Author Archives for Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

About Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

Head of Dairy Diary; I'm passionate about producing high quality products that our customers will cherish. I'm also a mum of three and I enjoy cooking, walking, gardening and painting with my family, as well as printmaking (when I find the time!)

Seasonal Garden Ideas to add beauty to your garden

The big news this week is the launch of Seasonal Garden Ideas: a new gardening book that will inspire both novice and experienced gardeners this spring.

Seasonal Garden IdeasSeasonal Garden Ideas is a beautiful book featuring easy half-day projects to add beauty to any garden throughout the year.

Each of the 77 projects is presented like a RECIPE; with ingredients, step-by-step instructions, hints and tips, time required, when to start and aftercare. Now doesn’t that sound simple?

When you turn to a project you will be delighted with how the information is clearly laid out to make the task so straightforward. Each project is illustrated with a beautiful colour photograph.

Excellent value at just £9.75.
Order it from your milkman or online while stocks last.

Celebrate St David’s day with a fantastic Welsh lamb dish

I love Welsh lamb and this Minty Lamb Pattie is the perfect excuse to support Welsh farmers and enjoy one of the best ‘burgers’ you’ll ever taste. Sounds naughty, but this is a nicely balanced meal. Try it and I think you’ll add it to your ‘favourites’.

Save £4 when you buy Around Britain Dairy Cookbook

Minty Lamb Pattie is taken from the popular Around Britain Dairy Cookbook which is available for a short period at the incredible price of just £2.99 while stocks last.

Minty Lamb Patties

Wales is famous for its mountains, valleys, rivers, and of course its lamb. For centuries it has been home to several breeds of sheep. Welsh Lamb is considered to have a good colour and a sweet, succulent flavour.

Lamb Mint PattiesPreparation time – 10 minutes
Cooking time – 30 minutes
Calories per portion – 386 Kcal
Fat per portion – 17g
of which saturated – 7.9g
Serves – 4
Suitable for freezing

Minced lamb 450g (1lb)
Onion 1 small, peeled and finely chopped
Breadcrumbs 110g (4oz)
Lemon ½ , finely grated rind only
Chopped mint 3 tbsp
Egg 1, beaten
Plain flour 2 tbsp
Cucumber ½ , cut into 5cm (2in) lengths and then into quarter wedges
Spring onions 6, trimmed and cut into 5mm ( ¼ in) pieces
Chicken stock 200ml (7fl oz)
Dry sherry 1 tbsp

1 In a large bowl, mix the lamb, onion, breadcrumbs, lemon rind, 1 tbsp of the mint and the egg. Shape the mixture into eight flatish balls and coat in the flour.

2 Dry fry the patties in a large, lidded frying pan for about 5 minutes, until browned all over. Add the cucumber, spring onions, stock and sherry and the remaining mint. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the meat is tender.

Serve with peas.

Cook’s tip
If you are cooking for two, follow the recipe above but only fry four of the patties. Wrap the remaining four (unfloured) in cling film and freeze until required. Defrost overnight in the fridge and grill for 10–15 minutes, until browned. Serve in burger buns with a large salad.

Recipe taken from Around Britain Dairy Cookbook, available for just £2.99 for a limited period.

Spicy Pork, Pasta and Beans

This hearty and heathly pasta dish is perfect for chilly winter evenings.

An all-in-one pot recipe that’s great for family cooking, but make sure it’s a big pot! It provides fibre, protein and carbohydrate and so needs no accompaniment. If left to stand, the pasta will absorb the sauce, so if it gets too thick, just add boiling water and stir well.

This is another fabulous recipe from Hearty & Healthy Dairy Cookbook, available from our website now for a staggering £2.99 (plus £2.00 P&P). Order now this offer ends Sunday 28 February.

Spicy Pork, Pasta and BeansPreparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 35 minutes
Calories per portion 445 Kcal
Fat per portion 10g
of which saturated 2.6g
Serves 4

Olive oil 2 tsp
Pork fillet 375g (13oz), trimmed of any visible fat and sinew and cut into 1cm (½in) cubes
Onion 1, peeled and sliced
Green pepper 1, deseeded and sliced
Garlic 2 cloves, peeled and crushed
Red chilli 1, deseeded and finely chopped
Cumin seeds 2 tsp
Passata 500g (1lb 2oz)
Chicken stock 750ml (1¼ pints)
Pasta, e.g. penne 175g (6oz)
Cannellini beans 420g can, drained and rinsed
Chopped parsley 4 tbsp

1 Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the pork and let it colour all over for 5 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic and chilli and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle cumin seeds into the pan and stir well. Cook for another minute.

2 Pour in the passata and stock, bring to the boil then add the pasta. Bring it back to the boil and add the beans and half the parsley. Season to taste and stir well.

3 Cook, uncovered, over a low to medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just tender and coated in a thick sauce (add a little hot water if the sauce gets too thick).

4 Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley and then let the stew stand for 5 minutes before serving straight from the pot.

Cook’s tip
With the cumin seeds and chilli this dish could be quite spicy (depends on the chilli). Take the heat out by adding some tomato ketchup or sugar.

Recipe taken from Hearty & Healthy Dairy Cookbook

I love pancakes

Hurray, it’s Shrove Tuesday tomorrow and a great excuse to eat pancakes. Although I love them – savoury or sweet – I never think to make them at any other time of year.

PancakesMy love affair with the humble pancake began on a French exchange holiday when I was fourteen. The family I stayed with were extremely eccentric (half of their home was a ‘Havishamesque’ abandoned theatre/shop, covered in cobwebs and unchanged for decades) but fantastic cooks; making the most amazing crepes.

Although I have never been able to replicate such pancake excellence, I have a go at making a new savoury version each year, finished off with a classic sugar and lemon. I may defy convention tomorrow with these Fruity Coffee Pancakes from Year Round Dairy Cookbook. Incidentally, a contestant on Come Dine with Me will soon be cooking from this book on TV, so let’s hope they do it justice!

As you know the majority of our Dairy Diaries are still sold by the milkmen, so we are firm supporters of this valuable British Institution. Pancake Day has always been a great reason to buy extra ‘pintas’.

For Mark Smith’s (the Guardian) intriguing foray into the world of the milkman see ‘Deliverance: out on a milk round’.

Fruity coffee pancakes

This dessert is wonderfully light and fruity and so works well after a heavy main course. If you make the batter in advance, it is quick to cook, too.

Fruity Coffee Pancakes15 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time
305 Kcal per portion
8.3g fat per portion of which
4.5g is saturated
4 servings
Suitable for vegetarians

Plain flour 110g (4oz)
Instant coffee granules 1 tsp
Egg 1, beaten
Milk 300ml (1⁄2 pint)
Butter 25g (1oz)
Oranges 2
Cornflour 2 tsp
Clear honey 2 tbsp
Bananas 2, peeled and chopped
Greek-style natural yogurt to serve

1 Place the flour and coffee granules in a mixing bowl and gradually stir in the egg and then the milk to form a smooth batter.

2 Heat a little butter of the in a frying pan. When hot, pour in 3 tbsp of the batter, tilting the pan to cover the base. Cook the batter until the pancake moves freely, then flip it over and cook until the other side is golden. Repeat to make 8 pancakes, keeping them warm while making the filling.

3 Remove the rind from the oranges with a zester. Using a small, sharp knife, take away as much of the pith as possible. Holding each orange over a bowl, slice in between each segment to release the flesh and juice into the bowl. Mix the orange juice, cornflour and honey and heat in a small pan until thickened. Add the fruit.

4 Fold the pancakes into triangles and fill with the fruit. Serve immediately with the Greek yogurt.

Cook’s tips
Use a heavy frying pan with a diameter of up to 18cm (7in) – the batter won’t spread as evenly in a larger one.
Use only a little fat (butter is best), but re-grease after cooking each pancake.

Recipe taken from Year Round Dairy Cookbook

Valentine’s Treats

Is it really Valentine’s Day on Sunday? I can’t believe it has come round so quickly.

During my lunch hours I have been painting a picture of Venice (where he proposed) for my fiancé as a gift. However, as it is only about a fifth complete I think I might have to resort to plan B – cook!

Perhaps the lamb shank recipe (Quick & Easy Dairy Cookbook), which I cooked for our first date?

I think we should definitely start the day with Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and perhaps finish with a really nice bottle of red and Duck with Plum Sauce. Both these recipes are from Just One Pot Dairy Cookbook, which is now back in stock after selling out twice!

I know Valentine’s Day is a bit commercial but we all neglect to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us, so why not give your special someone a real feel-good treat on Sunday?

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