I made this vat of chutney from the very last of my greenhouse green tomatoes and some delicious Bramley apples from my Dad's garden. I had no small jars so I'll leave it in this enormous jar to mature. This is my mother's recipe.

Look at this for a bonfire!  We cooked curry in our potjie pots, enough to feed 30 people

• Alice lights the fire
• Mulled wine and sparklers
• Curry cooking
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Goodbye cupcakes, biscuits are back.  The cupcake is on the decline and we think the next baking trend will be biscuits, not cookies, but good old butter based, crisp biscuits.  Bring on the bourbons!

Icecream is also on the up and together with the biscuit we guess the ice-cream sandwich could be the new dessert craze.

Tea will be trending, not just the current resurgence of the vintage cuppa but in cocktails and as iced teas.  Think rooibos, jasmine, hibiscus and green tea in your cocktails.  This is our Fresh Red with Mint.  Rooibis espresso, apple juice, mint and squeeze of lemon.

Vermouth has been neglected despite being an essential component of the current trend of cocktail making. It is a great aperitif in its own right and you will see the real vermouth action in Spain where it is poured straight from the barrel to the glass.  Look out for this Italian vermouth bianco made by chemist Mauro Vergano.  It is made from a base of Cortese and Moscato grapes, steeped in citrus and herbs.  Subtle aromas of orange blossom over a base of herbs. Delicious! Justin and Jurga Sharpe have it on the menu at Pea Porridge restaurant in Bury St Edmundsl

If 2013 was the year of Quinoa then 2014 will be the year of Buckwheat. Usually referred to as a cereal grain, buckwheat is a superfood and actually a type of fruit. A relative of the rhubarb plant, buckwheat has a mild nutty flavour and a slightly softer texture than other grains. Well known uses for buckwheat are the flour (great for pancakes), soba noodles and kasha. Kasha are the whole buckwheat kernel; you can find them roasted or unroasted at most health food stores. The buckwheat plant's flowers are also used to make a dark, rich honey. Originally from China, the main producer today is Japan, where people eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve as a symbol of longevity. Buckwheat is high in magnesium, good for healthy muscles. One cup of soba noodles has about half the calories of a cup of regular pasta. Buckwheat also contains the antioxidant rutin, known to help lower cholesterol and strengthen small blood vessels. Buckwheat is also a gluten-free food, which makes it a perfect substitute for those who have trouble digesting wheat. The fascination with Asian food will also continue into 2014 with rice playing a big part in the return of the carbs.

 Will goat be the new kid in town? We think so.  With the increase in goat dairy produce it only makes sense to eat the goat meat itself. A staple in the Caribbean with curried goat being a Suffolkfoodie favourite, we always have some goat meat in the deep freeze. Kid goat is actually very versatile and has a great subtle flavour. Slow roast shoulder or leg grilled over a charcoal fire served Greek style with lemon and herbs, yum

Home brewing could prove to be popular next year  How about a Great British Brew Off?  Not beer or wine, but VINEGAR.  Yes, you heard it. Vinegar is easy to make and we will be starting a brew soon here at Suffolkfoodie HQ.  Many years ago a friend with a wine shop kept a barrel for the bottle ends and left overs and brewed wonderful vinegar.  We fancy this hand thrown vinaigrier. Drinking vinegars, or shrubs as they were known in the 17th Century are becoming trendy and light vinegar chasers ( yuk?) and savoury cocktails are going to trend soon.  Chicken Tikka Martini anyone?

Clucking good chicken restaurants have been appearing throughout 2013 and they will continue to develop out of London. Chicken is still an economical meat and we have also been predicting eggs as a trend for the past year. Scotch eggs are back on the bars in many guises.  How about devilled and curried eggs next? New cuts of meat will appear. In 2013 we saw a move towards the American cuts such as the flat iron steak (shoulder blade, known as Butler's Steak in good old Blighty.)  Expect the Pork Porterhouse and Ribeye Chops.  Out with the lamb shank and in with the lamb short ribs and lamb brisket. Pictured is The Tramshed chicken. 

Finally, the last prediction is Wine Bars...  Wine bars that really know about the wine and are happy to share their knowledge. Wine bars that are cosy and unpretenious and don't make you feel that you need to swirl, sniff and spit to enjoy a good glass of wine.  Our favourite in London is Sager and Wilde.  Looking for one in East Anglia please?

It's fish pie weather. Cod, salmon and smoked haddock yum!

Maria Crick has always wanted to run her own restaurant and now her dream has come true.  The new Cafe del Mar in Bury St Edmunds offers a tapas/meze menu with 3 dishes for £10.  At the moment it is BYO wine, allowing for a very affordable night out.

• inside the cafe
• greek salad
• panna cotta with blackberries
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In this video Peter Bayless from Braxted Park Cookery School in Witham, Essex explains how to cook the perfect steak. Peter won BBC Masterchef in 2006.

Steak is a staple of the Great British diet but all too often it doesn't get the attention it deserves. Peter shows how easy it is to cook up an exciting meal, and reveals how to make sure your steak is cooked exactly how you like it every time. Follow Peter's step-by-step guide to cooking the perfect steak accompanied with a tangy chimichurri dressing.

You will need the following:

 1 sirloin steak (or steak of your choice)

Olive oil & seasoning

Cast iron griddle pan with ridges

Kitchen foil

Tongs

This is the bowl of soup that I bought for my lunch at Morrisons cafe in Beccles yesterday. Presentation is obviously not high on the list!

Why not come and stay with us at suffolkfoodie hq in our new loft room? Situated in the pretty village of Badwell Ash in Mid Suffolk, it's perfect for exploring the whole of East Anglia and only an hour from the Suffolk coast, from Cambridge and from Norwich, and an easy hour and a half drive or a train ride from London. The room is perfect for one or two guests as either a twin or a king-size bedroom and ideal for work or for a relaxing break. We have country walks close to the house and two old bikes that can be borrowed for cycle rides. There is public transport into Bury St Edmunds from outside the house or you can park on our driveway. The loft is sunny and bright with a stable door to let the morning sun in all year round and a balcony overlooking our lovely garden.

• This is the balcony
• with a great view of the garden
• as the Loft is the top floor of our new cartlodge
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• It's a comfortable room to relax in
• have your first breakfast
• with a spacious bathroom shower
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The small kitchen area of the loft is well equipped with a microwave grill and fridge freezer and a good supply of crockery including coffee and tea making facilities. We provide your first breakfast too. There is a bar-style table to eat or work from and a comfortable armchair. You will find wifi and a television and there is a land-line phone with free local calls included as the mobile signal in the village is poor. All linen is 100% cotton and large, thick, fluffy bath towels are provided.The loft room has its own private entrance, approached by a metal staircase. The balcony outside the room has a table and two chairs and there is also a ground level covered patio area below. We don't allow smoking in the room but you can smoke here outside if necessary.

• The en-suite bathroom is well equipped
• the kitchen is perfect for making light snacks
• and it's a large room with plenty of room for two people
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We look forward to welcoming you to Suffolk. Contact us here for information or please mention that you saw the room on suffolkfoodie when booking through Airbnb. 

This is one you need to book ahead.  On Friday and Saturday nights only at 7.45pm in Middlewood Green, it's a farmhouse (converted farm building) with fine dining at a set time, with a set menu and a set price £35.50. There is a formula here, and as "newbies" we were welcomed by the patron/chef and given the format and The Rules. 

"Help yourself to wine and serve it yourself" - Bravo for the affordable quality choice of wines.

"Food will be served, water topped up and bang on the kitchen door if you need anything during the meal"

Plate after plate of competently cooked food came out of the kitchen, but nothing blew us away. Service did the job, food was delivered, plates were cleared, more food delivered, plates cleared... but no interaction from the young and efficient staff, get the jist? We duly knocked on the kitchen door requesting another roll to mop up the pate, but there were no more available and anyway we would be "filled up with the other courses"  This is the perfect place to go with a small party of friends when you want to have a good chat and be fed together, but I did feel that we were expected to say "thank you for having us" as we left.     

• Allium
• Risotto
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• Triple citrus pudding
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We went to Buxhall Coach House this week, it was fun trying to work out where to go in the dark... not much exterior lighting, so we seemed to land in what we hoped was a parking space, and found our way in by the candle lantern that was by the front door. Honor cooks and her mother, Sarah looks after the front of house, with the help of some shy young staff. This is not a pile-them-in and rush-them-out sort of restaurant, but has one sitting (everybody arrived at once on the night we were there) and service depends on the dish you have ordered; everything is prepared in-house. Their excellent menu makes ordering very difficult, and it took a while to decide. Honor is a fabulous chef and her abilty to work these flavours with a balance of ingredients, all of which were top quality, is a real art. There are only a handful of places that I could name in Suffolk where the food has a "wow" factor and this is one of them. My pictures are tagged so you can see what we ate but some dishes were wolfed down before we got a chance to take a photo!

• Pasta al forno
• Plum and frangipane tart
• Hunters style rabbit
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