Charlotte's Newsletter | Issue 20

Friday 25th November 2022

Welcome to Issue 20

Welcome back. As we reach the twentieth issue of the newsletter, it feels like a small milestone to celebrate. I want to take the opportunity to thank you for joining me this year. I have really loved writing to you all, and I am truly grateful for your support, your feedback and helping to share the word with friends and family. It's been very gratifying hearing from readers who have found the newsletter useful, and seeing more and more people join each week. 

In this issue, you'll find recipe and ingredient recommendations, as usual, plus two giveaways, and details of my Festive Box I am making and selling this year.

I have had a busy fortnight planning and preparing the boxes, and have been taste testing lots of Christmas food products. I'll bring you more on that next time, when we're into December. A number of you have been asking about signed and dedicated cookbooks for Christmas though, and if you would like to order one, they are for sale on my website.

I hope you will enjoy reading this weekend, and and will join me again next time. Please do share the newsletter with anyone you think may be interested. You can always subscribe by visiting my website, too. 

With my thanks for your continued support,

Charlotte

Charlotte's Basket

It's been exciting to find more citrus fruit in the shops. I just love the sweet and sharp flavours of citrus in pretty much anything sweet or savoury. 

I've had some excellent satsumas this week, and I usually keep my eyes peeled for more (they can be quite hard to find), plus mandarins over the coming months. I've also seen some lovely kumquats for sale this week. I am tempted to buy some to candy, as they are are such a useful ingredient to have available.

I'll be looking out for some nice cabbages, sprouts and sprout tops when shopping this fortnight. They are all useful and delicious vegetables, which I enjoy stir-fried or roasted. The leaves are nice eaten when wilted with a little water and a knob of butter to finish.

Fresh cranberries should start to appear in the shops soon. I'll be stocking up to make some of the treats in my special Christmas box - more on that below!

Charlotte Loves

Two special competitions

To mark Issue 20, I have not one, but two competitions to share with you. 

The first is to win a Thermapen One. They are the most useful kitchen gadget, which I use for so many tasks, from preserve making, cooking meat and anything with sugar. 

The second is to win a copy of the OTK Ottolenghi Test Kitchen book, Extra Good Things that is a hugely useful addition to any cookbook collection. It is one of my top cookbook recommendations this year. It is full of innovative recipes that are really achievable to make at home.

If you'd like me to put your name in the hat, then please send me an email telling me which draw you'd like to enter by 5pm on Monday 28th November. I'll draw the names then and contact the winners to organise postage. UK postage only.

Charlotte Loves Discounts 

Many of you have been using these discount codes, so I'm keeping them here again if you need them...

Thermapen One is such a useful piece of kitchen kit and I have a 20% discount for you over on their website, by using this link.

LittlePod, the supplier of organic, responsibly sourced vanilla pods, pastes and extracts have offered 10% off their entire range purchased on their website. Use CHARLOTTELOVES to secure your discount.

Peter's Yard crisp bread and sourdough crackers. Use CHARLOTTELOVES to get 20% off the entire range on their website.

Pipers Farm have kindly offered you all a 20% discount off your first order if you use the CHARLOTTELOVES discount code. You can use this link to join their points scheme, too. 

I also have an amazing 20% off for new customers and 10% for existing customers at the Bold Bean Co. who produce the most delicious jars of beans. Visit their website and pop in CHARLOTTELOVES to secure your discount.
 

What to cook this week

• I made this baked sausage and squash recipe by Xanthe Clay. It was ridiculously easy to make and everyone loved it.

• We all enjoyed Ottolenghi's anchovy toasts with pink pickled mooli. I have a copy of the book to give away below, which features this recipe.

• Another winning dinner I made this week was a lamb and aubergine fatteh. This is a similar recipe you might like to try.

• Long-time subscribers will know how much I love Roopa Gulati's recipes. This chilli cheese on toast recipe from her book India: The World Vegetarian is such a warning and delicious light meal.

• There was lots of love for the soup I posted on Instagram this week. I actually made it up as I went along, but this is a recipe for something similar you might like to try.

My Festive Gift Box

I've had so many requests to put this together, I've taken the plunge....

I'm offering my first ever gift box by post, which will include some the most-requested products I make, and a selection of useful and delicious food gifts from my favourite suppliers.

Each cardboard box will include some homemade treats, including something sweet, my special seed and coconut granola and my homemade fresh cranberry mincemeat. I'll make everything to order, using lots of lovely ingredients, such as Organic flour, oats and butter that have been produced by small regenerative farms, fair-trade sugar, LittlePod fresh vanilla pods, beautiful Brandy and fresh fruit.

The additional products will all be very carefully chosen from small, independent suppliers, producing useful and delicious ingredients, that I hope you will find as useful and enjoyable as I do, and the value of the contents of the box will exceed the price you pay for it. I'm keen to support people doing good things in the food world this Christmas.

I'm very conscious of waste, and I've designed the box and wrapping to look good, but to be recyclable.

To order your box, please visit my website to place your order, noting the cut off time and estimated delivery date. I will offer local delivery to people near me in East Dorset - so do drop me an email if you would like to discuss that. It will be possible to order directly from me in that instance.
 

Something for the Weekend

 Brilliant new things to read and watch

• Cooking with Joan Roca is a fantastic new cookbook, sharing step-by-step cookery techniques from three Michelin star chef Joan Roca. It is an extremely user-friendly book, which guides the reader through a wide range of key techniques. There is so much to learn within. It's a really useful book for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge and skills in the kitchen.

• Scoop is a wonderful new food magazine, focussing on Irish Food Stories. It is an absolute joy to read, with fascinating and heartwarming stories and very beautiful production values. A gorgeous read.

• There are very few food-related food programmes that I watch. Paula MacIntyre's Hamely Kitchen on BBCiPlayer is an exception. It's such an interesting series, full of great recipes and stories. Paula is such a talented cook, and her recipes are at once simple and inspiring. It's a really good watch and I particularly love the sense of place, as Paula really does justice to the fantastic ingredients and producers based in Northern Ireland.

Some useful present ideas

Moving away from food for a bit, you've asked me to share more present ideas. Here are some of the best things I've bought myself in the last year. They might make nice ideas for your loved ones.

• English sheepskin boots and slippers. They are so well made and are wonderfully warm. I wear the boots at home during the day. The ones I have are handmade in Somerset, and don't have as many ethical concerns as with the global brands. They're also cheaper.

• A new sewing machine. I have a Janome 725S machine and I have loved using it to make a few bits of clothing and things for the home this year, using some beautiful fabrics.

• Some good outdoor boots are super useful. These are the ones I have and they are brilliant. I live in my old pair of Du Barry boots. I love that they are so warm and waterproof. I also get a lot of compliments when I wear these green Blundstone boots. I love the colour.

• I have always enjoyed cycling and getting a good road bike took some time, and several rejects along the way. I recommend looking at Specialised. I started with a Dolce and moved to a carbon fibre upgrade. They are so comfortable to ride. My mountain bike is a Commencal and it's great.

• An online exercise subscription. I've been doing Caroline's Circuits for nearly two years, and it's been absolutely game changing. 

Upcoming Events, Classes & Cooking

I am now running private cookery classes, either one-to-one, or for your friends or business. You can find out more on my website. This includes special events for parties and corporate gatherings.

I take a small number of private cooking jobs on each year. If you'd like to book me, please get in touch by email.