FLOWER POT KITCHEN: APPLES APPLES APPLES

25 Sept 2011

APPLES APPLES APPLES

TARTE TATIN

Great British Apples such simple cooking that makes the apple sing and dance on your tastebuds

CARAMEL APPLES

4 large apples peels and cut into wedges

75g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

Melt the butter in a frying pan slowly, add the sugar and bring up to a gently simmer, when you have a colour change place the apples in the caramel and tightly pack, cook on until the apples have just started to soften, then take off the heat and top with the pastry below.

RICH SHORT CRUST PASTRY

220g plain flour

150g butter unsalted cold

1 egg yolk

pinch salt

To make the pastry rub the butter in to the flour till breadcrumbs, mix in the salt, make a well in the centre add the egg yolk and a little cold water, very gently bring the dough together and shape in to a flat ball, rest in the fridge 30 minutes. When ready roll out to the size of the pan you have caramlized the apples in, put the pastry on top of the apples and tuck the sides down, dont make the mistake I made which was to decorate the pastry with pretty pastry apples, egg wash just to remember once cooked you are going to turn this upside down... Bake in the oven 180 degrees for approx 20 minutes, leave to cool for only approx 5 minutes, place a plate on top of the frying pan and turn upside down.

GREAT BRITISH APPLE CRUMBLE WITH CREME FRAICHE

FILLING
6 apples peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 small pot creme fraiche
2-3 tbsp caster sugar

To make the filling put the apples in a saucepan with the 2 tbsp sugar and gently heat through till the apples give up their juices and become just soft. Mix the creme fraiche with the remaining sugar, when the apples have cooled and are in the pie dish pour over the creme fraiche, don't mix in.

CRUMBLE
125g plain flour
125g oatmeal and almonds
125g cold butter
125g caster sugar

Mix the plain flour and butter till breadcrumbs stir in the rest of the ingredients and top the apples, bake in 180 degree oven for approx 25-30 minutes. Serve with more cream.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.