Something New - Sea Spaghetti

Thanks to my lovely new friend Bea from Portomuinos I have some fabulous new foods to try and to write about. Portomuinos is a family firm, based in Spain selling all sorts of seaweed and seaweed based foods. They have recently branched out to include other sea-products in their range, including sea urchin and monkfish liver.

I decided I would start with the simplest product Bea sent me, canned Sea Spaghetti.

The Sea Spaghetti is a dark olive green and smells of the sea - it's not overpowering at all, but you would immediately know where this vegetable grew, even if you hadn't seen the label. I popped a bit straight in my mouth to try. Salty, but not too salty and not rubbery at all, which was something I'd been fearing.

I started off with an easy recipe, as there was just me to feed that night, and used half a can to mix in with scrambled eggs. Wonderful!

The following evening I needed to try it with something a little more adventurous, and decided on a Chinese-style dish - Pork with Cashew Nuts & Seaweed:

Serves 2

• 2 pork loin steaks, cut into strips
• 1-2 tbsp clear honey
• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Handful of cashew nuts
• Sea spaghetti, drained

1. Mix the honey, soy sauce and lemon juice together and add the pork strips. Stir to coat and leave for at least 5 minutes
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok and add the pork and marinade. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until the pork is almost cooked. Stir regularly to turn the pork
3. Add the sea spaghetti and cashew nuts and cook for another couple of minutes, until the pork is cooked, then serve

We ate ours with new potatoes and salad, but it would be great with rice too.

I thought the sea spaghetti cooked really well, it didn't go tough at all. Stephen's verdict on sea spaghetti was "delicious" which is very, very high praise, coming from a man who doesn't trust vegetables, especially green ones!

I met the Portomuinos team at the Good Food Show in Birmingham, so watch out for them at food festivals and for their products in your local deli.

The Wonderful Godalming Food Festival 2011

I has been looking forward to the Godalming Food Festival all week, and it didn't disappoint. The weather was fantastic and my daughter and I were up and about early, so thought we'd go down straight away - also, I was worried that Pimpernel Fisheries would run out of their fabulous fish cakes before I got there. Thankfully there were still some left, so that was dinner sorted.

Pimpernel Fisheries stall is always beautifully presented, as you can see below. Gill also had some samphire for sale, which I love and which so rarely available, I had to get a bag to go with the fish cakes at dinner.

I was admiring the display and commenting that the seaweed really added to the presentation when she told me that they had discovered, by chance, that it also seemed to keep the flies away. So, if you are having a picnic on the beach, grab yourself some seaweed before you unpack the food.

Taking a break from the shopping, we watched the new Godalming Community Gospel Choir
They were excellent (after a few false starts due to microphone feedback) and it's hard to believe they've only being going a few months.

Then it was off for more tasting and shopping. Next up was a block of Sussex Charmer Cheese which I find is a great all rounder cheese. I use it in cooking, sandwiches and on a cheeseboard.

The final section of the market was the Italian Market, with wonderful breads, salami, cheeses, cakes, oils and vinegars.

Finally, as we walked back to the bus stop (a free shuttle bus was laid on all day courtesy of Toy Box - much appreciated by all, as Godalming has some really steep hills) there was a final delight - opera singers in Waitrose Car Park! Oh yes, the culture's not just in the yogurt in Godalming!

Halen Môn Pure White Sea Salt

Does salt need reviewing? Well, with Halen Môn, yes, I think it does. We all use salt, to a greater or lesser degree, and use it in so many ways - while we're cooking as a seasoning, on our chips, even when making Margarittas (more on that later!). So why not be sure to use the best you can?

Stephen and I conducted a taste test, pitting Halen Mon against Tesco's own free-flow table salt. Obviously, to look at they are hugely different

The crystals are stunning beautiful and really big compared to other sea salts I've used in the past. But, they are soft enough to crush between your fingers and it is very good in a grinder.

Compared to "normal" salt, Halen Môn really zings on your tongue and when you use it on a food with a high water content (we tried it with tomatoes and cucumbers) it really brings out the flavour of both the food and the salt. On its own, it tastes like the sea smells.

We tried their best known product, the pure white sea salt, but they also make four other flavours - With Organic Celery Seeds, With Tahitian Vanilla, With Welsh Oak and With Organic Spices. Unfortunately my local Waitrose doesn't stock these, so I will have to keep my eyes peeled when I'm visiting good delis or buy online. I'm particularly intrigued by the With Tahitian Vanilla flavour, not a combination I've come across before.

Compared to free-flow table salt, Halen Môn isn't cheap. We paid £4.49 for a 250g pot in Waitrose. But, this isn't a mass-produced industrial product and you are paying for not only the superior taste, but the time and care that goes into making it.

So, to round off, back to the Margaritta! Now obviously I wanted to test the salt to its very limits, so decided that a Margarita was the way to go and I'm pleased to say it stuck to the rim of the glass, just as it should. If you want to join me in a cocktail, here's my recipe:

- 50ml tequila
- 15ml Cointreau, Triple Sec or another orange liquor
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Ice, crushed if possible

Godalming Food Festival

Three days to go, but I am already very excited about the Godalming Food Festival on Saturday. Fabulous food and drink, including my favourite Pimpernel Fisheries - the main question is, will I get down there early enough to bag some of their fabulous fishcakes?

I always make a beeline for the fabulous cheesemakers too. I just love Sussex Charmer Cheese.



As well as fabulous home made and local produce, there's a great Italian market too, with more cheeses, pasta, salami plus all kinds of sweets and desserts.

Last, but not least go and find Ishmael's Mother - cook, purveyor of fine Thai and Indian sauces and general all-round Renaissance man! His demo-cum-taste test is a joy to behold - make sure you find him on Saturday!

Talking about food............

I spend a great deal of my time writing about food on my website (www.easymealplanner.co.uk) and in articles, planning recipes, shopping for food, cooking and testing recipes, then writing my weekly menus, but none of this really gives me the right place to talk about new foods and gadgets I find, which is what I plan to use this blog for.

I'll try just about any food; I'm very partial to Thai (see above), Malaysian and Indonesian food but would have to have my arm really twisted to eat liver and kidneys, but other than that, I'm always up for trying something new. So, if you've got something you'd like reviewed, be it food, a gadget or a new cookbook, let me me know.

Image: Kittikun Atsawintarangkul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net