Day2: Big Cook & Little Cook decide what to have for tea

So what's the worst thing that can happen when you're in the middle of a local food challenge and you're blogging about it?

Well I suppose a cat burglar could have broken in and stolen all the food...or we could have had a power cut.... been struck down by lightning...or even flooded out of house and home, with the food going soggy .

I guess those are all terrible thoughts, but when the pressure's on...so is being totally void of any form of inspiration regarding what to cook for tea! 

Therefore when I got the offer of some assistance from my 5 year old, I decided to accept his help with glee, but of course the big question was "What should we have for tea?" and "What should we do with our Sutton Hoo chicken?".

(Link to the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6rH-F5JDqg&feature=player_embedded)

Hmm, what's that old saying?  Never work with children and animals?  Yes indeedy, but when he accepted that we were not going to cook up the Star Wars Shippy and that pasta doesn't come from Suffolk, he was happy to be put in charge of THE BIGGEST POTATO IN THE COUNTY.

...while I on the other hand "splatted the chicken in the pan" with a few splashes of locally produced rapeseed oil, chopped onions and some red pepper chutney

And in my true Ready Steady Cook technique, I also added some button mushrooms and a few spoonfuls of Greek Yoghurt.

And thanks to the hints and tips that have been coming my way on what to do with the curly kale, I took the bull by the horns and had a go at cooking it up, tossing it in some melted butter seasoned with chili powder to spice it up.

I had very little faith at the start of the video that you saw above, but I was pleased with the results, which were served with lightly pan-fried potato cubes.............or tiny square chips as my little helper called them.

So that's another main course that's been made from products that have been sourced in Suffolk.  The only exception were the chili powder and garam masala that I added, but I've decided to follow in the footsteps of Sarah who recently took the Norfolk Diet  and whose rules allowed spices, so they've definitely got a thumbs-up from me.

And if you've been wondering what occured during the rest of the day, well it kicked off happily with the same granola breakfast as yesterday, but I have to confess to tucking into some biscuits at a training course, and it's been such a busy day that I only managed to grab an apple for lunch.

But it was a very delicious apple, from High House Fruit Farm in Sudbourne.

Ah well, tomorrow's another day....and I've got something special up my sleeve which will ensure I'll be far more prepared than I was today.

Day 1: New tricks. Granola and Smokey Kippers.

(Photo: Kippers from Pinney's of Orford)

So it's officially Day 1 of the Suffolk Diet and what a great start to my culinary adventures it has been.

Being a creature of habit, you'd normally find me tied to a bowl of Ready Brek as part of my breakfast routine, but today I ventured down the unchartered path of granola, combined with a topping of lemon yoghurt and chopped apple.

And yes, I can guarantee they were all Suffolk products.  The granola is part of the Munchy Seeds range from Leiston.  The yoghurt comes from Marybelle dairies, which is based in Halesworth and the apples hail from the High House Fruit Farm, along with the apple juice that you can see in the photo. In fact, we passed a sign to the Sudbourne based farm during our visit to Orford yesterday.  So already my knowledge of Suffolk's geography is improving, simply by extending the range of food that we eat.

Now, it might have been a good start for me, but I'm afraid that when it came to the children, it was more of a matter of mixed outcomes, with my youngest starting off the day with his regular Weetabix.  He's only five and knows what he likes, so is a pretty tough cookie to budge into the realm of new experiences.  When Paul from Local Food Direct first set me the challenge, I made him aware how the children might react, so we agreed that it wasn't essential to drag the kids or even my husband along with me, but to include them whenever they could be tempted.  And I learned the first trick this morning, serving both boys some extra toast (made from bread that I picked up at the Aldeburgh Market shop yesterday) topped off with Suffolk honey for one and Mirabelle Jam for the other.

But shhh, gather around quietly because I believe this could be my first confession. While checking the label on the jam, which is made from locally foraged plums by Highways Handmade Preserves, its address read as "Rickinghall, Diss, Norfolk".  Oops, I could have sworn Rickinghall was in Suffolk.  So maybe my geography isn't so good after all.  So if there are any local experts out there, please tell.

Thank goodness for the kippers that we had for brunch. Having come from Pinney's of Orford, I can certainly vouch that is most definitely part of Suffolk, especially as we went on a trip out there yesterday.

I don't recall ever having kippers before, but I'd been inspired to try them out by a friend's entry on her Facebook page. (So thanks Terry-anna, if you're looking in - from Facebook to Blogger, that's the power of social media).

It may have been a great start to the day, but I think " la pièce de résistance" just had to be tonight's main course, which featured Sutton Hoo chicken burgers (more info about the birds can be found at the excellent Food Safari blog) accompanied by a range of the county's salad vegetables and leaves, which Paul delivered on Friday.  I must admit I had to be careful with the chicken burgers. I'd ordered plain ones for the children but chose the Chilli and Lemon flavour for me and my husband.  Bless the Lord that I didn't mix them up!

The chunky chips were also made from Suffolk grown potatoes, drizzled with Hillfarm's Rapeseed Oil and roasted in the oven.  And check out my chunky chip stacking technique!  I thought I'd also experiment with the art of presentation.

And look what else I made while the oven was on...my very own crisps!

If you've never made them before, it's easy.  Just slice the potatoes thinly - using a cheese slicer if you like - spray lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place on a baking tray in a hot oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes and keep checking regularly, removing them one-by-one as they become crisp.  

They really are delicious.but I haven't eaten them yet, because I was too busy indulging in this...

...The Vanilla Bakery's Lemon Drizzle Cake, which I bought at the market on Saturday and which is still going  strong!

So, as Day 1 draws to a close, I think it's been pretty successful all-in-all, with fabulous Suffolk food truly being the highlight of the day.  This challenge has really has awoken my interest and enthusiasm for what I bring to our dining room table.

However, there is one more tale to tell and I have to confess I haven't been at home all day! 

I ventured out at lunchtime to meet up with some girlfriends at the Bury St Edmunds Garden Centre, where I'm afraid the food was out of my control. Although the menu highlighted that they source local food where possible, on account of the queue being extremely long I didn't dare to ask about specific detail for fear of being glared at by the people behind me.  At least the trifle I ordered was made on-site and as for the tea, it might not have been from Suffolk, but it did come from Tregothnan, which has its own tea plantation in Cornwall and is... only a few hundred miles away.

What a surprise eh...tea from Cornwall!  Who'd have guessed it.

Now if it can be grown there, I wonder if there's any hope for a plantation here in the east!