The Great Big Veg Challenge

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King of Vegetables
2007-04-17 10:39:00
   Hannah Miles(BBC Masterchef finalist)sewed this wonderful carrot card for Freddie to spur him on. She also tipped off Gregg the Masterchef judge that he had a young rival to his crown as King of Vegetables . Gregg's autographed message is now stuck to the fridge. Gregg, I'm afraid this young upstart is on the scene.Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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Garlic Chicken with Cucumber
2007-04-13 22:23:00
"A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing." (Samuel Johnson - Tour of the Hebrides)Samuel Johnson would have been a great blogger. And had he made that disparaging comment about cucumbers on the world wide web he would have been put right. Because we were sent a great recipe for Garlic Chicken Cucumber which has changed Freddie's opinion of this humble vegetable. From disaster last night with our juicing experience to triumph with a chinese recipe. And Freddie gave it a nine out of ten. So cucumber has won a reprieve.Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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C is for Cucumber
2007-04-12 19:21:00
Well, we tried three very different celery recipes so it was time to move on to cucumber. I know this is another vegetable that Freddie has always loathed (one of many). So I am prepared to be adventurous and try out any ideas you have. But please don't suggest cutting them into batons and serving them with a tasty dip because that won't work. Serving vegetable sticks with taramasalata or hummous is not a winning approach. He'll eat the dip but not the vegetable. I walked through Leather Lane Market in Holborn past a juice stall, where they will create whatever combination of fruit and vegetable concoction you like. Apple, cucumber and orange was on their menu. So I bought some and carried it home on the underground taking care not to slosh my fellow travellers. Looking at the colour in the photograph above I suppose it does have a touch of the Kryptonite about it. If someone had told me that it was radioactive I might have believed them. But despite its toxic overtones, I r...
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Four out of ten for a Waldorf Salad
2007-04-11 19:46:00
Freddie's face says it all. He gave a mean four out of ten for my Wald orf Sala d . Now there aren't that many recipes starring celery and I did the hard-sell on this one, talking about the Maitre D' Oscar Tschirky at his luxurious hotel in New York. We all visited New York last autumn and Freddie loved it, so I thought it might influence him. No such luck. (And I caramelised the walnuts so that they were delicious...) This is the closest thing to a salad that I have served Freddie during our GreatBigVegChallenge and it was a little too threatening, too green. Anyhow the rest of the family loved it and his sister Alexandra was impressed so here is the recipe for you.Waldorf Salad 350 g celery roughly chopped75g walnut pieces caramelised3 red appleshalf the juice of a lemonone round lettuceFor the Dressing4 tablespoons half fat creme fraiche1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tablespoon reduced fat mayonnaise1 tablespoon walnut oilsalt and pepper to seasonWhisk all the dressing ingredients...
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C is for Celery - Baked Cheesy Celery
2007-04-11 16:02:00
We disappeared to Cornwall for Easter but took with us a print-off of our latest GBVC recipe - sent to Freddie by a very generous chef David Hall. This is Baked Cheesy Celery . The only addition I made was a sprinkling of bread crumbs on top. We served it accompanied by Cornish pasties and sat outside in 70 degree sunshine wondering how we would ever find the motivation to drive back home to London. This could easily be served as a main dish. If you are looking to pretend that you aren't eating celery, this isn't the recipe for you. But the celery has been tamed by being braised in chicken stock. It isn't so stringy and the cheesy sauce makes it delicious. Freddie gave it 8 out of 10. I'm uncertain how his marking system works. He is mysterious and highly impartial - like all good judges. He did say that the dish lost two marks because "the celery is not very hidden." By the way David, an 8 out of ten is a very high score by Freddie's standards. Thank you!Read about the Great...

C is for Celery and Chestnut Soup
2007-04-04 08:48:00
In the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe there is a point at which the creatures of Narnia start to notice the ground thawing and signs of spring emerging after a long dark winter. Well, something similar is happening in our home: small but significant changes in Freddie's eating habits. He ate jam yesterday and a yoghurt with bits. Now only parents can relate to this "no bits" obsession that so manychildren have. Yoghurt had to be smooth with no unsettling scraps of fruit undermining it. Jam was out of bounds because of the likelihood of scratchy bits of seeds. Could it be that this whole GBVC adventure is actually working? Now I won't count the proverbial chickens before they are hatched but I am feeling optimistic.Our first C for Celery recipe was this soup...it is delicious and because it is pureed (no bits) the stringiness of the celery is vanquished. Freddie ate his and marked it 8 out of 10.Celery and Chest nut Soup 25g butter, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves crus...
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There is something that I find really unappealing...
2007-04-02 23:02:00
There is something that I find really unappealing about celery. The fact that you use up more calories crunching on it than you actually absorb tells me everything I need to know. If it was so fantastic wouldn't millions of dieting men and women be marching round celery stick in hands? I did learn one interesting fact - apparently Gillingham Football Club had to introduce body searches for celery in the 90's because some fans were waving the green sticks in their hands and singing an obscene song. It must be the only vegetable to be banned from a football match. Unfortunately for Freddie it can't be banned from the Great Big Veg Challenge as the rules state all vegetables must be tried - stringy or not. The plastic fruit and veg collection made a reappearance in our garden on our first really sunny day this year. Freddie and Alexandra run an excellent garden restaurant with hand-written menus.Note that in London, spring does not mean skipping lambs and buds bursting out but som...
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Vanilla Creamed Sweetcorn
2007-04-01 16:16:00
This is our last recipe with corn before we continue the GBVC journey. Now this recipe for vanilla creamed corn had the potential to be revolting. It's not a pretty dish but it gave me an excuse to use a vanilla bean which had been lurking in the kitchen cupboard. Two of my children's friends, Rebecca and Patrick, were staying for the night and so we had a four-strong tasting panel. They all had seconds. It was delicious. I wouldn't have thought to put vanilla and sweetcorn together but it does work.We have decided on our next veg - its celery. As usual, please leave us your ideas...Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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Corn and Coriander Fritters
2007-03-30 12:07:00
This is a delicious corn and coriander fritter recipe from Hannah. Just to remind you, this is the lady who introduced Freddie to the delights of Savoy Cabbage layered with sausagemeat. This is her latest gift to the Great Big Veg Challenge. She should be honoured for her services to vegetables. A VC I think is in order.Corn and Coria nder Fritters4oz self raising flour2 tsps caster sugar2 eggs separated3/4 cup milk1 1/2 oz butter melted1 tin sweetcorn drained and 1 handful fresh coriander, finely choppedbutter for pan frying the frittersSift flour into a bowl and add the sugar, egg yolks, milk and melted butter. Whisk until everything is incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites to sift peaks and then gentle fold into the batter mixture. Stir in the sweetcorn and coriander. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and place spoonfuls of the batter a small distance apart in the pan. Cook until golden, turning over half way through cooking when the batter is almost cooked on ...
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Sweetcorn Soup
2007-03-30 00:26:00
Come see the butter fly! Now that's the kind of invitation I find hard to refuse. It's Ohio's Route 24 for us, destination Millersport. This is Freddie's kind of town. A place where men and women are rewarded for gorging themselves on corncobs. The occasion is Millersport's annual Sweetcorn Festival which even has its own Festival Queen and court who win the right to tour the state as ambassadors of this revered vegetable. And why not? I particularly like the fact that the reigning queen is a young lady called Natalie from Licking Heights. And no, there is no irony in that - she even attends Licking Heights High School. I think I may have to send Freddie to Licking Heights as he has a very special relationship with buttered corn on the cob. He could be the Prince to Queen Natalie.The Sweetcorn soup was popular. Thank you to Nupur for this recipe:Sweet Corn Soup : Puree cooked sweet corn. Add enough water to make the puree soupy. Reheat with a touch of soy sauce, white vinegar an...

Corn and Cress Pitta Pockets
2007-03-27 12:12:00
Last night's supper was easy - mini pitta bread filled with tuna, sweetcorn and cress with a little mayonnaise.Freddie is very relaxed this week. The Great Big Veg Challenge has taken him on a very easy ride with corn. I overheard him chatting to an adult who asked him, "So what's changed with you Fred? Why are you trying all these vegetables?". "I haven't changed. I am just the same boy as I was before the Great Big Veg Challenge - it's just that I'm eating differently." I think he is probably right. It's me that has done the most changing. I'm cooking a bit more, trying out new things and not being quite so bad-tempered when he turns his nose up at something. In return he is entering into the spirit of things. It's the opposite of a vicious circle.Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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C is for Corn...
2007-03-26 10:11:00
In 1908 the Country Home Guide published this essential advice for corn growers: ".... plant sweet corn in the spring when the leaves of the white oak tree are as large as a mouse's ear or when the soil feels warm to your bare bottom." I was thinking of trying to grow some corn in our small garden in London but we don't have a white oak tree handy nor am I prepared to frighten the neighbours with my bare bottom. Freddie has always loved sweetcorn - it is the one vegetable that he wasn't revolted by. But I would like to widen my repertoire of corn dishes . Do any of you have any irresistible recipes using the latest vegetable in our GreatBigVegChallenge? Send them in or I will be taking more inappropriate advice from the Country Home Guide of 1908. Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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Vegetables for breakfast - we face the challenge!
2007-03-24 14:28:00
A month ago Christa, a fellow blogger, challenged Freddie to eat vegetables for breakfast. So there you are - you threw down the gauntlet and we picked it up. Asparagus soldiers with a boiled egg. You can see Freddie in his stripy pyjamas tucking in to what has now become a favourite weekend breakfast. The ball is back in your court Christa.And its time for the GBVC to move on to the next C vegetable ( there are so many to get through...) We are having a bit of a break with C for corn which to be honest with you all was the only vegetable other than potatoes that Freddie would eat before we started the challenge. I don't begrudge him an easy time every now and then. That doesn't mean we don't want your sweetcorn recipes though.Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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A Runza escapes in West London
2007-03-22 21:05:00
In 1949 Sally Everett and her brother Alex Brening knew they were on to a winner when they opened a Runza drive-thru in Lincoln Drive, Nebraska.Now the state is covered in Runza-outlets and I suspect generations of Runzettes are driving round in large Mercedes.Freddie and I are indebted to Jack from Nebraska who took the time to introduce us to this cabbage delicacy. He left us various links to recipes for Runza and after much deliberation we followed this one.This is what they looked like hot out of the oven. Some look like rolls, others like pasties. I can imagine there are heated debates in Runzaries across Nebraska over the preferred shape. But this isn't bad for a wet Thursday evening in London . And considering they are stuffed with large quantities of cabbage (and minced beef) they were surprisingly good. Freddie rates Runza highly. (What's the plural of runza - runzae, runzas, runzii?)Thank you Nebraska for sharing your special dish with us. And as our third cabbage recipe,...
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C is for Colcannon
2007-03-19 19:14:00
When Alanna from Missouri typed the word Colcannon on her keyboard and pressed 'send', little did she know the repurcussions that were soon to be felt in a Victorian terraced house in London.Because Alanna's recipe for Colcannon has made a schoolboy happy. "Tell her right now its heaven." says Freddie who asked me, "Are you sure there really is cabbage in this?" There was a whole tonne of cabbage in this dish ( well not literally) and he loved it. And I didn't even have to add bacon or beef dripping or meat extract to make him like it. It's not even a cake recipe which is the other way to Fred's heart.So thank you Alanna from Missouri for stumbling across our blog....Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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A trip to the farmers market..in pictures
2007-03-17 15:18:00
We scootered a mile up the road to visit the Notting Hill Farm ers' Mark et on the weekend. Clearly Notting Hill is not flushed with farmers. Bankers, lawyers and filmstars maybe - but farmers haven't really featured big there for at least two centuries. So Notting Hill imports its cast of farmers from across Britain for a Saturday morning. There is something infectious about the enthusiasm that the apple growers, cheesemakers, oystercatchers and their colleagues show for their produce. Freddie and Alex like this trip because it invariably means sampling lots of food and juice. Freddie was swigging down the Chegworth Valley Apple and Beetroot juice ( wish we had discovered that product earlier on in the GBVC) chomping on apple and pear slices and nuggets of goats cheese. To be honest he was inhaling the food samples rather than eating them and I had to ration him - not wanting the visiting farmers to go out of business.We are preparing another cabbage recipe for tonight. Its Colcann...
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Saved by a Savoy Cabbage
2007-03-16 18:13:00
Freddie's Great Big Veg Challenge is back on track. And it is all down to a triumphant performance by a Savoy Cabbage . Hannah ( of BBC Masterchef fame) generously sent us her recipe for Savoy Cabbage and Sausagemeat . This is someone who can strut her stuff in front of a table full of Michelin-starred chefs creating gold-flecked millefeuilles and wow them with wafer-thin tempered chocolate. But that is nothing compared to what she can do with a cabbage. In fact she is the Queen of Cabbages in our house. Freddie took one forkful and announced, "Tell Hannah that she has made the cabbage taste as good as the sausage!" Now that is genius. And Freddie can add cabbage to his list of vegetables that he does, after all, like.Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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The hidden depths of cabbage
2007-03-14 22:38:00
It comes as no surprise to me to read that the ancient Greeks recognised hidden depths in a cabbage. This was a vegetable that sprang from the fallen tears of a Thracian king waiting to be killed by the god of wine Dionysus - and all because he had uprooted a couple of his measly grapevines.In tribute to this tragic myth, my son Freddie was sombre when I served him braised red cabbage with guinea fowl. The fowl went down a treat but the red cabbage sat uncomfortably on his plate knowing that young Master Fred was avoiding it.He did finally do the gentlemanly thing. He forked a paltry amount of red cabbage and put it in his mouth, swallowed it and uttered the charming word "Yuk!" This felt suspiciously like the old days, the days before the Great Big Vegetable Challenge widened his culinary horizons.But we are both undeterred as so many of you have left us delicious cabbage recipes to try out. We will make sure that the image of cabbage is transformed. And for those of you with any r...
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C is for Courgette Quesadillas
2007-03-02 13:11:00
Christa from Washington DC. You are a vegetable goddess in our house. Your suggested recipe for Courgette or Zucchini Quesadillas was fantastic. Freddie rates it ten out of ten. If any of you out there have fussy children, this recipe is well worth a punt. Easy to make after work and most importantly the vegetable boy loved it!Read about the Great Big Vegetable Challenge
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A is for Asparagus with poached egg
2006-11-27 21:21:00
What luxury! I'd never tried this before one of you recommended it. Asparagus wrapped in ham and topped with a poached egg and placed on a slice of toasted bread. Freddie was seriously impressed. To be honest he is easily impressed when it comes to my cooking. He is touchingly loyal about all my efforts, however modest and regularly boasts to his mates about his fathers' qualities as a chef, based entirely on the one dish - scrambled eggs. So when I rolled out tonight's vegetable challenge he turned quiet. And not the kind of quiet that is usually accompanied by a dramatic slump back into his chair, eyes lifted to the ceiling in disgust. Oh no - this time he was impressed. And he ate every bit. Who would have thought that three vegetables into our GreatBigVegetableChallenge we have already found a firm favourite?Its time to move on. Now I am told that avocado is not a veg but a fruit so its on to the B's. Broccoli is the next challenge. Any of you out there know what to do ...
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