GUEST BLOG: Marvellous meat

Guest blog by VIC MASTERS

What would you rather eat:

a) a processed, reconstituted chicken Kiev that has been marinated in "a solution of water, rice starch, salt sugar and sodium phosphate" and contains as many as 50 ingredients, or
b) a delicious homemade natural chicken Kiev made with a few simple ingredients?

If your is answer is b, read on...


During Tuesday 8 February's Meat class we made succulent Kievs from scratch. We were even taught how to de-bone (see photo above) the less expensive yet far tastier thighs by our accomplished teacher Beth Creedon from Dig, south Manchester's popular vegetable box scheme.

Beth focused on using cheaper cuts of meat, which, with a little preparation and time, were turned into restaurant-quality dishes. The chicken Kiev was a melt-in-the-mouth sensation while the other dish we made, pork curry, was a tantalisingly tender blend of piquant spices, juicy mango and pork shoulder. The photo below shows Beth explaining the next step of preparation after the pork has been left marinating to gain both flavour and tenderness.


If that's left your mouth watering, why not sign up for one of Cracking Good Food's classes? You'll never need turn to a lurid proccessed chicken Kiev again!

Our next class is on Tuesday 1 March 6pm-9pm, at Chorlton High, when Kim from Islington Mill Cafe will be demystifying risottos. Bookings can be made online at http://crackinggoodfood.org/, via email (fiona@crackinggoodfood.org), by telephone on 0845 652 2572, or in person at Hickson & Black’s deli on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton.

More photos from the Marvellous Meat class can be seen on our Facebook page here.

GUEST BLOG: Loafing around

Guest blog by SARAH-CLARE CONLON

My husband Mark has recently been experimenting with making pizza dough from scratch, so I convinced him to rise to his next challenge and join me on the breadmaking for beginners class at the weekend. I've tried to bake my own bread in the past and ended up with a brick, so I thought I could use some handy tips and learn from the experts - namely Rob, whose Aberdeen Buttery Rowies I've sampled in the past so I knew he was up to the job!

First things first, all 12 classmates donned pinnies and put a mixing bowl each into the preheated ovens to warm. Next we got our dried yeast into some hand-hot water to work its magic while we looked at the various flours available. We could choose between organic strong white and wholemeal courtesy of Doves Farm and various artisan offerings, including Granarius and even a biodynamic number, from The Watermill near Penrith. All are stocked in Chorlton's own cooperative supermarket Unicorn Grocery and some you can also get at Hickson & Black's deli.


We weighed out our choices of flour and poured the fizzing and expanding yeast mixture into a well in the centre, then, after scraping everything into a ball of dough, tipped it onto a floured surface and got kneading, which was a lot easier than I'd expected. After a few minutes working the dough so that it became smooth and elastic, we pulled it apart and dropped half in a loaf tin greased with margarine, and put this aside to rise.

With the remainder, we were free to do what we liked. I made barmcakes, Mark did finger rolls, I spotted some batches and bloomers, and a couple of adventurous people created some lovely looking plaits (see above). Once everything had been left to rise, they were baked in a hot oven for just under half an hour (less for the smaller baps). Mark's was the first tin loaf out (see below) and he even received a round of applause, it was so perfect!


While the loaves and rolls rested on wire racks to cool, we got busy making naan breads to eat there and then. For these, we used white flour and yeast, with sugar and salt added for flavour, but the magic ingredient was yoghurt, which we heated up to the same temperature as the yeast mix before mixing everything together and transferring to a floured surface to knead. The naans were then rolled out into their familiar shape (garlic paste - made from garlic finely chopped with salt - could be added at this stage, if preferred) and cooked in a frying pan on the hob. Really tasty with houmous and guacamole, and equally delicious later that evening with a fish curry we rustled up for the occasion of having fresh homemade naans in the house!

*****

If you missed this class, there's another chance to take part in Breadmaking for Beginners on Tuesday 25 January, 6pm-9pm. If you've already taken the basic class, you might be interested in joining the advanced breadmaking class, when Rob will be looking at sourdough (contains egg), brioche, rye bread and others: Saturday 22 January 11am-2pm and Tuesday 1 February 6pm-9pm.

As always, bookings can be made online at http://crackinggoodfood.org/, via email (fiona@crackinggoodfood.org), by telephone on 0845 652 2572, or in person at Hickson & Black’s deli on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton.

GUEST BLOG: Mexican rave!

By guest blogger VIC MASTERS

Last Saturday (16 October), the Mexican Tapas class was back by popular demand - and we even had to turn people away*. We did, however, let Emma Goswell from BBC Radio Manchester’s Manhunt (see me being interviewed by her below!) pop in to report on Cooking Leader Fernanda bringing Mexico down Chorlton way for the third time!


Cooking mouth-watering Mexican food with Fernanda transported me straight back to the sights and smells of the street markets in Mexico, where you can find stall upon stall selling cheap, healthy and delicious food for around £1 a head. Fernanda not only created authentic Mexican tapas, she too did it for just £1 a head. She taught us how it is possible to eat healthily on a budget.


We made - and ate! - creamy guacamole (above), spicy salsa, crispy tortilla chips, piquant refried beans and tasty tacos. All the dishes were simple to cook and the meal followed the government guidelines for healthy eating, which promote the importance of eating a well-balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, protein and carbohydrates. Check out the Food Standards Agency's Eat Well, Be Well website for more info on healthy eating.


And if the recent government cuts have kerbed your spending and you can't afford the trip to Mexico, why not come and join us at one of our cooking sessions, where we will show you how good food needn't cost the earth. Coming up, we have Traditional (and not-so-traditional!) Roasts (Saturday 6 November) and Lovely Leftovers (Saturday 13 November) - perfect for eating in this new age of austerity! Visit the Cracking Good Food website for details on all the latest classes; they cost just £15 for three hours (£10 concessions).

*Once again, this session was fully booked! Apologies if you weren't able to join us - we have a strict limit on numbers for safety reasons, and also so everyone who participates has a chance to get properly involved in the prepping and cooking. Please email fiona@crackinggoodfood.org if you are interested in Mexican Tapas and we will re-run this session in the near future!

GUEST BLOG: Hopping in the great outdoors

By guest blogger VIC MASTERS

The weather managed to hold out long enough last Thursday for Cracking Good Food to join forces with Bite to offer two wonderful cooking sessions on the Nell Lane Allotments next to Southern Cemetery.


Bite is a Hulme-based project which works with people who have experience of mental health issues and its aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Manchester through the activities that take place around growing, cooking and eating food. Bite grows food on allotments and community gardens and uses this produce in cafes at day centres and hospitals to provide healthy, affordable meals.

The sessions were led by Nicola, who, as well as being a cook, co-runs Abundance, an organisation that redistributes spare fruit and veg from gardens and allotments to people and organisations who need it. Nicola was assited by regular Cracking Cook Kath (pictured below, mid flow!), who is a chef of many years and works behind the deli at Unicorn Grocery, which supports the Abundance project.


We got cracking gathering together ingredients from the allotment plot. We used delicious freshly picked produce such as sweet beetroot to make a mouthwatering beetroot and lime salad, and Nicola explained how beetroots are an excellent source of folic acid and a very good source of fibre. The salad was a lovely accompaniment to our Spanish bocadillos, a kind of sandwich packed with tasty flavours and vitamins.

It’s amazing what can be cooked outdoors with a few simple, seasonal ingredients. And what’s more, the recipes we made were really healthy too and tasted so great, especially sat in the sunshine! If you fancy cooking and eating your five-a-day alfresco, check out the Cracking Good Food website for recipe ideas and to find out what's in season, and pick up handy tips for healthy eating here.

Festival fever!

On Sunday, Chorlton Arts Festival comes to a close with a huge Street Feast from 5pm-7.30pm in Chorlton Precinct. There will be tables in a big long line down the middle and a cracking good community atmosphere is guaranteed! Everyone is encouraged to bring decorations to make their table the best dressed and it would be great to see as many people as possible there donning their best bib and tucker. Cracking Cooks Rob, Kath and Vic will be manning the Cracking Good Food stall, purveying their wares alongside other local food and drink vendors, and performers will be providing entertainment for the troops!


It's a free event, but you need to get tickets in advance - you can pick these up from the Festival Hub in the Precinct (open Wed-Sat 10am-4pm), by calling the ticket hotline on 07794 860305 or by emailing tickets@chorltonartsfestival.com