Tropica Organic Whole Dried Lady Finger Bananas

by Andrew on May 15, 2013 in food, In Search Of... with No comments

Tropica Organic Whole Dried Lady Finger BananasPacked with vitamins, rich in fibre, less than 66 calories each, but as tasty and sweet as any chocolate bar. Sounds a little too good to be true, but sun dried Lady Finger Bananas really are in a class of their own when it comes to picnic snacks…

As with any bananas, Lady Finger Bananas count as one of your five a day are a good source of dietary fiber, certain vitamins and potassium. But where they differ from their cousins in our supermarkets is in their constituency and sweetness.

Known as ‘date’ or ‘fig’ bananas, the smaller fruits are renowned for their sweet sticky taste. When the bananas are slowly dried in the sun, they hold some of their moisture, unlike the dried banana chips you may be used to, creating a unique healthy snack that retains the sweet, sticky deliciousness the bananas are famed for alongside the health benefits – in combination making them a ‘super snack’ that is a fantastic addition to any child’s lunch box or grown-ups picnic basket.

Tropica Organic Whole Dried Lady Finger Bananas have recently been launched and the organic, raw and natural bananas combine an amazing flavour and sticky taste that results in an irresistible snack that can also be chopped up and added to cakes and muffins for a delicious exotic twist.

Tropica Organic Whole Dried Lady Finger Bananas are just £2.29 for a 200g pack of approximately 10 bananas from health stores or www.naturboutique.co.uk


Great Yorkshire Beer By Leigh Linley

by Andrew on May 13, 2013 in Books For Cooks with No comments

Great Yorkshire Beer By Leigh LinleyYorkshire. Green hills, jagged drystone walls, flat caps, Yorkshire puddings, and – of course – pint upon pint of tawny Yorkshire Ale. The Yorkshire pint is revered across the world, a mark of quality and a guarantee of satisfaction and craftsmanship.

Except there’s much more to it than that – much, much more. The current boom in Craft and Microbrewing that the UK is seeing has exploded across Yorkshire, and the Yorkshire beer of today is more than just a pint of Best.

The new generation of Yorkshire brewers are breaking rules and traditions, resurrecting lost dynasties, soaking up influences from food and brewing in other countries and bringing a wave of fresh ideas to our beloved Yorkshire beer.

Leigh Linley has spent time with a handful of the region’s newest and most critically–acclaimed brewers, from the south to east ridings – and Great Yorkshire Beer is their story. Each brewer is interviewed and their most successful beers are profiled. Food pairings for the beers run throughout, along with recipes for complementary snacks and main meals.

Brewers featured in Great Yorkshire Beer By Leigh Linley include

The Brew Co (Sheffield)
Ilkley Brewery (Ilkley)
Kirkstall Brewery (Leeds)
Leeds Brewery (Leeds)
Little Valley Brewery (Cragg Vale)
Magic Rock Brewery (Huddersfield)
Mallinsons Brewery (Huddersfield)
Revolutions Brewing Co (Castleford)
Rooster’s Brewing Co (Knaresborough)
Saltaire Brewery (Shipley)
Summer Wine Brewery (Honley)
Wharfebank Brewery (Pool in Wharfedale, nr Leeds)
Wold Top Brewery (Hunmanby)

There is also a feature on breweries in the Dales.

“With great knowledge, obvious passion and an appropriate sense of Yorkshire pride, Leigh takes us round to meet the men and women who are making Yorkshire beer top of the national chart, as well as giving us great recipes matched with some of the county’s top new brews.“
From the foreword by Greg Mulholland MP – Chair, Parliamentary Save the Pub Group and one of CAMRA Top 40 Campaigners

Great Yorkshire Beer: Good Beer. Good Food. Good People

The Royal Horseguards for Father’s Day

by Andrew on May 10, 2013 in Eating Out with No comments

this Father’s Day at The Royal Horseguards’ Forget the fairy cakes and pink tarts, there are no girly frills at this award-winning afternoon tea experience. Treat dad The Royal Horseguards for Father’s Day in the relaxing lounge or the stylish Equus bar – a backdrop designed specifically with the modern gent in mind.

Filled with flavours fit for Father’s Day, the menu includes a selection of savoury bites including a ‘beef and Meantime Ale pie’, ‘mini fish and chips with pea puree’, ‘smoked bacon and cheddar savoury muffin’ and a ‘Casterbridge steak sandwich’. Not a cute cupcake in sight, the selection of sweet treats includes ‘macho, man-sized cupcakes’ in ‘whiskey and walnut’ and ‘chocolate and chilli’ flavours, manly macaroons and a chocolate tool kit. Don’t miss out on the afternoon tea staple of freshly bakes scones with Cornish clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserves, and wash it all down with a butch builder’s tea or one of the five-star hotel’s award winning tea leaf blends.

Available to book online, the manly menu has been created exclusively by the hotel’s talented pastry chef, Joanne Todd, and will be available between 10-16 June 2013, priced at £35 per person.

Filled with flavours fit for Father’s Day, the menu includes:
• A selection of savoury bites including a beef and Meantime Ale pie
• Mini fish and chips with pea puree
• Smoked bacon and cheddar savoury muffin
• A Casterbridge steak sandwich

Not a cute cupcake in sight, the selection of sweet treats includes:
• Macho, man-sized cupcakes in whiskey & walnut and chocolate & chill flavours
• Manly macaroons
• A chocolate tool kit

Upgrade the Father’s Day afternoon tea to include a Habanos Cuban Cigar and a signature gentleman’s cocktail from the Equus bar for an additional £25.

For further information or to book please visit to The Royal Horseguards for Father’s Day www.guoman.com/FathersDay

The Scottish Baker Of The Year 2013

by Andrew on May 9, 2013 in On The Web with No comments

scottish_baker_2013Scottish Bakers has announced the names of the final 6 bakers shortlisted for the ultimate accoldade, the title of SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR 2013:

Harry Gow – Inverness
Stevens the Bakers – Dunfermline
Brownings the Bakers – Kilmarnock
Border Biscuits – Motherwell
Macleans Highland Bakery – Forres
Cuckoos Bakery Edinburgh

Each of the 6 finalsts have already been recognised by their customers and a panel of expert judges as producing some of the BEST products in Scotland following an intense judging day in Dunfermline last month.

Following the judges taste tests, all of the regional winners were judged on a national level and a total of 24 bakers were put forward for the main prize.

Each of these bakers were then asked to submit a business case for why their bakery is the best in the land and each baker has also been subjected to a panel interview by independent business judges including James Withers, CEO of Scotland Food and Drink, David Lonsdale, Assistant Director, CBI Scotland and Mike Tully, CEO Bako Northern and Scotland.

The bakers will now complete video interviews for the judges to make their decision on who will be crowned Scottish Baker of the Year 2013

Paul Hollywood, Artisan baker and TV presenter, will announce the winner and present them with their prize, a specially commissioned silver rolling pin at this year’s Scottish Baker of the Year Awards, at a prestigious ceremony in Glasgow on 18th May.

15,000 customers from Stranraer to Shetland voted for their best bakery products during March and the top products in each of the 6 categories were baked and delivered to Dunfermline on 10th April. All products were then judged a panel of independent experts led by artisan baker Robert Ross and including retired master bakers with extensive experience of the bakery sector in Scotland.

The panel professionally judged some 300 items shortlisted in the 6 categories: breads, scones, individual cakes, savouries, morning rolls and new category biscuits, to decide who bakes the best products in Scotland.

Each category has been divided into 3 regions, covering Northern, Central and Southern Scotland. Within each category, the judges will award regional Gold, Silver and Bronze awards and all our shortlisted bakers will be invited to the Awards ceremony in May where they will find out what colour their regional award will be.

The final results will remain a closely guarded secret until 18th May when Paul will announce the results and also name the Scottish Baker of the Year 2013, a crown currently held by Harry Gow.

But for now, each of our 6 bakers can take pride in their place as one of the best bakers in the land.

St Martin’s Courtyard Food and Flowers Festival

by Andrew on May 7, 2013 in Tasting Events/Shows with No comments

st martins courtyard
St Martin’s Courtyard will pay tribute to the heritage and future of Covent Garden this summer with a festival celebrating food and flowers.

On Saturday 13 July between 12 noon and 5pm, all six international restaurants will serve unique dishes and drinks with a floral theme. Flowers look beautiful but can also taste great, from the peppery taste of a nasturtium, to a sweetness of a hibiscus and the more familiar flavour of rose.

Cantina Laredo, the modern Mexican in Covent Garden, will be in full bloom, bringing the fiesta to the St Martin’s Courtyard Food and Flowers Festival. Visit Cantina Laredo’s pop-up bar in the courtyard where they will be giving away 2,000 limited edition Casa Ambar Hibiscus Margaritas. Guaranteed to make your taste buds blossom, this fragrant floral concoction is made using home-made syrup infused with tropical hibiscus flower, boutique Casa Ambar Blanco 100% Blue Agave tequila, Cointreau and freshly squeezed lime. Enjoy free samples of Cantina Laredo’s signature dishes their Top Shelf Guacamole, prepared before your eyes, as well as delicious signature dishes. The special Casa Ambar Hibiscus Margarita will be available for half price when you dine in the restaurant on 13 July.

Inside the restaurant, Cantina Laredo will be serving a specially created Squash Blossom dish (also known as zucchini flower) stuffed with feta cheese and fresh herbs, coated and fried in a light batter with a drizzle of sweet and spicy chilli honey.

Suda Thai will be serving ‘Chor-muang’, steamed Thai dumplings handcrafted into a flower shape, from a Bangkok style street food cart in the courtyard. Don’t miss the ‘Butterfly Kiss’ cocktails garnished with a viola.

Visit Italian enoteca Dalla Terra for a floral notes wine tasting in the courtyard, Bill’s for flower cupcakes or Dishoom for a rose and cardamom lassi. Jamie’s Italian will also create a special floral dish exclusively for the festival.

The courtyard will be dressed with a fabulous floral installation and The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers will create a spectacular banquet table with a full spread made entirely from flowers which will be displayed in the courtyard. Displays of floral prints will adorn the windows of the international flagships and boutiques.

Covent Garden was traditionally the home of the Flower Market (made famous by Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady) and is now a renowned foodie destination. St Martin’s Courtyard is shopping and dining destination in the heart of Covent Garden, a must-visit for shopping, style and restaurants.

www.stmartinscourtyard.co.uk
For live updates follow @smccoventgarden on twitter.

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