27 August 2011

Sustainability and some final thoughts

In the end, politics, economics and perhaps even environmentalism are practical matters dressed up as intellectual theory, following on from my previous blog on the theory behind sustainability.

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 -...

11 August 2011

St Wilfrid's Procession In Ripon (30 July 2011)

Today was the annual St Wilfrid Procession through Ripon.  This celebrates our city's patron saint, St Wilfrid, who was one of the great northern saints and important people of early Northumbria.  He is very unlike the ascetic Irish (Celtic) saints t...

09 August 2011

Aldborough Agricultural Show (24 July 2011)

After a couple of weeks away, we return home to glorious weather; blue skies and really hot.  Normally, we are still away this weekend, so we generally miss the local show - the Aldborough and Boroughbridge Agricultural Show - which is gentle like th...

22 July 2011

The Better Supermarket Beefs In The UK - More Thoughts On Burger Making

For the supermarkets, I have reviewed their offerings (see below) and made an initial selection of meats, going for beef from Booths, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. 

15 July 2011

Some Rules For Better Beef For A Better Burger

These are some more technical thoughts on the type of beef you are after, over and above the right breed and farmer.

12 July 2011

How To Prepare The Meat For Your Burger

But the key to the recipe is the meat. You should not just get the nearest pack of mince that you can find, but should go to a proper butcher and get the mince made for you using the right types of meat.  The best beef for a burger comes from the top...

10 July 2011

Sports And Winning

I read with amusement about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge competing against each other in a dragonboat race in Quebec and that the Duke won and he reportedly said to Kate "There is no chivalry in sport."  At this time of the year as we seem to mo...

08 July 2011

Starting Out - The Basics For A Simple Homemade Burger

Some time ago, I started a quest for a great burger, then stopped that search as things at Steenbergs gave me less time than I had needed.  But I think I am ready to start that hunt again.

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...

12 June 2011

Ripon's Flood Alleviation Scheme

Around a year ago, I wrote a few blogs about walking along the Rivers Skell and Ure in Ripon.  The rivers run through Ripon and circle around the ever looming presence of Ripon Cathedral on the mount at Ripon's heart.  The rivers bring the countrysid...

11 June 2011

My Take On The Modern British Balti - A Recipe For Balti Masala

On Thursday, I was at home sorting out some domestic chores with some builders and my mind wandered to food and more specifically curry.  I craved a great balti, so I whipped one up, together with some dhal.

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. 

25 May 2011

Recipe For Traditional Style Rogan Josh

As part of my ongoing attempts to create Indian recipes that have some bearing on genuineness, I have been fiddling around with rogan josh ideas.  Rogan josh is a signature dish for British curry houses, but was originally a North Indian meat dish th...

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...

13 May 2011

Spices, spices everywhere

We had a visit recently from Helen Best-Shaw of FussFreeFlavours, who is a lovely lady - other bloggers welcome.  She asked many interesting questions and one of them got me thinking and that was why are we so interested in spices.  It certainly is n...

30 April 2011

Two Simple Chocolate Traybakes Made For Village Royal Wedding Tea Party