Foodie Gifts at the Gluttonous Gardener
With one eye towards the looming festive season Sally contacted me at the end of last week to introduce her company:
We are The Gluttonous Gardener we specialise in gifts that are witty combinations of plants and edibles. Our website www.glut.co.uk has over 50 different gifts and there is something for all gift giving occasions.
For the foodie there are several interesting gift ideas. How about a potted Olive Tree (£42)
“Send a beautiful potted olive tree with the added indulgence of a jar of extra olives deliciously marinated in herb infused extra virgin olive oil perfect for the more impatient olive enthusiast and a delicious bottle of organic olive oil.
This all comes beautifully presented in a rustic wooden crate, lined with brown wax paper, hand tied with large rafia bows and complete with full care instructions and recipes for their olive harvest. This is the perfect gift for any budding grow your own enthusiast.”
or the Loganberry bush (£38)?
“Even more delicious than a raspberry, the loganberry is a hardy bush which performs best when grown against a wall and produces its delicious juicy fruit in early summer. When completely ripe they can be eaten straight of the plant, but are better still when transformed into superlative jams and ice-creams. Full instructions for care and cultivation are supplied with a healthy ready to plant loganberry plant, a jar of superb loganberry jam.”
There are also redcurrant’s, lemons, limes oranges and pomegranates. Each of which come with a jar or product associated with the fruit.
I’m wondering if the lemon tree will grow in my little garden-less apartment, for I am mighty tempted to treat myself?
How to make the perfect lasagne
I don’t think I have ever made my own laagne; a heinous crime I realise to rely on the ready-made versions. This video though (three simple steps with Marco Geboers) is inspiring enough to ‘give it a go’ even with my ham-fisted attempts in the kitchen.
Lasagne has always been a firm family favourite as it is homely, hearty and delicious and by following three easy steps in our video, you will see that it is actually a really simple dish that you can impress your friends and family with.
And you don’t just have to stick to traditional beef lasagne. Thanks to some new recipe ideas from Dolmio why not be a little bit more adventurous and include seafood in your filling? Prawns and smoked haddock go beautifully with a white sauce. And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, why not try a vegetarian option - mushrooms, carrots, aubergine or broccoli combine to make a delicious roasted winter vegetable variation.
Hungry? Click here to learn from chef Marco’s three easy steps to a perfect lasagne:
Alara - UK’s First Zero Waste Food Company
Alara, one of the country’s biggest muesli producers, were the world’s first fair trade cereal company and have just become the first zero waste food business in the UK. Their green accomplishments, alongside their pledge to become carbon neutral by 2010, helps set them up as a shining example of how it can be done.
Whilst big business may shy away from this way of thinking, especially during current hard financial times, passing it off as profit sapping and soft, Alara’s rapid expansion and list of awards show it’s not just the planet that benefits from going green!
From office supplies to packaging, the whole organisation operates on a ‘zero waste’ basis and, whether its refilling printer cartridges locally or turning food scraps into practical soil conditioners, nothing is dumped.
There are many ways in which Alara profits from the zero waste policy; whilst the company benefits from a greener image and reputation, the most remuneration of going zero is simple waste reduction; they save money because they waste less.
Building on their Zero waste successes, Alara have set their sights on being carbon neutral by 2010. Some key steps have already been taken, with the exclusive use of renewable energy sources throughout the company. This is complemented by a wind turbine, which crowns one of the warehouses.
Specially installed lighting systems monitor area use and natural illumination levels to ensure adequate light when required, but turn themselves off when no movement is detected or when natural light sources can suffice.
Complementing these steps is the local sourcing of supplies, which cuts excessive travel and benefits the surrounding community. If this carbon conscious path is maintained, Alara’s 2010 goal will clearly become reality.
The zero waste policies have built Alara into a healthier, happier workplace and, aside from the direct green benefits of the waste and carbon programmes and the reduced costs, Alara have reaped some much subtler benefits to their business and beyond.
These benefits are perhaps best summed up through Alara’s reclamation of a piece of local wasteland. After removing over ten tonnes of rubbish a wonderful garden and green space has sprouted up, it has simultaneously helped offset carbon emissions and provided a community focus point, with Alara as its flagship.
Community and employee participation in the garden is encouraged and organic values promoted. The garden acts as a real time illustration of the benefits of waste reduction and investment in one’s environment. With everything from pomegranates to honey produced in the garden, the values and rewards of organic hard work are taught, lessons which Alara hope will be translated into the lives of the local community.
For ways you can go green and for more information on Alara’s muesli, including their new sustainable range, visit their website at www.alara.co.uk
Great British Food Magazine Winter edition
The winter edition of Great British Food is now on sale and, like all the other magazines in the world, is covering the Christmas season.
Available through Tesco and WHSmith, Great British Food features 100s of recipes and ideas, inside info on the latest cookbooks, gadgets and food products and interviews with top chefs and food champions.
This issue sees John Torrode uncover the reasons behind his new book, Beef, and up and coming Northern chef, Anthony Flinn, gives his take on the best of British. Also read insightful columns from the likes of Henrietta Green, Claire MacDonald and Angela Hartnett. Plus, new TV chef, Valentine Warner, is on hand with some fabulous winter dishes.
Alongside features on whisky, Scottish smoked salmon, British turkey and Stilton, the magazine is also packed with gift ideas, a food shop special and the lowdown on the best restaurants to tuck into Christmas lunch.
Priced at £3.99, Great British Food is on sale now.
The Wokingham Wine Festival 2008
The Thames Valley Region of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, The ASDW (Association of Small Direct Wine merchants) and the Wokingham Round Table are pleased to announce the first Wokingham Wine Festival, an exciting wine event being held in the Main Hall in the old Town Hall in Wokingham marketplace over the weekend of 6th and 7th December.
Wine-lovers can come to taste and buy fine wines supplied by members of the ASDW (the Association of Small Direct Wine merchants). There will be 11 wine merchants at the festival, many from the local area, each with a superb range of wines to taste and buy. ASDW members offer between them a huge range of fine wines from around the world, and the festival offers a wonderful opportunity to try many of these and to stock up for the festive season.
Amordivino is a specialist in Italian wines
Bordeaux & Beyond offers a select range of quality French wines
Decanter Wines is a Spanish specialist with a fine range of Rioja, Albariño and others
Fasol Menin (UK) supplies award-winning Prosecco di Valdobbiadene
Henley Fine Wines imports a select range of South Australian fine wines
Hyde Park Wines offers sweet and sparkling Spanish Wines to drink with spicy food.
Individual Wines offers fine and interesting wines at low prices
Leon Stolarski Fine Wines has wines from small growers in south and south-west France
Nick Dobson Wines is the UK’s leading importer of Austrian and Swiss Wines
Piedmontwines.com has a range of boutique wines from Piedmont in northern Italy.
Stanlake Park Wine Estate is a Berkshire-based English wine producer
Pre-purchased tickets for the Wokingham Wine Festival cost just £5 per person per day, and once inside, visitors can taste as many of the available wines as they like for no additional charge. The festival is in aid of charity, with proceeds from the sale of tickets going to the Thames Valley Region of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, who are organising the event along with the ASDW and the Wokingham Round Table.
For more information about the event, call Rosemary Tocock (0118 9862591), Nick Dobson (07799 661694), or visit the festival website.
Organisers:-