suspect, thought ‘hmm..I’m not entirely sure about that’, but I tried it and I loved it. Of course I did. The combination of sweet refreshing melon and delicate salty ham is just so right. And the strongly flavoured Galia melon, with its very melon-y taste and soft flesh is perfect for this dish. Serve the melon when it’s nice and ripe – you’ll know when this is the case as the skin turns from green to yellow.

Pork Tenderloin in Madeira Sauce

Fry a large sliced onion until soft, add pork tenderloin sliced into steaks and fry until browned. Add a wine glass full of Madeira, a small pot (approx. 150ml) of double cream and salt and pepper, then bring to the boil and simmer until the pork is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Serve with rice.

Girlie Bliss

It’s been one of those weekends I love so much. You know the ones. The lazy, slow, pottering ones. Rob was working on Saturday and I had a bit of a lie in, missing the postman. There on my doorstep was a little red calling card telling me there was a parcel at the sorting office for me. Ooh fabulous, it was my Amazon order which I wasn’t expecting until Monday at the earliest! My weekend had just got even better. Because there in that box was a selection of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe films. One girlie Saturday coming up for me! So in between filling the washing machine, hanging the washing out on the line, and ironing my pyjamas I watched those Hollywood legends while dreams of a bygone era enveloped me.


(Picture from "The Seven Year Itch", 20th Century Fox)

I managed to tear myself away from the screen long enough to prepare our dinner, which consisted of succulent little lamb chops with roasted vegetables; courgettes, red peppers and new potatoes. Of course I should have remembered to put the courgettes in towards the end rather than at the beginning, because they are softer and take much less time, but I didn't, so they ended up rather mushy in the middle. How appetising. The Hollywood mist was still in my head. It was time to give in to it completely and put on a face mask and open a box of chocolates.



This afternoon we attended our beautiful God Daughter’s first birthday party where we were treated to a barbecue and cake. I told her I'd bake little cakes with her when she's older. Perhaps I'll be a fairy God Mother. Yes, I think I'd like that very much indeed.



Back home there was some dusting and tidying to be done before I could sink into a hot bath full of bubbles and my little rubber duck. Well, some things you never grow out of.



And now, slipping between the covers of my bed with honey-sweetened hot chocolate, a book, and my laptop to write to you on, the weekend draws to a close. Ahh….sweet dreams.

In the Bag: Cooking the month of September

We're back!!!

After a break last month (due to holidays and work and degrees and...), here we are again with another great bag of ingredients for you to go cook with.

I love this month's bag as we've chosen seasonal fruits, and better still, you get to choose them!

Scott's hosting this month, so take a trip over to his place, Real Epicurean, for entry details. Have fun!

One Blog, One Year

Exactly one year ago today I plunged into the world of blogging with ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and my very first post. When I first dipped my toe into the water I felt all the excited and nervous feelings you get when you do something new for the first time.

I first discovered food blogging by clicking on a link from a website to the now iconic Chocolate & Zucchini and from there I found all these other amazing food blogs. I was thrilled to find this world that up until that point I hadn’t known about and I was completely awed by what I saw. It was these blogs that gave me the inspiration to start my own and I’m so pleased that I did. Where else would I have been able to pour out all my enthusiasm for food and cooking? Where else would I have met (both virtually and in real life) such wonderful people who share my interest?

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a food blogger over the last year. I’ve written 212 posts in that time and just for fun I thought I’d pick one from each month to reminisce over (bear with me here, I’m getting a little sentimental..). Here we go:

September ’06 – Breaking Down the Casserole
If there’s one thing I love to make throughout Autumn and Winter it’s a casserole. I get so much pleasure in transforming cheaper cuts of meat into something special. And to me a casserole really is special. It’s hearty, family-sized, warming and comforting, home-cooked food that's full of love. Who wouldn’t want to come home to that after a long walk home on a cold, dark evening?

October ’06 – Plum and Blackberry Crumble
I was thinking about this only yesterday when I was deciding whether or not to make a crumble. I came across this combination accidentally and it’s definitely one to try again. Soon.

November ’06 – Simplicity at it’s Best
If you have eggs you have a meal. Simple.

December ’06 – A Recipe to Evoke the Spirit of Christmas
Oooh Christmas! I so love it and I could go on and on about it but I won’t. It’s only September and you might slap me.

January ’07 – Mmm….Marmite
That fabulously sticky brown goo in a pot that is oh so British. Do you love it or do you hate it?

February ’07 – Self-Catering
We took a Valentine’s holiday in a log cabin down in gorgeous Summer set (I know I’m cheating here by choosing two posts but they are linked), and cooked some lovely food. I wish I were back there now!

March ’07 – Hearty Irish Fare
I embraced the Irish in me for St Patrick’s Day with this traditional, homely dish that’s very tasty and very filling.

April ’07 – Easter Cake Bake Round Up!
I had so much fun hosting my first ever food blogging event, Easter Cake Bake. I had 29 fantastic entries that quite frankly blew me away. You’re a talented lot!

May ’07 – Patience is a Virtue
Risotto is fabulous food, isn’t it? Comforting and very versatile - throw in what you like.

June ’07 – A Gastro Tour of Borough Market
I’ll never forget the first time I met fellow bloggers for the first time. I had such a great time and it was so nice to finally meet people I’d been communicating with through our blogs.

July ’07 – Chorizo and Canellini Bean Soup
I love soup and this is a really punchy one with the great Spanish chorizo sausage.

August ’07 – Proper Burgers
You just can’t buy ‘em like this!

Phew, well there you have it – 12 months of food blogging! When I look back over the last year and all my posts I’m reminded of how much time and energy, and how much of myself, I put into this blog. And that is not a complaint - I enjoy every aspect of it. I enjoy the food, the cooking, taking the photographs, writing and putting it all together on a post. Perhaps most of all I love to see how the blog is evolving over time. I spent a lot of time, particularly in the early days, tinkering with the HTML (blame my IT background for that!), choosing a colour scheme, playing with the layout and the fonts – making it my own. It has evolved in other ways too, I now have a monthly newsletter (which you can sign up for by entering your email address in the box on the navigator on the left), I run a monthly food blogging event with Cherry from Cherry's English Kitchen and Scott at Real Epicurean (by the way we took a break last month but will be back very soon with another bag of goodies) and I have a list on the left hand navigator of all the fantastic sites that link to 'A Slice of Cherry Pie'. Best of all I can look back on what I’ve cooked, the recipes I’ve created, the reasons for cooking what I did when – a diary of food, food, food!

Now, I would be lying if I said there were never times when I just feel too tired to blog, times when it feels like an effort, times when I just don’t have the energy. Thankfully those times are the exception rather than the rule. And then they pass and I get another bolt of energy and inspiration; I read a new cookbook, I get excited about an ingredient or a new dish and I’m posting again to tell you about it.

At the end of the day, it's you who makes it all worthwhile. You visit me from all over the world and tell me what you think of my recipes and pictures, you explain how ingredients are used in your part of the world, you share your ideas, you make me smile. I know you’re there reading what I write and that, my friends, is simpy wonderful. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Julia x

Dover Sole with Warm New Potato and Runner Bean Salad

Rob’s uncle gave us some runner beans fresh from his allotment today. They looked and smelt amazing; vibrantly green with a fresh aroma. There’s nothing like vegetables that fresh and they’re best eaten as soon as possible.



To go with the beans for dinner I picked up some Dover Sole, new potatoes and sweet cherry tomatoes on the vine.

I cut off the frills, head and tail from the fish and skinned it (the skin can be pulled off easily) then lightly seasoned each side and fried it gently in a little olive oil and butter, turning half way through. This is a beautifully and delicately flavoured fish that really needs no other flavouring, which is likely to overpower it anyway.

I left the tomatoes on the vine and fried them in the same pan as the fish, and I halved the new potatoes and boiled them until tender in salted water with a few sprigs of mint. The runner beans simply needed a little trim each end, cutting diagonally and boiling for just a few minutes in the same pan as the potatoes. I served them mixed together with a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of olive oil.

I can’t tell you how delicious it all was; proof on a plate that fresh, seasonal ingredients need no frills, just simple cooking.