GUEST BLOG: Freshen up

By guest blogger TRACEY

We held an action-packed session in Bury yesterday making dhal, zesty raita and rice on top of a dressed spinach salad for over 70 people attending the Brighter Futures service user community event funded by Bury City Council. Kim had procured produce from Fareshare at Smithfield Market to demonstrate how intercepted food destined for landfill still has plenty of life and freshness in it - enough to serve so many people a nutritious and flavoursome lunch! 

Some attendees lent a hand to chop, peel and slice the vegetables while others watched and passed around the fresh herbs (coriander and mint) and spices to familiarise themselves with the fragrances, and Kim expanded on their uses and health benefits. All were captivated by the messages Kim shared about preserving food, shopping economically and reducing waste. The event's attendees enjoyed the dish so much and were delighted when they each received a Cracking Good Food Kit Bag containing healthy eating information leaflets along with recipe sheets and ingredients to make the dish again later in the week!

There are more photos from this session on the Cracking Good Food Facebook page - please remember to "like" us and follow us!

GUEST BLOG: Stew pied!

By guest blogger TRACEY

Yesterday, we ran the second of six sessions at the Approved Premises in Stockport.  The guys made swift work of preparing all the vegetables. Parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes and carrots were peeled then diced and sauteed with leeks and sliced onions. Cracking Cook Rob brought his pressure cooker to demonstrate its use and speed up the cooking of the diced beef as we were limited to only one and a half hours' cooking time. This resulted in succulent tender meat which smelt wonderful as the meat was steamed with a bouquet garni made up of fresh rosemary, bay leaves and thyme.

The aromas filled the room along with the enticing smell of the onion and leeks. Beans and peas were added to the pan along with chopped tomatoes to bulk the dish out further, then the mixture was split in two. Once separated, a short crust pastry was settled over half the mix and baked, while the suet dumplings were settled on top of the stew and left to cook through. Our hearty lunch was plated up with creamy mashed potato and both stew and pie were devoured very quickly, leaving super-clean plates!

More pictures from this session are on our Facebook page: click here.

GUEST BLOG: Beefed up

By guest blogger TRACEY

We were back at the Approved Premises in Oldham on Friday 17 January for the second of six sessions. It was an extremely busy session as the guys were cooking a filling lunch of beef stew and dumplings plus a vegetable and beef suet crust pie along with crispy roast potatoes - a tall order considering we were over 50% down on workforce. Still, the group enjoyed prepping all the vegetables and listening to Cracking Cook Maz share the health benefits of each and how the dish can lend itself to many variations. They made a batch of deliciously fluffy dumplings and a suet crust pie top giving the dish a great rustic appearance. Potatoes were roasted in their skins and treated to a sprinkling of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. The meal was completed with steamed broccoli and looked and tasted amazing.

More photos from this session can be viewed on our Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Nutty but nice

By guest blogger TRACEY

Rob and I were delighted to be back at the Approved Premises on Monday, cooking stir-fry with satay sauce and egg-fried rice. The group settled into the peeling, chopping and slicing production line, sharing their extensive cooking skills and knowledge previously gained. They were intrigued about the origin and uses of some of the vegetables, especially the celeriac and courgettes, while there were a few comments and frowns about the lack of meat!

Rob introduced them to a new style of cooking rice: dry frying it before adding water, which creates a nutty taste. Once the rice was boiled and left to cool before adding eggs, the vegetables were quickly fried and the peanut-flavoured sauce made, filling the room with some flavoursome aromas and hungry tummies! We all sat down to eat and evaluate the session, and although we didn’t win them over this time with the vegetarian option, all the guys agreed that they would make it again, with modifications! One participant said: “I’m living off stir-fry when I leave!” High praise.

GUEST BLOG: In the deep mid-winter

Words and photos by guest blogger AMY SOMERS

The Mid-Winter Wild Food Foray surpassed my expectations. It made for a truly informative and enjoyable Sunday afternoon, on 12 January, which is definitely an achievement due to its proximity to the rather toasty Didsbury pub! Jesper was engaging and enthusiastic, even keeping an eight year old present and very much part of a lovely group of foraging locals in the rather chilly January weather. The wealth of food sourced at this time of this year astounded me. We then gathered to make our collection into a meal, and this, along with some of Jesper's homemade wine, really consolidated the whole experience.

There are lots more great photos from Amy of this trip on our Facebook page and there are plenty more wild food forages planned for 2014 - check out our website for dates and details by clicking here.

GUEST BLOG: Veggie might!

By guest blogger TRACEY

Cracking Good Food started the New Year off last Friday with a new course at an Approved Premises over in Oldham. Despite our new participants being reluctant to try some of the vegetables and the non-meat stir-fry; second portions were had by many and all of them said they would cook the dish again! They easily mastered chopping the vegetables correctly after Maz demonstrated knife skills and they enjoyed being able to personalise the taste of their dishes with all the new sauces they were introduced to. Maz complimented the session with information about the health benefits of some of the vegetables and the best ways of cooking the vegetables to get the most out of them.

We were delighted to record the group's reactions to the final dish during the end-of-session evaluation. They shared how the session had introduced them to new cooking techniques, new equipment such as the wok and, for some, new vegetables too. They were surprised that the meal cost just £1 per head, but especially surprised at themselves as, to quote “I didn’t notice the lack of meat” and “because you’re not looking for the meat, you’re experiencing the flavours!” A great all round experience – thanks, guys.

GUEST BLOG: Festive feasting

By guest blogger TRACEY

Christmas spirit was definitely in the air at the last Approved Premises session on the Wednesday before as the guys delivered a festive feast worthy of any table. Free-range chicken thighs were steam-roasted under foil in place of the traditional turkey, while parsnips were cut into batons, roasted and treated to a drizzle of honey just before they were removed from the oven. A subtly nutmeg-flavoured celeriac potato mash was served alongside crispy roast potatoes as well as sprouts and carrots, cooked to perfection to accompany this delicious dinner. The guys mastered the art of creating a warm herby smooth gravy, using caramelised onions, cornflour and a bouquet of rosemary – it was agreed that a gravy can make or break a meal, but not surprisingly theirs completely complimented the meal!

Our chefs delighted themselves with their tasty sweetcorn and red pepper fritters along with some delicately spiced onion bhajis - our alternative starters for the seasonal spread. Cracking Cook Kim shared the beneifits of using gram flour; a favourite with celiacs due to its wheat-free nature, and of interest to our participants due to it being so versatile and cheap. 

But no Christmas meal is complete without a pudding, and we all enjoyed the delicious carrot and orange cake which was swiftly put together with ease - and just as quickly disappeared! Both Kim and I have really enjoyed working alongside the participants and were thrilled to hear them sum up the six-week course as ‘just superb’.