BBC Radio Oxford

Jo Thoenes

Listen out for a guest appearance we have with Chef Mark Lloyd on BBC Radio Oxford's "Jo in the Afternoon" programme this Friday between 1 and 2 o'clock.

Chef Mark Lloyd

Mark is a keen forager and will be talking about the Autumn harvest to be found by getting out there and making the most of the countryside and all that it has to offer. We will also be looking at how you can use your finds to make various larder essentials like fruit vinegar. This will hopefully be where I might get a chance for a word or two!

UPDATE: You can Listen Again, from about 36 minutes! We had fun, with discussions including Sloe Vodka and making the most of your foraging finds.

Summer Holidays in Greece

And now, as they say, for something completely different....

My wife, Jani, and I have taken the young 'un to Kephalonia in the past two years, so we fancied a slight change this year- the Peloponnese!

View from Ilyria

The Greek economy is highly reliant on tourism these days and we find the mixture of Summer heat, welcoming people and good Mediterranean food is a winning combination. 

Know your onions in Petalidi

Through our local Travel Agent in Chipping Norton, we were introduced to a lovely family-run place in the village of Chranoi, in the famous olive-growing region of Kalamata. We have two weeks to forget about everything which ususally crowds in and just relax as much as posible: this was the perfect place for that.
Jani and I could enjoy the relative peace and health of the sea a few metres away whilst young 'un enjoyed the company of others of his age in and around the pool. Bliss!

We decided to visit the local market one Friday morning, but after waiting for "Greek time" for the bus to arrive, it was the afternnon when we arrived at the harbour town of Petalidi. We stocked up on the juiciest, ripest peaches, massive tomatoes and dark plums. A good Greek salad lunch preceded another long wait for the bus back....

Watching the dragonflies

Following this experience, we sought a charming local who hired us a tiny car (the best sort when driving in this part of the world, some of the streets are VERY tight) so we could explore the area for a couple of days.

Once we had the car, we were able to travel to the lush forest surroundings of Polilimnio which has the most stunning setting of lakes and waterfalls, resplendent with wildlife. We enjoyed a long, cool walk with irridescent dragonflies fluttering around us as we made our way through the rustic path.

The waters are invitingly crystal clear, but beware of the freshwater crabs. There are some delightful myths surrounding the pools and falls which are told in an interesting translation on a few boards along the way. This walk would certainly not pass UK health and safety guidelines, being very treachorous in plases- all part of the fun!


There are a lot of Australian plants in Greece, including several varieties of Eucalyptus and bottle brush, but I was particularly taken with this fabulously colourful bush which we found in the mountain village of Kallithea. Can you identify this:

Fredo Cappuccino

Made a discovery whilst on holiday, as well. I do love my coffee, but it is just too hot for a mid-morning cappuccino, so we were both delighted to discover the refreshing delights of a Fredo Cappuccino...







Sadly, even the best holidays have to come to an end, and it was on a glorious morning that we had to say goodbye to this delightful little corner of Greece. Full of pounds of feta, olives, tomatoes, Total Greek yoghurt and baclava, we made our way back to our green and pleasant land...

Sunrise in Chranoi on our last day

How to jazz up your BBQ

A Great idea from Veronica Hayes

 

A fab BBQ last night using a trio of Womersley Foods divine products. Here's the first idea I had...

Some kind friends had given us some super fresh produce from their garden and included in our windfall of goodies were some lovely beetroot. I used 3 of them, sliced in half from stem to root, and then placed them on 4 sheets of foil. 1 -2 dessertspoons of the oil from a bottle of Italian sundried tomatoes plus about the same of Lemon, Basil, Bay and Juniper vinegar. Scrunch up the foil to make a pouch and then sling the pouch onto the bbq. I left mine in for about 1 hour and they were tender, tender, tender. And delicious! 

I think you could happily use any of the superb vinegars that Womersley make ...mmmmmm

 

"Made in Yorkshire" cocktail competition 2011

Womersley Vinegar Dressing: Key Ingredient in Yorkshire's Best Cocktail As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my father was notorious in his youth as a mixer of deadly Calvados cocktails which rendered the drinker fairly helpless! So he would have been delighted to learn that one of his proudest concoctions for Womersley has been chosen as the key ingredient in Yorkshire's new winning cocktail...
On Yorkshire Day, August 1, while we were joining in the festivities at Wentbridge House with some of Yorkshire's finest chefs, the final of the Made in Yorkshire cocktail competition was taking place as 10 bartenders battled it out for the winning crown.                The winning cocktail is about to shake up the bartending world after judges named the inaugural winner as the "Sage & Onion Gibson" by bartender Dean Railton from SkyLounge at the Mint Hotel. His winning concoction proved to be the outright favourite of every one of the judges.The winner was crowned ‘Made in Yorkshire’s Best Bartender 2011’ and handed an engraved bespoke Alessi cocktail shaker trophy to display in their bar. The final judges included Cocktail guru Simon Difford (Difford’s Guide and Class Magazine), Christine Austin (the Yorkshire Post’s wine and spirits expert), Douglas Blyde (gastronomer and contributor to Harper’s Wines & Spirits who has also written about this story on his blog), and Vikki Harris, Marketing Manager from Welcome to Yorkshire. Dean Railton’s Sage & Onion Gibson has the added twist of our Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper-infused Vinegar Dressing and the recipe,below, will be circulated to bars across the county who will be encouraged to serve up the new creation to celebrate God’s Own County. The Made in Yorkshire competition, run by SLB PR with support from Welcome to Yorkshire, involved inviting bars from across Yorkshire to enter new, original cocktail recipes. The brief was to use at least one key ingredient produced in Yorkshire and, after a series of heats, the 10 finalists shook, strained and poured in front of a panel of experts at the SkyLounge bar at Mint Hotel in Leeds on August 1. Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The idea behind the competition was to celebrate the countless array of high quality produce from our great county and for bartenders to use their talents to craft something new. Not only has the competition showcased our many excellent bars, but it also helps promote Yorkshire as a cosmopolitan destination – and it would be great to see lots of bars serving up this winning Yorkshire cocktail.” Winning bartender Dean Railton said: “It’s really overwhelming to win this cocktail competition and represent how great the Yorkshire bar scene is. It’s time for the bar scene in the North to make sure we’re always better than the South.”  Dean Railton’s Sage & Onion Gibson Sage and Onion Gibson, Photo Courtesy Douglas Blyde Ingredients 15ml Womersley’s Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper Vinegar (available from DeliFresh, Bradford and Womersley Foods) 15ml Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth 50ml Chase Potato Vodka 6 Sage Leaves 1 twist red onion Method Put vinegar and Vermouth into a Boston glass Press the six sage leaves into the mixture Fill the glass with ice Add the Potato Vodka Stir until cold and delicious Fine strain into a chilled Martini glass Rim the lip of the glass with a sage leaf that has a drop of vinegar on it. Garnish with the red onion twist and pop a bay leaf in the middle.