By Lincolnshire Echo |
Whether you want to learn how to bake the perfect loaf of bread, make your very own sausage or even take on the mighty curry, why not make 2015 the year to master just one thing in the kitchen? Want to be the king of the fish dish?
Book yourself on to a preparation and cookery course at Betty’s, or make your mastery even more targeted with their specialised salmon course
Intrigued by chocolate? Ladurée’s latest cocoa-focused book is a great place to learn about temper and production. Splurge on some cookbooks and submerge yourself in foodie information. Your palette – and your sense of pride – will never look back.
If you struggle with concocting exciting mid-week meals off the cuff, banish that dreaded ‘what shall we have for dinner tonight’ conversation.
Taking just ten minutes on a Sunday to plan your meals for the working week could not only save you time but your sanity as well. It may seem like such a little change but planning your meals will not only help you manage how much you spend on food but you might even find yourself heading home with a spring in your step, knowing what delicious dinner awaits.
Make a mightier munch for your lunch
Bored of over-priced and under-satisfying sarnies? When you head back to work after the holidays avoid slumping back into the routine of popping out for a boring butty, save yourself some money, and put a little bit of effort into preparing your own lunches.
Not only will they be a healthier option – a bog-standard sandwich, crisps and drink can be full of fat and salt, and low on nutrients – but lunch will become something you look forward to rather than tolerate, just listen to Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing, authors of The Little Book of Lunch, for inspiration.
“There’s no denying that there are overall health and financial benefits to bringing your homemade packed lunch in to work,” says Caroline.
“Lunch – especially while you’re at work, working – is one of life’s great pleasures, yet one that is easily overlooked. If you’ve bought a sorry eggy bap from the nearest sandwich shop, we’re not surprised that you want to inhale it, then pretend it never happened.
“But if you have lovingly put together your lunch, chances are you’re going to want to take some time to savour it.”
And while the pair agree that those unaccustomed to making their own lunches will need to get into a few new habits, it’s the perfect time of year to do so. With a couple of key ingredients always in the fridge and store cupboard you’ll be well on your way to making some lunches to be proud of.
“Many of these ingredients – say an avocado, or a small Tupperware of cherry tomatoes – can be shoved unceremoniously in a handbag, and assembled into lunch at work if you’ve no time first thing in the morning,” Caroline points out.
“The lunch hour’s yours for the taking,” she adds, “and though there will always be days when you’re so busy that you work through, there’s still something really enjoyable and spirit-lifting in enjoying a slice of home.”
Embrace the alternative
You don’t need an excuse to try an alternative to the usual items that you throw in your shopping trolley. If a tin of baked beans is a usual part of your weekly shop, why not switch it for butter beans or chickpeas instead?
Swap rice for some grainy red lentils, a pint of milk for some camel’s milk, or try kale with your Sunday roast and forgo the cabbage. It’s not so much for the health benefits, but about waking up your taste buds and discovering new recipes. Try it – you might find a new favourite food.
Shop locally and seasonally
Saving the planet from climate change might seem like a bit of a tall order for a new year’s resolution, but when it comes to the food you eat there is one step you can take to do your bit.
Food miles, the distance that food travels from producer to consumer, contri- butes millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosph- ere every year.
Buying locally and seasonally sound food however can help minimise the amount of miles your food has to travel. Not only will you be helping the world reduce its carbon footprint by buying locally, but you’ll be supporting independent producers in the area.
There’s a lot to be said for shopping with the seasons. When we remember that spring flavours should consist of purple sprouting broccoli and blushing rhubarb, the mouth waters.
Summer should be filled with berries and fresh peas, and autumn with squashes and apples and damsons. This is how the year should taste. Hold off until April comes around to buy those slender stalks of asparagus – you will treasure them all the more for their short season. ou might even learn to love your Christmas sprouts, with seasonality in mind.
Help others to eat, too
Feed yourselves, put only good things in your bellies, but this year why not feed another, too? Get involved in a foodbank project, such as the one run by Alive church and the Trussell Trust, which aims to provide emergency food parcels for those in difficult situations.
Anyone can gain access to a parcel by being referred by a social worker, probation officer, a doctor or through Lincolnshire County Council. The parcels aim to last three days and are available to everyone from single people, to couples and families.
Jemma Collins heads up a team of 10 volunteers at the foodbank. She and her team meet every Sunday at 4pm to make up parcels and organise donations, and have helped approximately 1,300 local people in the past year.
She says: “There are plenty of ways to help and we are always in need of volunteers – even just for an hour a week – especially at this time of year where some people have to decide between staying warm and eating.”
If you would like to get involved, call 01522 542166 and talk to Foodbank Administrator Bethan Lloyd.Feed yourselves, put only good things in your bellies, but this year why not feed another, too? Get involved in a foodbank project, such as the one run by Alive church and the Trussell Trust, which aims to provide emergency food parcels for those in difficult situations.
Anyone can gain access to a parcel by being referred by a social worker, probation officer, a doctor or through Lincolnshire County Council. The parcels aim to last three days and are available to everyone from single people, to couples and families.
Jemma Collins heads up a team of 10 volunteers at the foodbank. She and her team meet every Sunday at 4pm to make up parcels and organise donations, and have helped approximately 1,300 local people in the past year.
She says: “There are plenty of ways to help and we are always in need of volunteers – even just for an hour a week – especially at this time of year where some people have to decide between staying warm and eating.”
If you would like to get involved, call 01522 542166 and talk to Foodbank Administrator Bethan Lloyd.
Embrace your surroundings
Many of us gobble our suppers while watching the evening news, or gulp our morning coffee while getting ready for work. But ather than staring at the TV or our own reflections, why not make the most of the beauty around us?
Set the alarm 15 minutes earlier, and that morning drink could be taken outside to sip in the calm of a garden in the early hours. Our lunchtime sandwich could be savoured while watching the swans on the Brayford, rather than staring at a computer.
We would eat more slowly, return to our lives refreshed, and notice more of the world.
Have a party
Dinner parties aren’t just for the weekend. Part of the fun for many of us is to spend a day crafting an extravagant meal, carefully cooking something really special for our favourite people.
But sometimes, a simple supper is all we need, and a quick meal thrown together makes it easier for us to ask a pal round on a whim – as long as it’s a pal who doesn’t mind if the washing up hasn’t been done or there are socks drying on the radiators.
Hearty fare and conversation with the ones we love are the key – no need to wait for Saturday to roll around for that.
Mix up seafood
With many of us nibbling around two portions of fish per week, we should be buying with sustainability in our frontal lobes. Mix up your seafood a little – the UK’s five most popular species are struggling, simply because we tend to go for them when we are in a fishy frame of mind.
There are more than 100 different types available from around the coast of the UK, so don’t be afraid to eat out of your comfort zone.
Give cod a rest and try a fillet of pollock or look for some creamy dogfish. If you are a tuna fan, test out mackerel. When purchasing your fish portions, look out for ‘sustainably sourced’ labels, too, to ensure it is from fisheries that are using good practises to secure fish stocks and protect the environment.
