I dug up a 1.1 lb potato today. Now I'm not saying it's a miracle, but if you look very closely...
Today in the car I listened to a progamme telling us we would soon be eating insects. It has been predicted that by 2050 the world’s population will have increased to nine billion, and the demand for food will grow with it. One of the things we will be worrying about in the future is food security, and we won't care what we eat, as long as we eat something. Much has been done behind the scenes to develop this idea. It's not just a notion - it has legs. In an article in the New Yorker Dana Goodyear quotes the man who first explored the idea of so much protein being freely available. " DeFoliart envisioned a place for edible insects as a luxury item. The larvae of the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) seemed to him to be poised to become the next escargot, which in the late eighties represented a three-hundred-million-dollar-a-year business in the United States. Given a choice, New York diners looking for adventure and willing to pay $22 for half a roasted free-range chicken accompanied by a large pile of shoestring potatoes might well prefer a smaller pile of Galleria at the same price." You see, it's all in the name; call it something nice and we'll all try it.
It's only in Europe that we cringe at the idea, although in Sardinia there is the cheese riddled with maggots pictured here, called Casa Marzu. Bugs are a traditional food in many cultures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and over 1,000 insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world's nations. They include 235 species of butterflies and moths, 344 species of beetles and 313 species of ants, bees and wasps, as well as 239 species of grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches, amongst others. Other commonly eaten insects are termites, cicadas and dragonflies. And we do eat them already, we just don't know about it - there are permissible levels in tinned sweetcorn, some shredded bits in fruit juice and the odd bug in frozen broccoli. Of course in the old days we would have had much less choice, John the Baptist is said to have survived on locusts and honey when he lived in the desert, and we would all eat a spider if it was life or death or I'm a Celebrity. But most of us have a long way to go. It needs to look right...we're not good at wings and eyes and legs, so we need it to be presentable, on lettuce and in breadcrumbs. But some people do have the recipes - cabbage, peas n'crickets anyone? It's just that the website they're on - girlmeetsbug.com, looks a bit like the old suffolkfoodie blog...
Our Aldeburgh Dish of the Day - Jason Shaw of the White Lion Hotel.
Written by Claire
The new Head Chef at the White Lion, Jason Shaw has dedicated himself to creating a dynamic menu, offering everything from tapas to a hearty dinner. The restaurant and the menu reflect the Suffolk coast with the freshest fish caught on the White Lion’s doorstep. Here Jason gives his recipe for a delicious starter or supper dish, or you could make them a little bit smaller for a canapé at a party.
Camembert and wild garlic beignets – makes 24
450g of strong flour
8 whole eggs
226g butter
1pt water
150gm camembert cheese peeled and roughly chopped
50gm wild garlic blanched and finely chopped
salt and pepper
Method
Bring the water to the boil and add butter. Add flour and mix well. Cook out for 1-2 mins on the heat.
Cool the mixture and then add the eggs gradually, beating all the time until the mix is glossy.
Fold in the Camembert and wild garlic and season to taste. Leave mix to rest for one hour.
Using 2 dessert spoons shape the beignets into Quenelle’s. Heat the vegetable oil and deep fry until golden brown for roughly 4-5 minutes. Drain and serve. At the White Lion Jason serves his with Balsamic caramelised onions, Thorpeness leaves and fresh pomegranate with fresh pomegranate syrup.
I can hardly bear to say the c word but we wiill be looking for a Dish of the Day for that time of year when everyone gives each other presents, and for November and October too. If you have a nice recipe and look good in an apron why not appear on here? It's just an e mail away and you don't have to be a chef; let's have a home cook - from WEST Suffolk.
suffolk foodies are being talked about in the Guardian
Written by ClaireBut why is it always East Suffolk, is it full of Londoners now?
Well this is my latest aperitif discovery, served in a French provincial airport bar (would you ever get this at Stansted...?) and totally delicious, especially if the rosé is cheap and cheerful. Just a splash of grapefruit in the glass turns it into something altogether more ooh la la! If you parlez francais you can see how to do it here in the video but le monsieur uses fresh juice instead of syrup. We thought home made onion rings were the perfect canape for this.
I have always wanted an ice cream maker but I thought they were far too expensive for me at about £250 plus, but I had a look at Lakeland, the 'home of creative kitchenware' where I saw a Cuisinart one for £69.99 and decided to buy it. You just have to freeze the bowl overnight but that didn't seem too difficult to me. Thirty minutes later you have a litre of the most fab ice cream. They say 'it's noisy' - but I say 'don't stand in the kitchen then...' I have made two lots - mulberry, and rum and raisin, and I am going to have to put it away now because if I don't I'm going to need to buy their Fat Trapper as well.
Well, at last we managed to get a table at The Dark Horse. We were going to have an aperitif in the bar area but my moth phobic daughter would not sit next to the display of moths and butterflies in the glass case, so we headed straight for the table instead. The menu includes many restaurant classics and I tried the scallops with pea puree which were very good. The vegetarian main course was a cabbage roulade stuffed with goats cheese and butternut squash. It was also good, but we all agreed that the starters were better than the main courses. The house wine is an aquired taste but the mint tea arrives made with fresh mint which deserves a mention. Well worth a visit if you can find it.
A football match wouldn't be the same without a burger and chips but these are Rolfes burgers at Walsham - no standing in the drizzle with luke warm instant coffee and a Mars bar here. No wonder they have some of the best facilities in this part of the county. The only thing missing was a little bit of salad but I am probably in the minority for that one.
Great to see the slightly hippy, bohemian Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge is still going strong. It was one of East Anglia's first vegetarian restaurants and opened in the 1980's. Lunch yesterday was Gado Gado ( the picture does not really do it justice) resh seasonal vegetables stir fried and served Indonesian style with turmeric brown rice and side dishes of peanut sauce, plum sauce and tamari added an extra punch of flavour. What a fantastic menu of interesting vegetarian world food. I fancy the Vegan Artichoke Parcel next time.
More...
Our Caribbean Dish of The Day - Byron Askie of the Green Door in Barbuda
Written by Claire
Byron is well known for his barbecues on the beach, and says the secret of good Caribbean food is in the seasoning. Everyone makes their own version and it usually includes thyme, plenty of salt, peppers such as scotch bonnet or the small local chilis, and a number of other spices. In the UK we can cheat - but make sure you do it the night before, it's all about the preparation. And use twice as much as you think you need - strong flavours are the thing. Even though summer seems to be over we will be eating this on Monday at Notting Hill and until it's too cold to go out in the garden. And then we might just have to cook it in the oven.
Barbecued chicken, pork or fish with rice and peas
Prepare your meat or fish the day before - cut slashes into them to ensure the spices get right in, it will help with cooking too.
Season with your preferred seasoning - curry powder will do but you can buy most of the Caribbean style seasonings now. Or make your own from a combination of salt, black pepper, turmeric, ground allspice, dried thyme, red pepper (cayenne or fresh scotch bonnet chili) and olive oil. Rub this into the meat or fish. The next day - cook on your coal pot in the garden!
Rice and Peas
Rinse your rice, long grain is best. Cook until nearly ready, add plenty of salt, a tin of black eye beans or kidney beans or if you can get them, pigeon peas complete with their liquid and finish cooking. If you like you can add a bit of coconut - but most people don't.
...and in spite of eating and drinking non-stop, have lost weight. Must be the heat. And no cakes. So here are the pictures of the kind of thing I have been eating, in order of appearance: a mediocre fried fish from a side of the road stall in Antigua, papaya and banana from the garden with local honey and yoghurt for breakfast, my neighbours breakfast - sent over in return for a lift to church - salt fish, chop-up and fried corn bread, a soursop, mangoes and a proper delicious fried fish served with soldier crab fungi.
I want to go back...
Dissappointing Thai food at The Beehive, Horringer, sadly spoiled by the heavy handed use of palm sugar in all of the dishes sampled. The subtle flavours of sour, salt, spice with a hint of sweetness usually associated with Thai food were totally overwhelmed. Pad Thai was so sweet that my daughter said that it reminded her of a bowl of Sugar Puffs. The Ocean Fire pictured was a mixture of fish with coconut cream and some green curry herbs and spices and the coconut rice could have been served as a dessert.
Maison Bleu are running their month in Provence special menu, which is very good value at £29.95 for three courses; the restaurant in Bury St Edmunds specialises in fish dishes. Granny took the suffolkfoodie offspring for dinner and this is what they said...
"A very good choice with at least six options for each course. Yummy food with all courses being beautifully presented and delicious."
" The staff were friendly, chatty and responsive - they all had personality"
Pictured here are the Sardine and Mackerel Rillettes, with shallots, parsley and capers and toasted bread.