19 July 2015

Cinnamongate: is cinnamon safe to eat?

We regularly get asked questions about the safety of cinnamon, e.g. “is cinnamon safe to consume?” or “how much coumarin is there in Steenbergs cinnamon?”  There's a lot of chatter about this issue in webworld and in blogs.

11 April 2012

Life So Material

“For too long we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community value in the mere accumulation of material things.  Our gross national product now is over 800 billion dollars a year, but that gross national product, if we judge the United...

20 December 2011

Recipe For A Thoroughly Modern Vegetarian Balti

Once in a while, I really need to go without meat of any form and I am going through one of those patches at the moment.  So I have tweaked my Chicken Balti Recipe from earlier this year to be more tofu friendly and so usable as a vegetarian dish. At...

18 November 2011

The Perfect Cuppa

The other day I listened to James May chatting on Radio 5 Live about the new series of Man Lab and in it he discussed the perfect cup of tea. As in everything in life, I agreed with some of what James May said, but disagreed with other parts, for exa...

10 November 2011

European Bailouts And The Structure Of The Financial System

There has been a lot of news recently about European bailouts, sit-ins and protests around St Paul's (there is also an anti-capitalist camp by Grey's Monument in Newcastle and probably elsewhere, but as usual London-Centric news of the UK largely ign...

03 September 2011

Four Days In Munich - Some Traditional Restaurants (19 - 22 August 2011)

I went to Munich with our eldest, Jay, the other weekend ostensibly to show him Germany and visit my aunts and uncle.  However, we managed to sneak in a match at the Alliance Arena between FC Bayern Műnchen and Hamburger SV, where Arjen Robben, Basti...

25 August 2011

Is There Any Need For Sustainability?

I have recently read Tim Jackson's "Prosperity Without Growth - Economics for a Finite Planet".  It proposes that we refocus how we manage our economies to take into account the limits on the earth, but is rather vague exactly how we should do this -...

04 August 2011

Two trips to the Farne Islands (18 & 19 July 2011)

03 August 2011

Walk To Low Newton – Stinking Newton (17 July 2011)

23 June 2011

Smells But No Bells

Since time immemorial, incense has been used for religious purposes and to cleanse the air in homes as well as in places of worship.  Much of the incense is based on fragrant gums like frankincense and myrrh and come from Arabia and India.  When you...

07 June 2011

Charities, The Law And Unintended Consequences

As some of you know, we have been looking as a socially committed but small business to give support to a charity, either Practical Action or Water Aid, and link that back to sales via the web site as a sensible way to work out the donation and also...

04 June 2011

Recipe For Vegan Tofu And Coconut Curry

Continuing with our vegetarian fest after a successful week during National Vegetarian Week, I was craving a spicy curry that the kids would enjoy but would also be vegetarian - they are beginning to want some meat, but are just about hanging in ther...

29 May 2011

Recipe For Axel's Vegan Mung Bean And Tofu Soup

This week is National Vegetarian Week and we have been enjoying new and wonderful vegetarian recipes including Sally's new recipes for Moroccan Vegetable Stew and Vegetable Fajitas that we have added to the main Steenbergs website. 

18 May 2011

Context...Social Dividends And Choosing Charities For Steenbergs Web-shop

So following on from my last blog, we see Steenbergs' brand as being entangled with our range, the quality of our products and the context of these products.  Where the spices, teas and blend ideas come from tells us about different cultures around t...

26 March 2011

Brownies Recipes From Cakes By Pam Corbin

We have just been at the International Food Exhibition 2011, IFE 2011, at Excel in London, where we have been exhibiting. 

22 February 2011

Brussels Sprouts And Chestnuts With Maple Glaze - A Recipe

I have never liked brussels sprouts, feeling they were the devil's food rather than the fairy cabbages that friends have sought to con their children with.  I have always dreaded Christmas lunch with the obligatory brussels sprouts or as in my case s...

31 December 2010

Breathe The Air, Relax And Just Be

What have I learnt through my attempts to understand the matrix that we call life, if anything?  What have I learnt by seeking to comprehend ideas that are beyond the wit of man and certain beyond my ken like the origin of species, creation, time, ma...

30 December 2010

Axel’s Universe And Some Silly Thoughts About Time

Even though I never wear a watch, I am surrounded by time everywhere.  I have, also, always been fascinated by the idea of time – What exactly is time? What does time mean? Why does it go forwards as a natural progression and not backwards or sideway...