Tag Archives: Recipe

Cheese Flapjacks

Beware, as these are very moreish! They make an interesting, and healthier, alternative to the traditional sweet flapjack. Oats contain complex carbohydrates, which are released slowly to sustain energy levels and keep hunger pangs at bay.

Cheesy Flapjacks

Cheesy Flapjacks

Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 25-30 minutes
Calories per flapjack 167 Kcal
Fat per flapjack 12g
of which saturated 4.7g
Makes 12 flapjacks
Suitable for vegetarians + freezing

Butter or margarine 50g (2oz)
Cashew nuts 50g (2oz)
Macadamia nuts 25g (1oz), halved
Carrot 1 large, peeled and grated
Double Gloucester cheese 110g (4oz), grated
Porridge oats 150g (5oz)
Dried mixed herbs ½ tsp
Egg 1, beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Melt the butter in the microwave or a saucepan. Remove from the heat and then add the nuts, carrot, cheese, oats, herbs and egg. Mix well.

2 Grease a 20cm (8in) round pie tin. Spoon the mixture into the tin and press down well. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown. Leave in the tin to cool and then cut into 12 wedges. Serve cold as a snack.

Cook’s tip
These are great to make and keep in an airtight container in the cupboard. If anyone in the family fancies a savoury snack, they are the perfect healthy alternative to crisps.

A Winter Wonderland

Wow, what a beautiful drive to work this morning. The alarm clock may have been something of a shock, as was the need to get dressed within an hour rather than four, but it was worth it for the view alone.

Winter WonderlandI only wish I had pulled over to take a photograph – it would have made a perfect Christmas card for later on this year (that still sounds strange!) A sugared almond backdrop of milky pink and lilac with the bare trees and plants heavily crusted in frost, sparkling in the sunshine.

Missed out on the Dairy Dairy at Christmas?
The Dairy Diary office has been in a blur all day with us trying to get on top of all the phone calls, emails and letters we have received today and over the holiday. There are always people who expect a Dairy Diary Christmas gift and receive something else yet they don’t want to miss out on their diary! To all who are wondering, yes they are still available and can be purchased at www.dairydiary.co.uk or by calling 0845 0948128.

Of course, New Year’s resolutions are front of mind at the moment, and after the excesses of Christmas my other half and I have decided to opt for a soup diet for the next few nights’ dinner. First on the menu is Spaghetti soup – wholesome, healthy and delicious. I will be scouring all our cookbooks and diaries for more inspiration over the coming evenings. We have also decided to abandon the depressingly bad evening television for more happy entertainment, such as reading, board games and painting – I wonder how long that resolution will last!

Spaghetti soup

A perfect dish after the excesses of Christmas – wholesome, healthy and delicious.

Spaghetti Soup

Spaghetti Soup

Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
Calories per portion 186 Kcal
Fat per portion 10g
of which saturated 2.1g
Serves 2
Suitable for vegetarians + freezing

Olive oil 1 tbsp
Onion 1 small, peeled and sliced
Carrot 1, peeled and diced
Button mushrooms 4–6, wiped and chopped
Chopped tomatoes 227g can
Vegetable stock cube 1
Boiling water 600ml (1 pint)
Angel hair spaghetti or rice noodles 25g (1oz)
Pesto sauce 1 tbsp
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan-like cheese 1/2–1 tbsp

1 Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and carrot and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables have started to soften. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.

2 Add the canned tomatoes, stock cube and water to the pan and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the soup for 12–15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Break the spaghetti or noodles into pieces and add to the pan, then boil the soup, uncovered, for 2–3 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.

3 Stir half of the pesto into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a serving bowl and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and remaining pesto just before serving.

Cook’s tip
If the soup thickens too much, add a little extra boiling water. The soup may thicken after freezing; again, add more water.

Shopper’s tip
You can use ordinary spaghetti, but it will need to be added at the beginning of step 2. You may need to add more water.

Recipe taken from Clever Cooking for One or Two.

Chestnut Soup

A gorgeous chestnut soup – perfect for warming you up after a wintry stroll and for using up that surfeit of chestnuts.

Chestnut Soup

Chestnut Soup

Serves 4
Time 45 mins
279 calories per portion
7G fat of which 2.6G is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Butter 15g (½oz)
Onion 1 large, peeled and chopped
Frozen peeled chestnuts 500g packet
Vegetable stock 1 litre (1¾ pints)
Mixed dried herbs 1½ tsp
Single or double cream, chopped parsley and/or paprika to garnish, optional

1 Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onion and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened, taking care not to let it brown.

2 Add chestnuts, stock and herbs and bring up to boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes, or until chestnuts are softened.

3 Allow soup to cool, then purée in a blender. Season to taste.

4 To serve, reheat and garnish with a swirl of double cream and a light sifting of paprika.

5 To freeze, pour into plastic containers when cold. Cover and freeze. Reheat gently from frozen when required.

Recipe taken from the 2010 Dairy Diary.

Jewelled Christmas Cake

A fabulous Christmas cake that is both delicious and a beautiful additional to the dinner table.

Jewelled Christ Cake

Jewelled Christ Cake

Makes 20 slices
Time 3 hours 45 mins
408 calories per slice
16g fat of which 6.7g is saturated

Unsalted butter 225g (8oz), at room temperature
Soft dark brown sugar 225g (8oz)
Orange and lemon 1 of each, finely grated rind
Eggs 4 large, beaten
Plain flour 225g (8oz)
Ground almonds 110g (4oz)
Sultanas 350g (12oz)
Soft pitted prunes and apricots 110g (4oz) of each, chopped
Raisins 375g (12oz)
Glacé cherries 275g (10oz), halved
Mixed cut peel 75g (3oz)
Glacé pineapple rings, halved glacé cherries, walnut halves, blanched almonds and angelica leaves to decorate

1 Grease and line a 23cm (9in) round cake tin. Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2.

2 In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar, orange and lemon rind until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, then add flour, ground almonds, and fruits and mix well. Spoon into tin and spread evenly.

3 Decorate with pineapple, cherries, nuts and angelica.

4 Bake in centre of oven for 2 hours, then cover with foil and cook for another hour, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin until cold.

5 When cake is cold, carefully turn cake out of tin and wrap in cling-film and foil. Allow to mature for a couple of weeks before eating. Store in a well ventilated cupboard. It should keep for 6 weeks.

Recipe taken from Dairy Diary 2009.

Frosty frivolities

We had the first real frost last week – a beautiful, thick white crust enveloping the blue/grey fields and trees, sparkling when touched by the morning sun.

It made me feel very Christmassy but reluctant to go to work.

A walk in the countryside would have been much more preferable! However, work’s been great, we are still selling lots of diaries, gift packs and cookbooks, all the books for next year have been sent to print and we have been designing our radical Dairy Diary sticker sheet. This is a new addition for 2011, which should make weekly planning easier. No excuse for forgetting a birthday with a Dairy Diary sticker sheet!

The cold weather has set off Christmas preparations with fervour – present wrapping, card writing and even making festive bunting for the house – triangles of wrapping paper (in teal of course, to match the décor) threaded onto wool (thank you Prima). Of course, there is the obligatory cook-fest that comes with this time of year. This weekend I decided to get ahead of the game and did some Christmas cooking for the freezer.

For the Big Day I have made Cranberry Stuffing Loaf from the 2010 diary and I also made a couple of batches of the Chestnut soup (also from the 2010 edition) – perfect to defrost as a lunchtime winter warmer.

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