This Post was written by Naomi from Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried

I am just delighted to be hosting this month's retro recipe challenge and have been racking my brains for something suitably challenging. Rather than go with the obvious Yuletide theme, I thought I would go back to my childhood - the source of all things retro. Being of Irish descent, there were some pretty un-fascinating foods consumed during my childhood - butterscotch angel delight, smash, fluffy eggs (a bizarre speciality of my mother's which actually deserves its own post), and beany mince (yes baked beans with mince), and I think you'll all agree they don't hold much culinary merit or really deserve to be resurrected. Apart from the squidgy bitter-sweet Guinness cake I used to frighten my school friends with - that is truly the stuff of legend.

Instead I turned to the real culinary inspiration of my childhood - story books. From Maurice Sendak's In The Night Kitchen, through Maisie Middleton and her amazing home made breakfast to Brambly Hedge's hedgerow delicacies, I would dream about foods completely unknown to my humble tastebuds.

So my challenge to you is to revisit your childhood story books - it might be Paddington's marmalade or the tiny cake bearing the invitation, 'eat me', that Alice ate in Alice and Wonderland. Then find a way to recreate that dish using those retro recipe resources. The only stipulation is that the original recipe must have been published or originally made before 1980 (seems pretty recent to me!)

Make your story book dish and write a blog post about it - with pictures if possible and maybe even a link or image of the book you used for inspiration. Let us know where you got your recipe from too - even if it is something you remember your mother making. Then send the post to me at: naomidevlin (at) f2s (dot) com - by midnight on December 14th and I will post all the entries on my blog at the end of the month. I look forward to hearing all about it.

It's Pumpkin Time!

This Post was written by Holler from Tinned Tomatoes.

Well November is just around the corner and there are lots of pumpkins languishing on those supermarket shelves! Here are some recipes to make the most of them!


My contribution is a gooey Pumpkin Fondue.

Kevin over at Closet Cooking made a gorgeous Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Eat'n ve'gn made a rather delicious looking Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup.

Charlotte, who is tempting her son Freddie around the alphabet of vegetables, made Pumpkin and Smoky Bacon Risotto. Looks good, but as a veggie I think I would substitute the bacon for mushrooms!

Val from More than Burnt Toast exceeded all expectations and made Cinnamon Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Praline Pie!

And our very own Julia made Stuffed Butternut Squash (I know squash, not pumpkin, but you could adapt it to use pumpkin!)

I hope that gives you a few ideas!

Give a pumpkin a home, it's Hallowe'en!

Chicken Out!

This Post was written by Sarah from Eating Britain


Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and River Cottage have just launched a campaign called Chicken Out! Their wish is to change the way chicken is mass produced in this country and encourage people like you and me to buy free-range chicken and eggs. In Britain we consume over 850 million chickens each year and 95% of those are intensively farmed. The campaign aims to acquire at least half a million signatures of support, which will then be sent to governing bodies and supermarkets to demonstrate public and consumer feelings on this subject, and hopefully set a change in the way chicken and eggs are produced in Britain.

I think this is a very worthy campaign and with enough support I believe it could really make a difference. Supermarkets have already taken notice of our desire to eat more organic and locally sourced food, so they will have no choice but to take these views into account too. I have signed-up in support of the Chicken Out! campaign on the website and I've already printed the campaign poster which I'll be posting on the notice board at work and anywhere else I can think of!

If you'd like to know more about the campaign, take a look at this personal message from Hugh and then, if you wish, visit the website and add your support.

What better place to encourage support for this campaign, here at the UK Food Bloggers Association.

Consumer opinion does make a difference, so have your say and help to make a change!

An Introduction from Alice of TheAlice.co.uk

This Post was written by Alice from TheAlice

1. Where are you based? A mile or so outside of Nottingham’s city centre. I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance of some great bars and restaurants but still live in a house with a garden full of fruit trees (at last count – apple, pear and cherry) and herbs. I have lived here for 4 years and grew up in the Cotswolds, otherwise known as the middle of nowhere. I live with my fiancé Will and our Springer Spaniel Oscar, both of whom love food as much as I do!

2. How long have you been blogging? I learned webdesign as a bored 10 year old and have had a presence on the web ever since then. My first blog started in circa ’99 but as I grew up and stopped being a student with endless amounts of time blogging dropped down in my list of priorities. Thealice.co.uk has been in existence for one year and has been used as a food blog since the beginning of September. Now I’ve found a use for it that I love, I hope to carry on for as long as I can type!

3. What's the best thing about food blogging? Having that little bit of friendly pressure to cook something different; if my food blog wasn’t there I don’t think I’d be nearly as adventurous with my cooking. I also adore reading other’s food blogs and I currently have LOADS of recipes bookmarked that I need to have a go at!

4. What's the worst thing about food blogging? Finding the oomph to type up recipes after eating; usually prime time for lying back on the sofa with a glass of red wine!! I also have to keep my camera on top of the microwave so that I don’t eat the food before I take a photo.

5. What inspires you to cook and write? I have always had an interest in food and I find cooking is a wonderful way to relax. I also hate the current trend for eating ready meals and pride myself on the fact that I always know exactly what is in 99% of my meals.
I have always loved writing (and would love to write for a living one day) but haven’t had time for it since I stepped into ‘the real world’ of having a full time job. Cooking and writing combined allows me to write enthusiastically about a hobby I love.

6. Where do you like to blog? I blog a bit in my lunch hour at work (if I get one) or on the sofa at home with my laptop on my knees and the dog at my feet.

7. What's your signature dish? I do a wonderful Apple Sponge that my friends always beg for when they come round for tea or my mum’s Lasagne with home-made garlic bread. I also make a mean Victoria sponge cake!

8. What about you might it surprise other bloggers to know? I plan my meals with military precision and write up on a blackboard at the beginning of the week what we will be eating – I’m only able to visit our local butcher and greengrocer on a Saturday and I find this keeps me focused and organized. I have put on two stone ever since meeting my fiancé the food lover; at the moment we are both working on portion control. I also can’t wait to start a family so I can cook lots of wonderful children’s food!

Hello from Cumbria's real food magazine!

This Post was written by Martin from Artisan-food.com

A quick introduction as I have just joined this group. My name is Martin and along with my wife Cecilia we run Cumbria's on-line food magazine. It's sort of like a big blog in that it's our personal take on the food scene in Cumbria, but we run it as a magazine, on-line. I'm a photographer and Cecilia is a journalist, so that's the words and piccies taken care of, Cecilia makes the pages and I make the site. Job done.


We fight for the rights of the real Cumbrian sausage....

About three years ago we took a decision to try to spend our "food money" in local shops rather than the supermarket. Being foodies and often cooking all sorts of food for our friends and family, this was not going to be easy. Where do you start? As usual for me, it was in at the deep end. "Let's try only eating food produced in Cumbria for a week" was the bright idea that Cecilia willingly went along with. After driving for what seemed like hundreds of miles and spending hours searching for any, never mind decent, sources of genuinely local food, the week ended up being a real eye opener. This was the seed that started the magazine and now two years on from the launch we spend the vast majority of our "food money" locally, sometimes without even leaving the house. Over that time our understanding and love of our local food economy has blossomed.


After the blossom comes the Damsons from Lyth Valley, a simply perfect local product that ends up in jam, gin, puddings, chocolates....

The sections are called, startin', readin' eatin' cookin' gettin' and makin'. It's all about who produces what in Cumbria. How it's produced, where to get it, how to cook it and where you can find it to eat. We love our producers and our chefs in particular. Not least because the good ones are really hard working and extremely dedicated. We hate being disappointed with badly cooked and poorly served, expensive food. So we have our own restaurant reviews. These represent the places we love to go back to. I like to experiment as well and the site gives me the perfect opportunity and excuse to try cheesemaking, bake sourdough bread, smoke food, stuff my own sausages...you name it I'm up for it.


Such as researching the best recipes for cooking the local grey squirrels...

We have a blog section on the site. I post regularly, so does one of our local chefs, an organic vegetable farmer, a food historian (well at least he did until he broke his leg...) and more recently a local dairy farmer is giving us his insights too.

We are re-designing the site at the moment (the articles have had a makeover, top pages are next) as well as introducing video, which we call, somewhat tongue in cheek, our own TV channel. But seriously whilst we stick more or less strictly to Cumbrian products on most of the site, we would be happy to include contributed videos on relevant food subjects, just e-mail me if you have some ideas or relevant content.

It's a bit of fun really.

Hope you like what we do, feedback is always welcome.
Martin

An introduction from Claire at Claires Cake Bake

This Post was written by Claire from ClairesCakeBake

1. Where are you based?
On the Wirral. Born & bred.

2. How long have you been blogging?
On Claires Cake Bake it’s just over 6 months now. I did have two earlier attempts at blogging that were non-food related that I just didn’t keep updated.

3. What's the best thing about food blogging?
I love food so food blogging is making me try new and different things I wouldn’t normally have made/eaten. And having started blogging I have found out that I also love taking photos of my food too!!

4. What's the worst thing about food blogging?
I feel guilty if I don’t post for a while.

5. What inspires you to cook and write?
As I’ve said, I love food and I love cooking. But other than that I get inspiration from my recipe books, foodie forums and reading other peoples blogs.

6. Where do you like to blog?
On the sofa, laptop on my knee maybe with the telly on in the background too!

7. What's your signature dish?
I don’t really have one. I used to make a mean Bread & Butter pudding but my Hubby doesn’t like B&B pudding (not even mine!) so I haven’t made it in a long time. I’d like my signature dish to be cake related – this is one area I am trying to work on.

8. What about you might surprise other food bloggers to know?
Oh gosh, I don’t really know! Maybe that we’re hopefully going to buy a proper SLR digital camera so I can take some better foodie photos! But it might not surprise food bloggers too much, I think people in real life would find that more surprising!

Its Apple Day Today!

This Post was written by Naomi from Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried



Its apple day today and people around the country are celebrating with fetes, cake sales, apple shows, cider drinking contests and the like. You can find out what events are near you by looking at the common ground website. But the cooks and bakers among us may want to celebrate by making something apply in our kitchens; an Eve's pudding, apple sauce for some roast pork, a Waldorf salad or just a fluffy baked apple with lashings of cream. We are going away tomorrow (for our first holiday in a LONG time) so I can't make anything today because I am washing clothes and packing. But I will refer you to my Crab Apple Brandy recipe, which you could also use some nice sharp orchard apples for, Lord Lambourne perhaps?

Orchards are fast disappearing around us because of supermarket demand for uniformity and long shelf life in the apples they sell. Small producers of old varieties just can't compete. Its our duty as consumers to make a difference here. Try buying your apples from a local producer - often found at farmers markets or WI markets.Ask your supermarket or local green grocer to stock old varieties - they may not listen to your lone voice, but they do respond to consumer demand - look at the explosion in organics. If they think it will sell, they will provide it.

Lastly, have you noticed how even in apple season many of the apples are still bought over from New Zealand and South Africa? Make sure you boycott these apples, they are contributing to our enormous carbon footprint and it doesn't need to be that way, you can often find an apple that has come no further than a few miles, to be crunched, juicy and sweet in the knowledge that you have done a little bit for the environment!

Tinned Tomatoes and a Wedding Dress

This Post was written by Holler from Tinned Tomatoes.
























1. Where are you based?

I am based in Dundee, Scotland.

2. How long have you been blogging?

I started my blog in April 2007.

3. What's the best thing about food blogging?

It always amazes me that people from all around the world visit my blog and many of them return! I have made a few good friends in the food blogging community. That is definitely what it is, a very strong community and I am happy to be part of it!

4. What's the worst thing about food blogging?

It has to be the time aspect, sometimes life gets in the way and I don't post as often as I would like to!

5. What inspires you to cook and write?

When I started to blog my inspiration came from a lady called The Next Nigella, who cooked her way through 500 Nigella Lawson recipes and posted her results. I loved following her posts, even though a lot of them where meat based and I am a vegetarian. I started to think, maybe I could do this too! And so I set up my blog in the hope that it would encourage me to widen my cooking repertoire, which was a bit limited!

Right now, my answer would be different. It is not just one person who inspires me, but all the other bloggers in the community. When I read their posts and chat to them, I get great ideas and want to go try them out. My recipe book and my notebook are overflowing!

6. Where do you like to blog?

I do all my blogging at computer desk in our spare bedroom. I long for wifi and a new laptop, so I could sit somewhere comfy to blog!

7. What's your signature dish?

I don't have one, as I am trying out different things! I do return to old favourites quite often though.


My friend Andrew enjoys my pea pesto, so I like making that for him, My brother-in-law Lachlan likes a halloumi salad, my mum loves bruschetta and Graham's favourite is a pasta sauce made with lots of herbs, mushrooms, wine, garlic, black pepper and creme fraiche. So, my signature dish is different for each person in my life!

8. What about you might it surprise other bloggers to know?

I just got married to the love of my life Graham. It wasn't a whirlwind romance, we have been together for 16 years. I met Graham at my student union. I went over and asked him to dance, because I thought he was so cute. The rest is history! He didn't stand a chance!

This won't be a big surprise if you read my blog! So, I will let you into a little secret. I am about to start belly dancing classes!


This is my gorgeous niece trying out my coin belly dancing belt!

Mystery Guest Services

Hi everyone, I've been approached by Owen of “Mystery Guest Services Ltd”, which started life 6 weeks ago, who is looking for couples to visit restuarants in the West Yorkshire area. Here's what he says:

"We work with food outlets of most descriptions were we agree with the owner to provide food and drink for two people who are acting as our Mystery Guest’s who then compile a comprehensive report of the experience (Good & Bad) there is absolutely no cost whatsoever to the dinners. I am offering a Mystery Shopper Service but for food.

We need responsible and articulate couples to visit restaurants in the West Yorkshire area mainly Leeds Bradford Harrogate York (for the moment) who will dine then email me the full report based on the audit agreed with the owner."

If you would be interested and fit the bill you can contact Owen at owen@mysteryguestservice.co.uk


This Post was written by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie

Fuss Free Flavours

This Post was written by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours

1. Where are you based? West London, in my one bedroom flat, close to the North End Road Market with its wonderful (and cheap) fruit and vegetables, I also have the wonderful HG Walters; the best butcher in London between me and the tube station.

2. How long have you been blogging? Since January 2007, with varying spurts of keenness!

3. What's the best thing about food blogging? The food bloging community, and how quickly you get to meet people online, I still get a shiver of excitement whenever I get a comment on my blog. I love taking photos and experimenting with different angles and settings.

4. What's the worst thing about food blogging? Remembering to measure and weigh and make notes, I am; apart from when baking, a chuck it in sort of cook. My boyfriend is now used to having to wait a few mins for meals whilst I tweak garnishes and take photos!

5. What inspires you to cook and write? Feedback from my friends, I have been teaching friends to cook simple dishes for years. Fuss Free Flavours perfectly describes my everyday cooking for someone that is busy. I am a huge fan of short cuts and using the freezer and cooking ahead.

6. Where do you like to blog? On the sofa with my lap top – or at work when I should be doing something else.

7. What's your signature dish? Muffins and anything preserved. I am the muffin and chutney queen, all my friends save me jam jars for my jams and chutneys, I love making a large batch of chutney at the weekend and find it very soothing and relaxing.

8. What about you might it surprise other bloggers to know? I am a keen sailor, spending lots of weekends on a boat, getting drenched and having little sleep.