Peppers - an essential foodie outpost

As combined owners of over 200 cookbooks, ranging from the vintage Paupers Cookbook to the latest Yottam Ottolenghi, we are comfortable with ingredients and comfortable with experimenting. But moving permanently to Deal, having lived in London for many years, has proved to be an adventure in finding that elusive, yet essential, spice, sauce, flour or flavour. The supermarkets, particularly our local Co-op is great for staples but doesn't always extend to the full recipe list we need. So we were excited to realise that Peppers, the healthfood shop at the Northern end of Deal, is a haven for foodies, or any lovers of good food. 

Our latest foray into Middle Eastern cuisine has led us to Pomegranate Mollasses - a sweet and sour sauce that goes perfectly with lamb, whilst Prawn Balichao is a much loved pickle that brings back childhood memories for my partner. Even simple, but delicious rye Finnish crackers which have been referenced by the Hairy Bikers in their latest Hairy Dieters cookbook, can be found nestled at the back of this shop. It has a full range of herbal medicines too, but I can't claim to know much about these. I can however, say that whatever the latest foodie fashion, or indeed in most cases specialising in good old fashioned classics, Peppers is likely to have what you are looking for. If not, the owner is happy to discuss and order it in for you. What more can a lover of food want? And what better way for a small independent shop to succeed - great products and a great service. Long may it live.

 

Foraging Fury

I love the foraging season. There is something quite primitive and satisfying about this nod to our hunter/gatherer heritage. Having eyed up the growth of nearby blackberry bushes along Wellington Parade, Walmer and around the Kingsdown beach in general, I decided that last weekend was the time to tackle these thorny brambles. Armed with long sleeves and large containers, I gathered around 500g of succulent wild logan-like berries alongside some juicy blackberries. The varieties are quite surprising with some tightly packed, and others more louche in their habit.

My aim is to make blackberry liqueur to sup at Christmas, having found a recipe by Martin Pain on www.allrecipes.co.uk. The ingredients are: 450g blackberries, 600g sugar, 250ml water, 700ml vodka. The method is simple: melting the sugar with the water, adding to washed blackberries and then soaking in vodka (I've used the cheapest). This ferments, covered in clingfilm for two weeks and is then strained and bottled. 

I am hoping that it tastes as good as my sloe gin, which with its almond like flavour was fantastic on its own, or added to chilled Proseco. Now that we are down to the last few sips, I will be making this again, as September and October is the time to go hunting for these bruised, dusty, heavily fortressed fruits.   And I know just the place where these berries can be found in abundance.

The Olympic Spirit of Summer 2012

Summer has been spent being amazed, awed and humbled by the sheer skill, strength and stamina of the Olympians and the Para Olympians. We were lucky enough to go to Wembley to see the final of the women's football, USA versus Japan (2-1) and to see the athletics at the Para Olympics. Wow! David Weir in the 1500m heats, David Devine in the men's 800m heats, Oscar Pistorius and Alan Oliveira receiving their Silver and Gold medals in that controversial 200m race.

The stadium was spectacular, as I am sure are all the other venues. The wild flower planting was a sea of intense gold and bronze, with areas that provided a restful, quiet place away from the crowds. And what crowds! the roars in the stadium were such as I've never heard, and people spilling and swilling outside the venues, were happy, proud and excited to be there.

I think that Team GB were fantastic, as were the organisers, and everyone involved in this sporting summer.

I am glad that I was able to enjoy it fully, and back at home in Kingsdown, I was able to nurture some of the Olympic spirit with a couple of window boxes filled with Dr Nigel Dunnett of Pictorial Meadow, candy mix wildflower seed, which I am happy to say is still blooming its little heart out.