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...

20 October 2009

Easy Tasty Magic - cooking alchemy from Laura Santtini

A couple of months ago, a bubbly, cosmopolitan lady, called Laura Santtini, came out of London to visit Steenbergs of Ripon.

19 October 2009

Response from Kabul about Schools, Hospitals and Mosques

Relating to my blog dated 6 October 2009 (see below for links), I have had this response from Mike Hollis, who is Programme and Strategy Co-ordinator, Department for International Development in the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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.

15 October 2009

The Icefjord Commitment

"Amidst the wisdom and majesty of water, ice and sunlight, we have prayed within the realm of our own traditions.

11 October 2009

Recipe for Roast Pork With Apple Sauce

It's that harvesting time of the year, with the trees turning a golden brown and the fruit fulsome on the trees.  I picked an armful of windfalls from our garden and took them inside to make apple sauce to have a with a delicious joint of pork that w...

09 October 2009

Steenbergs' Annual Organic Audit

This week heralded our annual audit by the Organic Food Federation, which is one of the UK's original organic auditors. 

06 October 2009

Schools, Hospitals and Mosques for Afghanistan

Following on from my blog of the other day, I contacted the Department for International Development (DfID) yesterday through their website to ask them the following questions:

04 October 2009

A better way to help Afghanistan

Today, General Sir David Richards is quoted in The Sunday Telegraph as saying "Taliban and al-Qaeda know that the conflict will not be lost in Afghanistan, it will be lost in Britain, America and France, and their tactics are designed to get at that...

25 September 2009

Organic...What's In A Name?

What’s in a name?  Everything according to branding consultants. 

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...

14 September 2009

Summer's Over

Saturday was hot, a really glorious day.  However, the swallows have gone so the blue sky felt empty without their energetic dance swooping and soaring the catch insects.  They must have left while I was in London last weekend and into last week.  An...