Wear Marmite?

As we've noted before, you either love or hate Marmite. If you fall into the former category, you can now wear a cycling top to proclaim your love of Marmite.

Chocolate maker gives haggis the sweet treatment

The Guardian reports that Thinking Chocolate, an Edinburgh-based chocolate maker, has given Scotland's national dish a cocoa-tinged makeover. Haggis-flavoured chocolates were originally prouced for a Burns' Night supper but the guests were so complimentary that they have started selling them commercially. However, there is no offal in the truffles. Instead, the chocolatier recreates the flavour of haggis by combining nutmeg, mace, black pepper and oatmeal.

The truth about Marmite

Marmite is a substance that can divide many a family or friendship. As we all know, there are two attitudes to Marmite: you either love or loathe it.

• Last month, researchers investigated a number of wondrous claims made for the brown stuff, from curing anaemia to weaning babies.
• Extra-strong Marmite is now available
  
• Checkout the Marmite NewsNetwork.com for the latest Election Developments
• Download a free Marmite Audiobook (featuring Horrid Henry)

Hedgehogs released into the wild after dieting success

Fourteen hedgehogs that became too fat to protect themselves from predators are being returned to the wild after being put on a strict diet. Hedgehogs usually live off their fat reserves in the winter, but the creatures at at the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife had become so big (after over-indulging on cat food) they were unable to curl into a ball to hide from predators. The 14 hedgehogs were among 70 that were rescued by animal welfare officers from the effects of this year's harsh winter.

See also: other blog posts about hedgehogs.

Artists honour Tunnock's treats in new exhibition

The Tunnock's teacake is a biscuit tin favourite and the ideal accompaniment for a fresh brew - but rather than eating it people are being encouraged to view it as art! A special exhibition celebrating "one of Scotland's genuine icons" is being held in Glasgow. Artists have been invited to honour the Tunnock's teacake, along with the caramel wafer and log and the humble snowball, in a show called Tunnocked.

The flexitarian

The BBC website discusses the rise of the non-veggie vegetarian:

"vegetarianism used to be simple - its protagonists foreswore the flesh of any dead animal. Today there are "veggies" who eat fish, and people who eat no meat but don't call themselves vegetarians. What happened?"

Eat for the environment

Read about how "scoffing fish can save ecosystems" in Eat for the ecosysytem.

Communicating God’s love through ice-cream

Young people in Coventry Diocese are about to blend their love for God with their love of ice-cream by opening an ice-cream parlour, to give away ice-creams and host events for young people in the area who fancy a fun flavour of Church life.

Meanwhile, in Chester Diocese a Christian Union wants to run the Sock Project to communicate God’s love to their school using sock puppets, running events and film-based discussions, and performing random acts of kindness in the school lunch hour.

These are two of 84 ingenious new evangelistic projects to receive a pump-priming grant of up to £3,000 from the Church of England’s Youth Evangelism Fund (YEF) in 2009. The fund is supported by the Archbishops' Council (50 per cent), the Henry Smith Charity, the Laing Family Trusts, and the Jerusalem Trust.

Launched in 2006, the YEF grew out of a report presented to General Synod in 2002 entitled Good News for Young People: The Church of England’s National Youth Strategy, which included proposals for a Youth Evangelism Fund. It aims to enable more young people to connect with the Gospel and develop faith within the life of the Church by allowing the young to share faith with friends in ways that make sense to them. Each year for five years, eight to 10 dioceses are receiving YEF support to resource new ideas for mission.

10 best chocolate dessert recipes

To celebrate Chocolate Week, check out these delicious chocolate dessert recipes:

• Chocolate roulade recipe
• Chocolate and black cherry marquise recipe
• Hot chocolate pudding with fudge sauce recipe
• Chocolate, hazelnut and Amarula cheesecake recipe
• Chocolate tart recipe
• Chocolate and cardamom pots recipe
• Chocolate trifle recipe
• Chilled mocha souffle recipe
• Chocolate and orange brioche pudding recipe
• Chocolate, coffee and mascarpone torte recipe

How to cook in a tiny kitchen

Although British homes are getting smaller and smaller, it is still possible to cook in a rabbit-hutch sized kitchen . . . Advice from Katherine Whitehorn, author of Cooking in a Bedsitter - a classic text (recently republished) which assisted many a student in their first foray into self-catering.

Economy Gastronomy

The Guardian has been running a week long series on Economy Gastronomy by Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett:

One salmon, four dishes
One chicken, three ways
Turn a pumpkin into a feast
Dinner and a treat: escalope of chicken and treacle tart
Spicy black bean quesadilla and anytime cookies

This ties in with a new BBC2 show, Economy Gastronomy, and a book, Economy Gastronomy: Eat Better And Spend Less by Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett, published by Michael Joseph.

Haggis is English?

A historian has claimed that a haggis recipe was published in an English book almost two hundred years before any evidence of the dish in Scotland. A book published in 1615 indicates haggis was first eaten in England and subsequently popularised by the Scots.

See also: haggis

Updated 4/8: Hands off our haggis, say Scots after English claim‏

Library-themed ice-cream?

Lots of book-related posts recently, and here's another: Book fans develop a taste for library-themed ice-cream. This reports that Ben & Jerry's is considering launching a library-themed ice-cream flavour, after a campaign by a New Jersey librarian gathered thousands of supporters. They signed a Facebook petition asking the icre-cream firmto produce flavours such as Li-berry pie and Sh-sh-sh-sherbet.

Comfort-eating through the recession?

The BBC website reports on how Britain eats its way through recessions: "when the going gets tough, the tough, it seems, tuck into pudding". The report suggests that this may be more than just comfort eating, and that there may be profound implications for the way we understand what happens to the economy (in both good and bad times) and for how it might behave in future.

Boiled eggs for the culinary incompetent

It may be hard to believe, but thanks to a miracle of modern ingenuity you need never boil or shell another egg again. You just buy pre-boiled eggs from the Happy Egg Company - and all the hard work has been done for you! Read the Guardian on making the ultimate convenience food even simpler - or alternatively read Delia on how to boil an egg.

A Platypus for wine

OK, so a Platypus isn't suitable for porridge, but another product from the company behind the Platypus hydration system may intrigue you. The PlatyPreserve claims to be "the best way to protect the taste of an opened bottle of wine by completely eliminating the presence of oxygen". How dies it work? The three environmental factors that damage wine are: oxygen, temperature, and ultraviolet light. The PlatyPreserve solves the first factor by isolating your wine from oxygen. You can deal with the other two factors by storing the PlatyPreserve in a cool dark place.

An Edible History of Humanity

Earlier this week I listened to a discussion on the Today programme between Tom Standage, the business editor of The Economist, and Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers' Union, discuss how the history of food has affected the history of man.

The discussion was stimulated by the recent publication of a new book, An Edible History of Humanity. It was fascinating to hear Standage's thesis that the switch to farming has done more to change the world than any other human activity, and may have been one of man's biggest mistakes. You can read a review from the Sunday Times.

Bring on the bacon butty

National Vegetarian Week starts today but, despite this, there is a Guardian editorial In praise of ... bacon sandwiches‏! It points out that eating bacon will not give you swine flu, and that it is a good time to support (free-range) British pig farmers. And "food boffins" give their opinion on the ideal bacon butty.

A restaurant in your living room?

I heard this news item on the Today Programme this morning and thought it sounded a great idea. As part of the Eat Newcastle Gateshead food festival, ten families have opened up their homes for an evening as "underground restaurants". The concept is simple: an amateur cook prepares and serves food for members of the public. There is usually a small charge but for a fraction of restaurant prices, the diners will get a meal that is authentic and distinctive. Check out the story here: a restaurant in your living room. It does sound a little bit like the Infusion formal dinners.

More gourmet budget recipes

Missed some of the Guardian's series on Gourmet eating on a budget? Check out the whole Dinner for under a fiver series for recipes from: Delia Smith, Jamie Oliver, Rose Gray, Sam Clark, and Yotam Ottolenghi.