Impromptu eating delights

This is Glasgows Food Producers, sorry Farmers Market in the West End.
I was stunned and actually very pleased to see over 40 stalls there. Of course, there were the usual meat and game, jams and preserves stalls there, but also some new stalls including a Greek family selling homemade Hellenic goods, a South Asian lad selling samosa and pakoras, a stall selling Scottish strawberries, but I decided not to get any this time, as mine are not that far off from ripening now. There was also a stall selling Scottish asparagus, these were much thinner than the English asparagus, but it showed me they can and do grow here.

There were about four vegetable and fruit stall there today. I stopped at two. The first was J & M Craig Briarneuk Nursery where I purchased 250g cherry tomatoes. Our tomatoes are a few good weeks away from ripening, so this purchase was justified. Then we stopped at Bellfield Nursery Organic, where I bought orla potatoes and some broccoli. I also took away a leaflet as they have a vegetable box scheme. I know I have an allotment, but there is not guarantee it will be feeding me during the hungry gap next year, so its good to have your options open.

I also picked up a loaf of seeded bread from Hendersons that needs no introduction, except I am very glad they come along to this market as they do not have a stall in the West of Scotland. I do struggle to find really good bread here, it's one of the reasons I make my own - albeit with a bread maker.

Our purchases from the food producers market and Maggies charity cake bake stall. Oh the rhubarb in the back is mine.

Impromptu lunch whilst working at the allotment this afternoon comprised of bread,tomatoes, cheese, hummus, stuffed pepper and a millionaire bar. The tomatoes were especially sooper-sweet.

The popular Petrie Fine Food stall. I think it is one of my favourite food producers in Scotland. Yes I know I am biased because they are vegetarian! So many more to discover.

For our dinner this evening, we had Petrie Fine Foods Vegetarian haggis served with Bellfield Nursery Organic orla potatoes and broccoli.

And for afters, a slice of Petrie Fine Foods 'Black Bun' served with cream. Now that's a nice way to end a summery day.

Thanks to both Fran of A Taste of Tottenham and Howard of Petrie Fine Foods for renewing my interest in food markets again.

Rosemary, lemon and parsnip tarts

About a month ago, I had taken in a slice of this rosemary, lemon and parsnip tart to one of my work colleagues. She liked it so much she was telling other work colleagues how delicious this parsnip cake was, so much so that I was given a number of requests, 'oh the next time you make some, please can I get to try some, oh please, pretty please'. I also think some of the requests were down to curiosity as well, 'err what does a parsnip cake taste like'. Or 'ooh I can’t imagine eating vegetable as a cake!' Well why not, many of you have heard of carrot cake, courgette and chocolate cake and even beetroot and chocolate cake. What so wrong about parsnip cake with a little bit of rosemary? So I decided to make some of my colleagues individual rosemary, lemon and parsnip tarts earlier this week.
Parsnips are still in season here and the rosemary came from my thriving herb box at the allotment plot. The flavour of the rosemary is so subtle and the sweetness of the parsnip lends itself nicely to the slight twang of the lemon.

Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean. I think it is such a reliable herb especially in the winter, when all other herbs are in short supply. It is easy to grow not requiring much maintenance. It is good both fresh and dried for cooking, but have you ever wondered where it got its name from. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary spread her cloak over a rosemary bush while she rested and as a result of this the flowers turned blue like her cloak. From then on, the bush was called ‘Rose of Mary.” Rosemary is also known as ‘Sea rose, Herb of Crowns, Mary’s Tree, Guardrobe, Incensier, Elf Leaf, Sea Dew, Dew of the Sea, Polar Plant, Mary’s Cloak, Stella Maria, Star of The Sea and Compass Plant’. Wow, so many beautiful names for one robust plant.

I have also decided to submit this to this weeks Weekend Herb blogging event which is celebrating its thirds year anniversary, which was started by Kalyn of Kalyns Kitchen. I think this is a great way to get food bloggers to cook with what is in season and growing locally. This weeks Weekend Herb blogging challenge No 187 is being hosted by Katie of Eat This and organized by Haalo of Cook Almost Anything Once, I so like this title, cook almost anything once, I do – as long as its vegan or vegetarian, hey that’s just me.

Rosemary, lemon and parsnip tarts

Serves 10

Ingredients

Line 10 x 4 1/2 inch tartlet tins with homemade or shop bought sweet pastry and blind bake.

Filling

125g butter, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind

50g golden caster sugar1 teaspoon of lemon juice

3 medium eggs

170g self-raising flour

280g parsnips, peeled and grated

Method

Preheat oven to gas mark 6.

Cream butter, lemon rind and sugar with an electric hand held mixer until pale yellow. Add lemon juice and beat in eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour and grated parsnip. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pastry case and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes to 45 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream

The tart was inspired by a recipe for parsnip and orange cake in the New Cranks Recipe Book, but I decided to replace the orange for lemon and add a teaspoon of freshly minced rosemary. I thought it was a success, and my confidence about it permitted me to share it with a few friends. Now all I have to do is wait to hear their opinions on Monday. Will they like it or will they not?

Spicy Tofu Biltong

Friday night for me is usually means being slouched in front of the TV with a big bowl of spicy popcorn on my lap. But today, for my evening nibbles and I do like my nibbles I decided to have some spicy tofu biltong. I saw versions of these being sold for a small profit at the Incredible Veggie show, I then remembered I had seen a recipe for biltong in one of Celia Brooks Brown book Low Carb Vegetarian, so I decided to make these last night for tonight as they needed to be cooked at low temperature.

'Biltong' or 'beef jerky' is traditionally made with meat that has been dried and then cut into think slices as a snack. Well my dear readers please note this has no animal products, these are both vegetarian and vegan friendly.

I really liked them, they are quite moist, chewy and succulent, but D the demi-veg, well shall we just say he was not exactly keen on them, that’s okay with me, more for my Veggie belly. Unfortunately though, I can’t eat them all in one sitting, too flavoursome and too much even for a greedy person like me, so I will be taking them over the allotment tomorrow for snacking. In future, I can also see myself chopping the biltong down and adding it to other dishes to enhance texture and flavour, maybe a quiche or a frittata.

Celia has kindly permitted me to share the recipe with you, so that you can enjoy these toothsome bites at your leisure.

Spicy tofu biltong
200g smoked or plain tofu
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons of dry sherry
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
MethodPreheat the oven to gas mark ½/120oC/250oF. Pat the tofu dry with kitchen towel, then slice very thinly into about 14 strips, about 2.5cm/1 inch wide, 7.5cm/3 inches long and roughly 3mm/ 1/8inch long.

Line a baking sheet with non stick baking parchment. Thoroughly whisk all the remaining ingredients together in a shallow dish. Dip each piece of tofu in the mixture, then lay on the baking sheet. Spoon any remaining mixture carefully over the tofu strips.

Place in the oven and cook for about 60 – 80 minutes, until the tofu is crisp around the edges, but still pliable. Leave to cool. The strips can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

So what did D nibble on?

Crowdie cheese and oat biscuits from last Sundays food producers market.