My article in Hampshire Llife Magazine

I've had an article published in the July issue of Hampshire Life magazine about Hampshire Farmers' Markets and some of its producers who bring local food to various locations throughout the county. If you'd like to read it online, you can find it here: http://hampshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/hampshires-farmers-market-33217/

You can also download the whole edition digitally - my article and byline is on page 83.

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Another supper recipe for a spring evening

When I'm not writing, I work in PR and at Hampshire Farmers' Market we've been working with local environmental group, Greening Petersfield on developing great recipes made with farmers' market produce. This month's recipe is another spring/summer supper special is Goat's Cheese and Swiss Chard Tart. Visit the site for lots more recipes, market dates and great offers as well as for a PDF download of this recipe.
Goat's Cheese and Swiss Chard Tart 
Shortcrust pastry
150 gm plain flour
75gm butter
Filling
350 gm shallots
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp cooking oil
500 gm swiss chard
1 roll soft goats cheese (can use your favourite) from Nutknowle
Salt and Pepper
Method:
1. Light oven gas Mk 4,180 C
2. Make pastry. Rub together flour and fat until resemble breadcrumbs. Add a little water and gathe into a ball.
Roll out thinly (1/2 cm) on floured sur-face. Line a 10 inch flan tin. Put aside.
3. Chop shallots & garlic,. Pull chard leaves from stalks, chop stalks into 1cm lengths.
4. Fry onions until they go golden.
Add shallots, chard stalks & garlic. finish frying on gentle heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Add chard leaves and place in pastry case. Cut the goat’s cheese into chunks and place these on top of the vegetables, pushing them in slightly.
6. Cook for 30mins until golden
 Visit the HFM recipe page for a full colour pdf download with photo of this recipe.
Read Excerpts of This Last Summer and Sweet Seduction at http://www.tirraoro.com/preview.html

or buy this book in other formats from  Smashwords

Or buy in other formats from Smashwords

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Romantic Recipe for a spring evening...

We're coming up to Asparagus and Watercress season in the next couple of months so, while you're peckish after reading This Last Summer or Sweet Seduction, why not gather together some yummy ingredients and cook up a storm? It's the perfect dish for a romantic summer evening.
See links for my books below. The recipe is courtesy of Hampshire Farmers' Markets, the home of great local food and the holder of the UK Urban Farmers' Market of the Year award. Check out the link for more great recipes and, if you're in the area, market dates.
Asparagus, Watercress and Pan Roasted Cherry Tomato Risotto

Serves 4 -

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil or Pratt’s Rapeseed oil

4 shallots finely chopped

2 garlic cloves sliced

2 bundles of asparagus trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths

100g red and yellow cherry tomatoes cut in half

200g  risotto rice

1 small glass of white wine

1 ltr hot chicken or vegetable stock,

2 bunches of watercress roughly chopped

50g lightly salted butter, cut into cubes

50g grated Parmesan

Salt and cracked black pepper

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then add the shallots and garlic. Sweat for 10 minutes until the shallots and garlic turn translucent without any colour.
2. While the shallots and garlic are cooking, heat a medium sized frying pan, add the rest of the oil. When the oil stars to smoke add the asparagus and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, cook for a 30 seconds or until the tomatoes start to wilt slightly, then remove from the heat and set aside.
3. By now the onions should be ready, stir in the rice and keep cooking and stirring until the rice has also turned translucent, then add the wine and simmer until it has reduced by half.
4. Now start to add the hot stock, stirring the rice every now and then. Keep adding the stock a little at a time until the rice is cooked with a slight bite to it. About 20 minutes.
5. When the rice is cooked, stir in the watercress, asparagus and tomatoes. Remove from the heat and add the butter and half of the Parmesan, season with salt and pepper.

Buy This Last Summer
or buy this book in other formats from  Smashwords

Or buy in other formats from Smashwords

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A visit to Winchester's Hampshire Farmers' Market

We went to the Hampshire Farmers' Market at Winchester last Sunday (No secret that I work for HFM, in marketing and PR)
This Sunday I took the husband and boys and a shed load of cash and bought some of the most delicious food. Top of my list was meat for a BBQ, so Bowtell Farm Shop's sausages and burgers went into the bag first of all.
Foccacia came from Slindon Bakery and a sun dried tomato bread from The Flour Stall. The Garlic Farm provided Tomato and Mango Chutney and Garlic and Horseradish mustard and my personal favourite from Pratt's Food is their lovely salad dressings, one cider and rapeseed and the other a balsamic and rapeseed
 Lunch was provided by Broughton Water Buffalo and we also bought some burgers for the barbie!
Winchester is the largest FM in the country. It takes place in the middle of the city and the best thing about it is that it's all locally produced so the money you spend goes straight back into the local economy.
My 12 year old, Luca made a film of the visit. Take a look!

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Dare To Be Different This Christmas

I do PR for Hampshire Farmers Markets. They have a great idea this Christmas - ditch the turkey and try trout or goose or game.. see below

Dare To Be Different This Christmas – Hampshire Farmers Markets Will Show You How.

Does the prospect of turkey again this Christmas leave you cold? Ever wanted to try a goose or a pheasant or even a whole trout but been put off because you don’t know how to do it?
Help is at hand this Christmas at Hampshire Farmers’ Markets, where the very people who produce the food are right there to show you how to prepare your Christmas roast to succulent perfection.
Be adventurous and leave the supermarket bird on the shelf this year. Instead, head off to one of our seven markets being held in the run-up to Christmas. You can also choose from turkey, beef, free-range pork, game, hog roast or even buffalo meat. You can pre-order your chosen lunch centrepiece and get a lesson from the stall-holder, who will have reared the produce themselves, in how to make the most of your choice.
If you’re set on turkey, you can still pre-order a home-grown bird at the Farmers’ Market, knowing that your choice will be locally reared without added water and sold to you direct from the producer.
While you’re there you can also pick up unique gifts for your family from a range of locally produced preserves, confectionery, wines and ciders, lavender, soaps and plants. You could even make up a hamper using a small decorated box or wicker basket for a fabulous gift your friends and relatives will love.
Ordering from Hampshire Farmers’ Markets means you can be sure that you’re treating your family to a locally produced, high-quality, succulent Christmas lunch as well as being a great way to support your local economy.
Also available at our December markets will be traditional Christmas wreaths and poinsettias to give your home that festive feel.
Our Christmas markets take place at the following places:
Sunday, November 29, 2009:   9am-2pm Winchester Farmers Market
Sunday, December 6, 2009:     10am-2pm Petersfield Farmers Market
                                                10am-2pm Romsey Farmers Market
Saturday, December 12, 2009:  10am-2pm Alton Farmers Market
Sunday, December 13, 2009 :   9am-2pm Winchester Farmers Market
Sunday, December 20, 2009;    10am-2pm Andover Farmers Market
                                                 10am-2pm Southsea Farmers Marke
Obviously if you're reading this from afar, you can just go to your local Farmers' Market - but supporting our local economy is a great thing to do..

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