Archive for the ‘- Opinion’ Category

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Ditch the January Diet

Monday, January 4th, 2010

After the Christmas excesses, there’s something slightly masochistic about going from feast to famine and embarking upon a New Year diet in the name of self-improvement. With the bitter cold and various lurgies doing the rounds, a harsh and meagre food regime is the short cut to the miserable winter blues and leaves you wide open to colds and flus, if you’re not careful.

That’s why at MyDish we think you should ditch the January diet and indulge yourself with wonderful warming soups, stews and casseroles. These can be crammed full of lovely veg and pulses as well as meat and carbs. And why not treat yourself to a cake or two while you’re at it? A little bit of what you fancy does you good.

Remember, we’re not saying ‘be unhealthy’, we just think January’s grim enough without putting yourself on starvation rations too. It’s months until you have to squeeze into that summer bikini.

Here are some lovely tasty warming soups, stews, casseroles and winter warmers to keep out the chill.

7 Veg and Pumpkin Soup
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/3231/7%20Veg%20and%20Pumpkin%20Soup

Barley Soup
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/684/Barley%20Soup

Carrot and Coriander Soup
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/6039/Carrot%20and%20Corriander%20Soup%20Zero%20Point

Beef Stew
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/1367/Beef%20Stew

Roast Pumpkin Risotto
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/1367/Beef%20Stew

Warming Winter Chicken and Vegetable Soup
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/2433/Warming%20Winter%20Chicken%20and%20Vegetable%20Soup

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A curry beats a bunch of flowers

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

You know when you have done something completely out of order? You are in the wrong and you can make many excuses: bad day at work, awful traffic on the way home, nothing in its right place at home. But really, I’d had a stressful day and I just went bang!

It happened to me last week and when I took it all out on my nearest and dearest (my husband) he rightly wouldn’t speak to me all night. So rather than getting into a big debate about it the next day, I decided to take some radical action.  I went home the day after (another long day) with a completely new recipe – and cooked his favourite, an Indian Curry.

I was looking through the MyDish recipes and different sections and couldn’t decide what to make and then I knew that the only thing that would work was a curry.  I like Thai curries but am only just getting into Indian Curries: I have never cooked an Indian Curry at home and have definitely never done one using all the spices from scratch. But I thought it was worthy of the apology needed – I chose Anitak’s Authentic Chicken Curry.

It wasn’t as tricky as I’d feared and the results were sensational, so I’m looking forward to trying some more Indian recipes. Thankfully my husband Kenny accepted my apology and it shows the way to a man’s heart – and forgiveness, is through his tummy. Mission accomplished.

Posted in - Fun, - Opinion | No Comments »

Hooray! The kids are back at school!

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

The kids are back at school and all I can say is “Hooray!” I have 3 boys of school age (four in total if you include my husband) and I’m glad that we’ve returned to the structure and reality of term-time.

I know this might annoy some of the ‘mummy brigade’ but I think the Summer holidays are just way too long. The kids get bored and start nidgering each other and when they are back at school they are with their friends doing lots of fun stuff. School challenges them and they return happily tired at the end of the day.

What does it mean for me from a food point of view? I have only one kid at primary school now so I’m only making a packed lunch for 1. It’s tricky keeping them healthy and interesting and I’m always on the look out for new ideas.

But where I really need inspiration is with the evening meal. They come home after Rugby training starving hungry and as they walk through the door the first thing they want to do is eat. I struggle to get them to try different things. I often use MyDish for ideas and tonight I’m searching the family favourite recipes and we are going for beef casserole - enough to feed 4 hungry boys!

We will all sit down together for our meal around 6.30 ish and afterwards it is a marathon of homework and showering and reading with the little one. But we still manage to eat together and stop for half an hour to catch on each others day.

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My Experience in the Dragons’ Den

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

I have often watched Dragons Den and seen the terrible pitches some people make and thought : You are rubbish. Why don’t you learn how to present properly? It was not until I ventured to Pinewood Studios one day for my own turn facing the Dragons in their Den that I realised what a terrifying and stressful experience it is. I can honestly say it was the scariest day of my life.

I arrived at the studios early one morning to be recorded walking up the famous stairs and then nothing. I had to wait for hours and hours, nearly all day, in a hot room. I wasn’t allowed to talk to any other contestants because, I was told, it might scare me. It made me even more petrified! Whenever you needed the loo, a member of the crew ensured the coast was clear so we didn’t meet anyone on the way. As time passed, I became more nervous. I guess that’s the point. And in the end I didn’t even get to do my pitch. I had to go home and come back again the next morning after very little sleep.

The actual pitch was hell. I am an experienced and confident presenter and my pitch was rubbish. My throat closed up and I literally couldn’t speak. The enormity of the event got to me. Suddenly I was struck by how important these few minutes all caught on camera were for me, my business and even my family. I kept thinking to myself: “You are being rubbish girl.”

When the time came for the Dragons to ask me questions, and I had to start thinking on my feet, I came into my own. I know my business inside out and I stopped thinking about the situation and just answered the questions. Everyone has always said to me how important it is to ‘know your numbers’ I think that’s nonsense. Learning your business figures parrot fashion doesn’t work. It’s important to feel and understand your business perfectly so however the questions go, you can stand there and give a reasonable answer and defend your thoughts because you know what you are talking about.

What I hated about the whole thing is the combativeness. Some really enthusiastic, capable people, who might need some business support or expertise, were torn apart. I think people trying to set up businesses should be celebrated even if some of their ideas are impractical or silly. There are lots of people who have ideas but I really admire people who get off their behinds and have a go.

Sometimes, the ideas are great but the contestants don’t have the business acumen they need to take it further. What they do need is a good team on board to help them make it happen. Real business doesn’t have to be combative. But I suppose it makes great telly.

I didn’t see the programme before it aired. So I had no idea how I would come across. Lots of my friends wanted to watch it with me. But because 2 hours of Q&A and negotiations were cut down to 10 minutes and I had no idea how they had made me look, I had to watch it with my family first.

What do you think? How do you think it went?

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Surviving the Summer Holidays

Monday, August 10th, 2009

I love being with my kids but even for the most organised parents, juggling everything during the summer holidays can be a nightmare. Firstly I work, which can be a bit of a relief, and I tend to split my time so that I can spend some real quality time with the kids every day and they can enjoy being with me as much as I can with them.

We book our family holiday (2 weeks somewhere sunny) in the middle of the holiday to break up the long stretch and when I’m with the kids I make sure work doesn’t encroach: I don’t take my laptop on holiday and I switch off my mobile during the day. When we’re at home, I make sure that I can take days off to be with the kids each week and the rest of the time is a complex logistical operation of playdates (usually working with other parents and returning the favour) and other activities. Luckily my husband works from home which makes it easier.

When the kids are at home we tend to arrange an event each day. They love picnics in the park and outings to events and fairs. The kids love bbqs and that’s also my husband’s speciality – my oldest is being taught how to lay the fire. Under supervision, of course!

I do get the kids to bake through the holidays – Tom’s birthday is in June and Oli’s is in July. Our favourites are fairy cakes, chocolate crispies, choc chip cookies and each year I make a different character cake for the birthdays. We do the baking all together.

What I really want are more local activities that don’t necessarily need good weather and I’d like to do more arts & crafts and physical stuff that don’t cost the earth.

Posted in - Fun, - Opinion | 6 Comments »

Grow some herbs and salad leaves

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

The best thing about this time of the year is the wonderful selection and wealth of fresh produce in supermarkets and greengrocers. Some people are lucky enough to have allotments and veg patches in their gardens too so they have been smugly collecting their own produce in recent. Growing your own veg and other seasonal goodies has become increasingly popular recently. Everyone seems to be doing it.

I think allotments are great but lots of people, especially in the inner cities, don’t have access to enough outside space to cultivate. And, even if everyone could find a bit of ground to grow on, not everyone can find the time to prepare, tend and harvest even the smallest veg bed. Getting started can be expensive and lots of people (like me!) wouldn’t really know where to start.

But just because you can’t grow a full veg patch, it doesn’t mean you can have a few fresh treats. Even at this time of year you can enjoy some great success with a few pots and a sunny windowsill.

Herbs are very easy to grow. Basil and parsley are dead simple to propagate from seed. But do try chives too as well as mint and coriander. Fresh herbs add so much to a dish and if you have a surplus it’s great to freeze that. You know when you buy potted herbs from the supermarket and they die? This is because they don’t have room in the pot. So another option is to buy one of those pots and split the plants out so they have more room. They usually flourish.

Rocket can be grown on in a tray on a windowsill and takes about three weeks from sowing to being ready for a salad. It’s actually impossible to screw up. Get the kids involved!

Other small salad lettuces can be quickly gown inside too, in pots meaning you have instant salads if you’re a tiny bit organised. You don’t need to be Percy Thrower to have a little homegrown fresh produce in your life. Best of all you should save yourself a few quid and all the smugness of an allotment without the hard work and manure.

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Carol’s Blog: Takeaway Pizza and KFC… in moderation.

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

There’s been a bit of a rumpus about the growth of companies such as KFC and Dominos Pizza in the recession. Both are enjoying buoyant sales and KFC, for instance, will be creating 9000 new jobs to cope with demand. There’s been plenty of hand-wringing from people worrying what this means for the health of the nation.

I have a family with 3 boys (4 including my husband) so feeding in volume is always important. But that doesn’t mean that we always cook. I like to give them homemade food as often as possible and I think that’s one way to get the family eating together as well as managing cash. Even with a ravenous family of five, you can cook up a delicious meal for less than a tenner if you’re creative and start from scratch. And that’s much less than a Family Bucket.

But, of course, there are times when the kids want to go out. Perhaps for a treat or a birthday so I can really see that going to KFC is a cheaper option rather than taking them out to a more expensive restaurant. It’s the same with a takeaway pizza. It’s a bit of fun and cheaper than a restaurant.

For me it’s a matter of balance and finding good ways to feed your family without blowing the budget. A pizza or a trip to KFC every now and again doesn’t make me a bad mother.

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Carol’s Blog: Celebrating the Seasons

Friday, June 19th, 2009

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. In June, and through to September and October, it’s a bountiful time of the year. It’s the best time of year for local, fresh produce. I love celebrating the seasons and in June it’s the time for fresh strawberries. Strawberries are definitely my favourite.

We have beautiful strawberries in the early summer. They haven’t been flown half way around the world in refrigerated planes. In fact, I take the kids to our local pick your own farm which is great fun and we get to choose the fruit and veg we later cook with.

June is also a great time for delicious fresh peas and lovely broad beans. Both of whicj can be used in salads of with other dishes to add a taste of summer. If you want some inspiration for what’s in season and when, check out this useful calendar. By following the seasons and cooking what’s available I find that I’m inspired to experiment with new recipes and ideas.

Lots of people fear that if they eat seasonally that come January and February, all they’ll be eating will be turnip stew. But it’s not necessarily the case. We’ve become so spoilt expecting everything, whenever we want it. If you want to enjoy strawberries in December, then they should be a luxury. But nothing beats fresh strawberries you’ve picked yourself, on a sunny June day.

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Carol’s Blog: The Shame of Food Waste

Monday, June 1st, 2009

An article by Delia Smith caught my eye last week. Delia was writing about a passion on mine: cooking on a budget. But one comment truly horrified me. In Britain today we are throwing out 30% of the food we buy.

I wonder why this is. I think of my own family and one problem we have is that my children flatly refuse to eat items that have passed their sell by date even if the food looks and tastes perfectly good. Sell by dates are useful to supermarkets but are they really all that useful to consumers? I decant food from packets so that my children can’t see the sell by dates. I know when food has gone off but I suspect that lots of people are throwing out perfectly good food because it is past its sell by dates.

Portion sizes are also out of control, especially when you eat out. We’ve followed the American lead with side salads that are a meal in themselves and portions big enough to feed a family of four. Of course there’s going to be waste.

We’ve gone consumer crazy with the way we eat. One good thing about the credit crunch might be encouraging people to be more sensible with what they buy and throw out. Hopefully it’s an incentive to make great food and serve sensible portions and use the leftovers for creative second meals just like our mothers and grandmothers used to.

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Carol’s Blog: Sweets as Treats

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Who doesn’t remember the sweets they had as a child? Whether it was a favourite chocolate bar, a bag of something like Rhubarb and Custard from the cornershop, penny sweets, a huge tin of chocs at Christmas or even homemade goodies such as coconut ice, sweets immediately transport me back to my childhood. Sweets are a part of my treasured memories that remain as vivid as ever.

And it’s still fun to share sweets with my own children. Last week, I made fudge with my boys. Homemade fudge is fun to make and dead easy (check out my fudge recipe here). It’s very indulgent crammed with butter and sugar but it’s also delicious and nothing like the stuff you buy in the shops. It’s crumbly and creamy.

When I told some friends that I’d been making some fudge they were horrified. They told me that I should be giving my kids healthy snacks like fruit. I didn’t feel embarrassed. I was angry.

I’m no saint as a mum (who is?) but we do eat plenty of healthy homemade food. And as long as the bulk of what you and your family is eating is good honest grub surely there’s no harm in the occasional naughtiness? If I never allowed sweets as treats I’d be robbing my own family of the same treasured sweet memories that I recall so fondly.

We need to lighten up just a little bit. An excess of sweets is bad. And excess of anything is bad. But it’s not a well deserved treat that is causing tooth decay and obesity. It’s a lack of balance. Sweets as treats as part of a generally healthy diet can only be a good thing. A little bit of what you fancy does you good.

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