In the kitchen with Colin... (4)

The fourth in the 'series' is from the BBC and created by Cyrus Todiwala  of 'The Incredible Spice Men' and is called Pulled pork with cinnamon and clove. The original recipe can be seen here

My version uses a smaller roast of rolled pork (otherwise we would be eating it for weeks) 

I made the same amount of marinade which was divided into two, the second being bottled and kept for future use.  My marinade was made from...

• 1 tbsp broken pieces cinnamon bark
• 15 cloves
• 2 large red chillies
• 5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 small red onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 long green chilli
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• Juice of a lime
• 100ml/3½fl oz cider vinegar
• 1½ tsp brown sugar
• 25ml/1fl oz sunflower oil
• 1½ tsp salt

   

With a pestle and mortar, coarsely crush together the cinnamon and cloves. Gently toast this mixture in a dry frying pan over a low heat until a spicy fragrance emanates from the pan. Set aside to cool.

Put the cooled spice mixture in a blender. Add all of the remaining masala ingredients and blend the mixture to a relatively fine paste. Taste and adjust seasoning if you like.

Rub the masala all over the pork, and place the meat in a dish in which it fits snugly. 

The meat was marinaded overnight

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Pour the oil into a roasting tin and heat on the hob over a medium heat. Scrape any excess masala from the marinated pork, place the pork in the roasting tin and brown well on all sides. Transfer to the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven heat to minimum. (You can now pour a few tablespoons of marinade over the pork for extra flavour.) Cover the pork tightly with aluminium foil, well tucked in so that the pork steams in the tin and the meat literally falls off when cooked. Cook for a further 3–3½ hours if using a rolled joint, although it may take as long as five hours. If you have the time, the meat will pull apart beautifully after 10 hours of cooking on a low temperature. If using smaller pieces or individual chops, adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Ours was cooked at 100C for 4 hours. This was the result...

It was, as they say, melt in the mouth but rather than pull it apart we sliced it like a traditional roast.

The finished article was superb with a great mild masala / spicy taste. 

If you want to cook any piece of pork, this is well worth a try... It is the third time I have done it and it will definitely will not be the last...

Gluten free, Stress free Pastry

Over the years I've tried all sorts of recipes for gluten free pastry, with limited success. The main problem has been that the dough is too "wet" to roll out and the best one could hope for was to press it into shape in the flan dish.

I noticed there was a recipe for short crust pasty on the side of a packet of Doves Farm gluten free plain flour but when I read it I have to admit I was rather sceptical about the part which read:

"Roll out the dough between two sheets of cling film..."

However, it seemed such a simple recipe I had nothing to lose by giving it a go.

           200g Plain White Flour blend

           100g Butter

           4 tbsp Cold Water

• Using a fork, mash the butter into the flour to give a breadcrumb consistency. 
• Stir in the water and bring the pastry together in a ball of dough.
• Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins
• Roll the pastry out onto a floured surface, or between two pieces of cling film 
• Bake according to your recipe

So that is just what I did and despite my scepticism, it worked! I used the pastry to line a flan dish which was then baked blind for 15 mins. 

Then I added some chopped bacon and onion which had been lightly fried..

This was topped with grated cheese

and a mix of two beaten eggs, 150ml milk, 2 tablespoons single cream, salt and pepper to taste.

Then it was baked for 30mins at Gas 6, 180C fan and the resulting quiche was very much enjoyed by us!

At last, a fuss free pastry courtesy of Doves Farm. I feel almost normal! (I did say "almost"!)

Reflections on a Walk

Taking advantage of a beautiful day, we went to La Forêt de Preuilly to do a walk we always enjoy. Today, however, we saw it from a different perspective, thanks to copious amounts of rain water on the already saturated paths...

So here are our reflections on a walk...

ps. Having called on Tim and Pauline on our way to Preuilly, we decided to call on Susan and Simon and Jim and Pauline on the way back. No luck with either, sadly! 

And not to forget Gaynor and Tim and Jean and Nick: We thought of you as we drove through your respective villages!!

Gymnastique Gripes...

From September last year I've been going to a gym class at our Salle de Fêtes. About twenty ladies regularly attend and the classes cover a varied programme of fitness and exercise routines to suit all tastes.

We have done some dance (!) Some work with small balls (!!) and some floor work, both singly and with a partner. We've also covered some work on balance and directions - not really my forte...

When we returned  to Braye post Christmas, we called in at the Mairie for our supply of sacs de déchets for the next six months and Michelle, the secretary, asked me if I had "un step" for next weeks class? I haven't, but when she then asked about "un grand ballon", I could reply "oui!"

So today Colin has resurrected my old and somewhat tired "grand ballon" and given it an injection of compression gas...

The question is, how the heck am I going to get this 65cm monster to the Salle de Fêtes in one piece next Monday night?

I get a lift with three other ladies in a neighbours car. Now it's not the smallest of cars but nevertheless I hardly think it will accommodate four of us, with our "grands ballons" in tow! Nor do I fancy walking alone, carrying the darn thing through the woods in pitch dark. It would be a miracle if it got there still inflated!

This gym lark is all well and good but my other gripe is that this year I'll need a doctor's letter to allow me to attend, as I reach the 'very much past it' age of sixty. In my book if I'm fit to do extreme gardening I'm quite sure I'm ok to sit on a ballon de gymnastique and raise my arms to shoulder height without doing myself lasting damage.

You see, I've never been very sporty and the idea of going out into the cold to a not particularly well-heated Salle de Fêtes each Monday takes its toll on me. So I'm looking for reasons not to attend, despite forking out the 110 € for the pleasure of attending.

I'll just have to remember the laughs it has given me when I've lacked co-ordination in a dance routine, or had a fit of the giggles at the sight of a room full of ladies trying to do what we called "the crab" when we were little, or the sheer despairing laughter as I've stepped to the left when the rest of the world is going right...

In fact I think that last just about sums up the story of my life!! Perhaps le gymnastique is not for me after all!

Tree quandary...

Following on yesterday's woody theme, we noticed this tree (not sure what species) in the Bois du Temple adjacent to our Salle de Fete.

Whilst there are several of the same species in the wood only a couple of them appear to have this spikey growth on them.

Is this part of the tree or is it a parasite? We would like to know so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Woodland Workout

The day was calm and bright so we went for a walk through the local woods...

Though the colourful leaf canopy was gone from the trees, catkins and mosses enhanced the scene with their bright colours against an otherwise subdued palette..

          

Further into the wood it was obvious that someone has been very busy whilst we've been away.. There were rows of neatly stacked logs stretching over quite an area..

Our local woodman, Monsieur Bourreau, has felled this area of woodland single-handed, trimming the logs to metre lengths and creating these solidly built walls of wood. What amazed us was the scale of the operation and the techniques employed, no doubt born out of years of experience.

We could only admire the skill this octogenarian applied to the task! The most he would admit was 

"C'est dur quand il fait froid!"

Though it is physically very hard we could think of worse places to spend ones working life! And with the woodland managed in this way, it will continue to thrive and support an eco-system, rich in diversity, for generations to come. 

Long may we, and Monsieur Bourreau, enjoy it! 

Back to Braye!

We arrived back in Braye last night after spending Christmas with our families in England.

Our friend, Jean, had sent us a text to say the weather in our region was sunny and 14C, but sadly they were just preparing to leave to return to England. It seemed hard to believe such temperatures existed as we'd left the UK in freezing conditions. But sure enough as we drove south the temperature gauge rose and by the time we hit Braye it was, as Jean had said, 14C.

Interestingly, for the second time in the last twelve months we passed Jean and Nick, en route, waving frantically to them across the motorway. There must be a better way to meet up!!

Roll on their return at Easter, when we believe Gaynor and Tim will also be over.

For now, a couple of photos of the wonderful rainbow we enjoyed this afternoon...

And for Tim and Pauline.... we have your Yorkshire gold in liquid form!