Slow Cooked November Round Up - St Andrew's Day
Happy St Andrews Day!
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| Saltire at Wallace Monument, Stirling |
At the end of November, what you really want is something warming to eat. St Andrews Day falls on the 30th of November and the
November Slow Cooked Challenge was all about warming dishes or dishes with a Scottish theme.
First up it's breakfast at Kevin's
Crafty Larder with
Slow Cooker Oatmeal, the perfect breakfast to come home to after early morning dog walking.
A
Simple Beef Stew is the offering at
Jo's Kitchen, it's an old fashioned stew with lovely suet dumplings, the gravy looks particularly rich and tasty.
Now we head across the channel to France and the kitchen of
De Tout Coeur Limousin for a bit of chilli heat in this
Thai Curry Pork Noodle Soup
Time for a little snack? I'm delighted to introduce Nasifriet and her entertaining blog
By the Way. Slow Cooked Zesty Pumpkin Jam sounds amazing and is definitely going to feature on my post Halloween pumpkin cooking next year.
Beef is popular this month, let's hope it is Scotch Beef for St Andrews Day. Anyway
Beef and Vegetable Casserole looks like a lovely warming dish entered by Deon at
Food Jam.
Venison is definitely associated with Scotland and Lucy at
Baking Queen 74 has made a lovely warming
Slow Cooker Venison Sausage Casserole with Borlotti Beans.
We interrupt this comfort food fest for a bit of a domestic! You'll have to pop over to
Lavender and Lovage to find out what was the cause of the temporary marital disharmony, while you are there you should bookmark the recipe for
Sticky Christmas Marmalade Chicken.
A bowl and spoon is the recommended way to eat
Bonfire Bangers, Pumpkin and Lentil Stew the bowl of comfort food from Dominic at
Belleau Kitchen.
It's always nice to finish with a chocolately dessert, so thanks to Sarah of
Tales from the Kitchen Shed for sharing these delicious looking
Slow Cooker Individual Pear and Chocolate Puddings
Many thanks to all the entrants to the Slow Cooked Challenge, if you are looking for some more St Andrew's Day recipes you can find them St Andrew's Day Menu
The December challenge will be published on 1st December, so remember to come back and find out what the theme will be.
Labels: Beef Stew, oatmeal, Pumpkin Jam, Slow Cooked Challenge, St Andrew's Day, Sticky Marmalade Chicken, Thai Curry, venison sausages
Cloutie Dumpling in the Slow Cooker (nae clout)
My Granny (Dad's Mum) was not a very adventurous cook. She made an amazing peppermint slice, mince and tatties and broth, but her 'signature dish' was her Cloutie Dumpling. A Cloutie Dumpling is a sweetened fruit pudding, boiled in a cloth (clout), the cloth is floured giving the pudding a 'skin'. My Granny made a Dumpling at Christmas and for my Dad's birthday and we ate it as dessert with custard. She would always send us home with half the dumpling and Dad would fry it in butter and dredge it with caster sugar, that was my favourite way to eat it. I know a lot of people also serve it with a full Scottish breakfast.
My Mum, who is an excellent cook and baker, tried to replicate Granny's Dumpling but she never could get it to taste the same. Granny would mix the Dumpling in her washing up bowl, sterilised with boiling water, she didn't weigh anything it was a handful of this and a handful of that and she added a whole tub of mixed spice. We had such a laugh one Christmas when Granny put a piece of holly on top of the Dumpling and put it back in the oven to dry off after boiling (as you do). When she took it out, the PLASTIC holly had melted in a green pool on top of the dumpling! We just scraped it off and at the Dumpling anyway.
I'm not sure whether it was Mum's failure that put me off, or the fact that I am not really that keen on Dumpling, but I've only made it once, it worked okay but boiling puddings for hours is a luxury I really don't have.
Having learned a few things about cakes and puddings in the Slow Cooker recently, I wondered whether it would be possible to cook a Cloutie Dumpling in the Slow Cooker as it has a sort of steaming effect. I decided against using a 'clout' and lined the Slow Cooker with a baking parchment cake liner. I perused a number of different recipes for Cloutie Dumpling, every Scots Granny seems to have her own recipe, but none uses a whole tub of mixed spice! In the end I ditched the breadcrumbs and suet in favour of butter in this hybrid
'Nae Clout' (No Cloth) Cloutie Dumpling, I don't pretend it's a real Cloutie Dumpling more a boiled/steamed fruit cake, but the smells coming from the pan and the finished texture is pretty good, without having your windows steamed up and constantly checking to see that there is still enough water in the pan!
Slow Cooker Cloutie Dumping
350g mixed dried fruit
110g caster sugar
220ml water
110g butter
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
110g plain flour
110g self-raising flour
Put the dried fruit, sugar, water, butter, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside until just warm.
Add the eggs a little at a time alternating with spoonfuls of the flour. Mix well.
Line your Slow Cooker with baking parchment or a cake tin liner, cook on high for 2 1/4 hours.
Slow cookers do vary in timing, so it may take 15 minutes either side of this time. If your cooker has a clear lid, you can see the change to the top of the dumpling as it bakes. I did test this one with a skewer after 1hr 45 minutes but the middle wasn't cooked. Lifting the lid does increase baking time, so do keep an eye on this as it reaches the 2 hour mark.
This is my entry for my own Slow Cooked Challenge, the theme this month is St Andrew's Day and what better way to celebrate than a Cloutie Dumpling!
I was listening to BBC Radio Scotland's Kitchen Cafe programme last Friday, as I was on holiday from work, the programme was all about Food Blogging and I tweeted about the Cloutie Dumpling with 'nae clout', I got a mention on the programme and the tweet below from Sue Lawrence, well known Scottish cookery and food writer and ex Masterchef winner.
I'm also entering the
Cloutie Dumpling with nae clout for
Tea Time Treats, the monthly blogging event run alternately by Karen at
Lavender and Lovage and Jane at
The Hedgecombers . Jane is hosting this month and the theme is Bonfire Night, I think a nice slice of dumpling would be perfect for bonfire night, with or without custard!
Labels: Cloutie Dumpling, dessert, Scotland, Scottish, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, St Andrew's Day
St Andrew's Day Slow Cooked Challenge and a Giveaway
St Andrew's Day is a day of celebration for Scots, both in Scotland and for those who live elsewhere. Last year I wrote about St Andrew and how he became the patron saint of Scotland , this year I'm concentrating on the food, because all celebrations generally involve food!
So for the
November Slow Cooked Challenge I'd like you to make a dish that would be suitable for St Andrew's Day. It can be a traditional Scottish dish like Cock-a-Leekie Soup, porridge or stovies, it could use Scottish ingredients such as
Scotch Beef or Scotch Lamb. It could even be a Dundee Cake or a bread like a Selkirk Bannock.
OR you could simply make a dish that is delicious to eat and would be suitable to serve on the 30th of November, something warming is probably in order.
As a bit of a bonus, and only loosely connected to Scotland, I was delighted to receive a review copy of
Slow Cooked by Miss South of
North South Food blog from Ebury Press and to offer a copy to one lucky reader (scroll down for Rafflecopter) Miss South does acknowledge the Scottish side of her family and the cooking of Northern Ireland, where she was brought up, has a lot in common with Scotland.
Slow Cooked is the first book from Miss South, one half of the popular North South Blog. In this book Miss South is on a mission to reinvent one of her favourite kitchen appliances, her beloved slow-cooker.
I can thoroughly recommend this book, those of you who are regular readers of my cook book reviews will know that I love to look at the pictures. Well the pictures in this book are all at the front rather than beside the recipes and normally I would find that off putting. However, the recipes are SO GOOD that even without a picture beside each one, I was totally absorbed and couldn't wait to cook.
The Introduction will tell you everything you need to know about good slow cooking and how to cook frugally in your slow cooker.
Then it's straight into the recipes the Meat chapter includes everything from traditional Scouse to Oxtail with Dark Chocolate and Guinness, Soy Braised Pigs Cheeks and Moroccan Lamb Breast.
Poultry dishes such as Confit Duck, Jerk Chicken and Chicken Liver Pate are there as well as how to roast a chicken in your slow cooker.
The Fish and Seafood dishes include Stuffed Salmon and Soused Mackerel
Pulses and Grains are brilliant in the slow cooker and the Chilli with Dark Chocolate sounds as incredible as the long list of ingredients, however it was Chorizo Butter Beans that caught my eye, a few simple ingredients, no soaking of the beans and throw it all in and leave it. You have got to try this, it's incredibly good.
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| Chorizo Butter Benas -one of the best recipes I've ever made in my slow cooker |
In Vegetables the recipes feature those vegetables that really appreciate a long slow cooking time, like Braised Red Cabbage, Caramelised Onions and the glorious sounding Potato and Olive Stew with Preserved Lemons.
Soups range from Scotch Broth (ideal for St Andrew's Day) to Ghanaian Peanut Soup.
There's a whole chapter on Curry. meat based like Beef Rendang and vegetarian like Sweet Potato, Spinach and Paneer Curry.
Preserves and Pantry Staples is full of recipes for chutney, relish, sauce and sweet curds and butters.
Cakes and Breads made me drool, who wouldn't at Dulce de Leche Coffee Cake and Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge, as well as some good bread recipes.
Puddings and Steamed Puddings make up the final chapter and Spiced Roast Plums, Creme Brulee and Chai Bread and Butter Pudding all sounded so delicious.
The recipes are well laid out each chapter and each recipe has an introductory paragraph with additional helpful hints and sometimes a story which reveals a little about Miss South, which is where I found out about her Scottish connections.
Slow Cooked by Miss South will be published on 6th November by Ebury Press RRP £14.99
Follow northsouthfood on Twitter for more info, debate and recipe testing anecdotes
@northsouthfood www.northsouthfood.com
The Happy Foodie has a post with links to all the Slow Cooked reviews and published recipes. There's also a little bit about each blogger and why they love Slow Cooking, check it out.
How to enter the Slow Cooked Challenge
- Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
- Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
- Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
- If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board.
Rules:
- Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
- If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
- One entry per blog.
- Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.
Follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter the giveaway for
Slow Cooked by Miss South
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Labels: Butter Beans, chorizo, cookbook review, crockpot, giveaway, Miss South, review, slow cooked, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, St Andrew's Day, win
St Andrew's Day Out and St Andrew's Night In
CELEBRATE SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL DAY ON YOUR
DOORSTEP THIS NOVEMBER
Scots encouraged to enjoy a St Andrew’s Day Out
with largest ever programme of events
Pupils from Royal Mile Primary in Edinburgh today (Wednesday 29 October) accompanied Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop in launching St Andrew’s Day Out 2014, encouraging Scots and visitors to Scotland to take advantage of the wealth of events and offers available across November to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.
P4 pupils Sophie Martin (chef), Angelina Wood (skier), Siaka Jateh (golfer) and Erkan Gullupinar (surfer), all aged eight, got into the spirit of the celebrations, dressed to represent the vast range of activities on offer across Scotland - from food and drink events and surfing lessons to skiing experiences and mini golf – all to mark our national day on 30 November.
Over 200 participating attractions across the country are offering
2 for 1, kids go free or free entry, presenting a huge variety of fun days out to suit every taste.
Culture vultures can enjoy visiting House for an Art Lover in Glasgow and the latest exhibits at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, while outdoor enthusiasts can take in the best of Scotland’s scenery at the Nevis Range, explore the countryside with Segway tours in Dumfries or go Nessie hunting at the Loch Ness Centre. Budding scientists can investigate the cosmos at Satrosphere, Aberdeen or learn about the world underwater at Macduff Marine Aquarium.
In addition to over 200 attractions in Scotland running discounted offers, there are a variety of St Andrew’s Day events taking place through the Scotland’s Winter Festivals programme, funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by EventScotland.
To find out what’s on across Scotland this St Andrew’s Day, and download your event vouchers, visit www.scotland.org/winter
After an action packed St Andrew’s Day Out
, what better way to carry on the celebrations than with a
St Andrew’s Night In - dining on the quality produce that Scotland has to offer.
Scotland’s natural larder has a wealth of local produce to create a delicious meal for all the family to enjoy and November is one of the best times of year to plate up something seasonally Scottish. Scotch lamb is a warming family favourite which is in season, or a hearty fish dish is a good way to pay a nod to Saint Andrew’s life as a fisherman and indulge in Scotland’s array of seafood. All recipes can be found at
http://www.scotland.org/recipes/collections/st-andrews-day-menu
Look out for more information about St Andrew's Night In here at Farmersgirl Kitchen.
Labels: Edinburgh, events, Glasgow, Scotland, Scotland.org, St Andrew's Day
St Andrew's Day Tribute
St Andrew's Day - 30th November 2009
I thought I should make an effort to cook some traditionally Scottish food for St Andrew's Day.
So for lunch we had Scotch Broth, which consisted of about half a head of celery (just because it was in the fridge), carrots, onions and approx 250g of Broth mix (split yellow and green peas, red lentils and pearl barley) soaked in water overnight. Cook the vegetableson a medium heat in a little vegetable oil for about 10 minutes, add about 1.5 litres of chicken or vegetable stock. Now I cook mine in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes, but it will probably take about 40-50 minutes without one. Add some chopped parsley when the soup is cooked.
I decided that the most Scottish of meals is 'Mince and Tatties'! In my childhood this was staple fare and is much more what people in Scotland would eat rather than haggis which is an occasional meal rather than everyday food. People are very divided by how they like their mince, thick gravy or thin gravy? carrots or not? onions or not?
For those of you unfamiliar with 'mince', it is ground beef, beef which has been through a mincer, usually at the butchers shop. You very simply cook the onion in a little oil, until soft but not brown, then brown the mince in the pan breaking it up as you do so. Add carrots, if liked, and a thickening agent (Bisto or flour) and beef stock. Cook for about 20 minutes at a gentle simmer or until the carrots are cooked.
Tatties are, of course, potatoes and served mashed with milk and butter. I also served boiled carrots with the mince & tatties tonight, but usually I would serve cabbage. As I unwell with a bad cold on Friday and Saturday, my husband did the shopping to a list and I forgot to put the cabbage on the list!
Here is somemore information about St Andrew's Day, unfortunately I don't get this holiday.
What do people do?
The Scottish flag, or Saltire, is flown on public buildings in Scotland on St Andrew's Day. In the rest of the United Kingdom, the British Union Flag is flown. Some people have a day off work in Scotland. In Edinburgh, there is a week of celebrations, concentrating on musical entertainment and traditional ceilidh dancing. A ceilidh is a social event with couples dancing in circles or sets (groups of eight people). In Glasgow city center, a large shindig, or party, with traditional music and a ceilidh are held. In Dumfries, songs are performed in the Burn's night tradition.
There is a lot of folklore associated with St Andrew's Day, particularly around young women, who hope to marry. At midnight, as November 29 becomes November 30, young woman prayed to be shown signs about their future husbands. They peeled an apple in such a way that the peel remained in a single piece and threw this over their shoulders. The shape that the peel formed on the ground indicated the first letter of their future husbands' names. They also dropped molten lead or candle wax into a bucket of water. The shape that it formed indicated the profession of the men they would marry.
Public life
St Andrew's Day is a bank holiday in Scotland on November 30. If November 30 is on a Saturday or Sunday, the bank holiday falls on the following Monday. The amount of disruption to public life varies greatly. Generally schools are closed. Some other organizations and businesses may be closed, but others are likely to be open.
Public transport services may run to their usual or holiday timetables. Those intending on using a particular transport service on St Andrew's Day are encouraged to check ahead on the service's availability. St Andrew's Day is not a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on November 30.
Background
St Andrew was born in Bethesda on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and was the younger brother of St Peter. Both he and his brother became disciples of Jesus. He is said to have died bound to an “X” shaped cross at Patras in Achea in Greece. This shape is now reflected in the Scottish flag, known as the Saltire. St Andrew has been recognized as the patron saint of Scotland since at least the ninth century.
The bill to make St Andrew's Day a bank holiday in Scotland was first introduced in 2003. In 2005, it was rejected by the Scottish Parliament on its first reading. The main objections were that the introduction of another bank holiday would have a negative impact on the Scottish economy. After further negotiations, the bill was supported by the First Minister of Scotland. One of the results of these negotiations was that the new law should not give employees an extra holiday, but that a holiday on St Andrew's Day should replace an existing local holiday.
The St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 was passed by the Scottish Parliament on November 29, 2006. It was given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on January 15, 2007. The first St Andrew's Day bank holiday was observed on November 30, 2007. The Scottish government used this as an opportunity to support celebrations of Scottish culture all over the world.
Information from
Time and DateLabels: Mince, Scotch Broth, St Andrew's Day
