Oats

As mentioned in Tuesday's post, oats are back and when you consider their health benefits its easy to see why.

Oats are a remarkably versatatile grain with wide ranging health properties. They're a valuable source of carbohydrate and provide more than just a source of energy. They are high in both soluble and non-soluble fibre, which means they can make a significant contribution to a healthy gut.

Studies have also shown they can help lower cholesterol. They are digested slowly so do not cause dramatic surges in blood-sugar levels, ideal for diabetics. Oats are also one of the richest food sources of silicon which is needed for healthy skin, bones and connective tissue.

They are not just for porridge either, oats can be used in a number of ways such as:
Apple and cinnamon oat bake
Banana flapjacks
Apricot and sunflower seed cookies

Summer porridge

Everyone seems to be back eating the old favourite for breakfast - porridge. Whilst a steaming bowl of hot porridge will coat your ribs and keep you warm for hours in winter, what about summer? Here is a recipe that still gives you that porridge hit but its cold, and delicious:

Summer Porridge
(serves 2 generously)

150ml semi-skimmed milk, or soya milk
100g porridge oats
1 apple
handful fresh raspberries
1 apricot chopped
handful blueberries
natural yogurt to serve

Put the milk and oats in a bowl, cover and leave to soak overnight.
In the morning, grate the apple and stir into the porridge. Stir in the other fruit and serve with a big dollop of natural yogurt.

You can use any fruit you fancy in this recipe.

BBQ sauce

Came across this great recipe for bbq sauce, it could be used for just about any kind of meat or fish. It will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
85g brown sugar
3 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato puree

Heat the oil and gently cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, season and stir. Bring to the boil, simmer for about 30 mins until the sauce has thickened.

Other barbeque recipes:
Spicy pork ribs
Roaring tiger prawns

Salmon from where?

Marks and Spencer's have made up locations to advertise certain food products. Their 'Lochmuir salmon' isn't from Lochmuir, as Lochmuir doesnt actually exist. They felt it gave the salmon a Scottish feel. Although the salmon is actually from Scotland, M&S believe the name Lochmuir gives it a more special feel.

This is not the first time M&S have made up a fictional place, their Oakham chickens are in fact bred in Norfolk and Suffolk, not in the East Midland market town of Oakham.

As a consumer its a bit misleading and raises the issue of food provenance. If you are buying Oakham chicken or Lochmuir salmon surely you would think thats where the product comes from.

Blackberries

The first batch of blackberries have started to appear in my garden so I am looking forward to having them with some vanilla ice cream. Blackberries are high in fibre and packed with vitamins C and E as well as potassium. They are also renowned for their medicinal properties, in ancient Greece the berries were used to treat grout, sore throats and upset stomachs.

Old wifes tales say that they shouldnt be eaten after 29th of September (St Michaelmas Day) as it was believed the devil had been cast out of heaven on that day and had landed in a prickly blackberry bush!

Blueberries

There was an offer on on the blueberries this weekend at asda, so as they are usually so expensive I decided to buy a big punnet and freeze some. Blueberries are known as a 'superfood' full of antioxidants with an antioxidant activity 50 times stronger than vitamin C. They also help increase the potency of vitamin C and are full of fibre. They are delicious in smoothies such as this one:

Put a large handfull of blueberries into a blender along with a chopped banana, a tablespoon of honey and a large glass of soya milk. Blitz and serve.

Because they are so sweet they also go really well with pancakes and desserts such as this white chocolate cheesecake with blueberry sauce.

Sprout shortage

The recent heat wave could mean a sprout shortage for Christmas (some might say this is no bad thing!) the unexpected heat has had a detrimental effect on the growth of the sprouts . Alistair Ewan, chairman of the Brassica Growers Association told BBC Radio 4: "Brussels sprouts are a lot shorter in length stem than they would normally be at this point in the season so there is not as many buttons setting on the crop. Hence there could be a 20 to 30 per cent shortfall in the volume of sprouts coming off throughout the autumn and early winter period." Worringly the heat could also affect other seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.

Home baking banned at school fetes?

'The sale of home-baked cakes and biscuits at school fêtes could be banned amid food poisoning fears, Scotland's parent-teacher organisation has warned' scotsman.com

Apparently some local authorities are concerned about poisoning as they could be the ones liable for thousands of pounds in compensation should anyone fall ill to E coli.

This would be a shame because I remember going to school fetes and everyone making a beeline for the home-baking stall and I would always buy some of my mum's traybakes (guaranteed to be good) but I would also take a risk on someone else's baking contribution (with various success).

Anyway, if you are baking for a fete this summer here are some failsafe recipes:
Rock buns
Chocolate caramel shortbread
Choc-cherry cupcakes

Enjoy!

French Pea Soup

Made the French pea soup with mint yesterday but instead of using 20g of butter and a tablespoon of flour I cooked the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil and then added a chopped potato (which acts as the thickener) and the stock and simmered for 15 mins. Then added the frozen peas, mint and sugar and simmered for 5 minutes, then continue to follow the recipe. I did it this way in order to cut out the butter and flour, making it gluten and dairy free (plus lower fat) and having made it both ways, to be honest you cant tell much of a difference.