Cheese Toasties!!!

The meats and cheeses of the Church of Cheese and the preserves of Smy Goodness are being folded together and pressed until golden brown in the form of heavenly cheese toasties. They are perfect on a chilly day because, well - hot cheese. Just a few of the cheese toastie flavours of the day include:

• Salame Napoli mature cheddar cheese and apple and pepper chutney
• Speck, gorgonzola and quince chutney
• Schiaciatta piccante, pecorino w/chilies and six-pepper jelly
• Portabello mushrooms, brie and red onion marmalade

Rainy Day at Whitecross St Market

'Twas a rainy Friday at Whitecross Street Market. #instafood #smygoodness #rain #london #instavid #churchofcheese #popup #whitecrossst #whitecross #whitecrossstreetmarket #cheese #charcuterie #cheesetoasties #panini #chutney #twinpeaks #angelobadalamenti

See this Instagram video by @smygoodness * 24 likes

I'm quite pleased with this little video I made whilst bored at the market. It seemed appropriate that the Twin Peaks soundtrack kept shuffling into play. This was one of those days when it is pointless to avoid the inevitable thorough soaking headed ones way from either packing up and/or getting home. In my case on this day, it was both.

Quince/Apple & Polenta/Pistachio Crumble w/ Quince Ice Cream & Membrillo Shavings

Here is a re-experimentation created in an effort to make a slightly lighter crumble as well as to use lots of my quince preserves, in this case quince jam and membrillo. I always make the ice cream beforehand or the day before for one less step to complete on the day. If you don't have a jar of Smy Goodness or another type of quince jam you could make vanilla ice cream or serve with a good quality vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt. I had also made the membrillo about a month prior to this pudding but you could also buy ready made membrillo or omit it all together

CRUMBLE RECIPE
Ingredients

1 quince
2-3 apples
100g polenta
100g plain flour
100g butter, room temperature
70g sugar
handful of pistachios - finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.

2. Lightly butter an ovenproof dish, I use one that is 15cm x 20cm. For a larger dish you may want to double the recipe.

3. Peel, core, quarter and roughly chop the quince. Place the quince in an ovenproof dish top with 1 Tbsp of the sugar and shake to distribute and then place in the oven for 20 minutes. This will give the quince a head start as it requires a longer cooking time than the apple.

4. Prepare the crumble topping by sifting the flour on to the top of the polenta. Add the sugar and chopped pistachios to the flour and polenta and stir well to mix.

5. Add the butter and rub with clean fingertips to incorporate the butter throughout the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly texture that when pinched together will adhere to itself in clumps.

6. Peel, core, quarter and roughly chop the apples into chunks.

7. Remove the quince from the oven and immediately increase the heat to 180°C, add the apple to the quince and stir to distribute well. Be sure to use an oven glove and give the pan a shake so that the fruit levels out within the dish.

8. Spoon the crumble topping on to the fruit until it has completely covered the fruit. Gently pat the crumble topping for a more compact topping.

9. Return the dish to the oven and cook for 25-35 minutes or until the topping has gone golden brown. Remove from oven and allow the crumble to rest before serving.

QUINCE ICE CREAM RECIPE
Ingredients
200g milk
200g double cream
4 egg yolks
1 jar of Smy Goodness quince jam
vanilla seeds from half a vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp of organic vanilla extract
small pinch of salt

Method

1. Place the milk and vanilla seeds into a pan. Turn the heat to medium but do not allow the milk to boil. Once the edges of the milk start to bubble remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.

2. In a bowl or jug blend together the quince jam and egg yolks and salt.

3. Once combined slowly stir in the double cream and beat until well combined.

4. Now add the cooled down milk to the mixture and stir until completely blended.

5. Add the mixture to an ice cream maker and follow directions. I have used a Gaggia and a Magimix

ASSEMBLY
Serve a portion of the crumble on a plate or bow alongside a scoop of the ice cream and top the ice cream with very thin slices of membrillo.

Above left are jars of quince jelly and a quince cordial that I made. On the right is a pattern/print that I made from a photo of extracted quince pectin in a jug.

Quince, freesias and the crumble and ice cream.

Autumnal Feeling

Wonky Bowl I made with fruit

Turtle Power print

Lobstah

Lobster Roll from the Lobster Trap in Bourne, Mass, USA

Lobster lollipops from the Lobster Trap in Bourne, Mass, USA

Lobster Roll from Nancy's Restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, Mass, USA

Lobster & Prawn pasta from the Blue-Eyed Crab in Pymouth, Mass, USA

Plymouth Massachusetts Lobster Crawl

Claws Monet by Jeannette Carney

Meet Claws Monet, one of 29 fibreglass lobster sculpture erected throughout the Plymouth Massachusetts Downtown and Waterfront areas. I saw loads more but only managed to get somewhat decent photos of the ones displayed here. Each lobster was sponsored by local businesses and organizations which were then custom designed and hand painted by local artists. While I was there a gorgeous mosaic lobster sculpture named Sir Loin was stolen but (UPDATE) artist Diana Naples has agreed to recreate Sir Loin and two teenagers have been charged. You can read more and see Sir Loin here did I just link to the Old Colony Memorial, why yes I did.

Mayflower Lobster with Scenes of the Wampanoag

Lighthouse Lobster

1620 Lobster

Welcome by Frances McClaughlin, sponsored by Plymouth Lions & Leo's

Latitude 2016 - Action Aid UK Tent Workshops

Action Aid UK are an amazing charity and I was thrilled to be asked to be part of their Latitude Festival activities. The theme this year within their tent at the Festival was menstruation. There were mixed reactions when I discussed this with lots of people prior to the event; from mild interest, confusion and lots of pulled faces. It's something that all women will experience in their lives, a rite of passage, a cycle and the varied reactions reflect the different experiences that women will feel at different times. What we often do not think about are how people struggle with issues pertaining to menstruation in third world countries, while experiencing homelessness or poverty. The Action Aid Uk tent were offering activities including henna painting, dance and drumming workshops, my jewellery workshops and more.

My session focused on creating waist beads from recycled African glass beads:

• Waist beads are a celebration of womanhood and femininity.
• Waist beads are not only for the young or slim!
• Waist beads can also be worn around wrists or necks.

Waist beads can be traced throughout Africa, they are depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics are famous from the Yoruba tribes of Nigeria. They are a chain of beads worn at the waist and have personal meaning to the wearer. Meanings include:
Adornment - worn under or over clothes or via an exposed mid-drift, waist beads are decorating our vital middle sections with one of a kind, personal pieces. It is not about conforming to body pressure but empowering this area and highlighting femininity.
Menstruation - Mothers may traditionally create and present their daughters with waist beads as a rite of passage into womanhood. Waist beads were/are practical as menstrual cloths could be strapped to the beads to provide a type of belt.
Celebration of Womanhood - waist beads are worn during rites of passage during puberty, at weddings. Waist beads are used as a tool to measure weight loss or gain as they will roll up or down which can also be used to signal a pregnancy. They are also said to allure partners and to signify that a young woman was ready for marriage.
Protection - as with lots of jewellery, waist beads are thought to offer healing energy to the wearer and protect them from negative energy. Gems and stones are included to provide specific powers.

Waist beads, like everything, can be seen negatively by some:
Ownership of Women - Some say that the placing of the waist beads at puberty can be seen as staking a claim on the woman’s virginity, purity and placing the father or parents in control.
Charms - Some waist beads have been known to be charmed or have spells placed upon them to entice or entrap the opposite sex.

African beads reflect the diversity of African geography, culture, resources, technology, religions and society. Beads have been found on or next to human remains dating as far back as 100,000 years ago, a number that gets larger with further archaeological finds. African beads have historically featured organic materials such as seeds, shells, bone, nuts but include those made from stone, shell, ceramic, glass, wood, bone, metals, plastic, computer chips and more. Today there is a growing industry of recycled glass and plastic beads.
Bead use and meanings range from decoration, trade, monetary, emulation, religion, adoration, fashion and more.   

Thank you so much to all the staff and volunteers of Action Aid UK and Latitude Festival!

Gazpacho at Wentworth Children's Centre

Everyone loves a soup during the winter months to get all ones nutrients and to keep warm. Gazpacho is a great way to enjoy soup in the summer and stay hydrated, refreshed and get much of ones five a day. Gazpacho is typically a Spanish dish with a recipe that will vary and depend on whom you ask and how their parents or grandparents made it. The following is a simple Gazpacho recipe that is simple and fun to make with children and suited to their taste buds.

GAZPACHO RECIPE
Ingredients
1 kilo red ripe tomato chopped
1 green pepper deseeded and chopped
1 red pepper deseeded and chopped
1 large cucumber deseeded and chopped
1/2 a small white onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
250 ml tomato juice
100ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 chunk or two slices of stale (not moldy) bread
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

1. Cover and soak the bread with the tomato juice and leave while preparing the other ingredients.
2. Combine the tomato, green and red pepper, cucumber, garlic and toss in the olive oil.
3. Remove the bread from the tomato juice and squeeze the excess juice from the bread and add the bread to the prepared vegetables.
4. Blend everything together in a food processor or with a hand blender until smooth with no chunks.
5. Now stir in the olive oil, cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Chill for at least two hours and serve as is or with garnishes such as finely diced cucumber, herbs, ham, eggs, spring onions, peppers or anything you would like.

Salmon Pasta and Salad at Wentworth Children's Centre

Here are the salmon and brocolli pasta and accompanying beetroot salad that we made today at the Healthy Eating Course held at Wentworth Children's Centre. My workshops focus on healthy recipes that are easy to prepare and cost-effective. The workshops allow for the parents and children to prepare ingredients and cook together and try new things. We cook our meals and then sit down together to enjoy the fruits of everyone's labour.

SALMON PASTA
Ingredients
400g pasta (penne or fusili or tagliatelle)
250g skinless and boneless salmon fillets
250ml yoghurt
150 ml vegetable stock
150g broccoli - chopped very finely
25g butter
25g parmesan (optional)
1 chili finely chopped
1 lemon
bay leaf
Mixed herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1. First poach the salmon. In a medium saucepan, add the vegetable stock, the juice of half a lemon, bay leaf, salt, pepper and heat to medium high. Add the salmon with the skin side next to the pan. Cover, reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Once cooked remove from pan, cover and allow to cook. Keep the poaching liquid. Break the salmon up in to smaller flakes and remove any bones that may still be in the filets.
2. Prepare the water for the pasta according to the instructions and be sure to add salt to the water. Set a timer and cook the pasta until al dente, strain and reserve.
3. Melt the butter in the pan with the poaching liquid, add the chili to the poached water and stir over medium heat for one minute.
4. Then add the brocolli, cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for three to five minutes.
5. Next add the yoghurt to the mixture and stir well until everything is combined well.
6. Add the parmesan to the mixture and combine.
7. Add the mixture and the flaked salmon to the pasta, add salt and pepper then stir and thoroughly combine.
8. Garnish with fresh parsley (or any fresh herb) and serve.

SALAD
Ingredients
Rocket
Beetroot
Cucumber
Radish
Tomato
1 tbsp Olive oil
fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of salt

Method

1. Finely chop all the ingredients with the exception of the rocket and place in a bowl.
2. Toss together with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Gently stir and fold the rocket into the vegetables.

Still Life with Grapes

This is mixed-media polymer clay painting comprised of photographs and patterns that I have made onto a canvas. The hand is a ceramic sculpture I made millions of years ago in New Orleans. The candelabra is one that I found outside Ebenzer Street thousands of years ago. I was simply playing with symbols of time.