![Claire](/components/com_k2/images/placeholder/user.png)
Claire
Looking for a job?
They are looking for a chef at the White Horse in Stoke Ash near Eye.
Aldeburgh Food and Drink festival
Next weekend starts a full programme of foodie stuff at the Aldeburgh Festival of Food and Drink, 23rd September to 8th October, including a competition to find Suffolk’s best amateur baker. Adult Classes include ‘Victoria Sandwich’, ‘Fruitcake’, ‘Scones’ and ‘Cupcakes’, with a ‘Best Junior Cake Maker’ class for 10-16 year olds.
Foraging for fungi
Tracey comes to Suffolk (again)
Eating Insects
Today in the car I listened to a progamme telling us we would soon be eating insects. It has been predicted that by 2050 the world’s population will have increased to nine billion, and the demand for food will grow with it. One of the things we will be worrying about in the future is food security, and we won't care what we eat, as long as we eat something. Much has been done behind the scenes to develop this idea. It's not just a notion - it has legs. In an article in the New Yorker Dana Goodyear quotes the man who first explored the idea of so much protein being freely available. " DeFoliart envisioned a place for edible insects as a luxury item. The larvae of the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) seemed to him to be poised to become the next escargot, which in the late eighties represented a three-hundred-million-dollar-a-year business in the United States. Given a choice, New York diners looking for adventure and willing to pay $22 for half a roasted free-range chicken accompanied by a large pile of shoestring potatoes might well prefer a smaller pile of Galleria at the same price." You see, it's all in the name; call it something nice and we'll all try it.
http://wp.suffolkfoodie.co.uk/itemlist/user/62-johnycakes.html?start=140&type=atom#sigProId2633334975
It's only in Europe that we cringe at the idea, although in Sardinia there is the cheese riddled with maggots pictured here, called Casa Marzu. Bugs are a traditional food in many cultures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and over 1,000 insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world's nations. They include 235 species of butterflies and moths, 344 species of beetles and 313 species of ants, bees and wasps, as well as 239 species of grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches, amongst others. Other commonly eaten insects are termites, cicadas and dragonflies. And we do eat them already, we just don't know about it - there are permissible levels in tinned sweetcorn, some shredded bits in fruit juice and the odd bug in frozen broccoli. Of course in the old days we would have had much less choice, John the Baptist is said to have survived on locusts and honey when he lived in the desert, and we would all eat a spider if it was life or death or I'm a Celebrity. But most of us have a long way to go. It needs to look right...we're not good at wings and eyes and legs, so we need it to be presentable, on lettuce and in breadcrumbs. But some people do have the recipes - cabbage, peas n'crickets anyone? It's just that the website they're on - girlmeetsbug.com, looks a bit like the old suffolkfoodie blog...
Our Aldeburgh Dish of the Day - Jason Shaw of the White Lion Hotel.
The new Head Chef at the White Lion, Jason Shaw has dedicated himself to creating a dynamic menu, offering everything from tapas to a hearty dinner. The restaurant and the menu reflect the Suffolk coast with the freshest fish caught on the White Lion’s doorstep. Here Jason gives his recipe for a delicious starter or supper dish, or you could make them a little bit smaller for a canapé at a party.
Camembert and wild garlic beignets – makes 24
450g of strong flour
8 whole eggs
226g butter
1pt water
150gm camembert cheese peeled and roughly chopped
50gm wild garlic blanched and finely chopped
salt and pepper
Method
Bring the water to the boil and add butter. Add flour and mix well. Cook out for 1-2 mins on the heat.
Cool the mixture and then add the eggs gradually, beating all the time until the mix is glossy.
Fold in the Camembert and wild garlic and season to taste. Leave mix to rest for one hour.
Using 2 dessert spoons shape the beignets into Quenelle’s. Heat the vegetable oil and deep fry until golden brown for roughly 4-5 minutes. Drain and serve. At the White Lion Jason serves his with Balsamic caramelised onions, Thorpeness leaves and fresh pomegranate with fresh pomegranate syrup.
Being Dish of the Day
I can hardly bear to say the c word but we wiill be looking for a Dish of the Day for that time of year when everyone gives each other presents, and for November and October too. If you have a nice recipe and look good in an apron why not appear on here? It's just an e mail away and you don't have to be a chef; let's have a home cook - from WEST Suffolk.
suffolk foodies are being talked about in the Guardian
But why is it always East Suffolk, is it full of Londoners now?
Rose Pamplemousse
Well this is my latest aperitif discovery, served in a French provincial airport bar (would you ever get this at Stansted...?) and totally delicious, especially if the rosé is cheap and cheerful. Just a splash of grapefruit in the glass turns it into something altogether more ooh la la! If you parlez francais you can see how to do it here in the video but le monsieur uses fresh juice instead of syrup. We thought home made onion rings were the perfect canape for this.
I'm in love with my ice-cream machine
I have always wanted an ice cream maker but I thought they were far too expensive for me at about £250 plus, but I had a look at Lakeland, the 'home of creative kitchenware' where I saw a Cuisinart one for £69.99 and decided to buy it. You just have to freeze the bowl overnight but that didn't seem too difficult to me. Thirty minutes later you have a litre of the most fab ice cream. They say 'it's noisy' - but I say 'don't stand in the kitchen then...' I have made two lots - mulberry, and rum and raisin, and I am going to have to put it away now because if I don't I'm going to need to buy their Fat Trapper as well.