No. 60 - October 2007

Welcome to the Recipes4us.co.uk free monthly newsletter. If you have any suggestions for additions to this newsletter,   please write to me at Newsletter@Recipes4us.co.uk .    Happy Cooking !        Florence Sandeman, Editor Food Funny   Why did the idiot stare at the can of orange juice? Because it said 'concentrate.'

What's New This Month   Ingredient Analysis     PUMPKIN (updated) Click the picture to find out about  pumpkins including its origin, history and of course lots of recipes. ____________________   Cooking Tip of the Month Mould on Cheese To prevent mould on cheese, wrap it in a cloth dampened with saltwater before refrigerating. ___________________   Food in Film   Click the film to see the next in the series. ___________________   What's in Season in October   Click here to see what's in season this month and to find a Farmers' Market near you  (UK)..  Lots of seasonal recipes too ____________________   How does your  Kitchen Garden grow   For a winter supply of Herbs, pot up plants of Basil, Marjoram,  Oregano and Parsley and grow them on indoors on windowsills.   You can plant onion and shallot sets for over-wintering and if you're growing spring cabbage, you should move them to their final positions early this month. Yu could also try sowing the seed of suitable Winter lettuces.   Keep an eye out for caterpillars on brassicas such as red cabbage and pick them off by hand.   Start looking out for 2006 seed catalogues, many of which you can order online and get your seed orders in early. It's a good idea to roughly plan out where you want to grow your herbs and veggies, paying special attention to crop rotation - try not to grow the same veggies in the same place as you did last season to avoid a build up of soil pests/diseases.   For detailed growing instructions visit our specialist  growing herbs and vegetables section ____________________     Find UK Holiday Cottages   A superb site where you can search for cottages by district, price, date and size. And not only cottages in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England ....they have many cottages in France and Germany too.

* * * Winner of  the July new subscriber prize draw * * * LB of Worcester _______________________________________________________________ 1st – 7th October is British Cheese week Coinciding with British Food Fortnight, the 1st - 7th October is British Cheese week and with around 700 cheeses now being produce in the UK,  I think it's well deserved.   However, although cheese-making in Britain goes back thousands of years, the art of producing the varied varieties we have today almost died out at one point in our history.             picture © British Cheese Board > > > > More ....and don't forget  British Food Fortnight (22nd Sep to 7th Oct). Click here for information and recipes _______________________________________________________________   Food in the news.......   Med diet found to have further Alzheimer's benefits 11/09/2007 Adhering to a Mediterranean diet could allow sufferers of Alzheimer's disease to live longer than patients who eat a more traditional Western diet, according to new research published today. > > > > More  External Link _______________________________________________________________   5th - 12th October is Seafood Week (UK)   Many people automatically think of items such as prawns, crab and mussels when the word seafood is mentioned, however there's more to it than that.     Picture © Fotolia.co.uk > > > > More _______________________________________________________________   16th - 22nd October is National Chocolate week (UK) Life is like a box of chocolates. . . full of nuts   I believe there's another National Chocolate week in March (USA) but who's complaining?   Did you know the Aztec emperor, Monteczuma drank fifty goblets of chocolate a day to enhance his ardour? But is there any truth in it? © Arturo Limón - Fotolia.com   > > > > More _______________________________________________________________ 31st October is Halloween   The history of Halloween can be traced back over 2,000 years and for most of this time, food has been closely associated with its celebrations in one form or another the world over including the Celts,  Chinese, Aztecs and Egyptians.   Pumpkins in particular take pride of place at Halloween celebrations....but why? And what to do with all that pumpkin flesh afterwards? > > > > More _______________________________________________________________ Other food celebrations in October include:- 21st Apple Day (UK) 30th British Sausage Week National Cider Month National Pasta Week National Pork Month National Chilli Month   Here is a selection of recipes to help you celebrate Toad in the Hole Sausage and Stilton Mash Wild Boar Sausages In Red Wine Venison Sausage Casserole Braised Pork Chops with Apples Bajan Pork Roast Apple & Horseradish Sauce Baked Apples in Maple Syrup Apple Gingerbread Cidered Chicken Cidered Black Pudding Brochettes Liver with Apples Chili Omelette Chilli Salsa Chilli Poached Pears Conchiglie with Gorgonzola Linguine with Garlic Olive Oil Chicken Penne Alla Vodka _______________________________________________________________

Essential Pots and Pans for a Well-Stocked Kitchen   If you are interested in cooking and want to stock your kitchen correctly, selecting the right pots and pans is an important first step. However, the sheer variety of cookware shapes and sizes can be overwhelming.   This guide will demonstrate some of the most popular cookware to help you decide what you need, types to buy and how much to spend. Take your time searching for the right cookware for you and you will be rewarded with not only outstanding cooking results but with cookware that will last a lifetime. Article provided courtesy of Only Cookware - a resource for pots and pans, stainless cookware and enamel cast iron cookware. > > > >  More

Whether you're looking for everyday,  exotic or unusual food and drink, visit UKFoodOnline.co.uk  It also has a whole section on "Box Scheme" suppliers - a great way to get the season's finest delivered straight to your door

? Readers' Questions Question What is Agar-Agar?   Answer Agar-Agar, also known as agar, is a thickening agent derived from seaweeds. A vegan product, it is often used as a substitute for animal based thickeners such as gelatine.

Recipe of the Month                                                          Apple & Lancashire Cheese Pie A deep dish apple pie with cinnamon, maple syrup and sultanas, tossed with crumbled Lancashire cheese, courtesy of the British Cheese Board   Ingredients 350g/12oz Short crust pastry 900g/2lb cooking apples, peeled cored and cut into chunks ½  teaspoon ground cinnamon 75g/ 3oz sultanas 5 tablespoons maple syrup 150g/5oz Lancashire cheese, crumbled Beaten egg to glaze Serves 6   Prep/cooking time   60mins   Instructions   1. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas mark 6.   2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a deep 20cm (8in) pie dish or loose bottomed fluted flan case. Prick the bottom and chill whilst preparing the filling. Reserve pastry trimmings for the top of the pie. 3. Place the apples, cinnamon, sultanas and maple syrup in a pan. Cover and cook over a gentle heat until apples just begin to soften.   4. Remove from the heat and fold in the crumbled Lancashire cheese.   5. Spoon into pastry lined dish. Re roll the pastry trimmings and cut into strips about 1cm (1/2in) thick. Use these to form a lattice pattern on top of the pie and brush with beaten egg to glaze. 6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until pastry is golden and crisp.

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