ASK FOR JANICE, CLERKENWELL

Fresh, foraged, seasonal food served alongside stunning cocktails - Ask For Janice is revelation. In an area of London that I more commonly associate with all-nighters at Fabric and dodgy burgers and milkshakes afterwards at the open 24/7 Tinseltown, I was delighted to find out more about this new to me restaurant serving an ever changing menu of seasonal produce with cocktails made from some of their 40+ gins.

Ask For Janice opened last August and is proving popular. Every table was full when I arrived at 6.30 on a Tuesday evening, which must be a good sign. Upstairs is a bright room with a large bar down one side and restaurant seating filling the rest of the space. Downstairs is the basement bar where you can also grab food and drinks, as well as hiring the whole room for private events.

We were there to sample a few new additions to the spring menu. The food menu centres on fresh, seasonal produce that’s cooked with a creative twist. I had to tear myself away from the bowl of deep fried wild garlic flowers which were unbelievably good – crunchy, light batter around the unmistakable allium flower, finished with a sprinkle of salt. I was literally hoovering these up all evening, and despite not being the healthiest thing to eat I justified it by the fact I was eating foraged herbs that had only had to travel from Hackney to Clerkenwell.

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64 DEGREES, LONDON

I'm a huge fan of 64 Degrees - both the Brighton one, which I discovered early last year, and now the Pimlico branch which opened late last year on the back of the Brighton restaurant's success. I suggested it as a venue for a dinner with Angie, Emily and Zoe a couple of weeks ago, and despite my love for the place, it's always a bit nerve wracking inviting others along who've never been there before, though I needn't have worried as everyone loved it.

 

It was my 3rd visit to 64 Degrees London and we did what I've done on previous visits and order 1 of everything from the menu to share. This may sound extravagant, but the menu is based on small, sharing plates and consists of 4 vegetable, 4 meat and 4 fish dishes, so it wasn't too over the top between 4 of us. They did bring out a couple of extra dishes for us though, including the first thing we ate which was deep fried scallop roes served with a herb puree. They were really delicious with just the right amount of batter on them and enough of a zing from the herby sauce. 

 

 

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A LITTLE #HEADTOTAIL LUSCIOUSNESS

As I'm sure all of my regular readers know, I do pop up restaurants. I started doing them in November 2013 and have done public events monthly since then (I also get booked to do private catering events which I do about once a month as well). When I started doing my pop up supper clubs, I had no idea that they'd go so well. It absolutely astounds me that I'm currently the top reviewed chef on the Grub Club website - which has actually just been revamped, and is looking amazing, so do check it out!

My next pop up date is Saturday 14th March and is in conjunction with Head to Tail week - a week long food event that's dedicated to highlighting the importance of eating all cuts of meat, not just the regular ones you find pre-packed in supermarket aisles. With that in mind I've put together a menu that includes liver, tail and cheek and offers something a bit different. Whilst sticking to the brief I've chosen accessible cuts of meat that I think most people will enjoy eating. I only ever serve food that I love so that's what I've based my menu on though I've also taken into account that a lot of potential customers are not necessarily as much as an omnivore as me! Having said that, if you'd like to come to this pop up and don't fancy or can't eat something on my menu please don't let that put you off - when you book via Grub Club there's a comments section where you can mention which course(s) you don't like/can't eat, and I can make an alternative menu for you. I make everything on the menu myself, including the bread, biscuits and all the sauces, using the best quality, British (where possible) ingredients that I can find.

Welcome cocktail

 

Chicken & duck liver pate topped with madeira jelly, scorched duck hearts, raisin puree & homemade bread

 

Oxtail and ox cheek, leeks, wild garlic & flageolet beans, purple sprouting broccoli, parsnip puree

 

Lemon posset with rhubarb jam and shortbread biscuits

 

Montgomery cheeseboard, homemade chutney, seeded crackers

 

COFFEE and HERBAL TEAS: Served with homemade chocolates
 

My pop up supper clubs and fun and food filled evenings that attract guests from all over London and all walks of life. They are bring your own booze so you can pick up a nice of bottle of wine, or whatever you fancy and bring it with you to drink on the night. I provide a welcome cocktail and soft drinks for those who want them. The pop ups take place at our house in Acton Town and everyone sits round 1 big table in our living room, where we also have a juke box to keep you entertained!

Tickets for the Saturday 14th March are £35 each and available to book here. If you can't make this date but want to keep up with what I'm doing and future dates then you can follow me on Grub Club to receive updates on new events.  

Hope to see some of you at my next pop up, and here's some photos from my last event to wet your appetite - the bottom 3 photos are nicked from the lovely Miranda's Notebook blog, who very sweetly wrote about my pop up after attending.

 

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LE PATISSON, VILLEMOISSON-SUR-ORGE, FRANCE

A couple of weekends ago the boy and I were invited to France for a night. Deciding that we'd rather stay 3 nights instead of 1 our extremely generous hosts extended their invite to us for 3 nights in their hotel. The hotel is about 30 minutes south of Paris and 15 minutes cab ride (if the cabbie knows where he's going - ours didn't and it cost us 60 euros!) from Orly airport. The owners of the hotel, friends of the boy's ma's, were having a party there to celebrate their 75th birthdays on the Saturday night.

We arrived at Le Relais des Chartreux late on Thursday night and dumped our bags in our newly refurbed room, before gobbling down a very late dinner of lobster then scallops, and wandering the hotel's grounds for an hour or two, whilst being eaten alive by mozzies, before collapsing in bed. We'd made the decision that we weren't going to actually go into Paris while we were there, as having come from London we both wanted to make the most of some chill out time with just the 2 of us in the French countryside. This didn't stop me wanting to find the best possible place for food near the hotel so I spent hours on Tripadvisor, Google, blogs etc before we went trying to narrow down the endless and confusing choices to a place where we'd have dinner on the Friday. It's really weird searching online for somewhere to eat in a place you've never been, that's not the trendiest of areas to start with, but I struck absolute gold and found somewhere with over 95% either good or very good reviews. 

We lazed around on Friday during the day, wandered into the local town to pick up some amazing skincare items from the French pharmacy, that airport security then tried confiscate on our way back, and got ready for our night out in Villemoisson-sur-Orge (!) The hotel kindly arranged a car to pick us up and take us there (not even our driver knew where this mysterious place was until we whipped out the trusty iPhones and found it in the maps). But we got there in the end, and I'm so glad we did. Villemoisson-sur-Orge is beautiful little village/town set on winding hilly roads, with picturesque French houses lining the streets, covered in vines. The light was fading so my photos aren't great, but you get the idea.

 

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A LITTLE LONDON LUSCIOUSNESS - 20th SEP

When I started doing pop up restaurants in November last year, I never once imagined that by August this year I would've done over 18 events already! Although I've stuck to my plan of 1 public pop up a month, I've had so many requests for private catering gigs that I've been cooking most weekends for the last 6 weeks! I absolutely love it - but also have a full time job, so have been exhausting myself a bit recently!! I decided to have a break from public pop ups in August, although ended up catering a hen do and a baby shower last weekend anyway.

So with no more pop ups this month, my next date is Saturday 20th September. I'm teaming up with Urban Food Fortnight to put on a pop up using locally sourced produce. If you follow my pop ups you'll know that they are all about using sustainably produced, seasonal produce, sourced mostly from the West Country, where I grew up. However there's a different challenge with my September date, as all the ingredients I will be using will have been grown in and around London! Now this might not sound so appealing, but what I'm doing is teaming up with various allotment holders to use their lovely home grown fruit and vegetables, all of which are seasonal, and I am souring all of my meat and dairy from farms in Essex and Kent. It's an exciting challenge and one that's made me come up with a menu that I can't wait to cook...

The menu for 20th September is:

Fig and elderflower cocktail - made to order on arrival (non-alcoholic version if requested)

 

Grilled figs with chicory, apple, candied walnut and gorgonzola salad

 

Slow roast pork belly, fennel gratin, mustard creamy mash potato, buttered cabbage & rosemary and crab apple sauce, served with cider gravy

 

Raspberry mousse with shortbread biscuits

 

Cheeseboard with homemade chutney and rosemary and sea salt biscuits

 

Coffee or herbal tea with homemade chocolates

 

As always, dietary requirements can be catered for, so if you'd like to come but there's something  you can't eat or don't like on the menu, then just mention in the comments section when booking and I can email you alternatives to choose from.

 

Tickets for the pop up are £30 and include a welcome drink. It's bring your own booze on the evening so you can bring your preferred drinks with you. I provide soft drinks for those who want them. Tickets are available here - and have already started selling!

The pop up takes place at our lovely house in Acton - which is easily accessible on the Piccadilly line, or via the overground stations South Acton or Kew Bridge, which link to East and South London respectively.

If you're not quite convinced and want to see what other guests have said, you can read all my reviews here. And here's a couple of photos from my last events....

Walnut and cranberry bread for the starter:
 

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THE SHED, NOTTING HILL

Every so often I come across a new restaurant that surprises and delights me. It surprises as I always assume that because I've only just found it, it must be brand new (rarely is) and it delights me as I have a new place to go for amazing food in London. The Shed in Notting Hill is one of these.

I only found out about The Shed last week whilst googling potential spots for a mid week girly dinner, and called and booked the only table they had left, which was at 6pm. It didn't matter that it was so early though - I work not far from Notting Hill so knew I could get there in time and I'd been saving myself for food all day... if only my dinner date had got there on time too! By the time she arrived it was quarter to seven and I was already 2 drinks down. I don't want to moan though, it was strangely nice to sit there on my own whilst waiters and waitresses in checked shirts buzzed around me getting the place ready for what was to be a full house on a Tuesday night. I'm working with a food festival later this year, so while I waited I made some notes for that, as it's rare I've got any time to myself at the moment.

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FREE STOLI VODKA LEMONADE SORBET!!

Over the next four weeks there's a treat in town! Stolichnaya® vodka have teamed up with everyone's favourite gelateria, Gelupo, to create a vodka lemonade sorbet that they'll be giving out for free across London over the next few weekends. They've created a low-fat alcoholic sorbet using Stoli vodka, fresh lemon juice and zest and natural sugar syrup, that's the perfect Summer refresher for 2014.

You can chase the free samples all round London this Summer, as the sorbets are being served up from the Stoli lemonade van which is a customised 1950's Citreon H Van from the South of France. Free samples of both the Stoli and lemon sorbet and the Stoli and lemonade drink are being handed out to passers by. You can find the van in the following well known London locations from 12-7pm each day:

28th June      Truman Brewery
11th July        King’s Cross
12th July        Coin Street, South Bank
19/20th July  Box Park, Shoreditch

If you miss the van or can't make it to one of it's stop offs then you can get the Stoli lemon sorbet in-store at Gelupo (7 Archer Street) in Soho throughout Summer.

 

I really suggest you track down the van to get your sample, or failing that, pop into Gelupo and buy yourself a whole portion, as it's such a delicious mix. It doesn't taste too sweet and sickly, so is wonderful on a hot sunny afternoon. And I've even managed to get hold of the secret recipe for the Stoli Lemonade cocktail for you, so you can whip up a batch at home for a BBQ and really impress all your mates!

Stoli Vodka Lemonade Recipe:
50ml Stoli Vodka
20ml Lemon juice (fresh) 
10ml Sugar syrup
Wedge of lemon to garnish

Pour ingredients into a glass and fill with lots of ice, top up with still water.

For more info find Stoli on twitter and if you pick up a free sample, don't forget to get a photo and upload it using the hashtag #StoliLemonade!

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THE JOLLY POACHER, BRIGHTON

After our mammoth lunch at 64 Degrees in Brighton and a quick trip back to our Airbnb flat, we wandered back into town for some arcade and dodgems fun on the pier before our friend's play started that evening. We had a lovely time mucking about, and really enjoyed the play. Afterwards we went to the pub next to the theatre for a few drinks with the cast, but Brighton was heaving and all we really wanted was to find a nice pub, with good beer, where we could relax and drink for the evening. Our friend whose play it was suggested we go to The Jolly Poacher, run by a mate of hers, so we jumped in her car and headed 10 minutes up the hill to the pub. I'm particularly fussy with pubs, and even if I'm just drinking in one I like the ambience created by a good gastropub, and that's exactly what The Jolly Poacher is. In fact, whilst perusing the menu over late night Saturday drinks we decided this was where we should come for our Sunday lunch the next day before the drive back to London. We booked a table, drank more beer, stumbled home and awoke on Sunday SO ready for some good food.

I already knew what I wanted before we even got to the pub on Sunday. When we'd been there on Saturday night I had a long chat with the chef, who'd said he had one portion of a few things on the menu left, so I'd reserved one of those things for my lunch! Although with their seasonal menu using locally sourced ingredients, most of their dishes were right up my street.

As we were in Brighton and near the sea I couldn't not start my meal with a couple of juicy, fat oysters - served with a really good red wine shallot vinegar they knocked my slightly fuzzy hungover head straight back into shape!

These were swiftly followed by goose liver parfait (yes, that is a sneaky way of saying foie gras), rhubarb compote, pickled asparagus and toasted brioche - it was so good. The parfait was smooth and iron-rich, and served with some of my favourite seasonal ingredients. I thought the brioche was the perfect bread to serve with this dish as it wasn't too heavy like normal toasted bread would've been.

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64 DEGREES, BRIGHTON

A couple of weekends ago we jumped in the van and headed to Brighton for 24 hours. I really love Brighton, but most of my visits have been at night to see friends who are DJs or musicians perform there, so I've never really got a true feel for the town. So we booked a flat via AirBnb and went to make the most of the lovely weekend. This also meant we had the opportunity to book a couple of places for food that I'd heard about and really wanted to try out, as again, we're normally there late at night, or staying with friends so going with them to eat. One of the places I'd heard about was a new, tapas-style restaurant in The Laines called 64 Degrees. It only opened this year but has had rave reviews already so I was thrilled that they'd managed to book a table for us on Saturday afternoon. That was until we got on to the M25, and didn't move for about half an hour. A small panic rose inside me as I calculated miles left til Brighton, amount of time we were stuck and potentially missing 64 Degrees' opening hours. We were booked for 2.30 - they stop serving food at 3. We got to Brighton at 2.45, found a parking space and ran through the throng of tourists to get to the restaurant in time. We got there with seconds to spare... Luckily! In fact by this time we'd agreed to meet with our friend and her son, and try and squeeze them onto our table as well, which we did.

64 Degrees is tiny. It probably seats a maximum of 24 people at any one time - one table of 4, one table of 6, two of 2 and 6-8 seats at the bar in front of the open kitchen. After a bit of re-jigging we were put on the largest table, as people were leaving and the kitchen closed.

The idea of 64 Degrees is that you order 3-4 dishes per person, and share them... if you want! The menu is split into meat, fish and veggie and there are 4 or 5 dishes per category. The waitresses were very thorough in talking us through the menu, and also checking if we had any allergies so they could advise us what to avoid, which was really helpful, as menus don't necessarily list every single ingredient in a dish. We ordered plentifully and dishes arrived one after another, until we were so full the only thing we could do was polish off an espresso martini and head to the flat for a little rest!

This is what we ate:

Lamb, asparagus, fregola, anchovy. This was one of my favourite dishes - the lamb was cooked to perfection and the flavours of the dish so harmonious. It was Spring on a plate and just so good. The anchovies added the perfect amount of saltiness against the slightly creamy fregola.

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LONDON PRODUCE SHOW

Last week saw the launch of a new event in London - The London Produce Show set up home in the Grosvenor House Hotel for 3 days, filled with fruit and vegetable producers from all over the world. The lovely ladies organising the event invited me down, via amazing boxes of fruit and veggies that arrived at my house, to the opening cocktail evening and the show the following day.

The first I knew about the show was when Liz got in touch via Twitter to ask if I'd like to come and if yes, what my postal address was. This was followed by a box waiting on my doorstep, that contained a bottle of rum, a cocktail shaker, dragon fruit, grapefruit, limes, mint and lychees. I made a dragon fruit and lychee mojito, which was just like a super healthy fresh fruit juice (with added rum!)

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SIMPLE SUMMER SALAD

This is a really quick and straightforward salad that I made for dinner a few nights ago. It was so well received on social media (and at home!) that I wanted to share the recipe for it here. Other than making some mayo, it's really just a case of boiling the veg - all of which can be done in the same pan. Mayonnaise might seem like it's going to be complicated to make, but honestly, once you've made it once and realised how easy it is, you'll make it over and over again. I've posted a recipe for mayo here before, but actually make it slightly differently when I'm using it as a dressing rather than a dip, so the recipe below is adjusted for this. 

Makes enough for 2 people as a main course, or 4 if served as a side

300g new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks the same size as the smallest potato
125g asparagus
250g frozen peas
1 or 2 avocados
1 tbsp nonpareille capers
1 free-range egg yolk
1 heaped tsp English mustard
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp cider vinegar
40ml rapeseed oil
40ml sunflower oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Pepper

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CHARLOTTE'S W4 - A NEW FAVOURITE

It's not often that I'm blown away by a restaurant, as in really, truly, happily shocked at the whole experience. But that's exactly what happened on Sunday evening when we decided on a very last minute trip to Charlotte's restaurant on Turnham Green terrace. I hadn't been before, but it's been on my radar for a while - I do all my food shopping along Turnham Green terrace (apart from a trip round the corner to Wyndham House butchers) and so I've seen Charlotte's a few times when I've walked past. I've followed them on Twitter for a while and always been intrigued, but have also always felt I need to go more central to find London's really good restaurants - how wrong I was!

We called Charlotte's at 8.45pm on Sunday to see if they could squeeze us in, and were told of course they could, despite normally taking last orders at 9pm, they would wait for us to get there (from Hammersmith). We arrived just after 9 and were greeted by THE friendliest, most helpful waiters and waitresses I've ever come across. They showed us to a table for 2 at the back of the restaurant, under the huge glass skylight that let in the last of the weekend's sunshine. We settled down with the menu, and ordered a "New girlfriend" cocktail for me, which was a delicious combo of Simpsmith vodka, elderflower cordial, rhubarb puree and pink grapefruit, that was actually very similar to the rhubarb and elderflower cocktail I'd served the night before at my pop up! The boy tucked in to a tangy Somerset-made wheat beer, which was really flavoursome but still had that more delicate flavour that comes from wheat beer.

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MAY & JUNE A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS!

I've got some more pop up dates in the diary! And tickets are still available for both.

I had a hugely successful pop up last Saturday, that my guests loved. It was such a fun evening, and I think (hope) that every went home with full tummies and smiles on their faces after a four course feast of seasonal produce (and lots of wine!). This is a little snapshot of the evening at my house:

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LAST MINUTE HOMEMADE MINCE PIES

If you look for mince pie recipes online 90% off them just list mincemeat from jars as the main ingredient, but it's so easy to make your own mixture, and you only need ingredients that you probably already have at home. This recipe also doesn't need to sit for any time before being used to make mince pies so it's perfect if you feel you've run out of time!

I just grabbed whatever fruit was in the bowl, and you can vary the types and quantities of all the fresh and dry fruit as long as they add up to the right amount.

For 36 mince pies

600g dried fruit - I used about 200g sultanas, 200g raisins, 20g cranberries, 80g chopped apricots, 30g golden sultanas and 70g chopped dates

4 or 5 citrus fruit, zested and juiced - I used 2 large oranges and 3 clementines

4 apples or pears - I used 3 apples and 2 juicy pears, which made up for the small amount of juice from the clementines

60g butter

8 tbsp brandy

Grated nutmeg

Put all the ingredients, except the brandy and nutmeg, into a small heavy bottom saucepan, simmer and cover. Leave to gently simmer for 20minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes add 6 tbsp brandy, stir, cover and return to the heat for about 5 minutes. Once all the brandy is absorbed, turn the heat off and add the rest of the brandy and a good grating of nutmeg.

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SAT 14th - NEXT A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS SUPPER CLUB

Next Saturday, 14th December, I'm hosting another supper club/pop up restaurant at my house in West London, and there's still a few tickets left, available through Grub Club, if you want to come along.

The last event was such a great success that I really can't wait for this one! We had such a varied group of people come on the night, from students, to photographers, to food journalists (eek!) - from all walks and ages of life. It was a brilliant night at our house, a chance to meet new people and rekindle old friendships over a long and plentiful dinner, and I've been very fortunate to have had great reviews of the night.

My supper clubs focus on using seasonal, British and really well sourced ingredients. I have visited the farms that produce the food I'm using and have seen the cows that the meat I'm using in my main course and the cheese for the cheeseboard comes from! Everything on the night is handmade by me, at home, promising the freshest and yummiest food around.

The menu for the 14th is as follows:

To start - Cornish mussels cooked in cider with baby leeks, served with the crustiest, fluffiest homemade bread (I normally cook wholemeal fruity bread, but this wouldn't go well with the mussels, so I was perfecting the crusty white bread all of last weekend and literally could not stop eating it!)

For mains - This is the part I'm most excited about feeding everyone. I'm serving a beef and beer pie, with the most extra-ordinary meat I could find. The rare breed highland beef comes straight from Oxenpark Farm (more info here) who rear very few animals each year in order to ensure the animals are reared in the best way possible.

The cows are fed on 100% grass and clover and the taste of the meat is just incredible. This will be served with horseradish mash, star anise glazed carrots, greens and an ale gravy. Perfect winter grub! 

Something sweet - After a litte post-mains break, next up is a sweet and decadent pear and almond tart. Pears are poached in a ginger syrup and then made into this sumptuous, gluten free tart, served with a homemade butterscotch creme fraiche to take the edge off that sweetness! This is one of my personal favorties! I'm also serving a MAD pudding wine with this for everyone to enjoy.

Cheese and more - Once the pudding has been served it'll be time for cheese. I'm using the excellent Montgomery cheeses, straight from their small Somerset farm, and serving these with some of my salty, herby, wholemeal crackers and a cherry tomato chutney on the side.

To finish - Finally, and if you've still got room left, I'm serving the least British sourced part of my menu - I have special a Guatemalan and Brazilian coffee blend, or a selection of herbal teas to round off your meal with some of my ginger shortbreads.

It's £30 a head for the evening, and includes all of the above! It's going to be a really fun, food filled evening and I hope as many of you as possible can come along!

You can get your tickets here.

If you can't make this date but are interested in future events, do check back on my blog - there's a link on top right to A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS and I will keep that updated with details of my events.

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A LITTLE SLOW FOOD LUSCIOUSNESS

On Saturday 2nd November, I'm teaming up with Slow Food London to bring you my first public A Little Lusciousness pop up! I've been in talks with Grub Club for a while about launching pop up restaurants, and it is so exciting to finally be able to tell you about it, and give you some more details!!

Slow Food is a global, not for profit organisation whose aim is to promote "the pleasure of food with a commitment to the community and the environment". They stand against the increase in fast food, and aim to get people to stop and think about where their food has come from. It's all about local sourcing, preparing home food and taking some time and care with getting food ready to eat. It is an ethos and an attitude towards food that they promote - one I firmly believe in, and one that I'm sure many people could learn something from. The Slow Food London food projects are really in line with my beliefs around homegrown, lovingly prepared food, so when the opportunity to do something with them came up, it seemed like the ideal time to launch my pop up to the public!

The menu for my pop up is as follows, with all ingredients being free-range and/or organic, and sourced from British suppliers that I continue to work with (including Devon large white variety pork shoulder from Wyndham House butchers, and cheeses from the wonderful guys at O Toma O Morte). It will be a very casual evening, and a great opportunity to spend some time with like minded foodies!

WELCOME COCKTAIL...

STARTER – Borscht with homemade soda bread.

MAIN – 24 hour shoulder of Devon free-range pork with special carrots, celeriac coleslaw and vegetables, with smokey BBQ sauce.

PUDDING – Sticky apple and pecan cake with butterscotch sauce.

CHEESE – Cheeseboard with pears, chutney and homemade biscuits.

I'll be providing soft drinks as well, but if you'd like something stronger, please feel free to bring a bottle (or two!)

All proceeds from ticket sales for the night will be going to Slow Food London Schools Programme, where the money will go towards funding a raised bed garden being built in a school for special needs children in London. You can read more about what Slow Food London do here.

Going forward, I will be doing a monthly pop up in West London, which will be promoted through the Grub Club site. It would be great if you can make it along to one of them, as I'd love to put some faces to names!! For tickets or more information please go to my page on the Grub Club website. Tickets are available now for the November event, and details about the December event will be up soon!!

Thank you!

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CRUNCHY AUTUMN APPLE CRUMBLE

I don't think there's anything that sums up British Autumn more than an apple crumble. British apples in these months taste just like apples should - sweet, ripe and juicy. And having grown up in Kent and then Somerset, I've always been surrounded by orchards full of apple trees, dropping their apples around now. Unfortunately I don't know where in the UK the apples I used for this crumble came from, but I do know they were fresh and British. I like a golden, crunchy crumble topping and if you follow this recipe you should end up with one too.

The crumble needs to be made in 2 parts, as you need to allow the apples to cool before adding the crumble and cooking in the oven.

Serves 6 using an 8" cake tin.

For the filling:

8 medium British apples (I used a mixture of Discovery and Braeburn)

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

1 tbsp caster sugar

Water

Knob of butter

For the crumble:

3 tbsp porridge oats

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp salted butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

(Sorry for the lack of weights - I don't have my scales in the house we're staying at! Use heaped tablespoons for all measurements)

Cut your apples in half, and then each half into thirds. Remove the cores. I don't like peeling apples as most of their goodness is found in and just under the skin, but feel free to peel yours if you want.

Put the apple slices in a saucepan, with the vanilla seeds, 1 tbsp caster sugar, a splash of water (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and a knob of butter. Cover, and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. You can speed up this process by pouring the apples into the dish you'll make your crumble in, as this will be cooler than the saucepan you've just cooked them in!

Meanwhile make your crumble topping. Mix the oats and plain flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and using your fingers, incorporate the butter into the oat and flour mix until your left with breadcrumb like crumbles. Tip the sugar in and mix with the crumble.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).

When the apples have cooled pour your crumble mix over the top. Tap the dish so it settles evenly, but don't press it down too hard.

Cook, uncovered, in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until it looks golden like this:

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TRESCO FOOD

One of my favorite things about Tresco and the Isles of Scilly is the food! There is such a diverse range of locally sourced, homegrown produce, the majority of which you can see growing and developing around you as you explore the islands.

On Tresco there are 2 shops. One is the main and official shop where you can buy toiletries, drinks, Cornish cheeses, cereals and all the normal things you'd find in a food shop, but you can also buy Tresco beef, that comes from the very free range cows on the island, and Troy Town Farm ice cream that's made on St Agnes, another of the islands. On the other side of Tresco, up a track is the other 'shop'. It's not your normal shop though, this is the Tresco Farm shop - an open shack stocking whatever has been pulled fresh from the ground that morning - there's new potatoes, fresh garlic, green beans, salads, strawberries, courgettes, homemade jam and lots more - and an honesty box where you leave your money.

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HOMEMADE ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

Elderflower cordial is one of my favorite soft drinks. I've never been one to drink fizzy drinks and occasionally have a Ribena, but I always make sure we have a bottle of elderflower cordial at home. So last year, when the elderflowers were out and blooming I was determined to make some cordial. Unfortunately it rained and rained and rained during their flowering season, so the flowers didn't seem as fragrant as they normally do, and I left it, promising myself I would make some this year. Which is exactly what I've done.

Elderflowers are best picked on a sunny late May/early June day, when the flowers are creamy white.

Elderflower cordial is pretty easy to make. Other than the initial mixing process, all it then involves is the patience to let the flowers stew in the syrup for 48 hours - our fridge smells delicious when I open the door!

You want your flowers as fresh

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CRAB & HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE

This recipe isn't really for crab - I bought the crab already picked from the fishmongers at our local farmers market. But crab is in season now and any excuse to eat it is good with me.

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