News
Cheltenham fish and chip shop named best in Britain
A few months back I linked to an article on the best fish and chip shops in the country and boy, did you guys love a bit of that! It's one of the most clicked links in the life of Kitchen Crumbs. So I figured this might be right up your street as well #fishandchipfiends
About Time 50: Top Women in the Food Industry to Watch in 2016
15 fab ladies who are going to be making big news this year. My three to watch are: Anna Jones, veggie chef extraordinaire with her beautiful books Modern Way to Eat and Modern Way to Cook; Bonny Porter and her Balls & Company, a gourmet meatball restaurant (have to try this place when next in London); and Joanna Brennan from Pump Street Bakery, the makers of delicious breads as well as awesome bean to bar chocolate. If you're local to the Warwickshire area and you'd like to try some of this unique chocolate (think sourdough and sea salt) then head to The Rustic Food Company who have a plentiful supply.
Food 'should show activity needed to burn off calories'
This is an interesting one - would you think twice about picking up that morning mocha if you knew it took a 53 minute walk to burn it off? In another move to make us more aware of what we're eating, Royal Society for Public Health are suggesting food and drink companies label products with activity symbols to indicate how much walking or running you need to do to balance the calories.
Does pasta make you fat? Eight food myths busted
Joanna Blythman explores all the top trends here - kale, red meat, fermented foods, coconut milk, bone broth - and sets the record straight on the truth and fallacies behind these myths.
Local News
Digbeth Dining Club: 2016 Opening Party
The best street food event in the Midlands makes its 2016 return next Friday 29th with a bumper line up of the finest talent around. Expect to find the usual fantastic music and atmosphere with 15+ street food traders including my top picks - Smoqued, Low n Slow and Buddha Belly. I'll be there working with the best toastie van in the whole of the kingdom - The Jabberwocky - so stop by and say hi!
Leamington cafe owner’s scheme aiming to help the homeless
Have you heard of the concepts 'pay it forward' or 'suspended coffees'? Leamington Spa is joining this worldwide movement that allows customers to pay for an extra meal or drink for someone who needs a bit of help. If you'd like to get involved then head to Mashed Swedes or veggie/vegan cafe, The Garden Shed.
Recipes
Moroccan tagine
A winter warmer AND you get your five a day? Woop woop, bookmark this baby! It's one of those recipes where you could chuck in pretty much any root veg you fancy or add softer veg (peppers, courgettes etc) later in the cook. Remember to season it up nicely with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. I scrounged around in the cupboard and ended up using super sweet Medjool dates which was a minor error as it did make the tagine a little too sugary; however if you just use normal dates/prunes/apricots then this will be just right. The speedy paste brings a lovely depth to the sauce. Check it after 45 mins as mine only needed another 15-20. Serve with crusty bread or fluffy couscous.
Pan-fried pork with maple & mustard sauce
Love this. Mustard is one of my faves so combining the seedy stuff with discs of pork, red onions and a little maple makes me and a lot of people extremely happy. Quick to make, the only time consuming bit is cooking the pork but you can rush through this if you use two pans. Small chunks of roast potatoes made a great accompaniment.
Food for Thought
Sweet nightmares: a guide to cutting down on sugar
Poor old sugar, it has been getting a lot of stick recently. If you are trying to eat less and want some tips, or would just like to learn more, take a look here.
It's been a busy start to the year, I can't believe we're still in January. Longest month ever. All sorts of exciting things going on this year which will be revealed in good time. Chocolatuary update - one Star Bar, one Merryteaser, a few Ferrero Rocher and a small box of Guylian shells is all that remains. I'm on track for that February finish.