Sweet Treats
It’s been a week of food contrasts. At one end of the scale I’ve been making a load of old-school sweets and cookies for my feature in Yorkshire Life. Before you scream that sugar’s the Devil I should maybe point out that the piece is about edible gifts so these are for special treats not everyday eating. I’m talking Cinder toffee, Marshmallows, Old school Vanilla Fudge, elegant Florentine biscuits and loads of buns and cookies.

Sweet making can be so exacting. You’ve got to get the temperatures perfectly right if you want your cider toffee to puff up without burning or becoming slab toffee (I made it 5 times and I still haven’t got it right). And if your want your mashmallow to have that lovely gooey fluffy texture. Luckily I was ok with that one. Homemade taste so much better than the relatively dry confection you can buy. The same goes for everything else I made and the point holds. People love to get treats you’ve made yourself. By the time I finished two days of testing, re-making, photographing the kitchen looked like a sweet shop. Too much for us to eat anyway and you don’t always fancy cinder toffee when it’s your millionth version – it tastes of frustration. So I headed round to mate Joe’s place with a load of other mates and bags of sweet stuff. It all went down a treat.

Which brings me to the contrast. While I was there we went hunting for rabbit. I caught four. Skinned, prepped, cooked and ate them. Field to plate in less than 2 hours. It was lovely. Rabbits roasted with onion, garlic, lemon juice, chorizo, olive oil, herbs, seasoning. Fudge and marshmallows for pudding. Joe did Toad in the Hole for starters. So, a little light meal! Enjoy the sun. Sam x
Tales From My Travels!
Sorry for dropping out of contact for so long. I’ve been in Vietnam which is an incredible country and I can’t even begin to describe the experience. My mates and I did a four city tour, Ho Chi Minh, Mui Ne, Nha trang and Hoi An.

The food, as I anticipated, is amazing, though I didn’t get to eat the cobra heart. You need to go further North for that. It’s all about the street food – I can’t give you too much detail as no-one spoke much English and my Vietnamese is rubbish. It was all ‘point and eat’ based on noodles, rice, soup. You can get a good meal and a beer for a quid which is delightful. I ate some of the best fruit I’ve ever had. Check the mangostine if you’re there – it’s gorgeous. Dorian is a smelly fruit that has the whiff of rotting flesh but tastes like heaven.

On the souvenir front, I had a suit made and a couple of pairs of trainers – you don’t have to go to Savile Row for the top tailoring treatment and it’s such good value. Go and visit if you get the chance to.

Back home, it’s all been finalising text and photos for the Vegetarian book. Busy! Good luck with exams if you’re still doing them. Sam x

P.S. Here’s the recipe for a drink which we all found addictive. Make a small pot of proper coffee. Tip a bit of condensed milk into a cup. Stir in the hot coffee. Pour the lot over a stack of ice cubes in a mug/tea glass.It tastes oddly lovely – especially in a hot climate – a bit like a frappacino.
A Week of Contrasts -Elderflower Jelly and Vietnam!
Vietnam, here I come. Soon I’ll be chilling out in the monsoon season but hey, it’s raining up in Yorkshire, though I guess it’s not as hot here. I can’t wait to try the food. I’ve been doing my research and it sounds amazing. The national dish is Pho (noodle soup). So I’ll be having that every day for breakfast. And then there’s the beating heart of the cobra which is probably the strangest thing I’ve contemplated eating. But it’s not all about the food. I’ll be meeting up with a couple of mates and travelling to loads of places I studied during A level.

In the meantime, I’ve been cooking picnic style food for my next feature in Yorkshire Life. I made some cheese and onion pasties (known as Chunions by me and my mates) and a batch of brownies which went incredibly wrong thanks to some dodgy scales and me being particularly unobservant and knackered, One of the feet on the scales was balanced on a slightly raised ledge bit I didn’t notice so I ended up putting far too much flour and sugar into the mix. The cooked result was more of a brick than a brownie. Hey, we all have our bad days.

Something I was trying out for the first time – a sparkling summer-fruit jelly – turned out successfully. I used Pear Cider (Perry) with leaf gelatine to make the lightest sparkling jelly and layered in a selection of berries and just a few grapes. It’s a perfect for a summer day and works brilliantly with the pasty because of the contrast. Well, got to go pack my bag.Be in touch when I’m back. Good luck if you’re doing exams. Sam x


Tasty, Healthy Treats - It's Easy!
Last week it was all change – as in Changeit. I headed down to London for the final of this cool competition which celebrates young people’s campaigning achievements. Much of the time we don’t know this stuff is going on, kids out there all over the place working as individuals or groups trying to make a difference in their communities. I was lucky enough to meet loads of them. I was really impressed by everyone who entered – you’re never forced to do this stuff but they did. Check out the Changeit website for the worthy winners but massive respect to everyone who took part.

On the eating front I met a mate of mine, Joe, and we went to a brilliant restaurant called St John’s for a treat. It’s known for a particular dish – bone marrow and parsley salad. I ate it and it was gorgeous though not everyone’s cup of tea. But I really love the philosophy of the place – it’s nose to tail eating. It’s not pretentious but classic and no-nonsense. The food’s just gorgeous.

On the cooking front I’ve been testing a few brownie recipes – which is always fun. Ingredient of the week- It’s got to be asparagus, aka Sparrow Grass. Yorkshire sparrow grass is brilliant. To prep it, just wash then bend it. Snap the base of the stem at the bend. Steam till just tender (just a few minutes) or boil quickly. Eat it simply with melted butter and lemon juice, seasoning. Or dip it into mayo. Or boiled eggs. Or top with garlic breadcrumbs. It’s not only tasty, it’s pretty nutritious. Lovely.

Happy cooking. Sam x
Making Bread - The Fun Kind
Please excuse any mistakes in this blog. My tortoise is walking across my keyboard. He’s just having a bit of a run around before tucking into some tasty chicory leaves.

This week’s been all go – I’m planning a trip to Vietnam in a month or so to check out the food there and have a little bit of a relax. It’s going to be completely different – I’ve never sampled it but I’ve heard great things and can’t wait to tell you all about it. I’m taking a camera out with me to document my meals and will post them up when I get back.

On the cooking front there’s been other experimenting going on. I’ve been boiling up some ham hock. I saw a great looking recipe for ham hock terrine on The Great British Menu on TV. My mum just happened to have bought one the day before so she got it out of the fridge and said ‘do something with it’. My mate Henry was round and we started cooking – didn’t finish until one in the morning! Part of the dish involved making the great north eastern speciality Pease Pudding.

Yesterday afternoon I made myself a monster Foccacia. Everyone else was out and I had nothing in particular to do so I made this lovely Italian bread and stuck bits of sundried tomato in there for extra flavour. Tasty.

Sam x
Easter celebrations
Happy Easter. Hope you had a good one. Let me know what you’ve been cooking. My sister was round for her birthday this weekend so we combined the Easter celebrations with a birthday meal for her. Polly’s veggie, so it’s never too easy, especially as everyone else at the table is a meat eater. I started the meal with her favourite Beetroot Risotto with a blue cheese 'beignet' (deep-fried cheese ball) on top.

Main course was a roasted mushroom on a polenta cake with salsa, a maderia and onion gravy and assorted vegetables. I came up with an innovative way of doing my carrots. Give it a go: You peel the veg. Chop into equal size chunks – mine were about 3 inches long. Put them into a heavy duty freezer bag with a bit of butter, 1 star anise, 5 or 6 coriander seeds, a small bit of orange peel, salt and pepper. Tie it up with a plastic bag. Put into a pan of boiling water. Cook till tender.

The method retains all the nutrients and flavour – it’s so sweet. For pudding, I made a Cardamom Cream with a pomegranate jelly on top which was really tasty and palate cleansing. Poll was pretty pleased so that’s part of my present sorted!

We had a family barbecue the following day where the meat eaters made up for their restraint. Check out the slow cook Cajun style pork. It gets a good six hours low cooking. You pull it apart with a couple of forks then eat in buns with homestyle coleslaw and spicy barbecue sauce.

Sam x
16 April The Beetroot is Back!
This week’s been all about change. In the weather – we’ve had rain, snow, hail and some sunny days – well nice. I was in London on Thursday to judge the competition Changeit which is all about recognising achievements in campaigning by 11-18 years old nationwide. The judging itself was held at Deustchebank in the City of London as they sponsor it. The process involved sitting round a table with six others, placing scores and discussing the merits of each short-listed entry. It’s nice to focus on the positives of young people for once as we’re always getting such a bad press and that’s hardly representative. There’s some great stuff going on out there. Check out their website for yourself and maybe get involved. The final stage will be at the end of April – let you have the results then.

Back home, all my mates are coming back from Uni so I’ve been seeing them as well as cooking away. This week’s list includes a cheesecake, beetroot pickle and a few jars of cucumber relish. Beetroot are undervalued. They carry an old school stigma but actually they’re awesome when done properly. I like to roast them in foil or peel and chop to roast with other root veg – tasty, sweet and pretty high value nutritionally. Try not to stain yourself or your clothes as you’re prepping them. Well, gotta go cook and style a dish for the next book. I’m re-doing a few photographs now that it’s all coming together. Oh, and I’m having my mates round for a barbecue in a few days. I’ve checked the forecast. Tell you about it next week. Sam x
Horseradish - The Tasty Root!
The great thing about cooking is doing it for your family and friends. I find they’re my biggest critics but that doesn’t put me off. It was my dad’s 60th on Saturday so I decided to give him a present of a seven course birthday dinner.

There were eight of them round the table and I got into my whites and did the cheffing. First off I did a sweetcorn and vanilla whip which is a kind of cross between a foam and a soup. Sprinkled with a bit of vanilla salt it went down a treat. It’s light, slightly wacky and well tasty. I had to cook two starters as my veggie sister wouldn’t appreciate the steak salad. She got a deep fried goats cheese on beetroot pickle. The steak salad has a horseradish and mustard mayonnaise. You can’t buy fresh horseradish where I live so I had to get a root of it when I was in London for a meeting. I’m intending to grow some in the garden though. Apparently it’s a bit wild and takes up loads of space so you need to be careful but it’ll be worth it. When I was grating it the tiniest bit got into my eyes – think onion but ten times worse- but it tasted brilliant. Main course was herbed pan-fried haddock on buttered leeks, cubed potatoes and Salsa Verde.

I did last week’s grapefruit sorbet (with a splash of vodka so you get the cold first then a little heat). Then a cheeseboard – my dad loves cheese, - with celery, crackers and our apple chutney. Pudding was a classic chocolate tart with birthday candles –we finished with homemade truffles, tea and coffee. Overall it was a great success I think. I didn’t get to eat much myself as the process of cooking it was pretty intense, but that’s all part of it. When you’re working in the pro kitchen and turning out great food for customers, you might get a sausage sandwich if you’re lucky. That’s all for now. Sam x
Whitby Crab!
Discovery of the week! I found an online fish store called ‘The Whitby Catch’ and to be honest I got a bit carried away. Somehow I ended up with a delivery box packed with Pollack, Haddock, a single squid and what was meant to be three crabs but turned out to be seven. The only thing I really needed to be honest was the Pollock. I needed to cook it for a cheaper version of a fine dining meal for a photo shoot menu . Eating in is the new dining out so I’m told.

The Pollack is a sustainable fish and cheaper than your haddock and cods but it can be really good. It helps to salt it a bit before you cook it so that the meat of it firms up a bit and bigger cuts of Pollack make for bigger flakes and much tastier eating. As for the crabs me and my friend Tom spent about two hours picking over them. You have to crack open the claws - get into the main shell – and take care not to get any shell in with the meat. There’s brown meat which has the richness and texture of pate – and white meat which is delicately flavoured and lightly textured. We ate the crab with homemade mayo – brown bread and a tomato and onion salad – totally gorgeous. Sam x
A Week of Experiments!
It’s been all about experimenting this week. First off, with some great food. I’ve always wondered how you get Chinese style belly pork really crispy – like they can in dim sum restaurants like The New World – my favourite haunt in London’s China Town. There’s a definite art to it – and maybe I just cracked it. Belly Pork’s a fantastic meat. It’s quite cheap – very important in a credit crisis. A joint can feed loads. It’s perfect student food and family budget food. Don’t be put off by the fat. It increases the flavour like you wouldn’t believe and so much of it burns off in the cooking. Anyway, fat’s not evil. It’s essential to living - so why not make it tasty. Check out the recipe below and have a go at it yourself. I’ve just had a bit for my breakfast (it’s good hot and cold).

I also had a go at a Ruby Grapefruit Sorbet. Ok I’ve actually made this before. I did it as part of my final exam menu when I was over at Ballymaloe. You’ve got to balance the acid and the sugar and get just the right consistency when you’re freezing it. Otherwise – it’s so simple. Juice up half a litre of grapefruit. Add 110g caster sugar. Mix to dissolve. Put it in an ice-cream mixer or bung it in a freezer box in the freezer and whisk/break up with a fork to mash up the ice crystals every half hour until it’s solid. The sorbet’s perfect to eat after the pork – it’ll cleanse the palate.

Next big experiment was using Miracle Berries. These little tablets numb your sour taste buds temporarily (it feels like that, anyway) and turns sour tasting food, sweet. So I went to town on some lemons, limes, vinegar, and onion. Interesting.

I did a couple of days in the pro kitchen this week – hard work as always, but great fun. Now I’ve gotta go – am on the lookout for a car and there are veggie recipes to write.

Chinese Crispy Pork for dipping with Hoisin or eating with noodles

1 piece belly pork (2lbs plus) 3 cloves garlic Sea Salt Chinese Five Spice Juice of a lemon

1. Get the pork in one piece (not sliced).

2. Crush the garlic, add 1 teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon Chinese Five spice. Mix together.

3. Heat water in a large pan or wok with 1 tablespoon Chinese or malt vinegar. Very carefully (or with help) hold the skin and fat bit of the pork joint, fat side down, in the boiling water for 3 minutes to blanch it. I do this by sticking a large fork in either side so I can suspend the meat over and just in there. Don’t let the meat itself touch the water.

4. Take the meat out. Blot the skin and fat dry with kitchen paper or jeye cloth or teatowel.

5. Rub the garlic/salt mix into the sides and bottom of the joint.

6. Use a very sharp knife to score cuts down the pork – 1 cm apart ideally. It can be a struggle so don’t worry if it’s not neat. Cut parallel lines the other way to make diamond shapes.

7. Rub 1 teaspoon salt into the cuts. Leave uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours so the top dries out. A couple of hours before you cook it, squeeze lemon juice over the top.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 250C. Dry the top of the meat again. Add a bit more salt. Cook for 30 minutes.

9. Pre-heat the grill. Place meat on a shallow tray. Put it under the grill as low down as you can to allow the top to crisp up without it burning or the fat splashing and catching. Grill carefully, without leaving the room, and watching, adjusting temperature or position if you need to. It should take about 20 minutes.

10. Rest the meat for at least 10 minutes. Chop or slice it. Dip in hoisin or other dipping sauce or eat with rice or noodles.

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