CHILL FOOD WITH MEL MORRIS
July 9th, 2004 by susanna
Decisions decisions, at every turn at Eastnor you are faced with a decision. Which stage do you go to? Where do you pitch your tent? Which treatment do you have in the body and soul area? What food do you choose? The choice of what food to have is doubly difficult because you not only have an array of excellent food stalls to choose from but you can also bring your own and cook al-fresco.
Bringing your own food can work out a lot cheaper than eating from the sellers around the festival (although a decent meal should only set you back around a fiver). For parents it can be an opportunity to give the kids some food they are used to and spend some time ‘en famille’ during the festival. Camping stoves are easy and economical and are a must have on my Eastnor list if only for that morning cup of tea. Just remember to check that your barbecue has legs, you don’t bring glass containers and that food is not likely to go off in the heat of a midday tent and you should be fine. Cous-cous and noodles are great staples for the camper as they can be left to ‘cook’ in a bowl of boiling water while you get on with the rest of the preparations. Also don’t forget that washing up facilities at Eastnor are limited, so unless you like the taste with everything the tinned pilchards are better left at home.
However I am sure that once you hit the arena and get sucked into all the new and beautiful music on offer you will be reluctant to leave and the Big Chill offers you just the type of quality food you would expect. Aromas from around the world dance across the Malvern hills, curry smells from the Thali man, Jamaican jerk chicken, Morrocan spices, French wine and sausages, and off course pies. Try them all if you can but make sure you get in early for your evening meal, all food is cooked fresh and stallholders can run out of a favourite dish.
There are also a wide range of juices, coffees, salads, ice creams and all the other bits and pieces you need to keep young and older Chilldren happy. Half the fun is planning what to have next! What could be better than sitting in the sunshine with a delicious pie in one hand and an organic juice in the other while listening to fantastic music and planning your next meal? That for me is true heaven!
Festival cooking recipes:-
Festival style pork and bean casserole
This dish is a hearty cassoulet style stew. When I cook it at home I add belly pork and use fresh sausages instead of tinned but these can go off in a tent so when camping my revised recipe looks like this:-
You will need
1 pack of smoked back bacon, thick cut if you can get it and the best you can afford. Dry cure is best as it will keep better in your tent.
1 pre-packed chorizo sausage or salami
1 tin of frankfurter sausages
1 tin baked beans
2 other tins of beans (choose your favourites from things like broad, butter, blackeye, cannelini etc)
A little olive oil
Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste
Start by cutting the bacon into strips and adding to the olive oil in a pan. When camping this is easiest done with scissors. Chop the chorizo into chunks and add these to the bacon and oil. Heat this until the bacon is cooked. Now add all the tins of beans, return to a low heat and leave to simmer, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile drain and chop the frankfurters and add these to warm through ten minutes before serving along with tabasco, salt and pepper. Serve with barbecue roasted jackets or crusty bread.
Cheats vegetable paella
We all know paella as a seafood rich concoction that takes hours to prepare. But if you can give up just a little flavour I think this version is perfect for enjoying before an evening out of doors and its ready in a fraction of the time!
You will need
Half a pack of paella rice
1 onion chopped
1 pepper chopped
3 or 4 cloves or garlic depending on size and taste
1 packet of saffron
1 tin of garden peas or in the summer try to buy the fresh ones in pods
A mix of vegetables – those trays of mixed veg are great with green beans, juicy baby carrots, little courgettes etc etc
2 pints of Chicken/Veggie sock or white wine (or a mix of both) – a stock cube is fine
A little olive oil.
Parsley (optional)
Lemon (optional)
This is great done either in a pan on the barbie or over a camping stove. First of all chop the pepper, onion and garlic finely and fry gently in the oil. Now add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until the rice is coated in the oil. Add the stock/wine (all of it) and the saffron and leave the rice to cook, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile chop all the other veg into attractive pieces and shell the peas if necessary. When almost all of the liquid has been soaked into the rice, add the vegetables and cook until tender but not soggy. Before serving add a sprinkle of parsley and some fresh lemon juice if you can be bothered and voila, an easy paella.
