What dish would you cook to welcome someone into your family home? Share your favourite recipes and you could win a copy of TACT’s cookery book, signed by the charity’s patron Lorraine Pascale, who has personal experience of both the care system and adoption.
For the last few years I’ve been working with a wonderful charity called TACT, which provides fostering and adoption services to help some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK. Their aim is to help these youngsters find loving homes and a fresh new start in life.
In this time I’ve had the privilege to meet many amazing carers, adopters and staff who are making an incredible difference to the lives of the young people they work with.
The concept of family is very important to TACT; providing a safe, stable and caring home environment is so crucial and it makes a massive difference in supporting children and young people who find themselves in the care system for all kinds of reasons. Young people need to feel valued, made to feel special and loved, and need to be listened to when they are ready to share. That is what family is there for.
One of the simplest ways to bring family together and welcome new people into our home is through food. Family meals all too often are something children in care have missed out on. Because the family meal is so important, TACT has launched its very own cook book called Care to Cook, packed full of delicious starters, mains and desserts kindly donated by TACT’s adopters, supporters and staff.
The cost of the book is £3 and all proceeds directly benefit adopted children and their new families.
To help raise awareness of Care to Cook, Bangers & Mash is calling on food bloggers and food lovers to submit their own favourite family recipes, and one lucky person will receive a copy of the cook book signed by TACT’s new celebrity patron, TV chef and best selling cookery writer Lorraine Pascale.
How to submit your recipe
- If you are a blogger and would like to enter the Care to Cook Challenge, simply post a recipe on your blog with links to both this page and the Care to Cook page on the TACT website and include the Care to Cook Challenge logo somewhere in your post.
- The recipe can either be one of your own or somebody else’s but do remember to clearly credit your sources. You can republish an old blog post but please include information about the Care to Cook Challenge.
- Your post can also be entered into other blogging challenges, so long as this complies with their rules.
- If you mention your post on Twitter please mention @BangerMashChat and @TACTCare and use the #CareToCook hashtag. We will retweet all we see.
- Please also email a link to your entry to vanesther@reescommunications.co.uk.
- If you aren’t a blogger, don’t worry – you are still welcome to enter. Simply email your recipe (and a photo if you have one) to the above address and I’ll upload it to the Bangers & Mash blog for others to see.
- The closing date for entries is Sunday 12 August 2012, and a round-up of all recipes submitted will feature here on Bangers & Mash and on TACT’s website the following week.
- The winning entry will be chosen by one of TACT’s looked after children in the Bristol and South West region.
We can’t wait to see your family favourite recipes and please feel free to enter the challenge as many times as you like. Thanks for your support!
To get things started, here’s a fantastic recipe for Caribbean-style Pot Roast Chicken taken from Care to Cook. I tried it out on my own family last weekend and it is extremely yummy and very, very moreish. My daughters loved it – they asked for seconds and then thirds!
As my husband was tucking in to his, he asked where I got the recipe and I explained it had been donated by a TACT adopter for their cookery book. In between mouthfuls, Jason nodded and said: “Whoever Bernadette has adopted is very, very lucky. Her food is great!”
Pot Roast Chicken – Caribbean Style
By Bernadette Biscette, TACT Adopter
Serves 6
1 whole medium free range chicken, cut in half
½ medium onion, peeled and chopped
1½ tbsp all purpose seasoning
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp mild bajan or jerk seasoning
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
For the gravy
Cup of hot water
1 tsp cassareep or molasses
1 tbsp tomato puree
½ medium onion, peeled and chopped
½ tsp all purpose seasoning
Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2.
Place the two halves of chicken in a large bowl and add the onion, all purpose seasoning, mixed herbs, paprika and bajan or jerk seasoning. Rub the seasoning into the chicken with your hands making sure it is well covered.
Pour the olive oil and brown sugar into a large iron or Dutch pot and heat until the sugar starts to brown. Place the two halves of chicken in the pot and slowly brown the surface by turning in the oil for around 15-20 minutes. (I had to do the two halves separately as I don’t have a pan large enough.)
When the chicken is well glazed, let them simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot and place in a deep roasting pan and set aside.
Add a cup of hot water to the juices in the pot and all the ingredients for the gravy. Stir over a medium heat for 5 minutes and then pour over the chicken, cover with foil and cook for 2 hours in the oven, removing the foil for the last half hour. The chicken should be tender and well cooked.
Serve with salad and boiled rice for a hearty meal.
And now it’s your turn – what would you cook?
The Entries
- Homemade Fillet O’ Fish and “Chips” from Under The Blue Gum Tree
- French Madeleines from Crêpes Suzettes
- Peanut Butter and Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake from Reluctant Housedad
- Penang Hokkien Mee from Cheryl Leembruggen
- Stuffed Tomatoes with Herbs and Oats from Lavender & Lovage
- Nonya Chicken Curry from Elly Rowe
- Pasta and Pesto Sauce from A Trifle Rushed
- Boeuf en Daube from Chez Foti
- Yorkshire Season Pudding with Herbs from Lavender & Lovage
- Spinach and Bacon Macaroni Cheese from Fishfingers for Tea
- Courgette Bake followed by Vanilla Cream Terrine from Barbara Hamer
- Chicken Basquaise from French Foodie Baby
- Strawberries and Cream Birthday Cake from Sue Hamer
- Hainanese Chicken Rice from Bangers & Mash
Bangers & Mash 