Humphry and Henrietta

I've never been a big fan of chutneys - that is until I met Paul from FatJax Chutneys. We bumped into him at the first ever Great Harwood Farmers Market back in 2012. I admitted to him that I didn't like chutney very much, so he suggested I try his tasting table, I did and was completed hooked. FatJax was started by Paul and Rob, they are both trained chefs with amazing palettes. They sum up their business by saying "Our products are lovingly handmade by chefs and squashed into jars for you to enjoy" I now use chutneys regularly in my cooking. My favourite is a tomato based pasta dish which uses either the 'Mediterranean vegetable relish' or the 'sweet tomato and onion relish' and always includes one of the scotch bonnet chutneys. Both the relishes are deep and flavourful and certainly bring a tin of tuna and tomatoes to a completely different level. Of course everything tastes better with a bit of spice. The sweet red onion and chilli relish is ...

I've always thought that I was a bit of a fussy eater, whilst there are not many things I don't like the two tastes I absolutely hate are aniseed and anything smoky.  Unfortunately not liking aniseed means no basil, tarragon, dill, star anise and fennel. Anything smoky includes chorizo and anything with smoked paprika in it. I recently went to see an old friend and she made me a lovely lunch which included basil and I absolutely loved it so I've now given Humphry 'permission' to include some of the aniseed flavours in his cooking, so far there hasn't been anything I don't like. My wonderful husband, Gary, whom I've always thought wasn't fussy at all has surprised us all with the things he doesn't like. Humphry and I decided to write a list of foods Gary doesn't like and in order for Humphry to remember them he wrote this fabulous poem which we printed out, framed and presented to Gary (aka Larry) after dinner one evening. Food Larry ...

Tapas by Humphry Every weekend our two families get together for a foodie theme night. We literally pick a world cuisine and produce a selection of sumptuous dishes - all cooked from scratch. This weekend we've plumped for Tapas. If you're new to Tapas, then it's an exciting world of small Spanish food dishes which can be hot or cold. There is a myriad of choice and something for everyone. This is our menu for this weekend Meatballs in tomato sauce Marinated Anchovies Mushrooms is cheese sauce Patatas Bravas Spanish omelette Pulled pork in Harissa sauce (OK, this may be my own invention) Marinated Olives We'll let you know how we get on. Do you have any favourite tapas dishes or tried and tested recipes that you're willing to share? Hasta mas tarde Humphry

Chilli Sauce - My Addiction by Humphry Some say variety is the spice of life, but I believe spice is the variety of life! On the back of Jillian's smashing post about Kefir grains,  I thought I'd write a little about one of the loves of my life. No, not my wife - chilli sauce.  Just as Kefir helps to promote a healthy gut flora, capsaicin, the active component in  chilli peppers, possesses powerful antibacterial properties and may do a similar job in keeping bad bacteria away.  Healthy guts may be bound (no pun intended) in preventing heart disease. I love adding chopped fresh chillies to dishes for that cutting-edge spiciness (admittedly it's usually just me, as others don't seem to have a Teflon-coated tongue).  But when the latter are in short supply, I turn to hot chilli sauce. I've usually got about 5 bottles on the go that I never get tired of. I've kept the list simple and will do a proper review of some of the more extravagant titles out there i...

Let's talk about Kefir by Henrietta Firstly do you know what it is and what the benefits are? Our families started taking shop bought kefir about three months ago and they all love it.  As both Humphry and myself have a very inquisitive nature we wanted to know more about it, what it is, how it's made and more importantly can we make it ourselves?! Kefir is a cultured, fermented milk drink. It is similar to yogurt – but a drink, with a tart, sour taste and a slight ‘fizz’. This is due to carbon dioxide – the end product of the fermentation process. Kefir is a good source of calcium and is rich in probiotic bacteria. Humphry bought me a Kefir starter kit for my birthday and it didn't take me long to make my first batch using a culture. We soon discovered that you can also make it from kefir grains so the hunt was on to find some grains. A lovely lady called Lucy sent some of her grains through the post. Traditional milk kefir uses kefir grains and whole cow’s milk...