Harvest At Jimmy's

Harvest at Jimmy's on the BBC

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:31:36 +0100

Harvest on the BBC - EXCITING!

Chefs Richard Corrigan and Ravinder Bhogal along with Jimmy Doherty and our very own Dom Gomez get excited about this years festival at Jimmy’s.

Watch the video and interview on BBC Suffolk here :)

As we’ve been working furiously on getting a very tasty...

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:01:00 +0100

As we’ve been working furiously on getting a very tasty line up for both of our festivals this year, our very lovely Nathalie thought it was time for a quick treat. So she found this yummy recipe from Deliciousdays: Cocoa cut out cookies with apricot jam - YUM!

They look great right? We thought so too, especially Dom who by the looks of it had a little too many.

To check the full recipe to sure to visit deliciousdays.com

With the SXSW festival in Texas about to kick off tomorrow -...

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:42:00 +0000

With the SXSW festival in Texas about to kick off tomorrow - the line up looks amazing! - we thought we’d hunt for a finger linkin’ BBQ spare ribs recipe.

Well if like us and can’t make it across the pond to the actual festival you might as well fool your tummy you’re there.

This recipe is taken from Gorden Ramsey’s channel 4 - F Word and serves 4. ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS

3 pts water

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 - ½ medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced

3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

4 whole cloves

1 dried chilli

2 (1- ¼ pounds each) racks of pork spareribs (each 7 to 9 inches long, 6 ribs per rack)

For the barbecue glaze:

2 tbsp dark molasses

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp hot mustard

1 tbsp cider vinegar

A good dash of hot sauce

Juice of half a lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

How to make barbecue spare ribs

1.In a large saucepan add the water, tomato paste, onions, garlic, peppercorns, cloves and chilli. Bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 15 minutes.

2.Add the spare ribs making sure they are covered (if not add more water) and bring back up to a gentle simmer. Simmer for approx 45 minutes, adding more water if it reduces too much. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

3.Meanwhile place ½ pt of the liquid from the ribs in a small saucepan. Boil the liquid until reduced by half. Add the molasses, chopped onion mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, lemon and salt. Stir over the heat to combine thoroughly. Brush this mixture liberally over the blanched ribs before cooking them.

4.Meanwhile remove the woody ends from the larger asparagus and chop into inch long pieces. Steam the asparagus over a pan of boiling water until tender - roughly five minutes for the larger spears and three minutes for the baby ones. Once cooked, immediately plunge into ice cold water

5.Cook the ribs on a barbecue or grill for approx 1-2 minutes each side until done.

From now until our launch next week we will be releasing a...

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:07:00 +0000

From now until our launch next week we will be releasing a string of videos from last years Harvest at Jimmy’s. Each video has a theme from ‘kid’s area’ to the ‘main stage’.

This one shows some of the tasty food on offer last year for example.
Yummy food is always top of the agenda at our Harvest festivals so you can expect more of the same this year!

For all the videos plus future fun interviews be sure to become a fan of our Harvest facbook fanpage here

The healthiest snack makers in town, Bear Nibbles have a chat with Harvest.

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:29:00 +0000

If you haven’t seen the brightly coloured packets adorning Brown Bears, the friendly logo that means you’ve found Bear Nibbles, then you should really consider where your getting your tasty treats from.

In recent years Bear Nibbles has taken the UK by storm providing a deliciously healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to your conventional snacking. The brain-child of Hayley Gait-Golding a personal trainer who saw the struggle people faced to find a tasty treat that wasn’t unhealthy, Hayley was inspired by a Bear article that illustrated the determent to a Bears health when they wondered into the cities to forage.

With Bears on the mind Hayley set out to explore the wilderness and found that Bears tend to snack on all sorts of fruit and berries, something that us humans could take note from. Subsequently Hayley came up with what she calls ‘100% naked nature’ in a packet and Bear Nibbles were born.

The treats range from succulent dried fruits like mango and peach to yummy berries like strawberry, raspberry and blueberry. First starting off fairly small, you can now find Bear Nibbles in many big retailers as well as your local independent food shop. Bear Nibbles is one persons inspirational story in search of a healthier solution and we thought it was about time we got to meet the lady herself so here she is!

Hello Hayley

Hello Harvest

How did you come up with the idea for Bear Nibbles?

I was a personal trainer before I founded BEAR and noticed a massive gulf between modern living and healthy eating. All convenient snacks were full of nonsense. That made me growl and I thought people need a tasty healthy treat they can take on the go with them and feel really good about. I wanted the fig leaf BEAR wears to be a symbol of nakedness people can trust. Delicious natural ingredients freshly sourced and lovingly baked.

What has been the biggest obstacle you have faced so far with the new company?

We’re a true start up. We’re funding BEAR ourselves which started with my husband and myself selling our house and putting everything we had into the business. It has been a grrrittty challenge which is character building right? There are no big corporates behind BEAR. Just all the great people who love BEAR and buy our snacks. We’re proud to be getting there on our own two paws.

Why do you think there are so few healthy alternative snacks out there?

Healthy ingredients are a lot more expensive and harder work to source. Think of the cost fresh berries compared to a bag of sugar or cheap flour. We’re so passionate about health we’re not greedy with our margins to make healthy affordable to everyone. In the UK we eat on average 15 snacks a week, so if we can succeed in helping people swap a few rubbish snacks for the extra 5 a day or wholegrain portions you get in BEAR then that’s part of what we consider our payback.

What would you say was the best bit about you’re job? Are you kidding?

That’s so easy, it’s the fruit. I’m am literally obsessed with fruit. I have been all my life. My first and favourite toy was a ‘happy apple’ and its been a love story ever since. My fridge is the BEAR cave joke:

What’s your favourite Bear Nibbles snack?

That changes depending on the occasion. Granola is really treaty so I love that in the evenings if I’m watching tv. Cocoa cherry pie tastes really chocolatey but it’s just raw nibbed cocoa beans baked with crunchy wholegrains. Out and about I’m a sucker for a peach yoyo.

Have ever given your treats to a real bear?

We’re fond of our limbs so that’s a no. We have a bunny fan called twighlight that bites his owner for blueberry yoyos and we fed a bear- sized shire horse a strawberry yo yo last week.

Apart from yummy snacks you’re really conscious about the environment. Why is this so important to you?

Apart from just feeding us nature is our playground. When we’re not making our nibbles you’ll find us frolicking around in the great outdoors. We call it ‘Go BEAR’. We work together with the Forestry Commission our goal is to try and get more people down to their nearest woods. There are so many great events on for families, fun things like bat hunts or family forest foraging. You can find them all on the Go BEAR bit of our website.

So what is your aim for this year?

Our aim is to become the nations favourite healthy snack. That could take a while so we’re just working on that one BEAR hug at a time…..Are you ready Harvest?

Ha! A few Harvest themed questions now:

What’s your favourite childhood recipe?

Toffee apples at Halloween

What 3 tracks would best accompany your cooking?

Empire of the sun (walking on a dream) is my cook-along right now.

Who would you most like to throw a dinner party for?

a picnic in the woods is how we roll in the big cave…. Guests, The mad hatter, Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins and everyone else who wants to pop along. A tea party in the trees with much merriment and bear nibbles.

That sounds crazy fun. Anyway thanks Hayley for filling us in, any last words?

Grrr.

Interested in grreat outdoors? Hear Bear Nibbles grrrowls on Twitter or join the cave on Facebook.

You can also get more information on products, random nature facts and a big bear hug at the Bear Nibbles website here.

COOKIES!!!! Yum! We return to a past recipe from The Wednesday...

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:29:00 +0000

COOKIES!!!! Yum!

We return to a past recipe from The Wednesday Chef blog for a gulity work-break endulgance.

Seriously though these are so good! So much so everyone at Harvest HQ scoffed down the entire lot on record breaking time - crumbs everywhere!

Check out the recipe below but make sure you make it over to The Wednesday Chef for the full write up and other tasty dishes.

Benne Wafers
Makes about 4 dozen
Note: Some people reported having issues with the texture of their cookies; please remember that the butter you use must not be warm or room temperature, but cool to the touch and still quite firm before you begin to cream it with the sugar. Here’s an article on butter in baking for your reading pleasure.)

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cool but not cold
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and well-combined. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour, salt, vanilla extract and sesame seeds. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.

3. Drop small spoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the wafers with a knife dipped in ice water.

4. Bake for 6 minutes. The cookies should be a golden brown with deeper golden edges. Pull the parchment paper off the sheet pan onto a cooling rack. After about 5 to 8 minutes, gently pull the cooled cookies off the parchment. Reuse the parchment for the next batch.

5. Cool completely and store in a tin for up to 2 weeks.

Beauty in simplicity. Here’s a wonderful track from Jamie...

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:44:25 +0000

Beauty in simplicity. Here’s a wonderful track from Jamie Woon who we started the day with.

Hmmmm, hearty bread! Salad Days have recently posted two...

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:24:00 +0000

Hmmmm, hearty bread!

Salad Days have recently posted two brilliant hearty bread recipes, which also includes a great Soda bread from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

We’re head many a fearful expressions when we recommend baking. It’s different to cooking right?

Well yes, but in general bread is a pretty simple food to bake. Then again if you want to go further and have a tastetastic loaf with all the right crust it al starts with a tried and tested recipe.

If you dig a good slice, whether with a wholesome stew or a big dollop of jam (Dom is very messy with this part), then we are sure you’ll enjoy this recipe.

Let us know what you think!

Salad Days -  Wholemeal and granary boule.

Ingredients: 250g granary flour, 125g wholemeal flour, 125g strong white or spelt flour, 350ml warm water, 10g dried yeast, 10g salt.

Whizz all the dry ingredients together and gradually add the warm water until the dough has formed a solid lump that comes away from the blade and the edges of the bowl. Cover and leave to rise for an hour. Pulse the dough a few times to knock it down then turn out onto a floured board. Bring the sides of the dough to the middle, turning as you go to form a round loaf. Sprinkle with some seeds (I chose fennel) and some flakes of sea salt and bake on a tray in a hot oven for 35 minutes.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – Soda Bread

Ingredients

500g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp fine sea salt

Approx. 400ml buttermilk or live yoghurt

A little milk, if necessary

bread

1. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, stirring as you go. If necessary, add a tablespoon or two of milk to bring the mixture together; it should form a soft dough, just this side of sticky.

2. Tip it out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly for about a minute, just long enough to pull it together into a loose ball but no longer – you need to get it into the oven while the bicarb is still doing its stuff. You’re not looking for the kind of smooth, elastic dough you’d get with a yeast-based bread.

3. Put the round of dough on a lightly floured baking sheet and dust generously with flour. Mark a deep cross in it with a sharp, serrated knife, cutting about two-thirds of the way through the loaf. Put it in an oven preheated to 200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

4. Cool on a wire rack if you like a crunchy crust, or wrap in a clean tea towel if you prefer a soft crust. Soda bread is best eaten while still warm, spread with salty butter and/or a dollop of your favourite jam. But if you have some left over the next day, it makes great toast.

Variation:

For six-seed soda bread, mix together 2 tablespoons each of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy and linseeds, plus 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds; set aside. Follow the main recipe but use half white flour and half wholemeal flour. Add all but 1 tablespoon of the seeds to the dry ingredients before proceeding as above. After cutting a cross in the top of the loaf, brush it with a little buttermilk or ordinary milk and sprinkle with the remaining seeds. Bake at 200°C/gas mark 6 for 40–45 minutes.

In saluting their success at this years Brits we recommend this...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:11:00 +0000

In saluting their success at this years Brits we recommend this beautiful acoustic version of ‘Cave’ by Mumford & Sons at Bookshop sessions.

Noah and the Whale - ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N’ We have...

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:56:31 +0000

Noah and the Whale - ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N’

We have been starting every morning here at Harvest HQ with this new track from Noah and the Whale.

Lovely!

Lamb meatballs and tomato sauce Still feeling the winer...

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:51:12 +0000

Lamb meatballs and tomato sauce

Still feeling the winer blues?

Well here’s a delicious recipe from BBC chef Valentine Warner (who was at last years Harvest at Jimmy’s) which we can’t get enough of.

So much in fact our very own Dom had three platefuls - greedy he is.

It’s part of Warner’s weekly top recipes which you can check out here.

We hope you enjoy this simply dish as much as we did!

Description:

A meatball should be succulent and giving, whether it is sitting in a nest of spaghetti or jammed in a crispy baguette with sauce dribbling out of the end. They should not bounce when thrown at the wall. In this recipe, I like to see them drowned in sauce.

Ingredients:

2 large banana shallots
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons light olive oil, plus 3 more for frying the meatballs
2 stalks of rosemary
700g good lamb mince
freshly grated nutmeg
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
50ml whole milk
flaked sea salt and ground black pepper
lightly seasoned plain flour
extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese, to serve

TOMATO SAUCE
1.2kg ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
300ml red wine
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons tomato purée
2 level teaspoons flaked sea salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick

GREMOLATA
2 garlic cloves
a large handful of flat leaf parsley leaves
finely grated rind of 1 unwaxed or well-scrubbed lemon

Method:

Chop the tomatoes in no particular fashion other than smallish. Put the oil in a large, shallow ovenproof casserole with a lid. You will know that the oil is hot enough when the tomatoes sizzle when added to the pan. Fry the tomatoes for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the wine, lemon juice, tomato purée, salt and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 170°C/325ºF/Gas 3 and make the meatballs. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic, then fry them in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until totally soft. Put in a large bowl. Strip the rosemary leaves from the stalks and chop them very finely. Add to the bowl along with the lamb mince, a good grating of nutmeg, the breadcrumbs and milk. Add plenty of salt and a few twists of black pepper. Use your hands to mix well.

It’s worth frying a little of this mix before rolling it so that you can taste it and tweak the seasoning accordingly. When you are happy with the taste, roll the meatballs into about 24 balls between your palms, then roll lightly in seasoned flour. Fry over a high heat in the 3 tablespoons oil so that they brown quickly on all sides but remain raw in the middle. It is important during this stage that the oil is hot enough and that the meatballs are not all crammed together, so they fry well. Do in batches if necessary.

Nestle the meatballs together in the tomato sauce, add the cinnamon stick, cover with a lid and send to the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and turn the meatballs over in the sauce. Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes. The meatballs should be very tender and the sauce rich.

Just before serving, make the gremolata. Peel and very finely chop the garlic, then put it in a small bowl. Finely chop the parsley and mix with the garlic and finely grated lemon rind. Scatter generously over the meatballs and sauce with a few splashes of extra virgin excellence to lift the whole dish into another dimension. A good teaspoon or 2 of Parmesan tapped over each bowl is welcome too.

To make the sauce, cut a small cross in the bottom of each tomato, then cut out and discard the stem bases. Place the tomatoes in a large mixing bowl. Pour over enough just-boiled water to cover and leave for 1 minute. Pour the water away and unrobe the loose skins from the flesh.

LEFTOVERS: Warm the meatballs and stuff them with sauce into a lightly toasted baguette with American mustard, raw red onion and slices of tomato.

As our Harvest friends, we wanted you to be the first to know...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:05:00 +0000

As our Harvest friends, we wanted you to be the first to know that Harvest at Jimmy’s has found its long lost brother! We knew he was out there somewhere, walking around in the wilderness and now he’s very much a reality. So please join in our excitement about our new festival – Alex James Presents Harvest . The Blur bass player turned farmer and cheese maker will host the new chapter of Harvest on his Cotswolds farm. It will fall on the same weekend and will see some amazing chefs and bands collaborating across both events.

“We’ll throw open the farm gates for Harvest this September. My family are looking forward to a celebration of all our favourite things - food, the farm and music. What more could we ask for!” Alex James

‘Check out our very own Dom Harvest as he wonders the new plot at Alex James’ (above).

You may also have noticed we have changed our website. This is a little teaser of what to expect in March when we serve up our newglowing and bountiful website!

While we welcome Alex James transition into country life and...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:07:01 +0000

While we welcome Alex James transition into country life and cheese making with open minds and arms we also celebrate over twenty years of bass playing brilliance

Here are some of our favourites from Alex and the band that is Blur

Catch Alex James on The Cheese Diaries to see exactly what this...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:06:58 +0000

Catch Alex James on The Cheese Diaries to see exactly what this new passion is all about

Alex James The Big Cheese: After trading his base guitar for a...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:05:59 +0000

Alex James The Big Cheese:

After trading his base guitar for a pair of hunters and moving to a farm in the beautiful setting of the Cotswolds it became an unpredicted yet natural transition for Alex James – especially when converting one of his crumbling outhouses into a fully functional cheese factory.

As it transpires Alex has nurtured a passion for cheese for many years and with the means now at his disposal to create an array of beautiful tastes for the tongue it’s definitely a transition we are more than happy indulging into. His latest creation named Blue Monday is a creamy Shropshire blue, its sharp with a very faint sourness and named in honor of New Order’s eighties classic. We all agree it’s a great name, and a top tasting cheese. Other works in progress are Churchill Lady, Cotswold Slapper And Rotten Bastard, names we can’t wait to get our teeth into

Jo Whiley We Salute You: Tuesday saw the departure of Radio Ones...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Jo Whiley We Salute You:

Tuesday saw the departure of Radio Ones most loved. For avid fans and listeners of Radio One alike this will come as a great loss, as for the last 18 years Jo has been delivering the latest sounds, information and insightful views into the UKs most loved industry; today we celebrate such an array of talent which has been delivered to us through radio and television through the last two decades.

Moving to Radio one in 1993 during the hay day of Brittpop Jo hosted a weekday evening show called the evening session which was oriented towards less mainstream non dance music. After proving her natural flare in front of the camera and her clear passion for pop culture she soon became a regular presenter on Top of The Pops, going on to present nearly every episode of 1997. To follow this came The Much Listened to Jo Whiley show, a weekday lunch time show including elements of the evening show and bringing us live performances from all our favourites in the live lounge. Following this Jo went on to present a weekend show on Radio One, and much like her mid week show this featured live performances from favourites new and old not to mention insightful special features such as Jo’s road trip and Spellstar. In recent years it has not only been on the Radio where presence has been made. Jo has brought us television coverage of all the major music festivals, been a judge on the channel 4 show Mobileact Unsigned and has recently begun hosting a music show on music channel TMF.

Whether Jo’s departure from Radio One is a sign of the changing times within the industry or to extend her already incredible array of achievements across our networks, we can rest assure she will continue to be a huge presence within the music industry and continue to deliver the same insight as we have seen in years before. Radio Ones loss is definitely Radio 2’s gain and after the relationship she has built in every one of her listeners over the years I know you will all agree with us when we say Jo Whiley we salute you!!

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's fish fight

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:29:00 +0000

James Ramsden has written a compelling article about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s fish fight for lovefood.com

Hugh is a friend of Harvest and quality, honest food is close to our hearts so the Fish Fight is an important issue we support. Did you know that half of all fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back overboard dead?

We recommend you watch the video below, read James Ramsden’s article and sign up to fish fight.

The Steve Winwood ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ Contest

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:34:00 +0000

Steve Winwood gives a beautiful rendition of ‘Can’t Find My Way’ as part of his worldwide cover contest. Great way to start the week.

A glimpse into Harvest 2011

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:51:12 +0000

The time has come to sneak past the doors to the farm and give you a glimpse of what’s in store for 2011!

We just wanted to give you all a little look at the first few announcements to keep you going until Christmas. As you know we are always trying to find new ways to bring you the very best in food, music and family fun and we really feel this is the start of our best festival yet.

The first look line up promises an eclectic mix with top names such as: Artisan Baker, Paul Hollywood; Italian cooking legend, Gennaro Contaldo; legendary TV Cook, Mary Berry; Guardian restaurant critic and author, Jay Rayner; our favourite London chef Yotam Ottolenghi; and Sunday Times best restaurant head chef, Michael Caines; all cooking and eating alongside some very special musical treats – soon to be announced.

And for the kids we are ecstatic to announce a special visit from the much loved Gruffalo. The hit musical adaption of the award winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a monstrous delight and a has been granted the seal of approval by team Harvest’s kids!

There’s so much more to announce over the months and we’re working on some very exciting new areas on the farm to make this a year to remember!

Also don’t forget to sign up to our Harvest at Jimmy’s fan page on Facebook so you can share in all of videos, exclusive recipes, pictures and loads of sun soaked memories. To become a fan Harvest at Jimmy’s fan page click here.

My Daddy Cooks at Harvest Check out Nick and Archie the dynamic...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:50:23 +0000

My Daddy Cooks at Harvest

Check out Nick and Archie the dynamic cooking duo that make up My Daddy Cooks at Harvest festival last year.