Mutton dressed as lamb

Woohoo. Opened the October edition of Good Food magazine to find out that a letter I'd written in June about Mutton had been printed. How fabulous.
Seriously though, whilst we're on the subject of mutton - how come its as difficult as hen's teeth to find? Methinks that the wonderful indian, caribbean and bangladeshi restaurants have realised for many years the virtue of this wonderful ingredient and have been taking advantage of our ignorance and squirrelling away stocks.

I can remember my mum talking about mutton, and how it was perceived in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s as a pauper's meat - second only to lamb. Of course we all remember in the 1980s and 1990s that New Zealand Lamb was hailed as the king of all lamb (sorry those of you from new zealand, but we have some pretty spectacular lamb in the UK). Did the popularity of lamb cause the poor mutton to simply disappear?

For those of you who have not tasted mutton, please do try it. Some main supermarkets are now stocking mutton - alternatively search for a local farm shop or visit farmers' markets for inspiration. Close by home I found a farm in wheelton, chorley that specialises in mutton, so was able to indulge myself a little.

The definitions of mutton do seem to vary, but as I understand it, lambs under 12 months old (and still with their milk teeth) are classed as lamb, from 12 months to 2 years are known as yearlings (or hoggets if they are male) and from then on mutton. Now this does vary as some sheep reared on hillsides or remote pastures are known as lamb until they've given birth to their first lambs. Its all rather confusing, but one thing is simple, yes lamb is beautiful, but if you really want to pack a punch to any dish, use Mutton!

Mutton is generally darker and a little tougher than lamb (but bear in mind that not all lamb is at the younger end of the scale), but by golly it makes up for it with a rich, almost gamey meat that is perfect for slow cooking, flash cooking, curries, casseroles - it can take strong flavours very well indeed, and holds itself together during a long, slow cook. If you have indian cook books, many of them will feature Mutton recipes, as do many medieval cook books.

Anyway thats it for mutton for now, I'll dig out some recipes for mutton, but any of you out there reading this with a burning desire to chat about mutton, or any other food, drop me a line.
Cath

Our local wine bar/bistro - The Vine Bar

In Eccleston, lancashire where we live there isn't a great underswell of excitement - the local paper does often report the odd cat stuck up a tree, the price of fish increasing by tuppence a pound, not to mention a queue at the local bakers. However,what Eccleston does have to note is a reasonable number of good real ale pubs, and its very own little Bistro - The Vine Bar. (www.sugarvine.com and search for Vine Bar)

The Vine Bar has to be possibly the smallest wine bar/bistro in the UK, as we found out on saturday night (whilst celebrating our first wedding anniversary) getting more than 45 people in at once requires the same precision as Norris McWurter's team during a world record attempt - in fact, getting in to the place is tricky enough as it has a curtain covering the entrance, and you do feel like a contestant on Stars in Their Eyes.

Having said that though, the Vine Bar is a very relaxing, homely, friendly and courteous place to visit. The owners, used to own a much larger bistro on Preston centre - and we're led to believe the owner is also in the Guinness book of records (see, those of you who wondered about the random Norris reference earlier, prepare to weep) for the largest private collection of bottles (full of course). Some 7,500 ish - and he can tell you about pretty much every bottle with the flair and enthusiasm of a traveller and connoisseur alike.

So what is it that is so attractive about the bistro - the size for one. Ladies, Gents we are always led to believe that bigger is indeed better, but not in this case. This tiny, warm and exuberant little place makes you feel very welcome from the first moment you set foot inside. Its like putting on a favourite outfit, you feel good and it feels very familiar. This little place doesn't adopt the pret a manger approach to dining, uncomfortable chairs that if you sit on them for more than 20 minutes your arse goes numb...oh no. This place has mismatched furniture, checked tablecloths, candles in wine bottles, and makes no apologies.

So what about the food. The owner/chef Ian makes a delightful range of British/European tapas sized dishes, designed to be mixed and matched, with fresh bread and butter. Yes, the decor may transport you back to the plethora of french bistros that hit the UK during the 1980s, but the similarities end there.

We enjoyed a dish called Englishman in new york, spiced chicken, cheese, and mashed potato (sounds odd, tastes delightful), a mixed platter containing prawns, cheese, chicken and parma ham and a spiced chilli pork dish - all of which arrived without a whiff of pretence or pomp and circumstance. This is a seriously laid back bistro, its not french classic, its a kind of mixture of good wholesome food, with an exceptional wine list and range of drinks on offer. (where else would you you receive a welcome to sample Armenian Cognac), or have a chance to buy a bottle of 1935 white port that had been in the owners custody since the 1970s.

If you love laid back, relaxing evenings that go on for hours, over a bottle or two of bloomin good wine, where you can graze through a menu or sample the chef's special dishes then this is the place for you. If you like crisp, snotty service, and enjoy being served by a maitre'd who looks like he has a stick up his bum...give it a miss.

Bye for now

Cath

Food Festivals etc.

For those of you in the North West of England, you'll probably be au fait with North West Fine Foods, a project funded by small to medium food producers/retailers, european funding and north west development agency. Website www.nwfinefoods.co.uk. If you're a foodie in the region then I'd recommend you log onto the site - its full of excellent producers, categories according to location and product, and really champions the cause of small producers and retailers.

Every year North west fine foods organise 3 food and drink festivals, and at the weekend, with my husband Mark and friends Gaynor and Chris we visited the summer festival at Stoneyhurst College, near Clitheroe. Thank fully the weather held up, but for the princely sum of £5.50 each, this really was a good event. Of course with events of this nature you do end up seeing the same or similar products over and over again, and by the end of the few hours you can't quite remember which stall had the lovely sausages or the yummy cheese you tasted - but who cares?! This year's summer festival had over 80 stalls ranging from farm shops, kitchen equipment, european products, loads of cheese and the best of all, some decent beer. Stars of the show were:-

The lovely guy from Hereford (ok, so not north west but so what) selling fresh corn on the cob picked the night before

Peter Goht (those of you who watch Jimmy's Farm will recognise Peter's farm as he part-financed the project, and I believe was one of the first northern farmers to take Cumbrian product to Borough Market, London, and still does) - Peter's wild boar products are simply brilliant

Ginger spiced beer from a small brewery (Marble Beers) based in Manchester, who have a micro-brewery and pub on Chorlton Road, Manchester - one to visit.

and, as a gin lover... Frere Quenelle (come on read it again and you'll get the meaning), sold by a lovely guy dressed in a monk's habit www.getintothehabit.co.uk - I couldn't resist buying a bottle of rhubarb and ginger gin and blackcurrant, but haven't tasted them yet.

So beautiful location, sunny day, plentiful supply of food and beer producers and I'd certainly recommend the North West Fine Food Festivals to anybody. Get there early (the shows start at 11), or even better become a member for an annual fee of around £34 and you can turn up an hour before everybody else. We've joined, and this entitled us to attend a quick breakfast served by Gino D'Campo from 10.45 - unfortunately non-members were being let in before 11, and the lack of signage on the tents meant that we spent the first 15 minutes wandering around looking for breakfast, and missed out. Moral of the story, get there earlier next time.

Toad in the Hole and Lemon Meringue Pie.....

Way back in September 2006. First thought...yum, lemon meringue pie. Second thought, why don't people eat food like this any more...third thought, hmmm maybe I could try to bring some of the old favourites back into everyday kitchens. Plus it'd be a great excuse to try to exorcise some of the old memories of bad school dinners. Final thought - oh pants, that means I'll have to start going to the gym again (work off all the pastry).

And thats just how it started. A self confessed foodie, lover of british, asian, indian and european cuisine, local ingredients, and most of all, one who uses cooking as a means to relax (obviously after pedalling my spare tyre away at the gym) - I'd finally decided to try to start the project. To write a book about the sort of food that made you laugh (come on how many of us had to make coconmut pyramids at school), make you cry (liver), and make you put on a couple of pounds (jam roly poly and treacle tart).

So what's happened to date. Well, the book is finished. As finished as it can be. 300 pages and 90 recipes including such memory provokers as scouse, battenburg cake, coq au vin, posh gravy and of course toad in the hole!

So I thought I'd write this blog and use it as an opportunity to share some thoughts, some recipes, some cooking stories, but most of all to enjoy being part of a foodie community. This is my first time as a blogger (I'm sure there's a technical term for that, but as a 37 year old, I'd only mispronounce it and feel as daft as my mum who claims she has VD's in the drawer under the telly - so let's not go there.

So come on, tell me all about what you loved, hated, cooked and still cook from your childhood.

Cath