Summer Holiday - Kids Outdoor Food, Fire & Foraging Events in Aberdeen

I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with Mandy Tulloch of Mud Pies to hold a series of eight outdoor food, fun and foraging events in Aberdeen over the summer holidays. We're heading to Hazelhead Park in Week 3 for Campfire Banana Boats, then in Week 4 we're at Countesswells Wood for a Summer Blaeberry Bash. Booking is essential for all events so secure your prefered date and session by booking online at www.mudpieadventures.co.uk

Campfire Banana Boats

Get muddy and marshmallowed in the woods with Mud Pies & Foodie Quine

Go bananas this Summer with Claire Jessiman, the Foodie Quine and Mandy Tulloch of Mud Pies and have fun making camp fire banana boats! Collect sticks for a camp fire, toast marshmallows, play in the woods and eat roasted chocolatey bananas. This might just be our gooiest event yet so come in clothes you don’t mind getting muddy and marshmallowed! 

Tuesday 21 July – 10.30am to 12.30pm (2 – 5 years): 2pm to 4pm (over 5s) 

Wednesday 22 July – 10.30am to 12.30pm (2 – 5 years): 2pm to 4pm (over 5s) 

£8 per person - Booking essential - click on the session links above to book 

Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen – our secret wood. Meeting point – the small swing park on Groats Road, towards Hazlehead Academy. 

Summer Blaeberry Bash

A family foraging blaeberry bash and some hands on jammy foodie fun with Mudpies & Foodie Quine 

Join Claire Jessiman, the Foodie Quine and Mandy Tulloch of Mud Pies for a family foraging blaeberry bash and some hands on foodie fun in Countesswells Wood, Aberdeen. We’ll be foraging for blaeberries and other tasty wild treats, collecting sticks, lighting a camp fire, baking pancakes, making jam and toasting marshmallows. 

Monday 27 July – 10.30am to 12.30pm (2 to 5 years): 2pm to 4pm (over 5s) 

Wednesday 29 July – 10.30am to 12.30pm (2 to 5 years): 2pm to 4pm (over 5s) 

£8 per person - Booking essential - click on the session links above to book 

Countesswells Wood, Aberdeen. Please note, the Forestry Commission charges £1.50 to park in this wood for 3 hours. 

Native by Nick Nairn at The Hilton Garden Inn, Aberdeen

A meal can be made all the more special by its surroundings. This doesn't necessarily need to be somewhere grand and imposing, it can just as easily be a BBQ on a remote beach or a picnic beside a loch. The National Trust for Scotland's Fyvie Castle does however definitely fall into the grand and imposing category. Its amazing 800 year old exterior protects a lavish Edwardian interior which is home to a superb collection of arms, armour and paintings, including works by Raeburn and Gainsborough. The castle's exquisite Gallery and interconnecting Drawing Room were recently the venue for "An Evening with Nick Nairn" a private dinner which I attended as Foodie Loon's plus one.

I had insider knowledge about the presence of a celebrity chef and fine dining experience however the rest of the diners were somewhat bemused by the copious amounts of cutlery and glasses, the absence of menus and an extra place setting at each table. All was revealed when Master of Ceremonies Robert Lovie introduced the special guest and host for the evening Mr Nick Nairn. During the evening Nick introduced each dish sharing its components and their provenance and moved around the tables after each course. 

A fantastic eight course dinner with matched wines was prepared and served by GH Event Catering. No mean feat at any occassion but with the limitations of a tiny kitchen three floors down in an 800 year old castle with sensitive smoke alarms it was some achievement to produce 50 perfect meals. We dined on an exquisite menu of:

Chilled Heirloom Tomato Consomme

Pan Roasted Sea Loch King Scallops

Guinea Fowl, Pineapple Sage & Prosciutto Balotine

Elderflower Water Ice

Highland Estates Venison Carpaccio

Roasted Sea Reared Trout Fillet

Lemon & Vanilla Pannacotta Egg Cup

Artisan Scottish Cheeses

For me the stand out dishes were the Tomato Consomme with warm cumin sable biscuit and the Venison Carpaccio with a medley of leaves from the secret herb garden, roasted parmesan and onion seed crackers and a rape seed oil vinaigrette. The presentation of all the dishes was impeccable and with a room full of engineers the hot topic of conversation was how were the fifty egg shells that the pannacotta desert was served in cut so perfectly?!

The following weekend we were again dining a la Nick Nairn. This time for a Father's Day Lunch in his Native by Nick Nairn Restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn on Aberdeen's St Andrew Street. The restaurant opened in November 2013 specialising in locally sourced steak and seafood using the best of what is available in the area. All of the menus are written by Nick and his executive chef Colin Halliday, with input from the chefs at the hotel. The atmosphere in restaurant and adjoining bar is informal and relaxed however it still very much has the feel of a hotel restaurant. The toilets are somewhat out of the way on a lower floor and best accessed via a lift, we ended up in the hotel car park trying to find them.

The Father's Day Menu at Native offered a choice of two courses for £19.95 or three for £23.95. This seemed good value for money and there was also a free pint for Dad. Although my children are now past the stage of requiring a kids menu I was very impressed by the choices on it. Proper food with the same freshness and provenance as the main menu. No indication of the price point for it though.

I started with the slow braised pork belly. This was absolutely melt in the mouth although I would have liked to have seen more crackling given that it was mentioned on the description. Round the table we also had Cullen Skink and Chicken Liver Parfait both of which were declared delicious and a request for additional toasted brioche was quickly met. The service throughout our meal was impeccable and the staff were friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. 

For main I couldn't see past the Roast Rib of Inverurie Beef. Local provenance abounded with the beef in the restaurant coming from Davidsons Butchers of Inverurie and the Pork from Mossies. The beef was absolutely delicious as were the accompanying sides. It was however very pink which is exactly how I like it but I can appreciate that not everyone would and it was certainly an issue I overheard at another table. The whole plate of food could have done with being a wee bit warmer, it wasn't cold enough for me to consider sending it back but when I had a taste of my son's piping hot Gnocchi I realised just how cool my main was. His Wild Mushroom Gnocchi with Tarragon Cream and Aged Parmesan was absolutely outstanding. I am definitely going to try and recreate this at home. I dipped a forkful of my beef into the sauce at every opportunity. Girl had roast chicken which is her favourite meal so she was very happy. In general the presentation of all the starters and mains was good but not quite sure why they were all sprinkled with chopped parsley. I thought that practice had been left behind in the 80's.

Time for desert and despite girl saying she was stuffed full from her soup and chicken she managed to devour a White Chocolate & Raspberry Creme Brulee, as did boy. Foodie Loon opted for the Warm Marmalade Sponge with Drambuie Marmalade of Three Chimneys Fame. Very tasty but not very photogenic. I went for a delicious Pear Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. Cuppachio and Fudge rounded off the meal perfectly. Guests staying at the Hilton Garden Inn are in for a real treat when dining at Native by Nick Nairn, definately a cut above run of the mill hotel resturants. Locals would do well to check out this hidden gem of the granite city. It's located just off George Street where the old Bowling Alley used to be. Bet you know exactly where I mean now! Keep an eye out on their Facebook page for menu updates, special offers and events with Mr Nairn himself.

Disclosure - We dined at Fyvie Castle as guests of Subsea 7. Native by Nick Nairn invited us to review a complementary meal. All views expressed are my own. This is not a paid post.

Rhubarb and Ginger Pavlova

When it comes to BBQ you really have to strike when the proverbial iron is hot and the sun is shining. Forward planning never seems to work with the unpredictability of British weather. I slightly threw caution to the wind last Friday by planning a BBQ with friends for the Sunday. If al fresco eating wasn't going to be on the cards we could at least do the cooking outdoors and the eating indoors. Marks & Spencer provided me with a selection of goodies from their recently launched Tastes of The British Isles range (21st century twists on UK classics) so the main event was sorted but I needed a desert. I have long been coveting a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and finally bit the bullet, splashed the cash and got myself one. The colour is Ice Blue and most importantly it matches my kitchen perfectly. Time to put it to good use.

RHUBARB & GINGER PAVLOVA

Ingredients

4 Free Range Egg Whites

200g Caster Sugar

500g Rhubarb

50g Soft brown Sugar

4 Tbsp Stem Ginger Syrup

2 Balls Stem Ginger

600ml Double Cream

Rhubarb Curd (optional)

Crystallised Ginger to decorate (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 100c fan.

Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and use an electric whisk or stand mixer at the highest setting to beat them until stiff.

Then add the sugar a teaspoonful at a time until it is all incorporated. 

Pipe or spoon your meringue onto a sheet of baking paper/silicone. Use a wee blob of mix to stick the sheet to the tray. 

Bake for 2 hours then switch off the heat and leave the Pavlova to cool in the oven.

Cut the rhubarb into chunks and place in a saucepan with the sugar, 3 Tablespoons of the Stem Ginger Syrup and two finely chopped balls of Stem Ginger. Cook over a gentle heat for approx 15 minutes until soft but not too mushy. Set aside an leave too completely cool.

Whip the cream into soft peaks. At this point I stirred through a few tablespoons of my homemade Rhubarb Curd plus a further Tablespoon of ginger syrup. Alternatively you could strain some juice off the rhubarb mixture and incorporate it.

Pipe or spoon the cream into the Pavlova base then top with the Rhubarb & Ginger mixture and finally decorate with crystallised ginger.

With pudding sorted it was time to get the BBQ goodies ready. I removed the stalks and stuffed Chestnut Mushrooms with Welsh Cashel Blue Cheese and wrapped Wye Valley Asparagus in Air Dried Cumbrian Style Ham. Both of these are firm favourites when we are barbecuing. I cooked the mushrooms on a Sizzle & Serve platter from Judge Cookware. I can see this durable cast iron platter with its heat resistant maple wood serving stand having a multitude of uses. It worked really well on the BBQ preventing any mushrooms or melted cheese slipping through the grill bars and keeping the food hot when serving. The final side dish was Sweetcorn Wheels. These came with a smoked paprika, lime and sour cream dressing which I completely forgot to add before serving. It's still sat in the fridge! 

Breads and condiments came next. We had Flatbreads, Ultimate BBQ Buns and PoshPuppies Rolls. The flatbreads were really good, particularly warmed on the BBQ before serving. Absolutely loved the brioche style PoshPuppies Rolls which were perfectly sized to match the PoshPuppies sausages. The Sweetcorn & Flameroasted Burger Relish was a big hit with both adults and kids. Being a Gin aficionado I couldn't resist the Cucumber, Gin and Mint Relish even although it is recommended for salmon & trout. I'll be giving it a more fuller fishy taste test in due course.

Pre BBQ nibbles consisted of multicoloured Best of British Potatoes Crisps which proved to be a really talking point. These were dipped in Cornish Cruncher & Apple Dip and Pea and Mint Dip. The pea and mint was vibrant and delicious and it's bowl was scraped clean. To wash everything down we quaffed on Sparkling British Apple & Cucumber Presse and British Elderflower & Cucumber Cordial. Both were fantastically refreshing and had a real taste of summer. I suspect a splash of the cordial would work really well in a glass of Prosecco. Our "desert wine" was a bottle of British Rhubarb & Ginger Presse. The perfect match for my Pavlova. The gorgeous green and cream tableware is the Eden range from Premier Housewares. Perfect for picnics and BBQ's as it's made of Bamboo so is light, durable and easy to clean. Much more stylish looking than plastic or paper plates and bamboo has inherent anti-bacterial qualities as well as being a renewable resource.

What is it with men when it comes to cooking on a BBQ? Don't lift a finger in the kitchen all year but become all cave man like and territorial when the sun comes out and they don an apron and brandish BBQ tools. With all the hard work done Foodie Loon was in charge of the cooking. The Cumberland Whorl with Apple, Cider and Mustard Glaze both looked and tasted impressive. The Chorizio Burgers had a real spicy kick about them which took you by surprise but made you want another bite. The PoshPuppies sausages were a great size and tasted really meaty. All the kids loved them too. I skewered Coconut Chicken Escalopes and Ginger Beer Chicken Escalopes along with slices of pepper and red onion. Always best to be extra careful with chicken to ensure its properly cooked through on the BBQ. I had a couple of Gefu Twinco BBQ Skewers from Haus which did the job really well. These have twin prongs so solve the perennial skewering problem of rotating food. They also have an integrated slider to easily remove the cooked food. No more battling with forks, fingers and red hot skewers.

On the day the weather really wasn't too bad. It could best be described as mixed with sunny spells. Too windy to sit outside but warm enough for all the kids to play out. The best part of the day typically came in the evening when all our guests had left. All the BBQ food went down really well with very little leftovers or cremated casualties and the Rhubarb  and Ginger Pavlova rounded things off perfectly. Fingers crossed for further al fresco dining opportunities in the coming months. That's assuming we actually get a summer this year! 

Disclosure - I was provided with BBQ food from Marks & Spencer, Eden Tableware from Premier Housewares, a Sizzle & Serve Platter from Judge Cookware and Gefu Twinco Skewers from Haus for the purposes of this post. All views expressed are my own. This is not a paid post.

Persian Halloumi

As a food blogger it's always lovely when your inbox pings with an opportunity that's a bit different from the norm. An email from Toshiba offered just that. The chance to take part in a live cook along via Skype lead by Gousto Chef Alice Fever, linking up with fellow food bloggers across the UK all using the innovative new Toshiba Satellite Radius 11. I immediately replied in the affirmative. Thanks to blogging I've got to know some fantastic people across the country but have only ever spoken to most of them online. This was about to change as I'd be cooking alongside Jan at A Glug of Oil, Camilla at Fab Food 4 All, Janice at Farmersgirl Kitchen and Helen at Fuss Free Favours.

The Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 arrived along with a box of ingredients from Gousto. The laptop was really easy to set up and navigate and I was quickly connected online. The Satellite Radius 11 was the perfect kitchen companion to cook with as it has a flexible hinge so can work as both a tablet and a laptop. There are 5 positions in which it can work laptop, tabletop, presentation, audience and tablet. The touchscreen enables you to quickly flip through recipes online and the size of the unit is smaller than your average cookbook. It seems to be the perfect combination of both laptop and tablet. Nice and compact but also a proper keyboard. For those who are keen on Tec Specs, the Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 measures up as follows

• £300.00
• 29.5 cm (11.6”) HD touchscreen
• Operating System: Windows 8.1
• Weight: 1.3 Kg
• Designed for mobility, delivering a smooth, seamless PC experience anywhere
• 500 GB hard drive for storage along with a responsive 32 GB of cloud storage
• Fast boot-up and online access

We were asked to have all our ingredients and equipment laid out before the cookoff kickoff time at 6pm. I was familiar with everything apart from the dried barberries. These are small dried sweet and sour Iranian berries with a sharp flavour and vibrant colour. It was a wee bit nerve wracking waiting for the minutes to tick past and watching Skype for an incoming video call from Gousto chef Alice. I will admit to tidying up my kitchen in preparation and applying a bit of lippy. I did however forget to put on an apron and that was the first thing that I spotted when we all connected up. All bar me were suitably attired in their pinnies! Introductions made and it was time to get cooking.

Persian Halloumi

Serves 2

Reproduced with permission of Gousto 

Ingreedients 

250g halloumi cheese 

150g bulgur wheat 

2 red onions 

20g dried barberries 

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 

10g fresh mint 

1 tbsp ras el hanout 

1 lemon 

Salt & Pepper 

Olive Oil 

1 Tbsp Sugar 

Method 

Boil a kettle. Add the bulgur to a pot with 275 ml of boiling water, cover with a lid over a medium-low heat. Simmer for 5-7 min or until almost all the water is absorbed. Remove and set aside with the lid on for 10 min, until dry and fluffy . 

Meanwhile, put the barberries in a small bowl and add 100 ml of hot water, add 1 tbsp of sugar and mix well. 

Peel the onions, cut them in half and slice finely. Chop the mint finely and grate the zest of the lemon. Cut the halloumi into thin slices (approx. 1cm thick) 

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the halloumi. Combine half the ras el hanout with 1 tsp of black pepper for the spice mix. Coat the halloumi in the spice mix. 

Add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to a large pan on a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook for 4-5 min or until soft and lightly caramelised. 

Add 3 tbsp of the barberry water to the bulgur wheat. Drain the barberries and add to the bulgur wheat. Combine the barberry bulgur with the mint, lemon zest, remaining ras el hanout, pomegranate molasses and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Season to your taste with salt and pepper. 

Push the onion to one side of the pan and add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the halloumi and cook for 1-2 min on each side or until golden all over. 

Serve the bulgur wheat with the onion and halloumi. Enjoy!

Everything got a bit frantic when the cookalong started. Multitasking right left and centre, trying to watch the screen, prep the ingredients, follow the chat, keep up with everyone else, take photos and tweet! I was impressed with the microphone and webcam on the laptop but unfortunately gremlins meant that we lost connection along the way a couple of times. However we also all had a Gousto recipe card so could follow at our own pace if needs be or if technology played up. I'm a huge "squeaky cheese" fan so already knew that I would love the Halloumi dish. The end result was even better than I imagined. A super tasty fantastic mixture of flavours and textures. Very generous portion too. Plenty for 3 of us to share and I will definitely be making it again, providing I can track down some barberries. 

I followed the recipe pretty much as is but used Scottish Rapeseed Oil as opposed to Olive Oil and didn't add nearly as much as the recipe states. I only used 1Tbsp in the pan at the start, didn't add any to the bulgar wheat or add extra to cook the Halloumi. The only other change was that I replaced pomegranate molasses with balsamic vinegar as the former was missing from my Gousto package. Unfortunately there were also missing ingredients for the other 2 recipes in the pack so I was unable to make them.

You can read about the #ToshibaCookalong from the perspective of the other participants on their blogs 

Fab Food 4 All - Persian Halloumi and the #ToshibaCookalong

Farmersgirl Kitchen - Persian Halloumi and the Toshiba Cookalong

A Glug of Oil - Persian Halloumi Cookalong with Toshiba and Gousto

Fuss Free Flavours - Toshiba satellite radius 11 - The prefect travel and kitchen companion

I've now had my Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 for three weeks and it has taken up residence on the breakfast bar in my kitchen. My kids in particular love it and have taken very quickly to the laptop/touchscreen combination. Personally I find the keyboard a wee bit too small for everyday use and prolonged typing but it is a huge improvement on trying to work on a tablet alone. It is unbelievably compact for what it can do and also has a very sleek and stylish look about it. Will be perfect for working on the move and taking on holiday. Plus it's all set up for Skype so if anyone ever fancies having another cookalong with me give me a holler!

Disclosure : I was provided with a Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 and a Gousto Box for the purpose of this post. All views expressed are my own. This is not a paid post.

Slow Cooker Irn Bru Pulled Pork

Back in January when I cooked up a Ham in Irn Bru for Burns Night it almost broke the Internet. Today I'm going a step further with Pulled Pork cooked low and slow in Scotland's other national drink. Pulled Pork has become a bit of a thing of late popping up left, right and centre on trendy menus. Its actually surprisingly easy to make at home, particularly if you use a slow cooker. A wee bit of time and effort at the start to get it prepped then forget about it for many hours, even overnight, and on your return a veritable deliciousness awaits.

The Love Pork campaign is encouraging us to Achieve Lazy with our Sunday Roast. Pulled pork is a Lazy Sunday’s dream as it likes to take its time, giving you many hours to kick back, chill out and settle down with the family for some precious quality time. Chef Tom Kerridge has added his voice and recipes to the initiative. “Cooking pulled pork is a wonderful way of getting extra flavour into an already beautiful piece of meat. Pork shoulder is one of the most under-used cuts, but one of the easiest to cook, most definitely full of flavour and great value for money. So pick up your forks and get ready to get shredding.”

SLOW COOKER IRN BRU PULLED PORK

Ingredients

1.6kg joint boneless Pork Shoulder

1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika

1 Tablespoon Dark Brown Soft Sugar

1 Teaspoon English Mustard Powder

3 Cloves Garlic 

1 teaspoon Salt 

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

500ml Irn Bru

2 Tablespoons cornflour

Method

Remove the pork from its packaging and snip off any string. Cut off the fat and pat the joint dry with kitchen roll. Make small incisions all over the meat with the tip of a knife. 

Place the smoked paprika, mustard powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper and the peeled cloves of garlic in a pestle and mortar. Crush and grind it all together then make it into a paste with a splash of the Irn Bru.

Rub the meat all over with the seasoning paste massaging it in really well. Place the meat in a ziplock bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for anything from 1 hour to many.

You are aiming for at least 10-12 hours cooking on low in the slow cooker, anything up to 15 hours and it will still be fine. This can be done overnight for the next day's lunch or during the day for an evening meal. 

Place the pork in the crock pot, pour in the remainder of the Irn Bru before putting the lid on the slow cooker and cooking on low for 10-15 hours.

Once the pork has served its time, remove it from the slow cooker, wrap in foil and leave to rest whilst you prepare the sauce.

Sieve the juices from the slow cooker into a pan. Bring to the boil and reduce by half. Slake the cornflour in cold water and add slowly whilst whisking to thicken the sauce.

Use two forks to effortlessly shred the meat and serve with the sauce on the side or stirred through.

To cook in a conventional oven - 6 hours at 150°C (fan 130°C) 

We served our pork in a brioche bun with homemade coleslaw, apple sauce and spiced potato wedges. Of course there was also the obligatory glass of Irn Bru on the side. There were plenty of leftovers which will freeze well or can be incorporated into other dishes such as pizza topping, nachos, toasted sandwiches, hash, frittata or quesadillas. The possibilities are endless.

Three of my fellow food bloggers have also been taking part in the Love Pork #AchieveLazy Campaign. Here's the fab recipes that they have come up with. If you need more inspiration it's available at www.lovepork.co.uk

Slow Cooked Five Spice Pulled Pork by Recipes from A Pantry

The Ultimate Effortless Pulled Pork by Fuss Free Flavours 

Moroccan Pulled Pork and Jewelled Cous Cous by Jen's Food

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned recipe for Love Pork. As always, all views expressed are my own. 

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