The spring this year was baking hot and we longed for rain. Now that summer is here the skies are overcast with heavy grey clouds and I’m tempted to turn the central heating on. It’s crazy!

The brightness and beauty of this soup is perfect for any occasion; it definately brightens up my day. If grey and cold serve it hot with a large chunk of freshly baked bread or if it’s hot and sunny serve the soup chilled along with a chilled glass of pinot gris.

The best chef’s tip for how to keep a green soup green is to ensure that the cooking time for the greens are as limited as possible and that the soup is chilled, preferably over ice, as quickly as possible. This will ensure a deliciously bright green soup. I also recommended making this soup in small batches, to ensure the bright green colour.

What is buckler leaf sorrel? The buckler leaf sorrel is a hardy perennial herb producing small insignificant green flowers in the summer and has shield shaped green leaves that taste as similarly tart as Granny Smith apples and kiwi fruits. Like common sorrel, buckle leaf sorrel has a sharp citric irony taste. Buckler leaf sorrel is also known as French sorrel and is native to the mountains of southern and central Europe and southwest Asia. This sorrel variety is more succulent and acidic than those of the common garden sorrel. In traditional folk medicine buckler leaf sorrel was used as an antiseptic because of its high vitamin C content and was believed to prevent scurvy. In addition to being rich in vitamin C it is also high in vitamin A and is a good source of iron.

With more snow on its way we are trying to be positive. Snow means that the British Larder is quiet, but as the saying goes, it’s onwards and upwards. So we are making the most of the quiet time by scraping the car park and clearing up the snow so that our customers can park and still visit, stoking the roaring wood burning fire, and finally, cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

This Iron Bark Pumpkin and Chestnut Soup is the perfect remedy for frosty hands and rosy cold cheeks.

David the Village Veg man brought these Iron Bark Pumpkins during November and the beginning of December, and we have been saving them to ripen.

Well we must have had the feeling that they would come in handy when it gets really cold. Pumpkins and most squashes are good for storing, as when stored, they become riper and ultimately sweeter in taste. We try to use the whole pumpkin including the seeds and skin if it’s thin and tender enough, but if it’s a bit tough it usually requires peeling. The seeds make a lovely crisp and nutritious garnish.

The chestnuts came from the nearby Rendelsham Forest. We picked them up from the forest floor, roasted and peeled them and the fresh nuts were frozen for a rainy …well… snowy day!

We arrived at  1am and with only 1 1/2 hours sleep we were both slightly delirious, it was a bitterly cold morning and one found it rather difficult to believe it was spring. As you can see  some of my photos were slightly shaky, I’m not one hundred percent sure if that is down to me shivering due to the cold or the lack of sleep or  too much coffee, it could be  a combination of all three.

Anyhow we had fun and that was the main aim, we cooked three delicious recipes and it was a sheer joy to watch the “locals”, market stall holders and customers tucking in. It was convincing enough and our tactics worked as some customers were inspired to go and buy boxes of asparagus.

The arrival of the British asparagus season is a joyous one as it’s almost an indication that summer is on it’s way. British Asparagus is classed as the best in the world and is corroborated by our national consumption figures, which shows that we have a healthy appetite for these delicate stems. Most people still class asparagus as a delicacy and when the British season starts it features with pride on most restaurant menus. The season normally runs from May till June, but with the very cold winter and a chilly and slow start to the spring the British asparagus season has suffered slightly.

There are many classic asparagus recipes and a few ingredients that are synonymous pairing with asparagus and just to mention a few :-  egg, mayonnaise  and Parma ham. Asparagus requires care and attention when cooking, it needs to be quick to prevent over cooking, which will spoil the taste and cause discolouration.

I have recreated the asparagus soup that I cooked for the NCGM event in May. The method is straight forward as I cook the soup base with plenty of onions, sliced potatoes, white wine and stock. Once the soup base is ready I pan fry the asparagus stalks and heads quickly in olive oil and blend it all together with a dash of double cream. I use as much of the asparagus spear as possible, the only part that is not edible is the very tip of the stalk which is  woody and tough.

Visiting New Covent Garden Market  brought back plenty of lovely memories of when I was a young chef working in London. I worked for a short while at a delicatessen where we used to go to the market early in the morning to buy our ingredients. We used to do that twice a week and for busy weekends when we had functions I made the odd third trip too. As a real girl liking all pretty things in life we used to stop every now and then at the flower market next door to indulge in the array and display of colour. The fruit and vegetable market was just as impressive as I remembered it with large piles of vegetables beautifully displayed.

The menu for the NCGM event was:

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham with a wasabi dip

Bruchetta with Asparagus spears and Gribiche

Ruth Holbrook compiled a leaflet with asparagus fun facts, with her consent I thought that it would be good to share these fun facts with you:

• Purple asparagus is a different variety and it is sweeter and softer than green.
• Wild or Bath asparagus(also know as spiked star of Bethlehem) is a rare plant found mainly around the City of Bath.
• White asparagus is our green favourite which has been deprived of sunlight and is very popular in Europe where it’s know as “white gold”.
• The Asparagus season is closely guarded by growers, with the first outside crops in late April (weather permitting) to the last on the Summer solstice. Every spear harvested after that depletes the flavour of the next years crop, this might explain why other countries’ asparagus isn’t so tasty.
• The aphrodisiac quality of asparagus is much touted, it was claimed by herbalist Nicholas Culpepper in the 1600′s to ‘stir up lust in man and woman’, and has been used as such ever since.It is recommend to eat it for three consecutive days to maximize the libido-enhancing effect!
• Different areas of Britain have distinct asparagus-growing qualities over others – Isle of Wight asparagus gets above average light and warmth so the season comes in early. Norfolk asparagus grows slowly giving it an intense flavour.
• In wholesale markets asparagus is called “grass”. This does not refer to how it looks or is grown, but comes from the 17th century folk slang which altered the latin word ‘asparagus’ into the more Anglo-friendly ‘Sparrowgrass’ – the name has stuck.
• Asparagus is not really a vegetable, it is in fact a member of the Lilly family, along with tulips and hyacinths.

Joking aside; I finally had the courage and  was brave enough to make a very humble potato and leek soup. I have had the idea for quite some time but I never felt it was challenging enough to write a recipe. I love the simplicity of such a soup, but that would be before I really started thinking about it. The challenge was to make a soup that has a complex full body taste with multi layers of flavours and I think this is it!

The inspiration for this dish came when Mr.P and I were talking over dinner about the left over baked potatoes and what to do with them. The conversation then led onto this idea of a baked potato and leek soup. I happened to have two cooked chicken legs left from a roast chicken dinner so this recipe could easily be made up from all the leftovers.

The secret for the successful cooking of a tasty potato and leek soup is when you add the seasoning. I’m a bit pedantic about the acceptable levels of seasoning in food, so I would recommend that some seasoning is added from the start of the cooking process so that the soup can develop flavour. The mistake that most cooks make is not to season their food at all during the cooking process but to add a heap of “raw” salt to the food at the end. The problem is that you only have surface salt and you need to add so much to inject flavour that you end up using too much .

Pepper is perhaps an enemy of potato and leek soup. You will be surprised how obvious the taste of pepper is in potatoes. I learnt a very hard lesson once many moons ago when I was a commis chef.  We used ready milled pepper at that particular restaurant and I added too much pepper to my potato and leek soup. It tasted like a pot of pepper, potato and leek soup and I was gutted as the chef verbally abused me and I had to start all over again. Lesson learnt, take it easy on the pepper as you can always add extra but you cannot take it away. I know it sounds like a old cliche but it’s the honest truth.

The roasted chicken cigarillos add an extra touch and transform a humble dish into a filling and interesting meal.

Oh! the wind is cutting through my bones today! It’s grey, miserable and very wet. Well I know what you must be thinking, there she goes again whingeing about the weather. Well yes that’s true but I’m taking advantage of the cold to cook this absolutely delicious, body and soul warming soup. Well it’s more like stew  as it contains loads of chunky pieces of mushrooms, potatoes and pasta with a rich and soothing broth.

The word Minestrone means ” big soup” made with plenty of chunky vegetables. Minestrone soup forms the cornerstone of Italian cuisine and there is no real set recipe. It’s mainly cooked with whatever vegetables are to hand, with the addition of either pasta or rice but meat is optional.  Well I suppose it all comes down to what leftovers that are available. This kind of recipe is right up my street as our dinners normally consist of whatever needs using up. There is plenty to go round for a few suppers, it’s filling and packed with plenty of flavour.

A few weeks ago I went to Great Garnets Farmers Market held every second Saturday of the month. I was pleasantly surprised as there were plenty of stalls showing off their locally produced wares. The vibe was great as around 500 people flock from near and far with their wicker baskets and recycled bags. You could clearly see which stalls were the most popular as some were nearly done and dusted within a few hours from opening.

It was a lovely sign as the beautiful barn exuded  excitement, as the wicker baskets filled up with various seasonal and local goods. I had a warm fuzzy feeling thinking that people made an effort to drive down the windy bumpy country lane to come to Great Garnets to find local seasonal produce. I believe that this is one of many events round the country supporting local small producers and suppliers. It’s great and made me definitely feel good to contribute and partake.

My best finds of the day were :- this delicious English chorizo made by Sean from The Back Garden in Essex; Coldham Wood Mushrooms; Goose Eggs and Smoked Goats Cheese from Springstep Farm, Maldon Essex; and then the most delicious smoked bacon and award winning sausages from Great Garnets itself. The chorizo, made from the pork produced by Great Garnets,is a tasty dried lightly spiced sausage. It is a great product and can be used in small amounts in plenty of different ways. The chorizo adds a smokey rich flavour to this recipe, however you can substitute it for a more traditional sausage if you do not have chorizo to hand.

I have used Orzo pasta also known as rice pasta. You might find this a unfamiliar ingredient in the UK  however it is widely used and found in Europe and USA. I have known about orzo for quite some time now but I could simply not find it anywhere until fairly recently. It’s good news as we can buy orzo now in the UK , Merchant Gourmet started selling orzo online and some supermarkets stock a small range of their products.

* Ps* I did not forget to use the goose eggs and smoked goats cheese, it will feature in another delicious breakfast recipe very soon….

Last Saturday was no different to my usual ritual when visiting London. Our first stop was Borough market, we arrived just after 9am. First attraction was Monmouth Coffee, you can’t beat the service, coffee and ambiance. I can simply sit there for hours watching the world go by. All walks of life pass through Monmouth,from old, young, market stall holders, rich toffee nose business men, yummy mummy’s to simply Joe blogs and me.

Armed with my shopping list and camera I set off on my rounds,I had to purchase Ras-el-Hanout from the Arabic food company, bread from Rhodes, Chorizo and smoked paprika form Brindisa and Cheese from Mons. Whilst picking up all my goodies and ticking them off my list I have one eye firmly on all the stalls for new season delights such as forced rhubarb, blood oranges and yippe there they were these glorious looking heritage carrots. They caught my eye and I was intrigued. They are organic and therefore not the prettiest carrots on the market but thats what gets me going. They looked rather odd, some were golden yellow, some the standard orange colour and then a few purple ones. These are not completely purple all the away through as the centre is still orange but it’s different and interesting enough for me.

After the visit to Borough market we set off to Portobello Market to visit their British Root Vegetable Festival. We had a quick stop at the Whole Foods Market on High Street Kensington to get short beef ribs, which for some bizarre reason I cannot find anywhere else.Then it was time to head home.

The journey home normally consists of a reflection of how the day went, what the most interesting foodie items were and writing a list of recipes and dishes that we are going to cook the following day.

It’s a  full day trip and a really enjoyable experience every time we want to go to London but we love it. The following day normally is one of  frantic activity,at first cooking and baking, then devouring and enjoying the fabulous food that we found the previous day. This roasted heritage carrot soup was just the perfect dish to soothe tired bodies and sore feet.

I discovered the existence of Morbier about 10 years ago and always perceived it as being rather sophisticated and classy cheese. I still think so and continue to be in love with it as much as that very first discovery. I love the subtle but perfect blue line that runs through middle of this slightly salty sweet semi hard but equally bouncy and soft cheese. The gentle fragrance is subtle at first but once you take the second bite the taste becomes stronger and it leaves you with an unforgettable rounded fragrant after taste. Because of this sophistication and strength I have chosen to use Morbier to accompany this humble cauliflower soup dish.

Cauliflowers are an impressively complicated and well designed structure of a vegetable. Have you ever taken the time to study the composition? I think that architects and artists must find the construction of this incredibly clever but unique vegetable fascinating, it has so may different dimensions, arches, links and shades; but then the colour fascinates me even more. When I cook cauliflower I always try and keep the fresh creamy white colour, I find it complex warm and very inviting.

Cooking a soup that packs a punch in flavour is not always easy, my aim when I choose a flavour profile is always to end up with a dish that tastes of the ingredients that I have used. Cauliflowers have a strong fragrant flavour but it’s incredibly interesting how the interference of other strong flavours such as onions and garlic can easily mask the freshness and perfume of the cauliflower. Hence I only use these sparingly when I cook cauliflower soup. I apply this theory with most fragrant vegetables especially the root varieties such as celeriac and parsnips.

One of Mr.P’s Christmas presents last year was a new needle attachment for his cream whipper. So this whole dish was designed and developed around this needle attachment. Boys and their toys!! I must admit I was intrigued to see it in action. The needle is a pretty neat design and helps you  apply foams in smaller amounts in tighter and smaller spaces. I used the needle to inject the morbier air into the crisp and freshly baked profiteroles. When you bite into them you get a cheesy surprise, delicious!

Well even the fruit and vegetable basket “got it”, if was not fit for the pot, it was chopped up and fed to the worms… well they deserve a festive new year too! The pumpkin that I had kept since November was lovely and ripe and finally made it into the saucepan along with the remaining ginger and garlic that were hiding in the freezer for a rainy and cold day.

With the temperature outside dipping below freezing and the persistent rain and snow it’s the perfect time to make a hot and spicy soup with my ripe pumpkin.

I like cooking pumpkins and butternut squash with the skin and all, this  not only saves  time but also provides extra fibre, goodness and taste. Enough reason not to peel them then! I kept the seeds and roasted them in the oven along with dried crushed chillies and Maldon sea salt. This makes a tasty snack on its own and a nifty and smart garnish for my delicious soup.

I could have cooked my classic and favourite pumpkin and Parmesan soup but I needed something spicy  as I was in a fiery mood. To cool this firecracker of a soup, Mr.P made this amazing rocket, coconut and coriander crush; it’s perfect and makes this interesting soup even more exciting and seriously memorable. It was great team work and I think a brilliant recipe to see in the new year, celebrating all the brilliant collaborations of recipes and dishes that are to come for 2010. Salute!

Rick Stein was chatting with these cooks who had learned to cook  for survival from their parents and this knowledge had been passed  from generation to generation. Food in the far east is a matter of survival rather than consumption for enjoyment. Lets face it if I was to go without food for a couple of days I would easily survive as I’m well fed and perhaps it would do me good not to eat but for those people food means survival. It makes me feel guilty and a bit like a fat pig  and at the best of times as I take food for granted.It’s too easy to discard food if its gone past its date or if I have too much as I have overstocked. Throwing food away for these people is not an option, it’s a matter of survival.

They used fresh turmeric as much as we use garlic and  it went into nearly everything they cooked. Rick  pointed out that it made a huge difference  to the food, so I made a mental note to buy some when I next saw it. So when I saw fresh turmeric at the Oriental store on my twice yearly visit, I nearly fainted. After I made this laksa paste I froze the remainder of the fresh turmeric which I shall only use for my very special dishes. It’s a great find indeed, it looks almost  like fresh ginger however the arms are thinner.I suggest that you  peel it very carefully as it’s easy to waste more than you really need.

I also found these fantastic pea aubergines and choi sum, not something I would  find easily at my local supermarket but a great treat if you visit the Oriental store only twice a year like I do. I also bought freshly made ramen noodles for this delicious prawn coconut laska recipe.

We ate like kings and thoroughly enjoyed the freshly made laksa paste. As it’s not very easy to make only a small amount of the laska paste, I made the whole recipe and froze the remainder of the paste. I used  a rubber ice cube tray, so next time I can easily pop the frozen laksa paste pellets out of the tray and cook  from frozen. It’s incredible how the fresh taste is locked in, add a dash of fresh lime juice to your laksa right at the end just before serving, this will help to highlight the freshness of the dish.

If you cannot find pea aubergines use ordinary aubergines instead, they add a meatiness to the dish. Replace the choi sum with bok choy or even pac-choi,  as this works just as well. If you happen to have very fresh mackerel or salmon, slice it very thinly, place the raw fish slices on top of the warm noodles and then pour the boiling hot laksa over the raw fish, this will cook the fish in seconds, it’s delicious!

Merrill Stubs from Food52 writes for The New York Times and is the creative contributor to The New Staples column enjoyed this recipe and in particular the use of fresh turmeric. Read more about what Merrill said about fresh turmeric….

I made a broth using British conference pears and infused it with the schezuan pepper and miso paste. Schezuan pepper has a unique and very strong flavour and for that reason it is perfect for the rich oily flesh of the mackerel. The pears bring balance to the dish and neutralises the oily mackerel and rich braised baby bok choy. Be generous with the lime juice as it brings the whole dish alive. The miso paste brings the umami flavour to the dish and your taste buds will fire on all cylinders when eating this schezuan pear broth with mackerel dumplings.

There are plenty of pear varieties available on the market and I will try and persuade you to use the British pears in season. However if you ever come by a Nashi pear, otherwise known as the Asian pear, I suggest you  make this dish with them. They are highly fragrant with fairly thin skins which hardly need peeling, but my guilty conscious kicks in as I know they are most probably air freighted to Britain.

These mackerel dumplings make either a perfect canape when crisped and served on their own, garnished with sautéed enoki mushrooms and Sango radish sprouts or blanched and served as this lovely starter with the schezuan pear broth.

This dish is one of four recipe using British Pears as the chosen seasonal ingredient for a article published in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Magazine on the 16th October 2009.

• Camomile-Smoked Pear Pastilles
• Pear, Quail, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
• Tamarind Pears with Creamed Tapioca and Toffee Pear Lollipops