I'm very sad to announce that we will be closing the LoveYourLarder.com marketplace at the end of March. We've been up and running for just over two years now (with the idea a year in the planning before that) and we've had an incredible time, met some amazing people and hopefully helped spread the gospel of 'Real Food'! However in the last six months it's become increasingly clear to us that we d…
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There’s nothing better than the smell of fresh bread straight from the oven, and this recipe for rosemary and sea salt focaccia is easy to make and lovely served with a salad or for dipping in oil and balsamic vinegar. We’ve adapted a recipe from Paul Hollywood, off of the Great British Bake Off and a few of the tips we heard on the show are also good to bear in mind when making this. Firstly no matter how unusually wet you…
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Chilli con carne is a dish that has changed drastically from its original appearance and taste. We have fully customised it to our own tastes and preferences and defend this as a proper chilli as stated on pub menus around the country but an authentic chilli con carne is very different. It was first made by American frontier settlers and used dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt which was pounded together then formed into bri…
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This soup is so hearty it could really be classed as a stew - lots of lentils and butter beans means it’s super filling and keeps you from snacking in the boring afternoons. We made a huge vat of it on a sunday and enjoyed it at lunch all week long. The chilli flakes means it has a little kick, combined with the smokey chorizo flavours it could be the perfect warming winter soup. We used our favourite Original Yorkshire Cho…
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Between Christmas and New Year you’re likely to find yourself in the position of having groups of family and friends descend on you expecting to be fed, but after the hassles of Christmas day the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. This Pork belly recipe is great because after theinitialpreparation it requires very little attention and if you use a side like the rice dish we suggest below then there you d…
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We're really excited about next month's LarderBox, just choosing the different products has got us in the Christmas mood! We've picked out delicious Gouda biscuits which are perfect for nibbles with a glass of wine, Red wine jelly for making the most fabulous sauces and gravies, Gingerbread Hot Chocolate for warming you up on those crisp winter evenings, the most gorgeous mulled wine truffles from Davenport's Chocolates and eve…
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One of our twitter friends got in touch over the weekend to ask for suggestions for products from the site that might be suitable as Ice Cream toppings & flavours. I'll admit that we were a bit stumped to begin with but once we'd had our Monday morning coffee we came up with so many ideas that we thought it would be worth collecting our five favourite into a blog post! 1. If you're making ice cream then you've got to star…
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Everyone loves a good burger, and if you live in the States or London then you can walk out your front door and find a great burger relatively easily. However outside of London you'll struggle to find a great American style burger - we're talking thin, medium-rare patties topped with american cheese and a mouth-puckering mix of pickles, salad and burger dressing. So after a week spent craving a decent burger I realised the only way I…
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We came across this fantastic video on the weekend which goes behind the scenes at Brooklyn Bouillon - a small artisan producer of high quality stocks. It's always so heartening for us to see the dedication which goes into products like this - and it's so important to turn something which is so often wasted back into a desirable product.
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It can be tricky knowing where to start with how to make apple juice & cider so we made a very short film to get you started. If you're interested in how to turn your juice into cider then from personal experience we recommend this great guide from John Wright.
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This is a perfect winter warmer supper AND it's incredibly quick and easy to make. The warmth from the curry paste is balanced out by the coconut milk and the leeks and tomatoes give it much more body than you'd get from a Thai green curry. It's also perfect for freezing so make at least double what you need and freeze the rest in portions for even quicker meals! Serves: 4 Ingredients: One large leek 250g Frozen prawns 1 Ti…
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This recipe is from Emma Attenborough of the wonderfulKitchen Bitchingfor her incredible flourless chocolate cake. We'll let her explain; "It is without doubt my favourite sweet treat, and because it doesn’t contain flour, it’s suitable for anyone who can’t eat gluten. It’s rich, but not sickly, and I could honestly eat the entire cake in one sitting." To make the cake you…
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After a short break we're back with a fantastic new Blogger of the Week - Emma Attenborough who is Editor of the excellent Kitchen Bitching. Tell us a bit about yourself and your blog I’m a freelance writer and content manager, and have recently taken on the role of editor (@emmaattenB) of Kitchen Bitching, which was launched back in January 2012 by the DIGITAL bungalow blog group (@DigiBungalo…
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You probably know about our lovely LarderBoxes by now, we think they're pretty great so we can't help but tell you about them - and we're looking for some people who feel just the same! We set up the LarderBox six months ago and are as eager to get your feedback now as we were when we first started. If you're a food or lifestyle blogger we've got a limited number of LarderBoxes available for review - just drop us an email…
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The LarderBox has always been about showcasing the best food and drink the country has to offer and September's box is a special edition featuring some of the brilliant winners from the recent Great Taste Awards. The awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, are a fantastic way of highlighting exceptional products and producers. We've had a look through the top class award winners and have picked out 5 products we t…
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We're got a bit of thing for truffle oil at the moment - and if you get a #LarderBox you will have a received a bottle of white truffle oil and might be wondering what you can do with it. As you will have noted it you've given it a sniff, it has a very strong smell and this alone should tell you it is best used sparingly so as not to over power a dish. It works brilliantly with both simple cream based dishes and eggs -…
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This is possibly one of the most decadent brunchs we can think of - the rich, earthy flavour of white truffles, nutty gruyere cheese and creamy egg yolks all combined on one slice of bread. If you're looking for something special to knock up this Sunday morning to enjoy over the papers with a good cup of coffee this is definitely it. Plus it's not too complicated or time consuming if your heads a little muddled. Truffled Egg…
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Relishing the challenge to cook up delicious and exciting vegetarian dishes, we always knew Heather's recipe would be something a little more exciting than hummus and carrots. Even veggies have cravings for the wonderful crispy crunch of some perfectly fried batter and a tasty chunk of halloumi is the perfect filling. Even the most ardent meat eater is sure to love this dish! Ingredients - serves 2 65g plain white flour 15g …
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The Great Taste Awards organised byThe Guild of Fine Foodare the biggest event in the food calander and are a brilliant way of championing and celebrating the fantastic food this country produces. This year's list of award winners has just been released and we are thrilled to see so many of our own producers collecting awards for their fantastic products, includingWomersley who were listed in the Top 50 British Fo…
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This week's Blogger of the Week is the lovely Hef's Kitchen, a blog dedicated to all sorts of wonderful vegetarian and vegan recipes plus plenty of indulgent baked treats including this incredible cakey creation. Written by the lovely Heather, we've chatted baking, brownies and black bean chilli! Tell us a bit about yourself and your blog I've loved food all of my life and have been vegetarian for 8 years now. My…
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After being inspired by our chat with Ella earlier in the week, we've been thinking how we can make our diets a little healthier and avoid all those heavy carbs. This recipe from her gorgeous blog Deliciously Ella is just the ticket, full of incredible flavours and perfect for warm summer nights. Roasted aubergine, walnut and pomegranate salad with a sweet, creamy dressing This is one of my favourite summer salads. It…
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Here at Love Your Larder HQ we're always striving to eat that little healthier, perhaps cut out some of the excess sugar and gluten from our diets and think a bit more creatively about ingredients. One lady we know doing that is Ella, from Deliciously Ella who has a blog full of recipes perfect for a healthy, happy and nutritious lifestyle. She's shared with us the inspiring story behind her blog and why we should think again about g…
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After our chat with Kathryn from London Bakes earlier in the week we knew her recipe would be something a bit special but these brownies make us go mmmmmmmm just at the thought of them. They're light, sticky and o so moreish. Olive Oil and Dark Chocolate Brownies Olive oil and dark chocolate is a wonderful combination; the olive oil really brings out the richness and the fruitness of a good quality chocolate. I …
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Now that summer has finally arrived, it's likely you'll find us reclining in the sun, cocktail in hand. Perfect for those long, chilled afternoons are these carefully crafted drinks from English Spirit. Based in the Cambridge countryside, English Spirt are a small scale, artisan distillery who specialise in high quality vodkas plus the occasional gin. Their stills are only tiny - hand beated and crafted from copper and only …
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As you know, we love sharing our favourite food blogs with you and this week's blogger of the week London Bakes is a stunning example of why we love them so much - beautifully shot photographs of mouth watering food. And even better, although all the recipes look sinfully indulgent, they are made using natural, healthy ingredients, what more could we want! We've had a chat with Kathryn, the author of London Bakes, about the inspirati…
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After our chat with Anna from The Grazer about everything from hosting Middle Eastern Supperclubs to French Cassoulets, she carrieson her tour of the world's best cuisines with this fantastic (and filling!) recipe for breakfast burritos, one of our all time favourite ways to start the day. Breakfast Burritos with Avocado Tomato and Chorizo These very tasty burritos are my take on an American Breakfast Burrito, or a Mexic…
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Womersley Foods were one of the first producers we started working with when we originally set up Love Your Larder so we are over the moon that their Raspberry Vinegar has been listed as one of the Top 50 Foods in Great Britain in this years Great Taste Awards. The only vinegar to feature on the list, Womersley's Raspberry Infused Vinegar is bursting with berries and perfect in so many dishes - we like to add a splash to sparkling …
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We love this simple Mediterranean inspired salad and once you've griddled your vegetables it's easy to throw together. We've used pesto to dress our salad but if you'd prefer drizzle over some chilli oil or a yoghurt and mint sauce it would work equally as well. Char-griddled Courgette & Aubergine Salad Serves 2 Ingredients 1 courgette 1 aubergine juice of 1 lemon 10 sundried tomatoe…
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The Grazer is one of our favourite bloggers, with a site full of incredible recipes, interesting writing and a little history behind all her creations. From home made salami to duck hearts on toast, gorgeous fish stew to wild garlic pesto, you are bound to find a dish you just have to make, and it's all photographed beautifully. We've had a chat with Anna, the talented lady behind The Grazer, about her wonderful blog, where h…
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It seems we can't get enough of healthy crisps at the moment. Nim's, who make healthy fruit crisps joined the site recenty and we are now very pleased to introduce Scrubbys, who produce high quality vegetable crisps. They are produced by husband and wife team John and Claire who started retailing their fine and traditional foods in 2007. After spotting a gap in the market they embarked on a mission to find a healthier vegetable crisp…
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Born out of a competition to find interesting new uses for pork (we can think of a few) comes this mind-blowing pulled pork cupcake. Created by Adam Sobel it is unfortunately only available at the Four Seasons, Georgetown in the US but we think we might have a pop at recreating it at home. What do you think - genius invention or cup cakes one step too far? Let us know in the comments. Via Serious Eats
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In most houses you'll find a bag of frozen peas at the bottom of a freezer draw, there for emergency meals and bumped heads, but there are few foods nicer than fresh British peas in season. They are ripe for picking between June and late July, giving us a few brief opportunites to enjoy their simple pleasures. Tucked away in their vibrant green jackets, peas are an excellent example of nature's intricate and beautiful design. T…
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This is a tale of two very different but equally delicous snacks. The first is the sensible older sibling, for when you're feeling virtuous and healthy and only fancy a light nibble. The other, it's naughty, younger brother is an all out decadent snack, to be saved for special occasions. We think you'll love both of them and even better they're both brilliant for kids. Nim's Fruit Crisps are the creation…
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This weeks blogger of the week, Katy from the Feel Good Food Book has shared one of her favourite healthy recipes, perfect for using up leftovers. Rainbow salad (serves 3 - 4) Ingredients 250g spinach 125g carrots 160g sweetcorn 100g sundried tomatoes 10g orange dressing (You can make your own dressing by combining orange juice & zest with extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and honey - altering the s…
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We have just started working with three new producers who all bring something a little meaty to Love Your Larder. We all want to make sure we are eating ethically and that the meat we love so muchis produced to the highest welfare standards because it makes it taste all the better. Heggies of Hereford first opened their doors in 1956 and has been growing out of the rural town of Hereford ever since. They work with a number of sup…
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All summer long there are plenty of food festivals to keep us gastronomes entertained. With everything from English wines to world class chefs, we've picked the events that have really got our mouths watering. Leave us a comment and let us know which shows you'll be attending this summer and if you have any tips of anything that should not be missed. Dorset Seafood Festival 7th - 8th July We love seafood, can't get eno…
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This week's Blogger of the Week, The Feel Good Foodbook caught our eye with her enthusiastic approach to championing new producers and her #project366 to photograph something tasty and edible(ish) every day of the year. Many people embark on these projects and give up after a couple of weeks but Katyis still going strong - you can check out all her pictures so far on her pinterest board. Originally from Dorset, Katy moved to …
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If you were the youngest ever winner of masterchef what would you do after your victory? Go and cook in some fancy restaurant or go brew up some awesome beers and run one of the coolest pubs in London? Tim Anderson, winner of the 2011 series of Masterchef chose the latter having worked in partnership with those upstart punks BrewDog as well as managing The Euston Tap, a tiny craft beer in one of the old lodge houses outside Euston station. Alt…
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After setting up the recipe site Peachtrees and Bumblebees, Ashley Fryer is a woman who knows a thing or two about baking. Here she shares with us her tried and tested (then tried again) recipe for Salted Caramel Millionaire's Shortbread. Salted Caramel Millionaire's Shortbread Millionaire’s shortbread is one of my very favourite little treats. It’s easy to make and it’s wickedly rich, so it’s perfe…
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If you get a LarderBox, a couple of months ago you will have recevied a bottle of a rather unusual substance - banana ketchup. Now, it's likely you may have already used all of this - it is very tasty and goes with just about everything, our currenty favourite being with crackers and cheese as an after work snack - and maybe you don't get a LarderBox but don't worry you can pick some up here. Turns out banana ketchup is the…
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This recipe is taken from Felicity Cloake's first recipe book Perfect (published Fig Tree, 2011, RRP £18.99) - you can see our chat with her here Felicity's Perfect Fish Cakes Serves 2 400g floury potatoes,e.g. Maris Pipers Salt and pepper 250g fish: salmon, firm whitefish or smoked haddock workparticularly well 1 tablespoon chopped chives 1 tablespoon capers 2 anchovy …
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Our blogger of the week title doesn't really fit this weeks site; Peach Trees anad Bumblebees isn't just a blog but an entire foodie community, that any one can contribute to and submit features for. The clever lady behind it all is Ashley Fryer, who started the site after realising she needed somewhere to keep her rapidly growing repetoire of recipes and people to share in her love of excessive butter consumption. With over 50 activ…
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We have a nosey around the larder and life of Maunika Gowardhan, food blogger, private chef and all round purveyor of incredible and authentic Indian food. Kheema Pav, Spiced Chocolate Barfi, Gatta ki Sabji. Perhaps not things you regularly cook but these are just some of the authentic Indian dishes you can find carefully explained and mouth wateringly photographed on cookinacurry.co.uk. Given more recognisable descriptions Kheema Pav is a d…
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A crispy duck dish is one of our favourite treats from the Chinese takeaway, but this pan fried duck breast with fresh Asian veg is so much tastier (and not to mention healthier) and can be ready in under 20 minutes. Our top tip for a quick cheat is to buy one of these prepared bags of stir-fry veg which include white cabbage, beansprouts and carrot to save on prep time. Just throw in a couple of chillies, some ginger and a splash of soy and…
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Katherine Macgregor from Lady Loves Cakes takes us on a tour of the world through her favourite 5 dishes shes discovered whilst travelling across the globe... When Love your Larder asked me to write about my top five dishes from around the world I had a mini crisis. Part of me was so excited to write this, but the other part felt a surge of panic. Here’s why: I spent my twenties travelling around the world, to fifty countries with my e…
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One of the main reasons we set up Love Your Larder was to help support small, local producers who are making incredible food and drink. One of the first producers we started working with was Michael Goodchild's Fudge Fancieswho makes incredible, bite sized fudge creations of the highest quality. They've proved incredible popular, especially his fudge roulette; a mixed selection of his delightful fudges perfect for any occas…
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With a blog titled Lady Loves Cake, author Katherine MacGregor is a girl after our own heart. Her blog tells of adventures through a foodie London and her tales of travels further afield have us reaching for our suitcase and passport. After spending her twenties travelling the world, she is now settled in London's East End and her blog regularly features the best places to eat around the city. Later in the week, Katherine will shar…
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We read the other day that in the last year there has been a 54% increase in the number of start up cake businesses and since 2009 there has been an overall 325% increase – that’s a hell of a lot more cakes being made and eaten in the UK. Some of the tastiest, prettiest and most adventurous cakes we've seen come from Lily Vanilli, whose gorgeous creations have lead to her own recipe book, A Zombie Ate My Cupcake and cafe which …
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One of the best things about the British summer is the bounty of fruit and berries that come into season - strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are all in season until the end of September and can be picked straight from the bushes for one of life's simplest pleasures. Whilst we love our berries au natural or with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt, they're so pretty, like summer's own crown jewel’s they make the perfec…
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If you're lucky enough to receive a LarderBox each month then you're used to receiving unusual ingredients. However June's edition contained one of our most suprising products yet - Sumac marinade from Elli & Manos. Sumac berries come from a particular variety of the Sumac plant - found widely across the mediterranean region and into the middle east, which when used in cooking adds a delicious lemony flavour. Elli & Manos…
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This weeks Blogger of the Week, Cecilia Halling who writes the wonderful Whole Food Diary has shared with us this recipe for a rather unusual risotto... Yes, this dish may look very pink but do not worry, it's an all natural affair. An ingenious use of beetroot, this is a creamy risotto full of fresh flavours - perfect for summer evenings. Even if you're a devoted carnivore, we think you'll love this dish. Bee…
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We can't believe it's got to the time to tell you about July's LarderBox. It feels like it was only yesterday we were sending out our first edition when actually it was months ago and we're now onto our 6th box! And what a box it is! We want time to pass even faster so these boxes will be arriving on your doorstep sooner, but for the meantime you'll have to whet your appetite with a peek at what you can expect and if you …
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After looking at Platter a couple of weeks we turn our attention to The Eatery to see what this new health based food app has to offer. Rather than being a source of inspiration for interesting recipes, The Eatery is aimed at helping you eat healthier by giving you meaningful insights into your eating habits rather than being a tool for counting calories. The premise of the app is simple - take a snap of your food, say how big …
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We read lots of blogs, about all sorts of things (kittens) but given our obsession with good food, interesting recipes and delectable photography, food blogs will always be our first love.We wanted to introduce you to some of our favourite bloggers; telling you a bit about them and their wonderful sites and most importantly what they like to make! Each week we will introduce you to our new Blogger of the Week, kicking off this week we …
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We know that the weather hasn't been good enough to get your BBQ out of the shed but even when the sun is shining what we call BBQ is very different from what you'd find in the US. This last weekend saw The Big Apple BBQ - a gathering of some of the best BBQ out there on a few streets in New York. If you want to see what it goes into an event like this have a look at this slideshow from our friends over at Serious Eats (and not a s…
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Following on from our amazing pulled pork recipe (if you haven't seen it then have a read here) we thought we'd give you an update on what we think is the perfect pulled pork sandwich. Follow our pulled pork recipe but instead of using the barbecue sauce recipe try half a bottle of Smokey Joe's Banana ketchupmixed in with the pork. To assemble put a spoonful of coleslaw (we love ours with a tablespoon of sesame oil stirre…
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Often we look at a recipe book, and think 'O, wow that looks like an interesting recipe and so simple to make' and hours later, we're covered in sweat, swearing and stressed that our pastry crust has turned into a crumbly mess and there's gravy all over the bottom of the oven. Wouldn't it be good if there was someone out there to test these recipes for us, take the nice bits of some and leave out the bad bits of others un…
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Salsa verde is full of fresh, punchy flavours - we added a little chilli to ours to give it an extra kick. Serve it with a beautiful piece of tender tuna loin for an impressive dinner which you can create in under 20 minutes. We've told you before about our undying love of British asparagus so we couldn't resist adding some for the perfect finishing touch. If you're looking for a show-stopping date night dish, this is certainly r…
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Although they are called The African Biscuit Compay, these moreish treats are actually called beskuit, pronounced bis-kate and are a traditional snack at breakfast in South Africa. If you are still a little lost as to what a beskuit is, it is very similar to an Italian biscotti or Dutch beschuit and is a wholesome twice-baked buttermilk biscuit. These ones from The African Biscuit Company come packed full of flavour and top quality ingredien…
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We've pulled together a gift box which any carnivore will be eager to get their teeth in to. Featuring some of our favourite products from the site, our Mighty Meat Box is the perfect gift for Father Day (17th June guys, don't forget!) but is an excuse for any meat lover to indulge their porcine tendancies. If you're looking for an interesting and unique gift they won't find anywhere else, then this is definitely it. …
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Everyone knows Dad's are hard to buy for - it's why they have such a well stocked selection of socks. But this Father's Day we don't want your old man to be stuck with another stripy tie, why not get him a selection of artisan whiskies, a crate of craft ale or a luxury cheese hamper? Here's our top picks for this Father's Day... We've pulled together some of our favourite products from the site into what has …
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We think tea can be a little confusing, and we don't just mean remembering how many sugars everyone in the office takes. With so many different types and blends, do we have these keemun mao feng leaves with milk, or lemon, neither or both!? Ok we know it should never be both lemon and milk but we think an educating helping hand with these matters is just what we need which is why we are thrilled to be working with Tea Horse, who ar…
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In our first interview for Life In The Larder, we talk to the marvellous Kerstin Rodgers, founder of The Underground Restaurant and author of The Supper Club recipe book. We peer into her fridge and learn a bit more about life as a writer, blogger and all round foodie wonder woman. Everyone knows about Supper clubs now, it's likely you've been to one, or maybe even hosted one yourself. Combining good quality, well cooked food at a de…
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In preparation for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee we turned to our favourite bakers, creators of wonders and makers of the tastiest jams around Strawberry Fields Foods to suggest a suitable recipe for a classical British occasion. Here's what they suggested... When we were trying to come up with a recipe for the Jubilee we really struggled because there are so many great British desserts that we love to make that we just couldn’t …
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There are hundreds of dedicated food apps out there now, where you can show off your latest creation, get tips on how to eat healthy and have access to thousands of recipes from top chefs who’ll take you step by step through their most intricate creations. But are they any good? Will they ever replace your beloved, well thumbed and grease smeared cookbooks? Each week we are going to bring you our app-setisers; a look at the food apps we …
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You might have noticed that our blog looks a little different. We've given it a bit of a tidy up, made it much easier to navigate and it's full of fantastic recipes, features and news from around the Love Your Larder world. To celebrate launching this new and improved mine of foodie information, we are giving you the chance to win a Kenwood Chef Classic! A classic piece of kitchenware, a Kenwood Chef is endlessly useful fo…
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Strawberries are pretty much are favourite fruit already and the fact that they are synonymous with great weather and lazy summer days doesn't hurt either. However it turns out that you can make strawberries even better than they already are using one very simple ingredient - balsamic vinegar! I know it sounds crazy, and when we were first told about it we thought that perhaps this person had spent a little too long in the sun. Yet it wo…
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The Queens Jubilee not only gives us a four day weekend, it also gives us the chance to eat lots of tasty food and drink as everyone gets together for tea parties and street parties. We've got some fantastic Jubilee themed food and gifts on the site, perfect if your planning a right royal knees up (or know someone who is!). This biscuit tin is the ultimate Jubilee snack; crowns, bunting, union jacks and even some with the Queen&…
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This is a recipe that we've been meaning to make ever since we first saw it on The Guardian's website a couple of years ago. The basic premise is that you hollow out a loaf of bread, fill it with tasty ingredients and then place it under a heavy weight overnight so that by the morning it has compressed into one solid lump of deliciousness. Apparently the sandwich was created so that a cook could put it together the night before their e…
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Marshmallows seem to be very cool right now. They must be because we even had a go at making them ourselves. But whilst our own efforts were incredibly fun to make, they are not a patch on Patchett's Confectionery which we now have available on the site. These marshmallows are made using only the finest natural ingredients which gives them their delighfully light and fluffy texture. And the flavours are a wonderfully se…
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A group of incredibly clever students at MIT have solved a problem that has plagued mankind since the first person wanted tomato ketchup on their chips - how to easily get it out of the bottle! MIT PhD candidate Dave Smith along with his team at Varanasi Research Group have created an incredibly low-friction coating which can be applied to the inside of food containers. You have to watch the video in order to really grasp the difference it m…
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The combination of the basil and ginger with the salmon on these kebabs, along with the sesame oil and aniseed flavour from the fennel makes a great combination. Serve them with a salad if it's a warm day or purple sprouting broccoli if you need something a little more substantial. Before we start we know that there is a lot of talk at the moment about sustainable fish sourcing and the impact of our current consumpti…
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When it comes to BBQ the British aren’t the most adventurous with burgers, burnt sausages and the occasional chicken drumstick usually on the menu.Next time the sun is shining and you fancy getting the grill out you need to try this recipe for whole BBQ chicken - it’s relatively quick and easy is perfect for a group of people who each end up with a plate of fingerlicking good chicken. The trick here is in spatchcocking t…
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We’ve only just discovered this wonderful blog, we can’t believe it! because we love organising things neatly. You should see the state of our wardrobes and larders, everything in neat rows and colour co-ordinated sections. Although if you saw our office desks you wouldn’t believe it for a second. http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/ curates a selection of photos of items in all sorts of places and locations looking n…
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There are few vegetables finer than asparagus, it is the King of the May season and is eagerly awaited by real food fans each year. The season is very short, traditionally starting on the 23rd April and lasting until Midsummer’s day. This season our purple headed friends have been suffering from a few problems, with all the rain we’ve been having the crop this year has been a little slow and the annual asparagus festival had to be …
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It’s National Doughnut Week, and not only does this allow us the opportunity to indulge with one of our favourite deep fried snacks it’s also all for a very good cause, helping raise money for the Children’s Trust. This is surely guilt free eating, right? Doughnuts, although they may seem the pride and joy of America, are in fact popular around the world and have many different versions and shapes. The two classics we will a…
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If you are one of our lovely #LarderBox recipients then one of these easy to use and extremely tasty curry kits will have arrived last week along with a host of other treats. Of course if you don’t subscribe to the LarderBox (and why on earth not?! You can sign up here) you can get one of these Hare’s Moor Curry Kits from here on Love Your Larder. Like all the kits in the Hare’s Moor range, the kit includes all the spices,…
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Foccacia Bread is something which we’ve traditionally found difficult to get right but this recipe produces a great bread and is relatively simple. The only factor to bear in mind is that you need to start it a day or two ahead as it uses a no-knead dough recipe - however this gives the foccacia a great texture and is totally worth the forward planning. Ingredients Dough; 750 g Strong white flour525 g Water1/2 Tsp Dried Yeast3…
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One of our favourite things about visiting the USA is getting to eat proper BBQ (check out this link to see some of the different styles) but it’s not very practical to get on a plane every time we get a craving for some pulled pork so here’s our guide to making it at home. It’s not true BBQ as we’re not going to be using any charcoal but the end result is 95% the same. The main requirement for this is a slow cooker - y…
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You know the famous saying? Meat based snack products are like buses, you wait for one to come along and then you get three at once. Well recently we’ve had quite the influx of biltong onto loveyourlarder.com and are now working with 3 fabulous producers of this chewy, and protein packed South African snack. To make biltong, first the meat is marinated in a vinegar solution before being flavoured with spices and seasonings - most comm…
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The office has been on a bit of a health kick recently, less big plates of carbs, more vegetables and light salads. It feels good. We are always on the look out for inventive ways to improve our diets so when we saw this recipe over on Smitten Kitchen for aubergine bruschetta we knew we had to try it out. Rather than use bread for your base, she’s inventively used aubergines slices. We grilled rather than fried or baked our aubergin…
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We’ve been a little quite on the blog recently, but that’s because we’ve been flat out getting a new design of the site up and ready for your eyes to enjoy. You can see it for yourself if you go to www.loveyourlarder.com And the design isn’t the only new thing on the site, we’ve got loads of new producers to introduce to you - from gourmet vanilla to artisan whiskies, old fashioned confectionary to hand printed …
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Marshmallows seem like food from another planet, one inhabited with rainbows and unicorns and magical fluffy things. In actual fact, they aren’t too difficult to knock up yourself, and they taste like light-as-a-feather airy fruity goodness depending on how you flavour them. That’s half the fun with marshmallows, you can infuse them with almost any flavour you can imagine - we stopped short of trying to invent the bacon marshmallow…
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Anyone who is lucky enough to be signed up for a LarderBox is in for a real treat with May’s edition. We’ve been hard at work with some of the newest, brightest and most importantly tastiest producers in the country to bring together an eclectic range of foods for you to try. We’ve even got a special mystery bonus product for you! If you want to be the lucky recipient of a box or know someone you’d like to treat you ca…
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Souffles have got a bad reputation for themselves. They invoke a reaction of horror and fill people with all kinds of dread at the thought of them not rising and having some sort of classic dinner party disaster. But they shouldn’t! Souffles are actually relatively simple to prepare and once you have the basic method down, you can create all kinds of amazing flavour combinations. They are endlessly adaptable, can be sweet or savoury an…
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In her last post Nafsika considers what we’ve discovered about real food and if we are any closer to reaching a definition of what it means in the 21st century. Over these past few months, we have been discovering food in the city of London, searching for what we call “Real Food”. Our quest has been exciting and has revealed people and places we never knew existed. Places such as the Spitalfields City Farms or farmers markets whic…
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Although lamb is easily available all year round, it is hard to beat the taste of British Spring lamb with its subtle and tender flavour which develops through the months. Easter marks the turn of the seasons and with it a whole range of incredible British produce is coming in to season all of which is bursting with flavour and freshness. We wanted a recipe which would reflect this and with our recent article on nose to tail eating in mind w…
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We are thrilled to tell you that we have been announced as E-commerce Site of the Year at the Northern Tech Awards. Woo-hoo! The Northern Tech Awards were set up to celebrate and award the hard work and dedication that goes in to running a start up and we know a little something about both of those. Techcelerate, the organisation behind the awards, said “The judges have rewarded the companies that they felt not only had the bes…
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Easter is fast approaching which not only means we have an excuse to indulge with some fun shaped chocolate, it more importantly gives us a 4 day weekend with time to visit friends and family and relax in the spring sunshine. To help spread the Easter joy, we’ve got a fantastic selection of gifts, eggs and chocolatey treats to celebrate the start of a new season with. Although Easter is connected in most people’s mi…
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Nafsika visits Europe’s first liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour and debates how this fits in to our ideas of real food. It was a sunny Sunday morning, right after St Patrick’s day. Camden Town was busy as always, with locals and tourists enjoying the warm March weather. After getting slightly lost in the labyrinth of colourful stores, we finally arrived at our destination. Today we will try something slightly different. If growing yo…
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This week Nafsika chats to Duncan from Sustain about their recent nose-to-tale butchery workshop and how we can all eat a bit more of our favourite animals. In search of real food, this week you are cordially invited to join us as we learn more about restaurants, sustainable food choices and intriguing cooking ideas! One of our all time favorite ways to spend a Saturday night, or any night for that matter, is to have dinner at a new restaura…
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As it’s spring and we are in a very good mood, we are going to give the next 10 people to sign up for a 6 month LarderBox subscription or buy a gift subscription a free box of deliciousness! This special box will be posted out in time for the weekend, perfect if you were planning on doing some spring baking. We’ve only got 10 to give away so keep an eye on our twitter feed (@loveyourlarder) so you know when they are all gone. W…
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Baking has to be the nation’s favourite past time; be it classic Victoria sponges or intricate macarons people can’t get enough of combining flour, eggs and sugar in all sorts of wonderful ways. If you’re looking for a short cut, perhaps want to cut out some of the boring bits, or are looking for a gift to inspire someone else to get in the kitchen, we have just the thing. Yum Yum Cookie Mixes offer the perfect easy bak…
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In city centres across the country urban beekeeping is a growing trend and Nafsika has gone to investigate how nature can benefit crowded urban areas. There is a buzz in the city. Spring is here, the flowers are blooming and a mild, cool breeze is blowing through the city, which makes you want to stop everything, go to the park and sit under the warm sun, while eating blackberry, honey and yogurt pops. With that in mind, on yet another wonde…
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T S Eliot once claimed that ‘April is the cruellest month’ in the opening lines of his epic poem The Waste Land. Well it might be a classic of modern literature and all that but we don’t really agree with him AND you definitely won’t if you are the recipient of one of April’s fabulous LarderBoxes. You can sign up for your box from as little as £16.50 a month here. Like a good parent, we don’t like to pic…
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Crumpets are a delicious and homely staple of afternoon teas and we think they are the perfect thing to serve up to your Mother this sunday. Rather than make a huge, fussy dinner, serve her up a good cup of tea and a plate of toasted crumpets, dripping with melted butter and smothered in jam or honey. To give you a little history about our humble crumpet, it is thought to originate from the Anglo-Saxon’s and was initially a hard pancak…
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Like Anniversary’s and Valentine’s Day, it’s a terrible crime to forget Mother’s Day and comes with a life time sentence from that point onwards as the ‘uncaring child’. This is made even worse when your sibling has shown up unexpected with flowers, chocolates and taken your lovely mum out for afternoon tea. You shouldn’t buy your Mum a thoughtful present this Sunday so you look like the most thought…
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Ever wondered where your meat comes from? Nafsika takes a look around one of London’s biggest meat markets. “In 1174 there was a smooth field, where every Friday there took place a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold, and in another corner were placed vendibles of the peasants, swine with their deep flanks and cows and oxen of immense bulk”. A few centuries later, on a crisp Sunday night of 2012, we set off to visit th…
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Now we’ve never been ones to shy away from our love of pie, it’s probably one of our favourite things, we even have a weekly Pie Day in the office. When people ask ‘who ate all the pies?’ we scream ‘Us! Yes! We’ll happily eat EVERY pie!’ And now we have a whole week to celebrate (eat) them. It’s not just us who are getting all excited about pies. Everyone seems to love pies with sales at a 30…
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Ever wondered what an ‘artisan producer’ is like? Nafsika meets the founders of Hardy & Scott and debates if real food can ever be shop bought? Chef Antoine Carême once wrote: “When there is no more good cooking in the world, there will be no more keen and elevated intelligence, no more pleasing relationships, no more social unity”. It is a cold yet very sunny Monday morning as we set off to Walthamstow to visit Lucy fro…
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We’ve seen you, eyeing up our LarderBoxes and all their delicious contents. Well if you want to touch (and taste) as well as look you need to sign up before midday tomorrow as we will be posting out March’s box to their lucky recipients for arrival on the 1st. March, lets be honest, can be a bit of a dull month - February is full of love and pancakes, and April, with its long bank holiday weekend, seems a long way. We think you s…
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Lots more talented producers have joined Love Your Larder this week and we want to let you know a bit more about a few of them and what delights they have to offer you. Just because it’s no longer dark in the mornings (hurrah!) doesn’t mean we don’t need a little perk me up to get us moving and we now have an array of coffee from Weanie Beans. Blends range from Guatemalan or Kenya Peaberry to Old Brown Java, we’re prett…
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This week Nafsika visits Eat.St at Kings Cross and learns more about the developing street food scene around the capital. In search of new and exciting street food, we were recently browsing the very informative website of Eat.st, when and very a peculiar name drew our attention: Tongue ‘n Cheek. Having never tasted neither tongue nor cheek, we followed the link to a colourful website and after a few emails and a short train ride to Brockl…
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We’ve got a guest post from the charming folks over at Canopy & Stars (who will soon be running a competition on their website to win a subscription for a LarderBox). Here they tell us about the work of West Moss-Side Organic Farm and the rare breed beef they produce . The West Moss-side herd of native Shetland cattle is very special indeed. They live on the edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, not far from Stirli…
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Pancake day has to be one of Britain’s favourite days. We think most people are pretty fond of any occasion which has an obligation to eat, but there is something extra special about pancake day. Unlike Easter Eggs, which are in essence larger, hollower chocolate bars, or Christmas where you just eat everything imaginable, pancakes aren’t something that most people will cook up at any other time of the year (why, we have no idea!) …
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Nafsika takes a look around the wonderful Spitalfield City Farm and ponders whether real food is worth the wait. One thing we love about London is that despite its considerable size, there is still a feeling of community in several neighbourhoods. We often read about initiatives organised by locals, supported by volunteers that make this metropolis a lovelier place to live. In search of a better quality of life and, of course, better food, …
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Want a sneaky peek in inside March’s LarderBox? We thought as much. Those of you who want to keep your boxes a surprise should look away now! We’ve got some lovely treats for you in this month’s box, which should be arriving on people’s doorsteps on the 1st March. We will be including useful hints and tips for how to use the ingredients and some delicious meal suggestions. With Mother’s Day coming up we can…
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Sick of the sight of hearts, pink and anything romantic? Want to fill your face with big piles of big piles of messy, unrefined food you can chomp away on with a couple of beers. We have the perfect thing - Dude Food, or Mexican food as it is more commonly known. We saw a great article on the Guardian’s Word of Mouth blog the other week which quoted Simon Doonan’s book Gay Men Don’t Get Fat and had this amazing quote ̵…
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We’ve been getting some lovely press for our LarderBoxes recently and of course we wanted to share it with you. You can sign up now to receive your own very special LarderBox and we now have these brilliant gift certificates you can download and print off if you wanted to spread the foodie love. Particularly apt if you are struggling to find a present for that special someone for Valentine’s Day. We were in the Evening Stand…
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We posted a picture of these wonderful eggs on twitter last weekend and got a fair amount of brunch jealousy so thought we should share with you this wonderfully easy recipe for the perfect thing to eat on a lazy sunday morning. People are often put off making eggs benedict at home because of the tricky hollandaise sauce but you shouldn’t be as we’ve found a wonderfully simple way to make it. The wonderful Felicity Cloake, author…
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We think our LarderBoxes make amazing gifts, after all why give one present when you can give 6? So we’ve designed these lovely gift vouches which you can print off or email to the recipient to let them know to expect some tasty deliveries in the near future. What’s more brilliant about this however is that even if you’ve left it to the very last minute you can still get someone an amazing present that they’ll never…
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When people think of a romantic meal steak is often one of the first things that comes to mind. We have wondered why this is, what is it about a big hunk of bloody red meat that represents heartfelt love and sweet nothings? On the one hand perhaps it represents our baser instincts and lets the boys feel all manly eating a slab of juicy meat. On the other, perhaps it is because everyone sees steak as a luxury food only to be eaten on the most…
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This week Nafsika compares London’s Borough Market with a food market in Greece, where she originally comes from. It’s a cold Saturday morning in London. The air is crisp and you can feel the snow coming. You leave your warm, comfortable couch, scarf and gloves in hand and rush into the tube. You get confused by which exit to take, London Bridge station tends to be very chaotic. After walking for a while because yes, you did tak…
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Last week we brought you the first part of our Valentine’s Gift Guide but of course we have lots more wonderful items which are perfect for giving this Valentine’s Day. Some of our very skilled chocolate makers have created limited edition products especially for Valentine’s Day including these lovely heart shaped products, the definition of a romantic gift. This Breaking Chocolate Heart from Niko B. …
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There are few things in life better than melted cheese. At least that’s the sort of cold hard fact we base our lives on. What is it about melted cheese that is just so good - it’s gooey and warm and feels so much naughtier than eating cheese normally. It’s almost like melting it makes it seem a hell of a lot less healthy. Ok so this isn’t a dinner that will fit in with a stringent healthy eating plan but once in a whi…
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In a new series for the Love Your Larder blog, food anthropologist Nafsika Papacharalampous will explore the meaning of ‘real food’ and how to find it. Along the way she will be meeting independent producers and discussing the importance of what they do. In the first part Nafsika introduces the idea of ‘real food’ and searches to define it. This is a story about real food. But what is real food you will rightfully ask.…
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O Valentines Day, it’s resented by people in relationships and hated by anyone who’s single. But we want to help you get through this most careful of occasions. The pressure to be romantic, the expectations to do something show-stopping will give you inevitable headache when it all goes wrong - you burn the beef wellington, she scoffs at the flowers you bought (outside the local fruit shop) and that special mix tape you made is…
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Remember the cool foodie subscription service we were launching? A tasty box of larder treats direct to your door each mont that look a little something like this… Well we are sending the first batch of boxes out this week and we wouldn’t want you to miss out would we? You can still sign up here for our first box crammed full of goodies from the likes of Womersley, Sheffield Honey and Joe & Seph’s Gourmet Popcorn and i…
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We’ve been busy since coming back for the New Year and have a whole host of new producers to tell you about. From traditional farmhouse cheddars to edible chocolate boxes, here’s a little something about a handful of the very talented producers we are now working with. Green’s of Glastonbury The Green family have been making cheese for the last four generations and have perfected the recipe for their traditional mature f…
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There aren’t many celebrations over the year which are dedicated to celebrating the life and work of a poet. Poets are usually the sorts of people who lurk in the recesses of public recognition, barely ever getting any time in the limelight. Good old Robert Burns bucks this trend magnificently; Burns Night being a celebration of his life and work held annually on his birthday, the 25th January. And like all good occasions it is based aro…
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Chinese New Year is on the 23rd of January this year and it’s just what we need to pick us up from the January blues and indulge in some delicious Chinese cuisine. This isn’t just an excuse to eat however as a feast is a central part of how Chinese New Year is celebrated traditionally. Generally held at the home of the most senior member of the family on the New Year’s Eve, everyone gathers together for their annual family …
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We’ve started working with some brand new, super exciting producers and we wanted to tell you more about some of them and the amazing food and drink they make. First up is Hands on Coffee. Hands up who needs a coffee to get going in the morning? We certainly do, which is why we love Hands on Coffee - they make fantastic coffee, roasted in small batches and only ever produced using the highest quality coffee beans. Based in Cornwall, …
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Yep, we all know this is the time of year to be healthy, you probably thought that meant stopping snacking on chocolate and all those tasty things that go down so well as an afternoon snack. Well that isn’t necessarily the case, Mr Popple’s Chocolate (real name!) is packed full of healthy benefits as it is made from 100% raw cacao. As it is completely uncooked the cacao retains more nutrients and antioxidants, in fact there are ove…
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O this time of year is full of people talking about eating healthily, New Years resolutions and how we should all be treating our bodies better. Well you aren’t going to be hearing any different from us, even with our love of pies and steak, we are 100% on a health kick and against some of our preconceptions, very much enjoying it. We know you know, but we will tell you again - eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean boring eatin…
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We have something to tell you about and we think it is very exciting. We are launching a new product. It’s called a Larder Box and we think it’s something you are going to like a lot. It looks something like this and comes to your door once a month (it can go to your desk too if thats easiest for you!) Packed full of ingredients to stock your cupboards with the Larder Box is your easy and simple way to discover new food and d…
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2011 was an amazing year for Love Your Larder and we’re getting ourselves ready for an even more exciting 2012. Part of those plans involve expanding our development team so we’re looking for another PHP developer (or two!) to join us in our central Newcastle offices. You’ll need to be familiar with CodeIgniter and ideally have experience of working in an ecommerce company but most importantly you’re excited at the idea of working with…
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The time for gorging on chocolates, puddings and cakes has now gone and we will miss it dearly and we are sure you will too. But the New Year brings with it the chance for change and like so many others we here at Love Your Larder are going on a little health kick, do you want to join us? We aren’t making a resolution per se (as that means we will inevitably break one of our strict rules in the first few days) but we will be eating more …
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There’s always plenty of food around at Christmas. Unless you have one of those christmas disasters like you see on the telly with unfrozen turkeys in bath tubs and the like, there is always far too much food. No matter how well you try and plan, count heads and act sensibly in the shops, you will always end up with enough food to feed double and thus something has to be done with the leftovers. We didn’t start planning our left …
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What a long year it’s been - busy, full and very exciting. We wanted to take the chance to thank all the wonderful producers we work with - without you we wouldn’t have a site and we know you all work very hard to make your fantastic products. We’d like to name check you all but that could take us a while there’s so many of you now. So pat yourselves on the back, bravo, top draw. We’re always on the look out f…
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These chocolate truffles are honestly the easiest things to make ever - messy yes, but really simple and make very thoughtful gifts at this time of year. And who doesn’t like an excuse to get covered in chocolate. The history for the truffle and its origin does not appear to be set in stone (depending on what website you read) but it was around 1895 that some marvellous inventor (perhaps N. Petruccelli in Chambery France or Antoine Duf…
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When cooking recently we mentioned that we were going to be making mince pies, oooos and ahhs went up in the office. We said they are going to be traditional, more oos and ahhs. ‘really traditional’ we muttered ‘with meat’. The oos and ahhs disappeared, instead a look of disgusted curiosity fell upon everyones faces, even though the name implies exactly what this is as soon as you mention the inclusion of meat people ar…
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Potatoes are often a make or break addition to a roast dinner, boiled are an unspeakable addition, anything like dauphinoise are ludicrously out of place and mash some times acceptable but only ever with some roasted. Any one who serves a roast without them is a foolish amateur and most people thankfully avoid this folly. But is an awful roast potato worse than no roast at all? We hate to think how many sub-par roast potatoes we have had force…
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Chicken pie is not something you can rush so this isn’t a recipe for a weeknight supper but rather a hearty and reassuring dish for a lazy Sunday evening and is perfect to share. What really makes this pie so special is the chicken stock made from poaching the chicken thighs and vegetables - not only cooking the thighs but producing a rich delicious stock at the same time. After you’ve had this you’ll never want to go back to…
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Chocolate Brownies are one of those things that everyone loves to make - they’re quick, simple and taste delicious. These brownies look and taste fantastic and would make a fantastic homemade Christmas or Birthday gift. As with all cooking and baking the higher quality ingredients you start with the better the end result and it’s no different with brownies where the flavour and quality of chocolate you use is incredibly important. …
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No two food stuffs conjure up ideas of Christmas the way these two do - a perfect pairing of spices, cinnamon and succulent fruity flavours. And any food being served hot is always welcome in the winter months. Last week we put our reading glasses on and studied lots of recipes and old cookery books to come up with what we think is the tastiest combination of fruit, booze and pastry for our mince pies. We did come up with a VERY trad…
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Hands up who knows what a parmo is? For those of you that do, Hurrah, you are enlightened. For those of you that don’t you are about to be educated as to the finest northern take away delicacy on offer, often to be seen consumed around the north east after several pints. But although an unsightly take away dish, this can be reproduced in the home and although still horrendously bad for you, it is of the finest culinary distinction. T…
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We have, as we imagine you will know if you have been on the site, lots of gorgeous gifts on offer to please all the foodies in your life. But not all foodies are the same, they come in very different breeds, distinctive by their eating habits and grazing patterns. The sweet tooth will snack all day long on anything with a sugary filling whereas a heat lover craves those spicy hot curries and dipping sauces which fill the cupboard and are al…
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Does this sound weird to people? If so it shouldn’t - chocolate and chilli are delicious together, you get the sweetness of the rich chocolate then you get a spicy kick at the back of your mouth a few moments later. We found however it’s best to warn people that they have chilli in them otherwise they get an unexpected shock. We have a huge selection of chillies on the site, from the mild Ancho to the super spicy Naga Bih Jolokia…
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Over the last couple of years there has been an explosion in the numbers of quality street food traders in the UK. Organisations like Eat.st have done a great job in raising the profile of street food and also helping to find new and interesting venues for them to ply their trade. We’ve long been a fan of this street food revival visiting The Meat wagon in the early days on that industrial estate in Peckham or Flat Caps coffee when it…
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Have you got lots of little gifts to give out this christmas? Perhaps you want to make a home made advent calendar, each day filled with a tasty little treat or you want to bring something home made in to the office this year instead of a bargain bucket of chocolates? Here at Love Your Larder we like to make our presents extra special (but you’d know that if you’d seen our marvellous gift selection!) and have been in the kitchen co…
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In her first guest post for Love Your Larder Katy Riddle author of The Feel Good Food Blog and passionate foodie shares a recipe for the perfect meatballs to make for a romantic night in. Music may have been the food of love for Shakespeare, but in my mind nothing inspires intimacy like Italian cuisine. Casanova’s countrymen are as renowned for their use of rich tomatoes and fresh herbs in the kitchen as they are for their skills of sedu…
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The Festive Season brings with it the excuse to go to lots of parties and perhaps host one of your own and our latest producer The Little Red Berry Company has a lovely range of fruit liqueurs perfect for making hot and cold cocktails. The range is made entirely by hand in tiny batches to ensure the best possible flavour and tries to use the best seasonal fruit when possible. The flavours include the refreshing Strawberry Vodka, Raspberry …
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Our producers have been very busy putting together some lovely hampers and they are now available on Love Your Larder, perfect for all those christmas presents you need to buy (we haven’t even thought about starting our xmas shopping yet, but we know these will be at the top of our lists) Hampers are such a nice thing to receive and opening them up to reveal all the treats inside gives us a lovely childlike feeling of excitement at the…
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Christmas is all about the act of giving and sharing with those around you. But when there are so many products being thrust into your face it gets difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff and you can end up buying whatever is on 2 for 1, forgetting who the gift is actually for and accidentally end up buying your boyfriend some socks with cats on, or buying whatever is nearest the door so you can escape as quickly as possible. Not having ais…
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Everyone loves a good meaty burger, and home made ones are so simple to make and much tastier than nasty take away rubber that masquerades as real meat. They give burgers a bad name, the home made burger is the definition of a week night treat - delicious but simple to make and can be done quickly once finally home from a busy day, and a food that perhaps shouldn’t be eaten all of the time, although home made burgers can be a much health…
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It’s British Sausage Week this week and we thought we would share one of our favourite uses for sausages with you to celebrate. Although the meat might be purely british born and bred, the flavours and inspiration for this dish comes from the Mediterranean, an Italian Spicy Sausage Casserole. If you fancy a more traditional recipe, why not check out our hearty Toad In the Hole. We wouldn’t want you stuck for sausage ideas n…
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Occasionally we stumble across something that we just have to tell you about, sometimes it is an amazing recipe, or a clever piece of packaging - this time it’s an entire shop. Yes, it may happen to be in Australia, so for many of you it would be very difficult to stumble across it on your saturday afternoon, so even more reason to tell you about it. Scrumptious Reads is a pop up tea and catering shop made entirely of brown paper cups,…
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Around since the 14th century, candying fruit was originally a way of preserving fruit to make it last longer. Now it is normally done for more fanciful reasons than that, we thought it was a lovely thing to make and looks very impressive for not a lot of effort. There’s also lots of things that can be done with it, put it into little bags and give it away as token presents, perfect with Christmas coming up, use it to decorate cupcakes,&…
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Although based in the quaint historical city of York, Raman’s relishes draw on flavours from across the world, and their ancestral roots in Southern India, and across the Middle East and America. Given these roots, the flavour combinations are carefully considered and are an interesting fusion of Indian heritage that fits into every day UK cooking. Think Slow Grilled Butternut Squash, not the most common ingredient for a relish but here …
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The cold has definitely set in, it is reaching the point that there are more leaves on the floor than there are on the trees and we know that we want some seriously filling food. Toad in the Hole is a British Classic, seen on pub menus everywhere and has that glorious feeling of unpretentious country side food. Just what you want when it is horridly cold outside. This recipe is also really simple to make, and one of the perks is getting to s…
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Of all the food weeks, this must be one of the best, giving plenty of opportunities to indulge in lots of naughty treats all in the name of celebration. We must remember to start our diets next week. But that’s next week and there’s still time to celebrate and indulge in some of our great chocolate producers. Sciolti Chocolates, made by the very talents Fiona Sciolti, are very beautiful, hand crafted botanical chocolates made f…
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We first posted about our love of autumn and all the comforting food that comes with it a couple of weeks ago. Then that darned heat wave came along and that all went out the window as we could play outside in the beer garden rather than huddle inside. Although I have to say there is something a little strange about sitting out in the boiling hot sun whilst leaves brown at your feet. As the weather has reverted back to the norm of grey cloud…
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As you may know it is Chocolate Week this week, however we have discovered that it is also Curry Week. Is this the best week ever? Two of the nations favourite food stuffs being celebrated and scoffed at the same time. If there were an actual battle between curry and chocolate, we couldn’t call it - chocolate would be the smooth talker, slinking its way out of any situation, but curry packs a powerful punch (especially if it was a spicy …
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It’s the second day of chocolate week and after the Italian delights of yesterday we thought we should give a big cheer to some chocolate makers a little closer to home. Davenports Chocolates are the creation of Jane Williams, who was classically trained under a second generation Swiss Master Chocolatier, it’s fair to say she knows more than how to make something look sweet and dainty (although the chocolates are both very dainty…
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Not many weeks in the calendar give us the excuse to indulge like Chocolate Week does, a celebration of the sweet, tasty goodness of chocolate and the British producers who are making it. We thought we should join in and champion some of the amazing chocolate producers we have on Loveyourlarder.com because we know they make some of the finest chocolates around, and think you should know too so you don’t settle for mass produced flavour…
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These have to be some of the most exquisite biscuits we have ever seen. The Swiss biscuit is not very common in this country but Pretty Tasty have been making them for several years now and we are thrilled to have them on Love Your Larder. A Swiss biscuit is cakey yet crunchy, infused with either a vanilla or aniseed flavour - a delicate little snack, perfect as an alternative afternoon tea. As they come presented in tins, they make for am…
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Of all the tasty meals, the tastiest has been chosen, and it was this amazing Sushi and Japanese Feast. One of these pretty new gift cards will be arriving on @darrylpetch’s doorstep at some point very soon, giving him £100 to spend on Love Your Larder. A Big Woo-Hoo! for @Darrylpetch. There is a new range of 13 gift cards available from Love Your Larder in a range of prices, proving the perfect foodie present.
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So when you think of tea, this may not be the sort of thing that automatically springs to mind, but they are all gorgeous loose leaf teas from the marvellous people at Jeeves & Jericho. Question is, can you correctly guess what tea is which? Answers on a postcard (or a tweet) if you get them all right, well, you’re a very astute tea drinker. Or you can scroll down to find out what they are… Some of the most interesting …
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So I was in the middle of writing a blog post all about the rarity and feel of luxury that surrounds truffles and dishes that are made from them, and how they are only served at occasions where you want to impress (there was even a quip about come dine with me) BUT I then saw this article on LoveFood and had to rethink everything that I was saying. It is reported that Morrisons are currently selling fresh truffles in some of their outlets at …
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Seasonality in food has an ever growing important and prominence when it comes to sourcing food and ingredients and is a constant preoccupation with chefs and foodies. But for the more humble food lover, seasonality effects us on a much more basic level - manipulating our needs and wants and influencing what ends up in our bellies at the end of the day. Summer is a time for light, fresh flavours - pear and chicory salad enjoyed in warm, ha…
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As a computer hasn’t been invented which allows taste to be transferred across the internet, we only had the use of our eyes to judge the finalists for our competition to see something tasty. And we think all of these entries look pretty goddam tasty. Head over to our facebook page to LIKE Love Your Larder and your favourite picture, which ever picture has the most LIKES by next friday wins the £100 voucher, encourage your friends to vo…
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The first thing you probably notice is my that looks appetising, but after a second glance what appears to many as food photography is actually food paintings - the intricate work of master painter Tjalf Sparnaay who has been creating these detailed ‘mega realism’ paintings for years. (via Great British Chefs Tumblr) His aim is to take the ordinary and common place objects that we are so accustomed to looking at and re-fashion th…
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We’ve had some great entries for our competition so far, and thought we’d share some with you. Have a look if you want some inspiration and don’t forget to enter yourself. One tweet (or email) with a picture of something tasty could win you £100 gift card for Love Your Larder - perfect for treating yourself or stocking up on christmas gifts early. Or giving yourself a gift, think we like this idea best. from @Jo_Lennon - …
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This is a gift idea perfect for anyone who wants to give the gift of baking - and all enclosed in a lovely, hand prepared jar. Look how nice the packaging is - love the gingham ribbon. Each jar contains all the ingredients (you just need an egg and some butter) you need to make a gorgeous batch of cookies. Perfect as a gift for any young children you might know who you want to encourage to get cooking in the kitchen - and what better way …
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Love Your Larder has always based itself on the principals of interesting, unique, small producers who make lovely interesting, unique products. That is why we are so pleased to now have Agnes Rose’s range of infused vinegars and oils now on the site. As with all our favourite producers there is a charming story behind the creation of the brand. A baker from an early age, Naomi (the brains behind Agnes Rose) loved to s…
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We are soon to launch are new range of hand printed gift cards, which we think will make the perfect present for any foodie this christmas (or birthday, new years, valentines day, mother’s day…) Eligible to be used on any item on the site, they are simple and easy to use, your unique code will come printed in one of these beautiful hand made cards and can be posted direct to the recipient with a hand written message (in real ink) …
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The American Phenomenon of Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches has never really caught on over here, perhaps the confusion between jelly and jam, who knows but we spotted this over on our fave American food site Serious Eats and it made us think again. Perhaps PB&J sandwiches are going all haute cuisine on us This was made using Creama PIstacchi, but we have found a recipe to do a DIY job, and will be reporting back soon.
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What better to make to celebrate British Food Fortnight than the quintessentially British dish of Steak and Ale pie. The pie of course in all its forms, whether savoury or sweet, cold cut or hot, short crust or puff pasty, captures the spirit of Britain in the way that fish and chips, gin and tonics or a pint of ale does. All around the world, the simple idea of enclosing meat within pastry - perhaps with an oozing of gravy - conjures up id…
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The last chapter in this piggilicious meal. What is great about all these dishes but especially this one is that it makes a fantastic side to go with most meals, lifting cabbage - a food with a unfair reputation for blandness - into a melt in the mouth loveliness. This recipe was actually inspired by Tapas, the cook book from the chefs at El Parador and is now a firm favourite in the Love Your Larder kitchen. Braised Savoy Cabbage + Smok…
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Whilst the previous two recipes are classics of Spanish cooking and regular features on Spanish inspired menus -for the last two ways with pork we did a little bit of inventing of our own. When having tapas the beauty of it is to have a range of dishes and flavours, combining the hearty and heavy with the fresh and flavoursome - all this dishes are of course flavoursome I may add. So, we did something with the rest of the pork escalopes th…
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After the classical combination of potatoes and pork, which works wonderfully as a filling dish, bulked out with more potatoes it can make tapas go further for more people without compromising on flavour. The next way we tackled our pork is another favourite and again, very simple to make - but it is best to start on this earliest as the sauce tastes best when cooked for the maximum amount of time (like with most things - it tastes even bett…
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A brief stint of house sitting combined with a dreary saturday afternoon led us into the kitchen to conjure up a myriad of spanish inspired dishes all with the warmth and comfort you want when its blustery outside and the season is noticeably maturing, becoming self conscious of its coldness like an old man who worries his neighbours young children find him scary. We prepared and cooked 4 easy dishes, as well as making an accompanying …
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We were thrilled to see the profile onScarlett and the Spotty Dogin the latest Olive magazine as she has been on the site from the early days (and she gave us a cheeky mention which is always nice). But, we thought you might not know as much about her and the lovely range of biscuits that she makes, so we are giving you a little introduction. Although perhaps the pictures speak for themselves for how they taste. &…
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Would you like an easy, healthy and tasty dinner that looks like this? Ye, we thought you might, so luckily we took a few more pictures so we could share them with you. Adapting a recipe from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals, but giving it a few special Love Your Larder twists, we made Jerk Chicken with black bean rice, tomato chilli salsa, fried salted aubergine and a yogurty dip. For the Chicken Start with some ingredients that look like …
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Everyone likes to spend the summer doing something a bit different, so here at Love your Larder we thought we should let you in on our new-favourite-summer-combination-of-old-classics. phew, thats a bit of a mouthful but so are these treats! Recently we just haven’t been able to stop snacking on the lovely ranges of Gourmet Popcorn that are currently stocked on our site.Joe & Seph’s Gourmet Popcorn, which recently got a…
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