May Day is BBQ Day

May Day


A case of up the workers, round the Maypole and out with the Barbecue.

This pagan Anglo-Saxon celebration of fertility, new birth and fresh hopes hails Spring at its height, whilst looking forward to Summer, just a few horizons hence:

"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,  And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” - William Shakespeare.

"Among the changing months, May stands confest the sweetest, and in fairest colours dressed.” - James Thomson

Did you know: James Thomson wrote the lyrics for Rule Britannia in 1750 - Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crown'd...

Well yes, all that but what about the serious stuff - real ale on the village green; the crowning of the May Queen in honour of the Roman Goddess, Flora; the obligatory Morris Dancing ... and of course, family barbeques.


May Day is BBQ Day - hooray !

We love a good BBQ...

...and a good barbeque deserves 

a great marinades, sauces or relish.

Stokes Red Onion Marmalade makes a classy burger topping too

Stokes Original BBQ Sauce is a thick, smoky sauce with natural blossom honey and a molasses-style sweetness that can be used as an accompaniment, a marinade or a dipping sauce.

Stokes Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce is just that - a sweet, smoke flavoured BBQ sauce with heat developing as an after flavour from subtle flecks of chilli seeds.

Stokes Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce is another variation with a sweet & sticky flavour including a kick of British horseradish, rounding off sweet maple syrup.

Stokes Burger Relish will transform burgers into something stylish with our rich, slightly sweet tasting red pepper, tomato and onion salsa with a subtle note of chilli. 


Magical Marinades

A marinade is a simple way of tenderising meats and infusing flavour into just about anything you intend to cook on the barbeque. They don't need to be intricate, complicated or time consuming to turn a simple 'char fest' into an 'al fresco feast'.

Barbequed Portobello

In a shallow bowl capable of fitting 4 Portobello Mushrooms, thin out 3 tablespoons of Stokes Original BBQ Sauce with extra virgin olive oil and a dash or two of balsamic vinegar.

Coat the mushrooms and leave them to absorb the flavours for 20 minutes or so. Grill on a gentler corner of the BBQ. Turn half way and top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.

Smoky chilli honey marinade

Very simple and perfect for pork ribs. Mix three tablespoons of Stokes Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce with the same amount of runny honey and a teaspoon of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard.

The smokiness of the BBQ sauce and heat of the chilli flakes work well with the sweet honey, punctuated by the grainy mustard and horseradish bite. Coat the ribs generously as a marinade and brush on whilst cooking.


Sweet chilli & ginger prawns

Plump, juicy prawns just love swimming in this marinade before warming  themselves on the barbeque.

Mix 3 tablespoons of Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce, a tablespoon of our Hoisin Sauce and a cup of dry cider. Add 2 cm of grated fresh ginger and the same of lemongrass. It's a great combination that works equally well on salmon steaks.

"The dollop"
...or of course, you can just dollop your favourite sauce combinations over chicken wings & drumsticks - and off you go!


More foodie thoughts for the week:






International Hummus Day - who knew they'd taste so good here.











Gluten free baking for Coeliac Awareness Week here.










We win, you win, everyone's a winner here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

International Hummus Day - Keep calm and eat hummus

Keep calm and eat hummus

It's International Hummus Day on 13th May - an annual celebration of one of the healthiest little plates of goodness you could hope to find. If you have been to any of the countries bordering the eastern crescent shape of the Mediterranean, you may think that hummus is just a beige stodge - far from it. 

Hummus is really healthy, there's no two ways about it, especially if you make it at home. Not surprisingly, how can a dish that is made up of chickpeas, sesame paste (tahini), garlic, and olive oil not be healthy?

You have most likely had hummus with pitta bread. But, hummus can also be a great substitute for unhealthy food. Use it as a spread in your sandwich, dilute it with water and it becomes a salad dressing, or just spread it on fish before you bake it.

Now let's make hummus 

The basic hummus

You'll need:

• 1 can chickpeas (400g), reserving half the liquid
• 4 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic (grated)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp of olive oil

Here's how:

Pour chickpeas into blender (with half their water), reserving about a tablespoon for garnish. Place lemon juice, tahini, garlic and a little salt in blender.

Blend until everything is creamy and well mixed. Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and pour olive oil over the top.

Garnish with reserved chickpeas.

To the example here, we have added one tablespoon of Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce to run a gently warming smile though the hummus.

Cheats hummus 'made better'...

Supermarkets and delicatessens up and down the country have some really good basic hummus pots ready to go. For a drinks party or BBQ accompaniment, you can so easily turn beige to beautiful with a little help from Stokes.

... just add taste:

Test your taste buds during the blending stage by adding a hint or a heap of a Stokes relish or preserve to the basic hummus ingredients. Start with a little because you can always add later. (The fig relish in the hummus is amazing by the way!)


Beetroot Hummus

For colour and flavour this stands out on a table of hummus selections - the perfect centrepiece.

For a hummus that's truly eye-catching, add roasted beets, 2 tbsp of Stokes Beetroot Relish, feta and dill to homemade or store-bought classic hummus to brighten both the flavor and colour.

Our beetroot relish is textured with abundant juliennes of beetroot which are cooked in claret to tenderise the rich, ruby shards and intensify their earthy flavour.


Red Pepper & Chilli Hummus

This is absolutely delicious and puts a whole new hummmm into hummus. 

To the basic hummus ingredients you will need to add a jar of roasted red peppers (drained) and two tablespoons of Stokes Chilli Jam.

Here's how:

In a blender or food processor, blitz the chickpeas, red peppers, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, chilli jam and salt.

Process using long pulses until the mixture is fairly smooth, and slightly fluffy.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Gluten free baking for Coeliac Awareness Week here.











May Day is BBQ Day - gather ye round here.










We win, you win, everyone's a winner here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Gluten-free baking - thoughts for Coeliac Awareness Week

Coeliac Awareness Week
(14 - 20 May)

We wax lyrical every week about tasting this, eating that and devouring oodles of the other. But it's not so straight forward for everyone.

Fortunately food producers, supermarkets and restaurants are far more aware of, cater for and are able to advise on ingredients that may be a problem to those with allergies and intolerances.

But it is anything but straight forward.

So, today we'll look at a few pointers from Coeliac UK and other advice to make and bake a few gluten free goodies this week. Their website (here) has excellent advice and some great recipes too.

Did you know: 

Gluten is a protein found in all standard wheat flours used for cake making. It traditionally gives cakes their structure so, without it, they're drier and more crumbly. Good news is, there are a number of products you can use to try and counter this. 

You can add a fruit compote or good jam; add mayonnaise or yogurt to the baking mixture; use an extra egg.

Sometimes bigger cakes suffer most (until you have tried and tested ingredients, combinations and quantities). So go for muffins, cupcakes and biscuits.

Gluten free and tasty

Chocolate brownies

You'll need:

• 100g of butter
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Real Mayonnaise
• 300 g of dark chocolate
• 200 g of gluten free plain flour
• 400 g of sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp of gluten free baking powder

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 5. melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and sugar.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, fully absorbing the first before adding the next. Now add the butter / chocolate mixture and the mayonnaise.

Pour the mixture into a 150 x 200mm greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, keeping an eye on the tray to make sure it doesn't overcook. Cool, slice and serve.

Alternatives:

The bitter-sweet sensations of blackcurrants sit so well with chocolate, so try replacing 1 egg with 2 tablespoons of Stokes Blackcurrant Jam. Or, if you're feeling more grown up - use just 1 tablespoon of Blackcurrant Jam and 1 tablespoon of Stokes Chilli Jam.

Toasted Cumin Flatbreads / perfect with hummus

We thought you might like this simple gluten free treat. They are tasty in their own right and even more so with hummus. And as it is International Hummus Day on 13th May we have lots of tasty hummus recipes here.  

Enjoy both.

You'll need:

• 400 g of gluten free self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp of toasted cumin seeds
• 100 ml of water
• 250 ml of natural yogurt
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Real Mayonnaise

Here's how:

Mix the toasted cumin seeds into the flour and season.

Now stir in the yogurt, mayonnaise and 100ml of water (bit at a time, stopping when you think the dough is sufficiently formed and not too dry).

Make 8 equal pieces from the dough, shaping them into 1/2 cm thick ovals. Dust them with a little of the flour and grill on a medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes each side.

Now cut them into smaller wedges and dunk in all that lovely hummus.

Gluten free chilli cornbread

The perfect edible sponge for soakng up gravy - yes please !

You'll need:

• 200 g of polenta
• 284 ml of buttermilk
• 25 g of butter
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 1 tsp of gluten free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 50 g defrosted sweetcorn
• 2 beaten eggs

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 7. In a dry frying pan, gently toast the polenta for 2 or 3 minutes. Now pour just half of the toasted polenta into a bowl (reserve the rest), combine it with the buttermilk and let it soak for 3 hours.

Melt the butter in a large oven proof frying pan and pour it with the reserved toasted polenta into the polenta / buttermilk mixture. Stir in the sweetcorn, chilli jam and season.

Add a knob of butter to the pan you melted the butter in previously. When it foams, pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool it and wedge it ready for that gravy. More gravy please.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





International Hummus Day - who knew they'd taste so good here.











May Day is BBQ Day - gather ye round here.










We win, you win, everyone's a winner here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

We win, you win - and all for the love of great tasting food

We are the winners 

Before we reveal the winners in ous Caption Competition Rick @stokessauces would like to thank everyone who voted for Stokes in the Pride of Suffolk Food & Drinks Awards. "We're so proud to have won and thank everyone involved".

Competition winners  

Last week, Facebook followers were asked what Ned here (below) might be thinking about in our caption competition. What goes through his head as he slowly munches his way around the paddocks with the many other rescued animals at Stokes.

 
The winners were:

Martin Powis with
'...Hi there folks his name is Ned, he's got two horns stuck on his head, yes he's heard the old hump jokes, now send some lovely sauce from Stokes'

and: Cinzia Halfhouse with
'...To sauce or not to sauce? Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageously boring meals or to take arms against a sea of flavourless barbecues and by opposing, end them'

Does Cinzia live in Stratford perhaps ...well done both.


What else has been happening 
on Facebook & Twitter


Caption competition

Now for this week's caption competition.

Meet Bo (below) one of 'the pack' in the Stokes family. Bo is a happy dog, always smiling and glad to meet new friends. But what was she thinking when we took this photo? Post a great caption and we'll send you something tasty in the post.

You can enter our Facebook caption competition this week just by clicking on the image of Bo, above.

Stokes' social networking sites are always a good place to keep up to date with news, fun and foodie sharing such as these individual bangers in Yorkshires, shared recently for St George's Day:

...looks delicious.

And learn about the latest places that stock or serve sauces from Stokes such as here, travelling to Dunkirk with DFDS. You can now enjoy Stokes ketchups and mayonnaise from our sachets in the restaurant on board.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





International Hummus Day - who knew they'd taste so good here.











Gluten free baking for Coeliac Awareness Week here.











May Day is BBQ Day - gather ye round here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150