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Chocolate from Childhood
Anyway, after a long discussion about what is the best way to eat a chocolate bar i.e. chilled, room temperature, carpaccio (what????) straight from the fridge and it has to snap, I managed to put together the three most popular bars ; Twix, Maltesers and Kit Kat. I have to say that I am very pleased with this list as each one of them can easily put a big smile on my face any day of the week and any time of the day!!
Of course, the discussion didn’t stop there, we then moved on to biscuits and ice cream flavours. So, I did a small survey around the office and the most popular involved buttery shortbreads and chocolate hobnobs and for ice-cream flavours honeycomb, raspberry ripple and mint – choc chip were clear winners.
What is your favourite chocolate bar, biscuit and ice-cream flavour?
I hope you have a lovely weekend full of delicious indulgences!!
Chrisoula
Out and about in Italy
First up are the ladies who hand apply fat to the ends of the Parma Ham legs before they go in to the next stage of maturation. Their skill is pretty amazing to watch and vital for protection of the meat in the months that follow.
I took this picture of an old windmill on the lagoon at Orbetello in Tuscany. They are characteristic of the area. The lagoon is famous for its fish and I ate an oven-baked fish dish with potatoes there that evening. Those amongst you with eagle-eyes may have spotted the egret perching on the windmill base, also there for the fish!
These olive trees, on a hillside above the same lagoon, grow in amongst the ruins of a huge Roman temple. Which is rather nice. We were filming when we visited this site and spent a while spotting the trees with the most gnarled and twisted trunks. These trees are harvested for olive oil production rather than the table (eating) olives we sell. A tradition even older than the Roman ruins around us.
Making the most of the day’s last light for filming. Looking out to sea and towards Monte Argentario.
Anyway, back to the desk job…
Simon
Fruit Out Of Context
It was my sister’s birthday on Sunday so we had a dinner party with friends and family to celebrate. Mother was chef and I had responsibility of the cheese board. I took my responsibility very seriously, as one should, and bought a plethora of (what I thought were) exciting cheeses.
After a delicious dinner, cheese time came about. The Cheddar and Red Leicester were piled onto crackers and enjoyed in abundance, and then I started observing the cheese eating habits of my co diners. Any cheese with fruit remained untouched. I managed to convince a close friend to try a slither of Wensleydale with Cranberries. She loved it (as expected) which prompted a “What’s your favourite fruit out of context?” conversation.
I’m a big fan of ‘fruit out of context’. Fruit in cheese. Fan. Raisins in curry. Fan. Chicken with prunes. Fan. Parma ham and melon. Fan. Bacon and banana baguette. Fan.
So I have embarked on a quest – to broaden my fruit out of context knowledge and find new and exciting ways to combine fruit with savoury. I’d very much welcome any top tips. This weekend I am trying a kiwi glazed camembert and a pork and gooseberry pie. I’ll let you know how I get on.
In the mean time, I’ll be snacking on cheese and pineapple to see me through!
Let us know what your fruit recipe suggestions by leaving them as comments below or adding them to our Facebook wall (click here).
Carrie
Slow Cooking Resolutions
So, we are officially in to week two of New Year’s Resolutions and I wonder how many people have made it this far (well done you to those that have!). My foodie NYRs included eating less meat, using the slow cooker at least once a week and making packed lunches for work and so far I am proud to say I have done quite well. Last week’s lunches included homemade soup, cous cous salad and tuna pasta and the slow cooker offering was a delicious dish made with chicken thighs, thyme, mushrooms and crème fraiche.
This week however presents me with an additional challenge, one which I hasten to add is not even in the least bit supported or endorsed by the lovely people at Unearthed (in fact Simon in particular is most disapproving!)
I have decided to kick start the weight loss programme for 2012 with a particularly ridiculous diet, this mainly involves eating tomatoes and grapefruit, tomatoes and eggs, tomatoes and fruit and the odd bit of chicken. Did I mention tomatoes? This in itself is not the issue so much as how I keep up the NYRs at the same time. Well here comes the ingenious bit!
Did you know you can roast a chicken whole in a slow cooker? All you need is a rack that fits in the bottom of your crock pot, or a make shift trivet made from three balls of kitchen foil. Make sure the chicken is not resting on the base of the pan and cook on high for 1 hour followed by low for 8-10 hours. It’s as easy as that and the results I promise are fantastic!
As for packed lunches and less meat, this is where the crazy diet actually helps. Even if you aren’t partaking in such dramatic weight loss antics, it’s worth considering that high levels of meat consumption can lead to high levels of obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes as well as damaging the environment according to Professor Tim Lang, who advises the WHO and the Department for Environment on Food Policy. More inspiration to keep up with my resolutions – I am sure I can get creative with the delightful range of Unearthed Olives and Antipasti, Cheese and Ingredients….ok maybe with just a tiny bit of Chorizo thrown in for good measure. Well it hasn’t done the Spanish any harm has it?
Let us know what your New Year’s Food Resolutions are by leaving them as comments below or adding them to our Facebook wall (click here).
Leah
New Year’s Food Resolutions
Here at unearthed food is obviously a massive part of our life. 2011 has been a great year for us and an exciting time of new discoveries, but there is always more to try and more to learn. Sometimes too our cooking efforts at home don’t live up to the food we eat when we are together or when we are travelling. So here is a selection of the individual New Year’s Food Resolutions we have for 2012. During the year I will be checking up on the team and I am sure they will be checking up on me. We’ll share some of our resolution successes and failures along the way and we’d love to hear YOUR food resolutions too.
Slow cooking features on a couple of the resolution lists. Both Leah and Giulia have slow cookers at home and I am planning on using my Dad’s self-built pizza oven for some lamb baking this year.
As you’d expect from us, travels have inspired some of the resolutions. Chris – fresh from his Indian odyssey – plans to cook more authentic Indian food at home and I want to learn (and try) more of African cooking so I am up to speed when I go back.
Discipline is an essential part of sticking to New Year’s Resolutions of course and the famed ‘weekly menu planning’ makes it on to a couple of lists. Whilst improvisation is admiral, James is determined to actual follow a few recipes this year as well.
As befits the economic outlook, there are some thrifty goals on the lists too. Rich is up for replacing his Saturday night takeaway with a scratch-cooked curry and generally eating breakfast (not curry I assume) while Giulia and Leah aim to prep their lunches for the office.
On to drink. In an unusual take on the New Year’s Resolution, James will be drinking more G&T’s this year. Meanwhile, some others in the team may be drinking more craft beer this year as Rich has resolved to convert them away from tasteless lagers.
Why the campfire picture? I want to cook and eat outside a lot more this year.
Let us know what your New Year’s Food Resolutions are by leaving them as comments below or adding them to our Facebook wall (click here).
Simon
