What's a Raspberry Flavoured Cranberry?





20/4/2005

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Diary and Notes

Scones again and I was going to make some cherry scones when my friend Ben said "Why don't you try some of the dried berry and mango mix from Sainsbury's. That was what I used in the cookies I made a month or two back and they were pretty good." (Which they were). So this I decided to do. Ben explained where to find them and what the packet looked like so off I trotted for this delicious mango, raspberry and cranberry mix for my scones. I found them with ease and returned home with a smile on my face and the thoughts of hot scones in my mind.

And here's where I start moaning:

What's a raspberry flavoured dried cranberry?

This was one of the ingredients that I had assumed were actually raspberries, and it wasn't actually mango at all but some mango flavoured sugar thingy (and I don't know what that is either). I have managed to find the ingredients on the web and here they are:

JUMBO FLAME RAISINS (35%), GOLDEN SULTANAS (35%), SWEETENED DRIED RASPBERRY FLAVOURED CRANBERRIES (15%) [SUGAR, CRANBERRIES, ACIDITY REGULATOR : CITRIC ACID; NATURAL FLAVOURINGS, ELDERBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE, GLAZING AGENT : SUNFLOWER OIL], SWEETENED DRIED MANGO (15%) [SUGAR, MANGO, ACIDITY REGULATOR : CITRIC ACID; PRESERVATIVE : SULPHUR DIOXIDE], GLAZING AGENTS:RAPESEED, SUNFLOWER AND PALM OILS.

It was all a con. The big pictures of raspberries on the packet and the bright red raspberry looking things inside were as close to a raspberry as I am to a professional photographer. I should have read the ingredients in the shop, but who has the time?

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And to continue with my photo story (that's a story about photos as apart from one of those photo love stories you used to get in Just17 or Teengirl or whatever gumph twelve year old girls used to read when I was a nipper) I have come to the following conclusion, either:

1) There is some very strange light in my kitchen. This is entirely possible as we have only really tiny windows and there is very little actual lighting of any sort. I was recently forced to buy two spotlamps to shine on the cooker hob so as to be able to see what I was cooking. I may take some photos of my kitchen so that you can all see the horrid place in which I practice my cookery.

2) The new camera I bought is crap. This is also entirely possible, except that I took some photos here in my well lit office and they were fine.

Until I work out a solution the photos will continue to look blurry, oddly coloured and slightly unappetising.

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I am also offering a prize of one unopened bag of pork slip (see 30/1/2005) which my friend Cherry brought me for a present after going home to China for a holiday. To win, just tell me what these little critters are. (Cherry seemed to get the confused message that I was fond of pork slip - my natural politeness may have prevented me explaining that it made me feel quite ill). There were also some tiny dried fish which she had just microwaved which were chewy, crunchy, rubbery and mushy all at the same time (she forced me to eat one of these).

I didn't try one of the things pictured as Cherry was moving the bag as she offered me one and they were writhing in a manner that made them look alive. They are about 6cm long, pinkish brown on the top and greyish brown on the bottom and have little hairs on one end. They are possibly some form of sea creature but look much more like a flat caterpillar.


Cake Blog

The exotic fruit scones I was ranting about a minute or two ago. Moaning aside they were very tasty with some clotted cream and jam.


Menu

  • Pork Chops in Barbecue Sauce
  • Buttered Sweetcorn
  • Bread
  • Salad


    Ingredients*

    Pork Chop in Barbecue Sauce
    1 Large Pork Chop
    1 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
    1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
    1 tsp Honey
    1 tsp Dijon Mustard
    1 tsp Chilli Sauce
    100ml Lager
    1/2 Can Tomatoes
    1 Green Pepper
    Fresh Parsley
    		 'Exotic' Fruit Scones (makes 4)
    100g Flour
    1/2tsp Baking Powder
    50g Dried Fruit
    2 Tbsp Sugar
    25g Butter
    2 Tbsp Milk
    1 Egg



    Preparation

  • Make a marinade using the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, honey, chilli sauce and lager. Poke the pork chop all over with a fork, place in a casserole dish and coat in the marinade, leave for two hours. Cook the pork in a low oven (140c) for half an hour then pour over the tomatoes and add the peppers and cook slowly (still covered) until a thick sauce develops (about 1 hour should be enough).
  • Scones: Mix the flour and baking powder then rub in the butter. Add the dried fruit, sugar, milk & egg and mix, the scone mix should be quite thick and you can add more flour if it's too runny. Back the scones for 15 minutes at 220c. Eat hot with clotted cream and strawberry jam (the only jam that should be served with a scone).


    *All quantities are very approximate and for a single person





    JCBorresen@GMail.com