Here's a quick healthy snack for all you body-conscious guys out there!
Heat the oven to 200°C. Drain, wash & dry a can of chickpeas and mix with a few drops of oil, a couple of pinches of salt and a sprinkling of any spices you fancy. I used paprika, chilli, and cumin with a little garlic powder.
Spread in a single layer on a baking tray and roast in the oven, turning them occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until crisp and brown.
In a scene reminiscent of Jesse in the Fast Show the food blogging community seems to be writing en masse about Abel and Cole's new line of free-range chickens.
It appears that we've all been 'chosen' to receive one for comment! So what's so good about it, that firstly it merits sending it out free of charge to so many people, and secondly, that they all chose to write glowing reports about it?
Well, one reason is because it's fed on an environmentally friendly soy free feed; another that it is a damn good chicken!
Environmentally friendly? Well yes, if you believe in 'the lesser of the evils' - you're saving the rain-forest - but the fact is that the chicken's still got to get from the farm in Devon to where you live!
Would I buy it? A resounding yes - that is if I couldn't get superb dry plucked free range chicken, with the tendons removed, from Mrs Tomlinson at Stoke Golding (also sold online by Sealwood with free delivery) or another local supplier.
So what about the chicken? Well, I was going to do Poule au Pot, but that was too much like Jules's recipe, so I thought "a plain roast?", but Gluten Free Journey had already done that! So it's one of my old standbys - Lemon and Garlic Chicken, based on a recipe from Nigel Slater's book 'Toast'.
Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, chuck it in a roasting tin with a head of garlic (crushed up a bit) and some onion segments. Squeeze over the juice from two lemons and chuck the lemons in, glug with olive oil and stuff in the oven at 180°C for ½ hour. Then chuck a glass or two of wine in along with a handful of basil leaves. Cook for 15 minutes more and serve...
...dip ya bread in!
This is even nicer done with preserved lemons. Pauline can't have wine, so I used chicken stock instead. She's going to have to go!
I thought I'd better put a warning on this post, given that I read today that Cadbury's Dairy Milk contains milk and their Fruit and Nut chocolate bar also contains nuts! Apparently, the warnings that Cadbury have added to their products are to comply with legal requirements. The world's gone mad!
Anyway, back to fruit and veggie box that online organic supplier Abel and Cole sent me 'cos I'm an altogether nice guy - no, no you cynical lot, it's not 'cos they're running an SEO link building campaign! Anyway, what the heck, I enjoyed the contents and quite liked the mystery of opening the box and then cooking meals to suit. Although, given that the box contained mainly staple items, this wasn't exactly a challenge.
I could have posted about the Poule au Pot I made using the veg, or the roasted vegetables, and soups that we also enjoyed - but what with having the lousy cold that's been going around, I just couldn't be bothered. Instead you get this load of cods wallop.
So what did the box, that retails at £15.95, contain? Well there were leeks, mushrooms, white cabbage, parsnips, carrots, onions and potatoes along with bananas, oranges and small apples. Good Value? Well yes, if you want organic fruit and veg, the price compares very favourably with the leading supermarkets, and as a bonus, delivery is free.
Will I be signing up for a regular delivery? Well no, unfortunately this style of buying doesn't suit the way we buy veg. I'm sorry, but what I'm about is supporting local producers so if I wanted a regular box it would be from a local grower like those listed in the directory.
For none organic, but good local veg, I would buy from Sealwood Online - your own choice of fruit and veg and free delivery at really competitive prices.
I'm sure all of my friend [sic] think that all the produce I get is showered on me by grateful producers. He can't seem to accept that people will actually do something for nothing nowadays.
OK, I admit that in the 4 years or so I've been running this site, I have received 1 pot of Strawberry Jam (Thank You Sandra's Husband), and very nice it was too.
Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when I got an email from Abel and Cole asking if they could send me a complimentary organic fruit and vegetable box - I thought that it must be Christmas! Then I realised, It is!
There I am thinking I'm the luckiest blogger alive, when I pop over to Jules's Domestic Goddess in Training Blog and read this:
My love of Baileys, is well known. Not just for drinking it, but also cooking with it...
...Last week Baileys contacted me asking if I would like to try some of their new Baileys with a Hint of Coffee plus have a go at some of their recipes created by James Martin. Me being one to rarely pass on the opportunity to try a new alcohol or dessert recipe I jumped at the chance. It came at the perfect time as I had just finished my most recently bottle of Baileys and was trying to work out which Supermarket had the best deal for a bottle of it.
Talk about One-Upmanship, or One-Upwomanship in this case!
To any other major drinks manufacturers out there; I don't want to (Famous) Grouse 'cos I can't see the Woods (Navy Rum) for the trees. You know I promote local Lambs (Navy Rum) and (Black) Sheep (Ale). Come to think of it lots of this rings a Bell('s Brewery(or whisky - I'm not fussy)). And whilst I'm thinking of it, let's mention the Great British Generals - Gordon(s), Booth(s) and Grant...
To all at Abel and Cole - A Big Thank You - I'll write about your generous gift later.
On 15th October I posted on the claimed benefits of drinking unpasturised milk. Today, New Consumer reports that organic milk helps reduce eczema in children.
In a separate report the organic sector of the milk market is shown to be the one creating most growth - ahead by 11.5% year-on-year.
This is great news for local organic dairy farmer Lubcloud, whose milk and cream is available at many of the local food shops in the County.
The picture shows their modern logo, but I can't help but prefer the image on the farm-gate sign. Less professional maybe, but brilliant all the same.
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