The British Larder Inspirational recipe diary

Exciting news! Mr P and I are delighted to announce that we will very soon be the proud landlords of the Cherry Tree, Bromeswell, Woodbridge in Suffolk, to make the British Larder a real, living entity!

Following the success of the British Larder website, we have decided to take the next step and give the concept a spiritual and physical home. As Mr P puts it, “This will be a place to taste and touch what you see on the British Larder website.”

We have wonderful and far-reaching plans for the new restaurant, which will be christened the British Larder, Suffolk. In the first instance we will make the place look pretty with all the necessary British Larder paraphernalia, such as jars of cookies and baskets of bread, as well as some new furnishings to make the place look and feel more like home!

Why Suffolk? Well, it was

This is no ordinary chicken Caesar salad, no no, it’s  the British Larder way with home grown baby gem lettuce and all.

As you know by now I’m not quite normal and find it hard to do things the standard way, there has to be a twist somewhere along the line. Perhaps I’m putting too much pressure on myself to be slightly different or perhaps it just comes naturally.

Mr.P and I enjoy eating a good chicken Caesar salad as it is satisfying and has lots of different textures and does not leave you feeling heavy and bloated.

I made this particular dish into a portion big enough for a main coarse but if you wish you can  make a smaller amount and serve  as a starter.

It’s not always about the gimmicks and twists  that make a great dish but it’s also about good quality ingredients that are to

I find quinoa fascinating, I still treat is as a new found ingredient even though it’s been in my store cupboard for two years now and sold in most supermarkets.

At first I thought it would be a quick cook like the wonder couscous, where you add hot water  and it is ready in a flash, but no you must boil it as you do with pasta. I’m not sure if I am disappointed as the preparation is not snappy, however cooking it for 15 – 20 minutes is not that time consuming and it gives me enough time to prepare the rest of the ingredients and make a delicious vinaigrette.

If you cook quinoa it’s got a fairly pale and un-appetising look so I add a teaspoon of turmeric to the boiling water to stain the quinoa a bright yellow colour, perfect for summer.

What is Quinoa? It originated

With the summer looming it’s time to get creative with salads and cold puddings. I love finding new ingredients, not necessarily new in the true sense but could be those that are new to me or those products from the past which may have fallen out of fashion. Orange blossom water is one of those ingredients that I remember using in top London restaurants about 10 years ago. We used to make a lovely orange blossom water sorbet which was refreshing and very fragrant.

We discovered Arabica Food and Spice at Borough market about two years ago and fell in love with the range of quality products that they sell. We got hooked on their spices Ras-el-Hanout and Wild Sumac, these are available elsewhere but nothing beats the quality from Arabica Food and Spice. Ever heard or used the phrase “you get what you pay for” well that is definitely