Quorn Blog

Quorn Blog

Keep Mothers Day special

I consider myself lucky that my octogenarian mother is still alive and well, my own daughter has not yet left home and my husband’s little girl visits so I can have my family around me on Mother’s Day. And what better way to show how much you love and appreciate your family than with a feast?

The more the merrier is my motto so I find myself catering for eight guests with an age range of 80 to 8, half of us veggies. Sounds like a recipe for disaster but it’s recipes that get me through.

So what do I rustle up to make everyone faint with admiration, avoid spending my “day off” in the kitchen and put a smile on everyone’s faces?

I put my thinking cap on and have come up with a real crowd pleaser this year.

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Welcome to Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade FortnightWhat words come to mind when you read the words ‘Fairtrade’? Bananas? Tea? Chocolate? How about roses, olive oil or Lincolnshire? No?

Well actually, yes! I live in Louth in Lincolnshire and we’re one of 460 Fairtrade Towns  in the UK.

This year Louth will be supporting the annual ‘Fairtrade Fortnight’ between February 22nd and 7th March 2010. This year’s theme is ‘The Big Swap’ and aims to get everyone swapping their usual items for Fairtrade goodies. With over 4,500 products licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark there’s plenty of choice and by choosing Fairtrade, each and every one of us can make a real and sustainable difference to communities in 59 countries. MORE »

Pancakes calling

Pancake pic by Geoff PetersHappy Pancake Day everybody!  Known as Pancake Day, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras – pancakes will be hitting the spot all around the world today.  It’s the perfect excuse to indulge so what does your pancake of choice say about you?  Traditionalists will stick with the classic sprinkling of sugar and lemon (can’t go wrong my friends, can’t go wrong).  Or will you walk on the wild side with orange brandy topping? 

But if savoury is more your thing, then celebrate Pancake Day with this flippin’ tasty buckwheat flour pancake recipe from Quorn which uses Quorn bacon-style pieces, cheese and eggs: MORE »

Hear us roar – its the year of the Tiger

Tiger by catlovers on FlickrFeeling brave?  Chinese New Year will usher in the Year of the Tiger on the 14th of February so expect the unexpected.

People born in this year are lively, lucky, forthright and engaging. And after an all too muted, credit-crunched 2009, we say bring it on!

Know any Tigers?  Those born in 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 and of course 2010 tend to be noble, fearless, born leaders.  Think Sir Richard Branson, Tom Cruise and Agatha Christie.  Expect your Tiger to be confident (sometimes too confident), adventurous but as warm hearted as they come.

To keep all those big cats purring this week, try out this oh so simple Chow Mein recipe our clever Quorn cooks have devised to celebrate Chinese New Year: MORE »

Snuggle up to a great foodie film this February

Julie and JuliaI know I shouldn’t make my problems your problems (after all, a problem shared is a problem doubled, no?) but enough is enough.  On a random Tuesday in the Quorn offices, I just happened to mention, in passing, pure small talk if you will, that the best foodie film out there has to be Julie and Julia.  Little did I know how such an innocent remark would unleash the passions of my colleagues who are, as you would imagine, thoroughly immersed in the world of food.  And oh yes, dear readers, their fervour runs pretty deep.  It’s more than a week later and water cooler conversations are STILL carrying threads of our debate.  So I’m putting it out there and I’m taking it to the public vote.  Which of these films contain the best foodie scenes ever filmed? MORE »

My New Years Resolution - Walk more

Woodland walking - photo by David MastersWhen is it officially too late to be making new years resolutions?  I’m not entirely sure but I can tell you that my nearest and dearest are still “resolving” for most of January.  So with ‘old family tradition’ to back me up in this final week of January 2010, my new year’s resolution is to gather the familial troops and walk a whole lot more.  Even if we go for one walk this year we’ll have increased our walk rate by more than 100%!  Well, I refuse to be such a sad statistic so I’m going to aim for a very reasonable two family walks a month.  And there’s nothing like a bit of exercise to stimulate appetites for a home-cooked meal on return – and you can be sure some recipe inspiration follows shortly dear readers! MORE »

Get money off your next purchase of Quorn

Quorn Sausage and Tomato PastaThe good people at Quorn are welcoming in the new year with the introduction of special new packs, featuring great money-off savings across a selection of the Quorn range.  In store for a limited period only, be sure to look out for savings on Quorn mince, pieces, fajita strips, cottage pie ready meals and Quorn Cumberland sausages plus loads more.  (Read on for the full list.)

And on these self same packs, 14 ama-zingzing new recipes which you can cut out and keep – so you’ll never run out of inspiration.  From Quorn peppered steak sandwiches to Quorn lamb style pittas and chilli & lemon spaghetti – get ready for serious foodie satisfaction.  Here are two fabulous new recipes to keep you going:

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Banish January blues with these classic Quorn products

Quorn FrankfurtersIf thoughts of going back to work in too-tight trousers, fading Christmas memories and another month of cold weather are getting you down then take heart because these delicious products from the Quorn range are just the ticket!

First off, the mighty Quorn Frankfurter!  Perfect for hotdogs – and it’s so easy to keep things simple and delicious with a splash of mustard and tomato sauce on a warm, fresh roll. MORE »

Welcome to week 52

Happy New Years!If you’re reading this after Christmas whilst you await the New Year then welcome to Week 52 of 2009.  Cleaning, visiting relatives, thinking up ever inventive ways to use up the turkey leftovers, hitting the sales - what do you do in week 52?

This week can be a bit of a ‘dead week’, somewhat of an anticlimax after all the rushing around and excitement of Christmas. We’ve spent too much, eaten far too much and the sales aren’t what they used to be. With Christmas Day and New Years Day acting as the ultimate bookends, the intervening days are spent vacuuming up needles from the Christmas tree, worrying about how much weight we’ve put on and deciding on New Years resolutions. MORE »

Santa Loves Quorn

Santa Claus graphic by Violentz It is official … Santa Claus loves Quorn

Well my six-year-old boy does, who, upon returning from school, has been dressing up in his Santa suit since the 1st December!  Last night’s sausage rolls were “brilliant and ace” … Quorn Sausage rolls of course, brushed with a little milk and browned in a medium oven.  We had them with mulled wine (and warm blackcurrant for ‘Santa’) as we put up the Christmas tree in front of our toasty fire. MORE »