Stray Foodie recipe: the joy of Wild Garlic

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

Wild Garlic grows in abundance in Yorkshire at this time of year. It loves damp conditions, especially around rivers, streams and boggy woodland. It has green pointy leaves, not to be confused with a snow drop leaf! It is at it’s best now before the white flowers come as it’s flavour is mild and fresh. The flowers, however, look very attractive garnished with peas and young vegetables. In a few weeks’ time you will spot it everywhere in this area and the smell becomes overpowering with the leaf becoming strong and coarse. It has other names, such as Bear’s Garlic, Ramsoms and Wood Garlic. The leaf makes amazing Pesto that can be added to most types of cooking for flavour enhancement. The young shoots are great to be included in herby, leafy salads or stirred through warm vegetables for another dimension. It also makes a lovely green oil that always looks very pretty on a plate along with a little balsamic vinegar to create a flavour balance.

This week’s recipe is for a Wild Garlic Crust, which placed on some seared best end of lamb makes for great complimentary spring flavours. It can also be used on top of a vegetable lasagne, fish, or stuffed butternut squash to name but a few other ideas.

 

For a Wild Garlic Crust

Ingredients:

Method:

Pulverise the garlic leaf with the melted butter.

Add the breadcrumbs and cheese.

Blend until smooth

Mix into a ball.

Place between two sheets of acetate and roll.

Set up in the fridge and then cut to the desired size.

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Stray Foodie recipe: the versatility of celeriac

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

Celeriac, or celery root, is an underrated root vegetable. Because celery tastes strong and herbaceous, especially the leaves, many people could be put off by using the root.  The root is, in actual fact, a marvellous chef’s tool.

It has a milder flavour and is therefore great served raw as a remoulade, fabulous for puree, a great soup thickener and best of all, a good substitute for flour in this case. I steam the root whole in the oven with oil, garlic and seasoning for approx. an hour at 180c. Of course this is dependant on the size of the root. Once cool it can be sliced wafer thin and used as perhaps you would use pasta sheets. It is great for stuffing, making vegetable gratin, and enhances lentils and pulses. Its texture and light flavour is a great adage to any food.  Please note that it will discolour so it is recommended, if not baking in approx. 50g of olive oil, then once peeled it is placed in acidulated water. If you are using it as a base for a sauce or puree, cook it in a little milk which will then preserve the white intensity.

Smoked Haddock (or White Fish) Wrapped in Celeriac with Pickled Vegetables & Greens

Serves 2

Ingredients:

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Method:

Slice the fennel and cabbage very thinly and place with the florets of purple sprouting, cucumber and peas in the white balsamic vinegar for 1 hour.

Slice your steamed celeriac as thinly as you can.

Chop the leek and cook it in the cream with some seasoning until soft. Cool.

Lay out the celeriac on a piece of cling film. Spread the leek mixture on top of the celeriac and place the fish of your choice down the centre.

Wrap into a neat parcel and place in an oiled oven proof dish.

Place in the oven at 180c for 15 – 20 minutes, dependant on oven variation.

Remove from the oven, cut in half widthways, and place on a plate with mixed herb leaves and pickled vegetables.

Grate some fresh parmesan over and if desired serve with a tomato or turmeric sauce, as in the picture.

Stray Pets Rescue Club: Roman, Buddy and Billy want to find love this Valentine’s Day

The Stray Pets Rescue Club is our monthly pet profile of animals in desperate need of a loving home. Could you help these loveable dogs Roman, Buddy or Billy? 

Roman


Age: Approx. 10

Roman’s story: Roman currently lives at Miss Mollie’s Rescue, but before arriving he had been terrified by a Romanian dog catcher’s pole.

Temperament: Roman interacts with people and is a lovely boy to cuddle and brush.

Ideal home: Roman needs an experienced adult home with a garden, so he can explore and build his confidence with his new family. With small steps, he will get used to being handled with love, treats and praise and will be able to forget his past life and start enjoying walks.

To find out more about Roman and the adoption process, visit Miss Mollie’s Rescue

Buddy


Age: 13

Buddy’s story: Buddy is a very sweet Jack Russell Terrier who will need to live in an adult home as the only pet, so he can get all the attention to himself. He has a heart murmur and his eyesight isn’t the best, but he loves walks, preferably when the weather is nice.

Temperament: Buddy is housetrained and loves snuggles, but on his own terms. He prefers a quieter environment.

Ideal home: Buddy will need a home with a private, enclosed garden. Buddy is currently staying in a foster home. Due to current restrictions, he can’t go to his forever home just yet, but you can contact the rehoming centre to register your interest. When restrictions ease and if you are a suitable match, you will be able to discuss Buddy with his carers at the centre.

To find out more about Buddy and the adoption process, visit Dogs Trust Leeds.

Billy


Age: 2

Billy’s story: Billy was included in the Stray Pets Rescue Club in December last year. His Christmas wish of finding a forever home sadly wasn’t granted, but could you help him find true love in time for Valentine’s Day?

Temperament: Billy is a very loving and attentive dog when he is with you, but he is fearful of other dogs which he shows by barking. Once he has been introduced to dogs, he then just wants to play!

Ideal home: Billy needs a nice secure garden and an owner who can give him lots of walking and training. He may need some time to bond, but once he has he follows guidance and is learning that people are not scary. He has not met any cats before, so needs a cat-free home.

 

To find out more about Billy and the adoption process, you can visit Saving Yorkshire’s Dogs. 

 

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Study Reveals Positive Impact of Leaving a Funeral Wish

This article is sponsored by Full Circle Funerals. 

A campaign launched by funeral directors in Yorkshire is aiming to raise awareness of the positive impact leaving a funeral wish can have on those making arrangements after someone has died.

Currently only 50% of people leave funeral wishes despite research suggesting that those arranging a funeral find it ‘consoling’ to be able to fulfil the wishes of the person who has died.

A study by Dr Julie Rugg and Dr Sarah Jones, from Yorkshire-based Full Circle Funerals, found that in the absence of wishes, people described feeling anxious and uncertain about whether the choices they were making were acceptable to the person who had died.

People in the study who were able to fulfil funeral wishes described this as a “gift” to the person who had died and said that this was very helpful when arranging the funeral. It has inspired a campaign by Full Circle Funerals to encourage more people to leave a funeral wish.

The study’s co-author, Sarah Jones, founded Full Circle Funerals to create a service that is strongly focused on the well-being of bereaved individuals. She said:

“We are not talking here about making a full blown full funeral plan, it can be enough to leave a single simple wish such as a preferred poem, prayer, or flower choice.”

“What matters is that those making the funeral arrangement have something to focus on and make happen, which often feels like a gift to the person who has died and may have an enormously positive impact on their grief in the longer term.

“In fact, in some instances simple may even be better because it can sometimes be difficult to deliver a detailed funeral plan, particularly at the moment when things are so restricted.”

The #leaveafuneralwish campaign aims to raise awareness of the value of sharing just one wish and the benefits it can bring when it comes to bereavement.

Sarah said a lack of funeral wishes can also exacerbate differences between decision makers when sorting out arrangements.

She explained: “We know it isn’t an easy conversation to have but we hope this campaign will encourage a few more conversations between family and friends about whether they have a preferred funeral song, a favourite poem or flower or even if they would like a church service or not.

“From the many conversations we have had with people we have supported over the years we know first-hand how much it helps to know just one thing that the person who died would have wanted at their funeral.”

Sharing his own experiences after losing his aunt, Muriel, Jonathan Holmes said: “Knowing Muriel’s wishes was very helpful for me and my family.  It meant we knew exactly what she wanted so it took all the uncertainly away.  It also felt really special to be able to give her the funeral that she wanted and feel confident that she would be happy with what we had created.”

For more information about funeral wishes, bereavement support and other useful advice, visit Full Circle Funerals. 

Full Circle Funerals are modern funeral directors, committed to supporting the wellbeing of every bereaved individual. You can find Full Circle in Harrogate, Halifax, Guiseley and Bramley.

 

StrayArt with Johnny Messum: Painting Outdoors

StrayArt is a monthly column written by Johnny Messum, Director and Founder of art gallery and centre, Messum’s Wiltshire, London and Harrogate. Johnny’s passion is for contemporary art and sculpture.

Each month he will look at art, exhibitions and events across Yorkshire and sometimes further afield with the aim of guiding and inspiring us.

 

En plein Air painting was a game changer in the sensibilities of Western art. Some of our greatest and most celebrated works of art – think Van Gogh, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley are part of that idiom. Yet it has a refreshingly practical origin that led to the flowering of an entire and enduring art genre. Up until the 19th Century paint was ground and mixed – ideally by an assistant and normally by yourself in a laborious process, in fact this had largely been outsourced to professional mixers who supplied pigment in pigs bladders, an improvement but with obvious limitations.


The advance of mechanics and science led to an American painter John Rand coming up with a means of storing and delivering paint via a zinc tube that could be squeezed, capped and crucially manufactured on a smaller scale to make pigment transportable. Who could have foreseen that convenience and science would sow the seeds for such remarkable flowering of art that continues to this day? The art world had seen nothing like it.  Suddenly paintings could be painted “En plein Air” colliding with a rampant affection for the bucolic set fire in this country by Wordsworth and Coleridge and in France by Hugo and Baudelaire.

Painting en plein air in this country started with and is maintained by the New English Arts Club, a revolutionary group of artists founded by Grimsby born Thomas Kennington amongst others. There are degrees of technique to the process all of wihhc are acceptable. Probably the most exemplary is the current President of the New English Arts Club Peter Brown who works outside assiduously regardless of weather or obstacle. Other artists will work in part outside and then from the studio touch up and complete the works. Painting from photographs is very much a no. Light is at the heart of the en plein air principle, it changes constantly so the skilled artist knows how to capture that part of the day they are aiming for it and to return another day if not completed in time.

Peter Brown: View of Harrogate


Perhaps more than anything in a great en plein painting is the sense of place experienced though the eyes of some one who has really stood in that place. Who can not feel the presence of moment in Berthe Morisot’s “Summers Day” 1879 (National Gallery) . Or stood in front of a majestic series of Forest landscape by David Hockney. En plein air painting could perhaps be better described as the En plein air experience. A way to see how the landscape can be captured and translated into pigments. These works are in collections through out the country and some of our most celebrated artists working today continue the principles. However if you are passing- when we are allowed – do drop in and see the collection at Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire it contains one of the most impressive collections of 19th century French paintings outside London – collected by the former owner Marcus Wickham-Boynton – it includes paintings by Corot, Boudin, Renoir and Pissarro – all of whom painted out of doors.

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In the mean time, let the images of these masterful paintings draw your mind and imagination to the great outdoors, and if you are interested in starting up yourself then a window and vista on the world is a source of wonder, just look at the light.

Messums Yorkshire in 4-6 James Street, Harrogate, in the light of current restrictions, will be holding online exhibitions. From 7 January – 30 January Yorkshire debut shows of two Australian artists – works by sculptor Daneil Agdag and photographer Atong Atem “Self-portaits and family studies”.  This will be followed by an exhibition of Views of Yorkshire by Peter Brown President of the New English Art Club, from 4 February to 13 Mach 2021. You can visit the exhibitions on the gallery website: www.messumsyorkshire.com 

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipe: Beef with Winter Vegetables

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.

 

In this present time we are all trying to lead a safe and more healthy lifestyle. A Mediterranean diet is considered to be one of the best and is easily produced in most households.

We have always believed that one great Olive Oil, the best you can afford, is all you need to use. Even for fried eggs it is delicious. It has such huge health benefits, as does the humble anchovy, a small fish that is full of flavour, salt cured, packed in olive oil and canned it produces the 5th umami taste.

With huge health benefits, they are great to add to pesto’s, vegetables and meats, fish dishes and cheese.

Summerstone Estate Belted Galloway Beef is a locally hand reared in Nidderdale.  It has the most amazing flavour coming from our local terroir. Red meat such as this is a great treat to be eaten once a month. With a plethora of herbs and vegetables that you are able to use seasonally and a tin of anchovies with this beef produces a sensational tasty dish.

We would recommend that this dish be served with organic Pearled Spelt, a great source of fibre and protein. Once again you can add your own creativity, subject to availability, to a recipe like this.

You will need

Method

Warm a saute pan and add the olive oil, shallot, diced beef, root vegetables.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the juices start to amalgamate.

Add the anchovies, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, kalletts and coconut milk. Cook for a further 2 minutes.  Add a teaspoon of tomato puree or ketchup and correct the seasoning.

Mix in the chopped herbs with the spelt and heat.

Serve together.

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Stray Pets Rescue Club: could Troy, Twiglet, or a trio of degus be your new pet?

The Stray Pets Rescue Club is our monthly pet profile of animals in desperate need of a loving home. This month, rottweiler Troy, cockatiel Twiglet, and a trio of degus need your help. 

Troy, Rottweiler

Age: 9

Troy’s story: Troy arrived at Dogs Trust Leeds at the beginning of December 2020. This handsome boy is currently staying with a foster carer on the Dogs Trust Leeds Home From Home fostering programme.

Temperament: Troy is a very friendly and loving boy who enjoys a fuss being made over him and a good snuggle.

Ideal home: Troy would love a new adult-only home with owners who will be around all the time, until he is ready to start slowly building up time spent on his own. Although he won’t be able to go on long walks due to an ongoing medical condition, he’d love a nice secure garden where he can sniff around, play with his toys and laze in the sunshine on sunny days.

To find out more about Troy and the adoption process, visit Dogs Trust Leeds.

Fido, Rex and Rover, Degus 

Age: Young adults

Fido, Rex and Rover’s story: Degus are incredibly sociable creatures, and Fido, Rex and Rover have bonded during their stay at RSPCA York, Harrogate and District and they are now ready to start a new chapter in a forever home.

Temperament: These are sweet and inquisitive degus who are slowly settling down and starting to come out of their shells.

Ideal home: Fido, Rex and Rover will need experienced adopters as they have sadly not had much handling before arriving at the centre. They will need time and patience to help them overcome their insecurities.

To find out more about the adoption process, visit RSPCA York, Harrogate and District. 

Twiglet, Cockatiel 

Age: Adult

Twiglet’s story: Twiglet currently lives in the aviary at the RSPCA York, Harrogate and District branch.

Temperament: Twiglet is a busy little cockatiel who loves flying about the aviary. He is very chatty, and loves talking to all the other birds there.

Ideal home: Twiglet’s new forever home needs to have an aviary where there are other cockatiels. Please note Twiglet can not be re homed with an adopter wanting to keep him in a cage.

 

To find out more about Twiglet and the adoption process, visit RSPCA York, Harrogate and District. 

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Stray Foodie New Year Recipe: All Things Barley

Stray Foodie New Year Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

This is the start of the year when we look forward and plan for new beginnings. I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.

It’s the start of a new year, where we are all looking forward and planning for new beginnings. Here are two recipes containing one of my seasonal favourites, barley, which has a fantastic nutritional boost for the winter months.

Barley Bannocks

This is a Recipe from a dear friend of mine from Orkney who makes Barley Bannocks every year. A Bannock is something that is rounder and thicker than a biscuit and can be cooked on a griddle. It could be described as similar to a pancake.

Ingredients:

Heat the griddle

Sieve the ingredients together and mix to a soft dough

Place in dollops on the hot griddle and press down with your lifter to about 6 inches round

Bake on both sides

Serve warm with a little honey – delicious!

Barley Risotto

Pearl Barley is very similar to arborio rice which we use for a good risotto, but is so much more flavoursome and great for healthy eating.

Ingredients:

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat with a chopped onion, leek and pearl barley for 1 minute

Then pour in the wine and bring to the boil and simmer for 2 mins

Add the stock little by little, stirring all the time and it continues to absorb (note: you may not require all the stock)

Once the barley is soft and creamy, add the mushrooms, pesto, purple sprouting and parmesan

Add the spinach at the very last minute so it just wilts into the risotto and check the seasoning.

If required at this stage you may like to finish with a little butter.

This can easily be adapted to accommodate vegetarian or vegan guests.

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Stray Foodie New Year Recipe: Cock a Leekie

Stray Foodie New Year Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

This is the start of the year when we look forward and plan for new beginnings. I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.

 

Cock a Leekie, as the name would suggest, is a chicken cooked in a leek and good beef stock, with prunes added to create some interest. Unusual as it all sounds it has great history, as most classic dishes do.

Cock a Leekie is a Scottish dish often served around New Year. Hogmanay is a very important celebration in Scotland, as many of you might have experienced!

There are many different forms of chicken soup and many households pride themselves on serving the best for medicinal qualities.

It has been known that famous historical cooks infer that prunes are only be added when the leeks are old and bitter, as it could have been in the days before refrigeration. Like all classic dishes over the years they have been tweaked and changed to naturally bring them up to date with current style and availability. But it is basically a soup with a chicken in it, the idea being you should drink the broth first and then eat the chicken.

This recipe serves 4 people.

For the Stock

Chop the vegetables and place in a pan with 2 litres of water, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and bring to the boil with the ginger, barley and turmeric.

Bring to the boil and cook for an hour.

Pass off the vegetables retaining the liquid.

For the Chicken

Take a free range whole chicken and place in a casserole dish.

Pour over the liquid.

Add the washed and chopped leeks, the grated zest and juice of a lemon, thyme and a chicken stock cube.

Cover with tin foil and place in the oven at 180c for an hour, depending on the size of the chicken.

Remove from the oven and correct the seasoning, add a dash of dry sherry and reserved barley.

Place the chicken on a dish and shred, keep warm.

Place a prune in each of your soup dishes, ladling the leeks and liquid on top of the prune with pieces of shredded chicken and spiced yoghurt.

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Kim’s Canines: a dog is for life, not just for Christmas

Kim Metcalfe Pooches GaloreThis column is written for the Stray Ferret by Kimberley Metcalfe. Kimberley has an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. Her company Pooches Galore is based in Harrogate and specialises in dog training and resolving canine behavioural problems.

 

 

We’ve all heard the saying “a dog is for life, not just for Christmas” and it is one I wholeheartedly believe in. As someone who did get their first-ever dog as a Christmas present after 13 years of begging, a well thought out Christmas present can bring many years of joy and a dog can be both for Christmas and for life.

For many, getting a puppy at any time of the year has taken a lot of forethought whether a Christmas present or not. My job as a trainer is to help you ensure that when your puppy comes home with you, there are many happy years ahead. I have two top tips for a happy life with your puppy:

Management

Management is my number one tip when you bring home a new puppy. If you don’t want them to eat your shoes… put them away! Want them to toilet outside? Watch them like a hawk. Don’t want your new sofa chewing? Shut the door. It is impossible for anyone to train their puppy for every eventuality, so to prevent unwanted behaviours we need to manage situations by setting things up before problems arise.

Training

Secondly you are going to have to invest in a significant amount of training. As a dog trainer, of course I am going to say this! You have to teach your puppy to live in a human world. They don’t know that they can’t toilet in the kitchen and they have to go outside. They don’t know that biting isn’t the best way to get you to engage with them. They don’t know how to walk on a lead. There is such a long list of things to teach them, so work out what is a priority for you.

We also want to train our dogs in a specific way, known as positive reinforcement. This means that we reward the behaviours we like so we see them more and more. Rewarding them for toileting outside, coming back when called, and walking nicely on a lead will encourage all these behaviours. What we don’t want to do is punish our puppies, as they don’t know they are doing something wrong; this will only break down the relationship between you and your new puppy.

My biggest tip for a long and happy life with your puppy is to ask for help from a qualified APDT dog trainer before your problems become too challenging for you. Whether that is someone with you from day one or someone you bring in when you have problems – it is what we are here for!