Monthly Archives: September 2010

Good Food, Fast Dairy Cookbook on sale now!

When you have rushed in from work or have hungry people patrolling the kitchen, thinking of meals let alone cooking them can be difficult.

Giving you the inspiration to rustle up tasty meals that everyone will find irresistible, Good Food, Fast is packed with delicious, stress-free recipes that can be whipped up in just 30 minutes or less!

Good Food, Fast Dairy CookbookWith 116 recipes that cleverly use store-cupboard staples as well as combinations of fresh and frozen ingredients, Good Food, Fast ensures you can create something tempting even under pressure. Great if unexpected guests have dropped in or your day has not quite gone to plan.

The book is clearly divided into seven handy sections.

There is always something to suit the occasion or your store-cupboard and each of the 120 recipes is illustrated with striking photography – so even the most impatient of dinner guests know just what’s in store.

The first section covers ‘Speedy Soups’ with recipes such as Tomato Soup with Pesto Cream (see below). Once you have tasted it, you will never reach for a can of Heinz again. The ‘Quick Fixes’ and ‘Everyday Eating’ sections show that even being short of time does mean you have to revert to the same tried and tested meals. With 47 refreshingly different options – you could have something different everyday of week for over a month.

Preparing in advance when you have time is always a winner and the ‘Frozen Assets’ section gives plenty of inspiration for pizza bases, sauces, gravy and even cakes and desserts that can be made ahead ready for when you need them. Finish off with something from scrumptious ‘Desserts’ or ‘Take the Biscuit’ – so easy, there is no need to buy in a pudding ever again.

The new Good Food, Fast Dairy Cookbook is priced at £9.99 (plus £2 P&P).

To order a copy or for further information call 0845 0948 128, speak to your local milkman, or visit www.dairydiary.co.uk

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Tomato soup with pesto cream

This soup is so rich and tasty you will never want to have canned tomato soup again.

Tomato soup with pesto creamTime 30 minutes
Calories per portion 286 Kcal
Fat per portion 19g
of which saturated 10.9g
Serves 2
Suitable for vegetarians
The soup without the cream topping is suitable for freezing

Butter 25g (1oz)
Onion 1, peeled and chopped
Carrot 1, peeled and chopped
Chopped tomatoes 400g can
Tomato purée 1 tbsp
Vegetable stock 300ml (½ pint)
Caster sugar 1 tsp
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bicarbonate of soda a pinch
Green pesto sauce 1 tbsp
Crème fraîche 2 tbsp

1 Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion and carrot. Cook over a medium heat for 5–7 minutes, until the vegetables have softened, stirring occasionally.

2 Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, vegetable stock and caster sugar to the pan and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the soup for 10–15 minutes, until the vegetables are really tender.

3 Remove the pan from the heat and purée the soup using a hand-held electric wand or in a food processor or blender. Return to the pan, if necessary, season the soup to taste and stir in the bicarbonate of soda, which may fizz slightly, but stir until the fizzing stops.

4 Stir the pesto into the crème fraiche. Heat the soup and then pour it into warm bowls. Spoon the pesto crème fraîche on top, swirling it into the soup and serve immediately.

5 Adding the bicarbonate of soda helps to neutralise the acidity of the canned tomatoes and will help to prevent the crème fraîche from curdling as it is stirred into the soup.

Recipe taken from Good Food, Fast Dairy Cookbook

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Plant up your Autumn displays

If like me your summer pots are starting to look a little bedraggled, don’t resign them to the shed just yet.

Now’s the time to plant up gorgeous displays in time for autumn – you’ll be the envy of your street!

Seasonal Garden IdeasYou could use a mix of glorious heathers, teamed with velvety rich pansies or try chrysanthemums as shown below.

Half price offer!

The following project – and many more to give your garden autumn glory – comes from Seasonal Garden Ideas available at half price now online! Wow!

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Box of Autumn Delights

Capturing the very essence of early autumn, this box of fiery orange chrysanthemums takes pride of place on a white picket fence and rivals any summer display for colour and richness.

Plant up this box in late summer for flowering throughout September and into October. Full sun or part shade. It should take about an hour.

Seasonal Garden Ideas projectPlants required

  • Two bushy pot-grown chrysanthemum plants – buy them in bud, not fully open, so you get the maximum display in your own garden.
  • One each of the following plants: Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi), creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), Ajania pacifica ‘Desert Flame’, sedge (Carex ‘Evergold’) and stonecrop (Sedum ‘Lemon Ball’).

Equipment required

  • Rectangular wooden windowbox or trough, painted pale yellow.
  • Soil-based potting compost.
  • Broken crocks for drainage.
  • Trowel.

1 Water all the plants thoroughly the day before you plant them in the box – they are packed in very tightly which means the compost will dry out quickly, so you need to give them the best possible start.

2 If you have just painted your container, make sure the paint is absolutely dry before starting to plant. Put a layer of broken crocks in the bottom of the container for drainage, then half-fill with compost.

3 Plant the chrysanthemums first, one at each end of the box, checking that their rootballs are at the same depth as they were in their original pots. Firm in.

4 Place the Chinese lantern between the chrysanthemums, then insert the four foreground species: from left to right, creeping Jenny, Ajania, sedge and stonecrop. Set each plant in position, then trickle compost on and around the rootballs, covering each one completely and firming in as you go. Use your fingers to push the compost tightly all round the plants. Fill the box with compost to within 4cm (1½in) of the rim.

5 Hang the box on the fence, or position it wherever you want the display to be, then water thoroughly. This combination needs full sun to perform at its best.

Tip

When buying the chrysanthemums, don’t just pick the first one you see. They can vary considerably in size and quality. Look over all the specimens available, and go for the one with most buds – count them if necessary! It’s a simple trick, but it does ensure you get a plant that will literally flower its head off.

Note

Ajania is quite an unusual, sub-shrubby plant that does well in a sunny position. It’s sometimes called the ‘gold and silver chrysanthemum’. If you can’t find one, replace with marigolds.

Aftercare

Don’t allow the compost to dry out – keep it just moist to the touch. Deadhead the chrysanthemums as the flowers fade. When the display is over, remove all the plants and plant in the ground – they won’t survive more than one season in such a crowded container.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas.

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