Stray Kitchen is our column all about food written by renowned local produce expert, food writer and chef, Stephanie Moon. Stephanie is a champion of food produced in the UK and particularly in Yorkshire and the Harrogate district. 

 

 

When I was a kid, I loved sledging. We had a field on the farm where you could really pick up some speed and hurtle down the hill holding your nerve before you caused yourself to stop in an unladylike crash. The alternative was to continue on and be impaled on a barbed wire fence below!

As Harrogate has been covered in snow, it has given lockdown a magical quality that takes me right back to the bright red faces of my sledging youth. With big smiles, wet socks, and old feed bags full of straw that was the farmers' kids' sledges.

It seems so weird to be stuck at home again! This lockdown is the toughest I am sure for many, and what we are all needing right now is comfort food and nostalgia - and lots of it. It could be a heart-warming crumble & custard or a simple bubbling cheese-on-toast with a hearty splash of Henderson’s relish, that famous Sheffield sauce. I have just had a big bowl of sausage & mash with gravy for lunch and the local farm shop sausages did the trick – I am feeling nostalgic in the snow.

I think the birds in my garden are loving the fact the Moon’s All-You-Can-Eat buffet on my bird feeders is in full throttle - niger seed and sunflower seeds meet fat blocks and peanuts – I must admit feeding the birds this lockdown has been a great pleasure (once a caterer always a caterer, we chefs are feeders!). I have learnt what each species likes now and like a demanding guest with the goldfinch, nuthatch and woodpecker being regular dinners to impress. With all this coming and going it is the busiest bird restaurant for miles around.

Under all the snow lies the green shoots of spring. They seem so far away right now and the thoughts of sitting at a table with the family a distant memory that I long to recreate. A big family meal with all the laughter and joy that will bring is my own motivation to stay the course and do our bit to get through this lockdown.

If you are looking for some foodie ideas to get through lockdown, a great idea for a seasonal food is our friend forced rhubarb. A great way to cook it is very simply:

Cut your rhubarb into sticks about 3 inches long, place them on a tray and sprinkle over some caster sugar before you place on a tin foil lid to the tray – place this in an oven at 180C for 8-10 mins and your rhubarb will be perfectly cooked; it won’t be mushy like when you cook it in a pot on the stove. Serve with lashings of custard or some heathy yoghurt and granola. Either way - yum!

So my advice now is to find your comfort food, no matter how simple, and take a moment to look ahead to when we can sit with family again. Lord knows it does us all good from time to time.

Stay safe,

Steph x