Weekly Menu 22nd to 26th June 2009

Our blackcurrants last week, now they are pretty much all black.

This week I am hosting again and have chosen Blackcurrants as my ingredient. I adore blackcurrants, along with redcurrants, white currants and indeed the newest version we are growing josha berries which are a black currant and gooseberry hybrid.

The blackcurrant is grown a lot in the UK, apparently it was encouraged in world war two as it is extremely high in vitamin C. A lot is hyped about super foods here particularly fruits like blueberries and goji berries and many people seem to completely miss the blackcurrant which is just as good as either of those, as is the blackberry which our hedges will be thick with later in the year.

We have many sweets and pubbing that are blackcurrant flavoured though most of UK crop goes into one single product Ribena, which is a cordial. Blackcurrants are mostly used in puddings ie deserts but they can be used as a tart and strongly flavoured accompaniment to a savoury dish. Some people say they are too tart to eat raw but I would dispute that as would my 15 month old who i have been having to keep away from our small crop at the allotment. That should be ready to pick this week and I am hoping the pick your own farm with have them ready by next weekend along with raspberries (they had a few early ones last week).

If you have never tried them do look out for some or if you like liqueurs there is a fantastic french one called crème de cassis which is well worth trying.

My menu

Monday - Cauliflower cheese and a fresh salad from the allotment.

Tuesday - Rhubarb and carrot soup as I failed to make it last week.

Wednesday - Turkey stirfry, followed by blackcurrant fool as they should be ready by now.

Thursday - Moussaka

Friday - If the farm has some ripe ones by then or I have a few left from the allotment I want to do lamb or pork chops with a blackcurrant sauce.

The gluten free menu swap is currently hosted by Gluten Free Goodness, do pop over there and see who is next and even offer to host a week it's really easy. If you have a menu for me to mention either leave a comment here or email me at esther dot reeves at gmail dot com.

Wendy at Celiacs in the House has a 16th birthday party to cater and is doing an interesting sounding salad that was banned from the party for an adult event later in the week. Her kids sound pretty good though on what they will eat compared to many their age.

Heather at Celiac Family is having a kids choice week, sounds like her kids have some fantastic favourite meals. I'm very tempted to try her pork chops with black beans some time, I expect like her kids mine will not eat the beans but they do like chops..

Kim over at Gluten Free is Life has a lovely menu this week and it sounds like they had a great Father's day meal too.

Ginger at Fresh Ginger has a hectic sounding week and it is her first week of getting vegs from a CSA. If it is anything like our veg box I'm sure she will enjoy having a bunch of things to try. I love having things I wouldn't normally try.

Angela over at Angela's kitchen sounds like she has a packed week with all the sports and kids events she has on her schedule. She has some red currants growing in her yard which I love nearly as much as the black ones.