News
How much sugar should children have?
Sugar. It's turned into a dirty word for so many people now which I think is a shame but I do agree that more education is needed as it's not always obvious what you are feeding yourself and your families. This guide talks you through the recommended amounts for kids, where the sweet stuff might be hidden and tips on cutting down.
Everything you know about cooking with oil is wrong
Apologies, this is another article on oil. Damn these healthy professionals and scientists for changing their mind so much. Sunflower and vegetable are bad news with their toxicity and all that shizzle. The long and the short of it is: 'Keep coconut or a similar saturated fat for heavy frying, olive and rapeseed oils for light frying and salads, and pumpkin and avocado oils for dressings and dips.' As lovely as I'm sure pumpkin and avocado are, good old extra virgin olive oil will do the dressing job splendidly.
Which Christmas sandwiches pack more calories than a Big Mac?
Turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce in a sandwich - what's not to love? Apparently a whole lot. The Telegraph reviews all the supermarket and cafe seasonal offerings to ensure you sit happy, munching at your desk next week.
Local News
The Leamington Wine Company's Christmas Tasting
If you like to make sure you've got a few really good bottles of vino in the house over Christmas then head to The Leamington Wine Company's festive tasting next Friday where you can try 140 wines (probably not recommended, maybe go for 100 and spit the last 40 out? hic) and a few spirits. Jokes aside, these Christmas tastings offer a great chance to learn a bit more about wine, what to match with your turkey and try something you wouldn't normally look at twice. Tickets are £25, runs 7pm-9.30pm so a perfect end to your week.
Recipes
Sweet-tart Gujarati dal
So delicious and dare I say it - better than the dal I had from an Indian takeaway recently! Fantastic depth of flavour with a range of dried spices. Try and get the curry leaves as they give the curry an authentic flavour; also I found the tamarind pulp is a bit of a pain with extraction of seeds and whatnot, so go for the paste if you're in a rush. I served it with rice and chunky cucumber raita which adds texture and balances the gentle heat. It doesn't mention salt in the recipe but you absolutely have to add at least 1 tsp or it will taste very bland and watery; never has salt earned its seasoning badge to quite a degree as in this fine dish, bringing out the gorgeous spices and sweetness. Don't worry too much about getting the exact same lentils as mentioned, I used a mixture of big and tiny yellow ones I had in the cupboard.
Creamed spinach & roasted garlic orecchiette
Ooo this was a little surprise. I've never too sure of what to do with a bag of spinach so dug around in the Riverford archives, bringing up this simple creamy spinach dish. The roasted garlic makes it really sing, along with the white wine bath you kindly give the iron-laden greens. Not the most healthy of meals, what with the butter, cream and sizeable chunk of Parmesan, but whatevs to that, it's worth it 100%.
Curried parsnip and apple soup
I'm be honest with you, this soup won't win beauty contests (hence the lack of picture). But it makes up for its poor aesthetic with its flavour - deep spiciness and subtlety sweet. I didn't have curry powder so used curry paste and a dash of garam masala which worked perfectly fine. Wintery and warming, the best kind of soup.
Food for Thought
How to Use a Wok at Home
Stir fries are the king of midweek, quick meals so it's definitely worth giving your wok a bit of love. Lots of handy tips here.
With six weeks to go, we have now entered (what I deem to be) 'the acceptable period to get excited about Christmas': cue giant smiley face and all the festive emojis. Sorry if our acceptable periods don't line up but you're a big, fat Scrooge. Ha. Now let's dig out the joy that is Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas. Don't judge me, I'm not a fan in any way but it is the best Christmas song, like ever. *opens a huge can of tinsel worms*