2008 roundup, and 2009 pledges

2008 has been a significant year for me, cookery-wise. I've broadened my techniques, my tastes and have experimented with some very old-fashioned concepts which appear to be making a resurgence, like eating seasonal food, making preserves and relying on only the very best ingredients (and paying a fair price for them).

An exhausting round of Christmas cookery has left me at a bit of a loss for what to start on next, but I'll pick up some inspiration over the next few weeks.

This year's successes:

Making my own plum jam and chutney;
Finding quinces (for free);
Finding a local farmers' market with the freshest vegetables and the best Kent apples;
Roasted beetroot;

However, there've also been plenty of dreadful failures, such as:

Stollen that turned out like a raisin-filled cosh;
Membrillo that needed 3 days of washing in hot water to melt it out of the pot I made it in;
A lasagne that was both undercooked and burned at the same time;


For 2009, I'll do my best to add a recipe a week to the Bloke's Cookbook.