Changing Food… One Meal At A Time!
Jan Fullwood Food Consultant
(aka JamJarJan)
NOTES FROM A CHAOTIC KITCHEN
Welcome to daily life in a chaotic, well-used kitchen…..
A constantly busy, always evolving space: full of cooking, eating and creating (dinner, treats, mess), for work and for play, for family and friends.
Let me introduce myself and my family:
- A Food and Recipe Consultant who is ‘never knowingly under-catered’, I’ll whip up a five-minute muffin mix at a moment’s notice. I’m constantly creating, evaluating and tasting, always cooking, eating and learning something new
- Long-suffering Hub, who just wants a clutter-free kitchen and peace and quiet. Happiest in the garden. He grows, I cook and preserve
- Eldest Cheffy Son and his Pastry-chef girlfriend, who cook catering quantities of restaurant quality food at every opportunity
- Protein & carb-obsessed younger Student Son, currently at uni. Loves food, but cooking not his forte - student survival skills ongoing
We all eat to live. Let me help you live to eat.
Share my learning and experiences to make the most of your meals too.
What's in Jan's Pan?
IN PROCESS
DECEMBER 2025
We have had some cracking meals over Christmas, though, the difference between the way chefs and home economists cook was highlighted yet again. Everything takes twice as long (poor Student Son didn’t get his last supper before his 8pm train because Cheffy son was being, well, cheffy.)
Also the amount of oil and butter used when pan-frying and butter-basting and finishing-in-the-oven leaves us with the worst kind of washing up and a layer of grease that would keep a traction engine going for a week. But, of course, everything tastes exceptional, and was well worth the extra washing up (chefs may do a lot of cleaning as part of the job, but they do generally have a potwasher to do the worst of it) so potwasher was a small price to pay for our Michelin starred meals.
But I didn't have to cook a thing all Christmas, which was actually rather pleasant. We double turkeyed with full Christmas dinners on both Xmas and Boxing Day having driven Cheffy son into London on Christmas morning before going for dinner at our lovely Pastry Chef's parents for Christmas dinner, so we saw the sunrise and Oxford Street Christmas lights which actually felt very Christmass.
The only entertaining I did was a post Xmas curry night, massaman beef slow cooked and butternut squash chickpea and spinach with the spicing based on a Hoppers recipe - all preprepped, the best kind of entertaining.
A YEAR OF CHOCOLATE
2025 has certainly been the year of chocolate bean
Starting with the workshop in February held by Spencer Hyman of Coco runners it ended with a visit to pump St chocolate in Suffolk. I’ve always enjoyed a factory visit but when chocolate is involved, I couldn't resist and the two hour trip to Suffolk was well worth it.
Food gifts are the way forward
As a food obssessed family we have got to the stage where we no longer need any more clutter round the house, but can always welcome a new taste sensation. As a result we all made up hampers of local delicacies. We had cheese from the Goodwood estate from my sister in West Sussex, we had Devon delights from the Sidmouth branch of the family, and we supported their local delis too, by sending this hamper plus cheeses to them from Prime and Preserved Deli
We're sill waiting for feedback on the Brussel Sprout pickled eggs, or perhaps they haven't been brave enough to try them yet!
Nothing quite beats homemade gifts either, and during my Christmas reading both Mark Hix and Claire Thomson of @5oclockapron fame suggested homemade Panforte. With so much dried fruit and nuts in the house, plus honey and chocolate I was able to whip this up nougaty, chocolatey delight for a last minute gift, along with some white chocolate shards sprinkled with rose petals and pistachios. Ok, so not everyone has these so easily to hand (I have a particularly well stocked larder thanks to all my food projects) but both were so very much cheaper to make than buy, and easy to elevate by putting into a cellophane bag, wrapping with ribbon and labelling with a suitable gift tag (I take no chances and put all allergens on there too).
Mincemeat shortbread squares were on the menu too, which made agreat alternative to mince pies, again stacked into cellophane bags with a gifit ribbon. And all those plums I froze in the summer came in useful for plum chutney to go with the Christmas cheeseboard.
A home made gift is a win win all round, a little bit of love in a gift bag.
What's in Jan's Airfyer?
Chestnuts shout Christmas to me, and sadly it seems to be the only time that the supermarkets stock them. But if you find yourself with a supply then the air fryer is a great way to roast them.
Make a small cross in the shell on either side of the nut - take care as they can be slippery beasts and shoot out of your grip. Roast on 200C for 10-15minutes, shaking as you go. Peel the skins and savour the creamy roasty toasty nut inside. Not quite 'chestnuts roasting on an open fire' but not a bad alternative.
I made use of the dehydrator setting again overnight to create orange slices for a pre Xmas cocktails party. They make pretty additions to G&T or Aperol Spritz, but I definitely need to invest in some racks to maximise the space when the oven is on so long, or revert to the dehydrator setting on my oven instead.
What's in Jan's Veg Box
Love 'em or hate 'em, Christmas is the time to bring out the sprouts. And long gone are the days of soggy sulphuric beige mini cabbages, now you can steam 'em, fry 'em, shred 'em til the green glows in all its glory, and and if you thought you didn't like them try one of these suggestions.
My favourite Christmas treatment for Brussels sprouts is fried with bacon and chestnuts (it's chestnuts all the way for me when it gets to the festive season). Halve larger Brussels and lightly steam or blanch.
Fry some bacon or lardons to release the fat and soften some shallot slices. Add in the Brussels and cook until lightly charred. Add some ready peeled chestnuts (vacuum packed are the best here) with a splash of madeira wineover a high heat, to bring it all together. Serve alongside your meat of choice for the Christmas celebrations. Veggies can omit the bacon of course.
I had the most delicious meal at Ember restaurant in Hertford, which serves platters of steak cooked on a charcoal grill to share. The group was divided on the side orders but we ordered one of each vegetable dish accompaniment. The Brussel sprouts and whiskey cream were enough to make even the abstainers convert.
For our Christmas dinner we had shredded Brussels cooked with bacon and caramelised onions which were sweet and unctuous, courtesy of the Chefs, who took over on Boxing Day.
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