Children's lunches

Ideas for healthy lunch boxes for : buy a few little plastic pots and include fruit pots, boxes of raisins, use cheddar cheese, (not strings etc.),

When you cook the evening meal save couscous, brown rice, pasta or cold boiled new potatoes. Add egg, tuna, hummus, cold chicken for protein plus veg e.g. chopped peppers, sweetcorn, chopped or grated carrot, froxen mixed veg, tomatoes , cucumber etc. plus raisins to make healthy salads. You could add a dressing made of 2 parts olive oil and 1 part vinegar if you want. Add a little knife and fork and a yogurt spoon. Pop a yogurt or a pot of grapes, apple slices, satsuma, cherries, raspberries or a banana in the box and you have a healthy lunch box at a fraction of the price.

For a good selection of children's cutlery visit Cutlery and Catering.

Top secret recipe

"This" said my husband to my son in law, "is my new secret recipe. Taste it and see what you think...."
"Delicious," said our son-in-law, "how did you make it."
"Ah ha!" said my husband mysteriously, "it wouldn't be a secret if I told you!"

Our son in law was impressed. It isn't every father-in law who can make such a delicious dessert.

Next day he tried the same thing on my son. "Wow!" said number one son, "That is brilliant! I wouldn't have a clue how to make anything like that!"

I will tell you the secret folks. You simply take a tub of good quality vanilla ice cream. Take a few scoops out of it with an ice cream scoop, cover it in Tia Maria and put in the freezer to refreeze!
That is how you impress your son in law.
Next day you take more scoops of ice cream, cover them with "Baily's" and re freeze. That is how you impress your son!

http://www.cutleryandcatering.co.uk

Haddock with lemon and parsley sauce all in a pot

This dish is really healthy. You cook it all in a pot and use a timer and you can't really go wrong. I use a cast iron pot which you can use on the hob as well as in the oven.
It takes about 35minutes cooking time and should provide your 5 a day fruit and veggies plus protein, fibre etc. It serves 4
Ingredients
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion peeled and chopped small
2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced thinly
225g brown rice
finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 pint chicken stock
2 courgettes, sliced thinly
3 tomatoes chopped
4 haddock fillets each about 6 oz. or 175g
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
black pepper (ground)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the casserole over a low heat for 1 minutes and add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the rice, lemon rind and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes and then stir in the courgettes and tomatoes, put the lid on and simmer for another 4 minutes.
3. Put the haddock fillets on top of the rice. Put the lid on and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes until the fish flakes easily if you test it with a fork and all the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Whisk together the rest of the oil the lemon juice, pepper and the parsley and pour it over the fish.
If you wish you can use fish knives and forks to eat this with. It is delicious.
http://www.cutleryandcatering.co.uk

Mother's Day - hope it was as special as this

Mother's Day. for me the day was really special. We didn't go out for a meal but stayed home and my husband and son-in-law cooked a special meal together. It was so relaxing to be waited on.


I thought about Mums all over the country who go out to work and bring up children, about Mums who , for what ever reason, bring up their children on their own. I thought about Mums who must be worried about how they will cope because their husbands have lost their jobs, Mum's who bring up children who have health problems, Mother's who have lost their children, Mother's who stay at home and devote themselves to the welfare of their children.

To all these Mums: I hope your day was special. To have your children bring you tea and toast in bed, to open cards they have made for you at school, to have a meal cooked for you, flowers given to you, to be taken out for a meal......whatever it was I hope that someone made your day special as they did for me!

http://www.cutleryandcatering.co.uk/

A meal to cook in a cast iron pot

This is a meal which you cook in one pot on top of the stove. We used a cast iron casserole which is great for use either on the hob or in the oven.
Roast Pork with Apples and Red Cabbage
It takes about 30 minutes to prespare and one and three quarters of an hour to cook.

3 tablespoons sunflower olil
2 level tablespoons soft dark brown sugar
1kg pork tenderloin
a medium onion finely chopped
450g red cabbaged finely shredded
900g baby new potatoes washed
450g cooking apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
285ml (half pint) red wine
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
black pepper (ground)
watercress and wedges of dessert apple to garnish

• Preheat oven to 190C or gas mark 5
• Heat oil and sugar in the cast iron casserole until the sugar dissolves into a caramel and then move the pork around in it to coat it for about 10 minutes until it is golden brown.
• Remove the pork and keep warm. Replace it with the onion and cook till soft.
• Add the cabbage,potatoes,wine, vinegar and pepper and heat till just simmering.
• Put the pork back in the casserole. Put the lid on and cook in the middle of the oven for an hour.
• Take off the lid, add a little wine if you need more liquid and replace in the oven for about 30 minutes.
• Garnish with apple wedges and watercress

www.cutleryandcatering.co.uk

How was your meal? Are you enjoying it?

We went out for a meal with friends. It was a new restaurant and we knew the owner so we had a little chat with him whilst we had a drink before being shown to our table.
During the course of the meal just about every time a waiter passed us they asked "Are your enjoying it?"
"How is your meal?"
"Is everything all right for you?"
Every time they interrupted our conversation. It began to be irritating. I am sure we were asked about 17 or 18 times during the course of a three course meal!
We were just about at screaming point, when the owner came up to us. "Please let me buy you all a drink. This is on me!"
So the ladies had coffee and the men had brandy and we all calmed down.
......but, even though it is well-meant, waiting staff can be over-zealous can't they?
Cutlery and Catering

Sweetcorn Chowder with Peppers and Prawns

This is a rather nice chowder which you can make very easily. These are the ingredients you need
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
2 red peppers thinly sliced
340g peeled potatoes, diced
340g frozen sweetcorn
1 bay leaf
1/2 level teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
pinch ground nutmeg
3/4 pint milk
ground black pepper
450g uncooked prawns, peeled and de-veined
150ml single cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onions in it. Add the peppers, potatoes, sweetcorn, bay leaf, marjoram or oregano and the nutmeg. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer and cover for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Add the milk and pepper. Bring back to the boil and stir in the prawns. Let them cook for 3-5 minutes over a moderate heat until they turn pink and acre cooked through. Take out the bay leaf. add the cream, heat through for 2-3 minutes but don't let it boil.
Absolutely delicious.
Best eaten with a soup spoon and some crusty bread.
http://www.cutleryandcatering.co.uk/