Charlotte's Newsletter | Issue 16

Issue 16 | Friday 7th October 2022

Welcome to Issue 16

Hello again. I hope you've had a good couple of weeks.

It's been a busy time for me, with a big recipe testing project on, and cooking for 65 people last weekend, so I have done an awful lot of food shopping and cooking in recent days.
 

In this issue, I have a number of recommendations for you, from the best seasonal ingredients to buy and make use of, how to save money on food shopping and as always, some recommended recipes to try. 

I also have some gift ideas for food-lovers that may be hard to buy for, and some great new cookbooks to have a look at. 

I have a busy couple of weeks ahead, with a trip to Ireland for the Irish Food Writing Awards and Dartmouth Food Festival planned.

Wishing you a great fortnight ahead,

Charlotte

Charlotte's Basket

In the last fortnight, we've had some fantastic apples and figs, which are at their best at the moment. Squash and beetroot are really good, and I stick a tray of them in the oven to roast (when it's turned on for something else), and used the cold roasted vegetables to add to salads for a quick and healthy lunch. Cabbages and kales are great at the moment, too.

This is a time of year when certain ingredients are growing in abundance, and it makes complete sense to make the most of them where possible. So here are some of the ways I am using up produce at the moment:

• Kale - we picked a lot of our kale, washed it, sliced it and froze it in bags, so that we have a supply for the winter months, which is a great way of using up a glut. I also invested in a larder freezer (larder, not chest, crucially) which is extremely useful for storing fresh food for later in the year.

• Cooking apples - try peeling them, slicing them and tossing them lightly in sugar and then freezing in bags. They can be added to all manner of sweet and savoury dishes in the coming months. Apple butter is also very nice to make, eat and give as a present.

• Crab apples and hedgerow berries - I make a sloe jelly with crab apples and sloes (great with pork) and also a hedgerow jelly with rosehips and haw berries in the mix as well. This is such a delicious ruby-coloured jelly that goes so well with lamb and venison, I serve it instead of redcurrant jelly now. 

• Green tomatoes - my friend Vivien Lloyd has the most delicious recipe for green tomato chutney in her book, First Preserves. If you're going to use up any green tomatoes, now's the time to do it.

Charlotte Loves

My tips for keeping food costs down

Some of you have asked for some thoughts on controlling costs, given rising food and energy prices, so here are some of the ways I watch costs at home.

First, I don't cut corners when it comes to food shopping. I don't believe in buying cheap food to save money. I buy good ingredients, but I use every last scrap. To do that though, does need some organisation.

Take a few minutes to do a fridge audit every few days. I do this every day. Check on stock levels and the condition of food. If things are starting to look tired, use them up at the earliest opportunity. Don't leave food to go off and then either try and salvage off food, or throw it in the bin. It really doesn't take long to do. I think it is imperative to do an audit before shopping. There is simply no point buying more food than you need and then the excess stock will perish, or you don't have enough space to store it correctly.

Storing food correctly really helps. Almost all vegetables will keep longer in the fridge if you have space. Always take them out of the packaging too. Food seems to die in plastic bags. 

Make a plan to tide you over a few days and buy the ingredients you need. I think it also helps to have a couple of days a week when you haven't planned and bought food, so you can use up odds and ends, rather than a 7 day plan. Try looking for recipes in cookbooks or online (from reputable sources!) to use up specific ingredients you have. I do this quite often, and, whilst it can take a little time, it does often lead to new discoveries you might not have tried otherwise.

If I really want to economise, I make soup for lunch and vegetable and pulse based suppers. I will make an apple compote (sometimes with blackberries) and eat that instead of buying more expensive fresh fruit. I also bake my own bread and can fit six loaves in the oven at a time, which I then slice and freeze to toast slices on demand.

What to cook this week

As always, here are some recommendations for dishes I've cooked and enjoyed in the last fortnight:

• Squash and sage lasagne in Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage

• Coconut and turmeric baked chicken thighs with greens by Melissa Thompson

• This parmesan roast chicken recipe from Diana Henry is so easy and a favourite in our house.

• I had to buy a waffle maker for a work project, so have been making these at home.

• These fruit and seed bars from Nigel Slater were very good.

And if you're visiting a newsagent this weekend, you'll find my October recipe page in this week's issue of Countryman's Weekly, so do look out for that.

Amazing produce from Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the most exciting parts of the United Kingdom for food, I think. It's also a wonderful place to visit, if you get the chance. Belfast is such an interesting, vibrant city, Ballycastle is the destination for food lovers, up in Antrim, and frankly, it's really worth taking the time to explore, as there is so much to see and do.

One of the reasons I think the food is so exciting is that there is such a sense of place and innovation. There is a wealth of talented food professionals creating truly beautiful food and making the most of the ingredients on the doorstep.

Here are some of my very favourite products and producers which you might like to try:

• Irish Black Butter is a truly extraordinary product, unlike anything else I've tried

• Abernethy butter is absolutely sensational

• Ballylisk of Armagh cheeses are exquisite

• Corndale charcuterie is excellent

• Brighter Gold oil is gorgeous

• Clandeboye Estate yoghurt is sublime

Something for the Weekend

As the weekend approaches, here are 
some of my top recommendations for gifts for food-lovers who may already be well-equipped (think birthdays, Christmas or wedding presents, perhaps, or just a special thank you), some great new cookbooks and my upcoming class dates.

Do, please, let me know if you try any of them. I'd love to know what you think!

Gift ideas for the food-lover who has everything

You have been asking for more of these, so here you go!

• Gorgeous serving platters are always useful. I adore the St.Jacques range from Les Ottomans, and the radicchio and endive ranges from Liberty.

• Anything to make a table look beautiful is a good thing in my book. I just love the jars, comports, vases and candlesticks from William Yeoward.

• In a similar vein, I don't think you can have too many tablecloths and napkins. If in doubt on size, buy large sizes. They can always be used in the garden. Emma Bridgewater linen are beautiful (I actually had one for my birthday, which I love), Zara Home have nice cotton ranges and Bird Kitchen Clothing do some nice plain coloured linen napkins.

• I am upgrading my baking trays and pans in stages. I think Mermaid trays are the very best, and Mauviel pans are hard to beat. Buy it once, buy it well...

• Having cooked for a crowd again this last weekend (just 65 people), I really do think a large Le Creuset is incredibly useful for this sort of thing. I have a couple of 30cm casseroles, but they won't serve that many. This 40cm casserole is the one piece my own collection is missing, and many people I speak to say how they'd find this a huge help, too. Certainly a special present, but one to use and love for a lifetime.

Some brilliant new cookbooks

• The Pipers Farm Sustainable Meat Cookbook

• For the Love of the Land and For the Love of the Sea by Jenny Jefferies - Jenny is a newsletter subscriber and has kindly offered readers a 20% discount on her website using CHARLOTTELOVES

• Biting Biting: Snacking Gujerati-Style by Urvashi Roe

My baking book

By popular demand, I have some more stock of my Hungry Student Baking Book in on my website. Just £7.99 each, plus P&P and I can dedicate it to the recipient. 

My upcoming cookery classes

• I will be teaching four classes a day at Dartmouth Food Festival, on 21, 22 and 23 October. Please contact the Box Office to book.

Places are available, currently, on all courses. And if you'd like a private class, either one-to-one, or for your friends or business, you can find our more on my website, or get in touch.