06 December 2009

Recipe For Sweets At Christmas Fairs

Inspired by marzipanning the Christmas cake yesterday and acutely aware of the looming Christmas Fair after the Carol Concert at our children's school, I decided to experiment with some sweet making this morning.  Also, chidhood memories of Niederegg...

05 December 2009

Recipe For Marzipan For Christmas Cake

I love marzipan, which is often called in a highly industrial way almond paste (an honest but bland name). 

08 November 2009

Recipe - Making Your Own Christmas Pudding

We have had a brief hiatus from Christmas preparations with Halloween and Bonfire Night, but this weekend I've got back to the task of preparing for Christmas.  This weekend was the turn of the pudding.

03 November 2009

Recipe For Sweet Chestnuts Foraged At Fountains Abbey

We (that's me and my 2 kids) have been enjoying a few walks this half term break - in the deer park at Studley Royal which is at the lower end of Fountains Abbey and at Brimham Rocks. 

02 November 2009

November Steenbergs Newsletter

Steenbergs is here to help with all the Christmas baking

02 November 2009

First Attempt At A Coffee Cake Recipe

We all like coffee cake, and Sadie in the office has been demanding one for ages (and without walnuts on the top), so we’ve decided to try various recipes to see if we can come up with our favourite recipe.  After all the effort of making it, she sai...

01 November 2009

Recipe For Pumpkin Pie

What to do with all that lovely pumpkin that you've got after scooping out your pumpkin, or just because they are such good value discounted in those shops that have overstocked.  This year we've made a classic pumpkin pie - which was deliciously ind...

29 October 2009

Recipe For Homemade mincemeat - Countdown To Christmas

Mincemeat is delicious and really easy to make.  The aroma and flavour of homemade mincemeat is fantastic, making the shop-bought commercial stuff pale into insignificance – a travesty of taste, lacking in depth, rich or any booziness.

27 October 2009

New Fairtrade Organic Mulling Wine Sachets from Steenbergs

It might have caused me sleepless nights and given me an undue amount of heartache and stress, but Steenbergs new range of Mulling Wine Spices in sachets has finally arrived.  It's about 1½ months behind schedule and we have been having to disappoint...

25 October 2009

Stir It Up - Recipe For Christmas cake

It’s time for the Christmas countdown and preparations have now begun in earnest – it’s getting darker and the kids are now on half term. 

24 October 2009

Exotic Pepper From Around The World

I’ve been hunting for some specialist peppers in recent months.  That’s what some of the thrill of being a spice merchant is all about – hunting for the exotic, tracking it down and then getting it in.

23 October 2009

River Cottage everyday - a recommendation

Whilst shopping at Booths in Ripon today, I was waiting in the "10 items and under queue" and found this recommendation, and I was so pleased that I bought the book (£8 off cover price to boot):

22 October 2009

Recipe For Kulfi - The Perfect Indian Pudding

Of course, you need a pudding/sweet to round off the indulgence of a delicious, groaning table of delicately spiced Indian food.  Kulfi (Indian ice cream) has been made for ages and was served to the Moghul Emperors at their hedonistic courts in Delh...

18 October 2009

Recipe for Lamb Curry for a Diwali Feast

We are in the middle of the diwali festival, the Festival of Lights.  This is a 5 day festival with the main celebration being on the 17 October this year.  I love diwaali, even though we are not Hindus here.

23 September 2009

Recipe For Real Custard With Real Bourbon Vanilla Pod

As I said in my last blog, it's just got to be custard.  None of this cream or ice cream with real puddings, please.

21 September 2009

Recipe for Autumnal Apple Crumble

I love the melancholic atmosphere of this late summer time.  The leaves are beginning to turn a beautiful orangey-red and the air is turning cooler, yet it has a warm, damp smell to it. 

15 September 2009

Recipe for Saturday Was Shepherd's Pie

Back closer to the brief, I made shepherd’s pie on Saturday morning.  Typically, Saturday turned out to be the last blast of the summer with one of the best day’s of the whole year – no wind, unbroken sunshine and a really relaxed day with friends an...

05 September 2009

STEENBERGS SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

Beat the autumn blues with Steenbergs