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Celebrate St Patrick’s Day

The forsythia bush in the garden is looking a bit odd.

It’s quite big and beautifully trimmed into a round shape (not by me!) and just near the ground it’s covered in bright yellow flowers, but the rest is a thick tangle of branches with not a flower in sight.

When I’m in the kitchen I always take a minute to watch because it’s a haven for sparrows – a few years ago there didn’t seem to be many in the garden and now there are hundreds and they’ve really discovered the forsythia bush.

ColcannonSt Patrick’s Day on Thursday has reminded me of Colcannon, a substantial mashed potato dish, just right for these days when it’s still cold enough to need warming up.

The basics are boiled potatoes and shredded cabbage – and fresh Cornish spring greens are just hitting the shops – mashed together with butter and a little milk, but you can add other bits and pieces, such as finely chopped spring onions.

I’m told it’s very good with chopped bacon mixed in, and goes well with pork. I like it with naturally smoked haddock or cod (not the canary yellow variety). You could even flake the fish into the creamy mash – and maybe grate a little mild cheese on top so it melts in. Delicious!

Colcannon is the perfect accompaniment for Liver & Bacon on Irish Soda Farls from Just One Pot. Try it on Wednesday to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. It takes less than 30 minutes and tastes simply wonderful.

Marion
Dairy Diary Team

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Have I missed Pancake Day?

Celebrate Pancake DayI’m sure I wasn’t the first to think, hang on a minute, have I missed Pancake Day?

The change of month triggered a distant memory that it always falls in February. But no, this year it has been pushed back to 8th March. Thank goodness!

The tradition of Shrove Tuesday was to feast on rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. I may not consider myself religious, but this is one day I am happy to acknowledge.

Firstly, I do not save pancakes just for this day, but at other times of the year I tend to go for nice, thick, soft, small ones made with a cup of self raising flour, cup of milk and one egg, eaten for breakfast with some syrup, soft berries and yogurt – delicious! But for me, Pancake Day calls for the plain flour recipe, slightly runnier, fried into huge thin rounds that we can all shout at the maker to toss as high as they can!

So try this classic Pancake recipe to serve with lemon and sugar or if you fancy something a little more exotic how about Strawberry & Amaretto Pancakes from Good Food, Fast.

If you haven’t got a sweet tooth, why not try the savoury seafood pancake recipe on page 85 of this year’s Dairy Diary so that you don’t miss out?

 

Competition
Win Le Vrai Gourmet Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons

Win Le Vrai Measuring SpoonsSometimes it isn’t important to use exact amounts in your recipes. A handful of this… a pinch of that…

However, some recipes do call for exact amounts to ensure success.

With these superb Le Vrai Gourmet measuring spoons you can be assured that half a teaspoon is exactly that.

Four spoons: one tablespoon, one teaspoon, half teaspoon, quarter teaspoon.

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Daffodils, Leeks and Bananas

Daffodils, leeks and bananas are to the fore this week.

For St David’s day on Tuesday, we won’t be having the traditional cawl, a kind of lamb stew with leeks and root vegetables, but only because we’re not meat eaters (or Welsh come to that!) but it’s nice to join in.

Maybe I’ll try a thick soup with all the vegetables and add some chilli to give it a bit of a kick or try the Welsh Leek Soup from Around Britain, Dairy Cookbook.

 

Fairtrade FortnightFairtrade Fortnight

We’ll probably be going overboard for bananas, as well as leeks. Bananas are always a hit in this house (especially with yogurt and honey!), but also Fairtrade fortnight kicks off on Wednesday. The official website has plenty of ideas for anyone wanting to join in the campaign to raise awareness. I’m quite taken with the idea of an inflatable banana – I had one once and it was a huge hit, and not just with kids!

Apparently, Fairtrade products and Fairmined gold are being considered for the royal wedding. There’s a petition to sign to help encourage it. I’m quite surprised they’re not going for Welsh gold, though.

 

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Celebrate National Dairy Week

National Dairy Week, 21 – 27 February, is here to highlight how important milk, cream, cheese, butter and yoghurt are to a healthy diet.

Milk helps to make strong bonesInteresting, but with two small children I have already learnt that any dairy-based food is popular with them.

From yorkshire puddings to pancakes; cheese sauces to custard; the more old-fashioned the recipe the more popular it seems.

Rice pudding is a family favourite when we haven’t got through our milk quota quite as quickly as normal. I usually use a recipe from the Just One Pot recipe book, but last month I spotted the Blueberry Rice recipe in the Dairy Diary. You have to boil the rice first – has anyone tried it yet? Is it as good as letting the pudding slowly cook in the oven?

Dare I deviate away from the predictable? Let’s all be brave and give a different dairy dish a go this week! Try Blueberry Rice today.

Karen
Dairy Diary Team

P.S. My milkman is a saint. Through the recent period of snow and ice, when no cars were travelling up or down our hill, he still delivered. He was the talk of the community was Mr John Hudson.

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Winter seems to be dragging on for too long – for those of us who love the sun!

Valentine's Day FlowersSo it was fantastic to see clumps of snowdrops and crocuses coming up together in a corner of the local park today.

Flowers may be at the forefront of many people’s minds just now, since good old Valentine left a note for his jailer’s daughter signed ‘Your Valentine’ and started the whole thing off.

That was in Roman times. Apparently, Valentine was a priest who fell foul of the Emperor Claudius for conducting marriage ceremonies between young soldiers and their beloveds. The Emperor preferred his legionnaires to remain single and focused on their fighting skills, undistracted by any notion of wedded bliss.

Well, that’s one theory anyway. Another is that it’s all based on a fertility festival in honour of the god Lupercus.

However it started, the Victorians really took hold of it, pretty cards came on to the market and now around a billion are sent out every year.

A special card, flowers and chocolates are all lovely to receive, of course. I wonder how many are really anonymous – not sure how that tradition came about.

Dinner in a restaurant is great, too, but usually an expensive treat on the day itself. A romantic dinner at home can be fun, too. Plenty of foods are thought of as aphrodisiacs – chocolate (naturally!), avocado, asparagus, salmon, chillies, figs, bananas and watermelon among them.

The Egyptians swore by radishes. And the smell of almond and vanilla does it for some people, allegedly. Well, they are gorgeous!

Best wishes

Marion
Dairy Diary Team

 

How about an irresistible Valentine’s Day dessert?

Try this wicked Tropical Ginger Creams recipe from Good Food, Fast – you can whip up in just 15 minutes? And we still have a few copies for sale at just £9.99. Click here to view pages.

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National Bramley Apple Week

The ‘King of Cooking Apples’ enjoys its title because of its unrivalled taste and texture. This combination enables cooks to use it in a huge variety of both savoury and sweet dishes.

Bramley ApplesThe first Bramley tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in her garden in Southwell in 1809. Matthew Bramley (local butcher) bought the cottage and garden in 1846 and ten years later Henry Merryweather (local nurseryman), took cuttings from the tree and started to sell the apples bearing the owners name.

The original Bramley apple tree still bears fruit and today is responsible for a £50 million industry in the UK.

The English apple is a favourite orchard fruit. Did you know there are over 2,300 varieties of dessert and cooking apples and over 100 cider apples?

Why not join in the fun?
Prepare a wonderful apple dessert such as Eve’s Pudding from the Dairy Book of Home Cookery?

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