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April Property & Lifestyle Magazine Out Now

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APRIL MAGAZINE NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY

Spring House Moving Activity On The Up!

In our March magazine we said that many home owners decided to tap into the early new year buyer demand, resulting in new properties coming to the market at a good level.

So, levels of supply have recovered and buyers and sellers are not miles apart on where they see pricing and this means house sales are being agreed at an increasing rate.

In this magazine edition we are pleased to show a selection of some of the new to the market properties so we hope you will enjoy exploring the pages which showcase some of the finest properties available on the open market.

You can see the full 68 page magazine by clicking this link or the image below.

APRIL MAGAZINE NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY

2023 First Quarter Property Trading

As indicated earlier, levels of supply have recovered and house sales are being agreed at an increasing rate. This is supported by the fact that our first quarters trading results show a 6.75 increase on the house sales front and a 7% on the house lettings front when contrasted to the same period last year.

The resilience in the residential house market continues. House prices have levelled off, but because the market is more balanced with buyers and sellers more aligned on where they see pricing, then house sales productivity is actually up on the previous year in our area of operation on the Hampshire/Surrey/Berkshire borders.

Editorial Features & Property For Sale

We hope you will enjoy reading some of the editorial features we have pulled together for our readers, including recipes from cookery writer Kim-Joy, an interview with Alex Jones, some interesting insight keeping chickens and Su Scott’s thoughts and recipes on Korean cuisine.

For the super car enthusiast there is a first drive review of Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica by motoring correspondent Jack Evans.

A few samples of our property and editorial content is shown below – just click on an image to read the article / see the property details.

PROPERTY REFURBISHMENT PROJECT FOR SALE NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY
ALEX JONES NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY
KIM JOY GINGER SNAPS RECIPIE NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY
EQUESTRIAN PROPERTY NEWS ITEM MCCARTHY HOLDEN ESTATE AGENCY

Rahul Mandal: Save money and bake these 5 festive gifts instead

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Bake Off fan favourite Rahul Mandal shares his Christmas baking ideas.

For a lot of people Christmas will be a stretch, so why not take a leaf out of Dr Rahul Mandal’s book and bake gifts for your loved ones?

The first time the 2018 Great British Bake Off winner baked anything was actually in the lead up to Christmas, when he was a student on a tight budget.

“I was at Loughborough Univerity, on a scholarship, so it wasn’t like I had a lot of money to actually give people lots of Christmas presents,” he says.

“I started to make friends in the Garden Society and I wanted to bring some presents – I think that was the first time I baked in that way. It wasn’t baking from scratch – I literally bought some shortcrust pastry from the shop and put some [readymade] mincemeat and cranberries in it to make mince pies. I also made some stained glass cookies to give to people – that’s where it all started.”

Here are Mandal’s ideas for baked festive gifts…

1. A lighter Christmas cake

“If you’re going to a Christmas gathering, rather than buying a cake, make the cake yourself,” says Mandal.

“There is lighter version of a fruit cake recipe in my book [Showstopper Cakes] – a lot of people don’t like the heavy-fruited Christmas cake.” Growing up in India, the only cake his family had was on Christmas day – but it was very different to the boozy, fruit-heavy cake eaten in the UK.

“It was more like a dense sponge cake with a handful of dried mixed fruit dispensed evenly in the crumb. I will be honest, I liked this cake a lot more than the British version.”

For Christmas presents, he says: “You can make your own marzipan and coat the cake with it, then decorate it as you like.”

2. Spiced brownie bars

The best thing to add to a brownie bar to make it Christmassy is “definitely spiced caramel”, says Mandal.

To make ginger caramel, “You basically make the caramel and add a teaspoon or one-and-a-half teaspoons of ground ginger in it. Then if you want to put a pinch of Christmas spices in it as well – that’s absolutely amazing! I think it complements the dark, rich brownie flavour quite well.”

3. Mince pies

“If you’re going to someone’s house for Christmas, instead of buying some mince pies, just make a batch of them yourself – that’s an amazing gift.

“If you want to make your own pastry, it’s a simple shortcrust pastry: three parts flour to two parts butter, and a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar. Rub it together and then put three to four tablespoons of water (depending on how much flour you’re using). Put everything in a food processor until it starts coming together as a clump. Then you chill it, take it out and roll it, and cut it into shapes and line the cupcake tin to make mince pies.

“Or you can just buy the pastry – perfectly fine! [Use] all butter shortcrust pastry and they are amazing. Same with mincemeat, you can just buy readymade mincemeat or you can make your own. Or as a kind of hybrid version, buy readymade mincemeat, but add fruits you like in it. You can maybe put some dried cranberries in, or some brandy-soaked cherries in – which are not usually in mince pies a lot of the time.”

4. Jam

“When I have time, I make jams,” says Mandal, whose book includes recipes for several, including pineapple, ginger and chilli jam.

“You can make jams and you can give them as good presents. If you’re making it home you can pretty much add no preservatives – because jam is a mix of sugar and fruit, so you know what’s in it. That’s a very, very useful [gift].”

5. Christmas tree decorations

“Edible Christmas decorations are great – like stained glass cookies, or any kind of decorated cookies – that you can just hang on your Christmas tree,” says Mandal.

When it comes to the dough, you have options. “Obviously Christmas is gingerbread, so making gingerbread cookies is a big tradition for me. But if you are in doubt you could just use a normal shortbread and instead of normal caster sugar, replace it with muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar.

“Then if you’re making it with, say, 200 grams of flour, put 10 grams of ginger in – so it’s about 1/20, and that will make it gingery enough. And you can put other spices in like a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne, nutmeg and a pinch of clove will make it very, very Christmassy.

“You can make a little hole in the rolled gingerbread [with a] cookie cutter, and take a bit out of the cookie. Then put some boiled sweets in it and then bake it for seven to eight minutes. By the time the biscuits are baked, your boiled sweets will melt and create the stained glass effect,” he says.

“You don’t even need to decorate those with royal icing if you don’t want to, because they look so pretty as it is – they will be a beautiful decoration for a tree, and they taste delicious.”

Showstopping Cakes by Rahul Mandal is published by Kyle Books, priced £26. Photography by Maja Smend. Available now.

Sabrina Ghayour’s tahini cinnamon swirls recipe

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Cinnamon Swirls post McCarthy Holden estate agents

“I love cinnamon in pastry and desserts. There really is no sweet treat that doesn’t work with a little cinnamon in it, and these swirls have always been a favourite of mine,” says Sabrina Ghayour.

“The tahini really enriches them, giving them a lovely nutty flavour that is something quite different and pleasing. They are great with coffee or served with vanilla ice cream. You can also freeze a whole roll of prepared pastry for later use, then cut and bake from frozen for an extra couple of minutes.”

Cinnamon Swirls post McCarthy Holden estate agents

Tahini cinnamon swirls recipe

Ingredients:

(Makes 12)

1 x 320g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet

4–5tbsp tahini (make sure it’s not too thin, and avoid using excess oil)

3tbsp golden granulated sugar

2tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

2. Lay the pastry sheet on your work surface.

3. Mix the tahini with the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly all over the pastry sheet, leaving a two centimetre clear border along one long edge. Starting from the opposite long edge, roll up the pastry tightly.

4. Cut the roll into four, then cut each section into three equal slices. Lay the slices with the swirl facing up on the lined tray, spaced slightly apart, and flatten each one gently. Bake for 20–22 minutes until nicely browned on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray before serving.

Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour is published by Aster, priced £26. Photography by Kris Kirkham. Available now.

Article By Prudence Wade, PA

 

Footnote – If your looking for a fabulous kitchen to cook in why not try this property

Ukrainian chef Olia Hercules on cooking as an act of resistance

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Ukrainian Chef post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

For Olia Hercules, cooking is normally her therapy, her safe space – but she lost this when Russia invaded her native country, Ukraine.

“For the first two months or so, I couldn’t really cook – it was a weird feeling,” the 38-year-old remembers. “Normally it’s an act of meditation and stress relief. If it’s a normal, everyday stress, I cook – especially if I make something a bit more involved, like dough, breadmaking, dumplings – something like that, it’s amazing.

“But when you’re going through trauma, it was completely different. I felt guilty eating at first, then I felt guilty cooking. It was a horrible feeling, and I couldn’t shake it off.”

Ukrainian Chef post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

She eventually felt differently while making her parents a meal in Italy after they fled Ukraine. “That’s when it lifted, and I was like yes, I’ve got it back. I’m enjoying making this borscht for them, I know it’s going to do so much good.”

Now, Hercules says she realises cooking is “an act of resistance and defiance, and not letting Putin and his goons take all the joy away from us – because that’s what they’re trying to do”.

Recently, after some particularly bad news about the war, Hercules regressed to those feelings – but her mother brought her back to herself. “She said, ‘This is what he’s [Vladimir Putin] trying to do. Don’t let him do this – this is how we’re going to lose if we’re going to be paralysed by fear all the time and stop living.’ So we can’t stop living – and food is life.”

Now, Hercules is learning to take better care of herself, whether that’s returning to cooking, booking herself into an embroidery course, or writing. She also set up the Cook for Ukraine campaign with friend and food writer Alissa Timoshkina, as a way of raising awareness.

“At first we thought, OK, this is going to be a hashtag, and maybe we’ll think of something – a donation situation,” she says. “We were like, it’s good enough to just do a hashtag, cook a Ukrainian meal, and educate people and keep Ukraine in the news, keep talking about it – and also this thing of connection.”

If somebody in Britain makes a Ukrainian dish, Hercules suggests: “It’s much easier for them to imagine a family that would have been having this dish somewhere in Ukraine – and now they can’t do that anymore. The headlines are there, and with time it’s only natural for people to start disassociating, and being like, OK, I need to preserve my sanity, I can’t look at this horror all the time.

“But having something cultural – especially something to do with food – keeps you connected, and also gives you strength in a way.”

The campaign’s success exceeded Hercules’ expectations, and as well as raising awareness around the situation in Ukraine, it’s also a window into the country’s unique cuisine.

She accepts there are preconceptions about Ukrainian food. “People have said it is all about potatoes and dumplings and overcooked cabbage, which was actually really hurtful. But stereotypes are stereotypes – I don’t blame people for having them.”

Ukrainian Chef post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

Instead, she wants people to know the cuisine is so much more than that – it’s “diverse, and can be fresh and herbaceous”.

Now though, Hercules doesn’t feel like she has to convince everyone that Ukraine is a rich and diverse country. It is – but she also says: “It’s time to embrace all of our potato and cabbage dishes, because they’re actually extremely delicious.”

She has one of these potato dishes in her latest cookbook, Home Food. A staple growing up, the recipe for crispy potatoes and onions is “something everybody could do – students do it – and the perfection of this dish is because you cut the potatoes in an imperfect way. [Even if] you’re striving to do really thin slices, inevitably some will be thicker than others – and that’s what you want, that’s what makes it so good. Because some of the potatoes become more crispy, and some become soft.”

Hercules rediscovered the recipe during the start of the pandemic, asking her mum about it (who, by the way, didn’t think it even counted as a recipe) – and now it’s well and truly back in her repertoire.

Ukrainian Chef post from McCarthy Holden estate agents

Through writing her new book, Hercules realised how much food can connect people – regardless of where you come from. She reflects on her time in Italy (she spent a year there during university as part of an exchange program), saying: “When I lived in Italy, I immediately connected to my fellow students” through food.

In her halls of residence, “We became friends with loads of Italian students living there – they were from all over, especially from the south of Italy. A few of them used to receive parcels from their families – one of the boys’ papa was a butcher, so he’d receive hunks of amazing cuts of meat and jars with what they call ‘sugo de la mama’ – like tomato sauce, either with meatballs or whatever. And we’d all benefit from it, because it’s so delicious.

This immediately transported Hercules back in time, to when her older brother went to university in Odessa when she was 12. “I remember my mum packing these big boxes, and once she even packed a whole roasted duck into the box, and you’d go to the bus station, and you’d pay someone to take the box on the bus, and then he’d receive it on the other end.”

When she first arrived in Italy, Hercules admits her grasp of the language was rudimentary – but she managed to communicate this story to her new friends, and find common ground.

“[Food] breaks barriers, and immediately makes you feel closer,” she reflects. “I think the book has become that in many ways, reflecting through cultures. I realised food and humour have been the two ways for me, in each culture I experienced or tried to assimilate into – as soon as there was some kind of a connection in what we ate, and as soon as I understood the humour in another language, I was like OK, this is it. I feel at home now.”

Home Food: Recipes To Comfort And Connect by Olia Hercules is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, priced £26. Photography by Joe Woodhouse. Available now.

Article by Prudence Wade, PA

Kitchen kit: 10 ways to lift the heart of the home

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After some inspiration for quick kitchen updates? Sam Wylie-Harris hits the shops.

Whether you’re a creative cook or have a soft spot for Uber Eats, no matter which way you look at it, your kitchen is probably the space serving the most purpose right now.

And with dining-in, or a quick kitchen disco, the only way to get the party started these days, you really don’t need an excuse to elevate the busiest room in the house with some lovely new kit.

Here’s 10 ways to give your kitchen a mini makeover and maximise mealtimes…

1. Russell Hobbs Structure White Kettle, £49.99; Structure White 2 Slice Toaster, £49.99 and Structure White 4 Slice Toaster, £59.99, Russell Hobbs

Chances are your kettle’s clocked more brews lately than the busiest teashop in the land. Your next mug of builder’s is going to taste that much nicer when you flick the switch of this glossy white model from Russell Hobbs. With ‘rapid boil’ zone markers and capacity to boil one cup in 45 seconds (saving energy), the matching toaster with ‘lift and look’ feature means faultless golden slices at a glance.

2. KitchenAid Steel Core Enamel Casserole, Red, from £130-£140, John Lewis

Casseroles, chilli con carne, curry… this flame-red casserole dish offers as much feelgood factor as the comfort food you’ll be lovingly spooning out of it.

3. Italian Chef Set, £21.50, Brabantia

Whether you’re serving pasta, slicing pizza or grating a chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano, this trio will put the buono! into your next bolognese or margherita.

4. Bronx Kitchen Wall Unit, £75; Bronx Bread Bin, £26; Bronx 12 Piece Dinner Set, £48, and Set of 3 Bronx Storage Jars, £27 (other items from a selection), Next

A great way to gain more space, this industrial-inspired wall unit can be stacked with dinnerware and those all-important indoor herbs. We love the co-ordinating bread bin and storage jars too.

5. George Foreman 28000 Smokeless Electric Grill, 1500 W, Stainless Steel, £96.21, Amazon

It’s the cooking conundrum anyone with a small kitchen, or limited ventilation, knows only too well – how to grill delicious kebabs or chicken thighs without having to live with the lingering smoke and smells. George Foreman’s electric grill now eliminates up to 87% of smoke, accommodates a wide variety of foods in record time, with dishwasher safe removeable grill plates too. Job done.

6. Kilner Universal Storage Jars, from £8, Amazon or Kilnerjar.co.uk

Kilner’s iconic storage jars are made from 100% recyclable glass that doesn’t absorb odours or flavours, so they can be used over and over again for a myriad of items, including dry and fresh food. Plus they’re neat and tidy and you can clearly see what’s inside.

7. Mayflower Ceramic Non-Stick Frying Pan, from £28 (was £35); Mayflower Ceramic Non-Stick Milkpan with 2 Spouts, £37, Greenpan

Suitable for all hob types, these lovely ceramic pans hint at ‘cottagecore’ and foraging for home-grown veggies.

8. Bo Touch Bin 36L – Pine Green, £179, Brabantia

The Bentley of waste bins, this space efficient, non-slip model, with silent opening and closing system, will handle all your rubbish – with the added bonus of PerfectFit Bo waste bags and Brabantia Perfume Your Bin Capsules to reduce nasty smells, so it’s ‘pine’ fresh too.

9. BAKTRADITION Baking Kit 1, £18.25, IKEA

If you’re a jenny-come-lately to the great British baking trend (or running short on a few implements), Ikea’s new baking kit will have you – and the kids – whipping up sweet treats and Victoria sponges in no time, especially with Mother’s Day around the corner.

10. Mary Berry Signature Collection 16 Piece Dinner Set, £125; Set of 16 Cutlery Set, £50, and Set of 4 Red Wine Glasses, £40 (other items from a selection), Next

With her fingers in many pies, Mary Berry’s Signature Collection dinner set retains her keen eye for detail with its beaded edge. And who wouldn’t want the queen of cooking’s tableware for entertaining, tablescaping and creating memorable moments at home?

12 Boozy Gift Boxes to Delight the Wine or Spirit Lover in your Life

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Perfectly packed and guaranteed to go down a treat, Sam Wylie-Harris rustles up this year’s best boozy gift boxes.

If you really want to box clever this Christmas, chances are you’ll find everything you need in the wine and spirit department.

Well-wrapped and attractively styled, there’s a boozy gift box to suit all tastes.

Here’s our pick of the bunch…

1. The Wine Society The Bellini Case, £22.50, The Wine Society

A new kind of prosecco experience with all the trimmings, The Wine Society have struck gold with their Bellini gift box, which includes a 25cl bottle of Van Nahmen Rhubarb Nectar and Van Nahmen White Peach Nectar. Tart and sweet Italian style – saluti!

2. Nyetimber Classic Cuvée Multi-Vintage Gift Box, £36.99, Nyetimber

One of England’s finest sparkling wines, Nyetimber have gone to town with their London Christmas Scene limited-edition box, adorned with gold snowflakes and illustrations of iconic landmarks such as Big Ben, The Tower of London and London Eye – with some fabulous fizz inside.

3. The Kraken Black Spiced Rum Unknown Deep Limited Edition, £36.75, Amazon

It needs little introduction for dark rum fans – The Kraken is one of the most prized spiced rums out there. This new-look glossy black bottle, embossed with ancient gold currency, is the first in a special-edition series, themed around a mythical story of a deep-sea expedition to find the elusive beast. Plus, The Kraken are donating a £1 from every bottle sold to the marine conversation charity, Project Aware: Dive Against Debris.

4. House of Suntory Roku Japanese Gin Gift Box, £38.50, Harvey Nichols

Crafted from six Japanese botanicals (roku means six in Japanese), as well as traditional gin botanicals (juniper, lemon peel, coriander, etc), this fragrant gin is presented in a pretty cherry blossom gift box. Yuzu citrusy top notes, cherry blossom, spicy sansho pepper and green tea make themselves known in perfect harmony.

5. Retro Gin Fridge – That Boutique-y Gin Company, £39.90, The Whisky World

With old-school looks and styling inspired by the 1950s, and eight 5cl bottles to enjoy, this must be the cutest pressie to pop under the tree. Of course, it won’t freeze your ice trays or martini glass, but who wouldn’t want to chill out with a shot of Yuzu, Smoked Rosemary or Ginger Lime Gin come the big day?

6. Christmas Day Mixed Wine and Prosecco Gift Box, £39.99, Virgin Wines

The world of wine is so huge, where to start if you want to narrow it down to a tip-top trio? Virgin Wines have done the hard work for you here, with their German pinot noir from the famous Pfalz region, crowd-pleasing Aussie sauvignon blanc and super popular Senti prosecco – plus the added bonus of a personalised gift message.

7. St-Germain Winter Bloom Bauble & Spritz Kit, £40, Hedges and Flowers

Baubles in bloom… St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur have teamed up with Hedges and Flowers floral design studio to create this luxurious spritz kit, which includes a bottle of the famous French floral liqueur, glass carafe, two art deco gold rimmed glasses and four handmade glass baubles filled with dried flowers, finished with a velvet ribbon for hanging. Did someone say deck the halls with cocktails and curios? We’re in.

8. Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Champagne NV & 2 Branded Flutes Gift Box, £50, The Champagne Company

A chic carry case with all the trimmings, Laurent Perrier’s bag of tricks includes a bottle of their beautifully fresh and elegant La Cuvée Brut, with two tulip shaped glass flutes to enhance the steady stream of bubbles with all the bells and whistles.

9. Specially Yours Moët & Chandon Personalisable Gift Boxes: Imperial Brut Personalisable Metal Gift Box, £50, Rosé Imperial Personalisable Metal Gift Box, £59, Clos 19

Santa’s workshop has been busying itself with these personalized metal gift tins to ring out your message loud and clear. Dressed in winter white or rosy pink, Specially Yours celebrates the most wonderful time of the year to pop the corks!

10. Patrón Silver Tequila – Día De Muertos, £54.99, Getitinkd.com

Top of our tequila wish list, Patrón Silver are also encouraging us to explore personalised options courtesy of Inkd – and their whimsy limited-edition bottle inspired by Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday which brings families together to celebrate life and death. Adorned with butterflies, marigolds and sugar skull, it’s a beautifully crafted little gem from Jalisco.

11. Berry Bros & Rudd Extra Ordinary Gift Set, £95, Berry Bros & Rudd

Sometimes, it’s all in the detail. This chic set stars two benchmark bottles from Bordeaux: Berry Bros & Rudd Extra Ordinary White and Extra Ordinary Claret. Plus Berry’s own label grand cru champagne, a champagne stopper and corkscrew, along with illustrated tote bag. One to delight wine enthusiasts and oenophiles.

12. Home of Bombay Hamper, £120, Bombay Sapphire

A gin palace to call their own, this hamper is no mere afterthought for the gin lover in your life. Nestled inside are five fabulous (70cl) expressions: Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Dry, Bombay Sapphire English Estate, Bombay East, and Bombay Bramble. Plus a long twisted bar spoon and jigger to put the jingle and joy into Christmas when they rustle up the first G&T.

Apples Galore in your Garden? Time to Make Chutney and Jam

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Add Your Heading Text HereExperts offer advice on the best apples to grow for particular dishes, and how to preserve your bumper harvest. By Hannah Stephenson.

Fed up with the thought of endless crumbles and pies? So, what else can you do with your bumper crops of apples?

It’s easy to make chutneys and jams from huge gluts, say experts from Arundel Castle (arundelcastle.org) in west Sussex, which has this year had an amazing harvest.

Senior organic kitchen gardener Izzy McKinley and artisan jam and chutney maker Christine Hart, owner of Sussex Jams And Chutneys, are helping to make the most of the season’s best.

Why bother preserving apples at home?

For much of the year, the apples on supermarket shelves are months old, says McKinley. Often imported, they are stored in warehouses with modified atmospheres that prevent them from ripening.

Preserving them in chutneys and jams during autumn is a more traditional way of enjoying British apples throughout the year.

While Pink Lady and Jazz apples are imported, your own apples may be just as suitable. Varieties you might grow yourself, such as ‘Egremont Russet’ and ‘Bramley’, can be transformed into delicious dishes.

Choosing your apples

McKinley and Hart agree that the best all-rounder is the ‘Peasegood’s Nonsuch’, a large apple from Lincolnshire. It is a cooking apple but requires much less sugar than other cookers, says Hart.

She says: “Never be put off by cooking apples, they are excellent to work with. It’s quicker to peel and prepare a large apple, and these varieties have a wonderfully sharp flavour. You can add sugar as you like. Cooking apples still produce deliciously sweet jams.

“While chutneys and apple sauce are popular choices, I like to make apple jams and serve with scones, as an autumnal alternative to a classic cream tea.”

Other ways of preserving apples this autumn include…

Chutney

Making chutney is like making jam, except it will have a longer cooking time and include vinegar, less sugar and more savoury ingredients, such as onions. Unleash your creativity and experiment with adding spices, fruits or even seasonal vegetables, such as squash. Curry lovers can try making their own apple and mango chutney, the experts suggest.

No-cook relish

Make your own apple relish without having to cook. Combine apples, vinegar, sugar and seasoning, then store in the fridge for two to three days, shaking each day. It’ll keep for up to one week. As with all preserves, it’s vital to sterilise the jars properly first.

Drying

Thinly sliced apples should be dipped in an acidic solution (such as lemon juice and water) to prevent browning, then dried in an oven at a low temperature or in a food dehydrator. Both methods take up to 12 hours. The apples can be stored in a Ziplock bag and, if optimally dried and stored, will last up to six months. Eat them as a sweet snack or crumbled on granola.

Juicing

While freshly home-made apple juice will only keep for two to three days in the fridge, it will last for a few months stored in plastic bags in the freezer, so it’s worth making plenty of your own, says McKinley.

Frozen apple juice has a range of culinary uses – use it as cooking liquid for gammon or serve over the festive season in spiced cocktails and mocktails.

Her top pick for juicing is the lesser-known variety ‘Ingrid Marie’. “It has a lightly aromatic juice and is a cross between ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ and ‘Elstar’,” she says.

Apple juice aficionados should also keep a lookout for the ‘Jupiter’, another ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ cross, which bursts with sweet juice, she suggests.

“For the ultimate home-made apple juice, our head gardener’s secret is to add one or two pears. The sweetness and texture that a ripe pear brings to an apple juice is unparalleled,” she says.

Ray Mears Top Tips for Cooking Outdoors

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The bushcraft expert shares his know-how for whipping up a more than decent campfire dinner.

If your outdoor cooking repertoire is limited to smores and sausages on sticks, it might be time to branch out a little.

“Food is important outdoors, and it doesn’t have to be just spaghetti bolognese out of a packet,” says survivalist expert Ray Mears, who has now written his first cookbook, Wilderness Chef: The Ultimate Guide To Cooking Outdoors.

Whether you’re going on a hike or trek, or just camping at the end of the garden, “you just need a handful of recipes and tricks that you can remember and carry with you”, he says.

“That can transform your experience of travelling, and it’s also bringing variety to the outdoor diet,” Mears adds.

Here are a few more bites of outdoors culinary wisdom from the bushcraft pro…

Don’t fret about burning things – just get stuck in

“If it goes wrong, it goes wrong, so what? You learn. I can imagine an artist or writer being afraid of a blank piece of paper, but until you actually push some words around on the page, you don’t get anywhere. It’s really important to just launch in and have a go. Even if things don’t turn out quite as you anticipated, they usually still taste good.”

Keep your fire small

“When you’re cooking over an open fire, it needs only be small. You don’t use too much heat. You only need a small fire. That’s very important.”

Have a few knife skills up your sleeve

“It’s important to develop some knife skills because there’s a lot of chopping up. If you can make what the French call a mirepoix [the basis of many a soup or stew] – carrots, onions and celery diced up and softened in butter – the moment you do that, you’re off and running; you can’t really go far wrong.”

Soups are ideal on a camping trip

“Soups are very important outdoors. They are very easy to make. They’re very hydrating, and we use a lot of liquid when we’re outdoors. They’re very satisfying and easy and quick to do. We underestimate how valuable soups are. Very often, you can make the soup from the trimmings of other meals. So, then you don’t waste anything as well, which is great.”

Consider your packaging

“I don’t like aluminium foil, it’ll last in the environment forever. It’s just not necessary, and many foods come already packaged to cook, like eggs.”

Don’t worry about making a pudding

“When you’re outdoors, it’s enough to have a good main.”

Ground oven cooking can be great fun

“Using a ground oven is a very special way of cooking where you dig a hole, light a fire and add your ingredients before covering it all back up with earth. The food comes out tasting lovely if it’s done right but there is a skill to it, there’s a real art to doing it well.

“When there’s a group of you, the effort is nothing because you share the labour. And so for an hour or two of preparation, you can then go away for many hours, do something else, and come back and have a fantastic meal waiting for you.”

Wilderness Chef: The Ultimate Guide To Cooking Outdoors by Ray Mears, photography by Ray Mears, is published by Bloomsbury, priced £20. Available now.

Banana, Tahini and White Chocolate Muffin Recipe

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banan muffin recipe

Muffins are great to whip up at the weekend - so you can make your way through them in the week.

banan muffin recipe

Elly McCausland says her recipe using banana, tahini, cardamom and white chocolate, results in a “highly addictive sweet-savoury combination” and is also an “excellent way to use up overripe bananas – the blacker the better”.

Banana, tahini and white chocolate muffin recipe

Ingredients

(Makes 12)

For the muffins:

200g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

Seeds from 8 cardamom pods, finely ground

1/4tsp sea salt flakes

100g white chocolate chips (or 1cm pieces of white chocolate)

3 large bananas, mashed

70g light brown soft sugar

1 egg

50g butter, melted and cooled

1tsp vanilla extract

60g tahini

For the tahini glaze:

2tbsp tahini

100g icing sugar

1tsp lemon juice

1tbsp sesame seeds (a mixture of black and white looks nice)

banan muffin recipe

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases (or grease thoroughly with some extra butter if you don’t have paper cases).

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, then stir in the cardamom and salt. Stir in the white chocolate.

3. In a separate bowl, mash together the bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter, vanilla and tahini.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, being careful not to over-mix – this is the key to a light muffin. Divide between the 12 cases and bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, until they spring back when pressed lightly with a finger.

5. Transfer the muffins in their cases to a wire rack to cool.

6. Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, icing sugar, lemon juice and two tablespoons of water. When the muffins are cool, spoon the glaze over the top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and leave for an hour or so for the glaze to set before eating (if you can wait!).

The Botanical Kitchen by Elly McCausland, photography by Polly Webster, is published by Bloomsbury Absolute, priced £26. Available now.

banan muffin recipe
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